# 数学上等



## Δημήτρης

The last kanji on this picture
http://i50.tinypic.com/5duk2a.png
It looks like 等 but the upper part is not the same.


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## Flaminius

It is intended to be 等.  X 上等 is "damn X!" in slang.  The writer seems to have a few more subjects than mathematics that he should condemn himself for.


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## kuuzoku

Hi, in response to Flaminus,

"Suugaku joutou" means "Damn math" right?

But joutou used by itself as a response to a situation, is "perfect, splendid" right?

I just want to clarify. Thanks.


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## mikun

Hi,
Though all is caos, I felt and made a hypothetical analysis because there are exclamation mark after the *数学上等*.  Following is my understanding.
数学 is mahtematics,  上 means 'concerning' or 'from the point of' not 'upper', 等 means 'others', 'etcetra'.
数学上等 means 'From the point of mathematics or some other theory'  and continue unusual event such as 'Achilles cannot come before turtle'.


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## Wishfull

Hi, in response to kuuzoku, I say;
Math! Perfect! (Sarcastic expression)

 "Sarcasm" often allows us to make sense to an expression, which doesn't seem to make sense.

I think the writer was not a mathematics teacher.
I think 99% sure that the writer's gender was male.
He was probably a problem boy, who couldn't even write with the true spelling of "等”.
I wonder, and feel sorry for the education level of him, which Flaminius had already mentioned in a more decent manner.


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## Δημήτρης

Thanks everyone.
So it's indeed 等 and the writer got mixed the upper radical. No wonder I couldn't find the word in the dictionary. Reminds me of me writing 新 with 口 instead of 木 at the lower left part 



> X 上等 is "damn X!" in slang.


That's an interesting expression. Is it spoken too, or it just appears in graffiti and such? Because I see no grammatical particles in it and it looks weird.



> I think the writer was not a mathematics teacher.


Certainly. (Although most of the Math and Physics teachers I know, have poor spelling skills)



> I think 99% sure that the writer's gender was male.


Because of the expression or the handwriting style? (Just curiosity...)



> I wonder, and feel sorry for the education level of him, which Flaminius had already mentioned in a more decent manner.


I can see why writing the wrong radical or a completely different kanji is a huge mistake. But what could be considered a "minor spelling mistake" in Japanese? こんにちわ instead of こんにちは? Since Kana are purely phonetic if we exclude e へ o を and wa は.


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## Wishfull

Δημήτρης said:


> Because of the expression or the handwriting style? (Just curiosity...)
> 
> It is from praxiological consideration.  Such as profiling.
> (Not so big thing, every Japanese knows that it is a boy, I believe.)
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> I can see why writing the wrong radical or a completely different kanji is a huge mistake. But what could be considered a "minor spelling mistake" in Japanese? こんにちわ instead of こんにちは? Since Kana are purely phonetic if we exclude e へ o を and wa は.



It depends on the situation.
If an old person wrote the wrong letter, in his/her diary, it would be a minor spelling mistake.

But here,
if a junior high school boy or high school boy is scolded by a math teacher because he can't answer the correct answer, and then after the math class is over, he writes to express his angry emotion at the blackboard,,and with a miss-spelling letter, which usual students would never mistake,,,,,it would become a double shame of him.  That is the problem. The matter became even worse. I feel very sorry for him.


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BTW
こんにちわ　is minor mistake, I believe.
But
私わ、日本語が話せます　seems a big mistake to me.


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## Taro Ultra

I feel the expression 数学上等!! is so violent, not peaceful.
Peaceful people NEVER used it. And I recommend everyone not to use 何何上等.

Young boys, aged ten to twenty, or outsiders, are likely to use such kind of expression, when they do fight against someone or something.
So maybe, the writer doesn't like mathematics, he want to fight agains math.

But,  the basic meaning of 上等 is 'superior or splendid', as kuuzoku-san said. 
So, 数学上等!! has somewhat respect feeling. The writer recognizes the mathematics as an object which has enough power and enough value to fight, to overcome.

In original meaning, 上等 is very often used by everypeople.
このドレスの生地は上等ですね (_The material of this dress is superior._)


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## saharuna

I think it should be split into* 数学上*(suugakujyoo)and *等*(hitoshii)mathematically equal.
but still the writer had made mistake to write on the kanji 等,*竹*かんむり is decent, not *草*かんむり,I suppose.

Ps:Sorry for my poor writings.


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## Wishfull

saharuna said:


> I think it should be split into* 数学上*(suugakujyoo)and *等*(hitoshii)mathematically equal.
> but still the writer had made mistake to write on the kanji 等,*竹*かんむり is decent, not *草*かんむり,I suppose.
> 
> Ps:Sorry for my poor writings.



It's interesting. Maybe your interpretation is correct, because the splitting position of the underline is between 上　and 等.

According to your interpretation, the writer was a mathematics teacher.
I wonder why he wrote "mathematically equal".

Everybody must have known it was a math lesson class.
So usually the word "mathematically" is not necessary.
He might just write "equal".
Yet, he wrote "mathematically" equal.

There might be something, which seemed not equal from the view point of students' common sense, yet which should be equal from the view point of math.
What was that?
I wonder what is his lesson's context?


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## Ghabi

saharuna said:


> I think it should be split into* 数学上*(suugakujyoo)and *等*(hitoshii)mathematically equal.
> but still the writer had made mistake to write on the kanji 等,*竹*かんむり is decent, not *草*かんむり,I suppose.


That's also the first meaning that came to my mind when I saw this thread, so it's great to see you bring up this interpretation (Welcome to the Forum, too!).

When I first saw the thread, I imagined that a teacher is teaching colloquial English, and he tells his students that "I don't need no doctor" is mathematically/logically equal to "I need doctor" (double negative=positive), but in fact means "I don't need a doctor" in colloquial English ... Something like this, you know, there can be many other possible contexts.


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## saharuna

Taro Ultra said:


> I feel the expression 数学上等!! is so violent, not peaceful.
> Peaceful people NEVER used it. And I recommend everyone not to use 何何上等.
> 
> Young boys, aged ten to twenty, or outsiders, are likely to use such kind of expression, when they do fight against someone or something.
> So maybe, the writer doesn't like mathematics, he want to fight agains math.
> 
> To Everyone,
> I feel really ashamed for my misunderstanding about *数学上等* in my last posting. I've just realised that it is today's language for young people in Japan.
> So it means such as *数学なんか簡単! *or* やってやろうぜ　数学!*
> 
> so I agree 100% with what Taro Ultra said.


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## Flaminius

> So it means such as *数学なんか簡単! *or* やってやろうぜ　数学!*


*do-not-touch*, I think interpreting 数学上等 as such a philomath exclamation would be too kind, but you may be right.  In fact, 上等 used in colloquial settings ranges from "XYZ is superb," "XYZ rulz (malformation intended)" to "the hell with XYZ," "You have nerves to do XYZ" etc.

The exact meaning of the slangy 上等 depends the context.  An easy case, for example, is 喧嘩上等, to which the last sense clearly applies ("Are you picking a quarrel with me?  Fine!").  I thought 数学上等 is a provocative expression on par with this usage.

Let me add my hearty welcome to you!
Flam


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