Bleach Wiki:Translation Corner

The Translation Corner is a place where a group of users can get together and help maintain the wiki by keeping it up to date on the actual translations of the various names, abilities, techniques and etc. found in the Bleach Universe.

Associate Members

 * Adam Restling (Japanese)
 * MarqFJA (Japanese)
 * Lia Schiffer (Spanish)

References & Sources

 * Manga Raws: MangaHelpers
 * Kanji-to-English:
 * Tangorin
 * Mahou Kanji Dictionary
 * Kanji Networks
 * OldNihongo.J-Talk.Com
 * Basic Japanese verbal data: The imperative inflection of Japanese verbs

Contentious Translations
Since I screwed up the order of the first version (XD), I'll try to keep this one organized. If I overstepped any boundaries, please forgive--and correct--me. You may also notice that I try to write Japanese words by their kana spellings--e.g. ou, oo instead of ō--because I'm often too lazy (again, XD) to go grab the macron-crowned letters, and it's more faithful to the Japanese (I would only use ō etc. personally when it's katakana, as they are transcribing chiefly foreign sounds). However, on the Wiki(a)s, the prevailing trend is to use the Hepburn style, replete with ōs and all, so if making edits to the actual articles, please use these for consistency :). I leave the edits to the pros, because templates confuse and frighten me.

This section in particular will be used to try and confirm the accuracy of passages from the raw Japanese.

Also, sorry to everyone for the tardiness in my replies to queries. I explained the reasons, during a brief moment of lucidity (XD), in the new section on my user page called "I'm so, so sorry." I will endeavor to work on the backup during the weekend and/or as more raws *becomest* available to me :). Adam Restling 09:59, May 27, 2010 (UTC)

The "fastest Zanpakutou" (Ch. 400 "Deicide 2")
ICHIMARU (*claps*)

''... Todoita? Ima no gohyakubai ya''

... You get that? It's five hundred times that just now.

This would seem to suggest, as has been the prevalent translation, that Kamishini no Yari's speed is five hundred times the speed of (the time it takes the) sound (of the clap to reach Ichigo).

Todoita? (届いた?) "Get that?" is the past tense of the verb todoku (届く), more lit. "reach, arrive, get through or at," but also "to pay attention to" and also "get delivered, to carry over (e.g. sound )." Thus I chose "get" because, as in English, it can be used to lit. obtain something, but also to pay attention to and understand, as well as figuratively "receive" (including "hear") that something. And gohyakubai (五百倍) *is* "five hundred times/-fold." Adam Restling 02:19, April 26, 2010 (UTC)

The usher of desires (Ch. 401 "Deicide 3")
This will prob. be kind of preliminary, but I'll *try* and give a clearer picture of what Aizen has to say concerning Urahara, the Hougyoku and the Visored on pgs. 5-7. This has some more-complex phrasing and grammar than I'm used to, so I'll do my best--sorry for the length. *Note that in my transcriptions, underlined elements are used to signify non-Japanese words in katakana.

Hougyoku no nouryoku ha Horou to Shinigami no kyoukai wo ayatsurumono da to

Urahara Kisuke ga goninshita no ha

Hougyoku wo tsukutta kare jishin no nozomi ga sore datta kara da

It is the ability of the Hougyoku being to "manipulate the boundary of Hollow and Shinigami"

that Kisuke Urahara was mistaken in,

because that had been his own hope in creating the Hougyoku.

Watashi ha Hougyoku no shin no chikara ni kizuite ita

I realized with the Hougyoku's true power.

[omission for length]

Nazenara

sono nouryoku ga hontou nara ba

Hirako Shinjitachi ga kanzenna " Vaizādo " to narihaterukoto nado nakatta hazu dakara da

Because

if it was truly that ability,

then there should not have been such a thing as Shinji Hirako and the others being reduced to complete "Visored."

Hirako Shinjitachi no Horou ka ha

 Horou ka sono mono no jikken de aru to douji ni

Hougyoku no nouryoku wo kakuninsuru tame no mono datta

The Hollowfaction of Shinji Hirako and the others...

the Hollowfaction experiment itself was, simultaneously,

for the sake of affirming the abilities of the Hougyoku.

[omission for length]

Urahara Kisuke no te ni yoru Hougyoku no nouryoku no hatsudou ni yotte

Hirako Shinjitachi ha kanzennaru " Vaizādo " he to shinkashita

By the hand of Kisuke Urahara, the Hougyoku's abilities were made to activate;

Shinji Hirako and the others evolved completely into "Visored."

