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maru




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philg



Joined: 22 Oct 2004
Posts: 193
PostPosted: Fri May 20, 2005 8:24 am Reply with quote
In Naruto, what is the significance of the 'maru' at the end of a lot of the character's names, e.g:
Yasshoumaru
Kimimaru
Orochimaru
Akamaru
Shikamaru
Konohamaru.
I'm not sure if it has any significance but I haven't really heard anywhere else 'maru' in that context.
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samuraiwalt



Joined: 06 Jul 2004
Posts: 647
PostPosted: Fri May 20, 2005 8:52 am Reply with quote
This probably won't help but maybe they're all ships.
http://www.foreignword.com/Tools/dictsrch_aff.asp?query=maru&src=DP&srcbox=41&go=Translate&trg=BP


Last edited by samuraiwalt on Fri May 20, 2005 1:30 pm; edited 1 time in total
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Tony K.
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Joined: 18 Nov 2003
Posts: 11447
Location: Frisco, TX
PostPosted: Fri May 20, 2005 11:34 am Reply with quote
"-maru" is simply a suffix added to the end of a guy's name. All it really does is definitively label someone's name as being that of a male in Japanese society (for the most part, anyway).

I don't think that "-maru" part is suppose to be translated (since just about all Japanese names mean something), but if you want, you could just think of it as "-boy."

Some (amateur) examples:

Akamaru = "red boy"
Konohamaru = "Konoha boy," or you could translate Konoha, but I like to treat it as more of a proper noun
Orochimaru = "Orochi boy," Orochi being a mythical 8-headed serpent from an old Japanese legend (hence the whole snake theme he has)
Sesshoumaru = "killing boy," of course he is not a Naruto character, but for those of you who didn't know, this is what his name roughly translates to Wink

EDIT: Forgot to put a word somewhere Anime smallmouth.


Last edited by Tony K. on Fri May 20, 2005 2:35 pm; edited 1 time in total
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.Sy



Joined: 11 Mar 2005
Posts: 1266
PostPosted: Fri May 20, 2005 2:24 pm Reply with quote
One of the Shonen Jump USA issues said -maru was a common ending for samurai names, hence Amidamaru from Shaman King. Tony K.'s explanation makes more sense though.
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Emerje



Joined: 10 Aug 2002
Posts: 7413
Location: Maine
PostPosted: Fri May 20, 2005 3:07 pm Reply with quote
philg wrote:

Kimimaru


That's actually Kimimaro.

(And that first one should be Yashamaru.)

Emerje
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Suikoden6880



Joined: 01 May 2005
Posts: 108
Location: ...in space,in gravity...
PostPosted: Fri May 20, 2005 8:50 pm Reply with quote
Emerje wrote:


Quote:
That's actually Kimimaro

(And that first one should be Yashamaru)

Emerje



Dude. Who cares if that philg guy spells sumthing incorrect. At least you know what he's talking about.
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Emerje



Joined: 10 Aug 2002
Posts: 7413
Location: Maine
PostPosted: Fri May 20, 2005 9:26 pm Reply with quote
Suikoden6880 wrote:
Emerje wrote:


Quote:
That's actually Kimimaro

(And that first one should be Yashamaru)

Emerje



Dude. Who cares if that philg guy spells sumthing incorrect. At least you know what he's talking about.


Alright, two good reasons why it's important. First off, swaping an "o" for a "u" in Kimimaro makes it irrelevent to his point since he's asking about "marus" and not "maros".

Second, they're proper names, if you're going to make a point about character names the least you can do is get the names right.

Generally speaking I could care less about simple spelling mistakes, but if I misspell a name I'd like to know about it and I would like to think other would care enough to know as well. I guess I just respect the creators enough to spell their characters names properly, unlike you. Rolling Eyes

Emerje
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Suikoden6880



Joined: 01 May 2005
Posts: 108
Location: ...in space,in gravity...
PostPosted: Fri May 20, 2005 10:26 pm Reply with quote
Well, fine then. I could agree with the "asking about marus" thing, but people always gets my last name wrong 24/7 and I do correct them. But at least Im not a character that if someone gets their names just slightly like misplacing 1 letter, I wouldnt make such a fuss about it. That person will find out sooner or later that they misspelled something.

Also I do respect the creators. In other words... just chill. Probably philg respects the creators; just forgot to spell the character's name right...no biggie! Very Happy
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Emerje



Joined: 10 Aug 2002
Posts: 7413
Location: Maine
PostPosted: Fri May 20, 2005 11:20 pm Reply with quote
Suikoden6880 wrote:
But at least Im not a character that if someone gets their names just slightly like misplacing 1 letter,


Listen, if it wasn't for the topic I wouldn't have even made the comment on the "o" and "u", it's a mistake with his name that people make all the time, even I catch myself doing it before posting from time to time. However, there's a big difference between "Yashamaru" and "Yasshoumaru". And really, it was a simple correction that I'm sure nobody even thought twice about until you decided to make a big deal about it, not me.

Emerje
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Suikoden6880



Joined: 01 May 2005
Posts: 108
Location: ...in space,in gravity...
PostPosted: Sat May 21, 2005 6:59 am Reply with quote
OK, OK!!! Gosh...chill. I get it now. Trying not to get off track here...But, I guess it is my fault... Anime dazed OK?
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philg



Joined: 22 Oct 2004
Posts: 193
PostPosted: Mon May 23, 2005 6:40 am Reply with quote
Lol well thanks for the information, I thought there may have been some significance since a lot of Naruto characters end with maru.... and really, i don't care if someone corrects one of my mistakes.
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