Translation Notes Are Good Except…
…. when the translators are too bashful to tell you what they’re supposed to be translating.
Such was the case when I was reading Del Rey’s newest Negima release today. In one of the chapters, Negi gets into a pretty heated argument with Asuna. The argument ends when Negi “crosses the line” by saying to Asuna:
“Oh yeah? Well you have teddy bear undies, and you’ve got a paipan! Hah! Didn’t think I knew what I paipan was, huh? Well, I do!”
Well, I most certainly do not know what a “paipan” is, and considering that him saying this is the turning point of the whole volume, it must be very important! Fortunately for me Del Rey always puts translation notes towards the end of each of their books, so I just flipped over and found their little write up on the “paipan.”
Paipan- A term that has appeared more then once in the Negima! series, it certainly isn’t the kind of word that one would expect a well-brought-up young lad like Negi to be using. Most recently appearing on page 130 of this volume, the closest translation might be “shorn”… as in what one might do to one’s nether regions, were one so inclined. (It can also refer to those prepubescent who’ve yet to develop… um, certain secondary sexual characteristics.) Naughty Negi!
o_O?
What the-? Could they possibly be more ambiguous then that?!?
I spent a good 10 minutes re-reading over that description and looking back at the comic to try to make sense of it all. “… as in what one might do to one’s nether regions…”? Well, there are so many things that can be done to one’s nether regions, and as I went through all the dirty possibilities in my head, neither one of them seemed to match up to a thing that Asuna could have. Plus the way it was worded can also imply that one person is doing something to someone else’s nether regions. Again, that made more possibilities that didn’t fit.
And then there’s the “prepubescent” line that also throws you off. As a guy, what’s the first thing that comes to mind about what girl “develops” through adolescence? Why, boobs, of course! But what would Asuna growing breasts have anything to do with the whole thing? And so I pondered, and pondered, and pondered.
Then it finally hit me, and I thought to myself, “Now why the hell couldn’t they have just said that in the first place!” I mean, the book does have a 16+ rating and is shrink-wrapped on store shelves. Why couldn’t Del Rey just tell us instead of being so coy with this nonsense?
In fact, if any of you did understand what they were talking about from that description, then you understand the meaning of the word, “shorn”, which was their best translation of the word. But “shorn” is not a common word in English, and I couldn’t remember what it meant until I figured out what a “paipan” was. There is a very common sh-verb in the past tense that would have been the perfect translation. All they would have had to do was boldface it or put it in quotes to imply the innuendo.
The reason why I’m not saying what it means is because I want to see just how many of you can figure it out by yourselves from their description. If you really are fickled, just leave a comment and I’ll clue you in. Now no cheating, people, think long and hard about this. Besides, you might not like what you see if you go searching “paipan” on Google. 
I dunno…I found the description to be fairly clear. Then again, I immediately understood what the translator meant by “shorn”. The “prepubescent” part was merely extra clarification.
That said, it was tad verbose for a translation note.
Comment by Jeff Lawson — October 12, 2005 @ 1:30 am
Now that was an unsual term being brought up in the translation of the Negima manga. Good thing Del Ray has to explain about it in the end of the chapter..
Comment by Ronin AnimeLover — October 12, 2005 @ 4:50 am
I think I know. At least I have an idea of something that would fit all of that as a description. It did take a little bit of thinking though. I’m really surprised Negai would say that as well. (or anyone in Ken’s books, seems like a big leap…) Could you confirm? (I’m guessing you don’t want me to post my guess…)
Comment by Bahamut — October 12, 2005 @ 5:12 am
No, post it. Once somebody gets it right in the comments, I’ll say what the “best translation” should have been.
Comment by Scott — October 12, 2005 @ 9:00 am
It’s a shaved “nether Region “?
Comment by Bahamut — October 12, 2005 @ 12:24 pm
Uh…anyone who has watched the first Austin Powers should be able to figure out what “paipan” is from Del Rey’s translation of “shorn”….
