| 06/25 |  |
NIC Japanese Language School |
NIC Japanese Language school
This corner answers foreigner's doubt about Japanese language.
Foreigners feel some difficulty to understand spoken Japanese.
But Japanese has the similar experience as they do.
The following article, which is written in Zatsu Gaku Nippon
(Japan Trivia) p. 216 published by Kodansha, seems to explain this matter well.
We would like to introduce it for the foreigners’ convenience.
Q: Why are there so many Japanese proverbs that use the number three?
A: The number three appears in many Japanese proverbs:
“Three years on a stone” ( meaning if you sit three years on a cold stone,
it will eventually get warm, thus showing the value of persistence)
“Tree times in Budha’s face” (even Budahh will get angry if you slap his face
three times)
“If three people are together, they have the wisdom of Bodhisattva Manjusri”
“Waking early is worth three mon” ( an old unit of currency)
“If something happens twice, it will happen three times”
“The spirit of the three-years-old is the same at one hundred” and many more.
The popularity of three comes from the number’s dual nature. Sometimes tree means “a few” or “short”, and sometimes it means “many” or “long”
For example, in the expressions “A three-day priest” meaning someone who attempts something and soon quits, or “Two bundles for three mon” meaning a large quantity sold for a low price, three means “a few short”.
However, in ”Three years on a stone” or “The fool’s three bowls” (indicating gluttony),
three means “many, long”
Since ancient times, the number three has also been a sacred number, an indicator of good fortune. Japanese myths tell of the ”three world”(heaven, hell, and the world we live in) and the “Three sacred objects” of the imperial throne. Tree also appears in the
ceremonies given for seven-,five-,and three year-old children and the wedding tradition
of drinking tree times from each of tree cups.
One word for tree in Japanese, mittsu, is homophonous with word meaning ”full” or
“replete” so the number is also regarded as auspicious. Nonproverbial idioms using
three (also pronounced san) include sanbyoushi sorou( all three requirements met), go-sanke(three prominent people in a particular field), and sandai -----( the tree big something-or-order).
Thus since ancient times the Japanese have, in proverbs and otherwise, like the number three.
NIC Instructor Keita Suzuki
NIC Japanese Language School
http://www.nicjapanese.com
This corner answers foreigner's doubt about Japanese language.
Foreigners feel some difficulty to understand spoken Japanese.
But Japanese has the similar experience as they do.
The following article, which is written in Zatsu Gaku Nippon
(Japan Trivia) p. 216 published by Kodansha, seems to explain this matter well.
We would like to introduce it for the foreigners’ convenience.
Q: Why are there so many Japanese proverbs that use the number three?
A: The number three appears in many Japanese proverbs:
“Three years on a stone” ( meaning if you sit three years on a cold stone,
it will eventually get warm, thus showing the value of persistence)
“Tree times in Budha’s face” (even Budahh will get angry if you slap his face
three times)
“If three people are together, they have the wisdom of Bodhisattva Manjusri”
“Waking early is worth three mon” ( an old unit of currency)
“If something happens twice, it will happen three times”
“The spirit of the three-years-old is the same at one hundred” and many more.
The popularity of three comes from the number’s dual nature. Sometimes tree means “a few” or “short”, and sometimes it means “many” or “long”
For example, in the expressions “A three-day priest” meaning someone who attempts something and soon quits, or “Two bundles for three mon” meaning a large quantity sold for a low price, three means “a few short”.
However, in ”Three years on a stone” or “The fool’s three bowls” (indicating gluttony),
three means “many, long”
Since ancient times, the number three has also been a sacred number, an indicator of good fortune. Japanese myths tell of the ”three world”(heaven, hell, and the world we live in) and the “Three sacred objects” of the imperial throne. Tree also appears in the
ceremonies given for seven-,five-,and three year-old children and the wedding tradition
of drinking tree times from each of tree cups.
One word for tree in Japanese, mittsu, is homophonous with word meaning ”full” or
“replete” so the number is also regarded as auspicious. Nonproverbial idioms using
three (also pronounced san) include sanbyoushi sorou( all three requirements met), go-sanke(three prominent people in a particular field), and sandai -----( the tree big something-or-order).
Thus since ancient times the Japanese have, in proverbs and otherwise, like the number three.
NIC Instructor Keita Suzuki
NIC Japanese Language School
http://www.nicjapanese.com