I always feel like a jerk when I comment on another person's story, and they use the English version "Yosuke" while I use the Japanese "Yousuke." I'm sorry, but I can't un-train myself to spell it that way. Right now, I had to go back three times and write it without the first "u".
As it states in the first chapter, and on every author's page/story intro page I've created for sharing "1 More Chance!", my story is taken from the Japanese version of the game. In that version, his name is spelled Hanamura Yousuke: 花村陽介. Even Kuma (Teddie) calls him Yo-suke ヨースケ, with a long "o" sound. If you play the Japanese version of the game, whenever Kuma calls him by name (which is a lot, especially when he's complaining about something), you will see "ヨースケ！" Or, sometimes, "ヨースケエエエエエエ！" when Kuma is being whiny. (I tried to hearken back to those moments a little bit in Chapter 54 ("In the Shadow of Destiny"), when Kuma calls to Yousuke for help.)
I know that Atlus USA translated his name as Yosuke. That's fine. To the average person's ear (and to the English-speaking person's ear especially), you don't really hear a difference. But Yosuke is not the same as Yousuke:
Write them out one at a time, and you get this:
Yosuke - よすけ becomes 世介。
Yousuke - ようすけ becomes 陽介。
On the series Star Trek: The Next Generation, the character of Data pronounced his name as "DAY-tuh". Doctor Pulaski attempts to call him "Deh-tuh", the other pronunciation of the word, data. When Data corrects her on the pronunciation, she asks him what difference it makes. Data the android replies, "One is my name, the other is not."
Okay, I know I'm starting to sound like a pompous ass about this, so let me be clear: I don't care that most people write his name as Yosuke; Atlus USA chose to translate his name that way, for whatever reason. That doesn't bother me. But I am not wrong when I write it as Yousuke.
So. Can't we just both be right in this case?
Showing posts with label Japanese. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Japanese. Show all posts
14 October 2010
12 March 2010
Songfics
Okay, nobody asked for this, but I decided to post it here, anyway.
Here's a little group of links to excerpts for the songs that have been used in the story so far. Each excerpt is just about 1 minute in length, but it should still give you an accurate idea of the feeling of each piece.
Chapter 37 - "Agonies and Thrills" - has Rise singing up to Yousuke and Chie. The song is "Free and Easy" by Hamasaki Ayumi, copyright 2002, and is used here without permission. Listen to the excerpt here! (This particular excerpt is the exact part of the song that is described. I listened and studied this song for hours before I finally got the translation right and was able to create the proper feel for the piece within the story.)
Chapter 42 - "Farewell, My Youth" - has Rise singing a song onstage, while the rest of the team listens around the Tanabata Matsuri festival set-up. The song is "Endless Sorrow" by Hamasaki Ayumi, copyright 2002; it's used here without permission. Listen to the excerpt here!
Chapter 43 - "Dandelion Wishes", which covers the Tanabata festival that was referenced back in Chapter 30, "Star Princess" - actually has a couple of songs:
Rise's song onstage is "Voyage" by Hamasaki Ayumi, copyright 2003; used without permission. Listen to the excerpt here!
Nanako and Kimiyo's song onstage is "Wo Qui Non Coin" by Yoko Kanno, copyright 1999; used without permission. Listen to the excerpt here!
Yousuke's song to Chie is "Tanpopo" by Tsuji Ayano, copyright 2006; used without permission. Listen to the excerpt here! (This particular excerpt is the final chorus, where Yousuke joins Rise in singing.)
* * * * *
Some readers do not like song-fics, or stories that have songs placed into them. I don't often like them, myself, since it can feel like the author is taking a short-cut, and using the song to convey emotion and description that the author should really be doing with their own words (as opposed to someone else's). And, honestly, I dislike it when an author just plops in a huge block of lyric text and doesn't enhance it for the sake of the plot or characterization. I've tried not to do that with this story, but I suppose each reader has to decide for him or herself about that.
Here's a little group of links to excerpts for the songs that have been used in the story so far. Each excerpt is just about 1 minute in length, but it should still give you an accurate idea of the feeling of each piece.
Chapter 37 - "Agonies and Thrills" - has Rise singing up to Yousuke and Chie. The song is "Free and Easy" by Hamasaki Ayumi, copyright 2002, and is used here without permission. Listen to the excerpt here! (This particular excerpt is the exact part of the song that is described. I listened and studied this song for hours before I finally got the translation right and was able to create the proper feel for the piece within the story.)
