Japanese Reboot

カナン、カナン。

2010-04-22T13:01:00.002+09:00

Osaka City have a nice starter guide to kansai dialect up on their website here:

http://www.city.osaka.lg.jp/contents/wdu020/english/osaka_dialect/index.html

I just learned the word "kanan" there. It means "hateful". As it's bucketing down in Kyoto today I have been repeating the example sentence to all and sundry:

雨の日はかなんな。
ame no hi ha kanan na.

I hate rainy days.

Learning Kanji on Twitter

2010-04-20T12:39:00.003+09:00

Here are a couple of twitter users who can help you study Japanese.

@learnkanji (http://twitter.com/learnkanji) writes: "Learn japanese vocabulary with Twitter! You will learn a new word every day. Each word will be written in kanji, hiragana, romaji and english."

A simple idea but a good one. @learnkanji is probably better for beginner/lower intermediate levels though as the kanji are pretty simple. Here are some recent examples:

女 -- おんな -- onna -- woman‚ female
南 -- みなみ -- minami -- south
漢字 -- かんじ -- kanji -- Chinese characters‚ kanji
今年 -- ことし -- kotoshi -- this year

For a bit more of a challenge try @wa_k (http://twitter.com/wa_k). The kanji tend to be harder and they post two or three each day - also you can click through to a nice calligraphic version. I tend to pick the hardest one each day and stick it up as my computer's desktop background. So everytime I come back to my desk between classes the kanji is reinforced. Learning one kanji a day may seem like a slow process, but it's better than doing nothing and I figure I'm here for the long haul. Also - it works. Here's one kanji I learned the other day:

拝 - MEANING: worship, pray to, adore, look at (with reverence) PRONUNCIATION: hai, oga(mu) http://flic.kr/p/7UfFcg

Later that evening I was watching a movie ("A Merchant of Venice" with Al Pacino as Shylock as it happens) and as my eyes lazily hovered over the subtitles this kanji kept leaping out at me, most notably in these words: 礼拝堂　（れいはいどう - chapel) and 拝啓 (はいけい - a formal salutation at the beginning of a letter. So you see, slow and steady really does win the race!

Transitivity

2010-04-19T11:15:00.002+09:00

There's a nice (and useful!) guide to transitivity in Japanese grammar up on JapanSoc today. I think I might just have to add their learning Japanese pages to my Language Links on the right. Here's the link to the article: Transitivity in Japanese Grammar.

An Easter Resurrection

2010-04-04T20:58:00.005+09:00

Some of the people I follow on twitter are writing in Japanese - (another tool for vocabulary expansion!) - and today one of them had obviously had a heavy night:

んぐんぐ。コーヒー飲んで二日酔いから蘇生。

んぐんぐ isn't actually a word as far as I can tell. Maybe it represents the sound of drinking? Or the throbbing of one's sore head?

コーヒー飲んで二日酔いから - is easy enough. "I'm drinking coffee because I'm hungover".

This word I didn't know though: 蘇生 - そせい - revival, resuscitation, rebirth, resurrection. The kanji 蘇 is one I'm unfamiliar with but its kunyomi is 蘇る - よみがえる which also means to be resurrected. Powerful stuff, coffee! Happy Easter!

Inseparable

2010-03-30T20:44:00.002+09:00

My girl and I have been together now for well over two years. Naturally things have not always gone smoothly. In fact both of us have at times even spoken in favour of the idea of separation and yet... somehow we just can't seem to be without each other. One day my girlfriend sighed and said that maybe we had a 腐れ縁.

腐る - kusaru - means to go bad, to go off, to go rotten. Obviously this word has negative connotations!
縁 - en - is an interesting word. On the surface it means some form of relationship or connection but there is a deeper nuance that this connection is fated in some way.

So what 腐れ縁 (kusare・en) seems to mean is some kind of fated yet undesirable relationship. You might wish you could break it off - but wishing is useless. It's simply meant to be.　The example in my dictionary is:

彼女とは腐れ縁で手が切れない。

Which I suppose means something like "Unfortunately, my girlfriend and I are meant to be together, so we can't split up."

Not a particularly optimistic way of looking at our relationship I suppose (!) but one I won't forget either!

Emergency Exit

2010-03-23T20:24:00.008+09:00

If you study Japanese and you live in Japan, the world is your textbook. Just pay attention to the stuff around you - it might save your life! Take this sign on my balcony for example:

非常の際はここを破って
隣戸に避難して下さい
この付近を置かないでください

非常　hijou - emergency
際 sai - when, in case of
破る yaburu - break, destroy
隣戸 rinko - nextdoor
避難する hinan suru - take refuge, shelter, escape...
下さい kudasai - please
付近 fukin - vicinity
置く oku - put

I wasn't sure how to read 隣戸 (tonarito? rinto? rinko?) or if it meant the nearest exit or the house nextdoor. So I asked my Japanese friends and they helped me out.

In case of emergency break here.
Please escape to the neighboring house.
Please do not place anything in this vicinity.

Essential resources:

Kodansha's Kanji Learner's Dictionary
CANON wordtank G55
& Japanese friends Masayoshi & Tamachan.

Poor Man's Guts

2010-02-05T14:42:00.004+09:00

I went out for a very fine meal in a very fine restaurant the other night and was immediately afterwards stricken with a very bad case of the trots. My girlfriend said this was a case of 貧乏腹 - binboubara or poor man's guts.

貧乏 - binbou = poor
腹 - hara = stomach

Poor people she said, aren't used to eating rich food so if they suddenly eat some their stomachs can't handle it. Likewise, I've gotten into the lazy habit of eating rubbish food when I'm alone at home because it's quick and easy and I can't be bothered cooking. So the sudden onslaught of fine wine, hors d'oeuvres, potage, fondu, lobster and cake proved too much for me. My girlfriend thought this very amusing. I less so. However, tonight I have no worries. She's coming round to bake me a pie. I think my stomach can handle that.

Lend us a paw!

2010-01-27T22:47:00.004+09:00

At school now we are getting the students to prepare an end of term presentation of "great inventions". To get them thinking about it I gave them some pictures from the chindogu website and had them try to name and describe the invention in their own words. This particular picture elicited a Japanese expression I was unfamiliar with.

猫の手も借りたい　
neko no te mo karitai
wanting to borrow a cat's paw

Apparently this is used when really really busy so for example 猫の手も借りたいほど忙しい actually means "...so busy I need all the help I can get...". But why a cat in particular is singled out as the source of a helping hand (or paw) in times of need remains a mystery. I wouldn't be surprised if this expression was the inspiration behind these ingenious duster slippers for cats though.

Whitewash!

2010-01-14T00:01:00.005+09:00

The school I teach at is Buddhist and each month the religious studies department chooses a message to be put up in every classroom. It's called 今月の言葉. This month's message runs as follows:

人の幸せをよろこぶ人は
幸せである

人 - hito = person/people
幸せ- shiawase = happiness, joy
よろこぶ - yorokobu = to be pleased, to be delighted

So literally this means "People who are pleased at the happiness of people have happiness". Literal translations make hard reading though. More naturally we might say:

Happiness is sharing in another person's joy.

Not exactly a deep message but because of the simple vocabulary it is very easy to understand and remember. Which is why in a whimsical mood last night I recited it to my girlfriend and asked her what she thought of it. She didn't like it. "People are not so pure and simple," she said. "I hate 奇麗事."

きれいごと. Here was a word I didn't know. So I looked it up.

奇麗　(kirei - "clean","tidy") ＋　事　(koto - "stuff") ＝
奇麗事 - kireigoto = whitewashing, saying the expected, avoiding complications, glossing over etc...

She has a point. That message does have a note of the Hallmark about it. I like that word though 奇麗事. Here's an example from my dictionary:

きれいごとだけで世の中を渡ることはできない。

世の中 - yo no naka = the world, life
渡る - wataru = cross

You can't get through life trying to keep everyone happy.

Or more simply "You can't make an omlette without breaking eggs".

Living on Mist

2009-11-24T18:31:00.002+09:00

Here's another one I found in Kyoto Journa l. Genevieve Wood, writing of her meeting in the Philippines with paper making master and innovator Shimura Asao, describes how he has given up the ordinary but secure path of the salaryman to research his craft and to help people. "His means are meager..." she writes, "...in Japanese it's described as 霞を食べて ("kasumi wo tabete"), living on mist". That's a beautiful phrase. I had to look it up.

My 広辞苑 dictionary has this:

（仙人が霞を食べて生きるといわれることから）俗世間に煩わされず生きる。
（Because mountain hermits were said to live on mist) to live free from the trouble of the workaday world.

I really like this expression, it describes perfectly and with a gentle humour the kind of simple wonder one might express at the idealist who has deliberately stepped outside of conventional society. How does that person survive? What does he eat? Mist?

Here's some vocabulary notes for you:

仙人 - sennin = hermit; either one of those crazy old mystics living in the mountains of chinese legend or someone who has distanced themselves from worldy concerns.
霞 - kasumi = mist (there's a lot of it in the mountains)
食べて生きる = to eat + to live = to live on _____
俗世間 - zokuseken - the workaday or secular world
煩わされず - wazurawasarezu = to not be troubled by something (the negative form of 煩わせる - remember that kanji from yesterday?)
生きる - ikiru - to live

URUSAI!

