Words
The surprising origins and journeys of words we use without a second thought — in Japanese and beyond.
31 articles
Why is a sun shower called a “fox’s wedding” in Japanese?
Under a blue sky, a few drops of rain come pattering down. Faced with that odd sight, people in Japan long ago somehow pictured a wedding of foxes.
Where does the Japanese phrase “ichika bachika” come from?
Japanese speakers say it when they leave everything to luck. But why “one” and “eight”? Why not two, or seven? The answer leads into the gambling dens of old Edo.
Does the word “salary” really come from salt?
“Roman soldiers were paid in salt.” It’s a trivia classic, but trace it back through the ancient records and a rather different picture emerges.
Is the Japanese word “hotchikisu” named after a person?
The desktop tool that snaps papers together has a Japanese name no English speaker would recognize. And a famous story about an inventor goes with it. But is it true?
Where does the word “OK” come from?
“OK” is one of the most widely understood words on Earth. It started out as a bit of wordplay among nineteenth-century newspapermen.
Who coined the word “robot”?
Robots are at work everywhere from factories to outer space. Their name was born about a century ago, in an offhand exchange between two brothers.
Where does the Japanese word “sayōnara” come from?
A goodbye Japanese children learn almost before anything else. One foreign writer called it the most beautiful farewell she had ever heard anywhere in the world.
Where does the word “hamburger” come from?
Cheeseburger, fishburger: “burger” now works like a dish name of its own. Trace the word back, though, and it has nothing to do with ham, or with buns.
Is the word “jeans” named after a city?
Tough blue trousers that seem to hang in every closet. Trace their name, and the name of their fabric, and an old map of Europe unfolds.
Where did Japanese hiragana and katakana come from?
Japanese is written with two sets of kana that stand for the same sounds. Why would anyone need two differently shaped scripts for the same job?
Was the word “quiz” really invented for a bet?
A Dublin theater owner bets he can make a meaningless word catch on in no time. That is the famous origin story of “quiz.” The records tell a different tale.
Does the Japanese word “saboru” come from French?
To “saboru” a class or a day at work. The word looks thoroughly Japanese, yet it spread about 100 years ago, sparked by one particular event.
Is the Japanese word “pan” for bread Portuguese?
Toast for breakfast, a sandwich at lunch: in Japan it is all “pan.” Say that in an English-speaking country and you’ll get blank looks. Where did the word come from?
How old is the Japanese word “yabai”?
“Yabai” is often held up as the ultimate youth slang. But leaf through old books and you find this word’s ancestor in a most unexpected era.
Where does the word “shampoo” come from?
We use shampoo almost every day. In Japanese the word is a loan from English, but trace it back and you end up in India. And at first it didn’t even mean washing hair.
When did Japanese people start saying “itadakimasu” before meals?
Hands together: “itadakimasu.” It feels like a Japanese tradition centuries old, but trace its history and a surprising picture emerges.
Where does the Japanese word “baka” come from?
From playground squabbles to doting parents, Japanese speakers hear it daily. In kanji it is oddly written “horse” and “deer.” What did those animals do?
Where does the Japanese word “zubon” (trousers) come from?
Japanese speakers wear “zubon” every day without knowing what language the word comes from. Look into it, and a small mystery with a petticoat awaits.
Where does the Japanese word “arigatō” come from?
Japanese speakers say “arigatō” many times a day. Yet the word originally expressed something quite different from gratitude.
Is the Japanese word “arubaito” German?
Convenience stores, restaurants, tutoring: almost everyone in Japan works a “baito” at some point. Yet the word has an unusual backstory for a Japanese loanword.
Does “Wi-Fi” actually mean anything?
We say “Wi-Fi” almost every day, and many of us assume it is short for something. One of the people who was there when it was named gives a surprising answer.
Why do Japanese people say “moshi moshi” twice on the phone?
Japanese speakers answer the phone with “moshi moshi” almost without thinking. But why twice? The trail leads to Meiji-era phone exchanges and a fox legend.
What did “goodbye” (Japanese “gubbai”) originally mean?
Japanese speakers know “goodbye” as gubbai. Taken apart, it seems to be “good” plus “bye”—but what exactly is good? The word, it turns out, once looked completely different.
What did the Japanese word “dōmo” originally mean?
It works as a thank-you, an apology, or a quick nod in passing. Yet on its own, “dōmo” doesn’t actually say what it is you mean.
Is the Japanese word “donmai” made-in-Japan English?
It’s what Japanese teammates shout after a mistake. It sounds like English, but shout it in an English-speaking country and it may not land as you expect.
Where does the Japanese word “ohayō” come from?
It’s the shortest greeting of the day. Yet this word, heard even in workplaces at night, may not have started out as a morning word at all.
Who wrote the Iroha poem?
The Iroha is a poem that uses every Japanese kana sound exactly once. For centuries it was attributed to one famous monk. Does that story hold up?
Is the Japanese word “boikotto” really someone’s name?
Athletes boycott tournaments; shoppers boycott products. The word is just as familiar in Japanese, and it began with something that happened one autumn in 19th-century Ireland.
Where does the Japanese word “tasogare” come from?
Tasogare is a beautiful Japanese word for dusk. It is written with the characters for “yellow” and “dusk,” yet its sound has nothing to do with them. Trace it back and you reach a few words spoken in the half-light.
Where does the Japanese phrase “pin kara kiri made” come from?
Japanese speakers use “pin” and “kiri” all the time, yet both are written in katakana and few can say what they mean. In fact, neither may have started out as Japanese at all.
Where does the Japanese word “taifū” come from?
Typhoons strike Japan almost every year. But why is the Japanese word written with the character 台, meaning “stand” or “platform”? Follow a word on its long voyage back and forth across the seas.