Exams, Superstitions, and Kit Kat Bars

The National Center Test for University Admission is a universal examination for Japanese universities. All national/public universities require applicants to take this exam. During the exam season, the superstitious nature of the Japanese becomes apparent. In fact, you will find various lucky charms being sold around this time. The most popular are charms purchased from a shrine or temple. However, the Kit Kat (a chocolate bar) is also popular. Why? The Japanese pronounce it as kitto  katto. It sounds like kitto katsu which means, You will surely win. Parents often buy Kit Kats for their children for exam days. It is just a fun play on words, but if it makes them feel better, why not? Japanese Translation Ã¥ â€"é ¨â€œÃ£  ¨Ã§ ¸ Ã¨ µ ·Ã§â€° ©Ã£  ¨Ã£â€š ­Ã£Æ'Æ'ãÆ'ˆã‚ «Ã£Æ'Æ'ãÆ'ˆ Ã¥ ¤ §Ã¥ ­ ¦Ã¥â€¦ ¥Ã¨ © ¦Ã£â€š »Ã£Æ' ³Ã£â€š ¿Ã£Æ' ¼Ã¨ © ¦Ã© ¨â€œÃ£ Å'ä »Å Ã¥ ¹ ´Ã£  ¯Ã¦Å"ˆæâ€" ¥Ã£  ¨Ã¦â€" ¥Ã£  «Ã¨ ¡Å'ã‚ Ã£â€šÅ'㠁 ¾Ã£ â„¢Ã£â‚¬â€šÃ£ â€œÃ£â€šÅ'㠁 ¯Ã¦â€" ¥Ã¦Å" ¬Ã£  ®Ã¥ ¤ §Ã¥ ­ ¦Ã£  ®Ã¥â€¦ ±Ã©â‚¬Å¡Ã¥â€¦ ¥Ã¥ ­ ¦Ã¨ © ¦Ã© ¨â€œÃ£  §Ã£ â„¢Ã£â‚¬â€šÃ¥â€º ½Ã¥â€¦ ¬Ã§ «â€¹Ã¥ ¤ §Ã¥ ­ ¦Ã¥ â€"é ¨â€œÃ¨â‚¬â€¦Ã£  «Ã£  ¯Ã£â‚¬ Ã£ â€œÃ£  ®Ã£â€š »Ã£Æ' ³Ã£â€š ¿Ã£Æ' ¼Ã¨ © ¦Ã© ¨â€œÃ£â€šâ€™Ã¥ â€"㠁‘る㠁“㠁 ¨Ã£ Å'ç ¾ ©Ã¥â€¹â„¢Ã£  ¥Ã£ â€˜Ã£â€šâ€°Ã£â€šÅ'㠁 ¦Ã£ â€žÃ£  ¾Ã£ â„¢Ã£â‚¬â€šÃ¦â€" ¥Ã¦Å" ¬Ã¤ º ºÃ£  ¯Ã§ ¸ Ã¨ µ ·Ã£â€šâ€™Ã¦â€¹â€¦Ã£  Ã£ â€œÃ£  ¨Ã£ Å'Ã¥ ¥ ½Ã£  Ã£  ªÃ¥â€º ½Ã¦ °â€˜Ã£  ¨Ã£ â€žÃ£ Ë†Ã£  ¾Ã£ â„¢Ã£ Å'〠Ã¥ â€"é ¨â€œÃ£  ®Ã¦â„¢â€šÃ¦Å"Ÿã  «Ã£  ¯Ã£  Ã£â€šÅ'㠁Å'よ㠁 Ã¨ ¡ ¨Ã£â€šÅ'㠁 ¾Ã£ â„¢Ã£â‚¬â€šÃ¥ ®Å¸Ã©Å¡â€ºÃ£â‚¬ Ã£ â€œÃ£  ®Ã¦â„¢â€šÃ¦Å"Ÿæ §ËœÃ£â‚¬â€¦Ã£  ªÃ§ ¸ Ã¨ µ ·Ã§â€° ©Ã£ Å'Ã¥ £ ²Ã£â€šâ€°Ã£â€šÅ'㠁 ¦Ã£ â€žÃ£â€šâ€¹Ã£  ®Ã£â€šâ€™Ã¨ ¦â€¹Ã£ â€¹Ã£ â€˜Ã£  ¾Ã£ â„¢Ã£â‚¬â€šÃ¦Å"€ã†šâ€šÃ¤ º ºÃ¦ °â€"㠁 ®Ã£ â€šÃ£â€šâ€¹Ã£â€šâ€šÃ£  ®Ã£  ¨Ã£ â€žÃ£ Ë†Ã£  °Ã£â‚¬ Ã§ ¥Å¾Ã§ ¤ ¾Ã£â€šâ€žÃ£ Å Ã¥ ¯ ºÃ£  ®Ã£ Å Ã¥ ®Ë†Ã£â€šÅ Ã£  §Ã£ â„¢Ã£ Å'〠Ã£Æ' Ã£Æ' §Ã£â€š ³Ã£Æ' ¬Ã£Æ' ¼Ã£Æ'ˆè â€œÃ¥ ­ Ã£  §Ã£ â€šÃ£â€šâ€¹Ã£â€š ­Ã£Æ'Æ'ãÆ'ˆã‚ «Ã£Æ'Æ'ãÆ'ˆã‚‚ä º ºÃ¦ °â€"㠁Å'㠁‚る㠁 ®Ã£  §Ã£ â„¢Ã£â‚¬â€šÃ£  