Let's hit the は行 for a look at words related to interest that might help make your 言い回し a bit more 日本人ぽい. We've got three for you today:
嵌る はまる hamaru
to get into (something in a big way); to fall into; to be addicted to; to be deep into; to plunge into; to be deceived.
As you can see by the wide range of translations, 嵌る is all about something that TRAPS you. It can be as something that catches and holds your interest, in a 興味津々 way, like me and the song Paper Planes by M.I.A, or Brett and black tar heroin. Yes, 嵌る is the verb you use for drug or tobacco addictions as well.
流行る はやる hayaru
to come into fashion; to be trendy; to be popular.
"What's popular?" is a really common question in Japan. I always felt that there was a paradoxical tendency for the popular to be unpopular in America. I can't imagine the word "trendy" having a positive context. But kids in class will ask me, アメリカで、何が流行っていますか？ What's all the rage in America? And when some of my old students stopped by my house to say hi, they got into a conversation with Yuri who asked them which stars were popular among kids these days. Those kinds of topics come up a lot, and while me and my 調子乗っている, 考えすぎ ilk would never want to seem like our interests were pretty much the same as the national interest, I get the sense that this is no problem in Japan.
Another good word to associate with 流行っている、is ブーム。 As in "Dude, those butt toning sandals are so ブーム right now."
Confusing Example Sentence and Explanatory Video:
数年前、「ザ・ブーム」が流行っていたので、今でも「島唄」はカラオケの大人気な曲です。
惚れる ほれる horeru
to fall in love; to be charmed with; to lose one's heart to.
You can use 嵌る with 首っ丈, but 惚れる is a better choice. I actually only learned this word a few days ago, when my new students asked me if I had a girlfriend. When I said yes, they asked the same question Japanese people always ask: どちから？Which one of you was the pursuer? I said it was mutual, and they said "惚れている？" which I replied "Yes" to, after figuring out what it meant. Then they asked "やっている？" and I turned bright red.
The most common usage I've come across on the webs is in describing someone as a 惚れる男 or a 惚れる女 (although men are much more prominent). It's basically the kind of person you could fall in love with.
After a week off, I'm back with more wonderful words to help describe feelings, or, as we'll see today, status or conditions. We have gotten slightly off of the original topic, but today's words are, in my opinion, among not only the most difficult but also the most useful and important constructions in the Japanese language. Using them correctly will greatly increase the 日本人ぽさ of your 言い回し. (Actually, I just realized that 言い回し ought to get an explanatory post of its own...) Unfortunately, I haven't had the time to do a proper write-up on 機嫌, 様子, or さま yet, so they will have to wait until part 4. Without further ado, I give you:
加減 かげん kagen
As I mentioned earlier, Jeff mentioned this word in the very first KN^4 post. It's one of those words that you don't really notice until you've learned it, at which point you start seeing it EVERYWHERE. It's got a few meanings, but is easy enough to understand.
Let's take a quick look at the characters. 加 means to add; 減 means to subtract or lessen. In the end, it's all about balancing these two ideas.
The first (and actually least used) meaning comes into play when you meet a friend or acquaintance who you know has been sick, and you'd like to ask how they are feeling. A:おかげんいかがですか？ B:ええ、大変でしたけどおかげさまでもうすっかり治りました。 A: How are you feeling/doing? B: It was rough, but thankfully I'm all better now.
Because this word implies that the person being spoken to is sick (and therefore is deserving of 気づかい）, you have to be somewhat careful when you use it. I think that sometimes people confuse it with the similarly pronounced "ご機嫌いかが？" which is often used simply as "how are you?" without any implications. This is a big mistake. Making this mistake can cause a serious bout of 迷惑 for the listener, especially if they are worried that they are making you 気を遣う. Now you know the difference, and knowing is half the battle.
