It’s a Pun—Japanese Style

I love wordplay. It amuses me to see words used in an interesting manner. While my understanding of Japanese in limited, when I “get” a pun it makes me smile. Here are a few cute (animal-related) products using Japanese puns:

Nyanko Burger Pencil Case

When a cat meows in Japanese, it says “nya”. (I’m assuming that the “ko” refers to “child/baby” and the “n” just binds the two words together.) Every item on this Nyanko Burger Menu has a “nya” or “nyanko” in the name (generally “nyanko” is just added to the food name—e.g. Cheese Nyanko Burger). But my favorite items are in the side menu (on the inside of the case) where “nya” is right in the middle of the item name; there’s “chikin nyagetto” (chicken nugget) and “tinyamisu” (tiramisu). Mmm. Tasty.

Rirakkuma Candy Case

Usually, when someone Japanese says “relax” in English it's pronounced “rirakkusu”. “Bear” in Japanese is “kuma”. Blend “rirakkusu” and “kuma” together and you get “rirakkuma”—a bear that relaxes. Cute.

Wanroom Cel Phone Strap

In Japan a “one-room” refers to an apartment with a single room; taken from English, “one-room” is pronounced as “wanrumu”. When a dog barks in Japanese, it says “wan”. Take these two “wan” uses and put them together and you get a couch with a face of a dog. Adorable.