Loanwords in Japanese facts for kids

Gairaigo (外来語, Japanese pronunciation: [ɡaiɾaiɡo]) is a Japanese word that means "loan word". It refers to words borrowed from other languages and used in Japanese. Most of the time, gairaigo are words that came into Japanese more recently, especially from languages like English, Portuguese, and Dutch.

These words are usually written using the katakana writing system. Some older loan words might be written with kanji (Chinese characters). These special kanji words are called ateji.

Japanese also has many words borrowed from ancient Chinese. These are written in kanji and are a big part of the Japanese language. However, modern Chinese words borrowed into Japanese are usually considered gairaigo and are written in katakana.

Where Do Gairaigo Words Come From?

Japanese has been borrowing words from other languages for a very long time, since the late 300s AD! Some old gairaigo words are still used today, but many new ones have been borrowed more recently.

English Words in Japanese

Most modern gairaigo words come from English. This became very common after World War II (after 1945). Japanese people borrow English words for things that don't have a Japanese name, or sometimes just because English words sound cool or fashionable. Many gairaigo from English actually have similar Japanese words already.

Older Loan Words from Europe

Before English became the main source, Japan had a lot of contact with Portugal and the Netherlands in the 1500s and 1600s. Because of this, Japanese has several words from Portuguese and Dutch that are still used today.

For example, the Portuguese word rasha meant a thick wool cloth. From Dutch, words like glas (glass), gas, and alcohol became part of Japanese.

During the Edo era (1603–1853), many medical words like Gaze (meaning gauze) came from German. Artistic words like rouge and dessin came from French. But since the 1800s, most gairaigo have come from English.

German and French Words

In the Meiji era (late 1800s to early 1900s), Japan also had a lot of contact with Germany. Many German words were borrowed, especially for Western medicine. For example, arubaito (アルバイト, part-time work) comes from the German word Arbeit ("work"). enerugī (エネルギー, energy) comes from the German word Energie. Japanese also borrowed some words from French during this time.

Modern Chinese and Korean Words

Today, some words are borrowed from modern Chinese and Korean, especially for food names. For example, ūron (ウーロン "oolong tea") comes from Chinese. Kimuchi (キムチ "kimchi") comes from Korean.

Chinese words are often written with Chinese characters, but with katakana to show their Japanese pronunciation. Korean words are usually just written in katakana.

In 1889, a Japanese dictionary listed 85 gairaigo from Dutch and 72 from English. From 1911 to 1924, 51% of gairaigo in dictionaries were from English. Today, a huge 80% to 90% of gairaigo are from English!

Words with Similar Meanings (Doublets)

Sometimes, Japanese borrows similar words from different languages. These words might be used for the same thing or for slightly different things.

For example, kappu (カップ) (from English cup) means a cup with a handle, like a coffee mug. But koppu (コップ) (from Dutch or Portuguese kop/copo) means a cup without a handle, like a tumbler.

Another example is gurasu (グラス) (from English glass) which means a drinking glass. But garasu (ガラス) (from Dutch glas) means the material "glass" or a window pane. So, garasu no gurasu (ガラスのグラス) means "a glass made of glass."

Japanese-Made Chinese Words (Wasei-kango)

Besides borrowing words, Japanese also creates new words using existing Chinese parts. These are called wasei-kango, or "Japanese-made Chinese words." This is like how European languages create new words from Latin or Greek roots. Many of these were made in the Meiji period, especially for medical terms. These are not considered gairaigo because the foreign word itself wasn't borrowed.

How Gairaigo Are Written

In written Japanese, gairaigo are usually written in katakana.

Older loan words can also be written using ateji. This means using kanji characters for their sound, or sometimes for their meaning. For example, tabako (tobacco/cigarette) from Portuguese can be written in katakana (タバコ), hiragana (たばこ), or with kanji (煙草), which means "smoke grass." It still sounds like tabako.

Another old example is tempura. It's often written with a mix of kanji and kana (天ぷら). It can also be written as てんぷら, テンプラ, or with other kanji like 天麩羅. Here, the kanji are used just for their sounds.

Tricky Gairaigo: False Friends and Wasei-eigo

Gairaigo can sometimes be confusing for a few reasons:

• They are often shortened.
• Their meaning might change in Japanese, or in the original language after they were borrowed.
• Many words that sound English are actually made up in Japan (these are called wasei-eigo, meaning "English made in Japan").
• Not all gairaigo come from English.

Shortened Words

Japanese words can sometimes be long because of how sounds are put together. So, Japanese people often shorten words. This happens a lot with gairaigo.

For example, "remote control" becomes rimōto kontorōru (リモートコントロール) when written in Japanese. But it's usually shortened to rimokon (リモコン). "Department store" becomes depātomento sutoa (デパートメントストア) but is shortened to depāto (デパート).

