texts: What's the difference between “plain form + とき” and “ta-form + とき“?

texts:
According to the book I'm reading, both of these sentences translate to: “I bought a bag when I went back to my country”.

国へ帰るとき、かばんを買いました。
国へ帰ったとき、かばんを買いました。

Now the nuance, if I understand correctly, is that

#1 is saying that "on the way" to the country, she bought a bag. In other words, she bought the bag en route but before she arrived at her country.
#2 is she arrived at her country and then bought the bag.

Is my understanding correct?


texts: Why can a single word have more than one Kanji?

texts:
For example, うなずく has 3 Kanji as follows.

頷く
首肯く
肯く

Why can this single word have 3 Kanji?


texts:
Take a sentence like:

そういうのはな(noun)だったらこう｡｡｡

I'm not sure what to make of the のはな part. I'm not even sure they're all particles. I suspect the な might be a negative. I'm guessing the の turns the first word into a noun, like "that sort". So, maybe it's saying "If that sort of (noun) wasn't こう..." But, I'm not familiar with a word こう. 子, yes, but...

The context is, a character talking to another character after thinking about the other forgetting to cut his hair. Full bubble: だったらさ! そういうのはな男だったらこう｡｡｡ The other person then seems taken aback.


texts: What is the difference between 「ほど」 (hodo) and 「ぐらい」 (gurai)?

texts:
As in the question title, what is the difference between the two sentences below?

  一{いち}時{じ}間{かん}ほどかかります。
  ichijikan hodo kakarimasu.

  一時間ぐらいかかります。
  ichijikan gurai kakarimasu.

How do we choose to use one over the other?


texts:
通訳の仕事は視野が広がるし、自分自身も成長できるよね

In this message why is し used instead of から？I thought し was mainly for when there’s multiple reasons for things. Is there another use or reason for it or is it kinda like や, where the other reasons might not be stated?


texts:
「竜の歯を依り代とした人型はコルキス王の魔術と聞く。
  その娘、王女メディアは稀代の魔女と謳われたそうだが？」

Does this mean:

  The human form who made the dragon tooth as a vessel

or

  A human form which was a dragon tooth made vessel.

How does にする・とする work before a name?


texts:
As a potential customer, how should I start and end an email if I am emailing a business, for example, to ask about a product? How should I introduce myself? Would I need to use 謙譲語 and 尊敬語?

Additionally, what would be the difference between if I knew the name of the person I will be emailing and not?

I saw this question but it seems to only address the case that I have already interacted with the business in the past, which isn't the case.


texts: How does つつ work in a sentence like 飲みつつそう言った?

texts: For 飲みつつそう言った, I'm confused on how it works because a person can't really say anything while water is in their mouth. However, does that mean the person talked in between sips or does it mean that the person has yet to actually drink anything and simply talked while raising the cup to his lips? I also saw a sentence like 聴衆の前に立ちつつ、新製品の発表を行った, so does it mean that the person already finished drinking and said it since 立ちつつ means the person was already standing, not doing the action while in the process of getting to one's feet?


texts: 「ら」 in 「平たいら」meaning

texts: What does 「ら」 means in word 「平たいら」 based on word 「平たい」? Word taken from anime "Non non biyori Repeat" and means the names of Triops (animals): 「ひらたいらさん」.


texts:
There appear to be some kanji and other characters such as ①, ②, ③, Ⓐ, ㊄, ㊗, ㊛, ㊑, and many more, which are enclosed in circles.

These characters are listed in unicode and there are quite a lot of them, with various seemingly unrelated kanji, as well as numbers and hiragana and katakana characters.

There is also a character called 'combining enclosing circle' which appears to be intended to circle the character before it, though this doesn't work in all fonts.

Finally, in Microsoft Word, when the Japanese IME is selected, it even offers a menu option to encircle a character in your document with quite varied settings as to how to display it.

It appears that there has been a lot of effort put into making these characters accessible, and yet they don't have any clear usage that I can find, or even a mention of them at all online. Why do these exist?


texts: Any books or websites dedicated to Japanese tech/IT language?

texts:
I work in IT in Tokyo, so most of what I do doesn't require interaction with our Japanese customers, but every so often we get that one phone call where someone wants something explained, and I can always make it through, but never at the level that I want to.  The problem usually comes in with regards to computer terminology.  For example, when I'm on the spot and don't have any time to look things up, if I want to say, "if you hover over the icon, a tooltip will pop up," I just toss out something simple like「アイコンの上にマウスを動かして、クリックせずに１～２秒程待ってください。そうしますと、ツールチップが表示されます。」.  And it works and gets the point across as expected.  But I'm consistently wanting to improve upon sentences like that, to something more natural in Japanese --- in this particular example, what I want to know is, what is the most common and most natural way to say "hover the mouse over..."?  Problem is I don't have time to do language research at work, and by the time I get home my brain is either fried or I just forget.

I'm aware of stuff like http://e-words.jp/　for pure dictionary lookups, but really what I'm looking for is like a book that I can read during my train commute, written for native English speakers learning Japanese, and focusing exclusively on technology/Windows/programming terminology.

Thanks!


texts:
姉は知らないことも、さも知っているかのように話す

I came across さも for the first time recently: it is supposedly an adverbial usage, meaning 'as if' or 'in that way'. However, in the sentence above I'm not sure what the か is doing.
I had a similar confusion lately about いかに where it encloses a phrase with か, which I took to mean that it was asking a rhetorical question within a sentence and then answering it. I'm not sure if it is related to above question though...

日本の技術がいかに進んでいるか、よくわかった。


texts: Interpreting the past tense of 形容動詞 / 形容詞 / adjectives

texts:
In Japanese 形容動詞 can be used as part of a noun phrase in the past tense (contrary to adjectives in English), e.g:

  「綺麗だった花」 → "the beautifulpast flower" → "the flower that was beautiful"

We can combine  the noun phrase with a verb phrase, with every combination of past and present tense for either of the verb and the 形容動詞:

  綺麗な花を買う。
  綺麗な花を買った。
  綺麗だった花を買う。
  綺麗だった花を買った。

I can see the following interpretation of the last three sentences:

This can have two interpretations:

The flower was beautiful at the time of buying, and may or may not be beautiful at the time of speaking.
The flower is beautiful at the time of speaking, and it may or may not have been beautiful at the time of buying.

This can have two interpretations:

The flower has been beautiful in the past, but no longer is at the time of speaking.
The flower was beautiful in the past, and may still be beautiful at the time of speaking.

This can have three interpretations:

The flower was beautiful at a time before buying, but no longer was at the time of buying, which is before the time of speaking. So to say: "I bought the flower that had been beautiful once."
The flower was beautiful at the time of buying, but no longer is at the time of speaking.
The flower was beautiful at a time before buying, and may or may not be at the time of buying, and may or may not be at the time of speaking.

Question 1: Are these interpretations grammatical? Am I missing interpretations?

Question 2: Are these interpretations natural (i.e. would a fluent speaker interpret them this way)?

Question 3: Do 形容詞 work in an equivalent manner? (e.g. 美しかった花を買う, etc.)


texts:
Please help me understand this たる!

  焼きたる
  在りたる


texts: How can I say "we met at x event" politely in an email?

texts:
I'm trying to email someone pretty high up in a company and want him to remember who I am.
Edit: I met him briefly at a trade show. We exchanged business cards and spoke for less than five minutes.
Should I use:
お目にかかりました
or, what I think is probably more appropriate, an expression using some kind of 授受表現 like
お目にかからせていただきました
お会いしていただきました
お会いさせていただきました
or something similar? I have a feeling there's a kanji word for this kind of situation, but I don't know what it is.


texts: How to say "Dealing with someone about something"

texts:
I wish to say:

  He deals with clients about the overdue invoices.

I tried to express it in next way:

  あの人は顧客の支払期限が過ぎた請求書に対応する。

But I don't like it. I feel like I use the wrong verb and the wrong grammar to express the idea I need. Could you please help me with any idea?


texts: Using the stem form of a verb like the て form, as in 燃えゆく or 飲みほして

texts:
What is the significance of sometimes using the stem form of a verb like how the て form would be? For example:

  燃えゆく (from HANABI)
  飲みほして (from Ambiguous)

It's something I hear now and again, but never understood what its grammatical roots are.


texts: How does ジャンケンポン become the meaning for the rock paper and scissors game?

texts: It's the term used for the rock, paper and scissors game. I have also heard the term kai bai bo/bou used. Which term is correct? Kai bai bo/bou sounds Chinese. How does jyankenpon and kai bai bo/bou relate to iwa, kami, and hasami?


texts:
首から下に目を向ければ、すらりと伸びきった四肢や、引き締まっていながらも胸や腰など出るべきところはきちんと出ているメリハリの利いたグラマラスボディ。

What does 出るべきところ mean here ?

Also what does メリハリの利いたグラマラスボディmodify here?


texts: Function of より before a noun in a phrase

texts:
I came across this sentence/fragment from a song:

誰かの演技を真似してみて　より自分が分かったり

I'm having trouble what the function of the より before the noun is supposed to be doing. Is より自分 a set phrase that doesn't appear in the dictionary? Is there another function of より besides being a comparative particle and meaning "more" as an adverb in front of adjectives?


texts:
What are the most common　(informal) expressions for a badly taken photo?

My first guess was 悪い写真, but searching for that in google finds only scary pictures, so I don't think that it's what I'm searching for.

My other guesses are:

気持ち悪い写真
上手くない写真


texts:
So I'm cramming for the N1 test next week and doing grammar exercises in the 日本語パワードリル book. I come across the following question and felt fairly confident in my answer:

  友人に真実を_________　悩んでいる。

  １　告げようか告げまいか
  ２　告げようと告げまいと
  ３　告げようが告げまいが
  ４　告げようとどうしようと

Two answers, ２ and 4, I discounted immediately. I remembered the ようが・まいが grammar as meaning "whether or not", so went for that. With the English meaning "I am worrying whether or not to tell my friend the truth".

However the answer is ようか・まいか. Both have the simplistic English meaning as being "whether or not", so I am wondering what is the nuance that I am missing out on?

Is it to do with the 悩んでいる part? Is ようが・まいが more of a "regardless of whether A or B" and ようか・まいか is more of a "debating whether to A or B"? Is the latter always used when you're thinking/wondering/worrying etc?


texts: How do I use the Japanese word 素直(Sunao) for upfront?

texts: I've been trying to find the Japanese word for upfront for a while now. And about two to three days ago, I got my answer. However, every time I try to translate it in a sentence, it says "docile" or "obedient." How do I use it for the aforementioned word?


texts: Meaning of ゲロった in ぼっちルーチンをゲロっただけでした

texts:
For context I have added an excerpt below.
A summary of the context is that the protagonist was called out for being a 'stalker', and he 'proves' his innocence by showing her videos that show it was just coincidence (he is a hacker so he was able to obtain access to these videos from the security cameras, and she did question where he got them from).
So on to how to understand the final sentence. ゲロる seems to be a verb used (in this context) similarly to confess/letting the cat out the bag.
So is the final sentence saying something like:
"With a smug face I called out this guy for stalking me, but all he did was confess his 'ぼっちルーチン'.
Is this the correct understanding for the below?

