The younger generation are totally unfamiliar with this series and the entire context of ‘ omae wa mou shindeiru.’ So you can use the phrase if you find yourself among a group of manga and anime fans or can be used in a playful context around some middle aged group of people who are aware of the term. But today, it has fallen out of the common vocabulary.

Perhaps thirty years ago, people would have used the phrase in manga-related conversations, in jokes or even casual discussions. So, keep in mind that the Japanese people DO NOT use this popular phrase in conversations simply because it is impolite to use informal language in Japan. It is an informal way of speaking and is considered more of a slang than polite vocabulary. In the manga and anime, the hero Kenshiro uses the phrase aggressively because he looks down on others and has a superior ‘I am better than you’ type of attitude. How to use OMAE WA MOU SHINDEIRU… NANI appropriately? In the sense, 死んでいる doesn’t mean ‘dying’ because it actually refers that “someone ids in ‘the state of being dead.’ The literal translation of this word into English does not exactly go with its Japanese meaning. Here it is combined in the iru-verb いる and is in its te-form of 死んで which is exactly like the -ing ending in English. The Japanese word 死ぬ is the ‘verb form’ for to die. Hence, the use of this word もう in the sentence.įinally,we have shinde iru (死んでいる) which means someone is dead. In this case, the villain was in the state of being alive, and was now in the state of being dead. Next, we get mou (もう) which means ‘already.’ It has some fascinating connotations in the Japanese language and is used when something was in one state of being, but now is in a different state of being. So, you probably should not use it when talking to somebody which makes perfect sense why it is used on the enemy in anime.

Since this word is pretty rough, you will usually find men using it on shows or women who have a rough edge to their personality. In Japanese, words are spoken differently based on gender.

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