Faces and surfaces with 面
面 has three basic meanings: face, surface, and direction.
Etymology
面 is a pictogram of a face seen from the front.
Faces and Fronts
真面目 (Serious)真面目( まじめ ) means serious, earnest, or diligent rather than joking or insincere.
It combines 真 (true ) with 面目 (face ) to show a genuine outward character .
それでも歩は寄せてくる »
Volume 10 » Page 84
Urushi asks Rin about what Ayumu was like in middle school.
うるし:
「真面目( まじめ ) 少( すこ ) し抜( ぬ ) けてていつも真剣( しんけん ) で勉強( べんきょう ) 苦手( にがて ) でスポーツ万能( ばんのう ) か」
“Serious but a bit absent-minded, always earnest, struggles with academics, but excels at sports, huh?”
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Challenge
What does Urushi learn about Ayumu's abilities?
Clues
勉強( べんきょう ) 苦手( にがて ) で"he is poor at studying," limiting the scope of the praise that follows
スポーツ万能( ばんのう )
"good at every kind of sport" or "an all-around athlete"
What does the speaker mean?
He struggles with academics but excels across sports.
勉強( べんきょう ) 苦手( にがて ) gives his academic weakness, while スポーツ万能( ばんのう ) describes broad athletic ability.
He is equally skilled at studying and every sport.
Urushi explicitly includes 勉強( べんきょう ) 苦手( にがて ) , so 万能( ばんのう ) is limited to sports here.
He is talented only at kendo.
スポーツ万能( ばんのう ) describes all-around athletic ability, not skill in a single sport.
He takes sports seriously but performs poorly in them.
万能( ばんのう ) gives a positive assessment of his ability across sports.
He studies well but is absent-minded during sports.
This reverses the academic description and incorrectly ties 抜( ぬ ) けてて only to sports.
He is capable at everything without exception.
The compound is スポーツ万能( ばんのう ) , so the scope is athletics, and the line separately says studying is difficult for him.
Urushi’s rapid list includes both a weakness and a strength. Ayumu is 勉強( べんきょう ) 苦手( にがて ) , poor at studying, but スポーツ万能( ばんのう ) , an all-around athlete.
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Scenes and Aspects
面倒 (Trouble)面倒( めんどう ) means trouble, bother, or something difficult to deal with. It can also mean caring for someone or something.
This word is an ateji , so the meaning of the kanji do not apply.
名探偵コナン »
Volume 1 » Page 71
Conan and Ran end up with Kogoro investigating a kidnapping case. As Kogoro questions the butler, Conan steps in with his own questions. The butler asks who the child is.
小五郎( こごろ ) :「いやー、わたしの知( し ) り合( あ ) いの子( こ ) でして…」
“Well, it's the child of an acquaintance, and...”
「蘭( らん ) ！！ ちゃんと面倒( めんどう ) 見( み ) てろ！！」
“Ran! Properly look after him!”
Challenge Yourself
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Challenge
What does Kogoro order Ran to do?
Clues
ちゃんと
properly
面倒( めんどう ) 見( み ) てろkeep looking after him
What does the speaker mean?
Watch Conan properly.
ちゃんと modifies the rough command 面倒( めんどう ) 見( み ) てろ, with Conan as the understood object.
Introduce Conan as her own child.
Kogoro has just described Conan as an acquaintance's child.
Let Conan question the butler alone.
He wants Ran to supervise Conan and keep him out of the questioning.
Ask the butler to look after Conan.
Kogoro addresses Ran directly and assigns the supervision to her.
Take Conan home immediately.
The command is to keep an eye on him, not necessarily to leave.
Explain the kidnapping case to Conan.
面倒( めんどう ) 見( み ) る means to look after someone, not explain a case.
Kogoro orders Ran to supervise Conan properly. The object is omitted because everyone knows that Conan is the child he means.
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Surfaces and Planes
地面 (Ground)地面( じめん ) means the ground, whether soil or a paved surface.
It combines 地 (ground ) with 面 (surface ) to show the surface of the ground .
くノ一ツバキの胸の内 »
Volume 1 » Page 85
Sazanka is worried that Tsubaki’s abilities go awry when she hears the word “man”. To test this, Sazanka leads Tsubaki to a puddle of water and challenges her to evaporate it with a fire technique, during which Sazanka will whisper “man” into Tsubaki’s ear. The result is Tsubaki’s ability intensifying in power.
サザンカ:
「蒸発( じょうはつ ) どころか…地面( じめん ) 抉( えぐ ) れてる…」
“Not just evaporation, even the ground is gouged.”
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Challenge
What result shocks Sazanka?
Clues
蒸発( じょうはつ ) どころか"far from merely evaporating," replacing the expected result with something more extreme
地面( じめん ) 抉( えぐ ) れてる"the ground is gouged out," with が omitted after (地面:じめん)
What does the speaker mean?
The attack gouged the ground instead of merely evaporating the water.
蒸発( じょうはつ ) どころか overturns the expected evaporation, and 地面( じめん ) 抉( えぐ ) れてる gives the stronger result.
The water did not evaporate because the fire went out.
The result exceeded evaporation. The line does not say the fire failed.
The puddle froze and cracked the ground.
There is no word for freezing. Sazanka describes the ground as gouged out.
The water evaporated without affecting anything else.
どころか rejects that limited result because the ground was also damaged.
Tsubaki missed the puddle and struck a nearby tree.
The damaged object is 地面( じめん ) , the ground, not a tree.
The ground returned to normal after the attack.
抉( えぐ ) れてる describes the ground's resulting damaged state.
Sazanka expected the technique to evaporate the puddle. Instead, 蒸発( じょうはつ ) どころか leads to the more extreme result, even the ground has been gouged out.
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譜面 (Score)譜面( ふめん ) means sheet music or a score written in musical notation.
It combines 譜 (notation ) with 面 (surface ) to show the page (surface) bearing written notation .
名探偵コナン »
Volume 7 » Page 80
Following a series of murders, Conan discovers a message hidden in sheet music. He explains it to Ran.
コナン:
「ピアノの鍵盤( けんばん ) の左端( ひだりはし ) から順( じゅん ) に、アルファベットをあてはめて…」
“Starting from the leftmost key on the piano keyboard, I assigned each key a letter...”
「メッセージの文字( もじ ) に相当( そうとう ) する音( おと ) を、譜面( ふめん ) 書( か ) きしるしただけだよ…」
“I simply wrote down the notes corresponding to the letters of the message on the sheet music...”
Challenge Yourself
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Challenge
What did Conan write on the musical score?
Clues
メッセージの文字( もじ ) に相当( そうとう ) する音( おと )
the notes corresponding to the message's letters
譜面( ふめん ) に書( か ) きしるしたwrote them down on the score
What does the speaker mean?
The piano notes corresponding to the message's letters.
に相当( そうとう ) する links each message letter to its matching note.
The alphabet in its ordinary order with no notes.
Conan first maps letters to keys, then records the corresponding sounds as notation.
A list of every key on the piano.
He writes only the notes needed for the letters in the message.
The murderer's spoken confession.
The hidden message is encoded through letter-to-note correspondence, not copied speech.
Instructions for tuning the piano.
The notes carry a message rather than maintenance directions.
A melody unrelated to the alphabet.
Conan explains that each sound corresponds to a particular letter.
Conan assigned alphabet letters to the piano keys and wrote the notes corresponding to the message’s letters on the score.
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