Help translating "Poor Impulse Control"

[furrykef]

Okay miss, I'm going to tattoo a nice, "ばか" on your forehead. It means- strong-will, courage, and determination.

No, no, you're supposed to do it like this:

馬 = horse. These creatures are known for their beauty, hard work, speed, and stamina.
鹿 = deer. These creatures are also known for their beauty, but are considerably more idyllic and delicate. Hence it invites both comparison to and contrast with the horse.

So, 馬鹿 combine to form a representation of the beauty of all things, despite their differences.

(Actually I think I saw an example just like this somewhere before, probably on this very forum, but the details were surely entirely different. )

- Kef

[Harisenbon]

I knew there was a reason that I didn't like the translation... Because they really didn't...

レイヴンの額にある入れ墨は、大文字の単語三つからなっていた。<POOR IMPULSE CONTROL>(衝動のコントロール不能)。

so,
衝動のコントロール不能

[becki_kanou]

Wow that is a pretty crap translation...

[bodleyca]

The phrase you have in Japanese makes absolutely no sense. Why do you want to permanently mark your body with something you can't even read?

Go with it in English, on your forehead, just like Raven. It's much cooler that way.

Not so much. I want it for me, and those I want, to know what it means. I don't want clients or any random stranger reading it. Hense not using english.

[bodleyca]

Snow Crash. You just don't get a better protagonist than a Katana wielding pizza delivery boy for the mafia driving a heavily customized off road truck with armor plating. Your pizza is delivered in 30 mins or the Mafioso and family will come to your door and apologize in person. And then have the errant delivery boy "dealt with"


I'm pretty sure that the tattoo was in English on his forehead.

it was

[bodleyca]

Yeah, but writing it in KANJI makes it insta-cool! Jeez, don't you know nothin'....?

dang! I am so not cool, man!

[edit] Thinking about the 3x3 block thing ... what about the sator
sator
arepo
tenet
opera
rotas
I know it's latin ... but what's the difference anyway?

One thing is I know latin, and its a lot better known than Kanji here. That sator is what I had in mind with the 3x3 although not about to try and make mine a palindrome.

[bodleyca]

Although I'm highly against the tattooing of kanji that you can't read on yourself, I do own snow crash in Japanese, and can go look up what "poor impulse control" was officially translated into.

I don't remember it having the same impact as the english version, though.

I'd be very interested to see what translation they chose as well. Please do post it!

I'd love to read it to. I never knew they translated it to japanese.

[bodleyca]

In general I agree, Don't use anouther language you can't speak just because it looks cool.


Reasons I don't want english:

1. Kanji looks cool.
2. I am consulting a panel of experts to help me translate it right.
3. I do not want 99% of the people I see to understand it.

If the translation can't be done and look good I will just go with my other choice, bunbun with his switchblade

[astaroth]

Reasons I don't want english:

1. Kanji looks cool.
2. I am consulting a panel of experts to help me translate it right.
3. I do not want 99% of the people I see to understand it.

That's probably the reasons no one (at least not me) is taking that very seriously. The main problem of "kanji looks cool" is that .. it makes no sense. I agree kanji are wonderful when they are written right by a calligrapher or someone who studied calligraphy, but for all the rest they will be rendered ugly.
When I started learning Japanese I thought about getting a tattoo of 無常 because, well, that's cool isn't it? The problem was that 1) I would have wanted it in 草書 (sousho) style 2) I would have wanted it to be written respecting stroke order. Then I thought otherwise because it made no sense having something no one understands, and having something it would be laughable for someone who understands it. (And then trying to teach 書道 (shodou, Japanese calligraphy) and (the importance of) stroke order to the guy at the tattoo parlor would have been a too big task for me.)
If you want something no one understands why not Etruscan or linear A ...

Then again about the translation itself. There is probably no way you are going to find three kanji that actually mean what you want them to mean. At that point it's exactly the same to pick up three kanji you like and tell everyone they mean that.

This was the translation in the books 衝動のコントロール不能

[AJBryant]

Hie thee to http://www.hanzismatter.com and READ and LEARN.


Tony

[furrykef]

I will never get a tattoo -- not only is it just not "me", I'm squeamish about pain -- but if I did, I've always thought I'd get a tattoo that says 漢字 or something similarly self-mocking.

[coco]

You might have come to wrong place.

3. I do not want 99% of the people I see to understand it.

Ideally I want either 3 symbols or a 3x3 block.

But I think this one meets your requirement.

不得意
出来心
統制御

In my opinion, your translation 出来心 is pretty cool.
I bet 99.9% of the people including Japanese, who are supposed to glance at the tatoo, will not understand it.

[bodleyca]

Would 乏しい be a better match for poor? I want the meager/scarce subtext not needy/destitute.

[Gundaetiapo]

Would 乏しい be a better match for poor? I want the meager/scarce subtext not needy/destitute.

Meager Impulse Control?
Scarce Impulse Control?

Coco san captured the real meaning of "poor" in this case with 不得意.

[AJBryant]

Every time tattoos come up, I think of this: