I Like Writing Systems

compare with the real kanji

First up we have:

Compare with 太

The original kanji means “to gain weight”. But it adds the コ “ko” and ロ  “ro” katakana symbols at the top to represent the weight you gain while staying home due to the corona virus.

Then we have:

Compare with 会 

The original kanjij means “meeting”, but the lower radical is changed to look more like a “Z” to represent Zoom meetings. Thus, the new kanji means “web meetings” or “zoom calls”

And of course another social distancing one:

Compare with 話 

This means “to talk” or “chat”, but it’s changed simply to show the two radicals social distancing from one another as we should also while holding conversations nowadays.

Instructor: [is talking about schwa]

The entire class, every time:

A conditional sentence is one that expresses a condition and a possible outcome. 

“If I study, I will graduate.” 

There are two conditional’s in Japanese たら and と. Lets focus on たら for now. 

たら conditional corresponds to English clauses starting with “if” or “when” 

Here’s the formula ; “Plain past tense form of verbs/ adj,/ copula+ら”

1.) 日本へ着いたら、電話してください。(nihon e tsuitara, denwashite kudasai) -> When/If you arrive in Japan, please call me. 

2.) 勉強したら、卒業します。(benkyoushitara, sotsugyoushimasu) -> If I study, I will graduate.

3.) 大学に電車で行ったら、３０分かかります。(daigaku ni densha de ittara, sanjuppun kakarimasu) -> If I go to University by train, it’ll take 30 minutes. 

4.)学生だったら、もっと勉強してください。(gakusei dattara, motto benkyoushite kudasai) -> If you are a student, please study more. 

*the main clause (following たら) can be non-past or past tense*

1.) 家に帰ったら、家の前に友達がいました。(uchi ni kaettara, uchi no mae ni tomodachi ga imashita) -> When I went home, my friend was in front of the house. 

2.) 会社に歩いて行ったら、一時間かかりました。(kaisha ni aruite ittara, ichijikan kakarimasu) -> When I walked to work, it took one hour.

3.)クラスに行ったら、先生も学生もいませんでした。（kurasu ni ittara, sensei mo gakusei mo imasen deshita) -> When I got to class the teacher and students weren’t there. 

*when the main clause is past tense it expresses something the speaker was surprised about* 

4.)日本人だったら、もっとたくさん漢字を知っているんですけど… (nihonjin dattara, motto takusan kanji wo shitte iru n desu kedo…) -> If I were Japanese I’d know a lot more Kanji but…

5.) お金があったら、新しい車を買うでしょう。(okane ga attara, atarashii karuma o kau deshou.) -> If I had money I would probably buy a new car.

たら　is also used when asking for or giving advice

1.) 日本語を勉強したいんですけど、どうしたらいいですか。(nihongo o benkyoushitai n desu kedo, dou shitara ii desu ka) -> I want to study Japanese, but how should I do it? 

2.) 日本に留学したらいいですよ。(nihon ni ryuugakushitara ii desu yo) -> It would be good if you studied abroad in Japan. 

3.)東京駅に行きたいんですけど、どうやって行ったらいいですか。(toukyou eki ni ikitai n desu kedo, dou yatte ittara ii desu ka) -> I want to go to Tokyo station, how should I get there? 

I have no idea what show this is from, but it’s so cute lol

I have a thing for Japanese. As you’ve likely noticed. And there are many aspects of the language that interest me, but one area in particular is 諺 kotowaza, or proverbs. 

There are many intriguing proverbs, but today I’m going to focus on those that revolve around animals. How many did you already know?

蛙の子は蛙 A frog’s child is a frog

Japanese pronunciation: Kaeru no ko wa kaeru English equivalent: Like father like son.*

I put an asterisk next to the English equivalent because it is not 100% equal. The English expression “like father like son” is often used in a positive light, expressing pride in the child for taking after the parent’s good qualities. It can also be used in a negative way, but I feel that the positive nuance is stronger.

However, the Japanese expression is only negative. When a frog is born it is not a frog but tadpole, which looks like an entirely different animal. Slowly but surely, though, the frogspawn changes until it is identical to its parents. This is a metaphor for children who seem able of surpassing their parents, but who ultimately wind up just like them.

For example, say that there are a mother and father who are not artistically inclined, and their young daughter draws a pretty good picture. They think that she will become a great drawer much better than they could ever be, but as time passes they realize that she is just as mediocre at drawing as they are. They may sigh and say, “Kaeru no ko wa kaeru.”

