Good morning!
Oh... morning.
- I've only got 326 yen left! - What? But there's more than a week left till payday!
- Fine, take me out to lunch! - I don't know what "fine" means.
Come on, I took you out shopping, right?
Just show off your shoulders and you'll get Shibuya!
Ah!
Please, it's embarrassing. Stop!
My 10 yen! Man!
Luke-kun is so popular. Compared to someone else...
Don't compare me!
So kanji has a Chinese reading and Japanese reading.
For example, the character "gyoku" (stone)...
Kintama - testicles
You use the Chinese reading for jewel (hougyoku)...
And Japanese reading for rice flour dumpling (shiratama)...
But the textbook says it's actually "kin"?
Next is the character "koi" (love)...
It's not "shiro", it's "kin".
- The Chinese is "renai" (love)... - It's "kin"!
- Excuse me. - Okay, I get it!
"Kin" and "tama" together means testicles!
- No, what's the difference between the Chinese and Japanese readings? - Huh?
Why does kanji have two ways of reading it?
Ah, well that's...
You're actually prepared for a lesson?
Don't say "actually".
Way back in the day, Japan did not have an alphabet.
So they all had to memorize the names of things.
But people have their limits, right?
So that's why they started to learn Chinese kanji...
In Japan, we call a mountain "yama".
How do you write it in Chinese kanji?
- "San". - Then this character's reading will be
"yama" and "san".
And like that, there are Chinese and Japanese readings.
- Chinese people sure are helpful! - Not that much.
- It's actually pronounced "shan". - "Shan"?
That's right! Don't steal it so halfheartedly!
They didn't steal! They learned!
Cease this fighting. Are we not a circle of friends?
Okay, who knows the Chinese reading for "wa" (circle)? The popular Italian.
- "Rin". - Yep.
Can you write another kanji that uses "rin"? Okay.
Ah, the "sha" in "sharin" (wheel) is...
This one.
- No, it's that character. - Huh?
- The eyeball of Naruto and Sasuke. - Oh, manga?
I remember the furigana from above the kanji. (Furigana - hiragana placed above kanji for easier reading)
- Inuyasha! - Akira! - Cobra! (Furigana - hiragana placed above kanji for easier reading)
- Arare-chan is cute! - Ninja Hattori-kun!
Ah, that's how foreigners learn kanji.
- Anpan-man! - Ah, okay okay!
Ah, then...
Can you read this?
- "Maji" (serious). - "Honki" (seriousness).
It's written "maji" in manga!
- What's this? - Doujinshi. (Doujinshi - fanzine)
Doujinshi? (Doujinshi - fanzine)
The evil spirits run rampant in the sky, (The comic contains incorrect readings of the kanji)
if it's fate, I'll give all of my body to fight. (The comic contains incorrect readings of the kanji)
People call me the "Tsundere Detective".
I won't let my enemy die.
It means, help out your enemy if they need it. (He marked the kanji as "tomo", friend, instead of "teki", enemy)
But helping a friend isn't such a big deal. (He marked the kanji as "tomo", friend, instead of "teki", enemy)
The "maji" (serious) and "deka" (big) furigana used
is a reading the manga author made up.
- It isn't the right reading. - Isn't it okay for the author to use it?
Even if I wrote it?
What? You wrote this?
But isn't this just a hobby? When I said author,
I meant someone who wrote manga for money.
Luke got 300000 yen for it.
Three hundred thousand? For this?
- It sells well at comic book markets. - Isn't that more money than you make Haruko?
Hey Luke! What if I help you with your manga?
Why are you helping him?
You don't get it! You need to understand how
Japanese feel to write manga that will sell!
- How Japanese feel? - It's okay!
You just need to give me half.
Half? A rip off!
Luke, let's make a manga palace together!
- I can't draw. - No no...
Okay, 60/40 is fine.
- I can't communicate with my Japanese. - Huh?
Can't communicate? Sorry, what are you talking about?
Shitsukoi. (Shitsukoi normally means "to be insistent")
It's probably "insistent"... (Shitsukoi normally means "to be insistent")
Huh? To be insistent?
I don't think it's "shitsukoi",
isn't the Chinese reading, "shitsuren"? (Shitsuren meaning unrequited love, shitsukoi is an incorrect kanji reading)
Unrequited love? For Luke? (Shitsuren meaning unrequited love, shitsukoi is an incorrect kanji reading)
Haruko! Teach me how to make women fall for me!
Fall for you... you mean seduction?
I'm on the edge of the cliff!
I'll draw a lot of manga if you can help me Haruko!
Nihonjin no Shiranai Nihongo (The Japanese the Japanese Don't Know) Episode 4
Translation: Rollins Timing: qop123 QC: SacredCultivator Support fansubbing by not watching on streaming sites! Find all your favorite dramas at d-addicts.com!
That's the first time I've heard of an Italian who can't confess his love.
