texts: Why is kazoku/family used twice in this sentence?

texts:
The exercise was to translate: "we are 6 in my family"
The answer given is: "watashi no kazoku wa roku-nin kazoku desu"

I can understand the role of all words except for the second occurrence of kazoku. As far as I can tell the sentence is complete without it..
"Watashi no kazoku" = "my family"
"Wa roku-nin" = "has 6 people"

Perhaps I am  misunderstanding the way the nin counter is used?

(If anyone uses Japanese characters in the reply... I can only read hirigana)


texts: what are the differences between いつも、度でも、何でも

texts:
I googled them, they share the very similar meaning and it confused me

いつも always/ forever

度でも endless times/ forever

何でも how many times/ many times, you can not only use in question, but
also non question sentence to express many times


texts:
What does ビアホール仕立ての黒 on Asahi Dry Black means?
Specifically 仕立て(sewing?) and ビアホール(via hole?). I tried searching it on japanese web, but it's kinda assumed as common knowledge and never mentioned besides sites about beers.


texts: Is it appropriate to use irasshaimase when welcoming someone to a private office?

texts: I want to say welcome to people when they enter my private office. I am not in a store or selling anything. I have only heard this term used in large common public areas. There may be a more appropriate term. Thank you.


texts: The meaning (and reading) of 間 in context of people, 境 and 混, does it mean 'getting into a group or clique'?

texts:
I'm slowly, very very slowly working through this story here while I study kanji (using kanjidamage) and with basic Japanese grammar skills, very much a beginner.

間 seems to be leaning toward 'period of time'

However, this section suggest more like "intruding into a group" or something, like ones little brother trying to slowly make himself a part of you and your friends group of makebelieve super sentai band.

  ある日を境に俺とヴィンスの間に混ざるようになったエミーは、木の枝を見つけてきては、勝ち気な青い目を長い金髪の間に覗かせながら、俺たちの間に入ってきた。

Is that true? Or is it still more like a period of time? Like a process or something?
Also, how is it read? "Ma"? A furigana addon I downloaded puts "ma" over the 間, as does Google translate.


texts: Meaning of の in 「現金の受け取り役」

texts:
As mentioned, what is the actual meaning of の in 現金の受け取り役? I found the expression in a recent news article and have been wondering about its meaning.

The full sentence is

  少年は現金の受け取り役とみられ、「指示に従い、受け取りにいったのは事実です」と供述しているという。


texts: What are the differences between 技術 and 技能?


texts: Unvoiced vowels in katakana: special case?

texts:
When foreign words or proper names are used in Japanese, some modifications are necessary, in particular a lot of vowels are introduced. E.g. 'plastic' (two syllables) becomes プラスチック (five). In this case, it is not that the three /u/ will turn out to be unvoiced: this vowel was chosen precisely to yield a pronunciation not too different from 'plastic' -- it is unvoiced by design so to speak.

So are there either formal rules or a tendency to silence these vowels to be as close as possible to the original? Or is there no special status?


texts: Meaning of ぐらいでいいのでは in 「三回ぐらい噛んで飲み込めるぐらいでいいのでは？」

texts:
Can you tell me what ぐらいでいいのでは means?
Also, I don't understand why potential form of the verb is used in this sentence
Can you help me to translate this sentence?

Context: The questioner asked how to eat "elegantly" while you talk to someone, and the responder wrote:

  口に運ぶ量を少なめにするといいと思いますよ。三回ぐらい噛んで飲み込めるぐらいでいいのでは？


texts: How do you use ～たりする with ～たい to say things that you want to do?

texts:
I recently learned how to use ～たい to say things that I want to do; for example:

えいが　を　みたい　です。
I want to see a movie.

And I learned how to use ～たりする to say examples of things that I did, do, or will do:

きのう、にほんご　を　べんきょう　したり、本　を　よんだり　しました。
Yesterday, I did things like study Japanese, read a book, etc.

I am wondering how I would use these two constructions in order to say something like "I want to do things like watch a movie, study Japanese, read a book, etc." Is it possible to combine ～たい and ～たりする to make such a sentence, and if so, how?


texts: Is the inkan(印鑑) the device that is used to make the hanko(判子)?

texts: I researched the terms on jisho.org and found two words, 印鑑 and 判子, used to mean 'seal'. I want to clarify my understanding because I am assuming that an 印鑑 is used to make the 判子. What is the name of the device used to imprint the seal and what is the impression called?


texts: Difference among evening words 夕方, 夕べ, 晩, 夕?

texts:
I've found several words in the book, which means evening. What's the difference among them?

I've found only this information:

夕 - 5pm to 7pm
晩 - 7pm to 10pm
夜 - 10pm onwards (night, late evening)

But not sure, is it true and what's the difference among 夕方 and 夕べ and the others?


texts: Why does 「頭にきた」signify being mad at something?

texts:
Is there any source or explanation for the phrase「頭にきた」and why it means to be angry?

For example:

  彼の言ったこととその言い方にはイライラして頭にきた。

Why does "what he said and the way he said it came to my head" mean that I should be annoyed or irritated? Why is 「頭」important and not something else? At first glance, I thought that the phrase was similar to "気づく", but it is not.


texts: When is 着ける used in context of clothes? (eg in comparison to 着る, する、履く)

texts:
I recently read that:

  着る（きる）is used for the wearing clothes for either the upper half of the body (eg 上着）or the whole body in general.

  履く（はく）is used for bottom half (eg shoes, socks, trousers).

  する　is used for accessories (watch, scarf etc)

Is there are a specific/common use for 着ける (つける） or the type of clothes/accessories that take this verb?


texts: Grammatical name of the form used before -て, -たり, -た, -たら?

texts:
I'm looking for the Japanese name of the specific verbal form used before -て, -たり, -た, -たら:

verb      → 連用形 ren.yōkei → XXXX    →   + -て, -たり, -た, -たら
書く      → 書き             →  書い   →   書いて, 書いたり, 書いた, 書いたら

I assume this verbal form is derived from the 連用形{れんようけい}, with specific phonetic modifications for godan verbs. (see Shimamori Reiko, Grammaire japonaise systématique.1.48 (my translation): "-て, -たり, -た, -たら are preceded by the connective base of the verb, [...] yodan verbs [...] being deeply modified [by the suffix]")

So, what's the name standing for "XXXX"? Something like "-t" form?


texts:
I understand what the verb まつ (wait) means fairly clearly but my book has no example of いる in a sentence and its definition seems to be similar except it uses が and に as  particles for some reason?

Could anyone give me any example of using いる and why it needs が and に instead of を and は.


texts:
I was having some doubts about the usage of のに with verb of motion. The book I'm using, "a dictionary of basic japanese grammar", says that in case of verb of motion the のに form contrasts with the form verb in 連用形 plus a verb of motion. Thus, the book states that both these two sentences are fine, but the second one implies that the speaker made a lot out of the entire process or that it was not worth it.

1)映画を見に銀座へ行った。
2)映画を見るのに銀座へ行った。

However, to me the second sentence does not make much sense and it seems rather unnatural. I would have made it: 映画を見るには銀座へ行った。


texts: Differentiate between the tenses before つもり

texts:
「どうかね、艦長。戦況は」
そして、艦長席に腰掛けていたアーネスト・ブレナン大将相当官に声を掛ける。ブレナンは小さく息を吐きながら返してきた。
「正直なところ、ここまで粘るとは思っていませんでした。相手を舐めていたつもりはありませんが、まさかここまで兵力を削られるとは。拍手の一つでも贈りたいくらいの奮戦振りですな」
What would be the difference between 舐めていたつもりはありませんが, 舐めているつもりはありませんが, 舐めたつもりはありませんが? All three seem to be valid expressions according to grammar.
I know “dictionary form of a verb+つもり” simply means “intend to do”(意志), while た/ていた/ている+つもり expresses thought (信念). So generally, when it comes to the latter case, how do we differentiate between the three tenses (た/ていた/ている) before つもり? Usually I have no problem differentiating between them when they are used at the end of sentences.


texts:
I was discussing with a friend, who asked me if 忍者 is also used for women, or if くノ一 is used/preferred. I know 者 means "person", so it seems to be neutral; and Weblio defines the word using 者, which again seems to suggest it can be used for women; but I noticed in Basilisk female characters are called 女忍者.

I wasn't able to find something definite about this: can 忍者 be used for women, or does it sound strange/wrong?

Edit: Another friend of mine said that 忍び is used for men, but weblio doesn't say anithing about that, and it being an abbreviation for 忍びの者 it does seem neutral; not sure if it can also be used for women.


texts: What's きます in 持ってきます?

texts:
What does きます mean here? Also I'd like a translation for this sentence.

女の子達は両親に朝御飯を持ってきます。


texts:
ことある - I have
For example:

食べたことある - I've eaten it before

So what does 食べたことあった mean?


texts:
人や荷物の移送を商売とする馬車輸送がそこかしこで見受けられるようになっている。

I don't understand what とする does in this sentence. Can someone explain it to me?

Thanks!


texts: Body parts confusion: 頭{あたま} vs 首{くび}, 手{て} vs 腕{うで}

texts:
What are the lexical differences between these words?

I always thought it works like this:

手{て} — arm/hand — arm in general, from fingers to shoulder.

腕{うで} — wrist — part of arm that connects hand to forearm, e.g. 腕時計{うでどけい}

However in Hamada Mariko's "Love Song" there are the following lyrics:

  このまま死{し}んでしまいたい、あなたの腕{うで}の中{なか}で。

頭{あたま} — head — part of body formed by skull and everything inside and attached to it: brain, jaws, eyes, ears, nose, scalp.

首{くび} — neck — part of body that connects head to trunk.

However, character Celty from anime series "Durarara!" who has no head says:

  首{くび}をなくした、首{くび}を探{さが}す。

It sounds confusing because however I look at her she has a neck but nothing above it:


texts: Meaning of 男性がときどき見せる[これって脈アリサイン]

texts:
In the below sentence I translated the first part as "Men sometimes display" but cannot figure out the meaning of [これって脈アリサイン].

  男性{だんせい}がときどき見{み}せる[これって脈{みゃく}アリサイン]


texts: What 水を飲ませた方がいいんじゃないか means?

texts:
水を飲ませた方がいいんじゃないか I don't understand what mean 方 with the verb 飲む in this sentence and the ending part いいんじゃないか.
I pick this phase on this video https://youtu.be/f_PHRfbB3Po?t=109
If anyone can answer me I would appreciate it.


texts: Understanding でございます in「ただ今ご紹介いただいた田中でございます」

texts:
I was looking up ございます in デジタル大辞泉. I found an odd sentence example

（２）（補助動詞）補助動詞「ある」の意の丁寧語。「すでにお願いして―・す」「いかがお過ごしで―・しょうか」「ただ今ご紹介いただいた田中で―・す」「おめでとう―・す」「いっそ死にとう―・す」

I'm puzzled why でございます is used in「ただ今ご紹介いただいた田中でございます」. Since the speaker is referring to 田中, not himself, he should use 尊敬語. Thus, he should use でいらっしゃいます, not でございます. でございます is used for inanimate objects, right?
Also, I wonder who is doing 紹介 in this sentence? 田中?


texts: How to say "even" for the last item in an enumeration?

texts:
The context I want to say is as follows.

  People who always complain about their jobs, working partners, and even the company while still taking the salary look like ones who spit into their own well from which they drink everyday.

Here the word even is only attached to the last item of the enumeration

jobs, working partners, company

I am afraid my translation below does not convey the original meaning. Please kindly correct me!

  給料をまだ取りながら、仕事、働くパートナー、会社にも文句を言う人は、毎日水を取って、飲む自分の井戸に唾を吐く人のようだ。

Note: Any constructive advice or suggestion is always welcome!


texts: How to thank a group of co-workers for their hospitality?

texts:
The company I work for has an office in Japan, and they've hosted me for a couple of weeks. When that time comes to an end I'd like to thank them for hosting me and making me feel welcomed. What would be an appropriate way to do this?

