Last week, I wrote about some unnatural (不自然） words that I hear very often. All of these words are correct (正しい）, but they all sound unnatural. Today we'll study five more.
TROUBLESOME (面倒くさい）
△Doing paperwork is troublesome.
○Doing paperwork is a nuisance.
English speakers usually use "nuisance" for small things that they don't like doing, especially (特に）things that have to be done many times. "Troublesome" usually sounds too formal or too serious for everyday conversation.
ELDER (年上の)
△My elder brother’s name is Takeshi.
○My brother's name is Takeshi.
In Japan, many people call their brothers and sisters, お兄さん or お姉さん, but foreigners usually call people by their first names, and don't care (気にしない）so much about who is older. Sometimes we say, "my older brother", but "elder" sounds too formal, and usually we just say, "my brother."
RUINS (遺跡）
△I'm planning to visit a lot of ruins in England.
○I'm planning to visit a lot of historical sites in England.
"Ruins" has a very negative nuance in English. For example, we say, "The house was in ruins after the earthquake (地震の後、家は廃墟になった)," or "The archaeologists dug in the ruins (考古学者は遺跡を掘った)." It sounds much more natural to say "old building," "archaeological site," or "historical site".
PUBLIC OFFICIAL (公務員）
△I am a public official.
○I am a civil servant.
You can find "public official" if you look up 公務員 in the dictionary, but usually we only use "public officials" for very high-level people like the chief of police (警察本部長). The people who work in the ward office (区役所）or city hall (市役所）are called "civil servants."
HOSPITAL（病院)
△I went to the hospital because I have a cold.
○I went to the doctor because I have a cold.
In America and Europe, most people only go to the hospital for an operation (手術）or if they have a very serious sickness. If a Japanese person says, "I went to the hospital," an English speaker might think the person is really sick. Most people in America and Europe go to a general practitioner (一般開業医) who works in a small office, so we say, "I went to the doctor."
Here are some sentences using today's words. Can you say them in English?
1. お弁当を作るのは面倒くさいので、いつもコンビニで買っている。
2. お兄さんは北海道に住んでいます。
3. 歴史に興味があるので、遺跡を見に行った。
4. 彼女は公務員なので土曜日は働かなくてもいい。
5. インフルエンザにかかったので病院へ行った。
If you write your answers in the comments of this blog, I will check them. （このブログのコメントに答えを書いてくれたら、チェックします）You don't have to use your real name and more than one person (二人以上） can do it.
TROUBLESOME (面倒くさい）
△Doing paperwork is troublesome.
○Doing paperwork is a nuisance.
English speakers usually use "nuisance" for small things that they don't like doing, especially (特に）things that have to be done many times. "Troublesome" usually sounds too formal or too serious for everyday conversation.
ELDER (年上の)
△My elder brother’s name is Takeshi.
○My brother's name is Takeshi.
In Japan, many people call their brothers and sisters, お兄さん or お姉さん, but foreigners usually call people by their first names, and don't care (気にしない）so much about who is older. Sometimes we say, "my older brother", but "elder" sounds too formal, and usually we just say, "my brother."
RUINS (遺跡）
△I'm planning to visit a lot of ruins in England.
○I'm planning to visit a lot of historical sites in England.
"Ruins" has a very negative nuance in English. For example, we say, "The house was in ruins after the earthquake (地震の後、家は廃墟になった)," or "The archaeologists dug in the ruins (考古学者は遺跡を掘った)." It sounds much more natural to say "old building," "archaeological site," or "historical site".
PUBLIC OFFICIAL (公務員）
△I am a public official.
○I am a civil servant.
You can find "public official" if you look up 公務員 in the dictionary, but usually we only use "public officials" for very high-level people like the chief of police (警察本部長). The people who work in the ward office (区役所）or city hall (市役所）are called "civil servants."
HOSPITAL（病院)
△I went to the hospital because I have a cold.
○I went to the doctor because I have a cold.
In America and Europe, most people only go to the hospital for an operation (手術）or if they have a very serious sickness. If a Japanese person says, "I went to the hospital," an English speaker might think the person is really sick. Most people in America and Europe go to a general practitioner (一般開業医) who works in a small office, so we say, "I went to the doctor."
Here are some sentences using today's words. Can you say them in English?
1. お弁当を作るのは面倒くさいので、いつもコンビニで買っている。
2. お兄さんは北海道に住んでいます。
3. 歴史に興味があるので、遺跡を見に行った。
4. 彼女は公務員なので土曜日は働かなくてもいい。
5. インフルエンザにかかったので病院へ行った。
If you write your answers in the comments of this blog, I will check them. （このブログのコメントに答えを書いてくれたら、チェックします）You don't have to use your real name and more than one person (二人以上） can do it.
