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Thursday, June 5, 2008

半信半疑

はんしん はんぎ
hanshin hangi

The kanji say it all. Half-faith, half doubt. This yo-ji is attached to です、or で and though it starts with faith, it seems to just boil down to a matter of doubt. .

Definition:

本当かどうか信じ切れないようす。真偽の判断に迷うこと。
Translations:
1. Unsure of what to believe.
2. Half-convinced; half-doubtful
3. To be skeptical.

Most of the online examples I've found are situations that we would translate simply as 'doubt' or 'skepticism:'

半信半疑だけど、やってみる。
I don't know if I can do it, but I'm gonna try.


誰々の年齢が半信半疑です。
to be in disbelief regarding so and so's age.

まずはじめて医者にかかるときは、半信半疑、つまり半分は不信の感をもってよいと思います。
When you first get diagnosed by a doctor, take it with a grain of salt because... it's better to critically evaluate things... *

Learning this one makes me wish I had a transcript of some of the lessons we heard at the zazen retreat in Oita, because I'm sure that the Reverend Paul must have used it when he said the Japanese version of this: "You'll know that you'll be able to learn from a Buddhist teacher if you can do two things: Accept and believe everything he says as absolutely true without exception and also, immediately reject everything he says as bullshit, without exception." Sounds like a super literal version of 半信半疑 to me.

例文:あなたは遅刻した理由は半信半疑です。本当にお化けカニに攻撃されたの?
Your reason for being late makes me incredulous. Were you really attacked by a freaky demon crab?
(If so you should attack his weak point for massive damage.)



*(Okay... just a quick and WAY overdue note about my translations: They can probably be translated better. I tend to try and capture the sentiment instead of what is literally being said. I don't know if that makes me a good translator or a bad one, but I'm sure that if you were to RE-cast my translated English into Japanese, they wouldn't come out the same. A more literal translation of that doctor statement would be "When you first get diagnosed by a doctor, be half convinced and half doubtful, because it's better to have a skeptical feeling, I think.")

10 comments:

Claytonian said...

彼氏は乳首ベームを持っているぞ!と言ったが、本当に見ていない限り、もちろん半信半疑のことと思ったのに、実だよ!チクベーーームなんてマジで存在するわよ!やっと見た!バア”ア”と討ったよ!

My boyfriend said he had lazer nipples, but as long as I didn't see them, I of course thought it was a dubious thing. But it's true!
Nipple beeeeam really exists! I finally saw it. They shot off with a ba-a-a-a!

Yes, I know it's weird. But I was 半信半疑 that anyone would be satisfied with a normal one after seeing talk of giant crabs.

Defendership said...

haha, I love your sentence, Clay - though the "べーム" might have found a better home in "ビーム".

Nirav said...

俺だって最初聞いたときは半信半疑だったんだけどよ、バーロー、本当に巨大な敵カニが存在するってば!

I only half-believed it when I first heard it too, バーロー, but I swear there really is such a thing as a giant enemy crab!

Claytonian said...

Oh yup, bad katakanization there. I hate that there is always a small trip up like that no matter what I write.

K_villan said...

敵蟹の攻撃を生き残る為に東京の地下に完成した都会の存在が半信半疑だけど、抗敵蟹の刺客ウサギの繁殖地は六本木ヒルズの下に有ることは正に事実である。

I am dubious about the existence of a complete city in Tokyo's underground built in order to survive an enemy crab attack, but I know for a fact that the anti-enemy-crab assassin bunny breeding grounds are under Roppongi Hills

lisze said...

. . . I feel like such a loser now b/c my sentence isn't about crabs at all. Alas. :)

妹は「この試験をパスする。」と言っていました。でも、彼女は数学のことが上手くないから、私は半信半疑です。

My sister said that she'll pass this test, but since she isn't very good at math, I'm skeptical.

There has to be a better way to write the 'I will pass this test' part.

Claytonian said...

Maybe 合格を得るわよ

K_villan said...

The standard expression for passing a test is 「合格する」ごかくする。 合格を得る while not wrong, might be a bight stiff for sisterly banter.
So maybe something like.
「今度こそ試験を合格するよ!」This time i'm sure to pass the test!

lisze said...

Merci!

Nirav said...

Really small point, but its ごうかく not ごかく (in case Lisze was trying to get it to convert to kanji and having trouble).

Also, note that パスする is indeed used in Japanese, but meaning "take a pass on something" (as in, He invited me to the party, but I think I'm going to pass on this one).

ご参考なまで。