Revision (current)
Last Updated by CoolHandMike on 12/15/2019 7:47 AM
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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
*エンペラー Emperor
*王 - King
*ルーラー Ruler
*インペラトル Imperator. From old Roman rulers.
*プリンス Prince
*プリンセス Princess
*ロード Lord
*バロン Baron
*軍神 War Hero / God of War.
*ジェネラル General
*大元帥 Commander in Chief
*ショーグン Shogun
*将軍 Shogun
*兵法者 Tactician
*軍師 Strategist
*旗本 Shogunal Vassal from 旗本.
*ダイミョー Daimyo
*侍 Samurai
*サムライSamurai
*浪人 Ronin
*ローニン Ronin
*ハルバーディア (?)
*兵士 Soldier
*ソルジャー Soldier
*センチネル Sentinel
*ファランクス Phalanx
*カタフラクト Cataphract
*ヘビーアーマー Heavy Armor
*センチュリオン Centurian
*アシガル Foot Soldier
*ゴケニン Lesser Vassal. From 御家人 lower ranked vassal.
*戦士 Fighter
*闘士 Fighter
*修羅 Shura
*婆娑羅 Basara
*ラプター Raptor
*バスタード Bastard. Perhaps taken from bastard sword or from the manga "Bastard!!".
*グラディエイター Gladiator
*グレナディーア Grenadier?
*アヴェンジャー Avenger
*もののふ - Warrior. Ancient term for warrior 武士.
*武士 Warrior
*ブシドー Bushido
*ジャイアント Giant. Seems to be a heavy figher class in several games.
*アマゾネス Amazoness.
*シノブシ Shinobushi.
*コマンド Commando
*鬼武者 - Onimusha. Demon Warrior.
*ウォーリアー Warrior
*グラップラー Grappler
*レスラー Wrestler
*ベーオウルフ Beowulf
*騎士 Knight
*ナイト Knight
*ドラグナー Dragonair (?)
*守護騎士 Guardian Knight. Knight of Protection.
*守護者 Guardian
*パラディン Paladin
*ケルベス Cerberus
*ベルレス Berures. Knight class
*バデス Hades. Knight.
*メモリスト Memorist. FFL is similar to Holy Warrior.
*円卓の騎士 Knight of the Round
*ガード Guard
*竜騎士 Dragoon. Dragon Knight.
*たまねぎ剣士 Onion Knight
*異説の騎士 Strange Knight. "Different Opinion Knight (?)
*ソシアルナイト "Social Knight". Fire Emblem. English translators put the name as "Cavaliers", because who knows what a social knight is as a class.
*ホースメン Horseman
*僧人 Monk
*モンク Monk
*空手家 Karate Practitioner
*武道家 Martial Artist
*パンクラチオン Pankration User (ancient Greek martial art)
*バイキング Viking
*マシーナリー Mercenary
*傭兵 Mercenary
*ハイウインド Highwind
*エースストライカー Ace Striker
*シャルフリヒター Scharfrichter. German executioner with sword.
*用心棒 Bodyguard. Yojinbou.
*フェンサー Fencer
*バーサーカー Berserker
*狂戦士 Berserker
*ヴァンダリアン Vandarian. In the Berserker tree so definitely a physical type class. Possibly from The Vandarian Incident. "Vandarian may not but it may be related to some fantasy books from the 80s - BJ"
*コルセア Corsair
*賊 Pirate
*バンデット Bandit
*ローグ Rogue
*スカウト Scout
*リッパー Ripper
*エージェント Agent
*ナイトウォーカー Night Walker
*スレイヤー Slayer
*ルー・ガルー Loup-garou
*ヘルハウンド Hellhound
*ブレイカー Breaker
*デストロイヤー Destroyer
*コスモストライダー Cosmos Triad, but most likely Cosmic Triad related to Theosophy. https://theosophy.wiki/en/Triad
*セイバー Saber
*魔剣士 Magic Sword User
*ませんし Masenshi. Magic Swordsman.
