Netsuke "Eating Toffee" - Is It A Toad or Frog? 根付「あめ玉」 - カエルは英語で何？

英語の後に日本語が続きます。

This is a netsuke titled 'Eating Toffee,' carved from boxwood and tortoiseshell by Zanmai Onosato. I saw this 3 cm tall piece at the Tokyo National Museum early last year.

When I was about to write this post, I realized something, that is, Japanese doesn't differentiate between "toad" and "frog." They are both called the same in Japanese, "kaeru🐸."  

There is another similar example in parts of the Hiroshima, Okayama, Shimane, and Tottori prefectures, where crocodiles, alligators, and even sharks are all called by the same name: 'wani' ! 🐊

Another example but in a different area is 'tax deduction' and 'tax credit,' both of which are often called 'koujo.' Because of this, non-tax experts often translate 'koujo' as 'tax credit' when it means 'tax deduction,' and vice versa.

Some words and sentences are easy to translate; you simply translate each word and put them into the correct grammatical order. In other cases, however, translation is more complex and requires understanding the exact nuance of the term.

By the way, while doing research, I also learned that crocodiles and alligators can't mate because they are genetically too far apart. They totally look alike to me, though!

If you love netsuke, check out A List of Netsuke to see more than 40 pieaces!

"Eating Toffee" by Zanmai Onosato, boxwood and tortoiseshell
「あめ玉」小野里三昧 黄楊 鼈甲

(If you wish to post your comment but don't have a Google account, select "anonymous" from the drop down menu titled "comment as"!)

小野里三昧作「あめ玉（黄楊、鼈甲製）」です。去年、東京国立博物館で撮りました。

見てて思ったのが、これって「toad」、 それとも「frog」？ということ。「toad」は「ヒキガエル（茶色のイボイボ）」で「frog」は「カエル（緑のヌメヌメ）」なのでおそらく「toad」だと思いますが、「カエル」を英語にするときは要注意。ちなみに「ワニ」も同じで、「crocodile」も「alligator」も「ワニ」。でもって岡山・広島・鳥取・島根の山間地では「shark」も「ワニ」｡｡｡ 要注意です😅

全然違うけど「（所得）控除」と「税額控除」も、英語では「tax deduction」と「tax credit」で全然違うので要注意。意味分かってないと間違って訳してしまう典型例です｡｡｡

根付にご興味ある方はこちらの記事もどうぞ！

(Google アカウントを持ってない方は、コメント記入後に「Google アカウント」をクリックし、「匿名」か「名前/URL」を選択してからご記入ください！)