WORDS
Aibou: Partner
Aishiteru: I love you
Anata: Literally the word for you, but it is only used with one's spouse or someone very close so in fanfiction it is often used as a term of endearment
Aniki: Brother (older)
Ano(u): What or “Um…”
Arigato: Thank you
Baba: way to adress an old woman
Ba-chan: way to address an old woman
Baka: Idiot
Betsuni: It’s nothing
Bishounen: Handsome young man
Bishoujo: lovely young woman
Bouzo: rude way to refer to a male
Chan: (suffix) title given to a female friend
Daijobu: are you alright
Demo: but
Dono: (suffix) title higher than sama or "lord"
Doshite: why
Gaki: Brat
Gomen nasai: Sorry
Goshinbuko: God Tree (IY)
Hai: Yes
Hakama: really loose pants (like Kenshin wears -samurai pants- and I have heard Inuyasha and Sesshoumaru's pants referred to as hakama as well, but I don't know if that is correct usage)
Hanyou: Half demon
Hentai: Dirty, explicitly sexual
Hikari: light
Hoari: upper piece of clothing
Honto ne: really
Hoshi/houshi: monk, holy man
Iie: no
Inu: dog
Itai: Sorta like “ouch”
Jaki: Evil energy
Ji-chan: way to address an old man
Jiji: way to address an old man
Josei: a genre of manga or anime created mostly by women, for late teenage and adult female audiences. The male equivalent to josei is seinen. In Japanese, the word josei means only "female" and is not directly indicative of sexual matter. The stories tend to be about everyday experiences of women living in Japan. Though there are some that cover high school, most cover the lives of adult women. The style also tends to be a more restrained, realistic version of shoujo, keeping some of the wispy features and getting rid of the very large sparkly eyes. There are exceptions in the style described above, but what defines josei is some degree of stylistic continuity of comics within this particular demographic (the same is true with different demographics that have different stylistic tendencies). In addition, unlike shoujo manga, josei comics can portray realistic romance (as opposed to mostly idealized romance).
Kaiju: Monster
Kazanna: wind tunnel (IY)
Kaze: wind
Kimono: long robe-like dress, generally worn by women, but also by men in formal situations (not currently, but in anime set in the distant past) or men of very high status. I believe it can also refer to the very short, single piece, open front, tied tunics peasant men wore.
Kitsune: fox
Koi/Koiishi/Koibito: Term of endearment (the second two... the first one refers to a man, the second to a woman)
Kohai: (suffix) the opposite of sempai, a way to refer to someone at a lower level in an organization (ie. an underclassman or new employee)
Konichiwa: a greeting of some sort
Kun: (suffix) title given to a male friend
Mankaka: literally comic artist, generally used to refer to the author or creator of a manga (this person is generally, but not always, also the artist)
Miko: shrine maiden/priestess
Minna: everyone
Mononoke: demon
Mou: Sorta like "geez"
Nanda: “What is it?”
Nani: what
Neko: cat
Nekomata: Two-tailed cat with magic powers, Kirara’s species
Ningen: human
No: (as in, Yami no Yugi) of
Obi: elaborate tie around the waist of a woman's kimono
Ohayo(u): morning, hello
Oi: Hey
Oka-san: Mother
Onegai: please
Oni: demon
Onna: woman
Osuwari: Sit ("Sit Boy" in Inuyasha)
Ota-san: Father
Ototou: Brother (younger)
Sakura: cherry
Sama: (suffix, ie. Sesshoumaru-sama) Lord/Lady (generally lord)
San: (suffix) Mr/Mrs/Ms, term of respect for someone older
seinen: a subset of manga that is generally targeted at an 18–30 year old male audience, but the audience can be much older with some comics aimed at businessmen well into their 40s. It has a wide variety of art styles and more variation in subject matter, ranging from the avant-garde to the pornographic. However, it is also given to manga that are more serious or more intellectual than a minor would generally appreciate/understand. The female equivalent to seinen manga is josei manga. The genre is comparable to the English terms and genre "adult".
Sempai/senpai: (sufix) used toward a person who is one's senior in an organization (ie. an upperclassman, a seasoned employee)
Sensei: Teacher (can be used as a suffix - in place of English Ms./Mrs./Mr. when referring to a teacher. ie 'Mr. Terada' becomes 'Terada-sensei')
Sengoku Jidai: Feudal Era
Shakujou: Miroku’s staff
Sukebe: Perverted, a perverted person
Taijiya: demon huntress/hunter
Taiyoukai: Demon Lord
Yaoi/ Shonen ai: homosexual (male+male)
Yami: Dark
Youkai: demon, apparition, spirit, ghoul, goblin...
Youki: demonic energy
Yukata: a loose under kimono
Yuri/ Shojo ai: homosexual (female+female)
*suffixes for friends (ie. kun, chan,) are a part of Japanese culture. Acquaintances are called by their last name, friends may be called by their first name and the proper suffix, only very close friends or relatives use a persons' first name alone. The lack of a suffix implies great intimacy. Where intimacy is not present the lack of an honorific is insulting.
ABBREVIATIONS/ACRONYMS
AU: Alternate universe (uses characters but not storyline of show)
OC: own/original character
OoC: out of character
Terms
Lemon: Explicit sexual content (rated M, R, NC17)
Lime: Implied/mild sexuality (PG 13)
Citrusy: mild sexuality
* There will be no citrus content on this site! This is provided merely as a guide for your other fanfiction reading.
SYMBOLS
< > thoughts
* * sound effect/word representing an action/action taken by author
~ ~ I sometimes use this instead of < > to indicate Yugi talking to Yami, or Yoko talking to Kurama, etc.
large portions of text in Italics generally represent something outside the actual timeline of the story ie. flashbacks, letters, dreams, etc.