Takashi's Japanese Dictionary

A blog for learning Japanese that introduces Japanese slang words and Idioms!

  • Home
  • Posts ▾
    • Latest Posts
    • Featured Posts
    • Phrases by Topic
    • Slang
    • Idiom
    • Column
    • Grammar
    • Reading Comprehension
    • 英語に関する記事 (in Japanese)
  • Lesson Materials ▾
    • For Complete Beginners
    • For Intermediate/Advanced Learners
  • Tools ▾
    • Furigana Generator
    • Gairaigo/Wasei-Eigo Converter
  • What’s New
  • Social Media
  • About
You are here: Home / Japlish (Japanese-made English) / Japanese Wasei-Eigo List (“Japlish”) and Their Meanings

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

October 4, 2020

This article explains the meanings and usages of various 和製英語 (wasei-eigo), or “Japlish”, i.e., Japanese-made English. In particular, I’ve picked Japlish expressions that sound strange or do not make any sense in English!

* I’ve moved some words to a separate post: Confusing English Loan Words Used in Japanese with Different Meanings, where I introduce confusing English loan words in Japanese with different meanings (e.g. ムーディー (“moody”) means “good, romantic vibe” in Japanese). There is also a Japanese Gairaigo and Wasei-Eigo Converter/Generator, which automatically “translates” Japanese words into katakana words, and vice versa (気さくな歌手 ↔ フレンドリーなシンガー).

Table of Contents

  • ペーパードライバー (“paper driver”)
    • Meaning: car drivers who haven’t driven for a while or never
  • サラリーマン (“salary man”)
    • Meaning: businessman, office worker
  • ドクターストップ (“doctor stop”)
    • Meaning: be told to stop/quit something by one’s doctor
  • アットホーム (“at home”)
    • Meaning: accommodating, friendly
  • マイペース (“my pace”)
    • Meaning: to do something at one’s own pace
  • マイブーム (“my boom”)
    • Meaning: something that you are into these days
  • ハイテンション (“high tension”)
    • Meaning: excited, energetic, hyper, cheerful, in a good mode
  • マザコン (mazakon, “mother complex”)
    • Meaning: mummy’s boy, a man (esp. an adult) who loves his mother way too much
  • ドンマイ (donmai, “Don’t Mind”)
    • Meaning: “That’s OK”, “Next time!”, “Bad luck!”
  • ノートパソコン (nōto pasokon, “notebook personal computer”)
    • Meaning: “laptop”
  • パワハラ (pawahara, “power harassment”)
    • Meaning: Harassment by taking advantage of one’s authority
  • NG (short for “No Good”)
    • Meaning: inappropriate, unacceptable, prohibited
  • OB, OG (short for “Old Boys/Girls”)
    • Meaning: Male/Female alumnus
  • English Loan Words Pronounced Differently in Japanese
  • English × Japanese
    • ステルス値上げ [Slang]
      • ステルス (“stealth”) + 値上げ (neage, “price increase”)
      • Meaning “to covertly reduce the amount of a product (esp. food) while maintaining its price”
    • 死亡フラグ [Slang]
      • 死亡 (shibou, “death”) + フラグ (“flag”)
      • Meaning: a clichéd event or line in a story which suggests that someone is doomed to death in the near future.
    • とんかつ (tonkatsu)
      • 豚 (ton, “pork”) + “cutlet”)
      • Meaning: pork cutlet
    • 結果オーライ
      • 結果 (kekka, “result”) + “all right”
      • Meaning: go well in the end
    • 電子レンジ
      • 電子 (denshi, “electric)” + “range (in the kitchen)”
      • Meaning: microwave oven
    • ブラック企業
      • ブラック (“black”) +  企業 (kigyou, “company”)
      • Meaning: A company that makes its workers work very long (and underpays them)
  • See also
    • Confusing English Loan Words Used in Japanese with Different Meanings

ペーパードライバー (“paper driver”)

Meaning: car drivers who haven’t driven for a while or never

Those inexperienced drivers are called “paper driver” because their driver’s license is useless and just a paper (or plastic card).

サラリーマン (“salary man”)

Meaning: businessman, office worker

It means “businessman” or “office worker”, and is a synonym of “会社員 (かいしゃいん)” in Japanese. Working people are usually regarded as “salary man” except for those who have their own business or freelance jobs.

