texts: What is the difference between 引き渡し and 受け渡し?

texts:
I'm having trouble understanding which one to use when, as they appear to have overlapping definitions (EDICT both have the translation "delivery").

For instance, which one do you use to describe an estate agent delivering an apartment key from the owner to a renter?


texts:
I have 2 questions related to the following sentence :

のみならず、新聞記者を相手に、ほらを吹いたり、自分の話が何々氏談などとして、新聞に載せられたりすることは、おとなげないとは思いながら、誰しも悪い気持はしないものである。

How to use 何々 as a pronoun ? What role does it play in this sentence ?
What's the meaning of 氏談 ? Is it a noun ? I can't find any clear entry about it on Google or on jisho.org.


texts: Why are there separate passive versions of so many verbs? How do they differ in meaning from the regular passive conjugation?

texts:
The example I came across today (though I've seen this with many other verbs):
「潰れる」 – "to be crushed"
which, as far as I can tell, means exactly the same as 「潰される」, the passive form of「潰す」.
My questions:

Do these actually mean the same?
Is there any rule to these "special" passive versions?
Or am I completely misunderstanding something about the passive form?


texts: I came across this phrase in a passage and I am not quite sure what it means. It seems unlikely that it is used for comparison, but I could be wrong. The Chinese translation following it seems to translate it to "not only". There is no grammatical explanations in the book, and searching online hasn't been helpful either. So someone please illustrate the appropriate grammar here.


texts: When can adjectives be used with the particle "no"?

texts:
Some adjectives are used like this:

[次]{つぎ}の[世界]{せかい} "tsugi no sekai" (next world)
[黄色]{きいろ}の[車]{くるま} "kiiro no kuruma" (yellow car)

and others are used liked this: かわいい[車]{くるま} "kawaī kuruma".
Though kiiro can also be used thus: [黄色]{きいろ}い[車]{くるま}"kiiroi kuruma".
When can I use an adjective with "no"? Is it always or only in some special cases?


texts:
私がこの男をたしなめ大差でひと断ちにしてみせます

Originally I understood this phrase as "I will rebuke this man, cut him in two with a great difference (in score)" but have not been able to sufficiently break down my understanding of ひと断ちにする to my own satisfaction.

I originally read ひと断ちにする as similar to 一太刀にする (although 一太刀 actually taking にする seems to be rare according to exact google search) but that may not be correct.

To my understanding 断つ means to sever something, so I think 断ち is its noun form, making ひと断ち one slice by my reasoning, so I think literally he's saying that he will take him in one slice by a great difference.

Am I on the right track or am I missing something?

EDIT: I should have made this more clear. 佐為 is talking about figuratively slicing someone in a game of go. It's not literal.


texts:
I’ve been reading about sound change in Japanese and I keep coming across the phrase ‘発音上の’ as in

  発音上の相違に支えられて開合の仮名遣いに区別がありました.

In the above example, what purpose does ‘上’ serve? Should I read ‘発音上’ or 発音‘上の...’？


texts: Is the word お待ちになっております not a legit Japanese phrase?

texts:
I wanted to write "I'll be waiting" in respectful term.

I found the respectful term of "wait" from this site: https://townwork.net/magazine/knowhow/manners/baito_manners/13309/

待つ = お待ちになる、お待ちくださる

So, to imply "I'll be waiting" in Japanese, I used "お待ちになっております".

However, I was corrected by a Japanese colleague that for the phrase to sound more like a natural Japanese term it should be, "待っております".

I tried using google translate and according to google translate "お待ちになっております". means "I will be waiting".

Is there actually such a phrase as "お待ちになっております".?


texts: What does 回, the kanji for "turn", mean in 回答 "answer"?


texts: "I have become sleepy, because I did not sleep much last night"textbook wrong translation?

texts:
"I have become sleepy, because I did not sleep much last night"

What in the textbook:

  きのうの夜あまり寝なかったから、眠くなりました。

What I think is right:

  きのうの夜あまり寝なかったから、眠くなります。


texts: Unclear sentence: 選を先行する取り組みを本格化させる

texts:
I have difficulty trying to understand the following sentence:

  米大統領選などをきっかけに欧米で先行する取り組みを、日本でも本格化させるのが狙い。

Source: http://www.asahi.com/articles/ASK6P62NYK6PUTIL0CS.html

What is the meaning of 選を先行する取り組みを本格化させる here?


texts: So the main verb means to change and nai makes it negative, but what is this n formation?


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

texts:
I need some help with the meaning of とも in this sentence

  とも言えますが

I have tried looking the definition up but it doesn't seem to fit in this context.

I have the first part roughly translated as

  because its a time like this,

but the second part I'm not sure of.  I know that the second part roughly translates to

  it can be said/one can say

but I'm still not sure what the function of
とも is here.

For context here is the whole sentence.

  こんな時だから, とも言えますが, 四大会議四大国の王が集う唯一の機会


texts:
How can I express "at least" in the sense of "it would be worse otherwise"? For example, "[It may be cold, but] at least it's not raining," or "[We're lost, but] at least we're together."

I sometimes want to make this kind of comment in Japanese but I haven't come across anything in my studies that seems equivalent.

Thank you!


texts: Why is this 頼んでたら and not 頼んだら in this sentence?

texts:
I've come across this construction before and never not anything of it but after coming across a sentence in a light novel I am reading, やはり俺の青春ラブコメはまちがっている, I started to wonder why this conditional seemed to not be constructed in the usual plain past tense + たら form, but rather the te form + たら. Can anyone explain to me why this is? Perhaps a stylistic effect?

Here is the sentence.

俺が頼んでたらたぶんあいつ来てくんないよ。

I don't believe the context to really be of importance here, but I will provide some background. The speaker is saying that if he were the one to ask the girl to play tennis instead of the actual person who asked the girl to play tennis, perhaps she would have rejected the request.


texts:
I don't get the difference in meaning between には and にしたら like in this sentence from my textbook:

  大きすぎる親の期待は、子供にしたら苦痛だ。
  Expectations of parents that are too big become agony for the children.

Is it possible to exchange にしたら in above sentence with には? If yes, how would you distinguish the meaning between these grammatical functions or when to use にしたら or には, respectively?
To me they seem to be fully interchangeable.


texts:
Can someone be "さびしい" without being "かなしい"?
I assume that one can be "かなしい" without being "さびしい". If this is not true, please explain.
I don't think I've heard "かなしい" so much in conversation. Are there alternative words?

thank you.


texts: What are the illustrations used in Japanese TV called?

texts: What are the illustrations they use to show information in Japanese TV called?  I don't know if I'm describing them well, so I've included a picture.


texts: What is the implication when a gruff old man ends a sentence with わ?

texts:
In this question, it seems to me it was clearly established that わ, at the end of a sentence, is decidedly feminine. There was talk of a Kansai-ben わ with slightly different implications, but still within a range of femininity.

So, I'm reading Tintin in Japanese, as I do, and I come across the character Captain Haddock using わ:

The situation is that he is on a plane that has dropped altitude suddenly, so his ears were plugged. They just popped, and he feels スッキリ("refreshed").

For those who don't know Captain Haddock, he is a gruff old sailor, who is not at all given to feminine speech. Quite the opposite. This expression really stands out.

Also, to the best of my ability to detect it, he does not use Kansai-ben, which I only mention because of the discussion of Kansai-ben in the other question.

So why did the translator opt to have the Captain use わ to end the sentence here? Is it an ironic use of feminine speech? Does it have another use I'm not aware of?


texts: What's the difference between 読み and 読書?

texts: Both mean reading or to read in the verbal form but in what context do you use 読み/読む and in what context to you use 読書/読書する ?


texts:
The sentence in question is the following.

  その　しゅくだいを　やりおわったら、　ちょっと　こちらを　てつだって　くれませんか。

I can't figure out what やり is supposed to mean here since there is no kanji present in the sentence. I'm guessing the first part of the sentence means If you're done with that homework, but none of the やる verbs in the dictionary have a meaning close to that.


texts: What sound symbolism related to masturbation exist ?

texts:
Ideophones are words that stand for instance for physical sensation,psychological states or even abstract ideas.
For instance:

niko niko    smile
patan   the sensation of slamming a door
honobono   the state of peacefullness
kacha    sensation of sth. opening

Are there any sound symbolisms that can be used for sensations, events, psychological states related to masturbation ?

for instance:

the onset of  ejaculation
the pulling and pushing of the foreskin
imagining of some absent person while performing
the feeling of frustration  not being able to perform in a satisfying manner
the state of alertness one could be caught
pushing of sth. too big into the vagina


texts:
Full context:

  友達申請をしてくださって、ありがとうございます。

  アンドレアスさん、でいいですか？もし呼び方が違っていたら教えてください。
  「みんなの日本語」を最後までやり終えたのですね。すばらしいです。

  私は英語の勉強も、もちろんしていますが、日本語を教える勉強も始めたので、力になれたらうれしいです。

  何でも聞いてください。一緒に頑張りましょう。

Sentence in question:

  もし呼び方が違っていたら教えてください。

My attempt at translation:

  "Please think whether the pronunciation is off or not."

I've encountered (もし)...たら constructions in several cases:

1) Where it expresses the prototypical conditional:
"When I do X, Y will happen (eventually)".
今食べ過ぎたら、多分眠られません。

2) Where it expresses a thing which hasn't happened in reality:
"If X had been the case, I wouldn't have done Y"
喪主昨日雨が降っていたら、買い物には出かけなかっただろう。

3) in certain set phrases like:
...Vたらいいですか。...Vたらどう?

4) When it expresses that X happened in consequence of Y:
薬を飲んだら、元気になりました。

However, in the sentence in question, at least as far as I understand it, it expresses the translated "whether...or..." construction.
Since 考える　is used in part 2, it's pretty difficult to coax a basic "When X, then Y" interpretation into it. Basically, this is what separates it from all the other cases I've described above. Whenever I encountered たら, it was somehow possible to translate it into a very literal if-clause without turning it into absolute gibberish. This isn't possible here anymore:

  "When the pronunciation is off, please think."

This is also the reason why I'm asking about it here.
I don't trust my own translation, even though it would make perfect sense in this context ^^


texts: what's the difference between 試験する and 受験する?

texts: The title is explicit, what's the difference between 試験する and 受験する ? According to my dictionnary they both mean "to pass an exam", but I guess there is a nuance.


texts: What does "調子の良い事" mean when used with "言って"?

texts:
I was browsing #アカギ on pixiv when I found this one. https://www.pixiv.net/member_illust.php?mode=medium&illust_id=16943272.

It's this line.

  調子の良い事を言って原田に刺される健

I've also heard it used just as

  調子の良い事言って...

Does it mean like "saying good things". Why isn't "compliment" or "praise" used instead?


texts:
Japanese

以下の文を比較すると、

  でき得るならば、独立して事業を始めたい。

  できれば、独立して事業を始めたい。

意味が同じですか？どう違いますか？すみませんが、説明して頂けませんか？

English

If we compare the following two sentences:

  でき得るならば、独立して事業を始めたい。

  できれば、独立して事業を始めたい。

Is the meaning the same? How do they differ? Could someone explain it?


texts:
I'm aware of two ways to say "try"

  1) verb-てみる Try (for the first time) to see how it is

  2) verb-vol とする

Now, I've seen it said that 2) is used when failure is involved e.g. I tried to answer the phone but I didn't get there in time. But it thought it was more generally used for "I'll attempt to do something and it will probably work out fine, but there may be difficulties.

Yesterday I wrote this sentence:

  ちびまる子ちゃんという本を読もうとしています

  I'm trying to read a book called Chibi Maruko-chan.

Some people said the sentence was fine but I got two corrections:

  ちびまる子ちゃんという本を読もうと思って、読んでいます

  I think I will read ちびまる子ちゃん and I'm reading it (my literal translation)

  ちびまる子ちゃんという本を読もうと思っています

  I think I will read ちびまる子ちゃん (my literal translation)

I'm puzzled. What has "thinking about reading" got to do with "trying to read"? Have I misunderstood how to use verb-vol とする? Thanks.


texts: How would I say "give me xyz" without sounding too rude (or formal)

texts: Let's say I've just been food shopping with my girlfriend and I want to say "give me the bag" so that I can carry it for her. Could I just use 「くれて」, or would I use something else?


texts: What's the relationship between 'e' and 'wa' in some words?

texts:
Can someone explain how 'e' and 'wa' are related in some words / 音便?  Presumably the 'e' was originally the obsolete ゑ since it's in the ワ行.

Some examples:

  上（うえ）　←→　上着（うわ・ぎ）
  声（こえ）　←→　声色（こわ・いろ）
  終える　←→　終わる

(Bonus question:  How do you type ゑ in the IME?  I had to copy it from somewhere else.)


texts: Is the verb necessary for this sentence to make sense?

texts:
I recently started rewatching Naruto and there's one opening song by Little by Little with the lyrics:

  悲しみをやさしさに
  自分らしさを力に

It is supposed to mean something like "turning sadness into kindness, your uniqueness (?) into strength".  But I just wonder if that still makes sense when separated from the rest of the song. I mean, there's no verb (like turn). Would it be okay to say it as a quotation without the context that the rest of the song carries?


texts: Questions about dialogue in this picture (omitted を、一歩も歩けん)

texts:
The dialogue in this picture is simple enough for me up until 一歩も歩けん. The first half makes me expect the whole sentence to be 一歩も引かない but the sentence as a whole confuses me.

What is this 歩けん especially? Why does it end in ん? Google didn't offer much help either. Also, 血よこせ should be 血をよこせ right? But I get the feeling the を was omitted intentionally. Is omitting を in such obvious and informal cases(it's obvious they're demanding blood so the sentence is understandable) a form of acceptable grammar or is it simply wrong(on purpose or not)?


texts:
I can't wrap my head around the meaning of「って意味で」in the dialogue from a manga below. The speaker was explaining the reason why she wants a lover.

決まった人がいれば、いちいち惚れた腫れたやらなくて楽かなって...
傍で支えるって意味では、一番確かだろうしね

What is the role of「って」? Is it short for「という」? I don't understand what「意味で」means. What is the function of「で」here?
Does the second sentence mean something among the lines of "I think the meaning of supporting by side is the most certain"? I don't get it.


texts:
For full context:
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/news/html/20180125/k10011302761000.html

The sentence in question:
高さが１３３メートルある「那智の滝」は、那智勝浦町にある熊野那智大社のご神体とされています。

My attempt at translation:
"Concerning the nachifalls with a height of 133meters, they are made (together) with "Kumano Nachi Taisha" which is Nachikatsuura."

Obviously, the way I interpreted と here doesnt make much sense. But I simply have no idea what it is supposed to do there.


texts:
Hi may I ask for explanation of the following, I read here form verb 座る (sit) and polite form 掛ける

for form Please sit down there is this forms
座る　-> 座れ　(very rude) -> 座って (better form) -> 座ってください (polite form)

and my problem is this, the form 座り I know this form is using in this example 座りなさい　(not so much polite form, talk for ex. to children)

BUT

お座りください　(is one of polite form for please sit down) but for incentive this verb should be use in TE form, isn't? so why is missing って and why is there form for ~なさい form and from this is really using for higher polite speak?

and second thing, same for 掛ける, there is itself verb for KEIGO language

お掛けください same trouble for me,  掛ける is 掛けて (て is missing too, why?)

Thank you a lot for any help


texts:
I've been taught that ～くて is used when linking adjectives, but as I was reading I ran into this sentence :

  それは嘘じゃなくて？

What is exactly the meaning of ～くて in this sentence ? Why isn't it simply じゃない ?


texts: difference between らしい　んだって　とか　ということだ。

texts:
What is the difference between various ways of saying ”I have heard that”.
らしい　んだって　とか（言っていた）　ということだ。

  A: 田中さん、今日は休み？ B: さっき電話があって、熱があるとか。大丈夫でしょうか？

  義理の兄と情を通じていたということだ。 I have heard that/It's said that/rumor has it
  that she's been having an affair with her brother-in-law.


texts: Meaning of うりこぼる or うりこぶる - EDIT : AUDIO ADDED

texts:
EDIT : Here is the extract.

I heard the expression うりこぼる or (うりこぶる I'm not sure) in the anime 進撃の巨人 and can't find much info on it.  It's from episode 4 around 10:30, just after マルコ's lines.  The sentence is pronounced by ジャン.

The full sentence is :

  うりこぼらないで言えよ...本音を。

I wonder if it is an idiomatic expression or an abbreviation of one, or something else.

The general idea seems to be "stop lying".


texts:
「[彼女は]係員にいうと驚きもせずまたかという表情をした。」

I am translating an article about an urban legend child abduction happened at a amusement park.
To provide you with a context: a mother and a child are together, then the child goes to the restroom and never comes back, she basically disappeared.

So, I am having trouble translating the above sentence.
I analysed it thouroughly and I came up with that:

"When she told the staff, they wore an expression that said 'again?' (even) without amazement."

I guessed that またか was an indirect question. If this is the case I obviously didn't translate it literally as I put a direct question in my traslation.

Are my guesses right? Do you have any suggestions for a better translation?


texts: How to concatenate negative form of verbs to make use of the pattern ～て、～て、～します?

texts:
I want to say,

  For health, I don't smoke, don't drink alcohol too much, do much exercise.

Here is my attempt, but

  健{けん}康{こう}のために、たばこを吸{す}わなくて、あまりお酒{さけ}を飲{の}まなくて、よく運{うん}動{どう}しています。

my teacher said it sounds weird but she has not explained to me why it is weird.

Could you help me to make it correct?


texts:
Today I was reading the story of David & Goliath and saw this strange pattern:

  ゴリアトは四十日の間、朝な夕なやって来て、同じ所に立った。ー　サムエル記上　17:16
  Goliath challenged the Israelites every morning and evening for forty days. - 1 Samuel 17:16 ;  (Yes, "stood in the same place Took up his same position" implies his challenges from an early part of the story)

Is this basically just a 〜も〜も pattern or does it have other uses too?  What is its origin?  Is it formal and/or archaic?  Is it a typo in my Bible?

I've never seen this pattern before and cannot find anything on it.  Any information would be great.


texts: How do I understand 「わが身世にふる　ながめせし間に」

texts:
This might be a difficult question but let me give it a try here.

I have trouble understanding this poem by 小野小町:

  花の色は　うつりにけりな　いたづらに　わが身世にふる　ながめせし間に

I understand that the words 「ふる」 and 「ながめ」 are 掛詞,  which means that they  have two-folded meanings. In particular 「ふる」 can mean 「降る」 and 「経る」, and 「ながめ」 can mean 「眺め」 or 「長雨」. But I am not sure how to put them together in a grammatically correct way. In particular, I want to ask the following:

Is 「身世」 a single word, or are they two different words?
If they are two different words, then which verb goes with 「わが身」? Is it 「ふる」 or 「せし」?
Is it correct that I understand 「せし」 as 「していた」 in modern Japanese?
When 掛詞 are present, is it okay to expect the poem to be grammatically "correct" for both of its meanings?

P.S. I asked a similar question on a Japanese website. If you feel like answering it in Japanese, please follow this link.

Problem solved: Based on @l'électeur and other people's answers, I'd say that this problem has been solved. Please let me summarize what I've learned:

「身」and「世」belong to separate words.
「我が身」goes with the word 「ふる」. When 「ふる」 is interpreted as 「経る」, which is the 連体形 of the 下二段 verb 「経（ふ）」 meaning "pass by" or "get old",
the whole phrase 「我が身世にふる」 serves as a noun phrase. And it can be expanded into 「我が身が世にふるのを」. I failed to see this because のを is absent from the poem.
「眺め」is a noun, which becomes 「眺めす」, a サ変 verb, when combined with 「す」. This verb means to absent-mindedly gaze at things. The form 「眺めせし」can be understood as 「眺めていた」 in modern Japanese. (This was pointed out by a guy at the Japanese site that I alluded to in my question.)
It is generally not reasonable to expect complete grammatical correctness for both meanings of the 掛詞. For example, when 「ふる」 and 「ながめ」are interpreted as 「降る」 and 「長雨」, the grammar becomes pretty sloppy here.

P.S. Any further points are still welcome through the comments.


texts: Making sense of why 乙嫁語り is translated as "A Bride's Story"

texts:
While browsing reddit I came across the expression 乙嫁語り and its translation as A Bride's story.
Now I'm not really far into my kanji studies (maybe a 400-500 characters in), but since I recognized the 語 and the 嫁, I was a bit confused how one can translate this as A Bride's story. If I'm not mistaken this should be read as Otoyomegatari (Googleing the name of the Manga confirms this).

What exactly is the 乙 doing here? Otoyome can be translated as younger brothers wife, although then its written as 弟嫁 and not as 乙嫁. And as far as I understand the kanji 乙 itself means something along the lines of　the latter, duplicate, strange, witty, which doesn't seem to be related to the title at all.
When talking about the word tale I immediately think about the word 物語, so reading 語り confused me a bit since according to jisho.org it means something along the lines of talk, narration, topic --- so a word that would maybe used to describe a conversation and less a story/tale.

So can somebody maybe explain to me how we get to the translation A Bride's story?


texts: Need help understanding the embedded image

texts: Apologies for the blurry image, I've been trying to identify a location in a relatives photo and this sign appears to be the only hint I have at it. I'm afraid my grasp of written Japanese isn't quite strong enough to understand it though, would anyone here be able to decipher it for me?


texts:
I was reading an NHK article and came across this line:

お金{かね}を払{はら}うとき「キャッシュレス」を利用{りよう}する人{ひと}が増{ふ}えて、現金{げんきん}をあまり使{つか}わなくなっているためです。

It comes after a line that says "This is the first time the number of ATM's has decreased"

I translated this as "This is because the amount of people using cashless (methods) when paying with money is increasing, and so cash is becoming used less often"

Or something to that effect.

If my parsing is correct then 使う(non-past positive verb)→使わない(non-past negative verb)→使わなく(negative adverbial).

My question is what would be the analogous adverbial form if I wanted to say something like "Debit cards are becoming used more often" using a similar sentence structure but a positive sense of the verb?


texts:
What's the real difference between 天気 and 天候?  In at least one of my dictionaries, 天候 just redirects to 天気.

I've always thought (read: "felt") that 天候 is the general "concept" of weather, or even climate

  秋の天候 - "the [type of] weather in the fall"; 北海道の天候 - "the climate of Hokkaido"

whereas 天気 seems to be the actual tangible weather.

  明日の天気は雨です - "Tomorrow (the actual weather) will be rain"; 天気予報 - "weather (not climate) forecast"

これ合ってるか教えてください。

EDIT:  After looking a bit more through the different definitions, it seems that 気候 is more closely related to "climate" than 天候.


texts: 僕がついてればいいんですけど。いそがしいもんですね。

texts:
「僕がついてればいいんですけど。いそがしいもんですね。」 はどういう意味ですか?
「ついてればいい」は辞書を調べてもまだよく分かりません。T。T


texts: What's the difference between 初心者, 入門者 and 初級者

texts: I see 初級 Written mostly in books which mean beginner or elementary level, the other two were written on the same page for a drawing course i fould online as "入門者向け" and "初心者向け", but i don't see any difference between the 3 and how to properly use them.


texts: What is expressed through this sentence?

texts:
The following is an excerpt from my conversation via e-mail with my language partner.

For some pretext:
アンドレアスさんが言っているのは、「経験・経歴を表すテイル形」のことだと思います。これは中上級向け文法書に出ている使い方で、少し難しいです。
まず、現在進行形の文と区別するために、必ず過去を表す言葉と一緒に使います。

「過去に起きたことを」今、経験として、「持っている」
という形になるのです。

The sentence in question:
「過去に起きたことを」今、経験として、「持っている」
という形になるのです。

My attempt at translation:
"Treating something that happened in the past as present, it becomes a form meaning 'it (still) lasts'."

