Takashi's Japanese Dictionary

A blog for learning Japanese that introduces Japanese slang words and Idioms!

  • Home
  • Dictionary Tools ▾
    • Furigana and Definition Lookup
    • Japanese Synonym Finder
    • Katakana Word Converter
  • Blog Posts ▾
    • Latest Posts
    • Phrases by Topic
    • Slang
    • Idiom
    • Column
    • Grammar
    • 英語に関する記事 (in Japanese)
  • Lesson Slides ▾
    • For Complete Beginners
    • For Intermediate/Advanced Learners
  • Vocab List
  • What’s New
  • Social Media
  • About
You are here: Home / Slang / Meaning of ドーハの奇跡 “Miracle in Doha” in Japanese

Meaning of ドーハの奇跡 “Miracle in Doha” in Japanese

December 2, 2022

Definition

ドーハの奇跡 (dōha no kiseki, “The Miracle in/of Doha”) refers to Japan’s seismic underdog victories in FIFA World Cup 2022 over the two European powerhouses, Spain (on 1 Dec 2022) and Germany (on 23 Nov 2022). In both matches, Japan was losing 0-1 in the first half with a very low ball possession rate (e.g. 14% against Spain), yet turned the game around and defeated the opponents 2-1. As a consequence, against all odds, Japan became the winner of the group league and advanced to the round of 16, along with Spain; Germany and Costa Rica, on the other hand, were eliminated from the tournament.

This term was coined in contrast with ドーハの悲劇 (dōha no higeki, “Tragedy/Agony of Doha”) — the moniker for Japan’s shocking drew with Iraq in the World Cup qualification match held in Doha in 1993, where Japan regretfully let the chance slip through its fingers at the last minute to make its very first appearance at the World Cup.  Although Japan was able to make it in the next four years, the tragedic memories lingered in many Japanese football fans’ minds for a long time; so will their joy over the miracle in 2022.

Notably, “The Miracle in Doha” was led by the head coach 森保一 (Hajime Moriyasu), who is one of the members of the so-called “Class of Doha” (ドーハ組, Dōha gumi), i.e. the players who experienced the unforgettable tragedy in 1993 on the pitch.

大金星 and 番狂わせ

Both 大金星 and 番狂わせ were used many times by the media to describe Japan’s giant-killing wins.

大金星 (だいきんぼし, daikinboshi) literally means “a big gold star” and figuratively “an upset; underdog victory; giant killing”. This term originates from Sumo and is often used to describe an upset in sports. 金星 (kinboshi) also has the same meaning, but it’s much more common to add 大 (dai, “big”) in front of them. It’s often used as 大金星を挙(あ)げる, meaning “to pull off an underdog victory”.

Similarly, 番狂わせ (ばんくるわせ, ban kuruwase) means “a surprising result that goes against all the odds”. Here, 番 means 順番 (“order”) and 狂わせ(る) means “to disturb/upset”. It’s often used as “番狂わせを起(お)こす” or “番狂わせを演(えん)じる”, meaning “to cause an upset”.

Related Article

See the Wikipedia article for the details of “Tragedy/Agony of Doha”.

cf. Slang Meaning of 持っている

持っている

Filed Under: Slang

Related Posts

  • 鬼かわいい means “So cute”? Japanese Slang/Idioms about Oni

    鬼かわいい means “So cute”? Japanese Slang/Idioms about Oni

  • Japanese “活 Words”: 婚活 (Konkatsu), 就活/終活 (Shūkatsu)

  • 40 Funny Old Japanese Slang Words to Sound like Oyaji (Old Men)

    40 Funny Old Japanese Slang Words to Sound like Oyaji (Old Men)

  • 4 Meanings of ノリ (Nori) in Japanese Slang

    4 Meanings of ノリ (Nori) in Japanese Slang

  • Funny Japanese Gaming Slang Terms

    Funny Japanese Gaming Slang Terms

Featured Posts:

