texts:
何年か前の話ですが、
  ディズニーランドで子供がトイレに入って、出てくるのを外で待ってると、
  トイレ内で髪を染められ、服も着替えさせられて子供が誘拐された、ディズニーランドでは
  出入り口を全て封鎖して、犯人が見つかったとか、
  そのまま子供がいなくなっちゃったとか　結構聞きましたが、
  その話本当ですか？

Hello, again, I'm translating colloquial japanese. Why did the author of this post use とか? Why didn't he use て? Is there a special connection between the two verbs 見つかった andいなくなっちゃった? I don't understand whether they are connected to 結構聞きました or not (there's a space in the original text before 結構). Also, how can I translate 結構 here?


texts:
I use The Kodansha Kanji Learner's Dictionary, which describes pronunciation in romaji instead of kana. I never learned romaji in a classroom, and generally only use it when reading this dictionary.

When "ō" is not proceeded by a consonant (like "tō" is), how does one know how transcribe it into kana?

I first used "おう" (such as "tō": "とう"); however, through trial and error, I came to realize that "おお" is more accurate. Then, I came across the kanji 扇 in my dictionary as "ōgi", and realized that, if I typed "おおぎ" or "おうぎ", both displayed the option of 扇.

It's quite possible this is a "spellcheck" type safeguard (the Japanese equivalent of "the" being typed out when "teh" is entered) because I have checked around various online dictionaries (Wiktionary, Yahoo!dict) and it turns out that in this case, 「おうぎ」 is indeed the correct transcription. Is there a definitive way of knowing in other cases, solely by reading the romaji?


texts: "You don't have to be so polite." Really?

texts:
Sometimes a Japanese person will say to me:

  そんなに丁寧な言葉を使わなくてもいいんですよ。

This is an invitation to be less formal. But how much less formal? As I have experienced, sometimes unintentional gaffes can be committed blithely as one learns to navigate the treacherous waters of the politeness hierarchy. Note that the expression itself uses です even though it is a request to use less formal speech, and that is the level of politeness  I would normally be using. So I find the whole matter confusing. The eternal politeness dance ...

Now, here's the catch: I feel it would be rude to ask something like "What level of politeness do you suggest I use?" That might come off as sarcastic or, worse, a rebuke. Any advice?

Edit to add more detail

An example of this kind of occurrence: At a lunch after a business meeting, I was using standard TV keigo: desu, -masu, plus o- and go- where appropriate, plus a bit of nasaimasu and itashimasu to senior people. The gentleman seated across from me (on about the same level as me), said this rather matter-of-factly. Honestly, I really wish he hadn't said this. It was like saying "Don't worry about the snakes, just stick your hand in there."


texts: okay to use 男／女 as opposed to 男／女の人 to refer to yourself?

texts:
A friend of mine is practicing Japanese and created the sentence 私は女の人ではありません。私も男の人ではありません intending to say "I am not a woman, I am also not a man"

I offered to improve the sentence as 私は男でも女でもありません, still a little stiff but sounds more natural at least to my ears. Which got me wondering. I know that you should not use plain 男／女 to refer to others because that is rude, which this question talks about, but what about using them to refer to yourself, is that fine? Does that sound more natural than using の人?

Furthermore, if I were talking about someone else, and I said 僕の友人は男の人でも女の人でもありません does that sound reasonably natural (albeit stiff). Furthermore does 僕の友人は男でも女の人でもありません flow better, or is it just unnatural or ungrammatical?

Thank you!


texts:
I'm wondering about the difference between adverbs, adverbial nouns, and temporal nouns.*

I know that adverbs modify verbs, adjectives and other adverbs. They usually tell amount, weight, time, distance, etc.

So here are my questions:

Does that mean that all temporal nouns are also adverbial nouns? I know that the other direction is not true.
Also, I'm under the impression that adverbs can't be the topic of a Japanese sentence, but adverbial nouns and temporal nouns can. Is this correct?

*Terminology (as used by edict/jmdict):

temporal noun (n-t): 時相名詞 (list)
adverbial noun (n-adv, formerly adv-n): 副詞的名詞 (list)
adverb (adv): 副詞 (list)


texts:
A :  会議は何時ごろ終わりますか？
  B : もうしばらく____はずですが。

  1.終わり　　2.終わる　　3.終わった　　4.終わらない

I've been pondering why the answer has to be 4.
Can anyone explain it to me please?


texts:
A「お昼休みなのに忙しそうだね」
B「午後から会議があるんだ」
A「ずいぶんゆっくりしてるけど、大丈夫？」
B「あっ、そうか！今日は午後から会議があったんだった」

A「今日一緒にご飯に行かない？」
B「ごめん、今日は彼女との予定があるんだ」
B「ごめん！さっき外食する約束をしたけど、今日は別の予定があったんだ」

Here are two dialogues. What would be the difference between あったんだった and あったんだ?


texts: Using a person's name in place of a pronoun

texts:
When is it right to use a persons's name instead of a pronoun when addressing that person? I'm confused by the following scenario:

The kids are discussing what presents they got last year. Maruko asks  what Yamane got, and he describes some tubes of aloe (アロエ) stuff. Sakura Maruko tries to clarify what he means and then:

  それがどんな物なのか、まる子にはまるでピンとこない。
  Maruko didn't understand what kind of thing it was at all.
  「うん、ほら、前にさくらと一緒に浜崎君のおじいさんからアロエをわけてもらっただろ？」
  "Yes, Look! Before, together with Sakura, I/we shared aloe from Hamazaki's grandad. Right?"

I thought that Yamane was talking to Maruko, but when I translate this into English that さくらと一緒に part makes it sound like he is talking to someone else.

Have I misunderstood who he is talking to or is this natural in Japanese, or is he perhaps referring to another member of the Sakura family (none have been mentioned so far in the story)?


texts: Is there an easy way to translate/understand 体言止め sentences?

texts:
I am having trouble understanding 体言止め sentences in the book that I am reading.
I understand some 体言止め sentences, like the one in this post:

来年公開の映画『獣道』でも主演に抜擢されている伊藤。

My way of understanding this is just to move the 体言 at the end to the start and add a が.

伊藤が来年公開の映画『獣道』でも主演に抜擢されている。

And then the sentence makes a lot of sense and can be easily translated to English.
However, I failed to understand this 体言止め from 幼女戦記第1巻:

建前に従わなければ「悪い子」になってしまうという恐怖感。

And here's the context:

小学生のころ、誰もが義務教育によって人間とは生まれながらにして平等であると習うだろう。その時、一人一人が平等でかけがえのない大切な存在だと教わるのだ。だが、建前とは裏腹に不平等というのは簡単に見つけられる。
どうして、前の席の子は自分よりも身長が高いのだろうか？どうして、クラスにはドッジボールのうまい子と下手な子がいるのだろうか？どうして、隣の席の子はあんな簡単な問題も解けないのだろうか？後ろの席の子は静かに先生の話を聞いていられないのだろうか？
だが、小学生は「良い子」であるべきだという環境下にあった。皆違うけれども、皆大切な存在だと言われているのだ。建前に従わなければ「悪い子」になってしまうという恐怖感。
だから、「良い子」達は「悪い子」とならないように努力した。

Literally translated, it's "The fear that if they don't follow the rules they will be regarded as 'bad children'."
As you can see, in English, that's just a noun phrase and I don't understand what it means.
I tried to move 恐怖感 to the front and add a が, but I still struggles to translate it in to a normal English sentence.

恐怖感が建前に従わなければ「悪い子」になってしまうという。
The fear いう that if they don't follow the rules they will be regarded as "bad children".

I don't know what I should translate いう to. And even if it is translated I think the whole thing sounds kind of weird.
How can I translate 体言止め easily? What I mean is, just like the fact that you can replace "X + は" with "As for X" and it always makes an understandable English sentence, is there something similar for 体言止め?


texts: "How did you know?" and "how do you know?" in Japanese

texts:
As explained in this question on the English site, there is a distinction in English between saying "How did you know?" and "How do you know?"

  When someone makes an assertion, the distinction between "how did you know" and "how do you know" seems to be that "how did you know" implies that the person in question is correct in their assertion. "How do you know" is normally an inquiry into the person's credentials, and often expresses that the assertion is incorrect and/or ungrounded.

How would you say these expressions in Japanese, and is the distinction made by tense, as it is in English? That is, are they "どうして知っていましたか。" and "どうして知っていますか。"?


texts:
I'd like to say "I introduced Mary to John" but only really know how to use 紹介する when talking about a single person. Is に the correct particle to use in this situation?

For example: ジョンにメリーを紹介しました。


texts: How do I make my translation less stilted or flow similar to the original Japanese?

texts:
I'm translating the following line of dialogue spoken by Character A to Character B.

「怖がらなくてもいいわ。もう襲ったりしないから」

The translations I made are the following:

  "There’s no need to be afraid. Because I will no longer be attacking you anymore.”

  "There’s no need to be afraid. Because I will be no longer attacking you anymore.”

This became a issue on the English stack exchange, when I tried asking for some help with the placement of the word 'be', as shown in the above link.

A commenter over there suggested
"Because I will not be attacking you anymore." which sounds stilted for the character's dialogue.

I need some possible English translations that will work for the translation of しない (to do nai form I.E. "will no longer/will not be" in the above translations), that are not stilted or flow similar to Japanese.

My reason for requesting a translation that will flow similar to Japanese is that this story is similar to Star Wars as far as languages go. Its similar in that the in-story language being spoken by the characters is currently Japanese, but as a translator, I need to convey this using the vernacular of the English language.

TDLR: What is a good English replacement for "will no longer/will not be" that is natural in English and flows similar to Japanese?


texts:
So this is a sentence I picked from Hikaru no Go, Vol. 1, that I am reading.

  どれもこれもパツとしないなあ

What does パツ mean in this sentence and how do you usually find those kind words? When I searched on jisho.org I did not find anything.

Here is another sentence:

  バーカ 囲碁だよ 碁盤とか いう ヤツ だ

What does ヤツ mean in this sentence ?

  頭 が おもて一 やつぱコレはきのうの...

What does やつぱコレ mean in this sentence?


texts: How do I write the verb "To be"? 居る or いる？

texts: Do native Japanese speakers write 居る or いる？


texts: What is the difference between 「食べるいいですか」 and 「食べていいですか」

texts:
They both mean "Can you/I eat?"
So can they be used interchangeably?

I know that the て-form is used when speaking a command to someone so is it a more direct(?) form of asking a question? Like asking a question to someone who is superior to you?


texts: How do you ask if you are understood without being rude?

texts: For example explaining to an acquaintance or a stranger something, but I don't know if it's understood or not and would like to ask. In English I would say something like "I'm sorry, was my explanation clear?" to imply that any misunderstanding would be my fault. I doubt this, but would saying 分かりましたか？ carry that same sense? Or would it be impolite?


texts: Can I use 罪を着せる to describe actions before a crime was committed?

texts:
There is a phrase 罪を着せる translated (J-to-E) as "charge someone with a crime", "pin a crime to someone", "assign guilt to someone". So a crime has been committed and one takes actions to attribute blame for the committed crime to someone else.

But ALC also shows 罪を着せる when searching for "to frame someone" (E-to-J). Here the English phrase could also be used in a situation where someone takes actions before the actual crime was committed, so that blame would fall to a target person.

Can I use Japanese 罪を着せる in the latter situation (meaning something like 将来の罪を着せる)?

If not what would be the proper Japanese phrase to describe setting someone else up, framing somebody? たくらむ feels to broad for this meaning, doesn't it?


texts:
I cannot grasp the meaning of と in the following sentence.

  俺はここ２年近く一人暮らしをしていたけど、料理が上手くなる事は無かったし、咲も必要が無い上に興味が向かないと料理はしなかった。

Some sort of translation: "I've been living alone these 2 years, however I didn't become skilled in cooking, and Saki not only doesn't have any need in it, when she is not interest in it she does not cooking."

