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【No. 1382】Ippai Kuwasu (一杯食わす - Pulling a Trick)

Sep 30, 2018 19:49
Ippai Kuwasu

We sometimes use the phrase ippai kuwasu to mean to deceive someone well.

Ipppai (一杯) means "a cup of something" or "a bowl of something," and kuwasu (食わす) means "to feed someone" or "to have someone eat."

That is to say, the literal meaning of ippai kuwasu is "to feed someone to a bowl of something" or "to have someone eat a bowl of something."

According to the Internet, kuwasu can mean damasu (騙す - "deceive"), but I could not find the detailed etymology.

Some people think that it comes from an old Japanese tale that a raccoon dog had a person eat a bowl of fake rice.
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【No. 1381】Ne wo Ageru (音を上げる - Whining)

Sep 29, 2018 14:06
Ne wo Ageru

I am about to do an action called ne wo ageru (音を上げる) in Japanese.

Ne wo ageru is a phrase that means that someone whines, screams out, or gives up because it is difficult for him/her to endure suffering.

Since ne (音) means "sound," "voice," or "cry," and ageru (上げる) means "to generate," the literal meaning of ne wo ageru is "to generate a cry."

【Example sentence】
Shigoto ga tsurakute ne wo ageru (仕事が辛くて音を上げる - "I whine about my work because it is too hard.")
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【No. 1380】Garakuta (ガラクタ - Junk)

Sep 28, 2018 21:48
Garakuta

There are several gatrakuta (ガラクタ) in my room.

Garakuta means something worthless, junk, or useless.

Gara (ガラ) comes from the onomatopoeia garagara (ガラガラ), which means that things touch or bump into each other, and there are two theories about kuta (クタ) -- one is that it is short for akuta (芥), which means "garbage" or "dust," or it comes from kuchi (朽ち), which means that something decays.

In the Edo period, garakuta was used to mean boring people or rascals in addition to its current meaning.
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【No. 1379】Shinjū (心中 - Love Suicide)

Sep 27, 2018 13:13
Shinjū

I introduced you to the Japanese word shinchū (心中 - "feeling") in my yesterday's post.

Actually, the kanji 心中 can also be read as shinjū, and its meaning is very different from the meaning of shinchū.

Shinjū originally meant that a man and a woman who love each other commit suicide at the same time by mutual agreement.

These days shinjū can also mean that several people commit suicide at the same time.

It is said that shinjū comes from shinjūdate (心中立), which means to be loyal to someone.

This implies that the ultimate loyal act between a man and a woman is a love suicide.
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【No. 1378】Shinshū Osasshi Shimasu (心中お察しします - You Have My Sympathies)

Sep 26, 2018 15:04
Shinshū Osasshi Shimasu

When unhappy or sad events happen to someone, we sometimes say shinchū osasshi shimasu (心中お察しします) out of sympathy.

Shin (心) means "heart," chū (中) means "inside," o (お) is a polite prefix, and sassuru (察する) means "to guess something," "to infer something," or "to get a message."

That is to say, this phrase means that "I can infer and understand inside your heart (your feelings)."

You can also say okimochi osasshi itashimasu (お気持ちお察しいたします) by using okimochi (お気持ち - literally "feeling") instead of shinchū.
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【No. 1377】Sound Imitation Words for Describing Walking Part 2

Sep 25, 2018 17:23
Sound Imitation Words for Describing Walking Part 2

Yesterday, I introduced you to the three sound imitation words that describe walking.

Today I would like to introduce fura fura (ふらふら) and bura bura (ぶらぶら).

Fura fura describes that something is shaking unsteadily or someone walks around without awareness or purpose.

This phrase can also be used to describe that your physical condition is bad.

Bura bura describes that something is shaking or someone walks around slowly.

This phrase can also be used to describe that someone lives every day without doing what he/she should have to do.
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【No. 1376】Onomatopoeias for Expressing Walking Part 1

Sep 24, 2018 20:45
Onomatopoeias for Expressing Walking Part 1

There are many onomatopoeias in Japanese that are used to express walking.

Today I would like to introduce teku teku (てくてく), suta suta (すたすた), and toko toko (とことこ) from among them.

All of these onomatopoeias mean that someone walks at the same pace without looking to the right or left.

Teku teku is often used to express that someone walks a long distance.

Suta suta is often used to express that someone walks at a brisk pace.

