texts: Meaning of "普段ならまだしも、さすがに今は少しばかり状況が違う"

texts:
Context:

  「って、ヴェル！？」

  思い切り、まるで飛び付くように抱きついてくるヴェル。

  「み、みんな見てますけれどもっ」

  普段ならまだしも、さすがに今は少しばかり状況が違う。俺の叫びで気がついたのか、ヴェルは周囲をそっと見回した。

The two possible definitions that I think could match this usage from Daijisen's

あることを認めはするが、特定の条件下では、それと相反する感情を抱くさま。そうは言うものの。それはそうだが、やはり。「味はよいが、これだけ多いと さすがに 飽きる」「非はこちらにあるが、一方的に責められると さすがに 腹が立つ」
予想・期待したことを、事実として納得するさま。また、その事実に改めて感心するさま。なるほど、やはり。「一人暮らしは さすがに 寂しい」「 さすがに （は）ベテランだ」

Part of my confusion stems from the nuance of まだしも.　The definition from link says まだを強めた言い方。よくもないがそれでも

My intuition makes me feel like it's the first usage because the second one doesn't sound quite right. he says that under normal circumstances that it "wouldn't be that big of a deal/he wouldn't have minded that much / etc" but that the current situation is a bit different than normal ( referring to the fact that they are currently the centre of attention of many of people there).

Anyone care to clear this up for me?


texts:
I was listening the the opening theme of the animation 巨人の星. I was able to pick up the first part.

重いこんだら

I understand that 重い (heavy) is a relative clause modifying こんだら. What is こんだら? It should be something heavy, I guess. Is it related to コンドル? Or, is it a type of ゴンドラ?


texts: Why is it that ～かねる can refer to oneself, yet ～かねない must refer to another person?

texts:
When I tried to use ～かねない to express my own feeling about a situation, I was told by a native that it sounds incorrect and strange. However, ～かねる is appropriate and fine. For example, this is the impression I get of what is going on.

  彼が本当のことを言っているとは信じかねる
  (the speaker thinks it's hard to believe he's telling the truth)

  彼が本当のことを言っていると信じかねない
  (the speaker thinks he's probably not telling the truth, yet others think he is)

However, I was told that ～かねない cannot directly refer to the speaker's opinion, but to can refer to someone else. For the second example, is it true that you must directly reference a different party? Why is that?


texts:
I have noticed this other very similar question:

Naming suffix -氏 (-し) used by an otaku character in anime

Now the point is: in another anime, namely O Maidens in your savage season - which is airing in these months - the character of Sudou constantly addresses her friend Sugawara by calling her Sugawara-shi.

Considering that Sudou is everything but an otaku, what could this -shi stand for?


texts: Difference between 在留資格のある外国人 and 在留資格がある外国人

texts:
In this NHK news, the title is written as
在留資格のある外国人
But in the article,  the last paragraph is written as
在留資格がある外国人
From my understanding of grammar, the first one 在留資格のある外国人 is 「NのN」 and then a sub-component 「ある外国人」 is 「V普通形+N」 which behaves like a NOUN.
The second one is 在留資格がある外国人 is 「V普通形+N」 and then a sub-component 「在留資格がある」 is 「NがV普通形」 which behaves like a VERB.
I want to ask what the difference between them?
Another similar statements are, 日本の会社 and 日本にある会社. I would literally translate them as:
日本の会社 Japan Company
日本にある会社 Company domiciled in Japan
The latter has a specific meaning that the company is domiciled in Japan, while the former is unclear whether it means a company owned by Japanese or domiciled in Japan.
But for 在留資格のある外国人 and 在留資格がある外国人, it is unclear.


texts:
いくらなんでも、あんまりひどい。ひかりがあんなチョコレートででも組みあげたやうな三角標になるなんて。

http://contest.japias.jp/tqj2002/50133/story-old_03.html
I don't quite get how to translate  ひどい as cruel here, is there a nuance I'm not getting?


texts:
I came across the following sentence in a JLPT N2 reading textbook:

  そういう感覚でいるわけです。

The book says that そういう感覚でいる is equivalent to そう感じている, so I think I got the meaning: something like They ought to think that way, maybe to feel that way.

