Karate TerminologyPronunciation for Romanized Japanese (Romaji) is very simple. All syllables receive equal stress unless a vowel is doubled, in which case that vowel will be stressed. Vowel sounds are very similar to English as listed below and do not change based on surrounding characters. In all cases “O” is the same, even if followed by a second vowel. The second vowel will be pronounced as well. As an example, in Romaji the word “Mae” is pronounced Mah-eh, or close to “Maya,” rather than with a short, hard “A.” An exception to this rule is that often a trailing vowel will be so abbreviated as to be almost inaudible. In the karate term “Osu,” the trailing “u” is essentially left out, and “Osu” is pronounced “Oss.” There is no hard and fast rule for this, but these words are more often heard than seen, and it’s not difficult to pick up during training.
| A = “ah” | E = “eh” | I = “ee” | O = “oh” | U = “oo” |
Consonants are generally the same as English, again they are pronounced consistently across all words without changing based on surrounding characters. “G” is always hard, unlike in English where hard “G” is used for “garden” and soft “G” for “generate.”
| Phonetic Japanese | English Translation |
Numbers
| ichi | ee-chee or eech, often “Itch!” | 1 |
| ni | nee | 2 |
| san | sahn | 3 |
| shi | shee | 4 |
| go | goh | 5 |
| roku | rohk (the R is rolled) | 6 |
| shichi | sheech | 7 |
| hachi | hahch | 8 |
| ku | kuh | 9 |
| ju | juh | 10 |
Stances (dachi)
| zen kutsu dachi | front stance |
| ko kutsu dachi | back stance |
| kiba dachi | horse stance |
| sochin dachi / fudo dachi |
immovable stance |
| neko dachi | cat stance |
| shizen tai | ready stance |
Blocking Techniques (uke-waza)
| age uke | rising block |
| ude uke | middle block |
| gedan barai | down block |
| uchi uke | inside-ouside block |
| shuto uke | knife-hand block |
| kakiwake uke | two-handed separating block |
Arm Techniques
| tsuki | punch |
| oi zuki | step-in punch |
| gyaku zuki | reverse punch |
| kizami zuki | jab punch |
| nukite | spear hand |
| ura-ken | backfist |
| empi | elbow |
Leg Techniques
| geri | kick |
| maeh geri | front (snap) kick |
| mawashi geri | roundhouse kick |
| yoko geri kekomi | side thrust kick |
| yoko geri keage | side snap kick |
| ushiro geri | back kick |
Sparring (kumite)
| jo dan | head level |
| chu dan | stomach level |
| ge dan | lower level |
| sanban kumite | three-step sparring |
| ippon kumite | one-step sparring |
| jiyu ippon kumite/ jiyu kumite |
semi-free sparring |
Other Terms
| kihon | basic training |
| kiai | “spirit focus,” a focusing yell |
| kime | “decision,” focus |
| rei | bow |
| yoi | “get ready,” a comman to take natural/ready stance |
| yame | stop |
| mawatte | turn |
| hajime | begin |
| mokuso | quiet personal meditation |
| seiza | proper kneeling position |
| sempai | senior student |
| ko-hai | junior student |