Complete Japanese Expression Guide - Mizue Sasaki

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      KAISHAIN 1:

      Buchō wa konogoro, byōkigachi de, dōmo taishoku suru rashii desu yo.

      KAISHAIN 2:

      So naru to, kare no atogama ni suwaru no wa, dare deshō ne.

      EMPLOYEE 1:

      The department chief tends to get sick a lot these days. It looks like he's going to have to retire.

      EMPLOYEE 2:

      In that case, I wonder who will replace him.

      Atogama, literally "the following pot," refers to a replacement or successor. It is also used to refer to a second wife. An atogama was a pot put on the hearth when there was still heat remaining from the previous cooking. The phrase implies that very little time has passed before a successor, or a new wife, comes along.

      EXAMPLES

      1. Kachō ga mae no buchō no atogama ni suwatta.

       The section chief replaced the department chief.

      2. Buchō no atogama ni suwatta hito wa, kare hodo yūnō de wa nakatta.

       The person who succeeded the department chief was not as capable as the chief had been.

      3. Kare no atogama ni suwaritai hito wa ōzei iru.

       Many people would like to step into his position.

      4. Kanojo ga senpai no atogama ni suwaru koto ni natta.

       She ended up replacing one of her seniors.

      ba-chigai

      out of place

      (kaisha no keieisha no kaigi de)

      KAISHAIN 1:

      Kono kaigi ni, zuibun ba-chigai na hito ga kite imasu ne.

      KAISHAIN 2:

      Ē, tashika kare wa, tenisu no senshu deshita yo ne.

      (at a company management conference)

      EMPLOYEE 1:

      There are people at this conference who really look quite out of place.

      EMPLOYEE 2:

      Yes, take that fellow—he's a tennis player, isn't he?

      Ba-chigai, which combines the ba from basho (place) and chigai (difference), indicates something that does not belong or is unsuitable for a particular place. Other expressions employing chigai are ire-chigai (pass a person at an entrance), omoi-chigai (misapprehension), kan-chigai (misunderstanding), kiki-chigai (mishearing), and dan-chigai (vast difference).

      EXAMPLES

      1. Kare wa kekkon-shiki ni ba-chigai nafukuso de shusseki shita.

       He attended the wedding reception wearing clothes inappropriate for the occasion.

      2. Ba-chigai na hito ga, kono kaigi ni dete imasu ne.

       There are people at this conference who don't really belong.

      3. Koko ni kare ga iru no wa, ba-chigai ja arimasen ka?

       This isn't the kind of place you would expect to find him, is it?

      4. Yahari, kaigi de no ano hatsugen wa ba-chigai datta deshō.

       As I had thought, his comments in the meeting were out of place.

      baka shōjiki

      foolishly honest

      TOMODACHI 1:

      Dōshite koibito nifurareta no?

      TOMODACHI 2:

      Kanojo ni imōto nō ho ga kirei da ne 'tte ittan' da.

      TOMODACHI 1:

      Kimi wa hontō ni baka shōjiki da ne.

      FRIEND 1:

      Why did your girlfriend dump you?

      FRIEND 2:

      I told her I thought her younger sister was better looking.

      FRIEND 1:

      You really are too honest for your own good.

      Baka shōjiki means being honest to such an extreme that it becomes foolish. Baka (foolish) is written with the characters for horse and deer, but these are merely phonetic substitutes and offer no insight into the word's meaning. Shōjiki means honest. Another common expression using baka is baka ni tsukeru kusuri wa nai, literally "no medicine can cure a fool."

      EXAMPLES

      1. Anata wa dōshite sonna ni baka shōjiki na no?

       How can you be so naively honest?

      2. Kare ga anna ni baka shōjiki na hito da to wa omowanakatta.

       I never thought of him as being so gullible.

      3. Kanojo ni hontō no koto o itte okoraseta no wa, baka shōjiki datta ka na?

       I wonder if I was being too honest—telling her the truth and making her angry like that.

      bakyaku o arawasu

      show one's true colors

      DANSHI GAKUSEI:

      Asu wa shigoto no mensetsu nan' da. Keiken ga nai kara, shinpai da

      JŌSHI GAKUSEI:

      Hen na koto o itte, bakyaku o arawasanai yō ni ne.

      MALE STUDENT:

      Tomorrow I have a job interview. I don't have much experience, so I'm worried.

      FEMALE STUDENT:

      Well, just be careful you don't say something strange and give yourself away.

      Bakyaku o arawasu, literally "to reveal the horse's legs," means to reveal one's true character and thus give oneself away. In Japanese drama, when people played the part of a horse, one person would act as the forequarters and one as the hindquarters. If the actor's legs became exposed, the audience would know the truth. From this came the meaning of showing one's true feelings or thoughts.

      EXAMPLES

      1. O-miai no seki de kanojo wa bakyaku o arawashita.

       Upon meeting with her prospective husband, she showed her true self.

      2. Musuko ga mensetsu shiken de bakyaku o arawasanai ka to shinpai desu.

       I worry that my son might show his true colors during the job interview.

      3. Sonojiken de, kare no bakyaku ga arawareta.

       It was that incident that gave him away.

      4. Kare wa yopparatte bakyaku o arawashita.

       He got drunk and showed himself for what he really was.

      ban-kuruwase

      an upset, surprise

      KISHA:

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