Glossary entry (derived from question below)
Japanese term or phrase:
分かるような、分からないように
English translation:
...which seems to be clear but maybe is not
Mar 3, 2005 09:08
19 yrs ago
Japanese term
goval
分かるような、分からないように
Non-PRO
Japanese to English
Social Sciences
Linguistics
is there such a grammatical expression?
what does it mean?
what does it mean?
Proposed translations
(English)
| 4 | ...which seems to be clear but maybe is not |
kennesaw42
|
| 5 | Unclear, quite puzzling, doesn' t make much sense to me |
humbird
|
| 2 +2 | baffling; not sure if one understand or not |
miyot
|
Proposed translations
15 hrs
Japanese term (edited):
������悤�ȁA������Ȃ��悤��
Selected
...which seems to be clear but maybe is not
Difficult to give a "target term" for out of context without sounding stilted. But the source term as given is in error. It is properly "分かるような、分からないような" with both clauses ending in the adjectival "na" and not one in "na" and the other in the adverbial "ni." It is used to describe something that you think you sort of understand but maybe don't understand at all.
4 KudoZ points awarded for this answer.
+2
28 mins
Japanese term (edited):
������悤�ȁA������Ȃ��悤��
baffling; not sure if one understand or not
分かるような分からないような (the last character is な instead of に) does exist. It means someone is not sure if he understands or not. It's used for statements or phrases that sound very convincing at first but actually very baffling.
Peer comment(s):
| agree |
Steven Batti (X)
: I agree. I might use something like "not quite sure".
4 hrs
|
| agree |
J_R_Tuladhar
6 hrs
|
12 hrs
Japanese term (edited):
������悤�ȁA������Ȃ��悤��
Unclear, quite puzzling, doesn' t make much sense to me
Yes it is grammatically correct. Although there is a misspelling as other answerer pointed out, so that part of your problem is solved.
Now here is my version of translation and choice is yours (of course).
This expression is quite colloquial and usually followed by:
へんな話 or わけのわからない話（ことがら or other variables).
If I were the listener, these would be what I utter. This expression shows slight frustration in the listener's side. Like "What'a hell are you talking about ......?" (But this can be too strong.)
Yours,
Now here is my version of translation and choice is yours (of course).
This expression is quite colloquial and usually followed by:
へんな話 or わけのわからない話（ことがら or other variables).
If I were the listener, these would be what I utter. This expression shows slight frustration in the listener's side. Like "What'a hell are you talking about ......?" (But this can be too strong.)
Yours,
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