| A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H | I | J | K | L | M | N | O | P | Q | R | S | T | U | V | W | X | Y | Z | AA | |
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1 | Index | E-category | J-volume | Original | Translation date | English Translation | Notes | ||||||||||||||||||||
2 | 1 | Husbands | 夫編 | ゴミの日と丸つけられた誕生日 ゴミのひと・まるつけられた・たんじょうび | 4/18/2022 | Garbage day circled — my birthday. | 丸つけられた qualifies 誕生日 but the sense is bemused realization that the circled garbage day (on the calendar) is your birthday. | ||||||||||||||||||||
3 | 2 | Husbands | 夫編 | 運動会抜くなその子は課長の子 うんどうかい・ぬくなそのこは・ぶちょうのこ | 4/18/2022 | Sports day: Don’t overtake — that’s the section chief’s boss. | 抜くな is somewhat rude/direct/speaking down. A parent commanding a child, not something you'd use with a peer. 抜く usually means extract/withdraw/pull-back/pull-out but can also mean "overtake" (I guess like pulling the person in the lead back?). | ||||||||||||||||||||
4 | 104 | Seniors | シルバー編 | お若いと言われて若くはないと知る おわかいと・いわれてわかくは・ないとしる | 4/18/2022 | I'm told I look young. That's how I know I'm not. | The は breaks the 5-7-5 音 rule, but it's not a strict rule | ||||||||||||||||||||
5 | 3 | Husbands | 夫編 | ボーナス日出逢った頃の妻に逢う ボーナスひ・であったころの・つまにあう | 4/19/2022 | On bonus day, my wife turns back into the woman she was when we first met | The key is realizing that 出会った頃の妻 refers to "his wife when they first encountered/chanced-to-meet" | ||||||||||||||||||||
6 | 353 | Corona | コロナ禍 | お父さん マスクも会話も よくずれる おとうさん・マスクもかいわも・よくずれる | 4/20/2022 | Like his mask / Dad’s conversations / often drift | This was a play on words: ずれる can mean askew or shifted, but it can also mean out-of-place or not quite right | ||||||||||||||||||||
7 | 108 | Seniors | シルバー編 | グーを出す孫の癖知りチョキを出す グーをだす・まごのくせしり・チョキをだす | 4/21/2022 | Knowing my grandchild’s / habit of throwing rock / I show “scissors” | The child is playing rock/paper/scissors. In English, we'd normally say a player "throws" his choice (出す in Japanese) but "throwing rocks" has a different connotation that's embraced for a surprise ending. | ||||||||||||||||||||
8 | 63 | Ladies | 女性編 | 目は一重アゴ二重に腹は三重 めはひとえ・アゴ（が）ふたえに・はらはみえ | 4/22/2022 | Single eyelid, double chin, triple belly | Does the eye/chin/belly order have any hint of お重? (Japanese multi-tier laquerware boxes) | ||||||||||||||||||||
9 | 93 | Children | 子供編 | 喧嘩して勝った子も泣く幼稚園 けんかして・かったこもなく・ようちえん | 4/23/2022 | Kid who won the fight / cries as well / - that’s Kindergarten | Editorial decision to remove the final word of the translation "— that's kindergarten" vs. "that's kindergarten life". | ||||||||||||||||||||
10 | 146 | Various settings | 様々な場面で編 | 待合室グリーン券を上に持つ まちあいしつ・グリーンけんを・うえにもつ | 4/24/2022 | In the waiting room / I hold my / first-class ticket aloft | A グリーン車 ticket is a first class ticket on JR trains | ||||||||||||||||||||
11 | 129 | School | 学校編 | 目の前に違う教師がいる目覚め めのまえに・ちがうきょうしが・いるめざめ | 4/25/2022 | On waking / before my eyes / is the wrong teacher | Mitrac’s suggestion allows it to work in English with the original order, too: “Before my eyes / upon waking / is the wrong teacher”. | ||||||||||||||||||||
12 | 191 | Intense | 強烈 | 誰かじゃなくて何かに似ている人 だれかじゃな・くてなにかにに・ているひと | 4/26/2022 | Dude looks like / not someone / but some _thing_ | |||||||||||||||||||||
13 | 156 | Various settings | 様々な場面で編 | 禁煙と見事に書けて一服す きんえんと・みごとにかけて・いっぷくす | 4/27/2022 | I managed to write / “no smoking” so splendidly / — I had a smoke | The difference between 書いた and 書けた is subtle, but interesting: 書けた is the past tense of the “potential” conjugation. The potential form expresses the idea of ability or capability. The past tense implies the realization of some potential. In this case, “I managed or was-able to write”. It gives a sense of accomplishment and being satisfied with a job well done (contrasting with 書いた which would just be a simple, matter-of-fact, “I wrote”). | ||||||||||||||||||||
