texts: "unfinished" sentences ending in particles like を, に and が

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This is something I've always wondered about, but can't find any info about.

When native speakers come across a sentence that ends ...を。, ...と。 or ...が！*, how do their brains parse it? Is it just a case of being able to guess what word would follow based on their past exposure to collocations (words that go together with other words) and situations?

I found this question to which the answers say it's verb ellipsis, which I get, but I'd like to know if there's any way of knowing exactly which verb – if there is indeed only one particular possibility — or whether the hidden verb belongs to a small group of verbs which are often omitted. For example, on TV an announcer said something like 次の日はすごい状態に！ I asked a Japanese friend what the verb would be and they immediately said なった. Is it likely they knew this from collocational knowledge, the same way an English speaker could finish the sentence running around like a chicken with...? And could なった have just as easily been a different verb it was a different situation, or is 状態に always followed by なる if the verb is dropped?

*(not the が that means "but"; the other one. I have no idea how to interpret sentences that end with が – it's the most difficult one for me.)

More examples: Here and here


texts: Is there really a difference between 色素 and 色

texts: What is the difference between 色素{しきそ} and 色{いろ}? Is there a major difference? According to Jisho they both seem to mean basically the same thing.


texts: i-adjectives that end in a 〜ない which doesn't seem to be 〜無{な}い

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I noticed there are many 形容詞{けいようし} (i-adjectives) that end in 〜ない, where the な is not part of the kanji, and doesn't seem to have the meaning 無い.

Examples:

危{あぶ}ない means "dangerous", while 危 means "danger"
少{すく}ない means "few"/"scarce", while 少 means "few"/"little"
切{せつ}ない means "heartrending"/"trying", while 切 means "earnest"/"ardent"

(For contrast, examples where it's clearly 無い: 心ない, 情けない, 力ない.)

I wonder where exactly this ない is coming from. It is not a classical Japanese ending to my knowledge (like 〜しい).

I speculate that it could be an alternative shortening of the classical Japanese copula 〜なり, but this is odd to me because I suspect the usual shortening of 〜な would be used  if this were the case (as we see in 形容動詞{けいようどうし} (na-adjectives)).

Does anyone know the etymology of these words and/or the meaning of this 〜ない?


texts: While playing League of Legends with some Japanese friends on the JP server, I noticed something interesting. Some of them use "ですが"in chat instead of the correct ”か” I asked them about it and they say that its just that they're lazy and type it the way they hear it, so is it similar to どうして　usually being typed as どして because that's how Japanese people pronounce it in speech, differently from the way its written? i tried searching online for "desuga" and found no results, so its almost certainly incorrect, but native Japanese people are using it so...


texts: Just like the title stated, I'm wondering how Japanese say quote or famous quote, since 見積もり isn't the right translation for that meaning.


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On the temperature in eastern Russia:

  気温がいつもの年より１０℃以上低い－５０℃以上になっている所がたくさんあります。
  There are many places that have reached less than -50℃, which is 10℃ lower than usual years.

Firstly, I was fairly confident in my translation, but I read an English article that said the average temperature in a normal year was -50℃, whereas my translation suggests that -40℃ is the usual temperature, so now I'm not so sure.

My main question is about the use of 以上 and 以下 with negative numbers. This sentence is opposite to my expectations. My usual understanding would be that -50以上 means 'not less than -50' i.e it could be -40, -30 etc. But from the context I must assume that it means temperatures colder than -50.


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「逝ったぁ」と友達からかいたが、この言葉は意味がなんですか
How about use it?


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戦術{せんじゅつ}と戦闘{せんとう}どっちもいける奴{やつ}には勝{か}てない。

The translation of this seems to be

  (He) will not win against someone who can do both strategy and fighting

However this is the first I've seen いける used to mean "can do".  I would have understood どっちもできる, so am I translating correctly? Else in what context can one be substituted for the other?


texts: Difference between "山を登ったり、降りたり...." and "山を登って、降りて..."

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What are the differences in meaning between:

"山を登ったり、降りたり、よく考えた。"
"山を登ってって、降りてって、よく考えた。"
"山を登って、降りて、よく考えた。"


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This may be slightly multifaceted because I have a larger question regarding で that is contextualized by a smaller one.

It is improper to put で before です or だ　right. If someone asks 何で来ましたか (How did you get here?) you could reply バスで来ました。 But you can't write バスでです... right? Is there a way to answer without a verb?

Ok that's my contextual question... so my real question is, if it is true you cannot place で before です in this manner, how is it possible to say 初めてです　if that is the 連用形 + で.

Or is it a completely different thing all together and just considered an adverb?

SUMMARY:
1/ Can you place で before です per example: バス　＋　で　＋　で　＋　あります.
2/ If not... how is it possible to say 初めてです, as to me that is 初め　＋　で　＋で + あります


texts: Interaction between pitch accent and mi-prefixation

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I'm interested in the ways in which words that can be prefixed with mi- might vary in accent. For instance, both mi-kokoro and mi-gokoro are attested (albeit rare and highly archaic), but mi-kokoro is L-H-H-H whereas mi-gokoro is L-H-L-L. My questions are as follows:

Are there other pairs that show this sort of alternation (i.e., deaccenting without sequential voicing vs. accent-preserving with sequential voicing)?
In general, o-prefixation is deaccenting. Is this the case with o-kokoro (again, rare but attested), in which it would become L-H-H-H?
In exceptional cases, we see nonstandard forms like o-mi-gokoro. Do these become L-H-H-H-H again?


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So  明け方 means "dawn," but if looked at more closely, is the literal meaning of 明け方, "in the direction of dawn"?

I think this is wrong, but I can't remember which meaning of 方 is taken here.

Is it the meaning of 方 as 様子 or "state," as in "the state of dawn/light breaking?"

Also, what is the difference in tone and usage between 明け方 and 明け ( when  明け is used as "dawn")?


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I am reading a movie scenario magazine and came across the kanji 瞶 that I cannot understand.

The scenes involved are basically relationship moments between the two main characters.

Two examples with some context:

WWWJDIC does not match this kanji, though in Edict (via JWPce or Rikaichan) it says:
キ　see everything

Checking various other references were a dead end.

I realize this is probably non-standard literary usage, but please help me understand why it may have been used and any deeper meaning.
Are there better examples of the usage of this kanji?


texts: Japanese word for Operation, in the sense of a project or task - slang

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What would be the Japanese equivalent of the word operation, in the sense of a project or task?

Some examples would be:

Operation Infiltrate-the-Castle
Operation Human Shield (from South Park)
Operation random cool name

In English this usage obviously comes from a military background, but what is the corresponding Japanese term? And more importantly, would you use this in the same tongue-in-cheek manner as in English, to glorify some task or project and make it sound exciting?


texts: Difference between words that describe the idea of neighborhood/being close to something

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Can somebody describe the difference between these words(physical distance and maybe politeness of these words, or any aspects that you think are important to understand these).

Can all these words be used with any objects like buildings, pens, people, dogs etc.? Or is it more common to use some words more then others when talking about some of these?

付近、近辺、辺り、近所、周辺, 辺(thank you user1205935)

I've found this link, but it's about expressing the idea of being in the surrounding of a town so it's not exactly what I need.


texts: Sometimes I find that "tanuki" in anime is used for (or translated as) red pandas. But technically it should be raccoon dog. Does anyone know why?


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I was playing The Legend of Zelda, the Ocarina of Time, and the great deku tree says 「今{いま}、ハイラルはその力{ちから}に飲{の}み込{こ}まれようとしておる。。。」, which as far as I can tell means "Right now, Hyrule is being swallowed up by this power." It seems, however, to be worded as though it meant "Right now, Hyrule is trying to be swallowed up by this power" because it uses 「ようとして」, which I've been told means that somebody is trying to do the verb in question.

Who is trying to do what in this scenario/why is it worded this way?


texts: what is the correct particle in this particular case, の or で

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Which of these two forms is better to say "[This] is the best [something] in the world"?

  「なになに」
  これは世界で一番の「何々」ですよ

それとも

  これは世界の一番の「何々」ですよ


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I know that for historical reasons, 之繞 in computer systems has two forms:

Kanji characters in 当用漢字表 usually use 辶 (一点之繞)
Kanji characters outside 当用漢字表 preserve the traditional ⻍ (二点之繞)

However, I can't find anything regarding its handwriting. Are they both acceptable in handwriting?


texts: adding んー to the end of a phrase (e.g. いつ帰ってくるんー？)

texts: A friend recently texted me 'いつ帰ってくるんー？'. I understand the question, but I don't understand why んー would be added to the end of the verb. Is this to add emphasis or emotional context?


texts: What's the difference between 呪術【じゅじゅつ】, 魔法【まほう】, 奇術【きじゅつ】, and 魔術【まじゅつ】?

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Is there any difference between these nouns?

Is this like the difference between 'magic' and 'sorcery' in English?

Is 魔法【まほう】 used most often?


texts: What is the purpose of "けど?" at the end of this sentence

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I'm confused by the けど at the end of this sentence, I know  it means 'but', though the sentence is a question and when I try to translate it, I can't seem to make it fit.

「大事な話がある、っていうのに送信先に田中ちゃんが入ってない時点で、それ以外考えられないと思うけど？」

My translation is: "I think, even though there are important stories, in the time when Tanaka chan was not in the destination, everything except that was unthinkable?"

That doesn't seem right to me and I'm getting more confused by the sentence ending as a question with kedo.


texts: How is the Iroha poem usually pronounced?

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I have read on Wikipedia that the Iroha poem has a modern version with updated hiragana and stuff.

However, it seems that most times people recite the poem (as in, every time I've seen/heard someone recite it), they use the old pronunciation.

If it so happens that I am called upon to recite Iroha, should I use the old or new pronunciation?

As a related side question: if I want to refer to the poem by name, should I call it "i ro wa" by the modern pronunciation, or "i ro ha" by the old pronunciation?

Edit: To clarify: old as in "iro ha nihoheto", new as in "iro wa nioedo".


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I can not understand very well this "～とでもいうのか" found in Dragon Ball.

The context in this: Goku and Frieza begin to fight, and Goku say:

  "いいかげんにしろ。。。このクズやろう。。。罪もない者をつぎからつぎへと殺しやがって。。。クリリンまで。。。"

Frieza reply:

  "えらそうなことをいいやがって。。。きさまらサイヤ人は罪のないものを殺さなかったとでもいうのか?"

I found here on japanesestackexchange some topics in which has been discussed about this "～とでもいうのか". Here is stated that is a expression for add emphasis. Here and here it is says that "～とでもいうのか" stands for "or something".

So, which is the correct answer?
And, is this translation correct?

"You wouldn't be saying that you saiyan never killed innocent people?"


texts: When to use 他【ほか】の or 他【ほか】に

texts:
I always thought only 他の existed, but my teacher uses 他に a lot. Are there differences between when each can be used?
Here are two examples of each from my online dictionary:

だれかほかの人に聞いてごらん (Ask somebody else for help)
ほかに行きたい人はいますか (Is there anyone else who wants to go?)

In both of these examples, I feel like ほか is describing 人, so why are different particles used?


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(1) 準備{じゅんび}は 前々 から万端{ばんたん}だった。
  (2) 準備は 昔 から万端だった。

What is the difference in meaning / usage between #1 and #2?
Why choose one instead of the other?


texts: Trouble with a small excerpt from Tanizaki's Himitsu

texts:
I'm having some trouble understanding the following excerpt (from Tanizaki's Himitsu):

  甘い匂いのひやひやとした露が、毛穴へ染み入る皮膚のよろこびは格別であった

"The sweet scented and chilly dew" does what? "the delight of the skin that penetrated the pores was exceptional"? Help me!


texts:
I know that both of them means "on the contrary".
But I have seen that それどころか can also mean "as if it's not enough already",
" In fact/ actually, and "not to speak of ".
Does 逆に have all these other meanings too?


texts: Splitting Kanji and okurigana at the end of the line

texts:
A question was asked on the Linguistics Stack Exchange about the oriental languages. The title was the following: How are line breaks handled in ideographic scripts?

