Where is this? I don’t remember coming across it and I can’t seem to find it now
It’s about halfway through this week’s schedule.
Obviously spoilers:
たとえば僕が、頭の中で『今日は』と思う。そうすると近くにいる人にその挨拶が伝わる。
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I’ve got a few questions:
#1, end of pg 37, beginning of 38
On page 38, I don’t understand the sentence starting at the bottom of the first line:
もちろん、『分かる？』って言葉で頭に伝わったわけじゃない。
Does this mean “Of course, it’s not the case that the word “分かる” was transmitted into my head.” ?
If so, I’m confused because it seems like the last lines of 37 and the first line of 38 are all saying how “分かる？分かる？” was bouncing around in his head from somewhere else. It seems like a contradiction, so I feel like I’m missing something.
#2, pg 39, line 9, at the top:
もう取り返しのつかないほど仲が悪くなってしまった。
What is のつかない? I’ve come across 及びもつかない, which means “out of one’s control,” is that the same つかない? I’m having a hard time coming up with a good translation for it.
#3, pg 40, line 10, in the middle:
別にそれで最初の持ち主の痛みが消えるわけではないしね。
Along with the sentence before this one, is the point slightly more philosophical? That when you hear someone’s sad thoughts, because you’re hearing it, the original person’s sadness carries on after they thought it?
#4, spoiler if you haven't read past page 33
Does Hermes just stroll right into the house? A motorcycle? To me it seems like they’re indoors because it says they were led to a wide, bright room. Then it talks about the garden on the other side of the window, which surely means they’re inside?
So shoes are ダメ but a motorcycle is fine 
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I believe he’s saying it wasn’t like the word わかる itself was in his head, but as if he was thinking it himself.
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「取り返しがつかない」の英語・英語例文・英語表現 - Weblio和英辞書
付く is used in a lot of expressions. Remember that が can be の in subordinate clauses.
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I think he’s explaining his assertion that it’s only a problem and that sharing pain makes people happy is a lie. He says that all it does is make you feel pain when you otherwise wouldn’t, and, after all, it’s not like the other persons pain goes away just from you feeling it. Instead if dividing and lessening the pain, it just multiplies it in more people.
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He was in the hotel room too 
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Thank you, those all make sense and I understand them now.
Don’t know why I didn’t pick up on that in the hotel and only realized here lol
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Anyone else keep reading 国中 as 中国? I was like “oh wow, the Chinese got onto this technology too!”
Also the reading is messed up for 国中…
Some questions (I don’t have page numbers in the ebook, sorry!)
When they start leaving, it says しばらくして坂をおりきり、すこし惰性で走って、エルメスは止まった。
I guess this is the same construction as was mentioned earlier, meaning “finished”? So when they finished descending down the hill, he let Hermes run until he stopped on his own?
And one page or two after that (where they see the first person up close), Hermes says
「おお。こんな近くで目撃された、初めての人間」
I don’t get why the passive is used here. Isn’t the meaning something like “It’s the first person we see this close up”? Why can’t you use 目撃した then?
Another two pages after that, what does 『エレダダ・イイツイ』さん mean? Someone who stutters?
And more towards the end, when he talks about all the bad outcomes, he mentions a guy who approached a girl and is then sued for thinking about rape and 猥褻物陳列. 猥褻物 is something pornographic, but I don’t get the meaning of 陳列 here. Displaying? Did he actually flash her? I thought he was just thinking something obscene with the point being that people got sued for thought crimes, but then the “display” meaning doesn’t make much sense to me.
Thanks 
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国中 - sure did! Had to do a double take a few times there
おりきり - I was wondering the same thing but I think that’s what it is. Went completely down the hill, then since they have momentum (惰性) from that , let Hermes go until he stops.
Passive - sorry, not sure. Now I’m curious too.
