texts: Translating "数年の歳月" in this context, is it a unit of time?

texts:
In the video game Chantelise, the epilogue starts with:

  それから数年の歳月が流れました

The translated version just says:

  After several years

And while that's a concise and accurate translation...

I was wondering about a more faithful translation, and after a bit of research, I got:

  After several years had flowed by

Where:

それから = After(ward?)

流れました = Flow(ed?) ; I assume it's like "How time flies", but Japanese has "How time flows"?

But, is "several years" the correct translation of "数年の歳月"?

And if so, why is there a 'の' inside it? Or am I splitting the phrase incorrectly?


texts: Can't understand 虫に変ってしまっているのに気づいた

texts:
I am trying to read 変身 The Metamorphosis by Kafka. I have troubles understanding the following :

虫に変ってしまっているのに気づいた

translated by

he discovered that he had been changed into a bug

First i'm not sure how to understand 変ってしまっている. I think of it as 締まる acting as a subsidiary verb for 変る (+ている form since being locked in a bug body is going to last). Something like 変る ~ to transform VS 変ってしまっている ~ to transform and (sadly) be locked in the resulting state.
Second i red about のに here and here but i'm still not sure. Since the "even though" and the "while" meaning don't seem to work here, is it the "represents the speaker's feeling of discontent or regret" use of のに?
Thanks


texts: I've heard this expression [相変]{あいか}わらず quite often before coming upon it again in this sentence: 俺は相変わらず苛立っていた　that a character says as he vents his frustration on things not going right in his volleyball club. There is an explanation of this expression here, but my Japanese isn't good enough for me to understand it. Could someone give me an explanation for what it means and a few examples of it so that I could see it used in context?


texts: Why are some Jinmeiyou kanji missing from JIS 1?

texts:
Background
人名用 (Jinmeiyou) kanji are a list of ~800 kanji officially sanctioned by the Japanese government for use in names.
JIS-X-0208 is the major standard for encoding kanji on computers.  It's broken into 3 levels, usually called just "JIS 1/2/3"

JIS 1: ~3000 kanji, which is supposed to include all the Jouyou kanji, Jinmeiyou kanji, and some extras that aren't in either list but are common anyways.
JIS 2: ~3500 kanji which are rarely used (the Kanji Kentei is based on this)
JIS 3: Mainly extras from Chinese that are almost never used

My Question
I've found that JIS 1 apparently doesn't include all the Jinmeiyou Kanji.  Specifically, these 15 are found in JIS 3(!?)

俠 焰 禱 繡 繫 蠟 醬 顚 鷗 俱 吞 簞 蟬 瘦 錄

Why is that? Are sources such as Jisho and Jitenon wrong about them being Jinmeiyou? Or were they added to the Jinmeiyou list recently?
Cross-posted to Reddit


texts: When mixing Japanese and English, should I use Japanese parentheses?

texts:
Should I use Japanese or Western parentheses when inserting a Japanese word into a sentence parenthetically? For example,

Japanese uses morae (モーラ)
or
Japanese uses morae （モーラ）

Is there any reason from Japanese typography that would suggest to use Japanese parentheses with Japanese words?


texts:
Can someone tell me what ように means in this phrase?

  あの人にそんな秘密があるようには全く見えないがな。


texts: Why can't だ be used after an I-adjective?

texts: I have been constantly told that だ can not be placed after an I-adjective. Why is that?


texts:
I've been talking with a Japanese exchange student at my college. For 4 years I've been studying Japanese and we get along just fine most of the time but sometimes even I get a bit lost.

He's from Kobe so perhaps it's a part of his dialect.

My question is, what does「なにしてたん？」mean? The main thing that confuses me is たん.


texts:
Sentence:

  先生、こちらは学校の友達のJennyです。

This sentence is an example of の's ability to convey a hierarchy of information, but I still don't get how you would know where to put the two のs. How do you use の in this sentence?


texts:
振り返ってみると、ゆいって今まで何の部活もやってこなかったもんねー。

I can't find the meaning in dictionaries..


texts:
Would it be よんじゅうかこくor start with しじゅう?
If anyone cares, the sentence was
俺は全世界四十ヵ国に支店を持つ、大企業の社長だった。
I was the president of a large corporation with branches in forty countries around the world.
It appeared in the following volume:
Author:青山章二 (Aoyama Shōji), title: びん ("Bottle") in 星新一 (Shin'ichi Hoshi, editor) ショートショートの広場 (Shōto shōto no hiroba) ISBN-13 : 978-4061835559, page 192


texts: Should I use 正解 or 当たり to mean correct in a testing situation?

texts: I want to use the term(s) when indicating a correct answer to a TEST question. I am thinking that one term may be preferred in TESTING situations, over the other.


texts: アクセントに関する質問：「韓国」ｖｓ「韓国人・韓国語」

texts:
「韓国」はアクセントが頭に来ます。
「韓国人・韓国語」など、国の名称の後もう一文字が付く場合は全体的にフラットなアクセントになります。
それ以外にも例はありますが、そうなる理由がよく分かりません。
みんなそうやってるから私も従っていますが、説明しろと言われたら出来ません。
何か法則があるのでしょうか？
ではなく単純に発音しやすいからでしょうか？

＊最初は「英国」「米国」などを例として挙げていましたが、該当しない例であることをご指摘頂きましたので修正しました。


texts: Why 習近平 is しゅうきんぺい while 文在寅 is むんじぇいん?

texts: In broadcasts, Japanese readings of kanji are used for Chinese names while Korean readings of kanji are used for Korean names. Is there any reason for this?


texts:
I have been hearing 死ねばいいのに twice last week, including once in a context where a bit of formality was required.

What does it mean? Is it as violent as it sounds to me?

I am not looking for a word-by-word translation. I think it has to be taken as a whole expression, a kind of idiom.

EDIT: I just found this usage example on HATENA::KEYWORD:

  あいつ「練習なんでドタキャンしたんだよ」って聞いたら、「彼女がデートしようって突然言うからさぁ」だって。ははは。まったくあいつらしいや。死ねばいいのに。


texts:
Context is 2 friends talking with each other after a night of drinking. The other friend drunk called her ex-boyfriend. The other friend said this.

だから言{い}ったっしょ
酒入{さけい}れてガーッとやればいけるって

Is this the same to やれば出来る? I'm also not sure how ガーッと is used here.
Like "You can do it if you're drunk."


texts:
While hiking I saw 3 bears, and I have heard a lot of people say ひき to count them. There was a mother and two small ones, if that matters.

But when talking about it I also have been told that 頭 should be used to count bears.

Are both usable? Does it depend on the age of the bear?


texts: 。。。したのではないのだから、。。。The different of the two の

texts:
あなたがけがをしたのではないのだから、何もそんなに泣かなくていいでしょう

What is the difference between the first の and the second の？

Currently I understand it this way.
The first one is a nomalizer, turning けがをした into けがをしたこと。 Is that correct? Also what about the latter one?

Thanks


texts: What's the difference between [勝負]{しょうぶ} and [試合]{しあい}

texts: I've seen both refered to as "match". Is there some secondary usage or perhaps a connotation or nuance that separates the two?


texts: Most natural way to say "This movie was good"

texts:
この映画はよかったです.

or

この映画はいいでした.

My understanding is that they both have the same literal meaning. Is there a subtle difference between them? And, does it sound more natual to use one or the other?


texts: 袂を分かつ Can someone explain this expression?

texts:
I was reading a light novel and I looked up the meaning of 袂を分かつ, but I wonder, can someone explain this expression in more detail as to why it means break off relations with/part with someone?
Tamoto (袂)is part of the kimono sleeve, so taken literally as 'cutting the sleeve' how does it relate to cutting of a relationship?


texts: How to ask someone if they would like us to do something?

texts:
I thought that it was considered rude to say as if we know that someone wants something. So what would be the proper way in Japanese to ask if they want us to do something? Like "Would you like me to tell you my number?"

Below is what I have in mind, please correct me if I'm wrong so I can learn from it...:

  先生、私の電話番号を教えたいですか

This is wrong since we cannot use たい for other people...

  先生、私の電話番号を教えてほしいですか

This is wrong since we cannot use 欲しい for other people too...

  A. 先生、私の電話番号を教えられることがいいですか？
  B. 先生、私の電話番号を教えることがいいですか？

I'm not sure which one is correct or if both are wrong. But even if it is correct, it would also mean somewhat like "Teacher, is it okay if I tell you my number?" and a bit different to "Teacher, would you like me to tell you my number?"...

  先生、私の電話番号を教えましょうか？

I'm not completely sure, but this should means "Teacher, should I tell you my number?". Although it has a difference nuance from "Would you want me to tell you something?" but it serves a similar purpose. Is this the correct one?

Additional for information purpose. Based on Oal's comment, it seems it's safe to use たほうがいい. as in

  先生、私の電話番号を教えたほうがいいですか？


texts: Is it impolite to reply to an apology with 別に?

texts:
I was watching an anime. A boy is in a hurry and he's running, and ends up accidentally hitting a girl. He inmediately apologizes and says
大-大変申し訳ございません!
He looks very nervous while speaking. The girls notices this and she looks worried (about him) at first, then she just smiles and says "別に".
It's clear that she doesn't want to sound rude at all, she seems to simply want to comfort him and tell him it was nothing and he shouldn't worry. But I often read that 別に is an expression that expresses indifference and a lack of concern, so I wonder when it's supposed to be a perfectly normal reply and when it sounds rude. In this context, is it fine?


texts: Use of `chan` between high school students

texts:
I've been watching Death Note and in Episode 14, Yagami Light refers to Misa as Misa-chan.

In this episode, Yagami meets Misa.  They're going to be combining forces, but Misa adds a condition that they be boyfriend and girlfriend.  Yagami is not happy about this.  He tries explaining that he'll have to be dating lots of girls.  This annoys Misa.  It's at this point that he calls her Misa-chan and tries to calm her down.  Yagami's partner hears this and comments "chan ka yo?".

So I was wondering, is Light being condescending to Misa (afterall he is rather annoyed with her) or, in this context, since she wants him to be her boyfriend, is he playing the role?  Would a high school boy call his girl friend using "chan"?


texts: Is "ガール" (gāru) now considered a Japanese word? What about "ガールズ" (gāruzu)?

texts:
In my wanderings around Japan giving my kana knowledge some practice I've noticed both the words "ガール" (gāru) and "ガールズ" (gāruzu) in use at least in signage. Obviously they are borrowed from English "girl" and "girls" in turn, but is either or both of them now considered to be Japanese words, or are they merely seen as English written in katakana?

If they are now considered to be Japanese words, how do their usages differ from the native Japanese words for "girl"?

And if both are now considered Japanese can "ガールズ" be considered a plural of "ガール", especially since Japanese doesn't normally have a grammatical concept of plurality?


texts: is Vてはじめて it's own grammar construction or simply something made up to help Japanese learners?

texts:
The Vてはじめて、construction is generally taught as its own grammar point to mean "not until X", "only after X". However from what I've been told by other learners as well as natives, this is not a special construction with no special meaning and is instead simply just the て form of a verb followed by はじめて which then acts as an adverb on the next verb.
Example:

家に帰ってはじめて、財布がなくなっていることに気がついた

"only after I returned home did I realise that I lost my wallet" This follows the definition of はじめて given by weblio

（「…てはじめて」の形で）さまざまな経過を経てようやくその状態になるさま。やっと。

I'm told though that it should be interpreted as

家に帰って、はじめて財布がなくなっていることに気がついた

"I returned home and for the first time I realised I lost my wallet".
Where はじめて is "linked" to 気がついた and not 帰る
The meaning in that second version is similar but not the same.
"For the first time" vs "not until X". The emphasis in the former is on the realising while in the latter it's on the action of returning home and the subsequent change.
If this is correct that てはじめて is not a grammar point then the following questions arise,

Does the position of はじめて matter in the meaning of the sentence?
Why do dictionaries and resources present it as something different?
How would you express the idea of "Not until X did Y happen"? the closest I can think of is てから


texts:
While reading a short story I found this sentence:

  これは青木がからんでいるなと僕はすぐわかりました。青木はその松本という男が死んだことを実にうまく利用したのです

The narrator in the past punched Aoki, since Aoki spread (or so thinks the character) rumors on the narrator. Years later Matsumoto killed himself and a teacher speaks with the narrator, because Matsumoto was bullied and punched, which seems to have lead to his suicide, and the narrator goes to a boxing gym.

In the quoted sentence the narrator is guessing that Aoki used Matsumoto death to take revenge, but I can't understand 「からんでいるな」. I'm guessing 「からんでいる」 is 「絡む」 in continuous form, while 「と」 refers to 「わかる」; what about 「な」?

The only things that comes to mind is the negative imperative, but I'm not sure it fits here - if it does, I have no clue about the sentence meaning. I'm guessing it means something like "This is Aoki picking a quarrel with me", but I'm totally ignoring that 「な」. I'm not sure if any of Jisho's meaning fits, and I wasn't able to find anything relevant - it being a single kana doesn't help.


texts:
I'm revising an essay that I wrote and one of my lines is a little beyond my current grammar abilities. My original line is:

  友達はそこに行ったことは分かったことはありません

What I'm trying to say is:

  My friend still has not discovered that we went there.

Since I'm not sure how to rework the multiple experiences to make sense, my first thought is to change it to something like:

  友達はそこに行ったこと(?)まだ分かりません

To potentially be read more like "My friend does not yet know that we went there". Though I'm not sure on the proper particle to use there or if that version makes any more sense than the previous.

Any suggestions for how I can best phrase this?


texts:
For example:

柔和{にゅうわ}な線{せん}で縁取{ふちど}られた宝石{ほうせき}のような瞳{ひとみ}に、ほっそりとした顎{あご}、綺麗{きれい}な鼻筋{はなすじ}。美人{びじん}っていう人{ひと}の条件{じょうけん}しっかりと備{ととの}えちゃってる。

What is the purpose of the と in ほっそりとした instead of just saying ほっそりした?
Also what's the difference the following two?

美人っていう人の条件しっかりと備えちゃってる
美人っていう人の条件をしっかり備えちゃってる

Thank you!


texts: Is it standard practice, or acceptable, to connect strokes in certain characters of hiragana?

texts:
I've been learning my hiragana from here:

http://yosida.com/en/hiragana.html

For the characters fu, mu, mo, na, ra, yu, and ya, I see a discrepancy between what's in the little box and what shows up when you click the character to see it being drawn. For these characters, the little boxes show several strokes seemingly connected in smooth lines, while the drawings will show strongly separated marks.

Which "style" -- if that's the appropriate word -- is preferable?


texts: Please tell me how to read this kanji. What does it mean?


texts: How do you express that you have a twin sister?

texts: How do you say “I have a twin (older) sister”? I am still unsure how to introduce my twin.


texts: What is the difference between 「届け」and 「届ける」？

texts:
Found a phrase on article which says,

  写真{しゃしん}をお届{とど}け!

i don't think it's meireikei, so why the verb doesn't end with ru?


texts:
I was again reading Shin Kanzen Master N1 Dokkai when I encountered a passage with a sentence which intrigued me. The second sentence read

最初と言われています。

While I do understand that dropping of だ happens in speech, especially in female speech, I was surprised when だ was dropped in the passage. How often does this happen?


texts:
I want to make the following sentence:

  the book has "english book" written on it

Is it

  この本は「英語の本」と書きます

or

  この本は「英語の本」と書いてあります


texts:
仲間だけで歌を楽しむことができます
ボタンを押すだけでいいんです

These are sentences which are found in textbook.
I'm confusing in these two sentences.
Here's my understanding.

In first sentence.

You can enjoy Karaoke with your friends, other people also are allowed
You can enjoy Karaoke with your friends, other people are denied

In second sentence.

You can press this button, you also can press other buttons
You can press this button, you are not allowed to press other buttons

Which is the correct way to understand?


texts: Question about i-adjective without 「い」followed by 「の」

texts:
Here is the phrase.

妖しの怪談編

I found that 「妖しい」is an i-adjective but in this case the alphabet 「い」is missing. For my understanding, the way to change i-adjective is to replace the last 「い」with「さ」. Or is this a way to change adjective into noun form?


texts: Am I the only one who never says "少女{しょうじょ}"?

texts:
Only a tiny extension in the first syllable separates the pronunciation of "少女" and "処女{しょじょ}". No matter how skillful one might be, those without the ability to speak with the rhythm and flow of a native Japanese cannot help but to sometimes be misheard. The extra "う" in "少女" just might not get heard in a flowing conversation.

As "処女" and "少女" are both nouns, swapping them will not change to grammatical correctness of a sentence?
Are not "少女" and "処女" similar enough in meaning that, in certain contexts, mistakenly saying "しょじょ" instead of "しょうじょ" does not change the meaning, but it does introduce sexuality into the sentence?
My way of avoiding that issue has always been to say "女の子" instead of "少女". That is almost the same meaning, right?

In summary, I don't want anyone to think I am discussing the virginity of young girls. Do the similar pronunciations of "少女" and "処女" present such a risk?


texts: What is だって when it's at the beginning of a sentence?

texts:
I have read several definitions of だって but none of them seem to make sense when I see it at the beginning of a sentence and I read the context. I saw one example Japanese sentence and in the English translation だって wasn't translated into anything.

So what is だって when it's at the beginning of a sentence?


texts:
I am studying Japanese grammar and believe that ならでは generally translates to "uniquely applying to" or "special to" the noun that proceeds it. I can translate most example sentences but had difficulty translating the below sentence:

この味はおふくろの手作りならでは出せない味だ。

My tentative translation of this sentence is: "This is not the same taste that is special/unique to my mother's handmade food."

Does this seem like a reasonable way to interpret this sentence?


texts: Confusion about omitted "object" with 有する

texts:
I just read this clause (as a definition of 独特):

  そのものだけが有していること。

I first understood it in a way, that "[Something] has only this thing.", instead "Only this thing has [something]".
Now I'm kind of doubting my own language skills, and whether my confusion is justified. I think if I would have written the same sentence as:

  そのものだけは有していること。

or

  そのものだけはあることが有していること。

Do my versions sound natural as well? If not, why not?
Also, how would you have translated "[Something] has only this thing." with "something" being omitted and without being ambiguous?


texts:
図体ばっかりでかくなりやがって

The person who says it is short but he's also very rude. The people he's talking to just worked out, so I don't know if he meant only their bodies grew but their brain didn't, or if it means something like ugh you got so big (I didn't).


texts: Why is it more suitable to use 「V辞書形 」 than 「N+の」 right before 「代わりに」 in the following sentence?

texts:
The sentence is from my textbook, where I'm asked to pick the correct or more suitable choice from inside ［   ］:

  最近［ 車の / 車を持つ ］代わりに、カーシェアリングを利用する人が多い。

According to the textbook, the correct (or more suitable) choice is 車を持つ.

As far as I know, both choices seem fine to me as they follow the required grammar construction for nouns and verbs along with 代わりに.

  最近車の代わりに、カーシェアリングを利用する人が多い。Recently, people make use of car-sharing instead of a car.

  最近車を持つ代わりに、カーシェアリングを利用する人が多い。Recently, people make use of car-sharing instead of a having a car.

So, firstly,

1) Are both choices right or only the second one is possible?

and secondly,

2) When you join two elements A and B by means of 代わりに, is it mandatory that A and B are the same part of speech?

I suspect that's why the second sentence is the right one, because both elements are verbs (持つ and 利用する) as opposed to noun and verb (車 and 利用する). But it's just my guess.

よろしくお願いします！


texts: How wide is the usage of causative (使役) す/さす comparatively to せる/させる?


texts: Any better way to ask "How are you?" instead of "お元気ですか？"

texts:
I'm very curios to know about the meaning of "お元気ですか?". This could be the very basic question. But once I asked my office colleague(Japanese Native) "お元気ですか?". so his reply was very shocking to me. He replied me something like "Do you feel I am sick?".

But as per the study I thought Its simple meaning as "How are you?". So now I'm curios to know some other better option to use Instead of "お元気ですか" or I did some mistake at the moment? Please guide/suggest some better options, when we meet usually to person but maybe once in a day.


texts: How can I tell the reason after the fact in the second part of the sentence

texts:
Let's make an easy example sentence

  ラーメンが好きだから、毎日食堂で食べます。

In real life conversations I sometimes start a sentence with the second part

  毎日食堂で食べます

Then I want to tell the reason for this and I always try to somehow connect the sentences, but I don't know how. In the English language I could do it like this:

  Because I like Ramen, I am eating everyday in the cafeteria.

And then I could switch it around and do it like this:

  I am eating everyday in the cafeteria, because I like Ramen.

While in Japanese I always start to stutter and then I just begin a new sentence which goes like this:

  ラーメンが好きですから。

or:

  理由はラーメンが好きです。

I am not sure if I'm overlooking something, but I think that there must be a smoother way to tell the reason after the fact without making a new sentence. I think you could do it somehow with the particle "で", but it kind of doesn't sound right to me.


texts: X is near or next to Y. Is my understanding of this correct?

texts:
So I know that a few words could be used interchangably. But I wasn't sure if I got the nuance(s) correct. So I have this sentence: 車はどこにありますか。 車庫のそばです。 And as far as I can see, I can change そば in this sentence and the meaning stays the same.

車はどこにありますか。 車庫のそばです。
車はどこにありますか。 車庫のよこです。
車はどこにありますか。 車庫のところです。
車はどこにありますか。 車庫のちかくです。
車はどこにありますか。 車庫のとなりです。

Now the sentence with となり, I'm not sure of because a car is certainly nothing like a garage. However, car and a garage are car-related. Any fine details I overlooked?


texts: NOUNS and わけ(だ/ではない) | How do I use them if websites' constructions different...?

texts:
Linked below are three different sites with separate ways to construct NOUNS and わけ(だ/ではない).

わけだ Form 1 from 'japanesetest4you'

わけではない Form 1 from 'japanesetest4you'

わけだ Form 2 from 'jgram'

わけではない Form 2 from 'jgram'

Forms 3 from 'Learn Japanese (because of dreams)'

This has been killing me for the past few days. Please someone clarify how the heck you form わけ(だ/ではない) sentences with nouns.


texts: Distinguishing between homophones in everyday speech

texts: While trying to figure out the polite imperative form of 呼ぶ I figured the correct conjugation to be 呼んで下さい。I found instead that, colloquially, the imperative is 呼び出して下さい。 Am I correct in assuming that this is to distinguish between, 読んで and 呼んで in everyday speech?


texts: What are the differences between 真ん中, 中心 and 中央?

texts: Could someone please explain the differences in usage and meaning? It would be nice with some example sentences as well.


texts:
These two grammar points seem to be synonymous. Apart from formality このかた being maybe an older expression, are there any significant differences in meaning between these two.

For example, is there any reason that

  あの山の写真を見て以来、いつかは登ってみたいとずっと思い続けてきた。

could not be rewritten as

  あの山の写真を見てこのかた、いつかは登ってみたいとずっと思い続けてきた

Likewise, is there any reason that

  日本から帰国してこのかた、毎日日本のことを思い出している。

Could not be stated as

  日本から帰国して以来、毎日日本のことを思い出している。

I took these examples from 新完全マスターN2.


texts: Has my textbook got a mistake in it regarding the use of 習う？

texts:
There is a sentence in my textbook 'The Handbook of Japanese Verbs',

  私は姉に人形の作り方を習いました

It is translated as 'I learned how to make dolls from my older sister'.

But, I would have thought it means 'I taught my older sister how to make dolls'.

With the former being something like,

  私は姉から人形の作り方を習ってくれました。

Sorry, I may have mistranslated it. But, more importantly I'm wondering if the original Japanese sentence and translation is mistaken?


texts: Using 何を with intransitive verbs (eg 何をにやついているの?)

texts:
貴様、何をにやついておるのだ…？
  What are you grinning at, you bastard?

