texts:
現場に行くのではない支援がある

I sometimes get tripped up with ではない ("it isn't" vs. "isn't it?"). In the above sentence, I'm guessing the meaning is "I have support that isn't making it to the site", but I have a feeling I may have a skewed understand and would appreciate anyone's opinion on the actual meaning, thanks.


texts: 「君の声が聞こえなくて、逢えると信じる。」

texts:
For a research project in artificial intelligence, I investigated parsing Japanese. There was major problems with ambiguity in the mentioned type of sentence; in most cases the ambiguity is obvious to resolve, but I kinda need the opinion of a native speaker in this case.
My theory is that the 、 is enough to disambiguate between:

「君の声が聞こえなくて逢えると信じる。」
I believe that I would be able to [meet you without hearing your voice]. (Perhaps meet while bound and gagged in a prison?)

and

「君の声が聞こえなくて、逢えると信じる。」
Even without hearing your voice, I believe that I am able to meet you. (not hearing goes with believe, not meet)

Or maybe both sentences are wrong...they feel awkward to me :/
Am I correct in assuming the comma is crucial there?


texts:
Cheers.

Some days ago I've been trying to get used in how to use の as nominalizer, but I cant get it even yet.

I cant get the part where の changes the sentence into a noun.

e.g

  ブログを読むのが好きです

My problem is. How do I should take ブログを読む when nominalized?
I think is (To read a blog), so (I like to read a blog) is what I figured out.
My question. To read a blog is not a noun, so how can I take it in English?

  彼が来るのを知っている

Same here, 彼が来る is also not a noun but because of the の particle I have to take it as it. so (he comes), (I know he is coming). But still have the same problem and my head blows up!. I don't know how to take it in English or how to translate it in English.

彼が来る means he comes, but if add の, 彼が来るの, what does it became. How is translated.

I hope you can understand my problem and help me, I'm really confused and really frustrated with all this. Thank you in advance for any help you can bring me :)


texts: On one self-teaching site, I learned to say "to not like" in a format like this: いぬはすきじゃりません。But in a self-teaching book it said to format it like this: いぬはすきではありません。I know there are many different ways to say everything in Japanese, but I just want to make sure that both of these are correct! What's the difference between the two? Is one more formal than the other? Are there certain situations in which one is more appropriate than the other?


texts: Difference in meaning between 掴む and 捕まえる

texts:
掴{つか}む and 捕{つか}まえる both mean to catch and both are transitive verbs.
Is there a difference in meaning or usage?

Note that there is an intransitive to be arrested: 捕{つか}まる - to be caught/arrested, which isn't grammatically passive, but has a passive meaning. I am not asking about this verb.


texts:
I just learned some stuff about the use of だけ and now I wonder, if I want to say
"Just me and a friend did this" ,  could I use だけ to express this?
If so, how would I have to use it? And when would I have to refrain to using 一人で?
This also raises the question whether 一人で could modify a verbal expression related to a subject which represents multiple persons?

1a) これは私と友達がするだけだった。 1b) 私と友達だけはこれをした。
2a) これは私が一人でした。 2b) これは私と友達が一人でした。

I assume that 1b) is pretty ungrammatical, but I wanted to ask about it nevertheless because it is stated in my textbook that だけ can be attached to nouns.
This is in different context though, like here: 休みは日曜日だけです。
I might be digging too deep now, but I wonder whether だけ and 一人で　are one of these things which don't modify a specific sentence element, but rather the whole sentence.
Unfortunately I don't know what these are called in English terminology; in my German linguistics lessons they were called "partikel".
I could give an example here:

"Of course I can do this."
"Eventually the machine crashed."


texts: Usage of ばかり in とばかり思って

texts:
Can somebody please explain for me the meaning of ばかり in とばかり思って, as far as I can guess through the examples it means something like "そう思ったんだけど、実際に・・・・・・".

僕たちはずっと、彼らは一生安泰だとばかり思っていたんだけど、君の話によると、見た目より大変だな。
We always thought they had it made, but from what you say, it's harder than it
looks.

彼はつい最近入った新人だとばかり思っていた。
I thought of him as being a fairly recent newcomer.

「いえ、ただ、こちらの晩餐会で振る舞われた料理のことは、皆が絶賛していたものですから。　だからあなたも真剣に取り組んでいるものだとばかりーー」

Well, it's just that, everyone highly prised the food which was on
this banquet. And that is why I thought that you're putting all your
efforts into it, but--

Incidentally, I found one more sentence with some sort of interesting (at least for me) ばかり usage -「あたしは、形とばかり並べられた陶器のティーセットに手を伸ばす。」, I understand that the meaning would be something like "the teacups was lined up just for show", but what is the point of putting と before ばかり　in this case?


texts:
Here is the full sentence said by a young boxer to draw his coach out of the boxing ring.

  へっぽこセコンドはひっこんでろいっ

If it is imperative form, I would like to know the grammatical difference between this form and 「ひっこめ」


texts:
From よつばと！vol. 1 ch. 6 p. 15:

  ジャンボ：　近｛ちか｝づく途中｛とちゅう｝で　鳴｛な｝きやんだら　警戒｛けいかい｝してるんだ　その時｛とき｝はじっと　鳴｛な｝き出｛だ｝すのを待｛ま｝つ

This is translated in the English edition as such:

  If it stops buzzing as you approach, that means it's looking out for you. So wait until it's buzzing a lot before you try and catch it.

I understand 鳴｛な｝きやんだら is 鳴く (sing), but how do you get from the dictionary form to that?

By the way, I would appreciate if you could also give a more literal translation of the sentence.


texts:
I don't understand what もいい means in the following sentence:

  鶏肉は炒めてもいいし、焼いたり、ローストしてもいい。

Any suggestions?


texts: が in たこ焼きはタコと小麦粉と卵で作ることができます

texts:
たこ焼きはタコと小麦粉と卵で作ることができます

は particle there is used as topic marker.

で particle there is used as material marker.

can you explain me what role of が there? object of できます or because "new information" to listener or something else？
is でき a verb like in english? does it always come at the end of sentence especially if there are verbs more than once?


texts:
I'm a beginner in Japanese. At my classes I'm taught like this: とまる / とめる is a pair intransitive/transitive verb.

This I understand and can memorize a table of such verbs.

I can't help, though, notice a certain phonetic change pattern in all those pairs. To this pattern in my classes I was given no explanation.

I wonder if there is any theoretical grammar explanation of that pattern for those Japanese verbs. Unfortunately, I'm not aware of any good Japanese theoretical grammar textbook.

(In my native language and in some
other languages I know transitive/intransitive is a lexical, not grammatical category, so I wonder, if that transitive/intransitivre explanation for Japanese is correct at all)


texts: I know the dictionary definition of 交番{こうばん}, but I've absolutely no idea of what one actually looks like in real life. So, if someone were to tell me the general location of one, what characteristics would I be looking for to identify the exact location?


texts: Please help me confirm the characters to this seal

texts: chinese.stackexchange.com referred me here. One of their members told me that the reading in the seal is actually Japanese「知惠子/ちえこ」. Is this correct? Thank you!!


texts: When I need to say "I develop software" in Japanese which verb is the appropriate one?

texts:
I want to say "I develop software" in Japanese so I thought that I should use the verb する. But I can also say "I write software" and use the verb かく. So which of the following sentences is the correct one/used the most?

ソフトエアをかく。==> I write software.
ソフトエアをする。==> I do (develop) software.

Similarly I thought that I can use the word source code/code in order to say "I code"/"I am coding":

ソズコードをかく。
ソズコードをする。

Which one of the above is the correct one?


texts:
Most dictionaries say that 方 is read as ホウ, かた/がた, え.

But why does it change in [何方]{どなた} and is completely different in [何方]{どちら}? Are those some archaic readings or some 'synergetic' words that have nothing to do with the reading of its parts?


texts: 学校の窓ガラスを割った生徒に反省文を書かせました。  in this phrase why did we use two を particles, does it mean two objects are here ?? can anyone explan the sentence structure..any similar examples also


texts:
I have trouble translating the next:

よしおさんの車は赤と白です。

What is the correct translation to the sentence?

Yoshio-san's car is red and white
Yoshio-san's cars are (one) red and (the other) white


texts: How do these 3 ways of saying "It can't be helped" differ?

texts:
So I have heard:

仕方がない
しょうがない
仕方あるまい

And the translation I've seen for all 3 is: "It can't be helped." Is there a particular difference among the 3?

Edit: Secondary question. Why isn't 仕方あるまい, 仕方があるまい?


texts: 和製【わせい】、和語【わご】。。。わt's the diff?

texts:
So looking it up it translated to 和製 means "Japanese made" and 和語 means "Native Japanese".

But aren't native Japanese words Japanese made (not taken from Chinese)?


texts: Is "役立つ" a recent lexicalization of "役に立つ"? Is it less formal?

texts:
When did 役に立つ lexicalize to 役立{やくだ}つ?

Has 役立つ always been a word, and a word that is used more frequently than 役に立つ? A quick google shows 役立つ is used 3 times more frequently.

I am reading the translation of a speech. The translator always says 役立つ where I would say 役に立つ. Is there any connotation difference between the two? Maybe 役立つ less formal? My feeling is that initially there could be some association of lexicalized words with "slang", but as time passes that perception goes away.


texts:
A while ago, I discovered that あたし has a more-formal variant: あたくし

This is obviously very similar to the relationship between わたし and わたくし. However, there are a couple of details that I'm not too sure about:

1. How common is it?

あたくし doesn't seem to be used as much as other personal pronouns; I could only find two examples of it being used on JLU SE, neither of them related to this question. It's also mentioned on this page and on Japanese Wiktionary, though it's currently absent from the English version.

2. How formal is it?

My understanding is that あたし is less formal than わたし, which in turn is less formal than わたくし. Given that あたくし is more formal than あたし, and (I assume) less formal than わたくし, how does it compare with わたし?

Note: It seems that わたし, わたくし, あたし, and あたくし are all represented by 私 in kanji form, so this question uses hiragana to avoid confusion.


texts:
醬油 を掛けて辛口で食べたい俺でも甘めの卵焼きが美味い

What does 掛けて mean here? Does it mean "attach"? Why can't I use 付けて instead?

What is the difference in using 辛口 and 塩辛い? Both means salty


texts:
I am trying to make a skit with a group and this is what they have decided they want the beginning to be.

We are very new to Japanese, taking a compressed class this summer and are having trouble composing the sentences correctly.

Would anyone mind checking it out and see how we did in our translations?

The things in bold I am particularly concerned about.

  N trips

  N: いたい

  A: だいじょぶですか。

  B: びょういんのでんわをかけますか。 Do you need me to call an ambulance?

  N: いいえ、びょういんのでんわをかけません。だいじょうぶです。No I don't need an ambulance. I'm fine.

  N: ええと、はじめましたキリスですよろしくおねがいします。

  A: リチですこれわジエイソンくんです。私のともだちです。I am Rich. This is (my friend) Jason. This doesn't even say what i want. I believe it says, "I am Rich, this is Jason. At the very least I think the last line should be　私はジエイソンくんのともだちです。

  B:ともだちじゃないです。

  A：eeh?

  B:じょだんです。 ごしゅっしんは I am joking, where do you come from?　 I would like this to be more natural like i am obviously joking perhaps
  じょだんです,じょだんです?

  N:カナダです。

  A/B: そですね。


texts: Jlpt/n5q5: 弟は部屋◯掃除をしました。◯: の versus に option

texts:
In the JLPTN5, 5th question, "弟は部屋◯掃除をしました"

I'm trying to understand why the の option is more appropriate than the に option. Both appear to be correct in English.

With に we are taking "the room" as indirect object (since に can be a substitution for the へ particle) and "cleaning" as a direct object; on the other hand, with the の option, we are taking "room's cleaning" as a direct object only. Am I forgetting something important here? Thanks for help.


texts: What is the term for a time limited meal at a restaurant?

texts: Japanese restaurants serve time limited meals when they are busy with lunch and dinner customers.


texts: I wanted to know what is the difference between 濠 (gō) and 堀 (hori). I've only seen 濠 in context of 環濠 (kangō), 豪華な (gōkana) and 豪州 (gōshū). From what I know 環濠 and 堀 both means moat. Well, then, what does 濠 means alone?


texts:
I'm trying to translate this blog.
The blogger talked about the album of Abe Mao called "Pop (ポっぷ)".

