Glossary of owarai terms
Encyclopedia
This page describes words and terms (generally of Japanese
origin) relating to owarai
(Japanese comedy). Many of these terms may be used in areas of Japanese culture outside comedy, including television
and radio
, music
, or some may even be used in normal Japanese speech.
dajare
manzai
Japanese language
is a language spoken by over 130 million people in Japan and in Japanese emigrant communities. It is a member of the Japonic language family, which has a number of proposed relationships with other languages, none of which has gained wide acceptance among historical linguists .Japanese is an...
origin) relating to owarai
Owarai
is a broad word used to describe Japanese comedy as seen on television. The word owarai is the honorific form of the word warai, meaning "a laugh" or "a smile". Owarai is most common on Japanese variety shows and the comedians are referred to as owarai geinin or owarai tarento...
(Japanese comedy). Many of these terms may be used in areas of Japanese culture outside comedy, including television
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
and radio
Radio
Radio is the transmission of signals through free space by modulation of electromagnetic waves with frequencies below those of visible light. Electromagnetic radiation travels by means of oscillating electromagnetic fields that pass through the air and the vacuum of space...
, music
Music
Music is an art form whose medium is sound and silence. Its common elements are pitch , rhythm , dynamics, and the sonic qualities of timbre and texture...
, or some may even be used in normal Japanese speech.
boke
- Other Japanese meanings of AnglicisedAnglicisationAnglicisation, or anglicization , is the process of converting verbal or written elements of any other language into a form that is more comprehensible to an English speaker, or, more generally, of altering something such that it becomes English in form or character.The term most often refers to...
spelling "boke": Boke or bokeh—blur in photographyBokehIn photography, bokeh is the blur, or the aesthetic quality of the blur, in out-of-focus areas of an image, or "the way the lens renders out-of-focus points of light."...
, and, Boke—flowering Japanese quince. - For non-Japanese "boke," see BokeBokeBoke may refer to:* Boké, a city in Lower Guinea* Boke , a district in the Oromia Region of Ethiopia* Böke, a form of Mongolian wrestling* Boke, the "simple-minded" character in a Manzai team, a form of Owarai kombi...
.
- ボケ (boke [boh-keh or boh-kay]). From the verb bokeru 惚ける or 呆ける, which carries the meaning of "senility" or "air headed-ness," and is reflected in this performer's tendency for misinterpretation and forgetfulness. The boke is the "simple-minded" member of an owarai kombi ("tsukkomi and boke", or vice versa) that receives most of the verbal and physical abuse from the "smart" tsukkomi because of the boke's misunderstandings and slip-ups. The tsukkomi (突っ込み) refers to the role the second comedian plays in "butting in" and correcting the boke's errors. It is common for tsukkomi to berate boke and hit them on the head with a swift smack; traditionally, tsukkomi often carried a fan as a multi-purpose prop, one of the uses for which was to hit the boke with. Boke and tsukkomi are loosely equivalent to the roles of "funny man" or "comic" (boke) and "straight man" (tsukkomi) in the comedy duosDouble actA double act, also known as a comedy duo, is a comic pairing in which humor is derived from the uneven relationship between two partners, usually of the same gender, age, ethnic origin and profession, but drastically different personalities or behavior...
of western culture. Outside of owarai, boke is sometimes used in common speech as an insult, similar to "idiot" in English, or bakaBaka (fool)Baka is a frequently used Japanese word meaning "fool; idiot; jerk; dolt; imbecile; foolish; stupid; worthless; absurd; ridiculous; idiotic".-Word:...
in Japanese.
conte
- コント (konto). From the FrenchFrench languageFrench is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...
word conte, konto refers to the style of manzai or owaraiOwaraiis a broad word used to describe Japanese comedy as seen on television. The word owarai is the honorific form of the word warai, meaning "a laugh" or "a smile". Owarai is most common on Japanese variety shows and the comedians are referred to as owarai geinin or owarai tarento...
performance focusing on telling interesting tales, many of which, one must assume, are made up for the sake of humour. Also often called manzai konto (漫才コント). Short conte (ショートコント) are skits often less than 30 seconds long where the comedians act out some sort of odd encounter or conversation.
corner
- コーナー (kōnā). Rarely taking the literal English meaning of the word "corner" as in "street corner" or "corner of a shape", this word is usually used in Japanese to mean "segment", as in "television segment".
dajareDajareis a kind of comic Japanese word play, similar in spirit to pun relying on similarities in the pronunciation of words to create a simple joke.Dajare are popular in advertising...
