The TEFLtastic Janglish – English Dictionary - Updated January 2014 Janglish, more often called Japlish, Japanese English or Wasei Eigo, is used here to mean English words and expressions that are used in Japanese in different ways to British and American English. This is something that has a big impact on how the Japanese communicate in English and on the difficulty of communicating in Japanese. It is of course impossible to have a complete dictionary, if only because new examples are being created all the time, but this list is pretty much complete in the sense of not excluding as it includes: - Japanese words and expressions made from English words and affixes - Words and expressions that have different, more restricted or more wide-ranging meanings in Japanese - Japanese abbreviations of English words and expressions - Some slang, old-fashioned, jargon and written forms that might not be recognised by the majority of Japanese - Irregular pronunciation changes - Words from other languages that Japanese sometimes assume to be English - Some rude words The biggest group that has been excluded is words and expressions that have different pronunciation in Japanese than in English in predictable ways, as the 5000 or so words that would include would overwhelm the more interesting and/ or troublesome examples given here without adding much to the guide to typical pronunciation changes I wrote here: http://edition.tefl.net/articles/home-abroad/japanese-english-pronunciation-chan ges/. As it is there are over 1100 examples here, making it much more comprehensive than many of the English-language guides to this point that you can pay good money for. I’ll also be posting some more limited selections later for those with less interest in this topic than me. I’m also going to be writing about similarities to other languages, so if you know any of the below are used elsewhere I’d love to know.

Entries are arranged alphabetically by the English (or other language) word(s) that the Japanese is derived from, followed by a pronunciation guide in brackets. The pronunciation is based on the way it is written in katakana, so doubled vowel sounds are longer versions of the short sounds and not always similar to typical English spelling. For example, “ee” is a long “e” sound that is similar to the “ay” in “pay” rather than the “ee” in “deep”, which is “ii” in this dictionary.

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1. A class (ei kurasu) – top class/ first rate 2. accel (akkuseru) – short for (car) accelerator, and (almost?) always used in place of the longer form 3. accent (akusento) – word and sentence stress (not the way you speak that shows where you come from) 4. accessory (akusesorii) – includes jewellery 5. achieve (achiibu) – short for achievement test 6. acryl (akuriru, short for acrylic) – any kind of hard plastic, in contrast with vinyl (biniiru), which is any kind of flexible plastic 7. adapter (adaputaa) – power supply/ transformer, e.g. of a laptop 8. aerobic (earoobikku) – aerobics 9. aerobike (earo baiku, presumably from aerobic + bike) – exercise bike 10. aerosol (easooru) – note the silent r 11. af reco (afu reko, short for after recording) – dubbing sounds onto a film, as “dubbing” in Japanese just means recording more generally, e.g. tape to tape recording 12. after care (aafuta kea) – product maintenance/ after sales service 13. after service (afutaa saabisu) – after sales service 14. after sun care (afutaa san kea) – after sun (cream/ lotion) 15. agi (aji, short for agitation) – provocative 16. agi bill (aji bira, from agitation bill) – political flyers and poster 17. agit (ajito, short for agitating point) – hiding place/ meeting place (e.g. a café) for revolutionaries 18. air con (ea kon, short for air conditioner) – a machine that both cools and heats air, as one that just cools is a “kuura” (cooler) 19. air pocket (ea poketto) – air pocket/ blind spot 20. alcohol (arukooru) – note no h sound, probably due to coming to Japanese through another European language 21. alkali (arukari) – note short last vowel sound 22. all back (ooru bakku) – swept back hair 23. almighty (oorumaitii) – supreme/ dominating (and so used more than the English word, e.g. in sports) 24. all ri (ooru rai, short for “all right”) – (only) used when backing up a car or truck 25. Allergie (arerugii, from German) – allergy. Note the hard g sound 26. alumi (arumi) – short for aluminium

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27. alumi foil (arumi hoiru) - short for aluminium foil/ silver foil, e.g. in kitchen 28. alumite (arumaito) – aluminium oxide 29. ama – short for amateur 30. Ame foot (ame fuuto) – short for American football 31. American/ American coffee (amerikan kohii) – Americano, i.e. a weak coffee 32. ampere (ampea) – the only way of saying amps (electrical measurement). Amp (ampu) only means amplifier 33. anchor (anka) – news anchor, but not a boat anchor 34. anime (anime) – any kind of animation, not just Japanese 35. antenna shop (antenna shoppu) – a shop selling regional specialities in a big city, e.g. Akita food and drink in Tokyo 36. apart (apaato, short for apartment) – wooden two story block of flats, as opposed to a “mansion” 37. appli (apuri) – short for (tablet or smartphone) application, and more common than the longer form. “App” is not used. 38. appo (apo) – short for appointment 39. appoint (apointo) – short for appointment 40. April Fool (eepuriru fuuru) – April Fool’s Day, not the person who is fooled on that day 41. Arbeit (aabaito, from the German word for work) – temporary work/ casual work 42. Argentine (aruzenchin) – Argentina 43. arm curl (aamu kaaru) – (biceps) curls 44. aro fo – short for (the age) around forty 45. Asia (ajia) – note the short first vowel sound 46. at home (atto hoomu) – cosy/ relaxed atmosphere. Similar to the expression “make yourself at home”, but used as an adjective 47. attack (atakku) – take on a challenge/ go for it/ aiming for a difficult goal 48. auto bi (ooto bai- from “automatic” and “bike”) – motorbike 49. auto parlour (ooto paaraa) – automat 50. auto race (ooto reesu) – motor racing 51. autolock (ootorokku) – self-locking (door etc) 52. automa (ootoma) – short for automatic (for cars)/ automation 53. AV (ei bii) – short for both audio visual and adult video (as in AV model), so easily confused! 54. AV model (ei bii moderu, short for adult video model) – porn actress

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55. avant guerre (aban gea, from French) – before the war 56. avec (abekku, from the French for “with”) – a couple, i.e. boyfriend and girlfriend.

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57. B1/ B2 (bii wan, bii tsu) etc – basement floors. Mainly a written abbreviation, e.g. on staircases and in elevators, but can be used to give directions orally. 58. ba u (bea, short for base up) – pay raise 59. baby bed (beibi beddo) – cot 60. baby car (beibi kaa) – pushchair/ buggy 61. baby circle (bebii saakuru) – playpen 62. babysitter (beibishitta) – usually means nanny or au pair, but also same meaning as English (although the concept is much rarer in Japan) 63. back (bakku) – a defender (in football)/ reverse (for a car)/ doggy style (sex) 64. back home (bakku hoomu) – baseball command meaning “Throw the ball to the plate” 65. back mirror (bakku miraa) – (car) rear view mirror 66. back net (bakku netto) – backstop (in baseball) 67. bacon (beikon) – Japanese bacon is always sold ready cooked, making it a bit like ham 68. bag (baggu) – usually a handbag, shoulder bag or similar, not plastic or paper bags 69. Bahama – Bahamas 70. ball pen (booru pen) – ballpoint pen/ biro 71. band man (bando man) – band member 72. band master (bando masutaa) – bandleader 73. bar code (baa koodo) – comb over haircut 74. bare shoulder dress (bea shorudaa doresu) – off the shoulder dress 75. bargain/ bargain sale (baagen seiru) – sales, e.g. summer sales 76. barracks (barakku) – decrepit buildings 77. Barriquand (barikan, from an old trade name) – hair clippers 78. barten (baaten) – short for bartender 79. base up (beisu appu) – all round pay raises (see also the short form ba u) 80. basket (basuketto) – basketball 81. bass (basu) – pronounced the same as “bus” and “bath” 82. baton girl (baton gaaru) – majorette 83. baton touch (baton tacchi) – to pass the torch 84. batter box (battaa bokkusu) – batter’s box (in baseball) 85. bed cover (beddo kabaa) – bedspread 86. bed in (beddo in) – go to bed together 87. bed town (beddo taun) – commuter town/ dormitory town

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88. beit (baito, short for the German word for work, Arbeit) – a temporary or casual job 89. Belgie (berugi, from French) – note the hard g 90. belt conveyor (beruto conebeiyo) – conveyor belt 91. best dresser (besuto doresaa) – best dressed woman or man 92. best ten (besuto ten) – top ten 93. BGM (bii jii emu) – background music (an authentic genre that people choose as their favourite!) 94. BGV (bii jii bui) – background video, meaning relaxing videos without any narrative, usually accompanied by BGM (see above) 95. bian – short for lesbian 96. bike (baiku) – usually only used for motorbikes, although “mountain bike” is a kind of bicycle as in English 97. bill (bira) – only used for flyers/ leaflets. Note the final vowel sound, making it different from the short form of building (biru) 98. billiard (biriyaado) – billiards, snooker or (most commonly) pool 99. blank (buranku) – blank/ absence 100. blazer coat (bureiza kooto) – blazer 101. blik (buriki, from Dutch) – tin plate 102. blind (buraindo) – shutters 103. blow (buroo) – blow dry 104. body buil (bodii biru) – short for body building 105. body check (bodii chekku) – frisk/ body search (so nothing to do with contact sports) 106. body con (bodii kon, short for “body consciousness”) – ultratight clothes warn in the late 80s and early 90s (also used in English, but probably more common in Japanese) 107. body shampoo (bodii shampuu) – shower gel 108. bond (bondo) – very strong adhesive 109. bottle keep (botturu kiipu) – a system where you buy a whole bottle and can continue drinking it next time you come to the same bar or izakaya 110. bottom (botomu) – your bottom half, rather than just your arse 111. bound (baundo) – bounce of a ball 112. boy (booi) – bell boy/ porter 113. boyfriend (booifurendo) – both male friend and boyfriend 114. Bra Pi (bura pi) – short for Brad Pitt, and much more common than the

