Japanese with Anime

Saturday, October 8, 2016

kocchi, socchi, acchi, docchi - Meaning in Japanese, Usage Examples, Grammar

In Japanese, kocchi, socchi, acchi, docchi こっち, そっち, あっち, どっち mean "this way (toward me)," "that way (toward you)," "that way (away from us)," and "what way?" respectively. They're kosoado words related to direction, but they can also refer to sides, choices, and people.

The words kochira, sochira, achira, dochira こちら, そちら, あちら, どちら work the same way in some cases, but they're considered to be more polite.

私と仕事 一体どっちが大切なの!!
Manga: Yondemasu yo, Azazel-san. よんでますよ、アザゼルさん。 (Chapter 23)

kono, sono, ano, dono - Meaning in Japanese

In Japanese, kono, sono, ano, dono この, その, あの, どの mean "this," "that," and "what." They're kosoado words very much like kore, sore, are, dore これ, それ, あれ, どれ, except they're used as adjectives instead of as nouns.

The words sono その and ano あの are also interjections. The word dono どの after someone's name is the honorific dono 殿.

このたい焼きが僕っ・・・です!!
Manga: Boku no Hero Academia, 僕のヒーローアカデミア (Chapter 48)

kore, sore, are, dore - Meaning in Japanese, Usage Examples, Grammar

In Japanese, kore, sore, are, dore これ, それ, あれ, どれ mean "this thing (near me)," "that thing (near you)," "that thing (away from us)," and "what thing?" They're kosoado words that refer to things in general.

Sometimes, are? あれ? is an interjection of doubt: "huh?"

なー あれなんだー? え?
Manga: Yotsuba to! よつばと! (Chapter 1, よつばとひっこし)
Friday, October 7, 2016

kochira, sochira, achira, dochira

In Japanese, kochira, sochira, achira, dochira こちら, そちら, あちら, どちら mean "this way (toward me)," "that way (toward you)," "that way (away from us)," and "what way?" respectively. They're kosoado words related to direction, but they can also refer to sides, choices, and people.

The words kocchi, socchi, acchi, docchi こっち, そっち, あっち, どっち are abbreviations of kochira, sochira, achira, dochira. They're used the same way in some cases, but they aren't considered as polite.

こちらがお客さんだ。 あんたを患者のとこまで連れて行く。
Manga: MONSTER, モンスター (Chapter 2 of Volume 3, ローヤーの法則)

konata, sonata, anata, donata

In Japanese, konata, sonata, anata, donata こなた, そなた, あなた, どなた are kosoado words related to direction, and then to person. They're a bit odd, because donata means "who," anata あなた is one of the various way to say "you" in Japanese, and the rest is archaic.

In various ways, they're similar to the words kochira, sochira, achira and dochira.

・・・・・・・・・・・・ うろうろ おお! そなたは薪売りか?
Manga: Houshin Engi 封神演義 (Chapter 3, 妲己ちゃん 炮烙を造る)

koko, soko, asoko, doko

In Japanese, koko, soko, asoko, doko ここ, そこ, あそこ, どこ mean "here," "there (near you)," "over there (not near you)," and "where?" They are kosoado words related to place.

ここはどこだ!?
Manga: Yotsuba to! よつばと! (Chapter 2)
Thursday, October 6, 2016

keikaku doori 計画通り

Maybe you've heard it in anime, maybe you've heard it in the meme keikaku doori: (TL Note: keikaku means "plan")(Note: TL means "Translator Note"), and maybe you're asking yourself: is keikaku doori 計画通り really "all according to the plan?" What does the phrase keikaku doori mean in Japanese?

Well, I don't know what you expected but it, yeah, sure, you can translate keikaku doori 計画通り as "all according to the plan," and, yes, indeed, keikaku 計画 means "plan" in Japanese. The word doori 通り, however, is a little more complicated to explain.

計画通り
Manga: Death Note (Chapter 53, 悲鳴)

Wednesday, October 5, 2016

Cat Boy (Anime Character Type)

In manga and anime, a cat boy is a character that has cat-like features, such as feline body parts"cat ears," nekomimi 猫耳, "cat eyes," nekome 猫目, "cat mouth," nekoguchi 猫口, and a "cat tail," neko-shippo 猫しっぽ—and ending their sentences in nyaa にゃー, "meow."

Examples of anime cat boys.
Anime: Loveless (Episode 1)
Anime: Uchi Tama?! Uchi no Tama Shirimasen ka? うちタマ?!~うちのタマ知りませんか?~ (Episode 1)
Anime: Hellsing Ultimate (Episode 4)
Anime: Haiyore! Nyaruko-san 這いよれ!ニャル子さん (Episode 9)
Anime: Sunohara-sou no Kanrinin-san すのはら荘の管理人さん (Episode 3)

Cat Girl (Anime Character Type)

In manga and anime, a cat girl is a character that has cat-like features, such as feline body parts"cat ears," nekomimi 猫耳, "cat eyes," nekome 猫目, "cat mouth," nekoguchi 猫口, and a "cat tail," neko-shippo 猫しっぽ—and ending their sentences in nyaa にゃー, "meow."

