Glossary of Japanese Words and Phrases Used

(This is specifically for The Cross-Time Kamaitachi and any other stories I might write in that side-series. I keep adding to it.)

For more really good insults, try https://www.sljfaq.org/afaq/insults.html .  Or find Jack Seward's books (viz., Japanese in Action, or Outrageous Japanese: Slang, Curses, and Epithets, and so forth).  Now, I've heard it said Seward made up a lot of the insulting stuff in his books, but I'm not sure I believe it; if you spend enough years in Japan, as he did, and are married to a Japanese lady, as he was (he passed in 2010), and moreover were awarded the Order of the Sacred Treasure (3rd Class) by the Shōwa Emperor for your work in spreading knowledge of Japanese culture and language (he was, in 1986), you're bound to have heard things nobody really wants to write down in "How To Speak Japanese" books . . . and the Japanese, being a generally polite people, probably don't want to admit any of those things actually are said by their countrymen.  Or themselves. (Seward called this unwillingness to admit knowledge of impolite language the "Warui Kotoba Conspiracy" (bad words conspiracy). I encountered it (toward myself and my fellow students) when taking Japanese in college from a very nice elderly Japanese missionary lady. "That is not a word you need to know. Where did you hear that word? It is not nice.")

For pronunciation, see the Note Regarding Japanese Titles and Pronunciation of Words at the head of The Cross-Time Kamaitachi. Or either of Seward's books.

Please note that these are my translations, aided with Google Translate and several Japanese dictionaries in my possession; but in the end, I'm responsible for any mangling of the Japanese language.  I am not fluent by any means, but I can sort of hum along while someone else plays the tune.

Orthography note: As I cruise around the Internet looking at sites that talk about things in Japan, I tend to see a lot of long vowels romanized using a circumflex symbol (Unicode U+0302, known colloquially in computing and other fields as a "caret" symbol) to show the doubling. That is from the Nihon-shiki form of romanization. I was taught to use a macron (Unicode U+0304) for long vowels, which is from the Hepburn system of romanization. So, long Japanese vowels will be displayed below using the Hepburn system, e.g., as ā,ī,ū,ē, and ō -- though sometimes it looks better from an aesthetic sense to use a double i rather than ī, so...whatever.

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Abazure: (阿婆擦れ)  As found on tanukiki.com, "Abazure is quite an old word from the Edo period that originally meant a crazy person (including men), but it now functions as a really nasty insult for women."  Effectively, "bitch".  See also iya na onna, below. Note: As of 3/3/2025, the original link seems to be dead, but there is an archive.org link: https://web.archive.org/web/20241110073109/https://www.tanukiki.com/how-to-say-bitch-in-japanese/

Aho yui na! Don't talk stupid!  (「アホ 結 な」; very rough, very rude) This is a Kansai-specific insult, but in this day and age it is likely found anywhere a particularly nasty phrase seems appropriate for "Shut the fuck up, moron!" As I understand it, it is considered far more rude in the Kantō region than in the Kansai. Note that my Japan stories are set primarily west of the the Kansai (mostly in Chūgoku and Shikoku).

Aijō: (愛嬢)  Beloved daughter.

Aisoku: (愛息)  A construction with the literal meaning "love breath", but used to mean "beloved son".  No, I have no idea why "beloved son" is abstract and "beloved daughter" isn't.  Other than the usual "boys are more valued than girls" trope found in most Asian cultures. (Further research indicates that 息 soku by itself is a formal/literary form meaning "son", whereas 息子 musuko is a "popular" form meaning "son" (note the added 子 ko signifying "child".) Thus it would appear that the literary form was combined with the kanji 愛 ai, "love", to mean "beloved son".)

Akio:  (昭夫) Akio is a proper name, which means "bright man".  When Yukiko meets Akio in the streets of Sasanami, after he tells her his name, she insults him by jeering that he's not very smart for facing her.

