texts: 思い出 - Ludens Song Lyrics を and が with intransitive verb (流れる), is this translation acceptable?

texts:
The song:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g4nT5-ouBEA

The lyrics:
https://earth-colors.dreamwidth.org/14442.html

This line 川面の上を雲が流れる is translated as "Clouds passing over a flowing river".

川面 is already the river's surface, so would 川面の上 be "that which is above the river's surface"? (which makes sense to me, since the next line indicates the speaker was looking at a reflection all along (and a river's surfaces reflects what is above it) and since that (the reflection) is moving, it was translated as a flowing river)

Also, this was the first time I encountered the verb 流れる. Jisho.org tells me that it is intransitive. Jisho provides this example セーヌ川はパリを流れている, here with the を after パリ, Paris is what the Seine flows through. Another example on Jisho is ...水がこの川にも流れていた, here with が after 水, it was water that was also being washed away in this river.

If I apply these deliberations to 川面の上を雲が流れる, it is "that which is above the river's surface" which is flown through and the clouds that are washed away. Since 流れる is said to be intransitive, I see this as two sentences 川面の上を流れる and 雲が流れる. I am far out of my depth here.

1.) What is happening here, how can 流れる be in a sentence that has を and が?

2.) Should 川面の上を雲が流れる be seen as two sentences?


texts:
In the following sentence:

  アカネは菜食主義者だと言っているが、魚は食べる。
  それって、筋が通るかな？

Why it uses the てform of the verb 言う and not its ますform?
If I wanted to say the same sentence but in the past tense should I use と言っていた or と言いました, と言った?
What does それって mean? Is it similar to それ？


texts: Verb classification of honorific/humble verbs

texts:
These verbs:

いらっしゃる
おっしゃる
くださる
なさる
More?

Are all listed as 五段 verbs, but they don't follow the usual conjugation rules for them.
For example:

命令形: いらっしゃる -> いらっしゃい, not いらっしゃれ
連用形: Same as above, not いらっしゃり

Is there a separate name/classification for these types of verbs? Such as カ変 for 来る and サ変 for する.


texts:
I'm trying to understand when to use each それ[X] word, so i search on google and came out with this list:

それに: in addition, also (それも＝それに)
そして: and,and then,and now
それから: and then, after that
それで: and, thereupon, because of that
それでも - but, and yet, nevertheless, even so
それでは; それじゃ - well then ... , in that situation...

The last two I manage to pick up, it's quite a bit like でも and じゃ...but I'm having a problem to pick up the differences between the first four words.

Thanks for the help,
Or


texts:
I'm aware of some of the meanings of とする but in this sentence

  聞きおわると、彼は愕然としていた。

愕然 is apperently a noun that has something to do with feelings
astonishment / shock etc

and one of the definitions of とする states that it has the meaning of
to feel (e.g. after sound symbolism or psychological experience word)/to look/to feel like.

I don't quite understand the definition but i've just assumed that とする is used to express feelings but i can't find any examples other than with 愕然.
In fact when i look for sentences with 愕然 they all have とする attached and i don't understand whether it's exclusively used with this noun or are there other examples.


texts:
昼でも夜でもない境界【きょうかい】の、現実の中の非現実【ひげんじつ】。そういうものが一般的【いっぱんてき】に何と言われ、形容されるか、それをすっかり忘れていた。黄昏刻【たそがれどき】は[逢魔ヶ刻]【おうまがとき】――人でないモノに逢【あ】う刻限【こくげん】。

What (I think) I understand so far:

  The most unreal of all realities, set on the boundary that is is neither night nor day. What would be the usual way to call such a thing, or describe it - that I completely forgot. Dusk time is ???, appointed time for meeting things that aren't human.

Without ヶ it would seem something like "(lit.) time of meeting evil spirits", "the witching hour" etc, but what does ヶ add? Is that a play on 刻一刻? A sign that 逢魔ヶ is to be read like 逢魔逢魔　or 逢魔魔 (so that it becomes X刻はA時、B刻限)?

Please correct me if I failed at other parts of translation.


texts:
I wasn't able to find any explanation of 「ほど」 in these constructions...

  「そんなテメーに盾突かれるほど頭に来る事はない」

In any case I would like to ask whether I am getting the general meaning right. Besides that I would like to ask if there is a certain nuance implied  by the 「ほど」 here

With nuances I mean if it rather means:

a) Even if your struggling to that extent

or

b) With that amount of struggling (rather "neutral")


texts:
何本か重要な電話をかけ、...
  He made several important phone calls and ...

Originally part of this question but separated due to popular? demand.

Why is the counter 本 used in reference to phone calls?


texts: How many Kanjis do we learn in middle school?

texts:
I just wanted to know and I was wondering how many kanjis we learn in the middle school in Japan?

こんにちは！さっき、そういえばとおもったんですが、中学校では漢字を何文字ぐらい習うんですか？


texts: What is the correct usage of 承知しました, 了解です and かしこまりました, the more formal forms of 分かる?

texts: At work, it is wrong to simply say 分かる to say that you understand something. In what situation should I opt to use one of the previously mentioned forms?


texts: Why are う and い used to prolong ~O and ~E, instead of お and え?

texts:
When was this rule to prolong short vowels added to Japanese?
And is there any formally accepted reason for using う and い instead of お and え? (which would seem like a more natural option, in my opinion)

There are examples where お is used after a syllable ending in ~O, are these phonetically equivalent? とお(遠) and とう(塔)?

Edit: My question, specifically is why is う used to make syllables ending in O long, when a more intuitive and natural option would have been using お (And this premise is totally subjective and my opinion, if someone disagrees, please explain)


texts:
台風が近くに来ると、沖縄県から本州の広い場所で、とても強い雨がたくさん降る心配があります。
  If the typhoon comes near then, from Okinawa to the wide place of Honshuu, there is a worry that there will be a lot of very strong rainfall.

I'm not convinced about my translation of the bold part. What on earth is 本州の広い場所?

I've also noticed a few times in reading the NHK easy news that they write AからBで where I would have expected to see AからBまで. Am I wrong to think this should be まで? What is the difference between the two constructs?


texts: は vs が in 私は言うように書いてください。

texts:
I have the following sentence in my anki app:

  Please write it down as I tell you.
  私は言うように書いてください。

However my instincts tell me this should not be は but が. Am I correct?


texts: Why are points used where furigana would be normally?

texts: Sometimes in mangas there are points where you would expect normally furigana. What meaning is it supposed to have?


texts: Are programming languages referred to by their English names or do they have Japanese names?

texts:
What is the correct way to talk about coding languages in Japanese? Should the original English name be preserved in the following context?

トップPythonのコーダー日本2014
Top Python Coder Japan 2014


texts:
ワインを買ってきていた
What does てきていた convey here?
I know that てくる, when a physical movement is involved, means that the action marked by て verb is directed toward the speaker/person who said the sentence.
買ってきた = I bought something and I have it with me at the moment of speaking.
買った = I bought something but if I have it with me or not is not implied
However, 買ってきていた is extremely confusing
Does it mean that I bought something and the action of having it is ongoing? Am I emphasizing something here? Do i have the thing that I bought with me at the moment of speaking?


texts: Why is the order of bottom-left radicals different for some kanji?

texts: In the kanji 道, 週 and so on, the ⻌ radical is written last, then the main element. The same for 建 and 延, in which the top-right component is written first, then the 廴 radical. But in 起, 走 is written first. All three radicals are used as "にょう" radicals, as far as I can tell, but 走 is written in a different order to ⻌ and 廴. Is there any reason why?


texts: Most examples I read, 誰にも is always used in negative verbs. Is there a case in which 誰にも is used in positive verbs?


texts:
I came across these two examples and I don't see why one takes に and one takes は.

彼女のほかに知り合いはいません。
I have no acquaintances besides her.

ビールのほかは何もいりません。
I don't need anything other than beer.

I searched for older questions on the same topic but didn't find anything conclusive.


texts:
If someone says 「もうその呼{よ}び方{かた}をやめてください。」, does it mean:

Stop calling me that already.
Stop calling me that now.
Don't call me that anymore.

How do もう and やめる interact?


texts:
I’ve found a usage of も that doesn’t seem to be in any dictionaries, but I’m convinced exists. The structure is:
「〜だから or 〜ば、〜もする」
And the meaning should be:
「〜だから or 〜ば、〜するのも当然のことだ」
“Because ... or If ..., naturally [subject] would ...”
Some examples from the net. Note they all have さ at the end because I found that to be the easiest way to find these examples.

1)「好きな男のためなら狡くもなるさ」
2)「何年も風俗で働けば10人や20人位の男と親しくもなるさ」
3)「それぞれ一人分のシーンが終わらな過ぎました。戦闘は長引くし、唐突にドラマシーンは入るし。雑くもなるさ。」
4)「父『おぉ勇者よ、だいぶ大きくなったな！いいぞいいぞー！』 俺はもうじき2歳になる。そりゃ多少はデカくもなるさ。」
5)「一度傷ついたら、臆病にもなるさ。」
6)「けんかもするさ。夫婦だもん。」
7)「そりゃあ泣きもするさ！」
8)「人間なので失敗もするさ」

This も also seems to interject set expressions. Example:

9)「おいおい私(=女の子)は別に根っからの女好きってわけじゃないんだぞ。ただ周囲の男が魅力なくちゃな。女の子にちょっかいも出すさ」

Here, the set expression ちょっかいを出す seems to have been made into ちょっかいも出す to fit this expression (perhaps to avoid the awkward ちょっかいを出しもする). The meaning should be 女の子にちょっかいを出すのも当然のことさ.
Another example from the net:

10)「男の子なんだから意地も張るさ。ほっといてくれ。」

The meaning should be 男の子なんだから意地を張るのも当然のことさ.
One more:

11)「稼げれば平気で嘘もつくんだぜ」

Now, I’m not sure if this is a new way of expression or not, but I can’t find any definitions in dictionaries or 日本語文法ハンドブック that suggest that も has this 当然 usage. There’s the 婉曲 usage, but I believe that to be different.
Another good source for the も particle is this paper. But again, it doesn’t seem to document this usage.
https://ir.library.osaka-u.ac.jp/repo/ouka/all/56474/mrj_027_051A.pdf
Does anyone have any leads on or an official source that documents this usage of も?


texts: 水 - pronounce choice between 水{すい} and 水{みず}

texts:
As the title says, 水 has 2 pronounce: 水{すい} and 水{みず}.

My question is:

When to use which?
e.g How to read it in: 水と米.
What is the rule, if any.


texts: Can someone please help me read this Kanji character? (picture included)

texts:
My friend posted this and I wanted to know what it means. I can read hiragana and katakana and I know the first and last syllables read "MA-DA-_____-TAI"

I can't read the Kanji in the middle. Can someone help me?? thank you!! enter image description here


texts: What is the difference between 「登録している」 and 「登録した」?

texts:
I got these verbs from the instruction manual of Nintendo 3DS when forgetting password to access a function.

メールアドレスを登録しているときは、マスターキーの送信画面で「OK」をタッチしてください。

登録したメールアドレスにマスターキーが送信されます。

登録しているメールアドレスで受信拒否設定をしている場合は、@nintendo.netからのメールを受信可能な設定にしておいてください。

I think their meanings are the same, registered e-mail address, but I don't know the difference from using these 2 forms in this situation.


texts: What does 「かけようかどうしようか」 mean?

texts:
The sentence below is taken from a light novel.

  声をかけようかどうしようか迷っていたら、ほんの一瞬風が止んだ

I don't understand what 「かけようかどうしようか」 means. Is it an expression? This light novel sometimes omits kanji and I'm wondering if there should be kanji in here or not. I know that 「どうしようか」 is like “What should I do”, but I have no idea what 「かけようか」 is.


texts: "なんてこったい こりゃいったい" is this some kind of slang?

texts:
I've come across something and always wondered about it, what is the meaning of

"なんてこったいこりゃいったい"?

I assume (but I'm not quite sure) that it's this: to show disbelief or surprise
Also, is this something actually used? (and if it is, in what context?)


texts: How to say among these things, I can only do this?

texts:
If I want to say, "Among the events written on the website, I can only come to the event on thursday," is this correct?