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use of his full name 115. brassie (buraja, short for brassiere) – bra 116. brief (buriifu) – briefs (underpants) and kind of document. Note the lack of an s 117. broken (burookun) – only has the language meaning, as in “broken English” and doesn’t need to go directly before the noun as it does in English so sentences like “my English is broken” are quite common 118. broker (burookaa) – stockbroker 119. bromide (bromaido) – single photo (e.g. of a movie star) 120. BS (bii esu, from broadcast satellite) – satellite television, so not necessarily b.s. with the English meaning! 121. bubble (baburu) – only economic meaning. Soap bubbles are “shabon”, from Portuguese 122. bubbler (baburaa) – hubble bubble/ bong 123. buil (biru, short for building) – office building (not buildings more generally, which is “tatemono”) 124. bungalow (bangaroo) – cabin, so usually something quite basic 125. bus jack (basu jakku) – hijacking of a bus 126. bust (basuto) – measurement, not that part of the body 127. byplayer (bai pureya) – supporting actor/ bit part player

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128. cab (kyabu) – short for carburettor 129. caba clu (kyaba kura, short for cabaret club) – a kind of hostess club 130. cabaret (kabaree) – part of the sex industry 131. café press (kafee puresu) – cafetiere 132. cake (keiki) – fancy cake only, as anything pastry-like is “pan” (bread) 133. called game (koorudo geemu) – a baseball game which is called off but still counts as a game (unlike noo geemu) 134. camera face (kamera feesu) – having a good camera face means being photogenic 135. cameraman (kameraman) – cameraman and photographer, so more general in Japanese than in English 136. camp (kampu) – campsite 137. camp in (kyampu in) – start training camp 138. campaign (kanpeen) – sales campaign/ period of particularly pushing products 139. camping car (kyampingu kaa) – camper van 140. canaria – canary, from the name of the islands in Spanish 141. cancel (kyanseru) – cancel/ cancellation 142. canvas (kanbusu) – paintings only, not the material more generally 143. cap (kyappu, short for captain) – head of a team of reporters 144. capa (from Portuguese) – rainproof coat 145. car navi (kaa nabi) – satellite navigation 146. career up (kyaria appu) – improve your career 147. case by case (keisu bai keisu) – on a case by case basis/ it depends/ decide as we go along. More common in Japanese than in English. 148. casher (kyasshaa) – cashier 149. cashing (kashingu) – withdrawing cash using your credit card, often done in dodgy back offices for a commission as a way of paying off one credit card with another (as you have to pay credit cards off in full every month in Japan hence, you would think, nullifying their name!) 150. castella (kasutera, from Spanish) – type of sponge cake 151. catch ball (katchi booru) – playing catch 152. catch copy (kyatchi kopi) – copy (as in what a copywriter writes) 153. catch phone (katchi foon) – call waiting 154. catchphrase (katchifureezu) – catchphrase/ slogan/ motto 155. cauliflower (kariifurawaa) – note the first vowel sound

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156. centi (senchi) – short for centimeters. Same pronunciation as the Japanese short form of sentimental 157. cereal (shiiriau) – only breakfast cereals, not as a category of food/ plants 158. chack (chakku) – zip 159. chalk (chako or chooku) – the first pronunciation (chako) only refers to chalk used to mark places in sewing, whereas chooku is used for blackboard chalk. The latter has the same pronunciation as “(car) choke” 160. challenge (charenji suru) – undertake something difficult/ do your best, so in Japanese you challenge something rather than someone. Similar to the English noun “challenge”, but very different to the verb 161. change court (chenji kooto) - change ends (in tennis etc) 162. change lever (chenji rebaa) – gearstick. Note the pronunciation of lever 163. charm point (chaamu pointo) – attractive qualities 164. charming (chaamingu) – (physically) attractive 165. check point (chekku pointo) – something that needs checking, i.e. thing on a checklist, so not a place where people are stopped before they can continue down a street 166. cheek dance (chiiku dansu) – dancing cheek to cheek 167. cheer girl (chia gaaru) – cheerleader 168. chemical shoes (kemikaru shuuzu) – shoes made from plastic 169. chief (chiifu) – chief/ head/ leader (and therefore used more in Japanese than in English) 170. China dress (chaina doresu) – cheongsam 171. choco (choko) – short for chocolate, and used much more than the full word 172. choco bar (choko baa, short for chocolate bar) – Mars Bar etc 173. choke (chooku) – car choke. Same pronunciation as “chalk” 174. chorus (koorusu) – choral singing/ a choir 175. Christmas (kurisumasu) – Christmas Day (rather than the whole holiday season) 176. Christo (kirisuto, from Portuguese) – Christ 177. Chrom (kurom, from German) – chrome. Note the first vowel sound 178. cider (saidaa) - soda/ lemonade, so no connection to apples and no alcohol 179. claim (kureimu) – complaint/ demand

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180. claimer (kureimaa) – a demanding customer 181. classic (kurashikku) – (western) classical music, not classic pop 182. clay (kurei) – only for clay court tennis, not more generally for the material used to make pottery 183. cleaning (kuriiningu) – the usual word for dry cleaning and also used for house cleaning services, but not cleaning more generally 184. clip (kurippu) – short for paper clip 185. cloak (kurooku) – cloakroom, not a cape 186. close (kuroozu) – closed (only really on signs on shop doors, and very rarely in conversation) 187. close up (kuroozu appu) – note the z sound 188. closed sale (kuroosudu seiru) – closing down sale 189. club (kurabu) – usually means something like a jazz club or private club with people sitting round tables rather than a kind of disco, although when “clubbing” is used it has the English meaning 190. club sand (kurabu sando) – short for club sandwich 191. CM (shii emu, short for commercial message) – a radio or TV ad 192. CM song (shii emu songu, short for commercial message song) – radio jingle 193. coat (kooto) – same pronunciation as “court” 194. cocaine (kokain) – note the ai sound instead of ei, like the spelling and like many other languages 195. cock (kokku or kokku-san) – a cook 196. cock (kokku) – tap for water or gas 197. cocktail (kakuteeru) – note the first vowel sound 198. cocoa (kokoa) – as in many languages, pronounced like the English spelling 199. cocotte (kokotto) – soufflé dish (not a casserole dish) 200. coffee milk (kohii miruku) – milk with coffee flavour, like a milkshake, and so different from milk coffee (white coffee) 201. coin laundry (koin randorii) – laundrette 202. collar shirt (karaa shatsu) – shirt with a collar 203. collectioner (korekushonaa) – collector 204. colour (karaa) – colour/ character 205. compa (konpa – short for company) – student social gathering 206. companion (konpanyon) – attractive female guide at a large exhibition

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207. compass (konpasu) – drawing compass only, not the one for navigation. Apparently also used to mean pacing legs. 208. compe (konpe) – short for competition, and much more common than the full word 209. concours (konkooru- from French) – competition 210. condense milk (kondensu miruku) – condensed milk 211. condenser (kondensaa) - capacitor (so nothing to do with condensation, unlike the English meaning) 212. cone (koon) – ice cream cone etc, with same pronunciation as “corn” 213. conne (kone - short for connections) – old school tie etc connections/ being well connected 214. consent (konsento, maybe from concentric) – electric socket, never used with the meaning of giving consent 215. conserva (konsaaba) – short for conservative, meaning disliking change 216. container (kontaina) – only the shipping meaning, not more general meaning of Tupperware etc 217. conte (konto, from French) – little story/ skit 218. conveni (konbini) – short for convenience store, and much more common than the full expression 219. cool biz (kuuru bizu) – the government-led campaign to have people dress down during the summer at work and so use less air conditioning 220. cooler (kuura) – an air conditioner that only cools the air and doesn’t heat 221. co-op (koupo) – often part of the name of medium-level accommodation somewhere between cheap wooden two-storey “apart” (apaato) and more luxurious concrete, usually high-rise “mansion” (manshon), something like “heights” (haitsu) 222. corn (koon) – same pronunciation as “cone” 223. corn beef (kon biifu) – corned beef. Note the first vowel sound. 224. corner (koona) – section of shop or magazine, as in “cash corner” (place with ATMs). More a written form, and rarely used in conversation. 225. correpon – short for correspondence (meaning letters) 226. cosplay (kosupurei, short for “costume play”) – unlike the English borrowing of this expression, used for all dressing up (including kids), not just for anime characters 227. cottage cheese (katteeji chiizu) – note first vowel sound

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228. country (kantori) – country club 229. course (koosu) – as well as the study meaning, often used for walking trails 230. court (kooto) – same pronunciation as “coat” 231. cracker (kurakkaa) – (cream) crackers and party poppers (Xmas crackers are basically unknown in Japan) 232. crank in (kuranku in suru) – starting to shoot a film 233. crawl (kurooru) – swimming only, not the way babies walk 234. cream soda (kuriimu soda) – ice cream float/ soda float/ coke float 235. Croatia (kuroachia) – note ch sound 236. croissant (kurowasan) – note the final vowel sound 237. croquis (kuroki, from French) – sketch 238. cuffs button (kafusu botan) – cufflink 239. culture centre (karucha sentaa) – cultural centre, e.g. local place for adult education 240. cunni (kunni) – short for cunnilingus 241. cunning (kanningu) – cheating in an exam, so not a personality word 242. cup (koppu) – certain kinds of glass 243. cup ramen (kappu raamen) – pot noodle 244. curl iron (kaaru airon) – curling tongs 245. curler (kaaraa) - curling tongs 246. curry rice (karee raisu) – Japanese-style curry 247. curry roux (karee ruu) – curry powder with flour, so just add water to make a curry sauce 248. cutter (kattaa) – a knife for cutting paper/ Stanley knife 249. Cyprus (kipurosu) – note k sound 250. Czech (cheko) – the Czech Republic