The answer made me think, and I thought I'd ask here to have a wider range of answers on the matter.

When writing Japanese, if we reach the end of the page, can we split the Kanji and their okurigana? I'd like to bring an example but nothing comes to my mind, so feel free to provide one, in case I don't do that first.

And another question on the first one:
does this change if we are talking of handwritten VS typed Japanese?


texts:
I'm a bit confused by それぞれ and ずつ.
What would the difference be between these three sentences:

それぞれの生徒にオレンジを二個ずつあげた
生徒にオレンジを二個ずつあげた
それぞれの生徒にオレンジを二個あげた


texts:
I have some questions about 「コーヒー飲んでき！」

What is it a contraction of ?
Is it inchoative ?
In all of the examples i've found, it's an invitation to come in.

But i think 「コーヒー飲んでき」can mean [ Why don't you go out,  take a walk, and have a cup of coffee in a coffee shop. You'll feel better afterwards. ]

Could someone confirm this ?  and/or find a sample from the net, book ... ?

「お姉さん！お茶飲んでき！！」

..... 君、コーヒー飲んでき～」と声をかけられ

、「ほなコレだけ飲んでき！」と、ビールを一杯 ご馳走頂き…

見知らぬお姉さん  ... 「 ここのお酒、おいしいから飲んでき～！」と声をかけられ ...

..... サービスするしここで飲んでき～～！」と言って店の前にテーブルと椅子が準備されました♪


texts: What is the proper kanji for "King's/Conqueror's will" or "spirit" vertically?

texts:
覇王色の覇気 < this  Literal translation means Haki of the Color of the Conquering King.

I am looking for the proper vertical translations of

Conquering King
Conqueror's Will/Spirit
Will/Spirit of a Conqueror
King's Will/Spirit
Will/Spirit of a King


texts: Meaning of らしたのじゃありません?

texts:
Prior to this sentence, Kawashima was talking about jumping from the school's roof with Obata-sensei; aftwerwards, another teacher is speaking with Obata, and says:

  小幡先生はひょっとして、自習時間に川島さんが話していたことを小耳に挟んで、だから不安になってらしたのじゃありません？

I'm guessing the 不安になってらした means "became worried/uneasy", but I can't understand what's らした's meaning.

Also, is じゃありません? like じゃないか, so like asking "isn't it?" rather than denying? So the whole sentence sounds like "During the free study period you happened to hear Kawashima speaking, so you became worried, isn't it?".

I'm having quite some difficult following this story so I'm not sure: on one hand it sounds right, on the other Obata did hear Kawashima - Obata didn't just happened to hear, Kawashima was speaking directly with Obata. It could be a roundabout way to say Obata knows what Kawashima said, but I'm not sure.


texts: Clarification of hard to understand Japanese Mahjong rule

texts:
This one probably needs a Japanese and Mahjong expert to decipher:

  （３）全局を一ハン（飜）しばりとし、二ハン場とする。

This is the third rule about the basic game setup of (my version of) the official Japanese Mahjong Tournament rules. A 局 kyoku is one round, a ハン／飜 han is a type of multiplier used in scoring. So far so good, but I have no idea what this rule is trying to convey. There's no further context in the immediately preceding or following rules. Can somebody tell me what this means?


texts: Why was both katakana and hiragana created?

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Nowadays, katakana tends to be used for gairaigo and onomatopoeia, while hiragana tends to be used for native Japanese words. This is a slight simplification - more information is available here.

However, English loanwords weren't a major concern when they were originally created. What were the main motivations for creating the two kana (or possibly more?) rather than just one?


texts:
From a passage saying that it's hard for people to visualize or grasp the scale of things when they're in expressed in units they can't easily relate to- but that if something people can relate to is used people can get an idea more easily. The sentence I'm unsure about is:

例えば、「東京ドーム５。７杯分」と書けば、「ああ、そんなに多いのか」と納得がいくわけだ。

'For example. if it's written that Tokyo Dome is the equivalent of 5.7 glasses(??), then people can get an idea of the scale, thinking 'ooh its that big is it'. - Is my understanding of that.

I understand 'wake' and 'iku' seperately as reasoning, and go respectively. However, when they're together here, does it basically mean, 'goes the reasoning'? Or is there a different nuance going on here?


texts: いつもあなたの名前呼んでいるのよ 気付いてよ此処に来て

texts:
いつもあなたの名前呼んでいるのよ 気付いてよ此処に来て

What is the meaning of のよ in 呼んでいるのよ?
What is the function of よ in 気付いてよ此処に来て?

Does this sentence mean:

  I have been calling your name, (so) please be noted and come here.

Please help.


texts: What is the function of the particle では in this context?

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This is the context: https://streamable.com/gk3aic
This is the sentence: 私の異常な家族のこと 話したの 友達では茗子だけなんだからね
I did not understand the function of this では after the 友達.


texts:
A debate came up on the use of タメ語{ご} in this question, and I thought it was worth its own analysis.

The question is, does タメ語 simply mean "casual speech", or does it mean "speech between equals". Or something else.

The difference has implications for whether or not it might be rude in some situations. For instance, asking an older or more experienced person to use タメ語 instead of 敬語{けいご} might be rude if you're implying you are equals, but might be okay if it just means to use everyday language.

The original debate had two native speakers disagreeing (which should be a note to all those who hold native speaking ability as the be-all-and-end-all of authority), so to settle this we'll need convincing references.


texts: Meaning of してほしいと考えています

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ＫＤＤＩは、いろいろな会社のビルやデパートなどでこのサービスを利用してほしいと考えています
  KDDI want to use this service in various companies and department stores.

What nuance does adding 考えています bring to this sentence? Why not just say:

  ＫＤＤＩは、いろいろな会社のビルやデパートなどでこのサービスを利用してほしいです。

The literal translation of "considering that they want to ..." is obviously clumsy.


texts: How to compare different actions done by different people?

texts:
For example, consider the following English phrase:

  Speaking Japanese is much harder for me than speaking English is for you.

How would one put this in Japanese? Would...

  私が日本語で話すことは、貴方が英語で話すことより、難しいです。

... work?

What would be the natural way to express it?


texts: Mean of "ブランドによって消費量が違う"

texts:
Very stupid question - what mean of text in a last frame of this yonkoma (https://ibb.co/eWGxYv)?
From "ブランドによって消費量が違う" I'm think about some brand tea with big amount of tea leaves. But I'm see empty cup.
And i can't read part of left text. "ダブルワリー??好きなのか" - what symbols in a place of question marks?


texts: How to say ''Mathematics is the most beautiful and powerful creation of human spirit" in Japanese?

texts:
My attempt is as follows:

  数{すう}学{がく}が一[番]{ばん}で美{うつく}しくて強{きょう}力{りょく}な人{にん}間{げん}の精{せい}神{しん}の創{そう}造{ぞう}です。

Is it correct?


texts:
I have something similar to figurine that looks a Russian doll. It has kanji that I cannot recognize. This probably is a drinking game? I would be so happy to know these kanji and the official name of this:

This looks like 方. After that I can't read.

One of the other sides just has the hiragana ろ.
The bottom is blank.
The 4th sides has these characters:

The cube that fits in the middle has these 6 sides:
(1) blank
(2) 踊
(3) 唄
(4) 五合
(5) 壹合
(6) ＿升 // <-- I have zero reputation so I cannot write the kanji I can't recognize here

This is so much to ask. So, any bits of information will help so much to identify this.


texts:
When translating 'I was busy yesterday'
Why is
昨日が忙しかったです
Incorrect?
Isn't the same as

私は昨日が忙しかったです


texts: Can I use ほど in a comparative context, similarly to how I'd use the English word 'like?' (And if not...what can I use?)

texts:
Background: A few months back, I started making the transition from studying sentence constructions to studying grammar. While I try to avoid generating 'Japanese translations of my English ideas,' I still find that I use the way I speak English as a starting point for constructing a Japanese sentence that doesn't quite fit anything I've yet heard (or said).

So, with that in mind...

Let's say, for the sake of example, that I'm hanging out with a couple friends at a pet store in Japan. (Apologies in advance for everything about this scenario...in particular if it sounds like a screenplay written by a five year old.) ^.^;

One friend states:

  「猫が好きよ。」

The other friend turns to me and says:

  「あなたは？」

I then start thinking of a way to express the idea that, in English, I might say as:
"Like our friend here, I am also fond of cats."

The problem that arises is that I don't know of a word, be it particle or not, that conveys the 'comparative' nature of the first piece, "Like our friend here..."

So, improvising a bit, I say:

  「友達ほど、私も好き。」

My limited exposure to ほど has come in the form of constructions about "He has as much bread as she does" and the like. Still, the 'as much as' interpretation of ほど seems like it might fit.  (Maybe. ^.^;)

I should also point out that I'm specifically trying to make a comparison between speaker (that is, myself) and a third-party, as opposed to speaker and listener (where I'd imagine 「私も」 would be all the comparison I'd need).

So then, my (multi-part but hopefully rhetorically homogeneous) question is, after using ほど in this context, will the native speakers hear an idea analogous to the English-language statement that I mentioned above? In other words, does ほど work at all in this context? If not, is there another word or particle that would work? (Note that I came across ぐらい as well while I was looking into this, and it seems like a possible contender...but I'm not at all acquainted with that word yet.)

And if not...is the "Like our friend..." phrase even something that would appear in Japanese? (By the way, the 'our' in that phrase is expendable. I only expected the 友達 from that phrase to survive translation.) Or is this a case of my trying to shoehorn English communication into the Japanese language?


texts: What is a 平の家? Does 子ども refer to here? The chicks? Finally. .what does it mean to be とても はやかすの

texts: 私が小学校へ入ったとき、近所のチャボのよいおん鳥をかりてきて、しばらくいっしょにおきました。ひよこができたとき、おん鳥もいっしょに「コッコッコッ」といいながら、えさをやります。そのときの子どもはいま平の家にいます。平の家でもそのチャボはとてもはやかすのが上手だと喜んでいます。


texts:
In this scene a young girl, Yotsuba, drops in on her neighbors for some breakfast. The mother who's cooking breakfast says:

  「今お父さんの焼いてるからその次ねー。ちょっと待っててー。」

So I guess she's preparing her husbands food first, and tells Yotsuba to hang on for a minute.

But why didn't she just say ちょっと待って?

[Image redacted]


texts:
When counting duration in months, is it ~ヶ月間or just ~ヶ月? Example:

私はもう六ヶ月ぐらい日本語を勉強しています。
ジルと暮らした四ヶ月間

( btw I don't know what the second example means I just took it from my textbook so I would appreciate it if someone could help me translate it )

Are both of these sentences correct?


texts: Masculine and Feminine Speech - 行こうか and やめてよ

texts:
First, regarding 行こうか - is it masculine speech, like か in informal speech usually is? Also, does it sound agressive, again like normal with か in informal speech?

Second, is やめてよ feminine speech (as a command, if it can be used any other way)? I know that やめて and やめてね aren't feminine speech as commands, but some research indicates that やめてよ is. Please help.


texts: In the phrase 「褒められたものではない」, why is 「褒められた」 in past tense (as opposed to present tense 「褒められる」)?

texts: For reference, there's an entry in 実用日本語表現辞典: 褒められたものではない


texts:
I'm having some trouble parsing this sentence:

ピーターのことを、どうかよろしくお願いします

The translation by my interpretation is something along the lines of "As to Peter I will leave it in your hands" (i.e. I will let you take care of Peter). However I am confused at what the precise role of どうか is in this sentence.


texts:
This word is used to describe someone who bothers or even annoys other people in order to get attention.

The most common translation to English is drama queen, and the Japanese version sounds feminine too, so this has led me to the question.

Can かまってちゃん be used for men aswell?


texts:
I've looked over my books but I can't find the answer. All I know is that とする can be used to express something you assume. Such as 温度は一定とする。 We assume the temperate is constant. Also I read we can use it for feelings such as ほっとする and look. So where can I read about this other usage? I have an example meaning too.