Chapter 42 - "Farewell, My Youth" - has Rise singing a song onstage, while the rest of the team listens around the Tanabata Matsuri festival set-up. The song is "Endless Sorrow" by Hamasaki Ayumi, copyright 2002; it's used here without permission. Listen to the excerpt here!
Chapter 43 - "Dandelion Wishes", which covers the Tanabata festival that was referenced back in Chapter 30, "Star Princess" - actually has a couple of songs:
Rise's song onstage is "Voyage" by Hamasaki Ayumi, copyright 2003; used without permission. Listen to the excerpt here!
Nanako and Kimiyo's song onstage is "Wo Qui Non Coin" by Yoko Kanno, copyright 1999; used without permission. Listen to the excerpt here!
Yousuke's song to Chie is "Tanpopo" by Tsuji Ayano, copyright 2006; used without permission. Listen to the excerpt here! (This particular excerpt is the final chorus, where Yousuke joins Rise in singing.)
* * * * *
Some readers do not like song-fics, or stories that have songs placed into them. I don't often like them, myself, since it can feel like the author is taking a short-cut, and using the song to convey emotion and description that the author should really be doing with their own words (as opposed to someone else's). And, honestly, I dislike it when an author just plops in a huge block of lyric text and doesn't enhance it for the sake of the plot or characterization. I've tried not to do that with this story, but I suppose each reader has to decide for him or herself about that.
23 January 2010
How it all started....
No question again this week, but I thought it might interest readers to know what first prompted me to start plotting this story. So, here's the image and blog post that started this whole story running in my head....
Readers of the story will semi-recognize a variation of this moment from Chapter 6 ("Kung Fu Queen"); it was what originally got me thinking of what a relationship story between Chie and Yousuke might look like. And that surprised and speechless expression on Chie's face - much like the artist's comments - summed up pretty much perfectly the way that I thought (even an older) Chie might react to Yousuke being so compassionate.
Chapter 48 just went up this week, and I'm fixing up Chapter 49 right now, for posting on January 27, 2010. Not many more chapters left, and the characters have come a long way...but this moment still sticks with me as being at the heart of the story.
Readers of the story will semi-recognize a variation of this moment from Chapter 6 ("Kung Fu Queen"); it was what originally got me thinking of what a relationship story between Chie and Yousuke might look like. And that surprised and speechless expression on Chie's face - much like the artist's comments - summed up pretty much perfectly the way that I thought (even an older) Chie might react to Yousuke being so compassionate.
Chapter 48 just went up this week, and I'm fixing up Chapter 49 right now, for posting on January 27, 2010. Not many more chapters left, and the characters have come a long way...but this moment still sticks with me as being at the heart of the story.
09 December 2009
Q: What's with the honorifics?
Q: A few reviewers commented (in the same week, oddly enough) about my use of honorifics, specifically the "-chan" honorific as regards to using it with men. So, this week I'll address the question, "Why do the characters use '-chan' when referring to a man?"
A: Because they do.
Okay, before you blow back at me, let me explain:
I write these characters by my own ear.
A lot of people are used to the "-kun" honorific when addressing boys informally/affectionately, because a lot of games, manga, and anime use this honorific for the male characters. This is, essentially, correct. However, "-kun" as an honorific for a man is not as widespread. In fact, when I was growing up, I was very specifically told by my (Japanese) mother that I should not be using "-kun" to refer to any male over the age of about 16, even if he is my contemporary. It's very baby-ish to refer to a man that way, and in a society such as Japan's, which is built so strongly around respect for one's neighbor, and social standing, and propriety, it's just not kosher to go around using the "-kun" honorific for a man.
The honorific "-chan" is regularly used by men and by women for women and children - and this is commonly addressed in games, manga, and anime, as well. But "-chan" is also used by women for men of contemporary age with whom they have a certain level of intimacy. A woman will very commonly use the "-chan" honorific for her boyfriend, or her lover, or even her husband (though usually only in private for the latter, again, because of the societal idea that men are supposed to be the providers and the dominants).
