コピー
コピー
kopii
= copy; photocopy; to copy
コピー is borrowed directly from the English word “copy,” but in Japanese workplaces and daily life it has taken on a distinctly practical identity — most strongly associated with photocopying documents and the copy machines that anchor every Japanese office and convenience store.
コピー functions both as a noun and as a suru-verb (コピーする). As a noun it refers to a photocopy or duplicate of a document, an image, or digital data. As a verb, コピーする means to copy or duplicate something — whether you are photocopying a contract, duplicating a computer file, or copying and pasting text.
Beyond literal duplication, コピー appears in the compound コピペ (kopipe), a shortening of コピー・アンド・ペースト (copy and paste), which is used in both casual speech and writing to mean copying digital text. There is also the well-known Japanese marketing term キャッチコピー (kyatchi kopii) — a wasei-eigo (Japanese-coined English) phrase meaning a catchphrase or advertising slogan, not to be confused with the English “catchcopy,” which is not standard English at all.
English speakers sometimes expect コピー to cover all meanings of “copy” — such as a book copy or a music track — but in Japanese the word is most naturally used for photocopying documents (書類をコピーする) and digital copy-paste (コピペ). For a copy of a book or publication, Japanese more often uses 冊 (satsu) as a counter or 一部 (ichibu, “one copy”). Also note that キャッチコピー is a wasei-eigo term with no direct English equivalent; translating it simply as “catchphrase” or “ad copy” is usually more natural in English.
Everyday use
この書類を3枚コピーしてください。
Kono shorui o san-mai kopii shite kudasai.
Please make three copies of this document.
Casual / Social Media
コンビニでレシートをコピーして領収書代わりに使った。
Konbini de reshiito o kopii shite ryooshuusho kawari ni tsukatta.
I copied the receipt at the convenience store and used it as a substitute receipt.
Formal / Cultural context
会議の資料は参加者の人数分コピーしておくように。
Kaigi no shiryoo wa sankasha no ninzuu-bun kopii shite oku you ni.
Make sure to prepare enough copies of the meeting materials for all participants.
In Japan, the copy machine — known simply as コピー機 (kopii-ki) or コピー機 — is a fixture of office culture in a way that reflects the country’s document-heavy business practices. New employees are often tasked with copying meeting materials as one of their first duties, and phrases like 「コピーをお願いします」 are part of everyday workplace communication. Beyond the office, Japanese convenience stores (コンビニ) offer multi-function copy machines available to the public around the clock, making コピーする a routine errand for students and freelancers who need to duplicate forms, submit official paperwork, or scan documents.
The word コピー also appears in the distinctly Japanese marketing term キャッチコピー (kyatchi kopii), meaning an advertising tagline or slogan. This is a wasei-eigo coinage — a Japanese-invented English compound — and native English speakers will not recognize it as standard English. Japanese advertising agencies treat キャッチコピー writing as a specialized craft, and award-winning slogans are widely celebrated in the industry. Additionally, the abbreviation コピペ (kopipe), from コピー・アンド・ペースト, is ubiquitous in modern Japanese to describe digital copy-and-paste, appearing in discussions about plagiarism in schools (コピペ禁止, “no copy-paste”) and in casual digital communication.