The main issue are those quotation marks and the interaction with the environment xD
I don't really know wether I understood the part 「過去に起きたことを」今、経験として correctl.y
I also don't know wether the way I interpreted 「持っている」
という形 correctly. I think what she wants to tell me is that when I use ている for events which happened in the past, these events must live on in the present? Is that it?^^


texts: What Japanese expression is equivalent to "to look in the mirror"? Is it as simple as 鏡を見る or 鏡に見る?


texts: what is the name of the abbreviated writing style used in newspapers?

texts:
To make articles as short as possible in newspapers, certain conventions are used. One such convention is that when a sentence ends with サ変名詞{へんめいし}、「をする」is omitted. Another is that the full names of companies, such as "三菱重工業株式会社" can be abbreviated as "三菱重工".

I could be wrong, but I am pretty sure that abbreviated writing style has a formal name. What is it?
What are some other conventions?


texts: Particle の attached to relative time expression いつか

texts:
I think I know what it means nontheless the construction is pretty strange for my Indoeuropean mind.

I heard it in a song and the line goes like this:
いつかの風頬に触れて春を伝えるでしょう

I think it says that someday the wind will touch her cheeks (as the winds blows) and will tell her about spring. However, it sounds strange to me to say something like "someday's wind" and I would like to know why の is attached to いつか. I have never found a lesson explaing this construction so an explanation would be appreciated.


texts: Distinguish between homonyms & potential form

texts:
How can you distinguish two verbs when the dictionary form of one is exactly the same as the "potential" form of another. E.g:

開く　 [Godan verb with ku ending, intransitive verb]　(Potential form: 開ける)
開ける [Ichidan verb, Transitive verb] (Potential form: 開けられる)

As I understand it, both are related to opening something so they'd be used in similar contexts, & both in "masu" form (with 開く firstly put into potential form) would be "開けます". In this case 開ける is transitive & 開く intransitive, so they'd differ by を or が respectively when used in a sentence; however, I can imagine that this isn't always the case.

Would you be able to consistently tell the difference by particle used? Is this just a case where it comes down to context / homonyms? Or am I fundamentally misunderstanding something?

Edit 1: Didn't realise that the kanji I picked actually related to two different sets of words where the above applies;「あく」&「あける」as well as「ひらく」&「ひらける」. I'm getting the feeling, looking at some of these cases, that it'll just be contextual + memorisation, and sometimes it could actually just be both & it's up to the speaker / listener to clarify; if anyone has tips though, I'd be happy to hear them.

Edit 2: Just came across: Potential form vs Intransitive Verbs, but I don't feel like the answer really squares. The example I gave seems to line up with the example the asker there gave, except「あける」is both the potential form of「あく」, and also an intransitive verb. Conversely, both「ひらける」and「ひらく」can be intransitive (according to the dictionary I'm looking at).


texts: Which particle to use with 出会う {であう} : と, に or が?

texts:
From Google searches, I can see that all three particles と, に and が are used with 出会う, but are there differences when using each of the particles or are they interchangeable?

For ease of explanation, would anyone please explain the differences in nuances among the following clauses:

  あなたと出会う
  あなたに出会う
  あなたが出会う

N.B. I tried to use the logic from > What is the difference between 〜となる and 〜になる? < but saying that と is quotative when used with 出会う simply doesn't make sense to me.


texts:
On the subject of real-time OS's, I read this sentence:

  割り込みを一時的に不可(マスク)とする。

Where 不可 apparently means "to mask". I can understand that "割り込み masks something", but I can't understand "不可とする"

The definition of 不可 that I looked up was "wrong, bad, improper, inadvisable". So, what does "不可とする" mean in this context?


texts:
I am studding particles, and I want to translate the anime's name:

  "この素晴しい世界に祝福を!" (kono subarashii sekai ni shukufuku o!).

What does に mean in this sentence? I have seen many people translating this phase to, Blessings to this wonderful world, or God's blessings to this wonderful world. In this case, why not use へ instead に?


texts:
Speaker is in a conversation about the courtyard in his new school that he just transferred to (from tokyo).

  学校の敷地が狭い都会では中庭のないところもあるくらいだったので、感動もひとしおだ。

Because, in the (old) school site, as tokyo is very cramped, there was no courtyard (くらい?) ,  I'm especially excited (about this school's courtyard).


texts:
In sentences such as: Jana will pay for the drinks. or Will the kids have to pay?. Why is it okane o haraimasu instead of ... o haraimasu?

[Correct] Examples: Jana san wa nomimono no okane o haraimasu. or Komodo wa okane o haraimasu ka?

Are [seemingly incorrect examples] Jana san wa nomimono o haraimasu. or Komodo wa haraimasu ka? [gramatically] wrong or "odd"? When I see okane o haraimasu, I want to ask, "well what else is he/she going to pay with? Barrels?".


texts:
So I came across this sentence寒くなってきました. I learned the grammar verb-te + ikimasu/kimasu which means doing something and going back or the other. I searched up the grammar and it also means becoming/start to. 寒くなって already means becoming cold. What does kimashita mean in the sentence above?
I hope to further understand the grammar and thanks in advance.


texts: why does the following title end "...守られる" and not "守られている"? just to save space?

texts:
I read the title of the article キタシロサイ、地球にたった1匹のオス、24時間体制で守られる as
"The last male rhino on earth is being protected by a system that is active 24-hrs per day."

The " ...is being protected... " makes me want to say "...守られ ている "

Were the title: "キタシロサイ、地球にたった1匹のオス、24時間体制で守られ ている ", how would the meaning change?
Were space not an issue, would the continuous tense have been used?


texts:
もう何日も一緒に生活している俺と可憐。

  当然すべてではないにしろ、俺にだってある程度今の可憐の気持ちはわかっているつもりだ。

I added the previous line for context.　 I made this  だって question a while back but it  may not apply to this instance.

Naturally, even if all of it (何日も一緒に生活している俺と可憐) wasn't there, even with my degree of (???), I think I understand Karen's feelings.

Thanks


texts:
If someone says それだけ、食べないでください, does it mean:

Please don't eat only that [eat other things too!]
or

[You can eat anything you like but] only that, please don't eat it.

What about それだけ、たべてください?  Does it mean:

Please eat only that [and don't eat anything else].
or

[I don't really care if you eat anything else but] only that, please eat it.


texts: と in the first sentence + た in the second sentence

texts:
I already learned how と functions. It is used when we’re talking about natural things. When something happens another thing always happens too.
I sometimes see と sentence like this one:

街灯じゃ暗いと　カラスが頭上で笑った

Does this 笑った only present the past (I don’t understand why past verb is used with this と)? Or does it have any other different meaning?


texts: What do you do if a genkoyoshi line ends with e.g. す。」?

texts:
Suppose that you're writing on genkoyoshi (原稿用紙), and you are writing a quotation, e.g.

  「これはペンです。」

And let's say that each line of the genkoyoshi has 8 blocks. The first block would, I presume, be occupied by 「, followed by one block for each of the kana こ・れ・は・ペ・ン・で.

What do you do with the rest of the quotation? My understanding is that you're not supposed to put punctuation at the beginning of a new line, so you can't split it す and 。」, nor す。 and 」. Do you just glom all of す。」 into a single block?

(Or do you just never include a 。 immediately prior to a closing 」?)


texts:
From what I know, ので differs to から grammatically because you add a な after な-adjectives for ので. For example:

  その人は意地悪{いじわる}なので、嫌{きら}いです。- I do not like that person because they are mean.

But what would the past tense of this sentence be? Would it be:

  その人は意地悪{いじわる}だったなので、嫌{きら}いです。- I do not like that person because they WERE mean.

Is the な before ので necessary for past tense adjectives? I couldn't really find anything after googling. How does this work?


texts:
From some basic research I've found that when romanizing じ and ジ we can use "ji" or "zi." Apparently "ji" is used by Hepburn romanization which is the most popular for non-Japanese speakers but "zi" is used by Nihon-shiki and Kunrei-shiki romanization. I read Kunrei-shiki is what is taught to Japanese elementary school students (and it is what my 20 year old Japanese textbook used).

Also, when doing a google.co.jp search for words romanized with "zi," google will sometimes actually ask if you meant to search on the Japanese version of the romanized word, so it recognizes it as Japanese....  but it doesn't recognize words when using ji.

So I figured "zi" was more common and better for Japanese people... but a Japanese person I know just old me "we never use zi and always use ji."  So, what is the deal here...  is one better than the other (and by that I mean is one going to be easier to understand or more natural for native Japanese speakers)?

As an aside that may provide context for an answer: the reason I'm asking is I'm trying to choose a social media handle with Japanese in it and am trying to decide on zi or ji...


texts: Why are there very few non-する gairaigo verbs in Japanese?

texts:
I can think of many gairaigo noun + する verbs in Japanese, like ゴルフする, but I can think of only a handful of non-する verbs in Japanese, such as ググる (mentioned in Are there words which consist of katakana and hiragana letters together?), and they appear to be a bit slangy in nature.

Why are there very few non-する verbs in Japanese? I can think of a few hypotheses, but no way of testing them:

There are far fewer new verbs in Japanese than there are new nouns, so most Japanese verbs were created before gairaigo was a major influence on Japanese.
gairaigo words are somehow unsuitable for inflection, such that while they can be incorporated into the language as する verbs, as nouns don't get inflected, it's impractical to make them an inflected verb
gairaigo words are somehow more acceptable as nouns than as verbs

I found a claim in Wikipedia that in Japanese, verbs are a "closed class", which do not easily accept new members. Elsewhere it claims that not only gairaigo but also kango contribute very few non-する verbs.

Side question: Are there fewer newly created verbs in Japanese than newly created nouns? Also, are there nouns that are mainly used as する verbs rather than by themselves?

Related questions:

Are there words which consist of katakana and hiragana letters together? (not all gairaigo uses katakana, so it's possible that there may be non-する verbs that wouldn't be addressed in that question)
Are foreign adjectives always な adjectives? (い versus non-い adjectives is reminiscent of non-する versus する verbs)


texts: Does Japanese mark restrictive and non-restrictive relatives differently?

texts:
I was wondering whether Japanese distinguishes restrictive and non-restrictive relative clauses in some way, either structurally or prosodically.
English, for example, marks the distinction prosodically by inserting pauses for non-restrictive relatives, also indicated in writing by commas (a more thorough explanation can be found in this Wikipedia article). For example,

(1) The builder, who erects very fine houses, will make a large profit. (non-restrictive)
(2) The builder who erects very fine houses will make a large profit. (restrictive)

have different intonations and different interpretations: For (1) it is known already which builder we're talking about and the relative simply states additional information, while in (2) the relative clause specifies which builder makes a large profit.
For Japanese I have never heard of a similar phenomenon - but also no statements about its non-existence.  Only for relative copula clauses, one answer on this site mentions that である and の tend to be used more frequently with one type or the other. ([...] I also feel that である tends to be used more in nonrestrictive relative clauses, whereas の tends to be used more in restrictive relative clauses).
Are there any other such structural tendencies?

For testing for prosodic differences, one can imagine a scenario where some person has a mother and an older brother, who live in Osaka, while another brother lives somewhere else. In a situation where onw of the relatives living in Osaka wants to move, they might say something like (3) or (4):

(3) 大阪に住んでる母が東京に引っ越したいと言ってる (non-restrictive)
(4) 大阪に住んでる兄が東京に引っ越したいと言ってる (restrictive)

Would these two sentences be pronounced differently?


texts:
In this excellent response by @DariusJahandarie , he covered how to say "I have been [verbing]" in Japanese by using ている. He had given many examples of how would could potentially translate ている or てい based on the context.

I'm wondering how you would differentiate between the following:

I was [verbing]
I had been [verbing]
I had [verbed]

I will try a few sample sentences.

