Author Archives: Confanity

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About Confanity

I love the written word more than anything else I've had the chance to work with. I'm back in the States from Japan for grad school, but still studying Japanese with the hope of becoming a translator -- or writer, or even teacher -- as long as it's something language-related.

Ka mate, ka ora

Posted on February 21, 2018 by Confanity

生殺与奪 sei.satsu.yo.datsu Literally: life – kill – give – rob Alternately: Controlling people according to one’s whim. Having absolute power over others – to keep alive or kill; to give them things or take things away. Notes: The order of … Continue reading →

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Someone who can see through the shell game

Posted on February 19, 2018 by Confanity

亀の甲より年の劫 (Kame no kou yori toshi no kou; “Better the wisdom of years than a tortoise-shell”) Definition: Pun time! Japanese is actually full of puns, and here’s one that made it into a kotowaza. The phrase itself means that one … Continue reading →

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Knockout poor

Posted on February 15, 2018 by Confanity

器用貧乏 ki.you.bin.bou Literally: vessel – use – poverty – scarcity Alternately: Someone gifted with relatively good across-the-board skills… who, because of this, fails to develop any one skill to its full extent and ends up doing things only halfway. A … Continue reading →

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Soryaa, ii kamo?

Posted on February 11, 2018 by Confanity

鴨が葱を背負って来る (Kamo ga negi wo shotte kuru; “A duck comes bearing a green onion on its back”) Definition: A confluence of almost-too-good-to-be-true convenience. Often used when somebody you’d been planning to use or con comes to you with a get-rich-quick … Continue reading →

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War and Weft

Posted on February 7, 2018 by Confanity

合従連衡 ga-.sshou.ren.kou Literally: join – vertical – lead – horizontal Alternately: This compound commonly refers to diplomacy based on calculations of profit and loss; of making and breaking alliances based on the convenience of the moment. Originally, it referred to … Continue reading →

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Magic Monday – YAOSC Combat

Posted on February 5, 2018 by Confanity

Characters adventuring in a fantasy RPG setting are probably going to have to fight, sooner or later. This chapter is about how to handle it when at least one of the characters participating in a scene decides to try to … Continue reading →

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Der Dreigroschenvorteil

Posted on February 4, 2018 by Confanity

早起きは三文の徳 (Hayaoki wa sanmon no toku; “Rising early is a three-penny profit”) Definition: Waking up early in the morning instead of sleeping in leads to better health and a variety of other benefits. “Early to bed and early to rise … Continue reading →

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The good coyote?

Posted on January 31, 2018 by Confanity

(Or this one.) 権謀術数 ken.bou.ju-.ssuu Literally: authority – scheme – technique – number Alternately: A plan or strategy to fool people. Wiles; trickery; Machiavellianism. Notes: Apparently this compound comes to us from Zhu Xi’s (朱熹) The Great Learning (大学).

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Lucy in the pie

Posted on January 29, 2018 by Confanity

…with a 3D rendering of diamonds 絵に描いた餅 (E ni kaita mochi; “A rice cake drawn in a picture”) Definition: Something appealing that doesn’t actually do any good. Pie in the sky, to substitute a Western food. No matter how well-drawn … Continue reading →

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Desperate odds and awful evens

Posted on January 24, 2018 by Confanity

悪戦苦闘 aku.sen.ku.tou Literally: bad – battle – bitter – fight Alternately: A do-or-die battle against a fearsome foe or a terrible disadvantage. Struggling with all your might.

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