texts:
So as the title says,
What is the difference between しない and じゃない?
And is じゃない even a verb?

I know that しない comes from する.
It's in the negative form. (It should be mizenkei)
But when I tried to conjugate it in the plain negative:
s• + -a + -nai
It was more like sanai.
And it would make more sense if they changed the sound to janai(じゃ) . But for somehow it's (し).
-
I know it's irregular verb.
But how did the (root s•) become (shi し) in the plain negative?
It makes perfect sense to be (shi し) in the polite form (shimasuします) with the (base -i)


texts: Are 「〜のは欲しい」 and 「〜のは出来る」 valid alternatives to 「〜たい」and 「られる」?

texts:
Are 「〜のは欲しい」 and 「〜のは出来る」 valid alternatives to 「〜たい」and 「られる」conjugations for desire and potential form? If so, what's the difference?

Examples: If 見れる means "can see," does 見るのは出来る mean the same? If so, is there a difference in nuance?


texts:
I have a question which is regarding to the word 肉 in Japanese Language.
Below are my opinions and questions about it.

First, pork in Japan is 豚肉 (google-translated from pork), which should be correct but strangely カツ丼 also refers to pork even though name is totally different.
Second, chicken in Japan called チキン.
Third, after Google にく(it is in hiragana because 肉 will redirect me to Chinese websites), what I saw are all about beef which makes me believe that にく in Japan usually means beef.

Now, here is my question does 豚肉, チキン also called 肉 in Japan?
Last but not least, I love Japan!


texts: Function of a って at the end of a sentence?

texts:
と、菅沼教諭が士道の手から握力計を取ると、それを様々な角度から、矯めつ眇めつした。
　そして、はあと息を吐く。
「あー……多分、バネ部分の金属疲労だな。昔から使ってたやつだからガタが来てたんだろう。大丈夫だったか五河」
「え？　はあ……」
　士道が答えると、ごくりと息を吞んでいた生徒たちの雰囲気が一気に緩んだ。
「あーあ、なんだよ、驚かせやがって」
「まあ、そりゃそうだよな、針振り切るならともかくバネ引き千切るって」
　得心がいったように、生徒たちがうなずく。

What would be the function of the bold って?


texts: For example, when someone is looking for something and sees it, they will say "あった”. I understand that the literal translation of あった is just the past tense of ある and means something like "existed". My question is how does this meaning become "found it" i.e. what's the logic behind saying "something existed" when looking for something and then finding it.


texts: Why is there two different ways of writing the 衣 component?

texts:
I notice that 衣 as a kanji component is sometimes written without the third stroke. For example, in 壌, 衣 is written with strokes 13 through to 16: below the horizontal line there are 4 strokes.
But in kanji like 展, below the line there are three strokes, starting with a straight レ and missing the first stroke after the horizontal line.

Why is this? Is it the same component written slightly differently for historical reasons? Are they different components? Are they interchangeable in handwriting or is using the 'wrong' version considered wrong?

(Note: My initial questions incorrectly referred to the kanji components as radicals, which was corrected by various answerers below.)


texts:
Google Translate  translates  「忘{わす}れたい女」 as  "Woman you want to forget".

But it translates  「忘れたい人」　as  "People who want to forget".

Is that a correct translation? If so, why is that?

Should it be  "People you want to forget"?


texts: How do I say "Who is the tallest in your family?"

texts:
Is this correct?
家族に中で背が高い誰ですか。


texts: Use of も particle when stating what someone said

texts:
I believe the following sentence...

メアリーさんも来ると言っていましたから。

...translates as "Because Mary said that she would come."

Can you tell me what the function of the も particle is in this instance? I'm wondering if it's intended to be used to emphasise Mary somehow.

To clarify, person A said

  Shall we start eating?

to which person B said

  Not yet. メアリーさんも来ると言っていましたから。

The translation that makes the most sense to me would be

  Because Mary said that she would come as well

but that's not the given translation, so I wondered if も was being used in another way.


texts: Help understanding 意味で in these sentences?

texts:
いろんな意味で正月をむかえた感じがしたよ
いろんな意味でご名算な気がしたよ

Context (if needed):
The speaker is trying to expose a robot pretending to be human.  The first line is said when the robot ends up pouring soup from her thermos (instead of engine oil).  The second line is said when the robot ends up attempting to use an abacus and hand calculations (instead of using an in-built calculator).
My attempt:
I had a feeling New Year is coming in various significance (??)
I feel like my interpretation of 意味 is wrong, and I'm not sure if で is the "by/in" particle or て form of です.


texts:
What is the difference between these sentences?

  インドでの格好のまま来てしまったのです

and

  インドの格好のまま来てしまったのです

What is the use of で particle?


texts: What is the right translation and saying for ”Paper World”

texts:
I would like to know the right translation and saying "紙界"(Paper World) in Japanese. Should it be "pepa kai", "kami kai" or something else?

Google translate "紙" as "Kami", and "Kami" as "神" when reverse. People also use "ペーパー"(Pepa) as Paper. I'm a bit confused.

Update
I also found "和紙" (washi), "洋紙" (youshi), and "千代田紙" (Chiyodashi). Does it mean "紙" also called "shi"?


texts:
In a book someone hears a woman voice and says:

  心配そうな、お母さんの声

As far as I know, そう(な) is to say something seems based on visual information, and my grammars agree with this: things like おいしそうなケーキ. If linked to something you heard, そう is used to report what you said/heard, like 明日だそうだった, "I heard it's tomorrow".

Given the context, it seems to me that そう is the first meaning, since the character isn't reporting something she heard.

Is that そう the first meaning? If so, is that use wrong/unusual?


texts: What is the difference between そして (soshite) and それから (sorekara)?

texts:
Can anyone explain what is the difference between そして and それから, and when to use which?

Thanks.


texts: Is there a difference between 新年の抱負 and 年頭の誓い?

texts: I looked up on jisho.org a translation for 'new year's resolution' and it gave me two entries: 新{しん}年{ねん}の抱{ほう}負{ふ} and 年{ねん}頭{とう}の誓{ちが}い. The only difference given on the site is that the latter one is an expression in addition to being a noun, and a quick lookup also shows that 新年の抱負 appears far more often in search results. Is popularity the only difference between these two terms?


texts:
What's the reading of 空く?
すく or あく? What's the difference?


texts:
What does dewa mean here?

  ブラウンさん、日本語では、トイレはお手洗いと同じ意味ですよ

I haven't really studied it yet and thought it was kind of a negative used like janai, but here it means-

  Brown-san, in Japanese, toilet has the same meaning as bathroom.

Or is it using the de and wa particles separately or something? I think just using wa would have worked?


texts: Idina Menzel pronounces "Sayaka" ( 沙也加 )?

texts:
In this video, Idina Menzel says "My friend, Sayaka."

She gives emphasis to the YA which seems to be similar to this review of the anime School Days wherein the reviewer says "MaKOto" and "KaTSUra".

So, what is the correct pronunciation of "Sayaka" ? Google Translate gives 2 different pronunciations. The Japanese one is the one I'm thinking and the American one is the one Idina said.


texts: 換える, 替える, 代える, 変える and their intransitive equivalents

texts:
While the meaning of 代える　seems rather straightforward, the other two at times delude me.
When should one be used over another? Are there any situations where both 換える and 替える are applicable?


texts: Connecting adjectives, "does not have to A and B"

texts:
The simplest things seem to be the hardest.

I am exercising the "does not have to be" structure.

If I want to say "the book does not have to be expensive", it is (may be?):

  本は高くなくてもいいです。

But how do I say "the book does not have to be expensive and big"?

I asked this in chat and got a kind answer from Xeo.

Xeo, thank you for your help and I hope I may quote you here:

  @saidy afaik, you generally connect adjectives with the て-form. So I'd wager it works here, too: 「本は高くなくて大きくなくてもいいです。」

  I may be totally wrong, though. Better wait until one of the gurus answer this :)

Is this the correct way to connect adjectives in this case?

Thank you for reading this far. Any help is appreciated.


texts: How to describe a recurring/retrieved condition?

texts:
I don't understand how to describe a recurring or retrieved condition. Is there a special way to express sentences like:

  a) I was sick, but now (just now), I am finally better again.

I want to express that being healthy is the normal state, "had been sick" was a longer but now ended period and that for the future the expectation is "to be fine".

  b) As a child, I had a book, it got lost, but finally (just now) I found it again (this time I will take care not to loose it again).

I know there is "bakari ~ta" for the "happened just now" part, but how do I express the rest of the structure, mostly regarding time and correlation?


texts:
The phrase in the title, 「隙を与える」, comes from 佐賀のがばいばあちゃん p. 167, ch. 13.

The full sentence is 「ばあちゃんは、泥棒に改心する隙を与えてるの。」 (I don't have a Japanese IME on this computer. As it's a public computer, I can't install one.) This is quoted text; the speaker is the ばあちゃん in question.

My reading of the sentence is: I will give the burglar an opportunity to change their mind (i.e. not rob the house).

Is this correct. Does the 隙を与える mean 'give an opportunity'. Please clarify.


texts: Can totemo be used with daisuki or daikirai

texts:
totemo means "very"
suki means "like"
daisuki means "like very much"

If I really like something can I use totemo totemo daisuki desu?


texts: Which ばっか is used in the following passage?

texts:
I'm having trouble interpreting the following passage. None of the definition of ばかり seems to fit. Can someone help me please?

お前．．．全部C先輩のせいみたいに言うなよな。根拠もねーくせに．．．
A君のそういう．．．肝心なとこばっかにぶいとこ。Bちゃん嫌いじゃねーけど
いつか命取りになっても．．．しらないよ。

The ばっか is in the second line.


texts:
There's this manga that is called へうげもの. However, this name is romanized as Hyouge Mono. Although I know little Japanese, I think the kana there spell something like Heuge Mono.

Why does this happen, and what does it mean?


texts: How do I say "Is the sun out today" in Japanese?

texts: I've been searching everywhere for trying to find out how to say this phrase but specifically stuck on the "out" part.  Not sure on what the correct word choice should be used to say that but overall would greatly appreciate if someone could provide me the Japanese translation of the phrase.


texts:
Sometimes, for stylistic or rhetorical effect, one wants to delay mentioning a word/concept until the end of a sentence. For example, it's often best to save the punchline for the very end:

  I was happy to discover that my ex was sentenced to life in prison for arson, murder, and jaywalking.

If we directly translate into a Japanese-style word order—

  ((My ex)-NOM (Arson, murder, and jaywalking)-for ((life in prison)-to sentenced) was) that I discover happy was.

—the utterance hemorrhages much of "jaywalking"'s comic effect into the bog of unnecessary background and framing information.

Whereas English word order naturally places the word where we want it, if we instead wanted to place it somewhere else, English makes available alternative or periphrastic phrasings, such as "x did y." → "It was y that x did."

So likewise: what techniques or periphrastic constructions are available in Japanese to move words or clauses?


texts: Meaning of また今度、使ってくれよな

texts:
I'd like to ask if I'm correct in reading the following phrase as "(Please) use it again sometime!":

  また今度、使ってくれよな！

Thanks for the help.


texts:
why is it that some 形容動詞 accepts の after it while some only accepts な after it?

Examples:

の only: 普通、大勢

な or の: 初心、特別、特殊

Is there a way for us to tell if a 形容動詞 needs a の or な particle after it.. or is it just by brute force memory?

Btw my second question is that if a 形容動詞 accepts both の and な after it, is it true that usually we will use the な, even though の is grammatically correct too?


texts:
As far as I can tell, if you want to say something like "Would you...?" or "Why don't you..?", it's common to say something like "食べるのだろうか？". I looked it up and as I far as I can tell it's short form+の to make it a noun, and then だろう which is the volitional of だ... this is after a lot of Googling around and I'm still kind of confused, since I haven't even heard the volitional mentioned in my class yet. Please tell me if that's right.

If I understand Wikipedia correctly, you could also say "食べようか？". First off, is that conjugating it right; second, is that something you would say; finally, how is it different from -の+だろう?

