Struggling with hiraganaand katakana? Well, if it’s any consolation, just know that many Japanese people have an equally intense love-hate relationship with English. Or should we say Engrish? For better or for worse, misspelled words in romaji are legion in Japan creating a landscape of hilariously awkward t-shirts, menus, signboards, and advertising slogans.
Take this week’s viral tweet as a prime example.
Genius marketing trick or unfortunate error?
As he was walking by a restaurant signboard @ymdandU couldn’t believe his eyes. Above the mouth-watering menu advertising beef cutlets (カツ), pork cutlets (とんかつ)and fried oysters (フライ), a red and white sign indicated that the store also offers a free wife.
Wait, what?
なんだなんだなんだ = What, what, what?!
Looking closer, a tiny typo before the verb ありますcompletely changes the meaning from “there is Wi-Fi” to “there is (a) wife” [in this restaurant].
Under the unfortunate misspelled line, “OK”implies that you can charge your electronics for free. But—and that’s the magic of the Japanese language—you could stretch the joke as far as suggesting that it’s “OK to charge (your wife).” Lulz.
Enthusiastic response quickly propelled @ymdandU’s tweet into the spotlight.
Lonely heart @hajimsta was well up for it.
ください() = Please! (lol)
@tty1971 admitted international marriage is tough.
うちにも、WiFeりますよくエラーがします。( ；∀；) = At home, I have a wife made in China. Connection errors happen a lot.
Lastly, it looks like this isn’t a one-time typo occurrence according to @bonne_and_bonne.
いものをじます……… = Here’s a similar one.
What!?
The word なんだis actually an inflection of なん (の)with だ, the casual version of ですwhich translates “to be” or a state of being. Truth be told, although なんだadds a certain color to what you’re saying in Japanese, it can’t really be translated. It’s rather a style of speech that you’ll learn to recognize as you start speaking Japanese more and more.
However, you’ll find it useful to know that なんだ is used A LOT as an interjection to express you’re shocked or annoyed.
- なんだって! = What?!/Why?/Come again?
- なにがなんだか = What’s what?!
- だからなんだ = So what!/Who gives a damn?/So f*ckin’ what!
Vocabulary
牛カツ gyuu katsu beef cutlet とんかつ tonkatsu pork cutlet 牡蠣フライ kaki furai fried oyster なんだ nanda what!? 充電 jyuuden charge ください kudasai please 笑 wara lol うちにも uchi ni mo at (my) home too 中国産 chyuugokusan made in China 有ります – あります arimasu to be (there is, are) よく yoku a lot, often 接続 setsuzoku connection エラー eraa error 発生する hassei suru occur, happen 近い chikai close 感じる kanjiru feel, find
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