Maybe because he's an otaku? (Otaku meaning someone with obsessive interests, usually anime or games)
That's not the problem. It's his Japanese. (Otaku meaning someone with obsessive interests, usually anime or games)
He can't communicate to the girl in Japanese.
Probably because he's just using standard polite Japanese.
There's no standard Japanese anymore.
- What used to be standard Japanese is called common Japanese now. - Common Japanese?
What are you planning?
This doesn't look like just a regular student consultation.
No no, Haruko-sensei is doing it for her students!
What? This exposed American looking woman?
Isn't it great for her to show off her personality?
- Show off personality... - Yep!
Stop overestimating yourself!
"Please stop looking down on me!"
Please stop looking down on me!
- Are you okay? - I'm fine!
This way.
Welcome home lady!
What!? They're calling us "lady"!
- They always call me that at home though. - Huh?
- So cute! - Really? Thank you very much.
There are a lot of foreign otaku too.
Akiba is where otaku from all the over the world want to visit. (Akiba is short for Akihabara)
- What is this!? - I don't know!
- Haruko! - Ellen!
You're planning to rip him off on the doujinshi?
Hey! It's nothing. Nothing!
- Diana-san! - Catherine!
Not Catherine, Katori!
Luke! Which one is she?
- Grab the doujinshi profits? - Yep. That's why she's helping Luke.
Haruko is ripping him off!
That's what I thought!
Where has that rip off artist gone?
Hmm? Bob? Bob?
Bob? Bob?
Ayase Miki-san. She never says much and always looks angry.
- Maybe she's "tsundere"? - It's all "tsun"! I haven't seen any "dere". (Tsundere means someone with a tough exterior but loving on the inside)
- Maybe because my standard Japanese is cold? - Standard Japanese? (Tsundere means someone with a tough exterior but loving on the inside)
Using "desu" and "masu", my Akiba friends said it sounded cold. ("Desu" and "masu" are standard Japanese endings)
Knew that was it.
Standard Japanese sounds a little cold between Japanese too.
But you're not just popular, but foreign too!
- So Miki-san is probably nervous. - That's it.
Luke, look at this.
A confession. Follow this and you'll be okay.
- Are you sure this okay? - Who do you think I am?
- The Love Master is working to get Luke to expose his true self. - Expose?
- Luke wants to say he loves her. - Love?
Luke, be bold!
Okay.
Bold?
Come on three hundred thousand!
I think you've been working hard. (He's using more casual Japanese now)
Huh? (He's using more casual Japanese now)
I definitely believe you'll fulfill your dream.
Haruko-sensei... those words?
When I was studying for my teaching license,
my ex-boyfriend used these words on me!
- You didn't change it? - I didn't need to!
Don't give up. I'll be with you to the end.
It's not really my dream though.
- What? - There it is.
And if I could just change the subject,
if your dream comes true, would you fulfill my dream next?
- I don't mean to tie you down. - Luke-kun...
You can do it!
I want to go out with you.
I'm sorry.
There it is...
- Miki-san! - Miki-san!
What's wrong with this?
It was a beautiful confession!
- That's... - Oh!
Ah, hey. Luke, sorry!
He was just a little tongue tied...
Luke wants to love you!
- What? - No no no!
Not "love you", he wants to say "I love you".
Haruko exposed herself for Luke!
- Exposed? - No no...
Not that kind of exposure...
Luke, be bold and say it!
Miki-san!
Hey, Miki-san!
- Luke... - Why did she slap him?
Because you guys kept butting in!
Hey, Luke!
Miki-san!
Hey!
I'm erasing myself! I'm a victim! Let me kill myself!
Hey! Calm down!
Why does it have to be an Italian guy now?
- You can't kill yourself over this! - Hey!
What's going on!?
Ah! Peaches!
I'm truly very sorry.
The famous maid Peaches drew and signed this,
this is the only one like it in this world!
I'm very sorry King. We will have Luke quit of course.
- Hey wait! I have to take responsibility... - Be quiet!
This isn't anything to quit over!
I thought you were about protecting students.
- Takasu-sensei did. - Where? He made Luke quit his job.
What if we rub him the wrong way
and he reports this to the police?
In the worst case, Luke would be deported.
Takasu-sensei had to make a move.
You were going to use Luke for money, right?
You're on house arrest idiot! Stay home and think about this! Luke, come on!
You were playing with your student's feelings.
No, that was just a bargaining point...
It's unfortunate.
Hey...
I'm sorry to cause you trouble before.
- But Luke is really... - I don't hate him.
- But his words... - Couldn't communicate?
It felt cold? It was just standard Japanese.
I'm sorry.
Japanese History
Luke-kun!
- Haruko-sensei! Wake up! - Hmm?
- Resignation letter? - I want to quit school.
- So what's that? Are you dropping out? - If you quit, what will you do?
- Takasu-sensei. - I'm going back to Italy.
