#022: Niji (Rainbow or Two O'clock) (Semiweekly-pedia of Japan)

#022: Niji (Rainbow or Two O'clock) (category: homonym)

The Japanese word "niji" means both "rainbow" and "two o'clock". While "rainbow (niji)" can be written by single kanji character, "two o'clock (niji)" needs two kanji characters to be written. English count "one, two, three ..." corresponds to "ichi, ni, san ..." in Japanese and "o'clock" is "ji". So, "two o'clock" can be paraphrased as "niji" in Japanese.

In many countries, rainbow (niji) is regarded as a sign of good luck and it often makes people who see it happy. However, it must be hard to find someone who feel happy only by seeing the time of two o'clock (niji).

(Friday, June 14th, 2013)    See Archive