茶飲みトーク: Tag 言い回し東

Itadakimasu

AndrewSuenobu — Sat, 20 Oct 2007 00:56:00 -0400

いただきます。

Itadakimasu basically mean, "I will receive it." It is a very polite expression used when someone offers you something or gives you something. You would say it to someone high above you in social status. It is the keigo (honorific) form of "moraimasu." It is also what one says before starting to eat. In this case, it means, "I am about to receive this meal."

This expression originally comes from the word "itadaki," which means the top of a mountain. It can also mean, "to be crowned with." In the olden days, if someone received something from a superior, he would bow his head and place his hands, palms-up, over his head in order to receive it.

Sumimasen

AndrewSuenobu — Sat, 20 Oct 2007 00:54:00 -0400

すみません

Sumimasen is one of those convenient expressions with a lot of different meanings depending on how you use it. It can mean, "I'm sorry," "thank you," or "excuse me." I don't know how accurate it is, but I usually think of all of these as different ways to say, "I'm sorry." You can use it directly to mean, "I'm sorry," when you are apologizing for something. Sumimasen is more formal than "gomen nasai," which also means, "I'm sorry." In this case, you might say it in a very heartfelt way. If someone does something for you, you can say it to mean, "thank you." In this case, as well, you could think of it as meaning, "I'm sorry you had to go through the trouble." In this case, you would say it in a grateful way. You can also use it to call someone or get someone's attention. In this case, you can think of it as meaning, "Sorry to bother you." You can say it politely or yell it out, depending on the circumstances.

Shuzo tells me that this expression comes from the word, "sumu," which means to be clear. Sumimasen would be the negative form of that. You can think of it as meaning, "My conscience is not clear because I have troubled you." An alternative explanation is that it comes from "sumu," meaning to end. The negative of this would be that, "it's not over between us." This comes from the Japanese idea that, if someone does something for you, you are obligated to do something in return. In other words, you can think of it as, "I owe you one."

Okagesama de

AndrewSuenobu — Sat, 20 Oct 2007 00:47:00 -0400

お蔭様で（おかげさまで）

Okagesama de is a often-used phrase in Japan. You can kind of think of it as, "thankfully" or "thanks to God (or whatever powers that be)." It is often used as a reply to, "How are you." You can reply, "Okagesama de (genki desu)." Even without the "genki desu," it is understood that it is implied. In this case, it would mean something like, "Thankfully/Thanks to God, I am fine." It can pretty much be used any time someone asks you how something is and you want to reply that everything is well without appearing to be boasting about it. If someone asks you how you did on a test, you could say, "okagesama de." In this case it is like you are saying it went well without seeming to boast that it is a great thing or that you had anything to do with it.

Anzuru yori umu ga yasushi

ShuzoNakamura — Wed, 28 Jun 2006 16:47:00 -0400

案ずるより生むが易し

あんずるよりうむがやすし

あれこれ悩んで心配していたことも、
実際にやってみたら意外と簡単にできる場合が多いこと。

あれこれなやんでしんぱいしていたことも、
じっさいにやってみたらいがいとかんたんにできるばあいがおおいこと。

"Anzuru yori umu ga yasushi" means, "Doing it is easier than worrying about it." A lot of us spend so much time worrying about being able to do something when the actual doing of it really isn't that hard at all. To some extent, worrying about things helps us to prepare for them, but if we worry too much it actually wastes energy, especially if it gets in the way or makes us too afraid of actually doing something about it.

Heta na yokozuki

ShuzoNakamura — Tue, 20 Jun 2006 13:20:00 -0400

下手の横好き

へたのよこずき

下手なくせに、好きで熱心であること。
へたなくせに、すきでねっしんであること。

インターネットを調べると以下のような記述があった。なるほど！

「下手の横好き」とは、もともとは下手なやつほど横から余計な口出しするという意味です。
将棋や囲碁をやってると横から、「あ～」とか、「それは違うな」とか、好き勝手言う人のことです。

"Heta na yokozuki" means someone who is passionate about something but is not good at it. It is often used when one is trying to be humble. If someone asks you if you do something (sport, hobby, etc.) and you don't want to make a big thing about it, you might say something like, "Dakedo hata na yokozuki desu." This means, "I'm crazy about it but I'm not very good at it." "Heta" means unskillful. "Yokozuki" is like the fan on the sidelines yelling out advice to the players and coaches who are actually in the game (as if he could do any better).

