texts: Is Japanese particularly good for punning/spoonerisms? If so, why?

texts:
Today I was laughing my heads off reading puns at 言いまつがい, which is a collection of user-contributed accidental puns and other mistakes.

It struck me that I never experienced this kind of uncontrollable laughter with puns in English. Is it possible that the Japanese language have more room to generate possible puns, raising the number of funny puns?

I'd be happy to be proven wrong, but then again, I'm equally curious to know what language features of Japanese make it such a prolific pun producer.

Note: Sananmuunnos, a sort of verbal play in the Finnish language, looks close to Japanese puns (だじゃれ). Wikipedia explains why Finnish has a large pool of possible spoonerisms:

  As Finnish is a mora-divided language, it is morae that are exchanged, not syllables. Also, Finnish inflectional and derivational morphology is extensive, thus applying a suffix from another word often produces a valid word. This leads to large number of possible spoonerisms.

I don't understand all of this, but this is the kind of explanation I'm looking for.


texts: Language rules of である beyond simply replacing です、だ

texts:
All the information I try to find on dearu grammar rules, I only manage to find forum answers that it's a formal, written replacement of desu/da.
However sentences like "私の責任｛せきにん｝であることは承知｛しょうち｝します。" where it's used in the middle of sentences clearly don't allow for a desu/da to be inserted haphazardly. I could see that people would want to use dearu beyond formality so as to use the sentence structure to fit in more details into one sentence instead of ending it with "私の責任です。承知します。"?
What are the grammar rules for dearu besides the obvious replacement for desu/da that clearly does not encompass nearly everything function of dearu


texts: How to address a formal email response to a 学会本部事務局 when you don't know if the person is a 教授 or not?

texts:
I received the following email and I want to submit the 要旨, but should I address the body of my email to 加島 or to 本部事務局?
I did a Google search for her full name but I didn't find it on a university website, so I don't know if she should be addressed as 先生 or as さん.

日本基督教学会本部事務局の加島と申します。第63回学術大会での研究発表のご希望を受け付けました。（正式には、7月中旬の理事・幹事による承認を経て、研究発表が認められます）。
今後の予定をご紹介いたします。
１．6月19日（金）まで研究発表の要旨を400字程度にまとめ、本部事務局までお送りください。これは、理事・幹事による研究発表審査のためのものです。理事・幹事が内容を確認しますので、誤字・脱字等にもご注意ください。


texts:
So far I've only learned how to use numbers in the context of counting e.g.
このピザは 5枚ある (this pizza has five slices).

How do I express it in the following way:

  This is a five-slice pizza

I would naively guess at "これは5枚のピザがある”, but I've not seen a counter used to modify a noun like that before.

Secondly, kind-of in the reverse direction how would I express the part in bold below:

  (Please exit from) the front five coaches of this ten coach train

Hmm, I tried to construct this sentence but it just made me more sure that my guess for the first part of the question was wrong.


texts: I am using online chats to study, and I wanted to convey a good feeling about the chat. Thank you.


texts: On occasion, I hear things such as 是非、いらしてください and ここへいらしたんですか. They seem to be politer forms of 是非、来てください and ここへ来たんですか. But searching finds no verb いらす or いらしる, and so a thought came to my mind: could they be colloquial forms of いらっしゃって and いらっしゃった? Less colloquially, would my examples be 是非、いらっしゃってください and ここへいらっしゃったのですか? Is my suspicion close to the truth?


texts:
だが、藤木{ふじき}はぼーっと空中を見たまんまだ。
  However, Fujiki vacantly looked at the sky.

Literally "...in a state where he looked at the sky".

I'm struggling to understand the difference between this sentence and the simpler だが、藤木はぼーっと空中を見た.

1) Why add まんまだ what nuances does this bring?

2) I'm confused over the mixture of tenses. I understood that relative clauses have a tense which is relative to that of the main clause. This suggests to me that the state he is in now is a state in which he had been looking at the sky, but is no longer doing so. I feel certain that this interpretation is wrong.


texts:
Both verbs have the same reading, and both seem to have meanings of "yearning", "longing" or "admiration". I can't figure any difference between the two; are there any situations where you would use one kanji and not the other?

I ask because Heisig's Remembering The Kanji's keywords for 憬, 憧 and 慕 as "hanker", "yearn" and "pining" respectively, are unhelpfully similar, but the two あこがれる kanji are particularly troubling me.


texts: How do you refer to Japanese people with the same last name in English writing?

texts:
For context, I'm writing an essay in English on a Japanese movie about a particular family that goes by the name of Sasaki. In the movie, the characters are mostly referred to by their family name. The husband in particular is exclusively referred to as Sasaki, though he does in fact have a given name, Ryûhei.

Firstly, my question is, how do you generally refer to Japanese people when writing in English? Do you use just their family name, just their given name, or both?

Second, if you use just their family name, is it appropriate to use both names to distinguish between members of the same family? If so, is it okay to shorten their distinguishable names to just their given name after referring to them by their full name at least once? For example, the first time I refer to the husband I might say "Ryûhei Sasaki", but each time afterwards is it okay for me to simply refer to him as "Ryûhei"?


texts: 「と」I'm kinda confused with the usage of it here

texts:
I'm watching a show called "Erased", and there's this scene where the main character is talking with himself (he's talking in his mind, not out loud) and I'm wondering what's the function of 「と」here, I've discussed it before with some friends and they think this と is quoting here, but I'm not sure about it. What do you think? (I'm watching it on Netflix, and the English subtitles goes like "I'm scared I'll find out that I have nothing to offer the world.").

(About the discussion I had with my friends, we got something like "(There is nothing for me) confirming that is scary.").


texts: What is the meaning of のだと in this context?

texts:
これが学習者にとっては妙なのだと気付くには慣れが必要かもしれませんが

What does のだとmean here ?


texts: What is the difference between 会社 and 社 when referring to a company?

texts: Both terms refer to a company. I want to know if there are differences on when one term would be preferred over the other.


texts: If I read it word by word in Japanese, it would be 'em pi san'.  But, I once heard someone read it quite differently. How is it read in Japanese?


texts: Meaning of "verb phrase-ところが、person-にはある"

texts:
無茶苦茶ではあるが、そう言いたくなってしまうところが、丸尾君にはある。
  It is indeed absurd but/and Maruo has reached the point where he wants to say so.

I can't understand the structure of this sentence. Nor am I sure I've translated it correctly. It's the part in bold that's confusing me (I think). In particular the function of に. To me this reads as "the point where ... is at Maruo" rather than "Maruo is at the point where..."


texts:
According to http://www.guidetojapanese.org/surunaru.html:

  Since potential verbs describe a state of feasibility rather than an
  action [...] it is [sic] often used in conjunction with 「～ようになる」 to describe
  a change in manner to a state of feasibility [...]

  （１）　日本に来て、寿司が食べられるようになった。
  - After coming to Japan, I became able to eat sushi.

  （２）　一年間練習したから、ピアノが弾けるようになった。
   - Because I practiced for one year, I became able to play the piano.

  （３）　地下に入って、富士山が見えなくなった。
  - After going underground, Fuji-san became not visible.

Why does sentence (3) not use ようになる? What is the difference with the other two cases?


texts:
Dad says he'll take his daughter out in an hour, after having a beer. The daughter says:

  「そんなのあと一時間もかかんないじゃん。ぐ～～っと飲んじゃいなよ」
  After one like that it won't take even an hour will it? Gulp it down in one go.

I'm assuming the implication is that the beer is small (it doesn't say).

I'd like to confirm that I've interpreted 飲んじゃいなよ correctly. I think this is a contraction of 飲んでしまいなさいよ. Is this correct？

I'm a little dubious because I didn't think なさい was an appropriate way for a child to speak to a parent.


texts: 最終講義・懇親会の出欠連絡の葉書に、伝統的にどんなコメントを書くべきですか。

texts:
去年の3月まで所属していた大学講座から、「最終講義・懇親会」の案内が来ました。

欠席・出席を返答する葉書が入っていました。一番下のところに、「コメント欄」があります。そこに、「特に行けない人は、コメントを書いて欲しい」というようなことが書いてありました。

私が行ける場合は、その欄には何も書かないで送るのが普通ですか。あるいは、伝統的に何か書いた方がいいですか。何か書いたほうがよい場合、普通何を書きますか。


texts: Is the term さん also used on envelopes when sending a letter?

texts: I know that the term is used on the letter being written, but I'm not sure if it is required to use it on the envelope. Thank you.


texts: The usage of 向き合う in a romantic context, as well as sports

texts:
What would 向き合う mean in a romantic context? Is it something similar to "connecting with each other"? Or is it something else?

In a sports context, does it automatically mean "facing each other as opponents" or can it simply mean "meeting/seeing each other" in the competition without being opponents?


texts: Usage of て form before relative clause e.g. そう呟いて見上げる空は、朝見たよりも輝いて見えた

texts:
My question is how to interpret this.

  そう呟いて見上げる空は、朝見たよりも輝いて見えた

In this sentence does it mean he was already looking at the sky before he muttered whatever he said, or can it still indicate actions in succession when the verb is used in a relative clause after the て form(i.e. he muttered this and then looked up)?

edit: I think it means that in this case he was already looking upwards before he said it and the て form is to show the successive action at the end of the sentence?


texts: スポーツと礼の関係について translation

texts:
Today I came across the sentence,
「日本のスポーツと礼の関係について話しています。」
I scratched my head looking at this initially thinking the meaning of 関係 is relation/relationship, connection.
Then I found out 関係 also has the meaning on (involvement).
Does that mean this sentence translated to (Talking about Japanese sports and proper etiquette’s involvement/role)?

Thank you!


texts: What does this mean? シャッター速度はB,１－１/１０００秒が切れます。

texts:
I was looking for some second-hand film camera on the internet. And there was a guy selling one with this condition:
シャッター速度はB,１－１/１０００秒が切れます。
What does "切れます" means in this case? It means the shutter works perfectly or doesn't work?
Thank you in advance.


texts: Why is "language" represented by 言葉【ことば】 instead of 言語【げんご】 in this book for learning Japanese?

texts:
In みんなの日本語初級I book, the word 「ことば」 is used to mean "language" (English, Japanese, Russian, etc.)

However, I found 「言語」 as the most proper word for this type of language. The first variant (which is used in the book) is more for some abstract language.

Why is 「ことば」 used here instead?


texts:
Regarding stickers put on apples to make pictures:

  シールを作った会社が毎年、農家の人にお願いしてこのりんごを作ってもらっています。
  Every year the company that makes these stickers receives requests from farmers and receives the apples they make.

I'm a bit confused about how to parse this sentence. Does もらう operate on both 作る and お願いする? I see two separate things here

  1) 会社が毎年、農家の人にお願いしてもらっています。
  Every year the company receives (the benefit of) requests from farmers.

This makes sense. The farmers want fancy pictures on their apples so they ask for stickers.

  2) 会社が毎年、農家の人にこのりんごを作ってもらっています。
  Every year the company receives (the benefit of) the farmers making these apples.

This makes no sense to me at all. Why would the farmers be making the apples for the sticker company?

I fear I have misunderstood something.


texts: The correct pronunciation of this phrase?

texts:
I'd like to know which way is the proper way to say あなたたちは早行きました。 The correct pronunciation of this phrase would be:

  anata tachi ha sou ikimashita or anata tachi ha hayai ikimashita


texts: What does どうしろという mean in this sentence?

texts:
I can't make heads or tails with translating this question in a book I'm translating at the moment. The sentence I'm working on, ironically enough, leads me to more questions while from what I can gather, is about a question itself. (Image is provided for assistance and spell-checking Japanese)

  これを一体どうしろというのか？

I know that これを一体 can be translated to 'this' 'one object' / 'this' 'one body' / 'this' 'unity'/ 'this' 'the heck...', but the rest I have absolutely no clue as to what it can mean in this sentence other than that the last two hiragana のか is a particle.


texts: Adnominalisation (Relative clause - noun - copula structure): What does it mean? How can we translate it?

texts:
I have two examples of this structure which does not obviously correspond to a pattern in English although it is quite common. I'd like to know what it means, why it is used and how it should be translated (because if I can do that I know I understand it).

