Meaning:
bye-bye
Usage Example:
お婆ちゃんは最後に孫を抱き、満面の笑みで「あばあばねえ」と言った。 (Grandmother smiled and said aba aba as she gave her grandson a last hug.)
Notes:
baby talk for the word abayo which means “bye” (「あばよ」の幼児語)
aha aha – あはあは
Meaning:
to laugh without reservation, the sound of laughter
Usage Example:
転んで怪我をした私を見て、彼はあはあはと遠慮なく笑った。 (Without reserve, he laughed when he saw me fall and hurt myself.)
appetoppe – あっぺとっぺ
Meaning:
be inconsistent, illogical, not make sense
Usage Example:
「あっぺとっぺじゃねえか」と課長は部下に怒鳴り散らした。 (The manager got angry at his staff yelling “that doesn’t make any sense now does it?!”)
Notes:
used predominantly in and around Miyagi prefecture (宮城の方言)
appu appu – あっぷあっぷ
Meaning:
1. gasp for air, on the verge of drowning
2. struggle, be in a difficult situation, on the brink of bankruptcy
Usage Example:
1. 潮の流れが速く、泳ぐことのできない彼女はあっぷあっぷしていた。 (The tide was fast and she was struggling because she does not know how to swim.)
2. 自転車操業に陥り、資金繰りもままならない経営陣はあっぷあっぷしている。 (The management is struggling with finances as operations struggle.)
ahhan – あっはん
Meaning:
sound a female makes when expressing sexual pleasure or appeal
Usage Example:
腰に手を回して引き寄せると、彼女は息を荒くし「あっはん」と声を漏らした。 (When I wrapped my arm around her waist she was breathing hard and let out a ahhan sound.)
Variations:
アッハン
apparapaa – あっぱらぱー
Meaning:
wasteful, do not think too much, foolish
Usage Example:
彼はあっぱらぱーな男で、給料をすぐに使い果たしてしまう。 (He’s a foolish guy that spends all of his salary right away.)
Variations:
あっぱらぱあ, アッパラパー
appatoppa – あっぱとっぱ
Meaning:
be flustered, panic
Usage Example:
「寝過ごしてあっぱとっぱしちゃった」と新入社員の彼は恥ずかしそうに言った。 (The new recruit embarrassingly said that he panicked because he slept in.)
Notes:
used predominantly in and around Ibaraki prefecture (茨城の方言)
appappa – あっぱっぱ
Meaning:
a loose fitting dress worn by women in the summer
Usage Example:
祖母はこの時期、あっぱっぱを着ていたと懐かしそうに話した。 (In a nostalgic tone grandmother said she used to wear an appappa during this season.)
Notes:
Started to be used during the Taishō period (1912 – 1926) in the Kansai area (大正から昭和にかけて関西圏で使用されるようになった俗語)
akerakan – あけらかん
Meaning:
in an absent-minded manner, inattentively, to look blank
Usage Example:
彼はあっけらかんとした性格だ。(He has an absent-minded personality)
Variations:
あっけらかん
akuseku – あくせく
Meaning:
1. fuss, fret, worry, get worked up
2. busy, busily, work hard with little rest, slave away
Usage Example:
1. 小さなことにあくせくするなよ。(Don’t fuss about small things!)
2. 日本人にほんじんは朝から晩まであくせく働く。(Japanese people work hard morning to night)
Variations: