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2018

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【No. 1454】Inemuri (居眠り - Snooze/Doze)

Dec 11, 2018 15:38
Inemuri

Today, I did inemuri (居眠り) for just a few minutes.

Inemuri means to fall asleep unwillingly when doing something (especially at school or work).

I (居) means "stay" and nemuri (眠り) means "sleep," so the literal meaning of inemuri is "a sleep while staying."

Inemuri is one of the common practices in Japan, and you can see it easily.

It is thought that this comes from the fact that working hours have increased and sleeping hours have decreased in Japan.

In English, it is represented by the word "snooze" or "doze."
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【No. 1453】Tori ni Tarinai (取るに足りない - Marginal)

Dec 10, 2018 23:32
Toru ni Tarinai

I sometimes do work that can be described as toru ni tarinai (取るに足りない).

Toruni tarinai means to describe trivial things, that is not worth to mention its details.

Toru (取る) means "to take" or "to pick up," tari (足り) means "enough" or "worth," and nai (ない) is a negative suffix to the previous term tari.

That is to say, the literal meaning of toru ni tarinai is "It is not worth to pick up."

Incidentally, some people say taranai (足らない) instead of tarinai.
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【No. 1452】Taguimare (類まれ - Extraordinary)

Dec 9, 2018 22:07
Taguimare

Recently, I had an experience that can be described as taguimare (類まれ).

Taguimare mean that something is very rare, or there is almost nothing that is equivalent to it.

Tagui (類) means "similar" or "same," and mare (まれ) means "rare."

That is to say, the literal meaning of taguimare is "there are rarely similar things."

For example, you can say something like Kare wa taguimare na sainō wo motte iru (彼は類まれな才能を持っている - He has an exceptional ability).
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【No. 1451】Debushō (出不精 - Houseplant)

Dec 8, 2018 18:44
Debushō

These days, I may have begun to have a property called debushō (出不精).

Debushō means to stay for a long time in the house due to the laziness, or a person who has such character.

De (出) means "to go out," bu/fu (不) is a negative term, and shō (精) means "spirit."

That is to say, the literal meaning of debushō is a spirit that you do not want to go out.

There is a theory that says that the term debu (デブ - "a fat person") comes from debushō, but the reliability is not clear.
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【No. 1450】Machibouke wo Kuu (待ちぼうけを食う - Chilling Out)

Dec 7, 2018 23:39
Machibouke wo Kuu

Now I am doing machibouke wo kuu (待ちぼうけを食う).

Since machi (待ち) means "to wait" and bouke/houke (ぼうけ/ほうけ) means "abstracted," the combination machibouke (待ちぼうけ) means that a person who you are waiting for eventually does not come or you are sick of waiting for someone.

In addition, kuu (食う) is a bit violent form of the verb taberu (食べる - "to eat"), but it can also mean to be subjected to an undesirable action from someone.

That is to say, machibouke wo kuu means that "to be subjected to an act of waiting for someone" or "to be stood up by someone."
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【No. 1449】Ōzume (大詰め - The Final Stage)

Dec 6, 2018 06:44
Ōzume

My research is about to reach a stage called ōzume (大詰め).

Ōzume means the final stage or phase of something.

Ō (大) means "big," and zume (詰め) means "fill," "infill," or "checkmating" in Shōgi (将棋 - "Japanese chess").

Originally, this term meant the last stage/chapter in historical Kabuki Kyogen (歌舞伎狂言 - "traditional Japanese dramas performed by male actors").

Later, ōzume has come to be used not only in Kabuki but also in common situations as a word to mean the final stage/phase of things.
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【No. 1448】Sharakusai (しゃらくさい)

Dec 5, 2018 23:42
Sharakusai

Today, I used the Japanese phrase, sharakusai (しゃらくさい), which is no longer used very much.

Sharakusai means that someone pushes oneself and is insolent.

There are several theories about the etymology of this; I will introduce two famous ones among them.

One theory says that sharakusai was made by adding kusai (くさい - "-like") to share (洒落 - "chic").

The other theory says that it comes from the fact that unpopular men used a lot of incense called kyara (伽羅).

In this theory, kusai (くさい) literally means "stink" or "smell bad."
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【No. 1447】Mochihada (餅肌 - Velvety Skin)

Dec 4, 2018 15:16
Mochihada

My skins have been rough lately.

