SS =) aa Isz MANGAJIN iorDS WIMRINY 7 Pakapakan Banku The Bank that Flips its Lid The Japanese may have the highest savings rate in the world, but there are stil those who need a little help. For- tunately, B-Al Incorporated has just the product to make even the most stubborn spendthrift iearn to serimp and save. Pakapakan Banku is a chokinbako (3 42), or “savings box,” which is to say, a “piggy bank,” although in this case itis really a “savings can.” The can/bank comes in two mod- cls: the akudai-kan (C48, “evil magistrate can”) and the oj8-kan (23 N8L4i, “spoiled rich-girl can"), SE(( fir isa play on ‘8 {0 H, which means “evil” (aku) ‘magistratefbailif” (daikan). Daikan were regional represen- tatives of the Tokugawa shogunate who had powers to col- lect taxes and tribute from the people, and who were oftentimes corrupt—ice., akudaikan. Ojd-kan plays on the word ojdsan (434K % A), which literally means “young lady” and can be a polite way to refer to someone else"s daughter, but is often used to refer to a type of young lady who is wealthy, spoiled, and rather demanding. Passing in front of one of these sensor-outfitted cans sets off a major racket—the lid flaps up and down (hence pakapakan—paka is the sound of a lid opening) and the can starts barking for money. The akudai-kan says, fon. cn, on! 208, HEME Lh 2) “Kore, kore, kore! Soko no mono, mitsugimono wa dé itashita?t”” “Hey, hey, hey! You there! What about your tribute?!” If you ignore him, he hurls insults: [204 20a! | ‘Kono utsukemono-me ga!” “This fool!” —» “You fool!” If you oblige him, he shows his gratitude in Edo-period cakudaikan-speak, with a conspiratorial [BES TUVEDF, | “Onushi mo waru yo nd. “You're bad, too.” “You're as evil as I am. Heh heh The oja-kan cajoles you into sharing your wealth, as only an ofd-kan can, Sensing a sucker, she squeals, ) [e253 ®- be J “Chai, chai, chodai, o-karne.” Please, oh please, oh please. [Give me some] mo-o-0- | ney" | | A refusal puts her in the worst of sulky moods Ww Br5K, Bra HOB fe5ueluctbaot “Mo iva! Ijiwara!” “Oh, pooh! You're so mean!” whereas a simple coin or two can make her day: fa3nb—1) “Cha ureshii!” “['m] super happy!" > “All right!!" | Sorat Jess Keep her content until you're stupid enough to cross her path again. Send us your examples of creative product names or slogans (with some Kind of documentation). H we ‘publish your example, we'll send you a Mangajin T-shirt wear on your next shopoing trp. In case of duplica PYRAF AT BEAD HY ATE TORU TT I LOLI WE ORR ue Hike WLEF. WALEBRAND NEWS, P.O.Biox nities, earliest posimark gels the shit. BRAND NEWS, P.O. Box 7119, Maretia, GA 3008 Me RM CB IED FSO. MII BREA IU Ch Tid, SEALE BHA) 19, Maria, GA 30065, US.A, ‘Mangajin 11Humorous Haiku Poems submitted by our readers lustrations by Anthony Owsley Akres Kata-tataké WPibAaya Tzure wagami ka ARBRE Fin bucho A tap on the shoulder The personnel director. by Y. Tokuda Toryo sooner or later—will it be me? Tatataa i, “shoulder tapping") i= the expression used when a company lets an employee know that ei being ‘demoted or let go for one reason oF nother, + cure means “one ofthese dayslsoonet frlaterin due course” ‘+ maga means “my” and mi hee means ate: wagam="my lat” + the inl bucko personnel dteto”) is avery powerful person in a Japanese ‘company, and iis generally he who makes the decisions regarding Lata. {ataki. That his postion would bein the sme jeopardy as snybody else's ‘reflection on the current climate of “restueturing in conporate pan. KDA ‘Tlisuryoku refers 10 “abiigoom- petence”:jlsuryoRu no nat hito = f ople with no ability.” nace ka athe begining of a phase ‘rT don't know why, but ogashit means “busy.” and so attached to the stem of an adjective fives the meaning "seem ~" > ltogashisd = "seem busy taka no tsume (*hawk's talons") is a reference to the saying no ar taka wt taume katusu (9685-2 RIS IR “The hawk with ability hides it tals) which ears tt someone with true surength of ability doesn't awn sitsu-ryoku ga BOB al Fito naze ka tELE5 Teogashiss For some reason those with no ability always look busy. by MOM (Taka no tsume) “Hawk Talons” Satie Sanyto bnrBian ‘wareta sli ga fle ich Politics, once called “sanryu, now “IchiRya.” bby AHIMINEA (Koga senryajin) “The Senryi Man from Koga + Same aa oie ren it means “frst rate" eis saying in Japan thatthe politcal sector is third rate” while the economl sector i itt" + There ia pum nthe wating of chy which Pon pon poko! (effect of ball Bouncing, then hitting the man in the back) 2] Kuwata: 74, ¥a (grein SHE” (PL2) + vis an informal gr ] OlderBro: 4H it ™ BCA ee cic cr a ise ooking a (expan) “What're you looking at today?” (PL2) YoungerBro: = TA OD Nant miten” no? Rt fare ooking at (cxplan) "What're you looking at?” (PL2) + 0,10 mark nani (“what”) as the object ofthe verb, hasbeen omitted, as it often sin colloquial speech. + miten is contraction of mite iru (hislare looking at"), from mira (ee/ook a). * using the explanatory no withthe intonation of question is Very common way to ask questions in colloquial speech, especially among children and female speakers. yu ot 4 OY HE he Urajiro tei shida dao. Wwiesback (quote) sayreall “Teen” ‘is (emph) “A fern called the ‘white-back fern.”” (PL2) a, BEN oD BR DY A o-shdgaise no o-mochi no pantsu da. (Guer}) (bon New Year's ‘Of hon-rice cakes. of panshunderpany i “Oh, it’s the underpants for the mochi at New Year's!” (PL2) "and shiro, "white": sh changes to j for eupho ling (*hithey yo!) used by male speakers. ) isa Fern with leaves that are alight, frosty + urajiro (from ura, “bac green on the undersi + tres a colloquial equivalent of quotative to. X 10 iv ¥ often means “a Y called!named X." so urajiro tte iw shida fem called urajiro/white-back.” + isan interjection used when suddenly noticing or recognizing something. + -shogatsu (often withthe honorific prefix o-) reers to "New Year's” and alli attendant observances + machi refers toa glutinous rice that has been steamed and pounded into a solid mass and then shaped into round cakes ‘or cut into squares, ec. Is traditional For families to prepare (oF, these days, buy) mochi atthe end of the yea for eat at New Year's or for making kagamimochi (88), 1wo round cakes of mochi stacked one atop the other (he top one is slightly smaller in size) and placed in the home's decorative alcove (okonoma, IRD) or some other appropriate place an offering to the gods. + pants isa katakana rendering of the English “pants,” but in Japanese it normally means “underpants.” Kagamimochi ‘decorations can range from very simple to very elaborate, but a Fairly standard item is wrajiro leaves draped over the ‘offering stand on which the mochi cakes are placed. This boy apparently thinks the overall appearance ofthe kagami: ‘mochi on the stand with its decorations resembles a human figure, and the leaves look like underpants ‘Mangajin 27[2]. Sound Fx: Bo BE 2D RO WK IFITO Se ME MRC EATES AM. Nana inane tone ha mo ara tsubsibuno chisana hah ga ralasan din da Summer when becomes thisthese leaves of backs on small spores (sb) many” “form (expan) “in the summer, lots of bumpy litle spores form onthe backs of these leaves." (PL2) fF? Tare? “Are they seeds?” (PL2) ‘nimarks the result of the verb naru (“become”) s0 ni nartas a unit is equivalent to the English “become.” Since to after the plain, non-past form ofa verb can make a conditional “when” meaning, ni naruto = “When it becomes" —» nats ni ‘nari to ="when it becomes summer” —* “in the summer.” ono can be either “this” or “these. ‘tsubu = “a grain,” and tsubutsubu describes something that has tiny bumps or is “grainy/granular/coarse” in texture. Cchiisa na isan alternate form of the adjective chisai small”), ‘when speaking of natural phenomena, dekru often means “forms”: hbshi ga dekiru= "spores form.” RY a!) Pashari (sound of camera shutter) ‘Mangajin 29RBM A + Kasai no Hito arrest SG DEMS b Mb ete ORG LE SBR UMS MUMBO PMY CHRY Batotes” we RY SNE OP NOEPRUEbY Beep erence : Din nas Rvs ey JQRE 2-8 HOS SELMER hkveoLeu 30 Mangajinpee BE OF I WF ik ME CRY AK ko HE ARDS ETO. VSOb I OH BAM de Hoshi wa tane ‘janai nda yo. Tane mitai ninaru made no, ikutsuka mae no katachi nanda yo. {pores efor sends “tenor (expan) (emph) seed, “lke, become until ‘of several. before of shape (exlan) (ph) “Spores aren’t seeds. They're a form that’s still several steps from becoming like seeds.” (PL2) HoEY BM MNT HC O Li I wSADT SL, Chiisana hoshi ga shita ni ochitari kaze ni hakobarete ku no tochi ni ochitarisuruto, small” spores (sb) below/ground to “fall-or wind by becarried-and far thatis land tofon or when fall ZT WR OE 5 fk & fot FONT RL ME & eB Att soko de zen'yitai 10 iu tai 0 tsukutte sononaka de tamago 10 _selshi_ 0. tsukuru_ nda. sm (quote) called body (obj) form-and "inside that eg and spermJantherozsid (Obj) make expla.) iny spores fall to the ground or get carried somewhere far away by the wind, they form something called a prothallium, and inside that they develop male and female cells for reproduction.” (Ld nda and na n da are used when making explanations, The na is necessary after nouns, but not verbs or adjectives. imitai after nouns, adjectives, and verbs implies “thats the way it seems/ihat’s what it's like.” ~ mitaini naru = “becomes like ~.” fkutsu asks a question (“how many?) but ikutsu ka as a modifier means “several.” fkutsu ka mae = “several [items/stages, ‘etc, before.” ‘ochitariis from ochire (fall/drop”), and shita (literally “underfbelow") here essentially refers to “the ground,” so shia ni ‘ochir = “fll tothe ground.” the -tari form ofa verb followed immediately or later several -tari verbs occur in sequence, the meaning becomes “do things like ~ and/or ~, etc.” Somet -tari simply as “andlor.” Jhakobarete is the -te form of hakobareru (“be carred/tansported”), from hakobu (“carry/ranspor) ‘ku is what we usually call the adverb form of the adjective roi “far/distant"), but in this case i's acting as a noun. No between two nouns lets the fist describe the second, and ‘och! = “land,” so roku no tochi= “land that is far away.” the sentence by suru means “do something/things like ~"; when es you can think of, + foafiera non-past verb can make a conditional “iffwhen” meaning 4 tsukute isthe -te form of sukuru (“make/form”), [Z) Older Kuwata: Younger: Kuwata: Older: ‘Younger: Kuwata: WALID Zen'sotai? “Prothail um?” (PL2) Bis BSA Arve OO A TO & (RS tui TAS AK ke Omuko-san 10 ovome-sanmitai na mono ga kodomo o tsukuru tame ni dekira nda yo. {on.