Nicole. Inner pages of Utsumi-kun no Koi no Uta.
Today’s Focus: Words and Phrases in Romance Manga
Happy (slightly early) Valentine’s Day! This isn’t my typical content—and I’m no expert on the Japanese language—but I wanted to try something new lately to motivate myself to keep studying. So, I figured I’d write a blog about some romance manga vocabulary for some review (and for fun)!
As someone who reads a lot of manga, I understand that there are tons and tons of Japanese manga out there that haven’t been translated to English. So, wanting to learn Japanese isn’t exactly a crazy goal for anyone who loves reading manga! It can seem intimidating, but I promise once you get into it more and more, it’s super fun.
With that being said, I thought it would be fun to explore some very simple Japanese phrases or words that you may find in romance manga—including some Valentine’s Day vocabulary!
If you’ve already tried learning some Japanese before, some of these may be very recognizable. I’m not really qualified to teach anything super complicated, so we’ll be focusing on some simple vocabulary to keep things easy and fun. Let’s jump in!
By the way… the vocabulary found below will be formatted like this:
Kanji (Hiragana/Katakana reading) | romaji reading | English equivalent, explanation, or comments
Valentine’s Day Themed Japanese Words
Valentine’s Day in Japan is a bit different than in America. In Japan, women typically give out chocolate or sweets on this holiday. It isn’t necessarily a strict rule, but is more common—although there are criticisms about forced gender roles and financial pressures rising from younger generations (understandably).
There are actually different “types” of chocolate that can be given, many of which I’ve included in the vocabulary below!
バレンタインデー | Barentain Dē | Valentine(‘s) Day. There isn’t a native word for Valentine’s Day in Japanese. Just this loan word from English!
チョコ | Choko or チョコレート | Chokorēto | Chocolate! An essential part of Valentine’s Day.
本命チョコ (ほんめいチョコ) | Honmeichoko | These refer to chocolates given to someone you are in love with! These are often a major topic in shoujo, as the female lead struggles to gain the courage to give honmei-choco to her crush—essentially confessing her feelings! It can also be given to your spouse/partner if you are in a relationship.
義理チョコ (ぎりチョコ) | Girichoko | Obligation chocolate, which is what you’d give to coworkers, family, or others. According to different sources online, this type of chocolate giving is becoming less and less popular.
友チョコ (ともチョコ) | Tomochoko | Appreciation chocolates given between close friends!
逆チョコ (ぎゃくチョコ) | Gyakuchoko | Reverse chocolate. As mentioned earlier, this holiday usually involves women giving out chocolate. However, in some cases where men give chocolate instead, it is known as reverse choco.
自分チョコ (じぶんチョコ) | Jibunchoko | Self chocolate, or chocolate you are buying for yourself. Everyone deserves a little treat and self-love!
ホワイトディー | Howaito Dē | White Day is a “response holiday” of sorts held on March 14th. It allows those who received chocolates on Valentine’s Day to give return gifts!
Dating Themed Japanese Words
Now onto some other romance manga vocabulary. These words are some common topics you may find in any romance manga!
合コン (ごうコン) | Gōkon | A gōkon is a mixer (a.k.a., a group blind date)! In manga, it is often arranged by two people who already know each other, who then bring their friends into the mix for mingling. They try to invite an even number of friends to balance the number of people. There’s typically food and drinks involved, and sometimes friendly games are played to ease the tension!
恋人 (こいびと) | Koibito | Lover, significant other, boyfriend/girlfriend – This one combines the words for romance/love and person. Pretty straightforward, and cute!
彼氏 (かれし) | Kareshi | Boyfriend ♡
彼女 (かのじょ) | Kanojo | Girlfriend ♡
カップル | Kappuru | Couple (˘⌣˘)♡(˘⌣˘)
デート | Dēto | A date!
手を繋ぐ (てをつなぐ) | Te o tsunagu | To hold hands. A common first step for new couples in romance manga! (This phrase uses a godan verb, つなぐ, in plain form. 手 means hand).
Nicole. Inner pages of Utsumi-kun no Koi no Uta.
好き (すき) | I like you! This can actually be altered in a lot of ways—it can be made more formal, more feminine, or more masculine, depending on how it is said and what ending a person uses with it (です, だ, よ, etc.). Additionally, this verb can be used to simply state that you like other things too, so context matters!
大好き (だいすき) | Daisuki | I really like you / I love you! Similarly to 好き, this word can also be used to just say you really like something, but has a bit more oomph than 好き.
恋敵 (こいがたき) | Koigataki | Love rival. Every person who has read a love triangle shoujo manga surely knows what this is.
初恋 (はつこい) | Hatsukoi | First love or puppy love—something often portrayed in shoujo romances! (ღ˘⌣˘ღ)
片思い (かたおもい) | Kataomoi | Unrequited love or one-sided love. Something also experienced in manga pretty often, bringing us the drama, angst, and longing we all love to read!
ラブレター | Raburetā | A love letter!
キス | kisu | A kiss! (´ ε `)♡
Shoujo Romance Themed Japanese Words
These romance manga vocabulary words are a bit more specific—I wanted to capture words that you may find in common shoujo manga tropes!
文化祭 (ぶんかさい) | Bunkasai | Cultural festival, an event held open to the public by middle schools, high schools, and colleges. These frequently play a major role in shoujo romances, bringing students closer together and giving them the courage to confess to their crush during a special event!
告白 (こくはく) | Kokuhaku | Confession! The confession arc in Japanese manga often has a lot of focus. This is because it actually holds a strong role in Japanese dating culture! It is what makes things “official” between two interested individuals.
付き合ってください (つきあってください) | Tsukiatte kudasai | Please go out with me/will you go out with me? This is a recognizable phrase used in confessions! This could have fit in the “dating” romance manga vocabulary section, too… but I wanted to put it right after “confession.” It just felt right, haha. Actually, the full confession phrase is usually something like “好きです!付き合ってください!”
花火 (はなび) | Hanabi | Fireworks! One of my favorite words in Japanese, as it combines the kanjis for “flower” and “fire.” I mean, fireworks are really pretty, and can indeed resemble flowers. Such a neat word! (Ask me what my other favorite Japanese phrase is… it has nothing to do with romance though, hehe)
花火大会 (はなびたいかい) | Hanabitaikai | Fireworks display / fireworks festival. Sometimes in shoujo, the romance happens during the summer, outside of school. Seeing the fireworks together and confessing during the loudest one is a classic shoujo trope, haha.
Romantic Japanese Onomatopoeia
If you didn’t know already, Japanese onomatopoeia is super interesting, as they have words that represent more than just sound. Japanese onomatopoeia can also represent feelings, appearances, conditions, and more! You can read more about it through this fantastic guide by Tofugu. Anyway, here are some cute ones I like that fit the romance theme I’m going for here:
ドキドキ | Dokidoki | This refers to the sound of a fast heartbeat! I feel like this one is really common. Sometimes I see ドクン used for heartbeat sounds, too.
カァ | Kaa | A sound often used to portray a character blushing, often in embarrassment. I usually see it stretched out more, like “カァァァ,” haha!
ちゅっ | Chu | The sound of a kiss!
ラブラブ | Raburabu | Lovey-dovey or head-over-heels in love!
わくわく | Wakuwaku | A sound portraying excitement or nervousness.
キラキラ | Kirakira | The sound of twinkling or sparkling.
Final Thoughts
I hope you’ve enjoyed today’s blog! Romance manga vocabulary words and phrases was a really fun topic to write about. Hopefully these will help you if you choose to learn a little Japanese or read romance manga in Japanese!
(*¯︶¯*)
