07.Mar.2010 Honkyochi
本拠地 [ほんきょち] – stronghold; base; headquarters
本 [ホン・もと] – book; main; real
拠 [キョ・よる] – foothold
地 [チ・ジ] – ground; earth
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05.Mar.2010 Sangaku Kyūjotai
山岳救助隊 [さんがくきゅうじょたい] – mountain rescue unit
山 [サン・やま] – mountain
岳 [ガク・たけ] – peak; mountain
救 [キュウ・すくう] – save; rescue
助 [ジョ・たすける] – help; assist
隊 [タイ] – squad; regiment; unit
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04.Mar.2010 Onomatopoeia
“Onomatopoeia” is one of my favorite words in English and also happens to be one of my favorite subjects in Japanese. First, for those who don’t know what the word means, here’s a definition from Merriam-Webster: “the naming of a thing or action by a vocal imitation of the sound associated with it (as buzz, [...]
Tsuribashi
吊り橋 [つりばし] – suspension bridge
吊り [つり] – hanging; suspended; sling
橋 [キョウ・はし] – bridge
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03.Mar.2010 Hina Matsuri
雛祭り [ひなまつり] – Girls’ Festival
雛 [スウ・ひな] – doll; duckling
祭り [サイ・まつり] – festival; ritual; celebration
Today (March 3rd) is 雛祭り! Excited? Me too.
Platforms are covered with red carpeting and a set of dolls called 雛人形 [ひなにんぎょう] are displayed. The dolls represent the Emperor, Empress, and their court, and all are dressed in the traditional clothing of the [...]
Yoji Jukugo
四字熟語 [よじじゅくご] – four-character idiomatic compound
四 [シ・よ・よん] – four
字 [ジ・あざ] – character
熟 [ジュク・うれる] – ripen; mature
語 [ゴ・かたる] – word; language
As you can see, an idiom is a “matured/ripened word.” 四字熟語 are among my favorite things in Japanese. In the future, I intend to bring more 四字熟語 to your attention, but in the meantime, here are [...]
02.Mar.2010 Osore Iru
恐れ入る [おそれいる] – to be sorry; to feel small; to be grateful; to be amazed; to be filled with awe
恐れ [おそれ] – fear; anxiety; concern
入る [いる] – to go into; to set in
The most common version of this that I have seen is 「恐れ入りますが」which roughly translates to “please excuse me, but…” or something along those [...]
25.Feb.2010 Imadoki
今時 [いまどき] – nowadays; recent(ly)
今 [コン・いま] – now
時 [ジ・とき] – time; hour
You might see this compound used in my personal favorite phrase that uses this compound: 今時の若者 [いまどきのわかもの] or “kids these days.” You might even translate it as “these darn whippersnappers” if you really wanted.
So, why isn’t this word pronounced こんじ or even いまとき? As [...]
22.Feb.2010 Kishou
希少 [きしょう] – scarce; rare
希 [キ・のぞみ] – hope; rare
少 [ショウ・すくない・すこし] – few; little
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21.Feb.2010 Teisei
訂正 [ていせい] – correction; revision
訂 [テイ] – revise, correct
正 [セイ・ただしい] – correct
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