Thanks for any help.


texts: ちょっと and/or むり: How to refuse an invitation with a specific reason?

texts:
It is commonly taught that the polite way to refuse an invitation is "ちょっと。。。"

However, how do you refuse an invitation, while giving a reason? For example, would it still be considered polite to say something like, "ちょっとむり、[reason]"?

Conversely, if someone replied to you with "ちょっと。。。", how would you politely ask them why?


texts: What are some words with kanji/readings/meanings that don't match?

texts:
Maybe a hard to understand question, but for example, I love the word 百日紅 (さるすべり) because it's the name of a red flower and uses some very poetic kanji (one hundred days of red) but opts instead for a reading that means a slipping monkey. I suppose I mean this in more of an interesting way than just gikun or ateji. Rather I'm looking for this total disconnect that 百日紅 seems to have, if that makes sense.

Are there any more like this?


texts: What function does に serve in this sentence?

texts:
仕事に真面目で広大な都市の中をしょっちゅう飛び回っているため、彼女とは連絡を取ろうとしてもそう簡単には捕まらない。

I'm not sure how to interpret the first part of the sentence. What does に do here?

Thanks!


texts: Using the causative form (使役形) to create humble language (謙譲語)?

texts:
"この町に住ませて頂きたいんです。" is a line from a movie. That grammar makes sense to me. In this context, 使役形 is used to create a humble mood. (頂く) makes it even more humble.

Based on that, today I said: "３年ぐらい、広島に住ませて頂きました。"
I was told that is incorrect. In fact, this is correct: "3年ぐらい、広島に住ませてくれました。"
This grammar confuses me.

I feel that "この町に住ませて頂きたいんです。" should be sounded-out into passive voice: "I want to be forced to live in this town."

However, I don't know how to sound-out "3年ぐらい、広島に住ませてくれました。" into passive voice? By using 使役形 in this context, I am just pretending that someone has power over me (so as to humble myself). But, when I hear 「くれる」, I sense that the two parties must be specified (me and someone else). But, since I am just pretending there is someone with that power, there really is no one else.


texts:
After watching a boxing match, a spectator says about the winner:

  相手にボクシングをさせないように自分の全てを発揮してる…　勝つための〝確実さ〟に徹している

徹す seems to have so many meanings that I don't know how to interpret it here. First of all, is it [徹す]{とおす} or [徹する]{てっする}? If it's the latter, could it mean "to devote oneself", in the sense of doing just a specific thing? My attempt:

  He shows all he has to prevent the opponent from fighting... He
  just uses his confidence to win.

Thank you for your help!


texts:
It seems to me that some colors need の when describing an item, yet others don't.

For example:

黄色のくつ (Yellow shoes; has の)
赤いくつ (Red shoes; no の)
オレンジ色のくつ (Orange shoes; has の)
青いくつ (Blue shoes; no の)

It would seem the kanji for color (色) isn't always mandatory, which I would guess is also related.

Is there some kind of distinction per color, or is it just two ways of saying the same thing?


texts: What are these two characters marked red? い＿める and いじめ＿いよォ?

texts: What are these two characters marked red? I'm trying to learn reading some kid books, some Bonobono font chars meaning though is a mystery for me.


texts: Can 国体 refer to "prefectural" as well as "national"?

texts:
If 国体 is used in conjunction with a prefecture name like 山口国体, does that mean "The National Athletic Meet that is being held in Yamaguchi", or the "The Yamaguchi Prefectural Athletic Meet"?

The only definition I can find for 国体 (in the context of a sports meet) is that it's the National Athletic Meet (goo), but 国 can have a meaning of "region" or "hometown" as well as "nation" (goo), so I'm unsure as to what it can mean in this context.


texts:
Is there and difference between わけです and というわけです

  「林さんは料理学校に行きたいと言っていましたよ。」
  「つまり、ここでの勉強をやめるというわけですね]

Can this be modified to ……ここでの勉強をやめるわけですね as well?

If not - what are the appropriate situations to use either?


texts: How do you pronounce 電報船? Is is でんぽうふね、でんぽうぶね or でんぽうせん?

texts: I recently started to read 'Made in Abyss' and unfortunately is doesn't contain any furigana, which sometimes makes it hard for me to understand. So I came across the word 電報船, which refers to a mail ship, but since rendaku is a thing in japanese, the ふね might become ぶね. Or せん? Does anybody now how to pronounce the word properly (and why)?


texts: What is the difference between 補う vs 埋め合わせる

texts:
Both words are defined as "To make up for". What is the difference and in what contexts are these words used?

Thanks in advance.


texts: Which onyomi would be used for a Chinese name?

texts:
Let us pick a Chinese name with differently read kanji:

李清雲

The possible onyomi are:

リ・ショウドン for Go’on
リ・セイタン for Kan’on
リ・シン(or チン)タン for Tousou’on

Now we open the Japanese Wikipedia to learn which is the correct option and find… リセイドン。 A combination of mismatching readings. Is there a way to predict which 音読み will be implemented in pronouncing the name of a Chinese  person written in kanji?


texts:
What is the difference between saying 「最近毎日は何もをしなかったり、ただの寝るとからなるよ。」and「最近毎日は何もをしなくて、ただの寝るのよ。」

I'm not sure if one doesn't work with that sentence, or if this works the same in negative form, but I've been seeing the past-tense + り combination quite a bit recently and just wanted to know which to use and when.


texts:
I have trouble with two lines that are closely tied together. The following is them in context. The lines in question are shown in bold.

  A: 待ちなさい！B、あなたを確保します！

  B: 邪魔よ……どきなさい。

  A: あなたは今、bla bla bla, irrelevant anime bs 状態なの……
  そんな状態で暴れて回っても、
  なんにもならないんだから……

  B: 何にもならないかどうかは、私が決めるわ。あなたに口を挟まれる事じゃない。

  A: いいえ！口も挟めば手も出します！

The "irrelevant anime bs" is just me stripping the bit that explains B's situation in more detail, but that detail IMO would just lead us down the rabbit hole of explaining lore and like which is not the point here.

The following is my take on this segment:

  A: Wait! B, I will arrest you!

  B: You’re a nuisance…begone.

  A: You are in a state of (irrelevant)…
  Because of that there is no point in getting violent, so…

  B: I’ll be the one to decide whether or not there is any point.
  I won’t be interrupted by you.

  A: Noo! I'll either interrupt you or fight you!

First of. For me it's strange that the verb 口を挟む is being used. As far as I can see it's used for interrupting someone's speech (like mouth is right there in the verb as object), while here from context B (which is suffering the interruption from A it seems) hasn't actually had her speech interupted. But more A is going to secure/arrest her and prevent her for going where she wants. And I don't really see in the definition of the verb it being used for this kind of thing.

Second thing is the 事じゃない which I'm not entirely sure what it's doing here. Is it, "it's not a situation where I'll suffer being interrupted", or general "I'm not/won't be interrupted by you" or something?

Due to the accumulated confusion, this makes the A's reply even more confusing to me. I know about the も～ば～も pattern that is used for and/or either/nor and such. So I guess she is saying she'll either interrupt/stop or fight her.


texts: ‘から’ と‘ですから’ と、どちらが正しいですか。

texts:
例えば、あのレストランは料理も美味しいし、雰囲気もいいから、大人気です。
疑問は以下:　このフレーズの中で、どうして“いいから”を使ったんですか。“いいですから”を使うのではないですか。そうだったら、“大人気だ”になりますか。
教えてください。


texts: What does 時間が惜しい。この部屋も掃除させてもらうぞ mean?

texts: What i got from this is : "it's bad timing i will have to clean this room too." Am i close?


texts:
I've heard it a few times that some Japanese speakers seem to pronounce もちろん as "mochirong", i.e., with more nasal voice than "mochiron".

Is this true, or just my aging ears are fooling me?


texts:
Context: a former swordsman takes his daughter to attend kendo lessons. She doesn't seem happy, so he reminds her that she decided herself to go, at which che replies:

んだよ！とーさんがさんざん剣がどうのって話ばっかするからだろ！！

What is the meaning of どうの? I found an example on Kenkyusha dictionary suggesting it can be used in lists:

色がどうのデザインがどうのと彼女は文句ばかりつけている.
She's forever complaining; if it isn't the color, it's the design or something else.

Is this the way it was used in my sentence? Thank you for your help!


texts: Is 「どこにいくのがよろしいですか」 a correct way to ask for directions?

texts:
I visit an office and enquire where (floor, desk, etc) I should go -

  どこに いくのが よろしいですか

Would this be an incorrect expression?
If so, what is the mistake?

What would be a better way to ask the same?


texts:
For full context:
http://www3.nhk.or.jp/news/easy/k10011229751000/k10011229751000.html

The sentence in question:
この中には、人と同じように手が動いて、物を持つことができるロボットがあります。

My attempt at translation:
"Out of these, there are roboters which can hold things and

Variant A: ...there are hands which can move like human (hands)."
Variant B: ...move their hands the same like humans."

I think that Variant B is more likely to be correct than variant A. Variant A makes 人と同じように like a simple attribute to て, which is too far off from the adverbial character this  人と同じように has judging by it's grammatical elements.

However, the problem with Variant B is that I translate "動いて" in a transitive fashion, while 動く is clearly listed as intransitive on jisho http://jisho.org/search/%E3%81%86%E3%81%94%E3%81%8F
also, が instead of を suggests an intransitive meaning. If it was a potential verb then I wouldn't mind implying a "transitive" meaning combined with "can (do)", but 動く doesn't have any potential properties by default, does it?
I also tried to search for an answer here http://www.guidetojapanese.org/learn/grammar/in-transitive  but it wasn't really helpful for this particular case.

EDIT: I think I got a bit closer to resolving the question on my own. I completely overlooked that 動いて is of course also directly connected to ことができる. In this case, 手が動く would fit perfectly well.
The only thing which still makes me a bit skeptical is that 動く is intransitive by default. It probably perfectly normal for japanese, but since I usually only encountered transitive verbs being transformed into potential forms, it feels a bit estranging to see an intransitive verb take a pseudo-transitive meaning in a potential construction...^^


texts:
I don't wanna develop bad habits so I am asking at the beginning. Is my hiragana handwriting understandable?
It was not meant to be some ornament artistic style but just the casual handwriting written at the same speed as when I am writing Latin alphabet. So here it is


texts:
Using them as descriptors, can they be interchanged?

E.g. 親切な人　vs　親切の人

Is の only acceptable if referring to a specific new person from a certain place that has been established earlier in the conversation?


texts: Do Roman numerals have on and kun readings?

texts: I know that kanji numbers can be read using on and kun readings. Does the same apply to Roman numerals?


texts:
I came across this sentence in a workbook:
大町は電車や車の音が五月蠅いです。

If it was changed to:
大町の電車や車の音が五月蠅いです。
would it still be grammatically correct?

Thank you.


texts: How has japanese writing changed in the last century?

texts:
This is a fairly vague question and I will try and make it more specific, but, if possible, could you list the changes that have occured in japanese writing in particular? (e.g character change, sentence structure, way of writing, etc.). I don't expect there to be a complete list, but if you have anything that you know of please put it below.
      I ask this because people say that some of my grandma's japanese, -particularly in letters-  is seldom used anymore, but is still largely understandable; so, I am curious as to what made it seem outdated. If it helps at all, my grandmother was born in Shimane prefecture in the mid 1930's

  Thank you!
          Morella A.


texts: Recent creation or adoption of hanzi characters into Japanese kanji

texts:
According to Wikipedia, kanji was introduced and imported from chinese hanzi long time ago before Japanese language even had a writing system. From there, Japanese kanji has transformed and evolved from the original hanzi and became what is is today. To my knowledge, it is not clear how long the process took but I'm guessing that, except for modification and simplification, the assimilation has already matured long time ago. Is this true?

Are there any kanji characters that were recently (i.e. post-1946 reform) created or imported from hanzi? What I mean are characters that were previously still not used in Japanese until they were created or imported from hanzi, not characters that had been assigned new meanings or readings, nor characters that had been simplified like 惡 -> 悪.

