Fictional languages in the Kirby series
The following is a list of fictional languages that appeared in the Kirby series, as well as information regarding them.
Kirby Star Allies
People of Jambastion and Jambandra have their own language. It mainly consists of corrupted words from Japanese and English, ocassionally other languages too. A characteristic trait of the language is abundance of "j", "m", "ja", and "ma" sounds in many of the known words. It is most likely based off of a word 邪魔 (jama), that translates in Japanese to "obstacle" or "bother", but consisting of two kanji that each individually mean "wicked" (邪) and "demon" (魔). Additionally, in Chinese, from which jama derives, the same word means "evil". Some of the words are similar to the New World language, though it is unknown if it's intentional or they're simply reused ideas.
Some words from the langauge have been revealed, most of which come from pause screen captions of Phase 2 Hyness in The Ultimate Choice and Phase 2 Corrupt Hyness, though some were also provided through Kirby JP Twitter:
| Known words of the Jambastion and Jambandra people language | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Language | Meaning | Notes | |
| Japanese and rōmaji | English | ||
マジュ
Maju |
Majaja
|
again
|
Japanese: Corruption of また (mata) of the same meaning. |
ジャマッデム
Jamaddemu |
Jamblasted
|
anger
|
English: From "blasted" (as an adjective) or "blast it" (as an expression). Japanese: Corruption of "God damn" (ガッデム, gaddemu), as indicated by the file name for Flamberge's angry animation ("God damn it"). |
ジャメデターナ
Jamedetāna |
—
|
congratulations
|
Corruption of おめでとう (omedetou) of the same meaning. Revealed in the Japanese version of the May 7th, 2019 post of Kirby Star Allies Channel. |
コンジュ
Konju |
Konjy
|
crazy
|
In the Japanese version, the translation provided for this word is くるう, which translates more accurately to "to go crazy" or "to go insane". |
ジャワイーナ
Jawaīna |
Jawaii
|
cute
|
Corruption of the Japanese word かわいい (kawaii) of the same meaning. |
ジャスミィ
Jasumyi |
Jaitty
|
good night
|
Japanese: Corruption of おやすみなさい (oyasuminasai) of the same meaning. |
ジャマサラーバ
Jamasarāba |
Jambuhbye
|
goodbye
|
English: Corruption of "buh-bye". |
ジャマハローア
Jamaharōa |
Bonjam
|
greeting
|
English: Corruption of the French word bonjour of the same meaning. Japanese: Corruption of the English word "hello" (ハロー, harō) or the Hawaiian word aloha (アロハ, aroha). |
ジャッピィ
Jappyi |
Jhappy
|
happy
|
Corruption of the English word "happy". |
ジャマニュイーヤ
Jamanyuīya |
Jamba New Year
|
Happy New Year
|
Japanese: Corruption of the English phrase "Happy New Year". English: The English phrase "Happy New Year" but with "Happy" replaced by "Jamba". The Japanese version of the word was revealed in one of Kirby JP Twitter tweets. The English version - in a post of Kirby Star Allies Channel from January 11th, 2022. |
ハルダ
Haruda |
Bastion
|
heart
|
English: Bastion is an actual word which is a synonym for "stronghold". Japanese: Corruption of ハート (heart), incorporating ハル ("HAL"). The change to this word was made because the name of Jambastion was changed from the original Japanese name, Jamaharuda. The language of Kirby and the Forgotten Land's civilization also has a similar word with the same meaning, ファルダ (faruda). |
マポップ
Mapoppu |
Mapop
|
hope
|
Corruption of the English word "hope". |
ンジャ？
Nja? |
Juh?
|
huh?
|
Corruption of "huh". |
ジャワス
Jawasu |
Jaway
|
I forgot
|
Japanese: Corruption of 忘れる (wasureru), which means "to forget". |
ジャゴメーナ
Jagomēna |
Japologa
|
I'm sorry
|
English: Corruption of "apology". Japanese: Corruption of ごめんなさい (gomennasai) of the same meaning. |
ジフ
Jifu |
Jif
|
if
|
Corruption of the English word "if". |
マフォ
Mafo |
Mafo
|
lie
|
|
ジィ
Jyi |
Ji
|
me
|
Corruption of the English word "me". |
メリージャマスマース
Merījamasumāsu |
—
|
Merry Christmas
|
Corruption of the English phrase "Merry Christmas". Revealed in one of Kirby JP Twitter tweets. |
ジャンノ
Janno |
Janno
|
no
|
Corruption of the English word "no". |
リッガ
Rigga |
Rigga
|
painful
|
|
ロア
Roa |
Lor
|
paradise
|
|
ジャナシィ
Janashyi |
Jorrow
|
sad
|
English: Corruption of "sorrow". Japanese: Corruption of 悲しみ (kanashimi) of the same meaning. |
ジャグ
Jagu |
Jonto
|
soon
|
English: May be a corruption of "pronto". Japanese: Corruption of すぐ (sugu) of the same meaning. |
ゴッポコ
Goppoko |
Goppoko
|
surprise
|
|
マジシャス
Majishasu |
Majicious
|
tasty
|
Corruption of the English word "delicious". The language of Kirby and the Forgotten Land's civilization also has a similar word with the same meaning, マーシャス (māshasu). |
ジャマカッシャ
Jamakassha |
Jamanke
|
thank you
|
English: Corruption of the German word danke of the same meaning. |
ウン
Un |
Vun
|
very
|
|
ジャイ
Jai |
Jes
|
yes
|
English: Corruption of "yes". Japanese: Corruption of はい (hai) of the same meaning. |
| Official examples | |||
「ザン・パルル、マジュ ジャグジャワス、ウン ジャゴメーナ」
"Zan Paruru, maju jagu jawasu, un jagomēna" |
Example: "Zan Par…? Jaway majaja! Japologa vun."
