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2017

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【No. 0889】Sechigarai

May 25, 2017 11:03
Recently in Japan, you can hear the keyword "sechigarai (世知辛い)" frequently.

This term means that it's difficult to live in the world.

"Sechi (世知)" of "sechigarai" is a Buddhist term,and it originally represents "secular wisdom" or "worldly talent."

In turn "sechi" took on another meaning, that is, "shrewd," "calculating," or "petty."

Also, "garai" of "sechigarai" is a suffix word that emphasizes "sechi."

Since it's difficult to live in a world where there are many shrewd people, "sechigarai" has come to the above meaning.

In most cases, it's used like "sechigarai yononaka da" (it's the difficult world).
("Yononaka" means the world.)
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【No. 0888】Tsuru no Hitokoe

May 24, 2017 10:17
When discussing with a lot of people, it's difficult to reach agreement.

In such a case, a person of influence/power may suppress others' opinions and bring an end to the argument by only a single statement.

The statement is called "tsuru no hitokoe (鶴の一声) " in Japan.

Here, "tsuru" means "crane" and "hitokoe" means "statement."

Cranes are known as animals that sing in a high pitch note while displaying a threatening attitude.

Since the song has enough power to make surroundings silence for a moment, a statement that silences people came to be called "tsuru no hitokoe" (crane's statement).

Incidentally, this term is also called "suzume no senkoe tsuru no hitokoe."

The literal meaning of "suzume no senkoe (雀の千声)" is "sparrows' thousand statements," and it expresses a lot of low value statements.
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【No. 0887】Okuyukashii

May 23, 2017 01:04
What is the element required for an attractive woman in your country?

In Japan, we tend to regard "okuyukashii (奥ゆかしい)" women as beautiful.

"Okuyukashii" is an adjective word that means that something/someone is modest, elegant, and sensitive to people.

"Oku" means "deep inside" and "yukashii" means "to want to go somewhere," so "okuyukashii" means "to want to go to/see/know deep inside something/someone" -- it expresses the feeling of fascination.

Then okuyukashii has come to have the above meanings, and now it usually means a modest/elegant attitude of a woman.

That is to say, attractive Japanese women for Japanese men are okuyukashii women.
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【No. 0886】Niyakeru

May 22, 2017 10:52
"Niyakeru (にやける)" is a Japanese verb that is commonly used.

However, according to a poll conducted several years ago, around 77% of Japanese use this verb in the wrong sense.

Niyakeru is a term for men, and it means to glam up sexily like women, or to be wishy-washy.

However, most Japanese seem to think that niyakeru means to smile thinly.

I think that the reason is because it's similar to an onomatopoeia "niyaniya," which represents the sound coming from a thin smile.

Since there are so many people who misunderstand the meaning, the meaning in dictionaries may change in the near future.
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【No. 0885】Itashi Kayushi (Mixed Blessing)

May 21, 2017 00:14
If you do what you want to do, some problems may happen.

In such a case, I think that it's difficult to decide whether or not you should do that.

We call this situation "itashi kayushi （痛し痒し）" in Japanese.

"Itashi" (痛し) means "painful," "kayushi" (痒し) means "itchy," and the idiom "itashi kayushi" implies a situation that it will be painful if you scratch at a spot (e.g., where is stung by an insect) of your body, and it will be itchy if you don't scratch there.

That is to say, this idiom means a situation where it's difficult to decide what you should do because both choices have good aspects and bad aspects.

I don't want to be in such a situation, itashi kayushi.
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【No. 0884】Jibara wo Kiru

May 20, 2017 08:29
Today I would like to talk about the Japanese idiom "jibara wo kiru (自腹を切る)."

"Ji (自)" means yourself, "bara (腹)" means abdomen, and "kiru (切る)" means to cut something.

Therefore the literal meaning is "to cut your own abdomen," corresponding to "seppuku/harakiri," but it actually refers to spend your own money on something that you don't necessarily need to pay.

Here, "jibara (your abdomen)" and "kiru (to cut)" are metaphors for "your own money" and "to use," respectively.

In the past, Japanese samurai committed seppuku (cut their own abdomens) with firm resolve to accept the blame.

It might need firm resolve to spend your extra money.
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【No. 0883】Chiguhagu

May 19, 2017 13:36
Today I'd like to talk about the Japanese term "chiguhagu."

"Chiguhagu" means that two or more things/people are incongruous, or there are no harmony among them.

Originally, "chigu" meant a hammer and "hagu" meant a nail puller.

("Gu" that is included in both chigu and hagu means "tool.")

