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しろくまカフェ home thread
Chapters 5 and 6
Start date: March 27th
Previous Chapter: Chapters 3 and 4
Next chapter: Chapters 7 and 8
Page numbers
Vocabulary list
You can also check the page numbers for new and old versions here. If you have an old version, chapters 24-28 are in the second volume!
Translations/Grammar Breakdown
Expand for a nested list of links covering each panel
Page 21
jaearess:
Page 21, bis version
Panel 2
Panda: なにか考えごと?
なにか - something, some kind, some
考えごと - something to think about, one’s thoughts, concern, worry
Panda: Something on your mind?
Panel 3
Shirokuma: カフェのシーズンメニューを作ってる
カフェ - Cafe
の - (possessive/modifier particle)
シーズンメニュー - seasonal menu
を - (direct object marker)
作ってる - making, preparing, writing, etc. (shortened form of the “ongoing”/ている form of 作る)
Shirokuma: I’m preparing the cafe’s seasonal menu.
Panda: ああ 期間限定のやつね~
ああ - ah!, oh!
期間限定 - limited time
の - (modifier particle)
やつ - thing
ね - right?, don’t you think?, etc.
Panda: Oh, that’s a limited time thing, isn’t it?
Panel 4
Shirokuma: デザートでなにか食べたいのある?
デザート - dessert
で - (context particle)
なにか - something, some kind, some
食べたい - want to eat (“want to” form of 食べる)
の - (nominalizing particle)
ある - to exist
Shirokuma: Is there some kind of dessert you want to eat? (I want to say the subject marker has been dropped after の here, but I might be wrong.)
Panda: ハイッ!
ハイッ - Yes (はい in katakana with a sudden stop)
Panda: Yes!
Page 22
jaearess:
Page 22, bis version
Panel 1
Panda: 竹パフェ♡
Panda: Bamboo parfait♡
Label: パンダさんリコメンド
パンダさん - Panda
リコメンド - recommendation
Label: Panda’s Recommendation
Label: 特製竹シャーベット
特製 - deluxe
竹 - bamboo
シャーベット - sherbet
Label: Deluxe bamboo sherbet
Label: 栗と白玉
栗 - Japanese chestnut
と - and
白玉 - rice flour dumpling
Label: Chestnuts and rice flour dumplings
Label: ソフトクリーム
Label: Soft-serve ice cream
Label: コーンフレーク
コーンフレーク - cornflakes, breakfast cereal, etc.
Label: Cornflakes
Label: あずき
Label: Adzuki (I wonder if this is supposed to be more like anko, rather than the actual beans? Based on the context and picture, it doesn’t seem to just be the beans themselves. Maybe あずき can refer to the sweet paste as well? Though I have seen whole adzuki beans in, e.g., ice cream before.)
Label: 特製竹寒天
特製 - deluxe
竹 - bamboo
寒天 - vegetable gelatin
Label: Deluxe bamboo gelatin
Panda: 食物繊維たっぷり!
食物繊維 - dietary fiber
たっぷり - full, plenty, etc.
Panda: It’s full of fiber!
Panel 2
Shirokuma: ダメ~
ダメ - no good, can not, not allowed, etc.
Shirokuma: Nope
Sign: 不採用
不採用 - rejection (of an application)
Sign: Rejection
Panda: え~~~ なんで~?
え - eh?, what?, etc.
なんで - why?, what for?, etc.
Panda: Eh? Why?
Shirokuma: パンダくん以外食べないし
パンダくん - Panda
以外 - with the exception of, excepting
食べない - not eat (negative non-past form of 食べる)
し - (‘reason’ marker–marks the phrase as one of several reasons for something)
Shirokuma: No one other than you would eat it
TIL it’s “sherbet” not “sherbert.” I’ve never heard it called “sherbet” in my life.
Deciphering 食物繊維 was my greatest feat of Japanese reading to date, especially since I haven’t learned (or otherwise seen) 繊 yet.
NLeseul:
My Yomichan has a slang dictionary called KireiCake installed, and it gives “specially-designed” or “custom-made” for 特製. (Or “special make” as well as “deluxe” from JMDict.) I think what they’re going for is more like “special bamboo sherbet”—i.e., a bamboo sherbet specially formulated for the cafe or for this particular dessert.
Page 23
jaearess:
Page 23, bis version
Panel 1
Panda: じゃ パンダパフェとか
じゃ - Then, well, etc.
