Kakutou (kah-koo-toh-oo)
格闘
かくとう
N.
Kakutou are character battles or if you haven't noticed by now, fighting games. Fighting games have you select a character and you usually are in wars that last for three rounds. Fighting games have a timer also. Your job is to beat up your opponent whether it would be your friend's character or the machine-controlled character. In a best of three war, you need to win two rounds. "Street Fighter" is easily a kakutou series. "Garou Densetsu's" first game is one of the few fighting games in which you and your partner fight against the machine controlled character.
Kami (kah-mee)
神
かみ
N.
Though the word means god, the kanji can also mean mind or spirit. It can refer to any god of some sort, but Japanese people will usually be pointing at their own gods when they say this word. If you want to talk about the Catholic god however, say "shu"/主/しゅ.
Kaneshiro Takeshi (kah-neh-shee-roh-tah-keh-shee)
金城武
かねしろたけし
Also known as: Gum Sing Mo and Chin Cheng Wu. Birthdate: 1973/10/11. Birthplace: Taipei. Very popular half-Japanese and half-Chinese actor, he has starred in movies and series such as "Returner", "Shi Mian Mai Fu"/"The House of Flying Daggers" and "Chung Hing Sam Lam"/"Chong Ching Sen Lin"/"Chungking Express". He is also the model of "Ominusha's" Samanosuke as well as the voice actor.
Kanji (kah-n-jee)
漢字
かんじ
N.
Chinese characters that went on to form the base of the written Japanese language. In Chinese, it's hanzi. Meanings can vary enormously according to the context. This writing system is used the most as it is used in various cases like newspapers. It is by far the hardest aspect of the Japanese language to master and of the three writing systems, this is the hardest system to master because of the amount of characters here, which is around 2,000. (Don't get me started on the amount of characters the Chinese have to remember.) Of course, the Chinese or those who have studied Chinese should have no problem here. Kanji is seen in the logo of "Mizuiro Jidai". Some entertainers that use kanji for their name are Seki Tomokazu-san, Kuwatani Natsuko-san, Oguri Shun-kun and Nakashima Mika-chan. Characters like Mitsuki of "Mangetsu of Sagashite" and Shin of "Area 88" have their given names in kanji. In some cases, some Chinese characters and Korean characters have their names in kanji like Chun Li of "Street Fighter" and Dejong of "Shikigami no Shiro". (You don't see the latter's name in hangul though.)
Karate (kah-rah-teh)
空手
からて
N.
Empty hand arts. This is an art known for its hard blows and sometimes, weapons are used. What people don't realize about this art is that it originally came from Okinawa. Ootsuka Akio-san knows karate himself. Characters that use karate are Hitomi of "Dead or Alive" and the Sakazaki family of "Ryuuko no Ken".
Karaoke (kah-rah-oh-keh)
空桶
からおけ
N.
The one word people to this day still can't pronounce properly, literally meaning an empty bucket or an empty container, karaoke is a musical device. A person selects a song and either that individual or the individual and his or her friends sing along with the music. Some series have the characters of the opening and closing songs like "Aishiteru ze Baby", and "Azumanga" is easily a series with a karaoke scene.
Katakana (kah-tah-kah-nah)
片仮名
かたかな
N.
Japanese writing form used for foreign words and the other form that belongs to the group of kana. If you see characters that are angular, you are reading katakana. If you see a word with a dash, around ninety percent of the time that word is written in katakana, as it represents a long vowel. (You rarely see words written in hiragana this way and I shouldn't explain the case for kanji.) Japanese words shown in katakana show some sort of extreme feeling like happiness and sarcasm. Titles like "Area 88", "Noir", "Elfen Lied", "To Heart" and "Da Capo" use katakana for their logos. Morikawa George-san is a person who uses katakana for his given name. Obviously, characters like the Bogards and Joe of "Garou Densetsu", Mick of "Area 88" and the members of Pacific High School in "Justice Gakuen" have their given names in katakana, though you also see Joe's last name in all three writing formats.
Katana (kah-tah-nah)
刀
かたな
N.
Traditional, slightly curved blade of about 3 feet in length. It's used as a weapon in Japan by swordsmen of numerous eras. Obviously, characters like Haoumaru of "Samurai Spirits" and Mitsurugi of "Soul" use the katana.
Kawaii (kah-wah-ee-ee)
可愛い
かわいい
Adj.
