When living in a Japanese-speaking environment, Brazilians are faced with funny situations where Japanese words remind of strange things in the English language. The opposite happens, there are words in English that you cannot say in Japan.
In this article, we're going to talk about those weird-sense words that can't be spoken in public. Words that can bring embarrassment because they have another meaning in the Portuguese language or that remind you of strange things.
Why use non-existent words like takakaranomuro when there are many Japanese words that actually resemble something else in the Portuguese language? This article has two parts, the summary will help you navigate:
Table of Contents
Japanese words that have strange meaning in English
In the Japanese language, there are some words with double meanings in Portuguese, like fude [筆], which means brush, but in Portuguese, it reminds of something else. The word for spicy in Japanese is karai [辛い], does that remind you of something?
Japanese cities also do not escape in Brazil, there are cities named Toba and Gozo. Don't even mention people's names, the sky is not the limit! Who doesn't remember the name of the character Kurapika from the anime Hunter x Hunter.
Below is a list of Japanese words that may sound strange in English:
Responsive Table: Scroll the table to the side with your finger >>
| Japanese | Romanized | Meaning | Remember |
| 9時半 | ku ji han | Nine-thirty (time) | frog ass |
| 聞かせて | kikasete | Listen! | what the fuck |
| ここ | koko | Here | Coco |
| 送迎 | sougei | fetch and take | I am gay |
| 魚 | fish | Fish | Rascal |
| 三十一 | thirty-one | 31 | Sandwich |
| ございます | thank you | about gozaimasu | enjoy more |
| 仲間 | nakama | mate, comrade | Into bed |
| 洗濯機 | sentakki | Washing machine | Sit here |
| 飯を食う | meshiwokuu | eat the food | move your ass |
| かご | basket | Basket | Cago |
| そこ | soko | Ali | Soco |
| 人間 | human | person, someone | No one |
| その | sutanpu | This/what | Sono |
| 先輩 | senpai | Professor, master | Without father |
| から | kara | From | Dear |
| みんな | everyone | People | mine (slang) |
| あんた | "anta" | You (kansai-ben) | Your tapir |
| 飯 | manma | Boiled Rice | mom |
| がんば | ganba | Go ahead (abv ganbare) | Gamba |
I never forget the time I was singing the song Sekai wa koi ni ochiteiru from Ao Haru Ride. Neeee, Kikasete! Ironically, Brazilians say this when they want to be listened to.
Brazilian words that have a strange meaning in Japanese
Double entendre is common in all languages. Some Brazilians have already gotten confused when paying something that the attendant asks genki desu ka? Since this expression can mean both are you well? [元気ですか] and in cash? [現金ですか].
When you are in Japan, never go out in public shouting for your father saying "Ooh Pai!" because it reminds of oppai [おっぱい] in Japanese which means breasts or nipples. Also, don’t say that you are limping, because manko [まなこ] means pussy.
In Japan, you also can't toast, because tim tim sounds like chin chin which means penis. Cubo can mean cavity, deep place, or female genitalia in Japanese (kubo [窪]). Be careful when saying cow, as it can sound like idiot (baka [ばか]).
Be careful when saying bebe [べべ] as it can sound like the private parts of a woman, or at the very least, a piece of clothing or calf. Don't even think about calling a bus busu, because in Japanese that means ugly.
Some Japanese words confuse both Brazilians in Japan and Japanese people in Brazil. For example, sen [千] in Japanese means thousand, and those who study both languages and start counting numbers often get confused.
Remembering that we also have an article talking about the falsos cognatos no idioma japonês. Many words came from the Portuguese language, but have absolutely nothing to do with the original meaning.
Japanese names with double meanings in English
Japanese is a language with few phonemes compared to Portuguese and is also made up of syllables. So at one time or another the words will sound or remember strange things. This even involves the names of people.
Japanese names can be written with different ideograms, for this reason in the list below we will put only the names written in roman letters. I usually don't like these jokes about names, but it's hard not to notice.
- Kuno
- Asada
- Kengo
- Fuji
- Kiku
- Kumiko
- Masa
- Rika
- Treasure
- Tadano
- Kagose
- Kagome
- Sako
I hope you enjoyed the article. If you liked it, please share it and leave your comments! The idea for this video came after watching the You in Japan video below:
