texts: 光の差さぬ暗い影 vaguely understanding this line

texts:
I started a light novel and I knew I would see more of formal writing and I have this part that I only understand a little. The subject is about shadows, which relates to supernatural beings (this story has a character that fights with these kinds of beings).
I have this small description of the shadows:

ひそやかに舞い狂う黒い影。
光の差さぬ暗い影にうごめく、怪しい気配。

It is the second line that I do not understand well, like I get the gist, but perhaps I am understanding in a wrong order.
First of all:

光の差さぬ=光の差さない

Would this be correct, like the modern way? And if so, I still don't get a clear picture, how should I understand this? I think my interpretation is wrong, but I will try and I'm breaking down the sentence:

光の差さぬ "where light does not shine"
暗い影 "dark shadows"
うごめく"to squirm" or '"to stir"
怪しい気配 "weird sensation" or "presence"

"Towards dark shadows where there is no light shining, it stirs and gives (you) a weird sensation".
Does it make any sense at all? I think I am wrong, so can someone please help?


texts: Using は instead of を here, the differences?

texts:
In Lesson 11 of Genki I, they discuss the は particle in negative sentences:

In negative sentences, you often find the particle は where you expect が or を. Observe the dialogues below:
山下先生はテレビを見ますか。(Do you watch TV, Prof. Yamashita?)
いいえ、テレビは見ません。(No, I don't.)

From what I know about the は particle, isn't this actually incorrect? Because the は particle would be interpreted as contrasting something, so the second line would rather mean something like: "No I don't" but also implying "... but I may watch other things, like a computer".
Am I wrong? Why can't you just use を?


texts:
A girl ties up a cat and puts it in the corner. She's not paying attention and it escapes. When she looks in the corner she sees the ropes, and she sees that the cat is gone, and she says "逃げられた".

Is that （猫が）逃げられた = 逃げることが出来た, or is it （私は猫に）逃げられた?

EDIT: Just to clarify, the first one is meant to be the potential form, and the second one is meant to be the passive form.


texts:
I have never actually seen the words for almost used in Japanese. Below are the various translations for "Almost" that I came accross:

「大方」
「粗」
「九分」
「殆」
「もう少しで」

Could you please highlight which should I use in those generic contexts? And also how to use them?

I almost fell down
I pray almost every day
Almost all the gold is gone (to contrast with "Most of the gold is gone")


texts:
I've some trouble with the translation of this sentence:

  どこにも行くなここにしとけ

I don't know what しとけ stands for.

Could you please tell me how would you translate this sentence?

Something like:

  You are not going anywhere but here.

Maybe?


texts:
About verb modify as nouns
Normally verb if want to treat as nouns is add こと/物 /の
Today learned verb dictionary+に限る
Why it is use dictionary form verb instead of stem form
From what I learn before verb stem + に行く,verb stem is used
Does it mean に限る , the verb before に is treat as nouns?
Example 疲れた時はお風呂に入るに限る
Is 入る as a nouns?How can に be put after a verb's plain form? What is this usage? Learned に can be put after a verb stem so far only
Can verb directly use as a nouns?


texts:
I think ありかもな means either of the following:
"Maybe it will be alright" or "It could be okay" or "It is possible"
I deduced this from this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c41XkGEyIrU
As well as the second definition of あり in Jisho: https://jisho.org/word/%E5%9C%A8%E3%82%8A
Am I correct or am I missing something? Thanks in advance for any help :)


texts: Why do people have to add "o" to "namae" like "Onamae wa?"


texts: Sentence Polarity when connecting sentences/clauses with て/で

texts:
I was reading the Tobira textbook recently and I became a little confused when reading the following passage.

  "日本語では、会話をスムーズに進めるために「あいづちをうつ」ということをします。「はい/ええ」「うん」「そうですか」など色々ありますが、これらは
  ″Yes, I'm following you; please continue.″という意味で、″Yes, I
  agree.″という意味ではありません。"

More specifically this particular sentence

  "これらは ″Yes, I'm following you; please continue.″という意味で、″Yes, I
  agree.″という意味ではありません。"

From my understanding this sentence means

->"This means "Yes, I'm following you; please continue" and NOT
 "Yes I agree"."

Is this correct?

The reason I'm confused over this is because despite the clauses being opposite polarity they are using the て/で form.

Normally wouldn't a sentence with opposing polarities be better suited/more natural to using the が particle such that

  これらは ″Yes, I'm following you; please continue.″という意味ですが、″Yes, I
  agree.″という意味ではありません。

Is using the で　in the first example the same as using the が in the second example?

Theoretically speaking, if I wanted to negate both clauses would it make sense to use じゃなくて？

  これらは ″Yes, I'm following you; please continue.″という意味じゃなくて、″Yes, I
  agree.″という意味ではありません。

Would it make sense to interpret this sentence as "These do NOT mean "Yes, I'm following you; please continue" and NOT
 "Yes I agree".

I.E both clauses are negative.

Basically what's troubling me is: is the polarity determined from the ending of each individual relative clause or is the polarity of the entire sentence determined by the ending of the sentence. Because tense IS determined by the sentence final ending, correct?

Thanks


texts:
能力のある人や努力した人が豊かになることが本当の平等というものだろう。

why did we use が two times in this sentence, and what does the mean of 豊かになること sentences


texts: Why do we believe that 神 is likely to be a loan from Ainu?

texts:
I recently read the document "Old Japanese Loanwords" by Frellesvig, where he states:

  OJ kamwi ~ kamu- 'spirit, deity' may well be borrowed from an ancestor of Ainu kamuy 'bear; deity'.

Ever since I heard of the word "kamuy", I figured there was a connection to 神. But why do we believe that it is likeliest for 神 to be borrowed from "kamuy", rather than "kamuy" being borrowed from 神, or both of them coming from a common substratum? (Or, if this is actually a controversial stance, what is the evidence on which Frellesvig bases his belief?)


texts: Verb form for titles and section headings

texts:
I read this question and realised that I don't know what the natural way to make a title/section heading is.

Supposing I had a section in a science report which was "Designing the experiment". What would be natural ways to write this? Here are some guesses:

1) 実験を設計している
2) 実験を設計していること
3) 実験の設計

1) feels wrong to me. I'm not at all sure about 2). 3) Seems okay but it only works because I used a する verb.

Presumably the context is important too. Adding  こと in 2) sounds formal. I guess I wouldn't see that in a magazine headline. What about "Eating in fancy restaurants" as the title of a magazine article. Would the verb be 食べている, 食べる or some other conjugation?

In summary, how do you write "Doing X" as a headline/title/section heading in formal and informal contexts?


texts: What verb conveys the concept of 'visited'?

texts:
I am trying to say the following: "We also drove around California and visited San Diego, Joshua Tree Park and several beaches."

I think it should be:

  Kariforunia o doraibu shite sandiego nimo ikimashita. Joshua Tree Park
  to bi-chi o ikutsuka mimashita.

However, I've been told that "Mimashita" is wrong, because it just means "looked/saw."
I tried the verb "kengaku shimashita" but that apparently is also very similar to "looked/saw."

How can I change my sentence to naturally convey the concept of visiting those places?

PS. I have not used hiragana because my skills in hiragana are still at a beginner level and it's just creating too much confusion for me at this stage. The line is only going to be spoken.


texts:
Speaker asked how he was doing after waking up from his injuries.

  Q「それよりも大丈夫？　痛むところとかない？」

  speaker「いや……ありまくりだ。痛くないところがない」

  speaker 指一本、いやこうしているだけでも、断続的に節々が痛む。

  speaker 寝たきりだった体を起こした時のような鈍い痛みが全身に走っていて、それは彼女と森で出会った頃よりも強く感じられた。

my finger, ugh though it's like this (everywhere hurts?), hurts intermittently

How do i interpret いやこうしている here?

Thank you


texts: How do I determine the indirect object of a command?

texts:
I'm working my way through the core 2000, and came across this:

  [明日]{あす}、6[時]{じ}に[起]{お}こしてください。

I immediately thought, "Please wake up at 6am tomorrow." But the translation in the deck instead says, "Please wake me up tomorrow at six o'clock."

How would I know who the indirect object (the person being woken up) is? Shouldn't "wake me up" be preceded by [私]{わたし}に or similar?


texts: 立ってそばを食べる vs 立ちながらそばを食べる

texts:
I have a question about grammar and usage. Please help.

  たち食いそば屋は、座らないで「？」そばを食べる店です。

The question is what grammar form should be inserted there. My book answer is 立って not 立ちながら.

But what is wrong with the latter?

P.S.
I'm not sure whether this is a relevant info but the question is from an N1 Jlpt test. Does that mean that ながら, which is enlisted in N5 level, is not the appropriate answer?


texts: Words like 「滅入る」and 「翻る」I just cant understand. When I look at the spelling for えいる and がえる, it just doesn't match with what I hear. with えいる I hear "eh-E-ru", but since い extends え (I think it does) shouldn't it be "meeh-ru"? and with がえる I hear "gah-I-ru". but its an え so shouldn't it be "gah-eh-ru". This is all super confusing to me and I'm probably fundamentally wrong somewhere so any help is greatly appreciated. (I'm a beginner)


texts: Question about the meaning of あるく in this sentence

texts:
I don't understand the usage of あるく in this sentence:

  おれはあさっての朝早く、鳥のうちを一軒ずつまわって、お前が来たかどうかを聞いてあるく。

As I read it, it's "On the morning of the day after tomorrow, I will visit the birds' houses one at a time and ask whether or not you came there."

The 聞いてあるく is throwing me. Why is あるく linked to 聞く's continuative form and what does あるく ("to walk") mean in this context?My first guess was "to ask while I walk". However, "I will visit the birds' houses one at a time and ask as I walk whether or not you came there" seems redundant.

On a side note, I really hate to keep flooding Stack Exchange with minor translation questions like this. Could anyone recommend a forum where this sort of thing is more in line with the site's purpose?


texts:
A guy is buying Oden at the conbini and the clerk asks:
おつゆこれぐらいで?
So the guy answers:
うん、そんなもんでいいです
I think it means something like: is this much soup ok? But I don't really know why で is used at the end of the first sentence  or in the middle of the second.
I also don't get the meaning of the second sentence.
Could you guys help me here? Thank you very much in advance :)


texts: Why can に be put after a verb's plain form?

texts:
I just noticed this line in the System Preferences app on OS X:

It says

変更するにはカギをクリックします。
Click the lock to make changes

Here, に is put after a verb's plain form. I have never seen this kind of usage before. As far as I know, に is a 格助詞. And 格助詞 don't connect to verbs. They only connect to 体言, which I think does not include verbs.
So i searched online to see if this is a usage that I am not aware of. And I found this. But that does not show any examples of this "verb plain form + に" usage.
It also says that

格助詞は、主に名詞について、その名詞と他の語（他の名詞、あるいは、述語としての動詞・形容詞）との意味関係を示します。
格助詞 is mainly put after a noun and shows the relationship between that noun and another noun, a verb used as a predicate or an adjective.

How can に be put after a verb's plain form? What is this usage?


texts:
What does 事前{じぜん} refer to in this sentence?

  その前提{ぜんてい}であれば、事前{じぜん}にテキストを確認{かくにん}しながら、お客様{きゃくさま}の環境{かんきょう}でトレーニングの準備{じゅんび}ができると思います{おもいます}。

Does it refer to:

"checking the text"? -- as in 事前にテキストを確認する。
"preparing the training"? -- as in 事前にトレーニングの準備ができる。

For reference, I translated the sentence as:

"If that's the case, then while you confirm the text in advance, you can begin preparing for the training in the client's environment."

Google translated the sentence as:

If that is the case, you will be able to prepare for training in your environment while checking the text in advance.