「な？　どう見てもコイツ、目の前の飯とスマホにしか興味ないだろ」
「たしかに……こんな退屈そうな食事風景、初めて見た」
「あんたも人のこと言えないと思うんだけど」
「うっさい！　ぼっち言うな！」
１週間前に中庭で食べたときの映像には、隅っこにさりげなく少女の姿が映り込んでいた。ベンチのはす向かい同士で、俺と彼女はまったく同じ姿勢で黙々とパンを食べていた。
「毎回必ず先客がいるなーって思ってたけど……　そうか。全部、あんただったのか」
「ぐ……」
「ん、待てよ。それってつまり、あんたの行く先に俺がいたんじゃなくて――」
「ま、待って。それ以上は――」
「あんたが昼休みに毎回ぼっちスポットにいるだけなんじゃ……」
「やけに一人になれる場所が少ないと思ったら、まさか同志がいたとは。そりゃ領土も限られるよなぁ」
「うう、同類を見る目はやめろー！」
「サイアク……恥ずすぎる。ドヤ顔でストーカー捕まえたら、ぼっちルーチンをゲロっただけでしたー、って……」


texts: JLPT N1 practice question: Usage of この辺で

texts:
Taken from https://japanesetest4you.com/japanese-language-proficiency-test-jlpt-n1-listening-exercise-6/, question 4.  Select the most appropriate response:

では、そろそろ新年会もこの辺でお開きにしましょうか。

ああ、この場所がいいですね。
そうですね。もう遅いですし。
皆さんおそろいなので、まず乾杯しましょう。

The correct answer is 2. But I'm not sure why 1 doesn't also make sense, since the first speaker uses 「この辺で」.

Why would the first speaker use 「この辺で」?  Translated literally, "Let's get the New Year's party started around here soon" sounds a bit odd.  Is there a colloquial usage I'm not familiar with?


texts: Why is ゆ written in hiragana on bath houses' noren?

texts:
I am informally teaching Japanese to friends and they sometimes ask interesting questions I can't answer.

Yesterday, I told them that ゆ could often be seen in front of public bath houses, and someone asked me why the kanji wasn't used. I guess it has been like this for centuries, so that everybody can read the sign, but I am not sure about it.


texts:
I couldn't confirm if these are correct/natural ways to say these...

待ち行列 : waiting line (queue)
行列を待っています : (I'm currently) waiting in the line (queue)
行列を待ってください : Please wait in the line
行列を作って並んでください : Please make a line and then line up

Thank you in advance...


texts:
Here is the sentence including the word.

だいたいだな　ジョーってやつはじぶんの腹{はら}をこやすために　うちのせがれどもを利{り}用{よう}しとったんや


texts:
What is the difference between 積もる 【つもる】 and 溜まる  【たまる】?
I've found the verbs used like this:

洗濯｛せんたく｝が溜まる｛たまる｝。
雪｛ゆき｝が深く｛ふかく｝積もる｛つもる｝。

In this context, are these verbs interchangeable? Can I say 3 and 4?

洗濯｛せんたく｝が積もる｛つもる｝。
雪｛ゆき｝が深く｛ふかく｝溜まる｛たまる｝。

N.B. I will consider the usage of 積もる 【つもる】 and 溜まる  【たまる】 in sentences 1 and 2 correct (since I found it in textbooks while studying for N3), but if you have any doubts please let me know.

Thank you.


texts: What does exactly does さま mean in dictionary definitions?

texts:
I've been using Japanese-Japanese dictionaries for a while now and this keeps popping up. It seems to me like a kind of usage that is found for the most part only in dictionaries. Can anyone help explain what exactly さま means in the dictionary definition below? (It's from 大辞泉.)  It seems to be just a generic object that they modify with the term's definition, i.e. XYZ is a blah blah blah さま (thing).

ささ‐やか【細やか】
［形動］［文］［ナリ］１ 形や規模があまり大げさでなく、控えめなさま。「―な商売をはじめる」「―に暮らす」

Any clarification would be really appreciated.


texts: Why does ゆっくり take the honorific prefix ご?

texts:
Is ゆっくり the only mimetic expression that accepts the honorific prefix ご?

And for that matter, why does it take the honorific prefix ご- which is usually meant for 漢語?


texts: What is a more direct translation of もったいぶっちゃって

texts:
Context is Ellie found a comic book she thinks is interesting but then sees she won't be able to know what happens next since it ends with "to be continued." She finishes her rant with 「もったいぶっちゃって」Not sure what these two words mean but I assume it's something along the lines of "What a load of bullshit..." But I'd like a second opinion.

エリー：何これ？
ジョエル：おい！寝てたんじゃないのか？
エリー：あのさあ、そうは見えなかったけどこのマンガ結構面白いよ
でも問題がある
ここ
次回に続く
もったいぶっちゃって
ジョエル：どこにあった？


texts:
From this paragraph:

  中邑はかつての戦友たちの気持ちをおもんぱかりながらも「最近の日本のプロレスのスタイルというか、特に危険な技の応酬という意味では、そういうトレンドになっていた。本間さんの件もしかり、重傷者が出てきているということに考えたり、変える必要がある時期なんじゃないかな。各レスラーが今の危険な技だったり、リスクを顧みない試合について考えないといけない」と警鐘を鳴らした。

There are two things I don't understand:

-Is there some sort of connection between というか and という意味では in this line(I think he's talking about wrestling style as a whole but then kind of backs down):

  「最近の日本のプロレスのスタイルというか、特に危険な技の応酬という意味では、そういうトレンドになっていた。

-And this line(Is it saying that nowadays each wrestler possess dangerous moves?):

  各レスラーが今の危険な技だったり


texts: Why should one use the dictionary form instead of the potential form in this case?

texts:
The question:

  映画が好きなので、時間とお金が ＿ 限り見に行っている。

Both "許す" and "許せる" are offered as choices, and the answer is "許す".

Is it because "時間とお金" are impersonal, so the potential form "許せる" would not be appropriate here?


texts: I am not sure if しつこい would be appropriate in this context.


texts:
もう１つの大{おお}きな政党{せいとう}の共和党{きょうわとう}からはドナルド・トランプさんが出{で}ました

This seems simple enough but I don't know how to properly translate. Literally:

  About from the Republican party of the large political party of another one, Donald Trump (appeared?).

"The Republican party of the political party" is probably not what the の means here, but I'm not familiar with other meanings of の.


texts: ご面倒をお掛けして申し訳ございません。 means "We are sorry for the inconvenience." but what is the meaning of 掛ける in this context?


texts:
This article about a Japanese translation of Amanda Gorman's inauguration poem is headlined as follows:

暗から明へーアマンダ・ゴーマン氏が米大統領就任式で朗読した詩の内容は？翻訳者の読み解き

Obviously the translation is:

"From darkness to light" — what's in the poem that Amanda Gorman read out at Biden's inauguration? An analysis by the translator.

But how should 暗から明へ be read?
My best guess: 暗{やみ}から明{あかり}へ, but I'm not aware of やみ as a reading for 暗 (I am only aware of the reading くら in compounds, or otherwise 闇{やみ} if やみ is the intended reading).


texts: I'm a new learner of a day & am confused by my Japanese learning app that puts au & ue together with a, i, u, e, o under a section called Japanese vowels. Other places say there is only 5 vowels so why is my app including au & ue as vowels?


texts:
国は「中止していた特定技能の試験を外国でいつ始めることができるか考えたいと思います」と話しています。

Source:
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/news/easy/k10012450361000/k10012450361000.html

At the end, the sentence says:
話しています but I don’t get why the continuous aspect is necessary here. Shouldn’t it be simply: 話します as in: the state “says”?

P.s.: Also, isn’t 考えたいと思います redundant? Unless it means “they thought about wanting to consider”?  Because if the 考えたい which means “to want” + “to consider”?


texts: Are there differences in nuance and usage of [内]{ない}[緒]{しょ}, [秘]{ひ}[密]{みつ}, [隠]{かく}し[事]{ごと} and [秘]{ひ}め[事]{ごと}?

texts:
They all carry the meaning of "secret" in English, but are there differences in nuance and usage of each of them:

  [内]{ない}[緒]{しょ}
  [秘]{ひ}[密]{みつ}
  [隠]{かく}し[事]{ごと}
  [秘]{ひ}め[事]{ごと}

Incidentally, why is it that there is [内]{ない}[緒]{しょ}[話]{ばなし} but you have to add の into [秘]{ひ}[密]{みつ}の[話]{はなし}?


texts: どうぞよろしくお願いします meaning

texts:
メインビジュアルを公開！パッケージにも使用予定のイラストです！発売まであと3カ月を切った本作をどうぞよろしくお願いします！

Discolsure of the main visual!
The illustration that is planned to be used on the package!
Thank you in advance for this work which will release in less than 3 months.

What does

  をどうぞよろしくお願いします

Mean here?

That was my translation.

2 other questions.

is

  発売まであと3カ月を切った本作

The work that in less than 3 months will be released?

I think that timeを切る means something like: In less than
本作=It can be used for games too I guess.


texts:
The context:

  Speaker to himself: そこに行って彼に会えば全部分かる事だ

At first I thought the 事だ meant "should" but on second thought realized that meaning of 事だ actually indicates that you're advising or warning someone, and not that an outcome is to be expected. So then what does it mean? Does it mean something like　だろう in this context?


texts: How should I choose between [知]{し}る and わかる?

texts:
Both 知る and わかる get used for "know", "understand", "learn", "find out", and various other concepts. How do you know which to use when? Are there any rules to help you decide?

Additionally, both of these verbs regularly appear in several different forms:

知る、知った、知っている
わかる、わかった、わかっている

In what situations do you use each form, and how does the meaning change?


texts: Expressing a doubt between multiple items in an enumeration

texts:
Consider the sentence: "I am hesitating between A, B and C". What would go between A,B,C―迷っています?

Asking someone to make a choice seems more straightforward (I would say "A,B,C（の中）から選んでください".)

I could also find examples for choosing between two things (A,Bのどちらかを選ぶことを迷っています). However, how can it be modified to work with larger lists (considering that どちらか is more used for two options)?


texts: I can't understand anything in this sentence. Please help

texts:
I'm still a beginner learning japanese, so I'm sorry if this is just a stupid question. I was reading a manga and a character says:

  だめ。シミが浮くとこ見てるから。

I can't understand what he means or what he's referring to...
I can understand the "だめ" part, but what about "シミ" and everything else?
Although, I would really appreciate if someone tells me the meaning of everything here. Thanks in advance! :)

CONTEXT UPDATE: There are two characters in the page. One of those two says "If you're going to touch me, do it properly". Then, the other one who's touching him, says "だめ。シミが浮くとこ見てるから。", and he goes away for a brief moment. That's everything I can't understand, the "シミが浮くとこ見てるから" part. And yes, he's saying "シミ" and "浮く". Maybe the artist wrote the words wrong? I think that's a possibility. Again, thanks in advance!


texts: How interchangeable are の／である／なる／たる when qualifying nouns?

texts:
So we know that we can qualify/equate two things with a の.

  友達のジョン　→　My friend John
  先生の山田さん　→　A/My teacher Ms. Yamada
  勝利者の亀さん　→　The winner:  the turtle (as opposed to the hare)

It seems like most of the time, the の can be replaced with である without any change in meaning.  Or is there some nuance where the meaning changes slightly?  With 先生の山田さん, to me it has more of the sense of my teacher, whereas 先生である山田さん definitely does not.  Does the である necessarily diminish the personal-ness of the qualification, or does it just depend on what you happen to be talking about?

Further, we can go on to include the なる connector as I discuss somewhat in this topic (“Grammatically-correct” particle-less phrases/sayings).  なる appears to add a little more formality, but other than that I can't really see what else it brings to the table.  For example, in my Japanese Bible, I've seen the following when referring to God:

  父なる神様　→　God the/our Father; Father God
  神なる主【しゅ】　→　Our Lord God

If I recall correctly, these were both instances (although appearing multiple times in the whole Bible) where someone was referring to God while speaking to other people.  Is this likely just due to a different writing style by different Biblical authors, or is there really some subtle difference in meaning?

Finally, there is たる which seems to be the most formal (?), most archaic (?), and mostly literary (?).  Again, all I can tell is that I usually see this paired with some kind of recommendation / moral suggestion / responsibility.

  教師たる者、忍耐力がなくてはならない　→　All teachers must have patience
  学生たるもの、勉強すべきである　→　All students should study

Obviously if the meaning changes completely they are not interchangeable.

  (社長たる道　=　社長の道)　≠　社長である道　≠　社長なる道

  Doesn't work because we're showing a possessive with the の, not equating.

