Thread with 3 posts
jump to expanded post"sake" isn't called "sake" in Japanese, but rather 日本酒 [nihonshuu], "Japanese alcohol"
a "katana" isn't called a "katana" in Japanese, but rather 日本刀 [nihontou], "Japanese sword"
except, well, if you drop the Japanese/日本/nihon part, they are read as "sake" and "katana"!
...but that'd refer to any old alcohol, and any old sword!
it's like how アニメ [anime] refers to any animation (including, for example, Disney series), and to refer to anime specifically, you'd have to say something like 日本のアニメ [nihon'no anime], "Japanese anime", right.
*nihonshu, not nihonshuu. it's a short vowel. we always get this wrong