The "I found some Japanese I don't understand" thread.

[VurskariMember]

This is the picture I got it from:
http://images4.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20110624183544/sengokubasara/images/thumb/3/32/Mitsunari.jpg/456px-Mitsunari.jpg

The Kanji is written on the pommel of his sword, which is why I wanted to know what it means.

[Hatt0riMember]

I asked a friend about that. It’s not a single kanji, you read it like this: 大一大万大吉 (だいいちだいまんだいきち). It means: “All for one, one for all – creates a peaceful society”.

He also said: “Please, learn normal Japanese. Only 1 out of 1000 people knows this.” XD

http://livedoor.blogimg.jp/mizu00110022/imgs/f/d/fd3dfe00.JPG

• This reply was modified 12 years, 8 months ago by  Hatt0ri.

[JoelMember]

I suspected it was going to turn out to be something like that. Google wasn’t turning anything up for me, though.

[VurskariMember]

Thanks a bunch!

[マーク・ウェーバーMember]

彼に会えて嬉しかった。　
I was glad to meet him.

I would agree with this translation if the sentence had 会って instead of 会えて。
会えて is potential and te form in this case, yet the translation doesn’t mention anything with the potential form.
I would translate it to something like:
I was glad to be able to meet him.

Am I right or wrong in this case? :)

[MisterM2402 [Michael]Member]

“I was glad to have been able to have met him” sounds a-ok in English, at least. Just depends on the context of the sentence I guess.

[マーク・ウェーバーMember]

It is taken from Core 2k, so there ain’t any context sadly :(

[Hatt0riMember]

^^ Last time I was tweaking my deck I noticed changes in translations (e.g. 犬が病気で死にました was “Our dog got sick and died”, and now it’s “Our dog died of sickness”). So, they know some translations are not as good as they should be. I remember posting here a sentence that was translated in wrong tense.

My sentences:

八日からイギリスに行きます。 (I go to England on the eighth.) Why is it から and not に?

ドアをどんどんとたたいた。 (I banged on the door. ) Why is it translated as “bang” and not as “knock”? Does it have something to do with どんどん or is it because both どんどん and たたく are used in the same sentence?

それはどういう意味ですか。 (What does that mean?) どういうはどういう意味ですか。 :)

後ろから押すと危ないですよ。 (It is dangerous to push from behind.) What is the function of と in this sentence?

是非、うちに来てください。 (By all means come to my house.)
明日、うちでパーティーを開きます。 (Tomorrow I’m having a party at my house.) Just to check, both うち here are 家? Or something like うち from うちの息子は大学1年生です?

この大きさの封筒が欲しいのですが。 (I’d like an envelope of this size.) Is it the same as この大きさの封筒が欲しいです。

[ゼロスMember]

I received a letter from my Japanese friend and part of it was in Japanese….
元気かな？
大丈夫！
ちゃんとメールは届いているよ。

I only know Hirigana right now and not Katakana and Kanji… can anyone translate this for me because I have no Idea what it means :(

[マーク・ウェーバーMember]

How are you (lit. are you healthy)

Okay/all right

The email has been delivered perfectly/properly.

• This reply was modified 12 years, 8 months ago by  マーク・ウェーバー.

[ゼロスMember]

Thank you so much :D

[マーク・ウェーバーMember]

@Hattori
八日からイギリスに行きます。 (I go to England on the eighth.) Why is it から and not に?
→My guess is that is just the way you say it in Japanese, because I have seen sentences like 朝9時からミーティングが始まった。 Translated to “The meeting started at 9 a.m.” So “from” might be the way to express both at and on when it comes to time.

ドアをどんどんとたたいた。 (I banged on the door. ) Why is it translated as “bang” and not as “knock”? Does it have something to do with どんどん or is it because both どんどん and たたく are used in the same sentence?
→How I understand this sentence is that と is used to say ‘with’ so maybe it should be”I banged the door with a noice”. I am equally uncertain, but it seems kind of right to me…

後ろから押すと危ないですよ。 (It is dangerous to push from behind.) What is the function of と in this sentence?
→’If pushing from behind, it is dangerous.’ so と means if
http://www.guidetojapanese.org/learn/grammar/conditionals ← For info

是非、うちに来てください。 (By all means come to my house.)
明日、うちでパーティーを開きます。 (Tomorrow I’m having a party at my house.) Just to check, both うち here are 家? Or something like うち from うちの息子は大学1年生です?
→I am pretty sure this is 家＾＾。

この大きさの封筒が欲しいのですが。 (I’d like an envelope of this size.) Is it the same as この大きさの封筒が欲しいです。
→が emphasizes that you might be asking for more is my guess. So yeah almost same meaning, though the one with が just adds a slight emphasis

Hope it helped :)
Managed to find another fun translation while writing this
時計を見たらちょうど3時だった。 →I looked at the clock and it was exactly three. Almost like they forgot たら was added :P

• This reply was modified 12 years, 8 months ago by  マーク・ウェーバー.

[JoelMember]

> 八日からイギリスに行きます。 (I go to England on the eighth.) Why is it から and not に?

Because the sentence is probably more llike “I’ll be going to England starting from the eighth.”

> それはどういう意味ですか。 (What does that mean?) どういうはどういう意味ですか。 :)

どういう = somehow, in what way, why, what kind of

> この大きさの封筒が欲しいのですが。 (I’d like an envelope of this size.) Is it the same as この大きさの封筒が欲しいです。

The が here is the conjunction が – it’s implying the following sentence. That is “I’d like an envelope of this size, (so please give me one)” without being so crass as to actually make the request directly. =)

[Hatt0riMember]

Thanks a lot guys! What about this one: うちのネコが子猫を生みました。 Why is “cat” written in katakana?

[JoelMember]

Emphasis – katakana is how Japanese does italics. Alternately, animal and plant species names are often written in katakana, but I’m not entirely sure if that’s what’s going on here.

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