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Text: designgo, or Japanese for Design

Japanese is not my native language, but since moving to Tokyo in 2017 I have been working bilingually in both English and Japanese. I started studying in college, graduated, and then didn't use Japanese for nine years. Under these circumstances, I had difficulty adjusting. Now, I work in teams of native speakers fluently.

The first year I lived in Japan I didn't know the first thing about using Japanese in the workplace, much less in UX design. It was during that time I started making designgo (デザイン語), a play on the words 日本語 and design. I wrote down words I heard everyday and put them into colorful flashcards. These flashcards were originally published on my Twitter from 2017-2018. You can search designgo on my Twitter archive to see the original posts.

I've now moved away from Twitter and collected them into a single blog post for those that want to learn design-specific Japanese words. I've also added in my updated understanding of these words as I've become more fluent over the years. The pronunciations of are written in hiragana (ひらがな) and katakana (カタカナ) - if you don't know how to read these, I recommend using the hiragana/katakana practice guides on Tae Kim's Guide to Learning Japanese.
(Hiragana Practice | Katakana Practice)

設計(せっけい): design

設計せっけい : design

Design, as in, what we do. The katakana デザイン can be used for the field of design, but 設計せっけいする refers to the "act" of design, that is, to design something like screens (画面がめん) or user flows (ユーザーフロー).

疑問(ぎもん): problem, doubt

疑問ぎもん : problem/doubt

I initially defined this as "problem," but this is better defined as "doubt." When saying things like, "to understand problems, use UX research" it is best to say 「問題もんだい理解りかいするためにUXリサーチを使います。」 For 疑問, a better use might be, 「このデザインは、疑問ぎもん解決かいけつしたと思われますか?」("Does this design address your doubts?")

人間(にんげん): human

人間にんげん : human

Humans—the people we design for. Human Centered Design is known as 人間中心設計にんげんちゅうしんせっけい in Japanese. 人間 = human, 中心 = centered, 設計 = design.

目標(もくひょう): goal/milestone

目標もくひょう : goal/milestone

There are three ways to say "goal"—目的もくてき, 目標もくひょう, and ゴール. They all refer to different "types" of goals. 目的 is the ultimate, final goal. 目標 are smaller, tactical goals or achievements/milestones we use to achieve the larger goal. ゴール is a broad word and can be used to define either final goals or tactical goals or milestones.

好奇心(こうきしん): curiosity

好奇心こうきしん : curiosity

We as designers should always bring a healthy dose of 好奇心こうきしん to any project. Ask questions. Ask why. Get bold!

具体的(ぐたいてき): concrete, basic

具体的ぐたいてき : concrete, basic

This is a pair to the next word, 抽象的ちゅうしょうてき - abstract. I've used this before in talking about how we structure workshop questions in Japanese—we "start from basic questions and work up to the abstract." 「具体的ぐたいてき質問しつもんからはじまり、抽象的ちゅうしょうてきまでに行きます.」

抽象的(ちゅうしょうてき): abstract

抽象的ちゅうしょうてき : abstract

One of the biggest culture shocks designers from the U.S. or Europe have when they do work in Japan is the reaction people typically have to 抽象的ちゅうしょうてき質問しつもん, or "abstract questions."

状態(じょうたい): state, condition

状態じょうたい : state, condition

I use 状態じょうたい for talking about いま状態じょうたい, or "current state" and 未来みらい状態じょうたい, or "future state" designs. It is usually used to describe the condition of people or things. This is different than 状況じょうきょう, which is describing a "situation" that can contain many people and things.

未来的(みらいてき): futuristic

未来的みらいてき : futuristic

Sometimes we talk about 未来的みらいてきなデザイン, "futuristic design" or デザインの未来みらい "the future of design." 未来 is a pretty useful word in these cases.

理解(りかい): understanding

理解りかい : understanding

I gave the example of, "to understand problems, use UX research" before. Here's the sentence again:「問題もんだい理解りかいするためにUXリサーチを使います。」You can see it right there—理解する is the verb "to understand" and 理解 is the noun "understanding."

映像(えいぞう): (still) image

映像えいぞう : (still) image

映像えいぞう is often used in design when talking about still images like photos or illustrations; I have also used 画像がぞう or 画面がめん in reference to images of application screens, like mockups. The word 動画どうが is used for video or animation.

塗り(ぬり): filled solid (shape)

塗りぬり : filled solid (shape)

This is used for "fill" as in, the color fill of a solid shape.

一文字(いちもんじ): straight line

一文字いちもんじ : straight line

Both 一文字いちもんじ and 直線ちょくせん can be used to convey "a straight line."