*剣士 Sword User
*ブレード Blade
*剣豪 Master Fencer
*剣聖 Sword Master
*ソードマスター Sword Master
*弓使い Bow user.
*弓術士 Bow user
*シューターShooter
*アーチャー Archer
*エイミングスター Aiming Star
*エクスナイパー Ex Sniper/X-Sniper(?)
*アルテミス Artemis
*ガンナー Gunner
*銃士 Gun User
*銃使い Gun user.
*砲撃士 Gunner/Artillery user.
*格闘士 Hand to Hand
*拳 Fist User
*斧術士 Axe User
*槍術士 Spear
*ヘヴンスランサー Heaven's Lancer
*ヴァルキリー Valkyrie
*ウーラン Uhlan. Spear user. Named after Lancer regiments in Europe.
*双剣士 Dual Sword User
*エペイスト - Epee User (?)
*フォーヴィスト (?)
*ラン Lahn
*シャイ Shai.
*ツバキ Tsubaki. Korean
*ハンター Hunter
*狩人 Hunter
*オリオン Orion
*サバイバー Survivor
*しかり Shikari. Hunter. Named after a leader of the Matagi.
*レンジャー Ranger
*スナイパー Sniper, long bow or rifle.
*狙撃手 Sniper
*賭博師 Gambler
*ギャンブラーGambler
*遊び人 Gadabout / Jester
*アイテムシューター "Item Shooter" is the translation, but the description for the class says they specialize in gun use.
*きぐるみ士 Custume User.
*探検家 Explorer
*エクスプローラー Explorer
*リスクテイカー Risk Taker
*海女 Female Diver
*シノビ Shinobi
*アビエイターAviator
*勇者 Hero
*冒険家 Adventurer
*シーフ Thief
*泥棒 Thief
*盗賊 Bandit
*走者 Runner. High agility.
*忍者 Ninja
*ニンジャ Ninja
*クノイチ Female Ninja
*上忍 Ninja Master
*暗殺者 Assassin
*アサシン Assassin
*ジャッジ Judge
*技師 Ability User
*ピクトマンサー Relm in FF6. Uses drawings as her ability.
*吟遊詩人 Troubadour
*トルバドゥール Troubadour
*バード Bard
*詩人 Poet
*歌姫 Princess Singer. Similar to a Dancer/Troubadour
*カラクリ士 Trickster
*絡繰師 Tricker
*トリックスター Trickster
*曲芸士 Acrobat
*ものまねし Mimic
*踊り子 Dancer
*予言士 Prophet
*魔獣使い Monster User
*獣使い - Beast User.
*調教士 Animal User. Tamer/Monster User type.
*占星術師 Astrologer
*陰陽師 Diviner
*占い師 Fortuneteller
*お祭り士 Festival User. Omatsurishi. Similar to a mix of Dancer and Troubadour. Unusual.
*話術士 Orator/Speaker
*仙人 Hermit
*山伏 Buddhist Monk. やまぶし. itinerant Buddhist monk. practitioner of Shugendō
*エトワール - Etoile. Translates as Star.
*カルナヴァル Carnival
*チャクラチューナー Chakra Tuner
*アガスティア Agastya. Agastya was a revered Vedic sage of Hinduism
*算術士 Numerologist. Some sources translate this as Arithmetician. A class that uses abilities that uses numbers of objects. Part of Divination.
*道化師 Clown
*アルタイル Altair
*サイエンス Science
*魔王 Demon Lord / Evil Lord / Magic King
*メイガス Magus
*道士 Mage. Wizard.
*導師 Mage
*ミスティック Mystic
*マージ Mage
*マジシャン Magician
*ウィザード Wizard
*ソーサラー Sorcerer
*ウォーロック Warlock
*ウィッチ Witch
*大魔道士 Great Mage. Daimadoushi. Implied that he is a complete master.