How else can you use it? Essentially, it means the level of something. Consider, for example, 進み加減, which means how far something has progressed. (In this way, it resembles 具合 pretty closely.) More often, it means the proper level of something necessary to accomplish a particular goal. In addition to 加減 by itself, you can hybridize with nouns, adjectives, or verbs. Nouns require no connector (such as の or な), adjectives are turned into nouns with ーさ, and verbs are conjugated to their ます stems. Here are some examples: 火加減 the proper strength of the flame 火の通し加減 the proper amount of cooking-through 力の入れ加減 the properly level of strength/power to put into something 甘さ加減 correct level of sweetness
There are a few specific 加減 words that have interesting/unique meanings, as well. This list is by no means exhaustive, but I hope it will be useful.
匙加減 さじかげん saji kagen prescription, measurement, consideration, reaction This phrase originally referred to the measuring of medicine with a spoon (さじ). Depending on the doctor's skill with the dispensing 匙, the medicine could be effective, ineffective, or even end up poisoning or killing the patient. 匙加減, therefore, has come to mean the way that one deals with problems or other unexpected happenings, where skill and delicacy are required, or even just to a certain situation in general. 彼のさじ加減が良かったからうまく行ったと思う。 I think everything went well because he dealt with everything skillfully.
手加減 てかげん tekagen going easy, holding back This is pretty straightforward.
小林！人間だからって、手加減はしないよ！ Kobayashi! I'm not going to go easy on you just 'cause you're a human!
湯加減 ゆかげん yukagen the temperature of bathwater If you've ever lived in Japan, you know the importance of a good bath. この湯加減、ちょうどいいな！ This bath is just right!
ダメさ加減 だめさかげん damesa kagen worthlessness/uselessness This is used for pretty egregious examples of incompetence. Can also be used humbly when talking about your own failures. (Humility is an important part of making your 言い回し more 日本人ぽい, so expect a KN^4 on that later.) 金融業界のバブル崩壊で、それにかかわっている人のダメさ加減が分かってきた。 Looking at the bursting of the financial bubble, I really got a sense of the uselessness of the people involved in the industry. (NB This does not necessarily reflect the opinions of the Daily Yoji or any of its writers. Just sayin'.)
加減見 かげんみ kagenmi checking spice/seasoning levels of food, taste-checking Another straightforward one. Pretty much synonymous with 味見 (あじみ, ajimi). まめに加減見をしながら味を整えた。 Checking the flavor diligently, I fine-tuned it.
加減物 かげんもの kagenmono a difficult/delicate thing or process requiring close attention to detail lest it go off to one extreme or another それも加減もので、かなり手を焼いてしまったよ。 It was a really delicate process, and I ended up spending a lot of effort on it.
いい加減 いいかげん ii kagen enough, already ("enough already," even) Saved the most commonly heard one for last. Jeff already explained what it means in いい加減にしろ (see the KN^4 linked above), so I won't go over that again. You should know, however, that it has wider usage, too. More than just being fed up with someone and telling them to cut whatever they are doing out, it can also be used to describe a situation where something is ripe for happening, or even overdue. もう大人だし、いい加減実家を出なくちゃいけないと思った。 I figured, I'm an adult, it's well past time for me to leave my parents' house. 自分自身が問題の原因であることに、いい加減気付いてほしい。 I want her to realize already that no one but herself is the causing this problem.
いい加減 can also, however, mean something like careless, useless, half-baked, or lazy. 機械をいい加減に操ると危険だぞ！ Being careless with machinery is dangerous! こんないい加減な人を、今まで見たことがない！ I've never seen such a useless person until now! (In this sense, it's kind of like 役立たず.) そんないい加減なこと、言っていいのか？ Are you sure it's ok for you to say such careless/half-baked things?
I think that the English translation isn't quite accurate in terms of the nuance of "seduction," because of it's strong sexual connotation. While 誘惑 is a word that you can apply sexually or within the boundaries of ナンパ territory, I've heard it get bantered around light-heartedly quite a bit. Persuading someone to do something by the use of temptation can be covered by 誘惑, even something as innocent as tempting someone to eat a piece of cake.
The usage is like this: 誰々に 誘惑 ＋する or をかける to mean "to seduce someone," or rather "to try to seduce someone."
