What is the Japanese phrase "kill him" and does it sound similar to the same in English?
I was just watching The Last Samurai and I swear in one of the subtitled segments the guy said "kill him" in English and that is what the subtitle said as well... a little strange.
Posts: 3039 | Location: USA | Registered: 06-04-02
The Japanese words for kill are: uchitoru, ryuu, kiru, satsu.
I can't find a Japanese word for "him". Many times phrases are identical on the screen. Some phrases just don't translate well. The writers have to use the same words.
Posts: 5268 | Location: The Motor City | Registered: 06-03-02
My Japanese students tell me that the actor would most likely say 'korosuzo', which is an emphatic way to say 'kill'.
Pronouns are omitted in Japanese, as obvious from context (the same way that, in English, we omit the pronoun 'you' in commands; 'kill him', not 'you kill him'). If you needed to identify the victim, you'd have to say the equivalent of 'that man'. 'Sono hito o korosuzo' (maybe - I'm just learning ).
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