- You worked so hard up to now. - That's right. You came here to learn Japanese, right?
Standard Japanese, confessions, I can't communicate!
- Sit down for a bit. - I can't be in Japan!
So what if you quit?
I'll take it.
- Haruko-sensei! - So that's it?
All your students need to graduate or you can't be a high school teacher!
Can't be helped. He said he wants to quit.
Luke, let's go to your final class.
- Haruko-sensei! - It's fine, come on.
Today, we'll study standard Japanese.
That is to say, there is no standard Japanese in Japan!
So what we've been learning isn't standard Japanese?
That's what I thought at first too.
Standard Japanese is actually the result of
powerful people in old Japan wanting a single way of speaking Japanese.
But, the Japanese people usually use,
natural Japanese that doesn't sound like you're telling people what to do.
- It's called common Japanese. - Common Japanese?
The "desu" and "masu" Luke uses
was what geisha back in Edo used, spreading it across the whole country.
- Geisha? - The cabaret girls of the past? - Right.
They used "desu" and "masu" before but
starting in the Meiji era, when samurai started to arrive...
Husband, that's enough for now. (She uses "desu")
"Desu"?
I guess they use "desu" at the end of words here in Edo. (He ends his sentence with "desu na")
Yeah, guess so! (He ends his sentence with "desu na")
And that's how "desu" started from Edo.
But as people misunderstood Tokyo Japanese, other
words spread all over the country.
- So is that common Japanese? - Yeah.
- There's other ones, like "sou zamasu" and "ii zamasu". - I've seen that in manga. ("zamasu" means 'to be')
- Suneo's mama said that. - Right. (A character from Doraemon)
It isn't normally used but, "zamasu" is an elegant style of speech,
originating from courtesans.
Beautiful and smart, courtesans were like celebrities,
so "zamasu" spread during their popularity.
Since I'm a celebrity, I'll use "zamasu"! (She ends her sentence with "zamasu" for effect)
And for example, the "de arimasu" from "this is a textbook"
was originally from Yamaguchi.
That's correct!
"Hey you!" (oi kora) wasn't always used in anger,
it started in Kagoshima as a way to get attention.
Hey you! You dropped your wallet.
Common Japanese may be a bit tiresome
and there are cold expressions too,
but like I said,
there are many words born from regional dialects.
So really,
maybe Japanese is really a free and friendly language, I think.
- That's why she hated me. - Don't blame the Japanese language!
You have no confidence in expressing your own feelings,
so you have someone else write words for you?
Didn't you do that though?
In any case, expressing yourself in Japanese,
it's hard for the Japanese too!
But it isn't something you have to kill yourself over!
Words aren't something you speak. It's here.
You speak from here.
Show Miki-chan your true self.
Even if it isn't cool!
Luke, you have your own way of expressing yourself, right?
- Luke, go for it? - Right! Go for it and get broken.
- Breakthrough. - That's what I meant.
- Luke, go. - It's okay, Luke.
- Good luck. - Luke, be a man. - Soul of an Italian.
Luke.
Can you read this?
Kokuhaku (confession)?
No! It says 'kokuhaku', but you read it as 'yuuki' (confidence).
Show her. The spirit of an Italian otaku!
Miki-san!
My chest hurts so much! This is painful!
I'm serious when I write. (They're showing the "incorrect" readings of kanji in the background)
It was destiny that I met you. (They're showing the "incorrect" readings of kanji in the background)
You're my sky. A shining star. (They're showing the "incorrect" readings of kanji in the background)
I'm your sun. I'll always shine warmly on you.
Don't always be "tsun", show me your "dere"!
Ti amo! (My love!)
Even if only a little, please love me!
Please, talk to me!
Honestly, at first, I resisted. (She's speaking in the Tsugaru dialect, very non-standard Japanese)
My accent is so strong, so I didn't want to be embarrassed.
But you're a foreigner, yet you tried so hard.
We could speak a little in common Japanese but,
if we became closer, we'd have to talk more. I was afraid.
Is that a dialect?
Common Japanese was born from dialects.
Your dialect is very beautiful.
What does "shou shi kute" mean?
Means "embarrassing".
I guess she was actually the one who was worried.
Here.
Thanks a lot, teacher.
I'm going to go look for a new job.
Hey hey! Hurry and draw a manga.
I don't have time for that! I'm in love with Miki!
Hey! You promised! Three hundred thousand!
95 yen...
Oh! I'm so hungry!
Can't even get a horse race ticket with this.
Give it back! You gambling old man!
Hey!
Catherine! You're showing your true self!
Good morning.
- Shibuya-sensei! - Yes?
- Good morning. - Good morning.
- Shibuya-sensei! - Yes?
- Good morning. - It's hot today.
What? Haruko-sensei!
- "Shitsukoi". - Huh?
Ah! I meant "shitsuren" (unrequited love).