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251. dead ball (deddo booru) – hit by a pitched baseball 252. dead heat (deddo hiito) – dead heat/ close game 253. deck (dekki) – plimsolls 254. decoration cake (dekoreishon keiki) – a fancy cake 255. defla (defure) – short for deflation, and always used in place of the longer expression 256. delivery health (deriburi herusu, often shortened to deri heri) – prostitute coming to your house or hotel room 257. dema (short for the German word demagogie) – false rumour (not just used to talk about politicians) 258. demerit (demeritto) – the standard way of saying “disadvantage” 259. demo (short for demonstration) – only means protests, not showing how to do something 260. denomi ( short for denomination) – currency devaluation 261. deep kiss (diipu kisu) – French kiss 262. depart (depaato) – short for department store, and the full expression is never used. Not used for departments of a company. 263. design hotel (desain hoteru) – a slightly better love hotel, so very different from the boutique hotel that this expression might make you think of 264. dessin (desan, from the French for drawing) – rough sketch 265. Deutsch (doitsu- from German) – both Germany and German 266. dia (daiya) – short for diamond, and used much more than the full word 267. dia (daiya, short for diagram) – railroad timetable 268. diary (daiarii) – only one that you write your thoughts about what has already happened (one you write your arrangements in is “techo”) 269. diet (daietto) – only for dieting, not more generally for what you eat and drink 270. digest (daijesto) – only meaning of summarizing, so not verb of digestion 271. dining kitchen (dainingu kitchin) – a combined kitchen and dining room (usually a sign of a small flat rather than of modern open plan design) 272. director (direkutaa) – only film director, not company executive 273. DK (dii kei, short for dining kitchen) – a combined kitchen and dining room 274. DM (dii emu, short for direct mail) – junk mail 275. dock (dokku) –medical check up (from docking a ship), usually as part of the expression “ningen dokku” (human dock)

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276. doctor stop (dokutaa sutoppu) – a doctor banning you from doing something like smoking and drinking, apparently from a doctor stopping a boxing match 277. document (dokyumento) – documentary 278. document file (dokyumento fairu) – concertina file 279. doek (zukku, from Dutch) – for clogs 280. dollar shock (doru shokku) – the time when the yen was suddenly revalued against the dollar, being the second big shock to the economy after the oil shock and ultimately leading to the Japanese spending spree in America during the bubble years 281. don mi (don mai, from don’t mind) – in sports, a way of encouraging someone who failed at their first attempt 282. donor (donaa) - note short first vowel 283. door boy (doa booi) – doorman 284. door eye (doa ai) – peephole in a door (apparently –no one I know seems to have even heard of this one) 285. door mirror (doa miraa) – wing mirror (on a car) 286. door stopper (doa sutoppa) – door stop 287. double jacket (daburu jaketto) – double-breasted jacket 288. doz (dasu) – dozen (also as the spoken form) 289. DPE (dii pii ii or jii pii ii) – developing, printing and enlarging, meaning the services that a print shop offers 290. drama (dorama) - television or radio play, often something like a soap opera but usually not lasting years like soap operas do in many other countries 291. dressing (doresingu) – only salad dressing, not getting dressed or bandage 292. drive map (doraibu mappu) – road map 293. driver (doraiba) – screwdriver (sukuruudoraiba is only a cocktail, not a tool) 294. driveway (doraibuuei) – highway/ speedway 295. dry curry (dorai karee) – a bit like a spicy risotto 296. dry flower (dorai furawaa) – dried flowers 297. dry fruit (dorai fruutsu) – dried fruit 298. dryer (doraiyaa) – hair dryer 299. dubbing (dobingu) – recording, e.g. sticking all your old videos on DVDs

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300. dump car (dampu kaa) – dump truck 301. dunk shoot (danku shuuto) – a dunk/ dunk shot 302. dust box (dasuto bokkusu) – trash can/ bin 303. DV (dii bii) – short for domestic violence

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304. easy open (iiji opun) – easy to open 305. easy order (iiji oodoru) – semi-tailored suit 306. echo (eko) – the acoustics of a space 307. eco (eko, from ecological) – green/ environmentally friendly. Same pronunciation as “echo” 308. effecter (efekutaa) – effects pedal 309. Ege – Aegean (Sea) 310. Ego (ego, from German) – selfishness. Note the first vowel sound. 311. Eisbahn (aisu baan, from German) – icy road 312. Eishaken (aisuhaaken, from German) – ice piton 313. elec tone (ereku toon, short for electric tone, from a brand name) – electric organ 314. elegy (eregii) – ballad/ elegy 315. embrasser (anburasse, from French) – hug and/ or kiss 316. en sto (en suto, short for engine stop) – stalling a car 317. enamel (enameru) – patent leather or nail varnish 318. enamel shoes (enameru no kutsu) – patent leather shoes 319. encore (ankooru, from French) – note the first sound 320. Enerugii (from German) – energy 321. Enerugisch (enerugishu- from German) – energetic 322. engage ring (engaji ringu) – short for engagement ring, and much more used that the longer version or the Japanese equivalent 323. engine key (enjin kii) – ignition key 324. England/ English (igirisu) – both English and British 325. ennui (annyui, from French) – note the first sound 326. enquete (anketto, from the French for questionnaire) – (market research) survey 327. ensemble (ansanburu, from French) – note the first sound 328. entrée (antoree) – note the first sound 329. episode (episoodo) – unknown, interesting past event 330. era (aera or ira) - note the first vowel sound 331. ero – short for erotic 332. escape (esukeepu) – slipping out of a wrestler’s grip or slipping out of class or work (i.e. skiving/ skipping class) 333. este (esute- short for the French word « esthetique ») – plastic surgery/ beauty parlour

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334. European plan (yooroppian puran) - room only, meals not included 335. eva milk (eba miruku) – short for evaporated milk, though its pronunciation also usefully suggests “ever” as in “lasts forever” 336. even (iibun) – even/ tie/ draw (i.e. also used for the final score) 337. evening (ibuningu) – evening dress 338. ex (ekisu, short for extract) – extract/ essence, usually used in cooking 339. excellent company (ekiserento kampanii) – blue chip company 340. extra (ekisutora) – spare (tyre etc) 341. eye line (ai rain) – eye liner 342. eye mate (ai meeto) – yellow stripe on pavement to help guide the blind/ guide dog for the blind 343. eyebrow (aiburoo) note the final O sound, rather than ow

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344. face (feisu) – head of a racket 345. fagotto (from Italian) – bassoon 346. fami com (fami kon, short for family computer) – video game system (out of date expression) 347. fami res (fami resu) – short for family restaurant 348. family service (famirii saabisu) – special offer if there are enough people 349. fashion health (fasshon herusu) – something to do with the sex trade 350. fastener (fasunaa) – fastener/ zip 351. father (fazaa) – priest only, not used to mean daddy 352. feet (fiito) – also used for the singular of the measurement (“one feet”), and not used for parts of your body 353. fella (fera, short for fellatio) – a standard way of saying blow job 354. feminist (feminisuto) – a gentleman (a feminist is “woman libber”) 355. feti (fetchi) – short for fetishist 356. fighting (faitingu) – a cheer meaning something like “Come on!” 357. figure (figyua) - action figures, so not number or shape of your body 358. figure skate (figaa sukeito) – figure skating (this dropping of –ing is quite common) 359. filet (hire) – note h sound and silent t 360. film (firumu) – film for a camera, not used to mean a movie 361. finder (faindaa) – viewfinder (on camera) 362. fireman (faiaman) – relief pitcher (in baseball) 363. flooring (furooringu) – wooden flooring 364. fluke (furokku) – note the second vowel sound 365. flying start (furaingu sutaato) – false start, so a negative thing 366. Fohn (foon, from German) – hot, dry wind blown down from a mountain 367. follow wind (foroo uindo) – following wind, i.e. having the wind behind you 368. food fighter (fuudo faitaa) – competitive eater 369. fool (furu) - April fool only 370. footlight (futtoraito) – footlights or in the limelight 371. four ball (foa booru) – a kind of billiards 372. for here (foo hia) – the opposite of “take out”, mainly used for communication between café staff 373. form (hoomu) – short for “platform”, but note that it sounds more like “home”

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374. foundation (faundeishon) – make up only, not the first stage of a new building 375. Frankfurt sausage (furankufuruto sooseeji) – frankfurter 376. free (furii) – short for freelance, but often meaning more like casual work and so much less generally positive than the English expression 377. free address (furii adoresu) – hot desking 378. free dial (furii daiyaru) – toll free number/ freephone 379. free pass (furii pasu) – all-day ticket (to a theme park, meaning you can go on all rides) 380. free size (furii saizu) – one size fits all 381. free soft (furii sofuto) – freeware 382. free talking (furii tookingu) – an open discussion/ a meeting with no agenda 383. freeter (furiitaa, from free + arbeiter) – a slacker/ someone with a McJob 384. freewriter (furiiraitaa) – freelance writer 385. freshman (furesshuman) – most often means “new employee”, though occasionally used with the first year student meaning 386. fried potato (furaido poteto) – chips/ French fries 387. front (furonto) – hotel reception/ front des 388. front glass (furonto garasu) – windshield/ windscreen 389. fruit parlour (furutsu paala) – upmarket coffee bar that sells lots of deserts (usually ice cream more than fruit) and is almost exclusively used by women who lunch (quite rare/ old-fashioned expression) 390. fruit punch (furuutsu ponchi) – a dessert similar to a fruit cocktail, so not a drink (which is panchi) 391. full base (furu beisu) – with the bases loaded (in baseball) 392. full course (fuuru koosu) – three course (or more) meal

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393. G jan (jii jan, short for jeans jacket) – denim jacket 394. G pan (jii pan, short for jean pants) – jeans 395. g sp (jii supo) – short for G spot 396. ga cen (gee sen, short for game centre) – amusement arcade 397. gag (gyagu) – joke, usually a pun, as in “oyaji gyaggu” (a Dad joke) 398. gal (gyaru) – a particular fashion style involving tans and very heavy eye make up 399. galle (gyara, short for gallery) – art gallery or spectators 400. game centre (geimu sentaa) – amusement arcade/ video arcade 401. game soft (geimu sofuto) – computer games 402. gang (gyangu) – gang/ gangster 403. gas bombe (gasu bomube, from German) – gas cylinder 404. gasoline stand (gasorin sutando) – petrol station/ gas station 405. gate ball (geeto booru) – a kind of croquet 406. Gaze (gaaze, from German) – gauze/ cotton wool pads. Note final e sound. 407. gender free (jendaa furii) – unisex 408. Genom (genomu, from German) – genome. Note the hard g sound 409. Gerende (gerende, from German) – ski slopes 410. gesture game (jesuchaa geimu) – charades 411. gift card (gifuto kaado) – gift certificate, e.g. book token 412. gin tonic (jin tonikku) – note the missing “and”, as also in German, Korean, Spanish etc. 413. gird (gaado) – girder bridge 414. girl hunt (gaaru hanto) – when men go out to pick up women 415. glamour (gurama) – attractively buxom woman 416. glove box (guroobu bokkusu) – glove compartment 417. go sign (goo sain) – (metaphorical) green light 418. go stop (go sutoppu) – outdated expression for traffic lights 419. goal (gooru) – goal/ finishing line (in track sports) 420. goal in (gooru in suru) – (finally) achieving something, most often used for getting married 421. goal net (gooru netto) – net (in basketball) 422. goal ring (gooru ringu) – hoop (in basketball) 423. goggle (goguru) – goggles 424. golden hour (goruden awaa) – (TV) prime time

