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Why does "thank you" sound so similar in Japanese and Portuguese?

posted 2 years ago by damocci (1514)
12 replies | jump to latest

"Thank you" in Japanese is "arigato" and in Portuguese it's "obrigado."

This is puzzling. The two countries are located on opposite sides of the world and the two cultures developed independently. I know Portugal was an imperial power a few centuries ago, and had a strong influence on Macau's culture, and Macau - being located in China - is not too far from Japan. However, the Japanese language predates Portuguese colonialism so I don't think that's the reason the two words are so similar. And I am not convinced it's just coincidence. What's the explanation for this similarity?

[–] OnanTheBarbarian (11952) 2 years ago

Aliens?

[–] kukuxu (5409) 2 years ago

Japanese has a sound which is similar to Spanish, a bit less to Portuguese.

I'm talking about Spanish from Europe. Spanish in Latin American countries (Mexico, Venezuela, United States and others) sounds different.

[–] huwdj (4566) 2 years ago

evidence indicates arigatō has a purely Japanese origin, so these two words are false cognates.

Wikipedia
But when you Google it's surprising how many times this question has been asked.

[–] damocci (1514) 2 years ago

What's the Wikipedia link for your quote so I can read a bit more about this?

[–] huwdj (4566) 2 years ago

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glossary_of_Japanese_words_of_Portuguese_origin#:~:text=It%20is%20often%20suggested%20that,%22%2Dsound%20change%20of%20arigataku.

which is a long link. I just googled "arigato obrigado origin" and this was the first return.

[–] damocci (1514) 2 years ago

Thank you!

[–] nyctc7 (43591) 2 years ago

>But when you Google it's surprising how many times this question has been asked.

Someone needs to tell TheMan18 this :)

[–] huwdj (4566) 2 years ago

I'm not sure even a Google AI could unpick one of his questions - I usually get lost in the 2nd paragraph.

[–] AndyKing1967 (38068) 2 years ago

I refuse to engage.

[–] mikethemartian (6708) 2 years ago

If I remember correctly the word for library is the same in Spanish and Russian even though the former uses the Latin alphabet and the latter the Cyrillic alphabet.

[–] jonathan_k80 (6436) 2 years ago

Both words have roots in the Ancient Greek term βιβλιοθήκη (bibliothēkē), which meant a "book container":
• Spanish = la biblioteca
• Russian = библиотека (biblioteka)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Library#Etymology

[–] javie (2216) 2 years ago

It sounds like they're taking the piss