Hopefully no typos etc. in the above. From Aizen's words, it seems the Hougyoku is a kind of empathetic facilitator to achieving one's goals. It seems the subject must have the power to achieve said goals for it to work (e.g. Pee-wee Herman can't just wish to be the strongest being in the universe and, like a genie [Jambi? XD], it delivers). Urahara (supposedly) mistook its power as being only to "manipulate the boundary between Hollow and Shinigami" because that's what he'd hoped it would do when he made it.

Once again, Aizen seems to have no love for the Visored, tying in to his earlier calling them "poorly-made Arrancar." Indeed, if the Houg' *could* manipulate the boundary, it prob. should've been able to cure them of their Hollowfaction, or even allow them to use both sets of powers without having to endure the rigorous training it seems they did. He specifically refers to them "being reduced" (narihateru) to being Visored.

Hope this answers the questions; post on my talk if not :) . Adam Restling 11:35, May 2, 2010 (UTC)

Hungry? Why wait? (Ch. 406 "Deicide 8 end of the Chrysalis Age")
Kimi wo kurau no ha subete ga owatta ato de ii

As for devouring you, after all this is finished will be fine.

Kurau is the vulgar verb for "eat" or "drink" (it can mean either because, it seems, the idea is messily engulfing, wolfing down or consuming the object of the verb). Kurau can also mean "receive (e.g. an attack)"; compare English "eat this!" when launching an attack to the identical-in-use Japanese imperative form kurae!.

Aizen could be either being figurative (i.e. "consume you" = the same as "all my enemies were consumed in my onslaught") *OR* the literal "devouring"--more disturbing ambiguity from him ;) . He in fact "reassures" Ichigo here that Ichigo's consumption by Aizen--whichever form it takes--can wait ("after all this is finished will be fine") until Aizen returns.

Fun creep-factoring from Mr. Hulk Hougyoku XD. Adam Restling 05:19, June 7, 2010 (UTC)

The spellings of Yuzu's and Karin's names
Yuzu is spelled 遊子 "play(ful) child," and Karin is 夏梨 "summer pear."

The reason you may see spellings in katakana, like カリン for "Karin," is because it's shorthand: kana are easier to write (esp. for children) than brush-strokerific, complex Hanzi (= Japanese Kanji "Han graph(s)"). Adam Restling 09:45, April 28, 2010 (UTC)

Spelling of Kuchiki
OK, this is potentially an embarrassing question, but I have to ask it: According to google translate we've got the Kuchiki spelled backwards. Check it out: |en|%E6%9C%BD%E6%9C%A8%0D%0A%E6%9C%A8%E6%9C%BD%0D%0A WD   Talk to me  11:16, May 10, 2010 (UTC)

Really a waste of time we have more then enough evidence manga/anime/character books stating his name is Kuchiki regardless of what some goggle translator says. This is main reason why we leave the translation stuff to people with translation skill. Salubri (Talk)  12:07, May 10, 2010 (UTC)

No, I was actually refering to the order of the Kanji, or spelling - as the headline indicates: According to the translator, Kuchiki is written 木朽, while in the Wiki it says 朽木. I'm not asking it to be a nag, but because I want to be sure we have it the right way. WD  Talk to me  15:05, May 10, 2010 (UTC)

Must we waste time on this? Well fine, since we must, you are aware Japanese is read from right to left, right? Well read from right to left it's 朽木. Don't believe me? I give you as proof, page 93 from Bleach Bootlegs with Byakuya's name (朽木 白哉) highlighted. Seriously, one of these days we have got to make a rule that says translation challenges cannot be brought based on Google translator! Tinni  (Talk)  15:45, May 10, 2010 (UTC)

Honestly, there's no need to bite my head off. I didn't do anything wrong! Isn't these type of questions what the grammer corner was meant to answer? Why is it a waste of time to answer my question? And that's all it was, a question, not a challenge. You are too short tempered. WD  Talk to me  16:16, May 10, 2010 (UTC)


 * I said it was a waste of time for the same reason Salubri did. Google translator is to be used for personal amusement only and nothing more. Tinni   (Talk)  05:48, May 11, 2010 (UTC)

Just a note, google translator is horrible. You can translate from english to another language and then take the result and translate it back to english and it will not be what you entered. I have used it on occasion to aid my german and found that it would not give me what I was actually looking for.--God (Pray)  16:33, May 10, 2010 (UTC)

Well, the ki element (木) *is* "tree" (also sometimes "wood, timber"), and the weight of all canon evidence is on the side of what we have. That backwards rendering IS odd, but the others are right: a lot of online translators, esp. if you try so-doing with sentences, doth suck XD. Sorry if you met some caustic response, but hopefully the data they provided have also helped. And, if it comes to it, it's best to trust the many alternatives to Google et al. first. Adam Restling 05:43, May 11, 2010 (UTC)

