This is an archive of the JD Translation Challenge, which we do regularly on JD’s Twitter. Why don’t you take the challenge too?
We have also listed the answers (translations) from our followers and feedback from Japanese members, so check it out when you are done with your translation.
Table of Contents
Translation Challenge
“Tickets for movies in Japan are very [expensive/cheap]. In my country, the general ticket price is [price in your country].”
Translate it into Japanese.
(See the tweet on Twitter.)
Example answers
「日本の映画のチケットはとても（高い／安い）ですね。私の国では一般的なチケットの価格は（いくら）です。」
「日本の映画のチケットってめっちゃ（高い／安い）よね。私の国だとだいたい（いくら）だよ。」
「日本の映画のチケットってめっちゃ高くない？（安くない？）私の国やと（いくら）やわ～。」
Key phrase
私の国では (僕の国では)
“in my country (unlike other countries)”
Use 「では」 when you describe your country in comparison to other countries. (「では」 is polite, so people might use 「だと」 in spoken language.)
「私の国では食事の前に『いただきます』と言います。」
“In Japan (unlike other countries), we say ‘Itadakimasu’ before meals.”
「私の国では夏にサンタクロースが来ます。」
“In my country (unlike yours), Santa Claus comes in the summer.”
*The comparison need not necessarily be to all other countries but can be to the speaker’s country or to the one that is the current topic of discussion.
映画のチケット
“movie ticket”
In the past, movie tickets were also called 切符（きっぷ）, but that term is now used for vehicles, especially trains. Movie tickets are now called チケット.
「映画のチケットはもう買った？」
“Have you bought your movie tickets yet?”
Answers from our follwers
Click to read the feedback.
Congrats on your first full marks
Amazing!
One thing to make it more natural, I would say 「僕の国で”は”」
By using「は」, it can give a sentence a comparative or contrasting nuance. In this case, you are comparing Kuwait to Japan, so using this particle is more natural
「では」 is very useful when you introduce your country to Japanese people If you say クウェートでは, it implies “unlike Japan.”
So you can use it like クウェートではほとんど雨が降りません。(= “Unlike Japan (or other places)” it hardly rains in Kuwait.)
Good job! I’ll give you three pieces of feedback, although I think the text conveys the message well enough!
1- きっぷ → チケット
Movie theater tickets used to be called 切符（きっぷ）, but in modern Japanese, they are mainly called チケット. Now 切符（きっぷ） is used for tickets for transportation (especially trains and shinkansen).
2- 私の国で値段は → 私の国で”は”値段”が” or 私の国”の”値段は
When で is used as a particle for location, it is used to indicate the location of some activity. In this case, it is not an activity, so you may want to change it to one of these two patterns.
では means “at a certain place (when compared to other places)”. So メキシコでは would mean “(No en otros países sino) en México” To avoid using は twice in a row, I put が after 値段.
3- ペソス → ペソ
Since the Japanese language basically does not use the plural form, the same unit of currency as the singular form (1 peso) is used for all numbers
Thank you for participating!
日本で→日本で”は”
When で is used as a particle for location, it is used to indicate the location of some activity. In this sentence, では works well. It is used to describe how things are in one particular place compared to other places.
きっぷ→チケット
In the past, movie tickets were also called 切符（きっぷ）, but that term is now used for vehicles, especially trains. Movie tickets are now called チケット.
私の国で切符…→私の国では切符が600パキスタン・ルピーです。
We say パキスタン・ルピー for SLRs in Japanese. In Japanese, we don’t use the plural form very often, so we say パキスタン・ルピー whether it is 1Rs or 2Rs, the same
I’m jealous that movie tickets are not expensive
Good! One thing to make it more natural, use 「では」 instead of 「で」
で is used for the location of some activity. “To be expensive” is not an action, so using 「では」 is more natural.
では means “at a certain place (when compared to other places)”
Great as always!
ドイツで”の” sounds more natural, but, to be honest, the previous sentence is so perfect it sounds like you dare to speak without the の! (Because some people actually omit it.)
“での”
Adding の to で (for location), it means the location is additional information about the noun behind it.
ドイツで (location)の価格(noun) => The price in Germany
Or you can simply say ドイツの価格 “The price of Germany”
Thanks for participating
Here are my feedback
First of all, let me explain the difference between に and で briefly.
に is used with verbs like いる, ある, and 住む to describe the place where a person or thing exists.
で is used with verbs with some actions to describe the place where a person or thing does the action.
In this case, “to be expensive” is not that suitable for both. So use では instead.
では means “at a certain place (when compared to other places)”. So if you say 日本では, it means like “(compared to other countries or unlike other countries) in Japan, it is…”
切符→チケット
Now we call it チケット
Might be just a typo ちょと → ちょっと
その物は→チケットは or それは
In Japanese, pronouns are used less frequently than in other languages such as English, and the same nouns are often spoken repeatedly. So you can use チケット again. If you use a pronoun, that’ll be それ
ドラ→ドル
Dollar, right? It’s called ドル. There’s no plural form so 10 dollars will be 10ドル, not 10ドルズ or ダラーズ.
10ドルぐらいと思う→10ドルぐらい”だ”と思う
After Na adjectives or nouns, we say だと思う In this case, 10ドルぐらい is a noun, so it’s better to say it with だ
Perfect Thank you for participating, クリスさん! If you write 「12ユーロ」, it would be more natural
Special thanks to all who participated!