Matt Fargo (64 page)

A world standard.

Let’s go to the arcade.
gēsen ikō ze

I’m not a gamer or anything, but I like video games. gēmā to made ikanai kedo kekkō suki da yo

PEKO PEKO NIHONGO

hara

Food is pretty popular everywhere, but it holds a particularly important place in the hearts of the Japanese. You can’t hold a conversation for more than thirty seconds without someone recommending a restaurant or sharing a recipe with you, which is kind of counterintuitive considering how skinny most Japanese folks are. Every day is Iron Chef to these people—a fact which is quite pleasing to the belly but which taxes your vocabulary when it comes time to articulate your appetites.

meshi

Technically, meshi is the word for rice. But of course, everybody knows that all Asian people ever eat is rice! So in Asia the word “rice” just means “food.” Kind of like how in America the word “Jack in the Box” means breakfast, lunch, and dinner.