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Category Archives: Yojijukugo
A man with a heart of… field
野心満満ya.shin.man.man Literally: field – heart – full – full Alternately: Bursting at the seams with (possibly secret) hopes and desires of grand scope. Burning with ambition. Notes: This is a compound of compounds. 野心 on its own can be used … Continue reading
Posted in Japanese, Yojijukugo
Tagged ambitious, 野心, 長生殿, 长生殿, hungry, irasutoya, overweening, The Palace of Eternal Life, The Palace of Eternal Youth, 勃々, 勃勃, 満々, 満満
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Million-yard stare
Look on my Works, ye Mighty 空空漠漠kuu.kuu.baku.baku Literally: sky / empty – sky / empty – desert / wide – desert / wide Alternately: Vast; indefinitely wide – and empty. Alternately, vague; hazy; ill-defined. When applied to a person, it … Continue reading
Posted in Japanese, Yojijukugo
Tagged Buddhism, 空漠, faraway, featureless waste, Ozymandias, vague, wasteland
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A cure for what ails ya!
(Not universally applicable, unfortunately.) 応病与薬ou.byou.yo.yaku Literally: answer – disease – give – medicine Alternately: Just what it says on the tin: giving someone medicine appropriate to the illness they are suffering from at the time. By extension, teaching people the … Continue reading
Posted in Japanese, Yojijukugo
Tagged Buddhism, disease and treatment, education, 雑阿含経, medicine, Saṃyukta Āgama, 応病, 与薬
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All roads lead to Home
異路同帰i.ro.dou.ki Literally: different – road – same – go home / arrive at / result in Alternately: “Different path, same destination.” When differing methodologies produce the same end result. Notes: Synonyms include 殊塗同帰 (shuto douki), in which 殊 (shu, “exceptional”) … Continue reading
Posted in Japanese, Yojijukugo
Tagged 異路, destination, ends vs means, indy art, Many Roads Home, methodology, multiple paths, 同帰, 殊塗, 淮南子, 丸伊四角
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Eliza, Eliza
There’s a hole in the bag now; an exceptional hole! 嚢中之錐nou.chuu.no.kiri Literally: bag – inside – [possessive particle] – awl / auger / drill Alternately: A person of exceptional ability will show through even if surrounded by large numbers of … Continue reading
Posted in Japanese, Yojijukugo
Tagged 穎, exceptionalism, 錐, 類, Records of the Grand Historian, standout talent, 史記, 史记, 嚢中
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Greetings from a distant riverside
If only the poets of Chinese Antiquity had had video chat, right? 渭樹江雲i.ju.kou.un Literally: Wei river – tree – large river – cloud Alternately: To miss, to think fondly of, or to worry about a friend who is far away. … Continue reading
Posted in Japanese, Yojijukugo
Tagged Chinese Antiquity, Chinese literature, distance, distant friends, Du Fu, 長江, 长江, friendship, Li Bai, 扬子江, 揚子江, 李白, 杜甫, 江雲, 渭樹, 渭水, 渭河
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Ooh, yeah; uh, no?
有耶無耶u.ya.mu.ya Literally: exist – [interrogative particle] – not – [interrogative particle] Alternately: Vague; unclear; noncommittal; unsettled; indefinite; obscure. It’s not clear whether something is, or is not there, or in a certain state, etc. Notes: 曖昧模糊 and 五里霧中 are both considered … Continue reading
The preferred state of Mucha
無我夢中mu.ga.mu.chuu Literally: nothing – self – dream – middle / inside Alternately: Utterly absorbed in something; a state of deep concentration or focus. This is usually positive, but it can be negative, as in losing oneself in something; losing control … Continue reading
Posted in Japanese, Yojijukugo
Tagged complete absorption, 無我, dreamlike state, focus, self-effacement, 夢中
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A compassionate landslide
磊磊落落rai.rai.raku.raku Literally: “many stones” – “many stones” – fall – fall Alternately: Generous; tolerant; forgiving; not stressing over little things. Notes: This is a phrase that creates emphasis by doubling: 磊落 (rairaku) on its own has the same meaning. 豪放磊落 … Continue reading
Posted in Japanese, Yojijukugo
Tagged 磊々落々, 磊磊落落, 磊落, easygoing, generosity, tolerance, 晉書, 晋書, 晋书
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The bread and butter of foreign affairs
As long as it doesn’t devolve into something like the Butter Battle Book? 内政干渉nai.sei.kan.shou Literally: inside – government – dry / ebb / interfere – ford [a river] / involve Alternately: Interference in another country’s government or domestic politics. Interventionism. … Continue reading
Posted in Japanese, Yojijukugo
Tagged interference, international relations, intervention, physics, 内政, 干渉, 不干渉
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