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はい,どうぞ
hai, douzo
“hai” is a polite way of saying “yes.” “douzo” is also a very polite and common word meaning “please go ahead” or “here you go.” This is one phrase you will definitely hear very frequently in real life, should you ever go to a Japanese-speaking place. It could be used at a restaurant by the waitress, or at the train station by the person checking your tickets. Just an all-around good phrase to know.
In this case, Yuiko’s being a bit of a dunce by being a little too polite to Ritsuka (who she’s in love with) and offering her textbook to him.
Listen to Yuiko from Loveless say this phrase!
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hai = yes
douzo = go ahead
好(す)きだよ
suki da yo
If you ever watch Loveless (or any other romance for that matter), you’ll probably hear this phrase quite overused. Yes, it means “I love you.” Yes, it also means “I like you.” And it’s not just used for people, it can be used to show liking for anything: food, activities, objects. In reality – in most cases anyway – I think the only time this would be used between people is during a confession of love. This is not something you should ever expect to be saying or hearing constantly (despite what Soubi might lead you to think!).
Let me try to explain this in more detail. Generally, “suki” just means to like something, whereas “daisuki” (大好き) means a particularly strong liking, or “love.” However… in practice, people rarely say “daisuki” to other people; to say “daisuki” to someone sounds childish and maybe even superficial. It’s kind of like comparing saying “I reaaally like you” (childish giggle) to “I like you” (confessional).
Listen to Soubi from Loveless say this phrase!
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suki = like
da = “to be”
yo = emphatic particle
色々(いろいろ)ありがとう御座(ござ)いました
iroiro arigatou gozaimashita
Another thank you, this time in the past tense “gozaimashita.” ‘iroiro” comes from the kanji “iro” which literally means “color” (don’t ask me about that one =P).
Listen to Esther from Trinity Blood say “iroiro arigatou gozaimashita”
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iroiro = various, many things
arigatou = thank you
gozaimashita = polite past tense “to be”
ありがとう御座(ござ)います
arigatou gozaimasu
I doubt there is anyone who really needs this explained. I’ll just say that there are probably as many ways of thanking someone as saying sorry. This one happens to be one of the most popular and is also very polite and well-accepted in all situations.
For a break-down, “arigatou” can be used by itself to mean “thank you” (less formally) and “gozaimasu” is basically the honorific form of “arimasu” (“to be”). “gozaimasu” can also be conjugated to the past tense, “gozaimashita” to mean more specifically, “Thank you for earlier.”
Listen to Ion from Trinity Blood say “arigatou gozaimasu”
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arigatou = thank you
gozaimasu = polite “to be”
ただいまもどりました
tada ima modorimashita
This is an idiomatic phrase. “tada ima” is one phrase in itself literally meaning “presently,” but also with the meaning “I’m home!” It is made up of two words, “tada” = “just/only” and “ima” = “now.”
“modorimashita” is a little more complicated. It is made up of the verb “modoru” = “to return, to turn back” and “mashita,” which is the past tense form of the polite verb ending “-masu.”
Also, note that “modoru” is a less common, and generally more formal, way of saying “to return.” “kaeru,” which means basically the same thing, is more commonly used and means more specifically “to come/go home.”
Listen to Ion from Trinity Blood say “tada ima modorimashita”
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tada ima = presently (can also mean “I’m home!”)
modori-mashita = returned(-past tense of “masu”)
すみません、閣下(かっか)
sumimasen, kakka
Ahh, and now we come to “sumimasen.” If you ever go to Japan or enter, say, a Japanese store, it is sure to be the most commonly heard phrase of all. It is the commonest way of apologizing, being neither “too” polite and ingratiating, or in any way rude. That said, I could probably make an entire page just with”ways of apologizing in Japanese.” There are literally at least 6 or 7 ways that I can think of off the top of my head that are used commonly. Probably these are the most common apologies you will find in anime:
- gomen nasai (more familiar)
- warui (rude/very familiar)
- sumanai (rude/superior)
- shitsurei (shimashita) (formal, more like “excuse me” than “I’m sorry”l)
- moushiwake (nai/arimasen) (literally, “I have no excuse”)
Of course, there are many more…
In the sound file, Esther says “sumimasen, kakka.” Don’t worry about “kakka” – it is just a fancy form of address equivalent to “Your Excellency.” She uses it because she is speaking to Ion, who holds the rank of Count (“hakushaku”).
Listen to Esther from Trinity Blood say “sumimasen, kakka”
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sumimasen = I’m sorry
kakka = Your Excellency
お世話をかけます(おせわをかけます)
o-sewa wo kakemasu
This is a kind of idiomatic Japanese phrase, the kind that you should learn even if you don’t really understand what the parts mean individually. The literal connotation is something like “I am sorry to have to accept your generosity.” Basically though, it means “I’m sorry to trouble you.” It can even be translated as merely “Thank you for the help.”
“kakemasu” is the -masu form of the verb “kakeru” (can be used in many situations, from starting something to putting something on to making a phone call!)
“o” is an honorific, ie, a prefix attached to some words to make you sound more polite.
In this case, Esther is apologizing for having caused her host trouble due to her companion Abel clumsily falling into a pond in the garden and causing a mess….
Listen to Esther from Trinity Blood say “o-sewa wo kakemasu”
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o-sewa = (honorific)-help/caring
wo = particle marking the object
kakemasu = to wear, to put on, to begin to, to make a call, to play something…
お怪我は (おけがは)
o-kega wa
A simple phrase literally meaning “As for your injuries…” If you listen to the audio you will notice she uses a questioning intonation. This is because the phrase is actually a question asking whether the other person is injured. The “are you” part of the question is basically omitted, though implied. (She could have said, “o-kega wa arimasen ka” if she wanted to be more complete)
Notice the honorific “o” in front of “kega” as well. This has the exact same effect as “go” in “go-buji,” as explained in the previous post.
Listen to Esther from Trinity Blood say “o-kega wa”
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o-kega = (honorific)-injury
wa = topic particle
ご無事ですか (ごぶじですか)
go-buji desu ka
Another common phrase in anime, it is a question meaning “Are you okay?”
However, something to notice is the use of the honorific “go” in front of “buji.” The use of this honorific is a little too complicated to explain here, as it can take the form of “go” or “o” depending on the word following. Just know that it makes the sentence especially polite (in anime terms… in real life this would be standard).
One more thing. The meaning of “buji” is closer to “safe/unharmed” and literally means “without incident.” But it is basically interchangeable with “daijoubu” or other variants that mean “all right.”
Listen to Esther from Trinity Blood say “go-buji desu ka”
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go-buji = (honorific)-safe/unharmed
desu = polite “to be”
ka = question particle
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