Word for japanese play

Hey epic gamers, welcome to another incredible article from Bondlingo. Now today we have a very interesting and special article for you, we are going to be discussing all about gaming language in Japanese. This is dedicated to all those gamers out there. We want to make sure that you can enjoy your intense gaming in a Japanese setting too. What better way to immerse yourself in the language while doing something you love.

We are going to look at some of the top vocabulary today that pops up the most throughout most games. This is just an overview but if you have anything specific you want to know about that we haven’t mentioned, please make sure to leave a comment.

Right. Let’s get right into it guys!

The Killer gaming Vocabulary

Right we are now going to break down and contextualise all of the killer gaming vocabulary in Japanese that you are going to need to know to own some noobs in your gaming exploits. Lets start with this word first:

レベル
Reburu
Level

So as you can imagine you can use this in numerous ways, you could ask what level is your competitor on or what level they are. Let’s look at the next.

ラスボス戦
Rasubosu Sen
last boss battle

This will be useful to know when you are about to lock horns with the final boss in your game. So as you can see we have “rasubosu” which means “last boss” and then “sen” which means battle.

雑魚
ざこ
Zako

You know those pesky little mobs that get in your way all the time? Yeah, this is how you talk about those creatures.

試合
しあい
shiai

a game; a match

This is one of the most essential in todays list. You can use this to ask when the match or game will being and also what type your friends or competitors are looking to play.

経験値
けいけんち
keikenchi
EXP

Ah, the integral XP bar, oh the hours spent grinding to reach the top levels! This is how you can refer to XP in your games.

攻撃
こうげき
kougeki
Attack

This is the word for attack, certainly an absolute necessity in any violent gaming ventures. Whether its attacking a city or an enemy, you can use kougeki to say “attack”

防御
ぼうぎょ
bougyo
Defense

Now you can’t have a good attack without a good defense, these two go hand in hand.

相手
あいて
aite
opponent

Whether your facing off against a 4 armed titan or an evil badger, you can use the word aite to mean “opponent”

必殺技
ひっさつわざ
hissatsuwaza
most powerful attack

Are you ready to unleash your most powerful attack? If you are looking to finish your enemy and have saved up enough stamina to unleash your ultimate technique, you can say, “hissatsuwaza“  to describe your final / ultimate attack.

シーン
Sheen
Cutscene

Ah the pesky cut scene, if you can’t skip this then unfortunately your going to have to endure without some intense gaming for the time being. TO be fair, sometimes the story’s from certain cut scenes are awesome and can get you hyped for the next level.

ポーズ
Poozu
Pause

Husband, wife, mum or dad calling you down for dinner? Time to pause the game. Looking to rest those thumbs for a while? Looks like a pause is your best option herer. For this you can say: “Poozu“

メニュー
Menyuu
Menu

This word has to be included in our list as this is your access point into the game itself. It’s pretty easy to remember as its very close to the English “menu”

設定
Settei
Settings

Lastly we have “settings” this is where you can change the language of your game so if you want to change something into Japanese, head here first. There can be a lot of difficult kanji here too so make sure to brush up on that too. 

So there we have it guys, make sure to get all of this vocabulary into your anki system and try and make as many examples sentences as you can to help retain the vocabulary. Obviously, the more gaming that you do with native Japanese speakers, the better you will become with the language. You will also get more confident with speaking and interaction too so that’s why its definitely something that we encourage.

Okay all you gamers we really hope that you have enjoyed today’s special gaming article from us. If you have any questions at all or any more ideas for content that you would like us to cover, please do not hesitate to get in touch as we always live to hear from you guys. We hope you are all doing well with your studies and stay tuned for more articles coming soon. 

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From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Japanese wordplay relies on the nuances of the Japanese language and Japanese script for humorous effect. Double entendres have a rich history in Japanese entertainment (such as in kakekotoba)^[1] due to the language’s large number of homographs (different meanings for a given spelling) and homophones (different meanings for a given pronunciation).

Kakekotoba[edit]

Kakekotoba (掛詞) or «pivot words» are an early form of Japanese wordplay used in waka poetry, wherein some words represent two homonyms. The presence of multiple meanings within these words allowed poets to impart more meaning into fewer words.^[1]

Goroawase[edit]

Goroawase (語呂合わせ, «phonetic matching») is an especially common form of Japanese wordplay, wherein homophonous words are associated with a given series of letters, numbers or symbols, in order to associate a new meaning with that series. The new words can be used to express a superstition about certain letters or numbers. More commonly, however, goroawase is used as a mnemonic technique, especially in the memorization of numbers such as dates in history, scientific constants and phone numbers.^[2]

Numeric substitution[edit]

Every digit has a set of possible phonetic values, due to the variety of valid Japanese kanji readings (kun’yomi and on’yomi) and English-origin pronunciations for numbers in Japanese. Often, readings are created by taking the standard reading and retaining only the first syllable (for example, roku becomes ro). Goroawase substitutions are well known as mnemonics, notably in the selection of memorable telephone numbers used by companies and the memorization of numbers such as years in the study of history.

