PT. II - Japanese-English Words and What They Actually Mean
Borrowed English words are everywhere in Japan, but many of them don't mean exactly what native English speakers expect. Some have been shortened, others have developed completely new meanings, and a few can lead to some genuinely confusing conversations.
In this episode, guest co-host Scoey and I continued our discussion about Japanese-English vocabulary by looking at more examples of words that surprised us after moving to Japan and the stories behind how they came to be used.
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Familiar Words With Unexpected Meanings
One of the first words we discussed was Hotchkiss, the Japanese word for a stapler.
To someone hearing it for the first time, it sounds completely unrelated to office supplies. Like many borrowed words in Japanese, however, it has an interesting history that explains why the name became attached to an everyday object.
We also looked at several other common expressions that can easily confuse newcomers, including pasokon for "personal computer" and "fried potato" for French fries.
How Borrowed Words Continue to Change
One of the fascinating things about language is that borrowed words don't stay frozen in time.
Some are shortened, others shift in meaning, and some become so common that many people no longer think of them as foreign words at all. We talked about examples such as consento, which refers to an electrical outlet rather than permission or agreement.
Living in Japan makes you realize that loanwords gradually become part of Japanese rather than remaining direct translations from English.
Language Reflects Culture
Our conversation also touched on words that carry cultural meaning beyond simple translation.
Terms relating to identity, society, and everyday life often reflect the time and culture in which they became popular. Understanding those words isn't only about learning vocabulary—it's also about understanding the society that created and continues to use them.
That's one of the reasons language is such an interesting window into Japanese culture.
Learning to Enjoy the Differences
The longer you live in Japan, the more these language differences become something to appreciate rather than something to struggle with.
What first feels confusing gradually becomes familiar, and before long you may even catch yourself using Japanese-English expressions without thinking about it. Those small moments are part of what makes learning another language—and living in another culture—so rewarding.
If you've come across a Japanese-English word that completely surprised you, I'd love to hear about it. Which expression confused you the most when you first encountered it?