日本の山や森には「bear」、つまり熊が沢山いるようですね。僕はまだ熊に遭遇したことはありませんが、「bear」の使い方の間違いにはよく遭遇します。また、「bear」と同じ発音の「bare」はよく「bear」と混同されています。
まず、「bear」は熊だけではなく、「持つ」という意味にもなります。例えば、
We come bearing gifts for you.
私たちはあなたへのプレゼントを持っていきます。
I am carrying a gift for you.
あなたへのプレゼントを持っていきます。
しかし、「bear」は「carry」より抽象的になります。例えば、
The tree bears lots of juicy apples every year.
その木は毎年沢山のジューシーなリンゴの実を結びます。
Their effort didn’t bear fruit.
彼らの努力も空回りに終わった。
つまり、「carry」と違って「bear」はものだけではなく、事柄に対しても使えるのです。例えば、「bear responsibility」というフレーズは責任があるという意味になります。
I bear no responsibility for your failings.
あなたの失敗は僕の責任じゃないよ。
また、「bear a resemblance」というフレーズもよく耳にします。
I bear no resemblance to my mother.
僕は母と少しも似ていない。
「bear」は「耐える」や「我慢する」という意味にもなります。
I cannot bear that loud music!
そのうるさい音楽にはもう耐えられないよ！
It is difficult to bear such harsh winters.
それほど厳しい冬に耐えるのは困難です。
最後に、道を聞く時にも「bear」がよく使われています。この場合、「bear」はある方向に向かうという意味になります。
Just bear left a little and you will see the station.
ちょっと左の方向に向かうと駅が見えるよ。
しかし、「bear, left!」と言われたら、絶対に左の方向に行かないほうが良いですよ。
Bear, left! Run!
左に熊が居る！逃げろ！
Hi Luke,
This theme is so great!
I’m looking for the meaning ‘from bearing ‘.
I felt ‘from bearing’ is similar to the meaning ‘with the act of using something’,when I had a look at it in a sentence.
So,I wanted to make sure that my feeling is certain.However, I just found out that there are many meanings about ‘bearing’ or ‘bear’ in some dictionaries and web sites for learning English included ones overseas.
Additionally,’bearing’ looks like having a idiom added ‘from’. Nevertheless,it is hard to find
out the meaning ‘from bearing’ in any
dictionaries and so on. And,’from’ has also many meanings.
Definitely,’bear’ has many meanings as you say.
It doesn’t mean only ‘ teddy bear ‘,if the
meaning is only so in Japan.
The point would be the usage that ‘bear’ is used for also the meaning ‘carrying or bring
something not physical’.
Therefore,you can say below.
‘I bear no responsibility for your failings.’
‘I bear no resemblance to my mother.’
I feel the situations are not passive in those sentences.
For example,it is not ‘I’m not given the
responsibility.’.
It’s feeling is ‘I have a opinion which I’d like to insist that I have no responsibility that has been brought to me.’.
Or,’ I’m not gonna say I’m alike to my mother.The situation has not been brought to me.’
I mean you’d like to say that ‘I don’t bring me the situation.’,right?
Then,I think that you use ‘bear’ like so.
Meanwhile, the meaning of its Japanese
translations are similar to ‘ being ‘ in English than ‘bring somehting’ about ‘bear’.
So,it’s hard to understand it.
I mean you may have a thought that the
situations are brought from outside of you.
On the other hand,many Japanese may think the
situations are dicided by own thoughts,how to think about it.
The difference is also the reason that the word is hard to understand.
From now on,the following explanation is my feeling that is not according to any dictionaries and so on,too.
‘We come bearing gifts for you.’
‘I am carrying a gift for you.’
In the case of those two sentences,why you can’t say ‘ We are bearing gifts for you.’ as like ‘I am carrying a gift for you.’?
I guess below.
‘We come | bearing gifts | .’ = ’We come | with the situation we have gifts |.’ =>| we & gifts |
Think of some moer example.
‘Prohibited | from bearing guns |’= ‘Prohibited | the situation you have guns |’ =>| you & guns |
‘Complete | the letter from bearing your signature |.’ = ‘ Complete | the situation the letter has your signature |.’
=>| the letter & the signature |
Let me correct the last time comment.
Please be assured that.
I was so relieved that ‘bearing’ is not idiom with ‘from’ after reviewing.So,extract ‘bearing’,when you read relevant sentences.
After all,considering about that led me to deep understanding about ‘bearing’ and ‘bear’.
Thanks.