texts:
I'm working out my Japanese by trying to read everything around me, including food packages.

On my milk carton written inside a large arrow pointing to the spout is "あけぐち" in hiragana.

Obviously this is equivalent to English "open here", "pour here", "spout" etc, but I want to understand it literally, piece by piece, to improve my grammar knowledge and ability to make my own sentences, etc.

So is this a noun phrase made up of just 開{あ}け and 口{ぐち}?

Is the ～け okurigana for some kind of verb ending? Does it maybe change it from a verb to a noun so that it can enter into a compound with ぐち?

It seems not to be regarded as a word in its own right as its not in EDIC. Surprisingly Google Translate offers only "akeguchi"!

Or am I totally off the mark? What would be ways to translate it into English very literally?


texts:
Context : 2 characters talking about who is the culprit of a crime and why MC was falsely arrested by the police
G1: 最後の事件……逃げ道は、完全に封鎖されていた.
だけど煙のように犯人は消えてしまった.
だから、君が犯人だと断定されてしまったわけだけど.
皆、もう一つの可能性を見逃している。いや、端から見ようとしてないのか (I don't understand this line)
G2: まさか
G1: うん。犯人は、警察内部にいる
Can anyone give me English translation of いや、端から見ようとしてないのか
My guess "No,maybe I should say that no one have looked at this case from a big picture perspective / objectively " ?


texts: What's the role of だけの in this sentence?

texts:
彼らは工場を建設するだけの資金を持っている。

The translation on Jisho is: "They have enough capital to build a second factory."


texts:
I was trying to translate this song but the first couple of lines didn't make much sense to me.
There seem to be a lot of inferred particles or something, because there seem to be a bunch of unrelated sentence fragments:

触媒{カタリスト}　Ocean of foliage
産{う}み落{お}ちた過{あやま}ち故{ゆえ}　佇{たたず}む静寂{せいじゃく}なら縛{しばり}り　付{つ}け
罪{つみ}の十字{じゅうじ}

Here is what I could get from it:

A catalyst (from) an ocean of foliage;
Because it was an error that I was born,
In the still silence, a cross of sin is tied to me.

But the なら here confuses me. I thought maybe it was more "Concerning the still silence" which is where I got "in" from (since usually if you're talking about silence, you're talking about doing something in silence).
But I don't know if that's correct, is it really what the なら stands for here?


texts:
I'm playing a video game and in this scene the character is on a hill and says:

  このまま昼寝しちまおうか

My guess is that it's a conjugation of する but it doesn't look close to する at all.

What conjugations are present in that word and how does it affect the sentence's overall meaning?


texts:
For full context, see the following document:
https://www.docdroid.net/6ruXJ6r/img-20170802-0002-new.pdf

This excerpt was taken from line 1-2:

  15歳の子供たちを対象に32か国で行われた国際調査では、国によってかなりちがいがあることがわかった。

First, my attempt at translation:
"In an international survey that was performed in 32 countries, in which one has made 15 year old children the target group, one has discovered that there was quite the difference depending on the country.”

What confuses me the most is 対象に. This に seems to me like the に in 音を大きくにします, where the subject changes the status of an object. The に expressing a decision could also work here, like in ビールにしますか、ビールにしますか。
In any case, the する after に isn't there in this case. So I don’t know for sure what function this に has.

What also makes me wonder is the では in 国際調査では. I’ve interpreted it as particle で + particle は. In a more literal translation, this still works:
"Concerning in an international survey…., one has discovered….“
I just wonder why there is で at all. At least in the translation, it seems redundant.

Ultimately, I’d like to know whether my translation is precise. I usually hesitate making use of relative clauses, because one can easily scramble some relations without noticing. But since the attribute for 国際調査 was so complex, I didn’t see another way around it.


texts: What are the nuances of the verb "to find out"?

texts:
I'm familiar with the different verbs that indicate that someone or something was discovered, noticed, or otherwise taken into consideration (わかる, 知る, 気付く, 見つける, 納得する, 見出す). However I'm having trouble understanding when to use them.

The most difficult part is knowing the nuances of conveying that I found out about people or events, so a few general guidelines would be much appreciated.

In particular, I can think of the following situations:

"I found out about..."

a person, as in "I found out about (aka came across) singer X [and consequently started listening to them]"
a quality of a person, as in "I found out that X was a painter [having known the person but not that s/he was a painter]"
a preference of a person, as in "I finally found out (I learned) he likes his coffee black [after I finally got him to tell me]"
a realization, as in "I found out (aka realized) I don't like wasabi [after finally trying it]" or "I found out (aka noticed) some people dislike Kyary Pamyu Pamyu"
an event related to a person, as in "I found out X got married [having known the person]"
an event in general, as in "I found out they'll demolish that building"
a general fact, as in "I found out that dogs bark" / "I found out that [such] is [such]"
the answer to a question, as in "I finally found out the answer to that question on the test"

This question builds up on this one on Y!A, also asked by me. I felt I needed to better phrase the question, so here it is.

Note, I do like wasabi.


texts: How do you say "like when you" or "the way you" in Japanese?

texts: So basically, how do you say something like "talk to the boss the way you talk to your father!" You know, with a threatening tone.


texts: Undertstanding ８８歳の草間彌生さんは水玉の絵などが有名な芸術家で

texts:
８８歳の草間彌生さんは水玉の絵などが有名な芸術家で、世界でも人気があります。
  88 year old 草間彌生さん ??? and is popular even in (the rest of) the world.

I'm having problems parsing the first clause.

  草間彌生さんは有名な芸術家で
  草間彌生 is a famous artist -- (makes sense)
  水玉の絵などが有名な芸術家で
  things like the water drop picture are famous artists -- (does not make sense)

It sounds to me like it's saying that the picture is an artist.
If 芸術家 was replaced by a word for art work (maybe 芸術品?) rather than artist then I'd be happy. As it stands I can't make any sense out of it.


texts: How has Japanese kanji and kana usage changed since 1945?

texts:
How has the percentage of writing using each script changed since 1945? With script reform, increasing influx of loanwords, and stylistic choices, several factors affect how much certain parts of the Japanese script are used in writing. Modern Japanese is very different from how it looked in 1945, by any measure.

Taking this into the context of my question, what proportion of words used in writing are written in hiragana, katakana, and kanji? I've been unsuccessful in finding any information on this so far. Keeping in mind that this has nothing to do with whether we agree or disagree with the changes that have happened (after all, language is just communication whatever words you use), does there exist data for something like:

% Words by script in 1945:
Hiragana: .%
Katakana: .%
Kanji: .%

% Words by script in 2015:
Hiragana: .%
Katakana: .%
Kanji: .%

Any sources of written language is fine, whether newspapers (the easiest to find), journals, handwritten letters, websites and so on.


texts: Using に twice in the [Verb-連用形]に行く sentence pattern

texts:
Consider these example sentences given by my grammar dictionary:

(1) 私はデパートへ贈り物を買いに行った。
(2) そこへ何をしに行くんですか。

Observation: The location is marked by へ instead of に.
Considering that a sentence such as デパートに行く is grammatical,
if the locations in (1) and (2) are marked by に, two にs would be present in the same sentence.
(Question): Can the location in (1) and (2) be marked by に? Would two にs cause the sentence to be ungrammatical?


texts:
公明党が容認に回ることで、両議会での議決が可能となることから、４年前に続いて、２度目の住民投票が行われる見通しとなりました。

Quoted from an NHK news article, which might not be accessible weeks after being published.

Or to put my question in another way, how do I translate "容認に回ること" into English properly?

I did some searching of the word "回る" in Japanese dictionaries, but there are so many meanings/usages for different cases that I am not sure which one is applicable in the aforementioned sentence.


texts:
Someone must join military service for 1 year of unremitting pain, exertion and tears. At graduation ceremony, he speaks on the stage and says that this duty is like a hell but he will miss it to the extent he wants to do it again in the future.
Question
What is the phrase for "a hell that makes you miss it"? Is 懐かしくさせる地獄 natural?
For example, I want to use the phrase as follows.

まるで懐かしくさせる地獄のような会社で働きたいです。
I want to work in a company that looks like a hell that makes me miss it.


texts:
I'd like to know the possible meanings for "気を巡らせる" . The term is from a Drama CD I'm currently listening, its a fantasy story with magic and the sort.
The context is a fight, the main character use balls as projectiles that hits his opponent nicknamed "Steel Whirlwind", but he withstands it and counter attacks.
I'll try to transcript the scene after that:

-「吾輩の固体を縛るのではなく、砕こうと言う腹であったようだ。惜しいか。傷ついた貴様の攻撃では、吾輩の筋肉を貫通をすることは叶わなかったようだな。」
-「ええ, ですから…最初から貫通を狙ってはいませんでした。」
-「何？？」
-「私の気を巡らせたボール, それは… 」
(Sound of balls appearing in the air)
-「…吾輩が囲まれている。打ったのではなく、最初から吾輩の周囲に巻いていたというのか？」
-「その通り。鋼の旋風, あなたの歩みを止めるのが目的! 」

I know "巡らせる" combined with "思い" means "to ponder", but I don't know what it means combined with "気". Also, I've found that "気をめぐらす" is used a lot in articles about oriental health practices, which confuse me more.
For example: "気をめぐらせて心身デトックス！初心者でも超カンタン気功体操！"
I appreciate any help.


texts: Difference between ありき and 基盤 in a specific sentence

texts:
I came upon this sentence in a newspaper article:

  国の安全が重要なのは間違いないが、知る権利の基盤があってこそ民主主義が成り立つことへの理解が、全く欠けている

Which I translated into:

  Although there is no doubt that the safety of the nation is important, the comprehension is totally missing that a democracy can only exist on the foundation of the right to know

Firstly, I am not 100% sure if I got it right that in that sentence, the right to know (知る権利) is the foundation for democracy, or whether it might be the other way round.

Secondly, would you in this example even translate the word "基盤" literally, or is it just seen as a premise. If so, could I replace "知る権利の基盤があってこそ" with "知る権利ありき" ? Since, as I understood, ありき also follows a premise.


texts: Describing a woman with きれい vs. 美しい{うつくしい}?

texts:
Please consider these two sentences (彼女 is a woman):

  彼女はきれいです。
  彼女は美しいです。

My sense is that #1 and #2 have the same meaning. Pronouncing きれい is easier, so I have just always said #1. And, I don't think that I've heard "美しい" spoken much, if ever.

What is the difference between #1 and #2?
Regardless of the difference, native speakers still don't say 美しい very much? きれい is what "sounds natural"?


texts: What is つ in 中つ国 and why is it equivalent to の?

texts:
According to Wikipedia:

  中つ国（なかつくに）とは中間の国、中央の国を意味し、「つ」は現代語の「の」に相当する。中津国、中国とも書く。

I looked for 津 in a dictionary but it seems to be an 当て字 so I did not get new information. But I can't get why の was not used in place of つ (since つ and の seems to be equivalent here). Indeed, の is a very old word, why つ has been preferred? What are the nuances that つ conveys and の does not?


texts: What are the general patterns of child-directed speech in Japanese?

texts:
In English, parents usually talk to their kids differently from how they usually talk. The words they use when doing so usually ends in -y. For example, "kitten" becomes "kitty", "I" usually turns into "Mommy" or "Daddy" depending on who the parent is, and "wakie wakie!" is used when waking the kids up.

Are there any patterns in Japanese child-directed speech? How are the words changed when parents talk to their kids?

Note: I read from other posts that s- sounds are changed to sh-, ch- or sometimes p- sounds in a little child's speech. But do parents speak to their kids this way as well?


texts: What does it mean when この is in front of a personal pronoun?

texts: As in このオレさま and この僕も. I know the literal translation, but I never understood what the intent of it is.


texts: Which verb is used for "charge": 取る or もらう

texts:
On Weblio, I found several example sentences using いくら取る. However, when I asked a similar question on HiNative, a native speaker used the verb もらう in his/her answer. I suspect that it had something to do with the verb I used in my question, which was in Mandarin Chinese since I had asked in English earlier and didn't get any reply. In the reply I got, the sentence was:

店主は彼にいくらもらった？ How much did the shopkeeper "receive" from your boyfriend?

