動詞「開ける・閉める 」の英語訳、全てがopen/ closeとは限らない！

Hey there, it’s Min again!

Have you ever been confused about the usage of the verbs OPEN and CLOSE?

Although the Japanese verbs 開ける・閉める can be used in all sorts of situations, they aren’t always translated as “open” or “close”.

「開ける・閉める 」が、open/ closeではない！？例-その１

For example

カーテンを閉める。

Draw a curtain.

カーテンを開ける。

Draw a curtain (open).

“Draw a curtain” can be used to tell someone to “open” or “close” a curtain.

The only way to tell if it should be opened or closed is to look at the curtain. If it’s opened, then you would know that you’re being asked to close it. If it’s closed, then you should open it.

「開ける 」が、open ではない！？例-その２

Another example would be

E.g.

〜に穴を開ける

Make a hole in _____

ジョニーは転んで膝をついた。ズボンに穴が開いた。

Johnny slipped and fell on his knees. It created a hole in his pants.

Since “open” and “close” are actions that require some form of hand movement like opening a door or opening a packet of chips, creating a hole in something doesn’t fit into that description of “opening”.

Have you stumbled across other situations where you stopped and pondered about the usage of “open” and “close”?

I would love to hear about it!

Min

Hi, I am Min and I live in Melbourne, Australia.

I am a freelance translator and during my time off, I like to run, swim and do crafts.