Japanese Stock Phrases

"It can't be helped... We'll have to use 'that'."

—The Internet

The following are a list of phrases that tend to show up a lot in Japanese media. Many of them tend to be particularly common in the types of Anime and Manga works that are popular in the Anglophonic cultures and attract lots of fan translations.

• As expected from- (さすが, sasuga-)
• Bring it on! (かかってこいよ！, kakatte koi yo!)
• Don't decide that on your own/by yourself! (自分で決めるな！, jibun de kimeru na!)
• Don't joke with me! (ふざけるな！, fuzakeru na!)
• Don't say such stupid things! (馬鹿なことを言うな！, baka na koto o iu na!)
• Do your best! / I'll do my best! (がんばって, ganbatte / がんばります, ganbarimasu)
  • Related to the Japanese ideal of perseverance, the speaker encourages the recipient to stand strong in the face of adversity. Fortunately for translators there is a close English cultural analogue with the same number of syllables: "Go for it!"
• Eat this! (食らえ！, kurae!)
• Even if you say that (そう言っても, sou itte mo)
• He's fast! (早い！, hayai!)
  • Usually happens after an opponent's declaration that they have been underestimated which leads them to pull out all the stops and Power-Up with or without Dramatic Wind and/or Theme Music and immediately Flash Step (usually behind the opponent). Generally accompanied by an Oh Crap face. This will many times cause the attacker to taunt with a Too Slow (osoi!).
• Here's the final blow! (止めだ！, todome da!)
• I Am Your Opponent (お前の相手は俺だ, omae no aite wa ore da)
• I challenge you! (勝負だ！, shoubu da!)
• I did it! (やった！, yatta! or よし！, yoshi! - no, not that Yoshi)
  • Boisterous Bruisers and Hot-Blooded people tend to go for よっしゃ！ (yossha!), which means the same
• I guess it can't be helped. (仕方がない, shikata ga nai)
  • More casually しょうがない (shouganai). For the really delinquent, しょうがねえな (shouganee na).
• I won't forgive you! (許せない, yurusenai (cannot forgive) vs 許さない, yurusanai (will not forgive))
  • Notice that the above phrases could just as well be translated cannot/will not allow this, but it's not dramatic enough...
• I won't let you do it! (させるか！saseru ka!)
• I won't lose! (負けない, makenai)
• I'll never give up (負けるもんか, makeru mon ka)
• I'm at my limit (もう限界だ, mou genkai da)
• I'm done for (もうだめ, mou dame)
• It's useless (無駄だ, muda da)
• Is this really okay? / Are you sure you don't mind? (本当にいいの？, honto ni ii no? or 本当にいいんですか, honto ni ii n desu ka?)
  • Often heard in more romantic Hentai stories.
• I Will Definitely Protect You! (絶対に守る, Zettai ni mamoru)
• Let's go! (いくする！, ikusuru!, いくぞ！, iku zo!)
  • There's いくぜ！ (iku ze!) too, which means the same, but it's more like compelling your interlocutor to go with you (since the ze particle has imperative undertones - "you're coming with me!"), while not a specific order like いけ！ (ike!/ "go!")
• Listen to what other people say! (人の話をちゃんと聞け, hito no hanashi o chanto kike)
• Never give up (あきらめない, akiramenai)
• No, there's still a way (手がある, te ga aru)
• Talking is useless! / Talk is cheap! / No questions asked! (問答無用, mondou muyou)
  • Implying, of course, that fighting is the only option.
• Thank Goodness! (良かった, yokatta). Most frequently said in a relieving tone, like for example when The Hero's Love Interest sees him come back alive from his battle against the Big Bad.
• That's a lie! (嘘だ！, uso da!)
• That person (あの人, ano hito)
  • This is often used in place of third-person pronouns which are seen as impolite in many situations. Can usually be rendered into English as simply "he" or "she," but authors sometimes use the phrase to hide a character's gender which creates problems for translators. The more informal equivalent would be あいつ (aitsu).
• That child / that girl / that boy (あの子, ano ko)
• He / she / this thing (こいつ, koitsu)
• (That's) Enough! (もういい, mou ii)
• That's my line! (私の台詞だ, watashi no serifu da)
• The worst (最低〜, saitei~) (an insult. usually said with a tilde, to reinforce the tone by sound elongation)
• The best (最高, saiko) (to say something is awesome, not to be confuse to ichiban which means "number one" or "first" but can also be translated as "the best."
• This and That (それこれ, sorekore)
• This is impossible! (そんな馬鹿な, sonna bakana, or まさか, masaka)
  • The more literal version, 無理だ (muri da), is often translated as "it's useless," though sometimes it is applied in the This Cannot Be! context as well.
• Wait a minute! (ちょっと待って！, chotto matte!)
• What are you doing? (何やってんだよ？, nani yatte n da yo?)
• What are you saying? (何を言ってるんだ？, nani o itterunda?)
• Where are you looking? (どこに見ている？, doko ni mite iru?)
  • Frequently heard in combat when the speaker's opponent is distracted (say, by a threat to a teammate) or simply Too Slow.
• Where are you touching me? (どこに触ってるの？, doko ni sawatteru no?)
  • Especially common in Hentai.
• ____, you idiot! (____の馬鹿！, ____ no Baka!)
• You're a hundred years too early for- (百年早いぜ／ぞ／など, - hyakunen hayai ze/zo/etc.)
• You're a nuisance! / You're in the way! (邪魔だ, jama da)
• You're (too) naïve (あまいな, amai na)
• Damn!/Shit!/Damn it! (畜生！, chiku shou!; 臭う！, kuso!; or the most reduced form, ち！, chi! - this last one is pronounced like the English interjection "tch!")
• What the hell is this?/What the hell? (何だこれ？, nanda kore?) or What the hell is that? (何だそれ？, nanda sore?)
  • "This" or "that" doesn't have to be an object. For example, it could be used in responds to a ridiculous notion or just something ridiculous in general.
• しまった (Shimatta) Many ways to translate this since a direct translation would butcher it (The Japanese language is heavily context based). The most common translation is "Shit!" and is often used when a character screws up or makes a major mistake. Could be translated as just "I screwed up" but most English speakers would simply say "Shit!" in the same situation. "Dammit", "Darn it", "Blast it", etc. more closely approximate the syllable count and may be used where a milder expletive is called for.
  • Just to give an example of how it works: in The Simpsons episode "Thirty Minutes Over Tokyo", after losing the family's last yen bill (turned into an origami crane) to the wind, Homer (who, like Bart, had learned Japanese in prison) says "しまった、馬鹿に！" (shimatta, baka ni!, "Damnit/Shit/Darn, how stupid!") as a caption pops up reading "D'oh!".
• Here is a very long list of Japanese phrases and slangs, most which are commonly used in anime/manga.
• Thank you for waiting / Sorry to make you wait. (お待たせしました, Omatase Shimashita) Omatase is a shortened version, basically meaning "Thanks for waiting."

