How to use Abbreviated Nouns and Verbs in Japanese
Welcome back to our “Video & Article” series with tutor Miki. In this article and video Miki teaches you how to use “略語” in Japanese. This refers to words that have been abbreviated or made into an acronym, like for example “LOL” or “ASAP” in English. Especially Japanese-English or Waseigo terms are often abbreviated like this, since their original Katakana-versions tend to be very long. In this lesson, we will introduce a couple of useful examples.
| Table of Contents [Introduction] [スマホ] [ガラケー] [コンビニ] [デパート] [シャーペン] [アポ] [タコパ & クリパ] [OL & KY] [ディスる] [ググる] |
[Introduction]
Have you ever heard of the Japanese word “略語”? It is combined of the word “略”, which means to shorten or omit, and “語”, which means language or words. “略語” refers to Japanese words or vocabulary that has been shortened, abbreviated, or made into an acronym. In English some examples are “ASAP”, short for “as soon as possible” or “LOL”, “laugh out loud”.
Many “略語” in Japanese are words that derive from foreign languages like English. Since these Katakana-words tend to be very long, they often tend to be shortened and turned into “略語”!
[スマホ]
The first word we will look at today is “スマホ”.
スマホ ➡ スマートフォン・スマートホン
This word originates from the English word smartphone. As you can see, the original Katakana version on the right is very long, so Japanese people have shortened this word to スマホ.
For example:
スマホを落として画面が割れちゃった。
I dropped my smartphone and the screen cracked.
[ガラケー]
The next term will probably soon vanish from the Japanese language, but right now there are still some people using “ガラケー”, so it’s still useful to remember this one.
Until the rise of popularity in smartphones, most Japanese people used to use a cellphone called “ガラパゴス携帯”, which was a form of cell phone sold by a company called “Galapagos”. These “Galapagos phones” were popular for being folded open and closed.
ガラケー ➡ ガラパゴス携帯
For example:
私まだガラケーなんだよね。使いやすいし。
I still use a traditional style cell phone. It’s just so easy to use.
[コンビニ]
Next, let’s take a look at some locations. The first one is super famous: “コンビニ”. コンビニ derives from the English word “convenience store”.
コンビニ ➡ コンビニエンスストア
For example:
ちょっと、コンビニへ行ってくる！
I’ll quickly go to the convenience store!
[デパート]
“デパート” derives from the English word “department store”
デパート ➡ デパートメントストア
For example:
デパートに行きたい。
I want to go to the department store.
[シャーペン]
This term is a mixture of Wasei Eigo and 略語 because “シャーペン” is an abbreviated version of the word “シャープペンシル”, but it means “mechanical pencil”.
シャーペン ➡ シャープペンシル
シャーペンかしてもらっていい？
Can I borrow a mechanical pencil?
Additionally, the leads of a mechanical pencils care called “シャー芯” in Japanese. The long version of this term is “シャーペンの芯”.
シャー芯のふたが開いてて、筆箱の中で散乱していた。
The case where I keep my mechanical pencil leads broke and the broken pieces are scattered all over my pencil case.
[アポ]
This term is often used in a business setting. The English noun “appointment” is shortened to “アポ”.
アポ ➡ アポイントメント
Here are a few examples for how the word アポ is used in Japanese:
アポをとる
To make an appointment
アポなし
Without an appointment
For example:
今日は取引先に電話して担当者のアポをとる。アポなしで行くのは申し訳ないからね。
I will call the clients to make an appointment today. Because I feel bad to visit them without an appointment.
[タコパ & クリパ]
“タコパ” derives from “たこ焼きパーティー”, which is a gathering where the main dish is Takoyaki which is often cooked at home together with friends.
タコパ ➡ たこ焼きパーティー
“クリパ” means “Christmas Party”.
クリパ ➡ クリスマスパーティー
For example:
今週クリパしましょう。
Let’s have a Christmas party this week.
今週タコパしましょう。
Let’s have a Takoyaki party this week.
[OL & KY]
The next two terms are shortened words that use the alphabet in Japanese.
OL (オーエル) means “Office Lady” in Japan. It refers to women who work in office jobs, especially to women in assistant or secretarial positions.
A: お仕事はなにしていますか？
A: What do you work as?
B: 普通にOLです。
B: I work in an office job.
The next one is KY （ケイワイ), which is short for “空気を読めない”, which means that someone is failing to read between the lines in a situation. “Reading the air” is a concept in Japanese which means that you should not just take the literal meaning of a conversation into consideration, but all of the surrounding factors as well: A person’s tone, gestures, body posture and the entire context of the situation.
If someone is unable to do this, Japanese people may refer to that as person as “KY” – “Kuuki wo yomenai”.
For example:
皆人生で最低1回はKYなことをした経験があると思う。
I think everyone has at least once in their life been the one to be unable to read the mood in a room.
[ディスる]
For the next two words we will be looking at contracted verbs.
First of all, “ディスる” combines the English term “disrespect” and the Japanese verb “する”. This verb means to disrespect someone by criticizing them, disagreeing with them, and/or belittling them.
最近人のことをディスりすぎですよ。
You’ve said disrespectful things about others too much these days.
[ググる]
The next verb is quite useful – after learning it, you will surely start to incorporate it into your daily conversations. This word is “ググる” and means “to google”.
ググる ➡ グーグルする
The word is a combination of the search engine name “Google” and the verb “する”, which combined is shortened to “ググる”.
For example:
わからないことがあったらググってください。
If you don’t know something, please google it.
That’s everything for today. Thank you for reading this article, and please feel free to consult our native Japanese language teachers if you have any further questions!
| 略語 | Abbreviation, acronym |
| スマホ | Smartphone |
| 落とす | To drop |
| 画面 | Screen |
| 割れる | To break, to split, to crack |
| ガラケー | Galapagos phone |
| 使いやすい | Easy to use |
| コンビニ | Convenience store |
| デパート | Department store |
| シャーペン | Mechanical pencil |
| シャー芯 | Mechanical pencil lead |
| 筆箱 | Pencil box |
| 散乱する | To scatter |
| アポ | Appointment |
| 取引先 | Customer, client |
| 担当者 | Person in charge |
| タコパ | Takoyaki party |
| クリパ | Christmas party |
| ディスる | To diss, to disrespect |
| ググる | To google |
