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【No. 1491】Hokusoemu (ほくそ笑む - Smiling Inwardly)

Jan 17, 2019 23:41
Hokusoemu

Have you ever smiled inwardly as a result of something going well as expected?

Such an act is called hokusoemu (ほくそ笑む) in Japanese.

Emu (笑む) means "to smile."

Hokuso (ほくそ) comes from the Chinese 北叟 (hokusō - meaning "an old man live in the North"), which especially refers to an old man 塞翁 (Saiou) in ancient Chinese stories.

Since Saiou (hokusō) always smiled inwardly even if good or bad things happened, the term hokusoemu came to have its current meaning.

Incidentally, hokusoemu is the only Japanese term that uses hokuso.
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【No. 1490】Shinsan wo Nameru (辛酸を嘗める - Having a Hard Time)

Jan 16, 2019 19:27
Shinsan wo Nameru

Yesterday, I introduced the idiom amai shiru wo suu (甘い汁を吸う), which means to get profits without struggling.

Since amai (甘い) means "sweet," shiru (汁) means "juice," and suu (吸う) means "to suck," the literal meaning of this idiom is "to such sweet juice."

There is another idiom that used a similar wording of this -- it is shinsan wo nameru (辛酸を嘗める).

Since shin (辛) means "hot/spicy," san (酸) means "sour," and nameru (嘗める) means "to lick," the literal meaning of this idiom is "to lick something hot or sour."

It is painful for many people to lick hot or sour things, so this idiom means to have a hard time.
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【No. 1489】Amai Shiru wo Suu (甘い汁を吸う - Lining One's Pockets)

Jan 15, 2019 20:06
Amai Shiru wo Suu

There are people who take an action which is expressed as amai shiru wo suu (甘い汁を吸う) in Japanese.

Amai (甘い) means "sweet," shiru (汁) means "juice" or "soup," and suu (吸う) means "to suck," so the literal meaning of this idiom is "to suck sweet juice."

Here, "sweet juice" implies profits.

That is to say, amai shiru wo suu means to get profits without struggling.

You can also say umai shiru wo suu (うまい汁を吸う), by using umai (うまい - literally "delicious") instead of amai.
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【No. 1488】Gishin Anki (疑心暗鬼 - Doubts Beget Doubts)

Jan 14, 2019 18:18
Gishin Anki

Today, I saw a person who has a mind called gishin anki (疑心暗鬼).

This four-character idiom mean to be afraid of trivial things or suspect everything.

Gi (疑) means "suspicion," shin (心) means "heart" or "mind," an (暗) means "dark," and ki (鬼) means "ogre."

In other words, gishin anki implies a mind of suspecting that there is an ogre because of the darkness.

Originally, this idiom was used as a Buddhist term to mean to have a suspecional mind to the truth of Buddhism.
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【No. 1487】Hara wo Kukuru (腹をくくる - Bracing Oneself)

Jan 13, 2019 23:53
Hara wo Kukuru

Following yesterday and the day before yesterday, I would like to talk about an idiom that is related to "stomach."

Today's idiom is hara wo kukuru (腹をくくる).

Hara (腹) means "stomach" and kukuru (くくる) means "to tie up something" or "to bind up something," so the literal meaning of hara wo kukuru is "to tie up one's stomach."

However, same on the previous occasion, hara (腹 - "stomach") means "feelings," "mind," or "heart."

Therefore, the actual meaning of this idiom is "to brace oneself."

To describe it, you can also say "to roll up one's sleeves" in English.
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【No. 1486】Hara wo Yomu/Hara wo Saguru (腹を読む/腹を探る - Reading One's Mind/Sounding out One's Mind)

Jan 12, 2019 21:52
Hara wo Yomu/Hara wo Saguru

In Japan, long ago it was thought that the stomach contains one's feelings or mind, and there are many idioms using hara (腹 - meaning "stomach").

Today I would like to introduce you to two idioms among them, hara wo yomu (腹を読む) and hara wo saguru (腹を探る).

Yomu (読む) means "to read," and saguru (探る) means "to search."

The literal meaning of hara wo yomu is "to read one's stomach," and its actual meaning is "to read one's mind."

The literal meaning of hara wo saguru is "to search one's stomach," and its actual meaning is "to sound out one's mind."
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【No. 1485】Futoppara (太っ腹 - Generous)

Jan 11, 2019 23:22
Futoppara

Yesterday, I introduced you to the Japanese idiom hara ga futoi (腹が太い), which means that one's heart/capacity is large.

