Japanese Word of the Week

[durendal]

Okay, reviving this again.

Since it's a monday, it's a nice way to start the week with our weekly dose of Japanese.

This weeks phrase is most often used colloqually or informally to denote that nothing is wrong, or to put it simply "no problem".

問題ない (もんだいない) [Mondai nai].

Typically this is used as a response for inquiry regarding your current state.

Are you alright?

=Mondai nai. (no problem)

Are you having problems?

=Mondai nai. (no problem)

Can you really do that?

=Mondai nai. (no problem)

In actuality, this phrase is a rather monotonous response, in which you can use other replies like "Daijobu" (it's alright), or "heki da" (it's fine). This is somewhat of a formal phrase combined with a casual way of delivering it. Formally, it should be "mondai nashi" like how a soldier would reply. But since "-nai" is an informal usage, this reply comes as an informal, but stiff reply. Yes, that's the word I'm looking for. Stiff.

[odin]

wow, I am learning a lot from this, I thank you guys for taking your time to teach those that don't know the language to learn. I do have something to ask to be added here, Numbers, i know a few but not all.

"Ten" would mean Heaven right? what would be the word for earth then? and what would you use for the word "and" as in Heaven and Earth?

[durendal]

Good question. Correct, "Ten" is another another word for heaven. And if you use "Ten", the equivalent of earth would be "chi". Typically, "Tenchi" [天地] is already heaven and earth, and as the anime "Tenchi Muyo" [天地無用], literally, this means "no need for Heaven and Earth", hence the subtitle "no need for Tenchi". Or, if you are really particular about the "and", you can simply say "Ten to Chi" [天と地], but this is seldomly used.

On a side note, some people prefer the term "Tenjou Tenge" [天上天下], which means "throughout heaven and earth". Breaking it down, its literal translation is "above sky below sky".

[*Jess♥]

i'll give the numbers.

一二三四五六七八九十

ichi ni san shi go roku shichi hachi kyuu juu

or

shi is sometimes yon, shichi is sometimes nana. because shi is also 'deaｔｈ'

this brings me to something i noticed recently. shinigami, is combination of shi and kami. kami being god.

while i'm breaking down words,

I'll bring this one to the table.

o tsukaresama deshita お疲れ様でした

a phrase often said after a hard days work.

sometimes shortened to otsukaresama or even tsukaresama.

breakdown as follows, o is a sign of reverence for the following subject. as in ocha, revered tea. the adjective that follow is tsukarete, which means tired, this is modified to tsukaresama which when we consider the suffix -sama meaning a respected person, we are basically saying, oh revered tired person.

then deshita is the past tense conjugation for a verb so basically saying, we have been revered tired people, or essentially meaning, we worked really well.

it's basically saying 'good work', a pat on the back.

durendal feel free to add anything if i haven't explained sufficiently.

[*Jess♥]

hmm, i decided to add more about numbers.

the counter is like in english, we say first second third fourth fifth, i.e. the numers is modified by adding something in most circumstances.

i'm not saying that this english example above is a counter, I'm saying this is how they are modified.

but in english we say one pencil, two pencils, three pencils etc.

in japanese, it is ippon enpitsu, nihon enpitsu, sanbon enpitsu etc. ippon is a contraction of ichi-hon and so on.

anyway since i said about 1st, 2nd 3rd 4th etc, to say these,

ichibanme, nibanme, sanbanme. which is a combination of number, ban is a counter for rank, and me is eye, so it is like saying, '#1 seen item'.

people -

hitori, futari, sannin, yonnin, gonin, rokunin, etc

for book objects -

ichisatsu, nisatsu, sansatsu, etc

for long objects -

ippon, nihon, sanbon, yonhon, gohon, etc

you can look up the rest yourself but when i first came across these it was confusing for me.

[durendal]

リュキさん、いえ、全てはばっちりです。

[*Jess♥]

ククク

どうも

[durendal]

Re-reading Ryuki's thread (#154), I noticed he mentioned Shinigami. Yes, it is true that the kanji for Shinigami is [Death + God], thus the term it implies is the God of Death, or to the westerners, the reaper. This term is prominently used in the manga and anime bleach because, well, they are reapers. This is the reason why some would refer to them in their Japanese calling "Shinigami" or the translated version of "Soul Reaper".

[*Kenji Murakami]

Would either of you mind of I asked you to to translate a couple pages, just two, of a fanfic I've been working on? It's for Tekkaman Blade, and even though I've been watching the show, I'd still kind of like to know what the words I've been writing would look like in Japanese.

[*Jess♥]

that's a big request for something that seems purely whimsical.

I can't speak for durendal but i wouldn't be prepared to even consider it.

if it were a sentence, then fair enough, but a whole page? wow.

but then I am not fluent anyway so i guess it might be a different matter?

[durendal]

Kenji, if you want to ask me to translate from Japanese to English, then I don't think I would mind, since the fanfic would be beneficial to most people. However, if you want me to translate the fanfic from English to Japanese, then I guess you would have to convince me really hard first before I proceed with that kind of undertaking, as I don't see the point in translating it into Japanese.

[durendal]

Continuing on....

I'd like to feature a phrase that many people might have heard everytime a character swears revenge.

許せない [ゆるせない] (Yurusenai) - Unforgivable.

