King Gnu · Japanese · 33 words
THE GREATEST UNKNOWN, Part 1
THE GREATEST UNKNOWN (2023) is King Gnu at their most literary, and the vocabulary is correspondingly formal. SPECIALZ, the Jujutsu Kaisen theme, is built from set phrases about brinkmanship - 今際の際, 往生際, 御法度, 有耶無耶 - and Senryo Yakusha stages life as a theatre: 出鱈目, 茶番劇, 緞帳, 走馬灯.
Vocabulary
| Word | Meaning | Example |
|---|---|---|
| 突き止める | to pin down, to ascertain (つきとめる) | 原因をようやく突き止めた。We finally pinned down the cause. |
| 迷宮入り | going unsolved (of a case) (めいきゅういり) | その事件は迷宮入りになった。That case went unsolved. |
| 心変わり | a change of heart (こころがわり) | 彼の心変わりに気づかなかった。I didn't notice his change of heart. |
| 寂れる | to become desolate, to decline (さびれる) | 商店街がすっかり寂れてしまった。The shopping street has become quite desolate. |
| 隙間風 | a draught (すきまかぜ) | 窓から隙間風が入ってくる。A draught is coming in through the window. |
| 今際の際 | one's dying moment (いまわのきわ) | 今際の際に何を思うのだろう。What does one think at the final moment? |
| 往生際 | the moment of giving in, how one accepts defeat (おうじょうぎわ) | 往生際が悪いと言われた。I was told I was a bad loser. |
| 余所者 | an outsider, a stranger (よそもの) | 余所者扱いされて寂しかった。Being treated as an outsider was lonely. |
| 有耶無耶 | left vague, swept under the rug (うやむや) | 責任の所在が有耶無耶になった。Where responsibility lay was left vague. |
| 御法度 | forbidden, strictly not done (ごはっと) | ここでは私語は御法度だ。Chatting is strictly forbidden here. |
| 庇う | to shield, to stand up for (かばう) | 彼はいつも後輩を庇っている。He always shields his juniors. |
| 悴む | to be numb with cold (かじかむ) | 手が悴んで鍵が回せない。My hands are too numb to turn the key. |
| 天秤 | a balance, scales (てんびん) | 二つの案を天秤にかけた。I weighed the two proposals against each other. |
| 厭う | to shun, to mind, to begrudge (いとう) | 彼は労を厭わない人だ。He is someone who never begrudges effort. |
| 白々しい | transparently false (しらじらしい) | 白々しいお世辞はやめて。Spare me the transparent flattery. |
| 帳 | a curtain, a veil (とばり) | 夜の帳が下りてきた。The veil of night has fallen. |
| 射通す | to shoot through, to pierce (いとおす) | 矢が的を射通した。The arrow shot clean through the target. |
| 余熱 | residual heat (よねつ) | 余熱で火が通るので待とう。It'll cook through in the residual heat, so let's wait. |
| 意気地 | backbone, guts (いくじ) | 意気地がないと言われて悔しい。It stung to be told I had no backbone. |
| 正夢 | a dream that comes true (まさゆめ) | あれは正夢になった。That dream came true. |
| 荒む | to grow rough, to become desolate (すさむ) | 生活が荒んでしまっていた。His way of living had grown rough. |
| 微塵 | a speck, the least bit (みじん) | 後悔は微塵もない。I haven't the slightest regret. |
| 大気圏 | the atmosphere (of a planet) (たいきけん) | 探査機が大気圏に突入した。The probe entered the atmosphere. |
| 酔いどれ | a drunkard (よいどれ) | 酔いどれの歌声が聞こえた。A drunkard's singing could be heard. |
| 燃え尽きる | to burn out completely (もえつきる) | 全力でやって燃え尽きた。I gave it everything and burned out. |
| 相方 | a partner, one's other half in a duo (あいかた) | 漫才の相方と長い付き合いだ。I've been with my comedy partner a long time. |
| 降参 | surrender, giving in (こうさん) | この暑さには降参だ。I give in to this heat. |
| 輪廻転生 | transmigration of souls, rebirth (りんねてんしょう) | 輪廻転生を信じる人もいる。Some people believe in rebirth. |
| 空回り | spinning one's wheels, effort going nowhere (からまわり) | やる気だけが空回りしている。The enthusiasm is just spinning its wheels. |
| 出鱈目 | nonsense, haphazard (でたらめ) | 出鱈目な数字を並べないで。Don't line up made-up figures. |
| 千鳥足 | a staggering, unsteady walk (ちどりあし) | 千鳥足で帰る人を見かけた。I saw someone staggering home. |
| 茶番劇 | a farce (ちゃばんげき) | 審議はただの茶番劇だった。The deliberation was pure farce. |
| 走馬灯 | a revolving lantern; life flashing before one (そうまとう) | 記憶が走馬灯のように巡った。Memories flashed by one after another. |
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