A theory about its etymology says that "chiguhagu" comes from the fact that work don't proceed when you alternately use a hammer and a nail puller.

Also, another theory says that it was derived from the fact that a master carpenter and a carpenter worked while exchanging a hammer and a nail puller.
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【No. 0882】Sahanji (Everyday Affairs )

May 18, 2017 09:31
Today I will talk about the Japanese term "sahanji."

Sahanji means ordinary things that are not uncommon in everyday life.

This term is composed of three words: "sa," "han," and "ji," those are "tea" "rice," and "thing," respectively.

Since drinking tea and eating rice were daily routine actions for Japanese, the term "sahanji" was born.

It is often used as "nichijou sahanji" by putting "nichijou," which means "daily."

However, in recent years, the consumption of coffee has greatly increased in Japan.

If the number of people who drink coffee significantly exceeds those who drink tea, "sahanji" may become "coffee-hanji."
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【No. 0881】Sake

May 17, 2017 13:02
Today I would like to talk about the Japanese word "sake."

"Sake" is a generic term for beverages that contain alcohol, and it often referred to as "osake" by attaching a polite prefix "o."

When saying "sake" in English, it usually means "Japanese sake," which is a kind of rice wine.

There are various theories about the etymology of "sake," but I will introduce the most accepted ones.

The theory says that "sa" is a prefix that fixes the rhythm of the word, and "ke" is the changed form of "ki," which was the old name of "sake."

Since I drank a lot of alcohol yesterday, I'm a little fluffy.
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【No. 0880】Uma no Hone (Person from Nowhere)

May 16, 2017 10:23
Today I will talk about the term "uma no hone."

"Uma" means "horse," "hone" means "bones," and "uma no hone" refers to a person from nowhere or an incapable person.

This term comes from the fact that Chinese said "firstly chicken ribs, secondly horse bones" as examples of useless things.

Chicken ribs are too small to be useful.

Horse bones are also useless, furthermore, it's difficult to dispose of them.

It's said that because of this, "uma no hone" has come to the current meanings described above.

In Japan, the phrase "どこの馬の骨ともわからんやつにうちの娘はやれん," which means "I never give my daughter to a man from nowhere (such as you)" is really famous.
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【No. 0879】Chokkai (To Meddle)

May 15, 2017 01:48
Today I would like to talk about the Japanese term "chokkai."

"Chokkai" means to interfere from sideways or to make a move on someone with a light heart.

"Cho" of "chokkai" is a part of "chotto," which means "a little," "kai" means "to scratch," and "chokkai" originally meant that a cat or a dog scratches and pulls something by moving the front paw a little.

Since the action looked like a lark or just confirming something without reason, the term has come to the meaning as "to meddle with something."

In most cases, it's used like "chokkai wo dasu" ("dasu" means "to put something out"), or "chokkai wo kakeru" ("kakeru" means "to put something on").

【No. 0878】Haha no Hi (Mother's Day)

May 14, 2017 11:08
Today is Haha no Hi (Mother's Day) to express appreciation to the mother.

In many countries such as the US, Australia, Germany, Brazil, China and Japan, the second Sunday in May is Mother's Day.

However, the origin and the date of Mother's Day are different in many countries.

For example, Mother's Day is: the first Sunday in May in Spain and South Africa, the last Sunday in May in France, Sweden and Morocco, the third Sunday in October in Argentina, and the last Sunday in November in Russia.

In Japan, Mother's Day was March 6, but it didn't spread.

After that, an event to honor the mother was held on May 8, which became a trigger, and finally the second Sunday in May became Mother's Day after the fashion of the US.

Unfortunately I completely forgot the Mother's Day this year.

I ordered flowers just few hours ago, but it may not reach today.
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【No. 0877】Ponzu

May 13, 2017 12:56
Today I will talk about the term "ponzu."

"Ponzu" refers to a seasoning in Japanese cuisine, that is made by adding acetic acid to juice of citrus.

This term comes from the Dutch word "pons," which means juice of citrus.

Furthermore, "pons" comes from the Hindi word "panc," which means "five."

The thing is that "pons" originally meant a type of cocktail that was made by mixing five ingredients, such as juice of citrus, sugar, and spices.

However, I heard that the word "pons" has obsoleted now in the Netherlands.

Incidentally, the kanji "酢" of "ポン酢 (ponzu)" can be read as "su," and means "vinegar" -- the origin of this Japanese term is a kind of pun.
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【No. 0876】Saboru

May 12, 2017 15:06
Today I will talk about the verb "saboru."

"Saboru" means to skip your work or class in idleness.

