# False English words



## _forumuser_

Hi everyone. Please delete this post if I am inadvertently violating any rule... (I know you will anyway, but it feels better if I have given my permission first )

Here is my question. Many languages have some "false" English expressions, i.e. words or phrases derived from or modelled after English expressions, which are either no longer used in English in the same sense, or have never been. Japanese is no exception. Here is a couple of examples:

1. オーバー ("over") = excessive, exaggerated

それは、ちょっとオーバーですね。
That's a little excessive, isn't it.

2. ドンマイ ("Don't mind") = No problem, never mind.

Can you help me put together a few of these "false" English words in use in contemporary Japanese?


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## shiremono

Hi, _forumuser_

It's not "some" words in Japanese. There are many _katakana_ words made in Japan which people (including me) tend to regard as English loanwords. 
I have found some lists of them. 

www.sljfaq.org/w/Wasei_eigo
http://home.att.net/~keiichiro/janglish/list.html
http://nissait.com/katakana.html
www.linkage-club.co.jp/Material/Japlish.html


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## _forumuser_

shiremono said:


> Hi, _forumuser_
> 
> It's not "some" words in Japanese. There are many _katakana_ words made in Japan which people (including me) tend to regard as English loanwords.
> I have found some lists of them.
> 
> www.sljfaq.org/w/Wasei_eigo
> http://home.att.net/~keiichiro/janglish/list.html
> http://nissait.com/katakana.html
> www.linkage-club.co.jp/Material/Japlish.html


 
Thanks, shiremono, for these links. But like much else out there on the net, they are full of inaccuracies or plain errors. (Example: Link # 3 above romanizes シュークリーム as "Shoe Cream" [!!] when it is in fact a (pseudo) loan from the French "CHou a la creme"; same story for arubaito). Frankly, I would prefer information from my trusted WRF friends.


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## SpiceMan

There are way to much words to just list them here. (I've also seen posts with lists of words being close in WRF).

That said, my top 5 favorites wasei eigo:
1) マイ it surely looks like "my" but means "personal", "own". マイコップはありますか do you have "my cup"? you're *not* asking if he/she has your cup. You're asking if he/she has a cup for personal use (an own or "favorite cup"). 
2) チャネル channel, as in channel, but as in TV remote control also.
3) 自己ＰＲ, self public relations(?!). Means to introduce yourself shortly, as in a resumee.
4) スキンシップ Skinship? No. "Physical contact".
5) マイナス or プラスドライバー. "minus" or "plus" driver. Regular and "phillips" screwdriver.


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## shiremono

> Example: Link # 3 above romanizes シュークリーム as "Shoe Cream" [!!] when it is in fact a (pseudo) loan from the French "CHou a la creme"; same story for arubaito


"Shoe Cream" is not an error nor romanization. It is what ordinary Japanese  people would spell as an equivalent English word. Correct English word is on the right on the table, "cream puff". As to the true origin of the word "CHou a la creme", it is told in the center in Japanese ;

「シュークリーム」 は、フランス語の“シュ・ア・ラ・クレム”から来たもので、英語では “cream puff” と言います。 

The same for "arbeit", which is not a romanization. People use this German loanword  to mean "part-time job" and many of them tend  to think it is English.

I think there are few mistakes in the lists. If you find any more, ask me before you turn them down.

There should be more reasons in your preference of direct information to some lists on the net. I can understand it for it can be the same reason why I am here, too.  

I buy and drink water in two liter "pet-bottles ペットボトル". I don't bring them around. So the word should be "plastic bottles" in English, right?
_
 Thanks Flaminius for fixing the links (again)._


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## _forumuser_

Shiremono,
I think your message comes across as a little more confrontational than you meant it to be. I've thanked you for giving me the links, and simply took the liberty of commenting on the quality of the material around on the web, in general. Frankly, I don't see what bothered you about my response. 



shiremono said:


> I think there are few mistakes in the lists. If you find any more, ask me before you turn them down.


 
I don't understand, do I need your permission to consider word lists on the internet unhelpful? (Note: Arubaito is from German, it simply shouldn't be on a list of Japan-made English words. Same story for Chou. These are errors in my book).



shiremono said:


> There should be more reasons in your preference of direct information to some lists on the net. I can understand it for it can be the same reason why I am here, too.


 
?????



shiremono said:


> I buy and drink water in two liter "pet-bottles ペットボトル". I don't bring them around. So the word should be "plastic bottles" in English, right?


 
Again, I don't understand your question. Pet bottles is perfect English and petto botoru is ordinary katakana eigo.


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## Flaminius

> I buy and drink water in two liter "pet-bottles ペットボトル". I don't bring them around. So the word should be "plastic bottles" in English, right?


Even if you don't take your bottle with you all the time, you can call it a pet if you feed and speak to it.  I like your humour!

