5.6. What "false friends" are there between Japanese and English?

Many of the English words adopted by the Japanese have gained meanings different from the original English meaning. In many cases, the English word is simply being used as a substitute for a similar existing Japanese word. For example the Japanese word charenji, from English "challenge", is used as a substitute for the word chousen (挑戦), even when this does not fit the English meaning. Words which seem similar but are actually different in two different languages are called "false friends".

See also 5.4. What are these pseudo English words like salaryman? about pseudo-English created in Japan, and 8.3. What are contracted words like rimokon? about pseudo-English made by contracting words together. 6.11. What words have the same kanji in China and Japan but different meanings? covers kanji words which have different meanings in Chinese and Japanese.

Here are some common examples, in the form of a table.

English word	Japanese (rōmaji)	Japanese (katakana)	Meaning in Japan
about	abauto	アバウト	Vague, lazy, or sloppy. For example, an abauto na hito (アバウトな人) is a lazy person, someone who is not punctual, etc.
challenge	charenji	チャレンジ	Charenji suru is used as a substitute for chōsen suru (挑戦する), to attempt a difficult task.
claim	kureemu	クレーム	Complain (with suru), make a complaint about.
cunning	kanningu	カンニング	Cheating in an exam.
dash	dasshu	ダッシュ	Rush, hurry.
diet	daietto	ダイエット	Any kind of weight-loss regimen, including exercise-based. However, it is not used to mean diet in the sense of "things eaten", which is joushoku (常食) in Japanese.
don't mind	donmai	ドンマイ	Never mind! No worries!.
feminist	feminisuto	フェミニスト	A man who pampers women.
glamour	guramaa	グラマー	Large-breasted (woman).
goo	gū	グー	Abbreviation of good, hence the shop name "Wonder Goo".
half	haafu	ハーフ	Mixed-race
handle	handoru	ハンドル	Steering wheel.
happening	hapuningu	ハプニング	An unexpected occurence, a surprise
image	imeeji	イメージ	Artist's impression. Imeeji is used for, for example, artist's impressions of as-yet-unconstructed buildings.
juice	jūsu	ジュース	Not just fruit juice, but soft drinks in general, including Coca-Cola or even green tea.
man	man	マン	man	Used as a suffix with various jobs, such as "guard man" and "salary man".
mansion	manshon	マンション	Block of flats, condominium.
pierce	piasu	ピアス	earrings
present	purezento suru	プレゼントする	Purezento suru means "give a present".
print	purinto	プリント	advertising flyer or handout
reform	rifōmu	リフォーム	House redecoration or refurbishment.
seal	shiiru	シール	sticker
sense	sensu	センス	To have good taste may be referred to as sensu ga aru "to have sense" in Japanese.
smart	sumaato	スマート	Slim, not fat.
talent	tarento	タレント	TV personality.
trainer	toreenaa	トレーナー	sweat shirt
unique	yuuniiku	ユーニーク	Used as a substitute for koseiteki (個性的), "individual", "unusual".

References and links

English in Japanese

sci.lang.japan FAQ / 5. Japanese and English

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