Need a word or phrase translated?

[Elizabeth]

"Yaku ni tatete ureshii desu" is also kinda-sorta a set phrase and means "I'm glad I could be useful", which is practically the same thing.

A bit official sounding I suppose but the meaning is identical.

 

[Mike Cash]

A bit official sounding I suppose but the meaning is identical.

Why does it strike you as official sounding? It's a plain ordinary expression as far as I know.

 

[warriorkalia]

Hey there, I just found this site today and I thought it seemed helpful.

Anyway, I was wondering if you guys could help me out with something. Only I have to translate something for an interview, and I'm having a tough time. Essentially, it's "How did you become a model?"

 

[Mike Cash]

Hey there, I just found this site today and I thought it seemed helpful.

Anyway, I was wondering if you guys could help me out with something. Only I have to translate something for an interview, and I'm having a tough time. Essentially, it's "How did you become a model?"

What was your best effort at it?

 

[warriorkalia]

I don't have a complete sentence yet. All I have so far is "Misako-san wa dono you ni" which I think is a general idea, but I'm probably wrong even then.

 

[Mike Cash]

Try "dou yatte" instead.

Have you learned how to make the potential form of verbs?

 

[warriorkalia]

More or less. It's something like -rareru instead of -ru and -eru instead of -u for verbs, right?

 

[Mike Cash]

Like that, yes.

Now, take the verb for "to become", make it potential, and put it in the past tense.

 

[warriorkalia]

So, would it wind up being 'nareta' or 'naremashita'? Because either version of 'naru' sounds weird otherwise.

 

[Mike Cash]

Now put it all together and see what you have.

 

[warriorkalia]

So far? "Misako san wa KERA ni dou yatte MODERU ni naremashita?" Not sure about the order though. KERA is a company, so I'm also not certain about the particle.

 

[Mike Cash]

"....KERA no moderu ni...."

 

[warriorkalia]

Duh. Thanks.

So, something like "Misako san wa KERA no MODERU ni dou yatte ni naremashita?"

 

[Mike Cash]

And since it is a question, don't forget to add "ka" to the end.

 

[Toritoribe]

Another option is "natta no desuka?"

I would say "Misako san wa douiu ikisatsu de KERA no MODERU ni natta n desu ka?"

 

[warriorkalia]

Oh-ho? Out of curiosity, what does the term 'douiu ikisatsu de' mean?

 

[Toritoribe]

ikisatsu: story/background/what happened

douiu ikisatsu de: in what story --> how

 

[warriorkalia]

So the '~n desu' is included to invite clarification, I take it?

 

[Toritoribe]

Exactly!

 

[warriorkalia]

Hooray~! Thanks so much all. I feel like I might actually be able to do this now. Of course, I might be bugging you all again in the next day or two while I get through the rest of them, so I hope you don't mind too much...

 

[Toritoribe]

So, something like "Misako san wa KERA no MODERU ni dou yatte ni naremashita?"

"Ni" after "dou yatte" is not needed.

 

[warriorkalia]

Would "Misako san no kenkei ni, KAWAII no imi wa nan desu ka?" be a valid sentence? I mean more along the lines of, "What does the word 'kawaii' mean to you?"

 

[Toritoribe]

"Kenkei" would be a typo of "kenkai"（見解）.

The problem is the choice of the particle "ni". When you use "kenkai", the particle is "de", and the topicalized "de wa" is more natural. However, "Misako san no kenkai dewa" sounds like asking her idea regarding the general definition of the word "KAWAII", and not what "KAWAII" means to her. I would use "Misako san ni totte" instead.

another option
Misako san ni totte, "KAWAII" to wa douiu imi desuka?

 

[warriorkalia]

Okay then. Wasn't sure about the particle anyway, so I suppose my suspicions were founded. I noticed I've been using 'douiu' a lot recently...


Thanks.

 

[warriorkalia]

Just to check if I'm getting the meaning of 'douiu' more or less correct, would "MODERU wo shitai RORITA ni, Misako san no osusume wa douiu desu ka?" Or should I replace it with 'arimasu' like I had it before, or is it just silly altogether?