oldaysjapan
後輩
- 15 Apr 2012
- 19
- 1
Need a word or phrase translated?
- Thread starter Buntaro
- Start date
No, I didn't know the difference, but thank you for the link! To be honest, I've heard of "hiragana" and "katakana" before but never really understood what they were for.
As for whether or not I would want it written in hiragana, I guess if it would make sense, then yes. But, if it wouldn't make any sense to put it as a tattoo, then I suppose I should rethink the design n___n;;
here it is!
"あなたの為に死ねる" じゃなくて "あなたの為に生きる"
Thank you very much! I appreciate the help. If I might ask, would it mean the same if it were written vertically? I'm assuming from right to left, but I might be wrong, so I'd much rather ask!
oldaysjapan
後輩
- 15 Apr 2012
- 19
- 1
Here is how you can think.
Copy and past from following link
Hiragana: Words you don't know the kanji for, grammatical parts, and a few words that are just rarely seen in kanji.
Katakana: Foreign words and non-Japanese names.
Kanji: Everything else! Verbs, nouns, pronouns, adjectives...
Example: 私の名前はカトリーナです。
私 and 名前 are kanji. They stand for "I" and "name", respectively.
カトリーナ is katakana and is "Katrina", which is a foreign name.
の, は, and です are in hiragana. の is a possessive particle making "I" into "my", は is a particle that denotes the subject of the sentence (name), and です is a polite sentence ender.
Not one is more common than the other; they are all used in Japanese writing. Hiragana and katakana both have around 48 and for kanji you need to know nearly 2000 (there are many more than just 2000, but to be fluent you only need to know the "most common" ones).
Here is the info for you.
When we (Japanese people) are kids we learn katakana and hiragana first in writingｓ because its easier than learning kanji. so its simple.
And, as we get older we gradually learn kanji .
So I recommend using kanji and hiragana mix.
As I (Japanese) see the sentence only with hiragana or kanji it seems the writing is weird( humm I don't know how to describe ...other than using the word weird...more likely, the feeling is like.....humm I don't know how t say...)
Well anyhow if someone is educated people convert part of hiragana to kanji as much as possible...
So I recommend go with mixture of both.
Hope you understand what I am saying...
:emoji_stuck_out_tongue_winking_eye:
Copy and past from following link
Hiragana: Words you don't know the kanji for, grammatical parts, and a few words that are just rarely seen in kanji.
Katakana: Foreign words and non-Japanese names.
Kanji: Everything else! Verbs, nouns, pronouns, adjectives...
Example: 私の名前はカトリーナです。
私 and 名前 are kanji. They stand for "I" and "name", respectively.
カトリーナ is katakana and is "Katrina", which is a foreign name.
の, は, and です are in hiragana. の is a possessive particle making "I" into "my", は is a particle that denotes the subject of the sentence (name), and です is a polite sentence ender.
Not one is more common than the other; they are all used in Japanese writing. Hiragana and katakana both have around 48 and for kanji you need to know nearly 2000 (there are many more than just 2000, but to be fluent you only need to know the "most common" ones).
Here is the info for you.
When we (Japanese people) are kids we learn katakana and hiragana first in writingｓ because its easier than learning kanji. so its simple.
And, as we get older we gradually learn kanji .
So I recommend using kanji and hiragana mix.
As I (Japanese) see the sentence only with hiragana or kanji it seems the writing is weird( humm I don't know how to describe ...other than using the word weird...more likely, the feeling is like.....humm I don't know how t say...)
Well anyhow if someone is educated people convert part of hiragana to kanji as much as possible...
So I recommend go with mixture of both.
Hope you understand what I am saying...
:emoji_stuck_out_tongue_winking_eye:
- 15 Mar 2002
- 16,758
- 2,298
Write it on your arm with a magic marker and see how you like having to explain it to everybody you meet and what sort of reactions you get. If after a couple of months of doing this every day you still want to get this long, ungainly, stupid, meaningless phrase permanently injected into your body, go ahead.
