The Utility of Poles: Part 1
Friday, July 10th, 2009
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I have little interest in anything steely or mechanical, but this word caught my eye and leapt right into my heart:
心棒 (shinbō: shaft, axle) heart + rod
An axle is a rod at the heart of a car! (Well, an axle may not be the heart in the way that Tokyo is the beating heart of Japan. I guess the car engine performs that function. But the axle is certainly at the center of things.)
If 心棒 is an axle, what happens when you precede this compound with 用 (YŌ, mochiiru: use, service)? The word 用心棒 should refer to the function of an axle or perhaps to rotation itself, shouldn’t it? No, that would be far too logical. Instead, we have this:
用心棒 (yōjinbō: bodyguard) service + heart + tough guy
If you’ve been reading this blog religiously, including the comments, then you’ve recently seen 用心棒. The last kanji is by far the least common. Here are its vitals:
棒 (BŌ: pole, rod, stick)
Although this character usually means “pole, rod, stick,” its meaning shifts to “tough guy” in 用心棒.
You may also have seen the following yojijukugo that punkf thoughtfully supplied in a comment:
針小棒大 (shinshōbōdai: exaggeration)
needle + little + pole + big
As I observed back then, “making a big pole out of a little needle” is the wonderful Asian version of “making a mountain out of a molehill.”
A Wago Version of This Phrase …
Colorful Expressions
It turns out that 棒 pops up in quite a few vivid phrases. I’m not sure why that is; I can’t think of a single interesting English expression featuring “pole,” “rod,” or “stick,” except perhaps for the saying about motivating people with carrots versus sticks. But I’ve heard it so many times that it no longer has any sense of fun for me. That’s the great thing about Japanese. I forget words two seconds after I encounter them, so they stay as fresh as can be!
On that note, the following expression seems quite appropriate:
箸にも棒にも掛からない (hashi ni mo bō ni mo kakaranai: hopeless, unmanageable, incorrigible)
chopsticks + pole + to hang (negative form)In other words, neither chopsticks nor a pole will work for a given task. The task is hopeless. I’m trying to imagine what that task might be. Retrieving something from under a car seat or a bed? Poking someone three seats ahead of you at a lecture or movie? As the last definition is “incorrigible,” I wonder if this expression isn’t so far from the English meaning of “stick” in carrot-stick references. That is, no matter whether I assault my husband with a chopstick or a pole, he never seems to improve. (Nevertheless, beatings will continue until morale improves.) A final guess: picking up slippery noodles with chopsticks could feel hopeless, even for the chopstick-adept Japanese.
Enough guessing. Here’s a native speaker’s take on this phrase: “It comes from soup (or udon or soba) with scanty content. You search and search but can find nothing that will hang off your chopsticks, spoon, or fork. All you have is the liquid. This phrase is applied to many things, such as an athlete who is hopelessly untalented or a dissertation with no content at all.”
That expression makes life looks grim. How about the next phrase?
犬も歩けば棒に当たる (inu mo arukeba bō ni ataru)
dog + to walk + pole + to hit
The literal translation: “Even a dog will bump into a pole while walking.”
Breen provides these two figurative meanings, the second of which is more common:
1. No matter what you attempt, tragedy may befall you.
2. Good luck may come unexpectedly.
The first one makes perfect sense as an interpretation of the dog-pole-collision sentence. But the second? I hope the dog knows how to bring about unexpected luck after bashing into a pole.
Here’s another mystifying phrase:
棒に振る (bō ni furu: to make a mess of, sacrifice, waste)
rod + to shake
A long time ago, we saw that in 男振り (otokoburi: manliness; good-looking, man + to shake, wave), men shake or wave something to achieve a heightened state of manliness. Is the same thing going on in 棒に振る? I’m not sure, but given the definitions, that shaking doesn’t appear to be working for anyone.
A final expression, and one that’s much more positive:
鬼に金棒 (oni ni kanabō: making a strong person even stronger; as strong as can be) horned monsters + metal + rod
This expression says that when the strong get stronger, that’s just like giving a powerful ogre a metal rod. Sounds like a negative thing, right? The sample sentence shows otherwise.
