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2021

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【No. 1847】Atatte Kudakero (当たって砕けろ - Go for Broke)

May 17, 2021 19:19
Atatte Kudakero

When the fear of failure prevents you from taking action, the phrase atatte kudakero (当たって砕けろ) could help you.

Since atatte/ataru (当たって/当たる) means "to hit" and kudakero (砕けろ) is an imperative form of kudakeru (砕ける - meaning "to break"), the literal meaning of atatte kudakero is "hit and break."

Of course, this phrase does not mean "you should break."

It implies that you should take on challenges with strong determination even if it is unlikely to succeed.
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【No. 1846】Kaikaburi (買いかぶる - Overestimating)

May 16, 2021 16:57
Kaikaburu

To misjudge and overestimate a person's ability is represented as kaikaburu (買いかぶる) in Japanese.

Since kai (買い) means "to buy" and kaburu (かぶる/被る) means "to suffer damage," the literal meaning of kaikaburu is "to buy something and suffer damage."

Originally, this term meant its literal meaning, to buy something at a higher price than its actual value, resulting in a loss.

Afterward, kaikaburu came to be used for evaluating people and to have its current meaning.

Kaikaburu is a verb, but if you want to use it as a noun, you can use kaikaburi (買いかぶり) instead.
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【No. 1845】Nodo Moto Sugi reba Atsusa wo Wasureru (喉元過ぎれば熱さを忘れる - Danger Past and God Forgotten)

May 15, 2021 12:48
Nodo Moto Sugi reba Atsusa wo Wasureru

Some people forget all about the painful and difficult things once those have passed.

If you forget the experience of such hardship or failure, it will not become a lesson for you.

This can be expressed by the Japanese proverb, nodo moto sugi reba atsusa wo wasureru (喉元過ぎれば熱さを忘れる).

Since nodo (喉) means "throat," moto (元) means "base," sugi/sugiru (過ぎ/過ぎる) means "to pass," atsusa (熱さ) means "heat," and wasureru (忘れる) means "to forget," the literal meaning of the whole is "you will forget the heat once it passes the base of your throat."
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【No. 1844】Nekubi wo Kaku (寝首をかく - Catching Someone off Guard)

May 14, 2021 10:49
Nekubi wo Kaku

Getting caught off guard with a dirty trick is called nekubi wo kaku (寝首をかく) in Japanese.

Ne (寝) means "sleep," kubi (首) means "neck," and kaku (かく) means "to scratch" or "to cut," so the literal meaning of nekubi wo kaku is "to cut someone's neck in his/her sleep."

This phrase can literally mean to attach a sleeping person and cut off his/her head.

Since attacking a sleeping person is despicable, catching someone off guard by despicable means has come to be referred to as nekubi wo kaku.
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【No. 1843】Tebura (手ぶら - Empty-handed)

May 13, 2021 21:33
Tebura

When having nothing in your hands, the situation is described as tebura (手ぶら) in Japanese.

It is considered that tebura is an abbreviation for te wo burasagete iru (手をぶら下げている) or te wo burabura sasete iru (手をぶらぶらさせている).

Here, te (手) means "hand," burasageru (ぶら下げる) means "dangling," and burabura (ぶらぶら) is an onomatopoeia that represents something dangling.

This word implies that if you have nothing in your hands, your hand will be dangling.

Incidentally, tebura (手ブラ) also sometimes means using your hands to hold your breast instead of a bra.
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【No. 1842】Kisama (貴様 - You!)

May 12, 2021 21:23
Kisama

In Japanese, sama (様) is often used as an honorific title for a person.

In addition, ki (貴) is used as an honorific title for a group or school.

Furthermore, there is the word kisama (貴様), which is a combination of these two honorific titles.

Considering the meaning of each character, kisama can express respect for someone.

In fact, this word was a second-person pronoun that was literally used with respect.

However, these days, it has become a second-person pronoun used to curse at someone and is not often used in daily life.

It is said that such a change in meaning was triggered when prostitutes began to used kisama for their customers.
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【No. 1841】Senzai Ichigū (千載一遇 - Chance in a Million)

May 11, 2021 16:28
Senzai Ichigū

An opportunity that rarely comes along is sometimes described as senzai ichigū (千載一遇) in Japanese.

Sen (千) means "thousand," zai (載) means "year," ichi (一) means "one," and gū (遇) means "encounter."

That is to say, senzai ichigū literally means a rare opportunity or chance that you may encounter something once in a thousand years.

This four-character idiom came from a Chinese collection of poems called Monzen (文選 - "Wen Xuan").

