English To Hiragana Translation

[Beer Baron]

yeah i can't see it. I can see rezz's at the top of the page though...

[insanity]

hmmm.. maybe its firefox... I'll try re-editing it in IE and see what happens

edit 1- no luck with that.... I"ll write it up in word or something, or create a pdf file for you 32 4whore... that way you'll definately be able to see it then

edit 2 - seems quick reply/edit is the problem for me... so I used full reply/edit and all seems well, see ---> やった！！

oh, and heres the pdf file as well, just in case 32 4whore still needs it ----> Freedom_of_Life.pdf

Edited April 10, 2007 by insanity

[Rezz]

It's a hard one to translate... all the suggestions I've been given by japanese people have been kinda '95% there'...

[32 4whore]

Ok so i have become one with the computer and can see everyones posts. Yay thanks for the help Insanity.

As someone said. I dont want to get this tat if it makes no sense to a Japanese person. That would be pointless.

The only reason why i wanted it in Hiragana is because i like the flow of the characters better then Kanji or Katakana with the more block/house looking characters.

Im gunna be spending alot of money on this tat so i want it as correct as I can get

im liking the Free of Life one.

Insanity is the PDF file u sent me the hiragna does it actually say Freedom of Life. Or is it pronounced another way?

[GunMetalR33]

A bit off topic but:

Can anyone post a .jpg of the name "Vee" translated in either katakana or kanji?

[Rezz]

Insanity is the PDF file u sent me the hiragna does it actually say Freedom of Life. Or is it pronounced another way?

Yes that hiragana does actually say 'Freedom of Life' like in English when read, but it sounds as if a Japanese person is saying it obviously

But I think the problem here is that, if a Japanese were to read that, there would be a good chance that they'd not know what it was supposed to mean, firstly because it's not the 'hiragana version' of Freedom of Life as translated directly from spoken Japanese... it's the hiragana spelling of an English phrase... and secondly, the Japanese reader would have to have some command of English to even understand what it's true meaning is (ie: the possiblility that that phrase means something deeper to the tattoo wearer) let alone the three words by themselves as a basic sentence.

Aesthetics aside, I would steer clear of the hiragana when dealing with English phrases, and go with Katakana (you might remember I did a reflex action and typed katakana and not hiragana in the second post hence the edit) at the very least, or go with the proper kanji characters that have an *almost* similar meaning.

Either way, you going to have very few English speakers being able to read at all and very few japanese people being able to understand the meaning properly (hiragana), very few English speakers being able to read and alot of 'lol why did that guy get that phrase written in katakana' Japanese speakers being able to read but possibly not understand (katakana), or practically no English speakers even knowing if it's supposed to be text or not, and all Japanese speakers being able to read and understand it with the reader maybe thinking it's a decent tattoo (kanji)...

[Beer Baron]

kanji F T W.

but you still have the problem of dumb ass white folk like me who can't read kanji.

i know it's a personal question, but are you japanese (or maybe japanese descent)? I am just trying to figure out why you want an english phrase tatood in japanese script. have you considered getting it done in english? It seems like you are going to a lot of trouble to have something written in japanese which will mean that 95% of people who read it (either japanese or otherwise) wont be able to properly understand it or even read it. I thought maybe it's because you have japanese parents or something.

[32 4whore]

Well as Rez said. Its no use getting something neither Japanese or English speakig ppl will understand

Im getting this tattoo as i lost a mate to cancer and he used to live by the moto Freedom Of Life.

And well now im sort of into the tattoo thing now, I thought i might get this done in japanese characters. And i have a weak spot for Japanese Characters.

I am also considering this in english. But it gives ppl something to ask me what it means.

ok so everyone thinks Katakana/ Kanji is a bette roption

So now i have to o through your replys and get the kanji/ katakana translations and use them

[akeenan]

if your mate wasnt japanese whats the point getting it in japanese. especially when its obvious (even though you have a soft spot for hiragana block/ house looking/ characters?....?..) you have no idea about them. no offence intended　 Also i think a lot of japanese/ non japanese would find a tattoo like this some what amusing especially if they have knowledge about the japanese language(something I guess you would not want)... especially if you just translate english into another languages alphabet. ...strange... get it in english.

ps: sometimes i cant see the japanese too... usually after an edit or something but then it comes back..... possible glitch?

