マッチョ

Although it is an English word, it has a significantly different meaning in Japan.  In Japanese(-English), it conveys a physical trait, that of being muscular.  If you go to google.co.jp, copy/paste マッチョ and do a search, and when the results come up, click on 画像 (at the top, third from the left), you'll be taken to Google's Images on the Japanese interpretation of "macho," and the emphasis on physicality should be clear.

This difference in definition comes up often in my classes.  Students will invariably use macho to denote the fitness, size, and definition of a man's/boy's muscles.  I then tell them that macho, in America and (presumably in other English-speaking countries, although I need to do some checking on this), refers more to a mindset, a way of thinking.  To clarify, I try to use examples, e.g. a guy hits his shin on something and is in immense pain but says, "I'm fine, I'm fine," and will certainly not consent to shed tears in front of other.   Or he might not want to wear pink, because it's a "girl's color."  Or he might refuse to use an umbrella when it's raining.  The umbrella one usually hits it home, and they nod in understanding.

These days, I'm not often surprised by things that people say or do in Japan, maybe because I've been living there for some years and have felt fairly acclimated, but I was genuinely stunned by something that one of my students said last month.  She was talking about Justin Bieber and said that, recently, he's become macho.  I was like, "What?  Justin. . .Bieber?"  Whether in English or in Japanese-English, I'd never expected to see that day. . .

Well, what better way to finish this entry than with one of the classics:

ぷたろ

ぷたろ = a deadbeat; a loafer; a sponger

I'm trying to suss out possible differences in connotation; it's hard for me to imagine that the original meaning of the word would have been anything but a putdown.  It was a slang term when I arrived to Japan, over a decade ago, and it seems still to be in common usage.  But now I often hear it used with a bit of affection, of endearment, perhaps not unlike our English term "slacker."

more on ice and こおり

Other uses of こおり: 

角氷 (かくごおり) is apparently the way to say ice cube in a countable form.  My understanding is that asking for こおり is like asking "Could I have some ice?" instead of the grammatically correct but perhaps less natural-sounding "Could I have a dozen or so ice cubes?"

Ice pick is アイスピック.

Ice tongs is 氷挟み （ こおりばさみ） or アイストング.

かき氷（かきごおり）is the word for shaved ice (in Hawai'i, "shave ice") or snow cone.



In summertime, you'll see this sign at many a festival and in parks on sunny days.  I find it a comforting sight.

アイス

This is one of the katakana words that can lead to a bit of confusion.  アイス (ice) is an often-used abbreviation for アイスクリーム　(ice cream).  To ask for ice cubes, the word is こおり(koori).

Once, I was looking for a bag of ice for a party.  People directed me to a vending machine in the basement of the building.  I thought, "How interesting, they have a vending machine for ice cubes!  Like a hotel."  I went to the basement and found, of course, a vending machine selling ice cream.  The 7-11 across the street had ice cubes, thankfully.

survival japanese (eating out)

My apologies for once again having gone AWOL.  When work is in full force, I seem unable to stem the tide of tasks coming my way, and blog-writing (and other kinds of writing) is one of the first things I tend to sacrifice.  There must be a way for me not to do that, but I haven't found it yet.

ANYway, getting back to it. . .
I was at a kaiten sushi (actually, the correct term is kaiten-zushi) place not long ago, sitting next to a couple of young Americans.  Seemed like nice fellows, clearly on their first trip to Tokyo.  From the sound of it, they were staying at a capsule hotel in Shibuya, lovin every minute of it.

As they finished eating, they wondered aloud what to do about the check, and where to put their empty little sushi plates.  They thought that they were supposed to take the plates to the register, to be counted by the waitress/cashier, for the calculation of their bill.  I said "Oh no, just leave them on the counter and the waitress will come and total everything."  I think the guys were a bit surprised to hear me speak English; since I'm Asian (-American), they might not have presumed that I was an English speaker.   (Lots of the Westerner travelers that I meet in Japan probably suppose that I'm Japanese until I speak.)  They recomposed themselves in an instant and thanked me, and I began to summon the waitress, when it occurred to me that they might like to ask for the check themselves.

     "To ask for the check, you can say 'Okaikei kudasai.'"
     They repeated  "Okaikei kudasai."

I wanted to say and write down for them that kaikei is check, or bill, and okaikei is a polite way to say it, because it didn't seem like they knew it and it did seem like a useful bit of information, but our waitress was upon us in a second.  "Okaikei?" she asked.  "Betsu betsu?  Issho?"

