100034
Part 1 [Part 2](https://japanese.stackexchange.com/questions/100025/middle-
of-%e3%81%82%e3%81%aa%e3%81%9f%e3%81%8c%e3%81%84%e3%82%8b%e3%81%8b%e3%82%89-singulars-
or-plurals) [Part 3](https://japanese.stackexchange.com/questions/100026/help-
understanding-the-third-section-
of-%e3%81%82%e3%81%aa%e3%81%9f%e3%81%8c%e3%81%84%e3%82%8b%e3%81%8b%e3%82%89)
[Part
4](https://japanese.stackexchange.com/questions/100027/%e3%81%82%e3%81%aa%e3%81%9f%e3%81%8c%e3%81%84%e3%82%8b%e3%81%8b%e3%82%89-will-
to-kneel-or-kneeling-stone-and-other-things-about-those-two)

This is part one of what was mostly a cross-post of [this Quora
post](https://mickgorroonyoutubeartisticsongtranslations.quora.com/Today-we-
have-a-Japanese-song-which-I-met-ages-ago-in-late-2011-and-soon-translated-to-
Italian-Chinese-English-and).

The song is [this one](https://lyricstranslate.com/en/detektiv-conan-ost-
anata-ga-iru-kara-lyrics.html), and the lyrics go:

もしもこの世に汚れがなければ  
姿を変えずに愛し合えたのに  
どうして時は衆を分つの  
ねえそばにいて今だけ  
  
あなたがいるから私は強くなる  
誓いの指輪きらきらきれいね  
You will realize 小さな夢も  
You are the one 心満たされる  
  
夜のハイウエイバイクを飛ばして  
はしゃいだ自由を持て余すくらい  
この目で見て触れて分かる  
確かなものがあったね  
  
あの日の二人にすべて戻らせるなら  
ひざまづく意志になるまでに祈るよ  
We can still be free 百まで数えて  
Never wanna stop 心解き放つ  
  
あなたがいるから私は強くなる  
誓いの指輪きらきらきれいね  
You will realize 小さな夢も  
You are the one いつか叶えられる  

In transliteration:

Moshi mo kono yo ni kegare ga nakereba  
Sugata wo kaezu ni aishiaeta noni  
Doushite toki wa shū wo wakatsu no?  
Nee, soba ni ite ima dake  

Anata ga iru kara watashi wa tsuyoku naru  
Chikai no yubiwa kirakira kirei ne  
You will relize chiisa na yume mo  
You are the one kokoro mitasareru  

Yoru no haiuei baiku o tobashite  
Hashaida jiyuu o moteamasu kurai  
Kono me de mite furete wakaru  
Tashika na mono ga atta ne  

Ano hi no futari ni subete modoserunara  
Hizamazuki ishi ni naru made inoru you  
We can still be free hyaku made kazoete  
Never wanna stop kokoro tokihanatsu  

Anata ga iru kara watashi wa tsuyoku naru  
Chikai no yubiwa kirakira kirei ne  
You will realize chiisa na yume mo  
You are the one itsuka kannaerareru  

And this is the translation attempt [I posted to
lyricstranslate](https://lyricstranslate.com/en/anata-ga-iru-kara-youre-
me.html), with one or two edits:

Even if there were no impurity* in this world LT has "contamination"  
So that [we] could've loved each other without having to change our looks…  
Why does time separate [simple] people? "simple" was added here.  
Hey, be by [my] side, at least now  

Since you're there, I get stronger  
The ring of [my] promise is sparkling, beautiful isn't it?  
You will realize even [my] small dreams  
You are the one, [my] heart is satisfied  

On the highway at night riding a motorbike  
Till [I] don't know what to do with the freedom of making merry  
[I'll] see with these eyes and touch, and understand  
That this has been real [lit. That there has been a real thing [between us]]  

If it will let everything return to [how it was] in the days of us two,  
[I] will pray till [I] want to fall on [my] knees  
We can still be free, count till a hundred  
Never wanna stop, I will set my heart loose  

