第359課: Native Suffixes I: Nominal
The next couple of lessons will be about suffixes.
Native Nominal Suffixes 1-25
1. 荒し （あらし） means “troll”.
1. 墓荒し
An internet troll
2. 顔 （がお）shows the “face” or “look” of something.
| 笑い顔 | Smiley face | 得意顔 | Triumphant look | 訳知り顔 | Know-it-all look |
3. 掛かり （がかり） attaches to nouns to show that something is dependent on or resembles something. With verbs it means “with these course of events”.
2. 行きがかり上、そうなってしまった。
After going to this course of events, it became so.
3. 一人掛かりでやった仕事だ。
It’s only a one-man job.
4. 芝居掛かりな声
A voice resembling theatre
5. 親掛かりの位。
A position dependent on one’s parents.
6. 神がかり的な能力
Exceptional ability
4. 掛け （かけ） attaches to nouns and the 連用形 of verbs. With verbs it shows that something is in the middle of happening/being done. With nouns, it means “rack”.
7. タオル掛け
Towel rack
8. 壊れかけ
In the middle of collapsing
5. 掛け （がけ） with nouns means “to put on”. With intransitive verbs it shows something is in the middle of doing something. With 一人（ひとり）, 二人（ふたり）, etc., it shows how many people can sit. With numbers it means “tenths”.
9. 襷掛け
Tucking up sleeves
10. 帰りがけに店に寄ってきた。
I came by the store on the way home.
11. １０人掛けのソファを見たところだよ！
I just saw a sofa that could fit 10 people!
12. 定価の６掛けで古本を買いました。
I bought used books 40% off.
13. 7人掛けシート
Seven person seat
Culture Note: In the majority of trains in Japan, seats often sit seven people and three seats separated by doors on both sides of the train is the norm.
6. がし attaches to the 命令形 of verbs to create phrases that push an opinion.
| これ見よがし。 | Out of display. | 聞こえよがしに言う。 | Talk at someone. |
7. ～方（かた） → Lesson 81.
8. 柄 （がら） attaches to nouns to show a suitable condition.
14. 土地柄
Local color
15. 時節柄ご自愛下さい。
Please take care of yourself during these times.
16.商売柄朝が早い。
The morning is early for the nature of this business.
9. 絡み （がらみ） is used after words expressing age or price to show “about” or “around”. And, it’s after nouns to show there is a close connection with something.
17. 厚生がらみの国際的な問題です。
It’s an international problem concerning welfare.
18. バッテリーがらみの問題
Problems concerning batteries
19. 1万円がらみの品物だ。 （ほとんど使われていない）
These are goods around 10,000 yen in worth.
10. 刻み （きざみ） is equivalent to “-毎に” and “-置きに” and means “every…”.
20. 五センチ刻み。
Every 5 centimeters.
21. 百円刻みに料金が上がります。
The fee goes up every 100 yen.
11. きって attaches to nouns and shows what is the most…in something.
22. 彼は我が校きっての秀才です。
He is the brightest student in our school.
23. 当代きっての名優。
Great actor of our time.
12. 競 （くら） attaches to the 連用形 of verbs to show some sort of contest.
| 駆けっ競 | Footrace | 睨（にら）め競 | Staring contest |
13. ぐるみ shows that the subject is completely included.
24. 家族ぐるみでその難問に取り組みました。
The entire family dealt with the difficult problem.
25. 村ぐるみ ＝ 村人が全員で
Forming a crowd
14. くんだり, which comes from the word 下り, attaches to names or words of place to show a far distance from a certain reference point. This is not widely used.
26. 青森くんだりまで行ってしまった。
I ended up going as far as Aomori.
27. こんな田舎くんだりまで、よく来てくださいました。
I’m very grateful that you have come all this way to the country for us.
15. 気 （け） attaches to nouns and the stems of adjectives/verbs to show sensing of a certain condition.
28. 嫌気がさしてるぜ。
I’m tired of it.
29. 寒気がする。
To feel chilly.
30. 毒気に当てられる。
To be overwhelmed.
31. 人気のない町。
An abandoned town.
16. 子 （こ） shows a child of a particular nature. With either nouns or the 連用形 of verbs, it shows a person of a certain occupation. When attached to a place, 子 shows birthplace. This suffix also helps create female names.
32. 明治っ子
A person of the Meiji Period
33. 恵美子
Emiko
34. 彼は売れっ子の作家ですね。
He’s a popular writer, isn’t he?
17. -っこ is a colloquial version of すること. It’s often attached to verbs in the potential form and then followed by ない to explosively show incapability. It may also show competition with the 連用形 of verbs, smallness with onomatopoeia, and make slang variants out of common nouns.
