How to communicate despite not knowing the right word?


Objective: To increase powers of expression by developing the habit of generating substitute phrases in place of words you have forgotten or never knew.

Part 1 - Things

Unknown Word: Corkscrew
Substitute Phrase: a thing for opening wine.
ワインをあけるためのもの
wain o akeru tame no mono

Unknown Word: Aqualung
Substitute Phrase: a thing for breathing in the sea.
海のなかで息をするためのもの
umi no naka de iki o suru tame no mono

Unknown Word: Toothbrush
Substitute Phrase: a thing for cleaning teeth
歯をみがくもの
ha o migaku mono

Unknown Word: Calculator
Substitute Phrase: a thing that is used to do sums
計算をするときに使うもの
keisan o suru toki ni tsukau mono

From:

“13 Secrets for speaking fluent Japanese” By Giles Murray, best known as the author of “Breaking into the Japanese Literature”.

Well I guess they are no longer secrets now, since I read them. lol…