鹿を追う者は山を見ず He who chases the deer fails to see the forest

Japanese pronunciation: Shika wo ou mono wa yama wo mizu English Equivalent: You cannot see the wood for the trees.

Imagine a hunter who chases a swift deer through the mountain forest. He is so intent on his prey that he does not realize where he going, and by the time he has caught the deer, he is completely lost and darkness is falling. This expression is about people who are so fixated on one thing that they lose sight of other important things.

This expression is very similar to the English “You cannot see the wood for the trees,” which refers to someone who does not notice small but crucial details.

猫に小判 Gold before cats

Japanese pronunciation: Neko ni koban English equivalent: Pearls before swine

A “koban” is a large gold oval coin that was used for many centuries as currency in Japan. You could think of it as a hundred dollar bill in terms of worth compared to other Japanese coinage at the time.

Naturally, while a koban held a large amount of significance for any person, if you gave it to a cat the cat wouldn’t know what to do with it. It would probably give it a curious whiff and then walk away. This expression is used when someone’s gift or efforts are wasted on the recipient. It’s the exact same as the English “pearls before swine.”

Also, as a fun little side-note, anybody who’s in my generation or younger should know this, but can you name the first-generation cat Pokemon that was a Team Rocket henchman? Do you remember what he had on his forehead?

Who’s that Pokemon?! It’s Meowth! The golden coin on his forehead is shaped like a koban and is a reference to this proverb. There’s a fun fact you can share with your Pokemon-loving friends.

前門の虎、後門の狼 A tiger at the front gate, a wolf at the back gate

Japanese pronunciation: Zenmon no tora, koumon no ohkami English equivalent: Between the devil and the deep blue sea, or, between a rock and a hard place

Imagine that you have sneaked into the enemy’s fortress but were seen by the guards. You must escape through either the front or rear gates of the castle walls, but at the front gates waits a ferocious tiger and at the rear gates snarls a hungry wolf. Either will end poorly for you, yet you must choose one or the other. This expression refers to a situation in which neither of the available options are good.

When thinking of an equivalent English expression, the first one that came to mind was “between a rock and a hard place,” but it turns out that this expression is only about 100 years old. I wanted something with a bit more seniority, and that was when I stumbled across “between the devil and the deep blue sea,” which I had only known as a lyric in an Aerosmith song until then haha. It turns out this expression was first recorded in English almost 400 years ago though.

猫に鰹節の番をさせる Setting the cat to guard the dried fish

Japanese pronunciation: Neko ni katsuobushi no ban wo saseru  English equivalent: Setting the fox to guard the henhouse

I really like this one. First, you need to know what “katsuobushi” is, which I loosely translated as “dried fish.” It’s actually tissue paper-thin shavings of dried bonito, and cats absolutely love the stuff. And why wouldn’t they? It’s got the strong taste and smell of fish that they crave without the hassle of having to pick out bones or tear through scales.

Therefore, you can imagine that a cat would not a trustworthy guard make. This expression is identical to the English “setting the fox to guard the henhouse.”

They smoke the bonito for a ridiculously long time until it looks like a fossilized banana, and then they shred it up with a fancy box. Voila, katsuobushi.

This is an official advertisement for katsuobushi from about 1843. The cats are spelling out かつを (katsuo). 

鴨がネギをしょってくる A duck comes bringing leeks

Japanese pronunciation: Kamo ga negi wo shottekuru English equivalent: ??

This one is a bit of head-scratcher lol. First, you need to know that there is a Japanese dish called “kamo nabe,” which is a duck stew with leeks. If a duck comes to you on its own, that in and of itself is a good thing for you. If it is also carrying leeks, it is even better. In other words, this expression is used when two or more convenient/beneficial things happen at the same time.

However, there is another underlying message of this expression that makes it difficult to find a matching English expression. That is, that the duck who unknowingly seals his fate is naive/foolish. Also, a duck is seen as an easy-to-trick or simple-minded bird. (Think of the English expressions “sitting duck” and “lame duck.”)

Specifically, this expression is used when Person A unknowingly does something beneficial for Person B that will later come back to hurt Person A.

I hunted for an equivalent expression in English but couldn’t find one. If you know of one in English or another language, please let me know in the comments!

Also, there is another Pokemon based on this expression. Do you know which one it is?

Yep, it’s Farfetch’d! Its name in Japanese is カモネギ (Kamonegi), or Leek Duck. Two Pokemon facts in one post? How much better can it get?