2009-11-23T20:43:00.002+09:00

Aurelio Asiain writes in the latest issue of Kyoto Journal:

Given the importance of silence in Japanese culture and the attention paid to the voices of insects, I am hardly surprised that in modern Japanese the word urusai - "noisy, annoying, bothersome" - still can be found written with three characters whose literal meaning is "mayfly."

I never knew that. So I looked it up and it's true, although I think most people would probably write a simple hiragana うるさい, and there is another reading 煩い (with a kanji meaning trouble or worry and components suggesting suitably a fire in the head) it can also be written as he said.
五 read "go" means 5
月 read "gatsu" means month
蠅 read "hae" means fly
But put them together and 五月蠅い is read "urusai". Noisy in the sense that someone bugs you by pestering you till you simply cannot stand it. Or noisy in the sense of someone deliberately trying to wind you up. On such occasions a Japanese might let rip with an ill-tempered "URUSAI!" just as they might also swat at an annoying fly.

"Embrace" by Bump of Chicken

2009-11-04T10:26:00.005+09:00

So in the last two posts I put up some vocabulary lists that were intended to be preparation for learning a song in Japanese. I was going to go to karaoke shortly afterwards and wow my girlfriend with a surprise rendition of her favorite Bump of Chicken number. But then the karaoke evening got cancelled and two months went by... However, I finally got a chance to serenade her the other night and ...it was a triumphant success! Back in the day when I first came to Japan I used to study J-pop quite a bit. It's a good way to impress your Japanese friends/colleagues and an excellent way to build up your vocabulary, and improve your grammar, pronunciation and reading skills too! Here, finally, for your benefit are the lyrics in both kana and romaji and then of course the song itself. Bit of a tearjerker this one:

隠れてないで　出てこいよ　この部屋は大丈夫
Kakuretenaide detekoiyo kono heya ha daijoubu
鼓動の音は　ふたつ　ふたつ以上も以下もない
Kodou no oto wa futatsu futatsu ijou mo ika mo nai

逃げ道の途中　飛び込んだ　この部屋の中で
Nigemichi no tochuu tobikonda kono heya no naka de
君は僕に見つかった　首輪の無い姿で
Kimi wa boku ni mitsu katta kubi wa no nai sugata de

震えてるのはきっと　寒さのせいだけじゃないな
Furueteru no wa kitto samusa no sei dake ja nai na
どんな台詞もきっと　役に立たないな
Donna serifu mo kitto yaku ni tata nai na

腕の中へおいで　抱えた孤独の
Ude no naka he oide kakaeta kodoku no
その輪郭を　撫でてやるよ
Sono rinkaku wo nadete yaru yo
明かりの無い部屋で　言葉もくたびれて
Akari no nai heya de kotoba mokutabirete
確かなものは　温もりだけ
Tashika na mono wa nukumori dake

君が　そこに居ないと気付いたら　とにかく探すだろう
Kimi ga soko ni inai to kiduitara tonikaku sagasu darou
「そこに居る」のに「居ない」と　気付く時もあるだろう
“Soko ni iru” no ni “inai” to kiduku toki mo aru darou

この眼が視力を失くしても　僕は君を見るだろう
Kono me ga shiryoku wo naku shitemo boku wa kimi wo miru darou
体中の細胞　フル動員で　君を見るだろう
Karadajuu no saibou furu douin de kimi wo miru darou

呼吸の音がする　柔かい匂いもある
Kokyuu no oto ga suru yawarakakai nioi mo aru
全てこの手のひらに　集めて閉じ込めるよ
Subete kono te no hira ni atsumete tojikomeru yo

腕の中へおいで　隠した痛みの
Ude no naka he oide kakushita itami no
その傷口に　触れてみるよ
Sono kizuguchi ni furete miru yo
時間の無い部屋で　理由も忘れて
Jikan no nai heya de riyuu mo wasurete
確かなものを　探しただけ　見つけただけ
Tashika na mono wo sagashita dake mitsuketa dake

腕の中へおいで　醜い本音を
Ude no naka he oide minikui honne wo
紡いだ場所に　キスをするよ
Tsumuida basho ni kisu wo suru yo
命の無い世界で　僕と同じ様に
Inochi no nai sekai de boku to onaji you ni
生きてるものを　探しただけ
Ikiteru mono wo sagashita dake

腕の中へおいで　怖がらないでおいで
Ude no naka he oide kowagara nai de oide
生きてるものを　見つけただけ
Ikiteru mono wo mitsuketa dake
確かなものは　温もりだけ
Tashika na mono wa nukumori dake

Secret Project Part 2

2009-08-30T17:28:00.001+09:00

Did you learn the words and kanji, in the last post? Here are twelve more...

触れる fureru = to touch, to feel
本音 honne = real intention, motive　
抱える kakaeru = to hold or carry in the arms, to have (a problem)
傷口 kizuguchi = wound　
孤独 kodoku = loneliness, solitude
草臥れる kutabireru = to get tired, to be fatigued
温もり nukumori = warmth
醜い minikui = ugly, unsightly　
撫でる naderu = to stroke, to caress
輪郭 rinkaku = outlines, features
紡ぐ tsumugu = to spin (yarn)
腕 ude = arm

Learn these and in the next post I'll tell you how you can use them.

Secret Project Part 1

2009-08-29T12:36:00.000+09:00

Familiarize yourself with these words and their kanji now:

動員 douin = mobilization
震える furueru = to shiver, to tremble
隠れる kakureru = to hide (oneself)　　
鼓動 kodou = beat, pulse, throb
呼吸 kokyuu = breath, (respiration)
首輪 kubiwa = necklace
眼 me = eye
失くす nakusu = to lose something
匂い nioi = odour, scent, smell
細胞 saibou = (biological) cell
台詞 serifu = words, lines
視力 shiryoku = eyesight
柔らかい yawarakai = soft, tender

Trust me. They'll come in handy later...

The Moon & a Turtle

2009-08-28T19:13:00.003+09:00

I was wondering if there was a Japanese expression equivalent to the English "like chalk and cheese" to describe two things that are completely unalike. It turns out there is: 月とすっぽん (the moon and a turtle). Superficially, the moon and a turtle are alike in that they are round in shape. However, the beautiful moon riding the night sky and the turtle scrabbling around in the mud below couldn't be more dissimilar. I wonder how this expression originated. Here's an example sentence from my copy of 2001 Japanese and English Idioms:

彼らは兄弟ですが、性格も趣味も月とすっぽんです。
Karera ha kyoudai desu ga, seikaku mo shumi mo tsuki to suppon desu.
Though they are brothers, their characters and tastes are as different as chalk and cheese.

Many thanks to Ueno-san of Tsurugi for teaching me this expression. And for those who are interested in the origins of the wonderfully alliterative "chalk and cheese", you can find some information here.

あなたがお酒を飲んだら・・・？

2009-08-27T16:03:00.003+09:00

Looking for something else, I came across this video of 慣用句 (kanyouku = idioms) related to booze. There were a few things here I wasn't familiar with so I've put some notes at the bottom of the post. First though let's watch it!

上戸　jougo = a drinker
泣き上戸 nakijougo = a crying drunk
笑い上戸 waraijougo = a laughing drunk
呂律 roretsu = articulation
呂律が回らない roretsu ga mawaranai = to be inarticulate, to have slurred speech

Shoes

2009-08-26T19:11:00.004+09:00

As my girl Mewby was putting on her shoes in the 玄関 today she said to me:

いい靴はいい所に連れて行ってくれるねんで。

玄関 - genkan = entryway
いい - ii = good
靴 - kutsu = shoes
所 - tokoro = place
連れて行く - tsurete iku = take you along
くれる - kureru = do (something) for (someone)

ねんで (nen de) is simply the 関西弁 (Kansai ben or Kansai dialect) equivalent of だよ (da yo) meaning something like "you know". In other words:

You know a good pair of shoes will take you to good places.

Little expressions like that please me no end.

Kanji Pictographix

2009-07-29T17:43:00.012+09:00

The sharp eyed among you will have noticed that I have added a link on the left of the page to Michael Rowley's Kanji Pictographix site. Back before I first came to Japan (aeons ago) his book Kana Pictographix helped me get to grips with what seemed at the time the completely alien hiragana and katakana phonetic syllabaries. Later, his book Kanji Pict-O-Graphix also helped me a lot. Michael Rowley is an accomplished illustrator, photographer, and best-selling author who has used his beautifully designed visual mnemonics to teach not only kanji, but also geography and the periodic table! As I said his books helped me a lot. I liked the way he grouped the kanji thematically, and tried as much as possible to reveal the elements original meanings in his illustrations. Of course this visual style of mnemonic doesn't work for everyone. Each person needs to find their own way to study. Personally I combined these with a storytelling technique similar to that suggested by James W. Heisig in his book Remembering the Kanji. Why not check out Michael Rowley's website and the samples he has on there before you think about investing in one of his books? Watch out also for the up and coming Kanji PictoCards! Link to Kanji Pictographix.

Buy Kanji Pictographix on amazon.com, amazon.co.jp, and amazon.co.uk.
Buy Kana Pictographix on amazon.com, amazon.co.jp, and amazon.co.uk.

Three similar kanji: 編, 偏, 遍

2009-07-28T15:46:00.005+09:00

Here are three similar kanji that I want to get straight in my head.

編　HEN = compile, knit

The on-yomi へん generally refers to some form of editing, eg: 編集　へんしゅう　＝　editing or compilation.
The kun-yomi 編む (あむ) means to knit. eg: 編み物 (あみもの = knitting).

偏 HEN = one-sided

eg: 偏見　へんけん　= prejudiced
The kun-yomi is 偏る (katayoru = be partial, be unfair, deviate) which is slightly different in meaning from 片寄る (katayoru = concentrate on one side, go aside).

遍 HEN = all over, times

eg: 普遍的　ふへんてき = universal　
遍歴　へんれき　= wandering or pilgrimage　
何遍も　なんべんも = several times
The kun-yomi is 遍く (あまねく) an adverb meaning widely, generally, universally, far and wide... which can also be written as 普く (see ふへんてき above).

Harsh life or happiness?

2009-07-24T00:05:00.005+09:00

Here are two kanji that are easily confused:

辛　　SHIN kara(i) tsura(i) = harsh
This can mean a (relatively) harsh taste (spicy = karai, salty = shiokarai), or a harsh experience ( tsurai = hard or painful, 心労 or shinrou = toil, 世知辛い or sechikarai is used to describe a hard life or a cruel world).

幸　KOU saiwa(i) sachi shiawa(se) = happiness, luck
This can mean happiness ( 幸福 or koufuku,　幸せ or shiawase) or it can mean good fortune and blessings (幸運 or kouun, 幸い or saiwai). And often both (幸 or sachi means happiness and good fortune).

There's only one stroke that makes these two kanji distinct. So here's your mnemonic:

The harshest of （辛い） experiences can be transformed into happiness (幸福) by a single stroke of good fortune (幸運 ).

Like what you do...

2009-07-21T01:11:00.005+09:00

Apologies for the long absence. Here's a new proverb for you:

好きこそ物の上手なれ。
[すきこそもののじょうずなれ]　

What you like, you will become good at.

So how much do you like Japanese?

A Very Long Reboot

2009-03-22T23:34:00.001+09:00

www.saikidou.blogspot.com is closed for repairs.

See you back here in May 2009.

Key Money and Deposits

2009-02-27T01:26:00.004+09:00

I have for over a month now been neglecting both this blog and my studies - but for good reason. I've been simultaneously enduring all the stresses of both house hunting and job hunting in Japan. Both of these activities are however, great language learning opportunities. Here are two words that you will become painfully familiar with if you ever need to find an apartment in old 日本. It's fairly important not to mix them up.

敷金　shikikin is a deposit. In theory you will get it or some of it back one day if you don't make to much of a mess before you leave. but depending on the landlord, in reality you won't get much back at all. The kanji 敷 (shi・ki or shi・ku) means to spread or lay or pave. It is often seen in words related to buildings or plots of land such as 敷居 (shikii - threshold)　敷地 (shikichi - a plot of ground or building site)　屋敷 (yashiki - mansion or residence).

礼金 reikin is a gratuity and is sometimes referred to as "key money". I don't know why it is known as "key money", as the kanji 礼 in this context simply means "thanks". You won't get any of this back. That money expresses your gratitude to the landlord for letting you live on his property. Expecting it back would be rude now, wouldn't it. We can't have that.

More house hunting vocabulary in my next post!

TELL ME MORE Japanese Language Learning Software

Purpose

2009-01-03T19:39:00.005+09:00

Today's Grammar

どんな時どう使う日本語表現文型５００ (500 Essential Japanese Expressions)
Chapter 2 Part 1 目的 (Purpose). Expressions 1-2 are ２級 and 3-4 are１級. Example sentences are from the text but the translations are my own:

1. 　～ように = means in order to but doesn't express verbs of volition, but rather those of movement or of possibility.

「黒板の字がよく見えるように前の席に座りましょう。」
In order to see the words on the blackboard better, let's sit in the front seats.

2.　～上で = means in order to and is used to express what is important or necessary or useful to achieve something.

テレビは外国語の勉強の上でかなり役に立ちます。
Television is really useful for the study of a foreign language.

3.　～べく = again means in order to but this time expresses something done in the past in order to achieve a purpose.

彼女は新しい気持ちで再出発するべく、長野県の山村に引っ越して行った。
In order to make a fresh start with new feeling she moved to a rural town in Nagano prefecture.

4.　～んがため（に）・～んがための = A formal expression used to express some effort one makes to achieve some special purpose. Note that it is formed with the negative form of the verb but that する becomes せんがため.

研究を完成させんがため、彼は昼夜寝ずに頑張った。
In order to complete his research he worked day and night without sleep.

This year...

2009-01-03T02:02:00.008+09:00

こそ is a curious word I can't get used to using as it doesn't really have any meaning as such, it merely emphasizes the word that precedes it. Here's a couple of examples from Jim Breen:

それこそ私が考えていたことだ。
That's just the thing I had in mind!

彼こそ本物の紳士だ。
He is a real gentleman.

And this rather timely one from my dictionary:

今年こそ本当にがんばります。
This year I'm really going to make an effort.

Speaking of which I've decided that as I'm going to be taking the １級 proficiency test this year, I really need to break open my textbooks and start studying in earnest. 一年の計は元旦にあり! OK so I'm a couple of days late but my New Year's resolution nonetheless is to study for at least one hour everyday and post a summary of what I've studied each day at the bottom of my posts here. Here's hoping I stick to my resolve!

Today I cracked open my grammar book どんな時どう使う日本語表現文型５００ (500 Essential Japanese Expressions) and studied the seven expressions in Chapter 1 動作の対象 (Objects of Action). Expressions 1-6 are ２級 and 7 is １級. I figure four years having passed since I sat ２級 I need to review them too. Here are the expressions with example sentences from the book plus my translations:

1.　～について = about, concerning, regarding

あの人について私はなにも知りません。
I don't know anything about that guy.

2.　～に関して・～に関する = about, concerning, regarding but more formal than について

今回の「余暇の利用」に関してのアンケートはとても興味深かった。
I was really interested in the latest questionaire about "Use of Free Time".

3.　～に対して・～に対する = toward, against, concerning

小林先生は勉強嫌いな学生に対して、とりわけ親しみをもって接していた。
Towards the students who hated to study, the teacher Kobayashi had an especially friendly approach.

青年の、親に対する反抗心は、いつ頃生まれ、いつ頃消えるのだろうか。
That defiant attitude young people hold against their parents; I wonder when it is born and when it fades away.

4.　～にこたえて・～にこたえる = respond, accord with

内閣は国民の期待にこたえるような有効な解決策を打ち出してもらいたい。
I want the Cabinet to hammer out an effective set of measures to meet the people's hopes.

5.　～をめぐて・～をめぐる = continue, over, around

財産の問題をめぐって兄弟の争いが続いている。
The dispute between the brothers over their inheritance goes on.

6.　～むけに・～むけの・～むけだ = for, directed at, aimed at

この説明書は外国人向けだが、日本人が読んでもとても面白く、ためになる。
This explanatory booklet though aimed at foreigners, if read by Japanese too, is very interesting and instructive.

7.　～にかかわる = be concerned, be involved, be affected (only used for very serious matters)

教育こそは国の将来にかかわる重要なことではないでしょうか。
Education indeed having such an affect on our country's future is very important, don't you think?

Giving Your All

2008-12-30T13:51:00.003+09:00

A curious idiom this:

粉骨砕身 - ふんこつさいしん

粉 FUN ko/kona = powder

骨 KOTSU hone = bone

砕 SAI kuda・ku/kuda・keru - smash, crush, shatter, break into pieces

身 SHIN mi = one's body, one's person

So what we have here is an image of one's bones being ground down into powder and one's body being smashed to pieces. It's a very graphic way of expressing the idea of giving one's all and it means to do one's best or exert oneself to the limit. I suppose a similar (American) expression would be to bust one's ass. You can read a poetic variant of 粉骨砕身 here.

More bookmarks

2008-12-23T00:58:00.005+09:00

Time to clear out some more of those bookmarks from my dictionary

猫かぶり　－　ねこかぶり　－　feigned innocence (an interesting idiom combining the words for cat and to put something on (a hat for example). Perhaps literally putting on a cat face?
出世　－　しゅっせ　－　the kanji for to go out and the world / life together mean advancement or success in life, something we are all searching for?
単刀直入　－　たんとうちょくにゅう　－　kanji: simple + cut + straight + enter = to speak plainly or bluntly.
一世一代　－　いっせいちだい　－　literally: one life one time, so: once in a lifetime.
せこい　－　small-minded, petty, cheap. A student jokingly told me I was せこい for emphasizing the importance of correct spelling. At least I think she was joking...
困惑　－　こんわく　＝　当惑　－　とうわく　－　to be dismayed, perplexed, embarrassed or confused.
居心地　－　いごこち　－　to be comfortable, snug, to feel at home.
居心地が悪い　－　いごこちがわるい　－　to be uncomfortable or ill at ease.

ブックマーク

2008-12-21T23:38:00.005+09:00

This is the dictionary I use. I bought it three years ago and it hasn't left my side since. Before I had this invaluable tool I used to laboriously search for words using dictionaries of the old-fashioned paper variety. Now I use this all the time, to speedily find words I hear on TV or when watching Japanese movies, to help me during particularly difficult conversations... and of course when I am studying.

One function I find useful is the bookmark button. When you hear a new word, you can look it up and bookmark it so you can review it later. Well, it's time for me to clear out my bookmarks as they are filled to capacity so here are the most recent words:

几帳面　－　きちょうめん - to be precise, methodical or punctilious. Another word for anal perhaps?
臨終　－　りんじゅう - one's death. For the life of me I can't remember why I bookmarked this...
馴れ初め　－　なれそめ - the first stirrings of love. Romantic, eh?
言わば　－　いわば - in a manner of speaking or so to speak. One of those words I hear a lot, but have never gotten into the habit of using myself.
しっくり - exactly, precisely...
しらふ - sober. Funny that I've known how to say "drunk" and "hungover" since the first day I got here but only learnt this word recently.
接待　－　せったい - entertainment or reception. I asked my salarymen students what their special talents were and Mr. Ohta said 接待, i.e. entertaining clients. He seems to know a lot of good night spots and restaurants in the entertainment areas of Osaka...

I could go on, but I think that's enough for tonight. If you are interested in investing in the dictionary, it's a Canon G55 and you can get it from White Rabbit press by clicking on the picture above. Or if you are resident in Japan, you can get it from amazon by clicking on the link below:

Hard times - and then some!

2008-12-17T22:45:00.006+09:00

A co-worker who has recently suffered a succession of disappointments recently said "It never rains but it pours". In Japanese you can express this idiom like this:

泣きっ面に蜂 (nakittsura ni hachi)

泣く - なく - to cry
面 - つら - a face
蜂 - はち - a hornet, wasp or bee

So you could say literally: a hornet in a crying face. In other words, just when you thought things were going badly - ouch!

However, the following expression may help one to bear up through difficult times:

継続は力なり (keizoku ha chikara nari)

継続 - きいぞく - continuation
力 - ちから - strength

In other words perseverance (through difficult times) makes you strong.

Lazy Sabotage

2008-12-02T23:51:00.006+09:00

彼らはいつも学校をサボっています。 They skip school all the time. Jim Breen's Dictionary

Did you know that the verb さぼる (to loaf, to be lazy, to play truant) and the noun さぼり (lazy git) originated from the French sabotage? I guess sabotage originally meant to sabotage the profits of the bosses by deliberately working slowly. But in its Japanese incarnation it simply means being a lazy, idle, good-for-nothing, layabout, skiver. An interesting example of how Japanese adopts foreign words and subtly warps them.

There are more さぼる examples up here on SPACEALC.

Coarse Tea

2008-11-24T20:17:00.004+09:00

On Saturday, somebody at the clinic asked what we all we do to avoid catching cold. One person said he gargled "bancha". 番茶 is simply put coarse tea. However, when I looked it up in my dictionary I came upon this curious expression:

鬼も十八番茶も出花 = おにもじゅうはちばんちゃもでばな

鬼　＝　devil
出花　＝　the fragrance of freshly drawn tea.

Now according to my dictionary this translates as "At eighteen one is in the bloom of one's beauty" but at first glance it's hard to see why. Translated literally it seems to say "Even the devil, even coarse tea, has a freshly drawn fragrance" which doesn't make sense at all. Look it up on Jim Breen's dictionary though and things become a little bit clearer: "just as even coarse tea tastes good when fresh, even homely girls look beautiful at the peak of their youth". Not sure where the devil comes into it though, or even how common this expression might be...

It's really cold...

2008-11-21T01:19:00.005+09:00

A cold air mass has blown in from Siberia and has turned Kansai into one big refrigerator.

Cold air mass = 寒気団 - kankidan

寒　－　KAN 　samu・i = cold
気　－　KI / KE = gas, atmosphere, spirit, mind...
団　－　DAN / TON = body, group

寒さをしのぐ防寒着といえば何？　－　さむさをしのぐぼうかんちゃくといえばなに？

しのぐ　＝　bear, endure, survive, keep (the cold) out...
防寒着　＝　winter clothes

As for winter clothes, what keeps out the cold?

Zac Baran

2008-11-18T13:34:00.003+09:00

There is a legendary jazz cafe/bar in Kyoto named Zac Baran. Up till now, it has never occurred to me that the name had some kind of meaning. However, in a favored 居酒屋 (izakaya) named Gohanya the other night, I asked Morisi one of the serving staff what she thought was the eatery's winning point.

"ざっくばらん," she said.

And "ooh!" thinks I, "It's an actual word!"

ざっくばらん means to be candid, frank, outspoken or straightforward. These are often held to be positive qualities in the Kansai area, though perhaps less so in Kyoto where a more typical Japanese reserve holds sway. Here's an example sentence from Jim Breen's dictionary:

ざっくばらんにすべきです。そうすれば彼らは君を仲間として扱うだろう。
ざっくばらんにすべきです。そうすればかれらはきみをなかまとしてあつかうだろう。
You should be frank, and they will treat you as a friend.

And you can find more examples at SPACEALC.

Like leaping from Kiyomizu Temple

2008-11-17T01:11:00.004+09:00

Kiyomizu Temple is all lit up at this time of year so that people can enjoy night views of the 紅葉 (momiji - autumn leaves). I went along last night and learnt this expression:

清水の舞台から飛び降りる - きよみずのぶたいからとびおりる = literally to leap from the platform of Kiyomizu Temple. It's pretty high up, so to resolve to leap from such a great height would require a lot of courage. Hence the meaning of this expression is to leap into the dark; to take the plunge; to jump in at the deep end.

A dangerous atmosphere

2008-11-12T02:08:00.005+09:00

In my Business English class this evening, the statement "You should keep your private life totally separate from your work" was being discussed and we were imagining various scenarios where this might certainly be considered true. All of my students are managers so we were considering one such scenario whereby two employees in the office are connected romantically and then break up. That would create a difficult atmosphere wouldn't it? I said.

険悪　said Mr. Ohta.

険 - ken - danger, steep
悪 - aku - bad
険悪 - kenaku = threatening, stormy, ominous...

What he was referring to, was perhaps 険悪なムード - a dangerous atmosphere . But this word has many uses:

険悪な天候　－　けんあくなてんこう　－　threatening weather
険悪な空　－　けんあくなそら　－　 a threatening sky
険悪な形相　－　けんあくなぎょうそう　－　a murderous look
険悪の相　－　けんあくのそう　－　a wild look or threatening aspect
険悪な顔つき - けんあくなかおつき　－ a black look
(人）に対して険悪な顔をする　－（ひと）にたいしてけんあくなかおをする　－ to give someone a filthy look

You can find heaps more examples on SPACEALC.

坊

2008-11-11T00:39:00.003+09:00

Greedy Pig = 食いしん坊　－　くいしんぼう

Sleepy Head =　朝寝坊　－　あさねぼう

Miser = けちん坊

Spoiled Child = 甘えん坊　－　あまえんぼう

A Myriad Gods

2008-10-31T01:26:00.006+09:00

I learnt a new word teaching a Business English class today. The topic of discussion was culture and we were talking specifically about how religion affects a culture. Most Japanese these days are not so religious but the Shinto and Buddhist religions have certainly helped to create the culture that they live in. Mr. Ohta then said to me, "In Japan, we don't have only one God, and we don't think just one God is important. We have many many Gods." And he taught me this word:

八百万の神 - やおよろずのかみ　= (according to my dictionary
) the multitudinous Shinto deities.

八　＝　８
百　＝　１００
万　＝　１０，０００
神　＝　gods

So literally 8000,000 gods but this number doesn't have a literal or specific meaning, it signifies a myriad, or a number beyond count. I asked why 8 million signifies a myriad and not 6 or 7. It's the shape of the kanji 八 my students said. "It spreads wide towards the base like a mountain," said Mr. Yokoyama, "So for Japanese 八 means something growing wider...". Anyway, said Mr. Ohta smiling, "For Japanese, Christ or Buddha are just another pair of Gods in 八百万の神. So when we have a festival it is at a Shinto shrine, and when we die our funeral is Buddhist, and when we get married, it's in a church." And then we all laughed.

The one fair flower in the field...

2008-10-30T02:02:00.004+09:00

Today's phrase is

紅一点　－　こういってん　－　the only woman present

So why does red + one + point = the only lady present?

Well, it seems to come from this old literary expression:

万緑叢中紅一点－ばんりょくそうちゅうこういってん

万緑 means "a heck of a lot of green" basically and 叢 means thickets, bushes that kind of thing. So the one red point in a sea of green is so to speak the one fair flower in sight - i.e. a member of the fair sex. I was wondering though, if there was an equivalent phrase for when one is the only chap in a sea of chapesses...

