Table Of ContentKodanss hDai'c tionary of
Basic
Japanese
lilioms
JefGfa rrisKoany,o kKoimiya,
GeorgWea llaMcaes,a hiGkoos hi
Kodansha's Dictionary of
Basic
Japanese
Idioms
Jeff Garrison
Kayoko Kimiya
George Wallace
Masahiko Goshi
KODANSHA INTERNATIONAL
Tokyo• New York• London
SYMBOLS USED IN THIS BOOK
related information about the entry under discussion or about a word
or phrase appearing in a sample sentence.
a cross-reference to a synonym, antonym, or other related word or
phrase in this dictionary.
Also variant reading or script for the idiom under discussion.
Based on four titles in Kodansha Intemational's Power Japanese series:
""Body" Language by Jeff Garrison (1990), Communicating with Ki:
The ""Spirit" in Japanese Idioms by Jeff Garrison and Kayoko Kimiya
(1994), Kanji Idioms by George Wallace and Kayoko Kimiya (1995),
and Animal Idioms by Jeff Garrison and Masahiko Goshi (1996 ).
Distributed in the United States by Kodansha America, Inc., and in the
United Kingdom and continental Europe by Kodansha Europe Ltd.
Published by Kodansha International Ltd., 17-14 Otowa 1-chome,
Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo 112-8652, and Kodansha America, Inc.
Copyright © 2002 by Kodansha International Ltd.
All rights reserved. Pnnted in Japan.
ISBN 978-4-7700-2797-9
First edition, 2002
15 14 13 12 11 10 09 08 07 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3
www.kodansha-intLcom
CONTENTS
Preface----------------------------6-- -------------
DICTIONARY---••UU..O..- .•.-.·- ---··-9
Index----------------------------6-4·-3·· ··········
t,
PREFACE
Kodansha 's Dictionary of Basic Japanese Idioms is based on four previ
ously published books in Kodansha lnternational's Power Japanese series:
"Body" Language by Jeff Garrison ( 1990), Communicating with Ki: The
"Spirit" in Japanese Idioms by Jeff Garrison and Kayoko Kimiya (1994),
Kanji Idioms by George Wallace and Kayoko Kimi ya ( 1995), and Animal
Idioms by Jeff Garrison and Masahiko Goshi ( 1996). The content of these
books has been rearranged into alphabetical order by Japanese entry word,
minor changes have been made in the text, more extensive cross-references
have been added, and an index has been appended. It is hoped that the result
ant book will make the study of Japanese idioms much more convenient.
Students who are approaching idioms for the first time may want to
know exactly what an idiom is. The third edition of the American Heritage
Dictionary defines the word as "a speech form or an expression of a given
language that is peculiar to itself grammatically or cannot be understood
from the individual meanings of its elements, as in keep tabs on." This sim
ply means that students of the English language may know the individual
meanings of keep, tab, and on, but still not understand what the phrase keep
tabs on means.
The same applies to the Japanese language. For example, students may
know the individual words in the phrase frii ~ t':f~ kata o motsu (kata =
shoulder, o = particle indicating a direct object, motsu = hold), but still not
understand what the phrase as a whole means ("to side with or support
someone"). To learn the meaning, there is no choice but to look the phrase
up in a dictionary and commit it to memory. If idioms like this cropped up
PREFACE 7
only occasionally in writing or conversation, they would not represent a
problem worth fretting about, but the fact is that idioms are just as widely
used in Japanese as they are in English. This is because they are often the most
concise, efficient, and pointed way of expressing what one wants to say.
Thus students must first learn idioms in order to understand everyday
conversation and written material. This can be called a passive use of
idioms-to understand them us they are presented by an outside source, so
that you can at least grasp the intent of what is being conveyed.
The second reason students must study idioms is proactive, since it is
only through idioms that students can hope to express their thoughts effec
tively and avoid awkward paraphrasing. Better to learn them than to be
continually stopped in the midst of a paraphrase by your Japanese conver
sant with a sudden "Oh, you mean kata o motsu," or whatever, providing
exactly the right phrase for what you wanted to say.
