Abbreviated and contracted words are a common feature of Japanese. Long words are often contracted into shorter forms, which then become the predominant forms. For example, the University of Tokyo, in Japanese becomes, and "remote control",, becomes . Names are also contracted in this way. For example, Takuya Kimura, in Japanese Kimura Takuya, an entertainer, is referred to as Kimutaku.
The names of some very familiar companies are also contractions. For example, Toshiba, Japanese, is a contraction or portmanteau of, and Nissan, Japanese, is a contraction of .
The contractions may be commonly used, or they may be specific to a particular group of people. For example, the is known as by its employees, but this terminology is not familiar to most Japanese.
Japanese words are spelled using characters that represent syllables (morae), rather than individual phonetic units (phonemes) as in the English alphabet. These characters are compiled into two syllabaries: hiragana and katakana. Japanese also makes extensive use of adopted Chinese characters, or kanji, which may be pronounced with one or more syllables. Therefore, when a word or phrase is abbreviated, it does not take the form of initials, but the key characters of the original phrase, such that a new word is made, often recognizably derived from the original. In contracted kanji words, the most common pattern of contraction is to take the first kanji of each word in a phrase and put them together as a portmanteau. In the example from the lead, using, the Tō- of Tōkyō and the Dai- of Daigaku becomes, the common abbreviation for the University of Tokyo.
There are also instances in which alternative readings of a particular kanji are used in the contraction. For example, Nagoya's main train station, Nagoya Station, is referred to by locals as, a contraction of, in which the alternative reading of Na- (名), the first character in "Nagoya", is used.
In loanwords and names, the most common pattern is to take the first two morae (or kana) of each of the two words, and combine them forming a new, single word. For example, "family restaurant" or famirī resutoran (ファミリーレストラン) becomes famiresu (ファミレス).
Yōon sounds, those sounds represented using a kana ending in i and a small ya, yu or yo kana, such as kyo count as one mora. Japanese long vowels count as two morae, and may disappear (the same can be said for the sokuon, or small tsu っ); Harry Potter, originally Harī Pottā (ハリーポッター), is contracted to Haripota (ハリポタ), or otherwise be altered; actress Kyoko Fukada, Fukada Kyōko (深田恭子), becomes Fukakyon (ふかきょん).
These abbreviated names are so common in Japan that many companies initiate abbreviations of the names of their own products. For example, the animated series Pretty Cure (プリティキュア) marketed itself under the five-character abbreviated name purikyua (プリキュア).
| Contraction | Kanji | Original word | Full kanji | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nikkei | Nihon Keizai Shinbun | Japan Economic Times | ||
| Nōdai | Tōkyō Nōgyō Daigaku | Agricultural University of Tokyo | ||
| Nyūkan | Nyūkoku Kanrikyoku | Immigration Office | ||
| kōkō | kōtōgakkō | high school | ||
| Odakyū | Odawara Kyūkō Dentetsu | lit. Odawara Express Electric Railway (Odakyū Electric Railway) | ||
| Tochō | Tōkyō-to Chōsha | Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building | ||
| Tōdai | Tōkyō Daigaku | University of Tokyo | ||
| Kokuren | Kokusai Rengō | The United Nations | ||
| Kansai Gaidai | Kansai Gaikokugo Daigaku | Kansai International Language University | ||
| Contraction | Katakana | Original word | Katakana | Meaning | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| amefuto | amerikan futtobōru | American football | |||
| anime | animēshon | animation | |||
| dejikame | Japanese: デジカメ | dejitaru kamera | Japanese: デジタルカメラ | digital camera | |
| depāto | depātomento sutoa | department store | |||
| eakon | ea kondishonā | air conditioner | |||
| famikon | famirī konpyūtā | family computer (Nintendo) | |||
| famiresu | famirī resutoran | family restaurant | |||
| konbini | konbiniensu sutoa | convenience store | |||
| pasokon | pāsonaru konpyūtā | personal computer, PC | |||
| puroresu | purofesshonaru resuringu | professional wrestling | |||
| rabuho | rabu hoteru | love hotel | |||
| rimokon | rimōto kontorōrā | remote control | |||
| sando | sandouichi | sandwich | |||
| sumaho | sumāto fon | smart phone | |||
| terebi | terebijon | TV (television) | |||
| toire | toiretto | toilet | |||
| wāpuro | wādo purosessā | word processor |
| Abbreviation | Japanese | Original word | Japanese | Meaning | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| bukatsu | bukatsudō | after-school club (extracurricular) activity | |||
| shāshin | shāpupen no shin | (in colloquial language) lead of a mechanical pencil | |||
| keitai | keitaidenwa | Mobile phone |
Many abbreviations, especially four-character words, have been created for particular products or TV shows.