パンダ - panda
パフェ - parfait
とか - (inexhaustive listing particle)
Panda: Then, something like a panda parfait
Panel 2
Panda: クマクマパフェとか
クマ - bear
パフェ - parfait
とか - (inexhaustive listing particle)
Panda: Or a bears parfait (Could also be bear-bear or something? I went with “bears” since doubling a noun is a way to make it plural, but the picture is specifically of two bears, so I’m not sure.)
Panel 3
Panda: 南極パフィとか
南極 - South Pole/Antarctica
パフィ - parfait
とか - (inexhaustive listing particle)
Panda: Or a South Pole parfait
Panel 4
Shirokuma: 学食のパフェコンテストみたい
学食 - School cafeteria
の - (possessive/modifer particle)
パフェ - parfait
コンテスト - context
みたい - -like, sort of, etc.
Shirokuma: This is like a parfait contest for a school cafeteria
Panda: あっ それ楽しそう!
あっ - ah, oh, etc.
それ - that
楽し - fun, enjoyable, pleasant, etc. (stem of 楽しい)
そう - seems like, feels like, looks like, etc.
Panda: Oh! That sounds fun!
Panda: パフェフェアしようよ~
パフェ - Parfait
フェア - fair
しょう - let’s do (volitional form of する)
しよう - let’s do (volitional form of する) (Thanks, @NicoleRauch !)
よ - (assertive emphasis particle)
Panda: Hey, let’s have a parfait fair (Maybe “parfair” for the pun-ish-ness? )
Panel 5
Panda: パフェフェアー
パフェ - Parfait
フェアー - fair
Panda: Parfait fair (See above)
Page 24
Joshikii:
Page 24, old version
Panel 1
Panda: それオンエア
Panda: That’s on air
Panda: ヘッドホン外れてるよ
ヘッドホン - Headphones
外れてる - to be disconnected. (shortened form of the “ongoing”/ている form of 外れる)
よ - Sentence ending particle, is used when the speaker wishes to emphasize new information.
Panda: The headphones aren’t connected
Panel 2
Panda: それスポーツウェア
それ - That
スポーツウェア - sportswear
Panda: That’s sportswear
Panel 3
Panda: それデッキチェア
それ - That
デッキチェア - Deckchair
Panda: That’s Deckchair
Panel 4
Panda: それアフロヘア
それ - That
アフロヘア - Afro Hair
Panda: That’s Afro Hair
Panel 5
Shirokuma: …じゃ決まり
じゃ - Well, Well then
決まり- settlement; conclusion; end; agreement; arrangement
Shirokuma: …Well, I’ve decided
Panel 6
Shirokuma: “フレッシュジュースフェア”
フレッシュジュースフェア - Fresh Juice fayre
Shirokuma: Fresh Juice Fayre
Panda: なら、きかないでよ
なら - if that’s the case, if so (Abbreviation of それなら)
きかないで - Don’t ask (negative て from of きく, to ask)
よ - Sentence ending particle, is used when the speaker wishes to emphasize new information.
Panda: If that’s the case, don’t ask.
Alternative translation : If your going to do that/go that way, don’t bother asking me.
Page 24, afterword
Saruko:
Page 24
Adding the end bit for the bis version:
いつまでアフロ・・・
いつまで - how long? till when?
“How long (will he wear) the afro?”
(It’s been on Polar Bear for 2 panels after the pun was made!)
Saruko:
Page 24
Adding the end bit for the bis version:
いつまでアフロ・・・
いつまで - how long? till when?
“How long (will he wear) the afro?”
(It’s been on Polar Bear for 2 panels after the pun was made!)
Page 25
jaearess:
Page 25, bis version
Panel 3
Unknown panda: 起床ー!!
起床 - rising, getting out of bed, etc.
Unknown panda: Time to get up!
Panel 4
Commentary: 僕の家の朝は早いです
僕 - I
の - (possessive/modifier particle)
家 - house, household, residence, etc.
朝 - morning
は - (topic marker)
早い - early
です - to be (copula)
Commentary: Morning at my house begins early. (Literally, “As for my house’s morning, it is early.” I’m not sure if he means it in the sense I used, or if in the sense of “This is what early morning is like at my house,” or some other meaning. I went with this because I feel like it fits his personality to be mildly commenting on/complaining about how early it is, but really it’s just a guess.)
Panel 5
Commentary: 朝起きて一番に
朝 - morning
起きて - to wake up (て-form of 起きる)
一番 - first
に - (target/indirect object particle)
Commentary: First after getting up in the morning (朝起き is a noun meaning “early rising”, but since it’s 起きて rather than 起きして, it looks to me like it’s 朝 + 起きる’s て-form rather than one word here. I might just be overthinking it, and it should be “getting up early” rather than “getting up in the morning” or similar.)
