Home » Segments » Wasei-Eigo, Japan-Made English

Wasei-Eigo, Japan-Made English

Leo, a scientIst in Tucson, Arizona, used to live in Japan, where he often heard Japanese speakers using English that wasn’t quite correct. For example, one Japanese friend described someone “full of worry” as scareful. Another used paper driver to refer to “a person who has a driver’s license but doesn’t drive.” Wasei-eigo is “Japanese-made English,” in which hai bijon (ハイビジョン) literally “high vision” can mean “modern,” and amerikan doggu (アメリカンドッグ) means “corn dog.” English and Japanese have long borrowed from each other. The English word skosh, for example, comes from Japanese sukoshi (少し), a “little bit.” This is part of a complete episode.

Leave a comment

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

More from this show

What Makes A Great Book Opening Line?

What makes a great first line of a book? How do the best authors put together an initial sentence that draws you in and makes you want to read more? We’re talking about the openings of such novels as George Orwell’s 1984...

Slip Someone a Mickey

To slip someone a mickey means to doctor a drink and give it to an unwitting recipient. The phrase goes back to Mickey Finn of the Lone Star Saloon in Chicago, who in the late 19th century was notorious for drugging certain customers and relieving...