Thank you very much for help.


texts: Difference between words 事前に , 前もって and 早めに

texts: Could you please tell the difference between 事前に｛じぜんに｝,  前もって｛まえもって｝and 早めに｛はやめに｝?


texts:
I have another sentence I'm grappling with *[see footnote for context]:

  キラかどうかの判断{はんだん}裁量{さいりょう}にはなりえない

I'm pretty sure from my dictionaries that 判断 means "judgement" but cannot figure out what makes sense for 裁量. All I can find is "admeassure[ment]", "discretion" or "judgement" again, which would be weird, because the compound would mean "judgement judgement". None of these options seem to make sense, so some interpretation help would be appreciated.

I understand the rest of the grammar. Whatever this word compound is "cannot become", which in English would mean "cannot be [in the future]". Thus it's crucial to understand this compound.

The translation reads "I won't be able to use this to figure out whether or not he's Kira." so the translators seemed to have just ignored one or both words from the compound.

Note on context:

  The speaker is a detective who is playing tennis with
  a suspect in the "Kira" case in order to try to figure him out. Kira
  is a notorious serial killer.

Dictionaries:

  http://jisho.org/ [wwwdjic];
   http://ejje.weblio.jp/


texts: What is the difference between dayo and desu? I was participating in a chat and a person said genki dayo. I am assuming that dayo and desu mean the same thing and can be used interchangeably. Thank you.


texts: What's the meaning of 私たち三人? Does it make sense?

texts:
What's the meaning of 私たち三人? Does that make sense in japanese?
I found the translation "the three of us" on Google Translate. However, I want to know if that make sense in japanese. If not, What would be the best translation for "the three of us"?

E.g.: In Spanish the direct trasnlation using Google Translate would be "nosotros tres" and in Portuguese "nós os três". The Spanish translation is ok, it would work. But for Portuguese I guess the best translation would be "nós três", since "nós os três" doesn't make sense in Portuguese.


texts:
I recently encountered the suffix っちょ after a noun in a manga. According to Jisho, it is a suffix used after a noun or the root of an adjective and which means "person who is/thing that is".

Since it is the first time I encounter this suffix, I would like to know how common it is and what kind of nuance it adds. How formal is it? Also, is it regional or used everywhere in Japan? Thank you!


texts: I have been learning Nihongo for 1 month and I am confused with that word. Please help me!!


texts:
For context, Person A admires the new bag of person B. Person B bought it on the internet. here is Persons A's response:

  えっ、インターネットで買い物するのって危なくないですか。

I don't know what this のって is supposed to mean. There is no kanji in the text and simply assuming a typo of 乗る doesn't really help either. Since 乗る, if I observed correctly, doesn't only express "to get on train" but of course also "to go by train/to use the train", it could somehow fit into the context of this sentence.
But between the two phrases 買い物する and 危なくない I can't muster a grammatical interpretation of this sentence. I don't know how to connect these pieces and I also don't know how to classify のって　at all (adverb or adverbial function, verb etc.).

However, here is my attempt at translation:
"What, isn't it dangerous to do your shopping on the internet?"
I feel like I just left out のって in this interpretation entirely, because I did, basically xD I just don't know wether an interpretation taking のって in would look any different...^^


texts:
Tell me please, what から means in his sentence?  If I'm guessing corrctly it would translate something like "She fall on her face really hard", but still... would ”顔面に全力で” be incorrect here?

Sentence: コケていた。恐らくは・・・・・・顔面から全力で。

Thanks you very much for your help.


texts: Kind of a japanese newb here.  I've googled this a bit and haven't seen anything except demo vs temo comparisons.  I understood that these words all kind of mean "but, well, so, anyways"....am I way off base on this?  And if not, what are the subtleties or grammar rules governing each one?


texts: As the title says^^　I think 生徒 is for elementary school, what about the other two?


texts: What is the correct way to attach 〜そう to the start of a noun?

texts:
Take for example the following,

よさそう

which means (it) looks good.

Is it possible for one to attach a 〜そう phrase to the start of a noun?

Taking a good apple as an example sentence, are any of the following correct?

よさそうなりんご

よさそうのりんご

よさそうりんご


texts:
Nushi can be written using katakana or kanji in Japanese. I wanted to understand the exact meaning of this. And can it be used as someone's name?

I named my daughter nushi (It means sweet in Hindi) but when I called her name in the crowd I fetched the attention of some people from Japan. Hence, I was curious to know if it has some meaning in Japanese. I searched for dictionary and I found 2 meanings of it. Hence, I asked here.


texts: What is the difference between hanashi and monogatari?

texts: Both seem to mean story so I am wondering what the difference between them is.


texts: What is this dash-like punctuation mark?

texts:
Here is a piece of text from 「ノルウェイの森」by Haruki Murakami:

  この寮の唯一の問題点はその根本的なうさん臭さにあった。寮はあるきわめて右翼的な人物を中心とする正体不明の財団法人によって運営されており、その運営方針は――もちろん僕の目から見ればということだが――かなり奇妙に歪んだものだった。

How are these things before もちろん and かなり called and what function they serve?
Is it a mark equal to 、 or something informal like ~~~ and expressing a short speech pause in a middle of the sentence? In any case, what is its name?


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

texts:
The textbook I'm currently using defines both of these grammar points as: 〜のだから、絶対にする／しないのが当然だ

What is the difference between the two grammar points, can they be used interchangeably like the following:

自分でやると言ったからには、最後まで責任を持ってやってください。
vs
自分でやると言った以上は、最後まで責任を持ってやってください。

If they can be used interchangeably, is there any nuance I should be aware of?


texts: Why "pass me the salt" is しおを取って instead of しおをわたして

texts: Isn't 取る means to pick up?, so you are literally saying "pick that salt", so how would you say when you want someone to pick up something instead of passing it to you?


texts: What romanization scheme is used by programmers?

texts:
I noticed that in this book on bioinformatics with Ruby (the programming language!) (Rubyではじめるバイオインフォマティクス―生物系のためのプログラミング入門), the authors sometimes used romanized Japanese in code examples. For example it sometimes uses hairetsu_1 for the variable name of an array (that'd translate as array_1).

When not programming in English, do Japanese programmers use a consistent romanization scheme, and if so, which one?


texts:
What does バタバタ mean?

  コラム書かなきゃ。映像チェックしなきゃ。アレも書かなきゃ。アレも考えなきゃ。バタバタバタ子さん(´･_･`)

Everything make sense to me except for the last part.


texts:
I'm translating a comic and I found this kanji combination on the headers. It's like a counter for pages.

  其之一
  其之二
  etc.

その is the reading. I wanted to get more info about that but I didn't find anything via google. Is that somehow familiar to you or is this way how it's written just really old?


texts:
I ran across 臨海学校{りんかいがっこう} in a manga (ときめきトゥナイト) and I'm unsure what the exact meaning is. All the online dictionaries I've checked translate it as "seaside school", which doesn't quite make sense to me. To me that means literally a school by the sea, but in the story, it seems more special since the students are taking a trip and spending a couple days there.

The teacher says this to the students:

  3泊4日の臨海学校だがな


texts: Can the translation for "you're welcome" be "mū"?

texts:
A Japanese-addict friend of mine recently told me that a possible translation for "you're welcome" in Japanese was "mū", but I must admit I was a bit dubious about that since I had never seen it nor heard it. I looked it up and found no entries about it anywhere.

Is it a mistake?


texts: Is a computer displaying "インストールしています" correct? Weird?

texts:
I just noticed that Windows is using "…をインストールしています" while installing something. The use of "〜います" by a computer strikes me as slightly weird, like too literal a translation leading to overdone anthropomorphism. I often see "インストール中" or something similar instead and personally prefer it.

I'd expect this use to be correct, but is it elegant, natural?


texts:
How does one say "if you need some space, that's OK"?

Looking through ALC, もし考える時間{じかん}が必要{ひつよう}であれば、大丈夫{だいじょうぶ}ですよ。 Which translates as "if you need time to think, that's OK", is there an expression that better conveys the sense of "space", particularly in a romantic setting?


texts: I need some help to figure out how can I translate そんなだから. It must quite vague because it seems to lack a noun after そんな (such as 時、本、etc.). If it had such nouns I could understand it like "at this kind of time, "this kind of book"). If I were to adapt it a little, would "It's for this reason." I think literally would be "That's why".The action of this manga is that it's about saving someone from a villain. The ones going against this villain is a group of friends, they are fighting with all they got in order to save their captured friend.そんなだから-That's why/This is our reason (for fighting), (to save our friend).I hope you can understand...I don't know if I explained it so well.


texts:
Could it become 瞬【まばた】いている? Why is there 瞬きする instead of 瞬く? And why is there a は at the end?

Sentence from the song キラキラ星【ぼし】:

  きらきらひかる　おそらのほしよ

  まばたきしては　みんなをみてる

  きらきらひかる　おそらのほしよ


texts: what does に do in this sentence これがある限り俺たちに拒否権はない

texts:
I saw this sentence in the final fantasy 16 trailer

これがある限り俺たちに拒否権はない

I'm aware it means

as long as we have this we have no right to refuse

but I'm confused by why に is used here I was under the impression that に worked with verbs indicating the target of an action with the exception of adverbs and some old usage of に meaning と sometimes
I didn't know of other uses for  but I'm seeing more and more than maybe に can be extended to mean some other things is this an extend use of に if so how should I think of it or am I missing something


texts: Japanese student learning Chinese characters?

texts:
I've recently started to self-study Japanese. Some time ago I thought of studying Mandarin Chinese and bought a book (Tuttle Learning Chinese Characters, https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/805242.Learning_Chinese_Characters) to learn the characters. But after having a go at both Chinese and Japanese, I decided to stick with the latter.

So far I understand that most Kanji are derived directly from the Chinese writing system, that the meanings are usually the same or very similar and that changed pronunciation is the trickiest bit. My book does present the traditional form (which, to my knowledge, is the form used in Japanese...?) of a character together with the simplified one.

I'd like to know whether it'd be a good idea to continue using the material I bought or whether I should rather get a similar book for Japanese instead. And if so, could anyone recommend me a good one?


texts:
この野菜{やさい}はきれいな赤い色をしているので、料理{りょうり}によく使います。

why using  に in this phrase

  料理によく使います


texts: Is there a word to express "the rain of sakura petals"?

texts:
I think it's a good question given the season.

I was watching the petals of cherry flowers falling down in the typical "pink shower" after the full bloom and wondered: is there a word that expresses exactly this phenomenon of cherry petals "raining down"?
After all it is such a typical "Japanese scene" that I would be surprised otherwise. However, I asked a Japanese person who didn't know (and if such word exists I figured it would be so common everyone would answer immediately).

Ps I know 桜が舞う、桜の舞。 I was curious about a single word.


texts:
Possible Duplicate:
  Why are some lyrics words written in kanji whose usual reading is not how it is sang?

So, we were reading Hunter X Hunter manga in Japanese (page 16 if you're interested) and stumbled upon the following sentence:

  実はオレずっと前から知ってたんだ親父の　仕事{こと}　・・・

And we figured out the following (probably incorrect) translation:

  The truth is, I was always aware about my father's (work? thing?) ...

The furigana next to 「仕事」 says 「こと」 and we thought it to be strange, because we usually encounter 「仕事」 as 「しごと」 (work), moreover we were unable to find the 「こと」 reading in the dictionary.

To sum it up: Why is 「仕事」 read as 「こと」 in this case and what does the sentence actually mean? Thanks.


texts: How are Japanese names romanized in localization?

texts:
I've read that that romanizing Japanese names can be particularly difficult, due to the fact that the kanji that make them up have multiple pronunciations, or even a completely random one.

