doubt
疑い
Examples:
There's no doubt that the culprit is in this room.
この部屋に犯人がいるということはまず間違いない。
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I don't doubt your driving abilities.
君の運転能力には疑いはないよ。
Clip
When in doubt, tell the truth.
迷ったら本当の事を話しなさい。
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Comment:
A (not so famous) quote by Mark Twain, author of Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn. One way of interpreting it is that it's better to tell the truth than to lie. Another way is that if you're sure it's for the better, you should lie. I like the second one.
Friday, January 23, 2009
Monday, January 19, 2009
Confused
confused
混乱した
Example:
That's a really confusing textbook.
あれは本当に混乱させる教科書だな。
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perplexed
まごついた
Example:
I'm perplexed by how humans can kill each other so easily.
俺は人間がそう簡単に人間を殺せることにまごついてる。
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baffled
困惑した
Example:
That student was baffled by the complex math problem.
あの学生は複雑な数学問題に困惑した。
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puzzled
戸惑った
Example:
That girl has a puzzled look on her face.
あの女の子は戸惑い顔をしてるね。
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bewildered
当惑した
Example:
He was bewildered by suddenly hearing that class was canceled.
彼は授業が中止になったっていきなり聞いて当惑した。
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Comment:
While the Japanese and the English are all different, the meanings are all similar and they can probably be used interchangably. The most common of these words is confused, which you probably knew already. Perplexed and puzzled are also used fairly often, with baffled and bewildered probably less common or maybe more poetic.
混乱した
Example:
That's a really confusing textbook.
あれは本当に混乱させる教科書だな。
Clip
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perplexed
まごついた
Example:
I'm perplexed by how humans can kill each other so easily.
俺は人間がそう簡単に人間を殺せることにまごついてる。
Clip
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baffled
困惑した
Example:
That student was baffled by the complex math problem.
あの学生は複雑な数学問題に困惑した。
Clip
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puzzled
戸惑った
Example:
That girl has a puzzled look on her face.
あの女の子は戸惑い顔をしてるね。
Clip
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bewildered
当惑した
Example:
He was bewildered by suddenly hearing that class was canceled.
彼は授業が中止になったっていきなり聞いて当惑した。
Clip
Comment:
While the Japanese and the English are all different, the meanings are all similar and they can probably be used interchangably. The most common of these words is confused, which you probably knew already. Perplexed and puzzled are also used fairly often, with baffled and bewildered probably less common or maybe more poetic.
Sunday, January 18, 2009
Tips for writing papers
think outside the box
これまでとは全く違った観点で考える
He succeeds because he always thinks outside the box.
かれはいつも違う観点で考えてるから成功できるよ。
Clip
Comment:
Someone who thinks outside the box is very creative.
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pay attention to details
細かいことに注意する
She's never made a mistake since she always pays attention to the details.
いつも細かいことに注意するおかげで彼女は間違ったことがない。
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Comment:
I tend not to do this well enough.
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Slow and steady wins the race.
急がば回れ。
Clip
Comment:
This originates from one of Aesop's fables where a turtle that moved slowly but constantly beat a rabbit who ran fast but took breaks to the finish line. Though I still think fast and steady is the best...
これまでとは全く違った観点で考える
He succeeds because he always thinks outside the box.
かれはいつも違う観点で考えてるから成功できるよ。
Clip
Comment:
Someone who thinks outside the box is very creative.
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pay attention to details
細かいことに注意する
She's never made a mistake since she always pays attention to the details.
いつも細かいことに注意するおかげで彼女は間違ったことがない。
Clip
Comment:
I tend not to do this well enough.
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Slow and steady wins the race.
急がば回れ。
Clip
Comment:
This originates from one of Aesop's fables where a turtle that moved slowly but constantly beat a rabbit who ran fast but took breaks to the finish line. Though I still think fast and steady is the best...
Friday, January 16, 2009
Leave alone
I think all of these have the same English, but the nuance or meaning is slightly different in each case.
leave alone
ほっておく
Example:
Just leave that guy alone; he's not going to listen.
あいつをもうほっておけ、言うことを書かないからさ。
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leave alone
そっとしておく
Example:
Let's leave him alone for now; he probably needs some time to think it over.
彼のこと、今はそっとしておいてあげよう、おそらく考える時間がいるだろう。
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leave alone
残す
Example:
She left the kids alone at home.
家に子供たちを残した。
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leave alone
〜きりにしてあげる
Example:
Oh, uh, well I'll just go ahead and leave you two alone then.
