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We have to break down each Japanese symbol into a | We have to break down each Japanese symbol into a easily Japanese to English translatable format. Let's focus on the word gekitou, or 激闘 as it is in the true title of [[Naruto: Gekitou Ninja Taisen! 3]] (ナルト-激闘忍者大戦! 3). Start by using a combination of Google Translation and [http://translation.sensagent.com/%E6%BF%80/ja-en/ this site] to break down titles into their initial constituents (this translation site also has more insight into the etymology and synonyms of Japanese words, although in this case it does not, which aids in providing better translations than Google Translate; additional research is usually suggested). | ||
Since this word, gekitou, is in kanji, we have to look into it further and break it down into hiragana so it can be romanized. Wiktionary is invaluable to this, as you can just go to the kanji's page, e.g. [http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/%E6%BF%80 this one], and scroll down to the On (On'yomi) reading. Instantly we see that 激 can be spelled as げき (ge ki) in hiragana. Likewise, 闘 is spelled as とう (tō) in hiragana. But since we don't use macrons, how do we spell it? Well, と is to, so that's easy, and う gives us the final vowel of "u". In some cases we use a double consonant, like with shippuuden (another word that appears in the Naruto series of games), because the hiragana actually calls for a duplicate consonant with the っ character (a.k.a. the little tsu, small tsu, or sokuon). So, 激闘 breaks down to げきとう, or "ge ki to u", which is the most accurate romanization, making it even better than a macron (because a macron would hide the u). Note that the macron is usually used because the pronunciation of a double oo and ou are practically the same in Japanese. | Since this word, gekitou, is in kanji, we have to look into it further and break it down into hiragana so it can be romanized. Wiktionary is invaluable to this, as you can just go to the kanji's page, e.g. [http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/%E6%BF%80 this one], and scroll down to the On (On'yomi) reading. Instantly we see that 激 can be spelled as げき (ge ki) in hiragana. Likewise, 闘 is spelled as とう (tō) in hiragana. But since we don't use macrons, how do we spell it? Well, と is to, so that's easy, and う gives us the final vowel of "u". In some cases we use a double consonant, like with shippuuden (another word that appears in the Naruto series of games), because the hiragana actually calls for a duplicate consonant with the っ character (a.k.a. the little tsu, small tsu, or sokuon). So, 激闘 breaks down to げきとう, or "ge ki to u", which is the most accurate romanization, making it even better than a macron (because a macron would hide the u). Note that the macron is usually used because the pronunciation of a double oo and ou are practically the same in Japanese. |