However, seeing Japanese media - particularly video games - translated to English makes me wonder how each and every name in the credits becomes romanized. How is this usually done? Is the kana used to pronounce one's name easily accessible for professionals? Is this pronunciation gathered on a case by case basis? Or does "guesswork" need to be done, with possible mistakes occurring? If readings are provided, how is this information usually transferred?


texts: Japanese translation for "bakka!" (Not Baka)

texts:
I'm in the midst of creating a show flyer for an upcoming event and one of the artists uses the name "Bakka!" (without quotes)

I'm aware that the real word for this is Baka, so I'm curious as to how it would affect the spelling of it with two K's?

And, as hyperworm suggested, I'm curious how this affects the meaning of it by having two K's?

If anyone could shine some light on this for me I would greatly appreciate it, thank you!


texts:
I just recently learned these phrases were a thing and I can't find the difference anywhere online.

Is there a difference between 「目を覚ます」　and　「目覚める」 ?

Any help would be appreciated!


texts: How do you guys read these kanji 年々 in a sentence? I've found on Japanese dictionary websites that it can be read both 'nen-nen' and 'toshi-doshi' and  it means 'year by year'. So which one use in a sentence by those mean?


texts:
I was wondering what is a suitable verb for "to offer" and "to share" food.

I know that "to offer" has been answered here

However, according to jisho, 勧める = to offer (wine),

so I'm not sure, if it is just for drink or any food wiil do?

For example, if I wanna write down that "I offered a cake to X" so

  ケーキをXと勧めた。

Similar for "to share", I'm not sure which one is the best to be used with food.

For example,

  I shared a cake with X = ケーキをXと分け合った。

Is this ok?


texts: What is the main action with がてら (in the given example)?

texts:
The grammar dictionary
どんなときどう使う日本語表現文型辞典 defines がてら in the following way:

  Accomplishing two objectives via one action. Can also mean to produce two results by doing a single action.
  Verbs of movement, such as 歩くor 行く, often follow.

It also gives the following example:

  ② 散歩がてら、ちょっと郵便局まで行ってきます。

The sentence ② is basically consistent with the example given in this question, and the explanation given in the answer: "the phrase 散歩がてら立ち寄った公園 would make more sense because stopping at a park is done while on the walk."

It is also consistent with the explanation given in this answer: "運転(し)がてら食事する
-- eating along the way driving (after having driven half way)"

Now, the problem is that the same dictionary gives also another example:

  ④ 駅まで３０分ほどかかるが、天気のいい日は　運動がてら歩くこと　にしている。

and I see it as contrary to the above.

Walking is neither done in the middle of an exercise; nor is exercising the main action here (as we are talking about the station, then the action of moving towards the station should be, no matter what).

Why isn't the example written in the following way:

  駅まで３０分ほどかかるが、天気のいい日は　歩くことがてら運動　にしている。

Would there be a difference in meaning? What would be the meaning then?

Even if, for some reason, it doesn't sound right for a native speaker, please explain what meaning it would convey.

Does it matter that the predicate is making decision (にする) here?


texts: Connecting sentences with dictionary form verbs?

texts:
This is from the "intro" of the novel talking in general about sayayins . It seems that is like a sort of poetic/archaic style as the grammar doesn't make sense to me.

彼らは戦いを好み、ほかの星を侵略する宇宙のならず者だった。

I think it means

彼らは[戦いを好み]、[[ほかの星]を侵略する] [宇宙のならず者だった]。
Their liking is the battle, to invade other stars [they] were the hooligans of the universe.

It's that is correct, what is the grammatical explanation for the connection between this [ほかの星を侵略する] and this [宇宙のならず者だった] as there is no と, も, commas, pre-masu or て-form linkage.
Thanks.


texts: why ひどい神もいたもんだ　means "that's a mean god"?

texts:
the english version of the material Im reading says "that's a mean god", and a friend told me that means "there is a bad god ,isn't it?" , but I don't understand why.
I know ひどい神 (bad,cruel, God)　I guess the もんだ　its a contraction of ものだ , but I still don't get it , what is もいた? , can someone explain all of this in detail please.


texts: What would the English translation of this causative てもらう sentence be?

texts:
この宿題は難しすぎるので、先生に手伝わせてもらおうと思います。

Does it mean 'I was allowed to be helped'? 'I'll let myself be helped by teacher'?


texts:
A sentence from 五輪書:

  おのづから道の器用有りて、天理をはなれざる故か。

I found a question about ～ざる and ～ぬ on 知恵袋. The only answer claims that ～ぬ and ～ざる are both the 連体形 of ～ず and ～ざる is a "complementary" conjugation, to be used when the 連体形 is to modify a 助動詞.

Here はなれざる modifies 故{ゆえ}, which is a noun. From the answer on 知恵袋, it seems that ～ざる is complementary, to be used when ぬ doesn't work, but here はなれぬ故 does work. Why did the author choose ～ざる? Does one have a free choice between ～ぬ and ～ざる? Is the choice characteristic of a particular time period?


texts: 寒い国に生まれたからといって、寒さに強いわけではない. can anyone explain this pattern  寒さに強い, noun に adjective , how to use it and which nouns,adjective can be used in this form ?


texts: What does orIF mean in the middle of this Japanese sentence?

texts:
I've seen some people in Japanese writing the emoticon "orlF".  For example:

  というシチュであったかもしれないorlFのストーリーという感じです

And I really want to know what it means... xDD. Please help~ ^^'


texts:
I only know the grammar usage of ばかり as full of___ but I don't know how to parse this sentence.

少しばかり　しゃくですが


texts: Can you use '死にました' for things other than people?

texts:
I know that usually, when you talk about someone dying, you say, 'なくなりました' to be polite and, '死にました' to literally just say they died.

So, I was wondering if you could use 死にました for things other than people, such as for animals or plants as なくなりました would probably sound a bit strange?


texts:
How do you express that you want to speak with someone using Kanji? So far I imagine I would us something like マリオ話{はなせ}欲{ほ}しいます。Combining the name of the person "マリオ", expressing a want "欲{ほ}しい", and defining that speaking "話{はなせ}" is what I want.

I think I may need the を or で particles in here, but need to learn more about how particles are used in sentences.


texts: what is the difference between 拒否する　and 断る

texts: I'm referring especially to the context of rejecting someone, e.g. if they asked you on a date.


texts: Are に and と interchangeable when used with adverbs?

texts:
Are sentences A, B, and C all correct? If not, which are incorrect and why? If they are all correct, does it mean that に and と can always be used interchangeably with adverbs? And that に and と aren't actually needed?

  A: 彼女はかんかんに怒った。
  B: 彼女はかんかんと怒った。
  C: 彼女はかんかん怒った。


texts: I'm doing well. But some particles seem not to fit. What's the role of "こと" in this sentence?

texts:
そっか。みなさん、どなたか木村さんのことしりませんか。

Thankyou.


texts: Is the first supposed invention of romaji in 1548 by a Japanese Catholic called Yajiro fact or fiction?

texts: Any research I try leads back to sites I don't know if I can trust, because most of them are random fact articles. I've found an official site that has some of the history, but not this specific fact. I also don't want to put much stock in wikipedia, because while it is useful it can be edited by anyone for whatever reason.


texts: Why does this text use both 下さい and ください in the same context?

texts:
After a trip to Japan, I got a slip stapled to my passport, the first bullet point of which reads:

活字体で記入して下さい。黒色又は青色のペンで記入してください。
"Please type or print clearly. Write by using black or blue pen."

I have already read through this question on using 下さい vs ください, but the answers emphasize using the two as differences between objects/actions, て-form/other forms, and personal preference. Here, these are both actions, both て-forms, and both written on the same sheet, so personal preference is not a factor.
Given the English translation above (provided on the same stapled slip), I speculate that it might be a politeness indicator, more of a soft request to print neatly, whereas the second request is more firm and required. (But that's just a guess of my own.)
What is the purpose for using the kanji and non-kanji forms of ください in this sentence, given that they both follow 「～で記入して」?


texts:
I am reading an article by Siratori Kazuhisa, and I am struggling to find an equivalent for 「もっともな気がする」 in English. The context is as follows:

  なんとなくもっともな気がするが、大学の英語の試験は英語で 道を尋ねられた時にまごつかないようにするためのうすっぺらの実用英
  語のテストではないのである

最も－most; extremely　(adverb)

もっともな（尤も）　- something being understandable/reasonable

気がする　- to have a hunch/feeling

Would it be correct in the above text to translate as follows: "I feel it reasonable but..."?

Any help understanding the meaning and intention is very much appreciated.


texts:
The Nintendo character Kirby's name in Japanese is 「星のカービィ」, pronounced "Hoshi no Kābī". For the カ, a ー is used for extending the vowel sound. For the ビ, though, a small イ is used.

I thought the small vowels were used for modifying the vowel in an existent sound without extending it, for example in ティ, to make "ti", or in ヴィ, to make "vi". With ビ, however, that is of course not necessary, as the vowel is already "i". In hiragana, normal vowels are used for extension, but those are 1) not small, and 2) not used in katakana.

So why is this? And how does it work? Under what grammatical rule does the small vowel extend the sound, and why is ー used for カ and not for ビ (which I think it normally would, such as in 「ビール」)?


texts: Why is 礼 honorific in 「お礼を申し上げます/give my thanks [to someone]」?

texts:
In 謙譲語 the addition of honorific to a direct object depends on who owns it:

（先生に）本をさしあげます。| I will give teacher my book
（先生の）ご本をお借りします。| I shall borrow teacher's book
（先生を）会場へご案内します。| I will show teacher to the meeting place

There are some words that always take an honorific (examples discussed in other questions include お茶 and お手洗い）but 礼 is not one of them.  Why are "my" thanks honorific but not my book?
(I imagine that in Japanese they are not "my" thanks, or their is a difference between tangible/intangible objects/gestures, but these are guesses.)


texts: Clarification on personification in Japanese

texts:
I struggle emotionally with this topic because it's something I love to do in English and Spanish. Yet Japanese (afaik) deem personification grammatically incorrect because non-living things don't have wills of their own.

I have a few questions about this topic:

Is personification commonly understood? If I had an acquaintance or friend and I told them something like "太陽に殺される". How widely understood would it be that I'm playfully saying it's terribly hot that day? I feel like it would be okay in casual conversations right?
In books or novels, is it normal for authors to write personifications?
Is it really considered grammatically incorrect to write personifications? I feel like it wouldn't be if they knew you were intentionally writing it rather than by mistake as long as the sentence structure was sound.

Bonus: I like to use this kind of humor, how do I cope with what seems to be lack of personification in Japanese writing? sad (I've never come across it, then again stuff like that isn't shown in study material I guess. Although it is taught in English writing)


texts: What's the difference between shokumotsu (食物) and tabemono (食べ物),

texts:
They both convey the meaning of "meal" or "food", but I don't know which one I should use. Which ones would be used most of the time for everyday-conversations? Would these two sentences mean the same?

[食物を食べる]{しょくもつをたべる}
[食べ物を食べる]{たべものをたべる}

Thanks for the answer.


texts:
As explained in the thread titled "Can 美化語{びかご} create implied subjects?", in a very, very limited number of circumstances a noun could be upgraded to pseudo-尊敬語 by using 美化語 (such as ご気分{きぶん}, etc). However, at least one noun, 会社{かいしゃ}, seems to have a clear 尊敬語 and 謙譲語 form:

御社{おんしゃ} = "company (implied your company)"

弊社 = "company (implied my company)"

I am thinking that "御社、会社、弊社" might be similar to these verbs with regard to turning them into 敬語:

御覧になる、見る、拝見する
召し上がる、食べる、いただく
ご存知、知る、存じる

etc.
Just like there are "irregular" verbs in Japanese, there are "irregular" ways to turn a verb into 敬語。So, I'm thinking that:

御社、会社、弊社

is an "irregular" way of making 敬語 nouns. After all, if there is no irregular 謙譲語 word for the noun, I don't think that you can transform a noun into 謙譲語。
So that I can google better and talk with native speakers about this better:

What are a few nouns that have a distinct 尊敬語 (no connection with 美化語)?
What are a few nouns that have any 謙譲語 form?

