Here you can look up some of the Japanese/British slang I use throughout the diary entries.

If I've written something in an entry without an explanation here, be it Japanese or British slang (especially British English, as most of the time I don't know what words are used only in Britain or not), please email me and I'll add it!

A

akazake - Type of sake made in Kumamoto.  Has a distinctive brown-red colour and is much sweeter than ordinary sake.  Often used in cooking or for special occasions.  I think it's a love-hate type of drink; I LOVE it.

akemashite omedetou - "Happy New Year!" You can only use this expression on or a few days after New Year, not before.

an or anko - Sweet jam made out of  red azuki beans, often used as a filling in wagashi and mochi.  Absolutely delicious.

anime - Japanese animated cartoons.  In the West, the term is often used to refer to manga.

anou - A fairly meaningless word often used before asking a question in Japanese.  Similar words are "ano ne" (just used at the beginning of a sentence, normally when starting a new topic), and "ano sa" (similar, but used more by guys or girls trying to be cool.)

arigatou - Thanks.  A more formal version is arigatou gozaimasu (thank you).  An even more polite version is doumo arigatou gozaimasu (thank you very much).

B

baachan - Can either mean "granny" or else it's a (slightly) disrespectful, personal way to refer to any old lady.

baito - Shortened form of arubaito, meaning part time job.  Apparently from a German word.

basashi - Raw horse meat, a speciality of Kumamoto.  Recommended.

bishounen - Term for a young, attractive, androgynous male character in manga/anime.

Blighty - British slang for Britain.  Bit dated.

bloke - British slang.  Means "guy."

bochi - Japanese cemetery.

bounenkai - A party held before New Year, often by companies for their staff - like a Staff Christmas Party in the West.

C

-chan - A suffix attached to other people's names to show endearment.  It can only be used for close friends, and is normally only used for girls or small children.

chanpon - Type of noodle dish from Nagasaki.  Udon noodles are eaten in a soupy seafood mix.  Cheap.

chav - British slang for a type of working class person, characterised by sports wear, big gold-plated jewellery and a nasty, aggressive attitude.

chotto matte - "Wait a minute!"

cosplay or kozupree - Japanese fashion phenomenon where young people dress up as their favourite anime/manga characters or band members and pose around all day.  Western anime fans sometimes adopt this fad as well.  The best examples are to be found in Harajuku, Tokyo.

D

daifuku - Type of mochi with a filling, normally of an.  Normally eaten on special occassions.

daijoubu - Means "okay."  A typical exchange between to Japanese friends might be, "daijoubu?" (are you okay?), "daijoubu."  (Yes, I'm ok.).  Can also be used to mean "no thanks," but cannot be used to describe a place/event that English speakers might refer to as "okay."

dango - Sweet Japanese dumpling, made out of sticky rice and normally coated with something like anko.

daruma - A type of doll bought at New Year and used to make wishes.

E

ebi - Prawn/shrimp.  A favourite food of all Japanese.

ee to - Sentence filler; the Japanese equivalent of "um," "er," "like," "well" etc.

en - yen

Engrish - Western slang for Japanese-English, so named because the Japanese frequently confuse "l" and "r" sounds.  Most often refers to the meaningless, and often amusing, English phrases found on Japanese products from T-shirts to stationary.  Apparently coined by the webmaster of www.engrish.com, a website featuring photos of amusing Engrish examples throughout Japan.

F

fugu - Pufferfish, also called Blow Fish or Globe Fish.  An extremely poisonous fish that, when prepared correctly, is a Japanese delicacy.  A few people die of fugu poisoning every year.  Well known in the West due to a certain episode of The Simpsons.

futon - Traditional Japanese sleeping "mattress", which is tidied away in the morning after use.

G

gaijin - Foreigner.  Literally means "outside person."  These days, it's considered a politically incorrect term (the more polite term is gaikokujin), but it's still frequently used by Japanese people, and even more frequently by gaijin to refer to themselves and each other.

gaikokujin - A more politically correct term for gaijin; literally means "outside country person."

gakusei - Student.

genki - Healthy, well, active.  One of the first phrases Japanese language students learn is "genki desu ka," meaning "How are you?" but in fact the Japanese do not use this phrase very often - only if the other person has been ill or has not been seen for a long time.

gi - Karate outfit

giri - A very Japanese concept of social obligation.  Basically, it's about doing things because you have to do them because that's the way it works in society, rather than because you want to.

