73103
Context: a boxer named Yanagi is fighting against an opponent named Hyodo.
Although Hyodo is really young, he is considered a very talented boxer and is
often called genius (天才). Yanagi is thinking about how to face such a boxer.

> わかっている ボクシングには数と質を超越する力【もの】を持つボクサーがいるコトを
>
> 理論から逸脱した天才に立ち向かうには…… 闘志以外は 無い
>
> わかっている… それでも届かないコトも
>
> だが… **わからない** のは 現実【それ】を認められない自分自身だ

My translation attempt:

> I know that in boxing there are boxers that have an ability that trascends
> quantity and quality.
>
> To face a genius that escapes theory... the only way is using one's fighting
> spirit.
>
> But I also know... that this doesn't work.
>
> However... what I don't **know**... is that the one who can't accept reality
> is me.

The last sentence seems a little weird to me. Does it sound weird only once it
is translated to English or in Japanese too? Is my translation correct?

I know that わかる is an intransitive verb and doesn't actually mean "to know"
but "to be clear/known", but that's not the problem here. The fact is that If
I take out わからないのは, the sentence makes sense. It seems redundant to me. How
would you translate or interpret it?

Here you can see the manga pages: [1](https://i.imgur.com/neFKklk.jpg),
[2](https://i.imgur.com/k48wbV3.jpg), [3](https://i.imgur.com/crTL386.jpg),
[4](https://i.imgur.com/NUH71I6.jpg), [5](https://i.imgur.com/TquOmth.jpg),
[6](https://i.stack.imgur.com/zUd6E.jpg). Thank you for your help!
CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-11-16T01:21:09.040
73101
2019-11-17T08:56:18.840
17797
question
translation meaning nuances verbs
How to translate わからない in the following sentence
I would translate as

> However... what I can't understand... is the reason why I can't accept this
> reality.

From what I interpreted, he knows the facts that only the fighting spirit can
drive him to face the genius. And the fighting spirit only doesn't give him
victory.

He thinks he knows these facts well. So, in theory, he should accept his loss.
But he still gets up. He can't understand why he can't accept that he should
just lose. He gets up because of some unknown powers inside his mind.

If you take out わからないのは, the sentence will be

> だが… 現実【それ】を認められない自分自身だ

It would mean that he doesn't accept the reality "by his intention". It would
have a slightly different meaning in this situation.
CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-11-16T02:32:27.390
73102
2019-11-16T02:32:27.390
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answer
> だが… わからないのは 現実{それ}を認{みと}められない自分自身{じぶんじしん}だ

Your TL of that is:

> "However... what I don't know... is that the one who can't accept reality is
> me."

I cannot tell if you are getting the grammar of the original correctly. The
original Japanese is completely grammatical and natural-sounding. Nothing
about it is weird or redundant.

To me, what is weird is your TL. The speaker **_knows_** exactly who it is
that is unable to accept reality. **_It is the speaker himself._**

The structure of the sentence is:

"But it is 自分自身 (, who is unable to 現実を認める,) that I cannot quite
understand/comprehend/ ** _come to terms with_**."

「現実を認められない」 is a relative clause that modifies 「自分自身」. In other words, the
core structure of the sentence is:

> 「わからないのは自分自身だ。」 (What I don't comprehend is myself.)

Then, you want to qualify 「自分自身」 with 「現実を認められない」. Hope this makes sense to
you.

I have practically translated the whole sentence, haven't I?
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2019-11-16T04:51:18.960
73103
2019-11-17T08:56:18.840
2019-11-17T08:56:18.840
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73101
answer
I agree with l'électeur's answer. I think what's giving you trouble is the
fact that Japanese is a (relatively) "order-free" language; since the particle
words do a good job of indicating what's doing what to whom, the actual
content of a sentence can be shuffled around like crazy and still make sense
to a native speaker. That particular sentence is ordered the way it is because
the previous sentences put わかっている first; it's basically just a rhetorical
device. On top of that, English doesn't really do adjectival phrases, so that
現実を認められない feels odd on principle. If you order the sentence as 現実を認められない自分自身 が
わからない, it makes sense. As far as translations go, I'm with Chuy: You might be
able to get away with "However...what I don't understand is...why I can't
accept reality." There's no "why" (or "reason") in the original, but it's
solidly implied by the fact that that adjectival phrase is even there, so I
think it would be fair. (And clearer.)
CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-11-16T10:02:12.423
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2019-11-16T10:02:12.423
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answer