4. Words from other languages

Although present-day Japanese usually borrows from English for new words (see 5. Japanese and English), many Japanese words, such as the words for coffee, bread, and cigarettes, originated from Portuguese (see 4.2. Which Japanese words come from Portuguese?) and Dutch (see 4.4. Which Japanese words come from Dutch?) and date back hundreds of years. Another big influence was German (see 4.3. Which Japanese words come from German?), particularly in medicine, during the Meiji restoration.

An "urban legend" is that arigatou (`thank you' in Japanese) originates from Portuguese `obrigado'. In fact this is just a coincidence: see 4.1. Is arigatou (arigato) related to Portuguese "obrigado"?.

Sub-pages

If you have questions, corrections, or comments, please contact Ben Bullock or use the discussion forum / Privacy


Book reviews	Convert Japanese numbers	Handwritten kanji recognition	Stroke order diagrams	Convert Japanese units	Popup dictionary