texts: What is the meaning of adjectives ending in 〜く?

texts:
I understand that the following words are adjectives:

早{はや}い early/fast
近{ちか}い close/near
すごい awesome/great

However I’m unsure how to use the forms ending in 〜く such as:

早{はや}く
近{ちか}く
すごく

Do these have a different meaning or usage? An explanation of the differences in grammatical role (if there is one) and examples of the different uses of one of these would be helpful to understand the distinction. Examples of polite (〜ます) and conversational sentences would help if usage is different between them.
Are these special cases? If so, are there any other commonly used examples?
Can this form be used for any adjectives ending in 〜い? If so, is there an equivalent form for adjectives ending in 〜な?


texts:
ああもう、マジで彼女が複数人いるような男は普段から何してんだ。

speaker's thoughts on his futility on getting a date

  ...what do guys with lots of girls normally do?

not quite sure how to read 彼女が複数人いるような男, literally a guy that is similar to many girls?


texts: How should I translate からである in this sentence?

texts:
日本の輸出をストップさせるために、円高が進行していたからである。

I know that normally it explains reason, but if I translate it with that meaning, the sentence doesn't make sense. And I've found this usage of からである, in other sentence too...

しかも、地価をのぞけば、物価も安定していたからである (for example)

Thank you very much!!


texts: Pitch accent websites differing for certain words

texts:
For the word 九日 (ここのか{LHHH}), both OJAD and weblio agree on the pitch accent of the word itself, but for the particle that comes afterwords (say 九日の), they differ by this:

  OJAD: ここのかの{LHHHH}
  weblio: ここのかの{LHHHL}

From what I can see both sources seem fairly reliable, so does this mean that both pitches are considered standard?


texts: If writing in である form, when is it necessary to use だ？

texts:
I know that the である style of writing is used as a somewhat-formal stylistic choice, often in editorials, and in rare cases, in particular styles of speeches. I remember being taught at some point, though, that when writing in である　form it is necessary to still use だ as a sentence ender in some situations, but I can't recall what those situations were.

Is this the case and if so, when is it necessary to use だ when writing in である form?


texts: What does it mean when you add 'おっか' to the stem of a verb?

texts: I've been reading, playing, and watching a lot of Japanese content recently and I keep running into this construction. I feel like I get the gist of it's meaning but I don't know exactly what it means. Here are a few examples of what I've come across: 始めおっか, 手伝おっか, and 何か飲もっか.


texts:
What does なんたらという mean? I searched なんたら's meaning and it showed. The following

oojah
oojahkapiv
oojamaflip
oojar
oojiboo

I used eow.alc.co.jp to search.
http://eow.alc.co.jp/%E3%81%AA%E3%82%93%E3%81%9F%E3%82%89/UTF-8/
What do this mean? Is this a japanese only word?


texts: I am trying to find out difference between 退職願 and 退職届 and 辞任 with example and explanation.


texts: What are the katakana in the definition headers of jp-jp dictionaries?

texts:
The image below is the definition of 一員 in the 明鏡国語辞典

what is this ─ヰン?


texts: どうして「〜たいくらいだ」には「くらい」が出るのですか

texts:
最近「むしろあなたに英語を教えてもらいたいくらいだ」という文を見かけたのですけど、英訳の「I'd rather you teach me English」を言ってみたとしたら、私なら「くらいだ」なしで、「むしろあなたに英語を教えてもらいたい」とかになるでしょうから、「くらいだ」の働きや必要性に悩んでいるのです。この「くらい」は、最低限を表すものと同じなのですか。何か軽蔑を表しているわけですか。

よろしくお願いします。


texts:
怖い想像をするけど、僕にはこのダンジョンが下界にヒューマンと亜人{デミ・ヒューマン}を創造した神様達と同等のような
  存在に思えてならない。

Why is に used here and what does it do?


texts: When to use「恐れ入りますが」、「申し訳ないが」、「すみませんが」?

texts:
In mails when explaining the cause of a delay etc, I receive something like the following.

「。。。のため、少々の遅れが発生します。
恐れ入りますが、よろしくお願い致します。」

or

「。。。申し訳ないが、よろしくお願い致します。」

is there a difference or are they pretty much the same thing?


texts: Differences and similarities between 係 and 担当

texts:
I have some questions about the difference between 係 and 担当.

Do these words have the same meaning? Basically, can they be used interchangeably as "the person/group in charge of something"?
I know that there can be more than one 係 in a department (for example, when sending an email, it seems like 経理係　御中 is acceptable), but can there be more than one 担当? Or does 担当 only point to one person within a department? On a similar note, if you don't know who the person in charge is, should you write ～担当　御中 or ～担当者　様?

Thanks!


texts: How do you write "hacker" in Japanese in 2017?... (where hacker doesn't have an evil connotation)

texts:
How do you write "hacker" in Japanese?...

For purposes of this question, here is the definition in English:

Hacker /ˈhækər/
1. One who likes to program.
2. One who utilizes technology to go beyond the limits inherent to the design of an application.

Or in other words; I'm not talking about only Black Hats (which is unfortunately the public perversion of the word "hacker" and has an evil connotation in addition to usually referring incorrectly to mostly script kiddies and not true Black Hats anyways ☺)...  but instead the definition above (which may include the entire gambit Black-Grey-White, but is not limited to those subsets).

I am inclined to go with Saito Jiro's definition, as found in @KeithMaxx 's answer; however, perhaps there has been further codification/consensus/adoption surrounding [ハッカー] since 2007 in 2017.

Is [ハッカー] still valid in 2017 given the original definition of hacker above?

Thanks!  ☺

Expanding what I found in @KeithMaxx 's answer:
 - [Original Text - Link]
ハッカー

ハッキングを行う、もしくは行う能力のある人物のこと。ハッキングとは、システムの構造を理解するために解析する行為で、本来悪い意味ではない。しかし、解析の過程でネットワークやコンピューターの不正利用を行うことが多く、そうした不正利用者をハッカーと呼ぶようになってしまった。元来の意味でのハッカーを擁護する立場からは、クラッカー(破壊者)などの呼称が使われるが、定着していない。
(斎藤幾郎 ライター ／ 西田宗千佳 フリージャーナリスト ／ 2007年)

[Google Translation]
hacker

A person who has the ability to do or hack. Hacking is an act of analyzing to understand the structure of the system, which is not inherently bad meaning. However, the network and in the course of the analysis computer often perform unauthorized use of the over, it has become such a unauthorized user to call a hacker. From the standpoint of defending hackers in the original meaning, the designation of crackers ( destroyers ) etc is used, but it is not fixed.
(Saito Jiro writer / Chika Nishida free journalist / 2007)


texts:
This is an example conversation in one of my textbooks. I don't really understand the third sentence and how to make sense of it in English. My understanding is that わけ is used to provide a reason or circumstance to explain something but I don't see how to translate that along with the rest of the sentence.

まり: ハナさん、どうしてポーラさんとぜんぜん話さなくなったの？

ハナ: うん、ちょっと...

まり: わけを話してくれたら、何か助けてあげられるかもしれないよ。

Mari: Hanna, why is it you’ve never talked to Paul?

Hanna: Er, well...

Mari: Is it that when you talk, there’s something you can’t help?


texts: What does 夢がない said by this speaker mean?

texts:
A and B waiting for C to bring more leaked photos of XXX.

  A「C、早く来ないでござるかなぁ……XXXの写真、早く見たいでござるよ」

  B「どんどん過激になってきてますからね～。今度はパンモロとかかもしれませんよ！？」

  A「それは夢がないでござるよ！　パンツはチラリと見えるくらいが至高でござる！」

それは夢がないでござるよ - "that" (full panty shot) is not a dream, just a
glimpse....

それは夢がないでござるよ has to mean something closer to  "that's a pipe dream is it not" to make logical sense, but how does it get there?


texts: Turning down an invitation: grammar question

texts:
Turning down an invitation

For some reason I got it into my head that すみませんがちょっと was a way to turn down an invitation.

But for example say you were asked to do X at time Y, and you want to do X but time Y doesn't work for you. You can say よじはちょっと: in this case "4 o' clock is a little bit inconvenient".

Why does one use the particle が and the other the particle は? Or am I just completely incorrect and it should be すみませんはちょっと all along?


texts:
関口やナベちゃんに「そんなとこ、ボッと立ってんなよ」と言われたことを思いだし、情けなさそうにうなずいた。
  He recalled being told by 関口やナベ that ??? and bowed his head miserably.

To be honest, I'm stuck on everything in the quotes (something about blushing?) but, in particular I'm puzzled about the んな part in bold after the te-form verb. I'm guessing it's a contraction of たってのな but I've never seen that before either.


texts: Why is までに instead of まで used in the following sentence?

texts:
Here is a sentence that I encountered in a textbook.

けがが治るまでに３週間かかった。

As far as I understand,「XまでYする」means that Y continues until time X, whereas「XまでにYする」means that Y takes/will take place before time X. In the sentence above, the 3 weeks lasted until the injury healed, so why is  までに used?


texts: As far as I can tell, they both mean something like stretch or extend. When would you use each one?


texts: What does だ mean at the end of a sentence or following a noun

texts:
The sentence in question is

それはとってもいい話【はなし】だ。

Which is translated as "That's a really nice story". I don't understand what だ is doing at the end though. 話 seems to mean story with or without it and Google translate gives me the same translation for the full sentence regardless. だ doesn't seem to be a particle either. So what does it mean here and does it act on just the noun or the whole sentence?


texts: How do you say "after all", in the sense of reaffirming or justifying a previous statement?

texts:
For example:

"You should wear a jacket. After all, it's snowing out there."
"Of course I bought you a present! It's our anniversary after all."

I tried an online dictionary but they gave me a lot of different words. けっきょく seems like a different sort of "after all", more like "in the end." だって seems closest to what I want, but it's listed as a colloquialism and I'd like something more formal. There's しょせん, どうせ, やはり, and それもそのはず, and I'm not sure which if any of them are appropriate.

I've also read だから and なぜなら used in this context being translated as "after all", but is that accurate?


texts: I never formally learned Japanese but heard that in some songs. It's not いち、に、さん、し, and not just one, two, three, four, but mixed together. I didn't care at the first time, but after I heard that in another song I'm curious. I checked and found they were from the same composer/lyricist and singer combination, but there are also others according to Google. Is it just because some specific lyricist or singer likes this, and some other lyricists learn from them, or is it more common, for example also used outside musics? Even if it's the artist's preference, does it contain any kind of references, or just could be (re)invented by any normal Japanese person? And is there any specific reason that they are all switching to onyomi from 3 and stopping at 4?


texts:
I'm attempting to learn some basic Japanese vocabulary through a set of Anki flash cards, but one of the cards has the word かなり on it. The definition provided says "fairly, rather." This implies to me that it shows something to be of a lesser degree. For example, if I am fairly certain of something, I am not certain of it, but believe myself to be correct. On the other hand, Wiktionary define かなり as "quite." This seems much stronger than "fairly" or "rather." At least as I use it, "quite" implies a very high degree. If I am quite certain of something, there is little to no doubt in my mind. If someone asks me if I am certain of something, I would not hesitate to confirm by saying "Yes, I am quite certain." Tagaini Jisho suggests a definition of "Considerably, fairly, quite." Sadly, I find each of these words to be different. "Quite" seems stronger than "considerably," which seems much stronger than fairly.

