texts: Japanese Name of the て-form without the て

texts:
While reading this old question, I began wondering what the て-form without the て (i.e.  書いて→書い、読んで→読ん、行って→行っ) is called in Japanese. Wikipedia calls it 2つ目の連用形. Some other places call it 連用形の促音便形 or 連用形の撥音便形. I'm curious as to what teachers call this when they teach to kids as well as what it's called when discussed in research etc.

A related question is: 書かない→書か、書こう→書こ are both considered 未然形. Is there any way of disambiguating the two other than Wikipedia's 2つ目の未然形?


texts:
The following is an excerpt from a dialogue between me and my language partner.

The sentence in question needs some context.

I wrote to her about my struggles with real-time conversation. I also asked her whether the construction I used in the respective sentence was correct or not. The following is me telling her about my struggles and then asking her about the grammar of my sentence:

  私には対話で相手に自然に答えることがいつも難しいものでした　(Or would it be better to say it with a
  verb + にくい“ construction/pattern: 私には対話で相手に自然に答えにくいでした)。

She replied to me quoting part of my sentence and adding her commentary:

  「私には対話で相手に自然に答えることがいつも難しいものでした」
  という文章に「にくい」を使うかどうかですが、使わない方が自然な文章になると思います。 これが過去のことであるのならば、
  「私は、対話での自然な受け答えをいつも難しいと感じました」 でいいのではないでしょうか。「対話」と「受け答え
  "response"」という言葉で、「相手がいる」ことははっきりわかるので、「相手に」は省略して良いでしょう。

What confuses me the most is ならば, printed in bold. However, I'm also not sure if I understood the rest correctly, so below I'll write down my translation of her entire reply above:

  "Whether to use 'にくい' in the phrase 'It always was a difficult thing
  for me to reply to my partner naturally in a dialogue' or not, I think
  it becomes a more natural sentence not using it.
  In case this is a thing from the past, wouldn't 'I always experience a natural response in a dialogue as difficult' be fine as well?
  Because one knows clearly 'a partner exists' because of the words
  'dialogue' and 'response', it is okay ommitting 'to the partner'.

What I did here was simply taking なら from here because that's the only result jisho gave me when searching for ならば. I must also add that until now, なら was only known to me as a suffix when picking up something up a partner in dialogue said. I thought that the conditional semantics listed on jisho suits this case better, but I might be mistaken here as well.


texts: Does anyone knows the meaning of "モゾリと"?

texts:
An example of where it was found:

  慌てて口元を塞ぎながら、部屋の中でモゾリと動いていた影に、慌てて蹴りを入れる。


texts: Why is 白鯨 pronounced hakugei but 白 is shiro?

texts:
I was told that it changes because two kanji were put together (this sometimes happens)

is this related to On'yomi?


texts: How do you use "omou" in the past tense?

texts:
For example, how would you say "I thought you were in Japan"?

How about any other samples on how to use omou in past tense?


texts: Should 「ソウル」 be pronounced as "so u ru" or "so: ru"?

texts:
According to the ipadic attached to Mecab, it's "so u ru".

According to the bccwj dict attached to Julius, it's "so: ru".
Which one is correct? Or are they both OK?


texts: Why is Lucoa using 僕 when referring to herself?

texts:
I was re-watching Dragon Maid and was wondering why Lucoa is using 僕 even though she's female.

Lucoa: 僕にも演出やらせて、やらせて!


texts: Is いけません used as an interjection like いけない？

texts:
Realizing you've left your money at home when you're out to buy something, (I think) you can say いけない！お金ない; could you, politely, say いけません！お金がありません?

(I suppose, for that matter, my question could also be applied to しまった・しまいました.)


texts: What is the origin of the term "extended predicate" and are there alternative terms?

texts:
My question is in relation to the pattern that appears at the end of sentences such as:

本当なんです。
本当なの。
これから行くんです。
これから行くの。

I've seen this called the "extended predicate" around the web. To be clear, I'm not asking what it means or how to use it. I'm curious where this term "extended predicate" came from. It doesn't feel particularly descriptive to me. Is it a standard way of referring to this pattern? Are there other names? And is there a standard name for the pattern in Japanese?


texts: What does ホーム mean and why is it written in Katakana?

texts:
I heard announcements in the train (Hibiya Line):

この電車は六本木 ホーム (or ホーメ not sure) 中目黒行きです。

The English version of the above:

This train is bound for Nakameguro via Roppongi.

So, does ホーム (or ホーメ) mean "via" here?
And why is ホーム used here instead of using Japanese word to mean "via" or "through"?


texts: For example, 眠くてたまらない、僕は今寝行きます。is this acceptable in Japanese?


texts:
「地図B」は世界中の人に平等であるように作られた。

In this sentence, the interplay of the part in bold and the rest of the sentence is in question.

1
 I learned that NOUN + に + VERB can have the meaning of doing VERBAL COMPLEX as a symbolic action in relation to NOUN, like here: "田中さんが結婚祝いにこのお皿をくださいました。"
=> Tanaka gave us this plate as present for our wedding.

In this case 世界中の人 would fill the place of NOUN, then comes に, and then である fills the place of VERB.

2 The use of ように makes things a bit difficult for me. So far, One of the various ways of using ように seems the most probable to me:
Verb 1 + ように + Verb 2 => Verb 1 is a means to reach Verb 2, like this:
泳げるように毎日練習しています。
"I practice every day so that I can swim"

3 So the whole sentence would read like this:
"Concerning Map B, it was made so that there is equality for all people in the world."

Another problem I have is that the "symbolic action" character of 平等である　isn't as clear as I think it should be. Especially if I translate "...so that there is...", the indicative makes it more than symbolic in my opinion. On the other hand, even in the phrase in 1, which was taken from my textbook, I do have issues with the description "symbolic action".
Symbolic actions usually don't have a tangible manifestation, I think. At least not as tangible as a present I can touch and use etc..
But well, maybe I'm just too picky. It's hard enough to describe language and it's still a minor issue after all.


texts:
I can't quite figure out the differences between these two.
I would guess that 食料 is only used in situations, where the only thing that matters is that the food is there or not there (As in, searching for food, gave food, need food)

I've only seen 食品 used in connection to the process of making, acquiring, selling and storing the food.

Am I on the right track here, or completely off?


texts:
I was reading this news article today:

阿部サダヲが4年ぶりの主演ドラマで水原希子、山口智子らと共演

In the heading and again in the text is 「山口智子らと共演」

My question is what is the meaning of the らと between Yamaguchi Tomoko and co-starring? I could not find any dictionary reference for it.


texts: Can you add です after a plain form of a verb?

texts: In the lyric of イノコリ先生, there is a phrase that surprised me. It goes like : 手を上げられないです。does this mean です can come after verb? such as 来られるです. What if the verb is polite? Should you add です or not? 来られます。来られますです(?). What is the difference between 来られるです and 来られます? Does it is restricted only for potential form verbs?


texts: What is the difference between 〜るも and 〜ても

texts:
In grammar textbooks I see the 〜ても pattern clearly defined, but recently I've encountered a similar usage of も that I can't find a good explanation for. Here are two examples:

  国民栄誉賞を打診されるもこれを固辞

(from the monologue at the start of a 僕のヒーローアカデミア anime episode)

  とりあえずググってみるも、どの機器がいいか分からない

(from a RocketNews24 article, talking about being unable to find the right electric shaver)

Is this a casual pattern, or maybe an abbreviation of another pattern? From context it seems similar in usage to 〜ても, or maybe even just 〜けど, but I'm not sure of the nuance.


texts:
Why are the stroke orders for 右 and 左 different?

右 starts with the vertical stroke, and 左 starts with the horizontal one.


texts: Are there differences in meaning for 「ワイルド」 and 'wild'?

texts:
The word ワイルド is generally translated as 'wild' in English. Of course there are many instances where this is the appropriate translation. But I feel like there is a wider range of meanings in Japanese which are not encompassed by 'wild' in English. I don't have specific examples, but I feel like it can mean 'daring', 'unconventional', 'masculine', 'raw', etc. I can't quite put my finger on it, but it feels like there is a difference in the range of meanings expressed by 'wild' and「ワイルド」.

(1) Do you agree that there are different nuances?
(2) How would you translate ワイルド (with examples, if possible).


texts: Ambiguity when describing with verbs, e.g. 酒を飲ませる人

texts:
Here's a small thing I never thought about for too long as I always kinda dismissed it due to the context usually being clear enough, but now I've gotten curious and I figured I'd ask away:
Let's take the example from the thread title「酒を飲ませる人」: Can this generally be understood as both "the person, who makes/lets somebody else drink alcohol" and "the person, who's being made/let to drink alcohol"? Same question with「命令する人」: "The person who gives orders" and "the person who receives orders"?
I'm not really sure how I'd go about googling this particular question so I apologize if this is a very simple one.
Thank you very much in advance!


texts: I'm having trouble understanding the sentance どうだい、きに いったかい

texts:
What I'm reading says that どうだい、きに いったかい translates to "Well, do you like it?" The parts individually are translated as

どうだい - How about
きに - I can't figure out what きに means at all. Unless he is talking about trees.
いったかい - you said?

Which kind of makes sense that he wants her to tell him what she thinks.


texts: The nuance of "こと" in "まもなく雪が降ってくることでしょう"

texts:
As mentioned in the title, I want to ask the nuance of "こと" in this sentence：

  まもなく雪が降ってくることでしょう。

and the possible conditions or reasons that people won't just simply put it as:

  まもなく雪が降ってくるでしょう。


texts:
I'm confused about the meaning of「言っとかんとなあ」from the second panel:

This is my attempt at understanding this:

言っとかんと = 言っておかない と(いけない）

なあ = 「な」emotive sentence ending particle

"I need to say (thanks) , don't I..."

I'm not sure what ておく would mean if this guess is correct.  I know it can mean "to do in advance", but he can't thank the neighbors in "advance" because the ice cream is already given to his daughter (from the first panel).  I know it can also mean "to do leave something in a certain state", but I can't make sense of that in this sentence either.


texts: Red enclosed area is the word include "X"


texts: As far as I can tell from the components, it means to show yourself hiding which makes no sense. Context is the sentence ＸはＹに顔を覆ってみせる


texts: Grammar behind a train transfer announcement

texts:
An example of a regular announcement on a train:

  次は本町　本町　中央線　御堂筋線 は お乗り換えです

My main concern here is the second は (in bold). It does not seem to be a topic marker, it does not seem to be a binding particle (係助詞) as described in the answer to this question, so what is the function of は here?

Why isn't the announcement using a destination particle に which is the usual particle used with the verb 乗り換える? Let's say something like this:

  次は本町。本町は、中央線、御堂筋線 に お乗り換えです。

Also: where do the sentences in the original announcement start and end? Would 「中央線、御堂筋線はお乗り換えです」 be valid without a station name before? Or is it in fact 「次は本町。本町、中央線、御堂筋線はお乗り換えです」

Or (added later) if 中央線、御堂筋線 were a subject why isn't it:

  次は本町、本町。中央線、御堂筋線はお乗り換え先です。

Also I found that other train companies use the phrase:

  次は大手町　大手町　丸の内線　半蔵門線 は お乗り換えください

I assumed these two patterns ◯◯はお乗り換えです and ◯◯はお乗り換えください follow the same rule? Is there really a rule which would allow to freely replace ◯◯は(gerund)です with ◯◯は(imperative verb) and vice versa?


texts: What is the difference between 中学校の制服を翻しながら and 中学校の制服が翻りながら?

texts:
そこでようやく士道が起きていることに気づいたのだろう。士道のお腹の上に足をのっけていた妹ーー琴里が、中学校の制服を翻しながらこちらに顔を向ける。

Hi, dear teachers. Could you please help me with some questions about the clause 琴里が、中学校の制服を翻しながらこちらに顔を向ける。? What do you think is the difference between 中学校の制服を翻しながら and 中学校の制服が翻りながら in this context?

