Tweet of the Week #100: Epic Japanese Kitchen Fails

When one Japanese Twitter user shared a photo of their rice down on the kitchen carpet, it sparked a whole thread of cooking fails that’ll make you smile and remind you that kitchen fails happen to the best of us.

And judging by the number of pics and replies @maple2692 got, tragic rice and spilling incidents seem to happen a lot in Japan!

Rice beyond rescue

全米が泣いた。 pic.twitter.com/IF97uW9ODJ

— めいぷる (@maple2692) September 15, 2020

全米（ぜんべい）が泣（な）いた。

=

“All the rice cried.”

*This is a pun made with a classic punchline to promote American movies in Japan, “all Americans (who watched the movie) cried“. The other reading can mean “the whole pot of rice cried“.

我が家も良く全米を泣かせております。元気出して下さい。 pic.twitter.com/t8mY7NgpLX

— kotom (@MMfammam) September 16, 2020

我（わ）が家（や）も良（よ）く全米（ぜんべい）を泣（な）かせております。元気（げんき）出（だ）して下（くだ）さい。

=

“At our home, we also often make rice cry. Cheer up.”

通りすがりです。
まだ炊いた後なら被害は少ない、、、。 pic.twitter.com/lOuah2ZkEf

— あすとれあ@J花企画進行中 (@Astraea04) September 16, 2020

通（とお）りすがりです。

まだ炊（た）いた後（あと）なら被害（ひがい）は少（すく）ない、、、。

=

“Just passing by.

At least, after the rice is cooked, the damage is minimal…”

Flying saucepan

We don’t want to be the ones who have to clean that up!

俺も調理場でミートソースの鍋を落としたんだけどあまりにスプラッターで笑っちゃいましたw pic.twitter.com/SQMHEfb0AD

— イーグル@ (@2503raptor1) September 16, 2020

俺（おれ）も調理場（ちょうりば）でミートソースの鍋（なべ）を落（お）としたんだけどあまりにスプラッターで笑（わら）っちゃいましたw

=

“I dropped the meat sauce pot in the kitchen, it splattered so much it made me laugh lol”

僕もやりました😭 pic.twitter.com/epmT8glf5n

— ほっぴー (@t1AMqb4xB7HE8RL) September 16, 2020

僕（ぼく）もやりました

=

“I’ve done it too”

Break an egg

通りすがりですがTKGにどうぞ pic.twitter.com/G3BVlyWhuZ

— (･x･)ｶﾇﾞｰ (@kazooenvision) September 16, 2020

通（とお）りすがりですがTKGにどうぞ

=

“Just passing by, here’s some eggs for your rice”

Here, TKG stands for 卵（たまご）かけご飯（はん） (eggs over rice).

電話しながら冷蔵庫開けたら卵落ちてきて
うわエッグー！と素で言ってしまいました pic.twitter.com/FBcYtYbAXq

— ぱいそん@ていぼう部 (@python_0909) September 16, 2020

電話（でんわ）しながら冷蔵庫（れいぞうこ）開（ひら）けたら卵（たまご落（お）ちてきて うわエッグー！と素（す）で言（い）ってしまいました

=

“While I was on the phone, I opened the door of the fridge causing eggs to fall out, and without thinking I naturally said Uwah! Eggs!!”

エグ(い) is a modern word used by young people as a reaction to a creepy, cruel, annoying, tight, or hard situation. The etymology is エグ(み)“egumi”, which refers to a taste that is strong and irritating to the throat and tongue. *エッグーis a pun used with this word and egg.*

How to use the words あまり, あまりに and あまりにも

The word あまり generally means an excess or overdose of something and is used in various expressions that all relate to something going over the limit.

• あまり is used with nouns and verbs and it’s position in a sentence can vary.

When used with a noun, you should always connect the noun with the particle の.

緊（きん）張（ちょう）のあまり、間違（まちが）えしました = I made a mistake because I was too nervous.

When used with a verb, あまり resemble the suffix すぎる (which also translates to “too much”).

集中（しゅうちゅう）するあまり (=集中すぎる)、時間（じかん）を忘（わす）れる = I was concentrating too much and forget about time.

• あまりに and あまりにも are phrases used before verbs, adjectives, and nouns. も adds emphasis.

あまりに緊（きん）張（ちょう）すぎて、具合（ぐあい）が悪（わる）くなった= I was so anxious, I became sick.

あまりにも悲（かな）しい話（はなし） = Too sad a story.

What can be confusing is that when used negatively, あまり can also mean the (excessive) lack of something. So you should pay attention to the JLPT N4 expression あまり〜ない. Used in combination with a negative adjective or verb, the phrase translates “not very much”, “not at all”.

あまり酒（さけ）飲（の）まない = I don’t drink alcohol much.

あまり良くない = It’s not very good.

Vocabulary

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