Japanese Help Questions/Translations

[masaegu]

Originally Posted by StonerPenguin

Here are my questions, though please feel free to comment on parts you don't think are good in my above translations

奈倉: それを　わざわざ 助けるように言ったのも　僕です。
And not incidentally, the one who asked you be saved was also me.

Where does 「それを」 fit in here?

奈倉: 死のうと思ってたのに 拉致なんかされちゃって ここで　びびってる自分は 何なんだろうかと思って ちょっと悔しいとか思ったりして。
You were going to kill yourself (die) but you were kidnapped, which made you scared ???? and you felt mortified(?)

Does 「ここで」 mean "at which point" here? What does 「びびってる自分は 何なんだろうかと思って」 mean? "You who was scared thought what"? 「～とか思う」 means "you thought/felt something like~"? Also, Nakura says 「～たりして」 a lot along with 「plain volitional form + と思う」 in this dialogue. What do they mean?

でも　抵抗したら 死のうとしてた自分を 否定することになるから ここは　運命だと思って 素直に受け入れようかと 思ったりもして。
But if you fought back you would be denying the part of you that wanted to die, so you thought it was fate and compliantly accepted it.

Why 「ここ」and not 「これ」? And what does 「思ったりもして」 mean?

ひと言で言うと すべて見透かされちゃって 絶句してる君の顔が 見たかったから。
To put it in a single a word(?), I wanted to see your speechless face when I saw through everything.

Why does he say 「ひと言で言うと」? He definitely doesn't sum it up in a single word

ああ　あくまで好きなのは 人間であって 君じゃないから。　ここ　重要。
Oh, the thing I love to the bitter end is humans(??), not you. That's important.

Does 「あくまで」 mean "to the bitter end" here? Again, why 「ここ」and not 「これ」?

自分は　よくて な～んで　親が　ダメなのか 考えたことある？
It's fine for you but your parents (???)

I think he's saying something like "Why is it fine for you to have secrets but not your parents?" but I can't figure out the literal translation.

奈倉: まっ　今日一日 君の気持ちが ぶざまに　揺れ動いたのが 見られただけで よかったよ。
Well, today (something??) thank you for letting me see you tremble pathetically.

Does 「今日一日」 mean something like "That's it for today?"

Sorry for the length! Thanks for reading

This is a special usage of 「それ」. It is special in the sense that it can refer to either a person or thing. It means "the thing/person that is in the situation that has just been described." Nakura could have also used 「そのマゼンダさん」 instead of 「それ」.

Yes, it does. This is an example of Japanese direct and indirect speech being ambiguous. In English, you would use 「そこ」 instead of 「ここ」 because you are not quoting the other person (Mazenda). I am certain that you know what I am talking about here. In case you don't, I am referring to the phrase 「ここで　びびってる自分は 何なんだろうか」. By the English standards, that line is a sheer mixture of direct and indirect speech. In Japanese, it is just very normal.

「びびってる自分は何なんだろうかと思って」 means "You thought to yourself 'What the hell am I, being so scared. '" To use indirect speech, "You wondered what (kind of a person) you were, (being so scared in that kind of a situation) ".

「～とか思う」 means "You kinda think ~~", "You would have kinda thought ~~", etc. You use it when you are guessing at what another person is thinking. 「～たりして」 is VERY often added at the end of a sentence to add a little disclaimer saying that what you just said may not be correct.

「ここ」 is used because it refers to "in this situation". 「これ」, while not incorrect, is just not the native speaker's choice because it sounds too strong. 「思ったりもして」 means "You probably thought ~~~". Speaker is only guessing because you never know what others are thinking for sure.

「ひと言」 doesn not mean "a single word". It means "in short" or even "a short speech". My elementary school principal used to say at morning student gatherings, 「ひと言だけ申し上げます」 and his speech always exceeded 10 minutes.

"To the bitter end" ? No, not here. It just means "A rather than B". Nuance-wise, it falls somewhere between "rather" and "definitely". He did not use 「これ」 because that sounds too direct/assertive/stout.

You have got the meaning down. Yours is already almost a literal TL, except for the "to have secrets" part.

No, that is not what 「今日一日」 means. It just means "today" or "the course of today".

[MissMisa]

Originally Posted by yuriyuri

It says: "There is no cure for a fool"
薬 can be translated as drugs, medicine, pharmaceuticals etc.

And you are right about the わ particle too.
It seems to be a mainly feminine particle used to show some kind of assertion or volition.
I think, like you have seen, it would be used quite commonly with よ or ね.

