Google Images provides overwhelming proof: じゃがいも, ポテト. You can add フライド in front of the latter, but it’s unnecessary.
Updated to reflect that いも actually refers more generally to tubers.
4 thoughts on “じゃがいも ≠ ポテト (Updated)”
Plus, not only are いも raw, they aren’t even the same tuber! (Without a modifier like じゃが (for Jakarta!) or 男爵 (after Baron Kawada who developed or imported this variety for Hokkaido colonists to make IIRC).
It’s when people start pronouncing 男爵 “jaga” that things get really awesome.
Whoa, that is a sweet way to read those kanji. Wikipedia Japan seems to confirm that imo is a broader category that includes potatoes? http://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E3%81%84%E3%82%82 Stil, point noted and post updated.
Yeah, it’s about markedness and non-markedness. Technically an English “potato” is inside the “imo” class, but if you just say “imo”, the assumption is that you mean what we call a “sweet potato”. (And conversely I guess in English, a “sweet potato” is in the “potato” class, but if you just say “potato” people will assume you mean “jaga-imo”.) Another good pair to illustrate this is “tea” and “cha”.
That picture of heppoko farting is probably the most popular thing I ever posted.
Plus, not only are いも raw, they aren’t even the same tuber! (Without a modifier like じゃが (for Jakarta!) or 男爵 (after Baron Kawada who developed or imported this variety for Hokkaido colonists to make IIRC).
It’s when people start pronouncing 男爵 “jaga” that things get really awesome.
Whoa, that is a sweet way to read those kanji. Wikipedia Japan seems to confirm that imo is a broader category that includes potatoes? http://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E3%81%84%E3%82%82 Stil, point noted and post updated.
This also gives me a chance to link to these potato-related classic no-sword posts that traumatized me:
http://no-sword.jp/blog/2007/03/heh-heh-space-potato.html
http://no-sword.jp/blog/2007/04/heppoko-space-potato-returns.html
It also occured to me that Harold Isaacson (http://neojaponisme.com/2009/02/10/transliterating-shiki/) might be able to write a sweet reggae haiku starting with “jagaimo ya”.
Yeah, it’s about markedness and non-markedness. Technically an English “potato” is inside the “imo” class, but if you just say “imo”, the assumption is that you mean what we call a “sweet potato”. (And conversely I guess in English, a “sweet potato” is in the “potato” class, but if you just say “potato” people will assume you mean “jaga-imo”.) Another good pair to illustrate this is “tea” and “cha”.
That picture of heppoko farting is probably the most popular thing I ever posted.