名詞 II

威厳いげんのある声こえで語かたりかけた。

He spoke in a voice full of dignity.

Usage 威厳がある, 威厳を保つ — having or keeping dignity. It describes a presence that commands respect. Read いげん.

Remember it 威 (authority) + 厳 (gravity) → authority carried with gravity.

先方せんぽうの意向いこうを確たしかめたい。

I want to ascertain the other side's intentions.

Usage 意向を確かめる, 意向を示す — checking or indicating intentions. More formal than 考え. Common in negotiation and in news. Read いこう.

Remember it 意 (intent) + 向 (direction) → which way the intention is pointing.

委細いさいは面談めんだんのうえで。

The details on meeting in person.

Usage 委細面談 — details to be discussed at interview — is a set phrase in job advertisements. 委細承知 means fully understood. Read いさい.

Remember it 委 (in full) + 細 (fine detail) → the whole of it down to the fine detail.

祖父そふの遺言ゆいごんに従したがった。

I followed my grandfather's last wishes.

Usage Read ゆいごん in ordinary use but いごん in legal language. 遺言を残す is to leave a will. The reading is a frequent exam item.

Remember it 遺 (leave behind) + 言 (words) → the words left behind.

改革かいかくの一環いっかんとして行おこなわれた。

It was carried out as part of the reforms.

Usage 〜の一環として — as one part of a larger whole — is effectively its only use. 環 is a link in a chain. Read いっかん.

Remember it 一 (one) + 環 (ring, link) → one link in the chain.

私わたしの一存いちぞんでは決きめられない。

I cannot decide it on my own authority.

Usage 〜の一存では決められない — cannot decide alone. It is used almost only in this negative form. Read いちぞん.

Remember it 一 (one) + 存 (thought, will) → one person's will, which is not enough.

古ふるい因習いんしゅうにとらわれている。

They are held captive by old conventions.

Usage 因習にとらわれる — bound by outdated custom. Always negative, quite unlike the neutral 伝統. Read いんしゅう.

Remember it 因 (inherited cause) + 習 (custom) → the custom carried on only because it was inherited.

経験けいけんの有無うむは問といません。

Experience is not required either way.

Usage 〜の有無を問わない — regardless of whether there is any. Read うむ, not ゆうむ. 有無を言わさず means giving no chance to object. The reading is tested.

Remember it 有 (have) + 無 (have not) → whether there is or there is not.

言葉ことばとは裏腹うらはらな態度たいどだった。

His manner was the opposite of his words.

Usage 〜とは裏腹に — contrary to. It always takes とは. 裏 is the reverse and 腹 the belly. Read うらはら.

Remember it 裏 (the back) + 腹 (the belly) → the front and the back facing opposite ways.

上司じょうしの横暴おうぼうに耐たえかねた。

I could no longer endure my superior's tyranny.

Usage 〜の横暴 — high-handedness. Both a noun and a な-adjective. The same 横 as in 横柄. Read おうぼう.

Remember it 横 (crosswise, unreasonable) + 暴 (violent) → throwing weight about with no regard for anyone.

汚名おめいを返上へんじょうしたい。

I want to clear my name.

Usage 汚名を返上する — clearing a stain from one's name — is the set phrase. NOTE: 汚名挽回 is a very common error; the correct forms are 汚名返上 or 名誉挽回.

Remember it 汚 (stain) + 名 (name) → the stain left on the name.

不安ふあんげな面持おももちで待まっていた。

He waited with an anxious expression.

Usage 〜な面持ちで — with such-and-such a look on the face. Written, more formal than 顔つき. Common in news and narrative. Read おももち.

Remember it 面 (face) + 持ち (holding) → the expression the face is holding.

思惑おもわくが外はずれて慌あわてた。

His calculations went wrong and he panicked.

Usage 思惑が外れる, 思惑通り — a calculation missing or coming off. It implies a private agenda. Read おもわく, not しわく.

Remember it 思 (think) + 惑 (be drawn astray) → the private reckoning going on behind the face.

議論ぎろんの核かくとなる部分ぶぶんだ。

This is the part that forms the core of the argument.

Usage 〜の核となる — forming the core. It also means the atomic nucleus: 核兵器, nuclear weapons. Read かく.

Remember it 核 (kernel, stone of a fruit) → the hard centre everything else grows round.

肩書かたがきにこだわらない人ひとだ。

He is not a man who cares about titles.

Usage 肩書きにこだわる — setting store by one's title. From the position written beside the shoulder on a name card. Read かたがき.

Remember it 肩 (shoulder) + 書き (writing) → the line written at the shoulder of the card.

理想りそうと現実げんじつの葛藤かっとうに苦くるしんだ。

He suffered from the conflict between ideal and reality.

Usage 〜の葛藤 — inner conflict. From the kudzu and wisteria vines tangling round each other. Read かっとう, not かつとう.

Remember it 葛 (kudzu vine) + 藤 (wisteria) → two creepers twisted round each other and neither giving way.

若者わかものに気概きがいが感かんじられない。

I see no spirit in young people.

Usage 気概がある, 気概を持つ — having mettle. Always complimentary. Read きがい; do not confuse 危害 (きがい), harm.

