I feel like it's worth mentioning that Corbeau calling the player kid in the game, doesn't mean youâre actually a child. I was wondering what he calls you in the original Japanese, so hereâs what I found along with other unrelated notes on his Japanese dialogue.
[Now with added notes from and commenters and anons!! Represented with colored brackets and a footnote.]
Iâm not fluent so I could be wrong on some points, take from this what you will. Also I got carried away and wrote a lot more than I meant to woops.
(Spoilers up until mission 25, rank C)
Caved and wrote a second part.
To start with, Corbeau speaks Kansai-ben, a dialect spoken in the Kansai region of Japan. Some noticeable differences are ya instead of desu or da at the end of sentences, and na instead of ne. Verb conjugation is also a bit different, with -hen or -n instead of -nai meaning not. Like, âI don't knowâ is Shirahen or Shiran instead of the standard (slightly impolite) Shiranai.
[The in-universe Kansai-ben has been dubbed âKogane-benâ by Japanese fans, referring to Kogane City (Goldenrod City) in Johto, which is based on real-world Osaka. This has influenced some headcanons around Corbeauâs hometown in the Japanese fandom. Another popular character who uses this dialect is Rika from SV.]š The characters in Goldenrod City all speak Kansai-ben, as do some in Azelea Town, but the rest of Johto does not. This is because what people call Kansai-ben is actually more Osaka-ben, the dialects in Kansai differ greatly from place to place. Also, Johto isn't just Kansai, it's also bits of Chubu. Aside from Corbeau, Rika, and the Johto characters, Commander Kamado in Legends Arceus also speaks Kogane-ben when he's surprised, but Standard Japanese when he's being professional. Carmine and Kieran do not speak Kogane-ben, they mostly speak Standard Japanese with some occasional Tohoku-ben notes. If I see one more person genuinely suggesting that they're related to Corbeau I'll blow up.
I often see Kansai-ben translated into a southern accent, to show that itâs a little⌠country-bumpkin like. It can be tricky to understand for people who only speak Standard Japanese.
Some people say that Kansai-ben is considered rough and makes you sound like a gangster, but I know a lot of people also find it cute and friendly. Corbeau speaks like a gangster though. I cannot emphasize enough, this man does not speak all fancy and polite. Ending sentences with Yarou is classic Yakuza stuff, think Baka yarou which could be translated as you fucking idiot. Just saying Yarou gives it the same vibe as swearing. But éé Yarou, the suffix used in Baka yarou, and ăă Yaro, Kansai-ben for ă§ăă Desuyo, aren't the same. In English, he instead says eh sometimes.
(Philippe on the other hand, speaks very formally. He calls Corbeau Karasuba-sama, and uses Watakushi as his personal pronoun.)
[The association with gangsters comes from a mutually-reinforcing combination of both the Kansai region having a more pronounced history of organised crime, and the portrayal of such characters in media as speaking with variations of Kansai-ben (often Hiroshima-ben, but also Osaka-ben), which over the years has solidified this reputation. Itâs used by many characters in the Yakuza games, who are written as coming from this part of Japan. Speakers of Osaka-ben, with Osaka historically being a city of merchants and working people, also has a reputation for being either down-to-earth and warm or crass and uncultured, depending on who you ask.]š
Notable Kansai-ben words/slang are Honma instead of Hontou, meaning really/truly/honestly, like when youâre asking if something really happened. Could be translated to âSâthat so?â or âYou reckon?â Just to get the difference in dialects across in English.
Omoroi instead of Omoshiroi, meaning fun/interesting/amusing/entertaining. This one Corbeau says a lot. I noticed that in the English dialogue too, but it's even clearer in Japanese. Thatâs funny, let's have some fun, battling you is fun. This isn't so much a translation note as it is a character trait note.
Meccha instead of Totemo, meaning very. This has spread to all of Japan, I see a lot of Gyaru girls saying it for some reason. Something like âThis is real goodâ works well imo. Or âThis is damn goodâ or âThis is darn goodâ or âThis is good as hellâ. Itâs not that crass though, honestly I think itâs more the vibe of âTotes awesomeâ.
Ee instead of Ii (ii) meaning good/fine/okay. Sore wa ii desu becomes Sore wa ee ya meaning thatâs fine. You could translate it as âPeachyâ or âFine and dandyâ if you wanted.
Chau instead of Chigau, meaning incorrect. Also used instead of janai, meaning is not. Sore wa neko janai becomes Sore wa neko chau, thatâs not a cat. Also used like a question, Kore wa neko chau? meaning this is is a cat, no?
