Home > Japanese loanwords in Hawaii

This is a list of Japanese loanwords in Hawaii in three categories: Food, Objects, and Miscellaneous.

Note that there are other Japanese words common among the Japanese-American population (such as "okazu" and "obaachan"), but not well-known among Hawai'i's general population. Such words have not been included here. Also, Japanese words such as " anime," () " karaoke," () " samurai," () and " sushi" () which have entered the English language on a national level have not been included either.

It is also interesting to note that some words are not from the standard Japanese language. They instead originated from Japan's regional dialects. For example, the word bobora is said to be spoken only in certain prefectures, especially in western Japan where many of the Japanese immigrants came from. It originates from the Portugese word "abobora" meaning Japanese pumpkin.

1 Food

• bento (, べんとう): Box lunch geared for portability for picnics, etc. It typically has rice, a main dish of meat or fish, and side dishes. It used to be food on a paper plate placed inside a thin cardboard box. Now, it's all in convenient (but posionous when heated by the food) plastic containers molded for each dish.
• manju: Confection with sweet azuki bean paste inside.
• miso soup (): Soup made of soy bean paste called miso. "Miso-shiru" in Japanese.
• mochi (): Rice cake. Commonly pounded and eaten during New Year's, as in Japan. Sweet azuki beans are commonly eaten with mochi.
• mochi crunch: Rice crackers seasoned with shoyu. Also called kaki mochi. In Japanese, it's called "arare."
• musubi: Rice ball wrapped in dried seaweed paper. SPAM musubi has a piece of SPAM ham on top. In Japanese, the word "onigiri" is more commonly used for rice ball.
• shoyu (): Soy sauce. "Shoyu rice" is when you sprinkle shoyu over the rice.
• sukiyakiThis article refers to the food. Sukiyaki is another name for Ue o muite aruko by Kyu Sakamoto. Sukiyaki ( or more commonly ) is a Japanese dish in the nabemono style (one-pot), consisting of thinly sliced beef, tofu, konnyaku noodles, leeks, onions, Chin (): Thin sliced beefBeef is meat obtained from a bovine. The better cuts are usually obtained from steers, as heifers tend to be kept for breeding. Older animals are used for beef when they are past their reproductive prime. The meat from older cows and bulls is generally to and vegetableVegetable is a nutritional and culinary term denoting any part of a plant that is commonly consumed by humans as food, but is not regarded as a culinary fruit, nut, herb, spice, or grain. In common usage, vegetables include the leaves (e. lettuce), stemss (including tofu) simmered in a skillet or pan in sukiyaki sauce. It is also the title of a No. 1 hit song in the U.S. made popular by Kyu SakamotoKyu Sakamoto ( Sakamoto Kyu November 10 1941 August 12 1985) was a popular Japanese singer. He was born in Kawasaki, Kanagawa. His most popular song, Ue o muite aruko " was a hit in Japan and topped the Billboard pop charts in the United States in 1963 wh in 1963Events January-March January 11 The Whisky A Go-Go night club in Los Angeles, the first disco in the USA, is opened. January 14 George Wallace becomes governor of Alabama. January 22 Elysee treaty between France and Germany January 28 Black student Harvey. (The Japanese title of the song is totally different: Ue o muite arukois a song that was performed by Japanese crooner Kyu Sakamoto (1941 1985). It was a chart-topper in the United States in 1963 as "Sukiyaki".. The song has nothing to do with sukiyaki food.)
• teriyakiJapanese cuisine Teriyaki (, ) is a Japanese cooking technique where fish or meat that has been cut or sliced is broiled or grilled in a sweet soy sauce marinade. The word derives from the word teri which refers to a shine or luster given by the sauce, an (): Grilled meat basted with a sauce made of shoyu and sugar. Meat words such as "chicken" is often appended. Often seen on plate lunch menus.
• tako (): Octopus. Often used in a local dish called poke (pronounced POH-kay) in which case it is called "tako poke."
• tofu (): Soy bean curd. (This word's origin is China.)