Thank you!


texts:
Is there any difference between furigana and rubi. To my knowledge, both of these are used to write the provocation of kanji in small print above the kanji, but is there a difference between these two terms?

In general, is there a resource that lists all such Japanede terms which might be useful to language learners in a comprehensive list?

Thanks.


texts: What is "舎弟" supposed to mean in this context?

texts:
Speaker A tells speaker B that he feels like he's seen her before, speaker B responds with:

  あんたアレでしよ？哲也兄がこっちで舎弟にしたっていう

And speaker A replies:

  哲也兄！ ？ っていうか俺そういう扱いなの！？舎弟って、俺あのハゲに兄貴分らしい事何一つされてないんですけど！？

What I'm confused about is why does speaker A call Tetsuya "哲也兄" - Tetsuya nii when the 兄 suffix is used for older brothers but then she says Tetsuya is her younger brother "舎弟", there's something I'm misunderstanding here but I can't pinpoint what. My best guess is that I'm probably misinterpreting 舎弟, which could have another meaning that's not in a dictionary and doesn't literally mean younger brother?

I would be grateful if someone could point out and explain where I'm going wrong, thank you!


texts:
When I was trying to order a set meal in the restaurant, the waiter said

  Aランチのほうでよろしかったでしょうか

I am not sure why the past tense よろしかった is used here, I personally would say

  Aランチのほうでよろしいでしょうか

I have heard the explanation that the past tense is used to show politeness, but I am not sure how past tense makes it more polite or if it has completely different meaning here.


texts:
I realize I should not be spending too much time with romaji but I would like to try and understand more about how to translate hiragana to romaji. I used a translation web page and I noticed it sometimes adds spaces.

With the revised Hepburn system is this word translated like this:  kisaten or kisa ten? If the later then can someone explain why.

Similar question:  そうじ

Should this appear as Sō ji or  Sōji

Thanks


texts: Is it possible to tell whether a word is kanji or hiragana without reading it?

texts:
Is it possible to tell whether a word would be written in kanji or if it would be written in hiragana without actually reading it, like it is reasonably easy to tell if a word is likely to be written in katakana? (An example for katakana would be "this is an English loanword so it's probably written in katakana")

Background: The kana version of Japanese for Busy People 1 uses only kana - it doesn't have kanji with furigana, and I'm wondering if not knowing which words are really hiragana, and which are not really hiragana would be a problem.


texts:
I didn't know that you can use a number+counter combination as a noun, but it seems from this sentence that you can.

  一番上に置いてあった一枚を手に取った
  She picked up the sheet that had been placed at the top

Is this always true and can it be extended to numbers other than one, e.g.

  一番上に置いてあった二枚を手に取った
  She picked up the top two sheets

What is the alternative? i.e. what would I do if there was no counter word (other than a generic counter) and I hadn't previously introduced the thing I was talking about e.g.

  Please pass me the top two plates from that shelf.

I can't use a generic counter because there are also other things on the shelf and the person wouldn't know which thing I wanted.


texts:
I need your help.
What is the meaning of 結構もった in phrases like

  結構もった方じゃないか
  結構もった方だと思います

I can not find this in dictionaries.


texts: Why does this unvoiced ほ sound become a voiced ぼ sound?

texts:
I've seen a couple videos of a Japanese translation of the song Twinkle Twinkle Little Star. This Japanese version is titled 「きら きら ぼし」. However, star is 「ほし」.

Why is the ほ sound voiced in the title?

Example of this: http://blogs.transparent.com/japanese/twinkle-twinkle-little-star-in-japanese/


texts:
I was reading a manga and came along this text on the pillar:

I deciphered this: 〇〇爰大施餓鬼会
I can't find anything in that. I looked up various 大施餓鬼(おせがき) related articles, but those two kanji were nowhere to be found. They are written in really hard handwriting and I can't read them.
I couldn't find the 爰 either and I may have confused it with 妥 or another one, but the kanji looks more like 爰 than anything else.
After some more searching, I found also a photo of such pillar on Google:

After even more asking around, I found it is some kind of Buddhist Sanskrit signs of Zodiac or something like that, but I still don't know which sign it is exactly.

After asking a bit more I got told "You have to ask a monk!"; so I found a monk talking about gravestones and Sanskrit on them here and tldr: It says that it means something about annual event and that it means whatever the requestor had in mind without any strict rules to be followed. At least it's what I understood from his long post on his site
I might've misread something there, so I won't put it as solved yet.


texts: ki wo tsukete kudasai / karada ni ki wo tsukete kudasai

texts:
What is the difference between these two sentences?

気をつけてください
ki wo tsukete kudasai

体に気をつけてください
karada ni ki wo tsukete kudasai

I learned that "ki wo tsukete kudasai" means "take care", "be careful"? In a different text the "karada ni" part was added.


texts:
Today I heard the phrase なんてことしてくれた, as in:

  君！なんてことしてくれたんだ！

which I learned means "Look what you've done". I thought くれる was only used when someone does something nice for you. Is this just a set phrase, where くれる is being used sarcastically, or are there other times you can use くれる when someone does something you don't like?


texts:
I was wondering if anyone knew how to read Kawaii writing and if there is any guide to help us read them?

For example the following is I believe an omake or bonus page and it's not the first time I encounter these and I find them very hard to read...

From what I understand with bold character where I'm not sure where I don't understand, it's possible that everything I read may be wrong because it feels SO difficult to read these.

オマケ**?な
**甘木公半
(陪めの話だから
甘いのがかきたつなったっさ）

I wish there were books or other resources that could help with these bizarre ways of writing..

Thanks in advance to anyone that may shed some light into these for me, especially if you can help me understand how to read these.


texts: In the names of cartoon movies 桜花抄, 百鬼夜行抄, what's the special meaning of 抄? Is it a kind of synonym of 物語?


texts:
I was surprised by this sentence:

  桜の花が今年いつごろ咲くか発表がありました。
  There was an announcement saying approximately when the cherry blossom will come out this year.

We seem to have a question 桜の花がいつ咲くか directly modifying a noun 発表.

If I'd been asked to say this I'd probably have said:

  桜の花が今年いつごろ咲くかという発表がありました

Are either/both of these grammatically correct? What about formality etc?

Edit: Just read this question which seems to suggest that my modified sentence is correct and that the original is wrong. But the original is from the NHK news website, so I'd be surprised if it was wrong.


texts:
Context: a man has just declared his love for a woman in a really sentimental way. Two of his male friends comment as it follows:

  Friend A: なんつーベタな...
  Friend B: 昭和

I think it could be translated like: "How mawkish" "Yeah, old-fashioned". Do you agree? In general, is the Shōwa period considered as a time when things were more sentimental?
Thanks for your help!

EDIT: More context here: http://imgur.com/a/tE0Jd


texts:
I'm pretty sure I understand the usage of「である」 here:

  ピアニストである私{わたし}の姉{あね}は、いつも手{て}に怪我{けが}をしないように気{き}をつけています

My sister, a pianist, is always careful not to injure her hands. (My translation)

But I'm wondering if that usage is appropriate in all cases.  For one, my understanding is that「である」is literary-sounding and wouldn't typically be used in speech.  Is that the case here, or is that only relevant in the sentence-ending case?  Are there other alternatives with the same meaning?  For instance, could something like「のある」 or「の」be used in place of that「である」?


texts: What is the difference between 仏 and 釈迦？

texts: Both 仏 and 釈迦 are defined as "Buddha" in my dictionary. Is there a difference between these words?


texts:
I am looking for the reading/meaning of the kanji shown in the attached image.
It should spell 上御道田, if I am not mistaken.
The image is an excerpt of an old map of Achimura, Nagano-ken.
I tried googling for it, but all I could find so far is this.

Does anyone have any clues? Or maybe can point me to a place where I could look further?

Thank you in advance!


texts:
I came across the term “漫画研究会” in one short story, and I have been trying to figure out a good way to translate it.

“漫画” (manga) is not too difficult to translate. I simply translate it as “comic books”. Why? Because the short story takes place in a Japanese high school and it means “comics” in the Japanese language. Not to mention that “comic books” is often implied in the term.

“研究会” (kenkyuukai) is a term that is challenging to translate. Why? Well, here is the Japanese Wikipedia article on 研究会. The article may be missing sources, but it shows the various ways you can use the term.

Learned societies (also called learned academies, scholarly societies or academic associations)
Meetings of intellectuals that have been set up by administrative organs.
Groups of professional Game of Generals (Shougi) players.
Specialized training colleges (also called vocational schools, technical schools, professional schools, special schools, trade schools and so on).
The names of Public Interest Incorporated Associations and Public Interest Incorporated Foundations.
Policy organizations and political groups (6 people or more).
The names of parliamentary associations, groups (2-5 people) and factions in political parties.
Groups that engage in club activities (also called extracurricular activities or circle activities).

According to Weblio, 研究会 has the following translations: “workshop”, “society for the study of X”, “research society”, “study class”, “study group”, “seminar”, “scientific meeting”, “research meeting” and so on.

The short story that I mentioned at the beginning takes place in a high school. I think that “research meeting”, “scientific meeting”, “seminar” and “workshop” are not the right terms in this context, because those terms make more sense in a university as opposed to a high school. The terms “society for the study of X” and “research society” sound like groups that would have adult members, not high school students. The term “study class” makes it sound like it teaches about a subject for a period of time before giving an examination at the end of it. I think “study group” might fit the bill.

Moreover, in the story, it talks about the Culture Clubs and the Sports Clubs. Apparently, the 漫画研究会 is considered one of the Culture Clubs.

I think 漫画研究会 is translated as “The Comic Book Study Group” or “The Comic Book Club”.

Am I on the right track with this? I would greatly appreciate your feedback on this matter.


texts:
From what I understand, すら is commonly used with the negative conjugation (~ない, ~なかった) of verbs.

For example:

「ひらがなすら書けない。」 I expected (him) to be able to write hiragana. But even hiragana, (he) can't write.
「涙すら出なかった。」 I expected tears to fall. But even tears, didn't fall. (I expect him to cry but he didn't even wept a tear.)

Basically I was wondering is it grammatical to use すら with the positive conjugation of a verb?

For example, can 「涙すら出た。」 be considered grammatical, assuming the context is that the speaker expected "no tears to fall", but indeed "tears did fall"?


texts:
I think in the example below, どのダンジョンも・・・ means "whichever dungeon". The advice applies to any dungeon in the game. Can somebody confirm this for me please?

  どのダンジョンも、前半はダンジョンアイテム探し、後半は入手したダンジョンアイテムを使っての攻略となる。ダンジョンアイテムはボスにも有効だ。

I imagine this is a standard pattern but I can't say I have seen it a lot in my experiences of Japanese.


texts:
In Modern Japanese, one can use "がある” and "がいる” to express "There is/are ...". The existential sentence can be further used to assert the presence or existence of something in a particular place: "[Place]に[Something]がある/がいる".

How to write existential/locational sentence in Classical Japanese?


texts: When somebody uses 声が出る, what is the significance of saying it this way as opposed to using 言う? Is this used commonly and does it have some sort of special nuance I'm not aware of?


texts:
From the dictionary, it is not entirely clear which should be used in which context. And the what is the difference in their meaning? Are there any other words meaning conversation?

Thank you very much!


texts: What is the past tense of suru (do), which would be did?

texts: I was writing a story for Wattpad, in which the two main characters spoke both Japanese and English, when I wanted one to say "You did no better than I". I looked it up in my dictionary, and I could not find the word 'did'. Another way to say that sentence would suffice, but I would appreciate how to say the word 'did' in Japanese.


texts: How to add a specific day of the week when asking about opening & closing time

texts:
I know it's very basic but I am a beginner... If anybody could be of any help it would be fantastic :)

I know how to ask about closing and opening time (of shops, offices etc) but I don't know how to answer if for example the closing and opening time is different during weekend or on a specific day.