This sentence (asked in this question) seemed fairly natural and simple to me...until I realized にやつく is an intransitive verb. [×]彼は私をにやついた is ungrammatical. Instead, you have to say something like 彼は私を見てにやついた.

Then why is the first sentence ever possible? Well, after some pondering I came up with a similar expression:

  何をぐっすり寝ているの、早く起きなさい！

So apparently these 何を with intransitive verbs mean why rather than what. But is that really true? I found a page where one person says 何を can mark a reason/trigger. But I'm not totally convinced, since all I could find was this short comment. I'd appreciate if someone explain this or point me to a longer article/reference. Should this be considered as a fixed expression like English "how come"?

(Just to be sure, as a native speaker of Japanese, I know these examples using 何を are natural, but I'm just having trouble getting a nice grammatical explanation.)


texts: How to translate 'subject' (of lesson) and 'teacher'?

texts:
I cannot understand how to translate 'subject' to Japanese in lesson context? E.g. Russian, mathematics and etc. are all subjects.

And I need to translate 'teacher', as in school teacher and university teacher.


texts: how do I refer to bathrooms that are completely full / unavailable?

texts:
I wanted to say something like "No matter where I go the bathrooms are always all full. Do I use any of these:"満席?いっぱい?全使用中？空いていない？

In which case saying the bathroom is "full" is one way to say it, but how would I also say it conversely with the bathrooms are unavailable (because they are full)


texts:
I have the following sentence, where I get the main meaning.

大学生とはいえ、あまりアルコールに強くない僕としては、ビール一杯の「やけざけ」（とも言えないが）で大分ハイな気分だったのだ。

"(Though) I am a student, I can't take much alcohol because I get high even from one beer as in binge-drinking."

but what is the role of とも言えないが?
So far, I think I understand ...とも言えない as "I am not really sure about ..." or " ...? I can't even say".

But what is the meaning of this phrase with this particle が ? Does it act as "but"? "But I can't even say (that)?" Obviously, the speaker knows that he gets high from a single beer. So why adding the uncertainty?


texts:
I know both 尽くす and きれる mean to do something fully/completely
eg(these are my own examples)

  色々やり尽くす。(I have tried all the methods or I have exhausted all the methods.)

generally I have heard of

  食べきれない。(cannot complete the food...)

What I want to know is when do we use 尽くす and きれる.

How do I know if I can say やり尽くす or やりきれる?


texts:
会社で働いています。ビジネスマナーのセミナーの案内をもらいました。仕事に必要なので、参加させてほしいと課長におねがいします。

This excerpt is from my textbook. I don't understand why there is causative in the bold part.
"...that you wish to be let taken part..." is how I would understand it literally. This sounds so complicated that I don't know wether I understood it correctly. I could let it pass as a humble formulation, but since it feels so circuitous, I wanted to ask for confirmation/correction here ^^


texts: This is from deceze, but what is the counter used for doors.  Is it 枚(mai)　or something else?


texts:
Here are two sentences containing the し particle:

  このアパートは綺麗だし、安い。
  This apartment is clean and what's more it's inexpensive.

  今日はお客さんも来るし、夕食も作らなくてはいけないし、エアロビクスにいけません。
  I've got visitors today and I have to cook dinner so I can't go to aerobics.

(Not sure if there are other types of し sentences but this is two that I know of.)

I feel that these two sentences aren't translated in the same way. For instance if I were to translate the first sentence like the second sentence was it would become "This apartment is clean so it's cheap". Of course this doesn't even make sense, but do you see what I mean?

This brings me to the question I'm hoping someone can answer for me:

How do you know which way し sentences should be translated? Is there any way to know how a sentence with し will be translated without trying both ways and seeing which makes sense?


texts:
What does "Sore ni taru 'kekka' nano desu" mean?
It takes place here in Fairy Tail manga => http://online.mangaraw.net/Weekly-Shonen-Magazine-Vol-04-05-231-7911.html

And also,  "samazamana omoi to omowaku ga rasen ga gotoku , iri midareru!!" sentence mean?
Again a page from Fairy Tail manga => http://img14.imageshack.us/img14/4180/235vs.jpg

I'm confused about these two, I hope anyone can help me, yoroshiku onegaishimasu :)


texts:
Is there kanji for いいですね?

I see that よいですね can be written as 良いですね.

In context, is 良いですね understood and read as いいですね?


texts: What's the difference between 機械 and 器械?

texts: In which case would one be more appropriate than the other?


texts: What is a good way to translate ぼんぼん into English?

texts:
I first came across ぼんぼん in “Art of Fighting 2” (Original Title: 龍虎の拳2). More specifically, in Ryou Sakazaki’s (リョウ・サカザキ) ending. In that ending, his friend and rival Robert Garcia (ロバート・ガルシア) comes to congratulate Ryou for winning the King of Fighters tournament. Then Robert reveals that he used the prize money to pay off loans and debts, and he presents Ryou his share, which is 500 yen (In case you’re wondering, 500 yen is 4.57 US dollars as of this writing). Ryou, not surprisingly, is greatly offended by this, and gets into a fight with Robert. During their punching and kicking, Robert says this:

  この金持ちのボンボンがー!

I think it translates to this: I’m this rich green young man from a well-to-do family, annnnd-!

Robert speaks the Kansai dialect, and ぼんぼん is spelled in katakana, for reasons that are not clear to me.

ぼんぼん has the meaning of “green young man from a well-to-do family”, but that’s a bit of mouthful, don’t you think?

Is there an equivalent term to ぼんぼん in English?

Edit:

Alright, it turns out that I got the translation wrong. Apparently, a more accurate translation would be “You rich silver spooner-!” It's a good thing there are people who can clear these things up!


texts: Why does the grammar structure for "I think [statement]" work the way it does?

texts:
In my Japanese class, I've been taught that the structure for "to think" is "～と思う", but no explanation was given for why this is the way it is.

For instance:

  日本の中で食べ物は高いと思う。

Obviously the first part of the sentence reads, "In Japan, food is expensive" - but the last part doesn't seem to make sense in-context. Maybe it's because I haven't seen grammar structures with multiple verbs before.

  さけおさんは酒を飲まないと思う。

This sentence has effectively the same structure as above, but the ending of the sentence just... doesn't sound right. It doesn't make logical sense given the grammar rules that I know so far.

How should I break this sentence down so I can hear this intuitively? Is the form "～と思う" part of a larger type of grammar that I am not yet aware of?

Additionally, I've never seen the particle と used this way before. What does it mean here?


texts:
I've read today the sentence:

  お母さんにどなられても，しかられても，羊のように黙って言うことを聞きました。

The part I understand says that even if she was screamed at or scolded by the mother, like a sheep...

Now, I can't find a translation for the rest of the sentence. I now the girl in the context listen to something but I couldn't find a translation for 黙って言うこと.

What does it mean?


texts: What is the meaning of 「...みけんならみけん...」?

texts:
I'm reading a book on how to draw manga style characters, and I came across this sentence. It is part of a larger block explaining how to make a character look the same from all different angles.

  同{おな}じ髪型{かみがた}といっても、どこから分けてあるか、どんな感{かん}じのカーブで、みけんならみけんのどこまでかかるのか、などに注意{ちゅうい}をはらって描{か}きます

I think I understand the general meaning of the whole sentence, but the part where it says みけんならみけん puzzles me a bit. I get that it's talking about where to draw the brow of the face and how far across it goes (「どこまでかかるのか」).

As I understand it, なら is something like "being the case that", so I translate みけんならみけん as "the brow as the brow", but that seems weird to me. How would the brow act as anything other than the brow when drawing a face? My translation must be wrong because it would be redundant to talk about the brow as the brow.

What is なら doing in this context?


texts:
I’m struggling to understand all the parts in this sentence and why each of them are there.
それから二、三年たったある日のことです。
I know what it means in English, but this is really hard to understand as a beginner. The tatta is referring to the years, but is put behind it? I’m mystified by the koto desu as well.
English: Then, two or three years later, there came a day when (something happened).
Thanks for any help!


texts:
The very first lyric of the song "Fighting Gold" goes like this:

夢を縛りつける 重たい運命の石に

And everything makes sense except for the fact that the singer reads 運命 as さだめ. Why?


texts: Meaning of「〜てみたいと思います」

texts:
I've gathered that と思う means to think about but isn't it a little redundant to add the みたい？

  彼らに聞いてみたいと思います。

The みたい adds the sense of looking like or seeming but so does 思う so I don't quite understand the combination! Any thoughts?


texts:
It seems to me that 千 is exceptional in having it prefixed with 一.

As for 一, 十, 百, they work together with 千 to describe the numbers from 1 to 9999, so they compete with one another, or are complimentary. There is no combination like:

  一一, 一十, 一百, 十十, 十百 百百

As for 万, 億, 兆, 京, etc., they are multiplied by a number from 1 to 9999, expressed by the prefix using 一 十, 百 千, so when that prefix turns out to be 1, 10, 100, 1000, then they are combined, and there are combinations like:

  一万, 十万, 百万, 千万, 一億,　十億, 百億, 千億, etc.

and there is no combination among themselves such as

  万万, 万億, 億億, 万兆, 億兆, 兆兆, etc.

However, 千 is exceptional in that it is prefixed by 一 just when itself is prefixed to the characters 万, 億, 兆, 京, etc.

  千
  一千万
  一千億

Why is 千 prefixed with 一 in this case? Why is it not like the following?

  千
  千万
  千億


texts: How do native speakers "read" single-kanji signs when those kanji are not also standalone words?

texts:
In my time in Japan I've noticed a few kanji that can be used on their own commonly in various kinds of signs, yet I don't think they are also words in their own right:

押
引
危
開
閉

Since all kanji have multiple readings, I keep wondering how native speakers read these, or talk about them.

In fact for 危 I'm also interested in what they read it semantically. Is it "dangerous", or "watch out" or "caution" - or does it not really matter until you try to put it into words?


texts: Writing the decimal part of a number after the unit of measurement

texts:
日本の記録は２分５３秒８９で、オリンピックの新しい記録になりました。
  The Japanese result was 2 minutes 53.89 seconds and became a new Olympic record.

I haven't seen this way of writing a decimal number before, by putting the unit of measurement between the integer and fractional part. Can this be done with measurements other than time e.g. can I write 1.5km as 1キロ5? Are there any contexts where it is more/less appropriate to write it like this?


texts:
What does "扎し魔神" mean in this epiphet?

I think it says "かつて魔法石を統ベる者と呼ば扎し魔神", but I'm not sure because the font has strange kerning...

So, I'm having:

"かつて魔法石を統ベる者" == "Former Magic Stone Lord"

"と呼ば扎し魔神" == "And also called [扎し] Majin/Magic God/Demon God/Etc."

But I'm not sure if "扎し魔神" is a compound word or something...

So, can you help me out?

What is "扎し魔神" in the context of that epiphet?


texts: Kana causing translation difficulty: 「きれている」

texts:
Ok, so I've been having trouble with a passage. It's mostly written in kana, and I can get most of it, but because of the kana, I have no idea what a certain word is. At the beginning of the music video for the Gorillaz music video for Clint Eastwood, it says a line from Dawn of the Dead in Japanese and then in English. Here it is:

  すべての死体は死にきれているわけではない。人々はそれらを殺し、そしてまた起きあがって殺す。

In English, of course, it is:

  Every dead body that is not exterminated gets up and kills! The people it kills get up and kill!

Of course, I understand the general meaning of the Japanese version, because I have a translation. The last part is easy:

  人々はそれらを殺し、そしてまた起きあがって殺す。When people kill them, they get up again and kill.

