texts:
What does 形から入る mean? What contexts may it be used in? I can't find the phrase in my dictionary.

I ran across this in an anime. Transcription of the relevant parts:

  [麻]{ま}[音]{おん}の父さん　「本当にこの子は『漫画家になりたい』言うたり、『ぬいぐるみの中に入る人になりたい』言うたり、あれはいつだったかな」

  麻音の母さん　「小３の時ですよ、突然…手品師になるからシルクハットとタキシードを買えって言って」

  父さん　「そうだった！とりあえずこの子は[形]{かたち}から[入る]{はいる}からな」

  麻音の友だち１　「ははは…なにそれ？」

  麻音の友だち２　「夢、変わりすぎ！」

  父さん　「まあ、何でもいい。自分で選んだ道だな。麻音が自分自身のなりたいものになればいい」

Translation attempt:

  'Really, this girl used to say things such as "I want to become
  a mangaka", "I want to become someone who is inside stuffed
  animals"... when was that again?'

  'When she was in third grade. She just suddenly demanded a silk hat
  and a tuxedo because she wanted to become a magician.'

  'That's right. Anyway, she ???'

  '[laughter] What on earth?'

  'Your dreams [of future] are too strange!'

  'Well, anything works for us, if it's a path she's taken by herself.
  She may become anything she wants to.'


texts:
受験生は夏休みが勝負なのよ?

So since there is no verb here, how do the は and が function here?


texts: ふるさと (home town, birthplace) uses which kanji - 古里 or 故郷?

texts:
I've noticed that there are 2 ways (at least, maybe more) of writing ふるさと (home town, birthplace):

古里
故郷

Am I correct? Are they interchangeable? Is one used more often than another?


texts: Why does 「でならない」 not mean "does not become"?

texts:
Apparently the phrase でならない means something like "unable to suppress". For example, in this sentence, 残念{ざんねん}でならない means, "can't help but be disappointed":

  特{とく}に最近{さいきん}の若{わか}い人{ひと}は教育{きょういく}制度{せいど}の影響{えいきょう}か、早{はや}くからもう自分{じぶん}の将来{しょうらい}はこのくらいのものだと見切{みき}りをつけて、それ以上{いじょう}は望{のぞ}まないと言{い}うような考{かんが}えの人{ひと}が少{すく}なからずいるのは残念{ざんねん}でならない。

But I just can't see how でならない can be parsed that way. It's not a double negative or anything, and it just seems to be the negative form of なる.

Recently, in response to another question I asked, I was reminded how なる is attached to words to mean "to become". So, I would translate 残念{ざんねん}でならない as "not become disappointed", which would completely reverse the meaning of the sentence above.

What is the logic behind 残念{ざんねん}でならない meaning "can't help but be disappointed", and why does it not mean "does not become disappointed"? How can I differentiate this phrase from instances where ならない simply means "does not become"?


texts: What is the difference between  赤｛あか} and 赤色｛あかいろ｝？


texts: My friend heard this in an anime. I can understand 複雑な波長パターン or something along these lines, but just 複雑な波長? Like, you wouldn't say "complex mass" or "complex speed", right? (unless maybe complex numbers are involved but that's another thing) Does "complex wavelength" make more sense in Japanese? I get that they wanted to say that the wavelength is difficult to analyze, but is it a correct way to say that?


texts:
Possible Duplicate:
  Difference between ゆくすえ, しょうらい and みらい

Is there any difference between these two words? I first came across 未来 in a PS3 game (FFXIII-2) and after a bit of digging, I found it in a manga and also some songs. So I get the feeling that 未来 is used more in fictional material or art. Is my theory correct? Though I get the feeling that Im badly mistaken.


texts:
So in this game there is a line about how some object is called a dragon egg and inside it seems there are these magic items that god placed inside.  The part of the sentence that I do not get is お使いになられた.  お使い is a messenger and なられた is the passive form of なる.  It sounds like the magic items became the messenger.  Maybe I am misunderstanding the use of the passive verb here.  Could someone clarify that section this to me?

  あれは竜の卵と呼ばれるもので中に神さまがお使いになられた魔法の品が入っておるそうな。


texts:
The sentence in question:
久宝まぶねこども園の五十嵐宏枝園長に話を聞いてみると、最近の子どもたちは、家でおんぶをしてもらうことが少なく、おんぶのされ方が分からないそうです。

For full context:
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/news/web_tokushu/2018_0521.html?utm_int=news_contents_tokushu_004

My attempt at translation:
"...when we asked for their story, it seemed that the children of the recent past, because at home they are rarely given piggbackrides, don't know the way of being taken on the back."

I interpreted され as the stem of the passive voice of する. Therefore I looked at され方 as a composition of され and ほう and came up with the above translation.
But since I basically just guessed at this, I wanted to ask for confirmation.


texts:
From WWWJDIC:

愛 【あい】 (n,n-suf) (See 愛する) love; affection;
恋 【こい】 (n) love; tender passion;

My understanding on affection, love and tender passion is like the following:

affection < love < tender passion

If I may line up all three in a spectrum in term of the strength of the emotion involved, I imagine 愛 covers the lower end of the spectrum while 恋 covers the higher end. The adjectives that are derived from these two nouns seem to conform to it:

愛しい 【いとしい】 (adj-i) lovely; dear; beloved; darling;
恋しい 【こいしい】 (adj-i) yearned for; longed for; missed;

However, when the two kanji characters are combined with 人 to refer to the person that is the target of each type of love:

愛人 【あいじん】 (n) lover; mistress;
恋人 【こいびと】 (n) lover; sweetheart;

Apparently the two 'loves' swap places, with my assumption being:

sweetheart < lover < mistress

What's going on? Am I not getting the nuances for both nouns for 'love' right?
N.B. I don't mind getting philosophical answers here so please go all out if you must ;)


texts: Can adverbs be connected with noun by の particle?

texts:
oshirase
今日は日本の授業がありません
私の女の子が熱が痛いですから... 学生たちのほかに調べてくださいね...お願いします...明日宿題は学校の後でSMP Regularの事務所でMr.Jayに取ってください. 月曜日Mr.Jayに出してください.

後で and 他に are adverbs in my dictionary. My teacher sent me this message which contain phrases of  "noun + の + adverbs". In this case does the の still mean "of"? Btw the part where she told me that her daughter is sick seems wrong. 熱が痛い??! Is it not 熱があります?! And I don't understand the 学生たちのほかに調べてくださいね part.


texts:
フラットな心じゃ処理できない

What does the じゃ mean? Is it a particle?


texts: I need help understanding the grammar in this sentence: 自分で言うのもなんだけど

texts:
I am still in the beginning stages of learning Japanese grammar and while I understand the meaning of the kanji I don't understand what のも means in the context of this sentence.

  自分で言うのも なんだ けど


texts:
My dictionary says 助動詞{じょどうし} means "auxiliary verb".  This sounds intuitively correct; 動詞 means verb, so 助動詞 sounds like a type of verb.

But the 助動詞「ない」 looks like an auxiliary adjective, not an auxiliary verb.

This is confusing.  I suppose I don't know exactly what a 助動詞 is.  Does it mean that ない is a type of verb?  That seems strange, because it doesn't look much like a verb.  Or is 助動詞 a wider category than just "auxiliary verbs"?  That seems strange, too, because they're called 動詞.

What exactly is ない?


texts: What is the term for two kanjis, that when written in the reverse order, have the same meaning? For example, "northeast". I have seen this situation occasionally.


texts:
I need some help reasoning out the implied meaning of を in a song lyric. The lines in question are:

何{なに}もかもが隠{かく}された　この世界{せかい}で生{い}きるよ 僕{ぼく}だけの輝{かがや}きを

I'm a little shaky on how を should be interpreted in cases like these where it just sort of trails off the sentence. What's a good way to interpret these situations for meaning? In what way is を showing that 輝{かがや}き is an object?


texts: Difference between "地主" and "家主", and their relationship with 不動産屋？

texts:
I just learned a new word, "地主{じぬし}, whose definition in my web dictionary, and paper dictionary, is landlord, land owner.

"家主{やぬし}" is surely the word that native English speakers would use for the landlord of the apartment where they live. I've never heard anything else.

Because "地" means "land, soil", is "地主" like the owner of a plot of land? Whether there is a house on that plot of land is not relevant?
Most "家主" work as employees for large companies that own buildings with apartments in them? In that, your typical "家主" does not own the apartments that they manage?
If so, then a 不動産屋 would introduce me to a 地主 to exchange cash for her / his land? I would be introduced to a 家主 to ask if it is ok to live in the apartments that he/she manages?

Am I correct about this?


texts: Is Emmerich's translation of 特に望みもなく in Yoshimono Banana's みずうみ correct?

texts:
I'm reading Yoshimoto Banana's みずうみ in Japanese, and I decided to refer to Emmerich's translation into English to make sure I was following the beginning correctly since I'm still an intermediate level reader. One sentence confused me greatly. The original Japanese reads

時間が止まっていて、特に望みもなく中島くんを見ている。

which I took to mean something like "Time is stopped, and I'm looking at Nakajima-kun, wanting nothing in particular." Or more literally, "with no particular desires."
However, Emmerich translates the same sentence as:
"Time has stopped, and I'm looking at Nakajima, and that's all I want."
Have I totally misunderstood the way that もなく is used here?
My translation and Emmerich's have very very different implications. I'm especially skeptical of my own, since it seems like a professional translator wouldn't want to completely change the meaning of a sentence like that.
In context, my version does make some sense, since the main character has just finished saying she's not really in love with Nakajima, so the sense of not wanting or expecting anything in particular seems appropriate. She has just said a few sentences earlier that

「それは恋というようなものよりも、もっとぎょっとするような驚きなのだ。」

which I take to mean (loosely) "Rather than something like love, it was more of a surprised/shocked feeling." But I can see that Emmerich's translation works in this context as well, just with a different meaning.


texts:
Im using an Anki deck to study vocabulary. It's translation for the sentence  私が手伝いましょう is "Can I help you?". Im a bit confused, as I see no question marker in that sentence. I would guess it's meaning to be "I (We?) will help you (us?)". I'm a bit confused since the sentence starts with 私が but ends with ましょう。Is this a common phrase or is the translation incorrect? I would appreciate any help in breaking down this sentence.

ありがとう。


texts: Unsure of this sentence; lack of verb is throwing me off here

texts:
I can't properly understand this sentence

  そして, そのマントは 他人には決して見えないことを, 彼女たちは知っていた.

I think it means:

And the girls knew, those cloaks (would reveal/showed) to strangers something they've never seen? And those cloaks (showed) something to strangers the girls knew they've never seen?

I want to understand this thoroughly. The lack of any verb in the first phrase is really throwing me off. Any help would be very much appreciated. :)


texts:
I have trouble understanding what 上 means in this sentence.

  これからの人生を送る上でとても豊かな経験ができたことは一生の宝物！

If I had to interpret これからの人生を送る上で, it means "within my life from now on"? and is the で particle is used to indicate scope of this person's life?

Can someone explain how 上 works here?


texts: どうも vs vs ありがとう vs ありがとうございます

texts:
I am currently learning Japanese. I have learnt the writing systems, pronunciation, words and phrases.

Apparently, there are a few words phrases you should use for Thank you, such as どうも, ありがとう or even ありがとうございます。

There is also どうもありがとう and どうもありがとうございます which I can't understand.

They seem to represent different politeness levels.

I don't know which ones I should use for what. Which scenarios would I used them in?

Would I say Arigatou Gozaimasu to a person (a complete stranger) that helped me, a waiter or a waitress?
Should I just use Arigatou if someone helps me with directions or something related?
When would I use Doumo? In formal situations with friends? Is that equivalent for Thanks?
When would I use Doumoarigatou and Doumoarigatougozaimasu? If a higher body gives me a medal or something?


texts: Question about order of events in relative clauses. 呆れたように言う彼女を横になったまま見上げつつ、俺は持っていた本を机の上に置いた

texts:
The line is 呆れたように言う彼女を横になったまま見上げつつ、俺は持っていた本を机の上に置いた

My question is about the usage of why is いう used in this relative clause and not another form.

