Questions tagged [idioms]
慣用句・ことわざ. Phrases with fixed words used as a single unit, typically with a meaning beyond what is obvious from its constituent parts.
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Is there a Japanese word for the game “horseshoes?”
I'm guessing this will come across as two questions, but their interrelation is important...
Is there a specific word for the game where you toss a horseshoe at a peg (in English just called ...
2
votes
1answer
287 views
What is the correct parsing of お高くとまる?
I had always thought that the phrase お高くとまる consisted of the adverbial お高く combined with the verb とまる. I never actually paid much attention to the literal meaning since it is obviously a figurative ...
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1answer
127 views
Not seeing is a flower?
Can anyone explain what does this idiom means ?
I read the English translation and googled it but I still don’t know what it really means and what does flower refer to .
見ぬが花
“Not seeing is a ...
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1answer
146 views
Jibun dake baka o miru meaning?
I saw it on a prep book and there says the meaning is to waste time and money, but I don't understand how.
2
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1answer
87 views
What does 意識が遠くなる mean?
I ran into this japanese medical site. http://www.kojinkai.or.jp/msc/outpatient-selfcheck18.html
The title "意識が遠くなる" stumps me. Best I can guess is "Consciousness is fading." Is that right? "...
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2answers
104 views
About using おかげさまで as a standalone
I've been doing some research on おかげさまで and, not content with just memorising sayings, am wondering why おかげさまで is used as a standalone/response.
Does it mean 'thanks to you', 'thanks to God and ...
3
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1answer
116 views
In the clause われこそはと心驕りしていられる方々からは, … what does the と mean?
I read this clause as something like "I myself surely, and all of those whose hearts were being made indignant, (...)" However, I'm not confident this is correct, mainly because I'm not sure what the ...
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2answers
159 views
Difference between 七転び八起き and 七転八起
I really need someones help and PRONTO!!
So I have finally decided my next Japanese Kanji tattoo! :)
BUT I got one problem when I was doing some research on "Fall down seven times, stand up eight." I ...
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3answers
185 views
鶴の一声 — Origin and context?
So, I understand what the idiom actually means, roughly -- "the final word," "the word from on high." But where does it come from? Is there a story or a history that gives it context?
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1answer
158 views
Understanding 絵に描いたように
そんな絵に描いたように満ち足りたダーズリー家にも、たった一つ秘密があった。
In the Dursley family, who were the very picture of contentment, there was just one secret.
My translation of そんな絵に描いたように満ち足りた is purely a guess based on Jisho'...
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3answers
2k views
What does 今日という日 mean?
I'm trying to translate a song lyric that says
今日という日は 過去 前例のない
僕たちの誓い日和だよ
And I get a dictionary result at Jisho for 今日という日 as something like every day; all day but that doesn't make any sense ...
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1answer
125 views
「守りが甘い[上手]{うわて}」…どういう意味ですか？
守りが甘い上手【うわて】と打つとやられるぞ
"If you play this stronger player for whom 'protection is sweet' you will be done for."
is my best attempt to understand. The context in which this happens is the teacher of ...
5
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1answer
134 views
Is あわやと思った an idiom? What is the meaning of あわや?
I've come across this sentence
あわやと思ったその時
and I have looked around without success for a translation for あわや. Tangorin simply says it's an adverb meaning 'almost on the verge of happening', but ...
2
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1answer
81 views
尻馬に乗る Have I understood this idiom correctly?
So I am struggling with this sentence, and was wondering if I have interpreted the idiom correctly?
I have found that 尻馬に乗る means 'to follow suit', 'to follow the lead of others' or 'A fool laughs ...
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2answers
1k views
Japanese idiom equivalent to “that ship has sailed”
What is the closest expression in Japanese that conveys a similar meaning to the English idiom "that ship has sailed", referring to an "missed opportunity" and "it's too late (to do anything about it)"...
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3answers
114 views
一線を画する ambiguity
This passage comes from Underground by Haruki Murakami:
年長者であり医師であり、科学技術省の「武闘派」とは一線を画している林が敢えて実行者として選ばれた理由は不明だが...
The translation by Alfred Birnbaum is
Why Hayashi - a senior medical doctor ...
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1answer
100 views
Meaning of ツッコミどころ多すぎ?
