In a town near where I live, there is a Japanese restaurant called "Wagamama's" (in romaji). I was intrigued as to what this meant, so I was quite surprised that I could find only one meaning- "selfish". This seems an odd choice for the name of a restaurant. Presumably, either there's some kind of idiomatic Japanese joke, they're just having fun because the gaijin won't understand, or there is another meaning of the word that I haven't come across. Could anyone make this any clearer for me?
I am aware that "translation questions" may not be the best board to put this on, but it is a slightly miscellaneous thread, and as the main focus of my question is to make the meaning of a word clearer, I decided to put it here.
ありがとう。
わがまま
RE: わがまま
wagamama is written in katakana actually. from all the stores ive seen it has been written in katakana.
Taken from wagamama.com FAQ
Taken from wagamama.com FAQ
7 what does wagamama mean
translated from japanese it means ' wilful / naughty child'
日本語はとても面白いと思いますよ!私は日本語が大好きです!
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RE: わがまま
I was thinking more of the Japanese word itself, rather than the name of the restaurant, which would phonetically be written in hiragana (unless it's an import word).redfoxer wrote:
wagamama is written in katakana actually. from all the stores ive seen it has been written in katakana.
I can't find that FAQ on the website, but from what your quote, it seems that it still doesn't explain the reason for the name.
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RE: わがまま
I know that ramen restraunt, I think. The wife and I went there when we went to london this summer. We were so amused by the title, we both now own Wagamama Tshirts. =)
wagamama means "selfish" more than naughty, which would better be translated as "yancha"
Wagamama can be written as hiragana, katakana or kanji, and I have seen all three in common usage. 我儘. The Wa means self, such as in 我が家 or 我が子. the mama means thought or opinion.
wagamama means "selfish" more than naughty, which would better be translated as "yancha"
Wagamama can be written as hiragana, katakana or kanji, and I have seen all three in common usage. 我儘. The Wa means self, such as in 我が家 or 我が子. the mama means thought or opinion.
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RE: わがまま
So the title is some kind of joke then?