Meaning

Primary

Benkei

Alternative

Strong Person

Word Type

noun, proper noun

Explanation

You should congratulate a person who speaks lots of dialects because they have to be a really strong person, just like Mr. Benkei was. You think learning Japanese is hard now, just wait till you hear Osaka-ben and Hokkaido-ben. It takes a really strong person — a Benkei — to learn all those dialects, so congratulate them and tell them how strong they are!

弁慶 is the name of a Japanese historical figure who was really strong, so Benkei is the Japanese equivalent of Hercules or Achilles in Western languages.

Reading

べんけい
  • Kyoko
    (Tokyo accent, female)
  • Kenichi
    (Tokyo accent, male)

Explanation

This is a jukugo word that uses the on'yomi readings of the kanji. You should be able to read this on your own.

Context

Context Sentences

弁慶と牛若丸は清水寺で戦いました。

Benkei and Ushiwakamaru fought at Kiyomizu Temple.

家では威張っているが、外では従順になる人のことを「内弁慶」と言う。

A person who is arrogant at home but submissive outside the home is called an "uchi-benkei".

むこうずねは、ぶつけると弁慶ほど強い人でも涙を流すほど痛いことから、「弁慶の泣き所」といわれています。

The shin is known as "Benkei's weeping spot" because, if you hit it, it hurts so much that even someone as strong as Benkei would shed tears.

Kanji Composition