But the first part I don't understand. I know すべての死体は, and I know 訳ではない, but since it's written in kana, I can't tell at all which きれて is being used. Is it the 〜て form of 切れる? Is it the potential form of 切る? I don't know why you'd be cutting them, and I don't think it's 着れる (because zombies don't spend much time picking out clothes). Secondarily, I'm unsure of the use of 死に here. Is it being きれて'd towards death, or is it 死に as in the other word for death?


texts:
I am looking for a word, a noun to convey the following concepts: comfort, convenience, intuitiveness. I am not looking for a word to describe physical comfort but comfort of the mind. Imagine like you sit in a brand new car you’ve never seen before; yet, you intuitively know what is what and feel comfortable using it from the get go.

I have found two words:

Nagusame
Benrisa

Since I am not a native speaker, however, I have no idea if any of those words are even close to the concept I am looking for.


texts: Padding of 好みの潰さで味ゎぅ

texts:
I'm trying to parse (put spaces between each word) the following sentence in the picture attached:

I've tried Recognizing the Characters using an app and got this :

好みの潰さで味ゎぅ

I recognize that there are three kanjis here which i'm not sure about. And for the last two characters (wa and u) I don't know if it was supposed to be in the small version like that.

1) Firstly I want to verify that the results of the recognition  are correct according to the picture. Please cmiiw

2) Secondly, how does it supposed to be like if the sentence is parsed into separated words in japanese?

3) What is the correct romanized transcription of this sentence?

Regards

Sidenote : i'm a newbie learning japanese. Only 2 or 3 times I've posted here. Definitely Not an expert...not even a beginner..he


texts:
What would be the interpretation of verbs that have two levels of 'teiru' and 'rare' in them? I figure that the 'teiru' will be one for stative/perfective and the other for progressive, and the 'rare' will be one for passive/honorific and one for possibility/ability. Here are a few from Google search:

-神社には何がまつられてられているのだろうか？
-富士の名水で育ってられてられてます
-脇道も階段として整えてられてられているのだが　(3 'te'!)
-調べてられてられないという事情も理解してください

These aren't that common, probably because they're hard to say and a little complicated to parse (think "the fish will have been being eaten"). I'm guessing the interpretations would be something like "have been able to be being done something to".

Of course, there's the possibility that this is something that people say because they think it's funny, or some sort of typo :) If both interpretations of both words are actually in the verb, could someone with a native intuition tell me which one means which?

Edit:

Lots more googling. I searched for two patterns: "られてられて" and "てられてられ". The first one got much more hits than the second one, and with more formal and professional language (though there were exceptions).

Also, I think, a cool discovery: emphasis via repetition of the passive auxiliary. Tell me if it's wrong. Examples:

-最近、復職を求められてられてばかりで落ち込み気味。
-また、マスコミに煽られてられて投資信託を購入しましたが
-見せられてられて火病を起こしているようにしか見えないぞｗｗ


texts: How do you translate "She said she thought he was handsome" into Japanese? I wonder whether it might be 「彼女は彼はハンサムだと思うと言いました。」, but I am not sure whether I should use 思う or 思っている in this context.


texts: How to ask if someone wants to continue farming a boss in game / Interrupt to leave

texts:
My attempt at both:

  A: ボスと戦い直したいか？
  Do you want to keep going? (Fight the boss again?)
  B: ちょっと・・・
  Well... (I don't think I can)

But if I have to leave because of an emergency or about to go somewhere without wifi in real life, but nobody is asking me if I can keep going... how do I interrupt and let them know politely I can't stay for the next round?

Would this work?

  すみません,行かなきゃいけません,
  (Sorry I have to go)


texts:
How might you express a rude, begrudging permission in Japanese? I realize this is something you'd never encounter in practice or in public, but I'm writing a fictional story about some rather rude people so it's useful to know.

Sentences I have in mind here:

"If you must stay, stay in this room."

"If you must drink, drink my water."

"If you must come with us, help us carry."


texts:
I am confused by 「二番」vs.「二番目」、「三番」vs.「三番目」etc.

While 「一番速い人。」 seems grammatically correct and  sounds ok to me, 「二番速い人。」 sounds so unnatural to me I am thinking the grammar might be wrong. But, if 「一番速い」 is correct, certainly 「二番速い」 must also correct, right?

With regard to modifying nouns with adjectives such as "second", "third", etc. this is how I've heard it done:
「それは、二番目に高い建物です。」
「三番目の好きな日本料理はお好み焼きです。」
「四番目に速い人は、田中さんです。」
...

Personally, but for 「一番」、 I never just say 「＿番」. I say 「＿番目」. But in forums such as this, I observe 「＿番」 used more often than 「＿番目」。 So, I am getting worried / confused about this.

Also, in this context. 「目」 must be consider a counter right? It is the counter of positions in an ordered list. If it's not officially a counter, what is it?


texts: What are the left and top right part of 叚（暇{ひま}・霞{かすみ}・蝦{えび}…）?

texts:
In RADKFILE, the only radical 暇{ひま}, 霞{かすみ} and 蝦{えび} share is 又. It doesn't have anything for the two other distinct parts of 叚.

I haven't seen the parts in other kanji, except that the left one looks a bit like 尸 with two additional strokes and the top right one looks like the katakana コ (which was derived from 己).

What are they?


texts: Why does the word for "surgery" 外科 have the 外 kanji?

texts:
I can't seem to figure out what "outside" has to do with "surgery".

Surely, one type of surgery is amputation (切断【せつだん】) which is about removing (外【はず】す) a body part, but there are many other (much more common) type of surgeries.


texts: Which of these means affection 愛情, 愛 or 情?

texts: Wiktionary says that's in Japanese kanji "愛" means "love" and "affection" however after checking on a Translator in no case does "愛" mean "affection". Supposedly 愛情 is "affection", the only difference being "情" added on the end. After realizing this I decided to check what "情" meant but I then found out that it also means affection. How can a word have more than 1 kanji and how can a kanji share words. Also what is the correct kanji for "Affection"?


texts: Is ありです a colloquial expression for ありがとう?

texts:
I got this as a reply to a YouTube comment:

  コメント返信ありです！

I understood what the person meant but I'd like to know if ありです is that common and if it can have other meanings.


texts: The meaning of the 戟 kanji in the context of 食戟

texts:
I read the manga "食戟のソーマ" and have a question concerning the meaning of the [食戟]{しょくげき}. I understand the 食{しょく} part, standing for Food, but 戟{げき} is what I don't understand.
I would have understood it, if they used the Kun reading (ほこ) standing for weapon, but as for 戟{げき} I have no idea.
My question is: What is the meaning of 戟{げき} in the contexts of 食戟 and therefore what does 食戟 mean?

Additional information:
The official English title of this manga is "Food Wars!".
In the manga a 食戟 is a food competition, where cooks face each other mostly in a one vs one fashion similar to Iron Chef but in a more over the top style.


texts:
こんなとこで寝てっと風邪ひくぞ

Is this a contraction of something? How does it differ from something like 寝ると or 寝てると?


texts:
Why in this dialog is「ございません」the appropriate answer?

「兄弟がありますか。」「いいえ。私は兄弟が（＿＿＿）。

I understand that ございません would parallel あります in the first sentence, but shouldn't I use the polite form of iru to describe the non-existence of living things?


texts: Meaning of 〜たつもりでも〜ても～。

texts:
I understand the meaning of something such as 食べたつもりで寝る。My idea of this is "I go to sleep convinced that I've eaten". Or along those lines.

In the book I'm using, the following, similar phrase has been used but I can't make heads nor tails of it:

  優しく言ったつもりでも「～しなさい」と聞こえ、「～しなさい」と言っても優しさが伝わる。

What role does the も play here? My best understanding is: "[~shinasai] was said kindly (at least the speaker was convinced this to be the case)", and then even though he used [~shinasai], it was relayed as a kind message. I understand that to be the meaning of 言っても, but confused with the reason behind using 言ったつもりでも over 言ったつもりで. Any help is appreciated :) .


texts: What is the grammatical function of 〜としており when quoting a statement?

texts:
I understand 〜として　to have the basic meaning of "as" or "assuming X" for making certain hypothetical statements, but I'm confused what function it serves in the following statement:

スルージ氏はアップルのモデム開発の取り組みについて、今年始まったばかりだとしており、「長期の戦略的投資」と表現している。

The above is E>J translation from the WSJ.
Below is the original:

Mr. Srouji said Apple’s modem effort just kicked off this year, and he
described it as a “long-term strategic investment”.

The statement from Mr. Srouji is not hypothetical but something he actually said explicitly at a public forum, so the として doesn't seem to add any intelligible meaning or grammatical information to the statement as far as I can make out.
Any grammatical insight here would be much appreciated.
Thank you!


texts: Why is there no agent marker in this sentence?

texts:
風颯々｛かぜさっさつ｝として松の梢｛こずえ｝を吹く.　The wind murmurs in the boughs of the pine trees. ｜ The breeze is soughing in the pine tops. (研究社 新和英大辞典 第５版)

Why isn't 風 here followed by a case marker like は or がif it's treated as the subject of the predicate (颯々として松の梢を吹く)?


texts:
Read the following please:

  ... このホテルはどちらもありません。それから、冷蔵庫もエアコンもありません。このホテルは便利ではありませんでしたが、山や湖で色々なことができました。

Can それでは be used in place of それから in the sentence above (both mean "then")?

By the way, wouldn't it be better to use それに instead? In that part of the passage they tell their readers what wasn't there in the hotel: "... There weren't either. Moreover/besides, there was neither a fridge nor an air conditioner..."


texts:
I thought I've mastered this but I'm getting confused again.
I thought the ~く form of i-adjectives was used when the adjective modifies the noun, e.g.

新しく家を買う
難しく試験した

I think it's named "continuative form" but I'm not sure
Am I correct?. If not, please explain me the correct use.
PS. I think the examples are correct if not please correct me.


texts:
Sometimes, when learning kanji, I get tripped up because I can't remember which kana are the furigana of the kanji, and which are the okurigana.

Take たべる(食) for example. I might think that たべ are the furigana for 食, and る is the okurigana, which is obviously not true. I can tell easily enough when the word is a verb, and it ends in る or す or some such, but it's not always easy to remember whether sounds in the middle are part of the kanji or not.

Is there a system behind all of this? Or do you simply have to know the kanji readings and memorise the okurigana?


texts:
I'm not sure how to translate フォー・ダークネス (alternatively 闇のもの) to English as " ___ Darkness ".
This is the name of some monster. It might be some sort of word play or some reference to the Shoggoth. I cannot tell.
The フォー part sounds like: four, for, foe, pho, fore, foo, ...
but I don't think any of them match.
I thought maybe "full" but that's written with フル
Any ideas?
EDIT
Looks like it's a name attributed to a set of monsters

闇のもの【フォー・ダークネス】 の１体 ダーク・ショゴスだ


texts:
I have a following line from a manga:

持ってきてくれたら「魔法的なこと」見せてあげられちゃうんだけど…
たとえば服を作ったりね♪
If you bring me some, I’ll be able to show you “a magical thing/magical trick/magic”…
Like for example I could make some clothes ♪

Context: Person A that is saying this can do magic and has told Person B what she would need to do magic. So the first bit is her saying that if she is brought this thing she'll be able to show her some more magic and such.
Person A is also currently naked (because of course she is) and wants to get dressed, so second bit is about it also allowing her to make clothes for herself.
Sooo, these two actions, showing more magic AND making clothes using magic (as she does later) don't really seem opposite. So I'm surprised to find they are connected by だけど which I would expect to connect two at least somewhat opposite statements and not main statement and second one making an example. So what's up with that?
Also I have never before seen てあげる be used with ちゃう. Here てあげられる is there to say A will be able to do B a favor of showing her a magic trick. But why append ちゃう? There are only two reasons one might add it to the end of the verb. One is to say that some action was completed completely or/and to indicate the action/event was unfortunate.... I guess it could mean that she would be FULLY able to do something... But yeah I tried searching google and got ONE, ONE hit for てあげられちょう. So yeah, don't know what's the implication/nuance behind that either.


texts: If you learn the 2000 most common kanji, how many of the 2000 most common hanzi would you know?

texts: For someone interested in learning both Japanese and Mandarin, how much overlap is there? How many more characters would you have to learn to know the 2000 most common hanzi?


texts:
Does the word 東雲 shinonome have some stylistic pecularities?
What's the difference between this word and others with the same meaning "daybreak; dawn"?


texts:
I know までに means "by" or "by the time..." And it's used with Time. But I can't help but wonder if I can use it with verbs for example...would this make sense...
行ったまでに....
By the time he came...


texts: How do you politely ask permission to deviate from received instructions?

texts:
After I agreed to proofread a professor's 論文, he instructed me to print out a hard copy and write edits on it in red, as well as send him the Word document back with my edits done on the original file. Rather than write edits by hand on a hard copy plus edit the document file, I'd rather turn on Track Changes in Word and send him back 1) the edited document file with Track Changes on so he can cleanly see where I changed anything, and 2) a duplicate "clean" copy of the edited file (Track Changes off).

