Video

Shuichi Akai’s Quote

Japanese: 死の恐怖は死そのものより人を悩ます。
Romaji: shi no kyōfu wa shi sonomono yori hito o nayamasu.
English: Fear of death is worse than death itself.

Analysis

死 is a noun meaning “death”.

の is the particle used between nouns when the preceding noun modifies the following noun.

And the following noun is 恐怖 meaning “fear” so 死の恐怖 means “fear of death”.

The は particle indicates the preceding noun is the topic, i.e. what is being talked about, and the following is the comment, i.e. what is being said about the topic.

So 死の恐怖 meaning “fear of death” is the topic and 死そのものより人を悩ます is the comment about “fear of death”. Now let’s break down the comment part.

死そのもの means “death itself”. そのもの directly means “that (その) thing (もの)” used to emphasise the preceding noun when it’s a thing or idea. So 死そのもの expresses “only death and nothing else”.

より is the particle meaning “than”, so 死そのものより means “than death itself”

人 means “people”.

The を particle indicates the direct object of the following verb.

And the following verb is 悩ます which is a transitive verb meaning “to bother, worry or trouble someone”. It’s used when something makes someone think very hard as it’s difficult, complicated, confusing, tricky or troublesome. So 人を悩ます means “to bother people”.

So 死の恐怖は死そのものより人を悩ます means “fear of death bothers people more than death itself”, and he says 臆するなよ which means “Do not fear” or “Do not hesitate”. These words are for his workmate who is going to be sent on a difficult mission where he might die. So he is advising him to overcome fear of death because if he gets caught up in fear of death it might lead him to fail the mission.

Examples

Noun + そのもの (“itself”, emphasises the preceding noun)

商品しょうひんそのものは素晴すばらしいが、梱包こんぽうが雑ざつだった。

shōhin sonomono wa subarashii ga, konpō ga zatsu datta.

The product itself is great, but it was poorly packaged.

お金かねのためではなく、仕事しごとそのものが好すきで働はたらいている。

okane no tame dewa naku, shigoto sonomono ga suki de hataraite iru.

I work as I like my job itself, not for money.

日程にってい変更へんこうも考かんがえたが、結局けっきょく、旅行りょこうそのものを中止ちゅうしにした。

nittei henkō mo kangaeta ga, kekkyoku, ryokō sonomono o chūshi ni shita.

We thought about changing the itinerary but after all, we cancelled the trip itself.

より (than)

君きみは薔薇ばらより美うつくしい。

kimi wa bara yori utsukushii.

You are more beautiful than roses.

ジェシーはクラスのどの学生がくせいより速はやく走はしれる。

jesshī wa kurasu no dono gakusei yori hayaku hashireru.

Jessie can run faster than any other students in class.

中国語ちゅうごくごは日本語にほんごより難むずかしいと思おもいます。

chūgokugo wa nihongo yori muzukashii to omoimasu.

I think Chinese is more difficult than Japanese.

悩ます (to bother/worry/trouble someone)

税金ぜいきんの値上ねあげはいつも国民こくみんを悩なやます。

zeikin no neage wa itsumo kokumin o nayamasu.

Tax hike always bothers the citizens.

子供こどもの難むずかしい質問しつもんは親おやを悩なやます。

kodomo no muzukashii shitsumon wa oya o nayamasu.

Parents find it hard answering kids’ tough questions.

最近さいきんいたずら電話でんわに悩なやまされている。

saikin itazura denwa ni nayamasarete iru.

I have been bothered by nuisance calls lately.

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The post Shuichi Akai’s Quote “Fear Of Death Is Worse Than Death Itself” appeared first on Easy Peasy Japanesey.

Video

Conan’s Quote

Japanese: 言葉は刃物なんだ。使い方を間違えると厄介な凶器になる。
Romaji: kotoba wa hamono nanda. tsukaikata o machigaeru to yakkai na kyōki ni naru.
English: Words are like knives. If you use them the wrong way, they can turn into dangerous weapons.

Analysis

言葉は刃物なんだ

言葉 means “words”.

は is the particle that indicates the topic of the sentence.

刃物 means “bladed objects”, “cutting tools” or “knives”.

ん is the broken version of the particle の, and when it’s used with the auxiliary verb だ, it expresses the speaker’s strong declaration based on a certain reason or background. It’s often used when explaining something to convince the listener.

