10 JAPANESE WORDS We Say in HAWAII That Don’t Mean the Same in JAPAN

[@zzkeokizz]

Hanabata came from the plantation days- that’s what my grandparents said. Hana- nose: and Butter because it can have a yellow color.

[@lythonoise]

6:01 kakimochi is the crescent shape arare. The mold that was supposed to cut the shape of a persimmon(kaki) seed got smashed.

[@bobtuda]

My mom was an American of Japanese Ancestry (AJA) but was adopted and raised by native Hawaiians (Polynesians). Hence, while growing up, she used a mixture of Japanese words and Hawaiian words. In many cases, I could not tell the difference between the words in the two languages. Here are some words that I grew up hearing from my parents: kolohe (rascal, naughty), tonkobu/tongkobu (lump on the head), au au (bath), furo (bath), samui (cold), momona (fat), okole (butt, rear end), kusai (stink, smelly), pilau (dirty), okazu (food), manini (skinny, thin, miser), futon (floor bed, bedding), bambula (big aget, big marble), tamago (egg), shishi (pee, urine, urinate), puka (hole), pupule (crazy, nuts), puka (hole), poke (marinated raw fish), pau (finish, done), ono (delicious), lomi/lomilomi (massage), akamai (smart), ahi (tuna fish), hana (work, nose), ohana (family), holoholo (going for a drive), lolo (stupid), hadashi (barefooted), slippah (Pidgin for slipper, flip-flops), geta (wooden slipper/shoe), hapai (pregnant), etc.

[@HelloFromHawaii]

Mahalo for sharing all of the words. Some I know and others I haven't heard before. 🤙

[@richardkawasaki5899]

My family came from west Japan and both sides were farmers. On the mainland (not Hawaii) we used "jiji", "giri giri" and "pocha pocha". Tokyo people don't know these words. I guess they are dialectic and/or Meiji terms. Note that these are repetitive words used with children.

[@cmat4106]

My Grandma was always reticent about speaking Japanese with natives because a lot of what she spoke in Hawaii was considered country bumpkin dialect

[@caroltakahashi6421]

Bocha is taken from the Japanese term bocha-bocha, which means to splash as the Japanese did before entering their furos. It has been cut in half and adapted to mean bath or bathe.

[@HelloFromHawaii]

🤙

[@scotkamimae2531]

I may be wrong, but I thought splash was "bochan". Bocha-bocha sounds like what you would say to children.

[@Empidai]

I remember my Mom saying Bicha bicha for sticky sticky or wet wet.

[@markledbetter1439]

@scotkamimae2531 I’m not Japanese, but many years in Japan. For me, bocha bocha would be splashing around while boCHAN (strong emphasis on chan) would be a single big splash, like, say, a belly flop into a pool.

[@michaeloyama3014]

Hanabata is a hybrid word. Hana , of course is Japanese and bata is pidgin English for “ butter”

[@pelayollamas2328]

Current Japanese comment term would be “hanakuso” meaning snot or boogers. I assume hanabata times in standard English vernacular means snotty nose kid.

[@Takayamura]

Habuteru is a local dialect in Hiroshima meaning grumpy. Am surprised it is used in Hawaii!

[@HelloFromHawaii]

Mahalo for clarifying 🤙

[@happycook6737]

Very cool

[@calihapamama]

That doesn't surprise me, as the majority of the first wave of Japanese immigrants to Hawaii and the US were from the area around Hiroshima.

[@sharecesss]

I come from a Hawaiian Filipino Haole household and never knew the origin. Our family uses habut frequently in that context. Mahalo for sharing.

[@ゆきだるま-l9r]

I was born and raised in Hiroshima and we use “Jan ken po”, “Giri”, “Musubi” and “Kakimochi” in the same context as in Hawaii. Not to mention “habuteru”.

[@chasanthony8760]

Saimin might soundJapanese, but it's Chinese in origin. Both Mandarin and Cantonese versions are pretty similar, but it's probably the Cantonese variation that we use in Hawaii. "Sai" means vegetables. "min" comes from either mein or mian, which means wheat-based noodles. Of course today most saimin in Hawaii has pork and/or kamaboko, but originally it meant vegetable noodle soup.

[@HelloFromHawaii]

I had a lot of fun with this video. Let me know if there are other common Japanese words we use in Hawaii. 🤙 Also wanted to note that "gigi" is probably the wrong spelling. Should be "jiji".

[@tracyalan7201]

Both of you are funny as always, which makes it good. Funny for all the years, before/after the second world war and having so many war brides come in and returning veterans stationed abroad that practically everyone has a relative who was related to a Japanese born or was there for a prolong period of time, no one bothered to clue in the rest of us, and allowed us to have the same interpretations and origins of the words. Boy, is it a V8 moment. Will I change? Probably not after all these decades. Just chuckling about the hanabata, must be nose butter?

[@issacbrown1087]

This was your best video in a while. Very informative...

[@TheCoyote808]

Yakamashi! Gramma used to yell at us to,"Shush. You yakamashi (noisy)!"

[@MrHitotsumusha]

Hanakuso and go-shi-shi lol!

[@Ronin1936]

Born and raised in Hawaii. Went to Waipahu H.S, Your grandparents (1953 grad. and Korea War vet. Spent 2 yrs in Japan (Kyoto) Incredibly beautiful! Loved Japan. My Father, Filipino my Mother Okinawan. You missed a few words we used, but "I no blame you, you young!" Lived in mainland since 1956 when I was assigned in Presidio of San Francisco. My kids, grandkids "kotonks' no can speak pigeon.. Your wife is pretty and American hep!" Follow your site with interest and curiosity. Rick Reyes Aloha!

