Toujin No Negoto　★　唐人の寝言

Any time I come across an interesting saying or utterance, I'll post it here. Mainly this is for my study, but it can become yours too!

For organization purposes, the following will be grammar points:

★要するに you suru ni - in breif, the point is
★ありとあらゆる ari to arayuru every possible; every single
★除いて nozoite - except; save for. Example: １つ除いて、全部見つかった hitotsu nozoite, zenbu mitsukatta Except for one, I found them all
★遥かに harukani - by far;far more. Example: 彼女は、僕より遥かに日本語が話せる kanojo ha, boku yori haruka ni nihongo ga hanaseru She can speak more Japanese than me by far
★途轍もない totetsu mo nai - unbelievable; absurd
★何が何でも nani ga nan demo - by any means; at all costs
★物ともせず mono tomosezu - in the face of; in the defiance of
★意図的に itoteki ni - on purpose
★恰も atakamo - as if, as it were, use with ～よう you
★猛然と mouzen to - fiercely
★単に tan ni - merely
★仮にも kari ni mo - even as a joke; even for an instant
★たださえ tada sae - even at the best of times; (even) under normal conditions
★とことん tokoton - to the bitter end; thoroughly
★さぞ～でしょう sazo ~ deshou - I dare say; It must be that; I am sure
★～価値がある ~kachi ga aru - It is worth ~ (doing)
★さて置き sateoki - setting aside
★各 kaku - every. Use it before any noun, just like English!

Next up, interesting sentences:

★この遣る瀬無さはとても言葉に表せない kono yarusenasa ha totemo kotoba ni arawasenai - words really can't describe this misery
★天才と狂気は紙一重だ tensai to kyouki ha kamihitoe da - There's a thin line between genius and madness. Kamihitoe literally means one fold of paper.
★彼女の巧みな言葉に翻弄された kanojo no takumi na kotoba ni honrou sareta - I was at the mercy of her sweet words.
★俺、夢でも見てんのか ore, yume demo miten no ka - Am I dreaming?
★テニスではあの子に歯が立たないね tenisu de ha ano ko ni ha ga tatanai ne - I'm unable to compete against that girl at tennis.
★何らかの理由で、学校をやめることにした naniraka no riyuu de, gakkou wo yameru koto ni shita - For some reason or other, he decided to quit school.
★それって俺へのあてつけ　sore tte ore e no atetsuke? - Are you implying something? (about me)
★明日は明日の風が吹く ashita wa asita no kaze ga fuku - A new wind blows tomorrow; Tomorrow's another day
★豚に真珠 buta ni shinju - does not go well together; casting pearls before swine
★猫に小判 neko ni koban - similar to above, but can also mean a waste of resources
★蛇の道は蛇 ja no michi ha hebi - send a thief to catch a thief
★のみの心臓　nomi no shinzou - heart of a flea; coward
★信号は青だ shingou wa ao da - the traffic light is green
★うまく行かなかったら、ま、その時はその時だ umaku ikanakattara, ma, sono toki wa sono toki da - If things don't go well, we'll cross that bridge then.


Other words that don't really count as grammar or full sentences:

★一時的 ichijiteki - temporary. Example: 一時的な感情 ichijiteki na kanjou temporary/fleeting emotions.
★気を回す ki wo mawasu - to read too much into things
★すっぴん　suppin - a (girl) not wearing make-up
★しばく shibaku - cool way to say hit/strike someone
★命取り inochitori - fatal, literally means take life, smart huh
★紅一点 kou itten - the only woman in the group
★すれ違い surechigai - a chance encounter
★早とちり hayatochiri - jumping to a conclusion
★逆襲 gyakushuu - counter attack; retaliate
★恩返しをする ongaeshi wo suru - to return a favour
★交換条件 koukan jouken - a sort of deal where for example "if you win, then X, if I win, then Y"
★起立 kiritsu - standing
★着席 chakuseki - sitting
★混同 kondou - mixing, merging
★合体 gattai - combine, unite, fusion

Below are four-kanji-characters. I won't go as far to say they are 四字熟語 yoji jukugo though, because some are made up of two two-kanji combinations.

