This second part deals with words that are used in the wrong context, or with improper use from literal translations.
Words Commonly Used in a Wrong Context
Otaku
“Otaku” (ๅพกๅฎ , ใใใ, or ใชใฟใฏ) literally means “your household” in Japanese, and is used as an honorific pronoun to address another person; however, in colloquial Japanese “otaku” became a word to describe persons who are an obsessive fans of any subject you can think of — trains, bottle caps, video games, etc. (a more detailed discussion on the etymology can be found on Wikipedia).
Although the general awkwardness — even outright animosity, towards people who describe themselves as “otaku” has been in decline in Japan, society still sees the label as a pejorative. As much as possible, regular folks find other words to describe themselves when talking about their hobbies (“fan” is one of the most preferred words, and ironically is a Japanese loan word from English just as “otaku” has become an English loan word from Japanese).
When the English loan word “otaku” reached Philippine shores by way of the Internet, the perceived meaning was thought to be “(an) anime, manga, or game fan” — and as a result many Japanese pop culture fans began calling themselves “otaku”. However, to a native Japanese, or to a fellow Pinoy who is more familiar with Japanese culture, that may seem strange since you are labeling yourself as someone who is socially inept and prone to dark obsessions.
So, “fan” = good, “otaku” = not so hot. Pretty basic, don’t you think?
Cosplay
Yeah, okay — so we all know that cosplay (ใณในใใฌ) is a portmanteau loan word of the English words “costume” and “role-play”. You’d think that something as basic as that would be difficult to misinterpret.
However, leave it to Pinoy fans to find a way to eff up something that was pretty much fool-proof. Case in point: “Original cosplay”. “Cosplay” as a word has a pretty wide definition, encompassing costumed portrayals from anime, manga, games, movies, books, musicians, actors — even inanimate objects like software programs and Internet memes. But if there is one thing all of these have in common, it is that a whole subset of people know what it is or who it is when you show up in that particular costume.
“Original cosplay”, on the other hand, is just you showing up as a character from your not-yet-released manga that nobody recognizes. As far as I am concerned, that is not true cosplay because the character is literally unknown to fellow pop culture consumers. Call it “original character costume”, call it “original character roleplay”, just don’t call it “cosplay”.
Another case: “Costrip”. The reason “cosplay” is called “cosplay” is because of the huge importance your costume plays in the activity. If you’re going to show up at an event wearing a ratty mesh tank, a mini skirt you cut up from your old school uniform, and black eye liner while clutching a notebook — but didn’t bother putting on a blonde wig or trading your filthy pair of pink Chuck Taylors for platform boots, you have no right to call yourself a Misa “cosplayer”. You’re just tank-top-school-uniform-notebook girl (hey — “original cosplay”!).
Do or do not, there is no try!
Aka-chan
We’re now treading into sickening nicknames territory. We all know that lovers sometimes call each other baby or babe — that’s pretty par for course. What is not right is when weaboo lovers start calling each other “aka-chan”. Aka-chan (่ตคใกใใ) does mean baby in Japanese, but it means “that thing that pops out from between your legs after nine months” baby, and not “I want to pamper and spoil you silly, my love.” baby. No — just, no.
Koi
Koi (ๆ) means “love”, but just because it is perfectly alright to call your significant other “love” in English, it does not mean it is alright so call him or her “koi”. For one thing, Japanese lovers do not call each other “koi” — they call each other “darling” like normal people (oh the irony~). Also, “koi” can mean a myriad of other things: “koi” (้ฏ) can also mean “carp” or that pretty pond fish in Japanese gardens, as well as the imperative “Come here!” (ๆฅใ!).
Quick question: how does a weaboo say “Come here, my love.”? “Koi, koi.” >.>
Aijin
Last but not least in the sickening pet names category is “aijin” (ๆไบบ). Although the two kanji characters when read separately do translate into “loved” “one” in English, the context is very, very different. An “aijin” is actually an illicit lover or mistress, different from the wife or steady girlfriend. For you to call your significant other your “aijin” is actually mark her as the third party in the relationship. Funny, sure — but wait till your “aijin” finds out what you have been calling her all these weeks.
This series of posts has been suggested by the very inspirational Nina of Just Wandering. Thanks for being a great travel buddy and supportive friend :D:D:D
Thank you also to Chelli of Hitorigoto for providing additional cases or incidents of Nihongo abuse. Thanks for the laughs and I hope we get to go back to Tokyo together soon!
JPOP Manila 
โKoi, koi.โ
that had me laughing.
an image of a couple popped into my head, with the female i saying “koi, koi” n a high nasal voice while batting her lashes; had to shoo that disturbin image away, lol
> <
thanks for the posts! and do keep 'em coming ๐
LikeLike
“koi, koi” made me chuckle. ๐ waiting for part 3!
LikeLike
Its a good thing my wife thinks of me as a very cute carp. XD Being called “Koi” is a lot better then “Where’s my cute little Carpy-Pooh?”
