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fluentu.com http://www.fluentu.com/japanese/blog/weird-strange-japanese-words/ 37 Weird Japanese Words You Won’t Believe Exist Have you ever heard the word “petrichor”? It’s an English word describing the smell of the earth after it rains. And what about a “ backpfeifengesicht”? That’s the weird German word that means ”a face badly in need of a fist.” Ever since I learned that these words exist, I’ve been fascinated by what other cultures deem necessary to express in one word. Japanese is no different. The weird words I’ll share below are merely single words, but the Japanese language is also rich in expressions, phrases, and slang. By the same token, not many are used in everyday conversation. People In addition to words even a newbie to Japan recognizes, like salaryman (サラリーマン/さらりーまん – salaried worker), there are many unique words with a mix of kanji and katakana to refer to people, usually in a deprecating or condescending manner. 教育ママ 教育ママ (きょういく きょういく まま まま) A mother who is obsessed with her children’s education. バーコード人 バーコード人 (ばーこーど ばーこーど じん じん) Men who have ridiculous combovers (translates as “barcode men”). KY (aka 空気読めない 空気読めない/くうき くうき よめない よめない) Someone who is incapable of reading the atmosphere of a situation. 別腹 別腹 (べつばら べつばら) Having room for dessert despite being full, i.e. an extra stomach or a dessert stomach. キープ君 キープ君 (きーぷくん きーぷくん) A boyfriend who is “kept” until someone better shows up.

37 Weird Japanese Words You Wont Believe Exist

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Page 1: 37 Weird Japanese Words You Wont Believe Exist

fluentu.com http://www.fluentu.com/japanese/blog/weird-strange-japanese-words/

37 Weird Japanese Words You Won’t Believe Exist

Have you ever heard the word “petrichor”?

It’s an English word describing the smell of the earth after it rains.

And what about a “backpfeifengesicht”?

That’s the weird German word that means ”a face badly in need of a fist.”

Ever since I learned that these words exist, I’ve been fascinated by what other cultures deem necessary to expressin one word.

Japanese is no different. The weird words I’ll share below are merely single words, but the Japanese language isalso rich in expressions, phrases, and slang.

By the same token, not many are used in everyday conversation.

People

In addition to words even a newbie to Japan recognizes, like salaryman (サラリーマン/さらりーまん – salariedworker), there are many unique words with a mix of kanji and katakana to refer to people, usually in a deprecating orcondescending manner.

教育ママ教育ママ (きょういくきょういく まままま)A mother who is obsessed with her children’s education.

バーコード人バーコード人 (ばーこーどばーこーど じんじん)Men who have ridiculous combovers (translates as “barcodemen”).

KY (aka 空気読めない空気読めない/くうきくうき よめないよめない)Someone who is incapable of reading the atmosphere of asituation.

別腹別腹 (べつばらべつばら)Having room for dessert despite being full, i.e. an extra stomachor a dessert stomach.

キープ君キープ君 (きーぷくんきーぷくん)A boyfriend who is “kept” until someone better shows up.

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クリスマスケーキクリスマスケーキ (くりすますくりすます けーきけーき)“Christmas cake”: A woman not yet married by 25, as she is saidto lose value after the 25th.

Behavior

Here are some strange Japanese words referring to behaviors:

蛇足蛇足 (だそくだそく)Something unnecessary and probably detrimental (“snake legs”).

横飯横飯 (よこめしよこめし)“Horizontal rice”: Western food.

積ん読積ん読 (つんどくつんどく)Leaving a book unread after buying it, typically piling it up withother unread books.

過労死過労死 (かろうしかろうし)Death from overworking.

口寂しい口寂しい (くちさびしいくちさびしい)When you’re not hungry but you eat because your mouth islonely.

Uターン現象Uターン現象 (ゆーたーんげんしょうゆーたーんげんしょう)“U-turn phenomenon”: The movement of people who grow up ina rural area, escape to the city for education or work, and thencome back.

辻斬り辻斬り (つじぎりつじぎり)There are many dated words in English as well (When did youlast “defenestrate” someone?), but the Japanese have a term forbreaking in a new sword by attacking a stranger.

Cat Words

Cat got your tongue? There are many expressions and words inthe Japanese language focusing on feline behavior. Here are afew of the more unusual ones:

猫舌猫舌 (ねこじたねこじた)

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Someone who is particularly sensitive to hot drinks (“cat tongue”).

猫娘猫娘 (ねこむすめねこむすめ)A girl who acts like a cat.

猫背猫背 (ねこぜねこぜ)“Hunchback”: Be honest, the Cat Back of Notre Dame soundsmuch better, doesn’t it?