He wrote by email:

  作業の段取りですが、
  （１）お送りした原稿を「プリントアウト」して、赤字で修正する。
  （修正を書き込みにくければ、文章の設定を変えてもかまいません。
  例えば、1頁20行にする、など）
  （２）修正した文章をデジタルデータにする。
  （デジタルデータには、どこを修正したか、書き込む必要はありません）

  つまり、赤い字でチェックをした紙の原稿と、
  修正を終えたデジタルデータの両方をいただきたいのです。

Is the following a polite response requesting to use Track Changes in Word instead of write by hand, or how can I make it more polite? Is there any part of this that sounds rude and needs to be removed or replaced? Is there any set phrase often used in the situation of asking permission to deviate from received instructions that should be included?

  ◯◯先生

  ご連絡ありがとうございます。

  失礼ですが、一つ提案がございます。原稿をプリントアウトして、ペンで紙に赤字で修正することの代わりに、ワード（Microsoft Word）の「変更履歴」（Track Changes, トラックチェンジ）機能を使うことを許可されることのご配慮をよろしくお願いいたします。文字の挿入や削除、書式の変更、コメントが、色つきの文字や右余白の吹き出しできれいに表わされています。お世話になっております。

  ◯◯先生が知っているとは思うんですが、念のために「変更履歴」の仕方：

  http://allabout.co.jp/gm/gc/297925/

  http://ascii.jp/elem/000/000/204/204722/

  ◯◯先生にご迷惑をかけない場合、本件について格別のご配慮をよろしくお願いいたします。この特異な状況をご理解いただくよう、よろしくお願いいたします。


texts:
I have question regarding the 「だって出てない」 in these sentences. i can't understand what that part of the paragraph means at all. However i think i understand the rest of what is being said around that part, if i'm not, please tell me.
The context is that he's just died and is asking someone about how he is died and if a girl he tried saving is alright, to which the person replies saying she got a broken leg but is fine. She then says goes on to say the lines below.
Original text:

「まあ、あなたが突き飛ばさなければ、あの子は怪我もしなかったんですけどね」
「あのトラクターは、本来ならあの子の手前で止まったんです。　あたり前ですよね。　だってトラクターですもん。　そんなにスピードだって出てないし。　つまり、あなたはヒーロー気取りで余計な事したって訳です。　・・・・プークスクス！」

how i understand it:

well, if you hadn't pushed her out the way, she wouldn't even be hurt.
That tractor had pretty much completely stopped from the girl's perspective. It's obvious. It is a tractor. Even if it had come a that sort of speed, (?). Basically, it means that you, under a heroic pretense, did something completely unnecessary. (Chuckling)


texts:
Is there a Japanese word for "XY problem"? (The phrase comes from here and here)

  XY problem - asking about your attempted solution rather than your actual problem.

Or should I write 「XYプロブレム」or should I just describe the "XY problem" word literally (to get the close meaning of "XY problem" word)?

Edit: I will explain more with "XY problem" itself

XY problem is actually happens to everyone, not just only programmer. I think describing XY problem in paragraph will be tricky to understand, so I will make the description in points first:

A person has a problem (let's call this X problem)
The person has an idea to solve the problem (let's call this Y solution). Or you can call Y solution is a baseline to solve the problem
The person doesn't know how to do with the Y solution either
The person asks for help with Y
Others are trying to help with Y, but the person (or the others) thinks Y is too complicated (so the Y is useless)
At the end, this finally clear that the user really wants help with X, and the Y wasn't even a suitable solution for X.

Conclusion The XY problem could be described with this (source):

  The person asking the question asks the wrong question (which is related to their attempted solution rather than the original problem), and then finds it difficult to clarify the question because they are stuck on their own solution. The proposed answers are unsatisfactory because they don't address how to implement the author's solution.
  People answering the question find it frustrating because the proposed solution doesn't make sense to them ...

This problem is very common in many Stack Exchange communities (I think Japanese.SE is also one of them). It's like a question has many answers but none of them is accepted by the asker.

This inability to come up with a better solution is called Einstellung Effect (this article has clear explanation about this inability, but you may find the specific explanation in Wikipedia).

Addition

   The best approach to prevent XY problem is be yourself creative. Keep looking different solutions until you get the best one. In my point, when you have many solutions to a problem, you need to do with your solutions multitaskingly, so you're not falling into Einstellung Effect or XY problem.


texts:
Lately I've seen in some dialog games with this difference. They use 観る rather than 見る, e.g.:

・あなたテレビ観るかな。
・あんまり観ない方なんだ。

So I'm thinking I can use 見る to make the same dialog. However there must be a reason why they use one instead of the other. Perhaps its a simple reason...
What is the difference between 見る and 観る?


texts: What does 日本語で送っても読めますか？ mean?

texts:
I mean I understand all the parts separately but I can't lay my finger on the core meaning of the sentence.

Whole message:

  Hi I'm maho !
  17years old, from Japan.
  your Japanese is good !
  my English is poor.

  日本語で送っても読めますか？

  I want to be your pen pal.

  Good bye


texts: Is "Xがどこに見つけられますか" an acceptable translation of "Where can I find X"?

texts:
I'm currently studying the potential form by making up sentences from several scenarios, and am finding it rather difficult to check their correctness using nothing but vague online translators.

Is the above translation acceptable? Here it is with some context:

すみませんが、どの[列]{れつ}に[食]{しょく}パンが[見]{み}つけられますか？

Or would it generally be better to form it in a simpler way, such as:

すみませんが、[食]{しょく}パンはどの[列]{れつ}にありますか？


texts: Are the two kanjis 箇所 and 個所 interchangeable?

texts:
Our customer uses 箇所 but my manager uses 個所 when emailing project status. Are both kanji interchangeable?

The context of usage in a sentence is:

  一箇所変更しました。

  A portion (of the code/software) was changed.


texts:
I'm trying to say, that if there is a natural disaster, the whole of Japan will suffer. However, I'm finding it quite difficult to translate this into Japanese. Do either of these make sense?

  天災があれば、日本は苦しみを被ることになるだろう。

or would it make sense to use　~困る　in this context?

  天災があれば、日本は困ることになるだろう。

Thanks!


texts: How to approximate the phrase "bring to life"

texts:
Saying that a character was brought to life is common in the english speaking world of movies to describe characters being made more human and real through acting or scripting. In Japanese, how would this phrase be best translated, or approximated to Japanese?

My current attempt has been

  生命にもたらされた

But, I can't tell if it's right given that it seems too literal and close to the English for my comfort. Can anybody confirm if this is right, or if not, what the best equivalent in Japanese would be?


texts:
In the 2016 film, "Shin Godzilla", the Japanese title is rendered "シン・ゴジラ" (shin gojira).

I assume that this "shin" here is 神?

Why did they spell "shin" in katakana as if it was a foreign word? Thank you.


texts: What does いちいちパスタ mean in this sentence?

texts:
日本のスパゲッティは、いちいちパスタと言っていて奇妙です。

I don't see what could mean "one by one pasta" in this context?


texts: ダブルクォートと[鉤括弧]{かぎ・かっ・こ}の使い分けは？

texts:
日本語の文章では、引用符として、ダブルクォート（””）も鉤括弧（「」）も両方使用されているのを見たことがあります。もちろん、他の引用符も見たことがありますが、それはさておきます。

ダブルクォートは英文に引用符をつける時に使われているような気がしますが、この使い分けは正式に認められていますか？公文書などではダブルクォートも鉤括弧も使えますか？


texts: Can someone please help me identify the first kanji in the image?


texts: is there any difference between あら and まあ?

texts: The meaning of these two interjections is "oh!" right?


texts: Are times after noon expressed in military time?

texts:
How are times after noon expressed when speaking?

I assume that if it's obvious from context that it's after noon, then people will just say ５時.

But what if it's not obvious from context? My textbook (Japanese for Busy People I) suggests 午後５時, but I'm worried the textbook may be teaching how to say what English-speakers think about time in Japanese, rather than what a native Japanese speaker would say. As far as I have observed in Japan, times are often written down in military time, for example 23:59 rather than 11:59 pm. Do people write it down one way and say it in another, or do they sometimes use military time when speaking?

If military time isn't used when speaking, how are times after midnight expressed? Would ２５：００ be described using 午前 (午前１時), just like 9:00 would?


texts: Difference between 揃う【そろう】 and 集まる【あつまる】

texts:
Could someone please explain a difference between 揃う【そろう】 and 集まる【あつまる】. I dont think they are synonyms but can't see any difference between them?

Two example sentences:

  駅前【えきまえ】に 人【ひと】が 集【あつ】まっています。
  Lots of people are gathered in front of the station.

  朝【あさ】は 家族【かぞく】全員【ぜんいん】が 揃【そろ】って 食事【しょくじ】します
  The whole family eats together in the morning.


texts: Could I please get a hand with the grammar of this sentence

texts:
I am trying to translate this sentence from a fantasy novel, but some of the grammar eludes me, and I am having trouble distinguishing between what is literal and metaphorical.

  りょうりょうと風が吹き渡る夕暮れの野を、まるで火が走るように、赤い毛なみを光らせて、一匹の子狐が駆けていた。

Does the first part りょうりょうと風 mean "brightness and wind", or "a wind with (the quality of) brightness"? I am not quite in tune with this use of と.

Then, how does structure [Topic]をまるで[Subject]が[Verb]ように work? In this case, is it that the evening plains are like a fire acting in the manner of running?

Lastly, does 赤い毛なみを光らせて mean that the red wave of fur caused the brightness?

My translation was as follows...

The brightness and the wind blowing across the evening plains, is like like eloping flames, caused by the red wave of glittering fur from the galloping fox cub.

I feel that this is a highly nuanced sentence and I'd really appreciate it if somebody could elucidate it for me.


texts: だから/から and なので/ので when used with anything but nouns and なadjectives

texts:
What's the difference in using なので and ので　when used in anything but nouns and な adjectives. For example:

行かないなので他の誰かを頼んで

行かないので他の誰かを頼んで

I assume that a similar explanation holds for だから and から


texts: What is the meaning of "私はと比較して何もしないよ彼"?

texts:
Does "私はと比較して何もしないよ彼" mean "I am nothing compared to him"?

I've downloaded this manga wallpaper  with the sentence "私はと比較して何もしないよ彼" written on it and "I am nothing compared to her (I changed it to him)" as an English translation as I assumed.

Well, "比較" should be translated as "comparison", "して" is the Te-Form of "する" which is "to do" if I am right. And "彼" is "he".
The rest makes 0 sense to me as I haven't learned that much Japanese grammar and vocabulary yet.


texts:
I was wondering what the difference between 一週間後　and 後一週間 is.
I know the pronunciation would be いっしゅうかんご　and あといっしゅうかん.
However my teacher was saying that the first one means 'after one week' and the one after means 'there is one week left' or something like that?


texts: When do I have to use 午{ご}前{せん}中{ちゅう} and 朝{あさ}?

texts:
I am confused with the usage of 午前中 and あさ. When should they be used properly?

