地球 read as くに? (Sailor Moon OP song)

こんにちは!

Near the end of “Moonlight Densetsu” there is the line, that sounds:
おなじくににうまれたのミラクル・ロマンス。

I thought that くに in that line would be 国, but to my utmost surprise japanese lyrics that can be found at WikiMoon for this line read as:
同じ地球に生まれたの ミラクル・ロマンス
and official translation for this reads: “Born on the same planet”

Neither Jisho nor IME editor in my Windows list くに as possible reading for 地球. What’s with this reading? I’m really curious.
ありがとうございます!

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HI! Yes funny how creative the Japanese can be with their kanji (in poetry and song lyrics especially). They will often use unexpected kanji with furigana, sometimes. It gives a double layer to some of the lyrics, doesn’t it? These are usually not official readings, though!

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Yes, that’s right. In this case this would probably mean to hint that Earth is “home country” for the main characters. Also, I saw that jisho lists “earth” as archaic meaning for 国(くに), so now, together with your explanation, I kind of understand how the author of the lyrics got there, but nevertheless it’s surprising.

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I think it might be one of my favourite aspects of the language. Now you can say: ‘I see what you did there :wink:’ and ‘Don’t have to learn that one! :sunglasses:

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In Aqua/Aria 地球 is マンホーム. When used sparingly, it’s a really nice way to add nuance and double meaning.

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Similar stuff I’ve seen in anime openings:

  • 二人 read as じぶん in no game no life
  • 宇宙 read as そら in Evangellion
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That makes so much sense too, given the context.

Very interesting topic! :+1: So is the reading of the kanji completely “made up” by the authors in these instances (something akin to how “quidditch” is a made-up fantasy word but sounds English), or is it just some super obscure old reading?

No, it’s that the author is using the reading of a different word to show a double meaning.

It can also indicate what the characters are saying out loud, while giving clear indication to the reader what it’s supposed to mean. So in my example above from Aqua/Aria, which takes place on Mars: 地球マンホーム. The characters are saying “Manhome”, but are referring to Earth. By using the kanji 地球, the readers immediately know that マンホーム means Earth and that it’s called “Manhome” now, without actually having to explain it to the readers.

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Saiki K. also does this a lot in the on screen notes, I just remembered

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