Fanatics of darkish myth anime Assault on Titan will instantly acknowledge the phrase Sasageyo.
In the event you don’t, check out making a song it. This phrase options prominently in the preferred anime’s 2nd opening theme, 『心臓を捧げよ!』 (“Commit Your Center!”).
However is the phrase “commit” truly the best selection? How about “sacrifice,” or “be offering” and even “elevate up”?
As with many translations, it’s sophisticated.
What does Eastern “sasageyo” mean?
「捧げよ」 (sasageyo) is the crucial type of the Eastern phrase 捧ぐ (sasagu), a verb with 3 major makes use of. 捧ぐ can mean both “to elevate up or cling up,” “to give, be offering or consecrate” or “to dedicate, sacrifice or commit.” The よ (yo) at the finish provides emphasis. In undeniable English, 「捧げよ」 is a command telling any person to both elevate up, be offering, sacrifice or dedicate one thing. Within the lyrics for the Assault on Titan theme music, “commit” is a cast selection.
捧ぐ (sasagu): the core of 「捧げよ」
捧ぐ (sasagu) is the important thing to figuring out 「捧げよ」 (sasageyo).
This Eastern verb may have a number of various meanings, amongst them “to elevate up” and “to dedicate.”
Curiously, the verb is a much less not unusual type of 捧げる (sasageru), giving this actual word a quite difficult to understand, literary really feel.
The meanings of each phrases are similar, on the other hand, and all have worshipful overtones, with most likely origins in precise sacrifices or choices to gods.
In truth, some of the kanji found in 捧ぐ is 奉 (hou, “be offering”), which could also be utilized in phrases like 奉仕 (houshi, “church paintings”) and 奉仕者 (houshisha, “spiritual minister”).
Let’s take a second to have a look at every imaginable meaning.
Lifting one thing up with 捧ぐ
捧ぐ can be utilized to mean “to elevate up” or “to cling up.” Extra particularly, it will possibly mean to elevate one thing above eye stage.
Image that scene in Disney’s The Lion King the place the sensible Rafiki holds up the baby child Simba, long term delight (pun certainly supposed) of his kingdom. That’s a excellent psychological symbol of this meaning of 捧ぐ.
Examples
「ラフィキはシンバを捧いだ。」 “Rafiki lifted Simba up.” Vintage.
Right here, we’ve got the straightforward previous traumatic type of 捧ぐ, 捧いだ (sasaida). The meaning is “lifted up” or most likely “raised.”
Choices and consecrations
Shinto, Japan’s local faith, gives many examples of 捧げる getting used to refer to choices and making issues holy (this is, consecrating them).
One essential providing in Shinto is a 玉ぐし (tamagushi), a kind of tree department embellished with washi paper or some more or less material. Shinto clergymen make ritual shows of tamagushi at many ceremonies, together with weddings and funerals.
Examples
「神社で玉串を捧げましょう。」 “Let’s be offering a tamagushi on the shrine.”
「神に祈りを捧げました。」 “He introduced prayers to God.”
Right here, 捧げる (sasageru) is used as a substitute of 捧ぐ (sasagu). That is what other folks would in fact say in actual existence, so it’s extra suitable.
Let’s get bloody: sacrifices and 捧ぐ
The ultimate imaginable set of meanings for 捧ぐ is “to dedicate, sacrifice or commit.”
Sacrifices will also be literal or metaphorical, as proven by means of the phrase being sandwiched in between “dedicate” and “commit,” two decidedly cozier phrases that also display hardship.
Mainly, this meaning of 捧ぐ displays any person giving one thing up for one thing else. In some circumstances, that first one thing simply occurs to be the blood of a dwelling factor.
Examples
「彼らはやぎを神への捧げ物として殺した。」 “They killed a goat as a sacrifice to God.”
Who says God is useless? No longer those keen worshippers.
This situation comes from tatoeba, an online database of sentences made freely to be had for translation.
「彼は仕事に自分を捧げました。」
“He devoted himself to his activity.”
Even though jobs in most cases don’t come with precise sacrifice of dwelling creatures, someone operating 9-to-5 can definitely relate to the sentiment.
Forming the crucial
Sufficient about 捧ぐ. Let’s transfer on!
Eastern Verbs are often labeled in English texts as “ru verbs” or “u verbs,” however in Eastern those are referred to as both “ichidan” or “godan” verbs.
捧ぐ is the usual (infinitive) type of a godan verb (an “u verb” within the English classification). This actual verb ends with ぐ (gu).
To conjugate the crucial (command) type of a godan verb, you change the “u” within the phrases’ ultimate syllable with an “e.” For 捧ぐ (sasagu), that implies we finally end up with 捧げ (sasage).
The variation in meaning is equal to the adaptation between “It is painful to sacrifice one thing” and “Pass sacrifice one thing at the moment.” in English.
よ (yo): it’s for emphasis!
The よ (yo) at the finish of 「捧げよ」 is just a particle positioned on the finish of a sentence to emphasize what comes ahead of it.
On this case, it makes the command to sacrifice or commit one thing extra forceful.
The one different word about よ is that it doesn’t in most cases make it right into a translation, or no less than indirectly. You’ll be able to recall to mind it as meaning “significantly” or “truly,” if that is helping.
Examples
「信じられないよ!」 “I significantly can’t imagine it!”
「待ってよ!」 “Wait up!”
In each those sentences, よ displays emphasis. Within the first, it makes transparent simply how arduous it’s for the speaker to imagine one thing. In the second one, it provides a way of urgency to the command type of “to wait.”
What does Eastern “sasageyo” mean within the Assault on Titan theme?
In Connected Horizon’s 2nd opening music for Assault on Titan, the phrase 「捧げよ」 is used within the chorus, the a part of the music that’s repeated a number of instances.
It would possibly now not marvel someone conversant in Assault on Titan (an anime about human-eating giants that should be defeated by means of human warriors) to be told that the music lyrics are in regards to the struggling confronted by means of those that should battle demons.
The primary frame of the music describes the anguish of those warring parties, and the sacrifices they’ve made to get to some extent the place they may be able to defeat their enemies.
The chorus differs rather every time it’s sung, however every time it comprises the road 「捧げよ!捧げよ!心臓を捧げよ!」 two times.
Round that line come lyrics reminding the warring parties of the hardships, sacrifices and herculean efforts they’ve made to achieve this level, and urging them to stay shifting ahead and defeat their foes to achieve victory and freedom.
“Commit” and “commit” would each be excellent translations for this actual case. An issue may be made for “metal,” as in “Metal (harden) your center.”
In brief, the implication of 「捧げよ」 within the Assault on Titan theme is, “Don’t surrender, in spite of the hardships you face.”

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