I think 中学校の制服 can be work as a body part and even if the action 翻す is a non-volitional action in this context, we should use を翻す here because the clause implies that the reason why the uniform fluttered is that 琴里 turned her head (こちらに顔を向ける). So 制服が翻る would be unnatural here. Am I on the right track? If not, could you share your opinions? Thank you.


texts:
From this article

  日本では、スポーツの選手がコーチなどから暴力やパワーハラスメントを受ける問題が続きました。
  The problem of sportsmen receiving violence and harassment from coaches in Japan continued.

I don't understand why 続く is written in the past tense here. If you read the rest of the article there is no suggestion that the harassment has come to an end. I would have written 続いています.

When is it correct to use 続いた and why is it correct in this case?

Edit after @Ringil's comment:
I'm familiar with the idea that た represents completion, and also with ている being a continuation of state. But when I apply these concepts to 続く I get confused.  For example つづいている = "the state of continuing continues". This seems like a tautology. How does 続く differ from 続いている? How can we understand 続いた = "the continuing is complete"? Is this equivalent to もう続かない? Its sounds from @kandyman's comment that this is not the case. His translation of 'has continued' is more what I would think of as 続いてる i.e. we've done some continuing and the state still persists. I've got myself very confused.


texts: Did the られる potential form come from 得る?

texts:
One of the shows I've been watching lately kept using some more classical forms of Japanese for style purposes, that I was not too familiar with ; this led me to notice how 得る{える} was often used as an auxiliary verb. For example, this makes constructions like 有り{あり}得ない{えない} way easier to remember now that I can see the how it's built.
Looking more into it, it seems (explained in here) that it can indeed be used to indicate potential as a somewhat old/formal form.
The modern potential form 〜られる/〜える looks very similar however (as alluded to in here), especially for godan verbs.
My hypothesis is that the modern 〜える (for godan verbs) directly comes from 得る, and that 〜られる (for ichidan verbs) was initially some kind of alternate construction (the only thing that comes to mind is a contraction of something involving ある like 食べれ・あれ・得る → 食べられる).
Is there any definite proof of the connection between the two? What transformations led to the construction of the modern form, if there is such a connection?


texts:
While filling in the application I have met the next sentence:

｢コースガイド」から希望する大学を選ぶこと｡
There was also a translation into English:
Please choose the universities that you wish to attend from among those listed in the“Course Guide.”

But, it was the first time for me, when I have met the verb 希望する. I know the word 希望 and it's meaning "hope", but not the verb.

1) I am not even sure, how to translate it. For ex.: 大学を希望します ?
2) Also I am confused, in which situations (except this application, where I need to fill in a chosen school) can I use this verb 希望する. Is it very formal? Is there any situations, whe this verb can suit?

I hope, my question is clear.Thank you a lot in advance.


texts: The Kanji themselves don't suggests gender, besides that 美 is a slightly feminine concept, but I don't believe I've ever heard 美人 referring to a man. The words 美男 and 美女 exist, which suggests to me that 美人 should refer to both.


texts:
こんにちは。えっと、今日ですね、日本についてお聞きしてるんですけど。

今日ですね always sounds a bit funny to me because I keep thinking about it as "it's today, isn't it?" (and then the answer could be "well, yes, it's not yesterday or tomorrow, so it's today":-))

Why didn't the speaker say こんにちは。えっと、今日、日本についてお聞きしてるんですけど?

What's the difference between 今日 and 今日ですね?


texts:
軽々しく死にたいだとか
愛を伝えたいだとか

I found these from some songs. If たい is considered an I-adj then I wonder why it's だとか instead of とか.


texts: Why does this haiku have a 5-6-5 pattern?

texts:
I was amazed to read the following haiku in "小林 一茶" (a book written by 宗左近/Sō Sakon about the famous poet) :

  我と来てあそぶ親のない雀

At first sight, the text given by 宗左近 doesn't seem regular : 5+6+5 morae ?.

I knew the following version with a 'や' after あそぶ :

  我{われ}と来{き}てあそぶや親{おや}のない雀{すずめ}

I thought the haiku given by 宗左近 was misprinted but it seems incredible such an error occured at the very beginning of the book, in the first haiku given by the author, page 1 !

There's obviously something I'm missing... Any idea to help me ?


texts: How to say "and her" as in "Your Sister and her husband" in Japanese

texts:
I am stuck on a piece of grammar I do not know. I want to know how to say "Your sister and her husband"

I thought that if I write it like あなたの姉と主人 or あなたの姉さんと主人さん it might sound like "Your sister and your husband"

What is the grammatical construction to say "Your sister and her husband"

There must be a shorter way to say it than あなたの姉さんと姉さんの主人

Thanks


texts: 「確か、明日は先生の誕生日でしたよね。」Why でした and not です?

texts:
「確か、明日は先生の誕生日でしたよね。」

Came across this sentence during my Japanese class and am having trouble understanding the nuance behind it and why でした can be used in this manner.

I tried asking my Japanese teacher why でした was used in this scenario instead of です. She said it had to do with the nuance of the sentence. She said that using です is not wrong but that でした is better.

I'm still a bit confused by it all so I'm hoping someone might be able to shed some light on this.


texts: How does ン work at the end of onomatopoeia?

texts:
There seem to be quite a few SFX in manga that end with an ン, or ———ん, or ...ン. Some examples:

キーンコーンカーンコーン (1)
しーん (2)
オオオオオオオ…ン…ン… (3)
バチィン (4)

I have three questions about this phenomenon (the last two assume that I'm right about the first one):

Do I understand correctly that ン signifies the sound echoing / fading to silence?
If so, how did ン come to represent sound getting quieter?
This question might not make sense, but in these SFX are we supposed to actually "hear" that ン or does it exist just to show the sound disappearing? For example, when seeing キーーーン on the first image, should I have kiiin "playing" in my head or just kiii that gradually fades to silence?


texts: Internet vocabulary: Is 落ちる an equivalent of "being AFK"?

texts:
Context

I saw many times people using 落ちる in a chat followed by 後で. I assumed that the user expressed his intent of temporarily leaving a chat and planned to come back later.

Question

As the title mentions, is 落ちます an equivalent of "AFK1" with the underlying meaning of coming back later on?
Is there a way to differentiate "I got to go" (I don't plan to come back) and "I'll be back" (I temporarily leave the chat/game/whatever)

1AFK: Away From Keyboard


texts: precision about the meaning of 筒抜け in the context

texts:
I did not understand how the following sentence has been translated

普通なら二度と口を利かないところだけれど、涙ぐましい努力だけは汲んでおいてあげるわ」
　どうやらこっちの友達が欲しいと言う狙い、思惑は全部筒抜けらしい。
Normally, I wouldn’t want to hear you speak twice, but I will put in
the painful effort to listen to you.” For some reason I tried to make
friends with her, but my expectations were completely off.

"思惑は" means "expectations (in the sense of speculations) and I found that 筒抜け means "going in one ear and out the other" but that does not seem to apply here.
Could you help me ?


texts:
Does 意識してる have a different meaning than "being aware" in the following sentence?

  この漫画の原作を書く時は自分の中にある１番悪い部分をどれだけ出せるか…ってことを意識してます。

Considering that the sentence that comes before is a question, it comes natural to me to translate 意識してる as "I wonder", but I couldn't find this meaning in dictionaries. Is my interpretation correct? Or I got it completely wrong? Thank you for your help!

EDIT: my translation attempt.

  I wonder(?) to what extent I am able to convey the worst part that's inside me when I write the story of this manga.


texts: How to indicate where you are taking something out of?

texts: If I wanted to say that I am taking meat out of the fridge, would I say 冷蔵庫に肉を出す, or should I use a different particle other than に after 冷蔵庫?


texts: Nuance of "わね”: whose interest does「興味深いわね」refer to?

texts:
I have a question about the nuance of わね in the below song lyric (from 衛星カフェテラス):

  あのさ、もし意識思考そのものが自律して

  この体を逃れたなら (意識は自律して?　興味深いわね)

I was thinking that this was implying that the matter being 'deep' was being felt by the speaker, as in:

  That's really deep!

However there is a doubt as to whether this actually refers to the speaker talking about the other person's interest (who she is singing together with), as in:

  You’re really interested in that, huh?

Whose 'interest' is being referred to in this phrase?


texts:
I am studying Japanese オノマトペ and I came across two that are very similar. The definitions I found online, and the examples sentences in the book don't align, so I am confused about the 使い方。
On this website, they say that へとへと describes a more exhausted condition than くたくた. They describe へとへと as "so tired that you can't get off the floor" and くたくた as "Tired, but if you rest for a while, you will be good again", but, in the JLPT book that I am studying from, the example sentences make it sound like the difference is between physical exhaustion and mental exhaustion.

くたくた：

六時間も山道を登ってきたので、くたくただ。

へとへと：

六時間連続で試験を受けて、もうへとへとだ。

So what actually is the difference?


texts:
How does one refer to 'it' in Japanese? Is there an equivalent word?

I've seen a few different terms used in place of 'it'
- sore (それ)
- suki (すき)

My context is for saying things such as:

'It's cold.'

'What is it?

'How long will it be?'

'It's very pretty.

I want to be able to refer to things without having to extend my sentences - rather than saying 'the weather is cold', 'the tree is very pretty', etc.

Thanks!


texts: Natural grammar for expressing someone is part of two groups

texts:
I'm having trouble finding the most natural grammar to describe someone being part of two groups. For example:

He is the only person who lives in this state that works for that company.

Here is my best guess:

その会社に勤めてる人で、この州に住んでるのは彼だけです。

Is this natural? Is there other ways to express this that would sound better?


texts: What is difference between さえ でも in term of extreme example

texts:
さえ vs でも  in term of extreme example

Pls feel free to provide example


texts: Redistributable Anthology of Haiku or Tanka in Electronic Form

texts:
I think a graded anthology of haiku or tanka might make an excellent chrestomathy for learning kanji and japanese.

Are there any appropriately-licensed (e.g. creative commons / public domain) haiku or tanka anthologies in electronic form that could be used as the basis for this?

EDIT: (in response to sawa's comments, I've added "and tanka" to this question.


texts: Are there differences between 言い辛い・言いにくい・言いがたい?

texts:
When hesitating to say something that might either hurt the other party or put the speaker in bad light, do the following expressions differ:

そんなことは言い辛い{づらい}
そんなことは言い難い{にくい}
そんなことは言い難い{がたい}

Or are they perfect synonyms?


texts: Is the honorific postfix -氏{し} usually used towards men?

texts:
Is using the honorific postfix -氏{し} usaged biased towards men or is it equally appropriate to be used for women as well?

Building from this excellent answer about honorifics: What does 氏 mean after a name, how is it different from さん or 様?


texts:
These are the specifications, that I do already know:

[学校]{がっこう} = school, including [小学校]{しょうがっこう}, [中学校]{ちゅうがっこう}, etc.
[大学]{だいがく} = university (used frequently)
[大学校]{だいがっこう} = university (not a very common word)

But what I don't know is:

Is a 大学 technically a 学校, just like 小学校 etc., or do I have to say 学校と大学 every time when I talk about the whole [学校制度]{がっこうせいど} (education system)?
Though I know that 大学校 is not used very frequently, I know that the word technically exists. So is it any different from 大学 ? And will a Japanese understand if I use it or will I be corrected?


texts:
This is the first sentence of a news article from NHK News Web Easy: 大学　緊急事態宣言でオンラインと学校での授業に分かれる

新しいコロナウイルスの問題で、去年はオンラインで授業をしていた大学も、今年の４月から、学生が大学に来て受ける授業を増やす予定でした。

If I replaced も with the other non-logical topic marker は, would it be like saying "Universities that held classes online last year due to the new coronavirus problem planned to increase classes that take students on campus" - kind of like saying (due to the restrictive/comparative qualities of は) that only universities that held classes online last year intended to increase classes on campus this year.
Whereas the original sentence is saying something like (Because も is the inclusivity topic marker) "Some universities (but not all) that held classes online last year... Etc"
Am I on the right track with this one?


texts:
I am learning Japanese and I'm always mixing these two. Can someone explain what's the difference between them and how are they used?

My only understanding is the first is verb+tte+ita which is kinda like "it was like that" but the other one I have no idea and it's used in all the same cases.


texts: Using 平安 in situations other than the Heian Period

texts:
I'm curious about the word 平安 【へいあん】, does it sound weird to a native speaker's ears to be used in other situations other than the Heian Period, or is it normal in everyday use?
I've seen these examples from Tofugu, but I'm still unsure.