猫に小判猫に小判 (ねこにねこに こばんこばん)Gold coins to a cat: Giving a gift to someone who is incapable ofappreciating it.

猫かぶり猫かぶり (ねこかぶりねこかぶり)Cat veil, the equivalent of a wolf in sheep’s clothing. Someonewho feigns naiveté.

猫糞猫糞 (ねこばばねこばば)Embezzlement or misappropriation; stealing. In and of itself, thissounds normal… until you realize it’s translated as “catexcrement.”

Wasei Eigo

和製英語 (わせいえいご), or words that sound English but havebeen adapted by the Japanese to mean something entirelydifferent, are all too commonly used. ファイト (ふぁいと) “Fight”can be shouted at any sporting event or competition. Here aresome you may not have heard of:

ハイテンションハイテンション (はいはい てんしょんてんしょん)“High tension” – Someone full of energy and enthusiasm.

バイキングバイキング (ばいきんぐばいきんぐ)“Viking” – A restaurant that allows unlimited refills from theirbuffet tables.

ドクターストップドクターストップ (どくたーどくたー すとっぷすとっぷ)“Doctor stop” – When a physician instructs someone to take it easy.

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パラサイトシングルパラサイトシングル (ぱらさいとぱらさいと しんぐるしんぐる)“Parasite single” – An adult who is capable of living on her own,but prefers to stay with her parents.

ノミュニケーションノミュニケーション (のみゅにけーしょんのみゅにけーしょん)Actually a combination of English and Japanese, it means“communicating while drinking.”

オーバードクターオーバードクター (おーばーおーばー どくたーどくたー)“Over doctor” – Someone who holds a PhD but remainsunemployed.

マッチポンプマッチポンプ (まっちまっち ぽんぷぽんぷ)Someone who starts trouble simply to make themselves the herotrying to fix it.

Beauty

If there’s one thing the Japanese language has in spades, it’s theability to describe tranquil moments, like the way petals fall offtrees during cherry blossom season or the simplicity of eating awell-prepared meal.

Shakespeare may have needed fourteen lines for each of hissonnets, but Japanese has single words for such poetry:

木漏れ日木漏れ日 (こもれびこもれび)When sunlight filters through the trees.

物の哀れ物の哀れ (もののあわれもののあわれ)The awareness (coincidentally, the Japanese term is alsopronounced as “a-wa-re”) of the impermanence of beauty.

バックシャンバックシャン (ばっくしゃんばっくしゃん)A beautiful woman, but only when she is viewed from behind (I’lladmit, this is a bit more crass than the first two).

幽玄幽玄 (ゆうげんゆうげん)The definition of this term varies depending on context, but it generally refers to a mysterious sense of the beauty ornature of the universe.

Not Taken So Literally

夏炉冬扇夏炉冬扇 (かろとうせんかろとうせん)“Summer heater winter fan.” – Something out of season and worthless.

花鳥風月花鳥風月 (かちょうふうげつかちょうふうげつ)

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“Flower, bird, wind and moon.” – This term is used to list some aspects of nature.

三日坊主三日坊主 (みっかぼうずみっかぼうず)“Three-day monk.” – Giving up prematurely, i.e. a monk whodisrobes after three days.

天下り天下り (あまくだりあまくだり)“Descent from heaven.” – Although this is a dated term inJapanese, it’s all too common in American politics. It refers topoliticians who leave office, only to accept offers as high-payingexecutives in the corporate world.

Way Too Complicated for a Single Word

ありがた迷惑ありがた迷惑 (ありがためいわくありがためいわく)“An act someone does for you that you didn’t want to have them do and tried to avoid having them do, but they wentahead anyway, determined to do you a favor, and then things went wrong and caused you a lot of trouble, yet in theend social conventions required you to express gratitude” (Source)

侘寂侘寂 (わびさびわびさび)This is a comprehensive Japanese world view or aesthetic centered on the acceptance of transience. Although that’sa definition of sorts, this word is widely considered untranslatable.

無礼講無礼講 (ぶれいこうぶれいこう)Making no distinction of status, where one can speak and act freely without considering pressure and authority fromothers.

頭寒足熱頭寒足熱 (ずかんそくねつずかんそくねつ)Literally “cold head, warm feet,” this term refers to the fact thatmost Japanese homes are not properly heated in the wintertime,and one of the ways families stay warm is to put their feet by theこたつ (“kotatsu” is a knee-high table with an electric foot-warmer installed inside on the top board which is used with acoverlet during winter) leaving their heads out in the cold.

Hopefully, these terms offer greater insight into the Japaneselanguage. If you know of any other unusual, crazy, or justuntranslatable words, please mention them in the comments!

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