Video

Haku’s Quote

Japanese: 千尋の元気が出るようにまじないをかけて作ったんだ。
Romaji: chihiro no genki ga deru yō ni majinai o kakete tsukutta n da.
English: I put a spell on it so it’ll give back your strength.

Analysis

千尋の元気が出るように

千尋 is the name of the main character.

の is the possessive particle and 元気 literally is “original spirit” which is used to mean “health, energy, strength”, and so on. So 千尋の元気 means “Chihiro’s energy or strength“.

“Noun が出る” means “something comes out“ or “something emerges“ so 元気が出る means “energy comes out” which can be translated as “to give you energy” or “give back your strength”.

And a verb dictionary form followed by ように means “so that”. You might know the similar word ために meaning “in order to” which is often mixed up with ように. They are very similar, but the implications and the types of the verb used with them are different.

• A ように B implies the clause A is a possible natural result of performing the clause B. So ように normally takes non-volitional verbs (無意志動詞) such as わかる (to understand), できる (can do), 聞こえる (to hear) and so on, which normally cannot be controlled by one’s will.
• A ために B is used in cases where clause A is a purpose or objective and the clause B is performed in order to achieve it. So ために normally takes volitional verbs (意志動詞) such as 知る (to know), する (to do), 聞く (to listen) and so on, which can be controlled by one’s will.

元気が出る meaning “energy comes out” is something that naturally occurs without intentions, so it’s used with ように. On the other hand, 元気を出す meaning “someone pulls out their energy” is what you intend to do so it’s used with ために.

So if he says 千尋の元気を出すために it sounds like he can control her energy at his will, whereas 千尋の元気がでるように indicates that Chihiro may naturally get back her strength as the result of his action.

まじないをかけて作ったんだ

まじない means “a spell”.

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

かけて is the te-form of かける. When it’s used with something thought to have magical powers like 魔法 (magic), 呪い (curse), 催眠術 (hypnotism) and so on, it means “to give effect to someone or something with the power”, so まじないをかける means “to cast a spell” and the te-form is used to mean “and” which links the two actions.

作った is the ta-form or the past tense of 作る meaning “to make“, so まじないをかけて作った means “cast a spell and made it”.

Lastly, んだ is used to add an explanatory tone to the statement so that it sounds persuasive and convincing.

Examples

ように (so that) vs ために (in order to)

I will save money [so that I can/in order to] buy a car.

• 車くるまが買かえるように貯金ちょきんします。
• 車くるまを買かうために貯金ちょきんします。

kuruma [ga kaeru yō ni/o kau tame ni] chokin shimasu.

I wake up early [so that I can/in order to] eat breakfast.

• 朝あさごはんが食たべられるように早はやく起おきる。
• 朝あさごはんを食たべるために早はやく起おきる。

asa gohan [ga taberareru yō ni/o taberu tame ni] hayaku okiru.

I practice hard [so that I can/in order to] win a championship.

• 優勝ゆうしょうできるように一生懸命いっしょうけんめい練習れんしゅうする。
• 優勝ゆうしょうするために一生懸命いっしょうけんめい練習れんしゅうする。

yūshō [dekiru yō ni/suru tame ni] isshōkenmei renshū suru.

かける (to give effect to someone or something)

その魔女まじょは王子おうじに魔法まほうをかけて、カエルに変かえてしまった。

sono majo wa ōji ni mahō o kakete, kaeru ni kaete shimatta.

The witch cast a magic spell on the prince and changed him into a frog.

誰だれかに呪のろいをかけると、必かならず自分じぶんに返かえってくる。

dareka ni noroi o kakeru to, kanarazu jibun ni kaette kuru.

If you curse someone, it’ll come back to you.

その男おとこは催眠術さいみんじゅつをかけて患者かんじゃを眠ねむらせた。

sono otoko wa saiminjutsu o kakete kanja o nemuraseta.

The man hypnotised his patient to sleep.

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The post Haku’s Quote “I Put A Spell On It So It’ll Give Back Your Strength” appeared first on Easy Peasy Japanesey.

Video

Porco’s Quote

Japanese: 飛ばねえ豚はただの豚だ。
Romaji: tobanē buta wa tada no buta da.
English: A pig that doesn’t fly is just an ordinary pig.

Analysis

This is the basic sentence structure, “A wa B da” which means “A is B”. 

A: 飛ばねえ豚 (the topic of the sentence)

飛ばねえ means “doesn’t fly”. It is a broken version of 飛ばない, usually used in very informal, male speech.

豚 means “a pig”.

飛ばねえ is a verb, modifying the noun 豚, so it means “a pig that doesn’t fly”. In Japanese, when you modify a noun with a clause, the word order is just like when you modify a noun with an adjective or a noun such as おいしい食べ物 meaning “delicious food” and 日本の食べ物 meaning “Japanese food” so the modifier always comes before the noun that is modified. For example, 昨日買った食べ物 meaning “the food that I bought yesterday” 勉強している人 meaning “a person who is studying” 昨日読んだ本 meaning “a book that I read yesterday”.

