List of Japanese Latin alphabetic abbreviations

This list is incomplete; you can help by adding missing items. (August 2008)

Abbreviations are common in Japanese; these include many Latin alphabet letter combinations, generally pronounced as initialisms. Some of these combinations are common in English, but others are unique to Japan or of Japanese origin, and form a kind of wasei eigo (Japanese-coined English).

This is a list of Latin alphabet letter combinations used in Japan.

A

  • ADV – adventure game (also abbreviated as AVG)
  • AV – adult video
  • AV – audio-visual
  • AVG – adventure game (also abbreviated as ADV)

B

  • BGM – background music
  • BL – Boys Love
  • BS – Broadcast Satellite (Direct-broadcast satellite; also a prefix for BS stations)

C

  • CM – commercial message (television advertisement)
  • CS – Communication Satellite
  • CV – character voice (voice actor)

D

  • DT – dōtei (童貞, male virgin)
  • DV – Domestic Violence

E

  • ED – ending (an animated sequence which includes the closing credits, often used regarding anime)
  • EV – elevator

G

  • GW – Golden Week

H

  • H – hentai, alternately written as ecchi; the meanings of these two terms have diverged.
  • HP – home page (website)

I

  • IC card — contactless smart card (derives from the initialism IC which is occasionally used for an integrated circuit in English, although the meaning of the complete term is likely non-obvious for English speakers)
  • IR – integrated resort

J

K

  • KY – kūki yomenai (空気読めない, lit. "unable to read the air"); refers to someone who is unable to read a social situation.
  • KSK – kekkon shite kudasai (結婚してください, lit. "marry me please"); an increasingly popular way to propose among young people.

L

  • LDK – Living Dining Kitchen; home type where the kitchen is merged to the living room
  • LDP – the Liberal Democratic Party of Japan

M

N

O

  • OA – office automation (i.e. the computerization of offices), opening act (as in live music performances)
  • OB – old boy (male former student (alumnus), club member, teammate, employee, etc.)
  • OG – old girl (female former student (alumnus), club member, teammate, employee, etc.)
  • OL – office lady (a female office worker)
  • ONA - original net animation (anime directly released onto the Internet)
  • OP – opening (title sequence, often used regarding anime)
  • OSV – original sound version (video game soundtrack)
  • OVA – original video animation (also abbreviated as OAV)

P

  • PS – police station
  • PV – promotional video (usually refers specifically to music videos)

R

S

T

  • TQB – tei kyū bi (定休日, regular holiday or fixed day off)
  • TPO – Time, Place, Occasion

U

V

  • VG – video game
  • VTR – video tele-replay (the display of pre-recorded footage)

W

  • W – double (from the letter's name double-u)
  • w – warau (笑う, Internet slang for "laugh out loud" (is usually stringed, e.g. "wwww"))