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【No. 1182】Oshaka ni Naru (おしゃかになる - Becoming Useless)

Mar 14, 2018 17:47
When things are ruined, or something is broken and become useless, we refer to it as おしゃかになる (oshaka ni naru) in Japanese.

お (o) is a polite prefix and しゃか (Shaka) is Buddha, the founder of Buddhism.

There are several theories about the etymology of this term, but the famous one is something like the following.

One day, a casting craftworker was trying to cast a statue of 阿弥陀仏 (Amida Buddha), but accidentally he cast a statue of "Shaka."
(Note that "Amida" and "Shaka" are completely different.)

Because of this, "oshaka ni naru" (becoming oshaka) has come to have the current meaning.

This term is similar to おじゃん (ojan), to which I introduced you.
http://lang-8.com/kanotown/journals/175639051782742719229043226410411131950
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【No. 1181】Bonkura (ぼんくら - Idiot)

Mar 13, 2018 15:30
Yesterday I introduced you to the Japanese word 間抜け (manuke - stupid).

There is another Japanese term, ぼんくら (bonkura), which has the similar meaning of "manuke."

ぼん (bon) means "tray," but it is also a gambling term that means "gambling parlor."

くら (kura) means "dark," but it also means "careless" in the gambling field.

That is to say, "bonkura" originally represented a careless person/personality in gambling, and it has come to mean a stupid person/personality.

Since being careless could become a matter of life and death for gamblers, "bonkura" was one of the most hated personality in gambling.
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【No. 1180】Manuke (間抜け - Stupid)

Mar 12, 2018 08:49
I might be a person called 間抜け (manuke).

"Manuke" is a word referring to a foolish, stupid, or goofy person.

間 (ma) means a pause interval that is inserted between musics, actions, or lines in plays or speeches.

Also, 抜け (nuke) means "to skip something."

That is to say, "manuke" implies that you skip such intervals and go out of tune.

Because of this, it has come to mean a stupid person.

Incidentally, I found an interesting and surprising fact today.

According to an online dictionary site, there are more than 300 English terms that mean "manuke."
https://eow.alc.co.jp/search?q=%E9%96%93%E6%8A%9C%E3%81%91
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【No. 1179】Bureikou (無礼講 - Unrestricted Binge)

Mar 11, 2018 16:31
There is a drinking party called 無礼講 (bureikou) in Japan.

無 (bu) means "nothing" and 礼講 "reikou" means a kind of ritual that respects courtesies and protocols.

The combination, "bureikou," meant a drinking party that was held after "reikou," and it has become a famous term meaning a drinking party that people don't care the difference in status, courtesy or protocols.

Since "bureikou" can be divided into 無礼 (burei - rudeness) and 講 (kou - not care), so some people think that "bureikou" means a drinking party that people can be rude to their boss.

However, of course this thought is wrong.
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【No. 1178】IIdashippe (言い出しっぺ - The First One to Say Something)

Mar 10, 2018 15:56
A person who says something firstly is called 言い出しっぺ (iidashippe) in Japanese.

言い出し (iidashi) means "to start saying something" or "to bring something up," and ペ (pe) means "fart."

This term comes from the rule of thumb that a person who says "it stinks" firstly must be the one who farted.

Because of this, "iidashippe" is often used when someone insists that a person who brought something up firstly should take on the responsibility.

This thought is sometimes referred to as 言い出しっぺの法則 (iidashippe no housoku - the rule of iidashippe).
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【No. 1177】Gota Gota (ごたごた - Jumbling)

Mar 9, 2018 05:01
A situation where something jumbles disorderly or a bothersome thing is referred to as ごたごた (gota gota) in Japanese.

I think that most Japanese people believe that "gota gota" is an onomatopoeia representing that things are jumbled.

However, this term comes from 兀庵普寧 (Gottan Funei), Zen Monk, who was invited from 宋 (Sou ie Song) in the Kamakura Period.

Gottan had a free-minded thinking but was an argumentative person, so it seemed that his preaching was complicated and very difficult to understand.

Because of this, jumbling was called 兀庵兀庵する (Gottan Gottan suru), and it has come to become "gota gota."
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【No. 1176】Tekozuru (てこずる - Having Trouble with Something)

Mar 8, 2018 14:10
Tekozuru

When you cannot handle something and have trouble with it, we express it using the Japanese verb てこずる (tekozuru).

There are several theories about the etymology of "tekozuru."

According to a theory, てこ (teko) means "leverage" and ずる (zuru) means "to slither." In this theory, "tekozuru" comes from the situation where even if you tried to move something using the power of leverage, it slithered and didn't work.

According to another theory, "teko" means "helper" and "zuru" means "to trouble someone." In this theory, "tekozuru" comes from the situation where you needed a helpers and troubled him/her.
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【No. 1175】Eshaku (会釈 - Bow/Nod)

Mar 7, 2018 23:39
Japanese people often do an act called 会釈 (eshaku), when they pass/meet their boss or acquaintance.