35. あいつには分かりっこないな。
He’ll never understand.
36. にゃんこ
Kitty cat
37. 慣れっこになる。
To become used to.
38. 僕は駆けっこで一番になった。
I got first in a race.
39. 睨めっこしよう！
Let’s have a staring contest!
40. ほら、台風が学校をぺしゃんこにしたんだ。
Look, the typhoon leveled the school!
41. 彼には日本語が話せっこない。
He’ll never be able to speak Japanese.
42. 歌えっこない！
I can’t sing!
43. お腹がマジでぺしゃんこだぞ。
I’m so hungry!
Sentence Note: The last sentence would be most likely used by someone really thin.
| Corner | 隅 → 隅っこ | Edge | 端 → 端っこ | Root 根 → 根っこ |
18. ごかし ＝ one is actually planning one’s own interests while pretending the other.
44. おためごかし
Self-aggrandizement under pretense of aiding another
45. 親切ごかし
Acting nice while actually playing the devil’s advocate.
19. -越し means “over” and may be used in a sense of doing something over some sort of distance such as one’s shoulders or in a time sense where it shows a condition continuing throughout a given time period.
46. 窓越しに話しかける。
To talk out the window.
47. 肩越しに覗き込む。
To look over one’s shoulders.
48. 私たちは１０年｛越し・来｝の付き合いです。
We’ve known each other for over 10 years.
20. ごっこ ＝ game of mimicry.
| 鬼ごっこ | Tag | 電車ごっこ | Make-believe train | お医者さんごっこ | Playing doctor |
21. ごと attaches to nouns showing inclusion in “all”.
49. リンゴを皮ごと食べる。
Eat the apple with all of the skin.
50. 服ごと放り込む。
To shovel off all clothes.
51. 枷ごと果てない空へただ飛び立つ。
All of the shackles will just fly away into the endless sky.
22. 沙汰（ざた） is often after nouns and the 連用形 to mean “affair” or “gossip”.
| 色恋沙汰 | Love affair | 取り沙汰 | Current gossip | 警察沙汰 | Police case |
23. 様（ざま） can attach to nouns to show a certain direction. After the 連用形 of a verb, it either shows the course of a condition or action or give a sense of “just as…”.
52. 卑怯な生き様
A cowardly way of living
53. 授業が続け様に3つあります。
I have three classes back to back.
54. 逆さまの夢へと堕ちる。 （Unvoiced example)
To fall in a backwards dream.
55. 木々が風で横様に倒れた。
The trees fell down sideways by the wind.
Reading Note: 横様 ＝ よこざま・よこさま
56. 振り向き様に彼をにらみつけた。
I turned and glared at him.
57.
「あっ。小蝶さんが帰る、小蝶さんが帰る」
と、金彌はぱっと起き上がって、喜びいっぱい叫びながら部屋を飛び出しざま、
「小蝶さん」
賑かな笑い声に続いて、
雨、雨、降れ降れ
母さんが
蛇の目でお迎え
うれしいな
ピッチピッチ
チャップチャップ
ランランラン
陽気に調子づいた幼い歌声が、玄関の方へ遠ざかって行った。
“Ah! Kocho-san’s coming home, Kocho-san’s coming home!”, Kanami yelled full of joy as she sprang up, and just as she dashed out of the room yelling “Ko-chan”, she continued with a lively laughter singing:
Rain fall, rain fall!
Mom has come to see me with her umbrella
How happy am I!
Splishy splishy splashy splashy
Lalala
Her warm, young, melodious singing voice went all the water to the entrance.
From 童謡 by 川端康成.
Passage Note: That song is the first part of a famous 童謡 (children’s song) called あめふり. The onomatopoeia is rather unique to the song itself, so it is rather difficult to adequately translate them into English.
24. しな attaches to the 連用形 of verbs to mean “at time of doing…”.
58. 寝しなに酒を飲むと、二日酔いがかかる。
If you drink sake when you’re going to sleep, you’ll get a hangover.
59. 出しなに電話がかかってきた。
I got a call on my phone when I was leaving.
60. 泣きしなに転んでしまった。
I fell at the time I was crying.
61. 隣りの男は横浜を出しなに薄目をあけただけで、だらしなく居眠り続けた。
The man right by just halfway opened his eyes leaving Yokohama, and he continued to carelessly doze.
From 山の音 by 川端康成.
25. 凌ぎ（しのぎ）= “to tide over” and is idiomatic in translation. It follows nominal phrases.
62. 退屈しのぎ
To kill time
63. その場しのぎの手段で切り抜ける。
To get over at half measures.