替玉受験 (kaedama juken) Meaning “Test-Taking Imposter”

Pronunciation

Definition

While 替え玉 (かえだま, kaedama) usually means “a second helping of ramen noodles”, it also has another unique meaning which is completely irrelevant to it: that is, “do something while pretending to be someone else”.  The most common phrase is “替え玉受験 (かえだま じゅけん, kaedama juken)”, which means “to take exams on behalf of someone else”.

A Funny Story about 替え玉受験

It was in 1975 when a 50-year-old man disguised himself as his daughter (!) and took the entrance exams of the women’s (!!) university, “津田塾つだじゅく”. Surprisingly, he managed to blend in with the other female students on the first day, but the next day someone finally realised that he was an old man, not a would-be student at the women’s university. At that time, he was an English teacher at high school, and his audacious and blatant behaviour astonished a number of people in Japan.

Word Structure

替え玉 consists of the two words “替かえ” meaning “exchange” and “玉だま”, a counting word for servings of noodles. 玉 also means “human” in a few old expressions such as “悪玉あくだま” and “善玉ぜんだま”, meaning “bad person” and “good person”, respectively. That explains why 替え玉 has two quite different meanings: “a second helping of noodles” and “impersonation of someone”.

Example Sentences

Ex1

替え玉で選挙せんきょ投票とうひょうを行うことは違法いほうだ

It is illegal to vote in election by pretending to be someone else

Ex2

入試にゅうしで替え玉受験が行われたことが報道ほうどうされてから、あの大学だいがくは有名ゆうめいになった。

The university became famous after it was reported that kaedama juken was conducted at the entrance exams.

Synonyms and Related Expressions

Synonyms: 身み代がわわり (scapegoat)、影武者かげむしゃ (decoy)
Synonyms in English: impersonation, decoy, do something pretending to be someone else
Related words and phrases: 替かえ玉だま受験じゅけん

See also

Meanings of Kaedama, Menkata and Barikata of Ramen Noodles

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