texts: What do you treat as an animate and inanimate object when counting?

texts:
In Japanese animate and inanimate objects are treated differently.

For people:

the verb exist いる is used
the generic counter (一{ひと}つ, 二{ふた}つ, 三{みっ}つ, ...) cannot be used
the specific counter (一{ひと}人{り}, 二{ふた}人{り}, 三{さん}人{にん}, ...) must be used

For animals:

the verb exist いる is used
there is a specific counter (一{いっ}匹{ぴき}, 二{に}匹{ひき}, 三{さん}匹{びき}, ...)

For inanimate objects:

the verb exist ある is used
there are specific counters but the generic counter (一{ひと}つ, 二{ふた}つ, 三{みっ}つ, ...) can be used

I understand that it is offensive to refer to people as inanimate objects but I wonder if there are exceptions to referring to “inanimate” objects as “animate”. Does Japanese have “personification” or “anthropomorphism” where inanimate objects (or animals) are treated as people?

Can animals be treated with the generic counter? There are many counters in Japanese and I find that it is otherwise acceptable to use generic counters as Japanese learners are not expected to know them all.

What is the boundary for treating something as if it were a person? For example, can company/city/team mascots, children’s toys, fictional non-human characters, robots be treated as humans with いる and counters?  Does this work similarly to the use of “he/she/they” vs. “it” in English or it is different? Is it considered playful/childish or outright offensive (e.g., racist) to imply that a group people are animals or other objects in Japanese?


texts: What is the English equivalent of ストーリー総監修?

texts:
I'm confused as to the meaning of this cinematic term found in the credit of a movie. ストーリー総監修? Story Total Supervising Editor?? I'm not sure what this means. Is there any English equivalent to this or should I just come to my own conclusions?

For context, this credit was given to the author of the original work which the film serves as a sequel to. The credit of 脚本/script was given to another person. I'd just like to understand the English Equivalent of ストーリー総監修 so I can better grasp the role the author played.


texts: Expressing the "after [verb]-ing", using 後で, -てから, 後に, 後から?

texts:
It's my understanding that when telling what you did after an action can be said using:

た後で
てから
た後に

For instance,

さおとめさんが泳いでから私たちはお祭りで会いました。
さおとめさんが泳いだ後{あと}で私たちはお祭りで会いました。
さおとめさんが泳いだ後{のち}に私たちはお祭りで会いました。

And those 3 forms can be used interchangeably.

However た後から seems to also be used for after [verb]-ing, but has the added effect of implying a cause and effect relationship. Or put another way, action A was a result of action B. Is this a correct assumption? Is my understanding of this correct?

Note:　た and　て are denoting the tense the verb has to be in.


texts: What do all these の's do in this sentence?

texts:
病人を気遣って何が悪いののさ

is the sentence a friend sent me. The meaning is

  "What's wrong with worrying about a sick person?".

However, what do the trailing の's do and what is さ doing here? My professor explained it briefly as being similar to ですよ but I don't understand why it is being used here.

My only guess is that the first の is being used like it would be in this example sentence:

  赤いセータと青いのを買った =
  I bought a red sweater and a blue one.

and that the second one is being used as a question marker turning the さ into a colloquial form of ですか


texts:
This question comes from 新完全マスター文法N2:

(    )うちに欲しい物を買っておこう。

1. お金がある
2. 給料をもらう
3. お金が残る

The second answer seems pretty obviously incorrect to me, but I'm not sure why #1 is correct yet #3 is not. They both seem to have the same meaning. Is there some subtle distinction that allows only #1 to fit here? Does 残る perhaps only imply that there is money left short-term? (for example, the difference between "there is no money left in my pocket right now" and "I'm penniless and going to lose my home").


texts: そうですか versus そうなんですか

texts:
When do I have to use

  そうですか。

and

  そうなんですか。

?


texts:
Recently I was in Japan and stayed at a certain hotel for a few days.  I was surprised to see the level of customer service that I received.  There were many cultural differences that surprised me, but the one thing I wasn't sure how to react was to all the お帰りなさいませ I received when I got back to the hotel.

I was born in Japan, but living in America for the majority of my life, I'm used to replying when someone says something to me.  My mom told me that it's very uncommon for people to reply in such situations but I could not stop my habits.  I thought about what would be a good thing to say since ただいま would be strange, as the hotel is not my home.  So I came up with お疲れ様です。 as my reply.

Does that sound strange and if so are there better phrases I could've used in that situation? Or should I have just kept my mouth shut and said nothing at all?


texts:
いま どこ に いるの

I found this sentence online while I was trying to better understand the verbs ある and いる and apparently its translates to "Where are you now"

I know what most of the sentence is but I guess I'm having a hard time understanding exactly as to how ある and いる translate and then I found の at the end of いる and I have no idea what this の could mean.
I understand they usually mean "to have" or "there is" and I'm not sure why but when I see them they always confuse me.

  ex. たべたい ひと が いる

This is the title of a song I found and I want to say it translates as

  There is a person/There are people I want to eat

But I'm not really sure、 and I don't really know why I'm so unsure
since the concept behind ある and いる does seem simple.

apologies if this question as a whole doesn't make much sense


texts: What's the difference between the Kanji 心(kokoro) and the kanji inserted after another kanji like in 乙女心 (otomegokoro)? Why the kanji in the first example is read as kokoro and in the another exemple is read as gokoro?


texts:
I'm curious what the numerical base the Japanese used before their introduction to the wider western world.

I've been taught in my Japanese language classes that they move the comma to a different place (1'0000 rather than 1,000) but that's just a question of notation and have learned that there have been a great number of loan words in Japanese.

I'm curious what they used before they met the Portuguese, for example, in 1543.


texts: Does the kanji 黒 have both the the meanings "dark" and "black"?

texts:
I am considering on doing my first tattoo, and the words "kuro" and "dark" both have significance to me. I would like to know if the kanji 黒 has both meanings.
The word "dark" would be in the context of someone's inner, dark side.


texts: Translation help! Placement of 願い in this sentence is confusing

texts:
So I'm trying to translate this song (full lyrics here, at 5: http://karent.jp/album/1709/lyric/5)
I'm confused about how 願い is being used in this sentence.

遙か遠い昔の願い呑みこんだ渦

Literally, this seems to be saying that the wish belongs to the far-away sound. But that doesn't make much sense to me. The way the sentence makes the most sense is if it was translated, "I wish for the far away-sound of a swallowing whirlpool." However, I'm uncertain if this is supported by the text. Is this correct?

Mostly, I'm confused about how 願い is just sitting there in front of 願い呑みこんだ - it doesn't seem to be modifying it in anyway. I'm guessing a particle was omitted here, but I'm not sure if the word is being used in some other way. Can someone please explain this placement also?

Thank you!


texts: How does one read AxB as in "A by B grid" in Japanese?

texts:
Here's the definition of sudoku in Wikipedia:

数独（すうどく）とは、3×3のブロックに区切られた 9×9の正方形の枠内に1〜9までの数字を入れるペンシルパズルの一つである。

How should one read 9×9の or 3×3の out loud?


texts: What does なんだって mean in this case? 「そういう子なんだってだけで...」

texts:
I saw this sentence in manga and I had trouble with it:

  そういう子なんだってだけで俺が怒ってもどうしようもない

I would like to know how we can translate なんだって in this case.


texts:
あの野郎、どんだけジークさんに恩を受けたと思っていやがるんだ！

In this sentence, does に mean the same thing as から ?

Thank you very much for help!


texts: Struggling to parse last section of 「あんた　子どもたちを　森へ　すててきておくれ」

texts:
The sentence is from a Japanese telling of Hansel and Gretel and I know enough to read it as "Leave your children in the forest before it is too late."

What I don't understand here is how すてる has been modified by きておくれ. What does that き relate to? Is it part of すててき to change (discard) somehow or is it something like (leave)(come here)(without delay)?


texts: is there a significant difference between 道具{どうぐ} & 工具{こうぐ}? They both seem to mean tool, but the former has a longer list of than the latter but all still basically tool/instrument. Also how is 具{ぐ} different?


texts: How to say "to be out of it" in Japanese?

texts:
Is there a Japanese equivalent to "to be out of it"?

I just had a busy weekend and need to ask someone something again which I had asked them before because I forgot the answer. Now I want to tell them that "I'm a bit out of it because of last weekend" and that's the reason why I am asking the same thing again.

Another example of "to be out of it" would be for example to say "I'm sorry I have a cold so I'm a bit out of it". Meaning you want to ask for patience and want the listener to not expect your usual self.

I suspect if there is indeed such a thing it might turn out to be an idiom/set phrase rather than just a word. Note that this is colloquial in English and I'd like to have the same level of colloquialism in the Japanese version of it. Thank you for your help!


texts: Any difference between these three sentences?

texts:
彼は私達に騒がないように頼んだ。
彼は私達に騒がないと頼んだ。
彼は私達に騒がない頼んだ。

Is there any difference between those?


texts: is it normal to sometimes read compound kanji with kun reading

texts:
shouldnt compound kanji be read with on reading i came by the word 子供 but the kanji here are read with their kun readings being こ and ども
thanks for any help


texts: Difference between conjugated and te-form listed verbs? 「置いて行かないで下さい」

texts: I came across the phrase「置いて行かないで下さい」. I am unsure as to whether this means "please do not leave it there", or "please put it down and don't leave". I'm thinking it's the first one, and that if it was the second it would be written as「置いて、行かないで下さい」, or maybe something else? Or am I way off with both?


texts:
I want to ask someone (who is older than me) to show me how to wear a Yukata. I'm just not sure how to say it - slightly beyond my level.

  先週私は浴衣を買いました。
  Can you please show me how to wear it?

Would it be something like this construction:

見せてくださいませんか。

Thanks.


texts:
I've tried to look up the word はわはわ in a dictionary and online with no success, I haven't a clue as to what it's referring to in this phrase;

  はわはわしてんじゃないわよ

Perhaps it's an onomatopoetic or mimetic word? Can anyone help?


texts:
考えれば考えるほど、もはや「詰んでいる」としか思えない。

context: speaker is fucked

  The more i think about it, the more... hopeless it seems???

just stabbing at the last part based on the context, i did read

もはや used with しか

but the explanations for もはや + しかないare very difficult to digest.

Thank you


texts: What's the best way to translate "cheezy" into Japanese?

texts:
You might say "a cheezy movie" meaning it's over-sentimental. I thought くさい映画
might work, but maybe that applies more to bad acting. How about くさいセリフの映画？ A word like 感傷的 seems a bit too formal to use for cheezy. Jisho suggests ド派手 but I feel like that doesn't capture the sometimes positive meaning that cheezy could have.

Any suggestions?


texts:
I'm completely stumped here. The following passage is from a book, but I just cannot make sense of what 軽んじる and 舐める are supposed to mean in this context -

Person A:

  それより貴様、使いっ走りに出され、能力も軽んじられて……秋元に舐められ放題ではないか

Person B:

  僕があの方にナメられないわけないじゃないですがぁ

Even after looking at a dictionary, the translation I thought of in my head doesn't make too much sense. I think they both refer to 'underestimating' so perhaps person A saying Akimoto underestimates his abilities and person B saying he isn't? Or is 軽んじる and 舐める used differently? Especially considering 放題 follows 舐められ and I've never really seen 放題 much so far in the time I have been learning Japanese.

Please help me understand this dialogue! Thank you!


texts: How to know when I should use katakana form words referring to animals, lesser creatures, or other organisms?

texts:
I know many words for animals are usually written in katakana in contemporary Japanese, even though kanji exist:

イルカ
クマ

And it seems some very common domestic animals I don't seem to notice written in katakana:

猫{ねこ}
犬{いぬ}

Then there's some others I'm not sure about but have a hunch, including organisms that are not "animals":

クモ spider
ケヤキ zelkova (a kind of tree)
魚 fish
鳥 bird
馬 horse
牛 cow

Are there some patterns or rules of thumb I should learn? Wiktionary doesn't seem reliable enough to look up which variant to prefer, which other free resource is better, especially when my Japanese isn't good enough to use monolingual sources?

