Preparing to Hibernate
Saturday, December 22nd, 2007
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Welcome to winter, a time of holiday hokeyness, excess consumption, darkness, coldness, and most of all sleep. A bear would put sleep first on that list. But you needn’t be a bear to think about hibernation. As the year draws to a close, you might take note of the compound 越年 (etsunen: to go beyond + year), which means both “ringing out the old year” and “hibernating”!
Actually, 冬眠 (tōmin: winter + sleep) is a much more common way to say “hibernation.” It’s a great compound but could introduce some confusion; if you already knew 寝, seeing 眠 would make you realize that there are two characters for “sleep”:
寝 (SHIN, ne(ru): to go to sleep)
眠 (MIN, nemu(ru): to sleep)
Their kun-yomi sound similar, and their on-yomi aren’t too far apart, either. But whereas 寝 can mean “to lie down,” 眠 cannot. Moreover, 寝 can refer to the process of falling asleep, as these words imply:
寝入る (ne-iru: to fall asleep) sleep + to enter
寝際 (negiwa: on the verge of sleep; just after falling asleep)
sleep + edgeThis breakdown conjures up the wonderful image of sleep as a space or place with an edge.
寝掛け (negake: half-asleep) sleep + to suspend, to hangAlso a neat idea—being suspended in the space between sleep and wakefulness.
Another Cool Word for Half-Asleep …
I’ve decided that 寝 appears in far more compounds than the more straightforward 眠. But don’t count 眠 out, because it also shows up in some interesting (if not terribly useful) words:
一眠 (ichimin: the first sleep (of silkworms)) one + sleep
永眠 (eimin: eternal sleep; death) ice + sleepIsn’t that great?! Death is an icy sleep!
There’s overlap between 寝 and 眠 in the following expressions, which are nearly identical in meaning:
金を寝かす (kane o nekasu: to let money lie idle)
money + to put to sleepWith the yomi of ne(kasu), 寝 means “to put to sleep.”
眠っている金 (nemutte iru kane: money lying idle)
to sleep + money
The Idle Riches
Let’s leave aside the issue of how these two kanji differ, because I’m far more intrigued by the notion that money can sleep. The author Nejime Shōichi wrote a wonderful essay called 昼寝をしている私の直木賞百万円, Hirune o Shite Iru Watashi no Naoki-shō Hyakuman-En, “My ¥1 Million Naoki Prize (Money) Takes a Nap.”
Money may “talk,” but it’s far more interesting to imagine bills and coins as sleeping. In English, we have the concept of the “idle rich”; in Japanese, the actual money is idle!
Even outside of financial contexts, 寝 often has the sense of idleness. That nuance comes through clearly in this word:
寝食い (negui: living in idleness) to sleep + to eat
If an object lies idle or doesn’t perform up to capacity, it’s also “sleeping”:
寝刃 (netaba: (instrument with a) dull blade) to sleep + blade
Keeping One’s Head While Asleep
It may seem as if nothing much happens while we sleep, but that’s not necessarily true—particularly if others are watching us! Sleep makes us terribly vulnerable, and the following compound gives an eerie sense of that:
寝首 (nekubi: head of a sleeping person) to sleep + head
Though 首 generally means “neck,” it can also mean “head.”
What might we make of the head of a sleeping person? Well, we might notice the tousled hair and a certain facial expression, in which case we’ll want to use the following descriptive compounds:
寝癖 (neguse: bed hair; habit of moving around in one’s sleep)
to sleep + mannerism
寝顔 (negao: sleeping face) to sleep + face
But people might use 寝首 to describe something far more sinister:
寝首を掻く (nekubi o kaku: to cut off the head of a sleeping person; to catch someone off guard by setting traps)
to sleep + head + to behead
Beheading a slumbering person may be a freak incident, but betrayal happens to be intimately connected with 寝, as in this word:
寝返り(negaeri: turning over while sleeping in bed; betrayal)
to sleep + to return
If you’re trying to imagine how this word could have both senses, see Breen’s sample sentences.
Other Things to Do When Asleep
Besides being beheaded, there are lots of things to do while asleep. Here’s one suggestion:
不貞寝 (futene: staying in bed out of spite)
not + chaste + to sleepUnchaste sleep might suggest something sexual. But this word is about anger! Whom are you spiting if you stay in bed? I’m not sure, but it’s fun to consider the possibilities!
