If 'over' means 'above', why does it mean 'the end'? English frustrations, why is that! #CreativeAward2026 #AllCategoriesSection

#CreativeAward2026 #AllCategoriesSection One day.

A child was tilting their head while listening to an old song.

👦 Child: Hey, Bunshiro. Teach me something.

👨‍🏫 Bunshiro: What is it?

👦 Child: 'Over' means 'above', right?

👨‍🏫 Bunshiro: Well, that's how you're often taught at first.

👦 Child: Then what about 'Love Is Over' in that old song?

👨‍🏫 Bunshiro: Oh. You've come to that, have you?

👦 Child: Grandpa was singing it.

👨‍🏫 Bunshiro: Don't call him 'Grandpa'. I know it too.

👦 Child: 'Love Is Over' doesn't mean 'Love is above', right?

👨‍🏫 Bunshiro: No, it doesn't.

👦 Child: It means 'Love is finished', right?

👨‍🏫 Bunshiro: That's right.

👦 Child: Then why does 'over' mean 'finished'? 'Above' and 'finished' are totally different.

👨‍🏫 Bunshiro: Hmm.

👦 Child: You don't know again?

👨‍🏫 Bunshiro: It's not that I don't know, I'm just looking for the right words to explain it well.

👦 Child: That's all you've been doing lately.

👨‍🏫 Bunshiro: Theo, help me out.

---

🦉 Theo: 'Over' doesn't just mean 'directly above'.

👦 Child: Then what is it?

🦉 Theo: At its core is the sense of going over something and to the other side.

👦 Child: The other side?

🦉 Theo: For example, if it's 'jump over the fence', you jump over the fence. If it's 'go over the bridge', you cross the bridge and go to the other side.

👨‍🏫 Bunshiro: I see. It's not so much 'being above' as it is 'going over the top'.

🦉 Theo: Exactly. Moving from one end of something to the other, crossing a boundary, and coming out on the other side. That is the important sense of 'over'.

👦 Child: Then is 'above' just something in the middle of that?

🦉 Theo: It depends on the case, but if you think of it as a movement of 'crossing over to the other side', many meanings connect.

---

👨‍🏫 Bunshiro: But how does that become 'finished'?

🦉 Theo: For time and events, we think of it as having progressed to the end and crossed the finish line. If it's 'The game is over', the game has progressed to the end and has already gone to the other side. In other words, it means 'the game is finished'.

'The meeting is over' means the meeting is finished. 'The summer is over' means the summer is finished.

👦 Child: So it crossed the finish line and went to the other side.

🦉 Theo: That's the image.

👨‍🏫 Bunshiro: Then 'Love is over' means the time for love has reached the end and has already gone to the other side.

🦉 Theo: That's an easy way to think about it.

👦 Child: That suddenly became a sad story.

👨‍🏫 Bunshiro: It's a story about love ending, so it's not going to be cheerful, is it?

🐶 Gajumaru: Woof woof.

'Over' means above, crossing, to the other side, finished. At first glance, the meanings seem scattered. However, if you think of it as crossing a boundary and going beyond it, you can see the connection.

👦 Child: So just learning 'over' as 'above' isn't enough.

👨‍🏫 Bunshiro: That's right. It's easier to think of it as 'crossing'.

🦉 Theo: Prepositions and adverbs have a breadth that cannot be expressed by a single Japanese word.

👦 Child: You used a difficult phrase again.

👨‍🏫 Bunshiro: In short, 'over' isn't just 'above'. It's a word for going over something and reaching the other side.

👦 Child: And when an event goes to the other side, it becomes 'finished'.

👨‍🏫 Bunshiro: That's it.

Even so, at school, you're often taught first that 'over = above'. Of course, that's not wrong. But if you only remember that, you won't understand why 'Love is over', 'The game is over', or 'The meeting is over' mean 'finished'.

It's better to let go of the Japanese word 'above' for a moment and think of it as 'crossing over to the other side' to see the landscape of English.

👨‍🏫 Bunshiro: So sometimes you can't understand English words just by sticking one Japanese word to them.

🦉 Theo: That is correct.

👨‍🏫 Bunshiro: Oh. I was praised by Theo today, wasn't I?

👨‍🏫 Bunshiro: Oh, come to think of it, today is August 31st.

👦 Child: Summer vacation is finally over, too.

👨‍🏫 Bunshiro: That's right. 'Summer vacation is over'.

👦 Child: You suddenly tried to sound cool.

👨‍🏫 Bunshiro: 'Love is over'. Summer vacation is 'over'. When anything ends, it's a bit lonely.

👦 Child: Bunshiro, this is no time to be sentimental.

👨‍🏫 Bunshiro: What is it?

👦 Child: Summer vacation is over, but my homework isn't over yet.

👨‍🏫 Bunshiro: You mean your homework isn't finished yet!
👦 Child: The lady next door was gossiping that Bunshiro's love isn't over yet either!
👨‍🏫 Bunshiro: W-what!
🐶 Gajumaru: Woof woof!