明日のあさに銀行で口座を開きます。

明日の午前中に銀行で口座を開きます。


texts: Explain how 向{む}く "to face" can take "上{うえ}" as a direct object using を?

texts:
There's a famous old song that's actually the only ever Japanese language song to reach #1 on the US pop charts: "上{うえ}を向{む}いて歩{ある}こう".

This is both the title of the song and a frequently repeated line in it.

向{む}いて is the -te form of 向{む}く, meaning "to face".

My understanding of 上{うえ} is that in Japanese it's a noun even though it's usually translated to another part of speech in English, such as "up".

It seems odd from the point of view of an English speaker that "to face", "to look toward" would be a transitive verb requiring a direct object.

Is that in fact what's happening or have I got it all wrong trying to parse this phrase due to my English speaker's intuition and my limited knowledge of Japanese?

Is what I'm seeing more of a quirk of the verb 向く or is there something about the particle を that I haven't learned yet? Or maybe it's all about the 上 in this case?


texts: What is the function of て-form in this sentence?

texts:
「また独りになるのが怖くて。」

I just can't understand why the adjective 怖い in the end of this sentence is in て form.

助けてください。


texts:
魚が好きな人。
人は魚が好きだ。

What is the difference between these two sentences?


texts:
I still have a lot of problems figuring out when to use もの at the end of a sentence.

I got in my JLPT book this example sentence:

  100歳の祖母は健康診断で何も異常がなかった。あの年にもなれば、悪いところの一つ二つは（　）

I was unsure between those two answer options:
a) ありそうなのだ　b) ありそうなものだが

I guessed (since I have no reliable language feeling for when to use もの) answer a, but the solution says b). Can someone explain why a) is obviously(?) wrong here and it must be b)?


texts: trouble understanding usage of なければ in this case

texts: I'm sorry if this is too specific or unclear, if it's a bad question i can delete it. I'm really unclear on how なければ is functioning here, and how と in this case is functioning after 子どもたち. (also i'm not sure if 尊敬すべきこのクラスを is still part of the sentence)  is this a case in which "なければならない" is implied?


texts: How is とかいた being used in this sentence?

texts:
I'm continuing my quest to translate an episode of Terrace House for study purposes..

Naturally I have questions.. This question in particular is in regards to a phrase I got stuck on the tail-end of.

Japanese Subtitle:

  印象に残ってるメンバーとかいた？

My Vocabulary Break-Down:

印象 - impression

残る - to remain, to be left

メンバー - house members

とかいた - ???

My literal translation attempt:

  your impression that you've been left with of the house members (???) was?

I'm trying to understand what とかいた is doing here...

Here are my best guesses...

とか is being used on it's own like a conjunction "or/and", and いた is short form for いました. If this is the case how does this grammatically work? Something like "Your impression you were left with of the members and it was?" Not sure how とか would function in this scenario.
と is being used as a particle "with the members", and then かいた is a
past tense verb. (hard to determine what verb this would be without kanji).
とかいた is some sort of completely different word on it's own that I'm unaware
of yet.
Or maybe this is a completely different grammar pattern I haven't learned yet.

Please help me understand this sentence.


texts: What is the correct pitch accent for ううん?

texts:
For ううん to express negation, Weblio gives the pitch accent as 【2】, i.e.

ううん 【LHL】

However, (to me) this doesn't sound like how people actually pronounce the word. I've always thought that it sounded like this:

ううん 【HLH】
(Listen here)

... but I know that is not a proper pitch accent pattern for Japanese. So I'd be interested to hear what a native speaker feels the correct pitch accent pattern for this word is.


texts: はずかぴー という意味は？教えてください

texts:
はずかぴーという言葉聞いたんですけど
意味はあまりわかりません
はずかぴーと恥ずかしいは何の違いがありますか？


texts:
A common insult, or at least, I've always understood it to be an insult, is to describe a woman as a マグロ in bed. Being referred to as マグロ, which is "tuna" in English, implies that a woman just lies there, unmoving and unenthusiastic about the sex which she is a part of.

I came across this blog, and in a post about sex and flirting, the author states:

  For me, with my western sensibilities and preconceptions, calling
  someone a ‘tuna’ in bed sounds like an insult, conjuring up images of
  cold dead fish, but in Japan that word has a very positive
  connotation. Tuna’s an expensive delicacy.

The author's case, in summary, is that in sex in Japan, one partner is always passive, the receiver of what the other person does. One who lies there and takes it is therefor a good thing.

I think this is a case of over-thinking the cultural implications, something that seems to plague so much of foreign analysis of Japan. As far as I've ever understood マグロ, when used by Japanese people, it is an insult, and not praise. These pages all seem to agree with me.

But it's always good to question one's assumptions. The author claims verification from her Japanese friends.

Am I right that it's always an insult, or is there anything to support what this blogger is saying about the use of the word?

(Note I am only asking about the definition of the word, not trying to open any discussion about passivity or other issues of sexual relations in Japan.)


texts:
I am playing through the Toradora visual novel, and the context is that Ryuuji had lost his memory and doesn't remember his own name. When his friend, Taiga, calls him "Ryuuji," he says:

  その。。。『りゅうじ』というのは、俺の名前でよかったか？

I understand that he is saying: "Ryuuji," is that my name?

But I don't understand why よかった is used here. Usually I think of よかった as "thank goodness," "it was good," or "would have been good." This context doesn't seem to match up with the regular よかった that I'm used to seing. Or perhaps am I just over-thinking this?


texts:
Good Day!

I am currently translating a Japanese document and I encountered a problem.

I can't find a way to parse 従がって強制 in this sentence:
この文書はChartis SDLCによるHigh Level Designフェイズに従がって強制されている。

I currently have:
This document __ in the High Level Design Phase according to Chartis SDLC.

Thanks. :)


texts: What is the difference between に触れる and を触れる?

texts:
Example sentences:

手をふれないでください。
ボールはネットに触れた。

The second sentence feels like passive but then I would write it like this: に触れられる。


texts: A good translation for 寒がるふり / 冷めたふり / etc?

texts:
Every once in a while, I come across some variant of a phrase that would literally translate to "pretending to be cold."

As far as I can tell, it refers to a sort of desperate attention-seeking behavior; something like, the speaker feels alone and unsupported, so they play up how much they need help and how sad they are to see if anyone will come and comfort them. Like, they want to feel like someone is there for them if they need it.

While I feel like I more-or-less understand the phrase itself, I can't figure out how to express it concisely in English. It's usually sufficient to translate it literally because it usually makes sense in context, but sometimes the existing context isn't quite enough. Does anyone have any ideas?


texts: Habitual sentences, use of te-form vs imasu form

texts:
I ride trains everyday.
Which is correct?:
毎日電車に乗っています
毎日電車に乗ります
I think it's the first one. If so, does the second one mean "I WILL ride trains everyday" (expressing intent, and implying that they currently don't ride trains everyday)?
The deck I'm using put the first answer, but it contradicted itself by translating "I study on weekends" as 平日は勉強をします (it didn't use the te-form here).


texts: How to politely and indirectly tell someone they forgot to do something?

texts:
Let's say someone who's above me, like a teacher or a boss, forgot to do something. How would I notify them without being rude?

I only know the basic "~するのを忘れました"(though I'm not even sure if that's correct), but I want to be a bit more humble and roundabout.

I would appreciate if you could give me multiple different ways to do this.

Thanks in advance!


texts:
「帰るなら、窓を閉めなさい！」
I recently asked my teacher about なら being used in this command sentence, and she said while it was acceptable, it had a different meaning compared to 「帰ったら、窓を閉めなさい！」
While the たら sentence seems to imply closing the window after getting home, the なら sentence implies the reverse: closing the window before going home (from the office, perhaps).
I asked, 「いつも　逆のニュアンス　ですか。」 and based on her reply I figured yes, なら always implies the second half of the sentence occurring before the conditional clause. (Perhaps either of us misheard or misinterpreted the other person.)
Looking at some of the answers on this website and some example sentences, I can see that this isn't always the case: なら can be used to mean "If that's what you're talking about..." or similar.

Example 1
テープレコーダーを買うならテープをくれるはずです。
(1) If [you] (are going to) buy a tape recorder, [I] expect [them] to give [you] tapes. (Statement of expected outcome. Here I would interpret the tapes to come with the recorder.)
Example 2
A: スーパーに行ってくるよ。 I'm going to the supermarket.
B: スーパーに行くのなら、しょうゆを買ってきて。 If you're going to the supermarket, bring back some soy sauce.

Am I analysing the sentences above wrongly? When does なら have the 「逆」nuance? When does it simply mean "If that's what you're talking about..."?


texts: Proper reading of 胸突き term as used in martial arts

texts:
What is the correct pronunciation of the word 胸突き as used in martial arts? In Japanese sources, it seems to be むなつき. However, in several Martial arts in the US, it seems to be called "munetsuki" when speaking in English.

Are both な and ね sounds correct here? Is there some connotation of one versus the other?


texts: Do place names often use jinmeiyō kanji and furigana?

texts: This is a small supplement to my previous question about the jinmeiyō kanji. Are they also used regularly in place names, like cities and towns, or only for people? And are place names similarly difficult to guess the pronunciation of without asking? Are furigana typically used on signs and documents for place names?


texts:
I can't find the word in my dictionary, and Google Translate translates it as 'ancestor' but I'm not sure how accurate that is.

I'm trying to translate this sentence:

  この葛葉家の屋敷で働く使用人はほぼ全員が一族の神祖であった『お狐様』を讃えるために狐の面をつけている。

However I'm not exactly sure what 神祖 means.


texts: Relative clauses distinguishing whom/with which/that

texts:
I love in Japanese, how adjectival clauses are just added in front of nouns like adjectives.

The pizza that I ate = 私が食べたピザ

But last night I became confused... In english we have words to link the clause to the main sentence (my grammar knowledge and terminology is pathetic, I know).

a) The ball that I kicked
b) The pen with which I wrote
c) The building that I entered
d) The garden in which I played

Lets first look at a different form of those

A) I kicked the ball
私はボールを蹴った
B) I wrote with the pen
私はペンで書いた
C) I entered the building
私はビルに入った
D) I played in the garden
私は庭で遊んだ

In the Japanese we use different particles に、を、で to describe what part each word plays in the sentence.  Just like the english (with, in).

When we change the english to the first form (a,b,c,d).  We use (with which, in which, that).  But from what I've seen, in the Japanese form the pattern is indistinguishable between a,b,c,d

a) The ball that I kicked
私が蹴ったボール
b) The pen with which I wrote
私が書いたペン
c) The building that I entered
私が入ったビル
d) The garden in which I played
私が遊んだ庭

Is that correct?  It seems to lose any idea of what part the noun played in the action - it's ambiguous.  To me (b) reads: "The pen I wrote". But maybe it could be read as "The pen I wrote on" or "The pen I wrote with".

Am I doing it right?  Or am I missing something.  It may be that the part a noun plays in the action is never ambiguous, but I'm not sure if that's true.


texts: I need help with those sentences: 「～と思われる」「～ように思われる」

texts:
日本語を習う時はローマ字を使わない方が良いと思われる。
  日本の将来の見込みは暗いように思われる。
  彼は金持ちであるように思われる。

Why does the first one use と and the second and third one use ように?


texts: What's the difference between 「そうもない」 and 「ようがない」

texts:
I know that both of these two grammars have the meaning of "it's impossible to do sth" but in the following 2 sentences, only ようがない is the correct answer.

①一方的に責められたら、こちらも説明（ a/しそうもない b/しようがない )
②ここまで話が進んでしまったらもう断り（ a/そうにない b/ようがない )。こうなったら引き受けるしかない。

Why cannot そうもない・そうにない be used?
How can I differentiate between the usage of these two grammar points?


texts: Does 旧車 clearly imply "classic car" or will it simply mean "old car" to many Japanese speakers?

texts:
Now on my latest trip in Japan in spring 2019 I've noticed many more classic cars around than I expected.

