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【No. 1442】Yakeishi ni Mizu (焼け石に水 - An Effort that's Bound to Fail)

Nov 29, 2018 19:38
Yakeishi ni Mizu

Slight efforts or supports could be not useful.

The Japanese proverb ‘Yakeishi ni mizu’ (焼け石に水) expresses that.

‘Yake’ (焼け) means “burnt,” ‘ishi’ (石) means “stone,” and ‘mizu’ (水) means “water,” so the literal meaning of ‘yakeishi ni mizu’ means “(put) water on a burnt stone.”

As you can guess, even if you put a small amount of water on a burnt stone, the water evaporates soon, and there is little change in the temperature of the stone.

Because of this, ‘yakeishi ni mizu’ has come to mean that a small amount of efforts or supports has almost no effects.
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【No. 1441】Okame Hachimoku (岡目八目 - Bystander's Vantage)

Nov 28, 2018 22:24
Okame Hachimoku

Generally, it is considered that third parties can judge things more correctly than the parties involved.

The four-character idiom okame hachimoku (岡目八目) can express such a fact.

Okame (岡目) was originally written as 傍目 (literally "side eye"), and it means to see/watch something from the outside.

In addition, hachi (八) means "eight," and moku (目) means the number of steps/moves in the game of go.

That is to say, the literal meaning of okame hachimoku is that people who watch the game of go from the side can examine eight more moves compared to the two players.
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【No. 1440】Nerds' Birthday

Nov 27, 2018 14:58
Nerds' Birthday

A few days ago, I found an interesting theory on the Internet.

That is "Nerds tend to be born in the winter."

In Japan, school begins on April 1st.

Therefore, if someone is born in the winter such as February or March, there will be a difference of about 10 months (maximum almost 1 year) with those who are born in April or May despite being in the same grade.

Since the difference is huge for children, they could become to dislike sports and exercise, then become nerds.

Although this theory is not statistically supported, there is another interesting fact; "Japanese professional athletes tend to be born in April - June."
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【No. 1439】Nisshin Geppo (日進月歩 - Fast Progressing)

Nov 26, 2018 17:09
Nisshin Geppo

Information technology, especially security technology, continually progresses day by day.

When describing such a fact, we use the four-character idiom nisshin geppo (日進月歩).

ni/nichi (日) means "day," shin (進) means "progress," ge/getsu (月) means "month," and po/ho (歩) means "walk" or "stride."

It is thought that this idiom was made by composing jitsugetsu (日月 - "day and month") and shinpo (進歩 - "progress").

That is to say, 日進月歩 means that something continue to progress day by day/month by month.
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【No. 1438】Kimajime (生真面目 - Too Serious/Earnest)

Nov 25, 2018 18:14
Kimajime

Yesterday, I introduced you to the term majime (まじめ), which means "serious" or "earnest."

Majime is often used as a good sense, but some people think that to be too serious/earnest is not a good personality because such a person lacks flexibility.

If you want to describe a person who is too majime (serious/earnest), you can use the term kimajime (生真面目), which is made by adding ki (生 - "pure/fresh") to majime.

Of course, kimajime can be used as a good sense (such as "very earnest"), but it includes negative nuances in most cases.
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【No. 1437】Majime (まじめ - Serious/Earnest)

Nov 24, 2018 22:09
Majime

I think I am what we call majime (まじめ).

Majime means that someone is serious or earnest with respect to something.

Maji (まじ) in majime comes from the verb majirogu (まじろぐ/瞬ぐ), which means to blink your eyes, and me (め) means "eye."

Since it looks serious or earnest to stare at something while blinking your eyes, majime has come to have its current meaning.

Incidentally, the onomatopoeia majimaji (まじまじ), which was made by repeating maji, can express that you stare at something.
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【No. 1436】Pikaichi (ピカイチ - Best of the Bunch)

Nov 23, 2018 19:40
Pikaichi

When describing something/someone that is the best among many things/people, you can use the Japanese pikaichi (ピカイチ).

This term comes from hana-awase (花合わせ), which is one of the ways of playing traditional Japanese card hanafuda (花札 - literally "flower cards").

There are mainly four types of cards in hanafuda: 1 point cards called kasu-fuda (カス札 - literally "garbage card"), 5 point cards, 10 point cards, and 20 point cards called hikari-fuda (光札 - literally "shining cards").

In the hana-awase, firstly seven cards are handed out to each participant.

