English Owes Much to Japanese Words
In the past several hundred years, English has borrowed words and terms from other languages, including Japanese.
In the late 1990s, Japanese computer programmer Shigetaku Kurita invented “emoji” - images, icons and symbols that express meaning without words.
In Japanese, the word emoji means “pictograph” and comes from the word e meaning “picture” and moji, meaning “letter” or “character.”
Another word the English language borrowed from Japanese is skosh.
The English meaning of skosh is “a small amount.” The word is used informally in English.
It comes from the Japanese word sukoshi, which means the same thing. In Japanese, sukoshi can also mean “a few,” “a little" or "some."
Honcho, another word borrowed from Japanese, came into use around World War II.
In English, honcho means "person in charge.” In Japanese, the word is hancho. It means "squad leader" and comes from two words: han meaning “squad" and cho meaning "head" or "chief."
Tycoon is a very common word of Japanese origin. It refers to a very wealthy and powerful businessperson. It comes from the Japanese taikun, meaning “great lord or prince.”
