Japanese words of Dutch origin - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

Japanese words of Dutch origin started to develop when the Dutch East India Company

Dutch East India Company

The Dutch East India Company was a chartered company established in 1602, when the States-General of the Netherlands granted it a 21-year monopoly to carry out colonial activities in Asia...

initiated trading in Japan from the factory

Factory (trading post)

Factory was the English term for the trading posts system originally established by Europeans in foreign territories, first within different states of medieval Europe, and later in their colonial possessions...

of Hirado in 1609. In 1640, the Dutch were transferred to Dejima

Dejima

was a small fan-shaped artificial island built in the bay of Nagasaki in 1634. This island, which was formed by digging a canal through a small peninsula, remained as the single place of direct trade and exchange between Japan and the outside world during the Edo period. Dejima was built to...

, and from then on until 1854 remained the only Westerners allowed access to Japan, during Japan's "sakoku
Sakoku
was the foreign relations policy of Japan under which no foreigner could enter nor could any Japanese leave the country on penalty of death. The policy was enacted by the Tokugawa shogunate under Tokugawa Iemitsu through a number of edicts and policies from 1633–39 and remained in effect until...

" seclusion period.

Numerous exchanges occurred, leading to a branch of Western learning in Japan known as rangaku
Rangaku
Rangaku is a body of knowledge developed by Japan through its contacts with the Dutch enclave of Dejima, which allowed Japan to keep abreast of Western technology and medicine in the period when the country was closed to foreigners, 1641–1853, because of the Tokugawa shogunate’s policy of national...

(蘭学), or "Dutch learning" where the "ran" (蘭) in rangaku comes from "Oranda" the Japanese word for Holland, and means Dutch while "gaku" (学) is of Sino-Japanese origin and means "Learning". In the process, a number of terms were adopted from Dutch into the Japanese language. At one point, some 3,000 words are thought to have been used, especially in the areas of technical and scientific vocabulary. About 160 such words of Dutch origin remain in use today in standard Japanese.

