FUT (Frequently Used Terms)
Last updated on August 16th, 1997.
The FUT is a glossary of terms related to Japanese cartoons and comics (called anime and manga respectively). Those who are new
to the hobby will find a good deal of useful information here; those who already know something about it may find something they
didn't know. A guide to Japanese pronounciation is included at the end.
If anyone has questions, comments, error fixes, etc. please send them to inquisition@unforgettable.com
FREQUENTLY USED TERMS, GLOSSARY
Anime
A contraction of the Japanese word animeshon, borrowed from English animation. The Japanese tend to see animation as a valid art
form and not JUST kiddie bait for merchandise, so their cartoons are often much better than American cartoons.
Arigatoo
A very common Japanese word meaning thank you. Sometimes followed by gozaimasu, making it more polite.
BGM
Short for BackGround Music. The music found in anime is often superior to anything found in American cartoons. In Japan, many
anime series have excellent soundtracks that get released on CD.
Bishoonen
A Japanese word meaning beautiful boy. Sometimes this is used to refer to an especially feminine man, though it can also mean
simply handsome. Bishoonen is rarely, if ever, meant as an insult.
CD
An acronym for Compact Disk. (I hope everyone knows what these are.) Partly as a result of their economy, Japanese CDs are more
expensive than American CDs; in Japan they cost roughly $30, and import fees and profit margins drive up the price when they
leave Japan.
Con
A contraction of convention. At anime conventions there are usually a lot of fans (some of which will be in costumes), a lot of
dealers selling anime, manga, and/or related merchandise, a lot of chaos, and probably a few special guests; voice actors or artists,
for example.
Cosplay
A contraction of costume and display (or possibly just play). To cosplay a character is to dress up as them. There are usually some
cosplayers at anime conventions.
Doojinshi
Manga produced by fans of other manga or anime. None of these are official. They are much smaller than real manga (many are
only several pages) and the art is often surprisingly good. Some manga writers, or mangaka, got their start by writing doojinshi.
Most people aren't concerned about the copyright infringement, apparently because in Japan you can't lose a copyright if people
infringe on it and you don't take legal action.
They are famous for being pornographic, though the majority of them really aren't.
Dub
Dubbing is the process of recording over a foreign-language dialogue track with a translation in some other language (English, for
instance). Most anime released commercially in North America is dubbed.
Dubbing is more acceptable to a mainstream audience than subtitling, because a lot of people don't like reading subtitles, but true
fans who don't understand (and don't mind hearing) Japanese tend to prefer subbed anime. Also, a dub is more likely to be
inaccurately translated, since the spoken words have to synch with the lips.
The word dub can also refer to a copy. Sometimes someone will say they want a dub of Movie X, meaning they want a copy, but not
necessarily a dubbed copy.
DVD
An acronym for Digital Versatile Disc. Some people hail DVD as the storage media for the near future, taking the place of CD, CD-
ROM, and LD. Supposedly, a DVD has a better resolution than an LD, and DVD movies use some kind of MPEG video
compression, but I don't really know more than that. (Any information will be appreciated.)
Ecchi
A Japanese word meaning sexually perverted. Of course, whether or not someone is ecchi is in the eye of the beholder, who is
usually some teenage girl whacking someone or hurling them great distances for comic effect.
(Ecchi is the Japanese pronounciation of the English letter H, but I'm not sure if this is where the word came from.)
ED
An abbreviation of EnD (or perhaps EnDing). ED usually refers to the song played while the end credits roll, though it can also refer
to the visual sequence during the end credits.
Eyecatch
A brief sequence played at the beginning and end of the mid-episode commercial break in most anime series.
Face-fault
Also face-vault, if the character falls over.
Usually the result of someone saying or doing something surprising (or maybe just incredibly stupid). A face-fault results in a
character having a strange, shocked look frozen on his/her face.
Fanfic
A contraction of fan (-written) fiction. Fans of anime and manga sometimes write their own stories based on the characters and/or
settings. None of these are official, of course, and often invent new characters or other features as needed for the story. An intimate
knowledge of the original material seems to be optional.
Furigana
Small kana written next to (usually above) kanji, in order to help Japanese children read kanji that they have not learned yet. Of
course, it helps the non-Japanese as well.
FAQ
An acronym for Frequently Asked Questions. Many special-interest subjects have obscure terminology, are too broad to understand
all at once, or are inherently confusing. When this happens, people who are new to the subject start asking questions, and eventually
someone writes a FAQ that these people can be referred to, in order to save themselves the trouble of answering the same questions
over and over.