|
"Zan Par…? I forgot again! I’m very sorry."
|
The Japanese version also has the word "soon" in it. The word order in the English version has also been rearranged to be closer to English. |
「ザン・パルル、ジフ マジュジィ ハルダコンジュ…ジャンノ。」
Zan Paruru, jifu maju jyi haruda konju… Janno |
Example: "Zan Par! Jif Majaja Ji Bastion Konjy... Janno."
|
"Zan Par! If my heart goes crazy again… No, never mind."
|
Unlike VS Hyness (Phase 2) flavor text in The Ultimate Choice, the first letter of every word is capitalized, rather that only the ones that start the sentence. Additionally, the word order is the same as in Japanese, whereas in the former it's changed to be like in English. |
Based on the translations, several people and places' names have some meaning:
- Jambastion means "evil heart".
- The Japanese name of Jambandra Base is マジュハルガロア (Majuharugaroa), roughly meaning "Again ??? Paradise" (the meaning of haruga is unknown).
- The "Lor" from Lor Starcutter means "paradise".
- Magolor's Japanese name, マホロア (Mahoroa), has a similar pronunciation to マフォロア (maforoa), which could mean "lie paradise", fitting his deceptive nature.
- When Hyness becomes unhooded, he says "JUHYAMBAVITRIGOKOPOJAAAH!!" (or Vunkyamaevitirigoppokopoooo in the Japanese version). The English version incorporates "juh" (huh), while Japanese uses "goppoko" (surprise).
- When Corrupt Hyness becomes unhooded, he says "VUNMAJICIOUSEVITIRIGGAMAPOP---!", which could mean "Very tasty ??? painful hope---!" (the meaning of "eviti" is unknown).
"JUHYAMBAVITRIGOPOKOJAAAH!!"
"VUNMAJICIOUSEVITIRIGGAMAPOP---!"
Kirby and the Forgotten Land
Various objects across the world have text written on them that is the language of the ancient civilization that once inhabited that world. Said text is actually ciphered English, with each character corresponding to a Latin character. Unlike English, however, the ancient text doesn't distinguish between uppercase and lowercase letters. There are a total of 42 characters; the 26 letters of the Latin alphabet, the digits 0–9, and six forms of punctuation. A notable usage of the language is "Welcome to the New World!", where interestingly, the words are pronounced differently from English. Some words and their meanings were revealed in the June 2022 Nintendo Dream volume by Shinya Kumazaki, and more were revealed in the pamphlet of the Kirby 30th Anniversary Music Festival.
| Ancient alphabet of the civilization from Kirby and the Forgotten Land | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Character | Latin equivalent | Character | Latin equivalent | |
 |
A
|
 |
V
| |
 |
B
|
 |
W
| |
 |
C
|
 |
X
| |
 |
D
|
 |
Y
| |
 |
E
|
 |
Z
| |
 |
F
|
 |
0
| |
 |
G
|
 |
1
| |
 |
H
|
 |
2
| |
 |
I
|
 |
3
| |
 |
J
|
 |
4
| |
 |
K
|
 |
5
| |
 |
L
|
 |
6
| |
 |
M
|
 |
7
| |
 |
N
|
 |
8
| |
 |
O
|
 |
9
| |
 |
P
|
!
| ||
 |
Q
|
?
| ||
 |
R
|
,
| ||
 |
S
|
.
| ||
 |
T
|
;
| ||
 |
U
|
'
| ||
| Known ancient words of the civilization from Kirby and the Forgotten Land | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Word and romāji | Meaning | Notes | ||
| レリィーノ Reri~īno |
cannot | Specifically equivalent to the Japanese できない (dekinai); appended to a word to make it negative (i.e. 邪魔できない "can't get in the way"). | ||
| イレリィ Ireri~ |
not | Specifically equivalent to the Japanese しない (shinai); appended to a word to make it the opposite (i.e. 心配しない "don't worry"). | ||
| アドゥレシア Adureshia |
canvas | From アドレーヌ (Adeleine) and the suffix -シア, used most notably in some of the art-themed characters' names, such as ドロシア (Drawcia), ペインシア (Paintra), or クレイシア (Claycia). | ||
| ファルダ Faruda |
heart | The language used by Hyness and The Three Mage-Sisters in the Japanese version of Kirby Star Allies has a similar word also meaning "heart", haruda (ハルダ). | ||
| ラルゥダ Raru~da |
love | Variant of faruda. | ||
| ノディルナ Nodiruna |
nap | From Noddy (ノディ) and possibly "luna" (ルーナ). | ||
| ネイチェル Neicheru |
nature, fresh greenery | Officially localized as "Neichel". Corruption of the English word "natural". Also used in the Japanese name for Natural Plains (ネイチェル草原, "Neichel Grassland") and is also the name of in-universe singer of "Welcome to the New World!". | ||
| ルゥ ワァ Ru~ Wa~ |
New World | Sounds phonetically similar, though not the same, to the English phrase "New World". | ||
| マーシャス Māshasu |
tasty | シャス (shasu) derives from デリシャス (derishasu), which is English "delicious" written in katakana. The language used by Hyness and The Three Mage-Sisters in the Japanese version of Kirby Star Allies has a similar word also meaning "tasty", majicious (マジシャス). | ||
| ファロォネ Faro~ne |
to laugh | Also a variant of faruda. | ||
| ファロォー Faro~ō |
let's laugh | A variant of faro~ne with different conjugation. | ||
| ハァロア Ha~roa |
welcome | "Aloha" backwards. Could also be corruption of ハロー (English "hello" written in katakana). | ||
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