Words of Japanese origin have entered many languages. Some words are simple transliterations of Japanese language words for concepts inherent to Japanese culture. The words on this page are an incomplete list of words which are listed in major English dictionaries and whose etymologies include Japanese. The reverse of this list can be found at List of gairaigo and wasei-eigo terms.
Arts anime アニメ , hand-drawn and computer animation originating from or associated with Japan; refers to animation in general in Japan. bokeh (from ぼけ boke), subjective aesthetic quality of out-of-focus areas of an image projected by a camera lens. bonsai 盆栽 , "tray gardening"; the art of tending miniature trees. Originated from Chinese 盆栽 penzai bunrakuMerriam-Webster Online Dictionary (Retrieved on April 16, 2009) 文楽, a form of traditional Japanese puppet theatre, performed by puppeteers, chanters, and shamisen players. haiku 俳句 , a very short poem consisting of three lines of 5, 7, and 5 morae (not syllables as commonly thought) each; see also tanka below. ikebana 生花, flower arrangement. imariMerriam-Webster Online Dictionary (Retrieved on April 16, 2009) 伊万里, Japanese porcelain wares (made in the town of Arita and exported from the port of Imari, particularly around the 17th century). isekai 異世界, "different world"; a subgenre of portal fantasy that features a protagonist being transported to or reincarnated in an alternate world kabukiMerriam-Webster Online Dictionary (Retrieved on April 16, 2009) 歌舞伎, a traditional form of Japanese theatre; also any form of elaborate theatre, especially metaphorically. kaiju 怪獣, Japanese genre of horror and science fiction films featuring giant monsters. kakemonoMerriam-Webster Online Dictionary (Retrieved on April 16, 2009) 掛け物, a vertical Japanese scroll, of ink-and-brush painting or calligraphy, that hangs in a recess on a wall inside a room. kakiemonMerriam-Webster Online Dictionary (Retrieved on April 16, 2009) 柿右衛門, Japanese porcelain wares featuring enamel decoration (made in Arita, using the style developed in the 17th century by 酒井田 柿右衛門 Sakaida Kakiemon). karaoke カラオケ , (English IPA: ) "empty orchestra"; entertainment where an amateur singer accompanies recorded music. kintsugi 金継ぎ, the artisanry of repairing broken pottery using urushi lacquer and dusted with powdered gold, silver, or platinum, to emphasise the damage. lit. "golden joinery". Also known as kintsukuroi 金繕い, "golden repair". Also in extended use: an aesthetic or world view highlighting imperfection and healing as an essential part of human experience. kirigami 切り紙, similar to origami, but involves cutting in addition to folding. kotoMerriam-Webster Online Dictionary (Retrieved on April 16, 2009) 琴, a traditional stringed musical instrument from Japan, resembling a zither with 13 strings. makimonoMerriam-Webster Online Dictionary (Retrieved on April 16, 2009) 巻物, a horizontal Japanese hand scroll, of ink-and-brush painting or calligraphy manga まんが or 漫画 , (English IPA: ) Japanese comics; refers to comics in general in Japanese nohMerriam-Webster Online Dictionary (Retrieved on April 16, 2009) 能 nō, a major form of classical Japanese music drama origami 折り紙, artistic paper folding. (British English IPA: ) otaku オタク or おたく or ヲタク, a geeky enthusiast, especially of anime and manga. sakura (桜 or 櫻; さくら or サクラ) is the Japanese term for the Cherry Blossom and can either mean the tree or its flowers (see 桜). senryu 川柳, a form of short poetry similar to haiku. It is satiric. shamisenMerriam-Webster Online Dictionary (Retrieved on April 16, 2009) 三味線, a three-stringed musical instrument, played with a plectrum. sumi-e 墨絵, a general term for painting with a brush and black ink. tanka 短歌, "short poetry"; an older form of Japanese poetry than haiku, of the form 5-7-5-7-7 morae (not syllables; see also haiku above). tankōbon 単行本, "independent/standalone book"; term for a book that is complete in itself and is not part of a series or corpus. In modern Japan, though, it is most often used in reference to individual volumes of a single manga, as opposed to magazines. tokusatsu 特撮, "special photography", term for films or television shows that feature an abundant usage of special practical effects; the term is most commonly associated with Japanese science fiction and giant monster franchises ukiyo-e 浮世絵, a type of woodblock print art or painting. (English IPA: ) waka 和歌, "Japanese poetry"; a word used primarily to describe tanka (see above) written between the 9th and 19th centuries. wabi-sabi 侘び寂び, a world view or aesthetic centered on the acceptance of transience and imperfection.