Here’s another great one. Whereas English has people sleeping like logs, Japanese refers to sleeping so soundly that it’s as if one is mired in mud:
泥のように寝る (doro no yōni neru: to sleep like a log)
mud + to sleepIn nightmares, it can feel as though one is running through mud, becoming increasingly frustrated. But this compound suggests a much more peaceful idea—perhaps of pigs happily asleep in a mudbath. Hmm … if you moved those sleeping pigs to a bed, wouldn’t that make them pigs in blankets?
And what if you’re unable to sleep soundly? That is, what if your conscience jolts you awake at 4 a.m.? Then you can use the following expression:
寝覚めが悪い (nezame ga warui: to have an uneasy conscience)
to sleep + to awaken + bad
Together, the first two kanji, 寝覚, mean “to awaken.” The breakdown of the whole expression seems to follow the thought process that one might have at 4 a.m.: I sleep. Then I awaken. That’s BAD! Or … maybe I’m bad! What did I do that was so bad? Well, I’ve been living in idleness, even staying in bed out of spite. I haven’t bothered to sharpen my blade. It’s dull and idle. Nevertheless, I used it to cut off the head of a sleeping person. My wife, in fact. That’s why I’m now feeling this:
寝淋しい (nesabishii: missing a sleeping companion)
sleep + lonely
I love the level of specificity here! As it happens, 寝 also figures into other highly specific compounds.
Highly Specific Compounds with 寝 …
If you’re still awake (after all this talk of sleeping), enjoy the Verbal Logic Quiz. After that, enjoy the holidays and (if possible) the darkest time of year! Happy Hibernating! I myself am down for a long nap. See you in three weeks!
Posted by Eve Kushner in Kanji Curiosity |
December 23rd, 2007 at 1:40 am
I’m very happy to have found your blog and am looking forward to reading your book.
I just wanted to discuss 越 of 越年 (etsunen: to go beyond + year) quickly. I like to define this kanji in a couple more ways which gives 越年 a little more body for me. The first definition is almost “go beyond” but is closer to crossing a line or threshold and can be felt in:
国境越え (こっきょうごえ) cross-border
川を越える (かわをこえる) to cross a river
越権行為 (えっけんこうい) exceeding one’s authority
一山越す (ひとやまこす) to get through the bulk of the work
The second definition is of passing time:
越冬 (えっとう) passing the winter
夏越し (なつごし) keeping over the summer
Japanese seem to love to cut out unnecessary words. Keeping these definitions in mind, brings 越年 to life for me as the whole becomes more than the sum of the parts.
越年 (etsunen: cross border + period of time + year)
December 23rd, 2007 at 1:51 am
Hi, Tanuki! Great to have such a substantive comment–and with wonderful words that I’ve never heard! These compounds certainly do bring 越 more to life!
I’m intrigued by 一山越す (ひとやまこす: to get through the bulk of the work). Getting through loads of work is like getting over 1 mountain! That’s fantastic!
One question–in the last line, there are only 2 kanji but 3 ingredients. So I guess “period of time” shouldn’t be there…
And another question: since the country kanji for Vietnam is 越南 (Etsunan, to exceed + south), how do you talk about crossing the Vietnam border?! Do we get to see a repetition of 越 in that construction?!
Similarly, I’m wondering about bears who pass the winter (越冬) hibernating (越年)!
December 23rd, 2007 at 2:03 am
A few more thoughts on this.
I’d love to see a sentence combining Etsunan (Vietnam) with etsunen (ringing out the old year, hibernating)–as in “I rang out the old year in Vietnam.”
Also, how funny that you (Tanuki) should have responded to this blog, of all blogs, because I wrote (then omitted) a part about a tanuki! Now I feel compelled to paste it in! Here goes:
Here’s another type of betrayal that most of us don’t need to worry about:
狸寝入り (tanuki ne-iri: feigning sleep; pretending to be an old woman)
tanuki + to sleep + to enter
The tanuki is an animal known as a “raccoon-dog.” In folklore, the mischievous tanuki keeps getting into trouble. This lends the additional meaning of “cunning” to 狸. That sense also informs 狸親父, tanuki oyaji (cunning old man, tanuki + old man (last 2 chars., which break down as parent + father)).
