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For Life
2004.05.12

As was true of our Monday WordMaster, many Japanese confuse today's pair of words because the word for them in Japanese is so similar. We hope today's WordMaster helps you remember which is which!

Today's LessonCATEGORY: Commonly Confused Words
FINGER vs. TOE   手の指 vs. 足の指

Explanation

  • A finger  is one of the ten long parts at the ends of your hands that you put rings on and use for typing.
     
    Be careful:
    There are names for all five fingers. In order, they are the "thumb", "index finger", "middle finger", "ring finger", and "little finger" (also called "pinkie").

    A toe  is one of the ten finger-like parts at the ends of your feet.
     
    Be careful:
    There are commonly-used names for only three of the five toes. Looking down at your right foot and starting from the left, the first toe is the "big toe", the third is the "middle toe", and the fifth is the "little toe".
  • finger  は、手の先の10本の細長い部分(のうちの1本)で、指輪をはめたり、タイプをしたりするときに使うもの、つまり、指のことです。

    注意:
    5本の指にはそれぞれ名前があります。親指から小指まで順番に、thumb、index finger、middle finger、ring finger、little finger または pinkie と呼びます。
    toe  は、足先にある指のことです。

    注意:
    足の指に関しては5本のうち、3本しか一般的な名前がありません。右足の指で言うと、一番左が big toe、3番目が middle toe、5番目が little toe と呼ばれます。

examples

  1. It's not polite to point your finger  at strangers.
  2. a: How many fingers  am I holding up?
    b: Three.
  3. She wears her wedding ring on her ring finger  and her engagement ring on her index finger.
  4. (to a passenger standing next to you on the rush-hour train)
    Excuse me, but you're stepping on my toes!
  5. Sometimes it gets so cold in the winter that my toes  freeze.
  6. I dropped a heavy box on my foot and broke my big toe.

With the right words at hand (NOT arm), you have the world at your
fingertips (NOT toetips).