Need a word or phrase translated?

[yevgeny]

Original sentence:
He meets friends as often as before. (=He meets friends as frequently as he did it in the past).

Is the translation correct:
彼は前と同じよく友達に会います。

 

[Elizabeth]

Original phrase:
(He) speaks English as well as Russian. //Meaning, "(His) English is as good as Russian."
Is my translation correct:
英語はロシア語と同じよく話します。
Maybe in this case 上手に is better than よく because of the ambiguity of よく, which means also "often".

彼は、英語が（を）ロシア語と同じくらい上手に話せる。。（ロシア語と同じくらい英語が上手に話せる may be better ???） is how I would do it, anyway.

At least it is 上手に. That part is not an option.

 

[82riceballs]

Thanks for the advice, guys!
Actually, I wasn't using a J-E dictionary. I was using one of those "Japanese vocabulary" study books. I was trying to memorize the "i-adj" section
As for "yawarakai" and "yasashii," I think I was confused by the kanji. The situation is that I'm Taiwanese so I can understand the kanji's meaning in Chinese, and the kanji in 柔らかい: "柔" in Chinese means gentle and soft, both physically and personality-wise. I will be more careful next time.

Anyways, do the sentences somewhat make sense?

 

[Elizabeth]

Thanks for the advice, guys!
Actually, I wasn't using a J-E dictionary. I was using one of those "Japanese vocabulary" study books. I was trying to memorize the "i-adj" section
As for "yawarakai" and "yasashii," I think I was confused by the kanji. The situation is that I'm Taiwanese so I can understand the kanji's meaning in Chinese, and the kanji in 柔らかい: "柔" in Chinese means gentle and soft, both physically and personality-wise. I will be more careful next time.
Anyways, do the sentences somewhat make sense?

In Japanese 柔らかい is primarily, but not only, physical softness or soft to the touch. And not so related to personality apparently as Chinese.

A couple other "idomatic" uses that come to mind:

頭が柔らかい (Open-minded)
会話を柔らかくしています。(Make the conversation softer (more gentle use of language). etc.

 

[.Ethereal.Winter.]

As weird as this may seem, these are actually relevant to my school. xD

Would you translate these sentences, please?

"Beauty is eternal"
"Love you (forever)!"
^that one being informal, something said between friends, perhaps?

Thanks in advance!

 

[yevgeny]

彼は、英語が（を）ロシア語と同じくらい上手に話せる。

Ok, based on this pattern, I'd like to try to translate another sentence from my textbook:
He takes now as many medicines as during his sickness.
(This is a translation from Russian and the word "many" is emphasized in the original text, so "as many" means not just "the same amount", so I used たくさん in the translation.)

Here's my translation attempt:
彼は今が病気の時と同じくらい薬をたくさん飲みます。

Is くらい a mandatory part after 同じ or it just indicates "approximately"?
Also, maybe 飲んでいます is better here than a general 飲みます to indicate an action that is taking place at present and has not been finished yet?

 

[Toritoribe]

間違いがあれば正解の書き方を教えてくれてください。
(Hope that makes sense ^^)
まず、両親のことを話します。お父さん(or 父ーちち？）は平日にいつも慌しい。働きすぎてクタクタのでいったん家へ帰る後、夕食を食べてから、速く寝ます。休みのときはほとんどないに等しいで残念です。でも週末のお父さんは全く違う人になります。もう眠くなくて疲れていません。気が晴れて、子供と遊びます。じゃ、お母さんを紹介します。お母さんは柔らかくて優しい人です。美人じゃありませんが、頭がすごくいいです。たいてい目まぐるしいから、ちょっぴりしつこいで、時々細かいことに悩みますけどお母さんはずっとめでたいです。

Anyways, do the sentences somewhat make sense?

