【Japan】

2025-06-26 10:58:58 [Science] Source: Original Force Information Network

Shark Week. Aunt Flo. Period.

All of these words are Japaneuphemisms for one thing: menstruation. So why can't we just use the word menstruation instead of all of this period slang? Well, there's probably a lot of reasons we're always looking for other words for period, ranging from everything from social pressures to the idea that the word menstruation is just a little bit hard to say.

SEE ALSO: 'Turning Red's portrayal of periods is a turning point for coming-of-age movies

An international survey conducted by the health app Clue found that there are more than "5,000 different slang/euphemistic expressions and phrases for periods: from the gentle English 'Aunt Flo,' to the dramatic French 'Les Anglais ont debarqué' – 'the English have landed.'"

You May Also Like

In addition, the survey concluded, "French and English were the two most creative languages, and France and China were the two countries in which most people had heard euphemisms being used (91%). By contrast, only half of Costa Ricans had heard any euphemisms."

Mashable Trend Report Decode what’s viral, what’s next, and what it all means. Sign up for Mashable’s weekly Trend Report newsletter. By clicking Sign Me Up, you confirm you are 16+ and agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Thanks for signing up!

Even though there's no reason to be afraid of the words "period" or "menstruation," we still like to get a little creative — and it's almost a language on its own.

It actually makes "that time of the month" almost bearable. Almost.