Thank you for your help :)


texts:
Is it sometimes considered politer or more formal to say ちゃう・じゃう as opposed to してしまう？ Does it give a more positive nuance than してしまう？

An example: One time I was going to be late to a dinner date and someone called me asking how late I would be. They were nervous and I'm their senior so they were using keigo the whole time, and then I said something like "it's ok if you start without me," and they replied 「それでは、はじまっちゃいます」 which I took to mean "ok, we're going to go ahead and start then."

I mean its not a big deal to me but I was just curious because intuitively it does feel like saying 「それでは、はじまってしまいます」would be completely wrong. Something about てしまう gives me more of a nuance of agency where ちゃう and じゃう don't.


texts: Can the declarative of だ、です、etc, be used with adverbs?

texts:
Can you use adverbs with declarative clauses? You know, when you complete a clause with い-adjective or a noun and だ、or です particle? Can they take adverbs?

Examples:

彼がとても元気ですね？ (He's quite lively, isn't he?)

彼女がとてもかわいい。 (She's vary cute.)

Are adverbs allowed in these cases? Or are they limited to being used in clauses who's copula is based on a proper verb?


texts: Are there differences in meaning or formality in the various readings of 家中?

texts:
In this example sentence,

[時計]{とけい}がないので[家中]{かちゅう}を捜{さが}した。
I searched all over the house for the missing watch.

Jim Breen's WWWJDIC (and Jisho, and tangorin.com) list
家中 【うちじゅう; かちゅう(家中); いえじゅう】 whole family; all (members of) the family; all over the house

The suggestion here seems to suggest that it 家中 is read うちじゅう

Do these various readings have different meanings or registers?


texts:
does this sentence sound like a native speaker?

明日から、問題が有れば、私に話す前に、まずメールで会話の内容を送信します。お願いします。

Any suggestion are welcome. Thank you so much.


texts:
Consider this:

  watashi wa remon wo tabeta

This is translated as I ate a lemon.

How about this?

  remon wo watashi wa  tabeta

This can be translated 2 ways:

1) A lemon I ate

However, it also can be translated as:

2) I ate a lemon

which is the same translation as in the 1st case (watashi wa remon wo tabeta), just the order of the words is different.

How would you deal with it on practice?


texts:
I want to say Please tell me if you want to go tomorrow!.

I can translate Please tell me to ぼくにおしえてください and you want to go tomorrow to 明日あなたは行きたい,

but how do I connected both with a conditional if?

I read this question and I don't think it's a duplicate, as that doesn't answer mine.


texts:
「入って間も無い千穂だが、こういった隙間隙間できちんと仕事を求めて立ち回るのである。」

The context of this sentence is that 千穂 is a relatively new worker at a fast food restaurant and was, just before a customer entered, talking to her coworker. It is mentioned that at the current moment nobody was at the register (which is not inflicted with any working-rules or anything). Further it is mentioned that this is not a terribly busy time for the restaurant.

I was just wondering why 「隙間」is repeated here. In my eyes the sentence would make sense without this repetition as well.


texts: How to differentiate friend levels in Japanese?

texts:
I sometimes have difficulty differentiating friend levels when explaining something to a Japanese person. For example, when I am telling a story about a friend, I want to specify the level of friendship we have based on the context of the story.

So there are 4 commonly known levels of friendship (click here for those who are not familiar):

Acquaintance
Casual friend
Close friend
Intimate friend

Others:

Best friend (a little bit different from intimate friend)

There are several terms I do hear when Japanese refer to friends like 友達, 友人, 親友, and 仲間{なかま} (translates as 'comrade' but commonly used to mean 'friend' in anime). How do I differentiate them in Japanese? Or do Japanese not differentiate between them?


texts:
I've never really had to think about object vs subject in native English since it's always come naturally for me, and I barely remember grammar studies when I was a child.
It seems to be important to mark subject and object properly in Japanese so I'm trying to understand how it works in the following example:

ばいきんまんを太った。

Is Baikinman the object here since "got fat" was the action that happened to him? Baikinman is the receiver of the action of getting fat?

ばいきんまんが太った。

Or is Baikinman considered the subject? If that's the case then what would be the object here? If nothing is acting on him becoming fat?
Can someone explain this in simple terms for me?


texts: How to say: Mary thinks that Robert likes Tom

texts:
How would you say: "Mary thinks that Robert likes Tom." ?
My guess would be メアリーさんはロバートさんはトムさんが好きだと思っている。
I'm just not sure if there should be a は or a が after ロバートさん because there is already a topic は particle reserved for メアリーさん.


texts: I have a question regarding original title of Akira Kurosawa's Throne of Blood movie. This title is pronounced "Kumonosu-jō" but written as 蜘蛛巣城. Why is possessive の particle missing here and the title not written as 蜘蛛の巣城? Is it because it's a name of a place? Is omission of particles in names a common thing? Are there any rules regarding this?


texts: The meaning of 「尋ねられもしないこと」

texts:
I'm reading a Japanese novel and there's this part of the sentence I don't know the meaning

  公安からの情報が必要な場合は、何とかして引き出す。しかし、尋ねられもしないことをこちらからわざわざ連絡するつもりはない。

My rough translation is: "In case information from the police is needed, we'll manage to get it. But we have no intention to contact them for 尋ねられもしないこと."


texts:
When referring to a time where one was a certain age, are there any differences in meaning, nuance or usage between saying, for example, 18の時 and 18歳の時.

I always thought you needed to have the 歳, but I ran into an example of it without it, so now I'm wondering.

Bonus question: Is this different for はたち? I.e. can you say 20の時?


texts:
予定や経学が実際と違った場合を話してください。

"Please talk about a case where plans and plans practical and changed."
I intentionally left my translation in this rather desolate state because it shows my 2 problems very well.

1) I don't really know how to convey a semantical difference between 予定 and 実際.

2) 実際 is a noun here, but 違った is a verb. Since 違った is past tense, I could imagine coaxing some noun-ish semantics into it since it kind of describes a state (in the end, past suggests that something has happened/is finished already). Nevertheless, even if both were nouns I wouldn't know how to give it a meaningful interpretation, because

(NOUN (subject) + が + complex noun-ish phrase + 場合) = very intransparent object of the full sentence


texts: How to properly say "Finally, I'd like to thank..:" at the end of a speech?

texts:
I'm holding my first speech in Japanese tomorrow. Most of it is set and done, the only thing I have a bit difficulty translating properly is how to say "Finally, I'd like to thank name-sensei (my Japanese teacher) for teaching me Japanese." at the end.

I hope there is someone who can help a lost soul.
Thank you very much!

*Currently I've got something like "Saigo ni, watashi wa name-sensei ni kansha shimasu." but I feel it doesn't really fit as a proper ending... (it doesn't have the right "tone", doesn't seem like it ends the speech.)


texts: How do you emphasize a word similar to using "The" in English

texts:
I know that there is no "The" particle in Japanese. But I am curious if there is a proper way to emphasize a topic the same way you do with "The" in English.
For example:

He's "the man".
So you meet the "president"!?!
"The 2011" world champion?

Would translate to "だ!" as in "です"? How do you emphasize it in Japanese?
On the other hand how about translating book titles with "The" would be a different question too.


texts: What is the word for "to furrow" in terms of eyebrows?

texts: Trying to say "her eyebrows furrowed" but cannot find the right expression. I recall there being a similar expression (which warranted a different English translation), but can't remember what it was...


texts:
Specifically in the context of the following sentence, from 燃え尽きた地図 (1967):

「おまけに、変に小才が効くから、余計にいけねえんだ。特に、飯場の連中に、ツケで飲み食いさせるようにしたのが、まずかったな。事務所の係長に、鼻薬をきかせたりしてよ、そのツケの代金を、給金から差っ引かせるようにしたんだな。」
「なるほど…」
「こんなところまで、出稼ぎに来て、なんの楽しみもありゃしねえ、ツケがきくとなりゃ、後で後悔するのは分かっていても、つい財布の紐が緩んでしまうって寸法さ。」

Background: The speaker is describing a low-level gangster who is running a shady group of unlicensed meal trucks near a large rural construction site.
I looked up 「つけ」 on zokugo-dict.com, but didn't find anything. Is he spiking the food with drugs, or what? Why does he have to bribe his superior back in the city to do it?


texts: Checking the translation of あそぶ in this sentence

texts:
The sentence in question:

私は日本からあそびに来た友達にロンドンをあんないしてあげた。

My translation - I guided my friend who is coming from Japan around London.

I know that あそぶ can be used to mean 'hang out with', and that’s what I'm guessing it means here, but I'm struggling to translate it into English and have it sound right with the rest of the sentence. You wouldn't say for instance "I guided my friend, whom I hang out with, who is coming from Japan around London" - It just sounds odd.

Could it be translated as "A friend whom I hang out with is coming from Japan and I guided him/her around London"?


texts: Can I use [自称]{じしょう}ほど for things other than namesake?

texts:
デス・クリムゾンはメーカーロゴ[画面]{がめん}[以外]{いがい}[自称]{じしょう}ほど[迫力]{はくりょく}がない。
Other than its maker logo screen, Death Crimson is not as menacing as its namesake.

As with the sentence above, I can use 自称 for referring to namesake.
In another question, the phrase as it's claimed to be is suggested to be translated to 言われているほど. Can I use 自称 here instead? Like

我が国の教育制度は自称のほど良くない


texts:
Here is the dialog containing the word. Is it a dialect?

A: まあ　それじゃ一緒に食べない？
B: そうすっか


texts: What's the correct 'you' to use in this case?

texts:
Would you leave 'you' out of translating this sentence?
"Money's worth what you make it worth."
So would お金は価値を持ってそれを作るものをの価値がある。be correct and still make sense?
Or would you have to put in some form of you, like そなた?
お金は価値を持ってそなたそれを作るものをの価値がある。
Or お金は価値を持ってあなたそれを作るものをの価値がある。
Situation is talking casually to acquaintance by email.


texts:
In the following sentence:

  割れた彗星の一部は隕石となって、日本に落下。

Though it sounds strange and amateurish, I see 割れた as an adjective for 彗星. So what is the grammatical role of 割れた in this sentence? and if it is the case that somehow alike to the way past participle is used as an adjective in the English language, in the Japanese language た-form could be also used as an adjective?


texts:
How do you respond to ありがとうございます　and other ways of giving thanks?
Are there any expressions similar to the English "You're welcome" or "No problem", or is it appropriate to not respond at all?


texts: Verbs which are more frequently used to built the honorific passive forms

texts:
I'd like to ask you a question about this honorific form.  I will give an example as detailed as possible to make this question clear.

The verb yomu is often used in passive form to show respect:

  先生が新聞を読まれました - the addressee is not teacher, so is the passive form with the plain ending is used

  先生、新聞を読まれましたか。 - the addressee is the adressess, so the passive form with the polite ending is used.

This honorific form compete with others such お読みになる (Honorific prefix + Renyoukei verbal stem + NI NARU). That is why I would like to know for which verbs, the passive honorific form is preferred to the Honorific prefix + Renyou verb + NI NARU


texts: In the anime "Fairy Tail", I came across the line 「ってか　お色気代　１０００ジュエル　パーだわ　これ」 which the translator subtitled as "By the way, I spent the 1000 jewels I saved by using my sexual appeal for this..." I was wondering what パー means here, since I've never seen it by itself before and I can't seem to find it anywhere.


texts:
What is the meaning of the verb 工夫 when it is used with clothes?