Anata no senchō wa kanari gaijin desu yo ne?  Your captain is something of a gaijin, is she not?  ("Gaijin" in the sense of "barbarian".)

Anō: The Japanese all-purpose "umm . . . "  See https://nihongomaster.com/japanese/dictionary/word/36/anou-ano-ano for lots more about this word 😊

Anō, mōsugu kon'nichiwa desu ne:  Really, it's nearly time for kon'nichiwa, isn't it?  (It's nearly mid-morning, isn't it?)  A reply in response to "Ohayō gozaimasu" said at perhaps 10 AM.

Arigatō gozaimasu: Thank you.  (With "Dōmo" prefixed, makes the phrase very respectful.)

Baka: (馬鹿) Dummy, idiot, fool, that sort of thing. Apparently high school girls in Japan elongate and stress the first syllable to make it even more of an epithet: "Baa-ka." Any good high school romcom anime will provide plenty of examples. For instance Tomo-chan Is A Girl, Martian Successor Nadesico, etc. The most common origin story of this word is as follows (and there is more at the link):

The kanji characters for baka together translate as "horse deer" or "point at a deer and say horse." This is in reference to Zhao Gao, a Qin Dynasty politician who attempted to test his troops before committing treason. To test them, he presented a deer and called it a horse, which many rightfully found foolish. Those who wished to serve under him, however, followed along with his tomfoolery. The 11th-century book The Tale of Genji used this same explanation to talk about someone calling something another name to suck up to authority. (https://www.cbr.com/what-does-baka-mean-anime/, accessed 8 Sep 2023)

Baka Bakashii (馬鹿馬鹿しい): Absurd, ridiculous, madness. Takes baka to a new level. For instance, 「あの/そのは馬鹿馬鹿しいだろう！」, Ano (or Sono) wa bakabakashii darō!, "That's ridiculous!"; 「このは馬鹿馬鹿しいだろう！」, Kono wa bakabakashii darō!, "This is madness!"

Baka na hito: Stupid person (man or woman).  Can be used as an exclamation.

Boke no noroma: I translate this as "stupid twit".  Boke is what makes this insult work; it literally means, "blurred", or "out of focus".

Buchō (部長): See Taichō.

Chikushou (畜生): In general, this is an expression of revolt for a circumstance. For instance, "What the hell!", "What the fuck!", "Look, what the fuck!"

Chōshi (長姉): Eldest sister. Compare to onēsan, or "older sister".

Chōshoku o tabemashita ka?  Did you eat breakfast?

Chotto matte kudasai: "Just a moment, please."

Daijobu desu: I am feeling wonderful.

Da yō: "Street" for "desu".  Or just an emphatic form, but I was taught it was impolite, thus, "street" 😊

Dan'na-sama: (旦那様) A formal/outmoded (Taishō-era) way of saying "my husband". It is slightly less formal than goshujin-sama (ご主人様). A modern Japanese woman will typically refer to her husband as "shujin" (主人); the "go-" and "-sama" simply add levels of honorific formality. The words originally meant something like "master", in the case of a husband, the master of the house, or the person who gives his name to the family. Obviously (?) the meaning has drifted with the modernization of society. I have Saori call Hidetarō "dan'na-sama" in certain circumstances, mostly out of respect, and he calls her "aisuru tsuma" (beloved wife; see below, at "Tsuma") in response. (I will add that I never knew the term "dan'na sama" existed until I heard Tsukasa call Nasa that in the second season of Tonikaku Kawaii, and I was like, "what?" and had to go look it up, because I was sure she was calling him "master"...) Other ways to say "husband" include

• 夫 (ot'to)
• 亭主 (teishu)
• 夫君 (fukun)

Denka: (殿下) Your/His/Her Highness.  See also Kakka and Shukujo.  Not to be confused with 電化, which means "electrification", but is pronounced identically.  Context is everything.

Dō itashimashite:  You're welcome.  (Usually the response to Arigatō gozaimasu.)