As I recall (not going to be able to recite it perfectly - that movie WAS a long time ago after all), Dr. Evil describes his undeniably bizarre childhood with many episodes, being interrupted and ending the hilariously dead-pan monologue with this one:
“At the age of 12, a Verutian monk named Velma ritualistically shaved my tes-ti-cles. There really is nothing like a shorn scrotum: it’s breath-taking I suggest you try it….”
(grammar rules ignored to try and emulate the speed and emphasis made during the speech)
Comment by Nutty — October 12, 2005 @ 4:04 pm
Didn’t notice Scott’s post when I typed my previous response. “Paipan” basically means having no genital hair, with perhaps the derogatory idea that one hasn’t develop it naturally, even though one should have already.
I’ll agree that Del Rey’s translation of “shorn” is definitely off - “shorn” implies that the gential hair was shaved off, leaving a “shorn” appearance (look up shorn in the dictionary).
However, the explanation of prepubscent teenagers not developing certain secondary sexual characteristics SOMEWHAT helps guide the reader to understanding the full definition. I’ll again agree that it’s not good enough…
To be truthful, though, IS there an English equivalent for this (i.e. some slang term used in locker rooms to make fun of prepubscent boys/girls who haven’t get gotten any genital hair)? For girls, there are simple things like “flat-chest,” but I can’t think of anything one would say in English to desribe not having genital hair.
The best I can come up with is remembering a scene/quote from a movie called “Powder” about an albino kid born with special powers because his mother was struck by lightning when she was about to give birth. He looked albino and didn’t have any hair (except eyelashes) on his body. When some redneck boys start bullying him because of his freakish appearance (no hair on the head, pale white skins, etc.) and strip him of his clothes to find out if he REALLY didn’t have hair anywhere on his body, the ringleader looks towards the nether regions and derogatorily remarks, “Well look at that! Smooth like a baby!”
Wow, what a ridiculously long post. Sorry about that…
Comment by Nutty — October 12, 2005 @ 4:17 pm
Lol, good call with the Dr. Evil quote, Nutty!
So yeah, that’s the answer. But while “shorn” does work, it really isn’t a word you hear that much in English so there are many people that don’t understand what it means. So I believe that they should have just said that Asuna was “shaven”, with the quotes around the word to imply that it was an unusual kind of shave. Then you could have put in the translation note that it also could mean that she has yet to develop such features.
Comment by Scott — October 12, 2005 @ 5:06 pm
FYI, it’s medically unheard of for a female to develop breasts and not develop genital hair. Genital hair almost always comes first in prepubescent teenagers - it’s just that it might only be vellis hair (the type of thin, colorless hair which babies have all over their bodies after they are born). Thus, it will only LOOK shaven/shorn, but in fact, examined closely enough, there will be hair. Of course, Asuna would never let anyone close enough to look….and, of course, Asuna is just a ficitonal character, so the point is moot.
I will note that there are medical conditions, where a woman will develop breasts and not any genital hair, but in those cases, it’s coupled with not having armpit hair, leg hair, arm hair, and/or even hair on the top of her head.
Comment by Nutty — October 12, 2005 @ 10:07 pm
Lol, that’s a little too much information there, Nutty, but thanks for sharing!
I think that Asuna falls into the actual “shaven” category instead of the “not yet developed” one. She’s got the kind of wild attitude that wouldn’t surprise me one bit.
And by the way, I apologize for everyone’s comments being put on hold for moderation. Apparently all this talk of “breasts” and “shaved” is making my spam filter go crazy.
Comment by Scott — October 12, 2005 @ 10:25 pm
well from what i found paipan supposably means “not having any hair where it counts” to be honest yeeeea id say Negi was askin for it if he starts say stuff like that to Asuna
Comment by HEINRICH — October 27, 2005 @ 10:30 pm
Well, at least they actually HINTED at the meaning of it (thus explaining why the joke exists), instead of just leaving it untranslated and unstated like ADV did with Azumanga Daioh.
