Kaitou:怪盗or快盗? (Sorry, Japanese reading skills neede

[KokoConan]

this may be confusing to non-japaneses,but...

In manga Magic Kaito, sometimes the word KAITOU is written as 怪盗　OR 　快盗. I kind of know that the first one is the right one, but some of the time it is written as the second one. Is this just a mistake of the editor of the manga, or is there a meaning behind this?

[kaitoushinichi]

It's the first one.

[Abs.]

Kaitou (thief) is written 怪盗

Kaito (name) is written å¿«æ–—

Btw in the subject you wrote the same two characters both times

[Chibby]

I've noticed this, as well. Phonetically, it doesn't make a difference, as the "快" in Kaito's name is the same sound as the "怪" in "kaitou." As far as meaning goes, there might be something if Kaito was using it in a different context. But as there can be no doubt that, the few times it comes up, that it is in reference to Kaitou Kid, it's hard to say whether anything was meant by it. It might just be a phonetic joke -- we all know how fond of those Gosho is.

If we want to get hypothetical, I might venture that the alternate spelling is used to differentiate Kaito from his father's Kid. But then it would be weird, because (as far as I can recall) he usually uses the correct version. The Hustler chapter would be strange, too, because Kaito uses the correct spelling, and it's Tsujirou that uses the alternate.... Huh. That's the only time I can remember off-hand, but now I might just have to go through the whole thing and see if there's a pattern.

[KokoConan]

Kaitou (thief) is written 怪盗

Kaito (name) is written å¿«æ–—

Btw in the subject you wrote the same two characters both times

oops. i thought i typed it differently...i guess i was wrong...ill change it. thanks!

[KokoConan]

I've noticed this, as well. Phonetically, it doesn't make a difference, as the "快" in Kaito's name is the same sound as the "怪" in "kaitou." As far as meaning goes, there might be something if Kaito was using it in a different context. But as there can be no doubt that, the few times it comes up, that it is in reference to Kaitou Kid, it's hard to say whether anything was meant by it. It might just be a phonetic joke -- we all know how fond of those Gosho is.

If we want to get hypothetical, I might venture that the alternate spelling is used to differentiate Kaito from his father's Kid. But then it would be weird, because (as far as I can recall) he usually uses the correct version. The Hustler chapter would be strange, too, because Kaito uses the correct spelling, and it's Tsujirou that uses the alternate.... Huh. That's the only time I can remember off-hand, but now I might just have to go through the whole thing and see if there's a pattern.

true. it is really strange...if there was a pattern, i would be satisfied.

[MadelineLime]

Time to resurrect this post, as I'm wondering things similar to the topic and don't speak Japanese. (I love languages and meanings though, so I am starting to learn.) I hope I'm not repeating a post somewhere else, I looked and couldn't find one.

I've seen Kaitou/Kaito spelled:

怪盗 for Kaitou Kid
å¿«æ–— for Kuroba Kaito

So it's well established that the one for Kaitou Kid, 怪盗, means thief and whatnot, but what does his given name mean? I remember reading somewhere it means something else.  Some websites for baby names say:

The Japanese name Kaito may be written with the characters for "ocean; sea" (kai) and the character for "Dipper; 10 sho (vol); sake dipper" chosen for graphic and phonologic preference rather than meaning. Other popular combinations of characters include "ocean; sea" (kai) and "soar; fly" (to).

From Japanese æµ· (kai) "sea, ocean" combined with æ–— (to), which refers to the constellation Ursa Major, or ç¿” (to) "soar, fly".

The last one doesn't match the first character, but does for the second one. The first quote doesn't list the characters at all, (how many ways can you write kaito?), but if his name has to do with the ocean, and then he has a fear of fish? hahahaha, Gosho.

[skyechan]

*shakes head* Kaito's name doesn't involve the sea, although I suppose Gosho might've done a phonetic pun using the alternative meaning.

http://www.csse.monash.edu.au/~jwb/cgi- ... dic.cgi?1B

å¿«: cheerful; pleasant; agreeable; comfortable
æ–—: Big Dipper; 10 sho (vol); sake dipper; dots and cross radical (no. 68)

As for Kuroba that part of his name means "black feather". (To go against the "white horse" that is Hakuba. lol.)

[MadelineLime]

Awesome! Thanks.