Dō shita no?  What's wrong?

Ebira:  (箙) Quiver to hold hama-ya (arrows)

Eigo:  (英語) English language

Engrish:  (イングリッシュ)  English as misspoken and miswritten by many Japanese people (though not just Japanese, to be fair; Engrish is endemic in most of East and South Asia)

Gaijin:  (外人)  Usually just "non-Japanese" or "foreigner", but can also mean, "barbarian", in context.

Genki desu:  I feel fine (I am in good health).  With the particle "ka" suffixed to make it a question, "How are you feeling?"  The interrogatory form can be made more polite by prefixing "O-", that is, "O-genki desu ka?"

Gesu yarō: Kind of like kuso yarō, but with a colloquial meaning of "asshole" and a literal meaning of "lower-class dude".  Dismissive, possibly not as insulting as the kuso variant.

Geta:  (下駄)  Japanese sandals, usually worn with tabi.

Gomen'nasai to kanojo ni itte kudasai:  Please tell her I am sorry.

Hakama and Kosode:  The traditional outfit of a miko, the hakama (緋袴) being the divided, pleated red trousers, and the kosode (小袖), the short- but wide-sleeved garment which is actually the direct predecessor to the more modern kimono, which evolved from it and became popular beginning in the Meiji period (post-1868). In the story, it is noted that Miko (Yukiko's oracle shaman) wears a somewhat altered kosode for her role – the sleeves are not quite so flowing, allowing her to better defend herself if necessary.

Hama ya and Hama yumi:  The "evil-banishing bow" (hama yumi, 破魔弓) and its "evil-banishing arrows" (hama ya, 破魔矢) are weapons sacred in the Shintō religion, said to have been used by the Emperor Jimmu in the earliest days of Japan.  As Wikipedia puts it, "A miko will carry a hama yumi and a set of hama ya as part of her religious regalia, while back in Feudal Japan, they were used quite literally in defence of the shrine or temple."   This is why Miko carries and uses the yumi and ya as her weapons of choice. Of course, Miko's yumi and ya are . . . special.

Hakase:  (博士) Honorific for "professor", used either by itself or appended to a name, e.g., Tanaka-hakase.

Hai:  (はい)  "Yes." Although it may also mean, "I'm listening," similar to how an American might say, "uh-huh" while someone else is talking. There are also other ways to signify assent, e.g., "un" (うん), which is more like "yeah" and is not as polite. You hear it a lot in anime.

Hō-ō:  (鳳凰)  The phoenix bird of legend.  In Japan, it is used as the symbol of the Empress.

Iie: (いいえ)  "No."

Inkei:  (陰茎)  The thing men want to be cut off even less than they want their kōgan kicked.

Intriguing and inventive insults toward women generally: In addition to the few I have scattered around in this glossary, Seward (p.178) characterizes the following as "for those who find need to upbraid bar girls and serving wenches," and observes that "the nouns and adjectives can be switched about for greater spice and variety":

atsukamashī surekkarashi = an impudent hussy

zubutoi subeta = a brazen bitch

zūzūshī zubekō = an impertinent, delinquent girl

abata-zura no hashita-me = a wench with a pock-marked face

deshabari no abazure = a know-it-all jade

I haven't used any of these so far (that could change). If you think I am picking on women in particular, I'm not; I just write a lot of female characters. For insults toward men, see also Seward, Japanese in Action, p.128, for a discourse on the extremely non-polite word "sukebei" (助平 or 助け平), and his Chapter 21, "How To Be Insulting in Japanese", in the same book.

Iya na onna: Literally, "woman I don't like."  Also, "unpleasant woman."  More roughly, "Bitch".  Don't call someone this unless you really want to piss them off.  However, this is a couple of levels less nasty than abazure (see above).