阿部真央史上、一番聞いてるアルバムだなぁ。名曲揃いだ
ちなみに今流れてるのは"もうひとつのMY BABY"です
初めて聞いた阿部真央さんの曲は"貴方の恋人になりたいのです"なんだよね。それもポっぷに入ってる！！

According to Jisho,

史上 = in history; ever; historical

Since this album is just another studio album and was not classified as "best album",
I was quite confused what does 阿部真央史上 mean in his blog?
Is it possible that it was an abbreviation of some sorts?


texts: What is the difference between 故{こ}障{しょう}中{ちゅう} and だめです when speaking, for example, if some electronic appliance is not working. When each should be used?


texts:
I don't understand the grammar in this sentence.

The context is someone recalling memories of overseas study exchange program and graduation.

  アメリカでgraduationがあったのが2月の14日。
  もう7ヶ月。それからを休暇と捉えるのか、いや、楽しいから休暇のように感じられていたまるっと1年を特別な1年と捉えるのか。

This is my own translation (probably inaccurate):

  My graduation happened on 14th of February. It is now July. Do I
  perceive then as a holiday? No, I had the feeling like it was a fun
  holiday and I took it as a special year for me.

それからを休暇と捉えるのか

Does the を in それからを treat それから like an object? so それからを捉える means "perceiving then"?

How と particle used? I listed it's various uses in a previous post I would like if someone pointed out which category it fits in within the list. Is it used like それからを休みとは捉える?

Why is のか used? What does it mean?

楽しいから休暇

Why is から used? I could only interpret in English it as "Holiday from fun" or "Because fun, holiday" which doesn't make sense.

感じられていたまるっと1年を特別な1年と捉えるのか。

I don't understand why 感じられていた is used. is it 感じる ---> 感じられる (passive) ---> 感じられている ---> 感じられていた continuous past passive??
Why is the continuous past passive form used, what does it mean?

What does まるっと mean?

And again, what is と捉えるのか?

Any examples used to help me understand and a piece by piece breakdown of the grammar would be greatly appreciated, I am still not to confident with a lot of grammar, and consider myself beginner. But I would really like to understand more complex sentences. Thanks!


texts: What does 二人 and 揃う mean in this context?

texts:
I was watching the manga events and came across this line, when the actors said

今年もこのスーパーステージに二人の日向と影山が揃いましたよ!

Audio Link
He was referring to 日向 and 影山, who are the protagonists of the story.
Q1: I know that 二人 means 2 people. However, although there are 4 people on the stage,
2 of them are an actor for 日向 (1 stage actor and 1 voice actor). Similarly, another 2 are
an actor for 影山. Thus I was curious if he was referring to

A: 2 people, who are 日向 and 影山?
or
B: 2 日向 and 2 影山?

Q2: I know that 揃いました is a past tense of 揃う, which seems to have 3 different meanings
based on Jisho.

A: to be complete; to be all present; to make a full set; to be satisfied (of conditions)
B: to be equal; to be uniform; to be even; to match; to agree
C: to gather; to assemble; to be collected

However, because of the confusion from Q1, I'm not so sure about the actual meaning of
揃う in this context.
I'm pretty sure I'm overthinking this, but it would be great if I can get a further clarification..


texts:
The quote
変わってしまった 変えられなかった
The translation says
"I've changed, I can no longer change back"
But where does that "change back" come from? The verb is just "to change yourself".
Also, what verbal form is this? Is it potential or passive?


texts:
From line 10 to 11 in this doc https://www.docdroid.net/847v2dg/img-20170413-0001-new.pdf.html

北が上という常識は、実は北半球の国の人々が無意識に持っている差別の表れかもしれない。

My main issue are the parts in italic and bold.
I understand the sentence as follows:
"Concerning the common practice to call the north "up", to be honest the people of the northern hemisphere might appear to unconsciously be holding discrimination."

From a syntactical perspective though, I can't get through the sentence.

I would say that 北が上という常識は and 表れかもしれない are linked on one and the same syntactical level:
"Concerning the common practice to call the north "up", it might appear."
In this case, I could interprete the bold の kind of like the の in a cleft sentence like here: Problem with のが in this sentence
But this concept was explained to me only very recently, hasn't really appeared before in my textbook and I don't think that I have a good grasp of it yet.

I don't really have an idea how else to interprete this の right now. The phrase   実は北半球の国の人々が無意識に持っている差別の is not really archetypical in its form. It's subject is 北半球の国の人々が, but this isn't connected to an intransitive verb, and the only verb that is there is 持つ which is transitive, but that one in turn isn't connected to a direct object, at least not through traditional means via a particle preceding the only potential direct object 差別.

That's why the only way out is filling the empty slot for the predicative with a presumably elliptic copula:
"Concerning the common practice to call the north up, it might appear
that it (corresponding to の, cleft sentence) is (corresponding the elliptic copula) discrimination which the people of the northern hemisphere are holding.

seems to be the subject in this clause/phrase which is embedded into 北が上という常識は...表れかもしれない, but it lacks a predicative. The whole phrase also isn't connected to a transitive verb and object or an intransitive verb. I could extrapolate the ellipsis of a copula
"Concerning the common practice to call the north "up", it might appear (that) it is discrimination which the people of the northern hemisphere are holding."

Or an even more literal approach, trying to mimic the chain of attributes/attribute-like-phrases the japanese sentence forms (in my opinion):
"Concerning the common practice to call the north "up", it might appear it is people of the northern hemisphere holding discrimination."

Thats all my naked-monkey-brain could muster...^^


texts: Can 〜てなんかいない contract to 〜てなんかない?

texts:
In this answer, nkjt gives the following example of なんか insertion:

　　　　待ってないんだから　→　待ってなんかないんだから

On the left-hand side, it appears that 〜ていない is contracted to 〜てない.  This is very common, of course, but as I understand it, contractions of いる to る only happen after 〜て, as in the following examples:

　　　　持っている　　→　持ってる
　　　　持っていない　→　持ってない
　　　　持っています　→　持ってます

In the example with なんか inserted, it seems that いない is contracted to ない, even though it follows something other than 〜て!

Is this possible?

If it is, I'm forced to wonder about the いません version, as well:

　　　　持っていない　　→　持ってなんかない
　　　　持っていません　→　持ってなんかません

If they are acceptable, how do you explain it?  Is my "only after 〜て" rule incorrect?


texts: How do Japanese call their friend's sister or brother?

texts: Do you still call them as NeeChan/ NiiChan or OneeSan/ OniiSan? Or just their name?


texts: Difference between 絶叫｛ぜっきょう｝する and 怒鳴｛どな｝る (to shout)

texts:
I've learnt 2 verbs, 絶叫｛ぜっきょう｝する (to shout, to scream, to exclaim) and 怒鳴｛どな｝る (to shout; to yell)

They seems to have the same meaning, can someone explain the context in which to use one and the other?

If you know other variants (for example 叫｛さけ｝ぶ、唱｛とな｝える、声｛こえ｝を建｛た｝てる、大声｛おおごえ｝を出｛だ｝す、がなり立｛た｝てる、どやす), please feel free to compare them as well, thank you


texts: What are the adverb + 何 +を doing in the following sentence?

texts:
In this book I'm translating, the narrative character is told the following line of dialogue by a girl before the sentence I'm asking about (bolded below).

  「あなたには、生まれついての才能があるのよ
  人を殺す才能。
  生き残る才能。
  暗殺者としての才能が」

  呆れた話だった。いきなり何を言いだすかと思えば。

I've already translated the above, but I don't know what the syntax for いきなり何を is. I recognize いきなり as a adverb followed by 何 then a particle. Yet because I'm unable to recognize what is affecting what, I don't know if I should translate いきなり何を as いきなり何 followed by を (resulting in adverb - what - を - verb), OR treat the adverb いきなり as if it's separate from 何を (which translates the sentence to adverb - verb - what- を - context in English).

Possible translations for いきなり何を言いだすかと思えば。 I've come up with are

  Without warning immediately after what she said I start talking.

  I start talking at the thought of her words without warning to what I say.

  Without warning to what I say I begin to speak immediately after her.

Constructive criticism that helps me understanding the correct parsing of いきなり何を is appreciated.


texts: What are the characteristics of the suffix ～びる?

texts:
The word 大人びた is in common use in Japanese, but I noticed that I couldn't think of another use of ～びる apart from that. EDICT lists only 大人びた and 鄙びた.  Kotobank lists 田舎びた and 古びる, although according to a Japanese friend of mine, the standard usage is 古びた.

Question 1: Is ～びる always in the past tense because it expresses a current state? Could it be used to describe a future possibility, i.e. using 大人びる to express that someone will become more grown up. その子はどんどん大人びるだろう？？

Question 2: Are there other words (apart from those listed above) which contain ～びた and are in common use in Japanese?


texts: I kept seeing the word sono その but apperently it means "this". does anyone know what "the" is?


texts: What are appropriate contexts for saying "趣味悪い"?

texts:
Doesn't 趣味悪い{しゅみわるい} basically means "to have a bad sense of style / taste;". It is slang, and it sounds funny to say to a guy. It sounds playful, but could be taken as impolite if the listener wants to.

If a friend has a poorly matched suit / shirt / tie, then you can describe how he looks as "趣味悪い".
To be funny, you can always say that his selection of his girlfriend proves he is "趣味悪い".
If a Japanese friend were to order deep-fried cheese sticks from McDonalds (a pretty vile food in my book), I'd say he is "趣味悪い" just to be funny.
It'd probably be awkward to say to a girl.

Where am I wrong on my interpretation of "趣味悪い"?


texts: 「三昧だと」と「帰宅しようとしていた」 meaning?

texts:
I can read this sentence for the most part but i can't seem to quite translate it properly or into something that flows naturally.

he's talking from a view of recalling a set of memories.

  無事にゲームを獲得し、後は家に帰ってゲーム三昧だと、上機嫌で帰宅しようとしていた、そんな時だった。

Sentence afterwards to give some context：携帯をいじりながら俺の前を歩いていた女の子。

here's what I can currently read/understand/translate it as

"I acquired my game without any problems, after I went home ....missing text i can't translate properly.... in a good mood I went home (i don't understand what this construction does, i have tried to figure it out but can't find anything)


texts:
When using する verbs, is there a significant semantic/connotative difference between using the bare noun compared to simply adding a nominalizer (の・こと) after the する?

例：

「運転が好きです。」

「運転することが好きです。」

I'm tempted to say that the latter emphasizes the act of driving, such that they'd be translated respectively to:
"I like driving."
"I like the act of driving."

... Though I'd be hard pressed to explain even in English how these are significantly different in meaning. Maybe they're effectively synonymous in Japanese?


texts:
From 《君の名は。 (角川つばさ文庫) (新海 誠;ちーこ)》,

かぱんと / か
[Usage-1/All]

2020-10-23 11:53:30 と思いつつ私はかぱんと炊飯器を開け、ぴかぴかした白飯を自分の茶碗に盛りつける。

I originally thought this sentence meant:

I open the bread and rice cooker, and scooped up the delicious looking
rice into my bowl.


texts:
――いいよな、さくら…？

お前、あたしたちのこと、認めてくれたんだよな？

だから、何も問題なんかないよな…？

My translation:

This is fine, right Sakura...?

You've already acknowledged us, right?

So, you won't have a problem with this, right...?

My question:

Regarding the second sentence to whow does it refer? Who is being acknowledged?
Is my translation accurate?

Context: It is a monologue from Susan. Sakura told Susan to be best friends. Both Susan and Sakura are in love with the same guy and Susan starts going out with that boy. Sakura had accepted it.


texts: Origin and meaning of the proverb 死人【しにん】に 口【くち】 無し【なし】

texts:
The proverb 死人【しにん】に 口【くち】 無し【なし】 (the dead do not have a mouth) is listed e.g. here and I've also heard it from my (native) teacher.

