Thinking about KY……

No, not the KY that the Korea project leader forgot to use when he dreamed up the plan for the project I’m going back to on Sunday……………….

KY is a new Japanese slang term. KY is short for kuki ga yomenai, (”can’t read between the lines” or “can’t sense the atmosphere”), which is used to describe indelicate or unperceptive people. Example: That guy is so KY.

Come to think of it, maybe it does describe the guy running this Korea project. 🙂

Anyway, a blog called Pink Tentacle has published the top 60 buzzwords for Japanese this year. They reflect the news that has occured last year and also they make for some interesting alliteration when spoken in Japanese. The entire list can be found here.

Some of the ones I really liked:

Child-bearing machines [umu kikai ]: Health minister Hakuo Yanagisawa sparked a controversy when he referred to women as “child-bearing machines” in a January speech about Japan’s declining birthrate. In reference to how Japan might reverse the population decline, he said: “The number of women aged between 15 and 50 is fixed. Because the number of child-bearing machines and devices is fixed, all we can ask for is for them to do their best per head.”

Bottom-biting bug [oshiri kajiri mushi ]: Oshiri Kajiri Mushi (”Bottom Biting Bug”), the popular song about a dancing bug that likes to bite people on the butt, became a huge hit on Minna No Uta, a daily NHK program featuring original animated videos for family-oriented songs. Oshiri Kajiri Mushi became the featured dance number at this year’s school athletic meets, cultural festivals and other events nationwide.

“Status-gap marriage” [kakusakon ]: A “status-gap marriage” is one in which there is a clear gap in income, pedigree, social status, etc. between the husband and wife. The phrase usually refers to marriages in which a woman marries “beneath herself,” such as the marriage between actress Norika Fujiwara (who I’ve lusted after since I got to Japan) and her husband, the lesser-known comedian Tomonori Jinnai.

Akachan post :
Akachan post (”baby post”) refers to the controversial drop box for unwanted babies set up at a hospital in Kumamoto this year, which is designed to provide parents a safe and anonymous way to abandon their babies. Similar baby hatches have been set up in the past, including one at a foster home in Japan’s Gunma prefecture that was used from 1986 to 1991.

Dried-fish woman [himono onna ]: Himono onna (”dried-fish woman”) is an expression used in the movie Hotaru No Hikari to describe the main character, a woman in her 20s who has renounced the pursuit of romance. She spends her evenings reading manga and drinking at home alone, and she spends her weekends lazing around in bed. She’s a dried-fish woman. Like more than a few American women these days.

Ogushio ]: .Ogushio is the nickname (abbreviation) given to the women’s doubles badminton team, Kumiko Ogura (Ogu) and Reiko Shiota (Shio), who also happen to be rather good-looking. Their official photo collection, called “Road to Beijing,” created a stir when it was released. Okushio are aiming for gold in the Beijing Olympics

Tetsuko : The unhealthy obsession with trains has long been a predominantly male pursuit, but the numbers of female train otaku — known as “Tetsuko” — are on the rise.

Motepuyo: Motepuyo, a term that means something like “chubby cute,” describes women who are plump, small in stature, and cute. With a fine line between motepuyo and chubby, some say the only difference is whether or not a woman has a cute face.

Otona-kawaii : Otona-kawaii (”adult cute”) refers to the fashion style of women in their late 20s to 30s who wear girlie outfits like jumper skirts and mini-dresses adorned with lace and ribbon. Otona-kawaii became the special catchphrase of AneCan magazine.

So there you have it-more ways to insult your boss and co-workers without them know what you are saying-unless you are in Japan of course!