Japanese transliteration (rōmaji)	Japanese term (kanji or kana)	Dutch term	English term(s)	Details
arukari	アルカリ	alkali	alkali Alkali In chemistry, an alkali is a basic, ionic salt of an alkali metal or alkaline earth metal element. Some authors also define an alkali as a base that dissolves in water. A solution of a soluble base has a pH greater than 7. The adjective alkaline is commonly used in English as a synonym for base,...	From Arabic, through Dutch.
arukōru	アルコール	alcohol	alcohol Alcohol In chemistry, an alcohol is an organic compound in which the hydroxy functional group is bound to a carbon atom. In particular, this carbon center should be saturated, having single bonds to three other atoms....	From Arabic, through Dutch.
asubesto	アスベスト	asbest	asbestos Asbestos Asbestos is a set of six naturally occurring silicate minerals used commercially for their desirable physical properties. They all have in common their eponymous, asbestiform habit: long, thin fibrous crystals...	From Greek, through Dutch.
bīru	ビール, 麦酒	bier	beer Beer Beer is the world's most widely consumed andprobably oldest alcoholic beverage; it is the third most popular drink overall, after water and tea. It is produced by the brewing and fermentation of sugars, mainly derived from malted cereal grains, most commonly malted barley and malted wheat...
bisuketto	ビスケット	beschuit	biscuit Biscuit A biscuit is a baked, edible, and commonly flour-based product. The term is used to apply to two distinctly different products in North America and the Commonwealth Nations....	Reinforcement of Portuguese biscoito.
bōru	ボール	boor	drill Drill A drill or drill motor is a tool fitted with a cutting tool attachment or driving tool attachment, usually a drill bit or driver bit, used for drilling holes in various materials or fastening various materials together with the use of fasteners. The attachment is gripped by a chuck at one end of... , bore	After 1720.
buriki	ブリキ	blik	tin Tin Tin is a chemical element with the symbol Sn and atomic number 50. It is a main group metal in group 14 of the periodic table. Tin shows chemical similarity to both neighboring group 14 elements, germanium and lead and has two possible oxidation states, +2 and the slightly more stable +4...
capitan	カピタン	kapitein	captain
chifusu	チフス	tyfus	typhus Typhus Epidemic typhus is a form of typhus so named because the disease often causes epidemics following wars and natural disasters...
doitsu	ドイツ	Duits	German
dontaku	ドンタク	zondag	sunday Sunday Sunday is the day of the week between Saturday and Monday. For most Christians, Sunday is observed as a day for worship of God and rest, due to the belief that it is Lord's Day, the day of Christ's resurrection....	Means "Sly dog" in Tottori Tottori Tottori can refer to:* Tottori Prefecture - a Japanese prefecture with 613,229 people.* Tottori, Tottori - a Japanese city with 202,015 people.* Tottori Sand Dunes... , "Stupid" in Hiroshima Hiroshima is the capital of Hiroshima Prefecture, and the largest city in the Chūgoku region of western Honshu, the largest island of Japan. It became best known as the first city in history to be destroyed by a nuclear weapon when the United States Army Air Forces dropped an atomic bomb on it at 8:15 A.M... .
doronken	ドロンケン	dronken	drunk
ekisu	エキス	extract	extract Extract An extract is a substance made by extracting a part of a raw material, often by using a solvent such as ethanol or water. Extracts may be sold as tinctures or in powder form....
erekishiteito	エレキシテイト	electriciteit	electricity Electricity Electricity is a general term encompassing a variety of phenomena resulting from the presence and flow of electric charge. These include many easily recognizable phenomena, such as lightning, static electricity, and the flow of electrical current in an electrical wire...	Obsolete (replaced by 電気).
erekiteru	エレキテル	elekiter Elekiter The is the Japanese name for a type of generator of static electricity used for electric experiments in the 18th century. In Japan, Hiraga Gennai presented his own elekiter in 1776, derived from an elekiter from Holland...		A type of generator of static electricity used for electric experiments in the 18th century
ēteru	エーテル	ether	ether Ether Ethers are a class of organic compounds that contain an ether group — an oxygen atom connected to two alkyl or aryl groups — of general formula R–O–R'. A typical example is the solvent and anesthetic diethyl ether, commonly referred to simply as "ether"...	From Greek, through Dutch.
garasu	ガラス, 硝子	glas	window glass
gasu	ガス	gas	gas Gas Gas is one of the three classical states of matter . Near absolute zero, a substance exists as a solid. As heat is added to this substance it melts into a liquid at its melting point , boils into a gas at its boiling point, and if heated high enough would enter a plasma state in which the electrons...
