Japanese language

Vocabulary

Historically, Japanese has a large number of words that are borrowed from Korean, Ainu, and Chinese. Japan has also borrowed a number of words (gairaigo) from Portuguese in the 16th century, and then with the reopening of Japan in the 19th century, borrowed from Dutch, and after the Meiji Restoration, from German, French, and most recently English.

Related Topics:
Korean - Ainu - Chinese - Gairaigo - Portuguese - 16th century - 19th century - Dutch - Meiji Restoration - German - French - English

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In the Meiji era, the Japanese elite also coined many neologisms (in kanji; called wasei-kango) to translate Western concepts. The Chinese and Korean elite re-imported many of these to Chinese and Korean via characters in the late 19th and early 20th century. These include ?? seiji ("politics"), ?? kagaku ("chemistry"), etc. As a result, Japanese, Chinese and Korean share a large common corpus of vocabulary in the same way a large number of Greco-Roman words is shared among European languages.

Related Topics:
Chinese - Korean

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In the past few decades, wasei-eigo (made-in-Japan English) has become a prominent phenomenon. Words such as wanpataan (< one + pattern, "to be in a rut", "to have a one-track mind") and sukinshippu (< skin + -ship, "physical contact"), although coined from English, are nonsensical in a non-Japanese context. A small number of such words, such as anime and cosplay, have been borrowed back into English.

Related Topics:
Wasei-eigo - Anime - Cosplay

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Additionally, many native Japanese words have become commonplace in English, partly due to Japan's international prominence and also due to the popularity of many Japanese cultural exports. Words such as sushi, judo, karate, sumo, karaoke, origami, samurai, haiku, ninja, sayonara, rickshaw (from ??? jinrikisha), futon, bento, and many others have become an integral part of the English language.

Related Topics:
Sushi - Judo - Karate - Sumo - Karaoke - Origami - Samurai - Haiku - Ninja - Sayonara - Rickshaw - Futon - Bento

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