Let’s learn Japanese with Escanor’s quote from The Seven Deadly Sins (Nanatsu no Taizai).
CONTENTS
Video
Escanor’s Quote
Japanese: 魔の神とやら…人間に見下される気分はどうだ？
Romaji: ma no kami to yara… ningen ni mikudasareru kibun wa dō da?
English: Demon God or whatever it’s called… How does it feel to be looked down upon by a human?
Analysis
魔 means “evil” or “demon”, and a noun with the particle の modifies the following noun 神 meaning “god” so 魔の神 means “god of demon” or “demon god”.
The combination of the particles と and やら is used with something you vaguely remember, or you’re not familiar with. So when it’s used with someone’s name, it means you’re not really sure of the name but don’t bother asking. Therefore, it often sounds rude if you use this when calling someone’s name.
So 魔の神とやら can be translated as “Demon God or whatever it’s called”.
人間 (noun) means “human”.
“Someone に a verb passive-form” means “to be done something by someone”. 見下される is the passive form of 見下す meaning “to look down upon” so 人間に見下される means “to be looked down upon by a human”, and it modifies the following noun, 気分 meaning “feeling”.
は is the topic particle. So the topic of this sentence is 人間に見下される気分 which directly means “feeling of being looked down upon by a human”.
どうだ is the combination of the interrogative どう meaning “how” and the auxiliary verb だ. だ is usually used with a noun or na-adjective when you want to assert or declare the statement such as こっちだ meaning “It’s this way!” 明日は雨だ meaning “It’s going to rain tomorrow”. But when it’s used with interrogative words like だれ (who), どこ (where), いつ (when) and so on, it expresses the speaker’s strong demand for the answer. So it’s often used by a very manly or bossy person.
So 人間に見下される気分はどうだ directly means “how is the feeling of being looked down upon by a human“.
Examples
とやら (used with something you vaguely remember/you’re not familiar with)
さっき鈴木さんとやらから電話があったよ。
sakki suzuki-san toyara kara denwa ga atta yo.
I got a phone call from Suzuki-san or such name just before.
あの団体は地球平面説とやらを強く信じている。
ano dantai wa chikyūheimensetsu toyara o tsuyoku shinjite iru.
That group strongly believes the flat earth theory or whatever it’s called.
It’s often used when the speaker has negative feelings towards the preceding word as in the second example (the speaker knows about the flat earth but doesn’t believe it).
〜に + Passive
昨日、彼氏に振られた。
kinō kareshi ni furareta.
Yesterday, I was dumped by my boyfriend.
車にはねられたけど、なんとか無事だった。
kuruma ni hanerareta kedo, nantoka buji datta.
I was hit by a car, but somehow I was safe.
気分 (feeling)
褒められて、気分が良くなった。
homerarete, kibun ga yoku natta.
I was complimented and it made me feel good.
今夜は出かける気分じゃない。
kon’ya wa dekakeru kibun janai.
I don’t feel like going out tonight.
Difference Between 気分 and 気持ち
- 気分 – vague feeling/mood that one has continuously for a certain period
- 気持ち – specific feeling that one has instantaneously
“I drank too much alcohol and I feel sick”
- お酒を飲みすぎて気分が悪い – I feel unwell (the overall feelings and conditions are bad)
- お酒を飲みすぎて気持ちが悪い – I feel like I’m going to vomit (more specific)
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