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Artsy_traveller_82 t1_jcf0zh1 wrote

Allegedly it means “Leave luck to heaven” and the literal translation according to a Japanese friend of mine is pretty close. This has never been confirmed by Nintendo though.

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ComfortableSock2044 t1_jcfpwsj wrote

The kanji don't necessarily always reflect meaning. For proper nouns, ateji are used which are chosen for pronunciation and not for meaning. Lots of Japanese companies use ateji and don't intend for any specific meaning.

So if they're saying only the owners know the meaning then it doesn't really matter what your friend says because your friend is only going off what's presented to him/her -- the kanji -- and we know they used ateji.

I'll break it down. Nintendo= 任天堂

任　to leave up to

天 heaven

堂 large room or a hall

Yes, i can see where your friend got the meaning, but that doesn't mean it was intended. Again, kanji used in proper nouns are ateji and don't necessarily have the meaning of the kanji. Below is a Wikipedia article dedicated to ateji

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ateji#:~:text=In%20modern%20Japanese%2C%20ateji%20(%E5%BD%93%E3%81%A6%E5%AD%97,man'y%C5%8Dgana%20in%20Old%20Japanese.

Source: I've been speaking Japanese for over 20 years, have lived there, and I've worked as a translator and interpreter amongst other bilingual jobs. Not a "weeb" or whatever new word you guys have developed for Japanophiles.

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Artsy_traveller_82 t1_jcglf0j wrote

Nothing I said contradicts anything you just said.

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ComfortableSock2044 t1_jckgv9p wrote

I'm saying your friend's translation is a moot point because his translation is based on the symbols literal meaning which isn't the reason they were used. The symbols were chosen for their sounds.

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FractalCurve t1_jck0sma wrote

> Source: I've been speaking Japanese for over 20 years, have lived there, and I've worked as a translator and interpreter amongst other bilingual jobs. Not a "weeb" or whatever new word you guys have developed for Japanophiles.

The pre-emptive hostility here is somewhat unwarranted.

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ComfortableSock2044 t1_jckh0jn wrote

I've been on Reddit for 12 years (not this account) There is always someone shitty to anyone who says they speak Japanese.

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The_Thunder_Child t1_jceti9c wrote

Since he died in 1940 I doubt he knows much of anything.

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TWiesengrund t1_jcf11bv wrote

So he knows as much as I do about the true meaning of Nintendo!

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PunkPint t1_jceqlfw wrote

I misread the title to mean its a secret given to the president: it's more that the guy who originally named it never told anyone. Probably means nothing.

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logosmd666 t1_jces9hx wrote

It’s obviously a countdown- nine->ten->Do!

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DavoTB t1_jchpm4o wrote

We heard this years ago…figured it was a lie.

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logosmd666 t1_jcjhzq5 wrote

Its all lies, man, its all lies... even the cake...

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johnmyster OP t1_jcezzok wrote

Knew* what their name means.

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