Ada nari to ada ni wa ikaga sadamuran hito no kokoro o hito wa shiru ya wa - Shui Wakashu(English Translation & Meaning)

あだなりとあだにはいかが定むらん
人の心を人は知るやは

Roma-ji: Ada nari to ada ni wa ikaga sadamuran hito no kokoro o hito wa shiru ya wa
English Translation: "Fickle!" you declare,
but how can you so fickly
settle on it so?
Can another ever know
what lies in another's heart?
Meaning: Why do you so lightly decide that I am fickle? Can anyone ever know what is in another's heart?
Commentary: Book Nineteen Miscellaneous Love Poems 1213

Headnote: "Topic unknown"
The poet asks why the other so lightly decides that he is fickle, when no one can know another's heart. One suspected of a change of heart pleads not to be judged so carelessly by someone who does not know his true feelings. Repeating "ada" and "hito," he puts reproach into the very rhythm of the words.
The author, Ōnakatomi no Yoshinobu, was a son of Ōnakatomi no Yorimoto, chief priest of the Ise Shrine, and took part in compiling the Gosenshū as one of the Five Men of the Pear Chamber. He is counted among the Thirty-Six Immortal Poets and is known for his poem "mikakimori" in the Hyakunin Isshu.

First line, "ada nari to," means "that I am fickle," with "ada" meaning a heart easily changed and untrue.
Second line, "ada ni wa ikaga," means "how so lightly," repeating "ada" from the first line in the sense of carelessly.
Third line, "sadamuran," means "do you decide," with "ran" an auxiliary conjecturing the cause. The poem breaks after this third line.
Fourth line, "hito no kokoro o," means "a person's heart," speaking of his own heart under suspicion.
Final line, "hito wa shiru ya wa," means "can another know it," with "ya wa" a rhetorical question. Repeating "hito" from the fourth line, it sets his own heart against another's guessing.
Author: Onakatomi no Yoshinobu
Source: Shui Wakashu
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