When I saw the reply, I realized that I probably didn't properly convey the idea of "charging money" in my question asked in Chinese on HiNative. Thereafter, I raised another question there:

あの屋は君にいくらぐらい取った？ Roughly how much did the shop charge ya?

I used the verb 取る according to Google and Weblio, but two native speakers voted "I don't understand" on this sentence. I suspect the problem lies either in a misuse of 屋－which I wrongly thought could represent the owner of a shop－or in the verb 取る itself.

The Question:

When speaking about how much someone charges you for something (e.g. a service, a product), which one would be the right verb to use if I were to include the business owner as the subject of the sentence?


texts: てっきり「知らん」ってほっておくものとばかり… I can't understand the meaning of ばかり here

texts:
I was reading a manga, and I came across that sentence and I can't understand the use of ばかり, I read some grammar guides but I can't find an explame or explanation that fits this sentence. I understand something like [only people who doesn't want to get involved surely says "I don't know her"]. It's a bit confusing to what it is referring. If someone can parse it, I would be really glad.

The context is that a girl runaway and she left a letter, and she seems to have some problems so she went over to help or something like that. And the main character is reading the letter and he says that while reading it


texts:
I was wondering what is the difference between 「言い切る」 and 「断言」? To me they mean the same thing: "declare, assert".

Thanks!


texts: What is the meaning of the word 「から」 in this sentence?

texts:
Here is the sentence including the word.

  丈少年をかこんでなごやかな子どもたちの写真をとらせてください。新聞に大きくのせますから。

I'm not sure if I can translate it as 'Then' like this:

  Please let me take a photograph of you kids surrounding the boy 'Joe'. Then it will be put in a newspaper with a large picture.


texts:
I am a bit confused about a sentence I came across in an anki deck:

誰もその話を知らない。

I know that that 誰 means "who" and も means "also", but the translation it gives me is:

"No one knows that story."

Someone please explain.

Thank you n_n


texts: Differences in use between 水蒸気, 蒸気 and 湯気?

texts: So from my dictionary 蒸気 means steam, and 水蒸気/湯気 both mean water vapor. What I would like to understand is when is 水蒸気 used over 湯気 ?


texts: 〜がほしがっています vs 〜をほしがっています

texts:
I was wondering if the following two sentences have the same meaning. I'm seeing both をほしい and がほしい on my Anki deck and I was just wondering if they were interchangeable or if I just made a mistake when I was adding them in.

トムさんはともだちをほしがっています。
トムさんはともだちがほしがっています。

Thank you everyone!


texts: How to pronounce the English alphabet? (A, B, C, ...)

texts:
I just had to tell a long booking number over the phone, and realized that some characters like V/B can be hard to convey.

So, I want to learn exactly how each letter is currently taught in Japanese schools.

For every case where there are variants (like for H or Z), please select only one, the one that will be the most understood and induce the least amount of ambiguity when spoken as part of a meaningless booking number.

Please also indicate what moras must be stressed.


texts: both with the on'yomi reading, so either enya or enra. i know very little about japanese and am looking for a name for a character i'm making and, after doing a bit of research, thought i liked these. from what i can tell 炎 means flame/blaze, which sorta relates to part of the chaacter. could they be used as names and not seem too weird? and if so what would they both, roughly, mean put together?


texts: Can you suggest a method for learning readings of names?

texts:
How would you learn Japanese proper nouns? Learning kanji is not enough because you don't know exactly what the pronunciation is in each case, and there are practically an impossible number of person names and place names.

Where do you even start?


texts:
I am studying the use of "て・でもいいですか”, but the meaning of this sentences is not obvious to me :
コーヒーがないんですがお茶でもいいですか。
Does it means "I don't have coffee, can I have tea ?" (asking for a permission) or "There is no coffee, but would like tea ?" (offering a suggestion) ?
Does the "て・でもいいですか" means not only the permission asking but also the suggestion ?


texts:
コンピューターの技術は、ここ10年でずいぶんです。

What does ここ10年でずいぶんです mean.

ずいぶん means remarkable (I searched from a website),but I don't know what で functions and what ここ10年 means.

In my opinion, I think it means "Computer technology will be remarkable in this 10 years"


texts: Are katakana names pronounced as they are written?

texts:
My name is Laurence. I would write this in Japanese as ロレンス (rorensu). My question is, when I introduce myself, do I pronounce my name as it is in katakana, or as it is in English?:

That is, would I say this:

Laurence です。　--> Laurence desu

or this:

ロレンス です。   --> Rorensu desu

This is just an example. I am also asking about all loanwords, for example:

Soccer　が　大好き　です。 --> Soccer ga daisuki desu

vs

サッカー　が　大好き　です。 --> Sakkaa ga daisuki desu

To summarise, are Katakana loanwords pronounced as they are written in Japanese, or as they are pronounced in their country of origin?


texts:
I'm familiar with 「という」 and was somewhat confused why I saw 「のいう」 in the following sentence:

  人間対応能力は、ドラッカーのいう「他の人間とともに働く能力」のことです。

What is the role of 「のいう」 in this sentence? Is it incorrect to say 「という」? I thought that 「の」 is possessive, but I'm unsure of what it means when combined with 「いう」.


texts:
Do 臭い{くさい} and [腐る]{くさる} have similar roots? They obviously sound very similar; the only difference in pronunciation is the final mora, but maybe that's only because of the part of speech. The meanings are related as well. When things rot, they tend to smell bad. Of course, 臭い isn't restricted to just bad food, but meanings tend to change/broaden over time.

So I'm wondering, were these once pretty much the same word, separated once they were given kanji? Or have they always been thought about separately, and the sound/meaning is just coincidence?


texts: How to say "It's not a lie if you believe in it" in Japanese

texts: Eijiro doesn't have the definition so I thought I'd ask here


texts:
what's the difference between とか and や?
what's the difference between とか and や?


texts: Should と be appended in 「自分の利益を得んがための発言では、人の心を動かせない。」?

texts:
In my JLPT prep book, I have the following sentence (no official translation available),

  自分の利益を得んがための発言では、人の心を動かせない。

I am wondering if there is not a missing と at the end. Indeed, here, it would translate as “In this speech made so that I get some profit I will not move the heart of people” but with と it would become “In this speech that should get me some profit I should move the heart of people”.

My translation is not really good but I hope it is understandable.

Can you confirm that と is missing? or do I understant the sentence the wrong way?

Maybe I misunderstood the sentence and it just means “I won't move people with a speech made for my own profit/in order that I get profit”


texts:
I have found the following examples in http://tatoeba.org/jpn/

頭{あたま}が混乱{こんらん}している。I'm confused.
本当{ほんとう}に参{まい}りましたね。I'm really confused.

Are these examples a natural way to deliver the idea of being confused?


texts: Are there future tenses for Japanese verbs?

texts: I am unable to find an example of a future tense Japanese verb.


texts: How does が mark the subject in this sentence?

texts:
I'm trying to understand the way が is used in the following sentence:

  すると、難しい講義を聞いた後では平均１２３ミリグラムも上がった血糖値が、面白い話を聞いて笑った後では、平均７７ミリグラムしか上がらなかったという結果が出たそうです。

In this case I believe it is a "subject " marker, but I am not sure what the "subject" is interacting with.

From what I know, when the form X が Y is usually used, X is the subject and Y is the action, descriptor, etc.:

  あの犬は目が茶色です。That dog has brown eyes.

X = 目 (eye) Y = 茶色 (brown)

  私はあのケーキが食べたいです。I want to eat that cake.

X = あのケーキ (that cake) Y = 食べたい (want to eat)

But in the sentence above, i identified X and Y as:

  X = 難しい講義を聞いた後では平均１２３ミリグラムも上がった血糖値

The blood sugar level that rose by an average of 123 milligrams after listening to the difficult lecture

  Y = 面白い話を聞いて笑った後では、平均７７ミリグラムしか上がらなかった

rose only by an average of 77 milligrams after listening and laughing to a funny story.

"The blood sugar level that rose by an average of 123 milligrams after listening to the difficult lecture, rose only by an average of 77 milligrams after listening and laughing to a funny story."

It doesn't sound right to me. The が makes it sound like the blood sugar level that rose by 123 milligrams, rose again by 77 milligrams.

So I'm not sure how to interpret this particle.

Here is the full paragraph:

  糖尿病という病気は、血液中の血糖値が高くなることによって起こる病気ですが、ある科学者が、面白い話を聞かせた後の患者と難しい講義を聞かせた後の患者の血糖値を比べるという実験をしてみました。すると、難しい講義を聞いた後では平均１２３ミリグラムも上がった血糖値が、面白い話を聞いて笑った後では、平均７７ミリグラムしか上がらなかったという結果が出たそうです。


texts: Can anyone explain the grammar behind the "sentence ending" とでも?

texts:
Is it an abbreviation of a longer phrase? Or is it just kind of like the American street slang, "And what..?" As in, "You think you're hot? And what..?"

But in this case perhaps it is almost like asking if the listener had any "buts" or objections to the statement.

  そんな[怒]{いか}りに[妾]{わらわ}が[怯]{ひる}むとでも？
  And you think that anger would make me flinch?

  「それが[実証]{じっしょう}できるとでも？」
  `You're going to verify THAT?'

  あなたに言われないと分からないとでも？
  Like I need you to tell me that.

  「ほかになりようがあるとでも？」と[女王]{じょおう}さま。
  'What would you have it?' said the Queen. (from Alice in Wonderland)

  同性愛者ですが何か？それが[犯罪]{はんざい}だとでも？
  So what if I am gay? Is it a crime?

Source:

http://eow.alc.co.jp/search?q=とでも？


texts: If so, how formal is it? Please compare it with other apologies.


texts: How to classify the non-standard reading of "お土産{みやげ}"?

texts:
Is お土産{みやげ} an 当{あ}て字{じ}、 熟字訓{じゅくじくん}、 or something else?

For 「お土産」 to be 当て字, the「み」reading must be part of the 音{おん}、訓{くん} readings or a 名乗り{なのり} reading for the「土」kanji. This is not the case.

For 「お土産」 to be 「熟字訓」, the meaning of the characters 「土」and「産」when placed side-by-side must approximate the meaning of "souvenir". And this is not the case.

So, is the reading of 「お土産」 classified as "non-standard", but not in the sense of 「当て字」 or「熟字訓」? Maybe there is a 3rd classification for words with non-standard readings? Is this 3rd classification maybe "難読{なんよ}み" (I've found very little info about 難読み so far).


texts: How are ambiguous "brother" and "sister" typically translated into Japanese?

texts:
Japanese has different words for "younger sibling" and "older sibling". Then how are the English words "brother" and "sister" (or any other European equivalents for that matter) typically translated into Japanese (in books, TV, movies, etc.) without a clear context or clue as to how older or younger the sibling in question is (which is the case most of the time: Western authors don't bother to use "younger/older sibling", or give any clue, at all)? For example, how do Japanese translators deal with a vague phrase such as "Lucy's sister"? Do they just randomly use either 「ルーシーの姉」 or 「ルーシーの妹」? Also, what about the case of twin siblings?

Note: I'm not asking can you translate these words for me?, but how are these words typically translated? based on the most common practice used by translators; i.e. I'm asking for how translation works in these specific cases in general, not for specific translations in any given contexts. So I don't think the question is off-topic.


texts:
I learned from a Japanese friend that ふむふむ could be translated like "oh, I got it", "I see", "I know", or "ok". It could be also in this form: ふむふむ　なるほど

But, my sister lived in Japan for 5 years, and she had never heard of it.

Is it still used?


texts:
In many beginner material, が is said to be a subject marker. (For example this one) However, my teacher who learnt Japanese in Japan said he has never heard such a saying.

And in his teaching, it is very clear that が is really not a subject marker. In many cases it is marking object instead. For example:

  私は妹がいます
  I have a sister / sisters.

  テーブルの下に猫がいます
  There is a cat under the table.

