Japanese people and poo

Bodily wastes are a taboo subject in most cultures, but not that much in Japan. In fact, the subject of poo, or the lack thereof (as in constipation) is discussed fairly openly in polite society.

There are many different ways of calling poo. When it's on the hard side, it's called うんこ　(unko), while the softer kind is called うんち　(unchi). These are both informal and rather cute terms; the formal term (the equivalent of feces in English) is 便 （べん　ben)　or　大便　(だいべん　daiben). This combines the kanji for 'big' with 'ben'. Another word for it (a bit rude) is 糞　(くそ　kuso), also read as ふん　fun. くそ　is also a swear word, like 'shit' in English, but milder in terms of shock value.

On J-List they have several cute unchi (poo) goods, including a pink unchi pencil topper mascot. Kawaii poo: Only in Japan?

Here's a mysterious yet colorful video about 'The unchi of love'.

Constipation, a problem that is considered to be quite critical for ones health, is called 便秘　(べんぴ　ben-pi). This combines the kanji 'ben' with the one that means secret or hidden. So constipation is your body secreting or hiding your poo. Makes sense, doesn't it?

The opposite problem, diarrhea, is called 下痢 （げり　geri). Some people get snickery about the male English name Gary, since it sort of sounds like 下痢.

The formal names for urine are 尿　(にょう　nyou)　or 小便　(しょうべん　shouben - 'small' ben as opposed to 'big' ben for poo). Informally it's called しょんべん　(shonben)　or (especially by kids) おしっこ　(oshikko).

As far as I know though, there are no kawaii pee mascots.

(Edit: Apparently there is a poo and pee doll pair, though they are Scandinavian, not Japanese: see a picture (thanks Sile...I think ^_^;)

Comments

[Louise]

I wonder if the Japanese words for poo and pee came from Chinese. In Chinese, poo is da bien, pee is shao bien or niao.

[Eve]

Now I'm curious as to why 便　is the same as the kanji used in 便利な　when they don't seem to have similar meanings ... ?_?

[Barbara Thomson]

Great post. I especially found it useful where you stated that constipation can cause health problems and I have learned a little Japanese too... thanks, Barbara.

[Joy]

I'm not a Taiwanese, but my mom is. Sometimes she referred going to pee as benshou, and it make me wondering whether the term is adapted from Japanese. Some of Taiwanese words is adapted from Japanese(Taiwan were under Empire of Japan rule for 51 years).

[Joy]

wikipedia:
Examples of Japanese loan words used in Taiwanese include 「便所」（piān-só·） for "toilet"
(taken from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taiwanese_Hokkien)
Now I know that I'm not deluded when I think that word adapted from Japanese ^_^

[Constipation relief]

So I guess constipation isn't much of a problem in Japan, if it is openly talked about, seems like its not much of a problem to those who talk about it.

[Maria Stockton]

talking about poo openly, it's kinda weird for me to think about it, but it think japan is cool. this can also be helpful to help the one suffering from constipation get proper relief since they can express well about the problem.

[Susanne Richardson]

i opened your link for those cute little poo and pee plush dolls... they're so cute!!! anyways, thank you for this post.

[Tom]

@Louise
lol, come on ;)