Japanese Words in English

The Japanese language belongs to the Japonic-Ryukyuan group of languages. It is made up of three different scripts, namely kanji, hiragana and katakana. All the three scripts are said to be derived from Chinese characters. The numerals used are Sino-Japanese. Although now the western style Arabic numerals are commonly used. There are a number of Chinese words which have made their place in the Japanese language. At the same time, Japanese also has loanwords from Indo-European languages like English.

Japanese is the official language of Japan and Palau. It is spoken by more than 120 million people around the world. Japanese speaking people are found in Hawaii, Brazil, Peru, Argentina Australia and the United States of America. The State of California has a total of 1.2% Japanese-speaking people. The Japanese language has three main dialects, namely Tokyo dialect, Kyoto-Osaka dialect and Kyushu dialect.

The English language has been enriched with words from different cultures and languages. So how can Japanese words be an exception to this rule? There are many Japanese words in English, but we are unaware that the Japanese words to English are loanwords. The words from other languages, places and names from other countries are written in the katakana script in the Japanese language. The Japanese names, places and words are written in kanji and hiragana scripts. Having said that we will see, which are the Japanese loanwords in English.

Japanese Words in the English Language

Japanese Words in English	Meaning
Aikido	Japanese martial arts
Anime	Animation
Bento	A meal box with separators
Bonsai	Miniature tree
Dashi	Soup stock; fundamental to Japanese cooking
Geisha	Professional artist
Haiku	Short poem of 3 lines
Harakiri	A form of ritual suicide
Hibachi	Portable charcoal grill
Honcho	Chief or head or a business magnet
Ikebana	Flower arrangement
Imari	Porcelain ware
Judo	Martial arts form
Kabuki	Traditional Japanese theater
Kamikaze	Divine wind
Kakemono	Vertical Japanese calligraphy scroll
Karaoke	Singing pop songs to musical backing
Karate	Type of Japanese martial arts
Katsuo / Maguro	Tuna
Kimono	Outer garment, generally made of silk
Koi	Ornamental carp fish
Manga	Comics
Makimono	Horizontal hand scroll for calligraphy
Miso	Paste made from soybean, koji and sea salt
Obi	Belt / sash used with a kimono
Origami	Paper-folding art
Ramen	A variety of Japanese noodle soup
Rickshaw	Human-pulled vehicle
Sake	Alcoholic beverage made from rice
Samurai	Japanese warrior
Sayonara	Goodbye
Sensei	Master, teacher
Shoyu	Japanese soy sauce
Sudoku	Puzzles, although now used for mathematical puzzles
Sumo	Japanese wrestling; also national sport of Japan
Sushi	Vinegared rice topped with raw fish, shellfish and rarely vegetables
Tanka	Short poem form; older than haiku
Teriyaki	Cooking technique in which fish or meat is grilled in soy marinade
Tofu	Bean curd
Tsunami	Large wave as a result of underwater disturbances
Tycoon	Great Leader; now applied to wealthy businessmen
Typhoon	Violent tropical storm or cyclone
Ukiyoe	Wood block prints
Wasabi	Green paste similar to horseradish
Zen	Branch of Mahayana Buddhism
Zori	Rice straw sandals; commonly worn with kimono for formal occasions

This list of Japanese words in English is not exhaustive. I have tried and given the most common words here. With each passing day, there are some news words added to the English dictionary, which have made their way into the language because of the Japanese influence. In case I have missed out on some, please do let me know!