娘「いってきまーす」
母「ちょっと待って。そのドレス私のよ」
娘「きょうだけ貸してね。バイバーイ」
母「まったくちゃっかりしてるんだから」
Chakkari Shiteiru
Musume: Ittekimaaasu.
Haha: Chotto matte. Sono doresu watashi noyo.
Musume: Kyoo dake kashite ne. Bai baaai.
Haha: Mattaku chakkari shiteiru'n dakara.
Daughter: See ya later, Mom.
Mother: Wait just a minute there. That's my dress you're wearing.
Daughter: Just for today. OK? Bye-bye.
Mother: The nerve!
Where people use zuuzuushii when their intentions are not amicable, chakkari shiteiru is used about people toward whom the speaker has friendly intentions.
It's not uncommon for a mother and daughter to share the same dress size. From hat size to shoe size, however, my daughter Mina, is the same as me. And so, though I'm usually the first one out of the house in the morning, I've got to watch put for days like today when Mina leaves first. Watashi ga kiyoo to omotta fuku wo chakkari kiteiru (She rather boldly took advantage of my wardrobe and was wearing exactly what I'd been planning to wear). Since my clothes always look so nice on her, however, I never really get angry and am always somehow pleased with how nice she looks. Talk about a daughter knowing her mother's weak point Mattaku chakkari shita musume da (She's certainly got a nerve).
What if something similar happens between two people who aren't so close? i.e. imagine there's a Mr. A who loves golf so much he leaves his clubs at work in order to always be ready to play on the weekends. Imagine also that one weekend when he's away on a business trip one of his colleagues is suddenly asked by a friend to go golfing and immediately thinks of the clubs Mr. A keeps in his office locker. "He won't mind if I borrow them just once." What will be Mr. A's reaction come Monday morning? Turns out he was upset, to say the least, "Nante zuuzuushii" ("Who the heck does that guy think he is? !") "Using someone else's golf clubs like that!" Now what if Mr. B was both much younger than Mr. A and well-liked by the older man? Mr. A probably would have said something like, "Kimi wa hontoo ni chakkari shiteiru na" ("Well, you've certainly got a nerve.) Next time just make sure you ask before you use them"). I hope the difference between chakkari shiteiru and zuuzuushii is clear now.
I'm writing this column as I sit in the tearoom of the Naeba Prince Hotel. Out the window are the ski slopes and lifts with their long lines into which pretty young girls keep cutting. "Excuse me, can I get in here?" They say, I imagine everyone thinks, "Zuibun chakkari shiteru na" ("They've certainly got a nerve). But as long as it's only one person doing it at a time people probably don't mind too much. After all, the high speed lifts take four people. If an adult, (especially a middle-aged woman), does the same thing, however, it's likely someone will shout, "Hey, getin the line! " Everyone will be thinking, "Zuuzuushii ni mo hodo ga aru" ("A person can only be so pushy").
I see my daughter out on the slope. Chakkari to watashi no sukii wo haki, chakkari to retsu ni hairikomi (She's shrewdly using my skis and shrewdly working her way into the lines ahead of everyone else). With a big smile she's saying, "Gomenaaasai" I wonder how long she'll be able to get by with all that smiling.