Commentary: 家族みんなが中庭に集まって
家族 - family
みんな- everyone, everybody, all, etc.
が - (subject marker)
中庭 - courtyard
に - (target/indirect object marker)
集まって - to gather (て-form of 集まる)
Commentary: Everyone in my family gathers in the courtyard
Label: パンダさん
Label: Panda
Page 26
jaearess:
Page 26, bis version
Panel 1
Commentary: 太極拳をします
太極拳 - Tai Chi Chuan
を - (direct object marker)
します - to do
Commentary: We do Tai Chi Chuan
Scribbled commentary: パンダらけ
パンダらけ - Full of pandas (Pun combining パンダ and だらけ–full, riddled with, etc.)
Scribbled commentary: Panpacked (The best I could come up with )
Panel 2
Commentary: おじいちゃんが中国拳法の達人からです
おじいちゃん - Grandpa
が - (subject marker)
中国拳法 - Chinese martial arts
の - (possessive/modifying particle)
達人 - master
から - because
です - to be (copula)
Commentary: We do it because Grandpa is a Chinese martial arts master (“We do it” is implied here, I think. A more literal translation would be like “It’s because Grandpa is…”, but I thought that sounded excessively unnatural in English.)
Grandpa: 健康にいいんじゃよ
健康 - Health
に - (target/indirect object marker)
いい - good
ん - (explanatory particle, shortened の)
じゃ - to be (copula–equivalent to だ here–in some dialects–Kansai?–and for old/archaic characters–here I think probably because it’s his grandpa)
よ - (assertive emphasis particle)
Grandpa: It’s good for your health, you know.
Panel 3
Commentary: 太極拳が終わったら朝ごはんをたべます
太極拳 - Tai Chi Chuan
が - (subject marker)
終わったら - when finished (たら-form–if, when, after, etc.–of 終わる–to end/finish, etc.)
朝ごはん - breakfast
を - (indirect object marker)
たべます - to eat
Commentary: After we finish Tai Chi Chuan, we eat breakfast.
Page 27
NLeseul:
bis version page 27
Panel 1:
Offscreen commentary (probably Panda’s): 食後はすこし散歩したりします
食後: After a meal
は: Marks the topic
すこし: Small, slight
散歩: Stroll
したり: ~たり form of する; implies one from a selection of actions
します: Polite form of する. If I recall correctly, this is “doing” the list of things prevously given with one or more verbs in the ~たり form. “I do things like” the aforementioned.
“After eating, we might take a short stroll.” (Not very literal, but I think this is a fairly natural way of saying something similar in English. Imperfect, because it implies that the choice is between taking the stroll or doing nothing, as opposed to between taking the stroll or doing some unspecified other activity.)
Panda: シロクマくん家まで行ってみよう
シロクマくん: Shirokuma (with familiar suffix)
~家: Suffix for someone’s home
まで: “Until” or “as far as” particle. (I think they’re using まで rather than に or へ here to suggest that Panda’s primary goal is just strolling around, and he just happens to stop when he’s close to Shirokuma’s house, rather than going there as a specific destination. )
行って: 行く in ~て form
みよう: Volitional of 見る. When joined with another verb in ~て form, implies “do something and see what happens”; i.e., “try doing something.” In volitional form, suggests an intention to do something rather than the action of doing it.
“Guess I’ll try going by Shirokuma’s place.”
Panel 3
Panda: なにしてるの?
なに: What?
して: ~て form of する
る: Contracted いる helper
の: Light question/explanation-seeking marker (I think he uses this rather than just a rising intonation to emphasize that he’s confused by the weird position Shirokuma is in and wants an explanation?)
“What are you doing?”
Panel 4
Shirokuma: 朝の日課のパワーヨガ
朝: Morning
の: Possessive/attributive
日課: Daily routine
の: Possessive/attributive
パワーヨガ: Power yoga
“My morning power yoga routine.”
Panel 5
Panda: へ~~~ (“Eh…?”)
Shirokuma: 英雄のポーズ
英雄: Hero
の: Possessive/attributive
ポーズ: Pose
“Warrior pose.” (I’m assuming this is the Japanese term for that; that’s what the art looks like. See here .)
