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【No. 0747】Shogatsu San ga Nichi (New Year's Three Days)

Jan 3, 2017 11:12
Today is the last day of "shogatsu san ga nichi".
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"Shogatsu san ga nichi" (which you can call simply "san ga nichi") means the first three days of the new year -- January 1 - 3.

For almost all Japanese companies excluding service and tourism industry, san ga nichi is holiday.

During the san ga nichi, there are some things that you don't should not to do.

For example, they are cleaning, washing, and cooking.

It is said that doing the cleaning or the washing on the san ga nichi will turn fuku no kami (the God of good fortune) out of your house.

Also, it is said that cooking using fire on the san ga nichi will make the God of kitchen angry.

I think that these superstitions were made from the thought that people don't want to work on the first three days of the new year.
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【No. 0745】Inserting a Leap Second

Jan 1, 2017 22:42
A happy new year.

Today, January 1st, a leap second was inserted for the first time in one year and six months.

A leap second is a second that is added or deleted to eliminate the difference between the time system based on atomic clocks and the time system based on Earth's rotation.

In Japan, 8:59:60 am was inserted between 8:59:59 and 9:00:00.

The insertion of leap seconds was conducted 27 times so far.

I heard engineers would become very busy due to the insertion of the leap second, but I don't know how busy they are.

By the way, Google adjusted the time by delaying clock frequencies slightly, without inserting a leap second.
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【No. 0744】Omisoka (New Year's Eve)

Dec 31, 2016 21:42
Today is 大晦日 (omisoka), which means new year's eve.

"晦日 (misoka)" was originally written as "三十日 (misoka)", and it meant "the 30th day of a month".

Then, it has come to mean "the last day of a month".

Furthermore, "the last day of a year" has come to be referred to as "大晦日 (omisoka)" with the letter "大 (o)", which means "large".

Also, "晦日" can be read as "tsugomori".

"Tsugomori" is an abbreviation for "月隠り (tsuki-gomori)", which means "the day that the moon hides".

I talked about the etymology of "大晦日 (omisoka)" on new year's eve of this year.

I will talk about traditional Japanese events that are held in "大晦日 (omisoka)" on new year's eve of next year.

I hope that I will continue to Lang-8 until one year later.
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【No. 0743】Mushi no Shirase (Word of Insects)

Dec 30, 2016 18:16
Today I will talk about the idiom "mushi no shirase", the literal meaning of which is "word of insects".

"Mushi no shirase" means to feel that something will happen.

In many cases, this idiom is used to bad events, such as a death in family/friends, a traffic accident or a disaster.

There are two major theories as the etymology.

One is derived from the fact that in Edo period, people thought that insects lived in human bodies and they affected emotions and consciousness.

The other one is derived from the fact that in Taoism of China, it is thought that three insects are live in human bodies since humans were born, and these insects inform God of humans' guilts while humans are sleeping.
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【No. 0740】Hesokuri

Dec 27, 2016 22:58
Today I will talk about the Japanese word "hesokuri".

"Hesokuri" means saving money that is piled up economically and secretly.

Here, "heso" means "a thread winding that is wound with hemp threads", and "maki" means "to wind threads", that is, "to make a thread winding".

In the past, the job of "heso wo kuru" (to make a hemp thread winding) is a housewife's important sideline business that supports poor living.

A little money that can be gained by this job was called "hesokuri gane" (hesokuri money), and it became "hesokuri" for short.

By the way, "hesokuri" is referred to as "a stash of money", "secret money" or "mad money" in English.
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【No. 0739】Mono no Kazu

Dec 26, 2016 22:51
Today I would like to talk about the Japanese term "mono no kazu."

The literal meaning of "mono no kazu" is "the number of things," and it means something valuable, something special, or something that has to be problematic.

This term is often used with a negative word -- it's something like "mono no kazu deha nai" (it's not mono no kazu).

Usage example: The cold in Japan is not mono no kazu compared to the one in Russia.

Although the literal meaning of this term is "the number of things," it expresses "thing".

I feel a little strange about that.
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【No. 0738】Christmas and Japan

Dec 25, 2016 13:36
Since today is Christmas, I will talk about trivia related to Christmas.

The first Christmas (Mass of Nativity Festival) in Japan was held at Yamaguchi Prefecture in 1552.

However, because Edo shogunate government issued Anti-Christian Edicts and prohibited Christianity, Christmas was not held for more than 200 years.

