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【No. 1639】Omekashi (おめかし - Dressing up)

Jun 14, 2019 20:40
Omekashi

Most women will do omekashi (おめかし) when dating with their lovers or meeting someone they like.

O (お) is a polite prefix and mekashi (めかし) means to dress up and do makeup.

In general, omekashi is used to express that someone (especially a woman) dress up and do makeup with feeling, and it is used as omekashi wo suru (おめかしをする) by combining the verb suru (する - "do").

If you want to express that someone does a diligent omekashi for a special event, you can say mekashikomu (めかし込む) by using komu (込む - "thorough").
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【No. 1637】Ninin Sankyaku (二人三脚 - Cooperating with One Another)

Jun 13, 2019 08:10
Ninin Sankyaku

We say ninin sankyaku (二人三脚) to describe that two people sharing the same purpose cooperate.

Ni (二) means "two," nin (人) means "person," san (三) means "three," and kyaku (脚) means "leg," so the literal meaning of "ninin sankyaku" is "two people three legs."

This term was originally used to means a race that two participants run while strapping one runner's left leg and another runner's right leg ("three-legged race" in English).

Deriving from it, this term came to have the meaning of cooperating with one another.
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【No. 1638】Mōtō-nai (毛頭ない - Least of All)

Jun 13, 2019 11:45
Mōtō-nai

When denying something strongly, we sometimes say mōtō-nai (毛頭ない) by adding mōtō (毛頭) to the negative term nai (ない).

Since mō (毛) means "hair" and tō (頭) means "head," the literal meaning of mōtō-nai is "there is no tip of a hair."

Here, "tip of a hair" implies a very small or slight thing.

You can also say ke-hodo mo nai (毛ほどもない) instead of mōtō-nai by using the terms ke (毛 - "hair") and hodo (ほど/程 - "degree").
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【No. 1636】Ome ni Kakaru (お目にかかる - Having the Pleasure of Meeting)

Jun 11, 2019 20:12
Ome ni Kakaru

The most common Japanese term meaning to meet someone is au (会う).

However, if you want to show your respect, you can say ome ni kakaru (お目にかかる) instead of au.

O (お) is a polite prefix, me (目) means "eye," and kakaru (かかる) means "to be seen (by someone)," the literal meaning of ome ni kakaru is "to be seen with your eyes."

For example, you can say ome ni kakarete kōei desu (お目にかかれて光栄です - "I am honored to meet you") when meeting someone you respect.
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【No. 1634】Shiri ga Karui (尻が軽い - Hasty)

Jun 10, 2019 18:19
Shiri ga Karui

I do not like people who are described as shiri ga karui (尻が軽い).

Shiri ga karui means that someone's behavior is thoughtless or hasty; especially it is used to describe women who often play around.

Since shiri (尻) means "hip" and karui (軽い) means "light," the literal meaning of shiri ga karui is "one's hip is light."

It is difficult for people having a light hip to sit still in one place, so this idiom came to have the above meanings.

You can say shirigaru (尻軽) by shortening shiri ga karui.
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【No. 1635】Nisoku Sanmon (二束三文 - Dirt Cheap)

Jun 10, 2019 18:20
Nisoku Sanmon

Previously, I went to a secondhand bookstore to sell my books, but they became nisoku sanmon (二束三文).

Nisoku sanmon is a four-character idiom meaning that a selling price is very low even if it is large in number.

Ni (二) means "two," soku (束) means "bundle," san (三) means "three," and mon (文) is an old Japanese currency unit, the value today of which is about 30 yen (about $0.28), so the literal meaning of nisoku sanmon is "30 yen for two bundles."

Here, soku (束) can be written as 足, which represents a unit of footwear, and sanmon is also used to represent a cheap thing.

Because of this, some people think that this idiom comes from the fact that two pair of Japanese sandals were sold very cheaply in the Edo period.
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【No. 1633】Aruki Sumaho (歩きスマホ - Smartphone Zombie)

Jun 8, 2019 21:57
Aruki Sumaho

In accordance with the prevalence of smartphones, aruki sumaho (歩きスマホ) has become a big problem in the world.

Since aruki (歩き) means "walking," and sumaho (スマホ) is short for sumātofon (スマートフォン - "smartphone"), aruki sumaho literally means "to use a smartphone while walking."