取らぬ狸の皮算用 Counting the pelts of raccoon dogs one has yet to catch

Japanese pronunciation: Toranu tanuki no kawazanyou English equivalent: Counting your chickens before they’ve hatched

The Japanese version of this well-known expression is decidedly darker than the English one. Imagine a hunter laying a dozen traps for raccoon dogs (called “tanuki” in Japanese) and bragging to his friends how he was going to catch 12 in a day. Upon checking the traps, he sees that he has only caught five. His friends would say, “Don’t count your pelts before you’ve caught them.”

立つ鳥跡を濁さず A bird taking flight does not foul the water

Japanese pronunciation: Tatsu tori wa ato wo nigosazu English equivalent: Burn no bridges

This expression can be heard on an almost daily basis in Japan. When a bird takes off from the water, it leaves behind clear, clean water only. There is no trace that it was ever there once the ripples have faded.

This is most commonly used when someone quits their job. It is important to leave no unfinished business or messes for your coworkers to clean up after you, and of course you want to leave on a good note with everyone. When you depart, you should make sure that you leave no unfavorable traces of yourself behind.

I guess that the closest English expression would be “burn no bridges,” though I saw several people stating “It’s an ill bird that fouls its own nest” as an equivalent. I feel like that expression is different, though, because it focuses more on the the perpetrator and less on the people around him, while the Japanese expression is all about making sure not to inconvenience others.

井の中の蛙、大海を知らず A frog at the bottom of a well knows nothing of the great ocean

Japanese pronunciation: I no naka no kawazu, taikai wo shirazu  English equivalent: He that stays in the valley shall never get over the hill.

We all know at least one person who is woefully narrow-minded, not for lack of effort but simply because their world extends only to their city limit. They do not travel, do not have friends from varied backgrounds, and do not actively seek out the unfamiliar. This leaves them unaware of all the world has to offer.

The Japanese expression summarizes this predicament beautifully. A frog living in the bottom of a well may think that he is in the great expanses of the sea, but in actuality is in a prison, starved from all the wonders of light and sensation that are waiting outside the well.

The End!!

I hope you guys enjoyed today’s Moderately Interesting Japanese. Work has been…absolute chaos. My old boss was moved to a new project within the company. They’re shorthanded and I’ve been asked to translate over 30,000 pages of high level tech training materials (that I have no experience/knowledge of) into Japanese…in 5 weeks…on top of my regular duties… Needless to say I am exceedingly close either to drinking enough caffeine that my third eye opens, my chakras align, and I become an omnipotent god, or a mental breakdown. But I only have 2,000 more pages to go until I’m finished! 

these are not transliterations, because that would be too easy! instead i made up punny names from toki pona words

We distinguish between temporary and permanent and habitual forms of being, even in English. The only other place I know that does this is AAVE. Marcus be playing the drums; aye lads, he surely does be playing them.

The only wrong thing to call it among those options is actually the one I think I see the most on Tumblr - just ‘Gaelic’.

a. Gaelic is not a language it’s a language group. and b. while it is sometimes used to refer to one language from that group, it’s not Irish but Scottish/Erse.

And sorry to tag on like this but I think it’s important to highlight the contemporary issues facing Irish. Late capitalism is trying to push the irrelevance of Irish, and an outdated and delusional course means that it’s taught shockingly poorly in our schools. It’s barely taught from 5 - 11, and then students who enter secondary schools at 11 are expected to have good conversational Irish (they don’t) and at 17 are expected to sit an Irish exam with questions on par with an English exam (most can’t). I am lucky in that my family are gaeilgeoirs but I saw students having breakdowns about Irish.

Which means that, tragically, a lot of people exit the school system with a hatred for the language. I have a friend whose boyfriend has told her he will not have children with Irish names because he carries so much trauma from learning Irish in school. Of late they’ve tried to address the issue by making the oral portion worth 40% but I’m not sure that’s done the job.

And it’s this environment in which, instead of overhauling the course and addressing the root of the problem, certain people and politicians are now calling for the language to be taken off the syllabus as a mandatory subject and turned into a choice subject. Because it’s not “relevant”, it’s not “useful”. And I have to think, with the reputation Irish has as a subject, how many people will make the choice to take it? Even if they want to, their final exams that dictate the course they get in college depend on their results. Who could blame them for avoiding a subject where you need to have five years of learning you never received prior to starting?