Japanese with Manga

Skilled clock maker with 職人

Vocabulary Explanation: Skilled artisan with 職人

Manga panel from 名探偵コナン showing example of Skilled clock maker with 職人.
名探偵コナン » Volume 17 » Page 118

Having received a letter requesting help solving a mystery, Kogoro finds himself in a house filled with animal designs everywhere, including the doors, the chairs, and the plates. His attention turns to the clocks covering the walls.

小五郎(こごろう):
「しかし動物(どうぶつ)もさることながら、時計(とけい)もたくさんありますなー．．．」
“But aside from the animals, there are also a lot of clocks, huh...”
男(おとこ):
「当(あ)たり前(まえ)ですよ．．．　祖父(そふ)は時計(とけい)職人(しょくにん)だったんですから．．．」
“Of course there are... Grandfather was a clock maker, after all...”

Key Points

1時計(とけい)職人(しょくにん) = “clockmaker” / “clock artisan”
  • Here 職人(しょくにん) means a skilled craftsperson, not just someone with a job; it emphasizes trained hands-on workmanship.
  • With 時計(とけい) in front, 時計(とけい)職人(しょくにん) becomes a craftsperson who makes or works on clocks, which is why maker fits in the translation.
2Compound noun pattern: 時計(とけい) + 職人(しょくにん)
  • There is no particle between the two nouns; 時計(とけい) directly specifies what kind of artisan he was.
  • This same pattern is very common in Japanese: [thing] + [person/role] = a person who works with that thing.
3だったんですから = explanatory reason
  • だった is the past form of です / だ, and んです adds an explanatory tone: you see / the reason is that….
  • から gives the reason, so 祖父(そふ)は時計(とけい)職人(しょくにん)だったんですから means it’s because Grandfather was a clockmaker.
  • In context, he is explaining why the house has so many clocks.
4当(あ)たり前(まえ)ですよ = “Of course”
  • This replies directly to Kogoro’s observation about all the clocks and treats it as something completely expected.
  • The polite ですよ adds a lightly emphatic, matter-of-fact tone: Of course there are.

Vocabulary

(Animal)

動物(どうぶつ) means an animal. In everyday use, it usually means a nonhuman creature.

(Clock)

時計(とけい) means a clock, watch, or other device that measures and displays time.

(Grandfather)

祖父(そふ) is the standard formal word for one’s grandfather.

(Craftsperson)

職人(しょくにん) means a skilled craftsperson or artisan trained in a manual trade.

See Also

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