- 22 Feb 2008
- 18,266
- 4,926
Oldaysjapan-san transliterated your romaji sentence into kanji and hiragana correctly. You can write it vertically, but it's written from left to right.
My basic idea about tatoo is the same to this quote.
WANT A KANJI TATTOO? Read before you ask | Japan Forum
oldaysjapanさん、Corasinthさんは「（僕が前のポストでリンクしたwikipedia の説明を読むまで）漢字と仮名の違いを知らなかった（＝今はわかった）」とおっしゃってます。:emoji_blush:
Thank you very much for your explanation - it is greatly appreciated!
You have a good point of having to explain it to everyone, assuming I'm getting it in a place everyone will see it. Which is the wrong assumption. Not everyone gets tattoos just to show them off. You also assume it's meaningless to me, which is also untrue. But you're welcome to your opinion and assumptions
As for it being "long" and "ungainly", I asked for it to be translated in order to assess how long it would actually be. You know, doing some research and all before I run out and just get it done without a clue.
Thank you for the confirmation. And yes, I do see the point in the quote you mentioned. I've read the Tattoo thread, and I've been sitting on this idea for over a year and half. I've hesitated on getting it done in a language I don't know, but I have an appreciation for the Japanese language - for most other languages, actually. English is very clumsy and quite frankly, very flat and linear in it's meanings.
Now that I have the translation, it's not to say I'm running out tomorrow to get it done, there's still a lot to think about. But everyone's replies are much appreciated, so thank you!
- 22 Feb 2008
- 18,266
- 4,926
@ Corasinth-san, notice the position of Japanese quotation marks (hook brackets) when you write the sentence vertically.
I have 6 tattoos planned, and have seen many of my friends get tattoos that should have been thought out a little more. All of my tattoos have been contemplated a great deal - the shortest being considered for about 6 months and the longest being almost 10 years. I don't take these things lightly, nor am I easily swayed by ridicule. However, I'm not above anyone else - if someone has a genuine point to make, I'm more than happy to consider their opinion or viewpoint.
Which is why I wanted to ask complete strangers as opposed to a group of friends (who have made stupid decisions of their own) that would only tell me what I wanted to hear. So I do appreciate the candid opinions of others. It helps to shed light on what might be naivety or a jaded vision of what one might think is just "pretty".
If it's all the same to you, thank you for your responses.
Which is why I wanted to ask complete strangers as opposed to a group of friends (who have made stupid decisions of their own) that would only tell me what I wanted to hear. So I do appreciate the candid opinions of others. It helps to shed light on what might be naivety or a jaded vision of what one might think is just "pretty".
If it's all the same to you, thank you for your responses.
- 15 Mar 2002
- 16,758
- 2,298
It is indeed all the same to me, but I would VERY STRONGLY encourage you to give as much time and effort to deciding WHO you're going to have do this as you did deciding on the content.
The simple fact is that unless a person either grew up with or has a long association with Japanese script then what you are likely to end up with is what so many people with kanji tattoos end up with: something that is a MOCKERY of Japanese script and is a belly-laugh inducing eyesore to anybody with even a mild familiarity with Japanese writing. Either that or they just stencil something on you which is a font out of their computer and looks about like it would if you had it done in Helvetica. THAT is the number one problem with getting a kanji tattoo done at your local mall.
The simple fact is that unless a person either grew up with or has a long association with Japanese script then what you are likely to end up with is what so many people with kanji tattoos end up with: something that is a MOCKERY of Japanese script and is a belly-laugh inducing eyesore to anybody with even a mild familiarity with Japanese writing. Either that or they just stencil something on you which is a font out of their computer and looks about like it would if you had it done in Helvetica. THAT is the number one problem with getting a kanji tattoo done at your local mall.
Hello, first time poster here and I'm wondering if someone could help me out with a Japanese sentence since I just can't wrap my head around it:
サバト・・・君は何故あの頃のように罪を背負い苦悩するのか？
English translation suggestions:
1. Sabbat... why do you burden me with the agony of sins?
2. Sabbat... why do you, like at that time, carry sins and suffer?
but both of them sound wrong(?) to me, either one way or another. I would be truly grateful is someone could give a second option or suggest a better translation than the ones stated above.
