List of German words from Japanese

The German language has adopted a number of words from Japanese .

List of German words of Japanese origin

German	Japanese	Remarks	Ref.
Anime	ア ニ メ	from english animation
Aikido	合 気 道	literally: way of mutual adaptation of the [fighting] spirit
bonsai	盆栽	literally: pot planting
bonze	坊 主	Buddhist priest, arrogant member of a higher class
Bushido	武士道	literally: way of the warrior
Emoji	絵 文字	Pictogram (in electronic text messages)
Fugu	河豚	Puffer fish
Futon	布 団	Sleeping mattress that is rolled out on the floor (tatami) in the evening
Geisha	芸 者	literally: person of the arts. Society lady
Ginkgo (also: Ginko )	銀杏	Tree species, name goes back to Engelbert Kaempfer . In Japan it is called Icho (goose foot) after its leaf shape
Haiku	俳 句	Special form of Japanese short poetry
harakiri	腹 切 り	Describes the act of slicing your stomach open in Seppuku . Often wrongly equated with the term seppuku and rendered with "(ritual) suicide"
Hentai	変 態	literally: abnormality, perversion
Hikikomori	引 き 籠 も り	literally: to include oneself; social retreat. Social phenomenon: extreme social seclusion.
Ikebana	生 花	literally: living flowers
Judo	柔道	literally: gentle way
Persimmon	柿	Kaki fruit, persimmon , honey apple
kamikaze	神 風	literally: divine wind
Karaoke	カ ラ オ ケ	literally: empty orchestra ( 空 kara = empty, オ ケ oke is the Japanese abbreviation of the English word orchestra )
karate	空手 （唐 手）	literally: empty hand. Proper karate ( 唐 手 ) Chinese martial art
Karoshi (also: Karoschi )	過 労 死	Death from overwork
Kawaii	可愛 い	cute or sweet
kimono	着 物	literally: things to wear
Koi	錦鯉	literally: carp
Manga	漫画	literally: casual picture
mikado	帝	Kaiser, literally: The honorable gate. (The name of the parlor game was a marketing gimmick)
Ninja	忍者	literally: a person who has mastered special scouting and defense techniques ( 忍術 , ninjutsu)
origami	折 り 紙	literally: paper folds
Reiki	霊 気	literally: the aura (rei or rē = the spirit + ki = the mood)
rickshaw	-	Part of the term 人力車 jinrikisha (literally: people-power-vehicle)
sake	酒	literally: alcohol
samurai	侍	literal: servant, now commonly used for medieval Japanese warriors (actually bushi )
Shinkansen	新 幹線	literally: new main line
Shiitake	椎 茸	Literally: mushroom (take) that grows on the Pasania tree (shii)
Shintoism (also: Shintoism )	神道	literally: way of the gods
Shogun (also: Schogun )	将軍	literally: commander in chief
soy	醤 油	actually means soy sauce ( shoyu )
Sudoku	数 独	Abbreviation of 数字 は 独身 に 限 る ( Suji wa dokushin ni kagiru ), logic puzzle with numbers
Sumo	相撲 , also 大 相撲 ozumo	is a form of wrestling match originally from Japan
Surimi	擂 り 身	literally: ground meat
sushi	寿司 (also 鮨 and 鮓 )	Rice dishes, originally with soured rice
Tamagotchi	た ま ご っ ち	Word creation from tamago "egg" and uotchi "clock" (from the English "watch")
Tenno	天皇	literally: heavenly emperor
tofu	豆腐	Soybean food
Tsunami	津 波	literally: harbor wave
Tycoon	大君	literally great lord , financial magnate
Umami	う ま 味	literally: good taste
Yakuza	や く ざ	The name for the Japanese Mafia goes back to the number combination 8-9-3, which is considered completely worthless in a certain card game
Zen	禅	The Sanskrit word Dhyana means meditation and was adopted in Chinese as 禅 那 (Chan'na).