Chie has pretty much always called Yukiko (as an example) "Yukiko-chan" or even "Yuki-chan" because they are so close; they're practically sisters (or more intimate, though not in my story). And she does the same with the other women, because she's a woman talking to and referring to other women. No problem, right?
Okay, now, let's move on to the point of contention that some readers have.
At the beginning of the story, Chie calls Yousuke simply "Hanamura," the common way to address a peer being by their last name. Even in the game (the Japanese version, anyway, from which this story takes its cues), Chie calls him "Hanamura"...and Yousuke calls her "Satonaka." I kept them at that same level of intimacy (friendship only) for the first Arc of the story.
In the second Arc, Chie and Yousuke get closer as intimates, to the point where they're calling each other by their given names. (The moment in illustration occurs in Chapter 13, "Old Habits," for anyone wondering.) As noted in the Author's Notes for that chapter, this jump is fairly significant, for the reasons stated therein. He immediately starts using the "-chan" honorific because he's a man referring to a woman with whom he shares a deeper level of intimacy. She also starts to refer to him with the same honorific, for the same reason (just switch the respective genders).
By the third and fourth Arcs, Chie and Yousuke are both so far up into each other that I can't see them using any other terms. They do call each other by their given names only with regularity, but the "-chan" honorific adds a sweetness to the exchanges that just wouldn't exist otherwise. It's akin to an English speaker calling someone "sweetie" or "honey" or "baby" ... because those terms just don't really exist in Japanese language. It's pretty much some version of a name or title, or it's the equivalent of "hey, you" (which is quite ill-mannered in Japanese society).
There are some exceptions, of course:
Rise uses "-kun" for all of the guys, regardless of their age, because she's a perpetual girl.
Yukiko uses "-kun" for Kanji because she still kind of thinks of him as a little brother in a lot of ways (it's the same reason why Kanji slips and calls Yukiko "ne-chan [big sis]" in Chapter 33, "Juxtaposition"); she uses the name "Hana-chan" for Yousuke because she thinks of him as an inferior, much like Konishi Saki did (and I just liked to have someone keep that short form of his name alive). What Yukiko calls Souji will be revealed in more detail in the coming chapters....
But what my choice really comes down to is that I write the way that my mind thinks, and I'm a product of my Japanese upbringing. Having Chie call Yousuke "Yousuke-chan" - and vice versa - just makes sense to my inner ear. When I translate the way that I speak with my own significant other, that's how Chie speaks.
So, I hope that clarifies why I made the honorific choices that I did.
A: Because they do.
Okay, before you blow back at me, let me explain:
I write these characters by my own ear.
A lot of people are used to the "-kun" honorific when addressing boys informally/affectionately, because a lot of games, manga, and anime use this honorific for the male characters. This is, essentially, correct. However, "-kun" as an honorific for a man is not as widespread. In fact, when I was growing up, I was very specifically told by my (Japanese) mother that I should not be using "-kun" to refer to any male over the age of about 16, even if he is my contemporary. It's very baby-ish to refer to a man that way, and in a society such as Japan's, which is built so strongly around respect for one's neighbor, and social standing, and propriety, it's just not kosher to go around using the "-kun" honorific for a man.
The honorific "-chan" is regularly used by men and by women for women and children - and this is commonly addressed in games, manga, and anime, as well. But "-chan" is also used by women for men of contemporary age with whom they have a certain level of intimacy. A woman will very commonly use the "-chan" honorific for her boyfriend, or her lover, or even her husband (though usually only in private for the latter, again, because of the societal idea that men are supposed to be the providers and the dominants).
Chie has pretty much always called Yukiko (as an example) "Yukiko-chan" or even "Yuki-chan" because they are so close; they're practically sisters (or more intimate, though not in my story). And she does the same with the other women, because she's a woman talking to and referring to other women. No problem, right?
Okay, now, let's move on to the point of contention that some readers have.
At the beginning of the story, Chie calls Yousuke simply "Hanamura," the common way to address a peer being by their last name. Even in the game (the Japanese version, anyway, from which this story takes its cues), Chie calls him "Hanamura"...and Yousuke calls her "Satonaka." I kept them at that same level of intimacy (friendship only) for the first Arc of the story.
