Bookworm: テキストの中出会った単語

Here are a couple of words that I wanted to review before discarding into my growing pile of already reviewed word cards. Hastily written example sentences are included. Enjoy.

文化大革命：　文化大革命の最中にあって、多くの人が殺された。
Cultural Revolution: Many people were killed in the middle of the Cultural Revolution.
郵便受け：　郵便受けの中に誰かが脅迫状を入れた。
Postbox: Someone put a threatening letter in our postbox.
（気が）もめる：　彼女は彼が結婚式に遅れると気がもめているよ。
Worried; shaken up: She's worried that he will be late for the wedding ceremony.
おっちょこちょい：　そいつはおっちょこちょいの人物だよな。色んなやらなきゃならないこと忘れる。
Scatterbrain: That dude's a scatterbrain, ain't he. He always forgets a bunch of things that he needs to do.
最寄(の駅)：　最寄の駅はどう行けばいいですか？
Nearest (station): Do you know how to get to the nearest train station?
過程：　過程よりも過程が大事だ。
Process: It's not whether you win or lose, it's how you play the game.
根気：　もう少し根気があったら、成功していただろう。
Perseverance: If you had a little more perseverance, you could have succeeded.
編み物：　彼女は編み物に夢中になっている。
Knitting: She's totally into knitting.
金物：　15歳のときバイトとして金物屋で働いていたものだ。
Hardware: As a part-time job, I worked at a hardware store when I was 15.
年号：　現在の前の年号ってなんだったっけ？
Era name: What was the name of the era before the present one?
埋める：　海賊の埋めた宝物を探しに行こう。
Bury: I'm going to search for the pirates buried treasure.
雪掻きシャベル：　車の車庫の前を雪を雪掻きをする。　
Snow shovel: I'm going to clean the snow from the driveway.

ハプニングズ&Work語 BONUS COMBO... but not really

The other day at work, I had to explain to both a coworker the intricacies of Chiang Kai-shek fleeing the Chinese mainland from Mao Zedong's coming Communist forces, and later the Cultural Revolution in China (大文化革命）. Not knowing how to say their respective names in Japanese, I first tried to katakana-ize them. To no avail. Then, I checked my English-Japanese dictionary. No dice. Finally, I went to old reliable, 広辞苑, my standby in tough situations like this. It turns out a lot of these Chinese names are transliterated in completely different ways than their English counterparts. Some examples:

Mao Zedong ⇒　毛沢東（もうたくとう）
Deng Xiaopeng ⇒　鄧小平（とうしょうへい）
Chiang Kai-shek⇒　蒋介石（しょうかいせき）
Zhou Enlai ⇒　周恩来（しゅうおんらい）

1級文法 2009 review II

From the 時間的同時性 section of my grammar textbook,
どんな時どう使う日本語表現文型５００, here are the 1級 entries：

が早いか：　～すると、同時に
No sooner than~; The instant~
*Used to describe a direct result that occurs the instant after something else
*Clauses expressing volitional action or words of volition, such as つもり or よう, commands or negatives cannot follow
*Cannot be used for speaker/with first person singular pronouns
*Can be used interchangeably with や否や without changing the meaning
*Is not used in conversation

彼はお金を受け取るが早いかもうすでに使ってしまった。
No sooner did he get the money than he spend it.

や否や：　～すると、同時に
The moment that~; no sooner than~
*One action follows on the heels of another, often an unexpected reaction
*Clauses expressing volitional action or words of volition, such as つもり or よう, commands or negatives cannot follow
*Cannot be used for speaker/with first person singular pronouns
*Can be used almost interchangeably with や否や without changing the meaning
*Not commonly used in conversation
*や is the shortened form of this grammar point

横綱が姿を現すや、観客たちから野次が聞こえた。
The moment that the yokozuna stepped out, the crowds jeers could be heard.

1級文法 2009 review

I recently purchased a new grammar book, just to refresh my knowledge of the various points on the first level of the JLPT. Here they are, as divided by the textbook: This entry discusses 目的･手段, or goals and means.

べく：　～う（よう）と思って
Thinking to ~; for the purpose of ~(to achieve a set goal)
*Formal expression, but sometimes used in modern speech
*Clauses of requests, commands, or appeals do not follow
*Can be used interchangeably with ため without changing the meaning

彼女は新しい気持ちで再出発するべく、長野県の山村に引っ越して行った。
Thinking to make a fresh start, she moved to a mountain village in Nagano Prefecture.

んがため（に）・んがための：　～う（よう）という目的をもって
In order to
*Person in question has a proactive goal he/she truly wishes to accomplish
*Formal written form
*Clauses of requests, commands, or urgings do not follow
*する form is せんがため

研究を完成させんがため、彼は昼夜寝ずに頑張った。
In order to finish the research, he worked around the clock without sleep.

Bookworm: Idioms for idiots --the final chapter!

At last, the final installment in the "idioms for idiots" section of bookworms.

From my 日本語能力試験一級に出る重要単語集 book, here they are -- commonly used idioms found on the first level of the Japanese Proficiency Test:

ごまをする･ごますり：　自分の利益になるようにお世辞を言ったりする･そういう人

Kiss someone's ass; brown nose (ごもすり is the noun form for ass-kisser)
いくら上司にごまをすっても、昇進させてくれないんだよ。
No matter how much you kiss the boss' ass, you're not going to get a promotion.

お茶を濁す（おちゃをにごす）：　その場をごまかす
Dodge the issue; be evasive
首相は女性とのスキャンダルがばれて、質問されてもお茶を濁した。
The prime minister was evasive when it came to the scandal involving the girl.

尾を引く（おをひく）：　影響が残る、続く
Have lasting effects
この間のけんかはまだ尾を引いている。
The effects of our last fight have carried over.

よほどのこと（がなければ）：　普通の場合。予想しないことが起こらなければ
Usual
これは丈夫な電気製品だから、よほどのことが無ければ、壊れません。
Unless something out of the usual happens, this electronics product will not break.

たかをくくる：　実際は重要なの誤解して、軽く見る、軽視する
Underestimate; look down on
あいつには簡単に勝てるとたかをくくっていた。
I underestimated him as an easy win.

この分：　この調子で、このペースで
At this pace, rate
この分で行くと、8時の電車に間に合わなさそう。
At this rate, it looks like we won't make the 8 o'clock train.

居ても立ても（いてもたても）いられない：　じっとしていられない、何もしないでは居られない
Can't sit still, doing nothing
その知らせを聞いて居ても立ってもいられなかった。
When I heard the news, I just couldn't sit still.　

Bookworm: Idioms for idiots

Here are a few more idioms from my 日本語能力試験一級に出る重要単語集 book. This is the second to last installment of a variety of commonly used idioms found on the first level of the Japanese Proficiency Test.

しのぎを削る（けずる）：　勝つために激しく争う
To compete fiercely
俺は職場で同僚とお互いにしのぎを削ってる。
My coworker and I have a rivalry going at work.

拍車をかける（はくしゃをかける）：　進行を早める
Spur...
円高が日本の貿易黒字の増加に拍車をかけている。
The yen's high exchange rate has spurred a trade surplus for Japan.

影も形も～ない（かげもかたちも～ない）：　残っているはずのものがすっかり無い
Not a trace of...
10年ぶりに故郷へ帰ると、生まれたうちは影も形もなかった。
When I returned to my hometown after 10 years, there wasn't a trace of the house I was born in.

水をさす：　うまく進んでいる時に邪魔をする
Pour cold water on; be a wet blanket
彼は酒癖が悪くて、楽しい結婚パーティに水をさした。
His bad drinking habit poured cold water on the fun wedding party.

Work語: Lessons from the 職場

One of the requirements of being a newspaper editor is having a large vocabulary. Japanese, like English, has a variety of synonyms that make acquiring words difficult. Maybe even more difficult than English, given the prevalence of 書き言葉/話し言葉 and other formal and informal speech.

Here are a couple of words commonly used at my workplace, that may help my fellow wordsmiths:

• 年功序列（ねんこうじょれつ）： Seniority system
• 暗示する（あんじ）： Imply, connote
• 簡潔（かんけつ）： Concise
• 明瞭（めいりょう）： Clear, articulate
• 相次いで（あいついで）： Successive; a string of; one after the other
• 次から次へ: One after the other; in waves
• 欄（らん）： Column, section, page
• この分： As it stands; at this rate

自 社の年功序列制度は大変だ。毎日一所懸命働いているのに、なかなか昇進できない。何を暗示しているのか良く分からないけどもっと頑張るし かない。明瞭で簡潔な記事を直し続けるよりほかないな。因みに、最近ある同僚達は相次いで別な部に転勤された。俺も週刊新聞でスポーツ欄を作りたいと思う が、この分では、やっぱり無理だな。

Bonus 熟語：
一目置く（いちもくおく）： Acknowledge someone's superiority/give someone respect
彼は皆に一目置かれている。
He is respected by all.

非の打ちどころがない（ひのうちどころがない）： Perfect, spotless, impeccable
このページは非の打ちどころもないよ。完璧だ！
This page is spotless, it's perfect!

馬の耳に念仏（うまのみみのねんぶつ）： Like talking to a wall
社長と話すのはまるで馬の耳に念仏みたいだ。
Talking to the company president is like talking to a wall.

焼け石に水（やけいしにみず）： Useless, too late
ローン地獄で、ボーナスもらっても焼け石に水だ。
I'm so much in debt that even getting a bonus is like a drop in a bucket.