お-疲れ-様 is one answer I've seen, but it I'm not sure: it seems to be used for small things and I don't want to offend by giving the impression that I thought their work was minor.

edit: I saw that other question about thanking for hospitality but asked anyway to ensure I found something appropriate for a business context. If that question's answer is appropriate, then this question is a duplicate.


texts:
Are there Japanese terms for logical fallacies, or are the English phrases used when they are discussed? If you're wondering what I mean by "logical fallacies," I mean anything on this list, courtesy of Wikipedia. How would we discuss things like "begging the question" or a "straw man" fallacy? Japan might not have the history of philosophy that Europe does, but at least things at this level you could encounter in everyday speech--how would I point it out to someone in Japanese?

EDIT: Since my original question was somewhat ambiguous, I'll clarify: I'm looking for terms for the individual fallacies themselves, not the term one would use to describe the category. For example, I looked it up, and there is a specific term for "confirmation bias" (確証{かくしょう}バイアス), but I was unable to find many others I searched for, such as "onus probandi/burden of proof," or "post hoc (ergo propter hoc)." What I want to know is if there are any accepted words in Japanese that correspond, even loosely, to these fallacies, and if not, how they could be otherwise represented.


texts:
The subject and predicate are main parts of a sentence. A subject can be omitted and easily deduced from the context, but when a predicate is omitted it is quite a challenge (at least for a foreign language learner) to guess what it should be. In Japanese I often encounter sentences without a predicate, which can be probably qualified as "phrases", but I always have a feeling that a predicate is implied but have difficulty to guess. A typical example from a female targeted website:
MERY [メリー]｜女の子の毎日をかわいく。
In the above phrase 毎日 is apparently and object and かわいく must be an adverbial modifier, but what is the predicate? する? なる? Something else?
Is there a general guidance how to guess an implied predicate in scenarios like this?


texts:
Today I saw this sentence from this page:

  その部長は、よく長時間働かせる。

After chopping the sentence up, I found out that it means something around the lines of:

  That manager makes people work for very long periods of time.

But I could not understand why よく is there. So I scrolled down to look at the English translation, but that said nothing about why よく is here.

From my knowledge, よく is the adverb form of 良い (いい), which means "good".

But it does not make sense to use "well" or anything like that to describe the action of making people work for a long time! Who wants to work for long hours! How is it "good"?

Why exactly is よく used here? Is it something related to the causative form?


texts:
According to this answer there are two types of 〜ない adjectives, those that contain 無い (like 情けない, つまらない also falls here) and those that derive from archaic なう verb (like 危ない).  For the first 無い type, how natural is it to negate such an adjective?

Google finds relatively few instances of, say, つまらなくない, some of which a not real negations but questions like "boring, isn't it?".  However where are also cases like つまらなくない話 and I see how it might mean "not boring, but still less than interesting".  However I can't quite comprehend what kind of person 情けなくない男 would be.  In most (all?) cases there's an antonym to 〜ない adjective, so the utility of negation is questionable.

So, is negation of such 〜ない adjectives considered natural, or do you normally avoid it?


texts: Exact definition of 針千本 in the 指切り idiom

texts:
I'm trying to learn more about idioms and expressions, and I came across this (which is apparently said when making a [pinky] promise):

  指切拳万{ゆびきりげんまん}、嘘ついたら針千本{はりせんぼん}呑ます

Casting the first part aside, which is technically already a 四字熟語 for pinky promise; the second part of "針千本呑ます" has gotten me confused. Looking up the definition of the phrase on Weblio returns "swallow a thousand needles" for that section, however when I searched Jisho for "針千本" specifically, the word was defined as "porcupinefish".

I understand that 呑む signifies an action of precisely drinking or swallowing, in which case the needles would make more sense; but I can't see how the verb 呑む can't be used in this sense in a somewhat symbolic manner — not exactly having to "drink" the creature.

Which definition is the phrase exactly pointing towards? And more importantly, is there a reason behind it? Or is it just an unexpected coincidence? Although neither ingesting needles nor eating porcupinefish would be an enjoyable experience.


texts: Is this sentence 私の家族の一人は痩せて、かわいい the correct translation of

texts:
Is the sentence

  私の家族の一人は痩せて、かわいい

a correct translation of

  One of my family members is thin and cute

?


texts: Are there general rules on when to use kanji vs. kana?

texts:
This post is inspired by Tokyo Nagoya's comment in できる vs ~えます form for “can”, “able to” asking why everyone was writing 出来る in kanji in their responses.

As I mentioned in my reply to his comment, I know my personal habit is to use kanji wherever I can ― both to reinforce what I know and to remind myself of context sometimes (heck, I even find myself annotating some texts to add kanji now and then...).  That said, I'm aware that there are some points at which it becomes ridiculous.  Nobody uses the kanji for パン, for example, and [天麩羅]{てんぷら} is usually rendered in [交]{ま}ぜ[書]{が}き.  I also find myself in the minority on some usages, such as [出来]{でき}る and [下]{くだ}さい.

Are there any set rules or style guides determining when it's appropriate to use kanji vs. kana?


texts: grammar of 前の誕生日プレゼントにもらった彼女の絵

texts:
彼女は小学３年生の時に日本に引っ越してきて、それがたまたま私達のクラスだった。

  私達と出会うまで楽器の経験がなかったのが、信じられないほどヴィオラを巧みに操っている。

  しかも、父が有名な画家で絵をたしなむ。

  この前の誕生日プレゼントにもらった彼女の絵は、とても素晴らしくて宝物になった。

i'm not sure if ...彼女の絵 is saying "her drawing that she got as a birthday present (from her father)" or "the drawing she drew that her father got as a birthday present".

Given how the first part of this is extolling her brilliance as a musician it would only be fitting to also suggest her mastery of other arts, but the しかも start of the 3rd sentence makes it hard to absolutely assume that.

Since に marks the source of something is received from but is marking 前の誕生日プレゼント in this case, i find it awkward to rearrange this relative clause.

the ambiguity of 父が有名な画家で絵をたしなむ make it harder to decifer.

if someone is a "有名な画家", can they be someone only "has a taste for painting"?

thanks


texts: What is the significance of a large く character in literary texts?

texts:
I am currently reading an early story by Tanizaki Junichiro in Japanese. I have come across both the hiragana く　and ぐ written twice the size they usually are, taking up the same amount of space on the page as two characters. Is there any significance in this?

These include words such as ひいくと and いろくの注文, where the character in bold is written at twice the height as normal.

Any help would be most appreciated (^-^)


texts: Why are Japanese translated subtitles non-conversational?

texts:
I guess this question brushes along the lines of why "real Japanese" can't be learnt from drama/アニメ. I was watching the Dark Knight (2008) with Japanese subtitles and I noticed that the translations sounded like they were sentences written only used in a book/literature and not actual conversational Japanese. For example, there's a scene with the Joker in which he says

  Joker: You see, in their last moments, people show you who they really
  are.

To which it was translated as

  Joker: あれだな、末期においてな、本性を 晒け出すもんだ。

After consulting with my Japanese friends about how you would translate this to conversational Japanese, it just got me wondering, why are movie translations in Japanese done like this? I.e is it just for effect? Of course it depends on the era/setting but this is a modern film. What would be the difference/effect if conversational Japanese was used instead? i.e

  Joker: 本性っていうのは最期に晒け出すもんだ。

Thanks


texts: Can verbs simutaniously use the volitional form and negative form?

texts:
I came across the following sentence in a book:

  身体を起こし、手足がこれといった支障もなく動くのを確かめた。

and searched on Jisho.org for 障もなく. It sent me to https://jisho.org/search/障む, saying that "障もなく is the negative form" of 障む。

However, I know that for that to be correct, it would have to be まなくて, not what is written in the book. Then I remembered that the も could be from the volitional form; and looked through my Genki 2 textbook, but failed to find the conjugation for negative volitional phrases, which means that 障もなく is either not volitional, not negative, or I'm leaping down another dead-end rabbit hole again via wrong analysis of what the text means.


texts: Found two example translations, one is "there is no alternative", the other is  "sorry, it was awful". What is the scope of situations where it can be used? Is there a way to translate its nuance into English?


texts: What does フェイスアップからよろしく！ 俺もあがって今日は寝るわー mean?

texts:
「まあまあ、まだ習うことはいっぱいあるよー！ じゃあ古倉さん、フェイスアップからよろしく！ 俺もあがって今日は寝るわー」

It's a scene taking place in a konbini. I know what is フェイスアップ because I looked it up(and all the other words) but I don't understand much the rest of the sentence.

EDIT:フェイスアップ means rearranging the shelves when the articles at the front are sold to make it look good.

I don't see what I can do for the rest of the sentence except saying some nonsense based on the literal translation of the words?

  Because フェイスアップ, do well! Me too I go up today I will sleep.


texts:
I want to write "Happy anniversary for my beloved grandmother" in Japanese, colloquially. But, I don't know if I need to write

  私の最愛の祖母のために幸せな記念日

or

  私の最愛の祖母のための幸せな記念日

What the difference between ために and ための? Are both phrases correct?


texts:
I know that 癖 means "habit", most likely a bad one, for example the habit to bite nails:

  爪を噛｛か｝む癖のある人

But what I am wondering about is whether 癖がある by itself also necessarily has a bad meaning or connotation (when said about people): my dictionary gives a translation "quirky", which I would say is more of a positive thing. But in Japanese I find descriptions like 性格がきつい, which to me again is somewhat ambiguous (is it regarded positive or negative, 50/50 etc.).

Does this expression 癖のある～ always carry a somewhat negative tone, or would the meaning tend more towards the English "quirky"? Thanks in advance.


texts:
On the surface, many Japanese-English dictionaries define both する and やる as "to do", with little extra context.  Offhand, I know the following:

やる and する are not interchangeable when it comes to する verbs (e.g. × 死亡やる)
やる also has a number of additional senses along the lines of "to give", especially where the recipient is an inferior

Setting aside the second point for now, what's the 使い分け for the two words in the context of "to do"?


texts: Trying to understand the grammar behind a sentence

texts:
I've been learning Japanese for a while now but I just can't break down how the first part of this sentence is related to the second:

ここT大医学部に比べれば遥かにランクが落ちるとはいえ、僕もまた歴とした医大生であり、奇しくも脳神経外科学を専攻している。

As some of you can tell (I suppose), it's from Saya no Uta ; the part I don't get is ここT大医学部に比べれば遥かにランクが落ちるとはいえ, a comparison and then he talks about the fact that he's majoring in neurological surgery ? I don't get the relation between those two.


texts: What is the difference between に and で with 震える?

texts:
For example:

寒さに震える and 寒さで震える

恐怖に震える and 恐怖で震える

It seems like they both mean the same thing?


texts: Relative clause vs. の to "categorize" a noun

texts:
According to my low level of Japanese, I know two ways to "categorize" a noun with an another noun + adjective:

髪が長い男の人が少しいる。
長い髪の男の人が少しいる。

Are these two sentences grammatically correct? Are they natural? What is the difference?


texts:
So I was looking at conjugations and I saw that the potential form of 切る【きる】 is 切れる【きれる】. However, 切れる【きれる】 is also an intransitive verb. There are others e.g.

休む【やすむ】＞休める【やすめる】
行く【いく】＞行ける【いける】

So, what's the difference?


texts: Questions about 僕の時計が「7時だよ。おはよう。おきろ」と、起こしてくれるのだが、無意識に止めて、また寝てしまう

texts:
The sentence in question is from the text in exercise 8, line 3-5 https://www.docdroid.net/RgiQk0x/img-20170517-0001-new.pdf.html

僕の時計が「7時だよ。おはよう。おきろ」と、起こしてくれるのだが、無意識に止めて、また寝てしまう。

First, the と in bold. First I thought it is related to the quotation, but in context of the whole text this clearly has to be a conditional clause.
so the と言う was omitted completely here I guess?

Second, I feel a bit uncertain about the subject of 起こしてくれる in bold.
I guess it is the alarm clock? It is a transitive verb according to the dictionary, and there’s nothing that would make it intransitive here (at least not to my knowledge).
And if I understand the concept of て-form + もらう、くれる etc. correctly, then it wouldn’t make sense that the narrator here „gives waking up to himself“.
There’s also some uncertainty about the tense.
起こしてくれるのだが
should be in the past related to
無意識に止めて、また寝てしまう
But there is no verbal form indicating a past tense.
On the other hand, it works just fine to say it in present tense.
I just wanted to mention it because it feels a bit off to me, so maybe there’s more to this than I see right now.