平安じだいはいつですか。
When was the Heian period?

ブリティッシュコロンビアの古の森を歩く時、心に平安を感じる。
Walking through the old growth forests in British Columbia was so
peaceful.


texts:
While studying yesterday, I came across two words with the suffix さ:

無邪気さ(translated as innocence) and 寛大さ (translated as generosity).

1) What's the difference between these words and the words without the さ? I thought that な-adjectives without the な are already nouns.

2) Can I add さ to other 形容動詞 too, for example 人気さ or 便利さ?


texts: Japanese textbooks often use できる (hiragana) instead of 出来る (kanji). Japanese variety shows sometimes use 出来る instead of できる. Another example is 出る vs. でる. Is there any difference in usage between the two and is one form preferred over the other?


texts: Are there any words that are longer in kanji than in hiragana?

texts:
The number of hiragana to write the pronunciation of kanji always seems to be longer than or equal to the number of kanji. I.e. each kanji corresponds to one or more hiragana.

Are there any words that take up more characters (or maybe more syllables) when written as kanji rather than hiragana/katakana? Where multiple kanji correspond to fewer hiragana or syllables?


texts:
I didn't understand "ようじゃね" in this sentence.
大チャンスで ２分の１をはずすようじゃね


texts: Are both 遠く and 遠くに adverbs? If yes, are them interchangeable?

texts:
The i-adjective 遠{とお}い means far, distant. From what I know, I can make an adverb out of an i-adjective by replacing い with く, which should give me 遠く.

Now, the word 遠く is also a noun itself, which is interesting. This is nicely explained in this question.

Now, in the song Yume Sekai (ユメセカイ), by Haruka Tomatsu, we have:

  遠くに聞こえた鐘の音が少し寂しくて

  [...]

It looks like 遠くに is working as an adverb here. Is this correct? If this is the case, then can both 遠く and 遠くに be used as adverbs, with the same meaning?


texts:
Context: 18:40 to 19:10 from video below

http://up.b9dm.com/index.php/video/index/87933/series/1/plid/2813

I don't understand what the person speaking who says 「これでおしまいに？」 is referring to.

The two people afterwards both respond with まさか (i.e. they are denying what the previous person said), and then say that he (the king) has become a king who is able to forgive.

My problem is that I really have no idea what is being referred to by これでおしまい. What is he suggesting is coming to an end or is over?


texts:
Original Japanese:
やがて、そんな生活に慣れはじめると、今度は物事をじっくりと考えることが苦痛になってきた。
Google translate: Eventually, as I began to get used to such a life, it became painful to think about things.
Microsoft translate: Before long, when I began to get used to such a life, it became painful to think about things carefully this time.
My own very very rough translation EDITED: In the end, that sort of life when I start to grow accustom to it, now without rushing everything my thoughts gradually become agony.

Why do the google translate and the Microsoft bing translate lack a “and” as I think the 慣れ is a continuative form connecting two phrases?


texts: Why is being indirect more polite than being direct in Japanese?

texts: In Japanese, the more indirect a question (or a sentence in general) is, the more polite it is considered. Is there a reason for this?


texts:
In the below, what is そういうの referring to? Should what she says be understood as something like:
みさき先輩のこととなると目ざとい, or is it referring to something else?

「どこかケガでもされたんじゃ！」
「……いや、そういうんじゃなくてね」
「うそ！　みさき先輩のことですからわかります！　わたしそういうの目ざといんですから！」


texts:
Sentence taken from this question:

  見ず知らずの子供を助けるほど、お節介とゆーか、親切ってほどでもない。

I'm failing miserably to understand this sentence. Writing it less colloquially we presumably get:

  見ず知らずの子供を助けるほど、お節介というか、親切というほどでもない。

I understand ほど to mean "to the extent that/of" e.g. 昨日ほど暑くない = "to the extent of yesterday, it's not hot" = "It's not as hot as yesterday".

My guess at a translation would be roughly:

  "I'm so meddlesome that I save strange children, or rather, I don't do it out of kindness".

but I feel that would be two separate sentences: " i.e. 見ず知らず子供を助けるほど、お節介だ = "To the extent that I save strange children, I am meddlesome", and
"というか、親切というほどでもない" = "Or rather, to the extent that it is kindness, it is not".

Something tells me I'm barking up the wrong tree.


texts: Use of でいらっしゃる and でござる

texts: I found a chart listing the plain, polite, honorific, and humble forms of verbs. The chart listed だ →です→でいらっしゃる→でござる with the note “animate only.” I know that だ  and です can be used for inanimate references. Is it true that でいらっしゃる and でござる can be used only for animate references, or was the chart in error? (I know that だ/です is a copulative and not a true verb.) This question is not about いらっしゃる or ござる used independently, but でいらっしゃる and でござる used, respectively, as the honorific and humble forms of です.


texts: Why is there volitional form and か in this sentence: 筋肉痛に悩まされつつも一通り終え、そろそろ家に戻ろうかというところにリーゼがやってきた。

texts:
Sentence:

  筋肉痛に悩まされつつも一通り終え、そろそろ家に戻ろうかというところにリーゼがやってきた。

My translation attempt:

  Despite the muscle pain he finished as usual, about the time he
  intended to come back home, Rize turned up.


texts:
As we know, there is a class of adjectives that end in 〜らか:  滑【なめ】らか, 明【あき】らか, 清【きよ】らか, 安【やす】らか, etc.

やわらか (柔らか or 軟らか) is also in this class of adjectives.  However, it can also be written as the イ-adjective やわらかい.  So when and how did this adjective pick up an い to become a separate イ-adjective?

Can this be done arbitrarily with any of the 〜らか class adjectives?  Like 滑【なめ】らかい, 明【あき】らかい, 清【きよ】らかい, 安【やす】らかい.  My gut feeling is that it cannot, but only because those forms sound strange to me.  If it cannot arbitrarily be done, are there any other 〜らか class adjectives that can take on the extra い?


texts: Can 自身 be used to refer to 2 people in the same sentence?

texts:
Starting from the sentence:

  それにもかかわらず、新渡戸と内村は女性の状況や権利に特別な関心を抱き、これについての文書を多数残している。

Do I need to add 2「自身」to give the meaning "Nitobe and Uchimura themselves"?

  それにもかかわらず、新渡戸自身と内村自身は女性の状況や権利に特別な関心を抱き、これについての文書を多数残している。

Can I accomplish the meaning of "themselves" with only 1「自身」in the sentence after the second name be able to refer to both of them?

  「新渡戸と内村自身は」

="Nitobe and Uchimura themselves"?

or will that merely mean

"Nitobe, and Uchimura himself"?


texts:
Context is that protagonist suddenly found himself in unusual place/situation and trying to understand where he is and how he can possibly got there. After some rejected ideas he "thinks" this. (Situation in no way is related to "lever").

"Complete" sentence is:

  てことは――。

I'm not even sure if it should be read as て こと は or てこ と は.
Both variants seems to make no sense. From context I suspect that it may be some swear, but edict has many swear words, but not this...

Any suggestions?

edit: added context


texts: What is the correct way of saying "third" in different contexts?

texts:
What would be the correct way of saying "third" in the following contexts:

Chronologically (This is the third time this happens)
Ranked (I am the third best player in the world)
Other? Maybe other context I haven't thought of that has meaning in Japanese but less in other languages?


texts: 'I will GO to (verb)' vs. 'I will (verb)'

texts:
In sentences like

  ２時ごろ子どもを迎えに行きます。I will go to meet/greet my child around 2 O'clock.

Is the sentence structure of verb(Stem form)に行く/来る/帰る, ever strictly necessary? Or following the example, would

  ２時ごろ子どもを迎えます。I will meet/greet my child around 2 O'clock.

be sufficient. In other words, is the fact that you will go somewhere to do this action already implied (in some cases).

Another example:

  来月旅行に行きます。I will go travel next month. VS. 来月旅行します。I will travel next month.

Aside: I can see how in examples like

  映画を見に行きたいです。I want to go see a film.

The format it's written in would be useful, as the emphasis is placed on the fact that you wish to go somewhere to see a film, not simply that you want to watch a film.

Thank you for, any and all, help! Much appreciated!


texts:
I have seen some sentences that are just a subject and are intended questions. I know just saying "nani" still conveys the meaning of "what is this/that." Can this apply to saying something like "Jin?" in response to mean "Him [really]?"
For example, I came across this sentence: あれは誰 which was translated to "What is that" without either a verb or ga at the end. Is this just a rare case or is it done frequently when informal?


texts:
あれは何ですか  what’s that?
  今何時ですか what time is it now?

I learnt these two sentences from a Japanese learning app. I am confused why the first sentence uses は whereas the second doesn’t. The English translations are both in the form “what is...?”


texts: How to read single stand-alone language-name kanji?

texts:
So we all know that most (all?) countries' names can be written in kanji as well as kana. And occasionally kanji from these names are used to represent the language of those countries. For example, we can see 「独逸」の「独」 here:

  「ドイツ統一の中心人物であり、「鉄血宰相（独: Eiserner Kanzler）」の異名を取る。」

How is 独 read in this context? Is there a consistent rule that applies to all similar instances (米, 伊, 英, etc.)?


texts: Is modern day keigo borrowed from kansai-ben? Sources?

texts:
I have heard on various occasions that modern day keigo was borrowed from Kansai-ben. It states this on Wikipedia:

  Historically, extensive use of keigo (honorific speech) was a feature of Kansai-ben, especially Kyoto-ben, while Kantō-ben, from which standard Japanese developed, formerly lacked it. Keigo in standard Japanese was originally borrowed from Kansai-ben. However, keigo is no longer considered a feature of the dialect since Standard Japanese now also has it. Even today, keigo is used more often in Kansai-ben than in the other dialects except for the standard Japanese, to which people switch in formal situations.

but I can't seem to find any credible sources. Does anyone know of any credible sources or more info on this?


texts: things that look like long vowels but aren't

texts:
Are there words written with "ei" or "ou" that are pronounced with both vowels instead of as a long vowel? I think this is true in cases like 拾う and している, but are there cases of it happening where you'd expect to find a long vowel?

I ask because I thought I heard 姪 pronounced this way.


texts: Is it possible to write anything long completely in 和語?

texts: I sometimes wonder how feasible is it to completely avoid loanwords, i.e. 漢語 and 外来語, but still using Modern Japanese (i.e. not simply just using Old/Classical Japanese vocabulary). Is the 和語 inventory of Modern Japanese still intact enough to express arbitrary ideas, or at least enough to write article-length things? I suppose some workarounds would be needed (say, 日本語 as ひのもとことば?) but would it be technically possible, or has enough supplanting happened that some concepts are just impossible to express without loanwords?


texts:
「二匹ずつもらったから二千円は得だったんだ」
  Because I got two of each I made at least 2000 yen profit.
  「全部死んじゃってたら、二千円はパァじゃのう」
  If they all turn out to be dead, at least 2000 Yen ???

I have no idea what パァ could mean here.


texts: は in front of verb without it being nominalized

texts:
Can は follow a verb that has not been nominalized or is this just the character's peculiar way of speaking for example:

  美しきものは空の上、楽しげなるは海の底。

  私に能うるは世を羨みながら蒲団の壁蝨養うことのみ。


texts:
Tell me please in the sentence below, can うちは means the same as うちに? Or it's just うち like "we" ?

Thank you very much for help!


texts:
I haven't seen any examples that make use of this, nor have I seen any evidence to the contrary, so I thought I'd ask about it. I know that の basically connects nouns and makes them all 1 noun that can be modified as a whole, but I was also wondering if you can still modify the individual nouns within the string with subordinate clauses or adjectives.

So for example, if you wanted to say "Her beautiful eyes," how would you say it? Is this correct?

  彼女の美しい目

Thanks!


texts:
Here is the sentence said by Kansai speaker. He said this because his companion has annoyed other persons in the same room until they woke up.

そら見い　いよいよおきなはったあ。

I think it would work as a filler. Please correct me if I'm wrong.

