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【No. 1282】Aibou (相棒 - Buddy)

Jun 22, 2018 13:12
Do you have aibou (相棒)?

Aibo means a partner who works or plays with you.

Ai (相) means ‘each other’ and bou (棒) means ‘stick.’

This word came from kago (駕籠), which was used in the Edo period.

Kago is a kind of human-powered vehicle that can carry a human — the sitting space was hung with a single stick, and two people carried it on their shoulders.

The person who carried the front side of the stick was called sakibou (先棒 - front stick), the person who carried the back side was called atobou (後棒 - back stick), and they called each other aibou (相棒 - each other's stick).
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【No. 1281】Sea of Blood

Jun 21, 2018 21:49
Sea of Blood

Around 4:30 am today, I woke up because of feeling uncomfortable.

I was sleeping on my face down, and I felt that something dropped from my nose.

I thought "Ah, my nose is running," but when I saw my bedding, I found that there is a sea of blood.

A lot of blood flowed from my nose.

While becoming so depressed, I wiped off the blood on my bedding by using a wet towel repeatedly.

After I dried my bedding, I fell asleep again with a feeling of weariness.

The cause might be that I ate dinner at 11:00 pm yesterday -- eating food late at night increases your blood pressure.
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【No. 1280】Bokou (母校 - Old School)

Jun 20, 2018 20:59
I visited my "bokou" (母校) yesterday.

Bokou is a school that one's graduated from, that is, it is "old school" or "old university."

Bo (母) means mother and kou (校) means 'school.'
(Here kou(校) is short for gakkou (学校).)

As you can guess, this word compares the school with one's parents who raised them, however, the word fu (父 - father) is never used.

In the Meiji period in Japan, the word gakkou (学校 - school) was chosen as the translation of the English school and the French 'école.'

Also, in many European languages containing French, nouns were classified into male nouns and feminine nouns, and 'école' was a feminine noun.

Because of this, we came to call "a school like parents" bokou.
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【No. 1279】Usotsuki wa dorobou no hajimari (嘘つきは泥棒の始まり - He that will Lie will Steal)

Jun 19, 2018 17:08
Usotsuki wa dorobou no hajimari

I think that many people have had a lie at least several times.

There is a Japanese proverb that is related to a lie -- it is "usotsuki wa dorobou no hajimari" (嘘つきは泥棒の始まり).

Usotsuki (嘘つき) means lying or liar, dorobou (泥棒) means thief or stealing, and hajimari (始まり) means beginning, so the literal meaning of this proverb is "lying is the beginning of stealing."

That is to say, this proverb means that if you come to have no qualms about telling lies, you will do something bad like stealing.

Incidentally, when I was searching for this proverb, I found that several similar English expressions; these are "He that will lie will steal" and "Lying and stealing are next door neighbors."
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【No. 1278】Ni no Ashi wo Fumu (二の足を踏む)

Jun 18, 2018 20:11
Have you ever hesitated or been reluctant to do something?

Such an action is called "ni no ashi wo fumu" (二の足を踏む) in Japanese.

Ni (二) means two/second, ashi (足) means foot, and fumu (踏む) means 'to step.'

Even if you take the first step in doing something, if you are reluctant, you can't take the second step -- it will become just stamping your feet.

The thing is, this idiom represents such a situation.

However, in my opinion, the most important thing is to take the first step.
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【No. 1277】Kiku wa Ittoki no Haji, Kikanu wa Isshō no Haji (聞くは一時の恥、聞かぬは一生の恥)

Jun 17, 2018 18:13
Since I felt ashamed today, I would like to talk about a proverb related to 'shame.'

It is "kiku wa ittoki no haji, kikanu wa isshō no haji" (聞くは一時の恥、聞かぬは一生の恥).

Kiku (聞く) means listen to/ask, ittoki (一時) means temporal, haji (恥) means shame, kikanu (聞かぬ) means not listen to/not ask, and isshō (一生) means 'lifetime.'

As you can guess, this proverb literally means that if you ask something, you will feel ashamed temporarily, but if you don't ask it, you will feel ashamed throughout your lifetime.

There are several similar English expressions; these are "Asking makes one appear foolish, but not asking makes one foolish indeed" and "Better to ask the way than go astray."
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【No. 1276】Rainy Season

Jun 16, 2018 21:43
Rainy Season

The rainy season has started since last week.

For a while, rainy and cloudy days will continue.

I heard that you could improve concentration while listening to the sound of rain.

In fact, according to an article published in the journal "The Atlantic," people can enhance their productivity and creativity in a noisy environment of about 70 decibels, compared to a quiet environment of 50 decibels or less.

On the other hand, if you are in a noisy environment that exceeds 80 decibels, your productivity and creativity seem to be deteriorated.