Business kaikaku 改革, Japanese term for 'radical change', used in contradistinction to kaizen which is used for continuous improvement. kaizen (Retrieved on October 21, 2013) 改善, literally "change for the better." In practice, a Japanese business philosophy of continuous improvement of working practices, personal efficiency, etc. Initially made famous by the 1986 book of same name. kanbanMerriam-Webster Online Dictionary (Retrieved on April 16, 2009) 看板, literally a "signal" or "sign" signals a cycle of replenishment for production and materials and maintains an orderly and efficient flow of materials throughout the entire manufacturing process. karoshi 過労死, "death by overwork, stress death" keiretsu 系列, a set of companies with interlocking business relationships and shareholdings. Poka-yoke ポカヨケ, "mistake-proofing" or "inadvertent error prevention". tycoon 大君 ("taikun"), "great prince" or "high commander", later applied to wealthy business leaders. zaibatsu 財閥, a "money clique" or conglomerate
Clothing getaMerriam-Webster Online Dictionary (Retrieved on April 16, 2009) 下駄, a pair of Japanese raised wooden clogs worn with traditional Japanese garments, such as the kimono inroMerriam-Webster Online Dictionary (Retrieved on April 16, 2009) 印籠 inrō, a case for holding small objects, often worn hanging from the obi; (traditional Japanese clothes didn't have pockets) kimono 着物, a traditional full-length robe-like garment still worn by women, men and children. (English IPA: ) netsukeMerriam-Webster Online Dictionary (Retrieved on April 16, 2009) 根付, a toggle used to tie the sash of a kimono also to attach small items such as inro and kinchaku: sometimes beautifully carved. obiMerriam-Webster Online Dictionary (Retrieved on April 16, 2009) 帯, a wide belt that is tied in the back to secure a kimono yukata 浴衣, a casual or simplified summer style of kimono zoriMerriam-Webster Online Dictionary (Retrieved on April 16, 2009) 草履 zōri, sandals made from rice straw or lacquered wood, worn with a kimono for formal occasions
Culinary adzuki,Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary (Retrieved on April 16, 2009) azuki beanMerriam-Webster Online Dictionary (Retrieved on April 16, 2009) あずき or 小豆 , type of bean grown in eastern Asia and the Himalayas, used in Chinese, Korean, and Japanese cuisines, usually served sweet. Sometimes simply referred to as red bean or red bean paste in English. arame 荒布, a type of edible seaweed bento 弁当 bentō, a single-portion takeout meal, box lunch daikon 大根, a kind of white radish dashi だし or 出汁, a simple soup stock considered fundamental to Japanese cooking edamame 枝豆, soybeans boiled whole in the green pod and served with salt enokitake, enoki mushroom えのきたけ or 榎茸, long, thin white mushrooms, used in Japanese, Korean and Chinese cuisines fugu 河豚 or フグ, the meat of the toxic pufferfish, must be prepared by specially trained chefs by law. Also means pufferfish itself. ginkgo 銀杏 or ぎんなん ginnan, a gymnospermous tree (Ginkgo biloba) of eastern China that is widely grown as an ornamental or shade tree and has fan-shaped leaves and yellow fruit (the word is derived from 17th Century Japanese 銀杏 ginkyō) gyoza ギョーザ or 餃子 gyōza, Japanese name for Chinese dumplings, jiaozi (jiǎozi); may also be called pot stickers in English if they are fried hibachi 火鉢, a small, portable charcoal grill; used in North America to refer to a teppan or a small shichirin-like aluminium or cast iron grill hijiki ひじき or 鹿尾菜, a type of edible seaweed commonly found on rocky coastlines
