Obamu

A newly-coined Japanese verb – “to Obama” – which means to persevere with optimism, ignoring all obstacles.

Writing on his blog, Ampontan, Bill Sakovich revealed that a new word –Obamu – is catching on among Japan’s youth. Sakovich credited the Japanese Teachers’ Network in Kitakyushu for the following definition:

Obamu: (v.) To ignore inexpedient and inconvenient facts or realities, think “Yes we can, Yes we can,” and proceed with optimism using those facts as an inspiration (literally, as fuel). It is used to elicit success in a personal endeavor. One explanation holds that it is the opposite ofkobamu. (拒む, which means to refuse, reject, or oppose).

Sakovich continued:

One more Japanese-language citation is from a Twitter tweet, which defines it simply as believing you can accomplish something. …

It remains to be seen whether this word is capable of hitoriaruki(literally, walking alone, or becoming independently viable), and whether the tweety Pollyanna definition or the more pointed Kitakyushu definition become the standard.

But considering the nature of the Internet and the Japanese love of wordplay and new coinages, it shouldn’t be long before we find out.

[The titfer is tipped to James Fallows who spotlighted Sakovich’s posting on The Atlantic.]