Given all of this, I am left confused as to what かなり actually means. Can someone explain it to me?


texts: る form and おう form of verbs when used with と思う

texts:
What's the difference between these 2 sentences:

  買ってくると思った
  買ってこようと思った

Both of them translates to 'I thought that I'd go and buy'


texts: "渡辺さんってサブラの？" - what could this mean? Just can't catch the meaning of "サブラ". Help please.


texts: Do ちょうだい、ごらん、ください、おいで constitute an own class of part of speech?

texts: They are all used after the Te-Form of Japanese verbs similar to subsidiary verbs, but they seem to differ from subsidiary verbs. What is their true nature?


texts: Apparently, いつでもいいよ。 translates to "Anytime is fine." I get いつ and いい, but so far I've only learned でも translates as something like "but". How is ist used here, and are there any other similar cases?


texts: から and ので formation/conjugation differences

texts:
Consider the case when から and　ので follows a noun, な-adjective, or noun-equivalent:

から：静かだから... "Because it is quiet..." (Subjective causality)
ので：静かなので... "Because it is quiet..." (Objective causality)

(Question) What causes the difference in the parts in bold above?


texts: Is there a metaphorical meaning to this line? (心の望むままに情欲を唄おう)

texts:
The line in question:

  心の望むままに情欲を唄おう。

Context: The speaker is monologuing about how terrible society is, especially how corrupt those in power are, he starts to sound nihilistic and basically says he'll act like a criminal because that's what society wants him to act like.

  見下される程度の、唾棄される程度の悪に何の意味があろうか。全てがペテンなのだ。自分がその嘘に乗らずしてどうする。ああ、心の望むままに情欲を唄おう。

He then mentions the many ways this world could end up being destroyed, by the greed of those in power, by enemies waging war on them etc. But when the world does end he is determined to be a criminal until those final days.

Now back to the question, I don't understand what the speaker means by "心の望むままに情欲を唄おう", translating it literally gives me an odd result "(I/they?) will sing their desires as much as they wish" so I'm thinking there's a more metaphorical meaning behind this that I don't know about yet. I know "心の望むままに" is a set phrase that means "as much as your heart desires" but the  情欲を唄おう is quite confusing. Any help appreciated!


texts: What term would be used for words that are borrowed from Japanese and used in other languages?

texts:
Many Japanese words are used in other languages, sushi, anime, karaoke, tsunami....
Is there a term to identify these words? I am familiar with terms such as 外来語 to indicate loanwords borrowed from other languages. What term would be used to indicate words borrowed from Japanese?


texts: Differences in meanings of interrogative words

texts:
Can someone please explain to me the differences between the following interrogative type words?

いくらか/いくつか
いくらも/いくつも
いくらでも/いくつでも
いくら/いくつ/どのくらい (in questions)

For example I know that いくらか and いくつか both seem to mean "some..." or "several..." but are they used in slightly different situations or are they interchangeable? etc. etc.


texts:
I wonder if is it okay to use all the below structures in a conversation? Is there any structure I should avoid using? The phrase in this case is I ate fried chicken.

  わたしは フライドチキンをたべた。
  “I fried chicken ate.”

  たべた、フライドチキン。
  “Ate, fried chicken.”

  フライドチキンたべた、わたし。
  “Fried chicken ate, I.”

Which of the above structures you guys use the most? And in what given situations you apply each structure?


texts:
I came across this sentence :

  こうして見ている分には、本当の親子そのものにしか見えぬ。

I looked up on this very website the meaning of 見ている分には, but I'm still not sure as to what it really means.

Is there a way to translate it into english, or is it just fine to take it as a way to emphasize the verb 見る ?

For instance, would it bear the same meaning if I were to say

こうして見ていると、本当の親子そのものにしか見えぬ ?

EDIT: As I said: I looked up on this very website the meaning of 見ている分には, but I'm still not sure as to what it really means. Meaning: I ve read the subject marked as duplicate.


texts: Is accent position predictable for -i verbs in Osaka/Kansai?

texts:
Background

While I'm not especially confident about the reliability of my sources (Wikipedia (0) (1) (2)  and some guys' personal websites), and it's possible that I transcribed some of these wrong, the sources agree on the following accent rules for -i verbs:

The few bi-moraic ones are all unaccented with low initial tone (nà-i 'not', yò-i ~ èe 'good', kò-i 'dark, thick, strong', sù-i 'sour')
All tri-moraic -i verbs I've seen specified give the accent on the 1st (penultimate) syllable; for example

âtu-i [á.tsʉ̀.ì] 'hot, warm'
îta-i [í.tà.ì] 'hurt'
kûro-i [kú.ɽò.ì] 'black'
kûsa-i [kú.sà.ì] 'smell like'
sîro-i [ɕí.ɽò.ì] 'white'
etc.

For longer words, the accent seems to usually fall on the penultimate syllable. Initial pitch is usually high:

tánôsi-i [tá.nó.ɕì.ì] 'fun'
ómôro-i 'interesting, amusing'
káwâi-i 'adorable'
síkâku-i 'square-shaped'
yáyakôsi-i 'complicated'

and sometimes low:

syòomôna-i [ɕò.ò.mó.nà.ì] 'boring'
àhokûsa-i 'idiotic'

But there seem to be a few exceptions:

òisî-i [ò.ì.ɕí.ì] 'tasty'
sìɴdô-i [ɕì.ɴ̀.dó.ì] 'tired'

Question

Now this looks like a straightforward rule: accent shifts to the right when it would otherwise fall on the second mora of a syllable. If valid, this rule entails that accent position is predictable for -i verbs. However, I'm suspicious of that because it has been emphasized (e.g. here) that unlike in Standard Japanese, the Kansai dialect's accent system is purely moraic and does not constrain accent to the first mora in a syllable.

Also, there may be exceptions to the proposed rule, possibly mímiʔ̂ti-i 'stingy' or bábâʔti-i 'dirty, messy' or déʔ̂kai 'huge' or gôʔtu-i 'huge'. (But it's hard to tell the underlying accent pattern, since /ʔ̩/ is inherently voiceless, so these aren't clear exceptions.)

So: is this rule valid? Or are òisî-i / sìɴdô-i / bábâʔti-i / gôʔtu-i irregularly stressed?

Notation: Here I'm using the circumflex ⟨ ̂⟩ to mark accented syllable, and acute ⟨ ́⟩ and grave ⟨ ̀⟩ to indicate initial high and low pitch respectively (following the IPA).


texts:
I tried to look it up in a dictionary, on jisho.org and also by googling for it but I couldn't find out how to say "to mutilate" in Japanese.

I really need this word since it's legal here to crop animal's tails and ears, declaw cats and apparently it's common to chop off part of a cat's ear to "mark" the cat.

I desperately need to be able to say "Mutilating animals is considered a crime in Europe" and "I'd never adopt a mutilated animal" because I'm sure I'll soon again be in a situation where I want to say these things.


texts: The difference between 超{こ}える,  越{こ}える and 過{す}ぎる

texts:
超{こ}える, 越{こ}える and 過{す}ぎる are said to mean "to pass through" in the "edict" dictionary, but I don't fully understand the difference between the three.

How does their usage differ please? Can anyone provide any relevant examples?

One example that I'd like to express, but don't quite know how to, is how to say "to pass a peak of a mountain" or "to pass a peak point on a graph", but I'm not even sure these are the right words to do that.


texts:
Hope this is an appropriate question!

I visited Tokyo back in September and got by on some very basic Japanese (though more often with the help of their good grasp on English).

Anyway, there was a couple of times I heard as a parting phrase... once from a barman and I believe another in a restaurant. I thought it was just "arimasu" or "arimasen" by itself though I may have missed a particle or other word. I tried to look it up when I was there and have searched many times over the last few months to decipher it but with no luck.

The curiosity is still getting to me, could anyone here shed some light on how that might be used as a parting phrase?


texts: Difference of では　vs　には in this sentence context

texts:
ここでは事故の危険があります。

I understand that the additional は to で and に is just to add a form of contrast. However, what I am confused about is that why is で used instead of に when the sentence contains "あります". To my understanding, に is most often used when あります is present.

Why is では used here in this case instead of には？


texts: Email greeting for a teacher I've never met

texts:
I've only studied Japanese for two semesters, 10 years ago, so this is a really basic question...

If I'm emailing a teacher at an American university (let's call him 塚中) that I've never met before to ask a question about his class that I'm thinking about taking, would it be acceptable to use「塚中先生初めまして！」as the first line of my email before proceeding in English?

Would it be seen as friendly and casual (what I want) or off-puttingly informal?
Or just straight-up wrong?


texts: So I was watching an anime where one of the characters was making food for another. The person cooking food for the other person said that some of his snot dripped into the food, and the guy responded with きたね！ The subtitles translated it as, "That's gross!" But I don't how it could be translated like that...can anyone help me out? Is きた the past tense of a verb, or is it just a noun or something like that?


texts: When learning new verbs, is it best to memorize both the transitive and intransitive versions up front?

texts: How do you handle learning new verbs that have both transitive and intransitive forms?  Is it best to immediately memorize both forms?


texts:
What is the difference between うーん and ううん?

In a comment on Pronunciation of ううん, paullb said that he usually sees the negative interjection ううん written as うーん.  This confused me, because I thought of ううん and うーん as different words, pronounced differently.

I decided to look it up, but most of my dictionaries don't have entries for うーん.  I found one that did, though--the big Kenkyusha J-E dictionary.  According to that dictionary, ううん has three meanings.  The first is the "negative interjection" meaning, and the other two appear to be something else:

  ううん

  １【軽い否定】no; uh-huh; uh-unh.

    「朝ご飯はもう食べたの？」「〜まだだよ」 "Had breakfast yet?"ー"Un-unh, not yet."

  2 【言いよどむとき、苦しいとき】 er; hmm; ugh; oof.

    「衝撃的なニュースに、彼は〜と言ってそれきり口をつぐんでしまった。」 At the shocking news he let out a groan [moan] and said no more.

  3 【感心したとき】 oh; aha; uh-uh.

    「そのリポートを読んで、学生の冷静な状況分析に教授は〜どうなった。」 When he read [upon reading] the essay, the professor murmured his approval of the student's objective analysis.

Meanwhile, the entry for うーん looks like this:

  うーん　＝ううん 2,3.

That doesn't include meaning 1, so I concluded that the negative interjection ううん and うーん are separate words.  (It also appears that うーん can be written ううん, but then it's not "the negative interjection ううん".)

Based on paullb's comment, though, I'm not sure if this distinction holds up in practice.  Can anyone tell me if I'm on the right track?  If I see うーん, could it mean "no"?  If I see ううん, can that mean something other than "no"?  How do I tell the difference?

(I left out a couple examples from the definition for ううん 2.  Hopefully that's okay.)


texts: Structure and meaning of もう少しなんとかならんかったもんかね

texts:
The sentence is from a manga in which the character, after saying this :

オレの細胞がてめえみたいなみにくいバケモノに使われているなんてショックだぜ。
What a shock that my cells were used for an ugly monster like you.

Says this :

もうすこしなんとかならんかったもんかね...

The translations I have are along the line of "It could have become something better." "I wish a better job had been done."
I know that もうすこし can mean "a bit more" or "a bit longer", can it mean "a bit better" too?
From what I know ものか is used to strongly state the opposite of what precedes it like :

知るもんか！
How the hell would I know? ; No idea! ; I don't care!

Assuming I'm right, I don't get how ならんなかったもんか can be translated as "could become"...
EDIT :
Or is it along the line of :

There is no way (もんか） that somehow (なんとか) it did not become (ならなかった) a bit better (もうすこし).


texts: Written resources for scientific and philosophic japanese?

texts:
In this Question about computer science jargon, most answers to date are electronic resources and that makes sense.

But I would like to know if there are printed japanese/english or japanese/german dictionary which gives careful consideration to scientific, technological and philosophical (analytical, epistemology) meanings of kanjis without being too difficult to peruse for a non-native learner. I would not be able to comfortably use a japanese-only reference.

It does not need to be strictly a dictionary. I am interested in printed books about scientific japanese writing for instance, or specialized documents with a glossary for that specialty. I remember among other things seing a japanese colleague with a nice book about german philosophical concepts and their kanji approximation and translation. I presume there are other such books in areas such as biology, cognitive sciences, physics, history of science.


texts: How to know the suitable reading of その間 in a given sentence?

texts:
Sometimes the reading is そのかん as in

  「その間【かん】に彼は居なくなっていました」
  "He disappeared in the meantime."

and sometimes the reading is そのあいだ as in

  「母は忙しそうに料理をしていた。その間【あいだ】私はテレビを見ていた」
  "Mother was busily cooking; in the meantime, I was just watching TV."