  • Japanese Conversation Practice to Master 気-related Idioms
  • “Gakkī Loss”: Meaning of ロス (“Loss”) in Japanese
  • 30+ Japanese Words for “Very”: Synonyms of とても (totemo)
  • 40 Ways of Saying "Many" in Japanese (Ooi, Ippai, Takusan, and More...)
  • 8 Funny and Cute Japanese Cat Idioms
  • Success Story of Ichiro Suzuki: What He Means to Japanese Baseball Fans

Popular Posts:

  • “The moon is beautiful, isn’t it?” Could Mean “I love You” in Japanese
  • Meaning of 卍 (manji) and マジ卍 (Maji manji) in Japanese
  • Funny Japanese Gaming Slang Terms
  • Meaning of Kenja Time (賢者タイム, kenjataimu) in Japanese Slang
  • Boku, Ore, Watashi, Atashi: 15 Japanese Person Pronouns
  • 4 Meanings of ノリ (Nori) in Japanese Slang
  • Meaning of ぼっち (Bocchi) and クリぼっち (Kuri Bocchi) in Japanese Slang
  • Meaning and Difference of ガチ (gachi) and マジ (maji) in Japanese
  • あけおめ (Akeome): Casual Japanese New Year’s Greeting
  • 5 Meanings of ペラペラ (pera pera) in Japanese
  • なんでやねん (nandeyanen): Meaning and Usage
  • 凸, 凹, 〆, 卍: Meaning of Weird and Funny Japanese Kanji
  • 40 Japanese Words Meaning “Many/Much” (Ooi, Ippai, Takusan, …)
  • 40 Funny Old Japanese Slang Words to Sound like Oyaji (Old Men)
  • 50 Japanese Words and Idioms about Love & Relationship
  • とにかく (Tonikaku) Means More Than “Anyway”
  • List of Similar and Confusing Kanji With Different Meanings
  • 9 Essential Kansai Dialect (Kansai-ben) Words and Phrases
  • Japanese Slang 帰宅部 (kitaku bu) Meaning ‘Go-Home Club’
  • Japanese and English Words that Rhyme in Both Languages
  • Meaning of “Paper Driver” in Japlish (Japanese English)
  • Japanese Wasei-Eigo List (“Japlish”) and Their Meanings
  • Meaning of Kaedama, Menkata and Barikata of Ramen Noodles
  • 闇鍋 (yaminabe): Meaning “Dark Hot Pot” with Random Ingredients
  • Essential Grammar in Kansai Dialect (関西弁, Kansai ben)
  • 30+ Japanese Words for “Very” and Their Nuances
  • Meaning of あかん (akan), the Essential Kansai-Dialect Word
  • Meaning of 相合傘 (ai ai gasa): Lovely Dream of Japanese Kids
  • List of Japanese Abbreviated Words and Phrases
  • Meaning of “Three-Day Monk” (三日坊主, mikka bouzu) in Japanese

Search on Takashionary
(e.g. 'food', 'cat', 'idiom')

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

ブログランキング・にほんブログ村へPVアクセスランキング にほんブログ村

Search on Takashionary
(e.g. 'food', 'cat', 'idiom')

