Need a word or phrase translated?

[grapefruit]

Hi. It is a bit random of something to ask for, but I am attempting to learn how to use multiple clauses.

I tried to make the following:
'A large fish ate my car, but I bought a new car, and killed the large fish'

The best I could do was this:
'大きい魚は私の車を食べた、でも、私は新た車を買いましたよと、大きい魚はキルをした。'

Any help on how I could make this sound more natural? And yes, it could be something someone says... for example an employee explaining why he was late for work ;]

Any help greatly appreciated.

First, since the perspective is from that of "I", rather than that of "fish". It is better to keep the same subject.
大きい魚に車は食べられたけど、新しい車を買いました。それから、魚は私が殺しました。
Note, the first clause is a passive sentence.

Second, you do not need to put the subject "I" in every single sentence.
Third, 私の車 is an English-like expression. In this context, it is clear that the car that was eaten is your car, so that no explicit reference is required.

と is inappropriate here, since the conjunctional use of と requires the second clause to have a verb phrase with low transitivity. Verbs with low transitivity include stative verbs such as adjectives, and some verbs like naru, shinu, ~teshimasu, etc. In English, "and" serves many functions. It can connect nouns and clauses. In Japanese "A と B" only works with noun plus noun, not with clause plus clause. If you want to connect two verbs, you need to use te-form, like 起きてシャワーを浴びた(I got up and took a shower).

 

[black_whispers]

Ahh! I understand that much better now! Thank you grapefruit!

Are you always on JREF? You answer a lot of questions... you are really a nice guy In fact, you seem to be on so frequently that I want to be cheesy so I will...

Are you sleepless in seattle? Oh yes, I did just ask the forbidden question And yes, I am immature (I also use the smiley face too much )

Thanks!

 

[Toritoribe]

So, what do you think is the best English definition of "過去ログ"?

Here's the present URL of 過去ログ.

主婦人口 - 経済 解決済み| 【OKWAVE】

過去ログ in this context roughly means "the stocked data of Qs and As."

The answerer "BluesHeart" must have thought that the OP of the linked page, who had also asked the number of housewives, could be in the same school as "iloveliverpool," so s/he would answer another way to count it.

たとえば社会保険庁で「第３種被保険者」の数を教えてもらえれば近似値としてはいいところにいくと思います。

As grapefruit-san explained, もらう/もらえる in this case doesn't mean "do for me(the speaker)," but is used as a kind of polite form. However, it can have the same meaning as くれる depending on the context.

e.g. その本取ってもらえる？ = その本取ってくれる？

The former might sound more polite.

 

[Ashikaga]

Thanks! So, what do you think is the best English definition of "過去ログ"? Also, how would you translate the whole sentence?

「ログ」is a term used a lot by Japanese ppl on the internet. It means posts or written contributions to a message board or a chatroom. So, 「過去ログ」would be "previous posts" in this case.

Originally Posted by black_whispers
'A large fish ate my car, but I bought a new car, and killed the large fish'

The best I could do was this:
'大きい魚は私の車を食べた、でも、私は新た車を買いましたよと、大きい魚はキルをした。'

Look at it this way. The first clause is the action, and both the second and the third are the reactions to the action in the first. We should come up with a translation that reflects that. My take is below.

大きな魚に車を食べられてしまいましたが、（私は）新しい車を買って、そしてその魚を殺しました。

the そして in the last clause COULD be omitted but I put it there to avoid the possibility of the 2nd/3rd clauses mistaken as "I bought a new car and killed the fish with it.".

As for what grapefruit suggested,

大きい魚に車は食べられたけど、新しい車を買いました。それから、魚は私が殺しました。

,

With the first two clauses combined and the third tucked on at the end and being the only one that includes 私, the nuance it conveys, to me, is something like,
"Although the car was eaten by the big fish, I bought a new car. Oh, by the way, it was ME who killed the fish.

 

[black_whispers]

Wow, the first clause,
大きな魚に車を食べられてしまいましたが
seems to be a bit of a mouthful

Can I ask what sorekara's nearest english translation is, and what relevance it has in sentence structures like these?

Sorry, I learnt a bit backwards because my brother taught me some, so then when he stopped I kindof didn't want to start from basics etc... so yeah, I'm a bit backwards with Japanese...

Thanks for the help

black_whispers

 

[grapefruit]

Wow, the first clause,
大きな魚に車を食べられてしまいましたが
seems to be a bit of a mouthful

Can I ask what sorekara's nearest english translation is, and what relevance it has in sentence structures like these?

Sorry, I learnt a bit backwards because my brother taught me some, so then when he stopped I kindof didn't want to start from basics etc... so yeah, I'm a bit backwards with Japanese...

Thanks for the help

black_whispers

I agree with Ashikaga-san's translation. It's more accurate than mine. "Sorekara" here should be something like "by the way" or "besides" as Ashikaga-san pointed out.

As for (私は)大きな魚に車を食べられてしまいましたが, the adversity passive sentence and the te-shimau construction convey that the incident was something undesirable to the subject watashi.

