texts:
Here is the sentence: それは改良を必要としますが、すぐにということではありません。

I can't understand this part: すぐに_Adverb + という_Particle? + こと_Noun + では_DEWA + ありません_Verb.
I know that という is an expression "said; called thus", but what is it doing here and what connection does it have to the preceding adverb and other sentence parts?
Is it just "すぐに_quickly という_said"?


texts: Are constructions like listing with 中黒 used in speech?

texts:
Example: according to kotobank, one of the definitions of 滑る is

  俗に、面白いことをしゃべろうとして失敗する。冗談・ギャグが受けない状態をいう。

I'm curious, are constructions like "冗談・ギャグ" used in speech? If they are, is it basically like taking a short pause while talking? And does it sound natural, formal or just plain weird?


texts: Is the verb 向く transitive or intransitive?

texts:
On jisho.org, 向ける is described as a transitive verb. Logically, 向く would be intransitive, but the entry just says:

Godan verb with ku ending

Wiktionary is exactly the same, listing 向ける as intransitive and nothing for 向く. But what really gets me is that jisho.org lists sentences using 向く that look both transitive and intransitive. E.g.

上を向きなさい。 "Look up"
この仕事は彼に向いている。 "He is well suited for this job"

In the first one, there is an object marker, and the second one, there isn't. I thought that transitive verbs always used the object marker を, the second sentence looks like an intransitive verb.
Could someone help me clear up this confusion?


texts: Does the term 大和撫子 predate WWII, or was there an equivalent term for the ideal Japanese lady?

texts:
Does the term 「大和撫子」for describing the ideal Japanese lady predate WWII, or was there an equivalent term before that?

These sites here and here indicate that the term was co-opted for propaganda during WWII, but that seems to imply that the term/concept existed before the wartime refashioning of it.  What is the origin of the phrase and when does it date from?

If it wasn't coined until WWII, what similar phrase was used before the war?


texts: Providing Further Detail When Using そう、よう、etc

texts:
In most cases, そう or よう work fine for explaining perceptions like 'looks like'. However, in English, it's possible to be more specific, for example, using 'sounds like' instead.

This occurred to me when I could hear fireworks out the window, but couldn't see where they were. I could explain that they seem close by saying 花火は近そうです or something similar. However, I'd have thought this would imply that I can see them, and they look close.

I think direct translation would be 花火は近く聞こえるようです、but I'm not entirely sure that has the intended meaning, or even makes sense at all.

Is it possible to express specifically that the fireworks sound close rather than looking close, or must it be explained otherwise, by saying that they sound loud, or that I can't see them?


texts:
お前が扱ってるヤマと同一手口の強盗が発生した行ってこい

(Taken from a line said by a character)
How come ヤマと is placed after 扱ってる? Would it change the meaning of the sentence if it had been written as

お前がヤマと扱ってる同一手口の強盗が発生した行ってこい

instead?


texts: How do you say 'around', as in "Walk around Lake Burley Griffin"

texts:
I have looked into it, but I can't find the answer.
When I say 'around', I mean walking along the perimeter of the lake and returning to the same place we started at.
Google Translate says that it is Burley Griffin湖を歩きます.
My guess is:

  「バーリーグリフィン湖一周に歩きます。」

Is that correct?


texts: What's the difference between ぬきで & ぬきの and 入りの & 入りで?

texts:
I can't find the difference and in the book that I use there is no explanation.

Context: It is about ordering food. I have two sentences:

  ミルクと砂糖入りの紅茶はいくらですか。
  ホットコーヒーをミルクと砂糖入りでください。


texts: What does "Ouen shite iru yo!" mean exactly?

texts:
One of my friends wrote in the end of the email "Ouen shite iru yo!"　(応援{おうえん}しているよ). My approximate translation would be "I will continue to support you!"

However, I am not good at Japanese and cannot sense what exactly it means, how strong the expression is and what other semantic colors it has. Is it a common phrase? Can it be used only between close friends or even between any friends, colleagues and acquaintances?


texts: What are the rules for the plural suffix ～ら

texts:
I came across the following in a newspaper article:

  藤沢健太教授（宇宙物理学）らの研究グループ

The first part (藤沢健太教授) is the name of a professor (Professor Kenta Fujisawa). The parentheses say "Astrophysics", and the last part (の研究グループ) indicates his research group. It's the ～ら that confuses me.

I had only ever heard ～ら after かれ or お前, so I did some searching, and I found these sites.

This source says it is used for かれ, but doesn't elaborate.
This source says that it is an informal version of　～たち, which doesn't seem to fit in the context of a newspaper (unless I'm wrong about that), or the very technical topic.
And this source simply says that it's another version of ～たち.

I'm still unclear as to when one should use ら if it's informal, yet also in the paper. Does anyone know　the nuance of it?


texts:
The context for this phrase is in a list of kanji spellings (kanji with hiragana), thus the definitions are not provided.

Breaking the phrase into its components:

表す - to reveal, show, display

通り - avenue, street, way

Taking the second part (way) in a non-literal sense leads me to conclude the phrase means roughly,

the way shown or more concisely as shown

Is my conclusion correct?


texts:
I found a tweet about the Taiwanese snack known as 炸鶏排. The tweet reads:

日本でも食べられるようになったのにイマイチ流行ってないので試しに買ってみたら味はスゴくいい。Lチキとかの億倍美味い。ただただ致命的なまでにデカすぎた

which I can pretty easily translate to:

Even though we can get this in Japan now, it's not that popular so I decided to try it. It tastes pretty darn good. It's like a million times better than Lawson fried chicken. The only thing is that it's so big it'll kill you.

But I don't remember seeing 〜までに in this capacity before. To me, usually までに indicates a date by which something has to be done. What does it mean in this context, then?


texts:
I've been reading a Visual Novel and I couldn't understand what exactly「その足を縫われたいか」means. The only translation I could guess is -

  "You want that(your) leg(s) to be sewed?"

However I'm not really sure that it's correct here. So, here is some context, because the dialogue by itself is not really helpful.

Context: In the world of this VN exist lots of 人外(yeah and of course they are eating humans.). Main character (僕) is able to absorb their power by killing them. But if 人外's power is strong, in order to fully control it, as Ignis says, he must submiss it be his own will or to satisfy 人外's dying wish. In this case the dying wish was to kill Ignis. That's why she made 僕 a drunked and allowed the 人外 to control 僕's body, then they fighted and Ignis falsified her own death, because he wasn't able to submiss it with his own will.

  イグニス:「あぁ。素面のまま、襲いかかられると危ないからな」

  僕が酔っていたから、イグニスも、軽くあしらえたという訳か。

  僕:「ずいぶん手間を掛けるな。この前は、あの子に勝っていたじゃないか？」

  イグニス:「その足を縫われたいか？」

  僕は首を振る。

  イグニス:「生身で獣と戦うのは骨が折れるんだ。布石を打たせてもらった」

  イグニスはベンチに座った。僕も、となりに座る。

  イグニス:「狼の力を使いこなすには、二つ方法がある。一つは、意志の力で屈服させる。


texts: Can 「〜たら〜た。」structure mean "If I had~then I would have~"?

texts:
This is probably a basic question on tense / aspect in conditional sentences but I can't find an explanation and it would be very useful to resolve.

I will illustrate my question with an example from a drama I saw yesterday.

Context:
A young woman has been reunited with her family. After suffering for a long time, isolated from her family in Hokkaido, she had heard her successful sister on the radio. She then fled to Tokyo, initially not to find her family but by chance they are reunited. She relates to them how she heard her sister on the radio and asked herself, how could my sister be so successful and I turn out like this?.  She then says:

  「お姉やんに会ったら、もっと惨めな気持ちになった・・・(うらやましくて、うらやましく・）」

Does this/can this mean:

  "If I met you, my older sister, I would have felt more miserable. (I was so jealous. [That's why I did not look for you])."?

Or, does it/can it also mean:

  "When I met you, my older sister, I felt more miserable. (I was so jealous)."?

I think it is the first*, or based on the context I describe (I don't think I missed anything), it could be either.

If I wanted to make the first statement then I might have used the present plain form in a longer sentence：

「お姉やんに会ったら、もっと惨めな気持ちになると思ったから会うつもりはなかったんだ。・・」

But that is because I am a weak speaker and try to minimize the chance of being misunderstood.

*If she had said ~なっただろう the question might not have occurred to me.


texts: Can Chinese and Japanese calligraphy of the same character be identified as such?

texts: When I look at Chinese vs Japanese calligraphy samples and books, it seems to me that there are subtly different aesthetic principles governing the characters, even discounting variants (including stroke order switches etc) and different formal styles.  For argument's sake, let's limit the argument to 楷書 where things would be expected to be the same.  Can an expert (or even a knowledgeable layman) see a sample of 楷書 and identify it as Japanese or Chinese? Or are the variations between calligraphers wide enough that national identity does not stand out as a distinguishing factor?


texts:
This is an excerpt from a mail my language partner wrote me.
For some context:
年末はいろいろと忙しいと思いますので、無理しなくていいですよ。
昔の呼び方で、12月のことを「師走（しわす）」と言います。「師（し：先生のこと）も走り回るくらい忙しい月」という意味ですよ。
それに日本では、忘年会（ぼうねんかい)シーズンです。
忘年会とは、その年の苦労を忘れるために行う宴会（えんかい：party）のことで、職場の人と飲みに行くことが多いです。友達同士でも忘年会をするので、私の主人は、12月に４回も忘年会に行きます。

The sentence in question:
忘年会とは、その年の苦労を忘れるために行う宴会（えんかい：party）のことで、職場の人と飲みに行くことが多いです。

My attempt at translation:
"About the year-end-party, Out of the parties one performs to forget the worries of the year, there are many to go to to drink with people of the company."

So, first I don't know wether my interpretation of で in のことで is correct or not. I interpreted it as the abbreviated form of のなかで, because if I interpreted it as a location marker, the interpretation I could've come up with didn't make much sense anymore: "...at the parties one performs to forget the worries of this year, there are many to go to to drink with people of the company."

I'm also a bit unsure about the way I interpreted ことが多い, since I'm not 100% sure wether the こと references back to the parties or not.

Ultimately, 忘年会とは. I don't really know what to do with と. If I just interpreted it literally, it would work somehow: "With the year-end-party,(it is like that...)" But I have no idea wether this applies here or if it would be a legit approach at all...^^


texts:
Is it true that when we see 伯母 it usually (90%) means "parent's elder sister" and sometimes (10%) can be used to refer to the parent's younger sister?

On the contrary, when we see 叔母 does it always (100%) mean "parent's younger sister" and never "parent's elder sister" ?


texts: Why is Toyota typically written in Katakana? (トヨタ)

texts: Presumably, as a Japanese name, it should be written in Chinese characters or in hiragana.


texts: What is the best word choice for "cycle"?

texts:
In this poem, I want to say "...is the cycle of fall foliage", but I'm not sure if meguri is a good choice. I do not want to use katakana.

。。。は秋の葉の巡り（めぐり）

By the way, I'm still learning this app. Thanks for everyone's help!


texts: Are there any differences between 申込/申し込み and 応募?

texts: I appreciate that both 申込 and 応募 basically mean "application". Are there any subtle differences, or nuances to consider when choosing which one to use? Is one more formal than the other for example?


texts:
During one of Yui's concerts I heard her say,

  ありがとうございました。Yuiでした。

https://clyp.it/0lsklv1i

What does it mean here?

I only know りんごでした = it was an apple.
So it doesn't make sense for her to be saying I was Yui.


texts: Can relative clauses be nested without particles in between?

texts:
I searched for other questions about nested relative clauses, and while they seem possible, most examples seem to have particles inside the nested structure:

ワインが詳しい人と飲む機会がないので、楽しみにしています。

Here we have the particle と connecting two relative clauses 「ワインが詳しい人」 and 「飲む機会」
But can I say something like:

この問題と関係ある飛んでいる（Githubの）イシューがあります。- There is an issue going around that is related to this problem.