LikeLike
@amhuirnin and @beehappy15 — glad you liked that; i’d be traumatized if i heard that in a real-life situation >.>
@eva_guy01 in fairness, you’d make a pretty good pond fish. remind me to call you carp-chan the next time we see each other
LikeLike
@magnetic-rose
Only when followed with the lines “Oh. You. Poor unfortunate soul!…” XD
LikeLike
@eva_guy01 build me a prehensile octopus leg dress and we’ll talk :DDDD
@chelli i know they’re just being cute but “koi”? >.>
LikeLike
LMAO at “koi, koi!!!” hahaha sorry, it’s just really grating on my ears XD
LikeLike
LOL LOL “aijin” do you actually know anybody who calls their significant other “aijin”?
BTW I love the Code Geass pic XD
LikeLike
i’d rather not say who it was, but let’s just say it was from an international message board where you and i hang out a lot…
LikeLike
Lol’d at koi.
It doesn’t happen often, but I’ve seen people use “sayonara” for casual bye-byes.
Makapag-hapon lang eh, no?
LikeLike
^ TRUE, THIS.
and then when you try to correct them, they claim that they know better than you do because they are “half-japanese”.
meh, whatever >.>
LikeLike
I did learn the language, a little, through watching english subbed anime shows. It’s really helpful. But I didn’t get all the misconceptions and wrong grammar that you mentioned. Probably it is because aside from watching I also read grammar books.
BTW, I also observed those that you mentioned from other people new to the language and corrected them but they didn’t seem to care.
LikeLike
using subtitled shows as a supplement tool to learn japanese is very helpful, but it is counterproductive if all you ever do is watch shows but never bother picking up a proper grammar book. and yes, unfortunately the people who claim to be experts in japanese just because they watched a couple of shows are usually the ones who refuse to be corrected. they seem to think that they are already experts on the subject — as if a new language was something you could learn via osmosis.
LikeLike
When I heard “koi koi” what came to mind was that card game in “Summer Wars”.
I don’t speak Japanese and can only understand a handful of words (a lot of what you listed is new to me), but I find it weird and irritating that a lot of kids nowadays do this, and in that high-pitched, nasal voice. Also, I think a lot of weaboos also make use of translating tools online, which obviously do not do a very good job. Literal translation, yes. Making sense, no. So long as it sounds cute to them, they use it.
LikeLike
yes, that’s one other problem — they seem to think that machine translations (like GOOGLE TRANSLATE or BABELFISH) are 100% accurate; unfortunately, they are not — they are 50-70% correct at most.
LikeLike
@Everyone
Juice me…Google translate and Babel Fish…srsly???!! Trying to read them and deciphering their translations made my nose bleed, and there are ‘tards who are using them for everyday conversations???!!! Sorry for the overused punctuation marks,but I think that had gone overboard. Just like my experience of reading my friend’s text messages with Japanese insertions here and there already make me cringe in my seat,and even worse hearing them make me already FALL-OFF my seat…
I really, really appreciate your blog posts ate, I thank you that you are spending effort to teach these “kids” to properly use the Japanese language.
Btw. I never thought that weaboo and Wapanese is for retarded anime fans in general, I thought it only encompasses retarded anime Americans. Thanks for that additional info too!
LikeLike
One example of that problem:
someone told me that “I LOVE YOU” in jap is “watashi ai anata”
very literal indeed
LikeLike
@kathleen “wapanese” is race specific, but “weaboo” takes all comers >.>
@raijean h-holy crap that’s eff-ed up o.O;;
LikeLike
It actually happened. I had to forgive the person since I doubt he had ever watch any original dubbed anime. I told him that I usually hear suki++ or ashiteru++ for that translation, depending on the level. Well, I think the ones like him are easier to correct than the ones who think they know much (=weaboo)
++ indicates other variants
LikeLike
LOL i understand your dilemma — japanese conjugations are as complicated as tagalog’s, to the uninitiated ๐
LikeLike
Quoting a paragraph from this post, Ate Roch! โค
LikeLike
oh lol thanks for helping me spot a typo — editing it now ^^;;
LikeLike
Hahahahaha! Epic blog post. “Koi, koi.” was HILARIOUS!! This is very informative, and really entertaining to read. What a great topic!! ๐
LikeLike
lol the koi thing seems really popular with folks ^^;;
LikeLike
Wow!
I never knew there are couples who call each other “aka-chan”
Hahaha!
I found that funny because the meaning that stuck with me for the word “aka-chan” is “infant”
And it is weird to call your gf/bf “infant”
It’s like saying:
“Hi sanggol, how are you today?”
“I love you sanggol, see ya later โฅ”
Man!
LikeLike
Hm~m, again a lot of interesting stuff here. ๐
However. On the aka-chan thing (I’ve never heard of this before so I’m not defending myself here. ><;;), you're saying it's not like saying you want to pamper and what not. But "baby"in English surely didn't always mean that either. So at some point someone used it incorrectly, or was trying to cover up an insult, or thought it cute. So then… aren't they the same thing? I understand the point, I do. I just found it amusing to think about.
The same thing with 'love'. Who first decided to call the person they love 'love'? Sounds strange…
LikeLike