![]() ![]() ![]() In Japanese, instead of using ちょっと like this to be sarcastic, we use it to be humble, polite, or try to make something seem like less of a big deal by diminishing what would be a stronger expression otherwise. You gesture, annoyed, to the papers slowly engulfing you. Your mom walks into your room, seeing you struggling through a mountain of homework. Let's look at an English example of "little" being used to mean "not little." This might sound confusing, but you do the same thing in English, usually as a form of sarcasm. Usually this is translated to words like: Now instead of meaning "little," it means "not little." That means it's used to express the opposite meaning. This is still the same concept as #1 and #2, but paradoxically. The best way to understand ちょっと is with examples, so let's look at some example sentences! Pay close attention to all the different ways this can be expressed in English, compared to Japanese. It can be both an adverb and an adjective in English translations. But, just as the meanings vary in English, so do the possible parts of speech. Since English likes to use more than one word for different types of "little," it's translated into variations like:Īnother thing to keep in mind is that in Japanese ちょっと functions as an adverb. The most standard meaning for ちょっと is "a little." A Little (Quantity, Amount, Degree, Extent) If you're going to learn how to use ちょっと, you need to see it in action to really understand both how it's used, and why relying on dictionary definitions alone simply isn't enough. The word ちょっと as we know it today actually has seven different, distinct meanings-the only reason we didn't include it on our list of The 100+ Most Important Japanese Words was because explaining all of the different contexts and nuances would have been too much for one list to handle. And 鳥渡 is so rare that I've never actually seen it used, myself! Seven Meanings You may see 一寸 from time to time, but even in Japanese texts it almost always has furigana to help you read it. Instead, their readings are what matter here: 鳥:ちょう and 渡:と.īut you can probably forget 一寸 and 鳥渡 because ちょっと is almost always written in hiragana. ![]() The kanji in 鳥渡 means something along the lines of "migratory bird," but unlike 一寸, these kanji weren't taken for their meanings at all. So people started using it this way.Īs for how we write ちょっと, there are two kanji versions: 一寸 and 鳥渡. While the kanji typically don't read ちょっと, the meaning was close to what the word meant: a little. The kanji for the word 一寸 are usually read いっすん, meaning "one sun." Not sun like the sun in the sky, but an old Japanese unit of measurement called a "sun," which was exactly 3.03 centimeters. They're both different types of ateji: native or borrowed words that use kanji just for their phonetic components but not their meanings, or just for their meanings and not their phonetic components. And while these non-ちょっと words are archaic today, they are still used every now and then.Īs for how we write ちょっと, there are two kanji versions: 一寸 and 鳥渡. Gradually, its more emphatic variants, ちいと and ちっと, branched out on their own, into even more variants like ちょいと and finally ちょっと. The word ちょっと as we know it today was derived from a word used in the Kamakura period (1185–1333 AD). Unfortunately, it's not very exciting because only ちょっと (a little) is known about it. Etymology and Kanji of Chottoīefore we talk about meanings and usage, let's go over the history of ちょっと a little bit. Or, just subscribe to the Tofugu Podcast and save it for later, as a review for what you're about to read. Although the content is pretty complimentary with the article (meaning you can and should do both), those of you who prefer the listened word over the written, we have your back. ちょっと待って! We also recorded a podcast episode about ちょっと. Hard to (do) / Can't do it! (Difficulty or Impossibility) A beginner level of grammar will be very helpful as well. Prerequisite: This article is going to use hiragana, kanji, and provide example sentences. Luckily, learning the differences between all of these ちょっと usages should be as short and sweet as the word itself, so let's get right to it! That's a pretty significant change, don't you think? If I combine ちょっと with a word like 難しい, meaning "difficult," it can mean either "a little difficult" or "very difficult." For example, two of ちょっと's meanings, "little" and "very," contradict one another. ちょっと is one of the most useful and commonly used words in the Japanese language.īut not all ちょっとs are alike. Even if you're very new to Japanese, it's pretty likely you've come across ちょっと before, because it's short, simple, and easy to say. ちょっと is one of the more useful and commonly used words in the Japanese language. ![]()
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