Saturday, December 25, 2004
Idioms are Everywhere!
The other day, I overheard an old man talking to his grandson as they were leaving the public bath in my neighborhood. The young boy was asking a question, but the grandfather didn't like the question because it was too simple. The old man refused to answer the question. Instead, he told the boy "頭で考えろ！"
I thought about that phrase for a minute. It's a funny thing to say, really. Why say "think with your head"? What else are you supposed to think with? Could you say "think with your foot" in Japanese; '足で考えろ'？
The answer is of course, no, you can't say that, but why? 'Thinking with your foot' sounds silly, but, in a way, so does 'think with your head', because thinking with anything else is impossible.
The Answer:
I think the answer is that '頭で考えろ' is a set phrase, or a semi-idiom in Japanese. The meaning is roughly: "That is such a stupid question that I refuse to answer it. Stop asking such questions and start learning how to think for yourself". It is not the kind of phrase that you make using logic, or make by choosing words to fit into a pattern. The meaning comes from the phrase and not from the words within. It is almost like one word. It is used 'as is' and you can't really change it. In other words, you don't 'assemble' it, you just use it as as one piece.
In fact, if you think about it, language is filled with these kinds of idioms! Actually, they are very convenient. If we put together everything we said it would get very tiring!
So, the more idioms like this that you know, the easier it becomes to speak or listen. Things become more automatic. There are less choices to be made, and you can be more confident about the meaning. After all, idioms are easy to understand. There is more meaning in them than just the words.
I've decided to listen for more idioms like this and try to remember them. Why don't you do this too!
By the way, there is a similar idiom in English that has exactly the same meaning.
It is: "Use your head".
I thought about that phrase for a minute. It's a funny thing to say, really. Why say "think with your head"? What else are you supposed to think with? Could you say "think with your foot" in Japanese; '足で考えろ'？
The answer is of course, no, you can't say that, but why? 'Thinking with your foot' sounds silly, but, in a way, so does 'think with your head', because thinking with anything else is impossible.
The Answer:
I think the answer is that '頭で考えろ' is a set phrase, or a semi-idiom in Japanese. The meaning is roughly: "That is such a stupid question that I refuse to answer it. Stop asking such questions and start learning how to think for yourself". It is not the kind of phrase that you make using logic, or make by choosing words to fit into a pattern. The meaning comes from the phrase and not from the words within. It is almost like one word. It is used 'as is' and you can't really change it. In other words, you don't 'assemble' it, you just use it as as one piece.
In fact, if you think about it, language is filled with these kinds of idioms! Actually, they are very convenient. If we put together everything we said it would get very tiring!
So, the more idioms like this that you know, the easier it becomes to speak or listen. Things become more automatic. There are less choices to be made, and you can be more confident about the meaning. After all, idioms are easy to understand. There is more meaning in them than just the words.
I've decided to listen for more idioms like this and try to remember them. Why don't you do this too!
By the way, there is a similar idiom in English that has exactly the same meaning.
It is: "Use your head".
