Tofu’s Japanese Lines in Resident Evil 2 Remake, translated

“The Tofu Survivor” is the final unlockable campaign in the Resident Evil 2 2019 remake. It can be played after completing “The 4^th Survivor” (starring Hunk) once, which itself is unlocked after beating Leon and Claire’s campaigns once.

In the original 1998 game, “The Tofu Survivor” is a joke mode, with the character model originally intended to test the game’s collision detection. Tofu, the character, is voiced in both games by Katsutoshi Karatsuma, who was a programmer on the 1998 title. Tofu only speaks Japanese, and a strange form of the Kansai dialect spoken around Osaka, which is different from the standard Japanese that originated in the Tokyo area. Read about Kansai-ben here.

Below are some of the lines Tofu says and their approximate English translations. Note that some of these are very difficult to translate to English directly, so approximations are used.

• 久しぶりやで ！(hisashiburi yade!): Long time no see!
• あー、しんどっ！(aa, shindo!): Ugh, this sucks! or Ugh, this is hard!
• まいど！(maido): No direct translation; it literally means “always” or “every time” but is used in the Kansai region to greet customers visiting restaurants or shops. Comes from the phrase maido arigato gozaimasu (thanks as always), among others.
• あー、やめて！(aa, yamete!): Ugh, stop it!
• やめろや！(yamero ya): Stop it! (This has a stronger nuance than yamete)
• よいしょ (yoisho!): No direct translation; an onomatopoeia Japanese people say when lifting heavy objects or doing an arduous task. It is analogous to English speakers making an “ugh”-like sound when doing something strenuous.
• 帰ってきたで！(haittekitade!): I’m back!
• 何やねん！(nani yanen!): What the hell!
• やっぱナイフやで！(yappa naifu yade!): Yup, this is a Knife!
• やべ！(yabe!): Uh oh! or Oh sh*t!
• ほないこか？(hona ikoka?): Alright, let’s go.

Resident Evil 2 is available now on Windows PC, Xbox One and PS4. If you’re feeling particularly sadistic (and you’re in Japan), you can buy Tofu tofu.