iris, pupil

gaer

gaer

Senior Member
Fort Lauderdale
US-English
Hiro mentioned this:
Hiro said:
黒い瞳　（Kuroi Hitomi ) mean "black beautiful eyes", but used for a woman.
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I know about 瞳. It is the pupil The pupil is the only part of the eye that is actually black, but some people have brown eyes that are so dark that the whole eye looks like the same color.

I was unable to find out what the proper word for "iris" is in Japanese.

Gaer
 
    • P

    pink dragon

    Member
    Tokyo
    Japanese
    SpiceMan said:
    Iris is 虹彩 (こうさい).

    About kuroi hitomi, I think that there's no "beautiful" in it. Maybe an idiom?
    Click to expand...
    You're right. "Kuroi hitomi" means just "black eye(s)".
    Though we may tend to use "hitomi" for beautiful ones...Please see my #16 posting in the the 黒曜石 thread. ;)

    Iris is "kousai" as you say.
    But we usually say just "me no chairoi bubun" (the brown part of the eye).
    If you say "kousai", most Japanese people, even ophthalmolotists will think of another kousai (交際, association), not this kousai 虹彩.:)
     
    Flaminius

    Flaminius

    hedomodo
    capita Iaponiae
    日本語 / japāniski / יפנית
    Iris is "kousai" as you say.
    But we usually say just "me no chairoi bubun" (the brown part of the eye).
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    Well, I would say 黒目 (kurome), or the black part of the eye as opposed to 白目 (shirome), the white part. And then, I realise it is a bit ethnocentric term....
     
    gaer

    gaer

    Senior Member
    Fort Lauderdale
    US-English
    Flaminius said:
    Well, I would say 黒目 (kurome), or the black part of the eye as opposed to 白目 (shirome), the white part. And then, I realise it is a bit ethnocentric term....
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    I believe it is ethnocentric. A person whose iris is very dark brown, appearing black, will have a pupil that is almost impossible to see, at least if you are not very close. Such a person would appear to have to parts to the eye, the white part and the black part (dark brown).

    On the other hand, if someone has light blue eyes, the size of the pupil will be very noticeable, and in that case you can see the pupil grow or shrink according to many factors.

    Gaer
     
    gaer

    gaer

    Senior Member
    Fort Lauderdale
    US-English
    pink dragon said:
    You're right. "Kuroi hitomi" means just "black eye(s)".
    Though we may tend to use "hitomi" for beautiful ones...Please see my #16 posting in the the 黒曜石 thread. ;)

    Iris is "kousai" as you say.
    But we usually say just "me no chairoi bubun" (the brown part of the eye).
    If you say "kousai", most Japanese people, even ophthalmolotists will think of another kousai (交際, association), not this kousai 虹彩.:)
    Click to expand...
    黒い瞳 just means "black eye(s)", literally "black pupil(s)", because of the sound, right? And if you change it to 黒いひとめ、then this sound better to you because the last part, me, reminds you of 目、correct?

    Do you think most Japanese people would agree with you? :)

    Gaer
     
    P

    pink dragon

    Member
    Tokyo
    Japanese
    gaer said:
    黒い瞳 just means "black eye(s)", literally "black pupil(s)", because of the sound, right? And if you change it to 黒いひとめ、then this sound better to you because the last part, me, reminds you of 目、correct?

    Do you think most Japanese people would agree with you? :)

    Gaer
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    Yes, 黒い瞳 just means "black eye(s)", literally "black pupil(s)". But I'm not sure what you mean by "because of the sound". :confused:

    We never say "ひとめ". It should be either "hitomi" or "me".

    Do I think most Japanese people would agree with me...about what? About the above answer? Yes, I guess so. :)
     
    gaer

    gaer

    Senior Member
    Fort Lauderdale
    US-English
    pink dragon said:
    Yes, 黒い瞳 just means "black eye(s)", literally "black pupil(s)". But I'm not sure what you mean by "because of the sound". :confused:

    We never say "ひとめ". It should be either "hitomi" or "me".
    Click to expand...
    This is what you wrote in another thread:
    Dictionaries may say "hitomi" means a pupil, which is the black, center part of the eye, but we actually use it to mean the same thing as "me" (eyes).
    Click to expand...
    That was my confusion! I did not understand what you had written. I thought, incorrectly, that perhaps people sometimes SAID: "hitome".

    My mistake. :(

    Gaer
     
    H

    Hiro Sasaki

    Banned
    Osaka, Japn
    Japan, Japanese
    SpiceMan said:
    Iris is 虹彩 (こうさい).

    About kuroi hitomi, I think that there's no "beautiful" in it. Maybe an idiom?
    Click to expand...

    Spiceman. "Kuroi Me" has no connotation of " beautiful black eyes",
    but "Kuroi Hitomi " has a connotation of " beautiful black eyes".

    Many Russians have no "black eyes" but there is a beautiful Russian folk song with the Japanese title "Kuroi Hitomi". and If I remember correctly,
    one of Julio Iglesia's song is "Kuroi Hitomi " .

    "Watashi no me ga kuroi uchi ni " means "while I am alive ".


    Hiro Sasaki
     
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