Dec 11th 2009 20:23 Kojima Yoshio
What do you mean 'I'm ashamed to hear it'?

Dec 11th 2009 22:57 Phizuol
There is no reason to be ashamed. There is no point to beating yourself up because you haven't learned everything yet. You are working hard on English all the time, you should be proud!

I agree with the sayings you have found though. Sometimes I spend a while thinking of the right words to use. Words that say more than just what I mean to say... words that will make people feel things beyond just the dictionary meanings. I'm sure in Japanese you must have the same kinds of words... two words that mean the same thing, but evoke different emotions when you say them.

But I also think what is most important is often the easiest to say. "Thank you", "I'm hungry", "I love you." You don't need a big vocabulary for these. =)

Dec 12th 2009 00:52 agentchuck
Sand,

This expression has a lot of different sides to it. Actually, the subject is explored a bit in the novel, 1984, by George Orwell. (http://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/1984%E5%B9%B4_%28%E5%B0%8F%E8%AA%AC%29) The book introduces "newspeak" as a way to eliminate subversive ideas.

To me, the underlying principle is that people are only able to understand the things that they have been exposed to. I disagree that you require a large vocabulary in order to think deeply about things. Knowing the "perfect word" for something makes it easier to talk about. But you can know, feel and experience something without ever knowing the word for it.

If you don't know the word, "red", does that mean you can't see the color red? But, if you have never seen red, then it would be impossible to even think about it.

You definitely should not feel anything negative when you apply this expression to your own life. If anything, you are working very hard to expand your horizons and learn more and more words, ideas and expressions.

がんばって！

Dec 12th 2009 17:38 atomu
Very interesting topic. As the other say too, there is no reason to be ashamed. I know that frustration, I'm so often frustrated, because my Japanese doesn't seem to improve, but what counts are your efforts.

Learning Vocabulary is very important though.

Dec 13th 2009 00:38 Sand
> Kojima Yoshio,

I wanted to express 「耳が痛い」, but I don't know the appropriate English expression for it.
Thank you for your corrections!

> Phizuol,

Yes, it's difficult to express something with the appropriate words, even in my mother language.
Thank you for your comment!

> agentchuck,

I haven't heard "1984" and "newspeak" so I checked them. It describes a bit scary world, doesn't it?
Thank you for your comment!

> atomu,

I'm often frustrated too! But I'll make an effort.
Thank you for your comment!

Dec 13th 2009 11:00 Q-bit (ペジャ)
添削ありがとうございます！:-)

Dec 13th 2009 14:17 Sand
ペジャ,

どういたしまして。(^.^)
Thank you for your comment!

Dec 14th 2009 06:06 ｼﾞｬｽ
Sand, there is more than one way to skin a cat, and thus, you can use pictures, videos and drawing to also convey ideas. At the end of the day, a picture is worth a thousand words!

Dec 14th 2009 17:50 Sand
ｼﾞｬｽ,

Oh! You are right! (^.^)
By the way, "There is more than one way to skin a cat." is a new expression for me.
Thank you for your comment!

Dec 15th 2009 04:05 ｼﾞｬｽ
^_^
I don't know why they choose such a cruel expression to mean more than one way to do something!

Dec 15th 2009 12:29 Sand
ｼﾞｬｽ,

I'll try to master the idiom "more than one way"!
Thank you for your comment again!