Because of this, when I say a person who has mochihada (餅肌), I feel faintly jealous.

Mochi (餅) means "rice cake" and hada (肌) means "skin," so the literal meaning of mochihada is "rice cake skins" or "skins like a rice cake."

Freshly pounded rice cakes have various properties -- fine-grained, smooth, elastic, white and beautiful.

In other words, mochihada is a compliment that is used to a person who has such a beautiful skin.

Incidentally, in English, it can be expressed as "velvety skin," which is based on the texture of a velvet.
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【No. 1446】Gikkuri Goshi (ぎっくり腰 - Acute Low Back Pain)

Dec 3, 2018 15:08
Gikkuri Goshi

Two days ago, I hurt my low back suddenly and could not stand for a while.

When you strain your low back suddenly, the symptom is commonly called gikkuri goshi (ぎっくり腰) in Japanese.

Gikkuri (ぎっくり) is a term that describes that someone is surprised and upset, and goshi/koshi (腰) means "low back."

Interestingly, it seems that this symptom is called "Hexenschuss" in Germany and "Colpo della strega" in Italy, both of which mean "witch's shot."

Incidentally, the official name is kyūsei youtsū shō (急性腰痛症 - "acute low back"), but most Japanese people say gikkuri goshi.
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【No. 1445】Oyasumi (おやすみ - Good Night)

Dec 2, 2018 14:35
Oyasumi

The most common phrase used when you go to bed in Japan is oyasumi (おやすみ).

If you want to be a little more polite, you can say oyasuminasai (おやすみなさい) by adding nasai (なさい).

O (お) is a polite prefix, yasumi (やすみ) means "to rest," and nasai is short for nasatte kudasai (なさって下さい), which means "please do that."

That is to say, the literal meaning of oyasuminasai is "Please get rest."

You can use this phrase not only when you go to bed but also when you say goodbye to someone at night.
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【No. 1444】Yoku Ieba, Waruku Ieba (良く言えば～、悪く言えば～)

Dec 1, 2018 18:48
Yoku Ieba, Waruku Ieba,

I introduced you to the Japanese term ishiatama (石頭 - hard head/inflexible) yesterday, and majime (真面目 - serious/earnest) several days ago.

Both of these terms have a similar meaning, but majime includes a positive connotation, whereas ishiatama includes a negative connotation.

If you want to express a person who can be described by both of them, you can say as follows:

"Yoku ieba majime, waruku ieba ishiatama" (良く言えば真面目、悪く言えば石頭).

Yoku (良く) means "good/positive," waruku (悪く) means "bad/negative," and ieba (言えば) means "saying/speaking."

Therefore, the above expression means that he/she is majime (earnest) in a good way of saying, but ishiatama (inflexible) in a bad way of saying.
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【No. 1443】Ishiatama (石頭 - Hard Head)

Nov 30, 2018 17:50
Ishiatama

Several days ago, I introduced you to the Japanese term majime (真面目 - serious/earnest).

In addition, on another day, I introduced kimajime (生真面目 - too serious/earnest), which has a similar meaning to majime and a bad nuance.

There is another term that is used in a similar way as 'kimajime'; it is ishiatama (石頭).

Ishi (石) means "stone" and atama (頭) means "head."

That is to say, isiatama literally means that someone has a stiff head as if it is a stone and is inflexible.
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【No. 1442】Yakeishi ni Mizu (焼け石に水 - An Effort that's Bound to Fail)

Nov 29, 2018 19:38
Yakeishi ni Mizu

Slight efforts or supports could be not useful.

The Japanese proverb ‘Yakeishi ni mizu’ (焼け石に水) expresses that.

‘Yake’ (焼け) means “burnt,” ‘ishi’ (石) means “stone,” and ‘mizu’ (水) means “water,” so the literal meaning of ‘yakeishi ni mizu’ means “(put) water on a burnt stone.”

As you can guess, even if you put a small amount of water on a burnt stone, the water evaporates soon, and there is little change in the temperature of the stone.

Because of this, ‘yakeishi ni mizu’ has come to mean that a small amount of efforts or supports has almost no effects.
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【No. 1441】Okame Hachimoku (岡目八目 - Bystander's Vantage)

Nov 28, 2018 22:24
Okame Hachimoku

Generally, it is considered that third parties can judge things more correctly than the parties involved.