B: ただの豚 (the predicate noun)

ただの means “ordinary” or “just”. So ただの豚 means “an ordinary pig”.

Examples

Nouns Modified with Clauses

昨日きのう行いったレストランはとても高たかかった。

kinō itta resutoran wa totemo takakatta.

The restaurant that I went to yesterday was very expensive.

私わたしが住すんでいる町まちは海うみの近ちかくにある。

watashi ga sundeiru machi wa umi no chikaku ni aru.

The town where I live is near the sea.

お母かあさんが作つくる料理りょうりは全部ぜんぶおいしい。

okāsan ga tsukuru ryōri wa zenbu oishii. 

Meals that my mother makes are all delicious.

The Basic Sentence “A は B だ” (A is B)

夜よるの新宿しんじゅくは賑にぎやかだ。

yoru no shinjuku wa nigiyaka da.

Shinjiku at night is lively.

アルバイトの女性じょせいはまだ学生がくせいだ。

arubaito no josei wa mada gakusei da.

The part-time girl is still a student. 

このマンションは新あたらしくてきれいだ。

kono manshon wa atarashikute kirei da.

This apartment is new and clean.

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The post Porco’s Quote “A Pig That Doesn’t Fly Is Just An Ordinary Pig” appeared first on Easy Peasy Japanesey.

Video

Muska’s Quote

Japanese: 見ろ！人がゴミのようだ！
Romaji: miro! hito ga gomi no yō da!
English: Look! The people are like rubbish!

Analysis

見ろ is the imperative form of 見る meaning “look”. This form is used to give an order or command which you rarely hear in ordinary conversation because it sounds quite rude. However, it is used in road signs, slogans or notices. For example, 止まれ meaning “Stop”, 危険！スピード落とせ meaning “Dangerous! Reduce speed”. And for the examples of the negative imperative form when you forbid someone to do something, さわるな危険！ meaning “Do not touch. Dangerous” ゴミを捨てるな！ meaning “Do not throw rubbish”.

人 means “people”.

This が particle is used to describe a scene that you are looking at right now. For example, when you see the beautiful moon in the night sky, you will say 月がきれいだ meaning “the moon is beautiful”. In this case, 月 is the moon you are just looking at right now. But if you say 月はきれいだ, you are just stating the fact that the moon in general is beautiful so you’re not talking about the specific moon that you are looking at.

Now let’s try making a sentence. You see a frog singing and you will say “A frog is singing!” so let’s change it into Japanese. Think about which particle you should use. – The answer is カエルが歌っている. In this sentence, が is used because you are describing the scene that you are looking at right now. And your realistic friend will say “That’s crazy! Frogs don’t sing”. How would she say this in Japanese? – The answer is そんな馬鹿な！カエルは歌わない. In this case は is used because she is saying “In general frogs don’t sing so it’s impossible”.

ゴミ means “rubbish”. It’s often written in katakana even though it’s a word of Japanese origin. The reason is that its kanji is not included in the jōyō kanji list, which means the kanji of ゴミ is not officially approved to use by the Japanese Ministry of Education. So it’s actually supposed to be written in hiragana but in order to differentiate from other hiragana, many people write it in katakana so that it’s easier to read in a sentence.

Noun + the の particle + よう means “like” or “similar to something”. You can also say みたい instead of のよう which is more colloquial and casual.

だ makes a sentence declarative. In real conversation, it’s usually used with the sentence ending particle such as よ and ね.

Examples

が (used to describe a scene that you are looking at right now)

あ、子供こどもが転ころんだ。

a, kodomo ga koronda.

Oh, a child fell over.

見みて、きれいな星ほしがたくさん出でてるよ。

mite, kirei na hoshi ga takusan deteru yo.

Look, lots of beautiful stars are out.

げ！携帯けいたいの充電じゅうでんが切きれそう。

ge! keitai no jūden ga kiresō.

Crap! My mobile phone battery is about to die.

Other words often written in Katakana because it’s not included in the jōyō kanji list

このカバンはいくらですか？

kono kaban wa ikura desu ka?

How much is this bag?

ここでケンカしないでください。

koko de kenka shinai de kudasai.

Please don’t fight here.

Noun + のよう/みたい

蝶ちょうのように舞まい、蜂はちのように刺さす。

chō no yō ni mai, hachi no yō ni sasu.

Float like a butterfly, sting like a bee.

お姉ねえさんにそっくりだね。双子ふたごみたい！

onēsan ni sokkuri dane. futago mitai!

You are indentical to your sister. Like twins!

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The post Muska’s Quote “Look! The People Are Like Rubbish!” appeared first on Easy Peasy Japanesey.