Extra question: Is the 「はったあ」the past form of 「はる」 or 'to do' in Kansai dialect?


texts: Should I use On reading or Kun reading for numbers?

texts: I've just started to learn Japanese, and I've been looking at the jōyō kanji. Most of the words have on reading and kun reading. I was wondering, which one is most popular and when should I use one over the other?


texts: Does 美少女 sound somewhat ironic, humoristic, etc?

texts:
In the Yotsuba-to manga one of the heroes first calls a younger of the two sisters (16 y.o) 美女. Then he gets to know an older sister (I guess 21 y.o) and tells that she is a real 美女. A younger sister hearing that gets somehwat distressed and he then tells her that she (the younger one) is a 美少女. This, as far as I can tell from the picture creates a comic effect.
However I was not able to find a comic connotation looking up the 美少女 word in a dictionary.
So, does the word 美少女 have any ironic or humoristic connotations?


texts:
I found a sentence

  医者が「大丈夫ですか」と重ねて尋ねた。

with translation

  The doctor repeatedly asked "Is it OK?".

As far as I know

The concatenation of て verb represents several actions which are done one after another. For example, 持って行く means "bring" followed by "go".
Changing the last い in い adjective　to く makes it an adverb. For example, 早く来てくださいね.
Or adding に after な adjective to makes it as an adverb. For example, 簡単に説明してください.

Questions

How can 重ねて (to repeat) followed by 尋ねた (asked) become "repeatedly asked" ? Is there any grammar I am missing here?


texts: Writing vertically in horizontally lined notebook

texts: I'm still learning Japanese but I want to start writing anyway, I got a normal notebook with horizontal lines but I would like to write vertically so I just rotated it, my question is with this setup, which side of the notebook should I start writing from?


texts: Is there a Japanese equivalent to the phrase, "when in Rome"?


texts: What is the difference in usage between これはXです and Xはこれです?

texts:
In the example sentences I can find, they are both translated as "This is X" so I don't know how to choose between them.

  私が料理に使ったのはこれです。 This is what I used in the cooking.

  彼が私を感動させた言葉はこれです。This is the word that moved me.


texts: What's a natural way to say "If I can do it so can you!"?

texts:
I would translate it as

  わたしが出来るとあなたも出来るよ！

Could someone help explain what a more natural translation would be, or even better if there's a saying or a common idiom to express the same idea?

P.s. is would be わたしが, not は, in this situation right?

Thank you


texts:
It is known to Japanese learners that the Japanese verb isn't affected by the subject (number or gender). Today, a linguistics professor of my university told me he heard from his teacher that ancient Japanese had some kind of plural declension.

I tried to search on google and on this site but couldn't find any information. So I'm asking if you know something about it.


texts:
I found this expression and the dictionaries give

"heaven sent offer", "best offer one could ask for"; "offer just what one wants"

I am interested by the break down this expression, ie how it came to have this meaning :

"an offer (申し出)I did not(ない) even (も) ask (願って)".

Is this correct ?


texts: Which writing system (hiragana, katakana, or kanji) should we use when writing out someone's name?

texts: I know how to read hiragana and katakana, but know nothing else. A lot of people I know want me to write their names in Japanese. Is it right to write them in any system, or are there specific rules?


texts: I know that the normal possessive form is usually formed subject+「の」+object. Though, in one instance, I found が being used in 天は我が物. I know that 「が」 can be used to express possession, though is there a certain way it can be used.


texts:
What is the Japanese term for putting an arm around another's shoulder? it is kind of hard, at first I am thinking of 抱きしめる but I think it is more about embracing someone (tightly).

Thank you for the responds


texts: Difference between [休日]{きゅうじつ}, [休暇]{きゅうか} and 休{やす}み

texts: What is the difference between 休日, 休暇 and 休み? When each should be used?


texts: 期末. can this be translated as "Balance sheet date"?

texts:
役員退職慰労引当金……役員の退職慰労金の支給に備えるため、内規に基づく 期末要支給額を計上しております。

My understanding: Provision for retirement benefits for officers... In order to prepare for the payment of retirement benefits for officers, the company recognizes the amount required to be paid at the end of the period in accordance with the internal regulations.


texts: Why is the word「ござる」used in this sentence?

texts:
This is a dialogue being discussed between 3 students.

  A: おまえきょうのテストどうした？

  B: へへ　まあな

  A：なんだよまあなって...できたんかよ？

  B：ばーか　このおれができるわけないだろ

  C: こいつのまあなはいつものとおり白紙でございって意味だよ

As I understand, the word 「ござる」 is used for polite form. I think that, in this situation, the word 「ある」 would be more proper than the previous one.

Could anyone tell me the reason about this, please?

Extra question: 「まあな」 used in this conversation means 'well', right?


texts: What is this で (in bold)　and this こと (in bold)?

texts:
あなたが常識だと思っていたことで、ほかの人におかしいと言われ、不思議だと思ったことがありますか。どんなことですか。

First, here's how I understand this sentence:
Have you ever thought that this is common sense, or been said by other people that this is strange, or thought that this is strange (or marvelous?)
What situations are/were these?

I guess this で is a connective form of です?
I think こと is in a pronominal function here and represents what was described before.

I can't remember having encounter these two points before. I also feel unsure about my translation, because I've never used "or" instead of "and" or similar for this kind of connection. But with "and", while it wouldn't be completely wrong, it feels slightly off.


texts: Does the average native Japanese reader know how to pronounce a majority of Kanji found in books?

texts:
After studying Japanese for quite a while and having read many books (maybe over 50-60 over a bunch of different genres), despite the fact I generally have tried to learn the readings of most words I come across, I always find myself discovering new words everyday whose pronunciation I don't know. Part of the time I can guess the reading since I know the common readings of the Kanji involved, but often not.

Nevertheless, even without understanding every reading and looking up every word, I still can understand things enough to follow the story.

My question is: Do most adult Japanese natives who read books really know each and every reading of every word they come across, or is there frequently times when they aren't sure? I'm sure some academic/intellectual type people who read very often might know nearly all of the readings, but I'm more curious about the average person who reads books off and on.

Part of the mystery to me is how one would learn all these readings. Most adult books don't have that much Furigana, and many of the more advanced words I am talking about wouldn't be heard frequently, if ever, in daily life. I just have a hard time believing adult readers would frequently look up Kanji readings, and instead would just aim to read such that they understand the overall flow of what is going on.

One example of one such books with a great many difficult words (for me) is this book, which is what I would call hardcore fantasy: https://www.amazon.co.jp/図書館の魔女-上-高田-大介/dp/4062182025

EDIT:　As there was some discussion of the above-referenced book with difficult Japanese, I'll give a link to a review I wrote for it here.


texts: Meaning of ドリンクを持って行った。

texts:
I'm not understanding the meaning of ドリンクを持って行った correctly in the below excerpt.

To provide context it is a Christmas Eve party at a fancy hotel and ヒルダ had just finished her performance on the stage and returned back to where ロキ and her friends who congratulated her. The next 20 or so sentences after this are listening to other peoples impression of the performance, after which ヒルダ asks ロキ to dance with her.

Originally I thought that ドリンクを持って行った was the narrator ロキ giving her a drink, but this doesn't seem correct as I would have expected something like 持って行ってあげた if this was the case.

From my understanding the literal meaning of 持って行く is to "hold and go" which obviously implies that someone is holding this/these drink/s and 'going' somewhere but it is not clear to me from context.

edit: I guess it could just be referring to ヒルダ going else where after ロキ speaks to her, but I am unsure whether I am assuming the correct subject.

  演奏が終わり──。

  ヒルダ「楽しかったー」

  ヒルダが戻ってくる。

  ロキ「お疲れさん」

  「ありがとうロキ」

  ドリンクを持って行った。

  メイ「いい感じだったじゃん」


texts: Natural pauses when reading and speaking

texts:
For example in a sentence like this which I found online looking this up:

お盆は祖先をまつる期間なので、祖先の霊を迎える前にお墓を掃除するのは大切なことです。

As a native speaker where would you naturally pause?
I am not sure where to mentally pause when reading and that kind of mess with my ability to comprehend sentences in one go.


texts: 英語を喋りますか？ Can you chat online using the English language?

texts: Is 英語を喋りますか the proper way to ask someone if they can chat online using English?


texts:
I know ておく・とく as meaning "in preparation for something". But today I came across the following two sentences:

あれだけみっともない辞め方をしといて、まだ政府にモノが言えるのは、民主党はいまだ鳩山の懐をあてにして金を貰っているのでしょうか。 (from Oshiete Goo)
AKB48は国民を騙す売り方をしといて国民的と呼ばないでほしい。 (from Yahoo answers)

It seems to me that in these two sentences, （方を）しといて is meant to emphasize a bad thing (quitting / follow deceiving sales pattern), but I'm not sure. Is this a fixed pattern of speech?


texts: How to translate a sentence that has no particles

texts:
I'm reading a manga and a man (Shusuke) and woman (Nozomi) are having a conversation. It starts out with them talking about congratulating a mutual friend (Sawada) on getting a job when Shusuke says:

(1)

  あーあいつのぞみちゃん狙いだからな

I believe it says "Ah— That guy (Sawada) is aiming for you, Nozomi-chan." Since there are no particles, I'm just guessing.

Nozomi responds by saying Sawada told her she can make a reservation to the restaurant any time she wants and then says:

(2)

  なんだったかな？ルのつくお店

Which I've translated to "I wonder..." but I don't understand the rest of the sentence because I don't know what ル　means which, in turn, causes me to not know what つく　means. I'm guessing つく　is a verb because when I look it up on jisho.org, only verbs come up. Jisho.org doesn't turn anything up for ル／る either.

So, I guess I actually have 2 questions, but I didn't want to separate them because they flow together for contextual reasons.

How to translate the first sentence since there are no particles
What does ルのつく mean


texts: The difference between くらい and ほど in hyperbole

texts:
The following two sentences, I believe, are grammatically okay, however I'm not sure on how they differ in nuance.

  もう[歩]{ある}けないほど[疲]{つか}れた！
  もう歩けないくらい疲れた！

Additionally, why is it that:

  [死]{し}ぬほど[恥]{は}ずかしい

is grammatically okay but

  死ぬくらい恥ずかしい

is not?

(However 死にたいくらい恥ずかしい is okay.)

From looking at this, it seems くらい cannot show volition. Is there a logical reason for this that I'm not seeing?


texts:
In a manga I came across this line:
色々なことを知っていればいるほど立派な魔女って認められるの
Which I think translates to: "the more you know the better witch you can become."
My question is about the form: 知っていればいるほど
Is this the standard way to use ば～ほど　if you have the form ている
Or am I entirely wrong?


texts: 仮名 - Japanese syllabary or a character of such, but what is behind this 熟語 spelling?

texts: What is the etymology of 仮名?  It is known as Japanese syllabary character, but how are the meanings of each kanji in this kanji compound related to the sense of "kana"?


texts: What is the proper term for the use of archaic kanji?

texts:
I noticed that in various works of Japanese art, the artists sign their work with a seal whose contents range from fairly regular kanji to very abstract variations of kanji. I have also seen it used in calligraphy, as shown in the example below.

I heard that this is called "seal script", but no one has been able to point me to any more information on it beyond Wikipedia. Is there a name for this form of writing and better resources for learning about it?


texts:
私はかんじをべんきょうします。

This literally says "I study kanji".

But I would like to say "This is how I study kanji." or "I will show you how I study kanji".

Can anyone help with this structure?


texts: Why both 弟 and 第 kanji have the same 音読み?

texts: I am trying to understand why both 弟 and 第 kanji have the same 音読み pronunciation ダイ/テイ? The common element 弔 is a variant of 吊 - is its Chinese pronunciation close to ダイ/テイ?


texts: Meaning of ひとつで自由に出せるように

texts:
The sentence is:

  ギャンブラーを名乗るなら、采の目ぐらい、投げ方ひとつで自由に出せるようになっておけ.

MC is revealing a secret how to win every dice game. But I'm not sure the meaning of his words. Does it mean throwing dice one by one?


texts: Question about the implications behind “私でよければ“

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Does is contain any romantic implications? I’ve heard it can be used as a love confession or marriage proposal of some sort, but is that true? And is that a common phrase?

