Friday, February 20, 2009
Like gay scenes anywhere, the Japanese gay scene has its own lingo. Let's look at a few of the most common phrases heard amongst Japanese gay guys.
gei pronounced "gay". An easy start to the lesson.
kotchi = family: The word kochi or, with a lingering lilt on the "ch," kotchi ("cot chee") literally, and quite simply, means "here" or "on this side." It's not too big a stretch of the imagination to interpret it as "someone of the same group as myself," or, in English gay parlance, "family".
"Ano hito wa kotchi kana?" "That person's family, isn't he?"
okama = fag, poof: the noun kama means pot, as in a large pot used for cooking stews in, originally over an open fire - more like "cauldron," perhaps. Add an honorific "o" to the front of it, and you have the Japanese word for "fag" or "poof" - etymology unknown.
nonke = straight: the roots of the word are obscure, but nonke simply means "straight," "hetero."
tachi = top: the verb tatsu means "to stand". Tachi is the noun derived from that verb, i.e. "something that stands," or "a top".
ukemi = bottom: the verb ukeru means to "take, receive, accept," thus uke (receiving) mi (body, party) means "one who receives," or, "a bottom."
neko = bottom: neko literally means "cat". It has exactly the same meaning as ukemi, but in a slangier way.
riba = versatile. riba ("ree-ba") represents the first two syllables of the English word "reversible" - "versatile."
oneh - with the accent on "neh" - literally means "older sister," "big sister," and in gay parlance refers to a femme queen. The opposite, macho, is just what it sounds like.
chinchin, mara = penis. chinchin is a kid's word for penis, and mara is a more hardcore "grown-up" word for it. You'll hear both, the choice of words depending on the setting.
dekachin, dekamara = huge cock: dekkai (from which deka is derived) is an adjective meaning "huge". chin is an abbreviation of chinchin (see above), and mara is just mara (see above).
zaamen is Japanese for "cum" (the substance)
iku ("ee-koo") is Japanese for "come" (the action), as in "Ah, ah, iku, iku!" ("Ah, ah, I'm coming, I'm coming!")
kintama = balls, testicles. Literally "golden" (kin) "balls" (tama). Get it?
shakuhachi - literally a traditional Japanese flute, means "blow job."
ketsu - means "ass" and ketsu-no-ana, "asshole"; the more kawaii oshiri would translate as "tush" or "buttocks."
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