Toko toko is often used to express that a child or woman walks with small strides.
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【No. 1375】Tawawa (たわわ - Growing Richly)

Sep 23, 2018 12:01
Tawawa

I think that there is less opportunity to use it, but I like the term tawawa (たわわ).

Tawawa is an onomatopoeia that means that fruits or cereals grow richly.

This term comes from the verb tawamu (たわむ), which means that trees or sticks bow or bend.

Since branches of trees bow when a lot of crops grow, tawawa has come to have the meaning of "rich."

In most cases, tawawa is used by combining with the verb minoru (実る - literally "grow"), such as ___ ga tawawa ni minoru (～がたわわに実る - ___ grows richly).
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【No. 1374】Tsukanukoto (つかぬこと - By the Way)

Sep 22, 2018 13:50
Tsukanukoto

When asking someone for something, especially when it has nothing to do with the topic so far, we say tsukanukoto wo ukagai masuga (つかぬことを伺いますが) or tsukanukoto wo otazune shimasuga (つかぬことをお尋ねしますが).

Ukagau (伺う) is a humble form of kiku (聞く - "ask/hear"), tazuneru (尋ねる) is a polite form of kiku, and both of which are used in daily conversation.

On the other hand, tsukanukoto (つかぬこと) is usually used only in the above phrases.

Tsuku (つく) means "to attach," nu (ぬ) is a negative suffix, and koto (こと) means "thing."

That is to say, tsukanukoto means that the thing doesn't attach, and it implies that the topic/question doesn't related to the previous one.
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【No. 1373】Muteppou (無鉄砲 - Reckless)

Sep 21, 2018 20:43
Muteppou

I am not, but some people are called muteppou (無鉄砲) in Japanese.

Muteppou means that someone acts recklessly without considering the consequences.

Mu (無) means "nothing" and teppou (鉄砲) means "gun."

Therefore, some people probably think that the etymology of muteppou is that someone attacks an enemy's camp without having guns.

However, it is said that muteppou comes from mutehou (無手法).

The literal meaning of mutepou is "not having anything in one's hands" or "there is no means," and it has come to have the current meaning.
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【No. 1372】Te wo Kiru (手を切る - Washing One's Hands of)

Sep 20, 2018 14:55
Te wo Kiru

There is a Japanese expression, te wo kiru (手を切る).

Since te (手) means "hand" and kiru (切る) means "to cut" or "to cut off," the literal meaning of te wo kiru is "to cut one's hand."

Here, te is used as a word meaning a relationship with someone.

Therefore, te wo kiru means to cut off a relationship with someone.

In particular, this expression is often used to cut off a bad, inappropriate, or sexual relationship.

In English, you can probably say "to wash one's hands of ___" to mean te wo kiru.
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【No. 1371】Shira wo Kiru (しらを切る - Playing Innocent)

Sep 19, 2018 19:49
Shira wo Kiru

Have you ever pretended you don't know something, even though you know it?

Such an action is referred to as shira wo kiru (しらを切る) in Japanese.

There are two theories about the etymology of shira (しら); one is that it is short for shiranu (知らぬ - literally "don't know"), and the other is that it comes from shira (白 - literally "white"), which means "pure" or "serious."

In addition, kiru (切る) usually means "to cut," but here it means "to take a noticeable action or attitude."
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【No. 1370】Shiru Hito zo Shiru (知る人ぞ知る)

Sep 18, 2018 19:36
Shiru Hito zo Shiru

Today I will introduce you to the Japanese expression shiru hito zo shiru (知る人ぞ知る).

Since shiru (知る) means "know" and hito (人) means "people" or "person," the literal meaning of this expression is "people who know it know it."

You might think that the literal meaning is natural and obvious.

However, the actual meaning of it is that everyone doesn't know it, but some informed people know it is valuable/important.

Shiru hito zo shiru is usually used as an adjective, for example, shiru hito zo shiru resutoran (知る人ぞ知るレストラン - a restaurant that is known only to a few informed people).
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【No. 1369】Nido Aru Koto wa Sando Aru (二度あることは三度ある - Things Come in Threes)

Sep 17, 2018 16:20
Nido Aru Koto wa Sando Aru

Yesterday, I introduced you to the proverb, sandome no shōjiki (三度目の正直), which means that the third time is the charm.

Actually, there is another proverb, nido aru koto wa sando aru (二度あることは三度ある), which has the opposite meaning of that.