★得意分野 tokui bunya - one's field of expertise
★全身全霊 zenshin zenrei - complete devotion. It is made up of (all body, all spirit). You can use it as 全身全霊をかける・込める zenshin zenrei wo kakeru/komeru meaning to do your best.
★一世一代 issei ichidai - once in a lifetime; for the first and last time.
★車間距離 shakan kyori - the distance between two cars
★正確無比 seikaku muhi - unmatched accuracy
★荷重移動 kajuu idou - weight transfer
★対戦相手 taisen aite - the competition, the opponent
★他流試合 taryuu jiai - contest between two schools/styles
★全開走行 zenkai soukou - to travel at full throttle
★一か八か ichika bachika - sink or swim, all or nothing
★試行錯誤 shikou sakugo - trial and error
★過小評価 kashou hyouka - underestimation, use with する suru
★前輪駆動 zenrin kudou - front-wheel drive
★百戦錬磨 hyakusen renma - veteran, literally '100 battles practice'
★独立独歩 dokuritsu doppo - self reliance
★短期決戦 tanki kessen - decisive battle of short duration
★日常茶飯 nichijou sahan - an everyday occurence, literally everyday's tea and rice
★一発逆転 ippatsu gyakuten - reversing the tides in one quick motion, for example, winning a losing battle by a sudden knock out punch
★一発勝負 ippatsu shoubu - make-or-break game, a contest decided by a single round
★将来有望 shourai yuubou - promising (as in a promising musician)
★起死回生 kishi kaisei - revival of the dead, recovery from a hopeless situation. Can be used as a verb
★意気投合 ikitougou - when used as a verb, means to hit it off with someone

I stumbled onto this program quite a while ago, but because of some errors on my part I neglected it until recently. It's basically a flash card application for the DS. A flash card system on the DS has a few advantages over the traditional flash card system: for one, there's the sheer hassle of carrying around sets of flash cards. Also DSLearnJ makes use of the DS's touch screen; you can write the kanji you're trying to remember and compare once you flip the card.

To use it, you don't need an instruction manual. Once you load it up, you choose the flashcard file to open, which parts you want hidden (for example you can hide the English meaning, the kanji, or the reading, or any combination of such), and off you go.

The word will be shown on the top screen, you can write it on the bottom screen. Simple. Press the lightbulb or the X button to show the hidden portions. Compare it yourself, and either mark it as right with the green circle or the A button, and continue, or mark it wrong with the red-X or Y button, and it gets put back into the deck.

Making the decks is not exactly brain surgery, but it can be tedious. You should use the program called JWPce. You have to make a .jis file, with the contents in this format:

Ｅｎｇｌｉｓｈ　ｉｎ　ｆｕｌｌ　ｗｉｄｔｈ　ｃｈａｒａｃｔｅｒｓ、、よみ、、漢字
Ｓｅｃｏｎｄ　ｗｏｒｄ、、にばんめのよみかた、、二番目の漢字
Note that the commas are Japanese style commas, and there must be two of them. Each section can be up to 28 characters in length I think. I guess you could swap the sections around if you wanted, I've never tried it though.

The main problem I had was that I used Microsoft Word instead of JWPce. It made buggy .jis files that sometimes worked sometimes not, and oftentimes made crazy spastic characters show up. Nowadays I write the flashcard files in word and just save them in JWPce.

A very simple, yet effective little application that has unfortunately been abandoned by its creator. The latest version out at most places is version 0.5, which is a completely stable and good version. Things that this version lacks however, are both the ability to scroll through multiple screens of flashcard files, and also it's missing a round-up summary when you complete every flash card. You can get this version from the official site here(link dead), which may need to be patched to work on your DS's card (you need one of those fancy schmancy DS cartridges that can read SD cards). If you have a newer SD cartridge, like R4, M3 Simply, TTDS or the like, you probably don't need to patch it.

After a little searching, I found some old posts by the creator where he uploaded his final version before calling it quits. This version makes some vast improvements over the previous version. It's version 0.6 and is hard to come by but I have it here for ya. But wait, there's a catch. This one has been pre-patched to work with the R4. It works with my TTDS, and I would guess the M3 will run it too, but it may not work on other cards.

