Today’s J-Slang is…
[podcast]http://media.libsyn.com/media/japanese/jslang09.mp3[/podcast]
太っ腹
Futoppara = to generous, broad minded, openhearted
彼って太っ腹だね
kare tte futoppara da ne = He’s a really broadminded guy
Although the Kanji 太っ腹 literally means fat stomach, it really refers to someone who is generous or openminded. In the past, travellers to Japan were often shocked when new Japanese acquaintances would give compliments such as “Nice to meet you Mr Smith. my, how fat you are”.
Of ocurse, these days, calling someone fat in Japan would not be a good idea unless you wanted to get a slap in the face. Women have been brought up on a diet of photoshopped magazine stick insect models as the rest of world has. It’s interesting that although 太っ腹 literally migh be quite rude, it has retained its positive real meaning and can be used as a compliment. And that’s phat!
