Yomi しんぞうにけがはえている Rōmaji shinzou ni ke ga haeteiru Type idiom Literal Meaning hair is growing on one’s heart Meaning have a lot of nerve; audacious; be immune to criticism/pressure; thick-skinned Additional Info The figure of speech is similar to that of “thick-skinned” (hairy skin is usually thicker than the one without hair) Synonym 神経が太い, 図々しい, 怖いもの知らず Antonym 繊細, 気にしい, 豆腐メンタル Example 彼は心臓に毛が生えているから、炎上しても気にしない As he is thick-skinned, he doesn’t care even if he comes under fireRead More

Yomi へそでちゃをわかす Rōmaji heso de cha o wakasu Type idiom Literal Meaning make tea using one’s navel Meaning impossible/ludicrous/insane; what a joke Additional Info It is used to scorn someone when you hear them saying something ludicrous. This idiom is very famous yet not commonly used in a conversation. Synonym 馬鹿馬鹿しい, アホらしい, 不可能, 無理, 噴飯物 Example お前がサッカー選手になりたい？へそで茶を沸かすわ！ You want to be a professional soccer player? What a joke!Read More

Yomi さばをよむ Rōmaji saba o yomu Type idiom Literal Meaning read mackerels Meaning fudge/lie about numbers regarding oneself (e.g. age, height, weight, salary) for one’s benefit. Synonym ごまかす Additional Info Usage サバ (mackerel) is written as 鯖 in kanji. Usually, it is used as “Xでサバを読む”, where X is what you lie about, such as your age. You can also say “Xをサバ読む”, where the particle ‘を’ is put after X to mark it as an object of the verb ‘サバ読む’. Origin There are a couple of theories about its origin, and the most accepted one pertains to how fishers used to count mackerels in a fish market; in the old days…Read More

Yomi やくしゃのたまご Rōmaji yakusha no tamago Type idiom Literal Meaning an egg of an actor Meaning an unfledged actor; a budding actor; an aspiring actor; an actor in the making Additional Info Similarly, you can also say 医者の卵 (an egg of a doctor), 研究者の卵 (an egg of a researcher), 弁護士の卵 (an egg of a lawyer), etc. Example 彼はまだ役者の卵なので、コンビニでバイトをして生計を立てている Because he is still an actor in the making, he works part-time at a convenience store to make ends meet.Read More