When translating anything, you can only make your translation so close to the source text before it, well, stops being an actual language you're translating into (see the quote for Woolseyism). The people who fansub anime come pretty close to this sometimes.

Sometimes, they create what Amazon.com would call "Statistically Improbable Phrases". Maybe you wouldn't be surprised if someone said them, once, in that particular situation, but if they say it every time, it's a little weird.

There are a few other aspects of Japanese that create similar translation artifacts:

• Polite constructions which appear to be set phrases, but are in fact just ritualized words in the polite or humble register:
  • いただきます (Itadakimasu) : literally "I humbly receive this", it figuratively means "Thanks for the meal" and is often translated as this.
  • いってきます (Ittekimasu) : literally "I go and come", it means "Goodbye, see you later" when one leaves home for work or school.
  • 失礼します (Shitsurei shimasu): literally "I am being rude", it means "Excuse me" for anything from entering someone's office to walking out of a classroom
  • お邪魔します (Ojama shimasu) : literally "I am doing an intrusion", it means "Excuse me" specifically for entering someone else's home.
  • お先に（失礼します）(Osaki ni (shitsurei shimasu)) : literally "I am being rude [by leaving] before you", it points out the cultural imperative to stay at work or school until all the work is done.
    • Heartbreakingly used in Satoshi Kon's last words.
  • いらっしゃいませ (Irasshaimase) : literally an honorific way of saying "come", it's a greeting used by employees to customers.
  • お待たせしました (Omatase shimashita, or just Omatase): "Sorry to have kept you waiting", a polite formula used even when you aren't late.
  • 待ってください (Matte kudasai): "Please wait"
  • ただいま (Tadaima): it means "I've arrived" (literally, "I am just here now"), used for when you enter your own house. If someone's expecting you in there, expect it to be followed by お帰りなさい (okaerinasai) (or simply okaeri - an acknowledgement of the previous quote, literally meaning "please come back in"), though some people tend to use it even if they live alone.
  • よろしく（お願いします） (Yoroshiku (onegai shimasu)): used in introductions or when starting to work with someone. Often translated as "Nice to meet you". When used together with 初めまして (hajimemashite), which also means "Nice to meet you", it is often translated more literally as "Please treat me well".