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【No. 1411】Butsubutsu Gawa (ぶつぶつ川)

Oct 29, 2018 16:18
Butsubutsu Gawa

Japan has a law called Kasen-hou (河川法 - literally "River Raw"), which designates important rivers in our lives.

In other words, the designated rivers are official rivers in Japan.

According to this law, there are 35,383 official rivers in Japan.

Also, the shortest river among them is Butsubutsu Gawa (ぶつぶつ川 - literally "Butsubutsu River") in Wakayama, and its total length is 13.5 m.

I heard that butsubutsu (ぶつぶつ) comes from the onomatopoeia futsufutsu (沸々), which means that something gushes.

Incidentally, the longest river in Japan is Shinano Gawa (信濃川 - literally "Shinano River"), and its length is 357 km.
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【No. 1410】Mimi ni Tako ga Dekiru (耳にたこができる - Having a Sore Ear)

Oct 28, 2018 23:58
Mimi ni Tako ga Dekiru

Have you ever been disgusted by a person who talks the same story repeatedly?

You can describe such a situation by using the Japanese idiom, mimi ni tako ga dekiru (耳にたこができる).

Mimi (耳) means "ear," tako (たこ) means "callus," and dekiru (できる) means "to be generated," so the literal meaning of this idiom is "a callus is generated on one's ear."

A callus is a hardened part on one's skin by pressure or friction, and it is usually generated on fingers, feet, etc.

That is to say, mimi ni tako ga dekiru implies that one's ear is under strain as much as a callus is generated on one's ear.
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【No. 1409】Narau yori Nareyo (習うより慣れよ - Practice Makes Perfect)

Oct 27, 2018 20:31
Narau yori Narero

In my university, education based on practice has been performed.

It is also important to learn from people and books, but if you want to acquire practical skills efficiently, you should gain practical experience.

There is a proverb that says this fact, narau yori nareyo (習うより慣れよ).

Narau (習う) means "to learn" or "to study," nareru (慣れる) means "to get used to something," so the literal meaning of this proverb is "It is better to get used to it than learn it."

The similar fact can be described in English as "Practice makes perfect."
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【No. 1408】Uni (ウニ - Sea Urchin)

Oct 26, 2018 23:44
Uni

Yesterday, I wrote about the fish harisenbon (ハリセンボン - porcupinefish/blowfish).

Today, I would like to talk about uni (ウニ), which has many spines as well as porcupinefish.

Uni is known as "sea urchin" in English, and it can be written as 海胆 or 海栗 in kanji.

海 means "sea," 胆 means "organ," and 栗 means "chestnut."

This is because the shucked sea urchin looks like "organ" and the outer shape of sea urchin looks like "chestnut."

Incidentally, according to the survey of an aquarium, the number of spines of a purple sea urchin was 2850.
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【No. 1407】Harisenbon (ハリセンボン - Porcupinefish)

Oct 25, 2018 14:30
Harisenbon

"Porcupinefish" is referred to as harisenbon (ハリセンボン) in Japanese.

I think that it is easy for most Japanese people to imagine the figure of this fish,

Because hari (ハリ) means "spine" or "needle," senbon (センボン) means "one thousand" or "many," and harisenbon have a lot of spines/needles on their bodies.

Some Japanese people might think that they have around one thousand spines, but the actual number of spines is around 350.

Incidentally, the English name "porcupinefish" is derived from "porcupine," which also have a lot of needles on their bodies.

In addition, "porcupine" comes from the old French "porc-épic," the literal meaning of which is "spiny pig."
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【No. 1406】Yaboyou (野暮用 - Trivial Errand)

Oct 24, 2018 17:12
Yaboyou

Today I had some yaboyou (野暮用).

Yaboyou means a minor business to do or a trivial errand that you do not need to say.

In most cases, people use this word in the latter meaning.

Yabo (野暮) means that someone is rude or something is tasteless, and you (用) means "errand."

That is to say, yaboyou is a word that means a minor errand on business or a personal errand that is tasteless.

Incidentally, this word is often used when you do not want to talk about what you did/do in detail.
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【No. 1405】Real 'Tanuki Neiri'

Oct 23, 2018 15:33
Real 'Tanuki Neiri'

Previously, I introduced you to the term tanuki neiri (狸寝入り - literally "raccoon dog sleep"), which means "to pretend to fall asleep."

