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Japanese words of Portuguese origin

The Portuguese arrived in Japan around 1542-1543, being the first Europeans to establish a continuous and direct flow of trade between Japan and Europe. This also influenced the Japanese language, since several products arrived in Japan during that time through the Portuguese.

Over the years, it has been speculated that more than 4,000 Japanese words were influenced by the Portuguese language and the Portuguese. In this article we will see a list of some of these words.

Romaji Kana / Kanji Português Arcaico Português Moderno
arukōru アルコール álcools álcool
bateren 伴天連 / 破天連 padre padre
bīdama ビー玉 vi(dro) + 玉 (dama = "bola") berlinde, bola-de-gude
biidoro ビードロ vidro vidro
birōdo ビロード ou 天鵞絨 veludo veludo
bouro/bouru ボーロボール bolo bolo, bola
botan ボタン釦 / 鈕 botão botão
buranko ブランコ balanço balanço, baloiço
charumera/charumeru チャルメラ / 哨吶 charamela charamela
chokki チョッキ jaque jaqueta, colete
furasuko フラスコ frasco frasco
iesu イエス Jesu Jesus
igirisu イギリス / 英吉利 inglez inglês
iruman イルマン / 入満 / 伊留満 / 由婁漫 irmão irmão
jouro じょうろ / 如雨露 jarro jarro
juban/jiban じゅばん / 襦袢 gibão camiseta, camisete
kanakin/kanekin 金巾 / ▽かなきん / ▽かねきん canequim canequim
kantera/kandeya カンテラ / カンデヤ candeia, candela candeia
kapitan 甲比丹 / 甲必丹 capitão capitão
kappa 合羽 capa capa impermeável
karuta かるた / 歌留多 / 加留多 / 骨牌 cartas cartas de jogar
kasutera, kasuteera,kasuteira カステラ castella pão-de-ló
kirishitan キリシタン / 切支丹 / 吉利支丹 christão cristão
kirisuto キリスト or 基督 Christo Cristo
kompeitō 金米糖 / 金平糖 / 金餅糖 confeito confete
koppu コップ copo copo
kurusu クルス cruz cruz
marumero 木瓜 or マルメロ marmelo marmelo
meriyasu メリヤス / 莫大小 / 目利安 meias meias
miira ミイラ / 木乃伊 mirra mirra
oranda オランダ / 和蘭(陀) / 阿蘭陀 Hollanda Holanda
pan パン / 麺麭 / 麪包 pão pão
pandoro パンドロ Pão-de-ló pão-de-ló
rasha 羅紗 raxa sarja
rozario ロザリオ rosario Rosário
sabato サバト sábado sábado
sarasa 更紗 saraça morim
shabon シャボン sabão sabão
shabondama シャボン玉 sabão + 玉 (dama = bola) bola de sabão
shōro ショーロ choro choro
shurasuko シュラスコ churrasco churrasco
subeta すべた / スベタ espada espada
tabako 煙草 / 莨 tabaco tabaco
tempura 天麩羅 / 天婦羅 Têmporas Têmporas
zabon 朱欒 / 香欒 zamboa toranja

Curiosities

Below are some more of Portuguese origin (or not) that have gained prominence in the Japanese language:

Tempura – The Temples were days of religious fasting in which Portuguese Catholics did not eat meat and fried vegetables and fish in breaded dishes, foods that were normally eaten raw or cooked by the Japanese.

Iruman – Term used at the beginning of the Christianization of Japan to identify the missionary before becoming a priest.

Thank you

Arigato does not have Portuguese origins as some think. In reality, "arigato" is the modern form of "arigatashi" from archaic Japanese, which consists of the agglutination of "Ari" from the verb "Aru" (to be, to exist) and "Katashi," an adjective that means difficulty. In other words, I have difficulty in expressing my gratitude.

The Ne of Portuguese x Ne of Japanese

This word is used to emphasize what has just been said. in English, "né" also has the same function, being a contraction of the phrase "Não é?". However, it is very likely that this is a coincidence.

To learn more, we recommend reading: What does ne [ね] mean in the Japanese language

I plan to add to this list soon. If you find any important words missing, or any errors, please leave a comment.