サイトに書いてあるイベントの中で、木曜日のイベントしか来られません。


texts: Trying to make sense of some JLPT practice questions

texts:
Last year's JLPT tests were made available for download recently, and so to gauge my progress and plan what to study I decided to take the N2 test.  I'm right at the threshold of passing (58% overall raw score), so this is in large part an effort to try and figure out how to pick up some points in a section that is killing me.

Specifically, it's the section of the test where they give you a sentence with four blanks and a star in the third blank.  Your objective is to put the clauses in answers 1-4 in order and choose the number corresponding to the starred spot.  Unfortunately the answer key only said which one was the right answer, so in the spots I missed I've got little way of telling where I went wrong.

The first question, and my accompanying logic when I took the test, are as follows.  Please help me understand where my logic is off.

  問い１： 不調だった山中【やまなか】選手がついにゴールを決めた。彼に__ __ * __相当あったはずだ。

  したら
  という
  プレッシャーは
  「もし、またミスしたら」

At the time I seem to have arranged them as 4-2-1-3, however the answer key said the correct answer was 2.  In light of that, would 3-4-2-1 be correct?  It seems like 2 has to come after 4 on account of the quotative particle と, but that's all I've got with certainty here.


texts: Usage of ～を好き outside of embedded clauses

texts:
日本語文法の初心者です :D

In general, を is not used with 好き because 好き is a na-adjective:

  彼は猫が好きです。 — correct
  彼は猫を好きです。 — incorrect

If this part is "embedded" as a clause, を is also acceptable, and this phenomenon is asked and answered in other questions in this site:

Why is を used in this situation? 私は先生がネコを好きだと思います
を vs が with use against 好き?

  私は彼が猫が好きだと思います。 — correct
  私は彼が猫を好きだと思います。 — correct

Okay, this explains why 「彼が猫を好きな理由を教えて」「彼がどんな猫を好きか気になる」「彼が猫を好きって知ってた？」 and so on are valid.

But my question is why the following sentences are also OK:

  誰が猫が好き？ — correct
  誰が猫を好き？ — correct (perhaps better than 1.), but why?
  彼はなぜ猫が好きなのですか？ — correct
  彼はなぜ猫を好きなのですか？ — correct, but why?

The accepted answers in the linked questions say that the outer verb (i.e. 思う) plays the critical role as to why が is replaceable with を. But these sentences are not related with "embedding". And I believe none of the four sentences above are particularly slangy (but tell me if someone feels any of the four sentences are slangy).

And I've also come up with the phrase 「猫を好きになる」, which I know is perfectly fine on its own.

So I feel there must be another grammatical rule which I'm not aware of.


texts:
I am a beginner in Japanese language and I started studying particles は and が and I wanted a confirmation to make sure I understand things properly.

When it comes to saying "I like you", it should be "わたしはあなたがすきです". Am I to understand that "わたし" is the object in the sentence and "あなた" the subject? The use of the particles seem to suggest so. Would a more literal translation be "You are liked by me."?

Sorry for not using Kanji, I'm not yet familiar with it. I just learned Hiragana fairly recently.


texts: How does the second part in the sentence connect with third part?

texts:
ただ、直さないのか直せないのか、悲しさが悔しさになって、意地と好意を微妙な塩梅でオーバーラップさせてやり返す根性の曲がり具合と意地の強さが本当にダメ人間。

Source: https://komachi.yomiuri.co.jp/t/2019/0627/904351.htm?g=04

If I divide the sentence into parts,

  ただ、直さないのか直せないのか、悲しさが悔しさになって

It's just that, the question/problem of whether it cannot be fixed or I cannot fix it, has turned my sadness into frustration

  意地と好意を微妙な塩梅でオーバーラップさせてやり返す根性の曲がり具合と意地の強さが

This problem has made my pride/obstinacy/stubbornness and my kindness/friendliness turn into this weird combination where there is an overlap between the will to do it all over again i.e., fix this and my strong obstinacy/stubbornness.

  本当にダメ人間。

I am a good for nothing human.

I don't know if my translation for the second part is correct but the way the second part connects with the third is something that I have trouble understanding. Why does 強さが abruptly end with ダメ人間. I thought the second part was an attributive clause but the が ending makes me think otherwise.

Thank you :)


texts:
I jotted this down while playing a video game and didn't have a chance to get around to asking what the heck it mean until now.

（アベノ）ウシワカ隊長に追い付け飛び付けッス

Particularly, what's standing out to me is the last part of that phase, 飛び付け. I don't even know where to begin with that one.

I also want to bring up that when I googled this phrase, thinking, "Oh hey, maybe this is another weird cultural thing I don't get!", 追いつけ追い越せ popped up as one of the first results, while typing. As a bit of a side note, I understand that particular phrase to mean something along the lines of "to catch up with and pass". Not sure if that's completely related or not though.

Anyway, any and all help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks for reading. ^-^


texts:
Wikipedia's Tsu (kana) page says

つ/ツ
hiragana origin    川
katakana origin    川

How Is つ/ツ origin 川?


texts: ~んだよなぁ What general meaning/feeling does this give?

texts:
I understand this is a combinations of a few ending particles, but I've seen it enough times that I wonder what general feeling a native gets from it.

Examples I remember:

  終わったんだよなぁ。
  難しいんだよなぁ。


texts: Where to put the dakuten and handakuten?

texts:
When writing hiragana and katakana, does the position of the dakuten and handakuten matter? I know it should always be placed after the character but there also some questions like these:

What should the space between the dakuten and character?

Should the dakuten be placed on the same level as the very top of the character? Or could it exceed than the very top of the character?


texts: Word select: 食べます？／飲みます？

texts:
食べ物の場合は動詞「食べる」を使いますが、飲み物の場合は動詞「飲む」を使います。ところが、食べ物と飲み物をいっしょに出た場合はどの動詞を使いますか。

  例①：パンとミルクを...（食べます？／飲みます？）…
  例②：コーヒーとりんごを...（食べます？／飲みます？）…


texts: What's the difference between the -banme and -ban counters?

texts:
I found these two sentences in RosettaStone

kochira no sanbanme no seki desu

kanojo wa hachiban no seki ni suwatte imasu

Why is the first one not "sanban" and the second one not "hachibanme"?


texts: Usage of まるで with 見ているようだった.

texts:
その翼はとても滑らかに動くため、まるでコンピュータ・グラフィックスを見ているようだった。

  Its wings were moving so smoothly that it almost looked like CGI.

or would a more accurate translation be:

  Its wings were moving so smoothly that it felt like I was looking at a CGI simulation.

I have a few questions about this sentence.

Is 見ているようだった better translated as "it almost looked like" or "felt like I was looking at"?
Is this 見ている the act of looking, or is it "looking like"?

Thirdly is the まるで somewhat superfluous? (I don't say this to be critical of the Japanese language I am just interested in the subtleties)

If it is meaning "just like" in this sentence, is that role not also being played by the  "ようだった"? Or is that just an established usage -- まるで ending with "ようだった"-- that flows naturally without any repetitive quality? ( it sounds fine to my ear I was just interested in any clarifications )

Lastly, and this question is a bit superfluous, is CGI commonly used in Japanese or is コンピュータ・グラフィックス usually used instead? コンピュータ・グラフィックス sounds a little dated to me, though I found this sentence on Lang8 yesterday. I apologize for using superfluous twice.


texts: Understanding 物事をかけらもうたがわないたちなのだ

texts:
I am nearing the end of the first chapter of Kaori Ekuni's Twinkle Twinkle. However, I failed to parse the following sentence in bold (the rest of the passage is provided below for context):

気にいった？　もちろん、とこたえた瞬間に、私はとんでもないことを思い出した。クリスマスだというのに、私は睦月に何も買っていないのだ。プレゼントのことなんて、考えてもみなかった。
「さて、何食べにいく？」
「あのね、睦月」
私、あなたに天体望遠鏡を買ったんだけど、年末でしょ、配達に日数がいるみたいで。——あんまりすらすらと嘘がでてくるので、私は自分でおどろいてしまう。
「すごい！」
睦月は目をかがやかせた。私の夫は、物事をかけらもうたがわないたちなのだ。
（江國香織『きらきらひかる』）

My understanding so far is as follows: the narrator feels guilty for always receiving presents from her husband. So she lies to him about gifting him a telescope at the end of the year.
From the response of her husband, and my understanding of the words 物事 (things) and 疑う (to doubt), the sentence in bold seems to be a comment on her husband's simple-mindedness or lack of suspicion. I cannot however understand how かけら and たち contribute to the sentence (assuming I parsed it correctly) – am I missing something important here? How should I interpret this sentence properly?


texts:
会社の同僚に彼女とのデートを目撃されてきまりが悪かった

I tried to translate this : i feel awkward because i was witnessed by my coworker friend dating her
に here means by?
Is this true?


texts:
I have a question that might be very trivial
I have encountered this kanji sai 細
I wish to know can I use it this way.
話の細 - the details of the story


texts: 考えないことには　と　考えないとなれば　（新完全マスタ　N2）

texts:
1.「何か対策を考えないことには国民の不安は消えないだろう。」
2.「何か対策を考えないとなれば国民の不安は消えないだろ。」

どうして2番目の文は間違いですか？


texts: じゃまた translates as 'see you later' , can anyone please explain 'jya' and it's meaning and uses?

texts:
I am very interested in finding out what じゃ means in different contexts. Is it a particle, adjective, marker? If you could provide different uses and/or examples or even refer me to somewhere I can learn more I would be grateful.
Hoping someone can help me please,
Amanda


texts: 量、数 and 数量 (amount). Is there any of them that is used far more frequently than the other ones or are they pretty much equally used?

texts:
Assuming all of the three words are used to convey the same meaning, is there any of them that is used far more frequently or on the other hand they are equally used but differ depending on the context, etc?

I learnt the word 量 (りょう) some time ago as "amount". However, I recently came across the word 数 (すう) conveying "amount" as well. I looked up both words in Jisho and their meaning appears to be the same according to the definitions "quantity; amount". I noticed that in the case of 数, the primary usage seems to be as a prefix rather than a plain noun. To make it even more complicated, there also exists the word 数量 (すうりょう) that makes use of both characters and according to Jisho it means "quantity; volume; amount". I researched a bit around the internet for an explanation on these words with no luck.

Thank you very much.


texts: What are the differences between ～ばいい, ～たらいい, and ～たほうがいい?

texts: For giving advice, what are their different nuances?


texts: My employer sent a request with a message saying "田中です。"　What do I have to say when accepting my employer's request to be a LINE friend?


texts: Does adverb come before or after the verb?

texts: Does an adverb come before or after the verb?  I'm writing (or at least trying to) the sentence "Never step inside of/on the tokonoma."  Now, knowing how to write that sentence specifically would be great, but I would really love to know:  in general, where does the adverb go in the "subject-object-verb" sentence format??


texts: Why これは in the end of the 唆{そそ}るぜこれは！ statement?

texts:
唆{そそ}るぜこれは - is translated as "This is exhilarating" in anime. Though, various translations give "It's tempting" and google gives "I'll instigate this".
Why is "これは" at the end instead of "これは唆{そそ}るぜ"?
Also, why is "唆" written using "さ" on keyboard while it's read as "そそ"? It's inconvenient to write this kanji with the word discussed above in mind.


texts: 酔う vs 酔っ払う: does it depend on how drunk you are?

texts: 酔{よ}う and 酔{よ}っ払{ぱら}う both seem to mean "to get drunk" but how are they different from each other? Does it depend on how drunk you are, and assuming 酔っ払う is worse than 酔う, exactly how drunk would you need to be to cross from 酔う to 酔っ払う? Does the 払う part has any meaning or purpose?


texts: 横書きと縦書き Is there a preference for usage? I noticed that Japanese is written horizontally and vertically.


texts: Proper use of ため to thank someone for doing x？

texts:
I know ため can be translated into English as "for" such-and-such.

But is it appropriate to use it to thank some one for doing something?

