ぶっしょく [busshoku] – Thing (物) + color (色) equals…? Yep! that’s right: “to search around looking for just the right thing”. Or…

たちくらみ [tachikurami] – Ever wish there was a word to describe that annoying vertigo/”blacking out” sensation you get when you stand up suddenly?…

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…

のうてんき [nou tenki] – “Ability” (能) + “Weather” (天気) = being carefree, or a person who is carefree (perhaps recklessly so)…

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…

[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.

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…

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…

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…

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.