Let’s learn Japanese with Jotaro’s quote from JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure (Jojo no Kimyou na Bouken, ジョジョの奇妙な冒険).
CONTENTS
Video
Jotaro’s Quote
Japanese: 近づかなきゃてめーをぶちのめせないんでな。
Romaji: chikazukanakya temē o buchinomesenai nde na.
English: I can’t beat the shit out of you without getting closer.
Analysis
The grammar used in this quote is “if one doesn’t do A, B won’t be achieved”. There are double negatives but it simply means “one needs to do A in order to achieve B”.
近づかなきゃ means “if I don’t get closer”.
近づかない is the negative form of 近づく meaning “to approach or get close”.
And きゃ is the casual way of saying ければ meaning “if”.
So when you make conditionals with verb negative form, just remove the い in the end and attach きゃ in casual speech or ければ in formal speech.
てめーをぶちのめせない means “I can’t beat the shit out of you”.
てめー means “you” in a very offensive way. This line is the prolonged sound mark which lengthens the previous vowel (e). It can also be written as てめえ with the same pronunciation.
を indicates the direct object of the following action.
ぶちのめせない is the negative form of ぶちのめせる which is the potential form of ぶちのめす.
It’s a compound verb made up of ぶつ meaning “to hit hard” and のめす meaning “to make someone fall”, so ぶちのめす directly means “to hit someone forcefully so they can’t get back up”.
So 近づかなきゃてめーをぶちのめせない means “If I don’t get closer, I can’t beat the shit out of you” which can be rephrased as “I need to get closer in order to beat the shit out of you”.
And it’s followed by んでな.
んで (conjunction) is the casual way of saying ので meaning “because” so 近づかなきゃてめーをぶちのめせないんで means “Because I can’t beat the shit out of you without getting closer”. So it’s an incomplete sentence added to what Dio previously said which is “you’re approaching me”.
And the な particle is often used with an incomplete sentence in male speech when making an addition to the previous statement.
Examples
〜なきゃ〜ない (if one doesn’t do A, B won’t be achieved)
やってみなきゃわからない。
yatte minakya wakaranai.
If you don’t try, you’ll never know.
朝ごはんを食べなきゃ仕事に集中できない。
asagohan o tabenakya shigoto ni shūchū dekinai.
If I don’t eat breakfast, I can’t concentrate on my work.
行動しなきゃ何も変わらない。
kōdō shinakya nani mo kawaranai.
If you don’t take action, nothing will change.
- Verbs used in the second clause (main clause) are usually non-volitional verbs (無意志動詞) such as できる, わかる, 見える, 聞こえる, Verb Potential Form (all the potential verbs are non-volitional), etc.
- When the subjects are different, volitional-verbs can be used in the second clause.
今すぐ来なきゃ、お菓子をあげないよ！(different subject)
imasugu konakya, okashi o agenai yo!
If you don’t come now, I won’t give you snacks!
- Negative words such as 無理 (unrealisable), 不可能 (impossible), or 難しい (difficult) can be used in the second clause instead of verb negative form.
日本語が話せなきゃ日本で働くのは難しい。
nihongo ga hanasenakya, nihon de hataraku no wa muzukashii.
If you can’t speak Japanese, it’s hard to work in Japan.
んで (casual way of saying ので, “because”)
熱があるんで、今日は休みます。
netsu ga aru nde, kyō wa yasumimasu.
I’ll take leave today because I have a fever.
まだ18歳なんで、お酒は飲めないんです。
mada jūhassai na nde, osake wa nomenai ndesu.
I can’t drink alcohol because I’m still 18.
(The legal drinking age in Japan is 20)
もう遅いんで、寝ます。
mō osoi nde, nemasu.
I’m going to bed because it’s late.
ので, んで and から are mostly interchangeable but there are slight differences as below.
- ので – very formal, written/colloquial, objective (more neutral)
- んで – semi-formal, colloquial, objective (more neutral)
- から – formal/casual, colloquial, subjective (more insistent)
e.g. “Don’t get closer because it’s dangerous!”
危ないので近づかないでください (written on a sign/announcement)
abunai node chikazukanaide kudasai.
危ないんで近づかないでください (warning neutrally in semi-formal speech)
abunai nde chikazukanaide kudasai.
危ないから近づかないでください (warning insistently in formal speech)
abunai kara chikazukanaide kudasai.
危ないから（
ので／んで）近づかないで! (warning insistently in casual speech)abunai kara chikazukanaide!
Incomplete Sentence + な (used in male speech when making an addition to the previous statement)
A: あー、暑い！ B: 夏だからな。
A: ā, atsui! B: natsu dakara na.
A: Agh, it’s hot! B: Because it’s summer.
A: あの二人、最近ずっと喧嘩してる。 B: 仲良かったのにな。
A: ano futari, saikin zutto kenka shiteru. B: naka yokatta noni na.
A: Those two have been always fighting recently. B: They were getting along, though.
A: 海外に行くときに要るのは航空券とお金と… B: あと、パスポートな。
A: kaigai ni iku toki ni iru no wa kōkūken to okane to… B: ato pasupōto na.
A: What you need when going overseas are a plane ticket, money… B: And a passport.
When it’s used with words or phrases in the middle of a sentence, it can be used multiple times to emphasize the tone, express the emotion, pause the speech or convince the listener.
あのな、俺はな、あいつがな、大嫌いなんだ！ (emphasis)
ano na, ore wa na, aitsu ga na, daikirai nanda!
YOU KNOW, I-HATE-THAT-GUY!
実はな…俺な…コーヒーよりお茶が好きなんだ。(pause)
jitsu wa na… ore na… kōhī yori ocha ga suki nanda.
To tell you the truth… I… like tea better than coffee.
*ね can be used in both male and female speech.
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Amazing!! Could you please explain the phrase from the movie tenki no ko? When the boy said ” I love you more than any blue sky, wheather can go crazy!”? Thanks
Thanks for your request! We’ve added it to our list.
Hope you like it! Thanks for the request.
https://epjapanesey.com/hodakas-quote-i-want-you-more-than-any-blue-sky/