If you're on the opposite end, you can say 「誘惑しないで！」 unless you're receptive, in which case you've 誘惑に負けた (been seduced).
迷惑 めいわく meiwaku
annoyance; disturbance; disruption; nuisance
Also used with をかける or する、this one gets used a lot in public announcements. Cell phones at the movies or on the train = 人の迷惑になる. If you ever get into a situation at a restaurant, or your apartment, or anywhere where the people around you are doing something that is disturbing you, you can use 迷惑. When ever I need to shush my rowdy drunken friends (NIRAV) I say "ちょっと迷惑をかけないように。。。” Yeah, that's right: when Nirav's drunk, he refuses to respond to anything but Japanese. That in itself is a pretty big 迷惑.
誤魔化す ごまかす gomakasu
to lie; to deceive; to charm; to be evasive
Check out those AWESOME 当て字! This is one of those situations where kanji with meanings AND readings that fit the concept of 誤魔化す were specifically chosen as the 当て字、and I think it's really cool, although 95% of the time, you'll see ごまかす in hiragana.
It's another word that gets tossed around in a friendly way (I get accused of it a lot), but it can be as negative as it sounds. Here are some contextual examples.
A politican who's good at 美辞麗句を並ぶこと might be ごまかしている. Someone who's telling white lies ("I ate before I got here") to avoid saying or revealing something unpleasant ("I hate your cooking.") might be ごまかしている. Yuri says はぐらかしたりすること is an example of ごまかす. Many English-to-Japanese dictionaries will list ごまかす as one of the definitions for "manipulate."
騙す だます damasu
trick; cheat; deceive
Last on the list for today, 騙す will come up more often in the passive form: 騙される. Again, I don't like the translations so much... along with 誘惑、it's one of those words that I just find easier to think about in Japanese, without trying to English it. I guess I'd describe 騙される as "having one put over on you." It works for being the victim of a prank, a hoax, a scam, or a lie that you bought into... When Brett and I were in India, 毎日、騙された。Like the cab drivers who would drive us to places that were not where we wanted to go, insist that there was little difference, and then ask for money.
Have you had any opportunities to use or hear 「騙された」 in your Japanese experience?
~Feelings, Nothing More than Feelings~ Part 2 of X
I know its been a few weeks (ok, a month?) since the first part of this series, but I'm a busy man, and there is all KINDS of 日本語 that's not in your 教科書 that needs to be addressed. If you've forgotten in the intervening period, this is a continuation of my last Kyoukasho Ni Notte Nai Nihongo (KN^4) post, which you might want to take a glance at as a refresher.
Today we are going to look at some 熟語 that make use of the 気 character and their relationship to other words of similar meaning. Many of them do overlap in certain ways, but I hope you'll come away from this with at least a rudimentary idea of the different nuances they all carry.
気持ち きもち kimochi
If you are anything like me, this is the first word that you learned that meant "feelings." It is both useful and common, but its meaning and usage can be kind of nebulous. The best way to think of it is your feelings as a response to some kind of external stimulus. You might get into a hot onsen and think 「気持ち（が）いい！」, or you watch someone getting facial plastic surgery and think 「気持ち（が）悪い！」 (modern slang: きもい). Check out this neko being caressed and really enjoying it:
気持ち doesn't necessarily have to be a physical reaction; it can be just a general emotion, too. Watching TV or movies, you might hear lines like 「私の気持ちはどうなの？」 ("What about my feelings?") or things like that. I know that I, personally, would one day like to be able to say, 「もてるってやっぱ気持ちいいな！」 ("It feels great being popular with the girls!"). Dare to dream, me, dare to dream.
気分 きぶん kibun
It can be really confusing trying to differentiate 気分 from 気持ち, but I think that one way of thinking about it is that it's more about internal stimuli than external. For example, let's say that you are feeling nauseous, you would probably say 気分が悪い rather than 気持ち悪い. That's because, though your nausea might have been caused by something you ate, it is now really an internal thing (literally!). Used on its own like this, 気分が悪い is generally a health-ish kind of thing. (This is another post, but I think that Japanese has an unbelievable amount of words and phrases that describe how one's digestive tract, from the stomach all the way down to the colon, feels.) Not saying that you can't say 気持ちが悪い for your health ever, but 気分が悪い, I think, works better. (For more info, check out the comments to this post.)