Mnemonics are formed by selecting a suitable reading for a given number; the tables below list the most common readings, though other readings are also possible. Variants of readings may be produced through consonant voicing (via a dakuten or handakuten) or gemination (via a sokuon), vowel lengthening (via a chōonpu), or the insertion of the nasal mora n (ん).

General examples[edit]

• 16 can be read as «hi-ro», Hiro being a common Japanese given name. 16 is also a common age for anime and manga protagonists^{[citation needed]} (i.e. heroes).
• 26 can be read as «fu-ro» (風呂), meaning «bath». Public baths in Japan have reduced entry fees on the 26th day of every month.^[4]
• 29 can be read as «ni-ku» (肉), meaning «meat». Restaurants and grocery stores have special offers on the 29th day of every month.
• 39 can be read as «san-kyū», referring to «thank you» in English.
• 428 can be read as «shi-bu-ya», referring to the Shibuya area of Tokyo.
• 526 can be read as «ko-ji-ro» in reference to Sasaki Kojiro, a samurai from the Edo period.
• 634 can be read as «mu-sa-shi». The Tokyo Skytree’s height was intentionally set at 634 meters so it would sound like Musashi Province, an old name for the area in which the building stands.^[5]
• 801 can be read as «ya-o-i» or yaoi, a genre of homoerotic manga typically aimed at women.
• 893 can be read as «ya-ku-za» (やくざ) or «Yakuza».^[6] It is traditionally a bad omen for a student to receive this candidate number for an exam.^{[citation needed]}
• 4649 can be read as «yo-ro-shi-ku» (よろしく), meaning «best regards».

As mnemonics[edit]

1492, the year of discovery of America, can be read as «i-yo-ku-ni» and appended with «ga mieta» to form the phrase «Alright! I can see land!» (いいよ！国が見えた！). Additionally, «i-yo-ku-ni» itself could simply be interpreted as «alright, country» (いいよ、国). The alternative reading «i-shi-ku-ni» is not typically associated with a particular meaning, but is used to memorize the year.

23564, the length of a sidereal day (23 hours, 56 minutes, 4 seconds), can be read as «ni-san-go-ro-shi», which sounds similar to «nii-san koroshi» (兄さん殺し) or in English, «killing one’s older brother».

3.14159265, the first nine digits of pi, can be read as «san-i-shi-i-ko-ku-ni-mu-kou» (産医師異国に向こう), meaning «an obstetrician faces towards a foreign country.»

42.19, the length of a marathon course in kilometres, can be read as «shi-ni-i-ku» (死に行く), meaning «to go to die.»

Popular culture examples[edit]

Anime, manga, and television[edit]

• 152 can be read as «hi-ko-ni», meaning «unofficial» (非公認, hikōnin), and is part of the license plate number of the Machine Itashar in Unofficial Sentai Akibaranger.
• 18782 + 18782 = 37564 can be read as «i-ya-na-ya-tsu + i-ya-na-ya-tsu = mi-na-go-ro-shi» (嫌な奴＋嫌な奴＝皆殺し, bad person + bad person = massacre).^[7][8]
  • In Initial D, Rin Hojo’s Nissan Skyline GT-R R32 has the number 37654 on its license plate, befitting his nickname of «Shinigami».
• 315, or «sa-i-go», is used as a transformation code in Kamen Rider 555: Paradise Lost due to being pronounced similarly to «Psyga».
• 39 can be read as «za-ku,» referring to the Zaku mecha from the Gundam franchise.^[9]
• 428, read as «yo-tsu-ba», can refer to the character Yotsuba Nakano from The Quintessential Quintuplets, who wears T-shirts with that number.
• 4869 can be read as «shi-ya-ro-ku» (しやろく); when «ya» is written small, it becomes «sharoku» (しゃろく), which resembles «Sherlock» (シャーロック, Shārokku). This number is Conan Edogawa’s phone PIN and the name of an experimental drug in Case Closed.
• 56 can be read as «go-mu», meaning «rubber» (ゴム, gomu), referring to One Piece protagonist Monkey D. Luffy’s elastic abilities.
• 59 can be read as «go-ku» and is sometimes used in reference to Goku from Dragon Ball.
• 63 can be read as » mu-zan» or «miserable», which refers to Muzan Kibutsuji, the main antagonist of Demon Slayer. The official Demon Slayer Twitter account refers to June 3rd as «Muzan Day».
• 723 can be read as «na-tsu-mi» or Natsumi and is commonly used in Sgt. Frog to symbolically refer to the character Natsumi Hinata.
  • July 23rd (7/23) is the birthday of Date A Live character Natsumi Kyouno.
• 819 can be read as «ha-i-kyū» (排球), meaning volleyball. The community around the anime series Haikyu!! considers 19 August (8/19) to be «Haikyu!! Day».
• 86239 can be read as «hachi-roku-ni-san-kyū», and was used in Initial D as the number on the license plate of a Toyota 86. It translates to «thank you, eight-six».
• 89 years can be read as «ya-ku-sai». This is homophonous with the Japanese word for «calamity» (厄災 yakusai), being a fitting age for the JoJolion character Satoru Akefu, who has a calamity related ability.
• 913 can be read as «ka-i-sa», as in Kamen Rider Kaixa, hence it being the transformation activation code.
  • An anagram of this is 193, read as «i-ku-sa» (as in Kamen Rider IXA), which serves as the code to activate Rising Mode.

