Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. Well, you will definitely understand the meaning of this phrase once you step your foot into the land of the rising sun- Japan. There, you will discover several unique aspects of Japanese culture, and eventually find out about the interesting perception of “beauty” that Japanese people (especially girls) believe in. I would like to inform you about some of these viewpoints in order to avoid any confusions or surprises when you visit Japan!

1. White, Whiter, Whitest!

Japanese women devote their time and money to be as white-skinned as possible. They buy whitening facial creams, go to salons for skin treatments and so on. Their biggest enemy is radiation- the cause of skin cancer, spots and discoloration. Therefore in the summer time, you will encounter women walking down the street wearing long sleeved gloves and a floppy hat, holding a summer umbrella in deadly 40 degrees temperature.

2. People with snaggletooth! Japan is the place to go!

Hollywood stars spend loads of money winning a golden smile, but for Japanese idols, being born with crooked teeth - or so called snaggletooth/vampire tooth is an advantage. The overlapping teeth remind you of your childhood, before the painful braces are equipped. This image in Japan is connected to youth and innocence, which is an important factor to consider if you want to attract the opposite sex. So, as bizarre and obscure as it seems, don’t freak out even if the girl smiles back at you showing her cute vampire tooth.

3. Stick and Stones will Definitely Break Japanese Bones

One thing I hate about going back to Japan - I feel like a sumo wrestler! The average BMI of Japanese women is 16-20, when worldly viewed healthiest BMI is 22. Basically everyone is on a diet, from young girls to older women, and even teenage boys. However, this is partially due to Japanese tradition of eating habits - we tend to eat healthy food such as fish, seasonal vegetables and rice. One thing to keep in mind- when you want to go clothes shopping in Japan, don’t be irritated that your size increased from 6 to 8 (or even 10). Usually, even in international shops like Zara or Gap, the sizes are moderated to fit the Japanese measurement.

You still can’t believe they are true? Go visit Japan and see for yourself! Don’t worry - all of these descriptions may seem like Japanese girls are turning into vampires (pale skin, slim, snaggletooth…) but they won’t bite you, I promise!

[Japanese]

何を「美しい」と感じるかは、人それぞれです。特に日本人が思う女性の美しさとは、外国人からすると異質であると感じる場合があります。今回は日本人女性が美容のためにしていることの中で、西欧では「ありえない！」というものをピックアップして紹介したいと思います。みなさんも次のどれか一つは身に覚えがあるかと思います。

１． もっと、もっと白く！

日本人女性と西欧人女性の「美」に対する考えで大きく異なるのは、日焼けを魅力的だと思うか、思わないかという点です。日本人は一般的に日焼けを嫌がり、極力日に当たらないように夏場でも日焼け止め、サングラス、帽子、日傘を常備しています。その主な理由としては、皮膚がんやしみ、しわなどの予防と考えられます。その反面、西欧では日焼けした体はとてもセクシーで、好意的に捉えられています。たとえば私が現在住んでいるドイツのハンブルグではフィットネスジムにまで日焼けマシーンが設置してあります。
日本人は白い肌を好み、西欧人は焼けた肌を好む。みなさんはどちら派ですか？

２． 八重歯は吸血鬼のシンボル？

近年日本では女性の八重歯がブームとなっており、八重歯=かわいい、というイメージが定着しつつあります。しかし、アメリカでは八重歯のことをバンパイア歯と呼んでいることからも分かるように、かわいいとは真逆の意味を含んでいます。そして多くのアメリカ人は八重歯をなくすため、矯正を幼い時期に行います。では、日本での八重歯ブームの発生源は何でしょう？日本人はどうやら八重歯に「子供らしさ」や「若さ」といった印象を持っているため、かわいいと感じるのでしょう。