For example, "Thank you for your email address." Would it be grammatically accurate to say: メールアドレスためありがとうございます。

Google translate seems to understand the sentence perfectly fine. But would a native speaker scratch their head at that use of ため in this manner?


texts: Typo or am I missing something? 「ドイツ語も勉強しないとですね。」

texts:
Context: I have been chatting with a Japanese girl who is going to move to Germany, and I asked if she had any experience with the German language and told her I had been considering learning German recently.

Her response went along the lines of, "I'm very enthusiastic about learning German..." and then...

  素晴らしい。ドイツ語も勉強しないとですね。

Am I right in thinking that means...

  Wonderful, if you aren't learning learning German too.

Am I missing something with the grammar/context here? Surely she would rather say "Wonderful, if you're learning German too."? Could it be a typo? I am not advanced enough in the language yet to know whether something is an obvious mistake or not!


texts: Using 全員 （All students/All employees, etc.)

texts:
I'm often translating phrases like "All employees must register," or "All team members have made efforts to...," etc.
It's a really basic question and I apologize if it has been addressed before, but I always wonder if I should be saying,
社員全員 /　全員の社員/　全社員　/各社員
What is the most natural way to express this?  Does it depend on the situation?

And I guess a follow-up question would be, what exactly is the nuance between 全 and 各 and in what situations would one be correct and one be incorrect?

I often write 全員の社員 but at best, it seems kind of clunky and at worst, just grammatically wrong.


texts:
にかかわりなく seems to come after a noun, e.g.:

  文化祭は当日の天気にかかわりなく開催されます。
  The school culture festival will be held regardless of the weather on the day.

Is it possible to use it with an adjective e.g.

  文化祭は天気が暑いにかかわりなく開催されます。
  The school culture festival will be held regardless of whether the weather is hot.

If not, how would I fix this sentence to make it grammatical?


texts: みぜんけい or れんようけい form for ない conjugation of i-adjectives

texts: It appears that nai conjugates onto the renyoukei (.ku) form of i-adjectives instead of the mizenkei (.karo) form, as it does with verbs. Is this correct? Every source I've found shows the .kunai result without ever explaining what form is used.


texts:
I'm a bit confused in the usage as "possession" of time.

I know 時間 is time and 時 would be more like when, but...
Some thing's time would be Jikan or toki? If it was someone, would it still be the same?
For example, bike's time could be バイクの時? As if, "when I'm on the bike"? And, Anna's time would still be アンナの時？As if, "when I'm with Anna"? Or would that be wrong?


texts:
The character "⇔" is used in the definitions in 国語{こくご}辞典{じてん} to specify antonyms. I have questions:

(1) Is "⇔" a formal character in Japanese syntax? Or, is it sort of an ad-hoc way to specify antonyms? At least 2 online 国語辞典 use "⇔" in the same manner, so it looks like a formal part of Japanese syntax.
(2) But, my hardcopy 国語辞典 uses the "↔" character (the filled-in version). So, if both "↔" and "⇔" are formal syntactic characters, they seem to have the same properties.

Both "↔" and "⇔" are really only used to specify antonyms merely as a convention (perhaps because of a historical reason), right?

The characters would never be used in any other context to specify antonyms, or anything else, right?

If there are any good websites that have the rules of Japanese syntax, I'd love to have them. I've never really studied syntax.


texts:
I am trying to come up with a sentence but I am having a hard time at that :(
I want to say the following "look what just arrive in my home/house! I live in Brazil, isn't it crazy/cool to have your work going all the way to the other side of the world?".

Just some context in case it helps, I'm writing this to a novel writer I'm a fan, which happens to be very active on twitter lol(don't worry about characters tho), by now I could come up with something , but I am having trouble with the "isn't it crazy" part. Please help me, also if the part I've got so far sounds dorky, help make it better.

What I've come up so far:
私の家に到着したものを見て。私はブラジルに住んでいます。

ありがとうございます。

EDIT: I have gone a bit further: 私の家に到着しましたものを見て。私はブラジル住んでいます。君の文学作品が遠くに達しましたの物はすごいね。

I feel like everything but the last part is right, in the last part i was trying to say "The thing/fact of your literal work reaching so far is amazing, isn't it?" Am I close, guys?


texts: I know 〜はどう言う意味ですか？ but how might you ask this question in a casual setting among friends?


texts: How would I say "In what regard" or "in what respect"?

texts: Let's say someone says "I'm traditional", and I wanted to ask "In what respect/regard are you traditional?" How would I translate this?


texts:
Is there a common Japanese word for a board book? A board book has thick cardboard pages instead of paper pages. A board books is usually written for very young children.

(I looked in two different online dictionaries and also tried a Google search.)

Photo of a board book:


texts: What's the difference between ともかく and とにかく?

texts:
I have a feeling that they are etymologically related based on their kanjis 兎も角 and 兎に角 (although they're just 当て字 so there's not much to extract from those kanjis, I guess), but I can't fully understand the explanation in here:

とにかくは、他にたくさんの些細なことがあっても、目下集中すべきことを優先する場合に使います。
用例）水泳には筋トレなど、たくさんの練習方法はあるが、とにかく泳ぐ。
ともかくは、他に優先すべきことがあるが、それを差し置いて優先する場合に使います。
用例）試験勉強はさておき、ともかく泳ぐ。

Does it mean that in とにかく there's an implication that the other things are 些細 or trivial while in ともかく it doesn't "trivialize" the other things? Also, do you agree with this answer?


texts:
新宿区立新宿中央公園は西新宿、都会のど真ん中にある公園。
ジョギングブームだからか、一昔前まではなかったジョギングコースの案内板があり、
ここでジョギングをする人たちもちらほら。

I cant seem to wrap my head around  だからか here, what exactly is the か and what is it trying to emphasize? Here is my attempt at the translation

  In the west of Shinjuku is Shinjuku central park. It is located in the
  center of the city. Even before this was a jogging course there were
  direction boards, and now you will find joggers here and there at the
  park running.

I hope I understood somewhat correctly, please feel to correct any mistakes. Thank you.


texts: I have heard words like パイセン instead of 先輩. Is this commonly used? Is this applicable to all words or only certain words? Some other examples: しくよろ instead of よろしく


texts:
I initially heard this in this song: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7-Qu9rQDors

What is シュバババーン?　Seems like sound effect. When I search this exactly on google it has over a thousand results which means it wasn't a one time use in this song. The things I found searching it seemed dance related. I can understand the rest of the song but I wanted to clarify what the シュバババーン represents.


texts:
お前ら二人の故郷も遠のいちまうばっかりだからな

What does 遠のいちまう mean? I'd guess it has something to do with being far away but the grammar is completely incomprehensible to me. Is this literary usage, or youth slang, or something else?


texts:
I understand 一緒 cannot be substituted with 共に given how flexible 共に is and how people-specific 一緒 is.

But can the reverse be true since 共に can also be used with people?

例：友と共にパーティに行った。


texts: What is the difference between んだけど、 ですけど 、 けれども

texts: What is the meaning and Correct use of all three words. I often saw japanese People ending there sentences in these words ? Explain


texts:
I was talking to my language partner and she mentioned ぶさかわ being used in situations when you want to describe something not pretty but nice. Apparently the word is relatively new and was first used in a pet magazine.

What is the actual meaning?


texts: What does the grammar "noun が noun、verb" mean?

texts:
In a game I am playing, I ran across the sentence,

  "ひらりと白い[欠片]{かけら}がひとひら、舞い込んできた。"

It appears that both 欠片 and ひとひら are nouns. After this, there is no particle before the verb. What type of grammar structure is this?
I found a translation online that suggests that this line means "Nimbly a white fragment like a petal floated down," which makes sense, but I am not sure how the sentence means this.


texts:
Earlier, I asked a question with the following examples:

  私は朝飯のみに茶を飲む
  私は朝飯のみで茶を飲む

I was told in a comment that 私 and 朝飯 sound funny together.  Why is that so?


texts: 硬い・堅い・固い - how are different spellings used?

texts:
硬{かた}い, 堅{かた}い, and 固{かた}い all have very similar meaning and can be generally translated to English as "hard, tough, solid, stiff". Yet it seems that different kanji are used in different situations. From what I could gather, the differences might be:

硬い is used especially for stone or metal (e.g. 硬い石),
堅い is used for wood (e.g. 堅い材木); it also means stiff, formal (e.g. 堅い言葉),
固い means stiff, not flexible (e.g. 固いカラー); also means stubborn, unyielding (e.g. 固い約束).

Am I right? There seem to be spellings used for wood, stone or metal, what about other substances? Are there situations where those kanji are interchangable or maybe the word is written using hiragana as かたい?


texts:
I started learning Japanese not long ago and I'm quite confused about two numbers.

Seven and nine, I have learned that seven is shichi and that nine is ku.
But I also know that seven is nana, and nine is kyu, actually I cannot remember ever hearing anyone use shichi and ku.

So basically my questions are, why there is more then one word for those numbers in particular and when to use which form.


texts: Is the 出し in the following sentence a relative clause?

texts:
Is the 出し -which I believe to be 出す- in the following text a relative clause, as the 行動 is a noun?

「ここにじっとしていてもしょうがない………か」
自分を奮い立たせるために、わざと自分の考えを声に出し行動を始めた。


texts: I don't understand the difference between 取り替える and 入れ替える。Could anyone explain to me the difference？


texts: What is term for the most general form of writing or text

texts:
Typing The article/text/writing was innovative in any translation software gives numerous results. After looking up the words article, text, and writing in the dictionary, I found too many options and so, decided to choose the most basic word that would get the meaning of a visible piece of text through.

I need a word that in general can encompass things such as writings in a cave, an article in the newspaper, a notice on the notice board, an essay written by a student, etc.

Or there are too many to sift through and I should memorize them separately. BTW, I found きじ and. てくすと but am not sure if they can collectively handle broad meanings.

Is there a general term for texts in japanese like fluid is for everything that flows?


texts: same reading, similar meaning, different Kanji

texts:
Possible Duplicate:
  do people actually respect the nuances of 探す vs 捜す?

There are many kanji that I have come across with similar meanings, and (seemly coincidentally) identical readings. But the kanji in question look entirely different from each other. This particular aspect of kanji has been helpful to me, as it makes memorizing readings and associating meanings much easier, but I have also found it intriguing.

Some examples:

元 and 源　are both read as "gen", and both carry a meaning of "source or origin".

元 and 本 are both read as "moto", and both carry a meaning of "root or origin".

内 and 家 are both read as "uchi", and carry a meaning of "inner" and "home", respectively (related by the "inner circle" aspect of Japanese culture)."

他 and 外 are both read as "hoka", and carry the meanings of "other" and "outside", respectively.

小 and 少 are both read as "shou", and carry the meanings of "small" and "few", respectively.

神 and 上 are both read as "kami", and carry the meanings of "god" and "above", respectively.

空ける and 開ける are both read as "akeru", both mean "to open", and their kanji translate to "empty" and "open", respectively.

The humble form of "person" is 者, and is pronounced "mono", as if referring to the person as "a thing" (物).

Finally, the adjective for "ugly", 醜い, is read "minikui". This is identical to 見にくい　or 見難い, which is an entire phrase meaning "hard to look at".

There are a lot more examples that I can think of, but I omitted most of them for the sake of brevity. Is this just a series of coincidences, or is there an etymological or historical reason for this?


texts:
There is a Netflix series called 野武士のグルメ and translated as Samurai Gourmet.
I know there's an adaptation because many places outside Japan knows the Samurai word.