So at what times are these connectors interchangeable, and what nuance(s) does each bring?  Is my reasoning correct in any of these areas?


texts: "In my dream, I ran through a meadow full of flowers" -> 夢の中で、花がいっぱい草地で走っていた

texts:
So, I'm trying to build "In my dream, I ran through a meadow full of flowers" in Japanese, but I'm having some problems...

Is 夢の中で a valid way of saying "In the dream"?

Should that comma be there?

The 花がいっぱい草地で　to say "In a field/meadow full of flowers" part is correct?


texts:
Here is the context said by a boy who was training in boxing.

  左ジャブで敵の体勢をくずし　突破口を見いだしたらば　すかさず右ストレートを打つべし
  これ拳闘の攻撃における基本なり...とくら

I have found some sites explaining that it is changed from と来る but I still don't get it.


texts: Is there any difference between 旅行者 and 旅人?

texts: Is there any difference between the words 旅行者 and 旅人? Which one is more frequently used?


texts: Why is using ば or と, to indicate a conditional, considered ungrammatical if the 2nd part expresses a will, wish, order or request?

texts: The example my book gives for an ungrammatical usage is "山田さんがくれば、いっしょに大阪に行きませんか？" I recognize that such things are the standard, but nowhere in any of my research is it indicated why that's the case, nor does it explain why sentences like "高ければ、買わない方がいいですよ。" are considered grammatical. Can anyone clarify this(as well as what falls under an ungrammatical will, wish, order or request, in this context)?


texts: What is the difference between は and のは?

texts:
The following sentence means "seeing all the different foreign people was interesting."

This, according to my Japanese friends is incorrect:

  色々な外国人を見ているは面白かった。

... and this is correct:

  色々な外国人を見ているのは面白かった。

To me, the difference is so subtle that I can't really get a feel for how the presence of の really changes it.

Can someone provide an explanation that clarifies what makes の important in this situation?

Update: I'm actually still confused by this.
Couldn't the first example mean "Looking at the various foreigners was interesting", and the second example mean "That I was looking at the various foreigners was interesting"?


texts:
The word 「取り【とり】組み【くみ】」is generally translated as "efforts", but when I want to translate some certain sentence, this English word does't fit well, I think.

For example:

  社員満足度【しゃいんまんぞくど】を向上【こうじょう】するための取り【とり】組み【くみ】
  = Efforts to improve employee satisfaction

or

  安全対策【あんぜんたいさく】の取り【とり】組み【くみ】 とその強化【きょうか】 = Efforts for safety measures and it's reinforcement

In which situations is the word 「取り【とり】組み【くみ】」usually used and how we should better translate it?


texts: What are the advantages/disadvantages of writing in romaji instead of in kanji and kana?

texts:
Romaji is somewhat of a conversion from kanji and kana to the Roman alphabet.

What are the disadvantages of learning only or mostly romaji aside from being unable to read/write in kanji? I don't think there are many advantages.


texts:
I'm writing a manual, and needed to say something to the effect of "at runtime", as in "Some program debugging can only be performed (or is more efficient or accurate when performed) at runtime." (wiki)

I instinctively started typing "ランタイム時に" before realizing that I am essentially saying "at runtime-time", or "at the time of runtime".

Is "ランタイム時" acceptable Japanese? What good alternatives are there in case I don't want to or should not use it?


texts: How does しまう function here and/or what does it mean?

texts:
I've frequently encountered problems with しまう. Usually it appears alongside て form, like 遅れてしまいました, "Unfortunately I came too late".
In this case, it signals regret on the speakers behalf.

I'm having far more issues with this verb when its like here:
母からの手紙は箱の中に大切にしまってあります。

I can't even translate this sentence. I think the speaker says that his mom's letter is precious to him out of all the things in the box.
But really, I don't know how to incorporate a meaningful interpretation of しまう here. Maybe like "ultimately is precious"? The　て-form with ある also kind of gives me a headache. Maybe it means that the letter has reached the status "precious" and stays in that status now?
It's one of the functions I learned for て form + いる.
Like 窓が困っている　(or ある, because its an object? I once learned that いる is for living beings and ある for objects. But I feel like いる might have been combined with non-living objects too already. My memory might deceive me on this though...^^).


texts: When describing time span, are 間 {あいだ} and 内 {うち} interchangeable?

texts:
Both 間 {あいだ} and 内 {うち} can be used to describe time span relative to specific situations, similar to "while" in English. But are they interchangeable all the time? Are there any scenarios where one can use one of them but not the other? Are there differences in nuances?
Example sentences of my own (I'm not sure if they are correct or not so if they sound wrong please point out why):

先生が見てない間に逃げよう
先生が見てない内に逃げよう


texts: What's an オウンキー? Why does the term exist?

texts:
In the context of real estate, what is an "オウンキー"?

I understand that it literally translates as "own key", but having a word for that seems to be like needing a word for people with only one head. Is it to distinguish from people who live in a place, but don't have a key to access where they live?


texts:
I don't know how to convey the word たら in English in this context

A girl confessed her feelings to her crush, was rejected, and as a consequence she started wondering what "好き" meant.

ずっと言えなかった言葉だ

ずっと言いたかった言葉だと思う

なのに口から出てしまったらもう正体がわからない.

So, the last sentence is something like "But after the word escaped my mouth, I don't know its real meaning anymore". I think the sentence is a conditional, but たら meaning "if" doesn't make sense in English. たら meaning "when" makes more sense, but the wording is still a bit awkward "When it escaped my mouth, I don't know its real meaning anymore"). I think it probably does mean "when" but I don't know how to properly translate the word integrated to the whole sentence in a way it can convey what the Japanese sentence is expressing. Or does  たら have another use here?

any reply is appreciated_!


texts: Difference between 意志｛いし｝ and 志し｛こころざし｝ (will)

texts:
I learnt both 意志{いし} and 志し{こころざし}, but am always confusing the two of them.

Can someone highlight the differences between those 2 words (and other variants if any) ?


texts: Problem with 傷つく: who is hurt in this dialogue?

texts:
Context: in a manga a girl kisses a boy. He is so scared that he pushes her away. Then the girl says (I divided the sentences as they are divided in the balloons):

  あぁ…　ファーストキス？ゴメンゴメン。/　でも傷つくなぁー　そんなに怯えられるなんて… /　性で何かあった？

I know that 傷つく is an intransitive verb, but I don't understand who is the subject here. Which of the following translations is the correct one?

If you get so scared, it means you are wounded (inside)... Did you have a bad experience with sex?
I feel hurt that you got so scared... Did you have a bad experience with sex?


texts: What is the difference between [友達]{とも・だち} and [友人]{ゆう・じん}?

texts:
From a quick google search, they both refer to friend.

Are they completely identical or is there any difference between [友達]{とも・だち} and [友人]{ゆう・じん}?


texts: Why are voiced and unvoiced consonants both acceptable for the same word?

texts:
It's common enough to see two possible pronunciations of a word in Japanese.
For example, take the word 容態 (meaning 'condition' or 'state').

According to 三省堂 スーパー大辞林, both ようたい and ようだい are acceptable readings of the word. I notice that this happens a lot with names too - for example 中田 being read as either なかた or なかだ.

What is the technical reason that voiced and unvoiced variants are both acceptable?


texts: Why aren't these sentence elements placed in a different way?

texts:
A: タワポン-さんの部屋はどこですか。
B: あのカーテンの閉まったへやです。

I think it translates into this:
A: Which is the apartment of tawapon-san?
B: That apartment with the closed curtains.

I wondered, why isn't the sentence built like this:

B: あの閉まったカーテンの部屋です。

At least to me, it seems to be less ambiguous than the original version, which on first sight could also translate into:
B: That closed apartment with curtains.


texts: Could someone please clarify if I'm translating these two sentences correctly?

texts:
I think I've translated this correctly, but I started to have doubts about a few words and decided to double-check.

  (person A) 結婚なんて。。。めんどくせーこと オレはやめとくか。。。

  (person B) ああ。。。。。

On my first reading, I understood this to come to the meaning of:

"Something like marriage...it's tiresome. I might pass on it..."

"Yeah....."

(For context, there's been some vagueness as to whether person A and B's relationship is romantic or not, and the conversation takes place in a happy dream of person A's, in which he and person B are watching two married couples- one blissful, the other nagging.)

There are a few points I'm feeling a little paranoid about and would like some clarification on:

1- I'm aware that なんて can be used to express disdain towards the noun prior and sorta replaces は. It's with that sort of understanding that I made the above translation (I used 'something like marriage' instead of just 'marriage is' to better suit the pause). But I noticed that なんて can also be used to mean 'and the like', so for a moment I wavered on whether the sentence meant marriage or all romantic matters in general, but then decided it was probably focused on marriage alone due to the context and use of こと.

2- I'm assuming か was added to the end of the sentence as an indicator of the speaker wondering-out-loud, but when I thought about it, it could've just been there due to the speaker's speech pattern (they tend to say a lot of things like 行くか, やるか, etc.) which would change the translation of their second sentence to "I guess I'll pass on it."

3- I assumed the "ああ" was spoken in a 'ditto' sort of way, with the implication of person B agreeing that marriage was too bothersome to deal with. Endless limits of interpretation aside, can I just check if there's anything in the structure of the first speaker's sentence that strongly suggests -in the linguistic sense- another implication to the meaning of the reply?

Any opinions/corrections would be greatly appreciated.


texts:
牧師から信徒への手紙

"a letter from a pastor to the congregation" - weblio example
shouldn't it be

牧師からの信徒への手紙

?
It seems to me that 牧師から and 信徒へ are modifying 手紙 independently. Is this some kind of rule where の shouldn't be repeated in such cases?


texts: How to link two cause–effect statements in close succession?

texts:
Take for example the following sentence,

  Since I didn't have time, I couldn't go, so I declined the offer.

Here we have two cause–effect statements:

Since I didn't have time, I couldn't go. (時間がなかったから、行けなかった。)
I couldn't go, so I declined the offer. (行けなかったから、申し出を断った。)

Would it be natural to combine the two Japanese sentences and write

  時間がなかったから、行けなかったから、申し出を断った。

I don't recall ever a sentence with two からs (or のでs) in such close succession of each other. If I were to change the first から into し, I would get

  時間がなかったし、行けなかったから、申し出を断った。

However, this seems to imply

時間がなかったから、申し出を断った
行けなかったから、申し出を断った

which is different from what I want to say. What's the most natural way of connecting two cause–effect statements? In English I think this most often takes the form "Since ____, ____, so _____."


texts:
I'm hoping to confirm (or receive corrections) on a guess I have about the meaning of a sentence.
I'm reading a manga, and Character A stares at Character B for a long time with a serious expression. Finally, she says:

Character A: ペプシコーラとコカ・コーラどっちがいいかな.
Character B: 何を言い出すかと思えば.

Character B's response leads me to believe that he's saying something like, "With a serious face like that, I had no idea what you were going to say." But I'm not sure if I'm correct. As far as I know, 言い出す means to "blurt something out", but the grammar here is confusing me. Would appreciate anyone being able to break this down for me, thank you!


texts:
Usage and difference in meaning.