Can anyone please be so kind and explain how this grammar works as used down below.

  周囲は暗く鬱蒼{うっそう}とした林に覆われていて、周りには街灯も少ないから夜なんて真っ暗だ。


texts:
During my research, I came upon two forms to express the fact of moving to a new house:

ここは 三月前に引っ越ししてきたアパートです。
ここは 三月前に引っ越ししたアパートです。

I don't understand the difference between the two, does the one with "きた” involve "I moved and come" or "I begun to moved" (the two meaning that I know regarding the てくる form.


texts:
I was talking to a person and they used:

  大切にしたくなるよ。

Does that mean I have come to cherish or something like that?


texts: Why is 「パッと」 part Katakana and part Hiragana?

texts:
I have run across this onomatopoeia twice now in music lyrics:

打上花火 by DAOKO × 米津玄師：
「パッと光って咲いた　花火を見てた」

GHOST by 星街すいせい：
「パッと弾けた感情に」

Having seen this occur twice now, I felt it was safe to assume that this is not merely a stylistic choice made by the lyricists. This was reinforced when I looked it up on Jisho, which lists the main spelling as パッと instead of パット or ぱっと.
From what I can remember, I have never seen another word spelled like this, with part of it being ひらがな and part of it being カタカナ. Or at the very least, if I have, this one feels particularly curious, since I have always figured that the small っ／ッ characters act as a fixed construct where they are modifiers of the following syllable's consonant; like they're attached. So, if anything, I would expect the word to be spelled ぱット or パっと, with the っ／ッ sharing the script of the succeeding character.
What's going on here? Why is it this way, or, how did it come to be this way?
Secondarily, are there any other words that share this characteristic?


texts:
In the chapter Things that should be a certain way of Tae Kim's guide, the author states that in order to express the expectation of something not happening, one should use something like 「～はずがない」. I was wondering if the Japanese language distinguishes phrases like "I don't expect him to come" vs. "I expect him not to come"? In other words, are both of these acceptable:

彼は来るはずがない
彼は来ないはずだ

If not, are there other constructs to express this?


texts: Can ご存じです function as a transitive verb?

texts:
I recently got an automated email from Twitter with the following subject (except with real user names):

  username さん、username さん、username さんをご存じですか?

My question is about を paired with ご存じですか.  As I understand it, を normally marks the direct object of a verb.  Therefore, I expect it to be followed by a transitive verb; if there is no verb, I expect one to be implied.  However, this sentence ends with a noun and copula instead, so I can't make grammatical sense of it.

I assume this phrase is grammatical, as I got it in an email that was likely to be proofread, and I can find plenty of uses online on websites that I think are likely to contain standard Japanese.

So how does it work grammatically?  The only explanation I can come up with is that ご存じです is functioning as a transitive verb, like a polite/honorific form of 存じる.  Is there a better explanation?


texts:
everyone,

I have recently discovered a weird monologue, related to the name of Japanese film さびしんぼう (Lonely Hearts), that suggests there is a hidden pun within it. That's what it said, I quote it below:

  薬師丸に借りた「さびしんぼ 」って映画の中にさ、「 さ 」という字が「 び 」という字を 「 しんぼう 、しんぼう 」て 言いながらおんぶ して「 さび しんぼう ってセリフあったじゃん? おれなんかグッときちやってさー

It is clear to me what the title actually means (寂しん坊), but what is the pun of this decomposition? I see how 辛抱 has sense while one says it to his carrier, but not sure that's what was meant here. Does び mean 美? Or what would さ even mean exactly?..


texts:
Why was "wani" (crocodile or alligator) chosen as a term for a gawker at a konyoku (mixed gender onsen)?

Was it because of the animal's ability to stare, the fact that it is a predator, or was it named after a similarly named onsen?


texts: the passive/potential form used in this sentence

texts:
Context: girl breaks up with guy, he gets sad and says this line

私だけがあなたの特別でいられたのに!

why is the passive/potential form used here?
is it possible to use only the past simple with た here? I'm not sure how to make any sense out of the sentence in the passive/potential form


texts: What is the meaning of dots and dashes in kunyomi readings?

texts:
I was introduced to jisho.org a few days ago and I find it a really good tool to use while using the Heisig method to learn the readings as I learn the writing and understanding of kanji. I noticed 2 different symbols used when they present the kunyomi. So far I haven't seen them used in onyomi so I think they are not used in them. The "."(dot) and the "-"(dash). From what I gather I believe I got what they basically mean but please correct me if I'm wrong:

"." - the dot is used to show where the kanji stops and after it the following is written in kana. I think the trailing kana had a name but I really can't remember it now. Is this always the case? When I see a dot should I always assume it's only kana after it? Or can there be kanji as well in some compounds?
"-" - the dash is used to show that the word is allowed to form compounds only on the side where the dash is shown.

Take 一 for an example. Its 2 kun readings are: ひと-, ひと.つ so if I got this correctly:

一つ - this is how you write it according to the second reading.

Other thing I noticed is that there are times you can use a kanji instead of a trailing kana. I noticed this when I saw the other example compound on jisho 一月 Is this a common thing and does it have a term defining it so I can research further on my own?

一人 - this is really the only compound I could think of but the way I see it if the dash does what I think it does that means there will never be a compound word that has ひと somewhere elsewhere in the word apart from the beginning.


texts: Occasionally, I hear the pitch accent of phrases that should be heard as 平板型 end up not being this way. Some examples are 卒業して、それは、これは、気がする、私は、私が. All of these words and phrases should be "flat". However, I have heard a couple instances where the pitch drops, such as in それは{LHL}、これは{LHL}、そつぎょうして{LHHHHHL}、きがする{LHHL}、わたしは{LHHL}、わたしが{LHHL}. Does anybody know what exactly is going on with these examples?


texts:
Can someone help me with possible translations for this title?

[僕]{ぼく}だけの[向]{む}こう[側]{がわ}: Boku dake no mukougawa

Also, can you explain why that would be the translation?


texts:
ただ、５年前の…今と同じくらい、ううん、それ以上の大きな幸せに包まれる

I would translate it as

five years ago ...
Just as much as now, no,
It will be wrapped in big happiness even beyond that

I would like to know if this translation truly conveys the meaning of this sentence. It starts with the past, then the present and the future last? I missed something relevant in my translation?


texts: How are the giongo/gitaigo double form and tto form related (きらきら vs. きらっと)

texts:
With many 擬音語 (ぎおんご, onomatopoeia) and 擬態語 (ぎたいご, mimetic words) there is a double form, where the word is repeated, and a form with っと at the end. For example:

きらきら -> きらっと (sparkling)
ぴかぴか -> ぴかっと (twinkling)
ぺろぺろ -> ぺろっと (slavering?)
ちらちら -> ちらっと (fluttering)
ごろごろ -> ごろっと (rumbling)
どきどき -> どきっと (suddenly?)

Is there one of these forms for every 擬音語/擬態語? I couldn't find some in the dictionary. How are the two forms used differently? Is this っと just another grammatical form (like という)? And what about the similar forms ちらり, ちらりと and ちらと or きらりと and きらり?


texts: I hear って everywhere, and in the case of っていう I heard it was a shortening of という. But in the case of things like questions, where does って come from, and what exactly does it mean?


texts: How to translate standalone noun + a ます verb (in a heading)

texts:
I would like to know how to translate something like this:

  ドロボー、つかまえます

where there is a noun followed by a verb in masu from without any other details.

Is it something like "Burglar, I('ll) catch him" or "The catch of the burglar"?


texts: てからに in 大学を出てからにしたら　meaning

texts:
父 :　どうしたんだ？
母 :　ゆき(Name of a person) が大学をやめて劇団の仕事やるって言ってるのよ。
父 :　劇団の仕事 ?　ああ、ずいぶん熱心にやっているからな。
母 :　大学を出てからにしたらといったんだけど…

What is the usage of に in 出てからに
Is it に indicating time ? (When Yuki's finished the university)?


texts:
Jisho says 怒鳴る is an intransitive verb and that 怒鳴りつける is transitive. But I have come across the following phrases:

止めようとしても母親は自分を怒鳴りつけるだけでした。
彼女は私を怒鳴った。

If Jisho is really right, why "私を怒鳴った”　and not "私に怒鳴った”？


texts:
How can I express the idea that one word sounds like another?

As a concrete example, I wanted to say, 「フライアー」sounds like 「fryer」.

Looking in dictionaries (wadoku/jisho) for "sound like" turns up 「がましい」, but I could only find one example sentence with that phrase on tatoeba, and it was used in a different way ("that sounds too forward").

Is there a better way to express what I want to say? Or, if がましい is actually correct, how exactly would I use this expression?


texts:
I'm struggling to understand what the も is doing in the following sentence. I know that も can mean 'also' 'too' 'as well' and other things; depending on the context. I think the first も here means 'as well' but when I  try to translate,  my translation comes out as gibberish.

[何処]{どこ}に行くのか知りたい気もするし、知りたくない気もする。

Context: (アイン is a girl)

立ち上がったアインだ、こちらを[一瞥]{いちべつ}する。[何処]{どこ}に行くのか知りたい気もするし、知りたくない気もする。だが、そんなことを迷っている時間はもらえなかった。アインは背を向け、部屋を出ていった。

My translation attempt:

Ein does get up, glances my way. Where will she go, I want to know her intention to do stuff as well as other things, also I don’t want to know her intention. But, she would not give me time to puzzle over that sort of thing. Ein exits the room, her back oriented towards me.


texts: Would one say "become one with shadow" this way, Hitotsu Ni Naru Kage (一つになる影)?

texts: The closest I have been able to figure out, through google searches, how to write out the phrase "become one with shadow" is Hitotsu Ni Naru Kage (一つになる影). Is this correct? If not, how would one say this?


texts: I could meet the phrase ものとする in some documents, agreements. I understand, the sentences with ものとする as a whole one, but I don't know anything about this very phrase. Which meaning does it exactly add to the sentence and in which situation I could use it?


texts: rationale of するんじゃない as informal negative imperative

texts:
I know verb-んじゃない can be used in colloquial speech as a negative imperative (e.g. するんじゃない) in lieu of verb-な (するな), but why exactly does it function that way?
That is, what is the rationale/etymology behind v-んじゃない being a negative imperative?


texts: What is the meaning of て-forms in this sentence?

texts:
While reading a travel blog I stumbled upon this paragraph:

この日は－25℃。寒くて落ち着いて歩いていられません。

In my understanding, 寒くて is a て-form of 寒い, 落ち着いて is a て-form of 落ち着く, and 歩いて is a て-form of 歩く. However, I've never seen adjectives connected to verbs through the て-form, or verbs in て-form stuck one after another like that.
What is the grammar behind this and how to translate it?
Source of the sentence: https://www.asahi.com/and_travel/20200608/254241/ (see the 巨大なレーニンの頭像が part).


texts:
目が小さいですか

This is found in the Genki 1 textbook (page 144).

When I read it I thought it meant "Do you have short eyesight?", but when I use two translator apps they both say it means "Do you have small eyes?".

Are the translators right?

I am doubting the translators because I know how literal they can be.

Thanks.


texts:
I'm trying to understand when to use appropriate particles in a sentence, and keep up with vocab too! Please someone help.

customer: "そのぼうし[の, を, か, ね] ください"

"たけしさん [か, の, よ, or no particle] せんもんはれきしです"


texts: What does 権威 mean when referring to goods?

texts:
Looking online it looks like it means either:

他の者を服従させる威力
ある分野において優れたものとして信頼されていること。その分野で、知識や技術が抜きんでて優れていると一般に認められていること。また、その人。オーソリティー。

Obviously definition one doesn't make any sense in context, however I am not quite sure if the second definition fits this situation. Can this word be used to refer to products for sale that are one step above the competition (for example water that is good for your health, etc...).