Gin's nickname
It's about the Hyapponzashi thing... are these symbols (百本差し) the right ones, 'cuz I think that they aren't... --Reikson 19:56, May 20, 2010 (UTC)


 * I can vouch for the first and last symbols with confidence; the first one is "one hundred," which is correct given the meaning, and the last one is the phonetic symbol "shi", which is also correct... the second symbol sounds right phonetically ("hon", which I guess becomes "pon" in a compound word), though I'm not so sure on the meaning (the only meaning I know for it is "book," although it's also the second character in "Nihon," which is Japan's Japanese name... and I have no idea about the third character. Chenrezi 21:09, June 2, 2010 (UTC)

Related to the above, can I please get a check on the kanji, romanji and meaning of Gin's nickname so that it can be properly placed in the article? His nickname is not consistently written in the article and I would like to fix that. Thanks. Tinni  (Talk)  03:43, May 22, 2010 (UTC)

New Kido Kanji
Guys can I get you guys to check Kisuke's new Hado on the Kidō page? Currently its,. Can you guys confirm that both the kanji and the translation is correct? Thanks. Tinni  (Talk)  00:56, May 5, 2010 (UTC)

Sorry for the delay in response; I couldn't find a good raw until today.

Senju Kouten Taihou is actually (千手皎天汰炮), more lit. "thousand-hand bright heaven culling-sear."

Interestingly, though, 皎 is usu. read k y ou, and 汰 ta or da, so it's possible the specialized readings for these as kou and tai respectively were meant to resemble the other words, too. In fact, such a taihou is homophonous to the above word 大砲 "cannon, artillery" (< "big gun").

However, kou here means "(bright) white, gleaming white"; tai means "select, elect, cull" (with perhaps some retention of the older, and still current-in-Chinese meaning "discard, eliminate; natural select ion")--it can also mean "luxury" (< "best one can select"); and hou means to "burn, roast." Adam Restling 05:38, May 11, 2010 (UTC)


 * Thanks Adam! Tinni   (Talk)  05:48, May 11, 2010 (UTC)


 * Huh. A brief reference to Wikitionary revealed that 汰 could translate as 'excessive, scour, to wash out', while 炮 translated as 'cannon'. But, people won't listen me as usual, so I have only one question; why wasn't there more capitalization? Like so; Thousand-Hand Bright Heaven Culling-Sear --Reikson 22:15, May 11, 2010 (UTC)


 * Yes, Reikson, but that's why such "brief" references can be misleading: though they share the same Kanji, the original meanings of words can shift between the Chinese source and its Sinoxenic borrowers. For example, the Kanji 胎 means "womb, uterus," in Japanese, but is said to retain the meaning "fetus" in Chinese. Now, though related, I think we can all agree that a womb and a fetus are not the same thing. Likewise 仙, which was originally used to describe an immortal is, in Japanese, often watered down to mean "hermit, wizard" by way of the idea of these 仙 living isolated in the mountains (this also affected the Kanji itself). And when one does a search of just the characters in, say, Wiktionary, it's generally the original Chinese meaning which comes back, despite any semantic alterations it may have in borrowings. But please note that I mentioned some of the Chinese meanings you cited for 汰, though your "wash out" and my "eliminate" are not so different; the word seems to have originally meant "wave" (Schuessler 2009), which seems to have become "wash away" *and* "eliminate" (as the tide levels all but the strong?). At any rate, the modern Japanese meaning of 汰, as I cited, is either "luxury" or "selection," whence I used "cull(ing)" to try and give the sense of "selecting something out," perhaps by force (I doubt Urahara was asking ;) ). Ditto 炮 which, despite being "cannon, artillery" in Chinese, now chiefly means "burn, roast" in Japanese.


 * As for the capitalization thing, I just don't usually do it in glosses unless they include a proper noun. As with changing my /ou/s etc. to you guys' /ō/s etc., you may do as you like for the sake of consistency. Adam Restling 10:31, May 12, 2010 (UTC)

Weedefinition has asked for some verification regarding the kanji and naming of Hollowfication (check the talk page). Could you look into it when you have a moment? Thanks. TomServo101 (Talk)  22:12, May 6, 2010 (UTC)

Salubri already beat me to this a bit by citing Marq's previous postings, but as they like to copy the pertinent data here for quick reference, I'll do so, too:

Shinigami no Horou ka (死神の虚(ホロウ)化) "the Hollowfaction of Shinigami"