[@lobodraco]

Really cool video. As someone with some knowledge of the quasi-local lingo and also studying Japanese, I found this video supremely interesting. BTW your wife is beautiful and funny too (lucky guy!) Please make more videos like this were you find similitudes or big differences between Hawaii and Japanese culture. CHeeehoo!🤙🏽

[@MrHitotsumusha]

These words are Japanese, but not standard Japanese. Many ancestors come from Hiroshima, Okinawa, Tokyo, Kagoshima, Yamaguchi, Kumamoto, Oita, and Fukuoka prefectures. Each region has their own dialects. Girigiri for example, comes from a dialect in Western Japan. Maybe one or 2 are intermixed with something else. Overall, this is so interesting to hear. Good channel. Keep going. Makes me miss my home, Hawaii. Aloha from Japan.

[@lnyboi712]

I love this! “Bocha” is Japanese onomatopoeia for splash!

[@HelloFromHawaii]

🤙

[@AzaleaChan13]

My favorite example on this list is kakimochi. When asking what snacks my ohana like me bring home, my grandparents would say kakimochi. However, my mom would clarify for me it’s the sakura arare they want. My confusion was understandable when I learned it’s a type of senbei in Japan, because to my knowledge it was that they’re only sweet. So now, I’ll associate senbei with sweet/savory wafer-like cookies that usually go with tea. Normally, if I’m at the supermarket I’ll find them right next to those buttery cookies (like the brand, Bourbon). Good video guys, really enjoyed this one!

[@HelloFromHawaii]

Mahalo! Kakimochi is my favorite. Ate a bag the other day. Wholesale Unlimited 😁

[@AzaleaChan13]

I went crazy for the enjoy brand at Long’s today 3/$6 but it was worth it when I had the munchies!

[@SunnyIlha]

Yu makin me hungry.

[@thed-spot8083]

Thanks!

[@HelloFromHawaii]

Mahalo! Appreciate it 🤙

[@BobbyHo2022]

Even as a kid in the 80s in Hawaii we said Aikodesho. Never heard on the play ground "I can show"...

[@eileentaba960]

I am laughing so hard because it’s so true! I am way older, 3rd generation. I learned that a lot of words we use came from plantation days and a mixture of languages the immigrants used. And someone told me that in Hawaii we used “peasant” Japanese because the immigrants that came over were poor working class . Anyway, it adds to our uniqueness and “culture”.

[@SunnyIlha]

Yu guys had kokeshi doll on da shelf at home? ☺️ & eat kinako mochi late at night on Saturdays watching obake movies & zatoichi weekly ? 😁

[@HelloFromHawaii]

I heard that too. Makes sense since Hawaii saw a flux of Japanese workers immigrate here to work the fields.

[@scotkamimae2531]

It's the same on the mainland. My mother was a city girl from Japan and she used to laugh at the issei and nisei because they wouldn't speak "inaka-ben" (country dialect).

[@sherroniopa6274]

I was born in Honolulu, but my first language at home was Japanese (standard, not dialect, not pidgin), as my maternal grandmother required it. On the other hand my paternal grandmother spoke pidgin Japanese (mixture of whatever), and I did not always understand her. My grandfather could do either, depending upon to whom he was speaking. I was 9 when we left Hawaii, and I was 20 when we returned home (Father was in the USArmy). Half of that time was spent in Japan (Hakata and Tokyo). Your video today brought back many fond memories about the language and the adjustments I had to make between my grandparents. I enjoyed what you shared! Thank you very much. (FYI: I am 78 years old)

[@HelloFromHawaii]

Mahalo for sharing. Lots of the Japanese language I use these days is from my grandparents, who spoke some Japanese at home.

[@harrymiram6621]

Also "Bumbucha" & "Bakatare"

[@eileentaba960]

Bumbucha=Big Bakatare=Stupid, idiot Good words to ask about…

[@HelloFromHawaii]

Good words. I heard those a lot growing up

[@makulewahine]

So interesting to see how language changes over time. When I was growing up we used jun ken po, I canna show. Remember, I'm a LOT older than you. But I can see how it morphed over time. Also, our Japanese house keeper (who was a gem) used "shi shi" for urinating. She also taught us the song Moshi Moshi Kame Yo (sp.?). I still remember most of it. Some good people in my life.

[@HelloFromHawaii]

It might be "I canna show". I haven't played it in years. 😁

[@harshmnr]

I can see how "I can show" or "I canna show" could have developed from Hawaiians imitating "aikodeshou". That's really interesting! ~:~

[@makulewahine]

@@harshmnr isn't language wonderful?

[@harrymiram5562]

Growing up w/step-grandma who was Kauai Japanese, only knew her as Gramma & her parents as Bachan/Oji-san. It was thru them, or schooling, that me/sibs learned Ame-Ame, Fure-Fure, Ka'a Sanga... Forgot majority of that song!-lol

[@harrymiram5562]

@@HelloFromHawaii....When growing up, would sub out "I canna show" for "Itchy-Itchy Tie!"-lol

[@colinsewake234]

Brah, after graduating from UH, moving to Okinawa right after and having lived here for 27 years so far including some work time on mainland Japan, I can totally relate to this video. Good job!

[@HelloFromHawaii]

🤙

[@rapozanoa]

Saimin is a local invention. It's a combination or Japanese ramen, with Chinese noodles (e.g. chow mein). So, it's kind of like Chinese noodles in Japanese broth...

