The Word “LABO” is Everywhere You Look in Japanese
Posted on January 18, 2018 by Clyde Mandelin‧19 Comments
Yesterday, Nintendo announced its new “Labo” line of DIY craft kits. The announcement took the world by surprise, so everyone’s talking about Labo now.
For me, the announcement felt like I had just gone full-circle: the very first time I ever encountered the Japanese word “Labo” was when I played the Japanese version of EarthBound back in the 1990s:
I was still learning Japanese at the time, so I had difficulty seeing the differences between the Japanese script and the English script. But this LABO/LAB change was one of the most obvious changes I noticed at the time. Other curious fans at the time had noted it as well.
In fact, “LABO” eventually became so iconic among EarthBound fans that we made sure to make the same change in the MOTHER 3 fan translation a decade later:
When I was first learning Japanese, I understood that the Japanese version of EarthBound said “Labo” because it’s the Japanese abbreviation for the word “laboratory”. The extra “o” is there because Japanese words work differently from other languages: in extremely simple terms, most Japanese words don’t end with consonants (except for “n”) – they almost always have a vowel at the end. We don’t have that in English, though, so our abbreviation is just “lab”.
Here’s a little side challenge: think of five Japanese words you know and see if they end with a vowel!
As I studied the language more and spent time in Japan, I was surprised at how often I saw “Labo” everywhere I looked. On signs, on TV, in ads, in games – it felt like the word “Labo” was absolutely everywhere. And, whenever the word was used, it was usually written out in English rather than in Japanese for some reason. It was an intriguing little mystery I hadn’t expected to find in the Japanese language.
Over time, I picked up a few more nuances about “Labo”:
”Labo” is written out in English so often to evoke a confident feeling of skill and competence. Plus it just looks cool to Japanese sensibilities.
While it does seem to be an abbreviation of the English word “laboratory” a lot of the time, it sometimes comes from the French abbreviation of “laboratoire” instead. This happens especially when a company or product is trying to give off a high-class, international vibe.
In addition to “lab” as we normally use it in everyday English, it seems “Labo” is often used in situations where we’d probably use the word “classroom” or “workshop”.
You can see many real-life uses of Japanese “Labo” for yourself in the gallery below:
Wasted space labo
I want to go to this labo, please tell me how it is if you ever go
This seems like a cool combination of collaboration/coworking/labo
Massage labo
Hair La Bo
Some kind of styling product I assume
Any guesses what this labo is about?
A soap labo, not a soup labo
A labo to hit balls into holes
A labo if you're in pain
A manga/anime labo
English teaching school labo
A labo that buys your old game consoles and such
A racing labo of some sort
oh my god
English school labo, this name seems to be common for some reason
Welcome to the future of labos
Stuff on shelves labo
I don't know
A dental labo for you to get your teeth fixed
A video game (I think?)
An Okinawa fancy hat labo? I dunno
There's fruit at this labo
Labo decoration
Inside of a hair removal labo
A food labo with a Christmas flair but no dogs allowed!
This labo grand-prix starts tomorrow
In Japanese, "b" and "v" are often represented the same way (similar to "L" and "R") - so this is a rare instance of "LAVO" instead of LABO"
Learn English at the Labo Party
Here we see explicitly see that "Labo" is intended as an abbreviation of "Laboratory"
This labo never closes!
This labo is a secret acronym
Musical instrument labo
None of this text makes sense
A labo for holistic things
A fake scientist works in a cartoon labo
A labo for smartphones
A labo of some sort
Get your face fixed at this labo
Eat sugar at this labo
Have fun at this labo
A cafe labo of dreams
Japan loves hair removal labos
Oh, a science labo!
Goop from a skin care labo
A hair removal labo with a wiggly mascot
As you can see, "LABO" often gets written in English while almost everything else is in Japanese
Kitchens need labos too
A labo on Anime Street
Maybe the grooviest labo with the coolest guest name
A hobby racing car labo
All-English product packaging is common in Japan
A labo for fruit lovers
A labo with a surprising C
Trading card labo
It's hard to see but there's a "labo" in here!
A well photographed spice labo
A Bitcoin-esque labo with some acronym fun added
A leaf drinking labo
A labo for all your wining needs
An old PHP labo (but don't try to pass by reference today)
This labo will help you fill your space
A car care labo
Whoa we hit EarthBound again
Incidentally, the word "viking" in Japanese means something like "all-you-can-eat buffet"
Labo for putting funny things on your head and walking around like a goof
This labo can help you learn how to sell houses maybe?
Wow, I want to visit this labo
Learn about herbs at this labo
Telecommunications labo
Labo for drinking and eating coffee beans
Bitcoin related labo
I’ve also compiled these images into a nice slideshow video here:
So if you ever see “Labo” on Japanese stuff or while in Japan, now you know what’s up!
I'm taking a relaxed break from Legends of Localization at the moment, but I still plan to add more articles and comparisons from time to time.
I'll also slowly be improving and updating various sections of the site. During these times, pages, links, and images will surely break somewhere - I apologize in advance. I've also turned off comments for now until I can reasonably keep up with them again.
In the meantime, check out some of these other articles:
My mind immediately went to Earthbound when I heard about the Nintendo Labo, too. My first reaction was to wonder if the Japanese version would have more weird red things on top than the English version has.
