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【No. 1403】Okkū (億劫 - Bothersome)

Oct 21, 2018 22:45
Okkū

If you want to describe a feeling that you are not willing to do something because of bothersome, you can use the Japanese term okkū (億劫).

Originally, okkū was a Buddhist term, which represented a length of time that was too long to measure.

Oku (億) means "a hundred million," and kū/kou (劫) means a time taken to completely disperse a rocky mountain with a side length of about 2000 kilometers by stroking it with a cloth once in 100 years.

Since such an act to take a lot of time is troublesome and bothersome, okkū has come to have the meaning of "bothersome."
億劫

何かをするのが面倒で気が進まないことを、日本語で「億劫」と言うことがあります。

「億劫」はもともと仏教用語で、計算できないほどの大変な長さの時間を表すものでした。

「億」は一億 ("a hundred million")、「劫」は1辺約2000kmの岩山を100年に一度布で撫で、岩山が擦り減って無くなるのにかかる程の時間を意味します。

このようにとてつもなく時間のかかるものは面倒であることから、「億劫」は「面倒」の意味を持つようになったというわけです。

Corrections (2)

No. 1 HaveringChinese
  • If you want to describe a feeling that you are not willing to do something because of bothersome, you can use the Japanese term 'okkū' (億劫).
  • If you want to describe a the feeling that you are not willing to do something because it's of bothersome, you can use the Japanese term 'okkū' (億劫).
  • Originally, 'okkū' was a Buddhist term, which represented a length of time that was too long to measure.
  • This sentence is perfect! No correction needed!
  • 'Oku' (億) means "a hundred million," and 'kū/kou' (劫) means a time taken to completely disperse a rocky mountain with a side length of about 2000 kilometers by stroking it with a cloth once in 100 years.
  • 'Oku' (億) means "a hundred million," and 'kū/kou' (劫) means a time taken to completely disperse a rocky mountain with a side length of about 2000 kilometers by stroking it with a cloth once every in 100 years.
  • Since such an act to take a lot of time is troublesome and bothersome, 'okkū' has come to have the meaning of "bothersome."
  • Since such an a tedious act to take a lot of time is quite troublesome and bothersome, 'okkū' has come to have the meaning of "bothersome."

    You don't need troublesome and bothersome. That's slightly redundant. :)

Toru
Thank you so much for the correction! :)
No. 2 outdoors
  • 'Oku' (億) means "a hundred million," and 'kū/kou' (劫) means a time taken to completely disperse a rocky mountain with a side length of about 2000 kilometers by stroking it with a cloth once in 100 years.
  • 'Oku' (億) means "a hundred million," and 'kū/kou' (劫) means the time taken to completely disperse a rocky mountain with a side length of about 2000 kilometers by stroking it with a cloth once every 100 years.

    I'm wondering what "disperse a rocky mountain by stroking it with a cloth" means...

Toru
Thank you so much for the correction. :)

> I'm wondering what "disperse a rocky mountain by stroking it with a cloth" means...
I wanted to mean something like:
a rocky mountain completely disappears by the friction of a cloth.

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