How to know the suitable reading of その間 in a given sentence ?


texts:
I'm reading a children's story called きつつき商売. Here's an excerpt:

『音屋』
それだけでは、なんだか分かりにくいので、きつつきは、そのあとにこう、書きました。
「できたての音、すてきないい音、おきかせします。四分音符一こにつき、どれでも１００リル」

I'm assuming リル is some sort of currency, but all of my normal internet searches aren't helping me figure out specifically what it is. What could リル mean in this context?


texts: When to use ところ / て+いるところ / た+ところ

texts:
In this sentence:

  「もしもし、今、駅に向かって（_______）ところです。 あと５、６分でつきます。」

What should be the correct tense of the verb 歩く?  Should I base my answer on the word 今 or the てform of 向かう?

If there is 今 does that mean that た+ところ is not appropriate?
If I see a Verbてform, all my V should be in てform?

Thank you


texts: How do I greet a group of people in different time zones?

texts:
Let's say a group of friends from different countries are in a Skype call. For me, perhaps it's morning, while others are in midday or nighttime hours in their respective countries.

When in a one-on-one chat, I'm aware it's best to use the correct greeting for your recipient's time zone. However, this quickly gets more complicated when you have multiple recipients in varying time zones and times of day.

As someone joining this theoretical group conversation, how can I say hello without sounding strange to anyone? Is it best to use something like こんにちは? Should I use the greeting for my own time zone? Or, is there some other way I should greet the group?


texts:
How common is the shortened causative form, eg. 食べさす instead of 食べさせる.

Tae Kim says in his grammar guide (http://www.guidetojapanese.org/learn/grammar/causepass) that the shorter causative-passive form (行かされる instead of 行かせられる) is not used as often as the longer version.  However, I've read in genki and elsewhere that the shorter form is actually used more often in conversation.

That makes me wonder how frequently the shorter causative form is used.  Is that also popular in conversational Japanese?  In what contexts would you expect to hear it?


texts: What’s an authoritative source for a complete list of official shinjitai kanji?

texts:
I found quite a few website tables and software conversors, but none that was both complete and authoritative.  Is there any place I can find such a list in digital format?

拡張新字体 would be a nice bonus, but what I’m really interested is the official list.


texts: Do friends continue to use chan/kun to refer to each other as adults or do they switch to using san?


texts: I'm attempting a translation of a video game manual, and it keeps using compounds like 名国 and 名街. This is not a game where you're able to name the places/characters, and the sentences where the words appear are talking about the places themselves, not the names of them. Has anyone seen this before or have an idea on what it means?


texts:
I checked around and it says here about the usage of 胃, however, I didn't see おなか there.

What is the difference in おなか and 胃, in pronunciation and usage?


texts:
In a game manual, there is a description of a rare item that sometimes appears instead of a regular one. The rule determining when this rare item appears is this:

  16回に１度、Ｘのかわりに出現。

In an earlier question concerning the same sentence I got quite a lot of answers with translation. Every answer translates the condition as

  Once every 16 times

However I am still not sure whether this means:

There is a probability of 1/16 that a rare item appears.
The rare item appears every 16th time.

Which one is correct? And, how to express the second one in Japanese?


texts:
あんたそりゃ「押しかけ女房」ってやつだな
I undestand this like: "Youre that "Oshikake niyoubou" guy" (if I'm wrong  please tell me) but I cant understand the meaning of って

Can somebody help me? Im sorry for my bad english too.


texts: What's the meaning of 角刈り in this context?

texts:
I came across this sentence:

冗談はその角刈りだけにしてくださいよ

(Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i1e-WwxCZ3w)

From the context, I reckon it means "Please don't joke /Give me a break", but I'm stumped by 角刈り. My dictionary says 角刈り = a crew cut (haircut), which makes no sense here. Is this some sort of slang/idiom?


texts:
【大ニュース！】. . 8月6日(日)Lovesofa は Africaリリースパーティー. . みんなでお祝いしましょう！. . いつもと違うLovesofaが見れるかも？. . 取り置きお待ちしてます！

I need some help with this Tweet.  I understand everything except the last sentence. I've Googled, and asked around among some (older) Japanese friends and everyone seems a little stumped. Based on the context, it occurred to me that rather than the dictionary definition of "layaway," perhaps it means "pre-order" instead? As, in "We await your pre-orders (of our latest album/CD)." Any help would be greatly appreciated.


texts: Why does the title of Yurikuma Arashi use katakana for yuri instead of kanji?

texts: So from what I understand, the yuri genre is always written in kanji, like this, 百合. However, I noticed that the title of the anime has yuri written in katakana, ユリ. So if the anime is a yuri series, then why would they write it in katakana instead of kanji?


texts: Is it 需要は多い or 需要は高い

texts:
需要 {じゅよう｝　means demand, like the economic demand.

But how do you say the demand is high, with 高い or 多い ?


texts: 青春とは噓であり、悪である　‐　あり　vs　ある？

texts: So this is a line from the anime Oregairu. From what I know, I would say ある and あり mean the same thing. However, I could be wrong so is there any special reason why 'ari' was used first and 'aru' was used second in this sentence?


texts: What is the difference in nuance by using から and between に with the passive verb?

texts:
Example 1:

先生 に 叱られた

Example 2:

先生 から 叱られた

Do these sentences imply the same meaning or no ?
i.e I was scolded by my teacher


texts: I tried to explain this term to a friend with no luck. Thank you.


texts:
I'll start off with the line itself:

  親公認で付き合えるこの状況だけで、奇跡と思わなくっちゃいけない。

The line seems simple enough. I know だけ has a few more meanings than just "only"  but none of those appear to fit here either and I get the feeling "only" is close to what's intended, but not not quite right. Here my literal, word-for-word translation: "In only this situation that I can go out with him/her with parental authorization, I must think it a miracle." It's ugly but I think it makes sense, save for "in only this situation". It's plain my understanding of that is wrong. How should I be interpreting だけ here?


texts:
The context is "暑っちぃ.. 今日はこの暑さ.."

Is it a slang/dialect type of suffix that is added to the adjective?


texts: 借りてきた猫 was translated as a borrowed cat. In that case, why 借りてきた is used instead of just 借りた猫? What additional meaning does it want to imply?


texts: What does this sentence mean: 菅何でも出来るのに蝸牛みたい？

texts:
菅何でも出来るのに蝸牛みたい？

What this sentence mean? On google translate it says Suga, you can do anything like a snail? Is that correct or is this some slang?


texts:
Can you please help me with recognizing this line in old Japanese handwriting?

As I suppose, this is:

  ?  やき ？ っすれ ？ の二

but it's most likely that I am wrong


texts: How to differentiate between んい and に in romaji?

texts:
Occasionally I want to look up a word on Jisho.org from a device where it is inconvenient to use a Japanese keyboard. The default is to interpret an input as romaji if possible, so that's usually not a problem, but a word like 音{おん}韻{いん} would be romanized as onin, which Jisho parses as おにん, not おんいん, and does not find the word I am looking for.

When actually entering the text, I would enter o-n-n-i-n-n, but onnin, would be the romanization of おんにん. Is there a standard way to differentiate between んい and に in situations like this?


texts:
I found this sentence in a workbook:

  それとこれとは別でしょう。

My translation of this sentence is:

  As for that and this, they are different.

What is the significance of the second と? How is the sentence translated with it?


texts: What conjugation does出す/出せる take in this expression;元気を出せよ。?

texts:
Now i know that 元気を出せよ。=Cheer up.
But i have no clue what's going on in the expression.
Here's my attempt to literally translate it with the help of Jisho.org:
元気を出せよ。=You can reveal/show full spirit/livelyhood, you know.
Supposing that 出す is in potential.


texts: How precisely is the へ particle to be understood in 「そこへ、…」 when it means "then"?

texts:
The sentence in question (source):

そこへ、猿がやって来ました。

It is translated as "Then, the monkey approached".
From what I understand, he へ particle normally is used with a verb to imply it's general direction, a more specific version of に. I don't quite see how this meaning would apply here.


texts: difference それで、だから、ですから

texts:
例えば、将来の夢は自分の店を持ちたいです。それで or ですから or だから、今大学生で料理の作り方を勉強しています。

質問：

'ですから'は'だから'より丁寧ですが、でも、この'それで'とは違いがありますか？
この文をちょっと変えたら、「将来の夢は………持ちたいんですが、ですから or だから or それで、」この状況は正しいですか？ 'だから'はよく文の始めの位置にありますから。違うなら、どの言葉を使ったらいいですか。


texts: 不 and 非 and 無 and 未 usage difference/rule

texts:
Is there any rules that govern when to use 不 and 非 and 無 and 未 in regards to the meaning of "not" or "un-"

for instance 非表示, 不満


texts:
Another rock star tweet that I don't understand. Here the word たいがい confuses me.

いや、しん様には負けます( ；´Д｀)RT @shinji_sid: いやいやあなたもたいがい…RT @mao_sid: しん様(((o(ﾟ▽ﾟ)o)))今日もイケメンでした(((o(ﾟ▽ﾟ)o)))RT @shinji_sid: ♪(´ε｀ )つティモテ

It looks like they are complimenting each other on how beautiful they are.

What does it say?


texts: Is using a state-of-being in passive form feasible?

texts:
For example if I wanted to express "Alice , who was (once) not interesting, is being liked by everyone". Then what sort of grammar should I use?

  面白くなかったアリスは、皆に好きであられる。

Is state of being in passive form possible? If yes, are there any other way to express it? Is this sentence gramatically correct and does it correctly express the intended meaning? What are the correct/other ways to convey my intended meaning(polite/informal)?


texts:
I was going through a JLPT grammar practice book and am confused on a question:

「一郎、まだ起きているかな。」

「部屋の電気が消えているから、もう＿＿＿＿＿よ。」

I choose 寝そう since ～そう is often used to make conjectures based on visual info (Ichiro's light is off).  But the answer key says 寝たよう is better.  Any thoughts on why?


texts: Why does 疲れた translate to the present tense

texts:
疲れた= I’m tired

1) Why is 疲れた used to indicate a present state? (Is there a logic behind these types of verbs or is it easier to remember these verbs?)

2) What is the difference between 疲れたand 疲れている? Are there situations where one would be preferred over the other?

3) What would 疲れる mean? Would it be "I will be tired" or "I'm getting tired" ?

4) Japanese also uses time-related words like 毎朝  or  今. Does using these words change the state choice as well? For example:
I feel like it should be 今、疲れている。
And 毎朝、疲れた。when using different time-related words.


texts: 文言 もんごん ぶんげん why are the differences between these two readings and why is もんごん more common?

texts: As stated in the title the reading for 文言 can be もんごん or ぶんげん. I know that もんごん is almost always used in speech, but why do two readings exist and why is もんごん so much more common? Also, are their any specific circumstances when ぶんげん is preferred?


texts: When is 酒 pronounced sake and when is it pronuounced saka? And why?

texts:
Saka as in 酒場{さかば} or zaka as in 居酒屋{いざかや}

Sake as in 酒{さけ}


texts: How can I explain about someone who is beside without saying their name for example "he likes to eat fruits"

texts: Is it possible for me to use あの人は　その人は　この人は to address somebody (instead of using their name) who is beside me because i'm doing a presentation and i'm required to describe somebody but that person will also be there to describe himself. If it is possible which one is the most suitable? Or is there any other way to adress them


texts:
From JapanesePod101, with their translation:

ミュージカルは、歌【うた】にのせて物語【ものがたり】を展開【てんかい】する。
A musical can tell a story with songs.

