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We got another question from one of our Japnese999.com visitor so here is the answer to the following question.

I was watching a show and the character says, "nara ii" (from what I can hear) and it's translated to, "Then, fine." I had also seen it translated as, "Then it's all good", previously. But nothing I search comes up with anything that sounds like "nara ii" for either of those phrases. And "nara ii" itself doesn't come out translated right, either. I was just wondering if "nara ii" is right, and I just can't find it anywhere, or if it's something else?

nara / なら = then
ii / いい  = no / ok / good / fine

it's basically a short form of "sore nara ii" 

depending on the sentence / context, the meaning could change. In the examples you gave, they both meant "then fine" or "Then it's all good" but it could also mean "then no". 

For example:
if you ask someone "do you want to eat this"? and the person asks back "what is it"? then you reply "sushi". At this point that person may say "nara ii" which in this context would mean "then no".

Another example:
You and your friend just left your house and she asks "did you take the keys with you"? and you reply "yes". Then she may say "nara ii".

there are also other versions that means the same thing such as

sore dattara ii
son nara ii

We recently got a good question from a Japanese999.com visitor

I was watching an anime and heard one of the characters say, "Get lost" and thought the phrase sounded cool. After looking up, "How to say 'Get Lost' in Japanese" on Google, I saw a few different answers: Maigo, Kiero, and Usero, the last two being from your lesson. But none of these sounded like the way they said in the anime. After a few more episodes, some of the characters said it again; this time translated as "Go away." WikiAnswers said that "Kaere" means "Go home", which is how they said it in the anime. But if I look it up anywhere else, it gives says it's a conjugation of the word, "Kaeru", or "To Return" in English. I was just wondering if you could tell me what it means.

Maigo means someone who lost his/her way to somewhere, and is commonly used to describe a child who lost his/her way.

Kaere (かえれ/帰れ) could indeed means "Go away", but the direct translation would be "Go Home" or "Go back to where you came from".

Kaeru (かえる/帰る) means to return and could also means leaving. When you tell someone "Boku kaeru" that means I am going back to where I came from (= I am leaving or I am going home).
If you tell someone "Ima kaeru" that means I am returning now.

Hope this answer the question. If not, please use the comment for further clarification.

Thank you !!

As you might know words with the same pronunciation but different meaning (Homonym / 同音異義語) are very common in all languages.

The Japanese words "Shabu" and "Shabu shabu" are not exactly the same but their pronunciation do resemble each other (latter is basically repeated twice of the former).

Shabu is a slang term for the drug methamphetamine (Also known as "meth" "speed", or "cold ice" in English) in Japanese. Whereas Shabu shabu is a variant of hot pot dish in Japan.

Now that you know what Shabu and Shabu shabu mean, make sure you repeat "shabu" twice when you ask for a "Shabu shabu"

Find out more about shabu shabu.

Having lived in Japan and came across to many Japanese who live / lived outside Japan, apparently saying I love you is really a big deal for Japanese.

We are pleased to announce Japanese999.com has been redesigned and relaunched as a paid service to better serve our users.

Users can now access to all the audio files by joining Japanese999 as paid members, plus paid members can request posts for Japanese words / phrases they are interested in learning.

Japanese999.com was launched in 2007 and started as a blog to teach Japanese words and phrases. Its signature title for each post "How to say ____ in Japanese?" is a perfect format to answer a specific Japanese words and phrases that are used in everyday life.

We really appreciate the support of our user community and we look forward to continue in serving our users.

Below is the original in case you have never seen it



 

German version sushi