３． 日本人女性にダイエット必要なし！

みなさんは日本人の平均BMI数値をご存知でしょうか？健康的な体のBMI数値が２２に対し、日本人女性の平均は１６から２０です。日本人女性が思う「痩せている」は外国人からすると「痩せすぎている」のです。海外に行って日本にもあるブランド（GAPやZARA）の洋服を試着すると、「あれ。私痩せた？」と思うかもしれません。それは残念ながら、あなたが痩せたのではなく、もともと同じサイズの洋服でも、日本で売られている服は日本人のサイズに合わせてあるからです。つまり世界的にみても、日本人は痩せているのです。今日からダイエットをはじめようと思っているあなた！本当にダイエットは自分に必要ですか？

どうでしょう。みなさんの「美」に対する見識を少しでも変えることができたでしょうか？是非みなさんの意見をコメント欄にてお聞かせください！

[English]

Here is the alphabetically sorted list of the Top 100 Language Learning blog  that qualified for the voting phase (read more about how the competition works).

Click the button next to the name of the blog you want to vote for and click “vote” at the bottom of the poll! You can only vote once in each category.

Make sure to vote for the other categories as well!

Thank you for all the emails you sent and the comments you submitted to nominate your favorite blogs, Facebook pages and Twitter accounts. From the great amount of nominations we received (935 in total), we selected the Top 100 (Top 200 for language learning) for each category. These made it to the voting phase!

How to vote: First of all, go to the voting page of each category (links below). Then click on the name of the blog/Facebook page/Twitter account you want to vote for. For your convenience, all entries are listed alphabetically. You can vote once in each category. Remember that we will check the votes at the end of the voting phase for fraudulent votes and, if necessary, adjust the number of votes.

The voting pages for each category are:
- Language Learning Blogs
- Language Professionals Blogs
- Language Facebook Pages
- Language Twitterers

Good luck to all of you! Stay tuned to find out who will be the winners.

Here is the alphabetically sorted list of the Top 100 Language Facebook Pages that qualified for the voting phase (read more about how the competition works).

Click the button next to the name of the Facebook Page you want to vote for and click “vote” at the bottom of the poll! You can only vote once in each category.

Make sure to vote for the other categories as well!

Here is the alphabetically sorted list of the Top 100 Language Professional blog  that qualified for the voting phase (read more about how the competition works).

Click the button next to the name of the blog you want to vote for and click “vote” at the bottom of the poll! You can only vote once in each category.

Make sure to vote for the other categories as well!

Here is the alphabetically sorted list of the Top 100 Language Twitter account that qualified for the voting phase (read more about how the competition works).

Click the button next to the name of the Twitterer you want to vote for and click “vote” at the bottom of the poll! You can only vote once in each category.

Make sure to vote for the other categories as well!

I v češtině samozřejmě exituje mnoho přílosloví. Některá z nich jsou zašifrovaná v následující tabulce, kterou vytvořili hraví Češi z týmu TMOU. Zkus přiřadit obrázek ke správnému přísloví. A pokud znáš další anglické ekvivalenty, můžeš je sdílet k komentářích.

1
Lež má krátké nohy. (A lie has short legs.)
anglický ekvivalent: A lie has no legs.

2
Mluviti stříbro, mlčeti zlato. (To speak silver, to be quiet golden.)
anglický ekvivalent: Speech is silver, silence is golden.

3
Kam čert nemůže, tam nastrčí ženskou. (Where the devil can't entry, there he puts the woman.)
anglický ekvivalent: ???

4
Mezi slepými je jednooký králem. (In the land of the blind the one-eyed man is king.)
anglický ekvivalent: In the land of the blind the one-eyed man is king.

5
Tak dlouho se chodí se džbánem pro vodu, až se ucho utrhne. You walk so long with a jar for water, until the handle breaks off.
anglický ekvivalent: ???

6
Ráno moudřejší večera. The morning is wiser than the evening.
anglický ekvivalent: Let's sleep on it.

7
Láska i hory přenáší. (Love can move mountains.)
Anglický ekvivalent: Love can move mountains.

8
Bez peněz do hospody nelez. Don't go to the pub without money.
anglický ekvivalent: No money no funny. No money no fun.

9
Darovanému koni na zuby nehleď. (Don't look a gift horse at the teeth.)
anglický ekvivalent: Don't look a gift horse in the mouth.