The file is here:
DSLearnJ_0.6-R4.zip

I'll also share some of the flashcard files that I use. Some of them have minor mistakes, or vocabulary so old that even Japanese people don't know them, but for the most part they are very educational.

Kinosaki Ni Te Big.jis is made up of about 200 words that show up in Shiga Naoya's short story Kinosaki Ni Te. Expect these words to be rather old, as the story was written in 1917.

Koukotsu No Hito Big.jis gathers words I didn't know from the first chapter of Ariyoshi Sawako's Koukotsu No Hito (1973). A little newer, so words are perhaps more relevant than above.

Senbazuru Big.jis has words from the opening chapter of Kawabata Yasunari's Senbazuru (1951). Some words relating to tea ceremony here.

Yoji.jis collects a few various four-kanji combinations.

Grammar.jis includes some JLPT Level 2 grammar.

*UPDATE* 20/04/09

General1.jis some words largely relating to fish and describing fish.

General2.jis contains some words relating to sporting.

*UPDATE* 30/05/09

Boku To Issho.jis is made up of words mostly from the manga 僕と一緒 boku to issho.

Vagabond.jis has a lot of words from the first chapter of Vagabond.

Kihon.jis has some random words in it.

Anki 2kyuu.jis has some words I had to learn from Speed Anki.

Medical - The Body.jis An ongoing series of medical Japanese words.

*UPDATE* 4/06/09

Mecial Foot.jis contains words relating to the foot.

Medical Face.jis contains words relating to the face.

Medical Hand.jis has a few words about the hand.

Medical Illnesses and Medical Conditions.jis has a list of some common medical conditions.

Medical Inside The Body.jis contains words for organs/bones etc.

Medical Other Vocabulary.jis has some miscellaneous medical words.

Medical Skeleton.jis words relating to the human skeleton.

Medical Symptoms and Injuries.jis Some medical symptoms and injuries.

Medical The Senses.jis A small set containing words relating to the five senses.

For the purpose of time management, and efficient study, it may be a good idea to split large files into smaller ones. That way you can tackle a portion a day or so. I'll keep this list updated every time I make a new flashcard file.

I guess everyone had those times when they don't know a word in Japanese, so they just japanify an English word. It works great for some words, ドラマ dorama (drama), コンピューター konpyuutaa (computer), カメラ kamera (camera). There are a lot of these English words in Japanese today, some have even overtaken their original coutnerparts in many situtaions, like 苺 ichigo, which is often replaced with ストロベリー sutoroberii (strawberry).

These borrowed words are called 外来語 gairaigo, quite literally 'words that come from outside.' Chinese words written in Kanji generally don't count as gairaigo, though I guess technically they are. A large proportion of gairaigo are made up of English words, as seen above, but some do come from other languages:

★　ギプス gipusu - a medical cast (German)
★　カッパ kappa - raincoat (Portuguese)
★　コップ koppu - cup (Dutch)
★　ノルマ noruma - quota (Russian)
★　ズボン zubon - pants (French)

Some words even have kanji! Though, to be fair they are usually written in katakana:

★　倶楽部 kurabu - club or society (English)
★　珈琲 koohii - coffee (Dutch)
★　麺麭 pan - bread (Spanish)
★　煙草 tabako - tobacco/cigarette (Portuguese)

But how about if I asked you what a コンセント konsento was? The logical conclusion would be "Oooh, it must mean 'consent'," but you'd be shot for being wrong. Consento (which actually means a power-point/power outlet) is one of the made-in-Japan-English (和製英語 wasei eigo) that have sprung up over the years. Often these come in the form of catch phrases or shortenings of longer, real English words (for example, consento comes from concentric plug, I think).

Some mean something obvious, some may baffle you:

★　アッポ appo - appointment
★　ベビーカー bebiikaa - a stroller,pram
★　デパート depaato - a department store
★　フロントガラス furonto garasu - windsheild/windscreen on a car
★　ゲーセン geesen - video arcade (from game centre)
★　カンニング kan'ningu - cheating (on a test etc.)
★　マンション manshon - a modern concrete apartment building

Many of them are quite logical right? That makes them a little easier for English speakers. For a fuller list, check out Wikipedia's page on it.