Is 「関係ある飛んでいるイシュー」 a valid and grammatical sentence?
Or would I have to say it like this:

この問題と関係あるイシューが飛んでいます。- The issue that is related to this problem is going around.

I feel like the meaning or maybe the nuance is not quite the same...
not a 100% sure how to translate 飛んでいる to english here as well.


texts: Is there a slang word/phrase for "Floor it"?

texts:
英辞郎 gives アクセルをべた踏みする as one of the translations of "floor it" but while this has the same meaning, it can't really be used in the imperative. I mean,「べた踏みしろー！」「べた踏みにしようぜ！」sounds rather...uncool, doesn't it?

How would this kind of thing be said in 走り屋 or maybe 暴走族 lingo?

※It doesn't have to be the exact meaning of pressing the gas pedal to the floor, I am more interested in what phrases are actually used.


texts:
Here is a sentence including the phrase.

路{ろ｝上{じょう}でたたき売{う}りしようが　こそドロやろうがめんどうみようってことにならあね。

Is it equivalent to 「ことにならない」？


texts: Is the following Japanese sentence negative or positive in English?

texts:
Context: Character A has just told the character who is the narrator that he has the talent to be an assassin. Being a normal person, and thus taken off guard, the narrator responds with the following:

  「はは……、わけの解【わか】らないこと言わないでくれよ。大体、何の根拠があって……」

From what I can tell, the narrator says something along the lines of:

  "Haha……, it’s nearly impossible for me to understand the thing you’re not saying that I have. In the first place, on what basis do you say that……"

I think that the italicized part of the English sentence corresponds to the bold bit in the Japanese which emphasizes the narrator's disbelief, but I'm unsure if my understanding of the Japanese is correct in terms of the sentence being an emphasized negative sentence, a double negative, or a positive created from two negatives.

What is the correct way of understanding the above Japanese sentence, given the context?


texts: Is ネコでも分かる・サルでも分かる idiomatic?

texts:
I heard the expression ネコでも分かる... mentioned in a TV drama as title for a (fictional) book, in the sense of "...for dummies". A quick search on Amazon brings up a few (real) titles ネコでも分かる... or サルでも分かる...

Is this an idiomatic expression you can use in day-to-day speech, or is this just restricted to these lines of books by particular publishers? If this is a normal speech pattern, are there any other animals commonly employed in this context?


texts:
I hear ワンマン運転　as ワンマウンテン, with the ん　of マン dissapearing, or perhaps being very soft.

Here's an example:http://youtu.be/DZnuH1XkE7s?t=49s

Another question shows that there can be something phonetically special about ん＋vowel words.  This suggests the 'u' sound might be nasalized, but I don't hear the 'u' sound being different from a normal う in this example.

How do I pronounce ワンマン運転? Is this different from ワンマウンテン? Is there a rule that applies to some other words?  Or is it a special case like 雰囲気?


texts:
作業と思わなければ動けなくなるほど切迫していたが、とにもかくにも精神的なダメージは負わなくなった。
  だが、これだけは気持ちの持ちようなどでは耐えられない。

  She is pressured by the fact that the more she does not think about this as a job, the more she becomes unable to move.
  At any rate the emotional damage is disappeared.
  But, she cannot sustain this situation by maintaining her feelings.(or with her attitude, way of thinking)

I have 2 questions.

1.V1ばV1ほど=The more V

2.V1ばV2ほど=What does this mean?
  I think "the more V1 the more V2...", but I am not sure.
  Another way I think it could be is "When V1, to the degree of V2....".

The other problem is:

  気持ちの持ちよう

I found online
気の持ちよう=考え方次第
But can't find a definition for 気持ちの持ちよう
other than
Meaning of 気持ちの持ち方まで問題にしている

Thanks


texts: Strangely-Ordered Sentences vs. Attributive Phrases

texts:
So actually rather often in Japanese music, I see phrases like this:

汚れきった言葉を

with some sort of verb modifying the noun, and with the noun having the direct object particle, but no verb. I always assumed this was more of a sentence out of order than a noun with an attributive phrase, as in "The words were dirtied." But is it more of a noun with an attributive phrase, as in, "The dirty word?" Is it a sentence out of order, or simply a noun with a modifier and perhaps and inferred word?

Thank you for your help!


texts: Asking a group of people about something

texts:
I want to know if this is even near to being correct. Basically I'm making a question to people who like pizza despite not knowing much about it. (You can replace pizza with anything)

  あまり知らない人、 あなた達に質問があります:  何故はピザが好きですか。

I assumed to used "達" since it's a plural suffix.
"あまり知らない人" is how this group of people label themselves.
The question sentence I used, specially the structure, is the first that i could thinked of.


texts:
Written Japanese ordinarily doesn't use any spaces to separate words. But Japanese children's books do.
For example, the opening of Tomi Ungerer's The Three Robbers (すてきな 三にんぐみ)

あらわれでたのは、
くろマントに、 くろい　ぼうしの　さんにんぐみ。
それはそれは　こわーい、 どろぼうさまの　おでかけだ。

Are there general rules by which spaces would be inserted? (For example, always after particles, always at "word boundaries" (suitably defined).) Or do editors/authors just insert spaces at "natural" reading pauses? (Natural for small children at least.)
For example, in the same book きがついた is written without spaces (which would be fine if the rule were "no spaces in phrases which are a unit"), but then だれも かれも is written with space, but I think of the phrase as a unit.


texts: Difference between にさせる vs にする（as in 幸せにさせる vs 幸せにする)

texts:
What's the difference when we say 幸せにさせる compared to 幸せにする?

I'm now confused between using させる and にする.

Can anyone please provide an in-depth explanation?


texts:
What's the difference between their に and が in these sentences?

  「私にできることがあれば何でも言ってください」

and

  「私ができることがあれば何でも言ってください」?


texts: What is 「々」 and how does it affect meaning and pronunciation?

texts: I've seen this symbol in various places, such as 「日々」, 「色々」, and 「人々」. What is it, and how does it affect the meaning and pronunciation of the word?


texts: What is the difference between 上{あ}げる and 挙{あ}げる?

texts:
I searched examples for the verb "ageru - raise" and I found it written with two different kanji:

挙げる
上げる

Mostly their meaning is "raise".
I found them with the following examples:

棚に箱を上げる。Put a box on the shelves.
学校で生徒は手を挙げる。Put one's hands up
旗を揚げる。to raise a flag (a third kanji for ageru! :) )

I would like to ask if there are strict rules to use these kanji in certain cases just like in the examples, or I can use them in a transposed way?


texts: which instruments use 弾く and which use 引く?

texts:
I was wondering how do we identify what instruments may be used with the verb 引く, or 弾く, or both?

If both 引く and 弾く can be used is there any difference in nuance between one vs the other?


texts:
Once again, while doing exercises, I came across a sentence that bugged me:

直子は７歳のときに家出したが、聡明な_____、見つかることなく10日間もひとりで生きていた。
A. だけあって、B. だけに、C. だけ、D. だけは

The solution to the exercise was A, which makes sense to me; but why would B be incorrect?
As I understand it, both だけあって and だけに mean "precisely because" (in this example, it bears the nuance that if not for her wit, Naoko would have died).
However, since they both appear as propositions, I guess there's a nuance between them; unfortunately I could not find any reference about such a nuance.
What's the difference between だけあって and だけに?
What makes だけあって the right answer here?


texts:
How to make comparisons like "the wider the river the easier to navigate"?

I mean, how to say that because something is this way, something else is that other way?

Thank you very much.


texts: How to politely ask if a specific person (by name) is available in a professional setting/store

texts:
I couldn’t find the right search terms to trigger an existing answer. I often go to a store where I have somewhat of a regular relationship with one of staff members. Sometimes they’re in the back, and I would like to ask if they are available by name, but in a polite manner.
How would I ask “Excuse me, is Tanaka available/here?”


texts: How do you politely and gratefully reply to an invitation to be published?

texts:
Is there a set phrase for politely replying to an invitation to have your academic paper published as a journal article?
I presented a paper at a Japanese academic conference, and I've received an email from the academic society's committee which says they have selected it to have it published in their annual academic journal
(「発表者には要旨原稿をいただきたいということになりました。」) and that I must first reply to let them know whether or not I accept the invitation (「まずは要旨掲載を希望するか否か、ご意向をお知らせ下さい。」).
I want to thankfully accept the invitation. If I reply with

ご連絡ありがとうございます。
はい、要旨掲載を希望します。
よろしくお願いします。

is that okay, or is it not polite enough?  Is there a set phrase that should be used?  Should the reply be longer?  Should I thank them specifically for choosing or for considering my paper for publication?

Edit:
kimbrys notes, "it might be quite too short of an answer for such email" and naruto writes, "you can't be too polite." How can I write this sort of response email longer and more robustly in order to be more polite? What additional sort of content would be standard?
This time, I received the instructions 「…掲載する論文の執筆を依頼することが決まりました。以下に執筆要領を記しますので、それに従いご執筆願えるか否か、諾否をお知らせ下さい。」


texts: What's the difference between 「なんだか」 and 「なんとなく」?

texts:
The meanings and explanation of なんだか and なんとなく in Wikitionary:

なんだか【何だか】明確な理由が無いさま。
なんとなく【何と無く】明確な理由が無いさま。

It seems that they have totally the same meanings. Is there a difference between the usage of these two adverbs?


texts: Saying a sentence without pronouncing the を particle

texts:
I sometimes hear japanese natives say a sentence without using the を topic particle. For example, 「ご飯食べる」or 「お茶入れる」as opposed to 「ご飯を食べる」and 「お茶を入れる」

Is it a norm for japanese to neglect to を when speaking? Will the sentence be understandable 100% of the time?


texts: Please help me understand the grammar of this にする sentence

texts:
This sentence appeared on NHK news web easy today in regards to the corona virus.

  厚生労働省は、検査の結果が出るまで、外に出ないようにしてもらうことにしています。

I believe the grammar that is tripping me up is the nested にする in te form.

My best interpretation:

  According to some government office, until the results of the test are received, [they] won't be allowed to leave.

The ～ようにしてもらう　construction and the final ～もらうことにしています　Must be a type of grammatical construction I am not familiar with yet.


texts: Is "sou ka na" roughly equal to "so ka" being "is that so?" and the difference is that "sou ka na" conveys more emotions?


texts: When 一緒 means "the same", is there a difference in usage between 一緒 and 同じ?

texts:
When talking to Japanese people they tend to use 一緒 when describing things that are the same. I have always thought that 同じ should be used when describing things that are the same.
Is 一緒 just an informal way of 同じ or there is more to it?
For example:

それはこの意味と一緒ですよね。That has the same meaning as this, doesn't it?

私たちはお休みの日が一緒ですね。Our days off are the same.

花子と私は去年一緒のクラスにいました。Hanako and I were in the same class last year.


texts:
Is it true that 寂しい can be used to describe someone as "pathetic" ? (pathetic in the sense like someone is cheating in a game: pathetic. and like someone is robbing a grandma: pathetic. and like someone who doesn't wish to work and just wanted to live off others: pathetic)

The dictionaries I use only list them as "lonely, lonesome, solitary, desolate" so I'm wondering if the "pathetic" meaning of 寂しい is widely used (or used at all)


texts: I don't understand what's the te-form purpose in here

texts:
でも傘に穴空いてて髪が濡れた

I understand the message in this "But, my umbrella had a hole in it so my hair got wet"

But I don't quite get what it's the te-form in 穴空いてて is doing, is it the te form of compound sentence meaning "and" so the literal translation would be:

"But the umbrella had a hole in it and my hair got wet."

Also a friend of mine told me the quote could become:

  でも傘に穴空いている、だから髪が濡れた。

So it confused me a bit because it made it seem that he is saying that, that te-form is the same as だから...

also, 穴空いている could be 穴が空いている?

Thanks.


texts: Is おたくじじい a proper term to describe an old man who's into anime or is there another slang term for it?

texts: So as the question states, is おたくじじい a proper term to describe an old geezer otaku or is there a better alternative?


texts:
The phrase is pretty simple:

  デスノート
  落{お}としちまった

Which is obviously, "I dropped my Death Note".

