Ari no mama de - The Japanese Version of "Let It Go"

The movie "Frozen" is titled as "アナと雪の女王 (Anna and the Snow Queen)" for the Japanese market, and it has become the third best-selling film of all time in Japan since its March 14 premiere. Japan’s highest-grossing film is currently Hayao Miyazaki’s animated classic “Spirited Away,” and “Titanic,” earns second place.

The song "Let It Go" won the Academy Award for Best Original Song. Besides the original English version, it is dubbed into another 42 languages and dialects worldwide. Here is the Japanese version of "Let It Go" which translates into "Ari no mama de (As I am)".

Romaji Translation

Ari no mama de

Furihajimeta yuki wa ashiato keshite

Masshirona sekai ni hitori no watashi

Kaze ga kokoro ni sasayakuno

Konomama ja dame dandato

Tomadoi kizutsuki darenimo uchiakezuni

Nayandeta soremo mou

Yameyou

Arino mama no sugata o miseru noyo

Arino mama no jibun ni naruno

Nanimo kowakunai

Kazeyo fuke

Sukoshimo samuku nai wa

Nayandeta koto ga uso mitai de

Datte mou jiyuu yo nandemo dekiru

Dokomade yareruka jibun o tameshitai no

Sou yo kawaru no yo

Watashi

Arino mama de sora e kaze ni notte

Arino mama de tobidashite miru no

Nido to namida wa nagasanai wa

Tsumetaku daichi o tsutsumi komi

Takaku maiagaru omoi egaite

Hanasaku koori no kesshou no you ni

Kagayaite itai mou kimeta no

Kore de ii no jibun o suki ni natte

Kore de ii no jibun o shinjite

Hikari abinagara arukidasou

Sukoshi mo samuku nai wa

Japanese Version

ありのままで

降り始めた雪は足あと消して

真っ白な世界に一人の私

風が心にささやくの

このままじゃダメだんだと

戸惑い傷つき誰にも打ち明けずに

悩んでたそれももう

やめよう

ありのままの姿見せるのよ

ありのままの自分になるの

何も怖くない

風よ吹け

少しも寒くないわ

悩んでたことが嘘みたいで

だってもう自由よなんでもできる

どこまでやれるか自分を試したいの

そうよ変わるのよ

私

ありのままで空へ風に乗って

ありのままで飛び出してみるの

二度と涙は流さないわ

冷たく大地を包み込み

高く舞い上がる思い描いて

花咲く氷の結晶のように

輝いていたい。もう決めたの

これでいいの自分を好きになって

これでいいの自分信じて

光、浴びながらあるきだそう

少しも寒くない

Vocabulary

arinomama ありのまま --- unvarnished, undisguised
furihajimeru 降り始める --- to start falling
yuki 雪 --- snow
ashiato 足跡 --- footprint
kesu 消す --- to erase
masshiro 真っ白 --- pure white
sekai 世界 --- world
hitori ひとり --- alone
watashi 私 --- I
kaze 風 --- wind
kokoro 心 --- heart
sasayku ささやく --- to whisper
konomama このまま--- as they are
dame だめ --- no good
tomadou 戸惑う --- to be at a loss
kizutsuku 傷つく --- to hurt
darenimo 誰にも --- nobody
uchiakeru 打ち明ける --- to confess; to confide
nayamu 悩む --- to be worried; to be distressed
yameru やめる --- to stop
sugata 姿 --- appearance
miseru 見せる --- to show
jibun 自分 --- oneself
nanimo 何も --- nothing
kowakunai 怖くない --- not to scare
fuku 吹く --- to blow
uso 嘘 --- lie
jiyuu 自由--- freedom
nandemo なんでも --- anything
dekiru できる --- can
yareru やれる --- to be able to
tamesu 試す --- to try
kawaru 変わる --- to change
sora 空 --- sky
noru 乗る --- to carry
tobidasu 飛び出す --- to spring out
nidoto 二度と --- never again
namida 涙 --- tear
nagasu 流す --- to shed
tsumetaku 冷たく --- cold
daichi 台地 --- plateau
tsutsumu 包む --- to wrap
takaku 高く --- high
maiagaru 舞い上がる --- to soar
omoi 思い--- thought
egaku 描く --- to picture to oneself
hana 花 --- flower
saku 咲く --- to bloom
koori 氷 --- ice
kesshou 結晶 --- crystal
kagayaku 輝く --- to shine
kimeru 決める --- to decide
suki 好き --- to like
shinjiru 信じる --- to believe
hikari 光 --- light
abiru 浴びる --- to bask
aruku 歩く --- to walk
samukunai 寒くない --- not cold
 

Grammar

(1) Prefix "ma"

"Ma （真）" is a prefix to emphasize the noun that comes after "ma."

makk 真っ赤 --- bright red
masshiro 真っ白 --- pure white
manatsu 真夏 --- the middle of summer
massaki 真っ先 --- at the very first
massao 真っ青 --- deep blue
makkuro 真っ黒 --- black as ink
makkura 真っ暗 --- pitch-dark
mapputatsu 真っ二つ --- right in two

(2) Adjectives

"Kowai (scared)" and "samui (cold)" are adjectives. There are two types of adjectives in Japanese: i-adjectives and na-adjectives. I-adjectives all end in "~ i," though they never end in "~ ei" (e.g. "kirei" is not an i-adjective.) "Kowakunai" and "samukunai" are negative form of "kowai" and "samui". Click this link to learn more about Japanese adjectives.

(3) Personal Pronouns

“Watashi” is formal and the most commonly used pronoun.

Japanese pronoun usage is quite different from that of English. There are a variety of pronouns used in Japanese depending on the gender of the speaker or the style of speech. Learning how to use Japanese personal pronouns is important, but more important is to understand how not to use them. When the meaning can be understood from the context, the Japanese prefer not to use personal pronouns. Click this link to learn more about personal pronouns.