貧乏揺すり
びんぼうゆすり [binbou yusuri] – “The poor man’s shake.” This word refers to tapping your foot or shaking your legs unconsciously while sitting, like a…
てんこ盛り
てんこもり [tenko mori] – What’s bigger than an 大盛り (oomori : large serving)? Well, a 特盛り if you’re at Yoshinoya… But bigger than that? You want てんこ盛り!
腰巾着
こしぎんちゃく [koshiginchaku] – A “hip purse”. This word is often a metaphor for someone who constantly follows their superiors around, trying to win their favor.
伊達
だて [date] – Date was originally a proper name. Nowadays it’s more commonly used to mean “for show-off.” For example, 伊達眼鏡 [date megane] are glasses that…
割り勘
わりかん [warikan] – Short for 割前勘定 [warimae kanjou], Literally: “billing by divided-share”, this refers to dividing a restaurant/bar bill evenly among all members of a group.
二股
ふたまた [futamata] – Literally: “Double groin”. If you knew the parts of the word, you might be able to guess that it means “having relations with more than one lover.”
乍ら族
ながらぞく [nagarazoku] – Refers to people who habitually listen to radio or watch television as they study/work. This word came to be in 1959 when…
走馬灯
そうまとう [soumatou] – A kind of 2-layered lantern. The inner layer revolves and has images cut into it, such that when it turns, the shapes appear to move around the lantern.
指南
指南 [shinan] – Literally “pointing south”, this word means teaching or instruction. Why south? This word has its origins in ancient Chinese south pointing chariots…
More from Nihonshock…