The verb (and the kanji) is for おとす or おちる, which is "to drop" or "to let fall", yet this is a verbal form that I couldn't find anywhere. It looks like a mix between the two verbs. I can't really tell what to make of it grammatically.


texts: How to separate words in a Japanese sentence?

texts:
Unlike some languages (English, French, ...), written Japanese sentences don't have spaces between words.

I know that it is the same in Chinese for example, but the fact that the Chinese language only use one alphabet (hanzi) makes it easier to split words, most of the time it is 1 or 2 characters for each word.

I also know that a lot of it comes from knowing vocabulary/grammar to be able to know where each word begins and ends, but I was wondering if there were any tips that can be used to be able to differentiate them?


texts: What does どうにも穏やかではなさそうだが mean

texts:
それで一体どうしたのかね？どうにも穏やかではなさそうだが

My question is about the meaning of 穏やかではなさそうだ in the above.

According to the man who asked him this, he found the protagonist fainted in the park.

The translation in what I was watching was "you don't look particularly calm".

I've only seen 穏やか used in the context of not talking about people, but about other things like...

  電話で話せないこととは穏やかではなさそうだね

Is the translation correct or is 穏やかではなさそうだ referring to something else?


texts: Understanding the sentence あなたの学校に何がありますか

texts:
As the title says, I'm looking for some help understanding the following sentence:

  あなたの学校に何がありますか。

I'm really confused with this sentence, especially about the use of 何 here. Could someone help me translate / understand it better?

As far as I can tell, a direct translation would be:

  your school what there is?

Which makes no sense.


texts: IPA transcription of kana づ please: I think it will be [dzɯ].


texts: 〜ず versus 〜ないで　(and maybe also in the case of adjectives, 〜なくて）

texts:
Consider the following example sentence (taken from an exercise sheet):

  熱が下がらず苦しかった。

Now consider this sentence I made:

  熱が下がらないで苦しかった。

What is the difference?


texts: Three ways of saying 'mother': 母, お母さん, 母親

texts:
お[母]{かあ}さん is used to address one's mother and [母]{はは} to talk about her (related: Titles for family). Since [母]{はは} already means 'my mother', is 私の母 redundant?

And when/how/why is [母親]{ははおや} used?


texts: How would you refer to an apartment number?

texts:
I am currently working through みんなの日本語 (and still very new), in 第二課の会話 one character says "...408のサントスです。”, but in the audio the voice actor says what sounds like ”よんまるはちのサントスです".

I would say 408 as "よんひゃくはち" , what is this "まる", is it just another way to represent 100?


texts: I'm watching to Totoro and there is a line おばけやしきみたい. The translation says, "It's like a haunted house." I understand that おばけ や could be roughly "relating to monsters" and the dictionary thinks that しきみたい might be a conjugation of shiku (to spread out, lay). I can't find a conjugation that would produce しきみたい.


texts: According to a website I was learning, they said 濡れ羽色 is jet black and 烏羽色 is glossy black. But in my Japanese dictionary, both words mean glossy black?


texts:
I am discussing via email about a file, and I want to ask "What is the size of the file?"

Here is my try: サイズは何ですか？

I realize it sounds weird though, and サイズはどのぐらいですか？ might sound better but I am afraid that the ぐらい will imply I want an approximate size, which is not true: I want the exact size.


texts:
What would be some Kansai-ben equivalents to the following two sentences?

(a) 火遊びしちゃ危ないよ！

(b) 火遊びしちゃだめだよ！


texts:
I encountered this line while reading a passage.
Context:

知名度の高い執筆者ばかり適当に揃えて一冊の雑誌をつくる編集は、たとえて言えば、インスタント食品をうまく使って食卓を賑わす料理人みたいなものだ。失敗の危険は少ないかもしれないが創る喜びは少ない。
そこへゆくと、まだ固いつぼみを見つけ出して、これにあたたかい春の風を送り、花に育てる編集のしごとはそれ自体が一つの芸術である。そういうことの可能なエディターはそれほど多くいるとは考えられないが、優れた才能の開花のかげにはきわめてしばしばこういう創造的編集が存在するのではあるまいか。

I understand first sentence of second paragraph as

If you go there, finding flowers that have not bloomed yet, tending them with warm spring air (so that they can grow into flowers) is also an art in itself.

I understand 「花に育てる」 as an attribute clause which describes 「編集」 but I don't understand why 「に」 is used here instead of 「を」. Does using 「に」 here add any nuance ?


texts: What's the difference among [停]{と}める、[止]{と}める、and [留]{と}める?

texts: How are they different in meaning and usage? I also would like to see samples of how each can be used in a sentence.


texts: What is the difference between 「『の』ための」, 「『の』ために」and 「に」?

texts:
I am vaguely aware of how to use 「のために」in sentences, but I have recently encountered the following sentence:

「日本語がわかるようになるには、そんな風にゴロゴロしていないで。」

Would there be any significant difference when 「に」is replaced by 「ために」? How are the two different and when is it more appropriate to use the other?

「日本語がわかるようになるためには、そんな風にゴロゴロしていないで。」

Also, 「『の』ための」is a new expression for me.

説明、ありがとうございます！


texts: How do I ask about books that include furigana for the kanji?

texts:
I'm planning on going to Japan soon and one of the things I'd like to do is buy a few books, but I want to get books that include the furigana for all the kanji. How would I ask a store associate to show me where I can find books that include that. My first thoughts go to 「ふりがなの本はありますか？」 but that kind of sounds like "Are there furigana books?" which I'm not sure conveys the correct meaning. Would I be asking that correctly if I said it that way or is there a better way of asking for books that include the furigana?

EDIT: I'm willing to accept a more generalized answer to the question of how to ask about something being included in something else if that makes sense.


texts: Saying “some” as in “What are some examples of this?”

texts:
How would you express “some” when you’re asking for a list of things or examples of something?

My gut is to just say whatever I’m talking about, like:

  好きな鳥は何ですか？

meaning “What are some birds you like?” but that seems more like it says “What does 好きな鳥 mean?” so I’m not sure.


texts:
Why is the sentence 「紙で書きます」 not correct?

Is it not the case that the 紙 is where the writing action takes place?


texts: "絶対について来ないでね。" as "Absolutely don't come/follow"

texts: Overheard the phrase which sounded like "絶対について来ないでね。". I believe it means 'absolutely don't come/follow'. The speaker was actually hinting to follow her. I'm just curious if my translation makes sense, and if I've spelled things correctly.


texts:
I've looked this up in a few different dictionaries and the only word I got was 「か国語」written in a few different ways. but all of them contain 「国語」which I have come to understand means national language. Does this only refer to national languages for example:

  スイスは三か国語があります。ドイツ語とフランス語とイタリア語。

or can this be used in other contexts

I am looking for a way to talk about how many languages one knows, and I don't trust google translate enough to believe what it says about just using 「言語」.


texts: Help with さすが大学に行っただけのことはある

texts:
It's an example sentence from tangorin.com, I wanted to know some sentence examples for さすが. One sentence I found is completely confusing for me, I can't logically translate the sentence to the original translation below:

  彼はさすが大学に行っただけのことはある。
  He didn't go to college for nothing.

The really confusing part is especially the rear 行っただけのことはある.
I know that simply said ことがある means 'to have done something', concluding that (in my mind) the translation would be something like:

  This guy, as one would expect, he did really go to university [only for the
  sake of going to the university].

Giving you the image that this guy is some bum instead of the right translation which gives you the image that this guy is actually something.

But, as you can see, my translation is nowhere near the original (right) translation, also due to my level of Japanese being only somewhere around B2.


texts:
As far as I know "koko ni oide" means "come here", but what does "to" add to the sentence "koko ni oide to". The context of the phrase is

  今、 あなたの声が聴こえる
  ｢ここにおいで｣と


texts: Do people actually look down on you if you use a regional dialect as a Gaijin?

texts:
My brother got on a scholarship to go to university in Japan, he was given a year an half language training and then had to apply to Japanese universities.

I suggested he study in Osaka as I'd visited there and knew some people he could hang about with but he was advised not to study too far away from Tokyo as people would look down on him if he gained a regional accent.

Is this actually the case? I appreciate that they might make fun of locals with a regional accent but is would this apply to foreigners too?


texts: Trouble parsing sentence with どうしても and a triple negative

texts:
I am using an easy-to-read VN to get some grammar experience. The following sentence has been troubling me for about half an hour now:

  生徒会に入ったら、どうしてもこっちを着なきゃだめなの？

The topic of 着る is 制服 if that will help understand it better.

I have no problem understanding the first clause「生徒会に入ったらー」: "When (you) join the student council..."

My first doubt comes with the 「どうしても」, does it mean something like "by all means"? However, the biggest problem I have is wrapping my mind around this (triple negative?): 「着なきゃだめなの?」

So here's what I know: 「なきゃ」 is casual for「なければ」 and together with 「だめ」 it would mean "Gotta wear (uniform)" or less casual "Must wear (uniform)". However, since it's 「だめな(い)」 I got really confused. Does 「着なきゃだめな」　altogether mean "Must not wear (uniform)"?

I am sorry if the explanation is messy, but I tried to write down my thought process.  At some point I also became uncertain whether the topic is 制服 due to the を particle in this sentence (I expected 「に」particle after 「こっち」 "here").

Please point me in the right direction and if it isn't too much, an idiomatically correct translation would also be much appreciated as I feel it would help me figure out the X by knowing Y.

Edit 1: The topic is confirmed to be　制服. I translated こっち　as "here", rather than the correct "this", referring to the school uniform.


texts: How can I parse this long atributive sentence:

texts:
I have this paragraph:

  ２０１６年度東京スポーツ新聞社制定プロレス大賞技能賞に輝いた新日本プロレスのケニー・オメガ（３３）が８日、深刻な“燃え尽き症候群”に陥り、悩める胸中を明かした。

I know that "２０１６年度東京スポーツ新聞社制定プロレス大賞技能賞に輝いた新日本プロレスの" is modifying ケニー・オメガ but I'm not sure how to parse it since I don't know how 制定 fits here. The only thing I know is that ケニー・オメガ was the recipient of the ２０１６年度東京スポーツプロレス大賞技能賞 but he didn't attend the awards because of depression


texts: What is the difference, in usage, between native Japanese words and their Chinese derived counterparts?

texts:
I found some verbs that have Chinese derived counterparts. For example:

選ぶー選択する
死ぬー死亡する
取るー取得する
変えるー変更する
諦めるー放棄する

How are these words used differently? Are they interchangeable? I think the Chinese derived ones sound more formal, is that right?

Also, I think this happens with adjectives and nouns too:

美しいー綺麗
優しいー親切
当たり前ー当然
国ー国家
生き物ー生物


texts: Mixture of romaji and hiragana in NHK "Meet and Speak"

texts:
In the NHK program "Meet and Speak", the phrases they use have a mixture of hiragana and romaji. Not as in hiragana on one line, and romaji underneath, but individual words being composed of the two, such as "すmimaせn".

What is the purpose of this mixture? Is is supposed to indicate pitch accent? Alternatively, is romaji used for hiragana that the program has not yet taught?


texts: う◯こ versus う◯ち - which is more childish?

texts:
I was watching last week's ホンマでっか, and there one of the learned panel talked about うんこ (or う◯こ as it was subtitled), and Matsuko Deluxe on the celeb panel hectored him with a "Use うんち at least as it's not so childish!" (I could very well have these two back-to-front)

So, the question is which is less childish? WWWJDIC list both as children's language.

For a bonus point, why do even late-night shows use う◯こ and う◯ち in subtitles?


texts:
In reading exercise #3 of JLPT N3 読む guide, there's a sentence that contains それ and I don't understand why.

  大好きなおもちゃが壊れてしまった子供にとっては、それを直してくれるおもちゃの専門家が、神様のように見えるようです。

Can someone explain to me why それ is being used?


texts: Can I use both おさまって and おちついて to say "everyone, keep calm?"

texts:
みんな、おちついて
Or
みんな、おさまって

Say there's a earthquake and teacher says to his students "everyone, keep calm."
How'd he do that in Japanese?

