16 English words that come from Japanese: karaoke, origami, tsunami, tofu...

Konnichiwa. Genki desu ka? My name's Ronnie, and I'm here to teach you some Japanese. Huh?

What? No. What? Am I here to teach you Japanese or English or both? So, do you like Japanese?

Are you interested in Japanese manga, which means comic book? Do you like sushi, which

means sushi? Do you like singing karaoke, which is karaoke? Guess what? In English,

we steal words from Japanese. So, not only in this lesson are you going to learn English,

you're going to learn Japanese. Okay? So, you can thank me twice. "Arigato" means "thank

you" in Japanese. So, you can do it. Thank you. Arigato. So, this lesson is for anyone

who studies, likes, learns, loves, or speaks Japanese. What we have done is we've stolen

your words, and we've made them our own. So, you're thinking, "Wow. Why is this important?"

The reason why it's important is because it helps you learn and remember vocabulary because

you already know what these words mean. So, now you're going to understand, "Oh my god.

This word in my language is the same in English." So, you have a bonus. Okay?

Please, my kanji is not what it used to be. My brushstrokes are just out of shape these

days. My katakana, lacking. So, if you see any problems with my hiragana, katakana, or

kanji, please do tell me in the comments, but write it in English because I don't want

to Google Translate. I've tried my best to actually write the things in Japanese. If

they look funny, it's because they're funny. But let's go through this.

So, these are words that are actually Japanese that we use in English. First one, we say

"karaoke". Karaoke is when you sing, you make a fool of yourself in front of your friends.

It's great. In Japanese, they say "karaoke". So, the pronunciation is different, and it

actually means "empty orchestra". Did you know that? It means there's nobody playing

behind you, so it means an empty orchestra. So, "karaoke", "karaoke" is a Japanese word.

Do you like karaoke? I hate it. Oh god, I hate karaoke. Please never invite me to karaoke

unless you're going to buy me drinks all night because Ronnie's not into that. Mm-mm.

This word is a new word. It's huge. I didn't know it was Japanese. "Emoji". Somehow, blah-blah,

this means "word". I know this means "word", and this means "letter". So, maybe this means

"face" or "appearance". "Emoji" is actually a Japanese word. Figure this out. "Face letter".

Face letter, it means face letter, there you go. Emoji.

Now, you might think "futon" is a couch. Mm-mm. In Japan, they don't have beds like we do

off the floor. They... Most people use what's called a "futon". A "futon" is basically a

soft mattress on the floor called a "futon". I have no idea what this means. It means bed

on the floor, I guess, but... Or folding bed. "Futon" is a Japanese word. It doesn't mean

a couch, it means a bed. Next one, "kamikaze". Now, you're thinking, "Wow. Hey, I know this

word because it's a very delicious drink. It's a nice cocktail." And it's also what

the Japanese pilots did in World War II or 1, 2, 1, 2 to win the war, to try and win

the war. "Kamikaze" actually means "divine wind". "Kamikaze" doesn't mean that they're

suicide bombers; it means "divine wind". So, this... Their idea was that they... Their

god will help them win the war with their wind, and didn't. Sorry.

"Katana". This is a sword. Maybe you know the word. Oh, I need to buy a new katana because

mine's getting rusty. Haven't used it that much since my samurai days, which is another

Japanese word. "Katana" is a sword. This is the kanji for it. Cool. I don't know how this

looks like a sword. Kind of looks like a square with a little thing on the end. So, "katana",

we say in English "sword" or "katana".

Next one. This is a terrible thing. "Tsunami". A tsunami is something that happens... It's

a natural disaster where the ocean basically just destroys and kills things on the shore.

Japan has been struck with many tsunamis, but we use this word the same way they do.

It's destructive water that comes and washes away the countryside. This part means "water";

it means "harbour".

"Bonsai". "Bonsai", this is a tree. And actually, in Japanese it means "a plant that's grown

in a tray". Hmm. And instead of us saying, "Wow, your plant that's grown in a tray really

looks nice", we just call it a "bonsai" because that's what you guys call it. So, a bonsai

is a kind of plant. Do you have a bonsai tree? They're very small. Crazy.

"Haiku". "Haiku" is a kind of poem. I remember when I was a wee ronnie in school, we had

to write haiku poems. It's something like five lines, seven lines, five lines. I don't

remember. It was poetry, really short, and I was like, "Damn, this is deep. Why doesn't

it rhyme?" A haiku is a kind of poem that we get from Japan. Are you a haiku writer?

No, I am not. Oh, five syllables.

Next, "origami". "Origami". This is, in my opinion, super cool. I remember being a kid,

three. My teacher taught me how to make a frog. Took a square of paper, folded it, made

a frog that jumps. Wow. Hello. Super cool. "Origami" means... "Origami" means paper.

Maybe "or" means folding. I don't remember. But "origami" is the art of folding paper.

You can make so many cool things out of it. Take it up as your next hobby. It's super

cool. "Otaku". Do you know this word? "Otaku" maybe to you means someone that likes comic

books or reads comic books. In Japanese, the meaning's a little bit different. It represents

a nerd. So, a nerd is someone who stays in their home and doesn't do anything except

for read comic books. We learn "otaku" as someone that plays video games or really likes

manga, which is Japanese comic books. So, they use it to be like a nerd, someone who

stays home and has no social life. We use it for more of someone who loves video games

and loves comic books. The meaning's a little different, don't you think? "Sensei". I'm

a sensei. "Sensei" means teacher. I think this word became very popular from a movie

called "Karate Kid". "Karate" is a Japanese word, too. So, "Karate Kid", I'm sure they

use the word "sensei". I don't know, though. I never saw the movie. But "sensei" means

teacher. "Tycoon". Uh-oh. Have you heard this word a lot recently? They're calling the president

in America a tycoon. Now, in English, a tycoon means someone who has a lot of money, like

a millionaire. And Japanese, it means a powerful leader or a big power. Maybe not power, but

someone who has a lot of strength. So, yeah, the meaning's different, a little bit different,

but you get the same idea.

"Panko". Okay. If you guys look at this lettering-okay?-there's three different kinds. This one is called...

In Japanese, called "kanji", and it's taken from Chinese. This one is Japan's own lettering.

This is called "hiragana", and this means that this didn't originate from China. These

are Japanese own words. And then we have this thing called "hiragana". "Hiragana"... No.

"Katakana". Sorry. "Katakana". "Katakana" means that they've taken a word from another

language, for example, "pan". "Pan" means bread. And they've made it their own language.

So, "panko", "panko", hmm, are breadcrumbs. But this isn't originated in Japan or China.

They've taken this word from another language and made it their own. So, Japan borrows words

from German and France, and we borrow words from Japan, and German, and France, and French,

and Latin. Wow. Everything.

"Karate". Wow. They say "karate". This means hand. So, we say "karate", and they say "karate"

the way it's written. It's the same. It's a martial art where you fight with your hands.

"Tofu". This means soybean. This crazy kanji might mean "fermented". I'm not too sure,

but I know this means soybeans. So, "tofu" is fermented soybeans. We use this word a

lot, but it is actually a Japanese word.

And the last one, "zen". Do you have a garden? We think of "zen" as being very peaceful and

wonderful. So, we've actually taken this word "zen" in English to mean "calm". Hmm. So, if

you can think about words that you have in your language and you can understand that

in English, we take some of your words from your language, we take some Japanese words

and we use them. You guys know "sushi", "tempura", a lot of food words we use as well. So, it

will help you a lot to remember and learn new vocabulary.

This is all for money. I'm out of here. Mata ne.