Related to that, is it possible in the future that newly coined words like むかつく to be assigned brand new kanji characters instead of reusing existing ones?


texts: Is it conditional like the same as saying 「なら」?


texts: Email signature detection - what are some common phrases to sign off emails?

texts:
I am a developer on Speaking Email, an app that reads out email in any language.

I am working on our email signature detector and I'm looking for some examples of Japanese phrases that would be found in an email signature.

Specifically I am looking for things like "kind regards" (as used in English) that would be very uncommon to find at the beginning or middle but very commonly signify the end of an email.

I gather "thank you" is commonly used at the end of emails in Japanese but it is also just as common in the middle of an email, so it is not ideal. Are there any other common phrases to sign off an email?

I would like the Japanese characters as they are written in an email.


texts: Understanding the pattern "〜から、〜に耳打ちしてもらう"

texts:
I am trying to interpret the sentence:

――ラファから、長に、そう耳打ちしてもらう

You can see this in context here, but I'll describe a little of the situation in this post.

The line is said by a character named Ian to the main character. The topic is Yakt, someone who broke a tradition of their culture. Ian had just told the MC "掟を破った者を、置いてはおけない。" which I believe means "We can't keep someone here who broke our rule."

ラファ (Rafa) seems to be a young girl who appears throughout the novel, and I assume 長 is the leader of the tribe (an older woman).

Anyway, I believe "耳打ち" means "whisper". So the crux of my question is how から and に fit in grammatically here with "してもらう"

I am guessing this sentence means the following:

Rafa will covertly tell the village chief about Yakt leaving the village.

However I may have things reversed.

Can someone confirm my interpretation?


texts:
I was listening to this podcast on Himalaya (Link given below) and I came across this sentence which starts with て, I'm not sure why it starts with て, can anyone please explain this? Also I'm not sure what does ていうのと、あとは means here? Is it some sort of a fixed expression which means "other than that" or something, how do you break this expression down?

ていうのと、あとはやっぱ怒らせないようにっていうのを考えてすごく対応してくれてるって言うのがわかって…

Source: At around 07:22 at http://www.himalaya.com/jp/episode/125679/53455746?Share_from=App&Influencer_uid=1037891&Share_to=Others


texts: Why is 江風 being translated to Kawakaze even though there's no Kawa in the kanji?

texts:
I am a bit stumped. It's perhaps a stupid little thing, but it has been bothering me.
I am studying Japanese and I am also a bit of an Azur Lane fan (a Gacha game).
One of my favorite characters is called Kawakaze based off of the real life IJN Kawakaze (A Shiratsuyu class destroyer)
Now as you can see the kanji that are being used are 江風, which translates to Bay Wind even though River Wind seems to be much more popular for some reason.
Now I looked these kanji up and I notice a problem. The first one (Bay, Creek, Inlet) has no reading that translates to Kawa. The second is Kaze meaning wind.
How's that possible? I did some looking around and her Kancolle (a similar gacha game) counterpart actually has a note on her page that says "Her kanji "江風" would more commonly be read as "Ekaze" instead of "Kawakaze"."
There's even a voiceline that goes like this.
Kawakaze : YO ! The 9th Shiratsuyu-class Destroyer, Kawakaze of the revised Shiratsuyu-class. Nice to meet you ! Ah, about the reading of my name, do not get it wrong ! It's KAWAKAZE, not Ekaze !
Myschin : Ekaze and Kawakaze doesn't sound alike at all ! I won't make that kind of mistake but..
So how does this happen? Is this something unique to warships or is there some funkiness going on that I just don't understand. I am a beginner, so this might just be a very simple thing that I just don't understand. Jisho says 江 only has two readings. え and コウ, so no　かわ.


texts:
I saw the meaning of the words individually, but when I've tried to join them it doesn't make sense.
何者 = who; what kind of person
なくなった= lost


texts:
１． 頭が真っ白になる。何も考えられなくなる。意識が断線する。彼女は自由を奪われた。「檻の鍵は、どこ？」 息を吹きかけるように、囁くように耳元へ声を添えられる。

  ２．学生は先生に名前を聞かれました。

How do I interpret this? Are they suffering passives?

Thanks!


texts: Is there a difference between 'hanasu' written 離す versus 放す?

texts:
I was looking for the pronunciation of 離す by searching 'let go' on Jdic. I came across 放す, but not 離す. Is there a difference between the 2?

The example I was looking at was:

  あいつはマイクを握ったが最後、離そうとしないカラオケ狂だ。
  He is such karaoke fan that if only he gets his hands on the mike he wouldn’t drop it all night.


texts: Using the particle と instead of the particle で

texts:
Can I say 家族と　instead of 家族で　in the sentence below?

  今年の夏、私は家族で山の中にあるホテルに泊まりました。

If I can, how does the meaning of the sentence change if I use the different particle?

Another example:

  兄弟で遊びます。

Again, I wonder if で　and と　are interchangeable here.


texts: What is the etymology of the term [仏]{ほとけ}[様]{さま}?

texts:
What is the etymology of the term 仏様 ?
I am interested because of all the meanings this word can possess.


texts: Meaning of 気持ちを通わせていった

texts:
My question is about phrases like 心を通わせる, etc which use 通わせる. If I look up an explanation using it I will often see e.g. 心が通じ合う which makes sense to me, but I don't quite get how to understand the way the causative form of 通う is being used.
こうして、流れに身を任せるように、お互いの気持ちを通わせていった


texts:
Is there any difference between 流石 and 予想した通りでした?

In the two replies to this, one implies it could be used sarcastically, while the other reply says it would be out of place if not meant to praise the object.
I've seen many english speakers actively use さすが in a sarcastic manner to mock a great failure of somebody, but I believe it is improper usage.

I've never seen it used in japanese in that manner, and all the research I've done also say the same thing as the bottom reply in that thread.

Ex: someone known to do weird things does something socially unacceptable, and they want to mock him by saying "さすがname".

the point is they want to mock the person, not that their expectations were correct.

Is this correct or incorrect, and what could they say instead if they wanted to lightly mock the person? Assuming they are friends with a habit of saying deprecating things to each other.


texts: What's the difference between こそ and さえ in 「忙しくて昼ごはんを食べる時間＿＿＿ない」

texts:
I don't know which to choose:

  忙しくて昼ごはんを食べる時間さえない

or

  忙しくて昼ごはんを食べる時間こそない

The explanation in my textbook is given in such a way that I can't understand the difference:

It says こそ "expresses emphasis" and for さえ it gives an example "Even children know that" with no additional elaboration and that example is also, I think, emphasis, so how to understand?


texts: When is it appropriate to use お宅 to refer to the second-person?

texts:
An answer to "What is the most natural way to refer to someone when you don't know their name and don't have a close relationship with them?" suggests that お宅 may be used to refer to the second person.

When is (or was) the use of お宅 appropriate? Because rikaikun defines お宅 as:

  your house; your home; your family; your husband; your organisation; you (referring to someone of equal status with whom one is not especially close)

There is some conflict with the fact that the answer to the other question was voted down.


texts: Can "という" be considered as an optional speech choice in some situations?

texts: I've noticed that some people can use という very liberally and in TV programs, they cut out most of the という in their Japanese subtitling (in offical TV progs, not fan subs), so I assume the only という left are the ones that actually are essential (e.g. calling something a certain name)?


texts: How would you use つもり with する verbs? のつもり or するつもり?

texts:
Is it more correct to say:

  勉強のつもり
  or
  勉強するつもり?

EDIT:
I take it 'I plan not to study' would be 「勉強しないつもり」. Unless it's something else like 「無勉強のつもり」 which I highly doubt. Am I correct in saying this?


texts:
The sentence in question:
少子化の影響などで婚姻件数そのものが減っているのに加え、結婚しても式や披露宴などを行わない、いわゆる「ナシ婚」が増えて、そのあおりでブライダルの市場規模が縮小傾向にあるのです。

For full context:
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/news/business_tokushu/2018_0621.html?utm_int=news_contents_tokushu_004

My attempt at translation:
"Even though the decling birthrates effect and the number of marriages itself shrinks, it increases and though people do marriage, they don't do ceremony and celebration and what is called "nankon" increases and with this ???gust (of wind)??? the wedding planning marketscale is in declining trend."

After I had googled  ナシ婚 　I could somehow figure out what this sentence is about, but obviously I'm still confused by the grammar. Especially
少子化の影響などで婚姻件数そのものが減っているのに加え really throws me off. I can't find any explicitely articulated reference point for 加え in the sentence and I don't know what to extrapolate from the context. Then, it is directly followed by 結婚しても which I find hard to integrate in this grammatical context which already makes it hard for me to find out what is being said precisely here.^^


texts:
Why use が in the sentence below? Would を be equally correct?

  このピアノはとてもいい音がします。


texts: Why is it 一つ、二つ、三つ　「の」？

texts: Why do the counting words use a possesive particle?


texts:
君の目が貫いた　僕の胸を真っ直ぐ

This is one of the lines in a song I recently heard.
I was confused why the particle "wo" is in between the direct object and an adverb that modifies the verb, 貫いた.
Can anyone explain what is going on in the sentence? Does it only apply on Written Japanese?
Thanks in advance! ^~^
Here's the Lyrics


texts: Is 「悪く言うと」 used in a positive sense here?

texts:
Source: https://oshiete.goo.ne.jp/qa/6741640.html

しかも彼女は私に嫌な感情を持っていないので（私は、よく「情が深い」と言われるタイプで、（悪く言うと八方美人なのですが）周囲の人を大切にするので、あまり嫌な感情は持たれません。）距離が取れません。

Is the poster here using 「悪く言うと」in a positive sense here?
OR
Is「八方美人」 used as a negative word and 「悪く言うと」shows the negative sense/meaning?


texts: can a word be written with different kanji?

texts:
i was looking for the word meaning to be lit which is 付く but as a looked at the meaning it said to see 点くwhich i found to also mean 'to be lit' so are they both the same or are they different? and can i use them both in any case or are there exceptions?
thanks for any help and sorry for my frequent questions


texts: Usage of 卵 vs. 玉子 when talking about eggs

texts:
While reading the first manga of 「3月のライオン」, I came across an interesting usage of kanji for eggs. Until then, I've only seen 卵 used for eggs, or its readings using hiragana or katakana. The protagonist of the story received a text message on his phone, that asked him to drop-by the convenience story on the way to the sender's home, in order to buy some groceries. 「あと、玉子も！！」was at the end of it.

I'm wondering why these kanji were used and if there are general guidelines when to use one or the other.


texts:
A boxer is trying to take his opponent down by brute force rather than technique. Someone frome the audience then shouts:

  アウトもカンケーねーよ！！あんなゴリ押しのタックル…！！

I think a rough translation of the sentence could be:

  What is he trying to do by tackling him down? He doesn't have to push
  him out of the ring!

but I am not sure about the meaning of アウト. Is it a reference to some other sport? Here you can see the whole page where the sentence is from. Thank you for your help!


texts: Is きれい related to きたない? Is there a dictionary of such inflections?

texts:
Right now I'm wondering if きれい (kirei, clean) is related to きたない (kitanai, dirty) because I just learned that "nai" can be a negation like "orenji wo tabenai" meaning I don't eat an orange.

And in general, is there a dictionary or tool to list off inflections, conjugations, and stems of words? In this case, wiktionary wasn't useful:

https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/%E6%B1%9A%E3%81%84

https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/%E3%81%8D%E3%82%8C%E3%81%84


texts: Which kanji writing should i follow when writing on paper, digital or non-digital?

texts:
I have came across 必 and wanted to learn how to write it. Though there are major differences between how it looks digitally and how it looks on paper. Here is the link I used : http://jisho.org/search/%E5%BF%85%20%23kanji

Which one should I follow when writing on paper?


texts:
I've seen both 実践 and 実戦 used in the context of practice questions, both pronounced じっせん, of course.

実践問題 seems to be the more common of the two, meaning a practice exercise, but I've recently come across one which instead says 実戦問題.

