義理と褌欠かされぬ
giri to fundoshi kakasarenu
Never fail to do your duty or wear your fundoshi
The 大辞泉 (daijisen) Japanese-Japanese dictionary has this definition:
男子は常に褌を締めなければならないように、義理を欠いてはならない。
Just as a man must always fasten his fundoshi, so should you never fail in your social obligations.
And the Kodansha J-E translates it as: “Social obligation and underpants–two things you can’t do without”
‘Twonce in a while, [...]
Just a quick entry.
This morning, minutes after waking up, Makoto saw two of his favorite things at once–grandma (baba) and cat (neko)–and decided to put the two together saying, 「猫ばば」 (neko baba)
猫糞 neko baba [lit. cat poop] is slang for embezzlement, pocketing, or just plain stealing. It basically means to pocket something found that is [...]
Makoto has been enjoying watching
となりのトトロ tonari no totoro (My Neighbor Totoro) over and over again.* It is a famous anime that you can buy in the States on DVD through Disney. It is set in rural Japan some time in the fifties or sixties.
Yumi mentioned the atmosphere of the movie reminds her [...]
Ok, I don’t have an official list, but these three proverbs tend to be the first new learners learn. I like pushing ことわざ kotowaza proverbs and other famous sayings because you essentially kill two birds with one stone – 1) you can learn new vocabulary and 2) learn a bit of cultural Japanese.
Speaking of [...]
Whoah! Setting up a new computer with a few heavy orders days really eats up blog time!
Today’s post is brought to you by the hiragana あ and the phrase 百年の恋も冷める.
First a word from our sponsors:
The Hiragana あ, normally priced at $29.95 fell last week for the first time ever under the $20 mark ($19.99). [...]
You say ‘good-bye’ and I say ‘hello.’
Or more interestingly:
You say ‘good-bye’ and I say ‘あばよ.’
Tired of the same ole 「さようなら」? Or is 「またね」 not cool enough for you anymore? Here are two ways to say ‘good-bye’; both of which aren’t very useful, but may spice up your Japanese with your friends!
1) さらば [...]
In my last post I mentioned a word which means ‘to pretend one is not home when one really is.’ Here it is:
居留守
i rusu
It starts with 居. This is the kanji behind the famous 「いる」 which shows existence as in:
犬がいる。
inu ga iru.
There is a dog.
You may happily go about your existence never knowing [...]
Let’s take a look at using うるさい urusai to mean ‘fussy’ or ‘choosy.’
うるさい’s usage isn’t limited to ‘loud’ as in the level of volume only, but it is also used to mean ’shut up!’ and as today’s post shows, ‘to be fussy about something.’
Notice the pattern is usually:
(what is being fussed about) + に + [...]
Here is a fun word I just heard:
(from Kenkyusha’s 新和英大辞典)
ひょうへん 【豹変】
a drastic change in character
～する suddenly change; change character; become somebody different; change one’s spots
This is an interesting word. First, let’s break it down:
豹 hyou leopard (the big cat)
変 hen change (into)
You may think it means to suddenly become as ferocious as a leopard, but [...]
Yumi just found this gem in a Japanese newspaper.
A man asked a child what a word she had written in katakana meant. She said “It’s English.” The child wrote 「アナポ」
さて、質問です。
What could 「アナポ」 mean when returned to its home language?
a-na-po
I’ll tell you, but before I do, I’d like to mention Yumi didn’t let me [...]
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