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【No. 1261】Hiniku (皮肉 - Sarcasm/Irony)

Jun 1, 2018 21:54
I heard that English has many sarcasm and irony.

Sarcasm and irony are called hiniku (皮肉) in Japanese.

Hi (皮) means "skin" and niku (肉) means "flesh," so the literal meaning of hiniku is "skin and flesh."

This word came from the Buddhist term hiniku-kotsuzui (皮肉骨髄), which was used by Daruma Daishi (the founder of a Buddhist sect) to evaluate his desciples.

Kotsu (骨 - bone) and zui (髄 - marrow) imply "essential understanding," whereas hi (皮 - skin) and niku (肉 - flesh) imply "surface understanding."

Since hi and niku was a critical evaluation, hiniku came to have its current meaning.
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【No. 1260】Hinagata (雛形 - form/model/template)

May 31, 2018 21:28
We refer to forms that show how to write documents or models of industrial products as hinagata (雛形).

Hina (雛) means a baby bird and gata/kata (形) means forms or shapes.

The original meaning of hina is "a baby bird," but it can mean that something is little or small.

Because of this, small models that shaped real things came to be called hinagata.

Furthermore, it came also to mean various forms and models.

Incidentally, hinagata on computer data are often referred to as tempurēto (テンプレート - template), which is the loanword from English.
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【No. 1259】Ken wo Kisou (妍を競う - Vying in Beauty)

May 30, 2018 18:38
When women compete on their beauty, you can describe the situation using the phrase ken wo kisou (妍を競う).

Ken (妍) means a beautiful appearance or grace of a woman and kisou (競う) means to compete or to vie.

Interestingly, the kanji 妍 is used almost only in the phrase ken wo kisou.
(At least, I haven't seen other usage of this kanji.)

Since there are many kanjis that can be read as ken (けん), I think that it is difficult to convey the meaning of ken (妍) in daily conversation.

Also, this phrase might be a little old, and recent young people might not understand it.
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【No. 1258】Ten ni Tsuba Suru (天に唾する - Slander Flings Stones at Itself)

May 29, 2018 10:36
Have you ever hurt yourself as a result of trying to harm others?

Such a situation is expressed as the proverb ten ni tsuba suru (天に唾する).

Ten (天) means "sky" and tsuba suru (唾する) means "to spit," so the literal meaning of the combination is "to spit on the sky."

As you would guess, even if you spit while looking up, you can't dirty the sky, and your face will get dirty.

Because of this, this proverb is used as the current meaning.

Incidentally, about 20% of Japanese people think that this proverb means "to defile a person in a position higher than myself."
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【No. 1257】Oyakodon (親子丼)

May 28, 2018 20:09
I ate oyakodon (親子丼) yesterday.

Oya (親) means "parent," ko (子) means "child," and don (丼) means "bowl" or "rice bowl."

Oyakodon is a kind of dish made by putting boiled chicken over rice with egg.

Since this dish uses chicken and chicken egg, it is called oyakodon, the literal meaning of which is "a parent-and-child rice bowl."

Incidentally, the dish name I ate was kyūkyoku no oyakodon (究極の親子丼 - ultimate oyakodon) at a restaurant named Torimikura (鶏味座) in Minami Aoyama, Tokyo.

http://www.wid.co.jp/tenpo/torimikura-aoyama/
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【No. 1256】Pafe (パフェ - Parfait)

May 27, 2018 16:01
Pafe (パフェ) is a popular dessert among women.

In Japan, pafe represents a dessert in a tall glass that is decorated with ice cream and fruits.

It is said that this word comes from the French "parfait" or the English "perfect" -- both of them imply that the dessert is perfect.

Parfait in France usually refers to frozen sweets made by mixing and freezing egg yolk and whipped cream, and they are often served with sauce and fruits.

The etymology is same, but the definition seems to differ from country to country.

Also, there is "sundae" in the US, which is ice cream with some toppings.
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【No. 1255】Yo wo Akasu (夜を明かす - Passing a Night)

May 26, 2018 06:20
As a result of preparing a presentation for an academic conference, yo wo akashi mashita (夜を明かしました).

Yo (夜) is a common Japanese word that means "night."

Akasu (明かす) usually means to clarify or reveal something, but it can also mean to greet the morning.

That is to say, yo wo akasu means that you spend a night without sleeping and greet the morning.

Incidentally, several Japanese phrases use the verb akasu (明かす); for example, naki akasu (泣き明かす - crying until morning), nomi akasu (飲み明かす - drinking until morning), and katari akasu (語り明かす - talking until morning).