I've come across the phrase:
ツッコミどころ多すぎ
In a book where the character was for a second time expressing annoyance at his colleague's reckless actions.
But I'm unsure of it's meaning since it ...
5
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2answers
139 views
How to interpret “一日の楽しみ”
こいつにとって水泳は本当に一日の楽しみなんだと思う。
The person in question here swims literally everyday.
"I think she really enjoys swimming (everyday? all the time?)"
It's hard to fit these use cases here.
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0answers
80 views
A good translation for 寒がるふり / 冷めたふり / etc?
Every once in a while, I come across some variant of a phrase that would literally translate to "pretending to be cold."
As far as I can tell, it refers to a sort of desperate attention-seeking ...
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2answers
196 views
What's 'to take one's proper station' in japanese?
It was quoted in The Chrysanthemum and the Sword and appears to be a japanese idiom.
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1answer
112 views
～とく・ておく to emphasize a negative thing?
I know ておく・とく as meaning "in preparation for something". But today I came across the following two sentences:
あれだけみっともない辞め方をしといて、まだ政府にモノが言えるのは、民主党はいまだ鳩山の懐をあてにして金を貰っているのでしょうか。 (from Oshiete Goo)
...
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2answers
115 views
meaning of 身を切る
This is a passage from Ｒｅ：ゼロから始める異世界生活 2 light novel. Subaru has finished telling Ram the Japanese story The Ogre who cried. story summary by Crunchyroll (link contains spoilers for the anime ...
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2answers
445 views
Meaning of: いらっしゃいます。
I know what はじめまして means. It means, pleased / nice to meet you. When reading Manga at school to learn these expressions, I see the phrase quite often.
But there was one Manga where I saw the phrase, ...
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1answer
134 views
Is 二人の顔はそっくりだ a possible way to say “Both of their faces look the same”?
This is my attempt at translating the sentence "Both of their faces look the same":
二人の顔はそっくりだ
Does it make sense or is it completely wrong?
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2answers
403 views
Is there an idiom for something that will never happen? [duplicate]
Inspired by this question on English SE, and the List of idioms of improbability in Wikipedia which does not have an entry for Japanese, I was wondering... Is there an idiom in Japanese for something ...
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1answer
130 views
蜘蛛の子を散らす-help with this idiom
While I was reading a text, I came across this idiom 「蜘蛛の子を散らす」but this is how it shows up in online dictionaries. I understood what it means and in what context can be used but it would seem that ...
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1answer
154 views
Is 足りるだけ with a negative verb idiomatic?
I've encountered sentences like:
「皆【みんな】に足【た】りるだけの椅子【いす】がありません」and
「皆に足りるだけのコーヒーがありません」.
In English, we wouldn't say, "There aren't just enough chairs," except perhaps as, "There barely ...
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0answers
112 views
Searching for idiom frequency list
I am looking for a list of the most common idioms in Japanese, and ideally I want the list to be frequency-based. In other words, it should be based on a large corpus.
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2answers
95 views
Is “煽りを喰らう” an idiom/set-phrase? If so what does it mean?
I came across the phrase in a novel, I've never heard of it before and am curious to know if it's an idiom/set-phrase and what context it could be used in.
In this novel for example two characters ...
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3answers
1k views
Japanese idioms of improbability
I'm sure most (English speakers) have heard terms like:
when pigs fly
or
when hell freezes over
or
when the Cubs win the World Series [obsolete] (U.S. only)
Am wondering if there is ...
2
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1answer
4k views
Why does “hajimete” mean “for the first time”?
はじめて(hajimete) is the te-form of the verb はじめる(hajimeru) - to begin. How come it means "for the first time" and is used appropriately to mean the whole phrase? Is it an idiom?
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3answers
291 views
Meaning of 足のつかない?
I wasn't able to find any matches through dictionaries for 足のつかない or 足がつかない.
Here is the sentence:
消えても足のつかない人間をさらっては上の集団に引き渡すらしい
The context is thugs kidnapping people for money.
I don't ...
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1answer
144 views
Meaning of かませるワンちゃん
Context: boxer A tells boxer B that the president of the gym, who is also boxer B's father, cannot come to watch boxer B's match. Boxer B doesn't have a good relationship with his father.