This word comes from the fact that raccoon dogs faint for a while when they are surprised, then they run away -- this behavior looks as if they pretended to fall asleep.

You might think that raccoon dogs don't do actual tanuki neiri because they really faint.

However, according to the recent study, it has been revealed that raccoon dogs' brains are awake while they are fainting.

That is to say, raccoon dogs do the real tanuki neiri instinctively.
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【No. 1404】Kindai University (近畿大学)

Oct 22, 2018 13:52
Kindai University

There is a famous private university called Kinki Daigaku (近畿大学 - literally "Kinki University") in Osaka, Japan.

Kinki (近畿) means the Kansai region (the area of western Japan), but its pronunciation sounds like "kinky," so the name "Kinki University" became a diplomatic problem.

Therefore, it had started considering to change the name to another one around 10 years ago, and it has changed to "Kindai University" since 2016.

Kin (近) and dai (大) are short for Kinki (近畿) and daigaku (大学), respectively -- in fact, this university is known familiarly as Kindai (近大).

Since both dai and "university" means "university," the literal meaning of Kindai University is "Kinki University University," but it can't be helped.
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【No. 1403】Okkū (億劫 - Bothersome)

Oct 21, 2018 22:45
Okkū

If you want to describe a feeling that you are not willing to do something because of bothersome, you can use the Japanese term okkū (億劫).

Originally, okkū was a Buddhist term, which represented a length of time that was too long to measure.

Oku (億) means "a hundred million," and kū/kou (劫) means a time taken to completely disperse a rocky mountain with a side length of about 2000 kilometers by stroking it with a cloth once in 100 years.

Since such an act to take a lot of time is troublesome and bothersome, okkū has come to have the meaning of "bothersome."
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【No. 1402】Tama ni Kizu (玉に瑕 - Even the Sun Has Spots)

Oct 20, 2018 15:32
Tama ni Kizu

Is there a perfect person or thing around you?

I think that most people and things have shortcomings, even if they look perfect.

If you want to describe a person or thing that looks perfect but has a slight shortcoming like this, you can use the proverb tama ni kizu (玉に瑕).

Tama (玉) means "jewelry" and kizu (瑕) means "scratch" or "fault."

This proverb was born in China, and originally it literally meant "a slight scratch/scar on a beautiful jewelry," but these days it often used to mean "a person who looks perfect but has a small fault."
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【No. 1401】Earthquakes in Japan

Oct 19, 2018 21:32
Earthquakes in Japan

The surface of the earth is covered with 14 or 15 plate tectonics (also called "lithosphere"), and earthquakes occur when the strain on these plates is released.

Since Japan is placed on four tectonic plates, a lot of earthquakes occur compared with many other countries in the world.

The number of earthquakes including small earthquakes is about 5000 per year, and the number of earthquakes that you can feel the shaking is about 2000 per year.

This number seems to be second only to the one of Indonesia.

Incidentally, it is said that the country with the least natural disaster is Qatar.
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【No. 1400】Doji (どじ - Stupid/Idiot)

Oct 18, 2018 12:35
Doji

I am probably a person called doji (どじ).

Doji means a stupid mistake or a person who often makes such a mistake.

Its etymology has not been obvious yet, but there are various theories as follows:

A theory says that it comes from donchi (鈍遅), which means that something is slow and dull.

A theory says that it comes from tochiru (とちる), which means to make a mistake.

A theory says that it is short for tochimenbou (とちめんぼう), which means to panic.

A theory says that it is short for dochiguchi (どちぐち), which means that something is vague.

Incidentally, this term is similar to manuke (間抜け - stupid) and bonkura (ぼんくら - Idiot) that I introduced before.
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【No. 1399】Inase (いなせ)

Oct 17, 2018 21:24
Inase

We sometimes use the word inase (いなせ) to describe a gallant and fresh young man.

This word comes from a hairstyle called inase icho (鯔背銀杏), which was popular among young people in fish markets in the late Edo period.

Ina (鯔) means "flathead grey mullet," se (背) means "back," so inase means "flathead grey mullet's back."

In addition, icho (銀杏) is short for icho-mage (銀杏髷), which was the most common male hairstyle in the Edo period.

That is to say, inase icho is a hairstyle looks like flathead grey mullet's back, and young men with such a hairstyle were masculine, so inase came to have its current meaning.
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【No. 1398】Four Seasons in Japan

Oct 16, 2018 17:06
Four Seasons in Japan

Some Japanese people say "Japan has four seasons," but foreign people who heard that would be confused.

