ミエ「この間青山で、とても良いコート見つけたの」
ジョン「それで買ったの？」
ミエ「私の給料ではとても手が届かなかったわ」
Te ga Todokanai
Mie: Kono aida Aoyama de, totemo yoi kooto mitsuketa no.
Jon: Sorede katta no?
Mie: Watashi no feyuryo 0e wa totemo te ga todokanakatta wa.
Mie: I found a really nice coat the other day in Aoyama.
John: And didyou buy it?
Mie: Iwantedto, buton mysalaryitwasway beyond my reach.
* * *
"Te ga todokanai" means one is unable to 'reach' far enough to get something.
A continuation of this week's conversation might go something like: John: "How much was it?" Mie: "\98,000." John: "That's not so expensive." Mie: "Anata ni wa te ga todoku deshoo keredo, watashi ni wa totemo te ga todokanai wa" ("You might be able to afford it, but \98,000 is way beyond my means"). (Two months later) Mie: "Hi, John. I finally bought that coat we were talking about. What do you think of it?" John: "I'm glad you were able to get it. But, what happened? Did you suddenly come into a lot of money?" Mie: "It was on sale for half price. Yatto watashi ni mo, te ga todokimashita."
Another example: As the winter gets colder and colder here in Yamaguchi, many students have started taking the bus to school instead of riding their bicycles. Unfortunately, however, there are only two buses each hour from Yamaguchi Station to the college campus. This means missing a bus means being 30 minutes late for class! Many students tell me they'd like to buy a new car, but can't afford one. Me: "Demo chuukosha nara te ga todoku deshoo " ("But I think you can afford a used car,) one which goes for about \250,000" ). With public transportation not being very convenient here, my beloved car (which had been collecting dust in Tokyo) is now happily being used!
There are many Japanese idioms which use the words atama, me, mimi, hana, kata (head, eyes, ears, nose, shoulder)-all parts of the body. Indeed, from top
to bottom, it seems every part of the body is used in some idiom(s). (I've tried to introduce many of them in this column). The te (hand) of this week's expression is another, Other idioms using te are:
Te ni hairu. This means to get, obtain, or come into posession of something: "Yatto hoshikatta kooto ga te ni hairimashita" ("I finally got the coat I wanted").
Te ni tsukanai. This refers to being unable to take an interest in anything else and settle down because, for example, one is enraptured with another perso - thai attractive person at the office whom you just can't stop thinking about. Shigoto ga te ni tsukanai (To be unable to settle down and do one's work).
Te wo hiku. This can be used as in, Shingoo de roojin no te wo hiku (Lead an elderly person by the hand at a traffic signal) and as in, Moo kabu kara te wo hiita hoo ga yoi (It'd be better if you kept your hands out of the stock market) with the meaning of severing connections. It's also used in reference to women as in, "Boku no tsuma kara te wo hike" ("Get your hands off my wife!"). You'll seldom hear women say this in reference to their husbands, however. Why is that do you think?