  私は料理が苦手です
  I am not good at cooking

  私は日本語が大好きだ
  I love Japanese

These examples are just beginner level examples, right? Of course there are also cases that が is marking the subject, but with so many cases that it is actually marking the object instead, I wonder why there is a saying that が is an subject marker?


texts:
Given a list of things...

dog
cat
fish

How would you say...

the second item in the list: ２目番?
all three of them: 全部三つ?
two of them (not regarding the position in the list): ２匹 or ２目?

Is this pattern correct?


texts: How to refer to a fixed number of things

texts:
Once again I find myself unable to count.
What is the best way to express the following in Japanese

The three pigeons over there are noisy
あそこにいる鳩が3わ煩い (my attempt)
The four seasons are spring, summer, autumn and winter
4の季節は春と夏と秋と冬だ (my different kind of attempt (because I didn't know a counter word for seasons))

(I know there is a special word for all four seasons but that's not the point).
Also does it make a difference whether it is spoken or written. I was told in a previous question that numberのnoun was more of a written thing. Thanks.


texts:
……こういう時の遠坂にはどんなワガママもし放題なのであるが、生憎、ここはちょっとの油断で轢き飛ばされる制限速度六十キロ車道、二車線である。

When Tohsaka is like this she does anything she wants but, sadly, this is a a 2 lane traffic road with a limit of 60 km/h where you can be sent flying if you are not careful.

Is this correct?

Or this に is にたいして

  ……こういう時の遠坂にたいしてどんなワガママもし放題なのであるが、生憎、ここはちょっとの油断で轢き飛ばされる制限速度六十キロ車道、二車線である。


texts:
I am trying to translate a song and it's pretty difficult one and I'm unsure just what kind of meaning these lyrics have:

  この手を伝う 一本の孤独は
  人の色が 褪せたままで

My problem is with 一本 because I have always used it as a counter and the word after this is 孤独, so I don't quite understand well. I looked up on Jisho and there is this meaning of: "single-minded focus on ..."Can someone give some examples and a better explanation when it's used this way, when it is not used as a counter?


texts: There seem to be three very similar expressions of surprise - おや, あれ, and あら. Is there much particular difference? So far I've gathered that あれ is almost always genuine surprise, whereas あら and おや can express more broad ranges of emotion, and that あら is a little more feminine.


texts:
これしかないから みんなでどうにかやってきたんだろう

In the sentence above, why after みんな, instead of particle は or particle が, particle で is used?


texts: Is there a Japanese equivalent to English's "'Can I go to the bathroom' vs. 'May I go to the bathroom'"?

texts: Is there a Japanese equivalent to English's 'Can I go to the bathroom' vs. 'May I go to the bathroom'? You know, a disagreement over whether to use a phrase that feels correct(and I'd argue is correct) vs. a phrase that is more, you know, "Politically Correct" in a way.


texts: Why would a light novel have furigana for common kanji?

texts:
I've been reading the light novels ひげを剃る and a lot of the furigana use confuses me. For context, not every kanji has furigana- I'd say like 20% of the kanji per page have it.

They use it for complicated words that seem like they should have it, like 茫然自失｛ぼうぜんじしつ｝、but then also with random common words like 笑顔｛えがお｝、一緒｛いっしょ｝に、吐｛は｝く、大丈夫｛だいじょうぶ｝、違｛ちが｝う etc.

Given the themes of the story I'd assume it's targeted to young adults, so why does it give the readings for really common words in addition to ones that look complicated, at least to me?


texts:
It appears like this, in a sentence about surfing:
前のめりにすると、前は前で浮力が無くなります。
I know the general meaning is "If you lean over forward, ...the flotation goes away."
I think that the meaning of "前は前で" is something like, "the front (of the board) being what it is..." (i.e., The nose of the board is very thin, so it has very little flotation.)
But I'm not sure if that's correct.  Any suggestions much appreciated.


texts:
私は勝負日の前日は大抵眠れません。遠足前の何とやらです。気が弱いです。

According to Kenkyusha dictionary, 何とやら means etc. or and so on. Could it mean same here?
My attempt:

  I can hardly sleep the day before a competition. The same goes for excursions. It's that I am fainthearted.


texts: Can I use こと or の to say "Everyone said that ～"?

texts:
I study japanese on my own, so i dont really have a teacher to correct my sentences. I am trying coming up with some sentences to help me fixating things on my mind.

So I want to make the following sentence "everyone said she is not intelligent because she is beautiful"

I had already the compound sentence:

  彼女はきれいだから賢くない です

And then I turned it into:

  皆さん彼女はきれいだから賢くないこと話した

Is it right? Also, can i replace こと for の or のこと? Will it change the meaning of the sentence?

One more thing, is it okay to make such posts on the forum, asking for help on sentences and not exactly a grammar aspect? If not please let me know.


texts:
What does ヘニャッ mean in the following sentence?

  やっぱり甘えたいと思う時あいますよね。疲れている時とか、ヘニャッってなりたくなる 時。


texts:
I hope this doesn't count as one of the は/が difference duplicates (that isn't what I'm asking), but I'm slightly confused about how to think of the は particle. I've heard it called the "topic marker", but I've also read a separate explanation about it being an "emphasizer" that connects subject/predicate: An historical grammar of Japanese.

Is this a better way to think of it? Which is closer to how it's used in the colloquial/modern grammar?


texts:
I'm reading this manga, and came accross the following monologue:

たかが弦ごときで世界の終わりみてーなツラしやがって
俺が上げて落としたみてーで後味ワリーだろがッ
俺の昼寝返せ!!!

I can't understand what 上げて落としたみて means. Is this an expression? Are those verbs all changing each others meanings?
I've found those translations so far: "I'd feel bad if I were to leave now", "you make me feel bad just looking at you, and gives me a bad feeling"


texts:
Before asking this question, I've done a good amount of research. I learned that させてもらう conveys the nuance of "allow me to do" or "I'll have you let me do X" or "I'll take the liberty of doing X" or even "May I?" However, in my native language, we rarely use causative forms, and learning them in English was a bit of a struggle too. That's why it's so hard for me to wrap my head around this concept.
If someone says:
Context: a coworker about doing a project on her own.
自分でやらせてもらうことにしました
What does she really say?
A friend of mine (a Japanese friend) told me to think about it as "もらう = you're thankful" and "させる = you let yourself do sth because you don't want to burden other people" So, technically you're grateful for taking the burden from other people. Well, in the work context it seems just fine. But then I saw this sentence.
私はそれを参考にさせてもらうよ。
I can't apply her logic at all to this one.
Help!


texts: I can write katakana and hiragana but I cannot piece together how i would write my own name in japanese due to a difficult sound in it

texts: Okay, please go to google translate first and set the language on Dutch, After that type in "Joeri", The thing I just can't get to sound right in katakana writing is the "oe" sound. How should I write this or is this not possible?


texts: How would you translate "more" for use as an interface button?

texts:
I'm working on an interface that includes several tabs to organize information about a topic. In the English version, the last tab is labeled "More", and it shows additional details about the topic.

What would be the most appropriate Japanese translation to use for this button?

Note: The button is restricted to a small space so I am looking for a short word, ideally around 5 or less characters.


texts:
my question is , what does 超え in 人の理を超えその身を保ち生き永らえながら…その全てを搾取支配人を弄ぶことに費やして…何を為そうとした' mean ?

Is it a form of 越える? If yes, what form is it (you know, like ～て、～た、～しょう... etc)? I haven't stumbled across an ending like that yet.

Would appreciate your help :)


texts:
屋敷を一回りしただけで設計図を思い描き、本来なければおかしい部屋がない事を指摘する。

What does the last sentence mean?

  Just by going around the mansion once he was able to drew a blueprint, If it were not normal it points out the fact that there are no strange rooms?

本来ならば=Normally
本来なければ=Not normally ?

I am really not understanding that.
Thank you


texts:
日本人には、見知らぬ人と会話を始めてまだくつろいだ気分にならないうちに、相手の、年齢や地位、既婚か未婚かなどの個人的な事柄を知りたがる傾向がある。

  There is a tendency for Japanese to want to know a certain amount of personal information about someone such as age, position and whether they are married or not, before they feel comfortable talking with a stranger.

In this example, what does the うち in ならないうちに mean?

On a side note, I sometimes notice that Japanese punctuation differs from English usage. Why would the writer put a comma after 相手の?


texts:
I am very new to Japanese language and I am now kind of addicted to learning this beautiful language and the culture.

Just a question I want to ask is:

Which one of the below one is right?

  私はゴルフが大好きです

or

  私はゴルフを大好きです

Any help will be greatly appreciated from the heart.


texts:
So, I would like to better understand the expression:

  ダメな時はダメ

I usually see it used practically alone, in a no-good situation.

Is it something like: "Impossible is impossible"? More to the line of "That was no good"? Something different?

This tweet-pic may serve as an example.


texts: Is there a gender-specific way of using 先輩 or 後輩?

texts:
My motivation behind this question is that I want to translate the Chinese word "学妹" into Japanese. 学妹, as you probably have guessed already, refers to a female 後輩. A male 先輩 is 学长，female 先輩 is 学姐，male 後輩 is 学弟. However, it seems impossible to be gender specific when using 先輩 or 後輩, since these word encompass both genders. So what is the appropriate, natural word for a female 後輩?

Edit: Sometimes, 学妹 can be used flirtatiously. That is, sometimes, you can be more flirtatious by calling the girl 学妹 instead of using her name or something. I cannot find the word that has this usage in Japanese, so that's a better explanation of my motivation.


texts:
I've seen this expression multiple times either attached to a longer sentence or by itself.
For example:

A: ねー、もっときれいに書いてください。これなんて書いてあるんですか  B:あー、なんでしょう。。。. 私も読めません.

恵那：(After seeing よつば fiddling with the swingset) なにしてんだろう。。。

My questions are:
What does this term mean? Does it have multiple meanings? When is it commonly used? How does it differ from similar expressions?


texts: Difference between どこが and どこで in sentence

texts:
I was practicing some writing and attempted to write the following sentence

  Where can I find the cat food?

I originally wrote

  僕はどこが猫用の食べ物を見つけられますか。

However I was corrected to

  僕はどこで猫用の食べ物を見つけられますか。

What is the difference between the two sentences? Why is どこが wrong?


texts:
Sorry if I'm asking too many questions here (I do wonder, is there a place where one could ask simple questions like these without having to open a new thread everytime? - I feel kinda stupid ;)
To give a little background: This sentence comes from the videogame 龍が如く. The game involves several clans, though important here are, in order of importance and hierarchy:

東城会、東城会直系堂島組、東城会直系堂島組内風間組

As you can see, Tojokai is at the very top, Dojimagumi a direct affiliate and Kazamagumi (headed by 風間新太郎) answers directly to the Dojimagumi. Now in the story, the leader of the Dojimagumi (Sohei Dojima) is killed and the kumi disbanded with the Kazamagumi absorbing all of its former members and becoming a direct affiliate to the Tojokai instead, thus becoming 東城会直系風間組.
Now later on you stumble upon a picture of Kazama Shintaro (several important clan/group leaders are depicted here) with the main character stating:

１９９６年・直系風間組／初代・風間新太郎。親っさんか・・・１９９６年に風間組を襲名って事は、堂島組長が死んでから、直ぐって事か。俺も刑務所に入ってなかったら、風間組で生きていたって事になるな

Now to the issue at hand: From what I could gather, 襲名 means "to success to another's professional name". What I don't understand is, in the game Kazama doesn't change position or anything, all that happened was that his kumi got promoted so to speak and became a direct affiliate to the Tojokai as opposed to working for somebody else. How can you success to your own name? Interestingly the official English translation translates this sentence as "he became a direct patriarch after Dojima died".
So what gives?


texts: What are the differences between なさる and される?

texts:
I noticed なさる and される are both used as 尊敬語.
What are some of their differences? How do I know when to use each one?


texts:
I work in a hotel and I was asking a coworker if we are permitted to drink the coffee in a certain location near the desk.  I am trying to be formal with this request.

I asked "Are we allowed to take that coffee?"