Indian Summer #2

2008-10-28T22:08:00.006+09:00

Another sunny autumn day today and this word has been added to my vocabulary:

秋晴れ - akibare

I couldn't find it in my Japanese/English dictionary so I looked it up in the 広辞苑 (koujien) Japanese dictionary instead. It said:

秋の、すっかり晴れ渡った天気。
あきの、すっかりはれわたったてんき。

秋　- aki - autumn
すっかり　- sukkari - completely
晴れ渡る - harewataru - to clear up, to be cloudless
天気 - tenki - weather

秋晴れ　＝　clear autumnal weather

There are some examples of it's usage here on SPACEALC.

And here's another one from Jim Breen's dictionary:

このところの美しい秋晴れは、雨の多かった夏の埋め合わせをしてくれている。
This beautiful autumn weather we've been having makes up for the wet summer.

Indian Summer

2008-10-27T23:24:00.003+09:00

After days and days of incessant inclemency today finally we had sunshine, warmth, a lovely day.

「小春日和やな」 said my girlfriend, a warm autumn day...

小　－　こ　－ small
春　－　はる　－ spring
日和　－　ひより　(special reading) － weather

koharubiyori = Indian summer

It's a bit rough...

2008-10-24T01:41:00.005+09:00

I bumped into a former student at Shichijo Station yesterday. Making small talk we naturally asked each other where we were headed. "Neyagawashi" she said and pointed it out on the train line map. It was a small town I had never heard of, somewhere between Kyoto and Osaka City proper. "What's that like?" I asked her.

"ちあんがわるい." she said. "There are too many yankees".

"Yankees" in Japan are basically bad boys, young toughs and trouble-makers, so I guessed that "chian ga warui" meant that the place was a little dangerous. Having guessed that, I tried to guess the kanji for ちあん. Could it be that CHI was 地 meaning place and AN was 安 meaning safety? Almost, but not quite. I was right about the second kanji, but the first is actually...

治 - JI / CHI - osa・meru / osa・maru /nao・ru /nao・su - to govern or to cure

Combined with 安 it means public peace and order. So 治安がいい means safe and 治安が悪い means dangerous. It's rough out in the sticks.

Solemn or Severe?

2008-10-23T00:32:00.002+09:00

One of my students spent some time studying in the UK over the summer vacation so I asked her what she thought of it. 厳格 she said.

厳　－ GEN / GON - ogosko・ka / kibi・shii - severe
格　－ KAKU / KOU - status, norm or quality

厳格 according to my dictionary
means strict, stern, severe, or straitlaced. It seemed a harsh opinion for my country, perhaps she was referring to the school she was at? She shook her head. 厳か, she said. "Ogosoka" can mean solemn, sober, grave and austere. Which doesn't sound too much better. But then it can also mean majestic and awe-inspiring. I told her to say England was awe-inspiring. Anyway, here's further evidence that a words meaning can be fairly fluid and you should definitely get a feel for how a word is used in practice rather than relying solely on your dictionary...

You Are Your Parents

2008-10-21T15:37:00.006+09:00

Here's an expression that came up the other night when we were talking about how as we grow older we inevitably turn into our parents (scary but true):

血は争えない。ー　chi ha arasoenai ー literally: you can't fight blood.

血　－　KETSU - chi = blood
争　－　SOU - araso・u = contend, vie, fight, dispute, argue...

Most dictionaries translate this as "Blood will tell". Here's an example from SPACEALC (very good for examples is SPACEALC):

血は争えないね。彼の短気なところは父親譲りだ。
Blood will tell. He inherited a short temper from his father. LINK

短気 - tanki - short temper
父親 - chichi oya - father
譲り - yuzuri - inheritance

As Happy and Warm as Larry Toast

2008-10-15T00:18:00.003+09:00

Here's a couple of 擬音語 (giongo - onomatopoeic words) that I have picked up lately:

ほかほか　－ warm
ぽかぽか　－ warm

There doesn't seem to be much difference between them does there? Indeed with 擬音語 people do tend to use them in a rather 適当 (tekitou - as one pleases) way, so whatever subtle nuances there are between these two are hard to pinpoint exactly. However, on the whole ほかほか seems to be associated with hot tasty food, whereas ぽかぽか is used more to describe something such as the weather or exercise that warms the body. There will inevitably be crossover between the two though. Here are a couple of examples:

鍋を食べて、体がホカホカしてきた。
nabe wo tabete karada ga hokahoka shitekita.

ー　Eating hotpot has warmed me up.

マラソンしていると体がポカポカしてくる。
marason shiteiru to karada ga pokapoka shitekuru.

ー　Running a marathon warms up the body.

Amusingly ポカポカ can also be used to describe the sound made when beating someone.

Night & the Ox

2008-10-13T01:36:00.004+09:00

You may be familiar with the twelve animal signs of the Chinese zodiac and how each year is assigned an animal in a twelve year cycle. Back in the day, the Japanese measured their days and nights by these animal signs too. The "time of the ox" being synonymous with the dead of night still survives in this expression:

草木も眠る丑三つ時 - くさきもねむるうしみつどき - The third hour of the ox when even trees and grasses sleep.

In other words: the wee hours in the dead of night.

Note that the 干支 (eto) kanji for Ox: 丑 is different from that used normally: 牛. All the eto kanji are different in this way. I'm a night owl myself and am writing this right now at 丑三つ時.

Against procrastination...

2008-10-10T01:31:00.003+09:00

I have a terrible habit of putting things off till later and very often till the last possible moment. So this expression is one I feel I must take to heart:

思い立ったが吉日。　-　おもいたったがきちじつ。　－ The moment you think of doing something is the lucky day.

思い立つ　－　思い立つ　－　to think of doing, to decide to do, to make up one's mind to do...
吉日　－　きちじつ　－　lucky day

This expression means that the moment you decide to do something is the best time to act upon it, in other words there is no time like the present.

Autumn Skies

2008-10-08T00:06:00.005+09:00

Here's a site that's worth a look, with some very nicely illustrated Japanese proverbs:

http://proverbswithillustrations.blogspot.com/

It's just a pity that they don't seem to be adding any more recently.

And here's today's proverb from me, an old favorite of mine actually:

秋の空と女心 - aki no sora to onna gokoro - Autumn skies and a woman's mind/heart.

The implication being that autumn skies are as changeable as women are fickle. Happily, my girl aint fickle. Mind, the skies aren't too changeable these days either; just rain, rain rain...

Those Gentle Autumn Blues...

2008-10-06T22:52:00.006+09:00

There's a particular feeling of melancholy, a kind of romantic sadness, I associate with autumn that I think the Japanese also feel very strongly and express very well in poems like this:

奥山の
もみじ踏み分け
鳴く鹿の
声聞くときぞ
秋は悲しき
(猿丸太夫）

okuyama no
momiji fumiwake
naku shika no
koe kiku toki zo
aki ha kanashiki
(By Sarumaru Dayu)

Deep in the mountains,
wading through leaves,
when I hear the stag's voice calling,
Autumn is so sad.
(Very rough translation by Michael Lambe)

I've long wondered what word could express this feeling in Japanese. When I look up the word "melancholy" all I find are dark words describing gloom and depression. However, the particular autumn melancholy I am trying to express is a kind of pleasant, romantic feeling... At the weekend I met a gentleman who knew exactly what I meant and gave me this word, which is today's word, to describe it:

寂寥　-　せきりょう - loneliness, still, quiet, desolate...

Let's look at those kanji. Both seem to mean the same thing but the first kanji is the one most commonly used to write "sabishii" or lonely.

寂 - SEKI / JAKU - sabishii - lonely
寥 - RYO - sabishii - lonely

The second kanji seems describe less a personal feeling of missing someone than a place or landscape that is empty of people, such as in the word 寥々たる (ryouryoutaru) which can mean barren, or sparse, or rare...

Here's how today's word is used:

寂寥を感じる - sekiryou wo kanjiru - to feel lonely
寂寥感 - sekiryoukan - loneliness
寂寥たる眺め - sekiryoutaru nagame - a lonely scene

A Bad Shot...

2008-10-03T23:15:00.004+09:00

I'm always worried when applying for jobs, that I don't possess the right skills or qualifications. That still small voice of self-doubt whispers from the back of the mind "You just aren't good enough! Why do you bother?" But then my girlfriend encourages me to try anyway with this expression:

下手な鉄砲も数撃ちゃ当たる。

下手 - heta - clumsy, poor, unskilled, awkward...
鉄砲 - teppou - gun
数 - kazu - a large number, many
撃ちゃ - ucha - from 撃つ (utsu) - fire, shoot
当たる - ataru - hit the mark

Even a poor shot will hit the mark if he fires off enough bullets.

In other words, no matter how crap you think you are, if you persist you will eventually achieve something.

Like the desert needs the rain...

2008-10-03T00:24:00.007+09:00

So yesterday, when I expressed delight at learning the new phrase 「風邪は万病の元」, my friend replied: マイケルは新しい言葉を「砂が水を吸うように」覚えていくなぁー。

Bingo! There's another one right there! maikeru ha atarashii kotoba wo "suna ga mizu wo suu you ni" oboete iku na- You are remembering new words like the sand soaks up water, aren't you?