[@Bunnyroo7]

Most Japanese who moved to Hawai'i came from rural areas in southwestern Honshu, Kyushu and Okinawa. Many of these words are likely archaic dialect words and are very different than the standard Japanese you'd hear in Tokyo or learn. Of course, most people in Japan know a dialect and the standard Japanese they learn at school. Dialects in many parts of Japan are not as strong as they used to be as rural areas are in steep decline and more younger Japanese people move between major urban areas and speak standard Japanese out of necessity.

[@HelloFromHawaii]

Mahalo for the info 🤙

[@LoneStar96]

i am not Japanese. But i share similarity. i was born and raise in America then when i went back to my parent' country to visit (i speak the language......so i thought) the cousins, didn't understand some of the words i was using and i cant understand some of the phrases they where using either. i think the parents or grand parents came to america during certain period of time when some words and phrases had meaning. that carry over to us. but back in the motherland no one use the that or disappear over time and never heard of it. i notice it is same with food too.

[@RNcoder67]

OMG!!! I love ur videos!!! I can finally relate!!! I was born n raised in California but both my parents went to Kaimuki High. (They obviously were born n raised there) I grew up w/my parents idea of being “local” n so were my relatives who have moved from Hawaii to Cali!!! We are Japanese decent (actually Okinawan) n I could never identify with my peers growing up here in Southern Cali. It was actually the time when there was much more Japanese ppl living here. I could never relate w/other cultures, esp the Japanese!!! I never went to Japanese school like my other Japanese friends. They would look at me funny because my family n I did not have the same values, traditions, n language as them. My parents were always embarrassed of their “pidgin” accent; therefore, making them feel shameful n isolated to other races, especially other Japanese families. They had to change n adapt their ways to fit in which took them a long time. Growing up my parents always referred us to being “Hawaiian”, but in actuality, I am Okinawan. I really never knew what was Okinawan. None of my Japanese friends or other peers could relate to me!! When I would confine in my parents, they would just tell me to tell others that I am Hawaiian, what difference did it make?? “We are from Kaimuki!!! And I was like huh???? Then when I talked to my “Japanese friends” about food, we could never relate!! For example, food- spam musubi, saimen, n Portuguese sausage, they just looked at me. I really felt lost n then grew up feeling self-conscience of my own race. I also remember hearing my grandparents always saying “bum-bye”, “go stay”, slipp-pah, da kine, n no make jamma! And they were 1st gen Okinawan living in Hawaii. They would always say be proud of your Okinawan heritage!!! But whenever I tell others I am actually Okinawan, ppl looked at me funny. In conclusion, growing up as a “confused “ child, I always valued all my cultural influences I received. Today I am proud to say I am American with Japanese-Hawaiian values!!! Thank you for your posts!!!! I can finally identify myself n share my story to someone who understands!!!!!! 👍😘😘

[@HelloFromHawaii]

Glad you enjoy the videos. Interesting to grow up in CA, but with Hawaii values. 🤙

[@Keliiyamashita]

As an Okinawan that lived there, there are many pidgin style slang that came from there. Plus the original language there is Hogen. Some of these probably got all mixed up. And remember things are also learned phonetically, so one Filipino hearing Japanese words in the plantation days likely repeated it wrong. Dats how u wen get all the mixed up wordz!

[@funkseoulbrotha]

Jiji is said to Korean children when describing something unsanitary/germy. Maybe it was borrowed from Korea?

[@sssjjjttt]

Came here for this! Growing up I was used to hearing this a lot

[@HelloFromHawaii]

🤙

[@harrymiram5562]

It's possible coz, if am remembering rightly, Koreans came in early 1900s or so, to also work in plantations. Chinese, Japanese, Filipino & Portugese started immigrating in late 1880s or so....

[@jvlog5349]

Thank you for sharing. I’m studying English via uploading video with Japanese and English subtitles. I learned from you videos always. Thank you for uploading.

[@HelloFromHawaii]

Thanks. Hope the videos help 🤙

[@vorpal22]

Fun video! I moved to Hilo almost two years ago and I'm learning Japanese, so I really enjoyed this!

[@AmandaFelixEats]

I love this video!! Being a 4/5 gen Local Japanese + learned Japanese, this is right up my alley! 🤙🏼 Much aloha!

[@HelloFromHawaii]

🤙 It was fun to put this list together. Always great to analyze the language we grew up with and still use. Congrats on the new home!

[@thedaringdragoon]

These terms also use a lot of old fashion terminology. Hanabata I was told my Japanese Language Sensei (who was from Japan) was a very old fashion term. I learned that Bocha came from Bocha-Bocha which was an onamonapia for splash -splash which was either an old fashion or very regional term (don't remember which). Some might even be Okinawan (a lot of Okinawan Japanese came with that wave of Nihon Japanese workers). All of these could be reasons why a modern Japanese speaker wouldn't know them. My grandma used many of these ( 1st Gen Okinawan Japanese national who didn't speak English and was born around 1910). I grew up with many these terms during small kid days on Maui. Then I married a Japanese girl and she uses them also (learned from her grandparents...but she is a local girl also lololol.

[@TheNzmana]

Doumo arigatou for your video! I had a chance to know a Nikkei nisei lady in her 70s originally from Okayama on The bus in 1980’s. I just fell in love her language and Nikkei spirit. Since then I went back to Honolulu to see her every year. She opened my eyes as I didn’t know anything about Nikkei of Hawaii. Now I am Nikkei issei in NZ. I miss her a lot she was my Hawaii.