As I know they both mean to be careful. For example :

  ~車に注意してください。
  ~車に気をつけてください。

Both mean be careful about car (~while crossing the road)

From this question 注意する means to warn.


texts: Is the ''o'' in ''osara'' (plate) an honorific o 御 or just a normal o お?

texts:
I have learned that "plate" is both sara and osara.
The fact that the o can be attached implies to me that it is an honorific o 御.
My dictionary gives the honorific o as 御 but for osara it gives it as お.
Is "plate" written as both おさら and 御さら?


texts:
"Premature optimization is the root of all evil"

I would like to translate this quote into Japanese for a personal project. For further understanding of the meaning, Donald Knuth wrote this phrase in 1974, see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Program_optimization, context:

  We should forget about small efficiencies, say about 97% of the time: premature optimization is the root of all evil

Google translate gave me 時期尚早な最適化は諸悪の根源である but I'm not confident on it's correctness, and it seems a bit long?


texts:
Below are two excerpts from the short novel 「タクシーに乗った吸血鬼」 by Murakami Haruki:
その一

「でもね、本当に吸血鬼がいたらどうします？」
「参っちゃうだろうね」
「それだけですか？」
「いけないかな？」
「いけないですよ。信念というのはもっと崇高なもんです。山があると思えば山がある、山がないと思えば山はない」

その二

「お客さん、信じてませんね？」
「ん？」
「私が吸血鬼だって……信じてないでしょう？」
「もちろん信じてるよ」とあわてて僕は言った。「山があると思えば、山はある」

The questions:

I read the post on the topic marker used in negative statements (as a contrast marker), but I can not see what the mountain in excerpt 1 is contrasted with. Is it contrasted with the mountain that turns into being when you believe there is a mountain? Or is it contrasted with anything else that does exist? Is it really contrasted with anything at all?
I have no idea why 「は」, instead of 「が」, is used in the second occurence of 「山があると思えば山（は/が）ある」 in excerpt 2.


texts: Restructuring a long sentence when translating

texts:
So I am currently trying to translate a sentence from japanese to english, but it's quite long and I'm having issues on how to optimally put it, without it being too messy or without losing too much information.

The sentence goes as follows :

  既にニュースにもなっているが昨夜７時頃、会長の大栗さんがテニススクールの帰り道に[夕摩川]{ゆうまがわ}河川敷で河原にあった岩で殴り殺された事件だ。

Here's my attempt at translating it :

  It's even made the news but, yesterday evening, around 7 o'clock, the
  president Ooguri was found beaten to death with a rock, on the dry bed
  of the river in the Yuumagawa flood plain, on his way back from tennis
  school.

There are a few things I'm not sure of :

1- The sentence originally ends with 「事件だ」but I didn't find a way to plug it in my sentence. It looks like a subordinate clause to me but I'm not sure.

2- I put "Yuumagawa flood plain" for 「夕摩川河川敷」assuming Yuumagawa is a name, but I found nothing about it.

Anyway, it simply sounds a little bit lousy to me and I would need a critical view on this attempt.

Thank you for your answers.


texts:
In this sentence:

君は選ばれたのだ　私の退屈を埋めるための欠片の１つに

Does the particle に work in the same way as として? Is it the same as 私の退屈を埋めるための欠片の１つとして ?
Thanks for the answer!


texts: 続けて回っている versus 回り続けている

texts: Is there any difference between 続けて回っている and 回り続けている?


texts: I am a little confused when speaking Japanese when I should use が and when I should use は. For example, 学校はたのしかったです。or 学校がたのしかったです。What is the rule of when to use が and when to use は in a context?


texts:
Is this a grammatically sound sentence?

今年、私が勉強したことがない科目を習うことにします。


texts: I'm not sure whether to read 六道 rikudou or rokudou.


texts:
I have my cellphone in japanese to immerse myself as much as I can in the language, and when my facebook failed, this message popped up:
「問題が発出したためFacebookを終了しました。」
By context I can understand that "A problem happened with Facebook so it needs to be terminated" but can't understand the 発出したため part.
I learned the ため as "for the sake of", but I don't think its trying to say "for the sake of the issue", right?

Thank you before hand.


texts: What are the rules of using に and で with regard to 住む and 勤める?

texts:
I am going over the cases when に and で are used with location. According to the "Dictionary of Basic Japanese Grammar", に is used when something exists in a specific location (page 299) and で is used for events taking place at specific locations (page 105.)

The difference is rather clear, however there are two exceptions: 住む and 勤める. While I can understand that 住む might mean "to exist", the meaning of 勤める is less clear (I exist working at the office?). Are there other examples/exceptions to this?


texts:
We know the meaning of 振り in 手振り身振り is "imitation," combined with words 手 and 身 to form the meaning of "use of gestures and body languages to mimic."

But in the word 無茶振り, 振り does not seem to mean "imitation". How should I interpret this 振り?


texts: Pronunciation of Ōsaka / 大阪 / おおさか / オオサカ

texts:
Is the difference in pronunciations of Ōsaka in Google Translate different for the same reasons as "Sayaka" ?

I acknowledge this may be a dupe.


texts: I've noticed sometimes, especially in video games, that some parts of sentences that would normally be written in hiragana is instead written in katakana. For example, I've seen "です" written as "デス" and even words being split into hiragana and katakana "pieces" such as "ください" written as ”くだサイ". So why would this be used? Could it be just random and discretionary, or could it convey something specific to the reader e.g. in/formality?


texts: What kind of speech is sentence final 〜なも associated with?

texts:
In the game どうぶつの森, the character たぬきち ends most of his sentences with 〜なも, for instance:

Is this a characteristic of any real dialect or demographic, or just a 口癖 specific to the game?


texts:
Could someone let me know the meaning of the kanji 摑 that is the first character in this phrase? It's in a dialog from a movie scenario.

It doesn't seem to be a 常用漢字 as far as I can tell.


texts: Trying to make sense of this 記号, I'm wondering if verb-suru verbs can be jidoushi/tadoushi?

texts:
I have a couple of questions. Can verb-suru verbs be classified as jidoushi/tadoushi?

And could you take a look at this legend to help clear up my confusion?

Higher-res: http://i.stack.imgur.com/PkLYB.jpg

I'm having trouble understanding the significance of the ガ/ヲ and (ヲ)スル that gets wrapped around the vocabulary items in this vocab book.

It mentions that ガ/ヲ indicate 自動詞/他動詞, but I don't know if that applies to the bold part of the vocabulary item (the 見出し語) — it's rare but there are entries that have an ＜他＞ or  ＜自＞ mark, along with accompanying example sentences.

Also confusing is that an example sentence for 超過 uses を (albeit with a marker over the を) even though ガ is prefixed to the vocab item.

So, what's the significance of them? They come in a variety of combinations:

ヲ設定（ヲ）スル
ガ／ヲ中断スル
ガ作業（ヲ）スル

I couldn't find an example when the ＜他＞  mark is used with verb-suru words, but here are some more examples:

higher-res: http://i.stack.imgur.com/CUdMW.jpg

higher-res: http://i.stack.imgur.com/Knl7b.jpg

higher-res: http://i.stack.imgur.com/194Zk.jpg


texts: 「ので」のように、「のに」も略せますか？

texts:
「ので」が略せるように、接続助詞の「のに」も略せますか？

「ので」が「んで」か、「なんで」か、「なので」になれるなら、

「のに」も「んに」とか、「なんに」とか、「なのに」になれますか？

これを思えば、そうですか？

また、私の日本語がよくなかったら、すみません！


texts: What's the difference in the nuances that 呪縛【じゅばく】 and 呪い【のろい】 convey?

texts:
Is 呪縛 usually used to refer to a good spell or a bad one (like a curse)?

I mean the dictionary writes the english meaning as: spell/curse but I was wondering what sort of nuance would be attached to 呪縛 ?

Because I was watching this show and they were saying stuff like: it's not a curse (呪い), but a spell (呪縛)

So well from that i grasp that.. uh the nuances of 呪い are evil spells/curses, whereas the nuances of 呪縛 are neutral spells/good spells?


texts: Meaning of 誰も手をつけない蒸し立ての饅頭に初手をつけるということが

texts:
なぜかと言えば、この宿場の猫背の馭者は、まだその日、誰も手をつけない蒸し立ての饅頭に初手をつけるということが、それほどの潔癖から長い年月の間、独身で暮らさねばならなかったという彼のその日その日の、最高の慰めとなっていたのであったから。

May I know if my translation is accurate?

  Why is that so? The driver with a hunchback and obsession with
  cleanliness at the post station has to live alone for a long period of
  time. Making steamed buns that no one has made before is the
  best consolation for those days.

May I also know whether その日 in the first line refers to 長い年月の間 and what それほど in the second line refers to?

Thank you.


texts: My Issue: 低額. Does it mean low-cost or small amount?

texts:
Full text: 低額ATM回線サービス(*5)に対応するATM25M/ATM155Mモジュールや、ISDNネットサービスを利用した回線バックアップに対応するBRI/PRIモジュールを装備可能です。
My understanding: It can be equipped with ATM25M/ATM155M modules that support ATM circuit services(*5) and BRI/PRI modules that support circuit backup using ISDN network services.


texts: Is the kanji in this scene a mistake or some kind of joke?

texts:
My friend was watching the anime みつどもえ 増量中！, and in the first episode there is a scene where basically there is a protest happening against the kind of "power rangers" in this show.

It's the one on the left sign. Glancing at it I thought it was some weird version of 対 but when I actually looked at it realized that wasn't it. Someone else said that it could be a joke about father and opposition (父 and 対) since it's all parents revolting. I considered that but I think that's really kinda stretching it.

Any help and insight would be appreciated!


texts:
私に命令するな。何様だこのハゲ。
Don't tell me what to do! Who the fuck does this idiot think he is?

Besides meaning bald, or a bald/balding person, when cursing, does ハゲ also just become a generic curse word such as "douchebag" or "asshole"? In this sense, does it stay mostly male-restricted? What would be the nuances of this usage of ハゲ (ie perhaps still implying an older man?)
My 21 year old friend said this:
日本ではたとえ禿げてなくても「ハゲ」と罵ることが多々あります。


texts: もらっちゃっていい? what is the meaning of this expression?

texts:
The complete sentence is this

なにあれ私好みなんだけど、もらっちゃっていい？

Is it a way to ask permission?

Thank you.


texts: help with translation: a misterious space in the middle of sentence

texts:
怒りで単純になったお前の攻撃を     私が避けられないとでも？

I really didn't understand this sentence.
Why is there that space between "を"and "私"?

I'm not sure, but the whole thing is like:

"Because your anger, it was simple for me don't avoid your attack"


texts: How to say a double negative in Japanese

texts:
My Japanese friend asked me whether I believe in an afterlife.

I wanted to say, "I don't believe, but also I don't not believe." My point is that while I do not believe, I like to keep an open mind.

I intentionally use the double negative, because the meaning is different from simply collapsing the double negative into a positive: "I don't believe, but also I believe," which makes no sense.

The best I could come up with in my clunky Japanese is "信じていないけど信じたい" but that doesn't really say what I want either.

Is there a better way to get my point across? Does Japanese make possible these kinds of tortuous constructs?


texts:
I saw this while reading a light novel:
 群衆に紛れれば一瞬で見失いそうなほど凡庸な見た目だ。が、そんな彼を見る人々の視線には『珍奇』なものでも見るような不可解な色が濃い。
 1. What is the purpose of が in the second sentence. Does it replace the subject from the previous sentence?
 2. Why is 珍奇 quoted? And what does the なものでも mean after that? Thanks!


texts: Most natural way to write sentences of the type "A verbs that B verbs that C verbs that..."

texts:
A)

I think the typical way to say

  Tanaka said that Yamata knows where the building is

in Japanese is

  田中さんは山田さんが建物はどこか知っていると言った

Maybe it's more natural to say "the building's location" instead of using a interrogative clause, but the point is, the overall sentence structure takes the pattern

...S3(S2(S1OV1)V2)V3...

For small sentences, it's easy to keep track who is doing what. But when the recursion depth is larger, it gets harder to understand. Is there a way to reorganize the sentence such that the subject of each relative clause is next to the verb? I was thinking that it might be possible to make the sentences OSV order. Thus the pattern could be

...((OS1V1)S2V2)S3V3...

Here is my attempt, please tell me of any particle errors, or if the idea itself is flawed.