The use of smartphones while walking makes you have a very narrow view of things, so it is extremely dangerous

In the US, such people using smartphones while walking are called "smartphone zombie," because they walk slowly without worrying about surroundings.
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【No. 1632】Tōge wo Kosu (峠を越す - Getting over the Hump)

Jun 7, 2019 14:29
Tōge wo Kosu

Three days ago, I introduced the Japanese word tōge (峠), which means 'mountain pass."

There is an idiom that uses this word -- it is tōge wo kosu (峠を越す).

Since kosu (越す) means "over," the literal meaning of tōge wo kosu is "(cross) over a mountain pass."

Of course, this idiom can be used to express its literal meaning.

In addition, since tōge implies a crisis, tōge wo kosu can also mean to get over or pass a crisis term/status/situation.

You can translate it into English as "get over the hump."
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【No. 1631】Heibon (平凡 - Ordinary)

Jun 6, 2019 20:58
Heibon

To describe that someone/something is ordinary and insipid, you can use the Japanese word heibon (平凡).

Both hei (平) and bon (凡) mean that something is ordinary.

That is to say, heibon is a word made by combining two characters that have the same meaning.

If you want to emphasize that something is not special, you can say heihei bonbon (平平凡凡/平々凡々) by repeating themselves.

Incidentally, the antonym of heibon is hibon (非凡 - "extraordinary"); here the hi (非) is a negative word.
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【No. 1630】Haiboku (敗北 - Losing)

Jun 5, 2019 17:23
Haiboku

Losing or running away after the defeat is called haiboku (敗北) in Japanese.

Hai (敗) means "losing," and boku/hoku (北) usually means "north," but here it means "turning around and running away."

The kanji character 北 can be divided into two parts; the left side and the right side.

Since these two parts represent persons respectively, the kanji 北 represents two people who are turning against one another and running away.

[Example] Kare wa senkyo de haiboku shita (彼は選挙で敗北した - He lost the election).
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【No. 1629】Tōge (峠 - Mountain Pass)

Jun 4, 2019 19:20
Tōge

Mountain passes or boundaries between up and down ways are called tōge (峠).

It is said that tōge comes from tamuke (手向け), which means to offer things to Shinto and Buddhist deities -- there was the fact that visitors offered things to dōsojin (道祖神 - "ancestor kami protecting the safety of roads").

Incidentally, 峠 is the kanji invented in Japan.

This kanji consists of three parts; 山 meaning "mountain," 上 meaning "up" and 下 meaning "down."

The reason why this kanji was made in Japan might be that the Japanese had the environment surrounded by mountains.
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【No. 1628】Mune wo Fukuramaseru (胸をふくらませる - Full of Hope)

Jun 3, 2019 15:40
Mune wo Fukuramaseru

Yesterday, I introduced you to the Japanese expression mune wo haru (胸を張る).

The literal meaning of mune wo haru is "to stretch one's chest," but it actually expresses someone's confident, imposing or proud attitude.

To express the same meaning as this in English, you can say "to puff one's chest up."

On the other hand, the literal translation of "to puff one's chest up" into Japanese is mune wo fukuramaseru (胸をふくらませる), and this Japanese expression means that someone is full of joy and hope.
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【No. 1627】Mune wo Haru (胸を張る - Sticking One's Chest out)

Jun 2, 2019 12:08
Mune wo Haru

Yesterday, I did an action called mune wo haru (胸を張る).

Since mune (胸) means "chest" and haru (張る) means "to stretch," the literal meaning of mune wo haru (胸を張る) is "to stretch one's chest."

As you can guess easily, this idiom expresses someone's confident, imposing or proud attitude.

In English, you can say it as "to stick one's chest out" or "to throw one's chest out."

I am not sure about that, but such actions of human beings might be global common.
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【No. 1626】Sudōfu (酢豆腐 - Know-it-all)

Jun 1, 2019 22:21
Sudōfu

Young people these days do not use it very much, but there is a Japanese term, sudōfu (酢豆腐), which means a person who shows a know-it-all attitude.

Since su (酢) means "vinegar" and dōfu/tōfu (豆腐) means "bean curd," the literal meaning of sudōfu is "vinegared bean curd."

