Konnichi wa! Thanks for dropping by today. Below you'll find some interesting Japanese words and phrases that I've come across. Everything but the Anime Terminology comes from a little book I found "Say it in Japanese" by Miwa Kai. The anime is just stuff I've picked up here and there and decided to try my hand at finding the proper explanation for each. I'm doing my best to learn more, but hey we all have to start somewhere. Look, enjoy and if you have any questions or corrections for me, leave them in my guestbook for now. Domo arigato!

The Basics

Konnichi wa = Hello (Good day, Good afternoon)
Mushi mushi = Hello (phone)
Ohayo gozaimasu= Good morning
Komban wa = Good evening
Ogenki desu ka? = How are you?
Oyasumi nasai = Good night
Sayonara = Goodbye
Dewa mata = See you later
Hai = Yes
Iie = No
Nani? = what?
Kore wa nan desu ka? = What is this?
Sore wa ii desu ne = that's a good idea
Wakarimasen = I don't know
Dozo = Please
Shitsurei (or Sumimasen) = Excuse me
Sumimasen (or Gomen nasai) = I am sorry/Pardon me
(Domo) arigato (gozaimasu) or simply domo Thanks (very much)
Do itahimashite = You are welcome (Don't mention it)
Dozo odaiji ni Take care of yourself

The sempai/kohai relationship ~
If you watch enough subtitled anime, especially those in a school or modern day setting, you may hear the "suffixes" sempai or kohai being used. These terms denote defernece to your senior, sempai (someone older then you or in a higher grade) or acknowledgement of a junior, kohai (those younger or in a lower grade) and are a common way to determine status. For those of the same grade, age, or who are very good friends, usually just the persons name is used. (I believe to be a little more formal, or those who are a little more familar with each other, the last or family name is used.) For an example (for those who have seen Escaflowne) just remember Hitomi refering to the captain of the track team as "Amono-sempai".

Neko Japanese for cat, or this little guy

Nekomimi One of the terms I've seen for catgirls, though this more acurately means cat ears.

Neko musume This more acurately means catgirl. Complete with ears, a tail, and perhaps kitty paws. Might also mutter random sounds like "nyan", which I think is kinda meow...

Kawaii Cute example

Otaku This in its basic origin refers to a geek, nerd, obsessed fan, almost a degenerate. Recently anime fans have adopted this term as their own, tho most feel you really need to know your stuff when it come to anime and japanese culture to be considered a true otaku. I'm still an otaku in training myself... example

Shojo Childrens anime/ girls anime. This category of anime is usually cutsey, sometimes romantic. There may be mild violence. Pokemon, Fushigi Yuugi (The Mysterious Play), and Kodomo no Omocha (Child's Toy) fit pretty well here

Mon-Mon/ Mon-Mon Candy Mon-Mon is a slightly hentai, if not more, manga/magazine published in Japan. The term mon-mon can be used to refer to both the magazine and to the images found inside. These anime styled images are usually of younger girls in "fantasy" situation. example

Hentai "abonormal" or "a little bit perverted". This term is also used to refer to a genre of anime charterized by sexual situations, nudity and other such adult content. Hentai is mostly for the delight of male viewers, though some do have enough of a story line to hold the attention of female audience members ;). (Take for my example Dragon Pink, which also goes for a kawaii factor. Visit Pink!! Sometimes the animated quality of these is low, but that can be found a lot of other places. The classic film in this genre is "The Legend of the Overfiend" or Urotsukidoji. Most just find this series, well, interesting to say the least. This is best exemplified by one comment I've heard, "What's the Alaskan Pipeline doing in Tokyo??" "Oh, that's not the pipeline.....oh my that's a 50 foot long WHAT?"

Bishounen This can literally mean "pretty boy". These guys can sometimes be, hmmm, a little on the feminine side of...things. This is predominently noted in their looks, as some are mistaken for girls at times, but not all these guys are bishounen. It's usually up to the viewer to determine...well which gender they truly, um, want to be amoureous with. Some even hold the opinion that these are the most geourgous guys of anime. This is actually one of the less clear cut terms, and in the end boils down to just a matter of opinion. example

Doujinshi Fan art. I just recently stumbled across this word, as far as I know it mean any type of fan art, but most seem to boarder on the ... well let's just say atleast PG13 side. To see my little work of doujinshi go go here. I guess these are actually fan type or original but non mainstream mangas, now that I browse web definitions a little further.

Yaoi Hmmm , how to explain this one. Probably simplest way is to call it what it is, and that's boys love...if you catch my drift...

Yuri in turn, this is girls love...

Lemon Hentai anime that I guess features a lot of yuri, maybe a bit more on the "love" side then some hentai, but with many love triangles and rectangles and...well, I'll tell your momma if I catch you watching this >`.'<~