The Japanese that the Japanese Don*t Know!

にほんじんのしらないにほんご
(The Japanese that the Japanese
Don’t Know!)
Michael Murphy
Japanese III Period 1
Episode 1
Counters
• Japanese have different counters for living and
nonliving things.
– People are counted ひとり、ふたり、三人、四人（hitori, futari, sannin,
yonin）
Counters *cont*
• Small animals, such as dogs, cats, and fish use “匹”
• 一匹、ニ匹、三匹、四匹 (ippiki, nihiki, sanbiki, yonhiki)
• Large animals, such as horses and elephants use “頭”
• 一頭、ニ頭、三頭、四頭 (ittou, nitou, santou, yontou)
Counters *cont*
– Long or round objects use “本”
• 一本、ニ本、三本、四本 (ippon, nihon, sanbon, yonhon)
Japanese vs. Chinese Kanji
• When the Japanese incorporated the Chinese characters into their own, they
interpreted the kanji differently. Translations between the two are not always
the same.
–鮪
–
• Chinese: sturgeon
• Japanese: tuna
Sources
•
•
•
http://www.learn-japanese-adventure.com/japanese-numbers-counters.html
https://images.search.yahoo.com/yhs/search;_ylt=A86.J3VrQ_lV_1cAxz4PxQt.;_ylu=X3oDMTByNWU4cGh1BGNvbG8DZ3ExBHBvcwMxBHZ0aWQDBHNlYwNzYw--?p=Rat&fr=yhs-avgfh_lsonswrow&hspart=avg&hsimp=yhs-fh_lsonswrow
https://images.search.yahoo.com/images/view;_ylt=AwrTcXquQ_lVd9oAsU82nIlQ;_ylu=X3oDMTIybTJucmZ2BHNlYwNzcgRzbGsDaW1nBG9pZAM0MWMyOWY1ODJjZWUwNmQ1ZjJkNjUx
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Episode 2
Keigo
• Keigo- respectful or honorable form of
Japanese speaking
– Uses “お” or “ご”
– Usual form “お＋ *verb* になります。”
• Examples – おかえりになります、おすわりになります、
おかきになります
Episode 3
Self-Introductions
• あたしの名まえは＿＿＿＿です。
– “My name is _____.”
• _______ です。
– “I am ______.” (usually an answer)
Hanafuda
• Hanafuda is a traditional Japanese card game.
• The winner tries to achieve a combination of
cards called “yaku.”
• Cards from show:
– あかによろしい（obvious goodness)
– かす (trash)
– ぱいきち (hand meaning “one that shines above all
else.
Old Hiragana
• When the Japanese first made hiragana, there
was often too many characters with the same
phonetic, which meant they had to pick one for
each, and the scrapped ones are called “old
hiragana.”
–か
Sources
•
•
•
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hiragana
http://www.gamedesign.jp/flash/hanafuda/hanafuda_e.html
http://www.asahi-net.or.jp/~rp9h-tkhs/dg_hanafuda.htm
Episode 4
Standard Japanese
• People rarely use “standard Japanese” in modern
times
• Uses “私, あなた, ます,” and “です.”
• Originating from the Tokyo area during the Edo
period and used the most in the Tokyo area today.
• Thought of as colder and less personal than
common Japanese, but it is also more respectful
and the most understood.
• Uses “keigo” with “zamasu”
Common Japanese
• This is the modern Japanese people speak.
• It is a combination of standard Japanese and
other, less formal dialects.
• Simply uses informal verb conjugations and also
combines some vocabulary from other areas of
Japan.
“Tsugaru”
• Spoken in western Aomori prefecture.
• Very different from standard Japanese.
English
standard Japanese
Tsugaru dialect
I
watashi
wa
you
anata
na
cute
kawaii
megoi
friend
tomodachi
keyagu
Sources
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tsugaru_dialect
Episodes 5 & 6
ぞっとする＆ぞっとしない
• ぞっとする- shiver out of fear; usually comes
with strange or strong feelings
• ぞっとしない- to not be satisfied or impressed
by something; also an expression of denial
Kanji Theories
• 取 – take; has the kanji for ear (耳) and hand
because ears that were cut off are used as proof
of killing your enemy
• 道- road; contains kanji for neck (首) because
severed heads were used in exorcisms
• 県- prefecture; has a severed head again in the
form of “kyou”
Animal Figure Offerings
• Japanese make various figures of vegetables,
such as horses and cows as offerings to
ancestors that they would use as a vessel to go to
the other plane
Different Frequencies
•
•
•
•
•
いつも = always
たいてい = generally
よく = often
ときどき = sometimes
ぜんぜん = never
たのしい vs. うれしい
• “たのしい” usually refers to a longer period of
happiness than “うれしい.” Both can be seen as
to be happy or pleased.
