About Spirited Away
In 2001 Miyazaki Hayao 宮崎
駿 and his Studio Ghibli スタジオジブリ animation studio released a movie called 千と千尋の神隠し.
This would more directly be translated as "The disappearance of Sen and Chihiro" but the official English title is Spirited Away, which is a far more compelling title considering the subject matter.
If you haven't seen the movie, you should give it a watch or at least read the Wikipedia entry here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spirited_Away
In the movie, the ten-year-old 千尋 is moving to a new town with her parents. On the way, they enter the world of yokai and kami spirits. Her parents are turned into pigs and 千尋's name looses a kanji. She goes from "Chihiro" to "Sen." 千 is read "chi" and "sen." [Learn more about the kanji 千 here.]
The longer she remains in the yokai world, the easier it is to forget her past and her real name.
What does 神隠し mean?
It is made of 神 (God; divine) and 隠し (concealing). In other words, to be "hidden by the gods." In the past, when a child went missing without a trace, it was said the child had been "spirited away." So, 神隠し is used for any mysterious disappearances.
The main characters:
- 千尋 Chihiro, the 10 year old girl
- ハク Haku, the boy who befriends and helps Chihiro escape
- 湯婆婆 Yuba-ba, the witch who runs the bathhouse
- 銭婆 Zeni-ba, Yubaaba's twin
- 釜爺 Kamajii, the old man yokai who runs the bathhouse's boiler room
- リン Lin, another human worker at the bathhouse
I picked a few lines for us to break down today. Listen to Yumi read the lines from the movie and work through the vocabulary list. Let's get started!
First, 千尋 realizes something isn't right.
うそ……夢だ、夢だ！さめろさめろ、さめろ！
[Chihiro] It's just a dream. A dream! Wake up. Wake up. Wake up!
- うそ no way!; it can't be; can't believe it [literally, this is "lie," but it is often used to show incredibility]
- 夢だ it's a dream [夢 (dream) + だ (is; copula)]
- さめろ wake up! [imperative form of さめる (to wake; to wake up)]
今からおまえの名前は千だ。いいかい、千だよ。
分かったら返事をするんだ、千！！
Yuba-ba] From now on, your name is Sen. Understand? Sen. Answer me, Sen!
- 今から from now; from now on
- おまえの your (name)
- 名前 name
- 千 Sen [千 is pronounced "chi" in 千尋 but "sen" when written alone]
- いいかい got it? understand? [いい (good) + かい (question ender); this is said by someone exerting authority over someone with the expectation the listener will accept it]
- 千だよ It's "Sen."
- 分かったら If you understand; if you accept this
- 返事をするんだ You should reply [返事 (reply) + を (direct object marker) + する (to do) + んだ (used when explaining)]
おとうさんおかあさん、きっと助けてあげるから、
あんまり太っちゃだめだよ、食べられちゃうからね！！
[Chihiro] Father! Mother! I promise I'll save you. Don't get too fat or they'll eat you.
- おとうさん father
- おかあさん mother
- きっと certainly; for sure
- 助けてあげる (I) will help you [助けて (help) + あげる (give (my help)]
- から therefore; because of that
- あんまり not too much
- 太っちゃだめだよ don't get fat [太る (to get fat) + ちゃだめ (not allowed) + だ (copula) + よ (emphatic)]
- 食べられちゃう (will get) eaten up [casual for 食べられてしまう (to be eaten up); 食べられる (to be eaten; passive of 食べる (to eat)); ちゃう (casual for ～てしまう (~up; shows completion usually with some regret))]
- からね because; if (you get fat, they'll eat you); therefore
千: ハク、きっと戻ってくるから、死んじゃだめだよ。
釜爺: わからんか。愛だ、愛。
[Chihiro] Haku, I promise I'll be back. Please don't die.
[Lin] What's going on here?
[Kamajii] Don't you understand? It's love. Love.
- きっと certainly; for sure
- 戻ってくる (I'll) return; come back [戻る (to return) + てくる (shows the returning will be to the listener]
- から therefore; so
- 死んじゃだめだよ don't you die [死んじゃだめ (not allowed to die; じゃだめ is a casual way to express prohibition) + だ (copula) + よ (emphatic)]
- 何がどうしたの What's the matter? What's going on here? [何が (what) + どうしたの (what happened)]
- わからんか don't (you) understand [わからん (casual of わからない (don't understand)) + か (question marker)]
- 愛 love
私の本当の名前は、千尋っていうんです。
[Chihiro] My real name is Chihiro.
- 私の my
- 本当 true; real
- 名前 name
- 本当の名前は As for (my) real name [The の is a limiter: not just any name but her true name]
- 千尋 Chihiro
- っていうんです is called [って (quotation) + いう (called) + んです (ender used with explanations)]
ちひろ。いい名だね。自分の名前を大事にね。
[Zeni-ba (Yuba-ba's twin)] Chihiro. That's a good name. Take care of your name.
- ちひろ Chihiro [this is written in hiragana since she only heard the name without seeing the kanji written]
- いい名だね (that's) a good name [いい (good) + 名 (name; normally, "name" is 名前, but 名 by itself means "name." However, 名 by itself sounds old-fashioned) + だ (is) + ね (emphatic; shows expectation of agreement)]
- 自分の one's own
- 名前 name
- 大事にね take of, okay? [大事に (take care of) + ね (won't you; ender prompting for a positive response or for emphasis]