  昨日は, テストのために勉強しているとき, 彼女が来た。
  She came yesterday while I was studying for my test.
  昨夜はあなたが電話したとき, 勉強していた。
  I was studying when you had called last night.
  私達がその本のことを初めて話したまでに, 一週間私がそれをもう読んでいた。
  By the time we had first talked about that book, I had already been reading it for a week.


texts: Why did Mount Fuji (富士山) become "Fujiyama" in English?

texts:
If we look at the Japanese word, there is no "Fujiyama" at all. I have a hunch that this was a mistake of a translator who transliterated 富士山 wrongly due to the kanji "yama" reading. Yet if it's a mistake, why was it so widely spreaded? Wikipedia refers to "Fujiyama" as a disambiguation to "Mount Fuji" and I even saw a Japanese book with the title "FUJIYAMA". Was it really someone's mistake or Japanese has some variation about this particular mountain?

For example, here in Russia many people consider "Fujiyama" normal name where those who study Japanese consider it as a terrible inaccuracy of a translator. Where is the truth?


texts: What is the difference between “ippou da” (一方だ) and “bakari da”(ばかりだ)?

texts:
On jlpt grammar list n3 i found ippou da and bakari da,but i don’t really get the difference.
I know that they both need the dictionary form but still is there a certain difference betweeen them or do they overlap in some cases?
“Ippou da” means to continue doing something
“Bakari da” also seems to mean to continue doing something


texts: "私には、セーラームーンを見るのを止めるための強い意志が欠けている。"

texts: I tried looking up this word in Denshi Jisho, but to no avail. What does "ため" mean when it is attached to the verb 止める?


texts: How do I ask about two different possible options?

texts:
Is this the correct way to ask which of two options is true?

  あの CD は　トルコご　の　ですか　えいご　の　ですか？

("Is that CD in Turkish or English?")


texts:
Saw this on twitter:

  A: 懐い

  B: そういえば私がマオさんの唄初めて聞いたのwinter fallでした。サンタさんでしたね（笑）あの日の衝撃は未だに忘れられないなー「歌うますぎ！この人誰！？」ってみんな言ってましたよ。懐かしい。


texts:
I came across the following sentence:

ワタシをわすれちゃいやだよ

I'm guessing it means something like:

You forgot me!

But what is happening / what is the meaning with the や being attached to ちゃう's verb stem?


texts: Can I replace 存在 with ある in this sentence?

texts:
Consider the following sentence.

  電磁誘導とは、磁束が変動する環境下に存在する導体に電位差（電圧）が生じる現象である。

Can I replace 存在 with ある as follows?

  電磁誘導とは、磁束が変動する環境下にある導体に電位差（電圧）が生じる現象である。

Bonus question: What does ～下に mean in 磁束が変動する環境下に ?


texts: Meaning of 気持ちの持ち方まで問題にしている

texts:
I'm having trouble determining the meaning and nuance of this sentence. Can you help me out?

  [技術]{ぎじゅつ}といっても、上手か下手かだけではなく、その技術を使う人の気持ちの持ち方まで[問題]{もんだい}にしているのです。

I think the closest I've been able to get so far is…

  Even though one may call it a "skill," it's not so much whether one is good or bad at it, but… (how feelings of those who practice the skill are held?)


texts:
ずれる - 1) slip out of place, get out of position, shift, slide
2)"get out of touch with" or "off" when used of a person

I got curious about what the kanji of the word ずれる is because computers and smartphones don't display any candidates for it. Some google searching made it seem like there isn't one. This seemed absurd to me. How could such a common word not be assigned a character in the course of the hundreds of years that kanji were introduced into Japanese? Unless, it's a new word. But that seems hard to believe too.

So far, the best candidate is 滑. But, only the EDICT2 dictionary mentioned this possibility prefacing the definition with possibly written 滑れる. Unfortunately, looking ずれる and 滑 up in the 研究社新和英大辞典 and 漢字源dictionaries did not confirm anything.

So, is it true that there is no kanji for it? Or is there conclusive evidence that 滑 is in fact the right kanji?


texts: Meaning of "Volitional + と + (Non-する verb)"

texts:
I'm kind of confused on what does "Volitional + と + Verb" mean in the following sentences:

i) 心臓を串刺しにせんと繰り出される槍の穂先
ii) 手に入れようと急ぐ

There are two different ways I see to parse it:

Same as ようとする but する is ommited. (Don't know if that is grammatical.)
と is being used similarly to when it is a "quotation particle" and it's showing the manner in which the verb is done.


texts: Should one use うもれる or うずもれる in this sentence?

texts:
現地を踏査した結果、そこには鉱物資源は埋もれていないことがわかった。Having prospected the area, we found no mineral deposits there.

Would you use うもれる or うずもれる for 埋もれる in this sentence?


texts: Does 同棲 always have a romantic connotation?

texts:
Take for instance the noun,

同棲組 which roughly means a group living together.

Does 同棲 always have a romantic connotation, or is it possible to use it in a non-romantic sense.  For example, to describe a group of friends living together?


texts:
I understand that で is used when referring to the place where an action is taking place.
But what about the following sentence?

  日本で車が速い。

Since there's no action taking place I would have expected to write 日本に rather than 日本で. But the example I saw used で.

Can somebody please tell me which way is correct and maybe explain why?


texts: Why is "saying" used for the translation of 言う?

texts:
思い切って「妊娠してるの」と告げると彼は「俺の子だと言うのか？」と言った。
When I braced myself and said, "I'm pregnant" he said "Are you saying it's mine?"

The translation puzzles me. "Saying" would normally be used for 言っている, but it is used for 言う instead. A case could be made that the translation is being liberal, but other example sentences make me suspicious:

どうして謝るのですか
Why are you apologizing?

Perhaps, there are more bad translations than I thought, but even then, there are cases where I cannot think that the present tense of a verb is anything but progressive. For example, there is this trailer (the example sentence is at 4:29)

もう。何を言わせるのよ

So, when 言う is translated as "saying," particularly in dramatic situations such as 「私はダメだと言うの？」 is it a liberal translation and they really mean habitual action or is it literally "saying?"


texts: Is 「なので」actually a short-form for「それなので」?

texts:
In Tae Kim's Guide there is a conversation that goes like this:

Tom: 時間がなかった。
Mary: だからパーティーに行かなかったの？

I was wondering is 「だから」 actually a short-form of 「それだから」 ?
Similarly, in the sentence 「なので、友達に会う時間がない。」, is 「なので」 actually a short-form for 「それなので」 ?
I was thinking does the 「それ」in 「それだから」have anything to do with the 「それ」in this question. Does the 「それ」in「それだから」imply that the "thing" is not known by the speaker but by the listener?


texts: 水疱 vs 火脹れ vs 水脹れ vs 肉刺

texts:
While hitchhiking from Tokyo to Sapporo in the past couple of days I devloped a few blisters on the soles of my feet. I like to learn my vocabulary based on my experience so looked up "blister" but found several words and no way to choose between them:

すいほう (水疱)
みずぶくれ (水脹れ, 水膨れ, 水ぶくれ)
ひぶくれ (火脹れ, 火膨れ, 火ぶくれ)
まめ (肉刺)

I'm assuming the first, 水疱, is a borrowing from Chinese.

The next two appear to be native Japanese terms and each have several variant spellings but share one orthogonal difference, one based on water 水 and the other on fire 火.

The final one I learned only a day or so after originally asking this question.

Could the first term be a general one for all kinds of blisters? What of the next two, I can imagine that some kinds of blisters are caused by burns, but what of the 水 words?

Are they for different kinds of blisters? Which is correct for the kinds of blisters I have?

Since I'm asking, which of the spelling variants should I use when writing these terms?


texts: What is the difference between 欲しい and 要る?

texts:
I have a question regarding the difference between 欲しい and 要る.

So far, what I know both words mean "want". The first one is an adjective and the second one is a godan verb with -ru ending. Now, I confused about the sentence below.

  こんなレプリカは いらない

does it has the similar meaning with?

  こんなレプリカが欲しくない (I make this sentence by myself)

what is the difference in those sentence? Thank you.


texts:
The line I first saw it in is:

大げさなジェスチャーは小さいころからのクセだ。見てるぶんには面白いので俺はあえて注意しない。

A few other examples I've found:

"遠目で見ている分にはいいけれど"
"見てるぶんには可愛いけど…こびとづかんになりたくはない。"
"Paris Photo [caption on photo of antiques on display]: 見てる分にはかわいい"

What does this construction (見ている分には) mean exactly? In a dictionary I've read, 分 has as one of its meanings "just as much as" and "in proportion to". So would 見ている分には mean "as much as (I'm) seeing" or something along those lines? Would "見てるぶんには面白いので" mean "It's interesting as much as I'm seeing it,so..."? That doesn't make much sense, though. Can someone enlighten me? [Edit:On second thought, maybe it's more something like: "To the degree that I'm watching, because it's interesting, I don't go so far as to pay attention" or "I don't at all pay attention to the degree that I'm watching because it's amusing."]


texts: I've heard it means something like "as I expected" but it wasn't a trustworthy source and in some contexts it doen't seem to me it's true. There is a specific meaning or, at least, an equivalent in English or Spanish? Thank you.


texts:
...が、このごろはジョバンニはまるで毎日教室でもねむく、本を読むひまも読む本もないので、...
  but these days Jobanni ?? was sleepy in the classroom everyday and had neither books to read nor the free time to read them, so ...

Grammar books tell me that まるで is used with a negative predicate or with structures expressing similarity ( e.g. ようだ). This seems to be neither of those.

I also thought it might be "in a circle"  e.g. an endless cycle of going to sleep in the classroom. I really have no idea.


texts: What is the difference between 時に and 時は

texts:
昨日雨が降っていた時に、私は家にいました。

  昨日雨が降っていた時は、私は家にいました。

How do these two sentences differ in meaning? Thank you.


texts: What is the difference between 前に and 先に when expressing order of events?

texts:
When considering these sentences

  食べる前に宿題をする。
  食べるより先に宿題をする。

They both mean I will do my homework before I eat.

If I had to guess, the nuance would be for 先に means "I will do homework ahead of eating" and 前に focuses more doing the action of eating before doing the homework. But I'm not so sure about my interpretation.

Can someone explain the difference and in which particular contexts they can only be used with some examples?


texts: possibly wrong usage of 〜ば〜た in grammar book

texts:
In on of the grammar books I found a question:

  運転して（　）、急に車の前へ犬が飛び出してビックリした。
  1)いるなら　２）いれば　３）いても　４）いたら

The correct answer is marked as 2. Is it correct? I have never seen 〜ば used in such way, the only examples I see on the internet are like:

  ３０分前に出発すれば良かったのに

Is it possible there is a mistake in that book?


texts:
すみません、 おそくなって。ずいぶんまちましたか。

I thought the meaning was :

 Sorry  I am running late. Did you wait long?

But when I googled it, the おそくなって means "I'm late." Is this one of the usual phrases used in Japan like おなかがいっぱい or のどがかわいた? Because I could not understand why it is I'm late rather than I'm running late considering て form of なる is used unless て here is used to link sentences which I doubt because there is a 。before ずいぶん.

So why is it なって? Why not なった? Do we always need to check the next sentence (because that one is in past tense)? Is て form used to link sentence?


texts: What is the connection between eyes and boundaries (the etymology of those phrases)?


texts:
I’m currently reading a Japanese text about political philosophy, but I can’t put my head around the term 二系列の交叉点. It comes up in the following sentence and is frequently used afterwards.

人類と社会の未来と俺の未来、普遍への自己犠牲的献身と私的環境の中での現在のエゴイズム、この二系列の交叉点に立ってどちらかの択一を強制されている。

All possible translations I came up with didn't quite fit.
Can anyone help me out?


texts: Are です and あります／います ever interchangeable?

texts:
I feel like （私は）彼の前です。 means the same thing as （私は）彼の前にいます。 (I am in front of him.)

