Memento – Bilingual Lyrics Japanese/English

• By: nonoc

Lyrics & Translation

Dive into the atmospheric world of Japanese music with nonoc's “Memento.” This J-Pop anime song is perfect for learning emotional vocabulary related to memory, sadness, and hope. Its unique use of a subtle, almost-whispered vocal technique makes the Japanese pronunciation particularly clear and intimate, allowing you to focus on the nuanced connection between the delicate music and the powerful, recurring themes of tragedy and recollection.

[English]

Holding the tragedy etched by the endless cycle of time.

Let's start again...

A trembling heart already senses the sadness.

The weak me has nowhere left to run.

Someday, this snow will stop too.

Holding onto the resolve to be hurt, and your words.

Again and again I pound the memories I sealed away for good.

If only your tenderness could melt these frozen tears.

No matter how many times, don't give up on dreaming of tomorrow.

May the blocked road and the traces of life continue on.

Light a faint hope.

I push on, chasing the quiet darkness deeper.

Toward that distant, nostalgic smile.

My chest begins to creak, as if I'm crying out.

No matter how many times, I hide away the sins that still won't fade.

I love you so much; why is it that the more precious you are, the more I want to forget?

Forever, in unchanged innocence, the childish heart remains.

Only the strength remains frozen from that day, waiting forever.

The past, the present, and the future.

Surely everything will come together.

We drift apart, and here I am as well...

No matter how many times, I close away the memories I sealed for good.

No matter how many times, I dream of tomorrow.

Again and again I pound the memories I sealed away for good.

If only your tenderness could melt these frozen tears.

No matter how many times, don't give up on dreaming of tomorrow.

May the blocked road and the traces of life continue on.

Again and again, no matter how many tragedies we overcome.

We go back again and again—the weak me.

Searching, searching only for true hope.

Crushed, crushed—until nothing remains.

Again and again, no matter how many tragedies we cross.

Searching, searching only for true hope.

Again and again, no matter how many tragedies we cross.

Searching, searching only for true hope.

Repeating, repeating.

[Japanese]

