23 Japanese words added to English!
- Chris Walsh
- Apr 1, 2024
- 1 min read
23 Japanese words have been added to the Oxford English dictionary. This means they are so frequently used in English that they are now recognised as part of the English language.
There are already many Japanese words that are used in English. Examples of these are karate, karaoke, aikido, kendo, ninja, typhoon (台風), koi, tsunami, sushi, tofu, wasabi, umami, origami, manga, anime, emoji, kimono and many many more! But, this year 23 more new ones were added.
Most of the new words are for food and cooking. Santoku (knife), okonomiyaki, donburi, tonkotsu and katsu were added to the dictionary. Japanese food is becoming much more popular and easy to find in the UK.
Isekai, waking or being transported to in an alternate world (often used in manga or anime), has become popular enough to get a definition in the dictionary. Examples of this include Chihiro/Sen in Spirited Away (千と千尋の神隠し) or Mahito in The Boy and the Heron (君たちはどう生きるか).
Omotenashi, good hospitality with "thoughtfulness" and kintsugi, fixing broken pottery with gold-laced laquer were also added.
This shows that languages grow and change. 64 words in total were added though most were new variations of English words. English, I think, changes quite quickly as there are many different cultures living together in the UK.
For more details, check the original article:
The full list:
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