A Spinoff Word
In 鬼に金棒, the last two kanji combine to mean “metal rod,” logically enough:
金棒 (kanabō: metal rod) metal + rod
But if you add one more kanji, the resulting definitions are rather surprising:
金棒引き (kanabōhiki: (1) a gossip; (2) night watchman)
metal + rod + to draw
I would say this gives night watchmen a bad rap, but with so many sticks flying about in today’s blog, perhaps it’s not a good idea to think about “raps.”
Time for your Verbal Logic Quiz!
Posted by Eve Kushner in Kanji Curiosity |
July 11th, 2009 at 1:02 am
I received an email from someone who has developed a kanji study program called “Read The Kanji” (www.readthekanji.com). I didn’t try it out (because it required a log-in of sorts, and I felt too lazy to do that), but it looks promising. Here’s the info he sent along:
—–
Read The Kanji (www.readthekanji.com) is a web based application designed to help those studying Japanese to learn kanji reading patterns through context. In other words, it helps you learn to read kanji by asking you to read actual Japanese sentences. It’s designed to give you fast, quick exposure to the Japanese language to improve both kanji reading accuracy and kanji reading speed. It can also serve as a fantastic benchmarking tool for the upcoming JLPT test this July!
Just a few of the features are:
*Custom algorithm designed to find and test your weak kanji more often
*7000+ vocabulary split by JLPT level, including Hiragana and Katakana decks for beginners
*Series of options to custom the quiz format to your particular study method
*Statistics tracking and color coding to help visually show your progress
*Fast-paced-crazy-awesome-in-your-face kanji action (note: this may be an exaggeration)
We’d like to invite everyone to come and give our free beta a try and see if your kanji is as good as you think!
July 11th, 2009 at 5:00 pm
hi thanks for the very inspirational lesson on phrases and idioms… not sure if there were a blog entry on phrases related to body parts…. please link me to one if there exists, or please consider writing one on that… thank you. =)
July 12th, 2009 at 6:10 am
Hi, Eve !
.
Now my name appears on this great blog I can dream of fame and glory!
Thanks again for your entertaining blog!
I discovered “read the kanji” some months ago and gave it a try. I think it’s a good resource to learn new words and to review kanji readings, one worth to try at least. It’s still a work in progress and users can take part in its elaboration, but the current 0.7 version is already very good, I believe.
For 用心棒, it’s probably 用心(caution, care) plus 棒. 用心する means to be on one’s guard, to be wary or watchful. So the bodyguard 用心棒 with a 棒 is watchful! Logical, isn’t it? (Although I don’t see clearly why 用心 means caution).
July 12th, 2009 at 8:32 am
Wow, with all these cartoony gravatars, I feel inspired to get one. Btw, punkf, Stan Sakai gave me permission to use his usagi 用心棒 cartoons in an upcoming event I’m doing on samurai-related kanji! I’m excited about incorporating his images.
Punkf: Glad I could make you famous. Hope the money follows! And yes, you’re very likely right about the breakdown of 用心棒. Certainly more logical.
Chin: Thanks for the comment! Interesting request. (Any particular reason for it?) There are so many body parts, and so many interesting phrases associated with them, that I could spend a year on just that, I think! I have an idea about how to deliver on your request, so keep an eye out for that in coming weeks. First, there will be 2 more 棒 blogs, I believe.
Here are the body part blogs that I’ve already done:
This one probably has the most: http://blogs.japanesepod101.com/?p=2045
Literal and metaphorical references to body parts: http://blogs.japanesepod101.com/?page_id=1386
Mouth: http://www.evekushner.com/writing/?p=129 [See this one for a picture with all the kanji related to the face]
A bit on hands, legs, and noses: http://blogs.japanesepod101.com/?p=1410
A bit on legs, eyes, hands, and throats: http://blogs.japanesepod101.com/?p=1026
Some about the head: http://blogs.japanesepod101.com/?p=1889
The effect of miso on the body: http://blogs.japanesepod101.com/?p=1620
Strange body parts: http://blogs.japanesepod101.com/strange-body-parts/
Body parts decorated with rings: http://blogs.japanesepod101.com/?page_id=1535
Heads and necks: http://www.evekushner.com/writing/?p=91
July 12th, 2009 at 7:40 pm
hi Eve,
Thanks for taking up my suggestion. I came across this phrase「見かけても目を合わせちゃだめだ」and I was not quite sure what that means… and I have no idea if there’s reference materials or sites that can adequately explain the metaphorical phrase. Phrases such as 「耳を貸す」、「口が重い」are very interesting stuff which I’d like to know too…
Thank you for the extremely helpful links on your blog about body parts… I will study them slowly. May I know what books or materials would you recommend if I want to learn more about phrases and idioms such as these…?
