JDM Slang words are everywhere, in blog posts, on YouTube videos, or on cars. But while people are aware of them, most do not know their meaning. To help you get on track, we’ve summarized some of the most popular JDM slang words. Enjoy.

Bippu – Often characterized by exceptionally low automobiles with an aggressive posture and wide, high-end wheels with an enormous polished dish, which is typically applied to long-wheelbase luxury sedans.

Boro-Boro – Old or worn out. Term for older or damaged drift cars that have been relegated to only practice use.

Bosozoku – The Bosozukas were a motorcycle gang that first emerged in the late 1950s. These motorcyclists were mainly under the age of 20, and they traveled in large numbers, sometimes numbering in the hundreds, breaking laws and abusing or threatening bystanders who objected to the gangs’ actions.

Choku Dori – Pendulum drift, or swaying. Choku Dori is frequently played on the tarmac. As the driver manipulates the throttle to maintain control of the vehicle, it sways from side to side.

Deppa – Front-lip spoiler positioned under the front bumper.

Dori – Drifting.

Dorikin – The Drift King, a term most usually applied to Keiichi Tsuchiya, a key figure in the popularization of drifting. As an illegal street racer, Tsuchiya honed his motorsport skills. He raced in the JTCC, Le Mans, NASCAR, and open-wheel racing championships, among others. Tsuchiya’s had a proficiency and passion for the Toyota AE86.

Dorisha – Drift car.

Hipari tyre – A rounded sidewall is achieved by stretching a narrow tire onto a wider rim. Tuners can use stretched tires to clear their fenders and accommodate wider, lower-set wheels. It’s great for the show, but it’s terrible for anything else.

Hakosuka – More commonly known as the 1971 Nissan Skyline GT-R. Often named KPGC10 or simply Hakosuka meaning Box-shaped Skyline.

Hashiriya – Street Racer.

Ichigo – An earlier model car with an S15 Silvia front-end alteration, also known as a strawberry face. Sil80, where an S13 coupe front end is switched into a 180SX, and Onevia, where the pop-up front end is attached to the coupe, are two more common front-end swaps.

Hachiroku – Also known as the Toyota AE86.

Itasha – Cars draped in graphics of manga or anime characters, which are sometimes provocative but always entertaining. The direct translation is ‘painful car,’ and some of the more explicit designs certainly illustrate why.

Kenmeri – Skyline C110 (in Australia, Datsun 240K). The name stems from the car’s Japanese advertising campaign, which portrayed a young couple named Ken and Mary driving through the countryside in their Skyline.

Kyusha – Classic Japanese cars which are modified to the era it was manufactured, often with exterior modification to match the history.

Matsuri – Drift Matsuri, the Japanese word for festival, is best preceded by ‘Drift,’ with whole weekends of unrestrained grassroots drifting on racecourses taking place in Japan and around the world.

Oni-Kyan – Extreme negative camber (meaning “devil camber”) is a drifting-inspired aesthetic adjustment rather than a performance enhancement. The impractical but eye-catching design quickly made its way into the VIP and stance scenes as a solution to lower the chassis while supporting wider, lower offset wheel and tire combinations.

Otaku – Geek.

Shaken – Japan’s vehicle inspection program.

Shakotan – Cars designed to be as low as possible to the ground. To achieve this, little aero, small wheels, and negative camber are all used in conjunction with carefully customized suspension.

Takeyari pipes – Slash-cut exhaust extensions that stretch high above and surrounding the automobile. Frequently seen on Bosozoku and Zokusha automobiles.

Touge – Winding, narrow mountain passages that test both the driver and the vehicle. On mountain roads in Gunma prefecture, street racers pitted their mechanical and steering abilities against one another in the most famous clashes from the Initial-D series.

Tsuiso – Two vehicles drifting side by side, one pursuing the other. Drivers exchange leading and pursuing laps in competitive drifting, staying close to each other’s door.

Tsurikawa – Passengers use this handle on trains and buses to keep their balance while the vehicle is moving. In the 1950s, a Japanese motorcycle gang known as the Bosozukas began snatching Tsurikawas and using them to paint their bikes as a show of defiance toward the government. Car enthusiasts eventually caught on and began using them as decorations. Tsurikawas are still used for decorating nowadays, albeit stealing them is no longer necessary thanks to the abundance of online companies that sell them.

Tsuna/Fusa knots – These thick windshields, which are popular among the VIP Style crowd, have their origins in Japanese religious buildings and festivities. The Tsuna represents protection, while the Fusa represents good fortune.

Wangan – The Shuto Expressway’s Bayshore route in Tokyo. The 70km stretch, made famous by the Wangan Mid Night street racing club, has hosted extreme high-speed clashes and has become a cult road in enthusiast culture. Wangan Midnight, Shukutou Battle Series, Midnight Club, Megalopolis Expressway Trial, and Wangan Full Throttle are just a handful of the games, series, and films born out of Wangan racing culture.

Wakaba leaf – The beginning driver’s symbol that must be shown on Japanese drivers’ cars during their first year of driving. In Australia, it’s similar to an L or P plate.

Zero-Yon – Zero-Yon or “04” is an abbreviation for 0-400 meters and is often used for street racing in industrial areas.

Zokusha – Youngsters who drive cars that have been designed in a semi-functional racing style. Loud exhausts, large chin lip spoilers, shark nose hood conversions, large fender extensions, racing mirrors, factory spoilers flipped to diffusers, and tiny diameter deep dish rims are among the modifications.