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【No. 1348】Shippe Gaeshi (しっぺ返し - Paying Back)

Aug 27, 2018 21:27
Shippe Gaeshi

When someone does something bad to you, if you pay him/her in the same coin, the act is called shippe gaeshi (しっぺ返し).

Originally, shippe gaeshi was called shippei gaeshi (竹篦返し).

Shippei (竹篦) is a bamboo stick that is used to mentor Zen monks, and gaeshi/kaeshi (返し) means "to get back."

In Zen sitting meditation, when the posture of a monk is disturbed due to distracting thoughts, the guide hits shippei on the monk's shoulder.

That is to say, shippei gaeshi means to hit back shippei. Later, shippei changed to shippe.
しっぺ返し

何かをされたとき、即座に仕返すことを「しっぺ返し」と言います。

しっぺ返しはもともと、「竹篦(しっぺい)返し」と呼ばれていました。

「竹篦」とは、師家が参禅者を指導する際に用いる竹でできた棒状の法具のことで、「返し」は "to get back" を意味します。

座禅では、雑念で姿勢が乱れた際に、戒めのためにこの竹篦を肩に打たれます。

竹篦を打たれたものが打ち返すということから、仕返しのことを「竹篦返し」と言うようになり、「しっぺ返し」になったというわけです。

Corrections (2)

No. 1 Yukinekorin

Thanks for the interesting posts as always! ^^

Hmm...I've never heard of this phrase before, but I've heard of 仕返し. What's the difference between 仕返し and しっぺ返し?

Toru
Thank you for the nice question!
Both are used for petty things such as quarrels, and 仕返し is more common. As the difference, しっぺ返し has a nuance of "immediately" or "in the same way."
Yukinekorin
Sorry for the late reply. ><
I see! Thanks for sharing with me. So しっぺ返し is more like if you want to get back at them immediately, while 仕返し can be something more long term?
Toru
No need to apologize. (^^)
Yes, that's right. Compared to しっぺ返し, 仕返し can be used in various cases.
No. 2 sjstrauss
  • Shippe Gaeshi
  • This sentence is perfect! No correction needed!
  • When someone does something bad to you, if you pay him/her in the same coin, the act is called 'shippe gaeshi' (しっぺ返し).
  • When someone does something bad to you, if you pay him/her back in the same way, the act is called 'shippe gaeshi' (しっぺ返し).

    I think the original sentence is okay; this is just another way of saying it :) .

  • Originally, shippe gaeshi was called 'shippei gaeshi' (竹篦返し).
  • This sentence is perfect! No correction needed!
  • 'Shippei' (竹篦) is a bamboo stick that is used to mentor Zen monks, and 'gaeshi/kaeshi' (返し) means "to get back."
  • This sentence is perfect! No correction needed!
  • In Zen sitting meditation, when the posture of a monk is disturbed due to distracting thoughts, the guide hits shippei on the monk's shoulder.
  • This sentence is perfect! No correction needed!
  • That is to say, shippei gaeshi means to hit back shippei.
  • This sentence is perfect! No correction needed!
  • Later, shippei changed to shippe.
  • This sentence is perfect! No correction needed!

How interesting! This is my first time hearing about しっぺ返し.

Toru
Thank you so much for the corrections! (^^)
sjstrauss
You're welcome :)

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