What Japanese words have you learned thanks to WK example sentences?

There are many Japanese words that WK doesn’t teach directly (through vocab lessons), but by using them in the example sentences.

Today I learned 熟女 (じゅくじょ), which basically means MILF:

「コウイチが熟女好きっていう噂を聞いたんだけど。」「マジかよ!もしそれが本当なら、俺とコウイチに共通点ができるってことになるぜ。」
“I heard a rumor that Koichi likes older women.” “Seriously? If that was true it would mean that he and I have something in common.”

https://www.wanikani.com/vocabulary/共通点

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It happened again!

発言 (はつげん) = comment (this is a pretty common word)

コウイチの発言で、洋室にいた全いんがこおりついてしまった。
When Koichi made that comment, everybody in the western style room froze.

https://www.wanikani.com/vocabulary/洋室

I’ve actually gotten quite a few words for my Anki deck from the example sentences

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From today’s lesson:

母国語 (ぼこくご) = native language

英語が母国語でない人で、ネイティブレベルや上級の英語を話す人もいれば、そうでない人もいます。
Some non-native speakers speak English at a native or advanced level, while others do not.

https://www.wanikani.com/vocabulary/上級

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隠れ家 = hideaway, man cave

俺の隠れ家へようこそ。ビールは冷蔵庫に入ってるぜ。ちょっと不便かもしれねぇが、煙草は外で吸ってくれよな。
Welcome to my man cave. Beers are in the refrigerator. It may be a bit inconvenient for you, but you’ve got to go outside to smoke.

賞味期限 = expiration date. Very useful vocab!

しょう味きげんをすぎたから、味はちょっとかわってるかもしれないけど、まだ食べられると思うよ。
It’s past the expiration date, so it might not taste the same, but I think it’s still edible.

Am I the only one who didn’t know what quoits is?

早くこの輪投げの輪をなげてくださいよ!
Please throw this Quoits ring quickly!

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Today I learned about Queen Beryl:

クリステンはクイン・ベリルを嫌悪している。
Kristen hates Queen Beryl.

At first I thought it was “Queen Bey” and wondered what Kristen had against Beyoncé :rofl:

Queen Beryl:

Queen Bey:

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運動神経 = reflexes

Summary

運動 = exercise, motion, movement
神経 = nerve

運動神経は並だったが、頭はすこぶる良かった。
He had ordinary reflexes, but a great mind.

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買って出る = to volunteer

Not immediately clear from the component kanji (buy and exit), but yeah, 買って出る means to volunteer.

このプロジェクトのリーダーを買って出たことを、今猛烈に後悔しています。
I seriously regret that I volunteered to be the leader of this project now.

Interestingly enough, this is a phrase that originated from the card play Hanafuda.

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視力 = eyesight

かわいそうなことに、彼の視力はレーシック手術の後に一層悪化してしまった。
I feel sorry that his eye sight got even worse after the Lasik surgery.

https://www.wanikani.com/vocabulary/一層

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看護婦 (かんごふ) = female nurse

This is a slightly different word than 看護師, which WK teaches.
かんごし is the general term while かんごふ is only for female nurses.

その医者が私に癌だと診断するほんの少し前に、ある看護婦さんが私の事をちらっと振り返って見たんです。
Right before the doctor diagnosed me with cancer, a nurse glanced over her shoulder at me.

https://www.wanikani.com/vocabulary/診断する

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I like the fact that お茶の子さいさい is almost the literal translation of “a piece of cake”.

https://www.wanikani.com/vocabulary/孫

新しいコンピューターを接続することは、 私の孫にとってはお茶の子さいさいだ。
Hooking up the new computer is a cinch for my grandchild.

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Learned a 四字熟語 today: 油断大敵 (ゆだんたいてき)

分かっていると思うけど、油断大敵だよ。「猿も木から落ちる」って言うだろう?
As you all know, overconfidence is man’s greatest enemy. People say “even monkeys fall from trees,” right?

油断大敵 - Jisho.org
https://www.wanikani.com/vocabulary/大敵

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TIL “choreographer” in Japanese is a “teacher who attaches shaking” :rofl:

振り付け師になるのが夢だという子どもが、急増しています。
The number of children who dream of being a choreographer has increased suddenly.

https://www.wanikani.com/vocabulary/急増
振り付け師 - Jisho.org

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Not directly from the example sentence but I did learn today that Chicago’s “Hard to Say I’m Sorry” is 「素直にならなくて」 in Japanese.

It seems that translating song titles was more common in the past (I would say from the 60s to the 80s). Even so, it wasn’t done across the board.

For instance, Genesis’s The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway (1974) was 「 眩惑のブロードウェイ」. But all their album titles since 1980 has not been translated into Japanese (except to write them in katakana).

In the case of Black Sabbath, this transition to katakana happened in 1986, the Rolling Stones in 1983, KISS in 1984, King Crimson in 1974, etc.

BTW the example sentence was:

どうして素直に有り難うと言うことができないんだろうね。
Why won’t you just obediently say thank you?
https://www.wanikani.com/vocabulary/有り難う

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