This post provides a list of unique Japanese portmanteau words with their meanings and example sentences!
Table of Contents
Introduction
Before diving into the word list, here I explain how “a portmanteau word” is defined in this post in case you’re interested in minor language stuff (otherwise, scroll to the word list below).
Definition of Portmanteau Words
Portmanteau words are the words that combine parts of multiple words, such as brunch (“breakfast” + “lunch“) and stagflation (“stagnation” + “inflation“). In Japanese, portmanteau word is translated as かばん語 (kabango, “bag word”), but since it is a technical term in linguistics, it is rarely recognised/understood by Japanese people (I’ve never seen anyone saying or writing 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!
Portmanteau vs. Abbreviated Words
While this is not often discussed on most websites that provide a list of portmanteau words, 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 somewhat ambiguous, as the original phrase also makes sense by itself and is used in the same meaning sometimes. But it would probably be more of a new term than an abbreviation, given the higher frequency of “Brexit” than the original phrase.
In Japanese, the 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 harassment”). Therefore, I decided to introduce such abbreviated expressions in a separate post below, and focus on the unabbreviated ones in this post — even though both of them fall under the umbrella of portmanteau words. In short, 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.
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
美容院をドタキャンして申し訳なく感じる
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
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
母親がよく大量のお菓子を送ってくるけれど、あんまり好みのお菓子じゃないし、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
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
昨日パーティー行ったけど、コミュ障だから誰とも話せなかった
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/condominium 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 condominium 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!”)
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