  Character 1「ちなみに、この井戸の水を詰めて、他領地に売る商売なんかもあるわよ。飲むと健康にいい気がする、お米が美味しく炊ける気がする、植物の成長が早くなる気がすると言った効果で大人気なんだとか」

  Character 2「全部気がする、なんだな……」

  Character 3「そこまで商魂たくましいと、さすがに教会に怒られる気がする……」

  Character 1「権威がつけばある程度は売れちゃうからねぇ」

  Character 4「ど、どうなんでしょうね……」


texts: Should spaces be used when writing foreign names in katakana?

texts:
I  can imagine if someone is not familiar with the foreign name, it may be difficult to tell where the given name ends and the surname begins. Perhaps then it's better to write foreign names with spaces for clarity. What is the norm in Japan?

For example, when writing the name Mary Smith, is it more common to write:

スミス　メアリー

or

スミスメアリー


texts:
How does 何でもない work in terms of grammar to mean nothing?
I am confused because I'm not sure which of these is happening (or even if it is one of these):
1:
Is it getting 何で (why) and then adding も to make it mean 何でも (anything) and then adding ない (not), therefore not anything (nothing).
2:
Is it getting 何 (what) then using the でも particle, if it is which meaning of でも is it using? Also after than that which is ない added -> 何でもない
How does the grammar actually work? I am very confused about this expression.


texts:
山に登るのは大変そうだから、本当は行きたくなかった。
Climbing mountain seems difficult so truthfully, i didn't want to go...

The second sentence is the one i need help with... I wasn't sure if i get it right...
でも ロープウェイを 使って登れば、大丈夫だと聞いて、行くことにした。

Rough literal translation that I grasp: But,if using ropeway to climb, i heard it is okay,then i decided to go.

So I somewhat understand it as: "But i heard that it's okay to use ropeway to go up so i decided to go in the end.

I don't quite understand 大丈夫だと聞いて part. I think the と is the quotative one so it might means "It's okay" i heard . But if that's the case, why V-て instead of V-た... Like what we do with と 言った.


texts: Particle-が in restaurant's name. Genitive particle?

texts:
I was at a Japanese restaurant called 星岡 (ほしがおか). And I was trying to figure out what the が does in it.

I instinctively translated it to "Starry hill" (Not sure of my translation though).

(Question) What does が do in this case? Or is it simply 名乗り and I shouldn't think too much into it.


texts: How to say "the options go from A to B passing through C"?

texts:
Say I have three options of doing something:

A= buy a bicycle (自転車を買う）

B= buy a High speed car　（高速な車を買う）

C= buy a motorcycle（オートバイを買う）

How can I say: I could consider A to B passing through C. Something like
"I could consider my options from buying a bicycle to buy  a high speed car including also buying a motorcycle"

so going from one extreme to the other passing through a middle option


texts: 「何言わせんのよ」＝「何言わせるのよ」？

texts:
I saw this in an anime clip: the context was, "What're you making me say."

Is that simply a contraction or am I missing some conjugation or inflection here?

The first is the original and the second is what I think it could write out to...?


texts:
In the game Overwatch, you can get your character to say some set phrases (hello, thanks, etc).

When changing the game language to Japanese, one of the characters, "Reaper" has 2 different ways of saying "thank you":

ありがとう
What sounds to me like れいおゆ

I found 礼 on Jisho, which has a れい reading, but what does おゆ mean here? Or am I hearing it wrong?

The character saying it is pretty evil if that gives any context.

I uploaded a clip of the audio to soundcloud


texts: Which clause(s) does といい modify in this sentence?

texts:
自然な話し方で話せるようになるためには、多くの日本人と色々な場面で話したり、日本の映画やドラマを見て、どんな場面で、どんな人が、どんな相手に、どんな話し方をしているかをよく観察するといいでしょう。

This is from the first reading of Tobira's second chapter. I actually have two questions:

Which clause or verbs does といい modify? Does it modify only 「どんな場面で、どんな人が、どんな相手に、どんな話し方をしているかをよく観察する」, or does it also modify 「日本の映画やドラマを見て」and「多くの日本人と色々な場面で話したり」?
話す and 見る connected to 観察する differently; the first uses たり, while the second uses て-form. Is this allowed? Why was this done?


texts: Why in "Fukkatsu no F" the words order are inverted?

texts: Phrases like "ore no shugyō", "my training" (training of me) , the person comes first and the noun second, but in phrases like "Fukkatsu no F" or "Fukushū no Gōruden Furīza" the order is inverted.


texts:
怪物を退治し、人々を救い、囚われの姫様を助け出す、最高に格好良い英雄達のように自分もなりたいと、当時の僕は本気でそんな夢を抱いていた。

Could someone explain to me what the と does at the end of the sentence? Is it used as a quoting particle?


texts:
How would you say "my experience at X", e.g. "my experience at university".
Is 「私の大学のけいけん」correct for this usage?


texts: What does やれ{HL}やれ{HL} "yare yare" mean?

texts:
I would like to know what the meaning of the expression やれ{HL}やれ{HL} Yare Yare is? I hear it often said in anime.

some people said "that yare yare is another japanese onomatopoeia. Kind of like pera pera, gira gira, goro goro, etc.
some others think "it has to do with the sound a person make when he/she is tired, you know that sound when you are taking a break and you hear yourself breathe heavily. Yare yare doesn't have a direct translation... it is just an onomatopoeia that describes the sound of being relaxed. Japanese just hear that sound differently, they hear "yare yare"."
crunchyroll funimation hulu theanimenetwork nicovideo daisuki translated as boy oh boy or my oh my
Is that true?


texts: あなたの仕事なんですか？Anata no shigoto nan desu ka? Is this correct grammatically?

texts:
あなたの仕事なんですか？
  Anata no shigoto nan desu ka?

Is this correct grammatically?

I understand that "no" means possession, therefore "your job" is this correct thinking?

Also, I heard someone say:

"Doko no iku ka?" But shouldn't it be "Doko ni iku ka?"

Thank you.


texts:
Possible Duplicate:
  Difference between ~なきゃ　and ~なくちゃ

What does いなきゃ mean?


texts: I'm reading a manga and I can't for the life of me figure out what this phrase is supposed to mean; I've never seen it before.


texts: What's the difference between まねをする and ふりをする?

texts: What's the difference between まねをする and ふりをする and what would be each one's proper translation?


texts: What are the differences between the words 送る, 出す, 届ける?

texts:
Not sure if there is a difference in formality or in terms of what is being sent.

Also, how would I say escort? Such as "I'll escort you back home"? I'm thinking that it may be 家まで見送ります, right?

Thanks


texts:
I'm reading through a book put out by a manga publisher (Tosuisha/冬水社 if it's relevant) in 1998 that's a compilation of interview questions given to different manga characters. One of the questions asked is 人生{じんせい}の中{なか}の汚点{おてん}(笑)を教{おし}えてください。If I understand the sentence right, it should translate to something akin to, "Please tell me/us about a time in your life you regret."
If that interpretation is correct, then what's the (笑) doing there? Skipping around to check out the various character answers, all the ones I've seen do seem to talk about some rather serious subjects, so it doesn't seem to be a joke question.
Here's an example page; the question in question is Q62.


texts: What is the Japanese word for video views on the Internet?

texts: For videos on the Internet like YouTube, which have a specific number of the times they've been viewed by people. What are those views called in Japanese?


texts: What is the difference between 音をさせる and 音がする and 音を出す/立てる?

texts:
と、士道がそんなことを思っていると、令音がおもむろに手を背中にやってパチン、という音をさせたのち、手を服の中に入れて何やらもぞもぞと蠢き、首元からブラジャーを抜き取った。

Hi. Could you please explain the difference between 音をさせる and 音がする and 音を出す/立てる? All of them seem to mean the same.
Thank you.


texts: Is タオル used for the towels used at onsen?

texts:
onsenjapan.net claims that タオル is used for "towel", presumably the large one. When I asked a staff member at Odeo onsen "これ は 何 ですか?" while indicating the large towel I was holding, the staff member said "タオル".

I'm not 100% convinced, though. I half suspect that the glossary (and the staff member) may have chosen a gairaigo term over more traditional terms since it'd be easier for foreigners to remember. Also, in English the terms "large towel" and "small towel" feel very clumsy to me, so I would have thought that Japanese would have kept its existing words for the large towel and small towel.

I tried seeing if towel was mentioned in http://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/温泉 , but unlike the English-language version it didn't (obviously only foreigners need to google how to use an onsen!). Other pages I tried looking at were this, this, this, and this - the fact that towels don't appear in those glossaries would be consistent with it being plain old boring gairaigo, and that Japanese doesn't have special onsen-related terminology for towels.

Is タオル used for the towels used at onsen, both the large towel and the small one, or are other words used as well?


texts: how does this phrase translate this way?

texts:
"Hyakuman kai no "Aishiteru" nanka yori mo

Zutto zutto taisetsu ni suru mono ga aru"

is translated as

"There’s something much, much more important
Than the millionth “I love you”"

I'm not even close to put this phrase together.
Aru is "there are"
suru mono I suppose is something like "things to do"
zutto zutto = ? always ?
taitetsu = important

I guess that can be something like "There are things to do always more important.." (probably I misstranslated a lot) . What's indicating the "ni" in this line and after "important" ?

Now the first phrase is much more difficult:

Hyakuman kai no "Aishiteru" nanka yori mo

Hyakuman = a million, a lot
kai = ? no idea what it is here, kai is used for many kanjis and I dont know what it is here . Does hyakuman kai altogether means a million times?
"aishiteru" = I love you . "hyakuman kai no "aishiteru" perhaps means something like "a million times of I love you" ?

nanka = something

yorimo = than

I can't put this line together. Specially what does the nanka is doing here? What's the most literal translation for the whole 2 lines?


texts: Difference between お腹がすいた and お腹がすいている ― 「お腹がすいた」と「お腹がすいている」の違いは？

texts:
A few weeks ago a Japanese friend told me the way to say I'm hungry is お腹がすいた, and today, doing an exercise in my textbook, I found the following sentence:　はい、食べたいです。お腹が空いていますから。

Is there any difference between them?

I checked this post and the first person answering says there is a difference, but he can't explain what it is.

what is the past tense of お腹が空いた?

数週間前、日本人の友達が「I'm hungry.」を日本語に訳すと「お腹がすいた」になると言いましたが、今日教科書の問題をしながら、下記の文を見つけました：「はい、食べたいです。お腹が空いていますから。」

この2つには違いがあるのでしょうか。

ちなみに、「what is the past tense of お腹が空いた?」というポストをチェックしましたが、最初の回答者は、違いはあるけど説明はできない、とおっしゃいましたのではっきりしないままです。


texts:
When should one use 聴く instead of 聞く? Is there a precise rule for which one to use in which situation?

I have a feeling that 聞 is used more when the source of the sound is a person or other living being, whereas 聴 is reserved for when the source of the sound is a inanimate object. Am I correct?

What about 訊く?


texts: Why is 寺 read differently in 長谷寺 and 平林寺?

texts:
Both are proper nouns of temples; 長谷寺 is read as はせでら while 平林寺 is read as へいりんじ.
Is there any kind of rule to follow in order to know how to read the word?
Or is the reading arbitrary because both are proper nouns?


texts: How to use こと　when expressing the experience of something?

texts:
ｖ．。。。ことが。。。。。

How can i talk about the experience of something using こと?
買うことがｄきます。 would this be the  experience of being able to buy?

If you understand my problem please show me more examples!


texts: How should I start an email when requesting something from someone I don't know well?

texts:
In English, there is a certain etiquette to follow when writing a business letter.  From what I've seen so far, the same seems to be true in Japanese as well.

If I was making a business-related request to someone who has helped me a lot in the past, I can start my email with いつもお世話になり、ありがとうございます。  Likewise, if I'm asking someone that has just done something for me, I could use お疲れ様です。

However, if I needed to make a business request to someone I don't know well, is there a general opening phrase I could use?

How about if I don't know that person well, but they work in my department?

What if they were in the same company, but a different department?

