Learn Japanese from Giyu Tomioka’s line “生殺与奪の権を他人に握らせるな”

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Learn Japanese from Giyu Tomioka’s line “生殺与奪の権を他人に握らせるな"

2024.05.22

In this article, I will explain Japanese grammar and vocabulary based on Giyu Tomioka’s line “生殺与奪の権を他人に握らせるな”.

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Table of contents

The Basic Information of The Line
Grammatical Structure

The Basic Information of The Line

The basic meaning

in Japanese: “生殺与奪の権を他人に握らせるな”

in Hiragana: “せいさつよだつのけんをたにんににぎらせるな”

in Romaji: “Seisatsu yodatsu no ken o tanin ni nigiraseru na”

Meaning: “Do not let others hold the power of life and death over you.”

The situation in which the line was spoken

In this scene, Tanjiro’s sister Nezuko is about to be killed by Tomioka Giyu.
Nezuko has suddenly turned into a demon and is attacking Tanjiro when Giyu Tomioka appears. Tomioka Giyu tries to kill Nezuko, who has turned into a demon, but Tanjiro cower on the ground and begs her to stop killing her.
However, Tomioka Giyu is angered by this action and tells him not to give the right to life to others.

Grammatical Structure

生殺与奪 (せいさつよだつ / seisatsuyodatsu)

This is a compound noun composed of four kanji characters. It means “the power of life and death,” where:

生 (せい / sei) means “life.”
殺 (さつ / satsu) means “kill” or “death.”
与 (よ / yo) means “give” or “grant.”
奪 (だつ / datsu) means “take” or “deprive.”

の (no)

This is a possessive particle, translating to “of” in English. It connects “生殺与奪” and “権,” indicating that “権” is characterized by “生殺与奪.”

権 (けん / ken)

This is a noun meaning “power” or “authority.”

を (o)

This is an object particle, indicating that the preceding noun “生殺与奪の権” is the direct object of the verb that follows.

他人 (たにん / tanin)

This is a noun meaning “other people” or “another person.”

に (ni)

This is a particle indicating the indirect object of the action, translating to “to” or “by” in English. In this sentence, it shows who is given the power.

握らせる (にぎらせる / nigiraseru)

This is a causative form of the verb “握る (にぎる / nigiru),” which means “to grasp” or “to hold.” The causative form means “to let someone grasp” or “to make someone hold.”