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【No. 0662】Health and Sports Day (Taiiku no Hi)

Oct 10, 2016 19:02
Today is Health and Sports Day (Taiiku no hi), and is a holiday for many Japanese people.

According to the laws related to national holidays in Japan, Health and Sports Day is "to enjoy sports and foster healthy bodies."

This holiday is established in 1966 to memorialize the Tokyo Olympic Games held in 1964.

Initially, Health and Sports Day was October 10th, which is the opening day of the Tokyo Olympic Games, but it is the second Monday of October today.

Also, I heard that the second Monday of October is "Columbus Day" for many states of the US, and it is gorgeously celebrated.
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【No. 0661】Hanage wo Kazoeru (To Count Nose Hair)

Oct 9, 2016 00:03
Today, I learned the Japanese idiom "hanage wo kazoeru," which means "to count nose hair."

Although this idiom is listed in general dictionaries, I didn't know it until today.

The literal meaning is just a strange act, but it refers to that a women control a man who likes her at will.

I heard that this idiom was established in the Edo period, but I don't know the correct etymology.

Anyway, I feel that a man whose nose hair is counted by a woman is pitiable.

By the way, you can also say "hanage wo yomu" (to read nose hair), instead of "hanage wo kazoeru."
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【No. 0660】Uri Futatsu (Two Melons)

Oct 8, 2016 10:17
Today, I will talk about the Japanese word "uri futatsu."

The literal translation is "two melons," and it means that brothers or parent and child are very similar to each other.

This word comes from the fact that when you cut a melon in two, these cross sectional shapes are very similar.

However, the same is true for many other vegetables and fruits.

Although it's not fully reliable, it could come from the fact that a cross section of a melon was compared to a face of a beautiful woman in Japan.

By the way, there is a similar expression in English: "as like as two eggs."
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【No. 0659】Te wo Someru (To Dye One's Hand)

Oct 7, 2016 00:02
Yesterday, I introduced a Japanese idiom "ashi wo arau" (to wash one's feet), which means "to quit crime or evil jobs."

Today, I will talk about the Japanese idiom "te wo someru" (to dye one's hand), which means "to start things or jobs."

The most widely accepted theory about the etymology is that "染める(someru)", which means "to dye", was originally "初める(someru)", which means "to start".

Also, there is another theory: once you dye your hand with dye ink, it will remain for a long time, as well as once you start something, it's hard-to-quit.

Since "te wo someru" is often used with words related to crime, many people think of it as "to start bad things," but it actually means just "to start something."

By the way, I heard that when you want to express "te wo arau" in English, you can say "to get one's feet wet."
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【No. 0658】Ashi wo Arau (Wash One's Feet)

Oct 6, 2016 19:12
Today, I will talk about the Japanese idiom "ashi wo arau."

The literal meaning is "to wash one's feet," and it expresses "to quit crime or evil jobs."

It's thought that this idiom comes from Buddhism.

In Buddhism, Buddhist priests walk around with their bare feet for ascetic training.

After they return back to temples, they wash their dirty feet for purifying spirits of evil thought in a secular world, then

From this fact, "ashi wo arau" (to wash one's feet) came to mean "to quit bad things."

There is another theory about the etymology, which comes from that Jesus Christ washed his disciple's feet, but it lacks credibility because the unspoken meaning is different.
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【No. 0657】Onna Gokoro to Aki no Sora (Women's Feelings and Autumn sky)

Oct 5, 2016 18:43
There is the proverb "onna gokoro to aki no sora," the meaning of which is "women's Feelings and autumn sky."

This proverb expresses that women are as fickle as autumn weather.

Actually, there is also a similar proverb "otoko gokoro to aki no sora," the meaning of which is "men's feelings and autumn sky."

This proverb expresses that men are as fickle as autumn weather, and tend to cheat on their partners.

It's thought that the proverb came from the fact that cheating by married woman was punished heavily, while cheating by men wasn't in the Edo period.

Today, such sex discrimination vanished, and I think that the women version of the proverb is used more frequently than the men version.
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【No. 0656】Atama ga Piman (Your Head is a Green Pepper)

Oct 4, 2016 07:11
Today, I will talk about the Japanese insult "atama ga piman," whose literal meaning is "your head is a green pepper."

This phrase expresses something like that "you have no brains."

The etymology is very simple: green peppers have large hollows in their insides.

In a similar way, there is a Japanese insult "hanashi ga piman," (your talk is a green pepper), which means "your talk is empty."

Note that these phrases were popular in the 1970s, and we rarely use them today.