So, I would translate the sentence like this:
“When my clock says ‘it’s seven o clock. Good morning. Rise and shine!’, even though it wakes me up, I unconsciously turn it off and unfortunately go to sleep again.”


texts:
The correct stroke order of 凹 is apparently:

Is there any reason for this order? Why, for example, would one not write the vertical | stroke to the bottom right directly after the 3rd stroke, effectively reducing the stroke count to 4?

Same question for 凸, the correct stroke order seems to be one of these:

(left: 新漢語林【しんかんごりん】, right: 新選漢和辞典【しんせんかんわじてん】)

So how did people come up with these stroke orders?


texts: 明日: あす & あした; Is there a difference in meaning and when each is used?

texts:
Is there a difference between these two words for "tomorrow" and when each is used? (and is it just coincidence that あした sounds like the past tense of あす?)

We tend to be taught あした and then discover あす when we listen to the programs like the weather forecast. I've never seen an explanation. My dictionary cross references them to each other.


texts: Why だからよ is considered "girly talk" and だからね is not?

texts:
So I was talking to a friend when he told me, as the title says, that:

だからよ is "girly talk" but だからね is correct

for instance:

昨日は楽しい、お酒を飲んだからね (according to him, totally ok and natural)
昨日は楽しい、お酒を飲んだからよ (according to him, girly talk) it should in fact be:
昨日は楽しい、お酒を飲んだからだよ

It's weird for me because, in everything else I studied so far, both this particles seem to respect the same grammar rules (though I know this is not really a grammar point but a "pattern" in the spoke language)
Is it correct? Is this the only case where these partciles behave differently


texts: Is this も of concession? いきなり言われても分からない！

texts:
I understand that the meaning is loosely something along the lines of "Asking me so suddenly... I don't know!".
But I want to understand the function of も here.
I thought for a time that it is concession e.g.

食べてもいいよ,

先生でもたまに勉強する、

高くても買う！

But in this case it doesn't make sense.
Something was asked a question he doesn't know the answer to or doesn't understand, the more time you give him, the probability that he won't know or understand is lowered, thus the highest probability of him not knowing is you ask him いきなり.
But if we understand the も to be concession then it translates as: "Even if you ask me out of the blue, I do not know/understand!".
But asking out of the blue is harder than giving him 4 hours to think about it.
So I think that "Even if you gave me 4 hours to think about it, I wouldn't have known!" makes more sense for a concession than out of the blue.

So given that line of thought, which function does も serve here? Is it も of emphasizing? Like 三時間も待ってたよ！
Or is it's use as an emphasizer is limited to emphasizing quantities?

Any help is greatly appreciated! Thanks!


texts: why this sentence has this grammatical structure? 話し手も相手も共通に知っている場合

texts:
The phrase "話し手も相手も共通に知っている場合" was translated in this board as "When both the speaker and listener know the subject"

I dont understand 2 things about this sentence. What's the use of ni in this phrase. It doesnt seem to match with any of the uses of "ni" I know. Isnt 話し手も相手も共通 the topic of the sentence and should be marked with "は". And why "the subject" isnt before the 知っている verb and it isnt marked with を ?


texts: Equivalent of saying Bruh, man, dude, etc. in Japanese?

texts:
In English a lot of people informally call their friends these terms in conversations.

Like "Dude, what are you doing?"

"Bro, what's up!"

My question is how do you informally speak to friends in Japanese?

Like, how do close friends greet each other?
Is there a word like dude or bro, used to informally refer to other people?


texts: The correct English translation for ～ことがある

texts:
アメリカへ行ったことがある。(lit: I have been to America.)

Which is the correct other translation?

A: There is a time when I went to America.

B: There was a time when I went to America.

Bonus question: Is it possible to say アメリカへ行ったことがあった or アメリカへ行ったことがなかった ?


texts: 先生がおっしゃるように、言葉は毎日勉強しなければ上手にならないと思います。

texts:
Is my interpretation of this sentence from the Tobira textbook accurate?

先生がおっしゃるように、言葉は毎日勉強しなければ上手にならないと思います。

I'm guessing that it means that I think that I won't improve unless I study every day like sensei says? Or could it mean that sensei thinks that I won't improve unless I study every day like he says?  Or is it something totally different?

I'm not really sure.


texts:
A: 嬢ちゃん、茶ぁおかわりくんな！

B: はい、少々お待ちください！

It's probably an informal way to say "please" or something based on the context, but I can't find anything to confirm that. Only that くんな can be a shorter and more masculine way to say 来るな, but I don't see how that makes sense here...


texts: Meaning of 「人って」in the following sentence

texts:
I have trouble grasping the following sentence:

  しんどすぎて本当に頭が痛くなると人って吐くんだって思った

It's said by someone explaining his condition and how it's been getting worse lately (i.e. vomiting).

Is「と」in the middle a form of conditional ("I thought that if a person is stressed and their head starts to hurt, they vomit")?
If so, why is「人って」thrown in the middle? Shouldn't it be something like 「人ってしんどすぎて本当に頭が痛くなると吐くんだって思った」?


texts:
When reading Japanese financial news, I found that different units were used for different stock indexes. For example, ドル／セント was used for Dow Jones Industrial Average, while ポイント was used for NASDAQ Composite. (Emphasis mine)

結局、ダウ工業株30種平均の終値は、前の日より、161ドル60セント高い、2万8,653ドル87セントと続伸し[...]
一方、ハイテク株主体のナスダック総合指数は反発し、70.29ポイント上がって、1万1,695.63と[...]

Why are different units used to describe the different indexes? Why is Dow described in dollar, and NASDAQ in point?
This is different from English's terminology, where point was used for Dow.
My initial guess is that the weighing method has something to do with the units used. Dow is price-weighed where NASDAQ is market cap-weighed. But I could not work out how this leads to different units being used.


texts:
Here is a page from a classic manga ドクタースランプ: http://i.imgur.com/9UGI9kI.png In this chapter the professor shows Arale a camera than can look into the future.

In the bottom frame Arale says to him that this reminds her of ドラエモン, to which he replies 「あれはマンガ！」, and then the narrator says 「あんたもマンガだ！！」. What does the last phrase mean exactly? Is it a shortening of "you're in a manga too!", or does マンガ here mean "a manga character" (again in a shortened version perhaps?), or what? Is it just like how in English you can call a cartoon character a cartoon? (at least I think you can)


texts: Why is kiru represented as kiri in おじいさん が 山 へ 木 を きり に いけば

texts:
I can't fathom why the verb kiru is in the masu form without the masu attached in this sentence:

  おじいさん が 山{やま} へ 木{き} を きり に いけば

What is the purpose?


texts: Isn't there something wrong in this sentence? Does 対抗できずに create semantic conflict?

texts:
I´m reading this article and the sentence below looks weird to me. I copied it as it is in this article:

  拒否しようと決心した気持ちに対抗できずに、言われるままに行動してしまう主人公の姿は、現代人の中にも根強く生きていると感じる。

There are some parts which I struggle with.

  拒否しようと決心した気持ちに対抗できずに

I have trouble understanding the meanings of と and 対抗できずに.
This seems illogical to me.
What do you think about it?


texts: The word 弓形 has three different readings which are きゅうけい, ゆみがた, and ゆみなり.  Unfortunately, there does not seem to be much distinction between these three readings. Is this simply a case wherein all readings are acceptable or is one reading more common than the others?


texts:
出る literally means to leave or to go out.

In a conversation I heard it being used in "ちょっと手が離さないから、出てくれる" a request to check the door after the bell rang. Without knowing the context I would interpret this as "can you get out for me?", but this is clearly not the case.

Does 出る have other meanings / does the meaning of 出る change when used in an expression?


texts: This PSA was written in the past tense. When is it correct to do this?

texts:
While riding a train, I read a public service announcement that said:

  たばこを持つ手は、子供の顔の高さだった。

Underneath, the English translation said:

  A lit cigarette is carried at the height of a child's face.

The Japanese is in the past tense while the English is in the present tense. As a native English speaker, I cannot easily see why the Japanese was written in the past tense.

In what situations is Japanese written in the past tense when it would seem more natural to be in the present tense for English speakers like me?


texts: Context: The terms are used when leaving chat sessions. Some people type deha/wamata and others, jya/jaomata. Which one is more polite?


texts: 前 in 十年前の話 - ぜん, まえ, or さき?

texts:
十年前の話

I'm not sure how 前 is supposed to be read in constructs like these.　Is it safe to assume that because 十年｛じゅうねん｝　is 音読み then I should use the whole thing as じゅうんえんぜん (IME is returning both じゅうねんぜん　じゅうねんまえ　as 十年前). Am I completely wrong? This is probably very basic knowledge but somehow the answer eludes me.

I've never (yet) heard or seen 前 used with さき 音　but my Japanese experience is miniscule and it's included in dictionaries so I included it here just to be safe.

よろしくお願いします


texts:
I know the word 少年 means boy or lad, and it is composed by the kanjis for few (少) and year (年), so it makes sense for me to associate boy with few years. In the other hand, 青年 means young man (usually refering to young adults as far as I know), but this word is made of the kanjis of blue (青) and year (年), so I don't see the same logic as in 少年.

So, that's what I want to know, what's the reason for using these kanji to refer to young men. Maybe blue years have a meaning in Japanese? Or is it that my attempt at translation is too literal?


texts:
I have a sentence in my text book using the grammar 他にも which I understand to be (besides or  as well as).
In the sentences to come the student seems like they haven’t had their family over for a visit yet hence why they want to talk to somebody about it. With that in mind 他にも can’t mean (besides you) which is how I would read it. Please translate and explain!
Feel free to use other examples, Thank you.

留学生: 今年の夏に、家族が遊びに来るから、泊まる所を探しているんですが、誰に聞いたらいいですか。
先生: そうですね。家族が遊びに来たことがある留学生が他にもいると思うから、まずそういう人を探したらいいと思います。


texts: Whats the difference between yama and san in the title of a mountain? 富山 and 富士山 Toyama and Fujisan for example?  Is one simply a mountain and the other a volcano?


texts: Question about 変な奴だって思う子がいたら

texts:
Im reading a manga called Yotsubato and this phrase occurs when Yotsuba dad is talking to a girl witch is his neighbour.

He says: 変な奴だって思う子がいたら.

The meaning is: If you see a girl that makes you think... "It's a weirdo!"

So, my question is, why the use of "makes you think", is it only because he is talking to this girl in particular or because of the "って" or something ? Im really confused with this phrase.

Thanks !


texts:
しあいは勝ちそうでした。- meaning: I was about to win the game.

How would I say:

I was not about to win the game, (but at the last minute I won).

A) しあいは勝ちくなさそうでしたけど...

b) しあいは勝ちそうじゃなかったですけど...

C) しあいは勝たなさそうでしたけど...

As an English speaker, how am I to guess what each of the above mean? Is it obvious if I just think hard enough?


texts: What's the meaning of "住まい" in "住まいが一番大変" sentence?

texts:
I would like to ask about "住まい" meaning. I know that "一番大変" is the hardest. And I also search about "住まい" and they said it's "address, home, live, dwelling, residence". But there are no word that suit with "the hardest" and it's no make sense.
Or this is a figurative sentence??
Thank you in advanced.


texts: Particles に, で for temporal vs spatial location

texts:
What does it mean to put で after a temporal expression? I was taught that only に should be used for times but I still see sentences with で sometimes.

This is basically my current understanding:

Spatial: use に for existential verbs and で otherwise
Temporal: use に always

This is an example sentence that uses a time+で. How would it be different if it used に?

  日本では昼間でも夜でもタクシーを拾うことができる。


texts:
I know うまくいく but I don't know how to say these sentences:
-I don't know how it works
-I think it worked!
-I don't think that's how it works
Thanks in advance :)


texts:
I've found this example sentence for 置く in my textbook:

  三日置いて治った。(She recovered after three days).