Also 本はどこですか。and 本はどこにありますか。 (Where is the book?)

Correct me if I'm wrong, but is there a rule for determining when both are okay and which is better to use in a particular situation?


texts: How would saying "時には、" instead of "時に、" change to meaning of this paragraph?

texts:
complete paragraph:

それを実際に役立たせたいなどとは、まったく思っていませんでした。しかし、われわれが最初のiPhoneを設計している時に、それが私の脳裏によみがえってきたのです。
I never thought I'd make use of that (an idea discussed earlier). But, when we designed the first iPhone, i remembered that (idea).

But what if I were to add "は":

それを実際に役立たせたいなどとは、まったく思っていませんでした。しかし、われわれが最初のiPhoneを設計している時には、それが私の脳裏によみがえってきたのです。

That は is about placing emphasis? and in that context you don't need emphasis? It would sound weird / confusing? The reader would think "Why is emphasis placed there? Is he/she comparing it to something? It doesn't really matter, I will ignore that は and keep reading.".
In order for "時には to sound natural, the context would be like:

Macを設計している時には、私は世間知らずな大学生でした。iPhoneを設計している時には、社員5,000人以上の会社の社長でした。
When we designed the Mac (emphasis placed if speaking) I was a college student who knew nothing about the world. But, when we designed the iPhone (emphasis placed if speaking) I was the CEO of a company with more than 5,000 employees.

To do a contrast, place emphasis on those 2 points in time?
With regard to saying 時に、 instead of 時には、, is this explanation correct?


texts:
I came across a task in which I had to complete different sentences by putting correct case indicators. Everything seemed to be fine until I reached a sentence which made me think a lot about what case indicator to put. So, the sentence is this:

  私の答えは山口さんの答え (case indicator) ちがいます。

At first I thought that と would be a good option because I saw this sentence "私とちがう考えの人はいませんか". I'm not sure whether this is actually related to my situation but it seemed to be a good enough. I also was considering ほど to be put there but since it only can be used with a negative form of predicate, this is not the option I need. Now I think that it's が but am not sure.

P.S. I'm having zero problems with comparative constructions that use より, の方, etc. so far, but the one I mentioned above makes me ask a lot of questions.

P.S.S. I also would like to know what case indicators work with this verb and their meaning.


texts:
I came across the following expression

大事の前の小事

jisho.org says the following about it

don't put the trivial ahead of the important; don't sweat the small stuff; don't bother with the details (before embarking on a great enterprise)Proverb

read the fine print; be careful of the small things (before embarking on a great enterprise)Proverb

Doesn't it sound contradictory ? Could we assume that since Japanese (as i understand) relies heavily on context and this sentence is context-free (as a proverb) both interpretations are correct ?
My attempt so far to understand the 2 translations :

First translation uses the important; serious; crucial interpretation of 大事 (as given by Jisho) and the second the great undertaking; great enterprise; great thing interpretation
I would parse the first like 大事の  / 前の小事 (the important / before the details) and the second like 大事の前 / の小事 (before the important / the details). Could we really parse it both ways ?


texts: I know Musashi (武蔵) refers to the old province, but I cannot understand the rest of this sentence. Can anyone help with translation of 國小俳山? Thank you.


texts:
How would I describe a baby kangaroo in Japanese? Would I call it "ジョーイ" (katakana for "joey", which is used in English for pretty much any baby marsupial), or "子カンガルー" (literally baby-kangaroo).

The English edition of Wiktionary doesn't have a translation. Weblio only has info on the given name "Joey" at both the page on ジョーイ or on Joey.

Doing a google image search using 子カンガルー gave me better results than doing one on ジョーイ, but that could just be because the former doesn't have to compete against synonyms.


texts: Regarding chau and cha contractions, what happens in -って and -んで cases?

texts:
When contracting -てしまう or -でしまう to -ちゃう or -ちゃ, what happens in the -って and -んで cases?

For example, does 洗ってしまう become あらちゃう or あらっちゃう?

Similarly, does 喚んでしまわない become 喚んじまわない or 喚じまわない?

I'm trying to write a conjugator, but my Japanese is limited.


texts:
I'm trying to determine natural way(s) to express how certain Chess moves will be advantageous or disadvantageous in a certain position.

  In this position, if you exchange your queen with your opponents rook, you'll be at a disadvantage.

This is my best guess at how to express this:

  この局面ではクイーンと相手のルークを交換したら損するよ。

Other things I can think of are

  〜しないほうがいい
  〜得はしない
  〜立場が悪くなる
  〜困る

If anyone knows of how I can express getting into a "bad situation" or "a loss" in this context, I'd appreciate it. Other words I might be able to use are 有利 or 不利.


texts:
I came across these two paragraphs about the future resignation of Prime Minister Abe:
Various ministers were being asked their opinions and I came across いただけに:
1st paragraph:
梶山経済産業大臣は、臨時閣議のあと経済産業省に戻り、記者団に対して「安倍総理大臣から辞職する旨のお話があった。特に経済産業行政に対して関心を持ち、折りに触れて指導をいただいていたので、非常に残念だと思っている。景気回復ということをまず第１にやってきて、コロナ禍のあとの日本の経済をしっかりと立て直すということを言っていただけに、残念な思いがする」と述べました。
2nd paragraph:
副大臣の1人は、ＮＨＫの取材に対し、「事前に全く聞いていなかったので、非常に驚いた。憲法改正や北方領土問題、北朝鮮による拉致問題などを、安倍総理大臣なら前に進められるのではないかと期待していただけに、非常に残念だ。少なくとも任期いっぱいは続けてほしかった」と述べました。そのうえで、「後任の総理大臣の選び方については、安倍総理大臣がいつまで続けられるかや、いつまでに選出しなければならないかにもよるのではないか」と述べました。
I am not sure about my personal inference regarding their meaning or how they are working in both paragraphs.
To start with, this いただけに、I am supposing, comes from the verb いただける, though I am unsure.
I broke both sentences down, I mean the ones in which this いただけに is mentioned.
1.
景気回復ということをまず第１にやってきて、コロナ禍のあとの日本の経済をしっかりと立て直すということを言っていただけに, 残念な思いがする
business conditions recoveriness を first of all do, corona disaster の after の　nipponland の　economyを really と　put-it-to-rightness を　say + he was able to? に、regret thoughts I am doing.
2.
憲法改正や北方領土問題、北朝鮮による拉致問題などを、安倍総理大臣なら前に進められるのではないかと期待していただけに、非常に残念だ。
constitution revisionやnorth area problem, as for north kore abduction problem, を　if abe prime minister+ did not advance to the front? と　expect + was able to? really regret.
So in both cases in my opinion いただけに refers to the fact of what Abe Shinto was able to say or to expect. I am not sure, though.


texts: When using an adverb, do pronouns come before or after?

texts: I am try to translate “only one you” (only one of you but do not know if would translate correct) using yuiitsu as only one, does anata come before after thank you!


texts: The title of a manga I'm slowly working through is 惑星のさみだれ, but there is furigana above the two kanji that says ほし (star) instead. Why did it use both kanji, which seems to be normally read as わくせい (planet) when it could have used just 星 on it's own?


texts:
Can someone clarify how 困る is used in Japanese ? The dictionary definition of 困る is given as:

to be troubled; to be worried; to be bothered; to be embarrassed; to be stumped

and I would expect that a intransitive verb, with a definition similar to it, to be used as a state ("am/are ~") in the form of ~ている. However I've seen it being used as both ている form and dictionary form with similar translations:

あんたは、いつもこういう時に来るんだから、困るんだよ
It's because you always come at times like these that I'm troubled
私も困っている
I'm troubled too

In English there is "I am worried" which I would expect to be the 困っている stative form, and there is "I worry" which seems like it would be a continuous form in Japanese, and not the dictionary form. Is there a difference in how it is naturally said in Japanese, i.e. they don't use states or continuous form for "worry"? If both work what is the difference in nuance between them, e.g. does one mean that the person turns worried and the other that they are being in a state of worry ?


texts: Using of あたまおかしい in various situation and translation

texts:
Recently, I found a joke about CPU Cores/Threads here. I catch attention on the word "あたまおかしい" which in this context is probably:

  It is crazily/insanely fast.

Right? But I have seen many use of "Okashii" alone that means "weird".  So many questions regarding this phase follow:

Can "あたまおかしい" in the above article, in any way, can it be translated to too fast that head is dizzy/weird? Instead of "mentally" craziness.
Are "頭おかしい" and "頭がおかしい" have the same meaning and usage?
I wonder if this phase can describe dizziness in your head. Like, you say this to your friend when your head feels weird or dizzy? "ああ、頭がおかしくなる。"


texts: Is た形 required when using 自動詞 as an adjective?

texts:
From the grammar book I learned that when 自動詞 is being used as an adjective, it should change its form to the た形, for example:

優れ{すぐれ}た学生
拗れ{こじれ}た話し

But can I say 優れる学生 or 拗れる話し? Why?


texts: Is 「用」the kanji for 「よう」in the listed phrases?

texts:
Is 用 the kanji used for よう in these phrases?:

  1) 事故のようですね。

  2) もう帰ったようです。

  3) 私のようにして下さい。

  4) 試験にごうかくしますように。


texts:
The four cardinal directions are the directions north, east, south, and west. The intermediate directions are northeast, southeast, southwest, and northwest. In English it would be incorrect to say eastnorth, for example. But in Japanese 東北 (literally eastnorth) and 西北 (literally westnorth) are quite right (BUT 南東 and 南西!)

Which directions are considered primary and intermediate in Japan? If everything is just the same as in the West, why do we say 東北, not 北東, and  西北 instead of 北西?

Thank you!


texts: Is 「謙譲 」really used as a standalone word different than 「謙譲語」？

texts:
When I started studying Japanese, I learnt the word 謙譲語 which means "humble language" (one type of 敬語). At that point, I looked up the word 謙譲 at the dictionary jisho.org and found out that it also existed as a word meaning "modesty, humility". For some years, I was happy to translate  "modesty, humility" (or "modest, humble") as 謙譲.
However, to my surprise, I recently came across the word 謙遜 in my textbook. This word seems to have the same meaning according to jisho.org..
The facts that 謙遜 appears at my textbook and it is labelled as "common word" at jisho.org makes me suspect that it is the actual word in use to mean "modesty, humility", whereas 謙譲 is rarely seen alone or must have some specific context or collocation where it can be used.
Am I safe to assume that "modesty, humility" in Japanese is 謙遜 and forget about 謙譲, or there is any situation in particular where 謙譲 should be used rather than 謙遜?
よろしくお願いします


texts: 盃に口をつけてごまかすほど to describe a 祝杯

texts:
A person was excited for the trip tomorrow and couldn't sleep. Reflecting on why he didn't drink much at last night's party:

  こうしたとき酒が飲めれば、したたか酔うて眠ればよい。しかし祝杯すらも盃に口をつけてごまかすほどであるから、秘めたる興奮のさましようはなかった。

盃に口をつけてごまかすほど - what does this mean (e.g. does this mean that 祝杯 was small, one 口-ish size only)?


texts: When listing nouns, can you add だから between two elements to say "and, thus"?

texts: When listing nouns like 「鶏肉とか、豚肉とか、牛肉ですよ。」, are you allowed to say something like 「鶏肉とか、豚肉とか、だから、牛肉ですよ。」 to indicate a thusly relationship between the other items, in the sense that if the previous elements are so, then obviously the next one makes sense to be there too?


texts: How similar is the Japanese spoken in Taiwan to the Japanese spoken in Japan?

texts:
I've heard that Japanese is spoken by some Taiwanese people who were old enough to have lived during Japanese rule, along with some people who've learnt it for other reasons. For younger people, I've been told Mandarin or English would be the best means of communication, but I have a tendency to socialize a lot with retirees.

