教科書に載っていない日本語

KN^4: Japanese that Ain't in the Textbook

Another weekly installment of words and phrases that we wish we had known when we got here, all to help you make your 言い回し more 日本人ぽい。

Today's post is all about messing with people, in one way or another.

誘惑
ゆうわく
yuuwaku

Seduction; Temptation; Sensual seduction

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?

百折不撓

ひゃくせつふとう
hyakusetsu futou

Since the last yoji was slightly more "warm and fuzzy" than usual, today's is going to be slightly more defiant, and, okay, cool.

Seeing as how most of the phrases and words which actually describe my character are not quite good things to be, I think I'm going to start doing things that I aspire to instead, in the hopes that the tone of the Daily Yoji will become just a little more positive.

I know that I am in the middle of studying for exams, and that many of you (including my fellow yoji-writers) are studying for exams of your own, whether the 日本語能力試験 or whatever other tests you may be facing (TOEFL, TOEIC, whatever the English exam du jour is these days). I know from experience that exam studying is never easy, and that it's a path full of setbacks and disappointments, but the hope is that this yoji will inspire you to overcome those problems and not get discouraged by them.

Definition:
何度の失敗にもめげずくじけず挑戦すること

Going through all of the kanji in the last example, I think, proved to be useful not only in explaining the meaning, but in giving me ideas for future posts (which, as you may be able to tell, should become more numerous as the urge to procrastinate increases), so I am going to go through all the characters again. The first character is 百, which I'm sure you all will recognize as the number 100. Along with its (larger) counterparts 千 and 万, it is also used to signify any large, indeterminate amount.

折 is another good kanji to know, in part because it has a number of, at times, disparate meanings. The meaning you are most likely to run into during the course of daily life is, of course, to turn (as in 右折 and 左折, right and left turns, respectively). Another important meaning is to fold or break (as in 折り紙 or 骨折). This character becomes really interesting when you use it metaphorically to describe the flow of events in life. Recall my earlier post of 紆余曲折. In that example, I described it as "horizontal," meaning that it was not necessarily a good or a bad thing, but just a new direction that presented itself. Sometimes 折 has this neutral meaning. Sometimes, it can have a good meaning, in that the new direction presents a new opportunity as well. (Look up 折柄.) At times, it can also have a negative meaning, and that is the one present here. Rather than being a turn on the path of life, I think of this as more of a setback in (or a break from) your plans. You see this in words such as 挫折, 屈折, and their brethren.

Relative to the other characters in this phrase, 不 is uncomplicated. Think of it as a negative modifier - "not." Finally, we have 撓. This character is not part of the 常用漢字 (the 1945 characters designated by the Japanese government as the ones necessary for literacy - and, not coincidentally, all of the characters you are responsible for 日本語能力試験1級). This is the first phrase that I ever learned that contained it, although since learning it I have seen it in a few other contexts. It seems to have the meaning of "droop down," as in a tree branch heavy with snow. So imagine a tree branch, warped and bent in a hundred places, yet still not breaking, and you will have the essence of this phrase.

Translation:
1. Indefatigability
2. Perseverance
3. Unbreakable spirit

Example Sentence:
マリオの百折不撓の精神にいつも感動している。何回間違った城に行っても、姫様の後を追い続けることは、誰にでもできることではない。
I'm always impressed with Mario's unbreakable spirit. Not everyone can keep chasing the princess after going to the wrong castle all those times.


Ok, I know I promised a more uplifting yoji this time, but I couldn't resist the urge to nerd out. I promise, the next one will really be more positive!