And, is anything that I said in this thread wrong?
btw: I am only interested in 敬語 nouns. In this thread, I don't care about 敬語 verbs.


texts: Japanese equivalent of "caught red handed"?

texts: Is there a colloquial phrase in Japanese that would be the same as or similar in meaning to the English phrase "caught red handed"?


texts:
I can't understand the use of "行っていた" in following line from the book "死者の学園祭" by 赤川次郎:

  手塚校長は父の旧友という事だったが、年齢は父より大分行っていた。

I assume it means the principal is older, but I can't tell from the context what the relation is between their ages, and no dictionary entry for 行く or 行う seems to be relevant. Does the bolded text mean the same as if he had said 年上だった?


texts:
I'm wondering if 「~していれば」is not only a conditional verb form.

Because I once encountered a sentence; 「別担当者であれば...」.

I thought this sentence means "If there is a different person-in-charge...".

However, I learned that it means "There is a different person-in-charge..."

So, for the sentence 「１か月の出勤日数が何日出勤していれば交通費が出るのですか。」、I'm not sure if my understanding is correct that it means "If I go work for a certain number of days within a month, would I receive a fee for that number of days I went to work?".

Can anyone please explain the definition of 「~していれば」?


texts:
Is there a difference between 場が凍る and 場が凍り付く? Both seem to be in use. Both are 自動詞/五段活用. An example sentence by yours truly:

教室で先生に「お前何言ってんだ」って言っちゃって場が凍った
教室で先生に「お前何言ってんだ」って言っちゃって場が凍りついた

I have also heard 空気が凍る used in the same sense as well.


texts: Writing a story in Japanese: how to handle dialogue

texts:
I'm an elementary Japanese student. I am trying to write a simple story in Japanese, and I want to make it as interesting as possible with my current knowledge of the language. I am concerned about the dialogue in my story. The only way I know how to write that someone said something is through the use of という. I am worried that my story will become repetitive during a scene with a lot of dialogue. I don't want it to sound like this:

  スーさんが「さむいです。」といいました。

  はなこさんが「そうですね。」といいました。

  スーさんが「かえりましょう。」といいました。

  はなこさんが「ちょっとまってください。とりをみたいです。」といいました。

I will be reading this story aloud to an audience, so I want to avoid the repetitive "[person] が [dialogue] といいました" construction. What are some ways I can spice up my dialogue? Can it work the same way in English, where I can remove the dialogue tag (he said, she said) when my speakers are established? Can I also mix in action between the dialogue while doing this?

  スーさんが「さむいです。」といいました。

  はなこさんが「そうですね。」といいました。

  スーさんがはなこさんのてをつかみました。「かえりましょう。」

  「ちょっとまってください。とりをみたいです。」

  "It's cold," said Sue.

  "It is," said Hanako.

  Sue grasped Hanako's hand. "Let's go home."

  "Wait a bit. I want to watch the birds."

I know my dialogue is going to sound awkward and unnatural, but I'm not worried about that since I'm not at the point where I can pick up on nuances. Right now I am worried about getting the grammar down and not sounding repetitive.

Any help is appreciated! (Also, please answer in kana or romaji.)


texts: The grammar of the Dokkōdō by Miyamoto Musashi

texts:
I have chosen the sentence

何れの道にも別れを悲しまず

How would you translate it to match the meaning literally and with the intended message ?

According to The Complete Musashi translated by Alexander Bennet

In all things, I never despaired over parting

According to Wikipedia:

Never let yourself be saddened by a separation

According to this article

“Izure” is an indefinite pronoun like “everyone” in English and together with the particle “no” defines the following noun, while “nimo” is a compound of “ni” and “mo” and has the function of underlining the meaning of an affirmative or negative sentence. “Wakare” means “farewell, separation”, and “kanashima-zu” is a compound of the verb “kanashimu” and the negative suffi x “zu”, whereby “kanashimu” has the meaning “to mourn,
grieve, lament”...“I will not be sad when I must take my leave of any way.”

Number 1 is in the past tense, number 2 is a command form and number 3 is future tense.


texts: やつらも生き物だ、死して横たわる権利はあろう

texts:
The main character in this game enters a pact with a dragon which allows them to communicate with each other and the MC to take control of the dragon. The MC is depicted as bloodthirsty simply out for killing while the dragon as a being standing above everyone else, mocking humans especially for being a petty species.
Pretty early on in the game, when riding the dragon, you have to shoot down enemies out of the sky. After killing a certain amount, the dragon goes:

もうやめておけ！やつらも生き物だ、死して横たわる権利はあろう。

I'm not really sure what he's trying to say here. The dragon himself seems to switch between a "let them live" and "everyone must die" mentality pretty often throughout the game and it's kinda hard to pinpoint what exactly he wants from you at times. I assume here he's mad at the MC for mindlessly killing enemies but I'm not really sure what exactly he's trying to get at here.
If 死して横たわる means "to lie dead" (which I guess it does), how does 権利 come into play here? They have a right to lie dead? Doesn't make much sense to me.


texts:
I'm struggling with how to say "robust software" in Japanese.

From Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robustness_(computer_science):

  In computer science, robustness is the ability of a computer system to
  cope with errors during execution[1][2] and cope with erroneous input.

There is no Japanese version of this page. I have searched weblio and Google and found examples of 堅牢なソフトエア and ロバストなソフトエア being used, albeit not very many. There is also this document from The University of Tokyo on robust software. http://www.i.u-tokyo.ac.jp/coe/report/H14/21COE-ISTSC-H14_5_5_1_2.pdf


texts: Are the kanji in 世話【せわ】 as in 世話になります used for their meaning, or are they ateji? If they aren't ateji, what exactly is the reasoning?


texts: What does こと mean in 彼らは騒々しいことおびただしい?

texts:
Example sentence from プログレッシブ和英中辞典:

  彼{かれ}らは騒々{そうぞう}しいことおびただしい They are making a terrible noise [racket].

I don't know if that's 事 or 言, or 殊 (or something else?) so no idea where to even start looking...


texts:
tl;dr

The word 予習 is strange to me.  Is its usage related to cultural difference?  Does the user's knowledge of the material have something to do with it?

I've always had trouble understanding what exactly 予習 is, and some of the definitions I've seen appear contradictory to my American English mind and words I'm familiar with.  Here are some of the definitions I have in various dictionaries.

English

  Preparation(s) for one's lessons

日本語

  前もって学習すること
  まだならっていないところを前もって学習・練習しておくこと

Cultural

At first I was thinking maybe this was a cultural difference.  I have a hard time seeing how 予習 is really different (conceptually) from [復習]{ふく・しゅう, «さらい»} ("reviewing").  If today's lesson was on topic X, and tomorrow's lesson is also on topic X, then the 学習 that I do concerning X in the time between today's lesson and tomorrow's lesson is just going over information about X again.  To me, it seems pretty straight-forward that this is "review", so I would use 復習.

However, if today's lesson was on topic X, but I know tomorrow's lesson will be about topic Y, saying that I'm going to study up on Y before the teacher even teaches it to us is not something that average American student would do.  (Note that I use "average student" because a small minority of students in public schools, or students in elite/private schools may actually do this.  Which may indicate something about our educational system in America...)  To study beforehand about an unlearned topic seems more in line with the east-Asian (Japan, China, South Korea) mentality where educational discipline is strict, calculated, and expected.  So that's to say that it makes sense to me that a Japanese student would be expected to study topic Y for tomorrow's lesson (before the teacher even teaches it), whereas it would be expected that an American student would be the exact opposite, i.e., if I haven't learned it yet, I'm gonna play video games/sports/whatever-other-leisure once my homework and reviews of X are done.  So in this sense, 予習 has no relevance in the (again, average) American educational mindset.

Comprehension

When I saw some other definitions for 復習, I thought the difference between it and 予習 might be something else.  Here is a 国語 definition of 復習:

  一度習ったことを繰り返して勉強すること

Looking at this definition compared to the one for 予習 above, it seems like more of a difference between things you have learned (一度習ったこと) versus things you have not yet learned (まだならっていないところ).  So if the action is the same (studying the topic), is the choice between 予習 and 復習 simply a matter of if you've learned it yet or not?  If so, this is easily confusing since I think most English speakers would use the word "review" to study up on things they've never learned (possibly for lack of a corresponding word).  For example, if I were taking a trip to a country I've never been to, I would still say that I'm going to "review" materials (websites, travel books, etc.) about that country, even though I currently know nothing about it.

So if this is the case, is 予習 more akin to a "pre-review"?

What's the verdict?

So is 予習 strange to me because of possible cultural differences?  Or is it about the person's assumed knowledge of the topic?  Some combination of the two?  Something else completely?


texts:
チケット (chiketto) 切符 (kippu) 乗車券 (joushaken)

All words mean ticket -Is there any difference among them? When is appropriate to use them or not?

The only one thing I found yet, is that the last one means passenger ticket or train ticket in detail.

Are kippu/chiketto inappropriate in use as train ticket or are they general enough?


texts: Understanding the usage of もう with present tense verbs

texts:
I think when a lot of people first learn もう it's as "already', right? There's also the meanings of "anymore", "soon", "now", "more', "another" and its use as an interjection. That's a lot of meaning packed in one small word, I think, and personally I get easily confused whenever I see it. In particular, the use of もう to mean "already", and its use with certain verbs constantly confound me.

My question concerns the use of もう with certain verbs and its meaning in those contexts. I'm not sure if there's a specific term for the type I mean but two examples are 止める and 諦める. (Edit:My reasoning is that these verbs are similar to negative form verbs on their own. I'm wondering if due to that property I should understand them the same way I understand もう我慢できない (can't take it anymore) and もうするな (don't do that anymore).) Specifically when used with these verbs in their present tense form how should I interpret もう? I'll give some examples:

  日本語を学ぶのは難しすぎるよ。もうやめる！
  私はそれをもう諦める
  もうこの男のことは諦めろ
  もうほっといてくれ！

I hope that's enough examples. My question is how to interpret and translate those usages of もう. Are these translations correct?

  Learning Japanese is too hard. I quit already!
  I'm going to give up on that already.
  Give up on this man already
  Leave me alone already!

None of those translations seem correct to me, but I'm not sure how else to translate them. Wouldn't もう here rather be closer in meaning to "anymore"? Like in example 1, doesn't this translation make more sense: "Learning Japanese is too hard. I'm not gonna do it anymore!"? I just don't see how "already" is what's intended, yet I'm also not sure that's it's not.

I apologize if my questions are unclear. I wasn't sure how to best word my doubts about もう. I feel I lack a basic understanding of it, but dictionaries and guides haven't proved sufficient for me. If I was unclear on anything or my question is written poorly please feel free to ask for clarification.


texts: What's the difference between 有名【ゆうめい】, 人気【にんき】, and 盛ん【さかん】? I've been looking for an answer to this question for some time now, but couldn't find one that explains the differences properly. I know that 有名【ゆうめい】 is famous - well-known and that 人気【にんき】 means popular - people think it's good, but I don't know when to use 盛ん【さかん】 and what exactly it means.


texts: How would you call someone "little bro" in japanese?

texts: Im writing this story and one of the characters calls his younger friend "little bro". (ex: You ok, little bro?) I've never heard of a term like that in Japanese so it might just be an english only term... Otouto is kinda weird since its like for telling other ppl that this is your little bro... I've read that otouto-chan or otouto-kun is only used if you're trying to be mean. Is there a nice term close to "little bro" that my character can use when talking to his little bro like friend? Thanks!!


texts: sentence with まだ近所迷惑程度で済んだ - how to translate

texts:
Chapter 1 of がばいばあちゃん has the following sentence.

  けれど、家の中でピーピー泣いているうちは、まだ近所迷惑程度で済んだ。(my italics)

Two things stood out when I was trying to make a translation. One is ピーピー. What sort of crying is this exactly? Or would we just say crying with the sound "peepee"?

