Japanese with Manga

Never even held a kitchen knife with 包丁を握る

Vocabulary Explanation: Collocations for cooking

In an inset, Kenta, a young man with short dark hair, stares blankly against a background of swirls, with the label ばか正直 beneath him. Below the inset, the restaurant woman, her hair in a braided bun, talks to Kiyo and Sumire, who listen.
舞妓さんちのまかないさん » Volume 15 » Page 54

Kiyo and Sumire visit a Western-style restaurant whose card their childhood friend Kenta left them, guessing he works there as a waiter. When they can’t cover the bill, the woman serving them says a staff member already paid for their meal out of his wages. That turns out to be Kenta, who works in the kitchen as an apprentice cook. Sumire admits the news surprised them, since Kenta never used to cook.

店員(てんいん)さん:
「本人(ほんにん)も面接(めんせつ)で『包丁(ほうちょう)もにぎったことありません』て言(ゆ)うてはったわ。」
“He said so himself at his interview. 'I've never even held a kitchen knife.'”
Literal: “The person himself also said at the interview, "I have never even gripped a kitchen knife."”
ー:
「ばか正直(しょうじき)」
“Honest to a fault”

Key Points

1包丁(ほうちょう)を握(にぎ)る = to hold a kitchen knife
  • 握(にぎ)る means to grip something firmly in your hand. With 包丁(ほうちょう), it means to take up a knife and cook.
  • 包丁(ほうちょう)も握(にぎ)ったことがない is a set way of saying someone has never cooked, not even the first step.
  • The manga writes the verb in kana, にぎった. The same verb shapes rice balls: おにぎりを握(にぎ)る.
2包丁(ほうちょう)も = not even a kitchen knife
  • も replaces the object particle を. With a negative verb, it means “not even”: Kenta hasn’t done even the most basic thing.
  • 本人(ほんにん)も at the start is a different も, “too”. The woman heard the same thing from Kenta himself, not just from his friends.
3〜たことありません = have never done
  • 〜たことがない says something has never happened to you. ありません is the polite form of ない, which suits a job interview.
  • Speakers often drop が in this pattern, as Kenta does: にぎったことありません.
4「…」て言(ゆ)うてはった = he was saying “…”
  • て after a quote is the Kansai counterpart of って, the casual quotation marker.
  • 言(ゆ)うて is the Kansai て-form of 言(い)う. Standard Japanese says 言(い)って.
  • 〜てはった is the past of 〜てはる, the Kyoto form of 〜ている with respect added. In Kyoto, はる also shows friendly consideration, which is why the woman uses it for her own young employee.
  • Her sentence-final わ softens the statement.
5ばか正直(しょうじき) = honest to a fault
  • ばか before 正直(しょうじき), “honest”, means “foolishly”. Kenta was so honest that he admitted the one thing likely to cost him the job.

Vocabulary

(The person themselves)

本人(ほんにん) is the very person being talked about, as opposed to a relative, a friend, or a stand-in.

(Interview)

面接(めんせつ) is meeting an applicant in person to judge them, as for a job or a school place.

(Kitchen knife)

包丁(ほうちょう) is the knife used for cooking. Kinds are named by what they cut, such as a 出刃包丁(でばぼうちょう) for fish.

(To grip)

握(にぎ)る means to grip or squeeze something in your hand. It is also the verb for shaping food by hand, as in おにぎりを握(にぎ)る or 寿司(すし)を握(にぎ)る, and for holding power or control, as in 権力(けんりょく)を握(にぎ)る.

(Thing)

こと is an abstract thing, matter, or fact, as opposed to a physical object. It also turns a verb phrase into a noun, as in 見たことがある. It is also written 事(こと).

(To exist)

ある is to exist or be in a place, for things and plants rather than people or animals. It also means to have something, or for an event to take place.

(To say)

言(い)う means to say or tell. It can also mean to call something by a particular name.

(Honest to a fault)

ばか正直(しょうじき) describes someone so honest that it works against them, telling the truth even when a small fib or silence would serve them better.

See Also

舞妓さんちのまかないさん © its respective creators. It is used here for educational commentary.