Category Archives: Japan: Language

J-WOTD: 杞憂

きゆう (kiyuu)

* “J-WOTD” = “Japanese Word of the Day”

“alarmism” “groundless apprehensions” “groundless fear” “needless fear”
悩むほどのことではありませんよ。/それは杞憂だ。
You’re worrying over nothing.
「健康診断はどうだったの」「心配は杞憂に終わったよ」
“How was the checkup?” “My fears turned out to be groundless.”
その不安は杞憂に終わった
That concern proved unfounded.
杞憂に終わりました。。
I was worried about nothing..

J-WOTD: 憤慨

ふんがい (fungai)

* “J-WOTD” = “Japanese Word of the Day”

“embitterment”, “fury”, “resent”
憤慨する
Be outraged, be annoyed with, burn with resentment, get indignant
(だれかの)過ちに憤慨する
Be upset at (someone’s) mistake
スタッフは新しい給与体系に憤慨していた
The staff were up in arms about the new pay structure.

J-WOTD: 案の定

あんのじょう (annojyou)

* “J-WOTD” = “Japanese Word of the Day”

“As anticipated”, “as expected”, “sure enough”, “to noone’s surprise” etc etc..
案の定の結果
foregone conclusion
Example sentence: ご婦人がHDDを買いに来た。店を出る直前、手が滑って「スコーン!」とHDDが床へ落下。しかしHDDの弱さを知らないご婦人は、何事もなかったように拾って帰路へ。案の定、数日後に「動かない」と来店。

J-WOTD: 正真正銘

しょうしんしょうめい (shoushinshoumei)

* “J-WOTD” = “Japanese Word of the Day”

“Authentic” “fair dinkum” “real”
Used to stress that something is not a fake, as in, “This is the real McCoy”.

More examples:
正真正銘のピカソの絵
a genuine Picasso painting
正真正銘のプロ
real professional
正真正銘の難民
genuine refugee

J-WOTD: 本末転倒

ほんまつてんとう (honmatsutentou)

* “J-WOTD” = “Japanese Word of the Day”

“tail wagging the dog”
Basically when things are out of their natural order. This is a good one just to use when things seem out of order.. Or, not how they should be.
I had heard this phrase over the past few years often, but never bothered to look up what it really means.