願いごとの持ち腐れ – Bilingual Lyrics Japanese/English

• By: AKB48
• Album: 48th Maxi Single「願いごとの持ち腐れ」

Lyrics & Translation

[Japanese]

[English]

もしも 魔法が使えて

If I could use magic,

夢がひとつ叶うならば

and one dream could come true,

きっと 世界の誰もが

surely, everyone in the world,

しあわせになる

would find happiness.

涙 (ひと粒も) なんか (そうきっと)

Not even a single tear, I think,

流す者はいない (希望)

no one would shed tears (hope).

悲しみの (悲しみの) 種は

The seeds of sadness,

すべて (すべて) 消えるだろう

would all disappear.

願いごとの持ち腐れ

Wasting my wishes,

一度きりの魔法なんて

Magic that only happens once,

あれもこれも欲が出て

I start wanting this and that,

今すぐに決められないよ

and I can't decide right now.

迷ってるうちに黄昏

While I'm lost in doubt, dusk falls.

...

...

ある日 些細 (ささい) なことから

One day, over something small,

争ってる二人がいた

there were two people fighting.

僕は思わず願った

I inadvertently wished,

仲良くしてと

for them to get along.

僕に (探してた) とって (生きる道)

A way to live I was searching for.

たった一度きりの (チャンス)

A once-in-a-lifetime chance.

大切な (大切な) 魔法

A precious magic,

ここで (ここで) 使ったんだ

I used it right here.

願いごとに悔いはない

No regrets about my wish.

自分のためじゃ迷うだけ

If it's just for myself, I only hesitate.

世界中が誰かのため

If everyone in the world wished for someone,

願えたらひとつになれる

we could become one.

微笑みは愛の夜明けだ

A smile is the dawn of love.

...

...

願いごとの持ち腐れ

Wasting my wishes,

魔法なんか欲しくはない

I don't want magic anymore.

叶えたい夢は多いけど

I have many dreams I want to fulfill,

本当の願いは何か

but I wonder, what's my real wish?

見つけられたならしあわせ

If I could find it, I’d be happy.

...

...

Key Vocabulary

Vocabulary	Meanings
魔法 (mahō) /mahoː/ B1	noun - magic, witchcraft
夢 (yume) /jɯme/ A2	noun - dream
世界 (sekai) /sekai/ A2	noun - world
幸せ (shiawase) /ɕiaɰase/ A2	adjective - happiness, blessedness noun - happiness, good fortune
涙 (namida) /namida/ A2	noun - tear
希望 (kibō) /kiboː/ B1	noun - hope
悲しみ (kanashimi) /kanasimi/ B1	noun - sadness, sorrow
種 (tane) /tane/ A2	noun - seed
願い (negai) /negai/ A2	noun - wish, desire
黄昏 (tasogare) /tasogare/ B2	noun - dusk, twilight
些細 (sasai) /sasai/ B2	adjective - trivial, minor, insignificant
争い (arasoi) /aɾasoi/ B2	noun - dispute, conflict, strife
道 (michi) /mit͡ɕi/ A1	noun - road, path, way
後悔 (kōkai) /koːkai/ B2	noun - regret, remorse verb - to regret
微笑み (hohoemi) /hohoemi/ B2	noun - smile
愛 (ai) /ai/ A2	noun - love
夜明け (yoake) /joake/ B2	noun - dawn, daybreak

Key Grammar Structures

• もしも 魔法が使えて

  ➔ Imperative mood with もしも + verb in potential form to express hypothetical situations.

  ➔ The phrase uses もしも combined with the verb in potential form to talk about hypothetical scenarios.

• 願いごとの持ち腐れ

  ➔ Noun + の + 持ち腐れ (もちはくれ): meaning 'having been left unfulfilled or wasted'.

  ➔ The phrase combines a noun with の to nominalize and emphasizes the concept of something being wasted or unfulfilled.

• 一度きりの魔法なんて

  ➔ 一度きりの + noun: 'only once' + noun to specify a limited or singular occurrence.

  ➔ The structure uses 一度きりの to emphasize that the noun refers to something that happens only once or is limited in occurrence.

• 今すぐに決められないよ

  ➔ Potential form 〜られる + 〜ない to express inability or indecision to do something immediately.

  ➔ The grammatical pattern combines the potential form of a verb with the negative 〜ない to convey inability or hesitation to perform an action immediately.

• 世界中が誰かのため

  ➔ が after nouns (世界中, 誰か) marks the subject of the sentence, indicating 'the world' and 'someone' as the subjects.

  ➔ The particle が marks the subject of the clause, emphasizing 'the world' and 'someone' as the actors of the action.