Example 1

I heard this on a TV series yesterday.  The final scene of one part portrayed two sisters, かよ and はな. かよ was grieving over the death of her fiance and はな could not say anything to her and get a calm reasonable response.  The narrator said:

  かよに何も言えないはなでした。ごきげんよう、さよなら。

  [FINIS]

It is easy to reword this final sentence as

  はなはかよに何も言えなかったんだ。

And capture most of the literal meaning. In English I might have narrated, "Hana could not say anything to Kayo." or perhaps "Poor Hana, as far as Kayo was concerned, what ever Hana said, it was the wrong thing to say." but something, I am not sure what, is missing.

Example 2

The following is the final paragraph from a magazine article on how convenience stores have developed over the past 40 years, particularly since the earthquake in March 2011:

  誕生から４０年、柔軟に形を変えながら成長してきたコンビニ。次は、どんなサービスを展開し、どう進化していくのか。楽しみである。

This is in "newspaper Japanese" so the copula is omitted. I would have written:

  コンビニは誕生から４０年、柔軟に形を変えながら成長(してきた)。

In both examples the writers seem to have deliberately chosen this "relative clause - noun - copula" structure (in the second case a zero copula).  We have some questions on 体言止め　help with my first question below I should be grateful if somebody could explain:

1) Why or when is this structure used?
2) How it should be translated? (because if I can do that I know I understand it).
3) Are there any redundant subjects/topics omitted because they not necessary?  (eg
If we take AはBでした as a complete sentence then in example 1 we have "Bでした" but not "Aは"）

Supplementary note
Last night I thought I had a new example from the TV. After a doing bungy jump a woman said to the camera 「挑戦してよかった、あたし」. It sounded like the construction in example one. Then I realised it is just an example of somebody inverting the order of the parts a spoken sentence. It may just be coincidence but the similarity of how this exclamation and example one sounded to me as a listener (and how the information is received) struck me.)


texts: What's the correct transliteration of ~"yao mae"?

texts: I've heard a martial arts Sensei use a phrase that sounds to my English ears like "yow may", I think in context (at the end of a teaching, when it was time to practice he would clap his hands and then say this) meaning something like "let's go" or "to the front".  What's the proper/standard spelling of this phrase when you transliterate it to Latin characters?


texts: Usage of 契り when meaning destiny/fate/karma

texts:
I was looking up some examples using 夫婦 and I came across this:

夫婦の契り translated on alc as "marriage bed".

No problem, but then I looked as 契り by itself. On WWWJDIC there are 3 definitions:

  (1) pledge; vow; promise;
  (2) (of a man and woman) having sexual relations; having sexual intercourse;
  (3) destiny; fate; karma

What I am looking for is examples or how to understand the meaning of 契り for the third definition.
And is there any connection between this definition and the other two, or completely separate?

On this goo page it lists a definition meaning one's destiny between lives, but beyond that was not helpful.

Maybe something like good karma is derived from following (1) and (2)?


texts:
There is a piece of song lyric I cannot understand:
"切ない胸さえ" (せつないむねさえ)

I gathered from this source http://japanesetest4you.com/flashcard/learn-jlpt-n3-grammar-さえ-sae/ and others that さえ means "even", which would make this sentence something like "Even a broken heart". But I don't really understand it in context and wonder if perhaps there is another use for it here?

The full lyrics can be found here, for more context: http://www.kasi-time.com/item-38646.html (it's on the 6th line). (Perhaps I do not even understand the surrounding lyrics enough).

Thank you.


texts:
I've come across a sentence describing a nekomata that I only partially understand. Here it is:

全身白色の体毛に薄い桃色がかかった毛並みをしている.

I understand that it's talking about the nekomata's fur color, which is white with light pink, but I'm unsure of the second part of the sentence.

What does かかった毛並み mean here? I've split it up into two parts (かかった and 毛並み) but I'm still unsure as to what it means.

Any help is appreciated. Thanks!


texts: What is the name for kanji that only have ON reading, but no KUN reading?

texts:
I have learnt that there is a name for kanji that were invented in Japan - kokuji. Most of them only have KUN reading and do not have ON reading.

I know there are kanji that only have ON reading(s) and do not have KUN reading. However, I found myself struggling to find in the Internet the name for such kanji. 展 is probably a good example of such kanji, isn't it?

The reason I'm asking is that I hope it might make life a bit easier if I learnt kanji with only one reading separately from kanji with both KUN and ON readings.

Thanks a lot.


texts: When Chinese personal names are written in Japanese in kanji is there always an obvious reading?

texts:
In their comment to an answer on the question "Are foreign personal names usually written in katakana rather than Romaji?", user sawa says:

  ... Chinese names should be written in kanji rather than katakana and read by the Japanese pronunciation. For example, 金大中 is キムデジュン, not きんだいちゅう, but 毛沢東 is もうたくとう, not マオジードン. ...

This got me wondering, since each Japanese character generally has at least two readings is there always one clear reading for pronouncing such names?

I expect of course that the "on" readings would be used, but often there is more than one on reading for the same character.

From the comments so far (no answers yet) this is indeed very interesting, and on Zhen Lin's prompting I would like to include Korean names as well despite their being discounted in the older linked question.


texts: Why is the が particle used in this sentence?

texts:
In this sentence:

彼女はお姉さんが着るのと同じ種類の服を着る。
She wears the same variety of clothes as her sister wears.

Why is the が particle used to mark the sister as the subject, when the one doing the action of wearing を着る is 彼女?

If my understanding is correct, the が particle always without exception marks the noun (the subject) that is doing or being something:

犬が走る The dog is running (doing)
花が赤い The flower is red (being)

I also understand that the subject doing the action can be implied and not included (zero pronouns).
The zero pronoun Ø takes the equivalent of "it", "I", "she", "he" etc. which is included in English but omitted in Japanese.
The は particle is the topic and does not indicate the noun that is doing or being (the job が already does).

私は (Øが) 日本人です。
As for me, (I) am Japanese. (Øが means "I")

Ordering food in a restaurant:

彼は (Øが) 天ぷらです。
As for him (it) is Tempura. (not he is a Tempura) (Øが means "it")

If I am misunderstanding this concept please correct me.

But in the first sentence above I am not confident when applying these concepts.

彼女は (Øが）姉さんが着るのと同じ種類の服を着る。
As for her (she Ø) wears the same type of clothes her sister wears.

My questions are:

Am I correct in putting (Øが) in the sentence? Does (Øが）mean 彼女が in
this case? And does 彼女が indicate that she is doing the action of wearing を着る?
Is the second が in 姉さんが着る used to indicate that her sister is doing the action of wearing her own clothes? Would this be a second が different from this first invisible が?
But if 着る is a transitive verb, why is this second が used instead of を? お姉さんを着るのと同じ種類の服 Edit: disregard this question.


texts: What is the たんだ in と思ってたんだ for the sentence in question?

texts:
Here is a sentence that I came across in Yotsuba, 恵那が結婚して出て行く時に使おうと思ってたんだ. I believe the English translation would be something like, "When Ena (恵那) gets married and leaves, I think I'll use this.  I know that と思って means that something has been thought of for some duration but what does the たんだ stand for? I believe んだ is the connective copula for explanatory purposes. So the translation would be something like "It is that, I think I will use this when Ena goes off and gets married." But why is た used? Is this acting as something for past tense or is it needed to connect んだ somehow? Could it mean, "I had thought"?

Any help would be appreciated. I'm starting to notice these types of past tense uses more but still can't 100% wrap my head around them.


texts:
I don't understand  the meaning of ~つもりではいる in this sentence :

そしていちおう手加減してやるつもりではいるが殺されてしまっても負けとなる。
And, although I'm planning on going easy on you, you will also lose if you happen to get killed.

I'm familiar with the ~つもり+である construction and I remember reading somewhere that でいる could sometimes replace である (not sure about that).
So is it でいる + は (and what difference is there between である、でいる and ではいる)?
Or is it で (て forme of だ) + 入る and in that case, what does はいる mean in that context?
Or something else entirely?


texts:
While reading I sometimes come across some sentences like

  包丁を使ってたまねぎを切った。

Where 使って is word just like an adverb which modifies 切る.

So I looked up a little more about the Te form and I found this:

  付帯状況

Which I think it shows how you do the main verb using the Te form verb before it as an adverb which modifies the main verb.

Could someone give me a good explanation about Te form and 付帯状況?
Is the Te form just an adverb?
Or is it like a relative clause but instead of making a relative about a noun it makes an adverbial clause which shows how the next verb is done?

(The the form somehow reminds me of V1ことで...V2, by doing (through) V1 I do V2 or V1 is how I do V2. This is just how my mind sees it and I don't claim that is correct, but can someone tell me if I am wrong?)


texts: Translation of できた and それで in this sentences

texts:
In this sentence:

  お前らは運がいい。今日の俺の試合を見て、勉強できる機会ができたからな。お前らは、それで勉強して、俺を倒す夢を見続けろ。だが、敵わないけどな。

What is the best literal translation of 勉強できる機会ができたから and それで勉強して
Is できたから saying "Because I'm giving you..."?
and is それで勉強し saying "At that studying" or "While you are studying"


texts:
私ははっきりとは知らない。
  私ははっきりに知らない。

はっきりに means clearly but I'm not sure about はっきりとは and what's the difference between both.

Thanks in advance.


texts: Help understanding the usage of 「で」 in this clause

texts:
I get the gist of this answer, but I fear I might be misunderstanding the very last part of the second sentence:

「今週末」と同じ意味なのは「今度の週末」じゃなくて「今週の週末」かな。
今度の週末は次の週末と同じ意味で、日曜日では「今度の週末」は「来週末」のことで「今週末」「今週の週末」とは違う日を指す。

My understanding is this:

"This weekend" doesn't have the same meaning as "this time's weekend" but instead "this week's weekend".
'This time's weekend' is the same as 'next weekend', and on Sunday, [the idea of] "this time's weekend" is the same as "next week's weekend", so it is different from "this weekend" and "this week's weekend" because they refer to different days.


texts: Help with an expression that uses お笑い vocabulary

texts:
突っ込みどころ満載
I just have to butt in here. / I'd love to put my two cents in.

I am having a hard time figuring out this expression. I see it uses vocabulary particular to お笑い, but I would appreciate if someone would specify which meaning each word takes on in this instance, and how they work together. I am sure a better translation could be made as well. Sorry for so many questions in one!


texts:
The following sentence is from a blog called Nippon Talk:

  お湯{ゆ}を使{つか}える洗濯機{せんたくき}のパワーに感動{かんどう}した夫{おっと}は、沖縄{おきなわ}旅行{りょこう}から帰{かえ}るとすぐにその洗濯機{せんたくき}についての情報{じょうほう}を調{しら}べ始{はじ}めた。

I'm trying to pick apart the words in an effort to understand Japanese grammar.

Here's the first part:

  お湯{ゆ}を使{つか}える洗濯機{せんたくき}のパワーに感動{かんどう}した夫{おっと}は、・・・
  Oyu o tsukaeru sentakuki no pawaa ni kandoushita otto wa...

I translated this as:

  お湯を使える洗濯機
  Oyu o tsukaeru sentakuki
  'washing machine that uses hot water'

and

  ・・・のパワーに感動した夫は
  …no pawaa ni kandoushita otto wa
  'husband that is excited by the power of washing machine that uses hot water'

Why are the particles を (o) and に (ni) used in the way that they are?


texts: Is the name Shinya written as しにゃ or しんや？


texts:
How to say in Japanese "access into the sea" without using アクセス, as in

  その国は海にアクセスがある。
  This country has an access into the sea.


texts: Can verb in past tense + あと act as a noun?

texts:
日本で去年亡くなった人は約１３０万人で、２０年前の１．５倍ぐらいになっています。自分が亡くなったあとの葬式や墓について考えている人も増えています。
  1.3 million people died in Japan last year; around 1.5 times as many as 20 years ago. The number of people who are thinking about funerals and graves after their own death is also increasing.