In Standard Japanese, Baka means stupid/idiot, and Aho means moron. Baka is lighter, you could use it to tease your friends, whereas Aho is really insulting. In Kansai-ben, it's the other way around.
True for all of Kansai-ben, is that your mouth opens less while speaking it. Like, when you say Chau instead of Chigau, your mouth stays very small. So itâs less eloquent, not as cleanly pronounced. I think itâd make sense if he said thinkinâ instead of thinking, and so on, but heâs not written like that in the official English translation so whatevs.
This isnât the main point of this post so letâs move on. Iâm hoping youâll be able to recognize some of these words when they come up.
In the original Japanese, he mostly calls you Omae, which is a rude/informal way of saying you. Kid is probably the best way to translate that heâs talking down to you, without using swear words at least. He never refers to you as Gaki, meaning kid or brat, or anything that even confirms youâre younger than him.
When he gets mad at Lida during your first meeting, in English I think he says âIs this kid trying to mess with me?â while in Japanese he says something along the lines of âGive me a breakâ or âGive it a restâ or âCut me some slack, manâ just an expression of exasperation. We know Lida is an adult because she used to rent an apartment. We also know Urbain/Taunie is an adult because they can sign a legally binding contract.
During that fight against the SBC folks who are bothering those kids, he calls them Onee-san and Onii-san, literally big sister and big brother, very often used to refer to strangers whose names you don't know. This could mean they're older than him, or around the same age, or heâs just saying that because theyâre older than those little kids. If they were the same age, Iâd expect him to call them something like Omaera or Kimidachi, rude/informal ways to say you guys. Heâs actually sort of polite to them? (More on his use of Onii-san in the next post.)
In Japanese, he tells them something like, âLosing to someone this young is embarrassing for youâ. Refers to you as ăăăŞčĽăĺ Konna wakai ko. Ko can mean kid/girl/boy, Iâd interpret this as saying you're a kid compared to these two adults, who I guess are meant to be in their 30âs or something? But Iâll admit it could go either way. Ko can be used for adults. I think itâs used for PokĂŠmon too on occasion.
He then goes on to call the group of children Omaera, in English he calls them "kiddos".
(This makes me think that he doesn't say Omae in an insulting way, but rather in an overly familiar way. Itâs considered to be an impolite word because (in Japan) you shouldn't speak to strangers as if theyâre your friends. It's not always mean or offensive, in the correct context. So it's sort of like a term of endearment. We know Corbeau has a roundabout way of talking, when he says something that sounds rough and scary, he actually means the most innocent thing ever. When he calls you Omae, or kid, it comes across as an insult, but knowing him he might mean it differently. In English there are also some words that can both be cute and affectionate, or patronizing and rude, depending on the context. Sweetheart and doll and pretty boy/girl, etc. Iâd argue kid can be seen the same way.
Thatâs all subtext though, my own thoughts and opinions, nothing explicitly stated.)
When the two of you go to check out the commotion with Jett, Urbain/Taunie and those safety protestor guys, Corbeau tells Urbain/Taunie to get the President to safety. Maybe worth mentioning he also calls them Omae.
Facing forward and probably taking to himself, he says Omoroi naa âIsnât that funny?â Then he looks at you and says something like âWhy am I helping out the guy that doesn't pay their debts, I wonder?â
And listen, this might be reaching, but to me it reads like a rhetorical question. Like heâs looking at you, and wondering what it is about you that's made him want to help out Urbain/Taunie. I think heâs talking to himself here, not so much looking for a response. He thinks youâre interesting, and for some reason heâs making an effort to help you out. Heâs amused by his own behavior.
Then you say Yasashii kara âBecause youâre niceâ or Ii hito dakara âBecause youâre a good personâ, he says ăăăŞäťäşăăŚăŚĺŞăăăŻăŞăăă! Konna shigoto shitete yasashii wa nai yaro! âThere is nothing nice about this kind of work!â and then, âBut abandoning someone in troubleâThatâs just plain disgraceful for a human being, isnât it?â
Then you fight that guy, Corbeau says âMy Scolipedeâs pretty damn strong, eh.â So heâs definitely showing off to you. Or just bragging for no reason.
He says Lumiose is the city where he was born/raised/grew up in. His Kogane-ben implies heâs from Goldenrod City, or just Johto, and the decoration in his office are very Hisuian, but I think itâs fair to assume heâs lived in Lumiose his whole life. I donât know where tf he picked up his dialect. Maybe he really likes Japanese comedy.