Is these words in Japanese interchangeable? Which is usual to use?


texts: In what context do you pronounce 行く as ゆく?

texts:
I am not entirely sure in what context you pronounce 行く as ゆく. I've read that it is pronounced as ゆく in more formal situations and in songs. For example, in the song lyric 闇へと進み行く it is pronounced as ゆく.
Is this correct? Is it only pronounced as ゆく in songs and formal situations? Surely there must be something deeper to it than that.


texts: Are all words stripped of bikago when listed in dictionaries?

texts: When checking dictionaries (jisho.org and Wiktionary) for お名前, I found that it wasn't listed as お名前, but only as 名前. Do most dictionaries strip bikago from all words, or do they typically strip bikago only from some words?


texts:
ユキは空気を読まない傾向にあるからな

Why is に used above rather then が? I'd thought that when に is used with a noun (in this case 傾向), it indicates something is in the noun (in this case, something is in 傾向), which doesn't make sense

Second example:
私が勝つに決まってるけどな

Why is に used instead of が. To me, に sounds like "decided in victory", which doesn't makes sense


texts:
登場は3巻とかなり早く、精霊組の中でも初期メンバーにあたるのですが、一人霊力を封印されずに暗躍していたため、ここで久方ぶりの表紙&サブタイトルと相成りました。
What would be the function or meaning of the bold と?


texts: How would you say "A has the meaning of B" or "A conveys B"

texts:
For example, if I was trying to tell someone that in English when we say "sake" it already has the implication of it being "Japanese sake", so have the "Japanese" is redundant.

My English brain wants to say AはBの意味を持つ, and my best guess is something with 伝える, I'm just having a really hard time researching this.


texts: Can 集合 be used to refer to a meeting between 2 people only?

texts:
Not a lot of context is necessary I think, just this line a person said to their friend: じゃあ、今からいつもの場所に集合ね

I'm not sure if this 集合 implies a group gathering between friends (more than 2) or if it can also just refers to the 2 of them. I usually see 場所集合 used when talking about groups of people so I'm not sure.

thanks


texts:
I was watching this video (pretty funny by the way) and the title stuck out to me.

ダルい上司の打ち合わせ回避する方法考えた

Typically, ダルい would mean that you feel very tired/lethargic. However, in this case the boss is actually a little too energetic and instead seems to be causing his subordinates to become だるい as opposed to being だるい himself. Surprisingly, the jisho definition 2 seems correct:

bothersome; tiresome; pain-in-the-ass

but I can't find any Japanese language sources for this.

大辞林 : ①疲れていて，からだに力がない。動くのがおっくうである。 「熱があるのか体が－・い」
デジタル大辞泉 : 疲れや病気などで、からだを動かすのがおっくうである。かったるい。

Can anyone provide a Japanese language source for this usage?


texts: The use of 「ん」 in 「どうしたんですか」

texts: In class we've been learning about sickness, so we went over「どうしたんですか。」and「…がいたいんです。」. I asked the teacher and she said the use of 「ん」 is to provide an explanation, but she didn't explain what rules govern it, nor how to use it other than those two examples. Could someone explain how to use it, when to use it, what rules to follow, and what its technical name is, please?


texts: What does ending a statement with 「っ」signify when coupled with 「・・・」?

texts:
I have seen a few sentences or exclamations that end a sentence with 「っ」. Specifically, I read the example below:

  ちなみに純文学について語れなんて言われても私には、無理・・・っ！

The following sentence is listed below (However I'm not sure it is a "new sentence"):

  ですので基本的に私が紹介する小説作法は大衆小説についてのものであり、特に得意分野であるライトノベルに通用する話が多いと思います。

Is the 「っ」necessary at the end of this sentence? Does it have any meaning? The only instance where I am familiar with the use of 「っ」is to indicate a pause when pronouncing something. However, since 「・・・」signifies a pause (I think), and an exclamation follows after the 「っ」, what does this actually mean? Does 「・・・っ」　indicate that the last vowel is carried on for sometime, and then abruptly stops?

Would it be any different if the sentence looked like the following?

  ちなみに純文学について語れなんて言われても私には、無理・・・!


texts: A Japanese friend, a woman in her seventies who comes from Sapporo and has long resided in Tokyo, and who does not speak in a strong Hokkaido dialect, writes several times in a letter to me the -て form of a verb followed by らっしせる. I've never seen this before. Examples in her letter: 近づけてらっしせる and 出かけてらっしせる. Is this some unusual form of the auxiliary or suffix adjective らしい, which means "like" or "appearing" or "seeming"? Thank you!


texts: 有難う御座います is one Kanji spelling. However, I thought, 'is ございます here an auxilliary verb, and thus are the Kanji incorrect?' Should the proper spelling be 有難うございます?


texts: Meaning of ツッコミどころ多すぎ?

texts:
I've come across the phrase:

  ツッコミどころ多すぎ

In a book where the character was for a second time expressing annoyance at his colleague's reckless actions.

But I'm unsure of it's meaning since it appears to me that it might be idiomatic or a set phrase of sorts. I've come across the same string of words being used on the web but no explanation of it's use.

(If I had to guess, "being the straight-man too many times.")


texts: Is there a reason it is -to omou instead of wo omou to say you think something?

texts:
I realize it is just something I got to remember, but is there any explenation to what is going on gramatically with to omou? Why to? Or is it just a thing that is?

Also, why to moushimasu/to iimasu, is the same thing happening there?


texts:
Quoted from the Japanese Wikipedia entry about チャンプルー

  チャンプルーの語源は、インドネシア語・マレー語のcampur[1][2]（チャンプールまたはチャンポール：音声は[3]）との説がある[1]。この語は、同語源の日本語のちゃんぽんと同様「混ぜる」「混ぜたもの（料理）」という意味を持ち、インドネシア料理にはナシチャンプルという、飯と数種類のおかずを混ぜた料理がある（ナシ nasi はインドネシア語で飯の意）。

Does チャンプルー come from Indonesian?


texts: What is the difference between 「いろいろ」and 「さまざま」?

texts: According to the dictionary, they both mean "various". What is the difference between both words?


texts:
My basic understanding of より to compare things or ending letters, is failing me when there's a で or での in front of it.

As I write this, I'm wondering, can read でより as "with, more", "in, more"?

  さらに低い給料でより多くの責任を引き受ける
  accept more responsibilities for less money

  その地域でより快適なインターネット接続が可能になる
  provide the area with a better Internet connection

  より安い賃金でより長く働く
  to work longer hours for less money

  みんなでより良い地球を創っていけるでしょう。
  together we can create a better world.

でのより is really tripping me up. I'm not understanding how this functions at all.

  日本語でのより一般的な漢字表記は亜米利加であり
  In Japanese, a typical way to write [America] with kanji is 亜米利加. [?]

  勤務時間が長いほど、職場でのより多くの事故につながるのではないかと、長い間思われてきた。
  It has long been suspected that longer working hours result in more accidents in the work place.


texts:
I'm a bit of confused with と in the following sentence, what does it mean here and how can we translate the whole sentence?

  その名に恥じず放置すればするだけ存分と進行してくれればそれは非常に楽だけど。

Thank you very much for help!


texts:
Context: two people are walking on a street and a tramp says to them:

  はにゃせー、バカヤロー

I'm not sure if it's はにゃせ or はにやせ, because it is written in small fonts, I am attaching an image so you can tell. Could it be a Korean greeting? Thank you for your help!


texts: Why are some words written backwards on trucks

texts:
I was driving the other day and saw a truck with 一般 written as 般一 on the drivers side door.  My wife was telling me that this is often the case with trucks, where it is actually written from right to left in 縦 style, as if there was only 1 row.  Just was wondering if there was a particular reason for it or if this is limited to just trucks or can this be found elsewhere.

Of note, it was NOT written flipped so as to be seen correctly when looked at through a mirror like ambulances and such in the U.S.

Note:
This question is on the border in terms of being off-topic, but since it is referring to language use within Japanese culture, I felt it was appropriate to ask.

Examples of text
http://septieme-ciel.air-nifty.com/nikubanare/2005/09/post_5b58.html


texts: What is the general way to say something like "in your room?" without a verb?

texts: For example, 部屋にいました would be "was in your room", but is it possible to say just "in your room" without the verb? Something like 部屋に? Or 部屋で?


texts: Understand the difference between [dictionary/ない + ようとする] and [volitional + にする]

texts:
I have come across a couple of concepts that seem relatively similar, but I would like an understanding on their differences, if any.

The first is the dictionary/ない form + ようとする. And the other is the conjugated volitional form (or よう form) + にする. I have seen both to mean essentially attempted to do that verb.

So for example, the difference between 取ろうとする and 取るようにする.

For example, TaeKim seems to use the volitional form, while The Essential Japanese uses the ようにする form. Are there any differences?

TaeKim:
http://www.guidetojapanese.org/try.html#part3


texts:
I came across the word ケーブルカー, or cable-car.

Based on the pronunciation I have, the ブ and ル are pronounced like one syllable (like 'brr') instead of two like I expected ('bu ru').

Is this an exception or is the second pronunciation correct (or am I wrong all together)?


texts:
I'm wondering if it translates to "into darkness" directly as a response to something like "Where are we going?" Or possibly as a title for a poem?

I found one example. 暗闇へのワルツ Waltz into Darkness as a literal translation and just wondering if I remove のワルツ if it still makes sense...


texts:
Hello I am wondering about かつ. I got this sentence below. For context I put the line before the one I am asking about.

でも 金で解決できるならそうすべきだ｡

何より その道のプロに任せた方が美しいし合理的かつ経済も回る｡

Does かつ mean "and" here perhaps? As for the rest of the sentence it's kind of difficult to translate as well, I might be completely off. But maybe along the lines of: More importantly, relying on the professionals of their line of business make the beautiful rationality and economy go around.

edit: I somehow missed the し, after 美しい. That is why I was confused when translating even more..


texts: What are the common tennis terms in Japanese?

texts:
Particularly for

advantage set / tiebreaker set
game
set
match
love (the term used for 0 or a no score situation)
15/30/40
deuce
advantage in / advantage out


texts: Is there some set sentence for 「XXXX年度海外予算会議社長講評」?

texts:
I wonder, if there is some set sentence for the heading 「XXXX年度｛ねんど｝海外｛かいがい｝予算｛よさん｝会議｛かいぎ｝社長｛しゃちょう｝講評｛こうひょう｝」?

I have tried to translate it on my own, but I had difficulties with posing the word "meeting" in the right place:

  President’s comment on the meeting concerning overseas budget in the
  fiscal year XXXX

Could you please tell me, if my translation sounds natural and if there is some set sentence, could you please teach me it?


texts: The role of を in this phrase 夜景を背景に歌舞伎の映像が流れます

texts:
I am reading this article http://www3.nhk.or.jp/news/html/20161005/k10010718561000.html and come across this phrase:

  夜景を背景に歌舞伎の映像が流れます

I can get the general meaning but I'm not clear on what is the role of を in the sentence.


texts: How to say "The other sister" and "I don't have any brothers"

texts:
Can someone explain to me how to say the other (younger) sister when talking about family? I have to younger sister and want to discuss their professions, like in

  One sister is a... and the other is a ...

Also, how to say "I don't have any brother", it seems that "Kyoudai wa, imasen" means I don't have any siblings. Is it something like "Burazāzu wa, imasen".


texts:
I'm not sure if this is actual keigo, or just a polite form of adjectives.  Anyway, there are several that we're all familiar with that are still used today.

  はやい　→　おはようございます
  ありがたい　→　ありがとうございます
  めでたい　→　おめでとうございます

There are a couple of others I've seen in textbooks at some point as well:

  たのしい　→　たのしゅうございます
  おいしい　→　おいしゅうございます.

I know that I've seen different rules for how to form these depending on the ending.  We can see that the first three end in 〜ai that it becomes 〜ou gozaimasu, and the two 〜shii ones become 〜shuu gozaimasu.

However, I don't know the hard rules about how to form them based on their endings.  Furthermore, I'm even more confused about when to add the starting お (はやい adds it, but ありがたい doesn't).