Iyarashī manuke: Disgusting/lewd/indecent loser

Ji:  (寺)  A Buddhist monastery or major temple.  This word is usually appended to a temple name, e.g., Hōryū-ji, the oldest Buddhist temple in Japan.  Note that ji is the on (Chinese) reading of the kanji, while the kun (original Japanese language) reading of this kanji is tera, which means the same thing; you may find temples named with the suffix -dera rather than -ji.

Jindachi-zukuri: A particular type of sword sheath used when swords are worn.  Not the ones you see on the pretty stands people use for display.

Jinja:  (神社)  A Shintō shrine, generally.  These are the ones Yukiko spends most of her prayer time visiting. She considers herself more Shintō than Buddhist.  Jinja are typically dedicated to one or more specific kami, who is/are enshrined there. Note that jinja is the modern and most common name for a shrine; however, particularly in the pre-Meiji periods, there are many different names for different types of shrines.  As Wikipedia puts it, "Shrine names are descriptive, and a difficult problem in dealing with them is understanding exactly what they mean. Although there is a lot of variation in their composition, it is usually possible to identify in them two parts. The first is the shrine's name proper, or meishō (名称), the second is the so-called shōgō (称号), or 'title'."  For instance, the Rokusho Shrine (六所神社, rokusho jinja), in Sasanami, or the Three Palace Sanctuaries (宮中三殿, kyūchū sanden) in the Imperial Palace compound in Chiyoda (Tokyo), or the Ōyamazumi Shrine (大山祇神社, ōyamazumi jinja) on Ōmishima.

JK: A romaji slang contraction of 女子高生, joshi kōsei, meaning "high school girl." Seen mostly in manga, though it can also appear in subtitles in anime. In An American in Iya, Saori and Hidetarō use it in speech to jokingly refer to the former as a (desirable) high school girl. Pronounced "jei-kei", as one might expect.

Kaichō (会長): See Taichō.

Kaiken:  (懐剣) A dagger; something like a short tantō.  Usually a self-defense weapon carried by both men and women of the samurai class, for use when a katana or wakizashi would be inconvenient to carry.  Women carried them for self-defense and also to commit ritual suicide if necessary. (Don't believe that shit in Shōgun where Mariko is going to commit seppuku in the same manner as a man.  Women didn't do that.  They slashed their necks with a kaiken, usually with their knees tied together so they would end up in a dignified pose.  Obviously Yukiko was so distraught when she nearly committed suicide by kaiken, she hadn't thought about that. (This female type of seppuku was said to be known as jigai (自害) per Lafcadio Hearn, but this was a misunderstanding on Hearn's part; the term means, simply, "suicide".))

Kakka:  (閣下)  "My Lord."  Might also be used for "Your Excellency."  (Title of a nobleman who may or may not also be a prince.)

Kaku yūgō-ro: (核融合炉) Lit., "nuclear fusion reactor", but used in Japanese to translate "fusion burner", the compact singularity-driven fusion reactor designed by WVBCorp, built by General Electric under license, and used in the Timelines and Timelines Universe stories. Since these are the only type of nuclear fusion reactor in the stories, it didn't make sense to come up with a special term when this one already existed, and describes in very general terms what the fusion burner is.

Kamaitachi: (kama itachi, 鎌鼬) Literally, "sickle weasel", a whirling weasel-like yōkai with sharp claws like the sickles used to cut rice.  Said to inflict bloodless cuts on humans who do certain unwise things in their presence.

Kami:  (神) Typically, (Shintō) gods; the word kami literally means "divine".

Kannon-dō: (観音堂)  A Buddhist temple (not to be confused with a Shintō shrine).*  Typically this nomenclature is used for a building which is part of a temple complex (e.g., a sub-temple), but it may also be used for a minor or small individual temple.  For instance, the small temple where Taro and Aoi are imprisoned by Jiro, and which Yukiko approaches the first night she is in her new timeline, is called the Ishikoyasu kannon-dō.

Kanojo wa jōdan o umaku uketora nakatta.  Roughly: She didn't understand it the way you meant it.

