May
29
2010
御の字
おんのじ [on no ji] – This phrase describes something you’re so grateful for that it makes you want to use the honorific character 御. In other words, something that means a lot to you.
It is used sarcastically a lot, to describe being grateful for something even though there’s not much to be grateful for.
The word was originally part of the Edo prostitute dialect, but don’t worry; people won’t think you sound like a prostitute just because you use this word.
10個売れれば御の字の状態
at the point where it’d be satisfying (just) to sell 10
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More from Nihonshock…
On the other hand, if you are caught using enough expressions with “on no ji”, “baita”, and “abazure” in them, your colleagues might begin to wonder just where you were raised in relation to the Edo red-light district… [snark ends]
by: Jamie Farren, Jul 11th at 1:02 pm