There’s no denying Japan’s ardour for 野球
(やきゅう) — baseball.

The game and the skilled league are main components of Japanese tradition.

Even the Nationwide Excessive Faculty Baseball Tournaments are a yearly ritual. A whole lot of 1000’s of Japanese collect in entrance of the TV to observe the video games and catch a glimpse of the celebs of the longer term.

Studying some Japanese baseball phrases can solely profit you, then! They’ll allow you to mix in and sound extra pure in Japanese conversations.

Learn on for a glossary of probably the most helpful Japanese baseball vocabulary, plus an outline of the game in Japan.

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Primary Japanese Baseball Vocabulary

Instance sentence:

日本の野球場の中で一番すばらしい野球場はどこだと思いますか？
(にっぽん の やきゅうじょう の なか で いちばん すばらしい やきゅうじょう は どこ だ と おもいます か？)
Of all of the ballparks in Japan, which one do you suppose is the most effective?

Japanese Baseball Phrases for Officers and Positions

Instance sentences:

田中投手、もう１００球超えてるのになんでピッチャー交代してくれない？よく分からない監督だな。
(たなか とうしゅ、もう ひゃっきゅう こえてる の に なんで ぴっちゃー こうたい して くれない？ よく わからない かんとく だ な。)
Tanaka has already thrown over 100 pitches, so why don’t they take him out? I don’t get this supervisor in any respect.

日本プロ野球史上、最高のクローザーはやはり佐々木主浩です。
(にほんぷろやきゅうしじょう、さいこう の くろーざー は やはり ささき かづひろ です。)
The perfect nearer within the historical past of Japanese professional baseball is clearly Kazuhiro Sasaki.

パリーグは指名打者制を採用している。
(ぱりーぐ は しめいだしゃせい を さいよう して いる。)
The Pacific League adopts the Designated Hitter rule.

子供のころの夢は、メジャーの審判になることだった。
(こども の ころ の ゆめ は、めじゃー の しんぱん に なる こと だった。)
My dream after I was a child was to develop as much as develop into a Main League Baseball umpire.

Japanese Baseball Phrases for Hitting and Pitching

Curiously, although the primary characters are completely different, the kanji for “stroll” and “beanball” (pitching to deliberately hit the batter) are pronounced the identical.

The primary kanji in “stroll” truly means “4”—4 balls equals a stroll! In the meantime, the primary kanji in “beanball” is “demise.” Maybe this is the reason they picked up the katakana model, based mostly on the English “lifeless ball.”

Instance sentences:

イチローは２００４年のシーズンで２６２安打を打って、新記録を達成しました。
(いちろー は にせんよねん の しーずん で にひゃくろくじゅうに あんだ を うって、しん きろく を たっせい しました。)
Within the 2004 season, Ichiro set a brand new report with 262 hits.

この試合、鈴木投手はコントロールうまくいってないな。四球ばかり出している。
(この しあい、すずき とうしゅ は こんとろーる うまく いってない な。しきゅう ばかり だして いる。)
Suzuki doesn’t have good management over his pitches on this recreation. He’s getting nothing however walks.

Japanese Baseball Vocabulary in Idioms

There are some baseball phrases that present up in Japanese idioms. Understanding these widespread ones may also help you perceive extra whenever you hear and sound extra fluent whenever you communicate.

A breaking ball known as a 変化球
 (へんかきゅう) in Japanese. 変化球 is usually used idiomatically to reply to one thing that you simply weren’t anticipating (e.g. a proposal or suggestion).

For example:

えっ！変化球しないでよ！
(えっ！へんか きゅう しないで よ！)
What? Are you severe? Don’t throw me a curveball like that!

Additionally from the pitching world, Japanese makes use of the English phrase “strike,” solely it’s pronounced ストライク
(すとらいく). Idiomatically, a ストライク is one thing that hits a goal or is true on the cash:

今年の夏のキャンペーンはストライクだ。
(ことし の なつ の きゃんぺーん は すとらいく だ。)
This yr’s summer time marketing campaign is true heading in the right direction.

