"Arafoo" and "Gu~!" Win First Prize

Asahi Shimbun
December 1, 2008

On December 1 the "2008 You Can Neologism and Buzzword Contest," presented the words that best represented social trends this year, which were chosen using the survey, "Basic Knowledge of Modern Terminology." Among the winning words were "arafoo" (short for "Around 40"), which refers to women around 40 years old, Comedienne Harumi Edo's joke "gu~!," and the special-award winning "Ueno's 413 balls," created by softball player Yukiko Ueno who pitched powerfully in the Beijing Olympics.

At the award ceremony in Tokyo, actress Amami Yuuki from the drama based on "arafoo," said, "Everyone, let's be happier and brighter. If women become great, the world will be a beautiful place." Ueno told the crowd, "I'm grateful for the cheers from all over Japan at my back when I stood on that mound," while Edo commented, "This is like a dream. Thank you very much."

Former Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda's "I'm different than you," which he said during his resignation press conference, also made the top ten, but it seems he refused the award. Former Chief Secretary of the Liberal Democratic Party, Hidenao Nakagawa also won in the top ten for his "buried treasure." Nakagawa told reporters, "Gu~! Gu~! Gu~! [Buried treasure] should be steadily returned to the people."

Link to Original

Neologism and Buzzword Top Ten

「phrase in Japanese」my English transcription "my English translation"
(winner's name)
definition/origin to come later

「アラフォー」 arafo- "around forty"
(Actress Yuuki Amami) = First Place
"Arafo" stands for "around forty," which refers to women in and around the age of forty. The term was popularized by the show "Around40," which Amami starred in.

「グ〜！」 gu~!
(Comedienne Harumi Edo) = First Place
In Japanese, English words ending in g are transcribed to have the sound "gu." For example: running>ranningu. Edo exploits this in sketches to turn those "gu"s into the expression "gu~!," a shortening of "good." In this sketch, Edo recommends smiling when one feels down and says "smilingu~!" sumairingu~! According to Wikipedia, Edo created the phrase after noticing that most comedic banter was based on putting people down.
Ridiculously Cute Kids "Gu~!"ing

「上野の４１３球」ueno no yonbyaku jyu san gyuu "Ueno's 413 balls"
(Softball player Yukiko Ueno) = Special Award

「居酒屋タクシー」izakaya takushi- "tavern taxi"
(Lower House member Akira Nagatsuma)

「蟹工船」kanikousen "crab-canning boat"
(Bookstore employee Hitomi Hasegawa)

「ゲリラ豪雨」gerira kouu "guerilla downpour"
(Weather News Co.)

「後期高齢者」gouki koureisha "final seniors"
(Masters track and field athlete Hideya Yamazaki)

「名ばかり管理職」na bakari kanrishoku "management in name only"
(Store manager for McDonalds Japan, Hiroshi Takano)

「埋蔵金」maizoukin "buried treasure"
(Former Liberal Demoratic Party secretary, Hidenao Nakagawa)

「あなたとは違うんです」anata to wa chigaundesu "I'm different than you."
(award refused)