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宣教師語 = Mission Vocabulary
October 3, 2001
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K M N O P R
S T V W Y Z
- A.P.
- 1. apartment president. 2. assistant to the president
(Note: In a 25 Jan 2000 post to the kobealumni@listbot.com
mailing list, Marty Wolf ['88-'90, Marty_Wolf@radian.com]
says of the first definition: "never heard of this. A bit problematic in a 2-man,
though.")
- Ambushed
- Where you go to a seemingly golden contact to find twenty to thirty
sokkagakkai's sitting
in a room telling you how wrong our church is and they won't let you get a word
in edgewise. (Submitted by Brian Cole [cbrian@admn.shs.nebo.edu],
1 Oct 2001)
- Aphid
- Coined by Elder Andrew Allen of the Shimizu-Akagi jidai, it is a term
similar to triffid. (Submitted by George Takeshi Hara
[geohara@hotmail.com], 26
Feb 2000)
Bakarash- or "Bakarashii"--the same as Bakateki. (Submitted
by Jim Taylor [jrtaylor@nwinfo.net])
- Baka Switch
- Native Japanese (usually older) refusing to recognize that you're speaking Japanese
until you work with him to flip the switch. (In response to confusion among
RMs regarding the origin of Baka Switch, Frank Kelland (fkelland@hotmail.com)
submitted the following:
The term "baka switch" is very old and was first used right after WWII. A
guy named Seward, one of the first Beikokujin in Japan after the war used it
in his book "Japanese in Action" describing the necessary actions he had to
take to convince the Japanese that he spoke Japanese. He once had to write
an entire Imperial proclamation concerning education (something all pre-WWII
Nipponjin had to memorize), to prove he could speak Japanese.
- Bakateki
- to do something foolish, like make up a list of missionary slang
- Bashing
- worthless discussions of Bible scriptural interpretations with Japanese Christians. Usually concluded by
Elders quoting from the Books of Moses and Abraham in "their Bible". (Submitted by
Andrew Allen [andyrenae@deseretonline.com],
28 Feb 2000)
- Bean
- See Green Bean
- Benny Ditch
- a trench alongside roads and paths, varying in depth, which has an insatiable appetite
for missionaries and their bikes. Should be avoided.
- Biffed
- to biff. to crash one's bike. "I really biffed it when I fell in the benny
ditch."
- Boku
- Although used as a shortened version of "Watakushi" by males, it was also used
to designate a teenaged or college-aged male, usually spotted as a member of the cadre of
uniformed teenagers boisterously passing by you in a shoten. District Leader: "How'd
ya do today?" Reply: "Aw, nothin' much. Just ran into a bunch of bokus..."
- The female version of Boku is Triffid.
- Bozazoku or Bousouzoku or Bosozoku
- is a term used to describe Japanese Punk... those purple, spiked hair kids. Definitely from the early '80's jidai.
(Submitted by Jim Taylor [jrtaylor@nwinfo.net]) On
April 7, 2001, Marty Holman (holmanm@popmail.berea.edu)
send further information on this word:
"The word that appears as 'bozazoku' on the list, is actually,
'bousouzoku,' or 'bosozoku" if you don't want to deal with long vowels.
('Recklessly running tribe' are the characters for it.) I am sure, however, that it was more than likely pronounced as listed by most elders. (The spell checker suggests
'bazooka' as an alternative.)"
- Buch
- i.e. the Buch. the Dendobucho-san or Mission President. "Able to leap tall
buildings in a single bound, faster than a speeding bullet, etc.
- Buchkun
- See Buch
- Bump
- the six month point in one's mission.
(See also Hump, Slump, Dump)
- Busted
- 1. a senpai has been reduced to kohai. 2. A D.L. is reduced to
kohai. 3. be sent to the dendo honbu has a mission recorder. (Submitted by
George Takeshi Hara [geohara@hotmail.com],
7 Sep 2000.)
- Checkback
- 1. a person who may have interest in hearing the discussions, i.e. a potential
investigator. 2. a guy or girl who may have interest in you upon your return from the
mission field.