Boxer A: ...
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1answer
180 views
“Neee” instead of one's name or before his name — what does this mean?
When someone - my friend - says "neeee" to me, what does it mean? It's not when I say something and they respond "neeee" or "sou da yo neee". It's when "neee" is used either by itself, or instead of ...
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2answers
96 views
Is there a phrase/idiom similar to 'critical mass'?
I doubt the literal equivalent 臨界量 is likely to work here.
I'm speaking in the sense of a community activity, where a critical mass of people is required in order for it to survive. e.g. if a group ...
3
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1answer
76 views
localizing historical allusions (Waterloo; Honnoji)
English occasionally uses "Waterloo" idiomatically to refer to a situation where someone meets their (ultimate) defeat. (historical allusion to Napoleon's defeat at the Battle of Waterloo)
"That ...
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2answers
114 views
Is “悪い所を煮詰めたような” an idiom? If so what does it mean?
I'm reading a passage from a book, here one of the characters is making a few observations about the personality of another character (慶介 - Keisuke) who has moved up in status and is a new member ...
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2answers
174 views
How to express “They only think about themselves”
I am trying to come up with this sentence, but I feel like some parts of it are too literal and idiomatic, and some words I used here are new to me, so maybe I made some poor decisions when picking ...
4
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1answer
120 views
What does it 「天分に生きる」actually mean?
I found this term in a scientist book and my effort so far was to copy paste the word into ejje weblio, but weblio didn't gave me an answer. Is this phrase a kind of idiom or something? How can I ...
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3answers
247 views
X wants for Y to not be Z
I have a translation of a given sentence in English, but the Japanese version seems to use a verb that seems a little different than what would be intended, so I wanted to ask about it here and double-...
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1answer
90 views
What is the meaning of 横分け眼鏡?
A girl is offending a boy that wears glasses by saying:
気持ち悪いんだよ、横分け眼鏡。
I guess 横分け眼鏡 is a kind of offensive thing referring to his glasses or his eyesight, maybe similar to the English four-eyes, ...
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2answers
136 views
Meaning of the expression “大きく出る”
I haven't found an explanation for this expression in my dictionary, but from a few bits of info I found online I think it has something to do with "bragging"? Does it have to do with the way someone ...
2
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2answers
175 views
Figurative use of 「まどから捨てる」
Yesterday, I answered a question on the Anime SE site about a consistency between Japanese audio and English subtitles.
To summarize:
From what I could understand of the dialogue, the character in ...
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2answers
273 views
Is there a phrase in Japanese that means “anything under the sun”?
The English idiom "anything under the sun" means, anything at all. For example:
We sat and talked about anything under the sun.
Is there a Japanese phrase with the same nuance as that? The sentence:
...
3
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1answer
187 views
What does the expression “sour mouth” mean?
The sentence was "オレが口を酸っぱくして教えたよね？"
To my understanding, it means "Did I teach you to do it with a sour mouth?" or actually, "Didn't I teach you with a sour mouth?", but I'm not sure what sour mouth ...
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1answer
107 views
Why is “to attempt” written as 心 + 見る？ [duplicate]
Why is こころ + みる the word used to say "to try/attempt"? What is it supposed to be saying as an idiom?
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3answers
2k views
What are the origins of the Japanese idiom ななころびやおき (nanakorobiyaoki)?
I have an assignment on this quote but I just can't seem to find any of the origins of the quote. Its' English translation is "Fall down seven times, stand up eight". If anybody could help and let me ...
0
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2answers
143 views
What is the closest equivalent expression to “don't get your panties in a bunch”?
"To get one's panties in a bunch", from Wikitionary:
To become overwrought or unnecessarily upset over a trivial matter. [Usually used towards women.]
What is the closest Japanese equivalent ...
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3answers
247 views
Equivalent of 【一人で】for a multi-person group unit
I am trying to translate the English expression "left to their own devices"/"left to themselves"/"in a vacuum" into Japanese, and the best I could come up with would be something involving 「ひとりで」, but ...
1
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1answer
498 views
How to ask someone in a phone call to pass the phone to someone else?
Example in English:
You are on the phone with John, and you know that Mary is in a room with him, you may say
"Can you put on Mary, please?".
Is there an idiom for this request in Japanese?