How similar is the Japanese spoken in Taiwan by native speakers to the Japanese used in Japan? Did the two diverge after 1945? Are words that entered Japanese after 1945 also used in the Japanese spoken in Taiwan?


texts: What's the meaning of "みたい" in the following context?

texts:
To give a bit of context, this is a text found on a DS game where some options are shown on the lower screen. The full text is the following:

したがめんを　タッチして　みたい　こうもくを　えらんで　ください

I understand that the general meaning of the text is "Please, choose one of the options below" or "Select your preferences below", but I have trouble understanding the function of "みたい" in there.
I looked up "みたい" and it seems to be used to express similarity or comparing things, but it does not seem to have that function in here.
To make a comparison with something I know, I was wondering if it is treated the same as "parezca" in Spanish as in "Elige la opción que te parezca mejor". "parecer" also expresses similarity but can be used to make the reader to choose.
Thanks for any guidance.


texts: だけ between two verbs / second verb performing an action on だけ construction

texts:
I am having trouble understanding following sentence:

  不満を吐き出すだけ吐き出せば、スッキリするだろう。

It is taken from a novel and in this particular scene the characters are complaining about how horrible their trip has been up to this point. The main character is, however, not interested in taking action to better their situation...

According to that I think that this sentence is similar to constructions like 出来るだけ or even やるだけやった.
Therefore, I understand above-stated sentences as something along the lines of
'If they (just) get all of their complaints out, they surely will feel better'

I am highly unsure whether my understanding is correct or a complete miss...

In any case, if somebody could explain meaning and especially the pattern working behind the construction I would be more than a little thankful.

(As English is not my native Language, please turn a blind eye on any language errors)


texts:
I've been reading an article about 連用修飾語 when I noticed the following lines -

  「サルビアの花は真っ赤で美しい。」

  「美しい」が形容詞だというのが分かりますか？ これを修飾するのは、「真っ赤で」になりますね。つまり、「真っ赤で」が連用修飾語ということになります。

If I'm understanding correctly the author says that in this sentence 真っ赤 modifies 美しい. However, as far as I know, in order to modify 美しい the particle に should be written before 真っ赤 - 真っ赤に美しい. And で in 真っ赤で美しい is used to split two adjective - "Salvian flower is deep red and beautiful.". Or maybe I'm just misunderstanding something?

Since I think that the subject is similar, I would like to ask one more question. I'm interesed in the 平凡で埋没している part in the following sentence. Is で particle used to split 平凡 and 埋没している in the following sentence?

  まず、ただでさえジョン・ウェインのような突出したスターが起用されていない上に、キャラクターがどれも平凡で埋没しているのがよくない。


texts:
First sentence from this NHK news article,

東京都が、警察と消防の職員に行うワクチン接種は、会場の築地市場の跡地がオリンピック・パラリンピックの輸送車両の拠点となっていることから、大会の準備が本格化する前までしか使えず、1回目の接種を受けた全員が、この場所で2回目を受けられないことが分かりました。

I don't fully understand the nuance of 前まで here. How the meaning would change if 前 or まで is used alone instead? My take is that まで is used to emphasize 前, so「大会の準備が本格化する前までしか使えず」mean something like "(the vaccination site) can be only used even before Olympic preparations get serious, so..." Is that correct way to interpret 前まで?


texts: What is the function of として in this sentence? (Vたとして)

texts:
From a news article:

  福島県いわき市の建設会社「武蔵建設」の敷地に男性の遺体を埋めたとして、死体遺棄容疑で同社の元社長ら男６人が逮捕された事件で、県警は７日、強盗殺人容疑で６人を再逮捕した。

What role is として fulfilling?

It seems like it may be functioning as a sort of and? My best attempt at translation is that we are just talking about:

  An incident in which a body was burried and abandoned.

But I'm sure I'm at least missing some nuance, if not getting it totally wrong. So what is として doing here?


texts: Can ただ今be used if I visit a relatives home on a daily basis?

texts: I go to the homes of relatives on a daily basis, can I use the term at their home? Thank you.


texts: Are wasei-eigo and wasei-kango looked down upon?

texts: Is wasei-eigo or wasei-kango looked down upon by Japanese language purists (as opposed to English or Chinese purists!) as informal, inauthentic, incorrect or the like?


texts: The concept of past perfect in Japanese ～たのでした　～たのです

texts:
I saw ～たのでした in a Japanese storybook. I didn't have any idea about it because I only know ～たのです（～たんです） if I want to say something in the past. I am wondering if ～たのでした（～たんでした） is the concept of past perfect.
To make my idea more clear, there is a similar paragraph I made.

  喉が乾いたヤギが井戸に通りかかって、キツネがヤギを見て　井戸の底でいていたくせに　この井戸の水が美味しいよと言いました。キツネはいつも利口に生きていましたが、まだ井戸に落ちたのでした。　from http://hukumusume.com/douwa/pc/aesop/08/25.htm

I made my own version of the story to highlight what I wanted to ask. Sorry for my bad Japanese.
What is ～たのでした ? Isn't ～たのです enough to express the idea that something is in the past?

It made me think of one question about Japanese. When it comes to English, we use past perfect to express the idea that something occurred before another action in the past.

Take the paragraph below for example:

  I ran into one of my old friends yesterday. He invited me to get something to eat, and he recommended the new burger king. Actually, I had just had my lunch there. I had just eaten a lot over there. At last, I said "thanks man, maybe next time."

When it comes to Japanese, what should I say to express the same idea?


texts:
In the passage,

  この救済の光を
  さすればここは幸福な場所となる

what is the meaning of さすれば? Is it the kana for 然すれば?

In this context, I would have expected 射せば to be written instead.


texts:
In a comment to this answer it was mentioned that おはようございます can be used in a variety of situations other than in the morning.

To me it only makes sense to say "good morning" when it is actually morning in some sense. Are there truly situations in which おはようございます is appropriate, but "good morning" would not be?


texts: Sentence impact: Articles, Negation without verb

texts:
In English, abbreviated sentence structure can convey contempt, disgust, anger, etc. — "I'm a doctor, not a mechanic" has a much stronger impact than "I am a doctor. I am not a mechanic."  Articles also strengthen impact - "I am the doctor" carries a strong implication, while "I am a doctor" is very mild.

How does that impact translate to Japanese, where negation is tied to the verb, and articles like 'a' and 'the' are implied/interchangeable?  If I want to say "I am the wind, not the willow", it seems almost impossible to convey that same... ferocity?  Or is there a way to express that impact?

私は風です seems fine enough to start.

私は風です、私は柳の木ではありません is the most literal translation, but feels like it has no impact.

私は風です、私は柳の木ではない has a little more impact, but seems to change the meaning.

私は風です、柳の木ではありません is stronger, but can I leave out 私は in that fashion?

私は風です、柳ではありません is the closest to what I'm trying to say, but does using 柳 for 柳の木 translate the same as saying Willow for Willow Tree in English?  Or is that like saying "I am the blue".  ...the blue what?

How do you convey the same impact of shortened English sentence structure?


texts:
I have a trivia game that I'm translating into japanese.

I usually use single letter answer options like:

A. John
B. Ashley
C. Peter

Would I have to present it differently for the Japanese audience?


texts:
As far as I know, prior to the adoption of the title "Emperor" in ancient China by Shihuangdi (who claimed to be the first 皇帝 (huangdi), from the titles of 8 ancient godly beings), 王 was the sole title for sovereigns. After that, 王 was still used for certain nobles to some extent (such as Prince Wucheng in China or Prince Hưng Đạo in Vietnam), who were somewhat akin to European "sovereign princes" (known as Fürst in German), such as those of Monaco or Liechtenstein. 王 was also used by monarchs of Korea, most of whom didn't claim the title 皇帝. However, I'm not aware of many instances of 王 being used for "son of the Emperor".

In Japan, an imperial prince is titled 親王. It sort of makes sense that he's not titled 王子 ("king's child") because we're talking about the Empire, not the Kingdom, of Japan, but then 皇子 ("emperor's child") should also be a valid alternative given the Emperor of Japan is still titled 天皇 ("heavenly emperor").

The Japanese Wikipedia article on 親王 claims (with no sources) that the title 親王 was adopted in all the Sinophere countries (China, Japan, Korea, Vietnam), but only lists Japanese and Manchurian 親王's. I'm not particularly familiar with Korean so I haven't been able to check if there were 親王 in the Korean Empire as the article claims, but I'm pretty sure there were only Manchurian 親王's in China (other 王's were more "kings" than "princes", and even in cases where they were "princes", they were still titled "sovereign princes" by a Chinese emperor, they couldn't just suddenly become his "sons"), and there were no 親王's in Vietnam. Most of the time, sons of emperors went by 皇子, or 太子 if they were crown princes (first in the line of succession to the imperial throne). In fact 皇子 and 公主, the titles of imperial princes and princesses, have long come to mean any kinds of princes and princesses (emperors'/kings'/sultans' sons/daughters, the husband of a Queen of Great Britain, excluding the wife of a Prince of Great Britain but including a (sovereign) Prince of Wales) in Vietnamese.

Main question: So what's the origin of the title 親王? Given the long history of the Empire of Japan, would the possibility that the Japanese adopted this title from the Manchus likely at all? And what is its etymology? Does it mean "familial 王" or "parental 王"? And how come the word 王, which was used to refer to "sovereign rulers", came to to refer to "sons of emperors"? This Chinese Wikipedia article claims that the title 親王 goes all the way back to the Spring and Autumn period in China, is that true?

A related, and even stranger title would be 女王, which definitely comes up in your typical bilingual dictionary as meaning "queen (regnant)", but it is in fact  also the title of a Princess of Japan (a prince's daughter, as opposed to his sister who's titled 内親王 and his consort who's titled 親王妃).


texts: Difference between 遍 and 度/回 in occurences

texts:
I have known for a while about 度 and 回 when counting occurrences, but recently I found a passage that used 遍 as well, which surprised me.

  一[遍]{ぺん}転べば・・・十[遍]{ぺん}転べば・・・百[遍]{ぺん}転べば・・・

If I understand correctly, 度 is used for degrees, 回 for revolutions, and 回 is more common for larger numbers.

However, where does 遍 fit into all of this? Is it more archaic? Is it more similar to 度 or 回?


texts: 「Vていった」 v.s. 「Vてきた」 in the case of 「お花しおれてっちゃった」

texts:
In the animated film Spirited Away, there is a line (00:00:54) saying:
「お花しおれてっちゃった」, a contracted form of 「お花がしおれていってしまった」.

According to this page by 東京外国語大学, the difference between 「Vていった」 and 「Vてきた」 mainly rests on the positioning of the reference point on the time axis:

I guess the concern of the heroine, who uttered that line, was on the flowers in her hands at that moment. Then why didn't she choose NOW as the reference point and say 「お花しおれてきちゃった」 instead?


texts:
I'm trying to understand the grammar behind 当て, and after a bit of investigation I still don't quite understand a could of points.

The definition that I found for it is (n) depend on, expectations, aim (various sources including goo)

At first I thought it was derived from 当てる, but I'm not so sure because the meanings aren't exactly the same, and the te-form of 当てる is 当てて.

I found these two verbs that use 当て:

当てはまる: to apply a rule
当てにする: to count on someone =/= 当てにならない: not to be relied upon
当て込む: to count on

My first questions is whether the は in はまる is the particle or part of a verb.

To make this even more fun and confusing for me there are the nouns that use 当て:

当て字: phonetic kanji
当て身: strike, blow
当て[擦]{こす}り: snide remark
当て[推]{すい}[量]{りょう}: guesswork
当て逃げ: hit-and-run

These seem to use both the meanings of "expectations" and "hit, strike", but more of the latter, which seems to me that it means 当てる in te-form, but without the second て.

