土下座 Prostrating Oneself

Submitted by admin on Fri, 08/08/2008 - 07:28
土下座
kneeling down to the ground, prostrating oneself


The word:
Closer look at the kanji:
B = Beginner | I = Intermediate | A = Advanced

土下座
do ge za
kneeling down to the ground, prostrating oneself

土 do earth, ground
下 ge down, below, under
座 za seat, sit down


粘土 nen do - clay (a dirty word) [I]
 お土産 omiyage - a souvenir, a present [B]
靴下 kutsu shita - socks (shoe + under) [B]
下 shita - below, under [B]
王座 ou za - throne [I]
正座 sei za - sitting correctly Japanese style [sit upright with legs under] [I]


Godzillas humble act resulted in the lizards return to respectable society.

SUGGESTED USAGE:

ゴジラは心から反省したので、東京都民に土下座した。
gojira wa kokoro kara hansei shita node, toukyou tomin ni dogeza shita.
Godzilla, having had heartfelt introspections, humbly knelt before the citizens of Tokyo.

ABOUT SUGGESTED USAGE:

ゴジラ gojira - Godzilla The Japanese gojira comes from gorira (gorilla) and kujira (whale)
 心から kokoro kara - from the heart
反省 han sei - reflect on, think over
した shita - past of suru
ので node - because (of what was said before node)
 東京 tou kyou - Tokyo Most English speakers pronounce this in 3 syllables, but it really is only 2 TOU KYOU
 都民 to min - citizens of Tokyo
に ni - particle showing who Godzilla is dogezaing to

Comment viewing options

Select your preferred way to display the comments and click "Save settings" to activate your changes.
Pianogirl123's picture

now what does prostrate mean?

Submitted by Pianogirl123 on Mon, 02/08/2010 - 09:53.

now what does prostrate mean?

chikara's picture

what does prostrate mean?

Submitted by chikara on Mon, 02/08/2010 - 12:21.

Generally to lie face down in submission although in the Japanese context it is more likely to be kneeling in seiza (星座) and bowing forward so that your forehead is touching the floor, as described in the article. Same as kowtow (koutou 叩頭).

Don't complain to me that people kick you when you're down. It's your own fault for lying there

The kanji for that is 正座,

Submitted by Reft on Fri, 02/12/2010 - 19:10.

The kanji for that is 正座, whereas 星座　means constellation.

土下座　is still employed, and is not performed lightly. It is indicative that someone has committed quite a severe. Occasionally company presidents can be seen doing it at press conferences if they have been at the center of some sort of scandal.

chikara's picture

Doh! Of course it should have

Submitted by chikara on Mon, 02/15/2010 - 11:25.

Doh! Of course it should have been 正座. ワー プロ馬鹿です :o

Don't complain to me that people kick you when you're down. It's your own fault for lying there

Comment viewing options

Select your preferred way to display the comments and click "Save settings" to activate your changes.

Support those who Support TJP!

Campaign 2 - Banner 1