Gothic Lolita - Also called goth-loli, gosu-rori, Lolita, Elegent Gothic Lolita (EGL), and probably a whole load of other things too.  A style of fashion popular among youth subcultures in Japan that probably originated from the Western "goth" look.  Involves short, Victorian-esque dresses (normally black and white in colour), head dresses, long socks and generally being both cute, scary and elegant all at the same time.

H

hanko – A personal stamp engraved with the owner's name that the Japanese use instead of a signature for identification and documents.

hiragana - One of the two Japanese phonetic alphabets, hiragana is used to write native Japanese words where the kanji is obscure or in kid's books, as kids don't know all the kanji.  It is sometimes used instead of katakana to give a more elegant or cute image.

hyaku-en - Literally means "One Hundred Yen," the equivalent of 50p/$1.00.  Often used as a prefix for places like hyaku-en-kan (100 yen shop) and hyaku-en-sushi (100 yen sushi retaurant), implying that everything there with a few exceptions costs 100 yen.  In reality everything costs 105 yen because of taxation.  The products offered by these hyaku-en places tend to be pretty good in quality.

I

ice cocoa/aisukokoa - I've never had this anywhere apart from Japan.  You make hot chocolate, and then put ice in it.  Really refreshing on a hot summer's day.

igirisu - While it literally means "England," Japanese use it to refer to the whole of Britain.  Few Japanese people know that Scotland is a separate country to England.  Fewer still Japanese people know that Wales even exists.  They have, however, probably all heard of Ireland.

inaka - Literally means "countryside" or "hometown," but carries implications of being backwards and undeveloped.  It's a bit of a joke if someone comes from somewhere slightly rural to say they're from inaka; it's like calling them a country bumpkin.  A more politically correct term for inaka is chihou.

Instant ramen/insutantoramen/cup ramen/kappuramen - A freeze-dried ramen snack that you add boiling water to to eat.

Irrasshaimase - A greeting used by the staff when you enter a shop/restaurant.  It sort of means "I'm here to help you."  In larger shops, the staff will continuously shout out irrasshaimase as they work, every 10 seconds or so, so you notice they're there to help you.  Saying irrasshaimase is quite an art form; it's always said in a sing-song, rising tone, and some female shop keepers will say irrashaimaseeeeeeee, extending the last syllable for a long time and rising all the while so the whole word takes about five seconds to say and ends up really high pitched.  Apparently you can even take lessons on perfecting your irrasshaimase in Japan.

izakaya - Traditional Japanese eatery-cum-pub.  Whereas British people go to a pub, Japanese go to an izakaya.  You order drinks and Japanese savoury snack foods to go with them.  A nomihoudai/tabehoudai option is frequently available.

J

jan-ken-po - Japanese version of Rock-Paper-Scissors.  Played far more often in Japan (and in other parts of East Asia) as a way of settling disputes/playing "dares."

jigoku - Means "Hell," but also used to refer to those hot springs that are too hot for bathing, i.e. they'd boil you alive.

jinja - Japanese Shinto shrine.  Easily confused with otera.

jishin - Earthquake.  A regular occurrence in Japan.

jouzu - Skillful.  You'll hear Japanese say it to you if you say "konnichiwa" to them; they mean that your Japanese is good.

J-POP - Japanese pop music.  Also refers to Japanese rock.

K

kabuki - Traditional Japanese play with lots of music, bright costumes and dramatic acting; often called "Japanese opera."

Kaikan - Literally means meeting hall, was the name given to the dormitory where all the international students lived as it's an abbreviation of kokusaikouryuukaikan (international exchange meeting hall).

kaitenzushi - Conveyor-belt sushi restaurants, popular in Japan as it is in trendy Western cities.

kanji - The most extensive and complicated of the three writing systems in Japanese, kanji are Chinese characters.  Rather than the other two phonetic systems hiragana and katakana, which convey purely sound, kanji convey meanings as they do in Chinese.  There are over 2000 kanji characters used in everyday life.

karaoke - An abbreviation for "empty orchestra," Japanese karaoke is very different from what we're used to in the West.  Rather than having a small box and TV set up in a pub, Japanese karaoke is housed in a building specifically designed for karaoke.  Groups of friends get their own individual room with machine, and enter their requests electronically.  You can normally get food and drinks too.  Unbelievably enjoyable.