Here's what I'm wondering:

From what I've heard so far, it should be understood to mean "You can say anything about a dead person. They will not talk back". Is that how everyone will understand it? I want to be sure that I'm using it correctly. An alternative interpretation would be "If you want someone to keep her mouth shut, kill her". Can I be sure that this is never meant? (I could imagine such a thing being said in a gangster movie)
How old is this saying/are its origins known? Is it connected to a religion, is it maybe originally Chinese, etc.?


texts: I'm reading 「傘を持たない蟻たちは」and there is a sentence that reads:「その肌の白さが際立ったのは、着ていたタンクトップと肘から手にかけてが黒かったからだった。」What conjugation is て-form plus が?


texts: How to parse 汚れた物ででもあるかのように、捨てるように

texts:
I wonder if someone could confirm my understanding of the grammar in the following sentence on p32 of the Dictionary of Intermediate Japanese Grammar:

さて、教員は清兵衛から取り上げた瓢箪（ひょうたん）を汚れた物ででもあるかのように、捨てるように、年寄った学校の小使いにやってしまった。
Later the teacher gave the gourd he had taken from Seibei to an old janitor as if it was a filthy object.

I think it is taken from a children's story so it is supposed to be written with basic words but results in a difficult expression*.
My clumsy analysis of the section 汚れた物ででもあるかのように、捨てるように is

汚れた物で= "it is a dirty object and/but.."
でもあるか＝  "we still have it?!",   でも="still" in the sense of extreme, か conveys surprise
(か)のように、＝ "as if", the particles indicate that the preceding expression describes the position of the teacher to the gourd ("It is dirty, and we still have it?!")
捨てるように = in order to throw away
[小使いにやってしまった = gave it to the janitor]

If I put this together I think we find the teacher:

"gave [the gourd] to the janitor, as if it was being thrown away, as if it was something still in our possession that was dirty[and therefore should be thrown out]"

Is this correct? Could we replace ででもあるかのように with として? If so, how much of the poetical nature of the original Japanese would be lost?

*It may just be me but I often found the "simple" explanations of grammatical expressions in the JLPT books that use this type of language harder than the expressions itself!


texts: meaning of "たけしみたく、「５月病」にかかっている"?

texts:
does
"たけしみたく、「５月病」にかかっている。"
mean:
"Just as Takeshi appears to, I have 'May Sickness.'" ?

In this context, does _"たけしみたく、..." mean:

Takeshi may, or may not, have "May Sickness". Since I'm not Takeshi I don't know, but he appears to.
Takeshi most certainly does have "May Sickness". I know that I have "May Sickness". And Takeshi's looks like how I am feeling. So, he (99% chance) must have it as well.

If #2 were true, then does "Takeshi and I are similar" become implied and would this also be a good translation:
"Takeshi and I are similar in that we both have 'May sickness.'"


texts: Meaning of てなわけで at the start of a sentence

texts:
This sentence is the start of a new paragraph. The ellipses are as written:

  ...てなわけで、まる子は、カブトムシの幼虫を廊下のすみに置いたプラスチックの水槽で飼っていたのだったが...。それから一か月。
  ??? Maruko was raising the Rhinoceros Beetle grubs in a plastic fish tank that she'd put in the corner of the hallway, but... . A month went by.

I don't understand what てなわけで means. I read this question, but was unenlightened since I can't understand というわけで either.

My guess is that the わけ part together with the のだった part later on suggest that the narrator is explaining the reason for something. Later sentences got on to say that she forget to look after them for a month.


texts: I have seen some interjections and phrases with words such as [えっ] or [あっ]. My question is how you would pronounce this, or if it's just a pause.


texts:
Since I started learning Japanese I have always thought that when talking about something that will occur at a certain time you either use 「に」 or nothing.
For example,

来月の終わりに誕生日のパーティーをします。
明日日本に行きます。

I know for some things you can either use 「に」or choose not to and other times you can’t use 「に」 but recently I’ve noticed 「で」 popping up.
For example,

来月で30歳になります。
来年で辞めるつもり。

Can someone explain what the rule is for using 「で」 when it comes to talking about when something will happen!
Thank you!!


texts: なります intransitive verb - volitional/non-volitional

texts:
なります is an intransitive verb, but it could either be volitional or non-volitional, right? Please see the below examples; are they correct?

日本語が上手になるように、毎日勉強しています。(なります is non-volitional)
弁護士になるために、法律を勉強しています。(なります is volitional)


texts:
The “turns out” I speak of is the one you would use when recounting a discovery. For example,

  I searched for my phone all day and turns out it was in my bag all along!

or

  Turns out he was the murderer.

How would one say these sentences in Japanese?


texts: Questions about phrase 「てもよいか」 and prefix 「うえ」

texts:
The sentence came from Nintendo 3DS instruction manual explaining about transfer data from the earlier version, Nintendo DSi, to the newer one, Nintendo 3DS.

New 3DS本体にはDSiウェアのみ引っ越しされ、セーブデータは引っ越しされません。また、引っ越しすると、DSi本体では、ソフトと一緒にセーブデータも消去されます。引っ越しによってセーブデータを失ってもよいか、事前にご確認のうえ引っ越しを行ってください。

1) Does the 「か」in 「てもよいか」indicate doubt or uncertainty? In my opinion, since transferring the data to the new system, Nintendo 3DS, will cause the existing data in the original system, Nintendo DSi, being deleted for sure, I have a doubt why then the 「か」being written in the sentence.

2) If the prefix 「うえ」means before doing something, can I use 「前に」instead without losing the original meaning?


texts: Is て-form used here to concatenate phrases?

texts:
The following phrase is taken from an NHK News article:

「...。そして国が出すお金を使って、働いている人が仕事を続けることができるようにしてほしいと会社に言います」

Why is 使う used in te-form? Just to concatenate the two sentences? Or is it some way to say "by using"?


texts: Help with the breakdown of this sentence?

texts:
I was chatting in Hellotalk. From what I looked up and understood
It means writing in a clear and concise manner is difficylt isn't it.
分かりやすく簡潔に書くのは難しいですよね
But, I thought connecting i-adjetives was with くて and 書く used the を particle not に
Little help here please. If I were to guess に is because its not describing a person?


texts:
I was wondering what the differences are between these three: ～がたい、〜にくい、〜づらい

They all seem to be some sort of variant of "Hard to do ~". But it seems they are used with different verbs and/or imply slightly different things. However, I'm not sure on what these are.

Questions:

1) When should you use one of these over the others. For example, when should you use ~がたい over ～にくい and ～づらい

2) What is the difference (and are all 3 acceptable?) between:

わかりがたい
わかりにくい
わかりづらい


texts:
I've come across a lot compunds of kanji where the kanjis mean the same thing. For example,
状態=state, 態=state, 状=state
表面=surface, 表=surface, 面=surface,mask
Can someone explain how these two kanji compounds work and how do the meanings of the kanjis interact?


texts:
I have a class project and I have to write a recipe. On it I'm trying to write something along the lines of "Serving for x people".

What would be a good way to say that phrase?


texts: Translating どこでかまれたのかわかると、どんな虫が原因かわかることがあるので伝えてください。

texts:
I was almost towards the end of my bedtime news article when I got stumped by this sentence:

虫の専門家は「虫にかまれて、腫れたり痛かったりするときは、病院に相談してください。どこでかまれたのかわかると、どんな虫が原因かわかることがあるので伝えてください」と話しています。

To Japanese learners past the beginner level, it is known that [辞書形]+ことがある roughly translates to "there are times that~" or "sometimes, ~". Somehow, translating this sentence somehow using that translation doesn't make sense to me. It appears to me that the sentence translate to:

"If you know where you got bitten, you may know what bug was the cause
(of the bite) [or "you may know what bug bit you"], so please inform
(tell) them."

Something seems to be off in this sentence. (I can't tell why though.) Or should it be translated to

"If they know where you got bitten, they may know what bug was the cause
(of the bite) [or "they may know what bug bit you"], so please inform
(tell) them."

Is this an example of a sentence with two clauses where the implied subject changes halfway through? And speaking of implied subject, how can one tell in just one reading that the subject has changed midsentence? Or do even native speakers of Japanese have to read a sentence twice just to realize that the subject has changed?


texts: Is "besides, I think you already know" a correct translation of "なにせもう覚えったようなもんだから"?

texts:
なにせもう覚えったようなもんだから = "Besides, I think you already know"?

Also, is 覚えった a misspelling of 覚えた?


texts:
日本の小学校は、２０２０年度までに英語の授業を少しずつ増やすことになっています。
  Japanese primary schools are expected to increase English classes gradually by 2020.

I'm confused about the combination of までに (by) with 少しずつ (little by little) . The direct English translation makes no sense. You can't do something 'little by little' by a certain time. I think the only way I could understand this is "they have until 2020 to start increasing the number of English lessons'.

You can do something 'little by little' until a certain time.

You could also say something like 'expected to increase classes little by little until they reach two hours a week by 2020'

So I think my question is why までに rather than just まで? What does this sentence actually mean?


texts: What is 方 used for (when attached to a た-verb)?

texts:
I have the following sentence:

早く行った方が良かったでしょう。

Here, if we take it apart we shall have:

早く(Adverb) 行った(Verb, Past tense) 方(?)  が(GA, Subject particle) 良かったでしょう(Verb, Past tense) 。

What is the function of 方 in this position?
I've read that it can be suffix, suffix of what?


texts:
So there's a character in a manga that says this:

  空想だけで何でもできちゃう奴を見ちまうと 何にもできねえ方がどんだけ平和だろうと思うぜ

Now the 方 in the text has the furigana of ほう. So if I'm not mistaken that means "way/side/direction". But it seems that the furigana makes more sense as かた, so it would mean person. So with that said, how is the phrase 何にもできねえ方 supposed to be translated/understood?

Link to source


texts:
Speaker 1:先{さき}に食事{しょくじ}に行{い}っていいよ
Speaker 2:では,そうさせていただきます

Please help understand this conversation - especially the 'させていただきます' construct.
What would this translate into English as?


texts: Use of になる and で in 同姓同名になる事で

texts:
I am trying to figure out the meaning of the following :

同姓同名になる事で

It is part of a newspaper article on a Japanese Mayor whose name and surname sounds like "Joe Biden"
The entire sentence is

同姓同名になる事で、米紙ワシントンポストやニューズウィーク、英紙ファイナンシャルタイムズなど各国のメディアに取り上げられました。

translated as

The mayor’s surname was picked up by the media of various countries, including The Washington Post, Newsweek, and the Financial Times.

I read about Using 〜になる instead of です and about で usage but there are still 2 things I don't understand:

Why using ~になる and not です ? The mayor name and surname won't change, it's a static thing. Is it because we are focusing on the fact that the mayor "popularity" is currently growing because of his name? Like "the fact that his name sounds like Joe Biden is known worldwide" is an ongoing thing (a process that changes and develops over time)?

Why で? I understand it could mark a method/circumstance (something like "newspapers are writing about him only because of his name") or a length of time inside which something occurs (like "his name sounding like Joe Biden only matters for now because of the recent american election"). Is there another explanation?


texts:
Are there any rules or conventions on when to omit を (as in 1) or が (as in 2) when it comes to embedded questions?

この生物は何か教えてください。
どれがおいしいかまずいかさっぱりわかりません。

My gut feeling would be to generalize and say that the particles are mostly dropped in spoken /more casual language and kept in written/ more formal language, but honestly I feel like I've  seen them dropped relatively frequently even in written language so I am unsure... Any thoughts?


texts:
I came across this in a manga and can't figure out the meaning. I bet it's mainly used in casual conversation since the protagonist uses it during a conversation with his mother. But other than that, I don't get it at all.

It's used in this sentence:

  知らんがー　落ちたモンは　落ちたんじゃけぇ

His mother is basically saying something like: "You sounded so confident! Why didn't you get the job? Why?" and he replies with that sentence.

I know 落ちる is "to fall" but I've never seen this kind of sentence either. I didn't find any information about it here or anywhere else either. Can someone please explain? Thanks!

edit: The manga is ReLife and the last え is small in the original sentence.


texts: I am new to the Japanese language and I have been wondering why the word 友達 is read as 'tomodachi' instead of 'tomotachi' even though its pronunciation is kun-kun (tomo-dachi) but the kun-yomi of 達 is 'tachi'. Is there any specific reason to this ? Thanks.


texts:
The usage seems straightforward in such cases as:

  ドラマやアニメでは悪役として登場する事が多く、この場合は憎々しいまでの演技と性格づけが重要となる。1

↑ the performance is so good that the bad character appears almost 「憎々しい」.

But sometimes I feel kind of uncertain of its nuance as in:

  力石は死んだのではなく、見失われたのであり、それは七〇年の時代感情の憎々しいまでの的確な反映であるというほかはないだろう。2

↑ How can the reflection be so to the point that it feels even 「憎々しい」?