*アークメイジ Arc Mage.
*マジックマスター Magic Master
*白魔術士 White Mage
*白魔道士 White Mage
*白魔道師 White Mage
*しろま先生 - White Magic Teacher. Shiroma Sensei. Shiro for white. Ma probably for magic. Sensei for Teacher. Unusual.
*黒魔術士 Black Mage
*黒魔道士 Black Mage
*黒魔道師 Black Mage
*魔人 - Black Mage/ Magician.
*ロプトマージ Lopt Mage/Loptyrian Mage. Fire Emblem.
*赤魔術士 Red Mage
*赤魔道士 Red Mage
*赤魔道師 Red Mage
*クリムゾンロード Crimson Lord.
*青魔道士 Blue Mage
*風水師 Geomancer. Aka Wind and Water Mage.
*天道士 Heaven/Sky Mage
*精霊使い Spirit User
*ゾディアック Zodiac. Mage
*サンダーマージ Thunder Mage.
*召喚士 Summoner
*魔界幻士 Summoner
*ビショップ Bishop
*神官 Priest. Also Shinto Priest.
*僧侶 Priest
*メディック Medic
*ドクトル Doctor
*ドルイド Druid
*修道士 Monk
*クレリック Cleric
*司祭 Priest
*ビショップ Bishop
*聖職者 Clergyman
*カーディナル Cardinal
*ハイプリースト High Priest
*セイント Saint
*聖女 Female Saint.
*巫女 Miko
*シスター Sister/Nun.
*ホーリーオーダー Holy Order
*ヴァルザーガー Valzaaga/Walsergar (?). I suspect this is taken from Walpurgis Night which is a Christian holiday celebrating a Saint Walpurga. Japanese pop/fantasy culture has appropriated it and turned the holiday into a common event for evil, witches, magic.
*裏魔道士 Magic User. 裏 ura for "underneath", or "hidden", or the "backside".
*ネクロマンサー Necromancer
*妖術師 Necromancer
*ファウスト Faust
*シャーマン Shaman
*呪術士 Shaman
*呪術師 Shaman
*時魔道士 Time Mage
*時空魔戦士 - Time Space Mage Warrior
*幻術士/幻術師 Illusionist
*セージ Sage
*賢者 Sage
*ルーンシーカー Rune Seeker
*学者 Scholar
*プロフェッサー Professional
*アカデメイア Academic
*巴術士 - Translated in the FF14 English game as "Arcanist". 巴 might have been chosen with its close representation to the magatama and the religion of Shinto and Japanese mythology. Perhaps a good translation would be Shinto Magician.
*めたもる士 Probably from Metamorphasis as one site author suggested. メタモル。
*サイキッカー Psychic User.
*機工士 Machinist
*アヴァタール Avatar
*ハイエロファント Hierophant
*記録士 Recorder/Archivist
*語り部 Storyteller
*音楽家 Musician
*針子 Seamstress/Tailor
*商人 Merchant
*薬師 Medicine Master
*錬金術士 Alchemist
*精錬術士 Seirenjutsu. Similar to Alchemist.
*鍛冶師 Blacksmith
*甲冑師 Armorer
*調理師 Chef
*木工師 Carpenter
*革細工師 Leathercrafter
*裁縫師 Tailor
*彫金師 Engraver
*採掘師 Miner
*園芸師 Gardener
*漁師 Fisherman
*刀鍛治 Bladesmith
*輸送隊 Transport Unit
*アタッカー Attacker
*ブラスター Blaster
*ディフェンダー Defender
*ジャマー Jammer
*エンハンサー Enhancer
*ヒーラー Healer
*すっぴん - No class
*かけだし Novice
*みならい Apprentice
*ヴァリアント Variant
*旅人 - Traveler
*むらびと Villager
*遊牧民 Nomad
*ファーマー Farmer
*持たざるもの Deprived (Demon Souls)
!!! Common Stats