Another Japanese slang addition…And another reason why the language is difficult to learn.

While driving with my girlfriend today, we were cut off in traffic by another driver. This led to her mumbling a string of choice words in Japanese, only one of which I understood…

I said, “Did you just call that guy an octopus?”

Yes, the word she used was tako (たこ) pronounced like a Mexican taco.

“Why would you call him an octopus?”, I asked.

“It means ‘stupid’ like an octopus has a big head and no brain, just full of black ink.” She said, and told me that it’s in common usage in Japan.

I explained that in the US, calling a man an octopus, is usually reserved for a man who can’t keep his hands to himself around women.

This brings me to one of the things that makes Japanese so difficult for me. Although tako (たこ) can mean octopus(蛸), it can also mean a kite (凧) or a callus on the foot(胼胝), all pronounced the same way, with different kanji. This is similar to saying to, two and too or there and their, different spellings that sound the same when speaking, but are written differently.

The thing is, in Japanese, it’s very common, not just a few exceptions here and there. If I say “It looks like ‘Ame’…” I could be speaking of rain or candy, depending on the situation, or which kanji is used.　Although in the case of ‘Ame’ when speaking it, you can tell the difference based on how it is spoken.

A-me = rain

A-me= candy

Which is one more thing to remember, and another layer to learning the language. This is also a common attribute of the language.

Likewise, a particular kanji can have multiple pronunciations, with essentially the same meaning. For instance, the number 1 can be ‘one’ or ‘first’  in english depending on it’s usage, but again, in Japanese this seems to be more the rule, rather than the exception.

As a beginner to the language, I sometimes wonder how anyone could learn it, including the Japanese themselves… But I figure if over 120 million people can speak it, I can too…eventually…