Japanese abbreviated and contracted words
Abbreviated and contracted words are a common feature of Japanese. Long words are often contracted into shorter forms, which then become the predominant forms. For example, the University of Tokyo, in Japanese Tōkyō Daigaku (東京大学) becomes Tōdai (東大), and "remote control", rimōto kontorōrā (remote controller), becomes rimokon. Names are also contracted in this way. For example, Takuya Kimura, in Japanese Kimura Takuya, an entertainer, is referred to as Kimutaku.
The names of some very familiar companies are also contractions. For example, Toshiba is a contraction of "Tokyo Shibaura", and Nissan is a contraction of "Nippon Sangyo".
The contractions may be commonly used, or they may be specific to a particular group of people. For example, the "Kokuritsu Kankyō Kenkyūjo" (国立環境研究所, National Institute for Environmental Sciences of Japan, NIES) is known as Kanken (環研) by its employees, but this terminology is not familiar to most Japanese.
Patterns of contraction
Japanese words are spelled using characters that represent syllables (morae), rather than individual phonetic units (phonemes) as in the English alphabet. These characters are compiled into two syllabaries: hiragana and katakana. Japanese also makes extensive use of adopted Chinese characters, or kanji, which may be pronounced with one or more syllables. Therefore, when a word or phrase is abbreviated, it does not take the form of initials, but the key characters of the original phrase, such that a new word is made, often recognizably derived from the original. In contracted kanji words, the most common pattern of contraction is to take the first kanji of each word in a phrase and put them together as a portmanteau. In the example from the lead, using Tōkyō Daigaku (東京大学), the Tō- of Tōkyō and the Dai- of Daigaku becomes Tōdai (東大), the common abbreviation for the University of Tokyo.
There are also instances in which alternative readings of a particular kanji are used in the contraction. For example, Nagoya's main subway station, Nagoya Station, is referred to by locals as Meieki (名駅), a contraction of "Nagoya-Eki" (名古屋駅), in which the alternative reading of Na- (名), the first character in "Nagoya", is used.
In loanwords and names, the most common pattern is to take the first two morae (or kana) of each of the two words, and combine them forming a new, single word. For example, "family restaurant" or famirī resutoran becomes famiresu.
Yōon sounds, those 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 count as two morae, and may disappear (the same can be said for the sokuon, or small tsu); 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.
Long kanji names
| Contraction | Kanji | Original word | Full kanji | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nikkei | 日経 | Nihon Keizai Shinbun | 日本経済新聞 | Japan Economic Times |
| Nōdai | 農大 | Tōkyō Nōgyō Daigaku | 東京農業大学 | Agricultural University of Tokyo |
| Nyūkan | 入管 | Nyūkoku Kanrikyoku | 入国管理局 | Immigration Office |
| kōkō | 高校 | kōtōgakkō | 高等学校 | high school |
| Odakyū | 小田急 | Odawara Kyūkō Dentetsu | 小田原急行電鉄 | lit. Odawara Express Electric Railway (Odakyū Electric Railway) |
| Tochō | 都庁 | Tōkyō-to Chōsha | 東京都庁舎 | Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building |
| Tōdai | 東大 | Tōkyō Daigaku | 東京大学 | University of Tokyo |
| Kokuren | 国連 | Kokusai Rengo | 国際連合 | The United Nations |
Loanwords
Three and four character loanwords
| Contraction | Katakana | Original word | Katakana | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| amefuto | アメフト | amerikan futtobōru | アメリカン・フットボール | American football |
| anime | アニメ | animēshon | アニメーション | animation |
| dejikame | デジカメ | dejitaru kamera | デジタルカメラ | digital camera |
| depāto | デパート | depātomento sutoa | デパートメント・ストア | department store |
| eakon | エアコン | ea kondishonā | エアコンディショナー | air conditioner |
| famikon | ファミコン | famirī konpyūtā | ファミリーコンピューター | family computer (Nintendo) |
| famiresu | ファミレス | famirī resutoran | ファミリーレストラン | family restaurant |
| konbini | コンビニ | konbiniensu sutoa | コンビニエンス・ストア | convenience store |
| pasokon | パソコン | pāsonaru konpyūtā | パーソナルコンピューター | personal computer, PC |
| puroresu | プロレス | purofesshonaru resuringu | プロフェッショナル・レスリング | professional wrestling |
| 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 |
| sumaho | スマホ | sumāto fon | スマートフォン | smart phone |
| terebi | テレビ | terebijon | テレビジョン | TV (television) |
| toire | トイレ | toiretto | トイレット | toilet |
| wāpuro | ワープロ | wādo purosessā | ワードプロセッサー | word processor |
Abbreviations
| Abbreviation | Japanese | Original word | Japanese | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| bukatsu | 部活 | bukatsudō | 部活動 | after-school club (extracurricular) activity |
| shāshin | シャー芯 | shāpupen no shin | シャープペンの芯 | (in colloquial language) lead of a mechanical pencil |
| kētai | 携帯 | kētaidenwa | 携帯電話 | Mobile phone |
Created words
Many abbreviations, especially four-character words, have been created for particular products or TV shows.
