Samurai action name translations

So, I decided to let my inner weeb out, and tried to translate the names of the actions of the samurai job.

Do note that my skill with Japanese is still very limited, so take everything with a grain of salt. If anyone with more skill feels like correcting my blunders, feel free to do so, I'll update the original post. I used the Japanese version of the job guide as basis, since there I can see the kanji used for the names.

Basic Weaponskills
Hakaze, 刃風 = Blade Wind.
Jinpu, 陣風 = Gust, or Sudden/Quick Wind.
Shifu, 士風 = Way of the Samurai.
Gekko, 月光 = Moonlight.
Kasha, 花車 = Wheel of Flowers.
Yukikaze, 雪風 = Snow-bringing Wind.
Fuga, 風雅 = Elegance (lit. Elegance of Wind).
Oka, 桜花 = Cherry Blossom.
Mangetsu, 満月 = Full Moon.
Enpi, 燕飛 = Swallow Flight.

Other Skills
Ageha, 鳳蝶 = Swallowtail Butterfly.
Third Eye, 心眼 (Shingan) = The Mind’s Eye.
Merciful Eyes, 慈眼 (Jigen) = Merciful Eyes (of a Buddha).
Meikyo Shisui, 明鏡止水 = A yojijukugo, four-character-idiom, which means “Clear and Serene.” Comprised of the kanji “Bright, mirror, stop, water.”
Meditate 黙想, (Mokusou) = Meditate.
Hagakure 葉隠, = Hiding in the Leaves.

Hissatsu, 必殺剣 (Hissatsu Ken) = Deadly Sword (Or more literally, Certain Kill Sword)
Kaiten, 回天 = Changing the World or Turning the Tide (lit. Revolve the Heavens).
Gyoten, 暁天 = Dawn Sky.
Yaten, 夜天 = Night Sky.
Shinten, 震天 = Trembling Heavens.
Kyuten, 九天 = Nine Heavens.
Seigan, 星眼 = Starry Eye.
Guren, 紅蓮 = Crimson Lotus.

Iaijutsu, 居合術 = A name for the sword art of drawing a sword, cutting, and re-sheathing it.
Higanbana, 彼岸花 = Red Spider Lily, which is the name of a flower (lit. Flower of Higan. Higan is the river in Japanese myth which the souls of the dead must cross).
Tenka Goken, 天下五剣 = Peerless Five Swords (can also be understood as Five Blades Bringing Down Heaven, but that’s translating an idiom literally).
Midare Setsugekka, 乱れ雪月花 = “Chaotic Setsugekka”, or “Disorder of Snow, Moon and Flowers.” Setsugekka, or Setsu 雪 (snow), getsu 月 (moon), ka 花 (flower), is a commonly repeated theme in Japanese art, representing the flow of seasons. (see: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Snow_Moon_Flowers)

During this, I also learned that the kanji used for the ability Goad apparently means "to scold or reprimand". Go figure.

And then you try to send Monk's Japanese skill names through the translator and Earth Tackle (金剛羅刹衝) comes out as "Kim Jong Il". I'm serious, open the job guide in Google Chrome, go to the Monk page and switch to Japanese at the top and have Chrome translate the page. You won't be disappointed.

I always thought the translations of these abilities were neat. The ones that were in FFXI anyway, cause I had access to translations of the abilities. The FFXI wiki had many of these, the Tachi: Kaiten one was really cool. As follows.

The word 'Kaiten' has several meanings depending on its connotation. It's definition is 'revolution'. The kanji literally means 'Turning of the Heavens' (回, Kai: To revolve, and 天, Ten: the Heavens). It implies devastating changes, and has been translated as 'Change of the World', 'Reverse Destiny', 'Grand Accomplishment', and 'Monumental Task'. It implies the ability to actually move the skies and Heaven by force.

Most of it on the FFXIclopedia wiki has what you wrote, just not as much extra stuff as Kaiten did, though it's Kasha translation is slightly different. Not saying the one you have listed is wrong, cause I'm pulling from a wiki and haven't actually tried translating myself, but it seems to think Kasha translates to 'Wheel of Flowers', so they're actually pretty similar anyway.

