Hi,
1. Three essential components of 幕の内弁当 have been listed. Then:
今日は、その中でも子供に人気のある卵焼きにチャレンジしてみましょう。
I believe this essentially means "Today let's try making 卵焼き, which, of the three, is (most?) popular with children", but I'm a bit unclear about その中でも. If その中で means "among the three things just mentioned", then what is the purpose of も?
Edited: Unless も just means "children also like it" ... which is the usual solution when I have a problem with も!!
2. 龍馬もその一人であり、国を何とかしなければと考えていた。
My translation: "Ryōma, being one of these people, thought that he should do something about (the state of) the country."
a) Does 何とかしなければ have a sense of should do something? Is it short for e.g. 何とかしなければならない?
b) Is the underlying expression here 国をする? Alone that seems to not make much sense to me... Maybe I've parsed it wrongly?
c) Previously I've read a number of times that, in Japan, use of first names is less common than in the West. However, in various texts such as this one, which seem to be written in a fairly formal style, historical figures are referred to by their first names alone. In fact, even the English Wikipedia refers to him as Ryōma, which seems unusual. What is the convention here?
3. This is part of the caption of a picture:
黒船来航風俗絵巻
I understand:
黒船来航 = arrival of Western ships
絵巻 = picture scroll
This makes sense so far, but I don't see how 風俗 fits in. I know it means "manners, customs", but what is its relevance in this context?
4. あなたが彼に言いつけたって私はちっともかまわない。
Translation given: "You can tell him for all I care."
a) Is 言いつけたって = 言いつけた + って (quoting)?
b) If so, why is the past tense 言いつけた used?
c) Also, what is the purpose of using って here? Obviously I see って a lot, but I often don't have a very clear idea of its purpose or nuance when it is not literally a quote.
1. Three essential components of 幕の内弁当 have been listed. Then:
今日は、その中でも子供に人気のある卵焼きにチャレンジしてみましょう。
I believe this essentially means "Today let's try making 卵焼き, which, of the three, is (most?) popular with children", but I'm a bit unclear about その中でも. If その中で means "among the three things just mentioned", then what is the purpose of も?
Edited: Unless も just means "children also like it" ... which is the usual solution when I have a problem with も!!
2. 龍馬もその一人であり、国を何とかしなければと考えていた。
My translation: "Ryōma, being one of these people, thought that he should do something about (the state of) the country."
a) Does 何とかしなければ have a sense of should do something? Is it short for e.g. 何とかしなければならない?
b) Is the underlying expression here 国をする? Alone that seems to not make much sense to me... Maybe I've parsed it wrongly?
c) Previously I've read a number of times that, in Japan, use of first names is less common than in the West. However, in various texts such as this one, which seem to be written in a fairly formal style, historical figures are referred to by their first names alone. In fact, even the English Wikipedia refers to him as Ryōma, which seems unusual. What is the convention here?
3. This is part of the caption of a picture:
黒船来航風俗絵巻
I understand:
黒船来航 = arrival of Western ships
絵巻 = picture scroll
This makes sense so far, but I don't see how 風俗 fits in. I know it means "manners, customs", but what is its relevance in this context?
4. あなたが彼に言いつけたって私はちっともかまわない。
Translation given: "You can tell him for all I care."
a) Is 言いつけたって = 言いつけた + って (quoting)?
b) If so, why is the past tense 言いつけた used?
c) Also, what is the purpose of using って here? Obviously I see って a lot, but I often don't have a very clear idea of its purpose or nuance when it is not literally a quote.
