A.W.W. [ SOJU ]

pronounced: show-joo

Defined by Wikipedia:

1. A distilled beverage native to Korea. Its taste is comparable to vodka, though often slightly sweeter due to sugars added in the manufacturing process. 2. Though it is traditionally made from rice, most modern producers of soju use supplements or even replace rice with other starches, such as potatoes, wheat, barley, sweet potatoes, or tapioca.



Examples:

Aiish! I drank too much soju last night.

Let's go eat some samgypsaul and soju tonight!

Alcohol equivalent to vodka or sake (more closely to sake because it is made out of rice). Soju literally translates to "burned liquor." Even though there is a population of Koreans here in MN, I haven't been able to to find actual soju...there is a Korean grocery store I have yet to go to, they might have something there.

A.W.W. [ TAMAGOTCHI ]

pronounced: tah-mah-got-chi

Defined by Wikipedia:

1.A Tamagotchi is a keychain-sized virtual pet simulation game for children. 2.combining the Japanese word "たまご" (tamago), which means "egg", and the English word "watch"(ウオッチ uocchi). 3.Tamagotchis are a small alien species that deposited an egg on Earth to see what life was like, and it is up to the player to raise the egg into an adult creature.[3] The creature goes through several stages of growth, and will develop differently depending on the care the player provides, with better care resulting in an adult creature that is smarter, happier, and requires less attention.

Examples:

My teacher is such a prick! He took my Tamagotchi away in class...

My Tamagotchi is so needy...I'm just gonna discipline it a lot.

Does everyone remember Tamagotchis?! They were huge in like, 1996, every kid wanted them and every kid needed them. I remember they got banned in school because they were distracting (along with Pokemon cards) There were also several knock-offs, but what you really wanted was the real Tamagotchi by Bandai. To be honest, I was never very good at raising mine, my pet always seem to die before the full two weeks was up and then I damaged my egg thing by dropping it in a bowl of soup ^-^; So so sad...

A.W.W. [ MANGA/MANHWA ]

pronounced: mahn-gah and mahn-wah

Defined by UrbanDictionary.Com:

1.Japanese comic books/graphic novels. The word literally means "whimsical pictures" in Japanese. 2.There are 6-7 major types of manga, each having its own audience. Kodomo manga is for children. Shonen manga is for boys ages 12-18 , Shoujo manga is for gilrs age 12-18. Josei manga is for adult ladies above the age of 20, mainly working women. Seinen manga is for young men between the ages of 18 and 30, and Hentai manga is pornographic, adult manga. 3.Manhwa is comic/graphic novels produced in Korea by Korean artists/authors.

Examples:

Did you read the lastest manga by CLAMP?! It's so awesome!

The only manhwa I've read was Bride of the Water God.

To be honest, I've read a lot of manga including Sailor Moon and Cardcaptor Sakura. Yeah, I'm a nerd but I guess everyone has their own dark secrets...Most Americans think manga is cartoon porn. Sure, there is a specific genre just for that, but it is not every manga series out there. Many Japanese/Korean dramas and movies are directly taken from manga stories and are immensely popular.

A.W.W. [ POCKY ]

pronounced: pok-ki

Defined by Wikipedia:

1.a Japanese snack food produced by the Ezaki Glico Company of Japan. Pocky was first sold in 1966, and consists of a biscuit stick coated with chocolate. It was named after the Japanese onomatopoetic word for the sound Pocky makes when bitten, pokkin (ポッキン).

Examples:

Please buy me some Pocky when you go to the Asian grocery store.

Let's share a Pocky kiss!

Pocky is my favorite! I love it! Chocolate is the best! You can also get strawberry, vanilla and special ones with almond crunches. Word of advice, even though US grocery stores now carry Pocky in the "Ethnic Foods" sections, it's really expensive and it shouldn't be! Go to your nearest Asian grocery store and you can get the regular sized boxes for $0.99 or less! Don't be paying $1.99 for a box of Pocky. Pocky is worldwide! In Europe, it was renamed to Mikado. In Malaysia it was changed to Rocky and in South Korea there is a similar product called Pepero.