  本日の天気は快晴、雲一つない憎々しいまでの晴天だ。3

↑ How can the weather be so good that it is almost 「憎々しい」?

  好きな食べ物は？憎々しいまでの肉！4

↑ You like the meat so much that it turns 「憎々しい」?

To wrap it up, can 「憎々しいまでの」 be used as a generic emphasizer even when there are actually no real 「憎々しい」 feelings involved? That is, similar to the Mandarin phrase 「要死」.


texts: Is the kanji 様 ever used for san/chan etc.?

texts:
For example 御母様 ?
I see 御 used instead of お but I have yet to see 様 used instead of さん.
Is it ever used like this ?


texts:
I have the following to translate for class.

漢字クイズは
習った漢字を全部暗記しなくてもいいですが
例文を読んだ後で
受ければ
いい点が取れるようです。

So far I have the following.

As for the kanji quiz
it is okay if you don't memorize all of the kanji that you have learned but
after reading the sample sentences
if you ???
it seems like you can get a good score.

I have only seen 受ける translations as recieve/catch/take/have etc. Nothing seems to really make sense for this sentence.

Can anyone think of a good translation?


texts: Does the negative ずに form have a connective function like the te form does?

texts:
I know ずに is a form of negation for verbs, but I'm uncertain as to how its being used in the following context other than as a negation for the verb わかる.

  昨晩アインは夜明けまで時間をくれた。それまでに生きるか死ぬかを決めさせてくれるという。結局選んだ道は、このままなにもわからずに死んでいくことではなく、ツヴァイとして、殺し屋として生きていくことだった。いつか自分という存在を取り戻すためにも、今はツヴァイでいるしかないのだ。

Seeing as how the verb 死んで comes directly after the わからずに, it made me wonder why there's not a particle between the two verbs. Unless the に is the particle here, my brain thought the lack of a particle could be explained by the ずに form being able to connect two verbs like the te form can.

I've not formally studied the ずに form, so I have no means of confirming nor disproving my brain's analytical explanation. Although I highly doubt the ずに form can be used as a connective form, a second opinion would be much appreciated as to what the ずに in the above context is doing.

TDLR: (1) Is the ずに in the above a negation of the verb its attached to,

(2) or is it a negation with only the ず form which makes the に a particle,

(3) or a mashed up combination of the above which would make the に a part of the negation and a particle,

(4) or is the ずに a negating connective... 'thing' for the わかる verb and 死んで　verb,

(５) or something else entirely?

  Asking as I've seen multiple questions and answers using both ず and ずに as interchangeable words for the same form of negation, so I have no clue as to what is going or is applicable in my own sentence.


texts:
What does marumaru mean?

For example, this anime title ひとりぼっちの○○生活 (Hitori Bocchi no Marumaru Seikatsu). What does marumaru mean here?


texts:
I am going to attempt to translate an English sentence to Japanese. Where do I put the word ’覚えて’ in the sentence?

  I just remember that there is a convenient store that sells sushi

Translation: 私はコンビニですしをうります

Thank you !


texts:
Generally, when we read or count, 4, 7 and 9 are read only as "よん", "なな", "きゅう", seperately. However, in some cases, 4 is read as "よ" rather than "よん", 7 is read as "しち" rather than "なな", and 9 is read as "く" rather than "きゅう". Therefore, I would like to ask some question.

i) When is 4 read as "よ", "よん", or both?

ii) When is 7 read as "しち", "なな", or both?

iii) When is 9 read as "く", "きゅう", or both?

iv) Why do we not say "しじゅう", "しちじゅう", and "くじゅう" when counting 1 to 100?


texts: What is a good synonym for「〜のに」at the end of a sentence?

texts:
I'm trying to come up with a good synonymous expression to put on a flashcard for 「〜のに」at the end of a sentence like these

彼が出て行けばいいのに。(I wish he would go.)
あの建物さえなければ、きれいな景色が見えるのに。(If it wasn't for this building, we could see a beautiful scenery.)
欲しいといえば、買ってあげたのに。(If you had told me, I would have bought it for you.)
ああ、せっかく学校が休みなのになあ。(Ahh, just as school is closed for vacation [I have to study for an entrance exam (or similar)])

I would probably translate 「〜のに」 with wish, should etc.

My dictionary explains that it is used to express dissatisfaction, irritation and similar feelings. I'm wondering what Japanese expressions I should use if I were to rephrase the sentences above without 「のに」. Would any of the following be correct and/or appropriate? What else?

〜という希望がある
〜べき・はずだ


texts: What does the "X" in MEXT(“Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology/Monbukagakusho) stand for?

texts: If the "X" stands for Culture, Sports and Science, why is it so?


texts:
Let's say I am in a gym and had an eye contact with a person working out next to me, is it OK to say

今日は、如何ですか。
どうも、元気か。

What are the best simple expression to break the ice with complete strangers?


texts: I know what イノ is from イノシシ (wild boar), and I thought maybe ゴン is onomatopoeia for slam sound. Am I right or it's something else?


texts:
I want to say that I have had enough, put my foot down.

It's time to put my foot down, do not start again.

I am putting my foot down, on the unannounced visits.

It is time to put my foot down, with the needless interruptions.


texts: I'm trying to write that a person is a citizen of two kingdoms, one earthly, one spiritual. What is the counter for kingdom? (王国). Also, what is the best website to find a list of counters? I've found some short lists, but I'm looking for a comprehensive list.


texts: Does the order matter when applying multiple modifiers to one noun with the の particle?

texts:
My example:「現在の私の日本語」 vs 「私の現在の日本語」?
Since both 「現在」 and 「私」 are intended as modifiers of 「日本語」, at least by the rules I am aware of, either order would be fine. Though I could see the latter being interpreted as （私の（現在の日本語））, so "My understanding of modern Japanese" (or something like that; I know 現在の日本語 doesn't mean "modern Japanese").
This might not be the best example, but in general, given such a situation, what would be the correct approach? Order by importance, or for least ambiguity, or does it not matter?
I'm very sorry if this has been answered before, but in my search, I couldn't find a question dealing with this exact issue.
EDIT: I should add for clarity, that the intended meaning of my example is "my current (understanding of) Japanese".


texts: I know that yonaka is considered to be during the middle of the night. Are specific time periods involved?


texts: Can we replace 持っていく with 持ってくる in this case?

texts:
Consider the following situation.

Both the teacher and her student are not at school when the following occurs.
The teacher posted a picture of a cake in her facebook wall.
The student posted a comment saying おいしそう！明日学校に持って来ていただけませんか。

Questions

In my understanding, 「～持って来て～」must be replaced with 「～持って行って～」 because the teacher will do the job for the speaker (student) in a direction away from the place where the speaker (student) exists at the time of speaking.

However, according to the teacher 「～持って来て～」is also acceptable because the student will be at the school when the teacher brings the cake to the school.

Which reference is used to determine whether to use てくる or ていく? The location where the speaker exists at time of speaking or the location where the speakers exists at the time the て action will happen in the future?


texts: What is the meaning of きたきがする in this sentence?

texts:
The sentence is:

俺もすこし分かってきたきがする、ま、勘違いなんだろうけど

I just need some help understanding how this sentence is structured and what 'kita ki ga suru' indicates over here?


texts:
Hi I was wondering how として was used in this sentence. I already know it can be used as: as, even, apart from, but I'm having trouble figuring out the differences in some sentences .

たとえ　君が 痛みに慣れているのだとしてもだ


texts:
What is the function of both of the のか's in this sentence?

  現代の私達にとって古代エジプトが一体どんな関係があるのか、突き詰めて言えば考古学というのが一体役に立つのか、というふうに思っている方がいるかもしれません。

Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3xs-XWk_oQA
0:28

Below is the English translation from this source, but I feel like some of the meaning is simplified:

"Some people may wonder how ancient Egypt is relevant for our lives today."


texts: なかなか片{かた}付{づ}かない means "hard to clean up". My question is ～か～ part in this sentence. The verb is 片付ける, but what 片付か is doing here?


texts:
Panel from manga おじょじょじょ by クール教信者

The text says:

  超金持ちの令嬢 地獄巡 春
  高飛車なのが主にキズ

What does キズ mean here? It does not seem to be 傷 (wound/injury), and since it’s katakana I suspect it’s some kind of slang but I did not find anything on zokugo-dict...


texts: Does every kanji come from a Chinese character? If so, where can I find the origins of a kanji?

texts:
I know that kanji are borrowed from Chinese characters but are all of them borrowed?

As a Chinese native speaker, I am wondering the origins of modern kanjis. Most of them are exactly same as the Chinese counterpart, others are simplified versions of Chinese characters (like 聴 is a simplification of 聽 and 図 a simplification of 圖) and I know that this is due to the reform after WWII. But there are some kanji that I just can't figure out which hanzi they originate from. For example, 転 and 込. The former seems to come from 運 or 轉 but I'm not sure. Maybe I'm completely wrong.

Are 転 and 込 kanjis that native Japanese made up? Not based on a hanzi? But after seeing this post, this is not very possible. Is there a way I can find from which hanzis did these kanjis originate?


texts:
……溜息をつくだけでも、頭痛に障る…。

Is there an explanation for this に or is it just like 触る which can be used with both に and を ?


texts:
I heard the following phrase from an ad for Jetstar Japan:

  びっくりするくらい最低よね！

I know the individual meaning of the words.
びっくりする - to be surprised,
くらい - around(?)
最低 - lowest/cheapest

This ad is from a low cost carrier in Japan. Putting all these together, what is the possible meaning of the statement above?

(a) Surprised that (the fare) is almost the cheapest.
(b) Almost surprised that (the fare) is the cheapest.

The placement of くらい confused me about which it is modifying.


texts: Adjective-Nominalization さの vs normal usage with な

texts:
I try reading a Japanese book for the first time and I have some trouble with the sentence:

  たったひとりとはいえ、その自分を惨めさの道連れにした。

I think I somewhat get the meaning of it, but I am confused why 惨め is nominalized instead of attaching the な particle.


texts:
I'm wondering if there is a real type of dyslexia in Japanese with [濁音]{だく・おん}, where the person sees the word written, but mentally pronounces the 濁音 for a different mora.

Not to diagnose myself with anything, but I find myself doing it all the time.  For example, I might read the word [舞台]{ぶ・たい}（ぶたい） and pronounce it in my head as ふだい.  Or I may read かばん and pronounce it as がはん.

Is there a term for this specific type of disorder, or would it probably just be classified within general dyslexia?  I would like to research this more if possible.

(Note: I inquired about the on-/off-topicness of this question on this meta post, and though it received little attention, I believe it to be on-topic based on the responses there and the scope of the question.  Remember, I'm looking for the specific language term, not psychological reasons about how it's caused, etc.  That reasoning should hopefully keep it on-topic)

EDIT
Note 2:  This only happens to me with kanji when there is furigana accompanying it.  That is to say, if I just see 舞台 written as is, I read it correctly.  But if I see it with furigana like [舞台]{ぶたい}, I'm more likely to mess it up.


texts: Why is answer A (遊べるために) wrong in this question?

texts:
この公園には[a. 子供が遊べる/b. 子供が遊ぶ]ために、ブランコが設置してある。

I thought of "A swing is installed in order for children to be able to play in this park", but apparently that's wrong but I can't figure out why.

I see why B is correct but I don't get why A would be wrong.


texts:
The context is a coach's comment after losing a soccer game. (Full article here - http://www.giravanz.jp/game/report/2015/match39.html)

  苦しい時間帯に何とか凌ぎながらゼロ失点でいくと勝ちゲームの流れを作れるのですが、ただ今日のゲームで言うと、あそこで耐えきれない、失点してしまうというのがまだまだ自分たちでゲームを作れないというゲームだったのではないかなと思います。

My translation:
We can tide over hard times, not concede and win games, but for today's game I think we couldn't hold them out and couldn't play how we wanted.

I'm pretty sure I understand the meaning, but I'm struggling to get it sounding natural in English. Any feedback would be appreciated. Thank you.


texts: Translation of an odd line: お喋り顔事娘と　水槽の GID

texts:
So I was translating this song (full lyrics: https://www5.atwiki.jp/hmiku/pages/25196.html) and I ran across this line which I'm very confused about.

  お喋り顔事娘と　水槽の GID
  誤解を捕まえて　魚を釣るの

My attempted translation would be, "A girl who pretends to be chatty and the GID of a water tank; seizing on the misunderstanding, and hooking the fish."