It is said that Christmas was gradually accepted around 1900, when Christmas business competition began.

Also, along with Taisho Emperor system was collapsed on December 25, 1926, this day became a holiday as Taisho Emperor Festival only around that years.

This fact seems to be also deeply related that Christmas became an annual event in Japan.

Unfortunately, according to a questionnaire survey, around half of Japanese people will spend alone this Christmas.
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【No. 0735】Purchase a MacBook Pro

Dec 22, 2016 23:56
I ordered a MacBook Pro, and it arrived yesterday.

Since I was looking forward to it, I was very excited.

However, when I was setting it up, I noticed that something is strange.

Only the key "A" on the keyboard had a different feeling, and it sounded a little big clack compared to other keys.

If you listened to my keyboard typing sound, you would notice the timing when I pressed the key.

Although the sound is not remarkably loud, I often type the "A" key, so it is disturbing.

I'm wondering whether I should endure it or ask for an exchange.

I'm feeling depressed.
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【No. 0734】Goma wo Suru (To Butter Up)

Dec 21, 2016 20:43
Today I will talk about the Japanese idiom "goma wo suru."

The literal meaning is "to grind sesame seeds," and it often means to butter up someone.

(Of course, it can mean to just grind sesame seeds in a mortar.)

If you grind roasted sesame seeds, they will be smeared throughout in the mortar.

From the fact that such sticky sesame seeds looked like that someone tried to gain another's favor, this idiom was made.

This idiom is often said to be "goma suri" for short.

By the way, there are many English phrases that means "goma wo suru," but many of them seems to be vulgar expressions.
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【No. 0733】Omou Tsubo (Thought Pot)

Dec 20, 2016 11:38
Today I would like to talk about the Japanese term "omou tsubo".

The literal meaning is "thought pot", and it means that something goes what you wanted or what you expected.

Usage example: The war situation became enemy's omou tsubo (thought pot).

Here, "tsubo" means a pot, especially which is used to roll a dice in gambling.

It is said that an experienced dealer who had a role of rolling a dice could decide the number of the dice as he thought.

From this fact, to become what you wanted/expected has come to be referred to as "omou tsubo" (thought pot).
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【No. 0732】Sune wo Kajiru

Dec 19, 2016 23:30
Today I will talk about the Japanese idiom "sune wo kajiru."

"Sune" means "shin", "kajiru" means "to bite", and this idiom describes that children cannot be economically independent, and lives depending on their parents.

(Here, "sune" (shin) implies "oya no sune" (parents' shins), so this idiom is also often referred to as "oya no sune wo kajiru.")

Since shins are important part that support people, they are sometimes used as a synonym for "labor".

That is to say, this idiom expresses that children bite (depend on) their parents' labor forces.

By the way, I was biting my parents' shins until I graduated from my doctoral course.
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【No. 0731】Kanko-dori ga Naku

Dec 18, 2016 17:32
Today I will talk about the idiom "kanko-dori ga naku."

"Kanko-dori" means "cuckoo", "naku" means "to sing", and this idiom describes that there are no customers in shops or shops are lonesome.

(By the way, the kanji meanings of "kan" is "spare time", "ko" is "old" and "dori" is "bird".)

Usage example: A cuckoo (kanko-dori) is always singing in your shop.
(Your shop has hardly any customers.)

Cuckoos usually sing in quiet mountains or forests.

Our ancestors felt that the song of cuckoos is "lonely" and "sad", then such an idiom was made.

There are many other idioms that are derived from what our ancestors felt in nature.
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【No. 0730】Tokoya (Barber Shop)

Dec 17, 2016 14:00
Today I will talk about the etymology of the Japanese word "tokoya", which means "barber shop".

The literal meaning of "toko" is "floor", and "ya" is "shop".

In the Edo period in Japan, people who make men's hairstyle or cut men's hair were called "kami-yui" ("kami" means "hair" and "yui" means "to fix").

Also, since hairstyles were made / hairs were cut on a simple floor, such a store was called "kami-yui doko" ("doko" means "floor").

Then "kami-yui" in "kami-yui doko" was omitted, and "ya" which means "shop" or "occupation" was attached, it became "tokoya".

By the way, most customers of tokoya are men, and women usually go "biyoin" (hair salon).
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【No. 0729】Funuke

Dec 16, 2016 20:57
Today I would like to talk about the Japanese term "funuke".

"Funuke" means people who has no backbone, no energy, or no guts.