"Eshaku" refers to bow or nod that is done to express your familiarity, favor, or appreciation to others.

This word is short for 和会通釈 (waetsūshaku), the Buddhist terminology, which originally meant "to compare two doctrines that sound contradictory each other and reveal the underlying true significance."

This came to mean "to behave by considering others' hearts," and now it has come to mean bow or nod.

Incidentally, it is said that the rough standard angle of your upper body when you do "eshaku" is fifteen degrees.
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【No. 1174】Shinogi wo Kezuru (しのぎを削る - Going Head-to-Head)

Mar 6, 2018 10:23
When you engage in fierce competition, we describe it as しのぎを削る (shinogi wo kezuru) in Japanese.

しのぎ (shinogi) means a ridge between 刃 (ha - edge) and 峰 (mine - blunt edge) of a Japanese sword, and 削る (kezuru) means to scrape something.

Therefore, the literal meaning of "shinogi wo kezuru" is to scrape a ridge of a sword.

In a normal sword fight, "shinogi" (ridge) of a sword would not be scraped, so scraping "shinogi" implies that it is a very fierce fight.

Originally, this term was used for a sword fight, but it has come to be used for various fierce fight or competition.
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【No. 1173】Muzu Muzu (むずむず - Itching)

Mar 5, 2018 15:59
Now my nose is a state expressed as the Japanese term むずむず (muzu muzu).

"Muzu muzu" is a kind of onomatopoeia, and it has mainly two different meanings.

One is that you are impatient to do something.

When you want to mean this, you can also use another onomatopoeia うずうず (uzu uzu) instead of "muzu muzu."

The other meaning is that insects are crawling, and you feel such a feeling at a part of your body.

For example, when your nose is itchy, you can say 鼻がむずむずする (hana ga muzu muzu suru - my nose is a state of "muzu muzu").

When I was writing this article, I found that the English word "itchy" can express the above two meanings of "muzu muzu."
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【No. 1172】Ikki Ichiyū (一喜一憂 - Alternate Joy and Despair)

Mar 4, 2018 12:46
Today I saw a person who has a feeling called 一喜一憂 (ikki ichiyū).

"Ikki ichiyū" means that you alternate between joy and despair every time things or situations change a bit.

一喜 (ikki) means "one joy" and 一憂 (ichiyū) means "one despair," so the literal meaning of this idiom is "one joy and one despair."

According to Wiktionary, it is expressed as "a feeling swinging back and forth between joy and despair."

Since people who have such a feeling are easy to be affected from surroundings, this idiom is usually used as a bad meaning.

However, I think that 一喜一憂する人 (ikki ichiyū suru hito - people who have "ikki ichiyū") are pure in heart.
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【No. 1171】Kisaku (気さく - Frank)

Mar 3, 2018 13:19
We express people who have frank or companionable character using the Japanese term 気さく (kisaku).

"Kisaku" comes from an archaic Japanese adjective さくい (sakui), which means that something is light or frail.

By adding 気 (ki), which means "character" or "disposition," to the stem of "sakui," the adjective verb "kisaku" was created.

Also, さく (saku) in "sakui" means remaining residues after whittling woods.

Since such wood chips are very light, it has come to mean light and frank personalities.

I hope that sometime the number of 気さくな人 (kisaku na hito - a person who have a "kisaku" personality) will increase in the world.
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【No. 1170】Tokoton (とことん - Thoroughly)

Mar 2, 2018 11:22
When you want to express the end of things or doing something thoroughly, you can use the Japanese term とことん (tokoton).

This term comes from the rhythmic stepping sound トコトントコトン (tokoton tokoton), which represents a Japanese dance.

There are two theories about the etymology of this sound -- one says that "toko" means "floor" and "ton" is an onomatopoeia that represents the stepping sound, and the other says that "tokoton" itself is the onomatopoeia.

Also, the reason why "tokoton" has come to have the current meaning is because the Japanese military song とことんやれ節 (tokoton yare bushi) had become popular in 1868.

Where やれ (yare) means "do it," and 節 (bushi) means "melody."

It's thought that since the discipline of the military was very strict, "tokoton yare" (tokoton do it) was considered as "do it thoroughly until the end."
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【No. 1169】Tawakemono (たわけ者 - Fool)

Mar 1, 2018 18:23
Unfortunately, there are many たわけ者 (tawakemono) in the world.

"Tawakemono" is a word that refers to a foolish person or a joker.

たわけ (tawake) comes from the verb たわく/たわける (tawaku/tawakeru), which means to do something foolish/stupid thing, and 者 (mono) means a person.

Also, there is another theory about the etymology of "tawake" -- it comes from 田分け (tawake),

田 (ta) means "field" and 分け (wake) means "to divide something," so its meaning when being written by these kanji is "to divide a field."