A Japanese friend said there’s no evidence in his dictionaries that 狸寝入り also means “pretending to be an old woman,” but it sure says that in my reference books.
December 23rd, 2007 at 10:07 am
Hello Eve,
Another non-Japanese person who knows what a Tanuki is…. I must still be hibernating. I have poked and prodded many a Japanese person about the Tanuki and exactly what it is. The answers are all very standard. Basically a raccoon/dog which is the Patron Saint of Restaurants. But there is soooo much more to the Tanuki if you know what buttons to push. The reactions you get from politely pushing those buttons are almost as good as the stories of the Tanuki. My favorite description is from Hitching Rides with Buddha by Will Ferguson and is a great place to start an investigation, “Tanuki are creatures of folklore in Japan: raccoon-dogs with huge bellies and gigantic testicles who roam the forests drinking sake and trying to seduce young maidens by passing themselves off as noblemen.”
What is your source of reference material on the Tanuki which includes impersonating an old woman?
Let me amend the last line of my first comment for clarification:
越年 (etsunen: crossing a border of a period of time + year)
I look forward to hearing and reading more from you.
December 23rd, 2007 at 10:25 am
Well, my reference material isn’t nearly as juicy as yours! Nothing about gigantic testicles! I merely got my info. from Spahn’s huge kanji dictionary. So far 2 native speakers have told me with full assurance that 狸寝入り (tanuki ne-iri) can’t mean “pretending to be an old woman.” But then … how did it get into Spahn? I can’t believe he pulled it out of thin air.
The only other thing I know about the tanuki is the expression 狸顔 (tanuki-gao), which (as you surely know) describes people with wide-set eyes, wide foreheads, full lips, and a round shape. I was tickled to find this description, because it fits me perfectly … and I find the tanuki to be really cute! But … tanuki-gao is a negative term in Japanese culture!!! It’s reserved for very unattractive faces!!! For some reason, I still like to think of myself as a tanuki!
How, btw, did you come up with that name for yourself (assuming that your parents didn’t choose it for you!!!)?
December 30th, 2007 at 1:30 pm
Wow, what wonderful blogs …. finally I made the decision/took the time to look at blogs, and I was richly rewarded. I love the way kanji are used and expressions can have several interpretations depending on their composition/ interconnection with one another etc. sooo much more to discover about the Japanese language, and through it the Eastern thought patterns.
By the way, I inherited a Tanuki doll from my Aikido Instructor and was very interested to read about its character …
January 2nd, 2008 at 12:33 am
Thanks so much, Elisabeth!
January 15th, 2008 at 2:32 am
It is good to see so many of the comments centered around tanuki (狸). The Japanese have somehow molded a unique character to this animal and it must be one of the most beloved animals here. Of course, the molded character may have nothing to do with that of the real tanuki. You will be surprised (I was) to find so many movies with titles involving tanuki. And there is even a 狸学会 (consortium): for those interested, the site is
http://www.ztv.ne.jp/ann/ooatari/sigarakigakkai3.htm
This comment I am making here is a case of 越年. The jukugo is applied to actions that could have been made in the previous year but were postponed to the new year. A good example is for some baseball players failing to come to an agreement with the club for the new season by the end of the year. Hope this helps to show the richness of the jukugo.
February 1st, 2008 at 7:00 am
May I offer my source of knowledge about Tanukis : the movie Pom Poko (平成狸合戦ぽんぽこ, Heisei Tanuki Gassen Ponpoko) from Isao Takahata. Please check it, I had great fun watching it and it has several layers of meanings for all audiences. In the theater, 4 years old followed the movie without getting bored while adults also enjoyed the film thoroughly.
My totem is the dormouse, which is also a champion of hibernation… Must get back under doona.
February 1st, 2008 at 7:17 am
The movie sounds great, Sophie. Thanks! The dormouse, huh?! Sounds like Alice-in-Wonderland was the inspiration? Or Grace Slick’s “White Rabbit”? Aha, I’ve found some “White Rabbit” trivia in Wikipedia:
=========
The last line of the song is “Remember what the Dormouse said. Feed your head. Feed your head.” and does not explicitly quote the Dormouse as is often assumed. The line probably refers to “Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland”, Chapter XI ‘Who Stole the Tarts’:
“`But what did the Dormouse say?’ one of the jury asked.”
“`That I can’t remember,’ said the Hatter.