I read somewhere that the word “Dattabayo” that he uses constantly is a nonsense word that doesn’t mean anything. Is this true? The sub I’m watching now translates the word as “Got It”.
From what I remember, yes. Or at least, it’s not a word with an English translation, so they picked something that would be used similarly.
First off, it’s だってばよ - Dattebayo!
Nonsense is much too strong, but it’s certainly strange Japanese that a normal person would never say. ‘Datte’ by itself is a way of replying to somebody in a contrarian fashion. It sounds a bit childish to me as well. “Go to school.” “Datte, it’s a holiday today (so I can’t go).”
As for bayo~, well, -ba is how verbs end in an open hypothetical. Iku - to go, Ikeba - if he/she/it goes. “Yo” is an emphatic sentence final. So ‘dattebayo’ can be understood as “if it’s as I say!, (listen to what I’m saying.)”
It reminds me of a scene near the very beginning of the series where Zabuza avenges Haku Zabuza says Haku was only a tool. “Dattebayo…” says Naruto, where he then begins to explain how Zabuza was mistaken. It’s a touching scene.
All in all, apart from being incredibly corny and awkward, ‘Believe it!’ is not too far off the mark. Maybe it sounds corny in Japanese too. I wouldn’t know. Hopefully somebody with a more expert knowledge of Japanese and Naruto will be by shortly.
Yeah, I’ve noticed that anime characters tend to have a catchphrase that is easily recognizable and endears them to fans. Naruto’s catchphrase is “Dattebayo,” and doesn’t really mean anything, though from what little Japanese I know, it could be roughly translated as “I guarantee it” or “Got it.” The Viz English dub translates it as “Believe it!” and that seems to be the preferred translation, at least among people who watch Naruto dubbed. It even seems to have made its way back to Japan - I saw someone’s LiveJournal post of her visit to Universal Studios in Japan to see the Naruto live-action show, and among the photos was one of the poster for the show, which contained the words, “it’s here, believe it!” in English.
No da! No da! Na no da! No da! No da! Na no da!
I don’t know what was worse, the sub or the dub. No, wait, since I don’t know Japanese it just kind of flowed with all the voices. In the dub I was like, STFU already.
‘no da,’ and ‘na no da’ are both perfectly normal Japanese. If they are used to excess, it sounds like a very strange catchphrase. It would be the equivalent of an American character saying “It is! It is! That it is!” ad nauseam.
Sorry, reference to Fushigi Yuugi. It was a character’s catchphrase and damn near every sentence he ever spoke ended in ‘no da’. This was made more annoying in the dub where it was translated to ‘you know’.
desu desu desu desu desu desu desu desu desu desu
As long as we’re turning this thread into a catchphrase-fest, another Naruto character, Deidara, tends to end his sentences with the word “un.” I’ve seen it translated as “yeah” or “eh.” Like, “Art is an explosion, yeah.”
I noticed they do this all the time to “moe” characters. For example, Miyuki in Lucky Star (the pink-haired girl with glasses) has a habit of saying “Uguu…” for no particular reason. At least, I think it was Miyuki. I’d put on my Lucky Star DVD to check, but my 4-month-old nephew is asleep right now and I don’t want to wake him up.
And so, (she said, dragging the thread back on topic), is it just me, or does Naruto not say “dattebayo” as often on Naruto Shippuden? I haven’t seen it as much as in the first series.
(manga spoiler)
In recent chapters of the manga, Killerbee, the carrier of the 8-tailed demon, is writing a rap song and almost ends a line with “dattebayo,” but crosses it out because it sounds silly. Later, he meets Naruto and after a while, agrees to train him, but not without some fist bumping and Naruto’s pathetic attempts at rapping. And of course, more “dattebayo” than usual.
Not usually a big fan of catchphrases in anime, but I loved Kenshin’s ororo~