There are many other reasons why idioms must, or should, be learned,
not the least of which is the fact that idioms often serve as pivotal points for
jokes. For instance, you could play on the Biblical admonition that "you
should not cast pearls before swine" ~ /: ~ I;l!;b; 1111n1, shinju, meaning, of
course, that you shouldn't give something important to a person who can
not understand its value. If a certain Tanaka-san is just that obtuse person,
you could say, "Don't cast pearls before Tanaka-san" Hl 9l ~ A,/:~ I;l!;;
Tanaka-san ni shinju. Or let us say that in your place of work there is a
Bntish person who is known for his crafty political maneuvering. Let us
further say that a Japanese, making use of a common expression, refers to
him as an "wily old raccoon" t1if"_ oji_f1 1m-dw111k1Y. ou could play on trns
idiom and respond by saying that "the only thing worse than a wily old rac
coon is a wily old Brit" t1:i"~J:! !~! .t 1i1" -=¥') A A -/R&7. -JL \,,'f uru-danuki
yorifuru-Igirisu-jin ga osoroshi1.
The idioms appearing in this book are basically of two types: idiomatic
words and phrases (such as those cited above) and expressions composed
of four Chinese characters (commonly called IIY* ~~ii yoji-jukugo "four
character compounds"). These compounds are generally not thought of as
idioms but either simply as compound nouns or as adages and proverbs.
8 PREFACE
Among the compound nouns might be counted 1f-rJJ/ 'j; §ij nenk,i-,iort•t.rn
("seniority") and ~ ill .,f r!rj ishikifumei ("unconscious"), which, though
they are fairly straightforward, need some interpretation to be understood
and therefore can be considered within the idiom bailiwick. The adage or
proverb type defimtely need explanation to be understood. Examples are
~~ll,Jjjj- goetsu-diishu ("the Go and the Etsu in the same boat") and i-A
+-
& jri11i11-t6iro( "ten people, ten colors"). This type can be considered
idiomatic in the sense that their exact meaning is not clear from the surface
meaning of the ind1v1dual words.
In conclusion, it might be noted that a good number of the idioms
involve the character 1n.k i. These words and phrases are extremely impor
tant in expressing moods and feelings, and without at least minimal knowl
edge of them it is nearly impossible to carry on a normal conversation.
Starting with 7C~ genki (original ki), as in ;/'37 C'Ai: T ii' Ogenki desu ka
"How are you?" and going on to heavy, light, long. short, warped, and
crazed ki, and ending perhaps with -r "?1 ,, "?' A tJ{L i L f.:. sii iu ki ga
shimashita "That's the way I felt about it," innumerable ways are provided
for expressing ieelings and thoughts.
All in all, idioms are not only useful-in fact, indispensable-to speak
ing and understanding Japanese, but they can also be a great deal of fun to
learn. to explore, and, yes, to play with.
Editorial Department,
Kodansha International
DICTIONARY
ABUHACHI TORAZU 11
abi-kyokan IJi!l'aDJ".Jsc~r eaming in hell"
pandemonium, like a scene out of hell
iitUllO){~O)flfH±, i ~ 1:~ii.Ja lUJ-~O)~f0. ::t :.o
Senta no ato no machi wa, masa ni abi-kyokan no chimata datta.
After the battle the town looked like a scene from hell.
:II#:$ Mer:, ItJH± llnI1f. PJ!.P0)l ~ t tj: 0 t:. c
Bakuhatsu-jiko de, ko10 wa abi-kyokan nu ba to natta.
After being hit by that explosion, the factory looked like something out
oi Dante's Inferno.
~ Originally flD~1 and lllj.IT,la re the names of two of the eight burning hells
of Buddhism. In Sanskrit the two hells are called Av1ci and Raurava.
tt
abu horsefly
Anyone who has been bitten by one knows a little of what horses and cattle
must go through and at least one reason they have long tails. The females of
this species are bloodsuckers. They'll take a piece out of your hide if you give
'em a chance.
Abu are counted 1ppiki ·-1!1=.
Abuhnchi torazu !N'.:U~J-ffi "catch neither the horsefly nor the bee"
try to do two things and fail at both; fall between two stools
r
-f Iv tj: 1: W-~0 -ct !ht!ij:Jt&:, i " 1: ;j:-0 t:. t:, 5c t t ;j:-v, J: o
Sonna ni yokubatte mo abuhachi torazu ni nattara moto mo ko mo nai yo.
Let your greed get the better of you and you'll end up falling flat on your
face.
