十八番 (ohako) Meaning “The Songs You Sing the Best”

Table of Contents

Pronunciation

Definition

十八番, which can read either “おはこ, ohako” or “じゅうはちばん, jūhachiban”, is a standard Japanese word that usually indicates one’s adept skills. Although it can be used to describe any type of skills, it is particularly used to describe “your songs” that you believe you are very good at singing. For instance, you may ask you friends at karaoke, “What is your 十八番 (the songs you can sing very well)?”.

Readings of 十八番

十八番 has two different readings and both of them are considered to be correct. One is the literal reading of the kanji characters, “じゅうはちばん jyūhachi ban”, and the other is an irregular one “おはこ ohako”. There are several hypotheses for the origin of the latter reading, one of which attributes it to the fact that 歌舞伎十八番 (kabuki plays from which this word originated; see the Word Origin section below) was usually kept in 箱はこ (hako), meaning “box” in English. In this case, “お” is interpreted as a prefix that adds politeness to the word.

Word Origin

The literal meaning of 十八番 is “number 18”. Its non-literal meaning is rooted in “歌舞伎かぶきざ十八番じゅうはちばん“, a collection of kabuki plays published in 1832 which listed 18 representative kabuki plays of the actors of the Ichikawa family (i.e. the plays that they were adept at playing).

Example Sentences

Ex1
カラオケであいつが俺おれの十八番を先さきに歌うたって少すこし萎なえた
I was a little annoyed because he/she sang my 十八番 (favourite song that I can sing well) before me at karaoke.