Questions tagged [translation]
翻訳. This site does not provide a translation service. However, questions about translation are welcome provided that they have some academic merit. For example, questions about translating uncommon words, phrases that have different meanings in different contexts, and other non-trivial topics.
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Meaning of ところ in アメリカのいいところ
I feel as though I understand what the below sentence means, but what I think it means makes no sense.
日本に行ったら、アメリカのいいところも発見できるかもしれないですね。
My translation: If you go to Japan, you might be able to ...
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2
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Non conventional usage of the past tense
Why is the past tense used in this verbs (which doesn't make sense to me at least)
生きていた…？違うな…死ねなかったのだよ…！
再生機能を持ったこのアーマーに押し込みおった
and the translation uses present tense
Survive? That's easy... ...
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What does さあ (saa) mean?
I have seen this term used a lot in many different ways.
「さあ、忘れましょうその未来が」 saa, wasuremashou sono mirai ga — in this sense, I assume it means "come".
But I have also seen it used as
「でもさあ」 demo saa — ...
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3
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The many ways to say "and" in Japanese
In English, we just have one word for the conjunction and which works just fine for many categories, but in Japanese, there are separate words:
と joins nouns together in a closed list
や joins nouns ...
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How is the "のです" working here?
目立つ事を恐れ、一緒でなければいけないという日本人が確実に減ってきているのです。
The strong feelings that Japanese have of being afraid of standing out and everybody having to do things together are starting to become less prominent.
To ...
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How to parse 親も辞書を買ってやったかいがあるってもんだ
親も辞書を買ってやったかいがあるってもんだよ
The context is that speaker (a child) is trying to find the meaning of a word and asks her friend if she can borrow a dictionary. The friend ridicules her. She brushes aside ...
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〜しては is this a grammar pattern?
I was trying to translate this sentence:
僕はアルバイトしてはレコードばかり買っていたから、一日半働けばLP一枚買えるな、と思って働いていた。
I think I get the overall meaning as: Because I spent all my wages on records I went to work thinking "...
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Grammar of との, what is the meaning
So here in this sentence below "との" was used 2 times.
What does との standfor? Can someone please explain it to me?
これまで数多くのアニメ作品とのコラボを実現してきた痛印堂には、「好きなアニメとのコラボは嬉しいけど、自分の好きなキャラクターがいない！」「...
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Difference between そうです、 ようです and らしいです.
Here are the example sentences.
デイビットは料理が上手そうです。
デイビットは料理が上手なようです。
デイビットは料理が上手らしいです。
Firstly, what does デイビット mean as based on reading alone its sounds like 'debit' to me which is a strange name ...
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About っていうか&っていうの&っていうんだ
Please help me with the following three sentences:
①俺が何をしたっていうんだ。
②一人だから、何だというんだ。
③彼女の何がダメだっていうの。
All of them are copied from lines of some Japanese drama. I can't figure out how such ...
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What does ぉ character mean in のぉ?
Can somebody explain the purpose of ぉ character in the end of the following sentence?
What part of speech can be assigned to ぉ ?
Can the ending の be glued up with ぉ?
アドビにうまいことやられたのぉ。
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「〜がする」 the extended use of する (to do)
I'm going through some basic grammar and this one website teaches the "extended" use of the word する. There is a confusing example which looks like:
波の音 がする
The translation is: "(I) hear the sound ...
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What is the difference between それでいい and それがいい here?
As I understand it, それでいい means 'it is fine like this' and それがいい means 'this is fine', but what is the protagonist trying to convey here by first using それでいい and then correcting himself to それがいい?
...
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Need help with translating 今更聞くのもアレなんだけど
I'm playing through the Toradora VN and I'm at a point where Ryuji comes home and spends a bit of time talking with his mom. However, his memory has not recovered and he is unsure what kind of ...
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には with plain form of verb
I'm trying to figure out what this sentence below means, but I'm having trouble with the には after the dictionary form of いる.
もう１匹居るには居るんじゃが…。
I've read Dictionary form of verb followed by に, but ...
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Meaning of にと思って in a sentence
I've been thinking about this for a few days but I still can't figure out what this means. Sorry if this is really beginner-like!
I was wondering what this particular part in a sentence means: にと思って. ...
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What does the final て in 待ってて signify?
