One of the coolest/worst things about seriously studying a language is that sometimes it kind of melts your brain.

The ultimate version of this, I think, is when you take your first lessons or do you first language exchanges in all Japanese.

❈ Note ❈

The Japanese says いててて (itetete), is a lovely bastardization of the word 痛い (itai; "hurting; painful"). You can just say 痛い when you're in pain, too, but it won't sound as frantic and dramatic.I always say て like 5-6 times... but Rei said I should only write it 2-3 times. Lame.

❈ End Note ❈

Get to the point, yo.

Sorry. I have lots of excuses.

Today.

Every day.

My excuse today is that my brain is melting.

I was working all day on a nightmare of a writing job.

Now it's nighttime, and I'm like, Oh snap! I gotta write a daily lesson!

But my brain's all melted-ed-ed from work.

So that's today's lesson:

My brain... err... ice cream is melting:

あー！脳みそ溶けそう！
a! noumiso tokesou!
Ah! My brain is melting!
(Literally: "ah + brain + looks like it's about to melt.")

あっ！アイス溶けそう！
a! aisu tokesou!
Ah! My ice cream is melting!
(Literally: "ah + ice cream + looks like it's about to melt.")

❈ Note Compendium of Prosperity, Brains, and Ice Cream ❈

When the verb 溶ける (tokeru) loses its る and grows a そう, grammar is happening!

Did you just throw up in your mouth a little?

That's OK. It happens to lots of people.

Before you clean yourself up, read this:

↓ ↓ ↓ ↓ ↓ ↓ ↓ ↓ ↓ ↓ ↓ ↓
Masu-Stem VERB + そう
= looks/feels like someone/something is about to VERB
↑ ↑ ↑ ↑ ↑ ↑ ↑ ↑ ↑ ↑ ↑ ↑

So in the example above, the brains/ice cream aren't actually melting just yet, but it appears that they are starting to.

Maybe ice cream is starting to drip everywhere.

Maybe the brain is starting to derp-a-derp.

On another note, the word for brain is 脳 (nou), but I never really hear people say it all by itself.

I seem to hear 脳みそ (noumiso) instead.

Yes, the same "miso" in "miso soup."

Maybe miso looks like brains?

You tell me:

❈ End Note ❈

Anyways, I thought that'd be a cool phrase to use next time your brain or ice cream seems to be melting.

Bonus Sentence Shower, プリーズ

Here are other phrases for when your cognitive capacity has reached it's limit:

頭爆発しそう。
atama bakuhatsu shisou.
My head feels like it's gonna explode.
(Literally: "head + explosion + feels like it's about to do.")

頭が混乱してる。
atama ga konran shiteru.
I'm all mixed up.
(Literally: "head + が + disorder/confusion + is doing.")

頭の中ぱんぱん。
atama no naka panpan.
My head feels like it's about to burst.
(Literally: "head + の + inside + bursting.")

❈ Double Bonus Phrase ❈

You can also change out "head" for "stomach" to talk about when you've eaten way too much:

お腹ぱんぱん。
onaka panpan.
My stomach's about to burst.
(Literally: "stomach + bursting.")

ぱんぱん can mean other stuff, too... like the sound of a gun being shot... depending on your intonation (Rei just told me this like 5 seconds ago, so don't feel bad if that sounds intimidating).

❈ End Double Bonus. Enter Regular Bonus.❈

脳みそ使い過ぎた。
noumiso tsukaisugita.
I used my brain too much.
(Literally: "brain + used too much.")
(Note: I'm pretty sure we saw ～過ぎた somewhere already... but my brainpower is... now... too... lacking... to go find it.)

Good luck fellow students.

If today's one of those days you go to bed feeling like you went to the brain gym, then ultimate props to you, my friend.

Bonus Phrases

いててて...小指ぶつけた。
いててて...　こゆび　ぶつけた。
Ow ow ow ow... I hit my pinky (toe).

頭痛い。
あたま　いたい。
My head hurts.

ゾウの脳は５キロもある。
ゾウ　の　のう　は　ごキロ　も　ある。
The brain of an elephant weighs five kilos.
Note:The も gives the nuance that the speaker believes 5 kilos is a lot.