> 寿季「初めて出会った時のこと、覚えてます？」
>
> エレナ「ええ。覚えているわ」
>
> エレナ「寿季が私にぶつかって、読んでいた本を落としてしまったのよね」
>
> 寿季「いや、ぶつかったのは別の生徒で、俺は通りがかっただけです」
>
> エレナ「……間違いは誰にでもあるわ」
>
> 寿季「 **今回は惜しいのでセーフということにしておきます** 」

I would translate the bold part sentence literally as "Since this time it is
regrettable that your answer is wrong, I would take it as a safe". But I was
told by a native speaker that this sentence actually means "Your answer is
wrong, but I don't care."

Could you please explain why the sentence means that? I can’t tell it from its
literal meaning. I guess it’s because I don’t understand the word セーフ.

And if the sentence implies "but", why is ので used? Shouldn’t it be のに?
CC BY-SA 4.0
2022-01-13T17:20:53.680
92953
2022-01-14T11:23:01.757
36662
question
grammar translation words
Understanding 今回は惜しいのでセーフということにしておきます
This セーフ is an antonym for アウト, and I believe they are from _safe_ and _out_
as baseball terms. セーフ means "close/questionable but barely
acceptable/legal/successful", whereas アウト means "close/questionable but
wrong/unacceptable/illegal". They are typically used in the context of the
application of rules/laws.

惜しい is not "regrettable" but "close (but wrong)" here. This is typically used
in the context of quiz.

So 今回は惜しいのでセーフということにしておく means "It's wrong but close enough, so this time, I
will {ignore this / overlook it / consider it not a mistake}".
CC BY-SA 4.0
2022-01-13T23:21:23.900
92957
2022-01-14T11:23:01.757
2022-01-14T11:23:01.757
5010
5010
92953
answer
This question resembles recursion, because your interpretation is 惜しい.

> I would translate the bold part sentence literally as "Since this time it is
> regrettable that your answer is wrong, I would take it as a safe".

Yes, your word-to-word literal translation per se, is not wrong. I'll
elaborate on the "regrettable" and "safe" later.

> I can’t tell it from its literal meaning. I guess it’s because I don’t
> understand the word セーフ.

I disagree. I think the primary reason is, because you don't understand the
nuance of 惜しい.

> And if the sentence implies "but", why is ので used? Shouldn’t it be のに?

Not necessarily:

寿季's mindset: You're wrong, but it was almost correct. **ので (Therefore)** I
will give you a free pass this time.

Your mindset: You were almost correct, but you're wrong. **のに (But)** I will
give you a free pass this time.

_のに_ is not the best choice here, but I tried to stick to your choice of
words.

> I guess it’s because I don’t understand the word セーフ.

Let's use baseball as an example here. If the batter makes it to the base
before getting tagged, the batter is **safe**. If too late, **out**.

If you're from a cricket region, replace safe with **in** and out remains out.
Again the batsman must make it across the line before the ball hits the
wickets.

The umpire (寿季) is saying, "well, you were technically out, but it was close
enough, **therefore** I will consider this safe/in".

Now let's dig into 惜しい. Practically, we use the word to express "that was
close". If someone answers almost correctly, you can just say "惜しい" and
they'll understand that the answer was not too far off.
CC BY-SA 4.0
2022-01-13T23:24:10.487
92958
2022-01-13T23:24:10.487
48366
92953
answer
「今回は惜しい」 means "This time you are so close (to the right answer)". 「惜しい」 has
several different meanings, and in the sentence it means "so close", not
"regrettable". For example:「負けたけど、惜しかった。(=We lost, but we were so close (to
winning)).」

「セーフ」 is a Japanese-English word from "Safe" in baseball. It has a broad
meaning depending on the context, such as "Safe/good/OK/right/appropriate".
「アウト」 is the opposite word of 「セーフ」. It means "Out/bad/NG/wrong/inappropriate"
or other similar words.

If I say「今回は惜しいのでセーフということにしておきます。」 in English, I will say "Since this time
your answer is so close, I would treat it as the right one."
CC BY-SA 4.0
2022-01-13T23:39:16.973
92959
2022-01-13T23:39:16.973
50227
92953
answer