- The City
- any dendo area in the Kobe/Osaka/Kyoto metropolis. (Submitted by Andrew
Allen [andyrenae@deseretonline.com],
28 Feb 2000)
- Companion Inventory
- refers to a necessary meeting within a companionship to air out grievances.
(Submitted by George Takeshi Hara [geohara@hotmail.com],
7 Sep 2000.)
- Crud
- a very obnoxious skin infection, usually occurs during the hot humid months. One Elder in Marugame
once wrote home to his parents and delicately tried to describe his condition (without using the word). His
mother, a nurse in the South Pacific during WWII, wrote back "Son, it sounds like you’ve got what we use to
call the crud". (Submitted by Andrew Allen [andyrenae@deseretonline.com],
28 Feb 2000)
- Cutback Night (archaic)
- A Wednesday night post-dendo celebration (when P-days were on Thursdays) consisting of much feasting (mimis, ramen, Kirin Lemon, etc) and watching old slides. Officially banned by
mission decree in 1974. (Submitted by Andrew Allen [andyrenae@deseretonline.com],
28 Feb 2000) Synonym: P-Day Eve.
- D.L.
- District Leader "Can jump over a hut, can fire a speeding bullet, etc."
- D.T.M.
- District Training Meeting. A meeting held three days a week (Tues., Thurs., Sat.) led by
the D.L. or Z.L., who teach skills through example,
experience, and guessing.
- Dendo Baby
- a layer of gluttonous matter which appears around one's midriff, causing others to think
you are with child (during proselyting in the field)
- Dendo Bag
- something we used to carry all our flip charts, lessons, umbrella, camera, dictionaries, and anything else that you could stuff in.
It was like a big shoulder bag. I think most of us got them up in Toyooka, the bag city near the sea of Japan. (Submitted by
Tim Andresen [timandre@osk2.3web.ne.jp],
6 Mar 2000)
- Die
- to return home from a mission. "I'm dying soon." "I'm almost dead."
- Dode
- i.e. doryo. A fellow missionary that the Lord has you work with. A person who you will
spend more time with on a day to day basis than you will with your future wife or husband.
- Dogged
- to be dogged. To be caused misery and grief through the actions of another. "Jesse didn't bring me any mail. He is 'dogging' me." "She
hasn't written. She is 'dogging' me."
- Dropper
- a second-floor squatter
- "When I served in Aioi, we lived in a house that served as the branch meeting house
as well as our apartment. It was a two story house with a restroom on the second story
right above the other one. There was just a hole in the ground. We called it a
"dropper". So, you had a sitter, squatter or a
dropper!" --RBrown1512@aol.com
- Dump
- i.e. Jump. The going home or "freedom point" of one's
mission (after eighteen months or two years) (See also Bump, Hump, Slump)
- Dying
- See Die
- Eigo Bandit
- people who strongly desire to improve their English skill. "Haro. My name is (put
your name here). I am a pen. I am Eigo Bandit. Do you know?"
- Ernie
- a one yen coin. Did you know that if you place an ernie in a glass of water, it will
float? Try it. Show your friends. (Made from aluminum.)
- Fetch (See also the earlier term Pick)
- a word of exclamation. "Fetch, Jesse didn't bring me any mail."
- Fetcher
- 1. a cool guy. 2. someone who does something silly or makes a mistake.
- Fetchin'
- See Fetch
- Fish dance
- ritual begun in Kakogawa circa 1993 to raise missionaries' spirits after being
fished/spoked. (Submitted by shumwam@ambest.com,
7 Feb 2001)
- Fished
- See Spoked.
- Fred
- See Jesse.