July 13th, 2009 at 10:29 am
I asked a native speaker about 見かけても目を合わせちゃだめだ, and he translated it as, “If you see (him), don’t make eye contact.” So there doesn’t necessarily seem to be anything metaphorical in this phrase; 目 means “eye,” and 合 means “to meet,” so “meeting the eye” is the same as “eye contact.”
I didn’t know the other 2 you mentioned, so I’m glad you’ve introduced me to 3 new phrases! (Actually, I’m sure I’ve come across 口が重い before, but obviously it didn’t stick!) You probably already know, but 耳を貸す (mimi o kasu, ear + to lend) means “to lend an ear, to listen.” So this one, too, is exactly like English. Meanwhile, 口が重い (kuchi ga omoi: mouth + heavy) means “uncommunicative, taciturn,” so that’s the only one that seems quite unlike English.
Anyway, I agree with you that Japanese phrases about body parts are really rich, and learning them can open up many more doors; I look forward to exploring that fertile material.
In my last comment, I meant to direct you to one JPod lesson with phrases about hands:
http://www.japanesepod101.com/2008/11/07/upper-intermediate-lesson-s217-just-wait-until-you-get-your-hands-on-this/
Here’s another one on eyes that I’ve never listened to:
http://www.japanesepod101.com/2008/10/10/upper-intermediate-lesson-38-japanese-expressions-with-the-word-for-eye/
Re. reference material for phrases, idioms, etc., I rely heavily on Breen’s website (http://www.csse.monash.edu.au/~jwb/cgi-bin/wwwjdic.cgi?1C), which is full of such things.
Sorry, I can’t recommend any books. I came across a proverb book over the weekend, and there seem to be many of those. For example, here’s one on proverbs and sayings (http://www.amazon.com/JAPANESE-PROVERBS-SAYINGS-Daniel-Buchanan/dp/0806110821/ref=pd_bxgy_b_text_c). I don’t know if it’s any good. But if you go down to the section “Customers Who Bought This Item Also Bought,” then you can see other, related titles.
Maybe some JPod readers can recommend books about phrases and idioms…. Anyone?
July 13th, 2009 at 9:52 pm
thank you so much for your detailed explanations and additional links. =)
You’re most helpful!
July 14th, 2009 at 1:32 am
I’d like to share an announcement from Sonia Katchian, who has left comments on this blog and who has years of experience as a professional photographer in Japan:
Event Title: Japan Photo Workshop: Through the Cultural Maze
Dates: November 7-18, 2009
Location: Tokyo & Kyoto, JAPAN
Presenters: Sonia Katchian, Tim Grey, Douglas Beasley
The workshop is led by Sonia Katchian, Director of PhotoShuttle: Japan http://photoshuttle.com; Tim Grey, author/digital photo guru; and Douglas Beasley, fine-art photographer and highly-regarded founder of Vision Quest Photo Workshops.
The Japan Photo Workshop is an induction of photographers into all things Japanese. An exceptional instructor-to-student ratio of 1:3, ensures constant access to instructors. Sonia Katchian specializes in photographing in Japan and provides the morning cultural guidelines. Under the tutelage of photo guru Tim Grey http://timgrey.com/ participants have many opportunities to resolve digital optimization and workflow issues. Participants are guided toward a spiritual approach to picture-making, the specialty of Douglas Beasley http://douglasbeasley.com/.
Geared to professional photographers who want to learn the ropes about working in Japan, and who want Japan imagery in their portfolio … this workshop is also open to individuals ambitious and energetic enough to keep pace!
More info: http://photoshuttle.com/workshops/
Also on Facebook: http://groups.to/japanphotoworkshop/