Cooling off
Idioms, Stage 3chunk 8 of 22Feelings & temper
Getting worked up versus calming down and loosening up; a natural three.
- atama o hiyasucool off, calm downliterally “cool the head”
- muki ni naruget worked up, take it too seriouslyliterally “turn all earnest”
- kata no chikara o nukurelax, stop trying so hardliterally “take the strength out of the shoulders”
Mix-ups atama o hiyasu (cool off) vs atama ni kuru in Getting angry; kata no chikara o nuku vs kata no ni ga oriru in Feeling better.
atama o hiyasu
polite atama o hiyashimasu
“cool the head”
cool off, calm down
In English: cool off
Said after an argument, either as an order (atama hiyashite koi, go cool your head) or about yourself (chotto atama hiyashite kuru). It can also literally mean cooling a feverish head.
Plain alternative: ochitsuku (calm down).
chotto soto de atama hiyashite kuru.
I'm going outside to cool off.
ちょっと外で頭冷やしてくる。
sukoshi atama o hiyashite kimasu.
I'll go cool off for a bit.
少し頭を冷やしてきます。
Written 頭を冷やす · あたまをひやすHeard 60× in 3.17 million lines of film and TV subtitlesLearn alongside muki ni naru, kata no chikara o nukuMain list -te kuru (Stage 4)
muki ni naru
polite muki ni narimasu
“turn all earnest”
get worked up, take it too seriously
In English: get all worked up
Mostly teasing someone who overreacts to a joke or a small thing (nani muki ni natteru no?), or owning up yourself (tsui muki ni natchatta). It isn't plain anger. It means taking something trivial too seriously.
sonna muki ni naranaide yo.
Don't get so worked up.
そんなムキにならないでよ。
sonna ni muki ni naranaide kudasai yo.
There's no need to get so worked up.
そんなにムキにならないでくださいよ。
Written ムキになる · むきになるHeard 46× in 3.17 million lines of film and TV subtitlesLearn alongside atama o hiyasu, kata no chikara o nukuMain list naru (Stage 1), -naide (Stage 2)
kata no chikara o nuku
polite kata no chikara o nukimasu
“take the strength out of the shoulders”
relax, stop trying so hard
In English: loosen up
Advice to someone nervous or trying too hard, mostly as kata no chikara nuite: it doesn't have to be perfect. Kata no chikara ga nuketeru also praises a relaxed, natural manner. The same words are the literal 'relax your shoulders' at a massage or in yoga.
Opposite: kata ni chikara ga hairu (tense up); plain word: rirakkusu suru.
kanpeki ni yaranakute ii n da kara, motto kata no chikara nuitara?
You don't have to be perfect, so why not stop trying so hard?
完璧にやらなくていいんだから、もっと肩の力抜いたら？
hajimete na n desu kara, kata no chikara o nuite daijoubu desu yo.
It's your first time, so there's no need to try so hard.
初めてなんですから、肩の力を抜いて大丈夫ですよ。
Written 肩の力を抜く · かたのちからをぬくHeard 14× in 3.17 million lines of film and TV subtitlesLearn alongside atama o hiyasu, muki ni naruMain list motto (Stage 1), -nakute mo ii (Stage 3), -tara (Stage 2)