Comebacks and digs
Idioms, Stage 4chunk 19 of 22Talking & listening
Verbal sparring: sniping, winning and losing the exchange.
- kechi o tsukerufind fault with, knockliterally “stick a bad omen on it”
- ippon toraretayou got me thereliterally “a point was taken (from me)”
- hitokoto ooialways says one thing too manyliterally “one word too many”
- guu no ne mo denaihave no comeback at allliterally “not even a 'guu' sound comes out”
- aa ieba kou iualways has a comebackliterally “say it that way and they say it this way”
Mix-ups ippon torareta (you got me) vs guu no ne mo denai (no comeback at all); aa ieba kou iu (always has a retort) vs hitokoto ooi (always one remark too many); kechi o tsukeru is not the single word kechi (stingy).
kechi o tsukeru
polite kechi o tsukemasu
“stick a bad omen on it”
find fault with, knock
In English: pick holes in
Criticising or nitpicking something, often unfairly or out of spite: nan ni demo kechi tsukeru (finds fault with everything). Often as a hedge: kechi tsukeru wake ja nai kedo (not to nitpick, but...). Kechi here keeps its old sense of a bad omen (also in kechi ga tsuku, things start going wrong); 'stingy' grew out of the same word later.
hito no ryouri ni kechi tsukenaide yo.
Don't knock my cooking.
人の料理にケチつけないでよ。
hito no ryouri ni kechi o tsukenaide kudasai yo.
Please don't criticise my cooking.
人の料理にケチをつけないでくださいよ。
Written ケチをつける · けちをつけるHeard 27× in 3.17 million lines of film and TV subtitlesLearn alongside kuchi ga warui, hitokoto ooiMain list -naide (Stage 2), hito (Stage 3)
ippon torareta
polite ippon toraremashita
“a point was taken (from me)”
you got me there
In English: touché
A good-humoured concession when someone outwits you with a clever reply or trick: kore wa ippon torareta na (well, you got me there). It's a fixed passive past; the ippon is a winning point in kendo or judo. It sounds a little old-fashioned, the kind of thing a good-humoured senior says; among younger friends yarareta is the everyday equivalent.
naruhodo ne. kore wa ippon torareta na.
Ha, fair enough. You got me there.
なるほどね。これは一本取られたな。
naruhodo, kore wa ippon toraremashita ne.
I see. You've got me there.
なるほど、これは一本取られましたね。
Written 一本取られた · いっぽんとられたHeard 7× in 3.17 million lines of film and TV subtitlesLearn alongside guu no ne mo denai, aa ieba kou iuMain list naruhodo (Stage 2), -areru / -rareru (Stage 2), toru (Stage 4)
hitokoto ooi
polite hitokoto ooi desu
“one word too many”
always says one thing too many
A complaint about someone who can't resist adding one needless, annoying remark: itsumo hitokoto ooi n da yo. People say it about partners, bosses and parents, and about themselves when they regret a remark. The remark itself is yokei na hitokoto.
The remark itself: yokei na hitokoto.
kare, itsumo hitokoto ooi n da yo ne.
He always has to add one comment too many.
彼、いつも一言多いんだよね。
kare, itsumo hitokoto ooi n desu yo ne.
He always says one thing too many.
彼、いつも一言多いんですよね。
Written 一言多い · ひとことおおいHeard 1× in 3.17 million lines of film and TV subtitlesLearn alongside kuchi ga warui, kechi o tsukeruMain list ooi (Stage 4), itsumo (Stage 2)
guu no ne mo denai
polite guu no ne mo demasen
“not even a 'guu' sound comes out”
have no comeback at all
Admitting that someone's point is so right you can't argue back: seiron sugite guu no ne mo denai. Also said about someone else who lost an argument: kare, guu no ne mo denakatta.
sou iwaretara, guu no ne mo denai yo.
When you put it like that, I've got nothing.
そう言われたら、ぐうの音も出ないよ。
sou iwaretara, guu no ne mo demasen ne.
Put like that, I can't argue.
そう言われたら、ぐうの音も出ませんね。
Written ぐうの音も出ない · ぐうのねもでないHeard 1× in 3.17 million lines of film and TV subtitlesLearn alongside ippon torareta, aa ieba kou iuMain list deru (Stage 1), -nai (Stage 1), mo (Stage 2)
aa ieba kou iu
“say it that way and they say it this way”
always has a comeback
In English: have an answer for everything
An exasperated complaint about someone who argues back to everything, typically a parent about a child: hontou ni aa ieba kou iu n da kara. It's said about others, never about yourself.
mou, aa ieba kou iu n da kara.
Honestly, you've got an answer for everything.
もう、ああ言えばこう言うんだから。
uchi no ko, hontou ni aa ieba kou iu n desu yo.
My kid has an answer for everything.
うちの子、本当にああ言えばこう言うんですよ。
Written ああ言えばこう言う · ああいえばこういうHeard too rare in film subtitles to countLearn alongside ippon torareta, guu no ne mo denaiMain list iu (Stage 2), -ba (Stage 2), kou (Stage 2)