The survey predicts your answer as you type it:

Pe-?
• Penguin
• PET bottle
• Pepsi Cola
• Persona
• Perry Rhodan

Reader-added tags include "Penguin Master", "Penguinium super-reaction" and "Perry Rhodan, space hero".

I wonder if she'd have this reaction over a puffin bar or dovekie bar...?

[deleted]

She probably had a bit more than "pe" to go on. Japanese take vowel+n and nasalize the vowel, so she'd have heard "pẽ-" (the squiggle means the vowel is nasalized... ie it involves partially speaking out your nose). Note that that's the isolated "n" mora (syllable), not the ones with vowels after them (ie na, ni, nu, etc). Vowels around n/m nasals in Japanese will get a tiny bit of nasalization, but only because of contact. Had Kyubey been (for example) intending to end with "-nisu", the "pe-" would have sounded different and not have triggered Sanae's penguindar.

This is the reason why if you're saying "Kogasa-chan" like she's a relative of Jackie Chan, you're doing it wrong. The -chan and -san honorifics often come out like -chã and -sã in quick informal speech (the final n getting dropped because it's not needed). It reminds me of French that way.

I just realized that Kyubey's "Apple" cell phone has Tani Takeshi-san's head-apple on it...

Kernel said:

She probably had a bit more than "pe" to go on. Japanese take vowel+n and nasalize the vowel, so she'd have heard "pẽ-" (the squiggle means the vowel is nasalized... ie it involves partially speaking out your nose). Note that that's the isolated "n" mora (syllable), not the ones with vowels after them (ie na, ni, nu, etc). Vowels around n/m nasals in Japanese will get a tiny bit of nasalization, but only because of contact. Had Kyubey been (for example) intending to end with "-nisu", the "pe-" would have sounded different and not have triggered Sanae's penguindar.

Possibly, but from the look of it, she cut off Kyubey before he could enunciate the "pe" syllable enough even to nasalize it.

This is the reason why if you're saying "Kogasa-chan" like she's a relative of Jackie Chan, you're doing it wrong. The -chan and -san honorifics often come out like -chã and -sã in quick informal speech (the final n getting dropped because it's not needed). It reminds me of French that way.

Mentioning dropping the final "-n" in like that reminds me of this. (Warning: Virtual insulin may be necessary.)

Skyknight said:

I wonder if she'd have this reaction over a puffin bar or dovekie bar...?

Not sure, but if they ever go to Greece, they probably should look up Petros the pelican... and that's two more "pe"s for the survey.