I'm uncertain about how to parse this part: 自分が亡くなったあとの葬式や墓. Initially I saw this as a verb in past tense followed by あと so it must mean 'after doing verb' but I've never seen this whole structure act like a noun before, which it seems to be doing here. The dictionary also said that あと by itself can mean "after one's death", so then I got a bit more confused. I'm guessing this is just a red herring.

So I guess my question is, can you please confirm that 自分が亡くなったあと in this context means "After one's/their own death" and that the whole structure can work as a noun? If not, please explain how it should be parsed.


texts:
Possible Duplicate:
  Plain verbs that end with ぬ other than 死ぬ

死ぬ{しぬ} is the only verb that I know that is ending in -ぬ.

So, are there any other verbs ending in -ぬ?


texts: A question regarding Japanese sentences with present tense clauses but a past tense main verb

texts:
Japanese tenses seem very different from English. Please look at this sentence:

  考えている最中，電話がかけられました

If translated in English, it should be:

  When I was thinking, the telephone rang

I think the front part of this sentence should be 考えていた最中。

How should I deal with Japanese tense?


texts:
Surely the biggest issue here is that I'm trying to learn usage from anime dialogue, which should almost always be taken with the biggest grain of salt possible. But it comes up often enough that it's at least a trope, if not a common real-world usage, and I haven't been able to figure this out.

Individually, I know what 私 ("I") and ね (often a particle for "right?", or "hey") mean. But when they are combined at the beginning of a sentence, simply combining those meanings seems insufficient to explain what's being communicated.

Usually it comes up when a female character is talking about herself, confiding in a close friend, sounding something like わたしね{LLLH}. In fact, right after writing this, I happened across an example 19 seconds into episode 17 of 四月は君の嘘, when Kaori says 「私ね{あたしね}...」, trailing off right before the theme song starts.

Not sure if more details are needed, but I will certainly make clarifying edits in response to comments, so fire away!


texts: The phrase "doko kara kimasu" is translated as "where do you come from" . I suppose this a short version of "anata wa doko kara kimasu ka" . If I want to ask where does he come from? I suppose I should say "kare wa doko kara kimasu ka" . Can in this sentence the pronoun also be omitted if the context makes the "kare" understandable (let's suppose it was already stated in a conversation we were talking about him), or only anata can be omitted? In which cases pronouns can be omitted in questions?


texts: What does まっすぐな瞳 bit mean in the following?

texts:
Context: Person R is talking about person F, how they don't need to test F on their growth in power and such. Then this line is said:

R: Fは私といたころよりも ずっとまっすぐな瞳をして―― 魔力も満ちあふれて。
R:F has a more straightforward gaze/look in their eyes than when they were with me…and F is simply brimming with mana.

Also F tends/tended to being less confident in themselves
I think R is trying to say that F is more self confident and such...


texts: Is it しゅしょうor そうりだいじん when referring to the Prime Minister of Japan?

texts: I researched on Jisho.org and both terms are listed for Prime Minister.


texts: Is there anything wrong with the sentence "今午前七時間です"?

texts:
I'm reviewing the first section of Lingodeer by redoing all the tests. It wanted me to type out "It's 7 a.m. now." I typed this in and got it wrong.
The correct answer was simply to remove 間, so what am I misunderstanding about the usage here? I looked around elsewhere for explanations on its usage, but couldn't find anything beginner friendly enough to understand properly.
In case anyone is wondering how far Lingodeer 1 goes, it's somewhere around the start of Genki 2, so that's where I'm at.


texts:
What is the counter for coins?
What is the counter for coins?


texts: Is there even 1 na-type adjective that can't be used as a real noun?

texts:
The passage suggests that not all na-type adjectives can be used as real nouns as shown in (b). It doesn't seem to be a case of careless choice of words, since in the 2nd para, the passage uses "some" and in the 3rd para, the passage uses "all", and there is an explicit contrast.

I was wondering why is it that not all na-type adjectives can be used as real nouns. As far as I know, all na-type adjectives can be used as if they are real nouns, like for example, this is grammatical right:

特有は確かだ

Is there even 1 na-type adjective that can't be used as a real noun as shown in (b) (to prove that passage right) ?


texts: Is there a relation between these two usages of としては?

texts:
I saw this sentence in a textbook:

原則としては、返却しないといけないことになってるんですけど、

I'm assuming this usage corresponds to jisho's definition,  as (for); for; in the capacity of
They break it down a bit in some subtext that points to it being として plus topic particle は, but that wouldn't make sense if we were talking in terms of DOGJ's definition.

In DOGJ they describe としては as a particle that demonstrates a standard for comparisons. For example,

ジョンソンさんは日本語の一年生としては日本語が上手だ。

How do the two usages relate to each other? Can you relate them to each other? Are they separate grammar constructions that just coincidentally evolved in the same way so that they have the same reading?

My best guess is that としては decribed in the DOJG is とする + ては, but I'm not really sure.


texts:
I noticed this on few occasions. Unfortunately, I can't remember exact situations.

I want to clarify if どうも in a role of 'hello' is a shortened version of some longer phrase or just a phrase on its own. When is it okay to use it? Does it have any hidden nuance?


texts: 何から何までちょっとはずれたヤツでして・・・

texts:
The main character (桐生) gets a request of the owner of an 揚屋 (we're talking Edo period here) to get rid of a guy squatting in front of said store, not bulging for days. As the MC beats up the guy, he learns that the guy wanted to buy one of the girls and hoped he could convince the owner by not giving in until he got what he wanted.
Afterwards the owner thanks the MC and this is the conversation:

店員「ありがとうございました」
桐生「で、こいつが姫雀か。」*姫雀 is the name of the girl
店員「はい、そうなんです」
桐生「・・・ふぅ、まだ禿じゃないか」*禿 is defined here as a 遊女 of the lowest rank
店員「えぇ、何から何までちょっとはずれたヤツでして・・・本当に助かりました」

The bolded part is where I'm lost and I really don't know what the sentence is trying to say here. I understand 何から何まで means something like すべて、みんな、一から十まで and is seen in phrases like 何から何までありがとうございます or 何から何までお世話になりました but I can't really place its usage here. Furthermore, I don't know who ヤツ is refering to here, the guy causing trouble or the girl? Also what does はずれたヤツ mean? Or is it ちょっとは ずれたヤツ? Still couldn't explain the meaning though.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PRPGjhgVDG8
Here is a video of the scene, with the bit from above starting at 4:36. It's only a few seconds long and it may make things clearer; maybe the formatting of the lines in the dialogue boxes is important? The line in question is formatted like this:

えぇ、何から何まで
ちょっとはずれたヤツでして・・・
本当に助かりました。

I don't know if this is important or not, but I thought I'd point it out nevertheless.
As usual many thanks in advance for your help!


texts: i came across this word and when i translated without arrows but i don't know why の was added can it be 矢ない instead?


texts: How are the different pronunciations of kanji used, such as onyomi and kunyomi?

texts:
Even when I think I've memorized how to read a particular kanji, 人 (ひと) for example, and try to read other words I find that it's also pronounced じん...and I'm sure it probably has many other readings.

Should readings just be taken on a case-by-case basis / word-by-word basis? Is there any point to memorizing a single kanji reading and applying it else where or is there some structure to when each reading is used?


texts: Is there a Japanese equivalent for "just" in this context?

texts:
I want to say something along the lines of "I don't like A, I just like B" but am unsure of how to translate the word "just" when used in this way in English. The first part of the sentence is easy enough, and I know that I can simplify the expression by saying it as, 「私はAが好きではありません。Bが好きです。」Is there something I can use in Japanese to convey that nuance?
EDIT: An example sentence that might help explain the usage I'm going for is, "I'm not a fan of the band, I just like being around people."
EDIT2: Forgot that there are separate implications between the two just's that I have provided. The second one is what I was going for.


texts:
This is my first question on this site, so excuse me if I make any mistake.

I found this phrase in a text which uses pre-WW2 grammar (so I'm not entirely sure if it's [生き乍らへて]{いきながらへて} or 生き乍らえて due to historical kana usage). I've searched in dictionaries but I haven't been able to find anything with these specific kanji. I found 生き長らえて (to live long) though, but I don't know whether it's the same thing (and it doesn't seem to fit in this text either).

生き obviously means "to live", and 乍ら is just the old ながら used to mean that something is being done at the same time another action is being performed. But it doesn't seem to make sense here. I provide the original and a version with modern kana usage (only those lines that actually use the historical usage).

I will be very thankful if somebody could shine some light about the meaning of this word in the text.

私は滅びゆく村を見た
I saw the village being destroyed

吸ひ込むやうな月に濡れ　-> 吸い込むような月に濡れ
It looked completely soaked up, wet due to the moon
Alt (less literal): "It looked bathed in light, wet with the moonlight".

私は其れを潰れた箱らに入れてゐた -> 私は其れを潰れた箱らに入れていた
I put that inside the crushed boxes

生き乍らへて、
While [they] were alive???

今に其れを知る私はばかり
Although I've came to know that only now

私は壊れゆく村を見た
I saw the village breaking

重く赤い露に浸り
Soaked in heavy red dew

朽ちぬと共に探してゐた -> 朽ちないと共に探していた
I looked for him along those that weren't rotten

其れでも、其れでも見つからぬ -> 其れでも、其れでも見つからない
But so, even so I couldn't find [him].

私は死にゆく村を見た
I saw the village die

片時も未だ、心を離れず
It still hasn't left my mind not even once

未だ、疼いてゐる -> 未だ、疼いている
It still hurts me.

燃え盡くした
It has burned completely

私の指が、私の箱が煙の中を
My fingers, my box, inside the smoke

あぁ、あの方に
Ah, that person

もう一度
Once more

会はねば
I ought to meet.


texts: Meaning of the the structure 〜V1てV2ようとしたが、〜 in the sentence

texts:
In the sentence (from Harry Potter) below Dudley tries to grab the letter and then read it.

  ダドリーが[手紙]{てがみ}を[奪]{うば}って[読]{よ}もうとしたが、おじさんは[手]{て}が[届]{とど}かないように[高々]{たかだか}と[掲]{かか}げていた。

When I read it until ...としたが I thought the action of grabbing succeeded, but when Dudley tried to read the letter something happened that prevented it.

However from the latter part I seems that Dudley didn't even managed to grab the letter because the uncle was holding the letter high above.

Is my understanding the Dudley didn't even grab the letter correct?
How can we change the first part of this sentence in order to convey that Dudley actually grabbed the letter? Would using と言って work?

  ダドリーが[手紙]{てがみ}を[奪]{うば}ってと言って、[読]{よ}もうとしたが、おじさんは[手]{て}が[届]{とど}かないように[高々]{たかだか}と[掲]{かか}げていた。


texts:
この店のお菓子はとても有名です。その理由として、昔ながらの製法で、伝統を守っているところがあげられます。

Seeing this sentence, I am wondering if I can rephrase the second sentence as "その理由は、昔ながらの製法で、伝統を守っているからです" or "その理由としてあげられるのは、昔ながらの製法で伝統を守っているところです".

Also, I find myself not knowing exactly "ところ" means in this context.
Therefore, I searched some sentence containing the same phrase,

石見国の魅力のひとつとして、海・山・川の３つの自然がすべて満喫できるところが挙げられる。
(この複合構造船体)長期に渡る航行中に発生するトラブルに対しても、外科手術的な即応が可能なところがあげられる。

if I replace ところ with という特徴 in the three sentences, it seems that their meanings don't change, so we can interpret this ところ as 特徴. Am I correct?


texts:
私は家に走りました

Is the る conjugated to become り?


texts:
I was reading a passage (from AIAIJ) and came across this sentence:

  ベティーは、日本でホームステイをした時、スリッパの使い方になれるまで、ずいぶん時間がかかった。

I was wondering why した時 is used. To me, this gives me the nuance of "After Betty did her homestay..." rather than the (I think) correct reading of "When Betty was doing her homestay..."

