Japanese wordplay relies on the nuances of the

Japanese language is the principal language of the Japonic languages, Japonic language family spoken by the Japanese people. It has around 123 million speakers, primarily in Japan, the only country where it is the national language, and within the Japanese dia ...

and

Japanese script The modern Japanese writing system uses a combination of logographic kanji, which are adopted Chinese characters, and syllabic kana. Kana itself consists of a pair of syllabaries: hiragana, used primarily for native or naturalized Japanese w ...

for humorous effect, functioning somewhat like a cross between a

pun A pun, also known as a paronomasia in the context of linguistics, is a form of word play that exploits multiple meanings of a term, or of similar-sounding words, for an intended humorous or rhetorical effect. These ambiguities can arise from t ...

and a

spoonerism A spoonerism is an occurrence of speech in which corresponding consonants, vowels, or morphemes are switched (see metathesis) between two words of a phrase. These are named after the Oxford don and priest William Archibald Spooner, who report ...

Double entendres A double entendre (plural double entendres) is a figure of speech or a particular way of wording that is devised to have a double meaning, one of which is typically obvious, and the other often conveys a message that would be too socially unacc ...

have a rich history in Japanese entertainment (such as in

kakekotoba A or pivot word is a rhetorical device used in the Japanese poetic form waka. This trope uses the phonetic reading of a grouping of kanji (Chinese characters) to suggest several interpretations: first on the literal level (e.g. 松, ''matsu'', ...

) due to the language's large number of

homographs A homograph (from the , and , ) is a word that shares the same written form as another word but has a different meaning. However, some dictionaries insist that the words must also be pronounced differently, while the Oxford English Dictionar ...

(different meanings for a given spelling) and

homophones A homophone () is a word that is pronounced the same as another word but differs in meaning or in spelling. The two words may be spelled the same, for example ''rose'' (flower) and ''rose'' (past tense of "rise"), or spelled differently, a ...

(different meanings for a given pronunciation).

Kakekotoba

or "pivot words" are an early form of Japanese wordplay used in waka poetry, wherein some words represent two homonyms. The presence of multiple meanings within these words allowed poets to impart more meaning into fewer words.

Goroawase

is an especially common form of Japanese wordplay, wherein

homophonous A homophone () is a word that is pronounced the same as another word but differs in meaning or in spelling. The two words may be spelled the same, for example ''rose'' (flower) and ''rose'' (past tense of "rise"), or spelled differently, a ...

words are associated with a given series of letters, numbers or symbols, in order to associate a new meaning with that series. The new words can be used to express a

superstition A superstition is any belief or practice considered by non-practitioners to be irrational or supernatural, attributed to fate or magic (supernatural), magic, perceived supernatural influence, or fear of that which is unknown. It is commonly app ...

about certain letters or numbers. More commonly, however, ''goroawase'' is used as a

mnemonic A mnemonic device ( ), memory trick or memory device is any learning technique that aids information retention or retrieval in the human memory, often by associating the information with something that is easier to remember. It makes use of e ...

technique, especially in the memorization of numbers such as dates in history, scientific

constants Constant or The Constant may refer to: Mathematics * Constant (mathematics), a non-varying value * Mathematical constant, a special number that arises naturally in mathematics, such as or Other concepts * Control variable or scientific const ...

and

phone number A telephone number is the address of a telecommunication endpoint, such as a telephone, in a telephone network, such as the public switched telephone network (PSTN). A telephone number typically consists of a sequence of digits, but histor ...

Numeric substitution

Examples

* 11 can be read as "wan-wan", which is commonly used in Japan as an onomatopoeia for a dog barking. * 16 can be read as "hi-ro", Hiro being a common Japanese given name. 16 is also a common age for anime and manga

protagonists A protagonist () is the main character of a story. The protagonist makes key decisions that affect the plot, primarily influencing the story and propelling it forward, and is often the character who faces the most significant obstacles. If a ...

(i.e.,

heroes Heroes or Héroes may refer to: * Hero, one who displays courage and self-sacrifice for the greater good Film * ''Heroes'' (1977 film), an American drama * ''Heroes'' (2008 film), an Indian Hindi film Gaming * ''Heroes of Might and Magic'' ...

). * 26 can be read as "fu-ro" (), meaning "bath".

