Japanese
gomen (nasai/ne) - sorry/I’m sorry
hai - yes; in roll call, here
baka - idiot, stupid
anou - um/er
wasuretamono - forgotten thing
-kun - suffix usually attached to the name of a male social inferior or younger male; occasionally also used by men to women
eeto - um/er
anime - Japanese 2D animation
no da - meaningless sentence ender stolen from the anime Fushigi Yuugi
yo - emphasizer
ne(e) - isn’t it, right, attention-getter
yoshi - Great!/Good!
Hontou (desu ka)? - Really?/Is it true?
honma ni - Kansai dialect for “hontou ni,” meaning really
hontou/honma - real, true
desu/da - is, am, are
-san - respectful suffix attached to name of a social superior or equal, like Mr./Mrs./Ms.
shitsurei shimasu - polite way of excusing oneself/saying good bye
mina/minna - everyone, everybody
ja/ja ne/mata/mata ne - Later!/See ya!/Bye!
hidoi - mean, cruel
urusai/urusee - literally “noisy,” usually used as “Shut up!”
gaijin - foreigner
sou - difficult to translate; so/that’s it/true
sake - Japanese rice wine
sakura - Japanese cherry tree
kimi - informal form of “you,” usually used by men to women
sugee - slang version of “sugoi” - cool/awesome
wai - yay
shoujo - girl; shoujo anime - anime targeted at girls, usually involving romance and relationships instead of being pure action
manga - Japanese comic books
-chan - affectionate suffix attached to names of close friends/family members/sweethearts
arigatou (gozaimasu) - thanks, thank you
dou itashimashite - you’re welcome
konnichi wa - hello/good day/good afternoon
iie - no
-dono - very respectful suffix, somewhat old-fashioned, like sir/madam
oi - hey
un - informal yes, like “uh-huh” or “yeah”
ii - good/ready/enough
-tachi - plural indicator, usually used to indicate a group - “watashi/boku/ore-tachi” is “we,” but “Tohru-tachi” would mean “Tohru and her friends.”
-sama - very respectful suffix, like lord/lady
watashi - I, me; watashi-tachi - we/us
wa - topic marker. There is no good English equivalent; it’s just what you put after the topic of a sentence. In fact, many times when speaking in an informal fashion, Japanese people will drop it entirely.
ga - subject marker. Another one that doesn’t show up in English; it can be hard to tell when one should use wa or ga. Just trust that when Chiiru and I use either, we’re doing so correctly.
douzo - please; often used to indicate “go ahead”/“you first”
daijoubu - with question mark or “desu ka,” “Are you okay/all right?”; alone or with “desu/da/yo,” “I’m fine/It’s okay.”
nani/nan - what
wakaranai/wakarimasen - I don’t know/I don’t understand
ya - Kansai dialect for yo
sou desu wa ne - Oh, so that’s it...
omoshiroi - interesting
nan ya - Kansai dialect for “What the hey -?”
gokurosama desu/deshita - very polite; “Thank you for your trouble”
onegai (shimasu) - stand-alone form of please
kowai - scary/frightening
nan demo nai - nothing
demo - but
hentai - pervert, perverted
tadaima - I’m home/I’m back
otousama - very respectful form of father
(o)kaasan/chan/sama - mother
doushita (no), doushitanda - What’s wrong?/What’s happened?
yokatta - That’s good/Thank goodness
mou ichido - once more/one more time
kudasai - please; must go with verb or adverb
wakarimasu, wakatta - I understand, I know, I get it
doumo - thanks (informal)
ossu/osu - male slang for good morning (shortened from ohayou gozaimasu)
oha - female slang for good morning (shortened from ohayou gozaimasu)
ichiban - best/most/number one
ichi, ni, san - one, two, three
ohji - prince
ikou - let’s go
(o)kaeri (nasai) - welcome back/welcome home
iya - somewhat slangier form of “iie” - no
nanyatteno - slangy way of asking “What are you doing?”
oro - an exclamation of confusion or surprise, stolen from the anime Rurouni Kenshin
(o)niisan/chan - older brother
imouto - younger sister
itterashai - something you say to someone who’s leaving the house but will come back
ittekimasu - what the person who’s leaving the house and coming back says
sumimasen - excuse me
hajimemashite - pleased to meet you (only said at first meeting)
(douzo) yoroshiku (onegai shimasu) - please be kind to me (only said at first meeting)
(o)genki desu ka - How are you?
oneesan - older sister; also used to address a young woman whose name you don’t know
okite/okimashou/okiruze - wake up
tasukete - save me/help me
bai - bye
nan desu ka - What is it?
