Need a word or phrase translated?

Apple Bomb said:
I always hear "-kure" ending a phrase or sentence, usually after a te form verb I think, and I'm not sure what this means. If someone could give me a clue that would give me much relief.
What are you listening to that you could be hearing it every time since kure is only for requests/command type sentences and generally not from women. :p
 
Kisu,

You asked how to say:

"i just wanted to say <.....>"
-This really depends on the situation. What situations can you think of?

"have a good day/have fun!"
-This gets really involved in Japanese, whether you are talking to co-workers, customers, friends, etc. There are a few phrases:
"Ki o tsukete kudasai" = "Take care," commonly said to family members heading out the door in the morning.
"De wa, mata ato de" = "Until we meet again," a little on the formal side.
"Osaki ni, shitsureshimashita" = "I am leaving," said by an inferior to a superior.
"Otsukaresama deshita" = (literally) "You have made yourself tired in a most honorable way," said to co-workers at the end of the day. (This is a very good example of a phrase that is heavily based on the politeness rules of Japanese, and does not mean what it seems. It just means, "See ya.")

"Tanoshinde kudasai" = "Have fun."

"It will be fun" = "Tanoshimi sou desu."

"I want you to come back soon" = "Sono uchi, mata asobi ni kite kudasai" used more with friends.

"I'll wait here" = "Koko de machimasu."
 
Buntaro said:
"I'll wait here" = "Koko de machimasu."

I'd say "koko de matteimasu". Isn't -te iru form more suitable?

*I'm just asking...*
 
Kama said:
I'd say "koko de matteimasu". Isn't -te iru form more suitable?
[EDIT] /me checks stuff.
ここで待ちます。koko de machimasu. = I'll wait here. OR I will wait here.
ここで待っています。 koko de matteimasu. = I am waiting here. OR I will be waiting here. OR I'll wait here.
 
Buntaro said:
Kisu,
"have a good day/have fun!"
At the most literal level have a good/pleasant day would be "Yoi hi wo" or "Tanoshii hi wo."

Let's make it a good week (together) -->
Sore de wa, otagai ni tanoshii isshukan ni narimasouni!

I hope tomorrow is another good day -->
Ashita mo ii hi de arimasuyoni !

What else do you want to know ? 🙂
 
Hi Kama,

A fascinating thing about Japanese is the use of the present tense to indicate a future action.

"Benkyou shimasu" has two meanings, "I study," and "I will study."

The addition of a time-word clarifies everything nicely:

"Mainichi benkyou shimasu" = "I study everyday."

"Ashita benkyou shimasu" = "I will study tomorrow."