[@kennoma7998]

Very informative, Chris. Might be interesting to see if some of the Japanese words in Hawaii were derivation of Meiji period Japanese spoken by farmers and fishermen of Japan. Hanabata sounds more acceptable than Hanakuso (nose shit, poop.....)

[@HelloFromHawaii]

🤙 I think it would be interesting to research further. I'm sure there are linguists at UH who have written papers about it.

[@robertmoritsugu4658]

Ditto on the Meiji-era Japanese derivatives...I recall my father commenting on how Japanese tourists found the Japanese spoken in Hawaii as "quaint" because much of it included seldom-used, pre-turn-of-the-century phrases. When I traveled to Japan, I could always tell who came from the rural areas by their accent and phrases...they spoke Japanese like how I learned it from my oji-chan and babban.

[@harrymiram5562]

Growing up, hanabata/hanakuso were "interchangable" as was "arare/kakimochi"

[@lythonoise]

6:40 文句 monku or monku monku was used meaning complaint.

[@kshinokevin]

My late Okinawan dad, who was born on the Big Island (Paauilo), but later moved to Oahu. He was a WW2 Army veteran, where he taught Japanese to a bunch of secretaries, at a language school in Monterey, CA; maybe it is called this now: Defense Language Institute Foreign Language Center (DLIFLC) at the Presidio). He later was a limo driver for some Japanese guy, taking the Japanese tourists from the airport to either Waikiki or Waianae. My dad could speak fluent Japanese, but not Okinawan. He had used these three words: "kotonks," and "Buddhahead"; I think that he meant mainland/"Stateside" born Japanese people. He also used the word "Shibai (acting)" and "Huli" (to flip over, as in "huli huli chicken"). My late dad had relatives from Okinawa, who had moved/migrated to Brazil. My mom had relatives who were (Okinawan) Catholic nuns in Peru. My grandpa, also a WW2 vet, he was welder in the Army on boats, which came from those atomic bomb blasts (on islands that my dad had worked in, like Enewetak/Eniwetok (atoll); Johnston Island (atoll). My grandma was born in Okinawa; her ancestors came here. My grandmother was a bookkeeper for the Modern Macaroni noodle company (in Kalihi). My nana was fluent in Japanese; a devoted Buddhist (Seichō no Ie 生長の家, aka "House of Growth"). I could still remember the smoky burning incense sticks used for the home family "haka(ba)" shrine and a chant that was said: Nam Myoho Renge Kyo meant "I devote myself to the Lotus Sûtra." My grandma did use the words: "tamago (the Japanese word for egg)," "samui," "atsui (hot)," "momona (fat)," "takai (expensive), "chito/chitto (little)," "hemo (take off)," "bocha (bath)," "gomen (nasai) aka excuse me)" and the laundry basket ("hamper"). My parents wanted me to attend a (kindergarten to 8th grade) Japanese language school, Hongwanji Mission School, while I was going to grade school at some Nazarene protestant church (mainly with my mom because she was a Christian), in Nuuanu. My mom later switched religions from being a Protestant (she isn't even Irish) to a Filipino-influenced Catholic. at the Catholic church where she volunteered working at and going to services, the church mainly had Filipinos and Samoans, as a majority part of it's congregation; now, there are Micronesians. Did I graduate from Japanese language school ? Nope: so, I decided to take Spanish in junior college (at Honolulu Community College) and got a barely passing D. What if I had taken French instead ? My first exposure the mainly the White (Caucasian) people; not a lot of Filipinos showed up, few Japanese people attended; no African-Americans or Latinos: Sunday school and then the main church service.

[@lythonoise]

7:12 allegedly saimin is Canton meaning thin noodles. Ramen like saimin has a Chinese origin, although the exact inspiration is unknown. Ramen ラーメン written in katakana indicates it's foreign origin.

[@Flying_turnip187]

Yeah good episode! What about “choke” and “make” . My wife didn’t understand those either . Lol. Choke i think comes from “cho “ and “makke” comes from “ losing “ in Japanese.

[@HelloFromHawaii]

"Make" is a good one.

[@Flying_turnip187]

@@HelloFromHawaii yeah I meant “makke “ . “Make” sounds wrong…..lol

[@Alohaonalani]

This was real cool. Makes me appreciate our local style. The generations before us shaped Hawaii's very unique culture. They shared their own cultures...adapted & evolved to what we have now. We so fortunate. We blessed to have grown up the way we did. But what I like know...where the word shishi came from...lol 😂

[@SunnyIlha]

I tihnk dat one mimics da real sound "... ssshhhhh....." (Peepee going out 🤭😂)

[@Alohaonalani]

@@SunnyIlha lol could be.

[@HelloFromHawaii]

I agree that it makes me appreciate the past generations in shaping Hawaii's culture. Not sure where shishi came from.

[@harrymiram5562]

Couple places worked at, some workers who grew up here, used to refer to bathroom breaks as 5-4-4,from Japanese number counting....Ichi, Ni, San, Shi, Go, Roku, etc., etc....5-4-4=Go-shi-shi...Works 4 Me!-lol

[@happycook6737]

@@harrymiram5562 Thanks for sharing the story. I love languages.

[@lythonoise]

5:10 butter is similar color to nasal discharge at room temperature.

[@lythonoise]

1:22 misuse or skewed use of ‘giri-giri auto‘ (ぎりぎりアウト - “just failed” for where the hair parts or “bald spot”.

