Most of the times I have no problem (at least subjectively) grasping the concepts behind japanese words (like こと、まま、わけ etc.) but, some particular ways of expressing the relation of some subject of speech to time are what keeps me confused.
Here are some examples:
先から – "from the beginning" (彼は、先からこうだったじゃない？– He's always been like this, hasn't he?)
それは先の話だ – "that's the talk for a later time" – what?? So the word "saki" is basically in superposition: sometimes it's about the past, and sometimes – the future.
But you know, with time I learned to differentiate these usages while reading.
Now, imagine you're in a furious battle with your opponent. After exchanging a couple of hits, you raise your sword for the next attack, and they make an angry face and say: 今度は負けません！！(こんどはまけません) After this, what do you expect them to do?
A. They'll try to parry your attack and hit you back
B. They run away shouting insults
And the answer is: >! both! !< Is this a special japanese confusion tactic? You see, if your opponent decides that they are already lost the moment you raise your sword, "今度" ("this time") is officially over and therefore begins the next "this time" which will end only when you cross your swords again, maybe during the next grad reunion. So depending on their understanding of the situation, what they say could have the opposite meaning 😭
Did you have hard time comprehending these two expressions? Please tell me. I hope maybe this post helps someone to be less confused when they come across these words in the wild. And if I have any misunderstanding, please point me to fix it.
Edit: initially I've confused 今度 with 今回
by HuntOut