Let’s learn Japanese with Usagi’s quote from Sailor Moon.
CONTENTS
Video
Usagi’s Quote
Japanese: 月に代わってお仕置きよ!
Romaji: tsuki ni kawatte oshioki yo!
English: On behalf of the Moon, I will punish you!
Analysis
月 is “the Moon”.
に代わって means “on behalf of”.
おしおき means “punishment” for the purpose of discipline. By adding する you can make it a verb おしおきする meaning “to punish” but する is omitted here to make the phrase catchy.
よ is a sentence ending particle which is used when the speaker wishes to emphasise new information and make listeners become aware of it. When it follows a noun or な adjective you usually add だ before よ. So in this case, it’s おしおきだよ, but by dropping だ you can make it female speech which is commonly used in anime. In real conversations, Japanese language is becoming less gendered so だよ is usually used by both male and female.
Examples
Noun + に代わって (on behalf of/in place of)
息子に代わって深くお詫び申し上げます。
musuko ni kawatte fukaku owabi mōshiagemasu.
I deeply apologise on my son’s behalf.
担当者に代わってお電話しています。
tantōsha ni kawatte odenwa shite imasu.
I am calling you on behalf of the person in charge.
ロボットが人間に代わって働く日がもうすぐ来るだろう。
robotto ga ningen ni kawatte hataraku hi ga mōsugu kuru darō.
The day when robots work instead of humans will probably come soon.
You can also use 〜の代わりに instead of 〜に代わって.
Sentence Ending Particle よ
気をつけてよ！
ki o tsukete yo!
Be careful!
一人で行けるよ！
hitori de ikeru yo!
I can go by myself!
もう知らないよ！
mō shiranai yo!
I don’t care anymore!
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