Wasei-eigo ist Japanisch, das aussieht wie Englisch, aber in der englischen Sprache nicht genutzt wird.

Sie wurden damals von Lehnwörtern, die sich aus dem Englischen ableiteten, entnommen, aber haben sich inzwischen im japanische Wörterbuch etabliert. Inzwischen haben sie ihre eigene Bedeutung, die von der originalen abweicht. Ein Beispiel ist "reberu appu" (level up), was also bedeutet, dass man ein Level aufgestiegen ist. Manche wasei-eigo erkennt man nicht als englische Wörter wie bspw. "sukinshippu" (skinship), was also Körperkontakt meint.

Wasei-eigo in Abgrenzung zu anderen japanischen Wortklassen.

Wasei-eigo muss man vom "Engrish" unterscheiden, da es Wörter umfasst, die in japanischen Gesprächen genutzt werden, aber nicht wenn man Englisch spricht.

Geschichte und Entwicklung

Während der Meiji-Periode gab es einen großen Einfluss durch englische Lehnwörter, die bedeutsam für die Modernisierung Japans gewesen sind. Da sie so rasch von der Japanischen Gesellschaft akzeptiert wurden, gibt es einige Abweichungen in der ursprünglichen Bedeutung, was zu Missverständnissen führt.

Als diese Lehnwörter sich in die Japanische Sprache tief integriert haben, führte dies zu Experimenten und der Erneuerung der Bedeutungen von Wörtern, woraus sich wasei-eigo bildeten.

Bsp.: Manshon kommt nach dem Wortlaut vom englischen Wort "mansion", hat aber die Bedeutung "Wohnung" mit einem luxuriösen Unterton.

Soziale Bedeutungen und die Hauptnutzer von „wasei-eigo“

Viele Japaner betrachten die englischen Lehnwörter als lockerer an und denken, dass sie vor allem in bestimmten Jugendgruppen verwendet werden.

Englische Lehnwörter werden meist in katakana geschrieben und verweist darauf, dass sie nicht japanisch sind. Diese dauerhafte Erinnerung verweist auf die Bedeutungen der Wörter und verbindet sie mit der Idee "Andersartigkeit". Darum werden wasei-eigo oftmals als eine Methode genutzt um über Tabus oder kontroverse Themen in einer neutralen Weise zu reden. Außerdem können sie mit Konzepten und Ideen assoziiert werden, die besonders in Japan sind.

cheek dance (chiiku dansu) – dancing cheek to cheek

chemical shoes (kemikaru shuuzu) – shoes made from plastic

delivery health (deriberi herusu, often shortened to deri heri) – a prostitute that comes to your HOTEL ROOM or home

goal in (gooru in suru) – reaching your goal, especially used for finally getting married

group sounds (gruupu saunzu) – 1960s guitar pop groups, something like Merseybeat

guts pose (gattsu poosu) – the gesture of standing with one fist in their air to celebrate a victory

heading shoot (hedingu shuuto) – a header towards goal

live house (raibu hausu) – music venue, usually like a bar with a band

long seller (rongu seraa) – a book which sells for a long time, similar to bestseller

mass game (masu geimi) – group calisthenics

minus DRIVER (mainusu doraiba) – normal screwdriver 

no make (noo meiku) –not wearing make up

semi double (semi daburu) – small DOUBLE BED

towel-ket (taoruketto, from towel + blanket) – a huge towel that is used instead of a sheet/ duvet when sleeping

unit bath (yunitto basu) – modular bathroom/ prefabricated all-in-one bathroom

A class (ei kurasu) – top class/ first rate

autolock (ootorokku) – self-locking (door etc)

baby bed (beibi beddo) – cot

bare shoulder (bea shorudaa) – off the shoulder (dress)

baton touch (baton tatchi) – passing the baton (literally or metaphorically)

bed town (beddo taun) – commuter town

byplayer (bai pureya) – supporting actor/ bit part player

catch ball (catchi booru) – playing catch

charm point (chaamu pointo) – attractive qualities

China dress (chaina doresu) – cheongsam

coin laundry (koin randorii) -laundrette

collar shirt (karaa shatsu) – shirt with a collar

country risk (kantori risuku) – risky country to INVEST in

dining kitchen (dainingu kitchin) – open plan dining room/ kitchen

door eye (doa ai) – peephole

effecter (efekutaa) – effects pedal

food fighter (fuudo faitaa) – competitive eater

FREEdial (furii daiyaru) – toll FREE number/ freephone

free size (furii saizu) – one size fits all

free soft (furii sofuto) – freeware

fried potato (furaido poteto) – chips/ French fries

front glass (furonto garasu) – windshield/ windscreen

full base (furu beisu) – with the BASES loaded (in baseball)

game centre (geimu sentaa) – amusement arcade/ video arcade

girl hunt (gaaru hanto) – going out to pick up girls, similar to ‘going out on the pull’

go sign (goo sain) – (metaphorical) green light

guard man (gaadoman) – security guard

high vision (hai bijon) – HDTV

inside report (insaido repooto) – exposé

lemon tea (remon tii) – tea with lemon

love comedy (rabu komedi) – romantic comedy

meat shop (miito shoppu) – a butcher’s

milk tea (miruku tii) – tea with milk

Miss contest (misu kontesto) – beauty pageant

news value (nyuusu baryuu) – newsworthy

nighter (naitaa) – a night baseball game

non pro (non puro) – amateur

non-caffeine – caffeine FREE/ decaffeinated

oil shock (oiru shokku) – energy crisis, oil crisis

old miss (orudo misu) – spinster

ORDERmade (oodaa meido) – custom made/ made to order

pocketable (poketaburu) – portable/ able to fit in your pocket

poemer (poemaa) – poet

recycle shop (risaikuru shoppu) – second hand shop

running home run (ranningu hoomu ran) – inside the park home run

shoot chance (shuuto chansu) – a chance to shoot

skinship (sukinshippu) – physical contact

SUITE ROOM(suiito ruumu) – a hotel suite

table speech (teiburu supiichi) – after dinner speech

ten key (ten kii) – numeric keypad

three size (surii saizu) – body measurements/ vital statistics (for a woman)

virgin road (baajin roodo) – AISLE in a church (down which a bride walks)

wood bass (uudo beisu) – double bass

Many others can be instantly guessed from their constituent parts, especially when seen in context:

after care (afutaa kea) – product maintenance/ after sales service

American coffee (amerikan kohii) – Americano

band man (bando man) – band member

belt conveyor (beruto konbeya) – conveyor belt

best ten (besuto ten) – top ten

body shampoo (bodii shampuu) – shower gel

camping car (kyampin kaa) – camper van

change lever (chenji rebaa) – gearshift/ gear lever

cheer girl (chia gaaru) – cheerleader

cuffs button (kafusu boton) – CUFF LINK

door boy (doa booi) – doorman

dump car (danpu kaa) – dump truck

dust box (dasuto bokkusu) – trash can/ bin

gasoline stand (gasorin sutando) – gas station/ petrol station

gift card (gifuto kaado) – gift certificate, e.g. book token

ice candy (aisu kandee) – ice pop, Popsicle

interphone (intaahoon) – intercom

log house (rogu hausu) – log cabin

man to man (man tsu man) – one to one (e.g. lesson)

model gun (moderu gan) – toy gun/ cap gun

morning call (mooning kooru) – wake-up call

open set (oopun setto) – outdoor set (for films)

out course (auto koosu) – out of your lane

show WINDOW (shoo uindo) – shop window

side brake (saido bureeki) – hand brake/ parking brake

side business (saido bijinesu) – side job

symbol mark (simboru maaku) – logo

trailer house (toreeraa hausu) – trailer/ MOBILE HOME

wind orchestra (uindo ookesutora) – wind ensemble

woman power (uuman pawaa) – women’s rights/ woman’s strength and abilities

My (mai, meaning my personal, private or my own)

my home (mai hoomu) – your own home, usually meaning owning rather than renting

my car (mai kaa) – family car/ private car (rather than company car)

my pace (mai peisu) – my own pace, meaning taking your own time

One (wan)

one room mansion (wan ruumu manshon) – STUDIO APARTMENT

one piece (wan piisu) – a dress

one pattern (wan pataan) – repetitive

one man bus (wan man basu) – a bus with no conductor

one man company (wan man kampanii) – a company in which the boss makes all the decisions

Up (appu – increase/ improvement)

BASEup (beisu appu) – all round pay rises

CAREERup (kyaria appu) – improving your career

grade up (gureido appu) – upgrade

image up (imeji appu) – improving your image

VERSIONup (baajon appu) – upgrade/ update

no bra (noo bura) – braless

no sleeve (noo suriibu) – sleeveless

no cut (noo katto) – uncut (film)

Colours

Silver (shiruba – old age)

silver seat (shiruba shiito) – seat for old and disabled people on a train

silver age (shiruba eiji) – old age

Green (guriin – luxury)

green car (guriin kaa) – first class carriage

Pink (pinku – erotic/ blue)

pink film (pinku eiga) – blue movie

Golden (goruden – prime/ peak)

golden week (goruden wiiku) – peak holiday season in April or May

golden hour’(goruden aawa) – prime time, as in TV

Like poemer, non pro and skinship above, a few are actually made with English affixes rather than as a combination of two words:

casher (kyasshaa – cashier)

presentator (puresentatoo – person giving a presentation)

interphone (intaahoon) – intercom

A few take a bit more understanding of the history to be able to understand the logic behind them. Many of these were ORIGINALLYbrand names:

