Perhaps you have heard about a large portion of Japanese vocabulary is borrowed from traditional Chinese characters. Surprisingly, the borrowing of words actually goes in both directions between the two languages. Known as wasei-kango (和製漢語), these words were ‘made in Japan’ and later were adopted into Chinese in the late 19th and early 20th Centuries. Japan made these terms in order to translate Western concepts into Japanese. In addition, a couple of them are about Japanese concepts (a good example is a Japanese-origin food: sushi) as well. Let’s take a look at these 30 Japan-made Chinese words!
| Wasei-Kango (和製漢語) | English |
| 系統 | system |
| 電話 | telephone |
| 電気 | electricity |
| 旅行 | travel |
| 自転車 | bicycle |
| 野球 | baseball |
| 科学 | science |
| 歴史 | history |
| 哲学 | philosophy |
| 病院 | hospital |
| 派出所 | police station |
| 銀行 | bank |
| 弁当 | lunchbox |
| 味噌 | miso |
| 寿司 | sushi |
| 抹茶 | matcha (Japanese powdered green tea) |
| 煎茶 | sencha |
| 文化 | culture |
| 和紙 | washi |
| 鉛筆 | pencil |
| 雑誌 | magazine |
| 美術 | art |
| 時間 | time |
| 空間 | space |
| 入口 | entrance |
| 出口 | exit |
| 市場 | market |
| 投資 | investment |
| 企業 | enterprise |
| 広告 | advertisement |
| 国際 | international |
How many words do you know? 😊
Read: Chinese Characters of Japanese Kanji and Chinese Hanzi and Are Not All The Same!
Let’s learn a new language today! Join us at LingoCards!
When you travel other countries or live abroad, you will communicate with local people and…
"Of course." is a practical phrase in many situations. When people ask you to do…
People may say "Sorry." when they cause problem to you. They may hit you accidentally…
When people ask you something and you have no idea for that, you can say…
During traveling abroad, it's often not easy to communicate with people because you don't know…
Learning how to say "Please." in local language will be very useful during your trip.…