Nishi Muku Samurai

Oct 25, 2016 00:24
There are two types of month; that has the 31st day, or doesn't have the day.

Today, I will introduce the Japanese phrase "nishi muku samurai," which is used for remembering months that don't have the 31st day (that is, February, April, June, September and November).

The literal meaning of "nishi muku samurai" is "a samurai who are facing the west," and it can be divided into "ni", "shi", "mu", "ku", and "samurai".

Here, "ni" means "two" (February), "shi" means "four" (April), "mu" means "six" (June), and "ku" means "nine" (September) in Japanese.

Furthermore, "samurai" implies "eleven" (November), but the reason is a little complicated.

Eleven is written as "十一" in kanji, and when you arrange it vertically, it becomes "士".

"士" (shi) means "武士" (bushi), and "武士" is equivalent to "侍" (samurai), hence "侍" can express "eleven".
西向く侍

12ヶ月の中には、31日まである月とそうでない月があります。

今日は、31日までない月、すなわち2月、4月、6月、9月、11月を覚えるための言葉「西向く侍」を紹介します。

「西向く侍」を分解すると、「に」「し」「む」「く」「さむらい」となり、それぞれ「2」「4」「6」「9」「11」を表します。

この中で、「侍」が「11」を表す理由だけが、少し変わっています。

「11」を漢字で書くと「十一」となり、これを縦に並べると「士」となります。

「士」は「武士」を表し、「武士」は「侍」を表すため、「侍」と書いて「11」を表すようになりました。
No. 1 dave's correction
  • There are two types of month; that has the 31st day, or doesn't have the day.
  • There are two types of months; Ones that has the 31st day, or doesn't have the day.
  • Today, I will introduce the Japanese phrase "nishi muku samurai," which is used for remembering months that don't have the 31st day (that is, February, April, June, September and November).
  • This sentence is perfect! No correction needed!
  • The literal meaning of "nishi muku samurai" is "a samurai who are facing the west," and it can be divided into "ni", "shi", "mu", "ku", and "samurai".
  • The literal meaning of "nishi muku samurai" is "a samurai that faces west," and it can be divided into "ni", "shi", "mu", "ku", and "samurai".
  • Here, "ni" means "two" (February), "shi" means "four" (April), "mu" means "six" (June), and "ku" means "nine" (September) in Japanese.
  • This sentence is perfect! No correction needed!
  • Furthermore, "samurai" implies "eleven" (November), but the reason is a little complicated.
  • This sentence is perfect! No correction needed!
I actually learned some of these randomly like 4510471 and 18782.
Toru
Thank you so much for correcting my post!
I didn't know "4510471", but it's interesting.

Many Japanese people love such a play on words.
No. 2 ピポ's correction
アメリカ人は節で覚える。左手の小指の節は一月。左手の小指と薬指の(谷)間は二月。節は31日の月を表して、二つ節の間は31日以下の月を表す。左手は人差し指に数えとめて、右手の人差し指で数え続ける。

英語の指の名前

親指   thumb (意味がないと思うけど、調べなかった)
人差し指 pointer finger (人差し指と同じ意味)
中指   middle finger (中指と同じ意味)
薬指   ring finger (結婚指輪の指)
小指   pinky (意味がないと思うけど、調べなかった)


↓ダイアグラム↓

http://lifehacker.com/232828/macgyver-tip-use-your-knuckles-to-remember-each-months-days
Toru
Thank you so much for letting me know that!

実は、日本でも同様に拳を使った覚え方が使われています。
地域によって変わるのか世代によって変わるのかわかりませんが、ほとんどの日本人は「西向く侍」か「拳の山(谷)を数える方法」のどちらかを使っているようです。
ピポ
私は拳の山と谷の覚える方法を来年知りましたw

その頃の先はある月間の日の数だけ知っていたけど、知る必要があると、誰かを聞くしかありませんでしたww。
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