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Category Archives: Japanese
Brandy Bundt, meet your match
盗人上戸 nusu.bito.jou.go Literally: steal – person – up – door Alternately: Someone who likes both alcohol and sweets. Alternately, someone who doesn’t show any outward signs even after consuming a large quantity of alcohol. Notes: The first pair of characters … Continue reading
Posted in Japanese, Yojijukugo
Tagged alcohol, 甘党, 盗人, 辛党, Hobson's Choice, sweets, 上戸
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A saying from Ni no Kuni?
Speechlessness of the White Witch 二の句が継げない (Ni no ku ga tsugenai; “A second word can’t follow”) Definition: Being dumbfounded. In a state of such complete shock or surprise that you can’t get words out even if you feel like you … Continue reading
Posted in Japanese, Kotowaza
Tagged 継げない, Drumpf, dumbfounded, shocked, speechless, 二の句
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Not even a loss leader
二束三文 ni.soku.san.mon Literally: two – bundle – three – mon (an obsolete, very small unit of currency) Alternately: Dirt cheap. Something so cheap that even selling it in huge volumes doesn’t make it profitable. Selling two pairs of sturdy woven … Continue reading
I learn by going where I have to go
習うより慣れよ (Narau yori nareyo; “Experience over learning”) Definition: It’s easier to acquire knowledge or learn a skill by practicing it firsthand than through simply being taught. Hands-on study beats abstract learning methods like lectures or book-reading. Breakdown: We have two … Continue reading
Posted in Japanese, Kotowaza
Tagged classical grammar, 習うより, experience, learn by doing, 慣れよ, 慣れろ
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A Buddhist “Oy Gevalt!”
南無三宝 na.mu.san.bou Literally: phonetic “na” – phonetic “mu” – three – treasure Alternately: Roughly equivalent to “Oh my God!” in Western exclamatory parlance, this phrase is supposedly used to invoke the aid of the Buddha when one has messed up. … Continue reading
Posted in Japanese, Yojijukugo
Tagged Buddhism, Namo, Namu, oy gevalt, three treasures, 南無, 一休, 三宝
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Something something Tokyo University
灯台下暗し (Toudai moto kurashi; “Beneath a lamp is dark.”) Definition: It’s surprisingly easy to be ignorant about things or events close-by. We are most blind to what is under our very noses. “Go abroad to hear of home.” The image … Continue reading
Posted in Japanese, Kotowaza
Tagged 灯台, 燈台, in the dark, lamp, under our noses, 東大, 下暗し
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Executive incense?
(No, that would be 独断線香.) 独断専行 doku.dan.sen.kou Literally: alone – sever / decide – exclusive – go / act Alternately: Deciding what to do, and then doing it, all on one’s own without consulting anybody else. Acting arbitrarily or willfully … Continue reading
Posted in Japanese, Yojijukugo
Tagged acting on one's own, 独断, incense pun, willful action, 専行
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Thank you Mario! But…
Bowser is in another castle? 敵は本能寺にあり (Teki wa Honnouji ni ari; “The enemy is in Honnou Temple”) Definition: One’s true purpose is “elsewhere.” Someone’s true goals are not what they were stated to be – not because they were confused … Continue reading
Posted in Japanese, Kotowaza
Tagged Akechi Mitsuhide, Honnoji, misdirection, Oda Nobunaga, 敵, 本能寺
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Everybody was cabbage-frying; those spatulae were fast as lightning
電光石火 den.kou.se-.kka Literally: lightning – light – stone – fire Alternately: As quick as lightning or sparks struck from a stone. Doing something with incredible speed, or something happening in an extremely short span of time. Notes: Apparently some people … Continue reading
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