Blog · The Tale of the Bamboo Cutter, Part 2
The Tale of the Bamboo Cutter, Part 2 (2): 4 Expressions
This is the second article on The Tale of the Bamboo Cutter, Part 2. In the last article, Kaguya-hime asked five men for five impossible treasures, and Prince Ishizukuri tried to fool her with an old bowl.
Next come Prince Kuramochi and the minister Abe no Miushi. One of them is clever, the other is rich. Neither is honest enough.
1. こっそり — secretly; on the quiet
こっそり means doing something so that no one notices.
船で海へ出かけるふりをして、三日後にこっそり帰ってきました。
He pretended to set out to sea by ship, and three days later he secretly came back.
Prince Kuramochi was asked for a jeweled branch from Mount Hōrai, a magic mountain in the eastern sea. Instead of sailing there, he hides in a secret house with the best craftsmen he can find.
Today:
- 夜中にこっそりお菓子を食べた。
I secretly ate some sweets in the middle of the night. - こっそり教えてあげるね。
I'll tell you, just between us.
Tip: そっと (from Part 1) is about being gentle and quiet. こっそり is about not being seen or found out.
2. そっくり — exactly like; looks just like
そっくり means two things look (almost) the same.
できあがった枝は、話に聞く本物とそっくりでした。
The finished branch looked exactly like the real one in the stories.
After a thousand days of work, the fake has silver roots, a golden stem and white jewels for fruit. The prince tells a long tale of storms and strange mountains. Even the old man believes him and begins to prepare the wedding.
Today:
- 彼女はお母さんにそっくりだ。
She looks just like her mother. - 本物そっくりの、ケーキのサンプル。
A fake cake that looks just like the real thing.
Tip: Japanese restaurants have plastic food samples called 食品サンプル. They are often described as 本物そっくり.
3. うそがばれる — a lie is found out
ばれる means "to be found out," usually about a secret or a lie. It is casual and very common.
こうして、うそがばれてしまいました。
And so his lie was exposed.
At the worst possible moment, the craftsmen show up at the house and ask to be paid for their thousand days of work. Kaguya-hime happily gives the branch back. The prince is too ashamed to come home, and disappears into the mountains.
Today:
- テストの点が悪かったことが、母にばれた。
My mom found out that I did badly on the test. - すぐにばれるうそは、つかないほうがいい。
You'd better not tell lies that will be found out right away.
Tip: うそをつく means "to tell a lie." Note the verb: つく, not 言う.
4. あえなく — all too easily; sadly quickly
あえなく describes something that fails or ends quickly and helplessly — "without a chance."
こうして阿倍のみうしの願いは、あえなく消えました。
And so Abe no Miushi's hopes vanished in an instant.
Abe pays a Chinese merchant a fortune for a robe of fire-rat fur, which is supposed to never burn. Kaguya-hime puts it in the fire. It burns up at once. In old Japanese, "Abe is gone" (阿倍なし) sounded like あへなし, the old form of あえない. The storyteller says the word came from him.
Today:
- 私たちのチームは、一回戦であえなく負けた。
Our team lost in the very first round, just like that. - 花火大会は、雨であえなく中止になった。
The fireworks festival was sadly canceled because of rain.
Tip: あえなく is a written-style word. You will see it often in news about sports and competitions.
Read it in the story
Next time: a dragon, a storm at sea, and a swallow's nest.