Japanese In 15 Seconds

 

Suffice to say that the Japanese language is holding in store plenty of “tricky” occasions and pitfalls. The following examples have been cherry picked from Osada Steve’s private word collection and vetted by the staff of “Japanese In 15 Seconds”.

 

chi (地, earth) as in tenchinage (天地投げ, lit. heaven-and-earth throw; aikido term), but jishin (地震, earthquake), jigoku (地獄, hell), jizamurai (地侍, rural samurai) or ijiwaruna (意地悪な, mean-spirited)

chuutoro (中トロ, medium fatty tuna in sushi; also spelled ちゅうとろ), but sekaijuu (世界中, worldwide)

 

Fujisan (富士山, Mt Fuji), but kazan (火山, volcano; lit. fire mountain)

fukuro (袋, bag), but tebukuro (手袋, gloves) or Ikebukuro (池袋, home of the Osada-ryu Honbu Dojo)

fune (船, ship), but hakobune (箱船, ark, pontoon) or watashibune (渡し船, ferryboat)

 

ha (歯, teeth), but ireba (入れ歯, denture)

hachi (蜂, bee), but kumanbachi (熊蜂, bumble bee)

hai (杯, chalice), but ippai (一杯, one cup)

hanashi (話, talk), but uwasabanashi (噂話, gossip) or mukashibanashi (昔話, old story) or kobanashi (小話, footnote)

Haneda (羽田), but Narita (成田) – Tokyo’s two main airports

hakama (袴), but umanoribakama (馬乗り袴, horsemen hakama)

haku (泊, night), but ippaku ( 一泊, overnight stay)

harai (払い, pay), but maebarai (前払い, prepayment)

harakiri (腹切り, ritual suicide by disembowelment), but sengiri (千切り, slicing vegetables)

hari (針, needle), but chuushabari (注射針, injection needle)

hasami (はさみ, scissors), but sentaku basami (洗濯ばさみ, clothes pins)

hashi (箸, chopsticks), but waribashi (割箸, disposable chopsticks)

hashi (橋, bridge), but Shinbashi (新橋, district in Tokyo)

hashira (柱, pillar), but yokobashira (横柱, horizontal column)

heya (部屋, room), but nozokibeya (覗き部屋, Japanese-style peep show with hand jobs available at extra charge)

hiki (引き, pull), but waribiki (割引, discount)

Hiroshima (広島), but kojima (小島, small island)

hito (人, person), but koibito (恋人, lover) or tsukibito (付き人, attendant)

hi (日, day), but kinyōbi (金曜日, Friday) or rakubi (楽日, last day of an event) or tanjōbi (誕生日, birthday), but seinen gappi (生年月日, date of birth)

hishi (菱, diamond), but nijubishi (二重菱, hojojutsu term to mean either having a diamond/hishi pattern in the front as well as in the back or having two hishi in the front or in the back) or Mitsubishi (三菱, the industrial giant; lit. three diamonds)

hon (本, book), but sanbon (三本, three round-shaped objects like bottles, trees, pencils, etc.) or roppon (六本, six round-shaped objects like bottles, trees, pencils, etc.)

hone (骨, bone), but koshibone (腰骨, hipbone) or sebone (背骨, spine)

hori (堀, moat), but uchibori (内堀, inner moat) or sotobori (外堀, outer moat)

hoshi (星, star), but kinboshi (金星, lit. gold star) a notation in sumo when a maegashira-ranked wrestler is victorious against a yokozuna, consequently having his salary topped by JPY 240,000/year for the rest of his professional career

hyō (表, table), but nenpyō (年表, chronology)

 

kachi (勝ち, winning), but hayaimono gachi (早い者勝ち, first come, first served)

kaesu (返す, return, put something back), but uragaeshi (裏返し, inside out, upside down) or kotegaeshi (小手返し, an Aikido technique)

kaimono (買物, shopping), but yasumonogai (安物買い, buying cheap) – if you wish to impress your significant other with your personal take on frugality you may quote the proverb yasumonogai no zeni ushinai (安物買いの銭失い, penny-wise and pound-foolish)

kaisha (会社, company), but oyagaisha (親会社, parent company) or kogaisha (子会社, subsidiary)

kaisu (返す, return), but uragaisu (裏返す, turn over)

kami (神, deity), but mamorigami (守り神, guardian angel)

kami (紙, paper), but origami (折り紙, the traditional Japanese art of paper folding) or kabegami (壁紙, wallpaper)

kao (顔, face), but nakigao (泣き顔, crying face)

katakana (片仮名, カタカナ), but hiragana (平仮名, ひらがな) or furigana (振り仮名, ふりがな, kana superscript pronunciation guide)

katameru (固める, solidify, bring together), but hijigatame (肘固め, bringing the elbows together – within the shibari context accomplishing this feat by using rope, usually with the arms in the back)

kasa (傘, umbrella), but higasa (日傘, parasol)

kashira (頭, head) but nawagashira (縄頭, the “head”/bight of the folded rope in shibari) or maegashira (前頭, fifth-highest sumo rank)

kawa (川, river), but Sumida-gawa (墨田川, Sumida River)

ke (毛, hair), but matsuge (まつ毛, eyelash) or jige (自毛, own hair – as opposed to a wig)

kintama (金玉, testicles, lit. golden eggs), but kusudama (くす玉, decorative banner dropped from the ceiling)

