Dragon Ball (ドラゴンボール)
オッス！オラ悟空！
Ossu! Ora Gokū!
“Yo! I'm Goku!”
— Son Goku
Answer both practice questions correctly to complete this line.
Not yetThe scene
Goku's trademark self-introduction, delivered with total confidence whenever he meets someone new. Two tiny phrases that carry his whole character: friendly, rough around the edges, and raised in the mountains far from polite society.
Word by word
| Japanese | Romaji | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| オッス | ossu | super-casual 'hey / morning!' — a squashed-down descendant of おはようございます (good morning) |
| オラ | ora | 'I / me' — rustic masculine first person, Goku's signature |
| 悟空 | Gokū | Goku (the character's name) |
Grammar notes
First-person pronouns say who you are
Japanese has many words for 'I': 私 (watashi, neutral), 僕 (boku, soft masculine), 俺 (ore, rough masculine), and regional or archaic ones like オラ. Anime characters each get a signature pronoun — it is instant characterisation.
No verb needed
「オラ悟空」 is just 'I + name'. Japanese freely drops the verb です/だ (am/is) in casual speech when the meaning is obvious.
Can you say this in real life?
オラ (ora) is a rural, old-fashioned way for men to say 'I' — almost nobody talks like this anymore, which is exactly why it sounds like Goku. In real life, use 私 (watashi) or 俺 (ore) instead. オッス (ossu), on the other hand, is genuinely used today as a rough, cheerful greeting among male friends and sports clubs.
Practice
Q1. What is Goku actually saying with 「オッス！オラ悟空！」?
Q2. Which word is Goku's signature way of saying 'I'?
Read & Watch Dragon Ball
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