I know these forms aren't used much these days (except "set" phrases like the first three), but it's a piece of knowledge that has eluded me over the years.


texts: When is に needed and when can it be omitted in がある constructions?

texts:
Someone asked me about the meanings of two English phrases. I replied:

両方はたくさんの意味がありますから、文がないと具体的な説明が難しいです。

Almost instantly it hit me that I might've made some mistakes in that reponse. I know the standard response goes:

どっちにもいろんな意味がありますから、文がないと具体的な説明が難しいです。

So do I need the「に」and「も」? I know what they mean and why they are there. Those are the basics. I am just wondering if my version could actually work in colloquial language, since「は」foregrounds the topic.
Edit: When can「に」be omitted? Because we do say

私は仕事があるんで、
私は今日は仕事がありません。

Why can 「に」be omitted here?
Also I wonder if my choice of「両方」sounds too formal in this sentence.


texts: How would one convey "get over it" in Japanese?

texts:
As a foreigner in Japan, one has to get used to the fact that some Japanese will compliment you on things that are too mundane to really deserve mention. Like the fact that you can use chopsticks, eat sushi, say 「今日は」, and all that sort of thing.

Most of the time, it's harmless, and a mere stepping stone to genuine conversation.

But sometimes you'll meet that person who will just go on about it for a bit too long. They'll ask follow up questions, and keep the topic alive, blocking the potential to interact as more than just a gaijin novelty.

To those people, I want to say, "yeah, look, can we get past that?" Well... that would be the politer version (though obviously not devoid of a little frustration). Sometimes I just want to say "Get over it, will ya?"

I think the more or less literal translation for "get over it" would be:

  [乗り切って]【のりきって】

First question is: Is that a suitable translation, or is it too literal in the sense of physically crossing something?

Next question: How would I, and could I, differentiate between "Get over it" (slightly stronger and a little more confrontational) and "can we get past this?" (a little softer but still conveying some annoyance).

Additional note 1: I'm okay with being a little confrontational on this, so please don't hold back on potentially stern suggestions for translation.

IMPORTANt: This is a language question about how to express a concept, this is not a question about how to socially handle an interaction. Answers should be about how to express the idea of "get over it" in the Japanese language. Answers about how you would come up with different responses or how you handle the given examples are off topic.


texts:
スイッチは押しましたか。

Can を be used in place of は here? (Have you pressed the switch? / Did you press the switch?)

押す is a transitive verb, so the use of は is confusing. Thank you for your help!


texts: Can I use verb as noun in a informal way? Informal Japanese

texts: I've tried searching for the answer in a lot of place. But all I get is formal answers (like 彼女はいつ来ますか). I'm assuming that the informal style will be 彼女はいつ来てるのか。 because the verb come turned into coming and is acting like a noun so, I added a の　at the end of it. Is it correct? Google translate doesn't do a good job with informal styles. So can anybody say how a native Japanese a boy would say this to his high school friend? This will give me ideas to apply this to a lot of other places. Thank you so much in advance.


texts: Where can I learn the proper way to answer to an professional email?

texts:
I haven't found any good blog or book explaining properly the way to start an email or to answer to it.

For example, I received an email asking me my availabilities for an interview:

お世話になっております。
Company name㈱総務人事部のContact nameでございます。
この度--会社--の人事役員面接を設定させて頂きたくご連絡致しました。
1/10以降でご都合の良い日時を2～3候補頂けますでしょうか。
ご連絡お待ちしております。
よろしくお願い致します。

How should I answer?
I'd like to say any day any time is fine from 1/10 with a preference as soon as possible (next 2-3 days).

I'd also like to stay natural without using very complicated sentences someone with my Japanese level wouldn't say.

company name株式会社 総務人事部
contact name様へ、

お世話になっております。
my nameでございます。(Do I need to tell who I am since they contacted me first?)
ご連絡ありがとうございました。

面接については、1/10の次の２－３営業日でも宜しいでしょうか。
何時でも大丈夫です。

よろしくお願い致します。

If you have some references where I could learn that. Please let me know.


texts: Help with 出てしまって vis a vis people afflicted with disease

texts:
A: この国の夏暑いですから…大変でしょう？
B: 最初はビックリしました
B: 「夏バテ」…と言ったかしら
ダウンする子も出てしまって
食事も気を使いますしね～

Preliminary translation:

A: Summers are really hot here so…was it difficult for you?
B: We were surprised at first.
B: I think it's called... heat illness.
Downed kids also ?!?!
I also had take care what I cooked for them.

Context: B has moved to Japan with family for the first time. It's July and apparently B's family had a rough time with Japanese heat.
The problem here for me is the ダウンする子も出てしまって bit. ダウンする子 is kids/children/girls who were downed by the illness. But I don't really get what 出てしまって is doing here. Literally, and out of context, it would probably mean something like, completely leave. But if I would use one of the movement verbs to say someone got ill, I'd say someone got in/got under illness.
So what is it's meaning here?!?
PS: Yeah, I know 出る has a lot of the meanings but I'm not sure which one would apply.


texts:
I came across this entry in wwwjdic:
九百, くひゃく  (arch) (derog) fool; idiot
Is there a fun story explaining how "900" = "fool"?


texts:
Here is the sentence relating to my question.

「あしたのジョー」以外の作品の多くは "梶原一騎" のペンネームで書かれました。

I have searched and found that 「多く」is adverb or adjective and it should be placed before the particle 「の」. Is the word a kind of noun or particle 「の」can be placed before adjective?


texts: What is the difference between「家族【かぞく】」and「家庭【かてい】」?

texts: Aside from "home" or "household", I understand that 家庭 can mean "family" as well. In such case, is there any difference in terms of usage or nuance between 家庭 and 家族? when is it more suitable to use 家庭 instead of 家族?


texts: Who can explain the pun/wordplay on “onitada” in the story “Jaku-Chara Tomozaki-kun”

texts:
In the Light novel / Manga / anime : 弱キャラ友崎くん (Jaku-Chara Tomozaki-kun), the main heroine regularly says “ONItada !” (translated by “HEXactly !”).
What would be the “de-pun-ed” word or how (from what words) is that word built ?
EDIT : to make myself clear, I'm mainly interested in a lexical answer (even if the syntactic and contextual aspects are also interesting)


texts: What Japanese lullabys are available to provide early Japanese exposure to children?

texts:
I'd like to expose my young children to the sounds of Japanese at night as they go to sleep.
Specifically, I'd like to play Japanese lullabies or other soothing music with vocals. Where do I find such music?


texts: 発する, 罰する, 反する, etc. taking strange conjugation せられる for the passive form

texts:
I am sure this has been asked before, but due to this form's similarity to the causative-passive (e.g. 行かせられる), I simply cannot find anything except for some thick Japanese explanations complete with overly technical grammar terms.

I do not understand why the passive form is せられる instead of される for verbs like 発する, 罰する, 反する, and so on (so-called する verbs?). The conjugation table on Tangorin does not even list this せられる form at all.

Question:
Is the form される, e.g. 発される, ungrammatical, unnatural, or allowed? Moreover, do these verbs have other naughty naughty irregular conjugations that I have to look out for?

On a side note, I once read a discussion that said the alternative form of this type of verb (e.g. 罰す) is not used anymore, but I cannot locate that discussion. Would someone kindly shed light on this as well?

またつまらない質問を出してしまったが、どうぞよろしくお願いいたします！


texts: If one wanted to say >subject+better+verb, how would you say that. Would ほうがいい work？


texts: What is the meaning of としてしまう in the following sentence

texts:
I do not get how としてしまう is used in the following sentence.  If the meaning ofとして = as, for; not even and しまう = to finish doing (something), what do they mean together? (assuming I have split the phrase correctly).

  男性がイラッ!! としてしまう!? [女性の言いがちワード]


texts: Is there a Japanese word for "area with a collection of izakaya stalls or booths"?

texts:
I know that the traditional Japanese style pubs that serve food as well as drinks are called "居酒屋".

But once a few years ago in Yamagata city, and last night here in Kagoshima city, I ended up in a kind of place where there are many small stalls, not really strong permanent buildings, sharing an area, perhaps sometimes even sharing common walls but I'm not positive on that note. Each stall is basically like an izakaya serving drinks and food with only a small number of seats for customers. Some have an additional one or two tables just outside the stall.

The area could contain a dozen or maybe twenty of these stalls.

Is this whole area referred to as "izakaya" too? Are the individual stalls "izakaya"s? Or is "izakaya" only for the more permanent pubs?

If there not specific terms dedicated to these areas and establishments, how would you normally talk about them in Japanese? I'm interested in words or phrases for both the individual establishments / stalls, and for the area which has a collection of them.


texts: Appending 内 to a company name is read ない or うち?

texts: For example, if I say マイクロソフト内のパートナーシップは強いです, is the 内 here read as うち or ない?


texts: Can だ be left off in informal sentences?

texts:
In declarative statements I’ve gathered that saying just 「これ新聞だ」for example would be too forward or a bit aggressive. So could you just say 「これ新聞」or even just 「新聞」for informal sentences?

I understand that い adjectives can be left on their own but I’m just not sure how to write informal sentences with な adjectives and nouns and not using です.


texts:
I saw this answer to a recent question which contained the sentence:

  私は猫二匹がいます

Is it okay to put the particle が after the counter. It seems strange to me. I would have expected:

  私(に)は猫が二匹います

The answer to this question tells me that number+counter can be treated as a noun, so putting が at the end should be fine. But somehow I feel that the two situations are different.

In summary, is 私は猫二匹がいます correct and why/when would I choose it instead of 私は猫が二匹います?


texts: が frequentally being used in ways I cant understand

texts:
I just started reading 上級へのとびら, an intermediate book with a lot of reading sections. Throughout my reading there have been a couple cases where I can't understand the usage of が in my sentences.

  日本人が大好きな桜の花がいつ頃咲くかは、場所によって違います。

This sentence seems like it would work better with の, but from what I have been told it has to do with the adjective 大好き. What confuses me is that I have always thought that verbs finish a clause, but in this case 日本人が大好きな桜の花 seems to be the subject for this sentence. Why is this?

  温泉には観光やレジャーが目的で行く人が多く、温泉では大きいお風呂に入ったり、おいしい料理を食べたり、浴衣を着たりしてリラックスします。

The part I don't understand here is 観光やレジャーが目的. 観光やレジャー isn't the subject I don't think, so I honestly don't know why its being used with が.

Any help is appreciated!


texts: How to tell the difference between と as "and"/a conditional?

texts:
The particle と can mean either a fairly simple "And" or it can mean if X then Y.

1: 私は犬と猫が好きです  - I like dogs and cats

2: びんを落すと壊れる  - if drop the bottle, it breaks

Taken independently either of these rules is easy to remember. In fact と as "and" is probably one of the earliest things you learn in Japanese.

With these two simple example sentences it is quite easy to figure out what is going on.
But, when you're reading a longer passage things might not be so clear.

Are there any rules for spotting the difference between the two　とs?

For example with example 2, how do you absolutely 100% know that it means drop it=> it breaks, rather than just drop it and break it in a unrelated actions, listy sort of way?


texts:
I encountered this sentence:

  おなかがいたくてたべられません

and got confused with くて. Isn't it used for adding いadjectives? Why is it followed by a verb in the example given? Can I use いたく instead? How will it change the meaning if I use いたくたべられません?


texts: ていく (auxiliary verb) - Clarification on nuance

texts:
I was revising the grammar for ていく and got this sentence from the Dictionary of Basic Japanese Grammar.

これからは寒くなっていく

The meaning the book gave was that "It will get colder (and continue to be that way) from now on."
When it mentions "continue to be that way" does it mean it will:
1)　get colder and remain at that level of coldness OR
2)　continue to get colder and colder (increasing level of coldness) until the end of the process (Edit: removed this extra text)
I am leaning towards option 2 because in that particular sentence, I read that you can replace ていく with てくる to mean the exact same thing. And since てくる also indicates the beginning of some process.
Hope someone can give an input to clarify if I am misunderstanding it. Thanks.


texts:
How can we say something "goes" as in goes a certain way? I know you can say 上手く行くor順調に行くto say something goes well, but does "行く" also work if we're talking about things going poorly or just the way they go in general? Specifically, I want to say something like, "however things go" or "however it turns out."
例えば：本番はどう行っても...
Does that work?


texts: Help with "My little sister can't run this fast" in the style of ～こんなに～わけがない

texts:
Newcomer in the Japanese stackexchange. :) My knowledge in the language is fairly limited and I need your help.

I'd like to know how is "My little sister can't run this fast" in Japanese?
Different online translations give different variations. I don't know how correct or "stiff" they are.

