As a trick question, I asked DeepSeek to translate the notoriously context dependent phrase "yoroshiku onegaishimasu." DeepSeek did not take the bait. Here was its response:
"Yoroshiku onegaishimasu" (よろしくお願いします) is a versatile Japanese phrase with no direct English equivalent. Its meaning depends on context:
– **When meeting someone:** "Nice to meet you" / "I look forward to working with you."
– **When making a request:** "Thank you in advance" / "I appreciate your help."
– **In ongoing relationships:** "Please treat me kindly" / "Let’s cooperate well."
### Example Uses:
-
**After introducing yourself:** *"Nice to meet you. Yoroshiku onegaishimasu!"*
-
**Asking for a favor:** *"Could you review this document? Yoroshiku onegaishimasu."*
-
**Ending an email:** *"Yoroshiku onegaishimasu" ≈ "Best regards"*
The phrase carries humility and a tone of mutual respect. 🌟"
That nails it exactly.
A longer passage from an editorial in Mainichi Shimbun:
事実とすれば、立場を悪用して私腹を肥やすという言語道断の行為だ。捜査を尽くす必要がある。 元理事長は大学創立者の親族で、2014年に大学の経営を統括する役職に就いた。付属病院で鎮静剤を大量投与された男児が死亡する事故が起き、経営が低迷していた時期だ。 再建を託されたが、その手法は人件費の抑制や施設の集約など、徹底したコストカットだった。 一時は黒字に戻したものの、待遇悪化で医師や職員の大量退職を招いた。事故を教訓に設置された「小児集中治療室」も短期間で閉鎖された。病床利用率は落ち込み、収支は再び赤字に転落した。
"If these allegations are true, this constitutes an utterly reprehensible act of exploiting one’s position for personal gain. A thorough investigation is imperative.
The former chairman, a relative of the university’s founder, assumed a managerial role overseeing the institution in 2014—a period of crisis following a fatal incident at its affiliated hospital where a young boy died after being administered an excessive dose of sedatives. The university’s finances were already in decline at the time.
Tasked with revitalizing the institution, the chairman implemented aggressive cost-cutting measures, including suppressing labor costs and consolidating facilities. While these actions briefly restored profitability, the deterioration of working conditions triggered a mass exodus of doctors and staff. The Pediatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU), established as a lesson from the earlier tragedy, was also shut down after a short period. Bed occupancy rates plummeted, and the hospital’s finances once again fell into deficit."
A professional translator would be hard-pressed to do a better job, not only as to accuracy of the translation, but also as to fluency and naturalness of the English text.
Quite impressive.
by Omaewarokkudayo
10 comments
I mean, sure, but I just asked chatgpt the same thing and got a similar result. It’s not that impressive.
BOOOOOO! BOOOO!!!
I used to be a healthy, functional member of society until fucking AI took the J>E translation work I’d taken for granted my whole life to the point of becoming a shut-in man-child on disability for… being such a disabled shut-in man-child!
I need to send RoboCop back in time to Assassinate whoever is behind this Skynet shit! BOOOOOOO!!!! Dey durkur jeeerbsz!
Gonna have to give it a lot more than a nuanced phrase and one excerpt from Mainichi Shinbun, in order to judge it fairly. As far as first impressions go, it’s not exactly the first of its kind to get a high degree of accuracy (given a small enough sample set).
As for right now, it’s an anecdotal take, and can be taken with a grain of salt.
Will note that as far as options go, we’re deffo better off than a decade ago.
I for one welcome our new Chinese overlords.
Just as shit as ChatGPT, fails on the same line. I asked it “Translate “彼女は声は綺麗” and explain the translation” and got almost the same answer ChatGPT gives
>
>The sentence “彼女は声は綺麗” translates to “Her voice is beautiful” or “She has a beautiful voice.”
Explanation of the translation:
>彼女 (かのじょ / kanojo): This means “she” or “her.”
は (wa): This is the topic marker, indicating that “彼女” (she) is the topic of the sentence.
声 (こえ / koe): This means “voice.”
は (wa): Here, it marks “声” (voice) as the secondary topic or focus of the sentence. This double use of “は” emphasizes that, specifically, her voice is being described.
綺麗 (きれい / kirei): This means “beautiful,” “pretty,” or “clean.”
>The sentence structure in Japanese can sometimes feel a bit indirect compared to English. While it literally translates to “As for her, as for her voice, it is beautiful,” it is more naturally expressed in English as “Her voice is beautiful” or “She has a beautiful voice.”
>Let me know if you’d like further clarification!
This is simply wrong, double use of は adds a very strong nuance of exclusivity and contradiction, so this phrase means “Among all her features only her voice is beautiful”, which is actually a humiliating verbal abuse.
I think this is pretty darn impressive. For comparison this is how chatGPT translated the article:
>If this is true, it is an outrageous act of abusing one’s position for personal gain. A thorough investigation is necessary.
>The former chairman was a relative of the university’s founder and assumed a position overseeing the management of the university in 2014. During this time, an incident occurred in which a young boy, who was administered a large amount of sedatives at the affiliated hospital, died, and the management was in decline.
>He was entrusted with the task of rebuilding, but his methods were centered around strict cost-cutting measures, such as reducing personnel expenses and consolidating facilities.
>Although he briefly returned the organization to profitability, the worsening working conditions led to a mass resignation of doctors and staff. The “pediatric intensive care unit,” which had been established as a lesson from the incident, was also closed after a short period. The hospital bed occupancy rate dropped, and the financial balance once again turned to a deficit.
DeepSeek has a far more natural translation.
DeepSeek R1 is overkill for language learning, including the tasks that you state. Reasoning LLMs are for solving difficult, unprecedented logical and quantitative problems.
If you ask DeepSeek about this, you’ll get the same response (which is why I’m saying it).
Don’t really feel like signing up to it, but how does it answer:
Translate: その身ふるわせ鳴く蝉よりも 鳴かぬ蛍が身を焦がす
This was ChatGPT’s answer: “Sure! Here’s a translation of the line:
“More than the cicadas trembling and crying, the silent fireflies burn my body.”
This line evokes a feeling of longing or quiet intensity, with the fireflies’ silence creating an even stronger emotional impact than the loud, frantic cicadas.”
(ChatGPT is wrong of course)
Stupid question but how do you use Deepseek? Is it an app?
I’m so tired of this shit