- Freedom Bird
- a large vehicle (i.e. airplane) which carries missionaries to their families, friends,
and checkbacks at the end of their mission
- Frog
- as in "Let's frog," or "Let's leave." This came from kaeru as in "kaeru
[frog] no ko wa kaeru da" transposed with kaeru [to leave] or "kaerô"
[let's leave]. (Submitted by Kurt Whitlock [WhitlockKA@ldschurch.org],
7 April 2000.)
- Fud
- The neighborhood public bath (sentô); also a private bath (o-furo) in
a home or apartment.
- Futonkai
- sometimes occurred during p-days. (Submitted by George Takeshi Hara [geohara@hotmail.com],
7 Sep 2000.)
- Genki Futon
- an envelope missionaries use to mail cash from one address to another (from Genkin
Futo). (Submitted by
Andrew Allen [andyrenae@deseretonline.com],
28 Feb 2000)
- Gok
- i.e. Gokurosama. a missionary, or fellow human being, who works above and beyond the
call of duty.
- Gokiburi-sama deshita
- is a goofy derivative of "Gokurosama deshita" with reference to the ubiquitous
gokiburi [cockroach]. (Submitted by Jim Taylor [jrtaylor@nwinfo.net])
- Green Bean
- a distinctive and honorific title used for: 1. a missionary just entering the Missionary
Training Center. 2. a missionary who has just arrived in-country, and who keeps this title
until the first transfer.
- Harvest Month
- a month where each companion set in the mission has a goal of at least one baptism. A
month of goal setting, prayer, and fasting. (Lots of prayer and fasting)
- Honey Wagon
- "I see a Honey Wagon." In the pre-1990's (in the bigger cities or pre-2000's in smaller towns), it was/is THE warning
to plug one's nose when the ben remover arrived in the vicinity. Also applicable to the pre-1960's when a horse
drawn remover armed with two buckets and a bamboo pole arrived in the Kansai area.
(Submitted by George Takeshi Hara [geohara@hotmail.com],
26 Feb 2000)
- Hump
- the twelve month point of one's mission (unless you are a sister missionary which would
be nine months). A day of feasting and celebration. (See also Bump,
Slump, Dump)
- Jesse
- the Japanese mailman. A man riding on a red scooter, wearing a white helmet, who
honorifically carries joy (i.e. cards, letters, and packages) to the missionaries. Maybe
named after the outlaw Jesse James.
- Jump
- See Dump
- Jung
- A verb referring to "jan ken pon", i.e., the
game of "Rock, Paper, Scissors". The game used to decide practically everything
of consequence. "Hey! I'll jung ya for that last mimi...!"
- Kanji Bandit
- a person/missionary who feverishly studies those squiggly little lines (kanji) that
actually really do mean something (or so I've heard).
- Kansai Cruisers
- our wonderful 1-speed dendo bikes (this was before each missionary was responsible for their own bike and transferred with it) -- we
did have a 3-speed bike in Fukuchiyama, though. (Contributed 25 Jan 2000 by Marty Wolf ['88-'90, Marty_Wolf@radian.com].)
- Kekko Box
- i.e. a call box. a fiendish torture device at doors which the people in the home will
use to say "No".
- Kekko'ed
- same as Kobamu as in "They kekko'ed us" (meaning they
weren't interested in talking with us). From the Japanese reply, "kekko desu."
(Submitted by Jim Taylor [jrtaylor@nwinfo.net])
- Kill
- to be with a companion at the time he/she returns home. Usually not to be taken
literally. "I killed my dode."
- Kobamu
- very usable term meaning rejection, by 1. investigators 2. stateside girlfriend.
(Submitted by George Takeshi Hara [geohara@hotmail.com],
7 Sep 2000.)
- Komarued
- Anglicized past tense of the Japanese verb komaru ("to be
distressed, in trouble, embarrassed," etc.), as in "I was komarued when I couldn't get all my
junk in that box for transfers." (Contributed 9 Mar 2000 by Ron Williams,
[1974-76, ronw@legalgraphic.com].)