In English "classic car" is a somewhat vague term but is often used for old cars that have been preserved or restored from the 1950s to about the 1980s, especially rarer or more desirable or performance models of production cars. They would contrast with older vintage and veteran cars and also sometimes from much more expensive collectible exotic cars like old Ferraris and Porsches.

Notable Japanese classic cars would be the Toyota 2000GT, Mazda Cosmo Sport, "ハコスカ" Nissan GT-R, and "ハチロク" Toyota AE86.

Two Japanese classic cars

Definitions out of the way, I've looked up Japanese terms for "classic car" and there are a couple of loanwords from English written in katakana but the main term used on the Japanese Wikipedia is 旧車.

When I look up "旧車" in a translator etc though, it returns simply "old car". Then again if I look up "old car" in a translator to Japanese, that returns "古い車".

So my question is: Is 旧車 relatively well understood to mean "classic car", or would most Japanese people think I'm just talking about old cars / used cars generally?


texts: What is the difference between 言いだし and 言いだす?

texts: I found a sentence earlier containing the word 言いだしづら but I parsed it to 2 words and I found I did not know 言いだし so I looked it up and found 言いだす (which I know the meaning of), but I also found another site saying 言いだし is the same thing basically, but I don't know why there is a し. Is this a different word or a conjugation I forgot?


texts: Help parsing and translating this sentence with を at the end

texts:
Context: an aggressive and violent boxer (Riku) is going to fight against an evasive opponent that is really good at dodging punches and who always tries to win on points rather than KOs. Riku's trainer tells him:

  長引けばお前のパターンを読まれて不利になってく　かと言って焦ればカラ回る

  まっ　相手に一発はねェし好きに探ってこい　ヤツのボクシングと…　てめーが覚える気味の悪さってのを

I understand the first sentence but not the second. I think that everything that comes before を is the object of 探ってこい, so I tried to rearrange the sentence in this way:

  まっ　相手に一発はねェしヤツのボクシングと…てめーが覚える気味の悪さってのを
  好きに探ってこい

Is it correct? Then I tried translating it:

  Anyway, your opponent hasn't got strong punches, so you can freely probe his boxing style and the bad feeling you know/remember (?).

Even if I put it like this, I still can't make sense of the part in italic. Here you can see the whole page. Please ask if you need more context. Thank your for your help!


texts: Use of ただいま to others who are not physically present

texts:
Imagine that I live alone. Occasionally when I get home, I still want to announce that I'm home (such as with a text message) because perhaps my parents are making sure I got home safely or perhaps an online friend wants to do stuff together.

Would ただいま still be an appropriate announcement here? Or is there some other way to announce that I'm home to someone who is not physically present in the house?


texts: Is there a general rule for deriving xasu→xaseru intransitives such as 死なせる from 死なす?

texts:
There are a number of verbs where there is a 〜xasu → xaseru transformation to produce an transitive verb from an intransitive, eg:

死なす→死なせる
生かす→生かせる
飲ます→飲ませる

Is this some kind of generalized rule? (perhaps a classical conjugation?) Or is it something that must be handled on a case-by-case basis?


texts: What would be the correct translation of "Something in Japanese"

texts:
Background

So before I start off I thought I'd give a little background as to why I want to know this. So my mother is knitting me a sweater and asked what kind of things should be on there. I thought it'd be funny if there was a Japanese sentence saying "something in Japanese". This way when people ask what the sweater says, I'd say "something in Japanese". Of course they'd think "Yes, but what does it say?" Maybe not original, but it makes me laugh non the less.

What have I tried

I know a little Japanese, but I'm not very good at it or anything. First of all I'm wondering if my word for "something", "なにか", is actually correct. I thought something along the lines of the following might work:

なにかにほんごです; I think this would roughly translate to "something Japanese"?
これはなにかにほんごです; I think this would be something like "This is something Japanese".

The problem with these sentences is that I'm not sure if they would indicate that it is something Japanese, or something in Japanese.

Question

What is the correct translation for "something in Japanese". Preferably without kanji, because I don't know those (yet). If it's not too much of a hassle it would be interesting to see them non the less.

Sorry by the way, I know it's not supposed to be a translation site. But I thought it might still fit the format because I guess it's more about grammar?

Thanks in advance.


texts: I've never really fully grasped the meaning of [一]{いち}[応]{おう} since it seems to have no good English equivalent. What is the meaning, usage, and nuances of 一応?


texts: What are the grammatical rules for using filler words in Japanese(e.g. ええと, なんか, あの, and so on)?

texts: I found a bit interesting bits on them through some research, but nothing about what the grammatical rules are for using them all. Any ideas?


texts: What is the difference between 労働契約 and 雇用契約？

texts:
Now I am asking myself, what could be the difference between 労働契約｛ろうどうけいやく｝and 雇用契約｛こようけいやく｝...
Is it possible, that 労働契約 could be used for general meaning of any kind of employment contract?
And if 雇用契約, meaning a normal standard employment contract, could represent just one of several types of 労働契約 employment contracts?
Thank you so much fo


texts:
I've been unclear about this for a while and a recent question on this site prompted me to ask for clarification.

Consider the sentence, 犯罪が増えている. In this sentence, is it implied that the increasing has stopped? In other words, does 増える represent an instantaneous state change between some smaller amount and some larger amount or does it represent a process that can continue?

If 増えている represents a progressive process and this implies that the increasing in continuing, is it grammatical to include an amount? Is 「三倍増えている」acceptable and if so, what does it mean given that the increasing changing?

If it is ambiguous, how could it be clarified?


texts: What is the difference between 家{うち}の子{こ}供{ども} versus 私{わたし}の子{こ}供{ども}?

texts:
I have no idea what the answer is for the following question.
What is the difference between 家{うち}の子{こ}供{ども} versus 私{わたし}の子{こ}供{ども} ?


texts:
What exactly does ここまで来ると mean, and how do I understand it in the below context? What is the subject that is doing the verb 来る?

Looking online one definition of 来る is "事態が進んで、ある状態に至る" which I guess is the definition of this 来る but I still don't quite understand how it works.

  「ただでさえ仁乃は混乱しやすい頭してんだから、もっとハッピーにさせてあげなさいよ」

  「それってつまり手のひらの上で踊らせろってことなんじゃ……」

  「……先生も幸村くんも、基本的にわたしをバカにしてるよね？」

  「そ、そんなことはない」

  「そう、そんなこたぁない」

  「じー……」

  疑いの眼差しだ。さすがの仁乃もここまで来ると騙されない。

  「いいもん。どうせバカだもん……」


texts: At what level should we be able to understand Yojijukugo?

texts: In my experience, Chinese language learners are introduced to these 4-character phrases at an early stage (around Chinese 3 in my high school); what I want to know is there a certain aptitude level when I will have to recognize and translate yojijukugo? Will it be on the certain levels of the JPLT?


texts: Ta form + ように + phrase with verb meaning/usage e.g. 拗ねたように頬を膨らませる

texts:
少し拗ねたように頬を膨らませる
諦めたように小さく頷いた
思い切ったように口を開いた

Could anyone explain these or how you interpret the ta form of the verb in these usages?


texts: What's the difference between 生む and 産む?

texts:
These two words both appear to have the meaning "to give birth" or "to produce".
However, what is the difference between the two kanji used?

I originally assumed that 生む meant "to give birth" and 産む meant "to produce", but looking at some example sentences, they seem to be used interchangeably. What is going on there?


texts:
I have come across もう一つ multiple times now, and I know it means "another one", but I'm struggling to understand it's grammatical function in a sentence.

It looks like the combination of the adverb もう and the counter 一つ, so is it a compound phrase or an independent word?

I've seen it modify nouns (e.g. もう一つリンゴ, "another apple"), kind of like an adjective.

I've also seen it in other positions in a sentence (e.g. リンゴをもう一ついかがですか。, "Would you like another apple?"). In this case, it seems to modify the sentence predicate.

I guess my question is, grammatically speaking, what is もう一つ? I haven't been able to find enough information/clarification in my studies.

Thank you very much for your help!


texts:
In various dictionaries, the word "市立" has "しりつ" listed as the main reading. However, they then go on to list the reading "いちりつ", with a note saying "when spoken to avoid confusion with 私立【しりつ】". This makes sense, as having the same pronunciation for two words that are completely opposite to each other would be... confusing, to say the least.

But in that case, when is しりつ actually used for 市立? If people pronounce it いちりつ "when spoken", is there at all a case where しりつ is used? And why is it listed as the main reading in dictionaries?


texts: What does this ~ば mean, is this some irregular use of the conditional?

texts:
In Akutagawa Ryuunosuke's "藪の中" the wandering monk tells about the man who was killed:

男{おとこ}は、―いえ、太刀{たち}も帯{お}びておれば、弓矢{ゆみや}も携{たずさ}えておりました。

The translation is:

The man? No, he wore a sword but had also bow and arrows equipped.

What I don't get is the meaning of おれば the polite "conditional" form of いる.
I have read in several posts how the ~ば conditional can be used: here, many details, here and here. Unfortunately, I am not able to make work any of those explanations with the sentence in question.

In my opinion, the closest way to still use a conditional form and meet the translated meaning of the sentence would be なら as in the second item なら-explanation by Derek in here: "while/with" wearing a sword he also wore a bow.

The only other explanation would be, because the monk was obviously interrupted by the questioner as can be deduced from: 男{おとこ}は、―いえ... that the questioner asked something like "Did the man have no sword?" (because the man's sword is taken taken away and disposed of by Tajoumaru) Unfortunately this question must be inferred by the reader, it's not in the story. Still, how would a ~ば-conditional figure in a reply to such a question?

Thanks a lot!


texts: Is there any difference between the two "エ" in 「エフェクト」? The first is bigger and the latter seems smaller.


texts: Why are most Japanese songs and poems in normal form?

texts:
You would think that sentence structure would matter in songs and poems, especially when they have directed or dedicated lyrics, e.g. to a stranger, the president, someone of higher status.

Alternatively, is 丁寧語, 尊敬語, or 謙譲語 even remotely usable in lyrical art?

I am speculating that this is related to polite language impeding the relaying of emotion. There's a somehow related article discussing if 警護 makes communication difficult, which is another question on its own.


texts:
I've come across the following sentence

叫んでたことを知ってたよ。

I know that you can do past tense verbs + こと but I've never seen te-form verbs + たこと. So what does it mean using te-form in this case?


texts:
私は食べている間に読みます。

How do I read it?


texts:
I am learning Japanese using "learn Japanese in the car". It has the following sentences:

Which seat is it? / Dono seki desu ka.

Which train car is it? / Nan gosha desu ka.

Why does one use Dono and the other use Nan. What is the rule to know when to use each one?


texts: て form to joining sentences but in negative sense

texts:
I'm learning about the uses of て-form, one of them is to joining sentences like

家に帰ってTVを見る
I come home and I watch TV

but if I want to apply a negative sense to the て-form, do I have to use the ないで or the なくて? Does either one work?

家に帰らないでTVを見なかった
I didn't come home and I didn't watch TV

家に帰らなくてTVを見なかった
I didn't come home and I didn't watch TV


texts: How to explain the use of the -te form in "takasugite kaemasen"?

texts: In the exercise section of the chapter on potentials in my textbook, the answer to the question "kimono wo, kaimashita ka?" is given as "iie, takasugite kaemasen deshita."  Unfortunately, in neither the discussion covering -te forms or potentials is the reasoning explained. Does the potential in this case necessitate the usage of "takasugite"? Also, does it forbid the use of "kara", as in "takasugite kara kaemasen deshita"


texts: Help translating this paragraph: doubts about 「への」and「と共に」forms, and structure of a sentence beggining with 「これ」?

texts:
The paragraph is from the introduction to the wikipedia article on David Ben-Gurion:

  ポーランドのプロニスクで生まれ、パレスチナ移住後はユダヤ系住民のイギリス軍への参加を呼びかけると共に、ナチスの弾圧によって多くのユダヤ系難民がパレスチナへ押し寄せる様になると、これを規制しようとするイギリス当局と折衝して難民受け入れに尽力した。

My intent of translation from which i want you to show me errors specially on structure, what is being difficult for me to recognize the correct one, is this:

Born in Płońsk in Poland, after the migration over Palestine he called for the participation of the British army in charge of the jewish citizens, minding that due to nazis oppression many Jewish people were settling into Palestine, to try to make policing of those (jewish refugees) by British authorities and to put effort on the negotiation of their acceptance.