Is it something to do with very common terms being exceptions? Or domesticated vs undomesticated? Or general terms vs more specific terms closer to individual species? Are the rules the same for animals, insects, birds, fish, and plants?


texts: Is the negative potential of 書く used in this sentence and what is its meaning?

texts:
I am reading a manga and a girl is showing her tutor that she "started her test." All she has is her name written down. Here is the sentence. お前しか書けてないがいいぞ. I believe the tutor has said this. The preceding sentence was said by the girl and was　私もう始めてます。

I can't quite pick up on what is being said here. It seems like 書けてない is the negative potential form of 書く. So my obviously wrong translation is, "Not being able to only write your name is good." This makes no sense. I'm just taking every word at face value so to speak. If anyone could provide a proper meaning for this sentence, I would greatly appreciate it.


texts: Using 頼む with と to say that you asked for something

texts:
Back to basics again :-(

田中さんにドアを閉めてと頼みました
I asked Tanaka to close the door

Is this sentence impolite? It seems weird that the quoted part is in the te-form. Is it really saying that the thing I asked Tanaka is ドアを閉めて. Such a request sounds rather blunt.
What – if any – other ways can 閉める be modified to make this request (but still using と)?


texts: Is there a term for using conjugating verbs such that the sentence continues with another clause?

texts:
I'm referring specifically to using the て form to form a pseudo conjunction, and specifically the transformation of verbs in formal writing by using the verb stem instead of て form.

For example the following sentence:

  多くの人が押し掛け、大騒ぎになっているという

Is there a grammatical term for this, either a verb form or some sort of usage term?


texts: What is the difference between 預金 and 入金?

texts: Both 預金{よきん} and 入金{にゅうきん} can mean deposit. Is there any difference in the usage of these terms?


texts: Usage and meaning of 召す【めす】 in different contexts

texts:
I am going through some Kanji and I was looking for the usage of 召す when I came across the following translation (from jisho.org):

  1: (Honorific or respectful language) to call; to invite; to send for; to summon;

  2: to eat; to drink;

  3: to put on; to wear;

  4: to ride;

  5: to catch (a cold); to take (a bath); to tickle (one's fancy); to put on (years);
  to commit (seppuku);

  6: to do;

  7: (Archaism) honorific suffix used after the -masu stem of a verb

I think I understand 2: 召し上がる is a polite version of eat/drink. There is even one example sentence on jisho.org:

  ワインがお気に召すといいのですが。= I hope the wine is to your taste.

(I think the English translation is not grammatical but I guess the meaning is clear)

But I'm unclear about the other meanings. Could someone provide example sentences on how I can use 召す?


texts: Understanding ７７の海岸のうち６０％で、

texts:
そして、調べた７７の海岸のうち６０％で、砂が全部なくなる可能性があることがわかりました。
  In 60% of the 77 coasts investigated, it is understood that there is a possibility that all the sand will be lost.

I'm a bit confused by the 調べた７７の海岸のうち６０％で part. I'm assuming it means "in 60% of the 77 coasts investigated", but I'm uncomfortable with the lack of particle between うち and 60%. How do the following differ:

  ７７の海岸のうち６０％で
  ７７の海岸のうちの６０％で  this one feels ungrammatical to me
  ７７の海岸の６０％で

Maybe I'm trying to join ７７の海岸のうち and 60% into a single phrase when I shouldn't. Perhaps the correct answer is "Among the 77 coasts investigated, in 60% of them ...". Could I write ７７の海岸のうち、それの６０％で with the same meaning as the original?


texts:
Why is に, rather than で, used with the verb 並ぶ, e.g.

入り口に並んでいる。
I'm stood in line at the entrance.

Using the usual distinction of で marking the location where an action takes place and に marking the target of an action, I would expect to use で. Would it be wrong to use で?
Perhaps 'to stand in line' is not an accurate translation of 並ぶ. Maybe the verb has an in-built implication of movement towards the target. Any thoughts?


texts: What does the highlighted portion of this handwritten Kanji say?

texts:
知恵袋で***いてるし…

I tried searching Google, hoping it's a phrase that might come up more often, but none of the Kanji that came up looked even remotely like the one written here.

Thank you!


texts: Why is [欲しい]{ほしい} used here to ask about someone's desire?

texts:
There's a scene where some employee shows her prototypes to her manager.
And this manager looks at her after browsing those and says:

[意見が欲しい]{いけんがほしい}?

Now I thought [欲しい]{ほしい} is strictly used for describing one's own desires and not those of others.
How is this possible here?


texts:
I was under the impression that 安い is used for anything related to "cost", whereas 低い is used to mean low for all things general.

However, a simple Google search shows ~99k records for 低いお給料, contrasted to ~273k records for 安いお給料.

Is it proper to use 低い to mean "low salary"?

Or is it simply an example of usage corruption?


texts:
I'm wondering if this ～ては is a command or a suggestion.  And I'm trying to determine how strong it is in this expression.
This site lists one meaning of ～ては as another way to express ～たら. In that case, is this ては equivalent to たらどうですか, a kind of semi-polite sarcastic suggestion? Or is it a replacement for ～て, expressing a stronger imperative?
世界がどう見ているか顧みては。Perhaps you should reflect on how the world sees (your actions).
世界がどう見ているか顧みては。Consider how the world sees (your actions)!
Any other suggestions?
EDIT:
The context is here. The story is about Kim Jon Un's sister criticizing the South Korean prime minister.


texts: How to say "This (object) of (possessor)" in Japanese?

texts:
I'm not fully sure the linguistic terms yet, I believe it's a noun phrase. Is there a way to form such expressions in Japanese with a single noun phrase?

This heart of mine
That son of yours
These cats of hers
Those trash of his

I tried Google Translate and it produced something like「私のこの心」, and that looked weird to me. Is it possible, and if not what's the closest alternatives?


texts: When a word has many different meanings, can any one of them be used in the right context?

texts: The word "senji" (https://jisho.org/search/senji), for example, has more than 20 different definitions with realtively few similarities between them. I understand that words can have multiple meanings, in any language, but I'm confused by words that have this many with such variation in their meanings. Can I safely pick any one of these meanings and make a case for it that it means that (specific one) in the specific context that I'm using it in? Or are most of these meanings not really that accurate?


texts: "negative te form" vs "te form of the negative"

texts:
In "Japanese in MangaLand" Lesson 35, the "negative te form" and "the te form of the negative" were both introduced. And a table was showing the following:

simple | neg. -te | -te f. of the neg.

教える |　教えないで |　教えなくて

...

貸す　|　貸さないで |　貸さなくて

But I was confused, could anyone please tell when I should use which please? Thank you!


texts: Identifying the correct reading for multiple Kanji

texts:
I've just started my "Kanji learning" and I'm a bit confused. I understand that almost all Kanji can be read differently depending if its followed by another Kanji or Hiragana. But how do I spot the correct reading in the following cases? it seems like even if the Kanjis are followed by different Kanjis the reading changes:

本田 = HON + DA
田中 = TA + NAKA (suddenly da changes to ta)
中国 = CHU + GOKU (and now naka has become chu)

Is it really just a memorization of the words themselves or is there a trick to it? Sorry if this has already been posted my search didn't return any results.


texts: Aoi aoi morideshita - sentence structure explanation

texts:
first post here. I'm currently reading a children's books titled 'きつね森の山男'. I think it's a good starters book however, some of the structures are confusing  or contrary to what I have learnt.
I understand the phrase ' aoi aoi morideshita' to mean 'the forest was blue'. I'm sure there is some rule I haven't seen yet, or some obviation to a rule, but wouldn't 'mori ha aokatta desu' mean the same thing?

Thanks guys! (P.S I'm sure I'll be posting more questions about this book!)


texts: What is the definition of adjective in japanese?

texts: In this question When can adjectives be used with the particle "no"? I was taught that next in japanese is a noun. In English, the definition of adjective is "A describing word which qualifies a noun, a noun phrase or a pronoun". As far as I can tell, next in the phrase "tsugi no sekai" is qualifying a noun, so it seems either there are some other different definitions of adjective in English, or the definition  of adjective in japanese is different than the English one. Which is the definition of adjective in japanese?


texts: 隣村まで足にのばす。Best way to interpret this sentence?

texts:
隣村まで足にのばす。

隣村：the neighboring village
足：foot/leg
のばす：aside from growing a beard... stretch, extend...

The best I could think is that it's like a literary way of saying you're heading out (extending your foot) to the neighboring village? I don't trust myself to not miss some special meaning or usage though, so does anyone else have some insight?

本当にありがとうございます！


texts:
さも自分は当事者で真相を知っているかの如く、新しい奇怪な物語を描き、

I always wondered if it was possible to replace である with で, is it what that is? 当事者である真相を知っているかの如く、

Furthermore, I'd like clarifications regarding two other things:

1- How would you translate さも in this case?
2- Is かの如くsomething working by itself? It reminds me of かのように


texts:
I was studyng from a book and I can't answer this question (and I don`t have the answers) the question is:
普通の言い方に直すとどうなりますか。

私に予約してくれんか。
a)予約してくれないのですか。 b)予約してくれるのですか。 c)予約してくれませんか。

To me all of the answers are the same :(


texts: I don't understand the difference in meaning of ようにする and ようになる in this particular sentence

texts:
朝早く起きられるようになりました。apposed to 朝早く起きられるようにしました。

I understand that the first sentence is intransitive and the second is transitive but I don't understand the difference in meaning

From my understanding they both mean 'I was able to make a habit of waking up early'

Thanks for any help!


texts: Meaning and translation of カット割り and difference with 絵コンテ

texts:
In video production what is the exact meaning of カット割り? I found these two definitions:

  撮影（収録）前に、台本上で演出意図に合わせて区切りをつけ、画柄を決めること。(from here)

  カット割りとは、各シーンの構図やカット、シーンとシーンのつなぎのことをいいます。(from here)

So basically, it consists of a set of instructions regarding things like cuts, camera angles, linking of scenes that is prepared before shooting/recording. My questions are:

How is it done in practice? With drawings or in textual form?
Assuming that the answer to the previous question is in textual form, what differentiates カット割り from 絵コンテ? Just the fact that 絵コンテ is done through drawings and カット割り is done in text form? Or there is also a difference in the type of instructions? I am not sure about this, because searching for カット割り in Google Images I see many drawings that look like 絵コンテ.
How would you translate it into English?

Thank you for your help!


texts: What differences should I look out for between male vs female speech?

texts:
I was told a story where a male westerner learnt Japanese from his girlfriend and ended up speaking more like a female. The storyteller thought this was hilarious.

What important differences should I look for between male and female speech?


texts: Why is English "ka" and  "ca" sometimes rendered as キャ (kya) instead of カ (ka)?

texts:
I sometimes see that English ka and ca are rendered キャ (kya) instead of カ (ka). Why is this?

Do English ka and ca really sound more like kya than ka, at least to Japanese listeners? (I know it doesn't to me.)


texts:
Could you please give me some example sentences with とっさに? According to my dictionary, it means "quickly", but my dictionary doesn't give me any example sentence, so I don't know exactly how to use this word.
When do I use とっさに instead of other expressions like 速く、急に、急速に or さっと?
Thank you so much in advance for your help!


texts:
After a guy having watched his friend poorly jump to the ground, he said the following sentence.

  けっ　へたっくそめ　パラシュートってのはだな　ええい　どいとれっ。

Other questions

Is there any meaning for the word 「けっ」 at the beginning of the sentence?
Is the particle 「め」 just used for emphasizing the word 「くそ」?


texts: What would happen if I use は or が in 今日何を食べたいですか?

texts:
今日何を食べたいですか What do you want to eat today?

In other words, what would happen if I say:

今日何は食べたいですか ?
今日何が食べたいですか ?

(I want to know the rough meaning of the sentence even if the sentence is wrong.)


texts:
I've seen these writings in the ground of Brazil.