If you divide your field to your children, and your children divide the field to your grandchildren, someday the amount of harvest will be reduced due to the narrow area, and the family line will fall into a decline.

That is to say, this theory implies that people who do such an act is foolish.
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【No. 1168】Datsubou (脱帽 - Taking One's Hat Off)

Feb 28, 2018 15:45
There is a Japanese term: 脱帽 (datsubou).

脱 (datsu) means "to take off" and 帽 (bou) means "hat," so the literal meaning of the combination is "to take one's hat off."

Interestingly, the Japanese term "datsubou" and its literal English translation "to take one's hat off" have almost the same meaning.

That is to say, "datsubou" means to be impressive by someone or admire someone for an achievement.

Also, "datsubou" can mean a feeling of giving up in addition to the above meanings.

Normally, this term is used like 脱帽する (datsubou suru) by adding する (suru), which can convert a noun into a verb.
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【No. 1167】Posharu (ポシャる - Falling Through)

Feb 27, 2018 11:31
Yesterday, I introduced you to the Japanese term "ojan," which means that a plan or a thing goes up in smoke.

Today I'd like to talk about the slang term ポシャる (posharu), which has almost the same meaning of "ojan."

It is thought that "posharu" comes from the French word "chapeau," which means "hat."

By swapping the pronunciation of "chapeau" and adding the suffix る (ru) that can convert a noun into a verb, the verb "posharu" was created.

The reason why "posharu" has come to its current meaning is because taking off a 兜 (kabuto - helmet) meant giving up and people viewed the kabuto as the closest thing to a hat.
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【No. 1166】Ojan (おじゃん - Falling Through)

Feb 26, 2018 11:12
When a plan or a thing goes up in smoke, we refers to it as おじゃん (ojan) or おじゃんになる (ojan ni naru - becoming ojan) in Japanese.

お (o) is a polite suffix, and it's thought that じゃん (jan) comes from an onomatopoeia.

In the Edo period in Japan, when a fire broke out, people rang 半鐘 (hansho - fire bell) to let surrounding people know the fire.

Also, when all the fire was extinguished, people rang the hansho twice at a short interval.

This sound was represented as じゃんじゃん (jan jan), and it changed to the term "ojan."

At that time, since wooden houses were built in a row, we had to broke houses around a burning house to prevent the fire from spreading.

I think that the term "ojan" is exactly suitable for the scene.
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【No. 1165】Unagi Nobori (うなぎのぼり - Spiral Rise)

Feb 25, 2018 13:47
When something such as price or status rises rapidly, we express the phenomenon by using the metaphor, うなぎのぼり (unagi nobori).

うなぎ (unagi) means "eel" and のぼり "nobori" means "to rise," so the literal meaning of "uangi nobori" is "an eel rises."

The most accepted theory about its etymology comes from the fact that since the bodies of eels are slimy, even if you try to grab them, they keep rising while slipping through your hands.

Also, there is another theory, which comes from the fact that eels can ascend rapid streams.

However, if this theory would be right, I think that "salmon" would be more appropriate than "eel."
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【No. 1164】Itadaki Dachi (いただき立ち)

Feb 24, 2018 17:01
Yesterday, I introduced you to the word "oitoma," which is used when you leave a house you're visiting.

Today I'd like to talk about いただき立ち (itadaki dachi), which can be used in a similar situation.

いただき (itadaki) means "to receive," 立ち (tachi) means "to stand," and the combination means to go home (leave the house) soon after givin a meal or drink.

This term is often used in conjunction with "oitoma," just something like いただき立ちで失礼ですが、そろそろおいとまさせて頂きます (itadaki dachi de shitsurei desuga, sorosoro oitoma sasete itadakimasu - I'm sorry for "itadaki dachi," but it's time for me to leave).

"Itadaki dachi" is used when you have to leave a house soon after having a meal, but in such a case, you should say no to the host before serving the meal at least once.
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【No. 1163】Oitoma (おいとま - Leaving)

Feb 23, 2018 16:44
Over the past two days, I introduced you to the Japanese terms that related to service to visitors.

Today I'd like to talk about おいとま (oitoma), which is used by the visitor when he/she leaves the home.

"Oitoma" and its verb form "oitoma suru" are used as a euphemism for the verb 帰る (kaeru), which means to "go home."

お (o) is a polite prefix, and いとま (itoma) means "free time" or "recess time."

Also, originally this term was used like "itoma wo chodai suru" (いとまを頂戴する - I will receive "itoma").

Receiving "itoma" means receiving "free time," and it implies that you will go home.

Later, just "itoma" and "itoma suru" have come to mean "I'm gone."

Usually, we say just something like そろそろ、おいとまさせて頂きます (sorosoro, oitoma sasete itadakimasu - It's time for me to leave).