Example:

  [裏地]{うらじ}を[工夫]{くふう}してみる


texts: "jikuu o koete haruka tabi suru bokura" why this phrase is written this way?

texts:
I've read that this phrase "jikuu o koete haruka tabi suru bokura" is translated to something like "we traveled across space time on a distant journey" or may be for something more literal translation I like to think it is "we crossed space time on a distant journey".

A couple of things I dont understand is , why bokura is placed at the end of the phrase? shouldnt it be at the start? if not, can you always do that?

isnt tabisuru supposed to be a verb? is it here used as a noun? if so, can you always use a verb as a noun if you put it in a place of the phrase were it would work as a noun?


texts:
Do these both mean exactly the same thing?

何時に子どもを迎えますか
何時に子どもを迎えに行きますか

“When do you pick up your child?”
I suppose the second says “when do you leave to pick up your child” more precisely?
If so, is that the difference between the two? I don’t know which form to use in general conversation and what sounds less or more “wooden”.


texts: Title basically says it all. I think meanings are very close. Are they interchangeable? Are they appropriate for different contexts or situations? Can one be applied to animate objects and other can't? So far I can't figure out when to use one over the other. Thank you.


texts: Why is it that Neptune's name is written as ネプテューヌ and not ネプチュヌ?

texts: The title of Hyperdimension Neptunia game in Japanese is written as 超次元ゲイム ネプテューヌ. My question is, why Neptune is written as such? Shouldn't the "tu" in Neptune be be written as "tyu" （チュ）since it is read as Ne-pu-tyu-nu?


texts:
「キラキラ」 appears in the famous song 「Twinkle Twinkle Little Star（きらきら星）」:

きらきらひかる　お空の星よ

While 「ピカピカ」 appears in Christmas Song 「Rudolph the Red-nosed Reindeer（赤鼻のトナカイ）」:

暗い夜道は　ピカピカのお前の鼻が役に立つのさ

I wonder if they are interchangeable in the above and the following cases:
鏡・まど・海・星・ダイヤモンド　が　ピカピカ・キラキラする


texts: How do you say the language of instruction is in Japanese or if something is taught in Japanese?

texts:
There is a Japanese school in a foreign country. I want to ask if this school's main language is Japanese, if the language of instruction is Japanese?

How do I ask this? I know the term, teach (oshie) and learn (manabu), but is there a more specific term when used in this context?

If I were to ask 'At the school, is the instruction in Japanese?'.

UPDATE:

The word I was looking for was 習（なら）っていますか？

See accepted answer for an alternative phrase, and see follow-up comments for the full phrase using 習（なら）っていますか？


texts: How does 「から」 work in regards to 「だから」 and 「ですから」?

texts:
I'm confused at how から works, and there's very little information on this subject.

だから is used in front of a な adjective or noun.

い adjectives simply use 「から」.

Verbs can be in ます form, and only use 「から」.

Can 「ですから」 be used in place of 「だから」? And is the difference between:

「早く寝ましたから早く起きます。」 and 「早く寝たから早く起きます。」 different to each other the same way any typical plain form - ます form pair of sentences is?

Does the same apply to 「猫が綺麗だから犬が怖くないです。」 and 「猫が綺麗ですから犬が怖くないです」?


texts:
For most 漢字 with multiple 音読み, there appears to be a fairly reasonable link between the sounds, and fairly minor drift, such as with 聞 being モン or ブン.

Some 漢字, however, appear to have completely unrelated 読み, the prime example being 回 with カイ and エ. If it was just that one it could be readily dismissed as an historical accident, but the カイ/エ 読み is shared with the also visually unrelated 会 and friends.

So the question is; what's going on here?

Update: As l'électeur points out, this might be explained by the size of China, but if so: Why don't more 漢字 have these apparently unrelated 読み?


texts:
I've seen these words used in the following sentences:

以後: それ以後彼女に会っていません
以降: それ以降彼は辛い一生を送った

Judging from these examples alone, I guess they have some kind of overlap.

When is it appropriate to use one over the other?


texts:
I can not understand very well the meaning of もう in "もう腹ペコだ".
Looking online, the majority of the traslations say that "もう腹ペコだ" simply means "I'm starving/I'm very hungry".

So, my first interpretation of that もう is that it is used as interjection to strengthen the expression. Is it correct or not?

But, anyway, もう means also "already", so I wonder if "もう腹ペコだ" can means also "I'm already starving".


texts: Is で unnecessary for time references or does direct noun modification have different connotations?

texts:
I've seen a lot of sentences where で was omitted, like:

  今朝サンタさんが来なかった

Here we have 今朝 which is a point in time so the sentence should be:

  今朝でサンタさんが来なかった

But it's not. Is there any difference in meaning between these two sentences? Is sentence #2 grammatically wrong? Are there any other particles(?) which can be omitted in the same way?

Also what if it were written this way?

  サンタさんが今朝で来なかった

Does it have a new (#3) meaning in contrast to the previous ones?


texts:
I am trying to write a short message to a japanese acquaintance and am planning to use this sentence:

  今日はとても暑くて、雪がそろそろ溶けている。

I know that, in this context, I should use the polite form 「溶けています」. However, for some reason, I feel like I can use the dictionary form since neither me nor the addressee is involved in the sentence.
To be more precise, if I use 「溶けています」, because of the particle が, I feel like it's the snow that is being polite.

More generally, is the polite form a "tonality" of language used systematically in such a context, or is it a way to mark respect and humbleness in an interaction?


texts: I can't understand how いる＋寂しい means miss something like in 君がいなくて寂しいよ。


texts:
What's the difference between these two ways of saying "I'm driving to meet a friend"?

俺は友達に会いに運転している
俺は友達に会って運転している

Is this the difference between between V-stem and V-te conjunctives, one is written and the other colloquial?


texts:
I have seen several verbs used with し and する. What is the difference and can they be used interchangeably?  Here are a few examples,  The dictionary translates them all the same:

し損なう、損なう、損ないする

Also are these the same forms below and can they be used in  interchangeably

し払う ( i've seen it written as 支払う)、払う、払いする

And finally can I do this with any verb?


texts:
たとえば looks like it should be the ば form of a verb, but is that true? I know of the word 例える, but the ば form of this would be 例えれば. The phrase 例えるなら also exists, which would be a cousin if it were really based on some ば form. It's really hard to search for information about this because たとえば is ubiquitous in its use. Grammatically it seems that ば verbs could be used in this way with no problem, so everything in my mind tells me that this is the case. But ultimately I have no real proof of that.

Is たとえば based on a ば verb etymologically, or did it come about by some other mechanism? Is there a たとう from which it originally came?

Note: This question originally suggested for some reason that there was no verb "たとう," a statement that turned out to be completely false.


texts:
In the song Diver by Nico Touches the Walls there is this line, そこまで行けそうなら. I have been scratching my head on this for years actually, just remembered it recently. I don't think I've seen anywhere else そう and なら used together. Should I just take it at face value, "if it seems like I can go there"? Which sounds bizzare.

And later on there is どこまで行けそうかな which makes a little more sense to me, "I wonder how far can I go", but just want to check I'm understanding this right. Thanks.


texts:
It is my understanding (could be wrong of course) that the addition of ところ to a verb draws the time aspect of the verb nearer to the speaker/subject. So the following progression can be established.

そこへ歩いたI walked there (Unclear about the time except that the action is over and done with.)
そこへ歩いたところだI just walked there (States that the action ended very recently from the perspective of the speaker/subject.)
そこへ歩いているI am walking there (States that the action is currently occurring)
そこへ歩くところだI am about to walk there (States that the action hasn't happened but will in the near future.)
そこへ歩くI will walk there (States that the action hasn't happened and will in the future.)

I have read that 歩いているところだ can also be translated as "I am walking".
Could someone please explain how 歩いている (when it implies continuing action as opposed to habitual action) differs in meaning from 歩いているところだ and how it could be placed in the above progression if possible? In addition, I feel like it may be a separate issue so please ignore if too complicated, when would 歩いていたところだ be used?
If I had to guess, I'd say that 歩いているところだ falls between 歩き始める and 歩いている.
As a slight side note, for momentary verbs, does 帰っているところ mean "I am just about to enter the house" or "I am just about to leave where I am and start going home"?


texts:
I am often confused on which level of politeness to use between people who are relatively close.

For example, let say I am talking when a friend in Japanese and we use plain form. Although a close friend of that person comes along and joins the conversation. How does the use politeness change between the group?

If its someone I know but would normally use ～ます/丁寧語 form with, would the entire group switch to that? Or would the politeness stay the same between each person of the group?

I have read a different question that was helpful but it is more centered around formalities with work.


texts:
I had assumed that 生物 was just a fancier word for 生き物 in the way that onyomi compounds often are. But when I looked in the dictionary I became less sure.
For 生物 I see:

動物・植物・微生物など生命をもつものの総称。
Animals, plants, microbes etc. A generic term for things which are living.

But for 生き物 I get:

生きているもの。特に、動物。生物(せいぶつ)。
Living things. Especially animals. (synonym for) 生物

From these definitions I see that 生物 clearly refers to both plants and animals, but 生き物 seems to refer primarily to animals. But then the definition of 生き物 says it is a synonym for 生物.
So the question is, are these words synonyms or do they have distinct meanings? Would it be weird to refer to plants as 生き物 for example?


texts: Difference between ni Yotte and ni Taishite

texts:
From http://japanesetest4you.com/flashcard/learn-jlpt-n3-grammar-%E3%81%AB%E3%82%88%E3%81%A3%E3%81%A6-%E3%81%AB%E3%82%88%E3%82%8B-ni-yotte-ni-yoru/:
人によって考え方が違う。
Everyone has a different point of view.
hito ni yotte kangaekata ga chigau.

Can I use 人に対して考え方が違う(hito ni taishite kangaekata ga chigau).
Using the "in regards to" meaning of に対して(ni taishite).

Also I'm confused as to why these 2 have to be used.
In many cases I feel that the 対して(taishite)/よって(yotte) can just be changed to 'には(ni wa)' and convey the same meaning.


texts:
I am very weak in determining the scope of subject when reading Japanese sentences. For example, when reading the following passage,

  娘が「これ、借りて良い」と、兄に許可を求めている。同じような体つきのふたりは、共有している物がたくさんあるそうだ。私は、男女の区別を教えられ、男物、女物が別の時代に育った。

how can I know that 兄 in 【娘が「これ、借りて良い」と、兄に許可を求めている。】 refers to  娘's elder brother rather than 筆者's elder brother?
if 兄 must refer to 娘's elder brother, why did 筆者 not write【娘が「これ、借りて良い」と、娘のお兄さんに許可を求めている。】? お兄さん is used here because 娘 becomes a third person from 筆者's point of view.


texts: What's the difference between 段階 and 階段?

texts:
I've seen both of these words used on television programs, but as far as I can tell they both mean "level"/"steps". Is the word order interchangeable here or do they mean different things?

A search of Wikipedia reveals that 階段 usually means "staircase", but I don't understand why the swapped words have similar but subtly different meanings.


texts: How to say "let's start using our first names when we talk?"

texts:
I think that there are a lot of societal influences with regard to how to begin addressing a Japanese man with his first names. Please put the societal issue aside and just consider the linguistics of this scenario.

Both the Japanese and American are speaking in Japanese.
Both the Japanese and American are men.
In formal and informal settings, a Japanese addresses me using my first name.
I address the Japanese using his last name.
During the first few weeks / months of getting to know him, he uses my first name and I use his last name. I can't remember how it happened, but I've been speaking to some Japanese men using their first names for awhile.
I prefer using his first name if I consider him a close friend and if he has no problem with it. But, in the presence of another Japanese person, I would never say his first name.

