Comments on: Vocabulary for a Crisis

By: somebody

somebody — Sat, 11 Apr 2009 03:47:11 +0000

No no no, the sanshu no jingi are sukumizu, buruma and serafuku. According to a hopeless China otaku this dude met anyway… http://blog.livedoor.jp/kashikou/archives/51204483.html

By: Roy Berman

Roy Berman — Fri, 10 Apr 2009 13:17:07 +0000

I believe “火の車” is a reference to some famous torture in Buddhist hell.

By: Peter

Peter — Fri, 10 Apr 2009 12:35:43 +0000

Every good book that’s involved leverage that I’ve ever read (e.g. When Genius Failed) has had to devote at least a paragraph or two to explain what financial leverage, or “gearing” as it’s known in Europe, is, and why it makes nostrils flare.

By: Adamu

Adamu — Fri, 10 Apr 2009 11:56:19 +0000

OMG there are many of those overused verbs that are stuck in my mind thanks to the Nikkei but I didnt mention, and those two are among them.

Another is 拍車をかける which is “to spur” or “add fuel to the fire”

Yet another that I don’t see so much anymore is 火の車 aka “in dire straits” or “stretched thin” etc

By: Roy Berman

Roy Berman — Fri, 10 Apr 2009 11:09:18 +0000

Well really, what does “leverage” mean to the average English speaker? I’m not sure the standard definition of having power to influence someone has much of a logical connection with the term “over leveraged” that’s become commonly known over the past few months. It only makes sense because of the context (and oh so much context).

By: Peter

Peter — Fri, 10 Apr 2009 09:41:54 +0000

Helpful list.

I would only add that not all SPVs are TMKs. In fact, when people are referring to a vehicle used in structured finance, lately I’ve been hearing ビークル for SPV in the generic sense, and TMK or 特定目的会社 only when the paper company in question is in fact a TMK.

The one phrase that got drilled into my brain courtesy of the Nikkei was “端を発する” (tan wo has-suru) or the abbreviated “発端” (hottan), which I read incorrectly the first 10 or 20 times…

By: Adamu

Adamu — Fri, 10 Apr 2009 07:19:54 +0000

yes well theres an important caveat here, which is that tekoire may not be the MOST commonly used term, but it is one thats around and the Nikkei typically uses it as a parenthetical Japanized definition of the katakana word, which makes sense since what the heck would レバレッジ mean to your average Nikkei reader?

By: Curzon

Curzon — Fri, 10 Apr 2009 07:10:26 +0000

I’ve only heard levarage as レバレッジ and レバレッジ効果, etc. Thanks for broadening my vocabulary!

By: Adamu

Adamu — Fri, 10 Apr 2009 05:31:23 +0000

It’s kind of an awkward metaphor. I mean, it works as a set of three important items, but it’s not like you become emperor if you get all three. If a salaryman shells out for all three does that mean his wife will love him again and his kids will respect him?

By: Roy Berman

Roy Berman — Fri, 10 Apr 2009 05:15:49 +0000

“In consumption terms, they represent the three modern necessities of a Japanese middle-class household – a color TV, an air conditioner, and a personal automobile.”

This phrase has actually historically been used to refer to different sets of good as times changed, so the new list isn’t unprecedented at all. The earlier list, from the 50s, was a B&W TV, a washing machine, and a fridge. The three you refer to is the set from the boom years of the mid-late 60s, when they were also referred to as the “3 Cs” of color TV, cooler and car. Wikipedia also has like 10 other variants on the theme (including Koizumi’s 2005 list of “dish washer/drier, flat-screen TV and camera-equipped mobile phone”), but these two are the classic examples.