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Fansubbing tips: How to translate common Japanese phrases more naturally/less literally
A lot of anime contains some common phrases which fansubbers are taken to translating extremely literally, which often makes them sound almost nothing like what a native English speaker would say. So I'm here to offer some alternative solutions to make your subs easier to read.
"Sasuga (name) desu..." Often literally translated as "As expected from (name)", but that feels a little awkward to me. Depending on the context and who's talking, you could have various things including "That's our (name)", "That's (name) for you", etc. If you want to keep the "expected", you could have "I expected nothing less from (name)".
"Jibun de kimeru na!" Literally "Don't decide that on your own/by yourself!" Which works sometimes, but feels a little too "stiff" to me. Personally I'd have it as "You don't get to decide that/make that decision!" which changes the meaning a little, admittedly, but still sounds more natural.
"Omae no aite wa ore da." Literally "I am your opponent". There are usually two situations this is used in - when someone is challenging someone else to a fight, and when two people are in the middle of a fight and one of them attacks a third person, only to be intercepted by the second. For the first situation, I'd go with something like "I'll take you on", and for the second, something like "You're fighting me!" (emphasis included).
"Hito no hanashi o chanto kike!" Literally "Listen to what other people say!", usually used when someone's not listening. That could sort of work (it's a little awkward, but not much), but I'd go with "Listen to what people are telling you!" for a more natural sound.
"Mondou muyou!" This is one of those phrases that kind of can't be translated literally. It roughly means "Talking is useless", with the implication that fighting is the only option. It's kind of hard to translate this naturally while keeping the full meaning, though depending on the setting and if you wanted to get bonus reference points you could sometimes translate it as "Enough talk! Have at you!" For a less casual, more humorous tone, you could have "Less talking, more fighting" or something, or just a general "Enough talk!" or something similar.
"Ano hito" - Often literally translated as "that person", which sounds very awkward in English. Just use pronouns ("he", "she" or "they" depending on context).
"Watashi/Kocchi no serifu da!" Literally "That's my line!", but often better translated as "I'm the one who should be saying that!" or "I should be saying that!"
"Hyakuken hayai ze/zo/etc." - Often gets literally translated as "You're a hundred years too early for..." even though I can't think of anyone who would actually say that in English. A better way which keeps the general meaning would be something like "It'll be a hundred years before you can..." or "Try again in a hundred years!" or something similar.
"Nanda sore?" Often literally translated as "What is that?", but sometimes it's used more in a "What are you talking about?" sense.
"Itadakimasu!" - Literally "I humbly receive this", usually used before eating. Often translated as "Thanks for the food!" Other possible translations include "Let's eat!", "Time to eat!", "Time to dig in!", a more general "Here I go!", "Don't mind if I do!" and various other phrases. It really depends on the speaker and the situation which one would work best.
"Kore wa...!" Usually translated as "This is...!", but in Japanese, it's often used to express shock or surprise, so a better translation would be something like "What the...?"
"Kimochi warui!" (sometimes shortened to "Kimoi!") Another phrase with a lot of different meanings. Literally, it translates as "Bad feeling", but again the actual meaning depends heavily on context. It can mean anything from "I feel sick/I don't feel well", to "That's disgusting" to "I've got a bad feeling about this", or directed at a person to mean "You're sick/disgusting/nasty/etc." One famous instance of this phrase's ambiguity is in End of Evangelion, when Asuka mutters "Kimochi warui", but there's no clear context as to what meaning she's using. (I can't really say any more without massive spoilers.) Most translations went with "I feel sick..."
"Hai!" - While often translated as "Yes!", the meaning is more "I am paying attention, and I understand what you are saying", so sometimes translating it as "Okay", "Right", "Got it" etc. would be better.
"Yurusenai/yurusanai!" Very often translated as "This is unforgiveable!" or "I can't/won't forgive you for this!" This could work in some contexts, but a much better translation would be "I won't let you get away with this!" Similarly, "I won't forgive anyone who..." is better translated as "I won't stand for..." (Note: "Yurusenai" literally means "cannot forgive", "yurusanai" means "will not forgive").
"Shikkari shite!" Often heard when a character is trying to wake another up when the second is dazed or unconscious, but can also be used when trying to get someone to stop spacing out and focus on the task at hand. Translated variously as "Wake up!", "Snap out of it!" or "Get a hold of yourself!" depending on situation. All of those work for me, really, though "Get a hold of yourself" is probably the best for any situation. It can also be used to mean "Be strong" or "Be confident". "Be strong" is fine in English too, but for the second one I'd go with something like "Have confidence" or "Have faith in yourself/your abilities".
"Shikata ga nai/shouganai/shouganee..." Often literally translated as "It can't be helped", but the implication is more "I don't want to do this, but I have to". I would probably go with "Guess I've got no choice..."
"Urusai/Urusee!" Literally "noisy" or "annoying", often used to tell someone that they're bothering/annoying you (by talking too much/about something you don't want to hear). The most common translation is "Shut up!", which works fine for me in most contexts. (Another word often translated as "Shut up!" is "Damare!" or "Damatte!", which more literally means "Be quiet!" like an order, and can also be used to just genuinely tell someone to be quiet (as in asking for silence).)