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Originally Posted by Spiriel_Basanda

though it's Kasha translation is slightly different. Not saying the one you have listed is wrong, cause I'm pulling from a wiki and haven't actually tried translating myself, but it seems to think Kasha translates to 'Wheel of Flowers', so they're actually pretty similar anyway.

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Ah, right you are. I had input something slightly off to my kanji dictionary, so that came up. Updated now. Makes more sense that way anyways.
EDIT: Actually, turns out that "Parade Float" IS in fact one possible meaning for the kanji used in Kasha, but it would not be read as Kasha in that case, so I'll stick to the corrected version.

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Originally Posted by Pyitoechito

And then you try to send Monk's Japanese skill names through the translator and Earth Tackle (金剛羅刹衝) comes out as "Kim Jong Il". I'm serious, open the job guide in Google Chrome, go to the Monk page and switch to Japanese at the top and have Chrome translate the page. You won't be disappointed.

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Huh, so it does... hence why I avoid Google translate at all costs. :P
Properly, Shoulder Tackle would seem to become "demon collision" or something of the sort, and the "Earth" in the fists and the tackle refers to "an indestructible substance" (金剛) in the original Japanese version. Wind on the other hand is just Wind in both languages (or more properly a gale in Japanese), and Fire is the same Guren, Crimson Lotus, as in the one Samurai skill.
On the note of Monk, the Japanese name of Greased Lightning, Shippuu Jinrai (疾風迅雷), is the same kind of yojijukugo as Samurai's Meikyo Shisui. It consists of the kanji "rapid, wind, fast, thunder", and refers to doing something "lightning-fast". The translation for it is quite apt.

I still remember Enpi from FFXI. It was the most used WS until you got like Gekko or Yukikaze.

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Originally Posted by Aosha

Midare Setsugekka...“Disorder of Snow, Moon and Flowers."

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Oh, I like that. Feels epic. Feels poetic. Feels like a tattoo in the making...

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Originally Posted by Daws

Midare Setsugekka

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I think of it as "I'm going to cut you so hard you won't remember what season it is". :P

They are all pretty good. But remember, you want to translate the feeling/meaning and not so much the words themselves.

For example: Blade Wind is literally just translated. But "Wind Blade" rolls off the tongue better and makes more sense. Instead of just Gust "Gust Slash."

Only other suggestion would be Hissatsu as "Killing Technique or Secret Technique"

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Originally Posted by Maku

They are all pretty good. But remember, you want to translate the feeling/meaning and not so much the words themselves.

For example: Blade Wind is literally just translated. But "Wind Blade" rolls off the tongue better and makes more sense. Instead of just Gust "Gust Slash."

Only other suggestion would be Hissatsu as "Killing Technique or Secret Technique"

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Yeah, I know. However, for this specifically, I wanted to translate the words themselves as accurately as I could (although that's already a whole 'nother can o' worms...). Maybe I should make a second set of translations where I aim for names you could actually put in-game... Hmm...
If I had actually aimed for that, I probably would have called Meikyo Shisui "As still water" or something like that.
Jinpu/Gust could also be written out as Sudden Wind (sounds kinda clunky, any idea for a better word?). Most of the basic weaponskills are something-wind. Hence I'd want to also make Hakaze stay with that theme. Maybe Cutting Wind?

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Originally Posted by Aosha

Huh, so it does... hence why I avoid Google translate at all costs. :P

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It does have a hard time on complex stuff like those skill names, but other than that it seems like Google Translate has been improving quite a bit over the years with their Japanese translations. The translated skill descriptions (not names) are pretty spot on most of the time.

Most of the jobs primarily use Katakana (e.g. ストーン/Stone) for their skill names, but there are four jobs that almost exclusively use Kanji and/or Hiragana: Samurai, Ninja, Monk, and Scholar (excluding Arcanist skills). Scholar is of particular interest because of how the skill/effect names differ between the English and Japanese versions.

I'm using Google Translate for this so please feel free to correct or clarify any of these translations.

