Current location:	Notte Inne Bedde
Current mood:	amused

...with Meaning... and... well... you'll see.
Another episode in my continuing litany of lingual mistakes.

Yesterday (or technically the day before yesterday... well, Saturday anyway) it was Japan Day at Her Ladyship's college. This is a day when the students and tutors all turn their hands to introducing visitors to many of the cultural aspects of Japan; such as Origami (Paper Folding), Shodou (Calligraphy), the wearing of Kimono/Yukata (Yukata is a less insanely formal Kimono), Japanese Food, a Karate demonstration and Sadou... The Tea Ceremony.

I attended with Her Ladyship (she was helping people climb into Yukata) and (DarkDesigns/DD/Fidelis/Fiddles/"Put That Down, NOW!"/The world's only humaniform bread and butter pudding) (select as appropriate). With herself being all full of work and helpfulness the boy and I wandered around together. Anyway, we went and cast ourselves upon the tatami and took part in a sadou (shortened and simplified). His daftness was good, polite and interested. Especially in the meaning of the various actions comprising the ceremony. Now the word Seiza conjures fear into the heart of those of us who are un-limber... like me. It is a wonderful way of comfortably sitting that conveys respect, humility and a general lack of fear of pain. Seiza is murder on the legs (Wiki the thing if you don't know what it is). My legs especially. So Fiddles wished to understand the deeper meaning of this particular action, so asked (in English) the practitioner (Japanese) about seiza and its meaning. There was a little confusion and during the attempt by both to comprehend the other I cast about for the Japanese to do the job.

Something came to mind, though I am now desperately glad that I listened to the warning bells that went off in my head when I formed the sentence in my brain. What I came up with was approximately:

Seiza no imo wa nan desu ka?

The problem? The problem is the third word. "Imo", the Japanese for Meaning is not "imo", it is "imi". The correct sentence is "Seiza no imi wa nan desu ka?" which translates as "What is the meaning of Seiza?"...

...The meaning of my original sentence?

"What is Seiza's potato?"

Now do we see why I was glad I didn't ask it?