Technology & Gadgets

Introduction

Japan’s tech-savvy culture has produced slang for every digital situation. From ググる (to Google something) to ポチる (to impulse-buy online with one click), tech slang is woven into daily Japanese life.

This chapter covers slang related to technology, apps, and digital culture.

Themes

All Japanese Slang in This Chapter (80)

1. ぐぐる ぐぐる To Google something — to look up information on the internet using a search engine.
2. 鯖落ち さばおち Server crash or outage — when a website or online service goes down due to server failure or overload.
3. Wi-Fi乞食 ワイファイこじき Wi-Fi beggar — someone who is always hunting for free Wi-Fi spots or mooching off others' connections.
4. ギガ ギガ Mobile data allowance, measured in gigabytes (GB). Colloquially refers to one's remaining data balance.
5. ギガ死 ギガし Running out of mobile data — the dreaded state of having exhausted one's monthly data allowance and being throttled to unusably slow speeds.
6. 充電切れ じゅうでんきれ Battery dead — the state of a device having completely run out of charge.
7. 充電難民 じゅうでんなんみん Battery refugee — someone desperately searching for a place to charge their dying phone.
8. スマホ依存 スマホいぞん Smartphone addiction — the state of being overly dependent on or unable to put down one's smartphone.
9. 歩きスマホ あるきスマホ Walking while looking at your smartphone — the widely criticised and dangerous habit of texting or browsing while walking.
10. 既読 きどく Read receipt — the indicator showing that a message has been read, especially on LINE. Also used broadly to mean 'I saw it but didn't rep...
11. リムる リムる To remove or unfollow someone on social media.
12. 捨て垢 すてあか Throwaway account, burner account — a disposable social media account not linked to one's real identity.
13. 拡散 かくさん To spread or share widely — used for retweeting, reposting, or making content go viral on social media.
14. 魚拓 ぎょたく Web archive or screenshot — saving a copy of a webpage before it gets deleted or edited, preserving evidence.
15. ステータス ステータス Status — can refer to online status (active/away/offline) on messaging apps, or metaphorically to social standing or coolness factor.
16. 通知爆弾 つうちばくだん Notification bomb — an overwhelming flood of push notifications or messages hitting your phone all at once.
17. クラウド クラウド Cloud — cloud storage or cloud computing; storing data on remote servers rather than locally.
18. ストレージ ストレージ Storage — device storage capacity or cloud storage space, especially on smartphones and computers.
19. 容量不足 ようりょうぶそく Insufficient storage or capacity — not enough space on a device, drive, or cloud account.
20. 落ちる おちる To crash — when an app, game, system, or website suddenly stops working or shuts down unexpectedly.
21. フリーズ フリーズ Freeze — when a device, app, or screen becomes completely unresponsive and stops reacting to input.
22. カクカク カクカク Choppy, stuttering, low framerate — describes jerky movement or poor performance in video, games, or animations.
23. ラグい ラグい Laggy — experiencing network delay or latency, especially in online games or video calls.
24. オフライン オフライン Offline — not connected to the internet, or set to appear offline on messaging apps.
25. オンライン オンライン Online — connected to the internet, or available on a platform. Also used for remote activities like online classes or shopping.
26. ウェブ会議 ウェブかいぎ Web meeting, video conference — a meeting conducted online via platforms like Zoom, Teams, or Google Meet.
27. 画面共有 がめんきょうゆう Screen sharing — the feature of showing your screen to others during a video call or meeting.
28. マイクオフ マイクオフ Mic off, muted — having your microphone turned off during a video call, either intentionally or accidentally.
29. ガジェット ガジェット Gadget — a small electronic device or tech accessory, especially novel or innovative ones.
30. ウェアラブル ウェアラブル Wearable device — technology worn on the body such as smartwatches, fitness trackers, and smart glasses.
31. AI エーアイ Artificial intelligence — technology that enables machines to perform tasks requiring human-like intelligence, from chatbots to image rec...
32. 生成AI せいせいエーアイ Generative AI — AI systems like ChatGPT, Midjourney, and Stable Diffusion that can create text, images, music, and other content.
33. AIイラスト エーアイイラスト AI-generated illustration — artwork or images created using artificial intelligence tools like Midjourney, Stable Diffusion, or DALL-E.
34. プロンプト プロンプト Prompt — the text input given to an AI system to generate output, such as questions to ChatGPT or descriptions for image generators.
35. ディープフェイク ディープフェイク Deepfake — AI-generated fake media, especially manipulated video or audio that makes someone appear to say or do something they never did.
36. バグ バグ Bug — a software error, glitch, or unexpected behaviour in an app, game, or system.
37. 仕様 しよう Specification or 'it's by design' — used humorously to dismiss a bug or problem as an intentional feature.
38. ネサフ ネサフ Net surfing — casually browsing the internet without a specific purpose, just clicking from page to page.
39. タブ タブ Tab — a browser tab; one of multiple open pages in a web browser.
40. ブクマ ブクマ Bookmark — saving a webpage or post for later. Abbreviated from ブックマーク.
41. ポップアップ ポップアップ Pop-up — an ad or notification window that suddenly appears on screen.