I'm asking here because translators don't explain why they used the word they did and not others.


texts:
父は何かにつけて、若いころ外国で過ごした思い出を語る。

Is this sentence best translated as "My father would sometimes talk about his memories as a young man travelling abroad".

If yes, what is the difference between 何かにつけて and something simpler like 時々、時に etc.?


texts: Do requests with てくれますか、てもらえますか & Co. have the same subject?

texts:
This was probably asked before but I just can't find the right post ...
I was taught that while てくれる and てもらえる both express that I or a peer of mine receive(s) something, the subject will be different, e.g.

○○は私にプレゼントを贈ってくれる。  (○○　give(s) me a present)
私は!○○にプレゼントを贈ってもらう。(I get a present from ○○)

but if you use the forms to make a request, that rule seems to not apply anymore. While it's still

あなたは私に手紙を送ってくれる？
　（てくれない？
　　てくれますか？
　　てくれませんか？
　　てください。
　　てくださいますか？
　　てくださいませんか？）

with changing てもらう into the conditional form てもらえる, the subject also seems to change from "I/peer" to "other person/not peer". E.g. I found sentences like

あなたは私を駅で降ろしてもらえませんか？
あなたはそれを調べてもらえますか？
あなたは私に会っていただけますか？
あなたは私に本を貸していただけませんか？

However, with more indirect request this change of subject doesn't occur...

私はあなたに車で迎えに来てもらえるかしら？
私はあなたに写真を撮ってもらえないでしょうか？

Are my observations correct, and if so, why is it that the subject changes?


texts: How do I read this sentence? 「そこにいるのは、すでに死んだ先人達。」

texts:
The last part of the sentence is throwing me off because I'm not sure whether or not "死んだ先人達" should be read as "しんださきひとたち" or "しんだせんじんたち." Could it depend on context? Are both readings acceptable?
Thank you for any replies!


texts:
Both of them are Na-adjectives and both mean "ordinary, common". Are there any differences?

I saw a sentence:

  そんな平凡でありきたりなことじゃないのかも

Why "平凡" and "ありきたり" are both used here?


texts: Problems with から, て form and で (because)

texts:
Well, searching around the web I came across this post (Difference between から and で in context of because) that had a similar problem, but it did not resolve mine. I found these three sentences:
夏休みがありますから、夏が一番好きです。
通りにまよって、おくれました。
じゅうたいで、おくれました。
I kind of understand the difference between the last sentence and the other two (there is a noun before で), but in the other two there is a verb and I am not able to tell when to use から or the て form.


texts: 星新一 "消えた大金" short story: what's the point?

texts:
I have read the "Lost Money" story by Hoshi Shinichi, it was in my Japanese textbook.

I did not understand: is there an implication that each year the company employees, including the director himself, invented new and new means to steal the money from the company, using the old legend as a pretext?

The question not quite suits the forum but I have no one to ask this.


texts: What is the etymology behind る in 日{ひ}/昼{ひる} and 夜{よ}/夜{よる}?

texts:
I noticed that there is this る coming up in 日{ひ}→昼{ひる} and 夜{よ}→夜{よる}. I haven't seen ひる and よる used a lot in Classical Japanese, so ひ and よ probably came first.

What is the role of this る? Does it have a meaning, or is it simply a homophone-avoiding filler like 田-んぼ and 葉-っぱ? Is it by any chance related to 雲/曇る?

和訳

{{pad}}
「日{ひ}→昼{ひる}」と「夜{よ}→夜{よる}」にはどちらも「る」が入っていることに気づきました。「ひる」も「よる」も文語ではあんまり見ないので、たぶん「ひ」と「よ」が元の形だと思います。

{{pad}}
この「る」はどういう役割なんですか？意味があるのか、それとも「田んぼ」や「葉っぱ」のように、ただの同音異義語を避けるための語尾でしょうか？もしかして「雲{くも}→曇る{くもる}」の仲間ですか？


texts: How to cut and understand long Japanese noun sentence

texts:
というのは、中学の時、登校拒否になって家に引きこもったクラスメートを心配して励ましているうちに、私は自身がストレスで髪が抜けたり食欲がなくなったりした経験があるからです。それで母は、私が他の人の悩みを聞いて、一緒に悩んでしまうのが、心配でたまらないというのです

For example i want to cut this sentence 登校拒否になって家に引きこもったクラスメートを心配して励ましているうちに  like this:

登校拒否になって家に引きこもった///クラスメートを心配して励ましているうちに

My attempt to translate:
Staying in house and refused to go to school // while being encouraged and worried by friends (?)

My interpretation:

というのは-から ( because)

First i thought that the subject is クラスメート but then i see 私は自身がストレス

At first i thought the subject is クラスメート
And 登校拒否になって家に引きこもった modify クラスメート
then i see を心配して励ましているうちに
This part made me think like the one who being encouraged is my classmate (登校拒否になって家に引きこもったクラスメートを心配して励ましているうちに)

But then the latter part 私は自身が。。 ->so
subject is me and I was supposed to be the one who being encouraged by my friend (?)

My question:

actually who is being encouraged? And who encourage? It supposed to be me who being encouraged my friends right(?)

How to cut japanese long sentence like this and how to determine who is the subject and who is object or modifier?
Can you explain the structure also?


texts: ごめんなさい　How do I say that I am sorry in a deeply apologetic manner?

texts: Recently, I posted content concerning questions and answers from this website to another without providing proper attribution to the posters and commenters. I want to say that I am sorry, but also convey a deeper sense of apology. Are there additional words or phrases that can be used to express a deeper remorse? Thank you.


texts: How to say "I think studying English is easier for Brazilians than for Japanese"

texts:
I wanna say "I think that for Brazilians, studying English is easier than it is for Japanese"

I know how to make simple comparisons like

  お寿司の価格の方がラーメンより高い

but I am having trouble coming up with that sentence, specifically because the only place I can check if it is right is Google translator, but I know it is not reliable... my attempt is:

  ブラジル人にとって英語を勉強する方が日本人にとってより簡単だと思うよ

Thanks!


texts:
ガラス窓のこちら、レジの内側に坐って、見るともなしに赤いアウディを眺めていた喜一は思わずそう呟つぶやいた。
運転席の男の話にしばらく頷いたり首を傾げたりしていたアルバイトが、困った顔になって喜一の方を見たからだった。

a) In the first sentence, 見るともなしに赤いアウディを眺めていた, I suppose it means looking at the red car without looking, but doesn't this sound illogical?

b) In the second sentence, 運転席の男の話にしばらく頷いたり首を傾げたりしていたアルバイトが, I am confused by this phrase, does it mean nods and tilts one's head towards the words spoken by the man in the driver's seat? Then what does アルバイト mean here? Seems アルバイト can't fit in this context.

c) 困った顔になって喜一の方を見たからだった。Does it mean because he saw the troubled face of 喜一?


texts:
The kanji for 鉄拳 seems to suggest that the word means "iron fist". However, various dictionaries suggests that the meaning is simply "fist".

For example, Edict shows that the meaning for 鉄拳 is "fist", and the meaning for 鉄拳制裁 is "punishment by striking with fist".

Kotobank, Excite.co.jp, and Goo also show that the meaning is "a (clenched) fist".

Does 鉄拳 mean "fist" or "iron fist"?

How does it's meaning and usage compare with 拳 (こぶし)?


texts: I know that one of them is なくてはいけません and the other one なければなりません, I just don't know which is which, also a few example sentences would help a lot, thank you.


texts:
Consider the following two sentences.

A:　僕は左と右が区別できない。

B:　僕は左と右を区別することができない。

I often see B but just know A now.

How can A be possible? What kind of grammar is A?

The following sentence (from the Tanaka Corpus) inspired me to ask this question:

  その[坊や]{ぼうや}はツバメとスズメが[区別]{くべつ}できない。
  The boy can't tell a swallow from a sparrow.


texts: A question about Japanese names with " 一 " kanji

texts:
I've heard that when it comes to naming their first born sons, Japanese parents often use the kanji for "one", "一" like "一郎" for example, as their given names, and for second or third sons the kanji for two and three may be used respectively.

However, is it strange to come across names where " 一 " Is used in one's given name even if they aren't the first born son? I ask this because I'm reading a Japanese light novel where the character's name is 一温 and not much is known about his siblings but it seems as if he might have an older brother.


texts: What would be the best way to express the term 'master', as in a master of some sport?


texts: When should i replace hiragana with kanji?


texts:
日本人には________かもしれないが、私たち外国人にとっては、_________はとても大変なことです。

So I answered the first blank with 漢字が簡単に書ける and the second one with 漢字を書くの.

My Japanese teacher, who is a native, told me that it should be 漢字が簡単 because this には functions as にとっては.

She then proceeded to say that the subject of potential verbs would normally be は (if I heard it correctly).

But I have seen countless sentences like 私にはできる and 私には分かる, which both mean the same as 私はできる and 私は分かる respectively (I think). So why is 書ける a big no no in this context? I feel like the second part of the sentence is saying 私たちにはそんなにできない.

I don't think my Japanese is good enough to ask her questions and understand her reply yet.


texts: When to use which one ? かもしれない、たぶん、もしかしたら

texts: As I know All 3 words mean possibly/perhaps. They differ in % of possibility (My Japanese friend said so). But I am confused when to use which one properly?


texts: Modifying 形容動詞 (ナ adjectives) with verb phrases

texts:
In my textbook, the following phrase:

  子どもたちが話しているにぎやかな声

is derived from the following example sentence:

  にぎやかな声で子どもたちが話している。

It is the phrase that confuses me. It appears to me that the section in bold is modifying にぎやか, and if this is indeed the case, I do not understand the meaning of this construct.

I would appreciate help understanding this phrase.


texts:
I read this phrase in a book:

  ・・・・[彼]は口の中でうなった。

I'm guessing the うなった is 唸った, or groan, but I'm curious as to if 口の中 has a meaning or implication other than the obvious, inside his mouth. How does one groan if not inside one's mouth? My best guess is that it's something along the lines of "under his breath"...but that still doesn't seem right to me.

For context, the 彼 is (something like) a high priest who's speaking with the emperor (which is what makes me think he is trying to suppress a groan out of respect).


texts: I want to say that my waiter told me about Japanese restaurants or taught me info about them. I was thinking that I might just try フュージョンは　日本の食堂を　教えました。 But that would mean the waiter taught Japanese restaurants to me wouldn't it? I would like to say that he told me about something? How do I say "about" something? Any help is appreciated.


texts: There are several Japanese verbs for 'to wear', depending on the kind of clothes. What if one wears several? What is 'wear' if 'I wear a shirt, pants, glasses and a hat'? Does one of かぶる, 着る, 履く and かける trump the others? or is the choice based on a specific item (probably the last one) in the list?


texts: What old Japanese texts can be used in the same fashion as the latin "Lorem Ipsum"?

texts:
"Lorem Ipsum" is used as a place holder when creating designs or formatting media that will have actual text and functionality.

Question
I would like to know what the Japanese equivalent is of this (if one exists) and or what ancient Japanese texts can be used in a similar fashion to produce "text that looks like actual text, but isn't understandable to the average viewer". Basically the same as Lorem Ipsum.


texts: What is the difference between 楊 and 柳 which both mean "Willow"

texts:
I've come across two kanji, which are both read やなぎ　and both mean "willow".

From what I've found out so far, 柳 has an On'yomi of リュウ　and it seems to mean more "things with the qualities of a willow"; while 楊　has an On'yomi of ヨウ　and means the type of tree. That being said it also seems to be a name element.

Can anyone confirm this or shed some more light on the subject?


texts:
How do I express the concept of with/without in the following sentences:

  I'd like a coffee with sugar please.

The best I can do is to use 'and':

  コーヒーとさとうを下さい

And for 'without':

  I'd like a pizza without cheese.

