Japanese with Anime

Friday, August 31, 2018

"It" in Japanese - Pronoun

If you're looking for how to say "it" in Japanese, I've got some bad news for you: one of the things English has that Japanese doesn't have happens to be the pronoun "it." So there's no way for you say "it" in Japanese, as that word simply doesn't exist. The good news is: you don't need "it" in Japanese.

This happens because most of the time you need an explicit "it" in English, you can simply omit "it" and leave "it" implicit in Japanese.

メイド服・・・夢?やはり夢か
Manga: Kobayashi-san Chi no Meidoragon 小林さんちのメイドラゴン (Chapter 2, トールと出会い)
  • Context: Kobayashi 小林 sees a dragon girl in maid clothes.
  • meido fuku...
    メイド服・・・
    Maid clothes...
  • yume? yahari yume ka?
    夢?やはり夢か?
    [Is it a] dream? As I thought, [is it a] dream?

But let me explain more about each use of "it" in English and what's done in Japanese instead.
Thursday, August 30, 2018

zettai ryouiki 絶対領域

In Japanese, the term Zettai Ryouiki 絶対領域, or ZR, literally "Absolute Territory" in English, refers to the space of bare thighs between the skirt and above knee-length socks.

Yes, seriously. That's what Zettai Ryouiki means. It's an anime trope.

What is Zettai Ryouiki
Anime: Outbreak Company (Episode 4)
Sunday, August 19, 2018

ヶ - Small Ke ケ

In Japanese, the small katakana ke ケ, , is a bit different from the other small kana, in that it's not usually read ke, but instead as ka か, ga が, or even ko こ. Similar to how the small tsu isn't read as tsu つ.

For example, ni-ka-getsu 二ヶ月 is how you say "two months," as in counting the months. It's not read ni-ke-getsu despite having a ke in the middle.

Monday, July 2, 2018

Hiragana-Chan: Android App for Learning the Kana

So I'm making an Android app for people who like anime and want to start learning Japanese. It helps memorize the hiragana and katakana. Utterly basic stuff and not really interesting for anyone who's already learned them, but should be useful for absolute beginners.

Link: Hiragana-Chan on Google Play.

Since I never made something like this before so I don't know if it works. Do post feedback in the comments below if you have any.

A screenshot of the app hiragana-chan.
Thursday, May 31, 2018

yome 嫁

In Japanese, yome means "wife," or "bride," or "daughter-in-law," the "wife of your son," or "bride of your son."

See also: terms for family members in Japanese.

Aguri 亜玖璃, example of "floral bride," hanayome 花嫁.
Bride: Aguri 亜玖璃
Groom: Amano Keita 雨野景太
Anime: Gamers!, ゲーマーズ! (Episode 8, Stitch, Cropped)

Not to be confused with the homonym yome 読め, the meireikei 命令形 of the godan verb yomu 読む, "to read." Note that the kanji is completely different.

Sunday, May 20, 2018

ojousama お嬢様

In Japanese, ojousama お嬢様 means "daughter", just like the word musume 娘, but it can also mean a "young girl," or a "rich girl." In the anime fandom, ojousama, or ojou-sama, refers to a rich anime girl.
Friday, May 18, 2018

chama ちゃま - Honorific

In Japanese, ~chama ~ちゃま is a mix of two honorific suffixes: the diminutive ~chan ~ちゃん and the reverent ~sama ~さま. It's not normally used in Japanese.

One way it can be used is in obocchama お坊ちゃま. Maids, butlers, servants who serve a house and its master, sometimes refer to the son and daughter of the house as obocchan お坊ちゃん and ojousama お嬢様, respectively.

The word obocchama would be trying to match ~sama ~さま of ojousama in the word obocchan.

わぁ! 坊っちゃま!新しいお洋服ですか? ・・・まあな あ!数日前仕立て屋さんをお呼びしてオーダーメイドしたものですね!
Manga: Bocchan to Maid, 坊っちゃんとメイド (Chapter 11, 小さな冒険(3))
  • waa! bocchama!
    わぁ!坊っちゃま!
    Wah! [Young master]!
  • atarashii oyoufuku desu ka?
    新しいお洋服ですか?
    Are [those] new clothes?
  • ...maa na
    ・・・まあな
    [Yeah].
  • a! {suujitsu-mae
    shitateya-san wo
    oyobi shite
    oodaameido
    shita} mono desu ne!

    あ!数日前仕立て屋さんをお呼びしてオーダーメイドしたものですね!
    Ah! [It's] the one [that] {[you] custom-ordered some days ago when you called the tailor}, right?!

bocchan 坊っちゃん

In Japanese, bocchan 坊っちゃん has various meanings. It's often used by maids and butlers in anime to refer to a boy whom they serve, so it's often translated as "young master," but it can be used toward a "rich boy," a "naive boy," just a random "boy," or specifically someone else's "son."
Thursday, May 3, 2018

goshujinsama ご主人様 - Meaning in Japanese

In Japanese, goshujinsama ご主人様 means the "master" of a servant, in anime, mostly of a maid. The word may also refer to the "owner" of a house or shop, to one's "husband," or to a pet's "owner."

「アラビンのランプ」だ。 こすってみな。 ゴシゴシ あっ。 はあい、ご主人さま。 けむりのロボットだよ。
Manga: Doraemon ドラえもん (Chapter 15, ランプのけむりオバケ)