As an example, the name “Kakarot” (carrot) and “Raditz” (radish). Imagine when we talk to each other about how funny it is to see a carrot facing a radish.

Author Akira Toriyama’s decision to use such names has created curiosity. When hearing the reason why the Saiyans in Dragon Ball are named after vegetables, everyone nodded in agreement.

According to Akira Toriyama, when creating Frieza, he imagined a refrigerator (Freezer). Based on this, Toriyama decided that all of Frieza’s subordinates would be items you find in the refrigerator.

And then Toriyama thought of vegetables and started filling his refrigerator. In Japanese, “saiya” was formed by rearranging the syllables of the Japanese word yasai, which means “vegetable”. Take a look at the Saiyans’ names and their translations below:

Saiyan = Yasai (Vegetables)

Kakarot (Goku) = Carrots

Vegeta + younger brother Tarble = Vegetable (Vegetable)

Raditz = Radish (Radish)

Nappa = Napa (Cabbage)

Bardock = Burdock (Burdock)

Gine = Green onion

Broly = Broccoli (Broccoli)

Paragus = Asparagus (Asparagus)

Cabba = Cabbage

Caulifa = Cauliflower

Kale = Kale

And if you think only Saiyans are named after items in the refrigerator, you’re wrong. After all, Frieza has many other subordinates. For example: Ginyu belongs to the special forces. Take a look below: