Hungry for Words: Mostly Japanese

Shuutai: A public disgrace

If you've been watching the news, I'm sure you've seen this:

The man in the middle is now former Finance Minister Nakagawa, who showed up at a press conference at the G-7 summit in what seemed like a state of, let's say, complete inebriation. He's since resigned, though he claims he was not drunk, but had just taken too much cold medicine, or just a bad mix of cold medicine and a little tipple at lunch.

Which leads to today's word, one that has been used a lot in the news reports about this incident:

醜態　しゅうたい　shuutai

This means 'unseemly (ugly) disgraceful behavior'. (If you break down the kanji,　醜means 'ugly', and　態　means 'behavior'.) People in Japan seem to be most upset about the fact that he did this on a world stage, and that the international media has been making fun of it. (Sort of like the George Bush Sr. throwing up incident, or the shoe-throwing at Bush Jr. incident, etc.)

A more informal word that's also been used is

恥さらし　はじさらし　hajisarashi

恥　(haji) means shame, so はじさらし　means to expose ones shame, to disgrace yourself publicly.

Also related is

恥をかく　はじをかく　haji o kaku

This means to shame or disgrace onesself.

Mr. Nakagawa has been accused of being a 恥さらし、disgracing himself (and, it's implied, by extension the Japanese government and the Japanese people) to the world. In a society like Japan, where saving face is of paramount importance, this is a big, big deal.

So boys and girls, let's not mix alcohol and cold medicine and then go out and hold a press conference! Remember YouTube! ^_^;

Footnote: When I first saw this on BBC News, they just showed Mr. Nakagawa by himself. I didn't realize there were two people flanking him. Now why didn't they stop him from going out? Didn't anyone backstage in the Japanese delegation stop him? What a mess.

This is Mr. Nakagawa sober, as he announced his resignation (as Finance Minister; he's still a Member of Parliament). Uh..he sounds a bit drunk normally...

The yen is high, and Japan doesn't like it

Today's word is

円高　えんだか　en-daka

It means 'high yen'. (Note that in Japanese, the yen is not pronounced with a Y sound at top. Just pretend the Y is not there and you have the correct pronounciation.)

円高 is often paired with

ドル安　どるやす　doruyasu

Which means 'cheap dollar'. As you've probably deduced already, both terms refer to currency exchange rates.

For a country that Japan that relies heavily on exports, especially to the United States, an 円高ドル安 situation is not good at all. As a matter of fact, just 円高　alone refers to a high (expensive) yen against the dollar rather than any other currency, do the ドル安　part is often dropped.

At the moment $1 is around 91 yen, which is very 円高, making a lot of people in Japan, especially in the government, very unhappy. The very fact that there is a commonly used, short and easy to remember phrase for the relative worths of currencies is an indicator of how critical export trade is to the Japanese economy.

Which, at the moment ain't looking good at all.

See also:

• Money Money Money - some financial terms
• More About Money: In Japan, the wife is the family CFO - more financial terms, and a bit about household money management

Roma-ji can be tricky

A little earlier today I had a mini-rant on Twitter, about someone 'teaching' another user (who happens to be a famous British TV presenter and Japanophile, though that's irrelevant) how to say some things in Japanese that were, unfortunately, wrong. One thing that the person was doing was 'spelling out' words in roma-ji, which as you probably know is the phonetic representation of Japanese using the alphabet, incorrectly, therefore changing the meaning.

Here's one phrase the person doing the teaching used:

ima wa Elvis Presley kitemasu.

The use of 'wa' in the sentence is not really correct either, but I want to focus on the kitemasu. This reads as きてます, which would make the sentence mean "Elvis Presley is here now". I know Elvis sightings are not uncommon, but I think the person meant to say

ima Elvis Presley o kiitemasu. いま　エルビス・プレスリー　を　きいています。　（今エルビス・プレスリーを聴いています。）

Kiiteimasu きいています　聴いています　means listen (ing) to things like music. One little syllable, big difference!

While it's convenient for people who come from European languages to start learning Japanese phonetically with roma-ji, it's quite easy to mess things up. One of the best things you can do is to learn how to read and pronounce the two main phonetic alphabets, hiragana （ひらがな）and katakana (カタカナ）as soon as you can. Leave the kanji characters for after you've mastered that!

(And beware of language lessons, and candy, from people you don't know ^_^)

Mottainai (wasteful) and moushiwakenai (sorry)

Today's first word is

勿体無い もったいない　mottainai

It means 'it's a waste', 'wasteful', 'worth keeping'. For instance, my grandmother used to keep little bits of string because she considered it to be もったいない　to throw them away. Letting the tap run when you're brushing your teeth, throwing away plastic bags and so on were all もったいない for her.　(Aren't most grandmothers like this? They are from a generation where you needed to carefully conserve your resources and possessions.)

The word もったいない　has been appropriated by the green/eco movement in recent years. There is even a non-profit organization called MOTTAINAI.

