コップ
コップ
koppu
= glass; tumbler; drinking cup (without handle)
Koppu (コップ) means a glass or tumbler — a drinking vessel without a handle. It sounds similar to the already-learned kappu (カップ), and the two are often confused, but they describe distinctly different types of drinkware.
Koppu (コップ) comes from the Dutch word kop (cup/head) — one of the many Dutch loanwords that entered Japanese during the Edo period when the Netherlands was Japan’s sole Western trading partner. It refers specifically to a cylindrical drinking glass or tumbler without a handle: a water glass, a juice glass, or a shot glass. This contrasts with kappu (カップ), which can have a handle and often refers to trophy cups, disposable cups, or bra sizes. In a household context, koppu is the glass you fill with water before bed; kappu is the coffee mug with a handle. The compound koppu ichi-hai (コップ一杯, one glass of) is the standard unit for measuring liquid amounts in informal contexts.
The distinction between koppu and kappu trips up many learners. A simple rule: koppu = plain cylindrical glass (no handle, usually for water or juice); kappu = cup with handle OR trophy/award cup. At a Japanese restaurant, asking for o-koppu wo kudasai (おコップをください) specifically means you want a drinking glass, usually for water. Also: gurasu (グラス) is a more elegant synonym for a wine glass or bar glass — higher register than koppu.
Everyday use
コップに水を一杯ください。
Koppu ni mizu wo ippai kudasai.
Could I have a glass of water, please?
Casual / Social Media
コップを洗うの忘れてた！
Koppu wo arau no wasureta!
I forgot to wash the glasses!
Formal / Cultural context
コップの水があふれる前に行動しなければならない。
Koppu no mizu ga afureru mae ni koudou shinakereba naranai.
We must act before the glass overflows — before the situation reaches a breaking point.
Koppu entered Japanese through Dutch (kop) during the Edo period (1603–1868), when the Dutch East India Company maintained the only Western trading post in Japan at Dejima, Nagasaki. Dutch loanwords in Japanese — koppu, gomu (ゴム, rubber), biru (ビール, beer), garasu (ガラス, glass material) — all date from this era. The persistence of koppu in modern Japanese, alongside the later English loanword kappu, creates the minor confusion that learners encounter today.
In Japanese idiom, the phrase koppu no naka no arashi (コップの中の嵐, ‘a storm in a glass’) is equivalent to ‘a tempest in a teapot’ — describing a conflict or controversy that seems significant but is actually contained and small-scale. This expression appears in political commentary and business contexts when analysts want to minimize the importance of an internal dispute: ‘This is just a koppu no naka no arashi.’
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