私の父はサラリーマンだ
My father is a “salary man” (office worker).

ドクターストップ (“doctor stop”)

Meaning: be told to stop/quit something by one’s doctor

It describes when people (esp. athletes) are told not to do certain activities by their doctor because of their health issues. For instance, when a baseball pitcher seriously injures his/her dominant arm, he/she may have a “doctor stop” and end up quitting baseball or changing his/her position to an infielder/outfielder.

ボクシングの試合がドクターストップで終了となった
The boxing match has ended because of a “doctor stop” (meaning a doctor tells the referee that the fighter cannot safely continue the match).

アットホーム (“at home”)

Meaning: accommodating, friendly

It is often used as a catchline to describe a friendly vibe of a group or organisation. However, it’s also a notorious term as a dubious line used by ブラック企業 (“black company”), an evil company that makes workers very hard with little salary.

マイペース (“my pace”)

Meaning: to do something at one’s own pace

This word is basically used to describe people who always do their things at their own pace, or who go their own way without being influenced by others very much. It can be either positive (e.g., “laid-back”, “not easily influenced”) or negative (e.g., “insensitive”, “do not care about others”, “weird”).

彼はマイペースだ
He always does things in his own way/pace.

マイブーム (“my boom”)

Meaning: something that you are into these days

It is used to describe what you’ve been into these days. In Japanese, ブーム (“boom”) is used to describe hot trends or popular things, as in “baby boom” in English.

マイブームはブログを書くことだ:
“My boom” (What I’m into these days) is to write a blog.

ハイテンション (“high tension”)

Meaning: excited, energetic, hyper, cheerful, in a good mode

In Japanese, テンション (“tension”) means a state of excitement. Therefore, if you are “high tension”, that means you are very excited, high, hyper, and/or in a good mode. On the other hand, if your tension is low (テンションが低い), that means you are quiet, down, calm, and/or in a bad mode.

There is also a slang word called 深夜テンション (shinya tenshon, “midnight tension”), which describes the common state of mind that you have when you’re staying up late at night – see 深夜テンション (shinya tenshon): “Midnight High” in Japanese Slang

彼はいつもハイテンションだ
He’s always excited, energetic, hyper.

マザコン (mazakon, “mother complex”)

Meaning: mummy’s boy, a man (esp. an adult) who loves his mother way too much

マザコン (mazakon) is short for the Japlish phrase “mother complex”, where complex comes from the psychoanalytic term “Oedipus complex”. It is often used negatively to describe a man who loves and depends on his mother too much, like talking about his mother every single minute. Likewise, ファザコン, i.e. “father complex” describes a woman who loves her father too much; シスコン “sister complex” a man who loves his sister(s) too much; and ブラコン “brother complex” a woman who loves her brother(s) too much. The term “コンプレックス” itself is used as “a sense of inferiority” in Japanese, as in “自分(じぶん)の容姿(ようし)にコンプレックスがある” meaning “I have a complex (a sense of inferiority) about my appearance”.

付(つ)き合(あ)ってから彼氏(かれし)がマザコンだとわかった
I found out that my boyfriend was “マザコン” (a man who loves his mother way too much) after we got in a relationship,

ドンマイ (donmai, “Don’t Mind”)

Meaning: “That’s OK”, “Next time!”, “Bad luck!”

It is short for the Japlish phrase “don’t mind”, but it is actually used when you casually cheer up or sympathise with your friends who made a mistake, especially in sports. Note that since this word has a very light vibe, you shouldn’t use it when you really feel sympathetic with someone (in which case, it’s better to say “それは残念(ざんねん)だね” meaning “That’s a pity”).

A: あー宿題 (しゅくだい) を家(いえ)に忘(わす)れちゃった (Ah, I left my homework at home).

B: ドンマイ (Oh bad luck!)

ノートパソコン (nōto pasokon, “notebook personal computer”)

Meaning: “laptop”

ノートパソコン is short for “notebook personal computer”, and further abbreviated as “note PC”, which means “laptop” in English.  The term “laptop” is rarely used in Japanese.

パワハラ (pawahara, “power harassment”)

Meaning: Harassment by taking advantage of one’s authority

One common example of pawahara is bullying at work by a boss towards his/her subordinate. Similarly, there are also セクハラ (sekuhara, “sexual harassment”); アカハラ (akahara, “academic harassment”): abusing one’s authority in academia; and アルハラ (aruhara, “alcohol harassment”): harassment by forcing someone to drink.