I understand that のせる means (amongst other things) "to take on board". Does 歌にのせて mean something like the musical is "riding on" (i.e. conveyed by) songs? Also, what is the direct object of the transitive のせて?


texts: How would I say something's made of something?

texts:
Examples of what I'm asking-

'Teeth made of gold'

'Ball made of rubber'

'House made of wood'


texts:
Just found a book and read the synopsis:

  余命一週間と宣告された“たまらん”こと玉木走太

Is this equivalent in meaning to 洒落にならない?


texts:
I am writing a homework assignment and I am trying to write "I had to start bringing my umbrella".

I know that to say "I started eating" it would be 食べはじめる，or to say "I started drinking" it would be 飲み始める。

I have no idea how to start writing "I had to start bringing an umbrella".

This is what I think it is: 傘を連れて行き初めていけない

This would be in the context of: It was raining so much, I had to start bringing an umbrella because I did not want to get wet.


texts: How do I say ''Idle animation'' in Japanese?

texts:
I want to know how to say the term ''idle animation'' in Japanese. It's what a character from a videogame does when standing still for too long. Ex: Sonic.

I have seen people in twitter use ''アイドルアニメーション'', but I wonder if it is the correct term.


texts: Can't understand what they're saying (listening)

texts:
https://vocaroo.com/i/s1KAqThhtwgd
They're playing cat's cradle loudly and this exchange happens, but I can't understand what's being said after "少女らよ、もう少々静かにしてもらえまいか。"


texts:
I am trying to translate a scene early on in Attack on Titan but having some trouble with one line.
Link to the scene in question
This is what I have so far:

総員戦闘用意
All units, prepare for battle

総員{そういん} - all members/all units
戦闘{せんとう} - battle
用意{ようい} - preperation

目標は一体だ
the objective is one body ?

I don't quite understand what is being said here. Are they saying their objective is to get 1 body, as in to kill 1 titan, Or is it more along the lines of "we are share the same objective" ?

目標{もくひょう} - mark; objective; target
一体{いったい} - one object; one body; unity

必ず仕留め
be sure to take it down

必{かなら}ず - always; without exception; necessarily; certainly; without fail; positively; invariably
仕留{しと}め - to bring down (a bird); to kill

ここを我々人類最初の壁外拠点とする
here we will make humankind's first base outside of the walls

ここを我々{われわれ} - here we
人類{じんるい}最初{さいしょ}の - humankind's first
壁外{へきがい} - outside of the wall
拠点{きょてん}とする - to be based in (a place)

Any general feedback is also most welcome.


texts:
Yesterday I saw the movie "Atelier", and I heard the phrase めっちゃくちゃ. Is it grammatically correct? And how to translate it?

Can emphasized めっちゃくちゃ be found in official literature? Google shows about 999,000 results.. And めちゃくちゃ - 42,900,000 results.

Can someone answer it, not just give a down-votes? I will not give up :)


texts: What is the difference between ぶらつく and ふらつく?

texts: Looking at the デジタル大辞泉 definition for ふらつく, it gives as a synonym ぶらつく. They seem very related, but is there any usage difference between them perhaps due to differing etymology?


texts:
I'm having trouble understanding when どころ is used more for emphasis/to show an extreme example, compared to when it's used to negate something.  Also, when would it be used to negate something in an extreme manner?

  難しい役どころを、なおかつ真摯に向き合っている

In that particular sentence, I would have understood the first part as "The role is far from difficult" but it seems like it would contrast the second part unless I'm understanding it incorrectly, so would it just mean "The role is extremely difficult"?

There's also some context that might change the meaning of that sentence, but I was just generally confused about どころ. Thanks!

EDIT: Maybe a better comparison would be "馬鹿どころではない" vs. "紳士どころではない"
What makes it "He isn't a fool" over "He's far from being a fool," and "He's far from being a gentleman" over "He isn't a gentleman"?


texts: Is the 強い with a ロ instead of ム on top a valid kanji in Japanese?

texts:
I don't know how to intentionally write the kanji that way, but on my ubuntu system 強い sometimes gets rendered that way.

What I'd like to know first if it's incorrect or if it's some rare but still valid way to write it. I went through all the kanji in my jisho that featured 弓 but none of them matched the weird tsuyoi.

Secondly I'd be interested in if anyone had any explanation for why it's rendered like this?

My personal guess is that it has something to do with the fonts or something.


texts:
Consider the following sentences.

  A: 女性に限らず、男性も化粧品を使うようになった。

  My translations:

  A'1: Using cosmetics is not limited to women but also has been started by men.

  A'2: Not only women but also men have started using cosmetics.

Who started first is ambiguous.

  B: コンビニは、若者に限らず、お年寄りにも利用者が多い。

  My translations:

  B'1: The end users of convenient stores are not only from young people but also many from old people.

  B'2: The end users of convenient stores are many not only from young people but also from old people.

Which group has more users is also ambiguous.

Question

Do X and Y have the same state when using  ~X にかぎらず Y?


texts:
I was reading a text but somehow my brain managed to freeze and I have utterly no idea what was said. In the image is the text itself, and I figured the first kanji should be 抱, but I'm not sure of the second... What could it be and what would the sentence be? This comes directly after a observatory comment that someones body tempature is low when they share a hug (it's chilly where they met up).

Also (tho not as important) is there any tips on how to better read handwritten kanji? Even if I know the kanji themselves I have a hard time recognizing them when it's handwritten... Or does it just become easier the more experience you have reading it?


texts: Expressing hope for other people to do/be/have something

texts:
I'm wondering if there is a specific construction, or certain constructions, to express the hope, wish, or desire that other people do/be/have etc something; i.e. the subjunctive (even though I haven't seen it referred to as that in Japanese grammar).

I'm familiar with 「たがる」for talking about other people's wants from the speaker's perspective, but as yet I've not encountered anything regarding what the speaker wants for others to do/be/have; etc, either selfishly (see example #1, below) or altruistically (examples #2 and #3). I'm guessing there are various ways to express it, depending on various factors such as degree of hypothesis, level of politeness or informality; selfish vs altruistic desire; etc.

For example:

  "I hope that this novelist continues to write books forever."
  "I'd love for my sister and her boyfriend to get married soon."
  "I think it would be fantastic if the lobbyists got what they wanted."

My (woefully inept) attempts would be:

  この小説家{しょうせつか}がずっと本{ほん}を書{か}けばいいんですよ。
  私は姉{あね}と彼{かれ}がすぐに結婚{けっこん}するのが大好{だいす}きです。
  ロビイストが望{のぞ}むものを手{て}に入{い}れば、それは素晴{すば}らしいことと思{おも}います。

Much appreciated!


texts: What is the difference between 技能 and 技術 in terms of 業務内容

texts:
I have a form for a medical check-up that asks what category best describes the 業務内容 of your occupation.

One of the choices is 技術・研究 and another is 生産・技能.

A monolingual dictionary is of no help because it defines 技能 with 技術.
I can't decide between

  Technology/Research and Manufacturing/Crafts
  and
  Engineering/Research and Manufacturing/Technical

but engineering for 技術 seems like a bit of a stretch, especially because I don't see it being lumped together with research. 技能 being categorized with 生産 makes me think it's more along the lines of "skilled worker" but that's not a category of occupation.

I also referenced this Wikipedia page on categories of occupations. Which had Skilled agricultural, forestry and fishery workers and Craft and related trades workers. I wondered if 技能 could be so broad as to include both of these, but being put with manufacturing makes me think it is only crafts.

So, when referring to an occupation, does 技能 mean something as specific as crafts and is 技術 referring to all technical fields?
Or is 技能 technical fields and 技術 more specific as in engineering?

Thank you for any help sorting this out.

Note: I have already seen this question. It didn't help.


texts:
So came across this line on this page (link, previous and following pages included also) and it has that very odd 無手勝流の剣にしては！やる！bubble on it that's left me stumped, (the context is a friendly sporting match with personal robots and the one who says the line then cuts off the other's robot's arms on the following page as shown, for what it's worth).

As far as I can tell from my dictionaries 無手勝流 just refers to a victory without fighting, or a personal/unique way of doing something, 剣 I assume is just referring to their opponent's sword though apparently can also refer to swordsmanship itself, にしては I assume is that Xにしては (for/considering X) meaning the construct has, and やる any of やる's many meanings. All together though I just can't come up with anything in my head that seems to make sense for that one bubble.

Also regarding the other circled KMFが剣術を使いやがった bubble (a KMF being the machines they pilot), I assume that'd be something like "Such swordsmanship with a KMF!" which they think as they get outplayed, but I'm not 100% certain. Would it be something like that?

Thanks for any help.


texts: Need help reading old hand-written japanese

texts:
A friend of mine asked me for help in translating some old family documents. This particular piece is an internment card of a family member that was captured on Java by the Japanese during the second world war. After some successes, I still have trouble translating the following lines, due to the handwriting and, I think, outdated kanji/kana usage.

I'll try to provide some of my own guesswork, but as a not-so-advanced learner of Japanese, it is obviously flawed.

This line describes the occupation (職業) of the person. I'm pretty certain the second character is 気. I have some conjectures about the last three characters, which I think to be 系, 北, and ぶ. My closest guess for the phrase is 電気系北ぶ, which I would translate as something like "Electrical systems Northern division"

The following two lines are written in a page for "Other Informations" (補修欄).

Here, I believe the writer is talking about a transfer to POW-camp number one. However, I can't make sense of the first two characters, written in a different color. I think they might be a name? With much imagination, I can see them as 川悖, which might be a family name?

This line completely baffles me. In the first character, I think I recognise 耳 and 并, but that doesn't seem to be an actual kanji. I don't recognise the follwing two characters, and after that 軍 and maybe 引? I can't make heads or tails of it, though my friend said this was the line he was most interested in. This specific line is preceded by the date 31th of october 1945, which is not long after the Japanese surrender.


texts: How to say "In the morning/afternoon/evening"?

texts: I am wondering what the various ways of saying in the morning/afternoon/evening are... I would expect to be able to say あさ/ひる/よる に... but in the course I'm doing I never see this, they "ni" is usually omitted, or change for a "ha".


texts:
余はライダー。こと脚に関しては他のサーヴァントより優位におるぞ。

https://soundcloud.com/felipem-ller/wed-feb-13-2019-1

So, sorry for repeating the title, but the question is simple, what does こと mean in this context?


texts:
この間も『のりこくん、お弁当買いに行ってくれないか』だって。

I know that the suffix くん is used with boys' names, while ちゃん is used with girls' names. But I've just listened to a dialogue between two girls, and one of them is talking about what her boss said to her.

Why is くん, not ちゃん, used with the girl's name？


texts: Reading order: "Wolf and Spice" or "Spice and Wolf"?

texts: I've noticed the animation series named 狼と香辛料, or "Ookami to Koushinryou", is sometimes referred to as "Spice and Wolf" and sometimes as "Wolf and Spice". Now, I'm no expert in Japenese reading order, but I do remember that it's basically the reverse of English; and that "to" means "and", and "Ookami" means "wolf". That should imply the correct reading order is "Spice and Wolf" - but is it actually more symmetric and can be read both ways?


texts:
Found this word in this context (a song)

生ぬるい惰性で生活を綻ばす
ゴミ箱みたいな部屋のなかで、時が
過ぎるのをただただ待ってる　それだけ
眠れない夜更けに呼吸の音を聞く

To me, it looks like this line says "with halfhearted momentum, (I) tear through life"; but this seems strange.
What is the meaning of "seikatsu wo hokorobasu" and the phrase before it?


texts:
I also would like to know if it relates to any dialect.

A: またそんなことでこそこそやてるのか。

B: なんせ　我々にとっては重大{じゅうだい}問題{もんだい}でやんして...


texts: Say I have a form with differents fields to fill. How do I translate to japanese the word "Fill" (For example I have a button that when pressed will fill all the fields automatically)


texts:
I'm trying to say "I played a game for a TOTAL of 1880 hours or 78 days, over a 5 year period."

I'm a 102 student and we aren't even through the first Genki book yet so this is very hard for me to express with my current knowledge.

I found this and i think i can adapt it to work for me. When is it appropriate to choose にわたって or を通じて in regard to time?

