Glossary entry (derived from question below)
Japanese term or phrase:
計算により求む
English translation:
(Obtained) by calculation
Added to glossary by
Deborah Edwards
Jul 25, 2010 07:30
13 yrs ago
1 viewer *
Japanese term
Australia
計算により求む
Japanese to English
Other
History
The context is a table showing the number of students from various schools in Hiroshima City who were mobilized to work in factories during WWII. The full phrase is 220 (計算により求む).
Proposed translations
(English)
| 4 +1 | (Obtained) by calculation |
Yuki Okada
|
| 3 | 220 (total no. of students mobilized based on our count) |
Katsushi Saito
|
Proposed translations
+1
15 hrs
Yuki Okada
Canada
Canada
Native in Japanese
Canada
Engineering translator
Native in: Japanese 
Works in: English to Japanese, Japanese to English
Related KudoZ points
:
16
Selected
(Obtained) by calculation
Like Rek said, this means that the number was obtained by calculation, not by directly counting the number of students. The raw data is something other than the count of students, and they performed some calculation to arrive at the number of students. In other words, the author is warning that the actual number may be different because it is not a direct count.
Note from asker:
| Thank you Yuki! |
Peer comment(s):
| agree |
Katalin Horváth McClure
: Yes, I think this is the correct interpretation. They may have calculated it based on percentages, or ratios, averages, etc.
3 days 18 mins
|
|
Thanks Katalin.
|
4 KudoZ points awarded for this answer.
Comment: "Many thanks, Yuki-san!"
10 hrs
Katsushi Saito
Japan
Japan
Native in Japanese
Japan
Highly-skilled EJ/JE language engineer
Native in: Japanese
Works in: English to Japanese, Japanese to English
Related KudoZ points
:
4
220 (total no. of students mobilized based on our count)
I do not think you do have to dwell on “求む” and “計算” here. I guess this is the total number of students mobilized as temporary workers to render a service to various factories in Horoshima area or other areas from Hiroshima City as part of Japanese military aid programs at that time, according to a count of the mobilized students for such service that was made by the author(s) of this report.
Note from asker:
| Thank you Saito-san! |
Discussion
Yes, 求む is a pre-modern form of the verb 求める.
In pre-modern Japanese the verb 'motomu' had some additional meanings like 'search and confirm' so maybe the meaning of this entry could be: 'To be confirmed/checked by counting'/ 'Subject to checking by counting [the actual number of people] ' or 'Provisional, to be confirmed'.
I hope some native speakers will shed some light on this as well.
It does not make much sense, though.
Are there any other entries in the table to compare?