38 Popular Japanese Anime Phrases You Need To Know

Blog
2 August 2023
By Sarah Angela Almaden
Japanese House
One Piece

Anime is actually pronounced as ah-nee-meh. Not aaahni-may. Remember it is “meh” not “may.” This type of art is more than just the hand-drawn animated graphics that you see on the screen for about thirty minutes or so. That’s because when you’re watching anime, you’re immersed in this lively world of something – action, romance, adventure, science fiction, horror, comedy, and more. Then you have these characters that are a bit way beyond what you can imagine, especially when it comes to their very unique and very unmatched hair. Seriously, these characters have cool and colorful hair.

Don’t even get me started on anime opening sequences because they’re almost always the same with scenes like running and wind blowing and face close-ups and eye close-ups and running and flying and characters leaning back to back and characters standing face to face and running and some birds flying and maybe some flower petals falling and running… have I mentioned running yet? Now, there’s also this catchy tune playing in the background that’s purposefully created to get you pumped for what’s about to happen.

With all this and more you shouldn’t forget that Japanese anime wouldn’t be the way they are without their engaging and exciting storyline. A story that is most of the time thought of as fantastical, but a versatile story full of charm and magic and life lessons that you can carry with you anywhere. And when watching anime, you can also learn and carry with you some snappy Japanese phrases because there are plenty of them in the world of anime, whether you know what they mean or not. On that note, would you like to know what some of these anime phrases mean?

  1. Cute: かわいい (kawaii)
  2. Really: まじ (maji)
  3. What: 何 (nani)
  4. Good luck: がんばって (ganbatte)
  5. Take care: 気を付けて (kiotsukete)
  6. Don’t give up: 諦めるな (akirameru na)
  7. Lover: 恋人 (koibito)
  8. Slang for the word “Chief”: 頭 (kashira)
  9. Sad: 悲しい (kanashii)
  10. Long time no see: 久しぶり (hisashiburi)
  11. Another way to say “small cute thing”: チビ (chibi)
  12. Small: 小さい (chiisai)
  13. It’s nothing: 別に (betsu ni)
  14. That’s weird: 変あのー(nen na no)
  15. Cool: かっこい (kakkoi)
  16. So cute: めっちゃかわいい (meccha kawaii)
  17. Please don’t tell lies: 嘘を言わないで (uso o iwanaide)
  18. Please stop it: やめてください (yamete kudasai)
  19. Hey, shut up: おい、黙れ (oi, damare)
  20. Please wait a moment: ちょっと待ってください (chotto matte kudasai)
  21. Unbelievable: 有り得ない (arienai)
  22. Monster: 化物 (bakemono)
  23. Terrible: ひどい (hidoi)
  24. I’m hungry: お腹がペコペコ (onaka ga peko peko)
  25. Demon: 悪魔 (akuma)
  26. Unbelievable: 有り得ない (arienai)
  27. Walk: 歩きます (arukimasu)
  28. Just in time: ぎりぎり (giri giri)
  29. Run: 走る(hashiru)
  30. Police: 警察(kesatsu)
  31. Don’t worry: 気にしない (ki ni shinai)
  32. Scary: 怖い (kowai)
  33. Cold: 寒い (samui)
  34. Agreed: 賛成 (sansei)
  35. Rumor: 噂 (uwasa)
  36. Good thinking: いい考え (ii kangae)
  37. Let’s go: 行くぜ (ikuze)
  38. Of course: もちろん (mochiron)