  建物はどこか山田さんが知っているのは田中さんは言った

B)

The inspiration here is the Eddington controversy:

  If A, B, C, D each speaks the truth 1 in 3 times (independently), and A affirms that B denies that C declares that D is a liar, what’s the (conditional) probability that D was speaking the truth?

in particular I'm trying to translate the bolded part

EDIT:

From the answers I realized I swapped 山田さん　and 田中さん


texts:
For instance, from here:

  あれだけ勉強｛べんきょう｝したのに試験｛しけん｝に失敗｛しっぱい｝したというのは信｛しん｝じられない。

with the meaning of

  I can’t believe (the fact) that I failed the exam after studying so much.

Is there a difference between that and this?

  あれだけ勉強｛べんきょう｝したのに試験｛しけん｝に失敗｛しっぱい｝したのは信｛しん｝じられない。

My understanding is that it remains gramatical since the の acts as a noun, and the verb clause before that modifies the の. Would it be fine to view them both as interchangable?


texts:
I have found the following sentence in my practising book (only 日本 is written in kanji because it's in one of the first lessons):

  日本は しまが ６８５２ とう あります。

I am guessing that とう is the counter for islands. Is that right?
Can it be written 島 like しま?


texts:
I realize that an explanation of when to use に or で must be everywhere on this site but i have a rather peculiar question on this topic.

For me alot of things in japanese atart out as "memorize this" and eventually much later actually understand whats going on.

One thing i have noticed is that the to に or で topic for me at least has been become somewhat based on logic and largely based on just memorizing whether to に or で for literally every verb i know.

The logic portion of my brain has been able to make the following deductions and i would like to know if they are actually true.

1) を particles seem to take exclusively で for locations.

2) if you cant find a way to put a を  particle into the sentence then it must use the に particle.

(This statement is twofold, as i am asserting that certain particles which must use が like ある and いる  must always use a ni particle.

But i am also asserting that if theres nothing to logically use the を or が particle on that the statement must use に  basically im saying if the thing you would normally use を on becomes something you would use the by means of で on instead it must use に.)

Obviously there are some structures like eru or rareru that can change a を to a が and i want to exclude all those cases from my above statements.

It is of course impossible for both my assumtions to be true. I know they cannot be because its incredibly straight forward and simple; and i have read many textbooks and articles on the subject and the best of them can only be described as an pathetic attempt to sort of maybe kinda think about almost trying to explaining something with any attempt at being definitive.

So my questions are when do you need to use に with the を particle?

Secondly when must you use で with a verb that can only use the particle が. Things such as conjugations that change を particles to が  dont count. As well as verbs who you can interchange を and が to emphasized the noun are also off limits.

Although i doubt this will complely answer my question of when to に or when to で.
 I feel it may allow me to reduce it to a problem of "is it possible that i could replace that が particle with a を particle and not drastically alter the sentence's meaning." It would at least be a vast improvement over memorizing every fking verbs particle.


texts: In what unit is the length of Japanese texts measured?

texts:
In English, we measure the length of texts in words. 1,000 words for the average college essay, 50,000 for something like a fiction novel.
I’m wondering what unit is used to measure Japanese texts. I’ve seen conflicting answers online. Some measure the length in pages—but page count is not an accurate measure of a text, as fonts and spacing can vary.
I’ve also seen stuff about character and word counts, but I’m a little confused about the usage of the word “文字” as it pertains to this subject. 明日, for example, is two characters but one word. あした, on the other hand, is the same one word, only now it’s three characters.
So are texts measured in pages, characters, words, or something else entirely?


texts:
Trying to make sense of this sentence:

  自分は死ぬ前に一目{ひとめ}思う女に逢｛あ｝いたいと云った。

Daijirin lists 一目 as a noun. However, it doesn't connect with 思う according to normal rules (there is no particle). To connect with 思う or 逢う, it must be an adverb. As it came before 思う, I thought the whole sentence to mean:

  I explained that before I died, I'd like to see to see a woman with whom I fell in love at first sight. // who I knew only through a glance etc

However, the actual translation goes:

  I explained that before I died, if only for a moment, I wanted to see the woman I loved.

Clearly, this interprets 一目 as an adverb that applies to 逢う (tai).

In other words, I have 2 questions:

1) is 一目 really an adverb?

2) how does it work in this sentence, grammar-wise?

3) if it's a set phrase I'm fine with no explanation other than "it just works", I'd just like to make sure what's happening here


texts:
What is the difference between 鍵 and 鑰?

I was about to learn the kanji for 'key' and I came across this problem. When I checked it in the dictionary it shows that both of them are read as kagi and both mean key/lock. So I'm asking you for help.

[Please be understanding about my English 'cause it's not my native language.]


texts: What is the difference between いろいろ and もろもろ

texts: Both mean 'various, all sorts of', but is there some subtle difference or not?


texts: can あいだ / あいだに be used with non-past tenses

texts:
Last week I learned to use あいだ and あいだに to express things that happen at the same time (are parallel) or things that happen while other are occurring. But I noticed that all the examples on the book (みんなの日本語 - 中級１ - Lesson 8, pp. 82) as well as the exercises and their answers use past tense, like this:

  電車に乗っているあいだ、本を読んでいた。

  食事に出かけているあいだに、部屋にどろぼうが入った。

As I understand, in this grammatical pattern あいだ is used sort of like a "while". But can this be used to express things that are happening now or will happen in the future, while others occur? For example, is this correct:

  あなたが映画を見ているあいだ、私は買い物に行きます。
  (While you watch the movie I will go shopping)

  みんなが遊んでいるあいだ、私は働いています。
  (I'm working while everyone is having fun)


texts:
Full text: テレメトリ機能: 本体は、Bluetoothを用いて、xxxxxxxxnk Heart, xxxxxxxxnk Relay、患者アシスタント及び併用可能なプログラマと双方向通信を行う。
My issue: 併用可能? What should we translate this? I could come up with programmers that can be used together / combinable programmers. This appears quite a few times in the whole text.
My understanding: Telemetry function: The main unit uses Bluetooth for two-way communication with xxxxxxxxxnk Heart, xxxxxxxxnk Relay, patient assistants, and compatible programmers/ programmers that can be used together.


texts:
Based on my attempt below, アルバイト and アルバイト先 have the same meaning of "part-time job", so why is 先 needed in アルバイト先で ?

The following searching results are intentionally attached here to prove I have done some effort but I still failed to understand.

先

アルバイト

アルバイト先

アルバイトで

アルバイト先で


texts: Why does 悪く(は)ない give a condescending feeling?

texts:
I thought it just meant "It's not bad" but I read some comments from Japanese people who said that it can sound too condescending or like the speaker feels superior to the listener. Why is that? In what circumstances could this happen and when can it be used as a normal reply without sounding rude?

EDIT: after reading the replies, I guess it may be the は that makes it condescending?


texts: What is the difference in terms of grammar between きり　and　っぱなし?

texts:
I'm pretty sure there is a difference between the use of these two words. I came across the example sentences:

  息子は、自分の部屋に入ったきり出てこない。

  母は入院している父をつきっきりで看病している。

  電車が混んでいて、東京まで立ちっぱなしだった。

I read from a textbook that きり　means 「〜ままずっと」 and that っぱなし　means 「ずっと+verb」. However, I'm thinking that the difference is that with きり, a negative situation exists that does not change (or does not hint at changing in the future). I also guess that っぱなし would indicate that a situation (negative) continued for a long time but then changed in the end. Does this seem correct?

I put the second example sentence because I was told by a native that when using　きり　it is usually followed by 〜ない. Though, the second example doesn't. Are there two possible meanings when using this grammatical form?


texts: How do I politely ask my boss for a moment of his time?

texts:
My boss is a native Japanese speaker.

In English, when I have a question or an issue to bring up, I can ask "Do you have a minute?" to see if it is an appropriate time to interrupt them.  In Japanese, when I tried the literal translation 一分【いっぷん】がありますか？ I was told I sounded like an Instant Ramen commercial.

I've heard another Japanese student use ちょっといいですか？ but they were also told that's not real Japanese.

I know the word 暇【ひま】but this doesn't seem like an appropriate context to use it, since my boss isn't free, I'm just interrupting him.

How do I politely ask him for his time?


texts:
I am reading よつばと.
In chapter 1, Yotsuba's father is carrying some boxes when he meets the neighbor Fuuka. She sees the cardboards (ダンボール) in his hands, and says:

そのダンボール ゴミに出す分ですか。

And he responds:

はい、そうしたいんだけど。

I can understant well what the sentence means... But doing a more intensive reading, I can't get the meaning/usage of 分 in this sentence.
I have looked up the meaning of 分 in the dictionary, and saw that it can mean part, division, etc. Doing some research I came up with the following translation:

These cardboards... Is this the bunch you want to throw in the trash?

I wonder if my translation makes sense or if I'm losing the actual meaning of 分 in this sentence.
Another usage of 分 I don't quite get is in the song 前前前世 by the band RadWimps and theme song of movie 君の名は.

何億 何光年分の物語を語りにきたんだよ・・・
銀河何個分かの 果てに出逢えた・・・

Again, I can understand the general feeling the sentence implies... But I'm not confident about the actual usage of 分.
Doing some research I managed to understand it as:

何億年分の物語 = A story worth hundreds and hundreds of light years.
何個分かの果て = 何個 (how many?) + か = some... With 分 = worth some good amount... = at the end of some part of this Milkway.

Well, I'm not sure if that makes sense.
教えてください。お願いします。


texts:
こんばんは。I am new to learning Japanese and this website. I usually try to learn things of my own initiative, by searching up specific things I don't understand and trying to make sense of them myself. However, since I began teaching myself this language I have begun to come across many roadblocks and such with slang, colloquial expressions and the like, so I've come to the conclusion that I really do need help with these specific problems.

With that, my problem at the moment is that I came across the phrase こんなことが、あっていいのか……？which I can tell means something along the lines of "These kinds of events... are they really okay?" but I can not for the life of me figure out what the あって means in this case. I've heard of あっての　meaning something like "thanks to X, Y" and I know that the て form of　ある　would be あって, but it doesn't seem like either of these things are related to this situation. Any help is greatly appreciated! ありがとございます！


texts: What's the difference between 欲{ほっ}する and 欲しがる?

texts:
Is there one?  One of my dictionaries lists them as

  欲{ほっ}する　→　to desire/to want
  欲しがる　→　to desire/to want/to wish for/to covet

Only the latter sounds like it includes more "bad"/selfish desires (covet).  However, in this verse in the Bible, they both appear, and both talk about "bad"/selfishly desiring something.

  あなたの隣人の妻を欲{ほっ}してはならない。隣人の家、畑、男女の奴隷、牛、ろばなど、隣人のものを一切欲しがってはならない。　―　 申命記 / 5章 21節

So all they really different at all?

Also, as a side question, is 欲する ever read as よくする?  I see it listed here, and it comes up in my Android Google Japanese IME, but the dictionary only has an entry for ほっする.


texts: Target of を in 何をするのが好きですか？

texts:
I looked at this question and two years of Japanese learning instantly evaporated.

何をするのが好きですか？

I assume it means

A) What do you like to do?

but my first thought was

B) Do you like what you do?

Then I got confused about whether 何を goes with する or with 好き.
Are both translations valid? If not, how would I say B)?


texts: Is 集まろう！ a common way to say "Let's get together?"

texts: I'm pretty sure 集{あつ}まろう (atsumarou) technically means "Let's get together" or "Let's gather together" i.e. as a group, but I'm not sure if this would be a commonly used phrase in real-world Japanese.  Are there any particular contexts in which this would make more sense or be more common?


texts: Can anyone please let me know what this is supposed to mean? I heard that it’s a sound effect or sfx like Japanese symbol, but I’m not sure. Thank you!


texts: Is there a special word in Okinawa for "cheers" / "乾杯{かんぱい}"?

texts:
Another traveller in my guesthouse in Naha thinks his local friends taught him a special local word for "cheers", that might sound like "kuri" or "kali".

But the Okinawan owner of the guesthouse doesn't know this word. He doesn't speak Okinawan fluently but he knows lots of words as both his parents were speakers and he's in his 50s.