14 | 167 | Various settings | 様々な場面で編 | 鬼でも来い独り暮らしはもう飽きた おにでもこいひとりぐらしはもうあきた | 4/28/2022 | Even an ogre, come! I’m fed up with being alone. | The wikipedia article on 鬼 gives a pretty good overview. Devil or demon are definitely correct, but somehow don’t seem to cover as much ground. | ||||||||||||||||||||
15 | 351 | Corona | コロナ禍 | 会社へは 来るなと上司 行けと妻 かいしゃへは・くるなとじょうし・いけとつま | 4/29/2022 | Regarding going to the office: / “Don’t come!” commands my boss / “Go!” commands my wife | literal translation | ||||||||||||||||||||
16 | 226 | Global truths (?) | 世の真理編 | 雑草の名前わかると抜きにくい ざっそうの・なまえわかると・ぬきにくい | 4/30/2022 | Weeds you know the name of are hard to pull | Since the original left the “why” unstated, I chose to leave it ambiguous in the translation as well. | ||||||||||||||||||||
17 | 330 | Salaryman | サラリーマン | 宝くじ はずれて辞表 また破り たからくじ・はずれてじひょう・またやぶり | 5/1/2022 | Drew a blank at the lottery - once again ripped up the letter of resignation | 破り basically means the tattered remains of something torn up, but can be used in many ways. | ||||||||||||||||||||
18 | 262 | Life in 1 page | 暮らしの１ページ編 | 忘れ物してたまるかの十五階 わすれもの・してたまるかの・じゅうごかい | 5/2/2022 | I vow never to forget anything from (my room/the office?) on the 15th floor | 〜てたまるか is short for 〜て堪るものか and is a set phrase to indicate that one would never let something happen (explained perfectly in the imabi.net article posted by @Myria) | ||||||||||||||||||||
19 | 336 | Salaryman | サラリーマン | 「鬼は外」 鬼が豆まき オレは外 | 5/3/2022 | “Oni ha soto”: / oni are throwing the beans / I’m outside | “Oni ha soto” is a set phrase during setsubun (a seasonal festival before the first day of spring. Typically, one or two adults or older kids wear paper masks to dress up as “oni” (demons/devils/ogres) and smaller kids and their parents throw dried beans inside and outside the house to drive away the demons while saying this phrase. (Yes, it’s one of those weird Japanese things.) My interpretation is that it’s a salaryman being driven outside by his “demon” kids throwing beans (the tradition is residents driving away the oni, this has it reversed). | ||||||||||||||||||||
20 | 285 | Heartfelt | しみじみ編 | 棒グラフ伸ばしてくれた子の寝顔 The sleeping face of my child / boosted my sales (performance graph) | 5/4/2022 | The sleeping face of my child / boosted my sales (performance graph) | I added the words “performance chart” in parentheses because they aren’t in the original, nor in @Arzar33’s translation, but they help to explain the meaning | ||||||||||||||||||||
21 | 9 | Husbands | 夫編 | 終電車どうして俺だけしらふなの しゅうでんしゃ・どうしておれだけ・しらふなの | 5/5/2022 | Last train of the night / Why am I the only one / Who’s not off his face? | English 5-7-5 FTW! Three 5-7-5 submissions in English today! | ||||||||||||||||||||
22 | 293 | Heartfelt | しみじみ編 | 花の名を聞いてケンカの仲なおり はなのなを・きいてケンカの・なかなおり | 5/6/2022 | Upon asking (or hearing) the name of the flower / our quarrel ended | It’s a story of someone using flowers to apologize after a quarrel. It involves 花言葉はなことば (saying things with flowers). | ||||||||||||||||||||
23 | 260 | Life in 1 page | 暮らしの１ページ編 | ナイターの拍手隣家と敵味方 ないたーの・はくしゅりんかと・てきみかた | 5/7/2022 | Night-game applause from / my neighbor’s house — no longer / friend but frenemy | I couldn’t resist turning Alo’s submission into a 5-7-5. Despite my warnings that it isn’t weighted heavily in the translations, I thought this parsed pretty well. | ||||||||||||||||||||
24 | 41 | Husbands | 夫編 | 言い負けてよかった妻の上機嫌 いいまけて・よかったつまの・じょうきげん | 5/8/2022 | I’m glad I lost the argument / my wife’s in a good mood! | Maybe another interpretation might be that the wife lost the argument but is in a good mood because she knows she will receive (or already received) a gift in consolation? | ||||||||||||||||||||
25 | 347 | Corona | コロナ禍 | 下書きの 送信キーを 猫が押し したがきの・そうしんキーを・ねこがおし | 5/9/2022 | Prematurely sent / just a draft; the enter key / stepped on by the cat | LOTS of 5-7-5 submissions | ||||||||||||||||||||