moshi-moshi - hello (used only when answering the phone)
genki - cheerful, happy, energetic; ubergenki - combination of German uber (over/extra/super) and genki
ureshii - happy; often said when getting something you’ve always wanted or when something good happens
mazui - bad-tasting
nen - Kansai dialect for ne
ore - very informal male form of watashi - I/me
uta - song
nee - slang form of nai, an informal version of arimasen - not exist, not have; “Uta ga nee” - I don’t have a song/songs
sou ja arimasen - that’s not it/that isn’t so
suki - like, usually used when confessing one’s loooooooooooooooove. If you get my drift, nudgenudge winkwink.
mo - also, too
idedede (for as many de’s as you would like) - Kansai dialect for itai - ouch, owie
tsuyoi - strong; tsuyoi zo - Strong! - line from a weird little song entitled “Oni no Pantsu” (Demon’s Underwear)
deshou - sort of like desu and ne combined into one word
ikuzo - slangy, masculine way of saying “Let’s go!”
doko - where
wan - the sound Japanese dogs make instead of “woof”
ganbatte - Try hard!/Do well!/Good luck!
tabemono - food
yoku dekimashita - Well done!/Good job!
onaji - same
mochiron - certainly, of course
chou - slang; very, totally, really
doushiyou - What should I do? (This is a very girly, shoujo-anime thing to say.)
akachan - baby
konban wa - Good evening.
tomo - friend
boku - masculine “I”
kuso - shit (exclamation)
hime - princess
to moushimasu - with name, a very polite way of introducing oneself
(o)bento - Japanese box lunch, often homemade if the person in question has a houswife-y mother/wife/sister/aunt
owatta - past tense of “owaru,” end or finished - “Owatta no?” - “Done?”
daisuke - terrible, terrible pun on “daisuki,” to like or love very much, and Daisuke’s name
enerugii - energy
masuku - Japanese transliteration of “mask”
pika pika - sparkle; pika pika suru - verb form, not always necessary
nyao - the sound Japanese cats make
nemui - tired, sleepy
sa(a) - So.../Well.../I dunno…
aisu (kurimu) - ice cream
ikimashou - Let’s go.
sankyu(u) - Thank you (very informal, taken from English)
piririririri - the sound Japanese phones make
sankusu - Thanks (very informal, taken from English)
naisu - nice (slang, taken from English)
sensei - teacher (both noun and suffix)
atashi - more feminine form of “watashi” (I/me)
yaoi - slang term used to refer to anime, manga, or fanfiction which deals with strong homosexual themes (sex included)
kakkoi - cool; often used to refer to a hot man
oh, mai - made-up Engrish phrase, “Oh, my.”
shounen-ai - literally “boy-love”; usually used to refer to anime/manga/movies/books/etc. that contain romantic homosexual themes (no sex as a rule, but often making out)
doujinshi - Japanese fancomics; can be found for nearly every series. Often of a yaoi or pornographic nature, but it isn’t a requirement.
paafekuto - perfect (taken from English)
Noh - traditional Japanese theatre where all players wear masks to represent their roles
oni - demon
sou ka na - I see/I get it
inu - dog
happo-happo - Japanese sound effect for the sound of a male body hitting a bed. ^.^ Those crazy Japanese.
shogi - Japanese chess. I think. A very old and respected Japanese board game, anyway.
itadakimasu - said before eating; translates roughly to “I am about to partake”
oishikatta - past tense of “oishii,” delicious/good-tasting
gochisousama deshita - said after meal
ka - works like a question mark
kawaisou na - poor (in the sense of “oh, you poor thing”)
dare - who
mata - again
ikanai de - “ikanai” is the negative form of “iku,” to go, and de makes it a command, so “ikanai de” is “don’t go”
kimono - traditional Japanese clothing which looks rather like a bathrobe; worn by both men and women
(o)yasumi (nasai) - Good night
omake - side story, extra story, bonus
Yuu Essu - Japanese attempt to say U.S.
atama - head; “Atama ga itai ka?” - “Does your head hurt?”
kawaiisou na - too cute
kodomo - child, kid
(o)tanjoubi - birthday
omedetou (gozaimasu) - congratulations; “Otanjoubi omedetou (gozaimasu)” - “Happy Birthday!”
to iimasu - with name, a polite way of introducing oneself
kiseki - miracle
ki - tree
kedo - but; more usually used in conjunction with desu or da, forming “desukedo/dakedo,” meaning “although”
kawaii - cute