That's about it. Anyone know of any other phrases?
A lot of anime contains some common phrases which fansubbers are taken to translating extremely literally, which often makes them sound almost nothing like what a native English speaker would say. So I'm here to offer some alternative solutions to make your subs easier to read.
"Sasuga (name) desu..." Often literally translated as "As expected from (name)", but that feels a little awkward to me. Depending on the context and who's talking, you could have various things including "That's our (name)", "That's (name) for you", etc. If you want to keep the "expected", you could have "I expected nothing less from (name)".
"Jibun de kimeru na!" Literally "Don't decide that on your own/by yourself!" Which works sometimes, but feels a little too "stiff" to me. Personally I'd have it as "You don't get to decide that/make that decision!" which changes the meaning a little, admittedly, but still sounds more natural.
"Omae no aite wa ore da." Literally "I am your opponent". There are usually two situations this is used in - when someone is challenging someone else to a fight, and when two people are in the middle of a fight and one of them attacks a third person, only to be intercepted by the second. For the first situation, I'd go with something like "I'll take you on", and for the second, something like "You're fighting me!" (emphasis included).
"Hito no hanashi o chanto kike!" Literally "Listen to what other people say!", usually used when someone's not listening. That could sort of work (it's a little awkward, but not much), but I'd go with "Listen to what people are telling you!" for a more natural sound.
"Mondou muyou!" This is one of those phrases that kind of can't be translated literally. It roughly means "Talking is useless", with the implication that fighting is the only option. It's kind of hard to translate this naturally while keeping the full meaning, though depending on the setting and if you wanted to get bonus reference points you could sometimes translate it as "Enough talk! Have at you!" For a less casual, more humorous tone, you could have "Less talking, more fighting" or something, or just a general "Enough talk!" or something similar.
"Ano hito" - Often literally translated as "that person", which sounds very awkward in English. Just use pronouns ("he", "she" or "they" depending on context).
"Watashi/Kocchi no serifu da!" Literally "That's my line!", but often better translated as "I'm the one who should be saying that!" or "I should be saying that!"
"Hyakuken hayai ze/zo/etc." - Often gets literally translated as "You're a hundred years too early for..." even though I can't think of anyone who would actually say that in English. A better way which keeps the general meaning would be something like "It'll be a hundred years before you can..." or "Try again in a hundred years!" or something similar.
"Nanda sore?" Often literally translated as "What is that?", but sometimes it's used more in a "What are you talking about?" sense.
"Itadakimasu!" - Literally "I humbly receive this", usually used before eating. Often translated as "Thanks for the food!" Other possible translations include "Let's eat!", "Time to eat!", "Time to dig in!", a more general "Here I go!", "Don't mind if I do!" and various other phrases. It really depends on the speaker and the situation which one would work best.
"Kore wa...!" Usually translated as "This is...!", but in Japanese, it's often used to express shock or surprise, so a better translation would be something like "What the...?"
"Kimochi warui!" (sometimes shortened to "Kimoi!") Another phrase with a lot of different meanings. Literally, it translates as "Bad feeling", but again the actual meaning depends heavily on context. It can mean anything from "I feel sick/I don't feel well", to "That's disgusting" to "I've got a bad feeling about this", or directed at a person to mean "You're sick/disgusting/nasty/etc." One famous instance of this phrase's ambiguity is in End of Evangelion, when Asuka mutters "Kimochi warui", but there's no clear context as to what meaning she's using. (I can't really say any more without massive spoilers.) Most translations went with "I feel sick..."
"Hai!" - While often translated as "Yes!", the meaning is more "I am paying attention, and I understand what you are saying", so sometimes translating it as "Okay", "Right", "Got it" etc. would be better.
"Yurusenai/yurusanai!" Very often translated as "This is unforgiveable!" or "I can't/won't forgive you for this!" This could work in some contexts, but a much better translation would be "I won't let you get away with this!" Similarly, "I won't forgive anyone who..." is better translated as "I won't stand for..." (Note: "Yurusenai" literally means "cannot forgive", "yurusanai" means "will not forgive").
"Shikkari shite!" Often heard when a character is trying to wake another up when the second is dazed or unconscious, but can also be used when trying to get someone to stop spacing out and focus on the task at hand. Translated variously as "Wake up!", "Snap out of it!" or "Get a hold of yourself!" depending on situation. All of those work for me, really, though "Get a hold of yourself" is probably the best for any situation. It can also be used to mean "Be strong" or "Be confident". "Be strong" is fine in English too, but for the second one I'd go with something like "Have confidence" or "Have faith in yourself/your abilities".
"Shikata ga nai/shouganai/shouganee..." Often literally translated as "It can't be helped", but the implication is more "I don't want to do this, but I have to". I would probably go with "Guess I've got no choice..."
"Urusai/Urusee!" Literally "noisy" or "annoying", often used to tell someone that they're bothering/annoying you (by talking too much/about something you don't want to hear). The most common translation is "Shut up!", which works fine for me in most contexts. (Another word often translated as "Shut up!" is "Damare!" or "Damatte!", which more literally means "Be quiet!" like an order, and can also be used to just genuinely tell someone to be quiet (as in asking for silence).)
That's about it. Anyone know of any other phrases?
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