When I think the time is right (which is not this question), how would I express this thought in Japanese? The context is an American saying it to a Japanese.

  Hey Tanaka-san. Is it cool If I start using your first names?

I would say something like

  悪いけれども、これから、下のお名前を使わせて頂いても、宜しいんですか？

Is that ok? I am sure it sounds very unnatural, but even asking to use his first name is unnatural. So, what should I say?

By the way, my observations are that, even when best of buddies, Japanese men always address each other using last names. And, the norms for addressing Japanese women with first names are completely different.


texts: Potential following の that follows a noun

texts:
顔の見えない誰かに...

I wonder how this is translated as '(to) someone that cannot see their faces'.
I thought at first that 見えない誰か, as a modified noun, is connected to 顔 with の to mean 'someone that cannot see of faces', which is weird...

I have never seen this pattern before and my research ends to no avail.


texts: The dictionary is no help. A web search links it to a home steam cleaning product on kaercher.com, but I'm not sure how. Is it a product type, or the activity of steam cleaning, or...?


texts: Is there any reference material for the origins of kanji on-yomi?

texts:
I wanted to know if there is any reference source or authoritative material about kanji pronunciations and when they were first imported into Japanese? Any book or electronic source, English or Japanese.

I would like something like this (data are wrong here, it's just a sample of what I need to see):

会

カイ  -- imported into Japan during the Tang dynasty, 12th century, for the word 会議
エ    -- imported during the Ming dynasty, 15th century, for the word 仏会


texts: Confusion about まっとうに, 青春をする and the subject and object of this sentence

texts:
I'm re-reading a light novel and I don't think I'm going to figure this sentence out anytime soon...
Quick context: one day a man meets a teenage girl, makes it clear that although he finds her cute, he has no interest in her romantically since she's too young.
Next day, he starts talking to her more and starts berating her, calling her stupid and disapproving of her lifestyle. Mid-tirade, it cuts to his thoughts. The first two quotes I understand, but the last one confuses me:

正面｛しょうめん｝から顔｛かお｝を見｛み｝ると、やはり可愛｛かわい｝い。

Actually, seeing her face head-on, she is pretty cute

どうして。俺｛おれ｝の中｛なか｝にそんな気持｛きも｝ちばかりがぐるぐると回｛まわ｝る。

Wait, why. Why are feelings like that all that's stirring inside me?

まっとうに青春｛せいしゅん｝をして、まっとうに恋｛こい｝をして。そういうふうに生｛い｝きられなかったのだろうか。

I honestly feel young and like I'm in love. Are those feelings there because I couldn't live like that I wonder?
From what I found, まっとうに means decently, honestly, seriously. And 青春｛せいしゅん｝をする means to feel young or be reminded of your youth. So if I guessed about the first part it'd be "She's so earnestly young", but then there's a 恋｛こい｝ out of nowhere. It doesn't make sense for him to have feelings for her- it's not brought up again for a while in the story and doesn't fit the current scene.
I'm really not sure who the subject is of the third quote or what the sentence means; I'm just not sure how to translate まっとうに　exactly and how the 青春｛せいしゅん｝をする,　恋｛こい｝をする, and　生｛い｝きられなかった connect to the situation and his thoughts.
Any help will be appreciated!


texts:
I'm a bit confused about parts of a text my host mother sent me, and haven't answered yet because I want to understand what she means completely...

  楽しんでたよ。公園でやったから、休を働かすゲームもあったしね！

I understand what 楽しい is, and that it can mean "have fun" as 楽しんで, but don't think 楽しんでたよ means the same thing. I know that よ is kind of like ", okay?" but the た threw me off. I wasn't sure about the 休 standing by itself...it seems like it might be a typo. It's hard to tell, since I'm never sure if it's a typo of just something I don't understand. I looked up the 働かす part and figured she meant that she was able to keep the kids busy with with the park and the games.

I know that ゲームもあった means she had games as well, and I know that ね is an ending particle similar to "right?" but the し in front of it confused me a lot.

I'm mostly confused about the んでた in the beginning and the あったしね at the end...particularly the しね part, since I understand the あった.

Thanks for your help!!


texts:
For full context, see here:
https://www.docdroid.net/hK45eJm/img-20170916-0001-new.pdf

The following sentence is taken from line 10:

  この[辺]{あた}りは農作物ができないため、江戸時代にこうした家内産業が発展した。

"Because in this area crops weren't possible, in the edo area ???? wife industry made growth/grew."

"wife industry" sounds pretty odd, I guess it is meant that the wife does work at home? However, what does this have to do with crops???


texts: ねば in 食べねば; relation between ねば and なければ

texts:
I would like to know a bit more about the "ねば" grammatical construction.
Every now and then, I hear people say sentences like

東京に行かねばならぬ
粘々丼を食べねば倒れる
なんとかせねばいい

It's quite clear that ねば means the same as なければ, but

Is it a shorten form of なければ, or a different construction?
Is it an old form, or something that has been around for 20 years or so?
Is its usage limited to some regions? ages? social classes?
How (in)formal is it?
Is it like なきゃ and なくちゃ? (as far as usage is concerned, not nuances)


texts: How to read this sign and what it means?

texts:
A friend sent a picture he received from another friend of this framed parchment with some very flowery and old looking Japanese written on it asking me if I could read it and if I knew what it meant:

I've done my best to try and figure out what the characters are so far in the time since I was sent it, which was only a day ago as of this post.

With the help of some other Japanese people and a Chinese friend, I've scrapped together this so far:

許状
メリアンフレッチャー殿
今般華義
入門許
華道家 光（？）
昭和三拾五年六月
錦福斎

師範
一日洞操

The Chinese friend I spoke with, since I'm pretty sure this is really old if not styled like old Japanese, where it's just Chinese but there is a Japanese way to read it, suggested a couple of things.

One is that instead of 般 it could be 级 which I believe is 級.
He also wrote out what he thought the parts at the bottom were in Chinese which came out to be:

华道家光
锦福齐

And from what I can tell and from what I looked up, it appears to be the same thing in simplified Chinese as what the initial Japanese person I spoke with wrote down.

Pretty much no one I spoke to could read the kanji after 入門許 that have been written over with that extra long stroke in 許 and while I don't know if anyone here could read it, I can't make any sense of it myself with how thick that stroke that's covering those kanji are so I understand if it's practically impossible to decipher it. That being said though, my Chinese friend was able to make out what he thinks the first one after 許 is which he said was 祥.

I have yet to try to figure out what this means in detail, but from a couple of words that do come up in a dictionary, mainly 許状 and 入門, my very vague guess is that this is some permit/license for either entry/passage to somewhere or instead a license like indicating entry into like a field/school of some art/skill.

Aside from those two words, the things I'm fairly confident I know what they mean are the name of the person, Ms. Merian/Marian/Marianne/Melyan/Merrien Fletcher, and the date written towards the end, which is June 1960 (Showa 35).


texts:
Is there a good website that contains etymological explanations about the 2000 most important Kanji?

I'm looking for something like this:
http://tokyogreenspace.com/2009/08/05/weed-in-kanji-the-language-of-nature/
Could be shorter of course.


texts:
高校を卒業してから弟はいろんな会社を転々とした.

Translation: After graduation my brother wandered from job to job.

Here, are both を's (高校を卒業 and いろんな会社を転々とした) used in the direct object sense or in the directional "leaving" sense? For the latter: my brother graduated from his school; he wandered from job to job.


texts: A little help with a sentence and also the meaning of だと

texts:
I'm having a small problem with the second line said by a character. (context: the two main protagonists came to look for someone, they reach this person's house, but is not there. The protagonists, very tired decide to wait near the outside. It becomes dark and the person they were looking still did not come back)

One of the characters says "Is he really not here?". I get the first line, but the second not so much.

  ここ以外だと

First of all, this means 'except for here' or 'other than here' or 'aside from'. But, what does だと mean in this case? I read about it, but not sure if understand it well. (it can have the meanings of 'if' and 'when, right?)
Then, is it "If it's aside from here..."?Then is the following part

  結構遠くなるし

"it's going to get pretty distant"...? I don't know just what is supposed to become that, I'm stumped, thus I'm kindly asking for opinions/interpretations. Thank you!


texts:
what is the theory that 僕は自分にプレゼントをあげる is right but not 僕は自分にプレゼントをくれる ?

Btw I'm also curious if these sentences are equally valid:

A) 僕は自身にプレゼントをあげる

B) 僕は自分自身にプレゼントをある

C) ボブはボブにプレゼントを[あげる/くれる?]

D) ボブはボブ自分にプレゼントを[あげる/くれる?]

E) ボブは自分自身にプレゼントを[あげる/くれる?]

Btw if we do need a context, say perhaps in Christmas and we bought a present for ourself?


texts:
I've read that people usually change ない to ねー to make it more manly, like:

したくないよ becomes したくねーんだ

So basically i often heard questions ending with ない but have not heard anyone end a question with ねー

Hence this question: can we use ねー as a question?

Example:

[There's a party tomorrow]

明日、行かない？ converted to 明日、行かねー？

what about this: 明日、行かねーんだ？


texts:
I have some difficulty how to translate  見た感じ in the following context

受付のお嬢さん、俺とアクアの前にそれぞれカードを差し出した。免許証ぐらいの大きさのそれは、見た感じ身分証みたいに見える。
The receptionist set a card in front of me and another one in front of
Aqua. It was about the size of a driver's license - presumably some
kind of identification.

Parf has already been answered in
Is it common to shorten 感じがする to 感じ?
with 感じ meaning "like"
but I do not what to do with 見た。
Does it mean that:

like that I saw ?

And if this is the case, does it refer to driver's license or the kind of identification ?


texts: What is the function of the と in といきましょう

texts:
「うふふ、そうですねぇ、せっかくですから直接対決といきましょう。士織さんもステージで何かやってくださいよぉ」

Hi. What is the function of the bold と? Is it short for と言って?
Thank you.


texts: Greeting when meeting somebody a second time in the day?

texts:
Let's say I went to the doctor in the morning, greeting the venerable professional with a sincere "こんにちは", and that I left him after he healed my terrible headache.

Now let's say that during the same morning my friend had an accident involving hammers and nails, and requiring me to bring them to that same doctor.

Would it be acceptable to greet my trusted health provider with a "こんにちは" again, or would it sound weird? What, if not "こんにちは", could I say instead?


texts:
Both seem very similar. In terms of explaining the previous line in the meaning of "namely" or "in the sense of" right?

Statement blabla ... tsumari/sunawachi, blabla.

Any particular difference to choose between either?


texts:
I found in dictionary わけ is a Noun, However, I see in the book that Noun will go with な when using with わけ, as N な + わけがない/わけはない.

Besides わけ, is there any Japanese word that has that exception?

Why has it become like that?
And there is any general rule for us to remember?
Thanks a lot.


texts: If Kanji are necessary to disambiguate homophones, how come it's still used, being that Japanese people seem to know the difference when speaking?

texts:
I'm a beginner.

People argue for Kanji being that it helps disambiguate homophones in written Japanese, but in spoken Japanese, kanji (or any other visual aid) are not available, yet people seem to know the difference between [話]{はな}す, [離]{はな}す, [放]{はな}す, [映]{は}える, 生{は}える, and so forth. So why are Kanji necessary to disambiguate homophones if people know how to disambiguate them in spoken Japanese where Kanji aren't available? And can the same thing be applied to written Japanese?

In that case, why can't I write 私は学生です as わたしはがくせいです or use spaces like わたし_は_がくせい_です ? Or use pitch accent markers in writing like [わたしはがくせいです]{LHHLHLHLHL} (I don't know if this pitch accent notation is correct), or add furigana above particle markers to indicate their pronunciation (like [は]{わ} and [を]{お}), or a combination of these? In short, why are Kanji necessary?


texts:
I would like to know the difference between these three ways (using the word あまり) to say 'so much ... that'. Which extra sense give the particles に and にも?

