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Need a word or phrase translated?

Eve said:
oh..damn almost got confused

then what is "what the hell?" :p
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Well, you could use any of those for "what the hell?" I suppose, like "what the hell is that?!" depending on how you say it. I'd probably go with 何 (nani) or 何だ (nan da), but they're less specific. Do you watch much anime? These phrases abound in fighting and war anime, like DBZ.
 
indigozeal said:
Must not know the secret handshake. Hm.
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秘密の握手を知ってはいけません。 IF 'must not' can be taken in the sense of cannot be allowed to understand. :-). I think it may be that someone doesn't know, though ? Please put as much context in these messages as possible.


@Eve - What the hell ?! suggestions were just given, try 6-7 pages back or so?
 
Glenn said:
Well, you could use any of those for "what the hell?" I suppose, like "what the hell is that?!" depending on how you say it. I'd probably go with 何 (nani) or 何だ (nan da), but they're less specific. Do you watch much anime? These phrases abound in fighting and war anime, like DBZ.
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Not really but thanks!
 
My wife picked up a few trinkets on our trip to Japan because she thought they were cute. But we have no idea what's written on them.





Any ideas?
 
In the top left pix, it says "Kusaka (the name of the brand) Senbei (roasted rice cracker)"

The right one says "Shimizu" inside the rectangle (brand name) and the right side "Haroukitei". I've no idea what that means.

The bottom pix says vertically "Wataru seken wa oni bakari." (There are many demons in life) and the originator of the proverb in horizantal--last name "Noda" and I need my dictionary to figure out the given name.
 
waynelorentz said:
My wife picked up a few trinkets on our trip to Japan because she thought they were cute. But we have no idea what's written on them.





Any ideas?
Click to expand...
In the first pic, the trinket on the left says "Souka Senbei." Souka is a city in Saitama Prefecture well known for these rice crackers.
Leroy is right about the one on the right.

In the second one, "Wataru seken wa oni bakari" is a proverb all right, but it is the title of a very popular TV program about family problems (in-law problems, to be exact).
TBS is the name of the TV station in Tokyo (Channel 6).
Noda Yayoi is probably the name of the leading character. (Sorry, not sure about this because I don't watch the program.) :p

HTH! 🙂
 
Leroy_Brown said:
The right one says "Shimizu" inside the rectangle (brand name) and the right side "Haroukitei". I've no idea what that means.
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Oh, I thought that you got it! "Haroukitei" is just the hiragana rendition of "Hello Kitty"! Some Japanese write terms usually written in katakana in hiragana just to have fun. 😊
 
epigene said:
Oh, I thought that you got it! "Haroukitei" is just the hiragana rendition of "Hello Kitty"! Some Japanese write terms usually written in katakana in hiragana just to have fun. 😊
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Nanya, ahorashiiiii. Hito ochokutteruyanka! :D


I wouldn't've figured it out even if it was in Katakana.
 
Eve said:
lol...

is "That's true..." = Sou da ne?
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That's true would be somthing like "Honto dane"

Sou dane is more like "that's right"

(In legalese the adjective "true and correct" is used because there is a difference between true/false and correct/incorrect)


Eve said:
You cheater - orewa uwakimono?
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"Ore wa" is "I am" for a male speaker in informal, somewhat crude speech.

"Uwakimono" is technically correct but not too many people would ever use it that way. I've never heard it being used on a Japanese drama.

A girl might say "Anata wa zurui!" or "Anata wa saitei!" (saitei = lowest). She would probably call him a "bastard" or "lowlife" instead of a "cheater".

Hope that hepps.
 
How would you print "Blog Spot" in katakana?
ブローグスパート？
I am going to try to keep a blog but only in Japanese this way I can constantly view my mistakes which will be made and alter them to help my reading and grammar.

damicci.blogspot.com

if you would like to post comments or what not please do. I'll only get better through criticism and hard work.
 
I'd say, more like ブロッグ スポット

spot is definitely スポット

スパート would be construed as "Spurt", and ブローグ as "brogue" or "bloag" (should such a word exist.
 
Just want to make sure my Japanese is correct. Not necessarily exactly to what I typed in English because I forgot what my real intention in English was.
However, would my Japanese sound funny to a Japanese?
it's for a letter to my friend in Japan. So its not formal.