In this scene a young girl, Yotsuba, drops in on her neighbors for some breakfast. The mother who's cooking breakfast says:
「今お父さんの焼いてるからその次ねー。ちょっと待っててー。」
So I guess she's preparing her husbands ...
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Shouldn't this phrase using だけのこと mean "just for that"?
In a grammar textbook I have, there is this phrase:
幸{さいわ}い日本{にほん}で日本語{にほんご}を勉強{べんきょう}して、かなり話{はな}せるようになりました。日本{にほん}に行{い}っただけのことはありました。
The translation given is:
Fortunately, I studied Japanese ...
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Grammatical Pattern : VerbてのNoun
What does this grammatical structure/pattern mean?
I am trying to understand the meaning of the following sentence where the VerbてのNoun pattern appears.
"昭和64年に起きた誘拐事件を巡る物語だけに、“昭和な顔”を買われての起用だったという"...
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Nuance when the subject is moved to the end of the phrase
I've been plugging away on novel translations for years now and figure I should ask more questions about it around here, since the freelance life does not make it easy to network with people.
My ...
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1
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Clarification about how 惚れた should be translated
There is sentence
「だがまあ、惚れた女を一途に見守っている男の邪魔をするのは無粋と言うものだ」
which I rougly translated as "However, as they say, it's rude to disturb a man who is earnestly watching over loved woman".
But this ...
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What do the shapes △ ◯ ╳ ◻ mean in Japanese? And are there variations in meaning, depending on whether or not the shape is filled?
I am interested in Japanese culture and the symbolism used in Japan, specifically I'd like to know what the △ triangle, ◯ circle, ╳ cross and ◻ square mean to a Japanese person.
How are those shapes ...
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What is 〜からです and when is it used? How does it differ from 〜ですから and 〜んです?
I have seen this expression a few times, and have never quite understood it. In particular, it seems to be equatable both to ですから and to んです, but I can't figure out where it would be used over either ...
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Meaning of a sentence with Aが言うのもなんだけど and other considerations
Basically my question is what does the following line mean:
A: あたしらが言うのもなんだけど……テストの相手があたしらで、テストになんの？
Context: Persons A and B are testing the combat abilities of one of two groups of people. To ...
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3
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Explain how 向{む}く "to face" can take "上{うえ}" as a direct object using を?
There's a famous old song that's actually the only ever Japanese language song to reach #1 on the US pop charts: "上{うえ}を向{む}いて歩{ある}こう".
This is both the title of the song and a frequently repeated ...
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しとけ and sentence translation
I've some trouble with the translation of this sentence:
どこにも行くなここにしとけ
I don't know what しとけ stands for.
Could you please tell me how would you translate this sentence?
Something like:
You ...
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1
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Meaning behind adding 'め' after someone's name?
I've come across this once or twice where people will say someone's name and then add 'め' in an irritable/victorious tone [e.g: ヒカルめ, マコトめ, etc.], but I've yet to find a textbook example explaining ...
user7541
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What is the purpose of the suffix "さ" on adjectives?
What is the purpose of the suffix "さ" on adjectives like 美しさ and 多さ?
The former is the title of an essay by Banana Yoshimoto, so I don't have much context for it. The book editors translated it as "...
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What does exactly does さま mean in dictionary definitions?
I've been using Japanese-Japanese dictionaries for a while now and this keeps popping up. It seems to me like a kind of usage that is found for the most part only in dictionaries. Can anyone help ...
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Confused about って in this sentence
A man and a woman who had undergone hardship together as children before being forced to part meet again and remember their last words to each other.
The woman says:
生きてて良かったって、心の底から思える瞬間って、...
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I am confused as to what historical present tense is, when it is used, etc
I understand that historical present tense is basically a tense that uses
"present tense to describe past events/actions more vividly and lively..." - Chocolate
Doing my own research into ...
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Meaning of ほうなんで?
It is a "simple" sentence, but I can't find any information how I should parse and interpret this part.
これでも用心深いほうなんでね。
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Meaning of 「半日相撲をとりつづけに取ったら...」
夏目漱石の「坊っちゃん」から
大工の兼公【かねこう】と肴屋【さかなや】の角【かく】をつれて、茂作【もさく】の人参畠【にんじんばたけ】をあらした事がある。人参の芽が出揃【でそろ】わぬ処【ところ】へ藁【わら】が一面に敷【し】いてあったから、その上で三人が半日[相撲]【すもう】をとりつづけに取ったら、人参がみんな踏【ふ】みつぶされてしまった。
Regarding the phrase in ...