Kouya no shirobakama

ShuzoNakamura — Mon, 19 Jun 2006 16:41:00 -0400

紺屋の白袴

こうやのしろばかま

人のことばかりに忙しくて、自分のことまで手が回らず、なおざりにすること。
紺屋は布を染めるのが仕事ですが、忙しくて自分の袴は白いままだということ。

ひとのことばかりにいそがしくて、じぶんのことまでてがまわらず、なおざりにすること。
こうやはぬのをそめるのがしごとですが、いそがしくてじぶんのはかまはしろいままだということ。

"Kouya no shirobakama" means "the dyer's white hakama." Kouya is a dyer, as in a person who dyes cloth. Hakama were the formal divided skirts (think super-baggy bell bottoms) that the samurai and lords often wore. This refers to an ironic situation that occurs all too often. The specialist is so busy taking care of other people that s/he neglects her/his own self. The dyer is so busy dying things for everyone else that he neglects his own clothes (which is why they are still white). Think of the hair sylist with the really bad hair or the carpenter whose own house is in need of repair.

Kareki mo yama no nigiwai

ShuzoNakamura — Mon, 19 Jun 2006 14:48:00 -0400

枯れ木も山の賑わい

かれきもやまのにぎわい

枯れ木であっても、あれば山がにぎやかになるから、ないよりもあった方がいいこと。
かれきであっても、あればやまがにぎやかになるから、ないよりもあったほうがいいこと。

枯れ木があってこその山の賑わい。結局、この世に無駄なものは何もないのであって、
無駄、無駄でないは、人間の勝手な判断といった理解の方がしっくりいきますね。

かれきがあってこそのやまのにぎわい。けっきょく、このよにむだなものはなにもないのであって、
むだ、むだでないは、にんげんのかってなはんだんといったりかいのほうがしっくりいきますね。

"Kareki mo yama no nigiwai" means "Even the dead trees contribute to the mountain's prosperity." This means that even the things we might think are useless, do play a part. Thinking of something as useless is just a reflection of our own ignorance. We think something is useless only because we don't know what its use is.

Koubou nimo fude no ayamari

ShuzoNakamura — Sat, 17 Jun 2006 20:07:00 -0400

弘法にも筆の誤り

こうぼうにもふでのあやまり

どんな名人でも、時には、失敗をするということ。
弘法大師のような書道の達人でも、うっかり書き損じることがあるということ。

どんなめいじんでも、ときには、しっぱいをするということ。
こうぼうだいしのようなしょどうのたつじんでも、うっかりかきそんじることがあるということ。

"Koubou nimo fude no ayamari" mean, "Even Koubou makes mistake with the brush." It basically means "everybody makes mistakes." Koubou refers to Koubou-daishi, the founder of the temple on Mt. Kouya, who was an expert at calligraphy.Though it has basically the same meaning as "Saru mo ki kara ochiru," they are used in different situations. Whereas the other saying can be used for anybody making any mistake, "Koubou ni mo fude no ayamari" is used more for when a professional or someone who is supposed to be good at something screws up. Perhaps this should be translated as, "Even experts make mistakes." You might use this if a doctor misdiagnoses a disease.

Koubou wa fude o erabazu

ShuzoNakamura — Fri, 16 Jun 2006 20:23:00 -0400

弘法は筆を択ばず

こうぼうはふでをえらばず

弘法大師のような書道の名人は、筆の良し悪しを問題にしない。
その道に秀でた人は、どんな道具を使っても優れた成果を上げる。

こうぼうだいしのようなしょどうのめいじんは、ふでのよしあしをもんだいにしない。
そのみちにひいでた人は、どんなどうぐをつかってもすぐれたせいかをあげる。

"Koubou wa fude o erabazu" means, "Koubou doesn't choose his brush." Again, this refers to Koubou-daishi who was an expert at calligraphy. It means that someone of that calliber doesn't need to select the best tools. He can create masterpieces with anything.

Kusattemo tai

ShuzoNakamura — Wed, 14 Jun 2006 18:31:00 -0400

腐っても鯛

くさってもたい

日本人にとって、鯛は特別な魚です。魚の王様です。やはり他の魚とは品格が違います。腐っても鯛は鯛、この意味は、本当に優れているものは、どんな状態であってもそれなりの値打ちがあるということです。

にほんじんにとって、たいはとくべつなさかなです。さかなのおおさまです。やはりほかのさかなとはひんかくがちがいます。くさってもたいはたい、このいみは、ほんとうにすぐれているものは、どんなじょうたいであってもそれなりのねうちがあるということです。

"Kusattemo tai" means, "Even if it is rotten, it's still a tai." Tai is a sea bream, a reddish fish considered the king of fish to the Japanese. Even if it goes bad and smells, it's still a tai. This phrase means that, no matter how bad the circumstances, something or someone that is exceptional still has that value.