5
皮肉

Irony


Meaning

Irony, Sarcasm, Ironic, Sarcastic

Word Type

noun, な adjective, の adjective

Explanation

The skin on the meat is kind of like the outer shell. It's not very nice, and people who eat only meat skin tend to use sarcasm and irony. That being said, Japanese people don't really understand sarcasm. So, maybe that's why "meat skin" means "sarcasm." Is this ironic? Now I'm not even sure.


Reading

ひにく

Explanation

This is a jukugo word that uses the on'yomi readings of the kanji. You should be able to read this on your own.


Context

Patterns of Use

Common Word Combinations

  • 皮肉たっぷり

    full of sarcasm

    皮肉だ

    it's sarcastic

    皮肉っぽい

    kind of sarcastic

  • 皮肉にきこえる

    to sound sarcastic

    皮肉になる

    to become cynical

  • 皮肉をぶつける

    to lash out at someone with sarcasm

    皮肉を言う

    to be sarcastic

  • 皮肉な見方

    a cynical way of looking at something

    皮肉なこと

    something ironic

    皮肉なもの

    something ironic

Context Sentences

父は、皮肉な男だ。

My father is an ironic man.

先生のジョークは、皮肉なのかどうか、分からなかった。

I didn't know if my teacher's joke was ironic or not.

皮肉にも、日本のカタカナイングリッシュはアメリカ生まれの母には、とてもむずかしい。

Ironically, Japan's Katakana English is very difficult for my American-born mother.


Kanji Composition