I can't see the difference between あまり (http://japanesetest4you.com/flashcard/learn-jlpt-n3-grammar-%E3%81%82%E3%81%BE%E3%82%8A-amari/) and あまりに / あまりにも (http://japanesetest4you.com/flashcard/learn-jlpt-n3-grammar-%E3%81%82%E3%81%BE%E3%82%8A%E3%81%AB-amari-ni/).

Please feel free to provide example sentences so I can see clearly the difference.

Thank you so much in advance for your answers!


texts: Meaning of 焦りが見えることを見透かしていた

texts:
In context, the character, who currently coaches for his school’s team, was called out by his 先生 as she could tell he was 焦っている.
他校の練習の充実ぶりに圧倒され、なかなか先に進まない練習と、何よりも自分に。
焦りが見えることを、先生は見透かしていた。
A quick google turned up another similar usage (or what I think is similar) on this page about Casino Royale (James Bond):
ゲームをプレイするボンドは、シッフルに焦りが見えることを見抜き
However, what is confusing me is that I understood 見透かす/見抜き to be used to "see through" something i.e. to see through the surface level. I understand 焦りが見える to mean something like 焦り is visible / can be seen. Clearly "seeing through" something which is visible doesn't make any sense to me so I'm obviously misunderstanding something somewhere.
If this was literally what it was saying, then what would have been the difference in meaning if he had said something like:
俺が焦っているのを、先生は見透かしていた


texts:
(original image)

I am relatively bad at reading handwritten Japanese. I know the first character is 木 and the last is 桧, but I am unsure of what the second is.


texts: How do you say "My skills in programming languages are Javascript, Zend framework, Yii framework, etc"?

texts:
How do you say:

  My skills in programming languages are Javascript, Zend framework, Yii framework, etc

I have tried this:

  私のスキルはプログラミング言語で。

And I don't know how to list the items "Javascript, Zend framework, Yii framework, etc", especially how to place the particles.


texts: Why are adverbs written in hiragana sometimes?

texts:
The more I read Japanese and use this site. I notice sentences that have adverbs sometimes are written in hiragana.

Example found on this site (source):

  アイスが溶けているよ。はやく食べなさい。
  Your ice cream is melting. Hurry up and eat it.

Why was 早くnot used in this sentence?

What's the logic behind this and when should you use it?


texts:
In a song called "Tegami" I don't understand 宛てて+書く in

  未来の自分に宛てて書く手紙なら

I wonder what's this rule and does this mean address(v) + write (v) or together make new meaning?


texts:
I came across a paragraph on s.c. 距離感覚, the overall meaning of which is eluding me:

  人間に限らず、生き物なら誰でも自分のテリトリーを持っている。それは親しくもない赤の他人に侵されたら、不快に思う個々人の距離感覚。喩えるなら公共の食堂やトイレ、遊戯場、なんでもいい。隣の奴から一つ二つは席を開けて、無意識のうちに間合いを取るという行為がそれだ。一般に、若い男であればあるほど、その範囲は広いらしい。

What does 奴から席を開ける mean here?

If 席を開ける were to mean "to open a seat / to make a seat vacant", and if 奴 were the agent, why isn't 開ける　followed by passive られる auxiliary (開けられる)?　More so, "to move away unconsciously" (無意識のうちに間合いを取る) wouldn't make sense this way. From 無意識のうちに間合いを取る, 席を開ける would be expected to mean the opposite, for "seat to be taken", but that just doesn't fit with any of the meanings of 開ける I could find in dictionaries so far.

In other words, I'm looking for some help on what's going on in:

  隣の奴から一つ二つは席を開けて、無意識のうちに間合いを取るという行為がそれだ。

Thank you for your patience.


texts:
I want to know how to say Developer in Japanese. By Developer, Specifically a web Developer, Programmer or Coder.

When I googled it initially, I got:

  デベロッパー

And then I found a Kanji:

  開発者

I know context is also very important in Japanese so I was wondering if the above are correct for developer and which would be better to use for this occasion.


texts:
Im struggling to understand why Hitsuyou (ひつよう) is considered a な adjective.

From what I understand after reading about い adjectives we simply drop the last い to make it negative, for example: さむい　becomes 住むくない because we dropped the last い and added くない to make cold become "not cold".

This is pretty simple to understand as each word we want to make negative usually has an い on the end.

However, using this same rule to use じゃない for な doesnt make sense to me with ひつよう as there is no な in the word.

Ive been reading through this online dictionary but still haven't been able to grasp why.

Can you help me understand?


texts:
"〜ちゃう" is often simply described as the casual/contracted/etc. form of "〜てしまう", with no further explanation given. This would seem to imply that in terms of meaning they are identical, with only politeness/formality considerations determining which is used.

However, there is evidence that this is not the case. Although Google hits are an extremely inexact measure, these are the rough figures for a few searches (all in quotation marks):

教えちゃいました = 60,000 hits
教えてしまいました = 1,600,000 hits
教えちゃってください = 28,000 hits
教えてしまってください = 3 hits
食べちゃってください = 1,150,000 hits
食べてしまってください = 1,800,000 hits
報告しちゃってください = 1,150,000 hits
報告してしまってください = 0 hits
感動しちゃってください = 600,000 hits
感動してしまってください = 0 hits
インストールしちゃってください = 230,000 hits
インストールしてしまってください = 645,000 hits

60k vs 1,600k is a big difference in relative terms, but even 60k hits implies a perfectly acceptable form. However, hit counts of 0 and 3 are quite striking and suggest that the forms are basically never used, even though the equivalent 〜ちゃってください forms are.

So why exactly is it this? Why do some 〜てしまってください vs 〜ちゃってください pairs return such lopsided hit counts, while others do not?

(Note: I'm looking for answers with a bit of rigor, ideally expressing a general principle, and certainly going beyond "It just feels more natural for some words" or similar.)

Edit: Couple of clarifications:

The past tense (〜ました) example above is basically for context, I don't think it needs explication. I only noticed this phenomena with the 〜てください contexts. If it does or doesn't happen with other contexts, that would probably make up part of a good answer!
The Google numbers are terrible, okay, point taken. It still looks to me like the possible number of hits for 〜てしまってください is either "virtually none" or "dozens to hundreds", with not much in between and no obvious relation to 〜ちゃってください numbers. If I've just chosen bad examples and there is actually a subtle gradient I'm just not seeing, proof of this would constitute a good answer. (In particular if anyone wants to search a proper corpus that would be great.)


texts: What is the difference between these two phrases?

texts:
I was creating some simple phrases using the help of Google Translator but it translated a phrase that I wrote:

  君の車はあまり新しくない

But converted this exact phrase to:

  あなたの車はあまり新しいものではありません。

Well at least for me as a beginner in japanese, it sounded over complicated plus I don't know some words such as もので and I already heard of ありません which is the negative form of あります which by the way I don't know what it means.


texts: What is the meaning of verb (te form) + くって？

texts:
きっと旅立ってくってわかってるんだ
My friend translate for me as "I know I will depart on a journey"
旅立って is te form of 旅立つ
わかって is te form of わかる
then why add くって?


texts: I was just wondering the character shown in image is Japanese or not. If yes then can you please tell me the meaning of it.


texts:
I was watching Terrace House and someone used Vる+とこ many times in her sentence so I was wondering what it mean.
Here is her sentence :
鼻クソほじるとこ、よだれ飛ばすとこ、あと 下ネタばっか言ってるとこ。
Thank you !


texts:
小休止に出た人間が戻らないので、大人たちが客間へ行ったところ、扉が内から閉ざされて開かなかった。

"When the adults went to the parlor because the others didn't come back during the break, the door was locked from the inside and they couldn't open it." Would be my translation, but I'm not sure if that is correct. Does that に mean "during" or am I completely wrong?


texts:
I have two words that I think mean the same thing:

切手 - きって - stamp (postage)/merchandise certificate

郵券 - ゆうけん - postage stamp

When I look at some sample sentences, the first one is used for both stamp and check. While the second one has no sample sentences but the Kanji makes a lot more sense. 郵券 - "Mail Ticket"; 切手 - "cut hand"

So how would I use both? I feel that 切手 would be used to describe stamps of any kind while 郵券 can only be used for postage stamps. Am I on the right track?


texts: I'm confused 'domo' literally means 'very' so I can't understand why they use it as a way of greeting


texts: What does the particle at the end of なぜと申しますと mean?

texts:
I've always known that と may be used as a particle that is required for the formation of a conditional phrase or to quote someone's speech. So, what is the function of the last particle in the following sentence?

  なぜと申しますと


texts: On the interaction between tense harmony and factivity in (dialects of) Japanese

texts:
First of all, I'm a linguist asking a VERY technical question, so I'll do my best to make myself understood. I'd prefer if commenters made it clear what their level of Japanese is (native, advanced, etc.).

English and Japanese are said to differ in that the former has tense harmony, whereas the latter doesn't. Having tense harmony means that if a main verb and its subordinate are both in the past tense, then the whole clause must be interpreted as referring to two simultaneous past events. For instance, (1) means that at some time t in the past Taro said that Hanako was in Seattle at t (while he was in Tokyo speaking).

(1) Taro said that Hanako was in Seattle.

Japanese works differently. The literal, word-by-word translation of (1) into Japanese means that at some time t in the past Taro said that Hanako was in Seattle at t', for some time t' < t (in particular, Hanako could've already left Seattle when Taro made his statement):

(2) 太郎は、花子がシアトルにいたと言った (back-shifted interpretation)

In order to get a proper translation of (1) you need a present tense verb in the subordinate clause:

(3) 太郎は、花子がシアトルにいると言った (simultaneous interpretation)

This shows that Japanese doesn't have tense harmony: when the main verb and its subordinate are both in the past, you don't get "harmony" or "simultaneity"; you get a back-shifted interpretation in which the event referred to by the subordinate verb is a past event relative to the event referred to by the main verb.

However, it is claimed that for some Japanese speakers the "simultaneous reading" is admissible when the main verb is a factive verb [What is a factive verb? A factive verb presupposes that its subordinate clause is true: know is factive because "she knows that it's raining" presupposes that it's actually raining; on the other hand, believe is not factive because "she believes that it's raining" doesn't presuppose that it's raining... she could be dead wrong!].

(4) 太郎は自分が癌だったと知っていた

Does this accord with your intuition? Do you interpret (4) to mean that Taro knew at t that he had cancer at t, or do you get a back-shifted reading? Are there any more examples like this one? (I know very little of Japanese, but I'm told other factive verbs are
後悔する, 忘れる, etc.).


texts: What are the rules of using 系　式　型 for kinds of things and methods

texts:
I am getting confused when translating from English to Japanese with "-styles" "-types" and "-kinds" of things, methods and equipment.

For sure, I know that "式"(or 方式) is applied to methods of doing something, like measuring, or solving equations.
"型" is for structural composition of physical objects.
"系" looks like suitable for types of work, like research, manufacturing, financial.

But there are some things in between, like "a device using an A functional component for doing something". So, is it A式(because of its function), A系(because of class of devices based on A), or A型(because A-thing is in the basis of design)?

Are there more or less strict rules for using 系　式　型 ?


texts: Is there an actual difference in meaning or nuance between 私達の世話をする and 私達を世話する?

texts:
I have seen this pattern where を is replaced by の in many sentences that use a する verb. I got used to this construction by exposure and it has started to look less clunky and more natural to me,  but I would like to know:

1）Is there is an actual difference in meaning, or at least in nuance, between both patterns?

