In Japan, they use Katakana to write works that originated in another country, and sound very similar to their original sound.
For example, Koohii (coffee) would be written in Katakana.
Image thanks to stockvault.net
Other words in Japanese that would be easy to understand if you speak English would be:
Kurisumasu – Christmas
Basebaru – Baseball
puraya – player
Terrabi – TV/television
aisu kurimu – ice cream
aisu – ice
apato – apart (used for apartment)
aroe – Aloe
baagen – Bargain
baiuku – Bike
bataa – butter
boorupen – ballpoint pen
buruma – bloomers
desuku – desk
donmai – don’t mind
faito – fight
fetchi – fetch
furai – Fry
furaido poteto – Fried Potato (french fries or chips depending on where you are from)
garasu – glass
handoru – handle
hottokeeki – hotcakes (pancakes)
imeeji – image
See? Nice and easy! That’s not a sampling of a long list of words that are super easy in Japanese and easy to understand for English.
I love this list. My 7 year old daughter is fascinated with all things Japanese and she was thrilled to learn she could speak some Japanese (and very easily at that) Thank you for this. It made her day!
Interesting! I didn’t realize that so many Japanese words were similar to words in English!
Thank you for the list…I love learning new words in from other countries…Thank you for sharing…
Great list! I’ll be showing this to my 17yo son who has taken Japanese before and is very interested in Japan.
That is a cool list! I hear baseball players talking on TV and then the interpreter talks, now at least i can refer to this and get a sense of what they are really talking about.
How fun! We love learning new languages. Thanks for sharing.
Becky Borgia recently posted…Enjoy Eco-Friendly Fleece Embroidered Blankets From Organic Caboose (Review with Giveaway, Ends 02/03/14, US Contiguous States Only)
Wow, easy! I am showing this to my 11-year-old, he is always asking me if I speak Japanese. For some reason, he’s decided he needs to learn!
Karen @TheMissingNiche recently posted…Sudden Cardiac Arrest – The Moose
Thanks for putting it together.. Love to learn new languages..
I home school and my son LOVES to learn new languages. I think he would really enjoy learning a few of these.
Kelly Hutchinson recently posted…Three Ways To Celebrate National Hug Day 2014
Great list of words – will be printing this for my nine year old. He is constantly trying to learn another language and this would be perfect to help him out! He is always so proud of himself when he can talk in another language!
Carla recently posted…Winter Time #WW w/linky
Always nice to learn some new words:) Hope you have a good week so far.
Jeanette recently posted…Basic Trends
More words in Japanese….love it! Will be sharing this w/ my daughter who is taking Japanese in school.
Leona Martin recently posted…Facebook Drag-n-Drop…Finally
I love this list. I hope I get a chance to use or at least try to translate some of them one day 🙂
Like others, I didn’t the languages had so many similar sounding words. Great list thanks.
I really like this. I always wanted to learn another language!
I wonder if aisu is an imported word or if the Japanese for ice was aisu before ice-cream and English influence… Just wondering, lol
Aisu imported, the original Japanese word for ice is actually Koori. ^_^ But either of them work!
Kisa, what a great list. I have never seen any Japanese words written so this was really helpful. Would you do a youtube video pronouncing the words for us? LOL
Pamela @ Still Dating My Spouse recently posted…Don’t lose yourself in your marriage
Thank you for another Japanese lesson. I am saving these & learning with my youngest. We are having so much fun 🙂
Bibiana Bailey recently posted…Friday Foodie Photo – Minecraft Party
Thanks for that I can use the words for homeschool, my kids would love it
GossipMoms recently posted…Beyonce Stuns In Sexy Gold Mini Dress At Michelle Obama’s Birthday Party
I knew that there were many words in languages like Spanish, French, Italian that had words that were very similar to English. I would not have thought that about Japanese. Thanks for sharing this list.
Lisa Trudell recently posted…Omaha’s Orpheum history includes stage, movies
I LOVE this list!! Thank you for sharing with us. My daughter love to learn new languages and a few Japanese words at a time would be perfect for her.
I love when there are words that are decipherable like that. Learning new languages is always fun anyhow!
Liz Mays recently posted…Simple Organization Solutions from Dollar Tree
Thanks! I would love to learn how to speak at least a little Japanese. 🙂
Interesting! I’ve never knew that. I learned something new.
Denise recently posted…Hot Bacon & Chicken Salad
Some of the words sound very similar which makes it easier to remember. I like learning just a few at a time. I’d love to keep coming back just to get in a few words at a time!
This is a great list of easy to remember words. I love that they are pretty close to the phonetic sounds of the words in English. One of my twins is an Asian Studies major with a concentration on Japan. She speaks/writes the language and has studied at a University in Kyoto. I’ll share your site with her.
Cheers,
Elizabeth
Eliz Frank recently posted…Reflections: 2013 Redux