Japanese Hobby

JALUP flashcards, the best thing since Genki

<div> 
 I recently discovered the website Japanese level up by a guy named Adam. It has been around for a few years but I never gave it the attention it deserved. Which really was a mistake. Apart from lots of motivational articles and road lines on what to expect of your Japanese studies (which are a little hit and miss) he did some fantastic flashcards for learning Japanese.
Each level (beginner, intermediate, expert, master) consists of 1000 cards. And after the beginner level, each card is entirely in Japanese. I haven’t encountered that J-J approach for learning new vocab in any other pack before. Sure, it’s heavily inspired by the website All-Japanese-all-the-time but to make professional, voiced cards in J-J available is a novum for me.
Starting from the ground up each flashcard is introducing one new item that you learn and only consists of previously learned items otherwise.
That way you always know that you need to be fully able to understand each part of a card. Regardless if it’s about grammar or vocab. I’m currently starting from scratch again and bought the beginner pack. Through iTunes. I have been searching for an “effortless” way to brush up on my Japanese. Something that allows me to have a daily study routine on the side that isn’t very time-consuming but still effective and versatile. It’s difficult to find something like that. It’s either just vocab or just grammar or just Kanji.
What Adam’s cards are doing so right is that mix of grammar and vocab. And his approach to teaching real-life Japanese. Not just the polite basics and short forms that you find everywhere but a little “slang” in between. And the great part is that you can just “touch” each part of a sentence to directly go to the card where you learned that specific item. Be it a gramaticall term or vocab.
Everything you learn, you learn as part of a whole sentence. And everything you learn is practical Japanese. Stuff you actually will encounter again.
Apart from using the cards themselves with a build in SRS, there are also stories available and the function to listen to all the cards you learned. I’m always thinking that when I finally have a car of my own (ideally with Carplay) I can just start the app and listen to all the stuff I went through on my daily commute. Ok, I could do this on my daily commute by bike as well but I’d rather stick to my podcasts for now.
Adam launched his new iOS / Android Apps last summer, which are fully voiced (with a very lovely Japanese voice as well). It all started with pre-made Anki decks but the new App versions (after a little intermezzo with an online version called JALUP-Next) are much more convenient.
I really love these cards, they are just so well made and definitely worth the price, which is a little steep (130€ for a 1000 cards). But they are pure quality and alongside <a href="https://www.japanesetease.net/how-i-learn-japanese-my-essentials/">Genki</a> (which is still great to have for the grammar taught in the decks) it’s a perfect pair. The grammar points introduced in the beginner deck are even more or less in the same order as in the Genki textbooks so you can easily get a more in-depth explanation if you need one (of course there are countless online resources but I still think nothing beats a good textbook as a resource).
So here comes my suggestion: 
Go through the JALUP beginner deck and make yourself notes for each grammar point that you’re struggling with or which just is a tad too complex to be grasped from the flashcard alone. Practice it with the flashcard of the beginner deck but make sure to just get a little more background knowledge with Genki.
<h3>What I always recommend: Take notes for yourself.</h3>
Write the key points down for yourself in your own words and maybe even include a picture/screenshot/scan from the resource that helped you to understand it in the first place. That way you’re building a near little reference book for yourself and you’ll be learning much much faster. At least for me, it’s the worth the effort.
The App I’m currently using for note taking:
I’m using <a href="https://agenda.com/">Agenda</a>, a wonderfully designed note-taking app for iOS and OSX. There is always <a href="https://bear.app/">Bear</a> and the built-in Apple Notes App (I can always only speak for the Apple eco-system, sorry) but Agenda has been my go-to notes App since October.
It looks amazing, it allows you to make beautiful lists and the styling with different paragraphs and finally the ability to include images makes it the perfect tool for me. After all, it doesn’t hurt that the styling is heavily inspired by <a href="https://culturedcode.com/things/">Things</a> (another App I really love for my daily workflow and really helps me to focus on the things that matter).
In the end, it doesn’t matter what you use the only thing that counts is that you’re taking notes for yourself. Not for everything and just a few words and maybe a picture of the example sentences or the conjugation are more than enough. That way you can quickly look things up in a very comprised and effective way.

Just head over to Adam’s website <a href="https://japaneselevelup.com/item-store/">Japanese-level-up</a> or just download the <a href="https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/jalup/id1381152695?mt=8">App</a> and give it a try. The first 100 cards of each deck are free and should give you a pretty good idea what the whole system is all about.
It’s how everything started for me as well and after finishing the first bunch I decided to take to plunge and just invest in my Japanese. I know 130€ is steep, I was struggling as well, but these cards are really so well made and efficient that they are worth every penny. And when do you have the possibility to directly get in touch with the author of your textbook?
Like always please let me know your thoughts in the comments. Would love to hear from JALUP veterans and their journey.
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JALUP flashcards, the best thing since Genki

I recently discovered the website Japanese level up by a guy named Adam. It has been around for a few years but I never gave it the attention it deserved. Which really…

15 Mar 2019

Is Wanikani worth the effort for learning Kanji? A re-evaluation

<div> 
 Learning Japanese is a time-intensive task and you often have to re-evaluate where you want to focus on. Do you want to improve your conversational skills, build a good vocab foundation or work on your reading skills and Kanji knowledge. I’ve written about <a href="https://www.japanesetease.net/getting-back-learning-japanese-wanikani/">WaniKani</a> on more than a few instances and use it since 2012. It’s even part of my <a href="https://www.japanesetease.net/how-i-learn-japanese-my-essentials/">Japanese self-study guide</a>. But lately, I began to question the website and their way of teaching the Kanji.
Everything began with WaniKani’s introduction of new radicals. For those who don’t know: A Kanji is made up out of several (or just one) little symbols. You think about a fitting image for each radical and make a story for yourself that you can easily relate to. The further you go the more complex are the Kanji you’re learning and the stories as well.
The whole idea with that radical approach isn’t new and was first introduced by James Heisig’s fantastic book “Remembering the Kanji”. The one I actually started with myself. Just that book and my Anki deck. WaniKani is doing everything for you. The radical names, the stories and because everybody has such a different background I never really liked most of their radical names. And that’s where the convenience of WaniKani becomes a problem.
I don’t like their radical names. You can always change the stories about each Kanji and just write them as a little note under each card but you can’t change the radical names. And even writing your own stories on the note section is not really convenient because it’s just barely visible when doing your reviews. And it’s not intended to be used like this as well. I may work for many but it didn’t really work for me because the stories just became more and more abstruse the further I came.
Now on to the second problem: The time it takes to finish WaniKani. Like I previously wrote you have to be wary about how you spend your study time. You can’t do everything at once and of course, you want to see some results. If you don’t have the feeling of making real progress you’ll quickly lose interest and will probably quit.
Good things take time and it’s always better to study slowly and consistently instead of just rushing through the content. But WaniKani is taking hours over hours to teach you words which you probably won’t use. And when you actually encounter them in the wild you’ll probably have more than a few instances where you can remember the basic meaning you learned but it just doesn’t make any sense in that sentence.

