- NDL
Bad Dreams
NikoToday I want to look at a word that I misused in Japanese for years:
うなされる
Taking responsibility for mistakes is no fun, so I'm going to blame Japanese-English dictionaries for this particular mistake.
Because they say this word means:
1) to have a nightmare
2) to make a noise during a nightmare
Having read that in several dictionaries, I used this as my go-to word when talking about nightmares.
Incorrectly.
When I wanted to say: I had a nightmare.
...I would say: うなされた.
...but I should have said: 悪夢みた (あくむ みた).
So here are our new (correct) definitions:
悪夢をみる
あくむ を みる
to have a nightmare
うなされる
to cry out during a nightmare
If we really think about these new (accurate) definitions, we will realize the following:
★ You cannot use うなされる about a nightmare that you had, because you (presumably) cannot hear yourself crying out while you're asleep.
☆ If you want to talk about your own bad dream, 悪夢を見た is more appropriate.
For example, let's say Rei has a nightmare. And in her sleep, she is making noises--little cries--like she is having a nightmare. The next day I could tell her:
昨日うなされてたよ。
きのう うなされてた よ。
You were crying out in your sleep last night.
Or, perhaps she had a nightmare, but she did not cry out in her sleep. In this case, I would be unaware that she had a bad dream, and the next morning she might tell me:
悪夢みた。
あくむ みた。
I had a nightmare.
I dropped the を that would go between these words, as this is common in casual conversation.
She could also say:
怖い夢みた。
こわい ゆめ みた。
I had a scary dream.
Some of you kanji-loving kids out there may be wondering why we wrote みた in hiragana and not with kanji as 見た.
First, either way is probably fine, as this is more of a stylistic preference. Rei told me that she prefers to use hiragana, because you don't see a dream with your eyes... and "eye," 目, is part of the kanji 見た. But yeah, either way is fine. And later in this lesson, I will be using the kanji in some example sentences.
Types of Dreams ☽
夢（ゆめ // dream）
悪夢（あくむ // bad dream; nightmare）
変な夢（へんな ゆめ // a strange dream）
怖い夢（こわい ゆめ // a scary dream）
正夢（まさゆめ // a dream that comes true）
予知夢（よちむ // a dream of the future）
Example Dreams *_*
With all of that explaining out of the way, let's look at a handful of dream-related example sentences...
変な夢見た。
へんな ゆめ みた。
I had a strange dream.
最近よく悪夢見るんだ。
さいきん よく あくむ みる んだ。
I've been having a lot of bad dreams lately.
面白い夢見たけど思い出せない！
おもしろい ゆめ みた けど おもいだせない！
I had an interesting dream, but I can't remember it!
怖い夢みた？夜中うなされてたよ。
こわい ゆめ みた？ よなか うなされてた よ。
Did you have a bad dream? You were crying out in your sleep last night.
結婚する夢みた！正夢になるといいな〜
けっこん する ゆめ みた！ まさゆめ に なる と いい な～
I had a dream that I got married! I hope it comes true.
You can attach plain form verbs and adjectives to the front of といいな～, and it means "I hope that [thing I said before といいな～]." So, for example, 美味しい (おいしい) is "delicious," and 美味しいといいな～ means "I hope it's delicious."
仕事辞める夢みた！予知夢かな？
しごと やめる ゆめ みた！ よちむ かな？
I had a dream that I quit my job! Maybe it was a dream of the future.
That's all for today.
Hopefully this lesson doesn't give you nightmares. ^_^
Niko
