Japanese with anime voice: episode59
Hello, I’m Sachi.
May 23 can be read as 恋文 (koibumi). Yes, today is 恋文 (koibumi) day, what is 恋文 (koibumi)? The character is written 文 (bun), in 恋 (koi) of 恋人 (koibito). In the period before the Edo period, letters were called 文 (fumi). A 恋 (koi) letter, 恋文 (koibumi), means a love letter. On this day in 1998, a movie called Love Letter was released. Since the title and date of the movie read “恋文 (koibumi),” the movie’s creator decided to make it a memorial day. Perhaps, the release date of the movie was not May 23rd by chance, but was planned in advance. The reason being that May 23rd can be read as 恋文 (koibumi). The title of the movie, Love Letter, was converted to the Japanese word 恋文 (koibumi), and then they thought about how to read the date. It’s brilliant! As I always say, your ideas are too brilliant. Really. But the interesting thing about words is that you can play with numbers and other words like this.
This is not the same as this play on words, but I found an interesting piece of writing on Pinterest the other day, and I’d like to share some of it with you today. Some of them are so funny, you’d think they were geniuses, and others are so funny, you can’t stop laughing. But sometimes they are funny because they are in Japanese. I don’t know if you will find it funny, but I believe you will.
I’ll start with a short sentence. This is probably a warning statement against people illegally dumping in the mountains, etc. 『あんたのいらんもんはわしもいらん。 (Anta no iranmon ha washi mo iran: I don’t want what you don’t want)』In this sentence, the way we say “Anta” and “Washi” is what makes this sentence interesting. But if we were to translate them into English, they would become You and I, which would not be as interesting in English. The Japanese language has many words to express the first and second person. In fact, the use of the first and second person alone can give us an idea of a person’s personality and so on. It is used especially often in manga and anime, so I urge you to explore the various ways of saying things and how interesting these words are!
Next, “思った通りにはならないが、やった通りにはなる。 (omottatoori niha naranaiga, yattatoori niha naru: It’s not what you think, but it’s what you do.)” I see what you mean. It is true that when you try to make clothes with an image of the finished product in mind, the finished product is usually not what you expected. But it is true that the finished product will be exactly as I tried to make it. When sewing on the sewing machine, fabric sewn on the bias will naturally be stretched. You are absolutely right! I think this sentence would be just as interesting if translated into English.
I would like to conclude by introducing the difference between an 18-year-old and an 81-year-old. There is a Japanese TV program called “笑点 (Shouten),” which is very funny. The theme was the difference between an 18-year-old and an 81-year-old, and this is an amusing translation of the theme. I think you can understand the fun of this in English as well. I will try my best to read it properly without laughing.
- 18 to run wild on the road, 81 to run the wrong way.
- It is 18 years old to have a fragile heart, 81 years old to have fragile bones
- It is an 18-year-old who cares about deviation, it is an 81-year-old who cares about blood sugar
- It is 18 years old who is fighting in the examination war, it is 81 years old who fought against America
- 18 to be drowning in love, 81 to be drowning in the bathtub
- It is 18 years old to know nothing yet, it is 81 years old to remember nothing anymore
- 18 years old to want to be in the Tokyo Olympics, 81 years old to want to live until the Tokyo Olympics
- It is 18 years old who is on a journey of self-discovery, and it is 81 years old who has gone out and lost track of himself and everyone is looking for him
- It’s 18 that I can’t stop my heart from pounding, and it’s 81 that I can’t stop my heart from palpitating
- It’s 18 when you choke on love, it’s 81 when you choke on rice cakes
- It is an 18-year-old who wants to be “20” as soon as possible, and an 81-year-old who wants to go back to “20” if possible
That’s all. This is a text written by a professional, so it’s only natural that it’s interesting. On social networking sites, you can find interesting comments even though they are made by ordinary people! Once you are somewhat familiar with the Japanese language, please check out the comment sections!
