Let’s learn Japanese with Eren & Mikasa’s quote from Attack on Titan (進撃の巨人, Shingeki no Kyojin).
CONTENTS
Video
Eren & Mikasa’s Quote
Japanese: 勝てなきゃ死ぬ。勝てば生きる。戦わなければ勝てない。
Romaji: katenakya shinu. kateba ikiru. tatakawanakereba katenai.
English: If you can’t win, you will die. If you win, you will live. If you do not fight, you can’t win.
Analysis
勝てなきゃ死ぬ
勝てなきゃ means “if you can’t win”. It’s the contracted form of 勝てなければ which is the negative conditional form (if … not) of the potential verb 勝てる meaning “can win”. To make the negative conditional form, take the nai-form, remove the い in the end and attach ければ or きゃ.
死ぬ means “you die” or “you will die”.
So the first sentence 勝てなきゃ死ぬ means “if you can’t win, you will die”.
勝てば生きる
勝てば means “if you win”. It’s the conditional form of the verb 勝つ meaning “to win”. To make the conditional form, switch the last hiragana of the dictionary form which is from the う-line to the え-line and attach ば.
生きる means “you live” or “you will live” which is the opposite word of 死ぬ.
So the second sentence 勝てば生きる means “if you win you will live”.
戦わなければ勝てない
戦わなければ means “if you do not fight”. It’s the negative conditional form of the verb 戦う meaning “to fight”. The nai-form is 戦わない, so remove the い in the end and attach ければ which is the negative conditional form.
勝てない means “you can’t win”. It’s the nai-form of the potential verb 勝てる.
So the last sentence 戦わなければ勝てない means “if you do not fight you can’t win”.
戦わなければ can be contracted into 戦わなきゃ, but non-contracted form is often used for emphasis or used in formal speech. In this case, it’s used for emphasis to strongly persuade themselves to fight.
Examples
Verb + なきゃ／なければ (if one does not do something)
薬を飲まなきゃ、熱が下がらないよ。
kusuri o nomakya, netsu ga sagaranai yo.
If you don’t take medicine, your fever won’t go down.
急がなきゃ遅刻するよ！
isoganakya chikoku suru yo!
If you don’t hurry up, you’ll be late!
練習しなければ上手になりません。
renshū shinakereba jōzu ni narimasen.
If you don’t practice, you won’t get better at it.
なければ／なきゃ is often used to warn someone with bad consequences if you don’t follow it. In this usage, it can be replaced with なくては／なくちゃ／ないと.
早く寝なきゃ、早く起きられないよ。
hayaku nenakya, hayaku okirarenai yo.
If you don’t sleep early, you can’t wake up early.
いい子にしてなきゃ、サンタさん来ないよ。
ii ko ni shitenakya, santa-san konai yo.
If you don’t behave, Santa Claus won’t come.
なければ／なきゃ can also be used to show the condition that leads to a latter stated judgement, volition, invitations, requests, commands, etc. In this case, it can be replaced with ないなら.
今日中にできなきゃ、明日でもいいよ。
kyōjū ni dekinakya, ashita demo ii yo.
If you can’t finish by today, tomorrow is fine too.
会場が見つからなければ、パーティーは中止にしましょう。
kaijō ga mitsukaranakereba, pātī wa chūshi ni shimashō.
If we can’t find a venue, let’s cancel the party.
Verb + ば (if one does something)
オンラインで注文すれば、すぐに手に入る。
onrain de chūmon sureba, sugu ni te ni hairu.
If you order online, you can get it quickly.
この本を読めば、人生が変わるかもしれない。
kono hon o yomeba, jinsei ga kawaru kamo shirenai.
If you read this book, your life may change.
ちょっと頭が痛いけど、一晩寝れば治ると思う。
chotto atama ga itai kedo, hitoban nereba naoru to omou.
I’ve got a mild headache but I think it’ll get better if I get a night of sleep.
Verb Affirmative + ば is often used to give advice. It’s less persuasive than なければ + Negative Result.
早く寝れば、早く起きられるよ。
hayaku nereba, hayaku okirareru yo.
If you sleep early, you can wake up early.
勝つ／勝てる (to win/can win)
年には勝てない。
toshi niwa katenai.
You can’t defeat age.
It’s the proverb used when you physically feel your age even though you’re mentally young.
世界チャンピオンに勝てば、賞金がもらえる。
sekai chanpion ni kateba, shōkin ga moraeru.
If you defeat the world champion, you can receive prize money.
ラスボスに勝てなければ、ゲームをクリアできない。
rasubosu ni katenakereba, gēmu o kuria dekinai.
If you cannot defeat the final boss, you can’t complete the game.
ラスボス = short word for ラスト・ボス (last boss = final boss)
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I just remember one thing Eren said ”TATAKAE”!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!11
He says TATAKAE after this quote. It’s the imperative form of tatakau.