Is there a reason why this is preferred to using something like している時? The action that Betty does appears to take place as she is doing her homestay, not after, which would seem to not warrant the past tense preceding 時. Or perhaps there is a more crucial part of the sentence I misread? Regardless, I appreciate the help!


texts: What is the purpose of the comma after the と in 異変と、その影に潜む陰謀を、彼はまだ知らない。

texts:
What is the reason for putting this comma in?

  異変と、その影に潜む陰謀を、彼はまだ知らない。

As I understand it, the sentence means that he doesn't (yet) know about either the 異変 or the 陰謀. Is this comma here meant to make the reader parse the sentence in a certain way?


texts: Inclusion of の when asking a question with 'why'

texts:
I came across the following sentence

  ところで、リー君はどうして忙しいの？

translated as

  By the way, Lee-kun, why are you busy?

If the の is left out, what's the difference in 'feel' or implication? That is, why is the sentence above different from

  ところで、リー君はどうして忙しい？

From what I've read, の seeks more explanation and context, but for a 'why' question, is an explanation not already expected? What purpose does the の play in the first sentence?


texts: The meaning of 来なんだ (a seemingly archaic form)

texts:
Situation from a story: 侍A is pursuing 侍B. 侍A meets 町人C and interrogates him:

  侍B (some description)、逃げては来なんだかな。

I guess it must mean something like "didn't he come here while running away?"

I cannot quite understand the form 来なんだかな here. The answer to this question suggests 来なん is a phrase expressing a desire. It does not seem to be the case, where 侍A seemingly is wondering.


texts: Meaning of 無数の人工物が細やかな直線を交差させている in this sentence?

texts:
遠く見下ろす街。無数の人工物が細やかな直線を交差させている。背の羽根をかかとの方向へ引き絞るように翻すと、俺の身体は推進力を得て一気に中空を滑り出した。猛スピードで逃げてゆく景色を片目に俺は、「天使か」と呟いていた。

I came across this sentence and I've some doubts with the part "無数の人工物が細やかな直線を交差させている".
My personal translation would be something like "A modest straight line is crossing with innumerable artificial objects (with I think is referring to 街)". Probably my interpretation is wrong so I do like to know what is the meaning of this part in specific.


texts: What is 振らな駄目 supposed to mean. Possible typo in the original

texts:
Continuation of the conversation from a previous question.

In short characters are technobabble and following line happens.

  撃鉄起こすのと出力コントロールに相当なresourceを振らな駄目ですからねぇ

The bit before 振らな I think means something along the lines of:

  Because when firing hammer is cocked, (in/for depending on verb) output control, significant "resource"...

Well I'm not sure if 相当な is significant or maybe appropriate, so it's resource appropriate to output control. But what mostly and completely baffles me is 振らな. I'm thinking this is probably some sort of typo (no I did not make a mistake typing this over)? And 駄目 used as a suffix to say whatever the verb was supposed to say is useless.

If it's a typo, it's likely that い is missing. Although then we kinda have a double negative, so I'd say it's then more of an imperative?

But yeah, the entire 振らな駄目です bit is utterly dumbfounding to me.

If it's relevant (I don't think it is), the person speaking could be a Kansai user (H is but M is not, and due to the format it could be either of them).

So what is your thinking on this conundrum of mine?


texts:
The following sentences are difference usage of 向き which have different meanings. Why do they differ?

この本は初心者向きである。
This book is suitable for beginners.

逆さまに向きを変えてください。
Please turn over.


texts:
普通のカマは細部を見るときの参考にしています

How I can guess it's meaning:

  When you look at the details of ordinary sickle, use it as a reference

But I'm not sure due 参考する in this sentence. How it will be more correctly?


texts: Where does the phrase Ichikabachika (一か八か) come from?

texts:
According to the Japanese dictionary, it means "sink or swim", "do or die", or "high stakes", but I can't figure out the etymology.

The literal meaning appears to be "one or eight". So does it literally mean "the odds are 1 to 8"?


texts: Question about consequential clause after conditional clause using 「たら」

texts:
For my understanding, the consequential clause would be a complete sentence until I faced the following conditional sentence.

  使用できる時間が極端に短くなったら、バッテリーパックの寿命です。

Can a consequential clause after a 「たら」-clause　be a　noun clause? Or is this an exception?


texts:
I received this email from someone close, who has a deadline to finish a graduation thesis:

期日は20日です(>д<)
これ右端揃うかな？笑

右端揃 means "right-alignment" but I don't understand what is the meaning of the second sentence? Is the verb "うかなう", which I can't find a definition of ? Is it about postponing the deadline? Or is the verb 揃う ?


texts:
In this sentence:

  つまりアレだ、俺が自らあのばーさんとこまでの道を作り出しちまったってことか？

I guess it's something like:

  It's that thing right?  I created a path that leads to that old hag?

What part would ってことか represent here?


texts:
I'm using RTK to learn the Kanji and yet am pretty happy with it.

To review the Kanji I am using an Anki deck.

My question is about the usage of Heisig's 大 radical for example in 器.
In the book the radical for "big" is used in the middle but if I draw the Kanji in the Kanji Draw Android app without the drop all I get is the same Kanji but with the little drop on the top right hand side. If I look the Kanji up in the じしょ app it says "utensil, vessel, receptacle" which fits Heisig's keyword of "dishes" (in the german edition). Also the Anki deck shows me the Kanji with the drop.

I know that the Kanji for dog has this little drop and that its radical is used in other Kanjis and as it has a slightly different meaning(big dog vs small dog) I assumed that this may be an error in RTK.

But if I type "utsuwa" on PC I get the exact same Kanji but without the little drop on the top right.

My conlusion is that it doesn't matter which one I use which doesn't really make sense to me.


texts:
I cannot grasp what  にも means between 身のほど知らず and 敵対する愚 in the following sentence, maybe something like "foolishness of taking up arms not knowing their place" ?

As far as I can understand the sentence:
"Let them taste true fear. Make them remember the foolishness of (身のほど知らずにも) taking up arms against our nation and our people, and then allow them to savor their bitter victory!"

  奴らには恐怖を与えろ。この国に、我々に、身のほど知らずにも敵対する愚を思い知らせ、後に矮小な勝利をくれてやれ。

Thank you!


texts: Trouble with a sentence 状況を変えてくれるのはいつだってあなたのその気持ちだってこと

texts:
I came across a line in a manga and I'm not sure how I should translate it to sound good. This is the sentence:

  状況を変えてくれるのはいつだってあなたのその気持ちだってこと

And here is my attempt to translate it:

  It's your feelings that can always change the circumstances (around you).

I really don't know if it sounds alright like this, something must be off. Also, isn't いつだって similar to いつも?
Or does it have another nuance?
Please, I hope someone can help me out with this in any way. Thank you in advance!

EDIT: For context, this sentence is said by a girl (older) to another girl who is younger, if that helps.


texts: What is the difference between 文句 and 苦情?

texts: They both mean 'complaint', but there is a slight difference between them, right? If someone could explain the difference and provide some example sentences it would be great.


texts:
Suppose I want to ask for two pairs of chopsticks for myself and someone I'm with.

Does お箸【はし】を二【ふた】つください mean I'm asking for two chopsticks or two sets of chopsticks? (Also, am I using the right counter? I'm learning from Duolingo here..)

Can it change for other objects and their respective counters? Are there maybe other words often used to avoid confusion about some x quantities of a thing? I see this misunderstanding in English a bit too much, and I'm wondering if it happens in Japanese too.


texts:
I know how ~がる constructions work in reference to subjects in the third person. However, I am a bit lost in regards to which situations necessitate the use of ~がる with the first person.

For example this sentence is correct:

  私がアイスクリームを食べたがると、母が食べさせてくれた。

But this sentence is wrong

  私がアイスクリームを食べたいと、母が食べさせてくれた。

I don't know why.

Upon conducting some google searches in an attempt to find the answer to this question, I found a source saying that one can use ~がる with the first person to narrate something that happened to them in a detached manner. Interesting but not really relevant to this particular distinction, I think. Or is it?

This paper also mentions the existence of the first person ~がる construction, but I'm pretty sure it doesn't say anything helpful (but I could have overlooked something).

Does anyone specifically know why 食べたがる MUST be used in the above sentences?


texts:
1) ごはんを食べて、ねました。
  2) あさおきて、新聞を読みました。

I was wondering, if the part [食べて] and [おきて] are also past tense, because of [~ました].
So the correct translation would be [I went to bed, after I ate.] or is it [I went to bed, after eating.]?

Somehow I can't find similar question to this. Anyway, thank you very much in advance.


texts:
I found this sentence:

だが変だなあと気になりだした。

I got the meaning of the first part, but I don't get the exact meaning of 気になりだした.


texts:
I came across the following sentence in a website:

  人々は月はチーズの球だと考えました

This sentence seems to have two topic particles: 人々 is the topic of the main sentence because "people thought something" (人々は...考えました). The と particle marks what people thought, which was the sentence 月はチーズの球だ. This sentence has a different topic and therefore another は. Is this analysis correct? Is this sentence I've found grammatically correct?


texts:
Since plain form words can attach to つもり, we can just attach the i-adjective 若い to it as is.

When our plain form word is a NOUN, we'll add a の after it. And for na-adjectives, we add a な after them. For example, later we'll see:

  冗談{じょうだん}のつもり

in this grammar rule. We attach the つもり with the plain form (noun,adjective,verb). Is this つもり acting as a noun, because when its attached with an adjective, we place a な  in between them, and with noun の.


texts:
I found a list of Japanese idioms (without translations) that I wanted to study, so I sat down and looked up the meanings. Most of them I found in my trusty denshi jishyo, and a couple of them I had to resort to some internet resources (goo, Google Translate etc.), but I couldn't find the meaning of 体が余る anywhere. (Full disclosure: I found a couple of typos on the list, this one was listed as 体に余る, but Google points at it using が instead.)

A direct translation would be something like "A surplus of body"...perhaps it means overweight?


texts: Negative form and て行く (maybe て-form in general)

texts:
Sentence: 「おや、Xさん。テストの結果が貼りだされているというのに見て行かなくていいんですか？」
How 見ていく is used here is confounding me. 見て行く would be something like "see the test result and then go his way". I understand that what this character wants to ask is "Even though the results have already been posted, is it okay to not give them a look (before going away)". However, why is the 行く in negative form and not 見る?
The thing the person will leave without doing is "seeing". Would it be wrong to say 「（…）見ないで行ってもいいんですか？」? Or 「見に行かなくていいんですか？」?
There's been repeated instances of an unexpected part of a sentence with the て-form  going into the negative (usually the last verb) and catching me off-guard as it seems to negate the whole sequence of verbs. In a sentence with the te-form, if the last verb is negative, does that negation include the verb in the て-form as well? Or does it happen here because 見て行く(the kanji is utilized in the source as well, which made me think it was to emphasize separate actions: 見る and then 行く) is treated differently?


texts:
どうしても入り方にこだわりたいのか...

I'd like to know how 方に works here. I don't think it's read 入{はい}り方{がた}, 'time of setting', given the context I have. More likely it's 入り + 方に, since in the story the speaker seems be coerced into entering some kind of contest.

I found an example on Tatoeba.org of 方{ほう}に translated as 'made for':

  彼{かれ}は戸口{とぐち}の方{ほう}に進{すす}んだ
  'He made for the door'

Maybe that use of 方に could fit into the sentence in question...


texts: Casual usage of i-adjectives and ending particles

texts:
In Real casual japanese one may hear

  明日のテストってこわ。。。

I am wondering, how often this level of 'casualness' happens.

Can I add sentence ending particles, even though there is an い omitted (and です). For example:

  ゆきは走るのがはやね。

I omitted the whole structure, but still added ね to emphasize, that Yuki runs fust, doesn't he?