I've already tried to translate it with my friend but there are some complex kanji that we don't know.

I'm very curious to know what they say, can someone translate it? I have four pictures, if the writings are not legible I can try to edit the photos and make them more legible.


texts:
I'm trying to understand the grammar of this sentence. I understand the meaning of it and the words, but I'd like to know what forms なり, すぎて, and しまった are in and how they "connect" to each other. Any help would be appreciated.

「それともオレたちが強くなりすぎてしまったのか...」
"Or have we ended up getting too strong?"


texts: Other uses of the particle に in お兄ちゃんには見つからない

texts:
I'm reading a story and two siblings are playing 'hide and seek'. The younger one, after finding a hiding place, says:

  ここならお兄ちゃんには絶対に見つからないよ

ここなら means 'if here' that is, from the context, 'if I hide in here...'

The rest of the sentence, I can tell, have the general meaning of "if I hide in here, my brother will absolutely not find me". But breaking down the sentence to pieces... what is the role of お兄ちゃんには? お兄ちゃん is not a location so に has little sense (to me) when applied to it.

What's going on?

Thank you very much.


texts:
Just a straightforward question but why is しゃべる considered intransitive when I've seen it used on direct objects.

Example from jisho.org: 私は英語を喋ることができる。

Is there something I'm missing?


texts: How would you say 'I take [---] lessons'?

texts:
How would you say 'I take ~ lessons'? Such as dance lessons, swimming lessons, Chinese lessons, etc.

Can you say「水泳の授業をします。」　or 「水泳の授業に通っています。」? And do all of the above examples have the same structure?


texts:
What does もん mean in a sentence like the one below:

うちのもんが卒業しまして

It is used like "myself" in English, to reinforce "I"? So, sort of like "I myself" graduated?
And when is it used?


texts:
駅からは歩いて十分ぐらいです。
  It takes 10 minutes on foot from the station.

The confusing part is the 歩いて.
Is あるいて a noun? What is its role?


texts: Does 店番{みせばん} have the same meaning as 店員{てんいん}? Can these words be used interchangeably?


texts: combining several participle of verb + miru

texts:
I am practicing expressing "to try to do something", using the participle of verbs plus 見る.

If I understand correctly, a sentence like:

  このビールを飲んでみました。

means something like:

  I tried to drink this beer."

Now, using the same grammatical structure, I am trying to say:

  I will try to talk to my parents and decide whether I will buy it or not.

The first part would be: 私の両親と話してみます
and the second: これを買うかどうか決めて見ます。(not sure if that is right, this is just my best shot at it right now)

Now I try to combine them in one sentence, but the following sounds quite wrong in my beginner's ears:

  私の両親と話して、これを買うかどうか決めて見ます。

What is the right way to say this?


texts: What's the difference between でしょうか and ですか at the end of a question?

texts:
I am having a little trouble understanding the nuance of でしょうか in comparison to ですか.  People say it makes it more hesitant and polite, but that doesn't explain the nuance enough for me.

Why would you say the line below?

  あなたは「自分ってどんな人？」と聞かれたら、どのように答えるでしょうか.

I don't understand what nuance でしょうか has - does it place the uncertainty on the listener like “how do you suppose you answer?” as opposed to “how do you answer?”

That's my guess, but I need to understand the nuance. If there is no difference in meaning between one and the other I will never alter them.


texts:
Example from Minna No Nihongo:

Lesson 4 :
あした 6 時に起きます。

Lesson 9 :
きょう は　早く　帰ります。

Why is は sometimes used with such a time words and sometimes not?


texts: Expression equivalent to "as far/long/much as I/you X"

texts:
Is there an expression in Japanese that is equivalent to "as far/long as I/you X", for example "as far as I know", "as far as I'm concerned", "as much as you want", "as long as he is still alive" etc? Or perhaps are all those English expressions expressed differently in Japanese?

Some example sentences:

As far as I know, it only takes 15 minutes to travel from Kyoto to Osaka by bullet train.
As far as I'm concerned, that kind of questions is not suitable to be asked here.
Please take as much as you want.
He is working hard to achieve that golden dream of his as long as he is alive.

EDIT: One more expression: "as soon as possible"


texts: What's the polite way to invite someone to do something?

texts:
For example: "If you want to practice English, feel free/you are welcome to message me". How do you carry the nuance of "you are welcome to but don't feel obliged?" If I said 英語を練習したいならメッセージしてください that would, to my mind, sound too direct and commanding. But I'm not sure how to make it sound softer.

Edit: As Felipe correctly guessed, the context of use is for HelloTalk, for people I don't know well or strangers.


texts: Are there more い adjectives or more だ adjectives?

texts:
Learning adjectives, I knew there are two major groups of adjectives
い and だ. I am wondering, which group has more adjectives?


texts: Saw this on the first page of きつねのはなし　by　森見登美彦, searched online but only saw this book as reference. Wondering how exactly would you read it...Thanks a lot.


texts: Does "のほうが" necessarily imply a comparison?

texts: If you were to translate a phrase like "東京のほうが寒いです" without any knowledge of the context it is being used on, would the most accurate translation still be "Tokyo is colder (than someplace else)"?


texts:
Today I found this sentence in one of the reading materials of my Japanese book:

  のみこむのに苦労【くろう】した日本語【にほんご】は、佃煮【つくだに】にするほどあった。

According to the book explanation ほど is being used here to adduce an extreme example to metaphorically indicate the degree or severity of something. In this sentence, as I understand it, the writer is using 佃煮【つくだに】 (which I understand has a strong flavor) to indicate how hard it was to assimilate Japanese language.

However I'm not sure if I got it right, I cannot quite explain or translate the sentence. I tried to look for other examples of the grammatical pattern on Internet but I couldn't find anything that could clarify the meaning of the sentence, I also looked at Wikipedia article for 佃煮【つくだに】 and I think the strong flavor of the food is the key here.

Could someone explain me the sentence, and if it isn't too much to ask give me an approximate translation.

Thanks.


texts:
Two people are discussing countermeasures for some new technology (Tech A) and what should be researched, issues and like. There is a lot of technobabble basically. The last possible solution is nowhere near ready and then the following exchange happens:

M: Technology Bをヒントにした / 機構そのものはいい感じなんだけどねぇ
H: 拡散してしまうなら / 高密度に圧縮した弾なり装置なりを利用すればいいって部分ですね。　ただ…

Technology B is something they got examples of recently and have been studying it. It's not what the countermeasures are for. Also I have used / to note word bubble splits, since it's a manga conversation and hence it has no punctuation (what fun).
The main problem I have with is the last line. The first one I think I have figured out, although I would appreciate being notified if I made some big mistake there.

M: I do feel positive about the mechanism the Technology B hinted at.
H: If it proliferates, it’s the part where we should use the devices or high density compressed bullets. However…

The second one is problematic for couple of reasons. First, the 拡散してしまうなら bit, I'm not sure what it refers to. I think it's a conditional "If Tech A proliferates/spreads".
The next problem I have is the って部分 bit, which is kinda strange. The only way I can figure it working is that M and H have had a conversation about possibilities of promising Technology B before and she is now referring to one part of that promise that M told H about.
What is weird to me is using a should (if we use it would be good) quote to describe a part? Which is why I'd like some input on what others think is the meaning of these lines.


texts: In the clause われこそはと心驕りしていられる方々からは, ... what does the と mean?

texts: I read this clause as something like "I myself surely, and all of those whose hearts were being made indignant, (...)" However, I'm not confident this is correct, mainly because I'm not sure what the と is doing there. What is its function?


texts: (Verbs) To arrive ~ Touchaku suru vs Tsuku vs Todoku

texts:
Good day to everyone,

I am a student here in Japan studying 日本語 and I was watching a few videos of Japanese lessons and noticed that there are a lot of verbs that have the same meaning. For example, Touchaku suru, Tsuku and Todoku all mean "to arrive". Are there any instances wherein one is used more than the other? Any help would be much appreciated. Thank you!


texts:
One of my textbooks is telling me that the sentence using ながら below is incorrect…

いすにすわりながら、音楽を聞いている人はウィリアムさんです。

…whilst the following sentence is correct.

いすにすわって、音楽を聞いている人はウィリアムさんです。

Translation: That person sitting on the chair (whilst) listening to music is William.

However, a later example illustrating the use of ながら is this:

ヘンリーさんは音楽を聞きながら、ダンスをしている。- Henry is dancing whilst listening to music.

Now I can’t the tell difference between the correct use of ながら and the apparently incorrect one.


texts: When translating to English, how to preserve the emphasized part?

texts:
Consider the following sentence.

  この地域には夜に星が見える。

Here, には emphasizes the この地域.

If I translate it to English as follows,

  The stars are visible at night in this area.

the nuance of emphasizing "this area" is not preserved, is it?

So, how to preserve such an emphasized part?


texts: Expressing “to” - stuff to do, a movie to see, etc

texts:
how would this use of “to” be expressed in japanese?

There are three new movies to see at the theater!

We have more food to eat.


texts: What's the difference between だって vs にしたって

texts:
I encountered にしたって here.

  彼は日本語を20年も勉強しているが、その彼にしたって、まだ分からない文法に時々出くわすそうだ。

If the sentence is changed to

  彼は日本語を20年も勉強しているが、その彼だって、まだ分からない文法に時々出くわすそうだ。

does it change the meaning of the sentence?


texts:
I was reading this tweet, and I could not make sense of the usage of よう here:

  "date a person who just makes you forget that you have a cell phone. - 携帯電話を持っているのをついつい忘れてしまうような人と付き合いなさい。"

But for me "携帯電話を忘れてしまうような人" sounds like "A person who forgets his/her phone", I don't see how the "make" nuance is present here. Nor I see how that refers to me and not the other person, unless there was a clear context explicit.

Why not:

  携帯電話を持っているのをついつい忘れてしまわせてくれるような人と付き合いなさい

or

  携帯電話を持っているのをついつい忘れさせてくれるような人と付き合いなさい


texts:
Why is the sentence 「車はあかです。」 not 「車はあかいです。」?
Since 「あかい」 is an i-adjective.


texts:
I'm having trouble understanding this rock star's tweet:

たまーに仮歌とか流れてくる笑RT @maoloveai: @mao_sid シド率はどのくらいですか(^0^)？

What is 仮歌？

What does that tweet say?


texts: What is the difference between 検事 and 検察官?

texts: I found the same translation for 検察官 and 検事 : "public prosecutor". But I guess there is a reason for the two words to exist. Is one of them more formal ?


texts:
In English and most languages I understand, the natural way to tell your phone to call someone (when using Bluetooth for example) is:
Call .

I was told that in Japanese, it is more natural to say the contact name first.

-- Is there a way to mimic in Japanese a similar format, in which the command prefixes the contact name? I understand it might be less natural, but would it be natural enough ?

-- Is there already a "standard" that people expect based on how different devices already work in Japan? Are people expecting to interact with "machines" in different language than with other humans?


texts: I could not understand this sentence entirely

texts:
I know the translation of the sentence, but I don't understand some structures. Is もし from a verb? And what does いくら mean here?

  車を運転する時はいくら注意してもしすぎることはない。


texts:
So, I was playing the Japanese version of Akinator (cf. English version), which basically entails playing a sort of 20 Questions-like game - the basic idea is that you pick a real or fictional person/character, and then the genie asks you questions about the person you've picked so as to figure out who the person you've picked is.

One of the questions asked about my character was this one:

  タイプを分けるとパッション？

I guess that タイプ is English "type" as in "variety"; 分ける is "to separate / divide / partition"; and パッション is English "passion" (not sure what sense). I have no idea how this fits together to form a coherent sentence, though. What does this question mean?

