Japanese Language Stack Exchange
Japanese Language Stack Exchange

Questions tagged [idioms]

慣用句・ことわざ. Phrases with fixed words used as a single unit, typically with a meaning beyond what is obvious from its constituent parts.

Questions about those phrases with fixed words used as a single unit, which typically have a meaning beyond what is obvious from its constituent parts.

Related tags


  • fixed phrases acting as units, but with meanings which are obvious from the sum of their parts.

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Where does "もしもし" (moshimoshi) for answering the telephone come from?

Does the term "もしもし" (moshimoshi) predate the telephone? Does it have any use besides answering the phone? Where does it come from, is it just a reduplication of "もし" (moshi) "if", and if so how does that work?
hippietrail
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How would one convey "get over it" in Japanese?

As a foreigner in Japan, one has to get used to the fact that some Japanese will compliment you on things that are too mundane to really deserve mention. Like the fact that you can use chopsticks, eat sushi, say 「今日は」, and all that sort of…
Questioner
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What's bugging the Japanese language?

In my JLPT workbook, it has a section which gives a list of idioms that use [虫]{むし}. 仕事{しごと}の虫 (worker bee) 点取{てんとり}虫 (derogatory term for a student who tries too hard) 虫がいい (selfish) 泣{な}き虫 (cry baby) 弱{よわ}虫 (weakling) 腹{はら}の虫がおさまらない (extremely…
Questioner
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Why "社会の窓" (shakai no mado)?

A few years ago I was told by a Japanese friend "社会の窓" (shakai no mado). It was explained after some giggling that this is what is said to a man who has inadvertently left his fly open, and that it means literally "society's window". So why use…
hippietrail
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Is アリ in そんなのアリかよ⁉︎ some type of slang?

This is a line from a sports manga (soccer), after a rather unusual shoot, but I can't seem to make sense of it: そんなのアリかよ!? I have no idea what the "ari" in here refers to? Is this some slang? Some short form of an idiom? It certainly doesn't seem…
Marcela alvarez centeno
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When/why did 電話する replace 電話をかける?

In some older learning material I came across, they use 「電話をかける」 for "to make a telephone call". When/why did this come to be replaced by 「電話する」 in popular usage?
Ignacio Vazquez-Abrams
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Japanese idiom equivalent to "take with a grain of salt"

Is there a Japanese idiom equivalent to "take with a grain of salt"? In other words, an idiom which means "don't accept this information as completely true or the complete truth".
MatthewD
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Comparing 気にする vs. 気になる

Consider this example sentence from SPACEALC: あなたがどうしているか気になっていた。　 "I was concerned about how you were." What is the difference when 気にする is used instead? I.e., あなたがどうしているか気にしていた。 ～なる seems to convey "spontaneity" or "arising from nowhere"…
Flaw
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"Unsolvable problem"

What is the correct construction of "unsolvable problem"? Is it "解{と}けられない問題{もんだい}"？(Question 1) Plain(intransitive): 解{と}ける "To be solved". Potential form(of intransitive): 解けられる "can be solved". Potential + Negated(of intransitive): 解けられない…
Flaw
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Can I always use 色々な or do I have to use 色々の sometimes?

On the web I can find many occurrences of both 色々な and 色々の. 色々な seems to be used more often though. Can I always use 色々な and get away with it, or is 色々の the only choice in some particular cases? If yes, which cases?
Nicolas Raoul
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What is the meaning and root of 意味くじピーマン?

Recently a friend of mine threw the term 意味くじピーマン (imi kuji pi-man) into a story she was telling, and it totally threw me off. At first I thought, because I wasn't sure how to parse the くじ part, it meant something like "meaningful peppers." Then a…
Questioner
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Etymology of 右に出る

What is the etymology of 右に出る, as in 「右に出る者はいない」? What on earth makes the right superior to the left? Relatedly, is 左に出る ever used to mean "inferior to"?
Amanda S
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Ways to end a phone conversation

Despite its being one of the most basic element of daily-life Japanese, I often find myself looking for a proper way to end certain phone conversations. Of course, I know the standard: [それでは]失礼します, or: よろしく[お願いします]... But somehow, neither of these…
Dave
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Saying 「おかわり」 when requesting second helping: what is being exchanged?

I am aware that the phrase 「おかわり」 that is used when asking for second helping (of meals especially) is an idiomatic expression, so its usage is understood as it is. But, I'm curious about the origin of this phrase because it seems to be derived from…
Lukman
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Which part of speech is the 「ぞ」 in 「神のみぞ知るセカイ」?

「神{かみ}のみぞ知{し}るセカイ」 is the title of a manga/anime series but I'm not asking about the anime. I'm just curious about the 「ぞ」 part in the title. I know there is a ぞ particle that is similar to よ, such that 行{い}くぞ is similar to 行くよ. But I have never…
Lukman
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