Test your Japanese savvy!

[Glenn]

Wow, you got it! I really was expecting to catch people off guard with that one. Maybe I should have gone for something more exotic, like mipo kokonosodimari mutu. If you get that one I'll really be impressed!

 

[Mikawa Ossan]

What are the three readings for the kanji below?

'm going to guess くも, たつ, and りゅう

Kumo, was Glenn correct? I must admit I'm not familiar with this Kanji. What does it mean?

Maybe I should have gone for something more exotic, like mipo kokonosodimari mutu. If you get that one I'll really be impressed!

That's a good one, Glenn! I don't know what mipo is, but the rest should be 96. How's that?

Here's one that might be a little tough, as it has to do with Japanese legend.

What is the name of イザナキノミコト `s wife?

 

[epigene]

It is the character with the largest number of strokes. It's not "kanji" per se and is highly likely to be a creative invention:

Å'à‰æ"'Ì'½'¢Š¿Žš'Æ'ÍH

Very interesting but totally impractical.

 

[Mikawa Ossan]

Here's one that might be a little tough, as it has to do with Japanese legend.
What is the name of イザナキノミコト `s wife?

Here are a couple of hints.

イザナキノミコト and his wife are written about in 古事記 and 日本書紀 . According to these legends, they are the "parents" of not only the Japanese archipegelo, but also the "parents" of what eventually become the imperial lineage. There are several ways to write イザナキノミコト in kanji, but the standard way in 古事記 is 伊耶那岐命 .

 

[Glenn]

天照？ That's my best guess, and it's the only one I can remember right now.

By the way, mipo is 300.

 

[Mikawa Ossan]

天照？ That's my best guess, and it's the only one I can remember right now.
By the way, mipo is 300.

Well Glenn, you're pretty close. 天照大御神 is actually the daughter of イザナキノミコト . The answer is:

His wife's name is イザナミノミコト or in standard 古事記 kanji, 伊耶那美命 .

So is the answer to your question 396 then, Glenn?

Next question!

What is the difference between 天皇 and 皇帝 ?

 

[Glenn]

So is the answer to your question 396 then, Glenn?

Yes.

And I'm going to guess era for the next one.

 

[doinkies]

天皇 refers to the Emperor of Japan only, while 皇帝 refers to emperors in other countries?

 

[Glenn]

I just came across this one and found it interesting: what's the reading of 質感?

 

[Mikawa Ossan]

天皇 refers to the Emperor of Japan only, while 皇帝 refers to emperors in other countries?

Yes. Although isn't it interesting that we translate Tenno as Emperor, and always have, even when Japan is and was (when we first starting to refer to him in English) by no means an empire?

what's the reading of 質感?

しつかん ?

Here's a new one: What is the Japanese flag referred to as in Japanese? (And I do not mean 国旗 !)

 

[doinkies]

Here's a new one: What is the Japanese flag referred to as in Japanese? (And I do not mean 国旗 !)

「日の丸」ですよね。

 

[J C]

The posting about the flag made me think of the Japanese national anthem. Fairly easy question, I guess, but what's it called? For extra points, what does it mean and can anyone explain the words in it?

 

[Gaijinian]

君が代
Something like, "Long live the lord( =Emperor)," or "the Emperor is the world...
First ever anthem, also the shortest
Hmmm...
How many prefectures does Japan have?

 

[Glenn]

Mikawa -- yes.

Japan has 47 prefectures.

 

[Mikawa Ossan]

If you're reading something from pre-war times, and you come across this...

弗で拂ふのであらう。

How would you read it? And what does it mean?

 

[Glenn]

（何か）で払うのだろう。 I don't know what the first word is. It means "(someone) will probably pay with (the word I don't know)."

 

[Mikawa Ossan]

弗 is the kanji for ドル or dollars.

The rest is pretty good!

Next question:

What language does the word ビール come from?

 

[Glenn]

German

Oh... my... god. I should have guess dollars. It even looks like a dollar sign! :banghead:

 

[Mikawa Ossan]

Actually, Dutch!

How about マヨネーズ ?

 

[Glenn]

The nice Germans!

French?

 

[Mikawa Ossan]

Final answer?

Yes, that's right, French!

What is a ホッチキス , and where does the word come from? (I mean, what did/does it refer to originally?)

 

[doinkies]

A ホッチキス is a stapler and it refers to the inventor of the stapler whose last name was Hotchkiss, if I remember correctly.

 

[J C]

Following on with the katakana-theme. What do the following unusual katakana-words mean? And why?

コンセント

ジョッキ

ハンドル

サービス

And no, not the obvious consent, jockey, handle and service.

 

[Glenn]

コンセント is an electrical outlet, and I believe ハンドル is a steering wheel. ジョッキ is 初耳 to me, and I thought that サービス was pretty much the same as the English "service."

To add my own, how about ランドセル?

 

[Mikawa Ossan]

コンセント I defer to Glenn's earlier post.

ジョッキ A beer mug, of course! (Glenn, this is one of those survival words you'll need to know! )

ハンドル I again defer to Glenn's earlier post.

サービス A freebie.

As to the why, I would have no idea without looking them all up!


Next question:

What is the answer to 二かける二は？