A big もったいない　situation for Japanese people, especially older folk, is to leave grains of rice in your rice bowl. Rice has a special place in Japanese culture, and wasting it is several levels worse than wasting any other kind of food.

Besides もったいない、the other word that comes into play is:

申し訳ない　もうしわけない　moushiwakenai

This is a bit difficult to translate to English, but it means feeling ashamed, being apologetic. Used on its own to address someone, it means "I'm sorry". (You saw a lot of Japanese bankers using this phrase in the early '90s or so, while bowing their heads deep to the ground.)

So, whenever I'd leave little bits of rice in my rice bowl growing up, one of my parents would invariobly say もったいない, and then お百姓様に申し訳ない.

お百姓様に申し訳ない おひゃくしょうさまにもうしわけない　

ohyakushousama ni moushiwakenai

お百姓様 is a very polite word for farmer(s). So the entire phrase means, to feel shameful or apologetic towards the honorable farmer(s) who grew the rice.

Think of the starving children in (blank)

Another thing my parents used to say when we left food uneaten was, 'Think of the children in (some starving country)'.

(country) の子供のことを考えなさい　(country) のこどものことをかんがえなさい　 - (country) no kodomo no koto o kangaenasai

I thought it was only Japanese parents who did this, but I've since found out that parents all over the place say the same thing! I always thought that it was illogical. Why would me clearing my plate when I was full already, help the poor starving children in (some starving country)? But then, who said parents had to be logical...

You could probably guess the age of someone by which starving country their parents used to guilt them into cleaning their plates. For me, it was usually Ethiopia and Bangladesh I think. For an older generation in America it was the starving children of Europe. What country was it for you and your parents? Do you use the same tactic for your kids?

Ageashi o toru - Grabbing (or tripping up) a raised leg

Today's phrase is

揚げ足を取る　あげあしをとる　ageashi o toru

Literally the phrase means to catch or grab a raised leg. In actual use, it means the habit some people have of grabbing onto small mistakes made by another person, in speech or otherwise, and correcting them - a nitpicker. The 'catch or grab a raised leg' thing comes from sumo or judo, where a combatant can catch hold of, or trip up, the raised leg of his opponent (considered to be a mistake) to bring him down. For example, a person who is always correcting another person's grammar, typos, or spelling mistakes, is a chronic and often annoying 揚げ足取り　あげあしとり　ageashi tori (the noun form of 揚げ足を取る).

The most widespread type of 揚げ足取り　is a micromanager, who grabs onto any small mistakes made by someone below him/her in rank and dwells on it. I've worked for such people a couple of times, and they were absolutely hell to deal with. There's even a whole book about managers like this, and how to deal with them:

なぜ上司は部下の揚げ足をとるのか　なぜじょうしはぶかのあげあしをとるのか　naze joushi wa buka no ageashi o torunoka - Why do managers nitpick/try to trip up subordinates?

So, if you encounter someone who is always correcting you for small mistakes, you can yell at them, 揚げ足を取らないでよ！　あげあしをとらないでよ！　ageashi o toranai deyo! - Stop nitpicking me/trying to trip me up!

Adult buying - 大人買い

Today's phrase is:

大人買い　おとながい　otonagai

Literally translated, it means 'adult buying'. It has nothing to do with buying porn though. It means the habit that some adults have, of buying a whole set of something that is nominally meant to be bought in singles.

The phrase 大人買い　is a relatively new one, and is used mostly in relation to things that are considered to be childish to collect or buy. For instance, normally manga paperbacks are meant to be bought one at a time. But many adults are too impatient to do that, or are so into a particular series or author that they will rather have an entire set all at once. Some popular manga series can consist of a lot of volumes - for example, the long-running ガラスの仮面　(がらすのかめん　garasu no kamen, Glass Mask) is now on its 43rd volume and is still being updated - so this is a fairly serious financial commitment. But true fans don't care about that.

Some companies fully realize their products are often bought in this way, so they release things in formats or packages that cater to the 大人買い　public. A good example is the Re-ment company (Japanese site, US site), which makes doll-sized miniature sets. The sets can be bought singly, in little boxes that retail for around 300-400 yen each, or in big boxes that contain whole series of 8 to 10 or more sets. Buying a big box is 大人買い, while those on tight budgets or kids can still enjoy the single sets. Many other makers of similar plastic toys or figurines, most often called 食玩　(しょくがん　shokugan) sell their products this way.

I recently had a bout of 大人買い　which I wrote about on Just Bento. Not content with owning just one of those cute onigiri boxes, I just had to have the whole series of three. 大人買い can get expensive.

Adult or grown-up?

The word 大人 おとな　otona, is usually translated as 'adult'. But in actual usage, it may be closer to the phrase 'grown-up'. Japanese being the free borrower from other languages, when it comes to things that are porn-related, instead of using the existing words for adult liek 大人　or 成人　(せいじん　seijin), imported words are often used - e.g. the phrase アダルトビデオ　(adaruto bideo), most often abbreviated as AV, means exactly what you might think it means.

