Japanese names of characters from “Chibi Maruko chan”

What is the story?

Chibi Maruko chan is a long-running comedy series written and illustrated by Momoko Sakura based on her childhood experience. Maruko is a happy and easy-going 9-year-old girl who lives with her parents, grandparents, and older sister. This series is made of individual episodes about Maruko’s daily life which involves her family and unique classmates.

Image by: Chibi Maruko chan official anime website © Sakura production / Nihon animation

What is the Japanese title of Chibi Maruko chan?

There is no English title for this series. Chibi Maruko chan is the nickname of the main character Momoko. ‘Chibi’(ちび) means little and ‘Maruko’(まる子) is a nickname given to Momoko by her friends and family. You put “Chan” at the end of girls’ names, especially little ones.

Image by: Chibi Maruko chan official anime website © Sakura production / Nihon animation

What are the meanings behind the characters’ names?

In Japanese culture, names have significant meanings that are supposed to represent you as a person. Names can be expressed in hiragana, katakana, and kanji. Let’s find out the meanings of some names of characters in Chibi Maruko chan.

Momoko Sakura (さくら ももこ, Sakura Momoko)

Image by: Chibi Maruko chan official anime website © Sakura production / Nihon animation

Also known as Maruko, which is her nickname that most people call her. ‘Sakura’ (さくら) is cherry blossom and ‘Momo’ (もも) is peach. ‘Ko’(子) is a common ending for a girl’s name. She was called Chibi Maruko because of her tiny size (Chibi) and chubby face (Maru). There is a ‘Ko’ at the end of her name because she is a little girl.

Emiko Noguchi (野口 笑子, Noguchi Emiko)

Image by: Chibi Maruko chan Ep801 © Sakura production / Nihon animation

‘No’(野) is field, ‘Guchi’(口) is mouth, ‘Shou’ also read as ‘Emi’(笑) is laugh and ‘Ko’(子) is a common ending for a girl’s name. She is a very serious classmate who hardly shows any emotion but actually, she loves heavy metal and comedy.

Sueo Maruo (丸尾 末男, Maruo Sueo)

Image by: Chibi Maruko chan Ep335 © Sakura production / Nihon animation

‘Maru’(丸) is a circle and ‘O’(尾) is tail. ‘Sue’(末) means end or last and ‘O’(男) is man. Sueo with his signature glasses is the class leader who is always trying to keep the class in place.

Shouta Yamada (山田 笑太, Yamada Shōta)

Image by: Chibi Maruko chan Ep1195 © Sakura production / Nihon animation

‘Yamada’(山田) is one of the most common Japanese family names. ‘Shou’(笑) means to laugh and ‘Ta’(太) means big. As you can tell from his name, he is a happy boy who appears to be laughing all the time.

Tsuyoshi Yamane (山根 強, Yamane Tsuyoshi)

Image by: Chibi Maruko chan Ep1177 © Sakura production / Nihon animation

‘Yama’(山) is mountain, ‘Ne’(根) is root and ‘Tsuyoshi’(強) means strong. Tsuyoshi wishes to be a brave strong boy, however, unlike his name, he is a wimp and often gets a stomach ache under pressure.

Futoshi Kosugi (小杉 太, Kosugi Futoshi)

Image by: Chibi Maruko chan Ep388 © Sakura production / Nihon animation

‘Ko’(小) means small, ‘Sugi’(杉) is cedar tree and ‘Futoshi’(太) means big. He is a plump boy who loves to eat.

Interesting lines and phrases – Learning Japanese!

Here are some useful phrases from Chibi Maruko chan which will help you along with your Japanese studies!

Image by: Chibi Maruko chan comic 1 chapter 8 © Momoko Sakura / Shueisha Inc

EN/ “Good morning Maru-chan! How was your summer holiday?”
JP/ 「まるちゃんMaruchan おはよー！Ohayō! 夏休みNatsuyasumi どうだった？Doudatta?」

EN/ “It was really fun!”
JP/ 「すっごいsuggoi 楽しかったよ！tanoshikattayo！ 」

“Doudatta?” Is a casual way of asking how was it? “Suggoi” means very and is the same as “Sugoi” but is emphasized.

Image by: Chibi Maruko chan comic 17 Ep 127 © Momoko Sakura / Shueisha Inc

EN/ ”Hey! Nagasawa-kun, don’t make him cry!”
JP/ 「おい、oi, 永沢君泣かすなよNagasawa-kun nakasunayo」

EN/ “I didn’t make him cry, he just automatically started crying.”
JP/「僕がBokuga 泣かしたんじゃないよ、Nakashitanja naiyo,自動的に jidoutekini泣いたのさ。naitanosa 」

“Jidoutekini” (自動的に) means automatically, it is not common to say it this way however Nagasawa-Kun’s insidious character often makes him speak in a sarcastic way.

Image by: Chibi Maruko chan comic 9 Ep 57 © Momoko Sakura / Shueisha Inc

EN/ “Nagasawa-kun, you are holding back us”
JP/「永沢君、Nagasawa-kunあなたはanatawa  少し足手まといですよsukoshi ashidematoi desuyo 」

EN/ “What!”
JP/　「えっe 」

EN/ “Wow, he said it just like that”
JP/　「あーあ。Aa. ズバリzubari 言っちゃったよ、icchattayo あの人は・・anohitowa」

Japanese people don’t often like to express their feelings much, however, sometimes you have to say it. The phrase “Ashidematoi’ (足手纏い) is often used when someone is slowing you down. “Zubari” (ズバリ) means direct or frankly.

Image by: Chibi Maruko chan comic 7 Ep 38 © Momoko Sakura / Shueisha Inc

EN/ “Oh! You saw it didn’t you!”
JP/　「あっ！A!みたね！Mitane! 」

EN/ “I didn’t see anything!”
JP/　「見てないもん！Mitenaimon! 」

You put “Mon”(もん) at the end of a sentence when you want to kid around or be silly. Maruko’s father actually saw her secret diary and is trying to fool around so instead of saying ‘Mitenai’ (見てない) he said ‘Mitenaimon’ (見てないもん.）