砂が水を吸うように = literally to absorb something like sand, but perhaps we would be more likely to say like a sponge.

My dictionary has this example:
彼女はまるで砂地が水を吸うように知識を吸収した。
kanojo ha marude sunachi ga mizu wo suu you ni chishiki wo kyuushuu shita.
She absorbed knowledge just like a sponge.

The variant being 砂地 or sandy soil. I'm told that either is ok.

10,000 ills...

2008-10-01T19:05:00.003+09:00

So, what with the sudden change of weather, I have been the victim of a sudden cold recently; a wearisome sniffly cold. The kind that makes your head hot and your legs wobbly and keeps you in bed and away from work. So, today I went back to work and still felt kind of woozy and wobbly (though the sniffling had stopped. And then someone asked me - 風邪はもぉ治ったん？ (kaze ha moo naottan? - Is your cold all better now?). Well, I'm not sure, I said. 鼻水が治ったけど、まだちょっとくらくらしている。(hanamizu ga naotta kedo, mada chotto kurakura shiteiru - The sniffles have stopped but I still feel a little dizzy.) Ah, said she. でも　「風邪は万病の元」やから気ィ付けてねぇー (demo, "kaze ha manbyou no moto" yakara ki tsukete ne - but "a cold is a source of 10,000 ills" so be careful, won't you?)

That's today's phrase right there: 万病の元. I translated it rather literally though. In effect 万病 means all kinds of diseases. So 万病の薬 (manbyou no kusuri) would be a cure all. However, it is most commonly used in the expression quoted above to mean that a cold can lead to all kinds of health problems. Here is variant I found in Jim Breen's Dictionary:

アンバランスな食事は、万病の元だぞ。
anbaransuna shokuji ha manbyou no moto da zo.
An unbalanced diet leads to all kinds of sicknesses.

Payback!

2008-09-30T14:43:00.005+09:00

Here's a phrase I learnt yesterday for the first time. I kind of like it. It's all about payback and just desserts:

付けが回ってくる

付け means bill or check so the literal meaning is that the bill comes back around but more figuratively it means someone will eventually have to pay for their wrongdoing. For example:

彼は怠けていた付けが回ってきた。

kare ha namaketeita tsuke ga mawatte kita

Now he is paying for his laziness.

弘法大師

2008-09-29T17:28:00.008+09:00

The other day my girlfriend was playing tennis and her partner having forgotten to bring his own racket borrowed one and then proceeded to play very badly. "It's this useless racket!" he complained, "It's ruining my game!"

"弘法筆を選ばず!" says my girlfriend, （こうぼうふでをえらばず） - literally Koubou doesn't need to choose his brush! To which her tennis partner replied:
"弘法も筆の誤り" （こうぼうもふでのあやまり）- literally Even Koubou's brush makes mistakes!

So, who is this Koubou guy and why are two young people talking about his brush during a game of tennis?

Well I'll tell you, because that was a rhetorical question, and also because in order to properly understand a language it's a good idea to know the culture of which it is a part. Koubou Daishi is a semi-legendary figure in both Japanese Buddhism and Japanese culture in general. Historically he was a monk, scholar, artist, poet, calligrapher and a civil engineer! In addition, to wearing all those hats he also has several names, known as 空海 - Kukai - during his life, 弘法大師 - Koubou Daishi was the Buddhist name (meaning Great Teacher of the Dharma) given to him posthumously and as a Buddhist saint he is known affectionately as Odaishisama. In his twenties he spent much of his life on ascetic retreat in the mountains or travelling from temple to temple pursuing meditative practice, until one night he had a dream in which it was revealed to him that the Mahavairocana Sutra was the key to his enlightenment. In order to study this sutra more closely, he travelled to China in AD 804. This was no small thing in those days, China would have seemed a world away and the journey hazardous. Indeed in a fleet of four ships, one turned back on encountering rough seas and another sank. In China he studied and was initiated into the rituals of esoteric Buddhism, and on returning to Japan two years later, he introduced the esoteric school of Shingon (真言 or True Word) Buddhism, the teachings of which can be (very) briefly summed up as follows:

Enlightenment or realisation of one's own Buddha nature is not unattainable and does not require a lifetime (or lifetimes!) of study and practice to achieve. Everyone has this inner wisdom within them already and with proper training of mind and body through ritual and meditative practice and the help of an enlightened master we can free this inner potential for ourselves and for others... More on the 真言 school on Wikipedia.

If you want to read more about 弘法大師 there's a nice introduction on The Jayarava Rave blog, with information on other resources and links to other relevant sites. Getting back to today's language point, though, it is as a famous calligrapher that he is remembered in those two expressions. Indeed, 弘法大師 was known as one of the 三筆 (sanpitsu - Three Brushes) or three great calligraphic masters of his age. So the first expression 弘法筆を選ばず means that 弘法大師's skill as a calligrapher was so great, it really didn't matter what brush he chose. In other words: A good workman doesn't blame his tools. The rejoinder 弘法も筆の誤り means that even Koubou despite being one the greatest calligraphers sometimes made mistakes whith his brush. In other words Nobody's perfect. Not even me!

If you would care to see some examples of 弘法大師's calligraphy there is a little bit up here.

A Chance Encounter

2008-09-27T17:43:00.006+09:00

Here is a nifty expression for when you meet somebody unexpectedly:

これは奇遇ですね！- kore ha kiguu desu ne! - Fancy meeting you here!

Note the kanji: 奇 means strange as in 奇妙 (kimyou) and 遇 means treat or encounter as in 冷遇(reiguu) cold treatment or a frigid reception or 遭遇する (souguu suru) to come across. So literally it means "a strange encounter". Be careful not to confuse 遇 with 偶 (as I did). They look similar and sound the same but one means encounter and the second means chance.

After the rain...

2008-09-27T17:32:00.006+09:00

I've been asking people why a sun shower is referred to as a fox's wedding ( 狐の嫁入り) and nobody seems to know but one lady thought it might have something to do with this expression:

雨降って地固まる - ame futte ji katamaru - literally: after the rainfall the ground is firmer

Actually, I don't think the two expressions are related at all but this is an interesting expression in it's own right. What it means is a couple get along better after a quarrel.

From my dictionary:
雨降って地固まるというわけで、あの二人の仲はかえってよくなった。

As is the way, their relationship seems better now than it was before they fell out.

Buddhist thoughts

2008-09-26T22:50:00.004+09:00

The school I teach at is (nominally) Buddhist and so just by the back entrance there is a chalk board upon which each month some kind of Buddhist message is written to inspire the students to think a little more deeply about their lives. I guess most of them don't read it and quite a lot of the messages come across as preachy and patronising anyway, but this month's message intrigued me and so here it is:

正しいことを
言っても
相手を
傷つけること
もある

tadashiikoto wo
itte mo
aite wo
kizutsukerukoto
mo aru

even if you say
the right thing
you still may hurt
a person's feelings

What is the meaning of this message I wonder? Maybe "Sometimes it's better to lie to save someone's feelings"? Or "Nobody's perfect"? How about "You can't please all of the people all of the time"? "Damned if you do and damned if you don't"?

It's been bugging me all day.

Well, back to the language. Please note this kanji: 傷. Look familiar? We have seen this before in the expression: 脛に傷持つ－すねにきずもつ　－　to have a guilty consience or a shady past.

傷 can be read as SHOU kizu ita・mu ita・meru and means wound or injury. This can be a literal injury such as 重傷 (juushou) a serious injury or 傷 (kizu) meaning scar. Or it can be something more figurative such as 中傷 (chuushou) slander or 傷物 (kizumono) a deflowered girl. 傷む (itamu) and 傷める (itameru) mean be spoiled or damaged and spoil/damage respectively. The word in the poem 傷つける (kizutukeru) in the poem can mean either to literally hurt or damage someone or to hurt someone's feelings. It's the latter meaning that today's Buddhist message implies. I'm wondering what happened to the writer of this message before he wrote it. A lover's complaint perhaps?

Fox and Tanuki

2008-09-25T23:01:00.004+09:00

Here's another foxy expression today, this one featuring another animal of magical prowess: the tanuki (or Japanese racoon dog). Like the fox, the tanuki is said to have transformative powers and to be similarly sly and tricky in nature. Here's today's expression:

狐と狸の化かしあい　～　きつねとたぬきのばかしあい　～　A fox and tanuki trying to bewitch each other.

Note the kanji 化. This means change into or transform and can be read KA or KE or ba・keru or ba・kasu.　化かす has the sense of bewitching or deceiving and can be used again in a variation of yesterday's expression　狐に化かされる.

The expression kitsune to tanuki no bakashiai is used when two people are competing in some way and are trying to outdo each other by sly or devious means. Let's say two of my students are in competition to get the better results. Perhaps they try to give each other a false sense of security by outwardly stating that they hardly studied for a test, when in actual fact they are studying really hard. This is 狐と狸の化かしあい. We might say in English that two people are trying to outfox each other.
　

あの二人は争って、狐と狸の化かし合いをしています。
Those two are in competition and always trying to outfox each other.