Thanks!


texts:
Started reading Sword Art Online, and since it's my first time reading novels in Japanese, the first paragraph is already making me ask questions on Stack :P

職人クラスの酔狂な一団がひと月がかりで測量したところ、基部フロアの直径はおよそ十キロメートル、世田谷区がすっぽり入ってしまうほどもあったという。

I get the basic idea of the sentence, but the grammar coupled with unusual punctuation trips me up. What's going on in the middle part between the two commas? I'm not sure how it works, given that there are no particles or anything attached to キロメートル and it doesn't seem like the topic-wa relates to the rest of the sentence in any way, only to the part within the commas.
Also, if somebody knows what もあった is supposed to be in this context, I'd be happy to know.


texts: Epizeuxis (畳語法) in Modern Japanese language

texts:
When I was reading English, I found this exotic word: epizeuxis.

Instantly I racked my brains to find the equivalent counterpart in Japanese.

Here are the results:

  Epizeuxis : 畳語法 (じょうごほう)、 または畳句法、畳音法)

  Kotobank Definition: 同じ語句を繰り返して強調やリズムの効果を上げようとする修辞法。

Others definition:

  《畳語法》
  畳語法（じょうごほう、または畳句法、畳音法、Epizeuxis）とは、激しさまたは強調のために、言葉を連続して繰り返す修辞技法のこと。

My Questions:

Is there any practical use of Epizeuxis (畳語法) in Japanese?
If there is one, can you give an example?


texts: How do you write "share" (as in "tell others") in Japanese?

texts:
My company is developing an iPhone game that will be for sale in the US and Japan.  There is a share button that allows people to text message, email, Facebook, and twitter their friends about the game.  In english, the button just says "share".  What would be the appropriate replacement for this in Japanese that makes sense culturally?

I am trying to use the culturally correct word.  I have found 分かち合う.  But I believe this word more accurately means "dispense."

分け合う is what I believe I should use.  I just want to make sure it is correct and makes sense so no one is offended.


texts: How to write foreign names that are mixed with Japanese names?

texts:
My name is "Leonardo Makoto" (given names) "Mito" (surname) because, in my country, it is common for Nisei and Sansei to have a foreign first name and a Japanese second name (so my family can call me Makoto and everyone else can call me Leonardo). Now, I am going to spend a year in Japan as an exchange student and I am worried about how to present myself and write my name since I do not speak Japanese.

  I intend to present myself as "Mito Makoto" to make it easier for them to pronounce my name. Is this a good idea or should I stick with "Mito Leonardo"?

I know the Kanji for my family name is {{ja:三登}} and "Makoto" was not intended to mean anything.

  How are second-names written in Japan? In particular, how should I write my name?

Should it be in Katakana {{ja:レオナルド・マコト・ミト}}, with only the surname in Kanji hiding my foreign name {{ja:三登 まこと}}, choosing a random Kanji for "Makoto" {{ja:三登 誠}}, or a mixture of everything {{ja:三登 レオナルド 誠}}?

Thanks in advance!

Edit:

I was asked by Kyoto University to provide the Kanji for my family name, if available. Then, I asked my aunt (who lives in Japan) for it on Facebook and she replied {{ja:三登}}. This same person said it was pronounced {{ja:ミト}}. However, my aunt might not be very proficient in the Japanese language.

Based on the answers and comments, I understood Kanji is somewhat confusing and I should avoid it while I am not familiar with Japanese. I shall write my name in full katakana, then.


texts:
Can someone please explain which part of this sentence こうして is modifying and how it is changing the meaning of the sentence:

  鴫｛しぎ｝を見るために、行ったことはあったが、暑い季節にこうして弁当まで持っていくのは初めてである。

Without こうして I translate this as

  I have been to see the sandpipers before, but this is my first time bringing a lunch along in the hot season.


texts: どこに住んでも and どこに住むのも difference

texts:
I heard in a movie 何処に住むのも自由 and I wonder what's the difference with どこに住んでも自由 ?

I think nominalizer の + も is more formal but not sure.

Thanks


texts: What exactly are the differences between 大体, だいぶ and 大部分

texts:
Okay, those three make me very confused. To my understanding だいぶ is used when it´s more than what you expected.
大体 should be more or less, but then where comes 大部分? And is 大体 a lesser percentage than ほとんど?

Thank you very much for your help.


texts: Can in this passive tense structure the topic be the same as the performer of the action?

texts:
I've been skimming through Minna no Nihongo and I found this structure:

[N1は]...[N2に]...[N3を]...「Vpassive]

And I understand the example sentence given with it:

私は弟にパソコンを壊されました。

They say that N1 is annoyed or troubled by what happens to N3.
Then I encountered this sentence in a dialogue:

空港で荷物を間違えられたんです

Is it possible that N1 and N2 are the same in this sentence? That the person confused their luggage and was troubled by their own actions?


texts: I'm not sure the meaning of the first part of the sentence

texts:
I would like to understand the meaning of the first part of this sentence, I get parts but not the whole thing.

このままだと自分だけじゃなくてこの世界壊れるだろう。

I get that この世界壊れるだろう means this world will break.

I think まま means as it is, so このまま is something like "as this is". I don't really know about だと, I assume だ is です and と connects is to the other part of the sentence. 自分だけ means only oneself but I'm confused about じゃなくて, is this like じゃない but for some reason conjugated with くて at the end? How does that change the meaning of じゃない?

Any way, I kinda get a jist, it means something like "as this is the world will break" but I don't really know how と自分だけじゃなくて plays in . . . .


texts: Can "響く" have the meaning of "to come (home); to remain (with someone)"?

texts:
I looked up 響{ひび}く on jisho.org, where I found the meaning "to come (home); to remain (with someone)" under definition 3. I was curious and checked a few monolingual online dictionaries, but none of them seemed to have an entry with the same or a similar meaning.

Is the meaning under definition 3 on jisho.org not really used or not literal enough for monolingual dictionaries? Or did I just overlook it when searching through them?


texts:
若殿の遊び相手をしてほしいものじゃ。

The sentence is from an old folk tale.

Is the construction in bold suitable only for the folk tale style? It means "I want you to be...", doesn't it?


texts: What is the difference between tori vs. dori?

texts:
In Aikido, different dojos seem to latch on to using either dori or tori when describing grabbing attacks. For instance one dojo might say:

Katate Dori

Another would say:

Katate Tori

Each dojo will profess that their way of saying / spelling it is the more traditional and correct. Is there a difference between these two similar terms, and if so which one is more correct for denoting a grab?


texts:
I am still not 100% when adding の to verbs

I understand that adding の to 泳ぐ makes it into a noun 泳ぐの so that you can comment on it like in 泳ぐのが上手です instead of 泳ぐが上手です which sounds weird.

But then when it comes to suru-verbs I get confused.

料理 is a noun but can be made into a verb using suru -> 料理する, but then when commenting on swimming skills it needs to be a noun (noun が [description]).

So my question is, do you use the original noun 料理 -> 料理が上手です, or do you turn it into a verb and then back into a noun 料理するの -> 料理するのが上手です

Also which one would be correct?:

だれが歌が上手ですか
だれが歌うのが上手ですか
だれが歌うが上手ですか

This confuses me because the noun 歌 (song) has a verb with an added う -> 歌う.


texts: Are there examples of kanji compounds that have recognised on-yomi and kun-yomi readings for the one compound? Does the meaning vary depending on which reading is chosen?


texts: What does the internet slang "草生えた" mean?

texts:
I came across the term 草生えた on the internet.  There wasn't much context, but it didn't seem to mean that grass was growing.  Is this a slang term?

What does it mean?  I couldn't find it in any of my dictionaries.


texts: What's the difference between "巻寿司" (makizushi), "海苔巻き" (norimaki), and "巻物" (makimono)?

texts:
It seems there are three words for the same Japanese food item, a kind of "sushi in a long roll":

"巻寿司" (makizushi)
"海苔巻き" (norimaki)
"巻物" (makimono)

Are they all identical / synonyms? Do they refer to subtly different things? Are they used in different regions? Are they used by different generations of Japanese?

[Sidenote: At the risk of side-tracking another food question, there only seems to be one word for these in Korean: "김밥" (gimbap).]


texts:
(I'm sorry if it is a duplicate, I tried to search unsuccessfully)

After 変わりつつある:

  農業の現場で起きている担い手不足によって、日本人の食卓の景色も変わりつつあるー。 取材を通してそうした実感を抱きました。(source)

I don't have the impression it generally appears in NHK news article...?


texts: 「浮き彫り」の意味・使い方がよくわからない

texts:
日本語の授業の単語を復習しているところですが、「浮き彫り」という言葉が出てきました。
フラッシュカードに書いてあったのは「to be distinct」ですが、辞書を参照したら「throw something into relief」とか「a relief」とあります。

例えば（マック辞書から）

  ▸ 闇の中で白い仮面がくっきりと浮き彫りにされた
  The white mask stood out in bold relief in the dark.

  ▸ これで疑獄の深刻さが浮き彫りにされた
  This threw the seriousness of the scandal into relief.

使い方と実際の意味がわかりません。reliefは法律用語ですか？法律に全然関係していない例文もあるので。


texts:
Perhaps this question is completely unimportant, but I do not know if it is.

There is a very influential mathematical paper by Alexander Grothendieck often called his Tôhoku paper, because of the journal that published it in 1957.

When I look online now, the only people who use the accent  ô are mathematicians referring to this paper.  Everybody who is just writing about the place 東北地方 uses the accent ō and writes Tōhoku.

Wikipedia suggests the spelling Tôhoku is the Kunrei-shiki or Nihon-shiki version, while Tōhoku is the Hepburn or Revised Hepburn version.  Is that true?

Do Japanese speakers today make any distinction between ô and ō in romanization?  Or is it just a trivial choice between notations?


texts: When should I use どんどん and when should I use 速く?

texts: Both are adverbs meaning "quickly", but what is the difference of use between them ?


texts: Confused by "~奴らをあの連中~" in this sentence

texts:
I was reading a passage from a novel and this exchange between two characters came up;

Character A「もうほっといてもいいのに、レミーって時々ゆーじよーとか大事にするよねぇ？それとさ、部隊の残党を助けてるのって、半分は手駒にする為じゃなくって、あの療養所の人達への恩返しだったりしちゃうー？」
Character B ( aka レミー)「知らねーな。足手纏いになりそうな奴らをあの連中に押しつけてるだけだ」

I think I have a general idea of what they're saying: A seems to be lightly teasing B saying B considers friendship as something important despite telling people to back off (もうほっといてもいいのに) and that they're gathering some of the 部隊 survivors as a repayment (in good will?) to the people in an infirmary.
But the 奴らをあの連中 part is in B's dialogue is particularly confusing. "I don't care. Those guys who are likely to be an obstacle  をあの連中に押しつけてる" I'm at a total loss as to how exactly one would parse this. I would simply expect a verb to follow the を and not something like あの連中, so I would like someone to explain how B's dialogue would be constructed into a sentence in English and why あの連中 immediately follows the を in this sentence.


texts:
I would like to know what does 歯が欠ける mean: Lacking teeth? Broken teeth?
Context: 人の幸せを素直に喜べないやつ理解出来なさすぎて、また歯が欠けた。
My translation:
I can't barely understand people who cannot honestly be glad for other's happiness, 「???」.
How would you translate the expression 歯が欠ける?
Thank you so much in advance for your help!


texts:
Seen in the introduction to a book entitled 日本語文法ハンドブック, so it would greatly surprise me if it's a typo.  Each section in the book is broken into parts and one is entitled "これだけは", being described here:

「これだけは」にはその項目を教えるにあたって最低限知っておくべき情報を挙げてあります。

The end of the sentence is a Vてある construction, but uses を instead of が or は.  My understanding is that this is not correct.  Is this a typo, or a usage I'm not familiar with?


texts: What does this Japanese mean ? It was written on a rock on the series Cobra Kai ? 妬みは岩のない庭を見せる

texts:
This was written on a rock on Cobra Kai on Netflix.
[Season 3 , Episode 8 , ~ 22.5 minutes]
What does it mean ?
Google Translation:
Envy shows a rockless garden
I'm surprised and disappointed if it means nothing or if at least it is a bad translation of something. They had a great chance to impart some wisdom from both Japanese culture and from karate philosophy. Why would they not hire experts to confirm all these details ? At S3E4 ~32.5 minutes, Daniel clinks drinks with Kumiko and says kanpai, she responds with karii. I looked it up and karii is in fact an Okinawan version of kanpai. I was impressed by this. Why they couldn't do the same for the writing on the rock is beyond me.
Chekhov's gun : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chekhov%27s_gun


texts:
Is it from the verb 居る? If it's so, why is not it ております?