Kanzashi: (簪) A traditional hair ornament of the type worn by women along with yukata or kimono. Per Wikipedia, "The term kanzashi refers to a wide variety of accessories, including long, rigid hairpins, barrettes, fabric flowers and fabric hair ties." Apparently worn normally by geisha and maiko, but not exclusive to them.

Katana:  (刀) Oh, come on.  You came here to look up katana?

Kinchaku: (巾着) The drawstring bag or purse carried by women wearing kimono or yukata. Larger ones may be used to carry bento and utensils, or larger items.

Kinshi:  (金鵄) A golden kite.  A kite is a bird of prey belonging to the hawk family. Traditionally, a golden kite landed on the tip of the hama yumi of Emperor Jimmu, and confounded the soldiers of a major enemy at Yamato, during Jimmu's eastern expedition ca. 660BC, causing that enemy's defeat – said defeat being crucial to his eventual enthronement as the first Emperor of Japan.  (For what it's worth, Jimmu is probably a legendary conglomerate of multiple real people, who just as probably did not live that long ago.  Or he's just completely made up.  Dealer's choice.)

Kitanai manga: (汚い漫画)  smutty manga (comics). Probably a better term would be "hentai manga" (変態漫画), perverted manga, but that dredges up associations with tentacle porn and it isn't really what I meant where I used it (in The Cross-Time Kamaitachi). In context "kitanai manga" was intended to mean just generally smutty stuff, see also the sex scenes in, for instance, Domestic na Kanojo. I have no idea if the Japanese actually use this term or not. Note that, in contrast, the collection of porn manga Tsurue ran away from in The Tale of the Crane Princess was definitely hentai.

Kōgan:  (睾丸) Testicles, cojones, that which a man doesn't want to be kicked in.

Koshaku (侯爵夫人) and Koshaku-fujin (侯爵夫人): Marquess, and Marchioness. Noble titles given (in The Cross-Time Kamaitachi) to Maeda Taro and Maeda Aoi, respectively.

Kōtaigō:  (皇太后) The Empress Dowager; also used, confusingly, for a Dowager Consort.  Yukiko is called, formally, the Dowager Consort Kamaitachi (皇太后の鎌鼬) by an Imperial Messenger, though her correct formal title, conferred by the Imperial Council at the time the Emperor Yoshihito died, is simply Kōtaigō Yukiko.

Kosode:  Please see "Hakama and Kosode", above.

Kuso:  (糞, or くそ) Shit.  Feces.  Used pretty much the same way as a curse word as in English.  Also can subsitute for, "Fuck!" (I've also seen it subtitled as "Damn!" in anime, for what are probably obvious reasons.)

Kuso onna:  (糞女) Literally, "piece of shit woman," bottom line, yet another word for "bitch."  Sits in between iya na onna and abazure in terms of nasty.

Kuso yarō: (糞ヤロ) Damn bastard, though kuso literally means "crap" and yarō literally means something like "dude" or "guy".  Colloquially might also mean "fuckhead".  Anyway, it's an insult. Figure to get into a fight if you say it to a Japanese person.

Kutabare! (くたばれ) Lit., "drop dead!" or "die!", from kutabaru (くたばる), die, kick the bucket, etc. Enhance as "Kutabatte shimae!" (くたばって しまえ). Seward (op. cit.) and the sci.lang.japan FAQ insults page (op. cit.) agree on this meaning, but Google wants to translate it as "fuck it!" or "fuck it and shut up!". I think the Google translation is suspect.

Majisuka? (マジっすか?) "Are you serious?" This comes from the words maji まじ and maji de まじで. Maji can function as an adverb, an adjective, or a noun, whereas maji de can function only as an adverb. Depending on how they are used, they can have meanings like

• really
• seriously
• I mean it
• for real
• absolutely

and if the context is right, may even mean

• “No way!”
• “You’re shitting me!”
• “No kidding!”
• “Honestly”
• “I swear”

Majisuka? itself is a contraction of maji desu ka?, and typically will be used in a situation where the speaker is saying something anywhere between, "Are you serious?, and "Are you fucking kidding me?" It seems to be a very versatile exclamation.