Nido (二度) means "twice," aru (ある) means "to happen," sando (三度) means "three times," so the literal meaning of this proverb is that what has happened twice will happen three times.

In fact, according to Bayes' theorem, the probability that what has happened twice happens again is higher than the probability that something happens only on the third time.
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【No. 1368】Sandome no Shōjiki (三度目の正直 - The Third Time's the Charm)

Sep 16, 2018 22:52
Sandome no Shōjiki

Recently I have been looking for a new job.

Unfortunately, I failed in job interviews several times, but it seems that somehow I would pass the interview last week.

If you want to express that the first and second time would not go well, but the third time would go well like my case, you can use a Japanese proverb, sandome no shōjiki (三度目の正直).

San (三) means "three," dome (度目) means "__ times" or "__th," and shōjiki means "sincerity."

However, I failed in interviews three times, and it went well in the fourth interview, so I should say yondome no shōjiki (四度目の正直 - the fourth time's the charm).
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【No. 1367】Manma to Damasareru (まんまと騙される - Being Totally Deceived)

Sep 15, 2018 08:19
Manma to Damasareru

Yesterday, I was totally deceived. This situation is expressed as manma to damasareta (まんまと騙された) in Japanese.

Damasareru (騙される - meaning "to be deceived") is a passive voice of the verb damasu (騙す - meaning "to deceive").

In addition, manma to (まんまと) is an adverb that means "beautifully" or "successfully."

Previously, I introduced you to the baby word manma (まんま), meaning "meal," but its etymology is different from the one of the adverb 'manma.'

It is thought that the adverb manma comes from uma uma (うまうま), which means "good" or "successful."
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【No. 1366】A Logical Quiz (A is B)

Sep 14, 2018 22:18
A Logical Quiz (A is B)

Today I would like to give you a logic quiz.

[Quiz]
Fill words in A and B in the following two sentences, and make them become theoretically correct sentences.

A is B.
A is not B.


* The example answers are shown below. Please think about it before you see these answers.


[Answer 1]
A: The number of words in this sentence
B: nine

[Answer 2]
A; This sentence
B: positive

[Answer 3]
A: One of my children
B: girl

Answer 1 and 2 refer to the sentences themselves (self-reference). Answer 3 refers to a part of a group.
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【No. 1365】Yarukoto Nasukoto (やることなすこと - Everything One Does)

Sep 13, 2018 09:49
Yarukoto Nasukoto

Yesterday, I used a Japanese expression, yarukoto nasukoto (やることなすこと).

Yaru (やる) means "do," koto (こと) means "thing," and nasu (なす) means "do."

The literal meaning of this expression is "What someone does, what someone does."

The actual meaning of that is "All things that someone does/All of someone's attitude," and it is often used in a negative context.

For example, people say yarukoto nasukoto umaku ikanai (やることなすことうまくいかない - Everything goes wrong).

On the other hand, it is sometimes used in a positive context, such as yarukoto nasukoto kawaii (やることなすことかわいい - Everything she/he does is cute).
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【No. 1364】Obi ni Mijikashi Tasuki ni Nagashi (帯に短し襷に長し - Too Much for One and not Enough for One)

Sep 12, 2018 23:13
Obi ni Mijikashi Tasuki ni Nagashi

There is the Japanese proverb obi ni mijikasji tasuki ni nagashi, which represents things that are lukewarm and useless.

Obi (帯) means "belt" used in a kimono (着物 - traditional Japanese clothes), mijikasi (短し) means "short," tasuki (襷) means "cord" used to tuck up the sleeves of a kimono, and nagashi (長し) means "long."

This proverb refers to a fabric material.

That is to say, it means that the fabric material has a lukewarm length -- it is too short to use as obi, whereas it is too long to use as tasuki.
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【No. 1363】Morning and Night Spiders

Sep 11, 2018 23:23
There is a superstition related to spider in Japan.

It is "If you find spiders in the morning, you should let them go even if they are hateful enemies. If you find spiders at night, you should kill them even if they are families."

In Japan, it is said that spiders in the morning are a kind of lucky items.

In fact, since spiders make a web on only sunny days, seeing a spider in the morning means that the day will be sunny.

On the other hand, this superstition says that you should kill spiders at night, but actually, you shouldn't do that.

This is because spiders are beneficial insects that eat pests such as cockroaches and flies.