Firstly, I'd like to confirm this isn't a typo, given that 実戦 refers to combat. If the text is correct, and both 実戦問題 and 実践問題 are technically accepted, Is there a difference in meaning or nuance between the two?


texts: Translation of 面倒 as referring to a person

texts:
I'm trying to think of a good translation for the word 面倒 when used to refer to a person in a negative way, as in:

　　　　あんたは面倒なタイプの人間だ

The context is someone who is being very talkative and persistently debating a certain point, to the extent they are referring to their own speech as 屁理屈.

I can think of a bunch of related words, but nothing really seems to sound just right: annoying, troublesome, tedious, detail-oriented, argumentative, anal, etc.

You can see it used in context here if needed.

This is my best guess so far. If anyone has any suggestions, please let me know.

You're one of those annoying argumentative people.


texts:
This is a complete sentence from a book.

  おいしいお料理に、とても楽しい雀の踊り。

  (There was??) delicious food and a fun sparrow dance.

For context, in the previous sentence an old man is introduced to the bird and its friends. In the succeeding sentence we are told that the old man had a great time.

1) Is the sentence correct or is there a bit missing from the end? I would like to write　おいしいお料理に、とても楽しい雀の踊りがいました。

2) If it is correct what is the grammar here? Under what circumstances can I omit the verb and why would I do so?

3) What is に doing. It appears to be acting as 'and'. I've never seen this before?


texts: Particle に when related to state and how to recognize a verb as a state

texts:
While looking at the examples of ている form and usage in my textbook I came across this sentence

  かぞくは とうきょうに すんでいますMy family lives in Tokyo.

I know from what I've been reading on the internet that that the verb here is a state and that the に here marks the location that the state is taking place in. Basically I'm wondering when a verb can or can't be a state.  All the examples I've seen have used ている form with に to make sentences like this which makes sense but it makes me question my placement of the the particle で in some of the ている practice sentences I made like this one.

  みちこさんは バスていで バスを まっています
  Michiko is waiting for the bus at the bus stop

Any help/explanation with this is appreciated and If Its unclear what I'm asking say in the comments and I'll try to add to the question.


texts: In a sentence like 白と黒の犬がいます, would it be saying, "There is a black dog and a white dog," or, "There is one black and white dog"?


texts:
彼女は何か食べ物が欲しいです。

この犬は何か飲み物が欲しいです。

彼は何か読み物が欲しいです。

I didn't understand this structure, could you write some translations and explain me them?


texts:
I found the following dialogue on lang-8:

  A: 駄目だ、飲み過ぎて頭が回転しない。
  B: 仕事、明日にしたら？

  A: Oh no, I drank too much so I can't concentrate on it.
  B: Why not do your work tomorrow?

So does 頭が回転する　mean "able to concentrate" or am I misunderstanding it? In English when ones head spins, it is a euphemism for being drunk or dizzy but I guess in Japanese having ones head revolve quickly (maybe describing the speed of thoughts turning over/ideas coming) equals being quick-witted. Would anyone be kind enough to explain this idiom?


texts: How do I use うく as casual slang (as in ういた)?

texts:
Sometimes I hear Japanese people say ういた in conversation when describing something (usually someone) unpleasant.  I asked my coworker once "what is this word", but I got a very poor explanation (not her fault, it just seems very much like a "sense" thing).

The only impression I have of it is a word that describes someone (or their actions) that everyone else is thinking, "uhm, OK?" in sort of a dumbfounded way.  Am I close?

Does anyone have a good example of this usage so I can get my head around it?


texts: What is the meaning of “ ヒキョーだ”? What would be a good english word/phrase to replace it?

texts:
I am translating a manga and this is a word that I could not find a translation for. If someone could help it would be greatly appreciated!!

In the manga, there isnt really a sentence but the context is that one person just threatened the boy in order to get him to help them & The boy said “ヒキョーだ”

the manga screenshot!


texts:
I have a question regarding the translation of the following sentence.

人は誰もまた失うほどに求めるけど

I know the basic functions of ほど but still can't see how this plays out.


texts: How do I express sentences like: He is dying?

texts: For instance, "He is eating" is "Kare wa tabete iru". However, "He is dying" is not "Kare wa shinde iru". Another example is "He is going to Japan" is not "Kare wa nihon ni itte iru". So if I can't use the "te iru" form to express an action currently in progress for verbs like shinu, iku, kuru, then what would be correct way to make those sentences?


texts:
I'm reading the manga 僕だけがいない街 where the following is thought about a character who is kind towards the protagonist:

  相変わらず｛あいかわらず｝お人好し｛おひとよし｝。。。いやいい人｛ひと｝だ。

The implication is that the guy is a good person. What is the difference though between お人好し and いい人 that the protagonist finds necessary to emphasize?


texts: What's the difference between 意外にも and 意外に?

texts:
I was practicing writing for Japanese and I wanted to say, "We don't say it often, but surprisingly, it has the same meaning as "good luck""

My original sentence was "あまり言わないけど、意外に、「がんばって！」と同じ意味だよ。" Several Japanese natives corrected my sentence to:

  あまり使わないけど、意外にも/意外なことに、「がんばって！」と同じ意味だよ。

My question is, what's the difference between 意外にも and 意外に？

Thank you in advance.


texts:
In a manual about welding I encountered the following sentences:

  (3)FSWを行う継手について，表面(A)に垂直な直線(B)を作画

  (4)表面(A)から距離440mm位置の直線(B)上の点(C)を作画

I am not sure if を作画 means "Drawing of the straight line..." or if it means "Draw the straight line". Does it refer to the drawings on the right or is it telling to draw and する has just been omitted? Since there is を, I think it is telling to perform the action of drawing. To mean "Drawing of..." there should be の作画, right?

Since I also encountered を算出, を決定 and similar expressions, could you confirm that in instruction manuals these kind of expressions placed at the end of sentences are always telling to perform the action indicated by the noun with the omission of する? Or can they be plain nouns meaning "calculation of..., determination of..., drawing of..."? Thank you for your help!


texts: Both of them mean "very" according to many dictionaries, but if I remember it correctly, sometimes きわめて and いたって are interchangeable, sometimes not. How to use them correctly?


texts:
Well I'm a begginer, how do I know if 一 means ichi/itsu or its used for lengthening the word??
in tenkaichi(dragon ball) ichiraku ramen(naruto) the 一 is used there because it means best or one
I'm wondering if 一 can be used in spelling instead of いち even though the sentence doesn't mean one/best
and when i read some titles of eps, i don't know if the 一 means 1 or its used for lengthening the word


texts: regarding the kanjis 嗚呼; 於乎; 於戯; 嗟乎; 嗟夫; 吁; 嗟; 噫; 鳴呼

texts:
This question has 2 parts.

Why is it that ああ has so many different kanji 嗚呼; 於乎; 於戯; 嗟乎; 嗟夫; 吁; 嗟; 噫; 鳴呼 (source)

and is the average japanese (16 yr old and above) able to recognize them all?


texts:
一人ぽっちでいられなくしたのはお前 (Spoken)

Is this just like the なくなる grammar (e.g. 食べなくなる) but with する implying it was done by someone?


texts:
私たちはしばらく肉を食べていない。
We have eaten no meat for several days.

I don't get how you get the meaning of "have not eaten for several days" from "しばらく肉を食べていない." I can only see it being "we will not eat meat for several days." If it means "have not eaten for several days" why isn't it しばらく肉を食べていなかった? しばらく with ていない makes sense in past and future tense, but I don't get how it works with the present tense.


texts: Are there verbs that are neither intransitive nor transitive?

texts:
i was taught that verbs are either transitive or intransitive.

but what kind of verb is 分かる ?

WWWJDIC lists it as intransitive.

Yet the replies/comments from this thread Why is it 日本語がわかります instead of 日本語をわかります? argues that を can be used with 分かる.

so is　分かる both a transitive verb and an intransitive verb at the same time?


texts: Is there a phrase in Japanese that means "anything under the sun"?

texts:
The English idiom "anything under the sun" means, anything at all. For example:

We sat and talked about anything under the sun.

Is there a Japanese phrase with the same nuance as that? The sentence:

私たちは座って色々な事について話しました。

doesn't seem to "catch" the nuance.


texts: When should the polite form of 〜たり be used?

texts:
I've noticed that I don't see 〜ましたり used very often, but it does seem to be an accepted form. I believe this form can be broken down like this: 動詞{どうし}の連用形{れんようけい}＋「ます」の連用形{れんようけい}＋「たり」

My understanding is that normally the sentence-final 動詞{どうし} is the one that is responsible for indicating the politeness of the sentence, while other verbs can be made polite depending on "how polite" you want the sentence to sound (as long as that 動詞{どうし} is not in a relative clause, and not in the objective clauses of certain verbs).

However, 〜たり makes a 動詞{どうし} nominal, so it is not clear to me when, if ever, you should use the polite form of the 動詞{どうし} when attaching 〜たり. (On a potentially related side note, I don't think I ever see the polite form of a 動詞{どうし} when using 中止形{ちゅうしけい} either.)


texts: Is there a difference between 同じ気, 同じの気, and 気の同じ?

texts:
https://i.imgur.com/pEzn7lZ.jpg

There is debate about whether おなじ気 is referring to the amount of Ki or the general feeling of Ki. I looked up the Japanese text and wondered if the lack of a の character might shed any light.


texts:
I have a sentence example, the translation being "I want to be able to play the piano"

ピアノが　弾けるように　なりたい

Can somebody please tell me how this differs to

ピアノを　弾きたいんです

I am not understanding why ように is here. The only example that springs to mind is one I saw on a TV segment

モップのような猫

Yes, a cat like a mop. The lady was pushing a lazy fat cat along the floor to clean. Japanese TV eh?

Thanks in advance.


texts: When do I use all the words meaning "song"?

texts: There's 歌, 曲, 歌曲, 唄, etc. I was about to give a few example contexts, but in English there really doesn't seem to be more than one way in which we refer to a 'song'. I do see different words being used in different places but I can't place exactly why they're used there.


texts: What's the etymology and/or reasoning behind 目撃?

texts: Witness (to a crime), as a legal/technical term, is 目撃 in Japanese. Now why is this? It doesn't seem to relate well with any of the other possible translations for witness, such as　証人、見送る、 or 見届ける. A quick search did not turn up any results.


texts:
1) 私は果物、いちごやメロンとかが好きです。

2) 私は果物、いちごとかメロンとかが好きです。

3) 私は果物、いちごやメロンが好きです

4) 私は果物、いちごとかメロンが好きです。

I know that between 2) and 3) the difference is that 2) is more casual and 3) is more formal (if there is any other difference, tell me please).
As for 4), I don't know which are the differences between using one とか in a sentence, or using two like in 2).
And what about 1)? what differentiates 1) from 2), 3) and 4)? I don't understand this combination of や　and とか in the same sentence.

Could you please help me with that?


texts: Can 'なければなりません' be used for possibility?

texts:
I thought the use of this suffix was restricted to obligations, but the sentence below has left me confused.

  この会に来たインドの人は「日本にいろいろ教えてもらって、早く空気をきれいにしなければなりません」と話していました。

Source: http://www3.nhk.or.jp/news/easy/k10010874151000/k10010874151000.html


texts:
私は彼が自慢だ。
I'm Proud of Him
彼は私が自慢だ。
He is proud of me.

I am confused by this pattern with 自慢. It kind of looks like 自慢 is being used as an adjective (?), but the definition in Tangorin lists it as:
noun / noun or participle with aux. verb する → conjugation / noun with genitive case particle の
Perhaps 私は彼が自慢だ can be more literally translated as "He is my pride."?
So if I dissect it--
私は I (topic marker) 彼が he (subject/object marker) 自慢だ pride is. (?)
Along this line of reasoning, does 私は自慢だ。mean "I am proud." ?　I guess I am getting confused because I see the first sentence listed and then think of a pattern like this: 私は彼がきれいだと思います。-- "I think that he is pretty."
(Where the が connects 彼 to きれい)
Would anyone be kind enough to explain this pattern with 自慢 and maybe show a few more examples like it?
For instance, these examples make more sense to me, though perhaps the English expressions do not seem to correlate as easily:

美人の妻が彼の自慢だ。    His beautiful wife is his pride.
彼女は水泳が自慢だ。 She prides herself on her swimming. (I translate it more literally as "swimming is {the source of} her pride)


texts:
I am reading 海街 Diary, and I have come across this dialogue:

  朝ゴハン一緒できなくなっちゃって。

I know it means "We can't have breakfast together".

