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Sunday, January 30, 2011

Phonetic Names: How the Japanese say Colors

UPDATED 1/30/11
I knew about Katakana, I just forgot. Thank you for the clarification!
You know how when the warriors of Super Sentai say their hero names in the roll-call? Well, some of the names have the colors in English and because they are Japanese, their accents make the way they say sound unique, here I highlight all the colors:
アカレンジャー
Aka Ranger
Aka means Red in Japanese, hence Aka Red (from Boukenger vs. Super Sentai) is Red Red. It sounds like Akarenja. Most Red Warriors in Super Sentai use the English word 'Red' and the Katakana for Red. アカ is the Katakana for Aka.

ゴーカイレッド
Gokai Red

Sounds like
Gokaireddo. When most of the warriors say 'red', they say 'reddo.' レッド is the Katakana for Red.

アオレンジャー
Ao Ranger

Ao means Blue in Japanese. It sounds like Aorenja. アオ is Katakana for Ao.

ゴーカイブルー
Gokai Blue
Sounds like Gokaiburu. When most of the warriors say 'blue', they say 'buru.' ブルー is the Katakana for Blue.

キレンジャ
Ki Ranger
Ki means Yellow in Japanese. It sounds like Kirenja. キレ is the Katakana for Ki.

ゴーカイイエロー
Gokai Yellow

Sounds like Gokaiiero. When most of the warriors say 'yellow,' they say 'iero' which sounds like 'arrow.' When females say it, they shout it in their high voice. Men say it less than enthusiastic. イエロー is the Katakana for Yellow.

モモレンジャー
Momo Ranger

Momo means Pink in Japanese. It sounds like Momorenja. モモ is the Katakana for Momo.

ゴーカイピンク
Gokai Pink

Sounds like Gokaipinku. When most heroines say 'pink,' they say 'pinku.' Some do say Pink with a emphasis on the P.
ピンク is the Katakana for Pink.

ミドレンジャー
Mido Ranger

Mido means Green in Japanese. It sounds like Midorenja. ミドレ is the
Katakana for Mido.

ゴーカイグリーン
Gokai Green

Sounds like
Gokaigurin. It kind of sounds like 'Guh-reen.' グリーン is the Katakana for Green.

ゴセイブラック
Gosei Black
Sounds like Gosei Burakku. When most of the warriors say 'black', they say 'Burakku.' ブラック is the Katakana for Black. Ninja Black just said 'black' like most Americans did because he was Japanese-American.

シンケンゴールド Shinken Gold
Sounds like Shinken Gorudo. Sometimes warriors say 'Gorudo' or 'Gold.' ゴールド is the Katakana for Gold.

ゴーオンシルバー
G0-On Silver

Sounds like
Go-onshiruba. Most warriors say 'Shiruba' for Silver, which sounds like 'Shiba'. シルバー is the Katakana for Silver.

ゲキバイオレット
Geki Violet

Sounds like Geki
Baioretto, he said 'Baioretto' for Violet. イオレットis the Katakana for Violet.

ガオホワイト
Gao White

Sounds like Gao Howaito, most heroines say 'Howaito' for White, which sounds like 'White-to.' ワイト is
Katakana for White. Only heroines that were white, had the name 'white.' All males so far that have been white warriors didn't have the word 'white' in their names like Big One, Kibaranger, GekiChopper, AbareKiller and DekaBreak.

Transliterations of how some of the Auxiliary Rangers pronounce their names:
Dragon Ranger = Doragon Renjā
Kiba Ranger = Kiba Renjā
King Ranger =
Kingu Renjā
Time Fire = Taimufaiyā
Kabuto Raiger = Kabutoraijā
Kuwagata Raiger = Kuwagaraijā
Abare Killer = Abare Kirā
Deka Break = Deka Bureiku
Deka Master = Deka Masutā
Magi Shine = Majishain
Magi Mother = Majimazā
Geki Chopper = Geki Choppa
Gosei Knight = Gosei Naito


4 comments:

  1. A few corrections. The Japanese you're using to write "Reddo", "Burū", "Gurīn", "Pinku" and so on (レッド、ブルー、グリーン、ピンク) are NOT kanji. They're katakana characters. There's three types of Japanese writing (four if you count latin characters). Hiragana, Katakana, and Kanji.

    Kanji are simply characters (mainly loaned from the Chinese languages) with specific meanings. The specific kanji for colors are Akai (赤い, red), Aoi (青い, blue), Midori (緑, green), Ki (黄, yellow), and Momo (桃, Pink).

    Hiragana and Katakana on the other hand, are purely phonetic. The main difference between the two is that Katakana is usually used to transliterate foreign words and sounds to Japanese writing.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Just a note. It's not "kanji" that the names are using, it's "katakana."

    ReplyDelete
  3. quick off topic note the power rangers were just on adult swim and they used 2010 toys

    ReplyDelete

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