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everybody! In these days I'm practing my japanese studying some anime's dialogues, in particular Little Witch Academia's. In general, it's pretty simple but I found two sentences in the first episode that for me are not clear at all, and so I hope you can help me.

The first sentence is this:

"ていうか、夢以上の宿命?".

The complete sentence is:"六才の時にシャイニィシャリオの魔法ショーをみてから,魔女になるのが夢だった！ていうか、夢以上の宿命?"

The first part is clear: "After I saw a magical show of Shiny Chariot when I was six years old, be a witch became my dream!".

ていうか = In other words; or better say, etc: also this is clear.

Is "夢以上の宿命?" that bothers me: what does it mean? Maybe something like "Or perhaps I should say that is my destiny?" ?

The second sentence is as follows:

"近頃学校が経営難で、魔女家系でなくても入れないとやっていけないとか .

I think that is something like "Since the school is in financial difficulties, it seems that can't keep going without accepting no witch-blood girls", but I can't figure out what is that "でなくても"... What is it? Also in this case, I hope in your support.

Thank you for attention and thank you in advance to all those who will help me. ^__^

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    1) Please try to avoid asking more than one thing in a question. Feel free to ask separately. 2) We need more context. I have no I idea what this 入る actually refers to.
    – naruto
    Aug 13, 2017 at 17:34
  • Okay. About the second sentence the context is nothing of special, it is this: three little witch are talking about the enrolling, in their witchcraft school, of some new students that don't came from a family of witches, like the main character. And they are bothered that these new students are not witch-blooded: don't want stay with them, etc etc. One of them say that in the recent times the school is accepting too no witch-blooded girls, and then another one little witch reply saying that sentence.
    – Daroro814
    Aug 13, 2017 at 17:46
  • @naruto I think the context for 入る is that the Witch Academy has started to allow in nontraditional girls to the school on account of the school's need for better finances. So this policy (and the preparedness or suitability of the new students) is being called into question.
    – A.Ellett
    Aug 13, 2017 at 17:46
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    In case other people are mis-reading the verb 「入れない」 here like the couple of commetators above, it is read 「いれない」 and not 「はいれない」. In other words, it is a transitive verb rather than an intransitive one.
    – user4032
    Aug 14, 2017 at 0:19

2 Answers 2

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ていうか、夢以上の宿命?

This probably is "Or rather, it's more than (just) a dream, (it's my) destiny (to be a witch)." I'm only 80% certain without further contexts.

近頃学校が経営難で、魔女家系でなくても入れないとやっていけないとか。

I would translate it rather literally as "I heard the school is in financial difficulties, and it can't keep going if it doesn't accept girls even though they are not witch-blooded."

  • ～で(は)ない: "is not ～"
  • ～で(は)なくても: = ～じゃなくても. "even though <omitted subject> is not ～"
  • 魔女家系でなくても: "even though <omitted subject> is not witch-blooded"
  • 入れる【いれる】: "to accept students" in this context
  • やっていく: "to make a living", "to keep going", etc.
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I just watched this episode too, haha! Here is what I think:

1) I would translate 夢以上の宿命? as something like "Or more than a dream... destiny?"

2) I think there's like 1,000 negatives in this sentence. でなく is an inflection of だ, basically meaning ない. So 魔女家系 meaning "witch lineage," 魔女家系でなくても means "not having witch lineage." So 魔女家系でなくても入れない means "not letting in those without witch lineage". Then やっていけない meaning "wrong/no good/of no use," so putting the whole thing together

魔女家系でなくても入れないとやっていけない

means basically "they can't not let in people without witch lineage" (or, more gracefully) "they have to let in people without witch lineage".

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