Remember it 気 (spirit) + 概 (bearing) → the spirit a person carries themselves with.

既成きせい概念がいねんを疑うたがってみる。

Let us question the received ideas.

Usage 既成概念, received wisdom; 既成事実, a fait accompli. It is always used in compounds. Do not confuse 規制 (きせい), regulation. Read きせい.

Remember it 既 (already) + 成 (formed) → formed before you came to it.

計画けいかくがようやく軌道きどうに乗のった。

The plan has finally got on track.

Usage 軌道に乗る — getting on track and running smoothly — is very common. It also means an orbit in the literal sense. Read きどう.

Remember it 軌 (wheel rut) + 道 (road) → the wheels settled into the ruts and running true.

社会しゃかい規範きはんに反はんする行為こういだ。

It is conduct contrary to social norms.

Usage 社会規範, 行動規範 — social norms, a code of conduct. Academic written style. Read きはん.

Remember it 規 (rule) + 範 (model) → the rule and the model to be measured against.

彼かれは窮地きゅうちに立たたされている。

He has been driven into a corner.

Usage 窮地に立たされる, 窮地に陥る — being cornered. 窮 is being at the end of your resources. The same 窮 as 窮屈. Read きゅうち.

Remember it 窮 (at the end) + 地 (ground) → the ground where there is nowhere further to go.

悟さとりの境地きょうちに達たっした。

He reached a state of enlightenment.

Usage 〜の境地に達する — attaining a certain state of mind or stage. Do not confuse 窮地 (きゅうち), a tight corner. Read きょうち.

Remember it 境 (boundary, realm) + 地 (ground) → the ground you have reached, on the far side of the boundary.

贅沢ぜいたくの極きわみだ。

It is the height of extravagance.

Usage 〜の極み — the utmost of. It always takes の. 感激の極み is to be moved beyond words. Same root as 極まる. Read きわみ.

Remember it 極 (the limit) → the very edge of what there is.

油断ゆだんは禁物きんもつだ。

Carelessness is strictly to be avoided.

Usage 〜は禁物だ — the thing one must not do. It is used almost only in this form, and 油断は禁物 is the commonest instance. Read きんもつ.

Remember it 禁 (forbidden) + 物 (thing) → the thing that is off limits.

あえて苦言くげんを呈ていしたい。

I want to offer some blunt advice, unwelcome as it is.

Usage 苦言を呈する — offering hard words out of genuine goodwill — is a set phrase. Distinct from 文句, which complains on one's own behalf. Read くげん.

Remember it 苦 (bitter) + 言 (words) → words bitter to hear, and meant for your good.

愚痴ぐちをこぼしても何なにも変かわらない。

Grumbling will change nothing.

Usage 愚痴をこぼす, 愚痴を言う — idle complaining. It implies the complaint is futile and aimed at nothing. Read ぐち.

Remember it 愚 (foolish) + 痴 (silly) → the complaint that does you no good to make.

事件じけんの経緯けいいを説明せつめいした。

He explained how the incident had come about.

Usage 経緯を説明する — setting out the whole course of events. 経 is the warp thread and 緯 the weft: the whole cloth of the matter. Read けいい.

Remember it 経 (warp) + 緯 (weft) → the whole weave, from first thread to last.

すごい形相ぎょうそうでにらまれた。

He glared at me with a terrible expression.

Usage すごい形相で — with a fierce look. In this sense it is read ぎょうそう; read けいそう it is a philosophical term. The reading is a frequent exam item.

Remember it 形 (form) + 相 (aspect) → the shape the face has taken.

両者りょうしゃの見解けんかいが分わかれた。

The two sides differed in their views.

Usage 見解が分かれる, 見解を示す — views diverging, setting out a position. More formal than 意見, and implying considered judgement. Read けんかい.

Remember it 見 (see) + 解 (interpret) → what you make of what you have seen.

原則げんそくとして受うけ付つけていません。

As a rule we do not accept them.

Usage 原則として — in principle — is very common, and always leaves room for an exception. 原則を曲げる is to bend the rule. Read げんそく.

Remember it 原 (origin) + 則 (rule) → the rule you start from, before the exceptions.

語弊ごへいがあるかもしれないが。

This may be putting it misleadingly, but...

Usage 語弊があるが — 'this may be badly put, but' — is almost always a hedge before speaking plainly. Read ごへい.

Remember it 語 (words) + 弊 (defect) → the flaw in the wording, not in the thought.

それは完全かんぜんな誤算ごさんだった。

That was a complete miscalculation.

Usage 誤算だった — it was a misjudgement. 大きな誤算 is a serious one. Read ごさん.

Remember it 誤 (mistaken) + 算 (reckoning) → the sum worked out wrong.

争あらそった痕跡こんせきが残のこっていた。

Traces of a struggle remained.

Usage 痕跡が残る — traces remaining. Common in investigative reporting. 痕 is a scar. Read こんせき.

Remember it 痕 (scar) + 跡 (mark) → the mark left behind after the event.

細心さいしんの注意ちゅういを払はらって作業さぎょうした。

I worked with the utmost care.

