The names of some very familiar companies are also also contractions. For example, Toshiba is a contraction of "Tokyo Shibaura".
In contracted kanji words, the most common pattern of contraction is to take the first kanji of each word and put them together.
In loanwords and names, the most common pattern is to take the first two moras of two word, in other words the first two kana, and form a new word from the four moras put together. For example "family restaurant", famirī resutoran, becomes famiresu.
Yōon sounds, sounds represented using a kana ending in i and a small ya, yu or yo kana, such as kyo count as one mora. Japanese long vowels and sokuon count as two moras, and may disappear; Harry Potter, originally Harī Pottā, is contracted to Haripota, or otherwise be altered; actress Kyoko Fukada, Fukada Kyōko, becomes Fukakyon.
These abbreviated names are so common in Japan that many companies initiate abbreviations of the names of their own products. For example, the animated series Pretty Cure marketed itself under the four-character abbreviated name purikyua.
Names consisting of several kanji words are usually contracted with one kanji from each component word.
| Contraction | Kanji | Original word | Full kanji | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tōdai | 東大 | Tōkyō Daigaku | 東京大学 | University of Tokyo |
| Kanken | 漢検 | Kanji kentei | 漢字検定 | A test of kanji skill |
A common pattern is to combine the first two katakana of two foreign words to make a new word. These are a common type of wasei-eigo.
| Contraction | Katakana | Original word | Katakana | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| afureku | after-recording | |||
| famiresu | ファミレス | famirī resutoran | ファミリーレストラン | family restaurant |
| nekama | ネカマ | netto ("net") okama | ネットおかま | A fake female |
| rabuho | ラブホ | rabu hoteru | ラブホテル | love hotel |
| rimokon | リモコン | rimōto kontorōrā | リモートコントローラー | remote control |
| kopipe | コピペ | kopii peesuto | コピーペースト | Copy and paste (on a computer) |
Another common pattern is to simply remove the end of a lengthy word to make a new word. These are also a kind of wasei-eigo.
| Abbreviation | Katakana | Original word | Katakana | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| anime | アニメ | animēshon | アニメーション | animation |
| depāto | デパート | depātomento sutoa | デパートメント・ストア | department store |
| toire | トイレ | toiretto | トイレット | toilet |
Many four character abbreviations have been created for particular products or TV shows.
| Contraction | Origin | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| pokemon | poketto monsutā | The well-known toy and animation. |
| purikyua | Puriti Kyua (Pretty Cure) | A manga/anime series |
| tatakon | tataku kontorōrā (controller) | A controller used for the game "Taiko Drum Master" by Namco. |
| Contraction | Name | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Burapi | Buraddo Pitto (Brad Pitt) | Hollywood actor. |
| Fukakyon | Fukada Kyoko | Japanese actress. |
| Kimutaku | Kimura Takuya | SMAP star |
| Matsuken | Ken Matsudaira | Jidaigeki actor, famous for Matsuken samba. |
The railway tunnel linking Aomori and Hakodate is called the Seikan tonneru (青函トンネル|), using the on'yomi of the first kanji from Aomori (青森), and Hakodate (函館).