26 | 257 | Life in 1 page | 暮らしの１ページ編 | オレ粗大ゴミならおまえ危険物 | 5/10/2022 | If I belong in “oversized trash” / you must be “dangerous goods”! | 粗大ゴミ here uses the colloquial meaning of a retired husband who’s become a nuisance around the house (a big lunk always getting in the way). I’m uncomfortable thinking of it as nasty words exchanged during an argument. Instead, I like to imagine a husband making a joke near the marked off areas for the various types of trash. | ||||||||||||||||||||
27 | 208 | Intense | 強烈 | 勤務先電話をすれば夫休み きんむさき・でんわをすれば・おっとやすみ | 5/11/2022 | If I call my husband’s office / they tell me he’s on vacation | The implication seems to be that either he asked someone (who didn’t realize it was his wife) to “tell her I’m not here” or that she caught him playing hookey. | ||||||||||||||||||||
28 | 280 | Heartfelt | しみじみ編 | 家中でだまされてやる父の嘘 うちじゅうで・だまされてやる・ちちのうそ | 5/12/2022 | The whole family / pretends to be fooled / by dad’s fibs | The trickiest grammar point was だまされてやるinstead of だまされる. They’re purposefully falling for his fibs. I think it’s more likely うちじゅう rather than いえじゅう (or even かちゅう) but who knows? | ||||||||||||||||||||
29 | 26 | Husbands | 夫編 | 俺の方ばかり見て言う注意事項 おれのほう・ばかりみていう・ちゅういじこう | 5/13/2022 | Verbal warnings / while only looking at me | This one was difficult I think because of the 5-7-5 (err 5-7-6) constraints put on the author. Japanese grammar is tricky since entire clauses can modify other clauses, but I think this one was basically two halves: “(someone) was looking at me alone” and “spoken/verbal warnings”. | ||||||||||||||||||||
30 | 88 | Children | 子供編 | パトカーが付いて来るよと子ははしゃぎ パトカーがついてくるよとこははしゃぎ | 5/14/2022 | Ooo! A police car / is following us!” exclaims / my child, gleefully. | |||||||||||||||||||||
31 | 143 | Various settings | 様々な場面で編 | 乾杯のグラス持たされ三十分 かんぱいの・グラスもったされさん・じゅうぷん | 5/15/2022 | Cheers! we raise a glass / made to hold it like that for / thirty odd minutes | |||||||||||||||||||||
32 | 18 | Husbands | 夫編 | 帰りぎわとらなきゃよかったこの電話 かえりぎわ・とらなきゃよかった・このでんわ | 5/16/2022 | heading out the door / wishing I hadn’t picked up / that one last phone call | 〜なきゃよかった is casual Japanese for 〜なければよかった: ”it would have been good if I hadn’t,” a way of expressing regret | ||||||||||||||||||||
33 | 45 | Ladies | 女性編 | 工作にシャネルの空き箱子にもたせ こうさく しゃねるのあきばこ こにもたせ | 5/17/2022 | Crafts project / I give my child / The empty Chanel box | At least 4 interpretations to this one (up to the reader, I think): - Child’s feelings toward the box vs. mother’s toward the contents - Mother regrets giving up the box but loves her child more - Mother wants to show off in front of teacher/other parents - Mother wants child to show off in front of other children | ||||||||||||||||||||
34 | 240 | Global truths (?) | 世の真理編 | 更にヤな事ありどうでもよくなった さらにヤな・ことありどうでも・よくなった | 5/18/2022 | Here yet again / unpleasant business / I just don’t care | It appears that any time I think something is pretty straightforward we will be sure to have lots of discussion proving me wrong! | ||||||||||||||||||||
35 | 119 | Seniors | シルバー編 | 恋かと思っていたら 不整脈 こいかと・おもっていたら・ふせいみゃく | 5/19/2022 | “It’s love!” I thought, / but no: Cardiac / Arrythmia | I must say that whoever wrote that article that @fallynleaf found suggesting that 3-5-3 or 4-5-4 English syllables are a closer match to 5-7-5 音おん really knew what they were talking about. The shorter form feels much closer to the originals. | ||||||||||||||||||||
36 | 123 | Seniors | シルバー編 | 誕生日 ローソク吹いて 立ちくらみ たんじょうび・ローソクふいて・たちくらみ | 5/20/2022 | happy birthday! / blew out the candles; / got lightheaded | |||||||||||||||||||||
37 | 213 | Intense | 強烈 | リダイヤルされないように時報聞き リダイヤル・されないようにじ・ほうをきき | 5/21/2022 | To keep them from / redialing me / time service called | This is the story of someone who received a call from someone they didn’t wish to speak to again for a while, so they called up the time service to tie up their line. Younger folks should google “telephone busy signal” and “time-of-day service” or “speaking clock”. | ||||||||||||||||||||