In romanji "Sore Koohii o teru kyoka sa retamasu ka"

1) Am I allowed to combine verbs like this?  Under what circumstance can I do this?

2) In order to be polite is it ok to add the masu to the last verb or do I have to add it to Teru as well?

3) How would I make this sentence casual?


texts: In the phrase いかないで (Ikanaide), what's the function of で (de)?

texts:
I'm aware that 行かない means "don't go" (hope I'm not wrong).

What I don't understand is the function of で. What's its use in this sentence? (I usually see that character used in です).


texts: Interpreting Japanese sentences from right to left or left to right

texts: Are Japanese sentences (horizontal) to be read/interpreted from left to right or right to left?  For e.g: the word "Inshoku" when read from left to right, means Drink and food, but the translation read "Food and Drink".


texts: Can you use the が particle in a sentence asking 何ですか?

texts:
I've read that が is the particle used when asking a question, but then I see sentences like 一番好きな本はなんですか or 一番いい先生はだれですか.

Is there a reason why が is not used in this type of sentence, or is the rule re: が in a question sentence just a vague guideline?


texts: Meaning of でも in this special context from しまこうさく　まなが

texts:
日商工は３団体でも一番歴史が古く１９２２年に発足した。

(As backdrop, the 経済連、経済交友会 and 日商工 are the three largest business lobbying organizations in Japan according to the Manga. And 日商工 is the oldest.)

My question: what does でも mean here?  でも usually have three meanings:- 1) but  2) even including and 3) among other things. But でも here does not seem to fit in any of the above meanings.


texts:
So i was reading A dictionary of Basic Japanese Grammar, and in the part where it explains the uses of いる as an auxiliary verb after て、　it says something like that: "(...) Also, verbs like 言う　and　思う with a third person subject require the ~ている　pattern if the sentence expresses a present state. " And then there's this example sentence:

ウエストさんは日本語がやさしいと思っている。

My question is: why does it have to be 思っている? And can i use 思っている aswell when speaking in the first person, or is it wrong?


texts:
I would like to know if someone can help me with the word あらそう. Dictionaries online translate it like "to compete" or "to oppose", but in the context of the whole sentence, this definition makes no sense at all.

The whole sentence is this:

  今のアイオリアは
  教皇に洗脳された
  たんなる戦闘マシーン
  黄金聖闘士の中でも
  一二をあらそう
  アイオリアが
  悪鬼のごとくせめれば
  青銅聖闘士など
  ひとたまりもない
  今頃ズタズタにされた
  星矢の死体が
  ころがっているはずだ

If I'm not wrong, the translation should be something like this: "Aiolia, now that he was brainwashed by the Pope, is nothing but a fight machine. Aiolia "あらそう" among the 12 Gold Saints, if he attacks like a demon, a Bronze Saint has no chances, the corpse of Seiya should be lying in the floor by now...".

But as I said, I can't find a decent translation for "あらそう".  Does anyone have any idea?

Thanks in advance.


texts: Unusual meaning of 終わる or just a parsing failure?

texts:
Regarding young people who don't know the date of the end of the pacific war:

  中学校や高校の歴史の授業は、太平洋戦争を教える前に終わってしまうことが多いため、知らない人が増えているのだと思います。
  I think the number of people who don't know (the date) is increasing because there are many things that will finish before middle school and high school history classes teach about the war.

I can't make any sense out of the part in bold. What is coming to and end? What does こと refer to?


texts:
The following is from a mystery manga. The criminal mastermind is lamenting that his accomplice Masumi failed to properly kill Kimisawa.

  ますみの奴・・・
  最後の最後でしくじったな
  あの至近距離でよもや急所をはずす

  君沢ユリエのケガの具合によっては (new bubble if relevant)
  また私が直接手をくださねばなるまい

Basic idea I hope: "That damn Masumi messed up right at the last minute. She missed a vital point from point blank range. Depending on Kimisawa Yurie's condition, ..."

I am having trouble understanding the last sentence, particularly the bold part. I have heard of the negative volitional form and assume that なるまい means the speaker has a strong will for something to not occur. This understanding however does not seem to be consistent with the によっては part. It seems to me that an action should follow and not a "will that a state not occur".

I am also uncertain about what form くださねば actually is. I am familiar with くだせば, くださなければ, くださせば but not the given form.

I also wonder why the speaker used はずす rather than はずした. The action of missing the vital point is clearly completed and in the past so why treat it as though it is not?


texts: Can ''onamae'' be used in the middle of a sentence?

texts:
What is your name is usually given as:

Onamae wa nan desu ka?

or

Anata no namae wa nan desu ka?

My question is whether or not the following is ever used:

Anata no onamae wa nan desu ka?

I understand fully the meaning of the honorific 'o' and I also recognise that a word beginning with 'o' is a bit awkward after 'no', i.e. '' no onamae ''. But that is irrelevant to my question.

Will a Japanese person ever say ''Anata no onamae wa nan desu ka?''


texts: This is the first time I've come across such a phrase (in a novel) and I couldn't find an explanation through an internet search.


texts: What does その場に広げる means in this context?

texts:
I was doing some translating work, and I came across this sentence:

  私はぼんやりとお弁当箱を取り出して、その場に広げた。

I was sure that the first part of the sentence means "I took my lunch box out absent-mindedly", but I can't come to a satisfactory conclusion with the part after the comma.

At first, I thought it was just "opening it (the lunch box)" or something along those lines, but time after time I feel unsatisfied about it.

Please help!


texts:
Context: a boxer is giving "advice" to another boxer and his girlfriend. He says:

  戦う前にイチャつくとぜって〜モチベに影響するからな――
  彼女[と]【・】は足に来るからそれも要注意な　風俗体験記

After this, the boxer laughs and the girl blushes. I don't know how to interpret 足に来る, so I can't understand the joke. On Kenkyusha dictionary I found this example:

  疲れが足に来る one's feet show the effects of fatigue.

But in the sentence in question there's no noun+が before 足, so I don't know if this is the right meaning. Also, why is that と stressed?

Note that the boxer that is speaking is a 素人童貞, a man who has never had sex except with sex workers.

Here you can see the whole page. Thank you for your help!


texts: Is punning with homophonic kanji common?

texts:
I recently discovered that the mascot for テレビ[塔]{とう} is テレビ[父]{とう}さん.

Answering whether this was a deliberate pun is probably impossible, but I'd like to know, in general, is it common to replace one kanji with a homophonic kanji for the purposes of punning?


texts: Would using "たら" make sense in this type of sentence?

texts: So recently I've met a Japanese person whilst playing League and we started to talk a bit over the group voice chat. Although my Japanese is still at a very basic level we understood each other pretty well. Anyway, because I was talking to a friend on Discord at the same time in another language he was understandably confused, so I tried to clear things up by saying "日本語を話してないときはDiscordでともだちと話している" (Whenever I'm not talking Japanese, I'm speaking to a friend on Discord). He seemed to understand what I meant to say so I left it at that. A few days later though I finally started learning about "たら", "なら" and "ば", and I remembered my conversation with the Japanese guy. Would using "たら" instead of "とき" have been the better choice?.


texts: Where can I get a list of Japanese words with context?

texts: I want to study for the JLPT with authentic sentence examples, in-context Japanese.  Does anyone know a resource for this?  I have searched for a long time, and I haven't found anything.


texts:
I am having problems finding a word in this sentence in the dictionary:

  一体全体なぜこんなところにおいでになったのか、たぶん話してはくださらないのでしょうね?

Unknown word:
- はくださらない

The English translation is:
"And I don't suppose you're going to tell me why you're here, of all places?"

I get the meaning thanks of the translation, but I wonder which word はくださらない comes from.  Looking up はくだす gives no results.


texts:
Basically I’m wondering if です can be nominalized.
For example how would you say:

”I don’t like being mean.” or
”It’s good to be nice!”

Can I say:

酷いであるのが好きじゃない？
優しいであるのがいい？

These are my attempts but I don’t feel confident in these!


texts:
手伝って くれて 、ありがとう。おかげで早く終わったよ。

I understand it roughly:
Thanks for giving me assistance, thanks to you, the task finished faster

But why it is くれて not もらって? I thought  the context was (I am really thankful for receiving assistance from you and thanks to you the task finished faster)   Also, the person who assists seems to be outsider, so therefore shouldn't もらって be used instead?

And why the くれて is in て form instead of くれた?


texts:
These two characters are discussing ヒューバート in the below, and about how he lacks self awareness. However I am not sure why 気にされる was used instead of 気にする here. I know that される can be used as an honorific version of する. However knowing the character that is talking, I highly doubt that this is an honorific usage (although I could be wrong)

  ヒューバート「あんまり偉い人が来ないなら俺たちも気楽で良いな」

  Person 1「ヒューバートって自分の立ち位置をよく理解していないわよね」

  Person 2「まあ、気にされるよりは良いだろう」


texts: Non-Japanese can know their "マナー", but not their "礼儀{れいぎ}"?

texts:
Recently, I was talking about nouveau riche Chinese behaving badly abroad. I was referencing that some cut in line, speak loudly, etc. (going from rural China to Fifth Ave. can be disorienting; i am not speaking ill of anyone).

In that context, I described such Chinese as "礼儀が知{し}らない". But, now I definitely think that that usage of "礼儀" is wrong. Respecting other people's space, not cutting in line, etc. is really "マナー” right?

"礼儀" is a strange word? Non-Japanese not only are not expected to know "礼儀", they can't. The word seems like something only a Japanese person can understand the definition of. Is that true?
「田中{たなか}さんは礼儀が知らないやつだよね。」 seems quite natural?
「Bobさんは礼儀が知らないやつだよね。」 just does not sound right? I mean, Bob is not 日本人、so how could he possibly know his "礼儀"?

So, non-Japanese can only know the マナー that we follow in the West? 日本人 can not only know their マナー、 they also know their "礼儀"? What is "礼儀"? It is like respect for one's elders, respect for the cultural traditions of Japan, and lots more that I can't understand because I'm no Japanese.

Or... is "マナー" just a synonym for "礼儀"?


texts:
転びそうになった。(転んだ)

Basically, the sentence stands like this in my textbook, without further context.
The exercise instructs to read each one of the 20 sentences (of which this is just one) and mark wether this happened around me lately or not.

Considering these search results:
http://jisho.org/search/korobi
http://jisho.org/search/koronda

Maybe it means "you fell"/"you became falling"?
I also can't really make sense of the function of そうに here.
I interprete it in the way of 楽しそうに遊びます　(=playing cheerfully), but I can't think of a way to implement this in meaningful way here.
Also, should ...そうになる be a set phrase, then I don't know about it or I can't find it in my texbook.


texts: What is the stroke order of the katakana ヒ?

texts:
There are 2 strokes. Let's call the short horizontal stroke A and the vertical-curving-to-horizontal stroke B.
Some sources suggest the stroke order AB while other sources suggest BA.
The katakana ヒ comes from the character 世 which when considering the relevant strokes follows the order AB.
Is there an official order of the katakana strokes available somewhere ?


texts:
I'm reading this introduction to mahjong, and found this use of なんと I cannot match to anything in Daijisen.

  １回目のツモがまったく関係ない西で、そこでローワンをアンカンしたら、なんとリンシャンからイーソウをツモ。

As I understand it, the line means something like:

  The first draw was the useless 西, but then you used the 6 of characters to form a kan, and the replacement tile you drew was the 1 of bamboos [which got you into tenpai.]

But where does the なんと fit in here? How does its presence affect the sentence?


texts: Explanatory particle「の」 comes from 「ので」?

texts:
I just saw on Imabi.net :

http://www.imabi.net/karanodenoda.htm

That 「ので」 is actually the て form of the explanatory particle の with だ...

It actually makes a lot of sense if it is true. I`ve always been taught that 「ので」, 「から」 and 「の(だ/です）」 are 3 different things and I used them without actually knowing where they come from.

So if it is true :

  明日は学校に行かない。風邪を引いたんだ。: Tomorrow I`m not going to school. Because I got a cold.