俺は持っていた本を机の上に置いた-I placed the book I was holding on the desk

彼女を横になったまま見上げつつ- This says he does the above while lying down and looking up at her.

呆れたように言う- This modifies her but the question is how. Does this sentence narrate himself as doing all this as she speaks(if so, why る-form), or what else could it mean?


texts: Do any Japanese words start with n besides ンジャメナ?

texts:
Do any Japanese words start with n besides ンジャメナ or words related to it?
 N'Djamena is the capital of Chad.


texts:
I was watching Tatami Galaxy and one of the characters said the following sentence:

「どうせあなたはどんな道を選んだって今みたいな有様になっちまうんだ。」

I know the other uses of って but I'm confused here. Going by context I can tell the sentence means ''Anyhow, no matter what decision you may take, you'll still end up like this/in this situation.'' I'm just following my gut feeling though, and I'm still not sure of what that って is doing there.


texts:
How to verbalize "should have" in the given example below.

I should have ordered chicken (Because the fish I ordered is terrible)

There are 2 ways that I can think of and the is　鶏肉を注文したはず or 鶏肉を注文するべき

But to me, these 2 sentences doesn't sound very right because if I explicitly say 魚がまずいので鶏肉を注文はず, the はず part just doesn't fit the bill (does not sound right). The question is, is there a better word to use in such a situation?


texts: Purpose of "のだ" in "数年も漁村に住んでて、いろんな魚種類を食べてるのだ"?

texts:
I am making this example based on some Japanese I heard about a different subject, but the basic context is the same.

The context is that someone has lived in a fishing village for a long time. As a result, they have eaten many types of fish:

  "数年も漁村に住んでて、いろんな魚種類を食べてるのだ。"

however, I would say it without "のだ":

  "数年も漁村に住んでて、いろんな魚種類を食べてる。"

So, is it like a native speaker will not feel an implied causation between (1) my having lived in a fishing village for a long time, (2) I have eaten a lot of different types of fish unless I attach the "のだ"? (1) and (2) could be completely different thoughts in the same sentence?

What I mean by implied causation is as such:

  Having lived in a fishing village for several years, I have been eating many types of fish.

Because of the implied causation, I don't need to say

  Because I have been living in a fishing village for several years, I have been eating several different types of fish."


texts: How to know if a sentence ending in the て form of a verb is imperative or not

texts: I know that a sentence that ends in the て form of a verb can be imperative. How do you know for sure if it is? Why is「～しようとして」not imperative?


texts: Convoluted translation attempt 世界のすべて城砦に抱く

texts:
I'm trying to make sense of the words said by a character in a manga who talks in an archaic manner. I tried into account the context, the images, all to help me figure out what he is saying.

  俺を見ろ子供！世界のすべて城砦に抱く英雄たる男の背を！

The character says all this like a declaration and looking at how it's structured, they remind me of lyrics a bit, which makes it tricky as I know how vague they can be and sometimes have verbs or even particles omitted. The fact that I have seen the ~を particle at the end gave me the impression of song lyrics, that's where I see it a lot in that way.

I attempted to translate it even partially after I broke down all the words:
"Watch me/Look at me children!" <-This was easy, then I looked towards the end of the sentence for 英雄たる男の背を which I can assume that the 'back of the hero' is connected to the first part, the subject being 俺 and that's why I think を is there at the end to mark it. For the part here 城砦に抱く I had an image in my mind, thinking that this can be taken figuratively, to sound more poetic and I translated as "embracing like a fortress" as a poetic way to say "to protect".I only thought of this possibility due to another example

  この本を褒美にあげる (I will give you this book as a reward)

In the above sentence, what role does the に particle have there? Because I could use として and it would have the same meaning and I don't think the particle has that use, but that it is how I thought of it to get to my translation. If it was 城砦として抱く (to embrace like/in the role of/ in the manner of a fortress).I really don't know if whatever I said makes any sense, if I explained enough...I would appreciate any opinion and interpretation if possible!
Thank you in advance!


texts: What are the envelopes used for giving money on special occasions called?

texts:
On special occasions such as weddings and on New Year's Day, envelopes that have prewritten Kanji on them and other decorative items are used for giving money.

Is there a generic term for these envelopes, or do they have specific names for specific events?


texts:
I'm having trouble with Ｘからきた as a modifier...

I have heard people say 住んでいるのはどこ？ or something like that in order to say like, "where are you living?"... but what if someone wanted to say どこから来た？ in this manner? Like... "The country I came from is called Australia".

I can't say から来た国はオーストラリアという because you can't have から just sitting there like that... and you can't say 私が来た国はオーストラリアだ because you can't tell whether I'm saying I came from there or came to here (isolated from context).

Is there a way to fit から in there?


texts:
A question about a verb I don't understand

住んでいました - Sunde imashita

jisho.org tells me:

"住んでいました looks like an inflection of 住む, with these forms:
Te-iru-form. It indicates an action that is ongoing.
Masu-form. It is the polite form of the verb.
Ta-form. It indicates the past tense of the verb."

so I tried this:

住む - sumu - to live

it ends with -mu so it becomes: 住んで - sunde (te form)

and this is as far as I go because I can't seem to understand this part: いました

Could you tell me how that part is formed and the logic behind it ?

Thanks


texts:
In the sentence

オノマトペとは、ものの様子や音を表したことばです。

why is it 音を表したことば rather than 音を表していることば?
I'm reading https://japanese.stackexchange.com/a/11976 but I'm not sure if this sentence produces a resultative state (like the answer suggests). I've also read that た can also indicate a continuative state/action like ている does, and the justification is that in relative clauses the past tense can be neutralized, but I don't seem to understand this correctly. I've found this example (from https://japanese.stackexchange.com/a/3362)

ワイシャツを着ている人
A person wearing (in-progress) a white-collar shirt
ワイシャツを着た人
A person who "wore"/put-on (and still has on) a white-collar shirt.

太っている猫
A cat who is currently fat
太った猫
A cat who got/become (and still is) fat

but I'm not sure if this applies to every verb or just some verbs (maybe 表す?). Also, does the verb being transitive/intransitive affect the meaning of た as non-past?


texts:
Recently I read though the article addressing the question  (んだから vs んだ) where it explains the usage of のだから as:

１）話し手も聞き手も知っている事柄に用いられ、「聞き手（あなた）も知ってはいるが、その認識が十分でない」ことを知らせようとする話し手の強い気持ちが入る。
２）後件には、「そういうことだから、～たい、～はずだ、～ほうがいい、～てください」などの、話し手の判断や意志、願望、働きかけなどの表現が来ることが多い。

However, when the author explained the provided exercise,
   Ａ：同窓会の仕事頼まれちゃって。
　 Ｂ：大変なの？
　 Ａ：うん。
　 Ｂ：でも、（ａ．引き受けたから　ｂ．引き受けたんだから）、しっかりやりなさいね。

she wrote such sentence

ＢはＡが同窓会の仕事を頼まれたことを知り、その事実（事情）を踏まえて、頑張るように励ましているのですから、ｂ「引き受けたんだから」が適切になります。

I thought this bold のですから is merely a formal version of んだから at once. But after deeper thinking, I found the sentence following のですから is not the writer's  intent, wish, or request. Rather, it is an objective description. Thus, I draw the conclusion that the usage of のですから is different than listed above.
How should I use のですから if it is not as simply as a formal version of んだから?
(By the phrase formal version I mean the corresponding 丁寧語.)


texts: Confusion in choosing either 見やすい or 読みやすい

texts:
I have done a homework. In the worksheet there are figures of two digital clocks. One is small and the other one is much bigger.
My teacher said the following sentences contextually are not correct. She gave a red cross mark for each.

大きい時計は読みやすいです。
小さい時計は読みにくいです。

But I also provided other options as follows and she gave me green marks that mean correct answers.

大きい時計は見やすいです。
小さい時計は見にくいです。

I am still confused why the first group using 読む is not contextually correct but the other one using 見る　is correct. Do you have any idea? In my understanding, we read the clock and reading is a subset of seeing. Therefore if seeing is considered correct then reading must be also  considered correct.


texts: How to say "My parents want me to be a doctor" in Japanese?

texts:
I want to say "My parents want me to be a doctor" in Japanese. My attempt is as follows but I am not quite sure whether it is correct or not.

  両親は私を医者にならせたがっています。

Or

  両親は私に医者になって欲しがっています。

Any comments and suggestions are really welcome.


texts: What is the difference between 振る and 揺る?

texts:
Both of these words seem to mean "to shake". From what I got:

振る is "higher frequency" shaking.

揺る is more like a swaying or rocking motion, "lower frequency".

Is this correct? An explanation would be great.


texts: そんなの (sonnano),　あんなの, (annano) and the like

texts:
Several years back, I learned from a free Japanese podcast that referring to something with 'sonnano' or 'annano'  is a way of looking down on it / speaking of it as an undesirable thing.  There have been times when I've heard these terms used in sentences that sounded like the speaker was talking about something they found distasteful, but other times when it seemed the speaker had no real personal opinion on the subject.

Are these terms used to speak of undesirable things every time they are used?
Are there other phrases similar that are used for the same purpose?

Thanks so much in advance for your time and help with my question!  *^_^*


texts: Should I start with Hiragana, Katakana or Kanji?

texts: I want to start learning to read Japanese (I already know romaji) and I was wondering which writing system would be better to start with. Or should I start all at the same time?


texts: What are the ways to say "endure austerity"?

texts:
How can we say "endure austerity" in both formal and informal situations?

For example, how can we say:

"The people of Greece are currently enduring austerities."
"If you have to endure such austerities to afford a house, you are probably not ready to buy a house." (In this case the meaning of "austerity" is probably less extreme than in the above example.)
"The Buddha discovered that enduring austerity is not the path to enlightenment."


texts:
I've heard it both as "soo-kee-ya-kee" and "skee-ya-kee". Which is correct?

Some more background:

A native speaker once told me that the correct pronunciation is "skee-ya-kee", and I subsequently learned that sometimes people shorten vowels. (Another example would be "a-sak-sa" for "Asakusa".) Yet at Japanese restaurants I've ordered "skee-ya-kee" only to have the servers (native speakers) repronounce it as "soo-kee-ya-kee". Is it purely a preference? Basically I'd like to use the correct pronunciation when ordering sukiyaki.


texts: I'm having a lot of trouble with this one, due the blurriness of the text and the fact that I'm struggling to recognize the radicals. Thank you in advance^^


texts: Ways to specify "intra-" or "extra-" usage of 北・南・東・西

texts:
I Was trying to describe that a certain castle was located south of Kyoto, I would expect the phrase to be:
「伏見桃山城が京都の南にある。」
I was then thinking, how would I say that it is in Kyoto, but the southern part of Kyoto.
For example, in English there isn't exactly a rule that applies 100% to a specific phrase, but the syntax does differentiate the two meanings:

It is located ...

in the South of France (1)
to the south of France (2)
south of France (2)
in southern France (1)
to France's south  (2)

(1) denotes inside France, (2) denotes outside of France

What ways are there in Japanese to specify what I am calling "intra-" vs. "extra-" usage of cardinal directions?


texts: structure of 男子には畏怖を、女子にはキモイと影で言われてる

texts:
男子には畏怖を、女子にはキモイと影で言われてる。

  a one line description of a burly gym teacher

You can fairly easily assume what this is getting at

but how exactly 男子には畏怖を and 女子にはキモイと

grammatically interacts with 影で言われてる is hard to interpret

thanks


texts: I just learnt that Hemingway's "Farewell to Arms" in translated in Japanese as 武器よさらば. Is that よ the sentence-end particle for emphasis? Or does it has any other meaning?


texts:
In rather formal situations, when would you use 頂戴します ?

