Choose one of the words below but don’t tell anyone which one you chose. Explain the meaning and use of that thing without saying any of the words in the name or any form of those words until your partner guesses which one you are talking. When they guess correctly, discuss if that was the best way of explaining that word.
(Foreign/ Young) people sometimes think this is… but in fact/ actually…
I think most people know what a… is, but anyway it…
In Japan we say this when (we are talking about)…
It has something in common with…
It is sometimes confused with…
It’s (a bit/ something/ quite a lot/ really) like (the British/ American/ Chinese/ Korean…) but…
It’s made from…
It’s similar to…
It’s the closest Japanese equivalent to…
It’s worn (on top of/ with/ by/ to/ for)…
The direct translation/ word-for-word translation/ literal translation is…
The normal translation/ usual translation for this is…/ Translated word for word, it would be…
This also exists in China/ Korea/ most Asian countries/… (but…)
This is a kind of…
This is in English dictionaries, but not everyone knows it. It means…
This is often explained as…
This means (something like)…
This only exists in Japan (and a couple of other countries) and is…
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Clothes vocabulary for Japanese learners of English
Japanese clothes to explain
“chonmage”
“cool biz”
“fundoshi”
“furisode”
“geta”
“Gothic Lolita”
“gyaru style”
“hakama”
“happi coat”
“jimbei”
“monpe”
“netsuke”
“obi”
“recruit suit”
“sailor suit”
“tabi socks”
“visual kei”
“warm biz”
“yukata”
“zori”
Useful clothes and appearance vocabulary for Japanese learners of English
accessories
backpack
bathrobe/ dressing gown
blazer
bow
bowtie
bra
braces/ suspenders
business shirt/ dress shirt
clippers
comb over
crew cut
custom made/ tailor made
denim jacket
DJ
dress
eye liner
flip flops/ thongs
football kit
glasses/ spectacles/ specs
greying hair/ hair flecked with grey
hair dye
handbag/ purse
headscarf
high heels
jewellery/ jewelry
jumper/ sweater/ pullover
key ring
leggings
long-sleeved T-shirt
one-size-fits-all
overalls
pajamas/ pyjamas
panty hose/ tights
parasol
perm
pierced ears
platinum engagement ring
plimsolls
purse
sandals
satchel
Saville Row
scarf/ winter scarf/ wooly scarf
shorts
short-sleeved
skirt suit
sleeveless
slip-on shoes
stockings
sunglasses
sweatshirt
tie
top
tracksuit
trainers/ sneakers/ sports shoes
trousers/ pants
tux
unisex
Velcro
vest/ undershirt
waistcoat/ vest
wallet
zip/ zipper
Ask about any words above you couldn’t understand or couldn’t explain.
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Clothes and accessories collocations
Without looking above for now, brainstorm at least one collocation for each of the words below words (= words that go together with those words)
+ glasses
+ heels
+ liner
+ scarf
+ shirt
cuff +
denim +
engagement +
key +
make +
one-size +
panty +
platinum +
tailor +
track +
If you need to or your teacher says that you should, look on the next page for words that could collocate with the words above. Note that many other answers are possible.
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Use the expressions below to help with the collocations activity above:
business/ dress
custom-made/ tailor-made
eye
fits-all
high
hose
jacket
links
made
made
ring
ring
ring
suit
sun
up
winter
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Clothes and appearance synonyms
Without looking above for now, try to think of other expressions which mean the same as:
braces
custom-made
DJ
dress shirt
specs
hair flecked with grey
jumper
tights
thongs
trainers
trousers
tux
undershirt
waistcoat
wooly scarf
zip
Use the words under the fold to help with the task above.
—————————————————————————–fold—————————————————————————————
-actle
-edo
-ing
-per
business
dinner
flip
glass
hose
jacket
pants
sports
suspender
sweat
tailor
vest
vest
winter
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Clothes and appearance words The same or different
Decide if each line below has exactly the same meaning or not. If there are more than two, they are all the same or all different. Even a small difference means that they are different.
accessories/ jewellery
backpack/ satchel
bathrobe/ dressing gown
blazer/ jacket
bomber jacket/ jumper
bow/ ribbon
bowtie/ tie
braces/ suspenders
business shirt/ dress shirt
cap/ hat
cardigan/ sweater
crew cut/ skinhead
custom made/ tailor made
denim/ jeans
dressing gown/ gown
fastener/ zip
flip flops/ sandals
flip flops/ thongs
glass/ glasses
glasses/ spectacles/ specs
glasses/ sunglasses
greying hair/ hair flecked with grey
handbag/ shoulder bag
headscarf/ winter scarf
high heel/ high heels
jumper/ jacket
jumper/ sweater/ pullover
leggings/ trousers/ tights
long-sleeved T-shirt/ T-shirt
long-sleeved T-shirt/ sweatshirt/ tracksuit
one-size-fits-all/ unisex
pants/ slacks/ trousers
pants/ underpants
panty hose/ tights
parasol/ umbrella
plimsolls/ trainers
purse/ handbag
purse/ wallet
scarf/ winter scarf/ wooly scarf
shirt/ top/ T-shirt
short-sleeved/ sleeveless
shorts/ short-sleeved
sneaker/ sports shoes/ trainers
stockings/ tights
tracksuit/ trainers
trainers/ sneakers/ sports shoes
undershirt/ vest
velcro/ zip
vest/ waistcoat
winter scarf/ wooly scarf
zip/ zipper
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Clothes and appearance vocabulary with different meanings
All the words below have more than one meaning, e.g. in British English and American English. Discuss the different meanings together.
jacket
pants
purse
scarf
thong(s)
vest
Use the words under the fold to help with the task above.
—————————————————————————–fold—————————————————————————————
flip flops
G-string
handbag
head
purse
trousers
underpants
undershirt
waistcoat
winter
wooly
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Typical Japanese mistakes with clothes and appearance vocabulary
Without looking above for now, correct the expressions below
beach sandal X
braja X
engage ring X
free size X
glass X
hair colour X
jeans jacket X
muffler X
no make X
no sleeve X
order-made X
pajama X
platina ring X
romance grey X
stocking X
sunglass X
wearing high heel X
Y shirt X
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PDF for easy saving and printing: clothes-and-appearance-synonyms
Clothes vocabulary main page (including links to the separate worksheets above if you don’t want to do the whole thing)
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