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. |
| 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. |
単語リスト（Vocabulary list）
| 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 |