Yeah we're blowing up Ukraine, harassing Taiwan and HK, etc.

Yeah we fucked Iraq six ways from Sunday, but we're not nearly as bad as Russia or the CCP, you fool.

I've been on Reddit for 12 years (not this account) There is always someone shitty to anyone who says they speak Japanese.

I'm saying your friend's translation is a moot point because his translation is based on the symbols literal meaning which isn't the reason they were used. The symbols were chosen for their sounds.

The kanji don't necessarily always reflect meaning. For proper nouns, ateji are used which are chosen for pronunciation and not for meaning. Lots of Japanese companies use ateji and don't intend for any specific meaning.

So if they're saying only the owners know the meaning then it doesn't really matter what your friend says because your friend is only going off what's presented to him/her -- the kanji -- and we know they used ateji.

I'll break it down. Nintendo= 任天堂

任　to leave up to

天 heaven

堂 large room or a hall

Yes, i can see where your friend got the meaning, but that doesn't mean it was intended. Again, kanji used in proper nouns are ateji and don't necessarily have the meaning of the kanji. Below is a Wikipedia article dedicated to ateji

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ateji#:~:text=In%20modern%20Japanese%2C%20ateji%20(%E5%BD%93%E3%81%A6%E5%AD%97,man'y%C5%8Dgana%20in%20Old%20Japanese.

Source: I've been speaking Japanese for over 20 years, have lived there, and I've worked as a translator and interpreter amongst other bilingual jobs. Not a "weeb" or whatever new word you guys have developed for Japanophiles.

Okay cool we get it. Thanks.

These folks live differently, and jr's interesting to see/hear their perspective.

Thank god -- more screens!