Takashi's Japanese Dictionary

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

  • Home
  • Dictionary Tools ▾
    • Furigana and Definition Lookup
    • Japanese Synonym Finder
    • Katakana Word Converter
  • Blog Posts ▾
    • Latest Posts
    • Phrases by Topic
    • Slang
    • Idiom
    • Column
    • Grammar
  • Lesson Slides ▾
    • For Complete Beginners
    • For Intermediate/Advanced Learners
  • Vocab List
  • Social Media
  • About
  • 英語学習サイト
You are here: Home / Casual Words / Japanese “活 Words”: 婚活 (Konkatsu), 就活/終活 (Shūkatsu)

Japanese “活 Words”: 婚活 (Konkatsu), 就活/終活 (Shūkatsu)

July 7, 2019

In Japanese, there are many slang words that contain the kanji character ‘活’ (katsu). This character is short for ‘活動’ (katsu dou) meaning ‘activity’, and the words including ‘活’ describe a variety of unique “activities”. This article introduces those words and their meanings, with illustrating how famous each word is on a scale of 1 to 3 (denoted by the number of ★). One star means the word is quite new and hence may not be understood even by some Japanese people, especially by old generations.

終活 (“Shūkatsu”) ★★

This word and the next word 就活 (“Shūkatsu”) are homophones: having the same pronunciation yet with different meanings.

終活 (Shūkatsu) stands for ‘人生の終わりのための活動’, meaning ‘activities to prepare for the end of one’s life’. That includes (but not limited to):

  • to write your will
  • to prepare for your funeral and tomb
  • to organise your money and financial assets for your heirs
  • to delete private data such as your social media accounts and “inappropriate” files on your PC that you don’t want others to discover while you’re pushing up daises

The last activity is especially called ‘デジタル終活’ (digital Shūkatsu). The term and concept of Shūkatsu are relatively new, and it has been gathering more and more attention recently.

就活 (“Shūkatsu”) ★★★

就活 (Shūkatsu) stands for ‘就職活動 (Shūshoku katsudou)’ meaning ‘job-hunting activities’, where ‘就職’ (Shūsyoku) means ‘to get a job’. This term is often used by college or high-school students who start job-hunting for the first time. The activities include having job interviews, attending job fairs, and visiting Alumni who work in one’s preferable company. In Japan, a myriad of university students start shūkatsu and searching for a job in their third year. This custom is in fact very controversial since it hinders students from focusing on their studies at university.

婚活 (Konkatsu) ★★★

婚活 stands for ‘結婚活動 (Kekkon katsudou)’ meaning ‘activities for getting married’, where 結婚 means ‘marriage’. That includes using matchmaking apps/services, joining a new community, and going to ‘婚活パーティー (konkatsu party)’, which people attend with the aim of finding someone to get married with. 婚活 also includes doing something beneficial to increasing the chance of getting married, such as going to a beauty salon, buying fashionable clothes, and starting a new hobby.

妊活 (Ninkatsu) ★★

妊活 stands for ‘妊娠活動 (Ninshin katsudou)’ meaning ‘activities for getting pregnant’, where ‘妊娠’ means ‘pregnancy’. This term is usually used by a married couple who wish to have a baby. Although the main act for 妊活 is quite obvious, 妊活 also includes the act of staying healthy to prepare for pregnancy, such as having nutritious food, doing exercises, and quitting smoking and drinking. When the term is used, it is often stressed that these acts are important not only for women but also for men.

朝活 (Asakatsu) ★★

朝活 stands for ‘朝活動 (Asa katsudou)’ meaning ‘activities in the morning’, where ‘朝 (Asa)’ means ‘morning’. It describes waking up early in the morning and doing something productive, such as studying, jogging, and working out. This is something that most people have tried and then given up within a few days. (cf: Meaning of 三日坊主 (“three-day monk”) in Japanese)

タピ活 (Tapikatsu) (a brand new word) ★

タピ活 stands for ‘タピオカティーを飲む活動’ meaning ‘activities to drink tapioca tea (bubble tea)’. Recently (in 2019), bubble tea has become the craze among young girls in Japan, as evidenced by long queues in front of bubble tea shops. Tapikatsu is particularly popular among teenage girls who love to upload photos of fancy drinks on Instagram. Therefore, if you are an old man, it might sound quite odd to use this word, unfortunately.