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425. golden week (goruden wiiku) – a week in April or May when there are lots of public holidays in a row 426. gom (gomu, from Dutch) – rubber and rubber band 427. gom boat (gomu booto, from the Dutch for rubber) – inflatable dinghy 428. gondola (gondora) – window cleaning cradle 429. goo (guu) – short for good 430. good sense (guudo sensu) – good taste 431. gorgeous (goojasu) – gorgeous or, usually, luxurious. Not used for people. 432. goth loli (gosu loli) - gothic Lolita, a Japanese fashion 433. Gothic Lolita (goshikku rorita) – a style that combines Victorian frills with Gothic dark colours 434. gown (gaun) – dressing gown, not a fancy party dress 435. grade up (gureido appu suru) – upgrade 436. gravure (gurabia, short for photogravure) – girls in bikinis (A/V being girls without bikinis) 437. green car (guriin kaa) – first class carriage 438. gro (guro) – short for grotesque 439. ground (guraundo) – playground (school or park) 440. group sounds (guruupu saunzu) – Beatles-style 1960s guitar groups 441. guara (gyara- short for “guarantee”) – performance fee 442. guard man (gaado man) – security guard 443. Guinness Book (ginisu bukku) – Guinness Book of Records 444. guts pose (gatsu poosu) – putting up one fist to celebrate a good shot etc 445. gym (jim) – doesn’t include a school gymnasium and more common for boxing gyms than for sports clubs, although that is changing 446. gyps (gipsu, from German) – a plaster cast, and the material used to make it

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447. H (etchi, from the first letter of “hentai”) – perverted/ sexual 448. hair colour (hea karaa) – hair dye, so not used to talk about natural colour 449. hair pin (hea pin) – hair clip 450. half (haafu) – mixed Japanese/ non-Japanese parentage (standard word that is not generally considered insulting) 451. half coat (haafu kooto) – short coat 452. ham egg (hamu eggu) – ham and eggs 453. hamburger steak (hambaagu suteeki) – a hamburger patty 454. handi – short for (golf) handicap 455. handkerchi (hankachi) – handkerchief, from a shortening of that word 456. handle (handoru) – steering wheel or handlebars of bike (perhaps from a time when it was a handle rather than a wheel), not door handle etc. 457. handle name (handoru neemu) – handle, as in CB slang 458. handmade (handomeido) – homemade (e.g. jam) 459. happening (hapuningu) – unexpected incident, so not an artistic event 460. happy end (happii endo) – happy ending 461. hard (haado) – hardware (not hard-core, and very rarely meaning difficult) 462. hash rice (hayashi raisu) – hash with rice, like a non-spicy curry rice 463. heading (heddingu) – a header (in football), and not a kind of section title 464. heading shoot (hedin shuuto) – a header towards goal 465. headphone (heddofon) – headphones, not including in-ear earphones 466. healing (hiiringu) – relaxing/ therapeutic (music etc) 467. health centre (herusu sentaa) – recreation centre, rather than a clinic 468. health meter (herusu miita) - bathroom scales (the Japanese “taijukei” is almost exclusively used in conversation, but you will see this written sometimes) 469. hearing test (hiaringu testo) – listening comprehension test, not a medical test on your ears 470. heights (haitsu) – often part of the name of medium-level accommodation somewhere between cheap wooden two-storey “apart” (apaato) and more luxurious concrete, usually high-rise “mansion” (manshon), something like a “co-op” (koopo) 471. heli (heri) – short for helicopter, so something like the English expression “chopper”

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472. Hello Work (hero waaku) – the official and usually used name for government job centres 473. helmet (herumetto) – helmet/ hard hat (on a building site)/ riding hat 474. high collar (hai kara) – stylish/ snobbish (outdated slang) 475. high grade (hai gureido) – high quality anything (not just uranium) 476. high heel (hai hiiru) – high heels/ high heeled shoes 477. high miss (hai misu) – spinster (outdated expression) 478. high sense (hai sensu) – good taste 479. high teen (hai tiin) – late teens 480. high tension (hai tenshon) – excitable/ overexcited/ carried away 481. high vision (hai bijon) – HDTV 482. hip (hippu) – the most common euphemism for buttocks, and not meaning the bit round the side and its accompanying bones as in English 483. hire (haiya) – limousine with a driver (although often only the same size as a taxi, and even an actual taxi being used a different way) 484. hockey (hokkee) – note the long e for the last vowel sound 485. hole out (hooru auto) – something to do with golf 486. home drama (hoomu dorama) – soap opera (but probably not as long running as in most countries, and rarely on more than once a week) 487. home in (hoomu in) – reaching home base 488. homeless (hoomuresu) – homeless people 489. homewear (hoomuwea) – tracksuits etc for relaxing around the house 490. homo – homosexual (not disparaging, apparently) 491. honeycomb (haniikam) – note the last vowel sound 492. hooray (furee) – note the f sound 493. Hormon (horumon, from German) – tripe 494. hostess (hoosutesu) – only someone who works in a hostess bar, not someone who invites you to something 495. hot tea (hotto tii) – the opposite of iced tea, used even when the temperature is fairly obvious 496. hotcake (hotto keiki) – pancake 497. Hotchkiss (hotchikisu) – stapler (from a former brand name) 498. humorous (uumarosu) – note no h sound 499. humour (uumaa) – note no h sound 500. hun st (han suto) – short for hunger strike 501. hus (hazu, short for husband) – outdated slang

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502. hussle (hassuru) – complete determination 503. hut (hyutte) – simple accommodation for mountain climbers 504. Hysterie (hisuteri, from the German for hysteria) – having a bad temper/ being quick-tempered, and with no former or present sexist connotations as far as I can tell

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505. ice box (aisu bokkusu) – cool box, so not a fridge 506. ice candy (aisu kandee) – ice lolly/ ice pop/ Popsicle 507. ice coffee (aisu kohii) – iced coffee 508. ice fall (aisu fooru) – a frozen waterfall 509. ice skate (aisu sukeeto) – ice skate(s)/ ice skating 510. ice tea (aisu tii) – iced tea 511. idee - idea, from French 512. Ideologie (ideorogii, from German) – ideology. Note the hard g sound 513. idle cost (aidoru kosuto) – the cost of downtime 514. idling stop (aiduringu sutoppu) – leaving your engine on while parked, often seen on signs telling you not to do this common action 515. idol (aidoru) – a kind of pop singer 516. illustr (irasutro) – illustrated (map etc), usually used as a noun 517. image up (imejii appu) – improving your image 518. impo (inpo) – slang for impotent 519. Indian (indiyan) – still used to refer to American Indian/ Native American and exclusively so, as an Indian from India has the different expression “indojin” 520. indies (indiizu) – music not connected to major labels, and so not necessarily very alternative in genre 521. in fight (in faito) – get in close in boxing, the opposite of autobokushingu 522. infla (infure) – short for inflation, and almost always used in place of the longer word. Note the final e to distinguish it from “infra” 523. infra (infura) – infrastructure 524. initial (inisharu) – used for “your initials”, but not with the more general meaning of “first” 525. ink (inku) – only fountain pen ink 526. inside report (insaido repooto) – exposé 527. intelli (interi) – intellectual (noun referring to person) 528. interior (interia) – note the e sound 529. interphone (intaahon) – intercom 530. ion (ion) – note the short first vowel sound 531. iron (aian) – (golf) iron, and so different pronunciation to “airon” (iron for ironing) 532. iron (airon) – used to refer to the thing used for ironing and the action, not to the metal and with a different pronunciation to the golf club (aian)

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533. Italia (itaria, from Italian) – Italy 534. Ivy college (aibii kareji) – Ivy League College 535. ivy look (aibii rukku, from Ivy League look) – preppy fashion

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536. J pop (jei poppu) - Japanese pop music (this is now probably standard English among people who know it exists) 537. jacke (yakke from German for jacket) – anorak 538. jacque (chokki, from Dutch) - a kind of waistcoat with pockets, popular with fishermen 539. jar (jya) – one way of talking about an electric rice cooker 540. jeans (jiinzu) – denim (as well as jeans, although they are often known as “G-pan”, from “jeans pants”) 541. jet coaster (jetto koosta) – roller coaster 542. jinx (jinkusu) – can also be good luck 543. jockey (jokki) – a mug of beer 544. Jordan (yorudan) – note y sound 545. jump (janpu) – jump/ skip levels (e.g. in a language school) 546. jumper (janpaa) – zip up jacket (not sweater or knitted dress) 547. jumper skirt (janpaa sukaato) – knitted dress (jumper in American English) 548. just (jyasuto) – exact/ exactly, not “only”, with predictable confusions when telling the time in English

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549. kanpa (short for Russian kampaniya) – fund raising campaign, e.g. collecting for charity in the street 550. Karte (kaata, from German) – medical records 551. katsu – short for cutlet, and now all the way back into the English language as part of the word “tonkatsu” 552. Kentu (kenta) – slang short form of KFC 553. Kentucky (kentakki) – KFC 554. key holder (kii horudaa) – key ring 555. key word (kii waado) – buzz phrase 556. keyboard (kii boodo) – used to refer to a computer, not a piano 557. kilo (kiiro) – short for both kilometre and kilogramme 558. kiosk (kiyosuku) – kiosk/ station shop (i.e. also something you can walk into) 559. klaxon (kurakushon) – (car) horn 560. knife (naifu) – only means dinner knife, not kitchen knife etc 561. knob (nobu) – any kind of door handle, not just a circular one 562. konbinat (konbinaato, from Russian) – industrial complex 563. kraan (karan – from Dutch) – tap

