Japanese abbreviated and contracted words
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Abbreviated and contracted words are a common feature of Japanese. Long words are often contracted into shorter forms, which then become the predominant forms. For example, the University of Tokyo, in Japanese Tōkyō Daigaku (東京大学) becomes 東大, Tōdai, and "remote control", rimōto kontorōrā (remote controller), becomes rimokon. Names are also contracted in this way. For example Takuya Kimura, in Japanese Kimura Takuya, an entertainer, is referred to as Kimutaku.
The names of some very familiar companies are also contractions. For example, Toshiba is a contraction of "Tokyo Shibaura", and Nissan is a contraction of "Nippon Sangyo".
The contractions may be commonly used, or they may be specific to a particular group of people. For example the "Kokuritsu Kankyo Kenkyujo" (国立環境研究所, National Institute for Environmental Sciences of Japan, NIES) is known as Kanken (環研) by its employees, but this terminology is not familiar to most Japanese.
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[edit] Patterns of contraction
In contracted kanji words, the most common pattern of contraction is to take the first kanji of each word and put them together as a portmanteau.
In loanwords and names, the most common pattern is to take the first two morae (or kana) of each of the two words, and combine them forming a new, single word. For example "family restaurant" or famirī resutoran becomes famiresu.
Yōon sounds, sounds represented using a kana ending in i and a small ya, yu or yo kana, such as kyo count as one mora. Japanese long vowels count as two morae, and may disappear (the same can be said for the sokuon, or small tsu); Harry Potter, originally Harī Pottā, is contracted to Haripota, or otherwise be altered; actress Kyoko Fukada, Fukada Kyōko, becomes Fukakyon.
These abbreviated names are so common in Japan that many companies initiate abbreviations of the names of their own products. For example, the animated series Pretty Cure marketed itself under the four-character abbreviated name purikyua.
[edit] Long kanji names
| Contraction | Kanji | Original word | Full kanji | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nōdai | 農大 | Tōkyō Nōgyō Daigaku | 東京農業大学 | Agricultural University of Tokyo |
| Nyūkan | 入管 | Nyūkoku Kanrikyoku | 入国管理局 | Immigration Office |
| kōkō | 高校 | kōtōgakkō | 高等学校 | high school |
| Odakyū | 小田急 | Odawara Kyūkō Dentetsu | 小田原急行電鉄 | Odakyu Electric Railway |
[edit] Loanwords
[edit] Three and four character loanwords
| Contraction | Katakana | Original word | Katakana | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| famiresu | ファミレス | famirī resutoran | ファミリーレストラン | family restaurant |
| nekama | ネカマ | netto ("net"; internet) okama ("male cross dresser") | ネットオカマ | A fake female |
| rabuho | ラブホ | rabu hoteru | ラブホテル | love hotel |
| rimokon | リモコン | rimōto kontorōrā | リモートコントローラー | remote control |
[edit] Abbreviations
| Abbreviation | Japanese | Original word | Japanese | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| anime | アニメ | animēshon | アニメーション | animation |
| bukatsu | 部活 | kurabu katsudō | クラブ活動 | after-school club (extracurricular) activity |
| depāto | デパート | depātomento sutoa | デパートメント・ストア | department store |
| toire | トイレ | toiretto | トイレット | toilet |
[edit] Created words
Many abbreviations, especially four-character words, have been created for particular products or TV shows.
