It occured to me a little while ago that although I like learning Japanese, I’m really not sure a class is the best way to do it. Yes, it keeps you focused because you don’t want to fail the class, but it just sucks the enjoyment out of it as well. It’s really not anyone’s fault, there’s work in learning a language and that’s discouraging. But, I do think there are some things that can be done better. The main problem is that they (or at least mine), don’t often tap into your interest as they’re teaching you. Would you rather memorize some stuff out of a textbook or would you rather memorize some lines out of an anime? Yeah, I thought so. I realize you don’t want to end up sounding like a cartoon character but the point remains. There’s plenty of fun Japanese stuff to learn and memorize without wading through a textbook. In that vein, I present to you the first part in my hopefully recurring series where I analyze a song/clip/whatever in the hopes that we’ll both learn something. I give now a standard warning that I’m not amazing at this, so there could be errors. I’m doing everything I can to make sure it’s correct though, and if anyone wants to correct me, go ahead. I have no idea how often I’ll do these, but since they take so long it’ll probably be less than half a week. Oh, and because I think it’s important, you should learn hiragana/katakana. The first few of these will be in romaji, but if you want to learn you should at least know those two.
A little about the structure of these. It’s highly experimental. I’ll see what works and what doesn’t. The plan for the first one is: vocab list, then the transcription in its entirety, then a dissection. Now, I’m also not sure how detailed to go in the vocab list. For this first one I give you everything even though if you’ve never learned any Japanese, this may be a bit tough. We’ll see. As for grammar, methinks I’m going to assume some basic knowledge for this first one. Maybe I’ll do something more introductory later if it’s called for. Or maybe I’ll make some articles or something. Tell me what I should do.
Ah, one more thing (I keep adding stuff to this as I translate. . .). I’m giving a fairly literal translation at times. In reality you’d jazz things up to make them sound more natural. (eg. “without giving up” would probably sound better as “never giving up” or “never quitting” or something.)
Now, without further ado. . .
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Vocab List:
ki ga tsuku: To notice/become aware/realize
onaji: The same
men: This one is a bit odd in that when I look it up I get “face” or “mask”, but it can also mean a “screen”, like a game screen.
bakari: A multi faceted word, but here it means “nothing but [whatver precedes it]“.
purei: playEnglish word.
soshite: Thus/therefore
itsumo: always
basho: place/location/spot
shinu: to die
akirameru: To give up
kieru: to go out/vanish/be extinguished
ashiba: footing/scaffolding
chousen: challenge/defiance
suru: to do
kedo: but
sugu:soon/nearby
sugu ni: instantly
ochiru: to fall
aitemu: item
nigou: second volume/edition
raku:comfort
mukou: opposite side
kishi: bank/shore
made: up to
tsuku: to arrive at
nankai: how many times
yaru: to do
taosu: to fell/knock down
tatsumaki: tornado
yokeru: to avoid
usiro: behind
mawaru: to turn/revolve
uchitsukeru: to knock/strike hard
ucitsuzukeru: to fire
izure: sooner or later
kaze:wind
tobasu: to fire/hurl
renda: barrage
tamesu: to attempt
aite: opponent
imi: meaning
tsugi: next
zettai: absolutely/unconditionally
katsu: to win
tame ni: for the sake of
boku: I (masculine)
dake: only
saigo: one’s last moment
totte oku: to set aside
sukoshi: a little/small quantity
shika: only, nothing but
tsukau: to use
tadoritsuku: to struggle on to/to finally arrive at
keredo: alternate of kedo
zanki: remaining lives
nakunaru: to die, to disappear/get lost
konoha: foliage/leaves
sagaru: to hang down/step back
kyori: distance/range
tottemo: very/exceedingly
tsumeru: to pack/plug/stop up, to make room for
aitsu: he/she
kuguru: to drive/pass through, to evade/hide, to survive, to get in
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ki ga tsuitara onaji men bakari purei
soshite itsumo onaji basho de shinu
akiramezu ni kieru ashiba ni chousen surukedo, sugu ni shita ni ochiru yo
aitemu nigou ga areba raku ni mukou no kishi made tsuku kedo
nankai yattemo nankai yattemo Ea-man ga taosenai yo
ano tatsumaki nankai yattemo yokerenai
ushiro ni mawatte uchitsuzuketemo izure wa kaze ni tobasareru
taimu renda mo tameshite mitakedo tatsumaki aite ja imi ga nai
dakara tsugi wa zettai katsu tame ni boku wa E-kan dake wa saigo made totte oku
ki ga tsuitara raifu mou sukoshi shika nai
soshite itsumo soko de E-kan tsukau
akiramezu ni Ea-man made tadoritsuku keredo, sugu ni zanki nakunaru
ri-fu shi-rudo ga areba raku ni Ea-man o taoseru kedo
nankai yattemo nankai yattemo uddo-man ga taosenai yo
ochiru konoha wa nankai yattemo yokerenai
ushiro ni sagatte kyori o tottemo izure wa kyori o tsumerareru
taimu renda mo tameshite mitakedo aitsu no janpu wa kugurenai
dakara tsugi wa zettai katsu tame ni boku wa E-kan dake wa saigo made totte oku
aitemu nigou ga areba raku ni mukou no kishi made tsuku kedo
nankai yattemo nankai yattemo Ea-man ga taosenai yo
ano tatsumaki nankai yattemo yokerenai
ushiro ni mawatte uchitsuzuketemo izure wa kaze ni tobasareru
taimu renda mo tameshite mitakedo tatsumaki aite ja imi ga nai
dakara tsugi wa zettai katsu tame ni boku wa E-kan dake wa saigo made totte oku
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ki ga tsuitara onaji men bakari purei
tsuitara is the “potential” form of tsuku. it’s roughly equivalent to “if X” in English, but that’s not the whole story. It can also mean “when”. I good, although awkward, general translation is “assuming the completion of X”. To form it, just make that direct style perfective and add ra. (tsuku->tsuita->tsuitara). Bakari is kind of like dake but not exactly. It roughly ends up meaning “nothing but X”.
