That speech gave us a rare glimpse of his thoughts. 


A: Did you hear his speech?
B: Yes! I was really impressed.
A: Me too. That speech gave us a rare glimpse of his thoughts.
B: That’s true. It inspired me a lot.

In this situation, what should you say ‘that speech gave us a rare glimpse of his thoughts.’ in Japanese?

Business

A:あのスピーチは、かれかんがえを垣間見かいまみ貴重きちょう機会きかいでした。

Note: This is not a word-for-word translation.


Advanced Tips

垣間見かいまみ has three meanings:

  1. peeking secretly between things or gaps
  2. catching a quick look
  3. a glimpse into the truth

In this context, it is used in the 3. sense.

垣間かいま is a gap in a fence, or an enclosure made of bamboo or wood that separates a house or garden.
In the ancient times, noblewomen rarely went out, so men rarely had a chance to see their faces.
One of the few opportunities was to secretly peek from the 垣間かいま.

This gave rise to the meaning of 垣間見かいまみ, and meanings 2. and 3. were derived from there.

In this context, there is the word ‘rare’, so you can add 貴重きちょう機会きかい.

You can use 片鱗へんりんをうかがうことができる to convey the same meanings.
片鱗へんりん means ‘very small portion.’