  風邪を引いたんで、明日は学校に行かない。: Because I got a cold, tomorrow I`m not going to school.

Are　ｔhose two sentences exactly the same and there is no difference in meaning between the 「んだ」 and 「んで」 ?

Thanks a lot!

Edit :

On the dictionary, it is written that 「ので」 comes from the particule の + the 格助詞　で. So if it is the て form of のだ, then the 連用形 of だ is the 格助詞　で？


texts:
I often get asked about swear words by Japanese people. As I sometimes watch Netflix, I can see how other translators approach these phrases and get helpful hints.

Specifically, I'm curious about the phrase 'f*** yeah', expressing strong agreement or satisfaction. Maybe I would try ii ne! Or just tanoshimi! Or maybe yabai! But these translations are probably inadequate.

Can anyone think of a better rendering?


texts: ながら vs ながらも – what are the subtle differences?

texts:
I have read in Tae Kim's book that "You can attach the inclusive particle 「も」 to get 「ながらも」. This changes the meaning from "while" to "Even while"."
I personally do not like this translation and that's because the given examples I will provide do not fit this translation.
On the JLPT Sensei website it translates 「ながらも」 as "despite" or "although". He goes on to state that "The 「も」 at the end is optional and is often just used as 「ながら」". However, no matter how small a difference is there is always a reason for it, at least in my opinion.
My examples are taking from both sources.
Ex.

狭いながらも、このマンションは大好きだ。
Despite it being small, I love this apartment.
アナちゃんは子どもながらも、いろんなことを知っている。
Although Anna-chan is just a child, she knows quite a lot of various things.
貧乏ながらも、高級なバックを買っちゃったよ。
Even while I'm poor, I ended up buying a high quality bag.  (I would just rather prefer "despite" or "although"
being used here.)

To summarize, I would like to know the subtle differences between using ながら and ながらも. I don't really agree with the Tae Kim explanation and it is non-existent on the JLPT Sensei website so I thought I would pop my StackExchange cherry and ask it here.
P.s. I know there is another ながら grammar structure that is similar to this but I know that they are different in meaning.


texts:
I'm reading a light novel and am stuck on a sentence. One big problem is this phrase:

  優｛やさ｝しくて、かつ人間｛にんげん｝も

I know that ーくて is used to connect things, and my understanding of かつ is that it's a strong connector, but I don't understand it exactly.

The full, long sentence is:

  吉田｛よしだ｝さんのような優｛やさ｝しくて、かつ人間｛にんげん｝も出来｛でき｝ている男性｛だんせい｝に恋人｛こいびと｝ができるのはごく普通｛ふつう｝のことだし、恋人｛こいびと｝になればそういうことがあるのも普通｛ふつう｝だ。

I was hoping someone could help me understand what parts of this sentence mean so I may continue reading my book lol, specifically:

What is the first phrase of the sentence supposed to mean? Does the ような only connect to 優｛やさ｝しくて? I would think the phrase would mean "kindness like Yoshida-san's" but the くて makes it seem like that's not how to translate it.

What exactly does かつ connect in this sentence? Does it connect everything before it and everything after it until the のは？

And finally, if someone could explain what this triple connector combination of て、かつ、And　も means in 優｛やさ｝しくて、かつ人間｛にんげん｝も then that'd help me a lot.

Thank you~


texts:
I've previously asked about あっての, but now it seems to me that I've run into an additional usage of it (or perhaps the same usage I just can't wrap my head around it...).

When the sentence is simply AあってのB, it seems pretty straightforward. For example:

  あなたあっての私なんです。

I think means: "I wouldn't be here without you"
This sentence, however is more confusing to me:

  子供あっての我が家である。

Does this mean:

"Our family wouldn't be here without the children/if not for the children"?

Or is it more like:

"Our family exists for the (benefit of the) children"?

Or even:

"If we never had children, we wouldn't be a family"?


texts: The grammar of verb in ば form followed by いい

texts:
Phrases involving verb-ばいい occur frequently and yet I can't find it mentioned in any of my grammar resources. I understand that literally it means "if I do verb, it is good" but that rarely works as a sensible translation. The sentence that caused my question is

  なんと呼びかければいいのかと質問してみたのであるが、...

Which I'm translating as

  I tried inquiring as to how I should address him but, ...

It confused me because, whilst it isn't a wild step to go from ' if you do x it will be good' to 'you should do x', putting the question word なんと at the front makes that simple logic fail.

So my question is what is the general grammar for verb-ばいい (with and without question words)? What range of meanings can this phrase have? Also, can I replace いい with よくない to invert the meanings? Thanks.


texts: Is 漢画 the most suitable translation of Chinese style paintings?

texts:
Is 漢画 the best translation of Chinese-style painting? I saw it at the Kyoto National Museum in quotation marks with hiragana above it. By "Chinese style painting", I mean artworks that use brushes on a paper like surface, usually has few or just one colour, and often portrays a very mountainous landscape. An example can be seen in the first few seconds of the music video of Dami Im's song "Gladiator".

When I tried typing the hiragana for it, かんが, the IME wouldn't let me choose it directly, instead requiring me to choose one kanji at a time, and 漢画 wasn't listed in jisho.org, nor was there anything for "Chinese drawing". Doing a search of 漢画 on Japanese Wikipedia didn't indicate it was a redirect or title for an article, while looking at the Japanese version of English Wikipedia's article on the subject had a title of 中国の絵画.


texts: Japanese Buts: でも, しかし, ただ, ただし, ところが, が, けど, けれど, けれども

texts:
I'm sure someone asked a similar question but I did a search and couldn't find any. Usually I just translate everything into but, but (no pun intended) I think it's about time I got into the nitty gritty of the buts, similar to the different kinds of "thanks" and the different kinds of "sorrys". So here is an exhaustive list of buts.

Off the top of my head, here are the different types of buts I can recall and the basics of what I already know. If you can add to the list, please do so.

Sentence-initial buts (used at the beginning of the sentence):

でも (general purpose but)
しかし (sounds formal?; apparently the shortened form of しかしながら)
ただ (sounds formal?)
ただし (related to above? more formal than ただ?)
ところが (nuance currently unknown)

Phrase joining buts (used to join two phrases):

が (general purpose but; in casual speech/writing where rules can be broken, が can be used in the sentence initial position instead of embedded within in sentence)
けど
けれど
けれども (the longer it is, the more formal)

Unknown buts:

然{しか}るに (found from a dictionary search; I personally have never seen it before today)

In explaining the differences, please, where possible, also consider whether a particular but leans more towards casual speech or formal speech, and whether it appears more in writing, or in speech, or both.


texts:
I'm translating a game and this is the sentence:恭介が気に入るレア物のCDを探すのって....結構大変なんだよね.
What is the meaning of のって after 探す?


texts: When particle mo is used to mean also, particle wa is omitted. Does mo also replace ga?

texts:
The question is clear but I would like to add an example. (My sentence may have other errors as well)

I am glad that you think the same.
あなたがそう思いますうれしいです
I am glad that you think the same, too.
あなたもそう思いますうれしいです

Is this conversion correct?


texts:
For full context, see here:
https://www.docdroid.net/XIK9pCk/img-20171020-0001-new.pdf#page=2

The sentence in question is taken from the very last two lines on page 2 of the PDF:
ええ、ありますね。かならずしもうるさいチャイムやベルのおかげだとは思いませんけど。

I think that the person here basically wants to say

"because of the chime and announcement, I don't always do not think it is annoying."

My biggest problem though is that おかげで/おかげだ is used. I just learned in my textbook that this is used when CAUSE X has lead to POSITIVE RESULT Y.
I get that the speaker, in case I understood this correctly, wants to conceal his/her negative opinion. But I feel very very unsure about this interpretation of mine ^^ Since I learned that おかげで/だ is used in positive contexts, I fear that it won't possible to use it inside a negative statement, unless irony is at play here. But I've no experience with irony in japanese so far...^^

Here's my full translation:
(Very literal)
"Yes. It sure is. But I do not always not think that (="that" due to と思います) because annoying chime and announcement."

(more paraphrasing)
"Yes. It sure is. But I do not always not think so (= "I sometimes don't think of it in its function as a safety measure" see the pretext) due to the annoying chime and announcements."

I couldn't find a way to integrate the THAT in "I think that...". It never works because the clause it relates to is a causal clause at the same time. At least if I understood おかげで/だ correctly.


texts: Why does someone intend to die in this JLPT question?

texts:
This is a question in my JLPT practise book:

  手遅{ておく}れかもしれないが、死{し}んだ＿＿になってやれば、間{ま}に合{あ}うかもしれない。

  A もの　B わけ　C つもり　D はず

None of the answers made sense to me, so I didn't even choose one.

The book says the answer is C. I didn't choose that one because it seems to be saying, "if you intend to die, you might make it."

I get that there could be a metaphorical meaning here, something like "try so hard you might die", but I'm still having trouble parsing the sentence so that it conveys the sense of "as if". I'm just not used to seeing つもり used in a hypothetical way.

What would be an accurate translation of this sentence, and does つもり have a broader meaning than just, "intend to"?

Bonus question: Is 死{し}んだつもり the same as saying 必死{ひっし}?


texts: Does [V-stem]に行く works for verbs whose stems are not stand-alone words by themselves?

texts:
I was taught that there is a grammatical form which goes like this: [V-stem]に行く

For example:　遊びに行く, which means "Go. Reason: to 遊ぶ"

I was wondering does this grammatical form work for verbs whose stems are not stand-alone words by themselves?

Ok, in case this gets confusing..

I mean 遊び is the stem of 遊ぶ, and 遊び is a standalone word in the dictionary which means "play (n)".

選び is the stem of 選ぶ, but　選び is not a standalone word in the dictionary. 選び by itself means nothing.

砕き is the stem of 砕く, 掘り of 掘る, 食べ of 食べる, 威張り of 威張る, 植え of 植える. but 砕き、掘り、食べ、威張り、植え by themselves are not standalone words in the dictionary. By themselves, they mean nothing.

Does these work:

砕きにいく。 "Go. Reason: to 砕く"
掘りにいく。 "Go. Reason: to 掘る"
食べにいく。 "Go. Reason: to 食べる"
威張りにいく。 "Go. Reason: to 威張る"
植えにいく。 "Go. Reason: to 植える"


texts: What is the meaning of よる in this sentence?

texts:
Reading this article I came across よる、but I cannot quite make out its meaning.
副大臣の1人は、ＮＨＫの取材に対し、「事前に全く聞いていなかったので、非常に驚いた。憲法改正や北方領土問題、北朝鮮による拉致問題などを、安倍総理大臣なら前に進められるのではないかと期待していただけに、非常に残念だ。少なくとも任期いっぱいは続けてほしかった」と述べました。そのうえで、「後任の総理大臣の選び方については、安倍総理大臣がいつまで続けられるかや、いつまでに選出しなければならないかにもよるのではないか」と述べました。
Researching on my dictionary I came across these words 因る, 寄る and 選る. I am more inclined for the first one since it is for reason.
So:
安倍総理大臣がいつまで続けられるかや、いつまでに選出しなければならないかにもよるのではないか
abe prime ministerが　until when can continue や　until whenに must elect かにも　reason no?
I would say it is reason, but I am uncertain.


texts: This video (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L8fVS78tvzU) says that seaweed is written like 海草、but Google Translate later told me it's instead 海藻, with 藻 as the second Kanji instead of 草. I know GT shouldn't be trusted, but I Google Image searched 海藻 and got pictures of seaweed, so.. can someone tell me which really means seaweed?


texts:
How do you say: I have been learning Japanese for several months'.

I've come up with '日本語は数ヶ月を習っています。'Or would the word order '数ヶ月に日本語を習っています。' be more precise.

Also, how do I say 'the coming [month]'? Eg 'This coming April I have some time off work.'

Thank you in advance!


texts: What's the structure of this lyric sentence? 「置いてかなくちゃいけないのかな」

texts:
The sentence is:

  [明日]{あした}の[入]{い}り[口]{ぐち}に、[置]{お}いてかなくちゃいけないのかな？

Now I know the former part is "tomorrow, at the entrance (of our school)", and the following phrases:

おく　ーー　置いて, to put,

かな　ーー　is it so?

but I have no idea how to split the remaining of the latter part into pieces.

