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【No. 0833】Kichomen

Mar 30, 2017 10:27
Today I would like to talk about the Japanese word "kichomen."

"Kichomen" means that someone is well-organized in every detail, or such character.

"Kicho" of "kichomen" is a kind of furniture that was used as a partition or a windscreen in a room -- it was composed of two pillars, a crossbar, and a cloth.

In upper-class homes, the corners of the pillars were rounded and grooved.

Such created new surfaces were called "kichomen" (here "men" in Japanese means "surface"),

and it came to mean a person who can work/look after politely and delicately like a craftsman who made "kichomen" did.
几帳面

今日は「几帳面」という単語を紹介します。

「几帳面」とは、隅々まできちんとしているさまや、そのような性格を表します。

「几帳」は、室内に仕切りや風よけとして立てる家具のことで、2本の柱に横木を渡し、布をかけたものです。

上流家庭においては、この几帳の柱はよく、角を丸くして刻み目を入れる面取りがなされていました。

これを「几帳面」と呼び、やがてこのような丁寧で細やかな仕事や気配りができる人のことも指すようになりました。

Corrections (1)

No. 1 holson09
  • Today I would like to talk about the Japanese word "kichomen."
  • This sentence is perfect! No correction needed!
  • "Kichomen" means that someone is well-organized in every detail, or such character.
  • "Kichomen" means that someone is well-organized in every detail, or such character has that kind of personality.

    we say "personality" more often than "character" in English

  • "Kicho" of "kichomen" is a kind of furniture that was used as a partition or a windscreen in a room -- it was composed of two pillars, a crossbar, and a cloth.
  • This sentence is perfect! No correction needed!
  • In upper-class homes, the corners of the pillars were rounded and grooved.
  • This sentence is perfect! No correction needed!
  • Such created new surfaces were called "kichomen" (here "men" in Japanese means "surface"),
  • This sentence is perfect! No correction needed!
  • and it came to mean a person who can work/look after politely and delicately like a craftsman who made "kichomen" did.
  • and it came to mean a person who can work/look after politely and delicately like a craftsman who made "kichomen" did were.

    This is a little difficult to translate. Maybe, "it came to mean a person who is careful and attentive in their work, like the craftsmen who made "kichomen" were.

Toru
Thank you so much for correcting my post! :)

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