As for the italics part, I attempted this overall translation.

  However, while I cried with a waah waah from inside the house, I still ended up being a nuisance to the neighbourhood.

(I realise うち means 'during', not 'inside'). I'm not entirely sure about why まだ is included, although before the text does mention the protagonist crying before as well as a result of his separation from his mother. Another thing that confused me is the で済んだ construction. I thought this was generally used in the positive sense of "get by without ~ing", but here it appears to be negative. Please enlighten me.


texts: How to tell the difference between 先｛せん｝ and 先｛さき｝?

texts:
Someone on a Japanese learners' forum I frequent posted a question asking someone to help him translate the following:

  どうしても先に進むつもりなのね・・・　だったら・・・

I translated the bit 「先に」 as 「せんに」, but another commenter (who I think has more expertise) translated it as 「さきに」. We both ended up with similar meanings (I suggested "into the future" whereas he simply said "forward").

But my question is, given that both 先｛せん｝ and 先｛さき｝ have similar meanings, how can I tell whether I'm supposed to read it as せん or さき? Are both acceptable?


texts:
I was reading the following example sentence:

  お父さんが医者の学生は三人います。

My first instinct was to parse this as:

  {お父さんが[医者の学生]}は三人います。

But this led to a slightly non-sensical translation along the lines of 'There are three fathers who are students of doctors.'

Since the true translation was 'There are three students whose fathers are doctors', I assume the sentence must be parsed as:

  {[お父さんが医者]の学生}は三人います。

Does this mean I am wrong to automatically separate NのN constructions as having a 'priority' over other types of constructions (such as NがN)? Is it best to assume no 'stronger' relationship and to just parse a sentence into whatever makes the most contextual sense?

Or is it parsed as the second way because of the relative clause, thus making this NのN equivalent to NがN to make:

  {[お父さんが医者が]学生}は三人います。


texts: What is the difference between 石{いし}、岩{いわ} and 岩石{がんせき}?

texts: I'm just a beginner. I think all of them meaning the same, rock. Can anyone explain it for me?


texts: When describing a scene, as in segment of a story, from a visual novel, can I use シーン? Or does シーン mean scene as in location?


texts: Is　なにをうたがすきですか？　correct?

texts:
I want to ask

  What songs do you like?

Is

  なにをうたがすきですか？

the correct way of asking that?

I am trying to get better at building sentences but I have no way of knowing whether or not the sentence is correct, is it a problem if I continue to post questions like this here?

Thanks


texts: Why is my game using エナジー for "energy" instead of エネルギー?


texts: What is the reasoning behind picking お or ご as an honorific prefix?

texts: We've learnt that お is used for 訓読み and ご is used for 音読み. I want to know why we use お上手 and お電話.  Why can't we use ごじょうず and ごでんわ？


texts: Can the passive agent be gapped in a relative clause? I mean, can the head of a relative clause be the passive agent (the word that would be marked by に)?


texts:
しかしお師匠様の言う通りにしてみたんだが、本当に結構、いいとこまでイケたなぁ！
  何でも、ツンツンと残虐を尽くした後に程よくヘタれてデレて見せると、好感度ってヤツが大幅アップするんだろー？

I think I understand half of the first sentence : "However, I did just as teacher told me but..." but I have no idea as to the rest.

  本当に結構、いいとこまでイケたなぁ！

I guess this one means "It went well" ?
I can barely translate the other part, though.


texts:
According to Wikipedia, the kyōiku kanji covers 1,006 characters. There's also a reference link to the Ministry of Education - Japan that seems to confirm this number.

However, I recently picked up this book which teaches 1,026 kanji. Upon further research, I found additional books that also teach 1,026 kanji.. book 1, book 2, among others.

The publisher of the book I purchased had an older edition of the book which taught only 1,006 characters.. so I'm curious if the list was officially updated recently, or the authors of these books are using a different version of the list?

  Can anyone link to a reliable source that has un updated list of the
  kyōiku kanji? Is mext.go.jp the most reliable source?

For those curious, the # of kanji in the book by grade are as follows (with wikipedia #s in parenthesis for comparison):

Grade 1:  80 (80)
Grade 2: 160 (160)
Grade 3: 200 (200)
Grade 4: 202 (200)
Grade 5: 193 (185)
Grade 6: 191 (181)


texts:
I have this sentence from a friend:

  あなたが選ぶ女の子の趣味は格別です。

Meaning: Your taste in women is exceptional.

My guess is that the direct translation would be:

  Speaking of the taste of choosing women, you are exceptional.

I would have thought that the は and が would be reversed since I was taught to use が with adjectives. I might have said something like this:

  あなたは選ぶ女の子の趣味が格別です。

but perhaps for this sentence, the meaning is more:

  Speaking of you, the taste of choosing women is exceptional.


texts:
In the extract below I am a bit unsure as to who is performing the parts in bold. Story is told from 相葉's point of view.

名残惜しむように doesn't look like something I imagine someone would use to describe their own actions (although I could be wrong). This leads me to think that the actor for 名残惜しむように手の指を絡めあって is 八城, however I am thinking that it could possibly be referring to them both.

  相葉「バレないように、気をつけて帰るんだぞ」

  八城「うん、ありがと、相葉」

  相葉「また後でな」

  八城「うん、後で、ね」

  名残惜しむように手の指を絡めあってから、きゅっと握り。

  そして離すと、八城は潤んだ目で俺を見て。


texts: Meaning of ところ in アメリカのいいところ

texts:
I feel as though I understand what the below sentence means, but what I think it means makes no sense.

  日本に行ったら、アメリカのいいところも発見できるかもしれないですね。

My translation: If you go to Japan, you might be able to discover good American areas.

Is my translation correct? If so, why? If not, what would your translation be and why?


texts: Should I use とor という or something else in this phrase

texts:
I'm getting confused with my と and my という again.
I want to say:

  Writing "A" sounds good but writing "B" sounds bad.

My attempt is:

  「A」という書くのはいいそうけど、「B」という書くのは悪いそうです。

My main concern is how to join the phrase「A」to the 書く verb, but comments on how I've mangled the rest of the sentence would also be appreciated. Thanks


texts: interpreting ～とどちらが上というものでもなく

texts:
王の身辺警護は基本的に親衛隊が行っている。

  これは騎士団とどちらが上というものでもなく、単純に役割を分担している。

  ただし王の護衛という重要な役目であり、当然ながら構成する騎士は選りすぐりのエリートばかりだ。

  The King's personal security is basically done by his elite bodyguards

  Whether this is knights.........., the role is simply assigned.

  ....important so gotta go with the elite knights

you can sorta infer the soft counterargument against the first sentence in the 2nd sentence before the initial statement is reconfirmed in the 3rd sentence, but i'm not sure how 騎士団とどちらが上というものでもなくworks in this framework.

how do you interpret とどちらが without the second option?

What exactly is 上 in this context?

How wide is the scope of ~, when it comes to ~というものでもなく in this case?

thanks


texts: What form of imperative is this? 是非この機会お見逃しなく！

texts:
The following statement seems like an imperative but does not have  the structure of the imperative:

  是非{ぜひ}この機会{きかい}お見逃{みのが}しなく！ Make sure not to miss this opportunity!

Is なく 連用形 of ない? If yes, how can a sentence end on 連用形?
Is て implied after なく?


texts:
To ask, for example, "Have you already finished doing homework?", is there any difference in using か, の and のか?

  もう宿題を終えたか？
  もう宿題を終えたの？
  もう宿題を終えたのか？

I'm a little bit confused about how many different question particles are there in Japanese and the difference between them (which are said by men, which ones by women, which are stronger in emphasis, etc.). Is there any site where this kind of things are explained?

Thank you so much in advance for your help!


texts:
What's the difference in usage between 氏名 (しめい) and 名前 (なまえ)?

I often see these two words used interchangeably, but more often than not I see 氏名 on websites.  Is this a politeness difference or an actual word definition difference?


texts:
Person A: そのちょっと変な写真だったって、えっと心霊写真みたいな
  Person B: どこで仕入れて来たんだそんなような話

What does 仕入れて来た mean here? I know the dictionary definition of 仕入れる which is to stock up but I don't know its meaning here and can't understand its connection with 来る.


texts: Help with understanding or properly translating small paragraph

texts:
I always thought that this started with 'afurete' and it made sense to me. But when I saw it written down (instead of hearing it) I realized that it was arifurete, and now the whole paragraph doesn't make sense to me.

ありふれて 足許に 弱く弱く耀く あの欠片は夢、 だったのかな

Is there a special meaning to 'arifurete' that I do not understand? I thought it meant 'banal' or 'common'/'ordinary'.

If it helps, the previous part is 'can't get used to wanting to cry'.. or perhaps I mistranslated that part?

叫びたくなれない

I don't even think I should show how I translated it, as I am pretty sure it's wrong, but if necessary, I'll edit it in, just let me know.

EDIT: Here is the full text for context, but I don't think there is any context to the part that I cannot understand/translate.

https://www.musixmatch.com/ja/lyrics/%E3%83%AB%E3%82%B7%E3%83%A5%E3%82%AB-2/%E7%A7%81%E3%81%AE%E6%AC%A0%E7%89%87


texts: Free, online resource for kanbun readings of particular texts?

texts: Having picked up about 2,000+ characters from Chinese, one of the fastest ways for me to acquire a feel for Japanese grammar and word order, as well as some useful kanji readings, has been to study classical Chinese texts in kanbun. Yet I constantly struggle with the resources available to me. I know that there have been some multi-volume collections of kanbun which ought to be in the public domain, like the 漢文叢書. But I can't seem to find a good online resource. Ideally, I'd like to be able to pick any classical Chinese text and study a kanbun reading of said text.


texts: Which is more common for “I miss you”: 会いたい or 寂しい？

texts: When saying “I miss you” which of these is more frequently used? Do they have different nuances?


texts: Is 訴え連日通い a single word? If not, why no particles in between?

texts:
I'm reading イン.　ザ.　プール, where I found the following clause in one of its lines:

  身体の不調を訴え連日通いつめる和雄

I roughly translated it to "Kazuo who strictly complains about his bad health on a daily basis."

What I don't understand is 「訴え連日通いつめる」

  1: I feel like there are 3 words here and not just 1: 訴え、連日、通い, if that's the case, why there is no particles in between them?

  2: If I understand correctly, つめる is modifying 身体の不調, but if that is the case, what is the function of 訴え連日通い here? Is it working like an adverb and modifying つめる?


texts: Kanji for native Japanese concepts: Kun'yomi spanning multiple morphemes

texts:
There are a few words, which are written with Kanji imported from China, but where the intended native Japanese meaning would prefer a different choice of Kanji. My favourite examples are

雷 vs. 神鳴り (cf. 海鳴り)
鶏 vs. 庭鳥
向日葵 vs. 日回り

Does there already exist a list of these words? If not, can anybody come up with more examples?


texts: What's the meaning and nuance of ばっかり in this sentence?

texts:
A girl is worried and upset because she believes she is more excited and happy about the relationship with her boyfriend than he is. So she says:

わたしばっかり浮かれてる気がする……

I think the sentence means something like "It feels I am the only one who is happy...", with  ばっかり meaning "only one". However, if my translation is indeed correct, wouldn't だけ (maybe even しか too, but that would need to have the sentence changed to negative form) fit better than ばっかり to express "I am the only one happy, not him but just me" ? Because I understood ばっかり rather means "there’s so much of something to the point where there’s nothing else"... and I am not sure said meaning fits here (or does it?)

Am I getting the meaning/nuance of ばっかりin this context wrong?


texts: "仕事は大変だけど元気だよー" Missing adjective or is it correct?

texts:
I would imagine that my friend is trying to say "My work is very difficult, but other than that I'm fine!",

But for me it feels like it's missing an adjective like 難しい.

