WHAT IS JAPANESE LANGUAGE APPROPRIATION?~

Japanese Language Appropriation, otherwise known as JLA (which is what I will call it for sake of ease), is the usage of the Japanese language for one or more of the following reasons:

1. Aesthetics or decoration

Japanese characters are often used for decoration in usernames, bios, community tabs, etc. Typically, they are the katakana letters シ (shi), ツ (tsu), or the Kanji characters 人 (hito: human/person), 火 (hi: fire).

2. Slang or popular internet terms

Good examples of this are the words kawaii (cute) and seppuku (a form of self-sacrafice execution only performed by samurai). In this case, these words have been taken out of context from the Japanese language and used incorrectly or rudely.

3. Mocking of the Japanese language, AKA "Anime Words"

Cases of this are usually found in weeb or otaku communities, but also in common speech. Examples include sugoi ("cool", typically informal), ganbete/ganbete ne (An informal phrase of motivation, best translating to "you can do it"), and nandemo ("why", often used in negative connotation).There are many, many more words that are appropriated like this, and those can be found in the LIST tab.

4. Mocking of the Japanese-English accent

This isn't too common outside of intentional racism, but is important to state nonetheless. This accent mocking is pretty self explanatory, and involves the usuage of the Japanese syllabary system (hiragana, katakana, and kunyomi) to fake the English accent of a native Japanese speaker.

WHY CAN'T I SAY [WORD]?~

This Carrd is absolutely not saying you as a non-Japanese person can't speak or learn Japanese. Most Japanese people will be very excited that you want to learn their language! This is not about whether you can or cannot use the language (appropriately).This section is primarily referring to conditions 2 and 3 of the WHAT IS JLA section.Using "Anime Words" or "JP Slang" is not cultural or linguistic appreciation. Almost always, these words are used incorrectly, out of context (spontaneously or randomly), or in mockery of Japanese media or a Japanese person. For Japanese speakers, not only is this annoying or confusing, but it's also just plain weird. You didn't grow up with those words ingrained into your vocabulary, and they are used inappropriately.In my experience, people usually start speaking with these words when I speak Japanese, or mention that I am Japanese. This shows that it is in direct response to things related to Japan, and not just consistently.Think about Spanish, for example. Imagine someone said (spontaneously) "This is so gustar fr". If you don't have experience with Spanish, this would directly translate to "This is so to like fr". Not only does this not make any sense, but again, it's just weird. The same goes for Japanese. Even when a word is used in a technically correct context, it sounds wrong and rude.

LIST OF COMMON JLA WORDS~

This list will include all JLA words that I know of. If I forgot something, please contact me via Discord or Tumblr.
This list is alphabetized.

Aishite : Phrase
Meaning "love me"
Note: Not to be confused with aishiteru, which is the infinitive translation of "I love you".

Anata : Subject
Meaning "You", usually informal
Note: Anata is generally seen as rude to use for a person, as we use it exclusively to refer to the dead at a funeral. Deliberately using it to someone of higher status is seen as an extreme insult.

Ano : Interjection or filler word
Best translated to "um" or "but"

Arigato [gozaimasu] : Response
Meaning "thank you"


Baka : Insult
Meaning "idiot" or "stupid"
Note: This insult is not used in serious context. Even to Japanese speakers, it is a joke. We usually incorporate it into nicknames.Boku : Subject
Used exclusively by males. Meaning "I" or "me"

~Chan : Honorific
Used almost exclusively for females as an indication of close platonic affection.

