Many Japanese words of Portuguese origin entered the Japanese language when Portuguese Jesuit priests and traders introduced Christian ideas, Western science, technology and new products to the Japanese during the Muromachi period (15th and 16th centuries).
The Portuguese were the first Europeans to reach Japan and the first to establish direct trade between Japan and Europe, in 1543. During the 16th and 17th century, Portuguese Jesuits had undertaken a great work of Catechism, that ended only with religious persecution in the early Edo period (Tokugawa Shogunate).
Many of the words which were introduced and entered the Japanese language from Portuguese and Dutch are written in kanji or hiragana, rather than katakana, which is the more common way to write loanwords in Japanese in modern times. Kanji versions of the words are ateji, characters that are "fitted" or "applied" to the words by the Japanese, based on either the pronunciation or the meaning of the word.
The † indicates the word is archaic and no longer in use.
| Japanese Rōmaji | Japanese script | Japanese meaning | Pre-modern Portuguese | Modern Portuguese | English translation of Portuguese | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| †[1] anjo | アンジョ | angel | anjo | anjo | angel | Replaced in modern usage by 天使 (tenshi, literally "heavens" + "envoy"). | |
| † bateren | 伴天連 / 破天連 | a missionary priest (mainly from Jesuit) | padre | padre | priest | Used in early Christianity. For the sense of "Christian missionary", the modern term is 宣教師 (senkyōshi). | |
| battera | ばってら / | kind of sushi | bateira | bateira, barco | boat | named after its shape | |
| beranda | ベランダ | balcony | varanda | varanda | balcony | ||
| bīdama | marbles (spheric-shaped) | ---- | berlindes, bola-de-gude, bolinha-de-gude | marbles | abbrev. of bīdoro (Japanese: 'glass', also from Portuguese: see below) + tama (Japanese: 'ball'). | ||
| bīdoro | ビードロ | vidro | vidro | glass | |||
| bōbura | ボーブラ | (dialect) kabocha pumpkin[2] | abóbora | abóbora | pumpkin | originally was in use nationwide, but replaced by kabocha in Edo (Tokyo).[3] | |
| birōdo | ビロード / 天鵞絨 | velvet | veludo | veludo | velvet | berubetto (from English velvet) is also used today. | |
| bōro | / ぼうろ | a kind of small biscuit or cookie | bolo | bolo | cake | ||
| botan | ボタン / 釦 / 鈕 | button | botão | botão | button | ||
| charumera | small double-reed wind instrument | charamela | charamela (caramelo, "caramel", is cognate) | shawm (cf. the cognate chalumeau) | formerly played in Japan by ramen vendors | ||
| chokki | チョッキ | waistcoat (UK); vest (U.S.); Jacket | jaque | colete, jaqueta | waistcoat (UK); vest (U.S.); Jacket | Besuto (from English vest) is common today. | |
| † Deusu | デウス | Christian God | Deus | Deus | God | Replaced in modern usage by the terms 天帝 (tentei, literally "heavens" + "emperor, king") or 天主 (tenshu, literally "heavens" + "lord, master"). | |
| † dochirina | ドチリナ | doctrine | doutrina | doutrina | doctrine | Replaced in modern usage by the terms 教理 (kyōri, literally "teaching" + "reasoning") or 教義 (kyōgi, literally "teaching" + "right conduct; righteousness; justice; morality"). | |
| furasuko | laboratory flask | frasco | frasco | flask | |||
| hiryōzu, hiryūzu, hiryūsu | filhós[4] | filhós | |||||
| igirisu | イギリス / 英吉利 | the United Kingdom | inglez | inglês | English (adj); Englishman | ||
| † inheruno | インヘルノ | Christian hell | inferno | inferno | hell | Replaced in modern usage by the term 地獄 (jigoku, originally the term for Buddhist hells, still used in that sense as well). | |
| † iruman | イルマン / 入満 / 伊留満 / 由婁漫 | missionary next in line to become a priest | irmão | irmão | brother | Used in early Christianity. Replaced in modern usage by the term 助修士 (joshūshi, literally "assist" + "training" + "male person"). | |
