AnimeSennin's Japanese 101

[Daniel]

As you all know, I'm in the middle of the long road to learning Japanese.

I thought I'd make a thread where I'll periodically post various Japanese lessons. This'll most likely just be a word or phrase that I came across and found interesting.


Here's my first lesson!

油断 - "yudan" (sounds like "you done")

油 = oil
断 = to sever

油断 = negligence

As per Halpern's dictionary, this word comes out of an old tale of a monarch who made his retainer hold a pot of oil to test his concentration. If even one drop of the oil spilled, the retainer would be killed (have his life severed off). So, oil + sever came to mean negligence.

This word is actually used fairly often. Try to listen for it next time you watch Dragonball, for example (I'm looking at you, David )

[greg]

Thanks, that's a new word for me. I was lazy the first time I lived in Japan, but this time around I intend to study for the JLPT. I might start at level 3 and try to work up to level 2 the next year.