 Horou no Shinigamika (虚(ホロウ)の死神化) "the Shinigamifaction of Hollows"

are, to date (at least as far as I've seen), how Aizen has described the theoretical processes only once, when explaining them to Ichigotachi before his flight from the Soul Society. Since then, the Visored and Ichigo refer to their usage of Hollow powers via their masks simply as "Hollowfaction" (虚(ホロウ)化  Horou ka), though they don't become complete Hollows, and the only descriptions of the opposite process have used "Arrancarifaction" (破面(アランカル)化  Arankaru ka). Adam Restling 05:59, May 11, 2010 (UTC)

Device Kanji: Tentōken
Hi folks, I was wondering if I could get you guys to find the kanji for Tentōken for Yoruichi Shihōin's page. Thanks! Tinni  (Talk)  02:58, May 20, 2010 (UTC)


 * I found the first two; 天 and 蹈. You're on your own for that last one. --Reikson 02:07, May 28, 2010 (UTC)

Sorry for the delay. Tentouken is spelled 天踏絢, "heaven-stepping adornment." The graphs are, more lit. "heaven" + "step, tread"; also "carry through" (prob. < "step [up] to") + "design (of a kimono)." I chose "adornment" to express the last because, clearly, the mantle is not a recognizable "classic" kimono; the graph itself, in Chinese, still seems to mean "variegate, adorned, brilliant, vivid." The second graph appears in the text as 踏, not as the variant form 蹈. Adam Restling 09:33, June 2, 2010 (UTC)


 * Thanks! Tinni   (Talk)  10:12, June 2, 2010 (UTC)

Ichimaru's new techniques
Hi folks, can I please get you guys to find the kanji for Gin's new techniques, Butou and Butou: Renjin, for his page. Thanks! Tinni  (Talk)  02:58, May 20, 2010 (UTC)

So we had another user provide the kanji, can you guys please check them and make sure they are correct? It's currently down as and l.  Tinni   (Talk)  16:39, May 20, 2010 (UTC)

AT LAST! My chief (read: only) good source of raws since the "Great MangaHelpers Fire" finally came back on line, and my browser stopped suckin' so much, so I can answer :) . The Kanji seem to be correct; Butou is, more lit. "dance step(s)," but is also used, synecdochically, for "dance" in general. Thus, whether to translate it as "dance" or more lit. "dance step" is up to you guys--though I lean towards "dance" myself, esthetically. As for Butou Renjin, the Kanji are also correct, and I favor Ju-Ni (? I think it was) in their translation "dance (step) serial blade(s)" as the finest one. Adam Restling 02:57, June 7, 2010 (UTC)

Question about Gin's bankai
Which reading of this symbol 殺 would allow for it to be spoken as shinu in its default form? Or is it something that hasn't been done before that the... hiragana? furigana? whatever!... was included in the article like that?

Plus, why wasn't the symbol usually used for "of" (の, no) included in the kanji for Gin's bankai? Were those exact symbols there in the raw? --Reikson 12:53, April 8, 2010 (UTC)

Explanation so far is found at the bottom of the Translation Corner page.Salubri (Talk)  13:01, April 8, 2010 (UTC)

Hm. --Reikson 13:26, April 8, 2010 (UTC)

The above question has been answered but I thought I would move it here since its translated related. Tinni  (Talk)  03:43, May 22, 2010 (UTC)

Just to reiterate: the reading of the graph 殺 "kill," which is usually read satsu, setsu | korosu, as Kubo's shini (which seems meant to link to the same meaning "death" as appears in  Shini gami) is apparently another of Kubo's exotic, nuanced intentions: for the reader to interpret both "death" and "kill."

As for the lack of no の in the written if not the spoken form, this is nothing new. Sode no Shirayuki usually omits the no. This seems to be because Kubo wants the esthetic solidarity of only Kanji, rather than Kanji and kana, in such names. For this same reason, inflectional kana endings, too, are omitted, e.g. Jiroubou Ikkanzaka's  Tsunzaki garasu leaves the infinitive ending -ki implied in the writing, rather than using the kana for ki. Adam Restling 09:57, June 2, 2010 (UTC)

Bala Query
Hi guys. A point was brought up about something that Yammy says regarding Bala. I checked both Ju-Ni and Cnet, and they gave different translations for the bit in question, so I was wondering if you guys could clarify what was actually said for us. It is page 12 of chapter 379 (p13 in Cnet version), where Yammy talks about the bala he just hit Ichigo with. Relevant pages: Ju-Ni ("That's not a cero, that's a bala. That's why it's got so much force") and Cnet ("That was no Cero! That was my Bala!! How'd ya like its power?"). Thanks in advance. Yyp (Talk) 13:14, May 26, 2010 (UTC)

Dooo da!! ''Aa!?

