Lexicon of Anime, Manga, and Common Japanese Terms
Aishiteru - “I love you!”
Aniisan/Oniisan - Big brother. (as in the older brother of someone)
Arigato - “Thank You”
Atashi/Watashi - “I” (for females only)
Baka - “Stupid” (As in: “Wow, that guy is really stupid!”)
Bishie - Short for ‘bishounen’.
Bishoujo - A Beautiful Girl.
Bishounen - A Beautiful boy. (or a “cute guy”)
Boku - “I” (for males only)
Chibi - A Miniature (also: tiny)
Daijobu - This can be both a question and an answer… ie: “Daijoubu?” “Daijoubu.”
(means: “Are you ok?” “I’m all right.”)
Daisuki - “I really like you!” (Can be a person or an item… ie: “I really like it!”)
Ecchi - Soft-core anime or manga porn. Less graphic than hentai. The Japanese pronunciation for the letter “H”. (Manga and anime labeled as “H” is the same thing as “ecchi.”)
eeto - Equivalent of English “Uhh..”
Fansub - Stands for fan-subtitled. Refers to anime with original Japanese audio and English subtitles that were added by fans. Helps to promote non-licensed anime to a non-Japanese-speaking audience. Fansub groups usually will drop an on-going project if it gets licensed outside of japan.
Gambatte - “Try your best!”
Gomen - “Sorry” (an apology)
Hentai - Anime or manga porn. ‘Nuff said.
Honto - “Really?” (Usually asked as a question.)
Itadakimasu - Typically said before eating, as a recognition that you humbly receive and are grateful for your food.
Ja Ne - A slang term, equivalent to saying: “See ya later!”
Kakkoii - “Cool!” (as in: “Wow, he’s sooo cool!”)
Kami-sama - God (Or whatever supreme deity you believe in.)
Kanpai - The equivalent of saying “Cheers!” when toasting a drink.
Kawaii - “Cute!” (as in: “Wow, he’s sooo cute!”)
Kohai - A lower classman or someone your junior.
Konnnichiwa - “Hello” (A typical greeting, but not a phone greeting.)
Mangaka - Manga artist/author.
Nani - “What?” (This is asked a lot, especially by clueless anime and manga characters, and teenage girls)
Neko - A Cat. (The house pet kind.)
Ocha - Tea. (The kind you drink.)
Okaasa - Mother. (The person who most likely gave birth to you.)
Oneesan - Big Sister. (Not necessarily blood related.)
Otaku - A person who is really into anime and manga. As in, really, really, really into anime and manga. In Japan this is a derogatory term, in other countries it is used to refer to the fandom (not derogatory). Literally means someone who stays in the house 24/7 (due to extreme attachment).
Otoosa - Father. (Usually the person you call “dad”.)
Sake - Japanese Rice Wine.
Sayonara - “Good-bye” (So Long. Farewell.)
Scanlation - Manga that has been scanned, translated, then edited. After scanning the Japanese manga pages, the text and sound effects are whited out and their English translations are edited in. This helps promote non-licensed manga to a Japanese-illiterate audience. A scanlation group will usually drop a project if it gets licensed outside of japan.
Seiyuu - The voice actor of an anime character.
Senpai - Refers to ones senior in a hierarchical organization, typically an upperclassman at school or a boss at work.
Tankoubon - A manga volume. Essentially, a compilation of a number of manga chapters.
Watashi - “I” for any gender. (standard)
Yatta - “I did it!” (A lot of characters will suddenly exclaim this.)
Youkai - A Demon. (You will probably hear this a lot in Shounen style Anime.)