I've looked this usage up but really couldn't find anything relevant. Could you clarify how and in what situations it's used? Many thanks.


texts: Where do dictionaries imply the use of て as 'present perfect/past' and '...ing'?

texts:
the new version of
Question:
1）What definition in Dictionary implies the '...ing' function of て,( as in 魚を食べている.)?
2) What definition in Dictionary implies the 'present perfect' function of て,( as in お前はもう死んでいる.)?

The old version of
Question:
Can 'verbABCている expressing the PAST'
be CONSIDERED as 'adverbialABC+いる'
and be UNDERSTOOD as 'is/exists+ABCly/in a state of ABC'?
You can follow the examples to understand my question well:
1)て verb as adverbial:

映画を見て食べる.
I eat watching the movie.

the adverbial is 見て and the verb is 食べる.
2)て-form for past events/states:

お前はもう死んでいる.
You already (have) died.

My proposition is:
Can we consider 死んで an adverbial in 2) of the verb いる and understand the sentence as:

お前はもう1(死んで)2(いる).
You already 1(dyingly/in a state of dying/in a state of having died)2(exist/are).

and only consider it a particular case of the general rule 1) where the 'past sense' is contained/hidden in 死んで being an adverbial?
Edit

Here's where I started thinking about this idea:
て form and adverbial meaning
AnswerYes it's adverbial in relation to the verb (predicate), but you can't say it's simply an adverb (you can't use a te-form verb alone as an adverb).


texts: When is it appropriate to refer to yourself using your name, rather than 私 (or others)?

texts: I have heard—though not often—people refer to themselves using their first name, not by using a pronoun for "I." Does this have special connotation in Japanese? Nothing about the usage (to me) seemed particularly unusual. In English, this would admittedly come across as being very weird.


texts: Stumped translating 女の戯言を真に受けられちゃ迷惑だって

texts:
A man has fallen in love with a mobster’s girlfriend and it’s mutual.  Though threatened by the mobster’s minions, he refuses to let go of her.  For the sake of his safety, the mobster’s girlfriend has to break it off with him by telling him she does not love him – which she does after the following 2 lines (which are spoken by someone urging her to do it):

  お前から言ってやっておくれよ

I translate this as: You have to say it.

  女の戯言を真に受けられちゃ迷惑だって

I’m not quite sure what to make of this, but I think it’s something like:
He has to believe a woman’s bullshit story.
(which doesn’t look right at all!)


texts:
The words 新しい{あたらしい} and  新た{あらた}に sound very similar to me, but I wonder whether they are really related. If so the root must have undergone metathesis (switching the order of sounds). Are they actually etymologically related?

Note: I saw this question but I'm asking about etymology rather than usage. (Though there does happen to be some relevant information in the answer there.)


texts: What is the difference between 原因 and 要因, 解析 and 分析?

texts:
When I search meaning, both 原因 and 要因 mean cause.

解析 and 分析 mean analysis.

But I think there will be little different meaning.


texts: Difference between 溺れた人, 溺れている人 and 溺れる人

texts:
そのとき海岸の近くでは、州の職員などがドローンを使って溺れた人を助ける練習をしていました。
  At that time, near the coast, some people were practicing rescuing people who have drowned using a drone.
  男の子たちが溺れたことを知った人たちは、ドローンを沖に飛ばしました。
  The people who new the boys had drowned flew the drone to the open sea.
  ドローンは、溺れた人を助ける道具を男の子たちのすぐ近くに落としました。
  The drone dropped a device to rescue the people who had drowned right next to them.

I don't understand why 溺れた is used in these sentences, rather than 溺れている, or even 溺れる. It seems to me that at the time of rescue the people are either drowning now or will drown rather than having already drowned.

I'm not sure if I'm having a problem with this specific verb or if it indicates a bigger hole in my understanding of aspect in relative clauses. I tried reading this, this and this but I have to admit to being completely mystified.


texts: Meaning of sentences with 続ける when paired with に

texts:
Normally I see that 続ける is being paired with を instead, eg , 仕事を続けてください。(please continue working).

But what about this example i got after searching one of the many definitions of the て-form from kotobank.jp (https://kotobank.jp/word/て-573101#E3.83.87.E3.82.B8.E3.82.BF.E3.83.AB.E5.A4.A7.E8.BE.9E.E6.B3.89).

補助動詞に続けて、動作・作用の内容を具体的に示す意を表す。
(補助動詞に続けて、action・represents the specific indication of the contents of an action.) , it means something like this right ? What does 補助動詞に続けて mean ?

Another example I got from the web is "飲み忘れずに続けるコツ", what does this mean ? Also, how does the verb 飲み忘れる come to exist as I cant find anything about it on the dictionary? Shouldn't it be a compound verb like 着替える or 繰り返す ?


texts: サインもらっとけとでも言う - Breaking this phrase down

texts:
今のうちにサインもらっとけとでも言うんスか！？

What I thought he was saying: "Are you saying we should get his signature now while we still can!?"

I was stuck for several days on this sentence having trouble making sense of it, suspecting that there was some contraction I was having trouble with. I suspected that もらっとけ was a contraction of もらっておけ but wasn't sure where else to go from there.

I was also wondering is what is the grammatical meaning of having the form ておけ here, instead of ておこう or something? I've noticed that other questions like this one mention the ておけ form but doesn't really explain why the sentence uses that form specifically.


texts:
One thing that I could never really understand about Japanese is the usage of という／ということ. But first let me clarify which という I'm talking about.

  「Small」と「little」の違いということはなんですか?

vs

  「Small」と「little」の違いはなんですか？

And from a similar question
(When choose の/こと or というの/ということ)

  こんなによく遅刻{ちこく}をするというのは問題{もんだい}ですよ。

vs

  こんなによく遅刻{ちこく}をするのは問題{もんだい}ですよ。

There was an answer here that suggested it was presupposition vs nonpresupposition, but that didn't really make much sense to me.

I understand how to use it (at least some extent), I just don't get when or why the Japanese use it.


texts: So what is the difference between の and　こと in this sentence?

texts:
So Sawa in another thread says that こと cannot be used in the example below. Even though it performs the same function as の (as far as I can see).

  料理が(前より(もっと)) {上手だ/上手い/上手になった/上手くなった}

  料理するのが(前より(もっと)) {上手だ/上手い/上手になった/上手くなった}

  *料理することが(前より(もっと)) {上手だ/上手い/上手になった/上手くなった}

So what is the difference between the two that one can be used but not the other?


texts:
This is kind of a follow-up question to this one:
Problem with のが in this sentence

To give a quick overview, in this sentence そこで、マッカーサーが自分で作って見たのが地図Aである の　had a function I must admit I still can't really explain^^
To me it kind of works like a nominalizer, but if you follow the answers in the thread you will find that it is (also) something else.

However, I thought that this might be worth a new thread:
Could one replace の with こと here?
Both can be used as nominalizers, and maybe I can better differentiate between の as a mere nominalizer and の in the function of the respective construction above, if someone explains to me why こと can/can't be used here instead of の ^^


texts:
In the english version of 神の子供たちはみな踊る (The Murakami collection of short stories with the english title "After the Quake") the ending line of the short story "All God's Children Can Dance" goes:

神様、と善也は口に出して言った。

Which I (and also the German translation) have always interpreted as: "God", Yoshiya said aloud. However, in the english translation it says:

"Oh God", Yoshiya said aloud.

Which I (without wanting to bother you with the rundown of the story) find to give the ending quite a different meaning.

I pretty much just want to ask; can "kamisama" be used as an exclamation of sort? Because if not, I find the translation to be kind of off.


texts: How to say "am getting used to" something

texts:
Is it まだ慣れてる？

慣れてる means "to be used to something" but if I add まだ does this make clear that I mean "am still getting used to" a new job, a new country, etc, as a process ongoing now. I know that Japanese doesn't have the same sense of present progressive as English so maybe this is not something Japanese people would normally say?


texts:
I'm still playing Game Boy Wars Advance 2, and it contains this dialogue:

聞いたことあるような無いような・・・
どこの軍でしたっけ？

The first sentence has me confused.  My intuition tells me the meaning of the sentence is "I might have heard of that, or I might not..." but I can't figure out how to get to that meaning from the words.  The grammar doesn't make sense to me.
When I try to analyze it, I come up with three parts:

聞いたこと (a subject with the particle が omitted)
あるような (動詞「ある」+ 助動詞「ようだ」の連体形)
無いような (形容詞「無い」+ 助動詞「ようだ」の連体形)

But that doesn't make sense to me--what do 2 and 3 modify?  There's no noun at the end.  Besides that, it seems like 2 and 3 contradict, so I don't understand how they can both modify something at the same time.  I must have got it wrong.
Besides, if I add ようだ to a sentence, doesn't it parse like this?

[ 聞いたことがある ] ようだ
[ 聞いたことがない ] ようだ

That is, if I understand correctly, ようだ doesn't just attach to the verb at the end.  It attaches to the whole sentence.  So what I wrote above doesn't make any sense.
So how can I make sense of あるような無いような?  Can 〜ような〜ような be used to list alternatives?  I looked up ようだ, but I didn't see anything like that.


texts: ふざけずに! what is the meaning of this exclamation?

texts:
What is the meaning of this exclamation alone?

  ふざけずに！

I know that ふざける means to kid - to play and that ずに means without, so it could be "without kidding" but it doesn't sound right to me.


texts:
According to my teacher, if you want to use 自動詞 to describe 名詞, you should transform 自動詞 to た形, for example

  彼は優れた人。

But if I want to use the 辞書形 — e.g. 彼は優れる人です — is it meaningful? And can I do like that?


texts:
I cannot find any material relating to this grammar point. Give the following example, could you explain what the meaning of this grammar is?

  どんなに抵抗しようとも限り生きている人はいつかは死ぬ。


texts: ～ば vs ～ていれば in counterfactual conditionals

texts:
In l'électeur's answer here, he claims (with such confidence that he bolds the belief) that the correct way to say the English sentence

  "If I had turned right back then, I wonder what would have happened."

is

  あのとき右に曲がっていれば、どうなっていただろう。

It seems like the reason for his statement is that instead of the plain ~ば, it should instead be ~ていれば (and that なった should be なっていた).

Furthermore, according to 新完全マスター, for 反実仮想 either ～ば or ～ていれば is acceptable. Yet, they only give examples of the latter, indicating that the latter form is preferred.

  言葉の使い方にもう少し注意していれば、誤解されないで済んだものを。

Note that in this case, the second clause is plain past tense.

My questions are then:

Why is it preferred to use ~ていれば for counterfactual conditionals instead of the plain ~ば?
Should we use the ~ている for both the if clause and the then clause or does the then clause not matter?
Is there a difference in meaning between the two grammatical forms or is it just a clarity of writing thing?

Note: I realize that this isn't limited to ~ば and seems to apply to ~たら and ～なら as well, but for the sake of an easier title I chose to talk specifically about ~ば vs ~ていれば.


texts:
Why is は used at the end of こんにちは? Is the last letter the particle は, or is there a different explanation?

Which is correct: こんばんわ or こんばんは? mentions konnichiwa, but the question is interpreted more as "When should I use こんばんわ and when should I use こんばんは?"


texts:
Do Japanese people still use danseigo and joseigo (especially interjection)?
Can joseigo be used by men? Such as まあ and あら.


texts: Difference between 一番鎚 and 親方 referring to a blacksmith in a fantasy novel

texts:
In a fantasy novel I am reading, a young blacksmith is referred to as "二番鎚", which I think means 'apprentice'.  Later, there is a reference to a "一番鎚(の大男)" and a ”親方". I'd guess the former of these means something like "master blacksmith", but the former also seems to mean "master" or "teacher".

Can someone describe the positions of these three roles so I can understand their relationships?


texts:
恋愛も勉強もトライ＆エラー。

  やってみて失敗し、その教訓を糧に次からまた行動する。

  そういう意味では俺も亜子も、今まで恋愛に消極的に生きてきたのはちょっとばかし損だったんじゃないのか。

  まあそんな風に周囲から思われたとしても、そこは不思議じゃないかもしれない。

Context: mom giving screwed up love/sex "lesson" to mc and sister. All of this is MC's internal thoughts, but i'm not exactly sure what he's saying

If you try and fail, this sort of lesson, will encourage you try again next time.