<h3>My problems with WaniKani</h3>
WaniKani is full of Japanese vocab consisting of the newly taught Kanji. A good idea so that you can instantly practice what you just learned.
But how useful is learning vocabulary out of context? Not very much in my opinion. Yes, WaniKani has some sample sentences in the notes but I would really prefer to learn whole sentences instead. Or maybe an idea: Be presented with a whole sentence and you just have to input (that’s how WK works) the underlined word.
The vocab you learn is not always the most useful. Its main purpose is to improve your Kanji reading so that you can instantly use that newly learned Kanji and put your reading skills to the test. And while you’re at it you can learn the different readings as well. But never forget that this is all part of your study time. Which is limited. So maybe doing the Heisig approach where you just learn a meaning for each Kanji so that you can safely recognize it and in a second step when you’re studying vocab you learn the readings automatically.
After spending a good amount of time with WaniKani I have a few problems with it:
<ul>
<li>
<ul>
<li> You need lots of time because you’re learning lots of Kanji and even more vocab of dubious practicality (which is more or less intended, I know).</li>
<li>The second quarrel is with their whole system: It works for many, yes, but I still think that making your own radicals and stories is the way to go. Because of triceratops, grain and yeah geoduck.</li>
<li>And the third one about time: I feel their SRS intervals are too intense. Something like 4h, 8h 23h, 47h. Answering the same item correctly four times in a row until you hit a two-day space.</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
Tofugu is a great website and taking the idea behind Remembering the Kanji and wrapping it up into a neat little pre-made package for the Internet-generation was a great idea. But for someone who has to be time efficient it’s not the best choice.
There is just way too much filler around your core incentive. Which is to learn the Kanji. I’m not working with a computer and my work days don’t allow me to check WaniKani in between. I need something which allows me to just study for 20 minutes in the morning with a coffee next to me and maybe dedicate a few minutes in the evening as well. But that has to be enough.
<h3>What I’ll do after graduating in the summer</h3>
I’ll start with Heisig’s Remembering the Kanji again. That book I bought 7 years ago and a new Anki deck. I want to start fresh, from the ground up. With my own mnemonics and stories. Maybe I’ll use it alongside The Kodansha Kanji Learner’s Course which is another great way to learn the Kanji and is offering example sentences as well (which really is a must). More about all that in the summer when I’ll start again from scratch but I know for sure that WaniKani is just not perfect for me.
I want a simple approach where I’m making all the cards myself Just checking the deck each morning and then be finished with it. No silly vocab but real-world immersion afterward. With a manga here and there, Japanese magazines, <a href="https://www.japanesetease.net/my-favorite-podcasts-to-listen-to-for-learning-japanese/">Japanese podcasts</a>, and Twitter accounts.
What’s your approach to learning Kanji? I know not everybody is using WaniKani and I’d love to get some tips. Maybe there are even some great pre-made Anki decks which you can then customize to your liking. 
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Is Wanikani worth the effort for learning Kanji? A re-evaluation

Learning Japanese is a time-intensive task and you often have to re-evaluate where you want to focus on. Do you want to improve your conversational skills, build a goo…

15 Mar 2019

～といい, -to-ii - Meaning in Japanese

<div>to ii といい means literally "if [something then] good." It's used to say something would be good if it happened, or if it were. It's the combination of the conditional particle to と, plus the <a></a>ii いい. 
 
Don't mistake this for to iimasu といいます, which means "[something] is called [something]," or "my name is [something]." 
 

Manga: "Assassination Classroom," Ansatsu Kyoushitsu 暗殺教室 (Chapter 1)
 
<a name="more"></a><h2 id="grammar">
Grammar</h2>
Basically, whatever comes before the conditional particle to と is the condition: it's what needs to be true. And if it's true, then it's "good," it's ii いい. 
<ul>
<li>yuushou suru to ii 優勝するといい 
If victorious: good.</li>
</ul>
 
In English, we'd naturally translate this with an "would be." For example: 
<ul>
<li>It would be good if victorious.</li>
<li>It would be good if you won.</li>
</ul>
 
In a way, it can be similar to <a></a>yokatta, meaning "was good," is the past form of ii. When -te-yokatta shows up, sometimes it's a regretful way to refer to a hypothetical scenario that didn't happen, but would have been good if it had happened. 
<ul>
<li>yuushou shite yokatta 
優勝してよかった</li>
</ul><ol>
<li>It's good thing I won. (because I did win.)</li>
<li>It would have been good if I had won. (but unfortunately I didn't win.)</li>
</ol>

When to ii is used after a verb, it can be interpreted in two ways depending on context: 
<ol>
<li>The speaker is simply stating what he wishes would happen.</li>
<li>The speaker is advising someone that if they did something that would be good.</li>
</ol>
 
The pattern to ii can also be used with i-adjectives. For example: 
<ul>
<li>tanoshii to ii 楽しいといい 
If fun: good.</li>
</ul>
 
With <a></a>da だ before to と. This happens because the na な after na-adjectives is an attributive copula, and you need something in the predicative before to と, hence you use the predicative copula da だ. 
<ul>
<li>shiawase na jinsei 
幸せな人生 
Happy life.</li>
<li>shiawase na jinsei da to ii 
幸せな人生だといい 
If is happy life: good. 
It would be good if it were a happy life. 
It would be good if [he led] a happy life.</li>
<ul>
<li>jinsei 人生 
Life. (noun.)</li>
</ul>
<li>shiawase da to ii 
幸せだといい 
If is happy: good. 
It would be good if it were happy. 
It would be good if [he] were happy.</li>
<ul>
<li>shiawase 幸せ 
Happy. (na-adjective.)</li>
</ul>
</ul>
 
Beware that when to ii といい comes right after a noun without the copula, it's a nominal conjugation (ren'youkei form) of the verb iu いう, "to say," coming after the quoting particle to と instead. For example: 
<ul>
<li>kore ga jinsei to ii 
これが人生といい 
Calling this "life." (i.e. this is called life.) 
(act of) calling this "life."</li>
<li>Tanaka to iimasu 田中といいます 
[I'm] Tanaka. 
[I'm] called Tanaka.</li>
<ul>
<li>iimasu いいます 
Polite form of iu いう, which is the masu suffix attached to the ren'youkei.</li>
</ul>
</ul>
<h2 id="da-to-ii-na">
da to ii na だといいな</h2>
The phrase da to ii na だといいな is sometimes used as an expression to say "it would be good if that happened," or "I wish that would be the case," or something like that. 
 
Literally, it's the predicative copula da だ, plus the conditional particle to と, plus the i-adjective ii いい, plus the sentence-ending particle na な. We've already covered the first three things in this article, so what's important is this na な. 
 
This particle has the nuance of "I think?" It's used when the speaker is expressing his opinion or conclusion about something. 
 
This is slightly different from saying da to ii ne だといいね. Although similar to na な, the ne ね particle is more strongly about asking for agreement of the listener. 
 
One difference is that you may see da to ii na written in thought bubbles, when a character is thinking alone about something that would be good, but da to ii ne requires a listener. 
<ul>
<li>da to ii na どといいな 
[That'd be] good, I think.</li>
<ul>
<li>I hope you agree with me.</li>
</ul>
<li>da to ii ne だといいね 
[That'd be] good, wouldn't it?</li>
<ul>
<li>Come on, nod or something!</li>
</ul>
</ul>
<h2 id="examples">
Examples</h2>
<h3 id="koroseru-to-ii-desu-nee">
殺せるといいですねぇ</h3>

Manga: "Assassination Classroom," Ansatsu Kyoushitsu 暗殺教室 (Chapter 1)
<ul>
<li>Context: a tentacle monster destroys the moon and will destroy the Earth next year unless his class of assassin students manage to kill him before then.</li>
<li>koroseru to ii desu nee 
殺せるといいですねぇ 
If able to kill: good.</li>
<ul>
<li>It would be good if you managed to kill me, don't you think?</li>
<li>koroseru 殺せる 
Able to kill. 
(potential form of...)</li>
<li>korosu 殺す 
To kill.</li>
</ul>
<li>sotsugyou made ni 
卒業までに 
Until graduation. (i.e. within one year.)</li>
</ul>
<h3 id="yado-ni-tomaru-to-ii">
宿に泊まるといい</h3>