I use いただきます all the time to express the fact of receiving something, but I just heard a colleague using 頂戴します over the phone.

If I understand well, this page suggests 頂戴します is when receiving material merchandise.


texts: What's the difference between 見本 and 標本?

texts:
They both mean "specimen", right?
Am I right in assuming that 見本 is for goods, products on sale but 標本 is for zoological samples, etc.?
I checked the sample sentences on Weblio just to check the usual collocations and here's what I found:

見本：見本売買、書籍の見本

標本：動物標本、植物標本


texts: How do you handle multiple verbs in this situation?

texts:
From what I understand, the final verb determines the reference time of the sentence, but I'm a little confused on how to handle the sequence of verbs with the たりする construction here (particularly after following a stem of another verb):

  カラカラと氷を鳴らしながら、彼女は麦茶に口をつけ、グラスの側面を頬に当てたりもしていた

The way I'm interpreting it, 口をつけ is seen as the verb in focus, while たりもしていた is simply listing any action(s) done alongside with it. But when considering ながら here, it becomes even more confusing how to make sense of the order here. Can someone provide clarification, or possibly correct any misunderstandings I might have. Thank you.


texts:
A dialogue between a monk and a shogun (fiction), fragment for context:

Shogun: 「生きておれば死を望み、死に果てれば生を望む……全く、御坊に言われるまでもない。　人の心の働きというのは本当に勝手なものよ。どこまでも満足せぬように出来ておる」
Monk: 「であればこそ、人は満足を求めてあがき、自らを高めるのでござる。　満ち足りた人間は木石も同然、悟りの境地ではござるが、世の役には立ち申さぬ。殿がかような生き仏になっては御国の大事。　いや、勝手な言い草おおいに結構！　殿におかれてはどうか今後とも、自侭になさってくださりませい！」

Is putting におかれては instead of just に　makes it more of a honorific expression? Or is the meaning entirely different?


texts:
「～いかんによらず」 means without regard to X.

  ～いかんによらず　＝　～いかんにかかわらず

  　　　　　　　　　＝　～いかんを問わず

  意味　：～がどうであるかに関係なく

It seems like ～がどうであるかに関係なく ＝？  Without regard to whether something is probably X.

Is「どうであるか」similar to「どうであろう」or「どうだろう」? If not, how do they differ?


texts: What's the difference between 売る and 売れる？

texts:
I looked up both words in a dictionary, but they both meant the same thing, "to sell".

I was confused because I've been playing around with verb conjugation, and one site told me that 売る was a godan verb meaning "to sell", hence naturally the potential form of this godan verb would be "売れる." However, it appears that "売れる" isn't merely a conjugated form of "売る” and is itself a verb, having its own conjugations....I'm confused

Maybe conjugations have conjugations?


texts: how do you say 'super rad day!' in japanese?

texts:
i'm working on a logo for a customer's brand, and she wrote out スーパーラッドデー！
but, couldn't it also be-
スーパーラッドデイ！?

which one should i use? thanks for the help!


texts:
Just learned that the honorific equivalents of nephew and niece in Japanese are:
甥御 and 姪御, which raise the question:

How come 御 functions as a suffix instead of a prefix which is the case we usually see? Are there other common examples of this phenomenon?

Incidentally, according to goo辞書, they are generally written in kana instead of kanji. I used their kanji for the sake of clarity.

*Been slacking off with my Japanese lately, but よろしくお願いいたします！


texts: Counter word for prepackaged instant ramen

texts:
What would be the most adequate counter word for this type of instant noodles?
Like '1 package of ramen'.


texts: It's for a daily affirmation. I don't mean people that behave like me which is what I keep getting when I search for a translation; I mean "people like me as a person". Do I just use 好き？


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

texts:
当初とすげ替わった目的、アイズ・ヴァレンシュタインさんのことも含めて。

I'm not sure what the て-form does in this sentence.

Could it be short for ている?


texts:
先輩たちが君に厳しくあたるのも
昔の自分と今の君を重ねてるからじゃないかな

Context: A rookie's senpais have been giving him a hard time and another character explains to him why.
The subtitles read as "The reason your senpais give such a hard time, might be because they see their past selves in you, don't you think?"
The dictionary says that 当たる is an intransitive verb that means "to be hit" but in this sentence the subject is clearly 先輩たち and the target of the verb is 君. Can someone kindly explain this to me?


texts:
Let me describe the scenario first so you can get the nuance better.
I was looking for a new apartment from several agents. An agent "A" to which I will refer for the following explanation provided me with services such as searching for several apartments that conforms to my budget, bringing me to look at the apartments, etc. It was on Friday. As no apartments satisfied me, the staff will provide me with other options in the next Monday.

As I have no time to wait, I go to other agents and I found an apartment on Saturday. Sunday afternoon, there was a call from the agent A saying, when you will come tomorrow? My reply is as follows:

  大変申し訳ありません。新しいアパートを見つけてしまいましたので・・・

And his respond is

  オッケーです

Question

How polite is おっけーです when it is said by the shop staff to a customer?

Is there any feel of disappointment in this context?


texts: Question about translation with particle ほど

texts:
Help me please with translating this sentence -

「ああいう奴らの家庭ほど、家に帰るとぐちゃぐちゃだったりすんのよ」

Maybe I’m missing something, but that part just does’t make much sense to me. My interpritation would sound some thing like this – 方２ says that she getting irrated from these guys so much, that when she comes home she is a mess, just like those guys parents which are always with them, so the translation would sound something like this –

“To the extent of their family(just like their family), when I come
home I’m a mess.”

But I’m having some doubts with this translation, so I would really appreciate your help.

方１：「ほんとうのことです。学校でも家でもいつもひとりで、給食の時間とか運動会とか文化祭とか、みんなが楽しそうに盛り上がる時間が大嫌いでした」
方２：「わ、あたしと同じだ。あたしもああいうの大っ嫌い」
方２：「なんかみんなベタベタして仲良し比べみたいな感じでさ。ああいう奴らの家庭ほど、家に帰るとぐちゃぐちゃだったりすんのよ」


texts:
Recently, I found out that 合わせる can go with many particles.

Jisho gives here (https://jisho.org/search/%E5%90%88%E3%82%8F%E3%81%9B%E3%82%8B) some examples on this:

あなたの計画{けいかく} を 私{わたし} に 合わせなさい。Your plan must fit in with
mine.
君の答{こた}え を 彼{かれ}の答{こた}え と 合わせてみなさい。Check your answers with
his.

And on NHK easy Japanese news:

薬を売る店の中には、マスク を 栄養{えいよう}がある飲物など と 合わせて高く売っている店がありました。

And on my smartphone app, as an example:

彼女は花 に ピント と 合わせようとした。

So, と and に are used to match 私 respectively 答え or 飲物 with the object of 合わせる. But in example 4, absolutely no を-particle is used

So my question: are を-, と- and に-Particles here interchangeable? Or does their use depend on properties of the object e.g. like animate vs inanimate (私 vs. 答え) and maybe others, too?
Thanks a lot!


texts:
Looking for japanese songs and found this one. https://mojim.com/jpy136351x1x6.htm

This is the line I'm having trouble understanding.

  癖になっても知らないよ

Dictionary says 癖 can mean vice or bad habit, and I've learned what なる means. I'm just not sure how 知らないよ fits into this. Like "I don't know how this becomes a bad habit."?


texts:
「そこで、まずは世界を望み通りにしたいと言えばよいのじゃ。実際にどうしたいかは後で考える」

「そういうのもありなのか……」

「試練を乗り越えたその時に、エストが望む世界に変えられよう……王も、国も、アルマとやらもしたいようにするがよい」

「望み通り……か」

「うむ、望みは具体的でない方が得策じゃ」

「家族に結婚を認めさせようと挑んだカップルが、冒険している内に冷めきって、願い事の段階で揉めるという事案もあるしのう」

Context:

Before one begins their trial they must state their wish
One must find a 霊王類 who can allow them to begin their trial(if they
are suitable)

My question relates to the meaning of the last part of this excerpt as I don't quite understand. The stages are that firstly one must find a 霊王類, the 霊王類 then calls a God who asks them their wish, and finally they are given a trial by the God to complete and if they do this successfully their wish comes true. From how I understand 願い事の段階, it would suggest that this is the "stage" at which the couple come to a disagreement(i.e Having lost their "passion" for one another over the course of their Journey, they no longer want to wish for the same thing and naturally trouble occurs when they have to decide on something to wish for.). I don't really see the big deal here as it would (hopefully) be easy to come to some agreement about something else to wish for that would satisfy them. In this case, it would just be making the point that things are much easier if you are less specific in what you wish for as you will not necessarily want the same thing now as you do in the future.

But the above doesn't quite sit right with me. If I was to understand this as saying that after they had made their wish and were in the process of completing their trials they had lost their "passion" for one another then it would make a much better argument as it would make clear the importance of not being overly specific with what one wishes for, since if you no longer want it, you are not going to be very motivated in completing your trial. Only problem is that this doesn't seem to be at the 願い事の段階 and rather at a different stage.

Can anyone clarify as to what Xの段階で揉める means (e.g. does it mean that at stage X of some process, arguments,disputes etc occur, or does it refer to the topic that causes these problems etc), and secondly , how do you understand the last part of the excerpt 「家族に結婚を認めさせようと挑んだカップルが、冒険している内に冷めきって、願い事の段階で揉めるという事案もあるしのう」.


texts:
So if I'm trying to say "I found more than 50 unfamiliar words" how would I count words?

My attempt: 意味の分からない言葉を50回も初めて見た。

As you can see, I counted how many times I saw an unfamiliar word, rather than the words themselves. Is my sentence okay, and can anyone tell me the word to count more than ten words?

PS Sorry if this is a dumb question, it's my first time. This website seems really sophisticated and I do not want to bug my Japanese friends. Google searching wasn't helping me much, either.


texts: How to politely inform other people of acceptable alternative ways of addressing you?

texts:
Being a foreigner often comes with having a name/surname that doesn't quite roll off the tongue in Japanese.

So for example if my name/surname is "ABCDEFG", I'd like to say (after introductions) "Addressing me by ABC is fine too."

My intent for this is not to introduce an increased sense of familiarity (although that might occur implicitly) but rather a convenience in communication.

Thus I'm looking for how one would express this in a perhaps more formal environment than everyday chatter. (But informal ways are welcome too.)


texts:
This is a rather straightforward question. I have the following line said by person H to person G.

  H: みんなが来るって聞いてたからお菓子焼いてたんだ～ 絶賛仕上げ中{ちゅう}

It's an answer to unvoiced question of G to H about what M is doing since M was not able to come and greet G and friends as they were entering the home.

The first bit is rather easy and should mean the following:

  Since we heard everyone will be coming, we’ve been making sweets/candy.

The second bit I think means something like this:

  She is putting finishing touches right now.

since 仕上げ is finishing touches and 中{ちゅう} probably indicates that M is right now in the process of doing the finishing touches.

What I wonder is what purpose does 絶賛 serve here. It's supposedly means high praise. But I for the love of me can't figure out what it would be doing in a sentence like this.


texts: 間 & ながら, どんなに ~ても & いくら ~ても, 最中

texts:
What is the difference between 間 and ながら? Doesn't ながら just mean "while" while 間 can also mean "during"?
どんなに ~ても and いくら ~ても both mean "no matter how". Are they interchangeable or not?
Also, how is saying 最中 different from just using the ている form of a verb?


texts:
Daughter: 「だって、じゃあたんざくの意味がないじゃん」
Daughter: But, in that case tanzaku are meaningless aren't they?
Dad: 「いいのっ」
Dad: It's okay
Daughter: 「なにさ、おとうさんはすぐいいのって言うんだから」
Daughter: What! Because you say it's okay?

