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I would like to ask a question about the title of the manga **かぐや様は告らせたい**.

The seemingly accepted translation of that title is, "Kaguya-sama Wants to be
Confessed To" (See [MyAnimeList](https://myanimelist.net/manga/90125/Kaguya-
sama_wa_Kokurasetai__Tensai-tachi_no_Renai_Zunousen) and
[Wiki](http://kaguyasama-wa-kokurasetai.wikia.com/wiki/Kaguya-
sama_wa_Kokurasetai_Wikia)). This very much confuses me as it seems quite
clear that 告らせたい is the causative (使役形) of 告る and that a correct translation
should be:

Kaguya-sama Wants to Make Me/Someone Confess.

**Could someone please verify my understanding or correct me if I am wrong?**

I am also curious (though fairly confident that it is not so) if this title
could be interpreted in reverse and mean:

"I Want to Make Kaguya-sama Confess."
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2017-12-19T19:16:35.500
55268
2017-12-20T01:26:20.860
3296
question
grammar translation causation
Is 告らせたい passive?
Your understanding is correct. It is causative.

"かぐや様は告らせたい" is not intended to mean "I Want to Make Kaguya-sama Confess",
which can be translated into "かぐや様に告らせたい".
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2017-12-19T22:31:34.227
55273
2017-12-19T22:31:34.227
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55268
answer
> 「かぐや様{さま}は告{こく}らせたい」

So, someone translated this to:

> "Kaguya-sama Wants to be Confessed To"

**_Is that a literal translation?_** No, of course not, because while the
original is in the causative format the TL is in the passive voice. The
literal translation would be exactly as you said: "Kaguya-sama Wants to Make
Me/Someone Confess".

**_Is that a bad translation, then?_** IMHO, no, not at all. Why not?

That is because both the original and the TL are saying the same kind of thing
in the end. Both are saying that かぐや様 likes being (passively) confessed to by
others rather than (actively) confessing to them.

A non-literal translation is not always an incorrect translation.

> I am also curious (though fairly confident that it is not so) if this title
> could be interpreted in reverse and mean
>
> "I Want to Make Kaguya-sama Confess."

No, it could not. The Japanese for that would be:

> 「かぐや様 **に** 告らせたい」 It is 「に」 and not 「は」.

As Socrates once said, studying Japanese means studying its particles.
CC BY-SA 3.0
2017-12-20T01:26:20.860
55279
2017-12-20T01:26:20.860
55268
answer