7 polite phrases foreigners aren’t supposed to know
One of the joys of learning Japanese is seeing that shocked and dumbfounded look on native speakers’ faces when you fire off a difficult word or phrase that even they probably wouldn’t have come up with. You get to smile snobbishly and think to yourself: Ha! you didn’t see THAT coming, did you!?
正念場
しょうねんば [shounenba] – The word 正念 comes from Buddhism, and refers to “Right mindfulness”, part of the Noble Eightfold Path to enlightenment…
能天気
のうてんき [nou tenki] – “Ability” (能) + “Weather” (天気) = being carefree, or a person who is carefree (perhaps recklessly so)…
腐れ縁
くされえん [kusare en] – 縁 here is a kind of “destined to be” relationship to someone. And if it’s rotten (腐れ) , then we’re talking about…
ばついち
[batsu ichi] – Batsu is the ‘x’ character and ichi means ‘one’. Together, batsu ichi is a colloquial word that refers to someone who has divorced their first spouse.
韋駄天走り
いだてんばしり [idaten bashiri] – a “Skanda dash”, refers to running with great speed. Skanda is a Buddhist deity, who in folk lore was said to have chased down…
聖徳太子
しょうとくたいし [shoutoku taishi] – Prince Shoutoku (573-621) is a Japanese historical figure famous for his purported ability to comprehend many voices…
マメ知識
まめちしき [mame chishiki] – ‘knowledge beans’ is the Japanese equivalent of the word trivia–quaint facts about things. No, the fact doesn’t have to be about beans…
地獄耳
じごくみみ [jigoku mimi] – A person with ‘hell ears’ has a knack for hearing secrets–usually bad ones–that people don’t want to be heard.
耳胼胝
みみたこ [mimi tako] – Short for 耳に胼胝ができる= “to get calluses in one’s ears”, this word is useful when you’ve been told something too many times…
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