It was in the news this last week that a 71 year old Japanese guy is suing NHK for mental distress caused by an excessive use of words borrowed from English. His complaint was that he couldn’t understand his own language at times due to the national broadcaster preferring to use words such as trouble (toraburu) and risk (risuku) rather than the Japanese equivalent.

In a way I can sympathise with him as this bastardisation of the English language just seems relentless in Japan with an endless amount of words being used in weird and wonderful ways. All the words are changed to fit the Japanese phonic structure and with a Japanese accent they can often sound very removed from their English originals.

Similarly to these loan English words there are also many English words ‘made in Japan’ that are not entirely incomprehensible but are likely to require a moment’s thought on the part of the listener. Way back in 2007 I wrote an article called ‘English Made In Japan Pt I‘ and so here in true Tokyo Fox fashion is the follow-up. It’s been six years in the making!!

Lost Time (rosuto taimu) – In a way this actually makes more sense than injury time as it is time that has been ‘lost’ during the game due to substitutions, ball going out of play and injuries too.

Middle Shoot (midoru shuto) – Not quite as bizarre as how it sounds. In Japan a long shot is considered to be a very long shot as in from, say 40 yards out or the half way line but middle shoot is a shot from the middle of the half which is anything from 20-40 yards out.

Heading Shoot (hedingu shuto) – The term for a goal scored with the head.

Baby Car (bebii kaa) – Again this kind of makes sense as what the Japanese call baby car refers to a pram/push-chair/stroller which is of course a vehicle to carry babies.

Claim (kurehmu) – Japanese are not exactly famed for making complaints but when they do they “make a claim.”

Key Holder (kii horudaa) – Or as we prefer to say, keyring or keychain.

Consent (konsento) – You’re not being asked for permission of something when this word is used but the Japanese speaker is referring to the plug socket in the wall. How this one came about I have no idea!

Mugcup (magu kappu) – This gets confusing as cup often means glass in Japan and mugcup is what you’d drink a cup of tea or coffee from.

Free Size (furii saizu) – One size fits all.

Free Pass (furii paasu) – It’s certainly not what I first thought but just means an all-day pass at a theme park for example.

Cooler (kuuraa) – Is it a refrigerator or an air conditioner? It’s the latter but this one can cause confusion depending on where in the world you are.

One Piece (wan piisu) Such a common error in English lessons. They mean dress.

Royal Milk Tea (ro-yaru miruku chi)- Supposedly referring to tea consumed in Britain. It is a specific type of tea combined with milk and sugar. I usually correct this by just saying its known simply as tea!

Starting Member (sutaatingu menba) – Founder of a company.

Y-Shirt (Y shatsu) – A business shirt coming (presumably) from the ‘Y’ sound in the word white which is the traditional coloured shirt worn by office workers.

Love Call (rabu koru) – You’d probably guess this is what is known as English as a booty call but its actually just a term for screaming at a celebrity you love.

Other such examples include: after care; ball pen; bargain sale; camping car; catch ball; Salaryman/OL; gasoline stand; potato fry; morning call; (hotel) front; SF; guard man; note perso-con; order made; jet coaster; take out; coin laundry; game center; decoration cake. There are hundreds more words out there and for a far more comprehensive list please check out this link which will explain any of the above words you don’t know.