This term comes from a rakugo (落語 - "traditional Japanese comic storytelling") in the Edo period.

The story of the rakugo is something as follows; a man who showed a know-it-all attitude ate rotten and sour bean curd then said "this is vinegared bean curd."
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【No. 1625】Shizentai (自然体 - Being Oneself)

May 31, 2019 22:02
Shizentai

I might not be good at being shizentai (自然体).

Since shizen (自然) means "natural" and tai (体) means "body" or "posture," the literal meaning of shizentai is "natural body" or "natural posture."

Originally, this term was used to mean a basic standing posture/stance in jūdō (柔道 - "the Japanese art of self-defense") or kendō (剣道 - "the Japanese art of fencing").

Later, it came to have the meaning of a natural attitude with no pressure or tension.

This term can be translated into English as "being oneself."
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【No. 1624】Shitasaki Sanzun (舌先三寸 - Glib Tongue) Part 1

May 30, 2019 18:18
Shitasaki Sanzun

Yesterday, I introduced the term shitasaki sanzun (舌先三寸), which describes people who persuade someone only with their big mouths and smooth talk.

The literal meaning of this term is "one's tip of the tongue is about 9 cm," but there are two major theories about the reason for coming to have the above meaning.

One theory says that sanzun (三寸 - "about 9 cm") is a word representing that something is very short, and shitasaki sanzun implies that it is hard to say hearty words because of the short tongue.

The other theory says that shitasaki (舌先 - "the tip of a tongue") implies someone's words, and shitasaki sanzun implies that someone's words are shallow.
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【No. 1623】Shitasaki Sanzun (舌先三寸 - Glib Tongue) Part 1

May 29, 2019 10:53
Shitasaki Sanzun Part 1

There are people who persuade someone only with their big mouths and smooth talk.

Such people can be described as shitasaki sanzun (舌先三寸) in Japanese.

Shita (舌) means "tongue," saki (先) means "tip," san (三) means "three" and zun/sun (寸) is a unit of length representing about 3 cm, so the literal meaning of shitasaki sanzun is "one's tip of the tongue is about 9 cm."

You might think that the tongue tip with a length of about 9 cm is long.

There are two major theories about the etymology of this term.

To be continued.
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【No. 1622】Tenohira Kurū (ﾃﾉﾋﾗｸﾙｰ - Turning a 180)

May 28, 2019 23:39
Tenohira Kurū

YesterdayYesterday, I introduced the Japanese idiom tenohira wo kaesu (手のひらを返す), which means to make a 180-degree turn in attitude or wording.

On the Internet, it is sometimes expressed as tenohira kurū (ﾃﾉﾋﾗｸﾙｰ).

Tenohira (ﾃﾉﾋﾗ/手のひら) means "palm" and kurū (ｸﾙｰ) is an onomatopoeia that represents that something rotates.

Since karsu (返す) means "to turn something over," both literal meanings of tenohira wo kaesu and tenohira kuru are the same.

This slang term is often used with a parenthesis such as "(ﾃﾉﾋﾗｸﾙｰ" at the end of the sentence.
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【No. 1621】Tenohira wo Kaesu (手のひらを返す - Turning a 180)

May 27, 2019 20:10
Tenohira wo Kaesu

I often find people who do an act called tenohira wo kaesu (手のひらを返す).

Since tenohira (手のひら/掌) means "palm" and kaesu (返す) means "to turn something over," the literal meaning of tenohira wo kaesu is "to turn over one's palm."

Actually, this idiom means to make a 180-degree turn in attitude or wording because of some events.

Originally, it was used to mean that something is easy to change, but later, this came to be used to indicate human's behavior.
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【No. 1620】Aiso Warai (愛想笑い - Fake Smile)

May 26, 2019 17:15
Aiso Warai

I am not good at doing aiso warai (愛想笑い).

Aiso warai is a diplomatic smile to get on someone's good side.

Aiso (愛想) is an attitude when dealing with someone or an affable attitude, and warai (笑い) means "laugh" or "smile," so the literal meaning of aiso warai is "an affable smile."

There are various opinions as to whether aiso warai (fake smile) is good or bad for human relationships.

In my opinion, people who have the ability to make aiso warai well can smooth human relations.