  試験のために、一年を通じて勉強した。

  'I studied throughout the year without taking a holiday break (possibly for a few years) for the exam.'

Is this translation/adaption correct?

  五年を通じて、ゲームを千八百八十時間か七十八日ぐらいしました。

  'Over a 5 year period, I played a game for a TOTAL of around 1880 hours or 78 days.'


texts:
自動運転の技術は、どのくらい自動で運転できるかで５つのレベルがあります。
The extent to which you can drive automatically is measured by 5 levels.

Obviously my translation is rather loose.  A more literal translation would be "to what extent you can drive automatically で there are 5 levels".
I'm struggling to see how this で works. I feel that I want to replace it with の because the whole embedded question (which I understand can behave like a noun) is describing what the levels are. Would this be wrong? Could you please explain the で and maybe provide a couple more examples of this usage with an embedded question?


texts: How to understand this sentence about film reviews in Japanese newspapers?

texts:
I'm a little bit lost here. The following sentence is about a film critic (Tsuchiya Yoshio) and the Yomiuri Shimbun. But I'm not sure about the meaning..

  読売新聞であれば、土屋好生のような映画評論家が批評するか、あるいは記者が署名入りで一本の映画を紹介・批評しています。

Does it say something like this:

  critic (Tsuchiya Yoshio) is publishing single movie critical reviews under his name

The ...署名入りで... part is a bit tricky for me.


texts:
明日雨が降ると公園に行きません。

  (if it rains tomorrow, I won't go to the park)

Is it correct to use と　in the sentence above?

I know that と　is used like the English "whenever." So, my guess is that the sentence is not correct because it's only about tomorrow, not something which happens every time (I'd say ...降ったら...). However, today I heard it from a person whose level is very high, and now I'm not sure I know everything about this meaning of と. Thank you for your help!


texts: Other uses of "imperative prohibition" form eg わかるな　・すわんな

texts:
I saw a film where in two separate scenes the characters seemed to use the "imperative-prohibition" to invite the opposite action:

  1.In one scene a father after explaining something to his son appeared to ask his son if he could understand what he had explained:

  「わかるな」？

  It was as if he had said: 「[おれのいうこと]、分かりませんか」？

  2.In another scene a woman invited a child to sit on a chair that she was pointing at:

  「すわんな」

  As if she had said: 「座りませんか」

In both cases I am sure I have quoted the subtitles correctly but is this really the imperative prohibition or have I missed something?


texts: How to parse the following long announcement?

texts:
The first 2 sentences are given as follows. I have no problem with these.

お客様にお願いいたします。Thank  you to our customer.
鈴木伸ちゃんという３歳の男のお子さんが迷子になりました。A 3 years old boy named Suzuki Shin is lost.

But the last one seems to be confusing. Which is the appositive clause, what is the purpose of を before  お見かけのお客様, why do we use まで?

赤いTシャツを着て (wearing T-shirt)、紺の半ズボンをはいて (wearing navy blue 1/2 pants)、黄色い帽子をかぶっている (wearing yellow cap)３歳ぐらいの男のお子さん (about 3 years old boy)をお見かけのお客様、恐れ入りますが、最寄りの売り場までご連絡ください。


texts:
I saw it used and don't understand it. Here's the usage:

  お陰で村を囲む堀や、防護柵も完全に機能させられるほどの出来になっていた。

Any translation of 出来 (でき) I can think of sounds nonsensical. Could someone point me in the right direction?


texts: Rendering an appositive "which" clause in Japanese

texts:
I've been writing little news pieces lately for practice, and I'm presently hung up on this passage. I'm trying to express the idea "This decision caused many protests, which have remained peaceful thus far." I could split these clauses into two sentences and have an easy time of it, but I've been trying to dig up some information on how I could actually convey that "which" appositive relationship.

I had a look at this excellent discussion, but I don't think the examples provided address my usage case, because the closest equivalency I can draw to those would involve changing the sentence to "This decision cause many protests which are peaceful," or "many peaceful protests," and I specifically want to retain the indication that the protests are ongoing and that their remaining peaceful is not a certainty.

I'd field some guesses, but I've come up short on any material that gets any closer to discussing what I have in mind, so I'm at a loss.


texts: Does "こちらのテーブルをお使いいただけます。" mean "I can use the table, and you cannot?"

texts:
I would like to ask a follow-up question about the 敬語 used in Why “お食事の際は、…” instead of “ご飯を食べる際は、…”?.

example sentence:

  こちらのテーブルをお使いいただけます。

Sounds like:

  I can use this table.

So, the listener certainly must be a 3rd party who has nothing to do with the table, right? If I were addressing the "owner" of the table, I'd have to ask:

  こちらのテーブルをお使いいただけませんか？

If the listener is the "owner" of the table, I am interested in knowing why I do not need to ask if it is ok. Seems like I'm just (humbly) telling them what I am going to do to something they "own" (whether they like it or not).
If the listener is not the "owner", then what is being said is that "I can use this table, but you cannot." This is because I cannot use 謙譲語 to describe the actions of others.
Technically, I guess, "こちらのテーブルをお使いいただけます。" does not comment on whether the listener can, or cannot, use the table. But, it'd seem weird to make no comment about the listener. like: "こちらのテーブルをお使いいたいてもいいし、使ってもいいです。" You'd just say (to include me and you): "こちらのテーブルを使ってもいいです。" anyway, i don't get it...


texts:
I have the following in a Zelda guide book I am translating. It is talking about being faced with a problem and trying various ways to solve it (you know the Zelda games).
I am interested in "むちゃな". There is no kanji but I believe it is 無茶な. This is a videogame guide book and the target audience is teenagers I believe, from looking at what kanji is used and not used.

  そう思える場合は、大抵そのとおりなのだ。　あまりむちゃなアクションを要求されることはない。

This looks to me like "bad tea" (which could mean "absurd" in a way).
Is this the correct kanji, and is it common to use this kanji or is hiragana preferred?

Does anybody know the origins of this? Does "bad tea" really mean "absurd"?

if the next line helps:

  これまでに覚えたアクションと、ゲットしたアイテムを使えば、ほとんどの謎は苦労せずに解けるはずなのだ。


texts:
I'm not really a smart fellow so, please, be gentle. I have a slight unclearness in the difference between noun+の+noun construction and compound words. Could you help me to understand which of those examples are correct and which are not and why? And if there is more than one correct example, what is the difference?

空腹の野生の猫
空腹野生の猫
空腹の野生猫
空腹野生猫


texts: Understanding ~並みに and ending a sentence with a noun

texts:
The sentence in question is:
カズマの発言にいきり立つ、ゴブリン並みに短気な二人。

I get first part of getting angry at Kazuma's statement but the second part has 2 things I don't quite get:

1.並み after the word goblin, the word has so many meanings on Jisho but I'm not sure which, if any of them actually fit here.

2.The sentence ends in 二人, which is a noun. Based on what I've learned, shouldn't the last part of a sentence always be a verb?


texts: 興味が湧く vs 興味が沸く

texts:
Which kanji should we use for the phrase 興味がわく (to mean that something has caught our interest)?

Some quick googling shows that both 興味が湧く (~11m hits) and 興味が沸く (~9m hits) are widely used. Is one of them simply a typo error, or are both of them correct?

What is the difference in nuance and usage between 興味が湧く and 興味が沸く?


texts:
I am trying to obtain a full understanding of the below line of dialog:

  「とっ、ともかく、明日までにはきちんと用意しておくので、百瀬さんは軽い気持ちで来てください。あ、決してナメてかかれというわけではなく……」

The only tricky part to me is ”ナメてかかれ”, for which I think is based on "嘗めてかかる" which seems to mean "look down on someone" (ref)

However, I don't know why かかれ is used instead of かかる here.

Can anyone explain the reason or nuance involved?


texts: I've been looking at futon recently and there's a particularly kind called the Shikibed or Shiki Futon. I was wondering where this "Shiki" was coming from.


texts: What is the Japanese equivalent of English editorial brackets?

texts:
So in English, if an editor needed to add a comment or some clarification to a quote (in an article or something), they would use square brackets, so that the comment doesn't get mistaken as an actual part of the quote.
"Yesterday, she was seen going to the store." → "Yesterday, she [Mary] was seen going to the store."
or even, "Yesterday, [Mary] was seen going to the store."
What is the Japanese equivalent of this? How would this be conveyed in a Japanese newspaper or something?
I'll give an example of what text I'm working with here, because it's kind of unique. It's for a guide to a Japanese game that's been translated into English. I've transcribed all the English text and Japanese text in the game for comparison. But sometimes there are sections of the text that have multiple variants (like a word or two changed). So instead of writing out every single one of these variants as independent lines, I've just condensed them into one line and used editorial brackets to show the different changes. Here's an example of descriptions for an item with 5 different types.
"Petrified Blood Gem. Acquire Radial Blood Gem."
"Petrified Blood Gem. Acquire Triangular Blood Gem."
"Petrified Blood Gem. Acquire Waning Blood Gem."
"Petrified Blood Gem. Acquire Circular Blood Gem."
"Petrified Blood Gem. Acquire Droplet Blood Gem."
I've condensed all this into:
"Petrified Blood Gem. Acquire [Radial/Triangular/Waning/Circular/Droplet] Blood Gem."
And in Japanese, I've written it as:
血晶の化石。『放射／三角／欠け／円／雫』型の血晶石が得られる
I've been informed that using 『』 here is very incorrect as those brackets indicate spoken dialogue. What would be the best way to punctuate this effectively? As an addition to this, are slashes the best choice here too? I've heard that the interpunct is often used for lists like this.
放射・三角・欠け・円・雫


texts: Why are the particles "は" (ha⇒wa), "へ" (he⇒e), and "を" (wo⇒o) not spelled phonetically?

texts:
As far as I know only three words (or particles) have irregular, non-phonetic spelling in Japanese:

"は" - The topic particle is pronounced "wa" but the kana is otherwise pronounced "ha"
"へ" - The movement towards particle is pronounced "e" but the kana is otherwise pronounced "h"
"を" - The kana is only used for the object particle as far as I know and in the kana table takes the position of "wo" but pronunciation seems to hover somewhere between "o" and "wo"

So did the sounds of these particles change since the spelling was set down? Or were the spellings intentionally chosen for some reason? Are there any other irregular kana spellings I omitted?

(P.S. I found the question Why is は pronounced as わ when used as a topic particle? while working on this question but since mine is broader I decided to go ahead anyway, plus it might give an opportunity to test our duplicate marking strategies here)

EDIT

Some of the comments to Lukman's answer below suggests that these might not seem like irregular sounds or kana to native speakers. I was surprised that people interpreted this question to be about romaji rather than being about kana and particles as I intended it.

So a further question: Are these particles and their kana and pronunciations seen as irregular by native Japanese speakers? Or just to learners of Japanese? And what do Japanese and non-Japanese linguists think?


texts:
After reading the 2 threads: How to use へ (-e), に (-ni), まで (made) and の方 (no-hō) with destination and direction? and When going somewhere, is there any difference between e (へ) and ni (に)?

I would like to ask how would a native ask the question "Where are you going later?"

1) 後どこへ行くか？

2) 後どこまで？

3) ?

Context: john talking to mary 30 minutes before school ends.


texts: 『坊っちゃん』の「親譲り」と「損」の理解のし方

texts:
親譲りの無鉄砲で小供の時から損ばかりしている。

-夏目漱石『坊っちゃん』より

この句において、

親譲りの意味はこれによると英語での inherit と理解できるはずです。が、
その辞書の解釈には

  親から性格・財産などを受け継ぐこと。また、そのもの。

「そのもの」を英語での itself などの意味だと理解しても大丈夫ですか。大丈夫であるなら、その(親譲り)例はありますか。

もうひとつの質問は、その「損ばかり」を「いたずらばかり」と理解してもいいですか。


texts:
I'm very sorry, I just couldn't figure it out. If you could state what grammar pieces the term uses and how they affect the word, that would be great.

