# なつかしい



## dorayakii

Thank you very much, I just didn't think of the word なつかしい, but now it seems so obvious to me haha... Thanks a lot for your help

As for the discussion of whether it's a literal translation, it's very rare to have any straight translation between English and Japanese. It is even difficult to find an adjectival form in English which matches the meaning of the word なつかしい . "Making one long for the old days", "reminiscent", "missing"... they all seem somewhat inadequate to portray the full meaning of なつかしい.


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## wathavy

Hi.
It took me some time till I got sort out what makes me tell 'miss' and 'natukashii' is not straight translation.

'Missing' stands more like lack of that object. While 'natsukashii' doesn't.
It stands 'feel good about' or 'have nostalgic feeling of' or 'reminds one good memories of'.
Of course indirectly it is getting closer to 'missing' that's why EddieCai must have said those are identical.
But to me, they are not exactly the same meaning.
'missing' sounds negatively, while 'natukashii' sounds positively, most cases.

But I am skeptical that there is direct word for 'missing' in this context.
Or am I missing something?


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## EddieCai

wathavy said:


> Hi.
> It took me some time till I got sort out what makes me tell 'miss' and 'natukashii' is not straight translation.
> 
> 'Missing' stands more like lack of that object. While 'natsukashii' doesn't.
> It stands 'feel good about' or 'have nostalgic feeling of' or 'reminds one good memories of'.
> Of course indirectly it is getting closer to 'missing' that's why EddieCai must have said those are identical.
> But to me, they are not exactly the same meaning.
> 'missing' sounds negatively, while 'natukashii' sounds positively, most cases.
> 
> But I am skeptical that there is direct word for 'missing' in this context.
> Or am I missing something?


 
Thank you for your clarification. Now I understand the subtle difference between them. Though in English-Chinese and Japanese-Chinese dictionaries both have the same meaning in Chinese '怀念', actually they are not exactly identical.


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## almufadado

This 懐かしさwould read "Missing of something/someone"?


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## Vanda

Quoting: wathavy


> While 'natsukashii' doesn't.It stands 'feel good about' or 'have nostalgic feeling of' or 'reminds one good memories of'.


OH! This is pretty much the meaning of the Portuguese word _saudade_, now definitely incorporated into English.

OED entry - 1989. (Oxford)



> saudade - Longing, melancholy, nostalgia, as a supposed characteristic of the Portuguese or Brazilian temperament.


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## uchi.m

One difference between _natsukashii _and _saudade _is that the former is an adjective while the latter is a noun.


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## ronanpoirier

So, the _natsukashii mizu_ would be the water that someone misses?


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## uchi.m

ronanpoirier said:


> So, the _natsukashii mizu_ would be the water that someone misses?


_Natsukashii mizu oto_, for instance, would be _longing water sound_.


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## ronanpoirier

Translate that into Portuguese, pretty please.


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## uchi.m

ronanpoirier said:


> Translate that into Portuguese, pretty please.


O saudoso barulho de água.


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## lammn

almufadado said:


> This 懐かしさwould read "Missing of something/someone"?


 
As far as I can tell, the English phrase "missing of" in the sense of 懐かしさ (long for something) applies only if the object concerned is a person or a place.

On the other hand, "missing of something" would mean "lacking/lost/omission of something" or "failing to catch something".
For example, if you say "I miss the bus", it means you fail to catch the bus.
It does not mean that the bus is something that is 懐かしい.


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## wathavy

lammn said:


> As far as I can tell, the English phrase "missing of" in the sense of 懐かしさ (long for something) applies only if the object concerned is a person or a place.
> 
> On the other hand, "missing of something" would mean "lacking/lost/omission of something" or "failing to catch something".
> For example, if you say "I miss the bus", it means you fail to catch the bus.
> It does not mean that the bus is something that is 懐かしい.


Exactly, Lammn.
That's why it is not a straight translation.
But it is one way of interpret it, I think.


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## horangi

Actually, I think wathavy got it right a while ago: It's really more "nostalgia" rather than "missing".  It's doesn't have the negative implications of "melancholy" or even "longing". It's just when something reminds you of something (generally pleasant or at least neutral) from the past that you haven't thought about in a while.


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## wathavy

horangi said:


> Actually, I think wathavy got it right a while ago: It's really more "nostalgia" rather than "missing".  It's doesn't have the negative implications of "melancholy" or even "longing". It's just when something reminds you of something (generally pleasant or at least neutral) from the past that you haven't thought about in a while.


You said what is in my brain!
Thank you. I feel like I get rid out of the dizziness of the faint difference.
Great explanation!


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