I understand (vaguely) the meaning of なっちゃって, i.e. it indicates one having to do something unwillingly.

I understand that 一緒で means together.

I don't understand what that きなく is doing in the middle.


texts: 来年受験 - What does taking an exam in the coming year mean in this context?

texts:
In this doujin that I'm reading, a character - Hinata - comes to his new friend's volleyball practice. When an excited Hinata asks if he could join in their practice, the club members crowd around him, curious as to why he's there (left panel). Among their various questions, one member asks
来{らい}年{ねん}受{じゅ}験{けん} which I believe translates roughly to "Taking the exam next year?" Considering that this is a middle school volleyball club and they mistake Hinata for an elementary school child, I assume it means that he's asking if Hinata plans to come to their middle school next year. But why is he talking about an exam?


texts:
I've been wanting to translate some J-Pop songs for myself. Then I came across this song and found this phrase. I don't really understand what the phrase intend to tell at all. What I think of is this phrase tell something about someone who's really nervous, but I don't know the literal translation of it. It's more confusing because after this sentences, it's followed by "標高3000メートル？" which I assume the literal trans is "3000 meters above the sea".

I'm really glad if anyone is willing to tell me the literal translation and what does it mean. Thank you very much!


texts: How to interpret だけじゃ with negative verbs?

texts:
I'm confused by the use of だけじゃ in this paragraph:

  たしかに、レスラーの試合があって大会は成り立ってますけどね。でも、やはりあの最高の空間であり、最高の試合っていうものはレスラーだけじゃ作れないですから。と、ボクは思ってますからね。ボクが思ってることが正しいか、正しくないかはわからないけど、ボクはそう思ってますから。で、先ほども言いましたけど、口に出さないと何も伝わらないですから。『ありがとう』って思ってるだけじゃ、誰にも何も伝わらないですから。なので、素直の気持ちを昨日リング上で言わせていただきました」

In this first sentence:

  やはりあの最高の空間であり、最高の試合っていうものはレスラーだけじゃ作れないですから

It should be saying something like "Wrestlers alone can't produce great matches" but I'm not sure how to interpret it.

And in this second one:

  『ありがとう』って思ってるだけじゃ、誰にも何も伝わらないですから。なので、素直の気持ちを昨日リング上で言わせていただきました」

It should be saying something like "I felt grateful and needed to say so" but it looks like he's saying "I don't want to say nothing to no one". So. that part 誰にも何も伝わらない is really confusing.


texts:
I'm researching the kanji 本 for a blog post. I understand its original meaning is "root", and the other two senses, "book" and "this," are semantic shifts. I've found a couple of sources (without citations; one on Japanese StackExchange) for its sense of "book."

I'm having more trouble finding its sense of "this" as in 本学, 本件, 本状, 本品 and so on. Does anyone know how it came to be used in this way?

お手伝いありがとうございます～


texts:
What does the character "Historia" say in the dialogue in minute 1:41 of this video? I can only understand the first part but not the last words. She starts saying

  Ymir... watashi no namae ... Historia ...

Does she say her last name or something? I would have expected she says

  Historia desu


texts: What is the difference between V-るほうがいい and V-たほうがいい?

texts: I would  like to know the difference in nuance between V-るほうがいい and V-たほうがいい. For example, I have heard both 休むほうがいいand 休んだほうがいい. Over the years I have heard different explanation about the difference among these two grammatical forms, but I am still not really sure about it. From what I gather, V-るほうがいい is stronger than V-たほうがいい and it can imply that it is a general advise that can be applied in different situations, and thus, it doesn not only apply to the present situation. Moreover, V-るほうがいい does not refer only to the listener, but it can also refer to the speaker him self, such in the case of 休むほうがいい that could also mean "we should take a break".  Is it correct?


texts:
Until a few months ago, I am absolutely sure in every single train station I had ever been the announcement was something along the lines of "黄色い線の内側でお待ちください".

Then, out of the blue, one day the word 線 became ブロック. If I'm not wrong, I would say that I noticed this mostly at Tokyo Metro stations, while JR seems (thank god) to still be using 線. This is just based on personal experience and I might be wrong.

My question is, why this sudden change? When exactly did it happen? Is there a particular reason why what has always been a "line" needs to become a "block"?
More generally, is the choice of a loan word a coincidence? A very wild guess could be that with the approach of Tokyo Olympics loanwords will increase even more and hence that choice.

Anyway, this has been bugging me for a while and I'm just curious to know if there is any specific reason for this change.

PS. My experience so far is only in Tokyo.


texts: 大阪から東京までに泳ごうとしたけど、途中で道に迷います。Does this sound natural/correct?

texts:
大阪から東京までに泳ごうとしたけど、途中で道に迷います。
My translation:[(I implied) tried to swim from Osaka to Tokyo, but got lost on the way.]
   I haven't saw (までに) used like this before, so I'm not sure if I am using it right in
   this sentence. Is there another way to make this sound/read right?


texts: Meaning of 彼女だけは普段と変わらなかった

texts:
I'm trying to understand the following passage and the meaning of 彼女だけは普段と変わらなかった in this context.

I think it means the following: Even after シャロ had changed, she was still the "same" in front of ユラギ. However, for this interpretation I would have expected something like 彼女の前だけは which makes me think that it could mean something different.

  「すまない、今は詳しく言えないが……彼女には在学中から思うところがあるのだ」

  「ふむ？」

  「妹の事故を境に性格が変わったんだ。貴族のお嬢様らしい振る舞いを覚えたのかと思いもしたが……」

  「そんなに今と違うのか？」

  「どちらかといえば活発で、皆の中心に立って引っ張っていく性格だったな」

  「お嬢様のように感じたんだが……まるっきり違う性格だな。ユラギは何か言ってるのか？」

  「ユラギはああいう性格だからな……　シャロが変わってしまっても彼女だけは普段と変わらなかったよ」

  「ああ……それもそうだな」


texts: Two ways to say the same sentence: which is correct?

texts:
I chanced upon a Facebook advertisement of an airline with the following sentence.

香港国際空港にあるキャセイパシフィック航空の「ザ・ピア」ビジネスクラスラウンジ。

I understand what it is trying to say. However, I was wondering what if I jumble the words and say it this way:

キャセイパシフィック航空の「ザ・ピア」ビジネスクラスラウンジは香港国際空港にある。

Does it sound like a child is saying it? I wonder if the first sentence is a more preferred way to say it? Or the second structure is invalid?

Is there a specific sentence pattern for this?

Thanks


texts:
There are several instances where I noticed people use に to mean something along the lines of "and". Here's an example: https://youtu.be/3cjyUg-XjjU?t=24

I think the narrator says, "修理人が使う道具は、牛の皮、ハンマーに、庖丁と呼ばれる[刃も?].

Also, a line from a manga that describes a superhero reads、

その能力はスーパーパワーに
ビーム・バリアー
飛行能力に回復力

The に in question is the one in the third line.

I've searched all over the web for something that explains this usage, but I've found nothing. Does anyone what it is?


texts: で in 完全変態で、生まれ変わったように

texts:
I'm looking for some help in understanding the sentence below. To provide a bit more context one of the characters シュン made a ”変態発言” and then the following exchange occurred:

  Girl 1「”変態”って何ですか？」

  Girl 2「”さなぎから蝶になる”って意味よ」

  Girl 3「正確には完全変態」

  Girl 4「せんぱいって完全変態するんだぁ」

  Girl 1「シュン君は完全変態で、生まれ変わったように頑張るんですね」

I get the idea behind the exchange where 完全変態 is used to mean something like Complete Pervert(referring to him being a pervert) / Complete Metamorphosis(as in a type of metamorphosis in which the larva does not resemble the adult). However what I've gotten myself confused on is how to properly parse the last sentence.

I think I've just confused myself but anyway, is this で just simply であって and not the で that is used with definitions like 動作・作用の原因・理由を表す,  動作・作用の手段・方法・材料などを表す。…を使って.


texts:
Quick question about some so-called "adverbs". I've seen some people claim that noun + に particle (本当に) isn't really an adverb. If it isn't an adverb, then does anyone know what the function of the に particle is here?

I've seen monolingual dictionaries say that these are adverbs, but then there are people claiming that they are only called adverbs in textbooks to simplify things for English speakers. Both seem plausible - which is true?


texts: How can these two verbs affect 未来 at the same time?

texts:
私の進む先に輝く  希望あふれる未来

This sentence is separated like this in subtitles, with 私の進む先に輝く being above, and 希望あふれる未来 being below (somehow I think it might be relevant when it comes to my confusion in parsing it). At first I believed 輝く was modifying 希望.
I was told, however, it should be parsed like this: [私の進む先に輝く][希望あふれる]未来, as in both verbs are equally affecting the noun 未来. But what sort of structure is this in which 輝く can simply be in dictionary-form, before another noun, and still affect 未来 as a relative clause?


texts:
If I said “he did X to me,” I would probably say 彼にXされた. On the other hand, if I said “I let him do X,” I would say 彼にXさせた. But if I were to combine the two and say 彼にXさせられた, that would mean “he made me do X,” correct? How then would I be able to say “I let him do X to me”?

EDIT: for a more concrete example, say I was in a class and we were made to form groups. Either we chose our groupmates ourselves, or we let the teacher group us. Say I let the teacher put me in a group: how would I say “I let the teacher put me in a group?” (I imagine saying “the teacher put me in a group” would involve passive voice, me being the narrator and therefore the subject of the sentence).


texts:
I was going through some other uses of the verb ある and then, I came across the use of ある with animate object.
Following are the statements of the book which I am referring to.

If we indicate the idea of possession in context of close human relationships like family, we can still use ある. E.g. 私は子供がある - I have children. Whereas, if we use it for other human relationship it is wrong, E.g. 私は先生がある.
However, if we indicate the idea of existence then  ある cannot be used. E.g. 山田さんは母がもない - Yamada-san does not have his mother now.

As, we know if the following sentence emphasizes possession it can be used with ある, whereas, if it conveys existence it cannot be used with ある. So my question is, if I use negative form of ある (be it plain or polite), will it indicate possession or existence. Eg. 私は子供がありません- I don't have children. In this statement, as per me, it is indicating more existence (like I don't have children, rather than possession)

Edit: Here is the photograph (Point 5 & 6)


texts: I assume this means next episode number 6 "第 六話"

texts:
I've noticed this season two shows end the preview with the episode number and title underneath - 第六話 - but this confuses me.

How should I read this?  Is 話 still はなし or is it something else?  What is the first kanji?  I know 六 (ろく) for sure but I need help understanding how to read this.


texts: How to say "clean up" (for example a house or a room) in Japanese?

texts: I'm trying to compose a sentence which starts with: パーティーが終{お}わる時{とき}に～.. I want to say "After the party is over, it is hard to clean up the house". Can you help me?


texts: What is Bowser saying in Super Mario RPG? よって！ (includes picture)

texts:
I'm watching a YouTube video that helps learn Japanese through Mario RPG found here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WRBRLmhFy-4

I think Bowser is saying something like "I hate how you always interfere!"
There's 2 parts to this question.
Part 1: About よって！ I can't figure out what this is. Is it an alternate meaning of よる or something?
Part 2: If you look up near the top left the at ん＝ない the equals sign is a standard =. But if you look at the one below with よって！＝やがって！, it has 2 small dots on top of and below the = sign. I'm not sure if this means 'similar to' or something else. I did find the definition of やがって on Jisho but I'm wanting to know more about よって.
Thank you!


texts:
From this link,

  ずらずらとでてくるので、無関係そうな所は除外しています。ignoring nonexistent directory "/dammy/xxx" というあたりがそれっぽいですね

There is another question, where あたり is used in the following way:

  「(an example) + あたり + (speaker's comment or opinion)」

which, as the answer indicates, is used to soften the tone. With this interpretation, my understanding of this sentence would be something like:

  Since the code is quite an endless stream, I am excluding bits that are not related. Lines containing ignoring nonexistent directory "/dammy/xxx" seem to be aplenty and I've removed a lot of them.

