TOKYO, Jan 14 — Language doesn’t stand still — it absorbs, adapts and occasionally gets nudged along by pop culture. 

According to The Japan Times, the Oxford English Dictionary has added 11 Japanese words to its latest update, less than two years after welcoming a wave of entries that leaned heavily toward food.

This time around, the mix is broader — and a little more puzzling.

Some additions feel long overdue. Senpai, for one, has been floating around untranslated for years, especially among anime and manga fans. 

The dictionary now acknowledges not just its literal meaning — a senior or mentor — but also its pop-culture nuance: someone admired, even idolised, whose attention is quietly sought.

The inclusion of yōkai is similarly unsurprising. These supernatural beings have leapt from folklore into mainstream global entertainment, appearing in hit anime like Demon Slayer and Jujutsu Kaisen. At this point, the term is as familiar to international fans as “ghost” or “monster”.

Other entries reflect everyday Japanese life that travellers quickly learn to recognise. 

Love hotel needs little explanation for anyone who has wandered Tokyo’s nightlife districts. 

Senbei, the rice cracker, is a staple snack often encountered before visitors even leave the airport. 

And Washlet — the high-tech toilet seat — has arguably done more for Japan’s global reputation than any marketing campaign.

Where the list gets more eclectic is in its deeper cuts. 

Naginata, a traditional polearm historically associated with women warriors, is culturally significant but hardly common in English usage. 

Ekiden, a long-distance relay race, and White Day, Japan’s March 14 counterpart to Valentine’s Day, feel highly specific choices.

Then there’s PechaKucha, the fast-paced presentation format popular in creative circles. While the dictionary notes its Japanese roots as a word for casual chatter, the modern format — popularised by two expatriate architects — barely gets a mention.

Finally, entries like mottainai (“what a waste!”) and brush pen raise the inevitable question: are these words genuinely embedded in English, or simply passing through?

Perhaps that’s beside the point. Dictionaries don’t decide how language should evolve — they record how it already has. If people use these words often enough, they stick.

And if some don’t? Well, shōganai. It can’t be helped.