catch phone (kyatchi fon) – call waiting

FREEdial (furii diyaru) – freephone/ toll FREE number

jet coaster (jetto koosutaa) – roller coaster

magic tape (majikku teipu) – Velcro

number display (nambaa disupurei) – caller ID

pocket bell (poketto beru) – beeper/ pager

Many others seem obvious once the logic behind them is explained:

wide show (waido shoo) – variety show, due to its length

loss time (rosu taimu) – added time, injury time, because it makes up for the time you lost during the game

crank in (kuranku in suru) – start shooting a film, from turning the handle on an old fashioned film camera

free address (furii adoresu) – hot desking

The others just need explaining, and memorizing if you are learning Japanese,:

back net (bakku NETTO) – backstop (in baseball)

four ball (foa boru) – BASE on balls

mail magazine (meeru magajin) – email newsletter

seat knock (shiito nokku) – baseball fielding practice

stand play (sutando purei) – grandstanding

timely hit (taimurii hitto) – RBI hit/ clutch hit (in baseball)

key holder (kii horuda) – key ring, not a hook to hang keys on

paneller (paneraa) – panel member, not a panel beater

play guide (purei gaido) – ticket agency, not a guidebook

soft cream (sofuto kuriimu) – Mr Whippy-style ice cream, not cream

security police (sekyuriti porisu) – bodyguard, and so not necessarily police

travel watch (toraberu uotchi) – a travel alarm clock, and so not a watch

season off (shiizu ofu) -off season, not a whole season off work

sign pen (sain pen) – felt tip, and so not a pen for signing (a pen for making signs?)

neck tie (nekku tai) – tie

mug cup (magu kappu) – mug

two tone colour (tsuu ton karaa) – two tone

handle name (handoru neemu) – handle

catch copy (kyatchi kopi) – copy (as in what a copywriter writes)

bargain sale (baagen seiru) – sales, e.g. summer sales

April Fool (eepuriru fuuru) – April Fool’s Day

Valentine Day (barentain dei) – Valentine’s day

condense milk (kondensu miruku) – condensed milk

mash potato (masshu poteto) – mashed potatoes

multi talent (maruchi tarento) – multi talented

old fashion (oorudo fasshon) – old fashioned

one side game (wan saido geemu) – one-sided game

scramble egg (sukuramburu) – scrambled eggs

plurals

high heel- high heels/ high heeled shoes

lady first (reidi faasuto) – ladies first

off limit (ofu rimitto) – off limits

office hour (ofisu awaa) – office hours

sunglass (sangurasu) – sunglasses

table manner (teburu manaa) – table manners

happy end (happii endo) – happy ending

multi task (maruchi tasku) – multi tasking

skate rink (sukeeto rinku) – skating rink

time up (taimu appu) – time’s up

ham egg (hamu eggu) – ham and eggs

agit (ajito, short for agitating point) – hiding place/ meeting place (e.g. a café) for revolutionaries

auto-bi (ootobai, from automatic bike) – motorbike

AV (ei bii) – short for both audio visual and adult video (as in AV model), so easily confused!

AV model (ei bii moderu, short for adult video model) – porn actress

ba u (bea, short for base up) – pay raise

BGM (bii jii emu) – background music, a genre that seems to include easy listening and chill out/ New Age

BS (bii esu, short for broadcast satellite) – satellite television

caba clu (kyaba kura, short for cabaret club) – a kind of hostess club

dia (daiya, short for diagram) – train timetable

DM (dii emu, short for direct mail) – junk mail (old fashioned through the door stuff)

en sto (en suto, short for engine stop) – stalling a car

fami com (fami kon, short for family computer) – video game system (out of date expression)

jea pan (jii pan, short for jean pants) – jeans

le guards (le gaasu, short for leg guards) – shin pads

LL (eru eru) – XL

magic (majikku, short for magic pen) – (permanent) marker

mini pat (mini pato, short for mini patrol car) – small police car

no make (no meiku, short for no make-up) – not wearing make up

OL (oo eru, short for office lady)- female equivalent of ‘salaryman’, but a bit patronising

PV (pii bii, from promotion video) – music video

range (renji, short for cooking range) – kitchen stove

RV (aaru bui, short for recreation vehicle) – SUV

sha pen (shaa pen, short for sharp pencil) – mechanical pencil/ automatic pencil

SL (esu eru, short for steam locomotive) – steam train

soft (sofuto, short for soft cream) – soft ice cream

stand (sutando, short for stand lamp) – a small lamp

sub man (sabu mane, short for sub manager) – assistant manager

trai pan (tore pan, short for training pants) – tracksuit trousers

washlet (uoshuretto, from wash + toilet) – combined toilet and bidet

Y shirt (wai shatsu, short for ‘white shirt’) – business shirt/ dress shirt