Quotes
Japanese meaning of 所詮、この世は弱肉強食。強ければ生き、弱ければ死ぬ
— Makoto Shishio ／ Rurouni Kenshin
Voice sample:
しょせん、このよはじゃくにくきょうしょく。つよければいき、よわければしぬ (Shosen, kono yo wa jakuniku kyōshoku. Tsuyokereba iki, yowakereba shinu.)
English Translation:
In the end, this world is the strong eating the weak. The strong live, and the weak die.
Work: Rurouni KenshinCharacter: Makoto ShishioEmotion: Cool & Serious Cocky & TauntingScene: Provocation
Original Scene & Cultural Context
Scene in the Original Work:
Makoto Shishio, the enemy of the Kyoto arc, states the belief at the root of how he lives: the strong survive and the weak are eaten.
日本語で読む
京都編の敵・志々雄真実が、自分の生き方の土台にある考えを語る言葉。
Cultural Context:
Shishio took over Kenshin's role as an assassin for the Ishin Shishi, was later betrayed and burned, and is wrapped in bandages. He plans to take the country from the Meiji government by force. 弱肉強食 is a four-character idiom from a text by the Tang writer Han Yu.
日本語で読む
志々雄は、剣心のあとをついで維新志士の人斬りになった男。のちに裏切られて焼かれ、全身に包帯を巻いている。明治政府から国を奪おうとたくらむ。「弱肉強食」は、唐の韓愈（かんゆ）の文章から来た四字熟語。
Grammar & Learning Points
Grammar Point
•「所詮」= in the end, after all (a resigned tone). •「弱肉強食」= "the weak are meat, the strong eat". •「〜ければ」= if (conditional of i-adjectives): 強ければ = if strong. •「生き」= stem of 生きる, linking two clauses.
日本語で読む
•「所詮」は「結局のところ」。•「弱肉強食」は弱いものが強いものに食われること。•「〜ければ」はい形容詞の仮定形（強ければ＝強いなら）。•「生き、」は連用形で、文を続けている。
Trap for English Speakers
弱肉強食 is read じゃくにくきょうしょく, not よわにく. It sounds harsh, so use it about nature or competition, not about people you know.
日本語で読む
「弱肉強食」は「じゃくにくきょうしょく」と読む。きびしい言葉なので、身近な人について言うのは避けたい。
Example
Example 1Basic Example
動物番組でライオンがシマウマを追う場面を見て、父が「所詮、この世は弱肉強食。強ければ生き、弱ければ死ぬ」とつぶやいた。
Watching a lion chase a zebra on a nature show, Dad muttered, "In the end, this world is the strong eating the weak. The strong live, and the weak die."
Example 2Applied Example
（スーパーの半額シール争奪戦で）所詮、この世は早い者勝ち。早ければ半額、遅ければ定価。
(In the supermarket scramble for half-price stickers) "In the end, this world is first come, first served. The fast get half price, the slow pay full price."
Quick check
Meaning
What does 「所詮、この世は弱肉強食。強ければ生き、弱ければ死ぬ」 mean?