Gomenasai

edited September 2006 in Vanilla 1.0 Help
As in the title .. anyone russian here?
I wonder if s/he could tell me what this word means? or it is even russian as the dictionaries I've found don't know it ... I will add the context in which I found this word in it.. I think it is a name or something but why will you use a name as a verb ? (i.e. Gomenasai till the end)
What I thought wasn't mine In the light Wasn't one of a kind, A precious pearl When I wanted to cry I couldn't cause I Wasn't allowed Gomenasai for everything Gomenasai, I know I let you down Gomenasai till the end I never needed a friend Like I do now What I thought wasn't all So innocent Was a delicate doll Of porcelain When I wanted to call you And ask you for help I stopped myself Gomenasai for everything Gomenasai, I know I let you down Gomenasai till the end I never needed a friend Like I do now What I thought was a dream An mirage Was as real as it seemed A privilege When I wanted to tell you I made a mistake I walked away Gomenasai, for everything Gomenasai, Gomenasai, Gomenasai, I never needed a friend, Like I do now Gomenasai, I let you down Gomenasai, Gomenasai, Gomenasai till the end I never needed a friend Like I do now

Comments

  • Gomenasai is actually Japanese - it means "I'm sorry"
  • Thanks a lot ..it was driving me mad!
  • no worries :)
  • And the words are actually "gomen nasai", as opposed to "gomenasai"

    ごめんなさい = hiragana version.

    :D
  • So 'gomen' means two words in Japanese "I" and "am"? By the way .. the hirgana? version seems very difficult...
  • Actually no. Gomen means "sorry" and "nasai" is a modifier that basically says you are "humbly"; thus together it reads something like, "humbly sorry". The "I" and "am" are implied.

    If you are interested in learning Japanese, I found it very helpful to also study hiragana. It was one of the first things I was taught, and it helped me visualize the words I was speaking and gave me a better sense of pronounciation (although I am _still_ working on that!). So here you can see the breakdown phonetically:

    go = ご
    me = め
    n = ã‚“

    na = な
    sa = さ
    i = い

    It's actually quite fun and facinating. It also helps to know it when using a hiragana-based Japanese to English dictionary!

    Anyhow - people learn different ways, and that is just what helped me in my case when I started out. It also helped a great bit to live there for many years and make many attempts to speak the language no matter how frustrating it got ;)

    Thanks!

    Scott
  • Moshi moshi!
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