Terminology
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Latin transcription of Japanese is very simple to pronounce: each vowel gets its own syllable, and follow the 5 standard vowels of Italian/Spanish etc. Each syllable is stressed more or less the same. E.g:
Seoi-nage is pronounced SEH-OH-EE-NA-GEH
Kata-guruma is pronounced KA-TA-GOO-ROO-MA
However, given that historically most English-speaking judoka aren't fluent in Japanese, the terms often have their own more nativised pronunciation e.g. /ˈsioʊˈnægi/ SEE-OH NA-GEE. This is normally unambiguous, but note for example that uke and uki are often both pronounced /ˈʊki/ in English.
In Japanese, some unvoiced consonants sometimes undergo voicing:
when they become prefixed by another word . This is why, for example, koshi is pronounced with a [k] in koshi-guruma but with a [g] in o-goshi etc. This phenomenon is known as rendaku (連濁). Some other examples:
- kimono / judo-gi
- koshi-guruma / o-goshi
- katame-waza / kesa-gatame
- shime-waza / hadaka-jime
- tori / kata-ashi-dori
- hon-kesa-gatamae / ippon
- hasami-jime / kani-basami
- harai-goshi / de-ashi-barai
Words with rendaku variants in common Judo terms are displayed below thus -rendaku.
Many of the words used in Judo have a different literal/common meaning in Japanese compared to how they're used in the sport/martial art. They may also mean completely different things when occurring in compound words as opposed to standing alone. Similar to how e.g.
- love means 0 points in tennis, but this has no relation to its common meaning in English
- honeymoon has very little to do with honey or the moon
- "to throw in the towel" has its roots in an actual practice in boxing, but now means generally "to give up"
Someone isn't necessarily 'wrong' for translating a term differently from its literal meaning, if the way they translate it better describes the idea of the technique etc they are trying to get across. E.g:
- seoi-nage is often translated as "shoulder" throw, due to the perception of throwing uke over one's shoulder, but 背負 (seo) actually means "to carry on the back", and only means "to shoulder" in the metaphorical sense of bearing a weighty burden.
- tomoe-nage is often translated as "stomach throw", because you put your foot near their stomach, but tomoe actually means a circular whirl style symbol.
- okuri is often translated as "sliding" (due to the 'sliding' of feet in okuri-ashi-barai), but actually means "sending" (e.g. a letter)
This is not normally problematic - a throw is a throw regardless of the label it has - but it can cause some didactic issues if there is a misunderstanding about what the name is supposed to imply about the characteristics of the technique. E.g:
- de-ashi-barai is often translated as "advancing" foot sweep, which may lead to the interpretation that one must perform this technique as uke is moving forward. But 出 (de) has a broader definition, and can mean a movement to or from a place.
- kesa-gatame is often translated as "scarf" hold, which may lead to confusion about why you wrap your arms around uke's neck and arm, as opposed to just their neck (like a scarf). 袈裟 (kesa) in fact refers to kāṣāya, a type of buddhist robe wrapped (in modern Japanese buddhist practice) around the body with the right shoulder out, in a fashion similar to a seatbelt.
When verbs form a part of judo names, it is often the continuous form that is used (most of which end in "-i"). E.g.
- 落 or 落とす (otosu) means "to drop", but 落とし (otoshi) means "dropping"
- 刈 or 刈る (karu) means "to reap", but 刈り (kari) means "reaping"
Japanese has a lot of polysemy and homophones, and as such some words (same spelling, same pronunciation) often have many different meanings, e.g:
- 襟 (eri) can mean "collar" or "lapel"
This is often the case with anatomical terms:
- 小手 (kote) can mean wrist or forearm
and further many words with different spellings have the same pronunciation, e.g:
- 肩 "shoulder", 型 "pattern (of techniques)", 片 "single (of a pair)" are all pronounced "kata"
