しりますか

edosan

エド

24 Aug 2012

13

0

• 1 Sep 2012

• #1

I was using google translate to check something(yes I know it is often inaccurate) and I typed しりますか expecting to see something like 'do you know' but because I had forgot to choose the kanji it came up with something quite unexpected Anyone know why?

 

nekojita

先輩

14 Jan 2009

1,660

444

• 1 Sep 2012

• #2

/tries it
/lol

Due to the way the statistical algorithms work it often does come up for different translations depending on kanji/kana use. There are also a few easter eggs in google translate, I wonder if that is one of them. The all caps does give it the feel of a irritated programmer who has just been told that the deadline is actually _this_ friday, whoops, didn't we tell you before?

 

nice gaijin

Resident Realist

Moderator

Donor

Twenty-year veteran

8 Aug 2005

7,316

3,727

• 1 Sep 2012

• #3

Nice find.

 

Toritoribe

松葉解禁

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Fifteen-year veteran

22 Feb 2008

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4,926

• 1 Sep 2012

• #4

edosan said:

I was using google translate to check something(yes I know it is often inaccurate) and I typed しりますか expecting to see something like 'do you know' but because I had forgot to choose the kanji it came up with something quite unexpected Anyone know why?

Click to expand...

Google translate returns the same result even if it's written in the correct kanji 知りますか. First of all, しりますか is NEVER used to ask the addressee's knowledge or memory. It's for the future tense "Will you/they/I know~ in the future?" or question-word questions like "How do you know~?" The correct form for "Do you know~?" is 知りませんか？ or 知っていますか？

As for the inappropriate translation result of しりますか/知りますか by google translate, it's because the software confused it with 知るか. In fact, 知りますか？ is not translated to "f**k it all".

 

edosan

エド

24 Aug 2012

13

0

• 2 Sep 2012

• Thread starter
• #5

I see so 知るか is literally 'know?' but because of the plain form and abruptness would sound like ' f****d if I know!'. Thanks for the lesson on the avoidance of direct questions. It's a real minefield but I assume mistakes like this are recognised as such by native speakers if you are just learning.

 

Toritoribe

松葉解禁

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Fifteen-year veteran

22 Feb 2008

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• 2 Sep 2012

• #6

知るか is not a question. It's said with a falling intonation and means 知らない, 知るわけがない; something like "It's not my business."