Generation
Refers to copied analog material (tape-offs). A copy of the original commercial release is 1st generation copy, a copy of that is 2nd
generation, and so on. This makes a difference because of duplication problems inherent to analog (tape or LD) copies; a tape that is
several generations old will have noticably poor picture and sound quality.
DVDs and CDs don't have this problem, as digital copies are exactly like the originals. Unfortunately, CD and DVD recorders are
hard to find, and expensive.
Gomen
Also gomen ne and gomennasai. A very common Japanese apology.
H
Abbreviation of Japanese hentai.
Hentai
A Japanese word meaning sexually perverted. Generally used (by fans) to refer to certain anime and doojinshi, but can be used
anytime one wants to describe things this way.
As far as I know, hentai is stronger than ecchi. Something with gratuitous nudity might be ecchi, but something hentai would have
gratuitous sex.
Hiragana
The Japanese phonetic alphabet used to write native words. It is made up of rather complex lines and curves and is vaguely similar to
English cursive script.
Honorifics
An honorific is a short title used after a person's name, and denotes the social relationship between the speaker and the subject.
Sometimes an honorific is used after another title, as in o-kyaku-sama, or esteemed Mr. Customer.
Failure to use an honorific after someone's name shows familiarity if the speaker and subject know each other well; otherwise it's
insultingly disrespectful. (It's a little bit like walking up to some corporate head on the street, slapping him on the back, and yelling
Hi Bob! Better hope he's an old friend...)
Some honorifics are listed below.
-chan is only appropriate when used for children or animals; you could also call your girlfriend or boyfriend -chan, but only if they
permit it.
Otherwise, it's an insult (like calling a man on the street Poopsie or boy) and the speaker is probably asking for a slap in the face/fist
in the mouth/fireball in the gut.
-kun is used mostly for teenage boys who are younger than or inferior to the speaker. Occasionally it is used for girls, particularly
tomboyish ones. (Can someone give me a better definition for this?)
-sama is deeply respectful. It is often translated by preceding the name with Master, Lord, and so forth.
If the speaker is socially equal or superior to the subject, -sama might be seen as sarcastically insulting.
-san is equivalent to Miss or Mister, but sees almost constant use, generally between social equals. Anyone who you don't use some
other title for is probably a -san, including most of your friends.
JP
An abbreviation for Japan(ese).
Kakkoii
A Japanese word meaning good looking.
It is also sometimes used like English slang cool.
Kana
Refers to hiragana and katakana. All Japanese writing which is not roomaji or kanji is kana.
Kanji
Pictographic characters borrowed from Chinese used in most Japanese writing. There are thousands of them and school children
study them for years. The main reason foreigners can't read Japanese, though one eventually picks up a few.
Most kanji are extremely complex, and resemble nothing in English.
Katakana
The Japanese phonetic alphabet used to write loan words (that is, words taken from other languages). Sometimes native words are
written in katakana, but I'm not sure if this is to make them easier to read or to give them emphasis. (Could someone clear this up?)
Katakana is made up of simple straight lines and curves, and is vaguely similar to English printed (rather than cursive) writing.
Kawaii
A Japanese word meaning cute. Usually used for animals, babies, and other things that most people would consider cute.
Laser Rot
Supposedly, older LDs would degrade over time, losing picture quality and turning yellow; this phenomenon is called laser rot. In
any case, newer LDs don't seem to have this problem.
LD
An acronym for Laser Disk. LDs have better picture and sound quality than VHS tapes, and can't possibly get chewed up in your
VCR. Supposedly, LDs have around 450 lines of resolution, as compared to the 200-something of VHS.
LDs are the storage media of choice for those who can afford them. However, they are more expensive than videotapes and require a
special LD player, available at most audio/video and consumer electronics stores.
In Japan, LDs are only a little more expensive than VHS tapes, so they are more common than in America. Sometimes they are
actually cheaper, since they are sold directly to the public.
Often, anime LDs will include bonuses, or omake, in the unused space, such as movie trailers, interviews, and so on.
Lemon
Pornographic material, so named after the Cream Lemon anime series.
Often refers to sexually-explicit fanfics.
Manga
Japanese comic books. They are usually printed monthly like American comics, but are printed very cheaply, on recycled newspaper
and such, and in black-and-white. Most (all?) manga are actually compilations of several different stories, a little like the multiple
strips of newspaper comics. Some manga are hundreds of pages thick.
The term is also used to describe the individual stories themselves.
Many anime movies and series are based on manga.
