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大変

English translation: she's being sarcastic

22:04 Mar 24, 2024
Japanese to English translations [Non-PRO]
Art/Literary - Cinema, Film, TV, Drama
Japanese term or phrase: 大変
Dear ProZ members,

I'm in doubt on how to inteerpret the following sentence from a cartoon. A girl comes back home from school and finds her little brother playing videogames with his two best friends. As the three play games almost every day, the girl is very harsh on them, asking if they don't have anything better to do and if they don't have other friends. She says this to the oldest of the three:

あんたも６年なのに大変だね。こんなバカどもと遊んで
(You're in sixth grade, you'll end up bad playing with these idiots.)

I'm not sure about the meaning of 大変 here. It it an admonishment ("you shouldn't waste time with them for your own sake") or a sign of empathy ("playing with these idiots must be terrible for you")? She seems critical with him too, though.

Thank you so much!
Riccardo91
Italy
English translation:she's being sarcastic
Explanation:
The sister's comment seems to lean towards admonishment with a tinge of sarcasm/irony. "大変" here could be translated as "Must be tough for you," but given that she criticizes them for playing together and questions if they have anything better to do or other friends, it's likely that she's implying "You're in for a tough time if you keep this up" or "It’s bad that you’re spending your time like this." She thinks the boy is making things hard for himself by choosing to play with "these idiots."
Selected response from:

Andy Hoang
Vietnam
Local time: 10:58
Grading comment
Thank you!
3 KudoZ points were awarded for this answer



Summary of answers provided
3 +1she's being sarcastic
Andy Hoang
3It must be tough (hanging around with these idiots)
Michael Hughes


  

Answers


23 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 3/5Answerer confidence 3/5 peer agreement (net): +1
she's being sarcastic


Explanation:
The sister's comment seems to lean towards admonishment with a tinge of sarcasm/irony. "大変" here could be translated as "Must be tough for you," but given that she criticizes them for playing together and questions if they have anything better to do or other friends, it's likely that she's implying "You're in for a tough time if you keep this up" or "It’s bad that you’re spending your time like this." She thinks the boy is making things hard for himself by choosing to play with "these idiots."

Andy Hoang
Vietnam
Local time: 10:58
Works in field
Native speaker of: Native in VietnameseVietnamese
Grading comment
Thank you!

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  David Gibney
14 hrs
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27 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 3/5Answerer confidence 3/5
It must be tough (hanging around with these idiots)


Explanation:
Pretty sure it's empathy (but she could be saying it ironically, given the context?).

Michael Hughes
United Kingdom
Local time: 04:58
Specializes in field
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish
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