One thing that sets Japanese culture apart from many others is the usage of set phrases. Well, it's not like we don't have set phrases in English, but you probably don't notice them because there seem to be so many ways to say the same thing in English: see ya, goodbye, ciao (okay not English, but meh), catch ya later, bye bye. You get the drift.

There is a lot of room for flare and variation in the huge range of English set phrases. Japanese set phrases on the other hand generally don't have variation to this degree. In a certain situation, the only thing to say is what you say. More or less. I'm covering my bases here, trying not to overgeneralize, but at this moment in time I feel that this is correct. Anyway, let's go through a couple of set phrases, in no partiuclar order, except the order that they popped into my head:

• 初めましてhajimemashite - When you meet someone for the first time, you say this, followed by your name, company, nationality, favourite Spice Girl, whatever. It often gets translated to the English how do you do, but come on, who actually says that?
  
• お早うございます ohayou gozaimasu - Basically this one means good morning. The word for early comes up there, with an inflection that isn't really used too often anymore. You use this in the morning, after you see someone for the first time that day. Each consecutive time, you just do a little bow, or head nod called an 会釈 eshaku. Another time to use this phrase, regardless of the time of day, is when you start work. You greet the other staff with this saying (make sure to greet everyone too). In a non-formal situation, it can be shortened to お早う ohayou, or even to おす osu among friends.
  
• こんにちは konnichiwa - Similarly, this word means good afternoon, as a daytime greeting. Literally means 'today.' Usually written in hiragana. May be seen as こん kon on some internet chat sites.
  
• こんばんは konbanwa - An evening greeting; good evening.
  
• お休みなさい oyasumi nasai - Means something along the lines of have a good sleep. Say it when you say goodnight and part with someone. Can be shortened to お休み oyasumi among friends.
  
• ありがとうございます arigatou gozaimasu - Thank you. Can be shortened to ありがとう arigatou among friends, or lengthened to どうもありがとうございます doumo arigatou gozaimasu in a formal situation. A funny way to say it, あざあす azaasu is used very casually, usually to the coach of a sports team. Strange, I know.
  
• すみません sumimasen - This word is very useful. Bascially, whenever you've done something wrong, this word will be there to wipe it all away. Bascially sorry, but can extend to the meaning of thank you also, for example when recieving something. Sometimes takes the form すみませんでした sumimasen deshita in the past tense. It can also mean excuse me, when trying to get someone's attention. It is polite, but trusst me, it's damn annoying being called over by sumimasen every 10 seconds.
  
• 失礼します shitsurei shimasu - Quite literally I'm being rude. Used when you are imposing on someone, so can also mean excuse me, for example when you need someone to move out of your way. It gives the listener less chance to refuse than sumimasen On a side note, if you fart, you can say 失礼しました shitsurei shimashita.
  
• お邪魔します ojama shimasu - Literally means I'm intruding. You use it when you enter a room, or even someone's car.
  
• ごめんなさい gomen nasai - Sorry. A little more personal than sumimasen. Usually used between friends in the form of ごめん gomen.
  
• ごめんくださいgomen kudasai - You use this when you enter someone's house and are trying to find out where everyone is. Bascially used in place of may I come in?, or is anyone home?.
  
• お疲れ様です otsukaresama desu - Comes from the words meaning tired and person (sorta). The meaning is tough, I guess something like you must be tired. You say it to your workmates when you finish work.
  
• ご苦労様 gokurou sama - similar to the above, except on people of higher-status can say it to lower-status people. Imagine a boss saying good work.
  
• お先に失礼します osaki ni shitsureishimasu - Used after you finish work before other people. Like I'm rudely finishing before you.
  
• 申し訳ない moushi wake nai - When you've done something (or going to do something) so terrible that sumimasen just won't suffice, you can bust out this trump card. Literally means there's no excuse.
  
