this is so funny:
携帯電話　(carry in hand-belt-electricity-speak) - mobile phone
狂牛病 (lunatic-cow-ill) - mad cow disease
高所恐怖症 (high-place-fear-fearful-pathological condition) fear of heights
自殺未遂 (self-kill-not yet-accomplished) attempted suicide

(http://www.kanjiclinic.com/kc11final.htm)

no...?

::twincy

My favorite is the kanji for anesthesia.
It is pronounced "masui".

麻酔 【ますい】 (n) anaesthesia; anesthesia; (P)

marijuana + drunk = anesthesia

Being under anesthesia is like being drunk and high at the same time.
.....doesn't get any better than that..... :-p

I guess the Japanese have always known about marijuana's medicinal purposes... :-)

my other favorite is "makeinu"

負け犬 【まけいぬ】 (n) (1) loser; (2) (vulg) unmarried woman (with no children) over the age of 30;

so unmarried woman are like defeated dogs........haha.........nice to see the "female dog" analogy in other languages than English......

hehe. great
i see u guys use rikaichan. great thing!

edit: (or is the rikaichan dic taken from another one?)
::u

[ファブリス]

chamcham Wrote:負け犬 【まけいぬ】 (n) (1) loser; (2) (vulg) unmarried woman (with no children) over the age of 30;

so unmarried woman are like defeated dogs........haha.........nice to see the "female dog" analogy in other languages than English......

I'm not english native so I don't remember hearing that analogy before, but there's a fascinating aspect of the language which tells a lot about the culture and how people think.

I saw this one in JWPce once, it may not be representative of any cultural aspect in Japan, I don't know, but I thought it was funny nonetheless:

花盗人 【はなぬすびと】 (n) person who steals flowers

非 is not + 常 normal = 非常 emergency
発 let out + 熱 heat = 発熱 attack of fever

... neat

One of my favorites

矛halberd + 盾shield = 矛盾contradiction

Here's another one.

Sushidzume
すし詰め; 鮨詰め; 寿司詰め 【すしづめ】 (n) {food} jam-packed; packed in like sushi (like sardines)

This is also used to mean a place packed with people. So a room full of people is a "room packed like sushi".......LOL........

大便　= ( Big + Convenience ) ---> Feces


小便　= ( Small + Convenience ) ---> Urine

五月蝿い(うるさい) a five-month housefly would no doubt be noisy/tiresome/annoying

JimmySeal Wrote:One of my favorites

矛 (ほこ) halberd + 盾 (たて) shield = 矛盾 (むじゅん) contradiction

Is based on a story from the 韓非子　(かんぴし), whereby an unscrupulous salesman was selling both the spear that could pierce any shield and the shield that could deflect any spear, a clear contradiction if used in conjunction, and the salesman's lie was quickly exposed. My boss was quite fond of telling that story.

from the KanjiDB:

沈埋工法
ちんまいこうほう (EDICT) (n)
underwater tunnel construction by sinking prefabricated box culverts

yes!

OK. I know I'm breaking the rules. This isn't exactly a compound, but I love this phrase.

手が早い (てがはやい, "te ga hayai") - to be fast in forming relationships with women

Literally, it means <some guy> has quick hands.
When I first heard it, I thought it meant that the person is a thief, but I was wrong.

The most common meaning is for men who are quick to start
relationships with women. They waste no time in becoming friendly with
hot women. The phrase sort of implies that he's a player.

So the next time you hear someone say "that guy has quick hands", you'd
better think twice about it.......... :-)

haha. "he's got gaaame".

These words are used in a book I'm reading in reference to ancient Greek history:

植民 (plant-people) colonization
植民都市 (plant-people city) colony
植民活動 (plant-people activity) colonization

But reading off the Heisig meanings literally makes them look like some scary science fiction words.