何の言葉11 あっという間(attoiuma)

Hi!

もう2024年の2月かぁ…　時間が経つのは早いよね🐤
It’s already February of 2024.. time flies doesn’t it??

How’s your 2024 been so far? As you’ve made it this far in our newsletter series, we know you’ve been consistently learning new Japanese words and we’re glad to have you with us 😃

This year we want to challenge ourselves by introducing more advanced words in 何の言葉 series. In our “word selection” process, we found that it’s not easy to explain them even though they are common conversation words!

So, you might find today’s word is a little “metaphorical” - if you read til the end you’ll know it in an instant!

What is あっという間?

あっという間 means “in a blink of an eye” or “in an instant”.

We can break down あっという間 into 3 parts:

• 「あっ」 is the sound “Ah”😮 or a gasp when you are surprised or noticed something

• いう = 言う = to say

• ま（間）means the moment or time interval

So, together it can be translated to “the moment of saying “ah””, and if you think of how long it takes, it probably takes less than a second!

A metaphorical way to say “a short moment”.. it reminds you of the English phrase “in a blink of an eye”, doesn’t it?

How to use あっという間 in a sentence:

1. あっという間にVerb

2. Nounは、あっという間だ

For example,
1年はあっという間に過ぎる。(Ichinen wa attoiuma ni sugiru.)
1年はあっという間だ。(Ichinen wa attoiuma da.)
= One year passes by in a flash.

How to write あっという間

It is usually written as あっという間, but sometimes you will see it written as あっと言う間.

English phrases with similar meaning to あっという間:　

“In a blink of an eye”
“Time flies”
“In an instant”
“In a flash”

🏹Time flies like … arrows?

In English, there is a proverb “time flies”. It is exactly the nuance of あっという間.

Surprisingly in Japanese, there is also a proverb which has the same meaning.

光陰矢の如し
kouin ya no gotoshi

光 (kou) = light, which implies daytime.
陰 (in) = shadow, which implies nighttime.
矢 (ya) = arrows
の如し (no gotoshi) = “as if…”

So, it means “day and night go by like flying arrows”.

1. ハロウィーンが終わったら、あっという間にクリスマスだ。

   Once Halloween is over, Christmas arrives in a blink of an eye.

    

2. ケーキはあっという間に売り切れたよ。

   The cakes were sold out in an instant.

    

3. 楽しすぎて、あっという間だったね。

   It was so much fun, time flew by so quickly.

    

4. マジシャンは、あっという間にウサギをトランプに変えた。 　

   The magician turned the rabbit into a card in an instant.

    

5. 集中したら、3時間なんてあっという間だよ。

   When you concentrate on something, 3 hours will just pass by in an instant.

Japanese phrases with similar meaning to あっという間:　

• すぐ（sugu）

• 一瞬（isshun)

📚 Practice your あっという間

Question: Is there something that you do that makes you feel like time passes by so quickly?

For me, the time when I’m ______ makes me feel あっという間に時間が過ぎる。

a) talking to my friend
b) playing PC games
c) doom scrolling
d) all of the above

Which one is true for you? 🤣

Sincerely,
Amasugi Letter