It can be attached to a verb or i-adjective such as;

• 僕は行く (Verb) んだ！ meaning “I’m going!”
• ここのラーメンはおいしい (I-adjective) んだ meaning “the ramen here is delicious”

But when it’s attached to a noun or na-adjective you need to add な before んだ such as;

• 犯人は俺 (noun) なんだ meaning “the culprit is me”.
• この仕事は大変 (na-adjective) なんだ meaning “this job is hard”.

刃物 is a noun so な is added before んだ.

So 言葉は刃物なんだ directly means “words are knives” in an convincing way, but since it’s a metaphor we translate it as “words are like knives”.

使い方を間違えると厄介な凶器になる

There are two clauses in this sentence. 使い方を間違えると is the subordinate clause and 厄介な凶器になる is the main clause.

The stem of a verb masu-form followed by 方 means “how to do something” or “the way of doing something”. 使い is the stem of the verb 使います meaning “to use” so 使い方 means “how to use” or “the way of using”.

“Something を間違える” means “to get something wrong”.

And “The conjunction particle と following a verb dictionary form” means “if one does something”.

So the subordinate clause 使い方を間違えると directly means “if you get the way of using wrong” so it can be translated as “if you use them the wrong way”.

厄介な is a na-adjective meaning “troublesome” which is used for something causing a lot of problems. And it modifies the following word 凶器 meaning “murder weapons”. So 厄介な凶器 can be translated as “dangerous weapons”.

And “something になる” means “to become or turn into something”.

So the main clause 厄介な凶器になる means “they will turn into dangerous weapons”.

Examples

Noun A は Noun B なんだ (“A is B”)

この犬いぬは病気びょうきなんだ。ちゃんと世話せわしてあげてね。

kono inu wa byōki nanda. chanto sewa shite agete ne.

This dog is sick. Please give him good care.

この石いしはパワーストーンなんだ。持もっているといいことがあるよ。

kono ishi wa pawāsutōn nanda. motte iru to ii koto ga aru yo.

This stone is a power stone. If you have it, something good will happen.

〜を間違える (to get something wrong)

行いく道みちを間違まちがえて、迷まよってしまった。

iku michi o machigaete mayotte shimatta.

I took the wrong way and I got lost.

人ひとの名前なまえを間違まちがえるなんて、失礼しつれいだよ。

hito no namae o machigaeru nante, shitsurei dayo.

It’s rude to get someone’s name wrong.

Verb Dictionary-Form ＋と (if)

この花はなは水みずをあげすぎると枯かれてしまう。

kono hana wa mizu o agesugiru to karete shimau.

This flower will die if you give it too much water.

今いま話はなすと混乱こんらんするかもしれないから、後あとで話はなすよ。

ima hanasu to konran suru kamoshirenai kara, ato de hanasu yo.

If I tell you now, you might get confused so I’ll tell you later.

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The post Conan’s Quote “Words Are Like Knives” appeared first on Easy Peasy Japanesey.

Video

Kaito Kid’s Quote

Japanese: 泥棒は盗むのが商売、たとえそれが人の心だとしてもね。
Romaji: dorobō wa nusumu no ga shōbai, tatoe sore ga hito no kokoro demo ne.
English: Stealing is what thieves do best, even if it’s a person’s heart.

Analysis

泥棒は盗むのが商売

The grammar is AはBがC meaning “As for A, B is C”. It’s used when you introduce the topic A and describe what A does or what A is like.

The declarative だ can be added which sounds more confident and assertive whereas it sounds softer without だ. In polite speech, simply add です.

Here are some examples:

• 私は月曜日が休みです (literally “As for me, Monday is my day off”) – “I have a day off on Monday”.
• 田中さんはテニスが趣味です (literally “As for Mr. Tanaka, tennis is his hobby”) – “Mr. Tanaka’s hobby is tennis”.

So 泥棒は盗むのが商売 literally is “As for thieves, stealing is their business” saying “thieves’ business is stealing” or “stealing is what thieves do best”. Let’s look at each word:

The A is 泥棒 meaning “thieves“.

The B is 盗むの meaning “stealing”. A verb plain-form followed by the nominaliser の works as a noun.

The C is 商売 meaning “business” or “trade”. It can be replaced with 仕事 meaning “work” but 商売 sounds more entrepreneurial whereas 仕事 sounds more like an employed job.

たとえそれが人の心でもね

The grammar is たとえ A が B でも meaning “even if A is B”. Only “A が B でも” also means “even if A is B” but たとえ emphasises that the statement is very hypothetical.

The A is それ meaning “it” which indicates what thieves steal.