Mirion bakusu, a: (ミリオンバックス)  Engrish for "a million bucks", as in, "You look like a mirion bakusu".

Mishikubu:  (ミシクブ)  Not a word, but a contraction of the first syllables of Minpei Shikan Kunren Butai, the Militia Officer Training Unit – a high-school program first instituted in Sasanami as a parallel to the US ROTC program. There are a couple of unfortunate translations of the "word" thus constructed – one of which is something like "nine minutes to see" (見し九分, "Mishi kubu"), which the bullies would throw in the mishikubu "boys'" faces as an insult, i.e., "that's how long you'll last in a real fight."  That the mishikubu would then invariably proceed to beat the hell out of the bullies, which often convinced the bullies of the error of their ways and had them beating feet to the school office to sign up for the program themselves, did not soften the insult in any way, shape, or form.  (For what it's worth, I made this whole thing up; so far as I know there is nothing like ROTC in Japan.  But this isn't our Japan, after all.)  Also compare/contrast "ninety-day wonder", which was the (American) derisive term for officers who came out of accelerated-training courses during World War II, allegedly ready to lead men into combat.

Mizu wa ikaga desu ka?  (水はいかがですか?) Would you like some mizu (water)?

Nihonjika:  (ニホンジカ or 日本鹿) Tiny, tame Asian deer.  They're all over the place in Japan.

Nē: (ねえ) Not to be confused with "ne", e.g., in sō desu ne, This is an interjection, for instance "Nē, Saori-chan," meaning, "Hey, Saori-chan."

Obāsan:  (叔母さん)  Aunt.

Obi:  (帯) The wide sash, usually tied in a bow in the back, worn with a kimono.

Ohayō gozaimasu:  (おはようございます) "Good morning," though in some cases may be used if it's the first time you've seen a person all day. Typically used till about 10AM, when "konnichiwa" (こんにちは) comes into play. However, if it's the first time you've seen someone that day, for instance, if you are a night-shift worker and you're greeting co-workers as you come into work, you'll still use Ohayō gozaimasu when you greet them.

Oishī da yo: (おいしいだよ) It's delicious!

Okāsan:  (お母さん)  One's mother.  Note that noun for "mother" is haha (母), or more formally, hahaoya (母親).  Usually these latter are used in the sense of "your mother". Yes.  I made a mistake at the end of the book where Yukiko calls her mother hahaoya rather than okāsan.  In my defense, I was tired.

Onēchan:  (お姉ちゃん)  (Eldest) daughter.  Mikoko is called this by her father, formally. Another, more formal form is onēsan. Compare to chōshi, or "eldest daughter".

Otōsan:  (お父さん)  Father.

Pan:  (パン)  Bread (Western-style wheat bread).  The word is a loan word from Portugese, thus it is written in katakana.

Raburabu: (ラブラブ) Literally, "love love". It's the equivalent of English "lovey-dovey". So when two people are being "raburabu", yeah, you guessed it, they're being disgustingly cute in front of others. Or maybe not even in front of others.

Ryokan: (旅館) A traditional Japanese inn. As distinct from a hotel, ホテル hoteru, which is likely to be something closer to what Westerners would recognize.

Saya:  (鞘) Another type of sheath, not as sturdy as a jindachi-zukuri, but better than wrapping the sword in a sheet to carry it.  When Yukiko goes to get her swords, she finds one to sheathe Jiro's tantō so Taro can carry it.

Senchō (船長): See Taichō.

Sensei:  (先生)  Do you people not watch movies?  The Karate Kid?  Wax on, wax off.  Oh, well, I guess it means any kind of teacher; in college, we always called our Japanese language instructor sensei.  I called my Japanese history professor and thesis advisor sensei, even though he was American (but he spoke Japanese fluently). Note that it is common to call physicians and published authors sensei, too.