In any case, I don't mind if it's a word from ウチナーグチ or just modern local slang used by young people.


texts: What is the difference between 包む（つつむ）and 包む（くるむ）?

texts: The verbs つつむ and くるむ and both written 包む, and according to my English-to-Japanese dictionary both have the meaning "to wrap". くるむ is glossed "おおう", while つつむ is glossed "すっぽりと覆う", but I am having difficulty distinguishing the two from these definitions and from the example sentences provided. Is there a difference in usage between the two words, or can they be treated as synonyms?


texts:
What’s the pattern in the following use of が?

  友達と海に行ってバーベキューをしたんですが、楽しかったですよ。

I asked my teacher and she said it was similar to ので to state a cause and effect.


texts: Can ま be used as an interjection to connote an indignant tone?

texts: On occasion, I will hear ま being used in a way that seems to suggest the speaker is responding to something indignantly. Something like, "Well! If that's how you're going to act..." Are there any good examples of how intonation can change the perceived meaning of ま (when used in isolation)?


texts:
In the below sentence, I was wondering who was the one choosing the weapon. The shop attendant had come over and asked them what kind of weapons they were looking for. And the more experienced adventurer helping the others responded with the below:

えーっと……。俺と相談しながら各自の武器を選ぶってことで。

I looked at this and first thought that it would mean something like "they(the people the more experienced adventurer is helping) will consult with him and choose their own weapons" but then I thought, if that was the case why would it not be 各自が武器を選ぶ instead of 各自の武器を選ぶ. Which then made me wonder whether there is difference in meaning in this wording, or whether I am overthinking things. I say this because I know that when using しながら the subject of the two verbs needs to be the same, so whoever the people doing the choosing also need to be the people discussing with him.


texts: When trying to convey 'apparently', when do you use, だそう, and when do you use そう?

texts: I have seen both だそう and そう written at the end of a sentence to convey "apparently". Do you use だそう when trying to convey "according to" (によると)?


texts:
Can somebody help me with breaking down the sentence:

  マスクをして、花粉を鼻から吸わないようにしています

It has the general meaning of "they use masks so that they don't breathe pollen through their noses". My question is about the

  吸わないようにしています

part. Which conjugation is this? 吸わない comes from 吸う (to breathe in). What about ようにしています?

Thank you very much.


texts:
I found the set phrase "四里四方{しりしほう}" used on several sites (e.g. here with a pun) but I can't find it in wwwjdic.
Is it somehow a superlative of 四方{しほう}, something like "(from) all over (the world) ?"


texts: Is there any difference in meaning between 「抜け切る」 and 「抜ける」?

texts:
Actually, I cannot find the definition of 抜け切る in general sources but some of them suggest the word 抜ける instead.
Here is the sentence where I came across the word in a manga.

そいでもって　くりかえすけどな...
なんとしても　脱走をやりとげにゃああかんでえ　ぬけきらんと思うたときは...
死ぬるかくごくらい　しとくんや

Extra question　Does the 「でえ」in the sentence above function as particle 「で」 to indicate means of action which is to escape from a place in this case?


texts: 我艦隊於黄海清艦撃沈之圖 how do you say this in Japanese?

texts:
I am working on an essay for school and
I was looking at a wood-block print called,
" 我艦隊於黄海清艦撃沈之圖 " by Kobayashi Kiyochika.
According to websites, in romaji this is,
"Waga kantai Kôkai ni oite Shikan o uchi shizumeru no zu"
However when I was looking at each kanji it turned out more like:
"Waga kantai oite kōkai shinkan gekichin no zu"
”わが　かんたい　おいて　こうかい　しんかん　げきちん　の　ず”
Is the website wrong or am I?
And If I am wrong, could you explain what I did that was wrong.


texts: What exactly does ロリコン mean in Japanese?

texts:
I have heard it means pedophile in japanese and all but in english fandom, the term mainly refers to liking little children/pre or pubescent people. In japan, I was wondering does the term apply to attraction to characters who look/act like adults but said to be younger but in HS like this:
https://pbs.twimg.com/profile_images/890015304771829760/G-Kbb7WS_400x400.jpg
like character is 15 but looks and acts like an adult, so would a person who is attracted to that be called a lolicon in japan?


texts: What's the function of the particle も in this sentence?

texts:
I don't think a lot of context is needed, basically a girl having an intimate moment and talk with her boyfriend...

我慢しなくていいです

人を好きになるとよくばりになるって
今はわたしにもわかるから

Rough translation:
(You/we) don't have to hold back, because (the expression) "To be in love with someone means to be greedy for them" is understood by me now as well?.

It seems to me that the sentence makes perfect sentence without も , so is it there for emphasis of some sort? If it means "as well", would the [as well] refer to how there are many people (boyfriend included) who understand that "To be in love with someone means to be greedy for them" and she is saying that now she is one of them too? Or does も have another meaning/function here?


texts:
Is there an abbreviation for 人名用漢字, i.e. character set for names?

I'm looking for anything shorter, really; It can be English or Japanese, as long as it's widely recognised. For example like Tel for telephone number or like 男 for 男性


texts:
希硫酸, 稀硫酸. My dictionary says they are both “dilute sulfuric acid”. What is the difference in usage here? Is there just one optional radical?

English has “sulfuric” and “sulphuric”, and that’s an American/Commonwealth regional difference.


texts:
For full context, see here:
https://www.docdroid.net/dEbqqGI/img-20170816-0001-new.pdf

The sentence in question is the following (line 15):
例文ですか。入っている辞書の数はこれより少なくてもかまいませんか。

I have a strong feeling that lots of information in this sentence has to be extrapolated from the context. First, a translation as literal as possible:

“Examples? Concerning the Number of entered dictionaries, is few from this okay?”

Here, my main issue already surfaces: 入っている辞書の数
With the meanings provided by jisho, I can’t make a meaningful expression out of this. If they are talking about the number of entries of dictionaries into whatever-thing, then I don’t know what this whatever-thing is.
If they are talking about “entries inside the dictionary”, then I dare not making the assumption all on my own that 入っている辞書 means exactly this.

Next is これより. I think it relates to the topic of this sentence, but since I can’t interprete the topic in the first place, I can’t be sure. However, if one of my interpretations of the topic was correct, “from this” still lacks a reference value. What is “the number of dictionary entries” or “entered dictionaries”? No “number” was mentioned before.


texts: What are the various 'unuttered' phrases or sentences that Japanese omit in everyday conversation and/or narration?

texts:
While translating a book I come across the following sentence.

  女の子の注意を逸{そ}らすことができれば.....

Research into the ba ending allowed me to discover that the above is a 'unfinished' sentence. This in turn made me wonder, what are the various 'unuttered' phrases or sentences that Japanese omit in everyday conversation and/or narration, like the above statement?


texts: Can someone explain the use of で in this sentence: 今日も元気で過ごせたらイイよね

texts: I'm having trouble getting the correct translation of the sentence because of the で particle. I don't know if it's being used as a particle or the imperative form of 元気.


texts: そっち or そちら? The terms are used frequently in chat situations. I know that the terms mean there/you.　Is one term preferred over the other?


texts:
In Japan I often have to call somewhere and explain my name such that the person on the other end can write it down. My name is "Sepponen Bemmu", which I want them to write down as "セッポネン・ベンム".

Is there a way to "spell" katakana verbally?


texts: Causative を and は, are they interchangable?

texts:
For example in this sentence

「―――いえ。 誰にも遠野くんは傷つけさせません。 それだけは信じてください」 ……というか、そんな事より旅費とかパスポートとかを心配してしまう自分の小市民ぶりが情けない。

or this one

「……兄さん。秋葉にとって、兄さんは本当に一番大切な人だった。 だって、どんなに焦がれていても、それが手に入らないなら目障りなだけでしょう？」
「―――だから、殺してあげますね兄さん。一番大切なモノだったから、貴方は他の誰にも傷つけさせません」

Should the を particle be used here?
I was taught that in the causative form it was the topic who made に do the action on an object を, at least if the verb is transitive in its original form.
Isn't here the verb 傷つける which is transitive?


texts: How can I express this collection of attributes

texts:
There's an exercise in which I shall write short sentences about the appearance of a few children displayed in small pictures.
I wondered how a sentence expressing the following must be constructed:

"That girl with the beautiful, short dress and the long hair."

Here I have two entities in the appearance of this girl which I want to describe. They both have to be put into nominal phrases.
Therefore, I think it would be something along these lines:

"あの長い髪の

(?)

綺麗で短い身なりの

女の子です。"

However, as indicated by the questionmark, I wonder how these two nominal phrases shall be connected. Is there another connective particle or the like necessary?


texts: Difference between sentence final ものだ and ことだ

texts:
My understanding is that ものだ is used to assert things which are mostly known to everyone.

  誰かの家に招待されたときは、何か手土産をもっていくものだ
  'When invited to somebody's home it's customary to bring presents'.

On the other hand, ことだ is used to give someone advice.

  A: どうすれば日本語が早く簡単に上達しますか。
  B: 上手になりたいなら、真面目にコツコツ勉強することです。それ以外に方法はありません。

I can understand that B gives an advise to A, however B is not really saying anything that A couldn't already know. Moreover, when talking about what to do when going to somebody's home, "bring presents" is not necessarily something that everybody is aware of - could be that some cultures are used to bringing money.

So it seems to be that, in the examples above, ものだ and ことだ are can be freely exchanged. Note, that the examples are from my textbook so i guess they can't be exchanged.


texts:
I'm trying to translate some Japanese text I found to English (I'm very beginner, and self-learning).
There are two columns of Japanese; on the left:

私

い

日

本

が

and on the right:

大

子

き

で

す

I divided these columns into blocks, as follow:

私い = I (with Hiragana い used to strengthen the "I")

日本 = Japan

が = and

大 = large

子 = child

き = ki

です = copula ("is")

So, I'd translate it something like "I'm Japanese, and a large child is the ki", but I'm not sure this is the correct translation.
For example, what does き "ki" exactly mean? Does it mean spiritual energy? And, if so, why it is not written this way 気 ?

And is it correct to consider が as "and"? I found on an online dictionary that が can indicate sentence subject (so would Japan be the subject in this case? If so, how to reconstruct the phrase?)


texts:
In this article the title ends with the verb in the Te-Form. Why is this or what is intended here? I don't think I have seen a sentence end with the Te-form before

  エアコンや扇風機を使う季節　火事に気をつけて

  My Translation: Its the time of year to use air conditioning and electric fans. Be careful of fires.


texts: How do you indicate line breaks in a poem when it is written without actual line breaks?

texts:
In English, if you have a poem, like

  Roses are red,
  Violets are blue,
  Sugar is sweet,
  And so are you.

and you need to write it on just one line (for reasons of space or whatever), you would write it like this:

  Roses are red, / violets are blue, / sugar is sweet, / and so are you.

That is, you use a single forward slash to separate the lines of the poem.

What is the equivalent of this in Japanese? I know that in some cases, you can just omit the line breaks altogether, e.g. writing

  古池や
  蛙飛び込む
  水の音

as

  古池や蛙飛び込む水の音

But supposing you did need to indicate the line breaks, how would you do so?


texts: Literal meaning of 打ってあります in this sentence

texts:
盲人のための点字が打ってあります
  moujin no tame no tenji ga utte arimasu
  Braille has been provided for the blind (book's translation)

The book I'm reading translates it as [to provide].
But in any dictionary I check, it means to hit/strike. I know that this book I'm reading likes to change the translation a bit off from the literal meaning.

So I'm wondering what is the literal meaning of this sentence?
Is this incorrect? >> "Braille is prepared to tackle the need of the blind."


texts: How do you say "canon" as in "official for a story universe"?

texts: There's specific words out there like 正典 meant for the Bible, but what's the common term for referring to a story. As in "the Christmas Special isn't canon for the Star Wars universe". I figure there must be one used casually for gamers, and manga and anime fans. I'd guess カノン but it's not in any dictionary I can find - so it might be slang.


texts: In compound words what is it called when two Ks assimilate into a っ?

texts:
Eg. 厄介、欲求、直径、即興、却下、借金、引っ越す、北海道、積極、薬局

Wouldn't っ normally require the first onyomi to have a tsu ending?