Music[edit]

• 382 can be read as «mi-ya-bi» (みやび), used by Miyavi.
• 39 can be read as «mi-ku», usually in reference to the Vocaloid character Hatsune Miku.^[9]
• 610 can be read as «ro-ten» or «rotten», and is often used on merchandise of the rock band ROTTENGRAFFTY.
• 616 can be read as «ro-i-ro», referring to lowiro, the developer and publisher of the rhythm game Arcaea.
• 712 can be read as «na-i-fu» (i.e. knife), and is used in the Shonen Knife album 712.
• 75, read as «na-ko», is used by Nako Yabuki in her Instagram and Twitter handles.
• 96 can be read as «ku-ro» meaning «black», as in 96猫 («kuroneko»; «black cat»). 96猫 is a popular Japanese singer who covers songs on Niconico, and provides the singing voice of Tsukimi Eiko in Ya Boy Kongming!.

Video games[edit]

• 193, when read as «i-ku-sa» and interpreted to mean «Iku-san», can refer to Touhou Project character Iku Nagae, or IJN submarine I-19 in Kantai Collection.
• 2424 can be read as Puyo Puyo. This numerical correspondence has been used and referenced ever since the series’ debut, and has also been used in various teasers for some of the games. The series celebrated its 24th anniversary in 2015.
• 283 can be read as «tsu-ba-sa» (翼), meaning «wing». This is used for the name of the 283 Production agency in THE iDOLM@STER: Shiny Colors.
• 315 can be read as «sa-i-kō» (最高), meaning «highest», «supreme», or «ultimate». This is used as the name for 315 Production in The Idolmaster SideM, where the idols under the label use «saikō» as a rallying chant.^[10][11]
• 34 is a frequent target of goroawase in the mystery franchise When They Cry, often being the name of the culprit or an accomplice, such as Miyo (三四) in Higurashi When They Cry, Sayo (紗代) in Umineko When They Cry, and Mitsuyo in Ciconia When They Cry.
• 346 can be read as «mi-shi-ro», meaning «beautiful castle». This is used for the name of 346 Production in THE iDOLM@STER: Cinderella Girls.
• 51 can be read as «go-ichi». These two numbers are the latter part of «SUDA51», the alias of Goichi Suda.
• 573 can be read as «ko-na-mi» and is often used by Konami; for example, it is used in Konami telephone numbers and as a high score in Konami games, as well as in promotional materials and sometimes as a character name.^{[clarification needed]}
• .59 can be read as «ten-go-ku» (天国), meaning «heaven» (an example being the song «.59» in Beatmania IIDX 2nd Style and Dance Dance Revolution 4thMix).
• 765 can be read as «na-mu-ko» or Namco. Derivatives of this number can be found in dozens of Namco-produced video games. It was also the central studio of The Idolmaster and its sequels.
  • After merging with Bandai, their goroawase number became 876 (ba-na-mu); the handle of Bandai Namco Games’ Japanese Twitter account is «@bnei876».^[12]
• 86 can be read as «ha-ru» or HAL. HAL Laboratory often puts this number somewhere in the video games it creates as parts of secrets and easter eggs, most notably in the Kirby series.
• In Pokémon Sword and Shield, all Gym Leaders and some extra characters have a three-digit jersey number that relates to their name, role, or typing they specialize in. For example, Opal has the jersey number 910, which can be read as «kyu-to» or cute, relating to her specialization in Fairy-type Pokémon.

Other[edit]

• 15 can be read as «ichi-go» and is commonly used to refer to strawberries («ichigo»). It can also mean «strawberry face», a term used to describe equipping the front end of a Nissan Silvia (S15) onto another S-chassis car.^[13]
• 23 can be read as «ni-san». Car manufacturer Nissan frequently enters cars with the number 23 into motorsports events.
• 2434 can be read as «ni-ji-san-ji», which refers to the virtual YouTuber agency Nijisanji. Some Japanese members of the company use this number in their Twitter handles.
• 2525 can be read as «ni-ko-ni-ko» (ニコニコ) and refers to Niconico, a Japanese online video platform. Its «mylists», which function similarly to lists of bookmarks, are limited to 25 per user.
• 510, read as «go-tō», is used by professional wrestler Hirooki Goto in his Twitter handle.

• 563 can be read as «ko-ro-san» (ころさん); amounts of 563 yen are commonly donated to virtual YouTuber Inugami Korone of Hololive Production, who is sometimes referred to as «Koro-san».
  • Hololive founder Motoaki «YAGOO» Tanigo’s nickname is occasionally represented with the number 85 («ya-go») or 850 («ya-go-ō»).^[14]

• 69 can be read as «ro-ki», as in Hi69 («Hiroki»), one of the ring names of professional wrestler Hiroki Tanabe.

See also[edit]

• Japanese rebus monogram
  • Rebus § Japan
• Tetraphobia
• Word play

Notes[edit]

References[edit]