教えてくれてください。 → 教えてください。

平日にいつも慌しい。 → 平日はいつも忙しい。

クタクタので → クタクタなので

休みのときはほとんどないに等しいで → 休みはほとんどないに等しいので

もう眠くなくて → もう眠そうじゃなくて

気が晴れて → リフレッシュされて

じゃ → 次に/今度は

たいてい目まぐるしいから → いつも大忙しだから

ちょっぴりしつこいで → 口やかましくて

ずっとめでたいです。 → いつも幸せそうです。
*As fo the case that the adjective めでたい/おめでたい is used for a person, such like "あの人はおめでたい人だ", おめでたい means not "happy" but "silly". (This expression often connotes "sneer".)


note:
conjugation of i-adjective

柔らかくて, 等しくて, しつこくて
柔らかいので, 等しいので, しつこいので

conjugation of na-adjective

きれいで, 眠そうで
きれいなので, 眠そうなので

 

[Toritoribe]

Original phrase:
(He) speaks English as well as Russian. //Meaning, "(His) English is as good as Russian."
Is my translation correct:
英語はロシア語と同じよく話します。
Maybe in this case 上手に is better than よく because of the ambiguity of よく, which means also "often".

Basically, the meaning of the adverb よく chages depending on the combination with the verb (also depending on the context, of course).

よく話す, よく会う, よく行く: often/frequently
よくできる, よくわかる: well/good

So in this case, as Elizabeth mentioned, 上手に/うまく is used for "well/good".
可能動詞を使って「ロシア語同様英語もよく話せる」というような表現なら well/good の意味で「よく」も使えるでしょうけど、やっぱりちょっとぎこちないですね。

I'd like to try to translate another sentence from my textbook:
He takes now as many medicines as during his sickness.
(This is a translation from Russian and the word "many" is emphasized in the original text, so "as many" means not just "the same amount", so I used たくさん in the translation.)
Here's my translation attempt:
彼は今が病気の時と同じくらい薬をたくさん飲みます。

For emphasizing "many",
彼は今、病気のときと同じくらいたくさんの薬を飲んでいます。
彼は今、病気のときと同じほどたくさんの薬を飲んでいます。

 

[Elizabeth]

Basically, the meaning of the adverb よく chages depending on the combination with the verb (also depending on the context, of course).
よく話す, よく会う, よく行く: often/frequently
よくできる, よくわかる: well/good
So in this case, as Elizabeth mentioned, 上手に/うまく is used for "well/good".
可能動詞を使って「ロシア語同様英語もよく話せる」というような表現なら well/good の意味で「よく」も使えるでしょうけど、やっぱりちょっとぎこちないですね。

そうですね。特に、よく出来た、とてもよくかけていた、よくやったなどのいろいろな決まり文句のなかで、「よく」という言葉は、good/well みたいな意味で使われるようですね。

 

[Simi]

としょかんのうしろにきっさてんがあります。Is this the right English translation: The coffee shop is behind the library. ?

Also how exactly would you translate this into a comprehensible English sentence?
このかばんの中にお金が三百万円ぐらいあります.。Inside this bag is approximately 3000000 yen in money. ?

thanks for the help.

 

[Buntaro]

Simi,

としょかんのうしろにきっさてんがあります。

I would not say
The coffee shop is behind the library.

I would say
There is a coffee shop behind the library.

---

このかばんの中にお金が三百万円ぐらいあります。

I would not say
Inside this bag is approximately 3,000,000 yen in money.

I would say
There is approximately 3,000,000 yen inside this bag (suitcase).

 

[yevgeny]

Thanks for your help!

Another one:
This summer it rains as often as last summer.

Translation:
1. 今年の夏は、去年の夏と同じ雨がよく降っています。
2. 今年の夏は雨が、去年の夏と同じよく降っています。

 

[Elizabeth]

Simi,
としょかんのうしろにきっさてんがあります。
I would not say
The coffee shop is behind the library.
I would say
There is a coffee shop behind the library.

The coffee shop is behind the library :
きっさてんは、としょかんのうしろにあります・（うしろです）


---
このかばんの中にお金が三百万円ぐらいあります。

I would not say
Inside this bag is approximately 3,000,000 yen in money.
I would say
There is approximately 3,000,000 yen inside this bag (suitcase).[/QUOTE]
かばん is very general for bag, not necessarily a suitcase.


Inside this bag is approximately 3,000,000 yen in money :
このかばんの中には、お金が三百万円ぐらいあります。

I've seen sentences like Simi's translated both ways, though, in the world away from textbooks and dictionaries.

Thanks for your help!

Another one:
This summer it rains as often as last summer.

Translation:
1. 今年の夏は、去年の夏と同じ雨がよく降っています。
2. 今年の夏は雨が、去年の夏と同じよく降っています。

The patterns are set as we've given them. It doesn't make sense to keep trying to use 同じ alone for these comparative constructions.