My favourites are:
シングル from single, used in sense of a golf player carrying a single-digit handicap.
ホーム meaning plat*form* such as the ones in stations, not to be confused with "home."
マッチする from match, used in sense of "to tone in well."  Slightly off from the English sense.
ナイター from nighter, used in sense of a night game, typically of baseball.
ゲームセンター from game centre, used in sense of amusement arcade.
バスジャック, シージャック from hijack: the former means bus hijacking, and the latter hijack at sea.


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## youtin

My all-time favorite :

パンツ - meaning underwear, or underpants. It doesn't help that in English pants mean jeans or trousers. I always have to double check to make sure I use ずぼん or ジーパン to refer to my pants to save myself from embarassment..


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## Flaminius

> パンツ - meaning underwear, or underpants. It doesn't help that in English pants mean jeans or trousers.



Dear pants have different meanings in different places.  They are underwear in UK (whence the Japanese word) but are jeans or trousers across the pond.  In Japanese, you can avoid the embarrassment by flat accent;
*pa*ntsu: underwear
pantsu: trousers (not jeans).

This reminds me another instance of "an English word counting two in Japanese."  Hope they fall within _forumuser_'s definition of false English expressions.

ストライキ walkout
ストライク strike, a baseball term


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## _forumuser_

Thanks everyone, words with a little history behind are always easier to remember... Let's add more as they come to mind. Here's another one:

アバウトな　(abauto-na, adj.) = sloppy, unthorough, less than perfect, 大雑把. Eg.:

結構アバウトな記事　a rather "about" (sloppy) article. 

I have started using these in English and they work a beauty!


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## SpiceMan

Flaminius said:


> This reminds me another instance of "an English word counting two in Japanese."  Hope they fall within _forumuser_'s definition of false English expressions.


Oh, you reminded me of グラス and ガラス both "glass", but the former as in "glass of wine" and the latter as in "window glass".


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## shiremono

Sorry, _forumuser_. 

Of course I meant no offense nor it has anything to do with my "permission".

Do you mean " シュークリーム"　and   " アルバイト"　are irrelevant to your question because they are not derived from or modelled after English? Then you are right. I just uselessly pointed out that they are often considered to be loanwords from English. 

"Pet-bottle" ; "PET" of this word actually means "polyethylene-terephthalate", nothing to do with any affection toward the container. It may not be a wrong English acronym but the compound is said to be peculiar to Japanese.


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## SpiceMan

No there are "botellas PET" (lit: PET Bottles) in Argentina, too. 

It's written in some (not all) plastic bottles and, though is not used by people, it's used by the beverage companies.


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## Sinbadx81

My favorite:

スマート　from smart, most I've come across use it to mean "slim" rather than intelligent or stylish.


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## karuna

My favorite is _sābisu, _or things you get for free, unlike _service _in English for which you usually have to pay in full.


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## Aoyama

This words are also called *japlish* . There are very interesting because they illustrate (or bear witness to) the unique propensity that Japanese (language and people) has/have to fashion foreign words _ad libidum_ , starting with Chinese ...
 Some words can be _mixed_ like *man tan* (full tan_k_), sounding like kan tan in Japanese (but a Chinese word ...), others will sound outright strange : *"morning service"* (a breakfast set at a coffee shop or restaurant, sounding like a church service or worse ... mourning service) ... Many others probably listed in the sites provided by shiremono.
Paper test, eye test, winker, side break are among the many ...


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## _forumuser_

Aoyama said:


> This words are also called *japlish* . There are very interesting because they illustrate (or bear witness to) the unique propensity that Japanese (language and people) has/have to fashion foreign words _ad libidum_ , starting with Chinese ...
> Some words can be _mixed_ like *man tan* (full tan_k_), sounding like kan tan in Japanese (but a Chinese word ...), others will sound outright strange : *"morning service"* (a breakfast set at a coffee shop or restaurant, sounding like a church service or worse ... mourning service) ... Many others probably listed in the sites provided by shiremono.
> Paper test, eye test, winker, side break are among the many ...


 
Thanks Aoyama. I have been using_ man tan_ for a while but I've never stopped to think where it comes from! 満タン...Awesome stuff!  

The phenomenon seems to be common in many other languages. There is a thread on this in the Cultural Forum that I can't find right now...


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## Aoyama

In fact, there are two man tan(s), one is full tank, the other one, in university students slang, means _to have all_ _the credits_ *(tan i)* _needed to major (or to have registered for all those credits and not be able to take some more)._
Man tan is constructed as a "calque" from other Japanese words : kan tan, wan tan etc. Same for _puchi_ (from French petit), close to kuchi, guchi, muchi, fuchi etc. Many other examples.
Try to find the thread ...


