Welcome to the Nihongo Lesson feature. We strive to give you useful manga-based Japanese language tips and maybe even a glimpse into the translation process. This week’s lesson will focus on farm animals. Everyone loves cute animals, so let’s learn how to say some of the more common ones in Japanese.

UMA (うま)

UMA means “horse.” Horses are majestic creatures, and many children dream of getting one for their birthday. In Toriko, Zebra got a giant horse when he borrowed the Daruma’s Horse. The Daruma Horse is a descendant of the ancient Nightmare Heracles, one of the Eight Kings of the Gourmet World that guards the Food Treasure Air.

BUTA (ぶた)

BUTA means “pig.” You’ve probably heard of butadon, which is a rice bowl garnished with pork. And, of course, everyone loves bacon. One notable pig in Weekly Shonen Jump, besides Choji, is Tsunade’s ninja pig Tonton in Naruto! Incidentally, like Naruto himself, Tonton’s name comes from food. In this case, tonkatsu, which is a pork cutlet.

USHI (うし)

USHI means “cow.” Cows are pretty tasty creatures, and lots of characters in Weekly Shonen Jump flaunt their love of meat. We all know Luffy is a huge fan of meat. One cow that Luffy never ate was Momoo. Despite Momoo’s size, he was always beaten up and forced to pull pirate ships. He appeared in both Arlong Park and Fishman Island. He even tried to eat Sanji! He is one hungry cow.

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