Sumeba Miyako (Home is where you make it)

May 6, 2017 10:42
Today I will talk about the Japanese proverb "sumeba miyako."

"Sumeba miyako" means that even if the place is difficult to live, you will feel as if it's miyako once you live.

Here the word "miyako" comes from "miyadokoro," and both mean a place where the emperor lives, that is the capital.

Therefore, the suffix of "Tokyo" is "to" ("to" is another reading of "miyako") instead of "ken," meaning "prefecture" -- "Tokyo-to" expresses that it is the Japanese capital.

Also, there is a similar proverb, which is "sumaba miyako."

"Sumaba miyako" means that miyako (the capital city) is the best if you would live, and it's quite different from "sumeba miyako."
住めば都

今日は日本のことわざ「住めば都」を紹介します。

「住めば都」とは、どんなに住みにくい場所であっても、住み慣れれば都と同じように住み心地がよく感じることを意味します。

ここで、「都(みやこ)」は「宮所(みやどころ)」から転じた語で、皇居が所在するところを指します。

このため、「東京」には「県」ではなく「都」がつき、首都であることを表しています。

また、似たことわざに「住まば都」があります。

「住まば都」は、住むのなら都が良いということを意味しており、「住めば都」と意味が全く異なります。
No. 1 Mimi
  • Today I will talk about the Japanese proverb "sumeba miyako."
  • This sentence is perfect! No correction needed!
  • "Sumeba miyako" means that even if the place is difficult to live, you will feel as if it's miyako once you live.
  • "Sumeba miyako" means that even if а place is difficult to live in, you will feel as if it's miyako once you live there.
  • Here the word "miyako" comes from "miyadokoro," and both mean a place where the emperor lives, that is the capital.
  • This sentence is perfect! No correction needed!
  • Therefore, the suffix of "Tokyo" is "to" ("to" is another reading of "miyako") instead of "ken," meaning "prefecture" -- "Tokyo-to" expresses that it is the Japanese capital.
  • This sentence is perfect! No correction needed!
  • Also, there is a similar proverb, which is "sumaba miyako."
  • This sentence is perfect! No correction needed!
  • "Sumaba miyako" means that miyako (the capital city) is the best if you would live, and it's quite different from "sumeba miyako."
  • "Sumaba miyako" means that miyako (the capital city) is the best if you would live, and it's quite different from "sumeba miyako."

    not sure what you mean when you say "is the best if you would live"

Toru
Thank you so much for correcting my post!
> not sure what you mean when you say "is the best if you would live"
Sorry, I wanted to say something like:
if you can choose a place to live, the capital city is best.
No. 2 azza3695
  • "Sumaba miyako" means that miyako (the capital city) is the best if you would live, and it's quite different from "sumeba miyako."
  • "Sumaba miyako" means that miyako (the capital city) is the best if you would live, and it's quite different from "sumeba miyako."

    please reword, i think it is intended as 'the capital city is the best place you could ever live in' but i am unsure.

one phrase i would be curious about is 'yappari'

Toru
Thank you for reading my post!
> please reword, i think it is intended as 'the capital city is the best place you could ever live in' but i am unsure.
Actually, I wanted to say something like the following:
"if you can choose a place to live, the capital city is best."

> one phrase i would be curious about is 'yappari'
I'd like to write about "yappari" in the near future :)
By the way, "sumaba miyako" can be rewritten using "yappari," e.g., "sumu naraba yappari/yahari miyako da." Here, "yappari" means something like "after all" or "in the end," and the meaning of the whole sentence is "in the end, it's better to choose the capital city as a place to live."
azza3695
in a book i read, they had trouble translating how 'yappari' is used in manga, and for translating a language that uses the same word in different contexts alot, that is a curious thing to say