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Idiomatic Japanese Question

tinwhiskerstinwhiskers Registered User regular
Without getting into all the details, I'm getting my newborn niece-well actually more my BiL- an Anime "Dream Catcher". I know this is not an actual thing, it is something of a spoof gift.

So I am wondering if there is a japanese idiomatic equivalent to "sweet dreams"-dream(s)(ing) being the keyword. Assuming there isn't, I'd appreciate if anyone who could give me a translation in the jist of "Dream Guarding Ronan" or "Dream Guard Ronan".

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Posts

  • E.CoyoteE.Coyote Registered User regular
    Maybe something relating to baku?
    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baku_(spirit)

  • simonwolfsimonwolf i can feel a difference today, a differenceRegistered User regular
    For something like "sweet dreams" as a phrase, I would probably just say 「いい夢たくさん見てね」(ii yume takusan mitene).

    There is a compound word specifically for "sweet dreams", kanmu, but I've never encountered it outside of a dictionary,

  • DaMoonRulzDaMoonRulz Mare ImbriumRegistered User regular
  • baudattitudebaudattitude Registered User regular
    The only things that come to mind are Baku, who was mentioned earlier, and the superstitions around the first dream of the new year. You can search "hatsuyume" if you want to go down that road looking for material.

    Otherwise where an American might say "sweet dreams", a Japanese person is more likely just to say おやすみなさい, oyasumi nasai, "sleep well"

  • Gabriel_PittGabriel_Pitt (effective against Russian warships) Registered User regular
    Without getting into all the details, I'm getting my newborn niece-well actually more my BiL- an Anime "Dream Catcher". I know this is not an actual thing, it is something of a spoof gift.

    So I am wondering if there is a japanese idiomatic equivalent to "sweet dreams"-dream(s)(ing) being the keyword. Assuming there isn't, I'd appreciate if anyone who could give me a translation in the jist of "Dream Guarding Ronan" or "Dream Guard Ronan".

    I don't get the association of Ronan? Anime themed Guardians of the Galaxy merch a big thing?

  • garroad_rangarroad_ran Registered User regular
    japanese idiomatic equivalent to "sweet dreams"-dream(s)(ing) being the keyword.

    Others have already said it, but no, there is no real idiomatic equivalent with dreams being the keyword. simonwolf's phrase is good, but a more natural way of expressing the same thing would simply be 「いい夢を」(ii yume o), and it's functionally a more accurate translation of the original English phrase too. The difficulty here is that if you actually want to explain to someone what this means, saying "it means 'sweet dreams'" is a bit of an oversimplification, but if you're not worried about that, then I think ii yume o is the way to go.
    "Dream Guarding Ronan"
    「夢を守るろうなん」(yume o mamoru ronan) comes to mind. It's a very literal translation but it works.
    "Dream Guard Ronan".
    I don't know what would be the most effective way of translating "guard" in this context, and I don't really want to hazard a guess.


  • WiseManTobesWiseManTobes Registered User regular
    If it helps, the actual Ojibwe translation is "Dream Snare"

    Steam! Battlenet:Wisemantobes#1508
  • PLAPLA The process.Registered User regular
    I think the only "kanmu" I've heard about was some old dead guy.

  • baudattitudebaudattitude Registered User regular
    Without getting into all the details, I'm getting my newborn niece-well actually more my BiL- an Anime "Dream Catcher". I know this is not an actual thing, it is something of a spoof gift.

    So I am wondering if there is a japanese idiomatic equivalent to "sweet dreams"-dream(s)(ing) being the keyword. Assuming there isn't, I'd appreciate if anyone who could give me a translation in the jist of "Dream Guarding Ronan" or "Dream Guard Ronan".

    I don't get the association of Ronan? Anime themed Guardians of the Galaxy merch a big thing?

    Maybe OP means Rōnin?

    And huh my phone can do the little line above vowels, today is a voyage of discovery.

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