What about if they worked for another company?


texts: Difference between 今{こん}後{ご} and 未{み}来{らい}

texts: When should 今後 and 未来 be used? Both of the words can mean "future". I have noticed that 今後 refers to both present time and what will happen from now on, and 未来 is simply what will happen in the future sometime. Is this correct?


texts:
In the case in question, my intention is to say that something is good, but isn't unusually delicious.

My attempt has been

  いい味がしますが、非常に美味しいじゃありません。

My concern is that I've made an error in the second part in saying 美味しいじゃありません　rather than 美味しくない.

Is this right, and if not, what is a correct and natural way to say it instead?


texts: What would be the function of the というものだ in this context?

texts:
一体、士道や琴里にどんな狙いがあるかわからなかったが、それが七罪にとって不利益になるものであろうことは想像に難くなかった。きっと何らかの方法で七罪に復讐するつもりに決まっているのだ。それこそ、肥え太らせてから食べてしまうつもりかもしれない。それならば、七罪にこんなに美味しいご飯を与える意味もわかるというものだ。

Hi. What would be the function of the というものだ?
Does it mean “something like” as explained in this link?
https://japanese.upstory.biz/archives/4999
Or it has some other functions?
よろしくお願いします。


texts:
For example, in utterances such as

その場の勢いで

This would imply that someone does something due to the influence of their surroundings at the time, and if they were to rationally think it over by themselves they wouldn't say or do it. But my question is about which function of で this is.

The two that I can think of are  動作・作用の行われる状態を表す or 動作・作用の原因・理由を表す, analyzing the words literally isn't any big help but I think that it's the first usage. Can anyone clarify this?

Edit:I have added the example

「その場の勢いで言っているだけだったら、後で後悔するぞ」
「勢いなんかじゃありません。い、いえ、半分は勢いかもですが」


texts: Recently I have received the e-mail from レコチョク online music store - and the is the title 今日のイチオシ. It translates as "Today's choices". But abbreviation (?) at the end ~オシ I can't understand/translate.. And also the name itself of the shop レコチョク is not very clear to me - the part ~チョク. Maybe it is also some abbreviation?


texts: Do native speakers think of 固い・堅い・硬い as homophones, or as the same word?

texts:
Japanese dictionaries often give distinguish among meanings for homophonous words with related meanings that have different kanji representations, such as:

固い・堅い・硬い (see, for example, the 大辞林 entry for these words)
柔らかい・軟らかい
飲む・呑む
渇く・乾く

My intuition is that all three forms of かたい are really "the same word" in a native speaker's mental lexicon, and that a native speaker will choose a given representation from 固い・堅い・硬い in writing so as to provide added meaning. Is my sense correct here, or do native speakers actually regard 固い・堅い・硬い as three different words?


texts: I am confused about nominalisation and the usage of の、こと、物 after verbs and adjectives. Can someone help me?

texts:
So I've changed my question in regarding these so called nominalisation and the usage of の, こと, 物。My confusion stems from what I learned or lacked from this specific website that explains about の particle.

From that source I concluded the following:

Adj + 物 = the thing that is (adj).

白い物 = the thing that is white.
白い物は大嫌い(I dislike/hate white things).

Verb + こと = the event of gerund(verb + ing).

成ること = becoming.
貴女が医者になることを忘れてね = just forget becoming a doctor okay?

Both 物 and こと can be replaced by の.

However, I'm extremely confused when I learned about adj + こと and verb + 物. 見た本(the book I saw) so 見た物 means the thing I saw. It seems like a relative clause. Which means 選ぶこと can mean (the event of choosing) or (the thing(abstract) that someone choose). Besides that how can I know if 選ぶの indicates ことor 物 and if it is "the thing I choose/the event of choosing"?

And the adj + こと is what really kills me.

私が大きい物は嫌いだ = I hate to be physically big.
私が楽しいことは好きだ = I like to be mentally fun.

It is as if the adjective is being the same with the subject(verb to be). I'm so confused with these, doesn't the の after verb and adj turns them into nouns?

All of the examples and information in here are just my assumptions which may or may not be wrong. Even if they are right I'm not exactly sure how it happens the way it is. So please correct me for any misinformation and misunderstanding, also fill me in the gap that I lacked upon. Truly thank you and any help will be appreciated.


texts: What is the difference between 刹那主義 and 快楽主義?

texts: The dictionary says that 刹那主義 means "principle of living only for the moment" and 快楽主義 means "hedonism/epicureanism", but I also found entries that say epicureanism for the former. I don't think they are interchangeable, but I can't seem to grasp their nuance very well. I found these words in a character's profile and this how his description starts (刹那主義,快楽主義). Calling the character just hedonistic would be accurate given his personality, but, does it sound alright if I translate as "A hedonist who lives for the pleasure of the moment"?


texts:
while I was searching for と思う I came across a sentence, which is reproduced herewith:

  さくらさんは松本さんが止めると思う (Sakura thinks Matsuoto will stop)

Here are my questions:

In this sentence I want to ask, as to why is a transitive verb i.e. 止める is being used with が. As, が is used with only intransitive verbs and 止める is transitive. OR is the sentence wrong?
Are there any exceptions like this (any link or answer will help)

Thanks

Edit:

  Another example 女の子のお母かあさんがはいていたものでした (As in photograph) (履く being transitive)


texts: メアリーがアメリカに帰って悲【かな】しいです meaning

texts:
This is an example て-form sentence from bunpro where the translation is "Mary returned to the USA and I am sad."

I'm wondering if this could also mean "Mary returned to the USA and she is sad" as well since this is what I thought it meant at first before looking at the translation.

As a follow up question, if it can mean both, would it be more clear to say something like 「メアリーがアメリカに帰って私は悲【かな】しいです」? I'm thinking maybe if this is the case, out of context, even Japanese people might think it means "Mary returned to the USA and she is sad" but correct me if I'm wrong.


texts:
I'm a beginner in Japanese so I'm trying to read and translate a light novel to improve my vocabulary so I came across this sentence:

  他{ほか}の生徒｛せいと｝たちが部活｛ぶかつ｝に帰宅｛きたく｝にと平和｛へいわ｝な放課後｛ほうかご｝を過｛す｝ごす中｛なか｝、保健室｛ほけんしつ｝には、少女｛しょうじょ｝の悲鳴｛ひめい｝が響｛ひび｝き渡｛わた｝っていた.

As a translation I came up with:

  "The other students were heading home after their club activities after spending a peaceful afterschool time when a girl’s scream echoed from the infirmary."

But I'm unsure about this so I have those questions:

Did the other students already leave the school after their club activities or are they still doing them?
What's the function of にと before 平和な放課後を過ごす中?
Is the translation I provided satisfactory?

Thank you in advance.


texts: Translation of particle で in 「オーストラリアは今夏でとてもあついです」

texts:
オーストラリアは　今　夏で　とても　あつい　です。

Does this sentence mean:

“Australia is currently in summer and it's very hot”. Or,
“Australia is now very hot in summer”.

I know that the Japanese sentence could follow the sentence pattern below.

  オーストラリアは　今　夏です。　とても　あつい　です。
  オーストラリアは　今　夏で、　　とても　あつい　です。
  (I have seen sentences where there is no comma after で.

(All Rights reserved to Mirai Book 5 Company.)

Or, the で could be used to say, "in summer".


texts: What does おけない mean in the following sentence?

texts:
I'm having some trouble finding out what おけない means in this sentence, この程度の条件を達成できなければ安心して娘たちを任せてはおけないよ.

In the second clause of this ば sentence, the speaker is saying something about his peace of mind and entrusting his daughters and their studies to their tutor (the person with whom he is speaking to). I'm a bit confused what おけない means here though. Entrusting his daughters is the topic of this clause but I don't know what this verb is saying about the topic. My jisho and google searches have come up empty. If anyone could help me out here, I would really appreciate it.


texts: 一ヵ条: いちっかじょう? いちかじょう? いっかじょう?

texts:
This recent question brought to mind a question of my own.

The Japanese name for the Twenty-One Demands made by Japan in 1915 to the Republic of China is romanised on the wikipedia page as 対華二十一ヵ条要求 (Taika Nijūichikkajō Yōkyū).

How is the combination 一ヵ条 meant to be pronounced? If the wikipedia page is correct, what explains the gemination between 一 and 条?


texts: Does the on'yomi of 輪 (リン) have any relation to the English "ring", or is it a coincidence?

texts: Is there an etymological connection between 輪{リン} as in 車輪{しゃりん} and "ring" in English? Or is this a false cognate?


texts:
As usual, I'm having trouble with this particle. Here's the sentence:

  誰にでも見られるところに堂々と張り出し、私たちの知恵に挑戦する。

I don't understand. I would personally have written "私たちの知恵を挑戦する。". How is に effective here? Or is it one of those special verbs that can use に ?


texts: Quotation marks around name without honorific: invitation to 呼び捨て?

texts:
Last week I began corresponding with a Japanese penpal. I initially addressed her with 丁寧語, but she responded using 尊敬語/謙譲語 so I began responding that way as well. We've been addressing each other with さん付け. In her most recent e-mail she wrote the following (I've replaced the names with aliases):

  ちなみに私の「京子」という呼び名はHNであり、本名は「亜沙美」と申します。
  「京子」でも「亜沙美」でも呼びやすい方で呼んで頂ければ幸いです。

I assume this is an invitation to call her 亜沙美さん or 京子さん. Since we've only known each other for about a week and are using 敬語 at her instigation, I would not expect to be invited to 呼び捨て. However, her use of quotation marks makes me a little uncertain. Googling suggests that in the common phrase "○○と呼んでください," ○○ is often written without quotation marks, and may or may not be followed by an honorific. Even if it is written without an honorific, based on the context of the examples I found, that does not necessarily seem to constitute an invitation to 呼び捨て. However, if quotation marks are used, and without an honorific, does that constitute an invitation to refer to the person in question as literally indicated, i.e., with no honorific?


texts: How the name Aimad is written in Japanese?

texts:
How can I write the name Aimad in Japanese?

Aimad (عماد) is an Arabic name which means 頼みの綱 in Japanese and "mainstay" in English, written Aimad or Imad in French and Emad in English.

It is pronounced [[ʕemæ:d]].

Similarly, مجدو  which is Majdou in French and pronounced [[mædʒdo]].

To listen to the sounds for those two words, you can try this website,
just copy and past the Arabic written for Aimad and Majdou and choose Arabic as the language.


texts:
Using the hiragana practice and katakana paractice Google Play apps as a reference,

why is the stroke order of the cross in あ、お、か、き、け、さ、す、せ、た、な、は、ほ、ま、む、や、よ、ら、を is first horizontal, then vertical, (like in the Chinese 十 (shi2) (ten)), whereas in ね、も、れ、わ it is vertical and then horizontal?


texts: Is there an "official" font or other writing standard that should be used when teaching kanji?

texts:
I'm working on an Android app that will help people learn Japanese kanji using a flash-card style study system. As part of this app, I need to show kanji on the screen both in plain-text form, and also possibly animations of the stroke order.

The problem is that the default system font used in Android, Roboto, doesn't look much like handwritten Japanese. It is very square, and lacks the "hooks" and variations in thickness that I usually see in handwritten kanji. Not only that, but there are some kanji in the font that are drawn in what I am told is a Chinese variant of the writing, that might not reflect the way the kanji is drawn in Japan.

So, I'd like to use a different font in my app to produce the flash cards and animations. The question is: which one? There are a number of fonts on my PC that I could potentially use (for example SimSun, Yu Mincho, or Kozuka), but I'm not sure which of them, if any, would be best. I was wondering, does the Japanese government or education system provide any guidelines or official standards that apply to what fonts should be used when teaching kanji? If so, do you know where I can find them? If not, is there a font you would recommend as a good foundation for learning kanji?


texts: What is the meaning of 一切気にかけようともなさらない in this sentence?

texts:
I am trying to understand the sentence 人の批難など一切気にかけようともなさらない。However, I have not been able to parse かけようとも into any words and particles I can identify or find in a dictionary.

