Complete Japanese Expression Guide - Mizue Sasaki

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      BUKA:

      Ojōsanno go-kekkon, omedetō gozaimasu. Kore, o-iwainisashiagete kudasai.

      JŌSHI:

      Kimi, sonna ni giri-date shite kurenakute mo yokatta noni.

      SUBORDINATE:

      Congratulations on your daughter's wedding. Please give this present to her for me.

      SUPERVISOR:

      You didn't have to go to all this trouble just to be polite.

      At one time giri referred to what was considered rational behavior, but now it means good manners or social decorum. If we don't do something that we are expected to do, it is attributed to a lack of giri (giri o kaku) or bad manners (giri ga warui). To do what is polite is giri o tatsu (giri-date is a contracted form of this), whereas doing something merely because it is required is o-giri ni suru.

      EXAMPLES

      1. Ikura toshiue to itte mo, watashi ni giri-date nado shinaide kudasai.

       No matter what the difference in our ages is, please don't feel you must be so polite with me.

      2. On no aru sensei o uragitte wa, giri ga tatanai.

       It's wrong to betray a teacher who has been good to you.

      3. Joshi ni giri o kaku yō na koto, shinaide ne.

       Don't be inconsiderate to your supervisor.

      4. Buchō no eiten de, minna o-giri ni miokuri ni itta.

       The boss was going to be promoted and transferred, so just to be polite everyone went to see him off.

      gishin anki

      suspicion begets fear, paranoia, anxiousness

      ŌKURA DAIJIN:

      Sekaijū ga Nihon no yarikata nifuman o motte iru yō de.

      SŌRI DAIJIN:

      Sekaijū nante sore wa, anata no gishin anki desu yo.

      MINISTER OF FINANCE:

      It seems that there is dissatisfaction throughout the entire international community with the way Japan is handling things.

      PRIME MINISTER:

      The entire international community? You're being paranoid.

      According to Chinese folklore, when one is doubtful (gishin) about something, even though there's nothing to fear, one is apt to see monsters hiding in the dark (anki). In both Japanese and Chinese mythology, the monster (oni) is an imaginary creature with human form, a frightening face, and horns, who symbolizes human fears.

      EXAMPLES

      1. Itsu no ma ni ka, gishin anki ni ochiitte shimatta.

       Suddenly I was feeling frightened and anxious about everything.

      2. Kare ga kigyo supai nante, gishin anki desu yo.

       You're just being paranoid in thinking that he's an industrial spy.

      3. Kore ga gishin anki da to, wakatte wa iru no desu ga...

       I realize that I'm probably just being paranoid about this, but...

      4. Minna ga anata no uwasa o shite iru? Sore wa gishin anki da.

       Everyone has heard that rumor about you? Come on, you're being paranoid.

      5. lie, gishin anki nado de wa arimasen.

       No, I'm not being overly suspicious.

      gojuppo-hyappo

      the same difference

      MUSUKO:

      Dotchi no e o konkūru ni daso ka na?

      HAHAOYA:

      Dotchi mo gojuppo-hyappo ne.

      SON:

      I wonder which picture I should enter in the competition?

      MOTHER:

      I don't think it matters really; it's the same difference.

      Gojuppo-hyappo indicates that there is not much difference between two or more things, and that none of them are especially good. The original saying is gojuppo o motte hyappo o warau (the man who has fled from the battlefield by fifty paces is laughing at the man who has fled by a hundred paces). As far as cowardice goes, there is really little difference between them.

      EXAMPLES

      1. Futari no tenisu no jitsuryoku wa gojuppo-hyappo da.

       Neither of them is particularly good at tennis.

      2. Koko ni arujisho wa dove mo gojuppo-hyappo de, yaku ni tatanai.

       There's not a lot of difference between these dictionaries; neither of them is of much use.

      3. Ano garo ga motte iru sakuhin wa dore mo gojuppo-hyappo, ii mono ga nai.

       The works in that gallery are all the same—none are very good.

      4. Kimi-tachi no repōto wa gojuppo-hyappo, toku ni yoi mono wa nai.

       There's not much to choose from among your reports—none of them are particularly good.

      gokuraku tonbo

      a happy-go-lucky fellow, a layabout

      DŌRYŌ:

      Musuko-san, dochira ni o-tsutome desu ka?

      CHICHIOYA:

      Sore ga, gokuraku tonbo de mainichi burabura shite irun' desu yo.

      OFFICE COLLEAGUE:

      Where does your son work?

      FATHER:

      He's such a happy-go-lucky type that he's just idling his days away.

      Gokuraku (Buddhist paradise), used in contrast to jigoku (hell), is a world free of worry. Tonbo (dragonfly) suggests something carefree. Combined gokuraku tonbo refers to either a son who has been constantly sheltered by his parents or an unemployed person who spends his time doing nothing.

      EXAMPLES

      1. Aitsu wa itsu made tatte mo, gokuraku tonbo da ne.

       He'll always be an easygoing fellow.

      2. Otto ga gokuraku tonbo no uwakimono de, kurō shite imasu.

       I'm having a hard time, what with my husband being a happy-go-lucky womanizer.

      3. Anna gokuraku tonbo to kekkon suru no wa, yurushimasen.

       I won't allow you to marry such an easygoing character.

      4. Hataraki-bachi ni naru yori, gokuraku tonbo de itai.

       I'd rather be a happy-go-lucky type than become a workaholic.

      5. Anata no yō na gokuraku tonbo wa, mita koto ga arimasen.

       I've never come across a person as carefree as you are.

      goma o suru

      curry favor

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