Doctor Fedora
You know, I’m actually in the same city as Hamburg Labo. I can in fact let you know if I ever go there. ; )
KingMike
I am suddenly reminded of Mato’s old website Sexy Beam page.
I haven’t been paying attention but are the Minnesota All You Can Eats still in the running for the Super Bowl? 😀
BananaLord
Maybe I’m giving them too much credit, but I think the “lavo” one is trying to sound Spanish. “Salumeria” sounds like a made up Spanish store name (Spanish stores end in -ería, although this one is nonsense unless it sells…. keystones, apparently. Like, the things that hold up arches) and “lavo” is a real Spanish word. It means “I wash”, though, so… nice try, I guess?
Melynir
“Salumeria” is Italian for a shop that sells sausage, ham, and other (mostly) pork products.
Sephiroth1311
Salumeria is Italian (charcutería in Spanish). 😉
mmKALLL
Our workplace has not one but nine LABO teams related to the topic of international marketing. At least now I know what they are all doing…? (笑)
That or they’re focused on marketing to labrador retrievers. I mean, you never know.
Kouban
Using “labo” as a “high-class” abbreviation reminds me of how Dexter in Dexter’s Laboratory always pronounced the “o” when referring to his own lab, probably for the same reason.
Rev.
The o is supposed to be pronounced… how would you even say it otherwise?
Dexter really stresses the O in it though. A lot of English speakers in my part of the world also kind of just say what you would think of as an a, sort of like “Lab-a-tory”. Incorrect? Probably. A thing? Totally
Noa
Like “labrador”.
Jake C.
There’s a reason why “viking” means “buffet”, incidentally. The first buffet restaurant in Japan was Imperial Viking, a Scandinavian-style smorgasbord in the old Imperial Hotel Tokyo.
Nitro Indigo
I’ve been playing Pokémon Alpha Sapphire in French recently, and it uses the shortening “labo” too.
Dan V
I lived in Nishinotoin for a couple of months right around the corner from Hamburg Labo (2nd pic). It was great! My burger of choice involved them squeezing a fresh lemon over the cooked patty with various greens and then blowtorching it right there. I need to go back…
oh, i remember ‘labo’ from earthbound, too. If I recall, snowboard kids 2 had a house with ‘labo’ on it also ( it was damien’s home,all his stuff had ‘BK’ on it, as his japanese name was black kozou) this is a cool article
“Labo” from the part of the world where i come from…in Yoruba Language means “Lick Vagina!” Or “Lick Plate!” Depending on the pronunciation of the “o”.
![Passport to MOTHER 2 [Learn Japanese!]](https://legendsoflocalization.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/pp-m2.jpg "Passport to MOTHER 2 [Learn Japanese!]")
I could see a good number of those examples working in English. The word “lab” is common enough that people don’t really notice it much.
My mind immediately went to Earthbound when I heard about the Nintendo Labo, too. My first reaction was to wonder if the Japanese version would have more weird red things on top than the English version has.
You know, I’m actually in the same city as Hamburg Labo. I can in fact let you know if I ever go there. ; )
I am suddenly reminded of Mato’s old website Sexy Beam page.
I haven’t been paying attention but are the Minnesota All You Can Eats still in the running for the Super Bowl? 😀
Maybe I’m giving them too much credit, but I think the “lavo” one is trying to sound Spanish. “Salumeria” sounds like a made up Spanish store name (Spanish stores end in -ería, although this one is nonsense unless it sells…. keystones, apparently. Like, the things that hold up arches) and “lavo” is a real Spanish word. It means “I wash”, though, so… nice try, I guess?
“Salumeria” is Italian for a shop that sells sausage, ham, and other (mostly) pork products.
Salumeria is Italian (charcutería in Spanish). 😉
Our workplace has not one but nine LABO teams related to the topic of international marketing.
At least now I know what they are all doing…? (笑)
That or they’re focused on marketing to labrador retrievers. I mean, you never know.
Using “labo” as a “high-class” abbreviation reminds me of how Dexter in Dexter’s Laboratory always pronounced the “o” when referring to his own lab, probably for the same reason.
The o is supposed to be pronounced… how would you even say it otherwise?
Dexter really stresses the O in it though.
A lot of English speakers in my part of the world also kind of just say what you would think of as an a, sort of like “Lab-a-tory”. Incorrect? Probably. A thing? Totally
Like “labrador”.
There’s a reason why “viking” means “buffet”, incidentally. The first buffet restaurant in Japan was Imperial Viking, a Scandinavian-style smorgasbord in the old Imperial Hotel Tokyo.
I’ve been playing Pokémon Alpha Sapphire in French recently, and it uses the shortening “labo” too.
I lived in Nishinotoin for a couple of months right around the corner from Hamburg Labo (2nd pic). It was great!
My burger of choice involved them squeezing a fresh lemon over the cooked patty with various greens and then blowtorching it right there. I need to go back…
Whoa, that sounds really good, I’m jealous!
oh, i remember ‘labo’ from earthbound, too. If I recall, snowboard kids 2 had a house with ‘labo’ on it also ( it was damien’s home,all his stuff had ‘BK’ on it, as his japanese name was black kozou)
this is a cool article
“Labo” from the part of the world where i come from…in Yoruba Language means “Lick Vagina!” Or “Lick Plate!” Depending on the pronunciation of the “o”.