The word "Karaoke," properly pronounced car-rah-oh-keh, is listed not only in Japanese dictionaries but in numerous English dictionaries including the latest edition of The Oxford English Dictionary. Though frequently seen as kareoke, karoke or karokee, the official English spelling is karaoke. Common misspellings of the word are a result of the phonetic spelling of frequent mispronunciation of the word by Westerners. In the United States, the pronunciation 'keh-ree-oh-key', supported by dictionaries including the American heritage dictionary, has resulted in the phonetic spellings such as kareoke and karioke. Another common mispronunciation of the word as ‘kah-roh-kee,' has turned out spellings such as karoke and karokee.

Karaoke Word Origin

The word Karaoke is a compound abbreviation derived from two Japanese words. The first part of the word - kara - comes from the word "karappo" meaning empty or void. The second half of the word - oke - comes from the word "okesutura," from the English word orchestra.

Karaoke songs are typically music reproductions of well-known songs without the voice of the singer. Karaoke got its start in the 1970s in Kobe City, Japan. Some say the practice of singing karaoke songs began at a snack bar where a scheduled musician was unable to perform. So not to disappoint his guests, the owner of the bar played recorded accompaniment music and invited customers to sing along. Vocalists enjoyed singing to the tapes so much that karaoke songs became commercialized and karaoke bars and shops soon spread across Japan and around the world.

Today, karaoke in Japan is as popular as TV in America. Modern Japanese karaoke shops consist of several private rooms (karaoke boxes) equipped with a karaoke player, screen, and microphones. Karaoke boxes are available in sizes ranging from two person rooms to large party rooms. Visitors use a remote control to enter song titles.