『エレダダ・イイツイ』さん - The long string of だだだだだ、だあだだえれだだ…いいいいついつつつついうつ is trying to ask だれ and いつ, I think. But here Hermes mistakenly thinks that the man is telling them his name. Hermes thinks the man’s name is えるだだ・いいつい
Last one - I think it just means that he’s “exhibiting obscenity, displaying his obscenity” or more simply just being obscene. Your understanding is what I got too.
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You edited in questions after I already looked!
I don’t know that you can’t. He just didn’t. A fine distinction the first person has been witnessed!
Cerv said everything else.
But as for the confusion on the idea of displaying, if everyone automatically feels and thinks everything you feel and think, isn’t just thinking and feeling something displaying it? That’s kind of the whole problem.
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エレダダ・イイツイ-さん like @cerv said except I think Hermes is just making a bad joke. He is like “Maybe this man is speaking a whole different language and just did a self-intro and his name is “Owhowho Enwhen”” but as far as I was concerned, he is not seriously proposing that as what is really happening. He is just joking about the stuttering I think.
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Indeed! Fixed.
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I’ve been slowly making my way through, but I can’t figure out the sentence しゃれた造りの木のテーブルとイス。I couldn’t find anything useful for しゃれた造り in particular.
シャレる = popular, stylish 造る = to make 造り = make (noun)
しゃれた造りの木のテーブルとイス
Stylishly made wooden table and chair(s)
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Thank you! I was hesitating on しゃれた because the jisho entry didn’t mark it as a normally kana only word. I also only remembered イス as I was posting, I wonder why it’s often in katakana?
It doesn’t? I only ever really see it as しゃれる or possibly even more commonly シャレる.
And, dunno. Katakana seems kinda common for animals and furniture though. But, just earlier in the same chapter the author used 椅子… it’s really down to taste. This way it matched テーブル?
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I just finished reading this week‘s section. Thanks again for this thread because I’m absolutely sure that I wouldn’t have read so much Japanese today otherwise.
I‘m surprised at how easy and enjoyable I‘m finding this. Of course I would be completely lost without the inline lookup of unknown words (thanks again, japanese.io) but I seem to be picking up at least some new words and understanding what is going on so this is really nice.
I probably won’t have much to contribute (I have no questions but on the other hand I’m usually either not competent or fast enough to answer the questions that others have) but I’m looking forward to at least silently following this week’s discussion.
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Leaving my two cents here too. Finished the chapter (section?) as well now and I’m pleasantly surprised actually. When everyone kept talking about the book I wasn’t quite sure whether it would be my cup of tea (then again at the moment the point is more to consume as much Japanese as I can so whether or not I completely enjoy the book is somewhat beside the point for me), but I’m really enjoying it quite a bit so far.
I like the writing style and I’m really enjoying the almost philosophical questions that are being thrown at me (albeit very straight forwardly). I originally thought it was gonna be more adventure-y, but I’m really liking this and I hope future chapters will be in the same vein.
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Interesting phrase learned here: ろれつが回らない. I guess if you already know that ろれつ means “articulation” and that a meaning of 回る is “to function well”, this would be obvious. But to me it was still a cool, new phrase.
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I didn’t know ろれつ, actually, but I’ve seen ろれつが回らない multiple times 
It’s probably one of those cases where an expression is way more common than the actual word used in it. I think it’s cool because even to say ろれつ your ろれつ needs to 回る a lot.
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Page 32 questions
So I gather that this guy that showed up isn’t supposed to quite make sense. Kino seems a bit confused as well. But I feel like I should be able to understand what’s being said, even if it doesn’t make sense logically. Specifically, I can’t make sense of:
- 「私の思っていることが分からないのか？」
- 「僕が何を思っているのか分からないのかい？」
- 「僕にも君達の思いは『聞こえ』ない！」
Oh wait, maybe I got it? Does he expect that they should be able to hear each other’s thoughts? (Guess I’ll find out if I just keep reading, but it was bothering me…)
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