気分がいい, I think, isn't quite limited to health. It's used for anything that makes you feel good in a general sense, as opposed to what I see as a more pinpointed response to external stimuli represented by 気持ちがいい. Think about it this way: you might find that sitting outside in the sunshine in specific to be 気持ちいい, but when the weather in general is pleasant, your entire 気分 becomes いい. Or maybe you just won the Superbowl - that would probably make your 気分 pretty いい as well.
JB always makes me feel pretty good.
The internal/external distinction becomes a little harder to maintain when you think of other uses for 気分, but I think that the general/specific one holds up fairly well. In English, we use phrases like "king for a day." You aren't actually the king, but you do something (like go to an expensive hotel or restaurant and get waited on hand and foot) that makes you sort of feel like a king. This kind of feeling is summed up in Japanese as 王様気分. You might also see お姫様気分, or really anything you could ever fantasize about being. You could get dressed up like a geisha and be 舞妓さん気分, or you could get a chance to throw a pitch at a professional baseball stadium and be プロ野球選手気分. In all of these cases, you get treated in a certain way that simulates something else, and for a while, in your little fantasy world, your 気分 changes from that of an everyday person to a rockstar, or queen, or whatever it is you want to be. It's your own internal change that makes it relevant.
雰囲気 ふんいき; (often pronouncedふいんき) fun'iki
This isn't really a hard word to understand, but it is kind of fun, and certainly in common usage, so you should all try to remember it if you don't know it already. This is used to describe the atmosphere, aura, ambiance, or general air of a person, a store, a restaurant, or whatever else you like. Here are a few example sentences to help you get a feel for it: あなたはお父さんと雰囲気が似てるね。 You've got the same air about you as your father. 焼鳥屋のこういう雰囲気は、たまらなく好き。 I LOVE the atmosphere in yaki-tori places like this.
A long haired version of myself visiting one of my favorite yakitori places
具合 ぐあい guai
This is a rather complicated word, one with a number of different meanings. I'll try to hit as many of them as I can. In general, it means condition, shape, or convenience. This brings us to the most relevant usage, one's specific (often physical) state. You might get asked, 「具合どう？」, or "how are you doing/feeling?" Or if you aren't feeling well, you could say 具合が悪い, and it could mean a number of things - you might have a stomach ache, or a headache, or you might just be feeling unwell in general.
A:どうしたの？顔色良くないよ。 What's wrong? You don't look so good. B:ええ、ちょっと具合が悪くて・・・ Yeah, I'm not really feeling well...
That's not the only usage, though. It can be used to describe the convenience, or inconvenience, of a specific situation as well. Especially when it comes to talking about convenience, in addition to 具合 being いい, you will often see it described as うまい. (That's another word that needs its own post...)
ちょっと具合の悪い時に来られてしまった。 He came over at kind of an inconvenient time for me. うまい具合に明日は晴れらしいです。 Luckily, apparently we're going to have clear skies tomorrow.
It can also be used to describe how well (or not) something is working: 俺のパソコン、ちょっと具合悪いな。 My computer is messed up.
It might also be used to describe the ease or convenience (or lack thereof) of a using a specific tool, piece of equipment, or what have you. 新しい電子辞書の使い具合、どう？ Is your new electronic dictionary easy to use?
Another usage of this word is somewhat similar to that of 加減, which Jeff touched on in an earlier (actually the very first EVARR) 教科書に載っていない日本語 post. When used in this way, it means something like "level" or "amount." おいしいステーキの焼き具合はなんですか？ What's a good level of done-ness for steak? ちょうどいい具合に出来上がってるよ！ It [let's say some kind of food] came out just right! たった２日間しかたってないのに、もうここまでできてるとは、すごい進み具合だな。 I can't believe you made it this far in 2 days. That's amazing progress!
