Close calls
Idioms, Stage 4chunk 16 of 22Luck, trouble & outcomes
Coming through danger: the worst passing, a near miss, a razor-thin margin, the one lucky part of a bad situation.
- yama o koeruget past the worstliterally “cross over the mountain”
- kiki ippatsua very close callliterally “crisis by a single hair”
- kami hitoea razor-thin differenceliterally “one layer of paper”
- fukouchuu no saiwaithe one lucky part of a bad situationliterally “good fortune in the middle of misfortune”
Mix-ups kiki ippatsu (a near disaster) vs kami hitoe (a razor-thin gap, often between winning and losing); yama o kosu is the crisis passing, not a near miss.
yama o koeru
polite yama o koemasu
“cross over the mountain”
get past the worst
In English: get over the hump
Said about an illness, a crunch period or a crisis once the hardest part is behind you, usually in the past: yama o koeta, yama wa koeta (the worst is over). The crunch point itself is the yama (koko ga yama da).
Literal twin: crossing a real mountain. For an illness people also say touge o koeta (past the crisis).
shigoto, yatto yama koeta yo
Work's finally over the hump.
仕事、やっと山越えたよ
shigoto mo yatto yama o koemashita
Work is finally past the worst.
仕事もやっと山を越えました
Written 山を越える · やまをこえるHeard 33× in 3.17 million lines of film and TV subtitlesMain list yatto (Stage 1)
kiki ippatsu
polite kiki ippatsu desu
“crisis by a single hair”
a very close call
In English: a close shave
Said right after a narrow escape from real danger, like nearly being hit by a car or a bike: kiki ippatsu datta. It sounds a bit dramatic; abunakatta (that was close) is the everyday version. For just making it in time, say girigiri or kan ippatsu de maniatta: kan ippatsu means 'by a hair', kiki ippatsu 'a moment of danger'.
Everyday alternative: abunakatta! (that was close). Near-twin: kan ippatsu (by a hair).
ima no, kiki ippatsu datta ne
That was a close shave.
今の、危機一髪だったね
ima no wa kiki ippatsu deshita ne
That was a really close call.
今のは危機一髪でしたね
Written 危機一髪 · ききいっぱつHeard 22× in 3.17 million lines of film and TV subtitlesLearn alongside kami hitoeMain list abunai (Stage 2)
kami hitoe
polite kami hitoe desu
“one layer of paper”
a razor-thin difference
In English: a fine line
Said when two things are separated by almost nothing, most often as A to B wa kami hitoe, like the set line tensai to baka wa kami hitoe (genius and idiot are a hair apart). Also for a razor-thin margin: kami hitoe no sa de maketa (lost by a hair).
Near-twin: kan ippatsu (by a hair).
tensai to baka wa kami hitoe tte iu yo ne.
They say there's a fine line between genius and idiot.
天才とバカは紙一重って言うよね。
hontou ni kami hitoe deshita ne.
That was a really close one.
本当に紙一重でしたね。
Written 紙一重 · かみひとえHeard 21× in 3.17 million lines of film and TV subtitlesLearn alongside kiki ippatsuMain list iu (Stage 2)
fukouchuu no saiwai
polite fukouchuu no saiwai desu
“good fortune in the middle of misfortune”
the one lucky part of a bad situation
Said after an accident or setback about the one thing that went right, such as nobody getting hurt or the data being backed up: kega ga nakatta no wa fukouchuu no saiwai datta. Heard often from sympathetic listeners.
Plain alternative: ... dake de yokatta (lucky it was only ...).
kega nakute fukouchuu no saiwai datta ne
At least nobody got hurt.
怪我なくて不幸中の幸いだったね
kega ga nakute fukouchuu no saiwai deshita ne
It's lucky nobody was hurt, at least.
怪我がなくて不幸中の幸いでしたね
Written 不幸中の幸い · ふこうちゅうのさいわいHeard 15× in 3.17 million lines of film and TV subtitles