[置]{お}いて / かなくちゃいけないの / かな


texts: Which is the most popular non-Jōyō kanji?

texts:
Basically, a trivia question that someone could answer with a script.

What is the statistically most popular kanji in Japanese texts not in the jōyō list? Was it ever considered for inclusion? Is it popular due to names only or used in compounds? Same for hyōgai kanji.


texts:
Is this right like this?

Children are at school:
Kodomo tachi wa gakkou ni imasu.

There are children at school:
Gakkou ni kodomo tachi ga imasu.

Thank you


texts:
What do I say in Japanese when I'm trying to imply, "This is my dad", "These are my parents", "This is my friend(female)" or "This is my manager"?

I don't think using これ is polite, nor will 彼 be appropriate.


texts: Sentences can be joined using te-form. What about in plain form?

texts:
As far as I know, くて and で can be used in conjunction with te-form to join multiple sentences in Japanese.
But can the same thing be done in plain form?
I get the opinion that it can from my Year 11 Japanese teacher. Out of my joint script for an interactive oral task, my teacher identified the following sentences as having room for improvement:

J:また僕は言語が 好きで、面白くて、たくさん学んでいます。
T: エレクトロニクスは面白くて、楽しくてら、一番好きな科目です。

He said something along the lines of plain form needing to be used to connect the sentences, whilst finishing with the kara clause for both sentences.
My teacher also said that 面白い is the same in plain form, which means that no auxiliary suffix would be needed to connect sentences where the word appears. But what about for 好きな, which is a na-adjective?
I am very confused by this and I may not have time to get clarification from my teacher. My ultimate question here is, is sentence-joining plausible using plain form?


texts: I've been reading some Murakami and came across 反射(する) and 映る。I've never given them much thought other than that they mean reflection but I was wondering if there's some subtle nuance that I'm not aware of.


texts:
In the Genki series of textbooks, we are taught that both the て-form of a verb and the conjunction と can join sentences.

I'm slightly unclear on their semantic differences. Some examples with my best translations,

  私はその人と話すと元気になる。Whenever I talk with that person, I feel uplifted.

  私はその人と話して元気になる。I talk to that person and feel uplifted.

Is this correct? It seems that と makes an assertion that holds very generally, while て is a statement of something that happened (or will happen) once.

The text lists the next sentence as wrong,

  × 私はその人と話すと喫茶店に行きます。Whenever I talk to that person, we go to a coffee shop.

  私はその人と話して喫茶店に行きます。I talk to that person, and go to a coffee shop.

Is my previous interpretation/translation still accurate here? If so, is it wrong because the first sentence probably meant to say the second?

(Quick follow-up: can we also use multiple と's in a sentence in this way?)


texts: I'd like to find the difference between the two. Can anyone tell me when to use which?


texts:
In 祈りの歌 song, they have a line that I don't understand pretty much (actually all of them but I want to focus on this line)
出会えてよかった
And え, is really piss me off. I actually don't what is it. I have look up dictionary, and I found few possibility:

出会 → (noun)
出会う → (godan verb)
出会い → (godan verb)

Well, obviously verb can not be the front of sentence (in Jp). So I only choose the first word. But if I choose noun, then I can't explain what does the え mean?
But if I choose godan verb う, yes, I can explain it. But isn't it nonsense? I thought verb can not be in front of sentence?!?


texts: How does someone know when one word ends and the next one starts?

texts: I may not know very much Japanese, but I still want to practice reading the language, to help lean hiragana, katakana, and kanji. However, since the Japanese do not use spaces to seperate words, I am clueless as to the words, how can they tell?


texts:
是非 means "by all means". And in English, when using "by all means", one does not need to complete the sentence as it already has an implied meaning. For example:

If you have any problem, by all means (say it)

One does not need to say "say it" in the example above. Simply using "by all means" already gives an embedded meaning of "say it". In japanese, does it work the same? For example:

問題があれば是非（言ってください）

Do I have to say 言ってください or does 是非 already has an embedded meaning of 言ってください and I don't have to include it


texts:
The sentence is from dragon ball, the speaker is driving his car, chasing some other guys. He just said "これじゃとてもおいつかん!"

  たしかやつらのより新型の銀星{ぎんせい}4型のカプセルがあっただろ!

I didn't find info on 銀星 in the dictionary. My guess is the sentence means something like :

  They probably had a newer model of "type 4 stars capsule" (than mine)!

I'm also confused about the の after やつら, I would expect a (に)は instead...

Edit : Ok, on second thought, I think I misunderstood the particle より for the adverb より.

I now think the sentence means something like :

  I was sure I had a "type 4 stars" capsule newer than theirs.


texts: Need small clarification regarding this use of 遊び

texts:
I was translating some lines earlier and I ran into a snag after the speaker said this:

その言葉は重くて、遊びで戦っているのではない事だけは俺にも伝わりました。

My main problem comes from the 遊びで戦っている part and I'd like to confirm that I'm reading this right.

What I'm seeing is that the speaker's saying that that he understood, from a mentor's words (that he overheard a few seconds ago), that they are fighting despite not liking it?

Addendum: Or it also mean that they're not fighting as a game/for the hell of it? Because the whole point of this scene is that the speaker has realized that everyone around him has a reason to why they're fighting in the first place.

Is this interpretation correct?

Thanks for the help.


texts:
For example, plugging these into Google, I can find stuff like, 自信のない人 and 自信がない人.  Or, 愛のない生活 and 愛がない生活.  I found a movie called 顔のないスパイ.  How is this any different from 顔がないスパイ?

I've asked Japanese people this, and the only answer I've ever gotten is that that's a hard one to explain, and that there really isn't much difference worth noting.  I'd like to know the gritty details though, what little nuance each holds.

I feel like I see this difference with "ない" more than anything, but that could just be me.  I can't really recall ever hearing the opposite, like 自信のある人.  Is this significant?  Am I wrong?

Thanks!


texts:
I was wondering why there was ご in ご判断.
I saw this in a sentence in anime called Oregairu ep. 10.

それとお手伝いの件　城廻先輩の ご判断もありますし


texts: How to denote particular kana sounds in Japanese?

texts:
In romaji, the ways that verbs inflect is fairly straightforward to indicate. For example, if you wanted to describe the process under which 五段動詞｛ごだんどうし｝ change from 辞書形｛じしょけい｝ to 可能形｛かのうけい｝. One could say something like the following.

  Replace the "-u" with "-eru."

Example: 飲む｛のむ｝　→　飲める

Of course, this is assuming that we're aware of and abide by the linguistic rules of Japanese pronunciation, which means things like that if you have a "-tsu" ending and want to replace "-u" with "-eru", this really means to change "-tsu" to "-teru," not "-tseru."

If you wanted to make a note like this in Japanese, however, it's a little awkward.

  「～う」というのを「～える」というのに変｛か｝えてください。

It's awkward because this rule really applies to the u/e sounds and not the う・え kana specifically. For instance, if you wanted to apply this rule to the verb 飲む, it might be unclear what it means to replace 「～う」 with something when the kana う is not present.

How, in Japanese, does one denote in a short note form something like the "Replace the -u with -eru." sentence I indicated above?


texts: ～にけがをする versus ～をけがする

texts:
私は左手にけがをした。
  私は左手をけがした。

Are both correct?


texts: What is the difference between パソコン vs コンピューター?


texts:
In a manga I found the following sentence:

ひき戻すな、タコ。

The person to which the word タコ refers to is a secondary character that rarely appears. His name was never mentioned before. Since the person that is talking is a quite rude old man and since the word is written in katakana, I am wondering if タコ is just the name of the secondary character or if it is an offensive word like バカ or アホ。 Thank you for your help!

EDIT: Since there were conflicting answers, I decided to provide more context. Here you can see the two pages where I found the term. They are from a manga about boxing called "リクドウ", where Riku is the name of the main character. In the first page the secondary character is worried about Riku starting the 2nd round, since he almost got ko in the 1st, at which point the old man, which is Riku's trainer, tells him "ひき戻すな、タコ". The second page is right after the end of the match. It looks like the unnamed secondary character is the trainer's helper.


texts:
This is a well known haiku:
Meigetsu ya
Ike wo megurite
Yo mo sugara

I cannot understand the meaning and grammatical form of "sugara". Is it from "sugaru" (to finish)? Why does it end in "a"?


texts: What's the difference between 反面 and 一方？

texts: I understand that they both present two opposite sides of a situation or of something. However, even if in some cases they can be interchangeable, there are other where they cannot. Can somebody provide me some example to underatand the difference?


texts: Most egregious examples of the reading of a kanji changing due to (textually) distant characters

texts:
I've been thinking about how Japanese people can read a text (out loud, say) when the readings of the kanji can be so variable depending on okurigana, suffixes, or prefixes that change the meaning and/or expected part of speech, all of which can impact the reading of a kanji. This implies that you have to "read ahead" before you can be expected to pronounce the phrase correctly. In English, you are mostly guaranteed to have all the information you need to pronounce a word correctly after seeing all the letters of the word, with a few exceptions like "read" [red/ri:d] depending on part of speech, but in Japanese this distinction is muddier because word boundaries depend on correct word recognition in the first place. What are the worst examples you can see of this phenomenon in Japanese?

Although this view is in part informed by many examples which I cannot fully recall, the ones I can think of at the moment are:

一昨日【おととい】 / 昨日【きのう】 / 日【ひ】
一本気【いっぽんぎ】 / 本気【ほんき】
今日【こんにち】は、先生！ / 今日【きょう】は、先生が来てくれます。

There are of course also many words in Japanese whose readings are not distinguishable despite any amount of context, because the readings are interchangeable　(family names often fall in this category), but I am interested in readings which are distinguishable but require a lot of context before they can be placed correctly.

By the way, what do you usually do when a kanji has multiple readings with different meanings but context can't distinguish them (because they are the same part of speech or grammatical role)? I had this issue recently with 開く【ひらく】 / 開く【あく】, and when I asked about it I was told that あく is more commonly transitive than ひらく. It still seems like a mess, though, even for a native.


texts: Is 内向きの really the best word to describe "introvert?"

texts:
Hello,

Ever since I came across this word 内向きの for "Introvert" online, I have been questioning whether its the proper japanese for it? I'm planning to use the word for a profile, and wanted to make sure i was using the correct word.

I have noticed several variations of this word.

Thanks a bunch!
DCardinal


texts:
I know how to say "without" when it comes to verbs using 〜ないで.  But I was wondering how to use "without" when it comes to nouns.  For example:

  I left without my wallet.

or

  I left without my glasses.

Sometimes I see なしに or なしで after a noun, and I wonder what the difference between them is and how to use them.  How do I say "without (noun)" using なしに or なしで?


texts: How would you express 'worth it' in Japanese?

texts:
This comes out of a discussion in chat; apologies if I'm getting reputation off of someone else's idea. I'd like to see an official answer, though.

In English, we often talk about things as being 'worth it', i.e. worth whatever effort or risk was involved in obtaining or completing them. Japanese seems to have no convenient mechanism for expressing the same thought, though. A more literal translation, something like やる価値があった, seems 1) like it possibly isn't a natural phrasing and 2) like it describes the value in doing the thing in general rather than the value in putting in the effort or taking the risk. A less literal translation, something as simple as やってよかった for instance, sounds more natural, but misses the effort/risk connotation even more completely.

Is there a good way to phrase this in Japanese? Or is it simply not something that Japanese people would really talk about all that often? Maybe it's just a cultural thing rather than even a linguistic one - the concept of 'worth it' just might not be a major part of the Japanese worldview. 本物の日本人は答えられるでしょうか？


texts:
Why is に used in this sentence?

