2:
Yes, take that fellow—he's a tennis player, isn't he?
Ba-chigai, which combines the ba from basho (place) and chigai (difference), indicates something that does not belong or is unsuitable for a particular place. Other expressions employing chigai are ire-chigai (pass a person at an entrance), omoi-chigai (misapprehension), kan-chigai (misunderstanding), kiki-chigai (mishearing), and dan-chigai (vast difference).
EXAMPLES
1. Kare wa kekkon-shiki ni ba-chigai nafukuso de shusseki shita.
He attended the wedding reception wearing clothes inappropriate for the occasion.
2. Ba-chigai na hito ga, kono kaigi ni dete imasu ne.
There are people at this conference who don't really belong.
3. Koko ni kare ga iru no wa, ba-chigai ja arimasen ka?
This isn't the kind of place you would expect to find him, is it?
4. Yahari, kaigi de no ano hatsugen wa ba-chigai datta deshō.
As I had thought, his comments in the meeting were out of place.
baka shōjiki
foolishly honest
TOMODACHI 1:
Dōshite koibito nifurareta no?
TOMODACHI 2:
Kanojo ni imōto nō ho ga kirei da ne 'tte ittan' da.
TOMODACHI 1:
Kimi wa hontō ni baka shōjiki da ne.
FRIEND 1:
Why did your girlfriend dump you?
FRIEND 2:
I told her I thought her younger sister was better looking.
FRIEND 1:
You really are too honest for your own good.
Baka shōjiki means being honest to such an extreme that it becomes foolish. Baka (foolish) is written with the characters for horse and deer, but these are merely phonetic substitutes and offer no insight into the word's meaning. Shōjiki means honest. Another common expression using baka is baka ni tsukeru kusuri wa nai, literally "no medicine can cure a fool."
EXAMPLES
1. Anata wa dōshite sonna ni baka shōjiki na no?
How can you be so naively honest?
2. Kare ga anna ni baka shōjiki na hito da to wa omowanakatta.
I never thought of him as being so gullible.
3. Kanojo ni hontō no koto o itte okoraseta no wa, baka shōjiki datta ka na?
I wonder if I was being too honest—telling her the truth and making her angry like that.
bakyaku o arawasu
show one's true colors
DANSHI GAKUSEI:
Asu wa shigoto no mensetsu nan' da. Keiken ga nai kara, shinpai da
JŌSHI GAKUSEI:
Hen na koto o itte, bakyaku o arawasanai yō ni ne.
MALE STUDENT:
Tomorrow I have a job interview. I don't have much experience, so I'm worried.
FEMALE STUDENT:
Well, just be careful you don't say something strange and give yourself away.
Bakyaku o arawasu, literally "to reveal the horse's legs," means to reveal one's true character and thus give oneself away. In Japanese drama, when people played the part of a horse, one person would act as the forequarters and one as the hindquarters. If the actor's legs became exposed, the audience would know the truth. From this came the meaning of showing one's true feelings or thoughts.
EXAMPLES
1. O-miai no seki de kanojo wa bakyaku o arawashita.
Upon meeting with her prospective husband, she showed her true self.
2. Musuko ga mensetsu shiken de bakyaku o arawasanai ka to shinpai desu.
I worry that my son might show his true colors during the job interview.
3. Sonojiken de, kare no bakyaku ga arawareta.
It was that incident that gave him away.
4. Kare wa yopparatte bakyaku o arawashita.
He got drunk and showed himself for what he really was.
ban-kuruwase
an upset, surprise
KISHA:
Kondo no senkyō no kekka wa igai deshita ne.
SEIJIKA:
Hontō desu yo. K-shi ga shushō ni naru to wa, taihen na bankuruwase desu.
REPORTER:
The outcome of the recent election was quite a surprise.
POLITICIAN:
Indeed. It was a real surprise to see Mr. K become prime minister.
Ban-kuruwase comes from the world of sumo and refers to a surprise upset. Before each tournament, a list of the wrestlers (banzuke) is posted, ranking the wrestlers from lowest to highest. When a higher-ranked wrestler is beaten by someone of lower rank, the order of the banzuke is upset (kuruwaseru).
EXAMPLES
1. Kyō no sumō wa, yokozuna ga makeru to iu ban-kuruwase ga atta.
There was a surprise upset in today's sumo; one of the top wrestlers was defeated.
2. Kare ga ichi-i ni naru to wa, tonda ban-kuruwase datta.
It was quite an upset for him to finish in first place.
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