38 | 140 | Various settings | 様々な場面で編 | 横の子をあやして泣かれ席を立つ よこのこを・あやしてなかれ・せきをたつ | 5/23/2022 | My attempt to comfort the kid next to me made them cry, so I got up and left. | The keys to this one was realizing it was a 横にいる子 not 横になっている子, and realizing that 席を立つ has a strong sense of leaving, not just getting out of your chair. Oh, and あやしてなかれ implies the comforting caused the crying. So yeah, you have to figure out all of it to understand any of it! | ||||||||||||||||||||
39 | 297 | Heartfelt | しみじみ編 | しみじみと妻のイビキを聞いている しみじみと・つまのイビキを・きいている | 5/24/2022 | I’m listening, / keenly attentive / — my wife’s snoring | I decided to go with my own because of the grading rules (in the top post): it’s a 4-5-4 and doesn’t introduce any words other than “I’m” and “my” (but English phrases usually need subjects!). I also like that it leaves the reason for the “keenly attentive listening” (しみじみと聞いている) open to the reader’s interpretation. | ||||||||||||||||||||
40 | 217 | Global truths (?) | 世の真理編 | こんなおれでもこの世ではオンリーワン こんなおれ・でもこのよでは・オンリーワン | 5/25/2022 | even lowly / me — the only me / in the whole world | |||||||||||||||||||||
41 | 230 | Global truths (?) | 世の真理編 | 相合傘濡れてるほうが惚れている あいあいがさ / ぬれてるほうが / ほれている | 5/26/2022 | when sharing an / umbrella the one who’s wet / is more in love | My only slight quibble is the word “more” being applied to in love rather than being wet! But the judges let it stand. :grin: | ||||||||||||||||||||
42 | 71 | Ladies | 女性編 | オフクロの好きなタレント役しだい オフクロの・すきなタレント・やくしだい | 5/27/2022 | the actor / that mom likes depends / on the role | オフクロ is a colloquial expression for one’s mother. This was news to me! Apparently it’s a warm expression with no negative connotations (exactly unlike “an old bag” in English). I don’t know the etymology but I’ve seen some discussion about it actually relating to the womb! A タレント is a TV personality, usually a singer or an actor. | ||||||||||||||||||||
43 | 142 | Various settings | 様々な場面で編 | 「絶対にヒミツ」飛びかう昼休み 「ぜったいにひみつ」 / とびかう / ひるやすみ | 5/28/2022 | “don’t tell a soul” / thrown every which way / over lunch break | |||||||||||||||||||||
44 | 160 | Various settings | 様々な場面で編 | 年齢欄「青二才」だと書いておく ねんれいらん「あおにさい」だとかいておく | 5/29/2022 | Age in years? / “A tenderfoot” / I put down | The word origin for 青二才 is quite interesting: https://gogen-yurai.jp/aonisai/ | ||||||||||||||||||||
45 | 277 | Heartfelt | しみじみ編 | 初孫の呼吸聞かせる娘の受話器 ういまごの・こきゅうきかせるこ・のじゅわき | 5/30/2022 | First grandson’s breathing / heard clear in the new handset. / My daughter’s gifts, both | I think 娘 is actually read こ here to keep it to a 5-8-5, and not むすめ as you’d expect. | ||||||||||||||||||||
46 | 192 | Intense | 強烈 | ドラマでは私住む街左遷の地 ドラマでは・はたしすむまち・させんのち | 5/31/2022 | In a drama / the town I live in / is where they are /put out to pasture | 左遷の地 is about Japanese companies punishing an employee by demoting and transferring them to a dead-end position in a backwater branch office. | ||||||||||||||||||||
47 | 304 | Heartfelt | しみじみ編 | 妻逝って可愛い壺に納まれり つまいって・かわいいつぼに・おさまれり | 6/2/2022 | My wife, no more, / takes her place now in / a lovely vase | 逝いく means “to go” in the sense of “passing to the other side” or dying. | ||||||||||||||||||||
48 | 326 | Salaryman | サラリーマン | 社長より 現場を良く知る アルバイト しゃちょうより・げんばをよくしる・アルバイト | 6/3/2022 | The boss knows / the place less well than / The part timer | |||||||||||||||||||||
49 | 268 | Heartfelt | しみじみ編 | 我が家の灯しばらく外で眺める わがやのとう・しばらくそと・でながめる | 6/4/2022 | our home’s light: / a while outside to / take it in | The image I get is someone at night looking at their house (husband coming back from work fairly late at night?) contemplating/meditating on the the light coming out, probably thinking happily about their family or something. | ||||||||||||||||||||