What confuses me is the grammar behind 感覚でいる.
Is it an alternative version of である used for animated beings?

I understand that this sentence is really short and has no context; it seems to me that it's enough to highlight the grammar issue, but I'm willing to add the rest of the text if it helps answer.


texts: When is a person referred to with 様 in the mass media and what does it signify?

texts:
In media like TV and newspapers, it appears certain classes of people can be referred to with the honorific "様":
The Imperial family:

皇太子殿下と美智子さま The Crown Prince and Michiko-sama

Celebrities with avid followers:

ヨン様、敗訴 Yong-sama (Bae Yong-joon) loses suit
ガガ様は「一発屋」 Gaga-sama (Lady Gaga) is "a one-hit wonder"

My questions are:

Do these categories cover all usage of 様 in the mass media?
How should I interpret the reporter's intention in using the title? How is the nuance different from the usage of 様 when addressing the recipient of an email?

Related: 芸能人・スポーツ選手・公人に「さん」などの敬称を付けなくてもよい理由は?


texts: I ask for an explanation about the なの in [祖母は耳が遠い、つまり、耳が少し不自由**なの**だ。]

texts:
Is なの considered as a whole (grammatical expression)?
Or is it な ,to make 不自由 an adj, and の seperately?
If 2) is the case, what does の mean here?


texts: What does 〜 verb + てんの mean in this sentence ?

texts:
Source: http://raw.senmanga.com/Yotsubato!/83/5
I am reading Yotsuba (ch.83, pg.5) and I came across this sentence:

[恵]{え}[那]{な}は疲れてんのかまだねてるよ
いっつも早いのに

As far as I know, てんの here is casual form of ているの. But why is there an additional の after that ? In other words, if I substitute てんの by ているの, the sentence would look like:

[恵]{え}[那]{な}は疲れているののかまだねてるよ

This doesn't make sense. Why are there two のs ? Am I missing something here ? How would this sentence be translated into English ?


texts: Using に対して to express "for," "for the purpose of," or "for verbing"

texts:
日本語で一番難しいのは、一つのことに対してたくさんの言い方があることです。

Everything I can find on に対して says it means towards, against, regarding, in contrast to, etc.
In the above example sentence, it seems to mean something like "for the purpose of," standing in for the "for" in English.
How would you categorize this usage of に対して?
I guess the closest match is "regarding," but that feels like a stretch.
If one of the uses of に対して is "for verbing," how do I know when to use that instead of something like ために or anything else?


texts:
Here is an exercise problem in my grammar workbook.

今度の試験には、出ると予想していた＿＿が出なかった。(A.こと　B.もの　C.ところ)

The correct answer is C.ところ. What does ところ mean here? Does it mean “part” or “section”? I imagine that the context could be something like this. The speaker had anticipated that a particular section from the syllabus would be tested in the exam.
But could I select “A.こと”? Then I would translate the sentence as “in this exam, the thing that I had thought would be asked didn’t come up.” Would that make sense?


texts: Difference between にすれば　にしたら　にしてみれば "from the viewpoint of..."

texts:
I'm using 新完全マスター N2 grammar book. It lumps にしたら、にすれば、にしてみれば and にしても together. It makes no attempt to explain the differences between these, even though, on inspection of the examples and practice questions にしても clearly has a somewhat different usage from the others.