NG (short for “No Good”)

Meaning: inappropriate, unacceptable, prohibited

In Japanese, NG is short for “No Good” and means “inappropriate”, “unacceptable” or “prohibited”. Although it is regarded as an antonym of “OK”, you cannot use it to show one’s disagreement, i.e., you cannot say “NG” to mean “I can’t”.

1. 彼女は彼とは共演 (きょうえん) NGだ

For her, it is unacceptable to co-act with him. (She never co-acts with him.)

2. デート中NGな行動 (こうどう)

Unacceptable behaviour during a date

OB, OG (short for “Old Boys/Girls”)

Meaning: Male/Female alumnus

OB/OG are short for the Japlish phrases “Old Boys/Girls” and mean “male/female ex-members of a group”. For instance, 部活 (ぶかつ) のOB/OG means “male/female ex-members of one’s club”

English Loan Words Pronounced Differently in Japanese

  • ウイルス: virus
  • ビール: beer
  • テーマ: theme (cf) テーマパーク: theme park
  • シュール: surreal
  • サドンデス: sudden-death round (in sports)
  • ドライブスルー: drive-through shops

*  In Japanese, “th” sound does not exist and therefore it is usually pronounced as “s”.  Incidentally, “スルーする” means “ignore something”, and “既読 (きどく)スルー” means “ignore a message after you’ve read it (on messaging apps like LINE and Messanger, where a sender can see whether the receiver has read the message or not)”. Sometimes, 既読スルー(kidoku surū) is abbreviated as “ks”, not “kt” (kidoku through).

English × Japanese

ステルス値上げ [Slang]

ステルス (“stealth”) + 値上げ (neage, “price increase”)

Meaning “to covertly reduce the amount of a product (esp. food) while maintaining its price”

あのスーパはステルス値上げをしていると非難(ひなん)されている
That supermarket is criticised for doing “stealth price increase”.

死亡フラグ [Slang]

死亡 (shibou, “death”) + フラグ (“flag”)

Meaning: a clichéd event or line in a story which suggests that someone is doomed to death in the near future.

See the post below for more details:

Meaning of “Death Flag” (死亡フラグ, Shibou Furagu) in Japanese

とんかつ (tonkatsu)

豚 (ton, “pork”) + “cutlet”)

Meaning: pork cutlet

 

 

 

 

結果オーライ

結果 (kekka, “result”) + “all right”

Meaning: go well in the end

迷(まよ)ったけど、いい店(みせ)を見(み)つけられて結果オーライだね
Although we got lost, it was “結果オーライ” as we could find a good shop.

電子レンジ

電子 (denshi, “electric)” + “range (in the kitchen)”

Meaning: microwave oven

ブラック企業

ブラック (“black”) +  企業 (kigyou, “company”)

Meaning: A company that makes its workers work very long (and underpays them)

ブラック企業 consists of “ブラック (black)” + “企業 (kigyou; company/corporation)” and describes an evil company where people are forced to work long hours (and usually underpaid). On the other hand, ‘ホワイト企業’ meaning ‘white company’ describes a stress-free company where people can go home at around 5 pm every day.

See more explanations at ブラック企業 (black kigyō): The Root of All “Karoshi” in Japan

See also

Confusing English Loan Words Used in Japanese with Different Meanings

Confusing English Loan Words Used in Japanese with Different Meanings

Filed Under: Japlish (Japanese-made English), Slang

Related Posts

  • Meaning and Difference of ガチ (gachi) and マジ (maji) in Japanese

  • オワコン (Owakon) Meaning ‘Old-Fashioned’ in Japanese Slang

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

  • 遠慮の塊 (Enryo no katamari): “Hesitation Lump” in Kansai-ben Slang

  • 逆ギレ (gyaku gire) Meaning ‘Get Angry in a “Reversed” Way’ in Japanese

Featured Posts:

  • Japanese Conversation Practice to Master 気-related Idioms
  • “Gakkī Loss”: Meaning of ロス (“Loss”) in Japanese
  • 30+ Japanese Words for “Very”: Synonyms of とても (totemo)
  • 40 Ways of Saying "Many" in Japanese (Ooi, Ippai, Takusan, and More...)
  • 8 Funny and Cute Japanese Cat Idioms
  • Success Story of Ichiro Suzuki: What He Means to Japanese Baseball Fans