However this is pretty standard, for a plain form, am I right?

  おもしろいね

If a similar question has been answered somewhere, please link it for me, and also I'm not sure if my question is phrased correctly, I hope it's understandable.


texts:
I am confused about a certain usage of 写る, that i have encountered in example sentences.
An Anki deck I use presented: このカメラはよく写りますよ。The given translation is "This camera takes good pictures."
Weblio lists: 暗くてもよく写るフィルム
From the translations given for the word and from other example sentences, it seems to me that the subject of the verb is the thing that is photographed (or seen through something). However, in the sentences above カメラ and フィルム, respectively, have seemingly taken on that role. In these sentences I would have expected a transitive verb, like 写す.
Can someone shed some light on how these expressions are constructed?


texts:
The sentence: 守りたいのはあなた

This sentence can either mean "The one I want to protect is you" or it can mean "the one who wants to protect (someone else) is you". Any way to distinguish besides context?


texts: So after reading the answer to this question, I did some searching and came across this website, which said, "A very common phrase is "yoko ni naru". (Become horizontal = lay down)." So I was wondering if "tate ni naru" which would seem to be (become vertical = stand up) was used as well.


texts: ダンスの先生なんだから、上手なはずですよ

texts: ダンスの先生なんだから、上手なはずですよ。  is はずです is work as a noun here ?? as its attached after na adjective


texts: 「[壁際]{かべぎわ}の前と同じ場所」とはどういう意味ですか？

texts:
壁際の前と同じ場所に彼は立っていた。

これはどういう意味ですか。
太字の部分が理解できません。

お願いいたします。


texts: What is the subject of sentence with ください?

texts:
For example, what is the subject of the following sentence?

  八時に来るようにしてください。

The speaker or the opponent?


texts:
パソコンは、できる人にとったらそんなことで？と思うかもしれないですね。

  でも、主さんも、やっときますからは、ちょっと違うかなぁ？と思います。(source)


texts: How to say something is 'easy to learn'?

texts: Is there a grammar pattern to attach a adjective to a noun in this way?


texts: JLPT N3 Practice Vocabulary 2 すこしでは ありませんが

texts:
From #8 of 日本語能力試験３級の模擬試験　-語彙２- (http://jlpt.u-biq.org/3v2.html)

  ８）しばらく おまちください。

Choose the one with the closest meaning.

  A) ぜんぜん またなくても いいです。
   B) すこし まってください。
   C) すこしでは ありませんが まってください。
   D) とても ながい じかん まってください。

I can see none of the others mean "Please wait for a while", but why is it C? I mainly don't understand the すこしでは ありませんが part.


texts:
I know that もらう has the meaning of 'get' or 'receive', but I am confused with it when it is used in the sentence below:

  面白いのでたくさんの人に読んでもらいたい

How do I understand the auxiliary verb 'もらう' in this sentence?
Can anyone help me translate the sentence to English, please ?


texts: What is the difference between ながら and のに for expressing "despite"/"although"?

texts:
Both grammar points seem to express similar sentiments. But I had a practice question today which said

  友だちは授業の教室が変わったと（　　）、教えてくれませんでした。

with two choices being 知りながら and 知るのに.

Both choices seem to convey "Despite the classroom having changed, my friends did not tell me". The practice book marks 知りながら as correct, though. What are the subtleties that would indicate using one over the other?


texts:
I was watching an MMD on YouTube called 'Tokio Funka' created by PizaCG and quite enjoyed the fact that they included an English language translation in the Closed Captions.  I was able to lookup most of the song references but was stumped by 'Being able to enjoy the Scramble Road is alright'.  It could be a miss-translation or a very obscure reference.  I would appreciate it if someone could provide an explanation or determine if there is a better translation.

Thanks


texts:
トイレに行っているあいだに電車が行ってしまった。

The choices were either あいだ or ところ but the answer is あいだ.

Google translate it :

The train went while I was in the bathroom.

I thought it meant :

I was about to go in the bathroom but the train (was about to) go.

 my questions:

1. Why not use ところ instead of あいだ?  Why should it be あいだ?

2. Is しまった just an expression? Oops?

3. What is the correct translation?

Thank you


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

  このため、地震のときと同じように机の下などに入っていると安全なことがあります。

It seems different from all senses in A Dictionary of Basic Japanese Grammar. Kind of "in the manner of"?


texts:
When is it okay to have more than one は in a sentence? I've come across a few examples where there have been more than one は, and hadn't why.

Example:

日本語は色々なスピーチスタイルがあることは知っていますね。

Thank you!


texts:
I came across:

アホ界期待の星だ

What does アホ界 mean?


texts: Can I use the word ちる when I want to say that ´the apples fell from the tree´?


texts:
I'm confused about the difference between the passive form and the てある form.

飲み物はもう買ってあります。
The drinks have already been bought.
飲み物はもう買われました。
The drinks were already bought.

Are my translations correct? Is it that verb-てある means 'verb has been done', whereas, verb-passive means 'verb was done'? Are there any other subtleties? Thanks.


texts: This text appears to be labeling V-し・V-せず・Adj-なく・N-に as present, V-して・V-しないで・Adj-なくて・N-で as past. Why?

texts: I found a table at this page that seems to be labeling Vし・Vせず・Adjなく・Nに as present tense, and Vして・Vしないで・Adjなくて・Nで as past tense. Please teach me about this distinction in the above words.


texts: use 味の感想も聞けるしな and 作りがいがある in this sentence

texts:
ここでは毎日味の感想も聞けるしな。特にアリスは、どんなメシでも笑顔で食べるから作りがいがある。

  mc that does all the cooking, talks about cooking while cooking

  Maybe it's because everyday i get feedback about my cooking from all of you. particularly Alice,  no matter what it is, because she eat it with a smile, I ... 作りがいがある。

味の感想も聞けるしな = 味の感想+「詠嘆のモ」+聞ける+し(cause)+な(かな。。?) ?

作りがいがある = i'm not sure

Thanks in advance


texts:
In an anime, 龍ヶ嬢七々々 is pronounced as りゅうがじょう ななな. I'm wondering why 七々々 is prounounced as ななな, since 七 is なな, and there are two repeat signs.

Is this some sort of special case where 七 is prounounced as just な and hence with the two repeat signs becomes ななな? Or am I missing something?

Thanks.


texts:
I am having trouble understanding 着ていったら in the following sentence:

明日の夕食会にはどんな服を着ていったら良いですか。

I understand how ~たら is normally used, its more combination with ていっ that seems to be throwing me off.

How is this different from using 着たら ?


texts: Help with understanding nuances of extremely popular Kyoto-ben (?) tweet

texts:
I noticed this tweet:

  京都人は「死ねどす」なんて言わない 殺した後に「死んではるわ」って言う

with 70K+ retweets
https://twitter.com/sc_gloom03/status/1147066611762728960
and don't quite get why it's so popular.
I half-get that it's about Kyoto person saying "DIE!" at someone, but I don't understand the grammar enough to get the rest.
What's happening here and why is it so popular?  Is there some peculiarity of the dialect I'm missing here?


texts: Historical prospective of ウ音便 transformation (e.g. 有難く => 有難う)

texts:
The question ～うございます - keigo い-adjectives explains how 有難う is derived from 有難く as following:

ありがたい

ありがたく (連用形 of ありがたい forms an adverbial)

ありがたう (く changes to う)

ありがとう (う changes preceding kana to お-row kana

What is they history of this type of transformation?


texts: Can any other characters besides は and わ be used interchangeably at the end of words?

texts: I have noticed that こんにちわ and こんにちは can be spelled differently and have the same meaning. Does this occur with any other character combinations at the end of words?


texts:
So I'm practicing how to count the strokes of a Kanji. I've been having troubles for this one since I can't find it on Jisho. So I've wanted to ask: am I even right with the number of strokes?

If not, is there an easier way to count the strokes of a Kanji? And since I can't find the Kanji at all, can somebody tell me which Kanji is?

Thank you in advance!


texts: Enthusiastically accepting an offer or invitation

texts:
In English when somebody offers you something or invites you somewhere you can just say "yes" or you can answer more enthusiastically in a pretty standard colloquial manner like this:

Would you like to go out for dinner on Saturday night?
I'd love to!
Do you want a bowl of this soup that I just cooked?
I'd love to!

I've asked a local but he doesn't really understand the nuance I'm trying to capture and offers me phrases that are more like the literal translation of "I want to eat too".

Is there something colloquial and enthusiastic that's better than what my local friend has suggested?


texts: I've been going on a Japanese course and I don't understand the grammar behind 'dewa'. I've seen it being used in 私はおちゃとこひがすきではありません and 私はにほんじんではありません　and I don't completely understand its use in grammar and definition. Is it the negative desu?


texts: Japanese concepts of formality and politeness (with a close passage)

texts:
Here is a test passage I came across that made me suspect that my perceptions of formality and politeness were wrong. In this passage, we are required to select the options we think are correct (bolded below). I am confused about the last question.
Why can the last blank be filled with 日本人にもかかわらず when おおやさん has been speaking casually all along?

おおや：キャロルちゃん、今日も元気だね。
キャロル：ありがとうございます。毎日楽しいですから。みんな小川さんやおおやさんの{a. せいです b. ためです c. おかげです}。
おおや：ハハハ、おせじも上手になったね。で、どうだった、日本語のスピーチは。
キャロル：う～ん、{a. けっこう b. なかなか c. かなり}まちがえたんですが、無事終わりました。ああ、私の日本語はまだまだなので、{a. もっと練習すべきだと思います。 b. もっと練習するべきだったと思います。 c. もっと練習しないといけないと思います。}
おおや：すごいねえ。私は{a. 日本人のくせに b. 日本人なのに c. 日本人にもかかわらず}漢字が書けなくなってきちゃったよ。としをとっちゃったのかなあ。


texts: Is the stroke order native Japanese speakers use for romaji different to those of native English speakers?

texts: Do native speakers of Japanese write romaji the same way native speakers of English would, or do they do it differently, possibly using the rules that they'd use for writing hiragana, katakana, and kanji?


texts: What does " 飲まずにはいられなかった" mean in this sentence?

texts: 私が部屋に入ったとき彼は水を飲んでいた。その顔の蒼さが、水を飲まずにはいられなかったことを示していた。


texts: I have a question about japanese literature

texts:
may you help me please?
I'm a 16 years old Persian poet and I'm learning japanese, now I'm trying to write a japanese poem in a Persian type of poem, my japanese level is intermediate and i don't really know if the poem that i wrote is good or not.
May you tell me if this type of poem sounds beautiful for Japanese people or not? And is it good to keep writing poems in this type or it sounds weird and not good?
Can you also tell me if the vocabulary and sentence forms that i used in this poem sound natural and they are good to use in a poem or they just look like a simple japanese text? I need your honest opinion
This is a part of my poem (it's my first poem in japanese) that is about : we people, are going wrong way, we forgot about goodness and we're lost in our sins
人らが忙しい(せわしい)、罪を犯すの
善良の意味、度忘れするよ
気づかぬうちに、見失なくなり
闇に迷って、嘆いてばかり
嘆きをやめて、光を探そう
帰り道はもう、遥かにあるよう


texts: Why is there no past tense in this sentences predicative?

texts:
今、来たところなので、まだその話は、聞いていません。
=> "Because I came around just now, I don't hear that story yet."

I'm confused because in the subclause 今、来たところなので there is past tense, and in the main clause there is present tense.
I know that in japanese it's a bit difficult with tenses for us and that they don't have the same understanding about tenses like we have in english etc..
But since 聞く doesn't seem to represent the result of "hearing", e.g. "knowing" http://jisho.org/search/kiku
I have trouble interpreting this construction.


texts: Is 「食品」 a shorter synonym of「食料品」or there is a difference in meaning between both words?

texts:
I found an excellent Q&A addressing the differences between 食料 and 食品. However, I don't know how the word 食料品 relates to 食料 and 食料品. I guess that 食品 is just a short form for 食料品, just as 警官 is a short form of 警察官. Is that right, or there is a difference between 食料品 and 食品?