So far I know that the 会えなくて is the te form of negative '出来る' form.

Sorry!


texts: Is っ used with all consonants or only some of them?

texts: I need to make simple romaji to hiragana conversion for a word based game. When implementing long consonants, I ran into a potential problem of ambiguous conversion. My question is, is っ used with all consonants (kgsztdcnhbpmr) or could it be that some combinations are never actually used?


texts:
Can anyone explain this use of もし? I thought it had to come before ～たら or ～えば.

  もしテレビで観たという方、ぜひぜひツイッターで教えてください。


texts: Is the 仮定形 used only to make the conditional?

texts:
toru --aEiou--> tore --joshi--> toreba.

Is the ba-joshi the only suffix that can be added to the kateikei form of the verb?


texts: Is there a special way of asking hypothetical questions?

texts:
I'm not really sure there is an equivalent for hypothetical questions in Japanese, but here's hoping there is.

In English, hypothetical questions are generally prefaced by "What would you do if..." or something along those lines. It seems like 「何しよう...」 would almost work, but that sounds more like "what could you do if...". To be really specific, how would one say "What would you do if you were dying?" or (for the sake of variation) "what would you do if you went to the park?"

I'm assuming 「公園に行ったならば、何しようか？」 is not correct because it sounds very unnatural.


texts: When is it appropriate to use お疲れ様 (otsukaresama)?

texts:
I know the general meaning of using お疲れ様です／でした to express gratitude for some work, but I'm a bit fuzzy about appropriate times to use it.

I know it is a common saying when leaving for the day, and I've also seen it in email when replying to someone who has just done some task, but are there other situations where this would be appropriate (or inappropriate)?  Is there any kind of time element implied (would it sound strange in the morning?)?

Also, when is it appropriate to just use お疲れさん instead of お疲れ様?


texts:
I don't understand what the difference is between this sentence:

  おいしそうなカップ麺を選んできます。

and this sentence:

  おいしそうなカップ麺を選ぶ。


texts: そこには私一人しかいなかった - why not "私は"?

texts: I understand this sentence, but I cannot explain to myself why I don't need any particle for "私一人". What part of speech is it?


texts: Where does the ます形 masu form comes from? I noticed that the す conjugates like the Kyoto dialect

texts:
I really can't figure out where the masu form comes from. I thought it might be from kobun volitional む + causative す but that's -(a)ます not -(i)ます.
Both conjugations of ません and ましょう are identical to how the Kyoto dialect conjugates す. That's as much as I could figure out, I'm really stumped here.


texts: What's a good way to translate “What does it mean to be Japanese?”

texts:
This question is a bit challenging for me.

I mean, Weblio gives me a hint that I should probably translate the part “what does it mean? to どういう意味ですか。

The sticking point for me is translating “to be Japanese”. The phrase in this context implies that it is referring to Japanese people born and raised in Japan, and are “part of the club”, as it were.

I would really appreciate your help.


texts: Difference between 「にかかわらず」 and 「にもかかわらず」

texts:
I would like to know the difference between 「にかかわらず」 and 「にもかかわらず」 with regard to the semantics of the predicate-argument relation.

Do they express the same semantic relation (non-causality?)? or does one have a broader meaning?

[EDIT]

As for an example, let's consider 「で」 and 「でもって」.

「で」 might be used to mark the instrumental case, so does 「でもって」.
「で」 might be used to mark the locative case ; 「でもって」 does not.

What about 「にかかわらず」 and 「にもかかわらず」?


texts: Which is the most correct (or common): 話 or 話し?

texts:
The meaning of 話, as a kanji, is "tale, talk", but as a word, it means the same as 話し: "Talk; speech; chat; story; conversation."
In the  official jouyou kanji chart, there's only 話, for the isolated word, and 話し in a composed word (like　話し合い).
On the dictionary it says that　話し is "irregular".
Searching on Google for both variations, 話 have 25,5 million more matches than 話し.
Also, the dictionaries have both 話言葉 and 話し言葉, but there's no indication of what is the most appropriate or if there is a irregularity on the し.

With all this,　would 話 be the most adequate/common for use? Or not?


texts:
I apologize if I am beating a dead horse with this question but is this correct?

  なっている: have (already) become

as opposed to

  なっていた: had become

so often the meaning of なっている can be thought of as "is" while なっていた can be thought of as "was" ?

  was:

  ある朝目覚めると私は有名になっていた。
  One morning I awoke to find myself famous〔イギリスのロマン派三大詩人の一人 George Gordon Byron （1788-1824） の名言。
  One morning I awoke to find myself sacked.（気が付いた時には首になっていた）のようにして使われる。〕

  いずれこうなっていたと思いますよ。
  This would have happened one way or the other.

(does it work for the latter example?)

  is:

  なんでこんな遅い時間に買い物に行くの」「閉店まぎわにスーパーに行くと割引になっているんだよ」
  "Why do you go shopping so late?" "Things are discounted if you go to the supermarket just before closing time."

  「ゲーセン」として知られるゲームセンターは、若者の人気のある遊び場所となっている。
  The game center known as "Gehsen" is now a recreation spot for young people.


texts: Is there a difference between よう and ように?

texts:
必ずや主の望まれる結果となるよう、最善を尽くします！

It seems to work just like ように, but there must be a (subtle) difference between the two, right?


texts:
''~とりあえず、新学期。まぁさ、元気よくとはいかないけど、でもこんな天気もいいし、桜も咲いてるし、もう少しだけ愛想が良くてもいいんじゃないかしら？''
What はいかない is? is it like てはいけない (must not/don't have to)? If so, why はいけない and not はいかない?
Could you break '''元気よくとはいかない'' down?
Thanks in advance!


texts: When using 比べる, should I use を or が for the object being compared?

texts:
I have seen sentences 1 and 4, but are sentences 2 and 3 grammatical?
My question is regarding the use of を/が with the object being compared, in sentences with 比べる.

植物の世界にも（今年を）去年と比べて著しく相違が見えた。

植物の世界にも（今年が）去年と比べて著しく相違が見えた。

花をつけた蓮に比べて白鷺を大変小さいように描いてある。

花をつけた蓮に比べて白鷺が大変小さいように描いてある。

Sources for sentences 1 and 4: 寺田寅彦「あひると猿」(sentence 1) and 宮本百合子「蓮花図」(sentence 4): https://oshiete.goo.ne.jp/qa/8897154.html


texts: How to pronounce "2" in はやぶさ2 (spacecraft / mission)

texts: I'm a beginner. I was watching news about JAXA's はやぶさ2 mission and I think it is pronounced はやぶさ つ. Can someone please confirm that "2" is pronounced "つ" and explain why.


texts: Meaning of もひとり at the start of a sentence

texts:
Two kids enter a classroom and see a stranger sat at the desk of one of them. The one whose desk it is starts crying:

  そしてその机といったらまったくこの泣いた子の自分の机だったのです。もひとりの子ももう半分泣きかけていましたが、...
  For that desk was indeed this crying child's own desk. ??? child was already halfway to starting to cry.

I'm confused by もひとり which I can't find in a dictionary. I had two thoughts:

1) Maybe もひとりの子 means 'the other child' but I can't find もひとり in a dictionary.

2) Maybe も is just a conjunction with the previous sentence. Earlier on I saw が at the start of a sentence, so it wouldn't surprise me. But if it is just も、ひとりの子 then I would read it as "Also, one child was about to cry", but that's a weird thing to say. We already know that one child is crying, so it surely isn't referring to that child. In English you would say "the other child" (of the original two kids) or "one of the other children" (of the original two plus the stranger). Maybe the Japanese don't make this distinction because they think it's obvious.

Is either of my guesses correct?


texts:
だけど...

冷えるんだったら スカートじゃない ほう が いい ん じゃないのか?

I just don't understand this sentence.
I'm not keen on if ん is の(?) in both cases and I assume ほう（方）simply indicates an action and there's a double negation.
"If it grows cold, a skirt is... (not?) good [to wear]...not?"
Does the character think it should or not be worn for warmth (is it better not to?) (it isn't being worn, for the record) and what about the second ではない(の)? Does it just mean "is that not right?"?


texts: What is the sequence of writing the 卍 kanji?


texts: "This is a pen." and "I am a boy." -- What are the equivalent sentences for Jp learners?

texts:
http://ameblo.jp/uncle-joke-joke/entry-11613818795.html <--
This is a page making fun of "This is a pen." and "I am a boy."

These sentences have achieved legendary status.  For example, see :

  http://detail.chiebukuro.yahoo.co.jp/qa/question_detail/q13142319713 --
  アニメ クレヨンしんちゃんで、風間くんが 「I am a boy. This is a pen.」 と繰り返し言っている回はなんと言う題名ですか？

  riki-english.hatenablog.com/entry/2015/12/01/222707 --  2015/12/01 - その昔、中学校に入ったばかりの1年生は、 I am a boy. とか、 This is a pen. とかいったような、いささかシュールなセンテンスから英語の勉強を始めたものでした。 今はもうこのような英文が授業で扱われることはまずありません。

w w w

My question is :  what are the equivalent sentences for Jp learners ?

( It's so common that most beginners encounter them, and/or the sentences seem so useless that it's funny. )


texts: Meaning of あります in the following sentences

texts:
I don't quite get how あります is used in the following sentences from the Genki textbook:

あなたの学校に何がありますか。
デパートに何がありますか。
動物園に何がいますか。
あなたの国に何がありますか。
あなたの家に何がありますか。

Is あります used as in "where," "what," or "what's there?"

Thanks!


texts:
Here is the context including the word.

  なにが　なんでも　たたきのめさにゃ　気のすまぬ　男が俺の眼のまえに立ちはだかったんだ。

I found a word 「気がすまない」 in an online dictionary which gives the meaning of it as 'not to be able to settle down (if something is not done)'. I'm not sure that particle 「の」 in the word would make its meaning differs from the one using particle 「が」 instead.

If their meanings are similar, could I translate the whole context like the following sentence?

  There was a guy who blocked my way that I must desperately to beat him down, whatever it takes.


texts: Can 若干 (Jakkan) be used as a substitute for 少し?

texts:
As I understand it 若干 means 'some'. Can it be used the to substitute 少し when not talking about the specific quantity of more or less but using it as a vague descriptor like 'some'?

若干問題があった　vs　少し問題があった。


texts:
I want to learn Japanese Language by myself.

I googled around and there are some resources but due to the fact that I have absolutely no idea what I could be missing, I was looking for some well thought out answers about what learning materials will be a good start.

I have no previous experience in Japanese. I need something that's based or feedback, has a relatively slow pace and includes exercise materials. I prefer very lengthy courses.

My native language is Bengali.


texts: What's the English equivalent of ブタ in poker?

texts: According to this site, buta appears to be the colloquial name of a "no pair". Is there such thing as a "no pair"? If not, what is it called in English?


texts:
What does この度は mean? I couldn't translate this in this sentence:

  この度は、この本をお手にとっていただきありがとうございます！

Can you help me to translate this phrase (not a full sentence)?


texts: Can I say 行ってきます if I don't plan to come back?

texts:
When can I safely say 「行ってきます」when leaving home or another place? How loosely can this phrase be used? Can you use it even if you don't plan to come back until a day/week/month later?

If it is going to be an extended period that a person is gone (from home), is there another a better phrase to use or is「行ってきます」still appropriate?

For the sake of the question, let's assume that the listener knows that the person is leaving, and they also know how long that person will be gone.


texts: What does "のでは" mean at the end of a sentence?

texts:
Below is a sentence I've come across in a manga that I'm unsure of how to translate. The context is some girls are watching a voyeur video of one of the girls undressing.

  もう早送りで / よいのでは！ (the / represents a new column of text.)

I think it has something to do with fast-forwarding the video, but I don't know. I'm especially unsure of what the "のでは" means. How does the "は" particle work at the end of a sentence? Is it supposed to be "わ" instead? Any help is appreciated. Thanks!


texts: Can I write Japanese name "Midori" this way - 緑?

texts:
There is female Japanese name "Midori," and I want to know the ways I can write it. I know it means "green," but maybe the name and "green" are different words sometimes.