When he calls you in for your next meeting, he says Omae omoroi naa, âYouâre pretty interesting, huh?â And, where in English he says he loves how you can hold your own in battle, in Japanese itâs ăŞăŤăă埡ăăăăŽă ć°ăŤĺ ĽăŁăăďźNaniori tsuyoi yuu no ga kiniita wa! âAbove all, how strong you are is especially appealing to me!â Or something along those lines. Kiniita means to like a lot, to take a liking to, to prefer, to favor, to be pleased with, something that suits your fancy.
When your promotion match is announced, he says Honma omoroi naa. âThat really is funny, huh?â âMy next opponent in the Z-A Royale is you? This must be heaven telling us to battle!â
If you already have a Challengers Ticket, he says Hanashi no hayai yatsu wa suki ya de. Hanashi no hayai is an idiom, literally meaning fast conversation, for doing things quickly and efficiently without wasting your breath or anyoneâs time. Yatsu is a rude/informal word that kinda means guy(s) or person/people or bastard, gender neutral. It's what he called Urbain/Taunie earlier. Suki, you probably know this one, means like or love. Not necessarily romantic, but can be. So all together, âI love guys that get straight to the pointâ or âfast-acting typesâ or âpeople that donât waste my timeâ or âsomeone that simplifies mattersâ.
In English he says âI love it when someoneâs well-prepared.â
Gai/Taunie okagede, omoroi turaaina to aeta wa âThanks to Urban/Taunie, I got to meet an interesting trainer.â
In the English translation, he says âThe best part of battle is facing a trainer whoâs got talent⌠and then sending them home crying!â
In Japanese, ć°ăŤĺ ĽăŁăă¤ăăŤĺăŁăŚćłŁăă! ăăăĺč˛ ăŽééĺłă㧠Kiniita yatsu ni katte nakasu! Kore ga shoubu no daigomi ya de.
This one is a little harder to translate for me. Again he says Kiniita, referencing what he said earlier. Kiniita yatsu could be translated as âMy favorite kind of guyâ, or âMy favorite guyâ, referring specifically to you. Earlier he said he particularly likes how strong you are, and he was bragging about how strong his Scolipede is, so itâs safe to say he likes when people are strong, and youâre one of those people.
âDefeating my preferred type of guy and making âem cry! Thatâs the real thrill of a battle.â
He says, âIf youâre acquainted with that Lysandre, you must be pretty damn strong!â Then he says heâs gonna beat the shit out of you, and heâs looking forward to it, basically.
You say F-san to shiriai kana? âIâm not sure if weâre acquainted?â or Shiriai de wa arimasen âWe are not acquainted.â and either way he says Ko makai ya naa âThatâs trivial, isnât it?â or âThatâs a bit nitpicky, eh.â
čĄăĺ˝ăŚăăŞăăŁă ăŹăăŽăŞăŹăĺăĺ ĽăăŚăăă Iku wa demonakatta gaki no ore wo ukeirete kureta. âWhen I was just a kid with nowhere to go, [Lumiose] accepted me.â Here he says Gaki, so it's in his vocabulary, he just never calls you it. Only when he's talking about himself as a kid.
ă¨ăŤăăăŞăă¨ă¨ăŽăăąă˘ăłĺč˛ ćŹć°ă§ćĽ˝ăăžăăŚăăăă§ďźTonikaku omae to no PokĂŠmon shoubu honki de tanoshi masete morau de! âIn any case, a PokĂŠmon battle against you is going to be real fun!â Here he doesnât say Omoroi, but Tanoshi.
He calls Scolipede Omae too.
After the battle, he says, ăŞăŹăŻăŞăă¨ăŽăă¨čŞăăă Ore wa omae no koto mitomitaru âI respect youâ or âI recognize youâ or âI acknowledge youâ.
When he asks if you want to join the Rust Syndicate, if you say Ii desu ne âThatâd be niceâ heâll say Akan akan, Kansai-ben for âNo, no, you really shouldnât.â âItâs a beautiful thought, but youâre a member of Team MZ, arenât you?â
ă§ăăŞăă¨ăŽăă¨ăăăăă¸ăă§. ăăăŤZăžă§čż˝ăăăăăăă Demo omae no koto akiramehen de. Hotel Z made oikakeru sakai âBut Iâm not letting you off the hook. Iâll chase you all the way to Hotel Z.â
(This is starting to get too long now. Here's the second half of the game, since you seemed to enjoy this post. âWow Legends Z-A is so much fun, Iâm going to play it loads today!â said the liar, lying, instead writing 4k words of media analysis. I don't even shirimasu nihongo.)
š Onii-chan, Seigi no mikata, and Kansai-ben anon who is fluent in Japanese and has lived and worked in Japan.
Sources: DeepL, a dictionary, and this video vv
