Relevant Japanese Terms in Karate

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Pronunciation

All vowels are short and pronounced as follows:
  • "a" as in "father"
  • "i" as in "teen" except shorter
  • "u" as in "boot" except shorter
  • "e" as in "bet"
  • "o" as in "boat" except shorter and without the off-glide
Longer vowel sounds are the same sounds as above, but given more time.
  • "aa," a longer "a"
  • "ii," a longer "i"
  • "uu," a longer "u"
  • "ei," a longer "e"
  • "oh," a longer "o"
Except for the above, if you see two or more vowels in a row, they are each pronounced clearly without becoming a single diphthong. An apostrophe is used where a glottal stop occurs (like between the "n" and the second "a" when pronouncing "an apple").

Consonants always take their "hard" sounds. So "gi" is pronounced with a hard "g" (i.e., not "ji"). "Ch" is always as in "cheese."

The hyphens don't mean anything but serve to distinguish separate syllables when it might be ambiguous, or to separate a word into two semantic parts. There shouldn't be a pause for hyphens.

Parentheses are used whenever a word might be omitted by some people, or if the translation could mean more than one thing. For example, "nukite," literally only means "spear hand," which is just the name of the "weapon" you form with your hand, but it is also often used to mean the attack, "spear-hand thrust." So "thrust" is in parentheses.

Quotation marks are used on the English side to distinguish between literal translations of the Japanese terms from their more figurative meanings (quotes indicate literal translation).

Numbers

1        ich
2        ni
3        san
4        shi
5        go
6        roku
7        shichi
8        hachi
9        ku (kyuu)
10      juu
When counting for class, just pronounce the first syllable of bisyllabic numbers (i.e., ich, rok, shich, hach), for shorter, sharper counting.

Leg Attacks

  • geri -- kick
  • mae geri -- front (snap) kick
  • ineri geri -- reverse front kick
  • oi geri -- stepping fron kick
  • mawashi geri -- round house kick
  • ineri mawashi geri -- reverse round house kick
  • yoko geri  -- side kick
  • kage geri -- hook kick
  • ushiro mawashi geri --spinning back kick
  • ushiro mawashi kage geri --spinning hook kick

Hand attacks

  • tsuki -- punch
  • ineri tsuki -- twist punch
  • oi tsuki -- stepping punch
  • okuru tsuki -- lunge punch

Levels of Attack

  • joh-dan -- "upper level" / face
  • chuudan -- "middle level" / stomach / solar plexus
  • gedan -- "lower level" / groin

Blocks

  • age-uke -- rising block
  • ude-uke -- "arm block", often used to mean outside block
  • soto-uke -- outside block (see above)
  • uchi-uke -- inside block
  • gedan barai -- down block / "lower level sweep"
  • shuto-uke -- knife-hand block
  • nagashi-uke -- "flushing block" / deflecting block
  • kakiwake-uke -- two-handed "separating" block
  • juuji-uke -- two-handed "cross" block

Other Terms

  • kihon -- basic(s)
  • ki-ai -- "spirit focus" / a focusing yell
  • kime -- "decision" / focus
  • rei -- bow
  • yoh-i -- "get ready" / often a command to stand in hachinoji-dachi
  • yame -- stop
  • yasume -- rest, relax
  • maware / mawatte -- turn
  • hajime -- begin
  • mokusoh -- "quiet meditation"
  • dojo [doh-joh] -- "way place," the place where you train
  • dojo kun -- dojo desiderata
  • seiza -- "proper sitting" / kneeling
  • sempai -- senior student
  • koh-hai -- junior student