Unfortunately, I can't enhance my productivity on a rainy day because rain (low pressure) makes my head hurt.
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【No. 1275】Ikari Shintō ni Hassuru (怒り心頭に発する - Getting Furious)

Jun 15, 2018 16:14
Ikari Shintō ni hassuru

For the last two days, I introduced you to idioms that mean a feeling of anger.

If you want to express your feeling of stronger anger, you can say "ikari shintō ni hassuru" (怒り心頭に発する).

Ikari (怒り) means anger, shintō (心頭) means heart/mind, and hassuru (発する) means to generate, so the literal meaning of this idiom is "anger generates from one's heart."

However, according to a poll conducted several years ago, around 67.1% of Japanese people misunderstand that "ikari shintō ni hassuru" is "ikari shintō ni tassuru" (怒り心頭に達する - anger reaches one's heart).
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【No. 1274】Tosaka ni Kuru (トサカにくる - Getting Mad)

Jun 14, 2018 11:07
Yesterday, I introduced you to "atama ni kuru" (頭にくる), which means a feeling of anger.

There is a slang term, "tosaka ni kuru" (トサカにくる), which was derived from "atama ni kuru."

Tosaka (トサカ) means a red protrusion (cockscomb) on the top of a chicken and kuru (来る) means to come, so the literal meaning of this term is "something comes on one's cockscomb."

This term represents that blood come up to one's head (or the top of the head) due to anger, and it can imply stronger angry than "atama ni kuru."

Incidentally, there are several theories about the reasons why chickens have cockscomb; for threatening to male, appeal to female, temperature regulation, and remnants from their ancestor (dinosaur).
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【No. 1273】Atama ni Kuru (頭にくる - Getting Mad)

Jun 13, 2018 20:00
There are many idioms that mean a feeling of anger.

For example, I introduced you to the "hara ga tatsu" (腹が立つ) before.
http://lang-8.com/kanotown/journals/126696773005545550838506305683909805102

Today I would like to introduce "atama ni kuru" (頭にくる).

Atama (頭) means head and kuru (くる) means come, so the literal meaning of "atama ni kuru" is "something comes to one's head."

Here, it is thought that the something is just a feeling of anger or blood.

Incidentally, there is a similar idiom, "atama ni chi ga noboru" (頭に血が上る - blood comes up to one's head), which also means a feeling of anger.

I don't know whether or not one's blood would literally come up to the head when the one gets angry.
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【No. 1272】Sekishō Idai (積小為大)

Jun 12, 2018 21:18
Yesterday, I introduced you to the Japanese term, "zayū no mei" (座右の銘), which means 'motto.'

Today I would like to introduce you to my zayū no mei.

It is "sekishō idai" (積小為大).

Seki (積) means to pile up, shō (小) means small, i (為) menas to accomplish, and dai (大) means 'big.'

That is to say, this four-character idiom means that if you want to accomplish a great thing, it is important/necessary to pile up small efforts every day.

Incidentally, this idiom is said by a well known person in the Edo period, Sontoku NINOMIYA (二宮尊徳).
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【No. 1270】Ushi no Yodare (牛の涎 - Cow's Drool)

Jun 11, 2018 13:37
(※ Yesterday, I forgot to push the Pubmit button…)

Ushi no Yodare

In Japanese, there is a phrase "ushi no yodare" (牛の涎).

Ushi (牛) means cow or bull and yodare (涎) meams 'drool.'

Of course, "ushi no yodare" can literally mean "cow's drool," but it can also mean that something continues as a trickle like cow's drool.

Also, there is a proverb that uses this phrase, "akinai wa ushi no yodare" (商いは牛の涎 - business/trade is cow's drool).

This proverb means that you should continue your business patiently for a long time (should not rush to make a profit) like cow's drool keep falling slowly.
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【No. 1271】Zayū no Mei (座右の銘 - Motto)

Jun 11, 2018 13:38
Do you have a "zayū no mei" (座右の銘)?

"Zayū no mei" means words that you keep in your mind and use to admonish/encourage yourself -- it is translated as "motto" or "words to live by" in English.

Za (座) means sitting, yū (右) means right, and mei (銘) means "words engraved in your mind."

In the past, emperors made a reliable assistant sit on their right side, so zayū (座右) can mean one's surroundings or one's familiar thing.

That is to say, "zayū no mei" represents words that are engraved in your mind and are always put in your vicinity.
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【No. 1269】Ha ga Uku (歯が浮く - One's Teeth are on Edge)

Jun 9, 2018 16:38
Ha ga Uku

Have you ever felt uncomfortable because of being told an artificial compliment or genteel words?

Becoming such a feeling is called ha ga uku (歯が浮く) in Japanese.