Usage example: He fell out of love and became funuke since last week.

The literal meaning "fu" of "funuke" is "bowels", and it has also come to mean "courage" or "heart".

(I think this is similar that "guts" can express "courage" in English.)

Also, "nuke" of "funuke" means "to drop out".

Therefore, "funuke" came to mean people who drop out their courage or hearts, and express the above meanings.

By the way, according to my dictionary, an English word which means "funuke" is "coward" or "fool".
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【No. 0728】"Narau" and "Manabu" (To Learn)

Dec 15, 2016 23:11
When I read sentences written by people who learn Japanese on Lang-8, I found that "narau" is often confused with "manabu".

You can say just "I learn Japanese" to mean both "nihongo wo narau" and "nihongo wo manabu", but there is a determinate difference between these Japanese sentences.

In most cases, "narau" means to be taught something by someone.

On the other hand, "manabu" means to remember or study something by oneself.

Therefore, it's unnatural to use "narau" when teaching yourself something, and you should use "manabu" in such a case.

By the way, it is said that "manabu" is derived from "manebu", which means "to imitate".
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【No. 0727】Ocha wo Nigosu

Dec 14, 2016 18:40
Today I will talk about the Japanese phrase "ocha wo nigosu."

The literal meaning is "to roil tea", and it describes to manage to avoid an issue by saying something irresponsible.

It is said that this phrase comes from the fact that people who don't know sado (Japanese art of tea ceremony) roil tea so that it looks like appropriate Matcha.

In the past, Matcha was a special thing that only high rank people can drink.

Therefore most ordinary people didn't know how to make Matcha.

By the way, now sado is thought of as one of Japanese hobbies and has spread, but I don't know how to make Matcha.
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【No. 0726】"Mizu" and "Oyu" (Water and Hot Water)

Dec 13, 2016 14:30
In English, the word "water" is used regardless of the temperature.

However, the literal translation "atsui mizu" ("atsui" means "hot" and "mizu" means "water" in Japan) is a little unnatural.

In Japanese language, nouns that represent water change depending on the temperature.

"Mizu" often translates into "water", but if you say just "mizu", it will represent "cold water".

If you want to represent "hot water" or "boiled water", you have to say "oyu/yu" or "netto".

If you want to represent "chilled water", you have to say "reisui" or "hyosui".

By the way, "lukewarm water" is referred to as "nuruma yu", and if the water was once boiled, it's referred to as "sayu".
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【No. 0725】Ita ni Tsuku

Dec 12, 2016 00:41
Today I will talk about the Japanese idiom "ita ni tsuku."

"Ita ni tsuku" means that someone's attitude or behavior becomes to be suitable for his/her occupation or status.

Where "ita" means "a boarded stage", and "tsuku" means "to fit perfectly".
(Normally, "ita" means just "a board".)

Since acting of experienced actors is match up precisely with the stage, such actors have been said "ita ni tsuiteiru" (you're fitting the boarded stage).

This phrase "ita ni tsuku" became to have the above meaning, moreover it became to express that clothes fit someone well.

By the way, as a result of searching for the English translation of it, an expression "to become natural to one" was found.
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【No. 0724】Mimi wo Soroeru (To Arrange Ears)

Dec 11, 2016 00:20
Today I will talk about the Japanese idiom "mimi wo soroeru."

The literal meaning is "to arrange ears", and it describes to prepare money without deficiencies.

In many cases, this idiom is used when repaying debts.

For example: I repaid my debts without deficiencies (Mimi wo soroete shakkin wo hensai shita).

In Japan, quadrilateral/oval things are sometimes thought of as a face, and the edges of them are referred as "mimi" (ears).

In fact, edges of oval gold coins that were used as money were called "mimi".

Since payments were prepared by arranging edges of gold coins, "mimi wo soroeru" (to arrange ears) came to be used in such a situation.
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【No. 0723】Taka wo Kukuru

Dec 10, 2016 11:51
Today I will talk about the Japanese idiom "taka wo kukuru."

"Taka wo kukuru" means to predict an amount of something easily, and to downplay it.

"Taka" means an amount of harvesting or income, and "kukuru" means to bundle something or to calculate something in advance.

Therefore, the literal meaning of this idiom is just to predict an amount of something.

The reason why it contains the meaning of downplaying is considered to be derived from the fact that we estimated military forces based on "kokudaka" (which means a kind of unit to express productivities of lands) during Edo period in Japan.