CultureEssayEtymologyIdiomJapanese traditionKanjiUncorrected

Taihen

  • When showing that someone is very busy or something is deadly/important, we often say “taihen (大変).”

    大変


    I think that many of us have negative images for “taihen,” such as “hard,” “tiring,” or “major incident.”
    程度や苦労はなはだしいことや、物事が重大であることを表す時、我々は「大変」という言葉を使います。

    In fact, taihen is usually used in a bad meaning.
    「大変」と聞けば、「つらい」「疲れる」「大事件」など、悪いイメージを思い浮かべる人が多いです。

    On the other hand, the kanji “大 (tai)” and “変 (hen)” mean “big” and “change” respectively, so “taihen” can also impliy “big change.”
    実際、ほとんどの場合、「大変」は悪い意味で使われます。

    Because of this, some people think of taihen as a positive sense — it’s a big chance to change yourself.
    しかし、「大変」という漢字は「大きな変化」という意味でもあります。

    However, since it still has a strong negative image, please be careful to use it.
    このことから、「大変」を「自分を大きく変えるチャンス」とポジティブに考える人もいます。

    Original sentence