The term refers to Japanese language expressions which superficially appear to come from English, but in fact do not. These words were originally borrowed loanwords deriving from English but have become so embedded into the Japanese lexicon that they are re-fashioned to create a novel meaning – diverging from its original intended meaning. An example of wasei-eigo is , which means "raise a level", the preposition being interpreted in line with Japanese word order as a verb qualifying its preceding object). Some wasei-eigo terms are not recognizable as English words in English-speaking countries, such as , which refers to physical contact and appears to have been coined from skin and kinship. In other cases, a word may simply have gained a slightly different meaning; means not "cunning", but "cheating."

The term refers to Japanese language expressions which superficially appear to come from English, but in fact do not. These words were originally borrowed loanwords deriving from English but have become so embedded into the Japanese lexicon that they are re-fashioned to create a novel meaning – diverging from its original intended meaning. An example of wasei-eigo is , which means "raise a level", the preposition being interpreted in line with Japanese word order as a verb qualifying its preceding object). Some wasei-eigo terms are not recognizable as English words in English-speaking countries, such as , which refers to physical contact and appears to have been coined from skin and kinship. In other cases, a word may simply have gained a slightly different meaning; means not "cunning", but "cheating."