# とんでもとんきち



## adexx

Hey guys, there's a song which goes "とんでもとんきち 子豚のとんきち ほいほい". Could you guys break it down and explain to me the meaning ? Thanks.


----------



## Aoyama

That one is a bit tricky.
I'll try ...
This "verse" is full of puns :
first of all, "ton" means "buta" (pig)
"ton de mo" is a pun with "tobu" (to fly)
it means also "ton de mo nai" (incredible, unheard of)
"ton kichi" = someone's name
子豚 = kobuta (here, "ton" cannot be used) = little pig, piglet, piggy
"here is tonkichi [who is] flying, tonkichi the little pig, hoi,hoi"
for a try ...
Maybe someone else will come with a better idea ...


----------



## adexx

Oh, so that's what it is, thanks. But what "hoihoi" means? In my dictionary, it means "willingly , easily, readily" Is this the case?


----------



## Aoyama

Here, "hoi hoi" is just an onomatopeia (or echoic word).


----------



## Flaminius

Aoyama said:


> "ton de mo" is a pun with "tobu" (to fly)
> it means also "ton de mo nai" (incredible, unheard of)


I find the latter sense more natural here.  とんでも alone is already "incredible," "meshugge," or "impossible" in casual speech.


----------



## Aoyama

"Meshugge" is good, let's vote for that entry in a new edition of the Japanese-English dictionary, for とんでも ...
Now, what is the difference between とんでも and とんでもない ?
And also とんでもな...


----------



## kaito

After reading http://gogen-allguide.com/to/tondemonai.html I would equate it to the English "No (f...ing) way".


----------



## Flaminius

とんでもない is the mother of all the expressions you listed, *Ao*.  とんでも is a common (I mean both popular and vulgar) abbreviation used in place of the adnominal form.  E.g., トンデモ本 is a book about crackpot theories such as conspiracy by Illuminati for world domination by soda fountains.

とんでもな is an exclamatory form on a par with こわー, さむー (they are in fact spelt variously.  こわっ and さむっ are possible too) from adjectival stems.


----------



## Aoyama

Arigato mucho Flam !


----------

