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goiryoku

My vocabulary has left the building.


What does goiryoku mean?

It means vocabulary power, but online it appears almost exclusively in the negative: 語彙力がない, said by people so overwhelmed they can only produce vowels.

Example

It's so cute my vocabulary is gone.

Vibe

Who you can say this to, and how it lands.

Friends only Casual. Natural with friends, out of place at work or with strangers.

  • Internet
  • Otaku / fandom
  • Self-deprecating

The story behind goiryoku

語彙力 is a normal, respectable word: vocabulary power, the kind of thing a school report might comment on. Online it appears almost exclusively in the negative, because the internet found a better use for it. 語彙力がない, my vocabulary is gone, is what you write when something is so good that adjectives have deserted you.

There is a neater version still. Post an incoherent reaction, then add 語彙力 alone in brackets, and the bracket does the work of an apology, a joke and a footnote at once. It is a very Japanese move: acknowledging that you have failed to express yourself, in a way that expresses it perfectly.

Video

Get goiryoku in your pocket

語彙力 is one of 308 words in YABAI, a Japanese culture snack for Android. Every word comes with its meaning, an example sentence, a vibe check and a story like the one above — in 13 languages, read aloud by your device. Paid app: no ads, no sign-up, no subscription.

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