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Category Archives: Yojijukugo
Kaitenzushi
I certainly prefer it to the pork 行雲流水 kou.un.ryuu.sui Literally: go – cloud – flow – water Alternately: Going where the wind and tides carry you, instead of sticking with one thing or staying in one place. Constantly changing rather … Continue reading
Posted in Japanese, Yojijukugo
Tagged ancient China, トンポーロー, 苏轼, 蘇軾, 行雲, go with the flow, peripatetic priest, wandering, 子瞻, 宋史, 東坡肉, 流水
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A life spent just hanging around?
一生懸命 i-.sshou.ken.mei Literally: one – life – hang / depend – life / destiny / decree Alternately: Putting maximum effort into something. Striving as hard as you can; putting your very life on the line. Notes: The original form of … Continue reading
Posted in Japanese, Yojijukugo
Tagged hard work, life at stake, semantic evolution, utmost, 懸命, 一生, 一所
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If you meet the Buddha on the road, eff him
Is the word “ineffable” a paradox? 不立文字 fu.ryuu.mon.ji Literally: non – stand – sentence – letter Alternately: The Buddhist observation that satori (“understanding,” specifically insight into the true nature of reality) is not something that can be written down or … Continue reading
Posted in Japanese, Yojijukugo
Tagged Buddhism, 無門関, description vs experience, the limits of language, Zen koans, 文字, 无门关, 不立
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Just lions having fun!
And… gin? 獅子奮迅 shi.shi.fun.jin Literally: lion – child – vigorous – quick Alternately: Highly-energetic, even violent activity. Doing things in a furious, intense, or overwhelming way. Ferocious, or at least energetic, like a lion. Notes: This phrase apparently comes to … Continue reading
Posted in Japanese, Yojijukugo
Tagged Buddhism, 獅子, energy, ferocity, Large Perfection of Wisdom Sutra, linguistic trivia, lion, Mahaprajnaparamita Sutra, translation, 大般若波羅蜜多経, 奮迅, 師子
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Ningen shikaku
(More or less) 四角四面 shi.kaku.shi.men Literally: four – corner – four – face Alternately: Square. Four (equal) angles and four (equal) sides, just like it says. By extension, a “square” personality: extremely, perhaps even overly, serious. Meticulous; stiff; formal; lacking … Continue reading
Posted in Japanese, Yojijukugo
Tagged 真面目, paladins played this way are boring, serious, square, 四面, 四角, 太宰治
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I have seen tempests
櫛風沐雨 shi-.ppuu.moku.u Literally: comb – wind – wash – rain Alternately: Wind-blasted and rain-drenched. With one’s hair blown about by wind and one’s body washed by rain; by extension, someone who is out struggling in stormy weather because of work … Continue reading
Posted in Japanese, Yojijukugo
Tagged 荘子, 莊子, hard work, Shakespeare, stormy weather, wind and rain, Zhuang Zhou, Zhuangzi, 櫛風, 沐雨
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Dotted Is and red E
用意周到 you.i.shuu.tou Literally: use – mind – circumference – arrive Alternately: Thorough preparations, without any oversights. Being incredibly careful; doing everything possible to get ready for something. A good way to be, if you can manage. Notes: This is a … Continue reading
Posted in Japanese, Yojijukugo
Tagged cargo pants, caution, 用意, good advice, preparation, 周到
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Ta’anit umikveh?
斎戒沐浴sai.kai.moku.yoku Literally: purification – admonition / precept – wash – bathe Alternately: Ritual purification in advance of an important holiday, ceremony, or time of prayer; in particular, fasting and bathing. Notes: This is a compound of compounds. 斎戒 refers to … Continue reading
Posted in Japanese, Yojijukugo
Tagged bathing, 耳なし芳一, fasting, purification, ritual, 斎戒, 水木しげる, 沐浴, מקווה, תענית
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“Repetition does not transform a lie into a truth”
– FDR 再三再四 sai.san.sai.shi Literally: again – three – again – four Alternately: Repeatedly; over and over; time and time again. It seems that this phrase is often used while chewing someone out, to emphasize how many times they were … Continue reading
Posted in Japanese, Yojijukugo
Tagged again and again, たびたび, 紅樓夢, 繰り返し, repetition, repetition of repetition, Roosevelt, 再四, 再三
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Not quite cuckoo
But closer every day 鳩居鵲巣kyuu.kyo.jaku.sou Literally: dove – sit/be [in a place] – magpie – nest Alternately: Taking someone else’s achievements or social position for yourself. Undeservedly stealing someone else’s laurels or spotlight. Notes: This comes from our friend, the … Continue reading
Posted in Japanese, Yojijukugo
Tagged Chinese literature, Classic of Poetry, 詩経, 詩經, 鳩占, 鳩居, 鵲巣, magpies and doves, nest-building, stolen glory, undeserved status, 召南
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