2) Are both options valid in any situation or should I pick only one of them in any particular case?

I naturally would go with:

「姉が私たちを世話してくれた。」

as I understand the structure of the sentence as:

（私たち）を （世話する）（to take care of us）

However, I see the following pattern quite frequently:

（私たちの世話）を （する）(to do the take caring of us)

Now, don't get me wrong, I would never translate this into “to do the take caring of us” but I would translate it as “to take care of us as” well, but hopefully you can see my point this way.

I think that what made it mind blowing for me was that coupling the suru verb as a noun to the previous word (the object, in my example 私たち) somehow “detaches” the verb from the actual subject (姉), but at the end of the day it's just a matter of getting used to it.

Finally, I suspect this is somehow related to the が/の substitution discussed here:

How does the の work in 「日本人の知らない日本語」?

Thank you very much!


texts: Differences between ways to express obligation?

texts:
1) I know that, to express something that you must do, you can use 方{ほう}がいい and, for a stronger feeling, べき.

2) I am also aware you can use conditionals like 〜なくちゃ、〜なきゃ、〜ないと to express that you need to do something.

Though I understand the difference between 方がいい and べき, and I somewhat understand the differences in 〜なくちゃ、〜なきゃ、and 〜ないと, I don't understand the difference between those two groups. I don't understand the difference between 1 and 2.

Is there some sort of nuance I'm missing?
Also, is there a difference between something you need (by yourself) versus what you're obligated to do (by society or rules or something)?


texts: Having troubles understanding aspect in Japanese (unclear word choice in this sentence written by native)

texts:
I'm reading the Genki books and there was this story about an old man who was poor so he went to the market to sell some hats he had made. He didn't manage to sell any and is now returning home, which is described like this:

おじいさんは長い山道を歩いて帰りました。

So they used the -ta form: "kaerimashita". I have read in multiple places that the -ta form, when used with an action verb, indicates something closest to the perfective aspect and/or a completed action, which in our case would translate to "returnED home on foot". But the words 長い山道を clearly leave only a continuous interpretation possible: "was returnING home on foot", plus after this sentence the story actually went on to describe the man's adventures while walking so there's NO way the verb here is perfective/describes a completed action. So can someone please explain to me why "kaerimashita" is used here and not "kaette imashita"?

The only explanation I can think of is that I know that verbs that affect the subject in some way (physical motion/change/emotional development etc.) are most often interpreted with focus on the result of the verb process. Does this then mean that

...歩いて帰っていました。

would be translated as "HAD returned home" which is clearly wrong so "kaerimashita" has to be used instead, and is thus not taking its usual perfective/completed action interpretation? Or is there another reason for why the -ta form is used here?

Sorry about the long post. And thanks in advance for your help!


texts: When is 事業 read as じぎょう and when as ことわざ

texts:
I came across the following sentence from the Dictionary of Japanese Grammar series:

Ｘ氏は、一方で慈善事業をやりながら、他方でかなりあくどい商売をしているという噂だ。

I think 慈善事業 should be read as じぜんじぎょう. But as I look up the dictionary for confirmation, I noticed 事業 can also be read in kunyomi, i.e. ことわざ, where one of its definitions 仕事・じぎょう also matches with the context in the sentence. My questions are:

When should the onyomi and kunyomi of 事業 be used?

Moreover, shouldn't ことわざ mean 'proverb'? Does that mean ことわざ is polysemous?


texts: i-Adjective before a Noun, here with a "な"

texts:
Source: Lecture notes: Japanese grammar, basic course, University of Duisburg, Germany, Ch. 13, page 5
https://www.japanisch-grund-und-intensivkurs.de/grammar/sem1/lesson13/erweiterung_der_partikelfunktionen

Sentence under question:

  大きな鳥{とり}が空{そら}を飛んでいます。

My question: "ookii" is an i-adjective, followed by a noun "tori".
Why does the i-adj. in this sentence have a "na"?

What I found in "Tanoshii Japanese dictionary":
"大{おお}きな noun or verb acting prenominally".
Sorry, but at my present Japanese level I really can't grasp this explanation.

Could anyone please answer my question and maybe give me a good source with explanation?
Thanks


texts: Polar connotations in the same word: 断り and 惜しい

texts:
Recently I bumped into two words「断り」and「惜しい」.

Accordingly to Jisho:「断り」can mean permission; consent but it also can mean rejection; refusal; nonacceptance; declination; declining...
As for「惜しい」 it can mean regrettable; disappointing; unfortunate or also
precious; dear; valuable...

Of course, in the case of 「惜しい」 these meanings are not exact opposite but still one conveys a positive connotation and the other a negative. I'm aware that any language has some words with polar meanings.

  My question is, besides context, in Japanese is there a rule of thumb that one could use to identify if the connotation is positive or negative?


texts:
「〜でない。」, which isn't particularly common as a sentence-ender, does occasionally get used.

I get the feeling it is pretty curt; I often see it with 「〜べきでない。」 or 「ただし、〜は、この限りでない。」 or 「〜は明らかでない。」, etc.

However, I don't have a good understanding of when it makes sense to choose it over 「〜ではない。」. Is it when you're trying to be more declarative/emotionless as opposed to emphatic/opinionated?


texts: How to interpret "あとはかってにちゅうもんしてくれりゃ"?

texts:
I learn Japanese by watching　深夜食堂 myself. In the introduction of an episode, the main character says "あとはかってにちゅうもんしてくれりゃ".

I am able to figure out the meaning of the whole sentence by watching translated subtitle.However, I have no idea when and how to use the phrase "してくれりゃ".

So, what is the modality when you use "してくれりゃ"? How to use it correctly ?


texts: Is there a name for the promotional packs of tissues peculiar to Japan?

texts:
Anybody who has visited a Japanese city will have noticed that peculiar type of advertising not common elsewhere.

Packets of tissues containing some promotional offer or even quite like a calling card are ubiquitous. Is there a special term for them?


texts: What is "It is x o'clock" in Japanese with subject

texts:
I've just started studying Japanese so I'm using Hiragana.
In the book it says

  "It's 1 o'clock"

is

  "いちじです"

in Japanese. But if I want to use the form

  "X はいちじです"

then what should "X" be?


texts: Is the kanji for sister-in-law and step sister the same?

texts: I was wondering if the kanji for both sister-in-law and step sister is 義妹 (younger sister) or 義姉 (older sister) and there's no way of differentiating them other than context?


texts:
The sentence goes as follows:

  「ドコデモ傘下なので受けるのは当然携帯電話絡みの問い合わせだ。」

The sentence is uttered after the reader is told about a woman who works in a call center. She is checking the daily "briefing-mails" and then it is uttered.

The preceding sentence:

  早くもどこかのブースで着信の合図がある

It is later revealed that there have been problems with telephones services all over town.

I really do not know what to make of the part in bold. My best shot at it would be that it expresses the fact that the company (the call center belongs to) is affiliated with all sorts of things (and therefore with the telephone problems as well). However, the meaning of 「傘下」is a mystery to me.


texts:
I'm aware that if I want to say 'The first [something]' it would be はじめの + [something] (i.e. like the manga/anime はじめの一歩 'The first step').

But now I got across the following phrase "はじめての夢"

What is the difference between はじめの~ and はじめての~ ?


texts: How to correctly use でございます when speaking with a superior?

texts:
I have heard that some phrases may be used in a humble form when speaking to a superior regardless of whether or not it has an impact on the superior. でございます is one of them.

But does that only apply when talking about oneself?

For example,　私は学生でございます is valid when speaking to an interviewer. But can I also say 田村さんは学生でございます if 田村さん is my colleague? How about if the person is my brother, i.e. 弟は学生でございます? Similarly, what if I don't know the person?


texts: What is the difference between 「結局【けっきょく】」and 「とうとう」?

texts:
According to the dictionary I use to study, both are adverbs and their definitions are so similar that I can't tell the difference:

結局【けっきょく】: after all; in the end; ultimately; eventually
とうとう: finally; at last; ultimately; in the end

What is the difference between both words (e.g. meaning, nuance, level of formality, style of speech, none at all…) ?


texts: What does ああまでされて mean in this sentence?

texts:
Thanks in advance for your help. I'm reading a manga (full of slang, which makes it so hard!) and I ran across this sentence:

(panel 1)

俺だったら素直に喜べたか！？
ああまでされて

(panel 2)
追い詰められて！？

To get you the context of the whole sentence, this occurs in the middle of two people's conversation about a third person, who's working hard because the third individual knows everyone will stand for him. The character who thinks this line had never realized the third guy felt pressed by their support, and in fact was feeling envious that the other guy was doing better than him despite being a novice.

My best guess is that the exchange goes something like this:
"Had it been me, would I be pleased with it? / Had I been put under such pressure?" I have absolutely no clue of what ああまでされて means here. Is it あんなにまで or even あそこまで?

Thanks again for any insight!!


texts: Are there words so bad that they aren't allowed on television?

texts:
Warning: We're all adults here, but just in case, this question may contain words, in both Japanese and English, that some may not like to read.

A long time ago, when I was working with a translator, a native Japanese speaker, the term 気違い{きちがい} ("insane person") came up. She told me it was one of the worst insults one can use. So bad, in fact, that you wouldn't hear it on television.

I wasn't clear to me then, or now, if she meant that as her opinion, hyperbole to express how bad the word is, or that there really are some guidelines or rules about words that can be uttered on television.

In any case, I took it to mean that 気違い{きちがい} is much more offensive than, say 「この野郎{やろう}！」, which means "You asshole!"... maybe.

Then, a little while ago, I'm reading a Tintin book, タンタンの冒険{ぼうけん} - 青{あお}い蓮{はす} (The Adventures of Tintin - The Blue Lotus), and on page 13, when Tintin is running away from a sword weilding madman on drugs, he yells 「きちがいだ！」

Since this is a book for young readers, I guess my impression of 気違い{きちがい} is wrong...?

First question is, just how bad is 気違い{きちがい}?

Second question, is there a list of words considered too bad for television? (If so, references please, lets not just speculate.)

(Please no overly technical linguistic terms. Thanks!)


texts: Kanji pairs that mean and are pronounced the same by themselves

texts:
I have found several pairs of kanji that are pronounced the same and mean the same when they are used individually:

目 and 眼
足 and 脚
木 and 樹

This especially bugs me because, in Chinese (my native language), the latter ones are almost exclusively used when by themselves.
I had a small discussion about this but we didn't really come to any conclusion other than they are used interchangeably.
I currently have a few questions about this:

Are they be used completely interchangeably without changing meaning (not connotation)?
Is one used more commonly than the other? I'm assuming the former ones are.
Do they give any "feeling" such as old, formal, mystical, etc?

Remember, this is only when the characters are used individually and not part of compound words. Also ignore their usage in expressions/idioms/proverbs.
Also, I would be interested if there are other kanji pairs like this.


texts:
見事なまでに制服姿の人間はいなかった。

I stumbled upon this sentence in a game i was playing.
As I know まで is a particle, so I dont understand what it means. I've tried searching in the dictionary, but to no luck. All help will be appreciated.


texts: What dialect replaces です with a shorter version of it (ーす)?

texts: The title pretty much explains itself, here is an example: Nio from Akuma no Riddle, the whole thing has been bugging me for awhile, thanks in advance.


texts: Intransitive verb connects with a transitive verb via Te Form

texts:
I have learnt that a Noun that is preceding an intransitive verb should go with the GA particle (it is a subject). And a Noun that is preceding a transitive verb then it should be used with the WO particle (it is an object).

However, I have also learnt that verbs in Japanese can be connected with TE FORM.
So can we connect an intransitive verb with a transitive verb?