  怪人による被害はこれまでにない規模の拡大を続けており。


texts: What does it mean to end a sentence with ひとつだけ?

texts:
I came across a sentence that ends with ひとつだけ in a book and searching on jisho gave me zero results (https://jisho.org/search/ひとつだけ); nor did searching for the individual parsing of what I remember from the audio of the VN (i.e. hitotsu--DakE) give me any helpful results that would make sense in context.

  しかも、出入り口は錆の浮いた鉄扉がひとつだけ。

TDLR: What does the sentence end(?) ひとつだけ mean in the above context and does it have a general meaning when used at the end of a sentence as opposed to being used elsewhere in the sentence?

Edit:

Context: Narrator is describing a unfamiliar room he wakes up in.
I think that ひとつだけ in the above context will not work as individual parsings as ひとつ most likely means either the "adverbial noun – just" or the numeric one in the above context that adverbially/numerically describes the 鉄扉 (iron door). The next bit, だけ most likely is a particle ("only") but I don't see how the "only" can affect the 鉄扉 as the ひとつ is already doing that to the "iron door".
The only way I can see both affecting 鉄扉 is if ひとつだけ is a qualifier sentence (technically a qualifier phrase) being used in reverse-order.


texts: What happened to original, pre-Kanji, Japanese words?

texts:
Some of the most common words in Japanese seem to have their origin in Chinese:

会議、日本、世界、先生、。。。

The evidence for this is, as far as I know, the fact that these words are written with characters, whose on-yomi is used to read that particular word.

Further evidence is that there usually is a synonym or an archaic form, that is written using characters whose kun-yomi is used:

会議　＝　出会い
日本　＝　八洲　（やしま）according to tangorin.com

I imagine that these words were used by the Japanese before the introduction of Chinese characters to Japan.

However, some words do not have this form:

世界　＝　？
先生　＝　？

How did the Japanese folks say these things before the introduction of Kanji and what happened to these words?


texts: 季節 is composed of two kanji, き and せつ, however, both of them mean 'season' when translated to English. Though I'm aware that 季 originally referred to the seasons of the year and 節 was initially used to refer to segments of bamboo, both kanji have taken the meaning of 'season'. As near as I can tell, 季節 is the common word to refer to autumn, winter, summer, and spring, but 季 is still in use. Would anyone be able to clear up the appropriate usage of 季 versus 季節? Is there a distinction in connotation between the two? Is 季 used on its own, or merely as a component in combination kanji?


texts: How to break down who did what in AにBをCさせる

texts:
I'm trying to understand the following:

  後輩にサイフを開かせることはないよ

I guess this could be generalized as AにBをCさせる.

It's confusing. Maybe if someone can break down how to understand this and then I can memorize it.


texts:
A friend has asked me to design a T-shirt for him, and he wants it to read:  eat, sleep, drift (as in car drifting)
So far I have this: 食べる 睡眠 漂. I'm not sure if it's right as I am an English speaker with no experience of Japanese. Ideally I would like a Kanji AND Katakana translation. As you will probably understand I would like him to be pleased with his shirt and not looking a fool with something grammatically incorrect or insulting printed on it!


texts: Why was 邪 chosen to spell the names of 伊邪那岐神 and 伊邪那美神 in the 古事記?

texts:
I had been wondering about this for a while. Consider the spelling of he names of Izanagi and Izanami in the 古事記:

  伊邪那岐神【いざなぎのかみ】 and (妹【いも】)伊邪那美神【いざなみのかみ】

  (source)

Both of their names use the kanji 邪, which, at least today, is associated with a negative connotation such as よこしま.

There are several theories regarding the meaning and origin of their names:

「誘【いざな】う」の語根 + ぎ・み(男性・女性を表す語)
功【いさを】の語根
サンスクリットの「伊舎那天【いしゃなてん】」、「伊舎那后【いしゃなくう】」

But at any rate, the kanji would appear to be ateji used mainly for their phonetic value. Still, there are many possible kanji candidates and I would expect their semantics would at least e taken into consideration.

If we take a look at a list of man'yōgana, we find some with a rather negative connotation, eg. 恥【ぢ】 or 愚【ぐ】, albeit most of them do not strike as negative as 邪.

Moreover, Izanagi and Izanami are amongst the more important kami (I would think), and 射 seems to be the most common transcription of za  in the Man'yōshū, compiled only about 50 years after the Kojiki, at a frequency of 85/99.

There is an answer at chiebukuro hypothesizing that this choice had been China's way of making fun of Japan and demonstrating their superiority. While this might be a possible explanation for the names 卑弥呼【ひみこ】 and 邪馬台国 (やまたいこく・やばたいこく・やまとこく), which appear in the 魏志倭人伝【ぎしわじんでん】 written in the late 3rd century in China; this seems to be an implausible explanation for the names in the 古事記 written in the early 8th century not in China but in Japan.

I looked up 邪 in a kanji dictionary and apparently, it originally referred to the place name 琅邪【ろうや】. However, we can find for example the following passage in the 古事記 proving that 邪 had already been associated with a negative meaning.

  〔原文〕 爾速須佐之男命答白「僕者無邪心、唯大御神之命以、問賜僕之哭伊佐知流之事。故、白都良久三字以音、僕欲往妣國以哭。爾大御神詔、汝者不可在此國而、神夜良比夜良比賜。故、以爲請將罷往之狀、參上耳。無異心。」

  〔文語訳〕 ここに速須佐の男の命答へ白したまはく、「僕(あ)は邪(きたな)き心無し。ただ大御神の命もちて、僕が哭きいさちる事を問ひたまひければ、白しつらく、僕は妣(はは)の國に往(い)なむとおもひて哭くとまをししかば、ここに大御神汝(みまし)はこの國にな住(とど)まりそと詔りたまひて、神逐(かむやら)ひ逐ひ賜ふ。かれ罷りなむとする状(さま)をまをさむとおもひて參ゐ上りつらくのみ。異(け)しき心無し」とまをしたまひき。

  〔現代語訳〕 すると速須佐之男の命は、「私に邪悪な心はありません。伊邪那岐の大御神から泣き喚く理由を問われましたので、 『私は母の国に行きたいと思って泣いているのです』と申し上げました。 すると伊邪那岐の大御神は、『お前はこの葦原中国に住んではならない』と言って、私を追放されたので、 母の国に参ろうとする事情を申し上げようと思い、高天原に参上したのです。邪心などありません」と答えた。

Interestingly, the spelling was changed to 伊弉諾尊 and 伊弉冉尊 in the 日本書紀, 弉=>大きく堂々としている and 冉=>しなやかなさま), yet as illustrated above, the significance of 邪 must have been known.

Perhaps considering Izanami's fate does contribute some insight into this naming choice:

  イザナミは火神を生んだために女陰を焼かれてこの世を去ったとなっている。この病臥中にイザナミの嘔吐や糞，尿から木，火，土，金，水(五行)の神が生じたとあるが，これらの神々は同時に焼畑農耕の発生を暗示しているともいえる。

  [...]

  最後には黄泉国【よみのくに】との境において対立し，男神は人間の生をつかさどる神として，女神は人間の死をつかさどる冥界の神として互いに絶縁する。

  「世界第百科事典　第二版　平凡社」より

The question is thus: Are there any insights or explanations as to why 邪 was chosen to spell the names 伊邪那美神 and 伊邪那岐神? Or was it used merely for its sound?


texts: The differences between いきなり, [急]{きゅう}に and [突然]{とつぜん}

texts:
I've come to see [突然]{とつぜん} as "sudden in an almost overwhelming manner". The other two, however, I am unable to figure out.
What are the differences between these words, and when is one more appropiate than the other?


texts: Wanting Someone To Do Something (てほしい Structure)

texts:
I have the following sentence to translate.

行ってほしくないと言われたが
新聞記者になりたいので
国際交換瑠学生の試験に受からなくても行くことにした

So far I have the following.

It was said ... doesn't want ... to go but
he wants to become a newspaper reporter so
he decided to go even if he doesn't pass the international exchange student exam

I am having trouble with that first segment. I think the てほしい structure is used to say you want someone to do something for you. So I don't get who is not wanting who to go. If the subject just didn't want to go, I would expect 行きたくない.


texts:
In Genki I, になります and になりました are used interchangeably. Does になります imply "has become" and the
other imply "had become"? For example,

夏は暑くなります。　→　（This） summer has become hot
去年の夏は暑くなりました。→　Last summer had become hot

Also, is it natural to use になっている for "is becoming"?
Edit: This grammar is very short section in chapter 10 (section 5)


texts: Translating 受け継ぐ as "released" or "inherited"?

texts:
How would you translate the following sentence?

  今、千年パズルを解き闇のゲームを受け継いだ少年がいた。

I'd translate it this way:

  Now a boy has solved the millennium puzzle and inherited the dark games.

But in the English subtitles, they wrote the following:

  Now, the time where a boy has solved the Millennium Puzzle and released the Dark Games has come.

The verb 受け継ぐ is translated as "inherit, take over, be heir to" in these dictionaries: Kenkyusha, Riidaasu, eijiro.


texts:
Okay here is my dilemma, I am going to a write to a Japanese friend a birthday letter but I don't know how should I construct it;  I've tried to search around the net and I found both formal and informal letters.

Now the problem is that friend of mine happens to be my boss in my Job too which means in my case I don't know which kind of format should I use in writing the letter.

Do I use the formal style with 拝啓 opening remarks or just write my message to him instantly (without the opening and closing remarks) and how should I address him in he letter? should I use さま、さん？


texts: Are there stereotypical speech patterns or inflections associated with gay Japanese speakers?

texts:
This is not intended to be a controversial or provocative question.

In English, there are "commonly accepted" stereotypes for how gay people sometimes speak. Are there corresponding characteristics to how gay Japanese people speak, either specific words, phrases, or constructs; or in how certain sounds are inflected?

I'm curious if Japanese is as permissive as English in "allowing," for example, gay men to use more feminine speech forms, or if the strictures of the language and culture pretty much tie all genders to prescribed speech patterns regardless of sexual orientation.

Examples of words, phrases, or sentences that are clearly recognized as "gay" would be appreciated. For example, in the US, it is not uncommon for some gay men to call each other "girl." As another example, per the link above, sometimes gay men (especially when speaking excitably) have a distinctly melodic or tonal-variadic inflection. Things like this that might parallel to Japanese (or completely unique instances) are what I'm curious about.


texts: How to distinguish between う/よう of volition and suggestion?

texts:
Reading a lesson on 国語文法.com, I'm having difficulty telling 意志 from 勧誘.

E.g. 「今度こそ成績をあげよう。」 is stated is that of volition (意志). However, why can't it be "(I suggest you to) improve your grades!"?

Or the following example/exercise sentence: 彼の業績は評価しよう - is that the speaker's intention to evaluate 3rd party performance, or a suggestion to 2nd party to do that?

Or an image like this, is it the speaker's (猫さん's) intention or suggestion for the reader (a motivational image)?


texts: For someone who has studied standard Japanese, how hard is it to learn Kansai dialect? Is there a lot to learn, or not much? What are the basic things to learn in order to speak in this dialect? All I know so far is that the sentence ending particles are different.


texts:
When is 日本語、お上手です (your Japanese is good), or possibly 上手い instead of 上手, used? Is it based solely on the person's level of proficiency, or their proficiency compared to what was anticipated, or visibly making an effort?

Please don't be too ranty in your answers.


texts:
I am currently trying to learning Japanese by reading manga. So far so good, but this kanji is too blurry for me to figure out. Anyone know what this could be?