- ダジャレ (dajare). A type of Japanese punPunThe pun, also called paronomasia, is a form of word play which suggests two or more meanings, by exploiting multiple meanings of words, or of similar-sounding words, for an intended humorous or rhetorical effect. These ambiguities can arise from the intentional use and abuse of homophonic,...
or word playWord playWord play or wordplay is a literary technique in which the words that are used become the main subject of the work, primarily for the purpose of intended effect or amusement...
in which the similarities in sound of two different words or phrases are used in a joke.
dokkiri
- ドッキリ (dokkiri). Recently popularized in the west by shows such as Punk'dPunk'dPunk'd is an American hidden camera/practical joke reality television series that first aired on MTV in 2003 and was created by Ashton Kutcher and Jason Goldberg, produced and hosted by Ashton Kutcher. It bore a resemblance to both the classic hidden camera show Candid Camera and to TV's Bloopers...
, these hidden-camera surprise pranks have been very common on Japanese television since the 90's. Traps such as pitfalls, falling objects, and seductive idols are often used.
gag
- ギャグ (gyagu). The same as the English word gag, gyagu are generally cheap jokes (though the word often describes any joke) employed by a geinin in their act. Gyagu tend to be short, physical, and often predictable. American English speakers might say "a corny joke".
geinin
- 芸人 (geinin). Gei means "performance" or "accomplishment", and the word geinin is often translated as "artisan". The un-abbreviated form of the word is 芸能人 (geinōjin), which means "performer" or "entertainer", but it is usually used in a context similar to the English "celebrity". Japanese comedians are usually called お笑い芸人 (owarai geinin, comedy performers) or お笑いタレント (owarai tarento, comedy talents) and talents that appear on television variety showVariety showA variety show, also known as variety arts or variety entertainment, is an entertainment made up of a variety of acts, especially musical performances and sketch comedy, and normally introduced by a compère or host. Other types of acts include magic, animal and circus acts, acrobatics, juggling...
s are usually called 芸能人タレント (geinōjin tarento, performing talents) or sometimes 若手芸人 (wakate geinin, young/newcomer talents) for newer additions to the talent pool. A ピン芸人 (pin geinin) is a solo stand-up performer.
kire
- キレ or 切れ (kire). A casual word for "anger" (similar to "pissed" or "ticked"), the キレ役 (kireyaku) is a role sometimes taken by owarai geinin who have very short tempers, or pretend to. Cunning'sCunning (Owarai)Cunning was a Japanese comedy duo from Fukuoka Prefecture. Cunning consisted of the pudgy, short-tempered Takanori Takeyama , and the rail-thin Tadayuki Nakashima . Known for his bursts of extreme anger, though said to be much more sedated off-camera, Takeyama is the boke of the unit...
Takeyama is well known for his short temper; his kire is his defining feature. Also, 逆ギレ (gyaku gire) is the act of getting angry at someone/something in reverse. For example: A girl cheats on her boyfriend, but then gets angry at her boyfriend when he finds out insisting that it was his fault; a man trips on a rock while walking and swears at the rock, throwing it into the woods. This is a very common role in owarai and manzai performances.
kombi
- コンビ (kombi). An abbreviation of the English word "combination". Usually refers to the "combination" of two Japanese owarai talents to form a comedy unit.
Lumine
- ルミネ (rumine). Short for "Lumine the Yoshimoto" (ルミネtheよしもと), ルミネ is a stage (劇場, gekijō) in Shinjuku's LUMINE2 building, exclusively for owarai performances. It has considerable prestige as only the best performers in Japan ever get a chance to appear on this stage in front of a mere 500 live spectators.
manzaiManzaiis a traditional style of stand-up comedy in Japanese culture, which usually involves two performers —a straight man and a funny man —trading jokes at great speed...
- 万歳, 万才, or (currently) 漫才 (manzai). A more traditional style of Japanese comedy.
monomane
- モノマネ or 物真似 (monomane). Usually impressions of other famous Japanese people, monomane is very common in Japan and some talents have even made a career out of their monomane skills. Some geinin famous for their monomane are HoriHoriHori may refer to:HoriThe son of Khaemweset. Hori became a scribe and High Priest in Ancient Egyptian Times. He is the grandson of Ramsees II.-General:*Hori , a Japanese manufacturer of video game peripherals...
and Gu-ssan.
neta
- ネタ (neta). Reverse spelling of the word tane (種), meaning "seed" or "pit". A neta is the background pretense of a konto skit, though it is sometimes used to refer to the contents of a segment of an owarai act, a variety show, or a newsNewsNews is the communication of selected information on current events which is presented by print, broadcast, Internet, or word of mouth to a third party or mass audience.- Etymology :...
broadcast. Warai Meshi almost won the 2004 M-1 Gran Prix by doing several acts on a neta about the somewhat poorly built human models in the Asuka Historical Museum in NaraNara, Narais the capital city of Nara Prefecture in the Kansai region of Japan. The city occupies the northern part of Nara Prefecture, directly bordering Kyoto Prefecture...
