No37 [Language] Omoshiroi yo NIHONGO!

Welcome once again, to the fascinating world of the Japanese language. Are you ready for today’s lesson?

It’s already December and soon is Christmas so let me introduce you to some words related to this holiday.

What all of today’s words have in common is, and which can be surprising but also funny, that they are not even Japanese words shortened but English. All of these are written with the katakana alphabet which is normally used to write words or names that come from foreign languages.

 

“Merikuri” メリクリ

Same as above, Merikuri comes from English. Merikuri is the shortened version of “meri kurisumasu”, which means Merry Christmas. Mainly young people use it in text messages, as it is easier and faster to type than the longer word. Also, the famous artist BoA used this word as one of her song titles.

 

“Kuripa” クリパ

Japanese are masters in converting English to their language and make it sound as if they are no longer foreign words. Kuripa is the shortened form of kurisumasu pa-ti- (クリスマスパーティー),  which you could already guess means Christmas party. Mainly young people use this expression and it’s very common to use in this season.

 

“Kurisongu” クリソング

Reading the previous descriptions, can you guess which two English words these are? Yes, that’s right. Kuri is for kurisumasu (Christmas) and songu is for song. All Christmas songs fall in this category.

 

“Kuripure” クリプレ

If you Google the word kuripure the results might confuse you as most of them will be about a Japanese boy band called “Crude play” but they are not the only thing the word refers to. It is also the short form of kurisumasu (Christmas) purezento (present).  This is also mainly used by youngsters.

 

Example sentences:

♦今日はメリクリのメッセージがいっぱい届いた。
(Kyou wa merikuri no messe-ji ga ippai todoita.)
I received a lot of Christmas greeting messages.

 

♥今年はみんなでクリパしようよ！
(Kotoshi wa minna de kuripa shiyou yo!)
Let’s have a Christmas party together this year!

 

♦今日もラジオで流れてるのはクリソングばかりですね。
(Kyou mo rajio de nagareteru no wa kurisongu bakari desu ne.)
The radio played nothing but Christmas songs again today.

 

♥彼女からのクリプレは今回なんだろう。
(Kanojo kara no kuripure wa konkai nandarou.)
I wonder what Christmas present my girlfriend will give me this time.

 

Zoom Japan staff wish every one of our dear readers a Wonderful and Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! Thank you for reading our magazine and see you next year!

Merikuri everyone! 🙂