It strikes me as possible that this might be the result of machine translation from one of the other languages in which Akinator is available - some of the other questions I've seen appear to be of dubious grammaticality, too.


texts: At least that's what I think is being said, "ikkigomi". It means like "single comment" or "impressions" or something, but I don't know how it's written in Japanese. If someone could enlighten/correct me as to what the word(s) would be.


texts: is it like a pseudo-intellectual or something else?


texts: Why do English speaking learners of Japanese use term "volitional" to refer to 未然形+う?

texts: There are four distinct cases of 未然形+う: intention, plus three of irrealis moods: hortative, dubitative, presumptive, . Very often Japanese grammar books refer to all of them as volitional form. Linguistic volition is defined semantically or syntactically, or combination of the two. So, 未然形+う is clearly morphological phenomena and therefore cannot be called volitional. If one must call it that way the actual term should be volitive (one of the irrealis moods), but it cannot be called such because it does not correspond to the usage of 未然形+う.


texts: Does the particle 'の' change the meaning of this phrase?

texts:
To say "Japanese language school" in Japanese, sentences 1 and 2 can be used? or they have different meanings because of the use of particle 'の' (sentence 2)?

[日本語]{にほんご}[学校]{がっこう} (nihongo gakkou)

[日本語]{にほんご}の[学校]{がっこう} (nihongo no gakkou)


texts:
This sentence is from a poem:

トイレットペーパーしゅるる.

The katakanas mean "toilet paper". How about the hiraganas?

I thought it would be a verb because of the る-ending, but can't find a verb like this in the dictionary.


texts:
I was watching a video https://youtu.be/XUK7ORYBgIs?t=235 until a Japanese vlogger stumbled on reading the phrase:

  SARS様ウィルス

The phrase itself seems pretty widespread and even Wikipedia mentions it https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E9%87%8D%E7%97%87%E6%80%A5%E6%80%A7%E5%91%BC%E5%90%B8%E5%99%A8%E7%97%87%E5%80%99%E7%BE%A4

If I encountered this, I would go with よう not さま.

What is the correct reading?


texts: I found this term in a scientist book and my effort so far was to copy paste the word into ejje weblio, but weblio didn't gave me an answer. Is this phrase a kind of idiom or something? How can I google something that is suspected to be an idiom?


texts: What is the difference between ふくむ and ふくめる

texts:
The Progressive-Japanese English Dictionary suggests 含める is the same as one meaning of 含む but it is not explained. Is this correct? I have two theories:
1. 含める= 含む when the latter means include/contain
This is based on the following examples

鉄分を含んだ水｜water containing iron
その団体には女性2人が含まれている｜The group includes two women.

And:

子供を含めて300人だ｜There are 300 people, including the children.
郵送料を含めて5,000円だった｜It cost 5,000 yen, postage included.

Which leads me to think:

水が鉄分を含む　＝　水が鉄分を含める　（Water contains iron)

However we don't seem to find the following use: 鉄分を含める水
This leads me to (2):
2. 含める is used when the action of one party actively includes an object within in a group (which is grammatically an indirect object)
As in the following example:

彼らの名をリストに含めた｜We included their names on the list.

Even in the following cases an indirect object seems to be implied

郵送料を含めて5,000円だった｜It cost 5,000 yen, postage included.
私は税金を含めて月40万円の収入がある｜I have an income of 400,000 yen a month before taxes.

Because they could easily be rewritten:

If I include postage, it cost 5000 yen.
If I include tax, my monthly income is 400,000 yen.

or,
Could we also write the following?:

郵送料を含んだ5,000円だった
私は税金を含んだ月40万円の収入がある

If so then these two verbs are interchangeable when the sense of include/contain is taken
Please let me know if my question is not clear.


texts: Volitional: 見せましょう does not mean "let's have a look"?

texts:
部下：すみません、部長。この書類、見ていただけませんか。
  部長：
  1. ご覧になってください。
  2. 会議のあとならいいですよ。
  3. すぐに見せましょう。

Source: Japanesetest4you

Option 1 means, "Please have a look," using the honorific equivalents of 見る and くれる. This does not fit the context.

Option 2 is the given answer, to which I have no objection. However, I feel that option 3 is also a viable choice, because 見せる means to show something. Saying 見せましょう seems to me like the 部長 is allowing the 部下 to show them the 書類. I think this can be thus translated into English: Let's have a look right away then!

If my understanding of this usage of the volitional form is correct, why is option 3 not correct?

どうぞよろしくお願いいたします！


texts: What is the meaning of よ in the phrase 雨よ雪に変わってくれ

texts:
Read this phrase in a blog. I think the basic meaning of the phrase 雨よ雪に変わってくれ is "The rain is changing into snow."
But I don't understand the usage of よ in this case. Is it a particle?
Or is it a typo?


texts:
There is a suggestively conversation between two men who are fighting each other. A is claimed to be strongest wizard and B is nearly strong as A. Here is the conversation,

A: 世の中上には上がおる
B: それはよく知ってる。だがたまには下も見るもんだぜ。そいつはすぐ[足下]{あしもと}にいるかもしれねえ。

Here I get,

A: In the world there is (always) upper of upper. (Which implies there is always someone who is stronger than you, OK I got it!!)
B: I know that well. .......................... That guy might be just right under your feet.

Does "だがたまには下も見るもんだぜ" mean "But sometimes there are ones who look down too" or "But sometimes they should look down too" ?? If I'm mistaken then what does it mean? I'm confused about it, yoroshiku onegaishimasu~~


texts: Translation struggles - Kuroshio Current being mentioned in a patriotic song

texts:
I'm trying to make sense of an old Japanese patriotic song 五・一五事件 昭和維新行進曲 陸軍の歌, and there's a line that contains a reference to the Kuroshio Current. The event this song was written about (the so-called May 15th Incident) has zero connections to the Kuroshio Current, and I think there must be some cultural reference that I'm not aware of. It's in the last 2 lines of the second verse:

  醒ませ{さませ}悪夢{あくむ}を 開け{ひらけ}眼{め}を (Wake up from a nightmare, open your eyes)
  寄せる{よせる}黒潮{くろしお} 何{なん}と見る{みる} (I have no idea what to make of this)

Is it indeed a cultural reference, or does the last line speak about the Kuroshio Current as a physical object (and if so, how it is relevant to the May 15th Incident)?


texts: Is there a Japanese word for "Easter holidays"?

texts:
I was wondering if there is a Japanese word for "Easter holidays"? While I am aware that most of Japan does not celebrate Easter, I was surprised to find a word for Easter (復活祭, fukkatsusai). My guess is that would make "Easter holidays" 復活祭休み, fukkatsusaiyasumi, but I couldn't find any reference of that being an actual word.

So: Does Japanese have a word for "Easter holidays"? I am also interested in a loan word, but even more interested if there is a "genuine" japanese word for that.


texts:
I've only ever heard this form be used in the command "待ちな!" (Wait!), but just out of curiosity, I'd like to know what pitch accent rule(s) apply here. I thought I'd heard the above-mentioned phrase be pronounced as まちな{HLL}, but for some reason, that doesn't seem right to me, since this is a shortening of the なさい form, which is always pronounced with a pitch drop on さ. So wouldn't you say まちな{LHH}(さい{HL})? Following that logic, wouldn't you also say 食べな{LHH}?

What rule applies here? Is it the same for all verbs, whether they be accented or unaccented?


texts: Differences between いよいよ / やっと / ようやく / ついに and とうとう

texts:
I've come across these words which can all mean "finally". What I'd like to know is how they differ in usage [nuance and formality]. Below are their respective entries in the 研究社 新和英大辞典 第5版.
いよいよ
1 〔ますます〕 still [even, ever] more; more and more; all the more; more than ever; increasingly; steadily.
2 〔ついに･とうとう〕 at (long) last; finally.
3 〔さしせまった状態〕

やっと
1 〔ようやく〕 at (long) last; at length; ultimately; finally; 〔苦難の末に〕 with difficulty; with [after] much [painstaking] effort.
2 〔かろうじて〕 barely; narrowly; by the skin of one's teeth; 〔ぎりぎりで〕 just; only; 〔ひどい苦難の末にようやく〕 with [after] much [painstaking] effort; with difficulty; laboriously.

ようやく
〔次第に〕 gradually; little by little; by ┌degrees [inches]; 〔ついに〕 at (long) last; finally; at length; 〔かろうじて〕 barely; hardly; narrowly; 〔骨折って〕 with (much) difficulty; with a great deal of trouble; 〔わずかに〕 (only) just. [=やっと]

ついに
〔肯定文で〕 at (long) last; at length; finally; in the end; in the long run; in time; ultimately; 〔否定文で〕 after all. [=とうとう1]

とうとう
at last; at length; finally; in the end; ultimately; 〔結局…しない〕 after all.

As I understand it,  いよいよ and やっと carries some anticipation, ようやく implies difficulty, effort involved and it's more formal, ついに has some negative connotation and とうとう is mostly neutral. However, I'm not quite sure.

Thank you in advance for your insights.


texts: Is there a term for "English that doesn't make sense"?

texts: There are a lot of crazy combinations of English words and translations that don't make sense. Is there a specific term that identifies this?


texts: 「思い込み」can mean something like "misconception"?

texts:
"ちゃんと話した結果…お互いに、思い込みだとわかったっつうか…"

The English translation was "We talked it over, and we realised we were both just confused." But I cannot understand "思い込み" here. The speaker and a woman were about to become lovers (付き合う). But after some happenings and talking, he discovered that actually some other boy was more important to her life than he (speaker), and he (speaker) did not really love her that deeply but was attracted to her because she was very kind and gentle to him.
Judging by the context, I guess that the word would mean something like 勘違い, 誤解, "wrong perception", "misconception" or something like that, but if I look up dictionaries, the meanings were "deeply believe" or "firmly decide".
PS: If you need more context, see the transcript at http://anicobin.ldblog.jp/archives/56894558.html . You can use Ctrl+F to find the position where that sentence was said.


texts:
From here. https://renta.papy.co.jp/renta/sc/frm/item/153164/

  お主もワルよのぉ

Is this different in meaning from just "悪い”? Or is this something else entirely?


texts: What are the major prescriptive style guides for Japanese prose?

texts:
What are the major prescriptive style guides for writing regular Japanese prose (as opposed to e.g. technical writing)?

I suspect that this question will have a fairly short list as an answer - if you were to ask the same about American English, you'd get the Chicago Manual of Style, the Associated Press Stylebook, the MLA Style Manual, and maybe a couple others at most (e.g. some might suggest The Elements of Style or the APA's style guide).

(The Japanese Wikipedia article スタイルガイド is strangely silent on Japanese style guides aside from a couple external links, though I suspect there is information I could find elsewhere - if only I knew what the style guides were called!)


texts: What is the difference between 沸く【わく】, 炊く【たく】, 茹でる【ゆでる】, 煮る【にる】, and 蒸す【むす】?

texts:
I am learning JLPT N2. I came across these words in one sentence. I couldn't find the difference between 沸く【わく】, 炊く【たく】, 茹でる【ゆでる】, 煮る【にる】, and 蒸す【むす】.
All the words have similar meanings. Can anyone tell me the exact meanings and situations where the above words are used?


texts:
This is probably an easy question, but I can't find a clear satisfying answer to it after looking it up so I figured I'd ask here.

  自分がどんな人であるかを知ってもらいたい

１) Why can を act on a particle? I understand のか, なんか as they are compound words which can be treated as nouns, i.e direct objects by を (or so I believe), but why here?

Is it simply omitting the の because it's obvious (のかを)→(かを), and if not what's the difference between のか and か in that sentence?


texts: When to use 受身形 (passive voice) And when to use 能動形 (active voice)?

texts:
The Japanese passive voice has been bothering me for quite a while.
I mean, We don't really use it in English, and I still have not come across many situation (at least daily situations)Where the Japanese passive voice has been used, besides in articles and essays.

I do get the general idea of how to use 受身形{うけみけい}, however, I'm still not sure of when to use it.

So my question is, when exactly do I use 受身形{うけみけい}？

For example:

  ①　ジョンは先生に質問をした

  ②　先生はジョンに質問をされた

Wouldn't it be more natural to use the active voice instead of the passive voice? This is what confuses me. When exactly do I use the passive voice.


texts:
I just found a sentence in which 「露見」 is used:

  そして、行動するからには、誰にもそれが露見しないようにやらなければならない

which I think it's pretty straightforward, meaning something like "Then, when you decide to act, you must do it being sure to not be found out".