Trending Posts

  • “The moon is beautiful, isn’t it?” Could Mean “I love You” in Japanese
  • Meaning of 卍 (manji) and マジ卍 (Maji manji) in Japanese
  • Meaning of ぼっち (Bocchi) and クリぼっち (Kuri Bocchi) in Japanese Slang
  • 4 Meanings of ノリ (Nori) in Japanese Slang
  • Boku, Ore, Watashi, Atashi: 15 Japanese Person Pronouns
  • Funny Japanese Gaming Slang Terms
  • 5 Meanings of 気 (ki) and 30 気-related Japanese Phrases
  • List of Similar and Confusing Kanji With Different Meanings
  • 50 Japanese Words and Idioms about Love & Relationship
  • Essential Grammar in Kansai Dialect (関西弁, Kansai ben)
  • Real and Unknown Meanings of “Hentai” in Japanese
  • 40 Japanese Words Meaning “Many/Much” (Ooi, Ippai, Takusan, …)
  • Meaning and Difference of ガチ (gachi) and マジ (maji) in Japanese
  • 5 Meanings of ペラペラ (pera pera) in Japanese
  • 凸, 凹, 〆, 卍: Meaning of Weird and Funny Japanese Kanji
  • 30+ Japanese Words for “Very” and Their Nuances
  • Japanese Slang 帰宅部 (kitaku bu) Meaning ‘Go-Home Club’
  • Meaning of Kenja Time (賢者タイム, kenjataimu) in Japanese Slang
  • List of Confusing “Japlish/Janglish” (Japanese English)
  • Meaning of Kaedama, Menkata and Barikata of Ramen Noodles
  • Meaning of あかん (akan), the Essential Kansai-Dialect Word
  • なんでやねん (nandeyanen): Meaning and Usage
  • 9 Essential Kansai Dialect (Kansai-ben) Words and Phrases
  • List of Japanese Abbreviated Words and Phrases
  • What’s 合コン (gōkon) and 街コン (machikon) in Japanese
  • 40 Funny Old Japanese Slang Words to Sound like Oyaji (Old Men)
  • List of 50+ Japanese Words to Describe Personality
  • あけおめ (Akeome): Casual Japanese New Year’s Greeting
  • 20 Japanese Twitter Slang Words in 2010s/2020s
  • ヤンキー (yankee) Means “(Old-Fashioned) Loutish Youths” in Japanese

Popular Posts

  • “The moon is beautiful, isn’t it?” Could Mean “I love You” in Japanese
  • 9 Essential Kansai Dialect (Kansai-ben) Words and Phrases
  • Boku, Ore, Watashi, Atashi: 15 Japanese Person Pronouns
  • 40 Funny Old Japanese Slang Words to Sound like Oyaji (Old Men)
  • Meaning of Kaedama, Menkata and Barikata of Ramen Noodles
  • Meaning of Kenja Time (賢者タイム, kenjataimu) in Japanese Slang
  • 30+ Essential Japanese Words to Describe Food
  • 4 Meanings of ノリ (Nori) in Japanese Slang
  • Meaning and Difference of ガチ (gachi) and マジ (maji) in Japanese
  • 十八番 (ohako) Meaning “The Song You Sing Best”

Words by Theme

  • 9 Essential Kansai Dialect (Kansai-ben) Words and Phrases
  • Boku, Ore, Watashi, Atashi: 15 Japanese Person Pronouns
  • 40 Funny Old Japanese Slang Words to Sound like Oyaji (Old Men)

Idiom

  • 十八番 (ohako) Meaning “The Song You Sing Best”
  • How The Japanese Word 神 (Kami, ‘God’) Is Used Metaphorically
  • Japanese Idiom “Put on a Cat”, 猫をかぶる (neko wo kaburu)

Japlish

  • 深夜テンション (shinya tension) Meaning “Midnight High” in Japanese Slang
  • Japanese Wasei-Eigo List (“Japlish”) and Their Meanings
  • Meaning of “Paper Driver” in Japlish (Japanese English)

Slang

  • 女たらし (onna tarashi) Meaning ‘Lady’s Man’ in Japanese
  • Toka, Kana, Kamo: Japanese Vague Expressions
  • Japanese “活 Words”: 婚活 (Konkatsu), 就活/終活 (Shūkatsu)

Column

  • “The moon is beautiful, isn’t it?” Could Mean “I love You” in Japanese
  • イチロー (Ichiro): What He Means to Japanese Baseball Fans
  • Meaning of 遠慮 (enryo) and 空気を読む (kuuki wo yomu)

Grammar

  • Essential Grammar in Kansai Dialect (関西弁, Kansai ben)
  • Slang Meaning of 全然 (Zenzen) Without ない (Nai)
  • Ageru, Kureru, and Morau: Meaning, Grammar and Difference

日本語記事

  • 韻を踏むお茶目な英語表現、単語、フレーズ、イディオム30+
  • 頭に情景が浮かぶ面白い英語フレーズ、イディオム30+
  • many, much, a lot ofの類語、 言い換え英語表現50+の使い分け
  • 直訳すると変な英語表現、イディオム12
  • 「開き直る」の2つの意味と英訳

Categories

Copyright © 2023 · All Rights Reserved