よろしくお願いします！


texts: Meaning of 初デートの記念というやつです

texts:
To provide context, the two people were out on a date, and one offered to buy the other a bracelet, and she responded with.

「ではありがたくいただきましょうか。初{はつ}デートの記念{きねん}というやつです」

I can sort of understand that she is saying that this bracelet will act as something to 'celebrate' their first date, however, what exactly というやつ is doing is not clear to me.


texts: I want to know the difference between ここに and ここは

texts:
What is the difference between the following sentences:

  ここは　きょうしつ　です。
  これは　きょうしつ　です。
  ここに　きょうしつ　です。


texts:
I found this sentence, and I kinda understand the meaning and use of も, but I want to understand why it is used twice:

  人間{にんげん}もロボットも区別{くべつ}しない


texts: Struggling with identifying the 'correct' verb here (+intransitivity)

texts:
This sentence is giving me a hard time ...

  「下り坂を休まれちまった、残りは１０００と数百...」

(The sentence was uttered during a horse race when the speaker was passed by other competitors as he was saving his horse's energy while riding down a downward slope)

I was struggling with whether the relevant verb here is: 「休む」 or 「休まる」

I've read all of the questions and answers listed above, but can still not tell which verb is meant here.

Difference between intransitive and passive?

Passive-transitive-verb vs. Intransitive-verb （他動詞の受け身 vs. 自動詞)

Passive usage of 「済まされない」 in sentences

Besides the verb in question I am not sure why 「を」 is used here.

All in all my questions are:

Which verb is used here and if 「休まる」 is used here, how does its passive voice function (isn't it kind of passive in itself)?

Why is the 「を」particle used here and could other particles be used here as well?

Edit:

While searching around the internet for some further clues I came across this website:

https://sptt-latin-subjunctive.blogspot.com/2014/06/blog-post_4.html

My current level of Japanese is not high enough to get all of what is explained but I think one of the problems connected to my question is that 「休む」is sometimes 「自動詞」and sometimes 「他動詞」.
I think it is mentioned that 「を」is used with 「自動詞」in a specific way applying here as well; however I am still unsure if I could put this in my own words (and whether I understood that passage correctly).


texts: ～としたら What is the purpose in this context?

texts:
I found the following sentence

  たとえばさえりさんの頭が10ヶ月ずっと痛かったとしたら、それが通常になると思いますか？

From this article: http://liginc.co.jp/241030

Why does he opt to use ずっと痛かったとしたら rather than simply ずっと痛かったら ?

What is the nuance being communicated in cases like these?


texts: What is the origin and exact meaning of 馳せ参じる (はせさんじる)? From what I've heard, it's an old samurai saying, and it means something along the lines of "To go forward in haste". Anyone know?


texts: What's the reading of 傾げる? かしげる or かたげる?

texts:
I was watching http://youtu.be/FiqsDshUSDA?t=6m40s. At the 6th minute, he reads 傾げたく as かしげたく.

Jisho.org lists both readings.

Goo's dictionary gives a preference for the かしげる reading (insofar as かたげる lists かしげる as a meaning).

Another site claims that the かしげる reading is 一般 in contemporary Japanese.

My question is this:

Is it acceptable to pronounce it かたげる?
How is the difference characterized between using the two pronunciations (if it is acceptable to say it かたげる)? [nuance, region, antiquated sound]


texts: How does one express uncertainty when describing numbers e.g. 170-odd cases

texts:
I found myself stuttering when I tried to tell my boss that I had finished sending a-hundred-some-odd emails yesterday.
I've ask a similar question on HiNative a long time ago, and here I quote the answer I received:

十何人は10〜19人の間です
十数人はおおよそ10〜19人の間です
何十人は10〜99人までのことを言います

Following this logic, I reckon saying 百七十何通 might be it.
However, somehow this does not ring a bell at all.
Is there no equivalent to this expression in Japanese?


texts:
I tweet in Japanese every once in awhile, sometimes to Japanese people and sometimes to all of my followers.

I haven't really been able to figure it out, so how does politeness work on Twitter? Some people tweet in 丁寧語{ていねいご}, others don't. Wouldn't it be rude to not use 丁寧語 when many of your followers could be older / socially higher?

Also, I've encountered this weird phenomena that when I tweet to someone in 丁寧語 they tend to respond without it, but if I tweet to someone with no 丁寧語 they tend to respond with it. Is this because I'm somehow establishing the respect hierarchy with my initial tweet in the conversation, or because I just really suck at this and always pick the wrong thing to use?

I'm aware there's not really an established rule for politeness on the internet, but if there are any guidelines or ideas I could keep in mind, that'd be pretty nice to hear.


texts: What's the proper form (formal/informal) to use when speaking to others online?

texts:
I should preface this by saying that I myself am fairly young (a teenager) and speak primarily to other young people (while I may not know their exact age, it's safe to assume the other people I speak to are either teenagers themselves or adults slightly older than me who have not stated their age). I use Twitter as a platform to speak to Japanese people, and generally in replying to their posts I am talking about media, art, etc. and am not trying to say anything particularly meaningful.
That said, which is the proper way to speak under these circumstances-- formally or informally? Most of these people are not ones with whom I'd spoken to privately before, but because of how communication online is facilitated I am a little shaky on whether speaking formally would come across as excessive or whether speaking informally would come off as rude. I see replies to Tweets in Japanese in both formal and informal form, so is it just a matter of choice?

Tl;dr use of formal/informal conjugation in online interactions in Japanese seems inconsistent to me, so I'm not sure which I should use.

In response to a post like "最近僕は描くことを考えるときに悲しくてなる", would it be better to reply "[name]さんの絵が本当に大好きだよ！" or "[name]さんの絵が本当に好きです。"


texts:
This is taken from one of the mindless pop songs I shouldn't even be listening to:

  なんてったって　ラッキー！

I know what なんて and ラッキー mean, of course, but I can't figure out in a way that makes sense to me what the contracted forms after なんて are. Any help?


texts: What does のに mean at the end of this sentence?

texts:
忘れてて良いのに

I understand this as: "You should forget about it"

But what does のに do?


texts: What's the difference between ともあろうものが and まじき？

texts: Both ともあろうものが and まじき seem to be used for say that a person in that position shouldn't act in a certain way because it is not appropriate. However, I'm not sure if I understood them correctly. Could somebody provide me some examples to grasp the difference existing?


texts: Is the word ムキムキ a deliberate visual pun?

texts:
I recently learned the word ムキムキ and what instantly struck me was how it appears to be some kind of a visual pun.

ム representing a flexed arm

キ representing a classic barbell

Together they appear to be a set of arms exercising which seems appropriate considering the word means muscular/brawny. Is this just a coincidence?

I have found one blog post which seems to suggests it comes from the German word 'Muskel' but the phonetic translation seems to be quite different.


texts: Could you please help me break this sentence down?

texts:
日本の英語教育がゴミということに気づかされた。
I know the vocabulary but I don't understand what is "という" doing there. Also, I would like to know what form is 気づく using. I went through all my notes but couldn't find anything.
Finally, if it's not too much to ask, could you please correct my English if I got anything wrong? Thank you in advance.


texts: How to parse the following から and is the もとで a noun?

texts:
The following sentence appears on a page in my book:

  悪夢から一夜明け、アインのもとで訓練を重ねる日々が始まった。

I think the above から has the meaning of "after"; but the suspicious possibility of the から being a questioning か with the suffix of ら niggles at the back of my mind. So I must ask, is it parsed as から or is it a questioning か + ら suffix?

Secondary Example of ら-Suffix

  (Found on Jishio.org)

  諸君らのたゆまぬ努力と労働によって、ついに我らがアジトが完成した！！

Jishio.org has various definitions on もと, however; I decided the following definition of もと is the most applicable to my sentence based on context (アインのもとで訓練 = ...training under Ein...):

  Noun

  under (guidance, supervision, rules, the law, etc.)often のもとに or のもとで

Is the reason the dictionary claims のもとで/もと is a noun because the given definition of "under" can be loosely considered a 'place' in the physical direction sense, or is it a cross-language-barrier issue (I.E. considered a noun in one language but not the other)?


texts:
Specifically, in the expression

好きなんだ (I love you)

why not just say

好きだ

or

好きです

?


texts:
今月の初旬。士道と精霊たちとの間にある経路が狭窄してしまい、霊力の循環が阻害されたことにより、士道は霊力を暴走させてしまっていたのである。
皆のおかげでどうにか事なきを得たものの、その一件以来、琴里は今まで以上に士道の身体に気を配るようになっていたのだ。

My grammar book says 「ようになっている」 means “something is designed to have a specific function”. For example, 火事が起こると、このドアは自動的に閉まるようになっている。
But in this context, that meaning doesn’t apply.
So how should I understand the 「ようになっている」 ? I would expect ようになった, which indicates some change of a habitual behavior.


texts:
For the life of me I cannot track down the bolded word in Jisho. I expected it to be the adverbial form of an い-adjective, but ぐろい is not listed (just グロい, which seems wrong in the context).

  空は青ぐろく、一面の星がまたたいていました。<- Excerpt from よだかの星

I don't like to ask for a single word to be translated like this... but since I can't even find it (or any possible dictionary forms like ぐろくる, ぐろい, etc) in a dictionary, I'm hoping there might be something more to learn here.


texts: In animes only, I have heard repeating words like 俺は. For example: 「俺は、俺は」. Question is, what does this try to achieve? If memory serve me right, I recall it only being used by someone in a very bad state of mind. For example: 死んだら、俺は俺は, and the sentence never complete. Literal translation gives "if you die, I, I", which in english at least doesn't makes sense. So what does that sentence mean in japanese?


texts:
The expressions/phrases that involve 気 (ie: 気になる, 気にする, 気がついた, etc) are pretty well documented online. However, it seems difficult to find how to use 気 outside of these. For example, I recently encountered:

逃げる気ですね、優希ちゃん

(saying that Yuuki seems to be running away with the game)

何になる気だ

(asking "what will you become?" after another character says they will lose their human form)
In the first example, 気 to be functioning a bit like みたい or よう, while in the second, I'm not exactly sure what it is doing.
While I'd like an answer addressing what is being expressed in these examples, I would also like a more general coverage of how 気 is used outside of expressions.


texts: How to use the pattern に行く to express several purposes

texts:
I was reviewing the stem + に行く like for example:

  うちへ食べに行く.

But, how about expressing several purposes like:

  I'm going home to eat and take a shower.

I'm not really sure how to add several purposes with this pattern, or if its even possible.

Is the next example even grammatically correct?

  うちへ食べとシャワーを浴びに行く。

Thank you beforehand.


texts: What is the difference between 「どんぶり」and「ちゃわん」

texts:
I understand both are some kind of bowl but I would appreciate if someone could explain about the uses for each one.

Can a "ちゃわん" be used for cooked rice?
Can a "どんぶり" be used for ramen?


texts:
鯖を読む would be naively translated as "Reading a mackerel". Weblio describes it as metaphorically meaning to misrepresent a number, such as their age.

jisho.org says that as well as meaning "to read", it used to mean "to count":

  to count

  See also さばを読む, now mostly used in idioms

Should I put this down to verbs not having a one-to-one correspondence in meanings between Japanese and English?


texts: Are there more terms similar to 上京 or 来阪 for going to Japanese cities?

texts:
I've seen that 上京する "going to Tokyo", 来阪する "going to Osaka" are used to refer to visiting these cities.

What other terms are in use for visiting other cities? Which of them are commonly understood?


texts: what is the usage of the でーparticle in this sentence?

texts:
context:the article which i was reading is about a female model who has been doing photography sessions with certain companies.

