The Oxford English Dictionary (also known as the OED) updates its repository four times a year. Like the game’s DLC, these quarterly patches can introduce new words, features, and definition changes. Well, the first quarter of 2024 is just around the corner, and the Oxford English Dictionary has just updated its language repository with the addition of 23 Japanese words, including the popular anime and manga genre “isekai.”
as found protector, the latest update to the Oxford English Dictionary includes Japanese words from art, food, and other fields. Japanese fried food appetizer”Fried chicken nuggets“I like it, and”Kintsugi“The Japanese art of repairing broken pottery with lacquer, highlighting flaws. Also in the mix”Different worldThe Oxford English Dictionary defines it as “a Japanese science fiction or fantasy novel in which the protagonist is transported or reincarnated into a different, strange, or unfamiliar world. Also: anime, manga, videos in this genre Games, etc.” Think anime and manga Sword Art Online (Often referred to as omens of “other world”, Although not Technically considered one of from a purist’s perspective) or an animated movie super mario bros movie (This can also be considered “isekai”) and you’ll get a rough idea. Basically, when a character wakes up in another world, the Oxford English Dictionary says you can call it an “isekai.”
While the genre has two sub-genres – the standard “isekai” or “another world” and “Ise Tensei” or “reincarnated into another world” – In English, “isekai” is by far the most widely used term. In certain nerd spaces, especially those surrounding anime and manga, “isekai” is often understood to refer to the world in which a character finds himself Any story that is set in a world that is not its own. It seems to be an increasingly popular story format in all types of media, so you’ll often see anime, games, and TV described as “isekai.”
We love increasing our vocabulary and learning new things, and we can all rejoice in the fact that “isekai” and many other Japanese words have now been included in the Oxford English Dictionary. I mean, this is the Oxford Dictionary, the preeminent repository of English knowledge for over a century. Heck, if that’s not the quintessential “we did that,” then I really don’t know what is.
You can view the full list of newly added Japanese words in the OED below:
Oxford Dictionary March 2024 Japanese – Word Update
- In rice bowl
- Hibachi
- Isekai
- Kagome
- Karachi, n.
- Win, n.
- Pork cutlet curry, n.
- Kintsugi
- Cherigami, n.
- mangaka, n.
- Okonomiyaki
- Naxi
- rice ball, n.
- Three virtues
- shboli
- Takoyaki
- Tokusho
- Pork cutlet, n.
- Tonkatsu sauce, n.
- Pork bone, n./1
- Pork bone, n./2
- washi tape n.