“Korda Sim Sim” from Nepal and “Chichin Pui Pui” from Japan
One day in class, it took a little time to set up the projector.
As I jokingly held my hand over it and made a gesture as if saying, “I hope it turns on quickly,” a student from Nepal suddenly began chanting, “Kordar Shimshim.”

When I asked, “What does that mean?”, the student explained that it is a magic phrase used in Nepal and India when performing tricks.
To me, it sounded mysterious and delightful—almost like the English phrase “Open, Sesame!.”

Japanese also has many such magical expressions.
For example, “Chichin-pui-pui, itai no itai no tondeike” (“Abracadabra, pain pain go away”).
When a small child falls and cries, a parent gently places a hand on the injured spot and says this magic phrase.
Then the child may stop crying and look up with a puzzled expression.
Of course, the injury doesn’t actually heal, but the power of words helps calm the heart.

Words hold many kinds of gentle magic like this.
Spells, seasonal expressions, folktales, proverbs—learning a language also means learning about the culture and the way people think.

Through Japanese, you too can encounter the charm of such cultural magic.
I believe that the magic of words can connect people across borders.

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