Since you're there, I get stronger  
The ring of [my] promise is sparkling, beautiful isn't it?  
You will realize even [my] small dreams  
You are the one, [my] heart is satisfied  

I also [asked a question on Quora](https://www.quora.com/unanswered/How-good-
or-bad-is-the-translation-of-the-Japanese-
song-%E3%81%82%E3%81%AA%E3%81%9F%E3%81%8C%E3%81%84%E3%82%8B%E3%81%8B%E3%82%89-that-
I-have-posted-to-lyricstranslate-as-MickG-link-in-question-comments) about
this attempt.

My first question about this song is about the first four lines. This is
probably the biggest problem. So, I started from the animelyrics translation
back in the day, which reads «Even if this world is not stained / We could've
loved each other without having to change». What the heck is this consecutio
temporum? Anyway, back then like now, I liked to do (or try to do) word-by-
word analyses, so I looked at the Japanese, and:

  * moshi mo: even if;
  * kono yo ni: in this world;
  * kegare ga: dirt/filth (subject);
  * nakereba: didn’t exist;
  * sugata wo: aspect/look/figure (object);
  * kaezu ni: not changing, by not changing, without changing;
  * aishiaeta: could loved each other;
  * noni: although.

So, with double “although”, I translated this mentally as «Even if there
wasn’t dirt in this world / We could have loved each other without changing».

Looking up “kegare”, I read that it is a religious term, indicating some kind
of contamination, impurity. You can read more about that [on
Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kegare). So I made the translation
attempt, and was still like: what the heck does this kegare, this
impurity/contamination/defilement, have to do with being able to love each
other?

Wait, not so fast. There is another bit to this story before going to the
attempt above: [the Thai translation on
LT](https://lyricstranslate.com/en/anata-ga-iru-kara-anata-ga-iru-kara-
ephraaachanmiieth.html). The first two lines read:

ถ้าเกิดโลกใบนี้มันไม่แปดเปื้อนไปล่ะก็  
ฉันก็จะได้รักเธอในแบบที่เป็นฉันเองแท้ๆ  

I speak zero Thai and don’t know the script at all besides the fact it’s an
abugida and a messy spelling (almost like English), so I put this through
Google:

If this world was not contaminated  
so that I can love you the way I am  

I looked it up, and “noni” can mean “although”, “because”, and “so that”.
That’s because “no” is a nominalizer, so it turns what comes before it into
something that behaves like a noun, and “ni” can mean “in” (hence “because”
and “although”, two sides of the same “being in a condition” medal) but also
“to(wards)”, hence “so that”.

Then I looked for other translations. I’ll mention [this
Chinese](https://lyricstranslate.com/en/anata-ga-iru-kara-zhi-yao-you-ni.html)
one first:

若是这个世上没有污秽 | If there were no dirt/filth in this world  
我们便可坦诚相爱 | We could then love each other frankly and sincerely  

Basically my old reading of these lines. [This English
one](https://lyricstranslate.com/en/anata-ga-iru-kara-because-you-are-
here.html-0) though is far more interesting:

If ever, if I wasn't impure like this  
We would've fallen in love without changing my real self  

Hmm. So we’re putting the kegare in the hands of the singer, huh. Gotta love a
language which basically has possessive dative but then implies said dative,
masking the possession as existence of the possessed thing, right. «Even if in
this world I wasn’t so contaminated». I can get behind that. «We would’ve
fallen in love»… wait, aishiaeta is potential (it’s not aishiatta), so
“could’ve” is the correct choice. And “my real self”? Not really. “Sugata”
means “look” or “figure” or that kind of thing. «figure ● form ● shape ②
appearance ● dress ● guise ③ state ● condition ● picture ● image ④ form (of a
waka) ⑤ dressed in ... ● wearing ... ＊», as per JEDict. «figure, appearance,
form, aspect, shape», as per Wiktionary. Japanese Wiktionary with Google
translation:

