Tuesday, March 31, 2009

Verbification in Japanese: Katakana + RU = New Verb! (use with caution...)

I've been collecting a certain kind of neologism form lately that is getting too large to hold in my brain, so I figured I'd post it before it's gone completely (turning 40 in a few weeks...).

The following list consists of words that are made up of katakana with a hiragana る appended to make a new word, usually with a slang or sarcastic connotation. For example, take a katakana noun コピ, add る and voila: コピる = to copy!

According to my friend, some of these are used by teenagers and haven't entered standard lexicon, so I'm just using these when absolutely necessary (e.g., to be a dork).

1. From Katakana nouns or foreign languages

コピる = to copy
ググる = to Google
ブログる = to blog
ネグる = to neglect
メモる = to take notes
タクる = to take a taxi
ダブる = to overlap, to coincide (fall on the same day); to have two of something; to appear doubled; to repeat a school year after failing
サボる = (from "sabotage") to play hooky; to skip school; to be idle; to sabotage by slowness
アジる = (from "agitate") to stir up; to instigate; to foment
オケる = (from "karaoke") to go to a karaoke bar
トラブる = (from "trouble") to make trouble
スタンバる (from "standby") to be on standby; to be kept waiting
ナビる = (from "navigate") to navigate, use GPS
バグる (from "bug") to have a computer bug
ミスる (from "miss") to make a mistake; to mess up; to err
ハモる (from "harmony") = to harmonize; to harmonise; to be in harmony
パニクる; パニックる (from "panic") = to panic
バトル (from "battle") = to battle
ポニョる (from "Ponyo" cartoon character) = to get flabby, to get a gut/belly
   (I've been getting called Ponyo a lot lately...)

パクる (from German "packen" = to seize, grab, grasp) = (1) to steal; to rip off; (2) to arrest; to pinch; to nab

2. From Kanji

キョドウる = to act suspiciously (from 挙動不審 【きょどうふしん】 (n) suspicious behavior; acting suspiciously)

コクる = (from 告白する) to confess (one's love); to propose (marriage); to ask out (on a date)
キレる (v1) (sl) to get angry; to snap; to blow one's top (from 切れる 【きれる】 to cut into pieces, split, shred, burst, collapse, etc.

テンパる (v5r) to be about to blow one's fuse
This one seems to be from: 聴牌 【テンパイ】 (n,vs) "fishing" in mahjong (i.e. needing one more tile for completion) (chi: tingpai)





キョヒる  to refuse; to reject; to deny
This one is from 拒否 【きょひ】 (n,vs,adj-no) denial; veto; rejection; refusal






3. Apparently Mimetic

ポシャる = to fizzle, peter out, break down, fail, flop

てくる = to trudge (from てくてく (adv) trudgingly; going long way at steady pace)

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