Glossary
There are many terms that we often use in writing our articles. Although we know that many long-time Arashi fans (as well as Japanese native speakers and anyone else who know the Japanese language) know what they mean, it's not fair for the new fans to sit there looking very curious and stupid trying to figure out what they truly mean. As a result, we have this glossary section to help the readers go through our articles with ease as well as they learn something they have never known before...
+ AMNOS - The first initial of the ARASHI members' surnames [Aiba, Matsumoto, Ninomiya, Ohno, Sakurai]. This "second name" was thought of by Sho Sakurai during their first-ever debut concert as ARASHI. The boys wanted their fans to remember them this way if they do talk about ARASHI in their everyday lives. Sometimes they are also known as Arashi AMNOS, but not always often.
+ ARASHI - The word arashi is Japanese for storm. This is why you often see us use a few terms related to storm in general (example - "The Stormy Chronicles"). In some ways, it's a "pun," but on the other hand, it isn't at the same time.
+ BBS - Bulletin Board System. Also known as a message board, except that the Japanese use "BBS" as their term. An example of a BBS is our very own IRO Asenaide Board.
+ Butai - Stage play and/or stage musical.
+ CM - Commercial clip. You know, those commercials that you see on TV promoting stuff...?
+ Dorama - （ドラマ） The Katakana spelling/pronunciation of drama. Although using the original English word "drama" is more appropriate and easier to understand, some of the writers use the Katakana spelling in their articles. We refer this term towards TV drama (mini-)series broadcasted on Japanese TV. TV dramas in Japan are huge and popular, and many of the "non-pop music" enthusiasts discover these musical artists when they see them act in their favorite drama shows.
+ dou shiyou?! - （どうしよう？！） How the heck is this possible?! There will be possibilities that some of the writers will use this expression in their articles. Just a small note. ^_^
+ Eiga - （映画 ・ えいが） Movie. Some of the writers use eiga referring to full-length motion pictures shown up on the silver screen and later re-released in DVD or VHS format.
+ Furigana - （ふりがな） The mini-text reading (in hiragana and/or katakana) that you see right above of a Kanji character as a guide on how to read that particular character. Furigana raedings above the Kanji characters are very common in standard Japanese text, especially in children's books and manga (Japanese comics).
+ Ganbatte ne!/Ganbare ne! - （頑張ってね！／頑張れね！ ・ がんばってね！／がんばれね！） Do your best!/Good luck! Derived from the Japanese verb ganbarimasu, which means "to do one's best."
+ Hiragana - （ひらがな） The first set of Japanese syllable-based alphabet. This set is often used in the Japanese text, and it is also the first set that Japanese children (and Japanese language students) learn first. Examples of Hiragana are: あ (a), か (ka), さ (sa), た (ta), な (na), etc. etc.
+ Kanji - （漢字 ・ かんじ） Chinese characters used in the Japanese writing system. The Japanese use about 1,945 characters in the everyday standard Japanese text (new rule right after World War II), and are first taught at the 1st grade level in Elementary School and beyond. This is the third and final set that Japanese children (and Japanese language students) learn. Examples of Kanji are: 一 (いち／ichi) one, 事 (こと／koto) thing, 月 (つき／tsuki) moon, 愛 (あい／ai) love, 命 (いのち／inochi) life, etc. etc.
+ Kana - （かな） The original Japanese writing system. The hiragana set and the katakana set altogether is called Kana.
+ Katakana - The second set of Japanese syllable-based alphabet. Although Hiragana is most widely used, Katakana is used when they write foreign words, names, sound effect words, and "made-up" Japanese words. Sometimes it's also used as a reading on a rather not too common Kanji character (not all Japanese are familiar with all of the Kanji, especially those that are rarely or no longer used on a daily basis). Examples of Katakana are: ア (a), カ (ka), サ (sa), タ (ta), ナ (na), etc. etc.
+ Nande?! - （なんで？！） Why?! Informal term for doushite （どうして） and naze （なぜ）.
+ Nan?/Nani? - （何？ ・ なん？／なに？） What (is it)?
+ nix - Our term for the word nickname.
+ PV - Promotional video. Also known as music video (MV) or in some countries, "MTV video clip." The Japanese (and eventually, long time fans) use the term "PV" to refer to music videos.
+ Reads - Articles, entries, any type of writing that you see and read. We do read them, right?
+ Shashin - （写真 ・ しゃしん） Photos! Pictures! EYECANDY!!!
+ TSC - Our abbreviation for The Stormy Chronicles.
+ uchiwa - A Japanese fan (as in the thing that keeps you cool, not "fan" as in "fanatic"!), often used as "fansigns" for signs who attend concerts. It could be an uchiwa of their favorite idol's picture, the name of the group, or even the name of their favorite idol. If one is attending a Johnny's concert, they must buy the official uchiwa fans from designated Johnny's stores OR create their own uchiwa WITHOUT using any of their idol's photos.
+ VTR - Video trailer. This is a broadcast/video media term that many of the backstage crew involved in TV or in movies use referring to trailers and previews created through video clips.
