Japanese words in card listings: a buyer's dictionary
Machine translation gets most of a Japanese listing right — but card-specific words and condition hints are easy to miss. These are the terms you'll see most on Mercari, Yahoo! Auctions and Rakuma.
Mercari condition grades
Every Mercari listing has one of six official grades. We don't show deals for the last two.
Japanese
Meaning
新品、未使用
New, unused
未使用に近い
Almost unused, like new
目立った傷や汚れなし
No noticeable scratches or marks
やや傷や汚れあり
Some scratches or marks
傷や汚れあり
Scratches or marks — damaged
全体的に状態が悪い
Poor condition overall
Sellers also write their own words: 美品 (nice condition), 極美品 (excellent, near mint), 完美品 (perfect), 良品 (good), プレイ用 (for playing — expect wear), スリーブ保管 / スリーブ即保管 (kept in a sleeve straight from the pack).
Damage and flaws
Japanese
Meaning
初期傷
Factory flaws (print lines, small marks from the factory)
白欠け
Whitening on the edges or corners
傷あり
Has scratches
折れ / 角折れ
Crease / bent corner
反り
Curl / warping
凹み
Dent
センターずれ
Off-centre print
ノークレーム・ノーリターン
No claims, no returns — sold as is
Sealed products
Japanese
Meaning
未開封
Sealed, unopened
シュリンク付き
With the original shrink wrap — the safe choice for booster boxes
シュリンクなし
Without shrink wrap — the box may have been opened and resealed
BOX / ボックス
Booster box
パック / バラパック
Booster pack / loose packs
カートン
Case of booster boxes
サーチ済 / 重量
Packs that were weighed or "searched" — the hits are probably gone
空箱
Empty box only!
Versions, languages and grading
Japanese
Meaning
パラレル / パラ
Parallel (alternate art) — One Piece
コミパラ / スーパーパラレル
Manga rare — One Piece
プロモ
Promo card
ミラー
Mirror (reverse holo) — Pokémon
英語版 / 海外版
English / overseas version — not Japanese
中国語版 / 韓国語版
Chinese / Korean version
鑑定品 / PSA10
Graded card
オリカ / プロキシ
Custom-made or proxy card — not an official card
本物 / 正規品
Genuine / official product
Selling and shipping words
Japanese
Meaning
即購入可 / 即購入OK
You can buy without asking first
専用
Reserved for a specific buyer — don't buy it
取り置き
On hold for someone
値下げ不可
No discounts
値下げ交渉可
Price is negotiable
まとめ売り / セット
Sold as a bundle
○枚
Number of cards: 4枚 = four copies
引退品
From a collector's "retirement" — whole collection sold off
送料込み / 送料無料
Shipping included / free shipping (within Japan)
着払い
Shipping paid by the buyer on delivery
匿名配送
Anonymous shipping
在庫○枚
Seller has this many in stock
Yahoo! Auctions words
Japanese
Meaning
現在価格
Current bid
即決価格
Buy-it-now price
入札
Bids
残り時間
Time left
1円スタート
Auction starting at ¥1 — the final price will be much higher
送料 ○○円
Domestic shipping cost on top of the price
We read the Japanese for you
JPCardHunt already skips reserved, damaged, graded and non-Japanese listings — you only see the ones worth a look.