So I want to know
1) what are the words/particles in this piece of the sentence, and
2) what does 一切気にかけようともなさらない mean?


texts: What´s the (entire) direct object in this sentence?

texts:
人の手を刺す　　　　　　　　stab someone in the hand.
  人の手に短剣を刺す　　　　　stab a dagger in someone's hand.

What's the direct object in the second sentence? Is it just 短剣 or 人の手に短剣? I ask because in the first sentence the hand is stabbed (手を刺す) and in the second sentence the hand is also stabbed but  短剣を刺す would make me think the dagger should be the one who's being stabbed(even though that would make no sense at all).  So did I make a mistake thinking just 短剣 is the direct object in the second sentence or is there another explanation?


texts: Correct form of address for a bartender, or itamae

texts:
What is the right way to address the bartender? Or the person preparing sushi?

On a recent visit I heard マスター used to address a bartender, and I already know that 大将 is one way to address the sushi chef.

I have two questions about both the form of address for a bartender and for the sushi chef: firstly, are there any other forms I can use in each case? Secondly, what is the level of formality and familiarity implied by using マスター and 大将?


texts:
「The Last of Us Part II」は感染症によってゾンビのような怪物になり果てた人間がはびこる、荒廃した世界を舞台としている。
From Jisho the word means completely, so does it mean in this passage that the people become completely zombies?


texts: How do the Japanese ask questions about language?

texts:
In Japanese class, when you are confused about vocab or grammar or sentence structure, you ask the professor in English. But if you live in Japan and are communicating with Japanese natives who barely speak English, how would you ask about the language in Japanese?

For example, I already know some things like 「Aはどういう意味ですか？」to ask about the meaning of "A" and 「AとBの違いは何ですか？」to ask about the difference between A and B and 「Aっていう文例のもっと自然な言い方は何ですか？」to ask about a more natural way to say A.

But what about the more complicated questions, such as:

"In which situations would A be better to use instead of B, and vice versa?"
"What kind of nuances are emphasized with this choice of vocabulary usage?"
"So I can't use A here because B is a type of (preposition, transitive verb, gerund form, etc.) right?"
"How can I modify this sentence if I want sarcasm to be obvious to the listener?"

And what would be the natural way to inquire about these kind of topics? i.e. How would a Japanese person ask another Japanese person these questions?

Any example Japanese questions you can think of that can be used specifically to ask about how the language works would be greatly appreciated! I would ideally like to compile a list that anyone can use when they get confused while speaking with natives.

Learning more about Japanese by asking in Japanese and learning from Japanese explanations is so much better for true understanding than simply training your brain to mentally translate. よろしくお願いします！


texts: Newspaper sentence translation and interpretation

texts:
I would like to know if my translation of the sentence below is accurate in meaning. If not, could you point out the problematic area? Simply pointing out where I went wrong would be great. No need to explain, I’ll do the research on my own.

ⓐ安倍総理大臣は、ⓑ宣言を続ける所は「ウイルスがうつる人は少なくなって、ⓒ病院でしっかり治療できるようになって、ⓓ前よりよくなっている」と言っています。

“Prime Minister Abe is saying in his declaration that about the places which continue the emergency measures, the infected people are decreasing and at the hospitals a cure has reached a point where it’s becoming possible before the infected becoming better”

ⓐ安倍総理大臣は

Note:
So the idea here is that at the very end you have the quotation particle と followed by 言っています. This is because the article is quoting 安倍総理大臣. The quote begins in ⓑ and ends in ⓓ.

Prime minister Shinzo Abe is the topic of the sentence

ⓑ宣言を続ける所は「ウイルスがうつる人は少なくなって、

Re: 宣言【せんげん】:

We might note that it is the 宣言i.e. declaration/announcement[…]
… so the declaration is the direct object of the と言っています at the very end in the sense of: “The prime minister has said in an announcement”.

I hesitated about 続ける所 until I realised he (Shinzo) is probably talking about the places that continue with the emergency measures in the previous :

Tokyo metropolitan area, Saitama prefecture, Chiba prefecture, Kanagawa prefecture and Hokkaido island

(The quote I mentioned before begins here).

ウイルス『が』

The virus is the subject of the sentence…

うつる人『は』

I looked up うつる 【移る】on Weblio and settled with this definition:

ⓔ to be infected, to be contagious, to spread (as in fire)
…as it said it was generally written in kana alone.
少なくなって

Is actually a whole verb! 少なくなる which means:

ⓐ to lessen, to decrease, to diminish
“The people infected by the virus are decreasing…”

ⓒ病院でしっかり治療できるようになって

病院『で』

… the hospital(s) + 『place of action』

しっかり

is brand new to me:

ⓐ tightly (holding on), firmly, securely
治療

means “a cure”.

ようになる

is an expression:

ⓐ to reach the point that, to come to be that, to turn into
“At the hospitals, we are reaching a point where a reliable (しっかり) cure is becoming possible”

ⓓ前よりよくなっている」と言っています。
The part following the 」is “saying that”.

I think this last part says that the うつる人 will need the cure mentioned in the previous part before (前) they become better (よりよくなっている).

Source:

https://www3.nhk.or.jp/news/easy/k10012440031000/k10012440031000.html


texts: Meaning of 引きよせられるように

texts:
I'm looking for some help understanding what 引きよせられるように means in the below.
I understand そっと胸の中へ包み込んだ to mean that he gently embraced 茉莉愛 into his chest, but I'm not quite sure how 引きよせられるように modifies this. Does this sort of give the impression/idea that she was "pulled" towards him?
俺を見つめる茉莉愛。引きよせられるように、そっと胸の中へ包み込んだ。


texts:
The complete phrase is: 「日本中で、ばえていくけん！」.

With the けん at the end, I thought it might have been something from a Kyushu dialect, but the person who said this is from Tottori.

The only part I'm really having trouble with is the verb 「ばえていく」. I tried looking up ばえる and ばう as potential verb roots, but they don't seem to exist.  Has anyone every heard of this?


texts: How would you say "this song is played" and "in some places/cities" in natural Japanese?

texts:
I'm having trouble saying the following thing in Japanese: "This song is played when the traffic light turns green in some places in Japan."

Specifically, I don't what would be 'the most natural/correct way' to say "this song is played" and "in some places".

Thank you in advance.


texts: What is the meaning of ta-form + 上で in this context?

texts:
このうち、これまでに５回、パラリンピックに出場した競泳の成田真由美選手は、左手が不自由で、ふだんからエスカレーターの右側につかまって乗っていることを紹介したうえで「意識を変えることに費用はかかりません。障害のある人の立場にたって考えてほしい」と呼びかけました。(article)

According to the answers of this question, "ta-form + 上で" means that the second action is performed based on the result of the first action.
If the writer had used てから, it would have meant : doing the 紹介 and then the 呼びかけ (without telling anything about the relation between them except that 紹介 is made before the 呼びかけ)
But the author uses 紹介した上で, so it means(according to the stack exchange post I linked before) that  the result of 紹介する is used to do the second action (呼びかける)
I don't understand what is the "result" of 紹介 and how this result is used in the 呼びかける.
According to me, the result of a presentation is the reaction of the public, so 呼びかける should be made according to the reaction of the public but it sounds odd because since the 呼びかけ tries to raise the awareness and convince the public,it would mean that the reaction of the public was negative.
I don't think it's the correct interpretation so my very question is:
"ta-form + 上で" means that the second action is performed based on the result of the first action.
In the context of this article, what is the "result" of 紹介 and how is this result used in the 呼びかける ?


texts: I don't get the difference between ～につれて and ～にしたがって

texts:
暗くなるにつれて、気温も下がってきた。

嫌なことがあっても、時間がたつにしたがって、少しずつ忘れていくものだ。

I read these two sentences on my Japanese grammar book. Are ～につれて and ～にしたがって interchangeable? How do I use them?


texts: Does「ペーペー」and the "PayPay" digital wallet sound like a ダジャレ? Isn't that weird for marketing?

texts:
"PayPay" is a smartphone digital wallet used in Japan. Yet, 「ペーペー」is also a slang term for the 肩書き of 新入社員。I always said my 肩書き was either 「ペーペー」or 「カバン持ち」。

I am so confused.
(1) Is "ペーペー" really, in fact, a rarely used slang term and a ダジャレ does not immediately "click" to form with "PayPay" in the mind of native speakers?
(2) In English, I do pronounce "PayPay" with a deeper, "hard A", and so "PayPay" in English does not sound like "ペーペー" in Japanese, but Japanese does not have "hard vowels".

What's going on? Is "PayPay" and "ペーペー" a ダジャレ to native speakers? How do they feel about it? Doesn't it effect the marketing of the digital wallet? (it sounds very weird to me...)


texts: The modern Japanese vowels /e,o/ each represent two Old Japanese vowels, arbitrarily written e ë o ö in romaji.  I assume that Japanese philologists don't all use romaji, so is there a convention for distinguishing these vowels in kana?


texts: Shouldn't  there be の to signify that 悪 modifies 魔? It seems to be a one word and not a phrase, how do we know if a double kanji is such a single word and not two separate ones when reading a text?


texts:
カッ──カッ──カッ──
ハイヒールのコルクが大理石の床を打ち鳴らす。
眼下に座り込む相手の存在を確かめると、彼女は淑やかな所作で横髪をかき上げつつ言った。
「どうして、こうなってしまったのかしら──なんて。今さら言うでもないのでしょうか」
──相手は、その言葉をさも当然と聞き届ける。
地下空間を支配する寂莫たる静けさもまた、最期を看取るのに相応しい黙祷めいて。

I understand 今さら to be used when it's too late to say something e.g. in 【今さら言うのもなんだけど」. I think the meaning in context is the same, however what is confusing me a bit is でもないのでしょうか. If I put together what I think she is saying it is something like, "I wonder if it is a bit too late to say something like that," however, I am not sure.


texts: Does Vて+いる always mean an action already completed?

texts:
For the longest time, I thought that a verb ending in て+いる meant that one was currently doing an action, similar to how we use ~ing in English to mean a contuinuing state. So 食{た}べている means "eating".

However, I've run into confusion over sentences like 日本{にほん}に来ている. I thought it meant, "coming to Japan" but apparently it actually means "came to Japan and still here".

After some looking into the issue, it seems that there is a thing in Japanese called a "punctual verb". These are actions that can not be extended or divided, so they're either done or not done. 来る it would seem, is one of these verbs, because you have either come or not. At least, as far as Japanese is concerned.

However, the matter is not entirely resolved for me. Consider this screenshot from a weather report:

Shouldn't 台風{たいふう}が日本{にほん}に来{き}ている mean "the typhoons have come to Japan and are already here"? However, according to the dates included in the image, it is clearly depicting that the typhoons are on their way, in the process of coming.

What is the dividing line between a punctual action and a continuing action, and how does one know which verbs are which?


texts:
What is the correct translation for "indeed"? I found 実際{じっさい}に and 確{たし}かに.

If both are correct, what is the difference?


texts:
And no, this isn't about property sizes in Japan!

As Katakana Mysteries: 6 loan words Japan got wrong put it:

  Bill Gates or Warren Buffet might be very surprised if they were to
  buy a Japanese manshon, only to find upon their arrival something a
  bit less grand than they envisioned, and that they would be sharing it
  with quite a few other people.

The English edition of Wiktionary claims that it is derived from English:

  Etymology

  From English mansion.

  Note that while English “mansion” most commonly means “large house”,
  it is also occasionally used to mean “luxurious apartment”, the latter
  usage being followed in Japanese.

And the English language Wiktionary article talks about mansion meaning "A luxurious flat" being UK English, which I've heard was the main source of English in the 19th century.

Japanese English - 10 Truly Bizarre Examples Of Wasei-Eigo claims it might be borrowed from French:

  マンション (mansion)

  Don't get too excited if you're moving to Japan to live in a mansion.
  These mansions are actually condominiums. I have no idea how this
  creation came about. Some of the mansions I've seen in Japan were less
  than luxurious. Is it a joke? I suspect it might be a borrowed word
  from French.

