猫のひげ

Idiom:

• The cat's whiskers

Meaning:

• Excellent
• Superb
• High quality
• Perfect

Example:

"My new mobile phone is the cat's whiskers!"

Another idiom with the same meaning:

• The bee's knees

Example:

"Takeshi's new car is the bee's knees!"

A vulgar idiom with the same meaning:

• The dog's bollocks (This idiom is popular with low-class people; it is not recommended.)

Example:

"Akira's home cinema system is the dog's bollocks!"

豚の耳

Idiom:

• Make a pig's ear of something

Meaning:

• Complete a task badly
• Make a mess
• Make a muddle
• Make something and the result is bad

Example:

Ryoko: "You've made a pig's ear of our new Ikea furniture!" 

Masahiro: "Sorry, I couldn't understand the instructions."

馬の口

Idiom:

• Straight from the horse's mouth

= I heard it directly from the person in the story



Situation:

• A person tells you a story about himself/herself
• You tell another person the same story
• The other person thinks it is a rumour or a lie
• You say "I heard it straight from the horse's mouth."

Example:

Kazuhiko: "Natsumi had a date with the boss!"
Nanako: "No way; I don't believe that. Who told you?"
Kazuhiko: "It's true; I heard it straight from the horse's mouth." (Natsumi herself told Kazuhiko.)

好きじゃない

When we do not like something, we can use this idiom:

• It is not my cup of tea.

Example 1:

Haruna: "Shall we go skiing?"

Haruko: "No thank you, skiing is not my cup of tea."

Example 2:

Seiji: "How was the movie?"

Kouji: "It wasn't my cup of tea."

We never use this idiom for people.

Chisato is not my cup of tea. X

気を付けて

When there is some danger or risk we say:

• Be careful
• Take care

Examples:

• Be careful of that dish: It is very hot.
• Take care with that dish: It is very hot.
• Be careful in Rio de Janeiro: There are lots of criminals.
• Take care in Rio de Janeiro: There are lots of criminals.

When we say good bye to our friends and family we want them to be safe; we want to show we care and they are important; we use these expressions:

• Good bye! Take care!
• Go carefully! Good bye!
• Take it easy! (Very informal)

If a person is going on a trip or a long journey, we say:

• Have a safe journey!

くたくた

くたくた　＝

• exhausted
• tired out
• worn out
• knackered

Examples:

• I was exhausted after running the marathon.
• I'm tired out after that business trip to Dubai and London.
• My husband has been working for 15 hours and now he's worn out.
• I've worked 10 days straight; I'm knackered!

Idiom:

I'm dead on my feet.

= I'm exhausted.

出産

出産　= birth

When a woman is pregnant, we usually want to know the birth date. We can ask these questions:

• When is your baby due?
• When are you due (to give birth)?

When a woman is pregnant, we usually want to know the place of the birth. We can ask this question:

• Where are you having your baby?

性別　= gender

When a woman is pregnant, we usually want to know the baby's gender. We can ask this question:

• Is your baby a boy or a girl?

妊娠

妊娠している　= pregnant (adjective)

Examples:

• My wife is pregnant with our second child.
• Kumiko is 8 months pregnant so she's started maternity leave.
• I can't drink alcohol because I'm pregnant.

Expecting = pregnant (+ birth date) (not duration)

Examples:

• My wife is expecting our second child.
• I'm expecting so I can't drink alcohol.
• Mayumi is expecting twins in April!
• Kumiko is 8 months expecting. X 

Idiom:

Hayato's girlfriend's got a bun in the oven.

= Hayato's girlfriend is pregnant.

ゼロ

There are several ways to say the number 0

• Zero (formal maths, science, finance)
• Oh (time, telephone numbers)
• Nought (informal maths, science)
• Nil (sport scores)
• Nothing (general conversation about quantity)
• Zilch (very informal and less common)