giganjima	ギガンジマ	gingang	gingham Gingham Gingham is a medium-weight balanced plain-woven fabric made from dyed cotton or cotton-blend yarn.The name originates from an adjective in the Malay language, genggang , meaning striped. Some sources say that the name came into English via Dutch...
giyaman	ギヤマン	diamant	diamond Diamond In mineralogy, diamond is an allotrope of carbon, where the carbon atoms are arranged in a variation of the face-centered cubic crystal structure called a diamond lattice. Diamond is less stable than graphite, but the conversion rate from diamond to graphite is negligible at ambient conditions...
gomu	ゴム	gom, gum	rubber Rubber Natural rubber, also called India rubber or caoutchouc, is an elastomer that was originally derived from latex, a milky colloid produced by some plants. The plants would be ‘tapped’, that is, an incision made into the bark of the tree and the sticky, milk colored latex sap collected and refined...
gorofukuren	ゴロフクレン	grofgrein	grosgrain Grosgrain Grosgrain , also gros-grain and, rarely, gros grain, is a type of fabric characterized by its ribbed appearance. In grosgrain, the weft is heavier than the warp, creating prominent transverse ribs. It is called a "corded" fabric since the weft resembles a fine cord. Grosgrain is a plain weave...
hamu	ハム	ham	ham Ham Ham is a cut of meat from the thigh of the hind leg of certain animals, especiallypigs. Nearly all hams sold today are fully cooked or cured.-Etymology:...
hatoron	ハトロン	patroon	patron Patrón Patrón is a luxury brand of tequila produced in Mexico and sold in hand-blown, individually numbered bottles.Made entirely from Blue Agave "piñas" , Patrón comes in five varieties: Silver, Añejo, Reposado, Gran Patrón Platinum and Gran Patrón Burdeos. Patrón also sells a tequila-coffee blend known...
henrūda	ヘンルーダ	wijnruit	Common Rue Common Rue The Common Rue , also known as Herb-of-Grace, is a species of rue grown as a herb. It is native to the Balkan Peninsula, southeastern Europe. It is sometimes grown as an ornamental plant in gardens, especially because of its bluish leaves, and also sometimes for its tolerance of hot and dry soil...
hetto	ヘット	vet	tallow Tallow Tallow is a rendered form of beef or mutton fat, processed from suet. It is solid at room temperature. Unlike suet, tallow can be stored for extended periods without the need for refrigeration to prevent decomposition, provided it is kept in an airtight container to prevent oxidation.In industry,...
hukku	フック	haak	hook
infuruenza	インフルエンザ	influenza	influenza Influenza Influenza, commonly referred to as the flu, is an infectious disease caused by RNA viruses of the family Orthomyxoviridae , that affects birds and mammals...	After 1720
inki	インキ	inkt	ink Ink Ink is a liquid or paste that contains pigments and/or dyes and is used to color a surface to produce an image, text, or design. Ink is used for drawing and/or writing with a pen, brush, or quill...
kamitsure	カミツレ	kamille	camomile	After 1720.
kantera	カンテラ	Candela	candela Candela The candela is the SI base unit of luminous intensity; that is, power emitted by a light source in a particular direction, weighted by the luminosity function . A common candle emits light with a luminous intensity of roughly one candela...
karan	カラン	kraan	tap Tap (valve) A tap is a valve controlling release of liquids or gas. In the British Isles and most of the Commonwealth, the word is used for any everyday type of valve, particularly the fittings that control water supply to bathtubs and sinks. In the U.S., the term "tap" is more often used for beer taps,... (UK) / faucet (Am.)
kari	カリ	Kalium	Potassium Potassium Potassium is the chemical element with the symbol K and atomic number 19. Elemental potassium is a soft silvery-white alkali metal that oxidizes rapidly in air and is very reactive with water, generating sufficient heat to ignite the hydrogen emitted in the reaction.Potassium and sodium are...
karuki	カルキ	Calcium	Calcium Calcium Calcium is the chemical element with the symbol Ca and atomic number 20. It has an atomic mass of 40.078 amu. Calcium is a soft gray alkaline earth metal, and is the fifth-most-abundant element by mass in the Earth's crust...
katēteru	カテーテル	katheter	catheter Catheter In medicine, a catheter is a tube that can be inserted into a body cavity, duct, or vessel. Catheters thereby allow drainage, administration of fluids or gases, or access by surgical instruments. The process of inserting a catheter is catheterization...	From Greek through Dutch
kechin	ケチン	ketting	chain Chain A chain is a sequence of connected links.Chain may also refer to:Chain may refer to:* Necklace - a jewelry which is worn around the neck* Mail , a type of armor made of interlocking chain links...	After 1720. Now obsolete (replaced by 鎖).
kiruku	キルク	kurk	cork
kōhī	コーヒー, 珈琲	koffie	coffee Coffee Coffee is a brewed beverage with a dark,init brooo acidic flavor prepared from the roasted seeds of the coffee plant, colloquially called coffee beans. The beans are found in coffee cherries, which grow on trees cultivated in over 70 countries, primarily in equatorial Latin America, Southeast Asia,...