I'm 98% sure the first character means 'eye' but the second one below it...Beats me.
Thx in advance!


texts: The difference between 明日何をしますか and 明日どうしますか

texts:
What is the difference between 明日何をしますか and 明日どうしますか？

I have come across the following question and answer:

  明日どうしますか。

  傘を箱の中に入れます。

So, I wonder if I can say 明日何をしますか instead.


texts: What's the difference between うたがう (疑う) and うたぐる (疑る)?

texts:
What's the difference between 疑う{うたがう} and 疑る{うたぐる}?
It seems that うたぐる is not common, but I'm not sure.
How should I read 疑って?


texts: Confused on verb conjuation U-verbs ru-verbs or godan ones?

texts:
I am doing japaneese N5 lessons for second time and I get REALLY confused.
As far as I know there are 3 categories of verbs:

Irregular verbs
Ichidan verbs
Godan verbs

But the sensei tells us that there are the following categories:

Irregular ones
U-verbs
RU-verbs

And I got pretty much confused on this issue: which is the appropriate one classification, are U-verbs just godan ones or not?


texts: without using kanji how do you say ‘near my house’ ?


texts:
(I cannot think of a good title for this question, sorry!)

I was watching the anime 氷菓 episode 8. At the start of the episode, there was this online chat thingy going on:

Basically, this person with the user name "L" made a few typos (like 取っ手も楽しみ) and he/she corrected them in the messages that follow. Then "名前を入れて下さい" said that "L" does not have to correct the typos and added that "そのままENTERを押せば"

Here is where I got confused.

I think "そのままENTERを押せば" literally translates to "If you just press enter immediately", right? I don't really understand why an unfinished conditional clause is being there on its own, out of nowhere. I have a few guesses for the reason:

"名前を入れて下さい" is telling "L" to just send the message by pressing enter without caring about typos. This would mean that this is an inversion. The actual order would be "そのままENTERを押せば、変換はしなくても構わない".
This is another one of those cases where things are omitted in a sentence, something around the lines of  "誰にもわかる" is omitted
"名前を入れて下さい" is telling "L" how to use the IME correctly - just press enter (as opposed to space + enter which will select the next choice and cause a typo).

For context, this is the next part of the conversation:

"L" seems to have made another typo and suddenly understands something (ああ、ほんとですね, It really is so!)


texts: Where does the な used in な-adjectives come from?

texts: な-adjectives are derived from nouns. This is similar to how の can be used to 'Adjective-ize' a noun. But while it's clear how の-adjectives work, and why the の is appended, what is the story for な-adjectives? How are they derived? Why is the な appended?


texts: Both 部品{ぶひん} and 用品{ようひん} are translated as parts.  Is there a difference in their usage?


texts: Question about this sentence , -られる and なくちゃ

texts:
Is this "being able to" or "passive" られる　here?

  僕も楽しみに待っていられるようなものが何かなくちゃ…

I think the part that i struggle the most with, is

  楽しみに待っていられる

Don't they have the same meaning? "looking forward to"?

I understand so far : "I, also, to be able to look forward i have to have something to do to look forward" ??

with "何かなくちゃ" meaning : " to have something i have to do"?

But i'm afraid i'm making a mistake here, is he trying to say that he "Need something to look forward to" ? but by "doing something"?

Thanks in advance !


texts: What is the difference between Konnichiwa and Konbanwa? Is it appropriate to use either one in everyday conversations?


texts: what does に do in いつの間にこんな自立した子に…

texts:
I don't understand why に is used in this sentence I saw this sentence in the second episode of the anime k-on

いつの間にこんな自立した子に...うれしいような悲しいような

the English subs said that it meant

She's all independent already.It makes me both happy and sad


texts: 「捨ててしまう」Why are there two て’s used here?

texts:
The full sentence was :

  「捨ててしまうのはもったいないと思って」
  I think to throw away (something) is a waste

But why are there two て’s?
Why is it not 捨てしまう？


texts:
あいつ  にしちゃ  思い切った  な。

I had a hard time to translate this short sentence. And after I looked around from many sources, I found these clues.

思い切った
普通では考えられないような。おどろくほど大胆な。 「 －処置を取る」

source: https://www.weblio.jp/
にしては (= ni shitewa)
(casual contraction) にしちゃ (= ni shicha)
source: Grammar Lesson from Maggie Sensei's site

あいつ  にしちゃ  思い切った  な。

My translation:

It's surprisingly bold for (that guy / he / she).

Did I translate the sentence properly, yet?


texts: Describing something as 'child like', and not 'a child'

texts:
みなさんこんにちは! :D

Is there a general means in 日本語 of describing something as being 'like' something, while not literally being said thing.

Ive been trying to practice by (struggling to) write notes on things by partially using 日本語, and in english class i ran into the problem of not knowing how to properly write 'she is a vary child LIKE character'.

I normally just google these thīngs, but i aint been able to find a answer, thus i was wondering if y'all might be able to inform me on this.

Thanks! :D


texts:
I understand this may be a silly question, but I'm currently trying to teach myself Japanese and don't have access to many resources. Am I right in thinking -
私は, 明日街に歩く - means 'I will walk to town tomorrow"? I have not learned about polite forms yet so I am assuming this is just the plain casual form. If it is wrong, would you please be able to show me what I have done wrong?

Finally, does anyone have any idea on what I should do next? I am currently using Tae Kim's Grammar guide, is it worth getting the Genki textbooks and using them as well?

Thank you all for taking the time to read this.


texts:
I've come across several cases of verbs with the suffix ～てくたっとしてしまう, but am unsure how to break this suffix down, or what it means exactly. It seems that this is the て-form of the base verb, followed by something that looks like くたっ, perhaps followed by the particle と and the verb する in the て-form, followed by the auxiliary verb しまう, but I'm having no luck finding a grammatical description of the middle part here (くたっとする?).

A quick Google search finds many examples of sentences using this kind of structure, such as:

きんぴらごぼうなども、そのまま鍋に入れておくと、余熱で火が通ってくたっとしてしまうので同じような処理をする。
レザーのクラッチバックというと重くてくたっとしてしまうイメージでしたが、これは全く違う印象でした。
冬はさむくてくたっとしてしまうので、暖かいお部屋に入れてあげるか、いっそ球根（というかイモですね）で越冬させるか。

Would anyone be able to clarify the grammatical function at work here?


texts:
On the talk page of the Wikipedia article on "Japanese adjectives", user Dougalg suggested nearly two years ago:

  I know these are falling out of use, but still exist. If anyone can give an explanation of the taru adjectives, I'm sure that would be helpful to many people

But nobody took up his suggestion in the article which leaves me to wonder what it is that he was talking about. Can somebody shed some light on this "taru forms" please?


texts: What verb form is "見えたり する" and what does it mean?

texts:
I can't find an explanation on the web and I only can guess what it means.

The context is this: 幽霊とか見えたりするのか？


texts:
I found the word グギイイ, while reading a comic and I'm having trouble figuring out its meaning.
The only thing I can think of is that "グギ"  could be a sfx for "popping veins", seeing as the character is getting angry at his friends for being lazy; but the word is not listed on http://thejadednetwork.com/sfx/ and it's written inside a speech bubble, making it look like the character is shouting it.
This is my first post, so I hope I'm not violating any rules. Thank you very much for whatever help you'll provide!


texts: How much does it matter if I use the wrong 'if'?

texts:
Specifically talking about ば、なら、たら、and と here.

I just read Derek Schaab's excellent reply to this question on when to use the different forms of conditionals -- something I'm really struggling with at the moment. But that is a lot to remember when you're trying to select the correct expression in a conversation. I expect that most Japanese aren't even aware of these rules.

So I was wondering, are there simpler rules that get you the right answer most of the time, and, if you do use the wrong word, how much does it actually matter? Will you be completely misunderstood, shown to be the foreigner you are, or anything in between?

Any tips on how other people have approached this learning problem would be appreciated.


texts:
What is the difference between 悪い and だめ?

They're not really the same, but in English they both can be translated to "bad".

あの人が悪い。In my limited experience, this is bad in the sense of evil.

あの人がだめだ。This sounds more like hopeless, untrustworthy or unsuccessful. Like someone who will never succeed in life. Like a deadbeat.

So, the question is can the above nuances be generalized to all uses of 悪い and だめ?


texts: What does "切ったのは俺?" mean in this context?

texts:
My friend showed me a doujinshi that she asked me to translate and there is one page that has me stumped. I think it would be difficult without knowing the whole story of it, but I will try my best to explain in short the context. First, these are the lines on the page I have problems with:

  切り花なんていつか枯れる。切ったのは俺？それとも自分で

The speaker (I will call him Red from now on because of his clothes) is remembering his friend with whom he parted ways after he had a clash with him (they were rivals as well and fought because of different opinions. They were close before things happened and ended up fighting).
Red received some flowers and their color reminded him of his friend.In the above sentence, Red is comparing his friend (which he is not sure if he is dead or not) to a cut flower, that will wither at some point.When they parted it was a little dramatic, because Red's friend slashed Red's arm with a sword as one last act, then he jumped off a cliff.
I can't explain the whole story, but what I am not sure of is the part 切ったのは俺？

  "Was I the one who was cut?"

Or if I take it in a figurative manner (because there have been so many comparisons, like the flower one), could Red also be saying "Was I the one who cut you?" (was it my actions and the things I said that cut you?)

Then followed by それとも自分で

  Or did you (wanted to cut yourself)?

Perhaps with the meaning of 'cutting yourself from me'I can only guess that after 自分で the verb 切る is implied.
I apologize if I made it all very confusing, any interpretation would be of help and maybe will make me realize something, because I tried from many perspectives to translate this part and it's difficult despite the fact that I know the context.


texts:
I have the following 2 sentences to translate for class.

Sentence 1:

  頭痛がするので、
  四時前に
  帰らせていただけますか。

Sentence 2:

  四日後のしけんは、
  むずかしいかわからないので、
  自信が持てなくて、
      心配だ。

I think these mean the following.

Sentence 1

  I have a headache so
  before 4 o'clock
  can I go home? (can I receive your action of letting me return home)

Sentence 2

  As for the ... test,
  I didn't know whether it would be difficult so
  I could not have confidence and
  I was worried.

I have the following questions.

Is my translation of sentence 1 correct? Specifically the "before 4 o'clock" part.
Would the 四時前 be said as よじまえ?
Is my translation of sentence 2 correct (what I have). And how is the missing part translated? (test after the 4th day, 4th, etc)
How would the 四日後 be said? よっかご? よっかあと?


texts: に in コントロールに苦しまなくなった

texts:
コントロールに苦しまなくなった野球系YouTuber

You would want good control as a pitcher so, "to become not-suffering in control" or "attain good control" is the default way of reading this.

but what exactly is コントロールに? i have to resort to reading it as コントロールは/が...

thanks


texts:
西の村では、様々な武装を試してみた結果、一番使いやすかった木槍を正式採用し、それなりに訓練を重ねている。
一方で東の村は、ほとんど組織だった防衛力を準備出来ていない。

Comparing military power between the two villages.
after this sentence it was explained how the leadership of the village fell apart before the invasion by the west village. So one could conclude that because the village's organization (or lack there of),  防衛力を準備出来ていない。
But without that further context, could you read 組織だった in that way?


texts:
What is the longest (based on their representation in romaji) word in Japanese? Are there any longer than リュウグウノオトヒメノモトユイノキリハズシ? If it depends on criteria for a word, then list them by their criteria.

Background: I'm wanting to use a long word for a JRuby bug report, and I think that floccinaucinihilipilification is pretty worthless. Wikipedia's article on Longest words (by language) is currently lacking an entry for Japanese.


texts: Would it make sense to say お好きに僕に連絡かけてください?

texts: Does お好きに僕に連絡かけてください sound natural, and does it make sense as a sentence? If not, what would a more natural alternative be? In particular, I'm unsure about お好きに and ください in the same sentence.


texts:
I've heard the following exchange between two characters, where B agrees to do something dangerous that she previously was dead-set against but chooses to do so now of her own volition:

A:「いいんですね？」
B:「構いません…」 <pauses for a couple of seconds, then looks even more decided>
B:「いいえ、構わない。この子は絶対に無事に地球へ返す。その為に必要なの。」

If it were just simple emphasis, B could just have repeated the first form with two different vocal/facial expressions, but the fact that there are two distinct forms of 構う makes me think that there's a fundamental subtext that I'm missing, other than one being a more "polite" form. Can someone enlighten me?

