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You are here: Home / List / 15 Unique Japanese Portmanteau Words with Example Sentences

15 Unique Japanese Portmanteau Words with Example Sentences

January 9, 2022

This post provides a list of unique Japanese portmanteau words with their meanings and example sentences!

Table of Contents

  • Introduction
    • Definition of Portmanteau Words
    • Portmanteau vs. Compound Words
    • Portmanteau vs. Abbreviated Words
  • Verbs
    • 居留守 (いるす, irusu)
    • ドタキャン する (dotakyan suru)
    • 借(か)りパク する  (karipaku suru) [slang]
  • Adjectives
    • ありがた迷惑 (ありがためいわく, arigata meiwaku)
    • イケメン (ikemen)
    • ボキャ貧 (ぼきゃひん, bokyahin) [slang]
    • コミュ障 (こみゅしょう, komyushou) [slang]
    • オワコン (owakon) [slang]
    • 情弱 (じょうじゃく, joujaku) [slang]
  • Nouns
    • 億ション (おくしょん, okushon) [slang]
    • 合コン (ごうこん, goukon)
    • 陽キャ/陰キャ (ようきゃ, youkya/いんきゃ, inkya) [slang]
    • 飲みニケーション (nominication) [slang]
    • いただきマンモス [slang, outdated]
  • Japlish (Japanese-English)
    • マザコン (mazakon)
    • チョベリグ/チョベリバ (choberigu/choberiba) [slang, outdated]

Introduction

Definition of Portmanteau Words

Before diving into the word list, let’s clarify the definition of portmanteau words first. Portmanteau words are the words that combine parts of multiple words, such as brunch (“breakfast” + “lunch“) and stagflation (“stagnation” + “inflation“). In Japanese, portmanteau is translated as かばん語 (kabango, “bag word”), but since it is a technical term used in linguistics only, it is rarely recognised/understood by Japanese people (I’ve never heard anyone saying this word before).

Portmanteau vs. Compound Words

Portmanteau words differ from compound words, which combine multiple complete words without truncation; one example is teaspoon, which concatenates two words “tea” and “spoon”. I’ve explained Japanese compound words in the separate post below (e.g. 猫舌 (ねこじた, nekojita) meaning “cat tongue”,  if you’re interested!

List of Intriguing Japanese Compound Words

Portmanteau vs. Abbreviated Words

While this is not discussed on most websites that provide a list of portmanteus, portmanteau words can be classified into two types depending on whether they are an abbreviation of a phrase or not. For instance, brunch is not an abbreviation of the phrase “breakfast lunch”, but rather a new word that originated from them. On the other hand, webinar is an abbreviation of the phrase “web seminar”, which is used by itself in a sentence. Brexit (British + exit) is a somewhat ambiguous case, as the original phrase also makes sense by itself and is used in the same meaning. However, it would probably be more of a new word than an abbreviation, given that Brexit is much more commonly used than the original phrase.

In Japanese, abbreviation of words/phrases is very common, to the extent that there are thousands of them, e.g. 就活 (shūku) for 就職活動 (shūshoku katsudou) meaning “job-hunting activities”. This is particularly true of proper nouns and English loanwords, which include 東大 (toudai) for 東京大学 (toukyou daigaku, “The University of Tokyo”), ポケモン (Pokémon) for “Pocket Monsters”, and セクハラ (sekuhara) for セクシャルハラスメント (“sexual harrasment”). Therefore, I’ve decided to introduce such abbreviated expressions in a separate post below and focus on the unabbreviated ones here — even though both of them fall under the umbrella of portmanteau words. Therefore, the focus of this post is on the portmanteau words that combine (parts of) multiple words that are usually not used together as a phrase.

List of Japanese Abbreviated Words and Phrases

Verbs

居留守 (いるす, irusu)

Composition

居る (いる, iru) “be/exist” + 留守 (るす, rusu) “be away from home”

Meaning

居留守 means “the act of pretending not to be at home”. It is usually used as  “居留守する” or “居留守を使(つか)う”.

Example

夜11時にインターホンが鳴って知らない人がカメラに写っていたので、居留守{した/を使った}。
The doorbell rang at 11 pm and a stranger was on the camera, so I pretended I was not at home.

ドタキャン する (dotakyan suru)

Composition

土壇場 (どたんば, dotanba): “at the last minute” + キャンセルする (kyanseru suru): “cancel”

Meaning

“cancel a plan/appointment at the last minute”

Example

美容院びよういんをドタキャンして申もうし訳わけなく感かんじる
I feel sorry for cancelling my haircut appointment at the last minute.

借(か)りパク する  (karipaku suru) [slang]

Composition

借りる (かりる, kariru): “borrow” + パクる (pakuru): “steal” [slang]

Meaning

“borrow something and never return them (either inadvertently or intentionally)”

Example

友達から漫画を借りパクしているのに気がついた
I’ve realised that I borrowed a manga from my friend and never returned it.

Adjectives

ありがた迷惑 (ありがためいわく, arigata meiwaku)

Composition

ありがたい (arigatai): “precious, evoking appreciation” + 迷惑 (めいわく, meiwaku): “nuisance/annoyance”

Meaning

“unwelcome favour” (someone’s favour that you find rather annoying/unpleasant)

Example

母親ははおやがよく大量たいりょうのお菓子かしを送おくってくるけれど、あんまり好このみのお菓子かしじゃないし、ありがた迷惑だなー。
My mom often sends me lots of snacks, but that is an unwelcome favour because they are not my favourite.

