首の女

English translation: the woman with that head

22:20 Dec 26, 2016

Japanese to English translations [Non-PRO]
Art/Literary - Cinema, Film, TV, Drama

Japanese term or phrase: 首の女

Dear Proz members,

I have a stupid question about the 首の女 expression.

This sentence comes from a comic:

その首の女の唱える言葉は死の言葉だ
(The words chanted by that beheaded woman are words of death.)

The drawings show a woman who keeps her head in her hands. Is it accurate to translate 首の女 as "beheaded woman"?

Thank you!

Riccardo91
Italy

English translation:the woman with that head

Explanation:
Isn't the woman alive in the drawings? If so, it would mean "the woman with that 首". Since, 首 sometimes means 頭, it could mean head, although 首 is not usually used in that sense unless used in the context of 首を縦に/横に振る. But it seems more fitting to translate it as "head", seeing from your description of the drawings. Also, the brain is where you formulate your ideas...

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Note added at 1 day1 hr (2016-12-27 23:27:38 GMT)
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In response to your note: one solution (if it is a solution) is to translate it as "the woman with that neck". Although it's still strange, at least that's what it says. Maybe the neck looks conspicuous?

Selected response from:

Port City
New Zealand

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2 KudoZ points were awarded for this answer

Summary of answers provided

the woman with that head

Port City

Answers

4 hrs confidence:

the woman with that head

Port City
New Zealand
Native speaker of:

Japanese
PRO pts in category: 6

Grading comment

Thanks!

Notes to answerer

Asker: Yes, the woman is alive, but I'm not totally convinced. The "words of death" comes from the head, not from the woman, so a sentence like "The words chanted by the woman with that head are words of death" feels a bit strange to me. What do you think? Thanks!

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