Galvanize → 鼓舞 "Inspiration"

Adloquium → 鼓舞激励の策 "Inspiration encouraging measures"
Succor → 士気高揚の策 "Morale raising measures"
Indomitability → 不撓不屈の策 "Unbending, indomitable measures"
Excogitation → 深謀遠慮の策 "Careful consideration measures"

Sacred Soil → 野戦治療の陣 "Field treatment camp"

Leeches → 生命浄化法 "Bio-purification method"
Lustrate → 生命活性法 "Bio-activity method"
Broil → 気炎法 "Air flame method"
Broil II → 魔炎法 "Magic flame method"

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Originally Posted by Aosha

Meikyo Shisui

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I've seen a few translations that refine it down to "Clear Tranquil" when applied in it's Final Fantasy context. That made sense to me, given the presence of Clear Tranquil as a skill/limit break-type move in other FF games (7 comes to mind).

As for the "wind" WS, what do you think of these?

Yukikaze - Biting Cold/Biting Wind
Hakaze - Cutting Wind
Jinpu - Forceful Gale
Shifu - Fierce Gust

The idea being to represent what each move does. Ice/Snow for Yuki, a basic cut for Hakaze, a strength-focused/boosting attack for Jinpu, and a sudden/speed-focused attack for Shifu.

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Originally Posted by Quor

Ideas

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I like those. Maybe Chilling Wind for Yukikaze? It's nice to know of Clear Tranquil, as I've not played any other Final Fantasy yet.

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Originally Posted by Pyitoechito

Scholar

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Those are actually pretty spot-on. Although I'd mention that the 策 in many of those can also translate to "plan", which really fits Scholar's "strategist" theme.
Also, the Japanese name of Excogitation is another Yojijukugo, like Meikyo Shisui and Greased Lightning. The meaning being "far sight and deep design". So planning far in advance. Careful consideration is an alright simpler version of that. Good job, Google.
Fun fact: the "flame" kanji in the Broils can also be understood as inflammation. Healer doing the opposite of what is intended, and going around causing diseases :P

And yeah, most of them for other classes are just good old katakana Engrish. I think BLM had a couple of interesting things somewhere in there, like Leylines being "mage family crest" or something...

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Originally Posted by Ryaz

I still remember Enpi from FFXI. It was the most used WS until you got like Gekko or Yukikaze.

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Jinpu actually replaced Enpi in most cases, then Yukikaze.

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Originally Posted by Aosha

Shifu, 士風 = Samurai Wind. This one has me quite confused still.

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The 風 in 士風 doesn't refere to wind. It translates to "The way of the Samurai/Soldier". 風 is one of those kanji that have a lot of more... ephemeral meanings to it, despite being used for something as simple as "Wind". It gets used in 気風 for example. If you'd translate the kanji you'd have "spirit wind", and a japanese person would understand "Character" or "Ethos". Granted it is a pretty old word and you'd be better off using 性格. There is also a grammar "ふうに” (as in "this way/that way") but I have never seen it written in Kanji, so it might not be related to it.

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Originally Posted by Pyitoechito

It does have a hard time on complex stuff like those skill names, but other than that it seems like Google Translate has been improving quite a bit over the years with their Japanese translations. The translated skill descriptions (not names) are pretty spot on most of the time.

Most of the jobs primarily use Katakana (e.g. ストーン/Stone) for their skill names, but there are four jobs that almost exclusively use Kanji and/or Hiragana: Samurai, Ninja, Monk, and Scholar (excluding Arcanist skills). Scholar is of particular interest because of how the skill/effect names differ between the English and Japanese versions.

I'm using Google Translate for this so please feel free to correct or clarify any of these translations.

Galvanize → 鼓舞 "Inspiration"

Adloquium → 鼓舞激励の策 "Inspiration encouraging measures"
Succor → 士気高揚の策 "Morale raising measures"
Indomitability → 不撓不屈の策 "Unbending, indomitable measures"
Excogitation → 深謀遠慮の策 "Careful consideration measures"

Sacred Soil → 野戦治療の陣 "Field treatment camp"

Leeches → 生命浄化法 "Bio-purification method"
Lustrate → 生命活性法 "Bio-activity method"
Broil → 気炎法 "Air flame method"
Broil II → 魔炎法 "Magic flame method"

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For Japanese people, english Katana phrases are very much related to Fantasy worlds. For them it makes it seem very old and mystical. This is partly due to the fact that old NES RPGs were sometimes exclusivly in hiragana or katakana due to memmory restrictions and using english terms was shorter than writing japanese terms. That is why a lot of them have very nostalgic feelings for this. Personally I can't play the game on Japanese because it completely sucks me out of the fantasy setting. They have perfectly fine words for "Potion" "Stone" and all these things, but keep using the english terms. It just doesn't fit the fantasy style in my eyes.

