Video

Ken Kaneki’s Quote

Japanese: 1000引く7は？
Romaji: sen hiku nana wa?
English: What is 1000 minus 7?

Analysis

1000 (せん) is the number “a thousand”. In kanji, it’s written as this: 千. It can also be read as いっせん to emphasize that it’s ONE thousand. For example, when counting thousand-yen notes, you would say “いっせん（一千）、にせん（二千）、さんぜん（三千）…” , but the number itself is normally read as せん.

引く is a verb meaning “to pull” or “to subtract”. In mathematical contexts, it corresponds to the English preposition “minus”.

7（なな, 七） is the number “seven”. In kanji, it’s written as this: 七. In words like 7時 meaning “seven o’clock” and 7月 meaning “July”, it’s commonly read as しち, but in most other contexts, it’s usually read as なな.

“1000引く7” forms a noun phrase that represents the mathematical operation 1000 – 7 (a thousand minus seven), and は is the topic particle, marking this noun phrase as the topic of the sentence, but in mathematical contexts, it can function similarly to an equal sign.

This is an incomplete sentence, implicitly asking for the result of the calculation. So, it actually means “1000 minus 7 is…?”, but it’s understood as “What is 1000 minus 7?”, without needing to explicitly state the interrogative words like “何” meaning “what”or “いくつ” meaning “how many”.

Basically, in this scene, Kaneki is using a psychological technique on his captor, Jason, by asking him to count down from 1,000 by sevens. This requires mental focus and can help prevent losing consciousness during extreme stress. Ironically, Jason originally used this same method to torture Kaneki, so now that their roles have reversed, Kaneki is applying this technique to Jason.

[REVIEW1] 1000引く7は？

This structure allows you to express mathematical operations by combining numbers with the appropriate verbs, using は (wa) which functions similarly to an equal sign, and ending with a question mark to form a question.

It may seem grammatically unusual as it embeds a verb within a noun phrase, without particles or modifications. However, this construction is standard in mathematical contexts in Japanese, directly reading out the calculation (1000 – 7 = ?). In mathematics, these special sentence structures are accepted, even if they don’t follow normal grammar rules.

Let’s look at some example sentences using this structure:

100 + 50 = ?
100足す50は？ (ひゃく たす ごじゅう は？hyaku tasu gojū wa?)

15 × 3 = ?
15掛ける3は？ (じゅうご かける さん は？jūgo kakeru san wa?)

20 ÷ 4 = ?
20割る4は？ (にじゅう わる よん は？nijū waru yon wa?)

In these sentences, we use mathematical verbs, 足す meaning “to add”, かける meaning “to multiply”, and 割る meaning “to divide” in the same way as 引く meaning to “subtract”.

If you want to finish the sentence with the answer, simply remove the question mark and add the answer.

[REVIEW2] Noun + は？

The は particle, followed by a question mark, indicates that what precedes it is the topic of inquiry, while the rest of the sentence is omitted. This kind of omission occurs frequently in Japanese, reflecting Japan’s high-context culture, which often relies on non-verbal and implicit communication, so you often have to guess what’s being asked based on the context.

Examples

Mathematical Operation

Subtraction（引ひき算ざん）

【10 – 4 = 6】

10じゅう引ひく4よんは6ろく

jū hiku yon wa roku

【100 – 9 = 91】

100ひゃく引ひく9きゅうは91きゅうじゅういち

hyaku hiku kyū wa kyūjūichi

Addition（足たし算ざん）

【5 + 8 = 13】

5ご足たす8はちは13じゅうさん

go tasu hachi wa jūsan

【246 + 789 = 1035】

246にひゃくよんじゅうろく足たす789ななひゃくはちじゅうきゅうは1035せんさんじゅうご

nihyaku yonjū roku tasu nanahyaku hachijū kyū wa sen sanjū go

Multiplication（掛かけ算ざん）

【6 × 7 = 42】

6ろく掛かける7ななは42よんじゅうに

roku kakeru nana wa yonjū ni

【25 × 16 = 400】

25にじゅうご掛かける16じゅうろくは400よんひゃく

nijūgo kakeru jūroku wa yonhyaku

Division（割わり算ざん）

【12 ÷ 3 ＝ 4】

12じゅうに割わる3さんは4よん

jūni waru san wa yon

【43 ÷ 5 ＝ 8, R3】

43よんじゅうさん割わる5ごは8はち、余あまり3さん

yonjūsan waru go wa hachi, amari san

Noun + は？ (asking about the topic without providing a complete predicate)

Realizing that Mr. Yamada, who was here until just now, is no longer around

山田やまださんは？

yamada-san wa?