  仕事は大変だけど元気だよー

I imagine it should be

  仕事は大変難しいだけど元気だよー

My friend is Japanese, so I would guess that either

仕事は大変 is assumed to mean "Work is very difficult", or
She forgot to include an adjective

Am I wrong in understanding, or did she just forget an adjective?


texts: Why does the name of ハチ公 【こう】 include Katakana instead of Hiragana?

texts: It seems strange because the name ハチ公 【こう】 combines Katakana and Kanji in one word.


texts: What's better to start with first, hiragana or katakana?

texts: I'm a beginner in learning Japanese and would like to know what's better to start with first, hiragana or katakana, and why?


texts:
「あんたなんて甘やかしたらどこまでもツケあがるタチだから、厳しくされてちょうどいいのよ。」
  If I pamper the likes of you, you'll be endlessly spoiled, so ...

I thought タチ was "the nature of a person" so ツケあがるタチ would be a "spoiled nature". So I don't understand why we have だ rather than ある afterwards. Surely "You will have a spoiled nature" rather than "you will be a spoiled nature".

Could someone please explain what I am misunderstanding in this sentence?

Also, I'm totally stuck on how the second clause works. Does it mean "being judged strictly is just right"? I may post a separate question about this.


texts: I was looking at one of the example sentences in a kanji learning app I use, and the particle choice struck me as strange. In the sentence "青空を背景に木々を描く。", I can't understand why を is used after 青空. Assuming the phrase could be translated as 'the background of the blue sky' (as the app's provided translation suggested) why is を used instead of の? 木々 is the direct object, 青空 is neither 'a point of departure' nor 'the route of motion' (as described here: https://nihongoichiban.com/home/japanese-grammar-particles/), so is this a typo or just an unfamiliar usage of the particle?


texts: Trouble parsing lyrics under lack of particles

texts:
As always, we have to take non-sentence poetry at face value; sometimes it is almost always ambiguous, but there is probably another perspective I am over looking. Taking a look at the final verse from きのこ帝国's second track from 渦になる, titled "退屈しのぎ" (full lyrics and transcription / translation I'm working on):

唐突に始まるお前の昔話
聞きながらアルペジオ
冴えないノンフィクションの結末を
握っているお前の手は冷たいから嫌だ
やさぐれ吐く息に混じる声が歌い出す

The bits of this verse fall out pretty easily, but the way they fit together is a little hard for me. My attempt:

唐突に始まるお前の昔話 == "Suddenly it begins, your reminiscence"

聞きながらアルペジオ  == Is the 昔話 being listen to, as in "while listening"? (Could it be ながら "although [in which case, does this imply an arpeggio is being "played"?]) Is this 聞き as in "ask"? Why is アルペジオ surrounded by no verb phrase or particles? Is it アルペジオを as in アルペジオをする?

冴えないノンフィクションの結末を == "concludes the dark / sullen non-fiction"

Could this 冴えない mean "boring / uninteresting" ? Does アルペジオがノンフィクションの結末する mean the same, as in, the arpeggio concludes the non-fiction?

握っているお前の手は冷たいから嫌だ == Does this 握っている describe お前, resulting in something like, "Your hand, that I'm clutching, is cold, so I hate (holding) it"

やさぐれ吐く息に混じる声が歌い出す == "Sings in a voice with a sulking breath"


texts: Thank you speech for schools and city officials

texts:
I have to give speeches for a group of 5th grade students and their parents that thanks the schools and cities for hosting us and showing us around. since i am the only parent that somewhat knows Japanese(the children all speak it) I have to give a speech introducing the group and thanking the school or city for hosting us.

I know jikoshokai and presentations both have specific language. does a speech like this have any?

Are there any set phrases that should be in this speech beyond the general みなさん,初めまして at the beginning and 大変(たいへん)お世話(せわ)になりました。色々とどうもありがとうございました。どうぞよろしくお願いします。 at the end of the speech?

We will also be presenting a gift to the staff, should that be done separately, or should this be done during the speech?

thank you!


texts:
Why is「から」used in the following sentence?

  さてと...われわれも気をうしなうとするか　寝不足すると　農場作業がつらいからな。

For my understanding, 「農場作業がつらい」is the result clause while normally 「から」 would follow reason clause.


texts: Cultural question: Why「本当？」and「んだ？」are so popular?

texts:
This style of communication is very different from English.

When saying something to someone, 本当？？ is a common response.

Also, for example if someone said 決めた！, a common response might be 決めたんだ！
できた！できたんだ！
ついた！ついたんだ！
etc.

This is weird when I do it in English. For example, speaking to my partner...

Him: Oh, this is like this...

Me: Oh, really??

Him: Yeah...(I just said that dude wth)

So I have to remind myself not to do this in English.

Any comments on the reason for this style of communication?


texts: In what way is the negative form of a verb an adjective?

texts: I was reading the wikipedia page on "predicate," where it mentioned that in Japanese,  the negative form of a verb is an adjective. I thought that this was too expansive a statement to be true, but what does the writer mean? Does the writer mean that only verbs in the ない form of the negative are adjectives? Is this still too broad in meaning to be true?


texts: Rise in pitch right before quotative って?

texts:
On the last mora of reported speech, right before って, I sometimes hear a high pitch (or maybe stress) where I would normally not expect one. If there is a ない in front of the って, for example, I often perceive the い to be really high in tone and somehow stressed. I'm not too good at distinguishing and noticing pitch, however, so I might just be imagining things, which is why I decided to ask.

Edit: It's been two weeks since I originally posted the question, but in a Youtube video, I found a really good example of what I meant: https://youtu.be/gR5KVIP7PKk?t=21m18s

It's where the lady says 「もしかしたらこの人ともう二度と会えないかもしれないっていう気持ちでいつも接しているんです。」 and the high い in front of って can be heard really well.


texts: How do I know when kana are included in the kanji or inflected?

texts:
What is the reading from this brief line from Final Fantasy 5?
ばっつ！ 立てっ！

Bartz! Standup!

Is the kanji read ta? That would make it たてっ, or is the kanji read tachi? How would I know to drop the ち if I was writing this?


texts: words that have kanji and begin with kana

texts:
"この先生き残るには" is a riddle that highlights the problem of not having spaces between words. But, I was able to read it pretty quickly. After blowing past "先生", I read "き", and that stopped me in my tracks. Starting over, I felt the only thing that could be done was to break between "先” and "生". And then I could read it.

These probably are the same question:
(-) Excepting "お" and "ご" when used as 美化語, can a word that has at least one kanji also begin with a kana?
(-)  A kana, that is not one of the 助詞, placed between two kanji cannot be a word break, right?


texts:
While I've only seen 結論 used in expressions like "Which conclusion do you arrive at?",
I've seen both 断定 and 結論 used when saying "Don't draw a hasty conclusion".

What are the differences between the two, and when is one more appropriate than the other?


texts:
Please correct me, is it right that restaurant waiters ask 以上で? to mean "is that all" after you order?

If so, I can see two opposite logics behind it:

First logic: The basic meaning of 以上is "beyond,  further", as in "something beyond?" or "nothing further to say?", so that's the implied question. Or else, 以上 can be translated as "more than" as in "anything more than that?". The waiter asking 以上で？is asking you what else you want something "on top of" what you already asked for (以上で何?) .

Second logic: Maybe possible extra orders aren't thought of as added "on top" of the previous ones (as we do when we pile things up), especially as Japanese is written top down (縦書き), which makes a list of desires particularly likely to be perceived as extending downwards. if so , 以上で is perceived as meaning "the abovementioned" and the omitted phrase isn't "what" but rather "is enough" as in 以上の注文は全部ですか?

There probably is some conclusive proof that one of these two logics is wrong.

On a practical note, how should I phrase my answer to the waiter's question, both when I have nothing to add and when I would like to ask for something else?


texts:
I was looking up the word "出席" (attendance) in a Japanese dictionary, and found the following definition:

学校の授業や会合などに出ること。

From my understanding, I assume こと is added as a normalizer is so that "出る (to turn up/ to appear)" becomes a noun "出ること (the thing of turning up/showing up)". Hence, the definition means "The thing about turning up for the school's class or meeting".
My question is if this is done so that "the thing of showing up" which derives from adding こと to 出る to change the verb into a noun is so that "the thing" refers to the word, which I assume to be a noun, "出席".
So the sentence becomes something like "Attendance(The thing = Attendance) is about turning up/ being present for the school's class or meeting". This is a poor intepretation but this is for the sake of expressing what I meant in my question.


texts:
が、すぐに理解する。恐ろしきは天使の力。しかしそれくらいできるようでなければ、ウェストコットが手にする意味がない。

The guy called ウェストコット wanted to own the power of the 天使.
How is the bold part different from just “できなければ”? I know ようだ can mean “as if” or “like” but I have a hard time fitting the meaning in the context.


texts:
I'm currently reading a screenplay regarding to Oda Nobunaga.

In one of the character line, it is written that

  あなたは死して尚、この僕を囚えようというのですか？

Base on my search, it seems that the kanji 囚 is associated with word like capture and imprisonment, while 囚人 means prisoner.

However, I am unsure about the meaning and grammar of 囚えよう in this context.

Is it possible for someone to elaborate more on this?


texts: 食べていました meaning "Have eaten" or "Just ate"

texts: I know that the te imashita is the past progressive, yet when asking if my japanese friend had eaten, she often replies with tabetenakatta, and my teacher says the te iru form can also mean " Have eaten" or "Just ate" (I can't remember which.) I wanna know the specifics and if this goes with any verb? Thanks.


texts:
When I go window shopping, the sales clerk would usually come near me asking what I like. How should I politely shoo them away? Can I simply say

  いいえ、けっこうです

or something like

  自分で見る

I know I can just ignore them and they get the body language that I just want to look by my own. What is the common way to say it?

I usually feel awkward especially in electronic shops like yodobashi or yamada. For bookshops, they just leave you alone. I guess electronic shops' clerks are agressive.

By the way, as a side question. Is there a word for "shoo" in Japanese? I know Japanese are polite but do they have it?


texts: On the replacing of kanji made obsolete in the 1946 reforms with similar-looking kanji.

texts:
This is my understanding but please correct me if some of my details are wrong:

In 1946 the Japanese language underwent a reform and standardization process
A set of 1850 kanji were made official and others more or less obsoleted
A smaller subset of these kanji were simplified, the new forms becoming known as shinjitai and the previous forms as kyujitai

But some words which used characters made obsolete had their spellings changed to use similar looking characters, my favourite being:

  "濠洲" (ごうしゅう, Gōshū), an ateji for "Australia" became "豪州"

Does this replacement of characters have a name? They are not shinjitai since they already existed and they are not in shinjitai tables.
Does this only happen with ateji or also with regular words?
Does it only happen when the replacement characters have a same reading as the replaced characters?
If not, does this add to the confusion of which readings apply to which characters?


texts:
妻が死んで、子供が家を出て。
Then my wife died, and my kids left home.

Is the sentence ending て a contraction for another expression? If so can someone list the possible expressions for any sentence ending て form?
Also is the で connecting the sentences the reason-giving で?
Thank you!


texts: Is there a difference between 「qrコード 作成」 and 「qrコード作成」?

texts: It is a very basic question but I'm trying to optimize search keywords of my web page and I don't know a space character(qrコード 作成 vs qrコード作成) makes any difference.


texts: How to set up Japanese keyboard with Google IME?

texts:
I couldn't find any good tutorials online that can guide me on how to set up a Japanese kana keyboard with Google IME. Most of the tutorials I found focused on setting up a romaji keyboard. But I want to learn how to type in kana.
For your reference, this is my keyboard

I'm not sure where to place the last two stickers. Can anyone help me with this thing?


texts:
This is actually something I see from time to time :

  もう生きてこの屋敷から出しはしない。

Why is it "出しはしない" instead of "出さない" ?


texts:
My correspondent wrote me this:

  (...) 日本の気候をしっかり体験していってくださいね

The dictionary isn't helping much here... "Please steadily/firmly/properly/wisely experience Japan's climate"? There are so many meanings of しっかり it is difficult to tell what is meant here. Context was difficult weather like rainstorms and typhoons.


texts:
The dictionary translates both どうせ (WJDIC) and しょせん (WJDIC) as "anyway / in any case / after all".