I understand すぐ to mean soon/immediately etc. I can't understand what it means in this context.
My guess it that it adds the meaning 'just' as in "am I supposed to believe it's okay just because you say so?". But that's a complete guess and the link with 'soon'/'immediately' seems very tenuous.
If further context is needed, these lines follow immediately after this question:


texts: Why is past form だった used to describe a present scene?

texts:
そんな様子を見てか、亜衣麻衣美衣がひそひそと話を始めた。
「ねーねー、鳶一さんて五河くん狙いじゃなかったの？」
「女の子もいけるクチだったの？」
「五河姓なら誰でもOKってこと？DNA狙い？」
Hi. Why is past form used to describe a present scene?
鳶一折紙 likes 五河士道, a boy. But now the speakers find 折紙 is making a pass at a girl (actually 折紙 is now taking pictures of the girl from various different angles), who looks like 士道 and has the same last name as 士道. So they are surprised.
Thank you.


texts: Capitalized letters in juridical documents - into Japanese

texts:
When translating some juridical text, I meet words, that are written in capitalized letters, or at least only first letter is capitalized. Should I transmit it somehow into Japanese, when translating? How about japanese juridical documents?
For example:

  "WITNESS WHEREOF, the parties hereto have caused this Agreement to be
  signed ... "


texts: What is the difference between 勝つ and 勝てる ? Also, how do I use these two different forms with ために and ように? Thank you.


texts:
I've seen many questions asked about the ん sound, both on this site and others, but I'm still uncertain about how it should be produced before a fricative (e.g. さ, し, ひ, ふ).  So I'm hoping someone can give a good, thorough answer if I ask about it specifically.

Different sources seem to give different pronunciations.  Some sources say it is similar to the English n or ng sound, but with the same place of articulation as the following sound.  So if it is followed by s it would be a lamino-alveolar nasal.  Some sources say it is like a nasalized う.  Other sources simply say it is a nasalized vowel.

So is one of these correct and the others incorrect.  Are none of them correct.  Or does it vary by speaker. If it varies, is any pronunciation commonly regarded as standard and/or more neutral.  The opinions of native speakers or those familiar with Japanese linguistics would be especially appreciated.


texts: What's the difference between 解凍（する） and 溶ける

texts: I was studying some new words when I encountered 解凍 which can mean "melt". This reminded me of 溶ける. How do these words differ? In the case of ice melting, both can be used right? How about chocolate melting in one's mouth? I know 溶ける works, but can 解凍する？


texts: 小悪魔【こあくま】: "Little devil"... or real devil?

texts:
Hearing the word 小悪魔 used here and there, I had always foolishly assumed that the addition of that '小' in front, made it a much more harmless, playful, version of the real thing. And consequently, calling someone (with whom one is familiar enough, of course) '小悪魔', would be akin to using the literal equivalent in English, where nobody would ever be offended at being called a "little devil".

However, recent conversations have sown the seeds of doubt in my mind, and upon checking the dictionary (what I should have done earlier), I find that the official definition given by WWWJDIC is:

  小悪魔 [こあくま]  (n,adj-na) (col) rogue, devil, imp

... which has zero playfulness to it, and sounds about just as bad as calling somebody "Satan" or "the Devil" (悪魔 without 小).

My question is therefore:

How strong (and potentially offensive) is the word in a casual context? Does it have any of the "harmless naughtiness" overtones a clueless English speaker might expect from such a term?


texts: What do you say when giving something to somebody?

texts:
In English when you hold out something to someone, sometimes a vocal prompt like "here" or "there" is said to indicate that you are giving it to the person.

In Chinese (or at least in Singapore) we sometimes use something that sounds like "na" or even use the Chinese word "给(gěi)" as an expression while holding out something towards the recipient.

EDIT: Perhaps I should have been more specific about what I'm referring to. I'm not referring to giving "gifts", but just giving in general. Something like just passing a note to somebody or when someone looks in need of a tissue and you just hold it out to them.

(Question) What's the equivalent of this concept in Japanese? I ask because I think it feels quite awkward to either remain silent, or to form a complete sentence asking the person to receive it especially if you are familiar with the person.


texts: Is it true that the meaning of あ可よろし is unknown?

texts:
One of the cards in a Hanafuda deck looks like this:

The character that looks like の is actually , a hentaigana for ka derived from the kanji 可.  The card says あかよろし, not あのよろし.

According to Wikipedia, the meaning of the inscription (which is also on one other card in the deck) is unknown, despite the fact that the writing on another "poetry ribbon" card in the deck are known to be the name of a town.

Is this accurate? Can anyone with more knowledge of Japanese culture and language venture a guess as to what it might have meant? Can anyone provide a more reliable, possibly Japanese-language source to back up the Wiki page?


texts: Appropriate typography for listing numbers in Japanese

texts:
I want to list some prime numbers in Japanese but I'm not if the Japanese comma should be used when it comes to numbers. On Wikipedia, the western comma is used, which has made me confused and unsure of how to display these numbers.
Option A

Option B


texts: In my understanding from this post, 訓練 is a training you do when you start learning something, vs. 練習 which you do to improve continuously. How does 修業 compare to these? I think they're all translated as practice or training, but how is 修業 different than the other two?


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

texts:
ネズミだ、あれと出｛で｝くわすと厄介｛やっかい｝なんだ

I know that と could be used as a quotative particle or it could be used to make a conditional sentence. Particle と can also mean "and" or "with". In the sentence above, I think the first と means "with", but about the second と, I am not sure if it is conditional or quotative.

What are the meaning and grammatical role of particle と in this sentence?


texts:
It seems that など and とか mean "such as" or etc.
what is the difference? can someone give an example sentence?
Thank you!


texts: Does 多分 carry a degree of certainty equal to or greater than 50%?

texts:
Purely speculating from the kanji, one could quite naturally think that 多分, being "many parts", could lean towards a likelihood greater than 50% that something will happen.

I always thought as 多分 being a quite neutral 50% "maybe", but I just randomly got to think of the above kanji-based possible interpretation and got curious to know if it is just my idea or there is some truth behind it.


texts: Should I use the formal form (~ます) on the buttons of an app?

texts:
I'm an iOS app developer who's learning Japanese. I want to localize my app to Japanese (make a Japanese version of it, basically). For context, my app falls into the "Utilities" category on the app store.

In the user interface of my app, suppose there is a button that says "Save". I want to replace the "Save" text with a Japanese translation. I thought of three ways to do this:

保存
保存する
保存します

I'm wondering which one of those I should use. The first one is not a verb since it doesn't have the する at the end. So I guess it doesn't really imply that the button does a "save" action? Does this sound like, in English, when there is a button that applies some settings, instead of "Apply", it says "Application"? I think this is not appropriate, is it?

The second one sounds fine, but is it ok to use the plain form here? Is it too informal to be in a Utility app? Should I use the third instead?

I have seen other apps use the first and second form, like 完了 (the "Done" button) and 投稿する (I saw this in the Facebook app's "post" button). But since Facebook is a Social app, I guess it is ok to use the plain form because it sounds like Facebook is treating you like a close friend.

Which one should I use and why?


texts: Help understanding neutral statement vs... er, non-neutral? に　/　には

texts:
I have two statements in my notes, about a restaurant on the first floor. One is a neutral statement, one is talking about things on the first floor. I am not entirely sure of the context to use them in. Could somebody help please?

一階に　レストランが　あります - There is a restaurant on the first floor (neutral statement)
一階には　レストランが　あります - On the first floor there is a restaurant. (Talking about what is on the first floor).

I think the second example には might be used when discussing the first floor, and perhaps the conversation is about all the shops etc. there. But I am unsure.


texts:
タイ語の手紙を翻訳するボランティアをしようと思ってるんです.

this is from a conversation between 2 people.
one asked the other "what are you reading " and the other person said I study thailand language and the reason is タイ語の手紙を翻訳するボランティアをしようと思ってるんです.

here しよう means what ? and is it a rule in grammar or just a word ?


texts: Pronunciation of words with ん followed by sokuon

texts: How do you pronounce words like 「ごめんってば」 or 「日本人っぽい」?


texts: Is it correct to use で in this sentence if I want to convey "and"?

texts:
My penpal and I were talking about a particular video game and I wanted to tell him: "The PC version (of the game) has its release date someday next month and I just can't wait any longer!"

  PC版の発売日はいつか来月なのでもうこれ以上待てませんよ！

The above sentence was my attempt, but now that I wrote it I'm not really sure if I used 「で」 correctly here. Is there a better/more natural way of saying it, not just the "and" part but maybe the whole sentence in general?

I would appreciate any type of feedback/corrections as I'm still a novice.


texts: What is the modern meaning of the word Ukiyo in Japan today? Is it still used to identify Red Districts or is it only “the floating world” now?

texts: I just really need help knowing the true meaning please.


texts: Is が needed to say it's raining? あめがふっています? Is it okay to omit が in this case?


texts: Understanding a phrase - 必ずやらなければならないことを　まとめてみた

texts:
I am trying to understand what looks like an expression, but seems too verbose. And I'm confused by the use of まとめてみた. To put it into context, the title of this page in my guide book is ひとめでわかる　攻略チャート　(Understanding the strategy chart at a glance).

冒険を進めるために、必ずやらなければならないことを　まとめてみた。
In order to continue the adventure, if you definitely do the thing you have to do altogether try (???)

This is from

やらなければ　ならないことをする - do what one needs to do;
and
まとめて – in one go; all at once; altogether

The final part dsoesn't seem to make sense. It's as if まとめてみた is not needed.


texts: What is the difference in nuance between 間違う and 間違える?

texts: I've heard from a Japanese native speaker friend of mine that both 間違う and 間違える are correct usage, but he wasn't able to explain the difference in nuance between them. Is there a difference, and if so, what is it?


texts:
I've seen 他に何か in dictionaries but I just found this sentence.

  何か他に食べててくれたら良いけど

Does this mean "It'd be fine if you eat something else"?

Can the sentence retain the same meaning if you just used 他に without 何か？


texts: What is the correct tense for translating 繰り返すんだな?

texts:
I'm trying to translate this video -> link
and the following is the transcription
At 1:42

千秋楽を迎えると、なんかこう、
始まりと、こう、終わりを繰り返すんだなって、
こう、改めて実感するというか、
顔合わせから今日千秋楽まで、えーとなんかこう、
すごい、今日でこの今回の作品が完成したんだなと思いました。

My question is how to tell if this means "the beginning and the ending are repeated or will be repeated?"


texts:
父は私にお土産としてチョコレートをくれた。

"My dad gave me chocolate as a gift."

Can I use として in this context?


texts: Why たく isn't used in negative form in this sentence?

texts:
言いたくなりますが、見ていませんよ！

I have become a little confused about this sentence since it is not negative and still, in order to say want to instead of たい、たく is used.

Or maybe there was a misspelling when the author was writing the sentence, in which case it is 言いたくない＋ますが

Could it be that this is not, in fact, a negative sentence and たく is used in a positive sense to convey the meaning want to say?


texts: What is the semantic difference between 積む{つむ} and 載せる{のせる} when loading stuff

texts:
My flashcard deck has 2 very similar cards:
積む{つむ}

meaning: to load, pile up
jisho.org: to pile up; to stack

載せる{のせる}

meaning: to place on, load onto, draufstellen
jisho.org: to place on (something), to load (luggage); to carry; to take on board

As a non-native of either English or Japanese, I don't see the difference. I feel like 積む is for big objects and a rough action, while with 載せる the loader is concerned about the final position of a rather small object. But I have too little evidence.
So when I put an object on another object, when would I use the first and when the second?


texts:
I can't understand this どれ程{ほど}の人間{にんげん} part well:

  その人{ひと}の中{なか}で、私{わたし}はどれ程の人間になっているというのか。

Is it something like:

  What kind of person do they think I am?


texts:
I've been playing an older Japanese video game, and I've come across a kanji that I'm unable to identify. I've attempted to use the radical lookup on jisho.org, but the low-resolution is making that difficult as well.