In the second Arc, Chie and Yousuke get closer as intimates, to the point where they're calling each other by their given names. (The moment in illustration occurs in Chapter 13, "Old Habits," for anyone wondering.) As noted in the Author's Notes for that chapter, this jump is fairly significant, for the reasons stated therein. He immediately starts using the "-chan" honorific because he's a man referring to a woman with whom he shares a deeper level of intimacy. She also starts to refer to him with the same honorific, for the same reason (just switch the respective genders).
By the third and fourth Arcs, Chie and Yousuke are both so far up into each other that I can't see them using any other terms. They do call each other by their given names only with regularity, but the "-chan" honorific adds a sweetness to the exchanges that just wouldn't exist otherwise. It's akin to an English speaker calling someone "sweetie" or "honey" or "baby" ... because those terms just don't really exist in Japanese language. It's pretty much some version of a name or title, or it's the equivalent of "hey, you" (which is quite ill-mannered in Japanese society).
There are some exceptions, of course:
Rise uses "-kun" for all of the guys, regardless of their age, because she's a perpetual girl.
Yukiko uses "-kun" for Kanji because she still kind of thinks of him as a little brother in a lot of ways (it's the same reason why Kanji slips and calls Yukiko "ne-chan [big sis]" in Chapter 33, "Juxtaposition"); she uses the name "Hana-chan" for Yousuke because she thinks of him as an inferior, much like Konishi Saki did (and I just liked to have someone keep that short form of his name alive). What Yukiko calls Souji will be revealed in more detail in the coming chapters....
But what my choice really comes down to is that I write the way that my mind thinks, and I'm a product of my Japanese upbringing. Having Chie call Yousuke "Yousuke-chan" - and vice versa - just makes sense to my inner ear. When I translate the way that I speak with my own significant other, that's how Chie speaks.
So, I hope that clarifies why I made the honorific choices that I did.
11 November 2009
Tanabata and the Duel
- All chapter links listed below will take you to the Fanfiction.Net versions. -
Now that Chapter 37 ("Agonies and Thrills") has been up for a full week and we've moved on to Chapter 38 ("Two Steps Forward....", posted 2009 Nov. 11), I think it's relatively safe for me to go off on a tangent as regard to the duel challenge plot and its culmination.
But just in case, I'm going to SPOILER mark it for those who have not read Chapter 37, so rollover to view the rest.
In Chapter 30 ("Star Princess"), Chie's grandfather Kazunori relates the story of Tanabata. The chapter title refers to a couple of different things. One is the heavenly princess Orihime, the heroine of the Tanabata story; the second is Kuma, whose Arcana is the Star; and the third is Chie, whose fate, at least so far as the duel is concerned, is linked very closely with sweet Orihime's.
Pet names are not common in Japan, but I felt it was important for Yousuke to give Chie the pet name of "hime-chan" or "princess," because that's what she is to him. He's a bit of a chauvinist in this regard - wanting to protect and take care of Chie...not necessarily because he thinks of her as a lesser person because of her gender, but because he thinks she needs someone to protect her and take care of her. (I'm not saying he's right - and she needs to prove time and again that she's the better fighter of the two of them - but that's the way that he thinks. Chalk it up to a patriarchal society.) The princess symbolism doesn't end there, of course...but that's a topic for another day.
Nevertheless, readers who have been paying close attention to what happens in the story will notice that the story of Orihime and Hikoboshi - which Kazunori relates to Kuma and the others - relates almost directly to what occurs with Chie and Yousuke at the conclusion of the duel fight. In the simplest of comparisons:
Chie (Orihime) goes to her father, Hitoshi (Tentei), and begs him to let her stay with Yousuke (Hikoboshi), the man whom she loves. It's specifically Orihime's tears - much like it is with Chie's - that sway Tentei's/Hitoshi's heart in favor of his daughter, despite what his feelings may be for her future or for her lover.
Now, I also felt it was necessary to have Yousuke and Chie grow as adults, as well as both friends and lovers, during the trials of the training chapters. And it was very important for the characters to venture into the Mayonaka TV world, because the Shadows (and Personas) come into play quite significantly in Part IV. And I wanted to build up some tension in the latter chapters, especially, to keep readers interested in seeing what was going to happen in the fight itself. But, for readers who were paying attention, I was giving away the ending of Part III very early on, all the way back in Chapter 30.
END SPOILER
So, this was just a small glimpse into the workings of the mind of an author who's trying to keep everything in a plot moving toward a culminating goal of neatly-woven entertainment. (Or maybe not so neatly-woven. You can judge that for yourself.)
Now that Chapter 37 ("Agonies and Thrills") has been up for a full week and we've moved on to Chapter 38 ("Two Steps Forward....", posted 2009 Nov. 11), I think it's relatively safe for me to go off on a tangent as regard to the duel challenge plot and its culmination.
But just in case, I'm going to SPOILER mark it for those who have not read Chapter 37, so rollover to view the rest.
In Chapter 30 ("Star Princess"), Chie's grandfather Kazunori relates the story of Tanabata. The chapter title refers to a couple of different things. One is the heavenly princess Orihime, the heroine of the Tanabata story; the second is Kuma, whose Arcana is the Star; and the third is Chie, whose fate, at least so far as the duel is concerned, is linked very closely with sweet Orihime's.
Pet names are not common in Japan, but I felt it was important for Yousuke to give Chie the pet name of "hime-chan" or "princess," because that's what she is to him. He's a bit of a chauvinist in this regard - wanting to protect and take care of Chie...not necessarily because he thinks of her as a lesser person because of her gender, but because he thinks she needs someone to protect her and take care of her. (I'm not saying he's right - and she needs to prove time and again that she's the better fighter of the two of them - but that's the way that he thinks. Chalk it up to a patriarchal society.) The princess symbolism doesn't end there, of course...but that's a topic for another day.
Nevertheless, readers who have been paying close attention to what happens in the story will notice that the story of Orihime and Hikoboshi - which Kazunori relates to Kuma and the others - relates almost directly to what occurs with Chie and Yousuke at the conclusion of the duel fight. In the simplest of comparisons:
Chie (Orihime) goes to her father, Hitoshi (Tentei), and begs him to let her stay with Yousuke (Hikoboshi), the man whom she loves. It's specifically Orihime's tears - much like it is with Chie's - that sway Tentei's/Hitoshi's heart in favor of his daughter, despite what his feelings may be for her future or for her lover.
Now, I also felt it was necessary to have Yousuke and Chie grow as adults, as well as both friends and lovers, during the trials of the training chapters. And it was very important for the characters to venture into the Mayonaka TV world, because the Shadows (and Personas) come into play quite significantly in Part IV. And I wanted to build up some tension in the latter chapters, especially, to keep readers interested in seeing what was going to happen in the fight itself. But, for readers who were paying attention, I was giving away the ending of Part III very early on, all the way back in Chapter 30.
END SPOILER
So, this was just a small glimpse into the workings of the mind of an author who's trying to keep everything in a plot moving toward a culminating goal of neatly-woven entertainment. (Or maybe not so neatly-woven. You can judge that for yourself.)
19 September 2009
Commonly-used Japanese phrases
I got a response to a chapter that brought up my use of Japanese phrases in the story. Speaking and understanding fair Japanese myself, I often forget that not everybody is familiar with the language. So, here's a list of commonly-used phrases in the story.
Most of the Japanese phrases used in the story are used to show formality of a character's speech, or to denote a particularly phrase, meaning, or sentiment that I feel is more Japanese than it is Western. There's not really a Japanese phrase or word that's used that's particularly necessary to know; where it is necessary to know what's being said, I've tried to translate it for the reader within the text around it.
Japanese - English meaning
Persons, Titles and Honorifics
senpai - senior, as in upperclassman; used for male and female; can be used alone or as an honorific attached to a name
kouhai - junior, as in underclassman; used for male and female; can be used alone or as an honorific attached to a name
sensei - teacher; can be used alone or as an honorific attached to a name
onii-chan/nii-chan - one's older brother when addressing said brother (o is added for more formality)
one-chan/ne-chan - one's older sister when addressing said sister (o is added for more formality)
ani - one's older brother when speaking with someone outside the family
ane - one's older sister when speaking with someone outside the family
kare - man; colloquially, boyfriend
kanojo - woman; colloquially, girlfriend
musuko - son
musume - daughter
otou-san/otou-chan/tou-san/tou-chan - father
okaa-san/okaa-chan/kaa-san/kaa-chan - mother
-san - formal honorific, usually reserved for someone worthy of respect
-kun - familiar honorific, used traditionally for young boys; Rise uses this for almost all men of her age bracket, due to her youthful personality
-chan - familiar honorific, used mostly for girls; also used between family members, and intimates for women and men
-tan - a babyish form of the familiar honorific "-chan"
-sama - very formal honorific, usually reserved for someone worthy of respect (specifically, more respect than the -san honorific)
Phrases
(domo) arigatou (gozaimasu) - thank you (very much)
domo arigatou gozaimashite - thank you very much (for something, such as a gift or action); also used with same meaning, but more respectful, as to an elder
konnichiwa - a greeting; hello during any time of day
konbanwa - good evening, or hello during evening hours
ohayo (gozaimasu) - good morning (formal), or hello during morning hours
sayounara - goodbye
oyasumi (nasai) - good night (formal)
suimasen/sumimasen - pardon me, excuse me, I'm sorry
gomen (nasai) - I'm sorry (more formal or polite)
daijoubu - it's all right, it's okay, don't worry about it; also, are you okay?