彼は彼女に見覚えがある。

Also, why is 見覚え marked by が?


texts: What is the purpose of "ところ" in this passage?

texts:
The use of ところ is quite abstract to me sometimes, usually I can guess its purpose, but I'm not quite sure here;

  「眼を耀かせてるところ悪…」

Does it act like a particle? Like it's defining what was in those eyes (evil shining in his eyes)?


texts: What is the significance of 如き in this conversation?

texts:
I'm currently reading the manga "Fruits Basket" volume 5.

Background

The protagonist of the manga is Tohru Honda (本田透). Strange circumstances brought her to live in the same house as her (male) classmate Yuki Sohma (草摩由希). Yuki is a very popular boy, and the school has an unofficial Yuki fan club, consisting of most of the girls in the school. And of course, those girls don't like the apparent closeness between Tohru and Yuki, and pick on Tohru on every occasion. Her best friend Saki Hanajima protects her. The girls in school are afraid of Saki as she has strange powers.

In this chapter, the fan club members decide to try to dig some dirt on Saki Hanajima to stop her from protecting Tohru. They invite themselves to Saki's house on the pretext of interviewing her for the school newspaper. After a while she discovers what they are up to and accuses them directly. The following conversation then ensues, where Saki says "草摩{そうま}由希{ゆき}如{ごと}きのせいで". The fan club girls (Motoko, Minami and Miho) are appalled at her use of the word "如{ごと}き". A bit later when she is left alone she regrets using that word, saying "如{ごと}きだなんて草摩{そうま}由希{ゆき}にも悪{わる}い事{こと}を言{い}ってしまったわね".

Question

What is the significance of of 如き? Why is it so insulting in this context?

Quote

The conversation (a little shortened) goes like this:

モトコ：
　　　おやめなさい。
　　　仕方{しかた}ありません。バレてしまったならば遠回{とおまわ}りな事{こと}はやめましょう。
　　　そうです。私達{わたしたち}は魔女{まじょ}…いえ本田{ほんだ}透{とおる}が非常{ひじょう}に気{き}に食{く}いません。
　　　どうです？貴女{あなた}から言{い}って頂{いただ}けませんか？
　　　由希{ゆき}ともう少{すこ}し距離{きょり}を保{たも}ちなさいと。

サキ：
　　　そんな事{こと}、二人{ふたり}の勝手{かって}でしょう。
　　　嫉妬心{しっとしん}からくる行動{こうどう}は醜{みにく}いだけよ…

ミホ：
　　　嫉妬{しっと}じゃないもん。
　　　頭{あたま}にきてるだけだもん‼

ミナミ：
　　　そうよ。何様{なにさま}よあの子{こ}‼
　　　由希{ゆき}君{くん}の何{なに}がわかるってのさ。ムカつく‼

サキ：
　　　貴女達{あなたたち}こそ透{とおる}君{くん}の何{なに}をわかってるの？
　　　愚弄{ぐろう}される透{とおる}君{くん}が可哀想{かわいそう}だわ。
　　　草摩{そうま}由希{ゆき}如{ごと}きのせいで。

モトコ：
　　　「如{ごと}き」…っ
　　　「如{ごと}き」とか言{い}いやがりますか…っ
　　　聞{き}きました？
　　　聞{き}きましたか、二人共{ふたりとも}‼

ミホ＋ミナミ：
　　　聞{き}かせていただいちゃったですとも…っ

サキ：
　　　透{とおる}君{くん}を愚弄{ぐろう}するからよ…

モトコ：
　　　貴女{あなた}こそ由希{ゆき}を…私達{わたしたち}を愚弄{ぐろう}しています。
　　　そのトロンとした目{め}は馬鹿{ばか}にしている目{め}です‼

(The conversation continues, but I don't think the rest has any bearing on the 如き issue).


texts: Meaning of ベタベタ when referring to a meeting

texts:
Referring to the Tanabata lovers who only meet once a year:

  A) 「せめて毎月一回会えればいいのに」
  A) "I wish they could meet at least once a month."
  B) 「一年一回っていうのがいいんだ。そんなに何回もベタベタ会うもんじゃねェや」
  B) "Once a year is fine. In that way they'll meet stickily many times. Right?"

What on earth does ベタベタ mean in this context? I thought it meant sticky. But I can't imagine what a sticky meeting is.


texts:
So person A is talking to person B.

A is saying he will move, B asks when, and A responds "tomorrow", and after that he adds the following sentence:

  ここに来るようになったぐらいだったかな、決まったの。

I guess it roughly means "It has been decided around the time since I started coming here."

I want to know what the ように means in this case.

ように means:

  in order to / so that / hoping or wishing for something

However I can't really fit in these meanings with this sentence.


texts:
Based on some research it seems like:

今日は新しい着物を着ました。

Is more correct than

今日新しい着物を着ました。

(Without wa subject marker)

Why is that? It doesn't seem like "today" is the subject of the sentence.


texts:
面白{おもしろ}そうですね
楽{たの}しそうですね

Sounds interesting.
Sounds like fun.

That sounds interesting.
Sounds like you're having fun.

Sounds like fun.
That sounds like fun.

Looks interesting.

面白{おもしろ}いですね
楽{たの}しいですね

That's interesting.
It's fun.

Interesting.
That's fun.

It's interesting.
This is fun.

It's funny.
It's fun, isn't it?

そうです
そう

That's right.
All.

Yes.
Thought.

Yes, it is.
Really.

Correct.

Does "そう" have something to do with "そか" here that affects this meaning?
Why "そう" adds/means "sounds / looks" in "面白{おもしろ}そうですね / 楽{たの}しそうですね"?


texts:
それほど面白くなかった。
It wasn't that interesting (given translation)

The given translation, without further context,  just means "it wasn't very/particularly interesting". However, I understood それほど to reference something in context e.g. if I tell you I went rock climbing this weekend and then ask what you did, you might respond with それほど面白くなかった. So a better translation would be "It wasn't as interesting as that".
So, can それほど have both of these meanings or is the given translation a bit misleading? Can it be replaced with あまり面白くなかった?


texts:
Does そうなる have a meaning besides "become so" when used in this sorta context?

  Speaker A:あなた、それに興味ある？
  Speaker B: うん...まあ、そうなるかな

It looks to me like it doesn't mean "become so", but something more like "I wonder if it's so". Is that wrong?


texts: What conjugation of 送る is used in 返事をしたつもりだったが、送れていなかった

texts:
What is the list of conjugation forms that occurred to 送る in the sentence

返事をしたつもりだったが、送れていなかった。


texts: What is a good way to say that a book is a light read? By that I mean writing that is basically created for entertainment, doesn't contain much drama and isn't particularly thought-provoking. Preferably not in a condescending tone (so not like "trashy literature"). One pharse I've heard is 元気が出る本 but maybe that's a little different from what I'm describing. I believe ライトノベル is not the right term either because from what I've read some of them can be quite serious.


texts:
I feel like there's an endless list of words for laws/rules/regulations and I was wondering what the difference in nuance is between them? Are any of them true synonyms? Here are the ones I know off the top of my head.

法規{ほうき}

法律{ほうりつ}

規律{きりつ}

法則{ほうそく}

規則{きそく}

I know 法則 is more for physical laws like the law of inertia but that's about the only distinction I know.


texts:
In ALC, I found the following example sentence:

支払可能な額を払う
pay what you can

It's the first time I see the word 額【ひたい】 used in this way and I wonder if this is just a case of mistranslation or if there is such an idiom (and what its usage would be).


texts: Help with interpreting "炙り殺す" in this passage

texts:
I am trying to read this passage from a novel:

  時に切り刻み、時に擦り潰し、時に生きたまま頭蓋に穴をあけ、時に人間に己の子を炙り殺させた『実験』の日々。

Background info: A mad, twisted scientist is reminiscing about all the horrific experiments he carried out in the past. The world setting in the novel compromises of different species of intelligent beings including humans. This specific passage describes all the things he did to 人間.

The part that's giving me trouble is "人間に己の子を炙り殺させた". I have never come across this specific combination of words 炙り殺す, I've tried looking in a dictionary including a monolingual one with no luck. If someone can help me interpret the meaning I would be grateful!


texts: 行く 帰る 来る + time expression - how it works

texts:
Phrases like 5[時]{じ}に[帰]{かえ}ります or 3[時]{じ}に[行]{い}きます or 8[時]{じ}に[来]{き}ます are the very basics one can find in a beginner's book. And despite that, I have yet to see an explanation what exactly they mean.
Let's say, that going home takes 1 hour and someone says:
5[時]{じ}に[帰]{かえ}ります。
Does that mean he arrives home at 5 (and departs at 4)?
Or maybe he departs at 5 (and arrives at 6)?
Or maybe you can say both just by swapping particle に for something else?

Does it work the same way with other movement verbs?


texts: 出来る{できる}: kun'yomi from Takoboto dictionary do not correspond

texts:
Can someone please help me determine why the kanji section of the Tokoboto dictionary entry for dekiru (できる) does not list a で entry by itself (with no trailing dot / nothing after the dot, and lists で.る instead) for 出, and why there is only a き.たる dictionary entry for 来 but no き.る entry.

As it stands, I am unable to build the できる sound from the kanji entries for 出来る in the dictionary.

Can someone please help me?

(Sorry for posting the following screenshot. Not sure how else to ask this question.)

UPDATE: I can roughly see how it is possible that the る suffix of the first kanji is dropped, but cannot figure out how the たる suffix in the second kanji changes to plain る.

Thanks.


texts: Difficulty of comprehension of Japanese in a video and identification of dialect

texts:
I came across the following video when doing research:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mlkoq4WZrTE&t=358s&authuser=1

At first I could not comprehend at all what was being said, but after listening carefully I could pick up a few words. Generally my listening comprehension isn't that bad, so this caught me off guard.

I think part of the reason is the sound recording and how the sensei in the video is speaking in a rough way.

But I think another aspect is how he is speaking in some dialect (Kyoto?).

So my two questions are:

1) Is the Japanese in this video easily understood by native Japanese speakers?

2) What regional dialect is being spoken, if any?


texts: How to say copyrighted material in Japanese?

texts:
How do I say copyrighted material in Japanese?

Is 著作権のある資料 a good translation?

I want to say that uploading copyrighted material is prohibited.


texts: What's the difference between 構成 and 編成?

texts: The definitions/synonyms are kind of the same so I was wondering if they're basically just the same word or if one of them means one thing more than the other?


texts: Why ロサンゼルス　and not ロスアンゼルス　but ロスアラモス　and not ロサラモス？

texts:
Is there a rule as to when to keep the articles like San,Las, Los,La, Le (L'), Les (yes, my dear Dutch, not forgetting Den), in names on separate katakanas? Sometimes there is no choice, like in Las Vegas or San Diego, but, for e.g. San Antonio, as far as I know you don't write サナントニオ　but サンアントニオ.

Is LA just an exception as it has been known in Japan since so early times that it came like that "by accident", and others were created later also considering the structure of their names?


texts:
Possible Duplicate:
  が and に interchangeability and difference in meaning

I have another question with “dekiru”.

When this verb is used the particle “ni”? For example, like in the following phrase:

  私にできることなら、よろこんで。

And when is it not?


texts: Why there is a "を" in この素晴らしい世界に祝福を and not a "が"?

texts: この素晴らしい世界に祝福を! is translated to English as "A blessing to this wonderful world!" . Why is there a "を" and not a "が" in this sentence? In Spanish (and I assume also in English) "a blessing" would be the subject, does this mean "が" and "を" dont directly correlate to the functions of subject and direct object, or is in this sentence assumed that "A blessing to this wonderful world!" is part of a larger unsaid sentence where this part is the direct object, is the sentence misstranslated to English or is there any other reason?


texts: Why is こんばんみ used as a response to こんばんは？

texts: When I chat the term こんばんみ is occasionally used as a response to こんばんは. Is there any particular reason why this word is chosen?


texts: How to say "I want; I don't want" without a verb?

texts:
I know how to say "I want" using たい after a verb, but how a say just "I want, I don't want" without a verb? Using just たい
Or たいくない? And in the past?


texts: Did the modern usage of katakana predate the Americans?

texts: How long has katakana been used as today, to represent non-Japanese words, onomatopoeia et al.? But specifically, has this usage been around since before U.S. Commodore Matthew Perry arrived in Japan in the 19th century? I read in Goto-Jones' A Very Short Introduction to Modern Japan that Japan around this time was very insular and distrusting of foreigners, Perry's arrival being a catalyst that changed this. So I assumed that around that time, the Japanese wouldn't have used katakana to represent foreign words if they didn't associate with other countries anyway.


texts:
In the video game Mega Man X7, if you fight the boss Ride Boarski/Hellride Inobusky as X, before the fight you get this dialogue:

X「 おまえが“ヘッド”か？」
イノブスキー「ヘ、ヘッド～！？て、てめぇ～！！そんなハズカシイ名前で呼びやがって、“総長”と呼べ！」

Rough translation:

X: Are you the head?
Boarski: H-head?! You little ...! How dare you call me something so embarrassing! Call me the chief!

