Tuesday, August 1, 2017

Favorite Word

Image result for ヘトヘト (credit)

ヘトヘト
phonetically pronounced: ”heh toe heh toe” (spelled heto heto), quickly became my favorite word in Japanese. 

It's slang for "I'm tired." 

This means not just "tired" but destroyed.


Image result for destroyed after work

ヘトヘト piqued my interest initially because I enjoy onomatopoeia. 


Japan loves their rhyme sounds, too. 


Example: もしもし
Sounds like "moo she moo she," spelled moshi moshi.


Image result for mo shi mo shi (credit)

One time I made the mistake of not responding with もしもしon the phone. 


Caller: もしもし。             (Greeting on the phone.)
Me:      こんにちは            (konichiwa: Good afternoon / hello.)
Caller: もしもし                 (Louder this time to hint repeat me.)
Me:      はい?                    (Hi: Yes? Because I'll say what I want.) 
Caller: もしもし!!            (Say it because this is JAPAN!!)
Me:      なに?!                (Nani: What, dude?)
Caller: もしもし! !  😈        (I can do this all day, Foreigner!)
Me: ちくしょーもしもし。(Kusoo: Dang it! Greeting on the phone.)

Then the conversation started. 

So as you can see Japan is really into their rules and onomatopoeia usage.

Intrigued with how many different ways I could say "I'm tired," I searched by asking my friends and family. Some of these are slang, and some are direct.



American Sign Language: 
Video Here


Australia:                    
Buggered 
A blue field with the Union Flag in the upper hoist quarter, a large white seven-pointed star in the lower hoist quarter, and constellation of five white stars in the fly – one small five-pointed star and four, larger, seven-pointed stars.

Brazil (Portuguese):   
Morto na farofa
Flag of Brazil

Canada:                      
Bagged
Vertical triband (red, white, red) with a red maple leaf in the centre

Costa Rica:                
Cansado
Flag of Costa Rica

Colombia:              
  Estoy molido     
Estoy mamado 
Estoy que caigo como un bulto de papa
Flag of Colombia


China:                        
我叹了 and 我三家爱了
(wo tan le / wo san j'ai le)
Flag of the People's Republic of China


Ecuador:                    
Estoy agotado
Flag of Ecuador

France:                      
Fatigué
Flag of France

Germany:                  
Ich bin müde
Flag of Germany

Indonesia:                
Capek banget
and borrowed from Arabic
lelah hayati
Flag of Indonesia

Ireland:                 
Wrecked or bolloxed 
Flag of Ireland

Israel:                     
Gamur
Centered blue star within a horizontal triband

Italy:                         
Stanco morto
Sono stanco
Flag of Italy

Japan:                          
ヘトヘト
Centered deep red circle on a white rectangle [1]

Mexico:                  
Muy cansado 
File:Mexican States Standard.svg

New Zealand:         
Knackered or buggered
Blue field with the Union Flag in the top right corner, and four red stars with white borders to the right.

Québec:                   
J'suis fatigué
Flag of Quebec

Peru:                         
Estoy agotado
Flag of Peru

Philippines:            
Pagod
Flag of the Philippines

Russia:                    
                        подзаибался на работе                      (podzaibalsya na rabote: it's a bit dirty and involves profanity. Use your imagination.)
Flag of Russia

Scotland:               
Knackered
Flag of Scotland

Spain:                     
Estoy sobado / me voy a mimir 
Flag of Spain

South Africa:          
   Ek is moeg 
Flag of South Africa

Thailand:
เหนื่อย (nuei)
Flag of Thailand

Tunisia (Arabic)   
Taaban
Flag of Tunisia

United States:      

Drained (many others)

Flag of the United States

United Kingdom  
Knackered 
A flag featuring both cross and saltire in red, white and blue

Vietnam:               
Bèo nhèo
Flag of Vietnam
Wales:
Knackered
Flag of Wales

And finally, my favorite language . . .

Yiddish:                     
Oysgehorevet  
Image result for yiddish flag

Here's a list of countries where English is the primary language. I don't know slang for "I'm tired" in the unhighlighted countries. Do you?

Anguilla
Ireland, NorthernSingapore
Antigua and BarbudaIreland, Republic ofSolomon Islands
AustraliaJamaicaSouth Africa
BahamasKenyaSwaziland
BarbadosLesothoTanzania
BelizeLiberiaTonga
BermudaMalawiTrinidad and Tobago
BotswanaMaltaTurks and Caicos Islands
British Virgin IslandsMauritiusUganda
CameroonMontserratUnited Kingdom
Canada (except Quebec)NamibiaVanuatu
Cayman IslandsNew ZealandWales
DominicaNigeriaZambia
EnglandPapua New GuineaZimbabwe
FijiSt. Kitts and Nevis
GambiaSt. Lucia
GhanaSt. Vincent and the Grenadines
GibraltarScotland
GrenadaSeychelles
GuyanaSierra Leone


I'm rather spent, beat, and a bit worn out (different ways to say "tired" in America) after compiling this list of ways to say 
ヘトヘト

Thanks for your help: 
Ana, Beryl, Brian, Cody, Darlene, David, Dee, Flo, Gadi, Ga Bri Elle, Han, JP, Keiko, Señorita Maria, Mark, Martin, Max, Megan, Mou, Na Na, Raíssaランギ マコール, Robert B, Rio, Sharon, Stephen, Syarif, and YF. 

Flags are from Wikipedia.

What's your favorite word or phrase and how many different ways can you say it in?

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Remember to remember . . .