Shinde shimae! (死んで しまえ), another way to say "drop dead!" (see Kutabare!, above). May also be found as "Shinjae!" (死んじゃえ). Oddly, Google translates this as "don't die", but the word じゃえ itself means "completely", so..."die completely" seems to be a better translation. I think Seward is more correct here. Also the sci.lang.japan FAQ insults page has "shinjimae!" (死んじまえ) as "drop dead!" and Google gets this one wrong, too.

Shitsumon shite itadaki arigatō gozaimasu:  (しつもんしていただき、ありがとうございます) Thank you for asking.

Shukuso:  (淑女) "My Lady."  (I think this can be used in the context of a noblewoman.  If not, well, それは私のせいだ (It's my fault).) See also above at Koshaku/Koshaku-fujin, where 夫人 "fujin" translates roughly as "madam" (and is in fact a noble title).

Sō desu ne, sō desu ka:  All-purpose phrases with many meanings, mostly along the lines of "oh, I see" (sō desu ne) or "is that so?" (sō desu ka).  "Sō desu" by itself (e.g., Hai, sō desu) can add emphasis ("Yes, of course").

Son'na baka na!: (そんな馬鹿な) "That's just stupid!" A perhaps more standard/polite (?) way to say Aho yui na! (see above, and see also the reference noted there).

Tabi:  (足袋)  Japanese socks, usually "two-toed", made to be worn with geta sandals or just around the house by themselves.  Though modern Japanese may wear them with "flip-flop" style sandals rather than geta. Of some interest, it should be noted that the word tabi literally means "foot bag". By itself, the first kana 足 is "ashi", or "foot/feet". The second kana 袋 is "fukuro", or "bag". 袋 is also used for the type of sword sheath that is a cloth bag, for instance, a 白鞘袋 "shirasaya bukuro" for a katana. A modern "bag", e.g., a shopping bag, or possibly a duffel or suitcase, is カバン "kaban", so "fukuro" refers to a specific type of bag -- which I would guess without digging further into the etymology is a long, skinny one.

Taichō: (隊長) A military captain. Note that this is the army/marines rank. The naval rank of captain is senchō (船長). The difference is that a military captain is a "party leader" (e.g., he is the commander of a platoon or company) and a naval captain is a "ship leader". There are similar words in business, i.e., kaichō (会長) is a corporate head, and buchō (部長) is a manager who works under the kaichō, e.g., a department head or other middle- or lower-level management. There is a longer digression on the difference between these four words at https://wickedworldofwriting.blogspot.com/p/the-slight-difference-between.html (accessed 5 Jul 2024). Note that Yukiko incorrectly calls Captain Lacey Thomas "senchō" after meeting her. As a Captain of Space Force Marines, Lacey is correctly "taichō".

Tantō: (短刀)  A "short sword," really more of a dagger used as a knife, typically between 15-30 cm in length.  (Jiro's tantō was one of the longer ones, and he used it as a short sword.)  Originally carried by the samurai class, prior to the custom of pairing a wakizashi with a katana, and some types were used in traditional Japanese martial arts.  Not to be confused with tactical knives with "tanto" points, though they are related.  The kaiken mentioned above is a kind of tantō.  A yoroi-dōshi (鎧通し), or "armor piercer," is also a type of tantō carried traditionally by the samurai class.  Famously, a yoroi-dōshi was used by a 17-year old student named Yamaguchi Otoya to assassinate a Japanese communist politician in 1960.

Tatakai-kata:  (戦いー方) Roughly, "fighting style", literally, "how to fight".  Variantly, "tatakau hōhō" (戦う方法), meaning the same thing.

