ジャズ
Meaning in Englishjazz
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Word context
What it means
What does ジャズ mean? It denotes the jazz music genre, a modern style defined by improvisation, swing rhythms, and a synthesis of African American musical traditions with European harmony.
Main meanings
- As a music genre, jazz (ジャズ) in Japanese refers to the same American tradition of improvised, rhythmically driven music
- In everyday speech it can denote jazz in general, including subgenres or performances
- Common phrases describe listening or liking jazz, such as ジャズを聴く or ジャズが好き
How to use it
Used as a noun to designate the music genre; formal contexts include music journalism or academic discussions, casual contexts include conversations about listening to jazz; typical constructions include ジャズを聴く, ジャズの演奏, and ジャズフェスティバル.
Variants and close terms
- ジャズ音楽 (jazu ongaku) – synonym
- クラシック音楽 (kurashikku ongaku) – antonym/contrast
Etymology
From English jazz borrowed into Japanese as a direct loanword, transcribed as ジャズ; phonetic rendering approximates the initial affricate /dʒ/ with ジャ and the final /z/ with ズ.
Origin
Jazz entered Japan in the early 20th century as Western music and spread through dance halls, American cultural influence after World War II, and global media, with the term circulating in education, media, and entertainment as a genre label.
Word class
Noun (名詞)