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【No. 1496】Hana ga Magaru (鼻が曲がる - Bad Smelling)

Jan 22, 2019 17:38
Hana ga Magaru (鼻が曲がる)

These days, I have written about Japanese idioms that use "nose."

Today, I would like to talk about hana ga magaru (鼻が曲がる).

Since hana (鼻) means "nose" and magaru (曲がる) means "to be bent," the literal meaning of this idiom is "one's nose is bent."

Actually, hana ga magaru can express that there is a terrible odor.

This comes from the fact when someone notices a bad odor, his/her nose would get distorted.

[Example sentence]
Kono yasai wa hana ga magaru youna nioi da (この野菜は鼻が曲がるような臭いだ - This vegetable has an awful smell).
鼻が曲がる

最近私は、「鼻」に関する慣用句を投稿し続けています。

今日は、「鼻が曲がる」を紹介します。

「鼻」は "nose"、「曲がる」は "to be bent" を意味するので、「鼻が曲がる」の文字どおりの意味は "one's nose is bent" となります。

実際には、「悪臭があまりにひどいさま」を表します。

これは、ひどい悪臭をかぐとき、人の鼻が歪むことに由来します。

[例文]
この野菜は鼻が曲がるような臭いだ。

Corrections (2)

No. 1 えみ
  • These days, I have written about Japanese idioms that use "nose."
  • These days, I have been writing written about Japanese idioms that use "nose."
  • Today, I would like to talk about 'hana ga magaru' (鼻が曲がる).
  • This sentence is perfect! No correction needed!
  • Since 'hana' (鼻) means "nose" and 'magaru' (曲がる) means "to be bent," the literal meaning of this idiom is "one's nose is bent."
  • This sentence is perfect! No correction needed!
  • Actually, 'hana ga magaru' can express that there is a terrible odor.
  • This sentence is perfect! No correction needed!
  • This comes from the fact when someone notices a bad odor, his/her nose would get distorted.
  • This comes from the fact that when someone notices a bad odor, his/her nose would get distorted. he/she would scrunch up his/her nose.

    Do you mean 「鼻にしわを寄せる」(scrunch up one's nose)?

  • Kono yasai wa hana ga magaru youna nioi da (この野菜は鼻が曲がるような臭いだ - This vegetable has an awful smell).
  • This sentence is perfect! No correction needed!

I knew this idiom, but I never thought of the reasoning behind it! Haha :P

えみ
  • This comes from the fact that when someone notices a bad odor, his/her nose would get distorted. he/she would scrunch up his/her nose.

    Do you mean 「鼻にしわを寄せる」(scrunch up one's nose)?

Sorry, I just saw your Japanese text, so ignore the question! You would describe that type of facial expression as scrunching up one's nose.
Toru
Thank you so much for correcting my post and letting me know the new word! (^^)
No. 2 Oceansea
  • These days, I have written about Japanese idioms that use "nose."
  • These days, I have been writing about Japanese idioms that use the word "nose."

    I agree with the person who suggested the correction "I have been writing."

    You are continuing to write about idioms. Since this is still ongoing, I think "I have been writing about" is better.

    When talking about words like this, I like adding "the word" before the vocabulary term to make it very clear. This is optional but I think it is good.

Toru
Thank you so much for the correction and explanation!
I understand well. :)

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