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564. L size (eru saizu) – large (drinks, clothes, etc). Much more common than the longer English and Japanese words in those contexts, and also used conversationally. 565. lab (rabbu) – photos only, not science 566. lace (reesu) – same pronunciation as “race” 567. lady first (reidii faasuto) – ladies first 568. latex (ratekkusu) – note the first vowel sound 569. laurier (roorie, from French) – bay leaves 570. LDK (eru dii kei) – combined living room/ dining room/ kitchen 571. le guar (le gaasu, short for leg guards) – shin pads 572. lemon tea (remon tii) – tea with lemon 573. les (lezu) – short for lesbian, and apparently not insulting 574. lettuce (retasu) – notice the second vowel sound 575. level up (reburu appu) – improvement 576. life work (raifu waaku) – life’s work 577. lift (rifuto) – an elevator for things rather than people, like a service lift 578. lighter oil (raitaa oiru) – lighter fluid 579. lighter stone (raitaa sutoon) – (lighter) flint 580. limousine bus (rimojin basu) – airport shuttle bus 581. line (rain) – management 582. line dance (rain dansu) – cancan style dancing 583. line dancer (rain dansaa) – chorus line girl 584. lip (rippu) – lip salve (sometimes causing confusion with lipstick, which is “kuchibeni” in Japanese) 585. liquid (rikiddo) – note the k sound rather than kw 586. lithium (richiumu) – note the ch sound 587. litre (rittoru or rittaa) – note the alternative pronunciations 588. live house (raibu hausu) – a kind of live music venue 589. liver (lebaa) – only food, not the part of your or an animal’s body. Note the first vowel sound. 590. living (ribingu) – short for living room 591. living kitchen (ribingu kitchin) – open plan living room/ kitchen 592. LL (eru eru) – XL 593. LL (eru eru) - language laboratory 594. loca (roka) – short for (film) location 595. log house (rogu hausu) – log cabin

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596. long seller (rongu seraa) – a book which sells for a long time, similar to bestseller 597. Los (rosu) – short for Los Angeles, as LA is rarely if ever used 598. loss time (rosu taimu) – added time, injury time 599. love call (rabu kooru) – screaming at a celebrity you love 600. love comedy (rabu komedi) – romantic comedy 601. love love (rabu rabu) – passionately in love/ affectionate in public 602. low teens (roo tiin) – early teens, i.e. someone under 15 603. Lumpen (from German lumpen proletariat) – homeless people 604. lynch (rinchi) – beating up, so more general than in English

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605. M size (emu saizu) – medium (clothing size, drinks etc). More common than the longer Japanese and English expressions, including in conversation. 606. M (emu, from S and M) – masochist 607. Mac (makku) – common short form for MacDonald’s 608. macaroni (makaroni) – sometimes used for pasta more generally 609. macaroni western (makaroni uesutan) – spaghetti western 610. MacDo (makku do) – short form of MacDonald’s 611. Macedonia (makedonia) – note the k sound, as in many languages 612. machine (mishin) – sewing machine. Note the first vowel sound. 613. madam (madamu) – proprietress of a bar (rather than an owner of a brothel 614. madam killer (madamu kiraa) – a guy who is popular with older women 615. magic (majikku) – magic marker/ permanent marker 616. magic tape (majikku teipu) – Velcro 617. mail (meeru) – email and SMS, but not “snail mail” 618. mail ad (meeru ado, short for mail address) – email address 619. mail address (meeru adores) – email address 620. mail magazine (meeru magajin) – email newsletter 621. main bank (mein banku) – the bank that a company does most business with 622. make (meeku) – short for make up, and more common than the longer expression 623. Mama (san) – bar proprietress 624. man to man (man tsu man) – one to one/ face to face. This expression is common and not considered sexist 625. mania (mania) – a fanatic (of sports etc). Note that the first vowel sound is not the “ei” that it is in English, but rather a short “a” 626. manicure (manikua) – nail polish (a manicure is “nail care”) 627. mannequin (manekan) – model. Note the French pronunciation. 628. manner mode – mobile phone’s vibrate/ silent mode 629. manneri (short for mannerism) – stereotype 630. mansion – a slightly higher class of concrete apartment block, so not a large house. Often contrasted with “apart” (apaato), with the rarer “heights” and “co-op” somewhere in between. 631. margarine (maagarin) – note the hard g

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632. marihuana (marifana) – note the f sound 633. marmot (marumotto, from Dutch) – guinea pig 634. maron (from French) – chestnut flavoured sweets etc (but not chestnuts themselves, which are “kuri”) 635. mash potato (masshu poteto) – mashed potatoes 636. maso (mazo) – masochist 637. mass comm (masu komi) – short for mass communications. Note the final i sound. 638. mass game (masu geimu) – group calisthenics, usually meaning for display rather than Japanese factory workers warming up for the day 639. mass pro (masu puro) – short for mass production 640. master (masuta) – manager of small coffee shop, bar or night club, so not an expert 641. master/ master course (masutaa koosu) – a Master’s (degree) 642. measure cup (mejaa kappu) – measuring cup 643. measure spoon (mejaa supuun) – measuring spoon 644. meat shop (miito shoppu) – a butcher’s (not a pickup bar!) 645. mecha (meka) – short for mechanical 646. medias (mejiasu, from Spanish) – knitted goods 647. meeting (miitingu) – business meeting/ (romantic) date 648. memo (memo) – a note, e.g. a Post-it on someone’s computer monitor, so not short for “memorandum” and so not a kind of group email 649. mens (mensu, short for menstruation) – a period 650. meringue (merange) – note pronunciation 651. merit (meritto) – advantages (as against “demerit”- disadvantages), used with a slightly wider meaning and more commonly than in English 652. mes (mesu, from Dutch) – scalpel 653. mesh curtain (messhu kaaten) – net curtains 654. messe (from German) – convention centre 655. micro (mikuro) – note first vowel sound 656. microbus (maikurobasu) – minibus 657. milk tea (miruku tii) – tea with milk/ white tea 658. milli (miri) – short for both millimetre and milligrams 659. mind (maindo) – intention 660. mini – short for miniskirt 661. mini comm (mini komi) – local or regional newspaper or magazine, the

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opposite of mass communications 662. mini pat (mini paato, short for mini patrol car) – small patrol car/ police car 663. minus (mainasu) – minus/ disadvantage 664. minus driver (mainusu doraiba) – usual screwdriver (in contrast to a “plus driver”, which is a Phillips screwdriver) 665. minus image (mainusu imeji) – a bad image 666. minus ion (mainasu ion) – (non-existent) negative ions, as seen advertised in loads of useless “health” products 667. mira (miira, from Portuguese) – (ancient) mummy 668. mispri (misupuri) – short for misprint 669. miss (misu, possibly short for “mistake”) – miss/ error/ mistake/ typo (and so used more in Japanese than English) 670. miss contest (misu contesto) – beauty pageant 671. missa (misa, from Latin) – (Catholic) mass 672. mix salad (mikkusu sarada) – mixed salad 673. mixer (mikisaa) – blender 674. mo bo (mooboo, short for modern boy) – male version of a flapper (mooga), so obviously specific to the 1930s 675. mo gir (mooga, short for modern girl) – a flapper 676. model change (moderu cheinji) – an updated model, e.g. the new Corolla 677. model gun (moderu gan) – toy gun/ cap gun 678. money buil (mane biru, from “building money”) – making money 679. monitor (monitaa) – consumer taking part of a marketing survey 680. monosex (monosekkusu) – unisex 681. monthly mansion (mansurii manshon) – serviced apartments (like the cross between a hotel and an apartment) 682. mood (muudo) – ambience/ atmosphere, e.g. in a club 683. mormot (morumotto, from Dutch) – Guinea pig 684. morning (mooningu) – morning coat 685. morning call (mooning kooru) – wake-up call, in a hotel or by your loved ones 686. morning service (moonin saabisu) – breakfast special, e.g. pastry and coffee cheaper than at lunchtime 687. mother com (mazaa con, short for mother complex) – Oedipus complex

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688. mouton (muuton, from the French word for sheep) – sheepskin 689. muffler (mafuraa) – winter scarf 690. mug cup (magu kappu) – mug 691. multi talent (maruchi tarento) – a multi talented person 692. multi task (maruchi tasuku) – multi-tasking 693. multivitamin (maruchi bitamin) – multivitamins. Note the lack of an s 694. mushroom (mashuruumu) – champignon (not mushrooms generally, which is “kinoko”) 695. MW (emu daburu) – medium wave/ AM 696. my bag (mai baggu) – your own shopping bag, used to stop using plastic bags from supermarkets etc, so similar to “eco bag” 697. my boom (mai boomu) – what I’m really into at the moment 698. my car (mai kaa) – the family car, i.e. the opposite of a company car 699. my home (mai hoomu) – my own home, usually meaning buying rather than renting 700. my pace (mai peisu) – at my own pace, usually meaning being able to take your own time

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701. naïve (naiibu) – a positive word meaning innocent or unaffected 702. name value (neimu balyu) – how much a well-known brand name is worth 703. napkin (napukin) – panty liner 704. native (neitibu) – native speaker 705. native checker (natibu chekkaa) – native speaking proofreader 706. native level (neitibu reburu) – native speaker level/ near native 707. NATO (nato) – note first vowel sound 708. neck (nekku) – bottleneck 709. neck tie (nekku tai) – tie 710. necktie pin (nekutai pin) – tie clip 711. needle penchi (niidoru penchi) – needle nosed pliers 712. nega – short for (photographic) negative 713. negligee (negurije) – nightdress (however plain) 714. nego (nego) – short for negotiation 715. neo (neo) – note first vowel sound 716. net (netto) – tennis and internet, not general meaning such as fishing 717. Neurose (noirooze, from German) – neurosis/ nervous breakdown 718. new half (nyuu harufu) – transsexual, or sometimes transvestite 719. news value (nyusu baryu) – newsworthy 720. NG (en jii- short for “no good”) – opposite of OK 721. night (naito) – nightclub 722. nighter (naitaa) – a night baseball game 723. nihilist (nihirisuto) – note first vowel sound 724. nine one one (nain wan wan) – 9/11, so not the emergency phone number 725. nipper (nippaa) – nippers (kind of wire cutters) 726. nish (nisu) – short for varnish 727. no bra (noo bura) – braless 728. no clutch (noo kuratchi) – automatic transmission 729. no count (noo kaunto) – something that doesn’t count, e.g. a goal which is disallowed 730. no cut (noo katto) – uncut/ uncensored (movie) 731. no make (no meiku) – not wearing make up 732. no pan (short for no pants/ no panties) – pantyless/ going commando 733. no sleeve (noo suriibu) – sleeveless