[@piperlani]

Great review 👍🏼🤙🏼

[@HelloFromHawaii]

🤙

[@jimgood1949]

Since your wife is Japanese are you raising your son to be bilingual? Giving a child the gift of a second language is one of the best things that parents can do for their kids. As a child they can learn a second language with no unusual accent. Speaking fluent Japanese would be a tremendous skill for your child when he grows up.

[@HelloFromHawaii]

Yeah, he'll probably be learning both languages. It will help when he visits Japan in the future.

[@eileentaba960]

Great! Not like me who thought you morphed into speaking Japanese as you got older. Ojichan=only Japanese. Mom=spoke English and Japanese. Me=didn’t work…ha ha,😜

[@jimgood1949]

@@HelloFromHawaii Absolutely. My mother had relatives in Canada who lived in Quebec where French is the primary language. Her cousin was an English speaking Canadian, his wife was from Italy. They required their kids to attend a school where French was the primary language, when with their family they required them to speak only English to their father and only Italian to their mother. By the time they graduated from high school they were fluent in all 3 languages with no discernible accents. A very useful set of skills for work, travel or social encounters.

[@harrymiram5562]

@@HelloFromHawaii....Could also enroll him in A+ afterschool classes in olelo(Hawaiian language) classes

[@happycook6737]

@@HelloFromHawaii I'm a language teacher. If you want your son fluent, have your wife only speak to him in Japanese. If he answers in English she should model the answer in Japanese. If it isn't done this way he will only learn to understand Japanese and never be fluent. Also make him watch TV in Japanese. The world around you will support his English so you must support his Japanese at home.

[@stephanieferreira9653]

I enjoy watching your streams. Pidgin is the bomb

[@lythonoise]

0:43 some one said bocha bocha is the onomatopoeia for splash. Could be a variation of ぶち(buchi) or ぼちゃん(bocchan), ne!

[@Waikolene]

lol loved this....I was born in Japan (Tokyo) and came to Hawaii at age 5 with my younger brother. I found it interesting that I related more to the local Hawaiian version of terms with some of the traditional Japan ones mixed in...No wonder I am confused. LOL😄🤣😄

[@Waikolene]

One thing...one of the only photos we have of me in Japan with my Grandmother was of me eating Saimin. That was all I would eat. So am confused that they don't know what saimin is in Japan.

[@HelloFromHawaii]

🤙

[@susanmasumoto35]

That video was entertaining interesting as well as being like educating or how words or slangs can almost have a different but similar meaning.

[@HelloFromHawaii]

Glad you enjoyed it!

[@dusk5956]

My grandma used to tell me Bocha, and I heard it’s a “old timer” slang. Also hanabada means nose butter lol

[@stanwright8583]

In future shows, pleas keep the words on screen a little longer... I'm getting slow in my old age. LOL. Great video.

[@HelloFromHawaii]

Noted!

[@thed-spot8083]

Very interesting video!! Loved it!! But yeah, like Bunnyroo7 says our Japanese language is probably from the country-side from over 100 years ago so your wife probably wouldn't be aware of them. I really enjoyed hearing what your wife called certain things, sounded similar to what we say. I bet it developed from non-Japanese people picking up words and mispronouncing it. Same as when you watch American cooking shows that talk about Japanese food :p This time-capsule effect extends to culture too! For example in Hawaii, men's Yakudoshi is 41, probably because in Japanese culture 100 years ago when you were born you were already 1 year old. So to convert from Western to (old) Japanese standards you'd add a year. I myself learned that Japan has adopted the western way where you are 0 when you are born. If you're from Hawaii and your wife is from Japan does that mean you get 2 bad luck years?? One last interesting thing I found were women's names too. Like in Hawaii Japanese female names might not end in "ko" which I think became more mainstream after the migration to Hawaii so you'll come across names like "Fumie" or "Michie" instead of Fumiko or Michiko.. Have you or your wife come across this? Didnt mean to geek out and rant! Love your stuff keep it up!!!!

[@docvern7]

Mahalo for your channel and you and your wife for this especially informative video! I experienced the same thing with those words with my native Japanese speaking friends. Thanks for clarifying what “Ji Ji” means. I’m “middle aged” but keep myself fit and don’t have a lot of wrinkles or white hair. Most people think I’m much younger than my real and look like I’m in my early 40’s. I was staying in a large Hotel in Guam during a short military training (TDY). I was in civilian attire riding alone going down in the elevator when a young Japanese family with early elementary school age kids got in on a different floor. The younger kid or Brat (now that I know what Jiji means) looked up and called me Ji-Ji! His parents quickly tried to shut him up and I just laughed it off. I’m not fluent in Japanese but I figured “Ji-Ji” had a negative connotation. That Brat was bouncing off the walls and running all over when we got down. Poor parents…

[@JodyY808]

Your wifeʻs reaction to the "Japanese" words used in Hawaiʻi is typical for someone from Tokyo or the Kanto area who speaks Standard Japanese. I got those reactions when I lived in Tokyo and asked about or used those words or phrases common in Hawaiʻi. I have taught English as a second language and studied the linguistic and cultural aspects of language in Japan and Hawaiʻi, including our Pidgin, or Hawaiʻi Creole English, which is now considered an official language of Hawaiʻi. A good reference for many of the things you mentioned can be found in the Wikipedia article on "Japanese Loanwords in Hawaii."