A famous example is Karaoke (カラオケ). It's a mix of the Japanese word kara ("empty") and oke, which is a shortened form of the English word "orchestra." Karaoke is now used in English too!

Wasei-eigo: English Words Made in Japan

Some Japanese people might not know that certain gairaigo words are not real English words. For instance, tēma (テーマ) comes from the German word Thema (meaning "topic"). Or rimokon is a Japanese shortening of "remote control."

Also, the meaning of a word can change. The English word "stove" can mean a cooking appliance. But in Japanese, sutōbu (ストーブ) means a space heater, like a wood-burning stove. The Japanese word for a cooking stove is renji (レンジ), from the English word "range."

Wasei-eigo words can be very confusing. For example, "left over" in Japanese baseball means a hit that goes over the left-fielder's head, not leftover food.

Words like chance, pink, over, down, up, in, my, and boom are all used in wasei-eigo. They combine with Japanese words or other English loanwords to make new phrases. For example, 'Up' or appu is used to mean an increase, like seiseki appu (increased results). 'My' or mai is often used in ads, like "My Fanny" toilet paper or "My Hand" electric hand drills.

How Gairaigo Are Used in Sentences

Most gairaigo are nouns (names of things). You can turn them into verbs (action words) by adding the Japanese verb -suru (〜する), which means "to do." For example, "play soccer" is translated as サッカーをする (sakkā o suru).

There are a few exceptions. For example, sabo-ru (sabo-ru (サボる, "cut class")) comes from "sabotage" and acts like a regular Japanese verb. Another example is gugu-ru (ググる, "to google").

Gairaigo can also mix with Japanese or Chinese words to form new phrases. For example, jibīru (地ビール, local beer) combines a Japanese word with a gairaigo.

How Gairaigo Sound

When words are borrowed into Japanese, their pronunciation usually changes to fit Japanese sounds. For example, "platform" was borrowed as hōmu (hōmu (ホーム)). This is because the "fo" sound was not common in old Japanese.

However, recently, some gairaigo are pronounced more like their original sounds. This is shown by using small katakana characters or special marks. For example, "violin" can be pronounced baiorin (baiorin (バイオリン)) or vaiorin (vaiorin (ヴァイオリン)). The va sound is new.

Another example is taxi, which has two syllables in English. In Japanese, it becomes takushī (takushī (タクシー)), which has three syllables. This is because Japanese usually doesn't have two consonants next to each other. Also, the "si" sound in English becomes a "shi" sound in Japanese.

Japanese speakers often find it hard to tell the difference between "l" and "r" sounds. So, words with "l" or "r" might be spelled the same way when borrowed into Japanese. However, Japanese usually borrows English words without the "r" sound at the end of a syllable. So, "bell" is ベル (beru) and "bear" is ベア (bea), which helps tell them apart.

Gairaigo Can Help You Learn English!

Many of the English words borrowed into Japanese are very common and useful. So, gairaigo can be like a built-in dictionary for Japanese students learning English.

Studies have shown that gairaigo can help Japanese children learn English words. For adults, gairaigo can help with recognizing English words, pronunciation, spelling, and understanding spoken English. They can also help remember English words. When writing in English, Japanese students often prefer to use English words that have become gairaigo.

A Common Mistake: Arigatō

The Japanese word for "thank you," arigatō, sounds a lot like the Portuguese word obrigado, which also means "thank you." Because Japanese borrowed many words from Portuguese, some people think arigatō came from Portuguese.

However, arigatō is NOT a gairaigo. It's a shortened form of arigatō gozaimasu. This comes from an old Japanese adjective arigatai (有難い) combined with a polite verb. There is proof that arigatai was used centuries before Japan had contact with Portugal. So, the similarity is just a coincidence! If it were borrowed from Portuguese, it would likely start with "o" and have a short "o" at the end.

Words Borrowed Back from Japanese

Some gairaigo words have been borrowed back into their original languages, especially by fans of Japanese movies, comics, and games.

For example, anime (アニメ) is a gairaigo word that came from the English word "animation." But now, English speakers use "anime" to mean "Japanese animation."

Similarly, puroresu (プロレス) comes from "professional wrestling." English-speaking wrestling fans now use "puroresu" to describe the style of wrestling done in Japan.

Kosupure (コスプレ), or "cosplay," was made from the English words "costume play." It means dressing up as characters from anime, manga, or video games. Now, "cosplay" is commonly used in English and other languages.

See also

• Cognate
• List of gairaigo and wasei-eigo terms
  • Japanese words of Portuguese origin
  • Japanese words of Dutch origin
• Engrish
• List of English words of Japanese origin
• Japanese Pidgin English