Japanese Terminology

Counting (1–10)

1. Ichi – One

2. Ni – Two

3. San – Three

4. Shi – Four

5. Go – Five

6. Roku – Six

7. Shichi – Seven

8. Hachi – Eight

9. Ku – Nine

10. Jyu – Ten

Basics

Dojo – Karate school

Sensei – Teacher

Karate – “Empty hand”

Karateka – Karate student

Gi – Uniform

Obi – Belt

Kyosuke – Attention

Rei – Bow

Hai – Yes

Iie – No

Kiai – Shout

Domo arigato gozaimasu – Thank you

Strikes & Blocks

Zuki / Tsuki – Punch

Uke – Block

Age zuki – Rising punch

Age uke – Rising block

Gyaku zuki – Reverse punch

Seiken tsuki – Straight punch

Tate zuki – Vertical fist punch

Uraken – Back fist

Tettsui – Hammer fist

Shuto – Knife hand

Nukite – Spear hand

Teisho – Palm heel

Body Parts

Hiza – Knee

Empi – Elbow

Atama – Head

Ashi – Leg

Haisoku – Instep of foot

Ippon ken – One-knuckle fist

Kakato – Heel

Stances

Dachi – Stance

Fudo dachi – Natural forward stance

Hachiji dachi – Open/natural stance

Heisoku dachi – Closed foot stance

Kiba dachi – Horse stance

Neko ashi dachi – Cat stance

Shiko dachi – Sumo stance

Zenkutsu dachi – Forward leaning stance

Kicks

Mikazuki geri – Crescent kick

Tobi geri – Jump kick

Ushiro geri – Back kick

Training Terms

Kihon kata – Basic form

Bunkai – Application of kata movements

Fukyu – Fundamental/basic

Fukyukata – Fundamental form

Kata – Prearranged form

Kamae – Fighting stance

Sempai – Senior student

Kohai – Junior student

Commands

Hajime – Begin

Hayaku – Quickly

Matte – Wait

Yame – Stop

Yoi – Ready

Other

Morote uke – Augmented block

Seiza – Formal sitting posture

Tate – Standing/vertical

Japanese Pronunciation Guide

As English speakers, we’re accustomed to our vowels in words being pronounced in a variety of ways or pronounced differently depending on the letter combination or its placement within a word itself.  For example: “I read the red book about reading” or “I thought through the tough drought.”  English is HARD!

Japanese may seem daunting because of the writing style, but actually learning the language and pronunciation is quite easy by comparison to learning English.

***Every vowel in Japanese is pronounced one way.  The only thing that could change is a slight inflection if the vowel is doubled, but more on that later.

For now, below is a simple guide to pronouncing vowels in Japanese that will help you learn how to pronounce a word written in its’ romanized form, or for us, its’ English form.

Pronunciation

A                                  I                                   U                                 E                                  O

ah                                ee                                oo                                eh                                oh

Father                          Clean                           Moon                          Send                            Over

Master these sounds and you can pronounce nearly everything in Japanese without even knowing the language!

A few additional notes:

-       If a vowel is doubled up, such as “okii” (big), you draw out the doubled vowel slightly

-       “Tsu” is a common sound in Japanese.  “Tsunami” may be a word that comes to mind.  We usually pronounce it soo-nah-mi.  In Japanese, sneak a short T sound before the soo to pronounce it correctly.

-       Japanese is a vowel heavy language with nearly every consonant being followed by a vowel.  Only “N” may be seen without a vowel following.

-       The only consonants used in Japanese (in Japanese alphabetic order) are: K, S, T, N, H, B, P, M, Y, R, W.

-       There are no “I” or “E” sounds for the letter Y

-       There is no “U” sound for the letter W