Today I list some interesting loan words that I’ve run into, particularly from Japanese, that are actually much broader in their original meaning.
Something I’ve noticed while learning languages, especially Japanese, is how words that are loaned from another language tends to get a much more specific meaning.
Salsa
First of all, let’s take an example from a language I don’t know much of: in Spanish, salsa simply means “sauce” whereas the English word “salsa” is a specific kind of sauce.
This makes sense. English already has a word for sauce, after all, so the loan word only describes the thing it was imported along with.
Now onto some Japanese words I’ve noticed.
Sake
In English, sake means Japanese rice wine. In Japanese it means alcohol in general. The corresponding Japanese wikipedia article begins “Sake is a collective term for beverages that contain ethanol”.
Sake according to the Japanese wikipedia 
Sake according to the English wikipedia
Manga
In English manga means Japanese comics. In Japanese manga means comics in general. For instance, the Japanese Wikipedia page for Tintin begins “Tintin is a manga by Belgian mangaka Hergé”.
Katana
In English a katana is a specific type of Japanese sword. A samurai sword, if you will.
Looking up the word on the Japanese wikipedia however gives the description “A katana is a type of weapon (sword). Among swords it particularly refers to those with a single edge. A curved construction in order to increase cutting power is also common”. The associated image is of a French naval officer’s sabre.
The Japanese wikipedia does however have articles for 日本刀 (nihontou, literally japanese katana) and 日本酒 (nihonshu, literally Japanese sake) which probably match the english words more closely.
Like I said, this makes a lot of sense, since all of these things refer to words that already exist in English, but I still find it cool and sometimes surprising to learn!
Adventures in Language Self-Study 