Amato and Karato
Today, I will talk about the Japanese words “amato” and “karato,” which are often misused.
甘党と辛党
“Ama” in “amato” means “sweet,” “kara” in “karato” means “spicy,” and “to” means “(political) party.”
今日は、多くの日本人が誤用している日本語、「甘党」と「辛党」を紹介します。
Therefore, most Japanese people think that “amato” means people who like sweets, and “karato” means people who like spicy food literary.
「甘」は「sweet」、「辛」は「spicy」、「党」は「party」を意味します。
However, the original meanings are something like the following:
このため、文字から「甘党」は「甘いものが好きな人」、「辛党」は「辛いものが好きな人」と考えられていることが多いです。
Amato: People who prefer sweets than sake (alcohol).
しかし、本来の意味は、それぞれ以下のようになります。
Karato: People who prefer sake (alcohol) to sweets.
甘党：酒よりも甘い菓子類が好きな人
The meaning of “amato” is almost correct, but that of “karato” is dramatically different from the original.
辛党：甘い菓子類よりも酒が好きな人
One of the most widely-accepted theories that explain why “karato” means people who like sake is that high alcohol sake that have a low sugar content is called “辛い” (spicy) in Japan.
「甘党」の意味はおおよそ正しいですが、「辛党」の意味は大きく異なります。
