Question about the name "Ichigo"

[-rogue-]

OK I understand it has a meaning of Strawberry... hence "Ichigo Pops" the strawberry tasting cereal made by Kelloggs... (yeah i'm retarded having done a project on them)

but in one episode Ichigo says that his father told him that his name has a meaning that means to protect. ... is that just it, "to protect" or is Ichigo a little more specific like "to protect family" or I dont know I'm just wondering...

also are those the only two meanings?

[hasuke]

His name could also be because he's the first born son (hence Ichi)

I saw something on a japanese name site that first sons commonly have Ichi, Ich, or something along those lines in their names. Not sure though, been a while since i've been on name sites XP

According to a Japanese <-> English dictionary, ichigo can also mean "Once in one's lifetime" Very befitting of Kurosaki's situation.

[Tammy]

ichi means one, thats probably why first born are named with ichi in it.

[-rogue-]

oh and is it just me or do i sometimes here them say "Ichini" which would be like 1,2 right?

and interesting... he's 15 and Ichi (1) go (5)... i think that's right...

[Unholy]

It means Strawberry, One and Five, or to protect the one thing attached to it... or something like that, anyone who's played Trivia in Manga-Rain IRC Would know the propper meaning... I have forgotten after getting banned for playing trivia too much, I think I'm unbanned now though, just go on for the latest chapters though.

[eReBe-]

the nee in ichi-nee it's a mark of affection( like kurosaki-kun but a lot more affective )

[-rogue-]

arent "e"'s in japanese always "eh"?

[hasuke]

Pretty much. Depending on the accent they might sound like "nay" though.

[-rogue-]

oh, kinda like kon when he's talking to Rukia in the backback in the episode where they visit the grave of Ichigo's mother?

[hasuke]

Pretty much, i've heard all kinds of people and characers pronounce them like "eh" ay" and sometimes "ee"

I guess it all depends on dialect, accents, etc. I'd know this stuff better if my city didn't have some vendetta against giving Japanese classes at schools (none of the schools here offer a Japanese class, not even the college, it's wierd ._.)

[-rogue-]

what city do you live in? I think there's 1 highschool here and a couple of the colleges offer japanese, my school doesnt though :/

[eReBe-]

I'm near Paris and i don't know even one school who teach japanese ;)

[-rogue-]

wow paris must be nice there

[Ballistics]

I NEVER SAW THAT UNTIL NOW~ ICHI and GO thats 1 and 5 which gives us 15!

THATS WHY ICHIGO ALWAYS HAS THAT NUMBER AROUND! [on his door, belt buckle] ect, ect..]

Well there you have it, I learned something today~ YAY~!. Ballistics out..[B]

[Unholy]

ichi-nee is incorrect... to be said nee, it would be written as ni, ni in japaense has teh same sound as nee would in english, if it is spelt ichi-nee in romaji, then I guess its pronouced i-chi-neh

[Solitude-Wings]

ooh!! i used to live in paris for 5 years ^^ i currently live in london... for 3 years... my school does japanese (i think the only school in NW london, that does jap) and yeah...

ichi-nee... isn't 'nee' for big sister... and 'nii' is for big brother? cuz onee-san is sis and onii-san is bro... and karin calls his bro ichi-nii.... @_@ confused dudes!!! >_<

[kyo]

yea thats right Solitude-Wings japanese is easy yes well I dunno ive being brought up on it

[Uchiha Sasuke]

I don't know...I think Ichigo is like number 1 or something like "ichi-ban" or something...I don't know...

[LiquidNight]

yea, "ichi" means 1, adding ban to the end gets you "ichiban", which means number one

[kell]

ichi-nee... isn't 'nee' for big sister... and 'nii' is for big brother? cuz onee-san is sis and onii-san is bro... and karin calls his bro ichi-nii.... @_@ confused dudes!!! >_<


Hmm I thought Ichigo was a pun. Its pretty common in Japanese where similar sounding words can mean 2 different things. If you look at the kanji of Ichigo's name, its made up of 2 characters Ichi = 1 or first and go= to protect. I think his parents played a joke on him calling their eldest son Ichigo lol. The sisters call Ichigo 'Ichi-nii' again its like a pun. They are calling him first brother because he really is that, and bacause the Ichi is part of his name...kinda like short-form i guess.

[Wassabiz]

does it really matter wat his name is....
HIS name is ROKING... and HIS ROKING... wat more do ya wants...!!??

[EbonyNights21]

=D so does Kurosaki mean strawberry? Or was that just a american manga wrong trans?

[Kratos]

No, if anything, Ichigo means Strawberry. No clue what Kurosaki means

[EbonyNights21]

? But everyone just told me that Ichi means one, so when you add the go it becomes strawberry?

[Kratos]

Actually, not really. Keep in mind that in Japanese, words can mean different things depending on how they're spelled (what characters are used), or can suddenly take on a completely different meaning when another kanji is added next to them. For this explanation, make sure your browser can views Japanese characters.

Technically, Ichigo's name doesn't mean strawberry. The word Ichigo does mean that, but the way it's spelled changes everything. The word Strawberry is spelled:
苺

That single character means Ichigo, but Bleach's Ichigo spells his name like this:
一護

Those are the characters for "One" & "Protection" (I actually think someone says that the name Ichigo has something to do with Protection somewhere in the series. Can't remember though).

Ichigo's name has many meanings, like a lot of Japanese words. It's like a combination of "one" & "five" (btw, the word "fifteen" is juugo, in case anyone wanted to know), it's Strawberry, & "One Protection" (interpret that one however you want). He was probably named Ichigo for his hair colour, & his parents decided to give it a double meaning by spelling it 一護

[EIN]

Pretty much, i've heard all kinds of people and characers pronounce them like "eh" ay" and sometimes "ee"

I guess it all depends on dialect, accents, etc. I'd know this stuff better if my city didn't have some vendetta against giving Japanese classes at schools (none of the schools here offer a Japanese class, not even the college, it's wierd ._.)

Well at least you're not in Canada where most all schools give you an option of learning French as a second language, or Learning French. No options in my highschool, at all. Unlike my high school in the states which offered 20 different languages including Japanese Chinese and Russian even.

[=~brAnDoN-kAorU~=]

*back 2 e main pt of e forum*

i tink ichigo havin dis name is quite funni too....like it was purposely put 2 make anyone who nvr knew him 2 misintepret his name~~=) ~like 1 of e gate keepers into e seireitei wich called his name rather cute as he tot ichigo was realli dat kind of ichigo...dis is e beauty of certain asian languages...havin pronunciations soundin e same yet havin different meanings altogether =)