スマホ

Pattern visualization

Examples

1. 新しいスマホを買いました。▶ —
   I bought a new smartphone.
2. スマホで写真を撮ります。▶ —
   I take photos with my smartphone.
3. 電車の中でスマホを見ています。▶ —
   I am looking at my smartphone on the train.

Collocations

Mnemonic

スマホ — sumaho, a loanword from English "smartphone". Written in katakana. The way it is clipped differs from コンビニ. コンビニ lopped off only the front; スマホ takes one piece from each word ── スマ from "smart", ホ from "phone". スマ from the head, ホ from the tail ── grabbing both ends and dropping the middle, another knack of Japanese abbreviation. In formal register the full スマートフォン stays alive: ads and manuals say スマートフォン, a chat with a friend says スマホ. コンビニ, パソコン, スマホ ── this habit of clipping long loanwords is a clear grain of modern Japanese.

Quick check

1. スマホ is a clip made of which two pieces?

   • スマ (from "smart") + ホ (from "phone")
   • ス + マホ (arbitrary split)
   • スマート + フォン (no clipping)
   • スマホン (not a real form)