by Matthew

I learnt a good idiom from a student yesterday:
気は確かか？ // Ki ha tashika ka?
It means something like, “Are you on drugs?” Or, “Do you have rocks in your head?” Another version is this:

気でも狂ったのか？ // Ki demo kurutta noka?

It is maybe a little more interesting than something like: ばかじゃない？

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by Matthew

こう言うことを言うだろうと思う：

五十歩百歩
ごじっぽひゃっぽ

or if you prefer: “Six of one, half a dozen of the other.” Less poetically put as: “There is not much to choose between the two.”

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by Matthew

Teaching today, my student reacted by saying this:

目からうろこ！

which comes from 目からうろこが落ちる (lit. “the scales fall from my eyes”) . As a teacher that is a pretty good reaction. It means that: なにかがきっかけとなり、急に視野が開けて、物事の実態が理解できるようになることのたとえ。That is: An image of, through some cue (or impetus), suddenly having your outlook broadened and understanding the true nature of something. A bonus [...]

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