Public baths in Japan In public relations and communication science, publics are groups of individual people, and the public (a.k.a. the general public) is the totality of such groupings. This is a different concept to the sociological concept of the ''Öffentlichke ...

have reduced entry fees on the 26th day of every month. * 29 can be read as "ni-ku" (), meaning "

meat Meat is animal Tissue (biology), tissue, often muscle, that is eaten as food. Humans have hunted and farmed other animals for meat since prehistory. The Neolithic Revolution allowed the domestication of vertebrates, including chickens, sheep, ...

Restaurants A restaurant is an establishment that prepares and serves food and drinks to customers. Meals are generally served and eaten on the premises, but many restaurants also offer take-out and food delivery services. Restaurants vary greatly in app ...

and

grocery stores A grocery store ( AE), grocery shop or grocer's shop ( BE) or simply grocery is a retail store that primarily retails a general range of food products, which may be fresh or packaged. In everyday US usage, however, "grocery store" is a synonym f ...

have special offers on the 29th day of every month. *39 can be read as "san-kyū", referring to "thank you" in English. * 44 can be read as "yo-yo" and is thus a common slang term in the international competitive

yo-yo A yo-yo (also spelled yoyo) is a toy consisting of an axle connected to two disks, and a string looped around the axle, similar to a spool. It is an ancient toy with proof of existence since 440 BC. The yo-yo was also called a bandalore in th ...

community, which has a strong Japanese presence. * 56, read as "ko-ro", is used in , an alternate spelling of the verb "korosu" (, to kill) used on the internet to avoid

wordfilter A wordfilter (sometimes referred to as just "filter" or "censor") is a script typically used on Internet forums or chat rooms that automatically scans users' posts or comments as they are submitted and automatically changes or censors particula ...

s. * 89 can be read as "ha-gu", which refers to "hug" in English. August 9th is National Hug Day in Japan. * 109 can be read as "tō-kyū". The 109 department store in

Shibuya is a Special wards of Tokyo, special ward in Tokyo, Japan. A major commercial center, Shibuya houses one of the busiest railway stations in the world, Shibuya Station. As of January 1, 2024, Shibuya Ward has an estimated population of 230,60 ...

Tokyo Tokyo, officially the Tokyo Metropolis, is the capital of Japan, capital and List of cities in Japan, most populous city in Japan. With a population of over 14 million in the city proper in 2023, it is List of largest cities, one of the most ...

is often read as "ichi-maru-kyū", but the number 109 was selected as the alternative reading "tō-kyū" is a reference to

Tokyu Corporation The , a contraction of and formerly until 2 September 2019, is a Japanese ''keiretsu'' or conglomerate headquartered in Shibuya, Tokyo. While a multinational corporation, its main operation is , a wholly-owned subsidiary operating railways i ...

, the group that owns the building. * 230 can be read as "fu-mi-o", the given name of former Japanese prime minister

Fumio Kishida Fumio Kishida (born 29 July 1957) is a Japanese politician who served as Prime Minister of Japan and President of the Liberal Democratic Party ( LDP) from 2021 to 2024. He has been a member of the House of Representatives in the National Diet ...

. He uses this number in his Twitter handle "kishida230". * 428 can be read as "shi-bu-ya", referring to the

area of

, and "yo-tsu-ba" () meaning

four-leaf clover The four-leaf clover is a rare mutation of the common three-leaf clover that has four Leaflet (botany), leaflets instead of three. According to traditional sayings, such clovers bring good luck, a belief that dates back to at least the 17th cent ...

. * 526 can be read as "ko-ji-ro" in reference to Sasaki Kojiro, a samurai from the Edo period. * 634 can be read as "mu-sa-shi". The

Tokyo Skytree , also written as Tokyo Sky Tree, is a broadcasting and observation tower, located in Sumida, Tokyo, Japan. It has been the tallest tower in Japan since opening in 2012,

's height was intentionally set at 634 meters so it would sound like

Musashi Province was a Provinces of Japan, province of Japan, which today comprises Tokyo, Tokyo Metropolis, most of Saitama Prefecture and part of Kanagawa Prefecture. It was sometimes called . The province encompassed Kawasaki, Kanagawa, Kawasaki and Yokohama. ...