糧に次から = encourage to try again?

Also, could someone confirm these sections if you don't mind?

ちょっとばかし  = really really ちょっと? (This idea, for me and ako, mean that halfheartedly trying to get into a relationship up to now will only be of little consequence.)

~から思われた = get a feeling from ~? (anyways, that's what i get from this environment( the lesson?), this is strange isn't it.)


texts: Is the term ハーフ (mixed-race Japanese/other) derogatory?  Can you use it in a newspaper article?  Can you use it to describe your boss?  If it is derogatory, what word(s) should one use instead?


texts:
Today at my company, I was involved in something, and I was unsure if the action we were about to do was safe. Normally in English, I would say something along the lines of "Hey, is this safe to do?". I, however, did not know how to say that in Japanese.
Obviously there come different situations where "is this safe?" could be used that mean slightly different things:

Action: [Picking up a heavy fridge by oneself] "Is this safe [to do]?"
Object: [Pointing at a sketchy looking rope bridge] "Is this safe [to use]?"

When looking in the dictionary I came across 安全｛あんぜん｝, 硬い｛かたい｝,
and 大丈夫｛だいじょうぶ｝ as options that could possibly work.
Then there is also the option that there is another set phrase that is typically used in this situation to get across the message of "I think there is a possibility this is may cause you/me/us harm, what do you think?" that is unrelated to a word that means "safe" in the dictionary.

I think 安全的　would probably be the form of 安全 that would appear, something like:

このことが安全的だか？

But to me I've usually seen 安全 to mean safe as "in accordance with safety regulations" as opposed to generally unharmful.

I think 硬い could be used in the Object scenario I give since it has a meaning of strong, stiff, sturdy, tough. But I do not think that would apply in the Action case I give.

And as for 大丈夫, of course that could work to ask if the general case is alright. However, I do not think it conveys the same sense that the speaker thinks the reason why it could possibly not be alright is because it is unsafe.

Specific Question:

Is there are phrase/word that is commonly used in Japanese, where one would typically say "Is this safe?" when speaking English?

If yes, is it the same phrase fr both scenarios I laid out above?

Finally, do(es) the phrase(s) specifically convey that the action/object could lead to physical harm, or is that implied based on the context?


texts:
It is my understanding that there are two different meanings when 出す is used as an auxiliary verb. One example being 走り出す meaning 'to start to run' and an example of the other being 生み出す meaning to 'give birth' to something or 'to produce' something.

I am struggling to understand how to translate the second instance, as used in 「生み出す」.

Examples:

生み出す Produce (implying making something outwardly...?)
考え出す come up with..? (to let out your thoughts/share your thoughts or ideas?)
作り出す create? (create something new [generally amazing]?)

Is there a general/simply meaning or translation that this 出す implies?


texts: General applicability of the ～ませ conjugation

texts:
I have only found the ～ませ conjugation used in the following honorific verbs:

いらっしゃいませ
くださいませ
なさいませ

Can the conjugation be applied to other honorific verbs, like おっしゃいませ or めしあがりませ?

Or even common verbs, like がんばりませ or つづきませ?


texts: In what ways do Japanese children overgeneralize conjugation patterns?

texts:
(Preface: I'm not well-versed in language acquisition, so the context I've provided here will be dumbed-down, or perhaps just dumb.)

Context: When children acquire their first language, they typically go through a phase where they take grammatical rules (e.g. "form past tense by adding -ed to a verb") and apply them in situations where they aren't applicable (e.g. using *goed as the past tense of go). This is called overgeneralization. Children acquiring English as a first language overgeneralize verb conjugations all over the place - "I ated the candy", "She telled me to do it", etc.

Since Japanese has fewer irregular conjugations than English, I expect overgeneralization (in the context of conjugation) to be less visible, but I doubt that it is absent altogether. I have, for example, heard *iikunai as the overgeneralized negative of ii "good" in place of yokunai. (Albeit this was a child character in an anime, not a real child, so this may not be representative.)

Question: Do children make similar errors with irregular verbs and other conjugatable words? For example, might they use *shiru as the 終止形 of suru "to do" or *kinai as the negative of kuru "to come"? What about with irregular honorifics like irassharu, gozaru? (I guess children wouldn't use these as much, since keigo is mastered relatively late...)

I would also be interested in cases where children incorrectly treat non-conjugatable words as conjugatable, e.g. (to use some examples from the comments), *ippakunai as the negative of ippai "a lot; much" or *kireikunai as the negative of kirei "pretty".


texts: 別に meaning as opposed to directly saying "no"

texts:
What's the difference between saying 別に and directly saying no.
For example:

A: 行きたいの？
B: 別に　（as opposed to saying 行きたくない）

I think they both mean "no, I don't want to go". But please correct me if I'm wrong


texts:
I was reading through wikiHow and stumbled across this sentence:

  今夜10時までにこのレポートを終わらせなければならない

Why do they use the causative form of 終わる here? What I know is that the causative form is used to say "let/make someone do something". In this sentence, who is making who do something? Who is the subject? What is the object?

Or perhaps there exists another usage of the causative form?

I'm guessing the direct translation of that sentence would be:

  I must (make myself?) finish this report by 10 pm tonight.

Why don't they use the transitive form 終える instead?

  今夜10時までにこのレポートを終えなければならない

Any help would be appreciated. Thank you :)


texts: How would one translate 綺麗 (きれい) in this context?

texts:
I am currently translating some content regarding Aikido, and have been getting stuck on how to translate 綺麗 (きれい) in the following context:

  しっかりとした、綺麗な半身を作ることを心がけて下さい。

It's discussing a bodily position where the body is standing nearly profile (sideways) to an opponent or partner. I don't believe that describing the position as "beautiful", "neat", or "tidy" would express it in the context here. I'm tempted towards "clear", or even with some interpretive license, "composed".


texts: Does 数独{すうどく} really mean "single number"?

texts:
I've never actually played a sudoku puzzle (I know, I live in a cave!).

I just saw the word written in kanji somewhere, which rekindled my interest.

Wikipedia states:

  The puzzle was popularized in 1986 by the Japanese puzzle company
  Nikoli, under the name Sudoku, meaning single number.

Though to me, the compound 数独{すうどく} implies "number addiction", especially in the context of a game.


texts: Is there a generally accepted "rule" for truncating loan words?

texts:
I've noticed that sometimes loan words (usually pairs) are truncated to just the first two morae from each word:

  Smash Brothers　➤　スマッシュブラザーズ　➤　スマブラ
  "Don't mind."　➤　ドンマイ

I assume this is done to shorten the writing and pronunciation. Is the accepted practice to just grab the first two morae from each word and shove them all together?


texts: What is the expression/word for "going against traffic (flow)"?

texts:
Suppose you're driving in a one way street and see someone coming in the opposite direction.

What's the most natural way to say something like "Hey, you're going against traffic!"

I know how to say basically the same thing just re-wording a little:

  これは一方通行の道路だよ！　This is a one way street!

But I was wondering what's the word/expression to actually say "against traffic" (to go against traffic, or to go/drive in the wrong way, etc).


texts:
I just saw this phrase in a book I bought.

  結構経ちました

This sounds vague to me. I also couldn't find a definition on a dictionary.

I've found this example though there are also others. https://www.tripadvisor.com/LocationPhotoDirectLink-g298224-d1373583-i54141525-Kokusaidori-Naha_Okinawa_Prefecture.html

Does this phrase literally mean "time passed well"? Does that just mean the speaker had fun?


texts: sentence patterns in colloquial vs formal

texts:
When you ask 'what is this?' in formal Japanese, one would say: これは何ですか.
Colloquially, as I hear it from Japanese friends: 何をこれ. (Am I missing a particle here?)

So if you are comparing two things, for example: A is cheaper than B. We can say: A のほうが B より 安い.

Is it ok to say: A のほうが安い.
Is it also ok to say: 安いA のほう? (Or does it make no sense?)


texts: により and help breaking up a long sentence

texts:
I am having trouble with this sentence from my textbook. It might be that this sentence is many sentences condensed into one long one and that is why I am finding it hard.

Could somebody help me break this up into simpler sentences so that I may understand?

Suggestions from a woman who has had the experience of hosting a foreign student:

日本に来て、短い間でもホームステイをし、実際に日本人といっしょうに住むことにより
、日本人の生活を体験できるとは、とてもいいことだと思います。

I read it as
"Coming to Japan, doing homestay for a short space of time, doing living with a Japanese person" (I am stuck on により)
"Doing [a] Japanese person's living experiences, it a very good idea"

Am I about right?


texts:
What is the difference between 語{かた}る and 話{はな}す?
I know that I can say #1, but it's correct to say #2? If it's ok, sentence 1 and 2 have the same meaning?

1.私{わたし}は日本語{にほんご}を話{はな}す。
2.私{わたし}は日本語{にほんご}を語{かた}る。


texts: what is the transcription of the following audios?

texts:
I need the japanese transcription of the following audios...
audio 1 and audio 2. These audios are part of the anime Holy Knight (OVA).
Context: a vampire girl is captured by the opposing side.
I understand most of it, but I fail to understand what is in brackets...
Audio 1:

糟{かす}は命を与えれて現世{げんせい}には[...]なんて信じたくないはなしだ。
神は[もえこと]なさる。 (what this part mean?)

Audio 2:

いいね… その喋{しゃべ}りかた… ごみはひっしに[...]しないと生き残れないものね。

Others links:
Audio 1
Audio 2


texts:
I was checking tangorin.com for example sentences of 映る and the first example is

僕の目には君しか映ってないよ。本当さ

which means "I only have eyes for you. Honestly." Closer to the literal sense I suppose it would be "Only you are reflected in my eyes. Honestly".
My question is, why is the negative te-form used here? Shouldn't it be ぼくの目には君しか映つりないよ。?
Thank you very much.


texts: When is otou and okaa used instead of otousan and okaasan?

texts:
I was watching a Japanese series recently and a young man 25~30 years old refers to his parents as otou and okaa.
This took me by surprise as I've never even considered that that could be done. But it makes sense, it's just dropping the san which is a kind of a title/honorific.
Anyway one would assume that say otou is very very informal to the point of being rude and disrespectful or at least just young people trying to sound cool in front of their friends. But the young man in the series was actual quite a polite and cultured young man and it seemed strange to me that he would use it.
How often are otou and okaa used in what contexts etc ?
Arigatou gozaimasu


texts: How to say "I grew up thinking about X"?

texts:
The context is simple, in a speech, I am talking about how I grew up with Japan on my mind.
I am familiar with について and と思います, yet i am not entirely sure about the usage here. In English, I'd say the following:

I grew up
I am thinking about Japan

The Japanese translation of the two would be:

私は育ちました
私は日本のことを思っています

Correct? Now what grammar is used to connect the two?


texts: Why are the words for prefecture so complicated?

texts:
The first level of Japan's political division is called "prefecture" in English. However, in Japanese, there are four words for it: 都, 道, 府, and 県, and depending the particular prefecture, a certain one is used. Most use 県. Why is it complicated like this? Why couldn't all be called 県? Some subquestions include (but are not limited to):

Tokyo prefecture was changed from 東京府 to 東京都 when its political system was changed. Why couldn't the political system be changed without changing the name? If there were needs to exclusively mention Tokyo prefecture in some law, why couldn't the term 東京府 be used instead of 東京都?
府 seems to have been used for prefectures that typically have been the political center of Japan (related to the Emperor). But does this naming have any political significance within the political system effective now? Is there any political law that mentions something particular that applies to 府? And if 府 were indeed prefectures with special political status, then why weren't 京都府 and 大阪府 downgraded to 京都県 and 大阪県 when the exclusive prestigious political status was given to then 東京府, renaming it to 東京都?
Does 道 have any political significance? Why couldn't 北海道 be 北海県?  It is true that 北海道 has peculiar issues, and there used to be things like 北海道開発庁, but 沖縄県 also has peculiar political issues, and there is no problem with it being called 県 instead of some other thing.
Isn't 京都府 a strange word? If it is a 府, then it should be 京府; if it is a 都, then it should be nothing more than 京都. Similarly, isn't 京都市 a strange word? why is it not 京市?