But what exactly is the difference in nuance between them?

For example, what is the difference between this sentence:

  時間はあなたの好きなように過ごせばいい。しょせん、あなたの時間なのだから。

and this:

  時間はあなたの好きなように過ごせばいい。どうせ、あなたの時間なのだから。

How do we decide when to use which?


texts: Are Japanese modifiers "greedy", "anti-greedy", or do they mean whatever people choose them to mean?

texts:
(I'm a beginner. I just started learning Japanese about a month before I wrote this.)

The Japanese Wikipedia article 飛べない鳥, which corresponds to the English Wikipedia article Flightless bird,
has the sentence

  ペンギンはよく[知られている]{しられている}[飛べない]{とべない}[鳥]{とり}の[一例]{イチレイ}である

which I parse as

  ペンギンは（（よく知られている飛べない鳥）の（一例））である

which translates to

  Penguins are an example of well-known flightless birds.

where "well-known" modifies "flightless birds", but I think I can also parse the sentence as

  ペンギンは（（よく知られている）（（飛べない鳥）の（一例）））である

which translates to

  Penguins are a well-known example of flightless birds.

where "well-known" modifies "example of flightless birds", which is also the case in the English Wikipedia. I think both interpretations make sense.

If I were to translate the second English sentence to Japanese, I would write (without the parentheses)

  ペンギンは（（飛べない鳥）の（よく知られている一例））である

that is, I would place "well-known" as close as syntactically possible to "example".

The questions:

Which parsing is the correct one (regardless of what is in the English Wikipedia)?

Are Japanese modifiers "greedy" (modifies as large part as possible), "anti-greedy" (a.k.a. "non-greedy", modifies as small part as possible), or do they mean whatever people choose them to mean?


texts: Confusion between causatives and intransitive-transitive

texts:
I read the answer to this question

How different is 冷やかす from 冷やす? And 散らかす from 散らす?

but somehow wasn't satisfied.

What's the difference between the 2 causative forms ～す and ～せる, e.g. 待たす and 待たせる?
Usually the せる form seems more common to me, but for some verbs, they both seem equally common, e.g. 聞かす and 聞かせる. Is that because the 聞かす I'm thinking of is not really a causative, but a transitive partner-word of 聞く?
The linked question lists a similar, but un-productive form,  ～かす. Not the k from the stem, as in 聞かす, but a k in the suffix. 冷える→冷やかす, 散る→散らかす, やる→やらかす, おびえる→おびやかす. Are these fossilized instances of an archaic productive form, and does it have anything to do with causative?


texts:
Now, we have lots of resources for learning  Japanese - tons of textbooks, dictionaries, audio and video recordings, educational software etc.

But in the past - How did Europeans first approach Japanese language? (They didn't have any of these resources..)

How did they start learning it for the first time?


texts:
私たちはこの時代に生きていて邪悪さがいよいよ増していることを知っています。

I was given this sentence from a friend and I'm having trouble with the extra て in   生きていて。

Could someone explain what grammar is being used here? Why it needed the next Te for this enduring state?

I would have translated it more 私たちはこの時代に生きているのが邪悪さがいよいよ増していることを知っています。< Probably wrong, I'm still new to Japanese.

Any explanations as to how this sentence works would be much appreciated!


texts: Please clarify how to choose 屋根{やね} vs. 屋上{おくじょう}

texts:
I am pretty confident in saying that 屋上 is a tangible location. Like:
"アパートの 屋上 に庭があります。"
"夏では、デパートの 屋上 にビアガーデンがあります。"

I've always thought of 屋根 as "ceiling" (but I've never really used it in practice). maybe:
"暑い時に、屋根 に付けられた扇風器を点けます。"

So, what are the differences between 屋上 and 屋根 ?


texts:
動物王国のムツゴロウさんちの娘になってもいいと思うほど、動物好きなまる子だが、...
  Maruko is a fan of animals to the extent that she thinks it's okay to become the daughter of something to do with animal kingdoms and mud skippers

Whilst I'm fascinated to know what 動物王国のムツゴロウさんち is all about, my primary question is about the structure of the sentence.

There seems to be a noun missing. If I had tried to put this in Japanese I would have written:

  ...ほど、まる子は動物がすきだが...
  to the extent that ... Maruko likes animals

But the original sentence is

  to the extent that ... Maruko (who is an animal fan) is xxx?

where xxx is missing.

Is my alternative sentence correct? How can I understand the grammar of the original sentence?


texts: を usage over から and で in example sentences related to movement

texts:
While reading a grammar book, I learned を may mark a.) a starting point of where a movement occurs,  or b.) mark a location where a movement occurs. Examples:

a1.) 車｛くるま｝を降りました｛おりました｝。(He) got out of the car.
b1.) 危ない｛あぶない｝なあ！歩道{ほどう｝を走る｛はしる｝なよ！(That's) dangerous! Don't ride on the sidewalk!

However, other particles serve similar functions, and I don't quite understand the differences in usage. For example,

a2.) 車から降りました。
b2.) 危ないなあ！歩道で走るなよ！

Why would someone used を in the first sentence instead of から? Why would someone use を in the second sentence instead of で? How do the meanings in these individual sentences change between one choice over the other? When to use を in sentences like these and when to use different particles?


texts: 日本語でもいいです vs 日本語もいいです

texts:
When someone starts speaking to me in English I often want to effectively say "Japanese is fine".

I usually blurt out 日本語でもいいです which I thought would mean "in Japanese is also ok" but someone once told me I should say 日本語もいいです "Japanese is also ok".

I interpret the first 日本語で as "in Japanese". A longer sentence might be

  英語で話しているけど日本語で話してもいいです
  you are/I am speaking in English but speaking in Japanese is also ok

which seems like it can be shortened to

  英語で話しているけど日本語でもいいです
  you are/I am speaking in English but in Japaneee is also ok

vs

  英語で話しているけど日本語もいいです
  I am/you are speaking in English but Japanese is also ok

dropping the で just seems to remove the "in" as in the "way" of speaking.

is でも ok here or not?


texts: I have seen this script many times before, but the best information anyone can give me is that they are archaic and almost no one uses them. Here is a photo of the characters then versus now:


texts: Which came first: いや (the interjection), or 嫌がる and similar words?

texts:
I assume that the interjection いや is cognate with a bunch of other words beginning with iya- such as 嫌がる、卑しい, perhaps via the semantics of 'disagreeable'.
But did the interjection come first and get lexicalised into verbs and adjectives? Or does the interjection derive from the other forms? Which is the earlier form?


texts: Can you help me to translate this speech? 自分を理解してくれる者がいるというのは 心地よいものだよ

texts:
I'm trying to translate this text from a comic. I understood words, but the whole speech is difficult.

自分を理解してくれる者がいるというのは 心地よいものだよ。。。
一人というのは寂しかっただろう？
私もかつては自分を理解する者がいない 孤独に苛まれたよ。

I translated something like:

It's  beautiful to have someone who understand you(rself).
A lone person is a solitary, do you agree?
Once I didn't understand my self too and was tormented by loneliness. (Or tormented myself into loneliness).

First phrase with that "者" and "というのは" was really a problem @.@


texts: Doesn't 助けて follow the usual pitch accent rule?

texts:
助ける itself is ③, so according to the rule 助けて would become ② as 逃れる 休める etc. do.

However, I myself find it extremely unnatural to say たすけて in ② rather than ③, and as I tried it on my iPhone, iOS would read it as ③ (as in 助けてください) or almost flat as in a bare 助けて.

So my questions are:

Why doesn't that rule apply to 助ける? Are there some other examples on such exceptions?
I can also remember hearing it pronounced as ① somewhere. Does that pronunciation exist?


texts:
Been reading a manga where a tsundere character says this line:

  何ですか？事あるごとに私のことを『可愛い』だとか！
      『お姉さんになって』『綺麗だ』『甘えたい』とか！
      『特攻がわかりにくい』とか！

The 2nd line here is a problem for me. Am I right to say the 綺麗 here doesn't act as the adjective to 姉さん? Does it mean "completely, entirely" in this case?


texts: Japanese kanji with different meanings in Chinese

texts: 湯 in Japanese refers to "hot water." In Chinese, it means "soup." How common are kanji with different meanings in Chinese? Also, why do differences occur in the first place? Were the meanings in both languages originally the same and gradually diverged over time?


texts: Using ます-form inside a (compound, conditional) statement

texts:
Japanese grammar books say that ます-form should be used only at the very end of a (compound) statement.  So 〜ないといけません。is a correct sentence ending.
However googling "ませんといけない" finds lots of matches (348,000 vs. 482,000 for correct variant) which seem to be genuine sentences of native speakers, like

  しかしながら明日からの仕事に向けて気持ちを切り替えませんといけないですね。

Is it a wide-spread colloquialism, or is ます-form actually allowed at each sub-statement end in a compound?


texts: Parsing the sentence 書く人物の顔が頭に入っていないと効果はない

texts:
This sentence is from Death Note, specifically on how to use it.

This sentence is written in-universe using English. It states, “This note will not take effect unless the writer has the person’s face in their mind when writing his/her (the victim’s) name.”

I understand that 書く is modifying 人物, which would lead me to believe that 人物 is in reference to the person writing.

However, 人物 being the owner of 顔 would imply that 人物 is the person whose name is being written.

What is going on, grammatically speaking? Is this sentence ambiguous to native speakers? Would it be any more or less ambiguous without the story context of Death Note?


texts:
When I read the following sentence,

  少しでも長生きをという願いをかなえるために、医療は目覚ましい進歩を遂げてきた。

I think there is a missing verb as indicated as follows.

  少しでも長生きを [missing verb] という願いをかなえるために、医療は目覚ましい進歩を遂げてきた。

Why can を be followed by non-verb? What kind of grammar is being applied here?


texts: (伊曾保物語) 鼠と猫の事 comprehension problem "只、人は、愚にして、他人にぬかれたるにしくはなし"

texts:
I am having trouble parsing/understanding/translating a sentence in
the last section of the fable "the mice and the cat" (鼠と猫の事)
from the 仮名草子 伊曾保物語 (Aesop's fables). Here is the paragraph
in question; it's the "moral" of the fable:

其如一度人をこらす人はいつも悪人ぞと人是を疎ず。只人は愚にして他人にぬかれたるにしくはなし。かまひて末のよに人をぬかんと思はじ

(You can read the whole fable online here: p1, p2)

Specifically it is the second sentence I don't understand:

只、人は、愚にして、他人にぬかれたるにしくはなし。

愚か (おろか) usually means something like 馬鹿, i.e. stupid, foolish,
but I think here 愚にして means the same as おろそかにする, i.e. neglect
a thing or slight a person (treat them less well than one should).

ぬか|れ|たる is the 未然形 of 抜く (overtake, outdo) + れ, the 連用形 of
(ら)る + the 連体形 of たり.

Here the 連体形 nominalizes the whole phrase, and たり is like った or
ている in modern Japanese, i.e. it means the completion of an action
or the state resulting from the completion of an action.

(ら)る is similar to (ら)れる in modern japanese. It can express
passive, potential or it can be a honorific polite verb suffix.
Honorific doesn't make sense here I think, and potential is ruled out
by the fact that in literary style Japanese (ら)る only has potential
meaning when followed by a negative (e.g. ず). So only passive makes
sense, in this case 他人 would be the agent.

...にしくはなし is like ...に及ぶものはない in modern Japanese, i.e.
"there is nothing that comes close to ...", "it is best to ..."

The Iwanami edition supplies the note "だまされている方がよいのだ"
("it is better to be tricked") for [the last part of?] the sentence.