There is another Japanese term, futoppara (太っ腹), which is very similar to hara ga gutoi.

Futo (太) means "large," "thick," or "wide," and hara/para (腹) means "stomach" or "belly."

As you can guess, both futoppara and hara ga futoi are composed of the same two words, 腹 and 太.

These meanings are almost the same, but futoppara is often used to mean that someone is generous
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【No. 1484】Hara ga Futoi (腹が太い - One's Heart is Large)

Jan 10, 2019 23:04
Hara ga Futoi

There is an idiom, hara ga futoi (腹が太い) in Japanese.

Hara (腹) usually means "stomach" or "belly," but here it implies "heart" or "capacity."

In addition, futoi (太い) means "large," "thick," or "wide."

That is to say, hara ga futoi is a compliment that means "one's heart/capacity is large."

However, it could literally mean that one's belly is big, so please be careful when you use this idiom.

Incidentally, in several areas of western Japan, hara ga futoi is used to mean to have a full stomach.
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【No. 1483】Tsukeyakiba (付け焼き刃 - Borrowed Wisdom)

Jan 9, 2019 17:02
Tsukeyakiba

Have you ever been hastily acquired knowledge or skill as a stopgap measure?

Such a not-so-great measure is called tsukeyakiba (付け焼き刃) in Japanese.

Tsuke (付け) means "attached," yaki (焼き) means "burnt," and ba/ha (刃) means "blade."

In the past, swordsmiths sometimes attached a burnt steel blade to a blunt sword as a stopgap measure.

Swords made by striking metal materials repeatedly were sharp and long-lasting, whereas swords with tsukeyakiba were not durable.

Because of this, inefficient hastily knowledge or skill has come to be referred to as tsukeyakiba (付け焼き刃).
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【No. 1482】Kaish (会社 - Company)

Jan 8, 2019 23:36
Kaisha

Most adults work at kaisha (会社).

Kaisha is an organization established for the purpose of profit and is usually translated into English as "company" or "office."

Kai (会) means "to get together" or "to assemble," and sha (社) means "organization."

Originally, both this term and its inverted version shakai (社会) were used in a broad sense, such as "society," "group," and "fellow," as the letters indicate.

However, since the early Meiji era (about 150 years ago), kaisha and shakai have been clearly distinguished -- kaisha means "company" and shakai means "society."
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【No. 1481】Namahanka (生半可 - Half-Hearted)

Jan 7, 2019 10:44
Namahanka

If you want to change yourself, you must not have an attitude of namahanka (生半可).

Namahanka means that someone/something is halfway, half-hearted, or lukewarm.

In the Edo period, people who displayed a know-it-all attitude about fashion or play were called hankatsū (半可通) with contempt.

Han (半) means "half," ka (可) means "possible," and tsū (通) means "acquainted/familiar."

Later, it changed to hanka (半可) by removing tsū, then the term namahanka was made by adding nama (生), which means "immature" or "halfway."
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【No. 1480】Kado ga Tatsu (角が立つ - Creating Bitter Feelings)

Jan 6, 2019 21:01
Kado ga Tstsu

Yesterday, I introduced you to the idiom kado ga toreru (角が取れる), which means that someone who is harsh comes to have a gentle nature.

Today, I would like to introduce another idiom kado ga tatsu (角が立つ), which also uses kado (角).

Since kado means "corner" and tatsu (立つ) means "to stand" or "to stand out," the literal meaning of kado ga tatsu is "corners stand out."

A spiny situation that corners are standing out implies bad personal relationships.

Because of this, kado ga tatsu means to create bitter feelings and bad relationships.
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【No. 1479】Kado ga Toreru (角が取れる - Mellowing)

Jan 5, 2019 22:13
Kado ga Toreru

When someone who is harsh becomes to have a gentle nature due to his/her life experience, it is expressed as kado ga toreru (角が取れる) in Japanese.

Kado (角) usually means "corner," but here it means a sharp point of one's personality.

In addition, toreru (取れる) means "to remove" or "to come off."

Therefore, kadoga toreru means that a sharp part of one's personality removes, in other words, it means that one's personality becomes gentle or mellow.

Incidentally, I watched the movie "A Christmas Carol," and I thought that this term can be is used for Scrooge.
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【No. 1477】Isshin Furan (一心不乱 - Heart and Soul)

Jan 4, 2019 10:22
Isshin Furan

Yesterday, I introduced you to the four-character idiom chototsu moushin (猪突猛進), which means to rush headlong into some activity recklessly.

There is another idiom isshin furan (一心不乱), which has a similar meaning to chitotsu moushin.