 Sero ja nee zo  Bara da''!! Sore de kono iryoku da!!

Hooow's that!! Huh!?

It's not a Cero, it's a Bala!! That's why it's this force!!

The final line specifically, in more lit. breakdown, is "that-being this strength/force/might is"; thus my rendering "this force" should be read as "of this (level of) force." Sore de means "that's why/therefore" (< "[with it] being that/thus"), and iryoku is "force, might" (more lit. "awe-power"). Apparently--unless this is intended as a subtle retcon of when Yammy told Urahara that Bala were faster if weaker than Cero--Yammy here means that the Bala has a more focused, concussive "shot"-type force than a Cero's more powerful, but also more spread-out, beam, I guess.

Cnet seems to have altered the original for fun, adding "how do you like ~." Maybe they just really love Andrea True songs XD. Adam Restling 03:25, June 7, 2010 (UTC)

Device Kanji: Senren Bakusatsu Taiho + Tenkai Kecchu
Hello. I was wondering if someone could find the kanji for Senren Bakusatsu Taiho for Ururu Tsumugiya's page. Thanks. The Shadow Dragon 20:23, June 2, 2010 (UTC)
 * On a similar note could someone find the kanji for Tenkai Kecchu for Kisuke Urahara's page as well. Thanks again. The Shadow Dragon 15:25, June 3, 2010 (UTC)

None of the references to Ururu's Taiho gave a page with the Kanji :(, but luckily the Japanese Wiki had them, so we'll hope they're correct :). Senren Bakusatsu Taihou (千連魄殺大砲) I would translate as "thousand soul-killing cannon." The element ren is the same as in Ichimaru's Butou Ren jin above, and means "series/range, serial," but here seems to be to reinforce the number of souls, i.e. "cannon that has the capacity to kill a series of a thousand souls." The word "soul," by the way, is the same haku--here voiced medially to -baku--as also appears "half-voiced" as -paku in Zan paku tou. Etymologically, the haku referred to the "physical soul," or life-force, while its counterpart the kon referred to the the "spiritual soul," which made up a human's mind and personality. Likely this is why kon, read as tama(shii), is the one more frequently used to mean the "soul" proper. Their compound konpaku, which is also frequent in BLEACH, refers to the whole of a person's soul--essence and intellect--the hunpo (as it's known in Mandarin Chinese).

Tenkai Kecchuu (転界結柱) I would translate as "world-shifting binding-posts." Ten is "turn, change, shift" (I believe it also appears in Urahara's Tenshintai device); kai, more broadly "(bound) realm," is usually elliptical for words like sekai "world" (< "era/age-realm"; cf. English world itself from original "age of man" [wer-ald]); ketsu "bond/binding, tie, knot" + chuu "pillar(s), post(s), pylon(s)." Thus, the effect is of pillars that bind in place a shifted "world" or zone therein. Adam Restling 04:23, June 7, 2010 (UTC)

Possible Kanji for Kisuke's Chapter 405 Techniques
Are these right?
 * 縛り紅姫 for 'Shibari Benihime'
 * 火遊び紅姫･数珠繋ぎ for 'Hiasobi Benihime Juzutsunagi'

--Reikson 05:58, May 27, 2010 (UTC)

The first is right. Shibari Benihime is "binding Benihime" (shibari, infinitive "binding" of shibaru "tie, bind," here probably being used as a noun).

The second omits the inflectional-ending kana and so just appears as "火遊紅姫" Hiasobi Benihime "fire-playing Benihime" (word balloon 1) "数珠繋" Juzutsunagi, which I translate "beaded mesh" (word balloon 2). Juzu, more lit. "a number/figure (ju) of gems (zu)," is used as a word for "string of beads, rosary" alone, but in the compound juzutsunagi (tsunagi "tethering, linking") to mean "tied in a row, linked together" (< "linked like a string of beads"). Because rosary seems like more of a Christian thing--and so out of place in this manga--I went with a half-literal, half-figurative trans. that combined both, esp. because of the effect the technique had. I often try to do this because I want to express not just what, in English, something is called when translated, but also the Japanese thought behind it, e.g. though the Japanese call "baseball" yakyuu--and it is thus translated back into English as "baseball," the Japanese meaning itself is "field-ball." Just seems worth noting most of the time :).

Even though, in the actual original, these parts are separated by word balloons, I support printing it in articles with the interpunct (･) as Reikson suggests, following the standard usage in other techniques, sic. (火遊紅姫･数珠繋) or the like. Adam Restling 04:52, June 7, 2010 (UTC)