Since ha (歯) means "tooth" and uku (浮く) means "to float," the literal meaning of ha ga uku is "one's teeth float."

If your tooth root loosens, you will feel as if your teeth would be floating and feel uncomfortable.

Ha ga uku came from this fact.

Interestingly, the English expression "one's teeth are on edge" has the similar meaning of this term.

【Example sentence】
Kare wa itsumo ha ga uku youna oseji wo zyosei ni iu (彼はいつも歯が浮くようなお世辞を女性に言う - He always say shameless compliment to women.)
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【No. 1268】Shinki Itten (心機一転 - Turning Over a New Leaf)

Jun 8, 2018 22:49
Shinki Itten

Two days ago, I introduced you to the phrase "ki ga ki de nai" (気が気でない - anxious), because I was terribly anxious about a result of a certain thing.

Unfortunately, I received a negative result and was very depressed yesterday.

However, I would like to renew my mind and do my best from today.

To express this my thought, I can say the four-character idiom, shinki itten (心機一転).

Shin (心) means heart, ki (機) means impulse, i/ichi (一) means one, and ten (転) means 'rolling.'

That is to say, shinki means "mind movement," itten means "something changes drastically," and the combination means "to turn over a new leaf."
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【No. 1267】Furo (風呂 - Bath/Bathtub)

Jun 7, 2018 21:15
Previously, I introduced you to the Japanese word yubune (湯船), which means 'bathtub.'
http://lang-8.com/kanotown/journals/85082085532275896741154949019788891411

Today I would like to talk about furo (風呂), which is more commonly used than yubune.

Furo mainly meant steam bath until the Edo period, but these days it means bath or 'bathtub.'

You can say "furo ni hairu" (風呂に入る - entering furo) to mean to both take a shower and get in a bathtub.

If you want to express each action explicitly, you should say "shawā wo abiru" (シャワーを浴びる - taking a shower) or "yubune ni tsukaru" (湯船に浸かる - getting in a bathtub).
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【No. 1266】Ki ga Ki de nai (気が気でない - Anxious)

Jun 6, 2018 12:45
I am terribly anxious about a certain thing and unsettling now.

When expressing this situation, you can say "ki ga ki de nai" (気が気でない) in Japanese.

Ki (気) means feeling or mind.

Also, "A ga B de nai" (AがBでない) means "A is not B."

That is to say, "ki ga ki de nai" means that one's feeling is not the (normal/usual) feeling.

I hope the next week will come soon.

【Example sentence】
Shiken no kekka ga kowakute ki ga ki de nai (試験の結果が怖くて気が気でない - I am deeply concerned about the result of my exam.)
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【No. 1265】Nezi wo Maku (ねじを巻く - Rolling up One's Sleeves)

Jun 5, 2018 21:00
When making someone/oneself improve their/one's loose attitudes, it is called neji wo maku (ねじを巻く) in Japanese.

Neji (ねじ) means "screw," maku (巻く) means "to wind something," so the literal meaning of neji wo maku is "to screw up" or "to tighten a screw."

If you tighten a screw, of course, a loose state will be tightened.

This idiom is comparing the loose state with people's loose attitudes or feelings.

It is an interesting fact that this Japanese idiom has the positive meaning, whereas the English term "to screw up" can mean "to mess up."
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【No. 1264】Kinsen ni Fureru (琴線に触れる - Touching a Chord)

Jun 4, 2018 19:01
I watched the movie Koe no Katachi (聲の形 - The Shape of the Voice) yesterday.

Kono eiga wa, watasgu no kinsen ni fure mashita (この映画は、私の琴線に触れました).

The idiom kinsen ni fureru (琴線に触れる) means that a great/beautiful thing impresses you or makes you sympathize.

Kin (琴) means a traditional Chinese stringed instrument, sen (線) means "chord," and fureru (触れる) means "to touch."

Thus, this idiom was born by comparing a chord of kin with a heart that is easy to resonate.

However, some people misunderstand that this idiom means to do something to anger.
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【No. 1263】Uwa no Sora (上の空 - Absence of Mind)

Jun 3, 2018 12:51
Recently, I often become a state called uwa no sora (上の空).

Uwa no sora means that you can't concentrate on what you have to do because you can't stop thinking other things.

Uwa (上) means "above/upper" and sora (空) means "sky," so the literal meaning of this term is "above the sky."

Originally, there were terms that mean that you don't concentrate; kokoro sora nari (心空なり - one's heart is in the sky) and sora naru kokoro (空なる心 - one's heart is in the sky).

In order to emphasize these terms, it became uwa no sora naru kokoro (上の空なる心 - one's heart is above the sky), then changed to just uwa no sora (上の空).