意志堅固

いしけんご
ishikengo

My apologies to all of you for the long delay between posts(except for you, Sash the Red. I'm the prettiest thing on this website!). Now that school is back in session and I am looking for a job for the summer, finding time to write yo-ji's is getting more and more difficult. Hopefully things will calm down a little bit, and Jeff will get his internet back, so he can start carrying us again.

Now you see, that last sentence is an example of the EXACT OPPOSITE of what today's yo-ji is. If I were a better person, I would have said, ok, I'm going to keep to a schedule of x posts/week, no matter what! And then I would keep to it. That's the essence of 意志堅固 as I see it.

意 should be familiar to you from, if nothing else, the word 意味　(imi), which means... meaning or definition. 意 here, though, rather means desire, especially when added to 志, which means ambition. Fun fact: 志 is read in kun-yomi as kokorozashi. Break that into its components and you get 心 and 指す（さす）. Note that this is the same sort of construction as you see in the word 目指す, which means to aim for something as your goal. The two words are similar, although I would say that 志 is more serious. Anyway, put them together and you get 意志, which means "will or desire."

Both 堅 and 固 can be read in kun-yomi as kata(i). That's because, yes, they both mean "hard." The former has a connotation of "reliable;"　the latter means more along the lines of "stiff." That really does only hold to a point, though. Here, however, we don't have to worry about it, because this word contains both of them, although not their cousin 硬. One of these days I swear I will write out all of the differences....

Which brings us to our:

Definition
物事をなすに当たってのこころざしが、しっかりとしていること.

Translation
1) Strong-willed
2) With a solid sense of purpose

and....

例文：彼は勉強に関しては意志堅固で、その志が彼の真面目さで伝わるが、ブログのほうはもう少ししっかりしていただきたい。
He's got a good sense of purpose when it comes to studying, and you can see that in his seriousness, but I wish he'd take the blog a little more seriously.

Here I am, studying hard!

厚顔無恥

こうがんむち
kougan muchi

You may or may not have noticed, but I've been trying to write about yojis which reflect my character in some way.

Today's yoji is probably something you don't ever want to be called. You know that guy, the one who has so much nerve, who is so outrageous that all you can think is "unbelievable!"　(I personally think of 前代未聞 whenever I see this one.) Now, I'm not saying that I've ever necessarily been called this, but you never know what people are thinking and saying about you when you're not around.

Definition:
厚かましく、恥を知らないこと。

Translation:
1) Shamelessly brazen

Example:
彼は、二か月もブログ更新してないのにまだ自分のことを「Blogger」って言ってる。なんて厚顔無恥なこと！
He hasn't updated in more than two months but still calls himself a "Blogger." The nerve of some people!

温故知新

おん　こち　しん
on kochi shin

You'll notice that the hiragana and romaji formatting of today's yoji is broken in different places than usual. This is because, while many times yoji can be made by combining two niji compounds, today's has a niji compound stuck right in the middle: "故知： the wisdom of the ancients." How cool is that?

You'll recognize 温 from 温泉 (onsen) and 新 (new), and if you apply the meanings, in order, you get: from the warm wisdom of the ancients, comes the new. But the wisdom wouldn't be warm still, if we didn't keep it warm. Read on to get a better definition.

Definition:
古きを温め、新しきを知る。経験のない新しいことを進めるにも、過去を充分学ぶことから知恵を得ようということ。
Translations:
1. Learning from the past
2. Build new things on proven foundations
3. Develop new things by studying the past
4. Learn new things by applying old things

=

You've heard the famous quotation from George Santayana, "Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it?" This same idea applies pretty well to 温故知新. Remembering the past keeps it alive, keeps it warm, but the purpose of keeping it alive is not to keep living in it... but to prevent yourself from repeating it.

The connotation of 温故知新 is more on advancement, creation, and moving forward, not just prevention.

What I find intensely interesting is the possibility that Santayana's saying might BE an example of 温故知新, as 温故知新 is itself part of a famous Confucian saying. Is there a chance that a philosopher like Santayana writing in the early 1900s might have been familiar with Confucianism and based his new ideas on a similar, old principle?*

For those of you who are interested, check out this article about a case of real life 温故知新 and a case of real life Jurassic Parking in Dubai!


例文：　地球が爆破したことはまことに残念ではあるけれども、温故知新の精神で、生き残ったみんなで、ここでもう一回緒戦しましょう。
-メーター大統領
火星, 2057

The fact that earth blew up was a terrible shame, BUT, if everyone can keep the lessons of the past fresh in their hearts, those of us who are still alive can give it another shot, here.
-President Mehta
Mars, 2057


* The internet says "NO."

