DEPARTMENT CHIEF:
Would you like to come to my place tomorrow for a game of Japanese chess?
SUBORDINATE:
I'm sorry but Japanese chess is all Greek to me.
Chinpun-kanpun describes a word or thing that one does not understand at all. It is said that this expression came about when a person teasingly used it after having failed to understand the meaning of a Chinese word. Another theory suggests this word was an attempt to mimic a foreigner speaking. The shortened form is chinpunkan and is chiefly used in conversation.
EXAMPLES
1. Gaijin ni hanashi-kakerareta ga, chinpun-kanpun de wakaranakatta.
A foreigner spoke to me but I couldn't make head nor tail of what he said.
2. Watashi wa kottō no koto wa, mattaku chinpun-kanpun desu,
I don't have an inkling when it comes to antiques.
3. Kare no setsumei wa, watashi ni wa chinpun-kanpun da.
His explanation was just gibberish to me.
4. Konpyūtā no setsumeisho o yonda ga, marude chinpun-kanpun datta.
I read the computer operating instructions, but it was all Greek to me.
5. Watashi wa Supeingo wa chinpun-kanpun desu.
Spanish is unintelligible to me.
chōchin-mochi
flatterer
DŌRYŌ 1:
Ano hito, shachō ni o-seji bakari itte iru.
DŌRYŌ 2:
Ā iu no o, chōchin-mochi 'tte iun' desu yo.
COLLEAGUE 1:
That person is always flattering the president.
COLLEAGUE 2:
You call that type of person a brownnoser.
Chōchin-mochi refers to an assistant who is always trying to flatter his boss. This phrase comes from long ago, when wedding processions, funeral processions, and processions for people of importance were led by lamp bearers (chōchin-mochi).
EXAMPLES
1. Anata wa, itsu kara shachō no chōchin-mochi ni natta no desu ka?
Since when are you the president's minion?
2. Kare, tanomareta wake de mo nai noni, shachō no chōchin-mochi o shite iru.
He acts like the president's assistant even though he wasn't asked to.
3. Shinbun ga seijika no chōchin-mochi o suru to wa, nasakenai.
For a newspaper to be a pawn of politicians is shameful.
4. Kyōju, gakuchō no chōchin-mochi wa, yamete kudasai.
Professor, please stop playing up to the dean.
5. Anata ga buchō no chōchin-mochi o suru to wa omowanakatta.
I didn't think you would be the department chief's toady.
chōshi o awaseru
adjust to, adapt to, get along with
KAISHAIN 1:
Ashita, yasumō to omoun' da. Kachō ni kikaretara, byōki to itte oite kurenai ka.
KAISHAIN 2:
Wakatta. Umaku chōshi o awasete oku kara, shinpai suru na yo.
EMPLOYEE 1:
I think I'll take tomorrow off. If the boss asks, tell him I'm sick.
EMPLOYEE 2:
OK. Don't worry, I'll cover for you.
Chōshi o awaseru means to adjust pitch or tempo, to adjust one's attitude in order to get along well with others, or to adjust or fine tune a machine. Chōshi o awasareru is the passive form and chōshi o awasesaseru is the causative form. Expressions using chōshi include chōshi ga yoi (be skilled at getting along with others), chōshi ni noru (get carried away), and chōshi-hazure (be out of tune).
EXAMPLES
1. (ōkesutora de shikisha ga) Kimi, chōshi o awasete kuretamae.
(an orchestra conductor) You, get in tune with everyone else.
2. Kare ni chōshi o awaseru no mo, taihen desu ne.
It's difficult to get along with him.
3. Muri ni chōshi o awasenakute mo ii desu yo.
Just relax and be yourself.
4. Hontō wa, chōshi o awasetakunan' desu.
I really don't like to deal with him.
5. Onaji kurasu no hito-tachi to chōshi o awaso to dory oku shitan' desu ga.
I tried to get along with my classmates.
daikoku-bashira
mainstay, breadwinner
CHICHIOYA:
Watashi mo teinen-taishoku da. Kore kara wa omae ga kono ie no daikoku-bashira da yo.
MUSUKO:
Wakarimashita, Otōsan.
FATHER:
I've reached my retirement. From now on you are going to be the breadwinner in this family.
SON:
I understand, Dad.
Daikoku-bashira refers to the central figure that supports a household or a nation. When a wooden house is built, a thick pillar is erected in the center to support the whole building. This pillar is called the daikoku-bashira (central pillar). From this, the expression has come to describe a person who sustains a