}-groom-(bon and (hon ybridethon.) Tike thing (ub) children (obj) “make inorder to “form (xplan) (emg) “Something like a bride and groom are formed in order to make children.” (PL2) ‘mono = “thing,” $0 ~ mitai na mone tame (ni) alter a non-past verb n “something hings like ~ “in order tofior the purpose of [doing the ation). WHO om LB) oO Fustino kusa to chigau no? galiary” graced from differen (explan) “Are they different from ordinary grass?” “They're different from other plants?” (PL2) 830? Chigauno? “They're different?” (PL2) {to marks kus ("grass") as what the topic (ie, white-back fers) i different from, yoya ik HE AK + moranai is the negative form of morsu Uraiivo wa hana 0 motanat nda, Chold/haverbe endowed with"). Hana 0 white-back fems as for flowers (ob) dont holdave. (expla) ‘motanai= “are not endowed with flowers” “White-back ferns don’t have flowers.” (PL2) don’t producelmake flowers" % * mk, £3 BO? + hana ga nai isa complete thoughu/sen- Hana ga nai to, dé chigau no? tence (“[they] don’t have flowers"), and fo Flowers (sj) ithven don't exisuhave Now, isdifret expla) makes a conditional “if/when” meaning —* “How're they different if they don’t have flowers?” (PL2) they don’t haverproduce flower.” eer + kimi isan informal word for “you.” gener- £9 i} 0: ally used only by males when addressing Da chigew no? SHtowsre they different?” (PL equals or subordinates. -Tachi makes rnouns referring to people into plurals bo K ke Both kimi and kim-tachi would be trans- 2 Hit OBR # Hana wa kimi-tachi no ovuchi—‘mitaina mono da yo. lated "you" in English, but in Japanese Rowers as for yor-(pluc)."s (hon.¥housefhome lke thing is (emph) you mist use Kimi-tachi when addressing “A flower is sort of like your house. (PL2) more than one person, {continued on net page)RHO A + Kasai no Hito AME Km~ eee y 4 Ree aomRE mOCRRH 4010 Rr BUSO Lo BREUK OL Songe- mV sOdeHg aN Lv HII CR S~ Fie ED b AK OF M HO MO Kok BLAS ME ce, Doyara kodomo-tachi yori mo honnin no i game no mae no happa ni Kanjiine iru ydsu de, parently chien more than even himself "s sie (sj. eyes of in front of leaves byvith “is impresedppearane 2D Rb Fk & BRAAKAOTHS LIT sono Kibun ni Kodomo-tachi 0 makikomivagante int yi desu that mood into children (obj.)_wamstoenangleGraw in i 3s though It seemed like he was himself fascinated by the leaves before his e and he wanted to draw the children into that fascination. (PL3) Eons MBM CO FR BK, ROT Fk OO AF Maraku ‘mujaki Kono ue nak Kaettekodomo no hi ga ‘complete innocence this above notexistand tothe contrary children "s side (sth) BO Fors DEFOTHS L3e HM Si HS OTT. kare no kodomopposa ni tsukiaute iu "yma __insh sae “aru no des his cildtikeness with going along/playing "Tike impression even exists (expla) ‘He seemed the very height of innocence, and contrary to expectations, there was even the impression that the children were the ones going along with his childishness, He seemed the very height of innocence, and I didn’t get the impression that he was playing along with the ‘so much as that the children were playing along with him. (PL3) ‘mita tokoro is an expression for “ata glancefby surface appearancesion the Face of ‘ita is te plainJabeupt past form of kru (“wear/don”) ‘goku is an emphasize, like “verylextremely"; goku fusi = “veryfaterly normal.” ~ ni mieru describes how something appears —what it looks like. After a verb it becomes ~ 97 ni mien, describing how the action looks/appears; ~ (30) ni wa mienai is its negative form: “doesn’t look likefappear that ~." ‘odomo aite ni implies Kodomo o aiteni shite, literally, “making children his companions.” Aite bas part” and can refer to persons ranging from a “companion/mate/partner” toa “rival/opponenv/enemy.” Jhanashikonde iruis trom hanashikomu. te stem of the ver hanasu (“alk/speak") plus -komu, which asa verb sutix can imply the action is done fully/at ength/with particular inten dite is the -fe form of i (“say”): da kara to ite is literally saying "because itis so,” but idiomaticaly it means *yeVfor all thavjust because of that.” -yoiku shite iru isthe progressive (“ivare ~ing”) form of kydiku suru (“educate”) ddasara's used together with expressions like rashil and yo davdest to express ae ‘observed or learned so fat Jhonnin =the person hirwhersell”; ~ yor (mo) ~ no hd gais used in comparisons, with yor following the lesser and hi ga following the greater item, so kodomo-tachi yori mo honnin no ho ga ="he himself even more than the children.” Aanjltte irs from kanji-iru (“be moved/imptessed/ fascinated [by1") ‘makikomitagate iru i from makikomitagarn ("show signs of Wat ‘raw in”), the “want to” form of makikomu (entangh pposa is « noun form of the suffix -ppoi, which makes an adjective meaning “is likeis full offs characterized by ~ Kodomoppoi = “childishchildike,” and kodomopposa = “childishness/childlike qualt ‘acute introduces clauses that express something contrary to What you would normally expect. ‘sukiante iru is from tsukiau, which inthis use means “interacplay with ina makes kodomo no hd ga kare no kodomopposa ni tsukate iru into a moditir for insho -ven more than the children were, ly means “counter ive conclusion based on what one has ), from makikomizai (want to entangle! impression”) + angi a hesitation word similar to “uhh/um,” but it usu ally feels quite a bit more polite. It's often used to get someone’s attention, essentially like “Excuse me.” (PL3) Me MOETRRAYT Ow CtH Shashin torasete itadaite ii desu ka? Photograph, allow wotake-teceive) OK "isi? Would tbe all right HFT took some pictures?” (PL3-4) * 6 toma senin potoprt A torasete isthe -te form of toraseru, the causative (“make/let") form of soru, which when written wit ths kanji means © [a picture)" or “film (8 movieVreeord [on video}. ” Hadaite isthe -te form of itadaku (“veceve,” when used a8 a in- dependent verb). A causative -te form plus ada is often a roundabout and polite way of saying “i will [do the action],” but tei desu ka isa polite way of asking for permission, so inthis ease it becomes a polite “may I [do the action)?” (cominued on next page) Mangan 35x - BBD A + Kasai no Hito 38 Mangajin(continue from previous page) GB) Kuwata: au. Hei. XGertainly.” (PL3) LE] Souna rx: 12 +9» Pasharit (ound of camera shutter) + the boys are pling a playful face often seen among Japanese children a childish insult along the lines of "Nyaah cis sometimes accompanied by the word akanbel. o Boys: ¥-% ¥-%, U-A E-ZR, Piisu pila.” Piisw psu “Peace, peace. Peace, peace.” (PL2) 1many Japanese, especially children and young people, like to flash the peace symbol when being photographed Boys: Y~%. Piisu. Psu “Peace. Peace.” (PL2) [3] Kuwata; moc BRVLEF bP Hajimete “o-aishimasu ne? forfist time (hon,-meeting do (oll) “I meet you for the fist time, don’t 1?” “don’t believe we've met before.” (PL4) + o-ai shimasu (PLA polite form) = o-ai sure (PLA plain form) = aimasu (PL3) = au (PL2) = “meet.” For most verbs, the hhonorifie prefix o- pus the stem of the verb (the PL3 form without the -masu) followed by suru (“do”) creates a PLA verb that is considered humble—ic,, it expresses politeness by humbling the action of the speaker. Since a person does not use the humble form ofa verb to speak of his listener's action, the subject of a humble verb is usualy the speaker or someone close to him—which is why we give “T meet you” rather than “we meet” in our initial, more literal translation Ishimine: 41, i BoRLTRELK, a ‘Kyo, kara — hikkoshite kimashita. toy Tokyo fom" movedandeame ‘SWWe just moved here from Tokyo today.” (PL3) "),and kimasihita ithe PLS past ion moves/moved toward the Form of kure ("come"), A form of kuru afer the -te form of a verb often indi speaker. Using kurt here reflects the direction of the move—toward the present locaton, © Kuwata: (B] Ishimine: 12, 14% He. ha “Thethank you.” (PL3) + Faris a tentative and uncertain hai (“yes”), g as an acknowledgment ofthe greeting, Sara: = Ai Komnichi wa hellofgod afternoon “Good afternoon.” (PL3) onnichi wa is the standard daytime (mostly aftemoon) greeting, like “hello/good day/good afternoon.” It's used among ‘general acquaintances, but not among family or close work associates. Mangajin 97BBD A + Kasai no Hito mean” PROQIL | RA KS BERL He ROS Se SUN a6 DHE S \ Beso | 2 Mangan(1) Sound ex: Kuwata: [2] Kuwata; Kuwata: + mo can be used after a number or quantity to imply that it's an approximati arate ya Kya (Squeals and shouts of children as they play) ze Bown mM chk, DEA 8 Fhe VY7H b ABT. Kolo wa ii machi desu yo. Hitotsuki mo sureba_yamabuki mo sakimasi. hers place as for goodiine town is emph.) one month approx.) when passes teria also. will bloom nice town. In another month or so the kerria will bloom.” (PL3) (Pla) ‘ito is from hitotsu (“one”) and -tsui “around ~/~ or $0." sureba isa conditional “iffwhen” form of suru ("do"); suru afte atime word means “[that much time} passes,” so hitetsuki mo sureba = “when a month or So passes” —* “in another month or 50." yamabuki = “keria” (Kerria japonica), shrub of the rose family that produces bright, golden-yellow flowers spring. the most common use of mo is forthe meaning of “toofalso/as well.” Even when a specific item of comparison is not stated, as here, the underlying feeling is that what comes before mo is similar to or in addition to something ese (in this case, other plans). sakimasu isthe PL3 form of the verb saku (“blossonVbloom"), RAM oS PL WME THIS EAE RK AS ATH. machi kara sukoshi dereba sani ichimenni hana ga sakw basho ga are ndesu 35 town from