Why doesn't it happen in certain words like 加湿器?


texts: Why is Katakana not pronounced Katagana?

texts:
I am a beginner in Japanese and I've noticed that when two words are compounded into one word the first letter of the second word changes.

hira + kana = hiragana

ko + hayashi = kobayashi

ori + kami = origami

This pattern would imply that the word Katakana should be Katagana.

Any ideas as to why this is ?

NB. I am not referring to Kanji having different readings in Japanese. That is a different issue. I am specifically referring to compound words where the first letter of the second word undergoes a change.


texts:
I am trying to translate the following line:

  「ン…そこにすわっていろ」

This line occurs after the gruff villain of the story is handed some files he asked for.

It seems that "Yes...sit down over there." would not be appropriate in this situation.

Possibilities I considered:

Alright
Yea
Hmph
Okay

None of these seem like the correct fit. Any opinions?


texts: What is the difference between 「警察」and 「警官」?

texts:
I understand that 警察 is a broader term to refer to the police in general, but it can be used to refer to a police officer. In such case, is it equivalent to 警官 or there is still a difference between both words?

よろしくお願いします！


texts: How do you interpret an "interrogative word + non-polite form + か + 知る" construct?

texts:
Came across this sentence that has this "interrogative word + non-polite form + か + 知る" structure but not too sure if this is a kind of question or answer.

  どこの会議室か知りません。

Is this a question or an answer?

Am I right to assume that this sentence simply means:

  Do you know what kind of meeting room (is that)?


texts: The ヶ in e.g. 一ヶ月 is a bit of an odd character - it looks a lot like a small version of the katakana ケ, but is it derived from that katakana originally? Or is it a normal kanji? Or is it something else entirely?


texts: Help with grammar, subjects and passives

texts:
明日…明日という日が遠い遠い先のことのように感じられた。

What does this mean?

My thoughts aren't really organised, so I'll just write down my thought process:

感じる can apparently be both:             [please correct this if wrong]

1 自（体が重く感じる : 体 as a subject that 感じる reflexively acts on） and

2 他（寒さを感じる : an unmentioned subject feels the cold ）

In the given sentence, I'm thinking that the conjugation of 感じられた is that of a 他 verb.

Following which, I'm thinking, something is getting 感じる'ed on.

Passive sentences have が・（は）to mark the thing getting 'ed on, right? So here, 明日…明日という日 should be the receiver (ie the subject) of the action of 感じられた, right?

In this case, is this interpretation correct? :

  The day called tomorrow was felt (by me) in the same way as a far destination.

ie

  （私に）[明日…明日という日が][遠い遠い先のことのように]感じられた。


texts: Difference in ambiguity between written and spoken Japanese?

texts: Beginner here. I understand that Japanese has a large number of homophones, and that kanji help readers distinguish between them. Of course, kanji are not available in spoken Japanese. On the other hand, spoken Japanese has pitch accent. So, is there a significant difference in ambiguity between written and spoken Japanese? That is to say, are misunderstandings more common in one form or the other? And how do both compare with English?


texts:
東京都はインフルエンザになった人の数を４１９の病院で調べています。１１月２０日からの１週間にインフルエンザになって病院に来た人の平均は、１つの病院で１．８６人でした。平均が１人以上になると、流行が始まったと考えます。
  The Tokyo metropolitan area is investigating the number of people who got influenza in 419 hospitals. In the week beginning the 11th of November the average number of people who got influenza and went to hospital was 1.86 in one hospital. When the average exceeds 1 person an epidemic is considered to have started.

As a scientist, I see mathematics being butchered all the time in the media. I'm wondering if this is another example, or whether my Japanese is wrong.

What is the average taken over? I would assume it is the average over the 419 hospitals, but then 平均は、１つの病院で１．８６人でした makes no sense to me. Why are they talking about one specific hospital? Perhaps １つの means 'each' in this case? I'm not aware of this as a valid translation though.

If I interpret this correctly then an average of 1.86 people per hospital per week doesn't sound worth reporting to me. Maybe I also misunderstood 流行.

In summary, I'd be happy if １つの病院で wasn't there, but the numbers still sound too small to be interesting, which makes me think I've misunderstood.


texts: Why does 嫌い looks so much like an i adjective, when it is a na adjective?

texts:
I tried to look for this answer but could not find it so...

Why is that 嫌い looks so much like an i-adjective? I might be wrong, but most i-adjectives seem follow this path:

  Kanji +  い or Kanji + しい

But still 嫌い is an na-adjective, following sentences like 嫌いじゃない instead of something like 嫌くない.

Is there a reason for that? Are there any other adjectives that function in a similar way to this one?


texts: Meaning of "であること" in "親子であることのむずかしさについて (...)"

texts:
There is a book called 街場の親子論 by 内田樹, and I'm trying to read its preface on the author's blog. There is the following sentence:

ここでは「まえがき」として、もう少し一般的なこと、親子であることのむずかしさについて思うところを書いてみたいと思います。

I understood the meaning of であること through sentences on online dictionaries; it seems to be something like linking the stative sentence (〜である) with something else through こと (correct me if I'm wrong). Also, the first meaning of "親子" on goo辞書 is "parent and child" or "that relationship". But when I try to think about "親子であることのむずかしさ", what comes to my mind is "The difficulty between being a child and parent" or "The difficulty of being a relationship between a child and parent", which doesn't seem to make sense, especially the latter one. Is the first attempt to understand the sentence right? The 親子論 from the title of the book doesn't seem to fit well when the author said that sentence, which seems to be "a discussion between a parent and child of urban areas" (I hope I'm right).
Can someone clarify this to me? Thanks in advance.


texts: So "Alice's Adventures in Wonderland" is known as "不思議の国のアリス" in Japan. What does the second の do here? I don't think it means that アリス belongs to the 不思議の国, and 不思議の国 doesn't seem to be a characteristic of アリス either. So what exactly is going on here?


texts: How to choose a reading for 降る? ふる & くだる

texts:
I always read 降る as ふる but for a particular sentence I noticed that the reading was written as くだる. Are there any tips to help figure out which reading to use?

Examples:

  たとえ雨が降ろうとサイクリングにいくぞ。
  I will go cycling even if it rains. [M]
  目が覚めてみると、雪が降っていた。
  I awoke to find it snowing.

I'm not sure if this is user-error. When I click on listen, the woman reads it using ふる, but the software wants me to use くだる. Maybe I should change the question to ask what I should say in my bug report? ☺


texts: Are any Japanese words ever intentionally misspelled for any reason?

texts: I came across the words "Boyz", and "EZ" in English, and wondered if any Kanji characters were used in the same way. Thank you very much.


texts:
I read this line in a manga"  毎度お前にばかり..." the official translation says " I'm always doing this to you"  but the fan translation says " you always have to do it "
Which is more accurate?


texts:
From #5 of 日本語能力試験３級の模擬試験　-文法２- (http://jlpt.u-biq.org/3g2.html)

  5）「今 どこに いますか。」「（　　）。」

A) えきに ついた ところです
 B) えきに ついている ところです
 C) えきに ついた 時です
 D) えきに ついている 時です

Answer is A. I don't understand how ついた is used here?


texts: Questions on the Japanese equivalent of "window of opportunity"

texts:
In English we have a saying "window of opportunity" which means that there is specific time period where a certain event can occur.

Based on that expression we talk about a "launch window" when it comes to rockets going into space and what-not. Due to weather or whatever other factors beyond human control, it is only possible to launch a rocket on certain days, or the "launch window".

I was reading a Japanese news article on the "scientific rocket" that North Korea plans on launching (who's launch window opens today), and they use the phrase 「発射通報期間」. According to dictionaries this means "Firing/launching report period", but I imagine from the (very clear) context that this would be "launch window" in English. Now, while from the context of the article, I know the meaning, but my qeustion is if it is specific to talking about rockets and the like, or if something can be substituted to talk about, for example, a job offer (i.e. 求人通報期間?). Is there a phrase, idiomatic or otherwise, to convey a "window of opportunity"?

As a secondary question, what exactly does 通{つう}報{ほう} mean in this context? I mean, does it have a meaning other than "report; tip; bulletin; message"?


texts:
How do you read 早々　in these sentences?

I learned there are two readings: そうそう、and はやばや。

How do they differ, if at all?

  早々にごへんじいただきありがとうございます。 Thank you for your prompt reply.

  新年早々、借金を催促されるなんてひどすぎる。 It’s too cruel to demand money right after the
  start of the new year.


texts: Phoenix: 不死鳥【ふしちょう】, 鳳凰【ほうおう】, 鳳/鵬【おおとり】, フェニックス... How many lives does this bird have!?

texts:
All of the following words and kanji (and a few more obscure ones) seem to be used in Japanese, to describe a bird that is translated by "Phoenix" in English:

不死鳥【ふしちょう】
鳳凰【ほうおう】
鳳【おおとり】/鵬【おおとり】
フェニックス
and even:
火の鳥 (thought this one seems to be more of an attempt at a description than a word used on its own)

不死鳥 is rather self-explanatory ("bird that doesn't die"), 鳳凰 is used in the name of the famous "phoenix hall" (鳳凰堂【ほうおうどう】) at the Byodoin (平等院【びょうどういん】) temple in Uji near Kyoto and, to my surprise, the katakana word does not refer only to the city, but also the bird.

It seems clear that there might be some entanglement between different mythical creatures (some Western, some Asian) that share some properties (immortality, relation with fire etc)...

Could anybody draw a clear taxonomy of all these birds and the relations between these Japanese names for me?


texts: How to call the game where you have to find where a picture was taken?

texts:
In Japanese, is there a word or expression for the game where someone posts a picture of a place, and others have to find where it is, or even take the same picture?

If there is no specific word, what would be the shortest/easiest expression?

Example:

Where in Tokyo was this picture taken?


texts:
I started to read The Alchemist (both in Japanese and English) and I'm not able to understand the meaning of といった in this sentence: 少年の名はサンチャゴといった。
The equivalent of that sentence in the English version is "The boy's name was Santiago".


texts:
Both of them mean bed and they target the same wiki page.

I mostly see ベッド, so I guess it is the common word for bed.
In which case should I use 寝台 ?


texts:
I would like to know what the subtle differences are between the interrogative pronouns だれ and どなた. Is the latter more subtle or something? What is the exact difference?

Also, how compatible are these pronouns with the pronouns どれ and どちら and どっち, and should the romaji for どっち be "docchi" or "dotchi" (are these the same)?

Thanks.


texts: Use of Amari when an adjective is in the negative

texts:
I am following a book called "Teach Yourself Japanese", right now I am on using adjectives.

In there, there is an example:

  Igirisu no jamu wa totemo oishii desu.

Which I can understand in terms of structure and rules etc..

But in the book, it says that when an adjective is in the negative, "Amari" must be used. So:

  Igirisu no jamu wa totemo amari oishii desu.

Is there a reason why amari is used? Or can anyone give me some more information about this word?


texts: How to ask person to guess for something during conversation?

texts:
I was conversing with my Japanese colleague:

  Me: Do you know how much a melon costs in my home country?
     Colleague: I do not know.
     Me: Take a guess.