My best attempt at this would be:

  チーズがないピザを下さい

Maybe I could re-engineer the coffee and sugar one in that way too. It seems clunky though. Is there a better way?


texts: Meaning of 目 in 思っている目 and usage of honorifics to refer to oneself

texts:
From this blog:https://web.archive.org/web/20150427230456/samuraimoon.blog67.fc2.com/blog-entry-226.html

  （うわ、こいつストーカー？　センター試験から目を付けられてたわけ！？　月くん貞操のぴんちっ！）とか思っている目ですが、おくびにも出さずに会話を続けます。

Context: It's from a scene in death note were L starts talking to Light out of the blue when they first met, here Light thinks to himsef "why is this weird guy (who's staring at me all the time) talking to me?"

I find this part very difficult to understand because I'm not sure who is saying this. At first I thought It could be Light  because that part (うわ、こいつストーカー？　センター試験から目を付けられてたわけ！？　月くん貞操のぴんちっ！) is in blue in the post and that's the color the author uses for all of Light's speeches so far. Also I think he uses sentences in （） for when the characters are thinking to themselves; but Light would be referring to himself as 月くん in his thoughts which I don't think that's possible, that's why I was thinking that line was from the author.

For the meaning of 思っている目 I think it's something like: Eyes that seem to be thinking of (something) like in "someone has a look in his eyes that he is thinking of ...". But maybe 目 doesn't mean literal eyes, maybe it means viewpoint or attitude in this context.

I found this sentence too (which is clear that 目 means literal eyes):

  メガネをすることでそのコンプレックスと思っている目を隠すことができるのです。

I guess this would be: Eyes that seem to be thinking of inferiority complex = Eyes that make one think of inferiority complex


texts: Would educated Japanese people without special training be able to understand Buddhist mantras/真言?

texts:
A well-educated speaker of Hindi (a modern descendant of Sanskrit) who doesn't have any special training in Buddhist (or Hindu) liturgy would probably be able to more or less understand the following short mantra. (As far as I can tell, this particular one isn't actually used outside of Shingon, but that shouldn't matter for the purposes of this discussion.)

  Namah samanta-buddhanam bhah

The Japanese equivalent of this appears to be:

  ノウマク・サンマンダ・ボダナン・バク

Would an equally-educated speaker of Japanese without any special training in Buddhist liturgy be able to understand that mantra (or any such mantra; no need to focus on this particular one)? Or is all this Sanskrit-derived Buddhist stuff more in the realm of a foreign language which one would need to learn separately?


texts: 「わけもないというふうで」What is the nuance being conveyed in this context?

texts:
From 銀河鉄道の夜（宮沢賢治）

「 さあ 」 ジョバンニ は 困って 、 もじもじ して い ましたら 、 カムパネルラ は わけ も ない と いう ふうで 、 小さな ねずみいろ の 切符 を 出し ました

「わけもないというふうで」What does this mean in the above context? Is カムパネルラ "acting as if there's no reason to be concerned"? What is the nuance being conveyed in this interaction?


texts: には agent or object of the potential form?

texts:
This sentence is translated as: "In the end I could never beat him, not even once" by JTest4You

結局彼には、一度も勝てなかった

So the agent in I which is assumed here. But I was under the impression that for passive/potential verbs the agent is  what attaches to に.
What is the correct grammar of には here ?


texts: Is "爿" a 略字--if so, how is it pronounced/written normally?

texts:
If not. . .part of how I help myself learn is to translate things that interest me--comics and art and song lyrics now and then. While reading, I ran into this dialogue, starting with "爿に"--and I've been stuck for a while.

I know that some kanji are shortened into ryakuji when handwritten, but I can't seem to find this anywhere. . .aside from that it's a radical and it can be shortened in some kanji to 丬 to make them quicker to write.
If not for that the text is hand-written, I'd think of it as maybe being a typo.

If this isn't the abbreviated form of a kanji or something similar, is there a way this should be read? Am I misreading the kanji itself?


texts: Is 知らないでしまった a thing?

texts:
I was trying to tell a language-exchange friend that I didn't know something with the somewhat express connotation that I should have (known).

The first thing that came to mind was しまう, which usually expresses unintended action that is done. However, this immediately became a problem, as I did not know how to use しまう with the negative て form. According to this topic, ないでしまう is acceptable.

  知らないでしまう

Yet, this usage seems to be rather rare.

In short, if I were to say, "Oh, shoot, I didn't know that," what is the most natural and/or common way to express this? Is 知らなかった alone enough?

よろしくお願いします。


texts:
犬は泳ぐことが出来ます。

A translation for this sentence would be 'The dog can swim', right? Is it necessary to use ことが? And what does it mean?


texts:
「迷宮都市オラリオ。「ダンジョン」と通称される地下迷宮を保有する。いや迷宮の上に築き上げられた巨大都市。都市、ひいてはダンジョンを管理する「ギルド」を中核して栄える都市は、ヒューマン含めあらゆる種族の亜人が生活を営んでいる。」

How can you figure out who is doing the action of ギルドを中核にする?

Thank you!


texts: what does どことなくつかみどころがなくmean?

texts:
I came across this phrase in the sentence:

勘【かん】というものは、しょちゅう経験【けいけん】していながら、どことなくつかみどころがなく、いまの科学【かがく】ではまだその正体【しょうたい】が、明らか【あきらか】にされていない。(Soumatome
N1 dokkai, p45)

My best effort to translate it naturally would be:
"Although we all often experience intuition, it is an intangible phenomenon that modern science has yet to explain. "
But this is a guess with some added words.  The expression can be googled as 'it is slippery in some way'.
Does anybody know this expression (or can suggest a good reference for such expressions)?


texts: Where is the personal comparison in this phrase?

texts:
I was browsing a language exchange site and came across:

  私のように明るく、前向きな方がいいです。

And the text under it (translation from the user who posted the entry) was:

  I'm hoping that you are cheerful and positive as me.

To me, translated semi-literally, that looks like "My hope (is you are a) bright, positive person". Where is the equivalent of "as me" in that sentence? Does "私の" act as both "My wish" and "As I am" in this context?

Or is the translation just not the same as the Japanese text?


texts:
The following sentence:
この庭にある大きい石と池は、富士山と海をイメージして造られました。

This イメージして followed by 造られました irritates me. I know of several specific patterns where て form is directly succeeded by another verb like
星が見えてきた
but I don't know of any such case with 造る. I've little idea how to understand this phrase.


texts: What's the difference between からには, 以上, and 上は?

texts: I know all three mean "since that..", "now that..", "So long as...." etc. I have trouble understanding the difference between these three. I was wondering in what scenario would I use these 3 grammar points. Is one more formal than the other? The only thing I can see is that both からには and 上は are used for only verbs and 以上 can be used for nouns.


texts:
この変わり身の速さと無節操っぷりは毎年のことであったが、改めて考えると興味深い現象のかもしれない。何しろ、つい先日まで諸人こぞりてきよしこの夜していた人々が、今やもういくつ寝るお正月状態なのである。お祭りごととなれば宗教国籍関係ない日本人ではあるけれど、ここまで大きなイベントが約一週間しか間を置かず連続するというのも、なかなかに慌ただしい話ではあった。師も走らねばならないはずである。

I have simple question. Since なかなか is already an adverb, why is there a に added to なかなか? Is there any difference between なかなかに and なかなか?


texts:
The way I understand it, when two kanji are together without an okurigana in middle the onyomi reading is used for them. So why is 前 in 駅前 not read as ぜん? Is 前 an exception case?

I'm sorry if this question seems rather simplistic, I'm just a beginner in Japanese.


texts: Difference between using 読点 and て形 when using multiple adjectives

texts:
When linking adjectives, you can either use 読点(、) or て-form. So I could write the following sentence in two ways:

くじゃくは、長い、美しい尾を扇のように広げました。
くじゃくは、長くて美しい尾を扇のように広げました。
The peacock expanded its long, beautiful tail like a fan.

I'd like to know the difference between these two sentences. I've heard that using the comma sounds more formal, but I was wondering if there was a difference in meaning as well. I'd also like to know if its possible to use more than 2 adjectives with the 読点 and if it is possible to use な-adjs with 読点.
For example is it possible to replace this sentence:

奇麗で控え目で優しくてしおらしい女性です。

with this?:

奇麗な、控え目な、優しい、しおらしい女性です。

That second sentence does sound very odd to me, so if it's incorrect, is there a different way to do it, or do 形容動詞 require で when linked (even with 読点)?


texts: Particle missing in 'こんなにおいしいの食べたことありません'

texts:
I saw following sentence in one text book

こんなにおいしいの食べたことありません

But I would expect

こんなにおいしいのは食べたことがありません

Can both 'は' and 'が' be omitted here?


texts: Appropriateness of the word 膣外射精 in average adult conversations?

texts: In discussing the marriage of Jin Akanishi and Meisa Kuroki, and why many young celebrities in Japan seem to fall into shotgun marriages, I wanted to use an equivalent for the term "withdrawal method", a phrase in english that is pretty innocuous. I found 膣外射精, and I was wondering if it was a decent equivalent, or if it was too racy for average conversations? I've seen it translated as withdrawal method and coitus interruptus, which are pretty safe, but translated literally I guess it means  "extra-vaginal ejaculation", which besides being a mouthful to say in English, could be somewhat inappropriate in certain situations. Forgive any unintended puns in the question. Any alternative euphemisms or suggestions are appreciated if warranted.


texts: Difference between using -ba or -ra form and と for conditionals?

texts:
Is there some nuance between using each one?

For example:

Could I use と in place of -ba form in

  電気を消せば暗くなる。

or in place of -ra form in

  電気を消したら暗くなる。

like this:

  電気を消すと暗くなる。

?


texts: 「〜したことがある」 vs 「〜したことがあった」

texts:
One of the first patterns a learner of the Japanese language will come across is:

〜したことがある
(I) have 〜 before.
わたしは中国を３回訪れたことがあります
I have visited China three times before.

However, I also occasionally come across sentences like:

以前に一度会ったことがあった。
以前、６人がかりで、注射をいやがる私を取り抑えなくてはならなかったことがありました。

With the former, they seem to be interchangeable, but the latter was originally a sentence that I wrote, but had 「あります」 changed to 「ありました」, though among other things.
However, I also came across the following similar sentence.

以前も組織の男で４０人で取り押さえねばならんほどの大騒動になった事がある。

What is the difference between these two patterns?
More concretely, what would be the difference between the following two sentences?

以前に一度会ったことがあった。
以前に一度会ったことがある。

Edit
I would also appreciate an explanation as to why the following sentence is valid.

仕事で大阪に引っ越す前、大阪を訪れたことが1度だけある。


texts: Is there any difference between 学園 and 学校?

texts: [学校]{がっ・こう} is usually one of the first words we encounter when learning Japanese, however the use of [学園]{がく・えん} also seems pretty common in media. Is there any practical difference between the two terms or are they interchangeable in general?


texts: How do you say "recognized authority" as in "recognized authority in a field of study"?

texts:
I've been searching for the specific way to say "recognized authority" as in "recognized authority in a field of study". I intend to use it as a label, like "John (recognized authority)".

I've been able to find 定評 in jisho, but it seems to mean more "reputation" than "recognized authority" in the sentences I've found.

Anything with the same meaning will also be appreciated.


texts:
In an exercise, the following sentence came out:
(complete the sentence with the propositions in the right order, and say which proposition matches the star)

母の誕生日に_____ _____ * _____贈った
A. 編んで
B. 心を
C. セーターを
D. 込めて

There's no real doubt about B and D, since 心を込める is a frozen expression.
Also, I'm pretty confident the meaning is "For my mother's birthday, I put my heart into knitting a sweater for her".
So my guess was C, and the sentence was:

母の誕生日に心を込めてセーターを編んで贈った。

But it comes out that the expected answer was A.
The only structure that makes sense to me is:

母の誕生日に心を込めて編んでセーターを贈った。

I'm not 100% confident about the source of this exercise, so is this really the right answer?
What bugs me is the fact that the object セーター comes  after its verb 編む.
Does Japanese grammar actually allows that?
If so, how frequent is it to say the verb before the object?


texts:
I've often heard this pattern, particularly in things like

  メッセージ／メール　を　ありがとうございます。

Since ありがとうございます is an adjective, why is it acceptable to use を in this situation?  That seems about as grammatically correct as saying something like 雪を寒いです.