Mecha
An abbreviation of mechanical, mecha (pronounced meh-kuh, not may-chah) are giant anthromorphic fighting machines. For some
reason, the Japanese are really fond of the idea, even though the concept is absurd if applied to real life; the cost and engineering
difficulties would be enormous, and you might as well paint giant bulls-eyes on them.
The term also describes those anime and manga which prominently feature mecha; examples include Gundam and the infamous
Robotech.
According to some people, anything that is mechanically oriented is considered mech, regardless of whether it actually features
mecha. (Confirmation, anyone?)
Minna
A Japanese word meaning everyone. Refers to everyone in the group that the speaker is speaking to, or about, rather than (for
instance) the human population of the Earth.
NA
An acronym for North America(n).
Names
The Japanese name order is opposite from that of English, with the family name coming first and the personal name coming second;
the Japanese don't seem to have middle names. This is often confusing as many Americans reverse the order to make the names
conform to English standards, and without an intimate knowledge of Japanese names it can be impossible to tell which is their
family and given name. Occasionally, one of the names will be written in capital letters; this is always the family name.
Japanese with personal names ending in -ko or -mi are usually female. (Can someone tell me if this is always the case with -ko?)
This is one way to tell whether a name has been reversed.
Japanese names are almost always followed by an honorific. See Honorifics, above.
The Japanese often refer to themselves, or to the person they're speaking to, by name. For instance, a hungry Japanese person named
Akira might say I am hungry, or he might say Akira is hungry. (Then again, Japanese usually eliminate known words rather than
assigning them pronouns, so our poor starving Akira-san would just say hungry if it's obvious he means himself.) They don't
consider this strange; it's just part of the language.
Nani
A Japanese word meaning what. A common phrase is nani yo, or what!.
Ne
A very common Japanese word, ne asks for confirmation, and translates roughly as isn't it? or doesn't it?
Nosebleeds
Normally these occur when a relatively unpopular guy (read: nerd/geek) sees a really attractive (or nude) girl, though they can occur
in other situations when a character is under stress.
Supposedly these actually happen to the Japanese; I can only guess that the wildly shifting climate wreaks havoc on one's nose, and
the sudden rise in blood pressure bursts a vessel to produce this rather bizarre biological effect.
NTSC
NTSC stands for National Technical Standard Committee (or something similar) and is the television standard used in America and
Japan. Because we use the same standard, their LDs and tapes will work in our LD players and VCRs, and vice-versa. In some parts
of the world other standards (such as PAL) are used which are not compatible. It is possible to get a multiscan VCR which can read
multiple formats, but these are rare and expensive.
Supposedly, the NTSC standard requires 565 lines of resolution (is this vertical?) and a scan rate of 30 frames/second. (Again, can
someone confirm this?)
OAV
Short for Original Animated Video, though the acronym OVA Original Video Animation is also seen. The term denotes material
which is released directly to video stores, without seeing theaters or TV broadcast. The practice is more common in Japan than in
America, though Disney's Aladdin sequels are a good example.
Often, an anime series will continue to generate OAVs after it has ended and left the airwaves. Some entire series have been released
this way.
OP
An abbreviation of OPening, it usually refers to the song played while the beginning credits roll, though it can also refer to the visual
sequence during the beginning.
Otaku
A Japanese word denoting a fanatical fan. When first used this way in the early '80s (?), it referred to fans of anime and manga.
Unfortunately, a few otaku committed crimes and blamed them on their hobby, so the word has a negative connotation in Japan. In
America, the only people who mind being called otaku are the ones who don't want to be associated with the image of the nerdy,
reclusive fan-boy.
Otaku can also be translated as your house; I've heard that the word otaku began to be used because the fans supposedly never left
their houses, but I don't know if it's true.
Roomaji
The name for Japanese writing in Roman (English) letters.
All the Japanese words in this FUT are written in roomaji.
Script
A line-for-line written translation of foreign-language video. Some scripts have been timed, allowing someone with the appropriate
equipment and software to make their own subtitled copy. This is how fansubs are made.
It seems that many publicly-released scripts aren't actually written by the fans of the material being translated, or sometimes the fans
aren't too picky, and so the quality suffers (poor grammar, bad translation, typos, and timing errors are common).
SD
Short for Super Deformed.
Seiyuu
A Japanese word for voice actor/actress, though this term applies to anyone whose job has them using their voice; radio talk-show
hosts, for instance.
Shoonen
Japanese for boy, shoonen is usually used to describe anime and manga aimed at boys.
A very good example of shoonen material might be the Dragonball series.
