Word origins

• waitTo delay movement or action until some event or time; to remain neglected or in readiness.
• fullwidthOf a text character, occupying the space of two alphanumeric characters in a monospace font, or two "normal" text columns.
• 1-shantenOf a mahjong hand: one tile away from reaching tenpai.
• 3D jobA menial blue-collar job often performed by migrants.
• beach sandalA flip-flop (footwear).
• be a hundred years too earlyTo be so immature and unprepared as to have no hope of achieving an accomplishment.
• bellybandA strap around the belly of a horse or other draft animal used to secure a saddle or the shafts of a cart.
• black beltThe highest belt colour in various martial arts.
• black mistPolitical corruption.
• blind tigerA speakeasy.
• bullet climbTo climb Mount Fuji during the night, in order to see the sunrise at the peak.
• curry rouxRoux with curry powder.
• dad jokeA (usually deliberate) unfunny or corny joke, typically containing a pun and often in question/answer format.
• death flagA trope suggesting to the viewer that a character will die.
• deer scarerA traditional device found in Japanese gardens, composed of a bamboo tube that when filled with water revolves to empty and makes a clanking sound
• desktop mascot(A computer program that places) an interactive character on the desktop.
• Devil's SeaAn area of the Pacific Ocean, south of Tokyo, sometimes considered to be a paranormal location.
• emperorismThe form of government in Japan prior to WWII, with the emperor as head of state.
• extended shinjitaiAn unofficial shinjitai (new character form) created by analogy.
• fall seven times, stand up eightOne must not give up one's efforts, even those that are in vain.
• game setgame over
• Gauss symbolA floor function symbol
• giant killA rule in Tycoon where a three of a particular suit (most commonly spades) can beat a single joker. During revolution, most rulesets instead use a two of that suit to do this.
• goblin sharkA species of mackerel shark, Mitsukurina owstoni, that has a long snout-like protrusion from its forehead and grows to 3.8 meters in length.
• God EmperorA god-king; a sovereign worshiped as a god.
• going home clubA group of people not participating in extracurricular clubs or activities; a metaphorical "club" of people not belonging to any school club.
• gold generalA piece in shogi that can move one step forward, back, sideways or diagonally forward.
• handrollA piece of sushi in the form of a cone of seaweed filled with rice, fish, vegetables etc.
• herbivore manA man, especially a Japanese man, who eschews romantic relationships.
• ice candySynonym of freeze pop, frozen fruit juice or flavored ice in a tube.
• Iga warepottery or earthenware from the Iga region (now called Maruhashira) from the early 17th century, noted for its combination of glazed and unglazed surfaces, asymmetrical shapes, and characteristic scorching.
• instant loss 2komaA two-panel comic depicting a character who displays smugness or overconfidence in the first panel, only to be defeated or humiliated in the second.
• instant noodleOne of a mass of dried precooked noodles fused with oil, usually soaked in boiling water for a few minutes before being eaten.
• lake of WadaAny of three disjoint connected open sets of the plane or open unit square with the counterintuitive property that they all have the same boundary.
• Land of the Rising SunJapan (a country in Asia).
• level upTo raise to the same level or status; to improve so as to make as good as others.
• lithium-ion batteryA form of rechargeable battery containing lithium compounds, but not elemental lithium, used in many consumer electronics devices.
• lost decadeA period of economic stagnation, originally referring to Japan in the 1990s (later extended to the 2000s and sometimes the 2010s).
• magical boyA stock character in Japanese anime and manga, a young boy with superhuman abilities who must fight evil.
• magical girlIn Japanese anime and manga, a young girl with superhuman abilities who is called upon to fight evil.
• martial artAny of several fighting styles which contain systematized methods of training for combat, both armed and unarmed; often practiced as a sport, e.g. boxing, karate, judo, silat, wrestling, or Muay Thai.
• McRefugeeOne who stays overnight or lives in a 24-hour McDonald's.
• Meiji periodThe 45-year reign of Emperor Meiji (1868–1912). During this time, Japan started its modernization and rose to world power status.
• mini-independent countryIn Japan, a town or village that declares itself an independent country for means of regional development, such as economic growth from tourism.
• monster boyA fictional male character who shares visual traits with a monster.
• monster girlA fictional female character who shares visual traits with a monster.
• murder hornetSynonym of Asian giant hornet (Vespa mandarinia) ^((See discussion))
• naked apronAn apron worn over a person's naked body.
• National DietThe national legislature of Japan.
• net café refugeeA homeless person in Japan who do not own or rent a residence (thus having no permanent address) and sleeps in 24-hour Internet cafés or manga cafés.
• newhalfA trans woman.
• Northern TerritoriesA group of islands administered by Russia, claimed by Japan.
• open the kimonoTo reveal confidential information, especially details of one's business operations.
• personality excretionA subgenre of hentai in which an individual's personality or consciousness is transformed into a jellylike substance which is excreted through the anus.
• pillow wordIn Japanese waka poetry, a poetic device where a certain introductory phrase is commonly used to allude to something else.
• plum rainsAlso occasionally in the singular form plum rain: the East Asian rainy season from early summer to midsummer in the fourth and fifth lunar months (early June to early or mid-July); also, the rain which falls during this season.
• power-upA collectable item that gives the player some benefit.
• princess carryA bridal carry.
• pseudo-ChineseA Japanese humorous written variant which remarkably resembles Chinese by exclusively using kanji.
• retort curryCurry sauce packaged in a retort pouch.
• retort foodFoodstuff that has undergone retort sterilization.
• reverse bunny suitA derivative of the bunny girl outfit (bunny ears, exposed arms, and covered chest) in which the arms are covered and the chest is exposed.
• ring outTo sound clearly and loudly.
• royal roadAn easy or straightforward procedure for achieving a goal; a procedure that requires little effort.
• salt breadA crescent‑shaped bread roll made with butter and coarse salt.
• scaredeerSynonym of deer scarer.
• sea fireflyVargula hilgendorfii, a small bioluminescent ostracod found in the waters off Japan.
• Shimose powderA picric acid-based explosive.
• shoujo aiAnime and manga that explore emotional, but largely platonic, homoerotic relationships between women.
• side moverA shogi piece, used in chu shogi and larger variants, which has range movement to the sides and can take one step forward or back.
• silver generalA piece in shogi that can move one step in any diagonal direction or straight forward.
• special wardAny of the 23 municipalities that make up the core and the most populous part of Tokyo, Japan.
• tax inTax-included.
• tea whiskA kitchen utensil shaped and used like a shaving brush but typically made of bamboo rather than badger hair and manipulated above matcha to dissolve it and make it foam.
• the nail that sticks out gets hammered downThose who are too different or conspicuous get criticized or sanctioned by others.
• time attackAn attack in which one may gain an advantage in time against one's opponent or rival.
• tsunami stoneA stone which serves to warn of the dangers of tsunamis in Japan.
• twintailA variety of goldfish with the tail divided into two parts.
• uncanny valleyA range of appearances, mannerisms, or behaviors of a humanoid figure that are subtly different from a human and thereby cause feelings of discomfort, such as fear or revulsion.
• visual novelAn interactive fiction video game of a style originated in Japan, consisting primarily of narration illustrated by anime-style images.
• what happens twice happens thriceAn event that happens two times will happen three times.
• White Day14 March (one month after Valentine's Day), marked in Japan and some other Asian countries by men giving gifts (traditionally white in color) to the women who gave gifts to them on Valentine's Day.