50 | 189 | Intense | 強烈 | 懐かしい母校の便り寄付依頼 なつかしい・ぼこうのたより・きふいらい | 6/5/2022 | nostalgic mail / from alma mater: / donation plea | |||||||||||||||||||||
51 | 7 | Husbands | 夫編 | 今日帰り今日寝て今日起き今日出勤 きょうかえり・きょうねてきょうおき・きょうしゅっきん | 6/6/2022 | got home today, / slept today, got up / today, to work | |||||||||||||||||||||
52 | 59 | Ladies | 女性編 | 半額シール貼る店員の後をつけ はんがく・シールはるてんいんの・あとをつく | 6/7/2022 | Shadowing the / store staff applying / “Half off!” stickers | |||||||||||||||||||||
53 | 109 | Seniors | シルバー編 | 孫の名に変えて絵本を読んでやる まごのな・にかえてえほん・をよんてやる | 6/8/2022 | Reading picture / book with grandkids names / substituted | |||||||||||||||||||||
54 | 144 | Various settings | 様々な場面で編 | 失敗をアララですます新社員 しっぱいを・アララですます・しんしゃいん | 6/9/2022 | New-hire says / "Oopsie daisy! Meh, / good enough” | I think the sentiment is about the new employee not worrying sufficiently about their faults. There remains a question over whether this uses 済ます or 澄ます. My best guess is that it’s the former, specifically using it with で. It’s very similar to なしで済ます - Jisho.org except in this case instead of “doing without,” I think it means “doing with an ‘アララ’ exclamation” (as if that sufficed!). | ||||||||||||||||||||
55 | 114 | Seniors | シルバー編 | この姑いなけりゃ彼もいなかった このしゅうと・いなけりゃかれも・いなかった | 6/11/2022 | Mother in law: / Were she not, nor would / be my husband | Note the ambiguity: is she grudgingly giving her mother-in-law credit for her husband, or blaming her?! | ||||||||||||||||||||
56 | 306 | Salaryman | サラリーマン | 忘れぬよう メモした紙を また捜す わすれぬよう・めもしたかみを・またさがす | 6/12/2022 | Wrote a note, / to not forget, yet / can’t find it | I have to point out a few “engineering” flaws: It introduces the word “wrote,” it drops the word 紙かみ, it uses “yet” instead of “again” for また, it changes searching to finding (探す vs. 見つかる), and it introduces the negative form of a verb (“can’t”). But I’m not bitter! Using “wrote” for メモした seems a little off the mark to me. Perhaps “jotted” would have been better than any of our choices? | ||||||||||||||||||||
57 | 13 | Husbands | 夫編 | 肩は社長お尻は妻に叩かれる かたはしゃちょう・おしりはつまに・たたかれる | 6/14/2022 | My boss pats / my back, my wife / kicks my butt | The joke is how both are about “encouragement”, but the boss is gentle and supportive (肩を叩く), while the wife is strong and chastising (尻を叩く), which is kind of the opposite of what we would expect. | ||||||||||||||||||||
58 | 254 | Life in 1 page | 暮らしの１ページ編 | ゴメンネの代わりか皿を洗ってる ごめんねの・かわりかさらを・あらってる | 6/15/2022 | “I’m sorry” substitute? Dishwashing. | I’m using punctuation as part of the translation here to indicate what’s meant by か and keeping the first part as a noun in the English version. | ||||||||||||||||||||
59 | 223 | Global truths (?) | 世の真理編 | 思いやり思い上がりと紙一重 おもいやり・おもいあがりと・かみひとえ | 6/16/2022 | Thoughtfulness is / a paper-thin step / from presumption | I find it interesting that at first glance (at least to this native English speaker), 一重ひとえ seems to have a different connotation here than in 63. 「目は一重アゴ二重に腹は三重」. If you think about it though, it’s really not. It’s just that “one layer” (or “one layer thick”) is applied to different objects (paper and eyes, respectively). I was familiar with the eye usage, but this was a new one for me. | ||||||||||||||||||||
60 | 288 | Heartfelt | しみじみ編 | 恋人のモーニングコール起きて待つ こいびとの・モーニングコール・おきてまつ | 6/17/2022 | Awake but / waiting for my love’s / call to rise | |||||||||||||||||||||
61 | 323 | Salaryman | サラリーマン | 久しぶり 定時帰宅に 笑顔なし！ 久しぶり・ていじきたくに・えがおなし！ | 6/19/2022 | been a while / since I’ve gone home / on time, no smile! | It is possible to interpret it as the author trying to hide a smile, but an unsmiling spouse is more likely. The に unfortunately doesn’t help to clarify who is not smiling at leaving on time! | ||||||||||||||||||||
62 | 185 | Intense | 強烈 | うますぎる話見抜けぬ欲の皮 うますぎる・はなしみぬけぬ・よくのかわ | 6/20/2022 | a story / too good to be true / conceals greed | The key to understanding this one is the expression 「 欲よくの皮かわが張はる」 which means “to be greedy” | ||||||||||||||||||||