It has been suggested that "shimasu" is used more in the future tense than the present tense in Japanese!

~~~

Please feel free to ask tons of questions. The more the better!
 
Kama said:
Yes, I know. I was just surprised that there is "shi-saido" written in the text.

And what about the sentences 4 and 5?

I'm not good at English, but I'm native Japanese. Let me try.

> 4.We are lazing at the beach the whole day.

I think "一日中,ビーチ(浜辺)でのんびり過ごしてます" or "一日中,ビーチでボーっとしてます" would be natural.

>5. (Warm/Hot/Sunny) greetings from XX place near YY

Probably, the most suitable Japanese phrase is "暑中お見舞い申し上げます (shochu omimai moushi agemasu)". In summer (until August 15), we send the phrase to each other by postcard. After August 15, we change the phrase to "残暑お見舞い申し上げます (zansho omimai moushi agemasu)".

If I am wrong in my post, please correct it.
 
wakaP said:
I'm not good at English, but I'm navite Japanese. Let me try.

> 4.We are lazing at the beach the whole day.

I think "一日中,ビーチ(浜辺)でのんびり過ごしてます" or "一日中,ビーチでボーっとしてます" would be natural.

あああ、それで「のらくらして(過ごす)」という表現はちょっと自然な言い方でしょうかね。前に辞書で調べましたが「のらくらして」も「のんびり」も同じ意味になりますし、はっきりした使い分けのルールはないと思いましたよ。
 
「く」はどのように使われますか?

→「く」が使われる文はどちらかというと砕けた言い方でしょうか?or
→「く」を使かう文はどちらかというと砕けた言い方でしょうか?


この場合「どちらか」はどういう意味で使われているかという説明を教えくださったら、うれしいです。



PaulTB said:
Isn't でやんす just dialect for です ?

出雲弁【た行(て)】
やんす
(助動)(やんせ(やんしよ)・やんし・やんす・やんす・○・やんせ)


〔近世語〕活用語の連用形に付く。


(1)尊敬の意を表す。…なさる。
「如何様に言ひやつたてて言ひ負けて居ませうかいの、放し〈やんせ〉/歌舞伎・浅間嶽」「まあ、そんな物、つてき〈やんしよ〉/浄瑠璃・忠臣蔵」


(2)丁寧の意を表す。ます。
「ほんにこはい夢を見〈やんし〉た/歌舞伎・心中鬼門角」「松さきへ上下を二どこいで、堀ゐも二はいあけて来〈やんし〉た/洒落本・遊子方言」


〔(1)語源については、「やしゃんす」から、「やりんす」から、「あんす」からなど、諸説があるが、まだ定説化したものはない。(2)(1)は上方語で、近世前期には主として遊女が用いたが、後期には一般化した。(2)は上方語・江戸語に用いられている〕
 
I have a few phrases/words that I would like to have translated if anyone would be so kind:

1. "like a kamikaze" or "kamikaze-esque" or "one who is similar to a kamikaze"

2. "Eat More"

3. "Insane"

4. "Plastic"

5. "Crazy!" as in, "That's really crazy, dude!"

6. "Batteries not included"

7. "Use at your own risk."

Thanks in advance!
 
Elizabeth said:
What are you listening to that you could be hearing it every time since kure is only for requests/command type sentences and generally not from women. :p

Haha, I didn't mean I heard it repeatedly in a row, it just was something that always popped out at me when watching a movie or something 😌

One more thing. It also seems like in casual conversation people substitute "-teru" for "-teimasu" endings. It could very well be I'm just hearing it wrong though, because my listening skills are still not too good.
 
Apple Bomb said:
It also seems like in casual conversation people substitute "-teru" for "-teimasu" endings. It could very well be I'm just hearing it wrong though, because my listening skills are still not too good.
True true. In fact in formal conversation it's not uncommon to have "-temasu" used instead of "-teimasu".

No special significance, they just lose the 'i'.
 
Elizabeth said:
あああ、それで「のらくらして(過ごす)」という表現はちょっと自然な言い方でしょうかね。前に辞書で調べましたが「のらくらして」も「のんびり」も同じ意味になりますし、はっきりした使い分けのルールはないと思いましたよ。

Elizabeth-san はじめましてwakaPです。よろしくお願いします。

「のらくら」は否定的な感じが強い言葉です。「のんびり」とは使い分けた方がよいと思います。例えば,日本の国語辞典(Iwanami Japanese Dictionary)では,
「のらくら」:怠けてぶらぶらしているさま(さま=ようす)
「のんびり」:のびのびとした気持で全くあせらないさま
と説明されています。また,和英辞典(Kenkyu-sha Japanese-English Dictionary)では
「のらくら」:idly; lazily; aimlessly
「のんびり」:calm; peaceful; tranquil;
と説明されています。「のんびり」は否定的な意味で使うこともあります。

> 4.We are lazing at the beach the whole day.

この文章では"lazing"が使われていますが,Holiday phrasesについての質問でしたので,「のんびり」の方が自然だと言いました。
もちろん,「私たちは一日中,浜辺でのらくらしてます」でも大丈夫です。しかし,「のらくら」の使い方には少し注意が必要であるということです。

I'm sorry but it is too hard for me to explain above in English.
:sorry:

Elizabeth said:
「く」はどのように使われますか?

→「く」が使われる文はどちらかというと砕けた言い方でしょうか?or
→「く」を使かう文はどちらかというと砕けた言い方でしょうか?

この場合「どちらか」はどういう意味で使われているかという説明を教えくださったら、うれしいです。

この場合,「どちらか」ではなく「どちらかというと」で1つです。
辞書には "if anything" であると説明されていました。
I wonder that I answer your question... :?
 
wakaP said:
この場合,「どちらか」ではなく「どちらかというと」で1つです。
辞書には "if anything" であると説明されていました。
I wonder that I answer your question... :?

c.f. "Prince of Bel Air" ;-)

I whistled for a cab and when it came near
The license plate said 'Fresh'
And had dice in the mirror
If anything I could say that this cab was rare
But I thought 'Nah, forget it - Yo, home to Bel-Air!'

:D
 
mr.brien said:
1. "like a kamikaze" or "kamikaze-esque" or "one who is similar to a kamikaze"

Here's my try. 神風はいってる。 (Kamikazehaitteru)
That means (kind of) like a kamikaze, according to my slang book. Hopefully that helps. I'll see if I can figure out the others.
 
SkaKid0911 said:
Here's my try. 神風はいってる。 (Kamikazehaitteru)
That means (kind of) like a kamikaze, according to my slang book. Hopefully that helps. I'll see if I can figure out the others.
I think you need a better slang book.


神風らしい ... isn't very good.
神風みたい ... isn't any better
but
神風のような____ seems to be OK for a 'A kamikaze like ___'
 
PaulTB said:
c.f. "Prince of Bel Air" ;-)

I whistled for a cab and when it came near
The license plate said 'Fresh'
And had dice in the mirror
If anything I could say that this cab was rare
But I thought 'Nah, forget it - Yo, home to Bel-Air!'

:D

Now I understand how to say "どちらかといえば (dochiraka to ieba)" in English. Thanks a lot, PaulBT-san.
 
I hope to god you guys have/had "The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air" in Japan. One of the really fine shows of the early nineties.

どちらかといえば、ザ・フレッシュ・プリンスは超かっこいいだ/だった。そういえば、だれかアイ・ロボットをまだ見たことがない?
 
For "kamikaze-like" how about "kamikaze rashii" or "kamikaze rashii no"?

I would like to mention that some Japanese people are unfamiliar with the word "kamikaze" as Americans use it and pronounce it. Many times I have seen Americans use the word "kamikaze"in English, and the Japanese people listening have no idea what the American is talking about. What is the actual word for kamikaze (a pilot in the Special Air Squadrons of WWII) in Japanese? (I forgot.)
 
Buntaro said:
For "kamikaze-like" how about "kamikaze rashii"
That's what I first thought of, but there were a suspiciously low number of Google hits for it. (4)
 
Buntaro said:
For "kamikaze-like" how about "kamikaze rashii" or "kamikaze rashii no"?

I would like to mention that some Japanese people are unfamiliar with the word "kamikaze" as Americans use it and pronounce it. Many times I have seen Americans use the word "kamikaze"in English, and the Japanese people listening have no idea what the American is talking about. What is the actual word for kamikaze (a pilot in the Special Air Squadrons of WWII) in Japanese? (I forgot.)

really? O_O that blew me back.. heh, just saw that i could actually identify kamikaze's different parts... kami is god and kaze is wind... i'm making progress here! now if i can just learn 2000 more words or so i might be able to start building real sentences XD
 
TwistedMac,

Time for a quick Japanese history lesson. When Ghengis Kahn attacked Japan (year???), his armada was destroyed by a freak hurricane. The Japanese have always said that that hurriance was sent by the gods to protect them, hence the phrase "kamikaze" which means "Divine Wind".

In WWII the same phrase was used to refer to their suicide pilots in the Special Air Squadrons,the idea being that these pilots would a similar Divine Wind, striking against the enemy ships.

The idea did not stick. Japanese people today do not commonly use that term for those suicide pilots, but the term caught on big-time in America.

