位置について、用意、ドン！
 |  |  |
|---|---|---|
位置について、用意、ドン！ | 位置 ichi place, placement, your mark | 一位 ichi i - first place [I] |
SUGGESTED USAGE:
位置について、ようい、どんぐり！
ichi ni tsuite, youi, DONGURI!
On your marks, get set, ACORN!
- どんぐり donguri - acorn Instead of ドン！ we replace it with どんぐり which means an (oak) acorn. Has the same sound starting out.
A True Story
Once, I was the announcer for a race between Japanese students and some English teachers. As the runners lined up, I shouted, "ichi ni tsuite...", and everyone got in position. Then, I shouted, "youi..." and everyone prepared to begin the race. But when I yelled, "DONGURI" the foreigners all took off with precision and speed, but the Japanese took one step and then fell to the ground laughing! I still feel a little guilty for that. Sorry guys.