Is there some kind of underlying grammatical-correctness to this, or is this just something that was misused and then became acceptable over time?


texts:
First off sorry to make another post on てくる, but I am really having troubles understanding this construction. I have consulted various resources and have read other similar questions on this website but I can't seem to get it.

My resources (the basic dictionary of Japanese grammar) tell me the following:

来る - an aux verb which indicates the beginning of some process or continuation of some action up to a current point in time.

So when we look at this sentence:

寒くなってきた。

I would draw upon the above and envision that the weather has begun getting cold and is still now getting cold. However, sometimes I see similar sentences translated as "It's gotten cold." To me there is a difference between "getting cold" and "has gotten cold". The former seems like a change still in progress and the latter seems like a complete change.

If it is indeed the latter, what would be the difference between just saying 寒くなった。or, 前より寒くなった。?

Then we move on to a sentence like this, which gets this meaning - "continuation of some action up to a current point in time."

3年間日本語を勉強してきました。

I understand this as, "I have studied Japanese for 3 years", but in this usage I am struggling to understand it's usage over just saying something like "3年間日本語を勉強しています。"

And finally, where does てきている come into this? I've had troubles finding a source on this...


texts:
I'm currently learning about っぱなし. My grammar book (Dictionary of Intermediate Japanese Grammar) says that when the verb is intransitive it means 'keep doing' but when the verb is transitive it means 'leave in a certain state'. It gives the example:

  友達にまだお金を借りっぱなしだ。
  I borrowed money from a friend and still haven't paid it back.

If I hadn't read the bit about transitive/intransitive I would have translated that as "I still keep borrowing money" e.g. every month I have to borrow money.

How would I express that idea of: keep doing a transitive action? e.g.
I keep eating cake from the fridge.


texts: Why do some Japanese men use お袋 to address their mothers?

texts:
I often hear Japanese males use the word お袋 in place of お母さん when annoyed or irritated. Is this word slang? How did this word come to mean 「お母さん」 and what are the circumstances it is used in?

I am also interested in why the word 「袋」is chosen to address the mother. What is the importance of this word?


texts: How strictly does calligraphy typically abide by stroke rules?

texts:
My previous question wasn't great, but I didn't want to ask this question without being sure that the kanji below the blue line is 会, but I'm assuming that it is.

In the above example, I've circled the parts that seem to be completely superfluous in blue, and in green I drew what I felt was the most natural flow between the strokes. Obviously calligraphy is supposed to be artistic/stylised but is it reasonable to just add extra strokes? The vertical stroke between ニ seems to be an extra stroke after 4th (judging by the flick upwards on the bottom stroke of ニ), and it seems to be connected to the bottom part. The ム seems almost to be reversed in how it's written, with some additional parts.

On the other hand, most calligraphy I've seen (including the 極真 above) seem to be much more faithful to stroke flow/direction. Is this just an outlier or is it expected that calligraphy takes such liberties in how kanji are written?


texts: What "non-standard" katakana are commonly used?

texts:
I know about the "standard" special katakana, like ファ fa, ディ di, ヴ vu, etc.  However, I keep running into others I can't find on any list, including the ones in What special kana are used to write foreign words?

For example, on this Wikipedia page, one character has the name:

  Quark (クォーク Kwōku)

I've never seen クォ kwo in any katakana list.

Another example is フュ fyu, as in the new movie X-MEN: フューチャー&パスト.

So, what are all the "non-standard" katakana in regular use?


texts:
僕が、君に何をしたっていうんだい?

I have trouble placing the 僕が, also I'm not 100% sure what したってい means here.

  わたし、クラシックはさっぱりだから…

I know that わたし means 'me' but when I translated the sentence it didn't seem to fit there.


texts:
I'm trying to practice simple translation from English to Japanese.

I'm around N4 level so I started with something I thought was doable for me:

  Today I woke up at 9:00 am. After I got up, I walked Nacho outside so he could poo.

And this was the translation I did:

  今日は９時午前に私が起きた。その後、外でナチョと散歩したからうんちする事ができる。

I thought I did it right, but when I checked on Google Translate, this is what came up:

  I woke up at 9am today. After that, I took a walk with Nacho outside
  so I can poop.

What did I do wrong there?

I know Google Translate isn’t super reliable. So I want to check here if I really did miss something in my translation.

Can anyone shed some light? Thanks. :)


texts: Usage of 目を覚ます and 目が覚める

texts:
What's the difference between 目を覚ます and 目が覚める? It seems both of them have the sense of literally waking up and also to wake up from some delusion.

How are they different in usage?

Perhaps because of transitivity the transitive version 目を覚ます would indicate deliberate agency or indicating that the action is in line with conscious(unconscious? Since the person is asleep literally/figuratively) volition, while the intransitive version 目が覚める indicates spontaneity?


texts: How should I say: When we talk, it sounds like we are singing

texts:
Because I am half-Swedish, I usually joke about this to other people. But now, I don't really know how to say it in Japanese!

Maybe...

  話すのとき、歌のように聞こえる。。。


texts:
山本さん、会社を辞めるそうですよ。

In the sentence above there is no は after 山本さん.

Can we say 山本さんは会社を辞めるそうですよ？

If we can, does the omission of は　mean lack of formality?

I have come across another sentence similar to the one above:

  田中さん、それからどうするんですか。（＝田中さんはそれからどうするんですか。？）


texts: Can な Adjectives be also used for combination with verbs

texts:
I am new to Japanese and found out that Adjectives can also be used along with verbs in て forms. I came to know that there are two adjectives い-adj and な-adj. い is an adjectival verb. Whereas, な is an adjectival noun.

So, my question is whether な-adjectives also in there て form merged/mix with verbs. Can you give examples please, if possible


texts: What is the meaning of this "って" in this reply

texts:
The source is in here
Q:サルと一緒にするなって感じ？
A:やっぱり癒されたいって気持ちは動物も一緒なのかなって…
I cannot figure out the meaning of "って" in the end of the sentence.
According to the dictionary, "って" has two meanings when acting as a 終助詞:
(1)ほかからの話を紹介する｡ということだ｡
(2)相手の言葉をとらえて,反問する
But they do not seem to fit the dialog above.
By the way, can I rephrase the question as "サルと一緒にするなという感じ？"


texts: Best Way To Write "Wonderful Cousin" — Subarashī Itoko?

texts:
I am making a jewelry box for a cousin who enjoys Japanese language and culture and would like to write "wonderful cousin" on the lid.

Is Subarashī Itoko — すばらしい いとこ — be the best translation?
Would hiragana the best way to write this, or should I be using some
kanji? I would prefer to use hiragana as I don't believe she is as
familiar with Kanji but can read hiragana reasonably well.


texts:
I was reading an explanation online regarding the difference between いつも, いつでも and いつまでも. At the bottom of the article there was this sentence, which seems to be taken from a banner ad:

  いつまでも美しくいるために

And here the translation taken from the article:

  (in order) to be beautiful forever

I understand the meaning of いつまでも here, but I can't figure out the meaning of 美しくいる. I would translate it as "be in a beautiful way", which doesn't make much sense. Is there another meaning or it is just impossible to translate it literally?


texts:
In this question (the title question), the speaker would be asking 'how many siblings' the listener has - the answers given would need to include the listener. As opposed to '兄弟が何人いますか' where the question would be the same but the answer would need to exclude the listener. I suppose I'm asking what the distinct difference in the nuance of ’兄弟’ is in these two questions. Apologies for a rather vague and poorly worded question...

Thank you!!


texts: Trouble with translation 「アジア人歌手では過去最大級となる。」

texts:
Reading a newspaper article I came across a sentence which gives me multiple troubles...

  昨春に始まったツアーは日米や東南アジアなど１３カ国・地域で１４０万人を集める見通し。アジア人歌手では過去最大級となる。

Regarding では, would it be correct to treat it like "concerning" "in regard to"?
Also I am not sure how to translate 過去最大級 and the function of と in となる。

I am sorry to trouble everyone again. Thanks for your help in advance :)


texts: are the godan verbs always followed by either a,e,i,o or u before a further suffix is added?

texts:
as far as i know, in japanese verbs are divided into two groups. One ends in a consonant and one in a vowel.

tor : stemform of toru.
mi  : stemform of miru.

those ending in a consonant are called godan-verbs, those in a vowel ichidan.

to attach further suffix to an ichidan-verb nothing is required but simply attach the suffix without any further change.

to attach further suffix to a godan-verb one has to attach an a,e,i,o or u before.

tor --Aeiou--> tora --suffix--> toranai.
or:
tor --aEiou--> tore --suffix--> toreba.

am i right so for with respect to the grammar?
is this rule without exceptions?


texts: Can 達 be used to pluralize inanimate things?

texts:
インターネットを見ていて、「これは便利だと思ったiOSアプリたち」という記事を偶然読みました。「たち」は人間など[有生]{ゆうせい}のものを指している名詞にしか付かないと思っていましたが、このタイトルは反例ではないとは思えません。

「たち」をこういう使い方で使うのは本当に普通ですか。複数性を強調する場合、有生でないものには「等｛ら｝」を付けるのが普通だと思っていましたが…


texts: 興業{こうぎょう｝ (kougyou) vs. 工業{こうぎょう｝ (kougyou)

texts: i just came upon 興業「こうぎよう」with definition given as “industrial enterprise”. I can’t determine the difference with 工業 (same pronunciation and also meaning industry) but don’t think they’re variant writings of the same word. can someone explain any nuance to me ?


texts:
From my understanding 向ける　is transitive and means to face/turn something towards something.

  安藤は日本国内から世界に目を向けたのです。

  -Andou turned his eyes from inside Japan to the world.

向く　on the other hand is essentially just the intransitive form of 向ける, meaning to turn or face

  上を向いて

  -Look up

Are my grammatical interpretations of 向ける　and 向く correct?

and finally 向かう, which is also listed as intransitive. Does 向かう function in the exact same way as 向く？ Do their meanings overlap completely? If not what is the nuance that makes the two verbs different? In what cases would 向かう be used?


texts: Why are furigana for number kanji almost always omitted?

texts:
Here's an example sentence from 北斗の拳 which uses a fair amount of furigana throughout.

  xxxに残された命は三日...

Which includes furigana for のこ, いのち, and, bafflingly, even the か of 日, but none for 三. While I already know that 三日 is みっか, there are plenty of other words with numbers that are beyond me. I'm sure I'm not the only student frustrated by this practice. What's the reasoning, if any, for this?


texts: I've been doing some housecleaning for the sake of correct grammatical conjugation, which includes classifying verbs. Jisho.org's top result doesn't have あげる as meaning 'to give' (granted it's colloquial), it's 上げる, to raise. I don't know if あげる should be classified as an Ichidan (ru) verb or an いる/える Godan (u) verb, mainly because my list of exceptions is slightly incomplete. I am thinking あげる is an Ichidan verb (could 上げる just be the unusual kanji version?), but because of the lack of documentation I've been able to find regarding it I'm honestly not sure.


texts:
While reading this page, which is about the Bank of Japan, I came across イ.
日本銀行は、日本銀行当座預金のうち、ゼロ金利が適用されるマクロ加算残高 の算出に用いる基準比率(「補完当座預金制度基本要領」4.(3)イ.に定める 基準比率)について、次のとおり定めることとしました。
I am not sure about the meaning of it. Is it interest?


texts:
I am making some shiratama mochi and want to know if I have to scoop the mochi out after they rise, or 1-2 minutes after they rise:

  だんごが浮｛う｝きあがって１～２分してから順｛じゅん｝にすくいあげ、冷水｛れいすい｝にとって、さまします。

My first thought was that I am meant to wait until 1-2 minutes after the dango has risen before scooping it into cold water, but the presence of ～てから makes me suspect that the １～２分 is actually an approximation of how long it will take for the dango to rise.

