A Glossary of Nautical & Foreign Terms
A lot of unfamiliar words appear in Empress of Asia -- unfamiliar to a general North American readership, anyway -- and though many are made clear by their usage or are translated directly in the very next line, a few are not. So here are most of those unfamiliar words, obvious ones and otherwise; I hope you find their definitions useful. In general they're ordered by first appearance in the book.
Nautical
Backsplice: weave the end of a rope to keep it from unravelling
Messboy: low-ranking assistant in the ship's kitchen
Deckhead: the bottom of the deck above, the ceiling
Ack-ack: anti-aircraft
Companionway: covered staircase within the ship
Hawser: rope with a diameter of more than four and a half inches
Binnacle: stand on which the ship's compass is mounted
Australian
Avo: afternoon
Bradman: Sir Donald Bradman (1908-2001) is regarded as the greatest cricket batsman of all time
Bodgy: of inferior quality
Boong, wog: offensive terms for a dark-skinned person
Chunder: throw up
Durry: cigarette
Gink: a fool
Dunny: outhouse
Jiggy-jig: to have sexual intercourse
Pom: British
A few of the following terms appear in the novel phonetically, as they sound to Harry's ear rather than they way they ought to be spelled, eg. his chamar is rightly written camar. The majority of Malay and Indonesian terms, incidentally, are the same in either language.
Malay
Pergi ulu: to go into the jungle
Padang: field, village green
Makan: food
Pahit: bitter, a cocktail (from "gin and bitters")
Japanese
Wakare: dismiss
Tomadachi: friend
Inchi ni san: one, two, three
Kiotski: attention
Tadaima, imaima: right now
Arigato: thanks
Sumimasen: sorry
Benjo: latrine
Tsukan: translator
Keicho: lance corporal
Shoko: officer
Naore: as you were (from salute to attention)
Migi makay migi: right turn
Hadare: left
Chikusho: beast, monster
Gochui: caution
Mushi mushi: quickly
Kura: (rudely) come here
Yasume: wait, stand at ease
Tenko: parade
Keto: (slang) hairy white man
French
Parlez-vous français: do you speak French
Décédé des suites des maladies contractées en Chine: died as a result of diseases contracted in China
Dieu merci: thank you, God
Dutch
Smiecht: rascal
Jij bent niet: you are not
Van-on-der-en: "look out below" or "tim-berrr!"
Benzine: gasoline
Leeg: empty
Vol: full
Goede middag: good afternoon
Voor de japanners: for the Japanese
Vleer-muis-vleer: a bat
Goedemorgen: good morning
Ik heet: he is
Als de japanners: if the Japanese
Goed geluk: good luck
Bouton dialect of South Celebes
Omani: man
Mupati: white
Bombo: ghost
Bawine: woman
Arabic
Allahu Akbar: Allah is the Most Great
Ash-hadu: I bear witness
Perserikatan: organization
Tiga rupee: three rupees (money)
Sepulu: ten
Pagi: morning
Camar: seagull
Orang gila: crazy person
Hebat: terrible
Buruk: bad
Belanda: Dutch
Tidak, orah: no
Diam: be quiet
Ingriss: English
Pay-kah-ee: Indonesian pronunciation of "PKI"
Kaum fasis: Fascists
Ibu: mother, Mrs.
Baik: good
Aku rindu: I miss you
Ikan: fish
Hanya: only
Pisang goreng: fried banana
Daging rendang: beef lung
Pertama: first
Makanan: eat
Selamat tinggal: have a good stay
Jalan: street, to go
Rumah teman saya: my friend's house
Selamat malam: good evening
Apa: what
Apa nama: what's your name
Bermandi, cuci: wash
Dan ahli musik nama Django Reinhardt: And listen to the music of Django Reinhardt
Immigran dari Djepang: immigration to Japan
Dapat istri saya: find my wife
Untuk persetuan pekerjaan: for the labour unions
Bahasa: language
Mandi: bathroom
Siap: ready
Mas: brother
Dimana: where
Apa kabar: how are you
Menara Merah: Red Book
Ma'af: sorry
Kamu lihat: you see
Dia: he
Batu: brick
Serangan: attack
Kamar: room
Kamar kecil: "little room," the toilet
Kancing: button
Bagus: beautiful
Mata-mata: "eyes," a spy
Mayat: corpse
Mungkin: maybe
Penting: important
Kita perlu: we need
Ada: to have
Lainnya: another
Selamat tidur: have a good sleep
Mem: female boss
Kotor: dirty
Telur-telur: eggs
Jarum: needle
Dengarlah: listen
Lari: to run
Thai
Wat: temple
Sawasdi khap: hello to you
Rawang: careful
Bay si: go away