Just doesn't seem right to me though.


texts: Can『ます形』やすい and 『ます形』にくい be rephrased as やすく『ます形』and にくく『ます形』?

texts:
Consider the following.

長い鉛筆は書きやすいです。
短い鉛筆は書きにくいです。

Can I rephrase them as follows?

長い鉛筆ではやすく書きます。
短い鉛筆ではにくく書きます。


texts:
In a previous question, I posted a list of adjectives produced from verbs using the しい suffix.  In each example, it seems that しい attaches directly to the 未然形:

  勇む　　→　　勇ま　＋　しい　　　 isam-a-sii
  悩む　　→　　悩ま　＋　しい　　　 nayam-a-sii
  喜ぶ　　→　　喜ば　＋　しい　　　 yorokob-a-sii
  妬む　　→　　妬ま　＋　しい　　　 netam-a-sii
  呪う　　→　　呪わ　＋　しい　　　 norow-a-sii
  慕う　　→　　慕わ　＋　しい 　　　shitaw-a-sii
  好む　　→　　好ま　＋　しい 　　　konom-a-sii

In all of the above words, it appears that the 未然形 has the -a- surface form.

However, in these three words, it seems that it has the -o- surface form:

  好む　　→　　好も　＋　しい　　　 konom-o-sii
  狂う　　→ 　　狂お　＋　しい　　　 kuruw-o-sii
  頼む　　→　　頼も　＋　しい 　　　 tanom-o-sii

What I'd read previously is that -a- and -o- are both considered the same underlying form because of the sound change /au/ → /o:/.  In other words, the -o- surface form is underlyingly -a-, but changes to -o- as part of /o:/.

However, these three adjectives do not contain the long vowel /o:/, so I don't think that explains why they have an -o-.  And if this is the result of a sound change, it doesn't appear to be a regular sound change, because most adjectives have -a-.  In fact, both konom-o-sii and kuruw-o-sii have -a- versions:

  kuruw-o-sii　　　kuruw-a-sii
  konom-o-sii　　　konom-a-sii
  tanom-o-sii　　　*tanom-a-sii 　　(I can't find evidence that ×頼ましい exists)

So how can these -o- forms be explained?


texts:
Is が here a 格助 or 接助 element?

  私の脈搏は普通1分間にやっと60なのが、80から85に増進していた。
  My pulse, whose ordinary action is scarcely 60 beats to the minute, was accelerated to 80 or 85.


texts:
I find that Japanese is a weird language for its learners, especially for those who've already learned English. In English one usually uses two tenses: present and past, however in Japanese there are accomplished and unaccomplished tenses, and these look strange if literally translated to English. For instance:

  わたしは日本に行くとき、ラジオを買いました。
  Literally "When I go to Japan, I bought a radio."

Here, the English sentence has two different parts which use two unrelated different tenses, so it's obviously logically wrong.

Another example:

  私は日本に行ったとき日本製のテレビを買う予定です。
  Literally "When I went to Japan, I decide to buy a TV made in Japan."

And this sentence also sounds strange.

Can anyone explain how to think about Japanese tenses for sentences like these? I'm really puzzled by it.


texts:
For the full text see here. The fourth line from the bottom of the linked text is:

  イヤリングをつけ終わると、無意識のうちに、ドアの耳に口をよせた。
  When he'd finished attaching the earring he unconsciously put his mouth to the door's ear.

I don't understand 無意識のうちに. I assume it means "unconsciously". But isn't 無意識 a na-adjective that means unconscious? Why can't I just use 無意識に?

I would have read 無意識のうちに literally as "while unconscious", but I'm quite certain that is the wrong interpretation.

What is going on here?

Edit: Thanks for the comments so far, but they are missing the point. I believe that subconsciously, unconsciously and unawaredly (if that's a word) all have similar meaning. I'm not confused about the person being able to do something while his brain is shut down. The main focus of my question is on why のうちに is used instead of just に and whether this is a grammar point that applies more generally.


texts: Meaning of でも or ちょうだい in テレビでも見てちょうだい

texts:
Two kids are playing 'house' ままごと. The speaker is happy. The person she is speaking to has just suggested that it's pointless.

  「まったくおとうさんは現実的なんだから。さあ、テレビでも見てちょうだい。ほら、キンちゃんがでてるわよ」
  Good grief, it's because you're pragmatic. Come now, please watch TV. Look キンちゃん is on.

I'm either failing to understand でも or ちょうだい in this sentence. I thought verb-てちょうだい meant 'please do verb'. In which case I can't make sense of でも with a meaning of 'even' or で+も as two separate particles.

My initial thought is that I am misunderstanding ちょうだい. If I take it to mean 'won't you do' rather than 'please do'. Then I can have "Won't you even watch TV?"


texts: What are the differences between 望み, 志望, 希望 and 願い?

texts: Could anyone explain to me what the differences are between these words, both in meaning and usage?


texts: In looking up a few words for security guard, I came across four words: 守衛{しゅえい}, ガードマン, 警備員{けいびいん}, and 警備人{けいびにん}. From what I can tell, ガードマン seems to be similar to 'rent-a-cop' - that is to say, it seems like a less respectful term for a security guard, and something a person would be less likely to call themselves than to be called. 警備員 and 警備人 appear to simply be variant kanji for the same word (with a preference towards 警備人), but I can't quite make out the difference between 警備員 and 守衛. Can anyone help clear this up?


texts:
Ok, so I've been reading よつばと recently, and I've been seeing a suffix coming up that I cannot seem to find a meaning for. It's not in any dictionary, and I'm not sure if it's a name suffix, or some obscure grammatical marker I've never heard before. Here's an example:

  おばあちゃんちから帰ってきたら夏休みも後半って感じするなー

What does the ち after おばあちゃん indicate? Is it actually doing something in the sentence, or is it a soft version of ちゃん? That's my hypothesis, but I'd like confirmation.


texts: What is ねぇたぁ in 判らねぇたぁ?

texts:
俺は手加減してたぜ？
それが判らねぇたぁ、
お前、割とぬるいねぇ。

Is it colloquial form of 判らなかった?


texts:
In English it is quite common to use the expression "to get the chair" to refer to the death penalty. For example:

  He committed such a terrible crime, I hope he gets the chair. *

The word 絞首刑, "death by hanging", is the only Japanese word I know in this regard. Is there any slang (such as "to get the rope") that can be used to indicate someone who was/will be sentenced to death?

* This example is by no means related to me being in favor or against the death penalty.


texts:
In english, word capitalization can indicate that meaning word has transitioned into different context and/or scope.

For example:

The internet is down. vs. The Internet is down.
Batman searched the deck for the joker. vs. Batman searched the deck for The Joker.
On your left, we see the queen Mary. vs. On your left, we see the Queen Mary.

How does Japanese indicate a contextual scope changes like the internet vs. the Internet?


texts: Passive voice and complex or connecting sentence

texts:
Imagine a situation where you've been informed by Mr. Rentarou that on Wednesday you will have an interview with Ms. Suzuki. Then, you've decided to confirm the information directly to Ms. Suzuki.
I've come up with 2 sentences

廉太郎さんに伝えられましたが、水曜日には面談がありますね?
廉太郎さんに水曜日には面談があると伝えられましたが。

I learned that in Japanese, they prefer using a passive voice "I have been told by Mr. Rentarou ~" rather than "Mr. Rentarou told me ~". In this situation is the passive voice preferred?
Lastly, I am confused that sometimes が or けど doesn't always translate as "but", rather it implies something else depending on the context. This is why the first sentence "I've been told by Mr. Rentarou, but on Wednesday I will have an interview (with you)," sounds weird to me. Is my correction (the second sentence) better?
Please fix if I used the wrong vocabulary for the phrases.


texts: Why is another photo referred to as もう一丁?

texts: 一丁 is a cut of tofu or konyaku, so why is it also used for photos? I always imagined it as a Polaroid, flat, like もう一枚 but can't find out the original reason もう一丁 was used for it.


texts: Is my interpretation of the grammar in 「気にしてられないと思えるようになる。」 correct?

texts:
人の目なんて。
気にしてられないと思えるようになる。
You can't concern yourself with what other people think.

I saw this on a TV show where the hosts were talking about coming out in public if you are gay. They had both come out of the closet and were saying what a positive thing this is to do.
I'm pretty sure I translated it accurately. However, I have some questions on the intricacies of the grammar.
So

気にしてられない

would mean: "can't concern" "can't be concerned", and

と思えるようになる。

means: "come to think that/ come to terms with"
so put together it literally means:

be able to come to the point where you aren't concerned with what other people think.

Is this right?
To further clarify, here is a link to the original clip.
The part I quoted is from 3:00-3:20
The speaker actually says something extra between と and 思える but I can't make it out. If anyone would care to tell me, I'd appreciate it.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sYNU1LEXWhM&feature=related


texts: Sorry if this is off topic, but today is respect for the aged day in Japan, and I'm unsure how to greet elderly individuals, if at all. What would be the proper greeting? Would one greet individuals they pass on the street?


texts:
Which is the correct or more common way of writing
駄目です
or
だめです?
My text book says it means "it's is not possible".


texts:
A girl is offending a boy that wears glasses by saying:

  気持ち悪いんだよ、横分け眼鏡。

I guess 横分け眼鏡 is a kind of offensive thing referring to his glasses or his eyesight, maybe similar to the English four-eyes, but what is its exact meaning? Thank you for your help!


texts: Is the Ainu name for every part of the body monosyllabic?

texts: I've heard a friend say that the Ainu word for every part of the human body is monosyllabic, and that all words in Ainu are made up of the syllables from those words. Is either claim true?


texts:
合併
②〔法〕複数の会社が一つになる組織再編行為。会社の権利義務を既存の別会社に承継させる吸収合併と、新設する会社に承継させる新設合併とがある。
(Law) The process through which different companies become one. The merger which let the administration privileges to another pre-existing company and
the new company which the new coalition makes (the administration privileges) inherit.

Am I wrong?
How could I parse this?


texts: Choosing に over を in 使役形 depends not solely on the verb

texts:
Consider the following sentences:

子供は本を読む。
母は子供[に]{LL}本を読ませる。

Since 読む is a transitive verb (i.e.: 本を読む), に is used to mark the causee (i.e.: 子供) for its causative form 読ませる.

Now, consider the following sentences (not sure whether they are correct):

子供は読む。
母は子供[を]{LL}読ませる。

Even though, 読む is a verb that accepts a direct object, it's not taking one. Therefore, を is used to mark the causee 子供 for its causative form 読ませる.

It seems that, what determines whether to choose を or に for marking the causee in a causative verb, is not the verb per se, but actually how the verb is used in the sentence. Of course, if the verb is intransitive it will be always を, but for a transitive verb it may be either に or を.

Am I missing something?


texts: I'm directly translating from Eng so I'm wondering if　作るworks. I'm only familiar with ~と友達に成りたい　＆　友達ができたい。


texts:
I am reading a book like the bible called the モルモン書 (Book of Mormon) and ran across something that was a little confusing. In one of Jesus' sermons it has this sentence:

  ...[partaking of the bread and water] show unto God that you Always remember me. (Jesus Speaking)

The Japanese renders this as

  [パンと水を受けることで]あなたがたが、いつも私を覚えていることを神に証明するであろう。

So what is the deal with いつも覚えている？ How can you have "always" next to a verb conjugation that indicates the action is currently taking place, or will continue to take place in the future?