[@HelloFromHawaii]

Mahalo for your comment. 🤙

[@kayokolindenberger3754]

I enjoyed this video! My mom is Japanese (from Okinawa) and my dad is caucasion. I went to college in SoCal with several Japanese Americans from Hawaii and when I asked my mom about the words hapa, saimin, and musubi she didn't know what I was talking about. 😂

[@HelloFromHawaii]

😆

[@caroltakahashi6421]

Saimin never was a Japanese word. It’s actually not even a Chinese word. It is a word that evolved in Hawaii among plantation workers. Nobody outside of Hawaii knows that word. It’s only lately that Saimin is becoming known on the mainland.

[@bobtuda]

My mom made musubi with a rice ball around a big ume (or red pickle made from a plum).

[@piotr4248]

Mahalo for sharing. I think the language is evolving in Hawaii because it was not so long ago when English was enforced and the native Hawaiian was discouraged. In my opinion, this has created a 'vacuum' for the need for new words. May I ask, how is your Hawaiian language?

[@HelloFromHawaii]

My Hawaiian is pretty poor. But I'm still picking up Hawaiian words every now and then.

[@piotr4248]

@@HelloFromHawaii Thanks for your reply. I've just started to learn Hawaiian. I am Polish-American. Ua hoʻomaka wau e aʻo i ka ʻōlelo Hawaiʻi. Ua-type sentences are past tense sentences. It is a sad story of how Hawaiian has become an almost extinct language, but ... now there is hope it will never be extinct. You can make a video about people and their language in Hawaii.

[@karenn.mirikitani378]

KNM My Grandparents came from Hiroshima. Because my Grandmother worked so hard at multiple jobs, she would come home exhausted or tired. Her favorite word used was "Erai!" to mean in Hiroshima dialect to mean "Tired!" Other parts of Japan may or may not use the same word 🤔 with the same meaning. How do you say Tired in Tokyo, Osaka etc.? Curious to know so I won't make the wrong saying and what it actually means? Thanks.😮‍💨

[@HelloFromHawaii]

I'm not sure. I have to ask my wife 😁

[@CarmenWoolford]

I guess shimpai could be added to the list here. On the Big Island growing up shimpai was the word used for a picture bride. If a Japanese man sent for a bride from Japan it was said to be a shimpai. Then when studying Japanese I was taught that shimpai was worry.

[@KH6WZ]

Yes - thanks for sharing. Regarding hanabatta -- "nose butter"? [snot?]

[@manoasky]

Funny episode. Jiji is Grandpa in Japanese (usually for a very small child speaking to their grandfather.) and jiji- (elongating the last "i") is "Geezer" in Japanese. Not a nice thing to say. lol

[@janclimo2284]

USO! Was the liar part lol!! Your wife is the cutest 😜 I definitely related to those terms but good to know the authentic phrases !! YOKU DEKIMASHITA!

[@HelloFromHawaii]

🤙

[@kiyokonkazuhiko2809]

I heard that Saimin is Chinese noodles and the word Saimin has origin to Cantonese culture. I love both but my favorite is Saimin with Char Siu and Chinese cabbage.

[@HelloFromHawaii]

I'm not sure saimin is Chinese noodles. I thought it was more based on Okinawan Soba.

[@the92r]

loved this.. born maui but grew up korea, japan, spain and tbh... i mix all my vocab together... very confusing hehe

[@HelloFromHawaii]

🤙

[@surfnusa]

My wife speaks Japanese and grew up in Hawaii. Thank you for pointing out that all those words you talk about are not Japanese but really pidgin. We use those words daily with our kids on the mainland.

[@HelloFromHawaii]

That's great you still use these words. 🤙

[@Mischa-qj9ue]

You may want to check the Okinawan dialect as well. I noticed a lot of Japanese Americans in Hawaii are originally from Okinawa so maybe their dialect was mixed in

[@Wimplo86]

FINALLY someone is talking about this! I always wondered "Eh, why do we say bocha all the time!?"

[@WERUreo]

You can really see how certain Japanese words morphed into the pidgin words we use today. Like "gigi" versus "bacchichi". And also how "hanabata" kind of comes from "hana" which is nose, and "bata" like pidgin for "butter", so "nose butter" (pilau, i know haha)

[@HelloFromHawaii]

Yeah, it's interesting how the words change.

[@K808G1]

You right. Growing up, I was always scolded by my mom for saying hanakuso as it meant nose shit.

[@scotkamimae2531]

My grandparents immigrated to Seattle in 1919 from Wakayama-ken. My mother was from Yamagata-ken. She would complain about their Meiji era country dialect. I learned a lot of words that were the 1900's Wakayama dialect from my grandparents, then had to remember to not use them around people from Japan. One word was kaibo, which my grandfather always used when he needed to go to the bathroom. It means out house, which is what they had in Japan at the time and also on the farm that they had here. A lot of the words that Hawaiian Japanese use are old and a mix of different areas from where they immigrated, like Okinawa and Hiroshima. They also abbreviated a lot of the words, so its not in modern Japanese language.

[@HelloFromHawaii]

Mahalo for the insight

[@capecavaliers]

A kids' summer camp director from HI used kaibo as the word for toilet; he told the kids it was KYBO and stood for "keep your bowels open."

