Japanese with Manga

Don't take your focus off the lynx with 気が散る

Idiom Explanation: Getting distracted with 気が散る

Manga panel from 骨ドラゴンのマナ娘 showing example of Don't take your focus off the lynx with 気が散る.
骨ドラゴンのマナ娘 » Volume 1 » Page 85

In order to make money to survive and continue her path of becoming a mage, Eve takes on a request to defeat a fanged lynx that has been attacking a merchant in the forest. She attempts to use her new magick staff against the beast, but no magick materializes from it.

イブ:
「魔女(まじょ)なのに　魔法(まほう)出(で)ない」
“Even though I'm a mage, magick won't come out.”
ネム:
「こら　気(き)を散(ち)らすな」
“Hey now, don't lose focus!”
Literal: “Hey, don't scatter your spirit.”

Key Points

1気(き)を散(ち)らすな means do not lose focus
  • Nemu warns Eve not to let her attention scatter during the fight.
2こら is a scolding attention-getter
  • Nemu uses こら to snap Eve back to the situation.
3Eve’s complaint is the distraction
  • 魔法(まほう)出(で)ない focuses on her failed staff instead of the enemy.
  • Nemu’s line redirects her from frustration to survival.

Vocabulary

(Witch)

魔女(まじょ) means a witch, a woman believed to use magic or sorcery.

(Magic)

魔法(まほう) means magic, sorcery, or a magical spell.

(To go out)

出(で)る means to go out or leave. It is also used when something appears or is produced.

See Also

骨ドラゴンのマナ娘 © its respective creators. It is used here for educational commentary.