Ahh! I understand that much better now! Thank you grapefruit!

Are you always on JREF? You answer a lot of questions... you are really a nice guy In fact, you seem to be on so frequently that I want to be cheesy so I will...

Your are welcome.

Are you sleepless in seattle? Oh yes, I did just ask the forbidden question And yes, I am immature (I also use the smiley face too much )

Thanks!

I simply had too much coffee at Starbucks.

 

[82riceballs]

ウワぁぁ～！皆さん、ご回答ありがとうございました。
本当に助かりましたよ。

で、その最初の文の一番近い英訳は何と思いますか。
So, what do you think would be the best English translation for the first sentence?

私なら、そう訳します："If the OP from the above-stated previous post is from the same school as you, then the message source would be the same, so I will answer your question using a different method."

しかし、私は日本語の理解力があまり深くないんですから、正しいかどうかは私には分かりません。もしもっと良い翻訳があったら、教えていただけませんか。
However, my comprehension of Japanese is not very deep, so I would not be able to know if it [my translation] is correct or not. If there is a better translation, may I request that you teach it to me?

また、私の日本語には多分誤りや不自然な表現がありますので、遠慮なく直してくださいね。
Also, since there are probably mistakes and unnatural-sounding phrases in my Japanese, please feel free to correct me.

よろしくお願いします。

 

[82riceballs]

では、そのポストの翻訳を続けてみます：
I will continue trying to translate the post:

４．「また、国勢調査などのデータでは隠居世帯（年金受給世帯）でも妻が"主婦"として記載される場合が多いと推定されます。この場合"専業主婦"の定義がサラリーマン世帯の場合とは少しズレます。」
英訳： Further, it is estimated by sources [of data] such as the National Census, that wives are frequently referred to as "housewives" in retired households (pensioner households). In this situation, the definition of "full-time housewife" slightly deviates from that of a salaryman household.

5. 「つまり、サラリーマン世帯の場合は「給与労働者と家事労働者で一単位」という相互扶助関係ですが、隠居世帯の場合は「あたしばっかりウチのことをしていて…」「お父さんはなんにもできないんだから…」という片務関係である場合が想定できるからです。」
In other words, [the difference lies in the fact that] although in a salaryman household, there exists a mutualistic relationship of"the paid worker and the house worker as one unit", in a retirement household, we can assume that a unilateral relationship exists. "I, alone, do all of the housework" and "Cuz your father can't do anything".

I wasn't sure how to fit the two sentences in
... Please help!

 

[grapefruit]

「お父さんはなんにもできないんだから…」という片務関係である場合が想定できるからです。」
"Cuz your father can't do anything".

Just to ensure, "お父さんはなんにもできないんだから…" is a statement by a wife lamenting her husband's incapability and uselessness with housework.

 

[82riceballs]

ご説明ありがとうございました！それより、私の英訳は原文の意味をちゃんと伝えますか。
Ok, thanks for the clarification. More importantly, do my translations properly convey the meaning?

よろしくお願いします!

 

[Simi]

How would you say:
Las Vegas was boring because I was too young to drink or gamble.
私は若すぎたのでアルコールを飲むことができなかったので ラスベガスがつまらなかったです。
How would I include the gambling bit? Overall is there a better way to phrase this? It sounds a bit awkward to me with the use of ので twice..
thanks.

 

[undrentide]

How would you say:
Las Vegas was boring because I was too young to drink or gamble.
私は若すぎたのでアルコールを飲むことができなかったので ラスベガスがつまらなかったです。
How would I include the gambling bit? Overall is there a better way to phrase this? It sounds a bit awkward to me with the use of ので twice..
thanks.

Good try.

Las Vegas was boring because I was too young to drink or gamble.
私は若すぎてアルコールを飲むことができなかったので、ラスベガスはつまらなかったです。
1. avoid the repetition of ので, you can use the simple て.
2. ラスベガスが does not sounds wrong, but to my ears ラスベガスは sounds better/more natural.

If you want to include the gambling bit, then you can use ～たり～たり
私は若すぎてアルコールを飲んだりギャンブルをしたりすることができなかったので、ラスベガスはつまらなかったです。

too young = 若すぎる is correct, but in this example it means you're not an adult (age), so these words might be useful to remember.
成年（せいねん）、大人（おとな） = adult, grown-up
未成年（みせいねん） = minor
Also you can rephrase アルコールを飲む to お酒を飲む. Both are OK, it is just a question of taste. ;-)

私は未成年なのでお酒をのんだりギャンブルをしたりできなくて、ラスベガスはつまらなかったです。
私は未成年でお酒を飲んだりギャンブルをしたりできなかったので、ラスベガスはつまらなかったです。

 

[Simi]

Thank you very much - you've been a great help.

Just one last quick question if you have the time:

is the Japanese word for Expatriate 国外に追放された人 or 国籍離脱者? is there another more appropriate word?



cheers!


cheers!

 

[grapefruit]

Could it be 海外居住者?
国外に追放された人 sounds like somebody who is banned to go back to Japan.
国籍離脱者 is someone who has renounced his citizenship.