However, I can't distinguish a difference in usage for the other three.
The example sentences given are:

  君も色々言われて面倒だろうが、君のお母さんにしたら、君のことが心配なんだよ。

  たばこを吸う人にすれば、たばこの害についての話題は避けたいだろうと思う。

  新しい高速道路ができて便利になったが、沿線の住民にしてみれば、あまりありがたくはないかもしれない。

Is there are actually a difference or are they interchangeable?


texts: How many true verbs and i-adjectives are there in Japanese?

texts: I have read that verbs in Japanese are a closed class. That is to say: not counting inflections, there is some relatively fixed number of "true verbs" in the language. By "true verbs" I am excluding compound verbs formed with [noun]+する, or really [noun]+[verb] of any type. If this is the case, surely there is some estimate of roughly how many such verbs exist? I believe that i-adjectives are also a closed class, and I'd be curious about their number as well.


texts: what is the difference between 暖かい and 温かい?


texts: How do I address my juniors in college or school?

texts: If "senpai" means someone's senior, then if I am the senior what do I call my freshman i.e. the one who is younger than me in the same school or something. How do I address them?


texts: Is あらまあ linked to Malay "alamak", and which came first?

texts:
A popular theory claims that that the Japanese expression あらまあ is directly related to the Malay alamak (pronounced more or less identically, since the "k" is just a glottal stop), with speculation about which one came first and how it was imported (Malay traders in Japan, Japanese soldiers in Malaya during WW2, etc).

Is there a known etymology in Japanese, and/or evidence of use before the 1940s?

My uninformed opinion: あらまあ sounds to me like a portmanteau of あらあら and まあまあ, which are similar expressions of condolences/sympathy.


texts: Dictionary definition of multiple words with identical pronunciation but different kanji

texts:
Recently I've been using the スーパー大辞林 Japanese dictionary, because it is built-in to all my Apple devices.  But I frequently find words where there is a single entry in the dictionary, but 2 or 3 different kanji "spellings" are listed.

For example, if I search for 空く, I get this page which claims to be the entry for 開く, 空く, and 明く all at the same time.  Does that mean that all 3 of those words have identical meanings?  It looks like some of the definitions are reserved for only one of the kanji.  Like in my search, definitions 1 and 3 are marked 《開く》 and definition 4 is marked 《空》.  Does that mean that to use 空 to convey the meaning from definition 1 is incorrect?  If that's the case, why don't they have separate dictionary entries?

Are these entries indeed homonyms, in that they have the same pronunciation, but unique, independent meanings, and it is these unique meanings that gave rise to the separate kanji to begin with?  That would seem to argue for their dictionary entries to be separate.


texts: What's the word for "life" but with emphasis on the positiveness of life?

texts:
I know that 人生 is used for “human life”, and 生命 for “life” in the biological sense.
But I want to express that life (whatever) is something good, something positive and I don´t know if it's possible.


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

texts:
I found this example in a japanese textbook:

  外を歩いている人はみんな傘をさしています: Everyone is using umbrellas outside.

Why is を in that sentence?, and because it is a japanese textbook I doubt that it is inconrrect, shouldn't be like this?

  外に歩いている人は傘をさしています


texts:
As stated in the topic, what does 死者は何も語らない mean, maybe as an idiom?
The phrase is from a sentence in a novel, the speaker being a woman talking to a girl. As a background, the girl is getting revenge on the woman, who killed the girl's family and friends.

「…死者は何も語らぬ。妾も、貴様も、結局は私怨で、不条理な現実に対し自らが納得のいく結果を求めたに過ぎぬ。そんな妾と貴様の間に、どれ程の違いがあるというのだろうか、とな」


texts:
Woman 1「遠慮しておくわ。私はそういうときは、時間をかけてゆっくりとしたい方だから」

  そう微笑むと、彩葉さんは席を立った。

  Woman 1「良ければあなたも、私の金魚を見に来てね。大丈夫。みんながみんな高額なわけではないわ」

  Guy 1「……約束は難しいですけど、機会があれば」

  Woman 1「ええ。それでは、失礼いたします」

  彩葉さんは、言葉は柔らかいもののどんな言葉にも惑わされず、キッパリと振り切って帰っていった。
  少なくともルカを相手にするのなら、あのくらい毅然とした態度が必要なんだろうな……。