kata - Set moves of karate stances and actions, almost like a dance.  Good to watch.

katakana - One of the two Japanese phonetic alphabets, katakana is used to write foreign words, sound effects, neologisms, or just to look cool.

kawaii - Cute.  A key word in Japanese culture, which is obsessed with anything cute, and used all the time by Japanese women (especially school girls).  Sometimes used by girls to describe things like clothes where a Westerner might use "pretty," or "cool."

keigo - A very polite and formal form of Japanese.  Used when talking to someone of considerably higher status than the speaker, or, more frequently, by shop keepers/waiters to customers, in letters, and on the telephone.  Involves adding honourific suffixes, special vocabulary and complex grammar.  Even Japanese people find it difficult.

keitai - Shortened form of keitai denwa - mobile phone.  An object treasured by young Japanese.

kimono - Traditional formal Japanese dress.  Compared to a casual yukata, a kimono is made from high quality, heavy fabric, has very long draping sleeves, and is extremely expensive.  They are exceedingly beautiful.

kirei - Beautiful.  kirei is to kawaii as "beautiful" is to "pretty."

konbini - Convenience store.  Unlike ones in England, Japanese konbini are always open 24 hours a day, every day of the year (except perhaps New Year's Day), and supply just about everything you could want.

konnichiwa - "Hello."  However, there are limitations to this word; you can only use it once a day to the same person, you can't use it in the evenings (you then use konbanwa) and you shouldn't really use it to people of a much greater status to you (teachers are okay, but the university president probably isn't.)  Literally means "Now it is day."

konpeitou - A type of wagashi, resembling multi-coloured stars made of sugar.  Can be seen in the film "Spirited Away" eaten by the makkurokurosuke/Soot Sprites.

kouhai - Inferior, underling.  The Japanese have a strong sense of hierarchy in every aspect of society, and those lower than you on the hierarchy are called kouhai. As a kouhai, you must respect your senpai (superior) and speak to them politely, but you can also expect your senpai to take care of you, help you out, and even treat you to drinks.  Even university students have this concept of senpai and kouhai, with younger students referring to older students as senpai and treating them as thus.

kowaii - Scary.  Must not be confused with kawaii.

kudasai - Used at the end of a request; sort of means "please."

-kun - A suffix attached to men's names instead of -san.  It can only be used towards people of a lower/equal hierarchical status, and is only for men.

Kumadai - The abbreviation of "Kumamoto daigaku," or Kumamoto University.

kyougen - Traditional comic Japanese play similar to Noh.

L

Little Chef - English chain of restaurants, normally found on motorways.

M

manga - Japanese comics.  A huge part of contemporary culture, enjoyed by people of all ages.

mate - I don't think the Americans use this word (but the Australians do).  It's a British slang word for friend.

meishi - Name card.  Most Japanese individuals carry a name card from their company.  An essential item in Japanese business with a lot of etiquette behind it.

miso - Type of soup commonly eaten with an everyday Japanese meal.  I believe it's made from soy beans.  Very healthy.

Miyazaki Hayao - Normally called Hayao Miyazaki in the West, he is the guy responsible for the film company Studio Ghibli (the Japanese equivalent of Disney) and the creator of animated films such as Spirited Away, My Neighbour Tottoro and the more recent Howl's Moving Castle.

mochi - Sticky rice cake made from pounding rice, often containing an.  Traditionally made and eaten for special occassions such as New Year.  Absolutely delicious.

monaka - Type of wagashi, made out of dry, crumbly wafer with anko in the middle.

moshi moshi - Phrase used when answering the phone, and not for anything else.

motorway - British English.  I believe this is known as a highway in America.

Murakami Haruki - Often called Haruki Murakami in the West, he is a famous modern Japanese novelist.  His most famous work is probably nejimakidori kuronikaru, or The Wind Up Bird Chronicle.

N

nabe-ryouri - A traditional Japanese winter dish consisting of fish and vegetables boiled together in a pot.

narked or narked off - British slang.  Means annoyed; often used to express the annoyance of a missed opportunity.

natsukashii - Normally translated as "nostalgic," but used with far more frequency and carries a greater sense of emotion in Japan.  For example, a Japanese person might catch a re-run of a TV program he loved as a child, and exclaim "natsukashii!," expressing how fond the memory of that show is and how he misses those times.  An English person might say "Ah, that takes me back," or "Ah, those were the days."

ne - A fairly meaningless word used all the time in Japanese (especially by women) at the end of a statement to make it softer.  English equivalents might be "right," "isn't it?"

ni hao - Chinese for "Hello," a word that all Japanese people know.

