デモ

Today’s Question

あした デモを みに いきましょう。
Where are you going?

デモ is the transliteration of “demo,” which in English is a shortened form of “demonstration.” In my Concise Oxford English dictionary, “demonstration” is defined as:

1. the action of demonstrating something.
2. a public meeting or march expressing protest or other opinion on an issue.

The Katakana デモ, is usually used only in the 2nd meaning, although usage in the 1st meaning is starting to be accepted in some contexts.

Examples of デモ

反戦はんせんデモ
an antiwar demonstration

デモ行進こうしん
a demonstration march

デモ隊たい
demonstrators

増税反対ぞうぜいはんたいのデモがあった。
There was a demonstration against the tax hike.

デモ版ばん
a demonstration version

Examples of “demo/demonstration” not translated with the word デモ

a cooking demonstration
料理りょうりの実演じつえん

I gave a demonstration of a new computer.
新あたらしいコンピューターの実物宣伝じつぶつせんでんをした。

a demonstration that the earth is round
地球ちきゅうが丸まるいという証明しょうめい

a demo car
試乗車しじょうしゃ、展示車てんじしゃ (デモカー is becoming common these days)

Answer to Today’s question

probably going to see a public meeting or march of some sort.

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