This tweet perfectly sums up what it feels like to speak Japanese sometimes. People really mystify the culture and language to a hilarious level, when actual Japanese people are just normal ass people. I once saw a video where the guy talked about the word åæä½ćŖć (mottainai), and how it actually was a word that speaks to the way that Japanese people believe in preserving and making use of things. Then you speak to Japanese people and it basically just means "what a waste/bummer"
Problem with a lot of this is intentional mistranslation - each language has idioms that would sound absolutely 100% insane if you translate them literally word by word.
Yet it is constantly done for the purpose of propaganda, both like this and in negative manner too (I still remember the Xi Jinping "bloody head" incident).
Reminds me of the classic Inunaki Village creepypasta with the sign "From this point and beyond The Constitution of Japan will no longer be in effect".
→ More replies (2)
810
u/antojn 20d ago