Here's the context:


texts:
It is a situation where a salesperson announces to a group of people to attract them to buy his goods.
Here is the full sentence:

しかもおねだんは半{はん}額{がく}以{い}下{か}ときている


texts:
"来てXまった" What is the X in following image?
Whole context :https://www.pixiv.net/member_illust.php?mode=manga&illust_id=69471473


texts: How to ask if others want to do something?

texts:
In the Japanese language, if the speaker wants to express the will he himself wants to do, 'たい ' is usually used. For example:

  I want to buy this book.
  わたしはこの本を買いたい。

  I want to go back home.
  わたしは家に帰りたいです。

But how to say something like, "do you want to", or "does he want to" in Japanese? Can I say, '君.....たがる’?、or ’彼.....たがる’? For instance:

  Do you want to go back to the company?
  '会社に戻りたがる？

  Do they want to play in the park?
  彼らは公園で遊びたがりますか?

Am I right?


texts: The usage of とは in 緊急招集とは、おだやかではないな

texts:
From what I understand, とは can be used to "define" things. So does this mean that it can be used to expand on what comes before とは/というのは and that which comes after will explain the speakers view/opinion/etc on what comes before?

So how does it work in the example where the speaker has been called out to an emergency meeting without being told what it was about and says

  「緊急招集とは、おだやかではないな」


texts:
There is a significant amount of research relating to tonogenesis -- the mechanisms by which a toneless parent language develops tone. But what about the genesis of pitch accent?

For instance, the falling tone in Middle Chinese is regularly derived from a reconstructed final *-s in Old Chinese (which is thought to have been toneless).

In historical Japanese linguistics, is pitch accent thought to have been part of the language from its earliest attested stages? Or is pitch accent thought to have arisen later?

Also, I appreciate that the realisation of pitch accent in Japanese varies by dialect. Is the pitch accent part of the "underlying form" -- that is, can the manifestations in the daughter dialects be derived regularly from rules applied to an underlying assignment of pitch accent?


texts: Is there a difference between あまり食べ過ぎる and 食べ過ぎる?

texts: あまり and 過ぎる both indicate an excess of something, so saying あまり食べ過ぎる seems redundant and the equivalent of "eat too too much." However, a sentence like this occurs quite often. Is there actually any difference in meaning compared to simply saying 食べ過ぎる or あまり食べる?


texts: verb てーform + もいいです　VS. verb + こと + ができます: whether equivalent or not

texts:
(1) カードで払うことができますか。

(2) カードで払ってもいいですか。

In google these two sentences were both translated into: Can I pay by card?

Whether there exists any subtle differences? Or are they completely equivalent?


texts: What is the difference between 怯える, 恐れる, and 怖がる?

texts: All of them mean "Scare" or "Afraid". But I don't really get the difference between them. Could someone explain? Thanks!


texts: A more colloquial way of comparing A and B than the A のほうがBよりXです pattern?

texts:
I want to say that 'A is cheaper than B'.

Genki, the book, would formally suggest:

  A のほうがBよりやすいです.

What would be a more colloquial way to say this?


texts: How do verbs interact with particles like は, が, も, を, etc

texts:
みなさんこんにちは! :D

Currently, i'm reading Tae-Kim's big 'learn japanese' guide-thingy, and am still vary much at the stage where im still learning to grasp the basic sentence structure/grammar.

To this end, while i still struggle alot, im good enough with the basics of nouns and adjectives to say/read vary simple things and be able to work out the grammar.

The thing right now is that while its still confusing, i can at least grasp how particles like は、が、も interact with nouns and adjectives, i can slowly work my way through a sentence and come to understand its meaning.

However, the above does not apply to verbs, in that while i do get what verbs are for, and kinda get the を particle. The exact nature of it, as well as verbs interactions with other particles/nouns, is something i still reach a consistent loss at, having no clue as to what is being described.

So ya, basicly, given the following uses of (noun) and (verb), could someone explain what exactly is being described in each case, what idea is being expressed, in a vary general sense?

(noun)(verb)

(verb)(noun)

(noun)を(verb)

(noun)は(verb)

(noun)が(verb)

So ya, hopefully ive managed to explain my current plight. I look forward to hopefully finding a answer to it.

Thankz! :D

edit:
Just to clarify.
I dont care what exactly strings like 雨を来る literally mean, or if they make sense. Im asking what exactly the grammar itself is describing, regardless of the particular noun/verb used. The use of 雨 and 来る is arbitrary.

edit:
雨 and 来る seem to be confusing people, so allow me to be a bit more direct with (noun) and (verb) instead.


texts: Understanding the translation of ～てほしいと頼まれました

texts:
In my Japanese textbook, it has the following phrase:

早稲田大学｛わせだだいがく｝の新聞部員｛しんぶんぶいん｝である日本人｛にほんじん｝の友達｛ともだち｝に、今、「世界｛せかい｝の大学｛だいがく｝」というテーマのシリーズを組｛く｝んでいるので、あなたにはアメリカの大学｛だいがく｝について投稿｛とうこう｝してほしいと頼｛たの｝まれました。

I interpreted the first part of that sentence is that the speaker is going to write a series called "World Universities" for their friend at Waseda University, but the second part confuses me a bit.

I know it's supposed to say something like "I was asked to have you write the article", but I'm confused about how it is phrased with してほしいと頼まれました. I feel like it should have another verb in there to show that the person speaking is asking a question, but I don't see it.


texts: ご～いただけます vs. ご～になれます

texts:
I know that you can use ご～いただく toward "clients" (which is something I've never really understood; maybe better as a question of its own) such as ご来店いただき、まことにありがとうございます ("Thank you (customer) for coming to our store").

Following this logic, I know you can express "can" with ご～いただけます.  However, the normal keigo pattern ご～になる would then (also) morph into ご～になれます.  I've heard both in practical situations, but I'm very confused as to the nuances of when to use which.

For example, I'm currently translating a software help file, which is directed toward the end user.  If I want to say, "you can see X", I'm not sure if I should say ご覧いただけます or ご覧になれます.

タスケテ！


texts:
いいか、危ないぞ。
  ホントに危ないんだぞ。
  イリヤ本人もだけど、部屋の主たる思春期の少年のナイーヴな心臓とかな

Look, it's dangerous.
Really dangerous.
For Illya too but, among other things the naive earth of the young boy going through puberty who is the owner of the room.

Can とか be used with も to have an inclusive meaning?


texts: Is it valid to ask このグラフによると、カイロの人口がいつ増えてきましたか?

texts:
In my understanding, 増えてきました means "started to increase". If my understanding is correct, I think I can ask as follows

  このグラフによると、カイロの人口がいつ増えてきましたか?

and the answer must be 1976. What do you think?


texts: Hyakunin Isshu pronunciation; ちはやふる vs. ちはやぶる?

texts:
In the Hyakunin Isshu, the 17th poem (found here) has me stumped. In the manga/anime ちはやふる, the title is written and pronounced as ちはやふる, but on the card for the game the manga revolved around (also found here) it is written as ちはやぶる in furigana. Is it pronounced as ちはやふる or ちはやぶる? If it's ちはやぶる, then why is the title of the manga ちはやふる?

EDIT:　Saw on the second-to-last sentence I wrote ちはやふる twice... glad you guys knew what I meant :)


texts:
例えば、

  この掃除機は小さいし、軽いし、それに音が静かです。
  この掃除機は小さくて、軽くて、それに音が静かです。


texts: What does きかい and おより mean on this question?

texts:
The correct answer is 1 but I do not understand it completely,based on what I know, the meaning is "When there's the existing machine,please get near to it"
which does not make a lot of sense. Thank you for the help.


texts: Which one of these sentences is more used?

texts:
For asking someone to lend you something:

  貸してください

Or

  かりてもいいですか

Is there any difference and which one is more used in real life?


texts:
This is a sentence from a tale I'm having trouble with. It is a Tengu speaking to a boy:

  まったくおれは何の術もかけていないてえのに本気にしやがって。

I understand this sentence to mean something like 'To be honest I haven't actually granted you any skills.'

What does いないてえ stand for； what kind of verb form is this (if I am right to assume it is some negative form of the verb いる）?


texts:
I'm a bit confused on what the に particle is doing here in this sentence, まじめに
して下さい. I know that the sentence means, "Please take this seriously" but I'm not sure why に is used here. I've seen it used most often as a time or target marker but I'm not sure what it is doing here nor can I think of another particle that would be better used here. If anyone could let me know its usage in this scenario, I'd really appreciate it.

Thanks


texts: What does the expression "sour mouth" mean?

texts:
The sentence was "オレが口を酸っぱくして教えたよね？"

To my understanding, it means "Did I teach you to do it with a sour mouth?" or actually, "Didn't I teach you with a sour mouth?", but I'm not sure what sour mouth means.


texts: Interpretation of めったに人前に現れないものもいる

texts:
I was reading a book of Pokemon, and this sentence came across:

  中には、「幻」と呼ばれ、めったに人前に現れないものもいる。(Original)

My interpretation was

  Among them, one is called a "phantom" and rarely appears in public.

which I think has the general idea, but the last part of the sentence is bugging me, namely 現れないものもいる。A more literal translation that I can think of would be something like

  Among them, one is called a "phantom". A thing that rarely appears in public also exists.

although this seems much more unnatural in English. To be honest, I expected the original sentence to be written as just

  中には、「幻」と呼ばれ、めったに人前に現れない。(Alternative)

Summarising:
 1. What are the nuances between the original sentence and the alternative?
 2. Do Japanese people use the original more often (or even strictly)?
 3. Should they be translated as the same in English? I feel that my translation of the original is more close to the alternative sentence. However, the more "literal" translation feels too unnatural in English.


texts:
I came across this JLPT N1 sentence:

人生はなにが幸いするかわからないもので、たぶん、あれはあれでよかったんじゃないかと思う。

My literal translation:

Life is a thing in which we don't know what will prove fortunate, but
I think this is probably good in its own way.

What nuance, if any, does ~もので produce here?
It seems like もの is used strictly as a noun to mean "thing", but that seems too simple for JLPT N1 (although maybe it's a red herring). I know there's a breadth of 「もの」grammar patterns, especially ~ものだ, where this ~もので would be the continuative form. For example the usage of ~ものだ implying "general tendencies and cold facts".  Coincidentally, a Japanese dictionary entry for 「幸いする」 includes an example sentence with near-exact phrasing (https://dictionary.goo.ne.jp/word/%E5%B9%B8%E3%81%84%E3%81%99%E3%82%8B/), leading me to believe that this may be a proverb.
(Sentence link: https://japanesetest4you.com/japanese-language-proficiency-test-jlpt-n1-grammar-exercise-9/, #2)


texts:
As Noguchi walks away from the girls he overhears them whispering something. The narrator says:

  すると五メートルは離れていたはずなのに、野口さんがピクっと立ち止まった。
  And then, even though they expected him to be five metres away, he stopped.

I'm confused by the use of は in this sentence. It doesn't seem to be marking a topic (5 metres would be a strange topic). It doesn't seem to be marking contrast (5 meters compared 4.2 metres, 9999 metres etc would be nonsense. Furthermore, the girls expectation that he be exactly 5 meters away is also silly.

I'm left with the conclusion that this は must mean 'at least', or that I've hopelessly misinterpreted the sentence. Am I correct? Can you provide other examples of when/how I should use は in this way?


texts: Need help with translating 今更聞くのもアレなんだけど

texts:
I'm playing through the Toradora VN and I'm at a point where Ryuji comes home and spends a bit of time talking with his mom. However, his memory has not recovered and he is unsure what kind of relationship he is with his mom (He doesn't know yet that she is his mom.)

So after awhile in the conversation he says:

  って、あのさ、今更聞くのもアレなんだけど。。。俺って泰子の、その。。。なんなの？

(泰子 is his mother and アレ is not a typo)

I understand the second half where he asks how they were related, but I don't understand the first part and the usage behind the katakana あれ。

I know that 今更 is "now ( after a long period of time)" and 聞くis to ask, but I can't figure out how they fit together with the rest of the sentence.

