Katakana vs the English Language

Before you get too excited about learning Katakana, there is yet another down side to this distant cousin of actual words. Most, but not all, カタカナ words are borrowed from English. Japanese (particularly drunk Japanese) assume all Katakana is English so you as an English speaker should understand.

First of all, the Katakana word is likely only related to the original word by one vowel sound.

For Example:

Naita- This comes from the word Nighter, which is somehow supposed to mean 'night game', like a night baseball game.

Secondly, there are other Katakana words based on German, French, Korean, and others.

For example:

Anke-to (アンケート): Survey. This is based on the French word, Enquette with the same meaning.

Third....Katakana is retarded.

Kariumu (カリウム) : Potassium. Yeah, that makes sense. Actually, it at least explains why a K is used for Potassium in the periodic table...but how the hell am I supposed to know that?


If you refuse to learn カタカナ, you will never be able to speak Japanese well. But on the other hand, you won't have to butcher your native language... Before I completely convince you that Katakana is the most annoying aspect of Japanese, here are a couple katakana words that aren't so bad.

OK：Okay.　It means exactly what you think it means. Is used to say things like 全然OK (zenzen OK): its completely fine.

セフレ,Sefure: Friend with benefits. Is a combination of the word Sex and Friend.