alite if go out valley all across. lowers (Sob) bloom place (eibj) exists (explan) “Yes, if you go alittle way out of town there's a place where [Kerria] flowers bloom all across the valley. “Yes, just outside town, there’s a place where kerria blossoms fill the entire valley.” (PL3) Wo hee ow LOECe HOT Bh TH EF. Kiiroi chitsana hana ga doko made mo tsucuite —kirei' desu yo, yellow “small towers (subj) onaand on’ continue-cause) prety fare (emph.) “The small yellow flowers go on and on forever and it’s really beautiful.” “The little yellow flowers spread out as far as the eye can see. It’s really bea doreba is 2 condi the ” (PL3) 1 “ifhwhen” form of deru (“goleome out"). ~ ichimen ni = "all across the face of ~." tani ichimen ni hana ga saku is « complete thoughusentence (“flowers bloom all across the valley") modifying basho place” Chiisa nas an alternate form ofthe adjective chilsai (“small”); kiiroi (“yellow”) and chiisa na both modify hana Cflower"). doko made mois an expression for “on and. ddoko made mo tsucuku = "go on and on for forever)” and tswcuite isthe te form of tsuzuk (“continue/go on”) => “spread out as far as the eye can see.” The -e form of tsuzuku is used to state the cause offreason for what follows: because the flowers go on and on, it's really beautiful 79M, cae he Wataru, “mite mitai ne? Game) wit ae alg) Te i Wataru?” (PL2) i TER Ts is the “want to” form of the same verb. A form of miru after the te form of any verb implies “try [doing the action)” or “[do the action) and see {what its like)” ‘ne assumes or solicits the listener's agreement. In ths case, since she has stated something she would like to do, it's Tike saying “wouldn't you like to do it, 100?” khots WRN LELZI. Yokauara go-annat“shimasho iseoodtesable, chon rau, shall go “Tiltake you there if you'd like.” (PL4) yokattara isa conditional “it” form of the adjective ii/soi ("goodifine/OK") = if t is goodldesirabe (For you)” -* “if you'd like.” ‘annai is & noun meaning “guidance/information,” and adding a form of suru makes ita verb: annai suru = “guide/lead! ‘how the way.” Shimashais the volitional (“Ie shall") form of shimasu, which is the PL3 form of suru. Go- is an honorifie prefix. To be continued. . . ‘Mangan 39plug Obatarian by 48E DU: / Hotta Katsuhiko sarge trough Take Sobo 39 Take Shab, Tolyo, English ranslation 40 Mangajin Manager: ve~, is, TEAMED Ac ya, danchi adan-suturi ni Gots.) using devop. complex Mower bedemaking nowt BEA Mon iay wi eit ‘minasan ga kore hodo kyoryolu-teki to wal every I Gubj.) this extent cooperative (quote) as for “Well, well, as for having everyone be this coopera- tive in making the housing complex’s flower beds, [how wonderful]!" “Well, well, what a pleasure to see everyone pitch- ing in so nicely on planting the flower beds in our housing complex!” (PL2) + iyzis a “warm-up” word, like “well, well/my, my,” used when expressing delight at or approval of something; it gives a kind of exclamatory emphasis. ‘adanchi isa large apartment compiex with many multi-story buildings. iui after a noun means “the making of ~.” It comes fom tsukuru (C make"); the ts changes to z for euphony. Since they don’t seem to be con- structing new flower beds where there were none before, “making” in this, case refers to “planting + minasan is a polite word for addressing or referring to “everyone/all of you” in a particular group; it implies quite a few people, so the implication is that ‘many other women are pitching in, too, in addition to the two shown. Adding no as in the next panel makes it possessive: minasan no = “everyone's/you + kydiyolu = “cooperation/cllaboration,” and kydryoku-teki = “cooperative. + 10 wa makes the entire preceding sentence into the topic of an unspoken ex- clamation—here an exclamation of pleasure/delight: as for ~, how won- ‘erful [2] Manager: #240 Bib eS AES oF Minasan no danchi—0.aisuru kimocht ga everyone'syour housing complex (oi) “lowe Teelngs sj) RoE UL TE & BEET k,n fino usudishit hana 0 sakasemasu ‘yo, Ha ha ha surely. "eautfal Mowers (obj) will make bloom (emp) lash) “Your love for your housing complex will surely bring us beautiful flowers. Ha ha ha.” (PL3) anc o aisura isa complete thoughUsentence (“Lyoul love the housing com= plex") modifying kimochi (“feelings”) -* “feelings that you love the housing ‘complex “love for the housing complex.” Minasan no (“your”) also modi- Fies kimochi, soit becomes “your love forthe housing complex.” + kit can range in meaning from a wishfulinot very confident “probably/per- haps” toa “surely/certainly/undoubtedly” spoken with a igh degree of eonfi- ‘dence, but it stops short of absolute sureness, + sakasemasu is the PL3 form of sakaseru (“make bloom"), the causative (Cmakellet” form of sakte bloom”), Narration: 2+ Hit. Sithagersu-go. Several months later .. Arrows: bit Le Wakegi Shiso Welsh onions Beefsteak plant res + sis aprefix meaning “several,” and -kagersuis the counter suffix for ‘months, so sikagetsu = “several months + -go appended to time word means “[that much time later” + shiso C*perlla” or “beefsteak plant”) comes in red and green varieties, both used in Japanese cooking.gions Obatarian by SEF DUZ / Hotta Katsuhiko o 2k Ve 3 om oe 5 a 1 Older woman: 3%, 52025. Oya,” fukinow. Gives buterbur ower “Oh, butterburs!” (PL2) + oa is an interjection used when suddenly noticing something, typically witha feeling of mild surprise. + the appearance of butterbur flower stems is one of the early signs of spring. Both the young flower stems (fiukinot) and the mature leaf stalks (uk are edible, Students: ho, BADE Al fukinon Ginter) buiterbue ower “Look, butterburs!” (PL2) speaker has suddenly noticed or recognized something, + al indicate Tike “ohthey"” (3) Young mother: $5, 53DL3. Hk taro Ma, fokinows” Hara ne Gotes) baiterbar flower spring (exclam) “Oh my, butterburs! It really is spring!” (PL2) + mais commonly used by women as an ntrjection of surprise. Though both men and women ean use mas a “soften” or verbal “warm-up Pause, men sound effeminate when they use the word to express surprise. + ne by itself often replaces dane or desi ne ‘is, isn't it); elongating the ‘owel gives it the feling ofan exclamation [) Soundex: oer wo Gasha gasha latter clatter elatter (sound of bicycle ratting/ bumping along) Sound FX: 7 7#y Buchi buchit (sound of butterburs getting flat- cle tires) On Flier: 448 Narration: 4/6) 7 sib & Obararian ni isetsu 0 pbataran” offer season (bj) rey Ri ik bY. kanjira vost wand Semsenotice Heewaymargin as for nol have Obatarian has no time for paying attention to the season, + kanjiru means “feeVsenselexperience” —+ “notice/pay attention to.” Kisetsw o kanjire isa complete though/sentence ("[shel notices the sea- + yoy refers to a “surplus” or “extra leeway/margin” in the amount of | Something avaiable. It'can be something concrete, like a physical object, a substance, oF space, or it can be more abstract, like time, financial means, mental prepa I balance, etc In tis case, (Obatarian's obvious haste indicates it's primarily a reference to time, ‘Mangajin 41Opettat Theory of the Evolution of the OL RAD by Akizuki Risu ‘The letters OL (pronounced d-erw) stand for “Office idy.” but the women who called simply “OLs.” Shinkaron mean evolution of. OLs are women, usually well- educated, young, and unmarried, who perform a variety of tasks around the office, Being an OL is not a career the work is generally dull, there is litte opportunity for advancement, and managers expect OLs to quit after before seniority favor day at around 5 o'clock, th e from dowdy work rable clothes and go out fn glamorous dates, while the men put in mandatory ‘overtime, OLs usually live with their parents, so they can devote much of their salaries to exotic for vacations. And then, after a few years, they snag a mate and settle into quiet lives at home, These are the fond stereotypes, anyway, upon which ‘comics strips such as this are based. Although di @ woman, OL Shinkaron has appeared in th ‘magazine Shitkan Morning since the mid-1980s. (© Ales Rise light eseve First published Japan in 191 by Kaas La, Tokyo 42 MangajinOL ‘New Employee: OLt: OLt New Employee OLL: Publication: o12 Brok ww che Choo ii desu ka? ‘litle fiae/OK "isi “Do you have a minute?” (PL3) ¢ TARO [MASA VooLev] & Wh tye ta— TH At uate SEAS eee teen ee ee ee ee “I'd like to interview you for the ‘Welcome Newcomers’ feature in our employee newsletter.” (PL3) Buc Ty ae cy 73 siee Vidar einer tee ae eayao ae ere thing: “Do you have a minute?/Could I bother you for a minute?” thin the company,” and ho = “news/tepor/information”; shanai-ho fefers to an informational bulletin, Or newsletter published for circulation within the company. X to iw Y often indicates that X is a more specific description or name for Trasshai’ isthe title ofthe inzabyd (katakana rendering of the English “interview”). ~~. Be MT OMe He” otdsama wa ginko no torishimarivaku? (exctam, “taher aor Sank‘ boon! member 2 vem gant Tati oy en the basta a's bankir? + isa light exclamation, like ‘Wow. rour father“s on the board of 9 benk?P” (P12) cethvow Mow about that! — CEE KOT 0947 12 showing thatthe speaker is im- De. suki na onnano ko no taipa wa? prened palo ee ee + dois colloquial short form of “So, as forthe type of girl you like?” sore de, iterally “with th “And what type of woman do you like?” (PL2) Tedd ompucion one WIDu, RBM by “and/and then/and sofbecause Akarui,” —— kappatsu na tito dest ne of that brighucheerfolHively person iy (collog) ‘She is a cheerful, lively person. “Someone who is cheerful and vacious.” (PL3) x2 Peko (effect of apologetic bow) COMES. HEA OD fi AYR OME KY ADELE. Gomer nasa Senin no akin pit mo nk de bos inrinasita, Gpstogy) weber day Of plavfesture number of pages owingio. eect {fim sorry. The feature [vas here for the other day got eut because of space,” (PL3) iad, i ‘+ gomen nasai is one ofthe most common ways to express an apology “Tsee.” (PL2) “+ Senjitsu refers toa relatively recent date ranging from a few days ago to art ‘as much as several weeks. Shanai-ho + kikaku (it, “plan”) can refer toa wide varity of projectsundertakings. Employee Newsletter Ina publishing contet, it can refer tothe plan fora single article, a series of articles, a book, a series of books, ete. pais « katakana rendering of the English “page,” -sit= “number,” and péjisi!