List of Japanese Latin alphabetic abbreviations

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Abbreviations are common in Japanese; these include many Latin alphabet letter combinations, generally pronounced as initialisms. Some of these combinations are common in English, but others are unique to Japan or of Japanese origin, and form a kind of wasei eigo (Japanese-coined English).

This is a list of Latin alphabet letter combinations used in Japan.

A[edit]

B[edit]

C[edit]

D[edit]

  • DT – dōtei (童貞, male virgin)
  • DV – Domestic Violence

E[edit]

  • EV – elevator

G[edit]

  • GW – Golden Week

H[edit]

  • H – hentai, alternately written as ecchi; the meanings of these two terms have diverged.
  • HP – home page (website)

I[edit]

J[edit]

K[edit]

  • KY – kūki yomenai (空気読めない, lit. "unable to read the air"); refers to someone who is unable to read a social situation.
  • KSK – kekkon shite kudasai (結婚してください, lit. "marry me please"); an increasingly popular way to propose among young people.

L[edit]

M[edit]

N[edit]

O[edit]

  • OA – office automation (i.e. the computerization of offices), opening act (as in live music performances)
  • OB – old boy (male former student (alumnus), club member, teammate, employee, etc.)
  • OG – old girl (female former student (alumnus), club member, teammate, employee, etc.)
  • OL – office lady (a female office worker)
  • ONA - original net animation (anime directly released onto the Internet)
  • OP – opening (title sequence, often used regarding anime)
  • OSV – original sound version (video game soundtrack)
  • OVA – original video animation (also abbreviated as OAV)

P[edit]

  • PS – police station
  • PV – promotional video (usually refers specifically to music videos)

R[edit]

S[edit]

T[edit]

  • TQB – tei kyū bi (定休日, regular holiday or fixed day off)
  • TPO – Time, Place, Occasion

U[edit]

V[edit]

  • VG – video game
  • VTR – video tele-replay (the display of pre-recorded footage)

W[edit]

  • W – double (from the letter's name double-u)
  • w – warau (笑う, Internet slang for "laugh out loud" (is usually stringed, e.g. "wwww"))