kokku	コック	kok	cook Cooking Cooking is the process of preparing food by use of heat. Cooking techniques and ingredients vary widely across the world, reflecting unique environmental, economic, and cultural traditions. Cooks themselves also vary widely in skill and training...
koppu	コップ	kop	cup	Reinforcement of Portuguese copo.
konpasu	コンパス	kompas	compass Compass A compass is a navigational instrument that shows directions in a frame of reference that is stationary relative to the surface of the earth. The frame of reference defines the four cardinal directions – north, south, east, and west. Intermediate directions are also defined...
korera	コレラ	cholera	cholera Cholera Cholera is an infection of the small intestine that is caused by the bacterium Vibrio cholerae. The main symptoms are profuse watery diarrhea and vomiting. Transmission occurs primarily by drinking or eating water or food that has been contaminated by the diarrhea of an infected person or the feces...
kureosōto	クレオソート	creosoot	Creosote Creosote Creosote is the portion of chemical products obtained by the distillation of a tar that remains heavier than water, notably useful for its anti-septic and preservative properties...
koruku	コルク	kurk	cork
madorosu	マドロス	matroos	sailor Sailor A sailor, mariner, or seaman is a person who navigates water-borne vessels or assists in their operation, maintenance, or service. The term can apply to professional mariners, military personnel, and recreational sailors as well as a plethora of other uses...
masuto	マスト	mast	mast Mast (sailing) The mast of a sailing vessel is a tall, vertical, or near vertical, spar, or arrangement of spars, which supports the sails. Large ships have several masts, with the size and configuration depending on the style of ship...
mesu	メス	(mes) scalpel	scalpel Scalpel A scalpel, or lancet, is a small and extremely sharp bladed instrument used for surgery, anatomical dissection, and various arts and crafts . Scalpels may be single-use disposable or re-usable. Re-usable scalpels can have attached, resharpenable blades or, more commonly, non-attached, replaceable...	After 1720
moruhine	モルヒネ	morfine	morphine Morphine Morphine is a potent opiate analgesic medication and is considered to be the prototypical opioid. It was first isolated in 1804 by Friedrich Sertürner, first distributed by same in 1817, and first commercially sold by Merck in 1827, which at the time was a single small chemists' shop. It was more...	After 1720.
morumotto	モルモット	marmot	Guinea pig Guinea pig The guinea pig , also called the cavy, is a species of rodent belonging to the family Caviidae and the genus Cavia. Despite their common name, these animals are not in the pig family, nor are they from Guinea...
oburāto	オブラート	oblaat	oblate Oblate An oblate spheroid is a rotationally symmetric ellipsoid having a polar axis shorter than the diameter of the equatorial circle whose plane bisects it. Oblate spheroids stand in contrast to prolate spheroids....
orugōru	オルゴール	(orgel) muziekdoos	(organ Organ (music) The organ , is a keyboard instrument of one or more divisions, each played with its own keyboard operated either with the hands or with the feet. The organ is a relatively old musical instrument in the Western musical tradition, dating from the time of Ctesibius of Alexandria who is credited with... ) music box
otenba	お転婆	ontembaar	(untameable) tomboy Tomboy A tomboy is a girl who exhibits characteristics or behaviors considered typical of the gender role of a boy, including the wearing of typically masculine-oriented clothes and engaging in games and activities that are often physical in nature, and which are considered in many cultures to be the...
penki	ペンキ	(pek) verf, teer	house paint Paint Paint is any liquid, liquefiable, or mastic composition which after application to a substrate in a thin layer is converted to an opaque solid film. One may also consider the digital mimicry thereof...
pesuto	ペスト	pest	black death Black Death The Black Death was one of the most devastating pandemics in human history, peaking in Europe between 1348 and 1350. Of several competing theories, the dominant explanation for the Black Death is the plague theory, which attributes the outbreak to the bacterium Yersinia pestis. Thought to have...	After 1720
pinto	ピント	punt	focus
pisutoru	ピストル	pistool	pistol Pistol When distinguished as a subset of handguns, a pistol is a handgun with a chamber that is integral with the barrel, as opposed to a revolver, wherein the chamber is separate from the barrel as a revolving cylinder. Typically, pistols have an effective range of about 100 feet.-History:The pistol...
ponpu	ポンプ	pomp	pump Pump A pump is a device used to move fluids, such as liquids, gases or slurries.A pump displaces a volume by physical or mechanical action. Pumps fall into three major groups: direct lift, displacement, and gravity pumps...	After 1720.