Game: Dragon Quest IV, Doragon Kuesto Foo ドラゴンクエストＩＶ
<ul>
<li>Raian-dono. tatakai de kizu tsuitara 
machi ni modori yado ni tomaru to ii. <a href="https://www.japanesewithanime.com/2017/05/quotation-marks-japanese.html">「</a>ライアンどの。たたかいで　キズついたら 
まちにもどり　やどに　とまるといい。 
Ryan-dono, if [you] get injured in battle 
it's good if [you] return to town and stay at an inn.</li>
<ul>
<li>In classic JRPGs, sleeping at an inn heals injuries. So it's good for you to go there and get the damage healed.</li>
</ul>
</ul>

In Japanese,といい means literally "if [something then] good." It's used to say something would be good if it happened, or if it were. It's the combination of the conditional particleと, plus the <a href="https://www.japanesewithanime.com/2018/10/i-adjectives.html">i-adjective</a> いい.Don't mistake this forといいます, which means "[something] is called [something]," or "my name is [something]."Basically, whatever comes before the conditional particleと is the condition: it's what needs to be true. And if it's true, then it's "good," it'sいい.In English, we'd naturally translate this with an "would be." For example:In a way, it can be similar to <a href="https://www.japanesewithanime.com/2019/02/yokatta-meaning.html">how -te-yokatta ～てよかった works</a> . The word, meaning "was good," is the past form of. Whenshows up,it's a regretful way to refer to a hypothetical scenario that didn't happen, but would have been good if it had happened.Whenis used after a verb, it can be interpreted in two ways depending on context:The patterncan also be used with-adjectives. For example:With <a href="https://www.japanesewithanime.com/2018/11/na-adjectives.html">na-adjectives</a> and nouns, you use the copulaだ beforeと. This happens because theな after-adjectives is an attributive copula, and you need something in the predicative beforeと, hence you use the predicative copulaだ.Beware that whenといい comes right after a noun without the copula, it's a nominal conjugation (form) of the verbいう, "to say," coming after the quoting particleと instead. For example:The phraseだといいな is sometimes used as an expression to say "it would be good if that happened," or "I wish that would be the case," or something like that.Literally, it's the predicative copulaだ, plus the conditional particleと, plus the-adjectiveいい, plus the sentence-ending particleな. We've already covered the first three things in this article, so what's important is thisな.This particle has the nuance of "I think?" It's used when the speaker is expressing his opinion or conclusion about something.This is slightly different from sayingだといいね. Although similar toな, theね particle is more strongly about asking for agreement of the listener.One difference is that you may seewritten in thought bubbles, when a character is thinking alone about something that would be good, butrequires a listener.</div>

～といい, -to-ii - Meaning in Japanese

to ii といい means literally "if [something then] good." It's used to say something would be good if it happened, or if it were. It's the combination of the conditional particle to と, plus the ii いい. Don…

15 Mar 2019

～するがいい, -suru ga ii - Meaning in Japanese

<div>suru ga ii するがいい, or any verb plus ga ii, means literally "it's better to do [something]." 
 
In anime, however, it's pretty much always used by evil-looking characters who're full of themselves to pretentiously tell someone "do this, I allow you to do," a permission, or "it's better you do so," which sounds like an order. 
 
In either case, ga ii is often not translated to English at all. 
 

Manga: Gabriel DropOut, Gavuriiru Doroppuauto ガヴリールドロップアウト (Chapter 3)
 
<a name="more"></a><h2 id="explanation">
Explanation</h2>
The reason why suru ga ii can sound like either a permission or an order to do something comes from the fact that the <a></a>ii いい means literally "good." 
<ul>
<li>suru ga ii するがいい 
To do is good.</li>
</ul>
 
It means a permission because it's the answer to the following question: 
<ul>
<li>To do is bad?</li>
<li>No.</li>
<li>To do is good. (you're allowed to do it, it's okay.)</li>
</ul>
 
And it sounds like an order because of its opposite: 
<ul>
<li>To do is good.</li>
<li>Therefore:</li>
<li>To not do is bad. (you don't want to not do it.)</li>
<li>There'll be consequences.</li>
<li>Do it... or else!!!</li>
</ul>
 
In this latter case, since not doing it is bad, doing it is "better" than not doing it. That is: "you better do it." 
 
Note however, that suru ga ii isn't normal Japanese, it's evil anime character Japanese. For reference, let's see a verb with ga ii compared to more normal ways to say that "verb is good:" 
<ul>
<li>miru ga ii 見るがいい 
To look is good. 
It's better you look. (or else!!) 
I allow you to look. (and you should.) 
Look. (what else needs to be said?)</li>
<li>miru to ii 見る<a href="https://www.japanesewithanime.com/2019/03/to-ii-meaning.html">といい</a> 
If look: good. 
It's good if you look. (not telling you that you should, but it's good if it happens.)</li>
<li>mireba ii 見ればいい 
If look: good. 
It's good if you look. (and maybe you should, because, why haven't you looked yet?)</li>
<li>mitara ii 見たらいい 
If looked: good. 
It's better if you looked. (that could also not happen, though.)</li>
<li>mita hou ga ii 見た<a href="https://www.japanesewithanime.com/2019/01/hou-ga-ii-meaning.html">方がいい</a> 
The way [in which you] look is good. 
It'd be better if you looked. (this is an advice.)</li>
</ul>
 
And there's other ways to tell someone to do something as an order, a command: 
<ul>
<li>miro 見ろ 
See.</li>
<ul>
<li>Imperative form.</li>
</ul>
<li>minasai 見なさい 
See.</li>
<ul>
<li>nasai form, tends to be used by female characters instead.</li>
</ul>
<li>mite 見て 
See.</li>
<ul>
<li>te-form. Doesn't sound as assertive as the forms above.</li>
</ul>
</ul>
 
Furthermore, by modern Japanese grammar, suru ga ii するがいい sounds kind of wrong. That's because normally you can't use a case marking particle, such as ga が, right in front of a verb, or clause. It must go after a noun. 
 
See above how suru hou ga ii has the noun hou between suru and ga. The verb suru, and whatever comes before suru, becomes a <a></a>hou: 
<ul>
<li>The way [in which you] do [it] is good.</li>
<li>...hou ga ii ～方がいい 
The way... is good.</li>
</ul>
 
If we were to use the most generic nominalizer Japanese has to offer, we'd end up with this: 
<ul>
<li>suru no ga ii するのがいい 
Doing is good.</li>
</ul>
 
Which is a much more normal phrase and doesn't have the evil-sounding nuance of suru ga ii. 
 
To explain why this happens first we need to get why suru ga ii is used even though grammatically it doesn't fit. 
 
It's old Japanese. It's an old way of saying. From older times. When, maybe, it made more sense grammatically. Nevertheless it's still used today, specially in period pieces and anime. 
 
Note that, also in the same old Japanese, the word yoi よい was used instead of ii いい. For example: 
<ul>
<li>hanasu ga yoi 話すがよい 
To speak is good.</li>
<ul>
<li>You may speak.</li>
<li>I allow you to speak.</li>
<li>I allow thee to speak.</li>
</ul>
<li>saru ga yoi 去るがよい 
To leave is good.</li>
<ul>
<li>You may leave.</li>
</ul>
<li>suru ga yoi するがよい 
To do is good.</li>
<li>shinu ga yoi 死ぬがよい 
To die is good.</li>
<ul>
<li>It's better if you die.</li>
<li>You've disgraced your honor.</li>
<li>Your ancestors.</li>
<li>Shame on u.</li>
<li>Commit sūdoku 数独.</li>
</ul>
<li>korosu ga yoi 殺すがよい 
To kill is good.</li>
<ul>
<li>You may kill him.</li>
<li>In fact, KILL HIM, KILL THAT DUDE!!!</li>
</ul>
</ul>
 
So now we have the two components needed to understand why suru ga ii is used by evil-looking villains in anime. 
 
