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Japanese Abbreviations in Anime

Peter Payne by Peter Payne
15 years ago
in Your Friend in Japan

The Japanese language is a syllable-based system in which you can pronounce the sounds ka, ki, ku, ke and ko, for example, but never a “k” sound by itself. This makes some words long and unwieldy to use, and the Japanese have developed a tradition of abbreviating many words using English letters, though they can be confusing at times. How many of these can you figure out?

During GW I took a trip to Lake Kizaki, hopping on the IC then stopping at a PA along the way to eat. I happened to see an actor filming a CM, but he made an NG then forgot his TPO and got angry. On an anime forum I got into a debate about which series had the best OST (I voted for HOTD), and which shows have the best OP and ED. My favorite VA is Rie Kugimiya because she plays all the cute DFC characters, and I’d like to play a VN with her in it, but I couldn’t find a PV for one on YouTube. What’s your favorite AMV? Mine definitely is the Touhou Bad Apple video.

(To view answers, highlight the text below.)

GW = Golden Week

IC = Interchange (i.e. freeway onramp)

PA = Parking Area (a freeway rest stop)

CM = Commercial Message (a TV commercial)

NG = “no good,” meaning an on-camera blooper

TPO = “time, place, occasion,” i.e. one’s social setting

OST = original soundtrack

OP / ED = opening and ending themes

VA = Voice Actress

DFC = Deliciously Flat Chest

PV = Promotional Video

AMV = Anime Music Video

Tags: Golden WeekJapanese language

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