日本語能力試験1級: Take two!

Good news...I guess. Levels 1 and 2 of the JLPT is now being offered in the summer time, as well as in the winter. I picked up my application the other day for the 1st level and expect to fail it once again in July. The deadline for applications is May 1, so hurry if you haven't already bought yours and sent it in.

Oh yeah, if you're interested in 1級 grammar, I did a quick series on grammar explanations for last year's test. Have a look in the archives!

http://otokorashii.blogspot.com/search/label/JLPT

JLJ

Bookworm: Idioms for idiots (like me)

Here are a couple more basic idiomatic expressions that I've been studying lately. Going through my textbook, there are a number of them that are ones that you can use everyday. These are some of the more basic ones.

Good stuff! Please add any comments that you have! Feedback = good!

腰を抜かす： 大変驚く

To be very surprised　
去年の夏に田んぼでヘビを見て、腰を抜かした。
Last summer I was totally freaked out when I saw a snake in the rice field.

目をつぶる：　欠点、誤りを見逃すこと；見ないふりをする
To overlook something (on purpose)
毎日の電車通勤は大変だけど、最寄駅が始発で座れるから目をつぶる。
My commute to work is long, but I overlook that since my station is at the start of the line and I can get a seat.

目に余る：　ひど過ぎて、見逃せない
To be unable to overlook something
あの子の今度のいたずらは目に余る。厳しく叱らなければ。。。
I'm not going to be able to overlook the next time that kid fools around. I'll have to get tough with him.

後の祭り：　手遅れ;遅すぎ
Too late; hindsight is 20-20
もう試験に落ちたよ。今更勉強なんか後の祭りだ。
You already failed the test. Why are you studying now, it's too late.

案の定　（あんのじょう）：　予想通り;　思った通り
Just as I expected/thought
案の定、ショーンさんは俺に金をねだった。
Just as I expected, Sean hit me up for some cash.

鍵を握る：　解決の必要なものを持っている
To be necessary to accomplish something; to hold the key to something
イチロウは日本野球チームの勝利の鍵を握ってる。
Ichiro holds the key to the Japan baseball team winning.

肩を持つ：　味方する
To back someone
なんで嘘つきとして知られている人の肩を持つのか理解できない。
I can't understand why you back a known liar.

Bookworm: textbook stuff

I've been reviewing my 一級に出る単語集教科書 and I have to say, there are a lot of convenient expressions out there. Unfortunately, I can never seem to remember them at the opportune times.

For me, it's more of a "if I see it, I'll know it, but I can't reproduce it" kinda thing.

But for this week, I've devised a plan to print out copies of the first unit, stick them in places I frequent (i.e., the inside the bathroom door, on my desk at the office), and force myself to use them.

Below are the first week's 慣用表現, or idiomatic expressions. See if you can figure them out just from the kanji.

Editor's note: EXAMPLES AND TRANSLATIONS HAVE BEEN ADDED!! -JLJZen 4.16.09

慣用表現

道草を食う： To linger, loiter on the way to X
例：　帰り道で道草を食うな。
Don't fool around on the way home.

立て板に水： Fluently, smoothly, nonstop
例：　彼は立て板に水を流すようにしゃべった。
He rattled on and on.

寝耳に水： Out of the blue
例:　そのニュースは全く寝耳に水だ。
The news hit me out of the blue.

焼け石に水: Not helpful, a drop in the bucket
例:　ローン地獄で、ボーナスもらっても焼け石に水だよ。
With my loans, even getting a bonus is only a drop in the bucket.

紙一重（かみひとえ）： A fine line, razor thin
例:　夢と現実は紙一重です。
There is a fine line between dreams and reality.

すずめの涙: A trifle, no big deal
例:　雀の涙ほどの給料では何の役にも立たない。
My monthly salary is so small it's totally shit.

猫に小判: Pearls before swine, a waste of resources
例：　彼はいいワインを飲んでも、猫に小判だ。
Even if you give him some good wine, it's like casting pearls before swine.

馬の耳に念仏: In one ear and out the other
例：　あの人に何回も言ったくせに、全く「馬の耳に念仏」だね。
Although I told that guy many times, it just goes in one ear and out the other.

ボーナス表現

五十歩百歩: Scant difference
例：　君たち二人がどちらが背が高いか争っても、Ａ君と比べれば五十歩百歩さ。
Even if you two compare your height, there's only a bit of difference between A.

一杯食わせる： To be duped
例:　俺は新車だと思ったからうっかり買っちゃったけどカーデイラーに一杯食わされた。その車は結局ぼろぼろだ。
I thought I had bought a new car, but it turned out I was duped. In the end, it was a lemon.

油を売る： To fool around
例：　こんな時間まで言ったどこで油を売っていたんだ？
Where the hell were you fooling around this late?