Japanese Fantasy Elements
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Common Fantasy RPG Words / Kanji
Motivation for this document will be a reference for players interested in Japanese RPGs. Several basic character statistics not found in common dictionaries that are used through many JRPG. This document will attempt to assist someone not that well versed in Japanese in this pursuit. I have attempted to also include unusual names/characteristics since those will not have any easily accessible definition. Note that this document is incomplete, but contains many common "races", and attempts to present a good reference for "magic" elements and character classes.
Keep in mind that many games already have an English translation.
Common Races
- 巨人 - Giant
- エルフ - 長耳、森人, 精霊人, Elf.
- ドワーフ - 小人 Dwarf
- ホビット - Hobbit
- 妖精 - Fairy
- 人間 - Human
- 人 Human/Person. In fantasy types 人 may not denote a homo sapien type human necessarily, usually that is denoted with 人間. There are usually 亜人 which are mixed race aka "demi-humans", or "sub-humans"。人獣 where they are humanoid with beast features or humans with beast parts attached. hey could be described with 人 and then kanji for what physical beast characteristics they have. Ex: 猫人 cat person/nekojin.
- 獣 Beast
- Common Sub/Half Human types (in no particular order). 猫 cat、豹 panther、犬 dog、龍/竜 dragon 、狼 wolf、トラ tiger、鳥 bird、狸 tanuki/racoon、熊 bear、虫 bug、蛇 snake、馬 horse、蜘蛛 spider、獅子 lion、鼠 rat/mouse、狐 fox、鯱/シャチ killer whale, 鮫 shark, 貂熊 wolverine、蟻 ant、兎 rabbit、蛙 frog、蜥蜴 lizard, 牛 bull/cow、蟷螂 preying mantis、油虫 cockroach、猿 monkey、魚 fish、犀 rhino、象 elephant、鷹 hawk、鶏 chicken、烏賊 squid、蛸 octopus, 山羊 goat, 豚 pig, 土竜 mole。
- 天使 Angel
- 魔人, 魔族 - Demon
- 河童 Kappa
- 幽霊 Spirit
- 吸血鬼 Vampire
"Elements"
Final Fantasy and Pokemon Types Cover Most
In no particular order atm.
- 物理 Physical
- 魔法 Magic
- 神 Holy, or Godly.
- 聖 / ホーリー Holy
- 生 Life
- 天 Heavenly or from above. Seen also with 天使、天族。
- 光 Light
- 明 Light
- 退 As in 退魔, Exorcisim.
- 心 Heart
- 祝福 Luck
- 太陽 Sun
- 月 Moon
- 死 Death. Undead types especially.
- 魔 Magic, Evil
- 邪 Evil, although usually like Jashin, Evil God. 邪神ちゃん!
- 鬼 Demon, although usually when it is a lone character like this a humanoid with two horns.
- 闇 Dark
- 暗黒 Dark
- 影 / シャドウ Shadow
- 霊 Ghost/Spirit
- 悪 Dark or Evil
- 妖 Ghost / Monster
- 恐竜 Dinosaur
- 竜 Dragon
- 龍 Dragon, usually used for the long Chinese style dragon.
- 水 Water
- 海 Ocean
- 雨 Rain
- 氷 Ice
- 火 Fire
- 炎 Flame, Blaze
- 焔 Flame, Blaze
- 木 Tree
- 森 Forest
- 草 Grass
- 地 Earth
- 土 Earth
- 岩 Rock
- 泥 Mud
- 鋼 Steel
- 風 Wind
- 空 Sky
- 電 Electricity/Lightning
- 雷 Thunder
- 格 Fighting from word 格闘.
- 飛 Flying
- 超 Super. As in 超能力 aka Psychic。
- 虫 Bug
- 空間 Seen this used for magic types like Teleport.
- 精神 Magic affecting the mind.
- 夢 Succubus/Incubus 夢魔. uncommon.
- 機械 Machine
- 古代 Ancient. Think ancient technology, or ancient dragon.
- 破壊 Destruction
- 吸 Absorb, or used for 吸血鬼。
- 時 Time
Common Color Types
- 緑 Green
- 赤 Red
- 青 Blue
- 黄 Yellow
- オレンジ Orange
- 紫 Purple
- 白 White
- 黒 Black
- 銀 Silver
- 金 / ゴールド Gold. Commonly denotes multiple types.