I asked him how to say take a guess. He first told me to use 推測{すいそく}してみる, but later retracted and told me to use あててみる. Which one is more natural in day to day conversation?


texts:
もういいや
割り捨てていいや
In the sentences above, what does the や do? Let's say there is no　や, how would the meaning change?


texts:
I like cats rather than dogs
  犬より猫が好き
  犬よりも猫が好き
  犬というより猫が好き

Which, if any, of the above are correct and what is the difference between them?


texts: Dakuten used in non-standard ways (like with vowels)?

texts: Sometimes in manga I encounter dakuten used in unexpected ways. For example, I've seen it used after あ. I wonder what effect it has on the pronunciation. Does it basically mean that the voice is getting stronger\louder? Is this used outside of manga too? Any other uncommon uses of dakuten I should be aware of?


texts: What kind of words can be used with とうとう、ついに、やっと、ようやく、いよいよ？

texts:
I'm currently studying more about とうとう、やっと、ついに、ようやく。Beside the same meaning 'finally', how about kind of words that can be used together with them?
How about their structure?

Like ます形、る形、られる、い形容詞、な形容詞、or something like that. If you know something about it please help me, thank you :)


texts:
I came across the sentence「訴訟も辞さない」in a book today and even though I am able to understand its meaning, I can't figure out the actual function of も in this case.

I looked into my grammar dictionary and the most satisfying definition I got was "も: a marker which indicates emphasis", but I'm not convinced it's the right one.

Should I just think it as a whole with 「辞さない」？　I know it's a phrase used to express one's willingness to do something, but is it used with any other particle ?

Thank you for you answers in advance.

Also, I can provide context if needed.


texts: How do the pronunciation of Japanese characters and words differ

texts:
I have been trying to teach myself Japanese. I learned the basic hiragana (あ,い,う,お), but I am confused on how to pronounce words like あう. I was trying to combine the sounds あ and う, but when I checked with Google Translate, I found the pronunciation was different (see link).

How did Google come up with that pronunciation? Are the sounds just run together?


texts:
I've been initially told that ん is always pronounced like the n in pink. But I've been looking at this wikipedia page: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Help:IPA_for_Japanese#cite_note-stop-2

And it is saying that the ん in words like せんぱい is pronounced as m as in much.

So is there any way to know if I should pronounce ん as n or m in a word?


texts: 頭【かぶり】を振る and 頭【かしら】を横に振る, why the change in pronunciation?

texts: As the title suggests, why is there a change in pronunciation between 頭【かぶり】を振る and 頭【かしら】を横に振る? As far as I can see, there is no difference between the meanings of the two—デジタル大辞泉 even lists the former as a definition of the latter. Is there an etymological reason for this change? Is there even a difference between 頭【かぶり】, 頭【かしら】 or even 頭【あたま】?


texts: Trying to translate 遊ばにゃ損なってなもんだろうがおう！

texts:
I'm reading a manga and have run into a tricky phrase, so I am asking for help and some explanations:

...遊ばにゃ損なってなもんだろうがおう！

遊ばにゃ (or にや) - can't understand what the verb form is used here...

損なって - "failing", that seems clear

なもん - have no idea how to decipher this one...

だろうがおう！"can do it" or "let's do it" and exclamation おう, depends on the previous context, as I understand?


texts: Problem understanding some parts in a sentence －てくの and －んだろうって

texts:
The sentence is this one:

  私は立場的に何を着てくのが正しいんだろうって思って。。。

I think I got the rough meaning of the sentence: I (私) am wondering (思って) what's (何を) is the right thing (が正し) to wear (着) for her position (立場的に).

But, I'm still puzzled over the meaning of the bolded parts.


texts:
What does "石井ん家" (abbreviation) mean?
In sentence: "放課後とりま石井ん家に集合な!"


texts: How would you say someone's on a need-to-know basis?

texts:
何が英語の「need-to-know basis」の日本語訳なの？

私はよくない日本語だと、すみません。


texts: Will expression retain the same definition if particle is changed?

texts:
「ここにじっとしていてもしょうがない………か」

自分を奮い立たせるために、わざと自分の考えを声に出し行動を始めた。

I came across the expression 声を出す on jisho.org. I don't know if replacing the expression's を with に (because を is already used earlier in the sentence) will allow me to use the 声を出す definition when translating. Is this allowed?


texts: What is the difference between chan and san and sempai?


texts: Can't understand this idiom, is this slang?

texts: "デカくてトロくて." This is from a manga I'm reading, and here is the whole sentence "デカくてトロくて使いやすいジャンプ台だった." For context purposes, this is a soccer manga and refers to a part where a forward was sure to be the one jumping highest, only to be surpassed by a defender, who is the one saying the phrase. This defender use the other player shoulder to jump higher. I have no idea what デカ and トロ mean here. Any help would be really appreciated!!!!


texts: What's the difference between それ、これ and あれ

texts: What's the difference between these words? I read a lot of explanations in various books but they aren't clear for me. It says that depending on the object distance, the first, second or third needs to be used. But what does this "distance" mean? I cannot understand when I need to use them.


texts: What is the difference between 時間 and 時期?

texts: I understand that both can refer to time or a period of time, but I don't really get the difference. I've been told they aren't interchangeable, and that 時期 has a relation to seasons, but unless 時期 is used exclusively when talking about the time between seasons, I don't really get it.


texts: Confusion when counting students per grade in 風の又三郎

texts:
In trying to understand Kenji Miyazawa's "風の又三郎" I have come across a discrepancy in one line where the number of students per class is counted.

On Aozora Bunko: I see this:

すっかりやすみの前のとおりだとみんなが思いながら六年生は一人、五年生は七人、四年生は六人、一二年生は十二人、組ごとに一列に縦にならびました。
二年は八人、一年生は四人前へならえをしてならんだのです。

At first I thought this was a bit odd because of the part "一二年生は", but when I interpreted this to mean "1st or 2nd graders", the total 12 matches up with the numbers in the second line above (8+4).

However, in this relatively recent analysis of the work (starting around 13:20 in the video), the line is actually read as "三年生は", and this is specifically pointed out as a (possibly purposeful) mistake because it conflicts with the early part of the story that says there are no third graders.

I assume one of them is a typo or someone mis-reading a hand-written manuscript, but I don't know what the "real" original text was. Supposedly the author did many revisions so it isn't likely there would be accidental errors in his work.

Can someone please tell me if they know what the correct line is here? If you don't know anything about the story, if you can tell me if the line I quoted above looks correct, or if it is strange to write "一二年生は". I have seen that usage commonly (ex: ”彼は１１,１２歳" and I am not sure if that is the intention here).


texts: Can the modifier form ( な/い) of an adjective follow the subject marker when there is no noun to modify?

texts: In this phrase '天気が好きなんです' 好きな follows the subject marker. Is this because the phrase ends with んです?


texts:
I recently was on the phone with a Japanese customer service representative and I couldn't quite understand what she had said. I wanted her to repeat what she had said so I said something along the lines of 'again please' or 'one more time please'. What I really wanted to say was 'could you repeat that please'.

How do I say the latter in Japanese?


texts: Why would you use まいります for rain? (降ってまいります)

texts:
I ran across this example sentence in a basic dictionary, but I can't figure out what particular meaning まいります has in this context.

雨が降ってまいりました。

Generally speaking, it's used as the humble verb for motion. In this case, [参]{まい}る replaces [来]{く}る. Why would this be attached to rain? Is there another meaning or would this simply be a slightly formal way of talking?


texts: Describing a person by applying a modifier to their name 〜ような《名前》

texts:
In a fictional story about yakuza member Sahei there was a scene of a duel and the following phrase was used:

  まさかこんな相手に斬られるような左兵衛ではございません。

Clearly it means "Sahei wouldn't lose to such an opponent". However when 〜ような modifies a proper name, to my ears it sounds like "he is not one of those named Sahei who would lose to such an opponent". Effectively splitting the 左兵衛-named people into two groups: one that would lose, one that would not.

I find the word order in the above sentence somewhat unusual and wonder if there was an implicit subject involved modified by 〜ような. I would write it:

  まさか左兵衛はこんな相手に斬られるような人間ではございません。

Are the two sentences equal? Does the original make grammatical sense in contemporary Japanese? Is there any explanation for such word order (other than literary style, like the rhythm of a fight)?


texts: What is the difference between 「帰る」and 「帰れる」？

texts: I believe the latter is not the passive form of 帰る, so what makes it different?


texts: Using で instead of に when specifying a day

texts:
In this article, first sentence in the second paragraph:

この事故{じこ}から、[１０日]{とおか}で２０年{ねん}になりました。

My interpretation is that

On the 10th, it will have been 20 years since the incident.

To specify the exact date, they use で. But why で instead of に? I've heard で to be understood as "by means of" for some action (say as in this で v に answer) and it doesn't seem to be too fitting here. I expected に to be used just like the second part, where it's used as a target of なる, for some like

[１０日]{とおか}に２０年{ねん}になりました


texts:
I have embarked on a project of translating a novel I am writing into Japanese in parallel with writing it, and  one of the hardest parts for me (in contemplation, I haven't really gotten that far) is figuring out what pronouns are appropriate for the various characters I am developing. I was wondering whether anyone could give me a rundown on what a person's choice of first- and second-person pronouns says about them and their relationship with the person they are addressing.

The setting makes it a bit difficult, because while the main characters are high school students, the 'fantasy' nature of the work means that primordial quasi-deities, hundred-million-year old demons, several-hundred-year old elven royalty and aristocracy, and such are not uncommon. For a very small number of characters, I have a clear idea of what pronouns they might use, but I don't have enough experience to decide on many others.

This might be a bit niche, but really I am looking for a guide on archaic and modern Japanese pronouns and the association they have with characters and situations.

(I probably won't go so far as to have dialogue in Classical or dated Japanese, but that is a possibility as this project unfolds.)


texts: What is the meaning of the te-form + motion verb in 安心して歩ける

texts:
夜、安心して歩けるように街灯を増やして欲しい。

I can sort of understand the meaning of the sentence as someone wants/wishes that the (number of) street lights to increase so that they can feel safe walking at night. But I can't understand what grammar rules were used/observed to form 安心して歩ける

Given the complete sentence above. What is the purpose of having the te-form of する?

Is it used

as a connector to mean "and" e.g. To have peace of mind and to walk?
to mean "while" e.g. have peace of mind while walking?

Maybe there's some grammar construction that I'm missing? Is 歩く even considered to be a motion verb in the same vein as 行く and 来る?


texts:
Oh dear.  I know much this site hates these sorts of things.  Sigh.  Here I go.

OK.  I have a mug which a friend gave to me many long years ago.  They weren't Japanese; they just thought it was a nice mug and figured I could read it.  Which at the time, I couldn't.  Here are four pictures showing the written text.

I can actually read most of this: 仲よきことは？しきかち。

I have some guesses for the kanji I can't read:  美しい or 楽しい.  In fact, a web search brings up the following

  仲よきことは美しきかな

But I'm not sure that that character really looks anything like 美.  I'm just guessing at 楽.

What say you all?


texts:
就職先を失敗して学んだことは、どんな仕事にしろ結局はいかに相手の立場になって物事を考えられるかどうかだと思った。

Speaker talking about a prior job that the speaker quit due to insane hours/low pay

I think that "I learned from failing at my (old) workplace that, whatever job it is, in the end however much i become (?) my partner's standpoint, shuold i consider everything(?)".

I can't quite make sense of what the speaker is trying to say here.

Thank you


texts: What's the difference between かと思うか and 途端に?

texts: I understand that both かと思うか and 途端に mean "as soon as something happen another thing happens as well". I see that their usage is different, especially when かと思うか is used with emotive verbs, however I still feel that I don't understand the difference. Maybe,it might be that I didn't fully understand かと思うか. Can somebody help me out?


texts:
I'm a bit lost with the bolded sentence from Doraemon.

  のび太：　でたらめいうな！！ 人の運命なんか、わかってたまるか！！

  ドラえもん：　それがわかるんだ。

  ドラえもん：　どうしてわかるかというとだね。

  ドラえもん：　なに これ？

  のび太：　おもち。

I understand どうして、わかる and いう, but I don't get the かと and とだね after them and how it works together.


texts: Why is Beach ビーチ and not ビーチュ, why is Cake ケーキ and not ケーク?

texts: The latter sounds better, in my opinion. But is that just my opinion?