At this time, when someone had six kasu-fudas and one hikari-fuda, it was called picaichi (ピカイチ - literally "one pika/hikari"), and it has come to have its current meaning.
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【No. 1435】Usankusai (胡散臭い - Doubtful)

Nov 22, 2018 23:12
Usankusai

Yesterday, I introduced you to the Japanese term kinakusai (きな臭い), which means that something is suspicious.

There is another term usankusai (胡散臭い), which has a similar meaning to kinakusai.

Usan (胡散) means that something is suspicious, and kusai (臭い) is a prefix that has the meaning of "seem like" and a negative nuance.

As I mentioned yesterday, kinakusai implies that something bad (such as a fire) is about to occur.

On the other hand, usankusai is often used to mean that something seems like somewhat suspicious/doubtful.
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【No. 1434】Kinakusai (きな臭い - Suspicious)

Nov 21, 2018 18:31
Kinakusai

When describing that something is suspicious, you can use the Japanese kinakusai (きな臭い).

kusai (臭い) means "to smell/stink," but there are several theories about kina (きな) -- they say that it comes from kinu (きぬ - "clothes"), ki (木 - "tree"), etc.

Originally, kinakusai means a distinctive burnt smell that is generated when clothes or trees burn.

Since such a smell would be generated when bad incidents such as a fire or war would be about to occur, kinakusai came to have the meaning of "suspicious."
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【No. 1433】Suttoko Dokkoi (すっとこどっこい - Idiot)

Nov 20, 2018 20:15
Suttoko Dokkoi

Yesterday, I introduced you to the term tokoroga dokkoi (ところがどっこい).

There is another term that uses dokkoi; it is suttoko dokkoi (すっとこどっこい).

Tokoroga dokkoi is a conjunction that means "however," whereas suttoko dokkoi is a noun that means "stupid" or "idiot."

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

Suttoko (すっとこ) means "nude" or "ugly features/appearance," and dokkoi (どっこい) comes from dokohe (どこへ), which means "where."

That is to say, suttoko dokkoi means that "Where are you going with nothing on (with such an ugly appearance)?", and later, it came to be an insulting term that means "idiot."
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【No. 1432】Tokoroga Dokkoi (ところがどっこい - However)

Nov 19, 2018 10:39
Tokoroga Dokkoi

A few days ago, I used the term tokoroga dokkoi (ところがどっこい) (though it is not often used).

Tokoroga (ところが) is a conjunction that is used to say something contrary to general expectations, and it can be translated in English as "however" or "although."

Dokkoi (どっこい) is a kind of exclamation that is used when putting your strength, and it is also said as dokkoisho (どっこいしょ).

However, in this case, dokkoi is just used to emphasize the previous term, tokoroga.

That is to say, if you use tokoroga dokkoi, it implies that you will say something that listeners never expect/image.
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【No. 1431】Visit Tateshina

Nov 18, 2018 23:08
Visit Tateshina

Today, I came to Ueda city, Nagano, to do experiments of my research.

Since the experiments were scheduled afternoon, I visited Tateshina in the morning, which is placed between Tokyo and Ueda city.

First, I went to Yokoya Keikoku (横谷渓谷 - "Yokoya Gorge") and enjoyed views of waterfalls and beautiful mountains.

Next, I went to ’Sekai no Kage-e Kirie Garasu Orugōru Bijutsukan’ (世界の影絵・きり絵・ガラス・オルゴール美術館 - "World's Shadow Picture, Cutout Picture, Glass, and Music Box Museum").

I was surprised by the huge shadow and cutout pictures.

Finally, I went to Tateshina Teddy Bear Museum.

Teddy bears of all over the world were exhibited, and they were very cute.

It was a fulfilling morning.
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【No. 1430】Gohounen Kudasai (ご放念ください - Please Disregard Something)

Nov 17, 2018 04:14
Gohounen Kudasai

Several days ago, I used the phrase gohounen kudasai (ご放念下さい) when writing an e-mail.

Go (ご) is a polite prefix, hou (放) means "to let something go," nen (念) means "mind" or "care," kudasai (ください), so the literal meaning of this phrase is "Please let your mind/care go."

This phrase is used when you do not want someone to care about something or you want someone to forget something.

For example, when you find that you sent an e-mail to someone by mistake, you can use it on another e-mail to apologize for your mistake.
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【No. 1429】Houkou Onchi / Undō Onchi (方向音痴 / 運動音痴)

Nov 16, 2018 20:56
Houkou Onchi / Undō Onchi

Yesterday, I introduced you to the Japanese term onchi (音痴), which means "tone deaf."

There are several terms that were derived from this onchi -- houkou onchi (方向音痴), undō onchi (運動音痴), etc.