Also, optional bonus question since the は and が differences always challenge me:

Why is が being used instead of は, and would using は instead change anything?


texts: What is the difference between 前と and 前に?

texts: I've seen both used to mean "X ago", e.g. "六日前と" and "3ヶ月前に".


texts: Ancient practise of sneaking into women's bedrooms...?

texts:
I was looking up the meaning of スマ婚{こん}, when my mouse happened to roll over the kanji 婚{こん}, and this definition popped up in Rikaichan:

  婚 よばい ancient practice of creeping at night into a woman's bedroom
  (lit: night crawling); stealing into a girl's bedroom at night to make
  love; sneaking visit

Say what? Putting aside the fact that this sounds like a whitewashed description of sexual assault, at what point in history was this "practice" so common that it was given a name?

Is the definition accurate, or is it just another case of WWWJDIC and its occasionally misguided and erroneous community contributed obscure definitions?

If it is accurate, what is the history behind this word?


texts:
負っけないぞ～！ ふぬぬぬぬ……

Is it the same as "ぬぬぬ…" onomatopoeia which uses when you're in a tight spot?


texts: Oneself words difference : 自分, 自身, 自ら, 自分自身, 己, 自己, 自力

texts:
I know it's a huge topic, but I can't understand the differences between all this ways to say oneself, and by extension yourself, himself, herself ...
If anyone can help me to have a picture of the uses for oneself, it will be very helpful (and i'm pretty confident that I'm not alone in this situation :D)
Thank you :)


texts:
I'm translating this sentence

たまにはひとり気まま に ブラつくのもいいか？

and I understood something like Is it okay to wander alone and carefree sometimes?, but I'm not sure because I don't understood the function of that に in this case, Someone can explain me how it works here?


texts: 会話では助詞を省略することができるかできないか、くわしく説明してもらいたいです。


texts: Dictionary which distinguishes formal and informal words

texts:
I wonder, if there is a Japanese-English dictionary (incl. vice versa), if the word is formal or on the contrary informal. For example: if it is 口語的｛こうごてき｝、堅い｛かたい｝ etc.
Hope there is such a dictionary...as I use imiwa, denshi jisho and daijirin dictionaries, but none of them has this info for the words. Nor weblio internet dictionary tells anything about this.


texts: "Neee" instead of one's name or before his name -- what does this mean?

texts:
When someone - my friend - says "neeee" to me, what does it mean? It's not when I say something and they respond "neeee" or "sou da yo neee". It's when "neee" is used either by itself, or instead of my name or before my name, for instance "neee, Maiku, doushita no?" or "neeee, choytto matte".

What does "neee" mean in such situations?


texts:
I just started learning japanese a few months ago, and my japanese is a little basic, I can't understand some kanjis yet... Hope someone can help me... thanks!

I was reading a manga, and while I was reading, a boy confessed his feelings to a girl, he said he liked her. But in the end, the girl is thinking:

  振り回してやしないかと思ってたが。。。 振り回されてるのはこっちの方だった

And finally, the story ends there. I really couldn't understand what's the meaning of the sentence because I am struggling with the verb 振り回す.

I searched and saw that 振り回して is a form of 振り回す. But, I read many meanings of the verb (like "manipulate", "abuse", or "worry"...) and I don't know which one of them is the correct one here.

Thanks for any help!


texts:
I am trying to translate the following small text (taken from a VN):

もうこんなことはやめようか――
心配そうな眼差しは、まるでそう言っているようだった。

So far my attempts have led me to this:

It was as though his worrying gaze seemed to be telling maybe we should give it up

The thing that seems to prevent me from fully understanding this text is the volitional part: [よう] after [ている]. For some reason, it just seems unnecessary to me, so what function does it have?
I am also aware of the abstract meaning of 「そう言う」(sometimes: [そういう] ) meaning "That kind of ..." but I was unsure whether it is the same  「そう言う」 since I have never seen it being used in て-form, let alone「～ている」. Therefore I translated it by intuition instead.
My question: is my translation correct with respect to 「ーているよう」 at the end of 「そう言う」?
Any corrections and comments are very much appreciated!


texts: Using たら, how do I say "would have" instead of "would"

texts:
I'm struggling to understand how I can change the tense of conditional sentences.

For example, if I want to say "If I were him, I wouldn't say such things" I presume I would say "もし私が彼だったらあんなことは言わない". But if I want to say "If I were him, I wouldn't have said such things" should I say "もし私が彼だったらあんなことは言わなかった" ?


texts: I am looking at a Japanese map of the early 19th century. It contains a printed comment that I am trying to find translation for. It does not seem to be modern Japanese so I am wondering what kind of (outdated?) Japanese this is. (See Image)


texts:
In English, one can say something like, "did you see that news story about that girl on TV?" or during a news segment, "on to the next story".

How do you translate single a "news story" in this context? (without dropping the subject as in 「では、次」 etc.)

I thought perhaps 記事、ニュース記事 but these seem to be for written things. 報道 is the verb and I don't think you can count 報道s.


texts: Can I translate くれる in the following way?

texts:
I do know about くれる and　あげる that mean "to give" and it depends on the speaker's perspective and the concept with "uchi" and "soto", because that's how I learned them, but I still have trouble, even more when I don't have the corresponding particles.

Let me give an example and my take on くれる in this sentence, so that you can perhaps tell me if it makes sense. This is a simple example that I came up with:

  あなたがくれた辞書を使っています。
  "I'm using the dictionary I received from you." I understand  the fact that I was the one who received, but if I were to use another example:

    あなたがくれた辞書を使いますか。
    Can it be translated as "Do you use the dictionary you got/received?" or "The dictionary you got, are you using /will you use it?"
    If not, then what does it require to be translated like that and to be ambiguous? Imagine if someone, a friend maybe asks you "Hey are you using that thing you got?" and the friend doesn't mention someone else (like, "Are you using the thing Michiko gave you?)
    I apologize if it's sounds weird...I would really like to hear some opinions on this matter and perhaps some better examples.

Thank you!


texts: The difference in use and meaning for にくい, がたい and づらい

texts: I know they all mean something is 'difficult to do', 'hard to...' etc but why have three versions? are they used in different grammatical structures or contexts?


texts: Another example where I don't know if 欲しい or 欲しがる is right

texts:
私の祖母は私が欲しい以上のものをくれた
私の祖母は私が欲しがる以上のものをくれた

I want the meaning to be "my grandmother gave me more then I wanted." Is the second sentence right and the first sentence wrong?
I learned 欲しがる for the third person, but I found the second example as a first person example. Which is correct?


texts:
My gf loves me wearing striped shirts, as I'm not a skinny person (Japanese standard skinny, stateside I'm skin and bone) they naturally make me look fat!

She always says "ボーダーが好き" and I always think "No, I hate the the (Mexican/Canadian/Any border! ...Tijuana is dope though!)

Why ボーダー？ Why not ストライプ or something?


texts:
To "stock up" on something (in a sense of buying a large amount of something) could 買い込む be used? Or is there another way to say this, like ストックする？

I feel that both can be used, depending on the formality level (in which ストックする would be the most informal ofc.)

パーティーに飲み物を買い込むつもりだ


texts:
There are three variations on this phrase that I can find in Google, and I'm not sure whether all three are really used, or how frequently. But I am confused about the differences between them.

  大{たい}したことではない

I believe this means "(It's) not a big deal." Ok, I understand.

  大{たい}したことはない

Isn't this different from the first sentence? It seems to mean "There aren't any particularly big problems."

  大{たい}したことない

This one could go either way.


texts:
Im getting two different conjugations of なさる masu form from different sites

some say なさります
some say なさいます

I know that the conjugation rule for godan verbs ending in る is to convert the る into り and add ます

I also know that なさる is the honorific form of する which is an irregular verb, so I am truly stumped as to what the proper spelling would be.


texts: What does それだけかかってしまうんですね　in this conversation mean?

texts:
I found this conversation from a Japanese learning website and I don't understand a phrase here. Please help!

Question: What does それだけかかってしまうんですね mean here?

Does だけ here imply that that the fee that varies from distance alone will cost you a lot already, not to mention other fees like...

  電話で男の学生と引越し会社の人が話しています。

  男：あっ、もしもし。あの、ちょっと急なんですが、来週東京から北海道に引っ
  越したいんです。私、 学生なんですが、できるだけ安い引越しの方法ないかな
  ぁって思ってるんですが。

  女：いくつかプランがございますが、学生さんでしたら、学生パックという割安
  なプランがございます。 ただ、大型家具がある場合には、別料金となります。

  男：そうですか。ベッドとあと、大きめの本棚が二つあるんで。

  女：ああ、そうしますと、かえって高くなりますね。

  男：そうですか。

  女：えっと、トラック便というのが、ご利用の多い一般的なプランなんですが、そうですね、お客様の 場合、北海道までということで、かなり距離がありますので、料金のほうもそれだけかかってしまうんですね。むしろ、鉄道を利用した鉄道便を利用されたほうがお得になります。ただ、鉄道便ですと、荷物の扱いが若干荒い場合がございますので、壊れやすい電機製品ですとか、楽器などがある場合は、お勧めできないんですが。

  男：そうですか。

  女：それと、ほかに同じトラック輸送でも、「エコノミー便」と申しまして、ほかのお客様のお荷物と 一緒に運ばせていただく方法ですね。こちらですと、トラック便に比べて、4 割ほどお安くなりますが、 お荷物の到着までにお時間をいただきます。

  男：へえ、そうですか。何日ぐらいかかるんですか。

  女：そうですね。一週間程度でしょうか。同じ方面に運ぶ荷物が集まった時点で出発いたしますので、 そのときの状況によって変わってくるんですが。

  男：そんなにかかるんじゃ、ちょっと困るよなぁ。...ううん、家具は多いけど、特別壊れやすいもの もないし、じゃあ。

Source: http://japanesetest4you.com/pdf/n1-listening-7.pdf

(I don't know whether the site creator is here at stackexchange or not,
but anyway thanks so much for the great resources. I hope I'm not doing
anything illegally. Just for educational purposes.)


texts: Help with parsing and Q about a possible set phrase

texts:
I'm reading a passage from a fictional work, character A has been assigned with a task (publishing a controversial article) from his boss that he has mixed feelings about, one of his superiors (character B)  later notices the uncomfortable look on his face, they have a short conversation about a few things related to the conversation they had with the boss earlier. Character B then takes one of A's older published articles in hand from the tabletop, looks through it and says this;

B「しかし,  良く引き受けたな？事情が事情だ、断って他の隊に話を回しちまっても良かったと思うぜ？」
A responds 「……俺も、迷っちゃいるんすけどね」

However this is where I've hit a snag, I'm not quite sure how one would parse this correctly.
I had a go at it with what I have learned so far and some guess work and came up with this;

"however, you often accept this sort of thing? Circumstances are circumstances, I think it's good to reject passing the matter around to other units right?"
"…but I also hesitated [when it came to making a decision(?)]."

Now this feels like a really shaky translation to me, it doesn't seem to make too much sense either so that is why I ask for help with how it should be parsed.
A lot of confusion stems from 断って I  almost feel like a particle should follow this the way I perceived the sentence, but to me a translation of this part would be more likely "to refuse and~" because of the te form, of course my attempt at a translation says otherwise so I'm confused.
The 話を回しちまって is also something I haven't come across yet, is it a set phrase? I think it probably means "sending the matter around to~" some clarification would be awesome.
Finally the ぜ？at the end, does this indicate a rise in intonation here in this particular context? So maybe one could translate it as "right?"
This has gotten pretty long for a short sentence, I apologize but I would much appreciate any help! Thanks!


texts:
I think I have heard this kind of sentence before, and searching on google I found a couple instances. When you repeat an adjective (and perhaps verbs as well) to show that you've done / feel a certain way but not to the point that the listener might expecting. Or maybe to soften your negative opinion.