Nihon/Nippon - Japan.

nihongo - Japanese language.

nihonshuu - The rice-wine alcoholic beverage that most Westerners mean when they say "sake."

nihontou - Japanese sword.  Often called "samurai swords" in the West.

niku - Meat.

Noh/Nou - Traditional Japanese play, slower and more boring than Kabuki, apparently.

nomihoudai - All-you-can-drink.  A standard option at bars, karaoke and izakaya; normally works by paying an amount like 3000 yen (£15) and then drinking as much as you like for a set period of time (usually 2 hours.)

nomitabehoudai - All-you-can-eat-and-drink.

nori - Seaweed, often used to wrap around foodstuff like onigiri.  Has a unique salty-yet-sweet taste.

O

o - a prefix used at the beginning of a word to make it more polite, or "honourific."  Sometimes it must be used (as in okane, money), and sometimes it is optional (as in o-sushi).  Women and children tend to use this prefix more than men, and shop assistance will always use them.

obentou - Packed lunch boxes.  Normally contain rice, pickles, noodles and some sort of main meal.  The "o" is honourific.

obi - A wide belt/sash worn with a kimono or yukata, and tied at the back in a complicated knot.

ofuro - Bath.  Can mean a private bath in ones house, or a public one like an artificial onsen.

ohaka - Japanese grave.  Looks very different from a Western Christian grave.

ohanami - Cherry-blossom viewing.  An event in which Japanese crowd in their hundreds under cherry trees while the blossoms are out, and have a picnic normally involving large quantities of beer or sake.

onigiri - Rice balls, often wrapped in nori, and containing some sort of filling.  Cheap and extremely delicious, they are a popular snack item.

onsen - Japanese hot spring for bathing.  Can be natural or artificial; extremely relaxing.

okonomiyaki - A savoury Japanese dish, similar to an omlette made with eggs, cabbage and some sort of other filling, like fish.  A favourite among Japanese students, you can make it yourself at certain restaurants.

osechi-ryouri - A special traditional Japanese meal served at New Year.  Each item of food is representative of sometime positive, eg. long life.  It's normally really expensive.

otaku - Literally means "home," but often used as a slang expression to refer to someone with an obsessive hobby, such as computers, anime or manga.  Like geek or nerd in English, but has far more negative, creepy connotations; the word itself implies that that person never leaves their house.  Western anime fans unfortunately use it to refer to themselves as dedicated fans, not realising what a negative word it is.

otera - Japanese Buddhist temple, easily confused with a jinja.

oyakodon - Rice topped with egg and chicken.  Whimsically means "mother and parent rice dish."

P

pissed - In America this means angry (an abbreviation for "pissed off") but in British slang it means drunk.  It's not a very polite expression.

pocky/pokkii - Japanese sweet, consisting of a long thin pretzel stick covered in something sweet.  Chocolate is the most common, but you can get strawberry and banana flavours, among others.

purikara - Little photo stickers.  Like karaoke and arcades, a favourite activity for young Japanese is to go to a purikara booth and, for the price of normally 300 yen (£1.50/$3.00), you can get these photos taken and printed, and then stick them all over your possessions.

Q

R

ramen - Type of noodle, similar to the kind found in Chinese restaurants.  Very cheap and filling.

ryoukan - A traditional Japanese inn, where the guests wear yukata and sleep in futon on tatami mats.

S

sake - The name Westerners normally give to the rice-wine Japanese call nihonshuu.  If you say "sake" to a Japanese, you could also be talking about shouchuu, another form of rice-wine that most Westerners are unfamiliar with.  With an "o" prefix, osake refers to any type of alcohol.

sakura - Cherry tree, probably the most popular and important tree in Japan.

salaryman - Japanese businessman.  Identified by suit and tie.

-san - A suffix attached to other people's names to show respect, much like Mr./Ms in English, but used with far more frequency.  You can only refer to family or close friends without using -san (or an equivalent) after their names.  You must also never use -san in front of your own name.

saru - Monkey.

sensei - Literally means "teacher".  Can be used to address teachers and doctors.  When referring to a teacher by name, it should be added as a suffix, eg. Yamanaka-sensei.

senpai - Superior.  The Japanese have a strong sense of hierarchy in every aspect of society, and those higher than you on the hierarchy are called senpai.  You refer to them as senpai or (name)-senpai, and you talk to them using polite Japanese.  Even university students have this concept of senpai and kouhai (underling), with younger students referring to older students as senpai and treating them as thus.

