Sunday, February 10, 2008

Freezing my Buns Off!

Is it cold enough for you? I’ve lived in Osaka for 16 years, but I’ve never seen it snow like it did yesterday! When I got off at my subway station last night, I was greeted by this…

That's my bike!
A commonly misused word in “Japanese English” is hip. In English, your hips are the two bones at the front of your lower body, the ones that let you bend your legs in front of you when you sit down.
In English, your oshiri is called many things. The most polite words are “buttocks” and “bottom.” Less polite but commonly used words are “butt” (the short form of buttocks), “bum” (Usually only used in British English), “buns,” “ass,” and “arse.” (“Ass” is more commonly used in American English while “arse” is more commonly used in British English. For some reason, “ass” is considered more polite than “arse,” even though they are basically the same word. You could use either word with your close friends, but you definitely wouldn’t use them at work or in front of your friends’ parents!)

When it’s really cold, we sometimes say, “I’m freezing my bum/butt/buns/etc off!” I was definitely freezing my buns off on the way home last night!

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