Lesson 38 Non-English Katakana

ポイント
Many Japanese often assume that all Katakana words come from English. However, many come from other European languages.

ダイアログ
Mami: I do an arubaito at a pan shop. My boss asked me to do an anketo. I said I didn’t like the uniform, especially the zubon.
Sophia: Pardon? Did you say you sell pans?

解説
Mami uses four words Sophia doesn’t know. アルバイト comes from the German arbeit, which means “work”. She should say “part-time job.” Also, “パン” comes from Portuguese/Spanish (pão/pan). She should say “bread.” In English, we use a pan for cooking. This explains Sophia’s confusion; she thinks Mami works in a shop selling kitchen goods. アンケート is French (enquête) and means “questionnaire” in English. Finally, ズボン is also French (jupon) and means pants (US English) or trousers (UK English).