Sources
•
https://www.google.com/search?q=kanji+with+mimi&biw=1366&bih=667&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwio35zuvbXJAhVTK4gKHW8DCy0Q_AUIBigB#imgrc=M6kg4XkNRk
0tCM%3A
Episodes 7 & 8
Colors
• 色 – (iro) used for colors
• There are colors, but colors can have different
shades
– 赤 (aka) = red
-真紅 (shinku) = crimson
- 緋色 (hi iro) = scarlet
- 朱色 (shu iro) = vermillion
Colors cont.
• There are characters 青 (blue) and 緑 (green)
now, "ao" (blue) was once used for many kinds
of colors, including shades of green.
• 青 (ao) = blue
- 群青色 (gunjou iro) = ultramarine
- 青磁色 (seiji iro) = celadon
Colors cont.
• Green (緑)used to refer to youth and plants.
Keigo (敬語)
• 1: Use passive voice.
- Ex:課長がご飯を「食べられます」。
- The section chief eats.
• 2: Add "になります" (ni narimasu) to the verb
- Ex:部長がご飯を「お食べになります」。
- The department head eats.
• 3: Use the special form of the verb
- Ex: 社長がご飯を「召し上がります」。
- The president eats.
Keigo cont.
• Some verbs change slightly when you want to
make them respectful
• Ex.:
• いる、行く、来る - becomes いっらっしゃる, etc.
Keigo cont.
• "Osore irimasu ga" = Sorry to impose
- Lowers your status, but it's like a
command; implies that the partner should
give a certain answer
Episodes 9 & 10
Vague Expressions
• Certain words or expressions end up having
confusing or multiple meanings, similar to
homophones in English.
• Ex.:
• はし can mean bridge, chopsticks, or edge,
depending on how it is pronounced
• いい can mean good or bad in certain contexts
“P” Characters and Sounds
• It was the Portuguese who got the Japanese to
use the small circle to indicate the “p” sounds
because Japanese originally had no way to
distinguish p’s unless they said the words.
Changed Taboo Words
• する = to lose money
- can be changed to あたり(to be on the mark)
• さしみ = "sasu" means to cut
- can be changed to おつくり
• おわる (owaru) = to end
- when referring to marriage ceremonies, you
talk about ending them as お開き (ohiraki),
which contains the character for open。
Shrines
• さんどう – gateway under the shrine
• せいちゅう –exact middle of path; the path the
god walks, so everyone walk on the edge when
going in.
• はちこ- a famous statue of a dog in Shibuya.
• Before you meet the God, you must wash your
hands.
• 手水どころ – where you wash your hands
Steps in Worshipping at a Shrine
•
•
•
•
•
•
Throw money offering.
Ring the bell (to call the god)
Bow twice
Clap your hands
Pray
And finally, bow again
Different Fortunes
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
(大吉, dai-kichi): great blessing
(中吉, chuu-kichi): middle blessing
(小吉, shou-kichi): small blessing
(吉, kichi) blessing
(半吉, han-kichi): half-blessing
(末吉, sue-kichi): future blessing
(末小吉, sue-shou-kichi): future small blessing
(凶, kyou): curse
(小凶, shou-kyou): small curse
(半凶, han-kyou): half-curse
(末凶, sue-kyou): future curse
(大凶, dai-kyou): great curse
Episodes 11 & 12
Slang
•
•
•
•
ゆらい – basically refers to slang
やばい - dangerous
パニくる - panicked
うざい - annoying
- The more proper word to use is うっとうい
(troublesome).
Courtesan Words
• お is usually attributed to giving things honor.
Women who served in the courts during the
Muromachi period made words that started
with お.
• おなら - fart
• おなか - stomach
- なか inside
• おにぎり - onigiri
- にぎりめし - rice ball
Sayings Only in Japanese
•
•
•
•
•
いちごいちえ - once in a lifetime encounter
おかえり- welcome or welcome home
もったいない - unworthy
おつかれさま - good work
ゆびきり - pinky swear

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