I/ichi (一) means "one," shin (心) means "heart," fu (不) is a negative prefix, ran (乱) means "be confused," so the literal meaning of this idiom is "one heart is not confused."

As the characters imply, isshin furan means that someone concentrates on one thing without being confused by other things.

Chitotsu moushin is often used in a negative sense, whereas isshin furan is often used in a positive way.
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【No. 1478】Zettai Zetsumei (絶体絶命 - Certain Death)

Jan 4, 2019 22:49
Zettai Zetsumei

Several days ago, I was being fallen into a situation called zettai zetsumei (絶体絶命) in Japanese.

Ze/zetsu (絶) means "to end," tai (体) means "body," mei (命) means "life."

Each idiom, zettia (絶体) and zetsumei (絶命) means "one's body (is about to) ends" and "one's life (is about to) ends," respectively.

In addition, the combination zettai zetsumei means a situation that you are driven to the last extremity and cannot do anything.

People sometimes write 絶対絶命 (zettai zetsumei) using 絶対 (zettai - meaning "definite/absolute") instead of 絶体 (zettai), but note that this is incorrect.
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【No. 1476】Chototsu Moushin (猪突猛進 - Rushing Recklessly)

Jan 2, 2019 20:21
Chototsu Moushin

Since the animal symbol of this year is the boar (猪/亥 - read as 'inoshishi/i'), these days we often see the four-character idiom chototsu moushin (猪突猛進).

Cho (猪) means "boar," totsu (突) means "rush," mou (猛) means "fierce," shin (進) means "proceed/head."

The combination, chototsu moushin, means to rush headlong into a purpose wildly.

This idiom was born from the fact that boars rush straight without looking sideways.

Some people use this idiom in a positive sense, but it is usually used in a negative sense because it contains a nuance that you act without thinking consequences or surroundings.
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【No. 1475】Neshōgatsu (寝正月 - Staying at Home during the New Year's Holiday)

Jan 1, 2019 23:26
Neshōgatsu

Happy New Year.

This year I have done neshōgatsu (寝正月).

Ne (寝) means "sleep" and shōgatsu (正月) means "New Year's holiday," the literal meaning of neshōgatsu is "sleeping during the New Year's holiday."

The actual meaning of neshōgatsu is to stay at home during the New Year's holiday.

In Japan, there is a traditional custom that people greet Toshigami-sama (年神様 - literally "god of the incoming year") from December 31st to January 1st, then sleep and stay at home during January 1st.

Therefore, first selling and New Year's events are often held from January 2nd.
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【No. 1474】Ichaicha (いちゃいちゃ - Lovey-Dovey)

Dec 31, 2018 18:38
Ichaicha

Yesterday, I introduced you to the Japanese term chinchin kamokamo (ちんちんかもかも), which means that a woman and a man snuggle each other.

There is another term, ichaicha (いちゃいちゃ), which has a similar meaning to chinchin kamokamo, and is more commonly used.

Originally, ichaicha was used to mean to argue, but later it has come to mean to make out or snuggle.

Usually, this term is used as ichaicha suru (いちゃいちゃする) by adding suru (する - meaning "do").

Or its verb form icha tsuku (いちゃつく) is used instead.
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【No. 1473】Chinchin Kamokamo (ちんちんかもかも - Making Out/Snuggling)

Dec 30, 2018 23:29
Chinchin Kamokamo

To describe that a woman and a man make out or snuggle each other, you can use the Japanese term chinchin kamokamo (ちんちんかもかも).

Chinchin (ちんちん) is an onomatopoeia that means that water is boiling, and it also means a feeling of jealousy.

Furthermore, since you might feel jealous when seeing snuggling couple, chinchin (ちんちん) can also mean such a feeling.

In addition, it is thought that kamokamo (かもかも) is added to chinchin just for adjusting the tones.

Incidentally, if you just say chinchin, it can be taken to mean an obscene thing.
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【No. 1472】Kachō Fūgetsu (花鳥風月 - Beauties of Nature)

Dec 29, 2018 23:23
Kachō Fūgetsu

To describe a beautiful landscape of nature, you can use the four-character idiom kachō fūgetsu (花鳥風月).

Ka (花) means "flower," chō means "bird," fū (風) means "wind," and getsu (月) means "moon."

This idiom can be divided into two parts: kachō (花鳥) and fūgetsu (風月).

Kachō means to enjoy watching nature such as flowers or birds, and fūgetsu means to make poetry about nature such as wind or a moon.

By combining these two idioms, it can mean various beautiful nature.