(The increasingly less) Daily senryu thread

In all honesty, that does not necessarily contradict their statement :stuck_out_tongue_winking_eye: :rofl:

4 Likes

I did mean on par or better, fwiw.

I try hard to recognize my own fallibility, I’m far from an expert, but I do understand some things and feel confident in my interpretations above.

2 Likes

Oh yeah, I got that. I was just referring to general transitivity, which works in both directions actually.
So the reasoning could go that if A thinks they cannot do something, and B’s level is not more advanced than A but still does that thing, then one interpretation could be yours (A will be able to do this just fine) or it could reflect in the other direction (B should rather stop doing it as they are not yet fit for the task). Says my mathematician’s brain at least :grin: :woman_shrugging:

I hope you know that I was just joking! (It just happens that these logic-things just jump at me, and sometimes I cannot resist putting in a remark if I think the other person can handle it.) I really admire your tenacity in fighting through these things :+1:

5 Likes

Sunday, May 8, 2022


Previous senryu

  1. ナイターの拍手隣家と敵味方
    ないたーの・はくしゅりんかと・てきみかた
    Night-game applause from / my neighbor’s house — no longer / friend but frenemy

Notes:

  • Congrats to @alo :confetti_ball: (“frenemy” was perfect, imo!)
  • I couldn’t resist turning Alo’s submission into a 5-7-5. Despite my warnings that it isn’t weighted heavily in the translations, I thought this parsed pretty well.
  • As always, it’s all subjective. Don’t let my preferences for translations get in the way of you picking your own winners!

Current senryu challenge

Volume: husbands

  1. 言い負けてよかった妻の上機嫌

No hints today. Another one with fairly easy kanji but perhaps open to interpretation.

Remember to please use the spoiler tag with your translation attempts! Also, please include the reading in kana with your submission.


Everyone is encouraged to participate, no matter your level!

Online tools like dictionaries, sentence databases, and even AI translation engines are fair game and can be extremely helpful. Yomichan is particularly handy if you use the Chrome or Firefox browser.

Here are the links to the 356 Japanese originals (spoiler free) and to the the spreadsheet with all the upcoming senryu as well as the translations to date.

1 Like

Translation attempt

  1. 言い負けてよかった妻の上機嫌

いいまけて・よかったつまの・じょうきげん
I’m glad I lost the argument / my wife’s in a good mood!

Comments:

  • I think it’s the husband that lost the argument, but again subjectless Japanese sentence structure makes it open to interpretation.
  • Maybe another interpretation might be that the wife lost the argument but is in a good mood because she knows she will receive (or already received) a gift in consolation?
1 Like

Monday, May 9, 2022


Previous senryu

  1. 言い負けてよかった妻の上機嫌
    いいまけて・よかったつまの・じょうきげん
    I’m glad I lost the argument / my wife’s in a good mood!

Comments:

  • I hope everyone was able to do something nice for mom yesterday!
  • No winner yesterday. I’m sticking with the most straightforward translation.

Current senryu challenge

Volume: Corona

  1. 下書きの 送信キーを 猫が押し

Comments:

  • I think this is another easy one with only a single obvious interpretation — prove me wrong! :slight_smile:
  • I’ll refrain from posting my translation today (at least until others have had a chance)
  • I think there may be opportunity for another English 5-7-5 for those so inclined.
  • Please vote (with a like) for your favorite.

Remember to please use the spoiler tag with your translation attempts! Also, please include the reading in kana with your submission.


Everyone is encouraged to participate, no matter your level!

Online tools like dictionaries, sentence databases, and even AI translation engines are fair game and can be extremely helpful. Yomichan is particularly handy if you use the Chrome or Firefox browser.

Here are the links to the 356 Japanese originals (spoiler free) and to the the spreadsheet with all the upcoming senryu as well as the translations to date.

2 Likes
  1. 言い負けてよかった妻の上機嫌

Bleh, this is some “happy wife, happy life” borderline boomer-humor nonsense. I dislike humor that views marriage/relationships as inherently adversarial.

  1. 下書きの 送信キーを 猫が押し

したがきの`そうしんキーを`ねこがおし

Straightforward translation attempt

The cat hit send on my rough draft

English 5-7-5 attempt with 'artistic' liberties

(1)
Furry house gremlin
Sat on the send key of my
Unfinished rough draft

Alternatively, taking the word order more into account,
(2)
The send key of my
Preliminary rough draft
Well, the cat hit it

6 Likes

Furry house gremlin

:laughing: Yup. We had 'em growing up and that’s as good a description as I’ve heard.

1 Like

That takes it, for me. :laughing: Don’t think I could improve on it at all. :slight_smile: :+1:

3 Likes

Translation Attempt

5-7-5 attempt:

Prematurely sent
Just a draft; the enter key
Stepped on by the cat

4 Likes

So glad to have lost / when we had the argument / wife in a good mood

Reminded me of the advice from a long married (male) colleague, who said these sort of phrases had saved him in the nick of time in heated arguments:
- “I understand why I’m feeling so lost! Let’s do it your way”
- “Honey, you are so right! What was I thinking!!”
- “Oh, I wish I could have thought about that!!”
- “Brilliant, just brilliant! Honey, you’re so smart!!”