And if you're wondering, there's an anime "My little sister can't be this cute"(Ore no imouto ga konnani kawaii wake ga nai)[俺の妹がこんなに可愛いわけがない]. All the episodes are titled "my little sister can't ...".
So I'd like the closest translation to the anime title.

Here's what I know:

Ore no - my

imouto - little sister

ga - is (when new info is introduced)

konnani - in this way

kawaii - cute

wake - being

ga - is (when new info is introduced) but why twice?

nai - negative particle

And I expect it to be something like this:
Ore no imouto ga konnani hayaku ga hashiranai

P.S. Also, could you provide the correct sentence in Japanese hieroglyphs, as well? Onegai.

EDIT:

Thank you both for the thorough explanations. :)

And I didn't know that Japanese symbols are not called "hieroglyphs" at all. English is not my native language. Maybe the term is most suitable for ancient writing systems.


texts: 接続助詞は名詞修飾節の中に使えますか？・接続助詞で作る文は他の接続助詞で作る文を修飾できますか？

texts:
偶然この質問を思い出しました。

Question 1

英語で

  Hey, look! The car over there is the car which I would buy if I were rich.

という文があると思います。

その「if I were rich」は従属接続詞（if）で「I would buy」を修飾しているのです。それだけではなく、実は「I would buy」と「if I were rich」は「which I would buy if I were rich」の中の一部です。とりあえず、両方とも名詞修飾節の一部です。

そういうわけで、日本語もそういう使い方があるかを考えています。

例えば、

  明日早く起きたら食べられる朝ごはんはアイスクリームです。

「たら」を使って「明日早く起きたら」で「食べられる」を修飾します。そして、「明日早く起きたら食べられる」は朝ごはんを修飾します。

例えば、

  子供がうるさいのでたまらない父はイヤホンをつけた。

「ので」を使って「子供がうるさいので」で「たまらない」を修飾します。そして、「子供がうるさいのでたまらない」は父を修飾します。

Question 2

英語で時々従属接続詞で作る文が他の従属接続詞で作る文を修飾する場合もあります。

例えば、

  By the time she saw the boy, he had already escaped the scene because nobody was there to attack him when he decided to pass through the narrow way.

  from No Grammar Tears 2

  途中で何か良い物を拾ったら半分はヘルメスの神に捧げるから、無事に旅をさせてくれといったものです。

  from イソップ童話

これは「途中で何か良い物を拾ったら」で「半分はヘルメスの神に捧げるから」を修飾しているのですか？

そして「途中で何か良い物を拾ったら半分はヘルメスの神に捧げるから」は「無事に旅をさせてくれといったものです」を修飾しているのですか？

以上の通りに接続助詞で名詞修飾節の文を修飾できますか？

接続助詞で作る文は他の接続助詞で作る文を修飾できますか？

一体この文法の使い方があるのかどうかを教えてください。

Are they just like adverbial clauses?


texts:
I've recently been noticing some patterns which look like two repeated past-tense verbs, but I think which indicate a command rather than the past tense. For example:

  さあ、行った行った。
  "Get along with you!"

I also noticed in the Baseball manga "Major" the following, which was called over a loudspeaker:

  入った！入った！

But I'm not sure what it means, or indeed if it is a command or baseball/sport-specific (it was at the start of the chapter and I'm missing the previous volume so I'm not 100% sure what the context is.)

If both of the above are commands, are they roughly equivalent to さあ、行け and 入れ！? Is 行け！ more assertive than 行った行った！?

Can this pattern work with any verb, e.g. さあ、食べた食べた！ or is does it only work for a few?


texts:
In this clip at 19:50, it sounds like he is saying, "Nante na! Kore dokka no kiza na yatsu ga itteta serifu" ("This is just something a ____ pretentious guy said"). Is it indeed 「どっか」 ? What does that mean?

I tried looking up 「どっか」in 2 online dictionaries but I did not find a clear definition. Is it at all related to phrases like 「どっか行け」 or 「椅子にどっかり座る」? Since it is followed by the particle 「の」, I would imagine not...


texts: Meaning of 保護される in the following sentence

texts:
Context: A journalist is talking about a murder. A boy and his mother were in the room where a man was killed (actually the boy killed the man, but it is not known yet). The police arrests the mother suspecting she is the killer.

  男は鈍器で頭部を殴られ死亡。その部屋にいた負傷した少年が保護されましたが服には男の血が付着しており今も事情を聞いているとのことです。

What is the meaning of 保護されました? Does it refer to the child being now under protection? Or does it mean he is being held as a prisoner (into custody) by the police?

It's not the first time I encounter the term 保護 and don't understand if it refers to protect someone or take someone into custody because he did something bad, so I would like a specific explanation for this sentence and a general explanation of the term 保護. Thank you for your help!


texts:
I was watching an anime, and there was a scene in which the protagonists, after sneaking into a morgue, find their own dead bodies and confirm that they are, in fact, dead (there's lots of occult-y stuff going on, don't worry about it). Anyway, during the reveal, the main character says:

「まじで？僕ら死んじゃったでエフエーなの？」

I looked up what エフエー meant since it was clearly meant to be FA, which should be an abbreviation for something, but none of the words it stood for seemed to make sense for the context. I found things like Free Agent, Factory Automization, etc., but none of those make sense in this context. I guess the least weird one would be Free Agent, but unless there's some meaning to that phrase that Japanese has come up with separate from the English definition, it doesn't make sense. The translation that was given was, "Seriously? So we all died and that's it?" I don't have any problems with the grammar, it all flows normally, but I can't tell what FA is--we all died and what, exactly?


texts:
Hi in this sentence 'らしく' is used, but I am not really sure about the meaning of らしく. I found this explanation for it, but it doesn't helps me to understand its meaning in the sentence:

way to use 「らしい」 is to indicate that a person seems to be a certain
thing due to his behavior.

誰かの視線に気づいたらしく、ふっと頭を上げ、通りのむこうからこちらの様子をじっとうかがっている猫を見つけた。


texts:
In a scene from a manga classmates are talking about an arrogant pretty girl who's only popular with boys. One of the girls says:「これからアジアンビューティーって呼ぼーよ」.

Is that supposed to sound negative? How so? My first thought was that it's some slang for a prostitute or an "easy girl" but I haven't been able to confirm this. On the internet I found conflicting opinions, so I'm not sure what to think. Is this one of these tricky terms that a foreigner probably just shouldn't use?


texts: 空睨んでも - how can I tell when sora is being used for something other than the sky

texts:
I like to translate K-pop and anime themes as a hobby to help me understand and memorize the language. In Gurenge, a certain line sticks out: 夜の匂いに　空睨んでも.
My research suggests that if Sora comes before an adjective or verb, then it could mean "fake". Is that the case here, or does Sora not have its own grammar particle (に), because it would be repeating the exact same syllable?


texts: Where's the "intent" shown in this sentence

texts:
浦島太郎は心のやさしい若者で、毎日海へ出かけて魚をつって年老いたおとうさんとお母さんを養っていました。
Urashima Taro was a young man with a kind heart; he went out to sea every day to go fishing to support his elderly father and mother.
This is from "Japanese Stories for Language Learners".
Now, what I don't quite get is where the "intent" of Taro-san's fishing is shown: he goes out to sea every day to go fishing to support his parents.
The only thing I read here is that he has a kind heart, he is young, he goes fishing every day out to sea, and he supports his parents. But where's the link between the fishing and the supporting of his parents? Is this just a poor translation or am I missing something? I was also expecting 行く to be used here.


texts: Why can story writers use くれる when describing a third person?

texts:
I just read a famous Japanese legend as follows.

  昔、ある所に浦島太郎という若い男がいました。
  ある日、太郎は子供達にいじめられている亀を助けてあげました。
  亀は「助けてくれて、ありがとうございました」と言って、太郎を海の中のお城へ連れて行ってくれました。

Why can story writers use くれる when describing a third person (亀)?


texts: Which one is the correct usage for "迎えにいく"

texts:
Please tell me which one is the most correct usage of 迎えにいく

両親が国へ帰るので、空港へ迎えに行きます。
迎えに行きますから、駅に着いたら、電話してください。（The answer is this one but I do not understand why?)
この荷物を郵便局へ迎えに行きます。
今年の夏休みは子供を海へ迎えにきます。

(2) is the correct answer according to the textbook, but I think that (1) is also correct, in terms of grammar and meaning.


texts: When is たら or 時 being preferred more than the other?

texts:
たら and 時 can be used to say "when" expressions. I have learned these grammatical expressions already. In the book みんなの日本語, there is a question that goes...

  昼ご飯を a.食べた時 b.食べたら、すぐ出かけます。

When seeing this, instantly I would pick 'b'. However I can't explain to myself why it had to be 'b' when 'a' doesn't sound grammatically wrong. Is it perhaps the すぐ that made it that way?


texts: I need help translating a signed photo book

texts:
I bought a first edition of a photo book by Shiraishi Chieko and it looks as though it has been signed in pencil on the front page. The first character may be slightly smudged because I rubbed it to see if it was printed or in pencil.
I have tried to translate it [picture of the signed book] online but I am having no luck.
Please can anyone tell me what it says.
[1]: https://i.stack.imgur.com/yCScq.jpg![enter image description here](https://i.stack.imgur.com/8YAml.jpg)


texts: what does mean in these following phrases the grammar rule 「という」

texts:
on my book there are these sentences that I didn't understand

新聞に、来月フランスの大統領が来日するという記事が出ている。

１９９３年に山形県で最高気温が４０度を超えたという記録がある。

日本には、月でうさぎがもちをついているという古くからの言い伝えがあります。

１９７３年にトイレットペーパーがなくなるといううわさが日本中に流れて、多くの人々がスーパーに殺到した。


texts: add a verb to a noun without interpose nothing in between

texts:
So I was wondering why in Japanese it's correct to say 寝る時間? Because I thought it was necessary to use the no particle in order to change the noun and add a verb.
Anyway what grammar is used in phrases like 寝る時間, 食べる時間 and the likes?


texts:
Is politeness the right term to describe 連用形+ます inflection?  Should it be always referred as formal instead of polite, and informal instead of plain?

Politeness is the listener's interpretation of the opponent's communication style. Words in Japanese inflect to project different levels of formality, how can they be polite or impolite by themselves? A speaker can use very formal language and at the same time be very impolite to the listener, e.g. employing sarcasm or certain body language.


texts:
申し訳ございません

Oftentimes, I hear people say this when they apologize. Recently, I’ve learned that you can also say

  申し訳有りません

But I’ve never heard anyone actually say it in this form. Is this form common?


texts:
Both seem to mean "to be helpful, to be useful" but I cannot distinguish what is their difference.
Here are some examples:

昨日の帰りに少し摘んどいたんだ  具材の足しになるかな？
I gathered these on our way back yesterday.
Will these work as additional ingredients?

役に立たないかもしれませんが、この地図を持って行ってください.
Even if this map does not seem useful, bring it with you.


texts:
I've just used a sentence that I think was wrong:

グループ員はよくパブで飲みに行く.

The concern there is the yoku.

Where would the often/hardly/always/whatever actually go in this sort of sentence structure and why?

Is it グループ員はパブでよく飲みに行く or グループ員はパブで飲みによく行く?

Or was I right the first time?


texts:
Some context:
Person A and Person B both went through a trying situation dealing with Person C, someone that Person A has known for many years. They are now talking about how awful it was. Person A then thinks this:

  [俺]{おれ}に[比]{くら}べて[汚染]{おせん}[度]{ど}１０[年分]{ねんぶん}も[少]{すく}ないなんて、なんて[幸]{しあわ}せな[人間]{にんげん}だ。

which as far as I understand is something along the lines of: Person B has suffered 10 years less than I have. How lucky Person B is.