| jōro | / 如雨露 | watering can | jarro | jarro | jug, watering can | "possibly from Portuguese" (Kōjien dictionary) | |
| juban/jiban | じゅばん / | undervest for kimono | gibão | – | undervest | The French form jupon led to zubon (trousers). | |
| kabocha | / 南瓜 | Camboja (abóbora) | (abóbora) cabotiá | Cambodia (-n pumpkin) | Was thought to be from Cambodia, imported by the Portuguese. | ||
| kanakin/kanekin | 金巾 / かなきん / かねきん | shirting, percale | canequim | unbleached muslin/calico | jargon from the textile business | ||
| † kandeya | カンデヤ | oil lamp | candeia, candela | vela, candeia | candle | Extinct. Kantera from Dutch kandelaar was also used. Replaced in modern usage by the terms 灯火 (tōka, literally "lamp" + "fire, flame") or ランプ (ranpu, from Dutch lamp). | |
| † kapitan | 甲比丹 / 甲必丹 | captain (of ships from Europe in The Age of Discovery) | capitão | capitão | captain | Extinct. Replaced in modern usage by the terms 船長 (senchō, literally "ship" + "leader") or the English borrowing キャプテン (kyaputen). | |
| kappa | raincoat | capa | capa (de chuva) | raincoat, coat | reinkōto (from English raincoat) is prevalent nowadays. | ||
| karuta | / 歌留多 | karuta cards, a traditional type of playing cards which is largely different from the modern worldwide ones | cartas (de jogar) | cartas (de jogar) | (playing) cards | ||
| karusan | カルサン | a specific kind of hakama trousers[5] | calção | shorts (as used in modern Portuguese), breeches (as used in the Portuguese of the 1600s) | |||
| kasutera, kasutēra, kasuteira | Kind of sponge cake[6] | (Pão de) Castela | (Pão de) Castela | (Bread/cake of) Castile | Theories cite Portuguese castelo (castle) or the region of Castile (Castela in Portuguese). The cake itself may originally derive from bizcocho, a Spanish kind of biscotti. | ||
| † kirishitan | / 切支丹 / 吉利支丹 (Also written in the more negative forms 鬼理死丹 and 切死丹 after Christianity was banned by the Tokugawa Shogunate) | Christian people in 16th and 17th centuries (who were severely persecuted by the Shogunate) | christão | cristão | Christian | Replaced in modern usage by the terms キリスト教徒 (Kirisuto kyōto, literally "Christ" + "teaching" + "student") or the English borrowing クリスチャン (Kurisuchan). | |
| kirisuto | キリスト / 基督 | Christ | Christo | Cristo | Christ | ||
| koendoro | コエンドロ | coriander | coentro | coentro | coriander | ||
| konpeitō | 金米糖 / / 金餅糖 | Kind of star-shaped candy | confeito | confeito | confection, candies | (related to confetti) | |
| koppu | コップ | cup | copo | copo | cup | ||
| † kurusu | クルス | Christian cross | cruz | cruz | cross | Used in early Christianity. Replaced in modern usage by the term 十字架 (jūjika, literally "number ten" + "character" + "stand up, prop up"). | |
| manto | cloak | manto | manto | cloak | |||
| marumero | quince | marmelo | marmelo | quince | |||
| meriyasu | / 莫大小 | a kind of knit textile | medias | meias | hosiery, knitting | ||
| mīra | ミイラ / 木乃伊 | mummy | mirra | mirra | myrrh | Originally, mummies embalmed using myrrh. | |
| †nataru | ナタル | Christmas | Natal | Natal | Christmas | Annual festival celebrating the birth of Jesus Christ. Replaced in modern usage by the English borrowing クリスマス (Kurisumasu). | |
| oranda | オランダ / 和蘭(陀) / 阿蘭陀 | The Netherlands, Holland | Hollanda | Holanda, Países Baixos | The Netherlands, Holland | ||
| orugan | organ (music) | orgão | órgão | organ | |||
| pan | bread | pão | pão | bread | Often wrongly connected to the Spanish pan or the French pain, both with the same meaning and the same Latinate origin. The word was introduced into Japan by Portuguese missionaries.[7] | ||
| † paraiso | パライソ | paradise. Specifically in reference to the Christian ideal of heavenly paradise. | paraíso | paraíso | paradise | Replaced in modern usage by the terms 天国 (tengoku, literally "heavens" + "country") or the English borrowing パラダイス (paradaisu). | |