Individual evidence

1. ↑ duden.de: Anime. Retrieved May 3, 2018 . 
2. ↑ Digital dictionary of the German language: Anime. Retrieved May 3, 2018 . 
3. ↑ duden.de: Aikido. Retrieved May 3, 2018 . 
4. ^ Digital dictionary of the German language: Aikido. Retrieved May 3, 2018 . 
5. ↑ duden.de: Bonsai. Retrieved May 3, 2018 . 
6. ↑ Digital dictionary of the German language: Bonsai. Retrieved May 3, 2018 . 
7. ↑ duden.de: Bonze. Retrieved May 3, 2018 . 
8. ^ Digital dictionary of the German language: Bonze. Retrieved May 3, 2018 . 
9. ↑ duden.de: Buschido. Retrieved May 3, 2018 . 
10. ↑ Digital dictionary of the German language: Buschido. Retrieved May 3, 2018 . 
11. ↑ duden.de: Emoji. Retrieved April 5, 2019 . 
12. ↑ duden.de: Fugu. Retrieved May 3, 2018 . 
13. ^ Digital dictionary of the German language: Fugu. Retrieved May 3, 2018 . 
14. ↑ duden.de: Futon. Retrieved May 3, 2018 . 
15. ↑ Digital dictionary of the German language: Futon. Retrieved May 3, 2018 . 
16. ↑ duden.de: Geisha. Retrieved May 3, 2018 . 
17. ↑ Digital dictionary of the German language: Geisha. Retrieved May 3, 2018 . 
18. ↑ duden.de: Ginkgo. Retrieved May 3, 2018 . 
19. ↑ Digital dictionary of the German language: Ginkgo. Retrieved May 3, 2018 . 
20. ↑ duden.de: Haiku. Retrieved May 3, 2018 . 
21. ^ Digital dictionary of the German language: Haiku. Retrieved May 3, 2018 . 
22. ↑ duden.de: Harakiri. Retrieved May 3, 2018 . 
23. ^ Digital dictionary of the German language: Harakiri. Retrieved May 3, 2018 . 
24. ↑ duden.de: Ikebana. Retrieved May 3, 2018 . 
25. ↑ Digital dictionary of the German language: Ikebana. Retrieved May 3, 2018 . 
26. ↑ duden.de: Judo. Retrieved May 3, 2018 . 
27. ↑ Digital dictionary of the German language: Judo. Retrieved May 3, 2018 . 
28. ↑ duden.de: Kamikaze. Retrieved May 3, 2018 . 
29. ↑ Digital dictionary of the German language: Kamikaze. Retrieved May 3, 2018 . 
30. ↑ duden.de: Karaoke. Retrieved May 3, 2018 . 
31. ↑ Digital dictionary of the German language: Karaoke. Retrieved May 3, 2018 . 
32. ↑ duden.de: Karate. Retrieved May 3, 2018 . 
33. ↑ Digital dictionary of the German language: Karate. Retrieved May 3, 2018 . 
34. ↑ duden.de: Karoshi. Retrieved May 3, 2018 . 
35. ↑ duden.de: Kimono. Retrieved May 3, 2018 . 
36. ^ Digital dictionary of the German language: Kimono. Retrieved May 3, 2018 . 
37. ↑ duden.de: Koi. Retrieved May 3, 2018 . 
38. ↑ Digital dictionary of the German language: Koi. Retrieved May 3, 2018 . 
39. ↑ duden.de: Manga. Retrieved May 3, 2018 . 
40. ↑ Digital dictionary of the German language: Manga. Retrieved May 3, 2018 . 
41. ↑ duden.de: Mikado. Retrieved May 3, 2018 . 
42. ↑ Digital dictionary of the German language: Mikado. Retrieved May 3, 2018 . 
43. ↑ duden.de: Ninja. Retrieved May 3, 2018 . 
44. ↑ Digital dictionary of the German language: Ninja. Retrieved May 3, 2018 . 
45. ↑ duden.de: Origami. Retrieved May 3, 2018 . 
46. ↑ Digital dictionary of the German language: Origami. Retrieved May 3, 2018 . 
47. ↑ duden.de: Rickshaw. Retrieved May 3, 2018 . 
48. ↑ Digital dictionary of the German language: Rikscha. Retrieved May 3, 2018 . 
49. ↑ duden.de: Sake. Retrieved May 3, 2018 . 
50. ↑ Digital dictionary of the German language: Sake. Retrieved May 3, 2018 . 
51. ↑ duden.de: Samurai. Retrieved May 3, 2018 . 
52. ↑ Digital dictionary of the German language: Samurai. Retrieved May 3, 2018 . 
53. ↑ duden.de: Shinkansen. Retrieved May 3, 2018 . 
54. ↑ duden.de: Shintoism. Retrieved May 3, 2018 . 
55. ^ Digital dictionary of the German language: Schintoism. Retrieved May 3, 2018 . 
56. ↑ duden.de: Shogun. Retrieved May 3, 2018 . 
57. ^ Digital dictionary of the German language: Shogun. Retrieved May 3, 2018 . 
58. ↑ duden.de: Soy. Retrieved May 3, 2018 . 
59. ↑ Digital dictionary of the German language: Soja. Retrieved May 3, 2018 . 
60. ↑ duden.de: Sudoku. Retrieved May 3, 2018 . 
61. ↑ Digital dictionary of the German language: Sudoku. Retrieved May 3, 2018 . 
62. ↑ duden.de: Sumo. Retrieved May 3, 2018 . 
63. ^ Digital dictionary of the German language: Sumo. Retrieved May 3, 2018 . 
64. ↑ duden.de: Surimi. Retrieved May 3, 2018 . 
65. ↑ duden.de: Sushi. Retrieved May 3, 2018 . 
66. ↑ Digital dictionary of the German language: Sushi. Retrieved May 3, 2018 . 
67. ↑ duden.de: Tamagotchi. Retrieved May 3, 2018 . 
68. ^ Digital dictionary of the German language: Tamagotchi. Retrieved May 3, 2018 . 
69. ↑ duden.de: Tenno. Retrieved May 3, 2018 . 
70. ↑ Digital dictionary of the German language: Tenno. Retrieved May 3, 2018 . 
71. ↑ duden.de: Tofu. Retrieved May 3, 2018 . 
72. ↑ Digital dictionary of the German language: Tofu. Retrieved May 3, 2018 . 
73. ↑ duden.de: Tsunami. Retrieved May 3, 2018 . 
74. ^ Digital dictionary of the German language: Tsunami. Retrieved May 3, 2018 . 
75. ↑ duden.de: Tycoon. Retrieved May 3, 2018 . 
76. ↑ Digital dictionary of the German language: Tycoon. Retrieved May 3, 2018 . 
77. ↑ duden.de: Yakuza. Retrieved May 3, 2018 . 
78. ↑ Digital dictionary of the German language: Yakuza. Retrieved May 3, 2018 . 
79. ↑ duden.de: Zen. Retrieved May 3, 2018 . 
80. ↑ Digital dictionary of the German language: Zen. Retrieved May 3, 2018 .