Is there any other country whose word for the first political division is as complicated as this?


texts: What is the meaning and grammatical construction of 人って?

texts:
I am trying to understand the grammar behind "[noun]って".

I looked up some examples on space alc web, and 人って seems to mean people, someone, or some person.
I have seen other examples of the [noun]って usage, so I guess its common but probably I am missing something.


texts:
An N5 vocabulary question I'm having trouble understanding:

  わたしの　となりの　（　　　）　を　かけた　ひとは　すずきさんです。

  １　くつ　　　２　かぎ　　　３　めがね　　　４　でんわ

The answer is 3: わたしの　となりの　（　めがね　）　を　かけた　ひとは　すずきさんです。

Which I construe as The person beside me who wore glasses is Suzuki-san.

However, what is stopping 4 from being a valid answer?

  わたしの　となりの　（　でんわ　）　を　かけた　ひとは　すずきさんです。

I interpret this to be The person beside me who made a call is Suzuki-san.

A Google search of phrases in this question doesn't bring up anything helpful for me. The book's explanation doesn't cut it too: 「となりで　電話を　かけている　ひとは～」は◯。 Why must で and かけている be used?


texts:
With regard to translating "イモ", having the listener imagine the image and flavour of the vegetable is infinitely more useful than merely a convenient translation. I have seen "イモ" translated as "potato" several times. But, I am suspicious.

I am from the Southeastern USA region, and most of us consider a "potato" to be the one, and only one, classic "baking potato" (usually grown in Idaho). There are also "sweet potatoes" and "yams", but we draw no distinction. "Sweet potatoes" and "yams" are both called "sweet potatoes".

If someone asks me "what is an イモ?", I am not comfortable with just saying "Ah. It's a potato." I've never seen or eaten an イモ. Using terms that a native English speaker would use in daily conversation, what is a very short way to get the image of an イモ into the mind of someone who knows nothing about Japan?

note: I did google images, but I believe some of the "イモ" images are mislabeled. So, I'm confused. Who has eaten a real イモ and can explain what it is in terms that native English speakers use in daily conversation?


texts: Do the adverbial forms of verbs and nouns exist?

texts:
I know there are adverbial forms of:

adjectives (Adj), 形容詞{けいようし} (連用形{れんようけい} - 早い→早く);
adjectival nouns (AdjN), 形容動詞{けいようどうし} (連用形{れんようけい} - 上手だ→上手に).

Are there adverbial forms of nouns (名詞{めいし}) and verbs (動詞{どうし})? If they do exist (regardless of semantics), is there a generic rule like Adjs's and AdjNs's or not? How can they be constructed?


texts: Problem with understanding a sentence according to the context in a NHK article

texts:
link to the article

The sentence where I have a problem(at the end of the article):

"このままでは東京オリンピックを境に、数年以内に繁殖農家の“大廃業時代”が訪れる懸念があるのです。"

I don't understand because it doesn't fit the context.廃業 of 繁殖農家 won't be aggraved by the Olympics because the problem isn't about the demand but rather about  a lack of japanese people to continue this activity, even if the demand grows bigger because of the Olympics, it won't make 繁殖農家 disappear further if I'm not mistaken.


texts:
In the following sentence, ”だったが" is used in an unfamiliar way to me.

  12世紀後半、父への反発心から獅子心王リチャード率いる十字軍遠征に参加した英国貴族ロックスリー卿の息子のロビンだったが、ムスリム軍に捕らわれ、処刑を待つ身となっていた。

I've seen things like "今回の問題なんですが" used in the sense of "今回の問題は", in other words to introduce a topic. Is だったが in the above sense used in the same way, to introduce Robin? If so, why is past tense used?


texts:
I have a problem understanding this usage of にしては:

  ファンをないがしろにしては、芸能人としてやっていけない。

I understand にしては to mean For A, B - such as For the high price of this meal, it isn't tasty at all (高いにしてはまずい). B comes as a surprise, given A.

But it doesn't make sense to say For (the way) he ignores his fans, as (として) an artiste/performer he cannot do such a thing.
B is not a surprise to the first half of the sentence, A.

Is there another usage of にしては I am missing?


texts: How do japanese people write the english word "The" in Katakana?

texts:
My nickname is "The Wonderboy", my question is basically how to write that nickname in katakana.
Is it:
ジ・ワンダーボーイ ?
or
ザ・ワンダーボーイ ?


texts:
I have a question regarding the word "tell/told"
I want to say "I told him that XXX"
After some research, this is what I came up with.

彼に「XXX」を伝えた。
彼に「XXX」を言った。

I was wondering if they both have different level of formality? or which one is better use with friend?
EDIT: I still don't understand it, after reading the suggested duplicate question. However, this is better elaborated by the answer below.
Thank you


texts:
What does ば do in this sentence? I am familiar with it as a conditional but it doesn't seem right here.

  早朝と言っても人影がまばらにあって、露店の準備をしているホビットもいれば、僕と同じ冒険者のドワーフ達が徒党を組んで何か話し合っている。これからダンジョンへ向かうんだろう。

I interpreted the first sentence as

  If there were hobbits that were preparing stalls, then they would talk
  to adventurers, like me, join their party, and then discuss something
  together. After that they would head probably head towards the
  dungeon.

But then this sentence followed after, so I don't think I interpreted the first sentence correctly.

  僕もダンジョンへもぐる装備を身に付けて神様から逃げ出し...もとい部屋から出てきたから、傍{はた}から見れば彼らと似ったり寄ったりかもしれない。

Thanks.


texts: Is there an english expression equivalent to 「先祖も酷ければ子孫も子孫」?

texts: It should mean something like "If the ancestors are cruel, so would their offsprings" right?


texts: Is 〜たち used for groups of only two people?

texts:
In a recent comment, Sjiveru wrote:

  親たち isn't really valid for 'one's two parents', it means more of 'a group of parents (necessarily several families' worth)'. Outside of very modern uses with personal pronouns, たち can't be used for just two people.

To which mirka wrote a thoughtful reply:

  Interesting, you'd never call your parents 親たち, but you would call your two children 子供たち, or your siblings お姉ちゃんたち, 弟たち, etc. I wonder why that is.

Is there a restriction on using 〜たち for just two people?  If so, is this a rule with exceptions, as in mirka's comment?

Or is there a better explanation for why you'd never call your parents 親たち?


texts:
In native Japanese words (that I know of at least) like 通り and 大きい, to elongate the お-sound, another お is added when written in Hiragana (instead of う like in Sino-Japanese words). However, it just crossed my mind that the volitional form ending - which should certainly be natively Japanese - follows the 漢語 pattern (e.g. やろう).

Is this a remnant of the old auxiliary verb む mentioned in the answer of the post Origins of the Volitional Form?


texts:
I know that within an informal/familiar setting, people often leave out particles.  Whether or not this is grammatically correct I'm not positive, but for the sake of this question, I'll say that it's not.

What I'm talking about are modified nouns without particles that seem to be grammatically correct.  Furthermore, I've never seen them with particles, and the particle-less form seems to be the only one.  Here are a few that seem to be accepted as particle-less ("accepted" meaning I've found these exact forms in at least one dictionary).

  父なる：　父なる神様　→　Father God / God the Father
  聖なる：　聖なる人々　→　(a) holy people
  単なる：　単なる過失　→　a simple/mere mistake

Here are some others that I've seen/heard before, but not sure if these forms are accepted as particle-less, or if they are just informally left out (could not find any of these exact forms in the dictionaries I have).

  息ある：　息あるもの　→　living things ("thing that are breathing")
  影響ある：　影響ある政治家　→　an influential politician
  力ある：　力ある人　→　a powerful/strong person

My question is, why are certain expressions like this accepted as not having particles?  How did they become this way?  Are there many expressions like these in additions to the ones I put?  Is there some type of rule that governs when an expression can acceptably leave out the particle?

Or am I wrong about the whole thing?

Update:  some other examples I remembered:

  内なる：　内なる人　→　Our inner-self; the person we are on the inside
  大【おお】いなる：　大いなる功績　→　a great achievement


texts: Last sentence of company president's speech: translate or not to translate

texts:
For example, Japanese correspondence has several set phrases and sentences, which are important, but at the same time they are usually omitted when translated into other languages.

Here I have the company president's speech or rather written comment. And these are the last two sentences:

  以上｛いじょう｝、当社｛とうしゃ｝の明るい｛あかるい｝未来｛みらい｝が見える｛みえる｝まで、共に｛ともに｝頑張って｛がんばって｝いきたいと思って｛おもって｝います。よろしくお願い｛ねがい｝致します｛いたします｝。

Should I translate these two sentences? If yes, could you tell me, which way would be the best?
I wonder if I have to translate the word 以上?
I wonder if I have to translate the phrase よろしくお願い致します?


texts:
I am searching for a way to ask a question like "When did you last see her?" or "When did you last do the laundry?, or also "When did we last meet?" Basically, how do you construct a question with this content:

  "When was the most recent time when X happened?"

And even less specific: How to talk about the most recent point in time in general.

  "Last time you ate lunch, did you eat a salad?"
  "When was your last holiday?"
  "Who was your last boyfriend?"


texts:
From this question

Why is に used in 若者が元気に溢れている?

I did few hours ago another one, a bigger one arose.

  マフィアは隠れ蓑に合法的な事業を展開している

I know に can be used as an indirect complement but I would have used として since 隠れ蓑に is not the recipient of an action.

Also Can someone explain how is に used as an indirect complement?


texts:
What is the difference between 餌食{えじき} and 獲物{えもの}?

Both mean "prey", so how do we decide when to use which?

What is the difference in their nuances?


texts:
So, I was reading through a list of options in Japanese when I saw "SharePointで開く." My initial reaction was to read it as あく but it felt wrong and thought that maybe it was ひらく. I checked this link and it said that あく is intransitive but ひらく can be both transitive and intransitive.

In the end, I decided that it should be read as ひらく because although there was no を to tell that the verb was transitive, I think it was already obvious from the context that it meant [フォルダを]SharePointで開く which means that あく wouldn't work in this case.

Is my line of reasoning correct? Or can this be read as あく (given the absence of を)?


texts: Need clarification on a particular use of から

texts:
I saw this sentence recently and I'm particularly confused on the use of から in the sentence.

まず君から殺す。

What does から mean here? What's the difference between that and まず君を殺す? How does から replace the particle を and what are some other examples/situations where it can do this?


texts: Any differences between ～に志願する and　～を志願する?

texts:
I thought に was the universal particle with 志願, but I have seen を used quite commonly too and I wonder if there are some nuances in meaning.

死刑を志願した男

大学に志願する
大学を志願する
大学に入学を志願する.

軍隊に志願する
兵役を志願する
特攻隊に志願する

管理職に志願した男
看護婦を志願する

田舎教師（1909）〈田山花袋〉六「小島は第一を志願するらしい」 〔嵆康‐与山巨源絶交書〕1  (精選版 日本国語大辞典)

They don't appear to differ in meaning.

I am not quite sure about this entry. So it is from a work titled 田舎教師 by 田山花袋. But what is 〔嵆康‐与山巨源絶交書〕?


texts:
I study a martial art called Geido Kenpo Ninpo Ryu.  Having said this, what should a Honbu for this martial art be called?

I see for Judo the Honbu is called the Kodokan.  Would there be a similar term for Geido Kenpo Ninpo Ryu?


texts: Would you consider the で in 日本食で一番好きなのは・・・ to be the particle で or the -te form of だ?

texts:
I've always taken this to be the -te form of だ. My reasoning is similar to the discussion given here:

What's the use of で in 「日本の食べ物で大好きなものは何？」

However, I ran this by a native speaker, and she strongly felt that the で should be understood as an abbreviation of ・・・の中で. (But perhaps that で is itself still understandable as the -te form of だ. In fact, I have the feeling that it is.)

I'd love to hear your thoughts on this.


texts:
(In this question, I will use "Volitional" to mean "V-(よ)う".)

