Often in the English language the word "heart" is metaphorically used to describe a person's capacity to love. When a person is dumped by his partner, he might complain of having a "broken heart," or "heartache." "Heart" might also describe a person's expressed devotion to something. For example, a football player might be admired out of the others, not so much because he is good, but because he has "heart." You hear coaches and commentators say that all the time. The Japanese have a word that means the same thing. It's called "toshi." "People love Matsuzaka because he has great toshi." But what does toshi literally translate into? The best I could find was Bright, intelligent. Not what I'm looking for. What metaphors do other cultures and other-than-English speaking people use for these types of things? What do the Japanese say that means "heart-ache" or "broken heart"? Do they say a long string of words that means "don't feel good because mate left me."? Obviously I'm being facetious. But do they use an expression that includes the use of their word for an organ whose purpose is to pump blood? Are there metaphors, expressions and idioms, which when literally translated mean the same thing in a lot of languages and cultures? It seems like "heart" should be one. Can anybody verify this? Or else, can anybody give any other alternative examples? Might give some interesting insight into how people think and how languages form.