Edited April 10, 2007 by akeenan

[akeenan]

自由に生ける　

日本語字見えるテスト

[Rezz]

ps: sometimes i cant see the japanese too... usually after an edit or something but then it comes back..... possible glitch?

yep, did it to me in the second post of the thread, which is why 32whore asked for the jpeg in the first place... definately something strange going on

[akeenan]

moving away from the topic a bit as the question i think might have been answered.

im going to make a tshirt which says　ショッピング＝ライフ .

[insanity]

QUOTE(32 4whore @ 10 Apr 2007, 03:35 PM) *

Insanity is the PDF file u sent me the hiragna does it actually say Freedom of Life. Or is it pronounced another way?

Yes that hiragana does actually say 'Freedom of Life' like in English when read, but it sounds as if a Japanese person is saying it obviously happy.gif

Yeah, what Rezz said.... the hiragana i wrote s pronounced 'freedom of life'

Oh, and for those that can't read japanese, akeenan's shirt will say

shopping=life

heh... being in Japan, you'll run out of money soon akeenan!

Edited April 10, 2007 by insanity

[akeenan]

the tshirts kinda a joke.. aimed at the girls here

[32 4whore]

if your mate wasnt japanese whats the point getting it in japanese. especially when its obvious (even though you have a soft spot for hiragana block/ house looking/ characters?....?..) you have no idea about them. no offence intended　 Also i think a lot of japanese/ non japanese would find a tattoo like this some what amusing especially if they have knowledge about the japanese language(something I guess you would not want)... especially if you just translate english into another languages alphabet. ...strange... get it in english.

ps: sometimes i cant see the japanese too... usually after an edit or something but then it comes back..... possible glitch?

No offence at all mate.

I have been thinking the same thing mate.

neither of us are japanese. I just like the language and the characters.

I will get my tattooist to give me some designs in graffiti and other sort of text.

I guess its just my way of remembering my mate Josh.

Thank you again for all your help guys.

[GD Kay]

Hi guys!

I stumbled across this forum, and this particular thread, and was wondering if you guys can help me out.

My gf wants to translate "looking beneath the surface" into Hiragana or Katakana, whichever looks better or has the closest meaning to it. Sort of like beauty is only skin deep....something like that.

google language has it as 表面の下で見ること

Can anyone help me out and translate this to Hiragana and Katakana?

Many many thanks.

Kay

[Rezz]

Hi guys!

I stumbled across this forum, and this particular thread, and was wondering if you guys can help me out.

My gf wants to translate "looking beneath the surface" into Hiragana or Katakana, whichever looks better or has the closest meaning to it. Sort of like beauty is only skin deep....something like that.

google language has it as 表面の下で見ること

Can anyone help me out and translate this to Hiragana and Katakana?

Many many thanks.

Kay

Ok, first of all I'll be straight up with you: don't do this. People have got to understand that English phrases written in Katakana or Hiragana - while a seemingly interesting talking point amongst your Aussie friends - will bring giggles and quizzical looks from anyone that is either Japanese or understands Japanese language.

Here it is anyway, don't say I didn't warn you (other people may have slightly different spelling to what I've done... it doesn't matter either way)

[Kaido_RR]

rezz has a good point, i remember i google language awesome power from English into Japanese, then had a sticker made of it (joke between my mates) and put it on my car, i happen to go to tafe with a Japanese dude and the way he under stood it was something like fantastic power but kind of not even close to that lol!

sorry just through i share my short story lol

[Poida]

the best way to solve this little problem is to look for a 'kotowaza'. Aka. A saying or phrase in Japanese.

Rezz and Mike have already raised good points, so you might be better off just doing a google search with 'kotowaza' and similar phrases and see what comes up.

Just as a quick example, everyone knows 'the grass is always greener on the other side' but in Japan, if you were to translate directly, it would sound wrong. Not because of the way you translated it, but because they use 'blue' instead of green for the grass in their kotowaza.

Interesting eh..?

[sno33]

just my 2 cents..... but these type of tattoos are the ones you will regret the most later in life....why get a tattoo in a language you dont even understand?