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

(Serious)

真面目(まじめ) means serious, earnest, or diligent rather than joking or insincere.

(Seriousness)

真剣(しんけん) means serious or earnest. Literally, it can mean a real sword rather than a practice blade.

(Study)

勉強(べんきょう) refers to learning academic subjects or skills, or to devoting oneself wholeheartedly to a task.

(Weak point)

苦手(にがて) means something one is bad at or someone one finds difficult to deal with.

See Also

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