kokoro (心, heart), but otoko gokoro (男心, masculine heart) or asobi gokoro (遊び心, a playful state of mind)

koku (石, 180 liters of rice grain, equal to what one person would consume per year. Method of payment/retainer from a daimyō (feudal lord) to his main subjects in the Edo period), but hyakumangoku (百万石, one million koku)

kokusai (国際, international), but chūgoku (中国, China)

koto (事, thing, matter), but shigoto (仕事, work) or himegoto (秘め事, secret matter)

kozeni (小銭, coins, small change), but rokumonsen (六文銭, “six coins” for the ferryman that takes you to the Netherworld – aka an effective kinbaku maneuver called indō o watasu (引導を渡す) taught to higher-level Osada-ryu disciples

kuro (黒, black), but Meguro (目黒, district in Tokyo)

kuruma (車, car), but kazaguruma (風車, pinwheel)

kuchi (口, mouth), but iriguchi (入口, entrance) or deguchi (出口, exit)

kusuri (薬, medicine), but nurigusuri (塗り薬, medical cream)

kutsu (靴, shoes), but nagagutsu (長靴, boots)

kutsuwa (轡, bridle), but sarugutsuwa (猿轡, gag)

 

nifun (二分, two minutes), but sanpun (三分, three minutes)

 

ofuro (お風呂, hot bath at home), but rotenburo (露天風呂, hot spring bath under open sky)

 

sake (酒), but wakamezake (わかめ酒, drinking sake from between the legs of a woman; her pubic hair resembling wakame (わかめ, seaweed) floating in the sea) or fukazake (深酒, heavy drinking) or mukaezake (迎え酒, another drink in the morning) or nezake (寝酒, nightcap)

samurai (侍), but jizamurai (地侍, rural samurai)

sara (皿, dish), but haizara (灰皿, ashtray)

seki (関, gate), but ōzeki (大関, second-highest rank in sumo)

seme (責め, torture), but harizeme (針責め, needle play)

shaku (尺, approximately one foot or 30.03 cm to be exact), but kujirajaku (鯨尺, a measure made of whale bone) or kanejaku (曲尺, carpenter’s square)

Shinjuku (新宿, district in Tokyo), but mushuku (無宿, homeless)

shiri (尻, ass), but nawajiri (縄尻, the knotted ends of the rope in shibari)

shiru (汁, juice), but manjiru (まん汁, pussy juice)

sushi (寿司), but nigirizushi (握り寿司, hand-formed sushi) or kaitenzushi (回転寿司, conveyor-belt sushi)

suwaru (座る, sit), but agurazuwari (胡座座り, sitting cross-legged)

 

taisetsu (大切, precious), but daijōbu (大丈夫, all right)

takai (高い, high or expensive), but kokudaka (石高, system for determining land value for taxation purposes in Edo-period Japan and expressing this value in koku of rice)

tamago (玉子, egg), but medama (目玉, eyeball) or medamayaki (目玉焼き, fried egg sunny side up)

tamashii (魂, soul, spirit), but Yamato damashii (大和魂, Japanese spirit)

tana (棚, shelf), but hondana (本棚, bookshelf), todana (戸棚, cupboard), or kamidana (神棚, household altar)

tani (谷, valley), but uguisudani (鶯谷, valley of bush warblers) – alert readers will notice that the kanji 谷 can also be found in Shibuya (渋谷, district in Tokyo) or in the family name of Tani Naomi (谷ナオミ), supreme SM actress of Nikkatsu fame

tawara (俵, bag), but komedawara (米俵, rice bag)

te (手, hand), but kumade (熊手, lit. bear paw, bamboo rake)

teppō (鉄砲, firearm), but mizudeppō (水鉄砲, water gun)

tera (寺, temple), but yamadera (山寺, mountain temple)

toguchi (戸口, doorway), but kugurido – (潜り戸, side door/gate) or hikido (引き戸, sliding door)

tokei (時計, clock), but udedokei (腕時計, wrist watch), or kabedokei (壁時計, wall clock), or okidokei (置き時計, desk clock), or hidokei (日時計, sundial) or sunadokei (砂時計, hourglass)

tomenawa (止め縄, stop rope), but nodome (の止め, friction stop in the shape of the hiragana character “no”)

tori (鳥, bird), but mukudori (椋鳥, man-on-top 69; literally a grey starling, but figuratively a bumpkin or gullible person). To establish some nihongo dirty talk cred try gyaku mukudori (逆椋鳥, reverse 69, woman-on-top). Or, for a more neutral expression try shikkusu nain (しっくすないん, 69; who’s on top not specified)

tōri (通り, street), but itsumodōri (いつも通り, as usual), or Meijidōri (明治通り, Meijidōri Avenue – on which the Osada-ryu HQ are located)

toshi (年, year), but umadoshi (午年, year of the horse) – when it comes to the zodiac the more common kanji for horse 馬 is being replaced by 午

tsukuru (作る, make), but monozukuri (もの作り, making things)

tsuma (妻, wife), but hitozuma (人妻, married woman) or wakazuma (若妻, young housewife)

tsuna (綱, special ceremonial rope weighing about 15kg) to be worn by a yokozuna (横綱, the highest rank in sumo, lit. horizontal rope)

tsuri (吊り, suspension), but yokozuri (横吊り, sideway suspension)

 

Be a good student, send in your own example words now.