Grammar or sayings you don't find in a textbook

[spurrymoses]

I was listening to a past exam CD for Level 3 the other day when I realised that sometimes there are grammar or sayings that are too detailed or specific to cover as a grammatical lesson - but need to be learned - somehow.

Maybe this thread can be used for such oddities.

For example, I know the word うえ and I know した (basically upper and lower) , but I didn't know that 上のおじょうさん means either older or first-born daughter...

If you didn't and you've listened to Past Exam 2003 (#4) you'd be very confused. Or maybe you'd figure it out. In subsequent sentences, as is often the case with Japanese, context is assumed and the eldest and youngest daughters are then refered to as just 上 and 下 respectively...

Here's an exerpt from it:

[Tim]

Thanks for the interesting post.
I haven't heard of that particular usage before.

It seems to be one of those minor grammar points that is gained mainly from language exposure rather than formal grammar points.

I guess one interesting grammar point i picked up was 背にして (se ni shite) which i came across in a novel where it was used in a sentence 「光を背にして無数の影が見えた。」 (hikari wo se ni shite musuu no kage ga mieta).

Apparently 背にする means to turn your back towards something, so in this case the sentence would be translated as "She/He turned away from the light and saw a countless number of shadows"

It was a tough phrase as i couldn't find a description until i asked a Japanese speaker. Although now i realise 背 refers to one's back so although i guess it could be inferred from the context, at the time, i couldn't help but think of 背が高い and trying to figure out what one's height had to do with anything.

Unfortunately as useful as it may be in reading novels, i don't think that phrase is actually covered in the JLPT...
Maybe i should be spending more time into trying to memorise only the stuff in the JLPT. :roll:

Tim.