My biggest problem is お喋り顔事娘 - the translation above is the best me and some of my friends could get out of it when we tried to figure it out, but considering 誤解を捕まえて and the fact that when I was translating a different song by this producer, there was some wordplay having to do with misspeaking (Please help me with this sentence: 手術台から...噛みました), I'm wondering if it's the same situation here, though after research I can't think of what it might be or what's happening. The song is here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0dyAlYhicXk and that part is at 1:55.

Any help would be appreciated! Thank you.


texts:
In the sentence (found in Kanji in Context's workbook)

  事故を起こさないよう、万全の注意を払った。

I assume 起こさないよう is the negative short form of 起こす followed by よう. But I can't find an explanation, or other occurrences, of such a construct. According to google's translation tool, the sentence means something like

  I paid perfect attention so as not to cause an accident.

So, よう following the short form of a verb indicates goal/purpose? Is that correct? If so, could you point me to a reference, or to other occurrences?


texts:
お客様が車内で快適にお過ごしいただけるよう、既存車両よりも広い座席、全席分の電源コンセント、無料公衆無線ＬＡＮ、落ち着いた暖色の照明、新宿駅停車中の車内ＢＧＭなど、さまざまなサービスを提供します。

I understand from the text above about various features inside the train. But this term "落ち着いた暖色の照明", I am not sure what to exactly make out of it. From kanji, I can get to calm and warm lighting or soothing warm lighting at the most. Is there anything I miss?


texts:
When describing もらう DBJG says "The first person or s.o. the speaker empathises with recieves some benefit from an action by someone whose status is not as high as the receiver's"

It then goes on to give the example

  私は父にカメラを買ってもらった

But surely the father's status is higher than the son/daughter's status so this example seems to contradict the description.

So, are both the description and the sentence correct? If so what am i missing?

I would like to believe the desciption and replace the sentence with

  私は父にカメラを買っていただいた

Would that be correct? Thanks.


texts:
In the opening to the popular anime Fairy tale, they say this:

  魔法は　普通に売り買いされ 人々の生活に根づいていた。

This is translated in the subtitles as:

  Magic is traded like common goods. It has become a part of daily life, And there are people who use magic to make a living.

I can understand most of this, but what I'm having trouble with is the 根づいていた part at the end. As far as I can find, the only reading of 根 that would make sense would be ね; as in the root of something. So 人々の生活に根づいていた might somehow mean that magic had become the root of the people's livelihood.

I could be completely off base. What confuses me most though, is what づいていた might be since I have no idea what it is and can't seem to dig up any results for a verb that looks like this.

What does it mean?


texts: In academic Japanese, should old places be written with 新字体 or 旧字体?

texts:
Japanese
以下の大学名をご覧ください：

東北帝国大学

旧帝大は旧帝大としてはもう無くなっているので、学術論文に旧字体の方（東北帝國大學）か新字体の方（東北帝国大学）のどちらを使うのが正しいですか。
また、施設が現在も存在しているかどうかが、前の名称だった頃の名称の新・旧字体の使い方に対して関係があるかどうか教えてください。
English
Consider for instance

東北帝国大学

Since the 旧帝大 are no longer 旧帝大, when writing in an academic paper, should one write 東北帝国大学 or 東北帝國大學?
Also, does it matter whether an institution continues to this day for whether it should be written in 旧字体 or 新字体 for something historical?


texts: What is the significance of number 8 (八) in Japanese?

texts:
I've noticed a couple of words with the character 八 that have (seemingly) nothing to do with the number 8.

八百屋【やおや】 - greengrocer
八つ【やつ】当たり【あたり】 - taking out anger on someone
八丁【はっちょう】 - skillfullness

Furthermore, this is the only number which I've noticed this pattern on. All other words consisting a number have a much more obvious relation, (even when it's a 一).

On jisho.org, the count of #words containing each of the numeral characters shows a noticeable spike on 八 as well.

一    二   三    四   五   六   七   八   九   十
1713  787  1264  438  364  196  172  357  308  320

And here's a table of how common each is in newspapers. Doesn't really show anything but I thought to include it since I looked into it as well. I wonder what the count would be if 九州【きゅうしゅう】 was stripped from the count on 九.

一    二   三    四   五   六   七   八   九   十
2     9    14    47   31   93   115  92   55   8


texts:
I heard it in a song called 「さよならはエモーション」 by サカナクション.
The last refrain in the lyrics starts like this:

さよなら
僕は夜を乗りこなす
ずっと涙こらえ
忘れてたこと
いつか見つけ出す
ずっと深い霧を抜け

As to the meaning of 乗りこなす:
From excite.co.jp

のりこなす［乗り熟す］
（ 動サ五［四］ ） 思うままに操れる。巧みに乗る。 「駻馬（かんば）を－・す」

Now, I can't see the meaning behind 夜を乗りこなす even with looking up the meaning of 乗りこなす. Is it maybe just an artistic expression of the songwriter so the meaning has to be interpreted?
Also, the translation of 乗りこなす on jisho.org is:

to manage (a horse)

So the translation of the lyrics would be "I manage the night", but then it doesn't make sense in the whole context of the lyrics to me.


texts: How do online dictionaries find the correct pronunciation of kanji in context?

texts:
If I type 全ては必然 in jisho.org, it spits out "すべてはひつぜん", as expected. (So it reads 必 as hitsu, and keeps the particle は as written.)

If I type 必ずたどり着くから, it spits out "かならずたどりつくから", as expected. (So it reads 必 as kanara.zu)

How does the dictionary know which pronunciation of 必 is correct in context?


texts: How did 引っ込む and 引き込む end up with different meanings despite looking very similar?

texts: I noticed that most compound verbs take the stem form of a verb and attach it to another verb. When I saw 引っ込む, I just took it as a compound of 引く and 込む... until I found 引き込む which is closer in meaning to the stem form of the verb 引く and has a different meaning altogether. This also reminded me of this question except that both 引っ込む and 引き込む are still in common use. When did this divergence take place? Also, are there other examples of two compound verbs that have the same origin yet have very different meanings?


texts: Why is と used in a seemingly temporal meaning here?

texts:
For full context:
http://www3.nhk.or.jp/news/easy/k10011281951000/k10011281951000.html

The sentence in question:
ＮＨＫが東京の２３の区に聞くと、新しい成人は約８万３４００人でした。このうち約１万８００人が外国人で、８人のうち１人が外国人でした

My attempt at translation:
"When NHK asks in the 23 sections of Tokyo, the new adults were 83400. With 18000 among these being foreigners, among 8 there was 1 foreigner."

I don't know of any other function of と than conditional, quotation, contrast and "and/with". However, I feel like it takes the function of とき, but I didn't dare to just translate it like that. The translation with conditional と also seems kinda flawed though.


texts: The degree of politeness of the different sentence ending particles

texts:
ね・よ・の・わ・さ・な・…
I'm wondering, how sentence ending particles fit into the different levels of politeness in Japanese.
I would have thought that they were essentially only used for familiar speech, but I've also occasionally seen some of them, especially よ and ね, in polite conversations.
So which sentence end particles are used at what level of politeness?
For example I assume you would not use さ in teineigo.
I'm primarily unsure about ね and よ.


texts: As a slang term for [先輩]{せんぱい}, パイセン doesn't seem to be very popular. I occasionally hear it used among young people. Is it mostly a term used in Tokyo (dialectal)? Where did it come from? My impression is that this term has been around so long that it is unlikely Internet slang.


texts:
Japan, like most places, is full of dialects/topolects.

Wikipedia (https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Languages_of_Japan) says

  Tokyo dialect considered standard Japanese

The article doesn't get into how it came to be considered the standard though.

How was a Japanese 'common/standard language' chosen?


texts: What does 妙に調子もいいし mean in this context?

texts:
3 characters talking with each other after being transferred into a strange world:

C1: そっちで勝手に話を進めないでほしいものね。こちらは訳も分からないまま巻き込まれた形なのだけれど？ (I want you to stop doing things arbitrarily. Even I've been involved in this for no reason too you know?)
C2: いやだってあんなところで突っ立ってるから (No, it's because you were just standing there, it's not our fault)
C3: ぼさっと突っ立ってる方が悪い (It's your mistake for standing there in a daze)
C1: ...どうやら斬るべき敵はまだ残っていたようね。 (Looks like there are still some enemies left for me to kill here)
妙に調子もいいし、今なら二人まとめて輪切りにしてあげられるわよ?

I don't understand the last sentence, especially 妙に調子もいいし here. Please help me interpret this line.


texts:
The sentence in question is

「いずれにしても、強大な力を秘めていたことは間違いない」

For me, this would mean something like

"In any case, there is no doubt it was hiding its mighty power." (a)

However, Google translate gives the following sentence:

"In any case, there is no doubt that he had a great power." (b)

Now, normally, I don't take stuff from Google translate at face value but in this case, I've seen other people translating this sentence both ways (both (a) and (b)).
Context-wise, the sentence appears as part of the following dialogue,

「ミュウです」
発掘隊員が石版を指すと、博士は感嘆の表情を浮かべた。
「神秘の力を持ち、大洪水を引き起こしたとか••••••荒地に作物を実らせ、人々に分け与えたとか••••••」
「天使か悪魔か」
「気まぐれなだけか」
研究員たちが後に続くと、博士は笑みを浮かべた。
「いずれにしても、強大な力を秘めていたことは間違いない」

and it translation (b) can fit too. According to Jisho though, 秘める only has the meaning "to hide".
That being said, is (a) the correct translation? Is (b) possible as well?


texts: Meaning of 家族ポイントを消費

texts:
What is the meaning of 家族ポイント and 家族ポイントを消費?
Examples:

家族ポイントを消費して行くオプションもありましたが、年の初めから無理をすることもなかろうと看病モード。
かなりの家族ポイントを消費しつつ、札幌歴史ゲーム友の会の例会に久々に参加しました。
家庭にオーブン付レンジをお持ちのお父さん、絆ばかりで家族ポイントを消費がちだと思いますので、株を上げるのは如何でしょう？（黒いな）

Are 家族ポイント a kind of "points" that are earned by doing some 家族サービス and can be spent on non-family leisure? Or am I misunderstanding the concept?
I particular in the 3rd example, I fail to see why having an oven would have a negative point impact.


texts:
What does the first 思う, right after なったら, mean here?

  私は大人になったら思う存分ライブに行きたいと思う。


texts:
This is from an interview in a magazine

希望を満ち、つねに未来の先の先のさらにその先を見据えて真っ直ぐ進んでいるような人にはとても憧れている

I'm trying to understand this sentence but it's confusing for me especially the part "未来の先の先のさらにその先を見据えて"

What I understand right now is "I admire people who are full of hope and keep moving forward and looking beyond the future ahead." Can anyone please help me understand. Thank you.


texts:
I know that の shows possession, but I've also seen translations such as "Frog on stairs" from

「階段の蛙」

to say "on" or "at"
When is it actually used, and what other meanings does this particle have?


texts: Can the ~てくれてありがとう form be used to thank someone for more general actions?

texts: If I would like to thank someone for their work (in the context of "wow! what a lovely sculpture! thank you for your effort/for letting us see this!" or "thank you for writing about this subject, it's pretty obscure!"), would the ~てくれて form still be the best choice to express this? From what I know so far, あげる/くれる/もらう are used for a pretty of personal level of giving and receiving, but I of course don't want my thanks to imply the person created whatever they did specifically for me (or for anyone but themselves, really!)


texts: "But", "but also", "yet", and "and yet" when listing things?

texts:
How do I express these ideas in Japanese while listing things?

For example, how should these sentences be translated into Japanese while carrying the same tone?

He has a scary face but a heart of gold.
She's very quiet but also very direct.
I was doing my best, and yet I also wanted to give up.
I'm excited yet vigilant about the future.
You'll have to do it carefully but fast.


texts: Asking a question with a negative verb (見なかった?)

texts:
In Yotsubato Ch. 1, Fuuka asks Ena:

  変な子みなかった？

I understand this to mean "Have you seen a strange kid?" But I'm a bit hung up on the negative form of the verb here. Why not ask:

  変な子みた?

Is there a difference in meaning or nuance?