First off, it's because, being either permission or order, it ends up sounding like both. So the evil guy sounds like he's doing a favor, being a benevolent superior being, allowing good stuff to happen, even though in practice he's pretentiously ordering stuff. 
 
The second reason is because it comes from old times. This is just like how the word <a></a> 
 
If the character is anachronistic, a time-travelling feudal lord, or maybe the anime is actually set in the past, in a samurai era, then they'll naturally use it. If it's not anachronistic, then they're just mimicking the nobles of the time, or may he's a who has seen too many samurai anime and is trying to sound cool. 
<h2 id="examples">
Examples</h2>
For reference, some examples of evil characters using suru ga ii and verb ga ii in manga. 
<h3 id="kyoufu-suru-ga-ii">
恐怖するがいい</h3>
Let's start with the evilest one. 
 

Manga: Gabriel DropOut, Gavuriiru Doroppuauto ガヴリールドロップアウト (Chapter 3)
<ul>
<li>ahahaha' 
アハハハ<a href="https://www.japanesewithanime.com/2017/05/small-tsu.html">っ</a> 
*evil demon maniac laugh*</li>
<li>watashi wa jigoku no shihaisha ni naru mono 
私は地獄の支配者になるもの 
I'm the person <a href="https://www.japanesewithanime.com/2018/12/relative-clauses.html">[who]</a> will become the ruler of Hell.</li>
<li>Kurumizawa Satanikia Makudoweru 
胡桃沢=サタニキア=マクドウェル 
Kurumizawa Satanichia McDowell.</li>
<ul>
<li><a href="https://www.japanesewithanime.com/2018/03/separating-katakana-words.html">= is used to separate katakana words in names</a> sometimes, just like the <a href="https://www.japanesewithanime.com/2018/03/middle-dot.html">middle dot ・</a>.</li>
</ul>
<li>kono yo no ashiki koto wa 
watashi no tame ni aru'!! 
この世の悪しきことは私のためにあるっ！！ 
The evil things of this world exist [just] for me!!</li>
<li>ningen-domo!! 
人間ども！！ 
Humans!!</li>
<ul>
<li>domo is a <a href="https://www.japanesewithanime.com/2017/08/tachi-meaning-pluralizing-suffixes.html">pluralizing suffix</a> that implies inferiority, being humble toward oneself but derogatory toward others. (in this case, the demon girl thinks humans are inferior to her.)</li>
<li>It's like saying "you lot" in a bad way, for example.</li>
</ul>
<li>watashi ni ononoki 
kyoufu suru ga ii!! 
私におののき恐怖するがいい！！ 
[Shiver in fear before me!!]</li>
<ul>
<li>Literally: to tremble and fear me is good.</li>
<li>ononoku 慄く 
To tremble. To shake. (in fear.)</li>
</ul>
</ul>
<h3 id="jouhatsu-suru-ga-ii">
蒸発するがいい</h3>

Manga: Houshin Engi 封神演義 (Chapter 2)
<ul>
<li>Context: evil guy attacks Taikoubou, the main character.</li>
<li>iwa wo mo tokasu honoo de 
jouhatsu suru ga ii!! 
岩をも融かす炎で蒸発するがいい！！ 
With this flame [that] even melts boulders, evaporate!!</li>
<li>Taikoubou!!! 
太公望！！！ 
(character name.)</li>
</ul>
<h3 id="suikomu-ga-ii">
吸い込むがいい</h3>

Manga: Houshin Engi 封神演義 (Chapter 4)
<ul>
<li>Context: <a href="https://www.japanesewithanime.com/2016/10/keikaku-doori-meaning.html">all according to the keikaku</a>.</li>
<li>sou 
そう 
[That's right.]</li>
<li>dokuka no kona yo!! 
毒蛾の粉よ！！ 
[It's] poisonous moth powder.</li>
<li>saa 
さあ 
[Come on.]</li>
<li>karada ga 
kusare-ochiru made 
haifu no oku ni 
sui-komu ga ii!! 
体が腐れ落ちるまで配布の奥に吸い込むがいい！！ 
Until [your] body rots and drops, 
breathe [it] into the depths of [your] lungs!!</li>
</ul>
<h3 id="aigan-shite-kuru-ga-ii">
哀願してくるがいい</h3>
An important reminder that not every time suru ga ii is used it's by an evil demon doing evil things. Sometimes it's just an awfully pretentious character who's full of pride and looks down at other people. 
 

Manga: Kaguya-sama wa Kokurasetai ~Tensai-Tachi no Ren'ai Zunousen~ かぐや様は告らせたい～天才たちの恋愛頭脳戦～ (Chapter 1)
<ul>
<li>kuku... 
くく･･･ 
*chuckle*</li>
<li>sassato さっさと 
Already.</li>
<ul>
<li>As in: do the following thing already.</li>
<li>Hurry up and...</li>
</ul>
<li>sono 
kanpeki-na ojousama no 
kamen wo kuzushi 
その完璧なお嬢様の仮面を崩し 
Destroy that mask of perfect rich girl.</li>
<ul>
<li><a href="https://www.japanesewithanime.com/2018/05/ojousama-meaning.html">ojousama お嬢様</a> 
Daughter. 
Rich girl. (daughter of a rich family.)</li>
<li>kuzusu 崩す 
Destroy. (by crumbling, falling apart. Not with a hammer or something.)</li>
<li>i.e. ruin the facade of being a perfect girl, stop putting on appearances, etc.</li>
</ul>
<li>sekimen shi-nagara 
ore ni aigan shite 
kuru ga ii. 
赤面しながら俺に哀願してくるがいい 
While blushing, come supplicate me.</li>
<ul>
<li>TL note: supplicate means beg.</li>
<li>sekimen 赤面 
Red face. (literally.) 
Blushing.</li>
<li>shi-nagara しながら 
While doing. (the verb suru plus nagara.)</li>
<li>shite-kuru してくる 
Come do. (the verb suru plus the auxiliary verb kuru.)</li>
</ul>
<li>kaichou... 
会長･･･ 
[Student] council president...</li>
<li>oshitai moushi agete orimasu...... 
おしたい申し上げております･･････ 
[I luv u.]</li>
<ul>
<li>No, really.</li>
<li>This is a confession spoken in some polite keigo.</li>
<li>oshitai moushi agete orimasu 
お慕い申し上げております 
[I'm] saying to you: [I] love [you].</li>
<li>o- お～ 
Polite prefix.</li>
<li>shitau 慕う 
To yearn for [someone]. To adore. To love dearly.</li>
<li>mousu 申す 
To say.</li>
<li>ageru あげる 
[To do] for [someone]. 
[To do] to [someone]. 
(auxiliary verb.)</li>
<li>oru おる 
To be.</li>
<li>-masu ～ます 
Polite suffix.</li>
</ul>
</ul>
<h2>
Further Reading</h2>
<h3>
References</h3>