 

[Buntaro]

Oops, I made a boo-boo. For かばん I meant to say briefcase not suitcase.

 

[eochanghy]

Dear Everyone、
Could you please explain to me the following Japanese structures :
１）夏休みの間に、この原稿を書き上あげたいと思っている。
What do those mean of 間に and 上あげる ？
２）二時間を並んだあげく、切符が手に入らなかったんだ。
What does this mean of あげく ？
３）お客あっての商いだということをわすれてはいけない。
What does this mean of あっての。
４）うれしさのあまり、涙が出た。
What does this mean of あまり ？
５）あろことか、教師がテレクラ通いをしていたとは。
What does this mean of あろことか ？
皆さん、お願いします。

 

[srintuar]

Dear Everyone、
Could you please explain to me the following Japanese structures :
１）夏休みの間に、この原稿を書き上あげたいと思っている。
What do those mean of 間に and 上あげる ？
２）二時間を並んだあげく、切符が手に入らなかったんだ。
What does this mean of あげく ？
３）お客あっての商いだということをわすれてはいけない。
What does this mean of あっての。
４）うれしさのあまり、涙が出た。
What does this mean of あまり ？
５）あろことか、教師がテレクラ通いをしていたとは。
What does this mean of あろことか ？
皆さん、お願いします。

"書き上あげたい" you have an extra あ in there.

書き上げる is the verb, +たい is the "want to" form.

間に is like "during/while/in"

あげく == "in the end/ after all that"

"あって" == in this case its like "having/involving"

"あまり" == excess/overload

"あろことか" hrm, never seen it before, looks like a typo to me. should it be "あろうことか" perhaps... meaning "possibly"

 

[eochanghy]

"書き上あげたい" you have an extra あ in there.
書き上げる is the verb, +たい is the "want to" form.
間に is like "during/while/in"
あげく == "in the end/ after all that"
"あって" == in this case its like "having/involving"
"あまり" == excess/overload
"あろことか" hrm, never seen it before, looks like a typo to me. should it be "あろうことか" perhaps... meaning "possibly"

Dear Srintuar san,
Thank you so much for your help !
It is correct that the item 1 should have "あ" omitted and the item 5 should have been "あろうことか"。
Your Japanese is really great.
I would like to have other questions
いわんや人においてをや。
I completely do not understand this structure.
Could you please explain it to me ？
どうも有り難うございます。

 

[Toritoribe]

４）うれしさのあまり、涙が出た。
What does this mean of あまり ？

うれしさのあまり ＝ あまりのうれしさに
「あまりに」という副詞的用法(e.g. あまりに多い, あまりに酷い)だと excess/overload の意味になりますが、「～のあまり」の場合は "because of" のようなニュアンスになりますね。

５）あろことか、教師がテレクラ通いをしていたとは。
What does this mean of あろことか ？

あろうことか ＝ こともあろうに ＝ ありえないことに/信じられないことに
It's unbelievable/incredible, but...

I would like to have other questions
いわんや人においてをや。
I completely do not understand this structure.
Could you please explain it to me ？
どうも有り難うございます。

This is an archaic sentence.
いわんや～においてをや, いわんや～をや ＝ ～は言うまでもなく(そうだ)
いわんや人においてをや ＝ 人にとって当たり前, 人ならば当前
It's common/normal/natural as human beings.

多分文脈としては「動物にも親子の情はある。いわんや人においてをや。」というような使い方でしょうね。

 

[srintuar]

This is an archaic sentence.
いわんや～においてをや, いわんや～をや ＝ ～は言うまでもなく(そうだ)
いわんや人においてをや ＝ 人にとって当たり前, 人ならば当前
It's common/normal/natural as human beings.
多分文脈としては「動物にも親子の情はある。いわんや人においてをや。」というような使い方でしょうね。

Ooh, interesting.
I hadn't run into that phrase before.

 

[Toritoribe]

Ooh, interesting.
I hadnt run into that phrase before.