The four-character idiom okame hachimoku (岡目八目) can express such a fact.

Okame (岡目) was originally written as 傍目 (literally "side eye"), and it means to see/watch something from the outside.

In addition, hachi (八) means "eight," and moku (目) means the number of steps/moves in the game of go.

That is to say, the literal meaning of okame hachimoku is that people who watch the game of go from the side can examine eight more moves compared to the two players.
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【No. 1440】Nerds' Birthday

Nov 27, 2018 14:58
Nerds' Birthday

A few days ago, I found an interesting theory on the Internet.

That is "Nerds tend to be born in the winter."

In Japan, school begins on April 1st.

Therefore, if someone is born in the winter such as February or March, there will be a difference of about 10 months (maximum almost 1 year) with those who are born in April or May despite being in the same grade.

Since the difference is huge for children, they could become to dislike sports and exercise, then become nerds.

Although this theory is not statistically supported, there is another interesting fact; "Japanese professional athletes tend to be born in April - June."
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【No. 1439】Nisshin Geppo (日進月歩 - Fast Progressing)

Nov 26, 2018 17:09
Nisshin Geppo

Information technology, especially security technology, continually progresses day by day.

When describing such a fact, we use the four-character idiom nisshin geppo (日進月歩).

ni/nichi (日) means "day," shin (進) means "progress," ge/getsu (月) means "month," and po/ho (歩) means "walk" or "stride."

It is thought that this idiom was made by composing jitsugetsu (日月 - "day and month") and shinpo (進歩 - "progress").

That is to say, 日進月歩 means that something continue to progress day by day/month by month.
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【No. 1438】Kimajime (生真面目 - Too Serious/Earnest)

Nov 25, 2018 18:14
Kimajime

Yesterday, I introduced you to the term majime (まじめ), which means "serious" or "earnest."

Majime is often used as a good sense, but some people think that to be too serious/earnest is not a good personality because such a person lacks flexibility.

If you want to describe a person who is too majime (serious/earnest), you can use the term kimajime (生真面目), which is made by adding ki (生 - "pure/fresh") to majime.

Of course, kimajime can be used as a good sense (such as "very earnest"), but it includes negative nuances in most cases.
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【No. 1437】Majime (まじめ - Serious/Earnest)

Nov 24, 2018 22:09
Majime

I think I am what we call majime (まじめ).

Majime means that someone is serious or earnest with respect to something.

Maji (まじ) in majime comes from the verb majirogu (まじろぐ/瞬ぐ), which means to blink your eyes, and me (め) means "eye."

Since it looks serious or earnest to stare at something while blinking your eyes, majime has come to have its current meaning.

Incidentally, the onomatopoeia majimaji (まじまじ), which was made by repeating maji, can express that you stare at something.
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【No. 1436】Pikaichi (ピカイチ - Best of the Bunch)

Nov 23, 2018 19:40
Pikaichi

When describing something/someone that is the best among many things/people, you can use the Japanese pikaichi (ピカイチ).

This term comes from hana-awase (花合わせ), which is one of the ways of playing traditional Japanese card hanafuda (花札 - literally "flower cards").

There are mainly four types of cards in hanafuda: 1 point cards called kasu-fuda (カス札 - literally "garbage card"), 5 point cards, 10 point cards, and 20 point cards called hikari-fuda (光札 - literally "shining cards").

In the hana-awase, firstly seven cards are handed out to each participant.

At this time, when someone had six kasu-fudas and one hikari-fuda, it was called picaichi (ピカイチ - literally "one pika/hikari"), and it has come to have its current meaning.
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【No. 1435】Usankusai (胡散臭い - Doubtful)

Nov 22, 2018 23:12
Usankusai

Yesterday, I introduced you to the Japanese term kinakusai (きな臭い), which means that something is suspicious.

There is another term usankusai (胡散臭い), which has a similar meaning to kinakusai.

Usan (胡散) means that something is suspicious, and kusai (臭い) is a prefix that has the meaning of "seem like" and a negative nuance.

As I mentioned yesterday, kinakusai implies that something bad (such as a fire) is about to occur.

On the other hand, usankusai is often used to mean that something seems like somewhat suspicious/doubtful.