NIN, MNK and SAM are obvious why they are kept in Kanji. For SCH, it is simply to give it a sohpisticated air. Also, Galvanize is actually a perfect translation. 鼓舞 is not the normal word you'd use if you want to encourage somebody. It would be 奨励 or maybe 激励. 鼓舞 has a very sophisticated air to it and you'd expect, for example, your professor to use it. Galvanize is the same. It has the meaning of encouragement in english, but only very few people even use it anymore. It is worth pointing out that in Japanese, the word for galvanizing metal is completely different to 鼓舞.

As far as Broil and Broil II go... my guess is that in that case the english translator simply decided to go with what english speaking FF fans are used to in terms of FF skill progression and used a more literal meaning of the kanji. The german translation catches the skills a lot better. 気炎 actually means "big talk" or simply to boast/swagger with 法 being a marker for magic. In the german version it is called Bravade, an old word that most people (including me) would have to look up, but it has just that meaing. An english term that has the same kind of "ye olden words" meaning would probably have been gasconade or bombast.

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Originally Posted by Gun-Cat

士風

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Ah, now that makes more sense. Thanks. Updated.

I found what seems like a good translation source for the samurai skills a while ago:
http://eu.finalfantasyxiv.com/lodest.../blog/3373509/

It seems to agree with most of what you've put down but adds some more background on some skills so I'd definitely recommend it. Look at Hagakure in particular, as it has some nice historical background.

P.S. to make it clear, this is not my work.

It took me over a year to read this thread, but I'm so happy that they've referenced my favorite series of all time, SaGa. I caught Final Letter from Zwerchau immediately, and although it's a real cross-cut maneuver, and although Final Letter was itself a nod to Zorro, the animation looks too similar to be a coincidence.
Similarly, Midare Setsugekka has shown up throughout the SaGa series many times using different translations, and I just cross referenced the list, they have been using the same kanji of Midare (Chaotic, Scattered etc.) Setsugekka (Flowerfall, Petals, etc.)

While the components of the Setsugekka have also appeared often in SaGa games in interesting ways due to its unique tech learning mechanics, to my knowledge they also appear in FFXI so it's difficult to say which is a direct reference or not. Midare Setsugekka however, down to the animation, is a nod to a recurring SaGa attack. Go play SaGa Frontier and use Tres Flores, even the high pitched noise while the afterimage is leading up is a part of it.

I wonder how many other references I've missed? I know Monk has a lot, its entire skillset was pretty much FFT's that was lost in translation.

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Originally Posted by Gun-Cat

As far as Broil and Broil II go... my guess is that in that case the English translator simply decided to go with what English speaking FF fans are used to in terms of FF skill progression and used a more literal meaning of the kanji. The German translation catches the skills a lot better. 気炎 actually means "big talk" or simply to boast/swagger with 法 being a marker for magic. In the German version it is called Bravade, an old word that most people (including me) would have to look up, but it has just that meaning. An English term that has the same kind of "ye olden words" meaning would probably have been gasconade or bombast.

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Someone (probably Reddit) actually enlightened me on "Broil" that it can also mean "a quarrel or commotion". So the translators could have intended it to mean something like a "heated discussion", which isn't really a direct translation of "boast/swagger" but does fit well with Scholar (and still has the alternate definition of "heat").

Also, "Bravade" can probably be recognized as "Bravado" in English (both have the same meaning).

Meikyo Shusui is also translated as Clear Tranquil, aka Yuffie's Limit Break from FF7. Moreover, NIN's LB3 Chimatsuri is also translated as Bloodfest, another of Yuffie's Limit Breaks.

Probably the coolest thing i've read on these forums in a while. Nice post