Here’s a list of terms that I’ll use for the site. There will be some words here I will probably not use, but I’ll list them anyway because you will hear them a lot. That’s why.
Anime (ah-nee-meh)
アニメ
N.
Depending on who you talk to, it means either Japanese animation or animation in general. People say that this word is derived from the French word of animation, but it is actually derived from the word “animation” itself. Whenever I say this word, I use the latter’s definition in general, not just Japanese animation, but for the sake of this site, I’ll use it for Japanese animation.
Dorama (doh-rah-mah)
ドラマ
N.
A live drama series. Various anime and manga series have live drama adaptations such as “Great Teacher Onizuka”, “Ace o Nerae” and “Nodame Cantabile”. Some series that are not based on an anime or manga are “Chura-san” and “Summer Snow”.
Fan sub
ファンサッブ
N.
Often done to allow non-Japanese viewers to watch and understand unlicensed anime, fan subs, short for fan subtitled works, are made for fans by fans and making some sort of profit off them is expressly prohibited unless the money is for new equipment, which is the case pretty much.
Honorific
オノリフィック
N.
They are status indicators after a person’s name, which I will be doing a lot except when I do news bits.
-chan/ちゃん (chah-n)
This is used for someone close to you such as a family member or a friend as well as someone adorable like a lover or a baby. This is mainly a girl’s honorific.
-kouhai/後輩/こうはい (koh-oo-hah-ee)
A kouhai is a junior of a group. Thus, this is the opposite of “-senpai”. This is used once in a while in “Hajime no Ippo”.
-kun/君/くん (koo-n)
This is used for those close to you who are male. This is also used for colleagues and it can be used for young women.
-sama/様/さま (sah-mah)
This is used for those you really give respect to like a lord.
-san/燦/さん (sah-n)
This is used for people of similar status or higher, as it is a close, but not direct “Mr.” or “Mrs.” translation.
-senpai/先輩/せんぱい (seh-n-pah-ee)
A senpai is a senior of a group. This is for people with a higher rank than you in regards of school or work.
-sensei/先生/せんせい (seh-n-seh-ee)
Literally meaning a person of the past, this is for people like teachers. This is also for people such as lawyers.
-tan/たん (tah-n)
A cute way to say “-chan”, this is for really cute people or people you’re close to.
Kawaii (kah-wah-ee-ee)
可愛い
かわいい
Adj.
Cute.
Manga (mah-n-gah)
漫画
まんが
N.
Depending on who you talk to, it means either Japanese comics or comics in general. Manga also can refer to still images which makes sense because that’s how comics are. Whenever I say this word, I use the latter’s definition, not just Japanese comics, but for the sake of this site, I’ll use it for Japanese comics.
Ongaku (oh-n-gah-koo)
音楽
おんがく
N.
Music. Music games are games that involve input of some sort and by that, I mean pushing a button or the like. Konami’s the one company you know of that deals with music games and some music companies include Starchild and Yamaha.
Seiyuu (seh-ee-yoo-oo)
声優
せいゆう
N.
Voice actor. Of course, for some people, they only refer to Japanese voice actors. Like “anime” and “manga”, I’ll follow suit.
Know the letters “CV”? They stand for character voice. You see seiyuu work with various forms of entertainment. Some people will only see a certain anime or play a certain game because it has a certain seiyuu. Some people who happen to be seiyuu are Hayashibara Megumi-san, Koyasu Takehito-san, Seki Tomokazu-san, Ueda Yuuji-san, Yuuki Hiro-san, Horie Yui-san and Mizuki Nana-san.
Yonkoma (yoh-n-koh-mah)
4コマ/四コマ
よんコマ
N.
A yonkoma is a four panel comic. The panels are shown in a vertical line or in a 2 by 2 square. Many of these tend to be funny. “Azumanga” is a well-known yonkoma series and “The King of Fighters” is also known for its yonkoma.
Yuugi (yoo-oo-gee)
遊戯
ゆうぎ
A game. It can refer to any game like baseball or a video game. Of course, you still hear the latter mentioned in English.
Last update - 2007/7/19
