日本語の熟語

Another round of Japanese expressions and idioms

Have you ever been wronged and felt your stomach was standing, or narrowed your shoulders after becoming embarrassed? Maybe you fancy yourself as someone with fertile eyes. The similarities and differences of various languages’ idioms make my eyes twinkle with possibility and perspective. This last week, as we studied the many kanji for the body, we’ve also learned new expressions with a wide range of meanings.

腹が立つ (hara ga tatsu) - Literally “One’s stomach stands” - Means “to take offense,” or “to get upset.” Is this one accurate? When offended, I don’t know if I’d describe my stomach as standing as much as reeling.

目が肥える (me ga koeru) Literally “To have fertilized eyes” - A compliment given to describe someone as a connoisseur with good taste, especially for art. This can also be used with the word for tongue rather than eyes to mean a refined palate.

肩がこる (kata ga koru) Literally “Stiff shoulders” - Aptly, this describes a situation is tense, uncomfortable, or uneasy. Remember to breathe, y’all!

肩身が狭い (katami ga semai) Literally “Narrow shoulders” - An outward representation of one’s feelings, 肩身が狭い describes the feeling of inferiority and embarrassment when you feel everyone around you can do something you can’t seem to get your head around.

親の背中を見て育つ (oya no senaka wo mite sodatsu) Literally “To be raised by looking at one’s parents’ backs” - As far as I know, there’s no perfect comparison to this phrase in English. Its meaning is close to “like (parent), like (child),” essentially meaning that children will learn from their parents’ example.

脳裏に浮かぶ (nouri ni ukabu) Literally “To float into one’s mind” - Japanese also has a phrase meaning “to cross one’s mind” with a 1:1 translation: 脳裏を横切る (nouri wo yokogiru), but this phrase implies a fond reminiscence of a memory. Often paired with the unique word 懐かしい (natsukashii) meaning fondly remembered, good-old, or nostalgic.

胸がいっぱいになる (mune ga ippai ni naru) Literally “For one’s chest to become full” - This one, of the idioms I’ve so far learned, is probably the most accurate depiction of its associated feeling: to feel overwhelmed.

胸騒ぎ (munasawagi) Literally “Noisy chest” - Used to describe a sort of uneasiness based on a hunch or bad feeling.

果物 (kudamono) - Literally “End thing” - In English, this doesn’t sound at all poetic, but the reason behind its meaning is interesting. 果物 means "fruit,” which, the PhDs among you might recognize, do in fact grow on the ends of plants.

還暦 (kanreki) - Literally “Return calendar” - This word describes one’s 60th birthday, and I find the history behind it quite fascinating. Two factors made the 60th a special birthday: Firstly, the fact that lifespans used to be much shorter called for celebration when one made it to that age; and second, each sign of the zodiac repeats once every 12 years, making year 60 the 5th cycle. While teaching about this word, our sensei spoke of the old tendency to measure age not in decades, but in groups of 12. As I thought about it, this way of measuring the stages in my life made much more sense than in tens. What do you think?

Elsewhere, a return

I returned this week to Ōji for the best Mexican food I’ve had in Japan, served at a place called Rocco’s Tacos. I got the chance to talk with the owner and son of the neighboring best-pizza-I’ve-had-in-Japan establishment Rocco’s Pizza’s founder, KING. I brought along enough classmates to halfway fill the place up, but still he told me to bring the whole class next time, and there will definitely be a next time.

After the meal I returned to a blooming Asukayama Park filled with families and friends on hanami (cherry blossom picnic) and enjoying the fresh spring air. Compared to my pre-bloom visit last month, there was so much more nature in the atmosphere, and green in sight. It was a nice reminder that more trees will bloom, and anything is capable of change. The sakura were falling as if in a film, delicately showering the park.

Some light train-hopping in Asukayama Park

愛を持って、

With Love,

gb

These letters are inspired by the Earwyrms playlist and newsletter. Read it here.