Ton-Chin-Kan

Japanese idiomatic sentences #10 with sword

In this series 7, we discussed what “Aizuchi” means. When the sound of hammers are not aligned among a swordsmith and his pupils, they are not working well together to make a sword.  The sounds of hammers are spelled “Ton, Chin, Kan” in order.  The Japanese used to say “Don’t be Ton-Chin-Kan” which means “Don’t be ridiculous” or “Get a clue.”  So when you make some irrelevant remarks, they say, “It’s ton-chin-kan.”  These idiomatic expressions based on the Japanese sword may be disappearing in the Japanese daily conversation.