[@scotkamimae2531]

@@capecavaliers 🤣

[@malu1034]

This was fun and educational! 😄 Can you ask your wife what "na ni ka" might mean? My aunty always says it when she makes a mistake but she doesn't even know what it means. 😂

[@SunnyIlha]

I tihnk dat means . "what the??..." Or "Whaaaat......" 😂

[@malu1034]

@@SunnyIlha That would make sense. 😂

[@happycook6737]

Na ni= what? "Ka" is a particle like "ga"

[@cheehee808_]

Lol my grandma always used to tell us to bocha growing up. Still use that phrase when I refer to taking a bath lol. Acting all Habut is another pretty common one haha, didn't even know that was a Japanese phrase tbh

[@SunnyIlha]

Haaa!! Everybody used to say, "Tsk, eh!! No ack habut !!" 😁

[@johmayo7042]

Re "jiji" in relation to "bacchicchi", linguistic phenomena can occur when native speakers move away from the center of their language space, which Japanese people did when they moved to Hawai'i. And this move occurred before the convenient travel, so shifts in pronunciation, shortening of terms, dropping syllables can have happened, especially from 1st generation to 2nd or 3rd etc as the Japanese language was no longer the dominany language "of the land."

[@daddyo6245]

When I used to watch Wrestling Hawaii in the 70's, my mom would always say, "All of that stuff is shibai", which I interpreted as "acting". She would also use that term when I fake cried to get attention. It now makes sense to me how the Japanese meaning of the word can kinda mean the same as the way locals in Hawaii see it.

[@BabyMammothGoBoom]

It's pretty cool how pidgin is a mixture and slang of multiple languages

[@jasonyi99]

I grew up in Korea back in 70’s.. We used jiji as dirty; and it was used on toddlers to alert them.

[@DocHolliday1851]

This is interesting. My mom is the daughter of Japanese immigrants(nisei) and was born & raised in Hawaii. She uses saimin & ramen interchangeably unless at a ramen house. She calls the deep great tubs "furo/ofuro" and would always tell kid me to go bocha bocha. She does refer to onigiri as musubi. Being habut is also one I remember being scolded for, haha. I do remember bobora too, but can't place what it was in reference to.

[@HelloFromHawaii]

Mahalo for sharing

[@eleeleboy]

I think bobora in my hanabata days (hana= nose batah = I think is butter that slimes out of your nose... that's how I think of it) back to bobora, meant a kid new to Hawaii but born and raised in early years in Japan, so kinda stewpid about Hawaii.

[@naomiendow4212]

I assumed hana is from Japanese "nose" and bata is from English "butter". Also, isn't kakimochi "fried mochi"?

[@貧乏独身おじさん]

I heard a lot of Japanese from Hiroshima moved to America and South America. Habuteru, a Hiroshima dialect , used in Hawaii is the sign to remind me of the history. Habuteru is to express a grumpy kid .

[@HelloFromHawaii]

🤙 I heard that there is a large Japanese population in Brazil.

[@robs.6015]

Most of the original waves of plantation works came to Hawaii from Hiroshima and Yamaguchi Prefectures… the “Japanese” used among Japanese local people in Hawaii come from the Hiroshima dialect of the time. Even the taste of Aloha Shoyu resembles the local shoyu taste in Hiroshima and Northern Kyushu.

[@HelloFromHawaii]

Mahalo for the input 🤙

[@pelayollamas2328]

Kaki mochi makes total sense to me being derived from Japanese language. In Kobe slang, O-kaki means Arare. Some Hawaiians say Mochi Crunch. Also in Kobe, KiriKiri means crazy. Like swirling in the head.

[@amberayame415]

Omgosh, as a 1/2 Japanese 1/2 white fr California- my Japanese professor told me bocha meant splash splash lol 😂 and my cousins and sisters all thought it was bocha for bath- that it was Japanese. I’m almost 50 now myself and most of my older fam that taught us all these words have passed, and my oldest daughter speaks Japanese fluently and tells me my Japanese words are wrong, and now I see that it’s fr our Hawaiian (Kona and Hilo) side of the fam that must’ve brought all these words, not my bachan and jiichan fr Japan lol- Jon ken po too lol 😂 Omgosh like everything here is like realization like wow. This is why my Japanese is so off! Lol 😂

[@naomigriffith4250]

🤣🤣 Yup. My mother is from Japan and she used those words when we were kids, so, like you, I thought they were Japanese words! I was so proud when I thought my dogs learned Japanese, "Bocha bocha", when I was going to give them a bath. 🙄

[@mkkaneta]

I have found that the Japanese on the mainland don’t use these terms. It seems specific to local Japanese.

[@HelloFromHawaii]

Yeah, I think it's a Hawaii thing.

[@SunnyIlha]

How interesting it all is, ya? Japanese diaspora in Hawai'i, Mainland U.S., Brasil and Peru.

[@Enjoythevroom]

In Tagalog, we call the colic "kulo - kulo" and hilarious we think having two means the kid will be naughty too. There were a lot of Filipino immigrants for the plantations and I'm sure some of our words are in the Pidgin language.

[@happycook6737]

Culo in Spanish is a bad word for butt. So I am surprised to hear it means cowlick on top of a child's head since I do hear some Spanish words used in Tagalog.

[@haircole]

Great 👍🏽 fun to hear sort of the HPR word of the day…😇🙏🏾🙏🏿🙏🙏🏼🙏🏽🙏🏻

[@HelloFromHawaii]

😁

[@dmfl2000]

We used habut to mean pouty/offended (she's all habut 'cause her husband said that outfit makes her look fat). We used shibai to mean big fake, yelling it at the TV while watching Big Time Wrestling. I think saimin is from Cantonese for boiled noodles, just as chow mein is stir-fried noodles. Are words like okazuya and shishi familiar to your wife?