Cute.
Kawakami Tomoko (kah-wah-kah-mee-toh-moh-koh)
川上倫子/川上とも子
かわかみともこ
Birthdate: 1971/4/25. Birthplace: Tokyo. Seiyuu who has played as characters such as Chiriko of "Fushigi Yuugi", "Shoujo Kakumei Utena's" title character, Rika of "Cardcaptor Sakura", Akane of "Sensei no Ojikan", May Lee/Jinju of "The King of Fighters", Sayuri of "Kanon", Misuzu of "Air" and so forth.
Keisatsu (keh-ee-sah-tsoo)
警察
けいさつ
N.
The police. To join the force of the keisatsu in Japan, you must be top notch in a martial art such as kendou. Two series that involve the police are "Taiho Shichau Zo!" and "Patlabor".
Kendou/Kendo (keh-n-doh-oo)
剣道
けんどう
N.
Sword arts or the way of the sword. Now these days, people use bamboo swords for practice and you have articles of protection. Obviously, Motoko of "Love Hina" uses kendou.
Kenpou (keh-n-poh-oo)
拳法
けんぽう
N.
Kenpou, chuan fa in Chinese, is fist arts. This is known as an art of sequence and by that, I mean an art of followups to an initial hit. The Lee family of "Street Fighter" uses this art and this is one of the arts Kyou from "The King of Fighters" uses.
Kimi (kee-mee)
君
きみ
Pn.
You. This is said by guys. Kazuki of "Get Backers" uses kimi.
Kimono (kee-moh-noh)
着物
きもの
Clothing in general or a robe. Girls wear them when they turn 20 on Seijin no Hi. You see Mai of "Garou Densetsu" wear a kimono in "The King of Fighters" games.
Kisama (kee-sah-mah)
貴様
きさま
Pn.
You. Be careful when you encounter this word. Why? The kanji form is for people close to you and this occasion is now rare these days. The hiragana form? It's pretty much for people you hate and it's common to see this word in katakana too. One last note to keep in mind before I say characters that use this word: this is said by high ranked people of hard work and by that, I mean jobs such as the military. In the hate sense, Vega of "Street Fighter" uses this word.
Koshiro Yuuzou (koh-shee-roh-yoo-oo-zoh-oo)
古代祐三
こしろゆうぞう
Birthdate: 1967/12/12. Birthplace: Tokyo. Game music composer who has worked with series such as "Bare Knuckle", "Wangan Midnight", "Y's", "Shenmue", "Culdecept" and so forth.
Koudansha/Kodansha (koh-oo-dah-n-shah)
講談社
こうだんしゃ
Creation date: 1909. Location: Bunkyou, Tokyo. Kodansha is the biggest publisher in all of Japan. They work on a bunch of literature works and the company brought forth "Nihongo Daijiten", the Japanese dictionary.
For manga fans, though the company has stated that no scanlation group can ever translate any of their series anymore, Kodnasha is one of the few companies that does bilingual comics. However, they are shorter than the original version and there was a case when the bilingual version of "Love Hina" stopped at the eighth volume not because it wasn't popular. It was because it was popular, but for the wrong reason. Too many westerners, most of those from America, were buying them. Akamatsu Ken-san was happy that westerners were buying the bilingual version, but Kodansha made the bilingual version of "Love Hina" only for Japanese people to learn English, not for westerners to learn Japanese. This is the company that brought forth series such as "Love Hina" as I said just now, "Hajime no Ippo", "Cardcaptor Sakura", "Saint Tail", "School Rumble", "Great Teacher Onizuka", "Taiho Shichau Zo!" and a bunch of other series.
Koyasu Takehito (koh-yah-soo-tah-keh-hee-toh)
子安武人
こやすたけひと
Birthdate: 1967/5/5. Birthplace: Yokohama, Kanagawa. One of the most popular seiyuu, he has played as characters such as Hotohori of "Fushigi Yuugi", Shingo of "The King of Fighters", Juubei of "Get Backers", Muu of "Gundam Seed", Aya/Ran of "Weiss Kreuz" and so forth. He in fact created "Weiss Kreuz".
Kudasai (koo-dah-sah-ee)
下さい
ください
P.
Please. This is said at the end or towards the end of a sentence. "Nihongo ni yakusete kudasai Kenji" means "Please translate it to Japanese Kenji".
Last update - 2006/11/28