# Martial Arts: Stop!



## hardball

Bowing in, Hello:

I study a Japanese Martial Art and I am becoming quite advanced. I have a Japanese reference book but it is limited. I sometimes get lost when the instructor talks in Japanese reference. I would like to get good in Japanese. Currently most of my Japanese vocabulary relates to Judo terminology.

I am new to the Japansese forum but not the website. I mostly post and read in the spanish forum but will be coming here more often.

I have two questions:

1) How do you say stop, it hurts.
2.) What does Matte me. {pronounced Ma tay)

Domo Arigato Gozaimasu


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## Cereth

there are various forms, but I know these:
  Yamete kudasai, itai desu. - imperative (normal)
Yamero!, itai!.  -this is a very strong form, only used by men-. 

Matte - means "wait"
Chotto matte/ Chotto matte kudasai: Please Wait a moment / Wait a moment.


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## Flaminius

hardball said:


> 2.) What does Matte me. {pronounced Ma tay)


It seems to me that you are referring to                          a word of command that is pronounced as;
[ma'tej].

This is a way 待て (mate), the imperative of 待つ (matsu), is emphasised.  In ordinary parlance, the most general emphasised form is 待てえ! (matē).  For reasons I am not familiar with, _budo _(Japanese marshall arts) people prefer 待てい! to 待てえ! or 待て!


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## etudian

In Judo, matte (or mate) means "stop." See, for example:

http://web.mit.edu/judo/terminology.htm (English)

http://www.sportsclick.jp/judo/facility/index.html (Japanese)

For "stop, it hurts," you can say

Itai, itai, yamete kudasai (polite), or yamete (OK), or yamero (rude). [It hurts, it hurts, (please) stop.]

While playing Judo, it may be more natural to say

Itai, itai, hanashite kudasai (polite), or hanashite (OK), or hanase (rude). [It hurts, it hurts, (please) let go of me.]

I think you should avoid the rude forms (unless you're really angry) because your opponent could get angry.

Hope this helps.


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## hardball

Thanks, I've been saying Matte for years but didn't see it in my Japanese dictionary.  Stop is how I have been using it.


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## etudian

I think "matte" (or "mate") is what a referee says to stop the match temporarily. It actually means "wait." But if you say it while playing Judo, your opponent or partner will most likely understand it as "stop." (Even in English, "wait" sometimes means "stop," I think.) But you should be aware that it is an opinion of someone who is not familiar with Judo terminology.


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## Seiryuu

Would using "yame" by itself be ok? Because my martial arts teacher says "hajime" and "yame".


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## etudian

"Hajime" and "yame" are what a referee says to start a match and temporarily stop it in some martial arts, I think. I'm not sure if "yame" is used that way in Judo. "Yame" means "stop," but it's a somewhat special command. If you want to ask your opponent to stop, "yamete" or "yametekudasai" is better, I think. "Yame" sounds a bit strange there, but it could work.

By the way, "hajime" and "yame" are not specific to martial arts.   They are often used to declare the beginning of something, such as a game and an exam, and the end of it.


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## hardball

etudian said:


> "Hajime" and "yame" are what a referee says to start a match and temporarily stop it in some martial arts, I think. I'm not sure if "yame" is used that way in Judo. "Yame" means "stop," but it's a somewhat special command. If you want to ask your opponent to stop, "yamete" or "yametekudasai" is better, I think. "Yame" sounds a bit strange there, but it could work.
> 
> By the way, "hajime" and "yame" are not specific to martial arts. They are often used to declare the beginning of something, such as a game and an exam, and the end of it.


Hajime and yame are Japanese terms also.  Hajime I believe means to begin or start fighting, and yame means stop.  My .02 worth.


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## tsoapm

Flaminius said:


> For reasons I am not familiar with, _budo _(Japanese marshall arts) people prefer 待てい! to 待てえ! or 待て!


It seems to be this last version in the Kodokan New Japanese-English Dictionary of Judo.


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## Flaminius

I am sure, *tsoapm*, that 待て is the normative spelling of the imperative in any dictionary.  My observation is a phonetic one.


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