Question about 変な奴だって思う子がいたら

Question

Im reading a manga called Yotsubato and this phrase occurs when Yotsuba dad is talking to a girl witch is his neighbour.

He says: 変な奴だって思う子がいたら.

The meaning is: If you see a girl that makes you think... "It's a weirdo!"

So, my question is, why the use of "makes you think", is it only because he is talking to this girl in particular or because of the "って" or something ? Im really confused with this phrase.

Thanks !

Answer 1

変な奴だって思う子 is ambiguous, and grammatically it could mean either of the following:

1. a child who thinks "he/she is weird"
   (子 is the subject of 思う, and 変な奴 themself can be an adult)
2. a child who you think is weird
   (子 is the 変な奴, and the subject of 思う is "you", who may be an adult)

Perhaps the first interpretation is straightforward to anyone who knows Japanese relative clauses at least a little. But if the given English translation is correct, the correct interpretation is the latter. (Yotsuba is the most eccentric character in the story, so maybe this 変な奴 is referring to Yotsuba herself?)

The second interpretation is possible because the modified noun (子) does not have to be the subject of the preceding verb in Japanese relative clauses. Please read the following questions.

• Does 考えさせられる小説 make sense?
• How is the subject of this subclause made clear?

"A girl that makes you think...'It's a weirdo!'" is not a literal translation, but it's a valid translation that corresponds to the second interpretation above.

Answer 2

変な奴だって思う子がいたら.

This is a fragment of text taken out of context. Viewed as it is, it looks like it says "If there is a child/girl who thinks that (someone) is weird".

The meaning is: If you see a girl that makes you think... "It's a weirdo!"

That could be the meaning as well, but it's a fragment of text which you've taken out of context.

So, my question is, why the use of "makes you think", is it only because he is talking to this girl in particular or because of the "って" or something ?

If you're working from a translation into English and trying to work out why it was translated that way, the reason is probably that it's not an exactly literal translation of the Japanese.