May 13, 2018　=========

☆  blue   憂鬱な

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If you are feeling blue, you are feeling sad or depressed, often without any particular reason. Blue is an informal word, but it is used often, and it is OK to use when talking to a doctor, too. For example, you could say to your doctor that you are feeling depressed, but you could also say that you are feeling blue, and they will still take you seriously.

In the movie I mentioned yesterday, Inside Out, the character for Sadness is the color blue, and this comes from the idea of feeling blue when you are sad or depressed. Interestingly, the character for Joy is yellow, but has blue eyes and blur hair. Apparently, this is based on a Jewish idea, that there is no such thing as “pure joy” that says that even at our happiest and most joyous times, there is often a little sadness mixed in…. Wow!  

Is there a similar idea in Japanese, of happiness always having a touch of sadness or feeling blue too?

Bye,

Chris