I'm just looking for some kind of clarification...is there some kind of pattern here that I'm missing, or am I over complicating this? Is there less of a difference between the "expectation" meaning and the "strike" meaning then there seems to me to be? It may not be important in the long run, but I'd like to know when 当て and 当てる are being used. Do I just have to memorize all the variants of 当て and 当てる on a case-by-case basis?


texts: What does 古えの地綺譚 mean, how do you read it, and what is its origin?

texts:
Looking at the meaning of the individual kanji doesn't help much--Jisho says each means: old or ancient; earth or ground; figured cloth or beautiful or thin twilled silk fabric; and talk--and although I was able to find an entry on [奇譚]{きたん}, I still can't fully piece together what this phrase means.

As far as reading goes, I get the feeling it's something along the lines of [古え]{いにしえ}の[地綺譚]{ちきたん}, but I'm not certain.

With regard to the origin of this phrase, I have no idea. I'm less interested in this than the other two, so if you can't answer this that's fine. It's more or less a general curiosity.

Note: I am looking at this book, which is where I found the phrase.


texts:
While translating something, I was wondering how should I do a certain a line because I can't determine exactly whether the speaker says it in a way talking about himself or is referring to another character.
So there are 2 characters that I will call A and B. A says:

  まだ三戦しかしていないだろう

This, if I'm translating okay means "We only (or merely) fought 3 times", but the reply from character B had me asking just who was he referring to. He says this:

  なんだよ。昨夜はずっと「もうやめてくれ」言ってたくせにさ

So I was wondering here, how would this line sound? I can see that he is quoting, my first interpretation was 'Come on, geez! Even when last night you kept saying "stop it already"?
Then I thought, but isn't it possible that B could say it like this?: Even though last night I said "give it up already".
So, B could be quoting himself? Is that a possibility? Honestly, sometimes I don't know how to identify who was the one who did an action if I don't specifically have a pronoun clearly mentioned (like in this case, maybe if B said お前, I could go with my first translation).I can deduce most of the time without pronouns, but there are instances when I can't figure out.I hope I explained well enough...


texts: What is どうって in どうってことありません?

texts:
どうってことありません。
I know it means It was nothing.
But, what is どうって?


texts:
What's the meaning of "きわきわ" ?

A:  使えるコト話せるかな
B: 大丈夫かな？
C: きわきわですね｡


texts: What is 「長い」 modifying in the sentence 「もう日本に来て長いんですか」?

texts:
NOTE: The title of the post is regarding the most bugging part of the sentence to me (長い), but my problem is with the sentence as a whole.
I came across a sentence in my grammar exercises book I can't quite understand. I get the general meaning of the sentence, but I am unable to identify what grammar is used here. The original passage is as follows (the troubling sentence is in bold):

［状況］リーは1っか月前に日本に来た。
日本人: リーさんは日本語が本当にお上手ですね。もう日本に来て長いんですか。

I would translate it as:

Japanese person: Rii, you are really good at Japanese. Has it passed much time since you came to Japan? (not sure about the second sentence)

Assuming my translation is right, I would rather say something along the lines of:

日本にきてから長い時間が経ったんですか。

I can't figure out the function of もう and 長い alone, not modifying any noun.　Any thoughts on this?
よろしくお願いします。


texts: When asking someone politely to, for example, look at something, you can say both ご覧になっていただけますか following the standard 敬語, but you can also say ご覧いただけますか. Is there any particular difference between the two, such as that one may be politer?


texts:
I saw a Japanese Instagram user's video where two people were on a plane. (They were recording themselves with a phone's front camera.) At the end of the video the other person said 「行ってきます」 repeatedly appearing to say bye to the video's watchers.

I thought the phrase 「行ってきます」 was usually said in the context of home or the workplace when expecting someone to reply in person. This usage here struck as unusual to me. Is it really unsual or am I missing something?


texts:
I read that というのは can be abbreviated as とは, is that to say that the meaning of というのは is the same as とは?

However, the website I browsed about というのは mentioned that というのは cannot be abbreviated to とは if it is used as a reminder.

I also could not find any relevant english explanation regarding similarities/differences between both of them (e.g. Are both というのは and　とは the same word?)

Could anyone shed some light about this?


texts:
I came across the following expression:

  あなたにはなにも引っ掛けてもらえなかった

I traced it back here, and I loosely understand that this means that あなた (the character who is being spoken to) has been ignoring the character who is speaking.

I'm having trouble parsing how 引っ掛ける is used in this case, however. Why is the particle に(も) used instead of は or が? What does snot (if I understood that bit correctly in the page I linked to) have to do with ignoring somebody?


texts:
Where in your body is [心]{こころ} located?

When people refer to [心]{こころ} do they refer to their heart or brain? I assume heart as the literal translation, but I've heard both so was wondering what the answer is.

For example, there is the expression [心]{こころ}に[浮]{う}かぶ which seems to me like it would be referring to your brain rather than your heart, is there a distinction between this usage and other usages?

CLARIFICATION

I realize the [心]{しん} can refer to your heart, as in [心臓]{しんぞう}. However, my question is about the word こころ not しん.


texts: どれくらいです vs どれくらいあります

texts:
Context:

  身長{しんちょう}はどれくらいありますか。

Why is it that ありますか is used instead of ですか？ Is there a difference or is it just interchangeable? I've searched everywhere but I am not sure what is the answer.


texts: わたし は あまり はやい おきません Is this correct?

texts:
I was trying to make a sentence using the words あまり and はやい so I tried making a sentence saying:

  I don't get up early much.

or

  わたし は あまり はやい おきません。

But the more I stare at it the more incorrect it feels.  I figured since はやい sounds more relative then specific it wouldn't require に.  But something about it just feels off I could be over thinking this and I'm hoping I am.  I'm just wondering if someone here could tell me if this is correct or not.


texts: Is カンニングペーパー a good translation for 'cheat-sheet'?

texts:
It's kindof silly, but my understanding of カンニング is that it has a negative connotation, particularly cheating/plagiarism.  I understand it to mean that a カンニングペーパー is something used to cheat (not allowed).  Am I wrong for understanding it this way?

I ask because, cheat-sheet in English does not carry a negative connotation, even though the 'cheat' in cheat-sheet actually comes from the verb 'cheat' (i.e. break the rules).  In English cheat-sheets are typically something that a teacher/professor allows the student to have.

Because of this subtle difference between my understanding of カンニングペーパー and 'cheat-sheet,' I feel the need to ask if this is really a good translation. So, is it a good translation? Is there a better translation for the cheat-sheet I just described above?


texts: Definition of ブラコン when discussing musical preferences

texts: A Japanese person told me that they have ブラコン。I looked it up on Wikipedia and it said something like an emotional attachment to one's brother. But they said that it meant something like someone who likes rap music. I couldn't find a definition like this. Is this what it means?


texts:
吉野家は「私たちが出した広告ではありません」と話しています。そして、うその広告に書いてあるアドレスにメールを送らないように言っています。
  Yoshinoya say that "It's not an advert that we put out". And, they are saying it so that you don't send mail to the address that is written in the fake advert.

I'm sure I must have mis-translated ように here because my translation sounds like a very strange thing to say. The only other translation of ように I know is 'like'/'in a way that' etc. which seems to make even less sense.


texts: Making a sign one column vertically. Don't know anything about Japanese

texts:
I'm helping a friend making a vertical neon sign for an installation with the word hikikomori. As I don't know anything about Japanese I just googled the translation, but can't understand how to order the characters. Should I just take 引き籠もり and then place one character on each line as read from top to bottom like:
引
き
籠
も
り
Or should the order be the other way around when writing vertically? Languages are just not my thing...


texts: How to read kanji when they are written together with hiragana or katakana in a sentence?

texts:
I am studying japanese have gone through almost all of the hiragana characters and was slowly also learning a bit kanji , and i want to know how to use kanji when i see one with a hiragana character next to it for example 日本に引っ越すのを持ってる
In this sentence i clearly only know tsu , no, te and ru but when i see these kanji characters i wonedr to speak the sentence what is the sound of that kanji?
do kanji have sounds or just meaning ?

in kanji i have learnt radials like woman- 女 , tree-木 , eyes-目 just a few as i started learning kanji  a few days ago.


texts:
ファイナルがんばって！終わったらデートしてちょーなー

In that sentence.
Is the person saying date me or just simply, "go on date"?
And what does cho na mean?
Thanks


texts: How does one know when to use ～ふん or ～ぷん when telling time in Japanese?

texts: I'm wondering if there are any linguistic reasons or rules that can be applied to find out which to use, or do I just need to memorize them individually?


texts:
Sorry, but cannot find it. Could you tell what does it mean?

And which symbol is correct writing on keyboard?

Can i type it?


texts:
「って、いい加減にしろー！」
「ありゃ、怒られちった」
What ~ちった　means in this sentence ? Only translation i found is ちる (+ past form), but in this case phrase has no sense for me. Is it some casual suffix or what ?
Thanks for your answers!
P.S. solved, ~ちった is contraction for ～てしまった (accidentally/finish completely, past)


texts: Difference between で and の when referring to "usage"

texts: Simplest example would be when you are getting a coffee and ask for a paper cup. It seems that both 紙の and 紙で are acceptable. What are the differences?


texts:
I just learned one way to say ''I'm hungry'' in Japanese.
お腹が空きました
Can this be read as both すきました and あきました ?
If not then what is the difference here ?


texts:
A : この電車は東京へ行きますか。
B : いいえ、行きません。次の「普通」ですよ。

I'm not sure what B meant by 'the next local train'. It sounds like he's saying that 'this train is the next local train' which meaning I could not understand. My friend suggested that he must have meant 'it's the next local train (that will go to Tokyo)' but the topic is 'This train'.


texts: Questions about 〜にあたって, 驚かされた, and 関係者何人か

texts:
当時の関係者何人かにあたって記憶を確かめてみたが、人の記憶の欠落部分というのは、捏造で補われる仕組みになっているらしく、共通の体験が、しばしば、お互いに矛盾する記憶になっていることに驚かされた。

What does “にあたって” mean there?
“驚かされた” is referring to what/whom exactly?
Does “関係者何人か” mean “Some people of the authorized personnel”?


texts:
I try to use the limit marker 以下 (less than, up to) with the particle しか to convey that the amount of less than 1万 for a bonus is fewer than expected. Can I use both words together? My sentence is:

  A: 田中さん、ボーナス貰ったの？
  B: うん。でも、ボーナスといっても、1万以下しか貰わなかった。

よろしく！


texts: Are the same terms for husbands and wives used for same-sex relationships?

texts:
When talking about same-sex relationships in modern Japanese (not Edo-era), are the same words used for husbands and wives as you'd use for opposite-sex relationships?

For example, can you use ご主人 to describe (politely) a man's husband, and 奥さん to describe (politely) a woman's wife? Or do Japanese speakers regard "a man's wife" and "a woman's wife" as different concepts best described with different words?


texts: How to list multiple purposes for an action?

texts:
So, one of the example sentences for ため that I see in the learning software I use is:

  彼女はダイエットのために泳いでいる。

Which basically means, "She swims in order to lose weight."

But what if you wanted to say, "She swims in order to lose weight, and for fun?"


texts: Why do 適当 and いい加減 refer to both considerate and inconsiderate things?

texts:
I understand that 適当【てきとう】 can mean both "appropriate" and "whatever/vague". How do you know 適当な人を教えてください means "please inform me of the appropriate person" as opposed to "please tell me about whatever kind of person you want"? Is this determined entirely by context?

Because 加減【かげん】 means "condition", いい加減 seems to be "good condition" -> only the "reasonable" definition comes naturally. Yet using it to mean "irresponsible" is standard (いい加減に仕事をするな), except when you tell people いい加減にしなさい. Where did that come from?

I saw this question in 日本人の知らない日本語 but no explanation was given. I am living in Japan but none of my Japanese friends can explain it either.


texts:
When you say

部屋をきれいにします

You mean "Clean the room" (make it so that the room becomes clean).
On the other hand, when you say

静かにする

You mean "Be quiet".
If these meanings are right, would the sentences

すべてが静かにする
すべてを静かにする

mean, respectively, "Everything is quiet" and "Make everything quiet" ?
Lastly, what would be the difference in meaning between the following:

すべてが静かにする
すべてが静かにある


texts:
I was watching this Japanese drama called Nagareboshi where a girl confessed her feelings for some guy but regrets not having said her feelings sooner. Her lines confuse me. It was something like this.