randoseru Randoseru A is a firm-sided backpack made of stitched firm leather or leather-like synthetic material, most commonly used in Japan by elementary schoolchildren. It measures roughly 30 cm high by 23 cm wide by 18 cm deep, and features a softer grade of leather or material on those surfaces...	ランドセル	ransel	backpack Backpack A backpack is, in its simplest form, a cloth sack carried on one's back and secured with two straps that go over the shoulders, but there can be exceptions...
ranpu	ランプ	lamp	lamp Lamp Lamp is a light source, while LAMP is an acronym.-Lamps:Lamp may refer to one of the following:Oil lamp, the original use of the termKerosene lamp, a lamp burning liquid petroleum...
retoruto	レトルト	retort	retort Retort In a chemistry laboratory, a retort is a glassware device used for distillation or dry distillation of substances. It consists of a spherical vessel with a long downward-pointing neck. The liquid to be distilled is placed in the vessel and heated...
renzu	レンズ	lens	lens Lens (optics) A lens is an optical device with perfect or approximate axial symmetry which transmits and refracts light, converging or diverging the beam. A simple lens consists of a single optical element...
safuran	サフラン	saffraan	saffron Saffron Saffron is a spice derived from the flower of Crocus sativus, commonly known as the saffron crocus. Crocus is a genus in the family Iridaceae. Each saffron crocus grows to and bears up to four flowers, each with three vivid crimson stigmas, which are each the distal end of a carpel...
saten	サテン	satijn	satin Satin Satin is a weave that typically has a glossy surface and a dull back. It is a warp-dominated weaving technique that forms a minimum number of interlacings in a fabric. If a fabric is formed with a satin weave using filament fibres such as silk, nylon, or polyester, the corresponding fabric is...
seimi	セイミ	chemie	chemistry Chemistry Chemistry is the science of matter, especially its chemical reactions, but also its composition, structure and properties. Chemistry is concerned with atoms and their interactions with other atoms, and particularly with the properties of chemical bonds....	Now obsolete, replaced by 化学
shian	シアン	cyaan	cyan Cyan Cyan from , transliterated: kýanos, meaning "dark blue substance") may be used as the name of any of a number of colors in the blue/green range of the spectrum. In reference to the visible spectrum cyan is used to refer to the color obtained by mixing equal amounts of green and blue light or the...
shiroppu	シロップ	siroop	syrup Syrup In cooking, a syrup is a thick, viscous liquid consisting primarily of a solution of sugar in water, containing a large amount of dissolved sugars but showing little tendency to deposit crystals...
sukoppu	スコップ	schop	spade Spade A spade is a tool designed primarily for the purpose of digging or removing earth. Early spades were made of riven wood. After the art of metalworking was discovered, spades were made with sharper tips of metal. Before the advent of metal spades manual labor was less efficient at moving earth,... , shovel Shovel A shovel is a tool for digging, lifting, and moving bulk materials, such as soil, coal, gravel, snow, sand, or ore. Shovels are extremely common tools that are used extensively in agriculture, construction, and gardening....
supoito	スポイト	spuit	syringe Syringe A syringe is a simple pump consisting of a plunger that fits tightly in a tube. The plunger can be pulled and pushed along inside a cylindrical tube , allowing the syringe to take in and expel a liquid or gas through an orifice at the open end of the tube...
tarumomētoru	タルモメートル	thermometer	thermometer Thermometer Developed during the 16th and 17th centuries, a thermometer is a device that measures temperature or temperature gradient using a variety of different principles. A thermometer has two important elements: the temperature sensor Developed during the 16th and 17th centuries, a thermometer (from the...	From Greek, through Dutch. After 1720. Now obsolete (replaced by 体温計)
teresukoppu	テレスコップ	telescoop	telescope Telescope A telescope is an instrument that aids in the observation of remote objects by collecting electromagnetic radiation . The first known practical telescopes were invented in the Netherlands at the beginning of the 1600s , using glass lenses...	From Greek, through Dutch. After 1720
yojiumu	ヨジウム	jodium	iodine Iodine Iodine is a chemical element with the symbol I and atomic number 53. The name is pronounced , , or . The name is from the , meaning violet or purple, due to the color of elemental iodine vapor....
zukku	ズック	doek	canvas Canvas Canvas is an extremely heavy-duty plain-woven fabric used for making sails, tents, marquees, backpacks, and other items for which sturdiness is required. It is also popularly used by artists as a painting surface, typically stretched across a wooden frame...

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Which Japanese words originate from Dutch?

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