Japanese with Manga

Don't make me laugh with 笑わせんな

Grammar Explanation: Making and letting with 〜せる・〜させる

Manga panel from 名探偵コナン showing example of Don't make me laugh with 笑わせんな.
名探偵コナン » Volume 1 » Page 110

Ran and Kogoro find the kidnapped Akiko and they apprehend the kidnapper. Believing the butler to have arranged the kidnapping, Kogoro accuses the kidnapper being an accomplice. The kidnapper denies working with someone, saying he encountered the child in the hotel by chance.

小五郎(こごろう):
「なんだと？じゃあ、おまえはお嬢(じょう)さんが監禁(かんきん)されていた場所(ばしょ)から、また誘拐(ゆうかい)を！？」
“What?! So you kidnapped her all over again, from the very place where the young lady was being held captive!?”
誘拐犯(ゆうかいはん):
「監禁(かんきん)！？笑(わら)わせんな！！あのガキ、ホテルのレストランで一人(ひとり)でのんびりメシ食(く)ってたぜ…」
“Held captive?! Don't make me laugh!! That brat was eating a leisurely meal all by herself in the hotel restaurant...”

Key Points

1笑わせんな = “Don’t make me laugh”
  • The chain: 笑(わら)う (laugh) → 笑(わら)わせる, the causative (make someone laugh) → 笑(わら)わせるな with the prohibitive な.
2んな is るな contracted
  • 笑(わら)わせんな squeezes 笑(わら)わせるな.
  • The prohibitive な is already blunt. Contracting it makes the retort rougher still.
3あのガキ is the topic with a dropped particle
  • ガキ is a rude word for a kid, far harsher than 子供(こども).
  • The particle is omitted: the full thought is あのガキは…メシ食(く)ってた.
4メシ食ってたぜ stacks casual forms
  • メシ is a rough word for a meal, and 食(く)う is a rough verb for eating.
  • 食(く)ってた contracts 食(く)っていた, the past progressive, was eating.
  • ぜ ends the line with rough masculine force.

Vocabulary

(You)

おまえ is a casual, rough word for “you”. Men often use it toward people of equal or lower standing. It is also written お前(まえ).

(Young lady)

お嬢(じょう)さん is a polite word for someone else’s daughter, or a way to address a young woman.

(Confinement)

監禁(かんきん) is locking someone up somewhere and not letting them leave.

(Place)

場所(ばしょ) is the place where something is or happens.

(Again)

また means “again” or “once more”. It also means “also”. As a goodbye, またね means “see you”.

(Kidnapping)

誘拐(ゆうかい) means kidnapping someone by deception or enticement.

(To make laugh)

笑(わら)わせる is to make someone laugh. 笑わせるな means “don’t make me laugh”, mocking what someone said.

(That)

あの comes before a noun to mean “that” or “those”. It points to someone or something away from both speakers, or something they both know about.

(Brat)

ガキ is a rough word for a child, like “kid” or “brat”.

(Hotel)

ホテル is a hotel.

(Restaurant)

レストラン is a restaurant, especially a Western-style one.

(Leisurely)

のんびり describes doing something in a relaxed, unhurried way without worries.

(Meal)

メシ is a rough, casual word for a meal or cooked rice. It is also written 飯(めし).

(To eat)

食(く)う is a rough, casual word for “to eat”, used mostly by men.

See Also

名探偵コナン © its respective creators. It is used here for educational commentary.