In Japanese,するがいい, or any verb plus, means literally "it's better to do [something]."In anime, however, it's pretty much always used by evil-looking characters who're full of themselves to pretentiously tell someone "do this, I allow you to do," a, or "it's better you do so," which sounds like anIn either case,is often not translated to English at all.The reason whycan sound like either a permission or an order to do something comes from the fact that the <a href="https://www.japanesewithanime.com/2018/10/i-adjectives.html">i-adjective</a> いい means literally "good."It means a permission because it's the answer to the following question:And it sounds like an order because of its opposite:In this latter case, since not doing it is bad, doing it is "better" than not doing it. That is: "youdo it."Note however, thatisn't normal Japanese, it's evil anime character Japanese. For reference, let's see a verb withcompared to more normal ways to say that "verb is good:"And there's other ways to tell someone to do something as an order, a command:Furthermore, by modern Japanese grammar,するがいい sounds kind of wrong. That's because normally you can't use a case marking particle, such asが, right in front of a verb, or clause. It must go after a noun.See above howhas the nounbetweenand. The verb, and whatever comes before, becomes a <a href="https://www.japanesewithanime.com/2018/12/relative-clauses.html">relative clause</a> for nounIf we were to use the most generic nominalizer Japanese has to offer, we'd end up with this:Which is a much more normal phrase and doesn't have the evil-sounding nuance ofTo explain why this happens first we need to get whyis used even though grammatically it doesn't fit.It's old Japanese. It's an old way of saying. From older times. When, maybe, it made more sense grammatically. Nevertheless it's still used today, specially in period pieces and anime.Note that, also in the same old Japanese, the wordよい was used instead ofいい. For example:So now we have the two components needed to understand whyis used by evil-looking villains in anime.First off, it's because, being either permission or order, it ends up sounding like both. So the evil guy sounds like he's doing a favor, being a benevolent superior being, allowing good stuff to happen, even though in practice he's pretentiously ordering stuff.The second reason is because it comes from old times. This is just like how the word <a href="https://www.japanesewithanime.com/2017/08/anata-omae-kimi-kisama-meaning.html">kisama 貴様</a> isn't used in modern Japanese, but you see it in anime all the time anyway.If the character is anachronistic, a time-travelling feudal lord, or maybe the anime is actually set in the past, in a samurai era, then they'll naturally use it. If it's not anachronistic, then they're just mimicking the nobles of the time, or may he's awho has seen too many samurai anime and is trying to sound cool.For reference, some examples of evil characters usingand verbin manga.Let's start with the evilest one.An important reminder that not every time suru ga ii is used it's by an evil demon doing evil things. Sometimes it's just an awfully pretentious character who's full of pride and looks down at other people.</div>

～するがいい, -suru ga ii - Meaning in Japanese

suru ga ii するがいい, or any verb plus ga ii, means literally "it's better to do [something]." In anime, however, it's pretty much always used by evil-looking characters who're full of themselves to prete…

14 Mar 2019

いいこと, ii-koto - Meaning in Japanese

<div>ii koto いいこと means literally a "good thing," but it's also used, in female speech, as an interjection to call somebody's attention before telling them something. 
 
It's also spelled ii koto いい事, 良いこと, 良い事, 好いこと, or 好い事. A variant is yoi koto よいこと, よい事. 
 

Manga: Rozen Maiden (chapter 9)
 
<a name="more"></a><h2 id="normal-usage">
Normal Usage</h2>
The phrase ii-koto いいこと is the <a></a>ii いい, "good," plus the nominalizer koto こと, also spelled koto 事, "thing." It normally means, as you'd expect, "good thing." 
<ul>
<li>kore wa ii koto da 
これはいいことだ 
This is a good thing.</li>
</ul>
 
It can be used, for example, to talk about good things happening (or not): 
<ul>
<li>nanka ii koto nai kana? 
なんかいいことないかな？ 
Like, is there nothing good?</li>
<ul>
<li>Why nothing good happens?</li>
</ul>
<li>ii koto ippai 
いいこといっぱい 
Lots of good things.</li>
<li>ii koto ga okoru 
いいことが起こる 
Good things happen.</li>
<li>nanika ii koto demo atta no ka? 
なにかいいことでもあったのか？ 
Has something good happened [or something]?</li>
<ul>
<li>Is that why you're so happy?</li>
</ul>
</ul>
 

Manga: Doraemon ドラえもん (Chapter 1)
<ul>
<li>nodoka na 
oshougatsu da naa 
のどかなお正月だなあ 
[It's such a] peaceful New Year, [isn't it?]</li>
<li>kotoshi wa 
ii koto ga 
arisou da. 
今年はいいことがありそうだ。 
This year it seems good things will happen.</li>
<ul>
<li>Narrator: this year good things wouldn't, in fact, happen.</li>
</ul>
</ul>
 
It can also be used when you do something good: 
<ul>
<li>ii koto wo shita いいことをした 
[I] did a good thing. 
[I] did something good.</li>
</ul>
 
Or when you say or hear something good. In the latter case, generally something you wanted to hear, something interesting. 
<ul>
<li>ii koto iu ne いいこと言うね 
[You] say a good thing. 
[You] say something good.</li>
<ul>
<li>Well said!</li>
</ul>
<li>ii koto kiita いいこと聞いた 
[I] heard a good thing. 
[I] heard something good. 
[I] heard something [interesting].</li>
<ul>
<li>I see, I see, very interesting. Very interesting, I say!</li>
</ul>
</ul>
 

Manga: Black Lagoon (Chapter 8)
<ul>
<li>Context: Two-Hands succinctly elaborates her argument against the notion of which the appearance and/or background history pertaining to a firearm is of any importance.</li>
<li>hitotsu ii koto oseete yaru yo. 
一ついいことおせえてやるよ。 
[I'll] teach one good thing.</li>
<ul>
<li>Let me teach you something good.</li>
<li>oseete is a distortion of oshiete.</li>
<li>hitotsu ii koto oshiete yaru yo, 
一ついいこと教えてやるよ。</li>
<li>yaru やる 
An auxiliary verb meaning "to do for you" here. Similar to ageru.</li>
</ul>
<li>konna mon wa na, 
こんなもんはな、 
This sorta thing, [you see],</li>
<ul>
<li><a href="https://www.japanesewithanime.com/2018/03/furigana-dots-bouten.html">The furigana dots are for emphasis.</a></li>
<li>konna mono こんなもの 
This sort of thing.</li>
</ul>
<li>utete atarya ii-n-da yo. 
撃てて当たりゃいいんだよ。 
[If you] shoot and [it] hits, [it's] good.</li>
<ul>
<li>That's enough.</li>
<li>utete atareba ii 撃てて当てればいい 
Good if shoot and hit.</li>
</ul>
</ul>
<h2 id="female-speech-usage">
Usage in Female Speech</h2>
Sometimes, ii koto いいこと appears at the start of sentences and is used to call somebody's attention before saying something, similar to how ano ne あのね would be used. 
 
This usage is female speech, or "female language," joseigo 女性語, so it's likely you'll only ever see female characters using ii koto like this. 
 