     I asked the guys, "Do you want to pay together, or do you want separate checks?"
     "Together."
     "Say 'issho.'"
     "Issho," one of the guys said to the waitress.  (Betsu betsu, of course, would have meant going dutch, paying only for what you ordered individually, etc.)

And she counted their plates, rang it up on the register, and the guys were on their way.  It's nice to see people visiting Tokyo for the first time.

I should also mention that oaiso is another word for check; I read in a textbook that it's mainly an alternative to be used at sushi establishments (but not at other kinds of restaurants or eateries).

Below is someone's video (from YouTube) of kaiten-zushi, which is often described as sushi on a conveyor belt.  One of the places I often frequent has "Sushi Merry-Go-Round" posted outside, so I guess that would be another way of putting it.

ザギンでシースーベータ

ザギンでシースーベータ (za gin de shi su be ta) =  銀座ですしたべた　(Ginza de sushi wo tabeta)

I hope I got the かな  /  カナ right.  I just learned this phrase recently but haven't had a chance to check on the writing.  As you can see, ザギン is a switching of the order of syllables in Ginza; the same is done with sushi (シースー), although I'm not sure why the hyphens are in there, but I was told that there should be hyphens to express an elongating of those syllables.  I'll check on it and if there are corrections to make on this post, I'll be sure to make them.

ださい！(ダサい, dasai)

「ださい」 means cheesy, corny, tacky, etc.  I think it's a great word to know.

You might find it worthwhile to google it and see what comes up in the image results.  On my side, a picture of the album cover for the Prince album Lovesexy (on which he's quite naked) was the third result, and Jean-Claude Van Damme biting a snake was not far behind.  

頭にきた！(going crazy)

頭にきた！(あたまにきた!) Atama ni kita! = "I /He /She is angry, upset, mad!  has lost it!" 

Of course, who the angered person should be apparent through the context of the situation; as you probably know, personal pronouns are very often dropped in Japanese.

I like this phrase mainly because when I learned it, I imagined Homer Simpson holding his head, an angry "Doh!" coming out of him.

Smoking or Non-Smoking

When you go to a restaurant, most times you'll be asked if you want the Smoking or No Smoking section.  The Smoking section is kitsuen no seki (or simply kitsuen, for smoking).  The No Smoking / Non-Smoking section is kinnen no seki (or simply kinnen, for non-smoking).  Dochira demo yoi or dochira demo ii means either is fine.

Below is a typical example of a waiting list that you'd sign in on if the restaurant is crowded; the relevant kanji is circled in red.

cat's tongue

My apologies for not having kept up with the stated goal of posting one-a-day on average.  June is a busy month for a lot of teachers in Japan, mainly because there are no national holidays and, in my case, schools generally don't have a lot of testing periods in June.  (This means that teachers and ALTs have to teach every weekday and, if necessary, prep these classes.)  でももしわけございませんでした。。。

As for today's word, it came about tonight as we were finishing dinner and settling down to a bit of hot tea.  One of our party sipped it and immediately pulled the cup away from her mouth.  It turns out that she can't stand to drink hot liquids; she's too sensitive to the heat.  She asked, "How do I say [sic] in English?"  In Japanese, the term is nekoshita (ねこした), which translates literally to "cat's tongue." 

We had to disappoint her, as we couldn't think of a single English term that would convey this human condition; we could only express it with a full sentence.  If anyone has any suggestions, please let us know. . .

さすが (sasuga) as opposed to やっぱり (yappari)

I was just using 「さすが」 in an email and realized how often I hear this word used.  Usually when I hear it, it seems like the meaning is somewhere in the vicinity of "Ah, just as I'd expect from you."  I checked around a bit, with people I know and on the internet, and it seems generally to be a complimentary term.

A great question came up on a few websites.  What's the difference between さすが and やっぱり?
When I first learned 「やっぱり」, I understood it to mean "after all"--e.g. I'm afraid I can't come, after all.  I have to work.  

This website's explanation of  さすが suggests that it's a complimentary term that emphasizes the uniqueness of a person or situation, i.e. "Only you could have done that."

http://www.yesjapan.com/YJ6/question/3426/what_039-s_the_difference_between_yappari_and_sasuga

And this website offers a scenario in which さすが might used in a negative sense.
http://tangorin.com/forum/435/

You'll have to scroll down a bit to the English explanation, which comes after the French one.
The comment also mentions the casual version of   やっぱり, which is やっぱ.  I hear that a lot.