Page 46
What do you reckon we should supply after こんなことには?
Page 47
What is けろ…?
Page 55
What does もん do here? I thought it could be this grammar point but I am not sure ‘because’ makes sense in this context?
Page 63
Does はたして add a sort of ‘or will they…?!’ to the previous bit of the sentence, or does it mean something else entirely?
Hey, some wild guesses I have about those:
Page 47
Looks like the whole sentence is a bit garbled, so I’m finding it quite hard too. She might be saying something like:
こので帰る!(?) Take this and go away!(??)
Quite a long shot here to be honest.
Page 55
Could this be 物 ? We know young Goku speaks in his own special way. So he might be saying something like:
It’s my rock-paper-scissor (fist?) Aもの(だ)ね
Page 63
I think it’s trying to say something like: “it is expected” (they’ll arrive at Frying Pan mountain)
I thought the same as Shisckatchegg for this one.
Chi-Chi is tricky to understand! I assumed she talks in a funny way rather than talking in a specific dialect. She seems to replace an R sound with an N sound at times.
I looked in a translation of the original manga where she talks in a bit like a cowboy/redneck - so maybe she is speaking a dialect in Japanese?
This panel is exactly the same as a panel in chapter 11 of the original manga. I’m guessing the first part of the sentence is これで, and the second part is from 来る, maybe the negative imperative 来るな?
I think it’s Tohokuben. Some characteristics:
I also think そっただ is そんな, but I couldn’t find a great source for that.
Maybe こねえでけろ ➝ こないでくんろ ➝ こないでください?
That’s interesting, thank you. You seem to be right about Tohokuben. From this reference:
Like her husband and father, Chi-Chi speaks in the Tōhoku (東北) dialect of Japanese, what is essentially a a “hick-dialect”. She uses the personal pronoun oira (おいら), a pronoun used by speakers of this dialect to indicate a rural background.
That also fits with the English translation giving her a redneck/rural kind of dialect.
The article above links to the one below. After the section on おっす, this article explains that Goku also speaks in a sub-dialect of Tohokuben.
Start date: 19 Dec
Pages: 65-84
0 voters
I read way ahead and started over to catch back up. I am starting to use the spreadsheet now. Dur…
I completely misread the ChiChi panel as これえで。。。はる！With this, be away! Which, humorously, is a reasonable reading.
So according to this reference:
Most prominent features of the dialect include:
So this confirms what you suggested: こねえでけろ = こないでください
I forgot to ask - why does Yamcha collapse on page 54. I figured out that Oolong had changed into a Saibaman but I didn’t understand the connection.
I did some googling and telling you the answer would be a massive spoiler. If you want to know, check this page.
I saw your first response and I think you are right, he’s simply collapsed because he saw a girl. The penultimate panel on page 53 I think fits with that explanation.
Thanks for the link, I hadn’t realised the pose on page 54 was such a big internet meme, although like you say there is a spoiler alert if reading more about it!
Page 74:
たのむからニートだけはやめてくれよ
I think this says: But I’m asking you, please quit just being a NEET.
It’s an unusual word in English although I was aware of it. I’ve heard it before on a Japanesepod101 lesson, so perhaps a more common word in Japanese.
I was really torn. I think that panel implies that he is looking directly at her and is startled, but it could also be the artist’s choice to show both of their reactions to Oolong’s transformation in the same shot. On page 49 it is shown that Goku, Oolong and Chi-chi are standing right next to each other, so how could Yamcha not have noticed her on page 50…?
His pose on page 54 is the exact same pose as in that spoilery event. I think it is an in-joke.
Finished chapter 4. Another character speaking in Tohokuben dialect and this one with an even stronger accent! I read some more around Tohokuben and tried to spot its use in the manga. I made some notes for reference as a new page on the vocab spreadsheet. Please let me know if you spot anything I got wrong.
I’ve been lurking around this topic and will join the reading. I just caught up with Chapter 4! It’s just that I’ve had way too many competing reading projects :).
The whole Chi chi dialect part was difficult… I had covered that with my Japanese teacher and by the time I saw it here other people had done their research. Other than that I’ve been enjoying this manga more than I thought I would. Since, I read all of Dragon Ball I thought would be just repetition but I like the inside jokes!
I believe そっただ (p. 58) = そんな and こったら (p. 68) = こんな. Couldn’t find a source discussing these variations themselves though, so I am not sure where they are commonly used.
ええ instead of いい, so えがっだ = よかった (with some extra voicing).
But yeah, this is pretty tiring. Spent a good 10 minutes on Ox-King’s first sentence lol. Though it is the best way to learn these dialects, I believe. The more effort in working it out, the better the memorisation.
Page 78
Is this せんか as in 専科? Or is it some contracted form of する?
Page 80
Is かんな supposed to be かな? I didn’t think that’d make sense, cause wouldn’t she want to convey a sense of certainty? Like “I (definitely) won’t forgive you”?
Page 78. I read this as しませんか. After you’ve collected the dragon balls why don’t you come and train at my place?
Page 80. I must admit I just read this as かな. I went for something like, “If you forget I might not forgive you!” Deepl went for “If you forget, you’ll be in trouble!”
Start date: 26 Dec
Pages: 85-104
0 voters
Fun chapter, a real classic moment in Dragon Ball history!
Page 86 - 飛んで火に入る夏の虫 seems to be a recognised Japanese saying/maxim. I saw several suggested English versions of this, the best being: It’s like a moth flying into the flame.
Page 104. I didn’t really know what to make of this. I could see the word play on はなく. Is ハナクン a person? I couldn’t figure out the grammar for 話くそう.