曲線(きょくせん): curved line

曲線きょくせん : curved line

The opposite of a 直線ちょくせん is a 曲線きょくせん.

上下(じょうげ): ascenders & descenders

上下じょうげ : ascenders & descenders

上下じょうげ literally means, "up and down," and based on context it can mean very different things. 上下関係じょうげかんけい is "hierarchical relationship." When talking about fonts, 上下じょうげ is used for ascenders and descenders.

提案(ていあん): presentation/proposal

提案ていあん : presentation/proposal

提案ていあん is a word I initially understood as "presentation," but now I understand it as "proposal." This could mean a proposal of an idea or concept. It can be used as a noun (提案ていあん) or as a verb (提案ていあんする). I usually use it when saying, "now, this is just a proposal, but..."「ただの提案ていあんですけれども、、、」

期待(きたい): expectation

期待きたい : expectation

期待きたい "expectation" is another word that can be used as a noun if used alone and used as a verb "to expect" 期待きたいする when adding the verb -する. For instance, 「プロジェクトの期待きたいについておしえていただけますか?」 "Can you tell me more about your expectations for the project?"

希望(きぼう): wish

希望きぼう : wish

希望きぼう could be used for wishes or hopes—as in, what a wish or a hope for a product might be. I've also found the adjacent 要望ようぼう to also be helpful—these are "customer or client requirements."

理想的(りそうてき): ideal, ideally

理想的りそうてき : ideal, ideally

I use 理想的りそうてき a lot in my work. "What is your ideal workflow?"「理想的りそうてきなワークフローは何ですか?」or "Ideally, we'd need 12 participants to research."「理想的りそうてきに12人をインタビューしたいとおもいます。」

体験(たいけん): experience

体験たいけん : experience

As in, ユーザー体験たいけんuser experience.

目的(もくてき): purpose

目的もくてき : goal

As we mentioned in the previous tactical goal, 目標もくひょう目的もくてき is the ultimate, final goal whereas 目標もくひょう are the things that need to be achieved to get to that goal.

重要(じゅうよう): important

重要じゅうよう : important

This is commonly used in terms of prioritization or making a point about what is important. For instance,「重要なのは、、、」"What's important is..." or perhaps, 「コンセプトの一番重要なことは何と思いますか?」"What do you think is the most important part of this concept?"

優先(ゆうせん): priority

優先ゆうせん : important

Speaking of prioritization, 優先ゆうせん is a very versatile word. You can use it as-is, or as 優先ゆうせんする, "to prioritize," or use the word 高優先こうゆうせん which means, "highest priority."

合成(ごうせい): synthesis

合成ごうせい : synthesis

Design synthesis is a word that is incredibly difficult to translate. Using English helps people remove themselves from preconceived expectations of a word, such as 「シンティシス」. If I were to explain the English word シンティシス, it would be 「合成ごうせい分析ぶんせきざり」, or "a mix of synthesis and data analysis." 合成ごうせい is "the synthesis of two concepts" and 分析ぶんせき is "data analysis."

分析(ぶんせき): analysis

分析ぶんせき : analysis

分析ぶんせき can be used in both 定性的ていせいてきなデータ分析ぶんせき "qualitative data analysis" and 定量的ていりょうてきなデータ分析ぶんせき "quantitative data analysis."

定性的(ていせいてき): qualitative

定性的ていせいてき : qualitative

UX research, contextual inquiry, ethnographic studies—these can all be described as 定性的ていせいてきなリサーチ or "qualitative research."

定量的(ていりょうてき): quantitative

定量的ていりょうてき : quantitative

Things like surveys and experiments that have to do with exact numbers are described as 定量的ていりょうてきなリサーチ or "quantitative research."

意味(いみ): meaning

意味いみ : meaning

In design, we seek to pursue the why of things, to understand the meaning.

観察(かんさつ): observations

観察かんさつ : observations

When we do UX research, we start first from observations, or 観察かんさつ in interviews or contextual inquiry. These are our initial notes. Then using affinity mapping, or light シンティシス, we form "themes," and then "insights," and sometimes "principles."

テーマ: theme

テーマ : theme

テーマ are the result of affinity mapping; these are themes, or thematic similarities between observations in your research.

洞察(どうさつ): insights

洞察どうさつ : insights

Grouping テーマ together can give you insights. Initially when I made these cards, I felt 洞察どうさつ was an appropriate word for insights; but nowadays I rarely use it because it comes off as too academic and hard to grasp. I use the word づき, which is easier for others to understand.

原則(げんそく): principle

原則げんそく : principle

This can be used for design system principles or brand principles.

環境(かんきょう): environment

環境かんきょう : environment

TBD