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734. no touch (no tatchi) – non-contact (sport) or having no connection to something 735. non poli (non pori, short for non political) – apolitical, especially used about students in the 60s 736. non pro (non puro, short for non-professional) – amateur 737. non caffeine (non kafain) – caffeine free/ decaffeinated 738. nonsense (nansensu) – note first vowel sound 739. note (nooto) – notebook or laptop (computer) 740. note perso com (nooto pasokon, short for note personal computer) – laptop 741. number game/ number play (nambaa purei) – Sudoku

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742. oasis (ooashisu) – note the short second vowel sound 743. OB (oo bii, short for old boy) – fellow alumni/ old school tie 744. objet (obuje) – short for objet d’art 745. off limit (ofu rimitto) – off limits 746. off reco (ofu reko) – short for off the record 747. off scene (ofu shin) - action and dialogue off the screen 748. office buil (ofisu biru) – office building, often shortened to ‘biru’, as this only refers to office buildings in Japanese (the Japanese word tatemono being more general) 749. office hour (ofisu awaa) – office hours 750. office love (ofisu rabu) - workplace romance 751. oil gauge (oiru geeji) – dipstick 752. oil shock (oiru shokku) – energy crisis, oil crisis 753. OL (oo eru, short for “office lady”) – a rather sexist female equivalent of “salaryman” 754. old fashion (orudo fasshon) – old fashioned 755. old miss (orudo misu) – old maid/ spinster 756. Olympic (orimpiku) – Olympics 757. om rice (omu raisu, from “omelette rice”) – a thin omelette surrounding rice with ketchup etc 758. on air (on ea) – on the air 759. on parade (on pareedo) – on display (e.g. in a shop window) 760. on the rock (on za rokku) – on the rocks 761. onani (onanii, short for onanism) – a standard way of saying masturbation, so not medical sounding like the full expression is in English 762. one man bus (wan man basu) – a bus that doesn’t need a conductor as the driver collects the fares as you enter (obviously not common in conversation now all buses are this way, but sometimes still written) 763. one man company (wan man campanii) – one in which an imperious boss makes all the decisions 764. one man president (wan man president) – a boss who makes all the decisions themselves 765. one pattern (wan pattan) – repetitive 766. one piece (wan piisu) – a dress (as against the two pieces of a skirt suit etc) 767. one room mansion (wan ruumu manshon) – studio apartment (manshon

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being an apartment building) 768. one side game (wan saido geemu) – one-sided game 769. open car (oopun kaa) – convertible/ cabriolet 770. open collar (oopun karaa) – open necked (shirt) 771. open sand (oopun sando) – short for open sandwich 772. open set (oopun setto) – outdoor set (for films) 773. open stage (oopun suteeji) – outdoor stage, so no connection to open mike events such as those at comedy clubs 774. order made (ooda meido) – custom made/ made to order 775. orgel (orugiooru, from Dutch) – wind up music box (obviously a minority interest and so not a common word) 776. ounce (onsu) – note the vowel sound, probably from a Romance language 777. out boxing (auto bokushingu) – keeping the other fighter at a distance and trying to pick them off 778. out corner (auto koonaa, from outside corner) – something to do with baseball 779. out course (auto koosu) – out of your lane (in sports) 780. out of bounds (auto obu baunzu) – only a sports meaning 781. outlook (autorukku) - outside appearance, so nothing to do with predicting the future 782. output (autoputto) – only computers, so not factories etc 783. outside kick (autosaido kikku) – kick with the outside of your foot 784. oven range (obun renji) – a combined microwave and oven 785. over (ooba) – overcoat 786. overall (obaaooru) – dungarees 787. overhaul (ooba hooru) – a medical check up, as well as the meaning of major car repairs etc

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788. pack (pakku) – many kinds of packaging, including cartons. The same pronunciation as (ice hockey) puck 789. pageant (peejento) – note the long first vowel sound 790. pair look (pea ruku) – when a couple are wearing matching clothes (“couple look” in Korean) 791. pajama – pajamas 792. pan sto (pansuto, short for panty stockings) – panty hose/ tights 793. paneller (paneraa) – panel member 794. panic movie (panikku eiga) – disaster movie 795. pants (pantsu) – seems to have both the British and American meaning, although usually the former (= underpants) 796. pants look (pantsu ruku) – a woman wearing trousers, e.g. as part of a business suit 797. panty (panchi) – panties. According to my wife, a word only used by pervs. The rest of us just say “pants” 798. panty stocking (panchi sutokkingu) – tights/ panty hose 799. pao (pan, from Portuguese) – bread/ pastry 800. paper company (peipa kampanii) – dummy company/ shell company 801. paper driver (peipa doraiba) – someone who has a licence but never drives 802. parasite single (parashaito shinguru) – an adult child who continues to leech off their parents, e.g. not paying rent, long after they have their own job. Now leading to less used expressions like “parasite wife” 803. Pari colle (pari kore) - short for Paris collection 804. part (paato) – a casual job. Often wrongly translated as a part-time job. It often is so, but could easily be 40 hours a week and still be called paato 805. pass (pasu) – pass/ skip (school) 806. pat car (pato kaa, short for patrol car) – police car 807. pench (penchi, from French) – pinchers or pliers 808. penis (penisu) – note first vowel sound, more similar to spelling and Romance languages 809. penki (from Dutch) – paint 810. pension (penshon) – a Western-style minshuku, meaning basically a B&B, so similar to the meaning in many European languages (but different from Korean, where penshon means a self-catering hotel) 811. perma (paama, short for permanent) – perm

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812. pers com (pasokon, short for personal computer) – PC 813. pessary (pessarii) – (birth control) diaphragm 814. pest (pesuto) – bubonic plague (from Portuguese, and similar to French etc) 815. PET bottle (petto botteru) – plastic bottle especially one with drinks in, e.g. those from vending machines. PET is the correct word for this kind of plastic in English, but very few ordinary people know and/ or use the word 816. petit (puchi, from French) – small. Notice the very different pron! 817. petit bour (puchi buru, from French) – short for petit bourgeois 818. petit tomato (puchi tomato, from French and English) – cherry tomato. Note typical Japanese way of saying “petit” 819. pick up (pikku appu) – pick up (in your car)/ select (so more similar to “pick” than “pick up”, and without the trends meaning of “rebound”) 820. Philippine (firipin) – The Philippines 821. picke (pike, with the e pronounced) – short for picket line 822. pierce (piasu) – earrings for pierced ears 823. Pierrot (piero, from French) – clown 824. pill (piru) – only the contraceptive pill, not pills more generally 825. piment (piman, from French or Portuguese) – a small green pepper 826. pincette (pinsetto, from French or Dutch) – tweezers 827. pinch (pinchi) – tight spot 828. pine juice (pain juusu) – short for pineapple juice (and the same short form of pineapple is used in some other contexts) 829. pink (pinku) – pornographic, like "blue" in English 830. pint (pinto, from Dutch) – focus (mainly used as part of the expression pinboke- out of focus) 831. pipe cut (paipu katto) – vasectomy (don’t ask your plumber for this!) 832. pit in (pitto in) – going into the pits 833. pitch (pitchi) – pace, not sports field 834. pitcher (pitcha) – a large glass that you drink from (rather than a jug you pour from) 835. pitcher mound (pitchaa maundo) – pitcher’s mound 836. pla hobby (pura hobii, short for plastic hobby) – making plastic models of planes etc, i.e. making Airfix models 837. pla mo (pura mo) – plastic models, like Airfix 838. pla rail (pura reeru) – a kind of model train

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839. platina (purachina, from Spanish) – platinum 840. play guide (purei gaido) – ticket agency 841. plus alpha (purasu arufa) – plus something to be decided at a later date 842. plus driver (purasu doraiba) – Phillips screwdriver, from the shape of its end. The opposite is “minus driver” 843. pocket bell (poketto beru, from a brand name) – beeper/ pager 844. pocketable (poketaburu) – portable/ able to fit in your pocket 845. poemer (poemaa) – poet 846. poly (pori) – from polyethylene, a kind of plastic 847. pops (poppusu) – pop music 848. port wine (pooto wain) – note not the shorter form “port” 849. post (posto) – mailbox 850. pot (pottu) – a large flask that boils the water and then keeps it warm, used in place of a kettle in most Japanese homes 851. potato (poteito, from potato fry) – fries, so not the uncooked vegetable 852. pound (pondo) – the British currency. Note first vowel sound, which makes it possible to distinguish this and the weight. 853. premium (puremiumu) – additional charge. Note the short second vowel sound. 854. presen (purezen) – short for presentation 855. presentator (purezentatoo) – presenter (person doing a presentation), as presenter in Japanese only means TV presenter (possibly from another language, as it’s the same in French) 856. presenter (purozentaa) – only TV presenter, as a person doing a presentation is a presentator 857. press ham (puresu hamu) – pressed ham 858. prin clu (puri kura, short for print club) – photo booths that make decorated photos with sticky backs 859. print (purinto) – printed matter such as worksheets 860. private time (puraibeeto taimu) – free time 861. pro wres (puro resu, short for professional wrestling) – wrestling (the TV sort, not Olympic wrestling or sumo) 862. profile (purofil) – note the short last vowel sound 863. propose (puropoozu) – proposal of marriage 864. puck (pakku) – ice hockey puck, with the same pronunciation as pack 865. pump (pompu, from Dutch) – note the first vowel sound

