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【No. 1602】Gomakasu (ごまかす - Covering up) Part 1

May 8, 2019 21:05
Gomakasu Part 1

I am not good at doing gomakasu (ごまかす).

Gomakasu means to cover up something, change the subject, or tell a lie, in order to gloss over things.

There are two major theories about its etymology.

One is that it comes from a Japanese sesame confection called goma dōran (胡麻胴乱).

This snack was made by mixing flour and sesame seeds then baking them, and the inside was hollow.

Because of this, superficial things came to be called gomakashi (胡麻菓子 - literally means "sesame confection"), and the verb gomakasu was born.

To be continued.
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【No. 1601】Tehepero (てへぺろ)

May 7, 2019 19:33
Tehepero

Have you ever tried to hide your embarrassment when you made a mistake?

In such a case, you might be able to use the slang term tehepero (てへぺろ).

It is said that this term was made by a Japanese voice actor, Yōko Hikasa, and now it is widely used mainly among young people.

Tehe (てへ) represents bashfulness while laughing, and pero (ぺろ) represents an action of sticking out one's tongue.

That is to say, tehepero means to stick out your tongue while laughing and getting shy, and this adorable behavior has a purpose for hiding your mistake and being forgiven.
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【No. 1600】Monomi Yusan (物見遊山 - Sightseeing)

May 6, 2019 13:09
Monomi Yusan

I would like to do monomi yusan (物見遊山) sometimes.

Since mono (物) means "thing," mi (見) means "to see," yu (遊) means "to play," and san (山) means "mountain," the literal meaning of the combination is "to see things and to play at mountains."

Yusan (遊山) was originally a Buddhist term, which meant that a Zen monk who finished training moves to the next temple (mountain) while going around various places.

Later, yusan came to mean to go to mountains for playing, and monomi yusan came to mean to go to various places for sightseeing or playing.
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【No. 1599】Ten Straight Days off

May 5, 2019 15:56
Ten Straight Days off

Japan has consecutive holidays called "Golden Week," and its period is ten days in 2019.

The details are shown as follows:

April 27 (Sat) ... Saturday
April 28 (Sun) ... Sunday
April 29 (Mon) ... Shōwa Day
April 30 (Tue) ... National Holiday
May 1 (Wed) ... Enthronement of the Crown Prince
May 2 (Thu) ... National Holiday
May 3 (Fri) ... Constitution Day
May 4 (Sat) ... Greenery Day
May 5 (Sun) ... Children's Day
May 6 (Mon) ... Substitute Holiday

Since the Crown Prince was enthroned on May 1, this day became a national holiday only in 2019.

In addition, a weekday between national holidays also becomes a national holiday according to Japanese law, so both April 30 and May 2 became holidays.

Furthermore, when a national holiday coincides with Sunday, next Monday becomes a substitute holiday, so May 6 became a holiday.

Due to the overlapping of several factors, it has become such a long holiday.
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【No. 1598】Teiban (定番 - Regular)

May 4, 2019 22:14
Teiban

In my post yesterday, I used the Japanese term teiban (定番).

Teiban means something standard, regular, or perennial.

This term is short for teiban shōhu (定番商品), and it was originally used in the garment industry.

Since tei (定) means "fixed," ban (番) means "number," and shōhin (商品) means "goods," the literal meaning of the combination is "fixed number goods."

In the garment or its related industry, goods are managed by assigning numbers.

That is to say, teiban shōhin means "goods that can be expected to have stable sales regardless of the trend," and later, teiban came to be used in various situations.
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【No. 1597】Omegane ni Kanau (御眼鏡に適う - Giving Favor with Someone)

May 3, 2019 21:23
Omegane ni Kanau

Several days ago, I introduced Japanese terms, megane (眼鏡 - "glasses"), mushimegane (虫眼鏡 - "magnifying glass"), and iromegane (色眼鏡 - "colored glasses").

There is a famous idiom that uses megane -- it is omegane ni kanau (御眼鏡に適う).

O (御) is a polite prefix, megane (眼鏡) means "glasses," and kanau (適う) means "to suit," so the literal meaning of omegane ni kanau is "to suit one's glasses."

Here, glasses imply that someone's ability to assess things.

In other words, omegane ni kanau means to gain favor with someone.
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【No. 1596】Family Trip 2019

May 2, 2019 21:56
Family Trip 2019

We are now in Enakyō (恵那峡 - "Ena Gorge") on a family trip.

First, we went to an amusement park named Enakyō Wonderland, then rode some attractions, had a barbecue and observed sheep shearing.

In addition, we enjoyed exploring the wonderful natural environment -- there was a beautiful river surrounded by mountains.

After that, we went to a hotel, went in a hot spring, had dinner, and played table tennis.

Playing table tennis while wearing yukata (Japanese summer kimono) at a hot spring inn is very common in Japan.

We will enjoy the nature of Enakyō further by riding a cruiser.
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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.