• いらっしゃいませ irasshaimase - You'll hear this one when you go into a shop, literally it means come in, but I guess welcome more aptly sums it up.
  
• 毎度ありがとう maidou arigatou - You may hear this when you leave a shop. It carries the meaning of please come again, and also thank you. Yamapi shortened this to 毎度あり maido ari in the drama Kurosagi.
  
• 頂きます itadakimasu - Before you eat a meal, put your hands together in a quick praying motion and say this. The literal meaning is to recieve, as in recieving food.
  
• ご馳走様でした gochisou sama deshita - The counterpart to the above. Said after a meal, and translates well to it was a feast
  
• 遅くなってすみません osoku natte sumimasen - While not exactly a set phrase, it is a useful one! It means sorry I'm late!
  
• お待たせしました omatase shimashita - You'll hear this in a restaurant. While it does mean I've made you wait, they will probably say it no matter how speedy their service is.
  
• 畏まりました - kashikomarimashita - Also in the restaurant or service industry, meaning certainly.
  
• どうぞよろしく douzo yoroshiku - This one is lame when translated to English. It comes out as a nice to meet you, but really that's not super correct. You say this after you meet someone for the first time, after your introduction. It carries a meaning also of look after me, or something similar. Tough one. Can be lengthened to どうぞよろしくお願いします douzo yoroshiku onegaishimasu for that extra bit of formality.
  
• よろしく yoroshiku - This can be used to mean something like I'll leave it up to you when telling someone to do something. Like above, you can add お願いします onegaishimasu to pump up the politeness. It may also convey the kind of meaning of let's work well together. Tricky.
  
• 只今 tadaima - This is a shortening of the phrase 只今帰りました tadaima kaerimashita which literally means I got back just now. You say it after you get back home after going out, funnily enough.
  
• お帰り okaeri - What you say to a person who says the above, meaning welcome back. Gets shortened to オカ oka on some internet chat rooms.
  
• お世話になりました osewa ni narimashita - You say this when you leave someone (for a longtime, or forever) who has taken care of you. It can be interpreted as you've really taken care of me.
  
• 迷惑をかけてすみません meiwaku wo kakete sumimasen - Borrowing from our sumimasen from above, this adds meiwaku, meaning trouble, and the result is I'm sorry for causing you trouble
  
• 行ってきます itte kimasu - You say this before you leave somewhere that you plan to come back to. In that sense it means I'm leaving now (but coming back).
  
• 行ってらっしゃい itte rasshai - The response to the above. Directly translated it's a polite way of saying go and come back. Interpret that how you will.
  
• つまらない物ですが tsumaranai desu ga - We westerners tend to make our gifts to others seem like they were more expensive or great than they are, but Japan is the opposite. When you give a gift in Japan, you say this, it's nothing interesting, but... Even if you think it's the greatest thing in the universe!
  

Any I should add? Comment please.

For some crazy reason, I seem to think talking like a Samurai is cool. On one hand you'll seem like a weird otaku gaijin, but on the other hand, it kind of doubles as keigo practice. So why not introduce yourself to my aquaintance, Samurai words.

First off, I guess, is to learn some new (old?) vocabulary. Some of these words are not in wide use today, but that doesn't mean to say they won't be understood.

• 侍 samurai - probably the most important word. The samurai class sprang up around the 7th century, and died after the Meiji restoration.
  
• 浪人 rounin - when a samurai lost their master, their code of honor said they had to commit seppuku. Those who didn't were dubbed rounin; masterless Samurai.
  
• 武士道 bushidou - literally meaning 'the way of the warrior,' the bushidou was a guideline for the correct conduct a Samurai should follow. Loyalty was stressed in this system, as are the punishment of seppuku. But really bushidou was a guideline, not a rulebook.
  
• 切腹 seppuku - when a Samurai screwed up bad, he was sometimes ordered to commit seppuku (sometimes called harakiri - belly cut), which is taking your small sword and shoving it into your stomach. In more recent times Mishima Yukio commited seppuku.
  
• 介錯人 kaishakunin - seppuku would really really hurt, right? That's why, if you were lucky, you had a kaishakunin by your side, who would kindly chop your head off after you had opened yourself up enough. Just hope he manages to do it in one swing.
  
