Hey! I’ve been challenging myself to translate some very culturally-nuanced sentences, and I’m struggling a little with this one; Douglas Adams fans may recognise it.
“I’m just this guy, you know?”
How would you translate that?
My assumption is to start with ただの, for the “just a”, and “ですね” for “I’m \[…\], you know?” but I’m struggling with how to translate the “this guy” and carry the same tone. This seems a question of nuance—and I’m getting a lot of alternative answers.
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Which of these would convey “\[just\] this guy”?
誰か「男｜やつ｜人」
いくつかの「男｜やつ｜人」
普通の「男｜やつ｜人」
They all feel like they convey a similar meaning and google translate tells me they’re all the same thing…what’s the difference in ‘vibe’ between these statements? Which would adequately capture Zaphod’s sentiment?
1 comment
No offense, but why are you trying to translate something this nuanced (or anything, really) if you don’t even know how to use expressions and words as basic as what you mentioned?
I haven’t read The Hitchhiker’s Guide, but based on what I found about the context of that particular quote I’d personally (with my severely limited Japanese ability) translate it as something like「ただそういう人だよね」
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> 誰か「男｜やつ｜人」
Means something like “someone guy(s)” (and it’s just as grammatically incorrect in Japanese)
> いくつかの「男｜やつ｜人」
“several guys”
> 普通の「男｜やつ｜人」
“normal/usual guy(s)”