Vocabulary and phrases
Practical guides on speaking, grammar, pronunciation, listening, and study planning, written for learners who want to use Japanese in real life.
Vocabulary and phrases · Page 4
Japanese Tennis and Badminton Vocabulary: Shots, Scores and Courts
Tennis is tenisu and badminton is badominton in Japanese, and both share a core of katakana words: raketto (racket), sābu (serve), rarī (rally) and sumasshu (smash). The differences are in the details: badminton has its own shuttle words and shots, tennis has its own scoring, and both need a few polite phrases for sharing public courts.
10 min readJapanese Table Tennis Vocabulary: Takkyū Words, Spins and Strokes
Table tennis in Japanese is takkyū (卓球), literally table ball. Most stroke and gear names are katakana, but the spin vocabulary is native Japanese built on kaiten, rotation: kami kaiten for topspin, shita kaiten for backspin and yoko kaiten for sidespin.
10 min readJapanese Surfing Vocabulary: Waves, Boards and Lineup Etiquette
Surfing in Japanese is sāfin, and a lot of its vocabulary is katakana: sāfubōdo, padoru, teikuofu. The words that matter most in the water are native Japanese, though: nami (wave), oki (out the back), the body-part scale for wave size, and maenori, dropping in on someone, the one mistake every surfer in Japan wants you to avoid.
10 min readJapanese Ice Skating Vocabulary: At the Rink and Watching Figure Skating
Ice skating in Japanese is sukēto, and the three verbs you need most are native: suberu (to glide), korobu (to fall) and tomaru (to stop). Add kashigutsu, rental skates, and a few rink rules, and you are ready for a public rink; for watching figure skating on TV, learn kaiten, rotation, and engi, performance.
10 min readJapanese Golf Vocabulary: Driving Range, Course Words and Etiquette
Golf in Japanese is gorufu, and most course and club words are katakana: doraibā, gurīn, bankā, pā. The truly Japanese part is around the game: the uchippanashi driving range, polite lines like osaki ni shitsurei shimasu, and the language of a company golf day, where courtesy matters as much as your score.
10 min readJapanese Skateboarding Vocabulary: Sukebō Tricks, Gear and Park Talk
Skateboarding in Japanese is sukētobōdo, almost always shortened to sukebō. Trick and gear names are katakana, such as ōrī (ollie) and dekki (deck), while the verbs that tie them together are Japanese: noru (to ride), waza o kimeru (to land a trick) and korobu (to fall).
10 min readJapanese Diving and Snorkeling Vocabulary: Gear, Sea Life and Safety
Diving in Japanese is daibingu and snorkeling is shunōkeringu. The gear words are katakana, but the words that keep you safe underwater are native Japanese: moguru (to dive down), uku (to float), mimi nuki (equalising your ears) and iki o haku (to breathe out).
10 min readJapanese Esports Vocabulary: Tournaments, Streams and Team Calls
Esports in Japanese is ī supōtsu, written eスポーツ. Many gameplay words are katakana, but the vocabulary of competition is native Japanese: taikai (tournament), yosen (qualifier), kesshō (final), yūshō (winning the title), jikkyō (play-by-play commentary) and kaisetsu (expert analysis).
9 min readJapanese for Playing in a Band: Studio, Gear and Gig Phrases
To play in a band in Japanese, start with bando o kumu (to form a band), pāto (your part or instrument), sutajio renshū (studio rehearsal) and raibu (a live gig). Add the right verb for each instrument, a handful of gear words that differ from English, and a few rehearsal lines like mō ikkai atama kara, once more from the top.
12 min readJapanese Drawing and Illustration Vocabulary: Tools, Steps and Praise
The core Japanese words for drawing are e (絵, picture), kaku (描く, to draw), irasuto (illustration), shitagaki (rough sketch), senga (line art) and iro o nuru (to colour in). Add the tools, the subjects you draw and a few lines for giving and receiving compliments, and you can talk about your art with anyone in Japan.
10 min readJapanese Dance Vocabulary: Classes, Moves, Counts and Bon Odori
The basic Japanese verb for dancing is odoru (踊る), and a dance routine is furitsuke (振り付け), choreography. In a class you will hear counts in English, wan, tsū, surī, fō, plus instructions like hiza o magete (bend your knees) and chikara o nuite (relax). For festival dancing, bon odori, you mostly copy the people around you.
10 min readJapanese for Train Fans: Tetsudō Words, Fan Types and Manners
A train fan in Japanese is a tetsudō fan (鉄道ファン), casually a tetchan, and fans name themselves by what they love: toritetsu photograph trains, noritetsu ride them, ototetsu record their sounds and mokeitetsu build model railways. The key vocabulary covers cars and formations, special services, last runs and the manners expected at the trackside.
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