Chidoriashi (千鳥足 - Walking Zigzag)

Apr 24, 2019 22:53
Chidoriashi

To walk with a stagger (especially in a drunk state) is called 'chidoriashi' (千鳥足) in Japanese.

Since 'chidori' (千鳥) means "plover" and 'ashi' (足) means "foot," the literal meaning of 'chidoriashi' is "plover feet."

Have you ever seen plover's feet or its way of walking?

Many birds have a supportive finger on the back side of their feet, but plovers have only three fingers in front of their feet, so they walk in zigzags.

Because of this, 'chidoriashi' came to mean to walk zigzag or with a stagger, especially while drunk.
千鳥足

酒によってふらふらと歩くことを、日本語で「千鳥足」と言います。

「千鳥」は "plover"、「足」は "foot" を意味するので、「千鳥足」の文字どおりの意味は "plover feet" となります。

千鳥の足の指や歩き方を見たことはありますか?

多くの鳥の足には後ろ側に支える指がありますが、千鳥の足は前に3本の指があるのみで、左右ジグザクに進みます。

このことから、「千鳥足」は左右によろめいて歩くこと、特に酒によった人の歩き方を意味するようになったとうわけです。
No. 1 rebarnes22's correction
  • To walk with a stagger (especially in a drunk state) is called 'chidoriashi' (千鳥足) in Japanese.
  • To walk with a stagger (especially in a drunken state) is called 'chidoriashi' (千鳥足) in Japanese.
  • Have you ever seen plover's feet or its way of walking?
  • Have you ever seen a plover's feet or its way of walking?
  • Many birds have a supportive finger on the back side of their feet, but plovers have only three fingers in front of their feet, so they walk in zigzags.
  • This sentence is perfect! No correction needed!
  • Because of this, 'chidoriashi' came to mean to walk zigzag or with a stagger, especially while drunk.
  • This sentence is perfect! No correction needed!
Very interesting and well-written!
Toru
Thank you so much for the correction! :)
Let me ask you a question. "Feet" is plural, but is "a plover's feet" grammatically correct?
rebarnes22
Yes. since a plover has 2 feet, if you are referring to both of them, you should use the plural..
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