Ganbaru: Do Your Best to Listen to This Podcast

The Tofugu Podcast: Japan and Japanese Language

English - September 19, 2018 14:00 - 49 minutes - 45.2 MB - ★★★★★ - 470 ratings
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Previous Episode: How to Use ~san, ~kun, ~sama, and All the Other Japanese Honorific Name Enders

Next Episode: Becoming Famous in Japan - An Interview with Big in Japan

For more, check out our article on ganbaru: https://www.tofugu.com/japanese/ganbaru/

"Do your best!" "Hang in there!" "FIGHT!"

The Japanese verb 頑張る has a wide variety of English translations, and that's because it's such a nuanced word. Depending on how you say it and who you say it to, it could be an encouragement or a real downer.

The Tofugu team sat down to discuss the definitions, translations, and our personal feeling about this complex word. And we really got into the weeds (societally speaking) when Michael, Mami, and Kanae navigate the sometimes-oppressive feeling ganbaru can carry.