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## cheshire

ベビーシッター baby-sitter
シッティングスキー sitting-ski
アルバイト temporary job
アパート　rented room
マンション　apartment
などがぱっと浮かんだけど、こういったものはいっぱいあります！
​


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## Aoyama

Just a small comment : since this thread is suppose to deal with *False English words arubaito* does not belong here, as it comes from German (arbeit).
A lot of things to say about this word. *Arubaito* in Japanese has a connotation of freedom, youth, "rule free" ... But to many Europeans, *arbeit* is reminiscent of  WW2, death camps and *arbeit macht frei* ... A deadly German phrase that would lead you to inevitable death.
You will also find *arbeiter *and *freeter* in Japanese. The last word being a rather strange avatar of free ...


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## _forumuser_

Aoyama said:


> *freeter* in Japanese. The last word being a rather strange avatar of free ...



Thanks Aoyama, that's another home run!


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## cheshire

As an additional note, jobben is to アルバイトする、 while arbeiten is to work (regular kind of work, study, etc.). It's just opposite!


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## Aoyama

> jobben is to アルバイトする


I have never heard _jobben_ ... 
One can also mention *torabayu* (from French travail , which is also found in English in its original meaning -_woman in travail_). There was a time when the word *torabayarian* (something like this) was used, meaning (exclusively) housewifes working part-time to make hands meet. Origin probably a mixture of _travail_ and _proletarian_ or a word derived from _battalion _(?).


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## tak215

shiremono said:


> "Shoe Cream" is not an error nor romanization. It is what ordinary Japanese people would spell as an equivalent English word. Correct English word is on the right on the table, "cream puff". As to the true origin of the word "CHou a la creme", it is told in the center in Japanese ;
> 
> 「シュークリーム」 は、フランス語の“シュ・ア・ラ・クレム”から来たもので、英語では “cream puff” と言います。
> 
> The same for "arbeit", which is not a romanization. People use this German loanword to mean "part-time job" and many of them tend to think it is English.
> 
> I think there are few mistakes in the lists. If you find any more, ask me before you turn them down.
> 
> There should be more reasons in your preference of direct information to some lists on the net. I can understand it for it can be the same reason why I am here, too.
> 
> I buy and drink water in two liter "pet-bottles ペットボトル". I don't bring them around. So the word should be "plastic bottles" in English, right?
> 
> _Thanks Flaminius for fixing the links (again)._


Just to add some information,
in the UK people say 'perofitteroles' instead of 'cream puff' not sure about the spelling though.
Also ペットボトル doesn't mean 'pet-bottles'. PET is a type of plastic which is still being used. So technically it's a plastic bottle. People who speak English just say 'bottles' so Japanese are just adding obvious information.


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## tak215

youtin said:


> My all-time favorite :
> 
> パンツ - meaning underwear, or underpants. It doesn't help that in English pants mean jeans or trousers. I always have to double check to make sure I use ずぼん or ジーパン to refer to my pants to save myself from embarassment..


 
In America it means jeans or trousers but in the UK its same as Japanese meaning underwear. So people tend to say trousers or jeans. I used to say pants in America but not in the UK.


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## tak215

didnt mean to post 3 comments.. sry

オースドックス - it means 'the right way' but it isnt used commonly and in english it means that the one of the 2 types of christianity which split first into east and west. The orthodox was the eastern religion of christianity. some people in countries like russia, greece, moldova are orthodox.
コーンフレーク - in english its cereal, do some people still say cornflakes?
ビニール - i think in english its plastic, people dont really say vinyl
マンション - meaning apartment in jpnese but in english its a huge house
シャーペン - i thought this was 'sharp pencil' but its apparently its a pencil which SHARP made.
ファイト！ - people say it when they support someone
イギリス - it was called Igles centuries ago in english
最高 - psycho... not really


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## Aoyama

> 「シュークリーム」 は、フランス語の“シュ・ア・ラ・クレム”から来たもので、英語では “cream puff” と言います。


 
This is an interesting and pertinent remark :
 - first, it is true that *シュークリーム *can be understood both ways, as *shoe cream*  and as *chou(x) cream* a Japanese-like mixture of French and English _à la japonaise_ , for *chou(x) à la crème *, one more reason to be very careful about those strange _gailaigo_
 - Profiterolle(s) is a _chou à la crème_ (an expression also used in English) topped with hot chocolate sauce ...


> ペットボトル doesn't mean 'pet-bottles'. PET is a type of plastic


Right ! PET is written on many plastic boxes, trays etc.


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## _forumuser_

Here is another good one:

カンニング　kanningu (cunning) = cheating at an exam.

Here is a thread on made-up English words in other languages.


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## Flaminius

We have a lot of made-up words related to cars.

フロントガラス for windscreen
ワイパー for windscreen wiper
バックミラー for rear-view mirror
アクセル for gas pedal


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## karuna

Today learned that _pinchi _means a pinch and crisis.


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## Aoyama

You have also the word *nekku* , from neck, which means a problem, a difficulty, an obstacle.


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