美味しいは美味しいけど。。。 It is good but... / it is not that it isn't good but...(reminds me of 美味しくなくはないけど)

好きは好きだけど。。。I do like it but... / it is not that I don't like it but...

couple instances I found online:
おいしいはおいしいけどね
好きは好きだけど、どの好きかわからない
So my questions are:
1 - How grammatical is this? Is it more like something you'd only use conversationally?
2 - Can it only be used with adjectives, or maybe with verbs as well? (eg. 観るは観るけど、興味があんまりない。)


texts:
I was reading a manga called Rengoku ni Warau and Kaishin said:

ったく、人をこき使いやがって
あのジジィほっつき歩いてやがる

Jisho says that こき使い means pushing someone around or to work someone hard but it doesn't seem to fit with the context. Kaishin said that to Goemon, a fellow ninja that was trying to convince him to desert the battlefield and who has been by Tanba's (ジジィ's) side for many years, so I don't think "pushing someone around" would be a good translation.
Moreover, I would like to know the origin of こき使い's こき.


texts: How do the Japanese refer to passage of time in pregnancy?

texts:
Though my wife's two pregnancies, I've struggled to describing how much time has passed.  Usually, I just revert to just saying how many months she's been pregnant, but in English there are other ways of measuring time in relation to pregnancy that are both more and less precise.  I'll list these from least to most controversial (in my mind).
Months - I usually use this form of measurement, because I feel the least awkward about it. Saying 妊娠8ヶ月 feels alright to me, but is this a normal way to phrase it?
Weeks - Is it normal for a Japanese person to refer to how long an individual has been pregnant in the number of weeks? (i.e. She's 34 weeks pregnant)  For some reason, saying something like 妊娠34週 just feels weird and clunky to me.
Trimesters - Let me define what I mean for any Japanese people unfamiliar with the concept.  In American English, and likely for all English speakers (though I am not sure), a pregnancy is divided into three parts called trimesters.  The first trimester is from conception to 3 months pregnant,  The second trimester is 4-6 months pregnant, and the third trimester is from 7 months pregnant to birth.  Using this unit of measurement, an English speaker would say something like: She's in the third trimester.
Unfortunately, trimester also refers to a school year divided into three parts rather than the standard two.  This makes things harder for me to research, and I have never been able to refer to find a satisfactory answer.  My way around this is to say:

最初/間中/最後の三ヶ月

However, that just feels kind of awkward to me, so I defer to just saying how many months pregnant she is.  I can't but help but feel like I'm missing something here.
From what I can tell, the concept of trimesters doesn't exist.  Is that really the case, or is there another way that pregnancy is measured that I'm just not aware of?


texts:
What is the difference between 気{き}をつけて, お大事{だいじ}に and お元気{げんき}で.

How and in which context(s) are they used?


texts: Why 上 is being used in these cases? How do I read it?

texts:
弁護士の小倉秀夫は、掲示板上で投稿が殺到することをフレーミング・炎上、ブログ上でコメントが殺到することをコメントスクラムと2つに分類している

I wanted to know why 上 need to be used in these cases.

Couldn't it be just 掲示板 and ブログ?

And I also wanted to know if the reading is really じょう.

Thank you!


texts: What is a female worker who receives a salary called?

texts: I have seen the term サラリーマン for men. What is a female who works for a salary, regardless of occupation, called?　Is サラリーウーマン appropriate?


texts:
I only know that "よん" is means "four" (kanji: 四)
Some reference is https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Puyo_Puyo~n where is also "よ—ん" written.
Words and example:
うわ—い! かったよ—ん! (Source: Kingyo Chuuihou! 2 - Gyopi-chan o Sagase! - in-game conversation, after player winning one of the mini-games Wapiko conversation). Word without "よ—ん" = できたよ / with "よ—ん" = できたよ—ん ; 終わったよ = 終わったよ—ん.


texts:
Way back in the day when I was first learning Japanese, I learned that you could add ことができる to a verb to indicate potential. Like so:

  食{た}べることができる

  (I) can eat (something)

It became my habitual way of expressing possibilities.

Then later, I learned that you could just modify the verb and get the same thing:

  食{た}べられる

  (I) can eat (something)

I know that this is also the passive voice, but, unless I'm mistaken, it can be used strictly as a way of expressing potential.

I still tend to habitually say ことができる, though. It tends to jump out of my mouth before I realize that I could have probably modified the verb. I think because my brain thinks they are the same thing, so I just go with the usual.

So... are they different?


texts: Do translators often convert units of measurement when translating into Japanese?

texts: Converting units into metric ones is quite a common translation practice in my country (especially when translating from languages of some backward countries). I wonder whether translators often do so translating into Japanese, or they just leave the original units and add footnotes to explain in metric terms.


texts: Is the ’’おう’’' in the Volitional ending of verbs related to ''こう、そう、どう'' in any way?

texts:
Is there any knowledge on where  the volitional ''おう'' Ending originated?
As far as my interpretations go having seen a lot of sentences with them,
Both the ''おう'' of the volitional and the ''おう'' of ’’こう、そう、どう'' seem to indicate some kind of..estimate? Something uncertain/imprecise. Instead of being 100% precise it's just a kind of general direction, a kind of estimate or expectation that is probably that way but not 100%.

それ is certain, it is that, そう is more vague, it is ''that way''. And it is used for ''seems like'' hearsay.
行く　is just going. 行こう is more of an estimate, in that you'll ''probably'' go, or you say it when you say ''let's'' go, which isn't completely certain.

Another thing is how the other rows all start with the distance, and then some kind of thing that modifies it. like, その Is それ but possessive instead, so you use it in front of words.

Thing is, the こうrow has one that's ''ああ’’ which doesn't fall in line with this at all, but it may also be a sound change for all I know.

For all I know this could be a complete coincidence or my interpretation is completely false, soo, are they related in any way?


texts:
菩提心をおこすこと、かならず慮知心をもちいる。

It's something about enlightenment and Buddha thing, but I can't find any English equivalent to 慮知心, not to mention the whole expression.

"Enlightenment through empathy"?


texts: What is the name of the wooden hook support on the walls of traditional Japanese rooms?

texts:
Traditional (and even not-so-traditional) Japanese rooms have wooden panels running along the walls, about 1m from the ceiling.

They are mainly used to affix hooks, to which clothes hangers, paintings etc. can be hung (they also make for a convenient way to conceal cables around the room, but I doubt that was their original purpose).

There must be a specific (Japanese) name for it. What is it?


texts:
I am currently studying for the JLPT N3 exam and I come across the following rule that I don't really understand.
んだもん

Although it is not identic, according to this link  ~もん is

  Used to reply dissatisfaction in very casual speech

Which kinds of makes a lot of sense according to the following example from the book：

「どうして食べないの」「だって、まずいんだもん」　(日本語総まとめ　N3 p.71)

"Why didn't you eat?" "Because it tastes awful."

However, I don't see how it applies to the following example:

今日の試験、できなかった...。勉強しなかったんだもん、仕方がない。

I didn't do well on the test today. I can't complain because I didn't study much.

What is this rule actually used for and how does it take/make sense?

Extra information and links are welcomed

Thank you for your time.

Edit 1: Corrected the mistake mentionned.


texts:
I've often seen 真理,真相 and 真実 in contexts that to me seem interchangeable.

Could some one give examples of where each word is most appropriate?
When is one more appropriate than the other?

For instance, which is best suited to saying:

  The truth is above all else


texts:
お前、心配かけまいと無理してるんじゃないだろうな

From what I can understand from this is probably

"You aren't doing anything unreasonable right?"

How does the 心配 (worry) fit in here ?

I understand that
Verb dictionary form + まい = denial/negative

However this is not a dictionary form so how does is work here


texts: Which is the "official" kanji for さい, 歳 or 才?

texts:
Well if I'm not wrong, usually when a word has multiple kanjis one of them is selected as the "main" or more commonly used one.

But is it true that 才 and 歳 are both the "main" kanji for さい?


texts:
I am reading Hunter x Hunter, and the two protagonists (friends, and kids) are given cards that they are not supposed to reveal for the duration of the game. They start talking and they exchange a bit of information and then this is said :

せーので見せっこするか？

Then, they proceed to show their cards at the same time (saying せーの).

I understand that one asks the other to show the card but I am unsure as to what is this form (is it a contraction of sorts?). Does it comes with a particular nuance?

Thanks!


texts:
Good day everybody,

My name is Salva, which in katakana is written サルバ (saruba)

However, the japanese word for Monkey is SARU, written in kanji as 猿, but it is also very common to see it written in katakana as サル

This leads me to wonder if writing my name as サルバ (SARUBA) can have some bad meaning because it contains the word "Monkey" サル (SARU).

What do you think about this?

Thank you very much in advance.


texts: Is there a word for non-binary in Japanese?

texts: I’m going to Japan this summer and staying with a host family. I am a non-binary/gender-nonconforming person and I need to tell the program I’m going through in order to place me with a host family. Only problem: I don’t know a word for this, and neither does my Japanese teacher! Does anyone know a way to tell my host family I’m not a boy or a girl?


texts: I just want to know what the difference is between the two and their proper usage because in dictionary they seem almost the same.


texts: まち: what's the difference between 町 and 街?

texts: My impression is that 町 tends to be used for smaller cities and 街 tends to be used for larger ones. Is this correct? If not, what is the difference?


texts: What is the difference between 様子、状況、状態、and 事情

texts:
I'm unsure of the difference between these four words. They all seem to indicate some type of "condition" or "circumstances".

(1) Are they interchangeable?
(2) What are some example sentences which show their differences.


texts:
I've been reading some old text recently and I find that everybody seems to use plain forms even in polite contexts (like proclamations from the Emperor). When did the modern ます and です come from? I hear です is a new word coming from the Meiji era standardizations as a compromise between だ, であります, and でございます, but I'm not sure whether that is reliable. When did ます appear?

Also, I hear all 敬語 ultimately came from 関西弁. Does ます come there too? The 丁寧語 in the Kansai region seems to use 連用形 + まんねん though.


texts: Why does the IME give me "←" when I type "zh"?

texts:
I accidentally typed "zh" using the Japanese IME on macOS Sierra. Surprisingly, "zh" turned into a "←" character! Why does it do this? I would have expected it to produce just "zh", like it does with other two consecutive consonants: "kr" is "kr", "mn" is "mn". Why is "zh" a left arrow?

I did some guessing and thought that the "h" must stand for 左, that's why it's a left arrow and not a right one. Then I tried "zm", thinking that it would give me a right arrow because "m" stands for 右, it didn't.

I am so confused. What does "zh" stand for? Why a left arrow? How do I do a right one?

Note: the left arrow is U+2190 "LEFTWARDS ARROW"


texts:
What exactly is the difference betweekn 記念日 and 周年? I found both to mean "anniversary".
Thank you in advance.


texts: 二つ下のいとこ instead of はとこ

texts:
I'm trying to understand the usage of 二つ下 in the following sentence.

シンちゃんは私の二つ下のいとこです

When I read it without 下 it sounds like:

Shin-chan is my second cousin or something along those lines.

The issues is I don't understand the usage of 二つ let alone 二つ下 in this sentence.

Wouldn't it usually be written as シンちゃんの私のはとこです

I'm a bit confused here.


texts: It seems that when spoken by/in regards to Yakuza, the phrase タマを取る means to take someone's life. However, I've seen some explanations saying タマ comes from 頭{あたま} and others say that it comes from　魂{たましい}. Where does it actually come from?


texts: Confusing sentence using ~わけではなく and other forms

texts:
Note: I already reviewed many topics here regarding the use of わけ, but I still struggle to properly translate the sentence below.  It's from the introduction to the book 日本語文法ハンドブック (a book for teachers of beginning Japanese grammar).

言うまでもないことですが、現実の日本語に初級と中・上級との区別が存在しているわけではなく、初級の文法というのは、いわば指導上の便宜的な設定です。

Translating literally produces something like
"There's no need to explain it, but for real [actual-use] Japanese, it's not the case that distinctions between early and middle/advanced Japanese grammar exist, in other words early Japanese grammar is setting an expedient foundation [for teaching someone to learn]."

Which sounds like utter gibberish to me.  The stumbling block is the phrase "初級と中・上級との区別が存在しているわけではなく".  I would think "存在していないわけではなく" makes more sense ("it's not the case that distinctions between different levels of grammar don't [already] exist"), but that's not what's used here.

What is a correct translation of the sentence above, especially in regards to the ~わけ phrase?