Fooled by a Fox

2008-09-24T21:48:00.005+09:00

More foxy expressions for you today.

狐にだまされた or 狐につままれた both mean to be bewitched or fooled by foxes.

As I wrote in my previous post, Japanese folktales often tell of people being bewitched, tricked and fooled by foxes. Sometimes you might even hear a first-hand account. My girlfriend's grandfather for instance, used to live out in a semi-rural area with lots of wild beasties, foxes and tanukis around. He said that he saw a fox sitting in his garden one night that gave him a look, then twitched it's brush to the left. After that, no matter how hard he tried, he could not get out of that garden! Even though he could see the gate, he just couldn't seem to reach it. Giving up, he sat on a stone and waited and waited and finally he noticed the fox was back again. It looked at him, twitched it's tale to the right and after that the old man got up and out through the gate without any problem at all. What fascinated me when I heard this story, was how similar it was to stories of inescapable fairy fields and fairy rings as told to me by my Irish relatives. But, I digress! Back to the language. Outside of folktale and legend to be fooled by foxes is usually used in a figurative way, when something you felt certain to be true turns out to be a total misapprehension. Here's an example my colleague Kou-sensei gave me today:

どこかへ出かけて財布を忘れた。持っていると信じていたのに。狐にだまされたみたい。

I went out somewhere today but forgot to bring my wallet. I really thought I had it with me. It's as if I was tricked by the foxes!

A Fox Wedding

2008-09-22T21:16:00.006+09:00

There was a heavy downpour yesterday, and then though the rain continued to fall, the sun broke through the clouds and it became a sun shower. My girlfriend reminded me of the Japanese expression for this: 狐の嫁入り (kitune no yome iri) literally a fox's bridal procession. A curious expression, isn't it? Foxes, in Japanese legends and folktales are often beings of magical ability; tricksters and shapeshifters, able to assume human (often feminine) form and fool or seduce unsuspecting mortals. Why a sun shower should be known as a fox's wedding, I'm not sure. Apparently there is a folktale about someone unwittingly stumbling on a fox's bridal procession during a sun shower but I've not been able to track the story down any further than oblique references. However, clearly there is a sense of paradox and confusion when rain falls in the sunshine, the kind of paradox and confusion that magical beings like foxes enjoy. Anyway, it's a nice expression, and I like foxes so I think I might post some more 狐 expressions over the next couple of days.

マンネリ

2008-09-20T14:50:00.004+09:00

A curious word this and a good example of those false friends known collectively as 和製英語（わせいえいご）: English words that have entered the Japanese language but in the process somehow shed their original meaning and come to mean something quite new and often, strange.

マンネリ (manneri) is short for マンネリズム (mannerizumu) which of course originally meant a mannerism but has come to mean getting stuck in a rut, the same old same old routine type-o-thing. There are some good examples of its usage up here. Unfortunately, I learnt this word when my girlfriend told me that we were マンネリカップル i.e. our relationship has become stuck in a humdrum groove with no spark or excitement... which gave me pause for thought. I shan't forget that word in a hurry. Now to go out and buy some leather goods...

Shins

2008-09-19T21:42:00.003+09:00

Here's an interesting expression one of my student's taught me. Earlier this year, I was asking her what she thought of her new home room teacher. He seems like a genial chap so I thought she might like him:

"He's always smiling isn't he?" I said.
"Isn't he though!" says she, "I don't know what he has to be smiling about! He's in his late 30s and he's still すねかじり!"

Let's look at the kanji for that shall we:

脛　ー　すね means "shin"
齧る　－　かじる means "to gnaw"

Literally it means to gnaw at someone's shins, but idiomatically to sponge off someone, usually one's parents. Another oft-used word for this is パラサイトシングル or "parasite single" - somebody unmarried and still living with and sponging off their parents. Obviously, this particular student doesn't have a high opinion of her teacher.

There's one other use of the word 脛 idiomatically that is of interest:

脛に傷持つ　－　すねにきずもつ　－　to have a guilty consience or a shady past. Here's a nice example off of Jim Breen's web-dictionary.

すねにきずもつ者は他人の批評などしないほうがよい。
People who live in glass houses shouldn't throw stones.

Tiles - 瓦

2008-09-17T22:31:00.006+09:00

Just a short one today. A new kanji I've learned that looks very much like what it represents:

瓦　- GA/GE - kawara guramu - tile or gram

I found this while reading about Kyoto's Cafe Kocsi in 京都のカフェランチ (らくたび文庫 No. 17). Apparently from the windows you can see many tiled rooftops or 瓦屋根【かわらやね】: a typical Kyoto scene. Here are some more words using this kanji:

瓦家　- かわらや　-　a tile-roofed house
瓦屋 - かわらや　-　a tile-maker or a tiler
瓦礫　- がれき - debris, rubble, wreckage
瓦解　- がかい　-　a debacle, a downfall, a collapse

復習　- Review: Sept 5th - 16th

2008-09-16T15:49:00.005+09:00

Let's review some of the key words and phrases we have looked at so far. I think the best way to review vocabulary is to try and use it in a sentence. It's also a good idea to ask someone Japanese to look at your sentences for you, to be sure you are using the vocabulary correctly. Here are my efforts, in kanji, hiragana (spaced out for readability) and then in English. Each header links back to the original post.

1. 孤児院

インチャチャンボの孤児院の資金を調達するためのイベントを用意したい。

インチャチャンボのこじいんのしきんをちょうたつするためのイベントをよういしたい。
I want to organize a fundraising event for the orphange Intyatyambo.

2. 淀む

パーティーで日本語で一言言わなければならない。人前で話すのは凄く恥ずかしいので淀みなく話せるかわからない。

パーティーで　にほんごで　ひとこと　いわなければならない。ひとまえで　はなすのは　すごく　はずかしい　ので　よどみなくはなせるか　わからない。

I have to say a few words in Japanese at the party. I'm really shy of speaking in public so I don't no if I can speak without faltering.

3. 焦る

仮病を使って会社を休んだのが上司にばれそうになって焦った。

けびょう　を　つかって　かいしゃ　を　やすんだ　のが　じょうし　に　ばれそう　になって　あせった。

I was in a panic because it looked like my boss might find out I pretended to be sick to take a day off work.

4. 鯖を読む

This next example is a good example of why you need someone to check your sentences for you. My first attempt went like this:

面接官にいい印象をつけるために今までの仕事の経験について鯖を読んだ。

What I intended to say was: In order to impress the interviewer I lied about my work experience. However, it turns out you can only use this expression if the lie concerns something numerical such as your age or your height. Here's the corrected version:

面接官にいい印象をつけるために今の仕事の勤続年数を鯖を読んだ。

めんせつかんに　いい　いんしょうを　つける　ために　いまの　しごとの　きんぞくねんすうを　さばをよんだ。

In order to impress the interviewer I lied about the number of years I have worked at my current job.

5. 　憂さ晴らし

Here again my first attempt wasn't quite perfect, but I learnt something useful from it. I originally wrote:

憂さ晴らしに鴨川で散歩しょう。
うさばらしに　かもがわで　さんぽしょう。

Let's take our mind off things with a stroll by the Kamogawa.

However, it seems that 気晴らし (kibarashi - to amuse or divert oneself) is more suited to this sentence than 憂さ晴らし. 憂さ晴らし (to let off steam) requires something a little more energetic or passionate than merely strolling by the river:

憂さ晴らしにカラオケで熱唱した。
うさばらしにカラオケでねっしょうした。

I let off steam by singing my heart out at karaoke.

6.　洒落

I asked a Japanese friend the difference between 冗談 (joudan) and 洒落 (share). 冗談 it seems is a joke but 洒落 is a joke that is a little bit smarter, usually a play on words with a bit of a twist to it. Then she started quoting Hamlet at me, but we won't go there. Here's my example sentence:

駄洒落を言うのはやめて欲しい。
だじゃれ　を　いう　のは　やめてほしい。

I wish you'd stop coming out with those awful jokes.

アフリカの動物

2008-09-12T23:30:00.006+09:00

Just for fun let's learn the Japanese names for some of the animals I saw on my recent trip to South Africa.

犀　－　さい　－ rhinoceros
象　－　ぞう　－　elephant
麒麟　－　きりん　－　not the beer, or the legendary Chinese beastie but a giraffe.

河馬　－　かば　－　hippopotamus - note the kanji means river horse.
狒狒 - ヒヒ - baboon
駝鳥－　だちょう　－　ostrich
ホロホロ鳥　－ほろほろちょう　－　guinea fowl
水牛　－すいぎゅう　－　buffalo - strictly speaking what I saw was a Cape Buffalo or アフリカ水牛 which isn't really the same as a water buffalo but never mind.

Lion is ライオン but the old name for lion, still found in some words, is 獅子（しし）and so the star sign Leo is 獅子座。

院

2008-09-12T23:06:00.007+09:00

Over the last couple of days I have looked at the first two kanji in the word 孤児院 (kojiin) or orphanage. Today we will focus on 院.