Where is Mr. Yamada?

While offering coffee to a friend

砂糖さとうは？

satō wa?

Do you want some sugar?

A: 肉にくと卵たまごはタンパク質しつを多おおく含ふくむんだよ。
B: 魚さかなは？

A: niku to tamago wa tanpakushitsu o ōku fukumu nda yo.
B: sakana wa?

A: Meat and eggs contain a lot of protein.
B: What about fish?

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The post Ken Kaneki’s Quote “What Is 1000 Minus 7” appeared first on Easy Peasy Japanesey.

Video

Ken Kaneki’s Quote

Japanese: 僕を喰おうとしたんだ。僕に喰われても仕方ないよね？
Romaji: boku o kuō to shita nda. boku ni kuwaretemo shikata nai yone?
English: You tried to eat me. Even if you get eaten by me, that cannot be helped, right?

Analysis

僕を喰おうとしたんだ

僕 means “I” only used by men. It’s less formal than 私 but more formal than 俺.

を indicates the direct object of the following verb.

喰おうとした is the past tense of 喰おうとする. A verb volitional form followed by とする means “to try to do something”. 喰おう is the volitional form of 喰う which is the rough way to say 喰べる meaning “to eat“. So 僕を喰おうとした means “you tried to eat me”.

There is the other kanji for eating (食) which is more commonly used. When it’s combined with the kanji, “口” meaning “a mouth”, it means “to eat in order to live or survive” so it’s often used for animals. It’s also used for ghouls as they eat in order to live rather than for fun.

んだ is the broken version of のだ which is used when giving an explanation about the context. So he’s explaining the good reason for what he’s going to do. So 僕を喰おうとしたんだ means “you tried to eat me“ in an explanatory tone.

僕に喰われても仕方ないよね

僕に喰われても means “even if you get eaten by me”. “A verb te-form followed by も” means “Even if one does something”. 喰われて is the te-form of 喰われる which is the passive form of 喰う so 喰われても means “even if you get eaten” and 僕に means “by me”.

仕方ない literally means “there is no way to do something” and it’s often translated as “it can’t be helped”. It’s mainly used when an unpleasant situation cannot be avoided and must be accepted. 

Lastly, よね is the sentence ending particles meaning “right?” used when you want confirmation from the listener.

Examples

Volitional-Form + とする (to try to do something)

家いえを出でようとしたとき、電話でんわが鳴なった。

ie o deyō to shita toki, denwa ga natta.

When I was about to leave the house, The phone rang.

猫ねこが木きに登のぼろうとしている。

neko ga ki ni noborō to shite iru.

A cat is trying to climb the tree.

逃にげようとしたが、捕つかまってしまった。

nigeyō to shita ga, tsukamatte shimatta.

I tried to escape but I got caught.

んだ & Verb Passive Te-Form + も + 仕方ない

いつも嘘うそをついてるんだ。みんなに疑うたがわれても仕方しかたないよ。

itsumo uso o tsuiteru nda. minna ni utagawaretemo shikatanai yo.

You are always lying. Even if you are suspected by everyone, that can’t be helped.

お母かあさんのお気きに入いりの花瓶かびんを割わったんだ。叱しかられても仕方しかたない。

okāsan no okiniiri no kabin o watta nda. shikararetemo shikatanai.

You have broken your mother’s favourite vase. Even if you get scolded, it can’t be helped.

そっちが先さきに殴なぐったんだ。殴なぐられても仕方しかたないよな？

socchi ga saki ni nagutta nda. naguraretemo shikatanai yona?

You hit me first. Even if you get hit, that can’t be helped, right?

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If you enjoy our content, please consider supporting Easy Peasy Japanesey. Your support will help keep us going. Thank you for your support!

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The post Ken Kaneki’s Quote “Even If You Get Eaten By Me, That Cannot Be Helped, Right?” appeared first on Easy Peasy Japanesey.