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Monthly Archives: April 2020
Row, row, row your bye
Gently down the WOLF CRYPTIDS?!?! 周章狼狽 shuu.shou.rou.bai Literally: circumference – badge/writing – wolf – wolf Alternately: Confusion and commotion; getting freaked out and not knowing what to do. Notes: This is another compound of compounds; both 周章 and 狼狽 on … Continue reading
Posted in Japanese, Yojijukugo
Tagged chaos, confusion, cryptozoology, 狼狽, hubbub, panic, wolf, 周章
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But supposing you brought the light inside
Just shine full-strength sunlight into every single cell of your body and you’ll never need to worry about viruses again. 馬鹿と暗闇おっかない (Baka to kurayami okkanai; “Both idiots and darkness are scary”) Definition: The darkness is frightening because you don’t know … Continue reading
Ace of crowns: Challah!
The onset of coronavirus brought a rush of baking to the country, and our household was no exception. I tried baking challah for the first time I can remember, certainly the first time on my own, in the first week … Continue reading
Not “as mysterious as the dark side of the moon”
(The closest to that seems to be 難知如陰, “as hard to know as a shadow.”) 風林火山 fuu.rin.ka.zan Literally: wind – woods – fire – mountain Alternately: The principle of dealing with things according to what’s most appropriate to the situation … Continue reading
Posted in Japanese, Yojijukugo
Tagged adaptable, 火山, 風林, NHK drama, success, The Art of War, war, 孫子兵法, 武田信玄
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You can lead a horse to sutras
縁なき衆生は度し難し (En naki shujou wa do shigatashi; “It’s hard for the Buddha to save those who do not know the Buddha”) Definition: People who don’t heed advice or warnings are very hard to help. Salvation is difficult for those who … Continue reading
Posted in Japanese, Kotowaza
Tagged Buddhism, 衆生, Lotus Sutra, salvation, social distancing, unsalvageable, 度する, 法華経, 仏縁
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A spectral interlocutor
音信不通 on.shin.fu.tsuu Literally: sound – trust – non – pass through Alternately: Communications getting cut off. While any break in expected communications can qualify, it seems to be commonly used to refer to “ghosting” – when one person simply stops … Continue reading
Posted in Japanese, Yojijukugo
Tagged cloth-biting, communication, 苦, 音信, failure, ghosting, 不通
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At the DMV, but only on Saturdays and New Year’s Day
All the rest of the time: drag-racing 怠け者の節句働き (Namakemono no sekkubataraki; “A sloth’s holiday labor”) Definition: On a day when most people are resting, someone who is usually lazy becomes a whirlwind of activity. (The concrete image is of a … Continue reading
Posted in Uncategorized
Tagged 節句働き, fake, holidays, hypocrisy, laziness, surface versus substance, 怠け者, 五節句
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Sorry, thank you, sorry
No, please, I couldn’t possibly. Sorry. No, no, no. Thank you. Sorry. 礼も過ぎれば無礼になる (Rei mo sugireba burei ni naru;“Even politeness, when overdone, becomes insolence”) Definition: An overabundance of manners and deference becomes rude. Even for something as valuable, and as … Continue reading
Posted in Japanese, Kotowaza
Tagged classical grammar, 無礼, 礼, happy medium, paradox, politeness, rudeness
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But if you try sometime
求不得苦 gu.fu.toku.ku Literally: want – not – get – suffering Alternately: The pain that comes from not getting what you want. This is the seventh of the “eight sufferings” of 四苦八苦. Notes: Despite being part of the same set as … Continue reading
Posted in Japanese, Yojijukugo
Tagged desire, 苦, Nirvana Sutra, Rolling Stones, suffering, unfulfilled, 大般涅槃経, 求不得
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