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Need a word or phrase translated?

I've never heard it. I googled, and found that many people asked about it in the net, but no one couldn't answer it surely. Here's an example.

種蓮華ってなんですか? -横光利一の作品「蝿」の中で「種蓮華を叩く音- 農学 | 教えて!goo

I agree with an interpretation there, probably it's sounds of beating dried 蓮華草 (Astragalus sinicus/Japanese milk‐vetch), not lotus flowers, to gather the seeds, I think.

Yes, I also read some interpretations, they didn't help much. Lotus seeds seem to make more sense, they are edible, aren't they? I can't see the use o threshing the pods of the astragalus to get the small seeds...
 
Yes, lotus flower is also possible, but what's on my mind is 叩く. Seems like that lotus seeds are picked up from torus (花托) by hand. I wonder if beating could break seeds, which are harvested while being soft for food.
The same way "beating" is used for small rape seeds (菜種) or sesame seeds (ゴマ).
 
I translate manga monthly, and generally can knock out a chapter within the day, but sometimes I stumble upon phrases that are hard for me to translate naturally! For instance:
あるに決まってんだろう
separately, I totally get the meaning, but I wonder if this is a phrase or something? because I can't seem to make sense of it together. I don't remember ever seeing あるに at the beginning of a line before, so I'm thrown off.
The context is two characters arguing--the one that says this line is a third character trying to defend the one being yelled at (yelled at like "Do you even still deserve to live on?" after having disobeyed her orders and fled her allies)
I'll provide more context if I have to, but I thought I'd check and see if it's just a phrase I'm not familiar with, or if it is more dependent on the scene to remotely make sense?
 
That's a complete, quite natural and common sentence. What part don't you understand?
Incidentally, ある is used as the meaning 価値がある there, judging form the verb "to deserve" in your explanation.
 
That's a complete, quite natural and common sentence. What part don't you understand?
Incidentally, ある is used as the meaning 価値がある there, judging form the verb "to deserve" in your explanation.
Ah, so in this case ある is the 'the deserve'. I see! The part I can' translate fully, is because I read 決まって as "decide" (/決める), and I'm not sure if it still means the same thing when written like that (research brings me back to pages like THIS) So, is the character saying that it's up to the character (who's being reprimanded) to decide if she deserves to live or not herself?
 
Not really. 決まって is the -te form of the intransitive verb 決まる, not the transitive verb 決める. The subject is neither the addressee nor the speaker.
 
To supplement Toritoribe-san's explanation, you probably shouldn't be relying solely on J-E dictionaries for things like this. ~に決まっている is a grammatical construction that functions as a set phrase with a particular meaning.

A quick internet search for に決まっている will turn up pages like the following:
Learn JLPT N2 Grammar: に決まっている (ni kimatte iru) – Japanesetest4you.com

It's a fairly common grammatical construction (the page above describes it as JLPT N2 level), so I'm a bit surprised you haven't encountered it before despite translating a chapter of manga a day. In either event, it's probably a good one to remember, and you'll want to keep in mind in the future that a J-E dictionary is not the best way to learn new grammar.
 
To supplement Toritoribe-san's explanation, you probably shouldn't be relying solely on J-E dictionaries for things like this. ~に決まっている is a grammatical construction that functions as a set phrase with a particular meaning.

A quick internet search for に決まっている will turn up pages like the following:
Learn JLPT N2 Grammar: に決まっている (ni kimatte iru) – Japanesetest4you.com

It's a fairly common grammatical construction (the page above describes it as JLPT N2 level), so I'm a bit surprised you haven't encountered it before despite translating a chapter of manga a day. In either event, it's probably a good one to remember, and you'll want to keep in mind in the future that a J-E dictionary is not the best way to learn new grammar.
Thanks so much for both of your help!
Yeah, I've gathered that--J-E dictionaries seems to not be the best resource for grammar, but often times I search one the 'Japanese' side of the internet, which almost always takes me there. The page you linked to is very helpful though, so thank you!
Also, I'm an independent student translator--that is to say, I do it in my free time from university, completely self taught, so sites like this and people like you are a life saver when there's no structural class/teacher I can turn to! Thank you again, hope your day is great!
 
