木村：悪いけど、今晩の残業代わってくれないかな？ちょっと、気分がわるいんだ。
佐藤：いいよ。早く、家に帰った方がいいよ。
木村：ありがとう。この穴埋めは必ずするからね。
Ana-ume
(Kaisha no dooryoo dooshi no kaiwa)
Kimura: Warui kedo, konya no zangyoo kawatte kurenai ka na? Chotto, kibun ga warui'n da.
Sato: liyo. Hayaku, ie ni kaetta hoo ga iiyo.
Kimura: Arigatoo. Kono ana-ume wa kanarazu suru kara ne.
(A conversation between co-workers)
Kimura: It's asking a lot, but could you stay overtime for me tonight? I don't feel very well.
Sato: Okay. You should get home as soon as possible.
Kimura: Thanks. I won't forget to make it up to you.
* * *
Ana-ume literally means to fill up a hole. From this come meanings such as to fill a gap or deficit, to make up a loss, to supply a deficiency, to cover a deficit or loss.
In the conversation, Mr. Kimura has incurred a debt to Mr. Sato by asking him to work overtime. At some point he must return the favor or pay back the debt. He expresses all of this by using the expression ana-ume suru.
I have a friend who used to work as an accountant in a small company. The president, unfortunately, con- sidered the company's money and his own pocket money as one and the same. My friend: "Shachoo no tsukatta okane wo ana-ume suru no ga taihen da (It was really hard to make up for the money the boss took)." He didn't cover the deficits out of his own pocket but by the way he filled in the account book (choobojoo de ana-ume wo shita). The tax office would probably be very interested in learning how he covered the company's losses (dono yoo ni shite ana-ume wo shita ka).
After working for the company for some 20 years, my friend had had enough, though, and so moved to a different company. "After all, I had to spend all my time making up for the money the boss used (shachoo ga tsukatta okane no ana-ume bakari saserarete imashita kara.)" What happened to the company once my friend was gone? I bet they had a hard time finding someone as talented to replace him (sono ana-ume wo suru noni, kuroo shita ni chigainai). (In this sentence ana-ume suru means to look for a talented accountant. ) All com- panies have the same problem-whenever a key em- ployee quits and goes somewhere else, someone new must be found to fill the position (dare ka ga sono ana-ume wo shinakute wa naranai).
As you should have realized, the noun ana-ume and the verb ana-ume suru both exist in Japanese.
- Kondo, kanarazu ana-ume shimasu (I'll definitely make it up to you soon).
- Rare wa shakkin wo ana-ume suru noni, juu nen kakatta (It took him 10 years to pay back all the money he had borrowed).
- Kono aida, osewa ni natta ana-ume ni, konya wa gochisoo shimasu yo (I'm going to treat you to dinner tonight to pay you back for the help you gave me the other day).
Finally... I wonder how Mr. Kimura will make up for the debt he has incurred. What would you do?