"かれはパンツをはきます。"
Translation:He wears underwear.
96 Comments
I sure am relieved that a joke reply is at the top spot while the actual serious and informative discussion sits below that.
My Japanese wife says you would rarely hear pantsu for underwear. If someone says pantsu, she thinks long slacks, not underwear. She also said the sentence itself sounds so awkward that she wonders if a non native is creating the lessons.
195
This was my immediate thought too. Pants = trousers. Shitagi means underwear/undergarments.
It's interesting to see that 「下着」 uses the kanji for "down"/"under" combined with the kanji for "wear", which makes it quite intuitive and a very direct counterpart to the English "underwear".
- 195
I know, right? Kanji is awesome. And beautiful. And awe-inspiring. And fascinating.
But very hard to learn, sadly (at least to me, but I think it’s common to think it’s hard)
Oh its hard, mindblowingly hard. counterintuivite for most of the world. Dont think less of yourself no matter what others say. Just grind it and you will start getting it. /thumbsup
- 195
I checked with a friend recently - she said pantsu has been used to mean underpants but currently people use both pantsu and zubon for pants/slacks (also I'm guessing that pantsu is prob also used for underpants still, the meaning is evolving so that now it is used for either). She didn't say anything about shitagi. I don't think I asked about that and my guess is it's probably not used all that often now - not sure what the modern word for underpants might be.
I lived and went to school in Japan in the 1990's. At that time, we used pantsu as underwear. I don't know nowadays, though...
- 944
Japanese teacher here... I have always used パンツ to mean WOMEN'S underwear, the lacy kind. It's from the word "panties."
However, young whippersnappers nowadays are using it to mean "slacks/ pants." But I would never ever imagine パンツ to be tidy whities or boxers. I would use したぎ（下着） (literally: underclothes) for that.
in anime pantsu is always panties and my other lessons said it's only panties never pants so that's what I've been going with. :shrug:
Pardon the Romaji but, I've concurred: PANTSU- Panties/Lingerie, ZUBON- Pants/Trousers SHITAGI- Boxers,Briefs, Undergarments With 'Pantsu' being the most versatile term all around.
- 1662
For what it's worth, a Google image search for "パンツ" gives me a fairly even mix of underwear and trousers.
=) I guess most foreign language learners do that - if in doubt, check Google images ))
Is shitagi underwear in japanese? What then is japanese for trousers? ..zubon? Or is that outdated?
In all anime I've ever watched "pantsu" have been refering to panties. Maybe not the best source, but it's definetely used.
"Kimasu" (きる) is the general verb for clothes worn on the torso (shirts, sweaters, etc.), while "hakimasu" (はく) is for things worn below the waist (underwear, pants, socks, shoes).
I'd say that 来 [き] ます describes more the upper body - the torso - while 履 [は] きます emphasizes the lower body - legs, feet.
- 195
The kanji you have used here is for 来る、来ます （くる、きます）meaning to come. The kanji for きます meaning to wear (waist up) is 着ます.
That sound like a more precise/useful definition! Then would overalls, coveralls, and footie pajamas all go with hakimasu--even though they cover your torso--because you have to step into them?
- 195
I would certainly think all the clothing items you mentioned would be used with hakimasu.
hmmm.. in every single anime ive watched, not hentai mind you. pantsu is always used for underwear.
I was taught that パンツ specifically referred to women's panties. So... this is an awkward sentence for me.
- 1178
I've read the comments about underwear vs trousers vs pants vs zubon (trousers) vs shitagi (underwear). I've tried "slacks" (that's a no). I haven't tried "panties." I translated this sentence to a simple, straightforward "He wears trousers." DL marked it incorrect and indicated it means "He wears underwear." Okay. I hope I never encounter this sentence again because I don't see the point of discussing underwear in general conversation unless it's bullet-proof or has magical properties. On a positive note, I did learn the difference between kimasu and hakimasu from several comments. Thank you for that.
- 2401
"Underwear" is one of those English words that are uncountable, meaning you can't assign an indefinite article to. Saying "an underwear" will sound very strange to a native English speaker.
- 429
Just did a Google image search for パンツ and got men's underwear, women's underwear and long pants/trousers.
It's underwear in some British English too, just one of those words that can have different meanings depending on where you're from (with hilarious misunderstandings). Nice to see Japan can't agree on what it means either!
Wait..what!?? Underwear in american english is.. Uhh Underwear. Lol! is pantsu a british word for underwear? Oh wait, maybe you mean panties? (I always have just called them underwear.. shrug)
- 195
Pants can mean underpants in some countries. Different countries vastly different terminology.
Pantsu is underwear. For a while British English was posh and foreigners preferred to learn British English over American English. There are hold over words from this period of time. Pantsu is one of them
Ah, the original English.
I'm kidding, but seriously though, I think most English as a foreign language curricula are based on British English and received pronunciation, at least in Europe. That's not to say people actually use a British accent when speaking.
It also depends on pronounciation. "PANtsu" means underwear, while "pantsu" means trousers (that's what my teacher told us).
There are a lot of languages where the stressed syllable changes the word even if it's spelled the same.
I think it was a lesson in Nhk easy Japanese that explained how a Japanese woman's name (I don't remember what the name was) if stressed one way was the name, and another way meant "a woman urinating" or something similar
Pantsu..from what i recall learning.. Is pants.. Slacks.. Trousers... So..what would underwear be?
There's a Japanese song for パンツ (終わりなきパンツ / endless underwear). I really enjoyed the rhythm. Hope I can understand the lyric after I finish the course. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9hZopRaC7-E
- 195
Pantsu is the Japanese word in romaji - it's not English. That's why it was considered incorrect.
Don't use this word, you will be laughed at because it usually connotes "panties". Use "shitagi" 下着 to be safe.
- 93
Obviously this should be accepted, and I wonder why not: He wears "an" underwear.
- 429
Maybe there's a regional usage that I'm not aware of, but as far as I know, "underwear" is uncountable.
- 195
woa7dSD5 is right. You can say my underwear or some underwear or even a/one pair of underpants. But not an/one underwear.
- 93
You're right in most cases yes. There are times you can stress the instance of one underwear. I think both should be considered correct depending on the context. e.g. an underwear is on the floor instead of underwear is on the floor, again stressing one instance of underwear to communicate such.