I saw other possible interpretations that said it means something different, so I could say the previous translation was taken almost randomly from all those. In this translation I did the following:

I took へ　just as the directional particle and の modifying [参加]{sanka} as a way of referring to the 軍の参加, but this is totally and wrongly intuitive. its just that I cannot find any information for への.
I took と共に as applying to the next sentence instead of the sentence it is ending. So one of my questions is to which sentences does it apply? It did not make sense for me in applying it to the actual sentence.
I understood「これ」 to mean "those" as in those jewish immigrants

And the structure of all the sentences after これ are too hard for  me to understand. I have no idea of what criteria to use, and I fear that it's totally wrong.


texts: How do you say "The 10 most spoken languages in the world" in Japanese?

texts:
Would it be:

  世界中１０の最も話し言語

or

  世界で１０最も話されて言語


texts: I am studying elementary Japanese, not classical forms of the language. In the online dictionary Jisho.org, I found the verb 憂ふ/'to be worried or concerned about' listed as a nidan verb. Does that mean that the verb must be used/conjugated in classical Japanese, that it would now be integrated as an ichidan verb, or that it is completely archaic and would not be used at all now?


texts: I have translated the phrase 書き込みによると which, and if I'm right, means "According to the writing". I want to know more about the structure and grammar rules used here. I found it in this article.


texts:
I've been transcribing this video.

https://youtu.be/ZoGKmPJkVr4

At 7:33, there's this sentence,

"犬かきならぬ、ネコかき。"

I wonder what かき means here, or if it serves some grammatical function? Thank you!


texts: What is the measure word for a flag (on a pole/stick)?

texts:
Let's say there is a building with six flags on the roof.
The flags are on small poles/sticks that can be carried by a person.
The rectangular flag itself makes me think of 枚 while the pole makes me think of 本.
Maybe there is a unique word for flags.
What is the appropriate measure word to use here ?


texts:
What’s the difference between [v] たとしても and just the plain ても? Example:

(1) 説明書を読んでも分かりにくい
(2) 説明書を読んだとしても分かりにくい


texts:
美人だときくや友藏{ともぞう}もヒロシも身を乗り出した。
  When? they heard that she was a beautiful women both 友藏 and ヒロシ leaned forward.

I have no idea what the や in bold is. It seems like it ought to be とき, but I've never seen や used to mean 'when'.


texts: What is the meaning of 起こし in this sentence?

texts:
I"m trying to translate the following sentence into English for a assignment in my translation workshop class.

僕は身体を起こし, あらためて彼女に視線を持っていった.

The bolded part has me confused due to the strange shi ending; which I first read as the shi clause with the term 起こす, but realized this was incorrect due to the predicate (起こ) not being in the plain/short form. Jisho.org says that 起こし is a suffix, which I believe to be incorrect in this instance as there is a を particle behind the 起こし.

Thus, what does 起こし mean in the above sentence, and how do you know this?


texts:
While attempting to translate the sentence "It will soon be two years since I started learning Japanese", I started wondering how になります works in the context of time. Ignoring any other translation errors, is になります the correct word to use at the end of the sentence

  日本語を勉強し始めてからもうすぐ二年になります

For some reason, the になります sounds like it is incorrect. My main reason for using になります is in order to keep the 'becoming' part of the original sentence. Something like

  日本語を勉強し始めたのは二年前のことです

holds a vaguely similar meaning, but is more like "I started learning Japanese two years ago"

Is my usage of になります here correct, and is it common to use it when talking about time?

I often hear my friends say もうすぐ10時ですね, but is it also correct to say もうすぐ10時になりますね? Even typing that, it seems as though it can't be correct, perhaps because になります needs some sort of state to transfer into? The sentence もうすぐ10時になりますから、そろそろ帰りましょうか seems like an appropriate usage, but I really don't know.


texts:
Out of the three lectures ね is the easiest to predict for me because it is always related to a price as in 値が張る (which is the only place where I would read it ね when alone), this lecture can also be found in 値段 (the more casual word for 価格 (it may be worth noting that the 訓読み of 価 is あたい)), 高値 or 安値.

Things are a little unclear when 値 as the meaning of value. Technically, it should be read as あたい since it is its 訓読み, nevertheless I have heard Xに値｛ち｝を取る in a probability course and in some other settings I have heard 値 read as ち when isolated.

So I am wondering, how to read 値 when alone, how can I choose between ち and あたい?


texts: What is the meaning of the particle と in this sentence?

texts: １浪でおよそ20％台の合格率で、2浪以上ではおおよそ2～3％台とかなり低迷しています。(source)


texts:
I'm only starting to learn the language so last lesson I learned the family members. My teacher mentioned some "rules" and I wanted to know if they were correct and if people actually talk this way:

When talking to your own family member you should use the words that refer to someone else's family (when talking to my own mother I should call her おかあさん instead of はは).
When talking about your family with someone else it's ok to call them はは、ちち、あに、あね、etc.
When talking with someone else about their family then use おかあさん、おとうさん、おねえさん、etc.


texts:
I have a question about this sentence.

Q:  会社  ___  ____   ______  ______ 行っていますか.

A:  私は歩いて行っています.

I can use the particles
で  は   へ  and 何.

According to the answer key, the correct order is:
会社何はでへで 行っていますか.

But I am stumped as to why they would go in this order?
I think my instinct is:
会社へ何では 行っていますか?

Any help would be greatly appreciated!


texts:
In usages of あ after other syllables such as け or め, is the あ pronounced or does it prolong the previous vowel's sound?

Taking the katakana spelling of "Mary": メアリー is that "Meh-ah-ri" or "Mehhh-ri"


texts:
kono kami ha yuki sou da - is this correct?
I know that rashii and mitai can be used  ~ but that's beside the point.

Also,if 'sou da' can be used with 'N' - how do we differentiate 'seems like' with 'heard that' in the above case.


texts:
まだ慣れなくってずっとああさ。

Is it roughly "all the way like that"?


texts: Is まはりて an archaic form of 廻って, and how is it broken down grammatically?

texts:
I came across a cover version of "Bad Apple", where the singer uses a more traditional style than the original song, including a translation of the (modern) lyrics into more archaic/poetic language.

In one part of the song, I heard what sounds like 「まわりて」, although the lyrics on-screen say 「まはりて」. The corresponding line from the original (in modern language) is 廻って【まわって】, which looks like it's related, although I'm not quite sure what's going on. In both versions, the preceding word is クルクル.

So, what I'm wondering:

Am I correct in assuming that まはりて is an archaic form of 廻って?
Why does it seem to use -りて as the て form? Is the って ending for verbs ending in る a modern trait?
In any case, is it normal for an archaic は to be pronounced as a modern わ? Or, is that 3 morphemes, 「ま」 and (particle) 「は」 and a verb 「りて」? (later on, I do hear 「ハラハラ」, so I suspect that might be the particle 「は」, but I'm not sure)


texts: What is the better way to say 'Asian Studies'?

texts: I've heard two variants, 東学 and アジア研究. Is there any difference between them?


texts:
外国人人材が日本の産業に欠かせない存在になる中、どうやって優秀な人材を獲得し、定着してもらうのか。企業だけでなく、国としても戦略を考える時がきているのかもしれない…取材を通じてそう感じました。

The two verbs that it could be (欠かす and 欠く) are transitive but in this sentence it doesn't seem to be a transitive verb...?


texts: The meaning and nuance behind the phrase "話は通してある"

texts:
話は通してある

This is a phrase I've come across a few times recently in manga.

For example:

  「ユキにも話は通してある」

I'm not familiar with it so I'm not quite sure of it's correct meaning and usage, looking online I've only managed to find a meaning for the phrase: "話を通して"  - with the を particle instead of the は - which means to "get it explained to…/run it by…" with the nuance of getting consent from somebody.

How does 話は通してある differ? Does it have a similar or even the same meaning as 話を通して? Or if it 話は通してある has a different meaning completely, will someone kindly explain?

Many thanks!


texts:
同じ人が書き込んでいないか

I think it means something like

  Didn't the same person make this post (bulletin board)

I'm not sure however. What do you think ?


texts:
Sorry if my example is a bit out of context. But I wonder if it is grammatically correct to write 神々しささえ感じさせる異様な像?

What confuses me most is the fact that it is a verb and then a na-adjective right after.

Also if you could give an advice on how I should think when translating that would be appreciated. Right now I'm just thinking what sounds most natural, but is there a specific order you should follow? If there is a "system" for Japanese to English translating it would be good to know.

This example.

  驚くほど大きく神々しささえ感じさせる異様な像だったという

This is my guess on translation:

  It was said to be a strange statue that was surprisingly big and even felt divine.

Or is it something with "divine strange statue".


texts:
In the game Tingle's Love Balloon Trip, if you ask your friend Lion, who is very strong, to forcefully open a gutter, he responds:

  こ、 こわしたら まずいだろ ? やめとこうぜ。

The first sentence I take it means, "W-what if I break it?", literally, "It'll be bad if I break it, right?"

I'm not sure about the second sentence; I guess it either means, "Quit asking me.", or maybe something like "I won't!" since やめ probably is the stem of 辞める, but how about the 〜とこう part?


texts: 戦前はどうやってしりとりをしていたのですか？

texts:
（日本語でもしてみむとて）

現在遊ばれている「しりとり」は基本的に終わりの一文字をつないでやるものだと思いますが、例えば「がっこう」なら（東京の発音ではガッコーですが）次は「う」、「こうてい」（コーテー）なら「い」というルールになると思います。

これを旧かな遣いで考えると「杖（つゑ）」は「ゑ」、「家（いへ）」は「へ」でないといけないと思います。そうだとすると子供の遊びにしてはやや難しいと思いますが、逆に言えば教育にはよかったのかもしれません（笑）。戦前はこのようにして遊んでいたのでしょうか。


texts: Is が marking an object in this sentence?

texts:
In this sentence:

  ずっと落ち続けていれば固い石にも穴があく

Does it mean:

  "Even with a force as weak as of raindrops, by constant dripping a hard stone can also have a hole"

or does it mean:

  "Even with a force as weak as of raindrops, constant dripping can make a hole even on a  hard stone"

I'm not sure how to interpret 穴があく. shouldn't it be 穴をあく?


texts: How to tell whether a building is 長屋【ながや】建{だて} or 共同{きょうどう}住宅{じゅうたく}

texts:
The 国勢{こくせい}調査{ちょうさ} census asks every habitant of Japan to tell whether they live in a 一戸建【いっこだて】 (stand-alone house) , a 長屋【ながや】建{だて}(テラスハウスを含む), a 共同{きょうどう}住宅{じゅうたく}, or その他{ほか} (other).

QUESTION: What is the difference between a 長屋建 and a 共同住宅?

If it is determined by the number of floors, please explain exactly where the threshold is.


texts: How can I differentiate between feet and legs?

texts:
Feet are 足, and legs are also 足.

Is there a word or method with which I can easily talk about one and not the other? And if not, why is there no word for feet in the Japanese language?

Caveat: I know that one can just use フィート but that feels so very not Japanese...


texts: What other forms of the progressive verb can be shortened?

texts:
I see a lot of Japanese text shorten the progressive form by removing the い from いる.

戦っている  >  戦ってる

I am wondering if it is ever acceptable to do so in other forms of the progressive verb such as the masu form or past tense?

戦っています  >  戦ってます?
戦っていた  >  戦ってた?


texts: Why does 留守{るす} have two almost opposite meanings? One is "to keep the door" or "to look after home" and the other almost opposite meaning is "not at home".