This got me wondering about how 「露見」 is different from 「発覚」, which I knew before finding out the first: Jisho defines them as discovery (of a plot, misdeed, etc.); detection; exposure and detection (of a plot, fraud, etc.); discovery; coming to light, which seems very similar, and Weblio too gives definitions which sounds very similar to me: 悪事や秘密などがばれること and 隠していた罪・たくらみなどが人に知られること.

I wasn't able to find anything conclusive, and the only thing I can think of, but I'm far from sure, is that 「露見」 means (can mean?) something involving a third part, like A found out something about B and reveals it to someone (as per "exposure" meaning on Jisho); while 「発覚」 doesn't have this implication, like A found something about B (and maybe they keep it for themselves) or that something comes to light somehow, not necessarily by exposure (as per "coming to light" meaning on Jisho).

Am I close? Do these two words differs significantly?


texts:
これを青いのと取り替えてください。
I can't figure how this と (〜のと)
works here


texts:
[大]{だい}それた

On’yomi before hiragana in a word looks special.
Are there any other examples?
If any, how can I know whether it is kun’yomi or on’yomi?
Like:

  [赤]{あか}らめた


texts: Why あります instead of です in this sentence?

texts:
In the following sentence (from here),

  北海道札幌市の円山動物園に、ミャンマーから来た３頭の象をみんなに見せるための広い場所と建物ができました。[...] 広さは５０００m²以上あります。

I would have expected です instead of あります: 広さ = ５０００m²以上.


texts: Meaning of last "te" of saki ni itte te (先に行ってて)

texts:
I always hear people saying

　　　先に行ってて　which means 'go ahead'

But I don't really understand the meaning of the last て. I know it's the abbreviation of いて but if I translate it to English, I always think like this.

　　　先に行っていて - Going ahead

So anyone can explain the latter 'te' of this sentence?


texts:
In the below I am unsure of my understanding of the third sentence.

「実は、うちのチーム、エースのアタッカーとセッターがうまくいってないんだよねぇ」
To tell the truth, our team's ace attacker and setter aren't getting
along well.
「バレーでアタッカーとセッターがうまくいってないってのは、野球で言えばピッチャーとキャッチャーがいがみ合ってるのと同じ位危うい状況なのさ」
An attacker and setter not getting along well in volleyball is as bad
a situation as a pitcher and a catcher not getting along well in
baseball.
「いまアタッカーの人が絶好調とは言えない状態で、ミスする度にセッターを責めているというか」
At the moment, the attacker is not in their best form, and she is
blaming the setter every time she makes a mistake.
「確かにセッターの子は初心者だからいつも完璧なトスを上げられてる訳じゃないんだけどね」
It's true though that the setter is a beginner so she doesn't always
set the perfect ball.

Is the third sentence saying that the attacker isn't playing well (and therefore making mistakes), and then blaming the setter for them?


texts: To think kanji: 思う (おもう): シ (shi) versus (shitau)

texts: Regarding the on'yomi shi (シ), of the character 思 from the word 思う, why does Google Translate list the pronunciation of this word/kanji as shitau instead of shi (with shitau missing from the dictionary entry as displayed below in Takoboto):


texts: How do you say "(noun) is more/less (adj) to (person A) than to (person B)"?

texts:
For example "That movie was less scary to me than it was to you."

The best I can manage is something like "私にとってよりあの映画はあなたにとってこわい。” but it feels off, and checking with Google doesn't seem to turn up any such constructions. Any help?


texts: Ambiguity about -masu forms of ていく and てくる in informal speech

texts: いく and くる are usually considered a pair of antonyms and ていく and てくる is a pair of common constructions from them. When conjugated to the masu form, the first one becomes ていきます and the second one becomes てきます. However in informal speech the first one can also be contracted to てぃきます which is not very different from the latter, just like ていく itself becomes てく. So how to tell which one the speaker is intended to say?


texts:
How can I say "self-love" in japanese, when you love yourself in a healthy way, not egoism?
Is 自愛 (Jiai) ok? And does the two pics mean same thing, with diff calligraphy?


texts: Are Japanese "tenses" aspects in disguise?

texts:
I read a lot of posts here saying that Japanese has this thing called "aspects". e.g.

Must I use past tense before 後?

ありがとうございます vs. ありがとうございました

I am confused with Japanese tense

Since Japanese is heavily influenced by Chinese, which seems to only have aspects, not tenses, it is only natural for Japanese to have aspects.

However, every English website that teaches Japanese that I have seen mentions nothing about aspects. They always say "食べた is the past tense of 食べる".

Then, I started to wonder whether all these tenses are just a lie to make westerners understand Japanese easier. The websites simplified the aspect system which is unfamiliar to westerners.

Question: Does every verb in た-form actually mean the "completed" aspect (sorry I don't have a better word here)? If you are a Chinese speaker, what I mean is the aspect that 了 denotes. Is my hypothesis correct?


texts: Does てもらう imply that a service has been requested?

texts:
I read this question about the sentence:

  野菜をたくさん買ったので、店の人に家まで届けてもらいました。

Without thinking too hard I translated this as

  a) Because I bought a lot of vegetables the shop keeper delivered them for me.

I then read the rest of the OPs question and the answers, where the translation was

  b) ....I had the shopkeeper deliver them.

To me, this has a different nuance. Sentence b) requires me to ask for a service with the expectation that I will receive the service. Sentence a) is more passive. The shopkeeper may do the service as a favour. Or maybe it's by 5 veg and get free delivery. In any case sentence a) does not require me to request a service.

Are both a) and b) equally valid translations? If so how can the Japanese be re-phrased to make a distinction?


texts: Is には a contraction of のには or ためには and how did it come to be like this ?

texts:
,Hello, this is a question I've been wondering for ages but I can't find anything that answers clearly.

So firstly I have read in "a dictionary of japanese grammar" the のに/のには part on which it is written that when we add the particle は to のに, it is often contracted into には.
It made complete sense to me but even then, I still find some cases where のには wouldn't be accepted whereas には is okay. For example I saw in the dictionary :

  始発に乗るには四時に起きなくてはならない。

They explain that this には means 「場合には」 or 「時には」 so I believe this is the contraction of のには.
But in the following sentence :

  Huluを解約するには、どのようにするのですか？

I don't think のには would be okay. So I searched on the internet and found somewhere that someone was saying には is a contraction of ためには.

So who should I believe?
Maybe には is something completely different that just happened to have almost the same meaning as ためには and のには？

Japanese people don't seem to know either, so I'm hoping to find someone who has a study paper or who has done a diachronic study to find the answer to this question

Thank you.


texts: How much honorifics should I use when dealing with business as a consumer, online?

texts:
Assume I made a mistake with my home-address while doing some online shopping, so I need to send an email to the company to fix it. But when sending the said email to the company, to what extent should I use honorifics? Because I've heard using excessive honorifics is actually impolite and can be seen as sarcastic.

  遅く 問い合わせて 申し訳ございませんが,
  アドレスが間違って搬送されたのです。
  もしかしたら、新しいアドレスにもう一度送ることができますか？
  ぜひお願いします。

Something to this extent, but I'm not exactly sure whether I should use

  申し訳ございませんが

instead of simply

  すみません


texts: Is it correct to use と directly after こと when listing?

texts:
It just comes across as odd to me to say 'koto to'.
Is it grammatically correct to use と after こと as seen in the example below?

おんがく と かくこと と ねこ が 好き です！

Thanks!


texts: がな and ておろうな at the end of sentence parts

texts:
I have a following line of conversation:

(1) 貴様ら…
(2) 新しいオモチャではしゃぐのはよいがな
(3) この躰の性能きっちりと把握できておろうな

Context: Three nonhuman inteligences have gotten their hands on some human bodies and now two of them are just fooling arround with them. The third one, their leader tells them the above (numbers are there just to number lines). Note, the leader is prone to using arhaic form from time to time. Things like ぬ instead of ない for negation.
I'm confused a bit with all these な endings. Like I get that the (2)nd line basically says:

It's okay to play with your new toys

and the (3)rd one is something along the line of:

Being able to properly grasp their abilities.

Now if the (2)nd didn't have that な I'd say that the が is connective but/and. But in the (3rd) one the entire bit できておろうな confusese me.
できる - be able to
できておる - being able to
できておろう - volitional form, aim to being able to? let's become able to?
As of now, I have it down as:

You idiots…
Playing with your new toys is fine, but...
We should be getting a better grasp of these bodies’ abilities.

On the other hand, this kinda doesn't make sense, since fooling arround with them could count as getting a better grasp of them.
Sooo, what do you think, what did the leader mean by this, and what's up with all these な?!?

PS:
The subordinates reply by saying:

Subordinate 1:
もっちろん♪
OF COURSE ♪
Subordinate 2:
万全です
Perfectly.

And while mochiron works, saying just perfectly to the above line makes my translation feel off. Allmost as if the leader actually said:

fooling with them is fine, but have you properly grasped their abilities.


texts: Titles of paintings as precedent phenomena

texts:
Precedent phenomenon is a linguistic phenomenon where some words—like famous people's names (especially of historical and political figures), titles of books or movies—are used not to indicate these people, books or movies, but as a reference to well-known events or facts connected to them.
I'll try to give some examples in English to be more understandable:

Yesteday I met a girl in the city centre, she was a real Marilyn Monroe!

Here it doesn't mean somebody met that woman named Marilyn Monroe, but a girl who was as beautiful as  she and probably looked alike. So this name here links to the image of Marilyn Monroe, not to the person itself.

It was a Ninth Wave at sea this weekend and it was impossible to swim.

In this sentence "Ninth Wave" refers to the painting of Russian painter Ivan Aivazovsky with the same title. (The Great Wave off Kanagawa can be the same example.) It means that the weather was very stormy and there were great waves.

Does this type (titles of paintings) of precedent phenomena exist in the Japanese language? Could you give some examples?


texts:
The context is people are being attacked by an army of monster rats. One of the people (named 光風) started using magic to control half of the rats, and cause them to attack the other half of the rats. Then 光風 said:

  うひひひ。相手は浮き足立ってるし、こっちは命も惜しまない。こんな横着な操作でも、けっこう勝負になっちゃうか。でも、こんな程度が、この光風の技の限界かと思われても癪の種。どれ、もうちょっとだけ、尻を叩いてあげましょう

My question is what does こっち refer to, the man, or the rats he's controlling? And what does 命も惜しまない mean. I think it means something like "without sparing the life (of someone or something)" but I don't know who is sparing whose life.


texts: Abbreviating sets of compounds with leading characters in common

texts:
I recently asked a question about on- and kun-yomi and in building the title guessed at how the two compounds involved could be contracted; landing on 「音・訓読み」.

Is this indeed the correct way of abbreviating something like 「音読み・訓読み」, and if so, when can it be used?

If not; what construction should be used?


texts: Why did this pirate get angry when he was given a bottle?

texts:
I was reading this and it didn't make sense to me. This pirate wanted a drink, but the store was sold out. So one of the guys offered to give him an unopened bottle, but it only made the pirate mad. Maybe it's because I don't understand enough Japanese or Japanese culture, but it seems that he was insulted. Did the guy who offered him a drink not have good manners?

Why did the pirate say ナメたマネ?


texts:
In a conversation today, my friend wrote the following

  やればやるほど英語が上手{うま}くなる

Another example:

  練習をやるほどに強くなる

I'm guessing the meaning is something close to "If you study, you will become good at English".
Is it a coincidence that やるほど are together? Can you add ほど on to any verb and use it like so?