Anyone who read the Okinawa parts in Volume 4 probably knows what I mean - they never explain what Tomo’s slurring of ‘ukoncha’ and ‘chinsuko’ mean in either the anime or the manga. At least Del Rey made the effort to hint at it, however obliquely… instead of making people wonder what ‘paipan’ meant.
(And for those of you who missed the good Azumanga Daioh subs with translation notes, ‘ukoncha’ read the way Tomo did means ’shit tea’ - cha being tea - and chinsuko slurred Tomo-style sounds like ‘penis’.)
Comment by Haesslich — October 28, 2005 @ 1:32 am
uhh yes thank god someone mentioned this, didnt expect something like this to have such a bit duscussion though.. but yeah, i didnt get it at all so i looked up on google and found this. and actually come to think of it, in all of ken akamatsu’s comics… it seems so odd how its.. its just odd. but its better off that way. buut anyway yay thanks to you guys its all good. XD
Comment by kikimara — November 10, 2005 @ 11:10 pm
I just got around to buying this volume last week and was totally annoyed about the same thing except in my case I knew what paipan meant beforehand but the translated context makes it seem like they’re quite different and then the translator’s note confused things further. It’s always fun when the translator’s notes (obstensiably for “clarification”) make you start wondering if you understood the word right to start with. Turns out I did.
I didn’t find Negi knowing (and using) the word too odd. Even overlooking how brilliant he is at languages (so he’s bound to have picked up some slang and uncouth words) he’s got Chamo-kun around who I’m sure would have made sure Negi learned such words if he didn’t know them already. His actually using it in an argument like that was also unsurprising, he reacted like a kid and said the worst thing he could think of (which had predicatable bad results).
Comment by Maestro4k — November 16, 2005 @ 10:42 pm
I’ve thought long and hard about this ever since I’ve read the description in the Negi Ma manga… and, Christ, was that an obscure indication the translators gave… (and, uh, yeah, I did do the Google search, NOT MY FAULT, and it was so, so gross)… but being the inqusitive person i am, I investigated frequently, only to fid out the truth was right… uh… beneith me. (blush) Negi really is a foul-mouth, isn’t he? Oh, well, this was one more definition I scrutinized only to make me a little, if any, wiser. (Keep looking up definitions if you don’t understand… even if it’s probably undeserving of investigating…)
Comment by Lizzy the Great — November 29, 2005 @ 8:02 pm
That’s just too funny. I just read that line a minute ago and immediately got on and Googled paipan. Conveniently enough, this site popped up. Now if only I realized it gave the meaning in the back.
Comment by Kayleigh — December 3, 2005 @ 8:09 pm
How the hell could you NOT know what they meant? Take everything they say into account, don’t just look at one part of the sentence at a time.
Anyway, many people here solved the mystery of the Paipan. Of course, I might be saying it was simple to figure out, because I had asked a Japanese friend to help me figure out the word when I was reading the original Japanese tonkouban.
Comment by Ruzicka — December 29, 2005 @ 4:50 pm
Of course Makie did peek under Negi’s towel about 30 pages back and commented about the same… about not seeing anything too grown up down there.
Comment by BinaryS — March 16, 2006 @ 9:59 am
Hey, thanks for having this thread, or w/e it exactly is. i still dont kow what a shorn appearance is, but i get the general idea. XP
My thanks to everyone that posted any info that helped lead to a conclusion about the subject ^^
I was so lost in this lol
Comment by Uchiha Gaara — May 1, 2006 @ 7:20 pm
Don’t understand why “shorn” instead of just “bare” (as it’s applicable in either case…) but oh well.
Re: Azumanga Daioh translation, haven’t watched the anime so I can’t comment on that, but I just pulled out the Japanese tanks and Tomo doesn’t slur her words at all in the lines mentioned above — she says “ukoncha” and “chinsukou” perfectly normally. So either she slurs in the anime (”chinko” from “chinsukou”? That’s a heck of a slur.) or somebody’s reading too much into something.