Is 「マンション」 derived from English, or French? And did Japanese mess up the meaning of "mansion", or were they being faithful to a meaning that is rarely used nowadays?


texts: How should I respond to a client after receiving materials?

texts:
A client sent some materials and I have to respond, so I want to give a quick thank you acknowledging that I have received the materials and will email again once I have reviewed them. (It's always important to get back to prospective clients quickly even if you don't have a proper response ready.)

For the "I'll review them and get back to you" part, I came up with the following possibilities, but none of them really seem right for a business situation

ご確認して、改めてご連絡致します。     (Is して OK in a business situation?)
ご確認の上、改めてご連絡致します。  (Just doesn't sound right somehow)
ご確認させて頂きます。備えたら改めて連絡致します。 (Probably not this one, but I thought I'd add it for good measure)
Something else?


texts:
Please can somebody tell me how tsukerarete is being used in this sentence?

最近は誰かにつけられてる様な気もしてきた


texts:
I’m reading an article about the corona virus. They’re giving instructions to follow in order to prevent reappearance of the virus.

緊急事態宣言が終わっても、新しいコロナウイルスはなくなっていないので、気をつけなければなりません。
毎日の生活では、次のようなことに気をつける必要があります

This is from Weblio. I scrolled through all of the definitions but they refer to emotions and mood.
From my understanding of the article, they’re giving instructions to follow, why are they using 気? Why not 注意? I can’t find a definition for 気 which fits.
Source:
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/news/easy/k10012444741000/k10012444741000.html


texts: Is 眩しい思いで referring to a feeling or a memory?

texts:
I'm wondering if 眩しい思いで in the following is referring to a memory or a feeling:

その背中を、眩しい思いで見つめていた。
He gazed at their backs with dazzled feeling/He gazed at their backs dazzled by a memory.

I'm confused is the 思い supposed to mean feelings/thoughts here with で particle following it or is it actually referring to 思い出 which refers to memories?
Thanks!


texts: Where does the phrase 「ノリが悪い」 come from and what is the meaning?

texts:
What is this phrase 「ノリが悪い」? I've seen it in a few places, but I haven't been able to find it in a dictionary yet. I had first thought it meant that "the seaweed was bad".

What is the meaning of this phrase and where does it come from?


texts: For example, if you wanted to say 'my mother's house' would you say 'watashi no oka-san no ie'?


texts:
「これ、ガムテープです。それも非常に粘着力のある。それに鋏を入れ、切れやすくしてあります。」

The only thing I can understand is "切れやすい" which means "easy to cut", but what is くしてあります doing here? Could it mean something like "I made it (or it has been made) easy to cut with scissors"?


texts: Why some tutorials teach writing Japanese numbers with Hiragana when they are actually written with Katakana (as on-yomi) in dictionaries?

texts:
I've just began learning some Kanji by looking-up how the numbers are written (and read) and suddenly bumped into confusion while watching some tutorials. I can hear the tutors pronouncing a number in on-yomi (just like in a dictionary, where all on-yomi are written in Katakana) but for some reason they write these number Kanji in Hiragana (instead of Katakana). Is it to make the learning process easier by keeping attention away from yet another script (Katakana) or do they write on-yomi with Katakana only in dictionaries whereas in real life they actually write on-yomi with Hiragana (just like kun-yomi is written with Hiragana in dictionaries)? I would appretiate if someone clarifies what I'm missing here.

Thanks


texts:
According to Genki, expressions of desire ( -たい sentences such as in the examples below) which use the particle を can also use the particle が interchangeably, and besides stating that, they give no further explanation. From what I could tell from searching around it seems that が appears to be a more natural choice (I could be wrong though). Does using を vs が imply a change in meaning? Is one particle preferred over the other in these types of sentences? Can they be used interchangeably 100% of the time or are there exceptions?

e.g. 映画が見たいです and 映画を見たいです, both of which should mean "I want to see a movie".


texts: How to translate Ubuntu (and it's derivatives) to Japanese?

texts:
I have thought of these translations:

  Ubuntu - ユブンツー (yubuntsuu)

  Kubuntu - クブンツー (kubuntsuu)

  Xubuntu - ズブンツー (zubuntsuu)

  Lubuntu - ルブンツー (rubuntsuu)

I only want the translations for those 4 main derivatives.

Any help is appreciated.

Thanks in advance,

Bajiru


texts: What's up with the weird word order in 乞うご期待?

texts:
乞うご期待 is a set expression that means "Don't miss it!"

What's up with the weird word order? If I interpret this to really mean ご期待を乞う, then I can't think of any other circumstance in Japanese where the object of a main verb can follow the verb.


texts: Why the "H" is pronounced as "Sh" in some cases?

texts:
My first question is about the rules of pronunciation of the letter "H".

Some people pronounce the "H" as if it were "Sh". For example, "Shijutsu" instead of "Hijutsu", or "Shiyori" instead of "Hiyori".

Is there any rule about it? Or is it just a matter of regional accent where some southern Japanese people pronounce the "H" as "Sh"? Or maybe, the older you get, the more you accentuate the letters.


texts: 戦ぐ風に乗り光り輝く未来を translation

texts: In a song by Monkey Majik (Together) it says 戦ぐ風に乗り光り輝く未来を, and a translation I read says this means grab the bright future. But I don't see anywhere in this sentences that necessarily implies grabbing. Any other suggestions?


texts:
I am currently practicing Japanese by reading a novel but I have reached a sentence that I could not understand.
ごうと音がして
Can you please translate the vocabulary and verb used along with any unique sentence structure/grammar it may have. Thank you.

If it helps, the full context is 「問答、無用」 ごうと音がして、魔女の手の中で火炎が燃え盛る。
I understand that the beginning reads "These questions are useless" and the last part reads "Fire blazed from inside the witch's hand," but I have no clue about the middle part.


texts: Is this seat being chased, or is the person in it being chased from it?

texts:
In my JLPT textbook, I have this sentence:

  彼{かれ}は国民{こくみん}の信頼{しんらい}を裏切{うらぎ}った。それゆえに、権力{けんりょく}の座{ざ}を追{お}われることとなったのである。

I think this sentence means, "He betrayed the trust of the people. As a result, it was the case that he was chased out of his seat of power." "Seat of power" may be overly literal, it's probably more like his seat in the Diet or something, but that's not the part I'm concerned with.

It's the 権力{けんりょく}の座{ざ}を追{お}われること part. From the overall context of the sentence, I'm guessing the guy was chased from the seat. But, from the grammar, because of the を particle that points directly to the chair, it feels like it should mean the seat itself had been chased.

Am I right that it means the guy was chased from the chair? If so, why does 座{ざ}を追{お}われる not mean the chair got chased? If I'm wrong about the meaning, then what does it mean?


texts: Being addressed as “Anata” by a Japanese male friend

texts: My Japanese male friend addressed me with “anata” while we were talking about casual things. That was the first time I have heard from him and usually, he addresses me by my name. I want to know why he used “anata” to address me? (We have been friends for more than a year.)


texts: Why does Siri say 座布団１枚お願いします when I told him he is an interesting person?

texts:
I use Siri to practice my Japanese. I basically say random things to him and see how he responds. (I know this is not even close to effective, don't judge me...)

Today I said to Siri that he is an interesting person:

  Siriさんは面白い人ですね

And he responds with this really weird sentence:

  [座布団]{ざぶとん}１枚お願いします

I guessed that 座布団 refers those cushions that people sit on (and Google Translate proved me right). So the sentence would mean something like:

  a cushion, please!

It makes no sense! What is Siri saying? Is this like a meme or something?

I searched the phrase on the web but all the results are all in Japanese which I can't fully understand...


texts: Which honorific is correct, oshumi or goshumi?

texts: I want to ask a person about their hobbies. Go/O shumi ha nan desu ka? 趣味


texts: How many verb endings to express "do this (please)"?

texts:
I'm familiar with the て and てください forms of a verb to give a command/request and request, respectively. However, I've run across these other forms and really don't know which to use in what situation. I'll just list all the ones I've run across.

止めて下さい
止めてくれ
止めて
止めなさい
止めとけ
止めろ

I believe the first is the most polite and last is the most rude. The others in the middle are a guess. However, when and where to use these forms are a mystery to me.

Note: I'm focused on the endings not the verb itself. Also, if I've missed any, please feel free to add to my list.


texts: What time of day does [後]{のち} cover in 天気予報?

texts:
Often the weather forecasts will say something like

  晴れ　[後]{のち}　所により曇り　→　Sunny/Clear; later Partly Cloudy

In English, most weather reports use more precise with time ranges, like (early/mid/late) morning, noon, (early/mid/late) afternoon, (early) evening, night time, late night, and I think most people have a good approximation of when these ranges cover (some likely overlap).

  Morning: 5:00-12:00

  Early: 5:00-7:00
  Mid: 7:00-10:00
  Late: 10:00-12:00

  Noon: 11:30-13:00
  Afternoon: 12:00-17:00

  Early: 12:00-14:00
  Mid: 14:00-15:30
  Late: 15:00-17:00

  Evening: 17:00-20:00

  Early: 17:00-18:30

  Night Time: 20:00-24:00

  Late Night: 22:00以降

But the "later" that [後]{のち} uses seems very vague.  When I hear it, I usually think "afternoon on(ward)".  Is there an exact range it covers, or even an approximation that most people understand?  Or is it basically when the new conditions start?


texts:
I am watching a taiga drama, Tokugawa Ieyasu, and I hear people say kore wa kore wa often.  I also here sore wa sore wa.
The translation in the subtitle is "well well".
I am only a beginner with the Japanese language and I hear "this this" and "that that".
Can anyone explain the use of these to me and the difference between the two?


texts: How to phrase "first semester in college"

texts:
I would like to say that I just completed my very first semester in college, but I'm not sure of the most natural way to phrase it.
Here's my attempt:
最近、大学には最初の学期がもう終わりました。


texts:
I know they are all the negative form of a verb, but I just don't know the difference. I still remember when I was learning Japanese, my teacher told me that ずに equals ないで in a more ancient way, but what about the other two? When should I use ないで, and when should I use なくて? And how about ず?
Thank you.


texts: Telling the words 口唇 and 紅唇 apart contextually

texts:
When hearing (not reading) 口唇 in a sentence, should it be assumed that the speaker is saying "lips" and not "red lips" (紅唇)? If not, what cues can be used to determine which is being meant?

I know that 赤い唇 also means red lips, and I would assume that it is used to avoid ambiguity.


texts: What's the meaning of nagara and when is it used?

texts: I have been looking at grammar guides on the Internet. But I'm not clear about the meaning of ながら and its usage. Could you help me with some examples and explanation?


texts:
What is the appropriate way to express your best wishes to a woman who is having a baby?

(This is for a colleague, if there are different ways depending on different contexts please explain those, too).


texts:
When I learnt ～ほど～ない grammar,  I found examples with 他に as follows. For me, the presence of 他に seems to be wasteful because

私ほどハンサムな人はいない。There is none as handsome as I.
私ほどハンサムな人は他にいない。There is no other person as handsome as I.

logically "none" in this context should be enough to represent other persons excluding me.

Is 他に essential in ～ほど～ない grammar?


texts: How can I say that someone doesn't seem happy for a specific reason?

texts: I'm writing a short text and I got stuck because I wanted to write that my parents, who are now at home not working seeing that they retired from work, seem to be unhappy. Can I say something like: 両親は働かないで嬉しくなさそうです?


texts: To not have: 持っていません or ありません？

texts:
Whenever I go to the Life supermarket near my house, they ask me at the check out:

  ライフカードを持っていますか？　(Do you have a Life
  [members] card?)

I always respond with something like:

  いいえ、持っていません。

持っていません　(motteimasenn) means I don't have it, but I think more precisely it means I am not carrying it on me. As in, I have a member's card, but not with me right now.

It seems like the right way to answer, with the negative form of the verb they used in the question. And the person at the check out always seems to understand what I mean.