Page 28
jaearess:
Page 28, bis version
Panel 1
Panda: いろんなポーズがあるんだ
いろんな - Various
ポーズ - Pose
が - (subject marker)
ある - to exist
んだ - (explanatory)
Panda: There are various poses
Shirokuma: うん
Shirokuma: Yeah
Panel 2
Commentary: 太陽礼拝のポーズ
太陽 - Sun
礼拝 - worship
の - (modifier particle)
ポーズ - pose
Commentary: Warrior 1 pose (This seems to be the actual Japanese name for the yoga pose called “Warrior 1” in English, rather than being a pun, unless I’m missing something.)
Commentary: Sun salutation pose (Thanks @NLeseul !)
Explanation
NLeseul:
The phrase suggests “sun salutation” to me, which is a cycle of 12 poses you’re supposed to do in the morning or something. And indeed, searching for 太陽礼拝 does come up with a lot of images of the sun salutation cycle, such as this one .
But, yes, the art is pretty clearly Warrior I from that first link, which doesn’t appear to be part of the sun salutation. So I’m not sure what happened there.
Panel 3
Commentary: 三勝零敗のポーズ
三 - Three
勝 - win, victory
零 - zero
敗 - loss
の - (modifier particle)
ポーズ - pose
Commentary: Three-wins-zero-losses pose (零敗 can also be treated as a word by itself–meaning both ‘undefeated’ but also ‘shut out’, etc. apparently–but I think it’s meant to be treated as quantity + noun, like with 三勝.)
Sign: 北白熊
北 - North
白熊 - Polar Bear
Sign: North Polar Bear
Panel 4
Commentary: 駆付三杯のポーズ
駆付 - to rush (stem of 駆け付ける/駆付ける/駆けつける with the okurigana crammed in the kanji, as far as I can tell.)
三杯 - three cups
の - (modifier particle)
ポーズ - pose
Commentary: Three cups of sake pose (This translation comes from the vocab sheet–thanks to whoever added that! According to the vocab sheet, the phrase 駆付三杯 means “Three cups of sake which latecomers to a party are made to drink”. After a bit of searching, I was able to confirm that, as well.)
Shirokuma: どーも どーも
どーも - Thank you (どうも with ー instead of う)
Shirokuma: Thank you, thank you
Panel 5
Commentary: 疲労困憊のポーズ
疲労困憊 - Total exhaustion
の - (modifier particle)
ポーズ - pose
Commentary: Total exhaustion pose
Panel 6
Commentary: もう結構のポーズ
もう - Already
結構 - fine (as in, “I’m fine”), okay, etc., no thanks
の - (modifier particle)
ポーズ - pose
Commentary: I’m fine pose
Commentary: No thanks pose (Changed this because the pose is meant specifically in the “no thanks” way, to tell Shirokuma to cut out all the poses.)
Afterword
Bear Cupcake: けっこう頑張ったのに・・・。
けっこう - quite, reasonably, fairly, etc. (I believe it’s an adverb in this case, so the meaning is a little different than above)
頑張った - persevered, persisted, kept at it, etc. (past form of 頑張る)
のに - although, even though, etc.
Bear Cupcake: Even though he’s quite persistent… (Can’t quite a make sense of this one. It seems maybe like it’s supposed to be contrasting against Panda in the last panel, but I can’t quite figure out exactly how it’s meant to be taken.)
Bear Cupcake: Even though he worked so hard… (Thanks @Kazzeon !)
Discussion Rules
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I’m reading along
I’m still reading the book but I haven’t reached this chapter yet
I’m no longer reading this book
I’m skipping this book
11 Likes
Yay, I’m ahead of the curve this week! Thanks for making the thread again!
I even made my first contribution to the vocab spreadsheet, after painfully deciphering the scribbled 食物繊維, I figured I’d try to save others the trouble
7 Likes
Can’t wait to discover the new adventures of this goofy crew: our waiter-polar-bear, our crazy-dancing-“punda”, our narcoleptic-surfer-penguin and our gardener-lady-kangaroo!
1 Like
Hah. I quite like the puns in chapter five.
Page 26, first panel - is パンダらけ a pun? パンダ + だらけ?
2 Likes
That’s how I interpreted it, too, though I’m not particularly confident in it. I’m pretty sure it’s a pun of some sort, at the very least.
1 Like
Honestly i find it hard to understand this manga with all these puns, it’s sad that i can easily understand a manga in the Beginners Club but not a manga in the Absolute Beginner Club
6 Likes
It’s weird, too.
I’d say 少女終末旅行 is harder than しろくまカフェ by most standards.
1 Like
But… they’re just rhyming puns. It’s not like the plot hinges on them, or anything.
2 Likes
Actually I’m reading through Yotsuba&, which started as a beginner club book.