I know that negative verbs in questions can be used invitationally or rhetorically as in:

  ゲームをいっしょにしない？

or

  このケーキは甘すぎじゃない？

But somehow this case seems different to me. Is it the same or related grammar pattern? Or is it a different pattern that someone can point me to?


texts: How is したら acting in this sentence: こいつからしたら当然の反応だが

texts:
Can anyone help me find out what したら is doing in this sentence:

  くそ。こいつからしたら当然の反応だが

I assume こいつから to be "from these guys", 当然の反応 to be "natural response" and だが to be "but/however".

Now for the confusing part. The したら seems to be the たら conditional of する. Could this be "expressing surprise at the condition" like Tae Kim says here?  Even so, how does する fit here? Could the speaker be saying something along the lines of "whatever these guys do, I'm not surprised (It's my natural reaction at this point)"?

Any help would be much appreciated. I've been coming across more uses of たら that don't necessarily translate to "if" or "when", so that can partly contribute to my uncertainty with this problem.


texts:
I'm going for a word-for-word translation of (miss) understood (you can hear the song here, but I'm having trouble with the verse:

  今さらきれい事だなんて

  聞くつもりも言うつもりもない

  痛みは増える一方だろう

  ならば受け止めて行くまでさ

Basically what I got out of google translate was

  Beautiful words I too late

  Not even going to say going to hear

  While the pain will increase

  Sa to take if we

Which I reworked, with help from JpopAsia to (I have trouble with Japanese characters, so I am using transliteration right now)

  Imasara (too late) kirei gotoda (beautiful words) nante (for me)

  Kiku (listen) tsumori (going to) mo iu (a.k.a.)

  tsumori (going to) mo nai (not)

  Itami (pain) wa fueru (increase)

  i-ippou (on the other hand) darou (would be)

  Nara ba (if) uketomete (accept)

  iku (go) made (to) sa (sa=emphasis)

I get the meaning of every sentence except the last one.  It is something like this right now:

  If accept, go to !!

But I don't understand what "go to" (followed by sa for emphasis) could mean in this context.


texts: What's the meaning of こそ in this sentence?

texts:
While doing some exercises I found one where I am supposed to insert the correct answer in this dialogue, but I don't understand why it goes こそ。

  マイクさん:「ジャンさん、歌うまいね」
  ジャンさん:「そんなことないよ。マイクさん…………プロの歌手みたいだったよ」
  マイクさん:「え、そうかなあ」

  なら　　2. でも　　3. こそ　　4. が


texts: I have looked up dictionary but i found only one meaning "jump".I think it has other meanings .Help me


texts: What's the use of the て-form in this sentence?

texts:
While reading manga a character stole a power from another guy and said:

  ちょっとこいつの力を試してみたくてな。

I wonder what's the use of the て-form in みたい?.
What would be the difference with こいつの力を試してみたいな


texts: What is the proper response to いらっしゃいませ？

texts: The term is used in shops and stores to welcome customers. It seems impolite to ignore the greeting.


texts: What are some ways of saying '~not meant to be~'?

texts:
Some examples:

"Children aren't meant to be working in factories; they should be in school!". I thought "子供たちが工場なんて所で働くのは子供っぽいじゃない" or ”〜で働くべからず。”

A: "Today I filled everyone's water bottles in the office!"; B: "Uh, you're not really meant to do all that.". I thought "そういうことじゃ、役割にはないだろう" or some such usage of 役割.

I think the connotation in the above in the usage of 'meant to be' is along the lines of "You, as a student or an office worker or a child, or whatever, have this pre-ordained/socially established set of things you ought to be doing but you are doing things that veer off this course."
Are there more general ways of conveying this in Japanese or is it highly context dependent?


texts: "対象 Intransitive Verbs"　vs　"原因 Intransitive Verbs" when taking に

texts:
The gist of this question is about you determine whether intransitive verb takes に as "対象/に対して" or に as "原因/によって", when it's not especially obvious
対象 is def 3, and 原因 is def 7
に as 対象/に対して:

人に頼る 　仕事に熱中する
私に勝てると思ってるの
私に甘えっぱなし

に as 原因/によって

物音に驚く　　　酒に酔う　　　雨に濡れる
恐怖に引きつった表情
歓喜に震えている
怒りと恐怖と不安に乱れていた。

While sometimes this distinction is obvious, other times it is definitely confusing. For example:

私に、貴方の汚辱にまみれた液を、出してみなさい
at first glance it would seem the fluid is being smeared but in fact it is a fluid being smeared with/by 汚辱. With further research As far as i can tell ～に塗れる is always the 原因/によって usage of  "being smeared by ～".
汗に光る尻が震えた。
is this "butt glistening "via" to sweat or is it "butt that has light shining at the sweat" ? Based on the only related sentence i can find, "女の目が怒りに光った" i believe is the first choice, but how can i know for sure?

There's also randomness in terms of the ～ before に

take 知恵の輪に没頭する。
which would be very similar to the 仕事に熱中する example under 対象/に対して. In
fact 彼はそれぞれの仕事に没頭している is also an example. All look like 対象 usage.
but ゴミを破壊する簡単なお仕事に彼は酔っていた。is also a thing,
this ...仕事に looks like> it can only be 原因 usage. So if i look at 知恵の輪に没頭する again, can i be sure that this isn't "because of 知恵の輪, 没頭する"?

Lastly lets look these sentence i havn't yet searched up example sentences to confirm yet.

Aくんも私と同じように、恋に破れて泣く日が来るんだろうか  (about unrequited love)
am i (原因) "getting torn apart because of love, crying days have come?", or am I (対象)"tearing" the love(my relationship) apart, crying days have come?"
石につまずいて、転びそうになった
(原因) tripped because of rock, or (対象) trip into rock?

Is there a way to tell without looking up example sentences? Is there a more obvious way to classify verbs in terms of this usage?

～にまみれる looks like it only takes 原因 and ～に触れる looks like it only takes 対象

Are there any exceptions regarding this for まみれる and 触れる? More generally can intransitive verbs only take one or the other? Are there any intransitive verbs that can take both 原因 and 対象?

thank you for reading to all the down here.
edit further clarification:
This my be born out of my on misconceptions i'll try and explain where i am coming from:
Given

ウォッチングに勤しむ, it is logical to look at it as "ウォッチング<--towards(対象)--勤しむ"
or " to work hard at (towards) ウォッチング
私は禁忌に触れない: "禁忌<--towards(対象)--触れない"　or " to not conflict against
(towards) 禁忌"

vs

恋に破れる: "恋--because(原因)-->破れる" or "to be broken due to love "
歓喜に震えている: "歓喜--because(原因)-->震えている" or "to be shaking due to  joy"

The point is that depending on the verb, the "direction" of concept changes. And sometimes this "direction" is hard to discern. Like with XXに困る, to be perplexed at(towards) XX, to troubled "because of" XX ??
Compared to something like:

君が言う,  the only option is 君 --> 言う.
君を殴る, the option of is 君 <--- 殴る.

This can never be reversed no matter what the verb.
If there is no way to determine "direction" a verb falls under without reading a lot of examples for ～にV-int, is it possible to at least confirm whether each verb only take one of  原因 or 対象, or can some take both?


texts:
I found it in 吾輩は猫である in the sentence

  この間おさんの三馬を偸んでこの返報をしてやってから、やっと胸の痞{つかえ}が下りた.

After the cat has tried for several times to climb into the kitchen.
Is that 三馬{さんま}を偸んで{ぬすんで} (3 horses stolen?) a fixed phrase? But I didn't find it on Google.

My own interpretation would be:
During this, the response osan (the kitchen maid) gave me was as if (someone) has stolen her 3 horses, after that, (however) finally my worries were relieved.

Though, even so, I still don't get the proper meaning of the "から、" here.
Thanks for your help!


texts:
I've asked this to several native Japanese speakers, but I've gotten varied responses so I thought I'd put it out here.

Which feels 'stronger', ie more forceful:

(1) そこに行かないでほしい
(2) そこに行ってほしくない

To me, ～ないでほしい feels like it's a  little more forceful. Then again, both are probably translated the same way in English. So what's the verdict?
分からなかったら書かないでほしい。（笑）


texts: Questions on the figurative meaning of 食って掛かる

texts: If 食って掛かる is one word meaning "to lash out at someone" or perhaps closer in figurative language, "to bite someone's head off," how should I think of the 掛かる? If I want to understand the logistics behind this word,  perhaps I can imagine it as "to be hit with someone's bite," wherein 掛かる provides the "to be hit with" meaning? Is this the right way to think of 掛かる here?


texts: What are those symbols above the racing cars?

texts: In the manga, there are symbols above the cars when they race. In the picture below, it says ガッアアアア in katakana. What does it mean? Is it the sound of drifting or an engine?


texts: Modal expressions in "He must be Japanese" - に決まっている and ぜひ・きっと・必ず

texts:
"He must be Japanese", if translated to idiomatic Japanese according to the standard concept, should be:

彼は日本人に決まっている。

What about the following alternatives?

彼はぜひ日本人です。
彼はきっと日本人です。
彼は必ず日本人です。

Are these acceptable as well?


texts: When is it overkill to use suffix 先生{せんせい} when addressing someone in Japanese?

texts:
When I meet a lawyer (弁護士{べんごし}) or physician (医師{いし}) in Japan, I address them using the (augmentative) suffix 先生{せんせい}.  To be clear, I am not a lawyer, physician, or teacher.  (I read about how peers should address each other in another Q&A.)
Is it overkill to use the same suffix when addressing a judicial scrivener (行政書士{ぎょうせいしょし})?  Further, if I choose to address using suffix 先生, is this only used during the initially meeting / introduction?  Or should I use it always (repeatedly), throughout the (business) relationship?
If there are other similar cases, please kindly share your experience and opinion.
Related:

Is the use of 先生 and similar titles context sensitive?
Is it appropriate to use [先生]{せんせい} when addressing a ski instructor?


texts:
I have encountered two words for "joke": 冗談{じょうだん} and ジョーク.

What is the difference in meaning or usage between the two? I have tried Googling but found nothing particularly helpful.


texts: か at the end of a news story title. Is it a question?

texts:
The title of a story on NHK News Web Easy is

  バスの事故{じこ}　スピードを上{あ}げながら走{はし}り続{つづ}けたか

Which, with my abilities, translates as

  Bus accident. As speed increased it kept running?

I don't understand why that か is there at the end of the sentence though. Is the title of the story actually a question? Or does this signify something else? Frankly I'm not even sure my translation is correct. It seems an odd thing to say, since a speed increase would seem to imply that of course the bus kept running. If the bus wasn't running, the speed would go down, generally speaking.


texts: Nuance of もらう in 毎日使ってもらえるものがいい

texts:
I read this sentence in a listening exam script from a past paper and I was just wondering what purpose the てもらう serves here. The conversation is as follows;

M: 先生の誕生日に何かあげませんか。
F: いいですね。毎日使ってもらえるものがいいですね。

Is the nuance something like ' something we can have him use everyday....' ?
Would the phrase not work fine without もらう? For example: 毎日使えるものがいいですね。
Thanks in advance!
よろしくお願いします！


texts: Why "お食事の際は、..." instead of "ご飯を食べる際は、..."?

texts:
In the following, my textbook says that #1 is the correct choice.

  (1) お食事の 際は、こちらのテーブルをお使いいただけます。
  (2) ご飯を食べる 際は、こちらのテーブルをお使いいただけます。

I think that both are grammatically correct and have the same meaning (ignoring whatever "nuance"). What am I missing?

And what about this? Is it grammatically correct? Does it sound natural?

  (3) お食事する際は、こちらのテーブルをお使いいただけます。


texts: あなたがこの文のおかしいと思うところは？

texts:
The structure strikes me because the underlying transformation seems to be like this:

[　あなたが　]　[　この文の　　～ところを　]　[　おかしいと　]　思う
[　あなたが　]　[　この文の　　＿＿＿＿＿　]　[　おかしいと　]　思う　ところは～

Another similar example is:

[　僕が　]　[　君の　　～ところが　]　好きだ
[　僕が　]　[　君の　　＿＿＿＿＿　]　好きな　ところは～

This structure is unusual because the adjective 君の does not modify anything after transformation. The grammatical word order should have been:

[　[　僕が　]　　[　＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿　]　好きな　]　[　君の　]　[　＿　]　ところは～

Here is my question:

Is it possible to say, 僕が君の　好きな/好きだと思う　のは、そういうところだ (I suppose no).
Apart from と思う and 好きだ, are there any other verbs can be used in this way?


texts:
When making a statement like:

  I thought I had gone to the cinema.