ja mata ne - see you later; some shortened variations (ja, ja mata, mata ne) are more colloquial
ie he youkoso - welcome to my/our house/home
irasshaimase/irasshai - welcome (as in, to my store); also, welcome back
tadaima - I'm home
okaeri (nasai) - welcome home (more formal or polite)
douzo yoroshiku - nice to meet you, somewhat formal
ojamashimasu - sorry for intruding; usually said when entering someone else's house, to be polite, regardless whether you mean it or not
Objects
rakuen - paradise
ryokan - hotel, inn; the Amagi Inn is a traditional ryokan
ohashi - chopsticks
gyudon/gyuudon - beef bowl, a common rice-and-beef dish; Aiya's specialty and one of Chie's favorites
obento/bento - a boxed lunch, sometimes quite elaborate (like from the Amagi Inn restaurant)
kotatsu - a table equipped with a heating element underneath; very comfy for cuddling in the colder months! :)
futon - a sleeping pad used as a bed
jinja - shrine
genkan - a usually-cement porch used for changing into and out of one's shoes prior to entering a house, school building, shrine
agari kamachi - a usually-cement step used for changing into and out of one's shoes prior to entering a house or apartment; smaller than a traditional genkan
ougi - a folding fan; Yukiko's weapon of choice
kunai - fighting knives; Yousuke's weapon of choice
kakebuton - a blanket for use with futon or kotatsu
ichigo - strawberry
koto - a wooden string instrument
korokke - croquette; Souzai's specialty is beef croquettes
kimono - a formal Japanese dress; worn by both men and women
yukata - a lightweight, one-piece Japanese dress, less formal than kimono; worn by both men and women
Pet names (NOTE: Nicknames or pet names - like "honey" or "sweetie" and the like - are not common in Japan, but for plot's sake, my protagonists do have pet names for each other)
hime - princess; Yousuke calls Chie this with frequency, though only in private
koinu - puppy (kanari no koinu specifically means "pretty puppy"); Chie calls Yousuke this on occasion, usually to be cute
kimi - affectionate variant of "you"
anta/anata - affectionate variant of "you"; used by a wife to a husband; old-fashioned (Note that using "あなた／Anata" when addressing strangers/acquaintances can be considered rude, especially if addressing someone of equal or higher social status, and is generally not done...though older people will lapse into this.)
Miscellaneous
kuma - kuma in its literal translation means "bear" in Japanese; Kuma the character uses this word as a closing in most phrases, though for no real good reason
gaeru - frog ("kero" is Japanese onomatopeia for the sound a frog makes)
arashi - storm (Yousuke's name for his bicycle)
-----
If you've got a question about the story, drop me a review or an email! Hope you keep reading! There's lots more fun stuff to come!
Most of the Japanese phrases used in the story are used to show formality of a character's speech, or to denote a particularly phrase, meaning, or sentiment that I feel is more Japanese than it is Western. There's not really a Japanese phrase or word that's used that's particularly necessary to know; where it is necessary to know what's being said, I've tried to translate it for the reader within the text around it.