10
Tichá voda břehy mele. Still waters wash out banks.
anglický ekvivalent: Still waters run deep.

11
Po bitvě je každý generál. After a battle, everyone is a general.
anglický ekvivalent: It's easy to be wise after the event. Monday morning quarterback.

12
Stokrát nic umoří vola. doslovný překlad: A hundred times nothing can torture the ox to death.
anglický ekvivalent: ???

13
Sytý hladovému nevěří. (doslovný překlad: The satiated doesn't believe the starving one.)
anglický ekvivalent: ???

14
Co oči nevidí, to srdce nebolí. What the eye doesn't see the heart doesn't crave for.
anglický ekvivalent: Out of sight out of mind.

15
Když se dva perou, třetí se směje. If two fight, the third one laughs.
anglický ekvivalent: Two dogs fight for a bone, and a third runs away with it.

16
Ranní ptáče dál doskáče. Early bird hops further.
anglický ekvivalent: Early to bed early to rise makes a man healthy, wealthy and wise. The early bird gets the warm. Early bird catches the worm.

17
Koho chleba jíš, toho píseň zpívej. (Sing the song of your breadwinner.)
anglický ekvivalent: He who pays the piper calls the tune.

[English]

There are a lot of proverbs in Czech too. Some of them are encoded in the following table, which was made by playful Czechs for the competition TMOU. Try to match the picture with a suitable proverb. Share your matches in the comments and try to think up the missing English equivalents!

1
Lež má krátké nohy. (A lie has short legs.)
English equivalent: A lie has no legs.

2
Mluviti stříbro, mlčeti zlato. (To speak is silver, to be quiet is golden.)
English equivalent: Speech is silver, silence is golden.

3
Kam čert nemůže, tam nastrčí ženskou. (Where the devil can't entry, there he puts the woman.)
English equivalent: ???

4
Mezi slepými je jednooký králem. (In the land of the blind the one-eyed man is king.)
English equivalent: In the land of the blind the one-eyed man is king.

5
Tak dlouho se chodí se džbánem pro vodu, až se ucho utrhne. (You walk so long with a jar for water, until the handle breaks off.)
English equivalent: ???

6
Ráno moudřejší večera. (The morning is wiser than the evening.)
English equivalent: Let's sleep on it.

7
Láska i hory přenáší. (Love can move mountains.)
English equivalent: Love can move mountains.

8
Bez peněz do hospody nelez. (Don't go to the pub without money. )
English equivalent: No money no funny. No money no fun.

9
Darovanému koni na zuby nehleď. (Don't look a gift horse at the teeth.)
English equivalent: Don't look a gift horse in the mouth.

10
Tichá voda břehy mele. (Still waters wash out banks.)
English equivalent: Still waters run deep.

11
Po bitvě je každý generál. (After a battle, everyone is a general.)
English equivalent: It's easy to be wise after the event. Monday morning quarterback.

12
Stokrát nic umoří vola. (A hundred times nothing can torture the ox to death.)
English equivalent: ???

13
Sytý hladovému nevěří. (The satiated doesn't believe the starving one.)
English equivalent: ???

14
Co oči nevidí, to srdce nebolí. (What the eye doesn't see the heart doesn't crave for.)
English equivalent: Out of sight out of mind.

15
Když se dva perou, třetí se směje. (If two fight, the third one laughs.)
English equivalent: Two dogs fight for a bone, and a third runs away with it.

16
Ranní ptáče dál doskáče. (Early bird hops further.)
English equivalent: Early to bed early to rise makes a man healthy, wealthy and wise. The early bird gets the warm. Early bird catches the worm.

17
Koho chleba jíš, toho píseň zpívej. (Sing the song of your breadwinner.)
English equivalent: He who pays the piper calls the tune.

[Čeština]

Talking Twins Baby's communicating saying only 'dada'. (Baby language)

FUNNY! SOS! MAYDAY! SINKING! How important is to learn languages. (English/German)

The many moods of Chewbacca There should be a Chewbacca dictionary!

Who is your flatmate?! Different kinds of funny flatmates (Italian)