• 武者 musha - from the word 武芸者 bugeisha it means a martial art's man.
  
• 影武者 kagemusha - in the old days, noone got to see the face of the emperor or people with absolute power. This made it easier for them to use their kagemusha, or impersonator. When they had to make public appearances, this person would go in their steed, and if they were killed, big woop.
  
• 武士 bushi - another word for warrior/Samurai.
  
• 義理 giri - basically one's duty. Often contrasted with 人情 below.
  
• 人情 ninnjou - what one want's to do, personally. Giri and ninjou are always themes in Japanese culture, even today.
  
• 斬心 zanshin - the Samurai's ability to sense danger. Apparently they were conditioned from a young age, by their master sneaking up on them, or waiting behind a door to hit them with a big stick.
  
• 武者修行 musha shugyou - a warrior's pilgrimage. They would go around and bascially pick fights to perfect their skills.
  
• 紋付き montsuki - The montsuki litterally means 'bearing the family crest (mon).' It's a kimono top worn on formal occasions.
  
• 袴 hakama - those cool pants that they wore. I think the point is to slightly hide what the legs are doing. Sometimes still worn today in Aikido and traditional archery.
  
• 剣 ken - 'the sword' in a poetic sense.
  
• 大小 daishou - literally meaning 'big small,' it is the two swords that a Samurai usually carried, a small one and a big one.
  
• 弓馬の道 kyuuba no michi - the way fo the horse and bow. Not all Samurai used swords, some like to take the less manly approach and shoot at people and then speeding off? Or more likely, perhaps chasing after someone who is escaping?
  
• 槍 yari - the spear. Sometimes they used a spear too. They say it is three times harder to defeat a spearman than a swordsman.
  
• 果たし状 hatashijou - a letter of challenge.
  

As a side note, it is also said, a good Samurai could use 18 weapons, leading to the (unpopular) saying "This is my number 18" (これは俺の十八番だ) meaning that it is your specialty. Think karaoke or something, you could use it for your best (or least bad) song.

So those are some technical terms that everyone needs to know before they venture into the realm of sounding like a stupid wannabe gaijin. Next we need to study the way a Samurai's language differs from Harajuku girls and Otaku.

• 拙者　sessha - this word is used to mean 'I.'
  
• 其方 sonata - one way to say 'you.'
  
• 切る kiru - literally meaning cut, it used to mean kill. I guess kill via cutting?
  
• ～でござる ~degozaru - this word replaces です desu in normal situations. Very old sounding, and formal.
  
• 忝い katajikenai - really this word means grateful, and would be used in the place of 'thank you,' or 'excuse me.'
  
• すまん suman - similar to above, but less formal.
  
• 仰せのままに oose no mama ni - basically, "as you command."
  
• 御意 gyoi - similar to above.
  
• 何者 nanimono - another old way to say 'who.' Quite rude.
  
• ～させてもらう ~sasete morau - this grammar is still in use today, meaning 'I will have you let me do something.' It's up there with formality, but it doesn't really give the listener a chance to refuse.
  
• ご機嫌いかがでございますか gokigen ikaga degozaimasuka - an old way to say how are you. More literally 'how is your mood?'
  
• 達者でございますか tassha degozaimasuka - replaces the word 元気 genki. This sentence means 'are you healthy?' or more colloquially, 'how are you?'
  
• 無事でございますか buji degozaimasuka - buji means safe, or unharmed. So you ask this after an accident or something: 'are you okay?'
  
• 呆気者 utsukemono - one way to say fool. Sometimes shortened to utsuke.
  
• ～ぬ ~nu - when you would usually use ～ない ~nai to negate a a verb (and verb only), if you replace it with nu it'll sound a lot older. Used these days in potic situations. Sometimes Samurai even changed ～ません ~masen to ～ませぬ ~masenu. Example: 許さぬ yurusanu (I won't forgive this!)
  
• にて nite - nite replaces で de when used as a particle indicating where an action took place. Also the set phrase それにて sore nite, kind of 'see ya later.'