Many Japanese people might believe that this is a pure Japanese verb, but actually it comes from the French "sabotage."

"Sabotage" is a kind of labor disputes, for example, labors intentionally destroy machines and inflict heavy damage on managers to promote resolution of issues.

Here, "sabotage" comes from the French word "sabot," which means "clog."

It is said that the reason is because French workers kicked and destroyed machines with sabots/clogs.

Note that the nuance of Japanese verb "saboru" is different from the French/English term "sabotage" -- "saboru" is used to mean just something like "to shirk."
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【No. 0875】Utsukushii (Beautiful)

May 11, 2017 11:33
Today I will talk about the common Japanese adjective "utsukushii."

"Utsukushii" refers to that colors, shapes or sounds of something are beautiful.

This term comes from the verb "itsukushimu," which expresses a feeling of compassion for weaker persons than yourself.

Therefore "utsukushii" originally referred to the same meaning of "itsukushimu."

However, around the beginning of the Heian period, it came to express feelings of cute/sweet for tiny/young ones, and after the end of the Heian period, it has come to have the current meaning.

Also, the kanji for "utsukushii" is "美しい," and "美" can be decomposed into "羊," meaning sheep, and "大," meaning big.

This might be related that sheep were very rare in the past in China, and they were used as a reward or a gift to God.
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【No. 0874】Batta-mon

May 10, 2017 09:46
Today I will talk about the Japanese term "batta-mon."

"Batta-mon" means an official item that didn't go through proper/licensed distribution channels.

It's genuine and inexpensive, but is difficult to sell through normal channels because it is often expired or has deteriorated packaging.

Originally, "batta" was used as a jargon referring to "dumping (price)" among merchants.

Because of this, shops that sell inexpensive items or items that didn't go through licensed channels came to be called "batta-ya" ("ya" means "shop"), and items in such shops came to be called "batta-mon" ("mon" means "thing").

Because of the same reason, "batta-mon" is often used to mean "cheap imitation items" or "shoddy goods."
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【No. 0873】Uso mo Houben

May 9, 2017 09:26
Today I will talk about the Japanese proverb "uso mo houben."

"Uso mo houben" means that sometimes you need to tell a lie for the attainment of your purpose.

Here, "uso" means "a lie," and "houben" means a way to lead a person closer to enlightenment in Buddhism.

It is said that this proverb comes from the following parable called "sansha kataku" in Buddhist scriptures.

Once upon a time, an old man's mansion was on fire.

Children who were playing in the mansion didn't notice the fire, and they didn't go outside despite the persuasion of the old man.

Then the old man said "a sheep carriage, a deer carriage, and a cow carriage that you wanted are outside of this house," and led the children out.
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【No. 0872】Anpontan

May 8, 2017 10:06
Today I'd like to talk about the term "anpontan."

"Anpontan" is a term that is used to rail at someone's stupidity as well as "baka" and "aho."
(For more information on the word “baka,” please refer to my yesterday’s post.)

However, since the rhythm of the term is funny and light, it's softer expression compared to "baka" and "aho."

Also, "anpontan" is often used with a kind of affection -- it's just like when a mother scolds her child gently.

It is thought that this term comes from "ahondara," which is a composite word of "aho," meaning "stupid," and "darasuke," meaning "fool."
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【No. 0871】Baka (Idiot)

May 7, 2017 10:37
Today I would like to talk about the word "baka."

"Baka" means a stupid thing/person or a person who has low intelligence.

This word is often used when you tease or flame someone.

There are several theories about the etymology of "bala," but the most widely accepted theory is something like the following:

"Baka" comes from "bakuka," which is a transcription of the Sanskrit word "moha," meaning "fool."

On the other hand, there is another theory: "baka" comes from "bakamono" ("mono" means "person"), and it comes from "wakamono," which means "young person."

Anyway, please be careful when using this word.
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【No. 0870】Sumeba Miyako (Home is where you make it)

May 6, 2017 10:42
Today I will talk about the Japanese proverb "sumeba miyako."

"Sumeba miyako" means that even if the place is difficult to live, you will feel as if it's miyako once you live.

Here the word "miyako" comes from "miyadokoro," and both mean a place where the emperor lives, that is the capital.

Therefore, the suffix of "Tokyo" is "to" ("to" is another reading of "miyako") instead of "ken," meaning "prefecture" -- "Tokyo-to" expresses that it is the Japanese capital.

Also, there is a similar proverb, which is "sumaba miyako."

"Sumaba miyako" means that miyako (the capital city) is the best if you would live, and it's quite different from "sumeba miyako."