 

[undrentide]

is the Japanese word for Expatriate 国外に追放された人 or 国籍離脱者? is there another more appropriate word?

Expatriate?
It depends on the context - if it means someone who lives in foreign country for work, we usually call him 駐在員. Otherwise 海外在住者 (normally Japanese living abroad).
国外に追放された人 (a person who was deported) sounds like a criminal of some sort, and 国籍離脱者 literally means a person who renounced one's citizenship. I don't think neither of them really fits the definition of "expatriate" which is (according to LDCEO) "someone who lives a foreign country"...

 

[Ashikaga]

Just to emphasize that an expatriate is someone who LEFT his/her native country and lives elsewhere, how about 国外移住者・国外居住者・国外在住者？

 

[grapefruit]

Just to emphasize that an expatriate is someone who LEFT his/her native country and lives elsewhere, how about 国外移住者・国外居住者・国外在住者？

All sounds good to me! Does that mean Japanese does not have a fix term for that?

 

[patrick22]

help needed

Hi guys,
Can anyone help me out with getting int touch with konaka company? url would be konaka dot jp - I cannot post proper link yet...
I feel quite stupid right now but I cannot find contact link on this website to send them an e-mail and I'm sure that somebody there speaks english...
Thanks a lot for help
Patrick

 

[Ashikaga]

Hi guys,
Can anyone help me out with getting int touch with konaka company? url would be konaka dot jp - I cannot post proper link yet...
I feel quite stupid right now but I cannot find contact link on this website to send them an e-mail and I'm sure that somebody there speaks english...
Thanks a lot for help
Patrick

[email protected] When looking for the contact link on a web page for a Japanese business, look for 「お問い合わせ」 (Enquiry).

 

[patrick22]

Brilliant... Thanks very much for your help and time Ashikaga

 

[82riceballs]

I'm trying to translate this part of the article. Please check if it is correct:
あるいは生保会社などでもある程度のデータは持っていると思います。
Or, I think you have to some degree, data from life insurance companies, etc.

この場合は６０歳（６５歳）を境にいろいろ変わるので使い方によっては面白いレポートが書けるかもしれませんね。ただし、国などの機関ではないので"傾向性"の範囲をこえないデータです。
However, I don't quite understand this part... especially the 「を境にいろいろ変わるので」 or the last sentence... Can you please help me?

 

[grapefruit]

I'm trying to translate this part of the article. Please check if it is correct:
あるいは生保会社などでもある程度のデータは持っていると思います。
Or, I think you have to some degree, data from life insurance companies, etc.

Could it be rendered as "Perhaps, places like life insurance companies have data of some significance"?

この場合は６０歳（６５歳）を境にいろいろ変わるので使い方によっては面白いレポートが書けるかもしれませんね。ただし、国などの機関ではないので"傾向性"の範囲をこえないデータです。
However, I don't quite understand this part... especially the 「を境にいろいろ変わるので」 or the last sentence... Can you please help me?

How about this?
"In this case, since a host of things change before and after the age of 60 or 65, you might be able to write a quite interesting report. However, because they are not government organizations, what you will get is minimal data that can only display tendencies."

 

[XShaolin7]

Need a word translated, plus...

Watakushi wa Ken desu. Yoroshiku onegai shimasu!

Hello guys, I had a quick question regarding both a word translation and possible connotations for the word; let me explain.

I am going over to Japan in December, and I was looking for a Japanese goldsmith to make the word "dreamer" into a pendant -- 夢想家. It will be for a friend of mine, a surprise gift for her.

One thing I wanted to know...was there any sort of negative connotation associated with that word? I went to that website linked in the sticky thread, and one of the examples sounded a bit negative. Could someone please clarify?

Doumo arigatou gozaimasu!

 

[Toritoribe]

Watakushi wa Ken desu. Yoroshiku onegai shimasu!
Hello guys, I had a quick question regarding both a word translation and possible connotations for the word; let me explain.
I am going over to Japan in December, and I was looking for a Japanese goldsmith to make the word "dreamer" into a pendant -- 夢想家. It will be for a friend of mine, a surprise gift for her.
One thing I wanted to know...was there any sort of negative connotation associated with that word? I went to that website linked in the sticky thread, and one of the examples sounded a bit negative. Could someone please clarify?
Doumo arigatou gozaimasu!

Right. 夢想家 has a negative image like a person who alway fantasizes an impossible dream and does nothing in real life.

 

[grapefruit]

Watakushi wa Ken desu. Yoroshiku onegai shimasu!
Hello guys, I had a quick question regarding both a word translation and possible connotations for the word; let me explain.
I am going over to Japan in December, and I was looking for a Japanese goldsmith to make the word "dreamer" into a pendant -- 夢想家. It will be for a friend of mine, a surprise gift for her.
One thing I wanted to know...was there any sort of negative connotation associated with that word? I went to that website linked in the sticky thread, and one of the examples sounded a bit negative. Could someone please clarify?
Doumo arigatou gozaimasu!

How about "ロマンチスト"? It has a positive ring.