しばらく就職活動で忙しくなるということで、このタイミングで撮影できたのはラッキーでした<

what i don't understand it is the usage of the でーparticle in this sentence, as you may have noticed already the でーparticle is used in the above sentence "3 times" so that got me a little kinda of confused.
i'd translate it like...

it was lucky that we could made the shooting by this timing because she was bussy by her job-searching during a time<

but i don't know if a got the right meaning of the sentence so i would be very grateful with you guys if you can help me with this sentence.
助けてください


texts: Is the use of 後で fading from usage in Japanese?

texts:
When first studying Japanese, I learned that "after" in Japanese is 後で.  But asking around and looking at regular usage, a lot of Japanese will tell me a sentence like the following is slightly unnatural:

  映画を見た後で家に帰ってきました。

I actually tried making a few sentences with 後で and I kept getting corrected to either drop the で or use 後に.  So, is 後で being used less these days?  I see plenty of examples being used in the Tanaka Corpus, but that's a bit old.


texts: What is the difference between 「年をとっている人」and 「お年寄り」?

texts:
Consider these sentences:

  とし を とっている toshi wo totteiru

means 'old', and

  その だんせい は おとしより です。
  sono dansei wa otoshiyori desu.

means 'The man is old.'

The website I'm learning Japanese on gave me these sentences, why are there two different ways old is said and what is the difference?


texts: 野菜をよく洗って、均等に切って、オーブンで焼きます。Is 均等 working here as a noun or adjective?


texts:
What would be the differences if I were to say 間違いない and 間違いなく? I ask that because the 無い suffix is usually explained as equivalent to the English "there is no" or "does not exist".

I've seen 無くtranslated as "without", but I haven't gotten confirmation on that. It's also taught that attaching く to adjectives makes them adverbs, Fast, quick, early = 早い and then 早く = quickly.

Where on earth do 無い and 無く fit into this?


texts: What does it mean a form to be "continuative" in japanese?

texts:
Sometimes here I've been taught that some form is "continuative". I read some webpages to try to understand what it means, but I'm not getting it. For example, this webpage

http://www.epochrypha.com/japanese/materials/verbs/teform.html

says the "te" form is a continuative form because "it forms a subordinate clause that requires a main clause for completion." What is the main clause this clause is subordinated when you use it as imperative? . That webpage also says the main clause can be implied but I dont see which one it could be in cases like Tabete kudasai.


texts: What is the difference between all the words for tools / devices?

texts:
There is too many words for 'tool' that I am having hard time figuring out when to use which, or if some of them are just synonyms, meaning essentially the same thing. So far I know at least the following words (with dictionary definitions, and example sentences with rough translations from Tanaka Corpus):

  器具{きぐ} = utensil; apparatus; implement; device; gadget

  e.g. 「その学校は最新の体育器具を備えている。」 = "That school is equipped with the latest gymnastics apparatus."

  道具{どうぐ} = tool; implement; instrument; utensil; apparatus; device

  e.g. 「それを開ける道具が必要です。」 = "We need a tool to open it with."

  器械{きかい} = instrument; appliance; apparatus

  e.g. 「血圧計は大切な検査器械です。」 = "The sphygmomanometer is an important diagnostic instrument."

  装置{そうち} = equipment; installation; apparatus; device

  e.g. 「これは電気を作る装置だ。」 = "This device produces electricity."

  用具{ようぐ} = tools; implements

  e.g. 「ペンや鉛筆は筆記用具である。」 = "Pens and Pencils are the tools of writing."

Judging by the amount of example sentences I found for each of these words, 用具 and 装置 are not very common words(?).

There is this Japanese dictionary that discusses the differences between some of the words (http://dictionary.goo.ne.jp/leaf/thsrs/6332/m0u/), and if I understood correctly the meanings are:

  道具 means widely used tools, and generally means tools with simple structure that can be used with hands (手で扱う簡単な構造のもの). An instrument.
  機械 or 器械 are used when referring to tools / devices with more complicated structure.
  用具 and 道具 can often be used interchangeably, but 用具 is mostly being used to refer to sports and studying (学習) tools. An instrument.
  器具 refers to type of 器械 with simple structure and small scale. E.g. gas, electric and medical equipment, and うつわもののこと?. An appliance.

Firstly, if 器具 is defined as above, why is it used in the example sentence 「その学校は最新の体育器具を備えている」? Wouldn't 用具 be more appropriate in this context? Are 機械 and 器械 synonyms, i.e. can they be used interchangeably? Also, how does 装置 fit in all of this?

I hope someone can explain this, as I find it confusing.

EDIT: And now I found another word that seems to have quite similar definition compared to the others:

  設備{せつび} = equipment; device; facilities; installation.

  e.g. 「この学校は暖房設備がない。」 = "This school has no heating."


texts:
In this sentence:
"Toukyou ni hikkoshite, go-nen ni naru, "
=> Since moving to Tokyo, it has been [it comes out to] five years.

From this site:
https://www.satorireader.com/articles/sanzu-no-kawa-episode-2-edition-m

て-form is interpreted as if it was てから. Is this possible, and if so, usual?
I do see て-form quite frequently when sequencing actions and/or indicating a causality (e.g. 家族に会えなくて、寂しいです). But so far, when explicitely expressing "since" から had always been used.
It would be nice if someone could explain this phenomenon above, or at least point me to some ressources :)


texts: Which is better for a sales budget: 予算, 推計, or something I haven't even thought of yet?

texts:
I'm writing a short (3-5 page) business plan in Japanese.
I'd like to include an "estimate" of the sales for the next 3 years.

The question: what would you choose for the graph titled:

  2012 Fiscal Year Sales Projections

  2012年度の売上高の________

?

I've seen words like 目標 and ノルマ used to refer to a sales target/sales "budget" -- e.g. how much sales a company expects a person, team, or division to achieve.

I use 予算 more frequently to discuss a client's budget (i.e. for spending, not for earning) for a project, as in the construct:

  ご予算はどのぐらいをお考えですか。

  About how much are you thinking to budget for this project?

But I've also heard 予算 used to discuss the "budget" that a company must achieve in terms of sales.

That said, something like 推計 translates nicely in English as "estimate" or "estimation", and given that I'm trying to plan a business sales plan for 2.5 years from now, I'd say "estimate" in English is a pretty good sense of what I'm doing -- it's just a few stages short of a "SWAG" :).

Any feedback is appreciated.


texts:
専売特許に違背せる物品　infringements on patents
和英字書を編集せるはヘボン博士をもって嚆矢とす。Dr. Hepburn was the first to compile a Japanese-English dictionary.

Is it する・す mizenkei followed by り rentaikei (here), or something else?


texts: What is the appropriate size of hiragana in proportion to kanji?

texts: I remember being told that hiragana should be the same size as kanji when writing them by hand. However, there are times when I see handwritten kana that are much smaller than the kanji. Does this carry any nuance or is there any purpose to it?


texts: 好き is an adjective in Japanese but in English it would be a verb. Why does does it become an adjective instead of a verb?


texts: What might be the meaning of the word or phrase 'こよかな'

texts:
I cannot really comprehend koyokana in the following short sentence:
shoppu itte koyokana.

What meaning does koyokana give to the "shoppu itte" part.
How could I divide koyokana in mind:
koyo ka na  or ko yo ka na


texts: Difference between が, の, and no particle

texts:
Take a look at the lyrics of テルーの唄:

  人影絶えた野の道
  ...
  虫の囁く草原

As I understand it, both 人影絶えた and 虫の囁く are relative clauses that modify 野の道 and 草原, respectively. But why don't we use the particle が here like:

  人影が絶えた野の道
     ...
     虫が囁く草原

When should I use の or omit the particle?


texts: Why do children call themselves by their name?

texts:
Why is that young children call themselves by their first name when referring to themselves? This question is similar to Speaking in the third person; however, young children do not understand the connotations of speaking in the third person.

My fiance's cousin who is six refers to herself as ゆりちゃん. Is the only reason she calls herself by her own name because everyone calls her ゆりちゃん when talking to her? When do children stop referring to themselves in the third person and why?


texts: Why does this word have the registered trademark symbol ® on it?

texts:
On the weather app on my phone, the word 体感温度 has a ® next to it.  Here's a screenshot:

And here's the corresponding shot in English:

Am I correct in believing that what is really trademarked is just the English "REALFEEL", and not the Japanese?  If so, why keep the ® in the Japanese (and presumably other languages') translation?


texts:
How to say: I want to be good at what I choose to do?

I know some of the individual words/expressions needed for the sentence:
1)want to be good at: 得意になりたい or 上手になりたい
2)choose to do something: なになにを決める

But how would one say this structure in Japanese: things I choose to do?

Much appreciated!


texts: How to translate "objective" as in name of section in a resume

texts: Usually resumes contain the "Objective" paragraph which provides the summary of things a person thinks he does best and what he wants to do. Will simply using 目的{もくてき} work or there is a more specific term.


texts: Do I have to use nan, ka, or both to ask a question?

texts:
I'm going through Genki, and for questions, it gives the example,

りゅうがくせいです (I am an international student) can be turned into a question by adding ka to the end.

りゅうがくせいですか (Are you an international student?)

But then it starts saying that you use nan desu ka to make a question, like in,

せんこうはなんですか (What is your major?)

So when do I use na desu ka, or just ka, or just nan, or what?


texts: Having Trouble Identifying This Character (or Characters?)

texts:
I've been staring at this part of a section I'm trying to read, and it's the latter part that has me thoroughly stumped:

While I can suss out the first two characters (pretty sure it's "倒壊"), I can't figure out what is going on after that. It looks like two more kanji, but that just gives me something like "寸先" which, as far as I know, doesn't make much sense given the "な" at the end, and a person's name afterward. That gives me three characters that don't fit with each other.

I think I need to get a different brain and pair of eyes to take a look, and give mine a break...

Edit: for context's sake, there is a loud, ringing noise (with "されて" tacked on to the onomatopoeia) going on that is affecting the person, and in that sentence "理性" comes right before "倒壊", so...perhaps the noise is so loud that it's making the person feel like they're losing their mind?

After that, the point of view moves to someone else's perspective, so it's just this sentence describing a loud, ringing noise, and how it must be affecting this person.

Hopefully that helps.


texts: Are there any terms used to refer to people of the anime/manga fandom in a non-derogatory manner?

texts:
In the Western world, anime/manga fans are commonly referred to as otaku (Hiragana: おたく, Katakana: オタク). [1] In Japanese however, this is a (mildly) derogatory word for a geek, nerd, or any person who has obsessive interests "to the exclusion of such things as social interaction".[2]

Does the Japanese language have any terms to refer to people of the anime/manga fandom in a non-derogatory manner?


texts: What is the meaning of うなじや in the following passage?

texts:
雪乃の汗で濡れ光っている白いうなじや、上衣の合わせ目から覗くほっそりとした鎖骨は、清楚な容貌とは裏腹に淫靡な色香を漂わせている。

what does うなじや mean here  ?

  清楚な容貌とは裏腹に淫靡な色香を漂わせている。

Also what does 裏腹に refer to  in this context?


texts: 乗り換え verbal noun does not take -する, instead 乗り換える?

texts:
Is anyone able to explain why the verbal noun 乗り換え does not take -suru, but instead becomes 乗り換える?

Cheers,

Luke


texts: Why is を used in this situation? 私は先生がネコを好きだと思います

texts:
私は先生がネコを好きだと思います

Why を and not が twice?


texts: Using とる to say I took a picture of my dog in the park

texts:
I see the を particle is used with the verb, but I don't know how it works in the sentence. Is it:

わたしはこうえんでわたしのいぬのしゃしんをとりました。

Or:

わたしはこうえんでわたしのいぬをとりました。


texts: How 出 + noun + して works in this sentence

texts:
ここ最近 出署してない

What exactly is this sentence trying to say? I realise that 出 is supposed to be a verb here, but why is it placed before 署, a noun, and not after? And what is the してない portion trying to represent, by being tied to 署?


texts: Curious about the phrase "しまいと" in a book I'm reading

texts:
I'm re-reading/translating a section of 金原ひとみ's 星へ落ちる for a translation course I'm taking and ran into the following sentence:

  彼がこの家にいない時、私は彼があの人と食事しているところとあの人とセックスしているところを想像しまいと、延々タバコを吸っては自分を無意味なものへ変えていく。

I've never run into this usage of しまい before and am curious about why it's being used here. A quick web search brings up mostly the phrase 「しようとしまいと」, so I've parsed it in this sentence as the equivalent of 「しない」, meaning that it's the -まい form of する and making the sentence read as something along the lines of "When he isn't home, if I don't imagine him sharing a meal or having sex with that person, I endlessly smoke cigarettes and drift into a meaningless existence."