| Contraction | Origin | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Boktai | Bokura no Taiyou (Our Sun) | The first video game series that use a solar sensor. |
| Pokémon | poketto monsutā (Pocket Monster[s]) | The well-known video game and animation franchise. |
| purikyua | Pureti Kyua (Pretty Cure) | A manga/anime series |
| purikura | purinto kurabu (Print Club) | An automated photograph machine |
| tatakon | tataku kontorōrā (controller) | A controller used for the game Taiko Drum Master by Namco |
| mukku | "magazine + book | A cross between a magazine and a book |
[edit] Contractions of names
| Contraction | Japanese | Name | Japanese | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Burapi | ブラピ | Buraddo Pitto (Brad Pitt) | ブラッド・ピット | Hollywood actor. |
| Fukakyon | フカキョン | Kyoko Fukada | 深田恭子 | Japanese idol and actress. |
| Kimutaku | キムタク | Takuya Kimura | 木村拓哉 | SMAP star |
| Tsuyopon | ツヨポン | Tsuyoshi Kusanagi | 草彅剛 | SMAP star |
| Matsuken | マツケン | Ken Matsudaira | 松平健 | Jidaigeki actor, famous for Matsuken samba. |
| Shimuken | シムケン | Ken Shimura | 志村けん | television performer and actor. |
| Yamataku | 山拓 | Taku Yamasaki | 山崎拓 | politician. |
| Hashiryū | 橋龍 | Ryutaro Hashimoto | 橋本龍太郎 | politician. |
[edit] Highways and railway lines
Many highways and railway lines have names that are contractions of the names of their endpoints. For example, 東名高速道路 (Tomei Expressway) takes one kanji 東 (tō) from 東京 (Tokyo) and the other 名 (mei) from 名古屋 (Nagoya; its pronunciation changes from the kun'yomi na to the on'yomi mei). 東急東横線 (Tokyu Toyoko Line) links Tokyo and 横浜 Yokohama), taking part of its name from each city.
Other Examples include:
| Contraction | Japanese | Origin | Japanese |
|---|---|---|---|
| Keiyō Line | 京葉線 | Tokyo + Chiba | 東京＋千葉 |
| Saikyō Line | 埼京線 | Saitama + Tokyo | 埼玉＋東京 |
| Senzan Line | 仙山線 | Sendai + Yamagata | 仙台＋山形 |
| Hanshin Main Line | 阪神本線 | Osaka + Kobe | 大阪＋神戸 |
| Seikan Tunnel | 青函トンネル | Aomori + Hakodate | 青森＋函館 |
Sometimes names of this type preserve older place names. For instance, the character 武 is taken from the word 武蔵 (Musashi), which was once the name of the Japanese province in which the city of Tokyo was located, can still be seen in the company names 東武 (Tobu or "East Musashi"), 西武 (Seibu or "West Musashi"), and in the 南武線 (Nanbu Line or "South Musashi Line").
Some other examples:
| Contraction | Japanese | Origin | Japanese |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sōbu Line | 総武線 | Kazusa/Shimousa + Musashi | 下総／上総＋武蔵 |
| Uchibō Line | 内房線 | Inner + Bōsō Peninsula (= Awa + Kazusa) | 内＋房総（＝安房＋上総） |
| Sotobō Line | 外房線 | Outer + Bōsō Peninsula (= Awa + Kazusa) | 外＋房総（＝安房＋上総） |
| Jōban Line | 常磐線 | Hitachi + Iwaki | 常陸＋磐木 |
| Nippō Main Line | 日豊本線 | Hyūga + Buzen/Bungo | 日向＋豊前／豊後 |
| Hōhi Main Line | 豊肥本線 | Bungo + Higo | 豊後＋肥後 |
[edit] Single letters as abbreviations
Many single letters of the Latin alphabet have names that resemble the pronunciations of Japanese words or characters. Japanese people use them in contexts such as advertising to catch the reader's attention. Other uses of letters include abbreviations of spellings of words. Here are some examples:
- A: The kanji 英 in 英語 (eigo; the English language), 英国 (eikoku; England or Great Britain)
- E: 良い (Ii; the word for "good" in Japanese). The letter appears in the name of the company e-homes.
- J: The first letter of "Japan" as in J-League, J-Phone
- K: The kanji 警 as in 警察 (keisatsu; "police")
- Q: Various kanji have the reading kyū; 急 ("fast"), 九 ("nine"), 求 ("seeking"). Japanese "Dial Q2" premium-rate telephone numbers start with 0990.
- W: The English word "double." Japanese people sometimes pronounce the letter "double."
- Y: The Japanese word waiwai is occasionally written "YY"