All of these phrase means to do something all night and see the morning.
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【No. 1254】Hayatochiri (早とちり - Jumping to Conclusions)

May 25, 2018 14:35
Yesterday, I did an act called hayatochiri (早とちり) in Japanese.

Hayatochiri means to make a mistake or fail due to one's hasty judgments.

Haya (早) means "early/quick," and tochiri (とちり) is a noun form of the verb tochiru (とちる), which means that an actor blows/fluff their lines or makes a mistake in acting.

The verb tochiru (とちる) came from tochimenbou (栃麺棒) -- here tochi (栃) means "Japanese horse chestnut," men (麺) means "noodle," and bou (棒) means "stick/rolling pin."

Since people had to use rolling pins hasty in order not to stiffen noodle, it came to mean to make a mistake or fail.
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【No. 1253】Hyō and Arare (Hailstone)

May 24, 2018 21:20
Around today's noon, a lot of large hailstones fell in Hachioji city, Tokyo.

I was astonished because loud noises suddenly generated from outside windows.

The reason seems that cumulonimbus clouds developed rapidly due to the passing of pressure trough accompanied by cold air.

Surprisingly, the diameter of the hailstones was more than 1 cm.

In Japan, hailstones are called hyō (ひょう) when the diameter exceeds 5 mm, whereas they are called arare (あられ) when the diameter is less than 5 mm.

Incidentally, hyō and arare often fall in early summer and early winter, respectively.
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【No. 1252】Shakariki (しゃかりき - Eagerly)

May 23, 2018 21:30
We use the term shakariki (しゃかりき) when expressing that someone works hard or struggle.

It is thought that shakariki was made by composing two words: shaka (釈迦) and riki (力).

Shaka (釈迦) means "Buddha" and riki (力) means "power."

That is to say, shakariki came from the fact that Buddha did everything possible in his power for people's happiness, or the fact that people stood in awe of the power of Buddha.

Sometimes people identify shakariki with gamushara, but the nuance is different; gamushara contains the meaning of "desperation."

http://lang-8.com/kanotown/journals/285849341482039563636605871185061645260

【Example sentence】
Shakariki ni natte benkyo suru (しゃかりきになって勉強する - I study very eagerly.)
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【No. 1251】Hisho (秘書 - Secretary)

May 22, 2018 17:48
People who assist works of a key person such as a president or a minister, or their job is called hisho (秘書).

Since hi (秘) means "secret" and sho (書) means "paper" or "book," the literal meaning of hisho is "a secret paper/book."

This term was used in China, and it was imported into Japan in the Heian period; originally, it literally meant "a secret paper/book" in both countries.

It seems that after a kind of occupation "secretary" was imported from the Western, hisho came to be used for a person or a job.
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【No. 1250】Tokei (時計 - Clock/Watch)

May 21, 2018 18:05
A tokei (時計 - clock/watch) is very important to our lives.

Tokei is composed of two kanji: 時 and 計.

Since 時 means "time" and 計 means "measuring," you may think it is reasonable that the composition expresses a clock/watch.

However, the kanji 時 doesn't have the reading of to (と).

Originally, tokei was written as 土圭, and it meant a latitude measuring instrument or a sundial in the Zhou Dynasty in China.

It was imported into Japan in the Muromachi period, and the kanji form was changed to 時計 in the Edo period.
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【No. 1248】Fune wo Kogu (船を漕ぐ - Rowing a Boat)

May 20, 2018 00:03
I often do an act called fune wo kogu (船を漕ぐ) on my chair.

Fune (船) means "a boat" or "a ship" and kogu (漕ぐ) means "to row."

Of course, the expression fune wo kogu can literally mean to row a boat.

However, if someone says it in a conversation unrelated to "boat/shio" nor "sea/ocean," it would mean to nod off or to be about to fall asleep.

Because a person who is about to fall asleep moves the body forwards and backwards and it looks as if he/her is rowing a boat.
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【No. 1249】Ugo no Takenoko (雨後の筍 - Appearing in Succession)

May 20, 2018 16:40
When I was reading a news article on the Internet, I found the Japanese idiom ugo no takenoko (雨後の筍), which was used to express that high-rise apartments were built one after another in a city.

Since u (雨) means "rain," go (後) means "after," and takenoko (筍) means "bamboo shoot," the literal meaning of ugo no takenoko is "bamboo shoots after the rain."

