＜prologue＞
I started a blog called “The Baby Boomer Generation’s Miscellaneous Blog”（Dankai-sedai no garakutatyou:団塊世代の我楽多（がらくた）帳） in July 2018, about a year before I fully retired. More than six years have passed since then, and the number of articles has increased considerably.
So, in order to make them accessible to people who don’t understand Japanese, I decided to translate my past articles into English and publish them.
It may sound a bit exaggerated, but I would like to make this my life’s work.
It should be noted that haiku and waka （Japanese short fixed form poems） are quite difficult to translate into English, so some parts are written in Japanese.
If you are interested in haiku or waka and would like to know more, please read introductory or specialized books on haiku or waka written in English.
I also write many articles about the Japanese language. I would be happy if these inspire more people to want to learn Japanese.
my blog’s URL:団塊世代の我楽多（がらくた）帳 | 団塊世代が雑学や面白い話を発信しています
my X’s URL:団塊世代の我楽多帳（@historia49）さん / X
I previously wrote an article about “Japanese phrases that are easily confused,” and there are also idioms that are easily confused. This time, I’d like to introduce some commonly confused idioms.
(1) “ada to naru” (to become useless)（「徒（あだ）となる」）
This means “to become useless” or “to become a waste.” “To ni naru” is a mispronunciation.
(2) “ichihime ni taro” (first a girl and then a boy)（「一姫二太郎」）
This means “ideally, a girl is born first, followed by a boy.” It is incorrect to say, “The ideal is to have three siblings, one girl and two boys.”
(3) “Ugatta mikata wo suru”(To have a cynical view)（「穿（うが）った見方をする」）
This means “to see through to the essence of something,” not “to have a twisted view.”
(4) “Ukiashi datu”（To become anxious and restless）（「浮足立つ」）
This means “to become anxious and restless,” not “to become excited and restless.”
(5) “A kyu senpan”(Class A war criminal)（「Ａ級戦犯」）
It refers to “someone who has committed a crime against peace,” not “a serious war criminal.” In modern times, it is sometimes used to mean “the person primarily responsible or ringleader when an organization fails to achieve its goals or suffers losses.”
(6) “Okubi nimo dasanai”(Not even a hint of burping)（「噯（おくび）にも出さない」）
“To keep something hidden, never mentioning it or showing any sign of it.” “Okubi” means “burp,” and can also be written as “噯気” or “噯気.”
(7) “Sha ni kamaeru”(To be cynical)（「斜（しゃ）に構える」）
The word’s etymology comes from the chudan (seigan) stance in kendo, in which the sword is held at an angle. It originally meant “taking a formal attitude; being prepared.” However, it has come to be misused to mean “approaching with a sarcastic or frivolous attitude,” and this usage seems to be more common today. It also implies “looking at the world or things from a skewed perspective.”
It can also be read as “hasu ni kamaeru(「はすにかまえる」)” , but it is incorrect to read it as “naname ni kamaeru(「ななめにかまえる」).”
(8) “Suzusii kao”(Silent Face)（「涼しい顔」）
It comes from “looking innocent or uninvolved” and means “pretending not to notice something that concerns you, even though it concerns you,” or “playing ignorant.”
It does not simply mean “looking calm.”
(9) “Tenjyo tenge yuiga dokuson”(I am the only one in heaven and earth.)(「天上天下唯我独尊（てんじょうてんげゆいがどくそん）」)
This phrase expresses human dignity, meaning “there is no being in this world more noble than the individual ‘I,'” as it were.
This phrase is based on the story in the “Mahāgama-sutra,” in which, upon his birth, Shakyamuni took seven steps in each direction, pointing one hand toward the sky and the other toward the earth while chanting. The “I” is not considered to refer to Shakyamuni himself, but to each individual.
However, “I am the only one in this world” is also sometimes used to mean “the arrogance of believing that there is no one superior to oneself.”
(10) “Torihada ga tatsu”(Goosebumps)（「鳥肌が立つ」）
This phrase refers to the appearance of goosebumps on the skin due to cold, fear, etc. This is also called “goosebumps rising.” Recently, it has also been used to express “deep emotion.”
(11) “Nagare ni sao sasu”(Use the oar to move the boat along the current)（「流れに掉（さお）さす」）
It means “things proceeding as you wish, like riding the current with a rudder.”
However, it is sometimes mistakenly used to mean “going against the current or majority trend.” According to the “Public Opinion Poll on the Japanese Language” published by the Agency for Cultural Affairs, 63.6% of people in the 2002 survey, 62.2% in the 2006 survey, and 59.4% in the 2012 survey understood this phrase incorrectly.
(12) “Hana mo hajirau”(Even flowers are shy)（「花も恥じらう」）
This phrase is used to describe a young woman’s beauty, meaning “so beautiful that even beautiful flowers feel inferior.” It is incorrect to say “a maiden so shy that even flowers are shy” when referring to a shy young woman.
During the Three Kingdoms period in China, there were two beautiful sisters known as the two sisters, Daiqiao and Xiaoqiao. Their beauty was described as “so shy that even flowers blush and the moon blots out its light” Syua heigetsu（羞花閉月）, and it is said that this idiom is derived from this phrase.
It is also said that the phrase originates from the phrase “Syuka bijin(羞花美人)” , which describes Yang Guifei, one of the “Four Great Beauties of China.”
The phrase “Chingyo rakugan(「沈魚落雁（ちんぎょらくがん）」)” (sinking fish and falling geese) is also used to describe a “peerless beauty.” This means that she is so beautiful that fish hide deep in their hiding places and geese fall from the sky.
(13) “Hiki komogomo”(Mixed joys and sorrows)(「悲喜交々（こもごも）」)
“To alternate between sadness and joy, or a mixture of sadness and joy.”
This phrase refers to “when one person experiences both joy and sadness.” It is incorrect to use it to mean “a situation where some people are happy because they passed, while others are sad because they failed,” as in “a mixed result announcement.”
(14) “Hi wo miruyorimo akiraka”(Extremely clear, leaving no room for doubt)(「火を見るよりも明らか」)
This phrase means “extremely clear, leaving no room for doubt.” It can also mean “the logic of something is clear.” It is generally used when a bad outcome is predicted.
The phrase “it’s as clear as day” is incorrect.