That does it for today's post. There are many, many more words like this that I think you should know, but this post is already long enough, so they'll have to wait for next time. Specifically, I'm thinking of doing a more in-depth examination of 加減, and having a look at 調子, 機嫌, 都合, and 様子. If there are any more that you really want explained soon, feel free to speak up in the comments! Same for if you want any clarification, or if you want to add to or correct anything I've put up. Definitely also let me know if you are finding any of this at all useful. On the other hand, if you've had enough of the ~Feelings~ series, well, poo on you (but seriously, let me know about that, too).
Nirav promises to finish up his series explaining some of the nuances of the many words you can use to talk about one's condition, especially some of the words using 気, but in the meantime, I'm gonna toss in a few more feelingsphrases "to help make your 言い回し more 日本人ぽい."
One thing that was really difficult for me, when I first came to Japan, was explaining to people how I felt, especially if how I felt was anything other than "元気." Nirav will get into this more in his post, but really, the only thing I was equipped with, in terms of saying, "I don't feel good" was "気分悪い."
However, telling people that I was 気分悪い almost always had the effect of making them think that I was sick, and giving me more attention when most of the time, what I wanted to let them know was that I was in the mood to be left alone.
Thanks to Brett, I now know that I can simply explain that "the bug's whereabouts are bad" but what about getting more specific about why you're not in a good mood?
Luckily, if you're in Japan long enough to form close relationships, especially romantic ones, you'll learn how to express all kinds of moods. And if you want to know what to say without having to get in a bunch of fights with a significant other, well, that's why The Daily Yo-ji is here.
苛々する いらいらする iraira suru
to be/get frustrated; to feel frustration
Do NOT trust Rikai-chan on this one. I've NEVER heard this used to mean "getting nervous." See the next point on the list for that. Use this to express frustration, being fed up, and having things get on your nerves.
ドキドキする どきどきする dokidoki suru
or 緊張する きんちょうする kinchou suru
to be nervous; to feel nervous tension
ドキドキ is the sound of a heart beat, and when you get nervous, your heart starts beating faster. These are great words to use about anything that makes you nervous: having to give a speech, trying something for the first time, when the pressures on you to do or say the right thing, getting on a roller coaster, petting a lion, etc.
MOST of the time, you can use these two interchangeably. When I was meeting my girlfriend's family for the first time, I could (and did) use BOTH 緊張する and ドキドキする。
However, when you're with a boyfriend or girlfriend, you might feel 緊張, but you'd be better off telling them that you are ドキドキしている. 緊張 might be interpreted as, "You make me tense." ドキドキ is like, "You give me butterflies," or "You make my heart beat faster."
もやもやする moyamoya suru
to feel sad; to be upset; to be gloomy
This is good for when you're down about something, and can't (or don't want to) explain why. When nothing's wrong, but you're still upset, or when a bunch of little things have combined to make you feel like EVERYTHING is depressing, that's もやもや.
いじける ijikeru
to get upset; to reach the breaking point; to be fussy; to throw a tantrum
Again, leave the Rikai-chan translation alone on this one. It'll just confuse you (to become perverse? inferiority complex? what?). It does have some other applications, but here's the easiest way to think of it: a child throwing a temper tantrum is いじけている. You can use it about yourself or others if it's a situation where the person in question is so upset that they can't do anything but be upset, or if they're making a show of how upset they are, like a crying child. I don't recommend using it, because I associate it with things like being わがまま (making a scene when you don't get your way) and the idea of 切れる emotionally where you just SNAP, but as others have pointed out, it also has the nuance of "being fussy," which, just like in English, can sometimes be thought of as endearing in small doses.And one more fun note about いじける： You can call people who are overdoing it, "いじけ虫." But watch out. If they really are pissed, you might make it worse!