Update: I found that やればやるほど specifically means something along the lines of 'the more [-er]'


texts: Using 尊敬語・謙譲語 but not 丁寧語 on the same target

texts:
I was reading this passage from 下町ロケット (pp 15-16):

  {{pad}}「申し訳ないなあ、忙しいときに来てもらって。というのも、今日は折り入ってお願いがあってねえ」
  徳田{とくだ}は、トレードマークの鷲鼻を指でさすりながら、佃{つくだ}にソファを勧めた。新しい会計年度がはじまって間もない、四月第三週のことである。
  品川に本社がある京浜マシナリーの応接ブースだ。青色のパーティションで仕切られた個室は、四人がけのテーブルと電話が一台あるだけで質素だった。一部上場企業でもある同社は日本を代表する機械メーカーで、佃{つくだ}航平{こうへい}が社長を務める佃製作所の主要取引先である。佃は売上の一割近くをこの京浜マシナリーからの下請け仕事で賄っていた。
  「実はね、佃社長にわざわざお越しいただいたのはウチの調達方針が変わったことをお伝えしようと思ったからなんだよな」
  「方針変更、ですか」
  佃は身構えた。
  なにしろ、下請け苛{いじ}めともいえる厳しいコストダウンで知られた京浜マシナリーだ。

I noticed that 徳田 is using both 尊敬語 (佃社長にわざわざお越しいただいた) and 謙譲語 (お伝えしよう) to show respect to 佃, but otherwise his language is pretty rough and informal (あってねえ、なんだよな）. This is the first I've seen this, and I'm wondering in what circumstances it happens.

I have two theories of what's going on in this excerpt:

Since 徳田／京浜マシナリー is the お客, that already puts them in a relatively higher position. On top of that, I imagine 徳田 is probably a much older guy. Normally I think this isn't enough to warrant dropping 丁寧語, but I could see it perhaps happening. But in this case, I don't see why 徳田 would continue to use 尊敬語 and 謙譲語 really...
As mentioned at the end of the excerpt (and a little later), 京浜マシナリー do not seem to be very nice people (especially given that what they're doing here is probably a violation of the 下請代金支払遅延等防止法). So, maybe the lack of 丁寧語 is being used to drive home the sort of rough nature and power balance of the interaction. In this case I'd imagine the 尊敬語／謙譲語 is being used a little sarcastically (not completely, though).

I'm not sure that either of these theories is correct... it could be something else. What's going on in this passage? More generally, in what cases does it make sense to not use 丁寧語 but use 尊敬語／謙譲語 all on the same target?


texts: What is the female equivalent for 「ご主人様」 or "master?"

texts:
In The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe novel, the character Aslan orders centaurs and eagles to chase a wolf, saying, "He will be going to his mistress."  He is referring to the wolf's female master, the White Witch, who considers herself to be the "Queen."  The witch refers to a dwarf as her "slave," so she has a master/slave relationship with her followers. What is the correct Japanese word for a dominant female "master?"

I tried searching in online Japanese dictionaries for the word "mistress," but the results seem to be comprised of Japanese words for "mistress" as in an extra-marital lover, or "madam" as in a well-bred lady, rather than a woman who has slaves/servants. When I searched for the word "master," I could not find words that fit females.


texts:
Does somebody know for what the [がしら]{gashira} ending stands in radicals like:

eight (はちがしら{hachigashira})
winter (ふゆがしら{fuyugashira}), or
short thread (いとがしら{itogashira})?

Is it part of あし{ashi} (bottom radical position) or ashi variant (center radical position / top and bottom radical position)? I understand the other endings (kanmuri, gamae-kamae, hen-ben, nyō, tare, etc.).

I know some of them don't have those endings and could be phonetic (sound) parts of kanji and not semantic (meaning).


texts:
Is this a natural combination of phrases when asking for help when you are lost somewhere?

  道に迷ってるんですけど、お手伝いできますか？

My gut feeling is the "お手伝いできますか" part is awkward and sounds like a literal  translation from "Can you help?" in English.

Would it be more natural to replace this with "手伝ってもらえませんか？"

Also, I feel the "お手伝い" form is typically used when you are helping someone else, as in ”お手伝いしましょうか”. How natural is it to use this form when requesting someone's help?

Update: corrected typo in the original phrase that Chocolate pointed out.


texts: What is the most natural way to tell others that I learned something from someone else?

texts:
I made up a few example sentences, and showed them to some native-Japanese speakers, which helped a lot, but there were somethings that I was not able to get answered, so I was wonder if someone here would be willing to help me out. I want to know how to say such a sentence without sounding that I am thanking the person who taught me (unless the situation called for it). I'm aiming for a sentence that would answer a question asking how/where I learned to do something.

小学生の時に、お父さんにロッククライミングの仕方を教えてくれられました。
I got feedback on this one, and I know it is terribly wrong, but I was not able to get a clear answer as to why. Would someone be able to explain? I figure I should have used　「もらいます」, and that it probably doesn't sound right using the past-passive conjugation of the verb, but I sadly don't understand why. This is slightly unrelated to my question, but I would still like to know why this is wrong, and if there is a situation this sentence structure could be used.

小学生の時に、お父さんがロッククライミングの仕方を教えてくれました。
I was told this was the most natural sounding sentence of the ones I made, but I was told that it sounds like more of a subjective point of view, and that I sound thankful to him and his teachings.　Would it translate to something along the lines of "When I was in Elementary school, my father taught (gifted me the knowledge) of how to rock climb." Or something in that general area?

So, what I was aiming for originally was to say: "When I was in Elementary school, my father taught me how to rock climb."
I want to say it in a way that would be used to tell someone how I learned to rock climb, but without saying it in a strange, thankful kind of way, which I was told my second sentence portrayed.
Would this be more accurate (if not, could you explain what it would more accurately mean): 小学生の時に、お父さんにロッククライミングの仕方を教えてもらいました。Would this be a more natural way to tell people that I learned rock climbing from my father, if I was asked where I learned? I'm still far from understanding the language's nuances, but I'll keep practicing.
Thanks again to anyone who is able to help me out.


texts: Need help with understanding Ｘ ことは Ｘ construction

texts:
I need some help with this grammar point ’ことは'.

The definition I have is "Indeed one does something alright, but ~"

  Verb / い adj ことは V2/ い2 adj　"話すことは”　”高いことは”

Examples:

  高【たか】かったことは高かった
  笑う【わらう】ことは笑うがおかしくない
  便利【べんり】なことは便利だが、高すぎる
  安い【やすい】ことは安いがたちがわるい

Why is the verb/adjective always written twice? It's confusing. I just can't seem to understand these example sentences.


texts: The meaning of する in もっと楽しそうにしたらどうなの

texts:
This question is about the meaning of する in phrases like 偉そうにする,　幸せそうにする, and 楽しそうにする

Is this usage used to describe the way they do things/act, as opposed to doing a specific verb such as in the cases of 美味しそうに食べる。So for example, 偉そうにする could describe the way the person talks, walks, their body language etc. The given example of もっと楽しそうにしたらどうなの in full was せっかくの旅行なんだからもっと楽しそうにしたらどうなの which was said to someone who was complaining whilst they had come here to enjoy themselves. Now from context it clearly means something like "how about you/why don't you try to enjoy yourself more(or I'd phrase it "at least try to enjoy yourself"), but I don't quite see grammatically which usage of する this would come under.

Edit: Just adding some of my thoughts. Would it be like 幸せそうにする > act happily > be happy?


texts: Seen on the internet. Looking around I see others guessing it might be a different form of 本当っすか for 本当ですか, or maybe すこ for すき. Can anyone confirm? Thanks!


texts: If 校 is the kanji for school, why do I need 学 to actually say school?

texts:
Perhaps a dumb question, but something that I was wondering and couldn't find a clear answer via search. Since 校 is the kanji for school, why do we also need the kanji for learning 学 to say "school" (学校)? As a westerner, it seems as though schools always involve learning.

Is there some difference in nuance I'm missing? Is there perhaps a historical meaning for 校 that is more like place of training or practice, which evolved into school?


texts: How to differentiate the receiver of favor(giving) and the receiver of verb?

texts:
アリスが先生に田中にあれを見せてくれる

Let's assume this is in the third person point of view (I'm not included). Now how do I know, between Tanaka and The teacher, is the one that will be the target of the verb and the receiver of the favor?

Alice gives the favor of showing that to Tanaka for the teacher.(For teacher's sake)

Alice gives the favor of showing that to the Teacher for Tanaka.(For Tanaka's sake)

The scenario is that "Alice shows that to Tanaka, giving/doing a favor to the teacher."


texts: How to understand when adverb modifies another adverb and when verb?

texts:
Is 薄く and ほのかに both modify 輝く in the following sentence? Or, maybe I'm mistaken something, but since 薄く and ほのかに have the similar meanings, 薄く modifies ほのかに and ほのかに 輝く? Please, explain me how can you understand it? For me both of the varients sounds fine, and context is not helping much...

  西の空に沈みゆく太陽と、薄くほのかに輝く夕月のほかに、俺たちの街の上にかかる大きな黒い月。

As an example, I was told that in the following sentence, 仄かに modifies うっすらと, and うっすらと modifies 冷たい. Because both of them have the similar meanings.

  見上げた空には、月もなく雲もない。 しかし仄かにうっすらと、冷たい青さが目に凍みる。

Edit: I found the another example, which demonstrates the fact that even if adverbs have the similar meaning it doesn't mean much, and they could modify whatever the grammar and context allow. Which leads me to the opinion that the only way to understand, is the context. But as I mentioned earlier, sometimes context doesn't help much, hence I'm asking this question.

  微かにほんのり儚くほのかにうっすらと存在してるだろ？


texts: Certain adjectives (凄い and 足りない come to mind) seem to be able to take 物 as a prefix, but I haven't been able to find anything on the internet regarding this. Are the forms with 物 more formal or something?


texts:
街に戻ってきた者も
怯えきって人との関わりを絶っているときた

How does ときた work here? My understanding of the 2nd sentence's a bit rough.
I know "人との関わり" means "human interaction". What I'm not sure here is the function of "絶っているときた". I've only ever seen 絶っている like this. https://eow.alc.co.jp/search?q=%E6%B6%88%E6%81%AF%E3%82%92%E7%B5%B6%E3%81%A3%E3%81%A6%E3%81%84%E3%82%8B


texts:
I'm not comfortable with how ~~とは... is used in my textbook:

彼{かれ}がひどいことをしたとは信{しん}じがたい。

That 信じる is only transitive makes me think that ~~とは... is a nominalization method. But, I've never seen that method of nominalization before. So, I interpret ~~とは... to be a conjunction and imply a direct object as such:

He did a really bad thing, and I just cannot believe it.

The straight-up nominalization interpretation (which I reject because of the nominalization method looks strange to me) would be:

I find it hard to believe that he did such an awful thing.

So, what's going on with the ~~とは... conjunction? / nominalization?
straight out of textbook

あの優しい彼がそんなひどいことをしたとは信じがたい。

note

断ったとは信じがたい

is used in the title because it is just shorter and should involve the same grammatical structure. If it's not, then learning the difference would be very instructive.


texts: This verb is also written in katakana despite the presence of kanjis. What is the difference between them ? In which context 嵌まる suits more than 填まる, what is the nuance ?


texts:
こんにちは、、、

私はこの文が分かりますが、文法を考えてみると、はっきり分からなくなります。

  「北斗七星のひしゃくのえの部分を、そのまま曲がり具合に沿って伸ばしていきます」

二つの動詞、二つの副詞が見えます。「曲がり具合に」と「沿って」はペアです。「そのまま」は、「伸ばして」とペアになりますか？

そうなら、「北斗七星のひしゃくのえの部分を、そのまま伸ばしていきます」と言ったら、同じイメージですか？

よろしくおねがいします（＾＿


texts:
sorry if my English is bad but neither English nor Japanese is my language. i'm new to Japanese too. I have a question that i hope you will answer it.
"赤ちゃんだんごはいつも幸せの中で"
This is from a song named "だんご大家族”。i wonder will the sentence changes if i remove the element "で”？　And what is it doing here exactly?
Thank everyone.


texts: I don't understand why they would say 'Iru?' alone. I thought you needed a longer sentence for a question.


texts: What is the function/meaning of this "こと"

texts:
(1)A (2)B を表すように、二分したものがそれぞれ別々の意味になればことは簡単であるが、言葉の場合は、なかなか...

