HomeJapaneseHow are obscene words written euphemistically in Japanese? I mean, like we have in English characters like #@**XX etc. Do the Japanese use any such replacements to mask vulgar words?
How are obscene words written euphemistically in Japanese? I mean, like we have in English characters like #@**XX etc. Do the Japanese use any such replacements to mask vulgar words?
How are obscene words written euphemistically in Japanese? I mean, like we have in English characters like #@**XX etc. Do the Japanese use any such replacements to mask vulgar words?
Parts of the word get replaced with a circle (〇, a.k.a. ‘maru’). Usually accompanied with a beep-out if there’s audio.
One thing to note is that due to the built-in grammatical politeness levels in Japanese grammar, it has not historically needed to invent words and render them “off limits” to the same extent English has. Many words that would be translated as a “four letter word” in English do not need to be censored or bleeped, even in public broadcasts intended for younger viewers.
But if you do cross the line, usually they’ll be censored with a ○ in place of some letters, the same way you’d use @#%.
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〇〇
Parts of the word get replaced with a circle (〇, a.k.a. ‘maru’). Usually accompanied with a beep-out if there’s audio.
One thing to note is that due to the built-in grammatical politeness levels in Japanese grammar, it has not historically needed to invent words and render them “off limits” to the same extent English has. Many words that would be translated as a “four letter word” in English do not need to be censored or bleeped, even in public broadcasts intended for younger viewers.
But if you do cross the line, usually they’ll be censored with a ○ in place of some letters, the same way you’d use @#%.