*EDIT*
After I posted this, Brett had trouble looking up いじける、which lead to long conversations with native Japanese speakers about いじける (it's 標準語, so it wasn't one of those "DAMN YOU, SAGA-BEN[ben = dialect]!" moments), and then today we got a comment from reader mico saying some of the same things. Bolded phrases above have been added to reflect where we needed to make changes, and a few sentences that were incorrect have been removed. Thanks for the input!
Yet another installment of words and phrases "to help make your 言い回し more 日本人ぽい." This time we've got three helpful phrases that Japanese people use ALL the time, and you can incorporate into your speech just as easily.
別に べつに betsu ni
not particulary; nothing special.
You'll recognize 別 as meaning 'separate,' or 'apart.' When you need separate checks at a restaurant, you say "別々."
別に、however, is the best way to answer "Do you like" questions when you don't have any strong feelings on way or the other, but it has tons of other uses as well. Technically it should take something afterwards, like "別にない," to make "nothing special," or "別に構わない," for "It' doesn't particularly matter," but in conversation, people say 「別に」 as a standalone phrase all the time. It's so common that Brett and I debated introducing it here; we say it so often that it seemed too basic.
Did you do anything fun this weekend? 別に. Do you like natto? 別に. Do you want to read the first draft of my novel? 別に.
You can use 特別にない as well, to highlight your lack of specific preference, as 別に can often sound detached to the point of being very cold, so be careful with it.
When I was going to meet Yuri's family for the first time, we talked a lot about how to get him to take me seriously as a boyfriend. We also used to joke about things that I should NOT say if he asked why were seeing each other. Top of the list was 「ゆりの事は別にきらいではない。」 Translation: I don't really DIS-like your daughter. Winning words? 別に。
役に立つ やくにたつ yaku ni tatsu
to be helpful; to be useful
役 means 'role,' 'position,' or 'use.' An actor or actress's role is their "役," for example. But in this case, it gets used to mean to be of assistance, or to help someone out.
「役に立ちたい」 means "I want to help out."
「学校で習うことは将来に役に立つはずです」：The things you learn in school are supposed to help you out in the future.
You can use 役に立つ in all kinds of ways, and you'll hear it all the time. The Daily Yo-jiは皆の役に立てたらいいですね。
無事 ぶじ buji
safety; peace; quietness; nothing
Literally meaning "the absence of things," 無事 gets used to mean "without incident." You'll hear it most often with the verb 着く, as in 「無事に着いて良かった: It's good that you arrived safely." I heard it tons of times on my hitchhiking trip from people who asked me to let them know when I made it to my next destination. You can use it with verbs like 届く for packages or letters, with 終わる or 終了する, pretty much anything you can attach "without incident" too.
Welcome back for another installment of words and phrases "to help make your 言い回し more 日本人ぽい." Like last time, I'm sure that there are some textbooks, somewhere, that contain these phrases but by and large, you're more likely to happen across them in conversation than to get them fed to you in an academic setting. Here you go:
相変わらず あいかわらず aikawarazu
... as ever; as always; the same
I first heard 相変わらず back in the day when I used to listen to Japanese pod 101 (pronounced イチ-ﾏﾙ-イチ), because the host used to use it in his 挨拶. Back then, basic lessons were available for free on I-tunes, and it looks like they still might be, albeit with some sort of registration. I recommend making use of the free materials. I don't necessarily endorse paying them anything, but then I mostly just used them for easy listening practice when I was still acclimating to Japan.
You'll hear it most commonly, just as I first did: 「相変わらず、元気です。」 "I'm doing well, as always."
Don't let this deter you from using it in any number of ways. Try it with 忙しい、頑張っている、美味しい、大変 (I got to use this last one a lot when comisserating about my old work situation), anything really. You can even attach it to people, or objects to make phrases like "You know him, same old Dad." or "Same old car."
目に遭う め に あう me ni au
to go through; to suffer; to experience something (unpleasant)
Courtesy of the Nirav, this one takes an adjective in the front (ひどい、痛い, 臭い, etc) to communicate the idea of having been through an ordeal.