Lastly, though athletes in Japan are usually extra low-key and don’t like to brag, you’ll sometimes see a fist-pump or two when a participant comes up huge within the clutch.

That is referred to as a ガッツポーズ
(がっつぽーず), which comes from the English “guts” and “pose.” Non-athletes will typically pull a ガッツポーズ once they do one thing that goes down nicely—like a humorous joke on the bar, or an concept that will get authorized at a casual assembly.

Japan’s Love Affair with Baseball

Baseball has been round in Japan for the reason that late 19^th century. Whereas American baseball emphasizes getting huge hits at huge occasions, the Japanese model of play is extra targeted on velocity and technique.

For instance, think about the primary batter in an inning will get on base. The subsequent batter will nearly at all times lay down a 送りバント
(おくりばんと) — sacrifice bunt (actually “sending bunt”) quite than attempt to knock the ball over the wall—even when he’s the group’s high slugger!

A serious motive for that is 和
(わ). 和 is the spirit of togetherness which is the muse of Japanese society. Japanese are taught from childhood to prioritize the wants and goals of their group quite than their particular person needs. In so doing, they protect group concord, and get nearer to reaching the group’s targets.

The slugger could actually need to go for a house run, however the possibilities of bringing the runner dwelling are better if he performs the 送りバント as an alternative. Plus, he doesn’t need to disagree with what his coach says! Therefore, he calls up his 和 and lays down the bunt.

Robert Whiting’s wonderful guide “You Gotta Have Wa” delves into this idea in additional element and likewise explores the position of 和 in different organizations outdoors of baseball, equivalent to enterprise corporations.

Japanese Excessive Faculty Baseball

In Japan, highschool baseball known as 高校野球
(こうこうやきゅう).

Extremely well-liked, it rivals the Japanese skilled league in reputation throughout spring and summer time tournaments. The highschool stage tournaments are performed at 甲子園球場
 (こうしえんきゅうじょう), Hyogo prefecture’s Koshien Stadium, a mecca for baseball followers in Japan.

The 甲子園 tournaments symbolize the purity and fleeting nature of youth for a lot of Japanese, and scenes of gamers weeping onto one another’s shoulders after hanging out are iconic.

Japanese Skilled Baseball

Known as 日本プロ野球
 (にほんぷろやきゅう), or Nippon Skilled Baseball (NPB for brief), that is the Japanese professional league.

The 2 halves are the Central League and the Pacific League, which collectively comprise simply 12 groups complete. Of them, the 巨人
(きょじん), or the Yomiuri Giants, are by far the richest, strongest and hottest.

Although the Giants are based mostly in Tokyo, they’ve followers all around the nation, and have offered the backdrop for a number of household-name dramas, motion pictures and manga, equivalent to 巨人の星
 (きょじん の ほし) — “The Star of the Giants.”

U.S. Main League Baseball

Main League Baseball (MLB) is メジャー
(めじゃー) in Japanese, and it has an immense following in Japan.

Followers significantly get pleasure from conserving tabs on the Japanese who play in North America. Many really feel a way of kinship and delight in watching gamers who they noticed star within the 甲子園 tournaments develop up to reach the massive league—and overseas, at that.

Many former worldwide MLB stars have additionally gone to Japan to play, with some even persevering with on to settle within the nation. This expertise was dramatized (considerably stereotypically, albeit comically) within the ’90s movie “Mr. Baseball.”

 

You may develop your new Japanese baseball information by consuming native supplies concerning the sport: Assume Japanese comics, novels, podcasts and movies.

On FluentU, for instance, you may search any of the above phrases to seek out a wide range of genuine Japanese video clips containing that phrase.

For those who’re watching a recreation and acknowledge one of many phrases you discovered right here, or use one in dialog, give your self a ガッツポーズ (like a “guts”-and-“pose” pat on the again)!

Obtain:
This weblog submit is on the market as a handy and moveable PDF that you simply
can take wherever.
Click on right here to get a replica. (Obtain)