The Japanese language isn’t a static thing. Indeed, as we’ve covered here, it’s constantly changing and evolving – particularly as a new generation finds new and interesting ways to use words.
We’ve talked before about how words like yabai and egui have morphed to take on different meanings, with yabai becoming a sort of Swiss Army knife of the Japanese language. But other words have dropped out of favor altogether. As a recent discussion on the women’s forum Girls Channel highlights, using some words will mark you instantly as a grandma or grandpa.
Here are a few of the favorites from Girls Channel members, along with some interesting examples from Benesse. You may still hear or read these from time to time in the wild, so here’s your chance to brush up on your ancient (circa 1940s to 1980s) Japanese.
The types of dead Japanese words
Looking at the words that younger people say are dead dead dead, a few interesting patterns emerge.
Several words, unsurprisingly, are instances of Japanese words being replaced by trendier katakana loan words from other languages. (We’ve written before how katakana words have displaced the use of kanji for some terms.) This is the kind of displacement of native terms that old people grumble about at the local izakaya, grousing on about “kids these days” and the “death of Japan” while downing the last of a bottle of Hakkaisan.
In other cases, however, a loan word has been replaced by….another loan word! This is the result of kids being kids and not wanting to sound like their parents. It may also partly be the result of language evolving more rapidly in the age of social media.
The most interesting dead Japanese words
風呂敷 (ふろしき; furoshiki). This one generated some debate and discussion on Girls Channel. Furoshiki are traditional cloths used to wrap and transport goods. Popular in the Edo era, they declined in popularity due to the advent of paper and plastic grocery bags. However, there’s been a renewed interest in the beautiful-looking garments as people in Japan have become more environmentally aware and focused on reuse. Nowadays, though, you’re more apt to use a 袋 (fukuro; bag).
別嬪さん (べっぴんさん; beppin-san). A beautiful woman. Nowadays, people are more apt to use 美人 (びじん; bijin).
ぎっちょ (giccho). An old way of saying someone is left-handed. Today, people use 左利き (ひだりきき; hidari-kiki, left-handed) and its accompanying term, 右利き (みぎきき; migi-kiki, right-handed).
No one quite knows where giccho came from. One popular theory has it coming from gicchou (毬杖), a Heian-era ball and stick game. It’s largely avoided these days because some believe it took on a pejorative connotation.
あばずれ (abazure). I remember this one because it features prominently in Sumino Yoru’s novel Mata, Onaji Yume o Mite ita. This is an old way of calling a woman a “bitch” (in the sense of being rude) or a “whore” (more in the sense of the modern use of ビッチ).
厠 (かわや; kawaya). A way to say “toilet” that dates all the way back to the Kojiki, one of the founding texts of orthodox Shinto. In the Showa era, this term gave way to polite euphemisms such as お手洗い (おてあらい; otearai, “hand-washing”) and 化粧室 (けしょうしつ; keshoushitsu, “makeup room”). While both terms are still in use in polite contexts, トイレ (toire) has become the go-to informal term.
チョンボ (chombo). Failure or mistake (失敗; shippai). While not in common use, the term is still used in mahjong to refer to an egregious rules violation resulting in a point deduction.
Frankly, I think chombo sounds hella cool. We should bring chombo back.
衣紋かけ (えもんかけ；emon-kake). How you used to refer to a clothes hanger. Yes, it used to make sense to utter a sentence like 衣紋かけにかけてね (emon-kake ni kakete ne, be a dear and hang this up would you?). Maybe that’s why, today, people say ハンガー (hanga-).
乳母車 (うばぐるま; ubaguruma). From uba, wet nurse, we get the older term for a baby stroller. Today, peeps will just say ベビーカー (bebi-ka-).
アベック (abekku). From the French avec, with, this was once a standard way to say couple. Unfortunately for the French, they lost out to English, and now everyone says カップル (kappuru).
ルンペン (runpen). Taken from German, this used to refer to a homeless person. Today, people will use ホームレス (ho-muresu).
ハイカラ (hai-kara). How older people might have told you that you look おしゃれ (oshare) – stylish or chic.
オーバー (o-ba-). Nowadays, this means “going over” or “exceeding.” But it used to mean an overcoat. The go-to words for that in modern parlance are either 上着 (うわぎ; uwagi) or, more simply, コート (ko-to).
水菓子 (みずがし; mizu-gashi). A “water candy” is, of course, a piece of fruit. The modern word is 果物 (くだもの; kudamono).