[@HelloFromHawaii]

Yeah, she's familiar with those words.

[@akalaSHO]

I believe I've read that saimin as a dish is a Hawai'i dish. It's something that we get to claim as our own cause it's similar to Japanese noodle dishes but it doesn't really exist elsewhere.

[@cjsamms]

The word saimin is originally Chinese

[@dukeloo]

The words could have been from the early 20th century immigrants from Japan. I'm learning from you too! lol Saimin is Chinese. I had Pork Adobo Spam Musubi from 7-11 when I visited two weeks ago. What about Bobodo?

[@HelloFromHawaii]

How was the Spam musubi? Was it only for one month?

[@adamshipley5415]

Your wife is an awesome co-host. That was a hilarious video

[@easyislander]

I lived in Japan and now live in Hawaii. Jun ken pong seems to be correct. But its not followed up with "Ai ko deshoo". I think the meaning of "Ai ko deshoo" is "we are lovers".

[@HelloFromHawaii]

That's what my wife told me. Gotta go check with her 😁

[@pegwiles5527]

Isn't it kakimochi after adding popcorn?

[@HelloFromHawaii]

I wasn't sure why we have so many names for it. Mochi crunch. Arare. Kakimochi. Senbei.

[@briangatdula7409]

The word saimin, if you break it down come from two chinese words. Sai mean thin and min means noodle.

[@HelloFromHawaii]

🤙

[@finned958]

In Mandarin, it’s pronounced 細麵條 Xì miàntiáo. BTW, gigi is used as slang word for private parts in Chinese.

[@coolnessnesss]

Her English is really good!

[@HelloFromHawaii]

Yeah, it's really good. 😁

[@harveyh3696]

Just saw this presentation and upped my subscription to full ringy dingy level

[@patriciamurashige6879]

I wonder if some of the “Japanese words” used in Hawaii was said by the older generation and maybe was “pidgin word”. My mom met my dad in Yokohama right after the war. He was Japanese American and the army asked for any Japanese American soldiers who could speak and understood Japanese language. Of course my dad thought he could speak since his parents came to Hawaii as young adults to work. Well my mom told us kids later that my dad didn’t speak Japanese well. He actually spoke the very old fashion from the country type. 😂😂😂😂 never thought of the language changing in 25 yrs. So interesting!!!yeah?!?!

[@cmat4106]

HANABATA = HANA (NOSE JAPANESE) + BATA (BUTTER PIDGIN)

[@AzaleaChan13]

Funny that hanabata = hanakuso since hanabata is boogers when in Hawaii, because my interpretation for one’s hanabata days would be like saying, “you were a shot-nosed kid”!

[@HanaBataDayz]

I grew up thinking hanabata was a Hawaiian way of saying “honey butter” aka boogers bc it looks like honey butter lol

[@eileentaba960]

Hahaha!

[@HelloFromHawaii]

🤙

[@johnoshiro8885]

Hanabata = Nose+ butter. Mucus.

[@rahn2176]

In Korean we also say "jiji" to little kids when something is dirty.

[@sharecesss]

I come from a Hawaiian Filipino haole household and we used “jiji” as dirty and I had no idea why. Wow mahalo everyone for sharing all this!! We also used giri giri as the cowlicks that determine how kolohe your child will be 😂

[@marmeone]

Used them all when we were kids...hanabata days!

[@drmikee]

I lived on Maui for fifteen years, in a very local middle class neighborhood, and worked everyday with locals. Except for musubi and saimin, I NEVER EVER heard anyone say ANY of the other "Japanese" words he says are "local". I heard, and learned to speak, a LOT of pidgin and actual Hawai'ian. I think maybe he was so surrounded by JAPANESE Hawai'ians, (probably on Oahu?), that he thinks they are Hawai'ian local leo. The one I did hear a lot, that he skipped, was "shi shi", to pee.

[@808ecobeast7]

🤣🤣🤣🤣 Hanabata is Pigin for "Hana" (nose) and "Bata" is actually pidgin for butter... So Hanabata is Nose butter....LOL

[@HelloFromHawaii]

🤙

[@kiga14]

Not something used much in pidgin, but "erai" is used by Hawai'i Japanese to mean "tired", for what Japanese people say "tsukareta". People will say "benjo" for the restroom, which is known in Japan, but in Japan it is considered more polite to say "otearai". I feel that "benjo" is recognized in Pidgin by non-Japanese in Hawai'i. Not sure how widely it is used. Besides that, lots of other things also get the honorific o- treatment in Japan when it is not used in Hawai'i Japanese: mizu/omizu, cha/ocha, etc. Your abdomen would be "hara" in Hawai'i Japanese, but in Japan it's more common to say "onaka". I think "hara" is understood but not considered cultured speech. "shishi" is Hawai'i pidgin for urination, possibly onomatopoeic, where in Japan there are a range of words but "komizu" may be equivalent. A bilingual pun (well known in Hawai'i) to refer to "going to urinate" is five-four-four, which in Japanese would be go-shi-shi. Combines English "go" with the previous entry. You often hear negatives like "wakaran" instead of "wakaranai" in Hawai'i but you also hear that in Western Japan, too. I also heard "hojake" in Hawai'i when I was growing up, roughly when you might say "sorekara" in Japan, but I might not have gotten that right and I have never found anyone to corroborate it, nor has anyone from Japan recognized what it could be.

[@HelloFromHawaii]

Thanks for sharing. I've heard a lot of the phrases and words you've mentioned from my wife over the years. Even now, I'm always learning new Japanese words from her.