| Contraction | Japanese | Origin | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pokémon | ポケモン | poketto monsutā (Pocket Monster[s]) | The well-known video game and animation franchise. |
| purikura | プリクラ | purinto kurabu (Print Club) | An automated photograph machine |
| mukku | ムック | magazine + book | A cross between a magazine and a book |
Contractions of names
| Contraction | Japanese | Name | Japanese | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Burapi | ブラピ | Buraddo Pitto (Brad Pitt) | ブラッド・ピット | Hollywood actor. |
| Dikapuri | ディカプリ | Reonarudo Dikapurio (Leonardo DiCaprio) | レオナルド・ディカプリオ | Hollywood actor. |
| Fukakyon | フカキョン | Kyōko Fukada | 深田恭子 | Japanese idol and actress. |
| Hashiryū | 橋龍 | Ryūtarō Hashimoto | 橋本龍太郎 | politician. |
| Kimutaku | キムタク | Takuya Kimura | 木村拓哉 | SMAP star |
| Matsujun | 松潤 | Jun Matsumoto | 松本 潤 | Japanese idol, member of boy-band Arashi. |
| Matsuken | マツケン | Ken Matsudaira | 松平健 | Jidaigeki actor, famous for Matsuken samba. |
| Shimuken | シムケン | Ken Shimura | 志村けん | television performer and actor. |
| Shuwa-chan | シュワちゃん | Ānorudo Shuwarutseneggā (Arnold Schwarzenegger) | アーノルド・シュワルツェネッガー | Hollywood actor and politician. |
| Yamataku | 山拓 | Taku Yamasaki | 山崎拓 | politician. |
| Tattsun | たっつん | Tatsuhisa Suzuki | 鈴木 達央 | main vocalist of OLDCODEX and voice actor. |
Highways and railway lines
Many highways and railway lines have names that are contractions of the names of their endpoints. For example, 東名高速道路 (Tomei Expressway) takes one kanji 東 (tō) from 東京 (Tokyo) and the other 名 (mei) from 名古屋 (Nagoya; its pronunciation changes from the kun'yomi na to the on'yomi mei). 東急東横線 (Tokyu Toyoko Line) links Tokyo and 横浜 Yokohama, taking part of its name from each city.
Other examples include:
| Contraction | Japanese | Origin | Japanese |
|---|---|---|---|
| Keiyō Line | 京葉線 | Tokyo + Chiba | 東京＋千葉 |
| Saikyō Line | 埼京線 | Saitama + Tokyo | 埼玉＋東京 |
| Senzan Line | 仙山線 | Sendai + Yamagata | 仙台＋山形 |
| Hanshin Main Line | 阪神本線 | Osaka + Kobe | 大阪＋神戸 |
| Seikan Tunnel | 青函トンネル | Aomori + Hakodate | 青森＋函館 |
Sometimes names of this type preserve older place names. For instance, the character 武 is taken from the word 武蔵 (Musashi), which was once the name of the Japanese province in which the city of Tokyo was located, can still be seen in the company names 東武 (Tobu or "East Musashi"), 西武 (Seibu or "West Musashi"), and in the 南武線 (Nanbu Line or "South Musashi Line").
Some other examples:
| Contraction | Japanese | Origin | Japanese |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sōbu Line | 総武線 | Kazusa/Shimōsa + Musashi | 下総／上総＋武蔵 |
| Uchibō Line | 内房線 | Inner + Bōsō Peninsula (= Awa + Kazusa) | 内＋房総（＝安房＋上総） |
| Sotobō Line | 外房線 | Outer + Bōsō Peninsula (= Awa + Kazusa) | 外＋房総（＝安房＋上総） |
| Jōban Line | 常磐線 | Hitachi + Iwaki | 常陸＋磐城 |
| Nippō Main Line | 日豊本線 | Hyūga + Buzen/Bungo | 日向＋豊前／豊後 |
| Hōhi Main Line | 豊肥本線 | Bungo + Higo | 豊後＋肥後 |
Single letters as abbreviations
Many single letters of the Latin alphabet have names that resemble the pronunciations of Japanese words or characters. Japanese people use them in contexts such as advertising to catch the reader's attention. Other uses of letters include abbreviations of spellings of words. Here are some examples:
- E: 良い (ii; the word for "good" in Japanese). The letter appears in the name of the company e-homes.
- J: The first letter of "Japan" as in J.League, J-Phone.
- Q: The kanji 九 ("nine") have the reading kyū. Japanese "Dial Q2" premium-rate telephone numbers start with 0990.
- S, M: used for sadism and masochism respectively, often referring to mild personality traits rather than sexual fetishes. "SM" is also used for sadomasochism, instead of "S&M" used in English, in a more sexual context.
- W: The English word "double." Japanese people sometimes pronounce the letter "double." For example, ”Wデート” (W deeto) means "double date(s)"; "WW Burger" from Freshness Burger has double beef and double cheese.
Longer Romaji abbreviations
| Contraction | Japanese spoken form | Origin | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| CM | シーエム (shī-emu) | commercial message | a single commercial or a commercial break |
| GW | ゴールデンウィーク (gōruden uīku) | Golden Week | Golden Week is a series of four unrelated holidays within one week at the beginning of May |
| NEET | ニート (nīto) | not currently engaged in education, employment, or training | A NEET is someone who is unable or unwilling to work, and typically lives at home supported by his parents. |
| NG | エヌジー (enu-jī) | no good | Often used as the opposite of “OK”; a mis-take while filming a scene for film or TV |
| OL | オーエル (ōeru) | office lady | OLs are low-level female corporate employees |
| PV | ピービー (pībī) | promotional video | The term is generally used to describe Music Videos. |
| SP | エスピー (esupī) | special | a TV special, a special episode of a particular TV series |
| VTR | ブイティーアール (buitīāru) | video tape recording | a video clip shown during a TV program for members of a panel to comment on |
| W杯 | ワールドカップ (wārudokappu) | World Cup | Used to refer to the FIFA World Cup for soccer |