ªÃ£ Å"㠁‹ã  £Ã£  ¦Ã¦â€" ¥Ã¦Å" ¬Ã¨ ªÅ¾Ã£  ®Ã§â„¢ ºÃ©Å¸ ³Ã£  ®Ã£â‚¬Å'ã‚ ­Ã£Æ'Æ'ãÆ'ˆã‚ «Ã£Æ'Æ'ãÆ'ˆ(㠁 Ã£  £Ã£  ¨Ã£ â€¹Ã£  £Ã£  ¨)㠁Å'〠Ã£  Ã£  £Ã£  ¨Ã¥â€¹ Ã£  ¤Ã£  Ã£  £Ã£  ¨Ã£ â€¹Ã£  ¤Ã£  ¨Ã¤ ¼ ¼Ã£  ¦Ã£ â€žÃ£â€šâ€¹Ã£ â€¹Ã£â€šâ€°Ã£  §Ã£ â„¢Ã£â‚¬â€šÃ¨ ¦ ªÃ£ Å'Ã¥ â€"é ¨â€œÃ£  ®Ã¦â€" ¥Ã£  «Ã£â‚¬ Ã¥ ­ Ã¤ ¾â€ºÃ£  ®Ã£ Å¸Ã£â€š Ã£  «Ã¨ ² ·Ã£ â€ Ã£ â€œÃ£  ¨Ã£â€šâ€šÃ¥ ¤Å¡Ã£ â€žÃ£  Ã£ â€ Ã£  §Ã£ â„¢Ã£â‚¬â€šÃ£ Å¸Ã£   Ã£  ®Ã¨ ªÅ¾Ã¥â€˜â€šÃ¥ Ë†Ã£â€š Ã£ â€ºÃ£  ¨Ã£â€šâ€šÃ£ â€žÃ£ Ë†Ã£  ¾Ã£ â„¢Ã£ Å'〠Ã£  Ã£â€šÅ'㠁 §Ã¥Å  ¹Ã¦Å¾Å"㠁Å'㠁‚る㠁 ªÃ£â€šâ€°Ã£â‚¬  è © ¦Ã£ â€"㠁 ¦Ã£  ¿Ã£  ªÃ£ â€žÃ¦â€°â€¹Ã£  ¯Ã£ â€šÃ£â€šÅ Ã£  ¾Ã£ â€ºÃ£â€šâ€œÃ£  ­Ã£â‚¬â€š Romaji Translation Daigaku nyuushi sentaa shiken ga kotoshi wa ichi-gatsu juushichi-nichi to juuhachi-nichi ni okonawaremasu. Kore wa nihon no daigaku no kyoutsuu nyuugaku shiken desu. Kokukouritsu daigaku jukensha niwa, kono sentaa shiken o ukeru koto ga gimuzukerarete imasu. Nihonjin wa engi o katsugu koto ga sukina kokumin o iemasu ga, juken no jiki niwa sore ga yoku arawaremasu. Jissai, kono jiki samazamana engimono ga urareteiru no o mikakemasu. Mottomo ninki no aru mono to ieba, jinja ya otera no omamori desu ga, chokoreeto gashi de aru kittokatto mo ninki ga aru no desu. Nazeka tte? Nihongo no hatsuon no kitto katto ga kitto katsu to nite iru kara desu. Oya ga juken no hi ni, kodomo no tame ni kau koto mo ooi sou desu. Tada no goro awase tomo iemasu ga, sorede kouka ga aru nara, tameshite minai te wa arimasen ne. Note: The translation is not always literal. Beginners Phrases Parents often buy KitKats for their children for exam days. Oyaga juken no hi ni, kodomo no tameni kau koto mo ooi sou desu.㠁Šã‚„㠁Å' 㠁˜ã‚…㠁‘ん㠁 ®Ã£  ²Ã£  «Ã£â‚¬ Ã£ â€œÃ£  ©Ã£â€šâ€šÃ£  ®Ã£ Å¸Ã£â€š Ã£  « 㠁‹ã â€ Ã£ â€œÃ£  ¨Ã£â€šâ€š 㠁Šã Å Ã£ â€žÃ£  Ã£ â€ Ã£  §Ã£ â„¢Ã£â‚¬â€šÃ¨ ¦ ªÃ£ Å'Ã¥ â€"é ¨â€œÃ£  ®Ã¦â€" ¥Ã£  «Ã£â‚¬ Ã¥ ­ Ã¤ ¾â€ºÃ£  ®Ã£ Å¸Ã£â€š Ã£  «Ã¨ ² ·Ã£ â€ Ã£ â€œÃ£  ¨Ã£â€šâ€šÃ¥ ¤Å¡Ã£ â€žÃ£  Ã£ â€ Ã£  §Ã£ â„¢Ã£â‚¬â€š Learn More Learn more about lucky number in Japanese.