List of Japanese double entendres

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This is a partial list of Japanese double entendres (puns). Japanese double entendres feature word homophones, homonyms, homographs, and synonyms.

Japanese double entendres have a rich history in Japanese entertainment, because of the way that Japanese words can be read to have several different meanings and pronunciations (homographs). Also, several different spellings for any pronunciation and wildly differing meanings (homophones). Often replacing one spelling with another (synonyms) can give a new meaning to phrases.

[edit] Examples

The following numbers, when read in a special way (e.g. only pronouncing the first syllable of the number's name or pronouncing the English name of one of the digits, etc.) confer an unexpected message.

  • 18782 can be read "i-ya-na-ya-tsu" (いやなやつ) – meaning unpleasant guy
  • 37564 can be read "mi-na-go-ro-shi" (みなごろし), meaning massacre, or kill them all (Click here and click where it says 'show/hide all 26 words'.)
  • 18782 * 2 = 37564
  • 23564 (23 hours, 56 minutes, 4 seconds, the length of a sidereal day) can be read "ni-san-go-ro-shi", which sounds very similar to "nii-san koroshi" (兄さん殺し), or in English killing one's brother.

[edit] See also

In other languages