あ、え、じゃ二人きりにしてあげとくよ。
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leave alone
手を出さない
Example:
You better leave my girlfriend alone.
彼女に手を出さないんだぞ。
Clip
Comment:
Though I think "You better not lay your hands on my girlfriend" is the better English translation (and is probably easier to remember too).
leave alone
ほっておく
Example:
Just leave that guy alone; he's not going to listen.
あいつをもうほっておけ、言うことを書かないからさ。
Clip
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leave alone
そっとしておく
Example:
Let's leave him alone for now; he probably needs some time to think it over.
彼のこと、今はそっとしておいてあげよう、おそらく考える時間がいるだろう。
Clip
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leave alone
残す
Example:
She left the kids alone at home.
家に子供たちを残した。
Clip
----
leave alone
〜きりにしてあげる
Example:
Oh, uh, well I'll just go ahead and leave you two alone then.
あ、え、じゃ二人きりにしてあげとくよ。
Clip
----
leave alone
手を出さない
Example:
You better leave my girlfriend alone.
彼女に手を出さないんだぞ。
Clip
Comment:
Though I think "You better not lay your hands on my girlfriend" is the better English translation (and is probably easier to remember too).
Thursday, January 15, 2009
Naturals
a natural ~
生まれながらの
Example:
He's a natural soccer-player.
彼は生まれながらのサッカー選手だぜ。
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have a talent for
の才能がある
Example:
She has some real talent for the piano.
彼女は本当にピアノの才能があるね。
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have a knack for
の才がある
Example:
You've got a knack for learning languages.
君は語学の才があるよ.
Clip
Comment:
I think the strength of the expression goes from top to bottom; that is, a natural probably has the most ability, followed by a talented person, and someone with a knack probably has the least ability of the three. But they're all still high compliments.
生まれながらの
Example:
He's a natural soccer-player.
彼は生まれながらのサッカー選手だぜ。
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have a talent for
の才能がある
Example:
She has some real talent for the piano.
彼女は本当にピアノの才能があるね。
Clip
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have a knack for
の才がある
Example:
You've got a knack for learning languages.
君は語学の才があるよ.
Clip
Comment:
I think the strength of the expression goes from top to bottom; that is, a natural probably has the most ability, followed by a talented person, and someone with a knack probably has the least ability of the three. But they're all still high compliments.
Tuesday, January 13, 2009
Slow
It's pretty common in English to use a simile to describe slowness. Some common ones are:
as slow as molasses
糖蜜の動きのようにひどく遅い
as slow as a turtle
亀の動きのようにひどくのろい
as slow as a snail
カタツムリの動きのようにひどくのろい
Example:
That train is moving as slow as a snail due to the snow.
雪のせいであの電車はひどくのろい。
Clip
Comment:
This is just my opinion, but molasses is faster than a turtle which is faster than a snail.
In Tokyo without microphone, so no clips until end of the week.
as slow as molasses
糖蜜の動きのようにひどく遅い
as slow as a turtle
亀の動きのようにひどくのろい
as slow as a snail
カタツムリの動きのようにひどくのろい
Example:
That train is moving as slow as a snail due to the snow.
雪のせいであの電車はひどくのろい。
Clip
Comment:
This is just my opinion, but molasses is faster than a turtle which is faster than a snail.
In Tokyo without microphone, so no clips until end of the week.
Monday, January 12, 2009
Continuing the blog
Well, it's been a long time since I've posted to this blog, and hopefully I can make shorter but more consistent posts. From now on, I'm going to try recording sound files of the example sentences. I'll say the sentence once slowly, and then once at my normal English speaking speed.
So without further ado, on with the blog!
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without further ado
さっさと
Example:
So without further ado, on with the blog!
さっさとブログを続けましょう！
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Comment:
This line has a sort of fancy nuance attached.
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back by popular demand
よくある要求で戻った (アルクでなくて、適当翻訳；；）
Example:
So the blog is back by popular demand.
よくある要求によってブログが戻ってきた。
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So without further ado, on with the blog!
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without further ado
さっさと
Example:
So without further ado, on with the blog!
さっさとブログを続けましょう！
Clip
Comment:
This line has a sort of fancy nuance attached.
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back by popular demand
よくある要求で戻った (アルクでなくて、適当翻訳；；）
Example:
So the blog is back by popular demand.
よくある要求によってブログが戻ってきた。
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