My guess is:

  It's a little late asking this but...


texts: Can たり be used in a sentence with only one verb?

texts:
I came across this sentence in the Genki2 textbook (pg. 282):
「時々、隣の人と話したりする。」

I was under the impression that たり is used to list things that you have done/ will do. Is the semantics of たり different in this sentence?


texts: Expressing scientific notation and units in speech

texts:
I've got two related questions:

1) How do you say numbers in scientific notation in Japanese? For example, 3x108 is spoken in English as "three times ten to the eight". Do negative exponents works the same as ordinary negative numbers (i.e. prefix with マイナス)?

2) How do you say the units? For example m s-1 ("meters per second" - you get no prize for guessing why I'm asking ;) ), or more complicated examples like  kg m2 s-2 K-1 ("kilogram metres squared per second squared kelvin").


texts:
Konbanwa,

I just started learning about Japanese alphabets, and I started with Hiragana, so is it right to start with Hiragana then Katana? and if I learned about the both writing systems which one should I use in my writing? and my last question is when to start learning about Kanji ?


texts: What is the difference between 生活 and 暮らし?

texts:
When I was looking through the main page of OKWAVE, and I saw that the questions are put in categories. One of the categories says 生活・暮らし.

When I looked them up on Weblio, 生活 has the meanings of “(a) life/lives; (a) livelihood, (a) living” and 暮らし has the meanings of “a living, a [one's] livelihood; life; existence, subsistence”.

This shows that both of them seem very similar, but there must be a difference between them. Does anyone know what it is?


texts: What's the difference between 成人 and 大人?

texts: What's the difference between 成人 and 大人 ?


texts: Why would you use a verbs stem (as state-of-being) rather than the verb itself?

texts:
Now, I'm not sure if this has been answered, I looked but couldn't find a proper answer... so I ask. :)

While I was listening to this, I noticed the line 「空、翳{かげ}り」。Now, in the context of the song I of course understand what's being said (tho, 翳 was new to me), but I still don't quite understand why they would write 翳り、instead of 翳る or something like that?

This isn't the first time I've seen this of course, but I still don't quite understand why it's done; thus I ask.


texts:
Can  たち　mean "and the others"?

  メアリーさんたちはいつ神戸に行くつもりですか。

I know that  たち is a pluralizing suffix: 私たち、子供たち、etc. But I'm listening to 2 people talking about Mary and her friends. I am confused by how たち　is used here.


texts:
What does Verb in 「ます」form +「っち」　mean?

What does the 「っち」　in ＠「見守りっち」 translate into?


texts: I am trying to find the meaning and pronunciation of this kanji, but this kanji appears impossible to find.


texts:
Example : As a friend, I think we should...

What do you add to ともだち to add the "As a" prefix?

Also, after that part, does the rest of the sentence follow the normal rules of a Japanese sentence?

What I mean is, could I comfortably add "As a friend" at the start of any Japanese sentence without changing anything for it to make sense?

Edit : Also, if you could put your answers in both Kanji and kana, that would be great, since I do not understand Kanji yet. Thanks


texts: What does the progressive tense 「〜ていて」 of the 「〜ている」 form mean?

texts:
The sentence at hand:

雪がたくさん降っていて、…

My interpretation would be that 「降っていて」 is the て-form of 「降っている」, which is the ている-form of 「降る」.
Intuitively I would understand this as something like "It keeps on snowing", but I'm unsure what the progressive tense of the ている-form means.
I've found a few questions answers regarding the use of 〜ていて in different contexts and different words, but none really seem to apply here.


texts:
君がかわいいってことには変わらないから安心して

I understand all the words I think but don't understand the grammar. What does こと do here? Does it mean "The part of you that is cute"? Does 安心して mean be calm or be at peace here? I can only understand it now as

  Because the cute things about you dont change, be at peace.


texts:
I learned in Tae Kim's Grammar Guide that だ cannot be used when asking a question. But in the book Japanese Sentence Patterns for Effective Communication by Taeko Kamiya, I found several example sentences that used だ in a question. I also have seen it being used this way in anime.

I'm guessing there is some type of exception to all of this? Anyways, I hope someone can shed some light on the subject for me. :)

== EDIT ==

Here is an example from the aforementioned book:

  どうしてゆうべ来なかったんだ？ (Why didn't you come last night?)

And here is an example from the title of the 249th episode of the show Dragon Ball Z:

  悟飯はどこだ!? (Where's Gohan!?)


texts: Is there a term for "blue balls" in Japanese?

texts:
Blue balls: testicular pain caused by prolonged sexual arousal in the human male without ejaculation.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blue_balls

Is there a term for it in Japanese? If so, what is it? If not, what would be the closest way to express it?


texts: Both seem to be translated as "when". Are they the same? It seems to me that 「時」 is mostly used for things that actually happened in the past whereas 「際」 is used for when something (could) happen in the future.


texts: Difference between そうです、 ようです and らしいです.

texts:
Here are the example sentences.

デイビットは料理が上手そうです。

デイビットは料理が上手なようです。

デイビットは料理が上手らしいです。

Firstly, what does デイビット mean as based on reading alone its sounds like 'debit' to me which is a strange name to have.

Secondly, all three of these grammar points have a similar meaning of 'looks' or 'seems' but obviously have nuanced differences and different uses. As far as I do know, そうです is used more for a first impression 'looks' or 'seems' than the other two but I could be wrong.


texts: Can someone help with this sentence? Or - how to decipher the structure in general

texts:
Could someone help me with understanding/translating this sentence?
あっちがメディア化ともなれば必然的に打ち合わせ等の優先順位はこっちが後回しになります。
The sentence before: マンガ編集者というのは他人も担当作家を抱えています。 (which I read as something like: Being a manga editor means being responsible for several authors...) The sentence after that: 自分の作品の価値を上げ担当編集者に振り向いてもらうことだけ。 (which I read as something like: So the only thing left for me to do is raising the value of my work and thus turn/hand it over to the editor in charge...) Thanks!
It's sometimes so frustrating - even if you know or at least can look up all the words in questions, I sometimes stumble upon sentences where I just never can figure out the whole meaning behind it. Any advice for these kind of encounters? Or is it just a lack of more in-depth and more fundamental grammar principles? In this particular sentence, the あっち and こっち really kills me. Appreciate any help! And stay safe y'all!


texts: does the structure「(verb stem)がする」 exist?

texts:
「臭う」 and 「臭いがする」 have the same meaning, but can this be generalize?

according to google:
臭いがする (49-m hits); 話しがする (17-m hits); 笑いがする (31-m hits); 踊りがする (5-m hits); ...

But, a Japanese scholar told me that, except for 「臭いがする」、"verb stem" + がする
is incorrect grammar. I am not convinced. Can someone help me sort this out? To start with, I bet that the verb must be intransitive.


texts:
What is the difference between 痛み and 疼き?
Both words mean 'pain', 'ache'. Is there any difference in usage of these words except of frequency?
Feel free to provide examples.
Thank you.


texts: What's the difference between these two words for "efficiency"? 能率/効率

texts:
These two words both seem to mean "efficiency", but is there any difference in their meaning and usage?

From reading around a bit, I have gathered this. Is this correct? Could someone please explain it more clearly?

能率 Time efficiency (e.g., He spent the time efficiently)
効率 Usage efficiency (e.g. This machine is very energy efficient)


texts: What does こういうの refer to in こういうのって天然が一番怖いのよ

texts:
どこまでドジっ娘なのよ、あの子

  あはは…ま、まあ、わざとじゃないんだし

  こういうのって天然が一番怖いのよ

context: あの子 forgot something back in her room that they need and is in the process of going to get it and the other two then begin to talk.

I know that こういうの means "something like this"/things like this but honestly I can't see what "this" would be referring to. Does こういうのって in this case mean something like: as for things like this(in this case referring to forgetting important things)?


texts:
息子さんはどちらの学校ヘ通っていますか。
息子さんはどの学校ヘ通っていますか。

Could someone tell me the difference between どの and どちら in this case?


texts:
I have problems understanding the correct grammatical structure of this saying:

金は取れる時に取れるところから取れるだけ取っておくものだ

I kind of understand what it is saying. I think its something like "At a time where there is money to be taken, you should take it all". But i struggle with the parts like

what meaning has kara in 取れるところから
what does this mean 取れるだけ取って
what means ~おく in とっておくもの.
Is it like the structure "verb + te + oku" or is it okumono -> a
thing that was placed?

This saying appears multiple times in the manga and it starts to bug me.
If somebody is interested to explain this I would be very happy about it ;]

Greetings


texts:
I am new here and very happy that I found this webpage, where everyone can ask questions concerning Japanese. ^^ I am studying Japanese in my 2nd year now and in my free time, I love to translate song lyrics, which are not always easy.

Currently, I'm struggling with the phrase
ボタンを掛け違う.

I've tried to read Japanese explanations for it, but I still can't figure out what exactly the concept of this phrase is. That's why I would be very grateful if someone could briefly explain me the concept of this phrase.

The context in the song is 掛け違ったボタンは直ぐほつれた, which makes it even more difficult to find like the one phrase to insert into the lyrics in English. To keep it very short, the song is about a person, whose world is falling apart and who can't hear any mercy anymore.

Thank you very much in advance!


texts: How do I alphabetize a list with Hiragana, Katakana and Jukugo?

texts:
I understand that there's the Gojuon order for あいうえお and so forth, but if I had list with Katakana アイウエオ, do I order it all like あいうえおアイウエオ, or do I order it like あアいイうウえエおオ? Consequently if I have Jukugo in this same list, does it get interspersed with the Hiragana and Katakana? Or does it get separated and added to the end?

Trying to find a concrete answer but my textbook is providing with no solutions.


texts: Who is doing the wanting in this sentence?

texts:
From this article talking about the evacuees from Fukushima experiencing bad treatment from people in the places to which they have evacuated:

  早稲田大学の教授は「避難した人たちは家やふるさとをなくして、今もつらい生活をしていることを忘れないでほしいです」と話しています。
  A professor of X university said "The evacuees have lost their houses and home town. Even now they don't want to forget about painful living."

Who is doing the wanting (ほしい) in the bold sentence? My English translation attempt sounds weird. It makes it sounds like the evacuees are complaining about thier bad treatment because they want to feel oppressed. Why would they not want to forget about hardship?

I would have expected something more like:

  今もつらい生活をしていることを忘れることができないです
  Even now they are unable to forget about hard living

What's wrong with my understanding here?


texts: Is there a reason why some questions have question marks and other don't?

texts:
In many things I read question marks are used after what is obviously a question, but sometimes they are not used (even though it is the same person who wrote it).

Is there a reason why, even stuff written by the same person, can be so inconsistent with regards to questions having question marks?


texts: Why is に used here and are there any possible replacements for it here?

texts:
彼は生徒に人気がある

I have done a quick search and I have found in cases where 人気のある and 人気がある are used that に marks who something is popular with most of the time. Why is に used here and could we use some alternative to mark 生徒?


texts: Why is the "NO" pronounced but not written in 山手, 井上 , 木下?

texts: The names are read Yamanote, Inoue and Kinoshita. Where is the NO written? Is NO the only pronunciation that is used but omitted when writing names?　Does it only happen when NO is used? Apparently, its only used in a handful of names, pronounced but not written. Any explanation would be helpful.


texts:
Q: かばんはかいましたか。

A: 1.　はい、もうかいました。
 　2.　はい、もうかってあります。

Both answers also correct, but when should I use the second answer?


texts:
What does that mean in the dialogue below.

すみません。質問があります。
何でしょうか。


texts:
ゆめ人に洩らし給えそ　Never breathe a syllable of it to any one! (ＮＥＷ斎藤和英大辞典)

Is negative meaning here implied but not stated explicitly? ゆめ ＝ 必ず, そ = ぞ as bound particle (it could be negative final particle そ, maybe, but that follows renyoukei/mizenkei according to this http://kobun.weblio.jp/content/%E3%81%9D）,
洩らす＋たまう in meireikei is positive, honorific request.


texts:
If I wanted to say "I ate something this morning" or "Did you eat something this morning", would I use a particle with "this morning"?