~~~

As a side note, I had the honor of meeting three Japanese Kamikaze pilots years ago. They were very elderly men. They had survived, because they were still in training when the war ended. Not surprisingly, none of them wanted to talk about thier experiences. I have heard that these guys used to get together and drink beer once in a while, but these parties were very secret events.
 
In my previous post, I wrote I understood "どちらかといえば".
But now I'm not sure my understanding.
Is the following usage of "if anything I could say that " right or wrong ?
Could someone help me? :emoji_thinking:

"Do you like Japan ?"
"If anything I could say that I don't like. "

前の投稿で、「どちらかといえば」を英語でどういうかが分かったと言いましたが、
自信がなくなってきました。
下の " if anything I could say that "の使い方は合ってますか、間違ってますか?
どなたかよろしくお願いします。

「あなたは日本が好きですか」
「どちらかというと、好きではありません」
 
wakaP said:
In my previous post, I wrote I understood "どちらかといえば".
But now I'm not sure my understanding.
Is the following usage of "if anything I could say that " right or wrong ?
Could someone help me? :?

"Do you like Japan ?"
"If anything I could say that I don't like. "
Well you need an 'it' at the end of the sentence.

I don't think it's wrong but I'm not sure it's perfect either.

I wonder whether this is one of those cases where a single Japanese expression has several different meanings when translated into English.

「あなたは日本が好きですか」
「どちらかというと、好きではありません」
This looks to me like ...
"Do you like Japan?"
"If I had to say, I'd say I don't like it."
or
"If I had to choose, I'd say I don't like it."

Do you agree that those look like good translations of どちらかというと ?

Maybe I was wrong in my interpretation of どちらかというと as " if anything I could say that " but I don't think so.

My tentative conclusion is that
"If anything I could say that" ... is suited for positive or neutral situations but
"If I had to say, I'd say"
"If I had to choose, I'd say" are suited for negative situations or where the speaker does not want to make a decision.

In the case of saying that you don't like Japan that's a negative judgement and I would tend to indicate my reluctance to 'put down' the country by using the latter expressions not the former.

Please note however that I'm not an expert in English or Japanese
 
Back
Top Bottom