I was pretty surprised 人間 was the choice of word here. I would have expected 人 instead because in my experience 人間  refers to humanity or a type of person. Is this something that's done frequently?


texts: Simple response to あなたはばんごはんを食べて、なにをしますか

texts:
あなたは ばんごはんを 食べて、なにを しますか。

This seems to be saying "what do you do while eating dinner?" How to reply "I just eat"?　Does it make sense to say nothing?


texts: Origins of the "next-next week" expression

texts:
I've heard more than a couple of times when  Japanese natives speaking English use "next-next week" expressesion to describe "the week after the next". I can't come up with an explanation where that strange expression comes from - after all the Japanese word 再来週 contains no repetition.

Any thoughts?


texts:
I aggressively cleaned my ear canal with my finger and the canal got scratched. After several weeks elapsed, it got naturally healed but I cannot hear clearly probably because of the dead skin or scab abandoned inside. I want to remove it in an ear-nose-throat clinic and to explain it to the doctor.

I am afraid if I make use of a wrong word and makes the doctor confused. I have tried to use a free online dictionary, I got the following results.

dead skin : 壊死した皮膚
scab : かさぶた

What are the best words to convey the same meaning of scab and dead skin, respectively?


texts: Meaning of 合わせる本命の拳 in the following context

texts:
Context: a match between two counter puncher boxers in the manga リクドウ. After a calm fist round, in the second round they begin an intense fight during which both throw a lot of counter punches to each other. However, none of them manages to hit the other. At one point, one of the two thinks:

  まだか…　〝底〟は…　合わせる本命の拳はまだ深くに…　初めてだ　ここまで深い所に…

What is the meaning of 合わせる本命の拳? According to Kenkyusha dictionary, 本命 has two meanings: "a probable winner, the favorite" and  "one's heart's desire, what one really wants", but I think in this case it is the second one. As for 合わせる, I am not sure about its meaning and about who is the subject of the verb, the boxer himself, his opponent or the punches? My idea is that the punches he is usually able to deal with this time are causing him difficulties. My translation attempt:

  The bottom... again? The punches that suit me/my fighting style and wich I desire are sending me down... It's the first time I reach such a deep place...

You can see the pages here and here. Thank you for your help!


texts: I have some problem with passive form of verbs, and actually with に particle in it

texts:
So, I have this:

  父に犬を追いかけられています。

Is it correct? And what does that に particle mean?


texts: Why does 「目がない」mean "something you like"?

texts: I came across the phrase 甘いものに目がない which roughly translates to "having a sweet tooth". Then I wondered why 目がない refers to "something that you like". Is there an explanation for why "having no eyes" means to "like something"?


texts: Seemingly Inconsistent Particle Usage with the Verb 手伝う

texts:
When it is not specified what the helper did...

  私はとても忙しいので、彼を手伝うことができない。

When both action and person being helped are specified...

  彼女は私に仕事を手伝うように頼んだ。

When it is not specified whom the helper helped...

  彼はこの計画を手伝うだろう。

Is there some patterns or It's just that I don't understand?
And if I want to say...
"Can you help me clean the classroom?" with くれる, 手伝う, and 掃除, what will the sentence be like?


texts: Verb after な-adjective, is it necessary to complete the sentence?

texts:
I read somewhere that 形容動詞 are a special subclass of nouns. Contrarily 形容詞, the い adjectives, are actually a lot more similar to verbs. During the time that I have been learning Japanese language (almost a year) I have developed the notion that verb is an essential part of a complete sentence and な-adjective can not fullfill the duty of the verb. Yet, In The essence of sentence construction on Tae Kim's Blog, the part about Treating verb phrases as nouns, in order to make a sentence, な-adjective is used as a substitute for verb and だ comes after that only "If you don’t want to sound girly". In this example on Tae Kim's Blog

たくさん運動するのはいいが、ちゃんと休むのも大切。

is being treated as a complete sentence and then we read:

Finally, let’s add a bit of motherly advice-sounding nuance to it and give it a more conversation style, since it sounds like the speaker is trying to admonish the listener.
たくさん運動するのはいいけど、ちゃんと休むのも大切よ。
If you don’t want to sound girly, you’ll want to add 「だ」 when using 「よ」 with nouns/na-adjectives.
たくさん運動するのはいいけど、ちゃんと休むのも大切だよ。

My question is that, in order to make a complete sentence , 大切 being a な-adjective, why it is not necessary for a verb to come after it?


texts: How to distinguish between handwritten ソ and ン?

texts:
I often get confused in distinguishing between the handwritten ソ and ン. Is there any hint to do so easily?

I know the stroke order for both in writing so what I want to know is how to distinguish between them in reading.


texts: について vs に関して - the internet tells me they only change in formality, but Imabi disagrees?

texts:
について vs に関して

1a. 今から韓国に関して話してください。X

1b. 今から韓国について話してください。〇

Why is Imabi saying that 1a is wrong? Source

All sources are saying that について and に関して have the same function, with the latter being more formal/literary. Imabi confirms this, but makes a distinction:

  Whereas ～について emphasizes the content at hand, ～に関して includes the surroundings related to it.

And proceeds to give this as an explanation for 1a being wrong:

  Also, as ～について comes from the verb 付く, it is used a lot when referring to things being tied to acts of communication via speaking, writing, thinking, etc. As you might gather just from the few examples thus far, ～に関して is more formal and stiff. Given its nuance and formality, you should see why it was wrong in the first example.

Questions:

Is 1a really wrong? Why?
Is "Whereas ～について emphasizes the content at hand, ～に関して includes the surroundings related to it." correct? If so, can you compare them with examples? Imabi fails to do this.

A (non native) friend pointed out this part from Imabi's quote:

  as ～について comes from the verb 付く, it is used a lot when referring to things being tied to acts of communication

Does this imply that に関して is really only used in literary stuff? Kinda like “hey, we all use について but you might find に関して in old books and stuff, just so you know. The latter is more formal so yeah, go ahead and use について.” ?

Observation: I asked on Hinative for help about 1a being wrong: two natives said both are correct.

Observation 2, I've just found out this: Is this why?

Quoting:

  に関して "relating to"
  The character 関 indicates that the topics have a connection/relationship, that they are tied/locked to one another. Can refer to 1 or a collection of topics related to the subject.

  について "regarding"
  The concepts of "connections" and relationship are still there, but perhaps the situation is in flux. The kanji 就 in Chinese can mean "moving towards" a topic, so there's a sense of fluidity, transition, or motion in the conversation.

When you're making a connection from one topic to another, に関して makes sense. On the other hand, について implies a more "moving forward" on the topic? 「今から韓国に関して話してください。」starts right away with 「今から」, kinda implying a change in the topic? Is that why Imabi's writer said 1a is wrong?

I apologize for the long text. Thanks in advance.


texts:
This is from a mail my language partner wrote me lastly.

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

The sentence in question (above in bold):
これは中上級向け文法書に出ている使い方で、少し難しいです。

My attempt at translation:
"Concerning this, it being the way of use brought up (?) in (?) the grammar book aimed at middle high grade , it is a bit hard."

My main issue lies with 中上級 on the one hand, and に出ている on the other.
I guess 中上級 is just "high grade learner" on a "medium" level.
に出ている is a bit harder for me. 出る is a verb I of course encounter quite a lot, but I still struggle a bit with the use of particles xD Usually I see に being used when going towards something or into something. Here, clearly something comes "out" of something. I just feel a bit unsure about wether に can be used for this purpose here or not. ^^


texts: Is ~楽しんでいただけましたら、幸いです past tense or not?

texts: I'm trying to say "I'm happy if you enjoyed..." or "I hope you enjoyed", but this is keigo, so I got a bit confused. If I were to say xxx 楽しんでいただけましたら、幸いです does that mean "I hope you enjoyed xxx" or is it not past tense, meaning "I hope you will enjoy xxx"?


texts:
Caption on a picture of a woman with nice dress

Other sentence usage for different photos includes the following:

顕示欲の出涸らし
おやすみ顕示欲
隠し切れない顕示欲
溢れ出る顕示欲

Note: The dress is not sexy nor revealing, but generally casual. Is the woman trying to show-off her clothes, or is she trying to say 'Do I look nice on this dress?"

Caption on twitter page as below:
https://twitter.com/suzukisakiika/status/1249479824260730881


texts:
I love to read manga, and I am always confused when a character uses a spell, and a T/N is written somewhere stating the literal meaning.

Example is when Mad Hatter (From Gaitou Alice) uses a spell, and is translated as Mad Tea Party, but a note above states that the Kanji is read as Mad Firearm. How does this work? Is there a term for instances like this?


texts: Meaning of 日本に来られたらより理解できる

texts:
I wrote:

  １４、１５歳だった時、僕は飛ぶことができる車を作ってみたくなったので、いろいろな自動車メーカーに興味を持った。フォルクスワーゲンとかHONDAとかビュイックとかBMWとか。「どこのメーカーのために飛べる車を作ればいいかな」と思って、僕の父に「好きな自動車メーカーは？」と聞いた。父の答えは「もちろん、TOYOTA。このメーカーの車はとても頑丈で長持ちするからね」。それで、僕はTOYOTAを選んだ。１ヶ月後、僕は科学の先生と僕の将来について話していた。

  「TOYOTA！面白い！その自動車メーカーの本社は日本にありますね。じゃ、日本語を習ってみたらどうですか？」と先生が言った。それで、僕は日本語を習い始めた。

  アメリカがダメだから別の国に行きたいというわけではありません。日本語を習い始めたからです。日本語ではなくて、別の言語を習い始めていたら、たぶん、その言語の国に行きたくなる。(^-^)

And a user responded:

  日本語が堪能ですね。驚きました。トヨタの車は確かに高品質だと思います。日本人の気質を表しているのかもしれません。日本に来られたらより理解できると思います。

I am totally stumped on the last sentence. The best guess I have is:

  日本に来られたらより理解できると思います
  Rather than coming to Japan, I think it would better if you could understand it.

What is your translation and why?


texts:
Here is the sentence from an instruction manual of hair iron.

ここに示した注意事項は、製品を安全に正しくお使いいただき、あなたや他の人々への危害や損害を未然に防止するためのものです。

My translation is below.

For the warning indicated in this part, use the product according to the instruction safely in order to prevent danger and damage that might happen to you and other people.

I would like to know that if the pattern 'Continuative stem form verb + いただき' hold the same meaning of the patter 'て form verb + いただく' as 'Do something for someone'


texts:
I have three questions about the following sentnece, all regarding particles:

友達のおかげで、映画をただで見られた。

Why the の particle works as "to" here?

Why the を particle instead of は？isnt ただ setting like and adjective to say the movie is free?

And the last で, just to be sure I'm getting it right, it's meaning that the action to watch takes place on the movie or not?

Regarding the first で I understand it is about the compound sentence.


texts:
In my textbook, it says the translation of "Roberto said it was interesting" to be

  Robert-さんはおもしろかったといっていました.

Since we quote the person in the same tense they used, does this imply that Robert thought it was interesting, and that it is no longer interesting?

If Robert still thinks it's interesting, would this make more sense?

  Robert-さんはおもしろいといっていました.


texts: Kanjied 出した vs kananed だした in -dasu/dashta pattern

texts:
雪が降り出した。
  It started to snow (unexpectedly).

In Maggie's article on this pattern "How to use V + 始める ( = hajimeru) / だす ( = dasu) / かける ( = kakeru)" she uses hiragana for this verb.

In jisho.org there is no mark "Usually written kana alone" for the verb 出す.

Question:
do I have a right to write this sentence like this?

  雪が降りだした。

Is it slang to use hiragana for this pattern?


texts: Is this how to say "I'm going to Japan Wednesday."?

texts:
Is

  私は水曜日本に行きます。

a reasonable way to say "I'm going to Japan Wednesday."?

If it is, is this also okay?

  水曜、私は日本に行きます。


texts: Learning Japanese rhetoric and composition

texts:
One aspect of studying Japanese that has greatly frustrated me is my university's lack of writing classes. Learning kanji, vocab, grammar and an academic or other style is important, but Japanese rhetoric at its core is also structured differently than that of English.

For example, I remember learning how to write an essay in English for the first time. The teacher showed us that formula everyone knows: introductory paragraph with a thesis, supporting paragraphs, and a conclusion that restates the thesis.

