about this, but...
4. Minna ga anata no uwasa o shite iru? Sore wa gishin anki da.
Everyone has heard that rumor about you? Come on, you're being paranoid.
5. lie, gishin anki nado de wa arimasen.
No, I'm not being overly suspicious.
gojuppo-hyappo
the same difference
MUSUKO:
Dotchi no e o konkūru ni daso ka na?
HAHAOYA:
Dotchi mo gojuppo-hyappo ne.
SON:
I wonder which picture I should enter in the competition?
MOTHER:
I don't think it matters really; it's the same difference.
Gojuppo-hyappo indicates that there is not much difference between two or more things, and that none of them are especially good. The original saying is gojuppo o motte hyappo o warau (the man who has fled from the battlefield by fifty paces is laughing at the man who has fled by a hundred paces). As far as cowardice goes, there is really little difference between them.
EXAMPLES
1. Futari no tenisu no jitsuryoku wa gojuppo-hyappo da.
Neither of them is particularly good at tennis.
2. Koko ni arujisho wa dove mo gojuppo-hyappo de, yaku ni tatanai.
There's not a lot of difference between these dictionaries; neither of them is of much use.
3. Ano garo ga motte iru sakuhin wa dore mo gojuppo-hyappo, ii mono ga nai.
The works in that gallery are all the same—none are very good.
4. Kimi-tachi no repōto wa gojuppo-hyappo, toku ni yoi mono wa nai.
There's not much to choose from among your reports—none of them are particularly good.
gokuraku tonbo
a happy-go-lucky fellow, a layabout
DŌRYŌ:
Musuko-san, dochira ni o-tsutome desu ka?
CHICHIOYA:
Sore ga, gokuraku tonbo de mainichi burabura shite irun' desu yo.
OFFICE COLLEAGUE:
Where does your son work?
FATHER:
He's such a happy-go-lucky type that he's just idling his days away.
Gokuraku (Buddhist paradise), used in contrast to jigoku (hell), is a world free of worry. Tonbo (dragonfly) suggests something carefree. Combined gokuraku tonbo refers to either a son who has been constantly sheltered by his parents or an unemployed person who spends his time doing nothing.
EXAMPLES
1. Aitsu wa itsu made tatte mo, gokuraku tonbo da ne.
He'll always be an easygoing fellow.
2. Otto ga gokuraku tonbo no uwakimono de, kurō shite imasu.
I'm having a hard time, what with my husband being a happy-go-lucky womanizer.
3. Anna gokuraku tonbo to kekkon suru no wa, yurushimasen.
I won't allow you to marry such an easygoing character.
4. Hataraki-bachi ni naru yori, gokuraku tonbo de itai.
I'd rather be a happy-go-lucky type than become a workaholic.
5. Anata no yō na gokuraku tonbo wa, mita koto ga arimasen.
I've never come across a person as carefree as you are.
goma o suru
curry favor
GAKUSEI (JOSEI NO KYŌSHI NI):
Sensei, konogoro masumasu chāmingu ni nararemashita ne.
SENSEI:
Goma o sutte mo, yoi ten wa agemasen yo.
STUDENT (TO A FEMALE PROFESSOR):
You are becoming more and more attractive these days.
TEACHER:
Your flattery won't get you a good grade.
Goma o suru means to court a person's favor without any sense of principle. When grinding sesame seeds in a mortar, the sesame seeds stick to the sides of the mortar. From this, the phrase has come to refer to someone attaching himself to various people, trying to curry favor. The nominal form goma-suri (a flatterer, flattery) and passive form goma o surareru (be flattered) also are frequently used.
EXAMPLES
1. Kare wa itsumo buchō ni goma o sutte iru.
He is always currying favor with the department chief.
2. Anata ni goma o surarete mo, ureshiku wa arimasen yo.
Even if you try to butter me up, I won't be pleased.
3. Watashi ni goma o suru hitsuyō wa arimasen.
There is no need to court my favor.
4. Anata o homete irun' desu. Goma-suri de wa arimasen. I am complimenting you. This is not bootlicking.
gongo-dōdan
scandalous, perfectly outrageous
SHACHŌ:
Kaisha no kane o tsukai-komu to wa gongo-dōdan, kind wa kubi da.
KAISHAIN:
Hontō