kaiseki 懐石, a highly ritual Japanese meal. katsu カツ, Japanese term for cutlets in general; in English, typically refers to the dish chicken katsu, a type of breaded chicken cutlet served with rice and sauce. (English IPA: ) katsuo鰹, a skipjack tuna katsuobushiかつおぶし or 鰹節, dried and smoked skipjack tuna (katsuo), which is shaved and then used in dashi koji麴 or 麹 kōji, a fungus that is the active agent in the fermentation processes, of producing miso and soy sauce from soybeans, and of producing sake and shōchū from rice. kombu昆布, dried kelp, which can be eaten or used for dashi matcha抹茶, finely ground green tea grown under special shading conditions matsutake松茸, a type of edible mushroom, with a magnificently spicy aroma similar to cinnamon, considered to be a great delicacy and the most coveted mushroom in Japan mirin味醂, an essential condiment of the Japanese cuisine, a kind of rice wine similar to sake with a slightly sweet taste miso味噌, a thick paste made by fermenting soybeans with salt mizuna水菜, an edible plant, with flavor akin to the mustard plant mochi餅, sticky rice cake napa cabbage菜っ葉, Chinese cabbage, (in Japan, it is a generic term for leaf vegetables.) nashi (pear)梨, a species of pear native to eastern Asia, which are juicy, round and shaped like apples. Often simply referred to as "asian pear(s)". nasubiなすび, a nightshade vegetable, popularized by the reality TV icon natto納豆, traditional Japanese food made from fermented soybeans nori海苔, food products created from green laver seaweed species by a shredding and rack-drying process that resembles papermaking. okonomiyaki お好み焼き, listenⓘ is a Japanese teppanyaki, savory pancake dish consisting of wheat flour batter and other ingredients (mixed, or as toppings) cooked on a teppan (flat griddle). omakase お任せ, is a phrase used when ordering food in restaurants that means 'I'll leave it up to you' pankoパン粉, Japanese white bread flakes. Panko is made from bread without crusts, thus it has a crisper, airier texture than most types of breading found in Western cuisine. ramenラーメン rāmen, the Japanese version of Chinese noodle soup, not limited to the instant variety. (British English IPA: sake酒 , nihon-shu(日本酒), an alcoholic beverage, brewed from rice. In Japanese, the word commonly refers to alcoholic drinks in general sashimi刺身, a Japanese delicacy primarily consisting of the freshest raw seafoods thinly sliced and served with only a dipping sauce and wasabi. satsuma(from 薩摩 Satsuma, an ancient province of Japan), a type of mandarin orange (mikan) native to Japan shabu shabuしゃぶしゃぶ, a meal where each person cooks their own food in their own cooking pot from an assortment of raw ingredients shiitakeしいたけ or 椎茸 , an edible mushroom typically cultivated on the shii tree shoyu醬油 or 醤油shōyu, Japanese soy sauce soba蕎麦 or ソバ, thin brown buckwheat noodles soyfrom shoyu 醤油 sukiyakiすき焼き or スキヤキ, a dish in the nabemono-style (one-pot), consisting of thinly sliced beef, tofu, konnyaku noodles, negi, Chinese cabbage (bok choy), and enoki mushrooms among others surimiすり身 or 擂り身, processed meat made from cheaper white-fleshed fish, to imitate the look of a more expensive meat such as crab legs. In Japan surimi is the term for processed fish paste itself, that was traditionally ground in a suribachi mortar. sushi鮨 or 鮓 or 寿司, a dish consisting of vinegared rice combined with other ingredients such as raw fish, raw or cooked shellfish, or vegetables takoyakiたこ焼, たこ焼き, or 章魚焼き, literally fried or baked octopus taiyaki 鯛焼き, a Japanese fish-shaped cake, commonly filled with red bean paste that is made from sweetened adzuki beans tamari溜まり or たまり, liquid obtained by pressing soybeans