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【No. 1595】First Day of Reiwa

May 1, 2019 12:39
First Day of Reiwa

Today is the first day of Reiwa (令和).

As I wrote in my post yesterday, Japan has its own way of counting years, and it was Heisei (平成) until yesterday.

Heisei ended in 31 years, and it has been Reiwa gan-nen (令和元年) from today.

The first year of the new era is called gan-nen (元年), which is the term combining gen (元 - "original") and nen (年 - "year").

After the first year, it is simply called a combination of numbers and nen, such as 'Reiwa 2 nen' (令和2年) and 'Reiwa 3 nen' (令和3年).
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【No. 1594】Last Day of Heisei

Apr 30, 2019 22:34
Last Day of Heisei

Today is the last day of Heisei (平成).

Do you know about the Japanese gengo (元号)?

Gengo is a kind of ways of counting years (regnal era name) that is used in eastern Asia, and in modern Japan, it changes in association with the enthronement of the new Emperor.

It is Heisei (平成) now, but it will become Reiwa (令和) from tomorrow (after about one hour).

Incidentally, the period of Heisei is about 30 years, and it was Shōwa (昭和) before heisei.

Sadly, people who were born in Shōwa are sometimes treated as old men/women.
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【No. 1593】Iromegane (色眼鏡 - Colored Glasses)

Apr 29, 2019 20:41
Iromegane

I introduced you to the megane (眼鏡 - "glasses") two days ago, and introduced mushimegane (虫眼鏡 - "magnifying glass") yesterday.

Today I would like to talk about the Japanese iromegane (色眼鏡).

Since iro (色) means "color" and megane (眼鏡) means "glasses," the literal meaning of iromegane is "colored glasses."

Of course, iromegane can mean a pair of colored glasses such as sunglasses.

However, I think that it is often used to mean that someone looks on something from a biased perspective.

[Example] Kare wa itsumo iromegane de hito wo miru (彼はいつも色眼鏡で人を見る - He always looks on people from a biased perspective).
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【No. 1592】Mushimegane (虫眼鏡 - Magnifying Glass/Loupe)

Apr 28, 2019 23:03
Mushimegane

Yesterday, I introduced you to the Japanese term megane (眼鏡), which means "glasses."

By adding mushi (虫 - "insect") to megane, it becomes mushimegane (虫眼鏡), which means "magnifying glass."

It is considered that because mushimegane is a tool for looking at small things such as insects, this name was given.

Incidentally, if you want to say it more formally, you can use another term kakudaikyou (拡大鏡) instead of mushimegane.

Kakudai (拡大) means "magnification," and kyou (鏡) usually means "mirror," but here it means "lens."

【No. 1591】Megane (眼鏡 - Glasses)

Apr 27, 2019 23:44
Megane

Today I bought a megane (眼鏡).

Megane is a Japanese word that means "glasses."

Me (眼) means "eye," but the exact etymology of gane (鏡) has not been clarified yet.

One web page explains that it comes from sashigane (さしがね), which means "ruler," and another page explains that it comes from kagami (鏡), which has the same kanji for gane and means "mirror."

Incidentally, it is said that glasses were invented in Italy in 1284, and it was imported to Japan by Francisco de Xavier in 1551.
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【No. 1590】Yaki ga Mawaru (焼きが回る - Becoming Dull)

Apr 26, 2019 23:31
Yaki ga Mawaru

To become dull or to decline ability is expressed as yaki ga mawaru (焼きが回る) in Japanese.

Yaki (焼き) means "burnt" and mawaru (回る) means "to go around" or "to spread," so the literal meaning of yaki ga mawaru is "the burnt area spreads."

When making a blade or edged tool, it is burned then cooled to improve the edge.

However, if you overheat it, the blade will be fragile, and the edge will become dull.

That is to say, the expression yaki ga mawaru compares the sharpness of a blade with human ability.
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【No. 1589】Gotaku wo Naraberu (御託を並べる - Harping on the Same String)

Apr 25, 2019 11:16
Gotaku wo Naraberu

To say something selfish continuously or to harp on the same string is described as gotaku wo naraberu (御託を並べる) in Japanese.

Gotaku (御託) is short for gotakusen (御託宣) -- go (御) is a polite prefix and takusen (託宣) means "divine revelation."

In addition, naraberu (並べる) usually means "to arrange something," but here it implies that "to say something continuously."

Therefore, the literal meaning of gotaku wo naraberu is "to say divine revelations continuously."