I have heard sentences like he's always eating rendered as 彼はいつも食べている, but I don't get the sense that this will continue in the future. Because Jesus is speaking about people remembering God in the future, it's always sounded odd to me. Especially because I don't feel like you can use it in the future tense. 明日、私はきっとこれを覚えている also sounds kind of strange to me.


texts: Has the meaning of "revenge" been lost in translation to リベンジ?

texts:
I can see リベンジ used often in internal business communication for "2nd attempt" (like リベンジ判定会議 or リベンジ提案). Wikipedia also suggests it bears the meaning of 「再挑戦」の意味でも使われる。

Would it be acceptable to use in an official or semi-official business situation between two companies?

Especially wouldn't it sound rude if the bidder used the リベンジ提案 in front of a customer?

Has it lost 復讐／仕返し meaning completely?


texts: 送ってくれた : Why is both "sending" and "giving" being used together here?

texts:
I encountered the sentence:

  両親が私にはがきを送ってくれた。

I understand that:
送って translates to a verb meaning "to send", or I assume in this case "sending" due to the "te-form" being used.

I also understand that:
くれた translates to a verb meaning "to give (to be given)"

So a literal translation of 両親が私にはがきを送ってくれた would mean:

  My parents, to me, a postcard, Sending and given.

or..

  My parents sent and gave me a postcard.

So I don't quite understand why you must say "they sent and gave me a postcard" instead of just "they sent me a postcard".  For example

  両親が私にはがきを送った。

Is there a grammatical/logical explanation for this? Or is this simply just how it's done for no reason?


texts: Different ways of saying "impossible" - -得ない vs. -eない

texts: What's the difference between ～得ない【えない】, as in, say, 届き【とどき】得ない【えない】, and ～eない, as in 届けない【とどけない】? As far as I can tell they both mean "it can't be done," "it's impossible", but is there a difference in connotation or a subtle difference?


texts: What is the meaning of かい and き in Google's Summer Solstice Doodle?

texts:
I was wondering what the meaning of かい and き is for the Google Summer Solstice Doodle pictured here:

I'm guessing it has some relation to summer, but what?


texts: How to address misbehaving kids (not one's own)

texts:
Say you are in public and see some other people's kids misbehaving.
What is the appropriate way to address them? (both sexes)

Something on the line of: "Hey kid, don't do ..."

It might be specific to the degree of misbehavior so let's give some kind of scale:

Culturally not accepted
 I.e.: Being loud in a temple
Not immediately dangerous
 I.e. Littering
Not life-threatening
 I.e.: Being in a fight
Life threatening
 I.e.: Playing very closely to train tracks of an incoming train


texts: How does 〜しなくても済んだだろう work?

texts:
せめて親でも生きていてくれたら、こんなに苦労しなくても済んだだろう
I wouldn't have so many difficulties, if only my parents were still alive. [Example sentence from Japanese Postpositions: Theory and Practice ISBN-13: 978-3895861116]

As I understand it, the bolded part works like this:

苦労する: to be having trouble
苦労しない: to not be having trouble
苦労しなくて: connective form of the above
苦労しなくても: も added to emphasize not having trouble
済んだ: past form of 済む　added to mean "manage", "make do" (?)

With that in mind, to me the whole thing, 苦労しなくても済んだ, now means "managing/making do and not having trouble"? Considering the translation given by the book, how is it implied that the speaker is having difficulty?
Please note I do not actually understand how 済む is used here, grammar-wise. The above is just guesswork. I would appreciate some help on that as well.
The main question is, following the chain of logic above, possibly linked in me misunderstanding the use of も　and/or 済む:
Why is the negative form 苦労しない used here (but implying the speaker actually does 苦労) instead of the positive form?


texts: What is the difference between だから　and なので

texts:
I'm talking about using them at the start of the sentence, meaning "so" or "therefore".

「今日は暇だ」
「だから、映画でも見に行こう?」/「なので、映画でも見に行こう?」

I'm assuming that the difference is simply the same as the difference when they are used as a conjunction in the middle. That is to say, なので is slightly more objective and polite.


texts: What is the role of と after a noun when it doesn't appear to count or list anything?

texts:
The sentence I'm trying to understand is this one:

  いっすんぼうしは おじいさんと おばあさん よび おひめさまと けっこんして しあわせに くらしました

I don't understand the meaning of the second と (in bold).

To me all the sentence is like

  Issunboushi invited grandpa and grandma and by marrying the princess (they) lived happy

So, there is one pre-masu form with よび (as time sequence) and て-link form with けっこんして (as mean).

If this is right, I don't understand what the second と is doing. と would be "and" and the て-linkage will be "by" in bold in my sentence above?

Thanks.


texts:
「あ、掃除の途中でしたか？」

  「いや。これを拭くのは二度目だから。実はもう終わってるよ」

  「そうですか。でっ、では……もう出発できるんですね」

  「うん、大丈夫。常陸さんも、もう出れる？」

  「はい。準備はできています」

  「そっか……」

  「それじゃあ、出発する？」

  「はっ、はい。そうですね」

  なんてことはない、ただのやり取り。

  学院に行くときだって、同じようなことを言ったことがある。

  でも、今はそれだけじゃなかった。

  これから２人で過ごす時間に、胸が複雑に高鳴る。

  ドキドキとした緊張、不安……と同時に、昂揚感とでもいうのだろうか？

  間違いなく気持ちが高ぶっている。

If its not obvious from the above context, they have the above exchange before they go out on a date. My question is about what is meant by 今はそれだけじゃなかった. What is the それだけ actually referring to? (It seems to be referring to the line of なんてことはない、ただのやり取り, but I'm not quite sure what is trying to be conveyed.)


texts: Is it natural to call elderly men ojiisan?

texts: Is ojiisan an idiomatic word choice for a chronologically gifted man, akin to obaasan for elderly women? For example, when giving your seat to them on the train.


texts:
I'm trying to understand what the nuances of the term 代理店 as it is used in business communications. For example, if a 卸会社 tells a 販売店 their products are available for resale, however they are not looking for a 代理店, what is the difference between those two types of business relationships?

Most dictionaries I've seen translate 代理店 as "agency", but that term doesn't seem to fit regarding product distribution.

Is being a 代理店 for a company's products something like "an authorized dealer"? Does it typically imply an exclusive contract, so that other companies cannot compete selling the same products?


texts:
a few days ago I find out that the term "子役の闇" exist, but I can't quite understand its meaning. I have seen it used on places like twitter and 2ch but it seems there's no English equivalent for this. I guess a literal translation would be something like "The desperation of the child actor" or something along those lines but I'm not sure about it and I don't think it makes much sense in English.

Can someone help me out?

Thanks


texts: Why is it correct to use ～た in this sentence, even though we're talking about next week?

texts:
This is how we filled in the blank in class, but I am still having a hard time seeing why or how it would be correct. Here is the sentence,

  来週の日曜日、ほかの学生たちといっしょに先生の家にしょうたいされました。

I was thinking that, well, since we are talking about the next week, why would we say されました?


texts: I know that the word 広し means 広い, but which rule or grammar is included?

texts:
The sentence is from my textbook　みんなの日本語

  世界広しといえども ...

that means

  世界が広いと言っても ...

right?

But what function has it when you use 広し instead of 広い?

During some research I found this
Website/ online 辞書 but my Japanese is not good enough to understand it.


texts:
In a book called 鉄道員 （ポッポヤ） I read following sentence:

  俺ァ、ポッポヤだから、身うちのことでなくわけいかんしょ。

(This sentence is really only one sentence, it's his thought on something.)
Notes:
This ポッポヤ is an old man living somewhere in Hokkaido.

Now, I never heard of いかん before, fortunately there was already a question asked for this here. But what does the additional しょ　mean?


texts:
This is from a manga, if that matters. It's written on the bottom of the last page of the story, so there is no further info on what happened.

現在私は家を出て一人暮らし
そして由利{ゆり}姉とは今でも続いており
本気で結婚を考えています
I left that home and currently live alone. And "our thing" with Yuri-nee still continues. (I am/We are) seriously considering marriage.

So yeah, who is actually considering it? I'm not sure if a definite answer is possible, but perhaps one of the options seems more likely at least? I feel like it's "I am", but maybe in that case he should be considering プロポーズ since it's not clear how Yuri will answer? Or am I overthinking it?


texts:
More information about ordinal dates here.
Say I have the ordinal date 2016-162 (the 162nd day of the year 2016, which would be Friday, June 10, 2016). Could I write it like this in Japanese:

２０１６年１６２日目

Also, say I wanted to refer to the date in the same way in a sentence. Would something like this:

２０１６年は１６２日目です。
(As for the year 2016, it’s the 162nd day.)

be valid?


texts:
I have been learning Japanese for over a year now, and I have noticed that some people are writing kana differently. For example, I have seen う being written just like how it appears now (looks like a rotated U letter) and I have also seen it being written like a question mark (only a bit more curved)!! i

So I was wondering - what are the correct shapes?
Or are they all correct and it's just a matter of rightly forming it?


texts: Does this "は" indicate a sequence of events?

texts:
I've noticed in the book 秘密 by 谷崎{たにざき}潤一郎{じゅんいちろう} that the particle は sometimes seems to be used to indicate that with "AはB", "B" comes after "A", for example:

  …さながら土用干【どようぼし】の如く【ごとく】部屋中へ置き散らして、寝ころびながら、手あたり次第に繰りひろげて[は]{L}耽読【たんどく】した。

Is this the case, and/or is there some kind of relationship indicated between "B" and "A" here? Is this strictly a literary usage, or is it also used in conversation etc?

I've looked in Weblio and various other dictionaries, but can't seem to find a similar usage.


texts: Replacing a negative nominalised verb with a ない-form

texts:
人と比べるのではなく、過去の自分と比べる。
  Do not compare yourself to other people, compare yourself to your past self.

Without any change in meaning, (though I guess it would be less formal in tone), could the writer have just used the -ない form of 比べる instead of nominalising it and then negating the nominalisation?

  人と比べなく、過去の自分と比べる。


texts:
I'm finding this sentence a bit tricky.

  光{ひかり}の川{かわ}へ願{ねが}いの橋{はし}を掛{か}け奇跡{きせき}は渡{わた}るよ

This sentence is confusing me very much! I am not sure what it means.
Does it mean:

  Build a bridge of wishes over the river of light and miracles will cross.

What does 掛け here mean? Does it mean to hoist a bridge ? And are the 奇跡 crossing the bridge? Sorry if my question is a bit vague!


texts:
Outside of Australia and New Zealand, am I likely to be understood by Japanese speakers if I use キーウィ to mean New Zealanders?

Based on what weblio and Wiktionary say, I suspect not, but I want to check as sometimes dictionaries don't mention slang terms.


texts:
I read that -たり form can either be translated as "and" or "or", and that it indicates no particular chronological order.
My question is, how do you know when which is which?
For example, I came across these sentences:

シャワーをあびたり、晩{ばん}ご飯{はん}を食{た}べたりします。

I take a shower or I have dinner.

夏{なつ}にはウインドサーフィンをしたり、サーフィンをしたりします。

In summer, I do windsurfing and surf.

Why were they not translated as:

I take a shower and I have dinner.
In summer I do windsurfing or surf.