A.W.W. [ ONIGIRI ]

pronounced: oh-nee-gi-ri

Defined by Wikipedia:

1.Also known as omusubi (お結び; おむすび?) or rice ball, is a Japanese food made from white rice formed into triangular or oval shapes and often wrapped in nori (seaweed). Traditionally, an onigiri is filled with pickled ume (umeboshi), salted salmon, katsuobushi, kombu, tarako, or any other salty or sour ingredient as a natural preservative. 2.In Korean, it is called "jumeok bap" (Hangul: 주먹밥) or "samgak gimbap" (Hangul: 삼각김밥), literally "fist-rice" or "triangle-seaweed-rice," respectively.

Examples:

Mom! Did you pack some onigiri in my lunch box?

I spent all night trying to make cute onigiri, but I suck!

Never had it, want to make it, seen it some really cute bento boxes. Give it to me! I guess, I'll have to try and make some! Yay! Really cute ones have faces on them made with seaweed and the shapes are perfect. I'm not sure if I have to skill to make them so nice. ^-^;

A.W.W. [ MAHJONG ]

pronounced: mah-chong

Defined by Wikipedia:

1.Mahjong is a game that originated in China, commonly played by four players (with some three-player variations found in Korea and Japan). 2.Similar to the Western card game rummy, mahjong is a game of skill, strategy and calculation and involves a certain degree of chance.



Examples:

Did you know Grandma is a Mahjong champion in China?!

Can we please play Mahjong instead of Poker, please???

When I come across Mahjong, I always think of a bunch of old people playing at a table, drinking until wee hours of the night. Or..or of Chinese comedy movies. I actually have a Mahjong set I received as a Christmas present and I have yet to crack it open and learn! I will! I swear I will learn to play!

Quick/Basic Rules:

The game is played with a set of 136 tiles based on Chinese characters and symbols. In most variations, each player begins by receiving thirteen tiles. In turns, players draw and discard tiles until they complete a legal hand using the fourteenth drawn tile to form four groups (melds) and a pair (head). There are fairly standard rules about how a piece is drawn, stolen from another player and thus melded. The use of simples (numbered tiles) and honours (winds and dragons), the kinds of melds, and the order of dealing and play. However there are many regional variations in the rules; in addition, the scoring system and the minimum hand necessary to win varies significantly based on the local rules being used.

A.W.W. [ KAWAII ]

pronounced: kah-wah-ee

Defined by UrbanDictionary.Com:

1. An adjective in Japanese meaning "pretty, cute, lovely, charming, dear, darling, pet" It's stem is two kanji meaning "can love". It is commonly used by anime and manga fans.

Examples:

Oh you look so kawaii!

My cat is so kawaii.



I use this work all the time! Even now...especially with my little bro! We run around yelling kawaii! Kawaii! Kawaii! About girls, pets and cute things in general.

A.W.W. [ OTAKU ]

pronounced: oh-tah-kew

Defined by UrbanDictionary.Com:

1. Otaku is a Japanese word for house. 2. Refers to someone who has a devotion to a subject or hobby (not necessarily anime) to the point of not leaving home.

Examples:

Who is that guy??? I really loves Jessica Alba, is he an otaku?

Oh my god, AnimeCon is coming to town, let the otakus see daylight.




For me, otakus are crazy anime and manga people who cosplay/obsess over Japanese culture. They collect Pokemon, Yugioh cards and even play geek stuff like Magic cards. So yes it extends to more than just Asian things. They're White, Black, Asian anyone who is overly obsessed!

A.W.W. [ GANGURO ]

pronounced: gang-goo-roh

Defined by:

1. An alternative fashion trend of blonde or orange hair and tanned skin among young Japanese women. 2. The term is a portmanteau of the Japanese word gangankuro "ガンガン黒", meaning extremely dark, and guro "グロ", meaning grotesque, and the word ganguro translates to "blackface" or "charbroiled face", meaning heavily-sunburned face.

Examples:

Oh my...your girlfriend is a ganguro...

Can we please dress up as ganguros for Halloween!





The Ganguro fashion scene is quite intense. Orange clown make-up and bright neon hair has never looked so terrifying. I wonder what it's like taking all that off at the end of the night??? Young teenage women take on this look in rebellion to traditional Japanese society. You can find many Ganguro's in Tokyo's Shibuya and Ikebukuro districts. There are even guy version of Ganguros! I think they're called "center guys?" O.o