Hi, I need some help with understanding the meaning of one sentence, as seen on the manga scans. This girl says she's wearing her gym uniform 体操着, because she came to a sports day at a school festival. And then the guy replies 保健室に行けば予備の体操服を貸してくれると思うぞ. I think I understand the sentence (If you go to the nurses office, you they will lend you a spare uniform), but I have no idea why the guy says that. Why is he suggesting she should go to the nurses office and get a spare gym uniform if she's already wearing one? Is there a difference between 体操着 and 体操服? I tried to research it, but from the information I've found it looks like they mean the same.
boku-wa-tomodachi-ga-sukunai-raw-chapter-56-_016.jpg boku-wa-tomodachi-ga-sukunai-raw-chapter-56-_017.jpg
 
Isn't other students' uniform different from the one she is wearing? Especially, they are wearing shorts, not bloomers, no?
 
Isn't other students' uniform different from the one she is wearing? Especially, they are wearing shorts, not bloomers, no?
That would be my guess as well, that somehow her uniform is different from what everyone else is wearing. I'll go with it, thank you Toritoribe!
 
漁抄惜 is a chinese name. Does it have japanese reading? Or is it possible to create one if it doesn't? btw google translate reads it as Ryo Shotoki
 
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Good day to you guys!
What's the definition of 「しょせんやるだけの関係」in context of love relationship.
Thanks in advance
 
Hi I help run a small kickboxing dojo and am currently trying to learn Japanese too. Many people in the UK pull kanji from the internet and have no idea what they mean. I would like to add some kanji to the walls of the dojo, I have tried googling but have found many variations of the same word. could anyone help?
I would like translations of the words, preferably in a script that could be hand drawn.

Honesty, Modesty, Integrity, Courtesy, Self-Control, Perseverance, and Indomitable Spirit.


Any help would be gratefully received.
 
Hello everyone. I want to make a tattoo. Can you translate this phrase:
"This is the moment that I become the man I can be proud of"
That would be great. Thank you soo much.
 
Hello,

Could you please let me know the kanji for "night prayer" and "happy person" and how to spell it? My children love Japanese culture and i want to give them presents with their name written in kanji and tell them their alternate name in Japanese.

The "night prayer" is for male and female name (for twins). And the "happy person" is for female.

I know there are many variations in spelling kanji and also many variations of kanji for specific name/word. Could you please help me choose the best spelling for the names?

Thank you, i really appreciate it.
 
If you are looking for the ones valid for a Japanese name, I would use;

night prayer
祈夜人(male)
Kiyoto

祈夜(female)
Kiyo or Kiya

happy person
幸子
Sachiko or Yokiko
 
If you are looking for the ones valid for a Japanese name, I would use;

night prayer
祈夜人(male)
Kiyoto

祈夜(female)
Kiyo or Kiya

happy person
幸子
Sachiko or Yokiko


Hello Toritoribe-san,

Thank your for your reply. I'm happy to get a valid Japanese name instead of me ridiculously trying to just mix up some kanji :)

Another question: is "Kiyo" (祈夜) strictly for female and the male version must add 人 in the end? Or "Kiyo" can be used for male too while "Kiya" is strictly female?

Will it be make sense in Japanese if i call them "Kiyo" (祈夜) for male and "Kiyoko" (祈夜子) for female without changing the meaning?
 
Kiyo and Kiya are both neutral. You can use them for both male and female. These are not so common, or sound classical, though. Kiyoto and Kiyoko/Kiyako are only for male and female, resectively. I think "祈夜人 and 祈夜子" is better than "祈夜 and 祈夜子" as a pair name for a twin. "Kiyoto and Kiyako" is not strange at all. ("Kiyoto and Kiyoko" is also OK, of course.)
 
Kiyo and Kiya are both neutral. You can use them for both male and female. These are not so common, or sound classical, though. Kiyoto and Kiyoko/Kiyako are only for male and female, resectively. I think "祈夜人 and 祈夜子" is better than "祈夜 and 祈夜子" as a pair name for a twin. "Kiyoto and Kiyako" is not strange at all. ("Kiyoto and Kiyoko" is also OK, of course.)

Toritoribe-san,

Thank your for the perfect explanation and for helping me decide. I'll use 祈夜人 and 祈夜子 for my twins and Sachiko for their sister :)

Thanks again, i really appreciate it.
 
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