Difference between 懐旧 & 懐古

[shakeyjake]

Hi all,

I'm looking to get a tattoo using a Japanese word meaning "nostalgia" and then transcribing it in the Hylian script used in Zelda: Ocarina of Time.

1) Which Japanese word expresses the idea of nostalgia better? Based on Wiktionary I'm leaning more towards 懐旧 as "yearning for the old days".

Old Hylian syllabary

Details of the Old Hylian syllabary, a script used in the Legend of Zelda computer games series.

omniglot.com

2) Using the table above to transcribe the words into Hylian how would they look?

Thank you very much for your help

 

[mdchachi]

Hi all,

I'm looking to get a tattoo using a Japanese word meaning "nostalgia" and then transcribing it in the Hylian script used in Zelda: Ocarina of Time.

1) Which Japanese word expresses the idea of nostalgia better? Based on Wiktionary I'm leaning more towards 懐旧 as "yearning for the old days".

Old Hylian syllabary

Details of the Old Hylian syllabary, a script used in the Legend of Zelda computer games series.

omniglot.com

2) Using the table above to transcribe the words into Hylian how would they look?

Thank you very much for your help

懐旧 seems reasonable. To transcribe, use KA I KYU U

 

[shakeyjake]

Would you expect it to look something like this?

 

[mdchachi]

Yes that looks like it. I didn't see the question in your title before.

懐旧 is feelings/yearning + old times
whereas
懐古 is feelings/yearning + old
this one would be three characters KA I KO

so you could choose whichever you like aesthetically.

 

[Toritoribe]

How about 郷愁 "kyo u shu u"?

The problem in the Hylian syllabary writing system is that it cannot write 拗音 youon "contracted sound" correctly. For example, the table shows "kyo", but it's actually just "ki" + "yo".



Thus, the Hylian syllabary cannot distinguish "kyou" and "kiyou". However, these two words are totally different from each other in Japanese (e.g., "today" vs. "skillful"). You can use "kyo u shu u" in Hylian, but you need to remember that it can also mean "ki yo u shu u", "kyo u shi yu u" or "ki yo u shi yu u". Similarly, your "ka i kyu u" can mean "ka i ki yu u", too.

 

[shakeyjake]

Thanks for your reply Toritoribe!

In the instance of writing 懐旧 would this be a problem. I.e. if a Japanese person was to read this word and see it was either KA I KYU U -OR- KA I KI YU U would there be any trouble in deciphering that it was 懐旧 or as a whole is there still another word it could mean?

 

[shakeyjake]

Also I feel like I prefer this word over 郷愁 as I believe this word denotes a feeling of missing home and I definitely don't miss my home please correct me if I'm wrong though.

 

[mdchachi]

It may not be faithful to the Hylian script but you could make the second character half-size then it would be clear to any Japanese person who can decipher the Hylian to understand what you're doing.

 

[Toritoribe]

Yes, that's a way to solve 拗音 problem. However, there also is another problem.

There often are many homographs in Japanese, and the meaning of a word is provided by kanji or the context where it's used. If it's read as "kaikyuu" correctly, the word "kaikyuu" also can mean 階級 "grade/rank", 快急 "rapid express" or even a compound word 下位級 "lower class". The same goes with "Kaiko" or "kyoushuu".
e.g.
kaiko: 蚕 "silkworm", 解雇 "layoff", 回顧 "retrospection/recollection"
kyoushuu: 教習 "training/instruction", 強襲 "assault", 共修 "studying together"


郷愁 is not only used for "a feeling of missing home". See the definition in a J-J dictionary.

【郷愁】 の解説
２ 過去のものや遠い昔などにひかれる気持ち。「古き良き時代への郷愁」

goo

NTTドコモが運営するポータルサイト「goo」。今話題のニュースやドコモのキャンペーン、サービス紹介などお役立ちコンテンツを展開しています。

dictionary.goo.ne.jp

As for your initial question "the difference between 懐旧 and 懐古", the former is only used for one's real old experience.

懐古／懐旧 の使い分け
「懐古」は、「若者の懐古趣味」のように、必ずしも自分の経験した過去の事柄とは限らないが、「懐旧」は、自分の経てきた昔の事柄についていう。

goo

NTTドコモが運営するポータルサイト「goo」。今話題のニュースやドコモのキャンペーン、サービス紹介などお役立ちコンテンツを展開しています。

dictionary.goo.ne.jp