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866. punc (panku, from puncture) – flat tyre 867. punch (panchi) – hole punch, as well as a boxing punch and the drink 868. purin – short for pudding, and having the American meaning of being a kind of crème caramel, rather than the British meaning of a Xmas-pudding-style hot and heavy dessert 869. puzzle (pazuru) – jigsaw, not puzzles more generally (“jigsaw puzzle” is sometimes also used, but more rarely) 870. PV (pii bii, from promotion video) – music video

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871. quilt (kiruto) – note the k rather than kw sound

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872. rabbi (rabi) – note the short second vowel sound 873. race (reesu) – same pronunciation as “lace” 874. radio case (rajio kase) – short for radio cassette (player) 875. range (renji, short for oven range) – cooker 876. range food (renji fuudo) – microwave meals (as range means cooker/ oven) 877. ransel (randoseru, from Dutch) – Japanese-style leather school satchel, worn on the back 878. rare (rea) – only used to talk about how a steak is cooked 879. rear car (ria kaa) – small trailer, e.g. behind a bicycle 880. recall (rikoru) – remove someone from office 881. reception (resepushon) – formal dinner, not desk you see when you enter (that’s “uketsuke” for offices and “front” for hotels) 882. recruit suit (rekruuto suutsu) – very plain suit worn when you first start work as a graduate recruit, in order not to stand out at all 883. recycle shop (risaikuru shoppu) – second hand shop 884. reform (rifoomu) – alteration or repair, e.g. of building or clothes 885. regent style (riijento sutairu) – a quiff 886. regi (reji, short for register) – cash register/ the till 887. rehabili (rihabiri, short for rehabilitation) – occupational therapy etc 888. remo con (rimo kon) – short for remote control 889. repo (rupo) – short for reportage. Note the first vowel sound. 890. repo writer (rupo raitaa, from reportage writer) – a kind of journalist. Note the first vowel sound. 891. reportage (rupotaaju, from French) – note the first vowel sound 892. restaurant (restoran, from French) – note the silent t 893. retorte (retoruto, from French) – preserved food, especially boil in the bag curry etc 894. reverse (ribaasu) – puke (reversing a car is “back”) 895. rinse (rinsu) – some manufacturers are starting to switch to the word “conditioner”, which is what “rinse” is 896. road racer (roodo reesaa) – racer (bicycle) 897. road show (roodo shoo) – first run of movies 898. roas (roosu, short for roast) – pork loin and sirloin, usually a kind of ham and so not actually roasted. 899. robot – figurehead, as in figurehead president, as well as the normal

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meaning 900. rock ice (rokku aisu) – ice cube 901. roll screen (rooru sukuriin) – roller blinds 902. Roma (from Italian) – Rome 903. roman (from French) – yearning for adventure, apparently 904. romance grey (romansu gurei) – hair flecked with grey 905. rompers (rompasu) – romper suit (for babies) 906. Rontgen (rentogen, from German) – X ray 907. roof balcony (ruufu barukoni) – rooftop terrace 908. room cooler (ruumu kuuraa) – a longer and less common way of saying “cooler”, meaning an air conditioning unit that doesn’t heat (“air con” being one that also heats) 909. ropeway – cable car (in Japanese “cable car” is only used for one that runs on rails) 910. rosario (from Portuguese) – rosary (only a Catholic one, although Buddhist prayer beads look very similar) 911. Rossiya (roshiya, from Russian) – Russia 912. rotary (rotarii) – roundabout 913. rough (raffu) – casual, e.g. when talking about clothes (and therefore not as negative as the English expression)/ rough 914. royal milk tea (royaru miruku tii) – tea made with hot milk, like a café latte and a bit like Indian tea . Very sweet, and often iced. 915. rucksack (ryukkusakku) – rucksack/ knapsack (i.e. can be small) 916. rugger (ragaa) – rugby player (rather than a nickname for the sport) 917. running (ranningu) – sleeveless undershirt/ singlet 918. running home run (ranningu hoomu ran) – inside the park home run 919. rush (rasshu) – rush/ short for rush hour 920. RV (aaru bui, short for recreation vehicle) – SUV 921. ry man (rii man) – slang shortening of salaryman

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922. S (esu, from S&M) – sadistic 923. S saizu (esu saizu, short for small) – clothing and drinks size 924. sabao (shabon, from the Portuguese for soap) – soap bubbles 925. sabotage (sabotaaju) – work-slow, a kind of industrial action 926. sack (sakku) – sack/ fingerstall (protective covering for finger, e.g. when counting money) 927. sad (sado, short for sadism) – sadistic 928. sadist (sadisto) – note the first vowel sound 929. safe (seifu) – only used in baseball, not more general meaning 930. saffron (safuran) – note last vowel sound 931. salada (from Portuguese) – salad 932. salaryman (sarariman) – office worker or salaried worker (it doesn’t have the exclusively Japanese meaning that it does in English) 933. sales point (seerusu pointo) – selling point/ USP 934. sample (sanpuru) – display models for dishes served in a restaurant, apparently 935. sand (sando) – sandwich. Usually used as part of a compound noun, e.g. chicken sand, with the full word being used on its own 936. sash (sasshi) – aluminium window frame 937. sauna (sauna) – note the diphthong first vowel sound 938. sayonara home run (sayonara hoomuran) – home run in the last innings that ends the game. The Japanese expression is now apparently occasionally used in English 939. scarf (sukaafu) – only used for a head scarf (a winter scarf is a “muffler”) 940. scenario (shinario) – a movie script 941. scenario writer (shinario raitaa) – screenwriter 942. schop (sukoppu, from Dutch) – shovel/ trowel 943. scout (sukauto) – only someone searching for suitable players for their team. Boy scouts always need the full name (boi sukauto) to refer to them. 944. scramble (sukuaramburu) – a crossing where pedestrians can cross from all sides of a crossroads at the same time, like the famous one outside Shibuya station 945. scramble egg (sukuramburu eggu) – scrambled eggs 946. scrap (sukurappu) – scrap/ (newspaper) clippings, so not always

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something you want to throw away 947. screwdriver (sukuryuudoraibaa) – only a cocktail (the tool is “driver”) 948. seal (shiiru) – sticky label/ sticker, usually not used to seal something 949. sealer (shiiraa) – sealant 950. season off (shiisun ofu) – off season 951. seat knock (shiito nokku) – baseball fielding practice 952. security police (sekyuriti porisu) – bodyguard 953. self aid (serufu eido) – DIY 954. semi double (semi daburu) – small double bed 955. sense (sensu) – good taste, particularly in clothes 956. senti (senchi) – short for sentimental. Same pronunciation as “centi” (the short form of centimeter) 957. service (saabisu) – free goods, e.g. coffee refills, dessert, sample 958. sex frie (seku fure, short for sex friend) – a fling/ a shag/ a lover (i.e. not quite a boyfriend or girlfriend) 959. sex hara (sekku hara) – short for sexual harassment 960. SF (esu efu) – short for science fiction. This form is apparently also used by English speaking sci-fi buffs, but in Japanese it is the only way of saying it 961. shade (sheido) – short for lampshade, with no more general meaning 962. shaker (sheekaa) – cocktail shaker 963. share (shea) – market share (rather than stock, and not meaning cut up a cake etc) 964. sharp pen (shaa pen, short for sharp pencil, from the brand name by the company Sharp, which later adopted the name of the product for the whole company) – mechanical pencil/ automatic pencil 965. sheet (shiito) – only on bed, not paper 966. sherbet (shaabetto) – sorbet, so always cold 967. shoot chance (shuuto chansu) – a chance to shoot 968. short cut (shooto katto) – a short hair cut/ crew cut (rather than a shorter route) 969. show window (shoo uindo) – shop window 970. Sicilia (shichiria, from Italian) – Sicily 971. side brake (saido bureeki) – hand brake/ parking brake

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972. side business (saido bijinesu) – side job, not necessarily your own company 973. sign (sain) – autograph/ signature 974. sign pen (sain pen) – felt tip pen 975. silhouette (siroetto) – also used for outline more generally 976. silver age (shiruba eiji) – old age 977. silver seat (shiruba shiito) – seat for old and disabled people on a train 978. single (shinguru) – single breasted suit 979. sister (shisutaa) – nun (not a member of your family) 980. skate rink (sukeeto rinku) – skating rink 981. ski (suki) – ski(s)/ skiing 982. skim milk (sukimu miruku) – skimmed milk 983. skinship (sukinshippu) – physical contact 984. skyline (sukairain) – scenic mountain highway 985. SL (esu eru, short for steam locomotive) – steam train 986. slacks (surakkusu) – women’s trousers 987. slice ham (suraisu ham) – sliced ham 988. slide (suraido) – photo only, not playground 989. slip (surippu) – to skid 990. slump (suranpu) – only the metaphorical meaning of a bad period, not your shoulders 991. SM (esu emu) – S&M 992. small light (sumooru raito) – parking light/ side light 993. smart (sumaato) – slim 994. smoke salmon (sumooku saamon) – smoked salmon 995. snack (sunakku) – a kind of small bar, ironically usually with few food choices, or a snack 996. snap (sunappu) – popper (on clothes) 997. SNS (esu en esu) – social media 998. soapland (soopurando) – a kind of “massage parlour” 999. sofa (sofaa) – sofa/ armchair, so includes a small one for one person 1000. soft cream (sofuto kuriimu) – Mr Whippy style ice cream 1001. spats (supattsu) – leggings, e.g. ones you wear for aerobics 1002. spell (superu) – a noun meaning spelling (rather than magic spell) 1003. spuit (supoito – from Dutch) – (plastic) pipette/ dropper

