This is apparently some famous drama. But, why does everyone call it hana yori dango, when it is actually read as hana yori danshi?

I think it's supposed to be a play on words... there's a Japanese idiom "Hana yori dango" which is similar to the English "Function before form" or whatever.

But, it's a drama about young kids conflicted by loads of different factors in relationships, one of which is whether to aim for the pretty boys/girls, or to try to hook up with someone who is a good match for your personality. So, I think they are trying to be punny by pretending that "danshi"s "dan" pronunciation is kept, but the "shi" is pronounced "ko" (but, since it's after a consonant, it's changed to "go".

That's totally wild speculation, but that's all I got...

Anyone else? Anyone know the *real* story?

-ang

I don't know the "real story" either, but my expert opinion is that it's a pun on the proverb　花より団子, just like amthomas said.

yeah, its definitely a pun. "Dango" is phoneticized in hiragana below the kanji title on the manga cover. Otherwise, nobody would ever read it that way.

Another meaning comes from the fact that there are these popular, rich, and pretty boys named F4 (Flower Four). They are said to be precious like flowers. So this is another reason why 花より男子 pun was chosen for the title.

amthomas Wrote:So, I think they are trying to be punny by pretending that "danshi"s "dan" pronunciation is kept, but the "shi" is pronounced "ko" (but, since it's after a consonant, it's changed to "go".

Being after a consonant has absolutely nothing to do with the expression of rendaku.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rendaku

I got it.

わかった