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“nande… nande konna koto surun da”/”Why… why are you doing these things?”

何(なん)で。。。何でこんなことするんだ
nande… nande konna koto surun da

More questions. Nande nande? Oz is always asking why. Here his tone is rather accusatory, however, so it’s more like “How can you do these things?!”

“konna” is part of a series of “(this/that) kind of” words including “sonna” and “anna,” both meaning “that kind of.” “konna koto” means simply, “this kind of thing.”

Note that there is a “wo” (object particle) missing between “koto” and “surun da.” This is just because of Oz’s speaking style (though the “wo” is often omitted during speech because it’s rather clumsy to say).

Listen to Oz from Pandora Hearts say “nande… nande konna koto surun da”

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nande = why

konna = this kind of/these kinds of

koto = things

suru = do

n(o) da = phrase ending

“nande koko ni”/”Why are you here?”

何(なん)でここに
nande koko ni

Simple phrase, though the “you” in the question is omitted (in this case, it is a monster pretending to be Sharon Rainsworth)

The “nan” in the audio file is exaggerated and stretched out a bit, but I hope you can hear it!

Listen to Oz from Pandora Hearts say “nande koko ni”

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nande = why

koko = here

ni = in, at

“tte, nan nan da ittai”/”Seriously… what the hell is this?”

って、何(なん)なんだ一体(いったい)
tte, nan nan’ da ittai

Hard to translate, but you’ll probably hear a similar phrase many-a-time while watching anime, so I’ve got to include it!

“tte” is not a word but rather a shortened or slang form of “to.” It is generally used to indicate “quotation marks” around the preceding word(s), but when used alone or in a non-conventional way, means something like, “Seriously,” “As I was saying…” This is the same “tte” found in “datte” (“But!” “Because…”) and Naruto’s annoying “datteba yo” phrase ending =P

“nan da” is actually “na n(o) da,” which is just a way of ending some sentences. If Oz wasn’t such a macho speaker, he could just say “na no” for the same effect.

“ittai” literally means “one object,” but actually it’s mostly added to question phrases to make them stronger, like ”what the hell.”

Listen to Oz from Pandora Hearts say “tte, nan nan da ittai”

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tte = so, like I was saying, “seriously”

nan = what

na n(o) da = is

ittai = “what the hell”, “seriously”

“obaasama wo ayameta no wa dare da”/”Who killed my grandmother?”

おばあさまを危(あや)めたのは誰(だれ)だ！
obaasama wo ayameta no wa dare da!

Listen to Ion from Trinity Blood say “obaasama wo ayameta no wa dare da”

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obaasama = grandmother

ayameta = murdered

no wa= the one who

dare da = who is

“nani ga atta”/”What happened?”

何(なに)があった
nani ga atta

“atta” is the past tense of “aru,” which means “is/to be” for inanimate objects. In essence, he’s asking, “What was there?” “What occurred?”

Variants of “What happened?” include:

- doushita/dou shimashita

- nani ga okotta (more literally “what happened”)

Listen to Ion from Trinity Blood say “nani ga atta”

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nani = what

ga = subject marker

atta = was/happened

“doko e desu”/”Where to?”

どこへです
doko e desu

A simple and useful question. “doko e desu?” “Where to?” “Where are you/we going?”

Can also be said as “doko e desu ka” (adding the question particle “ka”) or “doko ni ikimasu ka?” Abel says it like this because he is surprised and wants to keep it short.

Listen to Abel from Trinity Blood say “doko e desu”

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doko = where?

e = particle indicating “to”

desu = “to be”

“o-kega wa”/”Are you injured?”

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

“go-buji desu ka”/”are you okay?”

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

“are wa doushita”/”what’s with that?”

あれはどうした?
are wa doushita?

A simple question phrase meaning, “What is wrong with that (thing)?”

“are” means “that” (something far away from both speaker and listener). “wa” is a particle marking the topic. “doushita” is a question word roughly meaning “what’s wrong/what’s happening?” (If you want to get into details, “doushita” is made up of “dou” (“how/what way”) and “shita” (past form of “to do”))

It’s a little funny in this instance because, if I recall, Abel had collapsed from food poisoning and Ion was referring to him as “are” (normally used for objects, not people). Really, though, what he meant by “are” was “that situation” or “what’s happening over there.”

Listen to Ion from Trinity Blood say “are wa doushita”

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are = that

wa = marker for topic

doushita = what’s wrong

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“nande… nande konna koto surun da”/”Why… why are you doing these things?”

“nande koko ni”/”Why are you here?”

“tte, nan nan da ittai”/”Seriously… what the hell is this?”

“obaasama wo ayameta no wa dare da”/”Who killed my grandmother?”

“nani ga atta”/”What happened?”

“doko e desu”/”Where to?”

“o-kega wa”/”Are you injured?”

“go-buji desu ka”/”are you okay?”

“are wa doushita”/”what’s with that?”

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