Did you have anything OC Desu (OCです) today?
If your answer is “What?” then you’re probably not hip to the new buzzword circling around social media in Japanese recently. Students of the language can probably figure it out by saying it out loud, and the image above gives us a pretty big hint too.
By sounding it out with a Japanese accent, you’ll get something along the lines of “oishi desu” or “it’s delicious” in English. That might not sound quite right to English speakers though. It’s because Japanese doesn’t have a hard S sound before long E sounds or short I sounds. Other combinations like “Sa, Su, and So” are fine but when those two particular vowel sounds are used with the “sh” sound, a good chuckle is had when someone asks, “Can I sit here?”
So, in OC Desu, the C sounds like “shi” which quite frankly still doesn’t sound exactly right. Commenters on our Japanese site seemed to agree that the phrase would probably be better as OEC Desu. One suggestion in particular had a nice ring to it: “OEC Death.”
It seems it’s too late for alterations though as the OC Desu bandwagon has thoroughly hit the road running with more and more instances of it popping up online.
Something especially interesting about OC Desu is that it's a new word that we can trace back to its coinage with relative certainty. The term – or at least its widespread use – was inspired by a YouTube channel called Tarzo Channel run by Tarzo01. He has a small collection of videos where he taste-tests limited edition flavors of products by first reading the label in it’s entirety, sampling the goods, and giving his detailed opinion.
There are many other YouTube taste-testers out there who perform with a lot of vim and vigor. Tarzo, however, carries himself with certain poise and confidence that’s strangely appealing and demanding of our attention. It’s no wonder people have gravitated to him and started echoing his authoritatively delivered praises of “OC Desu.”
Tarzo doesn’t have nearly the same view-count as other YouTube celebs. Actually he barely makes a dent in the page views of his biggest rival Hikakin.
Still, for having ushered a new word in the lexicon of Japan, Tarzo certainly deserves a place as an Internet star.
Original article by Nakano
Read more stories from RocketNews24. -- Eight Japanese words we’d love to import into English -- Aizuchi: The Japanese art of grunting your way through conversations -- What does “Konnichiwa” really mean? Understanding Japanese greetings
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11 Comments
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bass4funk
I thought it was Orange County, California.
hennoteika
While "Oishii desu" means "tasty", "Oshii desu" means "not quite there" or "near miss"..
browny1
I'm with Magnet - I thought OC was short strayt talk for Obsessive Compulsive.
And there's plenty of that to go around - esp on Youtube.
Magnet
Glad they clarified that. Was thinking everyone was getting OC, as in, Obsessive Compulsive.
Himeros
Thought this would be a nice throwback to television show The O.C. and its memorable line "Welcome to the O.C. bitch". Unfortunately not.
Fox Cloud Lelean
I thought immediately of Original Characters: a term used by fan fiction writers to describe a new character to an existing franchise. But hey, that's just me. I'm not exactly the sharpest tool in the ted.
ohayo206
I'm not surprised its been popularized by Youtube. Its the perfect attention-getting message for the ADD society we currently reside in. Nevermind that. ...OC-desu!
Laguna
My first thought, too, Bass - but then it would likely have been ザOCです.
Fadamor
Obsessive Compulsive disorder usually goes by the three-letter acronym, OCD.
warispeace
Not Over-Chemicalized? Which is how most producers of processed foods fool people into thinking something tastes good when it is actually crap. That's why many people can combine two words that are a physical impossibility when it comes to food--cheap and tasty. With food quality, you always get what you pay for.
sangetsu03
I just wasted 2 minutes of my life…