Monday, September 30, 2013

きもかわいい

A compounding of きもい and かわいい, this is quite a concept, I think.  Yes, there are things in this world that are a little gross-looking (きもい) and at the same time cute (かわいい).  I can't think of a single English word that encompasses this.

I first learned this word when I introduced the Grinch to one of my classes.

           

 

I think that Jack of The Nightmare Before Xmas would also qualify.



Below, a visual example someone else's conception of きもかわいい.



Thursday, September 12, 2013

ほっておいて

ほっておいて = "Leave me alone" or "Get away from me," etc.
Can be quite a useful expression, I think.

This video, aptly named, demonstrates the sentiment through body language.




And it's also the name of a song, which I've just heard for the first time.

Sunday, September 8, 2013

con man, swindler

sagishi, 詐欺師 = con man (or woman, although I don't think I've ever heard anyone say "con woman" in English)

My dictionary comes up with "swindler," a word I haven't heard in a while.  The last time I can remember was in elementary school when I read The Great Brain series, in which author/narrator John D. Fitzgerald depicts life during the late 1800s as spent with the genius who was his brother, and who also used his brains to swindle folks.  It sounds like the word was used often during that era.  

I came across さぎし in a tv show called Hammer Session, which is based on the manga about a Robin Hood-type con man who poses as a high school teacher and eventually changes the lives of the people he meets.  He calls himself a さぎし。

There was no code for embedding the video, so far as I could tell.  The url is
http://www.drama.net/m1/hammer-session-episode-1/part2

He says it at about 3:45 into the segment.  There are English subtitles.

If you want to see the first episode, here are the links:
Part 1  http://www.drama.net/m1/hammer-session-episode-1/part1
Part 2  http://www.drama.net/m1/hammer-session-episode-1/part2
Part 3  http://www.drama.net/m1/hammer-session-episode-1/part3

 I think it looks pretty interesting.  Sometimes kind of ださい in some places, but good-hearted and entertaining, from what I've seen.  I haven't seen all of it yet, though.

Couldn't find much of it on You Tube.  This one is soundless; because of the copyright laws, the audio track was disabled, but it'll give you a visual taste:


おつかれやま!!! (In romaji, "Otsukareyama!!!" In kanji, お疲れ山?)

 All of my former students in Japan officially ended their school year this week, I believe. Some will return in April, others have graduat...