Seven Bites on One Ankle. The Word That Fixes It Is Not Mosquito.
To say I got bitten by an insect. in Japanese, say 虫に刺されました (mushi ni sasaremashita).
You already lost. Seven bites, all on one ankle, and you are clawing at them outside a Kyoto drugstore. The fix is one sentence, and it is not the word for mosquito.
Why this phrase
August dusk at a riverside festival means mosquitoes, and the tourist fix happens the next morning at a drugstore counter. Kofuku plays the bitten tourist, Hana plays the pharmacy staff. He says 虫に刺されました, then asks かゆみ止めはありますか, and she hands him the tube. The wedge: 蚊に刺されました is perfectly good Japanese, but the word printed on the box and understood at the counter is 虫刺され, insect bite, so the general word gets you further than the specific one.
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More phrases like this
- Your Train Left From the Other Side · Hantai-gawa desu
- You Picnicked on the Finish Line · Undōkai desu ka?
- The Taxi Hasn't Moved. · hatsunori
- You Landed With a Welcome Suica. The Gate Is Not the Place to Find Out. · Kore de noremasu ka?
- The Hotel Room Is Black. The Switch Is the Slot. · kādo o sashikonde kudasai
- POV: You Paid for a Ryokan. The Floor Is Empty. They Did Not Forget the Bed. · Futon o shiite kudasai
- POV: Security Opened Your Backpack. Those Konbini Snacks Are Not Coming In. · mochikomi kinshi
- POV: The Bus Drove Straight Past Your Hotel. The Button Over Your Head Was the Whole Game. · kōsha botan
- POV: The Ramen Guy Is Holding a Ladle of Garlic. He Is Waiting. · ninniku nashi de
- She Handed You the Thin One. Accounting Will Throw It Out. · ryōshūsho o onegai shimasu
- Immigration Wants a Square on Your Phone. The Paper Form Does Nothing. · nijigen kōdo
- The Vending Machine Just Rejected Your Only Bill. The Shop Next Door Can Fix It. · kuzushite itadakemasu ka?
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