Usually こと functions as a "形式名詞" or other grammatical roles, but this one seems not a "形式名詞" since the former part of the sentence is "ば"(仮定表現). How should I interpret this "こと" in "ことは簡単である"?


texts:
I have found a small Shodo fragment stating "一味一禪" - which is not the classical "Zen and Tea are of one taste" (禅茶一味).

What is this supposed to mean? Is it correct Japanese (I suppose it is, coming from an actual Japanese, but she is not here to explain it at the moment).


texts:
My former teacher made us really pay attention to kana stroke order and stroke types (とめる、はねる、and はらう). Yet when it came to kanji she only made us study the stroke order. I've noticed that other people also disregard kanji stroke type.

Why is that? Is it because of the sheer amount of information? (It's easy to remember a few kana stroke types while the same does not hold true to kanji.) What do natives have to say about this?


texts: Can さくじつ and きのう be used the same way? I know the terms mean yesterday. Thank you!


texts:
I'm trying to figure out what "かみつれを手に".  The word かみつれ is in hiragana, so I can't use kanji to figure it out.  I have a feeling it means "( something ) in hand".

I searched in Google, and chamomile came up, but I have doubting feelings about that since,

aren't imported words in katakana?
if it were imported, wouldn't it read "kamomiru"?

I just don't know what かみつれ is.  As far as Google results show, it means holding Pokemon's Gym Leader Elesa by the hand.  Can anyone confirm chamomile or perhaps give かみつれ's real meaning?


texts:
i was wondering what may be the difference in nuance between 右へ曲がる and 右に曲がる ?

Example: Take a right turn and you'll see the library.

1) 右へ曲がると、図書館がある。

2) 右に曲がると、図書館がある。

As for [noun-location] with the verb 行く, the へ should be used when we want to emphasis the direction,  and the に particle is used when we want to emphasis the location (Source: When going somewhere, is there any difference between e (へ) and ni (に)?)

Does this work the same way for 右[へ・に]曲がる? (Since 右 is the direction itself and not a location?)

Or is it true that we can treat 右 and 左 as locations themselves and we can say 右へ行く　and 左へ行く?

In fact if we say "Turn to the right (standing on the spot) and you will see the painting." there isn't even any direction nor location at all is it?


texts: A word like マシ without the negative connotation

texts:
When asking, "which is better," in Japanese, I could write どっちがマシ？

However マシ has a negative connotation, implying that even though something is better it's still undesirable.

What's a word like マシ that I could use when asking "which is better?" that doesn't have this negative connotation?


texts:
Sorry if this question have already been asked but I did some research and didn't find anything about this.

So I just started to learn some kanji and I decided to look around at names with kanji just to see what it's like. So I went and researched some names from a game and I came across this:

  星熊　勇儀

And the name is supposed to be read like this:

  ほしぐま　ゆうぎ

I just don't understand why the kanji 熊 is “くま” but is read “ぐま”.

Thanks for any information you have!


texts: interpretation of a sentence -"だから別れ話しも　できなくって"

texts:
I am trying to understand the following short conversation. But I have some trouble understanding the last sentence.

female 1: まだまだ　忙しそうだな…
female 2 looking at phone sad: うん… だから別れ話も　できなくって…

My translation:

Seems like [he] is still busy...
Yeah... that's why I have not been able to connect [with him].

I feel like my translation of the second sentence is off. Because I don't really know how to interpret the "別れ話も". The literal translation I think is Parting conversation? I feel that, that does not sound right.


texts:
So I just stumbled upon the word こけし on Instagram. It was translated as "ASMR" (youtube trend where people speak quietly and make all kinds of "satisfying" noises). Is there anyone with enough knowledge (or guts to crawl through SNS) to explain the etymology of the word?
My guess, after throwing 'ASMR こけし' into YT, is that it comes from the modern version of the こけしdoll. Which seems to contain a jingle bell, as opposed to the usual creaking of the doll's head when turned.
If I'm wrong and こけし doesn't mean 'ASMR', is there a word in Japanese that does?
Note: I also presume that the cc is correct as the other few sentences were translated accurately.


texts: Contracted verb: Negative, positive, which one is it and why?

texts:
I've encountered the negative contraction several times since I started to study japanese, and I understand the logic behind the transformation from 開かない/開かぬ　to 開かん in the first picture.

A similar transformation seems to occur in the following two sentences, とならん　and ならん. However, when I check the translation the form of the verbs are positive.

There is something I'm missing and I can't find the key to know the difference between this similar sounding contractions.


texts:
彼女の見ていた振袖は、彼女にぴったり似合いそうで、俺はせめて０がひとつ少なかったらと嘆くのだった。

I get the first part but I don't know what "０がひとつ少なかったら" means. At first I think is something like "0 becomes 1" but I really don't get it, even how the 少なかったら connects with it.


texts: The past tense casual form of iru and iku

texts:
In the question and similar ones:

 Nihon e itta koto ga aru?

How can one know whether itta is the past tense of iku or iru?


texts: Understanding 「…でけっこうですので、…」

texts:
In my textbook, I encountered the phrase

  先生のお時間があるときでけっこうですので、[わからない言葉を教えていただきたいんですが]

I assume that the meaning is approximately "I'd like to ask you something, but it's OK if you don't have time", but I don't understand the grammar used here at all.

How do I use this 「…でけっこうですので、…」 properly?


texts: Since both (oku and naka) mean 'inside', I am confused as to in which contexts they will be used.


texts: Why we should use "を" instead of "に" when talking about a place?

texts:
I have a question regarding this sentence:

  かのじょといっしょにこうえんをさんぽします。

If the "を" marks a direct object of a sentance, why we use it the way it looks above.

Could we use here "に" instead of "を"?

Where? >>> In the park. >>> Park is a place

  かのじょといっしょにこうえんにさんぽします。

Second question here is... why there is no particle after "さんぽ".

This word works here as a noun or something else?

If it is noun the sentence should go like this:

  かのじょといっしょにこうえんにさんぽをします。

Take/do what? >>> A walk = direct object.

Thank you very much in advance.


texts: In Influent, the language learning game, 規{き}則｛そく｝性{せい}の無｛な｝い　is used to mean 'random'. In checking the term, I see that it does appear in usage, though the dictionary I use (jisho.org) does not list the term, instead listing such terms as 出鱈目, 行き当たりばったり, and 当ても無い, among others. Is 規則性の無い just rarely used in favour of one of the other terms listed? Does 規則性の無い mean 'random, by chance, or without pattern', or does it have a different meaning than what was taught? If it does mean random, what would the connotations of the term be?


texts:
また、通常の売買の際にも、釣り銭があるような場合に、「お預かりいたします」が用いられるようです。このような場面でも、受け取った金銭のすべてを所有するのでないという意味から、「いただきます」「頂戴します（頂戴いたします）」に替わって使用されているものと考えられます。
ご指摘の「○○円からお預かりいたします」という表現は、文字どおりには「○○円から幾らかを一時的に保管します（受け取り手の所有するところとはなりません）」という意味ですから、会費の受け取りなどの際には用いられても、通常の売買の際には不適切な表現であるということができます。

so this was an answer for a question about  円からお預かりいたします and whether it is right or not but what i find confusing is that it says
that 「お預かりいたします」is used in every day life but then it says 「○○円からお預かりいたします」is 不適切な表現であるということができます meaning that it is inappropriate which i find confusing


texts: function of と particle in 日本人をよく理解しようと一生懸命な人もいます

texts:
日本人をよく理解しようと一生懸命な人もいます

I don't understand the function of this particle in this sentence.
this sentence could be translated as: "there are also dedicated people that want to understand better Japanese people"?


texts: Is this a proper use of tara and toki for "when"?

texts:
Consider:

気がついたら皆さんは寝ていた。

気がついたとき皆さんは寝ていた。

My English interpretation: When I woke up (came to), everyone was sleeping.
Is "when" enough to capture the nuances of the Japanese sentences? How are たら and とき interpreted differently in English?


texts:
The sentence in question:
取材を進めてみると、あまり結婚式が行われないはずの“平日”を最大限活用しようという、逆転の発想が見えてきました。

For full context:
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/news/business_tokushu/2018_0621.html?utm_int=news_contents_tokushu_004

My attempt at translation:
When we move forward with our news, the concept of a change to "let us make maximum use of ordinary days where it is to be expected that almost no marriage ceremony will happen" comes to mind.

I have a lot of problems understanding and translating this sentence.
The biggest issue I had was finding a way to implement 最大限活用しよう in a meaningful way, especially when considering the context.
In the sentence before, we've heard that the wedding industry is facing adverse circumstances due to the increase of marriages without any celebration, party etc.. So I guess this sentence still refers to the wedding industry, which must make the best of the situation and do something "productive" during those days of the week on which are very unlikely to have any kind of marriage take place at all.
I must admit though that I chose this interpretation mostly due to the fact that I couldn't find any other way to get to a halfway meaningful sentence^^ Therefore, I guess it is at the very least partially wrong xD

The second biggest problem I faced was という.
I learned on this forum that the pattern "A という B だ" basically can be interpreted as " A is B". I apologize in advance if I'm wrong (again) ^^
With this premise, I interpreted あまり結婚式が行われないはずの“平日”を最大限活用しようという as an attribute to 逆転の発想. I went for the "lets do" interpretation of the volitional form in 最大限活用しよう because that was the only way I could muster a meaningful translation...^^

Well and my third biggest problem stems from the second one.
I had a hard time coming up with a comprehensible, syntactically functional translation of the full construct  あまり結婚式が行われないはずの“平日”を最大限活用しようという、逆転の発想.
First I tried going with a common relative clause starting with "which":
"The concept of a change which (says that), "...". This made the sentence very obstructive though so I decided against it.
Instead I used the preposition "to" because to me it seemed fit.
I then had to use quotation marks though because my translation otherwise would have become even harder to understand. I though that if I really wanted to make this a smooth translation with the understanding of the sentence I had so far, I would have to make huge changes to the english equivalent. Since I still was very skeptical if my basic understanding of the full sentence was correct at all, I decided against it.


texts: Can anyone provide the full list of noun or adjectives which starts with 不.for eg. 不可能. As it is more convenient and better way to write in Japanese rather than to mention its negative form


texts: Assistance with translation in some lyrics

texts:
寄せかえる波を見ていた　母の遠いまなざし

I'm used to sentences ending in a verb so I assume it could be translated as "Was watching the waves surge back". My mother's distant gaze." as separate phrases.
Am I right to say "My mother’s distant gaze was watching the waves surge back."
Similarly,

幼い私は　強く強く握った
顔をしかめて　母が力なく言う 「痛いよ」

"The childish me grabbed strongly. My mother frowned and said without strength, 'It hurts'"
I think that's incorrect as I'm unsure of 'who's doing what'.


texts:
I would like to know the use of と in this case

お金を貰い、死んだ魚のような目をしたアクアが帰ってきた。
(...)
「ま、まあ結果オーライって事でいいじゃないか。ほら、女神って信じられたら、それはそれで困った事になるだろうし」
何か大切な物を失った様な顔で帰ってきたアクアを、俺は適当に励ますと。
Aqua took the money and came back, wearing a look that reminded me of a
dead fish.
(...)
W-well, hey - all's well that ends well, right ? It would've been a problem if he had believed you (that you were a goddess), wouldn't it ?
Aqua looked like she’d lost something important, and I wanted to say
something encouraging.

Some answers have already been provided such as
https://japanese.stackexchange.com/questions/14371/usage-of-%e3%81%a8-at-the-end-of-a-sentence
But I did not found that it applied to the sentence but I may be mistaken.


texts:
How is 男女比 used in this example? Just like anything else in japanese context matters and in this case the male/famale ratio is 6 male and 4 female, because the text is talking about females are coming back little by little in some context.

