Sunshine on my shoulders―太陽(たいよう)を背(せ)に受けて(うけて)

The late John Denver wrote,

“Sunshine on my shoulders make me happy.”

Which do you think is the best translation into Japanese?

1. 私(わたし)の肩(かた)の上(うえ)の日差し(ひざし)が私(わたし)を幸せ(しあわせ)にする。

2. 肩(かた)の上(うえ)に日(ひ)があたって私(わたし)は幸せ(しあわせ)だ。

3. 太陽(たいよう)を背(せ)に受けて(うけて)心地(ここち)よい。

The evening sun 夕日(ゆうひ) is what most Japanese like to see.

If you translate the English sentence, word for word, the #1 might be correct. Being grammatically correct, it is hardly a Japanese sentence.

First, “日差し(ひざし)が私(わたし)を幸せ(しあわせ)にする” is unnatural. 日差し(ひざし) is the subject in the sentence, but it becomes unnatural in many cases if the subject is an inanimate thing and the object is a living thing in the Japanese language.

Secondly, 幸せ(しあわせ)にする is unnatural. This phrase is almost only used when you propose a marriage.

あなたを幸せ(しあわせ)にすることを誓います(ちかいます): should be, “I promise to make you happy.”

This is the moment that you say: あなたを幸せにすることを誓います.

Thirdly, 肩(かた)の上(うえ)の日差し(ひざし) is unnatural. 肩(かた)の上(うえ)の荷物(にもつ) is no problem. An invisible thing will not be ‘on’ something in the Japanese world.

Lastly, 肩(かた) is unnatural in this case. 肩(かた) is considered too small a part to get sunshine in the Japanese world. A back 背中(せなか) is a better word in this sense.

Let’s look at the #2 sentence: 肩(かた)の上(うえ)に日(ひ)があたって私(わたし)は幸(しあわ)せだ. This sentence got better because 日(ひ)があたって is a natural statement. The Japanese title of a song by the Animals:

“The House of the Rising Sun” is "朝日(あさひ)のあたる家(いえ). "

However, 私(わたし)は幸せ(しあわせ)だ is unnatural in this case. It is an overstatement to say 幸せ(しあわせ) for the situation you get sunshine.

ダイヤモンド富士: Mr. Fuji with the morning sun rising in the center is especially called a Diamond Fuji.

‘Happy’ is usually translated into the Japanese as 幸せ(しあわせ), but the word means a more special thing than happy.

幸せ(しあわせ) is basically ‘good luck.’

To get sunshine is not a special thing nor good luck.

Furthermore, 私(わたし)は is unnatural and should be omitted. When the subject ‘I’ is clear and needless to say, it’s usually omitted in the Japanese.

猫(ねこ)が日向(ひなた)ぼっこをして、気持ち(きもち)よさそう: A cat is basking in the warm sunshine, which seems to make it happy.

The #3 sentence is the most natural statement. 心地よい(ここちよい) or 気持ち(きもち)いい is better than 幸せ(しあわせ)だ in this sentence. 背(せ) is used instead of 肩(かた). The subject ‘I’ is written off.

I love you.

Literally it’s translated as “わたしはあなたを愛して(あいして)います,” but this it an unnatural statement.

First, わたし should be omitted. If you say わたし, that sounds as if you said, “I―no other people but I―love you.”

Second, あなた should be omitted. The reason is just the same above.

好きです(すきです) is the most appropriate phrase to mean 'I love you.'

Lastly, 愛して(あいして)います still sounds like a foreign language. Just

好き(すき)です

is the best.

Imagine that a man introduces his girlfriend to his father. After they meet each other, she says to her boyfriend, “I love your father.”

What is your Japanese translation?

お父(とう)様(さま)のこと、好き(すき)よ is not so bad, but 好き(すき) is too early to use because they have just met. Instead,

お父(とう)様(さま)っていい方(かた)ね

is natural and much better for the situation.

I have a wife.

Don’t say 私(わたし)は妻(つま)をもっています. A wife or a human is not to 持つ(もつ).

私には妻がいます is the most appropriate sentence to mean 'I have a wife.'

You should say, instead,

私(わたし)には妻(つま)があります

or

妻(つま)がいます.

What made her do so?

何(なに)が彼女(かのじょ)をそうさせたか？ is unnatural.

In the English sentence, ‘what’ is the inanimate subject. However, the Japanese language doesn’t like an inanimate subject.

Besides, the Japanese language likes なる (intransitive) more than させる or する(transitive).

どうして彼女はそうなったの？: What made her do so?

何(なに)が~させる is not a Japanese anymore. Then you can say,

どうして彼女(かのじょ)はそうなったの？

I’m surprised.

(私は)驚いた(おどろいた)。

驚(おどろ)いて声(こえ)がでない: She's too surprised to speak.

The English sentence ‘I’m surprised’ has a form of passive voice. If you try to translate it into Japanese by using passive voice, that’ll be: 私(わたし)は(何(なに)かに)驚かされ(おどろかされ)ている.

This is too weird for a Japanese sentence. You need to say: 私(わたし)は(何(なに)かに) 驚いた(おどろいた).

When the Japanese people learn English, the passive voice is a headache. That’s because it’s very hard for the Japanese people to understand the relation between the subject and the transitive verb of English.