  でもこれで良かったのかもね...
  私のみっともない所見せられたから...
  きっと知らないよりは...
  少しだけ長く一緒にいられる気がする...

Only thing I can really understand is the 1st line, "It might better this way."
I think the 2nd line goes like "If you saw how shameful I am.."

The 3rd and 4th lines I'm having trouble with the most.


texts: (Verb + こと) = "The thing I did" vs "Doing"

texts:
Without context...
選んだこと would either mean

  The thing I chose
  The event of choosing

If the verb is intransitive, it will yield the 2nd meaning. Also the "thing" here is something intangible and abstract.

So I would like to have some tips in distinguishing both.

A : 昨日のパーティは楽しかった

B : 選んだことは面白くなかったのに

Does B imply that "choosing the party was not interesting" or "the event that (I) chose was not interesting"?


texts: Why does replacing だ to である changes the meaning of a the sentence?

texts:
「彼は映画スターであり、政治家もだ。」 means "He is a movie star, and a politician is a movie star, too" (from Tsuyoshi's comment below this other post)
「彼は映画スターであり、政治家でもある。」 means "He is a movie star and also a politician." (Source)

If we were to replace だ with である in (1), we have: 「彼は映画スターであり、政治家もである」. Sawa suggests that で has to be attached to a noun for a sentence to be grammatical, so after swapping the positions of も and で, we have: 「彼は映画スターであり、政治家でもある」.

What I cannot understand is why does replacing だ to である (and applying the necessary で and も swap) changes the meaning of the sentence?


texts:
During Q&A in English, "well" and "uhm" are two ways to begin a reply.

If you known the answer, you begin the reply with "Well... ". This creates a pause such that the speaker can arrange his thoughts and construct the clearest answer with good sentence structures. If you aren't sure of the answer, but want to guess anyway, you begin with "uhm...".

In Japanese, my opinion is that it's natural to begin a response to a question about which you are unsure of with "あの、... blah blah.".

But, how do you begin to reply to a question about which you are confident? While I do know the answer, I want a pause so that I can arrange my thoughts. If I lead with "あの", it could look like I am taking a guess.


texts:
I continue seeing sentences that (based on my knowledge) seem to contain conflicting usages of だろう・でしょう.

  「妻はルイヴィトンのバッグを欲しがっているんだけど、そんなもん、買えるわけないでしょう！ 」

To my understanding わけがない is an expression that denotes absolute certainty, so it seems counterintuitive that it is followed by でしょう (a word that demonstrates a much weaker degree of certainty). My best guess it that でしょう is used here in order to soften the overall tone of the statement.

  「そうしたらきっと馬鹿にされてしまうのでしょう。」
  If I did that I would be made fun of.

This one confuses me because it isn't translated as "If I did that I would probably be made fun of." The "probably" part is omitted. This is not a unique example, though. I've seen lots of relatively simple sentences including だろうthat end up being translated without using "probably".

I'm sorry that the format of this post is a mess; my thoughts are jumbled and I couldn't figure out a great way to organize it.

So to conclude I guess I'm asking if someone could explain why だろう・でしょう is included in the examples I've given/similar cases. Thank you!


texts:
はるばる    - from afar; over a great distance; all the way

I'd greatly appreciate someone telling me what the と at the end of はるばる does to it's meaning, and if it affects the words' location in a sentence (I've seen it used at the beginning as well as the end of a sentence which has me confused!)

Any example uses much appreciated.


texts: The difference between に and で when focusing on location vs. action

texts:
Consider these sentences (scenario 1):

  （私は）公園に花を植える。(I) plant flowers IN the park. (focus on the park)

vs

  （私は）公園で花を植える。(I) PLANT flowers in the park. (focus on planting)

First of all, I would like to know if this interpretation is accurate:

the first sentence emphasizes the location that is the park.

This means that I will plant flowers in the park and in the park
only. I won't plant anywhere else, and I won't take the flowers
anywhere else. (But I could be doing other things like taking a walk,
sitting on a bench etc.)

The second sentence emphasizes the action of planting.

This means that I plant flowers at the park and I'm not doing
anything else. (But I could be taking the flowers to plant somewhere
else other than the park.)

Now, following that logic (if it is correct),

consider these next two sentences (scenario 2):

  （私は）オフィスに電話をかける。

This can either be translated as:

(I) telephone/call the office. ✔ correct
(I) make a call INSIDE the office. (and nowhere else) ✘ wrong

  （私は）オフィスで電話をかける。

This can only be translated as:

(I) MAKE a phone call inside the office. (And I'm not doing anything else)

Now for my main question:

Why unlike the first scenario, I can use the に particle to say that I plant INSIDE the park but I can't use the に particle to indicate that I make a call INSIDE the office for the second case?

The only reason I could think of is because オフィス can only be treated as the object the verb (電話をかける） interacts with when using に and that takes priority over the に particle used as an indicator of location.

Is 電話をかける a special type of verb exclusive to this scenario or would there be other verbs that are similarly translated like that under a different context when using the に particle?

I have a very similar example to the second scenario that also uses the office:

オフィスに電話を設置する。

オフィスで電話を設置する。

They both mean (I) install the phone inside the office with different emphasis on location and action like the first scenario.

Can someone please explain the logic behind this use of particles?


texts: What is the tiny difference between the two sentences?

texts:
How should I translate these sentences? It seems that their English translations are almost the same:

  窓があきます
  窓があいています

And, in a similar instance:

  電灯がつきます
  電灯がついています


texts: Is んでしょう（か） grammatical, and what does it mean?

texts:
I've learned that んですか can be used to check an educated guess, as in:

  (upon seeing someone dragging a piece of luggage)

  ねえ、旅行するんですか。
  Hey, you're going to travel, aren't you?

I've also learned that でしょう　can be used to express an educated guess, the validity of which can be checked with ね — or self-doubted by か or a rising tone:

  雨が　ふるでしょう。 It's probably going to rain.

  雨が　ふるでしょうね。 It's probably going to rain, isn't it?

  http://ejje.weblio.jp/content/%E3%81%A7%E3%81%97%E3%82%87%E3%81%86%E3%81%AD

  雨が　ふるでしょうか。 I wonder if it's going to rain?

  http://japanese.about.com/library/weekly/aa093000.htm

What I want to ask is if んでしょう or んでしょうか can be used, and if so, what their connotations are. Google shows they exist, but are they part of standard Japanese?


texts:
this is my first question and I want to thank in advance all the people willing to help. Yoroshiku onegaishimasu.

Context: I am translating a song, and 道の先に (at the road's end), when I try to translate word by word, saki ni(先に) means "Ahead of". Saki by itself (先) is translated as "First".

My Question: What is the reason that a word meaning "First" becomes "End" when used as a an adverb after a no(の) particle.

Is this one of those cases when "It just is" or is there a reason which is important to understand?

Thank you very much, and I apologize if my question was silly.


texts: すべて見る目 vs すべてを見る目 vs すべての見る目

texts: So to say "all seeing eye" in Japanese, すべて見る目 is all good as far as I know, but I've occasionally run into it with wo「を」 and no「の」. What are the nuances of saying it with these particles, compared to without? I think I would choose wo before no if I want to describe an eye that sees everything, would that make sense or is it all extremely similar? I'm still new to phrasing the same thing in different ways.


texts: Confusing about を that has no verb in article

texts:
I'm reading this article and I do not understand why the bolded を exists. I'm am expecting a verb such as する, but there isn't one. How is the を functioning here or why is there no verb paired with it?

アメリカのトランプ大統領は、自分のことを悪く書く新聞やテレビを「うそのニュース」や「国民の敵」だと言っています。
My Translation: American president Trump says that things like news papers and TV who write poorly about his matters are "Fake News".


texts:
How would you say "A is close to B" ? As in, "A and B are nearby each other".

Would you use 近く here? If so, how?


texts:
It's is one of the Niju kun of Funakoshi, the meaning seems quite "cryptical" to me, also seeing the english and italian translation.

The italian translation is something like "be always creative", and the english is "Be constantly mindful, diligent, and resourceful, in your pursuit of the Way". Not sure why this difference!

Which is a proper translation, or the meaning of the kanji?

I don't know any japanese but I tried, without success, to figure out something with google translate.


texts:
I was trying to get a full understanding of this sentence's structure:

  政府が学校の建設を計画しているが、遅々として進まないので、現地にあるNGO組織が学校づくりを支援している

I know として as "As; In", like in 教師として, "as a teacher", but in this sentence I don't think it has that meaning;  I found other meaning (apart from; even; from a viewpoint), none of which seems to apply here.

I'm guessing the と part is meant to be adverbial, i.e. 遅々 (slow) > 遅々と (slowly), but if that's the case I'm not sure about the して part.

I think I get the meaning (The goverment has plans to build [a school], but since those were proceding slowly, on-site NGOs associations assisted in building it"), but I'm not sure how として fits in.


texts:
人間とは、わからないものだ。同じ人間をゴミのように実験に使うと思えば、神仏のような情けですべてを救おうとも考える。

I've come across this in a novel. The last part of the second sentence is confusing for me. I've read that volitional should not be used after grammars like (か)と思えば. As I understand, second sentence should literally mean  "Just when I thought that humans use their own kind like trash for experiments, there are also those who try to (think about) save (saving) everyone with unbelievable compassion" (a main character was thinking how to save his classmates that had been experimented upon, and at this moment a man appears and says the aforementioned line), however I’m not sure because of volitional being used at the end.


texts: Found the expression 目が命 in a paperback I'm reading

texts: ... and I don't know what it means. Searching for the term, I've found things like 「戦士は目が命」, which seems to be related to the game Dragon Quest, and 【Firefly Shop】人形は目が命！, on an Amazon product, that follow the same structure as what I'm looking for.


texts:
Most sources on the internet, such as How are 化け物, 妖怪, 幽霊, etc. related to each other?, seem to say that 化け物 and おばけ are two separate words for the same type of creature.  But even if that's true in theory, in practice it seems better to understand 化け物 as 'monster' and おばけ as 'ghost'.

It would seem kind of silly to call a person おばけ as an insult, for example. The Google results for searching 化け物 are things I would recognize as monsters but not as ghosts, and おばけ gets ghosts rather than monsters. Same goes for ばけもの and お化け (though the results for お化け are rather creepier than おばけ).

So: In practice, is there a difference between 化け物 and おばけ?


texts:
This is what I know.

1) Unlike, say, -p, the final -t of Chinese readings was maintained in careful speech at least as long as the Christian resources of the XVIth century (Frellesvig 2010: 316-7). At least for some, there is a confirmed orthographical confirmation that there was no borrowing with epenthetic vowel.

2) Most of these occur in words that, according to actual spelling, are hidden in kanji, making any kind of ‘tradition’ improbable.

3) The overwhelming majority of those that survivd to modern jōyō list now close it with -ツ.

4) To the moment when the vowel was needed, there was no hearable Middle Chinese to check any feature of readings.

Question: why were some of the syllables fixed in -チ-readings? These are the ones officially declared:

セチ 節 ‘node’ (Go-on)
ニチ 日 ‘day’ (Go-on)
バチ 罰 ‘punish’ (Kan’yō-on, for non-Jōyō ぼち)
リチ 律 ‘law’ (Go-on)
イチ 一 ‘one’, 壱 ‘judicial one’ (Go-on)
キチ 吉 ‘good luck’ (Go-on)
シチ 七 ‘seven’, 質 ‘content’ (also チ、Go-on)
ハチ 八 ‘eight’, 鉢 ‘bowl’ (Go-on)

Most of these are 1) unique or occurring at most twice; 2) an astounding number are numerals. What is going on in the assigning of Go-on readings?