Please translate: nan no tameni ikiterun desu ka?

[osiris187]

Hi everyone,

can anybody translate this to me? "nan no tameni ikiterun desu ka?"

Thanks a lot,
Os

 

[orochi]

To put it in simple terms, it translates to "Why are you alive?" You could make it sound a little more literate and fancy by sprucing it up to something like "For what purpose are you alive?"

Btw, I translated your statement in the subject line. The sentence in the body of your text is not correct.

 

[osiris187]

Thanks. Yes, I missed a word but it's corrected now..
Can I ask you one more favor? How do you say this in Japanese? I'm alive to be able to think about why I'm alive.

Thanks again,
Os

 

[Elizabeth]

Maybe something like "Naze ikiteiru no ka kanageru tame ni ikiteimasu."

 

[Golgo_13]

Mada shinde nai kara ikite imasu!

:sorry:

 

[osiris187]

Thank you Elizabeth and Golgo, but now I'm a bit confused. Which one of the 2 is now correct?

Thanks for your help,
Os

 

[PaulTB]

Thank you Elizabeth and Golgo, but now I'm a bit confused. Whichone of the 2 is now correct?

Golgo's was a joke. (Doesn't really cover the 'tame ni' bit that well either).

 

[Elizabeth]

Mada shinde nai kara ikite imasu!

:sorry:

Soshite tatoe sore ga jijitsu to shite tokoro de, dou da to iu no deshouka?
Ikiteiru ijou wa nani ka shinakereba naranai desune ?

 

[Golgo_13]

"kanageru" should've been kangaroo, I mean, kangaeru

 

[Ewok85]

Reminds me of when my teacher asked 'whats your purpose in life?'
....
"to die, eventually" hehe

 

[Elizabeth]

死ぬために生きています。 死ぬのに生きています。 Does no ni make sense at all in a case like this ? It would have to be a situation of moving towards something with a sole purpose, wouldn't it ?

 

[PaulTB]

死ぬのに生きています。 Does no ni make sense at all in a case like this ?

Looks like "Although I'm going to die I'm living." to me - but I'm not sure it's good Japanese.

 

[Elizabeth]

The Japanese appears OK, just opposite in meaning of what I was going for.

How about 死ぬように生きてる as an alternative to tame ni ?

And here's a middle of the road tough translation for anyone, esp advanced beginners, who feels up to it. A winner gets the 2 allowable rep points per post .

あなたは１年後に死ぬとしたら、だれのことを考えなが ら死ぬと思いますか？

 

[PaulTB]

How about 死ぬように生きてる

Looks like "Live as if you're going to die." to me, I'm not placing any bets on that though.

What was the meaning in English being aimed for? I've lost track.

 

[Elizabeth]

It was a take off of Ewok85's original post, I was trying to say
I'm living or alive in order to die. In order to die I must live? Although I will die I must live? 死ぬのに生きなければなりません。

 

[PaulTB]

Although I will die I must live? 死ぬのに生きなければなりません。

Well that bit looks good to me. However the fact that I get zero Google hits for the (relatively short) 死ぬのに生 section makes me wonder whether it would be unnatural to a native speaker.

 

[Elizabeth]

Yeah, I was just thinking of living in terms of the process (as opposed to the goal) of dying, which, as I understand it, often would take no ni.

Rush hour ni wa densha ni noru no ni taihen desu.

Hanami wo suru no ni wa Japan made ikanakerebanarimasen. (This could also be tame ni?)

 

[Elizabeth]

Well that bit looks good to me. However the fact that I get zero Google hits for the (relatively short) 死ぬのに生 section makes me wonder whether it would be unnatural to a native speaker.

Try the longer string of a conjugated form.

 

[PaulTB]

Try the longer string of a conjugated form.

Hmm, that used to only apply to the &hl=ja version. I'm not impressed with the recent(ish) Google changes.

 

[Golgo_13]

I was on the sbuway once when a guy sat next to me and asked "Do you know the meaning of life?" I smiled and said "Sure, it's the time between when you're born and when you die," and got up and got off the train.

 

[osiris187]

wow! great to see that my simple (at least that's what I thought) question starts an ever growing forum like this

the original question was: "I'm alive to be able to think about why I'm alive"
actually no thoughts of death included, but some solutions above are pretty nice though..

OS

 

[soe]

nan no tameni ikiterun desu ka ->doesn't it means "what do you live for"?

 

[Elizabeth]

nan no tameni ikiterun desu ka ->doesn't it means "what do you live for"?

I wondered that as well and have seen translations as both 'purpose/meaning in life' and 'living for.' Not that these are very distinct distinctions for a lot of people, of course.

 

[Golgo_13]

"Hataraku tame ni ikiruna!
Ikiru tame ni hatarake!"

- Golgo 13