Taiwanese words from Japanese
Extensive contact with the Japanese language has left a legacy of Japanese loanwords. The words on this page were sampled from various sources.
The Ministry of Education's Dictionary of Frequently-Used Taiwan Minnan includes a table of 172 words with essentially Japanese pronunciation, in addition to several other Taiwanese words from Japanese. Here is that table reformatted to include MTL and English: File:172 Taiwanese loanwords from Japanese.pdf
Taiwanese pronunciation
These words use Taiwanese pronunciation (Hokkien phonology; Taigie Hoat'ym). A number of these are Wasei-kango.
| MTL | Nihongo | Hiragana | Romaji | Mandarin | Engguo |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| piexntofng | 弁当 | べんとう | bentō | 餐盒 | lunch (prepared beforehand)/lunchbox/bento box |
| bixsox | 味の素 | あじのもと | ajinomoto | 味精 | monosodium glutamate(MSG)/gourmet powder/Accent/Ajinomoto |
| khawzø | 口座 | こうざ | kōza | 帳戶 | (bank, computer, etc.) account |
| zhuttviw | 出張 | しゅっちょう | shutchō | 出差 | official tour; business trip |
| chiwheeng | 手形 | てがた | tegata | 支票 | a bill, a note, a draft |
| zuobuun | 注文 | ちゅうもん | chūmon | 訂購 | order (merchandise) |
| kiehux | 寄付 | きふ | kifu | 捐獻 | donate (money or land)/donation/donate (money or land) |
| arnnai | 案内 | あんない | annai | 安撫 | to guide/entertain (a guest)/accompany |
| zuytø | 水道 | すいどう | suidō | 水管 | water pipe/hose |
| horngsaxng | 放送 | ほうそう | hōsō | 廣播 | to broadcast |
| iupien | 郵便 | ゆうびん | yūbin | 郵件 | mail/post |
| piexnsor | 便所 | べんじょ | benjo | 廁所 | toilet/water closet |
| pvixvi | 病院 | びょういん | byōin | 醫院 | hospital |
| zuosia | 注射 | ちゅうしゃ | chūsha | 打針 | injection/give an injection |
| kiernpurn | 見本 | みほん | mihon | 樣品 | sample , example |
| huilengky | 飛行機 | ひこうき | hikōki | 飛機 | airplane |
| zuxzoafnchiaf | 自転車 | じてんしゃ | jitensha | 自行車 | bicycle |
| toaxthofng | 大通り | おおどおり | ōdōri | 大馬路 | Big street/avenue/main street |
| baxnlienpid | 万年筆 | まんねんひつ | man'nenhitsu | 鋼筆 | fountain pen |
| pahhoeatiaxm | 百貨店 | ひゃっかてん | hyakkaten | 百貨公司 | department store |
| oexsefng-... | 衛生 | えいせい | eisei | 衛生 | hygienic/sanitary/hygiene/sanitation |
| zwgi | 主義 | しゅぎ | shugi | 主義 | doctrine |
| kengzex | 経済 | けいざい | keizai | 經濟 | economy |
Japanese words commonly used by Taiwanese speakers
These are more or less spoken with Japanese pronunciation even if written in Harnji.
| MTL | Romaji | Kanji | Kana | Engguo |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| nofliq | nori | 海苔 | のり | nori (seaweed) |
| anykhiq | aniki | 兄貴 | あにき | an elder brother, someone who is considered one's senior |
| sasymiq | sashimi | 刺身 | さしみ | sashimi |
| mysoq | miso | 味噌 | みそ | miso |
| swsiq | sushi | 寿司 | すし | sushi |
| ojysarng | ojisan | 小父さん | おじさん | man/uncle |
| obafsarng | obāsan | お婆さん | おばあさん | grandma/old woman |
| oasafbiq | wasabi | 山葵 | わさび | wasabi |
| hinofkhiq | hinoki | 檜 | ひのき | Japanese cypress |
| kharsaxng | kāsan | 母さん | かあさん | mother |
| barnggaq | manga | 漫画 | まんが | manga |
| torsaxng | tōsan | 父さん | とうさん | father |
| thathafmiq | tatami | 疊 | たたみ | tatami mat |
| khangparng | kampan | 看板 | かんばん | kanban (signboard) |
| urnciaxng | unchan | 運ちゃん | うんちゃん | driver |
| khabarng | kaban | 鞄 | かばん | baggage, luggage |
| lirngox | ringo | 林檎 | りんご | apple |
| zunafmiq | tsunami | 津波/津浪 | つなみ | tsunami |
| khimofciq | kimochi | 気持ち | きもち | emotion/mood |
| asaflix | assari | あっさり | straightforward/clear cut |
More:
from English via Japanese
Main Article: Taiwanese words from English
| MTL | Engbuun | Nihongo | Romaji |
|---|---|---|---|
| alwmiq | aluminum | アルミ | arumi |
| aozuq | out! (baseball) | アウト | auto |
| baftaq | butter | バター | batā |
| bakkuq | (v) to go back | バック | bakku |
| ciokofleatox | chocolate | チョコレート | chokorēto |
| gafsuq | gas (from Dutch) | ガス | gasu |
| gietax | guitar | ギター | gitā |
| haantofluq | steering wheel (handle) | ハンドル | handoru |
| hotefluq | hotel | ホテル | hoteru |
| ienjirn | engine | エンジン | enjin |
| khameflaq | camera | カメラ | kamera |
| khatiern | curtain | カーテン | kāten |
| kheciappuq | ketchup | ケチャップ | kechappu |
| khongkuhliq | concrete (building material) | コンクリート | konkurīto |
| khulymuq | cream | クリーム | kurīmu |
| khyloq | kilo | キロ | kiro |
| laetaq | lighter (fire making device) | ライター | raitā |
| lajyoq | radio | ラジオ | rajio |
| lolaebax | screwdriver | ドライバー | doraibā |
| maekux | mike (microphone) | マイク | maiku |
| melorng | melon | メロン | meron |
| nefkhuxthaix | necktie | ネクタイ | nekutai |
| phiernciq | pincher/pliers | ペンチ | penchi |
| saesux | size | サイズ | saizu |
| sietzuq | shirt | シャツ | shatsu |
| sulitpaq | slippers | スリッパ | surippa |
| thaeiaq | tire | タイヤ | taiya |
| thenysuq | tennis | テニス | tenisu |
| tholafkux | truck | トラック | torakku |
| thomaftoq | tomato | トマト | tomato |
from Portuguese via Japanese
| MTL | Engbuun | Nihongo | Romaji | Portuguese |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| pharng | bread | パン | pan | pão |
| thienpwlaq | tempura | 天ぷら | tenpura | tempero |
Placenames
See Also
References
- 外來詞 [Loanwords] (in Chinese). Dictionary of Frequently-Used Taiwan Minnan. Ministry of Education (2011). (File:172 Taiwanese loanwords from Japanese.pdf)
- Mair, V. (1992) East Asian Round-Trip Words in Sino-Platonic Papers (34)
- 臺灣閩南語常用外來語
- 台湾語
- 臺灣話