Example:

  けさ、なにかたべましたか？

vs

  けさはなにかたべましたか？


texts:
I was studying grammar from this site. I figured what き meant through the kanji, but I couldn't pinpoint what verb つく tsuku was.

Then I googled it and found a site where it says that 「に 気 が つく」 means "to have ki put onto you".

But I can't figure out the dictionary entry for つく.

Would anyone give me the dictionary definition along with the kanji for the same?


texts: Adding the title of the song in a sentence or question

texts:
I am trying to find out how to say "I sang a song called something yesterday".

I do know how "I sang a song yesterday" is translated to Japanese which is
昨日は歌を歌いました

But where should I put the title of the song in question in the sentence?

Is it 昨日は歌という"title"を歌いました?

So I ask here how to ask for the title of a thing and maybe work something out from there.

P.S. It's a bit hard to google "Title of a song" or "Name of a song" in Japanese :D


texts:
The difference between が and を with the potential form of a verb. and Is it true that all nouns must be able to accept a が particle and a を particle? are noted as possible duplicates; however, I haven't seen an analogous structure.  The examples I have seen use a verb on the right-hand side, rather than an adjectivial noun.

Please compare two sentences:

このかばんが好きです。

and

このかばんをすきです。

Both are correct, right?  Is このかばん emphasized in the sooner sentence and すき emphasized in the latter sentences?  Or are these sentences completely the same?  Or is there something else going on?

Please, feel free to just explain the difference.  Thank you.


texts: The て form, the と and もの constructions: gerund, participle, transgressive, or verbal noun?

texts:
As far as I understand, among the constructions

(て-form verb),
(て-form verb)いる,
(finite verb)こと,
(finite verb)の,
(verb phrase)と,
(finite verb)もの

the form (2) unambiguously functions as a finite verb (denotes a progressive, a perfective or an intention, can accept arguments like a normal verb), (3) and (4) unambiguously function as nouns (verbal nouns with subtly different meanings, can accept arguments as a normal verb).

My question is about the remaining ones: (1), (5), and (6). Basically, what are they, from a language-neutral perspective? From the outside, do they look like adjectives (participle? although seemingly any finite Japanese verb can qualify a noun as is), adverbs (transgressive), nouns (verbal noun), special non-finite verb forms of some sort (if so, what do they express?). Or should I just give up and say they only make sense as a part of set constructions?

The て form (1) seems to accept arguments like a normal verb and participates in a dizzying variety of constructions [～ても concessive, ～て下さる polite, ～ている progressive, chaining as in VPてVPてVP(finite), ...]. In some of them it can be replaced by a noun (concessive) or a noun with an を marker (polite), in some it can’t (progressive), in some it’s so special I’ve half a mind to mentally classify it as a different て altogether (chaining).

The と construction (5) I’ve seen used as a topic (～とは ...) or as a kind-of-object but without the accusative marker を (～と言う, for example, both as an action and qualifying something). It seems like the qualifying ～と言う (“so-called” as in ～と言うもの) can also be formed from a noun or just about anything, but I’m not sure about any other uses.

The もの construction (6) I’ve seen only as a topic (～ものは ...), sort of noun-like, but not really, as it doesn’t seem to be possible to use it as a noun anywhere else. The usage in ～と言うもの seems to suggest that it’s just a noun with a passive meaning: “something that is called ...”, but that’s only how I translate it for myself.

(As to mentioning the gerund in the title, seems like almost any one of these forms is called a gerund in one place or another—possibly because the -ing form in English can look as an adjective, an adverb or a noun from the outside.)


texts: How can I say "to put on/to play some music"?

texts:
Basically I'd like to say something like "Should I put on some music?" or "Should I play some music (from my phone)?" and I'm not sure which verb to use.
On jisho.org I found 掛ける {かける} but I'm not sure if 音楽を掛けましょうか。is a correct way to say this.


texts: Why do Japanese fonts tend to have different styles than handwritten?

texts:
I find it annoying that fonts like MS Mincho make hiragana look much messier than handwritten. For example, handwritten さ looks like this...

...while other fonts render this:

Other examples include に, き, and を (a special case where there is a protruding line on the left).

Can somebody explain the reason for this?


texts: Trying to understand what does 見え mean in this short sentence

texts:
I'm new to japanese and I'm having a hard time trying to figure what "彼女のいう天使に見え" means.

I don't know if the correct interpretation is either "She looked like an angel" or "She saw an angel". I'm not sure how ni particle is working here :/

For context purposes, this is the full description of the item:

  王妃の聖女であったゲルトルードは彼女のいう天使に見え、その物語を知ったという.

Any help will be appreciated, thanks in advance!


texts:
I was looking for improvements on my vocabulary and then I saw the word telephone which accordinly to Genki series is でんわ, but let's suppose that I want to say This telephone is white, is gramatically correct to say このでんわはしろです.

Can I say both は and わ? Sounding something like kono denwa wa shiro desu? Or should I choose another word (if there is one) to replace でんわ to not mess up the noun with the particle?


texts: オレはまだ死にたくねえんだ: what is たくねえ?

texts:
I’d like to know what is たくねえ here? たく means “to cook” but I don’t think that’s it here. I suspect it’s slang for something but what?

Source:
https://www.sukima.me/bv/t/blackjackniyoroshiku/v/1/s/4/p/12


texts: expressing casual potential for adjectives

texts:
This is a follow up to How to construct potential form for adjectives

I'd like to know how to say "can be x" where x is an adjective, in a casual way. For example with a friend, this seems a little stiff: "敬語凄い長い可能性があるね。” ("Keigo can be really long.")  Isn't there a casual term more relevant for this situation? かもしれない doesn't seem relevant as I'm not expressing doubt.


texts:
To my knowledge the expression「私なんか」is approximately translated as "Oh, not me!" and used to sound humble.
The questions are:

Is it gender neutral?
Are there other situations where it can be
used?


texts: What's the best way to say "redesign" pertaining to a web page/site?

texts:
I want to say that I'm "redesigning" a web page, and I can think of several words that may fit, but I'm not sure which is most appropriate or most widely-accepted in the technology world.

更新　→　This is usually used for upgrading/updating of software, although I have seen it used to mean "refresh" (for a view of some sort; browser, file manager, etc.).  I'm not really upgrading anything in the sense of new functionality, simply a visual redesign (although I suppose that implies even a miniscule amount of functional improvement).
改築　→　Rebuilding or reconstructing; I'm not sure if it can be used figuratively for something not physical/structural.
改造　→　Remodeling; same argument as previous.
改装　→　Remodeling/redecorating; same as previous; seen it mostly used for redecorating the inside of buildings, houses, etc.
改善・改良　→　Straightforward "improvement"

So is one of these (or other) the "set" term for "redesign" in the tech world?  My gut tells me it is probably 更新 even though that one makes the least semantic sense in my mind.


texts: Why is 島 used in the name of some cities?

texts: I can understand "島" being used in 硫黄島 (Iwo Jima/Iwo To, literally "Sulphur island"), because it is an island, but why is it used in 福島市 (Fukushima city, literally "Good fortune island") and 広島市 (Hiroshima city, literally "Wide island")?


texts: Meaning of ぬ added to 連用形 / masu-stem, as in 風立ちぬ

texts:
What does the ぬ at the end of 立ち specify? I can't find a verb that is just 立ちぬ, is this some kind of special form? Can this be done with other verbs as well?

風立ちぬ, for reference, is Miyazaki's new film's name.


texts:
I saw a short sentence: “A入れこみB”. What does this mean?

A enters B? B holds A? Or A says something to B? Or does it mean something else?

I found this sentence in a storyboard, looking a bit like this:


texts: Please help me understand 注がれた in this sentence and its conjugation

texts:
信じられないほど青い目、まるで淡いサファイアのようだ。その目がハリーを観察している。そして額の傷にじっと注がれた。

Why did they use passive form in this sentence and what does it mean when coming after noun + に ?


texts:
I need a little help with the meaning of "アップ" in this sentence.
I'm translating an interview about a stage play based on a manga.
The director wanted to add a scene where there is a wolf girl, but the mangaka was surprised and explained why she thought it was a difficult thing to do on stage:

でも、狼少女は、漫画でならアップができるからいいけど、舞台にすると難しいということで。

I read that one of the meaning of アップ is "close-up", but I don't think this is the case.
Since a アップ is also "a boost; an increase" I was thinking of "an exaggeration" in this case, but maybe it's a stretch from my part:

"However, a wolf girl is fine in a manga, because exaggerations can be
done, but it's a difficult thing to do on stage."

Thank you in advance for your help!
--
Edit:
Here is the original context.
It's an interview with the main actress (Kanjiya-san) and the mangaka (Miuchi-sensei).
Here they start to talk about how good the director (G2-san) is at adapting the manga scenes for this stage play.
The manga focuses on theater so all the names between quotation marks are names of plays inside this stage version.
One of these plays should feature a wolf girl.

貫地谷:
今稽古ですごく面白いのが、大河ドラマの沙都子の演技に対して、「この子画面で光ってるよ」と言われるシーンで、どうやるんだろうな？と思ったら、G2さんが私が主役であるかのように見える配置を考えて下さって。やっぱりそれは舞台ならではの見せ方で、すごく面白いです。
美内: なるほど。そうですね。G2さんと打ち合わせをした時に、
『忘れられた荒野』の芝居は外してほしくないって言ったんですよ。でも、狼少女は、漫画でならアップができるからいいけど、舞台にすると難しいということで。確かにそうですねと思いました。ただ、
『忘れられた荒野』は、紫のバラのひとの正体がばれる大事なエピソードがあるので食い下がったんですが、出来上がってきた台本を見ると、主要な要素は全部
『ふたりの王女』の中に入ってました。さすかだなと思いました。でもね、ちょっと残念なんですよね。貫地谷さんの狼少女が見られないっていうのがね。


texts:
I already know that it's hardly used anymore, but for sentences such as 嬉しゅうございます, is this humble? That is to say, is it inappropriate to use the form for someone of higher social standing (provided they have told you)?

Also, would the past tense be 嬉しゅうございました?


texts: I know, that both are honorifics, but I thought that いらっしゃいます is more often used when expressing state-of-beeing, aka "Is Tanaka-sama here?" and なさる when expressing doing: "Can someone do it?".I can vaguely guess that いらっしゃい is more polite and can be added with ~te, but I come often to see that in above situation both words can be used.How can I differentiate them between one another?


texts: What is 何の doing in this sentence? (「何の躊躇いもなく」)

texts:
何の[躊躇]{ためら}いもなく答える人になりたい。

I don't understand what function 何の is serving here. Is this just nuance? How much does the sentence's meaning change if it weren't there?


texts: Is 場合は considered a conditional form? (and how do you correctly use it?)

texts:
場合は、doesn't seem much of a conditional grammar structure to me but in class we learnt this form alongside たら、なら、と＆ば。　How does 場合は、compare to these structures and how do you correctly use it? (as in contextually not how to conjugate)

Thank you!


texts:
Talking about the Umeda branch of a hamburger chain, a Japanese colleague said:

  梅田店は基本デリバリーからテイクアウトメインだよね。

So, does this branch do more deliveries than takeouts? Or the opposite?
Or mostly deliveries AND takeouts, rather than eating within the restaurant?


texts: Is there a list of "pieces" all the kanjis are made of?

texts: I started to make a list of all the "pieces" (I don't know how to call them) all the joyo kanjis are made of, for me to be easier to memorize all the kanjis (I memorize them by remembering the "pieces" the kanjis are made of). At first I thought this list could match the radicals list, but it isn't the case. I was wondering if that list already exists and it has a name, since mine (although it isn't cleaned up) it has over 400 "pieces", and it isn't sorted in any readable way, so I could improve mine.


texts:
WWWJDIC lists 差す as an intransitive verb, but in all of the example sentences I've seen it looks more like a transitive verb.