But I don't really see why ヘッド is such an embarrassing title. Being called the 'head' of a group isn't embarrassing in English, and looking up ヘッド in a dictionary gets me the definition かしら・長・主任, which don't sound terribly embarrassing either. I think かしら is even written 頭 in Kanji.
So why is ヘッド so embarrassing?


texts: What function does 「しいて」 serve in this sentence?

texts:
I have this sentence in a JLPT study textbook, as an example of the use of しいて:

  食{た}べたくなければしいて食べることないから、食べられるものだけ食べてね。

The translation is, "If you don't want to eat it, you don't have to, so only eat what you can." I can get that meaning, but, it seems to me that if しいて weren't in the sentence, it would still mean the exact same thing.

  食{た}べたくなければ、食べることないから、食べられるものだけ食べてね。

The book says that しいて is "an expression that shows compulsion", and does not give much else for explanation. So it doesn't really say enough to help me see what しいて brings to the party.

What exactly does しいて mean, and how does it make a difference in the two sentences above?


texts:
Today, while looking up random words in WWWJDIC, I stumbled upon an example sentence for the word いとしい as below:

  少女は人形をいとしげに抱き締めた。 The girl squeezed her doll affectionately.

The sentence uses ~げに adjective suffix that I have never seen before. Based from the above translation, it seems to convert the adjective into adverb, just like what ~く does. Also, a quick check with Google showed that can also follow a noun, e.g. 自慢げに.

What is this suffix actually and how is it different from ~く form? As I mentioned in previous paragraph this is the first time I've seen it so I am not even sure is it standard Japanese or a slang or whatnot.


texts: What's the difference between "shitsurei shimasu", "shitsurei", "sore de wa", and "sayōnara"?

texts: When saying goodbye, can someone tell me when each of these would be used and what the differences between them are?


texts: In the sentence "そうですと思います", is です making the sentence grammatically incorrect? If so, why not in the sentence "「そうです」と言った" making it incorrect? Thanks in advance! Isn't it like "I think it probably is so." in a very very humble way?


texts:
I am writing a report in Japanese, describing how I conducted an experiment. The first two lines are (some information changed for NDA stuff):

Aを30ｇぐらい秤量し、すり鉢で細粒化しました。受皿、粉砕用ふるいの順番でふるい振とう器に乗せ、粉砕ボールと細粒化したAを入れ、蓋をしました。

I am pretty sure this conveys the meaning of:

[I] weighed ~30g of A, and grinded [it] in using a mortar and pestle. In the order of receiving tray, then screen for pulverizing, [I] placed [them] on the shaking machine. Then, [I] put in the pulverizing balls and the grinded OCP, and shut the lid.

Some of these more scientific terminology are hard translate succinctly in English, so I tried my best in that sense.

Main Question:
When I looked up 順番 on Jisho, most of the sentences had 順番 using the particle に:

彼らは順番に歌を歌った。
They each sang in turn.

However, the use of で　comes from a procedure document my (native) coworker wrote.
Both seem to me like they could work, に describing a general style of action while で　describing a more specific method. But I am not sure I am thinking about this correctly. What could be the reason for picking で　over に　in this situation?

Second:
If I am correct in assuming that the 「受皿、粉砕用ふるいの順番で」phrase is describing a manner or method, is there an implied [them], like I have in my English translation, that is dropped due to context? Or is it not necessary since the "order" references the actual nouns, as opposed to something like "in increasing order".


texts: What are some examples of three-mora atamadaka verbs besides 帰る?

texts:
I couldn't find a good way to research this on my own, I'm afraid.
I'm not looking for a comprehensive list by any means (in before it turns out 帰る is the only one...), but rather just a few examples because 帰る always seemed pretty special to me in regard to its pitch accent.


texts: Non-literal bringing of something to somewhere

texts:
I understand that to bring an object to somewhere would roughly translate to

  ～にXを持って来て

I've used this sentence structure for physical objects on numerous occasions, and have wondered if it would still be correct to use the same structure when you are not literally requesting something to be brought over.

For example, assuming the UK does not celebrate Halloween (Not quite sure if they do), would it be grammatically correct to say

  イギリスにハロウィーンを持って来てくれ！

or assuming a product (for example Pepsi) is not available in some region

  ～にペプシを持って来てくれ！

or perhaps even to bring an idea such as democracy?

  ～に民主主義を持って来てください

In the first and last example, nothing is requested to be physically brought over, only requested to be introduced. In the second, while there in a physical item involved, you're still not literally requesting a can of Pepsi to be brought to said region.

Would it still be the right way to say it?


texts: Parsing problem -- can two clauses share a single predicate?

texts:
この中の４９０万人ぐらいは、近くの国に逃げて難民になりました。ヨーロッパで難民の申請をしている人は１２０万人ぐらい、国の中で逃げている人は６３０万人います。
  Around 4.9 million of these (people) have escaped to nearby countries and become refugees. As for the people who have applied for refugee status in Europe, approximately 1.2 million, there are 6.3 million people escaping to these countries.

Please help me to parse the sentence in bold. My translation doesn't make sense. This is my understanding so far:

1) So the topic is ヨーロッパで難民の申請をしている人 people who have applied for refugee status in Europe

2) ６３０万人います there are 6.3 million (people who have applied)

But I can't make １２０万人ぐらい、国の中で逃げている人は fit into this structure.

Then I thought maybe it is two separate sentences:

  ヨーロッパで難民の申請をしている人は１２０万人ぐらい
  (there are) approximately 1.2 million people who have applied for refugee status in Europe

and

  国の中で逃げている人は６３０万人います
  There are 6.3 million people who are escaping to these countries.

But that first sentence isn't a sentence. There's no predicate. Maybe it assumes the predicate at the end (いる)?

Also I think I'm mistranslating 国の中で because I thought that should be 'among these countries' but that translation doesn't seem to fit.

I'm very confused.


texts: i-adjective + noun: is there a difference which part negate?

texts:
Is the following two sentence correct? And is the translate correct too?:
それ は おそくない くるま です。- That car is not slow.
それ は おそい くるま じゃ ありません。- That car is not slow.
Or has it somthing difference in the meaning?
Which negation is recommended to use?


texts:
I'm having trouble understanding this paragraph:

  抗争相手に浮上している元世界ヘビー級王者のドルフ・ジグラー（３６）を「サイズは自分のほうがあるけど、機動力とかレスリングのベースは信頼できる技術は持ってるなと思いますね」と評したが、スマックダウンには新日本プロレス時代のライバル・ＡＪスタイルズを筆頭に強敵が揃う。

I think there's an implied verb in 抗争相手に浮上 and after ドルフ・ジグラー（３６）を. Also I'm not sure whether the speaker is talking about himself or his oponent(ドルフ・ジグラー) in this line:  (the speaker is taller than ドルフ・ジグラー)

  「サイズは自分のほうがあるけど、機動力とかレスリングのベースは信頼できる技術は持ってるなと思いますね」


texts: When to use ~たい for things such as 食べたい？

texts:
What are the grammar rules for making verbs into "to want" form?
ie 食べたい.

I want to be able to say "I want to visit hokkaido next summer."
ie 今度の夏休みに北海度に行きたいです。
is this correct?


texts:
So i am a bit confused. I am learning japanese and i dont really understand the difference between the two mentioned above.
飲んでいる means drinking right?
飲むこと also means drinking right?
Does it have the same meaning if i say
お酒を飲んでいる
and
お酒を飲むこと
If not, whats the difference?


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I found a sign on a door that says

  非常時{ひじょうじ} 以外{いがい} 開放{かいほう} 厳禁{げんきん}

The door leads to the staircase outside of the building.
Here's what doesn't quite make sense to me: unless the case of emergency, am I prohibited from:

opening the door (Opening it will get you in trouble) or
leaving the door open? (Going through it is acceptable?)

I'm kind of scared to go through that door, to be honest.


texts: What's the difference between [電光石火]{でんこうせっか} and [疾風迅雷]{しっぷうじんらい}

texts: They both seem to mean "quick as lightning".  What are the nuances between them?  In what sort of context would they be used?  Are they interchangeable?  etc.


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From manga where student is being scolded.

来週会議があるの
出席日数が足りてるか
赤点取った数が多くないか

It's a long sentence so I'm having trouble.
I think I can understand that the teacher has a meeting next week. It's the following words I'm confused with. Is the teacher saying the student's about to fail?


texts: Is it grammatical to have more than one "WH question" words in a sentence?

texts:
In English it would be strange to have more than one "WH question" word in a sentence,

For example:

  Tomorrow, where are we meeting, at what time and to do what ?

It sounds like it's grammatical English, but nevertheless it sure sounds odd (or an intentional joke) at best.

In Japanese, what is the stand on sentences that has  more than one "WH" word? e.g:

  明日、何時にどこで何をしに会いますか。


texts: How should I understand 「よくね」in this comic?

texts:
In the final comic of the web series 百日後に死ぬワニ ("The Crocodile Who Dies After 100 Days"), which you can access here if you don't mind the spoiler, the crocodile receives this final message:

How should I understand「よくね」? How would the meaning differ if it was 「いいね」 instead (the translation I would expect)?


texts: Help with おうおういっちょ前におったてて because I can't understand!

texts:
I'm reading a manga in Japanese and need help with this, because I can't understand what it really means. Thanks!

"おうおういっちょ前におったてて"


texts: Bridging tsu ("つ") when joining two kanji

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I am currently studying Japanese grammar through Japanistry's Grammar Guide (https://www.japanistry.com/the-number-system/)

I've come across a section when it says that a reading changes when two kanji join. For example, the Tsu (つ) character may be used and sometimes a dakuten (or handakuten) is added.

Yes, there's a chart but it's really confusing for me.

Is there a name for this process? Yes, I know it's almost irrelevant to on and kom readings but what is this called? Is there any more resources I can research that might help me? I want to know more about this. Thank you.


texts: What does ～たまえ mean exactly and how do you use it?

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I've seen the verb 給え【たまえ】, usually written in hiragana and after the stem of another verb, ending a prhase. I'm not too sure on its meaning.

I've read that it means "...please" but is that the only meaning? Also is it used in conversations and if so when/how should I use it?


texts: Need help translating and understanding this sentence 「家に帰ってねたほうがいいですよ。」

texts:
I’ve been trying to understand this sentence, and this is what I’ve got so far:

「家に帰って」= “to go home” although I’m not sure why the Te-form of 「帰る」is used here, instead of just 「帰る」

「ほうがいい」= “it’d be better”

So I think it means something along the lines of “you’d better go home”

I don’t know what 「ねた」and 「です」mean in this sentence, I know 「です」means “to be” but I don’t know how it fits into the sentence in this case.

I might also be mistranslating everything so far, I’m really confused about this sentence. So I want to know what this sentence translates to and I want to understand the logic behind the translation.


texts: I've noticed the word ルンパッパ (runpappa) is used in the KEMU VOXX series of songs, but I don't know how to translate it. Using google translate just returns rumpappa, which isn't an English word. I've tried googling it, but it just returns Ludicolo, which certainly isn't relevant. The top result says it means to sin, but it also says their source may be unreliable. The three songs to use it are Haikei Dopperugenga, Inbijiburu, and Kamisama Nejimaki. Thanks!