= “number of pages”; kankei = “relation/connection,” and paji-sé no kankel de is literally “in connection withthe number of pages” -» “owing, tothe number of pages” "because of space.” Doiswis an abbreviation of basso (“manuscript rejection”); botsu ni suru = “rejecvkll [an article" and bots ni {an article] is rejected/kiled.” Narimashitais the PL3 pas form of nau ‘ha isa rather tentative hai ("yes"), here serving as vague acknowledgment that he has heard. a + -buis the counter suffix for publications, so Ichibu —sencen ichibw is ike “one copy.” fpe(count)“¥100 8 (irom HE hits secret" inside “A thousand yen a copy.” (PL2) read marul it’s used as a symbol for @ MALL 3 5BST Marahi Shinn Shain Uracomote : vem topsecet “new employee ployecs. ‘Top Secret: This Year's Entering Class, + tiecomote is titerlly “back an front,” and it's ‘The Inside Story ‘used idiomatically 10 mean “the inside story.” =e + Karta is the platn/abrupt past form of kaw buy”). In this ease, using the past form does fet bog ‘ot mean shehas already bought one; it's away SAitignt’ stay” (Pt2) ff expressing how anxious se isto buy one Mangajin 43OL Shinkaron Sites by KAY) ¥ / Akizuki Risu 44 Mangajin oO A BER DEO BA OL ¥9?2 mae no toko no shinjin Gera dB? Yer, place of vewcomes offcelady tow “How’s the new OL in your section doing?” (PL2) a HAleotR — Ly Un, ‘ganbaitera ye. aivub-h.is woekng rong wel (einph,) “She’s doing pretty well.” (PL2) * omae isa rough, masculine word for "yu." No between two nouns makes the first into a modifier forthe second. When the first refers toa person, the zo essentially makes a possessive, 30 omae no= "your" + toko isa colloquial abbreviation of tokoro (“place here referring to his par- ticular workplacelsection within the company) + shinjin Iiterally “new person,” and refers variously toa “rookie” in spots, “new face" on the screen, or “fresh blood/a newcomer” in almost any group, Here it means “new employee. ‘OL. always written with Roman characters but pronounced eru, is a cine by the Japanese from the initials of the English words “office lady"—referring to young female workers who handle most secretaral/ menial tasks around an office. ‘isan informal “yesfuhchuh”" which can be used to acknowledge a ques- tion even when itis nota yes-no question, It serves asa momentary pase or “warm-up” word while the speaker prepares to answer The more formal haf yes") below is being use the same way. sanbarteruis a contraction of ganbatte ru, from ganbara (workhy hac cy A: bow? Kawaii? “Is she cute?” (PL2) BoA, £6 ba Ste, No,” Sokw wakaranai intr.) “well don’t know feat el “Mmm, Lean'ttell very well.” “Well, it’s hard to tell.” (PL2) + sokuis the adverb form ofthe adjective ivi (“goodd/fine”); when it modi- Fies a negative ver it means “laot] very well BSE 129A Lane Ato ichi-ikagetsu shinai to ‘more 1-2 months if ot do/pass RoRDLECE Ik HAKY he hhakkirishita koto wa” jenai na. clese thing as for ean'tsay (emph) “Ican't say anything clear until another month or two passes. “tN be another month or two before can say anything for sure.” (PL2) + ato before a time span means “{that much] more time/{that much] longer.” + -kagetsuis the counter suffix for indicating the number of months * shinai is the negative form of suru (“do”); suru afer a time span means [that much time} passes.” To makes a conditional “if” meaning, so leh rikagetsu shinai 10 is literally “if 1-2 months don't pass” — “until 1-2 ‘months pas.” + hakkirishita (is clear/cleatly defined”) isthe plainabrupt past form of ‘hakkiri suru (*become clear") hakkiri shita koto =a clear thing.” * ienaiis the negative potential (“cannot”) form of iu (“say”) hafnsho? how “Tay fever “How’s your hay fever?” (PL2) OL: itv, FH ik FOL HU ca. Hai.” yd wa sukoshi ii desu Yes" today asfor “atitle good “is “it’s a little better today.” (PL3) Sound FX ested breathing)BSBa2 PRBOSYB Akogare Depa-Gyaru Those Glamorous Salesgirls ty FBWBS / Onuma Kaoru o OL: TUAh DO AMEA CH Fie Anibaito no Ono-san desu yo ne. Fatine worker of ame-hon.) ie (ch) clog) “You’re the part-timer, Miss Ono, right?” (PL3) MMe Hat Yes (PL3) + arubaito (rom the German Arbeit, “works the Fapanese wor for “temporary/par-time work.” It’s also used to refer to the part-time workers: 4rubaito no Ono-san = "Ms. Ono, the part-time worker.” Part-timer: OL: mH HAM Bs taau Ashita ichinicht —jinjicka no o-tetsudai ‘tomorrow ‘one day. personnel section offin (hon helping BEL EF ‘negat shimas (on request “We'd like to ask you to help us out in the person- nel section for a day tomorrow.” (PL3) Parteimer: 22 Adi = eH E> Jinjcka no desuka? hub? personne section offin Mh? In the personnel section?” (PL3) a “section” in the Japanese corpo ‘a bu (“department”). Jinji-ka = "person noun Form) of the verb retsudau (*helpfasist"); the noun form ‘commonly gets the honorific prefix o- even in informal speech. The particle ‘0. to mark this a the object of onega shimasu, has been omitted. * one means “request” and adding a form of suru (shimas is the PL3 form of suru) tums it into a verb: “make a request/ask a favor,” When an object 3s "Trequest ~ of you": when no object is Tike “please intonation of a + jinji-ka no in the parti tetsudai *helpin vestion is lke “huh oh?" response is understood 10 mean jnj-ka no o in the personnel section”) OL: 22. 2H HR co am E tada ashita kono basho ni ye juslonly tomorow this place to fioT (hh vu Act. ite kurereba iin desu. Hgo-Tocus) is good _(explan) “Yes, itis enough for you (0 just go to this place for us tomorrow. “Yes, we just need you to go to this place tomorrow.” @L3) FK: coo Niko! (effect of cheerful smile) isa less formal “yes” than hai, but it's stil quite polite * ite is the -1eform of iku ("go"), and kurereba is a conditional “i form of ‘kurera, which after the te form of another verb implies the action is done for the benefit or atthe behest ofthe speaker or subject + -ba ii makes an expression meaning “itis enough to ~/all you have to do Sign: Vee FB Marunaru—Depao —_Jinjcka blunk-blank dept store personne section Marumaru Department Store Personnel Section * depato abbreviates depatomento sutoa, the cumbersome katakana rend ‘of the English “department sto + marumar (literally “citcle-citcle” and often writen OO) is common ‘way of indicating a blank ora variable when writing Japanese. so Marumaru Depato i essentially like "So-and-so Department Store ving a space for cherry-blossom parties is usally done by low-level employees, who often must use one of their paid vacations days, They have to arrive early in the moming and sit all day long to stake out a good spot ‘This company has just decided to use a temporary worker instead Mangajin 45jepa. ‘ogare D ke Those Glamorous Salesgirls Al ty KBWBS | Onuma kaoru 46 Mangajin340 BRA kM OOM Ste Uchino o-hanami wa raisht_ no getuyo da kara ne aur” Gon}flower Viewing at for next week of ‘Monday ‘Is beeaeso (clog) “Our flower-viewing party is next Monday, so [don’ ‘t forget).” “Remember, our flower-viewing party is next Monday.” (PL2) O12: i” (PL2) ‘+ uchi literally means “within/nside,” but in many cases it's used to mean “our house/shop/company.” Uchi no means “offbelonging to our house/shop/company,” or simply, “our.” ‘+ unless the speaker specifies a different kind of flower, hanami (lit, “flower viewing”) refers to viewing cherry blos- ssoms—usually while having a party or picnic beneath them, ‘+ ending her sentence with da kara ne (lit, “because itis ~") here gives it the feeling of a reminder. 2) Kashiwagi: Bu Fe, 20 HM a bo DS Warui kedo, watashi sono hi yaji_— ga arw kara. ‘but ime day business sth.) have. be ‘Sorry but, because I have business that day, [1 can't go], “Sorry, but I have something else I have to do that day wari kedo (lit. “it's bad fof me] but ~") is often used as an informal apology: “I'm sorry. but ~ + Wa, to mark watashi (*Vme") as the topic of the sentence, has been omitted, + what comes before kara isthe eause, and what follows is the effect: when the effect implicit instead of stating it explicitly —as a way of “softening” th a OL: WAEA TC NOb B- Bot. KAR Iv OM ks, Kashiwagison te lsumo “a ite, nomikai_‘Konal_ mo yo! {Gameton) "as for always tketatsaysnd dang partis ot come. expan) (empl) “Miss Kashiwagi is always saying that and not coming to our drinking parties < tive, speakers oflen leave it impact of their sentence. ‘Miss Kashiwag always makes excuses like that and refuses to come to our drinking parties?” (PL2) OL}: tiimitt we kV OD pM oie Ieee se DR Ry at Dea ech ylieas) setae (Gaia Geen) Gam “She's lacking in harmony.” cane ane oa ee + flea lou quale he quiver tat [emo yene freien gn pase oft ope aa is equivalent io ano ni that way fined) and fete te orto tu (ayopea “Now, now.” (PL2) itte = + konai is the negative of kuru (“come”); ni, to mark nomikai (“drinking party") as the destination, has been omitted. + kydchd suru refers to acting in concert or harmonizing one’s actions with others’, and -se isa suffix for “qualitychar- saying (things) like that acters." Kydeho:se gana (li, “not have a harmonizing quality” here implies she's unwilling to go along with the others and socialize with them, so it essentially means is standoffish/anti-social/a party pooper.” ‘+ md midis a gentle-sounding interjection that’s used to try to calm someone down: "Now, now/Easy now/Yeah, yeah,” ete, NIAT BE Karaoke Kydshie + kusois used widely asa curse of chagrin, Since ae it literally refers to “excrement.” it’s undeniably Karaoke Class crude, but i's not considered objectionable to Kashiwagi: (Z~. G2 FCI: k~ the extent oft counterparts in English—more | = ha + pa). RE KE NE ~ % ME BO 2ko DNO WHO GMO LYO 4RO #0 When the “voicing mark" (two mark) isaddedsothesame postion | 25S TA ZR TRA DNR 7e on. ST» and H-sstebes, he | 5 FKL ZS TCM GN EM SM a KoGS-Z TDs | 46 58 586 Fe TNE RES EME ayo SB 90 (eg nee ho Goh The irregular consonants in shi 7 =A chi, and tau make thelr voiced sy we equbvalents dregslor ais wel = ET) aan pee ay ec sicand 39 Sis + a, FEBS S380 728 E288 Mangain 51ZO HKIE MW + Kono Hito ni Kakero [i] Harashima: yy iH it. “T think Shinwa Enterprises has two mis- sions.” (PL3) * BHF is a common part of company names for businesses large and small, something like “~ iar oo pdb aia 2 bus jon/appointed task”; HE¢@A Na 2 = “avelhas a mission.” (2) Harashima: DEDIERKOM tO % Aya i: Rese ine isto further develop its cialized commercial operation: to grow within its current market, SR 0 Seat ae 5 = a + 8 E z ¥ Harashima: DIME ROTO COS Tee A DORMANT So ECT “The other isto make use of Kamiya family assets profitably and aggressively.” he other is to put the Kamiya family assets to the best possible use.” (PL3) = “specialization/specialized.” and it = mercial finn/ading company, “development,” and SEH is its verb evelop.” 