For me it was “hunky dory”. I thought it was Japanese-English phrase “hunky doori“. Like hunky street. I wondered why everything was ok on hunky street.
https://www.reddit.com/r/japan/comments/15p8hq5/folks_who_grew_up_in_japan_what_english/
For me it was “hunky dory”. I thought it was Japanese-English phrase “hunky doori“. Like hunky street. I wondered why everything was ok on hunky street.
https://www.reddit.com/r/japan/comments/15p8hq5/folks_who_grew_up_in_japan_what_english/
6 comments
“Disgusting”/”sick”/”gross” in the same vein as “cool.” It’s amusing that it’s basically used in the same way as ヤバい and am also happy to report that I’ve now fully embraced the lingo.
In second grade, the cool mean girl who moved from America called me “psycho” and I heard “saikou” and thought she was calling me the coolest 😭
Hunky-dory* Origin: 本町通 (honchō dōri) First known use: 1865
So the origins of this word are a little shady, hence the asterisk. Some say the word comes from an obsolete dialect of English, but others say the origins lie in Japan. The story goes that honcho dori was the main thoroughfare that lead American sailors back to the port. If they found honcho dori, said as “hunky-dory,” they knew they could find their way home. Other sources claim honcho dōri was a road in Japan that catered to the “needs” of American sailors abroad, making them feel nice and hunky-dory.
https://japantoday.com/category/features/10-english-words-that-were-originally-japanese
Fak you
I’ve known Japanese people who went to America and were confused by the terms penny, nickel, dime and quarter.
“How do you do?” Do what? How?