Setsubun - Japanese festival in which people throw beans outside their houses to expel demons and bring in good luck.

shabu-shabu - Boiled meat and vegetables, normally cooked and eaten at the table.

shiai - Shouts uttered during karate moves, intended to intimidate the enemy.

shinnenkai - A party held after New Year's Day, similar in spirit to a bounenkai.

Shinto - The indigenous religion of Japan.  Could be called Japanese paganism.  The other main religion of Japan is Buddhism, which came from Korea (which was imported from China, which originated in India).  Japanese people tend to follow both Shinto and Buddhist practises.

shouchuu - A type of rice-wine popular in Kumamoto.

shougakkou - Primary school

shou ga nai - Common Japanese phrase meaning "It can't be helped."  Often used when something bad yet unavoidable has happened.  A more formal version is shikata ga nai.

soba - Type of noodle, made from buckwheat.  It's thinner than ramen.

sushi - Vinegared rice wrapped in nori, and topped with, or wrapped around, a filling such as raw fish.  A must when trying Japanese cuisine.

T

tabehoudai - All-you-can-eat.  A standard option at izakaya; normally works by paying an amount like 3000 yen (£15) and then eating as much as you like for a set period of time (usually 2 hours.)

tabi - Traditional Japanese socks, with two little dips so the big toe and other toes are spread apart, worn with kimono.

tadaima - Expression used by a Japanese when they've returned home from somewhere - anybody in the house who hears the return responds with "okaerinasai" or "okaeri."

taifuu - Typhoon.  Certain areas in Japan can expect a couple of taifuu a year.

tako - Octopus.  A favourite in many Japanese dishes.  Deliciously chewy.

takoyaki - Fried balls of octopus, especially delicious when bought on the way home from a bar.

tanuki - Sometimes called "raccoon dog" in English, this beloved Japanese mammal looks like a cross between a raccoon and a badger.  They're common in Japanese folk tales.

tatami - Traditional Japanese mats, made out of woven grass.  It is extremely impolite to wear shoes on a tatami mat.  As tatami tend to come in a standard size (almost large enough for a Japanese adult to lie down on), room sizes are measured in units of tatami.

teishoku - A set Japanese meal normally consisting of miso soup, rice, pickles and some sort of meat/fish dish.  A typical option at izakaya and small restaurants.  Very tasty for lunch or dinner.

tempura/tenpura - Sea food or vegetables battered and fried Japanese style; normally eaten by dipping into soy sauce first.

tomoe - Japanese Shinto symbol, resembling a yin-yang, supposedly represents the cosmos.

torii - A special archway-gate standing before a jinja, made up of three main pieces.  The presence of torii is often a good way to tell a jinja from an otera.

totemo - Very, eg.  totemo kowaii (very scary).

U

udon - Type of noodle.  Udon is white, thick and has a swishy, slimy texture.  Tasty.

uni - Sea urchin, a popular sushi topping.  It's really delicious.

V

W

wagashi - Traditional Japanese sweets, including things like konpeitou.  Highly recommended.

wani - Alligator/crocodile.

White Day - Day held a week after Valentine's Day, in which people who received chocolate on Valentine's Day give a present back to the givers (normally white chocolate).

X

Y

yakiniku - Grilled meat, good food for parties.

yakisoba - Fried soba noodles.  Often eaten as a fast food.

yakitori - Popular Japanese dish, consisting of grilled chicken on kebab sticks.

Yakuza - The Japanese mafia, still a prominent part of Japanese society.  Typically identified by black suits, black cars, shades, and tattoos.

youkoso - "Welcome."

yukata - Casual traditional Japanese dress, resembling a bathrobe.  Is more simple than a kimono.  Still worn by older Japanese and by Japanese girls in the Spring/Summer.

Z

zazen - Form of sitting meditation practised by Zen Buddhists.

Zen - The most well-known Japanese Buddhist sect to Westerners.  Focuses strongly on zazen meditation.

zenzai - Delicious sweet azuki bean soup eaten with toasted mochi.  Great for winter.

zori - Traditional Japanese sandles, worn with kimono.