# That's the million dollar question



## ty604

Is there anything other than a literal translation available for this?

Thanks


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## Polak2008

こりゃ百万㌦の問いだよ！


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## holynightfever

Polak2008 said:


> こりゃ百万*㌦*の問いだよ！



This is a bit off-topic, but what is this character?:

㌦

Thanks,

Neil.


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## Polak2008

meansing dollar...
my Japanese input mode has it...
haha
and gramms too..


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## Aoyama

㌦ is not one character but two katakana : do and ru, hence doru = dollar
こりゃ is dialectal for kore wa (ha) -sorry, no Japanese script here-.
I guess there could be another option to render this, but that's one solution.


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## holynightfever

Thank you Polak and Aoyama!


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## ty604

Aoyama said:


> ㌦ is not one character but two katakana : do and ru, hence doru = dollar
> こりゃ is dialectal for kore wa (ha) -sorry, no Japanese script here-.
> I guess there could be another option to render this, but that's one solution.


Is こりや　kansai ben? I'm in kansai and never heard it. Maybe it just buzzed passed my ears.

Also shouldn't it be こりゃ百万㌦の問いだよ！ -> だね。without a question mark because it's an interrogative statement.


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## Polak2008

I have book for Japanese and they included something with こりゃ, I don't know from where...
maybe normal slang.


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## Aoyama

> こりゃ


 is a bit "outdated" (old) slang. No one would really use it, unless humoristically. The actor in the movie series "Otoka wa tsurai" (if I remember well) uses it. 


> Also shouldn't it be こりゃ百万㌦の問いだよ！ -> だね


Could be, as well as also : -dana !
Could also be : Are/kore/sore* wa hyakuman doru no mondai/quizz da(ro) na !
*depending on the question, how it is related to what is in question.


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## Flaminius

*ty604*, I presume that you are not looking for a literal translation even though all the answers so far value the question in terms of the US currency.

Let us, therefore, get back to the track by examining the context and the background for your enquiry.  What is the idiomatic meaning of this phrase?  What kind of question do you like to answer with the phrase?  How does the question turn up in your conversation?  What is the style of the conversation—in terms of formal, casual, semi-formal and so on?

Please help us help you.


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## ty604

Well as an English speaker you know that it is never literal really (unless you're in a game show LOL).

Just a response to someone asking what could be the most important question, of the moment, day etc.

eg. [Bangkok] Is that a girl or boy? That's the million dollar question isn't it.


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## Aoyama

> you are not looking for a literal translation even though all the answers so far value the question in terms of the US currency.


That is also another way to look at it. 
That's the million dollar question = that's a very important/crucial question
Korewa judaina mon/toi desu /da (na) maybe ...


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## ty604

well when we use 'that's the million dollar question' it's not just an important question but THE most pertinent question. The question that begs for an answer. The question that represents the highest curiosity.


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## Aoyama

> Is that a girl or boy? That's the million dollar question isn't it


That one could end up being :
Yatsu wa otoko ka onna ka ? Hakkiri kubetsu shinai/miwakenai to komaru/yabai ...
But I wouldn't but a million buck on it (both the question and the answer).


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## Flaminius

I am more a Japanese speaker than an English speaker and I thought this means a very difficult question to find the answer for.  Perhaps I am not wrong, so it was very good that you specified what _you_ mean in this thread.



> eg. [Bangkok] (...)


This should help address the style issues.  If this is the context, then it goes better  with a more light-hearted style than ones for serious questions such as; "Who will take the leadership of the team after Mr. ABC retires?"


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## Flaminius

To answer your question, *ty604*, I confess that I don't remember any good set phrase right now but I would say, 究極の質問だね in jest. Perhaps I would soften the impact of the phrase because I am not evaluationg a Nobel-laureate's life-long theme in the example below:
好きになったかわいい子が男か女かなんて、ある意味究極の質問だね。


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