Placeholder Image

Subtitles section Play video

  • Hansel Heim!

  • ARUBAITO

  • GERENDE

  • GUMMI

  • MAERUHEN

  • MEISTAAA

  • MESSE RENTOGEN

  • KARUTE

  • TEEMA

  • Hi guys it's me Cathy Cat.

  • Today I am super pink.

  • If you don't understand German be sure to click on the gear symbol...

  • and tap on the English subtitles because

  • there are some! So let's go and do this in German.

  • Today's topic are 10 German words that are being used in Japan.

  • As part of the Japanese language!

  • They are from Germany!!

  • Well then let's go!!!

  • Number 1: HEIM

  • "Heim" can be used for an old people's caretaking home, or an residential home.

  • In Japan it is being used a little bit differently.

  • Sometimes you see titles like "XY HEIM" or....

  • Haensel Heim.

  • This is generally being used as a name for houses.

  • Sometimes when I walk down the streets I get really surprised...

  • because here you can give a name to a house or an apartment block.

  • Just add a name like it.

  • Some chose German house names.

  • "Heim" meaning home is used in connection to living somewhere.

  • So HEIM! When you are here, look around at the houses...

  • Try reading the names, sometimes in Katakana even,

  • and you will be surprised how often some choose German names.

  • Number Two. Arbeit or ARUBAITO

  • or often abbreviated to BAITO

  • The German "Arbeit" can be used as ARUBAITO or shortened to BAITO in Japanese.

  • That does not mean the work you are doing at an office though.

  • It used for little part time jobs that you can do, where you are not fully employed.

  • This word is getting used so widely in Japan, that everyone knows it.

  • Many Japanese have integrated this word so much that many don't even know it's originally German.

  • I used to use "BAITO" until someone told me "That's from you German guys!"

  • And I said "No we don't have BAITO" and they kept saying "Yes you do it's a German word!"

  • Until I got told that the long version ARUBAITO is the German word Arbeit for work.

  • Number 3 is "Gelände" or GERENDE. This word is commonly used for skiing in Japan.

  • Gerände means ski-slope.

  • Surprisingly it is not French or English that is used in this situation.

  • They use German instead. Makes me a little bit happy.

  • Maybe it's because we are a skiing nation.... oh sorry please go ahead!

  • Maybe it's because we are said to be a skiing nation.

  • There are many ski resorts here and I often see Australians coming over

  • when summer and winter are switched....

  • to enjoy skiing in Japan.

  • You can come to ski in Japan, and keep your eyes open for the German GERENDE word.

  • Number 4: GUMI or Gummi

  • Not in the sense of "Speed up" but in the sense of "Gummibears"

  • First I thought it was from the English but it comes from the German Gummi Bears.

  • So the sweet snacks you have at home or in your supermarket.

  • The reason for that being is that Haribo is fairly popular here in Japan.

  • By now you can even buy it in larger supermarkets and similar stores.

  • Because Haribo fought its way up, Gummi describes all kinds of

  • squishy jelly sweets that you can get here in Japan.

  • Number 5 Märchen or MERUHEN

  • rchen come from fairietales and similar.

  • Like the Grimms fairytales.

  • In Japan it will also be used for the fairytale aesthetic

  • Sometimes used to describe romantic and faiytale-esque things.

  • Many thought it is an English word "Märchen" of course Umlauts are hard to pronounce

  • That's why the word sounds a litte different from its original form.

  • rchen turns into MERUHEN

  • Look out for therchen aesthetic.

  • Number 6 is Meister or MEISUTA

  • If often used in commercials and to describe certain products in Japan.

  • To say it's the MASTER of something.

  • The XY Master.

  • People seem to like using it as flashy word.

  • To make something sound more exciting and underline it a bit more.

  • That's Why Meister is sometimes used.

  • Something MEISTER

  • Interesting as we won't use that word like that.

  • It has a certain ring to it here.

  • In this case Japanese know it's a foreign word and like the ring of that.

  • It's especially used to emphasise something as cool.

  • Number 7: Messe.... MESSE

  • Sounds similar.

  • One of the biggest trade fair areas in Tokyo is called "Makuhari Messe"

  • The word Messe means large trade fairs.

  • Big events with many visitors.

  • And the German word is being used as is.

  • I only realized that after looking German words up online ...

  • That's right! Even the Makuhari Messe station is called right that! I was like...

  • Thank you! I am glad to see some German being used here too.

  • I am done with this part.

  • Number 8: Röntgen oder RENTOGEN

  • The reason for that being is that the German medical system used to influence the Japanese system.

  • That's why here instead of X-Ray the wordntgen is used.

  • That did surprise me too, but thinking about it it made sense.

  • And that is why... I will talk about the medical system a little bit more in the next point

  • Number 9 we will stay with the Japanese medical system.

  • KARUTE, Karte!

  • "Karte" is the word used for the patient's card at hospitals in Japan.

  • The long German "Patientenkarte" is abbreviated to Karute.

  • Since German doctors used to influence the Japanese medical system ....

  • many German words were used in the medical lingo.

  • The patient card used to be filled in with many German medical words too.

  • Nowadays everything is digital, as many things are changing.

  • That's why more English is being used instead now.

  • But before that the world of medicine was inspired by German doctors and language.

  • Nowadays that is decreasing though.

  • I found it very interesting when I heard that.

  • Number 10; Thema TEEMA

  • "On that note: This week's Topic!"

  • Thema is really being used a lot.

  • While I used and am still working for Japanese tv....

  • I was often asked to use the word THEMA

  • I didn't realize it at first, I thought it was the same as the English THEME or TOPIC

  • But it's different.

  • The German Thema is being used and is thus one of the words I use the most

  • Because here on Ask Japanese we always have a Theme for our videos.

  • Interviewing Japanese people on the Streets of Tokyo and from around the world.

  • These were 10 words made in Germany that are being used in Japan.

  • It made me really happy that they're used. Unfortunately.....

  • other languages have taken that popularity off the German language recently...

  • French and of course English words are now being used a lot more than German.

  • But it always makes me happy to spot a little bit of German here and there.

  • When you come to Japan, keep you eyes open, there might be some German in use.

  • Like some cool sounding names on posters and such.

  • Keep you eyes open, I hope you liked this topic.

  • There are more videos where I speak German though I generally speak Japanese

  • or English. I would be happy to see you subscribe to this channel

  • It would be nice to see more of you.

  • I also have an instagram account... I like getting your post on there too.

  • I hope you have a lovely day.

Hansel Heim!

Subtitles and vocabulary

Click the word to look it up Click the word to find further inforamtion about it