If it is yes, then how can we decide which particle to use (GA or WO)?
Because in this sentence the Noun is the subject for a verb but also the object for the other?

The pattern is just like this:

NOUN (GA/WO) V1 TE + V2 TE +...
In which V(n) can be a transitive verb or intransitive verb.

Could you please give me some examples.

Thanks a lot.


texts: A question regarding the explanation for 「羨ましい」 in the Daijirin and Daijisen

texts:
The entry for 「羨ましい」in the Daijisen (at least the version found on Kotobank) is

「他人の能力や状態をみて、自分もそうありたいと願うさま。また、他人をねたましく思うさま。」

and in the Daijirin is

「うらやむ気持ちをそそられるさま。人が恵まれていたり、物事が優れていたりするのを見て、自分もそのようになりたいと思うさま。」

As far as I know,「羨ましい」means both "envious" and "enviable". However, to me, both of these entries do not seem to suggest the second meaning. Am I right in thinking this? Do these entries suggest the second meaning to you? If so, how?

Thanks for any help.


texts: Should hibakusha be written in kanji or kana?

texts:
I typed hibakusha as "被爆者" in "被爆者：食べ物はあまり持っていませんでした。", and someone hesitantly suggested that I use kana.

Neither Wiktionary nor jisho.org suggest using kana.

Is there any linguistic or stylistic reason to use kana?

Update: The person actually said "被害者…かな？", which actually means "higaisha, perhaps?", and isn't to do with hiragana/katakana versus kanji.


texts: everyone. I am currently writing a paper on sentence final suffixes in Japanese especially those used in conversation. I encounter a problem as to what is the origin of -っけ (eg. 名前は何だっけ？) . Is it connected to the verb 来る？


texts: How to ask someone to repeat what they said

texts:
A recurring problem I have in Japanese dialogue is when I can't quite hear what someone said, attempt to ask them something to the effect of "excuse me?" or "what was that?" only for them to rephrase it (most likely because they think I don't know the word).

In some cases, they might even try to say it in English, and worst cases, grunt and use sign language.

This might not be completely evident if all your dialogue is done over the phone, (or if you don't look like someone who might not understand).

What are some efficient, unambiguous ways of asking someone what they said?

I'm mostly interested in an unambiguous way to phrase it, but I would prefer to simultaneously be able to be polite.

"え？" and "ん？" don't quite cut it.
Replying "赤い何ですか？" might work if you heard enough, but what if you didn't hear that much?
"「」って何？" is not relevant, because then you heard enough to ask a specific question.


texts:
How do we know when "どんどん" includes a notion of speed?

  ある種の動物はどんどん数が減ってきている。
  Certain animals are fast disappearing.

Here it's something(continuous and) fast.

  霧がどんどん濃くなっている。
  The fog is growing thicker.

Here it just tells that it's something growing in a regular manner but the speed is normal.

How can we conclude which meaning is the good one? Sometimes the context could not be sufficient because of the nature of this difference.


texts: (よ)うが～まいが / (よ)うと～まいと vs かどうか

texts:
I'm currently studying some N1 grammar, and I actually find it pretty hard getting a feel of the grammar patterns.
I saw this pattern in my Anki deck:

わたしは他人の話に耳を傾けたわけではないんですが、むこうはきかれていようがいまいが、気にとめていなかったのです。
It’s not that I listened to what is not meant for me. They were quite oblivious of
who heard them and who did not. (Not my translation.)

I looked up for another sample sentence and found this:

気持ち悪いと言われようが言われまいが、私はオタクを貫く。
Whether or not I get told that it's 気持ち悪い (I don't know how to best
translate this: disgusting? gives them a bad feeling?), I'm a geek.

My question is, if I replace this pattern with かどうか like in the following sentences:

気持ち悪いと言われるかどうか、私はオタクを貫く。
わたしは他人の話に耳を傾けたわけではないんですが、むこうはきかれているかどうか　(seems grammatically wrong to me)、気にとめていなかったのです。

How will it change the sentence? Will it feel less "written style" and more "spoken style"? More casual? Or is it even a valid replacement? Also, in what setting is this grammar pattern usually seen? I've read a couple of news articles and some editorials, and so far, I haven't encountered them yet. Looking up grammar patterns like this in the corpus gives me a hard time because there's something sandwiched in between よう and まい.


texts: What is the difference between 付ける and くっ付ける?


texts: Is my interpretation of this sentence correct

texts:
日本に思いを馳せてる。。。

Based on the words I would guess this sentence means 'I desire to go to Japan' or 'My thoughts drift to Japan'

Not entirely sure how to translate it properly but that's what I would think it means.


texts:
I'm a beginner in Japanese language. In English, "Company Name" and "Name of Company" are basically the same. In Japanese, are those two the same or different? Which one should I use?

会社名前
会社の名前


texts:
Maybe I haven't heard enough spoken Japanese to know how fluent speakers do it, but I always get confused with how to translate the way I emphasize words in English into Japanese.

The boy kicked the ball

Take this sentence for example. If I write any of those words in all caps or say any of them with a lot of emphasis then it changes the meaning of the sentence.
THE boy kicked the ball- as opposed to A boy
The BOY kicked the ball- as opposed to the girl, man, dog, etc.
The boy KICKED the ball- as opposed to punching, throwing, etc.
But then trying to translate this to Japanese I get stuck, because I don't feel like I've heard how Japanese speakers would say things with emphasis like this.
I think I get how to use は and こそ to emphasize things.
I think 少年｛しょうねん｝はボールを蹴｛け｝った。in the right context means "The BOY kicked the ball. But maybe someone else didn't or did something else"
And I think これこそがほしい。means "THIS is what I want"
But as for other cases or just having a general way to emphasize things, I'm not sure. It seems like it's a case-by-case thing in Japanese that depends on what you're trying to emphasize, while in English I just say the word louder and that accomplishes it.
My specific questions would be:
What ways are there to put emphasis on words in Japanese? I'm not looking for a detailed breakdown of how は or こそ or anything else works, just some starting points to go off of.
How does just saying certain words louder sound in Japanese? Do people really do that...? Like instead of saying
少年｛しょうねん｝はボールを蹴｛け｝った。
I said ショウネンはボールを蹴｛け｝った。putting emphasis on 少年
Or 少年はボールをケッた。putting emphasis on 蹴る
Would it accomplish the same nuances as saying "The BOY kicked the ball" and "The boy KICKED the ball"?
Maybe I'm overcomplicating this but any help is appreciated!


texts:
For full context, see here:
https://www.docdroid.net/5vuuiCe/img-20170821-0002-new.pdf

The sentence in question (line 7-8)
それをヒントに井上さんは演奏だけが履いている「8ジューク」という機会を作り、1971年にレストランや喫茶店に貸し出す会社を始めた。

First, my attempt at translation:
"??? Inoue constructed a device which was called '8 Juke', which only contained the musical performance, and in 1971, he started a business which rented out to restaurants and cafés."

The main issue lies with それをヒントに井上さんは.
I feel like something was ommitted which would otherwise explicitely connect それをヒントに and 井上さん but I can't really extrapolate it on my own. This is also because I struggle with this に after ヒント. I have no idea which verb (I think it probably will be a verb) could follow it here.


texts: S1 たら S2, with S2 being past tense AND volitional

texts:
So I was reading through A Dictionary of Basic Japanese grammar and I noticed a strange contradiction in the たら and あとで entries.
In the あとで entry we see the following note:

Vinf·past ato de can be replaced by Vinf·past ra when the latter
is used with a purely temporal meaning (i.e., ‘after’, ‘when’).

Then it lists following examples

a. ご飯を食べたらすぐ勉強しました。
b. 山田さんはビールを飲んだら寝てしまった。
c. 戦争が終わったら東京にもどりました。

Now when we look at the たら entry:

When S2 in “S1 tara S2” represents a past action, the action cannot be one intentionally taken by the agent after the action or event represented by S1.

When I look back at the examples in the あとで entry, I see that examples b and c make perfect sense and follow this rule correctly. However, sentence a looks to be a volitional act.
I asked a native Japanese speaker and they said that it is correct because すぐ is after たら.

X ご飯を食べたら勉強しました。

I'm quite the beginner so I might be missing something obvious. Can someone explain to me why すぐ makes this sentence valid?


texts: What's the proper verb for opening a web page?

texts: What's the proper verb to use when you want to ask somebody to open (or load up) a certain link on their browser?


texts: What is the difference between 点字 and 点字表記?

texts: I have a picture for 点字表記, but I don't know what it means and how it is different from 点字.


texts:
The following is an excerpt from a dialogue between me and my language partner. I told her that I ate a variety of different types of meat, e.g. crododile and zebra. She then replied to me the following.

私もワニの肉は食べたことがありますが、シマウマは食べたことがありません。日本では、馬肉（ばにく）を食べるのですが、馬肉に似たような肉でしょうか。

I have problems with the second sentence. My attempt at translation:
"I also have eaten crocodilemeat, but I haven't eaten zebra meat yet. Concerning in japan, one eats horsemeat, but it (=zebra?) surely is meat that matches horsemeat."
Did she compare horsemeat to zebrameat here? I think she does, and contextwise I wouldn't have any better idea.


texts:
Whenever somebody tells you about kanji, they say something like this:

Kanji are used for writing nouns, adjectives, adverbs and verbs.

However, the further I go, the more realize that this statement does not always hold true, and, in fact, I find people seemingly use whatever script they want at times. Let’s have a look at this line of lyric from 君がくれたもの

花火が夜空きれいに咲いて、ちょっとセツナク

This is how you would find this lyric on Google and any other place. It’s almost always written like this. However, it makes no sense to me why 綺麗に is written as きれいに and 切なく is even written in カタカナ. This seems so random. I thought this should be the more standard version:

花火が夜空綺麗に咲いて、ちょっと切なく

Even the title of the song uses もの instead of 物.
The more lyrics I read, the more I find this being a common practice.  Even in the same song, 同じ and おなじ, わたし and 私 are both used at different places for seemingly no reason.
Can someone explain the reason behind this?


texts: difference when using は and が with てくれる structure

texts:
So, I think that I'm not alone when it comes to being confused about when は and が are supposed to be used, but here I would like to ask about a specific example
浅野君は（私に）かわいい手袋を編んでくれた
 x
浅野君が（私に）かわいい手袋を編んでくれた

Is there a difference in both phrases? As far as I know (please correct me if I'm wrong), は is used to talk about already mentioned topics, while が is used to talk about new topics.


texts: Are typhoons more commonly referred to by number or name?

texts: Do Japanese ever assign a name to a typhoon, or are they always numbered? In most countries the name is more commonly used.


texts:
Recently I learned of a new way to express potential form.  Here's a few example sentences:

今回は予測し得ないことが起きたけど、皆、落ち着いていた。
自分の意見を自由に言えないなんて、普通の国ではあり得ない。

The second example I put for contrast, because it illustrates one obvious difference which is that I don't think potential forms of ある and いる exist.

In the first example, however, it's not so clear.  Instinctually, from looking at these and a few other examples, I think perhaps there is a sense of impossibility here that is not present in simple できる or ～られる form, but I have trouble articulating it, and it may be a red herring anyway.

For example, change the first sentence to this:

今回は予測できないことが起きたけど、皆、落ち着いていた。

Does it have a different nuance now?

Can someone elaborate on the differences between these two constructs?


texts:
新しい大学のビルが建てられた。

新しい大学のビルを建てました。

Both translate to: A new university building was built.

Even though the translation is the same (by my understanding) something to do with the meaning has to be different. I know the first sentence is passive form, the other you're everyday form (sorry, don't know what its proper name is) but I can't figure out what the difference is. I'm sure the different particles of が and を have something to do with it.