アメリカ人は日本の運転免許を取ろうとすると、かなりひどい目に遭うそうです。 When an American tries to get a Japanese driver's license, it's supposed to be a pretty brutal process.
当時は危険な目に遭いましたよ。 In those days, we were going through some dangerous times.
死にたいぐらい恥ずかしい目に遭ったよ！ I had SUCH a humiliating experience.
念のため ねん の ため nen no tame
For the sake of confirmation; just to confirm
This is simple, useful, and gets tossed out in professional situations quite a bit, so I'm embarassed that it's taken me so long to follow up on Tae Kim's (of Tae Kim's Guide to Japanese Grammar fame) suggestion to post it and other phrases like it, on The Yo-ji.
I tend to use the word 確認 (かくにん; kakunin) more than I use 念のため, but it's extremely handy to have this in your repertoire so you can recognize it when it gets used at you.
Also, make a note that the 念 kanji here is the same as in 記念 and 記念日, as in memorial or anniversary (day), and don't make the common mistake of assuming that 年 should go there. Bonus:
あっと言う間に あっと いう ま に atto iu ma ni
in the blink of an eye; before you can say 'ah;' (lit. in the time it takes to say "ah") though it takes some people longer than others...
This is one that we've made use of at least once on The Yo-ji in the past, but we've never formally introduced it. Here are some examples of natural usage:
その映画は3時間もあるけど、面白くて、あっと言う間に終わっちゃったって感じ！ That movie's 3 hours long, but it's so interesting that it felt like it was over in no time!
あっと言う間に新年です！ The New Year is upon us so quickly!
Extra Bonus: Japanese that IS in the textbook!
お蔭様で おかげさまで okage-sama de
「おかげで」 is one of the earliest 2級 Grammar points, and we glossed over it without breaking stride, because we had also studied it for 3級. It means "Thanks to," and it's really simple. On top of that, almost every introductory Japanese textbook I've ever seen, includes 「お蔭様で」 as the formal way to reply to the question 「お元気ですか。」 The reason it merits mention here is because that it's one of those phrases that native Japanese speakers consider to be "very high level." They consider it so because it's a very polite thing to say, and because younger generations of Japanese people have fallen out of the habit of saying it. So despite the fact that it's one of the most basic 決まり文句 taught in Japanese classes abroad, it will earn you major 偉いpoints and reflect well on your abilities.
Don't get all excited, we're still not going "Nightly Yoji" on you just yet.
I just wanted to write an entry of words and phrases that aren't really special in any kanji-centric sort of way; they're just things that I never came across in any formal study, but have proved very useful to know for my daily life in Japan.
To quote one Nirav Mehta, "These are the kinds of things that you need to make your 言い回し more 日本人っぽい."
And keep in mind, just because I never saw them in a textbook, doesn't mean they're not in anyone's textbook. I'd prefer not to get comments saying "That's on pg 46 in this book. You suck."
But then, I'd also actually prefer to GET comments.
So we'll throw up three for today, and first of all is: first of all.
取り合えず とりあえず toriaezu at first; for now; we'll begin with
｢とりあえず、生」 is quite possibly the most useful phrase I had never heard until I actually got to Japan. Just like 極める、it's one of those words that, Japanese people are surprised to hear a foreigner use and they consider to be "high level." This isn't because it's a hard word or anything, this is because, for the most part, it's a word with a very specific context. It's used most often when ordering food or drinks in a restaurant. The reason I don't really think that it's all that "high level" is because the context in which you are most likely to hear it, is a context to which you are probably exposed to regularly. The 生 in ｢とりあえず、生」 comes from 生ビール, which is draft beer. ｢とりあえず、生」 is "We'll start with beer."
While in Japan, "We'll start with beer," carries implications that later you'll be switching to the heavy stuff, you should still feel free to use it for any kind of order. It lets your server know that what you're ordering now is only the beginning, and you'll want to order more later. Using this word will save you from having to explain that you want to hang on to the menu, if it's that kind of place. And, while 「以上です」 means, "That will be all," and you use it when you're done ordering, you can combine the two to make 「とりあえず以上です」 to mean: "That's it for now."