Originally, gotaku/gotakusen didn't have a bad meaning, but gotaku wo naraberu came to have its current meaning because of people who said something selfish/tedious as divine revelations.
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【No. 1588】Chidoriashi (千鳥足 - Walking Zigzag)

Apr 24, 2019 22:53
Chidoriashi

To walk with a stagger (especially in a drunk state) is called chidoriashi (千鳥足) in Japanese.

Since chidori (千鳥) means "plover" and ashi (足) means "foot," the literal meaning of chidoriashi is "plover feet."

Have you ever seen plover's feet or its way of walking?

Many birds have a supportive finger on the back side of their feet, but plovers have only three fingers in front of their feet, so they walk in zigzags.

Because of this, chidoriashi came to mean to walk zigzag or with a stagger, especially while drunk.
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【No. 1587】Nehori Hahori (根掘り葉掘り - Thoroughly)

Apr 23, 2019 14:57
Nehori Hahori

Yesterday, I introduced the term ne mo ha mo nai (根も葉もない), which means that a theory/talk has no foundation.

As another idiom that uses both ne (根) and ha (葉), there is nehori hahori (根掘り葉掘り).

Ne (根) means "root," ha (葉) means "leaf," and hori (掘り) means "to dig," so the literal meaning of nehori hahori is "to dig roots and leaves."

Since "root" implies an essence of things, this idiom has the meaning of "thoroughly."

Hahori (葉掘り - "to dig leaves") is a little semantically strange -- this was just added to emphasize the meaning of nehori (根掘り - "to dig roots") and adjust the rhythm of this idiom.

[Example] Kare wa kanojo no koto wo nehori hahori kiite kita (彼は彼女のことを根掘り葉掘り聞いてきた - "He asked me about every detail of her").
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【No. 1586】Ne mo Ha mo nai (根も葉もない - Groundless)

Apr 22, 2019 11:40
Ne mo Ha mo nai

To describe that a theory or talk has no foundation, you can use the Japanese term ne mo ha mo nai (根も葉もない).

Since ne (根) means "root," ha (葉) means "leaf," and nai (ない) means "nothing," so the literal meaning of ne mo ha mo nai is "there is neither roots nor leaves."

Roots and leaves are very important parts for plants.

If you compare "theory" or "talk" to "plant," "root" and "leaf" will be "foundation" and "result/conclusion," respectively.

That is to say, ne mo ha mo nai means that a theory/talk is unfounded/groundless.
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【No. 1585】Betsubara (別腹 - Dessert Stomach)

Apr 21, 2019 22:40
Betsubara

Today, I used the Japanese term betsubara (別腹) when eating dinner with my friend.

Betsubara means that you can eat (have room for) your favorite food even if you are full -- it is often used especially for sweets or dessert.

Betsu (別) means "another" and bara/hara (腹) means "stomach."

That is to say, betsubara implies that there is another stomach apart from your usual stomach, and your favorite food goes into there.

[Example] Dezāto wa betsubara desu (デザートは別腹です - "There is room for dessert").
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【No. 1584】Amet o Muchi (飴と鞭 - Carrot and Stick)

Apr 20, 2019 22:03
Ame to Muchi

To control someone by giving reward and punishment alternately is called ame to muchi (飴と鞭 or アメとムチ) in Japanese.

Since ame (飴/アメ) means "candy" and muchi (鞭/ムチ) means "stick/whip," so the literal meaning of ame to muchi is "candy and stick."

The origin of this phrase is the policies of suppression and concession, conducted by Otto von Bismarck, Chancellor of the German Empire.

It is "zuckerbrot und peitsche" in German, and "carrot and stick" in English -- the Japanese version use "candy" instead of "carrot."
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【No. 1583】Shirami Tsubushi (虱潰し - One by One)

Apr 19, 2019 21:11
Shirami Tsubushi

Today, I eliminated bugs in my source codes right and left, and step by step.

To process something one by one to avoid missing a thing like this is called shirami tsubushi (虱潰し) in Japanese.

Shirami (虱) means "louse (lice)," and tsubushi (潰し) means "to crush" or "to kill," so the literal meaning of shirami tsubushi is "to kill/crush lice."

Since lice are very small, if you want to remove (kill) them from someone's head, you have to check the hairs one by one.

Because of this, shirami tsubushi came to have its current meaning.
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【No. 1582】Hachiku no Ikioi (破竹の勢い - Tremendous Momentum)

Apr 18, 2019 10:54
Hachiku no Ikioi

When something has an intense momentum and it can't be stopped, you can describe that using the Japanese idiom hachiku no ikioi (破竹の勢い).