Yeah but i can’t get the puns, i know it’s pun and that’s it. Most of the words they use are used just for the pun and nothing more
this is different from a natural conversation where i can understand mostly everything
Sorry guys i don’t want to seem like I’m complaining, it’s just that this is all i can think about when i read Yotsubato.
Now that’s all well and done, let us get back to translating these bad boys
1 Like
Just barely finished chapter 4 in time yesterday evening, so I can still answer with “I’m reading along” today…
Looking forward to start the next one today after work. I really enjoy the little stories so far, even if the puns tend to be “slightly” hard to translate.
I bought Yotsuba and Shirokuma at the same time. Don’t worry, just because the beginner did Yotsuba and this is Absolute beginner does NOT mean Yotsuba is harder! I gave up on reading it alone, just too much vocab and puns =P
We chose Yotsuba before we had this group, so it didn’t get ruled out for being too easy. Today it would have been bumped to this group’s voting instead, like Shirokuma did.
Yotsuba is much easier than this one in my opinion. (though it has a good bit of slang and child talk)
And the next manga we will do, Chi’s Sweet Home is even easier (in my opinion).
This manga is OK for the club, since it is still considered a somewhat easy manga, but those other two are even easier I feel =)
3 Likes
Wiggle
March 27, 2019, 11:25am
12
I spent some time trying to figure out this pun last night and couldn’t. My guess is that it’s a pun about the tai chi form they’re doing, but I couldn’t find Japanese vocabulary for that anywhere.
1 Like
oh so that’s why, I was wondering about that
2 Likes
All right, let’s get started with this week’s.
Page 21, bis version
Panel 2
Panda: なにか考えごと?
なにか - something, some kind, some
考えごと - something to think about, one’s thoughts, concern, worry
Panda: Something on your mind?
Panel 3
Shirokuma: カフェのシーズンメニューを作ってる
カフェ - Cafe
の - (possessive/modifier particle)
シーズンメニュー - seasonal menu
を - (direct object marker)
作ってる - making, preparing, writing, etc. (shortened form of the “ongoing”/ている form of 作る)
Shirokuma: I’m preparing the cafe’s seasonal menu.
Panda: ああ 期間限定のやつね~
ああ - ah!, oh!
期間限定 - limited time
の - (modifier particle)
やつ - thing
ね - right?, don’t you think?, etc.
Panda: Oh, that’s a limited time thing, isn’t it?
Panel 4
Shirokuma: デザートでなにか食べたいのある?
デザート - dessert
で - (context particle)
なにか - something, some kind, some
食べたい - want to eat (“want to” form of 食べる)
の - (nominalizing particle)
ある - to exist
Shirokuma: Is there some kind of dessert you want to eat? (I want to say the subject marker has been dropped after の here, but I might be wrong.)
Panda: ハイッ!
ハイッ - Yes (はい in katakana with a sudden stop)
Panda: Yes!
9 Likes
Ahh, finally caught up! I think these two might be my favorite chapters so far.
So I’m really curious, how do you guys read this? I’ve found that I like going all the way through a chapter to see what I know and then go back with the vocab sheet to fill in any blanks. Then I go back a third time (with the help of these lovely forums, thank you translators!) and really try to understand the grammar and see how right/wrong I was about everything. What about you?
I’m actually surprised to find fewer things I get completely wrong with each chapter. It’s a pretty powerful confidence boost tbh.
8 Likes
I personally do basically what you’re doing. A read through without looking anything up, then another run through to look up words I didn’t know (even if I could guess what they meant the first time through.) Then back through as people post translation/when I write up my own to post. When I’m writing my own, I tend to look up any grammar I don’t absolutely know for sure (though that hasn’t saved me from making mistakes even so )
1 Like
Wiggle
March 27, 2019, 11:42pm
17
I do something similar. I try not to use dictionaries/the vocab sheet my first time through. Then I’ll go back and figure it out with their help. Then I make notes on anything that I got confused by or found interesting for when the discussion thread gets to that part.
1 Like
Wiggle:
I do something similar.
So it looks like it’s pretty common! I was wondering if I’m the only one that does it that way, but good to know that isn’t the case.
I read it the exact way as you described!! So happy to be caught up this week!! LOVE LOVE this forum!!!
1 Like
Wiggle
March 28, 2019, 1:23pm
21
Okay, so I called on a friend of mine who spent a couple years in Japan. She says that パンダ + だらけ is spot on. Apparently だらけ is a very common pun word? She says that this text is something like “[the courtyard is] covered in pandas.”
5 Likes