I used google-translator to get variants. I want to know if all of those variants are used to write the name Midori. Otherwise I am interested in what they mean.

緑
翠

As far as I can understand, the first variants are kanji and next ones are hiragana:

ミドリ
みどり and みどりの

What is the difference between these? What does the "no" mean?


texts: Use of ~ていた vs ~ている to refer to a resultant state

texts:
This sentence is from Japanese the Manga Way panel 371, translation as given in the textbook.

  和尚にたのまれていた肉体労働も今のうちに片づけてしまう。
  I'll also go ahead and finish off that physical labour that the priest asked me to do.

My question is regarding the speaker's (Kousuke) choice of たのまれていた. It seems clear that ～ている is being used in the "state resulting from an action" rather than the continual sense, i.e. it refers to the priest's request putting Kousuke in a state where he felt obliged to fulfil it. But if the request is still standing, why is he referring to it in the past tense? たのまれていた gives me the impression that "I was asked, but it's not an issue now". To me たのまれている or simply たのまれた make more sense.

One possible explanation is that Kousuke had been letting this request stand for a while, to the extent that he felt sufficiently disconnected from "the state of being requested" to use the past tense.

Context: Summer is getting too hot for strenuous exercise, so Kousuke decides he'll suspend his jogging until cooler days arrive in the fall. He also figures he should take care of the wood he'd promised to chop for the priest at the nearby temple before it gets any hotter. (verbatim from the textbook)

Kousuke delivers this sentence as an internal monologue.


texts:
I learned "Verbーえばいい" to mean "should Verb" but I have come across two sentences where Netflix translated it as "just do V". Netflix's translation also makes more sense in context.
Example #1
(Person A just came back from the hospital)
Person B: 大丈夫？
Person A: 大丈夫。薬 飲めばいい。(I'm fine. I just have to take my medicine.)
Example #2
Person A is ruining the plan by acting unnatural
Person B: もっと自然に言えばいいんだよ  (Just talk more naturally.)
Does ーえばいい mean not only "should", but also has an extra added nuance of "just"?
Like "I am suggesting you do X", as well as implying that:

"X is all you need to do" or
"Simply doing X would be good" or
"X and nothing more is needed"


texts: Where does the exclamation せ〜の come from?

texts: I note that the exclamation せ〜の is quite frequently used, in a manner similar to how we use "ready, go!" in English. I'm curious about its etymology: where does せ〜の come from?


texts:
While reading, I came across this sentence:

  「上官が上官なら部下も部下だな」

What does this 「XがXなら、YもYだ」 pattern mean?  "Like X, like Y"?  "X will be X, and Y will be Y"?


texts: Can 魔力 in certain contexts mean "magical forces"?

texts: When I look up 魔力 in the dictionary it gives me the definition of "magical powers". However, when 魔力 is used in fantasy fiction, is it also possible for it to carry the meaning of "magical forces" ("magical forces" in this case meaning an organized body of military personnel which consist of magical beings).  I know 勢力 sometimes can refer to an organized body of military personnel, so I was wondering if 魔力 could also function as a fantasy equivalent to 勢力.


texts:
The phrase "いと高き" occurs pretty frequently in the Japanese 新改訳 bible in the book of Daniel.
Doing a little sleuthing I'm also seeing いと低き and 素晴らしき as somewhat similar constructions. I get that いと means exceedingly as an adverb that modifies the adjective.

素晴らしき哉、人生
Gloria in excelsis Deo -> 天のいと高きところには神に栄光あれ
"Give me the lowest place" ->  いと低き處(ところ)を給へかし (http://www1.ocn.ne.jp/~megumi-c/sub1/sub2/Rossetti.htm)

What is this conjugation called?
How does this ーき conjugation work?
Is the set of 形容詞 that receive it limited?
Can the いと prefix only be used with this conjugation?


texts: Am I right in reading 「...のおまえ」 as "In the presence of ..."?

texts:
Am I right in reading 「...のおまえ」 as "In the presence of ..."？

Would I be right in reading 「青い月のおまえに」 as "In the presence of a blue moon"?

And similarly, would 「彼女のおまえにいる」 be "To be before her"?

If the two above are so, are there any nuances that come with this おまえ?


texts: Are 行きゃあ and 行きゃ both contractions of 行けば?

texts:
I started playing another old game, Game Boy Wars Advance 2, and I ran across this bit of dialogue:

  ま、どのみち、マクロランドに行きゃあ、
  いやでも戦わなきゃなんねえんだ。

I think this is something like:

  ま、どのみち、マクロランドに行けば、
  いやでも戦わなければならないのだ。

Thanks to a helpful comment by Tsuyoshi Ito, I learned that おけば can be contracted to おきゃ.  More generally, I learned that e + ば can be contracted to ゃ (small や).  Based on this rule, I'm guessing that 行きゃ is a contraction of 行けば.

Of course, the dialogue I quoted says 行きゃあ, not 行きゃ.  My guess is that e + ば can also be contracted to ゃあ, and based on this I guess that both 行きゃあ and 行きゃ are contracted forms of 行けば.  Is this correct?

(My other guess is that perhaps it's 行ければ...?)


texts:
In Akutagawa Ryuunosuke's "鼻" there is one sentence which I don't understand:

  内供の自尊心は，妻帯というような結果的な事実に左右されるためには、余りにデリケイトに出来ていたのである。

Actually it is only the inner sentence I can't translate satisfactorily:

  妻帯というような結果的な事実に左右されるためには

with the "culprit" 結果的な事実. My dictonaries tell me 結果的な can mean "eventual", "matter-of-course", "concerning the result". But how can a reality/fact/truth (事実) be eventual or matter-of-course?

With a lot of stretching of my linguistic abstraction I would probably come up with something like:

  "for the sake of being influenced by things such as marriage (and similar) which would result in the fact/reality of getting married",

But still, the use of 結果的な事実 sounds for me slightly illogical or at least  like a phrase with an undefined reference and the reader/listener needs to infer that it is indeed referring to the marital affairs.

Very likely, I myself wouldn't have even come up with any understanding of this sentence at all, if I hadn't had the english translation by Giles Murray who translates this part as

  ... to be influenced by such practical eventualities as marriage.

(Even in English, I have trouble to assign any logical meaning to practical eventualities, though I am not an English native speaker)

Therefore my question:
Is 結果的な事実 somehow a fixed term in Japanese? If not, what would be the closest translation to that in English?
Thanks a lot!


texts: Why/when should I use the different forms of this and that?

texts:
When do I use これ, それ, and あれ vs この, その, and あの to say "this" or "that".
example: why is it

それはペンです

vs

そのはペンです

?


texts:
The weblio page for 見つかった uses this phrase as an example meaning "I've been caught." But as I understand it, 見つかる implies that the subject and not the object is the thing that is found. And so I would expect it to be

悪いところが見つかった。

or otherwise

悪いところを見つけた。

This example seems to be the only one on the weblio page to use を with 見つかった.


texts: What is the meaning of ドリフ in this sentence

texts:
「考えてもみなさいよ。ドリフでもいつも決まって怒られるのはカトちゃんでしょ」
   Try to think about it. The one who always, without fail, gets scolded is カトちゃん. Right?

I haven't the faintest idea what ドリフでも means in this sentence. I can only guess that ドリフ is a person's name and I have completely mangled the translation. If it is a name though, I can't come up with a translation that makes sense. Thanks.


texts: What do you say when you want to reject a gift without offending anyone?

texts: If you are offered something that you don't want, what do you say to reject it politely?


texts: what does てやる mean when it is not used for giving?

texts:
Okay, according to the (monolingual) dictionary that I use, てやる is used to indicate "doing something with strong will or determination" (my translation) e.g. 飛び降りてやる! But this definition seems a little too vague for me; is there anything that it actually translates to in English?

I've seen some sources claim that it still means "do" but I'm unsure, because I have come across constructs like やってやる！


texts: Meaning of 運命とはわからない

texts:
まる子のタコ風船は、七夕飾りのとがった部分にさわってしまい、ものすごい音ではぜてしまったのだから運命とはわからない。
  Maruko's octopus balloon ended up touching a sharp part of a Tanabata decoration and burst with a tremendous sound, so ????

I'm confused about 運命とはわからない. I thought とは was used when giving a definition. So this would be "..so Maruko doesn't understand (the definition/meaning of) fate".

I think this translation must be wrong because I don't see how it can be a consequence (から) of the events described.


texts: Understanding 自分は in this sentence (and other potential gross misunderstandings)

texts:
受話器を置き、口ひげをなでながら、ダーズリー氏は考えた。
  He put the receiver down and, while stroking his moustache, Mr Dursely thought.
  ———まさか、自分はなんて愚かなんだ。
  I'm being stupid

I'm really stuck on the line in bold.

So I guess I can translate まさか as "really". I think it intensifies the rest of the sentence. Is this right?

I think なんて in this case is "how..." so まさか、なんて愚かなんだ would be "Really! How stupid I am!"

So, if what I've got so far isn't gibberish, I don't know how to fit in the 自分は part. Literally I suppose it would be "Really! As for myself, how stupid I am!".

But, is 自分は really necessary? Why? How should I think about it?


texts:
I was trying to tell a friend that in English statements such as:

I like dogs.
I hate people.
I love hamburgers.

General statements in English use the plural noun form.
英語では一般的な発言は名詞の複数形を使います。
英語では普遍的な命題は名詞の複数形を使っています。
Self edit: I apologize, I didn't originally ask a clear question.
I have already explained the grammar to my friend using examples. My question is what would a direct translation of the sentence "General statements in English use the plural noun form." be?


texts: How to say "that" as in "the cow that ate" in Japanese?

texts:
I'm sure there are plenty of resources on this topic, but I don't know what keywords to use to find them.

I want to know how you might create a noun by saying that the noun does something.

For example,

  I saw the cow that ate vegetables at the shop

Would be something like

  店で[牛は野菜を食べた]を見た。

The bracketed part of the above sentence is the clause that I don't know how to turn into a noun.

Note that I'm not looking for a sentence like

  店で牛は野菜を食べていることを見た。

That would mean

  I saw the cow eating vegetables at the shop

Because the cow did not eat the vegetables while I saw it, that's just how I'm identifying the cow.

Hopefully, the question is clear. Thanks in advance.

Edit
Even a name for what this is called so that I can do further reading would be invaluable.


texts:
What does 窓という窓 mean? I found it in this sentence in Harry Potter:

  木の扉に寄りかかってホグワーツを見上げると、窓という窓が夕日に照らされて赤くキラキラ輝いている。


texts:
食べてばかりいるので、なんで太いじゃないだろう？？

I was told for this sentence I should use のに instead of ので. Why is のに better here? It seems like it changes the meaning from “so/since” to “even though”.

I wanted to say “I’m just always eating so why aren’t I fat?” because I was finding an example for してばかりいる (it was the first example that came to mind, shhh!!!)


texts: 爵 how do the 'elements' combine to result in 'baron'

texts: The 4 elements of this japanese kanji are understood, but I cannot see/intuit any connection between them that might result in the concept of 'baron'. Can anyone shed some light on this mystery?


texts: What is the function of ちょうだい in 読んでちょうだい?

texts:
What is the function of ちょうだい after 読んで?

I am not quite sure, but I think I saw this subsidiary verb a couple of times in this fixed form and never in another conjugation.


texts: "お休みなさい" not appropriate between male neighbours?

texts:
In a japanese マンション I noticed that after sharing the common elevator when going back home at night, most of the female residents would greet by "お休みなさい" before leaving, while it seemed that male residents would remain silent in a similar situation.
Would it be considered inappropriate for male neighbours to greet one another with "お休みなさい"? If so, which polite alternative could they use?


texts: What really is 人身事故【じんしんじこ】 (jinshin-jiko) we often hear at train stations? Some say that it always means that somebody just threw him/herself onto a train track and got killed. Others say that it's just any kind of train accident that involves humans; it doesn't necessarily means somebody lost him/her life in it.


texts:
I want to convert the following sentence into 強調構文 (~のは~です) with emphasis on the bolded part.

