It’s possible to drop the particle here. idk if you would consider that as being optional though
ぐらい is describing the destination (around Kyoto) where 近い is describing the distance to the destination (it doesn’t take long to travel to the destination).
I see, thanks!
What role is に playing here though? Is it its time-related role (２時に) or some other role? I ask because I’ve not seen it used with まで before.
Why is ぐらい specified though? The conversation is about Kyoto, not “around” Kyoto. Even the translation seems to acknowledge this.
着物を着たことがあります。
Why does this say that the person “tried on” the kimono as opposed to “having put on” it? As far as I know 着る is “to put on” and not “to try on”.
Bunpro actually has a grammar point dedicated to using まで with に. までに
Yes, it is used being used to describe the time.
Ah, I was mistaken. It’s using the other use of くらい which is why the translation says “Even Kyoto”. くらい is setting a lower bound. While C-san would prefer to go to Hokkaido, even Kyoto as a location to go would be okay.
My guess is the translator just took some liberty with the translation.
This is the second N4 point in the N5 reading section 
. I know it can’t be easy avoiding N4 grammar, but if it’s specifically for N5 readers, these usages are bound to confuse.
I see! This usage will take some getting used to!
For this one, because it is a dialogue (spoken English), this is reflecting the use of は in the Japanese.
Since the speaker is answering a question about what they have for breakfast, they wouldn’t need to repeat ‘For breakfast I have ____’, they could/would just say ‘I’m ____’
My gripes aren’t with repeating something, but with using I’m. I don’t think you mean to literally say that you are coffee. Something like “I have coffee, eggs, and salad” seems better to me.
I understand what you mean completely, but in a sense this sentence is supposed to be a little bit confusing in English. It is something that people really would say in conversation in both Japanese and English (even if it sounds a little bit strange).
The main reason that translation is there is to highlight the similarities between the languages when it comes to casual speech. In Japanese, this type of sentence actually has a special name, it’s called an うなぎ文, and is important for understaning the weird things that language does. I will add a note about it to the reading.
Here is a small bit of info about うなぎ文 from the web.
「うなぎ文」とは、たとえば飲食店で注文を聞かれた時に「僕はうなぎだ」と答えるような言い回しのこと。文字通りに受け取ると「僕＝うなぎ」というシュールな表現になってしまいますが、実際には「僕はうなぎを食べる」という内容を表していることが分かるはずです。
Quick translation - For example, when in a restaurant getting your order taken, It is to answer back that ‘I am eel’. As far as the words will literally be taken, this surreal expression unfortuantely means (Me = Eel), but in actuality the content is really expressing that ‘As for me, I will eat eel’, which would surely be understood.
Maybe this is some sort of regional variation of English that I am not familiar with. To me it just sounds wrong.
I don’t think うなぎ文 really has an English equivalent. Maybe I just can’t think of one.
Depending on where you are from, and how casual the conversation is will determine how natural it sounds for sure.
A good example of this is verb omission. If the verb is obvious, then it becomes very natural in both languages. For example if someone says ‘Oh I heard you play basketball, what position do you play?’. Your answer could easily be ‘I’m center’, when really you mean ‘I play centre position’.
That would be verb substitution play → am which seems like a more complicated thing than omission. Perhaps it’s actually omission of an article. “I’m [a/the] center.”
Regarding the first text:
「京都ぐらいが近いのでいいです。北海道までは遠いから京都がいいです。」
Why is 「ので」used in the first sentence and 「から」in the second? I’m still having trouble understanding the different nuances between the two
I was wondering about the following translation:
夏の北海道がいいです。
Summer’s Hokkaido is nice!
Would a more sensible translation be:
“Summer in Hokkaido is nice!” or “Hokkaido Summers are nice!” ?
Is it the case that Kyoto is objectively nearby, as in no one involved in the conversation would dispute it being close. While Hokkaido being (too) far is subjective and a matter of C-san’s opinion.
Yeah, Hokkaido’s summers are nice seems to be a better translation for it. Good catch!
@Asher @gyroninja I just read this discussion. @gyroninja is more correct. “I’m center” is an omission of an article, or it’s treating the position as a title, as in, “I’m Center”. The sentence “I’m coffee, egg, and salad” is not really correct as a translation. The way the English is being used here is like in the context of: “Which part are you in the play?”, “I’m coffee, egg, and salad”. The way this is used in the reading is – “I am [defined by] coffee, egg, and salad”.
That said, it’s awkward.
And it’s not a faithful translation of Japanese.
あなたの朝食はコーヒーとパンですか？
Is your morning meal coffee and bread?
私はコーヒーと卵とサラダです。
＝私は [＿が] コーヒーと卵とサラダです。
For me, [it] is coffee, egg, and salad.
It would be “I’m coffee, egg, and salad” only if you could write 私がコーヒーと卵とサラダです。
One other possibility is it comes out like this with hesitation:
“I’m… coffee, egg, and salad” — But that’s still a grammatically incomplete sentence, or two half thoughts that got merged together.
The うなぎ文 idea doesn’t really fit both sides of this translation.
Hi @jj for most of the readings, we are using natural Japanese, and showing the translations. You are completely correct in saying that Summer in Hokkaido would be more natural (in English), but the more literal translation is to avoid confusion about the actual meaning of the sentence in Japanese.
In 夏の北海道, Hokkaido is being highlighted as having a relationship to Summer, and not the other way around.
We may eventually do two translations for these, one literal one natural, but right now, the primary focus is on the more literal, as it highlights the Japanese more faithfully.
I think Bunpro is trying to use psuedo English almost, to emphasize a point.
Imo though, both the translations you offered are more 北海道の夏がいいです。
For 夏の北海道がいいです。
During Summer, Hokkaido is nice!
Or mirroring one of your translations:
Hokkaido in the Summer is nice!
@Asher @ThousandJP Thanks for clarifying! I think an additional note in the reading would be helpful unless it’s not really a common point of confusion.
Not to bring up an old conversation here, but what I think a good example of what Asher was saying is the way when receiving food it would not be considered weird to say “I’m the coffee” or something along those lines.
E.G.
Waiter: “I have a Coffee and two Juices”
Customer: “I’m the coffee”
A different customer: “And we’re both juices”
Idk, probably doesn’t matter, the entire point of the literal translations is to show us the direct translation of the sentences so we can more easily construct our own in the future.
We agree. The English is not weird. It is, however, incorrect grammar.
It’s not weird to say “Where you at?”. It is incorrect grammar, though. 