Daijoubu [desu ka] : Semi-formal concern indicative
Meaning "are you okay"Dame : Informal exclamation
Meaning "wait" or "stop", usually in times of urgency or stress.Dattebayo : Informal motivational exclamation
Best translated to "believe me" or "believe it"
Note: This word is not actually used in Japanese, and was made up by the Mangaka community.Demo : Interjection or sentence connection
Meaning "but"Desu : Sentence end indicative
Used to end a sentence not ending in a verb.~Dono : Honorific
Suffix meaning "lord" or "lady"

Eto : Filler word
Meaning "um" or "uh"

Ganbete [ne] : Informal motivational exclamation
Meaning "You can do it" or "You got this"Genki : Adjective
Meaning "healthy" or "well"Gomen [nasai] : Response
Meaning "sorry"

Hai : Affirmation
Meaning "yes"

Iie : Negation
Meaning "no"

Kawaii : Adjective
Meaning "cute" or "adorable"
Note: Not to be confused with kowaii (scary/terrifying).Konbanwa : Greeting
Meaning "good evening"Kon'nichiwa : Greeting
Meaning "good afternoon"Kudasai : Semi-formal question indicative
Meaning "please"~Kun : Honorific
Used almost exclusively for males as an indication of close platonic affection.Kuroshi : Verb
Present tense short form conjugation of "to kill" (Kurosu)
Note: Usually appropriated as the misspelled 'kurosh'.

[Chotto] Matte : Semi-formal exclamation
Meaning "wait" or "wait a moment"

Nandemo : Informal question indicative
Meaning "why"Nani : Question indicative or interjection
Meaning "what" or "huh"Nihon : Proper noun
Meaning "Japan"Nihongo : Proper noun
Meaning "Japanese (language)"Nihonjin : Proper noun
Meaning "Japanese (person)"

Ohayo : Greeting
Meaning "good morning"Onegai [shimasu] : Formal request indicative
Meaning "may i please" or simply "please"Ongaku : Noun
Meaning "music".Oppai : Semi-formal noun
Meaning "breasts" or "boobs"Oyasumi : Farewell
Meaning "good night"

Sama : Honorific
Used for people of significantly higher status than the speaker. Often used for royalty or nobility.~San : Honorific
Used for people of equal or unspecified age/status to the speaker. Meaning "Mister or Miss"Sayonara : Farewell
Meaning "goodbye"[~]Sensei : Honorific or noun
Used for a teacher or instructor. Can also be used for an artist or author. Meaning "teacher"[~]Senpai : Honorific or noun
Used for someone somewhat older/of somewhat higher status than the speaker. Meaning "upperclassman"
Note: Despite popular belief, there is no inappropriate connotation to this honorific. It is very polite to use.Seppuku : Noun
A type of execution done exclusively to samurai who have committed an act of disgrace or cowardice: a public form of suicide or self-sacrifice.
Note: This term should not be used outside of historical context, as it is a violent and closed practice. For more information, please read THIS article.Shine : Informal insult or exclamation
Meaning "go die" or "die"Sugoi : Semi-formal adjective or exclamation
Meaning "cool" or "wow"Suki : Verb
Meaning "to like"
Note: Other forms of this include daisuki, suki desu, ~ga suki.

Watashi : Subject
Gender neutral subject. Meaning "I" or "me"

Yamero : Verb
Used in semi-formal context. Meaning "to stop"Yamete : Verb
A conjugation of yamero used in informal context.

FAQ~

Q: Can a non-Japanese person learn Japanese?
A: Of course! We love it when people learn our language, so long as they don't mock it or abuse it.

Q: Can I go by a Japanese name even if I'm not Japanese?
A: This is a super opinionated topic. The general consensus is no. I personally think it's fine if it's just an online name or alias. Using a Japanese name IRL is not okay if you are not Japanese.

Q: Why is kawaii on here? So many people say it.
A: Many people say words they aren't supposed to. It doesn't make it any better. The word kawaii should not be used as an aesthetic term. Just call it cute.

Q: Can Japanese people use JLA terms?
A: We don't use JLA frequently. Just like English speakers make fun of English, we sometimes make fun of Japanese using JLA terms. This is our right.

Q: What should I do if I see someone using JLA terms who isn't Japanese?
A: Try to tell them to stop, and explain why it's not okay to do so. If needed, link this Carrd to them.

Q: Can I use Japanese punctuation as decoration for online names?
A: Yep! It's just dots. They don't mean anything when standing alone.