English Translation
That’s big talk for an upstart like you.
I’m curious about the cultural and historical context behind this phrase, 青二才!
Or, does it literally just mean “blue second year”? Like, a green novice?
@ericaw
青二才 consists of 青い + 二才.
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青い literally means “blue”. We also use 青い when referring to youth, immature people or fledglings. In English, you describe unripen tomatoes as “green”. But we in Japanese do so as “blue”.
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According to this article, 二才 of 青二才 has two possible theories of etymology.
- 二才 is derived from 二才魚 (にさいうお). 二才魚 is a term of 出世魚 (しゅっせうお), which is a group noun of fish having different names on each development stage. 出世 means “promotion”.
For example. Japanese amberjack, also called “Japanese yellowtail”, is one of 出世魚. We have different names for the same Japanese amberjack based on their length of body. モジャコ (6-7cm); ワカシ (-15cm); イナダ (around 40cm); ワラサ (around 60cm); and ブリ (90+cm). It’s like a list of job titles such as “junior associate”, “associate”, “manager”, “director” and “executive director” etc. climbing a corporate ladder. - 二才 (にさい) was phonetically transformed from 新背 (にせい). In old Japanese, 背 referred to not only “one’s back of body” but also “one’s husband or boyfriend” (Note: no one in this modern era uses 背 as “one’s husband/boyfriend”). Attached 新 (new) with 背, 新背 meant “youths” in old Japanese.
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