Filed Under: Casual Words, Slang, There's a word for it

Related Posts

  • なんでやねん (nandeyanen): Meaning and Usage

    なんでやねん (nandeyanen): Meaning and Usage

  • 誤爆 (gobaku, “accidental explosion”) Means “Wrong Chat” in Japanese Slang

    誤爆 (gobaku, “accidental explosion”) Means “Wrong Chat” in Japanese Slang

  • Funny Japanese Gaming Slang Terms

    Funny Japanese Gaming Slang Terms

  • 勝負服 (shoubu fuku) Meaning “Fav Clothes for Spacial Occasions”

  • あけおめ (Akeome): Casual Japanese New Year’s Greeting

    あけおめ (Akeome): Casual Japanese New Year’s Greeting

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 卍 (manji) and マジ卍 (Maji manji) in Japanese
  • Boku, Ore, Watashi, Atashi: 15 Japanese Person Pronouns
  • Funny Japanese Gaming Slang Terms
  • Japanese Slang 賢者タイム (Kenja Time): Meaning & Example Sentences
  • 4 Meanings of ノリ (Nori) in Japanese Slang
  • Meaning of ぼっち (Bocchi) and クリぼっち (Kuri Bocchi) in Japanese Slang
  • Meaning and Difference of ガチ (gachi) and マジ (maji) in Japanese
  • List of Similar and Confusing Kanji With Different Meanings
  • 凸, 凹, 〆, 卍: Meaning of Weird and Funny Japanese Kanji
  • 40 Japanese Words Meaning “Many/Much” (Ooi, Ippai, Takusan, …)
  • 5 Meanings of ペラペラ (pera pera) in Japanese
  • なんでやねん (nandeyanen): Meaning and Usage
  • 闇鍋 (yaminabe): Meaning “Dark Hot Pot” with Random Ingredients
  • とにかく (Tonikaku) Means MORE Than “Anyway”
  • Japanese Slang 帰宅部 (kitaku bu) Meaning “Go-Home Club”
  • Real and Unknown Meanings of “Hentai” in Japanese
  • 40 Old Japanese Slang Words to Sound Funny (or Weird)
  • Meaning of Kaedama, Menkata and Barikata of Ramen Noodles
  • 9 Essential Kansai Dialect (Kansai-ben) Words and Phrases
  • Japanese Words and Phrases About Love
  • あけおめ (Akeome): Casual Japanese New Year’s Greeting
  • 30+ Japanese Words for “Very” and Their Nuances
  • Japanese Wasei-Eigo List (“Japlish”) and Their Meanings
  • Essential Grammar in Kansai Dialect (関西弁, Kansai ben)
  • Meaning of “Paper Driver” in Japlish (Japanese English)
  • Japanese and English Words that Rhyme in Both Languages
  • Meaning of あかん (akan), the Essential Kansai-Dialect Word
  • Slang Meaning of 全然 (Zenzen) Without ない (Nai)
  • List of Japanese Abbreviated Words and Phrases