Tengu:  (天狗)  Supernatural beings from Japanese folk religion, demon-like, usually somewhat avian in form.  Tengu means, literally, "Heavenly Dog" or "Heavenly Sentinel". Placed in the pantheon somewhere between yōkai and kami.  A number of daitengu (great tengu) are said to inhabit the Sankidō (三鬼堂) temple on Mount Misen; they are known as the Sankibō (三鬼坊) of Itsukushima.

Toki-sen: (時線) A timeline.

Tokui-ten: (特異点) A singularity, or black hole.

Tsuma: (妻) One of the ways to say "wife". 愛する妻, aisuru tsuma, is "beloved wife". This is what Hidetarō calls Saori when Saori is being formal with him and calling him "dan'na sama". Other ways to way "wife" are

• 夫人 (fujin)
• 奥様 (okusama)
• 女房 (nyōbō)
• 家内 (kanai)
• かみさん (kamisan)

Tsūrisuto: (ツーリスト) Phonetic rendering of "tourist", usually found written in katakana since it's basically Engrish.  On the other hand there is a perfectly good Japanese word that means "tourist", or literally something like "short-term sightseeing guest", kankōkyaku (観光客), so I'm not sure why the Engrish would be used.  Possibly because non-Japanese-speaking tourists themselves generally will understand it when spoken?  I don't know.

Urusai: (煩い), Literally, "noisy," "loud," sort of an all-purpose epithet often used to tell someone to shut up, fuck off, otherwise get out of your face. May also be used to show embarassment at someone else's statement, e.g., "Ah, so you like her." (muttered) "Urusai." See also yakamashii.

Yakamashii: (やかましい) Literally, "noisy", i.e., "you are a nuisance, shut the fuck up," though I have seen it translated as "Bite me!" (in Saekano -How to Raise a Boring Girlfriend, episode 3, at 4:58). Similar to "Urusai!".

Yakuza:  (ヤクザ)  Come on, you can't tell me you don't know what a yakuza is. Japanese mafia.

Yōkai:  (妖怪)  A yōkai is a Japanese demon (lit., "strange apparition"). Like a tengu, it comes from Japanese folk religion, and usually is responsible for any odd happening in nature that can't be easily explained.  The kamaitachi are considered yōkai.

Yōsu o miyō. (様子を見よう。) "We'll see."

Wakarimasu:  (わかります)  I understand. Wakarimasen:  (わかりません)  I do not understand. A common variant is "Wakatta" (わかった), which can also mean "OK," or "all right," or "got it." "I'm going to scout the other side of the enemy camp, you stay here till I get back." "Wakatta."

Translations by Grok

I've realized I can ask the Grok AI questions about Japanese idioms and sometimes get fairly decent answers, rather than try to search the web for the particular idiom I'm looking for and mostly find something other than what I want. Here's one I did on 11 Nov 2024 for In the Cherry Blossom's Shade.

Is there a Japanese equivalent for the idiom, "plain Jane"?

Answer

Yes, in Japanese culture, there isn't a direct idiomatic equivalent to "plain Jane," but there are phrases and terms that convey similar meanings:

• 普通の女の子 (Futsū no onnanoko) - Literally translates to "ordinary girl." This isn't an idiom per se, but it's used in a way that might suggest someone who is unremarkable or plain in appearance.
• 地味な女の子 (Jimina onnanoko) - This term means "plain girl" or "subdued girl," often used to describe someone who is not flashy or particularly attractive by conventional standards.
• 地味な美人 (Jimina bijin) - This phrase might be used to describe a woman who is naturally beautiful but in a very understated way, which could be seen as an equivalent in some contexts to "plain Jane" where the plainness is part of the charm.
• 地味系 (Jimikei) - A more modern slang term referring to a type of fashion or style that's simple, not flashy, often associated with a plain or modest appearance.

While none of these phrases carry the exact connotation or cultural context of "plain Jane," they are used in Japanese to describe someone who might be considered plain in appearance or style. These terms can sometimes carry a nuance of understated beauty or charm, which might differ from the sometimes negative connotation of "plain Jane" in English.

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