However, I'm thinking it would be more accurate to answer:

  いいえ、ありません。

Which means "no, [I] don't have [a members card]." I think saying ありません means that it's not just that I don't have one with me, I don't have one at all - which is the case.

So, which is the more accurate way to respond? 持っていません or ありません?


texts: Why did the author use hiragana instead of kanji in the following examples? (長い,幼い)

texts:
Could someone please explain why someone would use hiragana instead of the regular kanji?
For instance, we have a character for nagai - 長い, but examples using ながい can also be found in dictionaries and on the internet. Is the hiragana used for emphasis, or is it just the author's taste?
Example (Tanaka Corpus):

このながい不況の結果、社会不安が起こるかもしれない。
Social unrest may come about as a result of this long recession.

Another example found: おさない instead of 幼い

子供はおさないときに母をしゃぶり、大きくなって父親をしゃぶる。


texts:
For example when I say

  彼は本を一冊持っています

vs

  彼は一冊の本を持っています

Which is more natural?. the first one seems more correct to me but I don't really know why or...maybe I'm wrong.


texts: What is the difference between に限って and だけ?

texts:
Both に限って and だけ seem to be used with the meaning of "only".

For instance, both phrases seem to have the same meaning:

  このスーパーは土曜日だけ配達する。
  このスーパーは土曜日に限って配達する。

Is there any difference between them and their usage?


texts: Can 一応ね be understood to mean "...just socially."?

texts:
I found this example on lang-8, and wonder if anyone could clarify the use of 一応ね here:

  A: Are you going on Facebook or Twitter?

  B: Just socially.

  A: FacebookとかTwitterやってる？

  B: 一応ね。

When I look up 一応 on tangorin I get:

  いちおう
  ichiou 【一応 · 一往】
  adverb:
  once;  tentatively;  in outline;  for the time being;  just in case;  so far as it goes

  過去問がもしあるならば一応目を通すほうがいいと思います。 If there are past exam questions then I think it would be best to give them a quick look over.

I asked the original writer (native speaker) and he said that the translation was the meaning in his use of the phrase. Does this meaning exist in common usage and if so is the meaning as specific as the english phrase, "just socially?"


texts: Would a phrase 人の跡を求める be understood without a reference to Basho?

texts:
There is a quote from Matsuo Basho:

  古人の跡を求めず、古人の求めしところを求めよ

Nowadays, would a phrase 人の跡を求める be understood as "to follow someone"s footsteps". Would it be grammatically valid in contemporary Japanese?

Was it grammatically correct in the times of Basho? Or was it already a play on words, ie. it would be invalid without the latter part.


texts: What are the common practices for writing Korean names?

texts:
Some manga made by Korean writers and illustrators write their names entirely with kanji (especially without any clue as to how to pronounce them), while credits in anime write Korean staffers' names entirely with romanized forms.

So what are the common practices for writing Korean names? Which of them is the most common? How do you go about the correct Han characters for those Korean names? Do you ask them (it's not like every Korean has their name readily available in Han characters, is it?)? And do newspapers use furigana for the names?


texts:
I've just started learning Japanese. And these sentences from Minna No Nihongo N5 book lesson 3, are confusing me.

What's the name of your school?

Romanji: Gakku wa doko desu ka.
In my understanding, the statement is about asking "Where is the school?". Similarly;

What company do you work for?

Kaisha wa dochari desu ka (given as answer) should mean "Where is the company?"


texts: Meaning of katakana at the end of okurigana in this song lyrics

texts:
Listening to Japanese music I stumbled upon this song called 僕たちの失敗　by 森田童子. I liked it so I went to look up for the lyrics and its meaning, and there is a part of those in which something is used that I would like to have explained.

The thing is, at some points in these lyrics katakana is used at the end of okurigana. What's the meaning? What's the usage? Why are those sentences written like that?

  弱虫だったんだヨネ

  チャーリー・パーカー見つけたヨ

  ぼくを忘れたカナ

  昔の話だネ


texts: ふじさん vs ふじやま what is "Vocabulary Reading"?

texts: I'm using wanikani, and I'm confused by this question I keep getting wrong. The app is showing me ふじ山 and asking for "Vocabulary Reading". At this point I always type ふじやま but the correct answer by wanikani is ふじさん. What is vocabulary reading? What is さん and what is やま other than they both mean mountain? Which ending sound do people use in which contexts?


texts:
ユーザ or ユーザー, which is more in use or is there no difference?

I see both of them in use, but is there one that is more correct than the other or is at least the prevailing standard?

a similar word is サーバ and サーバー.


texts: Can you modify nouns with polite verbs in the relative clause?

texts: 学校に行く人は学生だ is the plain. So can I use the polite form such as 学校に行きます人は学生です。


texts:
嵐 vs雷雨 is there any difference?
They both mean rain with a thunder?


texts: Could you help me understand the use of くれ in this example?

texts:
I'm new to Japanese Stack Exchange.  I've been studying Japanese with Rocket Japanese for the past two months and would love to have a resource to ask for some advice and guidance when I spend far too much time trying to figure out something myself :-)  I'd much appreciate help me with this question:  What is the exact meaning of kure here:

Will you come with me?
いっしょ　に　きて　くれます　か？ / Issho ni kite kure masu ka?

Why would it not be this instead:
いっしょ　に　きて　します か？ / Issho ni kite shimasu ka?

Or do they both mean the same thing?  If so, is there a different inflection?  As くれ signifies the giving and receiving of something, in this example does it me the giving of someone's time?

I've only mastered the hiragana syllabary to date, so if you could please stick to hiragana in any answers, that would be great :-)


texts: Can't understand the meaning of a sentence: 「使い物にならなきゃ 素手でやるだけか」

texts:
So, I've been reading a manga and there is a phrase that I can't get. It says:

  使い物にならなきゃ
  素手でやるだけか

Those two sentences are separated.
So what I understand about is that if the thing is useless he has to use his bare hands. To give more context they are talking about using a knife.


texts:
I recently finished the anime series Inuyasha, along with the four films. I noticed while looking at the Wikipedia entry for the first film—映画犬夜叉　時代を越える想い—that the romanization is written "Eiga Inuyasha: Toki o Koeru Omoi". This seemed odd to me; considering I recognize the word 時代, which is normally read as じだい and I have never seen a reference to it being pronounced とき.

So I thought this must be a typo. But after looking at the Japanese Wikipedia entry, and a closer inspection of the cover art, I realized it is not. The Wikipedia entry writes the hiragana as いぬやしゃ　ときをこえるおもい, and (although difficult to see) it is right there in the cover art. The furigana under 時代 is written as とき.

Is this a common homograph for 時代? Does it alter the meaning of the word? Tough similar, the definition of 時代 is usually era or time period, where as とき（時）is specifically time.


texts: Meaning of 生じてきたことを喜ぶことのできる心の余裕を持ちたい

texts:
From 林道義「父性の復権」(中央公論新社):

  　思春期というのは、より高いものを求める心理が強いので、親が十分に権威を持っているときでさえも、親以外のもっと尊敬できると思われる人物に傾倒し、それと比較して親を否定してくることがる。ましてや、親が十分に権威を持っていない場合には、子どもの反抗は必ず起こると言っても過言ではない。その場合には、他に具体的なモデルがなくても、親を不十分なモデルとして否定する気持ちが反抗として現れるのである。それは、より普遍的な価値を獲得しようという心の動きであるから、親は子どもの反抗に出会ったなら、そうしたより高いものを求める心が子どもに生じてきたことを喜ぶことのできる心の余裕を持ちたいものである。

I am struggling with the last sentence of the attached text.
The last line is where it gets really difficult for me, the 生じてきたことを喜ぶことのできる心の余裕を持ちたいものである.

I tried to translate this sentence, but especially this last part is not comprehensible for me. My attempt looks like this, but I am sure this misses the point:

  ...the (parent) should enable the child to develop space for carrying happiness in his heart

Could someone explain me what this sentence means?!


texts: I am a beginner to Japanese and playing Pokémon has got me interested. I am learning Katakana and wondering why in Pikachu it is «ピカチュウ» instead of «ピカチュ». Do you have any explanations or links to offer?


texts: What is the function of particle に in this sentence? みんなお寺に名前を登録しなければなりませんでした。

texts:
What is the function of the particle に in this sentence?

  みんなお寺に名前を登録しなければなりませんでした。

That means that everyone had to register their names in temples? But why isn't there で particle then (place of action function)?


texts: I do not understand why と is incorrect when trying to say "both"

texts:
Before I begin, this post is unrelated, despite the similar title.

Here was the question:

My father and mother both are English teachers.

父と母は英語の先生です。

父も母も英語の先生です。

父も母も英語先生です。

I looked at each of the sentences and interpreted that

父 = ちち = father;

母 = はは = mother;

英語 = えいご = English; and

先生 = せんせい = teacher.

Therefore, Sentence 3 is incorrect because it is missing the particle の.

Now I also thought that

も = mo = also.

Thus, Sentence 2 is incorrect because there is no "also" in the italic sentence.

So I circled Sentence 1 but I got the answer incorrect. Why so? What was the correct answer, and what does も mean when it appears twice in one sentence? Does the meaning change, or remain the same?
ありがとうございます。 Thank you in advance.


texts: Who is being referred to in 責任を持って送り届けよう?

texts:
My question here is about whether the speaker is talking about the 戦士たち in this sentence, or perhaps someone not mentioned. One of the reasons I am not sure if he is talking about the 戦士たち is because I wasn't aware if 送り届ける could be used if the object was already on their way to their destination.

A bit of pre context, just right before below extract they used a 冷却剤 to cool the land so that it could be crossed.

  Character 1「これで渡れるようになったのですか？」

  秀穂「さすがに範囲が広いからな。 もうちょっと待ってくれ」

  Character 2「ふむ、このまま待つか……」

  猿雷「ここは拙者に任せておけ」

  Character 2「うわぁああっ！」

  猿雷「それほどまでに驚く理由が分からん」

  Character 1「猿雷さんも応援に来てくれたのですね」

  猿雷「左様、ここが渡れるように成り次第、斥候の役目を果たすつもりだ」

  Character 2「ふむ、じゃあ任せて良いか」

  猿雷「任された。お主たちは公爵に報告するが良い」

  Character 2「了解だ」

  Character 2「秀穂も一緒に来る？」

  秀穂「いや、俺はここで冷却剤の効果を確認しておく」

  猿雷「戦士たちもこちらに向かっているゆえ、責任を持って送り届けよう」


texts: Does 映す also mean "to copy" in some sense?

texts:
I was just sitting in a coffee shop, sheltering myself from the cloudburst over Tokyo a few minutes ago, and I couldn't help but overhear the conversation between to girls beside me.

They were talking about mobile phones, apps, and were showing each other pictures on their phones.

One of the girls said:

  SDカードに映{うつ}す

映{うつ}す means to reflect, or project, and I'm only familiar with it in the sense of a film projector projecting an image on a screen. However, it seemed they were talking about copying pictures to their SD card.

Is 映{うつ}す extended in use to mean copying data to a disk? As in, the bits are reflected on the disk? What are the nuances of 映{うつ}す that make it applicable here?

Is this a recent usage of 映{うつ}す?


texts: Where does "行かれん" come from and what are its characteristics?

texts: Thanks to Weblio, I know that it means 行ってはいけない but I don't understand well the story with 《標準語》(that is in the definition page), its level of politeness,etc


texts: Could somebody explain what this phrase means?

texts:
The phrase is:

  あたしたちでつくっちゃえばいいんだよ、運命{うんめい}なんか。

So far from what I understand:

あたしたち is a feminine version of "we",
つく would be 作{つく}, which is "to do something"/"make something", I believe,
and ちゃう is "to do something completely".

However, from that point on, I'm confused. I don't understand:

The usage of ばいいんだ
Why 運命なんか is placed at the end of the sentence.

If someone could help explain these two points to me, and/or the whole meaning of the sentence it would be much appreciated.