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Japanese Katakana Word (Gairaigo) Converter/Generator



Input Sentence
Nihongo to Gairaigo Gairaigo to Nihongo
High Recall and Low Precision Low Recall and High Precision

Table of Contents

  • How to Use
  • About Options
  • Acknowledgement
  • Other Tools
  • Related Posts
    • Confusing English Loan Words Used in Japanese with Different Meanings
    • Japanese Wasei-Eigo List (“Japlish”) and Their Meanings

How to Use

This tool automatically converts Japanese words into gairaigo (外来語, “loanwords”) written in katakana, and vice versa (e.g. 気さくな歌手 ↔ フレンドリーなシンガー).  For instance, try converting the following sentences with the “Nihongo to Gairaigo” and “Gairaigo to Nihongo” options, respectively:

  • あの歌手は気さくで良い人だね。
  • クリスマスイブにコートを着たサラリーマンがチキンとグリーンティーフレーバーのスイーツを買っていた。

* This is rather a joke tool, but could be practical if you want to know what sort of loanwords are used in Japanese (in which case, you may also have a look at my blog posts on confusing loanwords and wasei-eigo). 

(Technical Details)
The conversion is based on an external large-scale dictionary (JMDict), assuring that most of the generated katakana words are actually used in Japanese (with varying degrees of frequency). Note that, once in a while, Japanese-origin words written in katakana (e.g. onomatopoeias like ネチャネチャ, “sticky”) are misrecognised as gairaigo. There may be also other types of errors, as everything is done automatically; if you find an inappropriate conversation (e.g. offensive words), or if you have any idea/suggestion to improve this tool, please kindly let me know via social media or contact form.

About Options

  • Tick “Nihongo to Gairaigo” to convert nihongo words to katakana words, and “Gairaigo to Nihongo” for the opposite direction.
  • Tick “High Recall and Low Precision” to convert more words with lower accuracy, and “Low Recall and High Precision” to convert fewer words with higher accuracy.
  • Tick “Show Original Words” to show the original words next to the converted words.

Acknowledgement

This tool is largely based on Sudachi and JMDict

Other Tools

  • Japanese Furigana Generator and Dictionary Lookup
  • Japanese Synonym Finder

Related Posts

Confusing English Loan Words Used in Japanese with Different Meanings

Confusing English Loan Words in Japanese

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

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

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