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Permalink Reply by Loop Johnny on November 20, 2010 at 9:25am

Hmm. It is hard.

Google translates into what people will understand. The god bless phrase is very popular in English speaking countries.

However, I think the better phrase would be: "Bless you."

Can we do something about it?

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Permalink Reply by Jaume on November 20, 2010 at 9:45am

Ye of little faith. Don't you know you can find equilibrium with Google Translate?

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Permalink Reply by Jaume on November 20, 2010 at 10:22am

I like Lexilogos. It's more an aggregator than a translation tool, but it aggregates them in an easy-to-use way.

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Permalink Reply by Gaytor on November 20, 2010 at 10:25am

I use it a lot for a blog I do that covers the world. I have to search for news in other languages and I have to say that it continues to improve. There will always be difficulties in translations. I did a literal translation once in my head in Czech that makes people crack up. I knew Cow, eat, and grass. I said Krava ji trava which translates perfectly in Google. But for four years I've constantly heard... "Say it again!" from Czech people. It's completely incorrect structure and tense. At least it gets a good laugh.

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Permalink Reply by Malcolm on November 20, 2010 at 10:44am

You're right - that is bad. What English speakers who don't know Japanese may fail to understand is that this expression isn't used, for example, after someone sneezes. (The Japanese generally don't say anything after someone sneezes. If anything, the person who does it may apologize.)

Instead, odaijini is used when you learn that someone is sick, for example, with a cold. You might say it to them as you say goodbye. Nurses or receptionists at clinics often say this to you when you leave, even if you aren't actually sick (e.g., if it's an IVF clinic).

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