22% isthe causative (make! of F3 TIA ENE SA isa complete thought/sentence (“make develop the o specialized commercial operations”) modify = lit, “thing,” but here mote abstractly refer fing to ah “action”)- In Japanese, we ean think of this either as th Fin the next b he other one.” & is from 1 Chold/own”), MEA" >°CUs8 is complete thoughilsentence (the amily owns [them]") modifying te + 148 isa noun meaning “effectiveness.” but inks to 92a fuetions avn adver fh) () Harashima: ona aca ea LY TBE A OKO > OIG BNE LCM ED EF. + poe “andfmorcover” “Separate these art holdings of the Kamiya family from Shinwa + ffi: = “atively/dynamicallyaggressivly. Enterprises and establish an arts foundation.” (PL3) + il refers 10 using something the means/manner of the following action, [3] Rytich ee i (5] Ryticht:, eee eian e ERE A eRe aS SRM 2 BBN 6 ABI OHA TET Le pea ieee yap Peon “Ifitis a plan to reduce taxes by means ofan arts foundation, it has What specifically do you bs teen suposed by Mab Bacco : “ityou're talking about using such a foundation a a tax shelter, MBS £2 ete Ps vatonl Ceca then Marubishi Bank has already suggested the same.” (PL3) thal" orina question “Shall Uwe) foro visten thea” + HG = “presentation,” and $844 is its verb form: “presenUsuggest/ Cai near propose” Et CWE is the PL3 form of NTIS, from SHS. the fesse form oF 52 MangajinED HIM + Kono Hito ni Kakero HERO WS FART: sa time-wwor device used by art colee- tors” “That's one of the oldest tricks in the book among art collectors.” (PL2) [i Vice Presiden # inn, WuzLET. “Yes. And we will ask the vice president to become the curator of the art mu- seum.” (PL4) + IE = “conventionality," oF as a modifier, “conventional/commonplace/hackneyed/vel- wom.” + FEL= "means/methodidevice.” ff (read #27 by itself but >A. in combina- tions) refers toa "Targepublic building,” and is the final element in many words cefering to theaters/assembly halls/sports facilities! museums, et. JE#F8i = "art museum.” + is a suffix meaning “head/chietMeader,” and the hie officer in charge of any building witha name ending in fis called fi Hip SMUT S = EI D, RLOTMERE TS Lack Et “By transferring ownership of the art ob- ects from the corporation to the found: tion, you can reduce the corporation's a sets." (PL3) + #81 refers to “transfer of controlurisdiction, in this case implying “transfer of ownership": adding 4 makes a verb. ssieo the action of ~ + SEAC EE isthe PL3 form of &; the plain form ofa verb plus = is equivalent tothe potential ("ean form of the verb. (e]Harashing: i EE. BHREAHT It, HERO —BEAROIMETS ETD, “Also, by donating your treasury stocks [to the foundation}, you can beneficially transfer a portion of the stocks to be in- +herited.” (PL3) Ryuichi: ie BBO y EKLHY ELAM. “What you’re suggesting isn’t much ferent from Marubishi’s plan.” (PL3) ote to“ able 0") “the company's own stock") refers sury stock”—stock the company has repurchased after issuing it + Wf¥ = “donation/contribution,” and adding + makes its verb form. + #1I¥ isa conditional “if” form of +3. + SAL = “effectivelyleffcientlyfoeneticially.” ceate 2ba3m gTgee Seis lee med 5 * # a & # = 8 sucka ORM SES SF ARE AAC REE KSEE SRR TT Dimi + BHT 8-5 isthe PL3 form of itit'C 8 4, the potential (“can/be abe to") form of SH % (transfer [property + kif means “great discrepancy/substantaldifference/wide ms £444 isthe PL3 form of 4 ( ‘bus it's often used atthe end of a sentence like this with the feeling of ‘but how do you respond to that?” [4] Harashima: Bt bit “We will be handling the establishment of the arts foundation not just as a tax-reduction strategy but to actively promote the PL3) DEW. ‘or that purpose...” (cominued on next page) 53 Mangajn"and Cl2 ¢ isa continuing form of, Cis not"), 0 it's like “is not ~, but ~." The combination A L (“the first”) both modify 28, “Shinwa Enterprises =*what kind of" 50 £3 4°3 ly “what kind of k?(PL2) and © 2 (PLS) are {expressions for asking, "What do you mean (by that)?" Using #7 instead of aplain 2 gives ita conjectural Feeling: "What might you mean? 55. ManganeK ee 2D HICH MB + Kono Hito ni Kakero AEOWR bin’ STRANI HA TVRVOUEETEOTL £30 “Lwonder why it might be that your tax e- duction strategies have not progressed at all in pite of Marubishi's proposals?” “wonder why it is that your tax reduction strategies have gone nowhere in spite of Marubishi’s proposals?” (PL3) HEMRME SROPATHSNSDS Tt Hvsthiro 1s it not because you remain undecided about your successor?” (PL4) + 48 = “proposal/suggestion.” M2 bas DS = “in spite of ~” —fill= = not at allot inthe least.” + HA Cte is the negative form of BASU (‘is progressing/has progressed”), from it (Cadvance/progressimove forward”), + © makes everything before it act like a single oun, and (2 marks that noun as the topic of the sentence: “as for your tax strategies not progress- ing a all in spite of Marubishi’s proposal...” why"; ~ He %0 (it, "as for ~, why ike “wy is it that ~?* ‘+ CLE> after a question word but spoken without the intonation ofa question asks something lke “T wonder who/what/how, etc. it] might be?” But often the conjectural form is used more for politeness than true conjecture. + HEE is literally “company president,” but she's using the ttle to refer directly to her listener here, 0 ts essentially equivalent to “you.” + 30 isthe stem form of i810 4 ("decide/choose”), and ~#inT is the -te form of -#ia, which attaches tothe stem of a verb to mean “hesitaterbe tunable to {do the action}." 385i is a PL4 honorific equivalent of \°, which after the te form of a verb indicates a continuing action or state, Here it is his state of indecision that continues -> *{you] remain undecided. +b = “because.” + CHAD EPAD= Ledy Am = Coke 2 Cisitnot”), (2) Kawahara: 2. BURA OB OPHIETAG 338 D on “D-do you intend to intervene in the affairs of someone else's company? *D-do you intend to meddle in the internat affairs of our company?!” (PL2) 2 is an informal word for “you” generally used ‘males when addressing equals or her itis read 0% Pele Ae, which is its mo © makes it possessive: cease he is referring tobi Hirashima is “someone + Pifit =, “internal conditions/circumstances/ affairs, 56 Mangajin intervenefmeddle intenvintenion” FATS b 9 = “mtendplan wo inter [5] Vice President: Bi UE RRUCT. EEA Bo “Its fine, is it ot? Since i's the truth” “Never mind that. What she says is true.” (PL3) + = “goodineIOK." and Le C97 asks “is it not?” VWs Le fave “4m asks a hetorical question: “Is that not fine/OK?™, assuming the answer “Yes, its." I's often used to respond to criticism, with the feling of “why should that mater/why worry about that?Znever mind that." (Cf. the negative form of the adjective Us, which is (ts, "not goodifine.”) + HE "“facthe tut the syntax is inverted. Normal order would be N32 REPSOL RUTH To be continued . . .got? SDIWa Otoko wa Tsurai Yo It’s Tough Being a Man HB te a Original Story by Yamada Yoji Written by Hayashi Norio Art by Takai Kenichirs Cast of Characters Kuruma Torajir6 is an unmarried, middle-aged man who travels from town to town peddling books and other items at festivals, Tora lovable but lazy, and his family anx- iously wishes that he would settle down. “Home” is with his aunt and uunele in the Shibamata section of Tokyo. Shachd-san runs the Asahi 1op and is a friend of ily. In this story, he is assisting in the search for @ woman to marry the ward Tora-san, are dead, they serve as his surro; Oi-chan, Tora-san's uncle, and Oba-chan, his aunt, together own Kurumaya, shop selling the Japa- nese-style dumplings called —~ dango. Since Tora-san’s parents re parents, Sakura, his half-sister, is a sweet-tempered woman who worries about her brother. Hiroshi, her mild-mannered husband, works for the Asahi Print Shop. The story so far... Hoping to turn their black sheep into a family . the Kurumas dispatch Shacho-san to "a of a match between Tort-san and the home of a local family, where he broaches the i the family's daughter. Knowing Tora-san’s reputation, Shach-san tries to keep the name Of the prospective groom a secret, but eventually he must “fess up. “Do you take us for fools?!” shouts the father as his daughter bursts into tears, Shachd-san is kicked out of the hhouse and returns to Kurumaya with the bad news. “There's no point,” he notes, “continu ing the search in Shibamata.” The situation seems hopeless—until a neighborhood priest brings news of an appealing new prospect. She's been married before, but she’s a good catch, and—most important of a appears willing to accept Tora- san, Secretly, Tora-san can’t wait to meet the beauty in the photo, but he sees no reason to make a big deal out of it, and his family fussing on the day of the o-miai only angers him. “Instead of put: ting on appearances, let them see the real me,” he snarls, and foiling everyone's intense efforts to keep him close at hand on this crucial day, he storms out the door for his morning. walk © Yamada Yj