Usage 細心の注意を払う — exercising the greatest care — is effectively the only use. It always takes の. Read さいしん.

Remember it 細 (fine) + 心 (attention) → attention paid at the finest grain.

実権じっけんを握にぎっているのは別べつの人物じんぶつだ。

The one who holds the real power is somebody else.

Usage 実権を握る — holding actual power — is the commonest phrase. It is implicitly contrasted with the title on paper. Read じっけん.

Remember it 実 (actual) + 権 (power) → the power that is actually there, not the one in the title.

今後こんごの指針ししんを示しめしてほしい。

I would like guidelines for the way ahead.

Usage 指針を示す, 指針となる — setting out or serving as a guideline. Literally a compass needle. The loanword equivalent is ガイドライン. Read ししん.

Remember it 指 (point) + 針 (needle) → the needle that points the way.

健康けんこう志向しこうが高たかまっている。

Health-consciousness is on the rise.

Usage 〜志向 — an orientation toward: 健康志向, 上昇志向, ブランド志向. It usually follows a noun. Do not confuse 嗜好 (しこう), taste or preference.

Remember it 志 (aspiration) + 向 (direction) → which way the wanting is aimed.

思春ししゅん期きに自我じがが芽生めばえる。

The self emerges in adolescence.

Usage 自我が芽生える, 自我を確立する — the ego forming. A term from psychology. 自我が強い means strong-willed or egotistical. Read じが.

Remember it 自 (self) + 我 (I) → the I that knows itself as an I.

現場げんばの実態じったいを調査ちょうさした。

We investigated the actual conditions on the ground.

Usage 実態を調査する, 実態を把握する — investigating or grasping the real state of things. It is implicitly set against appearances or reports. Read じったい.

Remember it 実 (actual) + 態 (state) → the state it is actually in.

素人しろうとにも分わかるように説明せつめいしてほしい。

I would like it explained so that a layman can follow.

Usage 素人 — an amateur, someone outside the trade. Read しろうと, an irregular reading not built from the Sino-Japanese sounds. Its direct opposite is 玄人.

Remember it 素 (plain, undyed) + 人 (person) → a person still in the undyed state, untrained.

玄人くろうと好ごみの渋しぶい店みせだ。

It is an understated place that appeals to connoisseurs.

Usage 玄人好み — to a connoisseur's taste. Read くろうと, also an irregular reading. The direct opposite of 素人, and the two are often tested together.

Remember it 玄 (dark, deep) + 人 (person) → a person steeped dark in the craft.

事件じけんの真相しんそうはまだ闇やみの中なかだ。

The truth of the case is still in the dark.

Usage 真相を究明する, 真相は闇の中 — getting to the truth, the truth still hidden. It is implicitly set against the official account. Read しんそう.

Remember it 真 (true) + 相 (aspect) → the true face of it, under the one presented.

幼おさない頃ころから辛酸しんさんをなめてきた。

He has known hardship since childhood.

Usage 辛酸をなめる — tasting bitterness and sourness, i.e. going through hardship — is a set phrase and effectively the only use. Read しんさん.

Remember it 辛 (bitter, hot) + 酸 (sour) → what hardship tastes of.

あくまで推測すいそくの域いきを出でない。

It goes no further than conjecture.

Usage 推測の域を出ない — remaining mere conjecture — is a very common phrase. Weaker than 推理, which is grounded inference. Read すいそく.

Remember it 推 (infer) + 測 (measure) → measuring by inference rather than by rule.

愛好あいこう者しゃの裾野すそのが広ひろがっている。

The base of enthusiasts is widening.

Usage The gentle skirt of a mountain; and the N1 sense 裾野が広がる, a widening base of participants. The second is the tested one. Read すその.

Remember it 裾 (hem of a garment) + 野 (field) → the skirt of the mountain, broad at the bottom.

倒産とうさん寸前すんぜんまで追おい込こまれた。

They were driven to the brink of bankruptcy.

Usage 〜寸前 — a hair's breadth before. It follows a noun: 倒産寸前, 発車寸前. 寸 is an inch. Read すんぜん.

Remember it 寸 (an inch) + 前 (before) → an inch short of it happening.

研究けんきゅうに生涯しょうがいを捧ささげた。

He devoted his whole life to research.

Usage 生涯を捧げる, 生涯現役 — devoting a life, working to the end of it. Read しょうがい. Do not confuse the homophone 障害, an obstacle.

Remember it 生 (life) + 涯 (the far shore) → life from here to the far shore of it.

節度せつどのある付つき合あいを心こころがけている。

I try to keep my dealings within proper bounds.

Usage 節度を保つ, 節度のある — keeping within measure. 節 is the node of a bamboo, i.e. a limit. Complimentary. Read せつど.

Remember it 節 (node, limit) + 度 (degree) → the degree at which the limit falls.

前途ぜんと多難たなんが予想よそうされる。

A difficult road ahead is expected.

Usage 前途多難 — many troubles ahead — is a four-character compound. 前途有望 means promising prospects. Read ぜんと.

Remember it 前 (ahead) + 途 (road) → the road still to be walked.