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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.
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【No. 1391】Tōtō toto Tottōto?

Oct 9, 2018 13:31
Tōtō toto Tottōto?

Yesterday, I introduced you to a phrase that uses a lot of ka (か).

After that, when I was browsing the Internet, I found another interesting phrase using the dialect in Hakata -- which was introduced by Japanese comedians.

It is "Tōtō Toto tottōto?" (とうとう toto とっとーと？).

Tōtō is a common Japanese term meaning "finally" or "eventually," Toto means a kind of lottery, to (と/獲) means "to get/obtain," and tōto (とーと) is a dialect that means "Did you do ~?"

That is to say, "Tōtō Toto tottōto?" means "Did you finally get/win the Toto?"
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【No. 1390】Kakā Kā KāKa?

Oct 8, 2018 18:20
Kakā Kā KāKa?

When reading a book, I found an interesting phrase that uses the dialect in Toyama.

It is "Kakā kā kāka?" (かかーかーかーか？).

In Toyama, people sometimes call their mothers kaka (かか), and say ka (か) to describe "this."

In addition, in Japanese, ka (蚊) means "mosquito," and we say '～ka?' (～か？) when asking something.

That is to say, "kakā kā kā-kā?" means that "Mother, is this a mosquito?"

However, I think that if someone says such a phrase suddenly, even people in Toyama will be a bit confused.
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【No. 1389】Furachi (不埒 - Lawless)

Oct 7, 2018 19:40
Furachi

Yesterday, I introduced you to the Japanese phrase rachi ga akanai (埒があかない - going nowhere).

There is another Japanese term that uses rachi (埒 - literally "enclosures/fences") -- it is furachi (不埒).

Since fu (不) is a negative prefix, furachi is a word that negates enclosures or fences.

Here, enclosures or fences cam imply "boundary" or "regulation," hence furachi means lawless, rude, or unreasonable things.

In my opinion, furachi often includes sexual meaning these days.

Also, furachi can mean rachi ga akanai, but I rarely see its usage.
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【No. 1388】Rachi ga Akanai (埒があかない - Going Nowhere)

Oct 6, 2018 14:48
Rachi ga Akanai

These days, my works are increasing, and there is no end in sight.

Things do not progress or are not settled like this case can be described as rachi ga akanai (埒があかない) in Japanese.

Rachi (埒) means enclosures or fences that are used around a riding ground, and akanai (あかない) means that something does not open.

In a horse racing, the competition does not start until the fences open.

Because of this, it is thought that rachi ga akanai has come to have its current meaning.
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【No. 1387】iPhone Xs

Oct 5, 2018 20:35
iPhone Xs

About three months ago, I bought a smartphone equipped with a physical keyboard, BlackBerry Key2.

Unfortunately, various problems occurred while using the smartphone; some applications often crashed, terrible noises occurred during a call, and the sound sometimes stopped ringing.

Therefore, I decided to buy iPhone Xs this Monday.

(The big price of 150,000 yen put a big dent in my wallet.)

It has only been a few days since purchasing, but I have been able to use it comfortably without any problems so far.

The only regret I have is that the usability of the BlackBerry Key2's keyboard was really comfortable.
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【No. 1386】Tama no Koshi ni Noru (玉の輿に乗る - Cinderella Story)

Oct 4, 2018 16:54
Tama no Koshi ni Noru

When a woman marries a rich or high-ranked man, and she herself comes to have such a status, we describe it as the phrase tama no koshi ni noru (玉の輿に乗る).

Tama (玉) means something beautiful or jewelry, and koshi (輿) means a vehicle carried by several people that high-ranked people ride.

That is to say, tama no koshi means a noble and beautiful vehicle for high-ranked people.

If a low-ranked woman married a high-ranked man, she would ride a tama no koshi.

Because of this, we have come to say tama no koshi ni noru (玉の輿に乗る - literally "to ride a tama no koshi") to describe such a woman.
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【No. 1385】Soppo wo Muku (そっぽを向く - Looking Away)

Oct 3, 2018 22:21
Soppo wo Muku

To describe that someone looks away, refuses to see something, or becomes uncooperative, you can use the Japanese phrase soppo wo muku (そっぽを向く).

Muku (向く) is a common Japanese term that means "to look toward," but soppo (そっぽ) is basically used only in this phrase.

Soppo is written as 外方 in kanji, and as these kanji characters imply, it means "another direction" or "outside direction."

That is to say, the literal meaning of soppo wo muku is "to look toward another/outside direction."
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【No. 1384】Kuwasemono (食わせもの)

Oct 2, 2018 21:47
Kuwasemono

Two days ago, I introduced the term kuwasu (食わす) in my post.

In addition, I explained that the literal meaning of kuwasu is "to feed someone" or "to have someone eat," but it can also mean "to deceive."

There is a term that uses the kuwasu meaning "to deceive" -- it is kuwasemono (食わせもの).

Kuwasemono means an insidious person who cannot be judged by its appearance, or something fake that has only a good look.

If you want to use it as the former meaning, write 食わせ者 by using 者 (mono - "person").

If you want to use it as the latter meaning, write 食わせ物 by using 物 (mono - "thing").
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【No. 1383】The Meaning of 'Ippai'

Oct 1, 2018 12:39
The Meaning of 'Ippai'

Yesterday, I introduced you to the Japanese phrase ippai kuwasu (一杯食わす), which means to deceive someone thoroughly.

In that post, I explained that ippai (一杯) means "a cup of something" or "a bowl of something."

In fact, since i/ichi (一) means "one" and hai/pai (杯) means "cup" or "bowl," the literal meaning of ippai is as described above.

However, when you use ippai as an adverb or an adjective, its meaning becomes "full" or "many."

In this case, the characters 一杯 implies that a cup/bowl is full of something.