院　- IN - institution

Let's look at the elements that make the kanji. On the left we have a radical that means hill (it looks a lot like a flag fluttering on a hilltop), and on the right 完 (kan) meaning completion. To remember it let's imagine the institution was completed on the hilltop.

Here are some common compunds containing 院：

病院 - byouin - hospital
医院 - iin - clinic
入院する - nyuuin suru - enter hospital
退院 - taiin - leave hospital
大学院 - daigakuin - graduate school
美容院 - biyouin - beauty parlor, hairdresser's
参議院 - sangiin - Upper House of Councilors
衆議院 - shuugiin - Lower House of Representatives
修道院 - shuudouin - monastery, convent

Incidentally, if you are at all interested in donating to the 孤児院 Intyatyambo please visit their website at the highlighted link. They would be very grateful.

児

2008-09-12T22:38:00.007+09:00

Yesterday, inspired by my visit to the Intyatyambo orphanage in South Africa, I introduced the word 孤児院 meaning orphange and looked at the first kanji 孤. Today let's take a look at 児.

児　－　JI / NI - ko - child or infant

Not so difficult to remember this one. Small children have very large heads in proportion with the rest of their body so just imagine this kanji as representing one large head with a hungry mouth in it balanced precariously on a pair of tottering legs.

Here are some kanji compounds with 児：

幼児　- youji - an infant, a little child
園児　- enji - a kindergarten child
児童　- jidou - children, pupils
小児科 - shounika - pediatrics
小児語 - shounigo - baby talk
胎児 - taiji - embryo
風雲児 - fuunji - a bold opportunist in troubled times (!)
稚児 - chigo (special reading) - a child in a festival procession

孤

2008-09-12T21:49:00.005+09:00

This week I have been telling my students about the Intyatyambo orphanage I visited on a recent trip to South Africa and thus inadvertently learnt the following words:

孤児　－　こじ　－ orphan　
孤児院　－　こじいん　－ orphanage

The meaning of the kanji are as follows: solitary + child + institution. Sad little words, aren't they?

I think it's worth taking a look at each kanji individually so today let's focus on 孤 and first of all its component parts. The left part of the kanji is 子 (SHI - ko) meaning child. The component on the right is 瓜 which is usually red as URI and means melon, gourd or cucurbit. うり bears more than a passing resemblance to 爪 (TSUME) meaning nail or claw. Just remember that URI has an extra nail on the bottom there and TSUME (meaning nail) does not. Or as my kanji dictionary says: 「うり（瓜）につめあり、つめ（爪）につめなし」。Now, why child + gourd should denote solitude, I have no idea, but just imagine a poor solitary bairn with only one single solitary gourd to play with and the kanji should stick in your mind.

Incidentally, 瓜 has some interesting idioms attached to it:

うりのつるになすびはならぬ。

Literally: gourd vines won't make eggplants, or as we might say "You can't make a silk purse out of a sow's ear."

And 瓜二つである is equivalent to as alike as two peas in a pod.

Getting back to 孤 (KO), be sure not to confuse it with super similar 弧 (KO) which has a a bow component on the left and thus describes an arc. Here are some words containing 孤:

孤独 - kodoku - solitude (there's a very nice shochu called 百年の孤独 - one hundred years of solitude).
孤島 - kotou - a remote or desert island
孤立 - koritsu - isloation
孤高 - kokou - aloof
孤城 - kojou - an isolated or besieged castle

Tomorrow we will look at 児.

淀屋橋

2008-09-11T22:38:00.003+09:00

If you live in Japan then you can learn a lot just from studying the things that surround you each and every day. Every week on Tuesday and Thursday evenings I go to Osaka to teach salarymen English. Specifically I go to Yodoyabashi. I see the kanji for the place name twice a week but until now it has never occurred to me to spend a moment studying it!

淀屋橋 - The "ya" and "bashi" parts I'm familiar with. What does "yodo" mean? The first three strokes on the left denote "water" and the component parts on the right form the kanji below:

定　-　TEI - sada・meru, sada・maru - to fix, decide or settle.

Put them back together and you get:

淀 - TEN / DEN - yodo, yodo・mi, yodo・mu - pool, eddy...

The verb よどむ can mean to stagnate or to settle (in the form of sediment) or to stammer or falter in one's speech.

The noun よどみ can mean stagnation, sediment, a backwater, a pool or faltering speech.

よどみなくはなす　－　means to speak fluently without hesitation.

Presumably, Yodoyabashi was named in part after a standing body of water... But now when I go there and see the kanji I shall always remember how I too wish to よどみなくはなす when I speak Japanese.

焦る

2008-09-10T00:01:00.008+09:00

携帯電話のメールで　

彼女：気分転換に今から美容室でcolorしてきまぁーすっ
彼：もしかしたら・・・金髪？
彼女：絶対イヤやっ。。。金髪がすきなん？
彼：ただの悪戯です。
彼女：あせったぁー笑

A text message conversation:

Girl: For a change of mood I'm off to get my hair colored.
Boy: Would that be by any chance... blonde?
Girl: No way! ... You don't like blonde, do you?
Boy: I was just teasing.
Girl: You had me worried!

焦 - SHO - ko・gareru / ase・ru　- to be impatient

焦がれる means to pine or yearn for... Today's word 焦る (aseru) means to be in too much of a hurry, to fret or to be anxious.

So "haste makes waste" = 焦ると損をする。　（あせるとそんをする）

魚 #1

2008-09-09T00:37:00.007+09:00

The Japanese consume an incredibly wide variety of fish. There are many kinds of fish I've had here that I have never tried anywhere else. In fact I'm often more familiar with the Japanese names for fish than I am the English. Time to rectify that. Here are a few varieties I ate just last night!

秋刀魚　- SANMA - saury. Note the kanji "Autumn/Blade/Fish". This fish is typically eaten in the autumn.

鱧　- HAMO - sea eel not to be confused with 鰻 (eel) though both are typically eaten in the summer. If you break up the kanji for 鱧 into its component parts you get さかな + ゆたか (豊) which means abundant or rich. The component parts for うなぎ (eel) are さかな +　まん / ばん / ながい (曼) which can mean wide or beautiful. This kanji is often found in Buddhist words such as 曼陀羅 - mandala.

鮪 - MAGURO - fine cuts of tuna. The kanji components here are さかな + ゆう / あ・る - to have or possess.

This next one I didn't eat last night but it has a curious idiom attached to it so I shall include it anyway:

鯖 - SABA - mackerel. Kanji components: さかな + あお - blue.

鯖を読む - SABA WO YOMU - to cheat or to lie. For example:

彼女は年を教えるのに鯖を読んだ。　~ She lied about her age.

Now I wonder how that idiom came about?

憂さ晴らし

2008-09-08T03:13:00.006+09:00

憂さ　－　うさ　- gloom, depression
憂さ晴らし　－　うさばらし　- a diversion, a recreation, an amusement

The kanji is 憂 which means to be anxious.

憂 YUU ure・eru 　ure・i 　u・i 　u・ki　= be anxious

晴らす - harasu = to clear

These diverting words came up while drinking at Hawkwind...

洒落

2008-09-06T21:28:00.006+09:00

Somebody told me a rather weak joke today and when I didn't laugh said by way of explanation 「しゃれ」。

洒落　means joke or gag.

The first kanji looks a lot like 酒 the kanji for 「さけ」 or alcohol. But it lacks that little line at the bottom. Here it is with both readings and meanings.

洒 - SAI / SE / SEI / SHA / SA soso・gu ara・u - wash; sprinkle

It means to softly and gently (さらさらと) sprinkle and wash with water.... and then comes the fall (落).

落 - RAKU o・chiru o・chi o・tosu - fall

The onyomi RAKU can be used to express a conclusion (落着 - rakuchaku) or humour (落語 - rakugo 落書き - rakugaki). 落ち (ochi) is the point or punchline of a joke.

Here are some more related words:

お洒落 - OSHARE - dressed up / dressed fashionably

洒洒落落 - SHASHARAKURAKU - free and easy; frank, openhearted; sophisticated

洒脱 - SHADATSU -　free and easy; smooth-mannered, urbane

Unfortunately, my friend's joke was 古臭いしゃれ (furukusai share) a really corny old joke:

"I am sorry... かみそり。ふくだそうり・・・".

www.再起動.blogspot.com

2008-09-05T21:39:00.006+09:00

再 (SAI) or 再び (futatabi) means again and is used like the English prefix re- .

起 (KI) or 起きる・起こる・起こす (okiru/okoru/okosu) can mean rise or happen or start.

動 (DOU) or 動く・動かす (ugoku/ugokasu) means to move.

起 + 動 = start

再 + 起動 = reboot

There you are, you've learnt something already. This blog is a personal study journal in which I will review whatever items of Japanese language I pick up each day. My intention is to reboot my enthusiasm for my Japanese studies, beginning with just a little study each day of whatever serendipity sends me here in Japan. My goal is to sit the Japanese Proficiency Test Level 1 in December 2009. I passed Level 2 a good 4 years ago and haven't seriously or consistently studied since. It's time to remedy that.

Japanese Reboot will be primarily a vocabulary builder but I will also be adding textbook reviews, seeking out other useful websites and offering the occasional study tip.