Manga: Rozen Maiden (chapter 9)
<ul>
<li>Context: Shinku explains how proxy battle-based anime plots work to a main character who just got himself into a proxy battle-based anime plot via magic contract.</li>
<li>ii koto? 
いいこと？ 
(interjection.)</li>
<ul>
<li>Just pretend it means "let me tell you something good," or "do you want to hear something good?" or "do you know what's good?" Or something like that, except it's not used before telling someone something good, it's just used to call their attention.</li>
</ul>
<li>tatakau tame niwa 
chikara ga iru no yo 
戦うためには力が要るのよ 
In order to fight, power is necessary.</li>
<ul>
<li>To fight, I need power. (no. wai.)</li>
</ul>
<li>demo 
dooru tantai dewa 
utsuwa ni suginai 
でもドール単体では器にすぎない 
But a doll alone doesn't exceed a vessel.</li>
<ul>
<li>However, a doll is but a vessel.</li>
<li>I'm nothing more than a vessel.</li>
</ul>
<li>(insert some half-baked anime logic required to shoehorn a middle school kid protagonist into a violent poltergeistic killer doll battle royale here.)</li>
</ul>
<h2 id="warui-koto">
Warui Koto 悪いこと</h2>
The phrase warui koto 悪いこと means "bad thing," it's the antonym of ii koto, having <a></a> 
<ul>
<li>kore wa warui koto da これは悪いことだ 
This is a bad thing.</li>
<li>warui koto wo shita 悪いことをした 
[I] did a bad thing. 
[I] did something bad.</li>
<li>warui koto wo shite wa ikenai 
悪いことをしてはいけない 
warui koto shicha ikenai 
悪いことしちゃいけない 
Doing bad things is no go. (literally.) 
Doing bad things is bad. 
[You] shouldn't do bad things.</li>
</ul>

In Japanese,いいこと means literally a "good thing," but it's also used, in female speech, as an interjection to call somebody's attention before telling them something.It's also spelledいい事, 良いこと, 良い事, 好いこと, or 好い事. A variant isよいこと, よい事.The phraseいいこと is the <a href="https://www.japanesewithanime.com/2018/10/i-adjectives.html">i-adjective</a> いい, "good," plus the nominalizerこと, also spelled事, "thing." It normally means, as you'd expect, "good thing."It can be used, for example, to talk about good things happening (or not):It can also be used when you do something good:Or when you say or hear something good. In the latter case, generally something you wanted to hear, something interesting.Sometimes,いいこと appears at the start of sentences and is used to call somebody's attention before saying something, similar to howあのね would be used.This usage is female speech, or "female language,"女性語, so it's likely you'll only ever see female characters usinglike this.The phrase悪いこと means "bad thing," it's the antonym of, having <a href="https://www.japanesewithanime.com/2019/01/warui-meaning.html">warui 悪い</a> , "bad," as the adjective instead.</div>

いいこと, ii-koto - Meaning in Japanese

ii koto いいこと means literally a "good thing," but it's also used, in female speech, as an interjection to call somebody's attention before telling them something. It's also spelled ii koto いい事, 良いこと, 良…

13 Mar 2019

仲がいい, Naka ga ii - Meaning in Japanese

<div>naka ga ii 仲がいい means somebody is in good terms with somebody else, that they're friends, colleagues, that they have a "good relationship." Literally, it's the word naka 仲, "relationship," plus the <a></a>ii いい, "good," so it means "relationship is good." 
 
It's also spelled naka ga ii 仲がいい. A synonymous variant is naka ga yoi 仲がよい. The homonym naka ga ii 中がいい means "inside is good" instead. 
 
<a name="more"></a><h2 id="usage">
Usage</h2>
The word naka 仲 literally means "relationship," but in English when we say "relationship" it always sounds like we're talking about romantic relationships, which isn't what this word is about. 
 
The word naka is a much more generic term for relationship. Just like the word <a></a> 
 

Manga: Komi-san wa, Comyushou desu. 古見さんは、コミュ症です。 (Chapter 10)
<ul>
<li>Context: a childhood friend of Tadano wants to be called on first-name basis.</li>
<li>sono "Osana-san" tte iu no 
yamete kure yo. 
その「長名さん」っていうのやめてくれよ。 
Please stop with that "Osana-san."</li>
<ul>
<li>Stop calling me "Osana-san"</li>
</ul>
<li>boku to Tadano no naka janai ka. 
ボクと只野の仲じゃないか。 
It's mine and Tadano's relationship, isn't it?</li>
<ul>
<li>It's our relationship, isn't it?</li>
<li>Osana-san means they don't have a cold, distant, family-name basis relationship, they have an intimate, friendly, first-name basis relationship.</li>
</ul>
<li>pyoko-pyoko 
ピョコピョコ 
*[hair] bounce bounce* (<a href="https://www.japanesewithanime.com/2018/09/mimetic-words.html">mimetic word</a>.)</li>
<li>mukashi mitai ni 
"Najimi" tte 
yonde kure. 
昔みたいに「なじみ」って呼んでくれ。 
Like old times, call me "Najimi."</li>
</ul>
 
So when naka ga ii is used, it just means two people don't hate each other. It can mean they're good colleagues, buddies. It can mean they're good friends. It can even imply two people are dating. It's just... their relationship is good. That's all. 
 
Sometimes, in anime, you'll see naka ga ii used when two characters are actually fighting, but not in a kung-fu fighting way, more like in a "you !" way. Maybe they're rivals. Maybe there's a involved. 
 
Anyway, it's kind of a trope to have a bystander make fun of their love-hate rom-com relationship by saying they don't hate each other when they wish they did. 
<ul>
<li>naka ga ii na 仲がいいな 
The relationship is good, huh!</li>
<ul>
<li>I see you're in good terms!</li>
</ul>
<li>naka ii na 仲いいな 
(abbreviation of the above.)</li>
</ul>
<h2 id="naka-ga-warui">
Naka ga Warui 仲が悪い</h2>
The phrase naka ga warui 仲が悪い means two people hate each other, that they're in bad terms, that they had a fight over something and they're angry with each other. Literally, it means "relationship is bad," since <a></a> 
 
A synonymous variant is: 
<ul>
<li>naka ga warii 仲が<a href="https://www.japanesewithanime.com/2019/01/warii-meaning.html">悪ぃ</a></li>
</ul>
 
Sometimes the negative forms of the respective adjectives are used instead: 
<ul>
<li>naka ga yokunai 仲が<a href="https://www.japanesewithanime.com/2019/02/yokunai-meaning.html">よくない</a> 
[Their] relationship isn't good.</li>
<li>naka ga warukunai 仲が<a href="https://www.japanesewithanime.com/2019/02/warukunai-meaning.html">悪くない</a> 
[Their] relationship isn't bad.</li>
</ul>
<h2 id="grammar">
Grammar</h2>
Since naka ga ii 仲がいい already has naka 仲 as the subject marked by the ga が particle, in order to elaborate whose relationship is good or bad we use the topic marking particle wa は instead. For example: 
<ul>
<li>futari wa naka ga ii 二人は仲がいい 
About two people: relationship is good. 
As for the two of them, the relationship is good. 
Their relationship is good.</li>
<li>futari wa naka ga warui 二人は仲が悪い 
About two people: relationship is bad. 
As for the two of them, the relationship is bad. 
Their relationship is bad.</li>
</ul>
 
Note that even though it translates to "their" in the end it's not literally a possessive, you simply may choose to interpret it as a possessive. 
 
