Thanks for Solving the Mystery
There is a conbini chain in Japan that confused me for the longest time. There name is Sunkus. But the K in the middle is kinda strange. I couldn't figure out even how to pronounce it. Is it Sunk-Us, or Sun-K-Us, or what? Then when I was talking to a student of mine about conbinis I asked what it meant. And they said "Sunks". Okay, now I can pronounce it, but what does it mean. It means "Sunks". Huh? You know, short for Thank You. Oh, My, God. It's the Japanese pronunciation of "Thanks". This was just so hideously terrible that it sent me into a fit of laughter. I would have never figured that out without help. Thanks!
posted by Natalie @ 11:23 PM
4 Comments:
I think the reason why it sounds so strange is that it is a combination of 'sun' and 'thanks' rather than just a bad romanisation of 'thanks'. That doesn't stop it from being wierd though!
But what's with the funny K with the boots and hat?
I had NO idea it was supposed to be "thanks" in all the past 2 years of being here! Thanks for clearing that up. (I have no idea about the funny K and boots and hat, but really, you've been here long enough to know that there doesn't need to be a reason to try to make something cuter!) :P
We checked the web page of the company and found out the meanings behind their store name. Your friend was partially right that the name was from "thanks." The name was created from a combination of two words: sun and thanks. The "Sun" represents the cheerful and warm/welcoming atmosphere that they aim for, and "thanks" is the appreciative attitude they have toward their customers. The full name for SunKus is Sun - Kids - Us. The "Sun" means the same as explained above; the "K" with the funny look is supposed to be a child (kid), and it means that they are providing a place that is safe and fun for children to go to. Finally the "us" is just "them" same as the "us" in "Toys-R-Us."
The information above is, unfortunately, NOT in the English version of their company homepage.
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