As I understand it, Volitional + と + する is a phrase meaning "to try to do something".  I've also seen similar phrases, but with different verbs instead of する.  Here are some examples, some of which may be incorrect:

  着{き}ようとする
  着ようと思う
  着ようと考える
  着ようと決める　（？）
  着ようと出す　　（？？）

I'd like to analyze this as a general pattern, Volitional + と + Verb.  Here are my questions:

Is it a mistake to try to analyze this as a general pattern?
What exactly is the grammar in this pattern?
Specifically, what function does と have?
Is there a fixed list of verbs that can be used after と ?

Please let me know if I'm thinking about this the wrong way.


texts: Placing a quantifier between a noun and particle?

texts:
this is my first question here so please bare with me.

Until the other day I was aware of two different ways use counters

As an adverb.

  ペンを３本買いました。

As a noun.

  ３本のペンを買いました。

The other day I found out that you could say

  友達３人と出かけました。
  犬３匹と遊びました。

But you can't say

  ペン３本を買いました。X

At first I thought this was something to do with the と particle, but I found out these are also correct.

  鍋に水１リットルを入れる。
  鍋に水を１リットル入れる。

My question is, what are the rules for placing the quantifier between the noun and the particle?
I apologize in advance if this question has been asked before, I was unable to find anything. Thanks.


texts: In だったっけ, why is the second "っ"(tsu) used when it can't be connected to "け"(ke)?

texts:
From what I understand, っ is used to "double" the "t" sound, so in だった it makes sense because it's pronounced "datta", but why is it used in the second part of the phrase?

Full sentence: "今日一限から英語だったっけ"


texts:
I've got a question regarding the use of the structure ~たって which I've just recently stumbled across.

From what I know so far, this is used in the form Verb(neg) + たって, for example:

  現金なくたって、カードで支払える。

In its use, it is similar to ~ても：

  現金なくても、カードで支払える。("Even if you don't have cash, you can pay by card")

My question is:
As the structure ~ても can be used also with an adjective preceding it, can you also use Adjective+たって?

For example:

  天気が悪くても、海の旅行は楽しい。

Can you say:

  天気が悪くたって、海の旅行は楽しい。


texts:
I would like to know the difference between 同一 and 同じ. They both mean 'the same'.

Please feel free to provide example sentences so I can see clearly the difference.


texts: む archaic volitional? Translated as Imperative

texts:
While watching Konosuba I came across following sentence:

「我が真紅の流出もて 白き世界を覆さん」

What troubles me is the 「覆さん」. The translation used an imperative here, what fits most of the other spells in the series as well; however I don't know how this ending can be an imperative.
I've read this post (Meaning of ぬ added to 連用形 / masu-stem, as in 風立ちぬ) already and assumed that in above stated sentence the general idea is the same.
Nevertheless before I start making wrong suggestions I would like to know what grammar works behind 「覆さん」as an imperative (if that is even possible).


texts: What does 迎える translate to in this context?

texts:
When 迎える is used in the sense of marking a special occasion or time, I have trouble translating it to English.

I imagined that 迎える always means to "welcome" "receive" "greet". But it can also take on a meaning of "celebrate", "commemorate" which is not mentioned in the definition below.

dictionary.goo.ne.jp

[迎える]
(確実にやってくる）ある時期や段階を目前にする。また、その時期や段階が訪れる。
ある時になる。

The definition only defines 迎える as "when it becomes a time, season, period" but says nothing about "celebration" or "commemoration"

Looking at these examples:

  新年を迎える。
  Greet the New Year

  20歳の誕生日を迎える
  Reach one's twentieth year／Celebrate one's twentieth birthday

  死を迎える。
  Approach death

  １週年を迎える。
  Commemerate the first anniversary

  (人）が楽しいクリスマスとよい新年を迎えられるよう祈る。 Wish someone a very happy Christmas and a most successful New Year (not sure how 迎える is translated here)

This sentence treats 迎える like 祝う

  みんなのおかげで素敵な誕生日を迎えられました。
  Thanks to everyone, I could celebrate an amazing birthday.

I am confused as to when 迎える takes on the "become a time, season, period" definition, and when it takes the "celebrate, commemorate" definition.

Can someone please explain in detail what 迎える means in these contexts?


texts: I know "daisuki" means "big like," but what if I said "I like (daisuki) smart people" in Japanese, instead of telling a single individual that "I like him"? Would I be implying that I love/am sexually attracted to smart people as a whole?


texts:
人気アイドルにあやかって昨年上位を占めた「たくや」君はベストテン圏外。

I am confused by the usage of 圏外 in this sentence. My translation would be:

I was named after a popular idol, Takuya, who was at the top of popularity rankings, outside the top 10.

The fact that the idol was outside the top ten most popular idols is strange given that he already said "at the top". I would understand if there was a "but", as in "at the top, but not in the top 10". The way it is currently, it seems like "outside top ten" is somehow reinforcing the "at the top" part, which doesn't make sense logically.

Clarification: This sentence is part of an explanation about self introductions and にあやかって means 'named after' in this context.


texts: Meaning of トルネル is actually misspelling of トンネル?

texts:
I need to know what トルネル means in the following sentence from a manga I'm reading (slashes are where the line-breaks are):

このトルネルから　／　出る！

The katakana is throwing me off. Is it one or two words? Is it a Japanese word that's written in katakana for emphasis? Is it a foreign word? Is it misspelled?

For context purposes, I've added the previous sentence in parentheses here:

（この人が言うことは　／　無茶ばかりだけど）
このトルネルから　／　出る！

Below, I've added a photo of the page where the text comes from. It's to the left of the binding superimposed on top of the girl blushing.


texts: As the title says, what is the difference between these two words? Do they both mean "to wear [clothes]"? When would it be appropriate to use one over the other?


texts: What is the difference between ～ていてください and ～ていってください?

texts:
a.ゆっくりしていてください

b.ゆっくりしていってください

What's the difference between these two sentences? How to translate them?


texts:
What means 目えかける in this phrase? Is a type of contraction?
What is the grammar behind this?

  見所{みどころ}のある奴{やつ}に目{め}ぇかける


texts: What's a good onomatopoeia for “suddenly realizing, in a flash of genius”?

texts:
In a sentence like:

  While I was in the bath, (suddenly / in a flash of genius / …) I thought of a great plan.

  風呂に入っている時に、____とすごい計画を思いついた。

Is there a good [擬情語]{gijōgo} word to fill in the blanks with? Is something like パッと okay?


texts: かなり-[noun が]-[adj] vs [noun が]-かなり-[adj]

texts:
I have the sentence

彼はかなり英語が上手です。

Why is かなり in front of 英語, the noun, rather than the adjective 上手? Would there be any differences from the sentence above to this?

彼は英語がかなり上手です。


texts: Native pronunciation of the character "し”

texts:
I have recently become aware of the difference between the English and Japanese "sh" sounds, which I understand are formalized as the palato-alveolar fricative [ʃ] and the voiceless alveolo-palatal fricative [ɕ].  I am trying to correct my pronunciation from [ʃ] to [ɕ], but I can't seem to nail the right sound.  I discussed it with some Japanese friends and they suggested that I pronounce it without opening my mouth as much (口の空間を狭くして) so that's what I have been attempting, but it seems like that has somehow resulted in し often being misheard as ひ (資料as肥料、代償as代表) and the like.  I did some research online and it seemed to reinforce what I was doing; I read somewhere that the Japanese し is pronounced with a "flatter tongue," that is, the flat part of the tongue behind the tip contacts the alveolar ridge. But the flatter I make my tongue, the less sharp the "sh" sound becomes, and altogether it sounds even more ひ-like.

Any thoughts, tips, or materials out there that could help me out? If I move my tongue very close to the front of my mouth as I pronounce it I can produce a much sharper "sh" sound, but is this correct? I feel like I"m using the tip of my tongue more than the blade in this case but maybe I'm wrong? Any advice you could provide me with would be incredibly helpful!


texts: Please tell me how to use Japanese 終助詞 の and だ

texts:
I've been learning Japanese for a while, but I usually use 敬語, like です、ます,
so I still can not understand how to use something that is not 敬語 correctly, especially the 終助詞. Like の and だ.

For example, 私は大丈夫 and 私は大丈夫だ. How to use them correctly?

And I now know の can mean a question at the end of a sentence, but sometimes it does not mean a question, and I don't know what it means when it's not a question. And what is the difference between の and のだ ?

For example, 猫が好きだ。猫が好きなの。猫が好きなのだ。What is the difference?

Also, I have been told that only woman can use の at the end of a sentence when it is not a question, but what about man? When man wants to express the exact same meaning as the one woman says with の at the end of it, what can he use?

For example, how can a man say "猫が好きなの"？

Thank you so much.


texts: Do Japanese use 順番、順番！ as a command, like in the military?

texts:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Jp6trk9Ljs&t=3m41s
何のためのくじ引きだと思ったんだ ？
はい、はい！順番、順番！？
はい、 A 組以外は、はい、 戻る !
Or did I misunderstand these sentences?


texts:
In 新完全{しんかんぜん}マスター文法{ぶんぽう}N2 page xi the formation rules for 〜ものか are

  普通形{ふつうけい}（ナ形｛けい｝だ-な・名｛めい｝だ-な）＋ものか

These rules seem to preclude the form 〜であるものか.

There is also this note at the bottom of the same page

  本書｛ほんしょ｝では、あまり使｛つか｝われない接続｛せつぞく｝のし方｛かた｝は載｛の｝せていません。

Is 〜であるものか form incorrect or is it just less frequently used?

To give concrete examples:
 a) きれいなものか,
 b) きれいであるものか.
I fail to feel/understand why b) would be incorrect/unnatural.

Below I give reasons why I think 〜であるものか might be correct.

I found a sentence containing であるものか on a Japanese website (city.seto.aichi.jp):

  補助金｛ほじょきん｝がなければ実施｛じっし｝が困難｛こんなん｝であるものか。

I found in a 国語辞書{こくごじしょ} (dictionary.goo.ne.jp) that 〜ものか follows a 連体形｛連体形｝:

  ［終助｛しゅうじょ｝］《連語｛れんご｝「ものか1」から》連体形に付｛つ｝く。

And I reason that given a 形容動詞, for example きれいだ, I can get a 連体形 in more than one way:

きれいな - by definition,
きれいである because it is  きれいで (連用形｛れんようけい｝) +  verb ある (連体形).


texts: I am doing a research on differences between kanji and hanzi and accidentally stumbled across the term 同形の別字. The article that refers to it doesn't elaborate on its meaning. Does that term mean similar character shape but different meanings in Chinese and Japanese? I'm still not so good at Japanese so I am sorry if this question is lame.


texts:
In English figurative meaning of word usually marked with quotation marks like this:

  The motherboard is sometimes considered the "brain" of a computer.

I know that in Japanese quotation marks usually used for emphasis. But do they also used to mark figurative meaning or some other method is used?


texts: What does it mean when a Japanese called you 天然？

texts: ok to make it short; my senpai called me tennen; I am forgetful person and I always do a lot of mistakes so I assume he means I am stupid based on its dictionary meaning but according to my other coworker it is not that bad compared to being called あほ or バカ so I am still confused.


texts:
This is the question I was trying to ask when I made this question, but I guess I can't type or read or think.

I'm looking for the difference between 逃げる and 逃れる. I'm assuming it's something like the difference between "run away" and "escape", but which one is which?

And I'm aware that even "run away" and "escape" are pretty close even in English, but these things happen.


texts:
I was trying to translate "May I pet the dog?", but I'm having trouble finding what word means "to pet".

Looking it up on jisho.org I get 可愛がる, but translating it back using various services gives me "can I love the dog?".
Trying Google Translate with some sample sentences, it either gives up and leaves "pet" in English in the middle of the Japanese text, or uses 飼う, which from my understanding is to keep a pet, rather than to physically pet it.
Trying translate.com (which apparently uses Microsoft Translator) with a sample sentence, I get ペットにする, which I can't corroborate anywhere else.

