Japanese with Manga

An all-around athlete with 万能

Kanji Explanation: Ability and capability with 能

Manga panel from それでも歩は寄せてくる showing example of An all-around athlete with 万能.
それでも歩は寄せてくる » Volume 10 » Page 84

Urushi asks Rin about what Ayumu was like in middle school.

うるし:
「真面目(まじめ)だけど少(すこ)し抜(ぬ)けてていつも真剣(しんけん)で勉強(べんきょう)苦手(にがて)でスポーツ万能(ばんのう)か」
“Serious but a bit absent-minded, always earnest, struggles with academics, but excels at sports, huh?”
Literal: “Serious, but a little scatterbrained, always earnest, bad at studying, and all-purpose at sports, huh?”

Key Points

1万能(ばんのう) here means “good at everything” within one area
  • In this scene, 万能(ばんのう) means Ayumu is an all-around athlete, not that he is universally capable at literally everything.
2The sentence is a rapid list of traits
  • Urushi strings descriptions together with 〜て and omitted pauses, giving a quick rundown of what he was like.
3Final か marks Urushi’s reflective “huh?”
  • The ending か is not a formal question here so much as a reflective reaction as she pieces the picture together.
  • That is why the translation ends with “huh?” rather than a direct information-seeking question.

Vocabulary

(Almighty)

万能(ばんのう) means being able to handle all things or being useful for every purpose.

(Serious)

真面目(まじめ) refers to approaching things with sincerity and dedication, without telling lies or making jokes, as well as a sincere and earnest personality or attitude.

(Weak point)

苦手(にがて) refers to a situation where one is not skilled at a particular task or activity, or to a person with whom one does not get along, finds difficult to deal with, or dislikes.

(Study)

勉強(べんきょう) means study or working hard at learning. The word preserves an older sense of forcing oneself to persist through effort.

(Seriousness)

真剣(しんけん) means seriousness or earnestness in ordinary use, though it can also literally mean a real sword.

See Also

それでも歩は寄せてくる © its respective creators. It is used here for educational commentary.