With communication today existing so much in the world of social networking services (SNS), outside of traditional face-to-face conversations, one can’t be surprised to find that Japan has its own flavour of text-speak and social networking slang. When we say SNS, what we are referring to is a wide range of social networking services, which includes all our favourites, such as Instagram, WhatsApp, Facebook, and the like, but in Japan, the most popular SNS by far is LINE. So, let’s delve into the interesting and quirky world of Japanese ネットスラング (Netto surangu), or internet slang, and learn how to convey our messages efficiently and creatively.
Japanese text slang can be found in many forms, owing mainly to the fact that they have access to an incredibly wide variety of characters coming from hiragana, katakana, kanji, the Roman alphabet, symbols, and numbers. The way in which these characters are used and interwoven allows for quite a bit of creativity, ranging from images created by the characters to plays on words by taking advantage of their homophones.
Japanese Text Abbreviations
One of the easiest-to-understand methods commonly used is abbreviation. This includes shortening words like ありがとう (arigatou, 'thanks') and 了解です (roukaidesu, 'I understand') to simply “あり” and “りょ” respectively. There are even combinations between Kana and Roman characters, such as “こn” meaning "こんにちは" and "うp" meaning 'upload'. These are frequently used by people who want to type quickly, like teens and gamers.
Sometimes, however, the meaning is a little more difficult to understand at first glance. Take, for example, the usage of a simple triangle △ (a.k.a. delta). This one is a little convoluted in terms of why and how it is used. The Japanese word for triangle is さんかくけい (sankakukei), which is almost always shortened to さんかっけい (sankakkei). The latter half of this, かっけい (kakkei), is itself a homophone for the abbreviated version of かっこいい, meaning cool or stylish, while the first half, さん (san), sounds just like the honorific title for a name. So, if you put it after someone’s name, it looks like this “田中△” (tanaka△) but reads like this “田中さんかっけい” (tanaka san kakkei), meaning “Ms. Tanaka is cool.”
Another fun example is how the kanji for grass, 草 (kusa), is often used as an equivalent to “lol”. The use of this kanji is an evolution of sorts, with its origins stemming from the Roman letter "w” which predates it as shorthand for laughing and stands for 笑い (warai, 'laughter'). However, if you laugh a lot, “wwwwww”, well, then it starts to look a little like grass!
Combining Multiple Writing Systems
As with the “w” above, Roman characters are also commonly used for the sound they represent. Combinations like "WKWK" (read as わくわく [wakuwaku], the Japanese onomatopoeia for excitement with which watchers of “Spy x Family” will be familiar) and "YR" (read as よろ [yoro], short for よろしく[yoroshiku]), are great examples of such characters being used for their sounds. In a similar fashion, Arabic numerals are also used to express Japanese phrases and sounds, often making use of the first syllable of each number, such as “46” (よろ) an alternative for the YR mentioned above, or “39” read as さんきゅう (sankyuu), to mean “thank you”.
Of course, no blog on Japanese text speak would be complete without the inclusion of kaomoji, the most iconic of the Japanese text-based emoji. Kaomoji use characters and symbols from a wide variety of languages and alphabets to create expressive and emotive images, all resembling faces; the name even literally translates to “face character”. The focus of the kaomoji tends to be on the eyes, which the Japanese believe are the most telling expressions. They can range from simple constructions, (---), to far more complex creations, ☆*:.｡.o(≧▽≦)o.｡.:*☆.
Japanese text speak is a dynamic and vibrant aspect of contemporary communication, blending linguistic elements with digital innovation. From kana and emoji to abbreviations and internet slang, it offers a vast array of options for people to convey their thoughts, emotions, and identity. As technology continues to shape the way we communicate, the evolution of Japanese text speak will undoubtedly continue, enriching the digital landscape with creativity and connectivity. Do you know any Japanese SNS slang? There's a whole world of language to uncover, but we've included a small cheat sheet below to help start you on your journey. ⸜( ´ ꒳ ` )⸝
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