Do you say:

  映画館{えいがかん}に行った{いった}と思いました{おもいました}。

or:

  映画館{えいがかん}に行った{いった}か思いました{おもいました}。

And how does it work with other verbs that are not like thinking, considering, saying? Which one am I supposed to use then?


texts: With whom to use different honorific forms? 丁寧語より尊敬語・謙譲語・丁重語

texts:
With whom is it considered proper to use 尊敬語・謙譲語・丁重語 instead of 丁寧語?

I mean saying おいでになります・伺います・参ります instead of 行きます.

The often given example is for a service-person speaking with a customer, but what about when speaking with 先生 or coworkers?

In particular, inside a company, would it be normal to use 尊敬語・謙譲語・丁重語　with anyone older or higher in rank? It seems like that might be too excessive.

Does usage depend on factors such as context or personality?


texts:
I would like to know what does ことごとく mean. When searching for it on Google, some sites tell it means "completely" (like すっかり, for example), another site says it means "all" (like 全部) and other sites say it means "all, every" like すべて, so I don't know what does it usually mean.
In this site, for example, it is said that ことごとく means these three meanings in funtion of the kanji: https://eigobu.jp/magazine/kotogotoku , but I would like to know if this word has effectively various meaning or has one main and predominant meaning.
If besides telling the meaning, you could please give me example sentences with this word I would be really thankful.


texts: What is the difference between 〜となる and 〜になる?

texts:
Is it a nuance difference?  Is it formality?
EDIT
For example:

請求書のお支払いは現金のみとなりますので、ご了承くださいませ。
請求書のお支払いは現金のみになりますので、ご了承くださいませ。

I just made that example up, but for some reason, my gut tells me it's the first one, even though I don't see anything grammatically wrong with the second, either.  Is it formality level only?


texts: Can the term メリークリスマス be seen as politically incorrect?

texts:
In some countries, some people avoid using "Merry Christmas" and instead say Happy Holidays:

  Thought by some to be a politically correct alternative to Merry
  Christmas and/or Happy New Year when greeting people in public places
  due to concern over those who might not celebrate Christmas.

(I'm not sure who'd be offended by Happy New Year - people who don't use a Gregorian calendar?)

Is it safe to use メリークリスマス? If not, are there "politically correct" alternatives?

Searching jisho.org for season's did get some results literally translating as season's greetings, but I expect phrases written in kanji aren't likely to be politically correct euphemisms for "Merry Christmas".


texts: Kanji for におい - when do you use 匂い and when do you use 臭い?

texts:
Could someone help me understand when which kanji is used? For example I have seen 臭い on a packet of cat sand. I can't remember where I've seen the other but I found the following example sentence on jisho.org:

  臭いをたどってみよう。

It's translated as "I should follow my nose."

At first I suspected that 臭い【におい】 is used for undesirable smell and 匂い【におい】 is used for good smell but the example above seems to contradict my little theory.


texts: What is the difference between dono hito and donata?

texts:
I got to know that dono hito specifically asks about a person while donata is for who in general, so does taht imply to all living beings?
Are both used in formal conversations?(If yes, which is preferable?)


texts:
I'm having a lot of trouble understanding what this means (bolded):

どこに行くんですか？
あ。。。森。。。ですか。。。
森の中、そこだけは
何も無かったり、有ったり
過去の遺物の集積場
「ここにやがてつまれるのかな？」

What does 何も無かったり、あったり mean?
This is from a song.


texts:
I've been playing some しりとり recently at http://www.shiritori.org/ and was wondering why no words with を show up.

siritori.net suggests there are quite a few nouns starting with を:

  を
      をかし
      をことてん
      をつうじ
      をつうじて
      をつうじまして
      をとおして
      をとおしまして
      をの
      をひてかわ
      をめぐって
      をめぐりまして
      をめぐります
      をめぐる
      をもちまして
      をもって
      をろがま
      をろがみ
      をろがみゃ
      をろがむ
      をろがめ
      をろがも
      をろがん
      ををがけ
      をんなひゃくにんいっしゅ

With the exception of maybe を at the beginning of the list, apparently these are all playable nouns in shiritori. There is also a list of words ending with を here: http://siritori.net/tail/%E3%82%92 .

In contrast, jisho.org gives one noun starting with を (ヲタ, and even then, it's an abbrieviation of ヲタク or オタク) and no nouns ending in を.

In a shiritori game with a normal person, or even at competitive shiritori, does を show up? Are the を words at siritori.net too obscure to be valid?

(Feel free to add the classical-japanese tag if it's appropriate; I'm not sure if this counts.)


texts:
I've an instagram friend who is far older than me. One day, he figured out that I lived near his house, then he commented this in my instagram post:

あなたに会いたかった。

What does that mean? Did he want me to meet him directly? Or just hoping we can meet unintentionally?


texts:
Of course, こっちも can be "me too," etc. but that doesn't seem to fit here. Here is one line I've seen, though there are plenty of examples of this usage.

  あんたの力になりたいのは山々だが、こっちも金を持ってないやつの力にはなりたくないんだ

If I had to say, I think the import of the line is "I really want to help you, but I don't want to help a guy without money." Where does こっちも come in? The meaning of "also" doesn't make sense, as there is no one around in the context of the line. I guess it could mean even? Please help.


texts: Differences between 'prepare' words. 整う、備える、設ける

texts: What are the nuances between each? For general use in most cases can they be substituted for 準備します?


texts:
Something like?

今育児休業(いくじきゅうぎょう)です。


texts:
I understand that たっぷり and たくさん means "a lot" but how can you tell apart the right time to use one or another.

Please point me a couple of examples.

Thanks

まいど ありがと


texts:
Firstly, I apologize if this question does not go here or if it is too basic.

I have been studying Japanese for two years and I am at the point that if I see one kanji written somewhere, I have to search it in the dictionary.

This morning I received a parcel with some gifts from my Japanese friends and there it was written ミゲル(?), which is my name (Miguel) and some handwritten kanji that I cannot recognize (only the 木 radical on the left, but I don't find any similar kanji when I search by radical). Maybe it varies too much from handwritten script to computer script.

You can see it in the image below:

I tried to draw it in some mobile app that I have, but maybe my calligraphy is too bad, as it does not produce any result. Could you tell me which kanji it is?

Thank you for your help. I have been all day trying to figure out from which radicals it is composed.


texts: 連用形 used instead of regular 連体形 directly modifying nouns

texts:
I'm attempting to read my first light novel and am unsure about whether I am misunderstanding the function completely, or if it is merely a literary usage. Here is an example:

  不機嫌な顔でまたも逆に問われロレンスはたじろいでしまうが、ロレンスにとってホロが人であるかないかは実に重要な問題なのだ。

Why is the stem used, and not 問われ(た/る、など)

教えてくれてありがとうございます


texts: Difference between 「〜 時{じ}に」 and 「〜 しながら」

texts:
What is the difference between 「〜時{じ}に」 and 「 〜しながら」?
I know I can say 「緊張しながら」 - means "while worrying..". Would it be correct if I write it as 「緊張時に」?


texts: Does this sentence have a good or bad meaning?

texts:
あたしのお母さんはあなたはなぜあたしを好きか不思議らしい

I know that 不思議 can mean either marvelous or strange so I'm a bit confused to really understand the meaning of this sentence which came on its own without a context.


texts:
In English, an em-dash is often used where dialogue is interrupted:

  Get into the c—

Is there an equivalent punctuation in Japanese?


texts: やる and あげる when used with て-form of verb

texts: What's the difference when using やる and あげる with the て-form of a verb. For example: 教えてやる and 教えてあげる.


texts: Is 甲州街道沿い a relative attribute to 今の八王子市

texts:
For full context:
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/news/web_tokushu/2018_0202.html?utm_int=news_contents_news-closeup_002

The sentence in question:
文化１４年、西暦１８１７年の１２月２９日の午後２時ごろ、甲州街道沿いにある宿場町だった今の八王子市とその周辺の日野市や多摩市に、雷のようなごう音とともに隕石の雨が降り注ぎました。

My attempt at translation:
"(??文化１４年??) around 29.12.1817, 2.p.m, in nowadays Hachioji City, which existed along Koshu Kaido and was an inntown, and in the surrounding Hinoshi and Tamashi, a thunderous roar like lightning thunder together with a rain of meteorites rained down incessantly."

I think 甲州街道沿いにある宿場町だった今の八王子市 and その周辺の日野市や多摩市 are both local adverbials, connected through と and made local by に.
However, especially 甲州街道沿いにある宿場町だった今の八王子市 seems rather complex and Im not sure wether I resolved the attributes correctly.


texts: I wonder if the name for Spain in Japanese is 西班牙 (west, group, tusk?) because it has some implicit meaning (like English expression as 'horn of Africa', 'strait of ...', Middle Kingdom, ) or it just happens that the sound of the kanji matched the Japanese version of Spain (スペイン).


texts:
I lived in Japan for some time and can communicate quite well. However, sometimes there are some constructs in Japanese which I know but can't explain with grammatical rules.

最終 + noun is one of them. For example the last entry time to a restaurant could be 最終入館：２２時.

Grammatically thinking it should be 最終の入館, but I've never heard that.
Is there a reason why the の is not present in these constructs or is there just some irregular thing going on that you have to know?


texts: Historically where did all of these different forms arise, and when are they used? I noticed that だ and である both have their place in different 文法形, what is the difference in their meaning? I know that in things like 論文 as well as, apparently, on Wikipedia である is used, but I really don't know why.


texts: Difference between the two "o" kana, and how to input them from romaji keyboard?

texts:
In Japanese, what is the difference between the two "o" kana (the お at the top of the list and the other "o" usually listed at the bottom rightmost entry of the hiragana our katakana chart. I can't seem to find a way to enter this (using Android Swype Japanese keyboard). Is there a standard way to enter this character at a keyboard?

I tried entering the custom sentence:

Anata wa nani o kaimashita ka.

using romaji to see if the characters would come out. However, it seems I have to type ha instead of wa, if I type wa then the は character is not suggested, and I cannot seem to find a way to enter the latter "o" character which is the way I want, using the romaji keyboard.

I general, how do Japanese romaji keyboards solve this issue, and how can I solve it?

Thanks.

あなたは なにお 買いました か。

？

Are these two "o" pronounced the same?


texts: rules for "personification" with 「じん」、「しゃ」、「か」？

texts:
In English, "personification" is a literary device. But, I am talking about when you take a common noun, and then add 「人」、「者」、 or「家」:
「労働」--->「労働者」
「案内」--->「案内者」
「日本」---> 「日本人」
「社会」 --->「社会人」
「農業」---> 「農業家」
「投資」---> 「投資家」

(1) Is there a generalized rule / guidance for knowing which nouns can be personified, and which suffix to choose?

(2) When studying Japanese grammar in English, is "personification" the correct technical term? The term "personification" when applied to English writing is completely different.

note: Sometimes, I arbitrarily say 「＿じん」 or 「＿しゃ」 instead of 「＿の人」 without knowing if it is really a word. If the overall context is clear, most Japanese have no problem understanding what I mean. Does anyone else do this, or something similar with other suffixes?


texts: What is the meaning of もしかして？ Sometimes I got it on my Japanese novel (Japanese people have given it to me for free), and on films I watched. But, I don't know what is the meaning of that.


texts: Psychological state verb + みる auxiliary?

texts:
Two "textbook" sentences + attached translations:

悔やんでみたところで始まらない。No matter how much you regret it, it won't change a thing.
「私は」彼が言ったことを何度も反芻してみた。 I thought over his remark again and again.

So far I know of two ways みる auxiliary is used - to signal an attempt to do something to see what happens, or to see something in the literal sense. This here seems more as if it were a signal to the agent's resignation to doing something. Is that how one should treat psychological state verb + みる? How would one contrast the 2 above to these 2 below:

悔やんだところで始まらない。
彼が言ったことを何度も反芻した。

Do the (immediately) above 2 sentences sound "right" to a native/fluent ear?


texts: Keeping track of the speaker/subject in written conversation

texts:
This question may be a bit broad/vague but any advice would be much appreciated.

I'm struggling to follow the implied topic in the book I'm reading. The book is mostly just a conversation between lots of people with very little supporting narrative e.g.