イケメン (ikemen)

Composition

イケている (iketeiru): “cool, awesome” [outdated] + 面 (めん, men): “face”

Meaning

“handsome/good-looking” (usually used for men)

Example

イケメンの彼氏が欲しい
I want a good-looking boyfriend

See also

雰囲気イケメン (fuinki ikemen) Meaning ‘Handsome-Vibe Man’ in Japanese Slang

ボキャ貧 (ぼきゃひん, bokyahin) [slang]

Composition

ボキャブラリー: “vocabulary” + 貧弱 (ひんじゃく, hinjaku): “poor”

Meaning

“have a poor vocabulary”

Example

ボキャ貧だから、何を食べても「おいしい」としか言いえない。
Because I have a poor vocabulary, I can say nothing but “おいしい (tasty)” whatever I eat.

コミュ障 (こみゅしょう, komyushou) [slang]

Composition

コミュニケーション: “comunication” + 障害 (しょうがい, shougai): “disability”

Meaning

“be poor/suck at communication”— this slang portmanteau word indicates poor social skills, not the actual disability.

Example

昨日きのうパーティー行いったけど、コミュ障だから誰だれとも話はなせなかった
I went to the party yesterday, but because I suck at communication I couldn’t talk to anyone there.

オワコン (owakon) [slang]

Composition

終わった(おわった, owatta): “finished” + コンテンツ (kontentsu): “content”

Meaning

“no longer interesting/popular/relevant”, “outdated”, “nobody gives a sh*t about it anymore”

Example

もう誰もこのSNS使ってないし、完全にオワコンだね
Nobody uses this social media anymore, and it’s completely outdated (nobody gives a sh*t about it anymore)

情弱 (じょうじゃく, joujaku) [slang]

Composition

情報 (じょうほう, jouhou): “information” + 弱者 (じゃくしゃ, jakusha): “a weak person”

Meaning

“be lacking in well-known (and important/useful) knowledge or information”

Example

情弱だから、ネットで新幹線の予約ができること知らなかった。
As I’m lacking in well-known knowledge, I didn’t know that I could book a bullet train on the internet.

Nouns

億ション (おくしょん, okushon) [slang]

Composition

一億円 (いちおくえん, ichioku en): “100 million yen” + マンション: “mansion” (meaning “apartment” in Japanese)

Meaning

a gorgeous apartment worth more than 100 million yen

Example

あの芸能人が六本木で億ションを買った
The celebrity has bought a gorgeous apartment in Roppongi worth more than 100 million yen.

合コン (ごうこん, goukon)

Composition

合同 (ごうどう, goudou): “joint” + コンパ (konpa): “drinking gatherings”. The latter word コンパ (konpa) is said to originate from the German word “kompanie”, or its English translation “company”, and in Japanese it means “drinking in company with other people”

Meaning

a Japanese-style group blind date; see the post about 合コン for more details

Example

合コンで出会あった女の子に何回かメールしたのに返事が全くない。
I texted a girl I had met at the gōkon (group dating) multiple times, but I haven’t got any reply.

陽キャ/陰キャ (ようきゃ, youkya/いんきゃ, inkya) [slang]

Composition

陽気/陰気な (ようき/いんきな, youki/inki na): “extraverted and social/introverted and quiet” + キャラクター “character”

Meaning

“extraverted and social/introverted and quiet people”

Example

陽キャは運動、陰キャは勉強がそれぞれ得意な傾向にある
Extroverted and social people and introverted and quiet people tend to be good at sports and studies, respectively.

飲みニケーション (nominication) [slang]

Composition

飲む (のむ, nomu): “drink” + コミュニケーション (“communication”)

Meaning

“communication through drinking together (esp. among colleagues after work)”; the word itself is still alive, but the concept is getting old-fashioned. See the previous post about it for more details.

Example

いただきマンモス [slang, outdated]

Composition

いただきます (itadakimasu) + マンモス (“mammoth”)

Meaning

Same as いただきます, a Japanese phrase to say before eating food to express one’s appreciation. マンモス (“mammoth”) has zero meaning here except for making a pun. This phrase is clearly outdated; see the previous post to learn more outdated (and bizarre) Japanese slang.

Example

おお、今日はラーメンか!いただきマンモス!

Wow today we have ramen! Itadaki mammoth!

Japlish (Japanese-English)

マザコン (mazakon)

Composition

マザー “Mother” + コンプレックス (“complex”), from the psychoanalytic term “Oedipus complex”

Meaning

“mummy’s boy”, i.e.  “a man (esp. an adult) who loves his mother way too much”

Example

彼はマザコンで、お母さんの話ばかりする
He loves his mother too much and always talks about her.

チョベリグ/チョベリバ (choberigu/choberiba) [slang, outdated]

Composition

超 (ちょう): “super” + ベリーグッド: “very good”/ベリーバッド: “very bad”

Meaning

“super awesome/awful”; this word often represents outdated slang words that used to be popular among teen gals in the 1990s.

(Example sentences are omitted, as I’m not entirely sure how to use them properly… It seems it was often used as an exclamation, like “awesome!”)

See also

40 Funny Japanese Old Slang Words to Sound like Oyaji (Old Men)

Japanese Wasei-Eigo List (“Japlish”) and Their Meanings

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