torihada lit. ‘bird skin’
Japanese idiom, everyday. Small bumps on the skin caused by cold, fear or a strong emotion.
Draft Not yet checked by a native Japanese speaker.
How do people use 鳥肌
?
Everyday Japanese, the normal word for the thing itself in a doctor’s office and in conversation. It usually comes with the verb 立つ (to stand up), often in the past: “鳥肌が立った”. Cold and fear are the classic triggers, and Digital Daijisen notes that in recent years people also use it for being deeply moved, such as goosebumps at a great performance.
Also said 鳥肌が立つ, 鳥肌立つ
鳥肌
in real sentences
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ホラー映画を観ると私は鳥肌がたってしまう。
Horā eiga o miru to watashi wa torihada ga tatte shimau.
I get goose bumps when I see a horror movie.
Tatoeba, sentence by bunbuku, translation by Zifre, CC BY 2.0 FR
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まったく衰えもしない姿に、鳥肌を覚えてしまった。
Mattaku otoroe mo shinai sugata ni, torihada o oboete shimatta.
Seeing them show no sign of slowing down at all gave me goosebumps.
Tatoeba, sentence by KK_kaku_, CC BY 2.0 FR
Where does 鳥肌
come from?
Nihon Kokugo Daijiten (via Kotobank) says the skin looks like a chicken’s after the feathers are plucked, which is the English goose with a different bird. The word is listed in the Jesuit Japanese-Portuguese dictionary Nippo Jisho (1603), and the dictionary quotes “鳥はだの立” for shivering with cold from the Tale of Genji commentary Kakaishō (around 1362), which adds that Chinese poems call it “chicken skin”.
Mistakes learners make with 鳥肌
Translating the English verb. Goosebumps stand up in Japanese, so it’s 鳥肌が立つ, and saying “鳥肌がある” (I have bird skin) sounds like you’re describing rough skin, which is the word’s second meaning.
Other Japanese idioms like 鳥肌
Spot a mistake in 鳥肌
?
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