  少しずつ女性が盛り返してきていますが、いま男女比はだいたい６：４くらいです。

Am I mising anything? Is this complete bs?


texts: Meaning of first "から" in "私からちゃんと話しとくから"

texts:
Context of the sentence: A mother consoles a family member that complains about a third member of the family.

  大丈夫。私からちゃんと話しとくから。

I do realize that the sentence means something like "Don't worry. I'll have a serious talk with her." However, I do not understand the role of the first から.


texts: What does ホルモンの肉が好き mean in this passage?

texts:
I am a rank amateur at the Japanese language, but I was trying read some articles on the Japanese Wikipedia. I happened to come across the bizarre sentence ホルモンの肉が好き, which looked to me like it said "She likes hormone meat". I ran the passage through Google Translate, and it translated it as "I like the meat of the hormone".

What exactly does this phrase mean, and if it does mean "She likes hormone meat", what am I missing that makes that make sense? Here's the rest of the passage. It's a description of a character from a light novel. It comes from this Wikipedia page and is the first paragraph under the section 阿良々木 火憐（あららぎ かれん）. The line in question is the very last sentence:

  蜂に刺された少女。本格的な初登場は「かれんビー」。「かれんビー」「こよみツリー」のメインキャラクター。中学3年生（「するがデビル」では私立栂の木高校へ進学している）で空手 [注 27]二段の持ち主。暦の2人の妹の内の上の妹で、妹の月火と合わせて「栂の木二中のファイヤーシスターズ」という通り名を持つ。実戦担当で、自称：正義の味方。6月生まれ、身長：170cm（後に175cm以上に伸びている）。自分より背の低い「瑞鳥（みずどり）くん」という年下の恋人がいる（詳細不明だが暦に似ているらしい）。暦曰く「可愛いと言うよりも恰好良い」容姿。ホルモンの肉が好き。


texts: "Was Warned that ..." (correct word choice / use of passive?)

texts:
I am trying to write out a short speech to say after my companies morning exercises, and I have chosen the very  exciting topic of ... the weather!

Anyway I wish to convey this meaning in my sentence:

  I was also warned that Japan has very hot summers and that I should be careful

So far I have:

  すごい暑い夏があるので、気を付けてくださいも言い聞かせられました

I am wondering a few things:

Is the choice of 言い聞かせる appropriate, or does it have too sever of a meaning?
Is the use of passive voice appropriate here? In my mind it definitely is but I am not confident in that.


texts:
There is an Indonesian song with titled "Aishiteru" which is fully in Indonesian language except for one line in Japanese (and a few "a a a aishiteru" lines).

YouTube link

The one line in Japanese starts at 2:38, which I transcribed below but I have difficulty in deciding the part with question marks:

  君が遠くにいても
  [ ??? ] がつながるから
  信じてるよ
  信じてるよ

At first I thought it was 昨日思い but dismissed it because it's grammatically wrong unless there is a の particle there. So now I'm guessing that it's "ki no omoi", 気の思い, but I have never seen that phrase before and I couldn't find it in dictionaries. What does the phrase mean? Could it be 気の重い instead (also not found in dictionaries)?

Here is the English translation of the stanza that follows after that one line, in case it would help set up the context:

  Even though our bodies are far apart,
  Our hearts are always near,
  When you miss me just close your eyes,
  And think of me.

Any idea anyone?


texts: Nuance when the subject is moved to the end of the phrase

texts:
I've been plugging away on novel translations for years now and figure I should ask more questions about it around here, since the freelance life does not make it easy to network with people.
My question today regards when the subject of the sentence is moved to the end of a phrase. Take the following sentence (taken from the novel I'm currently working through):

ロンドン市内{しない}で『騎士派{きしは}』の連中{れんちゅう}を踏{ふ}み潰{つぶ}すべくゴーレム＝エリスを放{はな}ったシェリーだったが、どこかで意識{いしき}が途絶{とだ}えていた。

Obviously, the subject of this sentence is シェリー (Sherry), as it is her doing the action in the first phrase, and the second phrase is regarding her. However, instead of writing it in a more standard way:

シェリーはロンドン市内で『騎士派』の連中を踏み潰すべくゴーレム＝エリスを放ったが、どこかで意識が途絶えていた。

the author opts to place シェリー at the end of the phrase. My question is, what sort of nuance does this have? For example, I'm familiar with this type of inversion of action and subject:

ロンドン市内で『騎士派』の連中を踏み潰すべくゴーレム＝エリスを放ったのはシェリーだったが、どこかで意識が途絶えていた。

In that case, the emphasis is on who exactly was the one who did the action, as though it was a question the author is answering. This works much the same as the equivalent grammatical structure in English.
However, I'm not sure if what the author wrote is different from that, and if it is, how it's different. My gut instinct is to translate this in the same way as the のは construction:

Sherry had been the one to...
It was Sherry who had...

But I'm not honestly sure this would properly communicate the nuance involved. Obviously it would depend on context. What I'm getting from the sentence is that she knew that logically she had performed this action, but she wasn't conscious for the whole thing.
This author tends to use this construction very frequently, much more frequently than other authors I've read. (In fact, I counted about 10 instances of it for just the protagonist's name in this one book.)　I also frequently see it simply to end a sentence, such as in:

ほとんど窒息{ちっそく}しそうになり、生命{いのち}の危機{きき}を回避{かいひ}するために仕方{しかた}なく咀嚼{そしゃく}を始{はじ}めるシェリー。

I believe this is the same construction. What's the nuance here?


texts: What is the meaning of 会社 in yakuza language?

texts:
Context: two yakuza men found out that Azami, a man that owed them money, committed suicide. Then, one says to the other:

  おい、芥生【あざみ】のこと会社に連絡しろ

Does 会社 have a particular meaning here? Or do they simply consider their gang as a company? How could it be translated? Thank you for your help!


texts: How to find implied sentence parts in flash news

texts:
The following is a flash news from テレ朝
沖縄県　「緊急事態宣言」政府への要請を正式決定
Two questions:

What particles are implied after Okinawa prefecture and after quoted "declaration of emergency state"?
Since the government is followed by へ, の cannot be the subject marker, then who on earth is calling for the government to declare the state of emergency?

Bonus question: are there general rules how to analyze flash news?


texts: "nounをnoun(verb stem)" expressions: ie 基準を流れ, 戸惑いを表れ etc

texts:
後には、その基準を流れのあるものととらえ、一緒に進む一続きの行動を表す文が来る。(part of explanation for ～に沿って)

  俺のとまどいを不安の表れと思ったのか、そんなふうに声をかけて、彼女は教室を出て行った。

I've treated the を in these sentences as の. How is を used here, and what is the best way to interpret it? I assume it has something to do with the と-perception verb following it, but it doesn't line up for me.


texts: What is the difference between "を" and "は"? Can I say both "お茶を飲みます。" and "お茶は飲みます。"?

texts:
I'm aware that I can say "お茶を飲みます。" (with the particle "を") to convey the meaning "I drink tea." in the sense of indicating that an action is taking place.

However, I'd like to know if I can also say "お茶は飲みます。" (with the particle "は") to convey "I drink tea." in the sense of "Drinking tea is something I generally do." If not, what would I say to distinguish between the two meanings?

(This question was inspired by the Duolingo exercise at https://www.duolingo.com/comment/26545844. Surprisingly, I can't find any articles directly comparing "を" and "は".)


texts:
What's the best way to convey sentences like:

His arguments didn't seem as convincing as I would have liked
Last week, I couldn't study Japanese as much as I would have liked

The best I could muster up was 期待通り since both of these involve some form of expectation. But I'm not too sure if it sounds natural/makes sense.


texts: Can you help me understand the following sentence?

texts:
その中には巨体の芳江が泡を吹いてノビている姿もある。

I got the above sentence from a short story that goes like this: a gymnastics club made up of high school girls is ordered by the student council to attack one high school girl who is a member of the Comic Book Club. This girl has proven to be more than a match for them and knocked out more than 10 of them.

I can figure out parts of the sentence.

その中には has the meaning of “among them”. In this case, “among the girls who have been knocked out”.
巨体の芳江 seems to have the meaning of “big-bodied Yoshie”. Regrettably, the story does not provide how to read her name, so I am just guessing. What is clear to me is that the sentence is talking about a club member who has a bigger body than the others.
泡を吹いて has the literal meaning of “blowing bubbles”, but the picture that comes with the story indicates that the meaning is closer to “frothing”, that is to say, drooling.
ノビている seems to be a slang form of 伸びる, and I am not sure if it is referring to her “stretching out” or “passing out”.
姿もある might have a meaning like “even has a figure” or “there is also an aspect”. There might be some other meaning that I missed.

Right now, I think the sentence is translated into English as follows:

  Among them, big-bodied Yoshie is frothing and even has a figure that has passed out.

I don't know if that's exactly right. Please tell me if I'm right or wrong. If I'm wrong, please tell me what a better translation might be.


texts:
家ン中でさか立ちやって障子ブッこわして...
  I was doing headstands in the house and wrecked the door and...

Presumably ン is a contraction of の. Why is it written in katakana? I guess it's adding some kind of emphasis; maybe "in the house" or "in the house"? Also, how would this sound in speech?


texts: How to type こんにちは (not こんにちわ) with windows Japanese keyboard

texts:
Google spells こんにちは as こんにちは but when I type "konnnichiwa" I've got  こんにちわ and if I do space I've got : コンニチワ ...

maybe don't need to trust google here ? or there is some another way to write it


texts: Can 〜頃から be followed by ル形? or is タ形 mandatory?

texts:
Let's take the following examples:

1(a). 子供の頃から、ずっとパリに行きたかった
1(b). 子供の頃から、ずっとパリに行くのが夢でした
2(a). 子供の頃から、パリに行きたかった
2(b). 子供の頃から、パリに行くのが夢でした
3(a). 子供の頃から、パリに行きたいです
3(b). 子供の頃から、パリに行くのが夢です

From what I understand, if you use ずっと you have to stick with the タ形 because ずっと implicitely implies 子供の頃から、（今まで）ずっとパリに行きたかった. But, this is not the case when ずっと is not here in examples 2 and 3.
I would like to know whether examples 2(a), 2(b), 3(a), 3(b) are valid and natural and if we can interpret them the following way: 2(a) and 2(b) implies that from a young age the speaker wanted to go to Paris, however we don't know whether he did or not go to Paris at this point; however 3(a) and 3(b) implies that from a young age the speaker wants to go to Paris, and still has that dream, since he has yet to make it come true.
Is it correct?


texts: How to order an individiual item instead of a set?

texts:
I say 「セット」 when I order a set, and I say 「これだけ」 when I just want to order an individual item.

Is there any common way to order an individual item instead of a set?


texts:
The dictionary definition of おやつ is an afternoon snack . However, that is not what I remember about its usage.

White-collar workers never do "おやつ"? They might use it as euphemism for briefly standing and stretching in mid-afternoon?
Do blue-collar workers do a real "おやつ" and rest / eat in mid-afternoon?
Etymologically speaking, a farmer's お弁当 was his おやつ in 大和 Japan?

The recent thread about "おかず" made me remember "おやつ". But, my memory is a little fuzzy.


texts: What is the meaning of 「ほうが」in this sentence?

texts:
It is a situation about bringing 2 troubled teenagers into a reform school. The following dialogue was said by 2 officers who brought those kids.

A: おい　とんでもない　ばかがはいってきたものだぜ。

B：こういうところはかえっていくじのないほうが　安全だということを知らんらしい。

I'm not sure if it would mean 'would be better'. However, I try to translate the dialogue B as following:

"It would be better if coward guys coming to the place, I think there is no one informing other people (in the place) about the safety".

Extra question: Does it lose the meaning as much if I omit the 「もの」in the dialogue A?


texts:
I am starting a cooking blog which is named Cooking Tale. I wanted a person to translate the name and he said クッキング・テール is ok. But when I search for this name in dictionaries, it says "tail" not "tale". Is this a correct use?

Cooking Tale - クッキング・テール