It is often used in combination with the English loanword chansu (チャンス - "chance") as in senzai ichigū no chansu (千載一遇のチャンス - "Chance in a Million").
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【No. 1840】Shōsoku (消息 - Letter/News)

May 10, 2021 22:14
Shōsoku

A letter or news that informs what you have been doing lately is called shōsoku (消息) in Japanese.

Since shō (消) usually means "to vanish" and soku (息) usually means "breath," the literal meaning of shōsoku is "vanishing breath."

However, a vanishing breath could be taken to mean "death."

Actually, shō and soku can mean "death" and "life," respectively, so it originally meant "life and death."

Later, it came to means "to let someone know about your situation or condition," and changed to its current meaning, "a letter from you" or "news about you."
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【No. 1839】Oumu Gaeshi (オウム返し - Parroting)

May 9, 2021 18:00
Oumu Gaeshi

Repeating what the other person said is referred to as oumu gaeshi (オウム返し) in Japanese.

Since oumu (オウム) means "parrot" and gaeshi/kaeshi (返し) means "back/reply," the literal meaning of oumu gaeshi is "parrot reply."

As you know, parrots are birds that are good at imitating human voices or sounds, hence this term was created.

It is considered that oumu gaeshi is one of the effective ways to facilitate communication in everyday life.

However, since it could make people feel uncomfortable, please be careful not to overuse it.
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【No. 1838】Kaze no Tayori (風の便り - A Little Bird Told Me)

May 8, 2021 21:14
Kaze no Tayori

A rumor that comes out of nowhere can be expressed as kaze no tayori (風の便り).

Since kaze (風邪) means "wind" and tayori (便り) means "letters" or "news," the literal meaning of kaze no tayori is "letters from the wind."

As you can imagine, this term was created by comparing a rumor that comes out of nowhere to letters sent by the wind.

Rumors can be both good and bad, but in most cases, kaze no tayori is used to mean good rumors or news.

This fact may have something to do with the beauty of the expression.
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【No. 1837】Etymology of 'Hatoko' (はとこ) Part 2

May 7, 2021 21:55
Etymology of Hatoko (はとこ) Part 2

Today, I will my two original theories about the etymology of hatoko (はとこ - "second cousin").

The first theory is that it came from Iroha Uta (いろは歌 - "Iroha song").

Iroha Uta is an old poem for learning kana (Japanese characters), which is something like the ABC song for English.

The first three characters of Iroha Uta are i (い), ro (ろ), and ha (は).

Therefore, the relationship between itoko (いとこ - "first cousin") and hatoko (はとこ - "second cousin") may have been linked to the positions of i (い) and ha (は) in Iroha Uta.

The second theory is that it came from the shape of the katakana ha (ハ).

Imagine a family tree. When drawing a line from yourself to your grandparents and from your grandparents' siblings to your second cousin, doesn't it look like the katakana ha (ハ)?
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【No. 1836】Etymology of 'Hatoko' (はとこ) Part 1

May 6, 2021 19:43
Etymology of Hatoko (はとこ) Part 1

In my post yesterday, I explained that the etymology of hatoko (はとこ - meaning "second cousin") is not well understood.

In fact, I could not find any website that explained the etymology on the Internet.

Therefore, I would like to introduce my two original theories about the etymology of hatoko.

First of all, it can be thought that hatoko was derived from itoko (いとこ - meaning "(first) cousin").

Then, where did ha (は) in hatoko (はとこ) come from?

Continued in Part 2.
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【No. 1835】Hatoko (はとこ - "Second Cousin")

May 5, 2021 16:23
Hatoko

In my post yesterday, I introduced the term itoko (いとこ).

Itoko refers to a child of one's uncle or aunt, that is, a "first cousin."

A grandchild of ones grandparents brother or sister is referred to as hatoko (はとこ/再従兄弟/再従姉妹) or mataitoko (又従兄弟/又従姉妹).

Mata (又) in mataitoko means "again" or "once more," so the literal meaning of mataitoko is "cousin once more." However, the etymology of hatoko has been unclear.

Hatoko and mataitoko can be translated into English as "second cousin."
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【No. 1834】Itoko (いとこ - Cousin)

May 4, 2021 09:39
Itoko

A child of one's uncle or aunt is called itoko (いとこ) in Japanese.

There are several theories about the etymology of itoko.

One theory explains that itoko was made by adding ko (子 - meaning "child") to the adjective itoshi (愛し - meaning "love").

Another theory explains that itoko was made by adding ko to the word ito (糸 - meaning "thread").