EDIT: Added some more context, though I'm not sure how much is enough. B is ヴィヴィ, and A is マツモト, from Episode 3 of ヴィヴィ -フローライトアイズソング-, around 7:45 (hopefully the timestamp is consistent between streaming platforms).
She generally uses a respectful tone, is very mindful of others, and almost always uses polite forms e.g. 〜ます, as well as expressions like させて頂きます / auxilliary verbs like おります that I associate with polite speech (is that 敬語?). The switch to a less formal expression is very sudden and coincides with a big decision on her part.


texts: Proper Terms For Representing GPS Coordinates

texts:
In another question, I mentioned using Kana to represent the GPS coordinates for:

N 43° 09.725' W 077° 26.688'

I used:

キタ シジュウ サン ジスウ ク チョボ ナナヒャク ニジュウ ゴ フン
kita shijuu san jisuu ku chobo nanahyaku nijuu go fun

ニシ ナナジュウ シチ ジスウ ニジュウ ロコ チョボ ロッピャク キュウジュウ ハチ フン
nishi nanajuu shichi jisuu nijuu roku chobo roppyaku kyuujuu hachi fun

Are the terms that I used for north, west, degree, decimal, and minutes correct in the context that I'm using them?

north | kita | キタ
west | nishi | ニシ
degrees | jisuu  | ジスウ
decimal | chobo | チョボ
minutes | fun | フン


texts: Reading comprehension questions: の + verb construction; clipped sentences; and 言葉のあや

texts:
Today I read this article: 吉村知事が西村氏とのバトル終戦宣言、絆深まった

While I'm happy that the governor and minister have patched up their misunderstanding, there were some things that I did not understand:

の + verb construction

The first paragraph ended with this:

  府庁で記者団の質問の応じた。

This is the first time I've seen の + verb construction. I would not be surprised if it were に, but の？

Clipped sentence

In the third paragraph, the governor said something that ended in と. Correct me if I'm wrong, but I think this と is the conditional と which roughly translates to "when, if" in English. If it 考える was negative, I would have interpreted it as 考えないといけない. But because it wasn't, guessing it is difficult for me. What exactly is the verb that follows after this?

  吉村知事は「僕自身はこういう風に考えてますと。国と自治体は協力してやっていきましょうという話をしました」と明かした。

言葉のあや

The minister responded this way:

  西村氏も「言葉のあやがあったが、ぜひそうやっていきましょう」と話したという。

My lack of knowledge of what counts as a figure of speech in Japanese might have played a role here, but I don't really understand what specific statement the minister's referring to as 言葉のあや. Is it the fact that the governor left out the verb in 僕自身はこういう風に考えてますと。?


texts:
In one of the grammar questions for N3, I saw one for which I couldn't understand the reason why のでは is used.

  この英会話講師のアルバイトに応募したきっかけは、先輩からの紹介です。私の専門は言語学ですので、その知識が生かせる「　」、と思い、応募いたしました。文法に詳しいので、英語はもちろん、日本語での文法の説明もできます。

Possible answers are

  1) から　２）とか　３）なんて　４）のでは

The answer marked as correct is のでは. However, I don't understand why. I know that のでは　is used in sentences like のではない。However, that's not he case here.　Also as ので、when implying reason. However in that case I don't see は added. When searching through google I found more cases where you can use like this "一歩間違えば指先に刺さるのではと思ってしまう".

However, I don't understand which grammar rule allows for this usage of のでは。


texts: How did the originally honorific forms of address 君、お前、貴様 become informal or even insulting?

texts:
君 means ruler,
お前 honourable one towards me,
貴様 worthy appearance.

How did these originally honorific terms of address become informal or even insulting?


texts:
When saying I'm thankful for something which one is better, or can I use both? こと or ために?

お弁当ことありがとうございました。
お弁当のためにありがとうございました。

Also, when using こと do I need to use の?(I mean in this example and not as a nominalizer)
And when using ために do I always need a particle to connect or its ok to say something like:

名古屋は生きるために良い街ですね！

PS. When using it on smartphone browser it won't hint the tags for me, that's why I'm going with the generic grammar tag, unfortunately.


texts:
My question is from this sentence.  It is from the "Easy Japanese" YouTube videos:

  秋雨や我がすげみのはまだ濡らさじ

Why "nurasaji"? I would understand "mada nurasanai" - not yet wet - but why "ji"?


texts: How to differentiate potential form and passive voice for ru-verb?

texts: The method for conjugation is exactly the same with replacement of る　into られる


texts:
So the title of a video I've watched for immersion (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qmd_p5qnzCM) is the following :
天の川がアンドロメダと衝突したとき何が起こるか
I would translate it to something like "When the milky way collided with Andromeda, what happens" and that makes no sense to me. The problem is, it has not yet happened ( I'm talking about the andromeda and milky way collision), so I thought it shouldn't be present?
Can you explain this to me?


texts: 辞書形＋ように : Is there a hint to understand different usages?

texts:
Consider the first example:
~like, as if meaning:

この本に書いてあるように作ればおいしいドレッシングができるよ。

You can make a delicious dressing if you make it as written in this book.
Further, in the next example:
~in order meaning:

始発電車に間に合うように早く家を出た。

I left home early in order to be on time for the first train.
In a random phrase, I never know which direction to follow. I try, in my mind, the different meanings, until reaching the one that fits in context. But it leads to a really slow reading. Is there any hint?


texts: Meaning of 「全て込めて解き放て」 in this song ("Brand New World" by Shiena Nishizawa)

texts:
In the song Brand New World by Shiena Nishizawa, this part

泣き叫んで　顔を出した　弱さの化身も
全て込めて解き放て　Brand-new World

Was translated as

Even the incarnation of weakness, showing its face with a scream –
I'll release everything right here and now: A Brand-new World!

What is 「込めて」 doing here?
Where does "right here and now" come from?

I checked 込める and 解き放つ on Jisho.org and didn't find anything that would explain this usage.


texts: Confusion about the use of active and passive voice

texts:
Here is a sentence from a textbook:

「どちら／どっち」は、二つのものから一つを選択するときか、2人の中から１人を選択するときに使われます。

Passive voice makes sense here because the actor is irrelevant, but then there's this sentence on the same page:

「どの＋N」は三つ以上のものから一つを選択するとき、または、３人以上から1人を選択するときに使います。

These two sentences have nearly identical structures but for some reason the latter is in active voice. The only explanation I can come up with is that
this is done to avoid repetition.
My questions are as follows:

Why did the author switch between active and passive voice?
How does the meaning change?
Who is the implied subject in the active sentence? "People"?


texts: Do people say じゅういち　or　いちいち when saying 11?

texts:
I heard this sentence. 仕事はひまでしたが、うちでよるいちいちまでレポートを書いています。

I looked up いちいち and it could mean 11 or one-by-one or separately. I'm guessing this in sentence it's saying 11. However, I'm wondering if いちいち normal for saying 11.


texts: Meaning of 降ってくる when talking about voice

texts:
山田さんの声が後ろから降ってきたのだ。
  山田's voice came falling from behind.

What is the nuance implied by 降る here?


texts: Is the main character's wife cheating on him in these sentences in Osamu Dazai's 「人間失格」

texts:
Context:

  自分の部屋の上の小窓があいていて、そこから部屋の中が見えます。電気がついたままで、二匹の動物がいました。
  　自分は、ぐらぐら目まいしながら、これもまた人間の姿だ、これもまた人間の姿だ、おどろく事は無い、など劇しい呼吸と共に胸の中で呟き、ヨシ子を助ける事も忘れ、階段に立ちつくしていました。

The main character is looking at the window of his room and he sees something(he's drunk).

My conjecture is, someone is doing something to his wife because he says he couldn't even do anything about it. But what confuses me is, why does he say, "there were two small animals" (first bold text) and then says 「これもまた人間の姿だ」. Is he assuming that what he believes to be two small animals are in fact two people and his wife is cheating on him ?

Further down he says

  自分は、人妻の犯された物語の本を、いろいろ捜して読んでみました。けれども、ヨシ子ほど悲惨な犯され方をしている女は、ひとりも無いと思いました。

Which seems to indicate that he believes his wife was violated and he reads novels about wives cheating on their husbands but her way of cheating was unparalleled ? But it doesn't seem to fit somehow. I think the above sentence might also mean, she was the victim and he is searching novels for ways to deal with it. But the former assumption (of her cheating) seems to have a supporting context further down

  たいていの物語は、その妻の「行為」を夫が許すかどうか、そこに重点を置いていたようでしたが、それは自分にとっては、そんなに苦しい大問題では無いように思われました。許す、許さぬ、そのような権利を留保している夫こそ幸いなる哉

Above sentence talks about the main character's feeling about the husbands in the stories but he then supplements that with his own thoughts about the matter with her wife which makes me think she did something that asks for an apology to the main character.

Sorry for the long winded question. Here's the entire context: http://dazai.or.jp/modules/novel/index.php?op=viewarticle&artid=158&page=56


texts: Can "コンピュータ" be interpreted to include smartphones and tablets?

texts:
I need a noun that includes all of: (desktop computer, laptop, tablet, smartphone).

Back in the day, in English, a "computer" normally only meant a desktop computer. These days, I think most people understand that desktops, laptops, tablets, and smartphones are all "computers", they just have different form factors.

What about Japanese? Does "コンピュータ" mean: desktop, laptop, tablet, smartphone?


texts: Can i use 戻りました or 帰って来ました after being offline for a long period to say i'm back online?

texts: What do i say when i want to say i'm back online after being offline during a long period of time? Can i use 戻りました and/or 帰って来ました?


texts: Seemingly redundant 帰る in 「今日、帰りに買って帰ります」

texts:
In my textbook is the following.

  あの店のパンはとてもおいしいとか。今日、帰りに買って帰ります。

From what I understand, 「帰りに買う」 means "to buy on the way back (home)".

However, this seems to already imply that you are heading back afterwards. The sentence appears perhaps a bit awkward to me.

Is there anything lost if one removes the last portion and says the following instead?

  あの店のパンはとてもおいしいとか。今日、帰りに買います。

Additionally, would a native speaker generally include the ending 「帰ります」, and if so, in what situations?


texts:
I encountered this sentence but I am not familiar with the slang:
あちゃーしまった、コピーしとくんだった
Would like to know what the とくん is derived from.


texts: For example, when JAXA launches a rocket, or people count the seconds to the New Year, do they use し or よん to count 4? do they use しち or なな to count 7?


texts: You can use 「押し開ける」 to say "to push open", but can you say 「押し閉める」 to mean "to push closed"?

texts:
For example, consider the following sentences:

  ドアを押し開ける。 I pushed the door open.
  ドアを引き開ける。 I pulled the door open.

Can you do the same for 閉める? So for example:

  ドアを押し閉める。 I pushed the door shut.
  ドアを引き閉める。 I pulled the door shut.

I ask this because the first two appear in the dictionary, while the second two do not.


texts: Addressing strangers without knowing the name

texts:
How does one address a stranger in a casual conversation when name is unknown?
For example, I had a conversation with an older Japanese lady and I wanted to compliment her on her English (but in Japanese, for some reason). Usually in such situations I might've gone something like

  ○○さんは英語上手です。 or ○○さんの英語は上手です。

But without the name it is quite difficult for me at this point.
Using あなた　feels really rude, neither I'm comfortable relying on zero-pronoun and going 英語は上手です without any context.

Should I inquire about person's name in such situations? (obviously, not right before I have a sentence to use the name in).


texts: When does one use 〜もらいました versus 〜くれました?

texts:
I know that when giving something, you can say 父に傘を貸してあげました - there's only one word for when giving. But when receiving something, it's either 〜もらいました or 〜くれました.

It's my understanding that, when the subject is myself, we use 〜もらいました, and when the subject is the other person, it's 〜くれました. Is this correct, and are there other considerations that I should be aware of?