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Monday, October 17, 2005
japanese youths' lingos...
guess in every country, the young like to create new words to sound cool and engage in conversations that elder ppl cannot understand...
japanese is no different. in fact, i find it really amusing. guess for those of you who knows some japanese, you will find it funny too.. hehe
here are some of the lingos spoken by the youths as reported by MDN...
New words are formed by shortening existing words, reversing their syllables or adding "ru" to nouns, thereby creating the infinitive forms of new verbs, such as in "biniru." Which sounds like the word for "vinyl," but actually means to go to a "konbini" (convenience store).
Using the same construction, "famiru" means to go to a family restaurant. "Yoshiru" means to eat at a Yoshino-ya chain restaurant. "Apiru" is to appeal to someone, "okeru" means to go to sing karaoke, and "operu" is to undergo cosmetic surgery (from "operation"). Then you have "rabiru" which means to be trapped and unable to take any action. ("Rabi" is short for "labyrinth," a maze.) Strangest of all, perhaps, is "giboru" --- to undergo a paranormal experience. It is taken from the name Aiko Gibo, a psychic who used to appear regularly on television.
An-pan -- not a roll filled with sweet bean jam, but an am-pm convenience store outlet. (Whose main rival is called "bun-bun," taken from SeBUN-ereBUN -- get it? Seven-Eleven.)
Chihuahua -- to borrow money from consumer finance company Aiful, whose TV commercials feature "Qu-chan," a cute miniature dog.
Daa -- short for "darling"
Getoru -- to obtain something. Combining "get" and "toru" (to take).
Haafu -- from the English "half." Means to stay out half the night, until 3 a.m.
Ikato -- a nerdy person who's out of it. Shortened from "ikanimo Todai-sei" ("he or she is really like a University of Tokyo student).
Isojin -- name of a well known brand of throat gargle, but in this case means a person (jin) who is exceptionally busy (isogashii).
Karako -- a color copy
Keiban -- a cell phone number. Shortened from "keitai bango."
M4 -- not a magnitude 4 earthquake, but an appointment to meet someone at 4 pm at McDonalds.
Maha-go! -- a command to get lost, beat it, scram. Composed from "maha" (mach, the speed of sound) and "go."
Marumera -- Marlboro Menthol Lights
Oniden -- Literally, "demon-electricity." To telephone a person persistently.
Pee-pee (pronounced peh-peh) -- to lie, or a liar.
Peki-peki -- short for "kanpeki," perfect.
Rochuu --- short for "rojo de chuu," to kiss on a public street.
Takakura Ken --- refers to a clumsy person. (The name of a famous macho actor.)
Wakame -- normally a sea vegetable, but in this case refers to straight, black hair. Probably because eating wakame is believed to promote healthy hair.
Yababa --- combined from "yabai obasan," an older woman capable of making trouble.
Yakui --- a hood, someone resembling a yakuza.
Yarahata --- a girl who reaches the age of 20 still a virgin. The word is made by combining "yaranai" (not to do it) and "hatachi" (age 20).
Yuusu --- a high school student. From the English "youth."
Zenbei ga naita --- literally, "the entire United States wept." Means nothing important.
One might be moved to wonder how the above expression could possibly take on such an unrelated meaning. After checking the blogs, your reporter came up with this explanation: When many U.S. films open in Japan, they are accompanied by posters claiming that American viewers were moved to tears. But the such films have little emotional impact on viewers here. So Japanese filmgoers have learned, apparently, to disregard such promotional claims as largely meaningless.
at the end of the article, it is warned that "By the time adults get around to acquiring them, kids have already moved on and coined new ones. So there's a good chance learning them is hardly worth the effort,"
heh. the things the young do...
read the whole article here.
posted by winz at 10:10 AM
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