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The staff ate it later

(en.wikipedia.org)
477 points gyomu | 1 comments | | HN request time: 0s | source
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juancn ◴[] No.45105839[source]
It's related to the concept of Mottainai (もったいない, 勿体無い) in Japanese culture. Where any waste is considered bad, specially related to food.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mottainai

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lmm ◴[] No.45111484[source]
This is similar to the Japanese concept of Shitsurei (失礼, しつれい). It is of course impossible to comprehend this unique idea that no other world culture has ever conceived of. What a remarkable society!
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eloisant ◴[] No.45112800[source]
Yes, in the same way I chuckle when I hear people (often practicing martial arts) talking about how "a Sensei" would be a word you can't translate, to talk about some kind of magical mentor...

Dude, it just means "teacher" or "professor".

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kragen ◴[] No.45114206[source]
That's exactly why you can't translate it: it has a word that is an exact denotational equivalent but with totally different connotations, because English and US culture lack the reverence for professors and other teachers that is implicit in Japan. Like how "tofu" means "soybean curd staple food" in Japan and "soybean curd effeminate, effete abomination" to rednecks.
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shiomiru ◴[] No.45116998[source]
But that's also completely unremarkable, given that word for word translation in any two languages is expected to be a lossy conversion.
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1. kragen ◴[] No.45117089[source]
Yes, but it's also a common reason for people to use loanwords like sensei, roshi, Schadenfreude, kombu, uni, and okay: they are trying to escape from the connotational trap of their local culture.