- 脚 "leg", 足 "foot" are both pronounced "ashi"
| Kanji | Romaji | Translation |
|---|---|---|
| 大 | O | Big, major |
| 小 | Ko | Small, minor |
| 外 | Soto | Outer, outside |
| 内 | Uchi | Inner, inside |
| 前 | Mae | Front |
| 横 | Yoko | Side |
| 後 | Ushiro | Rear, behind, backward |
| 裏 | Ura | Back, behind |
| 四方 | Shihō | In all directions |
| 上 | Kami | Above, top, upper |
| 縦 | Tate | Length, height |
| Kanji | Romaji | Translation |
|---|---|---|
| 並 | Nami | Ordinary |
| 逆 | Gyaku | Reverse, opposite |
| 崩 | Kuzure | Broken |
| Kanji | Romaji | Translation |
|---|---|---|
| 一本 | Ippon | One |
| 片 | Kata | Partial / Single (of a pair) |
| 双 | Moro | Pair |
| 諸 | Moro | Both / Many / Various |
| 両 | Ryo | Both / Two |
| 三角 | Sankaku | Triangle |
| 十字 | Jūji | Cross |
| 巴 | Tomoe |
 Japanese anti-symmetrical shape,similar to the Taijitu ("yin-yang" symbol) ☯ |
| Kanji | Romaji | Translation |
|---|---|---|
| 袈裟 | Kesa | Scarf (Lit. "Kāṣāya", Buddhist robes) |
| 襟 | Eri | Collar / lapel |
| 袖 | Sode | Sleeve / arm, wing |
| 柔道着 / 柔道衣 |
Judogi | Judo uniform |
| 稽古着 / 稽古衣 |
Keikogi | Martial arts uniform (Lit. "Training clothes") |
| 草履 | Zōri | Trad. Japanese sandals |
| 帯 | Obi | Belt |
| 道場 | Dōjō | Training/learning hall |
| Kanji | Romaji | Translation |
|---|---|---|
| 體 | Tai | Body |
| 首 / 頸 |
Kubi | Neck |
| 背 | Se | Back |
| 背負 | Seo | To carry on the back |
| 肩 | Kata | Shoulder |
| 腕 | Ude | Arm |
| 腋 | Waki | Armpit |
| 肘 | Hiji | Elbow |
| 小手 | Kote | Wrist / forearm |
| 手 | Te | Hand |
| 胸 | Mune | Chest |
| 胴 | Do | Body / torso / trunk |
| 腹 / 肚 |
Hara | Stomach |
| 腰 | Koshi-goshi
|
Hip / lower back |
| 脚 | Ashi | Leg |
| 股 | Mata | Thigh |
| 膝 | Hiza | Knee |
| 足 | Ashi | Foot |
| Kanji | Romaji | Translation |
|---|---|---|
| 技 | Waza | Technique |
| 礼 | Rei | Bow |
| 立ち | Tachi-dachi
|
Stance, stand |
| 寝 | Ne | To lie down |
| 正座 / 正坐 |
Seiza | Trad. Japanese kneeling posture |
| 受け身 | Ukemi | Breakfall |
| 組む | Kumi | Grip fighting (Lit. "To grapple") |
| 型 | Kata | Pattern, model |
| 打ち込み | Uchikomi | Repetitive drilling of technique |
| 投込み | Nagekomi | Repetitive throwing |
| Kanji | Romaji | Translation |
|---|---|---|
| 固 | Katame-gatame
|
Hold |
| 抑 | Osae[ru] | Hold down |
| 関節 | Kansetsu | Lock |
| 絞 | Shime-jime
|
Choke |
| 緘 | Karami-garami
|
Entanglement |
| 挫 | Hishigi | Crush |
| Kanji | Romaji | Translation |
|---|---|---|
| 突き | Tsuki-zuki
|
Punch |
| 蹴り | Keri-geri
|
Kick |
| 端 | Ha | Edge |
| Kanji | Romaji | Translation |
|---|---|---|
| 投 | Nage | Throw |
| 落 | Otoshi | Dropping |
| 浮 | Uki | Floating |
| 釣 | Tsuri | Lifting (Lit. "Fishing" i.e. as a fishing rod suspends a fish from the line) |
| 跳 | Hane | Spring |
| 支 | Sasae | Propping |
| 刈 | Kari-gari
|
Reaping |
| 掛 | Kake-gake
|
Hook / suspend |
| 払 | Harai-barai
|
Sweep / Clear out |
| 送 | Okuri | Sending |
| 飛 | Tobi | Flying / jumping |
| 返し | Kaeshi-gaeshi
|
Returning |
| 車 | Kuruma-guruma
|
Wheel |
| 回り | Mawari | Rotation, circulation |
| 巻 | Maki | Winding |
| 込 | Komi | Modifier to verb/noun, normally means "to full/a greater extent" |
| Kanji | Romaji | Translation |
|---|---|---|
| 取り | Tori | Active partner "To take/choose" |
| 受け | Uke | Passive partner "To receive" |
| 先生 | Sensei | Teacher |
| 柔道家 | Jūdōka | Practitioner of Judo |
| Kanji | Romaji | Translation |
|---|---|---|
| 始め | Hajime | Beginning/start |
| よし | Yoshi | "To continue" |
| 待て | Mate | Wait! |
| 止め | Yame | Stop! |
| 解けた | Toketa | Hold broken (Lit. "Untied/undone") |
| 指導 | Shido | Penalty (Lit. "Guidance; instruction") |
| 反則負け | Hansokumake | Disqualification (Lit. "Foul-play loss") |
| 一本 | Ippon | One full point |
| 技あり | Waza-ari | One half point |
| Smaller point, removed in 2017 from IJF rules | ||
| Smaller point, removed in 2016 from IJF rules | ||
| 押忍 | Osu | Note of appreciation/respect/readiness/motivation/camaraderie etc before/after practise Similar in intention to a rei or shaking hands after a match. |