, an old name for the area in which the building stands. *801 can be read as "ya-o-i" or

yaoi , also known by its abbreviation , is a genre of fictional media originating in Japan that depicts homoerotic relationships between male characters. It is typically created by women for a female audience, distinguishing it from the equivale ...

, a genre of homoerotic

manga are comics or graphic novels originating from Japan. Most manga conform to a style developed in Japan in the late 19th century, and the form has a long history in earlier Japanese art. The term is used in Japan to refer to both comics ...

typically aimed at women. * 893 can be read as "ya-ku-za" () or "

yakuza , also known as , are members of transnational organized crime syndicates originating in Japan. The Japanese police and media (by request of the police) call them , while the yakuza call themselves . The English equivalent for the term ''yak ...

". It is traditionally a bad omen for a student to receive this candidate number for an

exam An examination (exam or evaluation) or test is an educational assessment intended to measure a test-taker's knowledge, skill, aptitude, physical fitness, or classification in many other topics (e.g., beliefs). A test may be administered verba ...

. *1492, the year of Columbus' first voyage to America, can be read as "i-yo-ku-ni" and appended with "ga mieta" to form the phrase "Alright! I can see land!" (). Additionally, "i-yo-ku-ni" itself could simply be interpreted as "It's a good country" (). The alternative reading "i-shi-ku-ni" is also used to memorize the year, though it is not typically associated with a particular meaning. * 4649 can be read as "yo-ro-shi-ku" (), meaning "best regards". * 18782 + 18782 = 37564 can be read as "i-ya-na-ya-tsu + i-ya-na-ya-tsu = mi-na-go-ro-shi" . *3.14159265, the first nine digits of pi, can be read as "san-i-shi-i-ko-ku-ni-mu-kou" (), meaning "an obstetrician faces towards a foreign country".

Dajare

In Japanese,

s are referred to as . Like puns in English, ''dajare'' may be considered . ''Dajare'' commonly involve the usage of two homophonous phrases alongside each other in a sentence, though

double entendre A double entendre (plural double entendres) is a figure of speech or a particular way of wording that is devised to have a double meaning, one of which is typically obvious, and the other often conveys a message that would be too socially unacc ...

s are used as well. Example one: * アルミ缶の上にある蜜柑 (''arumi kan no ue ni aru mikan'') : Translation: : An orange on an aluminum can. : Explanation: : アルミ (''arumi'') means "aluminum" and 缶 (''kan'') means "can"; ある (aru) means "to exist" and 蜜柑 (''

mikan ''Citrus unshiu'' is a semi-seedless and easy-peeling citrus species, also known as the satsuma mandarin or Japanese mandarin. During the Edo period of Japan, kishu mikans were more popular because there was a popular superstition that eating '' ...

'') refers to mandarin varieties popular in Japan. Example two: : A: 大食いのたけし君も、宇宙ではあまり物を食べられないよ。 (''ōgui no takeshi kun mo, uchū dewa amari mono o taberarenaiyo'') : B: なぜ? (''naze'') : A: 宇宙には空気(食う気)がない。 (''uchū niwa kūki ga nai'') : Translation: : A: In space, even a glutton like Takeshi can't eat anything. : B: Why's that? : A: In space, there is no air. : Explanation: : ''Kūki'' (くうき) can mean either "air" (空気) or "appetite" (食う気), thus the last phrase could also be interpreted as "in space, (he has) no appetite".

Ginatayomi

Some ''dajare'' rely on for effect, similar to

garden-path sentence A garden-path sentence is a grammatically correct sentence that starts in such a way that a reader's most likely interpretation will be incorrect; the reader is lured into a parse that turns out to be a dead end or yields a clearly unintended mea ...

s in English. Many are commonly told by children. Example one:
:「パン作ったことある」(''pan tsukutta koto aru''; Have you ever made bread before?) :　Can also be interpreted as: :「パンツ食ったことある」(''pantsu kutta koto aru''; Have you ever eaten underpants before?) Example two:
:「ねぇ、ちゃんとお風呂入ってる」(''nee, chanto ofuro haitteru''; Hey, have you been bathing regularly?) :　Can also be interpreted as: :「姉ちゃんとお風呂入ってる」(''nee-chan to ofuro haitteru''; Do you bathe with your older sister?)

Notes

References

{{reflist Mnemonics Japanese word games