63 | 269 | Heartfelt | しみじみ編 | この人と渋茶すすっている不思議 このひとと・しぶちゃすすっている・ふしぎ | 6/21/2022 | slurping bitter / tea with this person / is something else | |||||||||||||||||||||
64 | 291 | Heartfelt | しみじみ編 | その夢にあんたもいたと妻が泣く そのゆめに・あんたもいたと・つまがなく | 6/22/2022 | "You were there / in my dream as well” / cries the wife | The root of my confusion was that I unconsciously thought of 泣なく as purely intransitive. This was why I thought there were three people involved. I’d have understood 「◯◯」と叫さびました instantly, but using the plain form of 泣く, and inserting 妻が between the と and the verb really threw me! | ||||||||||||||||||||
65 | 220 | Global truths (?) | 世の真理編 | がんばろう生きているから悩めるの がんばろう・いきているから・なやめるの | 6/23/2022 | To be alive / is to face troubles. / Give it your all! | Colloquially, the の at the end acts as an emphasizer. As pointed out by @LaVieQ, it’s used like よ to emphasize reassurance or empathy when at the end of a sentence (and not spoken with a rising inflection). Example: 休みが終わるまででいいの “(No worries!) It can wait until the end of your break/vacation” | ||||||||||||||||||||
66 | 284 | Heartfelt | しみじみ編 | 父母の幼き写真見る不思議 | 6/24/2022 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
67 | 113 | Seniors | シルバー編 | 単純に祖母金持ちと孫信じ たんじゅんに・そぼかねもちと・まごしんじ | 6/25/2022 | Simply stated: / Grandchild believes that / grandma is rich | |||||||||||||||||||||
68 | 151 | Various settings | 様々な場面で編 | 食い逃げ追って行った男も帰らない くいにげおって・いったおとこも・かえらない | 6/26/2022 | He ran out in hot pursuit / of the dine-and-dash thief but / never came back either | It seems 99% of the time the trick to understanding these is figuring out the subject/protagonist (in this case a restaurant owner)! | ||||||||||||||||||||
69 | 311 | Salaryman | サラリーマン | 無茶言うな！ サンタはそんなに 金がない むちゃいうな!・さんたはそんなに・かねがない | 6/27/2022 | Don’t be absurd. / Santa does not have / that much money! | |||||||||||||||||||||
70 | 246 | Life in 1 page | 暮らしの１ページ編 | 爽快に起き目覚ましの故障知る そうかいに・おきめざましの・こしょうしる | 6/28/2022 | woke up refreshed; / realized my alarm / had malfunctioned | |||||||||||||||||||||
71 | 16 | Husbands | 夫編 | いい家内10年経ったらおっ家内 いいかない・じゅうねんさったら・おっかない | 6/29/2022 | wed your soul mate? / after ten years it’s / more like checkmate | This is an "artistic" interpretation since puns rarely translate. 家内 (かない) is a normal, humble word for “wife” with no hidden baggage. Despite it seeming politically incorrect from western viewpoints, it isn’t in Japan (my wife assures me it actually has nuances of “the one who rules my home”). おっかない is a very old word (dating back to the 1600s) that means frightening or scary. This site says that it is a 関東 word used like the 関西 equivalent, 「こわい」. おっ家内 is therefore a pun, not a real word. A direct translation would be the joke that after ten years your かない (wife) turns into おっかない (something powerful and scary). | ||||||||||||||||||||
72 | 356 | Corona | コロナ禍 | 抱き上げた 孫が一言 密ですよ | 6/30/2022 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
73 | 193 | Intense | 強烈 | テレビ欄号泣とある生放送 テレビらん・ごきゅうとある・なまほうそう | 7/1/2022 | TV listing: / Certain live program, / full of wailing | Is this just a commentary on the horribleness of the news these days, or is there some interpretation for 号泣 we are missing? Amusingly, searching google with the senryu itself leads one to TV programming guides! | ||||||||||||||||||||
74 | 25 | Husbands | 夫編 | 例えばの話で課長にされた俺 たとえばの・はなしでかちょうに・されたおれ | 7/3/2022 | Example just / hypothetical: / “as Section Chief …” | As @LaVieQ put it: “[My wife] gave an example during the conversation wherein I was made a boss.” Meaning that’s as far as he’d got to becoming a 課長, which accords with the [Husbands] category … | ||||||||||||||||||||
75 | 86 | Children | 子供編 | 半分こ 上手に割れて姉迷い はんぶんこ・じょうずにわれて・あねまよい | 7/4/2022 | My halfsies: / So perfect, sister / is flummoxed | 半分こ is a childish word for splitting up a treat. The law is universal and strictly enforced: one child splits, the other chooses! | ||||||||||||||||||||