So given these options:

犬を可愛がってもいいですか？

犬を飼ってもいいですか？

犬をペットにしてもいいですか？

Are any of these correct? Which, if any, makes the most sense?


texts: can someone explain the use of で particle in this sentence: こんなに単純で当たり前なこと

texts:
i'm getting confused with the で particle in this sentence.
This line belongs to Keno.

The complete line is: こんなに単純で当たり前なことが 本当は、一番見失いがちだからね.


texts: I found this out of context. Looked everywhere and no answer to be found. alc.co.jp offers a bunch of different meanings and is of not much help. Please help!


texts: A person from a tale says:「 へそをかくせー」 because they see the God of Thunder (雷様) approaching. What does the sentence mean?


texts:
I recently see this sentence:

  日本へ美術の勉強に行きます

Previous lesson, I learnt that to express "to learn something", we use the pattern:

  N (The subject to learn) + を + 勉強する

But the first sentence uses の instead.

Is it a typo or is there anything wrong with my understanding here?


texts: I am wondering if someone can shed light on this tweet from Japan?

texts:
A friend of mine recently translated a Japanese article from Japan's October issue of An An magazine and sent her a tweet in English telling her that it was completed. The author replied with the following tweet: (^з^)-☆ ば

I have only been studying Japanese online for less than a year, and can't make any sense of her response.  When I look it up in the Japanese to English dictionary, it refers to location, which doesn't make sense.

Can anyone help?


texts:
In　がばいばあちゃん, I came across the phrase 冒頭のような, which I had a little trouble translating, as I couldn't quite make out its exact meaning and function. It comes from the following extract.

  そして俺は、冒頭のような、ばあちゃんとの暮らしの中から、人間の本当の幸せというものを学んできたように思う。

I had a crack at translating this with the following result.

  As for me, living alongside her and seeing things from there, as if I were right up close, I got to learn about true human happiness, I think.


texts: Is 随時{ずいじ} used to express anytime like いつでも?


texts:
When is the use of correct particle (を or が) on the direct object of a transitive verb, for example:

shigoto o owarimasu
shigoto ga owarimasu

What is the exact meaning in each other, please.


texts: How can I say "make a big deal [about/out of/of] X"?

texts:
See title. I'm looking for idiomatic ways to say something like this - over-emphasizing something, worrying about it overly much, etc.

Bonus points if a literal 大 (whether read as だい　or おお) is involved; I'm hoping to make a particular bit of wordplay work. Alternatively, perhaps a way of talking about "using 大 as a prefix to a word" that could have the former connotations?


texts:
If I want to add から(because) to にくいです, would it become にくいだから　or にくいから
Also, if I want to add けれども to とくいです、is it とくいだけれども　or とくいけれども

Thank you!


texts: How can transitive and passive be combined in 茎を編んで作られる?

texts:
In the following sentence, taken from an article about tatami the transitive and passive verbs (編む＆作る）seem to be combined into one phrase to express what I have said translation but it does not seem to fit any logical grammatical sequence:

畳表というのは、畳の表面、つまり人の足が触れる部分で、ここは、イグサという植物の茎を編んで作られています。
Tatami-omote is the surface of the tatami mat, in other words the part that comes into contact with people's feet. It is made from rushes woven together.

I assume the Japanese (if not my translation) is correct but can somebody explain the logic of what is being described grammatically?
My best guess is that the passive verb （作られている） is somehow acting on the transitive (編んで） in the same way that ある acts on transitive verbs in expressions such as 「ご飯を作ってあります」(note) but it is my first time to see this and I don't recall it in any text book.
Note: を was chosen deliberately in this example to be consistent with my subject sentence.


texts:
I don't get the meaning of という店もあります in that sentence. I understand: "This month sales were 10 times higher than the sales from April last year", then I have no clue for the end of the sentence.

  今月の売り上げが去年の４月の１０倍になったという店もあります

My guess is:

  "This month sales were 10 times higher than the sales from April last year for one of the shop".

By the way, this is the complete sentence:

  大阪ではタピオカを入れた飲み物を売る店がたくさんできていて、今月の売り上げが去年の４月の１０倍になったという店もあります。

Can you guys help me please?


texts: I was downloading an update for a phone game I set in Japanese and on the screen it said 「ダウンロード中」and I don’t understand the use of 中. Middle? In the middle of downloading?


texts:
What is the difference between 姻族 and 姻戚？
According to the definitions in the dictionary, they are pretty much the same. Would there be a time where I use one over the other?
If I look it up on Jisho:
姻戚

relative by marriage; affinity

and 姻族

in-law; relative by marriage

Furthermore, the definitions by goo dictionary：
姻戚

婚姻によってできた、血のつながりのない親戚。→姻族

and 姻族

婚姻によって親族になった者どうし。夫からみて妻方の父母兄弟など。民法では、三親等内の姻族を親族とする。姻戚。


texts:
When I first heard of "自転車に乗る" in a song, I thought it was about riding on a bicycle instead of riding a bicycle, because of the kanji "乗." Then, I realized that 乗る does not only mean riding as a passenger, e.g. "電車に乗る," "taking a train ride."

For example, there is also

  「飲んだら、乗るな。乗るなら、飲むな。」

This tells me that 乗る can be used to mean "operating a vehicle," or, in the case of a bicycle, to ride one.

However, is it possible that "自転車に乗る" also means "to ride on a bicycle," or do I have to say something like "(私は)自転車に乗られる"?

If I want to specify riding in/on something as a passenger as opposed to 運転する, how do I go about this using 乗る, or is there a different verb/expression involved?

For instance, how do I say something like, "My friend's giving me a ride to the park on his bicycle now"? Given my rather limited Japanese, I can only think of:

今(僕は)友達が乗ってる自転車で公園に行ってる。

This is quite a mouthful, if not unnatural. Nonetheless, if this works, does it apply to cars and other vehicles as well?

今(僕は)友達が乗ってる宇宙船で木星に行ってる。

いつもお世話になっております。ご教授お願いいたします！


texts:
person: うん痩せたいです今よりもっと

  me: 私も... ;;

  person: だよなー

  person: I want to lose weight, now more than ever/especially now

  me: Me too... ;;

  person: Ya know-;)

Ok so だよなー is not an easy one to translate colloquially, but my question is about 今よりもっと.

How are my translations above, and how is this parsing?

  今よりもっと

  now/more/more

or

  now/even more

Is this the より that means "more," as in the following example?

  よりいい物が見つからないので、今ある物で我慢しよう。 Since we can't find a better one, let's make the best of what we have.

Would anyone care to explain fully if my understanding is wrong?


texts: いつか日本に行きます。/ 五日日本に行きます。

texts:
Do these two sentences have the same sound? (The romanji are the same, but I am not sure about the stress).

いつか日本に行きます。(I will go to Japan someday.)
五日日本に行きます。(I'm going to Japan on the 5th.)

How can we tell one from the other?


texts: Is しかたない a characteristically Japanese response to a question?

texts:
It has been suggested in a comment here: How is しかたない an opinion about a product feature?
that しかたない might be a characteristically Japanese response to a question (that a Western person might never give).

Is this a valid observation? If so, what would a Japanese person mean when replying in this manner to a market research question about a product?


texts: Till what age can an infant be called akachan. When can we use musuko-chan till any particular age or till he is able to walk. Please clarify


texts:
According to the site RomanjiDesu:

  拝承 means hearing; understanding; learning; being informed

Another definition from goo辞書:

  聞くこと、承知することをへりくだっていう語。謹んで承ること。「お申し越しの御趣旨拝承いたしました」

The latter definition is almost the same as the first definition. But it has an example. I tried to translate the example using google translate to try to understand how 拝承 is translated in English when incorporated in a complete sentence.

Below is the Google Translate translation:

  「お申し越しの御趣旨拝承いたしました」= I wish you the intention of the application.

  お申し越しの御趣旨 = Purpose of application

Honestly, I'm not confident with my own translation. But my own translation is "I was informed of the purpose of the translation."

Is my understanding correct?

Can you give me advice on how to interpret the word 拝承 when used in a sentence?

Thank you.


texts:
I imagine that in じゃんけんぽん, けん corresponds to 拳 which I interpret as "fist" which is "rock".

Do じゃん and ぽん correspond to "scissors" and "paper" ?

If not, then do the individual parts of じゃん, けん and ぽん mean anything on their own or are they derived from another word?


texts:
はーあほらし　　なんかイイ具合に緊張したのにさ　　まったく俺らなんで付き合い続いてんだろうな　　正反対なのに

(since it's from a manga, I put spaces to indicate separated balloons)

Context: two friends have just had a discussion (as they often do) before a decisive battle against their enemies. One said that he will stop his friend if he tries to kill people during the battle. Here you can see the pages in question (the sentence with 具合に is at the beginning of the second page).

I found on a dictionary that よい具合に means 'fortunately', but it doesn't make sense to me in this case. Even if I translate it as "in a nice way", I still don't get the meaning. Could it be that the sentence is not connected to the next one (まったく俺ら...), so I'm not getting the right meaning? My attempt:

  It's ridiculous. Even though we are tense in a nice way(?) and we are the exact opposite, why do we continue to be friends?


texts: Parsing 学校を休んで遊んでいるところを友達のお母さんに見られた。

texts:
I don't understand the following sentence from my textbook:

  学校を休んで遊んでいるところを友達のお母さんに見られた。

I think this sentence means

  Mom saw us while we were playing hooky from school.

I don't understand why を is used after ところ instead of に, で, or が.
I think を marks the direct object, 学校を休んで遊んでいるところ, of 見られた.
I don't understand why the passive verb 見られた would have a direct objet.

What does this sentence mean?
Why is ところ followed by を, and what is its meaning?
If を marks the direct object of 見られた, why does it have a direct object?


texts:
この曲、「僕に彼女ができたんだ」と呼んでいますが、タイトルの意味が分からない。
★ Even though the song is called 「僕に彼女ができたんだ」, I don't know what the title means.
日本語と英語、どっちでもいい。
Japanese, English - whatever is cool.


texts: Modifying fixed expressions such as 「駄々をこねる」 adjectivally and adverbially

texts:
I came across the following sentence:

  子供みたいな駄々をこねる

It felt a bit weird (possibly because I'm not very familiar with either 「駄々」 or 「こねる」 and think of the expression as a big verb) and made me wonder whether 「みたいに」 would also work. Google results showed that both 「子供みたいな駄々をこねる」 and 「子供みたいに駄々をこねる」 are used.

I feel that you can replace 「な」 with 「に」 in the above sentence without changing the meaning very much, but if you compare it to something like 「嘘をつく」, the meaning changes for some reason.

  子供みたいな嘘をつく: the lies are childlike
  子供みたいに嘘をつく: the way of lying is childlike, but the lies aren't necessarily

Why does this happen or is my intuition even correct? Either way, what is the difference between using 「な」 and 「に」 in 「子供みたい◯駄々をこねる」 apart from modifying the noun or the verb?


texts: How do I decide which Hentaigana to use?

texts:
According to this page , there are multiple Hentaigana express あ.  How do I decide which to use?

このページによると、'あ'を表す変体仮名は複数あるそうです。これらをどうやって使い分けるのでしょうか。


texts:
[relative-clauses] のタグをなんとなく眺めてみました。これは、直訳すれば「関係詞節」らしいですが、日本語にこのような文法は存在しますか？というのも、いまいち日本語の文法でこのような文節を意識したことがなく、はたして日本語の文法において関係詞節なるものが存在するのかふと疑問に思ったからです。そして、試しに Google で検索すると英文法についてのサイトがひたすらヒットします。

存在する場合は、例えばどのような文章のどのような用法になりますか？


texts:
I found the following sentence in a document relating to this webpage:

  「お客さまの声室」受付時間を2012年11月3日（土）より以下の通りに変更いたします。

My initial guess is that 「お客さまの声室」 is some kind of feedback room where costumer concerns are voiced out and catered for, but I'm not sure because I can't find an analogous meaning of 「声室」anywhere.

Is "Customer Feedback Room" accurate? Or if I'm wrong, what is the room for?


texts: what does "mata ha" stand for in this sentence?

texts:
くるまはみぎ、ひだりまたはまっすぐいってもいいです

i understand what mata normally means but, it doesn't seem to work in this sentence.

please & thank you.