| Contraction | Japanese | Origin | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pokémon | poketto monsutā (Pocket Monster[s]) | The well-known video game and animation franchise. | ||
| purikura | purinto kurabu (Print club) | An automated photograph machine | ||
| mukku | (+) | magazine + book | A cross between a magazine and a book |
| Contraction | Japanese | Name | Japanese | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Burapi | Buraddo Pitto (Brad Pitt) | Hollywood actor. | |||
| Dikapuri | Reonarudo Dikapurio (Leonardo DiCaprio) | Hollywood actor. | |||
| Fukakyon | Kyōko Fukada | Japanese idol and actress. | |||
| Hanakana | Kana Hanazawa | actress, singer, and voice actress. | |||
| Hashiryū | Ryūtarō Hashimoto | politician. | |||
| Kimutaku | Takuya Kimura | SMAP star | |||
| Matsujun | Jun Matsumoto | Japanese idol, member of boy-band Arashi. | |||
| Matsuken | Ken Matsudaira | Jidaigeki actor, famous for Matsuken samba. | |||
| Shimuken | Ken Shimura | television performer and actor. | |||
| Shuwa-chan | Ānorudo Shuwarutseneggā (Arnold Schwarzenegger) | Hollywood actor and politician. | |||
| Yamataku | Taku Yamasaki | politician. | |||
| Tattsun | Tatsuhisa Suzuki | main vocalist of OLDCODEX and voice actor. |
Many highways and railway lines have names that are contractions of the names of their endpoints. For example, (Tomei Expressway) takes one kanji (tō) from (Tokyo) and the other (mei) from (Nagoya; its pronunciation changes from the kun'yomi na to the on'yomi mei). (Tokyu Toyoko Line) links Tokyo and Yokohama, taking part of its name from each city.
Other examples include:
| Contraction | Japanese | Origin | Japanese | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Keiyō Line | Tokyo + Chiba | |||
| Saikyō Line | Saitama + Tokyo | |||
| Senzan Line | Sendai + Yamagata | |||
| Hanshin Main Line | Osaka + Kobe | |||
| Seikan Tunnel | Aomori + Hakodate |
Sometimes names of this type preserve older place names. For instance, the character is taken from the word (Musashi), which was once the name of the Japanese province in which the city of Tokyo was located, can still be seen in the company names (Tobu or "East Musashi"), (Seibu or "West Musashi"), and in the (Nanbu Line or "South Musashi Line").
Some other examples:
| Contraction | Japanese | Origin | Japanese | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sōbu Line | Kazusa/Shimōsa + Musashi | |||
| Uchibō Line | Inner + Bōsō Peninsula (= Awa + Kazusa) | |||
| Sotobō Line | Outer + Bōsō Peninsula (= Awa + Kazusa) | |||
| Jōban Line | Hitachi + Iwaki | |||
| Nippō Main Line | Hyūga + Buzen/Bungo | |||
| Hōhi Main Line | Bungo + Higo |
Many single letters of the Latin alphabet have names that resemble the pronunciations of Japanese words or characters. Japanese people use them in contexts such as advertising to catch the reader's attention. Other uses of letters include abbreviations of spellings of words. Here are some examples:
See main article: List of Japanese Latin alphabetic abbreviations.
| Contraction | Japanese spoken form | Origin | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| CM | Japanese: シーエム (shī-emu) | commercial message | a single commercial or a commercial break | |
| GW | Japanese: ジーダブル(Japanese: ユー) (jī-daburu(yū)) | Golden Week (Japanese: ゴールデンウィーク) | Golden Week is a series of four unrelated holidays within one week at the beginning of May | |
| NEET | Japanese: ニート (nīto) | no education, employment, or training | A NEET is someone who is unable or unwilling to work, and typically lives at home supported by their parents. | |
| NG | Japanese: エヌジー (enu-jī) | no good (Japanese: ノーグッド) | Often used as the opposite of "OK"; a mistake while filming a scene for film or TV | |
| OL | Japanese: オーエル (ōeru) | office lady (Japanese: オフィスレイヅィ) | OLs are low-level female corporate employees | |
| PV | ピーブイ (pībui) | promotional video | the term is generally used to describe music videos and trailers | |
| SP | エスピー (esupī) | special (スペシャル) | a TV special, a special episode of a particular TV series | |
| VTR | Japanese: ブイティーアール (buitīāru) | video tape recording | a video clip shown during a TV program for members of a panel to comment on | |
| WJapanese: 杯 | Japanese: ワールドカップ (wārudokappu) | World Cup | Used to refer to the FIFA World Cup for soccer |