Japanese - English meaning
Persons, Titles and Honorifics
senpai - senior, as in upperclassman; used for male and female; can be used alone or as an honorific attached to a name
kouhai - junior, as in underclassman; used for male and female; can be used alone or as an honorific attached to a name
sensei - teacher; can be used alone or as an honorific attached to a name
onii-chan/nii-chan - one's older brother when addressing said brother (o is added for more formality)
one-chan/ne-chan - one's older sister when addressing said sister (o is added for more formality)
ani - one's older brother when speaking with someone outside the family
ane - one's older sister when speaking with someone outside the family
kare - man; colloquially, boyfriend
kanojo - woman; colloquially, girlfriend
musuko - son
musume - daughter
otou-san/otou-chan/tou-san/tou-chan - father
okaa-san/okaa-chan/kaa-san/kaa-chan - mother
-san - formal honorific, usually reserved for someone worthy of respect
-kun - familiar honorific, used traditionally for young boys; Rise uses this for almost all men of her age bracket, due to her youthful personality
-chan - familiar honorific, used mostly for girls; also used between family members, and intimates for women and men
-tan - a babyish form of the familiar honorific "-chan"
-sama - very formal honorific, usually reserved for someone worthy of respect (specifically, more respect than the -san honorific)
Phrases
(domo) arigatou (gozaimasu) - thank you (very much)
domo arigatou gozaimashite - thank you very much (for something, such as a gift or action); also used with same meaning, but more respectful, as to an elder
konnichiwa - a greeting; hello during any time of day
konbanwa - good evening, or hello during evening hours
ohayo (gozaimasu) - good morning (formal), or hello during morning hours
sayounara - goodbye
oyasumi (nasai) - good night (formal)
suimasen/sumimasen - pardon me, excuse me, I'm sorry
gomen (nasai) - I'm sorry (more formal or polite)
daijoubu - it's all right, it's okay, don't worry about it; also, are you okay?
ja mata ne - see you later; some shortened variations (ja, ja mata, mata ne) are more colloquial
ie he youkoso - welcome to my/our house/home
irasshaimase/irasshai - welcome (as in, to my store); also, welcome back
tadaima - I'm home
okaeri (nasai) - welcome home (more formal or polite)
douzo yoroshiku - nice to meet you, somewhat formal
ojamashimasu - sorry for intruding; usually said when entering someone else's house, to be polite, regardless whether you mean it or not
Objects
rakuen - paradise
ryokan - hotel, inn; the Amagi Inn is a traditional ryokan
ohashi - chopsticks
gyudon/gyuudon - beef bowl, a common rice-and-beef dish; Aiya's specialty and one of Chie's favorites
obento/bento - a boxed lunch, sometimes quite elaborate (like from the Amagi Inn restaurant)
kotatsu - a table equipped with a heating element underneath; very comfy for cuddling in the colder months! :)
futon - a sleeping pad used as a bed
jinja - shrine
genkan - a usually-cement porch used for changing into and out of one's shoes prior to entering a house, school building, shrine
agari kamachi - a usually-cement step used for changing into and out of one's shoes prior to entering a house or apartment; smaller than a traditional genkan
ougi - a folding fan; Yukiko's weapon of choice
kunai - fighting knives; Yousuke's weapon of choice
kakebuton - a blanket for use with futon or kotatsu
ichigo - strawberry
koto - a wooden string instrument
korokke - croquette; Souzai's specialty is beef croquettes
kimono - a formal Japanese dress; worn by both men and women
yukata - a lightweight, one-piece Japanese dress, less formal than kimono; worn by both men and women
Pet names (NOTE: Nicknames or pet names - like "honey" or "sweetie" and the like - are not common in Japan, but for plot's sake, my protagonists do have pet names for each other)
hime - princess; Yousuke calls Chie this with frequency, though only in private
koinu - puppy (kanari no koinu specifically means "pretty puppy"); Chie calls Yousuke this on occasion, usually to be cute
kimi - affectionate variant of "you"
anta/anata - affectionate variant of "you"; used by a wife to a husband; old-fashioned (Note that using "あなた／Anata" when addressing strangers/acquaintances can be considered rude, especially if addressing someone of equal or higher social status, and is generally not done...though older people will lapse into this.)
Miscellaneous
kuma - kuma in its literal translation means "bear" in Japanese; Kuma the character uses this word as a closing in most phrases, though for no real good reason
gaeru - frog ("kero" is Japanese onomatopeia for the sound a frog makes)
arashi - storm (Yousuke's name for his bicycle)
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If you've got a question about the story, drop me a review or an email! Hope you keep reading! There's lots more fun stuff to come!
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