So my question is, is 差す a transitive or intransitive verb?


texts: Shouldn't there be a のは in this sentence?

texts:
This is a an example sentence from a JLPT textbook to explain the use of たらしめる:

  想像力{そうぞうりょく}こそ作品{さくひん}を芸術{げいじゅつ}たらしめる要素{ようそ}である。

I understand the meaning, which is something like, "The key element in making a work of art out of ability is imagination."

I have this sentence in my flashcards, and even though I've looked at it dozens of times, it still seems awkward to me.

To make a long story short, it feels like it should be something like:

  想像力{そうぞうりょく}こそ作品{さくひん}を芸術{げいじゅつ}たらしめるのは要素{ようそ}である。

Is my のは version any more or less grammatical? Is it merely wrong? Does it change the meaning?

If the original sentence is fine, can someone break down for me how the first part of the sentence (up to the end of たらしめる) connects and relates to the end part (要素{ようそ}である)?


texts: "I have multi-lingual ability" or "I'm a multi-lingual",how to say it?

texts:
I'm filling in my CV in Japanese.

As the title mentioned, I've got some troubles how to give it a word into Japanese. "多言語話者【たげんごわしゃ】" or "優れた【すぐれた】言語能力【げんごのうりょく】" is what I've got so far.

Can someone help me describe it into a short paragraph? As for my case, I can speak five languages such as Mandarin (15-year learning so far) , Cantonese ( mother tongue ), Malaysia (mother tongue),  Japanese (1.5-year learning so far), English (daily conversation). And I wanna tell the interviewer that this is the most confident part of my CV.

I'll be very grateful for any help. Thank you.


texts: How to distinguish between the meanings of "quickly", "soon" and "early" for 早く

texts:
At What is 方 used for (when attached to a た-verb)?, I wrote that the 早く there means "early":

  早く行った方が良かったでしょう。
  It would have been better if (you) had gone early, would it not?

But I'm wondering whether that was correct. In the case of e.g.

  早く行ったほうがいいよ。

How can you tell if it means "it'd be better if you go quickly", "it'd be better if you go early" or "it'd be better if you go soon"?

If the answer is "by context", if possible please give examples of contexts where one or the other is the case.


texts: I need help with this sentence from Re:zero

texts:
I'm reading the Re:zero light novel, volume 9. The second sentence in the book is

  水の中を漂うような、上下左右も曖昧な世界に投げ込まれている

What is 水の中を漂うような modifying?
And I don't understand the meaning of 上下左右.


texts: Can the appositive have more than one meaning in a phrase?

texts:
I'm looking at this phrase:

  俺が話していた男。。。

I don't know if this sentence is correct in the first place, but I feel as if this can be translated two ways, specifically:

  The man I was talking to...
  The man I was talking about...

Is this correct? Either way, how is it possible to make distinct these two meanings so that I can avoid ambiguity if a case like this comes up?

Most of the time, it's easy to tell which particle is implied. I remember this line from a song, where it's pretty clear で is the "missing" particle:

  あなたが笑ったこの丘

But I worry about the few cases where it could be a problem.


texts:
Dear fellow lovers of the Japanese language,
please bear with my possibly foolish question.

I've come across this sentence in a visual novel (Fate/Stay Night): が、人の噂など当てにならないのが常だ。こんな勝負を持ち出すあたり、男嫌いというより、単に今まで興味がなかっただけかもしれない。

I'm not sure as to what exactly "あたり" means in this context. Is it the usual meaning as a noun (success / vicinity), or something else? Can it be replaced with something like のは without the sentence losing much of its original meaning?

Thank you for your patience.


texts: How do you order someone to turn around in a direct and forceful manner, like the way a police officer or soldier would say? Thank you.


texts: Relationship between radicals, components, kanji and words

texts:
As a novice learner, I'm finding understanding the relationship between radicals, components, kanji and words difficult.

For example, this post on tofugu.com says that:

  The kanji is 町, which means "town." As you can see in the image above,
  町 is made up of two radicals:

  田 (rice paddy)
  丁 (street)

  To learn this kanji using the radicals
  mnemonic method, you need to know the names of these two radicals
  first.

However, this seems to clash with the notion that every single kanji only has one radical and one radical only. For example, if I search for the kanji 町 on jisho.org it says that the radical is 田 while the parts are 一, 亅 and 田.

The confusing thing to me is that I found as many sources to corroborate one version as I found sources to corroborate the other.

I came up with a series of statements to clarify to myself the relationship between radicals, components, kanji and words:

Every radical is a kanji but not every kanji is a radical.
A radical is simply a kanji that is used to create other kanji.
Every kanji only has one radical.
Kanji can have multiple components/parts that are kanji by themselves.
People use the terms 'radical' and 'parts' interchangeably, though this is not 100% correct.
Every kanji in itself is also a word but not every word is just a kanji (most are not).

Is my interpretation correct?


texts:
I'm reading a manga. Two sisters have just lost their father. Sister A laments that she doesn't know what to think, and sister B is just staring into the void. Then sister A says to sister B

  やけにカラっとしてるじゃないか。

Question: what on earth does she mean? In the dictionary, I find "dry", but that doesn't make much sense. Googling around, I've also found 明るい, but sister B doesn't look happy. My interpretation would be "You look like you don't care at all." or something like that, but that doesn't fit any dictionary entry I've seen.


texts: Use of だけ with と for saying "only /this/ and /this/"

texts:
Recently, I was replying to a comment on YouTube. I wrote this:

でも、「 ラットが死んだ」と「レッド・パージ！！！」が知名そうです

(But, Rats Died (a particular song) and Red Purge!!! (another song title) seem to be well-known.)

What I really wanted to say was that only those two songs were well-known. Is it okay to just do this:

でも、「 ラットが死んだ」と「レッド・パージ！！！」だけが知名そうです

or is that not correct? And what other ways can you say "only /a list of objects/" instead of only just one thing?

Thank you!


texts:
A person asks another if he knows the meaning of a certain word and he replies:

  ううん、なんとなく使っているけど、でも、こう、なんていうか、...

  No, I somehow use it but ??? ...

My guess is that it means "Why do I say it?" but なんて doesn't mean "why". Can this phrase be decomposed or is it a fixed thing I should learn?


texts: What is the difference between 倒産 and 破産?

texts: Is there any difference in usage or are they pretty much interchangeable?


texts: Meaning of 私の方が好きだけどね

texts:
Context on what happened earlier: He made a comment about his philosophy on becoming friends and she liked it.

「でも　うん。私は好きかな。人が好きだから」
「奇遇だね、俺も人が大好きで仕方ないんだ」
「そっか。私の方が好きだけどね」

However, I'm not quite sure what she means by 私の方が好きだけどね.
Is this like a "no no, I love them (more than you)".
Or contrasting with him using 大好き to say that she doesn't like them that much.
Or is it something else?


texts: What does the ~たものか mean in どうやって彼らを誤魔化したものか?

texts:
I stumbled upon this sentence:

どうやって彼らを誤魔化したものか──と思案するように、ヒューイは愛想笑いを浮かべた。

and I was told that I should understand it as

どうやって彼らを誤魔化せばいいだろうか──と思案するように、ヒューイは愛想笑いを浮かべた。

However I can't find in any dictionary at hand an entry which would explain this usage of ものか nor how past tense can express something that has yet to happen?
More context here:

両手で耳を塞いだまま、ダリアンが非難がましい視線をヒューイに向ける。ヒューイは無言で肩をすくめた。
二人が廊下に出たのとほぼ同時に、調理場からも料理人たちが数人、驚いた顔で駆け出してきた。銃声を聞きつけたのだろう。
どうやって彼らを誤魔化したものか──と思案するように、ヒューイは愛想笑いを浮かべた。
だが、その表情はすぐに強張った。
ヒューイに近づいてくるにつれて、料理人たちの様子が変わってきたのだ。
まるで催眠にでもかかったみたいに、彼らの表情がうつろになり、目だけがぎらぎらとした強い光を放っている。餓えた獣のような眼差しだ。
彼らが見つめているのは、ダリアンではなくヒューイのほうだった。
料理人たちの視線に敵意は感じない。
『ダリアンの書架』より


texts: Why are katakana preferred over hiragana or kanji sometimes?

texts:
I noticed that "dame", which means "not good" or "don't do that", is sometimes written in manga as katakana. I was wondering, is it because katakana is used to express a strong feeling?

Sometimes, there are also other words written in katakana. In general, what are possible reasons why people would choose katakana for a word instead of hiragana or kanji, especially when that word is not usually spelled with katakana?


texts:
The sentence given with its translation is:

I'm out of the woods.
山 は 越えた よ。

When I looked up the word "越えた", it was only matched with "越える" instead.
I think the meaning is similar.
When I google translated 越えた, it gave me "exceeded".
I'm unsure if this is an error in my material but it's certainly confusing me as I'm still new to learning.


texts: What is the Japanese wording for unsheathing a sword (katana) for about half an inch with your thumb?

texts:
I know that "tsuba" is the handguard that you use to push katana out of its scabbard and "nuke to" means to draw a sword I think.
I'm curious how would you say/write down "draw a little bit of blade from the scabbard with your thumb via tsuba", which could indicate the intent of the blade wielder wanting to start trouble.


texts:
ALC translate the Japanese マラソン into the English "marathon", which the English Wikipedia says has an official distance of 42.195 kilometres.

Is マラソン always 42.195 km?

Or has the Japanese word a broader meaning, describing any kind of running race?

For instance, this page is a list of マラソン under 10 kilometers: 1km～10kmのマラソン大会一覧

So, what is actually a マラソン?


texts: This one often used with emojis/sticker while chatting online. Till now, I haven't seen it's use in spoken language. It seems to be slang. Is there any indirect meaning other than English equivalent?


texts: When writing the kanji for dragon, should I use the simplified or traditional or can I use either. My Japanese dictionary tells me that Japanese people learn both character forms in school. I know that the simplified version is more common, but I just think that the traditional versions look better. This question also applies for kanji that have a similar problem like 国 and 國.


texts:
「制服を買ってみたのは はじめてです」

In this sentence what's meaning みたのは?
So somebody said me  that it's meaning "I have got a uniform". But I want know whe (and what is meaning) here there is みたのは？Thanks for your answer!


texts:
I originally learned that i-adjectives are joined with くて e.g.

長くて、赤い魚が欲しい。

I want a long, red fish.
Recently I've come across a couple of examples where the two adjectives are joined together with the omission of the い from the first e.g.

細長い四角
Thin, long rectangle

Is this something I can do with any pair of i-adjectives or just ones of the same type (ones that describe size in this case), or are there only specific pairings that are allowed?


texts:
What would be the difference between

  扉はやはり音もなく、押されるままに動いた。

and

  扉はやはり音もなく、押されるままで動いた。

When do you use ままで instead of ままに？


texts: Do Kanji have consistency in pronunciation like Chinese HanZi?

texts:
I learned to speak Mandarin a while ago and have understanding of Kanji thanks to that.
However, I'm new to learning and I'm tripping up over this, till I wrap my mind around it. Do Kanji have several pronunciations?

For example. 日本. here it is "nippon", however, and when I see the second kanji in 六本木, it seems to be pronounced the same.
However, in another example like 今日 the first is pronounced "kon" here while in a sentence like 今何時ですか it is pronounced as "ima".

My question is: Are these instances consistent at all? Perhaps when 今 is on its own it's usually "ima" but when paired with other kanji it is pronounced differently? Or is it inconsistent and you can find sometimes it is still pronounced as "ima" even when paired with other kanji? Also, when two kanji are paired, can the pronunciation of the word take a new form different from how they are both separately pronounced on their own?

Many thanks!


texts:
In the following saying:

  時は金なり。

What exactly is なり? My dictionaries seem to give a number of different options that could all explain its use here.

Is it 成る? Is it 也, an archaic version of です or ある? If so, does that mean that in the past, Japanese verbs did not all end in the う-sound?