So putting this together I could guess at something like:

"Now, rather than slight people [treat them with neglect] it is better
[best] to be outdone [tricked] by others."

i.e. it is better to treat other people well and risk being tricked by
them, that to treat them badly (and lose their trust, like the cat the
fable).

But I am very unsure if this is correct or even makes sense.
Effectively I am treating the sentence as a comparative construction
where 愚にして is the thing being compared with.

What is the correct way to parse/translate this sentence?

FWIW, my translations of the preceding and following sentences are
其如一度人をこらす人はいつも悪人ぞと人是を疎ず。
"When somebody once causes harm to a person as in this case [like the cat in the fable], people will always think he is a villain and shun him."
and
かまひて末のよに人をぬかんと思はじ
"One should never think that one will outdo others in the long run."


texts: English 2nd and 3rd conditional in Japanese

texts:
I have recently been trying to learn how to translate 2nd and 3rd conditional sentences accurately into Japanese, but didn't found a clear, detailed answer. By gathering different bits, it seems that 3rd conditional could be formed as in the following example:

  If I had had money, I would have bought food.
  もし金が有っていたら、食べ物を買っていたでしょう。

Is this sentence correct? Also, if I understood correctly, the use of 〜ていた forms is to emphasize the fact the condition and potential result would have taken place in the past. Would the sentence still have the same meaning if the initial もし was not included?

What about if the result would have been a negative action? Is the following correct?

  If I had eaten, I wouldn't have been hungry.
  食べていたら、お腹が空いていなかったでしょう。

What about the 2nd conditional? How would the following be translated?

  If I had money, I would build a house.

Would the following be correct?

  金が有っていたら、家を買うでしょう。

Finally, would the translations still be correct, but less formal, by replacing the final 〜でしょう by 〜だろう ?

Thanks a lot!


texts:
everyone.

May I know why does different particle is used in the following examples?

  小林さんは私にチョコをくれた。
  友達が私にチョコをくれた。
  姉が娘におもちゃをくれた。

Thanks.


texts: How are the noun 方【へ】 and the particle へ related?

texts:
I looked up the etymology of　古【いにしえ】 on gogen-allguide, and found the following:

  いにしえは、「去る」を意味する動詞「いぬ（往ぬ）」の連用形「イニ」に、過去を示す助動詞「キ」の連体形「シ」がついた「イニシ」が、方向を表す名詞「ヘ（方）」を修飾した「往にし方（いにしへ）」。

This basically says that we take the verb 往ぬ, conjugate it, add the 助動詞 「き」, conjugate again, and finish by adding the noun 方【へ】. This was a bit surprising to me, since I've never seen the noun 方【へ】 myself, and was expecting the particle へ to show up there instead.

This is obviously suggestive of some sort of relationship between the noun 方【へ】 and the particle へ. So - what is the etymological relationship between the noun 方【へ】 and the particle へ?


texts: Difference between "verb(past) + こと + ある" and "verb + ている"

texts:
I always translate ている as "have verb (past participle)" when refering to resultant state.
But that current meaning can also be brought upon by past tense of verb combined together with こと and ある.

彼を殺している(or ある)
彼を殺したことはある

ている here is ofcourse not the progressive one, as some verbs (die, kill, open) do not have it.


texts: I keep coming across this word often 「自己PR」when looking at applications. I'm not sure what the "PR" part means in Japanese, but in English it usually means "public relations". What does this word mean, and what does the "PR" stand for?


texts:
Regarding WTO announcement on the Korean import ban of fish from Fukushima etc:

  ＷＴＯは２３日、「輸入の禁止は差別で、韓国は必要以上に貿易の決まりを厳しくしている」と言いました。
  On the 23rd the WTO said that the import ban is discriminatory and, South Korea are making the trade rules more strict than necessary.

I'm having trouble parsing the part in bold.

する doesn't translate well as 'make' here. The WTO makes the rules, not the Koreans. Can する mean 'interpret' in this context?

On its own I would translate 決まりを厳しくする as 'make the rules strict'. Again if する could mean 'interpret' then I could treat 寂しく adverbially and get 'interpreting the rules strictly' which would make more sense.

Finally, I'm struggling with how to join 必要以上に to all of this. I'm familiar with the construct AにBをする 'make B (into) A', but if I use this I get 'make the rules more than necessary' which is nonsense.

How do I put all these pieces together to make something meaningful?


texts: What is the sound of a rocket going off in Japanese?

texts: when a rocket is launched during a take-off... what sound does it make and how is it written in Japanese?


texts: 負かした俺: who beat whom in this relative clause?

texts:
Context: Riku is a boxer of Baba gym. Tokorozawa is a retired boxer of Baba gym. Ishigami is a retired boxer of an unmentioned gym. Tokorozawa  beat Ishigami in the past. Recently, Tokorozawa asked a favour to Ishigami. Now also Riku is taking advantage of Ishigami's help. When Riku asks Ishigami about the match with Tokorozawa, Ishigami says:

  なんで馬場ジムはどいつもこいつも負かした俺を頼りにしてくんだか…　所沢君に続いて

負かす is a transitive verb, so I think 負かした俺 means "me who beat". From this sentence it looks like it was Ishigami that beat someone from Baba gym. Who is the subject and object of 負かした? Could you explain how this relative clause works?

Could you also confirm that どいつもこいつも is the subject of 頼りにしてく?

Here you can see the original page (Ishigami is the man with the shaven head).

Thank you for your help!


texts: I've been following the Genki textbook up until now and I learnt to use そば to talk about things that are near something else.  I recently bought a JLPT N5 textbook, as it's my intention to try and take it someday, and found the word がわ.  Looking it up, I found it listed as ~side.  Could somebody provide some examples and explain the difference, if any, between them?


texts: How can I express "you make a.../you'd make for a..."?

texts:
Do you know the English expression, "you make a"?

It's pretty simple:

  You make a fine wife.

It might be more correct as

  You'd make for a...

but they're tenses are different then. I could be using it incorrectly, but that's okay.

I saw my friend in a red cloak-like jacket and wanted to say, "you make a cute Red Riding Hood" or "you'd make a cute Red Riding Hood", but got hung up after かわいい赤ずきんに. I was thinking なられる。 But it didn't feel like what I wanted to say.

Is there a similar expression to what I was thinking?


texts: Plain verbs that end with ぬ other than 死ぬ

texts: Are there any other verbs than 死ぬ whose plain forms end with ぬ? Why are they so rare? Is it because the verb 死ぬ itself has special etymology why it ended up having the ぬ ending?


texts: Saying 「おかわり」 when requesting second helping: what is being exchanged?

texts: I am aware that the phrase 「おかわり」 that is used when asking for second helping (of meals especially) is an idiomatic expression, so its usage is understood as it is. But, I'm curious about the origin of this phrase because it seems to be derived from 替わる / 代わる(P) / 換わる, which means "to be exchanged/switched". How did this phrase come into the usage? Is it the case that in the past when people asked for second helping, something was exchanged (bowl, chopsticks etc)?


texts:
Can somebody please explain what "beta" means in the following sentence:

  Tsugi no mokutekichi wa beta da keredo, Shikago.


texts:
I am struggling in understanding how to use ふと
ふと: suddenly, unexpectedly, unintentionally
Based on the brief explanation on this post,
ふと is used to express something unimportant that you don't think about, happens while you are unaware of it and thus it becomes unexpected.
This is an example with verbs that are "volitional"

その考えがふと思い浮かんだ That idea has crossed my mind unintentionally (it came to my mind without thinking about it)
ふと足を止めた。Suddenly, my feet stopped. (my feet stopped without thinking)

These are examples with verbs that are "non-volitonal"

ふと灯りが消える The lights suddenly turned off. (the lights turned off, I was unaware that it turned off)

Keeping this in mind, I tried making my own sentences but I don't understand why these are unnatural when I asked a native speaker.

ふとくしゃみをした I suddenly sneezed.
突然ゴキブリが現れてふと叫んだ。A cockroach suddenly appeared and I screamed unintentionally.

Why are these sentences unnatural, and is there an explanation of the logic behind what verbs can be used with ふと?


texts: after saying "ありがとう" to someone, they can't renege without hard feelings?

texts:
In the thread titled usage cases for 「ありがたい」? many very good answers were given. However, one issue that was not addressed was (when speaking formally) whether ありがたい brings an end to the thought. What I mean is that

"ありがとう" might mean "thank you very much. and whatever i am thanking you for is a done deal. reneging is not acceptable."
"ありがたい" seems more like "i fully expect you to do what i am thankful for. but, stuff happens and you can renege without any hard feelings."

So, that is why in the thread titled how do you politely and gratefully reply to an invitation to be published, I would say:

"ご掲載になってくださって、ありがたい です。これからも、よろしくお願いします"
rather than
"ご掲載になってくださって、ありがとう ございます。これからも、よろしくお願いします。"

The usage cases for 「ありがたい」 thread already answers every question I have about 「ありがたい」。 But, with regard to the very specific usage case given in this thread, is that difference between ありがたい and ありがとう there?


texts: Can you tell me the difference between に似る and と似る?

texts:
So basically I read something saying the difference between に似る and と似る is that と marks one side of a mutual relationship and に only shows the standard of comparison, but I have no idea what that means so can someone help? Here are the example sentences it came with:

  その父と息子は似ている。
  その子はお父さんと似ている。
  その子はお父さんに似ている。
  その父は息子と似ている。
  xその父は息子に似ている。

Apparently the only one wrong is the last one and I'm super confused as to why.


texts: What sort of intonation should I have when using だろう/でしょう?

texts: Pretty straightforward question. When using だろう or でしょう as a way to express unassertiveness on my sentence (i.e., "it seems", "it looks like"), what intonation should I use? Does it follow a pattern similar to a question (か) or a affirmation (だ)?


texts: Logical/Historical evolution of てしょうがない・てしかたがない・てならない to mean て堪らない

texts:
Why do てしょうがない・てしかたがない・てならない mean て堪らない?
I read this thread:
Why does 「でならない」 not mean “does not become”?
and still wonder what is the logic behind て堪らない='can't help but/extremely' meaning.


texts:
I have been looking for a comprehensive chart for interrogative words and their altered forms. But unfortunately I haven't been able to find one yet. So I thought maybe someone may have already come across one here, since there are a lot of people online.
I'm not sure if I see the whole picture clearly when it comes to interrogative words, mainly if we use their altered forms. Such as

何 - what...?
何か - something
何も - nothing
何でも - anything/everything
だれ - who...?
だれか - somebody
だれも - nobody  だれでも - anybody/everybody

And in the case of だれでも, we can even say だれにでも, right? Which means "not to/for anybody" or "to/for everybody".
In addition, if I remember correctly if I use negative verb form with だれも, it means nobody; while if I have a positive verb form, だれも carries the meaning 'everybody'. Then if I say だれにも, its meaning can also differ according to that. Is it right or I am just confused?
So this topic seems to be very diversified. If somebody has a comprehensive chart for these words, I would be very grateful if I could see it, since there are so many interrogative words.


texts: What is the difference between 言うな！ and 言ってんじゃねぇぞ?

texts:
1) What is the difference between 言うな！ and  言ってんじゃねぇぞ!, in other words can we use them interchangeably at all times?

2) which is ruder?


texts:
今日、この歌を聞きました。
最初の歌詞はこれです：

アイデンティティがない　生まれない　らららら

でも意味が分かりません。英訳するができない。
「(If you) have no identity, (you) haven't been born」と思いますが、確かめたいです。
日本語で説明していい。


texts:
Good day, I've just noticed that the kanji 誤, while displayed almost everywhere that way, when pasted in my Anki deck, suddenly changes into (see picture below)
I can't get it to display anywhere else like that, when displayed on the card itself during review it's also displayed like 誤. And the sites which recognize kanji by writing strokes don't seem to know the second writing. Can someone shed some light why Windows IME decides to insert a different writing for this particular case.