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年も長引く、四年制大率、時期男子、過去最低.
oyoloshiku

Glossary entry

Japanese term or phrase:

てか (teka)

English translation:

Y'know

Added to glossary by rubyhatchet (X)
May 14, 2005 09:07
19 yrs ago
2 viewers *
Japanese term

てか (teka)

Non-PRO Japanese to English Other Slang daily conversation, slang
Here's an example where person #1 is telling person #2 about attending an English lesson that day: 今日、早速「I'm worn out」を使った。「Why?」って聞かれたから「I worked overtime.」って答えた。てか、最近英語力が落ちた気がする。

It's obviously some sort of connecting phrase like "however," but I cannot find the exact context in which to use it. It seems to be a younger kind of slang, too, with a more female version to boot.
Proposed translations (English)
5 +2 Y'know
4 +2 "Or rather", "in other words"
3 と言うか (te/to iu ka)
3 というか
3 In spite that (the preceding context)

Discussion

Minoru Kuwahara May 14, 2005:
thank u, KathyT-san for pointing out the necessity of this sort of flexibility in verbal language. that's exactly what i've wanted to convey. -
KathyT May 14, 2005:
ie. not grammatically kosher but now accepted in common usage in this kind of manner. Apologies for the long-windedness of this post.
KathyT May 14, 2005:
To illustrate, "whatever", as you know, SHOULD be used as in "whatever she decides is OK by me...", etc. but is now in common English usage as an exclamation in its own right: "Whatever, Dad!". Isn't it possible that this is what has happened to "teka"?
KathyT May 14, 2005:
Some examples: "Jeez, (my English is slipping), "Oh, dear!", "Damn!", "Whatever!", etc. etc. These might be equally awkward to translate naturally back into Japanese.....
KathyT May 14, 2005:
In English, I can easily imagine using a word or expression here that isn't technically correct but just kind of connects the 2 phrases. One of those 'thinking out loud' type situations...
Momoka (X) May 14, 2005:
If I were to put it into English (NOT translating), as I understand it, I would say ""Today, I immediately used 'I'm worn out.' When asked why, I answered with 'I worked overtime.' ANYWAY,I think my English is slipping lately."
Minoru Kuwahara May 14, 2005:
yes, i understand what you mention, but it's such a strange way of using a word absolutely. should i say it's more like 'a broken Japanese' rather than a slang. -
Non-ProZ.com May 14, 2005:
I'm not sure I agree. "By the way" sounds like person #1 is introducing a new topic, but person #1 and 2 are already discussing English lessons and English ability.
Minoru Kuwahara May 14, 2005:
right, i guess so. Or I thought it better to replace "But despite that" with "By the way" in your translation. -
Non-ProZ.com May 14, 2005:
Possible Translation Wanted to see if, based on the answers, this was a fairly accurate translation:
"Today, I immediately used 'I'm worn out.' When asked why, I answered with 'I worked overtime.' But despite that, I think my English is slipping lately."

Proposed translations

+2
2 hrs
Japanese term (edited): �� (teka)
Selected

Y'know

Everyone's already answered about what it means, this is just how I'd tranlsate it.

Y'know, I think my English is slipping.
Peer comment(s):
agree mike.sickler (X) : Yup
1 hr
Thanks!
agree tappi_k : i'd go for somethng like this - everybody is right about where てか comes from liguistically, but the truth is, it doesn't really add any meaning to the sentence. a filler, it is.
14 hrs
Thanks!
Something went wrong...
3 KudoZ points awarded for this answer. Comment: "The sample sentence is from an actual Japanese friend who often uses this phrase, and, looking at other examples from his emails, I think "y'know" is a good way to translate てか *in general.*"
58 mins
Japanese term (edited): �� (teka)

と言うか (te/to iu ka)

I'm pretty sure this is just a lazy slang way of saying "te/to iu ka"...The URL below gives "like" as a rough English definition.

From: haradakun.cool.ne.jp/slang/gyaru01.html
【Like】・・・〜ってカンジ/てゆうか/てか
→アメリカ（カナダ）のティーンは、この"like"という表現を"超"多用します！「〜ってカンジ」とか「てゆうか」「てか」という意味になります。


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Note added at 1 hr 0 min (2005-05-14 10:08:34 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

As usual, ¥'hyougen¥' has mojibaked (in quote above).
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56 mins
Japanese term (edited): �� (teka)

というか

I think it's a conversational form of というか　or っていうか, and it's used as something like "it seems", "to tell you the truth", "what happens is"... Sorry but I'm not a native English speaker, so I think someone else will be able to give you a translation that fits better this term. Just wanted to help with a hint. Good luck!

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 1 hr 6 mins (2005-05-14 10:14:15 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

Sometimes it¥'s used like ¥"by the way¥"...
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+2
2 hrs
Japanese term (edited): �� (teka)

"Or rather", "in other words"

Used as a conjuction meaning “or rather,” or “in other words,” mostly followed by a statement adverse to what the speaker or its counterpart has said earlier.

A contemporary slang used by youngsters, males as well as females.

An colloquial abbreviation of “というか”　or “っていうか,”
as everyone has already pointed out.

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Note added at 2005-05-14 13:51:18 (GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

Re the asker¥'s note added:

The person #1 tries to imply: ¥"Although I think my English was without a hitch as far as the conversation with my teacher is concerned, I think my English is slipping lately.¥"

Peer comment(s):
agree Kurt Hammond : Here it also could be intepreted as "because, like, I think my english is getting worse..."
2 hrs
謝謝, Kurt San.
agree ypsudo
1442 days
Something went wrong...
1 hr
Japanese term (edited): �� (teka)

In spite that (the preceding context)

I suppose you're basically right about the definition of this new slang: however. I personally do not use it, but sometimes come it across to find it's an abbreviation of a proper Japanese expression "というより（も）(rather)", "むしろ (it's more like)", "にも関わらず (inspite of)" , etc. probably. This slang possibly could be mostly understood as the meaning: "OR more exacty, I'd rather say...". But I think your example above is not a usua one.

In my view, the third definition I pick up might be most conforming to the speaker's intention. In the above use, the person #1 would be possibly tring to say "In spite that I answered his question using the English phrase, I guess my English has getting worse recently." Pls think about the context.

HTH

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Note added at 1 hr 16 mins (2005-05-14 10:23:46 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

Looking at others¥' answers, I definitely agree that ¥"というか¥" is another form of its original prasing.

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Note added at 4 hrs 35 mins (2005-05-14 13:42:54 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

I suggest using ¥"By the way¥" in the context of the example above. As I said, that¥'s a bit different from its usual meaning: ¥"In other words¥", etc. -
Something went wrong...
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