One warm Friday night in Osaka, I ventured out with my old tape camera (yes tape!) and videoed some of my friends and asked them what their favorite Japanese word or phrase was. Here are the results in order as they appeared on the video:
お腹がぺこぺこ – onaka ga peko peko – I’m hungry (usually used by kids)
よく食べて、よく寝て、よく遊ぶ – yoku tabete, yoku nete, yoku asobu – eat well, sleep well and have lots of fun
忍者 – ninja
一所懸命 – isshoukenmei – as much as you can / to your best abilities
なんでやねん？！ – nande ya nen – What the hell? (This is Osaka dialect and a very popular word as you will see in the video
どうないやねん – dou nai yanen – What the hell? Similar to nande ya nen and also Osaka dialect
もうええわ – mou ee wa – That’s enough (Osaka dialect)
うまい – umai – delicious / yummy
美味しい – oishii – delicious
かわいい – kawaii – cute
愛してる – aishiteru – I love you
もうほんまに何やってんのよ？ – mou honma ni nani yatten no yo – What the hell are you doing?
めんどくさい – mendokusai – a hassle
侍 – samurai
キラキラ – kirakira – sparkly
すごいでしょう – sugoi deshou – that’s awesome isn’t it?
むかつく – mukatsuku – annoying
ありがとう – arigatou – Thank you
So, what’s your favorite Japanese word? Leave your comments below!