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. Downloaded from http://tefltastic.wordpress.com 1 Downloaded from http://tefltastic.wordpress.com 2 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 Downloaded from http://tefltastic.wordpress.com 3 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 Downloaded from http://tefltastic.wordpress.com 4 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. Downloaded from http://tefltastic.wordpress.com 5 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 Downloaded from http://tefltastic.wordpress.com 6 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.