By the way, if you say just "piman" (a green pepper) to someone, it can be an insult that means "your have no brains" or "you're empty."
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【No. 0655】Ishibashi wo Tataite Wataru

Oct 3, 2016 01:42
Today, I will talk about the Japanese proverb "ishibashi wo tataite wataru."

The literal meanings is "to cross a stone bridge after beating it," and it expresses "to do something cautiously and carefully."

This comes from that although stone bridges look firm, very careful people beat them for confirming safe conditions.

This proverb is often used to mean "someone is very careful," while it sometimes used to mean "someone is too cowardice" with irony.

Also, we sometimes say "ishibashi wo tataite kowasu" (to break a stone bridge by beating it too many times) for people who fail due to their carefulness, and say "ishibashi wo tataite wataranai" (not to cross a stone bridge after beating it) for people who don't act.

By the way, there is an English proverb "Hear twice before you speak once," which has the similar meaning.
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【No. 0654】"Hieru" and "Sameru"

Oct 2, 2016 00:02
Today, I will talk about the similar Japanese words "hieru" and "sameru".

Both of them use the same kanji "冷", and both can be expressed as "to get cool," but there is a clear difference about the meaning.

When you want to choose either word, consider it based on ordinary temperature.

"Hieru" means that bodies or things are cooled down below ordinary temperature.

For example: "Karada ga eacon de hieru" (my body gets chilled by the air conditioner) / "Reizoko de kudamono wo hiyasu" (I cool fruits in the refrigerator).

"Sameru" means that hot bodies or things are cooled down around ordinary temperature.

For example: "Atatakai gohan ga sameru" (hot rice gets cool) / "hotetta karada wo uchiwa de samasu" (I cool down my heated body by using a paper fan).
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【No. 0653】Saji o Nageru (Throw a Spoon)

Oct 1, 2016 00:10
Today, I will talk about the Japanese idiom "saji o nageru."

The literal meaning is "to throw a spoon," and this spoon expresses a spoon that is used in pharmaceutical preparations.

In the past, (Chinese medicine) doctors prepared medicines for curing patients.

However, when any approach to treatment wasn't found, they gave up and threw the spoons for preparing medicines.

From this story, "saji o nageru" came to mean "to conclude there is no chances and give up."

In the Edo period, there was a senryu （satirical haiku/poem） "inaka isha saji o nagete ha uma de nige," which means that a rural doctor threw a spoon and ran away riding a horse.
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【No. 0652】Hana ga Takai (Long Nose)

Sep 30, 2016 02:04
Today, I will talk about the Japanese idiom "hana ga takai," whose literal meaning is "long nose".

Of course, this idiom has meaning that someone's nose is physically long, but has also meaning of "proud" or "boastful".

For example, it's used as "musuko ga tenis no taikai de yusyo shite hana ga takai" (my nose is long because my son won the tennis tournament).

It is said that this idiom comes from a long-nosed goblin called Tengu.

The Tengu is a mythical creature in Japan, and is also called "symbol of pride."

If you say "Tengu ni naru" (to be Tengu), it will express "to be proud."

"Hana ga takai" and "Tengu ni naru" have the same etymology, but note that the former doesn't have bad nuances, while the latter expresses bad impressions.
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【No. 0651】Daikon Yakusha (Daikon Radish Actor)

Sep 29, 2016 00:05
Yesterday, I talked about the word "daikon ashi" (daikon radish legs).

Today, I'd like to talk about the Japanese word "daikon yakusya", which also uses a vegetable daikon radish.

The literal meaning is a daikon radish actor, and expresses an actor who gives a bad performance.

There are various theories about the etymology, but I will show you the two of them today.

One is that almost all dishes of daikon radishes never cause food poisoning ("to have food poisoning" is called "atarru" in Japan), so they came to mean "the actor won't be a big hit" ("to be a hit" is called "ataru" in Japan).

The othe one is that daikon radishes are white ("shiro" in Japanese), so amateurs ("shiroto" in Japanese) came to be called daikon.

I heard that a daikon radish actor is called "a ham actor" in English.
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【No. 0650】Daikon-ashi (Daikon Radish Legs)

Sep 28, 2016 00:18
Today, I will talk about the Japanese word "daikon-ashi".

The literal meaning is "daikon/Japanese radish legs", and it is used for comparing women legs to daikon radishes in many cases.

(The kanji "足" (feet) is commonly used for the "ashi" in the "daikon-ashi", but it means "脚" (legs) in this word.)

Currently, this word is used as a bad meaning, and implies that the woman's legs are thick like a daikon radish.

