Michael Ferber

Japanese has taken in thousands of English terms over time, including aidoru for idol, depato for department store, hankachi for handkerchief, and even raisu for rice. Strolling through urban Japan reveals abundant signs in the Roman alphabet alongside katakana script used for foreign borrowings. In exchange, English has adopted a substantial collection of Japanese vocabulary.

The Oxford English Dictionary records 586 Japanese-origin words now part of English. Many remain specialized, appearing mostly in texts about Japan or familiar only to enthusiasts of go, martial arts like judo and karate, or flower arranging known as ikebana. The dictionary omits atari, the warning in go when pieces face capture, similar to check in chess. The name Atari for a gaming firm derives from this term.

Numerous familiar Japanese words relate to cuisine, as food terms often lead linguistic exchanges, much like pasta or pizza from Italian and taco from Spanish. English now includes miso, panko, ramen, sake, sashimi, shiitake, soba, soy, sukiyaki, sushi, tempura, teriyaki, tofu, udon, and wasabi, plus the taste umami. These might be prepared on a hibachi grill.

Sashimi refers to raw fish often placed atop sushi. Teriyaki and sukiyaki indicate grilled or roasted preparations, as in yakisoba noodles. Tofu stems from a Chinese phrase for fermented beans; a child once misheard it as toe-food, which was reasonably close.

Recent adoptions ending similarly include kombucha, a fermented kelp drink with tea, and matcha, powdered tea from a root meaning rub. The word cha for tea entered English via Chinese routes in the 1600s, while chai reflects other language pronunciations. The term tea itself arrived via Dutch from Malay, tracing back to a shared Chinese root.

World War II introduced banzai, kamikaze, and harakiri, yet borrowings began earlier with Commodore Perry in 1854. Shogun appeared in varied spellings before, linked to taikun, which became tycoon. Soldiers later adopted pachinko for the pinball game and skosh from sukoshi meaning a little.

Terms tied to arts and aesthetics include bonsai, geisha, haiku, ikebana, kabuki, netsuke, origami, satori, and zen, offering insight into Japanese traditions. Newer widespread words encompass manga, anime, karaoke, sudoku, and kenken. Wabi-sabi captures beauty in imperfection and simplicity through its compound meanings of tranquility with hints of solitude and age.

Martial arts contributions feature judo, jujitsu, karate, kendo, ninja, katana, and samurai. Additional terms round out the list: futon, honcho, koi, kudzu, sakura, tatami, and tsunami.

Emoji stands out, derived from picture and character rather than emotion, alongside kanji and romaji scripts. Full Japanese literacy requires kanji, hiragana, katakana, and the Roman alphabet.

Many borrowings recycle Chinese compounds like tycoon and geisha. Others adapt Western words: panko from bread and powder via Portuguese, tempura possibly from seasoning, anime from animation, cosplay from costume play, and karaoke blending empty with orchestra.

Japan itself comes from Malay via Portuguese traders, while the Japanese name Nihon or Nippon means sun origin, or Eastern Land.

That covers the available space. Sayonara.