Hay Norio & Takai Kenichi. Alsighsrescrve, Fst polished in pan in 1994 by Gale, Toyo, Engl aon rr aranged magn Galen. Mangal 73,74 Mangajin©) Tora-san: (Ginging) Sign: [2] Tora-san: Sound FX: Katchan: ‘Tora-san: ©) Tora-san: Katchan: ‘Tora-san: B HM O~... Otoko juno na. manlimale pure/simple art of “Oh, a man’s pure heart is < Ff Kuzimochi ‘ua eakeleonfection Kuzumochi ‘accu, Known in America as “kudzu,” isa vine with starchy roots and stems. The starch is extracted and used asa thick~ ener in cooking, and it's also mixed with water and steamed to ms cally eaten witha sprinkling of soy flour and syrup, At we “Oh, yeah!” (PL2) ‘here would be pronounced with the rising intonation of a something, fish ME FR RACY) Tino RiyOten 1 Teyaki_—_Senbed (same) barbershop handtonsted rice crackers lino Barbershop / Hand-Roasted Senbef andy Karan (sound of door opening) WboLeni. Irassh Come right in, sir?” (PL3.4) a ” huh “Huh?” (PL2) Brie Bl te Mikakené kao dana. Unseea/unfamiliae face is (collog) “It’s a face [haven't seen before, isn’t it?” “Ldon’t think I’ve seen you before.” (PL2) ‘mikaken® is a masculine slang vers (face ikea confection known as lnzimoch, whichis typi ‘question and shows he has suddenly noticed or realized {rasshai (often elongated to irasshai) is the abrupt command form of the PLA verb irassharu (“come”). pkeepers use irasshai ofthe more polite irasshaimase to welcome customers as they enter their shops, of mikakenai, negative of mikakers (“see/eatch sight of"). This modifies kao ), In masculine slang and certain dialects, the vowel combination ai regularly changes 0-2. ‘na expresses a kindof slf-checW/confirmation and also implies that he assumes hs listener will agree with what he has ssid. HAY or Shin a? few memteremplayee “Are you new?” (PL2) BEL ik? vali wa? oss as for “As for the boss?” atchan: Biot Wcet. Choo detemasu. site is ‘fle stepped out for_a moment.” (PL3) + shins refers to a new member of a group—here the staff of the barbershop. ‘ya/'s an informal word for “father,” “masterfboss,” or for any middle-aged man; it can be merely familiar or it can be offensive, sit should be used with caution. stating just atopic withthe intonation of a question (~ tion, etc, of that topic. a?) asks very generally about the status/eondition/natureNoca- -detemasuis contraction of dete imasu, the PL3 form of dete iru (“has gone outlis out”), from ders (“golcome out”) Mangajin 75it 5 Wd + Otoko wa Tsural Yo 76 Mangajin@ a Katehan: + the explanatory n da here is mostly for emphasis Woman; Priest: eR NYA HAI, Dose pachinko daro. anyway "pinball is probably “Pachinko, I bet.” (PL2) «dase implies there is a predictability or inevitability about the conclusion that’s being drawn, ‘pachinko isthe name of Jpan’s most popular arcade game, a kind of pinball, Players propel steel balls tothe top ofthe machine and try to get them to drop into winning slots, which makes the machine discharge more balls, The object ito amass large quantities of balls to trade in for various prizes ‘dar makes a conjecture: “perhaps/probably/I suppose” Sivek M docin Choito kao arate kure ya 3 face shave(request)(emph) “Gimme a shave, will ya?” (PL2) "Then." Iku, Aen, Hai, tadaima, Ys Hah ow “Yes, sir. Right away.” (PL3) ‘choi isa variation of chonto (“a litle”) ‘atatte is the -e form of ataru, which in the expression kao (0) ataru means “shave ‘makes an informal request or relatively gentle command 22s used atthe end of commandsisuggestionv/requests to emphasize the speaker's desire thatthe action be done. ‘at i used to express assent to or compliance witha request oF command. Its tne can range froth eal to ute formal {adaina is more familiar to many asthe greeting a person gives when arriving home, but the word’ basic “just now/at this very moment.” soit can be used in a wide variety of situations for refering to actions that ust occurred or will occur immediately. It has a relatively formal feeling in these later uses bo SH MK Os eMC HR OLSR Bch on Ae om ‘MB chido kikw ga, 1 hontdni Tora noyona otoko demo _ii_—snda—sna PH ak you one motttime, bee bu coh inks OR aan R i MEORUOK ei) (cg) (EIT ask you one more time, but you really think it’s OK even if it’s a man like Tora ” Kure after the -te form of a verb ther have “TlLask you this just one more time. You're really willing to accept a man like Tora?” (PL2) Id, Hai ‘Yes.” (PL2) ‘fu before a number means “[that many] more.” chi = “one,” and do is the counter suffix for “times/occasionslrepeti- tions," so ma ichido ="one more time.” ‘ilu, more typically written Bl} <, can mean cither “listen tofhear” or “ask/inguire”; the kanji i can be used forthe later ‘meanings only, hontd= “true/teuth,” and adding ni makes it “ruly/really” ‘io y0 na afer a noun essentially corresponds to “~- like” in English, and oroko Tora-like man” -» “a man like Tora.” ~ demo ii = “even ~ is fine/OK" or “even ~ is acceptable.” “man,” 90 Tora no y6 na otoko ‘ne seeks confirmation or agreement from the listener. BY & KOI LIE A CHIPHL, Boryoku 0 fura ‘Yona hito de nakereba. jolence (obj) exercise _iype of person “it {he] eer ‘fhe is not the kind of person who exercises violence.” “So long as he’s not a violent man.” (PL2) it Um. huh see “Lsee.” (PL2) na Ctype/kind of”) makes the complete thoughsentence oryoku o furuu (“{he] exercises violence”) into a modifier For hito person”), implying “a person of he kind who dde nakereba isa conditional “it” form of de nai (is not” plies “So long as he fs not negative of da/desu (“isare”) “If he is not ~" inthis ease im- Mangaiin 77BieD SW + Otoko wa Teurai Yo 78 MangajinKateham: 5.5L eV, Jrasshe “Come right in, sir!” (PL4) (2) Customer: &, thot < Yo Katehan, Kita ka? Greeting) (namedi) heard) “Yo, Katchan, did you hear?” (PL2) mm + yoisan informal, masculine greeting lke “hilthey!/yo! + “chan isa diminutive equivatent of -san (°Mr/MBs."), used most nes of children, but also used among terms, I's often added to just the first yllables ofthe person’s given name, so anyone ins with HF (atsu) can be called Katchan, [2] Katehan: fy = c+? Nani 0 desu? phat (obj) are, “About what?” (PL3) 4) customer: 4. 3 a 3 ke Ome ik $E MORA DH ODE! wa_mada shirané ka. Tora no koto! vay C) you as for "yet mat know — (2) (name) sabeut “Oh, right. You don’t know yet, do you?—about Tora.” (PL2) Katchan: Tora. (rams) “Tora... + soa is literally a question ("sit so2/s that right?"), but it’s also wsed as an interject for understanding (“Oh, that’s righvOh, I know"), + ome =omae, which is rough, masculine word for “you.” The ae vowel combination often becomes €in masculine slang. + mada combines with a negative later in the sentence to mean “not yet.” + shirand = shiranai (not know”) + ~ no koto is literally “things offabout ~" -» “about expressing sudden realization 8 B 7-Fy oO oR em + ftercan refer citer to a madideranged person” oto @ is Fiten no Tora. dest ka “drihertslackerecial dropout™—here te later Tor tes) dinar whi. (rane) “sy si has bon ieknamed Pater no Tora CShifles ‘Oh, do you mean ‘Shiftless Tora’?” (PL3) Tora”) because of his wandering lifestyle. oO EX: U7 7 Pik! witch (effect of pricking up his ears) BeLEA mS Mz =k VET ke Opajisan kara kita koto arimasu yo. boss-(hon.) from head thing/experience have’ (emp) “T've heard about him from the boss.” “The boss has mentioned him.” (PL3) Shut ‘Swish (effect of sharpening blade on razor strop) Katchan: E}LL3b%O YAR A GA TLE, FO WV Doshiyomonai dame na hito nan desho,” sono hito? hopeless PoBoed person (explan) ‘right? that” person “He's a hopeless ne’er-do-well, right? —that person.” “He's a hopeless screw-up, right?—this Tora.” (PL3) Customer: $5 Mana (Giteri) (collog) “Yeah, you could say that.” (PL2) + Kita isthe plainfabrapt past form of kiku (“heaelisten 0 + ~ koto (ga) arimasu isthe PL3 form of ~ koto ga aru, which after a past verb means “have had the experience of [doing the action)” or “once [did the action}.” * da shiyo mo nai, literally “there is no way to do anything about [iVhinvthem]," is an expression for “hopeless (person/ ‘thing/stuation)" This expression and dame na (“is no good") both modify hito (“person”). ‘+ nasa contraction of na no the form explanatory no takes after nouns, ‘+ desho (or desho) makes a conjecture, “surely/probably,” but when spoken with the intonation of a question it’s like a tag question: “right/isn' that so?” ‘+ mana (or ma ne) vaguely affirms what another person has said: “Yeah, sort of/Well, yes, I suppose/Yeah, something Tike that.” Mangajin 79 i i llBis 5 WE + Otoko wa Tsurai YO 80 Mangajin[) Customer: 5 83. BX OD otarr ke va (°as for that”), Sy Slama ro hanno 3 ta etei Serta (emh) "acy Of taepnclgg peice Gadepky an inesecdon tint suse oeen aes ‘Hiinedn, he's Shibamata’s black sheep.” (3.2) fen begins aslatement of song agreement Ki See ced eee Seer cece Se errant Se Katcher: Sie Ges KX eketbe land mon sa contain ofmono (“peso er Rae earn ak Hana o tsmanas means "old one's tse and Se ee Ta a rl a He's tha ese ee a X e7e7 eee ESE NS pet Saag (effect of shaking with growing fury) Ghat much) . [2] Customer: 79 How Ok, Nee $2 AL k, Robes kt, FOODS Sono Tom go mid 9 aie edt ket Weer yo at UN Bat" ams) 6) (ep) a py “do can aie) (okey MOREA, Sony coy Pitta “They say Tora is having a miai. It cracks me up! Tee hee hee.” (PL2) + sono Tora (lt. “that Tora”) implies something like “the Tora whom I have described in that way. ‘the emphatic particle yo can be inserted inthe middle ofa sentence as a kind of verbal pause. ‘miai (often o-miai, with the honori 10 a formal meeting between the prospective bride and groom in sn arranged marrige. Maio suru = “dofhave a mia.” the quotative 1 without a specific speaker mentioned is like “they say ~." aratchaw isa colloquial contraction of waraite shimat. the -te form of warau (“laugh”) plus shimau (“endifnish/put way"), which in this case implies the ation is involuntary or occurs spontaneously = "it makes me lauehferacks me up. [8] Customer: s¢ 32 1k FEATAE iM LTA fe Tora "ne no wa getamiéna_tsura shiten dee (tare) (quote) one asfor “chgrte. facchmog “has” (etna) ‘Sfora has a mug like a wooden clog.” (PL3) Customer: EC 4 the Mh Mf FO Mk we LE Bor tye Yate mg sae ga some A al snare eae 3, Cite) tating of uy tb.) ott deste to becomes (uote) tug it amazes me that that Kind of guy gets the desire to marry." “Lcan't believe a guy like that would even think of getting married.” (PL2) ‘+ HE no wa here and te no wa in the next panel are colloquial equivalents of iu no wa, literally, “as for the one called ~," but often serving as just a fancy wa ("as for ~”).. + mité na ="itai na and tsurais an informaY/slang word for “face.” X mitai na Y means “Y that is like X," so geta mitai na tsura = "face that is like geta" (ie., square-shaped), * shiten dais a contraction of shite iru no da, from the verb sund and explanatory no da. ~ kao/tsura (0) suru means {make a Tace/lok ~."In the shite iu form itean reer not only toa passing expression butt person's congenital facial features. + yoku mat expresses surprise/amazement at another person’s behavior. + yaisicis an informal/slang word for “guy/fellow." + ‘kimeans “willintent/desire.” so sono kis literally “desirehvish for that." ~ ki ni narwis an idiomatic expression ‘meaning “get the desire to [do the action deseribed or refered to].” * omotte isthe -te form of omou (“think”); the -fe form usually means the speaker will goon to say more, but here his implication is clear. [4] Katchan: #1 = oc ti? ite tte no wa? tumerpar (quote) dea for “Who's the prospective bride?” (PL2) + aire basically mean ‘rival/opponentlenemy. yunterpart® and can be used to refer to persons ranging from a “companion/mate/partner” toa [5] Customer: mbit He, FoIRLO ER Shirané kedo, ‘yoppodo no monocuki da ze. not know but’ Considerable ‘cccenie (mph) “Tdon’t know, but she must bea real nut.” (PL2) Sound FX: YS 4% Shaka shaka (Gound of whipping up shaving cream) Katehan: EATS ¢ 72 okYLT Tondemonakt bus dari shie utgeously gly _ wor someting “Maybe she’s incredibly ugly, or something.” “Maybe she’s ugly as mud.” (PL2) (continued on next page) Mangajin 81 i i i ee| 82 Mangajin Bik 25 Wa + Otoko wa Tsurai Yo(Bheowed prvi ‘Shirané = shiranat (“not know") . ‘+ yoppodo isa colloquial equivalent of yohodo (“reatly/considerably"). Yoppodo no = “considerable.” ‘monozuki refers to a high or excessive level of curiosity—or to the person Who has that curiosity, I's often used to describe people who do offbeat things or ae eccentric inthe choices they make. ze isa rough, masculine particle for emphasis, tondemonaks (“outrageously/incredibly”) isa form of rondemonai (“preposterous/outrageous/astounding”). usu isa slang word for “ugly woman.” Puhal (effect of gasping for breath) THAS, EK bd, EC bo Temé-ra. yok mo, yokw mo! Yourplural “well (emph,) “well (emph) “You bastards, How dare you ... how dare you...” (PLI) Gira! (glint of shiny blade) FX: + reme’is from temae, which can mean “Vive.” “you,” or “oneself.” Here it means “you,” with the suffix -re making it plural, Although the slurred rem ean be used good-naturedly in other situations in Fights it sounds very rough—some- thing ike “you” plus an insulting epithet in English + yok mo comes at the beginning of sentences showing incredulity or anger, like “how ean it be that ~" of “how are ~?" Yoku is the adverb form of the adjective ide (“good/tine/OK") HV bd, Ht / M POL BAT? Osoi na, Tora wa | Nani yattorun da? Fglate (emph.) (name) as for whats doing “Tora sure is late. What could he be doing?” (PL2) + ndadds colloquial emphasis, like “it sure is/does ~." placing Tora wa atthe end is inverted syntax; normal order would be Tora wa osoi nd. + yattora = yar ir is doing”), from yaru, an informal word for “do.” + “asking a question with the explanatory 1 dais masculine, and often sounds quite rough. Guar ‘Staanek! (sound of scream) () sombex: 27 yey rv VA alee (Gound of patrol et sren) Mangajin 65B25 Wak + Otoko wa Teural Yo 86 MangajinSound FX: 777 77y Fan fan (sound of patrol car siren) Genko: & i OD watt am To. Tora mo aniki_—_ ga? (Glammer) oame) (©) older brother ib) “Big brother Tora “Tora’s gone berserk!” (PL Sound FX: 7-7» Fan (siren) niki isa slang term for “older brother.” but it’s also used by neighborhood rowdie Idersseniors” in the group. Genk isan old friend of Tora’s who looks up to him aks Tora and aniki as referring to the same thing -> "Big brother Tora.” ingsters, ete, t0 refer to their ‘older brother 2's an informal/slang word for “guy/fellow,” so kono yard looks benign enough in its literal meaning of “this guy! fellow,” but itis in fact an insult: "you rascal/jerktwit" (or worse, depending on the context and tone). Katehan; E~ 7, By} Co0 Hii, tasukete! {exciam) help “Yikes! Help! (PL2) Sound FX: 28%7 37 Poka! poka! (sound of punching Katchan in the head) Tora-san; 20, 20>! Kono, Kono! this this “You...you Policeman: 10% $v! Yamenasait slop ieeommand) “Stop that!” (PL3) + tasiekere isthe te form of tasukeru (“help/rescuelsave"); the -te form of this word is often used as a ery for help. *+ kono is literally “this.” but in idiomatic use it often refers to the listener ("you"), especially when the speaker is berating or insulting him, + yumenasai isa relatively gentle con PL) nand form of vameru (*stopiquit’). ‘Manggjin 87iL-9 bw + Otoko a Taural Yo 88 Mangajin@ Sign: Sound FX: SwA m, DBO! Yamen ka, koral otguit, (2) ines.) “Won tyou quit? None of that!” “Stop it, Lsay!” (PL2) ‘yamen isa contraction of yamenai, negative of yameru (“qui/stop”), and ka makes it question, so_yamen ka is literally won't you quit?” But the question is purely rhetorical and in fact makes a strong command: "Stop i! ‘ora! isan interjection for scolding, like "None of that!/Cut it out!” At the beginning of a sentence it can be like a sharp “Hey!” to et the offender's attention and make him freeze: at the end, i's offen like an “I say” added for emphasis, aus Shinmei-kai (name) associat Shinmei Association tobe chit Chit Chirp Chirp (chirping of birds) ‘Shinme-kai is the name of the rchant's association inthe town where Tora-san ‘Mangan 69Wii Bmnevican Comics MMMM Y Ea\vin, od HObbES ~ RING a wise (Fe RING FATWER, PLEASE? eae We j an (2) sound ex: Bing ring yay, yoy Rin, > rin (Sound of telephone ringing) tng. Aah L V9 MOM. AMOR OMRO EB E Lefipne DEF (EPIL LC Bion, Ef ring youuplowve me aring ZL, (RMTS Gel) /Ki (Le) | L039 ROC viens, [2] Calvin: “Hello?” SLL? Moshi-moshi? helio Voice: “May | speak with your father, please?” BREAE iF SETOHRLET dy Orden 10 hanashi_ 0 sasete moraemasi ha? fer” win “Speak (obj) “"healtonedio + May! ~ (2atTeROSHORD, ahkCO May speak wih ~, please? id, HL fava Fee ORME [~SA059 eneth Rr OHE WY LOMB BET ERO E FRE (5) calvin: “Heck, you don't need MY permission! Be my guest” 90 Mangajin Cah AYR HT RAD VBR ES! BIE LES We Cetin Hen! Boku no kyoka nanka —iranai daro! Kateni shitara ii _janai ka! ines.) “my "permission as for, don't need siely freely if good “isin? + Heck (2, fv LERDTMRBT (77, Fa zl ee, *+ Be my quest id, MICE 2/29 ZEEE BE LIELIREIole Hivens. + 9 F4 ZRMUTBOAE LCD May | speak... 2 25M N AAT ER TOS LAR LEGO. :: “What a weirdo.” BATBPLE YY Koo Nante “okashina yatsu dar. (exclam) “Stange person (emph) FX: Ring ring Yr, (ound of telephone ring + Weirdo, 21281 weird [seb Dt / geht | &% DotA/HWAA! OMKIM DNS. OUI, TBWillits pmvericam comes MMMM tt BACGEL IB Et STRUGGLING: WHY WOULD ANB 0 STA AWAKE mans 1 1993 Paws, Allis road Distted by Univerl Pros Spice Jon: Yawn Aaa, Font {Gound of yawn) ! + Yawn [20 BLO HUES) LIRR CAMERON IAS oM, So ciRaNE LTR LTRS ED, @ Jon: “I'm struggling to stay awake.” fHE PLT MSW EFI LTS AK. Nastla shite nemuranai yBni shite da doing sometiow "not seep. sichthat "do" (explan) + tm=tam + stay awake [ice CU% | + struggleto [~ LE (2 Garfiela: “Why would anybody do that?” EF LT EAR CEFS AR? Ti sone eae ag Par waitnter og “aot Coty : om ‘= Why would he do that? & 58%). Why would anybody dothat? (cit, [ZAEIEETS AMV SOT BR/EARIE ETHEL OR PUME! CEORRNAENSS BNF E/AGBT S| o Mangaiin 9CEE 's BASIC JAPANESE through comics Lesson 54 ¢ Genki: Health in body and soul Genki is one of those words you si something like the following: A: O-genki desu ka? (“How are you?") B: E, okage-sama de. (“Fine, thank you.”) On the surface, that seems pretty straightforward, but what does genki actually mean? The literal meaning of the greeting above comes closer to “Are you well?” than “How are you?” This suggests a relation to “good health/well-being,” but the kanji, 7& (gen, corigin/source”) and ‘a (ki, “energy/spirit”), give a fundamental meaning that is more ly on in your study of Japanese, usually in like “vital energy.” While the connection between “health” and “vital energy” is not that much of a stretch, it may take a little more imagination to see how “put forth vital energy” (genki o dasu) becomes “cheer up.” mbiguity breeds flexibility, making it possible to use genki in a variety of situations—it's just a matter of getting to know the possibilities. Kenkyusha’s J-E dictionary gives four groups of meanings for genki [energy] * energy. vigor, vitality, dash [spirit] + spirit, pep [health] + health, stamina, vim [courage] + mettle, nerve, pluck, moral stamina We illustrate a few of the more common usages below. How've you been? ‘These two friends ran into each other on the street. The one on the left has some exciting news. DELEON et Hisashiburit Genki? Firs time i long ime welleathy it’s been along time, Are you well “It’s been so lon; iy £: 48 a— Kite wo. Kite sol Ky ne Tiste-¢request) (epi. tsten-nequest) (mph) today (coli) Guess what! Guess what! Today...” (PL2) + hisashiburi is shor for hisashiburi desu (ne) (lit, “It's been ting used when g someone you haven't seen ina long time. «+ iit, from kik (*hearlisten 101") is short for kite kudasa (please listen”), Using the -fe form asa request without Judas is very casual. The emphasizer vo adds a feeling of ‘excitement: “sien!” > "guess what!” ‘As an informal greoting, genki? can be translated in a variety of w ‘How's going” “Are you doing