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What's the difference between いいえ and English's "no"?
In "Japanese for Busy People I" page 2 (kana or romaji edition) it says that いいえ is 'virtually the same as "no"'.
It sounds like there are some differences, but they want to omit mentioning them for ...
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Difference between 書かないようになった and 書かなくなった?
Example sentences:
ぜんぜん長い手紙を書かないようになった。
ぜんぜん長い手紙を書かなくなった。
My Translation: I never write long letters anymore.
I believe they both mean the same thing but there's obviously some difference I don'...
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What does 「なし」in 「問題なし」 mean?
I just started playing the video game Mother 3, and if you try to examine the trash can in front of his house, Lucas says, 問題なし.
I expect this means something like, "no problem here", but I haven't ...
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What does からか mean?
I'm translating the following sentence from a book (exact sentence is directly after dialogue in the picture).
興奮からか銀髪の外国人の口調は、いつになく流暢だった。
I have absolutely zero clue what "からか" means in general ...
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Is there a general/default word for "to wear"?
I've been introduced to 着る (for things you put on like a shirt) and 履く (for things you put on like pants) in class, but is there a general way to just say something like wear clothes? Or must the "...
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Is it a right interpretation of the line of this Japanese song?
First of all, sorry if something about my English grammar is wrong. English is not my native language and, even if I can understand it very well, writing and expressing myself is something I still ...
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Ai oboete imasu ka, what does "imasu" add here?
"Ai oboete imasu ka" is translated as "Do you remember love?", now Ai is love, oboete is remember and ka is the question marker, why do you need to add "imasu" to this phrase?
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Ｗhat does っていうんだ mean?
I came across the following sentence:
僕が何を怖がるっていうんだ？
which was translated as "What am I supposed to be frightened of?"
I know that the first part means "what am I afraid of?"
I just can't see ...
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分 in 今回は単行本第三巻予定分から
I'm trying to translate somebody's tweet, and I'm just blocking on this one bit. I understand every part ("単行本", "第三巻", "予定", "から"), except the "分", of course. I know what the kanji "分" means ...
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"お調べいただいた上、" vs. "お調べいただき、..."
What is the difference in meaning between:
(1) お調べいただいた上{うえ}、注文通りの品をお送り下さいますよう、お願いします。
(2) お調べいただき、注文通りの品を送り下さいますよう、お願いします。
I understand #2.
(2) Upon your looking into the matter, please ...
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Meaning of 話になんない
I have a quote from this anime, FLCL:
「とにかくさ、バット振んなきゃ話になんないよ」. In the official translation it's translated as "nothing can happen until you swing the bat".
Now my japanese is pretty rusty, as I ...
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Does 私は地震が怖い make sense?
私は地震が怖い。
For me that's like saying 私は彼がきれいです.
It doesn't make sense putting 私 here.
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1
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Help with お逃げになられるとは
I began reading manga (To Loveる) and I saw something I don't understand or rather why it is used there.
The sentence is:
まさか こんな“辺境”にまでお逃げになられるとはねエ・・・
I mostly understand but there's the ending ...
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1
answer
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だろう in question context?
This is sentence:
「“見る”か。お前はいったい、どのような世界を“見て”いるのだろうな」
I'm not sure if this is really a question, but words like いったい and どのよう suggest that it probably is. So if this is really a question, then how ...
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Figurative language ひどく下品な上に
Reading 幽霊塔 by 江戸川乱歩, I have come across a rather long sentence:
第一、栄子は女学校は辛うじて卒業したけれど、私の眼からは、低能児同様の無教養に見えるし、素姓の知れぬ乳母の連れ子だけあって、ひどく下品な上に、意地悪なことは人一倍だ。
Here is my interpretation:
First of all, ...
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Understanding two sections of Still for your love
Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5
The question is about the following part of Still for your love (video):
さぁ 裸足になって 大地けって
虹をこえて 空をつかんで
I wish 胸の十字架をにぎり 朝は
希望があなたにふりそそぎ 夜は
やわらかな光が ...
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