Quotes
Japanese meaning of 随分とぶ厚い紙一重だ…
— Aoshi Shinomori ／ Rurouni Kenshin
Voice sample:
ずいぶんとぶあついかみひとえだ… (Zuibun to buatsui kamihitoe da...)
English Translation:
That was quite a thick "paper-thin" margin...
Original Scene & Cultural Context
Scene in the Original Work:
In the Kyoto arc, Aoshi fights Kenshin again and loses by what looks like a tiny margin. Afterward, he admits that the small gap was actually a big one.
日本語で読む
京都編で剣心と再び戦い、わずかな差で敗れた蒼紫が、その「紙一重」の差が実は大きかったと認める。
Cultural Context:
Aoshi is the young leader of the Oniwabanshu, the Edo shogunate's secret agents. 紙一重 means a difference as thin as one sheet of paper.
日本語で読む
蒼紫は、江戸幕府の隠密「御庭番衆（おにわばんしゅう）」の若き御頭（おかしら）。「紙一重」は、紙1枚ほどのごくわずかな差のこと。
Grammar & Learning Points
Grammar Point
•「随分と」= quite, considerably. •「紙一重」= "one sheet of paper", a razor-thin difference. •「ぶ厚い」= thick (ぶ adds emphasis to 厚い). Pairing "thick" with "paper-thin" is the point of the line.
日本語で読む
•「随分と」は「かなり」。•「紙一重」は紙1枚ほどのわずかな差。•「ぶ厚い」は「厚い」を強めた言い方。「ぶ厚い」と「紙一重」を組み合わせたところがポイント。
Trap for English Speakers
紙一重 isn't about real paper; it means a very small difference, as in 天才とバカは紙一重 (genius and foolishness are a hair apart).
日本語で読む
「紙一重」は本物の紙の話ではなく、ごくわずかな差のこと（「天才とバカは紙一重」など）。
Example
Example 1Basic Example
決勝で1点差で負けた先輩が、表彰式のあと「随分とぶ厚い紙一重だ…」とつぶやいた。
After the award ceremony, the senior who lost the final by one point muttered, "That was quite a thick 'paper-thin' margin..."
Example 2Applied Example
（「ポテチ1枚だけ」と言っていた弟の手元で、袋が空になっていた）随分とぶ厚い1枚だ…
(The bag was empty in the hands of my brother, who'd said "just one chip") "That was quite a thick 'one chip'..."
Quick check
Meaning
What does 「随分とぶ厚い紙一重だ…」 mean?