2.3 和製英語 — the words that will not work in English — Epoché
What you will be able to do Name eighty words that look English, are used constantly in Japanese, and will not be understood by an English speaker. Know that サラリーマン , コンセント , ハンドル and マンション are Japanese words, not English ones. Say why learning these before the words that do work is the right order. Recognise the three ways Japanese builds a word out of English parts. Prerequisites : lesson 2.2 — the clipping rule and eighty clipped words. This is the most useful lesson in the volume, and the reason for its position. Lessons 2.1 and 2.2 handed you two hundred words for nothing. The bill arrives here: a large class of Japanese words is made in Japan out of English material , and for you these are more dangerous than words with no English in them at all, because you will recognise them and be wrong. They are called 和製英語 ( waseieigo ) — "English made in Japan". They are not mistakes. They are ordinary Japanese vocabulary with a foreign etymology, exactly as omnibus and morgue are ordinary English vocabulary with a French etymology. What makes them a problem is one-directional: they work perfectly in Japanese and fail completely in English. The rule Three ways a word gets built, and knowing which you are looking at usually tells you how far from English the meaning has travelled. Method Example English parts, Japanese compound. Two or more English words joined into a compound that does not exist in English. サラリーマン salary + man; ガソリンスタンド gasoline + stand; ペーパードライバー paper + driver One English word, a different meaning. The form is genuinely English; the sense has moved, narrowed, or been taken from a technical use. ハンドル a steering wheel; マンション a modern flat; スマート slim An English word taken through a third language or a brand name. ホッチキス a stapler, from the Hotchkiss company; ミシン a sewing machine, from "machine" The second class is the treacherous one, because there is nothing visibly odd about it. ハンドル is a real English word, spelled and pronounced as you would expect, and it means the wheel you steer a car with. If you use it in English to a Japanese colleague they will understand; if they use it in English to you, you will not. Why learn these first Because the cost of the two kinds of error is not symmetrical. If you fail to learn a working borrowing — テーブル , ホテル — you simply do not know a word, and you will learn it the first time you meet it. If you fail to learn one of these, you will use an English word confidently in a situation where it means something else, or you will fail to understand a Japanese word you were sure you knew. There is a second reason, which matters if you ever speak English with Japanese colleagues. Knowing this list tells you which English words they will use in a Japanese sense. When a Japanese engineer says "I will send you the mail", or "the handle is broken", or "my apartment is a mansion", the list above is what they are drawing on, and you can decode it instantly if you have read this lesson. Word list Eighty words. Read each aloud, then read the meaning — and notice how many of them you would have got wrong. People and work Japanese What it actually means サラリーマン a male white-collar company employee. Not "salaryman", which is not English. オーエル a female office worker, from "office lady". Dated, and not English. フリーター someone living on part-time work, from "free" plus German Arbeiter ベテラン an experienced person in any field. Nothing to do with the armed forces. エリート a high-flyer, used of an individual person カメラマン a photographer, of stills as well as film ガードマン a security guard タレント a television personality — a job, not an ability ワンマン dictatorial, high-handed (of a boss) ネイティブ a native speaker of a language ハーフ a person of mixed Japanese and other parentage サークル a university club or society コンパ a students' drinking party, from "company" カンニング cheating in an examination, from "cunning" プリント a handout given out in class スキンシップ affectionate physical contact, especially between parent and child クレーム a complaint. Not a claim. ドクターストップ being told by a doctor to stop doing something パワハラ bullying by a superior at work ゴールイン reaching the finish; also getting married Home and things Japanese What it actually means コンセント an electrical socket in the wall. From "concentric plug". マンション a modern concrete block of flats, or one flat in it クーラー an air conditioner ストーブ a heater. Not a cooker. レンジ a microwave oven, from "range" ミシン a sewing machine, from "machine" ホッチキス a stapler, from the manufacturer's name セロテープ sticky tape シャープペンシル a mechanical pencil ボールペン a ballpoint pen ペットボトル a plastic drinks bottle, from the plastic's initials ダンボール corrugated cardboard リュック a rucksack, from German Rucksack ドライヤー a hairdryer specifically ベビーカー a pushchair, a pram チャック a zip, from a Japanese brand name ジャンパー a casual jacket. Not a pullover. トレーナー a sweatshirt ジャージ a tracksuit ワンピース a dress Out and about Japanese What it actually means ハンドル a steering wheel マイカー one's own car, as a category — "car ownership" ペーパードライバー someone with a licence who never drives ガソリンスタンド a petrol station オープンカー a convertible アクセル the accelerator pedal バックミラー a rear-view mirror シルバーシート a priority seat for the elderly on a train モーニングコール a wake-up call in a hotel フロント a hotel reception desk ビジネスホテル a small, cheap city hotel バイキング a buffet. From "Viking", by way of a restaurant's name. ゴールデンウィーク the run of public holidays at the start of May テーマパーク a theme park ゲームセンター an amusement arcade ベッドタウン a commuter town リフォーム renovating a house. Not reforming anything. オーダーメイド made to measure バーゲン a sale in a shop アフターサービス after-sales service Food, sport and feeling Japanese What it actually means ソフトクリーム soft-serve ice cream シュークリーム a cream puff. From French chou à la crème , not from shoes. ショートケーキ a sponge cake layered with cream and strawberries ロールケーキ a swiss roll フライドポテト chips, french fries ハンバーグ a hamburg steak — a patty with no bun アメリカンドッグ a corn dog コーヒーフレッシュ the little pot of coffee creamer ジュース any cold soft