  強く雨が降っていたので、試合は延期された。

I’m not sure how to do it to the second half of the sentence due to the ので.

I know if I wanted the emphasis on the first half of the sentence, then it is 試合が延期されたのは、強く雨が降っていたからだ。but how do I put the emphasis on the 試合は延期された? Thanks!


texts:
I saw following quotes:

アメリカは初めてです。
This is my first time to America.

I've learned about <n.> は <n.|adj.> です. Checking at several dictionaries, '初めて' is an adverb. Is it OK to use an adverb in <n.> は <adv.> です?


texts: Are there native Japanese numbers greater than 10? What use are they?

texts: Most people who've taken a Japanese 101 class know the 10 native Japanese numbers (一つ、二つ・・・十).  It's always seemed odd that a system would stop at 10 when so many things in life need larger numbers.  Are there in fact native Japanese numbers greater than 10?


texts: I'm not familiar with the term 「ナマ言って」 but I think it literally translates to "to say it raw" and くれる here can mean to give or receive it. So combining all that my guess is that 「ナマ言ってくれるねぇ」 translates to something like "you're telling it like it is"


texts: While doing some reading of old questions, I stumbled upon the term 村八分【むらはちぶ】, which is apparently means ostracism. I'm curious what the 8 parts (八分) are and how this relates to ostracism.


texts: Use of ～ても but what follows ～ is obvious rather than contrary to expectations

texts:
The gist of my question is that for the following statements, the ～ても feels out of place. More specifically, it almost feels absurd to make the exasperated "even if/although" statement in the first place, as the following statement is entirely expected.
I had this in the back of my head for a while. Sometimes I didn't comprehend the sentence correctly at first, so the ても initially felt out of place, but that was my problem. However, there were still some sentences that I'm fairly sure I didn't misunderstand that still had this logical disconnect. These three, for example, that I saved over time:

こいつ殴るとき全然腰入れてないし、男の腕力と比べてもやっぱりそこは普通の女子っぽい

She doesn't use her lower half when striking me, even if (?) compared to a guy's strength, her arm strength is definitely girl-esque. (Well, no duh, guys are stronger than girls.)

一度にそんなにたくさん言われても対応出来るかァァ
前から思ってたんだ！！　お前らちゃんと一列に並べェェ！！

speaker taking orders at the register but all the customers are shouting at once

Even if (?) all of you are ordering this much at once, I can't take your orders! (This is probably the worst offender, as being unable to take all the orders is just a no-brainer if they're all shouting at once.)

建学の精神は結構ですけれど、いきなり共学の是非を生徒に問われても、困惑するしかないでしょう？

introducing co-ed to an all-girls school

The founding principles of the school are pretty damn ingrained, but even if we suddenly ask the students about the pros/cons of coeducation, it would only cause bewilderment. (Well, yeah, if you suddenly thrust that upon the students, it would obviously cause issues...)

More clearly, for 一度にそんなにたくさん言われても対応出来るかァァ！

Even if all of you are ordering this much at once, I can't take your orders!

If all of you are ordering this much at once, I can't take your orders!

The first translation makes no sense, but it feels like that's what the original sentence was saying. Comparatively, the 2nd "translation" makes more sense, but it's not what is actually being said so to speak...

Edit 1:
Dug up this one as well, regarding date plans:

変に気張ってもお互い緊張するだけなので、今日はこんな感じでまったり彼女と過ごすことにする。

(Even?) if I go full tryhard on today's activities, it would only make both of us uncomfortable, so today I'm gonna take it easy with her.
Perhaps a less extreme example, but I still feel it gets the feeling across.
Edit 2:
Reading this again after finding yet another related sentence where other initial ambiguities made choosing between ても as ても or たら a nontrivial issue; and vice versa.
The given answer here doesn't apply after looking at it again, since with 「いかに努めても…できない」 etc., there is some expectation that ～ in ～ても will produce some desirable outcome before it is negated to emphasize how "全く…できない" it is.
As with all of the given examples and あんまりゆっくりしてても、お母さん帰ってきちゃうかもだし…, there isn't really any expectation that ～ in ～ても would produce an outcome that would be worthy of a negation. As in this case, doing it really slowly can only result in the mom coming back before they were finished, so negating it doesn't have any of the 全く…できない effect. Overall, the 「ても」→「たら」interpretation is more natural and intuitive, but I have yet to see it confirmed anywhere.
Is there a more academic confirmation out there?


texts: Can someone help me translate 見つけ出す in this sentence?

texts:
唯一の救いを見つけ出すような目。

Are these the "eyes that seem to look for the only salvation"?

But in this case shouldn't it be 探す?

I'm confused, could someone help me please?


texts:
Context: Weird things have been happening, people dead coming back to life for short time. Character A has mentioned that to B, and B explains they heard about it from books and that it might involve necromancy. Character A replies:

  わたしも、ちょっとそこまでは――

Now, I have found references that ちょっとそこまで can mean asking to step away/out for a while, excusing oneself to go to bathroom and such. But here I don't think this is a case. I'm FAR from certain, but I feel A is replying saying that that idea (necromancy thing) is a bit too much or something? Am I close orrr...

Then again if she dissagrees, why use も with わたし?


texts: Is there a difference in connotation between 森林 and 森?

texts: I've checked in a couple of dictionaries already, and they describe bot 森林 and 森 as "forest." Are there any major differences in meaning between these words?


texts:
From the beginning of the novel "The Grove", what does the る mean in

検非違使に問われた る 木樵りの物語

問われた is the passive of 問う, but where does the る come from? Is it the short form of いる?


texts: What does い adjective くform + noun signify?

texts:
The title of this news article is

  将棋の[藤井]{ふじい}[聡太]{そうた}さん　今まででいちばん若く「[七段]{しちだん}」になる

Why is 若く used here instead of 若い? As far as I know, い adjectives change into く form when they come before verbs but 「七段」に なる doesn't seem like a verb here. What does this kind of grammatical usage of い adjective signify ? Examples would be nice.

Thank you :)


texts:
四{し}月{がつ}は君{きみ}の嘘{うそ} is an anime premiered in fall 2014, and I wonder how this anime title should be translated.

The official translation is “Your Lie in April”, but I also came across another form which is “April is Your Lie”. Are these translations are both acceptable? Or is it a one should be preferred to the other?

Here I understood that the place of the subject is important, but the form “April is Your Lie” makes no sense to me. I am aware that, by translating word for word this sentence, one can reach this construction,
but in this case the meaning does not seem properly transcribed.

Semantically, this is obviously not the month of April which is a lie, it is a metonymy. Thus, in English, the form “April is Your Lie” does not appear convincing (the metonymy is less clear) while on the contrary “Your Lie in April” — the form eventually officially chosen — is closer to the original meaning (and, but that is subjective, also seems more poetic).


texts: What's the difference between 迷う and 紕う?

texts: I was looking in a dictionary and both were listed as being defined as "to lose one's way, to hesitate, or to waver," but I don't understand why there are two different kanji for the word.


texts:
だいたい、どうして乗れもしないギアに乗ろうなんてしたのよ?

I think the translation is "Why did you get into the Gear you can’t even ride, anyway?"

I guess なんて here emphasizes the previous part (乗れもしないギアに乗ろう), but I can't really understand using of 乗ろう. ～ろう forms volitional or presumptive verbs and it doesn't seem to work here.


texts: 添付される for physical objects. Does it mean "included with" or "attached to"?

texts:
When 添付される is used for physical objects. Does it mean "included with" or physically "attached to"?
So far I've only seen 添付 used with email and paper documents, for which no distinction needs to be made.

For example, if you are thinking about buying a machine, say a CNC, and the description of the product says

  設定表は本体に添付されています。

Does it mean that the settings table is physically attached to the machine, or is it just included with it?

Edit
I finally found a picture to help explain the kind of situation I have in mind.
See the safety sheet on this machine. It is in a plastic folder that is screwed to the machine. Would this be considered 「本体に添付されています。」? Now, picture the plastic folder hanging from the machine with string through one of the holes on the left. Would that be considered 「本体に添付されています。」?
I have to ask with this much detail because I was given the Japanese sentence 設定表は本体に添付されています。 with the English translation the settings table is attached to the machine.  I have to change the English if "attached" is not correct.

Thank you


texts:
I want to say:

  Studying Japanese is difficult, but fun.

I've come up with:

  勉強は日本語むずかし、でも楽しい。

Google Translate seems to like it ok, but is this the correct structure?  Seems like it could be a bit backwards, but having "study" at the end didn't work out.


texts:
I'm having some trouble identifying a pattern/rule in the pitch accent for months.

For example, the 4-mora, 2-kanji 三月 is HLLL (頭高) while 六月、七月、八月、十月 are LHHH (平板/尾高). (As is usually the case.)

For 二月, OJAD states it is HLL (頭高) while NHK states it is LHH (平板/尾高). My native speaker girlfriend says that both are fine, but she also says 四月 as HLL (頭高), while both dictionaries claim it is LHH.

Are the pronunciations of these words just super flexible? If so, is there some simple rule of thumb I can follow?


texts: new in the language so I am having a hard time figuring out the meaning of this sentence. 'When it comes to dragons, you can't escape' would be my translation, but pretty sure I am wrong. If it doesn't take too much time, please give me a brief explanation about the grammar. Thanks a lot!


texts:
I'm aware that this is a common question and one that can be quite situational, but I have a few specific questions regarding nuance between these two pronouns for "I".

jisho.org describes 俺 as "Male term or language, sounds rough or arrogant". However, based on my knowledge, I'd say that this is the most common pronoun among college and older males (please correct me if I'm wrong, I may just watch too much anime where the characters are over-confident). While I understand that it may sound too colloquial in a formal situation, is 俺 really as arrogant as a dictionary definition makes it out to be?

In a similar vein, would 僕 sound overly submissive or weak for an adult male (I'm personally a 20 year old college student), or would it just sound more humble and polite (still colloquial, though)?

Last, do people change their pronoun based on the situation? For example, would an adult use 僕 typically around friends/coworkers, but if it's necessary to take a leadership position briefly or make a strong point, switch to 俺 to be more assertive, then back to 僕 when the situation gets more relaxed again?


texts: What is the origin of word 勉強 meaning "to study/learn"?

texts: As a native Chinese speaker, 勉强 means something very different (it means to be reluctant or forced to do something) for the same kanji/漢字. Might anyone know how it came to mean learning or studying in Japanese?


texts:
私は私のまちにやすめから、「name of town」がすきです.

I like my hometown because I can relax here.


texts:
There is some discussion about "体言止め{たいげんどめ}" on the internet, but it is all in Japanese. My Japanese ability is too low to be able to read it, so I need some help.

At the least, "体言止め" refers to ending a sentence with a サ変名詞{へんめいし} and omitting the "をする". "体言止め" is more than just this, but I'm not sure what.

"体言止め" translates to "ending a sentence with a noun or a noun phrase." But, I hope a little more context could be provided.


texts: What's the difference between 嫌い and 憎い?

texts:
The two words kirai (嫌い) and nikui (憎い) seem to be placed similarly in sentences and the definitions I've seen range from similar to almost identical, depending on the source. It's a bit confusing, but there must be some nuance to the distinction. My best guess is that it's intensity: nikui is stronger than kirai, in the same way that in English 'hate' is a stronger than 'dislike.' Is this correct? If not, what is the difference?
In checking my understanding of the grammar of the words, I also noticed that kirai is an adjectival noun (for a na-adjective) while nikui is an i-adjective.


texts: Difference between particles wa, ga and o with sukidesu

texts:
What is the difference between these sentences, and their particle usage?

  watashi wa kore ga sukidesu
  watashi ga kore o sukidesu

I don't really understand the usage of these particles.