76 | 47 | Ladies | 女性編 | 何とかいう人から電話と留守の母 なんとかいう・ひとからでんわと・るすのはは | 7/5/2022 | “Got a call from / whatsisname!” per / house-sitting mom | My main confusion was around 留守の母. 留守るす normally means “absent” or “away”, so I was interpreting this as the mother being away. Maybe here, though, the mother was 留守番るすばん (caretaker) while the daughter was away! That is, there doesn’t even have to be a written note, she could simply be quoting what her mother told her after she returned. I think 番ばん might have been left off due to the 17音おん restriction. | ||||||||||||||||||||
77 | 331 | Salaryman | サラリーマン | クビになり 「独立した！」と 言いふらす クビになり・「どくりつした!・といいふらす | 7/6/2022 | Got laid off, but, / “I’ve gone solo!” is / the tale I tell | クビになり in this case is the same as クビになって… | ||||||||||||||||||||
78 | 227 | Global truths (?) | 世の真理編 | 犬撫でているのが唯一打開策 いぬなでて・いるのがゆいつ・だかいさく | 7/7/2022 | Petting the dog — / the only way to / break the impasse | Note the reading of 唯一ゆいつ rather than 唯一ゆいいつ for 17音おん. Both are valid (and both taught on WK!). | ||||||||||||||||||||
79 | 203 | Intense | 強烈 | 俺の留守便座上がっている疑惑 おれのるす・べんざあがって・いるぎわく | 7/9/2022 | So suspicious! / Toilet seat raised up / in my absence | The suspicion is that of the writer (a woman living alone, or maybe the only male in the household), who returns home to find a raised toilet seat, implying another male visitor in his absence. | ||||||||||||||||||||
80 | 328 | Salaryman | サラリーマン | 会議中 時の流れに 身をまかせ かいぎちゅう・ときのながれに・みをまかせ | 7/10/2022 | In meeting: / surrendered to the / flow of time | |||||||||||||||||||||
81 | 263 | Life in 1 page | 暮らしの１ページ編 | ゴミ収集の前日わが家スイカの日 ごみしゅう・しゅうのまえびわがや・すいかのひ | 7/11/2022 | Our “Watermelon day” falls the day before garbage day | As discussed, large amounts of 生ゴミ can be inconvenient in Japan. It makes sense to schedule activities. Apparently, スイカの日 really is a thing invented by growers in Japan. It falls on 7/27 which is a rhyming pun on 夏の綱 (なつのつな). The “rope” (綱) is from the striped pattern on the rind which is reminiscent of a Yokozuna's (横綱 — sumo champion) ornamental rope belt. | ||||||||||||||||||||
82 | 355 | Corona | コロナ禍 | 掃除して！ 一応これでも 勤務中 そうじして!・いちおうこれでも・きんむちゅう | 7/12/2022 | Clean up! I’m still working, after a fashion | これでも勤務中 on its own basically means “even this is working”. | ||||||||||||||||||||
83 | 58 | Ladies | 女性編 | 兄さんがいるのでしょうとよく聞かれ にいさんが・いるのでしょうかと・よくきかれる | 7/13/2022 | I’m often / asked: “Have any / elder bros?” | Apparently, women with an elder brother are desirable to Japanese men. | ||||||||||||||||||||
84 | 60 | Ladies | 女性編 | スカートのホックつかんでくしゃみする | 7/14/2022 | I grab the / clasp of my skirt so / I can sneeze | The implication is that the author is a little overweight and afraid of the hook/clasp breaking or the skirt ripping. | ||||||||||||||||||||
85 | 150 | Various settings | 様々な場面で編 | 看板にシーフードとあるタコ焼き屋 かんばんに・シーフードとある・たこやきや | 7/15/2022 | store sign proclaims / “seafood” but its just / takoyaki | |||||||||||||||||||||
86 | 126 | School | 学校編 | 平均点下げるのいつも僕の役 へいきんてん・さげるのいつも・ぼくのやく | 7/16/2022 | The average grade. / My responsibility: / Lower it. Always. | |||||||||||||||||||||
87 | 178 | Intense | 強烈 | 戦争は行かない人がやりたがり せんそうは・いかないひとが・やりたがり | 7/17/2022 | Those who / seek wars, ain’t / seen one | The literal meaning, of course, is that “those that don’t go to war, are eager to have them” but I like this more poetic interpretation. | ||||||||||||||||||||
88 | 148 | Various settings | 様々な場面で編 | ゲイバーで妻とそっくり酔いがさめ ゲイバーで・つまとそっくり・よいがさめ | 7/18/2022 | At a gay bar: / my wife and I both / sobered right up | I think the joke is they didn’t realize it was a gay bar when they first went in. | ||||||||||||||||||||
89 | 333 | Salaryman | サラリーマン | レントゲン 今年の思い出 これ一枚 レントゲン・きょうねんのおもいで・これいちまい | 7/19/2022 | This one sheet, / this year’s memento: / an x-ray | I decided to go with as word-for-word of a translation as possible to let the reader interpret the meaning. I refuse to consider the possibility that the image actually showed anything scary. | ||||||||||||||||||||