Of course, how one delivers these line matters as much as what they say

PS: Delayed submission. But since I did the 5-7-5 this time, I’ll put it in anyway :wink:

1 Like

Still a rough draft / Oh, no! that e-mail was sent - / Cat pawed the send key

I took too many liberties with the translation, trying to make it 5-7-5

2 Likes

Translation attempt

Okay, since we’re all agreed on the interpretations and we’re just playing around with liberally-translated English 5-7-5 attempts, I’ll submit one anyway:

Disgusting rough draft,
send key pressed deliberately
not me but the cat

Once again I wonder how on earth I set myself up to judge a poetry contest — daily! These are all so great, and while I’m known for many things, artistic sensibilities aren’t even on the list!

3 Likes

Another really plain translation from me, unfortunately :sweat_smile:

(した)()きの送信(そうしん)キーを(ねこ)()

rough draft submitted
by the cat who stepped on the
computer keyboard

4 Likes

Tuesday, May 10, 2022


Previous senryu

  1. 下書きの 送信キーを 猫が押し
    したがきの・そうしんキーを・ねこがおし
    Prematurely sent / just a draft; the enter key / stepped on by the cat

Notes:

  • Congrats to @rosencrantz :confetti_ball: (5-7-5 bonus)
  • I thought you folks were gonna make it easy for me when I went to bed: clear winner with six likes. Then I woke up to a 4-4 tie!
  • Many great submissions!

Current senryu challenge

Volume: Life in one page

  1. オレ粗大ゴミならおまえ危険物

Comments

  • I don’t quite get this one yet
  • I do know that parts of Japan take separating their garbage to a whole 'nother level with a half-dozen or more different categories.

Remember to please use the spoiler tag with your translation attempts! Also, please include the reading in kana with your submission.


Everyone is encouraged to participate, no matter your level!

Online tools like dictionaries, sentence databases, and even AI translation engines are fair game and can be extremely helpful. Yomichan is particularly handy if you use the Chrome or Firefox browser.

Here are the links to the 356 Japanese originals (spoiler free) and to the the spreadsheet with all the upcoming senryu as well as the translations to date.

  1. オレ粗大ゴミならおまえ危険物

おれそだいごみならおまえきけんぶつ
“If I’m oversized garbage, then you’re hazardous materials”.
I’m wondering if this is a play on the second definition below. Something like, “I may be a garbage husband, but you’re a toxic wife.”

5 Likes

I think that one captures the intent. :+1:

2 Likes

Translation Attempt

Really happy my translation of the cat one went down well, thanks everyone! Gonna try this one then look at everyone else’s versions.

Literal-ish:

If I’m trash, you must be hazardous materials!

5-7-5:

Fine, I guess I’m trash
There, I said it. Now admit
You are toxic waste

Notes:

Though my understanding is that 危険物 is usually more like, explosive-type dangerous things, I don’t think it’s restricted to JUST that, and I feel like the relationship connotations of “toxic” in English fit the spirit of the poem. At least the way I read it.
Also went for just “trash” instead of “bulky trash” because 粗大ゴミ can be slang for a useless husband, and I think that is better expressed in English simply as trash.

2 Likes

I think the play on words here that matches the second meaning of 粗大ゴミ is the 物 connotations from things like 動物 and 生物 where it’s an animate object.

The translations so far seem extremely harsh to me (“garbage husband” and “toxic” seem especially aggressive). I’m wondering if it might sound slightly more teasing and light-hearted if worded differently:

Translation attempt

  1. オレ粗大ゴミならおまえ危険物

オレそだい・ゴミならおまえ・きけんぶつ
If I belong in “oversized trash” / you must be “dangerous goods”!

(I’ve cribbed the specific translations from my Kenkyusha J-E dictionary.)

In other words, I think (hope?) it’s more likely a playful scene from everyday life: taking out the trash, a husband joking with his wife, not a vicious argument.


Some more context from my experiences living in Japan:

  • Single family homes usually take their trash out to a specified street corner or other nearby location. Garbage is separated into a bewildering number of categories, with pickups on different days of the week: recyclables, oversized items, dangerous goods, etc. Because space is such a premium it’s often surprising what you might see in the “oversized” location: brand-new looking furniture, perfectly operational TVs/appliances, etc.

  • “Mansions” and apartments usually have a covered area on the ground level with different spaces for the same thing.

  • Many locales require you to purchase specially colored bags and stickers for the various types of trash. Japan really does try to recycle stuff rather than just play-acting, so the rules can be particularly onerous. In Kobe, for example, plastic water bottles (ペットボトル) must have the tops placed in one bag and the bottles themselves with all labels removed go into another. This makes sense to me as they are different types of plastic, but it’s unimaginable in the US.

  • It’s not uncommon to see crazed-looking housewives in curlers and pajamas running down the street with a bag of some particular type of trash, realizing they’ve forgotten the pickup day/time.

2 Likes