42. キャッシュ キャッシュ Cache — stored data that can cause apps or websites to behave strangely or slow things down.
43. QRコード キューアールコード QR code — the square barcode used for payments, links, menus, and more.
44. 電子決済 でんしけっさい Digital payment — paying with a smartphone app or IC card instead of cash.
45. 二段階認証 にだんかいにんしょう Two-factor authentication (2FA) — the extra verification step when logging in.
46. 乗っ取り のっとり Account hijacking — having your social media or online account taken over by someone else.
47. フィッシング フィッシング Phishing — a scam that tricks you into giving up passwords or personal information.
48. 垢BAN あかばん Account ban — getting your account permanently suspended or banned from a platform.
49. データ飛んだ データとんだ Data gone — all my data or save files were lost or wiped.
50. バックアップ バックアップ Backup — saving copies of your data so you don't lose it.
51. 初期化 しょきか Factory reset; wiping everything back to its original state — used for devices, apps, and humorously for one's own memory or mental state.
52. インプレゾンビ インプレゾンビ Impression zombie; a spam account that hijacks viral posts with irrelevant replies to farm views and monetisation.
53. ChatGPT チャットジーピーティー OpenAI's AI chatbot; the tool that introduced millions of Japanese people to generative AI in 2023, often shortened to GPT or チャGPT.
54. ボイチャ ボイチャ Voice chat; a casual abbreviation of ボイスチャット, essential for online gaming and remote collaboration.
55. スマートウォッチ スマートウォッチ Smartwatch; wearable devices like the Apple Watch widely adopted in Japan for health and fitness tracking.
56. ワイヤレスイヤホン ワイヤレスイヤホン Wireless earbuds; AirPods and similar devices that are now practically universal among young Japanese commuters.
57. ノイキャン ノイキャン Noise cancelling; a shortening of ノイズキャンセリング, widely considered a must-have feature for modern headphones and earbuds.
58. VPN ブイピーエヌ Virtual private network; used by Japanese internet users to access geo-blocked content, protect privacy, or bypass regional restrictions.
59. メタバース メタバース Metaverse; virtual worlds for socialising and events, enthusiastically adopted in Japan through platforms like cluster and VRChat.
60. NFT エヌエフティー Non-fungible token; digital collectibles that saw a massive boom in Japan before cooling off, often associated with crypto culture.
61. 暗号資産 あんごうしさん Crypto assets — the official Japanese term for cryptocurrency, used in news coverage, financial regulation, and legal documents.
62. TikTok売れ ティックトックうれ TikTok-driven sales — when a product goes viral on TikTok and sells out everywhere, driven by user reviews and trend videos.
63. モバイルバッテリー モバイルバッテリー Portable charger — a rechargeable battery pack for charging smartphones on the go, an essential item in Japanese daily life.
64. 通知オフ つうちオフ Notifications off — silencing app alerts as a digital wellness practice, ranging from a quick focus measure to a deliberate lifestyle cho...
65. スマホ脳 スマホのう Smartphone brain — cognitive and psychological effects from excessive phone use, popularised by the Swedish book that became a bestseller...
66. デジタルネイティブ デジタルネイティブ Digital native — Gen Z and younger who grew up with smartphones and the internet as a given, unable to imagine life without them.
67. アップデート アップデート Update — software or app updates, and figuratively, updating one's knowledge, mindset, or understanding of a situation.
68. 文字起こし もじおこし Transcription — converting spoken audio or video content into written text, now largely done by AI tools.
69. テザリング テザリング Tethering — sharing your smartphone's mobile data connection with a laptop or other device, a lifesaver for remote workers and travellers.
70. AirDrop エアドロップ Apple's wireless file-sharing feature — used in Japan for quick photo and file transfers, but also notorious for unsolicited content sent...
71. サイバー攻撃 サイバーこうげき Cyberattack — a hacking incident targeting companies, government systems, or infrastructure, frequently reported in Japanese news.
72. ダークウェブ ダークウェブ Dark web — the hidden part of the internet associated with anonymous activity and illegal marketplaces, often discussed in Japanese crime...
73. クラウドファンディング クラウドファンディング Crowdfunding — raising money for a project from many small contributors online; platforms like Makuake and CAMPFIRE are hugely popular in...
74. ローコード ローコード Low-code — a style of app development using visual tools and minimal hand-coding, heavily promoted in Japan as part of DX (digital transf...
75. スマートホーム スマートホーム Smart home — a house equipped with IoT-connected devices such as voice-controlled lights, locks, and appliances.
76. ブロックチェーン ブロックチェーン Blockchain — the distributed ledger technology underpinning cryptocurrency, discussed in Japanese business and government circles as a fo...
77. OS オーエス Operating system — iOS vs Android is treated as a major identity and lifestyle choice among Japanese youth, with strong tribal loyalty on...
78. SSD エスエスディー Solid state drive — the storage upgrade consistently recommended for faster PC performance, a staple recommendation in Japanese tech comm...
79. Web3 ウェブスリー Web3 — the vision of a decentralised internet built on blockchain; uniquely, the Japanese government actively promotes it as a national e...
80. 文字化け もじばけ Garbled text caused by an encoding mismatch — when Japanese characters display as nonsensical symbols because the wrong character encodin...