Formulaic writing like this gets old, of course, but the basic idea is adhered to pretty well in English writing. State your thesis and support it. The first time I read an essay in Japanese, it was from some 社会学 study thing from a 東大 professor. It was designed to help Japanese students pass entrance exams. It was useful in some ways, but it was also very frustrating. I was frustrated because the author would say things like "I hope you found the thesis. It was right there, in that third paragraph. There's something wrong if you couldn't find it." I'd reread the passage over and over again but it was always difficult for me to understand the structure of the writing. "Of course I couldn't find it. Why is it in the third paragraph?!"

A Japanese person told me once that they structure their rhetoric opposite ours, saying that we put the thesis first and they put the thesis last. I think that is probably an oversimplification. My wife has been doing some interesting cultural studies and has led me to field of contrastive rhetoric; this article for example looks like a promising help to understanding. All three of the listed Japanese rhetorical structures would be very difficult for an English reader to understand.

I want to know some good resources to polish my writing skills in Japanese. It would be nice if there were something in English, similar to this Korean textbook, simply because it would be able to highlight the contrastive structure between English/Japanese writing styles. But something in Japanese is great, too (I remember seeing writing books at The Daiso, but something else would be nice). Perhaps there is a popular kokugo textbook for college/high school students?


texts: Purpose of ～とは in 「あなたにとって仕事とはなんでしょうか」

texts:
あなたにとって仕事【しごと】とはなんでしょうか

What is the purpose of とは above?
Would using は alone have been any different?

If とは is a grammatical construct, I would appreciate additional examples clarifying its significance.


texts: Referring to Group of Differentiated Objects

texts:
This is a bit esoteric, but it is something that came up recently when I was thinking about how to translate a piece of writing I have been working on for a while into Japanese. In any case, one of the things that I wanted to refer to were "four swords." Now, normally this would be 「四本の剣」or what have you, but I was wondering what to do based on the fact that three of them are western-style double-edged swords (剣{つるぎ}) and one of them is a Japanese-style single-edged katana (刀{かたな}).

Is this a case of majority rule, where we white-wash the katana in order to consider the four of them as a group, or is there an obligation to disambiguate, since saying

  この刀は伝説の四本の剣の一本

is slightly confusing/awkward, at least to my eye. Is there any obvious choice between the two?

This is a very narrow question, so I will extend it to:

"When grouping objects which are described using the same word in English (or ◯語) but are different words/use different kanji in Japanese, should they be split or unified based on the majority?"

There may not be a clear answer for this case, but it is certainly a more useful answer than my very specific question.


texts:
At first I thought that Japanese people pronouncing Qantas as カンタス was an urban legend (the start of "カンタス" matches a vulgar four letter word in English), but I've since found out that it's real, with Qantas' Japanese homepage having "カンタス航空｜ホームページ｜航空券｜旅行情報 - Qantas".

By contrast, there's almost always a "w" style sound when Australians pronounce it. Wiktionary gives an IPA of /ˈkwɒntəs/, and the second sentence of the Japanese edition of Wikipedia's article on the airline mentions how Australians pronounce it with three citations.

Why is Qantas spelt "カンタス" in Japanese?

As far as I can tell, it isn't because it resembles how non-Australian English speakers pronounce the word - in the American movie "Rain Man" they pronounce it with a "w" sound.

"カンタス" could be seen as matching a phonetic spelling of "Qantas", like how English-speakers pronounce "Qatar", but I thought katakana was typically based on how words are actually pronounced.

Alternatively, is it possible that katakana lacks the capability of indicating the "w" sound in this scenario?


texts: Why is the kanji of idiot written with the kanji for "horse" and "deer" together?

texts:
I'm learning Japanese, but I'm a beginner, and  I need to understand why this kanji is a compound of the kanji for "horse" and "deer":

  馬鹿 = idiot

  馬 = horse

  鹿 = deer

Why?


texts:
I was watching the news -> link and I believe the narrator said

at 3:03

  実に大人気無い。

The first translation that pops up in my mind is "really childlish" or "immature".

However, I'm not sure if this is what the narrator really meant???
For me, it's a pretty harsh word to describe a person, especially the one you aren't close with.

Hence I was wondering what did the narrator actually want to imply in this video? and Is there a better English translation that are more align to what she really meant?

or is it that these words just are not as harsh for Japanese?


texts: いろいろな便利な - In some case, two na-adjectives linked not using で?

texts:
With my japanese teacher, we study some text about doraemon.

One of sentences was:

「未来{みらい}のいろいろな便利{べんり}な「ひみつ道具{どうぐ}」をポケットの中に持っている」

I was thinking いろいろな便利{べんり}な had to be いろいろで便利{べんり}な. My teacher said she don't know why, so I asking you :D


texts:
Today I learned that itadaku can be written as 戴く or  頂く. According to Tangorin, 頂 means "place on the head; receive; top of head; top; summit; peak" and 戴 has the overlapping meaning "be crowned with; live under (a ruler); receive."

When would you choose one over the other? Does it depend on the occasion?


texts: Why 112 is pronounced as ippyakujuuni instead of ichihyakujuuni?

texts:
I ran across Jim Breen's page (http://nihongo.monash.edu/jnumbers.html) regarding numbers, it links to an image (provided below) which I found confusing.

It reads 112 as ippyakujuuni, and 1386 as sensanbyakuhachijuuroku. I would expect ichihyaku or hyaku, not ippyaku, for 100. And sanhyaku, not sanbyaku, for 300. What is behind this strange reading of 100 there?

There is also similarly strange reading of number 2 036 521 801 in Wikipedia, which is ni-jū oku san-zen rop-pyaku go-jū ni-man sen hap-pyaku ichi. Why san-zen, not san-sen? Why rop-pyaku, not roku-hyaku? Why hap-pyaku, not hachi-hyaku?


texts: What does this sentence containing 「いい歳したオッサンが」 mean?

texts:
私は今20代後半ですがとても子供っぽく落ち着きがありません。（夢中になると特に）いい歳したオッサンが自分と正面から向き合ってくれた人と本当の意味で向き合って話が出来ないという現実に絶望しました。

Source: https://komachi.yomiuri.co.jp/t/2019/0624/903959.htm?g=04

Does 「いい歳したオッサン」mean he's referring to himself as 'this old man', or is he talking about his own father or just some random middle aged dude ?

  いい歳したオッサンが自分と正面から向き合ってくれた人と本当の意味で向き合って話が出来ないという現実に絶望しました。

I understand this sentence as:

I came to a depressing realization that I cannot have a real, honest talk with someone who goes out with me based on my outer face (public face) according to some old man

Am I understanding this correctly ?


texts: How does adding 大切に to 使っています change its meaning?

texts:
I'm working through Nihongo so-matome N5 and I came across a phrase I don't quite understand.

大切に使っています means "I'm using it" but I don't understand how that is different from 使っています. How does adding 大切に to the front of 使っていますchange the meaning? If they are the same, what kind of situation would I use 大切に使っています instead of 使っています?


texts:
I'm trying to tell someone the reason I don't want to do something is because i barely know them. I'm not even sure if the verb I'm suppose to be using is 知る。I feel that might be really rude to say to someone.
I searched around and the only word I can find that might work is なじむ(馴染む)。
I also don't know if I should use their name like
Example :
まだアリサさんになじまない = I'm not familiar with Alyssa yet.


texts: Word choice for iteration and repetitive processing in computer science

texts:
I've looked around online and even asked a native speaker developer friend of mine, but I seem to get different answers everywhere I go.

Here are the relevant words/phrases I've seen so far:

繰り返し処理
反復処理
ループ & ループ処理
イテレート

My impression is that the entirely katakana words are used exactly like they are in English, including ループ being used as both a noun and verb. I've also seen イテレータ, but this refers to a very specific and well defined thing, so I don't think there's much ambiguity there.

繰り返し処理 seems to be the most common word, generally referring to any kind of repetitive processing, and is used as both a noun and する verb.
反復処理 seems to mean something similar, although I only see it used as a noun, and I get the impression it's more of a 書き言葉。

ループ処理 seems to refer to processing something via loop, although I don't really see a difference between it and ループ when used as する verbs.

I'm hoping someone who has worked as a programmer or developer in Japanese can shed some light on the more nuanced differences between words, when one would use one and not the other, etc. I am particularly interested in the differences between:

繰り返し処理, ループ処理 and 反復処理 as nouns
繰り返し処理する、ループ処理する、and イテレートする


texts: How does 分 and として work in this sentence?

texts:
女性との行為に価値を認めていない分、ハードルも低いという事なのだろうが、エアリエルとしては堪らない。

Does it works as "Due to" or "Because of"? I have been encountering this kanji used in the same manner and I tried searching about it but it doesn't seem to be considered as a particle so I had no luck.

として on the underhand does not make sense either. Was it "It's unbearable as Ariel"? or was it actually と＋して or "Doing it to Ariel"?


texts: How would you talk about relative time in the past?

texts:
I'm not sure if I'm overcomplicating this. I'm talking about events in the past, and I want to use relative time markers within that time frame. For example, "the day after that", or "the day before that", or "a year later". I'm not sure if I can use 明日【あした】, 昨日【きのう】 and 来年【らいねん】, because as I see it, I would be referring to the present timeline, the next day/previous day/next year for me. Is this so, or am I overcomplicating it?

Is there a separate set of words for talking about relative time in the past, or is this something that is simply understood from context?


texts: How does 「あいつは意気地なんだと」 translate into "he's a coward"?

texts:
There's this sentence on Tatoeba:
 - According to her, he is a coward.

For which the following translation was added:
 - 彼女に言わせれば、あいつは意気地なんだと。

The first part is clear to me (causative + conditional: 言う -> 言わせる -> 言わせれば - "if (you) make her say"), but I can't figure out how the second part works. AFAIK 意気地 means self-respect; self-confidence; guts; etc. so an antonym of "coward". As such, 「なんだと」at the end must somehow imply a negation... or something. I couldn't find any reference to that kind of use for such a sentence ending.

Ideas? Thanks in advance :)


texts:
木が浮く。
  [ki-ga uku]
  Literal translation: Wood floats.
  Meaning: wood is such a material, if to put it in water, it will stay on the top, it will not sink.

Let's add ～やすい / ～にくい pattern (as auxiliary adjective, not i-adjective).

  木は浮きやすい。
  [ki-wa uki-yasui]
  Literal translation: Wood floats well.
  Meaning: wood is a good floating material, that it is a good itea to make something floating from that, for example, a boat.

Question: why -yasui/-nikui makes us use は instead of が?
Is it legal to say [木が浮きやす] or with ga-version of -yasui/-nikui we make some shift in meaning?


texts: Difference between 勝る, 優れる, 秀でる, and 抜きんでる

texts:
The title pretty much says it all; I am wondering what are the differences between those 4 verbs.
From what I've gathered (and I haven't gathered much):

優れる is used when talking about something that excels, or is better than other things, without directly comparing them. (She is the best in her class. Classical music is better.)

勝る tends to be used with -に勝る when saying that A surpasses B in something.

秀でる means that someone excels at doing something.

抜きんでる doesn't really fit here(?) I list it because it is used in Goojisho's defninition of 優れる. Apparently it means "to surpass", "to stand out"

Since すぐれる and まさる * can * be both written with either 勝 or 優 I'd also like to know how often, if at all, you'd write 優る and 勝れる.
Are my interpretations correct?


texts:
I received another tweet from 毎日新聞 this morning (quite sad actually). What bothered me, aside from the news, was the usage of 性 in the sentence:

  関係者によると、事件性はないといい、23日未明に病院で死亡が確認された。

I know that 事件 translates as event and that 性 is a suffix that expresses condition or quality as in 可能性 or 重要性. I'm thinking that 事件 refers to criminal activity. So does this sentence mean that the event was not criminal in nature?


texts: The meaning of "そうかかんない" in this sentence

texts:
The entire sentence is:

バイクなら そうかかんないだろうに

I first interpreted it as just そう + かかんない(果敢ない), but I've never seen/heard そう being placed before an adjective before, so I don't think that's correct.
For further context, this is a character's internal monologue as he waits for his friend to arrive.