| pin kara kiri made | ピンからキリまで | running the whole gamut, jumble of wheat and tares | (pinta, cruz) | (pinta, cruz) | (dot, cross) | literally 'from pin to kiri | |
| rasha | / 羅紗 | a kind of wool woven textile | raxa | – (feltro) | felt | ||
| rozario | ロザリオ | rosary | rosario | rosário | rosary | ||
| † sabato | サバト | Saturday | sábado | sábado | Saturday | Replaced in modern usage by the term 土曜日 (Doyōbi, literally "earth" + "day of the week"). | |
| saboten | / 仙人掌 | cactus | sabão | sabão | soap | Indirect derivation, involving a pronunciation shift from earlier 石鹸手 read as sabonte,[8] literally "soap" + "hand; method, means". pronounced as //sabonte// → pronounced as //saboten// The derivation is said to come from the soap-like feature of its juice, although there are controversies. | |
| Santa Maria | サンタマリア | Saint Mary | Santa Maria | Santa Maria | Saint Mary | Saint Mary | |
| sarasa | chintz | saraça | chintz | ||||
| shabon | シャボン | soap | sabão | sabão | soap | More likely from older Spanish xabon. Usually seen in compounds such as shabon-dama ('soap bubbles') in modern Japanese. | |
| shurasuko | Brazilian style churrasco barbecue | churrasco | barbecue | Modern borrowing. | |||
| subeta | スベタ | (an insulting word for women) | espada | espada | sword | Originally a term from playing cards, in reference to certain cards that earned the player zero points. This meaning extended to refer to "a boring, shabby, low person", and from there to mean "an unattractive woman". | |
| tabako | タバコ / 煙草 / たばこ | tobacco, cigarette | tobacco, cigarette | ||||
| totan | tutanaga (Could be of other origin, as Nippo jisho implies.[9]) | tutenag (a zinc alloy; zinc)[10] | The homophone "Japanese: 塗炭|label=none" is sometimes mistaken as an ateji for "Japanese: トタン|label=none", but is actually a different word of native origin meaning "agony".[11] | ||||
| tempura | / 天麩羅 / 天婦羅 | deep-fried seafood/vegetables | tempero, temperar;[12] [13] tempora | tempero, temperar; tempora | seasoning, to season; times of abstinence from meat | ||
| zabon | / 朱欒 / 香欒 | pomelo, shaddock | zamboa | zamboa | pomelo, shaddock | ||
| † zesu or zezusu | ゼス, ゼズス | Jesus | Jesu | Jesus | Jesus | Replaced in modern usage by the term イエス (Iesu), a reconstruction of the Ancient Greek term. |
Some word pairs that appear similar are actually false cognates of unrelated origins.
It is often suggested that the Japanese word arigatō derives from the Portuguese obrigado, both of which mean "Thank you", but evidence indicates arigatō has a purely Japanese origin,[16] so these two words are false cognates.
Arigatō is an "u"-sound change of arigataku.[17] In turn, arigataku is the adverbial form of an adjective arigatai, from older arigatashi,[18] itself a compound of ari + katashi. Written records of arigatashi exist dating back to the Man'yōshū compiled in the 8th century AD, well before Japanese contact with the Portuguese in the 16th century.
Ari is a conjugation of verb aru meaning "to be", and katashi is an adjective meaning "difficult", so arigatashi literally means "difficult to exist", hence "rare" and thus "precious", with usage shifting to indicate gratitude for receiving an outstanding kindness. The phrase to express such gratitude is arigatō gozaimasu, or arigatō for short.
| Japanese Rōmaji | Japanese script | English translation of Japanese | Supposedly similar Portuguese word | English translation of Portuguese | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| buranko | swing, swingset | balanço | swing | Not from Portuguese[19] [20] | ||
| gan | wild goose | ganso | goose | Not from Portuguese | ||
| inoru (transcribed by Fonseca as inoriru, erroneously.[21]) | pray | orar | pray | Not from Portuguese | ||
| miru | see | mirar | look[22] | Not from Portuguese |
This means that this verb has no "-riru" form.