- Maha
- an idiomatic intensive substituted in place of certain other, more disagreeable terms when expressing a scornful,
judgmental interrogatory. Example: "What the MAHA is
THAT?" (Suggested by Dave Harmon (daveharmon@hotmail.com),
29 May and 3 Jun 2000)
- Maj
- i.e. Majime. a very serious person or missionary. Usually meant in a nice way. The
opposite of "Wanpaku".
- Man
- a word of exclamation. "Man, mugi is delicious." --Unknown
- Missionary Baby
- See Dendo Baby
- Mono
- Literally translated as "thing" in Japanese, this word was used to mean a
thing of mild scorn or repulsion. "You're not gonna do your Branch jobs? You received
scented letters from your girlfriend? Aw, ya pickin' (fetchin') mono...!!"
- Moonies
- Followers of the Reverend Moon. Very difficult to approach individually because they like to cluster
in large groups. (Submitted by
Andrew Allen [andyrenae@deseretonline.com],
28 Feb 2000)
- Moraued
- to receive (past tense). This Japlish is commonly used when missionaries get something
of value from others. ZL- "Where did you guys get this brand new stereo from?"
Wanpaku Elder- "Oh, that? I moraued it from a triff at Eikaiwa... it would be rude to
not accept, right?!"
- Mugi
- The ("standard") Japanese word for wheat. Ground up mugi is commonly cooked
and served for breakfast. There is even a mugi bar recipe.
- Murf
- a period of time during a missionary's schedule which is not used for proselyting.
"Should be avoided." --The Buch (This term was "unheard
of" in the '88-'90 jidai. --Marty Wolf [Marty_Wolf@radian.com],
in a 25 Jan 2000 post to the kobealumni@listbot.com
mailing list.)
- Nakunarued
- term for investigators who quit the discussions. Elder: "I had 5 investigators this week but they all
nakunarued". Japanese Ward Mission leader (with horror on his face):
"Honto!" (Submitted by
Andrew Allen [andyrenae@deseretonline.com],
28 Feb 2000.)
- Obaka
- i.e. a great, big Baka. Someone who does something very silly or stupid.
- Obasan's Place
- a small streetside market, usually run by an elderly war widow. The place where new green
beans purchase their first (and last) an pan. (Submitted by
Andrew Allen [andyrenae@deseretonline.com],
28 Feb 2000.)
- Ohayokun
- 1. a greeting in the morning. 2. a nickname for a fellow missionary who greets all of
his fellow missionaries with a happy "Ohayo", and handshake, between the prayer
and reading the Book of Mormon during P.P.P. (This term
was "unheard of" in the '88-'90 jidai. --Marty Wolf [Marty_Wolf@radian.com],
in a 25 Jan 2000 post to the kobealumni@listbot.com
mailing list.)
- P-Day
- i.e. Preparation Day. a day once a week full of joy and celebration (and sometimes used
to prepare for the coming week). Usually on Monday.
- P-Day Eve
- The same as Cutback Night. A time (post 9:30 pm)
when we'd relax, share food, or group-read a girlfriend's letter or a New Era romance article. (There were a couple!)
(Submitted by Jim Taylor [jrtaylor@nwinfo.net])
- P.P.P.
- i.e. Pick the Pitch and Pray. an everyday morning ritual in the mission field where the
missionaries in an apartment will gather together, and one will pick a song, pray, read
from the rule books, and begin reading from the Book of Mormon.
- Pack
- to pack, to eat a lot. to make oneself to appear like a hog while eating. "He can
really pack that okonomiyaki."
- Pick (See also the later term Fetch)
- "The Prez won't let us go to Kyoto???? Aw, pick..." (According
to Marty Wolf [Marty_Wolf@radian.com],
this term
was "unheard of" in the '88-'90 jidai. Its use was widespread,
however, in both the
Okazaki ['68-'71] and Stout ['77-'79] jidais. --Weldon Whipple [weldon@whipple.org]
and David Ross [davidross98@yahoo.com])
- Picker
- Potential investigator who, upon hearing something of the missionary's message, does
nothing but argue and dwell irritatingly on insignificant details. "Man, that boku was really a picker."