Don't treat とりあえず as though it's interchangeable with まず though, because the nuances are a little different. I'd love to get a native speaker to confirm this for me, but here's how I perceive the difference. ○ means good usage while × means poor usage.
Does that make sense? If Emi or Blue would like to help clarify the differences between とりあえず and まず it would be greatly appreciated.
「何々」よりはましだ 「なになに」 より は まし だ naninani yori wa mashi da It's better than [something]
This is one that you can probably already say very easily in a different way. 「ＸはＹよりいいです。」 So why bother with まし? Easy. Because people say it, a lot.
My DS Dictionary lists the following examples：
降参するくらいなら死んだほうがましだ。 I would die before I would give in.
ないよりはましだ。 It's better than nothing.
I first came across まし in my Japanese language copy of "The Spiderwick Chronicles:" これじゃあ、一人で寝るほうがましなくらいだ。 Sleeping alone would (probably) have been better. (ましなくらいだ means the same as ましだ, but it's more of a young person's phraseology. Younger people attach くらいだ to the end of adjectives, and it takes some of the strength away from the statement, making it a bit more vague.)
The first time I ever tried to use it, I was with a friend from Tokyo who was complaining about how cold it was in Saga. I got to answer 「だが、東京よりましだろう？」
いい加減にしろ いいかげんにいしろ ii kagen ni shiro That's enough!
加減 alone, as Nirav enlightened me earlier today, is a great word to know but that you probably won't come across in your basic text books. 加減 means, basically, the correct amount, so (again thanks to Nirav), you can say things like 力の入れ加減 (the right amount of strength to apply), or 焼き加減 (the right amount of cooked!).
いい加減にしろ (using the imperative form of する at the end there), translates as "Make that the correct amount," or in other words, "Stop there." But you can conjugate it through politeness and formality levels so that you could say 「いい加減にしましょうか」, meaning "Why don't we stop right there..." or as written above, 「いい加減にしろ！」 meaning, "FUCKING QUIT IT!"
And that seems like a good note to end this post on. More 教科書に乗っていない日本語 some other time!
We have tons of Japanese grammar and idiomatic expressions, as well as proverbs and trivia in our archived posts. Please check them out! For an explanation of the kinds of posting we're doing these days, see this post.
Living and working in Saga-ken, Kyushuu, dedicated to one day passing the 1-kyuu JLPT, and therefore being able to start on some other languages as well. Check out his Youtube Channel by clicking the picture!
Brett Staebell (Defendership)
While questing in the Rocky Mountains - only hours away from Denver, his birthplace and home - Brett discovered a magical talisman that whisked him halfway around the world to the remote island of Kyushu. Now hellbent on either finding a way home or a time machine that'll let him go back in time hundreds of years to hang out with samurai, he hones his language skills by posting on the Daily Yoji and sharpens his combat skills by pummeling the elementary school children he teaches.
Nirav Mehta (sqrtlsqd)
Nirav's only here because he's a friend. He's not really that good at Japanese, but go easy on him. He's sensitive.
hi, they got into a conversation with Yuri who asked them which stars were popular among kids these days. Those kinds of topics come up a lot, and while me and my 調子乗っている, 考えすぎ ilk would never want to seem like our interests were pretty much the same as the national interest, I get the sense that this is no problem in Japan.
hi, they got into a conversation with Yuri who asked them which stars were popular among kids these days. Those kinds of topics come up a lot, and while me and my 調子乗っている, 考えすぎ ilk would never want to seem like our interests were pretty much the same as the national interest, I get the sense that this is no problem in Japan.
You can use 嵌る with 首っ丈, but 惚れる is a better choice. I actually only learned this word a few days ago, when my new students asked me if I had a girlfriend. When I said yes, they asked the same question Japanese people always ask: どちから？Which one of you was the pursuer? I said it was mutual, and they said "惚れている？" which I replied "Yes" to, after figuring out what it meant. Then they asked "やっている？" and I turned bright red.
