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Can anyone tell me more about 潔い? I've looked in _Goo_ , _Alc_ , _Kenkyusha_ ,
and _Edict_ , and the definitions refer to "sportsmanlike", "gracious", or
"take it like a man". However, I'm doubtful if these are literal translations.

My Japanese teacher gave me a very interesting and different definition along
the lines of "having an attitude of living properly and beautifully rather
than living long". She gave the example of cherry blossom which has a short
life and dies at its peak. She also mentioned 武士道 (bushido, samurai code).

I don't want all my Japanese friends to think its better to die young than
live long lives :)
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2012-01-07T21:05:57.560
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meaning definitions i-adjectives
[潔]{いさぎよ}い　meaning
It means to acknowledge, in the middle of doing something, that it has turned
out impossible for one to reach the goal, or that one has lost against an
opponent, due to lack of one's own ability or luck, and to give up.

Often, but not always, this word is used in the context of a competition, such
as swordsman fighting. If it is obvious that you lost, but you don't admit
that, it is considered anti-bushido. If you resign in the right timing for the
right thing, then it follows bushido (But if you resign so easily, that is
also anti-bushido).

Your teacher's example makes sense as a metaphor, but is not the core case. It
is assuming that cherry blossoms are animate living creatures and are fighting
against their life span, but that they admit when their life comes to an end.
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2012-01-07T21:54:51.817
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If you play Starcraft(2) then you can think of it as knowing when to say "gg"
and resign from game in acknowledgement that the opponent is the better
player.
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2012-01-08T02:37:52.903
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answer