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【No. 1878】Kuchi ga Karui (口が軽い - Having a Big Mouth)

Jun 17, 2021 08:16
Kuchi ga Karui

People who have a big mouth can be described as kuchi ga karui (口が軽い) in Japanese.

Since kuchi (口) means "mouth" and karui (軽い) means "light," the literal meaning of kuchi ga karui is "one's mouth is light."

Here, the Chinese character 軽 is used in terms such as karuhazumi (軽はずみ) and keisotsu (軽率), both of which means "rash" or "thoughtless".

From this, it is thought that kuchi ga karui came to mean "people who talk a lot rashly."
口が軽い

おしゃべりで、言ってはいけないことまですぐに言ってしまう人は、日本語で「口が軽い」と形容されます。

「口」は "mouth"、「軽い」は "light" を意味するので、「口が軽い」の文字どおりの意味は "one's mouth is light" です。

「軽」という漢字は、「軽はずみ」や「軽率」など、「深く考えない行動」を表す際に使われます。

このことから、「口が軽い」は「よく考えずにいろいろなことを話す」という意味を持つようになったものと考えられます。

Corrections (1)

No. 1 hidoku
  • People who have a big mouth can be described as 'kuchi ga karui' (口が軽い) in Japanese.
  • This sentence is perfect! No correction needed!
  • Since 'kuchi' (口) means "mouth" and 'karui' (軽い) means "light," the literal meaning of 'kuchi ga karui' is "one's mouth is light."
  • This sentence is perfect! No correction needed!
  • Here, the Chinese character 軽 is used in terms such as 'karuhazumi' (軽はずみ) and 'keisotsu' (軽率), both of which means "rash" or "thoughtless".
  • The Chinese character 軽 used here can be found in terms such as 'karuhazumi' (軽はずみ) and 'keisotsu' (軽率), both of which mean "rash" or "thoughtless".

    'both of which' + plural

  • From this, it is thought that 'kuchi ga karui' came to mean "people who talk a lot rashly."
  • Because of this, it is thought that 'kuchi ga karui' came to mean "people who speak a lot and thoughtlessly."

    no comma needed
    'to speak rashly' is not very natural in English, this expression could be translated as 'having a loose tongue; being talkative; speaking without thinking; being unable to keep a secret'

Idioms are very interesting things in a language. Sometimes the origin of some is completely unknown, but somehow they are still around us~

Toru
Thank you for the correction and explanation!
Yes, learning idioms and the origin/etymology is interesting. :)

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