What do you call ..... in Japanese? : Apartment vs mansion, wasei eigo (English words made up in Japan)
I love traveling. I love making new friends. When I was a junior high school student, my English teacher introduced me to try writing to pen pals overseas to improve my English. It was fun, and interesting to know more of other culture and getting to know them.
One of the things I loved to do during summer vacation or winter holidays from university years was to visit those pen pals and see things and have fun together.I have visited 8 states out of 50 in USA, Australia, England,Holland, France... and one popular question I get to be asked when I am with them was " What do you call this?" or "How do you say xxx in Japanese?" Sometimes,they hear the word in Japanese and they try to learn the words and sometimes, they get disappointed to hear there is no difference in Japanese and in English.
For example, lemon is called "lemon" in Japanese. Chicken is "chicken".. Even if you do not know Japanese words, they would understand what you meant sometimes.
However, there are some words people from USA, England, Japan understand the words but what they think they are is different. For example, "Mansion","Apartment".
In Japanese words, the word "apartment" points wooden or mortared house for rent. Then, "Apartment" in English usually means that self contained housing
(To visit wikipedia to read more on apartment. Please click here).
In Japanese words, the word "mansion" points what you think with the word "condominium", "block of flats", or "apartment".
In English, "mansion" means very large dwelling house
(To read more on mansion at wikipedia. Please click here)
If you visit London, you may hear the word "apartment" to point at rooms in historic royal palace.
Such as ...
* rooms at Kensington palace
To visit Kensington palace official website, please click here.
* rooms at Hampton court palace
To visit Hampton court palace official website, please click here.
And if you hear the word "state apartment", it points rooms at palace that are used to welcome guests formally. You can read on Windsor castle state apartment here at about.com site.
So, in Japan, apartment means wooden/mortared house for rent but in England, apartment means much different thing and it is much bigger room with historic background at palace.
It is interesting to know that there are words pronounced same and everyone understands them, but imagining very different things.
In Japan, there are words categorized as "wasei eigo". What is wasei eigo? Eigo is English, wasei means "made in Japan". So, basically "wasei eigo" means "English words made up in Japan".
Example..
* karaoke. Everyone knows what karaoke means but it is combined words made up in Japan.
Kara in Japanese means "empty". Oke is coming from orchestras. So, karaoke is appeared as word.
*Famikon
Fami comes from English words "family" and "kon" comes from word shorten from "computer".So, combined word "famikon" means family computer.But generally means, TV game such as nintendo game.
* How about pasokon?
Paso comes from shorten words from "personal", and kon is shorten words from computer. So, Pasokon means personal computer.
These Japanese English words are tricky words for Japanese people and some people use those words thinking English speaking people would understand what they mean.
Wikipedia site has list of wasei eigo. To visit the page of list of wasei eigo,please click here.
One of the things I loved to do during summer vacation or winter holidays from university years was to visit those pen pals and see things and have fun together.I have visited 8 states out of 50 in USA, Australia, England,Holland, France... and one popular question I get to be asked when I am with them was " What do you call this?" or "How do you say xxx in Japanese?" Sometimes,they hear the word in Japanese and they try to learn the words and sometimes, they get disappointed to hear there is no difference in Japanese and in English.
For example, lemon is called "lemon" in Japanese. Chicken is "chicken".. Even if you do not know Japanese words, they would understand what you meant sometimes.
However, there are some words people from USA, England, Japan understand the words but what they think they are is different. For example, "Mansion","Apartment".
In Japanese words, the word "apartment" points wooden or mortared house for rent. Then, "Apartment" in English usually means that self contained housing
(To visit wikipedia to read more on apartment. Please click here).
In Japanese words, the word "mansion" points what you think with the word "condominium", "block of flats", or "apartment".
In English, "mansion" means very large dwelling house
(To read more on mansion at wikipedia. Please click here)
If you visit London, you may hear the word "apartment" to point at rooms in historic royal palace.
Such as ...
* rooms at Kensington palace
To visit Kensington palace official website, please click here.
* rooms at Hampton court palace
To visit Hampton court palace official website, please click here.
And if you hear the word "state apartment", it points rooms at palace that are used to welcome guests formally. You can read on Windsor castle state apartment here at about.com site.
So, in Japan, apartment means wooden/mortared house for rent but in England, apartment means much different thing and it is much bigger room with historic background at palace.
It is interesting to know that there are words pronounced same and everyone understands them, but imagining very different things.
In Japan, there are words categorized as "wasei eigo". What is wasei eigo? Eigo is English, wasei means "made in Japan". So, basically "wasei eigo" means "English words made up in Japan".
Example..
* karaoke. Everyone knows what karaoke means but it is combined words made up in Japan.
Kara in Japanese means "empty". Oke is coming from orchestras. So, karaoke is appeared as word.
*Famikon
Fami comes from English words "family" and "kon" comes from word shorten from "computer".So, combined word "famikon" means family computer.But generally means, TV game such as nintendo game.
* How about pasokon?
Paso comes from shorten words from "personal", and kon is shorten words from computer. So, Pasokon means personal computer.
These Japanese English words are tricky words for Japanese people and some people use those words thinking English speaking people would understand what they mean.
Wikipedia site has list of wasei eigo. To visit the page of list of wasei eigo,please click here.
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