Ha (破) means "to break," chiku (竹) means "bamboo," and ikioi (勢い) means "momentum," so the literal meaning of hachiku no ikioi is "a momentum of breaking a bamboo."

If you try to divide a bamboo into two with a knife, it will break swiftly from the top to the bottom.

Because of this, hachiku (破竹 - "breaking a bamboo") came to mean "an intense momentum that can't be stopped."
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【No. 1581】Oha-konban-chiwa (おはこんばんちは - Good Morning/Afternoon/Evening)

Apr 17, 2019 10:50
Oha-konban-chiwa

Yesterday, I introduced the term shigo (死語), which means "dead language" or "dead word."

When I looked up this term on the Internet, I found the phrase oha-konban-chiwa (おはこんばんちは).

This phrase is the combination of ohayō (おはよう - "good morning"), kon-nichiwa (こんにちは - "good afternoon"), and konbanwa (こんばんは - "good evening") -- this came from the song of the anime, "Dr. Slump (Arale-chan)."

Definitely, people no longer use this phrase as a greeting.

However, since it can be used regardless of time, some Japanese YouTubers use it at the beginning of their videos.
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【No. 1580】Shigo (死語 - Dead Language/Word)

Apr 16, 2019 06:23
Shigo

In my post yesterday, I used the Japanese word shigo (死語).

Since shi (死) means "death/dead" and go (語) means "word/language," the literal meaning of shigo is "dead word" or "dead language."

In linguistics, shigo means a dead language that no one uses, but it is also used to mean a dead word that people rarely use or an antiquated word.

If you want to mean the latter two, you can use haigo (廃語 - literally means "obsolete word"), but I think that shigo is more used than haigo on a daily basis.
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【No. 1579】Shame (写メ - Photo) Part 2

Apr 15, 2019 11:55
Shame (写メ) Part 2

Yesterday, I introduced the slang term shame (写メ), which means to take photos with (or photos taken by) a mobile phone or smartphone.

If you want to use shame as a verb, you can say shame-ru (写メる) by adding the suffix ru (る).

For example, shame-rou (写メろう) means "let's take photos (with our smartphones)."

I often use and hear these terms, shame and shame-ru.

However, among the current young people, it seems that these slang terms are becoming dead words because they do not use e-mails very much.
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【No. 1578】Shame (写メ - Photo) Part 1

Apr 14, 2019 20:07
Shame Part 1

Have you ever heard of the Japanese slang term shame (写メ)?

Shame is short for sha mēru (写メール), which is a combination of sha/shashin (写/写真 - means "photo") and mēru (メール - means "e-mail").

Originally, this term meant to attach a photo taken with a camera-equipped mobile phone to an e-mail.

Later, taking photos with (and photos taken by) a mobile phone or smartphone came to be called shame.

[Example] Shame torou (写メ撮ろう - "Let's take photos (using our smartphones).")
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【No. 1577】Nomikomi ga Hayai (飲み込みが早い - Learning Fast)

Apr 13, 2019 18:56
Nomikomi ga Hayai

Yesterday, I heard a compliment phrase, nomikomi ga hayai (飲み込みが早い).

Nomikomi (飲み込み) means "to swallow something" and hayai (早い) means "fast" or "quick," so the literal meaning of nomikomi ga hayai is "someone swallows something quickly."

Here, nomikomi implies that someone understands things or accepts a situation.

That is to say, this phrase is a compliment used for people who have can understand or learn things quickly -- they are good/quick learners.

On the other hand, people who are slow to catch on things are described as nomikomi ga warui (飲み込みが悪い) by using the word warui (悪い - "bad").
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【No. 1576】Kusshi (屈指 - One of the Best)

Apr 12, 2019 07:41
Kusshi

I introduced yubiori (指折り), which means "to count something" or "one of the best" two days ago, and introduced yubiori kazoeru (指折り数える) to mean the former ("to count something") explicitly yesterday.

If you want to mean the latter ("one of the best") explicitly, you can use the similar term kusshi (屈指).

Since ku (屈) means "to bend something" and shi (指) means "finger," the literal meaning of kusshi is "to bend your fingers."

Note that the meaning of kusshi is "one of the best," and it is not used to mean "to count something."

[Example] Kare wa sekai kusshi no shisanka da (彼は世界屈指の資産家だ - "He is one of the richest people in the world.")