Of course, there are four seasons in many countries all over the world.

Then why some Japanese people believe that the four seasons are unique to Japan?

I think that this is because Japanese people have divided a year into every three months equally and distinctly, assigned four seasons there, and cherished traditional events of each season.

In fact, most traditional events in Japan are based on/deeply related to one of four seasons.

Therefore, I think that we should say "Japan cherishes traditional seasonal events," rather than "Japan has four seasons."
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【No. 1397】Dobe and Biri

Oct 15, 2018 12:37
Dobe and Biri

Yesterday, while playing Super Mario Party, I used the Japanese term dobe (ドベ), but its meaning didn't be conveyed.

According to the Internet, dobe is a dialect used in the area of western Japan, and instead biri (ビリ) is mainly used in the area of eastern Japan.

Both dobe and biri are slang terms that have the same meaning, "bottom" or "last place."

The etymologies about these terms have not been clarified, but some people believe that biri comes from shiri (尻), which means "hip."

In support of this theory, there is the fact that biri can imply "prostitute."
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【No. 1396】Sawari (さわり - Touch/Point)

Oct 14, 2018 22:02
Sawari

Today, I would like to introduce you to the term sawari (さわり), which many Japanese misunderstand.

Originally, sawari is a noun that means "touch" or "feel."

However, this can be used for a story/song, such as hanashi/kyoku no sawari (話/曲のさわり - "a sawari of a story/song").

According to the opinion poll, a majority of Japanese people interpret hanashi/kyoku no sawari as "a beginning part of a story/song."

Actually, I also thought like that.

However, hanashi no sawari means "the point of a story," and kyoku no sawari means "the best part of a song."
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【No. 1395】The Number of Islands in Japan

Oct 13, 2018 23:46
The Number of Islands in Japan

Japan is classified as shimaguni (島国).

Since shima (島) means "island" and guni/kuni (国) means "country," shimaguni means countries whose primary territory consists of islands.

The definition of shima (島 - "island") in Japan is a land that is surrounded by water, has an outer circumference of 100 meters or more, and was made naturally.

According to this definition, the number of islands in Japan is 6852.

However, the number of islands that have residents (or a resident) is about only 400, and all other islands are uninhabited.
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【No. 1394】Monpe (もんぺ - A Pair of Work Pants for Women)

Oct 12, 2018 21:07
Monpe

A pair of work pants having a shape of hakama (袴 - somewhat like baggy pants that were tight around the ankle or knee) for women are called monpe (もんぺ).

Since its waist part is loose, it is possible to put a garment for the upper half of the body in it.

The etymology about it has not been cleared, but it is thought that it comes from momohiki/momohaki (股引/股はき - longjohns), or the fact that Monbe (門兵衛) invented it.

However, note that if you write it as モンペ in Katakana, it can be short for "monster parents," which means "over-bearing parents."
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【No. 1393】Abazure (あばずれ - Hussy)

Oct 11, 2018 20:18
Abazure

Previously, I introduced you to the Japanese terms otenba (おてんば) and jajauma, both of which mean a spirited girl who has a mannish character.
http://lang-8.com/kanotown/journals/93203187067698255124691996531191743534
http://lang-8.com/kanotown/journals/102929135995241882173136911457932184524

When a woman goes beyond what these terms mean, she is brazen and immoral, and she could be called abazure (あばずれ) in Japanese.

There are several theories about its etymology, but the most accepted one is that aba (あば) comes from abare-mono (暴れ者 - "ruffian") and zure comes from seken-zure (世間擦れ - "ignorant").

In the past, this term was also used for men, but these days it is mostly used for women.

As mentioned before, I like otenba and jajauma girls, but I am scared of abazure.
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【No. 1392】Busu (ブス - Troll)

Oct 10, 2018 16:00
Busu

I do not like the Japanese term busu (ブス).

Busu is an insulting slang term that refers to people (especially women) with ugly appearance.

There are several theories about its etymology, but the most accepted one is the following:

Busu can be written as 附子 in kanji, and here it means aconite root.

Since the aconite root contains a highly toxic venom, if you eat it without attenuating the venom, your nerves will be paralyzed and be able not to make facial expressions.

Because of this, expressionless people came to be called busu, and later, this has changed to describe ugly people.