Translation: When I realize it, I don’t play anything but the same screen.
soshite itsumo onaji basho de shinu
[question word] + mo = “every instance of that question word”. In other words itsu(when) mo = always, dare(who) mo = everyone.
Translation: Furthermore, I always die in the same place.
akiramezu ni kieru ashiba ni chousen surukedo, sugu ni shita ni ochiru yo
The -zu (alternate negative form) of akirameru + ni, = without doing [the verb].
Translation: Without giving up, I challenge the disappearing platforms but instantly I fall.
aitemu nigou ga areba raku ni mukou no kishi made tsuku kedo
the -eba is another way of saying “if”. This one roughly means “X will surely lead to Y”. In other words, it focuses more on how to achieve an outcome. To form it, just drop the -u at the end of the imperfective distal and add -eba (aru->areba)
Translation: If I had the item number 2, I could comfortably arrive at the other side but. . .
nankai yattemo nankai yattemo Ea-man ga taosenai yo
The gerund (-te form) of a verb plus mo means “even if”, or “whether or not”. Taosenai is the potential form of taosu “to fell/knock down”. The potential form just adds a “to be able to” to the verb. To form it drop the -u off and add -eru to a consonant verb and drop the -ru and add -rareru to a vowel verb.
Translation: No matter how many times I try (x2), I can’t beat Airman.
ano tatsumaki nankai yattemo yokerenai
Translation: No matter how many times I try, I can’t avoid those tornadoes.
ushiro ni mawatte uchitsuzuketemo izure wa kaze ni tobasareru
Just a quick note here. You can use the gerund to string together verbals.
Translation: Even if I get behind and turn and strike, sooner or later he’ll hurl wind at me (wow the literal translation of that is awkward).
taimu renda mo tameshite mitakedo tatsumaki aite ja imi ga nai
Translation: I tried rapidly hitting the (start) button, but against the tornado there’s no meaning.
dakara tsugi wa zettai katsu tame ni boku wa E-kan dake wa saigo made totte oku
Translation: So next, in order to win no matter what, I set aside my last E-can for my last moment.
ki ga tsuitara raifu mou sukoshi shika nai
Translation: When I realize it, I already have only a little bit of life left.
soshite itsumo soko de E-kan tsukau
Translation: So, I always use an E-can there.
akiramezu ni Ea-man made tadoritsuku keredo, sugu ni zanki nakunaru
Translation: Without quitting, I struggle on to Airman but there I lose my remaining lives.
ri-fu shi-rudo ga areba raku ni Ea-man o taoseru kedo
Translation: If I had the Leaf Shield I could comfortably beat Airman but,
nankai yattemo nankai yattemo uddo-man ga taosenai yo
Translation: No matter how many times I try (x2), I can’t beat Woodman.
ochiru konoha wa nankai yattemo yokerenai
Translation: No matter how many times I try I can’t dodge those falling leaves.
ushiro ni sagatte kyori o tottemo izure wa kyori o tsumerareru
Translation: Behind him I step back to a safe distance, sooner or later he’ll close the distance.
taimu renda mo tameshite mitakedo aitsu no janpu wa kugurenai
Translation: I tried rapidly hitting the button, but his jump evaded it.
dakara tsugi wa zettai katsu tame ni boku wa E-kan dake wa saigo made totte oku
Translation: So next, in order to win no matter what, I set aside my last E-can for my last moment.
aitemu nigou ga areba raku ni mukou no kishi made tsuku kedo
nankai yattemo nankai yattemo Ea-man ga taosenai yo
ano tatsumaki nankai yattemo yokerenai
ushiro ni mawatte uchitsuzuketemo izure wa kaze ni tobasareru
taimu renda mo tameshite mitakedo tatsumaki aite ja imi ga nai
dakara tsugi wa zettai katsu tame ni boku wa E-kan dake wa saigo made totte oku
This is the same as above.
Sorry this took so long. Again, I’m open to comments/suggestions.
-Tony