OK?" "What's up?” or just simple" is “Are you well. the proper response is "yes" or “no.” Also, itean't 1e meetings the way “How are you?” or “Hello” ean in English, 94 MangajinBasic+Japanose Doing OK? Arale has stopped by her friend's house on her way to school to pick him up. She sees his father first and says hello, How's it g erp, ArT Ars NEY Genki? and its more formal equivalent o-genki desu ka? are most typically used 10 _greet people you haven't seen in a while, as in our frst example, but if you add 3 Phrase like kxd mo, itcan work even with people you see daily You're looking good! Jinbo is a salesman for a bookstore supply company. This clerk treats everyone like ditt but has 4a soft spot for Jinbo, Unaware of his presence, she was just berating Jinbo is training. She quickly changes her tune when she sees him, Linbo: 36/4 ee Genki 3 da healty/well Joos tike ‘is “You look well. Tooks like + nani Chat’) What are you tal don’t give me that!” < : er: 3, TILB OA, B = € Dé.” Arare-chan? x 3 how “tmamesimn) " and ky mo = “today too! romanized as Arare, the author ofthis prefers the spelling “Ava, “You're looking good!” (P12) Sound EX: 9° 7 (Sound of hitting chin) Nani yo! Me ‘what (chap) Ginter fist cime in ong ‘Wha-a-t? He-c-y! It's been so long!” 1g here?! Gosh! It's been a long ples “Wha 1 about? /Stop kidding! Come on, a0 enki? well 12? You doing OK today, as + de Chowhin what manner?”) here is short for da dda of di desu ka, "How i i/How are you?! 5 dadesu following a descriptive noun means “appears a ‘Mangajin 95,japanese Farewell ‘The man on the left is retiring, and this is his last day at work. AFH C#m CT fa. Kyo de teinen desu_ne. teday av of etrcment ts (ollog.) “So today is the day you retire.” (PL3) A: BAERS ECLA BEAT. Otsukare-sama deshita. o-genki de hon)'m goed health a fine job. Best wishes for good health.” ‘Congratulations. Take care of yourself.” (PL3-4) un Ps "Thanks." (PL2) + seinen means “retirement age” or 55 was le itt 60 during amma deshita (Irom the verb tsukareru, "become tired") is asta e used 10 acknowledge that someone has worked h ood joly Thanks for your hard \work/Congratulations. SD Aken Rise OF Shintaron, Ross . (Ogenki de is used in farewells to wish the listener continued ‘200d heath, serve as Healthy This woman just saw a shooting star. She is trying to make a wish as quickly as possible forall the things that will bring her happiness. Woman: FOR DA. BA he. Suteki na koibito ijn ninara wonderful Tover "” beautifl woman become mA, jend .... to become beau- (OTT He PBs} oo tie ES BTL tiful ... to live a long, healthy life...” (PL2) Woman: 2—E J AE Eo 1B» letssee tet'ssce “What else... what else...” (PL2) Woman: Cb, Z4 CRY hI ge? Demo, sore dake de homo ni shiawase? but” that ‘only with “tly happy “But will that be enough to make me truly happy?” (PL2) + nagaiki is a noun which means “long life." The verbs form is nagaiki suru (live long”). + 10 isa pause/hesitaion phrase, like the English “uihfwelllet's sefhmnm.” SALA Ris/ OF Sharm, Kode 96 MangainBasic+Japanese Energetic Hiroshi has just been dumped by a woman he met at a train station and dated only a few times. ‘When his supervisor, Yajima, tries to snap him out of his depression with a good-natured head- dunk in the bathroom sink, his emotions get the better of him and he tackles Yajima, much to the amusement of their coworkers. Har I Buse Livfaz. Bi LEB. Jibun ni hara ga tate ~ "sho gang.” Chikush. elt St getangry-and_ nothing cn be done darts 'm so mad at myself I don’t know what to do, damn (PL) Bako! Bako! (effect of hitting each other) Coworker 1: 1, 4H), Yame, vane S199 stop SAUL right, cut it out.” (PL2) Coworker?: 115, EA RAO. Ho.” genki “2 no, {esclam.) Energy good (emp) “Oh boy! They sure have a lot of energy!” (PL2) + ara ga tant is the-te form of hara ga tarsu, an expression for “get angry contraction of shiv ga nai (equivalent to shikata ga nai), meaning “there is no means/nothing ‘one can do.” After the te Form of words des anal implies the emotion is very intense—essentialy ike "I fel so + chikusho (it, “beast”) is a strong, but not Vulgar, expletive of chagrin: “Rats!/Darn!” + genkiz isdialect for gen gai (it, “e 190d”), which implies “full of energylenersetc, Energetically ‘Arale and a friend are on their way to school, but the friend’s mother doesn’t approve of their mode of transportation. Mother: 2-01 %¥ id RAE Svc Mtn Kora! ~~ Gaki_wa__genki yok” aruite ike! (exelam) “Kids as for cnerscteallywalle(command) “Hey! You kids get off your behinds and walk!” (PL2) HRRRML C Baetuitoy Che (inter) “Phooey!” (PL2) + Kora isan abrupt word used 1 admonish or caution: “Hey /Stop that!” + paki is used 10 (Cravelingue ert youngsters, usually in a derogatory way 1), but i ean also simply be translated as “kid. iki yok isthe adverb form of genki (ga) i tically." The implication here isnot that they should walk ina particularly energetic manner, but that since they kids, they ought to have plenty of energy to go by foot. ‘Mangaiin 97‘© Gptayt Tm Fake 98 Mangajin _ BasicwJapanese Determined/positive attitude ‘This eat and dog are watching their penguin friend walk off to kindergarten even thoug a cold and it is an unbearably hot day. They are impressed with his positive attitude. he has. Te v7 tf GH, Genbina yar than {Siclm) srongenod pchaney ‘s(cellog) ‘Wow! He sire is determined tnstoppable.” “Wow! Where does he get the energy?” (PL2) Dog: 5— Aji a “Moy it EK F9F Tel Te Tet (effect of quickly walking away) + yatsu is an informal/stang word for “guylfllow/person.”| + gil is slang for atsui Cho) wo Hi, bast Genki da ndine is typically used when you are impressed by someone b Is0 be used like this when a person shows iom in spite of being in difficult circumstances. Cheerful The woman in the bottom panel was depressed but her boyfriend just said something funny, EX <3 52 (boyfriend) Niko niko (effect of smilin, Woman: —#FIL 93 HUF -c. inking) Issho ni iru dake de together ‘be oly wiivby # _VvTEHLI, sa waite kchau. say.) hubbles up Just by being with him, [fll up with en Just being with him cheers me up. (PL2) Woman: A> fu (muffled laugh) *+ waite ktchau is short for waite kite shimau, the -te form of watu (“boi/bubble up") plus the -te shimau form of ‘kuru (“come”). Te shimau ofien implies the action o¢- ‘cus spontaneouslyanese Look/seem down Haibara notices that he doesn't look too well. Haibara: WHEA, EA FA, Yoshimurd-san, genki nai desu ne. s (namethon, energy doesn'texiseallag) Rea <0 wt A BLA mb CHM. Kenkin Kyabin eno sitshi ga shippaishita kara desu ka (couname) tor ‘of financing. (obj) aed beemse | isi “Mr. Yoshimura, you're looking kind of down today. Is it because the financing for Kenkin Courier Service fell through?” (PL3) sal orator * and Ayibin is an element in service, The name Jn Kybin is take-off on Sagawa Kyubin, a courier service butions led to a major corruption scandal and theres of high-placed politicians i ase kenkin kybine ("0 Ke Fier for yushi (“financing”) “financing + shippai shina isthe plainfabrupt past fort of shippai suru ( Bebe ES ) ame) 4 SATS FC EH ® Kyabin, iI). y Cheer up! Toro has just been bawled out by his supervisor for not brin; the secretaries tries to cheer him up. ng in enough new sales. One of . =e. Seoretary: GMSA, 7M HLT sry ne fe ore eberaps (PL3) a7 LA Ro | T The -te Form ofa verb can serve asa gentle command or re ( i aes =vocabulary summary From Kasai no Hito, p. 25 shida o-shogatsu nnatsu ha tsubursubu no hashi ochiru kaze hakobu tamago seishi futsit no kusa mots sodarsu tobu jibun de sagasu kimys na sebiro goku nesshin ni hianashikomu kyaiku suru dayara honnin kanjivirw kibun makikomu ujaki insho shashin hikkosu machi saku hiiroi tsusuku ‘ri seeflook at tae fe Oo ea New Year's ints Summer nd nse teat Wow backrvind wee batnpy eri ae seed) Falarop (2) 3 wind ; carryransport ee prothlivm Sta 7 i spermfanherozoid Hk ordinator Tt eraser a in in | Ba5 Si ty oneself 71s Took/search (on) io strangefcurious ii fait or clothe) beet veryfontremely Ho EFS working persou emt ppeaiook fervently talk int ba educate apparently the person himvherself bbe movedlimpressed sely rood st tntangletdaw in | me insoceace | ‘impression BI photograph (1) 2kt Inovelsloate (residence) | 363 tow! HIT boswom/bloom (2) Poleeo Salley ues Seow Cae) me continue/go on MTS uideteadshow the vay kafunsho shanai-ho intabyit eink torishimarivaku akarui kappatsu na kikakw maruhi o-hanami aisha nomikai kyoshitsu banenkai chikara nuku ‘arubaito ichinichi jinji-ka tetsudan basho depato saik a-tto suru hhaizara hhoka wi tsukian PALES fusamata kakerw chigaw seikaku mi junio seyaki baryoku voppoda no monozuki tasukeru hay fever company newsletter interview (1.) Dank (n.) board member bright/cheerful lively pla Flower-viewing party next week drinking party car-end party ‘urengthiforee withdraw/pull outretease part-time workiworker ‘one day personnel section helpfassist placefspovisite ‘department store hot waterbath the bestitops gifusouvenit shine/stand out ashtray teacup besidesfother than date/go with twortime (».) differenvivrong accurately From Otoko wa Tsurai Yo, p. 73 pure/simple heart barbershop hand-roasted violence pinch (v.) Taugh (».) counterpart considerable eecentric/curious late hhelpe elsave From Basic Japanese, p. 94 From Manga Shorts, p. 40 seinen retirement koibito loverfsweetheart fikinowa butterbur flower stem bijin ‘beautiful woman hharw spring (season) nagaiki tong life tokubai sale shiawase happiness isersw season (1) Ihara ga tatsu — gevangry anjira feeliensefnotice (.) yameru ‘witistop yoy leeway/margin aarut walk shinjin newcomer weak boilbubble up mow haveail cute vishi financing Ifo DLA hakkiri shita clear/clearly defined FMT shippai suru fail The Vocabulary Summary is taken from material appearing in this issue of Mangajin. 1's not always possible to give the complete) range of meanings fora word in this limited space, so our “definitions” are based on the usage ofthe word in a partielar story Mangan 101 ee ee ee ee ee