The latter theory implies that the relationship between you and itoko is as if several threads are twisted together to form a single thread.

Itoko can be translated into English as "cousin" or "first cousin."
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【No. 1833】Doraemon's Three Sizes (ドラえもんのスリーサイズ)

May 3, 2021 10:47
Doraemon's Three Sizes

In my post yesterday, I introduced the term surī saizu (スリーサイズ - came from "three sizes"), which means "bust/waist/hip measurements."

Today, I would like to introduce three sizes of Doraemon, one of the most popular anime characters in Japan.

In the case of Doraemon, three sizes for humans (i.e., bust/waist/hip measurements) are merged into a "chest measurement," and instead there is a "head measurement (circumference)."
("Three sizes" may need to be reworded as "two sizes.")

Both chest and head measurements of Doraemon are 129.3 cm.

As seen above, the number 129.3 often appears in the measurements of Doraemon.

For example, his height is 129.3 cm, weight is 129.3 kg, and power is 129.3 horsepower.

Incidentally, Doraemon's birthday is September 3rd, 2112.
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【No. 1832】Surī Saizu (スリーサイズ - Bust/waist/hip measurements)

May 2, 2021 19:32
Surī Saizu

A loanword from English, surī saizu (スリーサイズ - "three sizes"), is used in ordinary speech in Japan.

The three sizes refer to the dimensions of the three parts of the body: bust (chest for men), waist, and hip.

It is called "bust/waist/hip (body) measurements" or "viral statistics" in English.

Surī Saizu is usually used for women, but please be careful not to ask a woman about her three sizes casually.

The women may be offended, and you may be treated as hentai (変態 - "pervert").

Incidentally, many of the three sizes of celebrities listed on web pages such as Wikipedia are considered to be unreliable.
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【No. 1831】Atama Dekkachi (頭でっかち - Brain Trust)

May 1, 2021 15:13
Atama Dekkachi

A person who states only knowledge and reasoning but does not take action is called atama dekkachi (頭でっかち) in Japanese.

Atama (頭) means "head," and it is thought that dekkachi (でっかち) came from dekai/dekkai (でかい/でっかい), which means "big."

The literal meaning of atama dekkachi is "big head," and this term is sometimes used in the literal meaning, but it is usually used in the meaning introduced above.

Incidentally, the word dekkachi is rarely used outside of the phrase atama dekkachi.
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【No. 1830】Oden (おでん)

Apr 30, 2021 11:52
Oden

The cold season makes typical Japanese people want to eat oden (おでん).

Oden is a Japanese dish made by soaking various ingredients such as daikon (Japanese radish), chikuwa (fish paste), konjac, and boiled eggs, in a soup broth stock from konbu (a kind of kelp) and dried bonito for a long time.

It is considered that o (お) is a polite prefix and den (でん) came from dengaku (田楽), which is a traditional Japanese dish of grilled tofu or konjac with miso.

In the past, there were many stalls serving oden at night, but today we hardly see them anymore.

When we want to eat oden, we usually buy it at a convenience store or cook it at home.
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【No. 1829】Tsuppari and Sukeban (「ツッパリ」と「スケバン」 - Bad Boy/Girl)

Apr 29, 2021 20:35
Tsuppari and Sukeban

In my post in the last two days, I introduced the terms furyō (不良) and yankī (ヤンキー), both of which means "bad boy/girl."

These terms are still used today, but in the 1970s and 1980s, tsuppari (ツッパリ) and sukeban (スケバン) were often used to refer to bad boy and bad girl, respectively.

Tsupparu comes from tsupparu (突っ張る), which means "pushing," and it represents disobedience against the rules of school and society.

Sukeban is a combination of suke (スケ meaning "woman") and banchō (番長 - meaning "school gang leader").

Both are rarely used nowadays.
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【No. 1828】Yankī (ヤンキー - "bad boy/girl")

Apr 28, 2021 17:48
Yankī

In my post yesterday, I introduced the Japanese term furyō (不良), which means "bad state/boy/girl."

To express "bad boy/girl," you can also say yankī (ヤンキー) instead of furyō.

Yankī came from the slang term "Yankee," which refers to people from the Northern United States.

In Japan, young people who wander the streets while wearing flashy clothes such as Hawaiian shirts were called yankī. Later, yankī has come to refer to "bad boy/girl."

Incidentally, when the yankī is not so aggressive and bad, and loves the hometown, he/she is sometimes called mairudo yankī (マイルドヤンキー - "mild-mannered bad boy/girl").