Umai and....

うまい　umai is a multi-meaning word, which generally means 'good'.

For instance, it can be used to say someone is good at doing something.

洋子はピアノがうまい　ようこはピアノがうまい　yoko wa piano ga umai - Yoko is good at (playing) the piano

It can also mean something tastes good or is delicious.

このラーメン、うまい！　kono ramen, umai! - This ramen is delicous!

A third usage is to say a procedure is (or should) go well.

ビルは今日真由美と初デートだ。うまくいくといいな。　ビルはきょうまゆみとはつデートだ。うまくいくといいな。 - Today, Bill has a first date with Mayumi. (I) hope it goes well.

However, there is one caveat for using umai. Except for the third usage, umai is considered to be a very informal and not-too-polite word. It should only be used by males in informal situations. If females use it, they are considered to be a bit rude or mannish. So, if you want to stay polite, you have to use different words:

For the first usage, 'is good at something', use 上手　じょうず　jouzu

Example: 洋子はピアノが上手　yoko wa piano ga jouzu

For the 'tastes good, delicious' usage, use 美味しい　おいしい　oishii

Example: このラーメン、美味しい！　kono ramen, oishii!

(An even more informal way to say うまい　is うめえ　umeh. I had fun for a few years telling The (Swiss) Guy that the word for delcious was うめえ, and watching my Japanese relatives doing a small double-take when he said it. I did get found out eventually...)

Opposite meaning words

The opposite meaning word for うまい　differs by the meaning.

うまい　(as in good at something) -- 下手　へた　heta

うまい　(as in delicious) -- まずい　mazui

As for the third meaning, while まずくいく　is not used as a phrase meaning 'go bad', まずい　is used to mean 'a bad situation', or simply 'uh oh' or 'oh no'.

Example: まずい、財布を忘れてしまった。　まずい、さいふをわすれてしまった。mazui, saifu o wasurete shimatta. - Uh oh, I forgot my purse.

Complain and grumble

Today's theme is complaining and grumbling - a common pastime on the interwebs, especially Twitter.

文句を言う　もんくをいう　monku o iu - To complain

ぶつぶつ文句を言う　ぶつぶつもんくをいう　butsubutsu monku o iu To grumble, complain.

Example: あの女はいつもぶつぶつ文句ばっかり言っている　 あのおんなはいつもぶつぶつもんくばっかりいっている。　Ano onna wa itsumo monku bakkari itteiru

• That woman is always/only (itsumo + bakkari) grumbling and complaining.

You might see some manga characters saying ブツブツ or ぶつぶつ... when they are grumbling under their breath.

On the Japanese version of Twitter, 'tweets' are translated as つぶやき、which means murmur(s) or whisper(s). But maybe calling them ぶつぶつ　might be more appropriate ^_^ (Actually I'm not sure why they did not use a more neutral word, or even just ツイッター, but that's another story.

(ぶつぶつ　has another meaning - to be bumpy or pimply or spotty. E.g. a if your face if covered with pimples, it's ぶつぶつ。Raw chicken skin is ぶつぶつ。）

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More about Mendou, and Obama as English Teacher

Following up to the previous post, here's more about that word 面倒　mendou.

Since it means burden, responsibility etc, it can have negative connotation as I have explained. It can also have a positive meaning as banana pointed out in the comments.

面倒を見る　めんどうをみる　mendou o miru - to take care of something or someone.

Example: 私は病気の母の面倒を見ます。　わたしはびょうきのははのめんどうをみます　watashi wa byouki no haha no mendou o mimasu. - I take care of my sick mother. (Wasn't this the sob story of one of the American Idol wannabes this year? Anyway.)

Here's another positive usage of 面倒:

面倒見が良い　めんどうみがよい mendoumi ga yoi - to be considerate, caring （面倒見の良い、面倒見がいい、面倒見のいい　are also used)

Example: 聡はとても面倒見が良い男だ。さとしはとてもめんどうみがいいおとこだ。　Satoshi wa totemo mendoum ga ii - Satoshi is a very considerate guy.

There's a fine line between being 面倒見が良い　and being お節介　おせっかい　osekkai, which means being a meddler, busybody.

Obama as English teacher?

Previously, I expressed my skepticism about a report that a manga version of Das Kapital was a bestseller in Japan. There is however something else that is a bestseller: Barack Obama speeches. The book-with-CD sets published by CNN Express are dominating the English learning category on Amazon Japan for instance. The books contain the English text and Japanese translation of his speeches. The reviews say that Obama's speeches are great for learning, since they don't use a lot of very difficult words and his enunciation is very clear. (He also has a Middle America bland accent, which is easier than other accents for many non-English speakers to pick up on.) I guess this could be considered as part of the whole Obama-mania thing, but imagine the influence his speeches will have on a whole generation of Japanese kids who use them to learn English! It's either inspiring or scary, depending on which side of the political fence you stand on.

It's hard to imagine any Japanese politician with the same sort of universal appeal being used for Japanese learning materials though.