View topic - Translation questions part 2

by **Tia** » Wed 12.23.2009 6:04 am

Soo I'm back again, with more sentences that confuse me. I thought I'd try asking here again, since it went so well last time.

Two characters are having a conversation, where the girl is offering to help the reluctant guy out of a difficult situation. In the end she says that she will ask her father to help them. Here is a bit of the conversation:

Girl: "とにかく、頼んでみる。"
Guy: "サンキュー。お前の気持ちだけで、オレ、いいわ。"
Girl: "弱虫……！！"

The bolded part is what is giving me trouble. So far I'm thinking that replies with something like "if that is what you want, then I'm fine with it."

But I'm not sure I'm getting the expression right... and if that's it, then I don't get why she calls him a coward either. Am I far off the mark?

by **Yudan Taiteki** » Wed 12.23.2009 6:51 pm

Tia wrote:Soo I'm back again, with more sentences that confuse me. I thought I'd try asking here again, since it went so well last time.

Two characters are having a conversation, where the girl is offering to help the reluctant guy out of a difficult situation. In the end she says that she will ask her father to help them. Here is a bit of the conversation:

Girl: "とにかく、頼んでみる。"
Guy: "サンキュー。お前の気持ちだけで、オレ、いいわ。"
Girl: "弱虫……！！"

The bolded part is what is giving me trouble. So far I'm thinking that replies with something like "if that is what you want, then I'm fine with it."

But I'm not sure I'm getting the expression right... and if that's it, then I don't get why she calls him a coward either. Am I far off the mark?

He's saying that her willingness to help him is enough, even if she doesn't succeed.

Two problems with your attempt is that 気持 doesn't mean "want", and there's no "if" in the sentence. The で here literally is just "and" but usually Xでいい is literally "X existing is good".

by **Tia** » Sat 12.26.2009 6:46 am

Ah, well that makes sense. Yeah, I know about the 'if', but I guess I was trying to force some meaning in there that wasn't supposed to be.

Thank you

by **shin1ro** » Tue 12.29.2009 10:20 am

Yudan Taiteki wrote:He's saying that her willingness to help him is enough, even if she doesn't succeed.

In my impression, this sentence tells "thanks but no thanks" rather than "enough even if she doesn't succeed".
Probably this nuance comes from だけでいい part. It's a polite way to softly refuse a proposal in Japanese.
By her following "弱虫" response, I think she felt her proposal was refused.

-shin1ro