Does that have something to do with use -て form for listing actions rather than -たり form?


texts: Is there an equivalent to the English, "who, what, when, where, why" method of inquiry?


texts: I heard a song going 本当の本当の本当の気持ち. The question is, what does this do? Does it strengthen the noun or is it ungrammatical? Or another example: 絶対の絶対


texts:
I was wondering how a passive sentence like:

トムさんに話しかけられた。
Tom started talking (to me).

could be changed to express that it was the first time that it happened. My attempt was:

トムさんに話しかけられたのは、初めてだった。

Is it gramaically correct? ( Should 話しかけられる be in the plain form or in the informal past?)
Does it sound natural, or is there a better way to say it?


texts: How do I say 'As to why I chose this topic...'

texts:
I have a highschool Japanese oral exam coming up in which we discuss a topic of my choosing, along with an accompanying image that relates to said topic.
I have already memorised responses to many potential questions, but to maximise the use of what I have learned, how can I preemptively bring up a question for me to answer that I don't think the assessor will ask.
To be specific, the topic we are discussing are 'Manga Cafes in Japan'.
Two potential questions I expect the assessor to ask are 'Why did you choose this topic?' and 'Why did you choose this image?'
In the event that the assessor asks only one of these questions, I would like to be able to preempitavely bring up the next question.
Here is how I would like the exhange to go in English, along with what my current Japanese responses are:
Why did you choose this topic? (この　とピク　を　選びましたか）
I chose this topic because I like manga and I knew of manga cafes from the internet.  I thought it was interesting, so I chose this topic. （私はまんがが好きでインタネットから漫画喫茶についてしりました。面白いと思いました。だからこのトピクを選びました。）
As to why I chose this image, (????)
There are various manga cafes in Japan, but this one is pretty and has a unique design.  So I chose this image. （日本に色々な漫画喫茶がありますが、このしゃしんはきれいでディザインがユニークと思いますから、このしゃしんを選びました。）
This is a bit of an exhaustive post for such a simple question, but I hope it effectively conveys what I am trying to say.
ありがとうございます。


texts: The font I am looking for here from this site doesn't seem to name out the font. If someone could answer, I would greatly appreciate it.


texts: What does it mean when newspapers give furigana for 常用{じょうよう} kanji?

texts:
In these following examples, a few words are given furigana:
シドニー立てこもり、治安部隊が突入　人質？担架で救出
年賀状家族や友達へ投函
金剛峯寺にゴボウ奉納　黒河道世界遺産目指し

So, it looks like that furigana is provided when a 人名用{じんめいよう} kanji needs to be read. That makes sense. But, here are exceptions: 未、雑事. While giving furigana for straight-up 常用 kanji happens rarely, it does happen and I can't detect why.

So, what is up when an adult newspaper gives furigana for 常用{じょうよう} kanji that are not using [当て字]{あてじ} readings? What metadata is revealed when a (for a native speaker) seemingly simple to read word is given furigana? Asahi and Yomiuri are written for Japanese native adults. Why then given them an assist with reading?


texts: し grammarの使い方を教えてください

texts:
どうして、
「広いし家賃が安い家を探してます。」は間違いで、「広くて家賃が安い家を探しています。」
が正しいんですか。


texts: Can なになに be used to fill in an unknown word in an example? i.e. なになにともうします。

texts:
In English you teach someone how to say their name by saying: My name is ''blah blah'' or My name is ''whatever''. Your voice drops on the words blah blah and whatever to show that your name is not actually blah blah or whatever and there is a little pause beforehand. I speak Mandarin Chinese and when saying a sentence that requires inputting a certain word you can include 什么什么 which literally means ''なになに''　or ''what what'' but in this context means ''blah blah'' or ''whatever''.

How to say your name in Japanese:

  My name is blah blah.
  _______ ともうします。
  なになにともうします。

How to say you like something in Japanese.

  I like blah blah.
  _________ がすきです。
  なになにがすきです。

On paper it can be expressed by ______ . But can this be read as なになに ?


texts:
I am using various programs to study Japanese:  audio CD's, Ja Sensei and TenguGo Japanese.  Kanji are grouped by JLPT levels.  Often kanji bleed across various levels.  For example

車:  くるま

An example word for JLPT 5:

自転車

The example also includes two characters from JLPT 4.  Ive seen examples of Kanji from JLPT 2 and I think even 1 in there too!

What should I expect to see in JLPT 5?  Do I need to know all meanings for a kanji and even all combinations including kanji from levels far and above my skill level?  What about grammar?


texts: Why can 「先」 be used to discuss future events?

texts:
Edit: I was convinced by some people that this question was caused by a misunderstanding or a mishearing. However, I've managed to come across this odd grammar again; this time as text in a chat, along with a translation and context.

When asked about what they would do after graduation, a Japanese friend replied with:

  今を切り抜けるのに必死だから、先のことは考えたくないな

Of which she translated as:

  My school life is too busy, so I don't want to think about my future right now

After some probing, she explained:

  うーん。「先」は時間を指すだけじゃなく、場所についても使う言葉なんだ。私も無意識に使ってたけど、場所や時間において、前側の意味にもなるし、後ろや過去の意味にもなるんだよねー。
    で、私も不思議に思って調べてみました。今いる場所や時間から、後ろを向くと、過去や後ろ側が「先」になる。今いる場所や時間から前に向かうと未来やその場所の端が「先」になる。たぶん。

From the vague explanation, I could only understand that 先 can indeed be used to talk about the future, which is reflected in its dictionary entry.

Could someone clarify? Without context, I would have assumed that the sentence meant I don't want to think about the things that have past.

--

Old question:

When asked if he is going to some place, my Japanese host often replies with:

  先｛さき｝にいく

I was always confused as to why 「先」 could refer to the future in cases such as this, as I've only been aware of the usage when referring to the past.

Here is an example of a conversation I remember us having:

  Me: お風呂｛ふろ｝に入るの？

  Host: 先｛さき｝に入るよ

In this case, my host explained that it meant that he would go later.

Can someone explain why it did not mean that he had already gone?


texts: Are the words in Japanese quotes 「」 always literally what is being said?

texts: When 「」 is used to quote, are the words contained always literally what they say, or are they paraphrasing? For example, in a sentence such as 「助けて」と叫びながら走っていた人が多かった, does it exclude people from saying variations such as 「誰か助けて」 and imply that 「助けて」 is the only thing that they said, or are they just giving the general idea of what was saying? Another example sentence I'm having trouble with is 「これって何」と思いながらプレゼントを開封した. The time it takes to think a phrase is short compared to the time it takes to open something, so is 「これって何」 the only thing they think or is it just given as a general idea of what is being thought?


texts: 止める vs 止める(とめる and やめる) + 息

texts:
A very nice vocaloid song called "Rolling Girl" has a very strong sense of lyrics. As I know, both やめる and とめる mean "to stop/to quit". However there are 2 sentences in the lyric that offers completely different meaning from each other.

  息をとめるの which means "to hold my breath"

Even though I thought it suppose to mean "to stop breathing". And then the last lyric said :

  息をやめるの which means "to stop breathing"

So I want to really know the differences especially since that both are labeled transitive verbs.


texts:
How does one write P.S. (post scriptum) in Japanese?

Dictionary translates postscript as 追伸, but is that the compound one would use at the end of a Japanese letter or e-mail?


texts:
What words are used for dolphin meat?

Searching jisho.org using "dolphin" in the English field listed several different words for dolphin, but no compounds involving meat.

Neither the English nor the Japanese editions of Wikipedia have an entry about dolphin meat. However, the Japanese article on dolphin drive fishing mentions イルカ肉 , which'd be イルカ "dolphin (or other small toothed whales, such as porpoises, belugas, etc.)" according to jisho.org, plus the kanji for meat. Is イルカ肉 the only word, or are there other words as well?

Background: In case I get accused of trolling. Someone asked a question about dolphin meat on another Stack Exchange site yesterday, and I was wanting to look up how many cookpad recipes mention dolphin meat as an ingredient. This question could also be useful for someone wanting to know the Japanese for dolphin meat in order to avoid eating it - I know of one person asking the name of a certain meat (not dolphin) to ensure that they didn't ever eat it.


texts: Usage of すみません (sumimasen) versus ごめんなさい (gomen'nasai)

texts:
There are several situations in which one of these words (phrases?) should be used but there's not usually a 1:1 mapping between any two languages.

Get somebody's permission. English: "excuse me", "I beg your pardon"; Spanish: "disculpe"
Getting past somebody or through a crowd. English: "excuse me"; Spanish: "con permiso"
Apologising: English: "I'm sorry"; Spanish: "lo siento", "perdón"

In Japanese, which of "すみません" (sumimasen) or "ごめんなさい" (gomen'nasai) works for each situation? (And did I leave out any situations or phrases?)


texts: How does かもしれない integrate into this sentence

texts:
For full context see here:
https://www.docdroid.net/oraqSdS/img-20170830-0001-new.pdf

The sentence is from 21-22:
聖人君子か大うそつきか、または自分がエラーをしていることに気が付いていないか、忘れてしまっている一番困ったひとかもしれない。

First, I wouldn't have a problem with this sentence if the bold かもしれない was か+も+知れない, but since the kanji　is lacking I guess it is just かもしれない indicating that the speaker feels very unsure about smthg..

I interprete the か after 大うそつきか etc. as the か marking an indirect question. Since there is no question word like なに どう etc I'd expect かどうか but there already was the case that かどうか wasn't used and instead just か has been applied (I asked about this here and I was told that it was perfectly normal that this could happen).

Now, here my translation:
"It could be a perfect person or a big liar, or someone who doesn't notice the mistakes he makes himself, or a person who is troubled by forgetting (forgetfulness?) the most."

What's also confusing me is that 困ったひとかもしれない lacks another か between かもしれない and ひと. I'd say that 困った人 also belongs to this long chain of indirect questions. I've never learnt that the last part of such a chain could omit its か. But maybe I got it wrong in the first place, thats why Im asking ^^


texts: Describe a span of time of 1 or 2 years, without being too literal

texts:
I'm looking for a word like "sometime ago", "a while ago", that is good for describing a 1-2 years span of time.

I feel like しばらく前 is for shorter spans of time, and 昔 is for longer ones. Is there something in the middle I could use here?

I wanna say something like:

  I worked for that company sometime ago

Without being literal about how much time it has been since I've worked there

  しばらく前、その会社で働きました。


texts:
Here is a part of a conversation between two young guys:

A: わすれやしませんが　こんどばかりはいくらおじょうさまの命令でもゆるすわけにはいかねえっ
B: へへっ　かっこいいせりふをはきゃあがって....

I think はきゃあがって would come from 「吐ければ」which means 'If you express...'
and 「上がって」 which means  'you speak out loud'.
Please tell me what meaning of this phrase really is.


texts: How often will a katakana term have an equivalent kanji spelling?

texts:
There's a similar question here:

Katakana words with Kanji. How did that happen?

Question

  Some words are written with katakana, but also have kanji. For
  example:

コーヒー　珈琲
ページ　頁

  How did this happen? They are loanwords, but no doubt had Japanese
  equivalents before these variants were imported. Is that the case? And
  are these original words now forgotten?

Answer

had Japanese equivalents before the English variants were imported

  Coffee is not native to Japan, and did not have an equivalent; that
  kanji sequence is ateji.

  "Page" is that kanji, but it's properly pronounced 「けつ」 in sequences.

My question is though how often does Katakana-based words have an equivalent Kanji?


texts:
In Samurai Gourmet, Kasumi says:

  滑り出しは順調だ！

I can see why 滑り出し could mean beginning (imagining myself at the top of a large waterslide) but I'm curious to know if there is any historical context behind this.


texts: とは、では、には Understanding of double particles

texts:
I have some troubles understanding those particles 【では】、【には】、【とは】 etc.

I completely understand and can use 【での】、【のに】 etc., but when 【は】 follows one other, I can't figure out how to use it and how to fully understand it.

Just now, I heard in the anime called "Fate/stay night UBW":

  　俺の知ってるとは違う！

The context is : A fight between 2 people that have already fought in the past, so they've already encountered each other's techniques and spells and know most of them. There is a spell that "B" knows about and "A" uses an updated version of it against "B", so he's like what the hell? And he says:

  　俺の知ってるとは違う！

At that moment, I didn't have any problem understanding the sentence, and I felt like saying 【とは】 was like a shortcut, that it was like saying:

  俺の知ってる魔法と違う！

So if I'm right, it's exactly the same for 【では】 and 【には】 right?

I have a Japanese friend who I often talk to, and I often use these double particles but without really thinking, and here is an example conversation:

  彼女 : このバンドは日本に人気だよ！
  彼女 : フランスには人気なの？
  俺 : フランスには超人気！

Seems to be a boring talk but whatever lol, she says that this band is popular in Japan, then to avoid repeating herself, and add some contrast, she says:

  As for in France, are they popular

Is what I'm saying correct?

And also, I have another question, if for example I want to tell the state of something, like "In France it's normal", what could I say? I would not be able to choose between:

  フランスでは普通だ
  フランスには普通だ

I don't see the difference, can someone help me out please, thank you!