Have you ever tried to talk to someone who just doesn't understand your point? You would be better off talking to a brick wall; at least the wall would stay quiet long enough for you explain your point. No matter what words you use, they don't register in this guy's brain, bouncing off his head and falling off into eternity. In order to communicate with this person, you need to find out what words will help him understand you. And yet, this is exactly the problem anyone talking to a non-English speaker will instantly learn: no matter what you say, if the person you are speaking to doesn't understand what you, you are not communicating. Therefore, learning what words he understands will allow you to speak with him and actually make sense.
I will try and explain how to say Jesus in Japanese. Although you may never use these words (how many Japanese do you encounter in America anyway?), you never know what you will do. You may one day or other be able to use them. And, even if that is not the case, I hope you can have some enjoyment (however small) from this.
The first and more commonly used word is "イエスキリスト," pronounced "iesu-kiristo." As you can see from the pictures above, many times just "キリスト" (Christ) is used.
The second word is "基督," which is pronounced the same way as "キリスト" (kiristo). However, this word is a little different from the first. The first word is written in Katakana, which is just like our alphabet, with abstract characters representing sounds, while the second word is written in Kanji, which are the characters Japan "borrowed" (cough cough, stole) from China. With Kanji, each character is a word in and of itself. Therefore, the word "基督" is actually composed of two older words. "基," pronounced "moto" or "ki," means "origin" or "base." This character is used in words like "基本," meaning "foundation." The second character, "督," is pronounced "toku" and means "to lead." Another word where this character is used is "督励," which means "encouragement."
Thank-you for reading this, especially if you have no interest in Japanese! God bless!
By the way, the first sign says "The blood of Christ cleanses our sins," and on the second is written "Anyone who believes in Christ has eternal life."
ReplyDeleteWow-- very impressive Hannah! Even if someone isn't planning on talking with Japanese people, it's still good to have a foundational knowledge of such things.
ReplyDeleteSo the Kanji of Jesus means "foundational leader" or "a foundation that leads." Do you know why this is the Kanji for Jesus?
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing this with us!