Popular Posts:

  • “The moon is beautiful, isn’t it?” Could Mean “I love You” in Japanese
  • Meaning of “May Disease” (五月病, gogatsu byou) in Japanese
  • Meaning of 卍 (manji) and マジ卍 (Maji manji) in Japanese
  • なんでやねん (nandeyanen): Meaning and Usage
  • 50 Japanese Words and Idioms about Love & Relationship
  • Meaning and Difference of ガチ (gachi) and マジ (maji) in Japanese
  • 4 Meanings of ノリ (Nori) in Japanese Slang
  • Meaning of Kenjataimu (賢者タイム, Kenja Time) in Japanese Slang
  • 5 Meanings of ペラペラ (pera pera) in Japanese
  • コミュ障 (komyushou) Meaning ‘Suck at Communication’ in Japanese
  • ありがた迷惑 (arigata meiwaku) Meaning “Unwelcome Favour” in Japanese
  • Meaning of “It will snow/rain a lot tomorrow” in Japanese (+ Other Languages)
  • 40 Ways of Saying “Many/Much” in Japanese (Ooi, Ippai, Takusan, …)
  • Japanese Slang 帰宅部 (kitaku bu) Meaning ‘Go-Home Club’
  • Boku, Ore, Watashi, Atashi: 15 Japanese Person Pronouns
  • 9 Essential Kansai Dialect (Kansai-ben) Words and Phrases
  • Meaning of だけに (dake ni) and Its Usage to Make a Pun in Japanese
  • Meaning of ペーパードライバー (‘Paper Driver’) in Japlish (Japanese English)
  • 20 Japanese Words and Onomatopoeia About Rain (雨, ame)
  • Meaning of “Three-Day Monk” (三日坊主, mikka bouzu) in Japanese
  • 炎上 (enjou) Meaning “Come Under Fire” in Japanese
  • とにかく (Tonikaku) Means More Than “Anyway”
  • Meaning of Kaedama, Menkata and Barikata of Ramen Noodles
  • Meaning of 相合傘 (ai ai gasa): Lovely Dream of Kids in Japan
  • Essential Grammar in Kansai Dialect (関西弁, Kansai ben)
  • 闇鍋 (yaminabe): Meaning “Dark Hot Pot” with Random Ingredients
  • 8 Funny and Cute Japanese Cat Idioms
  • Ageru, Kureru, and Morau: Meaning, Grammar and Difference
  • 凸凹, 〆, 卍: Meaning of Weird and Funny Looking Kanji
  • Funny Japanese Gaming Slang Terms

Search on Takashionary
(e.g. 'food', 'cat', 'idiom')

If you like this page, follow me on social media!

  • E-mail
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • RSS
  • Twitter

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

ブログランキング・にほんブログ村へPVアクセスランキング にほんブログ村

Follow me!

  • E-mail
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • RSS
  • Twitter

Search on Takashionary
(e.g. 'food', 'cat', 'idiom')

Trending Posts

  • “The moon is beautiful, isn’t it?” Could Mean “I love You” in Japanese
  • Meaning of 卍 (manji) and マジ卍 (Maji manji) in Japanese
  • ありがた迷惑 (arigata meiwaku) Meaning “Unwelcome Favour” in Japanese
  • なんでやねん (nandeyanen): Meaning and Usage
  • Meaning of Kenjataimu (賢者タイム, Kenja Time) in Japanese Slang
  • Boku, Ore, Watashi, Atashi: 15 Japanese Person Pronouns
  • Meaning of “Three-Day Monk” (三日坊主, mikka bouzu) in Japanese
  • 40 Ways of Saying “Many/Much” in Japanese (Ooi, Ippai, Takusan, …)
  • 9 Essential Kansai Dialect (Kansai-ben) Words and Phrases
  • 4 Meanings of ノリ (Nori) in Japanese Slang
  • 5 Meanings of ペラペラ (pera pera) in Japanese
  • コミュ障 (komyushou) Meaning ‘Suck at Communication’ in Japanese
  • Meaning of “May Disease” (五月病, gogatsu byou) in Japanese
  • “I can’t say even ぐう”: A Japanese Idiom For Touché Moments
  • 50 Japanese Words and Idioms about Love & Relationship
  • Meaning of 相合傘 (ai ai gasa): Lovely Dream of Kids in Japan
  • 30+ Japanese Words for “Very”: Synonyms of とても (totemo)
  • Meaning of Kaedama, Menkata and Barikata of Ramen Noodles
  • What’s 合コン (gōkon) and 街コン (machikon) in Japanese
  • 鬼かわいい means “So cute”? Japanese Slang/Idioms about Oni
  • Meaning and Difference of ガチ (gachi) and マジ (maji) in Japanese
  • Japanese Slang 帰宅部 (kitaku bu) Meaning ‘Go-Home Club’
  • Meaning of “It will snow/rain a lot tomorrow” in Japanese (+ Other Languages)
  • 炎上 (enjou) Meaning “Come Under Fire” in Japanese
  • 闇鍋 (yaminabe): Meaning “Dark Hot Pot” with Random Ingredients
  • Meaning of ペーパードライバー (‘Paper Driver’) in Japlish (Japanese English)
  • 黒歴史 (kuro rekishi): What’s “Black History” in Japanese Slang
  • とにかく (Tonikaku) Means More Than “Anyway”
  • Japanese Idiom 後の祭り (ato no matsuri) Meaning ‘Too Late’
  • How The Japanese Word 神 (Kami, ‘God’) Is Used Metaphorically