Japanese-language Wikipedia has a good article on paipan, incl. the origin of the term (from mah jonng — a paipan (or baiban) is a tile that on one side has nothing on it and is plain white. Ah…)
Comment by amano jack — May 1, 2006 @ 8:28 pm
The translation notes were enough for me. Also, since Asun had just yelled “No hair down there!” about him, it doesn’t seem such an odd response. As to him knowing such a word, many 10 year olds would like to approach a foreign language by learning all the dirty words, and that would be enough for most of them.
Comment by Bugcatcher Ed — May 11, 2006 @ 11:14 am
Ha ha this is too funny. I just picked up my NEGIMA! Vol.10 and for no paticular reason “What the hell is Paipan?” popped into my head. At first I thought that it was a term for fingering but then I read the translation notes and I was like “Hold the phone…” so I googled it and whent to images (i get better info by looking at pictures) what I saw there cleared things up. Then I found this thread and I felt better knowing I wasnt the only stooge confused lol
Comment by Dark Slash — May 30, 2006 @ 12:18 pm
Wow, I just started reading this series right now, and thought/did the EXACT same thing. Heh, once the next generation of Anime-Viewers grow up from poorly-translated TMM or Naruto, they’ll look back on series long-past and do the same thing again. Chances are, they’ll find this post too!
I’m glad someone made this post… I love it when people disscuss Anime/Manga in a true way such as this. Gives me the warm fuzzies :3
Anyone here, feal free to e-mail me. I LOVE talking about Anime/Manga, and I’d love to do it more (as I don’t get many chances during everyday life).
Comment by Ingulit — July 17, 2006 @ 4:53 pm
“Good girls” would not shave down there, and the reference to the lass shaving is stating that she is either promiscuous, sexual active, or wants to be. Asuna had a right to be insulted, one would presume.
Comment by Joe Desu — August 5, 2006 @ 12:42 pm
Well…actually, if you look later in the manga when Asuna and Ayaka are fighting, Ayaka says something along the lines of, “You’re hardly acting like an adult, but then again, you don’t have the hair of one either, or so I’m told.” I would guess it falls into the shaven category (a paipan being a hairless genital area for those of you who STILL haven’t figured it out), since yeah, it seems unlikely one would develop breasts and not pubic hair.
Comment by virtuous — September 2, 2006 @ 10:16 pm
If you think about the Japanese Culture’s big deal with fitting in, it’s probobly more of an insult if it’s a biological matter of her just not growing pubic hair. As for whether or not it’s medically sound, it’s an anime after all, and Ken Akamatsu does do wierd stuff with his chars…
But with him implying that she’s “abnormal” that way, it’s a bigger insult to a Japanese than calling her promiscuous. As with Ayaka’s comment, it’s implying even more that she’s a child by throwing that comment back up there.
I’m not the writer though so I won’t claim to be absolutely right.
Besides… Asuna doesn’t strike me as the type who would shave and be that rebellious since she kinda only has eyes for Takamichi at that point. With her always wanting to be the good girl in front of him, I think it would be the exact OPPOSITE of what she’d do.
So… yeah. It’s an anime, it doesn’t have to be scientifically sound (c’mon, there are 14 year olds with bigger breasts and smaller waists than most adults) so yeah… take it in stride.
Comment by Zero Kamui — November 17, 2006 @ 9:06 pm
One would think it odd for one as young as Negi to know words like that, but you would also think that the other students who overheard the comment would be wondering themselves how Negi managed to find out whether or not this was true! Then again, Negi has had a lot of “incidents” that caused him to become quite close to -those- regions. 0.o…
Comment by Cellidor — June 4, 2007 @ 11:27 pm
umm… this is gona make me sound stupid… *blush* But well… I dont get it…
Comment by Grace — October 11, 2007 @ 2:35 pm