Dictionary

Jenglish en · NOUN

Pronunciation

• /ˈd͡ʒɪŋɡlɪʃ/

Etymology

Blend of Japanese + English; compare Singlish, Yinglish, etc.

Meanings

1. (uncountable) Japanese-influenced English, especially when nonstandard or ungrammatical.
   • What is Jenglish (pronounced jing-lish)? It's all of the funny English in Japan that you see on signs, books, T-shirts, vending machines... it's everywhere. ... it doesn't quite have that "native English speaker" nuance. 1999, Dan in Japan: jenglish (website)
   • 2001, Nancy Brown Diggs, Looking Beyond the Mask: When American Women Marry Japanese Men She also thinks that “being so close to the culture has ruined my English. I have had to choose easier words, shorter sentences, ... We call it ‘Jinglish,’ Japanese-English.”
   • 1997, James W. Rinehart, Christopher Huxley & David Robertson, Just Another Car Factory?: Lean Production and Its Discontents That this company is half Japanese-owned is obvious. Japanese words spelled out in English (what someone referred to as “Jenglish”) are used and posted throughout the plant.
   • 1998, Robert Brenner & Gregory Capelo, VCR Troubleshooting & Repair Since many VCRs are designed and built in Japan, a mixture of Japanese-to-English writing style sometimes called “Japanenglish” or “Jenglish” is often found in much documentation. This makes some of the expressions difficult to understand.

Forms

Synonyms

Engrish · Janglish