The B is 人の心 meaning “a person’s heart”.

So たとえそれが人の心でも means “even if it’s a person’s heart”.

And the last ね is the particle used to adjust the tone and draw the listener’s attention to the statement.

These clauses are actually inverted and the normal clause order without inversion would be たとえそれが人の心でもね、泥棒は盗むのが商売。By inverting the clauses, you can emphasise the subordinate clause as well as making the speech catchy or dramatic.

Examples

A は B が C (As for A, B is C)

私わたしは漫画まんがを読よむのが趣味しゅみです。

watashi wa manga o yomu no ga shumi desu.

My hobby is reading manga.

今いまの私わたしは仕事しごとだけが生いきがいだ。

ima no watashi wa shigoto dake ga ikigai da.

My only reason to live for right now is my job.

赤あかちゃんは寝ねるのが仕事しごと。

akachan wa neru no ga shigoto.

The baby’s job is to sleep.

たとえ + A が + B でも (even if A is B)

たとえそれが冗談じょうだんでも、傷きずつくなぁ。

tatoe sore ga jōdan demo, kizutsuku nā.

Even if it’s a joke, it hurts me.

たとえ仕事しごとが大変たいへんでも、辞やめたくない。

tatoe shigoto ga taihen demo, yametakunai.

Even if my job is hard, I don’t want to quit.

たとえその噂うわさが本当ほんとうでも、彼かれのこと嫌きらいになれない。

tatoe sono uwasa ga hontō demo, kare no koto kirai ni narenai.

Even if the rumour is true, I can’t hate him.

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The post Kaito Kid’s Quote “Stealing Is What Thieves Do Best Even If It’s A Person’s Heart” appeared first on Easy Peasy Japanesey.

Video

Conan’s Quote

Japanese: 真実はいつも一つ!
Romaji: shinjitsu wa itsumo hitotsu!
English: There is always only one truth!

Analysis

真実 means “truth”.

は is a topic particle so you can tell Conan is talking about 真実.

いつも means “always”.

Now let’s go through some of the adverbs of frequency. So when you say how often you drink coffee, you would say コーヒーを:

• いつも飲む – you always drink coffee
• たいてい飲む – you usually drink coffee
• よく飲む – you often drink coffee
• ときどき飲む – you sometimes drink coffee
• あまり飲まない – you hardly drink coffee
• ぜんぜん飲まない – you never drink coffee

Lastly, ひとつ means “one”. It’s one of the most common Japanese counters which are used for counting objects that don’t have their own specific counter. In Japanese restaurants, it’s common to use these counters when ordering food and drinks so let’s count from one to ten:

• one – ひとつ
• two – ふたつ
• three – みっつ
• four – よっつ
• five – いつつ
• six – むっつ
• seven – ななつ
• eight – やっつ
• nine – ここのつ
• ten – とお

After eleven, we usually add 個(こ) after the number. So eleven is じゅういっこ、twelve is じゅうにこ.

Examples

Adverbs of Frequency

学校がっこうに行いくとき、いつもこの道みちを通とおる。

gakkō ni iku toki itsumo kono michi o tōru.

When I go to school I always take this route.

朝あさはたいてい朝あさごはんを食たべる。

asa wa taitei asagohan o taberu.

I usually eat breakfast in the morning.

私わたしがよく行いくカフェに行いきませんか？

watashi ga yoku iku kafe ni ikimasen ka?

Would you like to go the cafe that I often go to?

ときどき電話でんわしてね。

tokidoki denwa shite ne.

Please sometimes call me.

あまり運動うんどうしない。

amari undō shinai.

I don’t exercise very often.

最近さいきんは全然ぜんぜんテレビを見みない。

saikin wa zenzen terebi o minai.

I haven’t watched TV at all lately.

Generic Counter

言いいたいことが一ひとつだけある。

iitai koto ga hitotsu dake aru.

I have only one thing I want to say.

毎週まいしゅう、日本語にほんごのレッスンを二ふたつと、ダンスのレッスンを三みっつ受うける。

maishū, nihongo no ressun o futatsu to dansu no ressun o mittsu ukeru.

Every week, I take two Japanese lessons and three dance lessons.

リンゴを六むっつ買かって四よっつ食たべたら、いくつ残のこるでしょう？

ringo o muttsu katte yottsu tabetara, ikutsu nokoru deshō?

If you buy six apples and eat four of them, how many would there be left?

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The post Conan’s Quote “There Is Always Only One Truth” appeared first on Easy Peasy Japanesey.