In fact, you can actually turn it into a <a></a> 
<ul>
<li>futari no naka ga ii 二人の仲がいい 
The two people's relationship is good. 
Their relationship is good.</li>
<li>futari no naka ga warui 二人の仲が悪い 
The two people's relationship is bad. 
Their relationship is bad.</li>
</ul>
<h3 id="naka-ga-yokatta">
Naka ga Yokatta 仲が良かった</h3>
The phrase naka ga yokatta 仲が良かった means that "the relationship was good." Literally conjugated to the past. This sort of phrase is often used regrettably, like when two people were in good terms before, but now they've broken up. 
<ul>
<li>ano futari wa anna ni naka ga yokatta noni 
<a href="https://www.japanesewithanime.com/2016/10/kono-sono-ano-dono-meaning.html">あの</a><a href="https://www.japanesewithanime.com/2016/10/hito-nin-jin-difference.html#futari-meaning">二人</a>は<a href="https://www.japanesewithanime.com/2016/10/konna-sonna-anna-donna-meaning.html">あんな</a>に仲が<a href="https://www.japanesewithanime.com/2019/02/yokatta-meaning.html">良かった</a>のに 
About those two people: even though the relationship was that good. 
Even though those two were in such good terms.</li>
<ul>
<li>noni のに 
Sometimes expresses regret, lament, frustration, when shows up at the end of the phrase.</li>
</ul>
<li>naka ga warukatta kedo ima wa naka ga ii 
仲が<a href="https://www.japanesewithanime.com/2019/01/warukatta-meaning.html">悪かった</a>けど今は仲がいい 
The relationship was bad but now the relationship is good.</li>
</ul>
<h3 id="naka-no-ii">
Naka no ii 仲のいい</h3>
When the phrase naka ga ii 仲がいい is an adjective for a noun, it technically becomes a <a></a>ga が. <a></a> 
<ul>
<li>naka ga ii hito 仲がいい<a href="https://www.japanesewithanime.com/2016/10/hito-nin-jin-difference.html">人</a> 
naka no ii hito 仲のいい人 
naka ga ii ko 仲がいい<a href="https://www.japanesewithanime.com/2018/03/ko-meaning.html">子</a> 
naka no ii ko 仲のいい子 
A person [whose] relationship is good. 
A person with whom you have a good relationship.</li>
<li>naka ga warui hito 仲が悪い人 
naka no warui hito 仲の悪い人 
naka ga warui ko 仲が悪い子 
naka no warui ko 仲の悪い子 
A person [whose] relationship is bad. 
A person with whom you have a bad relationship.</li>
</ul>
<h3 id="naka-yoshi">
Naka Yoshi 仲良し</h3>
Another way to say two people are amicable to each other is naka yoshi 仲良し. This <a></a>ii いい. An example: 
<ul>
<li>minna naka yoshi みんな仲良し 
Everybody relationship good. 
Everybody is in good terms. 
We're all friends.</li>
<li>ano futari wa naka yoshi あの二人は仲良し 
About those two: good relationship. 
Those two are friends.</li>
</ul>
 
The word can also be turned into a <a></a> 
<ul>
<li>naka yoshi na tomodachi 仲良しな友達 
Friends [with whom your] relationship is good. 
Friends [whose] relationship is good.</li>
<li>naka yoshi na fuufu 仲良しな夫婦 
A husband and wife [whose] relationship is good. 
A husband and wife [with whom your] relationship is good.</li>
</ul>
<h3 id="naka-ga-yosasou">
Naka ga Yosasou 仲が良さそう</h3>
The phrase naka ga yosasou 仲が良さそう means "it seems the relationship is good." It's used when it looks like two people have a good relationship. You aren't asserting they have one, you're just saying what it looks like. 
<ul>
<li>naka ga yosasou da 仲が良さそうだ 
It seems it's a good relationship. 
[You two] seem to be good friends.</li>
<li>naka ga warusou da 仲が悪そうだ 
It seems it's a bad relationship. 
[Those two] seem to have had a fight.</li>
</ul>
 
Like any word with the sou suffix attached to it, <a></a>na-adjective, in which case it turns the phrase into a relative clause, which lets we switch ga が by no の. 
<ul>
<li>naka ga yosasou na kappuru 
仲が良さそうなカップル 
naka no yosasou na kappuru 
仲の良さそうなカップル 
A couple [whose] relationship seems good.</li>
<li>naka ga warusou na kappuru 
仲が悪そうなカップル 
naka no warusou na kappuru 
仲の悪そうなカップル 
A couple [whose] relationship seems bad.</li>
</ul>
<h3 id="naka-yoku">
Naka Yoku 仲良く</h3>
The phrase naka yoku 仲良く has ii いい in its adverbial form, <a></a> 
<h4 id="naka-yoku-naru">
Naka Yoku Naru 仲良くなる</h4>
First, naka yoku naru 仲良くなる, which means "to become so the relationship is good." Or, in other words, "to become in good terms," "to become amicable," "to become friends," and so on. 
 
The verb "to become," naru なる may also be conjugated: 
<ul>
<li>naka yoku natta 仲良くなった 
Became so the relationship was good. 
Became a good relationship. 
They became friends.</li>
<li>naka yoku naritai 仲良くなり<a href="https://www.japanesewithanime.com/2018/10/tai-form.html">たい</a> 
Want to become a good relationship. 
I want to be friends with [you].</li>
<ul>
<li>If the relationship became bad recently:</li>
<li>I want to fix our relationship, our friendship, etc.</li>
</ul>
<li>naka waruku naru 仲悪くなる 
To become so the relationship is bad. 
To become a bad relationship. 
They stop being friends. 
They have a fight. 
They break up.</li>
<li>naka waruku natta 仲悪くなった 
Became so the relationship was bad. 
Became a bad relationship. 
They stopped being friends. 
They had a fight. 
They broke up.</li>
</ul>
<h4 id="naka-yoku-suru">
Naka Yoku Suru 仲良くする</h4>
Second, naka yoku suru 仲良くする, which means "to make it a good relationship." Basically,, it's same thing as naka yoku naru, except that with naru we're simply stating the fact that it becomes, or became, so, with suru we're expressing our motivation to make it become so. 
 
We'll do it. We'll make it so. 
<ul>
<li>naka yoku suru 仲良くする 
To make so the relationship is good. 
To make it become a good relationship. 
To become friends. (deliberately.) 
To make peace.</li>
<li>naka yoku shita 仲良くした 
Made so the relationship was good. 
Became a good relationship. 
Became friends. 
Made piece.</li>
<li>naka yoku shitai 仲良くしたい 
Want to make so the relationship is good. 
I want to become friends [with you]. 
I want to make peace.</li>
<li>naka yoku shite kudasai 仲良くして下さい 
Please become friends. 
Please make peace, [you two]. 
Please [don't fight].</li>
<li>naka yoku shite <a href="https://www.japanesewithanime.com/2018/10/hoshii-meaning.html">hoshii</a> 仲良くしてほしい 
I want [you] to be friends [with him]. 
I want [you] to make peace [with him].</li>
<li>naka yoku shiro 仲良くしろ 
naka yoku shinasai 仲良くしなさい 
MAKE PEACE ALREADY.</li>
<ul>
<li>>: C</li>
<li>Imperative form.</li>
</ul>
<li>naka yoku shitenai 仲良くしてない 
Haven't made peace [yet].</li>
</ul>
<h2 id="naka-naori">
Naka Naori 仲直り</h2>
The phrase naka naori 仲直り means "fixing relationship." It's from the verb naoru 直る, "to fix," in the sense of making it the way it was before. So these two phrases mean the same thing: 
<ul>
<li>naka yoku suru 仲良くする 
naka naori suru 仲直りする 
To make peace.</li>
</ul>
<h2 id="naka-tagai">
Naka Tagai 仲違い</h2>
On the other hand we have naka tagai 仲違い, meaning "souring relationship." It's from the verb tagau 違う, meaning "to discord with." Note that it's homonym with chigau 違う, "to differ," but it's not the same verb. Anyway, these two phrases mean the same thing: 
<ul>
<li>naka waruku suru 仲悪くする 
naka tagai suru 仲違いする 
Become so the relationship is bad. 
To have a fight with. 
To stop being friends. 
To break up with.</li>
</ul>
<h2 id="expression-for-sex">
Expression for "Sex"</h2>
Sometimes, the phrases naka yoshi 仲良し and naka yoku suru 仲良くする can mean "to have sex with." 
 
You know how it goes: make peace, not war, make love, not war, make love. I mean, "make love." 
 
It's basically the same thing. The phrase naka yoshi is a way of saying the thing without saying the thing used by people who don't want to say the thing but want to say the thing, get it? 
 