Examples of anime cat girls.
Anime: Vampire Hunter (1997, OVA) (Episode 3)
Anime: Akame ga Kill!, アカメが斬る! (Episode 6)
Anime: Uchi Tama?! Uchi no Tama Shirimasen ka? うちタマ?!~うちのタマ知りませんか?~ (Episode 1)
Anime: Gintama 銀魂 (Episode 12)
Anime: Ishuzoku Reviewers, 異種族レビュアーズ (Episode 1)
Anime: Tokyo Mew Mew, 東京ミュウミュウ (Episode 2)
Anime: Asobi ni Iku yo! あそびにいくヨ! (Episode 1)
Anime: Isekai Maou to Shoukan Shoujo no Dorei Majutsu 異世界魔王と召喚少女の奴隷魔術 (Episode 1)
Anime: Nekopara ネコぱら (Episode 1)
Anime: New Game!! (Season 2) (Episode 2)
Anime: Onigiri 鬼斬 (Episode 3)
Anime: Hataage! Kemono Michi 旗揚!!けものみち (Episode 10)

nekomimi 猫耳 (Cat Ears in Anime)

In Japanese, nekomimi 猫耳 means "cat ears," and can refer to an actual cat's ears, to the cat ears of a cat girl or cat boy character, to cat ear headbands used to cosplay as a cat girl or cat boy character, or to other things that resemble cat ears, but technically are not. It's also spelled without kanji, as nekomimi ネコミミ.

Examples of nekomimi 猫耳, "cat ears," in anime.
Source: various.

tadaima ただいま

In Japanese, tadaima ただいま, meaning literally "just now," is an expression used by someone who has returned home, from work, school, etc. It means basically "I'm back," "I'm home."

The answer to this greeting would be okaeri おかえり, or okaerinasai おかえりなさい. When leaving home, itte-kimasu 行ってきます and itte-rasshai 行ってらっしゃい.

ただいま おかえり っていうかアレだな おまえは早く帰って私の遊び相手をするべきだ こんな時間までどこほっつき歩いてたんだこの野郎
Manga: Minami-ke みなみけ (Chapter 1, ホットケーキにしましょう)

okaeri おかえり - Meaning in Japanese

In Japanese, okaeri おかえり, meaning literally "return," is an expression used when welcoming someone back home from school, work, etc., specially after the person coming back home says tadaima ただいま. Longer variants include okaerinasai おかえりなさい, okaerinasaimase おかえりなさいませ, okaerinasaimashi おかえりなさいまし. They're also spelled お帰り, お帰りなさい, お帰りなさいませ, お帰りなさいまし.

When leaving home, ittekimasu 行ってきます and itterashai 行ってらっしゃい are used instead.

パパ おかえりー
Manga: Fullmetal Alchemist, Hagane no Renkinjutsushi 鋼の錬金術師 (Chapter 14, ひとりっ子の気持ち)
Tuesday, October 4, 2016

NEET ニート

In Japanese and anime, NEET, or niito ニート, is an acronym for "Not in Education, Employment, or Training." In other words, a NEET is someone who isn't studying, doesn't have a job, and isn't learning a craft. They aren't earning money, contributing to society, or acquiring skills.

They are doing nothing, basically. They're lazy bums living off their parents' expense or something.

A hikikomori otaku NEET character watching anime is a messy room from the anime Welcome to NHK!
Saturday, September 24, 2016

Ojisan, Ojiisan, Obasan, Obaasan - Meaning in Japanese

So you might have heard one of these words in anime: ojisan, ojiisan, obasan and obaasan. Yep. Four words. Both ojisan and ojiisan and obasan and obaasan are different words. They aren't the same word at all, they just sound very alike.
Friday, August 26, 2016

fujoshi - Meaning in Japanese - fudanshi, yume-joshi, hime-danshi

In Japanese, fujoshi 腐女子, meaning literally "rotten girl," refers to a girl that fantasizes about guys being in a homosexual relationship with other guys, specially shipping male characters with other male characters in manga and anime, writing gay fanfics, drawing gay doujinshi 同人誌, and fan art featuring them, and enjoying gay genres called BL (Boys' Love) and yaoi やおい / 801.

Koganuma Minori 古賀沼美埜里 holding a BL comic.
Character: Koganuma Minori 古賀沼美埜里
Anime: Outbreak Company (Episode 4)