However, daikon radishes were actually very thin in the past.

Therefore, comparing women's legs or arms to daikon radishes meant "they're thin and white," and was a compliment expression.

If you make a slip of the tongue and say "daikon-ashi" to a woman, you should say "of course in the past meaning" quickly.
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【No. 0649】Seahorses

Sep 27, 2016 00:22
Today, I will talk about the fish called "seahorses", which have interesting shapes.

Seahorses are called "tatsu no otoshigo" (babies of dragons) in Japan, because their shapes look like dragons.
(In English, it was named "seahorses", because they looked like horses)

Interestingly, males of seahorses have brood pouches on their abdomen like females of kangaroos, and they grow their eggs laid by females up to juveniles.

Therefore, it looks as if males breed their children.

By the way, when a female lay her eggs into a brood pouch of a male, the shape of two seahorses looks heart-shaped, and it's very romantic.
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【No. 0648】Inu mo arukeba bo ni ataru

Sep 26, 2016 15:12
Today, I'd like to talk about the famous Japanese proverb "inu mo arukeba bo ni ataru."

The literal translation is "dogs that walk around will strike on a stick," but it expresses two different meanings.

One is that if you do something, you may be involved in unexpected misfortune.

This meaning is paired with the proverb "kaho ha nete mate," which means that everything comes to those who wait.

The other is that if you keep doing something, you will have unexpected fortune.

It is said that the latter meaning was established later.

I prefer the latter to the former.
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【No. 0647】Mecha-kucha

Sep 25, 2016 12:41
Today, I will talk about the Japanese word "mucha-kucha".

The "mucha" in "mucha-kucha" means that "something is unreasonable," or "something is excessive."

The "kucha" in "mecha-kucha" just emphasizes "mecha", and is put for arranging the rhythm of the word.

Therefore, both "mucha" and "mucha-kucha" have the almost similar meanings, but only "mucha-kucha" has the meaning of "something is spoiled."

This word is also said something like "mecha-kucha" or "mecha-mecha" instead of "mucha-kucha".

By the way, if you want to mean "something is excessive," you can also say "muccha", "meccha" or "mechanko".

(Note that "muccha" and "meccha" are the young people's words, and "mechanko is the Nagoya-city dialect.")
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【No. 0646】Yakeishi ni Mizu

Sep 24, 2016 12:22
Today, I will talk about the Japanese proverb "yakeishi ni mizu."

The literal meaning is "water to a burnt stone," and it expresses that any effect cannot be expected if your effort or help is a little bit.

The derivation is very simple: it's because if you put a little water on a burnt stone, the water will evaporate quickly.

There is another proverb that has the similar meaning, "nikai kara megusuri," whose literal meaning is "eye-drops from a second-floor."

This proverb also means "it's frustrating that things don't work out smoothly," in addition to "any effect cannot be expected."
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【No. 0645】Karada (Body)

Sep 23, 2016 23:31
Today, I'd like to talk about the Japanese word "karada", which has two different kanji.

The most common kanji of "karada" is "体", but it's also often written as "身体".

Basically, "体" expresses a physical body, while "身体" expresses a body including one's mind.

Therefore, while you can use "体" for any of humans, animals and insects, "身体" is used for only humans.

Also, in daily use kanji chart, the correct reading of "身体" is not "karada", but "shintai".

That is to say, if there is "身体" in a formal document, it should be read as "shintai".
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【No. 0644】Award Ceremony

Sep 22, 2016 23:20
Today, an award ceremony of an academic society was held in Tukuba, Ibaraki Prefecture, and I received a best-paper award.

Also, I performed a keynote speech after the ceremony in commemoration of the win.

Although I thought that this is a lonely expedition, I found that my former teacher was taking my picture when I was talking.

I was very surprised and a little unsettled, but I was really pleased.

In addition, he introduced me to many his friends, professors and officers at the banquet.

It was a fulfilling day.

I'd like to keep in touch with him in the future.
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【No. 0643】Inu and Kame (Dogs and Turtles)

Sep 21, 2016 14:11
Dogs are called "inu" in Japan.

However, in the Meiji era, dogs (especially western dogs) were called "kame," which means turtles.

Also, "kame" was popular as a name of dogs at that time.

This came from misunderstanding of an English phrase.

It is said that Japanese people thought that Western people called dogs "kame ya" when they said "come here."

(In Japan, when people call someone or an animal, "ya" is sometimes put after the name.)

This misunderstanding was spread, and this is why Japanese people called dogs "kame".

Note that by no means the word "kame" means as dogs today.