In an older article, I wrote about the Japanese language used in "粛聖!! ロリ神レクイエム☆ (Shukusei! Loli Kami Requiem)" by Shigure Ui.

https://precipitation24.newgrounds.com/news/post/1411980

In this article, I would like to once again ride the wave of trends and explain the Japanese language used in the title and the strange opening video of the anime "Shikanoko Nokonoko Koshitantan" (My Deer Friend Nokotan), which started in Japan this July.

(Metal Cover by Little V ... metal cover????)

しかのこのこのここしたんたん (shikanoko nokonoko koshitantan)

If I rewrite this expression in a more understandable way using kanji, it becomes:

鹿の子のこのこ虎視眈々

I will break down the elements of this text and explain them.

鹿の子 (shika no ko)

It can be translated directly as "deer child." Until recently, the expression 〇〇の子 (lit. XX's child) was not so common, but since the buzz of 推しの子 (Their Idol's Children), this expression has suddenly become accepted.

のこのこ（noko noko）

"Noko" is basically the name of the protagonist, Shikanoko Noko, in that anime, and I think it is used in that sense in this song. However, when it is used in repetition, many Japanese people think of the onomatopoeia "noko noko." This onomatopoeia is mostly used in the phrase "のこのこ（と）来る noko noko (to) kuru (lit. to come nokonoko-ly?)." It is difficult to translate this into English, but many Japanese-English dictionaries translate it as "(to come) nonchalantly / shamelessly." If I were to explain this word in my own words, it could mean "to visit somewhere knowing that one is not welcome," and is typically used by the speaker in a critical context.

However, such a negative meaning does not seem particularly relevant to this song, so in this song it probably just refers to the protagonist's name, and the onomatopoeia is used purely for rhythmic purposes.

Speaking of onomatopoeia, it is not transcribed, but if you listen carefully to the beginning of the song, you can hear the singer say "ぬん (nun)." This doesn't mean a member of a group of religious women, but a kind of onomatopoeia. As can be seen from the fact that no dictionary has an entry for the onomatopoeia "nun," this expression is not commonly used. Even as a native speaker, I first encountered its use on X, which was known as Twitter in the early 2020s. Personally, I think this onomatopoeia probably comes from "ぬっ (nu ʔ (glottal stop))", which is usually used to describe someone or something coming out of the shadows. So in this song, I think it could represent the image of "Shikanoko" suddenly appearing from somewhere.

虎視眈々 (koshitantan)

This is a kind of four-character idiom (四字熟語; yojijukugo) in Japanese, and this expression comes from the Chinese book "Yijing."

"虎視 (ko shi; tiger's gaze)" is, as the kanji string "虎 (tiger) + 視 (gaze)" suggests, about how a tiger looks at its prey, and "眈々(tan tan; vigilantly)" expresses the caution of that gaze. Also, the character "々" does not have a fixed reading, but is a symbol used to repeat the preceding character (the reason for using this symbol is that Chinese characters often have many strokes and are sometimes troublesome to write). Of course, there are cases where "虎視眈眈" is written by repeating the same characters without using the "々" symbol, and both ways of writing are acceptable.

To get back on track, "虎視眈眈" (ko shi tan tan) means a tiger watching for an opportunity to pounce on its prey. The expression "虎視眈眈と〇〇を狙う (lit. aim for XX koshitantan-ly?)" is usually used to describe someone who is preparing to hunt or, more commonly, someone who is ambitious to win a higher position as a boss, champion, lover, and so on.

In summary, "しかのこのこのここしたんたん" means "A child deer, Noko, waits for an opportunity to emerge from the shadows and pounce." I look forward to seeing how this sentence relates to the story of the anime.

This is the end of the article. If you have any questions or any other Japanese text that you have trouble translating, please let me know. I will be happy to translate and explain the text.