繰り返す時を　刻む悲劇を抱いて kurikaesu toki wo kizamu higeki wo daite

また始めよう・・・ mata hajimeyou…

震える心は　悲しみを予感してる furueru kokoro wa kanashimi wo yokan shiteru

弱いままの自分　逃げ場はもう無いの yowai mama no jibun nigeba wa mou nai no

いつかこの雪も　止むなら itsuka kono yuki mo yamu nara

傷付く覚悟と　君の言葉握る kizutsuku kakugo to kimi no kotoba nigiru

何度でも永久を　閉じた記憶を　叩いて叩いて nando demo towa wo tojita kioku wo tataite tataite

凍て付いた涙　溶かすものなら　その優しさ itetsuita namida tokasu mono nara sono yasashisa

何度でも明日を　夢見ることを　捨てたりしないで nando demo asu wo yumemiru koto wo sutetari shinaide

塞がれた道が　命の跡が　続きますように fusagareta michi ga inochi no ato ga tsuzukimasu you ni

微かな希望を　灯して kasuka na kibou wo tomoshite

静寂の闇を　深く追い行く seijaku no yami wo fukaku oiyuku

彼方に浮かんだ　懐かしいその笑顔に kanata ni ukanda natsukashii sono egao ni

胸は軋み出す　泣き叫んでるように･･･ mune wa kishimidasu nakisakenderu you ni…

いつまでも　今も消えない罪を　遠ざけて隠した itsu made mo ima mo kienai tsumi wo toozakete kakushita

愛しくて　どうして　大切なほど　忘れたくて itoshikute doushite taisetsu na hodo wasuretakute

いつまでも　なにも変わらぬ無垢で　幼い心は itsu made mo nanimo kawaranu muku de osanai kokoro wa

力だけ　あの日凍えたままで　ずっと待ってる chikara dake ano hi kogoeta mama de zutto matteru

過去も　今も　未来も kako mo ima mo mirai mo

きっと　すべては出会う kitto subete wa deau

離れ離れと　自分もここで･･･ hanarebanare to jibun mo koko de…

何度でも　永久を閉じた記憶を nando demo towa wo tojita kioku wo

何度でも　 明日を夢見ることを nando demo asu wo yumemiru koto wo

何度でも永久を　閉じた記憶を　叩いて叩いて nando demo towa wo tojita kioku wo tataite tataite

凍て付いた涙　溶かすものなら　その優しさ itetsuita namida tokasu mono nara sono yasashisa

何度でも明日を　夢見ることを　捨てたりしないで nando demo asu wo yumemiru koto wo sutetari shinaide

塞がれた道が　命の跡が　続きますように fusagareta michi ga inochi no ato ga tsuzukimasu you ni

繰り返す　繰り返す　悲劇を幾つ越えても kurikaesu kurikaesu higeki wo ikutsu koetemo

また戻る　また戻る　弱いままの自分 mata modoru mata modoru yowai mama no jibun

探してる　探してる　本当の希望だけを sagashiteru sagashiteru hontou no kibou dake wo

砕かれる　砕かれる　すべてがゼロになるまで kudakareru kudakareru subete ga zero ni naru made

繰り返す　繰り返す　悲劇を幾つ越えても kurikaesu kurikaesu higeki wo ikutsu koetemo

探してる　探してる　本当の希望だけを sagashiteru sagashiteru hontou no kibou dake wo

繰り返す　繰り返す　悲劇を幾つ越えても kurikaesu kurikaesu higeki wo ikutsu koetemo

探してる　探してる　本当の希望だけを sagashiteru sagashiteru hontou no kibou dake wo

繰り返す　繰り返す kurikaesu kurikaesu

Key Vocabulary

Vocabulary	Meanings
繰り返す /kurikaesu/ B1	verb - to repeat
悲劇 /higeki/ B2	noun - tragedy
震える /furueru/ B1	verb - to tremble
弱い /yowai/ A2	adjective - weak
雪 /yuki/ A1	noun - snow
傷付く /kizutsuku/ B1	verb - to be hurt
覚悟 /kakugo/ B2	noun - resolution
凍て付いた /itetsuita/ C1	adjective - frozen
溶かす /tokasu/ B1	verb - to melt
優しさ /yasashisa/ A2	noun - kindness
塞がれた /fusagareta/ C1	adjective - blocked
微かな /kasuka na/ B2	adjective - faint
静寂 /seijaku/ B2	noun - silence
懐かしい /natsukashii/ B1	adjective - nostalgic
軋み出す /kishimidasu/ C1	verb - to creak
探してる /sagashiteru/ A2	verb - to search
砕かれる /kudakareru/ C1	verb - to be shattered

Key Grammar Structures

• また始めよう・・・

  ➔ Volitional form – expresses the speaker’s will or invitation (let’s …).

  ➔ The verb "始めよう" is the volitional of "始める" meaning “let’s start”.

• 震える心は　悲しみを予感してる

  ➔ Verb‑ている – progressive or continuous state.

  ➔ "予感してる" is the colloquial contraction of "予感している", meaning “is foreseeing”.

• 弱いままの自分　逃げ場はもう無いの

  ➔ Negative verb + の – explanatory or emphatic ending.

  ➔ "無いの" ends the sentence with an explanatory nuance, similar to “there is none, you know”.

• 凍て付いた涙　溶かすものなら　その優しさ

  ➔ Conditional なら – “if … then …”, often used for hypothetical conditions.

  ➔ "溶かすものなら" means “if (you) can melt them”, with "ものなら" indicating a conditional hypothesis.

• 何度でも明日を　夢見ることを　捨てたりしないで

  ➔ Verb たり…しないで – expresses “not doing … among other actions”.

  ➔ "捨てたりしないで" uses たり to list an action (捨てる) and then negates it with しないで, meaning “don’t discard”.

• 塞がれた道が　命の跡が　続きますように

  ➔ Verb‑ますように – expresses a wish or hope for something to happen.

  ➔ "続きますように" means “may it continue”, using ますように to convey a hopeful wish.

• 胸は軋み出す　泣き叫んでるように･･･

  ➔ Verb‑ように – simile/comparative “like …”.

  ➔ "泣き叫んでるように" uses ように to compare the chest’s pain to “crying and screaming”.

• 愛しくて　どうして　大切なほど　忘れたくて

  ➔ Verb‑て connecting multiple clauses to show cause or emotion.

  ➔ "愛しくて" and "忘れたくて" use the て‑form to link feelings, roughly “because it is dear… and I want to forget…”.

• 何度でも永久を　閉じた記憶を　叩いて叩いて

  ➔ Verb repetition (V‑て V‑て) – emphasizes continuous or repeated action.

  ➔ "叩いて叩いて" repeats the te‑form of "叩く" to convey a persistent pounding.

• きっと　すべては出会う

  ➔ Plain present – expresses a general truth or future inevitability.

  ➔ "出会う" in present tense, together with "きっと", conveys “surely, everything will meet”.