日常生活ではまず使わないです。
「いわんや～をや」は古文の決まり文句(set phrase)のようなもので、高校の古文(classic literature)の試験で 「以下の文章を現代文に訳せ」という問題の中に出てくるくらいの難しさですね。

 

[srintuar]

日常生活ではまず使わないです。
「いわんや～をや」は古文の決まり文句(set phrase)のようなもので、高校の古文(classic literature)の試験で 「以下の文章を現代文に訳せ」という問題の中に出てくるくらいの難しさですね。

そうなんですか。
なるほど。
日本で高校や大学を卒業して得られる知恵なんですね。

 

[eochanghy]

Dear all!
Thank you so much for helping me.
I have some more questions. ( Sorry but I am really riddled with the phrase in Japanese).
1)辞書は言葉を学習する上でかかせないもので。
What does this mean of 上で here ?
Why can we use the word "もので" ? Does it lack the word "す"
2)そうそう、忘れないうちに話しておこう...
What does this mean of "話しておこう" ? When can this form be used ?
Thank you for your help !

 

[Toritoribe]

1)辞書は言葉を学習する上でかかせないもので。
What does this mean of 上で here ?
Why can we use the word "もので" ? Does it lack the word "す"

in this context,
上で ＝ ために: in order to

もので is used to explain the reason.
e.g. 辞書はいつも手元に置いてあります。僕にはまだ辞書は欠かせないもので。
but in this case, maybe simply a typo...

2)そうそう、忘れないうちに話しておこう...
What does this mean of "話しておこう" ?When can this form be used ?

I will tell you/let me tell you

話しておこう shows "the intention of speaker" in this context.

 

[TsukikoRain]

I have... a couple of things, I guess.
--
黄昏る遊具達
^ Quest name. The problem is not only rendering it in English, but rendering it in a way that sounds pretty. I'm was thinking something like Toys into Twilight, but quest names tend to get abbreviated, and that one would look particularly bad. e_e But I do want to keep the meaning... I've been confused, though, by other peoples' translations coming out as "Dawning Toys" (which, thankfully, my Japanese professor told me was utterly wrong), and "Toys Grown Old" which seems to rely on a metaphor that is far from explicit, even with the entirety of the quest content.
--
Other structures I'm having issues with... Translated game-specific terms. It's mostly a "how would I put this in English?" type of thing. Especially the first one. e_e;
Flowen達の活躍をおとぎ話を聞くように楽しんでいるのを見るとなんというか、思えば遠くに来たものだと感じますよ。
--
「これでキミもHunters！」って<cr>キャッチコピーのせいで休日なんか子供で溢れてるわよ。
--
Entry: 2974 あなたたちも冒険はホドホドにね。
Entry: 3010 って言っても聞かないんでしょうけど。
^e_e;; Not sure how to format the sentence if I pull out the entry references.
--
しゃべるときはさいごに「ｗ」ってつけるオバケなんだって！
あおーいマントにツンツンのマスクでさ！
「パパだよーパパだよー」って言って
子供を連れて行っちゃうんだ！
ボクもマネしてみるよｗ
^With this one, I can get pieces of the general idea, but the flow depends on understanding the whole thing. Silly small children NPCs. D=
--
e_e I hope I can get this quest done by tonight or tomorrow so I can work on the others... Still, having only these few things in seven pages isn't bad for me, I suppose.
--
EDIT: I ended up looking up as much as I could and then BSing the rest. Good thing is that people playing a quest won't know that I wasn't absolutely sure... I'd still like to know what it comes out to, though.

 

[eochanghy]

in this context,
上で ＝ ために: in order to
もので is used to explain the reason.
e.g. 辞書はいつも手元に置いてあります。僕にはまだ辞書は欠かせないもので。
but in this case, maybe simply a typo...
I will tell you/let me tell you
話しておこう shows "the intention of speaker" in this context.

Thank you so much Toritoribe san !
I would like to have other questions Sorry ! Because I am having grammar course and I am nearly driven crazy by Japanese structures.
1)The problem that there is so many structure with the same meaning, for example : 上で ＝ ために what is the difference between these two structures ?
2)老後のことを考えると、不安は募るばかりだ.
What does this mean of ばかり here ? Can I translate that "If we think about old age, we only feel anxious" ?
3)こうなった以上は、もう他に方法はない.
Why do we have to use は after 以上 ? I think the sentence is sufficient without は. Another matter is that はない is correct or not ? I think it shoul be がない. I can translate it as following " This is this way and certain that there is no other way"
Thank you for your help.