90 | 21 | Husbands | 夫編 | 評判の愛妻弁当自作です ひょうばんの・あいさいべんとう・じさくです | 7/20/2022 | My famous / wife-packed lunch box / is self-made | |||||||||||||||||||||
91 | 77 | Children | 子供編 | 腹の子が胸なでおろす披露宴 はらのこが・むねなでおろす・ひろうえん | 7/21/2022 | unborn kid can / finally relax / wedding banquet | The idea is the unborn baby can relax now because they’ve made it to the wedding reception and the parents are thus safely married | ||||||||||||||||||||
92 | 200 | Intense | 強烈 | 株下がり何故かうれしいわたしたち | 7/22/2022 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
93 | 209 | Intense | 強烈 | 離婚後も同居続けるへんな仲 | 7/23/2022 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
94 | 308 | Salaryman | サラリーマン | 「ありがとう」 そのひとことが 潤滑油 | 7/24/2022 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
95 | 265 | Life in 1 page | 暮らしの１ページ編 | 湯の旅の疲れをいやす家の風呂 | 7/25/2022 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
96 | 10 | Husbands | 夫編 | 晴天がやけに空しい月曜日 せいてんが・やけにむなしい・げつようび | 7/26/2022 | clear skies are / extremely pointless / on Monday | The key is realizing it's やけに空しい modifies 青天 and not 月曜日. “Extremely pointless” was an inspired choice for やけに空しい. | ||||||||||||||||||||
97 | 110 | Seniors | シルバー編 | 祖母が居て「もったいない」を孫覚え そぼがいて「もったいない」をまごおぼえ | 7/27/2022 | grandmother’s phrase: / “wasteful!” — memory / of the grandchild | This one is about a grandchild’s main memory of their grandmother being her saying もったいない all the time (in many different circumstances). 「もったいない」mostly means “what a waste” or “so good it’s a shame to waste". As explained in the tofugu article, “too good to waste” applies in general, but also as a common expression of humility: “too good to waste on me” (or us, or whatever). | ||||||||||||||||||||
98 | 37 | Husbands | 夫編 | お先にと帰り飲み屋で鉢合わせ おさきにと・かえりのみやで・ はちあわせ | 7/29/2022 | “Gotta run” they said — / returning home, found / them at a bar | The lack of subjects in Japanese sentences can be confusing in general, but especially in these necessarily brief senryu! One interpretation was that the author said お先に, apologizing for leaving ahead of others (most likely leaving work, and wanting to avoid going out with them later). Later, the author is embarrassed after running into his coworkers at at the same bar. Another interpretation (what I went with above) was that the author’s coworkers said お先に and didn’t invite him out to go drinking with them. The embarrassment was on their end! Note that お先に doesn’t necessarily mean leaving early, it just means you’re leaving before others. It’s cliché for Japanese Salarymen to work long past official quitting time, and not unusual at all to say お先に at, say, 6:30 for a 9-to-5 job while everyone else is still ostensibly plugging away. After further thought, this was what convinced me that @fallynleaf’s interpretation was closest. If the author said お先に then it wouldn’t necessarily be odd or embarassing to stop for a drink on the way home. I’m still unsure why this was in the “husbands” category, but I’m imagining the husband telling the story to his wife. | ||||||||||||||||||||
99 | 128 | School | 学校編 | 質問をしたら寝ていた事がバレ しつもんを・したらねていた・ことがバレ | 7/31/2022 | If I ask / they will know I was / fast asleep! | It’s at least uncommon for an implied subject to change between different parts of the same sentence. This is especially true when the implied subject is a person: exceptions seem to mostly be for obvious inanimate subjects. Translating 質問をしたら as “If I ask” without using the word “question” allows for an English 3-5-3. If the Japanese can imply subjects, it seems only fair that we can imply a direct object in the translation! | ||||||||||||||||||||
100 | 344 | Corona | コロナ禍 | リモートで・べんりなことば ・「きこえません!」 | 8/1/2022 | Handy phrase / when working from home: / “Can’t hear you!” |