  「　　　　」
  「　　　　　」
  「　　　　　」
  まる子はあきれたように言った。
  「　　　　　　　」

Sometimes the 言った seems to refer to the previous quote, and sometimes to the following quote, and so on.

Because I've only been learning for a year it can take me a while to figure what the sentence is saying, let alone who said it or who they said it about.

Beginner books tell me that the topic of conversation stays the same until someone asserts a new topic with は. That seems to be very far from the truth in reality.

Are there any obvious tricks I'm missing that help me keep track of who is speaking and who they are speaking about?


texts: Usage of the pronouns 「我が輩」 and 「方」 in everyday life

texts:
I want to know if these pronouns are used in real situations. I saw them come up in some video games and wonder if people really use them.

我{わ}が輩{はい} - I've read that this an old usage word but I've seen it in Mario games said by bowser.
方{かた} - I once saw this in an RPG and the commentator said it was a more polite form of 達{たち}.

I also want to know how I would sound if I used one of these (rude, feminine, old, young, etc.)


texts:
This might sound like a strange question, but how does the usage of commas differ when used in Japanese compared to English?

I believe りんご、オレンジとバナナ wouldn't work, but that it's OK to list like りんご、オレンジ、バナナ or りんご、オレンジ、またはバナナ. When should りんごとオレンジとバナナ and similar be used instead of commas or vice-versa?

I've heard that going e.g. 分かりにくくて、読みたくない with i-adjectives isn't correct but 分かりにくいし、読みたくない and 分かりにくく、読みたくない is. I'm guessing it's OK to go 簡単で、特に問題はない and 簡単し、特に問題はない right?

Additionally, what is the meaning of 、。 at the end of a sentence, e.g.　気にしてなかったけど、。? I think it might have some kind of emotive effect, so I think I'd translate it as "I didn't really care though" (for emphasis.) I might translate 、。 as "I'm flustered that..." in some other contexts but I'm not sure.


texts:
ロビーが満員で入室できませんでした

  悩み事で眠れない

Does this で mean "because"? If so, can it be replaced by だから、なので and/or だということで?  (I think that で in the first sentence is supposed to be だ/です, but can it be translated as "because"?)

I think that に can also mean "because" at times, would it work this time?

  ロビーが満員に入室できませんでした

  悩み事に眠れない

Regarding the second sentence, is the で used the same (だ/です)?

As you can see, I'm a bit confused with all these way of saying the same thing.


texts: I've heard elderly women in Japan referring to themselves using 俺. This leads me to believe that the usage has changed overtime to become only used by males. Did 俺 used to be gender-neutral?


texts:
This came about from my answer on martial art about Aikido and Karate. two diferent styles are called Shodokan and Shotokan. The kanji are as follow:

昭道館 for Shōdōkan
松濤館 for Shōtōkan

I have always understood 昭道館 to mean "open way" but I could be wrong.

What do they mean? What is their etymology?


texts:
その日。彼女のもとに、招かれざる客が現れた。
見るも巨大な鉄の塊。長い手足の歪な人型。
そんな異形共が、彼女の領域を侵したのである。

What would be the function of the bold も?


texts: "bigger number + から + smaller number" and the omission of 「まで」

texts:
A sentence from an article on Bitcoin in Asahi Shimbun:

  それが世界｛せかい｝で１兆｛ちょう｝から７千億円｛せんおくえん｝相当｛そうとう｝も流通｛りゅうつう｝している。

I guess it can be translated into:

The value of those (bitcoins) circulating all over the world ranges between 0.7 and 1.0 trillion Japanese yen.

It appears very uncommon to me to put the bigger number before 「から」when setting a range. Is this case simply a minor exception? Or am I missing some important point?

Bonus question:

The corresponding item in スーパー大辞林 seems to be:

  (3)範囲{はんい}を表｛あらわ｝す｡｢…から…まで｣の形｛かたち｝をとることが多｛おお｝い｡｢小学校｛しょうがっこう｝―大学｛だいがく｝まで首席｛しゅせき｝で通｛とお｝した｣｢何｛なに｝―何｛なに｝までお世話｛せわ｝になりました｣

It implies that, when manifesting a range, 「まで」can be, or even must be, omitted in some cases. But in what cases?


texts:
a follow up on: Can ような mean "To make"?

X は仰け反り、聞いてるこちらが悲しくなるような悲鳴を上げた。

X shrieked in a way that made me become sorrowful

Person talking to the speaker was singing before
あの惚れ惚れするような歌声を聞いていたためか、ひどく棒読みに聞こえるのは。

I heard her voice as extremely monotone, maybe because i had already heard her singing voice that enchanted me (made me enchanted?)

あはは、と少女はおどけて笑う。意識しているのかどうかは不明だが、俺のいたたまれない緊張がほぐれるような優しい笑みだった。

It was unclear whether she(I?) realized it or not , but it was a smile that made my unendurable tension relax.
I feel this usage is much more explicit for the first example, does also apply to the other two examples?
Thank you


texts: I was doing some reading on the different honorific forms in Japanese and came across ください being the humble form of くれる. Does this mean that -くれてください at the end of a request is tautological?


texts:
Correct me if I am wrong about くれる form. It means any action which we received from someone.
How does it change the meaning if じゃないの is added?
Example:

言ってくれる

言ってくれるじゃないの


texts: Does 泣いている describe a continuous action or a state after a change has taken place?

texts:
Intransitive verbs describe a change that people/things undergo from my understanding and do not take a direct object. I've also read that the te-form of intransitive verbs with いる describe a state that holds after said change occurs.
E.g., 店が開く　(the store opens)  ---> 店が開いている (the store opens and remains open)
However, the verb 泣く'to cry' is intransitive, yet 泣いている apparently describes the continuous action of crying (instead of a state)?


texts: How to ask a "would/could you ever" question?

texts:
Let's say you want to ask a sort of reverse hypothetical question, in which you don't construct a scenario, but rather you define the result, and ask the listener if they can imagine any scenario that would produce that result.

Here are some examples of this type of question in English:

Would you wear a polka-dot tie?
Would you move overseas?
Could you ever give up eating meat?

How do you construct a question of this sort in Japanese (feel free to directly translate the three examples above), and what tense/conjugation should be used?


texts: Asking about "time sent" and "time received"

texts:
What is the proper syntax for questions like "When was this message sent?" or "When did you receive my message?". Another example would be "What time was it when was this message received?".

Beyond that I'm having an inordinate amount of trouble with these things:

In the case of IMs would 送信する、送る、or something else used as the verb?
What verb form would be used for sent/received? is it a direct passive?
Which 何時 would it be? Would なんじ, いつ, or something else be used here?

I'm looking for the right syntax as much as or more than the right words. I'm not really sure why this is harder for me than other "when" questions.


texts: What is the difference between the imperative forms of the -aru verbs?

texts:
What is the difference between these imperative forms:

nas-ai

nas-are

nas-aimase

nas-aimashi

(As far as I understand these verb forms apply only to the honorific –aru verbs irassharu, ossharu, kudasaru, gozaru and nasaru, or am I mistaken?)


texts:
What exactly is the difference in meaning of にだけ vs だけに?

My dictionary gives an example of:
僕にだけ話してください．vs　僕だけに話してください。

These are translated as the following: Please tell it to me only/Please tell it to me alone.

I'm slightly confused as to the difference in meaning. In English, these could both have the same meaning, although the second can also mean that it should be told to the teacher with no other people present (but allowing you to tell it to other people at another time).


texts:
I said to a Japanese person last night, meaning to say "I'm tired":

  つかれたです。

She corrected me to:

  つかれました。

I'm curious as to why this is. I thought つかれたです was grammatically correct. Does it sound strange or unusual? And why would using the past tense "I felt tired" be preferable to the present tense "I feel tired"?

Please reply in kana or kanji with furigana only.


texts: So, what is the rule for this construction

texts:
In my textbook I learned that when a sentence shall be nominalized, there are these 2 ways.

SENTENCE + こと
SENTENCE + という + こと

2 is in case a complex sentence shall be nominalized.

In addition, when the to be nominalized sentenced ends with a な adjective, it shall be nominalized this way:
な adjective + なこと or な adjective + である

Now, concerning this case, there were 2 examples in the grammar section, one for simple sentence and one for a complex sentence.

simple sentence:

  世界中でこの漫画が有名な (な/である) こと知っていますか。

complex sentence:

  日本に来てから、家族はとても大切 (だ/である) ということに初めて気がついた。

Now, for the complex sentence, would it be possible to write ...家族はとても大切なということ... as well?

My textbook gave me no explanation as to why it only proposes the copula, but not the な suffix DESPITE claiming otherwise just a few lines before :/
Or is it possible that in the nominalization of complex sentences requiring という, it is obligatory to use the copula when the to be nominalized sentence ends with a な adjective?


texts:
I'm attempting to translate parts of my 完全マスター N2 textbook just for the practice, and even though I've already gotten past this section, the meaning of [国]{くに}の[母]{はは} still eludes me. I don't like using Google Translate, and I can't find it in my dictionary.
Also if you could critique my translation, that would be very helpful.

[国]{くに}の[母]{はは}に[電話]{でんわ}をかけた。[母]{はは}の[声]{こえ}を[聞]{き}いたとたん、[涙]{なみだ}があふれてきた。
"I spoke to my mother over the phone. The second I heard her voice, I started to sob with joy."


texts: What is the difference between ある日 and ある日のこと?

texts:
For example:

  ある日のこと、たろうは、また海へ出て。

As I understand ある日 means "one day". What does the のこと do to it?

Possibly related? What is the こと in sentences such as あなたのことが好きだ? and What is “koto” used for?


texts:
I've noticed that some nouns can be described with すべき, as in

  彼女{かのじょ}はもっと注意{ちゅうい}すべきだった。 (She should have been more careful.)

I understand it as

  彼女{かのじょ}はもっと注意{ちゅうい}するだった。 (She has been more careful.)

being a complete sentence on its own, and the "shouldness" acting as a modifier.

However, if I wanted to say "Her explanation should be precise", modified from,

  彼女の説明は具体的。("Her explanation is precise")

I'm not too certain how to insert the する into the sentence, so that すべき can act as a modifier in this particular case.


texts: How to say "I have N years experience in ____."?

texts:
Is this correct,
私は＿＿＿でN年の経験があります。

Thank you!


texts:
下人は、頸｛くび｝をちぢめながら、山吹｛やまぶき｝の汗袗｛かざみ｝に重ねた、紺の襖｛あお｝の肩を高くして門のまわりを見まわした。雨風の患｛うれえ｝のない、人目にかかる惧｛おそれ｝のない、一晩楽にねられそうな所があれば、そこでともかくも、夜を明かそうと思ったからである。「羅生門、　芥川龍之介」

Second sentence (from 雨風の...) looks like ｛下人は｝Xと思った, where X describes 下人's thought process ("If there were ... he'd spend the night there").

The sentences with からである that I've seen roughly involve a cause/reason, something like AはBからである - the reason for A is B. However, I can't see anything explicit (no A, so to speak) here to suggest the thing that could have spurred 下人's train of thought.

Question: how is からである used here? Why didn't the sentence end at 思った?


texts: How do you say when you learned from something?

texts:
If I want to say that I learned from something, Can I use like this?
For example:

この小説を読むと、いろいろなことわざを学びました。

Or there are other Kanji that I can use?
Thank you for any help!


texts: What is the difference between 完了 and 終了?

texts: Both 完了 and 終了 seem to have the connotation of finished/complete, but what is the difference, if any, in usage?


texts: The tense of punctual verbs as noun modifiers

texts:
I got a listening transcript (that has been cropped for the sake of simplicity) as follows

The context is about people who got (and still) married rather than people who will marry or  people got divorced.

As far as I know, 結婚する is a punctual verb (瞬間動詞) so got (and still) married must be translated as 結婚している.

As you can see from the above screenshot, the book author seems to be inconsistent (and probably wrong) as 「結婚する人] means people who will marry  and 「結婚した人」means people who finished their marriage (literally it means the people got divorced).

Question

Am I wrong in this reasoning?


texts:
My Japanese friend uses the work ｢アヒル」when referring to ducks in a public park. However, another Japanese friend uses 「鴨」（かも）in similar situations.

In English, as far as my limited knowledge of the animal kingdom goes, we just have the word "duck". Can anyone explain the difference between these two words? Which is more common (and more correct) in the situation I've outlined? And do the rules change if we're talking about duck as a dish in a restaurant?