Japanese song lyrics.

[JockZon]

I have listen to some japanese music and noticed that they mix words, as all do, to make it fit in. As an example "Semete ai suru hito wo" from a song called shizuku, wouldn't the correct sentence be semete hito wo ai suru? Is there any rules how you do when writing lyrics in japanese?

[Jason]

I have listen to some japanese music and noticed that they mix words, as all do, to make it fit in. As an example "Semete ai suru hito wo" from a song called shizuku, wouldn't the correct sentence be semete hito wo ai suru?

No, not necessarily. "Semete ai surur hito wo" ("At least the person that I love...") is perfectly valid gramatically. It's missing whatever verb goes after "wo" but that's probably filled in or implied somewhere in the song.

Is there any rules how you do when writing lyrics in japanese?

Grammar rules tend to get thrown out the window in songwriting in any langauge.

[JockZon]

Yeah I am aware of that but at least you can feel how you tend to write a song but in japanese I don't feel it but maybe I will later... so ai suru is not a verb?

[Jason]

It is a verb. It's just not the verb that goes with "wo" here. It's being used in a relative clause here.

relative clause = verb phrase + noun phrase to be modified.

Examples:

-Ai suru hito = "the person (someone) loves"
-Kinou watashi ga tabeta sushi = "the sushi that I ate yesterday"
-Sei ippai ganbatteiru shoshinsha = "the beginner who's trying their absolute best"

I really don't think there's *a* way to write song lyrcis, whatever language they're in. A bit part of songwriting is having creative freedom to do with the words what you will.

[JockZon]

Okey. Thanks but now I got another question. What's the differences between

Ai suru
Aiseru
Aishiteru
Aishite iru

I believe all these mean "to love" right?


PS. the whole sentences was "Subete no hito o aiseru wake ja nai nara semete ai suru hito o" and the translation I found was like "If it is impossible to love all the people in the world, then at least love one person…"... Are you sure the wo isn't ment for ai suru?

[Jason]

Okey. Thanks but now I got another question. What's the differences between

Ai suru

Simply "to love."

Aiseru

Are you sure this one's not a typo?

Aishiteru
Aishite iru

These two are the same. In speech, the い in the 〜ている form tends to get dropped, so it ends up as just 〜てる. 〜ている was covered just last week in the lessons.

I believe all these mean "to love" right?

Except for the 2nd one, yeah.

PS. the whole sentences was "Subete no hito o aiseru wake ja nai nara semete ai suru hito o" and the translation I found was like "If it is impossible to love all the people in the world, then at least love one person…"... Are you sure the wo isn't ment for ai suru?

Yeah, I'm sure. It's hard to really translate the 2nd part of that line without knowning the song.

[JockZon]

Ok... What does Aishiteru and Aishite iru mean then? I have read that aishiteru means "I love you"...

She sings aiseru in the song, maybe that means something else... Could you tell me what wake and nara means as well? I have discovered that you can learn lots by translating lyrics so I am trying to understand this first sentence.

[Jason]

"Ai shiteiru" is the present progressive form of "ai suru." So litterally it's "(in the state of) loving." But in English we just say "love."

I don't know what "aiseru" is. I couldn't find it in the dictionary. Unless maybe it's short for "aishiteiru" but I've never heard it before. Maybe a typo or someone heard it wrong?

nara = if
wake = reason, meaning. But combined with "nara" here, the construction means, "if (something) is the case..."

[Jason]

Found it:

http://www.animelyrics.com/anime/gto/shizuku.htm

(note this page has a complete translation, so watch out if you want to do it yourself).

The first line makes a lot more sense with the 2nd one, too:

Subete no hito wo aiseru wake ja nainara, semete aisuru hito o
Uragi razu ni utagawazu ni, semetari nikundari shinai de

I'm pretty sure "aiseru" here is a typo that should be "aisuru." And since I'm lazy, their translation:

If you can't love everyone, at least do not
Betray, suspect, accuse, or hate the ones you love

[Jason]

I just watched some of the video on youtube, and I was wrong. 愛せる isn't a typo. The only thing I can think of it may be short for 愛させる, which mean "to cause to love."

[JockZon]

Thanks a bunch I really have to study harder...

[Bueller_007]

I just watched some of the video on youtube, and I was wrong. 愛せる isn't a typo. The only thing I can think of it may be short for 愛させる, which mean "to cause to love."

Remember that these kinds of "one kanji + suru" verbs are a pain in the arse to conjugate correctly. They usually conjugate as -す verbs, NOT する verbs. (Remember that the る at the end of each is OPTIONAL. 愛す also means "to love", 関す also means "to be related", etc.) So せる is the potential form of this kind of "する verb":

For example;
愛する (to love) -> 愛せる (to be able to love)
罰する (to be punished) -> 罰せる (to be able to be punished)
託する (to entrust) -> 託せる (to be able to entrust)

Basic Conjugation:
Present: 愛す／愛する／愛します
Past: 愛した／愛しました
Continuous: 愛して／愛しまして
Negative: 愛さない or 愛しない／愛さず or 愛せず／愛しません
Potential: 愛せる or 愛できる (which IMO sounds incorrect, but there are lots of Google hits)
And so on.

I pulled a couple of examples of 愛せる off of Space ALC:
* 心から愛せる人と結婚する
get married to someone one really loves
* 狂おしいほど愛せる人を探しなさい。
Find someone you can love like crazy.

So, yeah, 愛せる means "can love" or "to be able to love".

[Jason]

Remember that these kinds of "one kanji + suru" verbs are a pain in the arse to conjugate correctly. They usually conjugate as -す verbs, NOT する verbs.

それは初耳です。 もう、面倒くせえ。

[JockZon]

ジェーソンさん。吾人は毎日何を学びます。

[Bueller_007]

ジェーソンさん。吾人は毎日何を学びます。

Nobody ever says 吾人. In everyday conversation, you would normally use 私たち or 僕ら for "we" instead.