So I guess my questions are:

Did I parse this sentence correctly?
Is there any particular reason for this usage of -まい? The novel consists mostly of a woman's inner dialogue and isn't at all formal, so this felt a little out of place.


texts: In terms of comma placement, does the following rough translation match the Japanese?

texts:
In terms of comma placement, does the following rough English translation match the Japanese?

  厄介よ、　あの国のマスコミは

  How bothersome, that country's mass media.

I know that in terms of proper English, a better translation would be:

  The mass media of that country is certain to be a bother.

However I want to know if there is another way to translate the Japanese so that the comma is also used in the English translation.


texts:
I looked up あつい, and the top two results were different words with the same pronunciation but similar though distinct meanings:

熱い: hot, as in "stove"
暑い: hot, as in "summer"

Do I understand correctly that these words are simultaneously heterographic and synonymous? Wouldn't one be unable to convey the difference without writing them down?


texts: Well just as the title indicates, I've heard in a game the word "土日" used and translated as "weekend", and wanting to learn the word since I realized I didn't know it yet, I checked on Jisho, but the common word given for weekend is "週末" ? Which one is more correct, and are there some specific settings or circumstances when one would be used over the other ?


texts: Why are words sometimes broken into syllables when said?

texts:
This occurrence appears to happen when the speaker is trying to sound cute, or is possibly under the influence of something...  They break one of the words into syllables or characters, with pauses in between where they broke up the word.

For an archetypal example:

  ご飯にする？お風呂にする？それとも、あ・た・し ？
  "Do you want dinner? Or do you want a bath? Or do you want me?"

Or, when one character confesses their love to another, you might hear だ・い・す・き da-i-su-ki "I-love-you".


texts: Does the も particle in this sentence have the role as は?

texts:
ハグリッドの声がくぐもっていた。
  「淋しいといけないから、テディベアの縫いぐるみも入れてやった。」

Does the も particle in this sentence have the role as は, subject particle ? Then why is 入れて here still in active form ?


texts: understanding the particle と in the following sentence: 人々が家路へと急ぐごろ

texts:
I don't understand the use of と in the following sentence.

人々が家路へと急ぐごろ

I don't understand why と is used at all, since the particle へ is already used in the sentence.

Right now I have only seen と been used as a particle indicating "and" or as a quoting particle. Is there another way this particle can be used?


texts: I often see people use in twitter smth like「ｺﾞｸﾘ」, usually in the end of the sentence. What does it mean?


texts: In cases like 何でも and 何も, are they considered words on their own, or are they considered words + じょし? I've been told that it's one word, but sometimes the particle is separated like in: どこへもいきません。If it is a word plus a particle, why are the particles でも, か, and も used, what do they mean, and how do they change the interrogative? Also, how would I say "I want to go everywhere" in Japanese? I was told that どこも行きたい is incorrect, but I don't know how else to phrase it. Doesn't どこも mean "nowhere" when the verb is negative, and "everywhere" when the verb is positive?


texts:
How to parse たすけにいって in 子猫をたすけにいって 子猫にかまれたらしい

I think I understand the overall meaning, "It seems that he went to save the kitten and got bitten" but i want to understand more about the に いって.


texts: What is the difference between 要求事項 and 要件?

texts:
What could be the difference between 要求事項｛ようきゅうじこう｝ and 要件｛ようけん｝?

And what would make more sense, 法的要求事項 or 法的要件. Are they the same thing?


texts: What nuances do ~というところにあります and ~のであって add?

texts:
There's a long sentence describing the differences between transitive and intransitive verbs in a Japanese grammar book:
自動詞と他動詞の違いは、自動詞の場合は、自然力の影響などで出来事が起こったのであって、そこには人間などの意志 (意図) は含まれていない、ととらえられているのに対し、他動詞の場合は、人間などが意志 (意図) 的にその出来事を引き起こした、ととらえられているというところにあります。
First, what is the nuance of ending this sentence with ~というところにあります instead of a simpler ~ことです, for example?  It translates literally to "The difference is in the place of ..." which does make it sound "generalized", but I'm not sure if that's correct.  What might a natural-sounding English translation be?
Second, in the section describing intransitive verbs, what's the nuance of 「起こったのであって」, versus something simpler like 「起こって」?  My best guess is it's the continuative form of 「のである」 with the explanatory の, but I'm not sure.
Thanks!!


texts:
ろ seems to be a common imperative conjugation of verbs.
なさい seems to act in a similar way (maybe not so demanding) but it is also described as an imperative form:

なさい【為さい】
expression
do ... (usually written in kana) (imperative form often used after the -masu stem of a verb) (see also: なさる)

Whats the difference between ろ and なさい?
For instance we can have 食べろ and 食べなさい - how do they differ?


texts:
柔術 is often rendered in English-speaking countries (and France, Germany, and Brazil) as "jiu-jitsu" or "ju-jitsu", even though the actual Hepburn romanization is "jūjutsu".

Wiktionary's page on 柔術 writes:

  柔術 (hiragana じゅうじゅつ, rōmaji jūjutsu, historical hiragana じうじゆつ)

The historical hiragana here explains how we get the "jiu" in "jiu-jitsu", but then shouldn't it be jiujiutsu, not jiujitsu? Does rendering it as "jitsu" have any basis in historical Japanese pronunciation or orthography, or is it a corruption by speakers of European languages?


texts:
Context: a character of a manga is being interviewed in the extra section at the end of the manga. She receives a question about a chapter in which she had sex with another character after talking to him.

  第１７話のあの時ですが…　ぶっちゃけ感じてました？

I know that ぶっちゃける means to speak frankly, but what is the meaning of ぶっちゃけ感じてました? Are they asking her if she felt that the boy was sincere/honest? Or is it a question about her own sincerity? Thank you for your help!


texts: What does the phrase 「全部ダメダメなんでしょ？」mean?

texts:
These are part of the lyrics to a song and I just can't seem to figure out what it means and what each of the words mean. Google translates it as "I guess they are all bad." but trying to pick it apart I can't figure out what each individual word means. Particularly the 「ダメダメ」 part which just translates to "dame"...

I know 「全部」 means "all". Just a single 「ダメ」 means "no good". I'm just not getting how all of it together means "I guess they are all bad."

Can someone help me by breaking this sentence down please?


texts: I need help identifying two words from this song

texts:
I have a song which I need help identifying the words to. This is the song: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8o1BUubUhAY

At the start the word which he repeats that sounds like 'batsu(?)'.

At 4:19 and 4:47 the word which he shouts that sounds like 'kutose(?)'.

What are these words which he is saying?


texts: What is the common perception of 藪医者? Or how to tackle with amiguity here?

texts:
In a spoken story (action in late-Edo, early-Meiji period) there was a passage describing someone's life situation (a street peddler selling dubious medicines) using the following words:

  この人は藪医者と言いたいが、
  は(っ)ちごぐらいでさか(い)やりません。

The meaning of the second part was unclear. At the time I was trying to analyze what was being said, a native Japanese speaker claimed it was 破竹ぐらいで食べられません however I could no confirm any other metaphorical usage of 破竹 except for [破竹]{はちく}の[勢]{いきお}い. And this sentence did not make much sense to me.

Now something made me revisit the notes and I started to wonder about this comparison. Even if the second part is incomprehensible, what might be the reason to compare someone (selling snake oil) to a quack? They sound similar, no use for が.

Is there any preconception of 藪医者? That you could negate to describe someone's situation? Like "rich" for example (I doubt though). As I understand the concept of saying と言いたいが here is to express something in line with "If I called him X, it would mean he is rich, but he was not."

Even if I have no way to get back to the original story, how to tackle with what I have? Are there any clues in either in the meaning of 藪医者 or the phrase wording?


texts:
Consider:

  [A] 猫が好きだ

To me this means [A']"I like cats."

Contrast this to:

  [B] 猫は好きだ

To me this means [B']"I like cats (among other animals)"

I based my understanding of [B] from  Derek Schaab's answer to "What is the difference between “に” and “には”?":

  You'll see that while in the first sentence there is only one scope, the second actually has two:

    (私【わたし】は）彼【かれ】と会【あ】わなかった。

    Scope (implied): I
    Statement: Didn't meet with him.

    (私【わたし】は）彼【かれ】とは会【あ】わなかった。

    Outer scope (implied): I
    Inner scope (explicit): with him
    Statement: Didn't meet.

  Now as for what effect this has, the は often adds a hint of comparison or contrast, as repecmps mentioned. While both of the above sentences translate to, "I didn't meet with him," the second hints that although you didn't meet with him, you may have met with someone else.

So I deduced that は in [B] can perform that disambiguative role.

Now [A] can be interpreted to mean "I like cats" because of the implicit first person as in (私は)猫が好きだ

Now let's make 私 explicit:

  [C]私は猫が好きだ - [C']"I like cats"

Now it is explicit that I am doing the liking.

Now reconsider [B]猫は好きだ:

Based on [C], I have another way to interpret [B]:

So now 猫は好きだ can mean [B'']"The cat likes (an unspecified object)"

(Questions) What is going on? Who is doing the liking and who is being liked in each case? Are [B'] and [B''] both valid? What am I doing and understanding wrong? If there is indeed ambiguity, how can I resolve it?

EDIT:

Can I resolve it by introducing another は element? E.g.

  私は猫は好きです。 "I(thematic) like cats(disambiguated/anaphoric)"

Is it acceptable to have two はs in a sentence as above?


texts: Is there a specific reading for 常訓 and 常音?  I see this in an electronic dictionary to indicate on'yomi and kun'yomi reading of kanjis. What I struggle to find is the meaning of the combination of both kanjis (常 + 音 or 訓), is it meant to be read as a single word (常訓 and 常音) or as separate kanjis? like 常訓 meaning maybe つね くん, regular kun'yomi?


texts: Should the color of Japanese stoplights really translate to "red / yellow / blue"?

texts:
I'm interested in the translation of colors. As an initial point of reference, I'd like to ask about the color of stoplights in the USA and Japan.

In Japan, the color for "go" is said to be "青い". In the USA, it is said to be "green". The translation of "青い" in Japanese / English dictionaries is "blue". But, to begin with, every English native speaker cannot help but perceive "blue" slightly differently. On top of that, every Japanese native speaker cannot help but perceive "青い" slightly differently. In my opinion, the translation of color really might be difficult. But, I'm not sure. The color of stoplights will be my initial frame of reference.

  Can a person who understands what English native speakers generally agree is "green" and "blue" look at a Japanese stoplight and tell me if it is, in their opinion and ignoring the fact that Japanese native speakers call it "青い”, really "blue"? Or, is it really "green"?

thanks.


texts: 「～にわたって」の使い方を説明してくれる方がいますか？

texts: 「～にわたって」を使う問題をやってみましたがなぜかほとんど間違えました。なぜ間違えたのか説明してくれませんか？教科書の写真（黄色い丸は僕が選んだ選択肢です）


texts: ことか to place strong emphasis on something?

texts:
According to this website (http://www.jlptsensei.com/grammar-lesson/kotoka/)
"ことか is used to place strong emphasis on something." This is the only explanation I could find. I was wondering if that is a common expression  and in what context would you use it? Thank you.


texts: Let say when eating with someone, if I wanted to ask him/her: "have you eaten enough?", can I say “十分でしか”? Thanks.


texts:
For example if I wanted to say "I called bob", would it be something like "私は Bob の電話を呼びました"?

That sentence feels a little awkward and I'm not sure how to properly phrase it.