Houkou (方向) means "direction," and undō (運動) means "sport" or "exercise."

In addition, onchi (音痴) can mean a poor ability/sense of not only singing but also a specific one.

That is to say, houkou onchi means a person who has no sense of direction and is often get lost, and undō onchi means a person who has poor sports ability.
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【No. 1428】Onchi (音痴 - A Bad Signer)

Nov 15, 2018 14:32
Onchi

Recently, I learned that you can enjoy karaoke with Nintendo Switch.

Also, the other day, I bought a microphone and an unlimited pass, then enjoyed karaoke at my home.

Unfortunately, I noticed something.

Probably I am a person called onchi (音痴).

On/oto (音) means "sound," and chi (痴) means that someone does not have an ability to distinguish something or is a little dumb.

That is to say, onchi means that someone does not have the ability to distinguish sounds, and it is often used to describe a person who is a bad singer.
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【No. 1427】Taikoban wo Osu (太鼓判を押す - Guaranteeing)

Nov 14, 2018 21:10
Taikoban wo Osu

Yesterday, I introduced you to the term machigai-nai (間違いない), which means that there is no doubt that something/someone is good.

Today, I would like to introduce another term having a similar meaning, taikoban wo osu (太鼓判を押す).

Taiko (太鼓) means "Japanese-style drum," han/ban (判) means "seal" (emblem), and osu (押す) means "to put something" or "to stamp."

Taikoban can literally mean a big seal like a drum, but originally, it meant Japanese-style drum-like decorations that were stamped on an edge of golden coins.

Since these stamped coins mean that their values were guaranteed, taikoban wo osu came to mean to guarantee that something/someone is good/valuable.
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【No. 1426】Machigai-Nai (間違いない - Doubtless)

Nov 13, 2018 15:10
Machigainai

Today, I saw an advertisement saying that 'Machigai-nai *** desu' (間違いない○○です) in my university.

Machigai (間違い) means "mistake" or "error," and nai (ない) means a negative suffix, so the literal meaning of machigai-nai is "no mistake" or "no doubt."

Normally, the adjective machigai-nai is used to mean that there is no mistake or no room for doubt in something mentioned before.

However, this adjective can also be placed just before a noun, such as machigai-nai shōhin (間違いない商品 - literally "doubtless product") or machigai-nai aji (間違いない味 - literally "doubtless taste").

In these cases, machigai-nai contains the meaning of "assurance" -- in other words, it implies that you will never make a mistake if you choose this product/dish/etc.
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【No. 1425】Otasā no Hime (オタサーの姫 - "Princess in a Nerds' Club")

Nov 12, 2018 19:54
Otasā no Hime

Yesterday, I introduced you to the term kou itten (紅一点), which means a woman among many men.

Today, I would like to introduce the slang term otasā no hime (オタサーの姫), which has a similar meaning to it.

Otasā (オタサー) is short for otaku no sākuru (オタクのサークル - literally "nerds' club"), and hime (姫) means "princess."

This term is used when referring to one or a few female members belonging to a liberal-arts-oriented club that is composed mainly of men (especially nerds).

Since male members in such clubs often treat a few female members as "princess," they has come to be called 'otasā no hime.'
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【No. 1424】Kou Itten (紅一点 - The Only Woman in a Group)

Nov 11, 2018 22:01
Kou Itten

A group I know is composed of about twenty men and one woman.

When a woman belonging to a male group like this case, she is referred to as kou itten (紅一点).

Kou (紅) means "red" or "crimson," i/ichi (一) means "one," and ten (点) means "point."

Originally, this term was used in China to mean "one crimson flower blooming in a field of grass."

In Japan, it came to mean "a different thing among many things," furthermore, these days it is usually used to mean "a woman among many men."
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【No. 1423】Miira-tori ga Miira ni Naru (ミイラ取りがミイラになる - Many Go out for Wool and Come Home Shorn)

Nov 10, 2018 21:33
Miira-tori ga Miira ni Naru

I sometimes fall into a situation described by the proverb miira-tori ga miira ni naru (ミイラ取りがミイラになる).

Miira (ミイラ) means "mummy," tori (取り) means "hunter" or "taker," and naru (なる) means "to become," so the literal meaning of this proverb is "A mummy hunter becomes a mumy."

Here, miira-tori (ミイラ取り - "mummy hunter") implies a person who tries to bring someone back or persuade someone, and miira ni naru (ミイラになる - "becoming a mummy") implies that the person fails to fulfill his/her purpose.

If you want to express this proverb in English, you can say "Many go out for wool and come home shorn."