Of course, naka yoshi doesn't literally mean "to have sex," it's just an expression. Other terms for the act would be: 
<ul>
<li>seikou 性交 
Sexual intercourse.</li>
<li>seikoui 性行為 
Sexual act.</li>
<li>sekkusu セックス 
Sex.</li>
<li><a href="https://www.japanesewithanime.com/2017/08/ecchi-meaning.html">ecchi</a> suru エッチする 
To do <a href="https://www.japanesewithanime.com/2017/12/H-japanese-meaning.html">H</a>.</li>
<ul>
<li>Seriously. That's what it says. Literally.</li>
<li>It's a slang.</li>
</ul>
</ul>
 
Some people, in fact, hate the use of naka yoshi in this way, and prefer any of the above instead. 
 
On top of that, some people may simply not get what you mean by naka yoshi when you say it. Specially in anime, where characters are awfully dull. 
 

Manga: Ubu Ubu Fuufu うぶうぶふうふ (Chapter 1)
<ul>
<li>Context: not that it helps, but this is supposed to be a "husband and wife," fuufu. The husband had said he wanted to have a good relationship with their child, who's a baby (held by the wife out of frame).</li>
<li>ano ne 
あのね 
[Well, you see...]</li>
<ul>
<li>Used to call someone's attention before talking.</li>
</ul>
<li>a' atashi to mo 
naka yoku... 
shite hoshii 
kana... tte 
あっあたしとも　なかよく･･･して欲しいかな･･･って 
[I was thinking] I want you to [have] a good relationship [with me], too.</li>
<ul>
<li>TL Note: "a good relationship" means "sex."</li>
</ul>
<li>wa' 
わっ 
Wah.</li>
<li>iza iu to 
nanka tereru 
いざ言うとなんかテレる 
[After] saying [it I] feel sort of embarrassed.</li>
<li>Chika-chan to... e? 
ちかちゃんと･･･え？ 
With [you,] eh?</li>
<ul>
<li>Chika is her name.</li>
</ul>
<li>naka yoku......te 
なかよく･･････て 
"A good relationship......"</li>
<li><a href="https://www.japanesewithanime.com/2017/11/betsuni-meaning.html">betsu ni</a> 
kenka toka 
shitenai yo ne? 
別にケンカとかしてないよね？ 
[It's not like] we've [had] a fight or anything, right?</li>
<ul>
<li>In case you ever wondered "would this harem anime main character remain so completely dull and ignorant of the girls' advances were him not a high school boy," this is your answer.</li>
</ul>
</ul>

In Japanese,仲がいい means somebody is in good terms with somebody else, that they're friends, colleagues, that they have a "good relationship." Literally, it's the word仲, "relationship," plus the <a href="https://www.japanesewithanime.com/2018/10/i-adjectives.html">i-adjective</a> いい, "good," so it means "relationship is good."It's also spelled仲がいい. A synonymous variant is仲がよい. The homonym中がいい means "inside is good" instead.The word仲 literally means "relationship," but in English when we say "relationship" it always sounds like we're talking about romantic relationships, which isn't what this word is about.The wordis a much more generic term for relationship. Just like the word <a href="https://www.japanesewithanime.com/2017/03/nakama-meaning.html">nakama 仲間</a> sounds like it's about friends but it isn't, it's about a much more generic sort of relationship.So whenis used, it just means two people don't hate each other. It can mean they're good colleagues, buddies. It can mean they're good friends. It can even imply two people are dating. It's just... their relationship is good. That's all.Sometimes, in anime, you'll seeused when two characters are actually fighting, but not in a kung-fu fighting way, more like in a "you!" way. Maybe they're rivals. Maybe there's ainvolved.Anyway, it's kind of a trope to have a bystander make fun of their love-hate rom-com relationship by saying they don't hate each other when they wish they did.The phrase仲が悪い means two people hate each other, that they're in bad terms, that they had a fight over something and they're angry with each other. Literally, it means "relationship is bad," since <a href="https://www.japanesewithanime.com/2019/01/warui-meaning.html">warui 悪い</a> , means "bad."A synonymous variant is:Sometimes the negative forms of the respective adjectives are used instead:Since仲がいい already has仲 as the subject marked by theが particle, in order to elaborate whose relationship is good or bad we use the topic marking particleは instead. For example:Note that even though it translates to "their" in the end it's not literally a possessive, you simply may choose to interpret it as a possessive.In fact, you can actually turn it into a <a href="https://www.japanesewithanime.com/2018/11/no-adjectives.html">possessive no-adjective</a> so it becomes closer to English, but this usage is less common than just using the topic marker.The phrase仲が良かった means that "the relationship was good." Literally conjugated to the past. This sort of phrase is often used regrettably, like when two people were in good terms before, but now they've broken up.When the phrase仲がいい is an adjective for a noun, it technically becomes a <a href="https://www.japanesewithanime.com/2018/12/relative-clauses.html">relative clause</a> , since it has its own case marking particle, theが. <a href="https://www.japanesewithanime.com/2018/12/relative-clauses.html#ga-becoming-no-in-relative-clauses">Because it's a relative clause, the ga が particle may be replaced by the subject marking particle no の</a> Another way to say two people are amicable to each other is仲良し. This <a href="https://www.japanesewithanime.com/2019/02/yoshi-meaning.html">yoshi 良し</a> usually means "alright," but it's technically a predicative form of an older form ofいい. An example:The word can also be turned into a <a href="https://www.japanesewithanime.com/2018/11/na-adjectives.html">na-adjective</a> The phrase仲が良さそう means "it seems the relationship is good." It's used when it looks like two people have a good relationship. You aren't asserting they have one, you're just saying what it looks like.Like any word with thesuffix attached to it, <a href="https://www.japanesewithanime.com/2019/02/yosasou-meaning.html">yosasou 良さそう</a> can become a-adjective, in which case it turns the phrase into a relative clause, which lets we switchが byの.The phrase仲良く hasいい in its adverbial form, <a href="https://www.japanesewithanime.com/2019/02/yoku-meaning.html">yoku 良く</a> , which means it modifies a verb instead of qualifying a noun. In this form, it's normally used in two specific ways:First,仲良くなる, which means "to become so the relationship is good." Or, in other words, "to become in good terms," "to become amicable," "to become friends," and so on.The verb "to become,"なる may also be conjugated:Second,仲良くする, which means "to make it a good relationship." Basically,, it's same thing as, except that withwe're simply stating the fact that it becomes, or became, so, withwe're expressing our motivation to make it become so.We'llit. We'll make it so.The phrase仲直り means "fixing relationship." It's from the verb直る, "to fix," in the sense of making it the way it was before. So these two phrases mean the same thing:On the other hand we have仲違い, meaning "souring relationship." It's from the verb違う, meaning "to discord with." Note that it's homonym with違う, "to differ," but it's not the same verb. Anyway, these two phrases mean the same thing:Sometimes, the phrases仲良し and仲良くする can mean "to have sex with."You know how it goes: make peace, not war, make love, not war, make love. I mean, "make love."It's basically the same thing. The phraseis a way of saying the thing without saying the thing used by people who don't want to say the thing but want to say the thing, get it?Of course,doesn't literally mean "to have sex," it's just an expression. Other terms for the act would be:Some people, in fact, hate the use ofin this way, and prefer any of the above instead.On top of that, some people may simply not get what you mean bywhen you say it. Specially in anime, where characters are awfully dull.</div>

仲がいい, Naka ga ii - Meaning in Japanese

naka ga ii 仲がいい means somebody is in good terms with somebody else, that they're friends, colleagues, that they have a "good relationship." Literally, it's the word naka 仲, "relationship," plus the ii…

13 Mar 2019

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