2007/10/13

No means no!

Translators take a lot of liberties. Not everything translates directly from one language to another. Let's take one of the first words we English speakers learn as children: "No"

All of these Japanese words can, at times, be translated as "no."














いいえiieNo [opposite of yes]. Sometimes "you're welcome" as in "it's nothing"
ううんuunThe casual form of いいえ.
Example: "Do you have a pen?" "No"
だめdameNo [it is forbidden]. Also can mean "it's no good" to express failure.
Example: A mother to a child who tries to do something bad: "No!"
いやiyaNo! Expressing disgust or strong prejudice.
Example: A guy tries to kiss a girl who doesn't like him: "No!"
違いますchigaimasuNo [it's different]. Often used with いいえ.
違うchigauThe casual form of 違います.
Example: Guessing the card "is it this one?" "No"
そんな事ありませんsonna koto arimasenNo [that is not so]. Expresses firm belief that it is not so. "That" is a verbal concept.
そんな事ないsonna koto naiThe casual form of そんな事ありません.
Example: "Japanese has more words than English" "No [it doesn't]"


Other examples of words with many translations are "me" and "you." This gives many Japanese people the impression that Japanese has more words than English, but in reality, English probably has more words than any other language (not counting languages where you can put words together to make new words).

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