  1. 身体の形。からだつき。[body shape. With a body.]
  2. （整った）みなり 、風采 。容姿 。[(well-equipped) Minari, appearance. appearance.]
  3. 人や動物などの存在 。現前 。 すがたを見せる（見せない）／すがたが見えない／すがたを消す[presence of humans and animals. Presence. Show Sugata (do not show) / Can't see Sugata / Erase Sugata]
  4. ものなどの全体 的な様相 、性質。 街のすがた／日本の真のすがた／太古のすがたを残す [The overall aspect or quality of something, etc. The appearance of the city / The true appearance of Japan / Preserving the appearance of ancient times]

Then again, does falling in love really require changing looks for them? How
superficial, right? And again, what does kegare have to do with any of this?

Also, after [Kazuhito Minato's answer](https://www.quora.com/How-good-or-bad-
is-the-translation-of-the-Japanese-song-Anata-ga-iru-kara-that-I-have-posted-
to-lyricstranslate-as-MickG-link-in-question-comments/answer/Kazuhito-Minato)
to my question, I added "simple" to the translation, is that a good way to
render the difference he pointed out between unusual "shū" and usual "hito"?

So I guess the sum-up is still 5 questions, but splitting them apart really
just means crowding the site for no reason since they're all about the same 3
lines of the song.

  1. What is the appropriate way to render のに at the end of l. 2: "so that", "although", "since"…?
  2. What is the best way to render "kegare" in this passage?
  3. What does the existence of kegare have to do with the two of them not being able to love each other "sugata wo kaezu ni"?
  4. How do I render "sugata"? AFAICT it means "form" or "looks" or "appearance", then one translation renders it as "my true self", is that translation plain wrong?
  5. What is the best way to render shū in this passage?
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question
translation song-lyrics song
Help understanding the beginning of the song あなたがいるから
The biggest problem in your interpretation seems to be that you tried to
interpret もしも as "even if". もしも is just "if"! "If" and "Even if" are as
different as night and day! A literal translation of the first sentence would
be:

> もしもこの世に汚れがなければ、姿を変えずに愛し合えたのに。
>
> If there was no corruption in this world, we could have loved each other
> without changing our forms.

* * *

>   1. What is the appropriate way to render のに at the end of l. 2: "so that",
> "although", "since"…?
>

This のに is technically "although", but you can think of this like a sentence-
end particle that adds the sense of regret/discomfort. You can read about it
[here](https://maggiesensei.com/2012/06/20/how-and-when-to-
use-%E3%81%AE%E3%81%ABnoni-request-lesson/).

  * お金があればフランスに行きます。  
If I have money, I'll visit France.

  * お金があればフランスに行くのに。  
Although I would visit France if I had money...!  
→ If I had money, I would visit France (but regrettably, I don't have money).

>   2. What is the best way to render "kegare" in this passage?
>

(Spiritual) impurity, taint or corruption. Note that it's not a term
associated with a particular religion.

>   3. What does the existence of kegare have to do with the two of them not
> being able to love each other "sugata wo kaezu ni"?
>

>   4. How do I render "sugata"?
>

The basic idea here is, since this world actually is full of dirtiness and
since no one is pure like a small child, adults need to deceive, outsmart or
lie to others to obtain someone's love. If everyone was innocent like a small
child, you don't have to worry about dirty tactics about human relationship.

姿 is just "(person's) shape/appearance", and 姿を変える refers to disguising or
shapeshifting. Of course an ordinary person doesn't have to do this to be
loved by someone, and it may seem like an eccentric metaphor, but remember
that this is a theme song of Detective Conan (you know about its story at
least a little, right?).

> I added "simple" to the translation, is that a good way to render the
> difference he pointed out between unusual "shū" and usual "hito"?

I don't think so. 衆 is just a rare word for "people" here, and I don't know
why you thought you needed "simple".
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answer