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Help[Opinions] Re: Ronin
in reply to a message by Elaine
I don't believe Ronin is, strictly speaking, the "Japanese version of" Ronan. I believe (and any Japanese scholars around here please correct me if I'm wrong *Murasaki*) ronin is a noun which means "masterless samurai" and I don't think it's used as a name in Japan, because being ronin was considered a disgrace in feudal Japan. Also, again unless I'm mistaken, it's prn ro-NEEN, very different from RO-nan.
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ronin is a noun which means "masterless samurai"
And in modern Japanese, it's a euphemism of sorts for a kid who failed the exams for high school or college and has to spend a year studying to take them again: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ronin#.22Ronin.22_as_metaphor
Not the best of associations.
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And in modern Japanese, it's a euphemism of sorts for a kid who failed the exams for high school or college and has to spend a year studying to take them again: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ronin#.22Ronin.22_as_metaphor
Not the best of associations.
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Oh wow, I had no idea! The family I know with a son named Ronin is Japanese, so I would of thought... it ment something nice...
They also pronounce it like RO-nan. I don't know why. Maybe I'm leaning towards Ronan now, "little seal" is very nice.
They also pronounce it like RO-nan. I don't know why. Maybe I'm leaning towards Ronan now, "little seal" is very nice.
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Japanese names are made with ideograms (kanji) that can change the meaning of the word, so there are lots of homonyms in Japanese. So, for instance, the name Yuki is identical to the word "snow", but the two ideograms that are used for the name have a different meaning: in the case of my friend Yuki I think it's something along the lines of "learning and wisdom".
You can ask your friends what kanji they've used for their son's name, possibly it doesn't *mean* literally ronin as in "masterless samurai". Anyway, I agree with what others have said that the general associations with the name Ronin are negative.
You can ask your friends what kanji they've used for their son's name, possibly it doesn't *mean* literally ronin as in "masterless samurai". Anyway, I agree with what others have said that the general associations with the name Ronin are negative.
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