Master Japanese Transliteration! #2 Flashcards
Introduction to one of the three components of the Japanese writing system: カタカナ This flashcard set introduces Japanese "imported" words from other than English. Try to recognize some or all of the カタカナ letters, listen to the pronunciation of the words and guess where those words came from! Some are from other languages, and some are made-up words with reference to English words. Enjoy!
パン
pan
“bread”
from Portuguese “pão”
Portuguese is one of the most influential sources for imported words in Japan; Portuguese language and culture were brought to Japan with Christianity by Francisco de Xavier in 1549.
リモコン
rimokon
“remote controller”
“remote controller”… get it?
トランプ
toranpu
“playing cards”
from “trump”
This is one of the many “misunderstandings” Japanese made as they imported new concepts and words; when they first encountered with playing cards and hearing the word “trump”, they thought that must have been what those cards were called.
ウインカー
Note: “ー” indicates a long vowel.
e.g., カー “kaー” = “kaa”
uinka-
“turn signal”
from “winker”
アルバイト
arubaito
“part-time job”
from German “arbeit (=work. labor)”
アンケート
anke-to
“questionnaire”
from French “enquête (=survey)”
ホッチキス
Note: Small ッ indicates a skipping sound. In Romaji, it is indicated by double consonants.
e.g., クッキー cookie “kukki-“
フットボール football “futtobo-ru”
hocchikisu
“stapler”
from an American engineer Benjamin B. Hotchkiss, who developed a revolving barrel machine gun known as the Hotchkiss gun; also the first stapler was invented by E. H. Hotchkiss Co.
セロハンテープ
serohante-pu
“plastic tape”
from “cellophane tape”
シュークリーム
shu-kuri-mu
“cream puffs”
from French “chou/ choux (=”cabbage”, and also “cream puff”) “ and English “cream”
フライドポテト
furaidopoteto
“french fries”
from “fried potato”!
What do you think this is?
シャーペン
“mechanical pencil”
The original form of this word is “シャープペンシル (sharp pencil: a made-up word with English reference)”. We Japanese LOVE to shorten “imported” words, and this was not an exception! It became シャープペン (sharp-pen) then シャーペン (sha-pen) to the shortest, and the most commonly used form.