. The neta of variety shows hosted by London Boots Ichigo Nigo almost always have to do with cheating girlfriends and boyfriends. See also shimoneta.
shimoneta
- 下ネタ (shimoneta). Shimoneta is the combination of the characters shimo, meaning "low" or "down", and neta. A shimoneta is a dirty joke, usually focusing on sexual or revolting topics. Some geinin are famous for their shimoneta, such as Beat TakeshiTakeshi Kitanois a Japanese filmmaker, comedian, singer, actor, film editor, presenter, screenwriter, author, poet, painter, and one-time video game designer who has received critical acclaim, both in his native Japan and abroad, for his highly idiosyncratic cinematic work. The famed Japanese film critic...
with his ComaneciNadia ComaneciNadia Elena Comăneci is a Romanian gymnast, winner of three Olympic gold medals at the 1976 Summer Olympics in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, and the first female gymnast ever to be awarded a perfect score of 10 in an Olympic gymnastic event. She is also the winner of two gold medals at the 1980 Summer...
gag, where the hands are thrust diagonally like the bottoms of a gymnast'sGymnasticsGymnastics is a sport involving performance of exercises requiring physical strength, flexibility, agility, coordination, and balance. Internationally, all of the gymnastic sports are governed by the Fédération Internationale de Gymnastique with each country having its own national governing body...
one-piece.
sur
- シュール (shūru). From the FrenchFrench languageFrench is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...
word surréalismeSurrealismSurrealism is a cultural movement that began in the early 1920s, and is best known for the visual artworks and writings of the group members....
, sur (sometimes romanizedRomanizationIn linguistics, romanization or latinization is the representation of a written word or spoken speech with the Roman script, or a system for doing so, where the original word or language uses a different writing system . Methods of romanization include transliteration, for representing written...
shule) is comedy with no apparent reason or logic to it. Sur itself is not very common, or popular, though many Japanese comedians are known to try out sur on occasion in their acts. Sur exploits the natural, uncomfortable feeling that occurs when people are confused and don't know how they are supposed to react to a meaningless or unexpected joke or comment, and so they just laugh. Sur may be compared to some of the unusual humor of the late AmericaUnited StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
n comedian Andy KaufmanAndy KaufmanAndrew Geoffrey "Andy" Kaufman was an American entertainer, actor and performance artist. While often referred to as a comedian, Kaufman did not consider himself one...
. Strictly sur kombi do exist, but it is extremely hard for sur performers to become popular.
tsukkomi
- 突っ込み (tsukkomi). From the verb tsukkomu (突っ込む), meaning something like "butt in", this is often the role of the partner to the boke in an owarai kombi. The tsukkomi is generally the smarter and more reasonable of the unit, and will criticize, verbally and physically abuse, and generally rail at the boke for their mistakes and exaggerations. A typical tsukkomi often slaps the boke on the back of the head, an action always accompanied by an intentionally cheesy slapping sound effectSound effectFor the album by The Jam, see Sound Affects.Sound effects or audio effects are artificially created or enhanced sounds, or sound processes used to emphasize artistic or other content of films, television shows, live performance, animation, video games, music, or other media...
. It is common for tsukkomi in manzai to end an act with the phrase, "Let's quit!" (やめさしてもらいますわ！Yamesashite moraimasu wa!).
unchiku
- うんちく or 蘊蓄 (unchiku). Literally a person's "stock of accumulated knowledge", unchiku usually refers to the act of complaining about something while teaching a lesson to an often uninterested audience. Cream StewCream Stew (comedy duo)Cream Stew is the name of a Japanese comedy duo, Japanese comedy kombi consisting of two comedians, Shinya Ueda and Teppei Arita . Originally from Kumamoto city, the pair first met in high school when Arita and Ueda found a common interest in pro wrestling...
is known for unchiku.
ureteru
- 売れてる (ureteru). From the verb uru (売る), literally meaning "to sell", ureteru is often used in conversation referring to a performer's ability to sell their act (or themselves), and gives a little insight into the way many Japanese comedians think. An ureteru performer gets many more variety appearances, commercials, and pay from their agency than an uretenai (unable to sell) performer, and many performers determined to succeed will stop at almost nothing to promote themselves, and get "selling".
variety bangumi
- バラエティ番組 (baraeti bangumi). Though similar to the concept of variety showVariety showA variety show, also known as variety arts or variety entertainment, is an entertainment made up of a variety of acts, especially musical performances and sketch comedy, and normally introduced by a compère or host. Other types of acts include magic, animal and circus acts, acrobatics, juggling...
in English, shows in Japan often venture far from the Western concept. Waratte Iitomo! and Gaki no TsukaiDowntown no Gaki no Tsukai ya Arahende!!, often abbreviated , is a Japanese variety show hosted by the popular Japanese owarai duo, Downtown, with comedian Hōsei Yamasaki and owarai duo Cocorico co-hosting. The program has been broadcast on Nippon TV since its pilot episode on October 3, 1989, and continues to this day, celebrating its...
are among the longest running TV variety shows still on air today.