一発屋 (Ippatsu ya) Meaning ‘One-Hit Wonder’ in Japanese

Pronunciation

Definition

一発屋 (いっぱつや, ippatsu ya) means a “one-hit wonder”, a person who becomes popular only for a short period of time and then returns to obscurity. It is usually used to describe comedians/celebrities, but can be also used for singers, writers, or athletes with only one great hit/success in their carrier. For instance, ピコ太郎たろう (Piko Taro), a Japanese comedian who sparked a global craze with his viral video “PPAP (Pen-Pineapple-Apple-Pen)”, is one of the best examples of 一発屋.

Word Structure

This word is composed of a word “一発いっぱつ” with a suffix “屋や” attached. The first word means “one shot”, and “屋” is used to describe things/people that are specialised in something. For instance, “ラーメン屋や” means “a ramen restaurant”, “着物きもの屋や” means “a shop that sells 着物きもの (kimono)”, and “予想よそう屋や” means a tipster where 予想よそう means “prediction”.

Example Sentences

Ex1
あの芸人げいにんはすぐ一発屋になるとみんな思おもってたけど、いまだにテレビによく出でている。
Most people believed that comedian would become 一発屋 (one-hit wonder) soon, but still he often appears on TV shows.

Ex2

ヒット曲 きょくが１つしかない一発屋歌手かしゅはたくさんいる。

There are a lot of 一発屋 singers (one-hit wonders) who have only one hit song.
Synonyms: None
Synonyms in English: one-hit wonder
Related words and phrases: None