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1004. squall (sukooru) – note no w sound 1005. st (suto) – short for strike, meaning industrial action 1006. stainless (sutainresu) – stainless steel 1007. stamp (sutampu) – postmark/ date stamp/ etc (not a postage stamp) 1008. stand (sutando, short for stand lamp) – a small lamp 1009. stand bar (sutando baa) – small, informal bar where most people stand up or perch on stools 1010. stand play (sutando purei) – grandstanding 1011. Starbu (sutaba) – short for Starbucks 1012. start line (staato rain) – starting line 1013. starting block (sutaatingu burokku) – starting blocks 1014. starting member (sutaatingu membaa) – a founder 1015. steck (stekki, from Dutch) – walking stick 1016. step up (suteppu appu) – step up/ be promoted 1017. stock (sutokku, from German) - ski stick 1018. stove (sutoobu) – (gas, oil or electric) heater/ fire, so not connected to cooking 1019. straw (sutoroo) – drinking thing, not dried grass 1020. strip (sutorippu) – strip club 1021. style (sutairu) – someone’s figure 1022. sub mane (sabu mane, short for sub manager) – assistant manager 1023. suite room (suito rummu) – a hotel suite 1024. summertime (samaataimu) – summertime/ daylight saving time 1025. summit (samitto) – just a kind of conference for important people, so not top of a mountain 1026. sunglass (sangurasu) – sunglasses 1027. super (suupaa) – short for supermarket, and much more common than the longer word 1028. super cool biz (supaa kuuru bizu) – a more extreme version of “cool biz” that allows Hawaiian shirts etc in the office to save on energy consumption 1029. supporter (sapootaa) – knee support 1030. surf (saafu) – surfing (not used for the actual waves) 1031. swapper (swappaa) – wife swapper/ swinger 1032. sweet potato (suito poteito) – a kind of cake (the root vegetable is satsuma imo)

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1033. Sweden (sueden) – note the short first vowel sound 1034. Swiss (suisu) – Swiss and Switzerland 1035. symbol mark (shinboru maaku) – logo 1036. system kitchen (shisutemu kitchin) – fitted kitchen

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1037. T back (tii bakku) – G string/ thong (“T back” seems to exist in English, but is not common) 1038. table cover (teiburu kabaa) – tablecloth 1039. table manner (teburu manaa) – table manners 1040. table speech (teiburu supiichi) – after dinner speech (not a speech given standing on a table) 1041. Takt (takuto, from German) – baton/ supervisor/ tempo 1042. talent (tarento) – television personality/ celebrity 1043. talk show (tooku shoo) – panel discussion programme 1044. tank lorry (tanku rorii) – a tanker (the only time “lorry” is used in Japanese, all other kinds being “truck”) 1045. tek (teki, from French biftek) – a kind of steak, usually as part of “tonteki” (pork tek) 1046. televi (terebi) – short for television, like “TV” in English. The longer expression is very rare. 1047. televi game (terebi geemu) – a video game that you can play on your TV 1048. telop (terropu, from Television Opaque Projector) – text or graphics superimposed on TV image/ autocue 1049. ten key (ten kii) – numeric keypad 1050. tenant (tenant) – for rent (often seen on signs in windows, so rarely used in conversation) 1051. terrace (terasu) – terrace/ balcony, i.e. often smaller than a terrace would be in English 1052. terror (teroo) – terrorism, not the more general feeling of fear 1053. tester (tesutaa) – multimeter 1054. text (tekisuto) – short for textbook, with no more general meaning of written text etc 1055. Thai (tai) – Thai/ Thailand 1056. Thema (teema, from German) – theme. Note the “t” sound. 1057. Thema park (teema paaku, from the German for theme plus park) – theme park 1058. three size (surii saizu) – vital statistics/ a woman’s body measurements 1059. ticket (chiketto) – ticket for a play or museum, but not a train 1060. time service (taimu saabisu) – a limited time special offer, such as free refills at breakfast time 1061. time up (taimu appu) – time’s up

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1062. timely hit (taimurii hitto) – RBI hit/ clutch hit (in baseball) 1063. title back (taitoru bakku) – film credits 1064. tobacco (tabako, from Portuguese) – tobacco/ cigarettes 1065. toggle button (toguru botan) – toggle (on clothes) 1066. toile (toire) – toilet (note the missing t sound) 1067. ton (ton) – tonne. Note the vowel sound 1068. tong (tongu) – tongs 1069. torch (toochi) – only a fiery one, not a flashlight 1070. toroochi (from Dutch) – lozenge 1071. touch (tacchi) – high five 1072. touch out (tacchi auto) – tag someone 1073. towelket (from “towel blanket”) – a kind of huge towel which you sleep under 1074. trai pan (tore pan, short for training pants) – tracksuit trousers 1075. trailer house (toreeraa hausu) – trailer/ mobile home 1076. trainer (toreinaa) – sports trainer/ sweatshirt 1077. trans (toransu) – short for transformer 1078. trap (tarappu, from Dutch) – ramp or steps to a plane or ship, so no connection to catching things 1079. Trauma (torauma, from German) – trauma. Note the diphthong second vowel sound 1080. travel watch (toraburu uotchi) – travel alarm clock (so not actually a watch) 1081. Trinidad Tobago (torinidado tobago) –Trinidad and Tobago 1082. trump (toranpu) - deck of playing cards/ card games in general (not just one game that you can play with them, so poker for example is also trumps in Japanese) 1083. trunk room (toranku ruumu) – storage room, e.g. a place where you pay to put things into storage 1084. tube (chuubu) – inner tube 1085. Tupper (tappa, short for Tupperware) – plastic box for storing food 1086. turbine (taabin) – note the short second vowel sound 1087. twin (tsuin) – only hotel room, not kids born at the same time (which is “futago”) 1088. two tone colour (tsuu ton karaa) – two tone

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1090. u car (yuu kaa) – short for used car 1091. Ukraina (ukraina) – Ukraine. Note first and last vowel sounds 1092. un gr (angora, from the first syllables of “under” and “ground”) – underground (just the metaphorical meaning) 1093. un gr money (an gura manee, short for underground money) – black market money 1094. underskill (andaasukiru) – a lack of skills 1095. underthrow (andaasuroo) – underarm throw 1096. unit (yunitto) – unit/ prefabricated 1097. unit bath (yunitto basu) – modular bathroom/ prefabricated all-in-one bathroom 1098. up skirt (appu sukaato) – pervy photo 1099. upper middle (appa midoru) – upper middle class 1100. Uran (from German) – Uranium 1101. Urethan (uretan, from German) – urethane

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1102. V (bui) – note the vowel sound, used to distinguish it from B (bii) because many Japanese can’t pronounce the consonants differently 1103. vacances (bakansu, from French) – holiday 1104. Vakzin (wakuchin, from German) – vaccine (note the very different pronunciation) 1105. Valentine Day (barentain dei) – Valentine’s day 1106. Vaseline (waserin, from German) – note the first sound 1107. veludo (biroodo, from Portuguese) – velvet 1108. veneer (beniya) – plywood 1109. veranda (beranda) – usually more like a balcony 1110. version up (baajon appu) – upgrade/ update/ new version (for software etc) 1111. very short (berii shooto) – almost cropped hair for women, something like Annie Lennox 1112. veteran (beteran) – veteran/ expert 1113. vib (baibu) – short for vibrator 1114. video (bideo) – note the e sound 1115. Viking (baikingu) – Viking/ buffet (presumably because Swedish people eat smorgasbord) 1116. vinyl (biniiru) – any kind of flexible plastic, as in biniiru bukurou (plastic bag), not just records and fake leather jackets and sofas as in English 1117. vinyl house (biniru hausu) – a greenhouse made from plastic sheeting 1118. vinyl tie (biniiru tai) – twist ties 1119. virgin road (baajin roodo) – aisle in a church (down which a bride walks) 1120. vis (bisu, from French) – screw 1121. vodka (uokka, direct from Russian) – note the first sound 1122. volley (baree) – volley/ short for volleyball

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1123. waffle (wafuru) – note the first sound 1124. wagon (wagon) – cart/ wagon/ station wagon/ estate (car) 1125. waist (uesuto) – only measurement, not that part of the body 1126. warm biz (waamu bizu) – dressing warm in the office to cut down on heating bills, the opposite of “cool biz” in the summer 1127. washlet (uoshuretto, from wash + toilet) – combined toilet and bidet 1128. Watt (watto) – note the first vowel sound 1129. weekly mansion (uiikurii manshon) – serviced apartments 1130. Weiner coffee (uinaa kohii, from German) – Viennese coffee 1131. wet (uetto) – tender-hearted/ (over) sentimental 1132. whip (hoippu) – confectioner’s cream 1133. whip cream (hoippu kurimu) – whipped cream 1134. whisky bonbon (uisukii bon bon) – liquor chocolates 1135. white (howaito) – Tippex/ correction fluid 1136. wide (waido) – wide/ big/ long, and so used with a more general meaning in Japanese than in English 1137. wide lens (waido renzu) – wide angle lens 1138. wide show (waido shoo) – a kind of variety show, apparently so named because of its length 1139. wind orchestra (uindo ookesutora) – wind ensemble 1140. wine colour (wain karaa) – burgundy (colour) 1141. wiper (waipaa) – windscreen wipers 1142. wire cup (waiyaa kappu) – underwired (bra) 1143. woman lib (uuman ribu) – feminist 1144. wood (uudo) – golf only, not the material more generally 1145. wood bass (uudo beisu) – double bass 1146. wor pro (waa puro) – short for word processor 1147. wrap sand (rappu sando, short for wrap sandwich) – wrap, e.g. chicken and salad wrap 1148. wrecker (rekkaa) – tow truck

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1149. XS size (eksu esu saizu) – short for extra small size, and used much more than the longer Japanese and English forms, including in conversation

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1150. Y shirt (wai shatsu, from “white shirt”) – (business) shirt/ dress shirt (of any colour) 1151. yacht (yooto) – any size of sailing boat 1152. Yankee (yankii) – good-for-nothings，layabouts，hooligans，thugs (plus a fashion style and behaviour associated with such people) 1153. yard pound (yaado paundo) – Imperial measurements 1154. yeast (iisuto) – note the silent y, making it sound like “East”. Only used in some contexts, as there is also a Japanese expression. 1155. yell (eiru) – supportive cheers of spectators at sports game 1156. yellow (iero) – note the first sound 1157. yellow dog (iero doggu) – seeing eye dog 1158. Yellow Page (iero peiji) – Yellow Pages. Note the missing s 1159. yellow paper (iero peipaa) – tabloid/ gossip rag 1160. yoga (yoga) – note short o

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1161. Z (zetto) – note the consonant sound 1162. Zemi (short for Zeminar, from German) – seminar, meaning the more interactive kind of university lecture 1163. zero (zero) – note the first vowel sound

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