EssayEtymologyIdiomJapanese traditionUncorrected

Bon to Shōgatsu ga Issho ni Kita-yō (盆と正月が一緒に来たよう – Very Busy)

  • Bon to Shōgatsu ga Issho ni Kita-yō

    盆と正月が一緒に来たよう


    I am very busy now because of retirement, entering a new job, and moving.
    私は現在、退職、入職、転居などで非常に忙しいです。

    Such a busyness can be described as ‘bon to shōgatsu ga issho ni kita-yō‘ (盆と正月が一緒に来たよう) in Japanese.
    このように非常に忙しいことを、「盆と正月が一緒に来たよう」と表現することがあります。

    Bon‘ (盆) is the Buddhist Festival of ancestral spirits, ‘shōgatsu‘ (正月) means “New Year’s holidays,” ‘issho‘ (一緒) means “together,” and ‘kita-yō‘ (来たよう) means “as if something came,” so the literal meaning of this phrase is “as if both Bon and new year came together.”
    「盆」は “Buddhist Festival of ancestral spirits”、「正月」は “New Year’s holidays”、「一緒に」は “together”、「来たよう」は “as if something came” を意味するので、この表現の文字どおりの意味は “as if both Bon and new year came together” となります。

    If there were an American version of this, it could be “as if Thanksgiving and Christmas came at the same time.”
    アメリカ版にするなら、「感謝祭とクリスマスが同時に来たよう」となるかもしれません。

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