Japanese Words and Phrases

Welcome! I have put together a list of common words and phrases used when refering to anime and manga.

- Please note: I am not currently in, and have never taken, a class in Japanese. All of these terms have been gathered from other websites, books, and my tomodachi Aaron helped me with correcting several, and gave me a ton more to add. He is currently taking Japanese at school. I have also used my "Japanese Fundamentals" sheets that contain many useful items.

- Also notice that if there is a oo or a ou those can be interchanged.

- If you find ANY errors, please e-mail me with the correction.

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Basic Pronunciation

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Basic Anime and Manga terms

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People- what people are called (otaku, tomodachi, bishoujo, ect.)

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Name Endings- what does -chan mean on a name?

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Numbers- the numbers 1-10

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Descriptive Words- wanna describe that bishounen that just walked by?

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Conversational Words- greetings and goodbyes along with some random words

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Languages- what are kanji, hiranga and those other weird words people use when talking about writing Japanese?

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Relationships

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Question Words- single words that ask questions

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Short Sentences- introduce yourself and ask questions

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Sailor Moon Terms

Other sites:

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English "Sailor Moon" Name Translation- A basic translation of the inner senshi's names

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Shinigami's Glossary of Anime Terms- the best I've found

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English to Japanese Dictionaries

Basic Anime and Manga

English

Japanese

Picture or Example

the word in Japanese for animation also known as Japanamation (TV version)

Anime

Japanese comic books (Mixx manga is the translation of the Japanese to English) The covers are in color but the inside pictures are in black and white. That's why you see both color and black and white manga images.

Manga

Graphic Novels are the combined form of several mangas they are usu around 7" x 4 1/2" big and about 200 pages long

Graphic Novel

comic strips/books) drawn by fans

doujinshi

Dub- the cut episodes that are run in North America

Some dubbing companies severely edit shows, while others leave most of it the same only editing small parts and translating

Subtitle- These are shows that still have the original voice actors, but have the translation that runs across the bottom

Fan Subs are subtitled movies that were translated by fans and not companies (sometimes with incorrect translations)

Acronym for Original Video Action, refers to anime (often for an established series) that is released directly to video as opposed to being a television series or a cinematic release; although OAVs exist in the US, they tend to be for lower-status titles that are not equated with motion picture or television releases. In Japan, however, OAVs are often better than the television series they are based on.

OVA /OAV

Favorite Japanese snack food that seems to be something of a long-standing tradition among anime otaku, they're thin cracker sticks that have been dipped in chocolate, strawberry, vanilla, and other flavors.

pocky

People

I or me	watashi
my	watashi no (followed by a noun)	watashi no pocky >> my pocky
a voice actor - the person who reads the lines of a certain character	seiyuu
a pretty girl	bishoujo/ bishojo	Bishoujo Senshi Sailor Moon >> Pretty Soldier Sailor Moon
a beautiful boy age 16 and under	bishounen/ bishonen
handsome young man over 16 years old	bisheinen
girl	shojo/shoujo
boy	shonen/shounen
young man over 16	sheinen
literal meaning is a polite form of "you", but the word took on the meaning of a (very) obsessed fan in Japanese, in other languages it's a popular way of calling yourself an anime fan	otaku
manga artist	manga-ka
friend	tomodachi	Tobias is my tomodachi. >> Tobias is my friend.
upperclassman - in power or rank	senpai
everyone	minna	Konnichiwa minna! >> Hi everyone! Konnichiwa minna-san!

Talking about your family to others:

father	chichi
mother	haha
older brother	ani
younger brother	otooto
older sister	ane
younger sister	imooto
grandfather	sohu
grandmother	sobo

Name Endings

ending put on a name of a best friend or relative - least formal	-chan	Ami-chan, Mako-chan
ending used for anyone - normal politeness	-san	Konnichiwa minna-san
most polite ending on names - teachers, respected peers, adults	-sama	Queen Beryl-sama

Numbers

1	ichi
2	ne
3	san
4	shi (or yon)
5	go
6	roku
7	shichi (or nana)
8	hachi
9	kyuu (or ku)
10	juu

Descriptive Words

small, a short person, kid, diminutive, a style of drawing where the characters are smaller than normal size, sometimes expressed as SD for super-deformed	chibi
nude pictures, sexually perverted, a pervert	hentai
cute	kawaii
cool, amazing	sugoi
funny	okashi
dirty	kitanii
little	chiisai

Conversational Words

hello on telephone	moshi moshi
informal good morning	ohayo
formal good morning	ohayo gazaimasu
hello, till the afternoon	konnichiwa	Konnichiwa minna-san >> Hello everyone often used on websites to greet visitors
good evening	konbanwa
informal good night	oyasumi
formal good night	oyasumi nasai
casual goodbye, even saying it to a class man one year older than you is horribly impolite	ja mata ne
extremely casual goodbye, even saying it to a class man one year older than you is horribly impolite	ja'ne/ja ne
more formal goodbye	sayoonara
literally- sorry, I did something wrong, I'm sorry	gomen nasai
sorry for a quick mess up (like being a klutz)	sumimasen
very casual thank you	domo
casual thank you	arigatou	used on websites to thank visitors for help
thank you very much	domo arigatou
thank you, used for groups of people	arigatou gaziamasu
very polite thank you	domo arigatou gaziamasu
yes	hai
no	iie
am, is, are	desu (pronounced des)
used after a noun in the sentence to specify it	wa
used to specify anything non-human as a noun	wo
used to show possession of a noun	no	Heero no onna >> Heero's woman/woman of Heero
when	itsu
Yeeoowch!	Itai!
whops/oh no (notice exclamation)	wa!
phone number	denwa bango
breakfast	cho sho ku
lunch	chu cho ku
dinner	yu sho ku
meal	shokuji
train	kisha
theater	gekijo
inn	ryokan

Languages

English	Eigo/eego
The English alphabet, when used to transliterate (romanize) the original Japanese words (all of the Japanese terms here are written in Romaji)	Romaji	Japanese >> Romanji >> Mizuno Ami >> Sailor Mercury
Chinese characters as used in Japanese, with different meanings/pronunciations	Kanji
One of the Japanese phonetic alphabets, mainly used for borrowed words, it was created by the government to use in teaching children - easier to write than Hirigana.	Katakana
One of the Japanese phonetic alphabets, used for native words, it's the more advanced form of katakana.	Hiragana

Relationships

love	ai
boy love, guy on guy relationships, gay	yaoi
more involved guy relationship	shounen-ai
girl love, girl on girl relationships, lesbian	yuri
more involved girl relationship	shoujo-ai
I love you - very passionate, rarely used in animes, more often in fan fiction	ai shiteru
I love you - affectionate rather than passionate	koi shiteru
literally- I'm fond of you, you're my favorite (person), I love you In anime, this phrase is usually used when one character makes a proclamation of love to another, especially when it's the first time he/she has said it	suki desu

Question Words

ka is how a question is expressed, instead of: nani?- it is: nani ka?

what?	nani ka?
where?	doko (ni) ka?
added to the end of a sentence to say "isn't it?" or "am I right?"	...ne ka?	Sailor Moon is sugoi, ne ka?

Short Sentences

ka is how a question is expressed, instead of: Ogenki desu?- it is: Ogenki desu ka?

literally- What is your name?, Are you (insert name)?	Anata no namae wa (insert name) desu.
Your name please.	Onamae wa.
My name is (insert name).	Watashi no namae wa (insert name) desu.	Watashi no namae wa Ami desu. >> My name is Ami.
for first time meeting only- How do you do, my name is (insert name).	Hajimemashite watashi wa (insert name) desu.	Hajimemashite watashi wa Ami desu. >> How do you do, my name is Ami.
literally- Are you well?, How are you?	Ogenki desu ka?
for first time meeting only- literally-please be kind to me, Pleased to meet you.	Doozo yorashiku.
literally- What age are you?, How old are you?	Nan sai desu ka?
to say where you're from, I am (insert name) from (insert place).	Watashi wa (insert place) no (insert name) wa.	Watashi wa Amerika no Ami wa. >> I am Ami from America.
What grade are you in?	Anata wa nan nensei desu ka?
Yes it is.	Hai so desu.
No it isn't.	Eii chigiamasu.
Wait a minute.	Chottomate kudasai.
I don't know/understand.	Wakarimasen.
I understand/know.	Wakarimashita.
I have a question.	Shitsumon garimasu.
How do you say it in English?	Word wa eego de nandesu ka?

Sailor Moon Terms

The enemies that the main enemy (such as Jedite) create in each episode to fight the senshi.	youma
outfit, uniform often referred to by otakus as "senshi fuku" or "sailor fuku"	fuku
The Silver Crystal formed from the seven Rainbow Crystals. (Sailor Moon's power comes from this)	ginzuishou
The Seven Rainbow Crystals that combine to make the Silver Crystal. They were the Silver Crystal in which Queen Serenity locked the dark shadow that attacked the Moon Kingdom, she then sent it to Earth where the 7 Rainbow Crystals were born into humans (Ryo, Game Machine Joe, Hercules (cat), ect.)	nijzuishou
transformation into their fuku that takes place when magical words are said (i.e. "Mercury Power, Make Up!"), using a crystal or source of power	henshin
Literally- soldier, scout in NA dub	senshi
For the three pure heart crystals that form the Purity Chalice there are two names used: In the NA dub they are called Treasures.	For the Japanese Version they are called Talisman.
(Tree of Evil) The Doom Tree	makaiju