Wednesday, December 14, 2011

(Japanese) What does this mean in english: 何とかは犬も喰わないって言うぜ?

Question:


I know that it's saying something about not feeding the dog anything but can't put into words. No google or yahoo translation answers please.

Answer:


This should be about a couple (or spouses) having a fight.

My translation is:
"Even a dog won't eat that something, as the proverb goes."

Maybe there's a little explaining to do about this. The original proverb is:
夫婦喧嘩は犬も喰わぬ/喰わない Fuufu-genka wa inu mo kuwanu/kuwanai
where "kuwanu" is an archaic form of "kuwanai" (don't eat).

It literally means "Even a dog won't eat a husband and wife's fight". The actual meaning is, a fight between a husband and wife is just temporary and they'll make up with each other in no time, so it doesn't pay to act as a peacemaker; one should just let them alone. It's also used for couples not married yet.

The narrator should be aware what should replace 何とか (something), but is deliberately making it obscure, implying that no one would butt in on the fight because the two are usually a very happy couple, and that they should stop the fight at once.

何とか = "something-or-other"; usually used when one doesn't exactly remember what it was.
は = topic-marking particle
犬も = 犬 (dog) + も (even)
喰わない = don't(won't) eat
って = と; a particle reporting what somebody (a proverb in this case) says
言う = say
ぜ = a masculine sentence-ending particle indicating exaggeration

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