- Pankued!
- An allowable curse for Elders' usage. "Panku" refers to a bike tire having a flat, but it is also applicable
when an Elder lost his stateside girlfriend. The pankued rate in JKM in the 1974-75 jidai was 95.4%
precisely. "Dear Johns" were commemoratively displayed at the dendo hombu.
(Submitted by George Takeshi Hara [geohara@hotmail.com],
26 Feb 2000)
- Rescued
- When an Elder is pankued, on a rare occasion he can retrieve his girlfriend upon the completion of his
mission as was the case of Elder Vial. (Vial choro had also turned the top floor of the Matsubara danchi into a bike
repair shop, notably for fixing real pankus.) (Submitted by George Takeshi
Hara [geohara@hotmail.com],
26 Feb 2000)
- Rockin'
- a descriptive word used in the sense that something is doing well. "This mission is
rockin'."
- Saiko
- a Japanese word meaning awesome or supreme. "Sooooo saiko." "That's
saiko."
- Scam
- to chase after a male/female of the human species. "Don't scam on triffs."
--The Buch
- Shem
- See Jesse
- Shims
- i.e. the Shimais or Sister Missionaries. The pride and joy of any district who are a
spiritual uplift and also know how to cook well.
- Shinbokukai
- friendship meeting, useful for meshing investigators and members.
(Submitted by George Takeshi Hara [geohara@hotmail.com],
7 Sep 2000.)
- Shink
- i.e. Shinkansen. Used to refer to the speeding bullet train that most missionaries never
get a chance to ride on. "Dode, just once before I die, I wanna ride the Shink."
- Shoten(gai)
- 1. place to conduct Book of Mormon sales. 2. place for missionaries to write kanji on long sheets of paper.
(Submitted by George Takeshi Hara [geohara@hotmail.com],
7 Sep 2000.)
- Sitter
- a Western style lavatory. (See also Squatter and Dropper)
- Slump
- the eighteen month or 1 1/2 year point of one's mission (13.5 months for Sister
Missionaries). (See also Bump, Hump, Dump)
- Sok
- Sokagakkai (Buddhist sect). (Submitted by Brian Cole [cbrian@admn.shs.nebo.edu],
1 Oct 2001)
- Spoked
- from supokasu - to stand someone up. A missionary is spoked when an investigator/member does not show up for an
appointment. (Submitted by shumwam@ambest.com,
7 Feb 2001)
- Sticks
- scriptures, as in "I had my sticks strapped to the back of my bike, but they fell off when I hit a bump".
- any dendo area outside "The City." (Submitted by
Andrew Allen [andyrenae@deseretonline.com],
28 Feb 2000)
- Stylin'
- to be in fashion. "That's a stylin' flipchart."
- Squatter
- a Japanese style lavatory. It's self-explanatory. (See also Sitter and Dropper)
- Tenkined
- 1. sad term for leaving a productive area 2. happy term for leaving an unproductive area.
(Submitted by George Takeshi Hara [geohara@hotmail.com],
7 Sep 2000.)
- Triff (See also Triffid)
- a Japanese girl or woman with several distinct characteristics: can be any age, likes
gaijins (foreigners), produces a sound much like a giggle, and is indigenous to Japan,
etc., etc.
- Triffer
- a missionary who excels at triffing.
- Triffid (See also Triff
and the less common Aphid)
- The female version of Boku, also known as a Triff. Perhaps Triff has
grammatical roots to the original Triffid. Imagine my delight one day in the 50's B-movie
science fiction section of a video store to see a video entitled, "Day of the
Triffids." (No. As a matter of fact, I didn't rent it.)
- For some inexplicable reason (no, I certainly did NOT "Triff" on my mission),
I still remember a legitimate Japanese kotowaza which was used to describe a Triffid. Here
goes: "O-hashi ga koron demo, okashii toshi goro." Or, "At the age when even
a dropped chopstick brings laughter."
- Triffing
- 1. to make the effort of becoming acquainted with a triff. 2. riding someone else on the
back of your bike. 3. riding a bike while towing someone else's bike by the handlebars.
- Trunky
- to be homesick or longing for home. to want to return to one's home, to sleep in one's
own bed, to watch a video, to see one's family, etc.
- Viking
- Missionary famous all-you-can-eat buffet in Osaka. Can be used as a verb as in "We Vikinged on our
way home from the Taikai". (Submitted by
Andrew Allen [andyrenae@deseretonline.com],
28 Feb 2000)
- Waga
- interjection interpreted roughly as "Oh, man!" (Submitted to the
KobeAlumni mailing list 31 May 2000 by jclark@es.com.)
- Paul Petersen (ppeters@kcc.com)
explains the origin (2 Jun 2000):
"In 1972 I picked up (and still have) a Peanuts paperback comic book. In it
Snoopy is surfboarding and shouts Cowabunga! In another cartoon frame he
exclaims, just before a wipeout, "Wooga" , translated Wa-ga. I used it
often with some of the young kyodaitachi in Akashi, Suita and Sakai. It was
used by some of them too. Last week Kiyoshi Akasaka, originally from
Akashi, was in Dallas on business where we met. His first exclamation upon
seeing me was, Waga You much bigger and older. (A reference to age I
wakaru, but the "bigger" inference leaves me confused.) So Waga is still in
use, albeit limited."
- Wailing Wall
- It is in two places--1. Jerusalem 2. At the dendo honbu. Specifically, it is the notice board in the honbu upon which hangs a good
sample of "Dear Johns". Elder Hara collected one of those but he chose to keep it in his journal, an offense carrying a bustable penalty (see
busted). (Submitted by George Takeshi Hara [geohara@hotmail.com],
7 Sep 2000.)
- Wamp
- i.e. Wanpaku. a Japanese word meaning mischievous. Usually used for a missionary who can
be very relaxed sometimes (in a nice way, I mean).
- W.D.M.
- Weekly District Meeting. a meeting held once a week for district business, training in
missionary skills, and gossip (mainly for gossip).
- Went Down
- a person who appears that they will be baptized, or someone who was baptized, "He
was baptized last week. He went down." (In a 25 Jan 2000 post to the kobealumni@listbot.com
mailing list, Marty Wolf ['88-'90, Marty_Wolf@radian.com]
writes that "both Sterrett shimai and Matsumori shimai strongly objected
to the use of this term to refer to baptism, as well as other terms such as
'dunked', etc. Rightfully so, in my opinion. This term also referred to a Okinawa transfer.")
- Yakku Box
- See Kekko Box
- Yoshi
- Said after prayer (i.e., after companion prayer, after branch prayer, after a prayer at a taikai which
constituted Superyoshiing, but definitely it was uncool to say it after an individual prayer although it is reported that
some Elder in Higashi Osaka Daisan branch in 1974 shrieked it out upon waking up after falling asleep during his
bedside prayer; hence it is occasionally referred to as Cleverly yoshiing) and performed by all self-respecting
chôrôs. It is conducted by all reaching down with straight right arms and then co-ordinating the upwards arm
explosion in an attitude of celebration as everyone shouts "Yoshi". Yoshiing was greatly promoted to
Shimizu Dendobucho. (Submitted by George Takeshi Hara [geohara@hotmail.com],
26 Feb 2000)
- Z.L.
- i.e. Zone Leader. "Leaps short buildings with a running start and favorable wind,
faster than a speeding B.B., etc."
Send additions and corrections to: kobe@mission.net