Before, it reached 41 degrees and it was that hot that you would fry.
この前に４１度に及び気温で焼け付くほど暑かった

Inside the car was more that 41 degrees so I wasn't able to drive.
車の中に４１度より暑かったから運伝出来なかった

i am studying at a science college and am learning how to use the laboratory apparatus and how to process data.
理科の専門学校で勉強していて実験室の装置の使い方とかデータ処理を実施することを習っている
 
Okay, I'm having problems grasping the meaning of the following:

踏み込みのタイミングが遅い...
うしろ走ってて,あんなトコからスベらせるんだだ


"The acceleration timing is slow..." I'm guessing acceleration but I think it could mean "depressing the brake" but not sure what that means. And the second line something like: "You can slip from a place like that when racing from behind"


Any help would be appreciated, thanks.

Miki-san
 
I'm a bit confused by some of the following text from a recent Japanese acquaintance:

「こんにちわ！私は元気です。ジョナサンの事、覚えていますよ。元気ですか？ジョナサンの日本語は上手だと思います。
大学は楽しいですか？
私は毎日楽しいです。
英語で書けなくて、ごめんなさい。」

I ran a romaji conversion on the text and got this: "konnichiwa! watashi wa genki desu. jonasan no koto, oboete imasu yo. genki desu ka? jonasan no nihongo wa jōzu da to omoimasu. [¶] daigaku wa tanoshii desu ka? [¶] watashi wa mainichi tanoshii desu. [¶] eigo de kakenakute, gomennasai."

I'm mainly confused about "jonasan no koto," "jōzu da to omo imasu," and "watashi wa mainichi tanoshii desu." Any help would be most appreciated. (I'm in the midst of studying grammar.) I suppose a full translation with notes for tricky stuff might best help me.
 
Last edited:
Alrighty... this is my first attempt at translating anything, so forgive me if I totally screw this up :)

konnichiwa!
good evening :)

watashi wa genki desu.
I'm doing good

jonasan no koto, oboete imasu yo
oboete imasu is the "te-imasu" form of the verb "oboeru" which means to memorize or to remember... koto has lots of meanings but generally something like "thing". Anyways, I THINK this means "I remember you, Jonathan!" But I'm confused what the function of "koto" is in this sentence...

genki desu ka?
How are you?

jonasan no nihongo wa jōzu da to omoimasu.
Jouzu means "good at" and "to omoimasu" indicates that he is stating an opinion. So, this means "You're pretty good at Japanese!"

daigaku wa tanoshii desu ka?
daigaku = university, tanoshii = pleasant, so literally "Is your university pleasant", or just "How do you like school?"

watashi wa mainichi tanoshii desu.
mainichi = every day... So I think this is something like "As for me, school is going well these days"

eigo de kakenakute, gomennasai
I think this means "I don't know how to write English, sorry!"... kakenakute means "can't write", I guess the usual form would be kakenai or something but it has a "te" at the end of it... I think this is because "gomen nasai" counts as a verb, not sure why though :)
 
I'm mainly confused about "jonasan no koto,"

Noun no koto literally means "thing of N" and is often used with verbs such as shitte iru (to know), hanasu (talk) and wasureru (to forget). And in your case oboeru (to remember). So it's like "know about Noun", "talk about Noun", "forget about Noun" and in your case "remember about Noun" with Noun being Jona-san (your name?). So he's saying that he remembers about Jona-san. "I remember Jona-san"


"jōzu da to omo imasu,"

"jouzu" means "good/skilled at something". "to omoimasu" is a way of expressing opinion so it means "I think". So he thinks your Japanese is good.


and "watashi wa mainichi tanoshii desu."

"mainichi" means "everyday" and "tanoshii" means "happy/enjoy" So he's saying something like he is happy everyday/ has fun everyday/ enjoys everyday etc. Also since he's asking you if you enjoy college in the previous sentence, he's probably saying he's enjoying college everyday.


Hope that helps.
Miki-san
 
Miki-san said:
Okay, I'm having problems grasping the meaning of the following:

踏み込みのタイミングが遅い...
うしろ走ってて,あんなトコからスベらせるんだだ

"The acceleration timing is slow..." I'm guessing acceleration but I think it could mean "depressing the brake" but not sure what that means. And the second line something like: "You can slip from a place like that when racing from behind"

Any help would be appreciated, thanks.

Miki-san
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Hi, Miki-san!

It's pretty difficult to translate this out of context because it doesn't tell what sport or activity it is.
踏み込む means to take one step forward with force and can possibly used in sports or, as you say, when stepping on the gas pedal.
滑らせる means to make something glide without friction.

You just have to imagine what is being said from the basic definitions of these verbs. From what you wrote, you're probably right. 😊
 

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