Classes / Jobs
Final Fantasy games as a whole have a massive amount which should cover most common cases. Even in the same game a word that an English speaker would consider to be the same is often treated as a different class/job.
Went through the following page:
https://wikiwiki.jp/ffdic/ジョブ
FF, DMM, LogRogue, Shining Force
FF12 job names are unusual.
- 術士 - Archaic Chinese term for "Confucian scholar" or "Daoist magician". Japanese games take this term and you can think of this as "mage".
https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/術士
- 道士 - Most likely taken from the Chinese definition of Taoist priest.
- 導師 Mage. However it literally means "teacher". Teachers in Asian cultures are usually highly respected.Which perhaps is why in many games 導師 is typically higher than similar magic user classes. AIso in Chinese it also can have the meaning of "leader of a great cause".
- 士 - kanji for samurai but ts used mostly as a "fighter" "warrior" "officier" or "user", or "scholar". Scholar being a Chinese definition for that Kanji. Common in 戦*士 warrior/soldier, 騎士 knight. Also seen in 術士 "mage" as above.
- 使い - Found at the end of certain jobs that usually focus on a single weapon/ability. Ex: 銃使い, 弓使い,魔獣使い.
- 師 - Teacher/Master. Typically magic using classes but can be used at the end of other. ex:赤魔道師, 賭博師
- 家 At the end of a job or class denotes the person works as that job. 探検家 meaning they work as an Explorer.
Common Modifiers
In many rpg type games there are several "base" classes that seem to be quite common and then there are many things just tacked on. Ex: 騎士 is a common class in many games. To make a class more unique or specialized games will tack on various modifiers. Besides some extremely common classes that are understood as unique "Blue Mage" "Dragon Knight", I have tried to place most common modifiers in this section due to this list becoming excessively long. For Mages I left most in tact, since those can denote specialist classes, also the Mage classes in Japanese can be difficult to match to an English class. The main modifiers are "ranking" words, races, weapons, colors, and elements.
<All the "elements" and "colors" from above could potentially be in the class name>.
- ペガサス Pegasus
- 竜 / ドラゴン Dragon
- ファルコン Falcon
- イーグル Eagle
- 覇 Ruler
- 鬼 Demon / Oni
- 神 God or True.
- 新人 Novice / Beginner
- ジュニア Junior
- グレート Great
- デューク Duke
- ハイ High
- 上 Greater / Upper
- 宮廷 Court
- 金鵄 Golden Kite. From The Order of the Golden Kite a Japanese military award.
- エース Ace
- ロイヤル Royal
- インペリアル Imperial
- 王 King / Ruler
- 大 Great
- 最 Highest
- セイント Saint
- ディバイン Divine
- 豪 Master. "Gou"
- 聖 Master. "Sei"
- マスター Master
- 神 God or True.
- 女神 Goddess
- 魔 Magic. Putting it again here since it appears so often.
- アステル Astral
- ルーン Rune. Ex: Rune Knight. Celes in FF6 with her magic sealing sword ability.
- フリー Free
- ヘビー Heavy
- 斬 Slash / Kill
- 死霊 Death
- アーマー Armor
- 狂 Mad.
- 異 Strange (Often used for Heretics)
- ヘレティック Heretic
- ナイト Night. As a modifier usually "Night" not "Knight".
- シャドウ Shadow
- ソシアル Social? In Fire Emblem.
- ファントム Phantom
- 金剛 Vajra
- スフィア Sapphire
- グラス Grass
- 海 Sea
- 山 Mountain
- 空 Air
- 天 Heaven / Sky
- ヘヴン Heaven
- 剣 / ソード Sword
- 双剣 Dual Swords
- 弓 / ボウ Bow
- 斧 Axe
- 拳 Fist
- 槍 Spear / Lance
- きぐるみ Costume
Examples of Classes With Lots of "Modifiers"
- 斬騎王 ZanKiOu. FF10-2. Lots of aggressive attack kanji and a high rank Kanji like Ou or Kami usually denote late game class with high DPS.
- 金剛武神 Vajra/Diamond Warrior God. Vajra is a mythical metal.
- 天剣覇王 TenKenHaOu(?) Heaven Sword Ruler King.
Classes
Common Stats
JapaneseFantasyElements last edited by CoolHandMike on 2019-12-15 07:47:42
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