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

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

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

Trending Posts

  • “The moon is beautiful, isn’t it?” Could Mean “I love You” in Japanese
  • Japanese Words and Phrases About Love
  • Meaning of 卍 (manji) and マジ卍 (Maji manji) in Japanese
  • Real and Unknown Meanings of “Hentai” in Japanese
  • Boku, Ore, Watashi, Atashi: 15 Japanese Person Pronouns
  • Japanese Slang 帰宅部 (kitaku bu) Meaning “Go-Home Club”
  • Japanese Slang 賢者タイム (Kenja Time): Meaning & Example Sentences
  • 闇鍋 (yaminabe): Meaning “Dark Hot Pot” with Random Ingredients
  • Funny Japanese Gaming Slang Terms
  • Meaning and Difference of ガチ (gachi) and マジ (maji) in Japanese
  • 5 Meanings of ペラペラ (pera pera) in Japanese
  • とにかく (Tonikaku) Means MORE Than “Anyway”
  • List of Similar and Confusing Kanji With Different Meanings
  • 凸, 凹, 〆, 卍: Meaning of Weird and Funny Japanese Kanji
  • 4 Meanings of ノリ (Nori) in Japanese Slang
  • Slang Meaning of 全然 (Zenzen) Without ない (Nai)
  • 40 Japanese Words Meaning “Many/Much” (Ooi, Ippai, Takusan, …)
  • 9 Essential Kansai Dialect (Kansai-ben) Words and Phrases
  • 30+ Japanese Words for “Very” and Their Nuances
  • なんでやねん (nandeyanen): Meaning and Usage
  • List of Japanese Abbreviated Words and Phrases
  • Japanese Wasei-Eigo List (“Japlish”) and Their Meanings
  • 5 Meanings of 気 (ki) and 30 気-related Japanese Phrases
  • Meaning of “Three-Day Monk” (三日坊主, mikka bouzu) in Japanese
  • List of Confusing “Japlish/Janglish” (Japanese English)
  • Meaning of Kaedama, Menkata and Barikata of Ramen Noodles
  • Meaning of ぼっち (Bocchi) and クリぼっち (Kuri Bocchi) in Japanese Slang
  • 20 Japanese Words For Rain
  • Japanese Kanji Words with Multiple Meanings and Readings
  • Meaning of あかん (akan), the Essential Kansai-Dialect Word

Popular Posts

  • “The moon is beautiful, isn’t it?” Could Mean “I love You” in Japanese
  • Meaning of Kaedama, Menkata and Barikata of Ramen Noodles
  • Boku, Ore, Watashi, Atashi: 15 Japanese Person Pronouns
  • 9 Essential Kansai Dialect (Kansai-ben) Words and Phrases
  • 4 Meanings of ノリ (Nori) in Japanese Slang
  • 40 Old Japanese Slang Words to Sound Funny (or Weird)
  • Japanese Slang 賢者タイム (Kenja Time): Meaning & Example Sentences
  • Meaning and Difference of ガチ (gachi) and マジ (maji) in Japanese
  • 30+ Essential Japanese Words to Describe Food
  • Meaning of 卍 (manji) and マジ卍 (Maji manji) in Japanese

Words by Theme

  • Boku, Ore, Watashi, Atashi: 15 Japanese Person Pronouns
  • 9 Essential Kansai Dialect (Kansai-ben) Words and Phrases
  • 40 Old Japanese Slang Words to Sound Funny (or Weird)

Idiom

  • 十八番 (ohako) Meaning “The Song You Sing Best”
  • How The Japanese Word 神 (Kami, ‘God’) Is Used Metaphorically
  • Japanese Money-Related Idioms and Slang Words

Japlish

  • Japanese Wasei-Eigo List (“Japlish”) and Their Meanings
  • 深夜テンション (shinya tension) Meaning “Midnight High” in Japanese Slang
  • Meaning of “Paper Driver” in Japlish (Japanese English)

Slang

  • 女たらし (onna tarashi) Meaning ‘Lady’s Man’ in Japanese
  • Japanese “活 Words”: 婚活 (Konkatsu), 就活/終活 (Shūkatsu)
  • Toka, Kana, Kamo: Japanese Vague Expressions

Column

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

Grammar

  • Essential Grammar in Kansai Dialect (関西弁, Kansai ben)
  • Slang Meaning of 全然 (Zenzen) Without ない (Nai)
  • Ageru, Kureru, and Morau: Meaning, Grammar and Difference

日本語記事

  • お茶を濁す、その場しのぎ、その場をやり過ごすを英語で
  • 深夜テンションとハイテンションを英語で説明
  • 「遠慮のかたまり」と「遠慮する」を英語で説明
  • 「役不足」の正しい意味を英語に訳す
  • 「背水の陣」のように決死の覚悟で挑む状況を英語で

Categories

Copyright © 2023 · All Rights Reserved

x
x