Shoojo
A Japanese word for girl, shoojo is usually used to describe anime and manga aimed at girls.
The Sailor Moon anime and manga are shoojo.
SM
Short for (Bishoojo Senshi) Sailor Moon, an anime series that may be the most popular cartoon in the world right now, or at least the
most widely-distributed. It was based on the manga of the same name.
SM is also short for Son May.
SM does NOT mean sado-masochism! Well okay, technically it DOES, but that's usually not what people mean when they're talking
about anime...
Son May
A Taiwanese company that makes bootleg CDs. SM's CDs are as easy to get, or easier, than the Japanese originals, are much
cheaper, and the sound quality is just as good. Of course, they're technically illegal outside of Taiwan, and buying them deprives
those who SHOULD be getting the money.
Unfortunately, some people can't afford the Japanese CDs, and others don't have enough morals to care.
Sub
Subtitled anime has words translated into English, or subtitles, flashed on the screen when the characters are speaking. (I hope
everyone knows what subtitles are.)
A lot of anime which has not been commercially translated has been subtitled by fans; the result is a fansub. This is partly because
most fans prefer their anime subbed, rather than dubbed. It is mostly because running a subtitling script through a computer is easier
than directing voice actors, and a lot cheaper.
By the way, fansubs are almost always "free" (that is, you pay for the cost of a blank tape and shipping). Anyone who charges more
than a few dollars for a fansub is probably a bootlegger, who just runs off some cheap copies of someone else's fansub to sell. Do not
buy tapes from them!
Super Deformed
Refers to a common gag in which a character's head is drawn disproportionately large. The intent is usually to imply that a
character is like a child, and therefore inferior or incompetent, when faced by some enemy or stressful situation. Some anime have
characters which are ALWAYS like this, to emphasize silliness.
Sweatdrops
The huge sweatdrops that appear on a character's head from time to time usually indicate that the character is nervous or
embarrassed.
Frankly, I can't understand why so many people need this explained.
Tankoobon
Collections of one story from several issues of manga, with higher-quality printing and better paper. (Many manga are so cheaply
made that they are recycled or thrown away after being read.) Similar to many graphic novels available in comic stores and
bookstores.
UFO Catcher
The Japanese version of the crane game, where players control a mechanical arm and try to grab prizes at the bottom of the machine.
Many UFO catchers (most? all?) are filled with plush dolls of anime characters or animals, which some people collect.
It is possible that the name comes from the UFO shape of the mechanical grabber, designed in response to an alien abduction phase
that Japan apparently went through. (Can anyone give me details, or at least confirm this?)
VA
An acronym for Voice Actor (or Actress).
JAPANESE GUIDE
All Japanese words are made up of short syllables, which are pronounced separately but in quick succession, according to the
guidelines given below. Though these guidelines don't cover every nuance of Japanese, following them will ensure a reasonably-
correct pronounciation of any Japanese word, including all the ones in this FUT.
A always sounds like AH, E always sounds like AY, I always rhymes with she, O always sounds like OH, and U always sounds like
OO. As an example, anime is pronounced AH-NEE-MAY. When different vowels appear consecutively, sound them out; thus,
hentai rhymes with necktie. When the same vowels appear consecutively, the doubled vowel is held for longer. Doojinshi sounds like
DOHHH-JEEN-SHE.
Sometimes OO is written OU or OH, EE is written EI, and UU written UH. The pronounciation remains the same.
The G is always hard, as in gum, so manga sounds like MAWN-GAH and not MAWN-JAH. The R is not like an English "R". Try
saying UHLLLL, just to feel what your tongue does; the Japanese R is sort of pronounced by saying an L very quickly, so that your
tongue only flicks your teeth. (It's much easier to imitate than to explain. In fact, if anyone has a better way to describe this, please
tell me.) The CH part of CHI, CHO, and so on, is always soft as in cheese. When the same two consonants appear consecutively, as
in ecchi, there is a short catch between the consonants, like the one between the Ks in bookkeeper.
Sometimes, a word will contain a syllable made of a consonant, a Y, and a vowel. In these cases, the important thing to remember
that it IS one syllable. The only good example in English is KYU, which sounds just like the letter Q, and not like KEE-YOU or
KYE-YOU.
There is no real syllabic stress in Japanese. Every syllable should be pronounced with about the same speed and emphasis, if
possible. For the most part, Japanese words are both singular and plural. Of course, many Americans ignore this, or don't know any
better, resulting in incorrect words like ninjas, mangas, and so on...
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