Japanese with Manga

Studying classical Japanese with 古文

Kanji Explanation: Oldness and antiquity with 古

Manga panel from あずまんが大王 showing example of Studying classical Japanese with 古文.
あずまんが大王 » Volume 1年生 » Page 34

Following the a midterm exam, Yomi asks Tomo how it went.

とも:
「古文(こぶん)はなんのために勉強(べんきょう)するの？」
“What's the point of studying classical Japanese?”
Literal: “As for classical Japanese, for what purpose is it that we study it?”

Key Points

1古文(こぶん) = “classical Japanese” as a school subject
  • Here 古文(こぶん) refers to the study of classical Japanese texts, not simply any old piece of writing.
  • The compound joins 古(こ), “old”, with 文(ぶん), “writing” or “text”.
2古文(こぶん)は makes classical Japanese the topic
  • Tomo singles out 古文(こぶん) and asks why anyone studies it. The literal opening is “As for classical Japanese…”
3何(なん)のために … する = “what is the point of doing …?”
  • 何(なん)のために asks the purpose of an action.
4Sentence-final の asks for an explanation
  • In 勉強(べんきょう)するの？, の makes the question explanatory. Tomo sounds doubtful about the value of studying classical Japanese, rather than merely asking whether people study it.

Vocabulary

(Classical Japanese)

古文(こぶん) means classical Japanese writing or literature, especially works from the Edo period or earlier. In school, it also names the study of such texts.

(Study)

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

See Also

あずまんが大王 © its respective creators. It is used here for educational commentary.