To give you an insight on Japanese culture, not forgiving is a very grave action for a Japanese. Not forgiving might be an equivalent to a "damn you" in english culture, or even harsher. Which is why when we see the loved ones of an anime character get killed, you always hear the word "yurusenai". The way I see it, it seems most english speakers treat the "unforgivable" line rather lightly, as the phrase itself denotes a much heavier meaning.

Thus adding "zettai" 絶対 before the phrase gives a much more extreme expression, as this means "absolutely unforgivable".

This is also why when people makes mistake, you always hear them say "yurushite" 許して, or "please forgive me" putting their hands in front in a choping position (pinky in front, thumb inside). This is also one of the mannerisms that Japanese have.

The root word for this is "yurusu" 許す or "allow".

[durendal]

Since the new year is just around the corner, let's learn how to greet the new years in Japanese.

明けましておめでとうございます

Akemashite Omedetou Gozaimasu.

Happy New Year

[durendal]

New Year New Lesson.

This week, I'd like to introduce the verb "Enryo (Suru)" 遠慮(する) [えんりょ(する)]

The root word Enryo means to hesitate or be restrained.

This is most commonly used when being offered something by the host. You may use "Enryo Shimasu" or meaning "I prefer not", or "no thank you". However, the host may also use this verb as well. He/she may say "Enryoshinai de kudasai" [遠慮しないでください], or "please do not hesitate" or "by all means".

何かが必要があれば、遠慮しないでください、ね?

"Nani ka ga hitsuyo ga areba, enryo shinai de kudasai ne?"

If there is anything you need, please do not hesitate to ask, okay?

[*Kenji Murakami]

However, if you want me to translate the fanfic from English to Japanese, then I guess you would have to convince me really hard first before I proceed with that kind of undertaking, as I don't see the point in translating it into Japanese.

How would I go about doing that? What do I have that you would want, Durandal?

[durendal]

However, if you want me to translate the fanfic from English to Japanese, then I guess you would have to convince me really hard first before I proceed with that kind of undertaking, as I don't see the point in translating it into Japanese.

How would I go about doing that? What do I have that you would want, Durandal?

It's not about what I want, it's more like giving me a really good reason why I should translate from English to Japanese. In the first place, why would you want to translate to Japanese?

[*Kenji Murakami]

Because the language itself fascinates me; there are so many nuances that English doesn't seem to have, even down to the sentance structure and word use. The differing levels of formality are also something that I haven't encountered before. I also find the sound of the lanuage intriguing, which is admittedly something that I can't really expiriance unless I read the words aloud to myself, but sometimes I do do that.

Still, if you're not interested, I'll respect that and I won't ask again.

[durendal]

Okay, since I didn't exactly refuse or accept, how about this: I help you with what you want, provided that the help you require wouldn't be too large a scale. Let's say a couple of sentences per session. I think that I can manage since it will only take me a while for those.

I don't want to sit for hours doing translation that does little benefit. But I could waste a couple of minutes.

[*Jess♥]

結婚する

KEKKONSURU - to get married

結婚

KEKKON - marriage

する

SURU - to perform an action

[*Kenji Murakami]

Okay, since I didn't exactly refuse or accept, how about this: I help you with what you want, provided that the help you require wouldn't be too large a scale. Let's say a couple of sentences per session. I think that I can manage since it will only take me a while for those.

I don't want to sit for hours doing translation that does little benefit. But I could waste a couple of minutes.

Thanks, Durandal.

Here's the first sentance:

“We know far too little about the Radam,” Freeman said, in response to the double-voiced shout.

Do you need context, or can you just work from this?

[durendal]

Thanks, Durandal.

Here's the first sentance:

"We know far too little about the Radam," Freeman said, in response to the double-voiced shout.

Do you need context, or can you just work from this?

I'm not sure how I'm supposed to phrase "double-voice" since I'm not quite familiar with the term. In any case, here's as close as I can get from what you posted.

"ラーダムはまだ何も知らない" フリーマンと二倍な声から応えた。 ["RA-DAMU wa mada nani mo shiranai" FURI-MAN to nibai na koe kara kotaeta]

[*Kenji Murakami]

Well, I've always used the phrased "double-voiced" to reffer to two people shouting the same thing at once.

Thanks for the translation, Durandal.

Here's the next bit:

“All we know, is that they come down to Earth as seed-pods just like this, which are then buried in the soil by those creatures you and D-Two keep destroying. That’s all that we know, right now.”

[*Jess♥]

can we leave it at that for this topic please because it is the 'word of the week' topic. if you guys want to work together in PM, another thread, or some other way, that's fine.

[durendal]

お任せ [Omakase] - Leave it to someone.

Ore ni makaseru - Leave it to me.

Gaiba wa omae ni makaseru - I leave guyver to you

[durendal]

I just stumbled upon a new slang that teenage girls seems to be using these days.

あげぽよ [Agepoyo]

It's something like an expression similar to being excited.

After a little research, I found out that this term originated from the phrase テン ションが上がる [TENSION ga Agaru], meaning getting excited/energetic. Using the verb agaru, it is sometimes shortened to あげ [Age]! Repeating this word あげあげ [ageage] doubles the expression. Adding the suffix ぽよ [poyo] gives emphasis to the verb. Hence, we get "Agepoyo"

It's usage can be:

あ! ガイバーが出ました! あげぽよ~!

[Ah! Guyver ga demashita! Agepoyo~!]

Ah! Guyver is out! I'm so excited!

Note: This is a girls slang, so a guy using this would make him sound strange.