サバト・・・君は何故あの頃のように罪を背負い苦悩するのか？
English translation suggestions:
1. Sabbat... why do you burden me with the agony of sins?
2. Sabbat... why do you, like at that time, carry sins and suffer?
but both of them sound wrong(?) to me, either one way or another. I would be truly grateful is someone could give a second option or suggest a better translation than the ones stated above.
I completely agree! A friend mentioned an artist they know and I knew I wasn't interested because he has no knowledge of Japanese writing. I wont be getting it done on a whim - there is still much research to be done! I want to make sure I find someone who is extremely familiar in Japanese writing before I even do a consultation. I don't take tattoos lightly -- which might be why it's taken me ten years to get my first one >w<
- 22 Feb 2008
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- 4,926
The second one is correct. Why do you think it's wrong?
Thank you so much for the reply! Well, I'm not sure why but I was thinking about the expression あの頃, which also can be translated to 'in those days' depending on how you use it, right? E.g 'あの頃の流行' → 'the trend in those days'. So I wasn't 100 percent sure if 'at that time' was correct or not. Besides that, the English phrase sounds a bit strange to me? I would've probably written something like 'Why do you carry sins and suffer, just like back in those days?' in order to make it sound more fluent.
- 22 Feb 2008
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- 4,926
If the translation suits the context, it can be correct, too.
Well, I've been tracking the new Onimusha Soul game (current only JP D so I just periodically look at it for new updates, but since I can't read any Japanese, I just look at the images. So I was wondering if anyone could translate these three small passages?
Oh and if it could be in order (like 1, 2, 3) that would be nice too
Please and thanks if anyone could!
so I just periodically look at it for new updates, but since I can't read any Japanese, I just look at the images. So I was wondering if anyone could translate these three small passages?Oh and if it could be in order (like 1, 2, 3) that would be nice too
Please and thanks if anyone could!
最低ね、これだから男の人って。
Spoken by a girl, the translation I am given is something like: "Guys are all like this."
I understand the bits:
= lowest, (like) this, because, men, casual topic marker
But I wouldn't have been able to come up with "Guys are all like this." by myself. Also, だから is always making me trip.
Context:
Girl: 離婚したんですか。
Man: え、いや、あの…
Girl: あなたの浮気が原因？
Man: はい？ (Eh? What...?)
Girl: 最低ね、これだから男の人って。
Spoken by a girl, the translation I am given is something like: "Guys are all like this."
I understand the bits:
= lowest, (like) this, because, men, casual topic marker
But I wouldn't have been able to come up with "Guys are all like this." by myself. Also, だから is always making me trip.
Context:
Girl: 離婚したんですか。
Man: え、いや、あの…
Girl: あなたの浮気が原因？
Man: はい？ (Eh? What...?)
Girl: 最低ね、これだから男の人って。
Ahh, I see, so a more literal translation would be
"Because of this, men are the lowest / worst."
Sorry for sort of highjacking the thread a bit but is って a casual topic marker? As in ha can be exchanged for tte in casual situations?
Edit: Nevermind, I just found some info about it.
- 15 Mar 2002
- 16,758
- 2,298
Yes, with "this" referring to men cheating.
She conveniently overlooks the fact that unless some WOMAN is also involved the math doesn't work. But that just gives us an opportunity to present the Japanese expression 自分のことを棚に上げる
Staren: in this case it is a colloquial shortening of というには
Hmm, quite the shorting huh
Still can't wrap my head around all the toiu usages but I guess it'll happen naturally with some time. Hopefully ^^
- 15 Mar 2002
- 16,758
- 2,298
Hmm, quite the shorting huh
Still can't wrap my head around all the toiu usages but I guess it'll happen naturally with some time. Hopefully ^^
I had a typo. Should be というのは
The "o" and the "i" are adjacent, and the new and improved Tapatalk interface with the blasted buttons that cover up the text entry space makes proof reading Japanese input a hassle, as it covers up what you're writing.