It is generally known that after it rains, bamboo shoots grow one after another.

Because of this, Japanese people have come to use this idiom to express that things appear in succession.
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【No. 1247】Chi to Nari Niku to Naru (血となり肉となる)

May 18, 2018 14:34
Have you ever heard of the Japanese idiom, chi to nari niku to naru (血となり肉となる)?

Chi (血) means "blood," niku (肉) means "flesh," and to naru (となる) means "to become," the literal meaning of this idiom is "it becomes one's blood and flesh."

This idiom can mean that what you ate is absorbed my your body and becomes your blood and flesh literally.

On the other hand, it is also often used to mean that you acquire skills or knowledge that will be helpful for your future activities by comparing blood and flesh to your abilities.

Incidentally, the abbreviation of this idiom is ketsuniku to naru (血肉となる).

Note that the reading of the kanji 血 is ketsu (not chi) here.
(Even Japanese people mistakenly read it as chiniku to naru.)
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【No. 1246】Dokuha (読破 - Reading Through)

May 17, 2018 22:02
When expressing that you finish reading a difficult book or a very long novel, you can use the Japanese word dokuha (読破).

Doku (読) means "reading" and ha (破) usually means "breaking/spoiling something."

On a Japanese question forum webpage, I found that people argue that we should not use "dokuha" when expressing fining reading a book.

To tell the truth, they knew only the common meaning of the kanji 破.

However, 破 has other lesser-known meanings, like "trying everything" or "carrying through."

Of course, dokuha doesn't imply to break a book -- it just means to read through a book.
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【No. 1245】Kinchō no Ito ga Kireru (緊張の糸が切れる)

May 16, 2018 19:06
I finished my important work yesterday.

I was very nervous until yesterday, but now I am relaxed.

Such the change of my mental state can be expressed as the Japanese idiom, kinchō no ito ga kireru (緊張の糸が切れる).

Since kinchō (緊張) means "tension" or "stress," ito (糸) means "string" or "thread," and kireru (切れる) means "to break" or "to cut," the literal meaning of this idiom is "a string of stress breaks."

This idiom compares a tense mental state to a strained string.

Incidentally, you can use other verbs like yurumu (緩む - loosing) or hogureru (ほぐれる - relieving) instead of kireru in this idiom.
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【No. 1244】Kanjin (肝心 - Important/Key)

May 15, 2018 12:28
Today can be described as kanjin (肝心) for me.

Kanjin is a word that means very important or key things.

The kan (肝) in kanjin means "liver" and the jin (心) means "heart."

Since both the liver and the heart are very important for your body, kanjin has the meaning of "important."

If you want to emphasize the word kanjin, you can say kanjin-kaname (肝心要) by adding the word kaname (要 - an important part).

【Example sentence】
Kare wa kono kanjin na toki ni inai (彼はこの肝心な時にいない - He is not here at this critical moment).

【Synonyms】
Jūyō (重要), taisetsu (大切)
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【No. 1243】Hema (へま - Mistake/Lubber)

May 14, 2018 15:42
Yesterday, I introduced you to the Japanese word poka (ぽか), which means a careless mistake.

Today I would like to talk about the similar Japanese word hema (へま).

Hema has the meaning of "failure" or "mistake" as well as poka, but in addition to that, it means "insensitive," "stupid," or "lubber."

It is said that hema came from "heta na ma" (下手な間), the literal meaning of which is "poor timing," but the truth remains unclear.

【Example sentences】
Shigoto de hema wo shita (仕事でへまをした - I made a mess at work).
Kare wa hema na yatsu da(彼はへまなやつだ - He is a lubber person.)
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【No. 1242】Poka (ぽか - A Careless Mistake)

May 13, 2018 15:03
Previously, I introduced you to the onomatopoeia poka poka (ぽかぽか), which represents comfortable warmth that you feel.

However, if you say just poka (ぽか), it would become a noun that means a failure or mistake caused by carelessness.

Poka was originally a term of shogi (将棋 - a Japanese board game resembling chess) or go (碁 - a Chinese board game), which means a bad move that would make it impossible to recover.

Later, this term has come to be used to mean just "failure" or "mistake."

I have no idea why it is called poka, but it could relate to pokan (ぽかん), which is an onomatopoeia that represents a blank stare or getting a hole suddenly.

【Example sentence】
Daiji na bamen de hidoi poka wo shita (大事な場面でひどいぽかをした - I made a careless and terrible mistake at a crucial moment).