Popular Posts

  • “The moon is beautiful, isn’t it?” Could Mean “I love You” in Japanese
  • 30+ Essential Japanese Words and Idioms to Describe Food
  • 9 Essential Kansai Dialect (Kansai-ben) Words and Phrases
  • 十八番 (ohako) Meaning “The Songs You Sing the Best”
  • Boku, Ore, Watashi, Atashi: 15 Japanese Person Pronouns
  • Meaning of Kaedama, Menkata and Barikata of Ramen Noodles
  • ありがた迷惑 (arigata meiwaku) Meaning “Unwelcome Favour” in Japanese
  • Meaning of Kenjataimu (賢者タイム, Kenja Time) in Japanese Slang
  • Japanese Idiom “Put on a Cat”, 猫をかぶる (neko wo kaburu)
  • Meaning and Difference of ガチ (gachi) and マジ (maji) in Japanese

Words by Theme

  • 30+ Essential Japanese Words and Idioms to Describe Food
  • 9 Essential Kansai Dialect (Kansai-ben) Words and Phrases
  • Boku, Ore, Watashi, Atashi: 15 Japanese Person Pronouns

Idiom

  • 十八番 (ohako) Meaning “The Songs You Sing the Best”
  • ありがた迷惑 (arigata meiwaku) Meaning “Unwelcome Favour” in Japanese
  • Japanese Idiom “Put on a Cat”, 猫をかぶる (neko wo kaburu)

Japlish

  • 深夜テンション (shinya tension) Meaning “Midnight High” in Japanese Slang
  • Japanese Wasei-Eigo List (“Japlish”) and Their Meanings
  • Meaning of ペーパードライバー (‘Paper Driver’) in Japlish (Japanese English)

Slang

  • Meaning of *活: 婚活 (Konkatsu), 就活/終活 (Shūkatsu) and 朝活 (Asakatsu)
  • 女たらし (onna tarashi) Meaning ‘Lady’s Man’ in Japanese
  • オワコン (Owakon) Meaning ‘Old-Fashioned’ in Japanese Slang

Column

  • “The moon is beautiful, isn’t it?” Could Mean “I love You” in Japanese
  • Meaning of 遠慮 (enryo) and 空気を読む (kuuki wo yomu)
  • Success Story of Ichiro Suzuki: What He Means to Japanese Baseball Fans

Grammar

  • 全然おいしい: Meaning of Zenzen in Positive Sentences Without ない (Nai)
  • Essential Grammar in Kansai Dialect (関西弁, Kansai ben)
  • Ageru, Kureru, and Morau: Meaning, Grammar and Difference

日本語記事

  • 韻を踏むお茶目な英語表現、単語、フレーズ、イディオム30+
  • 頭に情景が浮かぶ面白い英語フレーズ、イディオム30+
  • ManyやA Lot Ofの類語、 言い換え英語表現50+の使い分け
  • 直訳すると変な英語表現、イディオム12
  • 「他界する」を意味するユニークな英語イディオム8選

Categories

Copyright © 2022 · All Rights Reserved