表現 Break: 猿も木から落ちる

さる　も　き　から　おちる
saru mo ki kara ochiru

Be careful with how and when you say this one, because it can sound like a warning, or a threat, if you say it to someone who has not yet screwed up.

If you say it AFTER someone makes a mistake, however, and say it kindly, it's interpreted as a comfort.

Definition:
その道にすぐれた者でも、時には得意なことで失敗することがある。
Translations:
Literal- Even monkeys fall from trees
1. Everybody messes up sometimes.
2. Pride goes before a fall

The nuance here is that it should be used when someone has messed up at something that normally, they are very good at, OR is natural to them. If you ever happen to accurately correct a native speaker's Japanese grammar or kanji or something like that, it would be a great time to use this, feign modesty, and impress them even further.

A bonus phrase that goes along with this expression, particulary the "pride before a fall bit," is the following:

調子乗っている
ちょうし　のっている
choushi notteiru

Your 調子, as most of you already know, is your condition, or state of health. You can use 調子 to ask about someone's health (調子はどうですか？) or the condition of other things, like machines (車は調子悪い。), but did you know you can ride on it? "Riding on your own condition" is a Japanese way of calling someone stuck up, arrogant, or all puffed up on how cool they think they are.

We've taken to reminding each other and our Japanese friends during wakeboarding sessions (when someone invariably tries to do a cool trick and ends up eating it really hard): 波を乗り、調子乗ってんじゃね！Ride the waves, not your choushi.

例文：
Niravが「切磋琢磨」の意味がわからなかったの？ま、猿も木から落ちるね。とにかく、時々間違えたら、あの調子乗っている外人にいいじゃん。
Nirav didn't know the meaning of 「切磋琢磨」? Well, everybody slips up sooner or later. And anyhow, messing up every once in a while is good for that giant ego of his, don't you think?

2級 Grammar 46-50

It's been a while since I put up one of the grammar posts, so I'll try and make my sentences related, like Brett's been doing, though I can't promise to live up to his special brand of hilarity. Here's the next in the series, which brings us up to over 25% of the 2級 list! Yay.

We begin with the last of the ことｓ

46) ～ことはない　・　こともない
~there's no need for
~you don't have to
～しなくてもいい
～する必要はない

This is basically a more polite way to say, しなくてもいい, when you want to be able to say "There's no cause for...," in a formal situation. It gets used often with わざわざ sentences and なにも sentences.

Ex. すみません、社長。今、なにも返事することはないですけれども。。。ずっと愛していますよ。

47) ～際　・　～際に　・　～際は
~at the time of
~on the occasion of
～のとき
～の場合

This one is also a formal phrase, or as my book calls it, あらたまった表現。Add to the plain, conjugated form of verbs, or a noun + の. Use as below!

Ex. 社長に初めて紹介された際は、夢みたいでした。

48) ～最中に　・　最中だ
~ just as
~ exactly when
～ちょうど　－　しているとき

The subject doesn't have to be the same, but think of this one as "Right when I was in the middle of.." and you'll have it down. It can be used with progressive verbs, adjectives, or nouns +　の.

Ex. 離婚の最中に、あなた様に会えたおかげ、愛に信用がよみがえました。

49)～(で)さえ
~ even/not even
～も
～でも
～からして

This one is really hard. Look back at the からして post and see what you can do with it. My book has a lot of intense notes explaining that the nuance of さえ is in that it implies abnormality.

Usually, humans don't eat mice, but :食べ物がなくなれば、人間はネズミさえ食べる。
Usually, little kids shouldn't know things about explicit sex, but: インターネットのせいで、子供さえ｢Double-frosted donkey punch」 の意味をしている。

Ex. 自分でさえ、この禁物の愛は本当になると思いませんが。。。

50) ～さえ～ば
~ even if only... then
~just... will suffice to...
～だけ～ば
～それでいい

This one's easier. ネズミさえ食べれば、生きれる。Even if you have only mice to eat, you can survive.

Ex. 社長は｢私も愛している」さえ言ってくれば、ガマンできると思います。それに、給料を上がってくださいませんか？

Announcing a Short Hiatus:

We finally had a good run going here on The Daily Yo-ji, but Brett and I are gonna be leaving you for a while. As a part of our never-ending quest to improve our Japanese, the two of us and a small team of others are going on an excursion to India!

"Why India?" you ask.

Well, because if living in Japan has taught me anything, it's to base my opinions of foreigners on very narrowly defined stereotypical categories, and hey, 100% of the Indian people I know are fluent in both Japanese and English. Makes sense now, right?

Actually we're off on a Habitat for Humanity trip until the 11th of May.

If you're lucky, Nirav might make a post or two in our absence.

それでは。