It can be used by male speakers too but I think there is a difference in pitch, and of course a male speaker wouldn't say something like わよ.
Don't take my word on that last bit about males using it (even though I'm pretty sure of myself that they can use it) - I'm just trying to remember what I had learned about it in the past.

Ah, thank you very much. I was pretty close then!

Lots of males, myself included, use the 「わ」 endings but the 「わね」, 「わよ」 and 「わよね」 endings would be almost completely reserved for females unless they are used in dialects that I am unfamiliar with.

I see, that's very interesting. Will remember that, thank you!

[masaegu]

Originally Posted by delacroix01

Hello everyone! I have a small question today.

Does anyone know what ファミ通「ビータでヴィンヴィン！背面タッチでパッコ パコ」means? I'm sure that it's about PSVita, but I have totally no idea about ヴィンヴィン and パッコパコ. Are these onomatopoeia or slangs?

I am afraid this is not suitable for an all-age website like JF. It took me some courage to even quote this. Both are onomatopoeias; That is for sure.

[delacroix01]

Ah, thank you. That's what a friend asked me about, so I had no idea it would be about those games. I'll be more careful next time.

[sylphir]

Help!. my gf wrote me a letter.. can anyone translate this?

[KyleGoetz]

It's not really grammatically correct, and some words are used incorrectly, but I can tell what she meant to write is
"[whatever your name is—Kurt or Nurt?],
No matter what happens, I will always love you. Good night! Sweet dreams"

[sylphir]

Originally Posted by KyleGoetz

It's not really grammatically correct, and some words are used incorrectly, but I can tell what she meant to write is
"[whatever your name is—Kurt or Nurt?],
No matter what happens, I will always love you. Good night! Sweet dreams"

i see.. yay! thank you very much. ive been trying to translate it myself but i ended up nowhere..

[KyleGoetz]

Originally Posted by Nippom

I have a small question please.
How would you translate 'Fail-Safe', as in the book and movie 'Fail-Safe' by Eugene Burdick and Harvey Wheeler?

Would 'Poka-Yokeru' be anywhere close to it?
Or 'Poka-Yoke'?
There also seems to have been an earlier form called 'baka-yoke' or fool proofing,
until it was officially altered later on when an employee was insulted by its offensive denotation.
Or what would be a better way to say it, to be more like in the book and movie 'Fail-Safe'?

フェイルセーフ
“fail-safe”の検索結果（10 件）：英辞郎 on the WEB：スペースアルク

And yeah, "baka-yoke" literally uses the word "stupid person" in it.

[StonerPenguin]

Originally Posted by Nippom

Gomenasai, could you please give me that in Romaji?
And arigato for your reply.

Dude, we don't use romaji here. Also, you spelled both "gomenasai" and "arigato" incorrectly

Originally Posted by masaegu

「～とか思う」 means "You kinda think ~~", "You would have kinda thought ~~", etc. You use it when you are guessing at what another person is thinking. 「～たりして」 is VERY often added at the end of a sentence to add a little disclaimer saying that what you just said may not be correct.

「ここ」 is used because it refers to "in this situation". 「これ」, while not incorrect, is just not the native speaker's choice because it sounds too strong. 「思ったりもして」 means "You probably thought ~~~". Speaker is only guessing because you never know what others are thinking for sure.

Thank you SO much for answering my long, cumbersome questions.
Very interesting. I didn't know 「ここ」 could be used in such a way. 「～たりして」 seems like a good form to know, so I'd like to know a little more. Is there any difference between 「～たりして」 and 「～たりもして」? And are these a kind of auxiliary verb? If so, what's the dictionary form?

[KellyMD]

Thank you very much for the previous help, masaegu !

There's just a little something else I need help with. And it's once again from a manga as per usual!

So, this girl's boyfriend and her childhood friend (who unadmittedly likes the girl) get into a heated basketball match and then they have this exchange in the middle:

Boyfriend: 「今　ここで」くらい...　すんなり俺に勝ち　譲ってく ださいよ...！！
Guess translation: "At least right here and now (???)...hand over the game/win/victory to me without a fuss...!!")

Childhood friend: ...なんだよ　譲るって......譲るも譲らねぇも...最初から 俺のなんかじゃねえんだよ...!!
Guess translation: "...What? "Hand over"......? Whether I hand it over to you or not...it wasn't mine to begin with...!!" (What wasn't his to begin with? The girl? The win...?)

Thank you very much in advance.