# 'Skosh' reminds me... **URL:** \ **Category:** Cecil's Columns/Staff Reports\ **Created:** [November 16, 2013, 9:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/skosh-reminds-me/674077 "2013-11-16T21:29:53Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 11\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2013, 9:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/skosh-reminds-me/674077/1 "2013-11-16T21:29:53Z")
A classic column on the homepage answers [the origin of ‘skosh’](http://www.straightdope.com/columns/read/1032/whats-the-origin-of-skosh-meaning-a-little-bit), meaning ‘a little bit’. It surprised me to see it there, as I thought everyone knew where it came from. Personally, I’d like ‘dijobe’ (slang for _Daijoubu desu ka?_) to make a comeback. We used it all the time when I was a small child in Japan for a year, and all during my childhood and teen years. ---
**Author:** ![C\_K\_Dexter\_Haven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/b2d939/32.png) [@C\_K\_Dexter\_Haven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/C_K_Dexter_Haven)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2013, 1:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/skosh-reminds-me/674077/2 "2013-11-17T01:45:00Z")
Cecil hasn’t done much with word or phrase origins since the advent of the internet, since there are so many excellent, dedicated sites. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2013, 2:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/skosh-reminds-me/674077/3 "2013-11-17T02:04:12Z")
So what does “dijobe” mean? ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2013, 2:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/skosh-reminds-me/674077/4 "2013-11-17T02:11:38Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > So what does “dijobe” mean? It means ‘OK?’. It’s (AFAIK) American slang for _Daijoubu desu ka_. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2013, 2:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/skosh-reminds-me/674077/5 "2013-11-17T02:12:39Z")
> [@C\_K\_Dexter\_Haven](#): > > Cecil hasn’t done much with word or phrase origins since the advent of the internet, since there are so many excellent, dedicated sites. Of course. But I’d still like to hear ‘daijobe’ being used in meatspace. ---
**Author:** ![Wendell\_Wagner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/8491ac/32.png) [@Wendell\_Wagner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wendell_Wagner)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2013, 10:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/skosh-reminds-me/674077/6 "2013-11-17T10:52:02Z")
It took a bit of searching to figure out the word you meant. It’s “daijobu,” not “dijobe.” Here’s the Urban Dictionary entry. It doesn’t appear to be that common among English speakers: > **[Urban Dictionary: daijoubu](https://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=daijoubu)** > > Japanese word for okay In english slang, used as: 1. It's okay. 2. I'm okay (not hurt). 3. That's fine. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2013, 3:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/skosh-reminds-me/674077/7 "2013-11-17T15:49:22Z")
> [@Wendell\_Wagner](#): > > It took a bit of searching to figure out the word you meant. It’s “daijobu,” not “dijobe.” No, I meant ‘dijobe’. _Daijoubu_ is Japanese, as in the OP. (Gaudere strikes! 😛 ) ‘Dijobe’ (or ‘daijobe’ or other spelling) is an American slang version of it. Perhaps it was Navy-specific, or it was only used in the San Diego area; but it was quite common when I was growing up, and the ‘u’ was never used unless you were actually speaking Japanese. Your link calls _daijoubu_ ‘American slang’. That’s like saying _verstehen_ is American slang for ‘Understand?’. To me, the word would have to be altered in some way (_daijoubu_ ==\> ‘dijobe’, or _verstehen_ ==\> ‘stehen’ or something) to be considered slang. Otherwise I consider it just using a foreign word. ---
**Author:** ![samclem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a9a28c/32.png) [@samclem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/samclem)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2013, 7:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/skosh-reminds-me/674077/8 "2013-11-17T19:57:36Z")
Words(from the Japanese) that were picked up during the Korean War include _dijobe(tia jobo)_, _skosh_ and _taksan_, which was the opposite of _skosh_. I’ve seen them referred to as “Bamboo English.” ---
**Author:** ![Wendell\_Wagner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/8491ac/32.png) [@Wendell\_Wagner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wendell_Wagner)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2013, 8:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/skosh-reminds-me/674077/9 "2013-11-17T20:49:59Z")
I can’t find evidence online that a word “dijobe” exists. That’s not to say that you and the people you know used such a word. It just says that it was rather rare. ---
**Author:** ![samclem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a9a28c/32.png) [@samclem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/samclem)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2013, 9:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/skosh-reminds-me/674077/10 "2013-11-17T21:05:29Z")
> [@Wendell\_Wagner](#): > > I can’t find evidence online that a word “dijobe” exists. That’s not to say that you and the people you know used such a word. It just says that it was rather rare. I can find newspaper cites from 1953 that it did, although the spellings of such words varied widely. And, I agree it was rather rare in most of the US. I think Johnny lived in a rarified atmosphere of concentrated service members in San Diego during that period. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2013, 9:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/skosh-reminds-me/674077/11 "2013-11-17T21:19:51Z")
Yeah, San Diego is a Navy town, and dad was in the Navy. But I know I’ve heard it in at least one film or TV show (probably film).