  Woman 2「ま、そういう趣味でないことはわかっていたけどね」

  ルカも彩葉を見送りながら、特に残念そうな様子もない。
  おそらく、これも初めてのやりとりじゃなかったんだろう。

  Woman 2「さて、そういうことよ、クズ」

  Woman 2「まずは、そのケースの中を確認するわ。出しなさい」

Context: Woman 1 had come over to deliver some Goldfish to Woman 2, and Guy 1 had came to deliver some clothes she had ordered. Woman 2 invites Woman 1 to "join them" but she declines and then we get the rest of the scene that follows. My problem lies with what そいうこと is referring to in this context, as these kind of phrases are highly dependent on context. The only thing I can think of is that it refers to the conversation as a whole and is used to end their conversation about that after woman 2 left, and to move onto her clothes and other things, but this doesn't quite sit right with me. そういうことってどういうこと？


texts: Is okurigana always dropped when combining kanji?

texts:
Taking the following example, where the okurigana る in きる is dropped when combined with 物 (もの) to form the word 着物 (きもの), can we generalize this rule?

For instance, if N consecutive kanji appear, can we say that the okurigana of the first N-1 kanji characters' pronunciation is dropped, except for the okurigana of the last kanji character (taking N = 2 as an example)?

If so, then how large can N be (i.e., is there a sequence longer than three kanji characters that can be used in Japanese, perhaps followed by some following written okurigana)?


texts: Does 被【かぶ】る have any relation to "cover"?

texts: Topic.  I've heard/seen somewhere that 被【かぶ】る was "gairaigo-fied" (?) from the English word "cover"  (similar to ダブる or デモる), and then presumably given ateji from 被【おお】う since the meanings overlap so much.  I searched several dictionaries for some sort of verification but have found nothing so far.  Is there any truth to this?


texts:
How are the following verbs which are related to learning different to each other?

勉強する
習う
学ぶ


texts:
I'm trying to figure out the meaning of 友情タッグで経験値一杯 in the following sentence. And how does it connects to the latter part.

「えぇもう、こっとんとは友達ですよ。親友の域までいつ到着してもおかしくないくらいです。そうしたら、友情タッグで経験値一杯、ますます部活に精が出るってなもんです」
「あれ、琴子も同じ部活だったんだ？」
「いや、そういうわけじゃ無いですけど、気分の問題です。ハンペンと同じですね。キブンは大事でおいしいです！」

The way I can understand this passage -
"And when we do(become a best friends), we'll put more and more efforts to the club activities, getting lots of experience points from friendship tag, or something like that(ってなもんです).".
Not sure if it is a good way to translate ってなもんです, but I hope it reflects the meaning.


texts: How to say "one of ten people ..." in Japanese?

texts:
I want to say

  One of ten people in the world suffers mental disorder.

My attempt but incomplete is as follows,

  世界のなかに「。。。。」が精神障害に苦しんでいます。

How to say "One of ten people" in Japanese?


texts:
When you have a phrase like,

  起きたばかりでまだなにも食べていない。

does it feel more like

"I just woke up, so I haven't eaten anything yet" ?

or

"I just woke up, so I'm not eating anything yet".


texts:
The full dialogue in the light novel is:

  「だが注意したまえ。白峰は聡い男だからネ。何かしらの手は打ってくるだろう」

The characters were discussing about some operation.

I'm not sure of why the author would use the particle は here instead of を. From another post on the usage of 何かしら, I have taken it to mean "some kind of", and in this case, would the sentence mean that, "as for some kind of measure, I think he would strike us" , but as this comment has shown, if を is used instead, then it might mean "I think he will use some kind of measures towards us."

Can someone please clarify the usage of particles in this context?

Edit: A further comment from the above mention commenter explained that it might originally be をは but the を has been dropped by the author to make the action itself be the topic instead.


texts: What is the difference between 安心 and 安全?

texts: I know both are related to safety or peace of mind but is there a certain context in which one is better to use than the other?


texts:
I know Google hits aren't necessarily reliable, but I nonetheless searched for the following two forms:

暖かかった - 約 2,770,000 件
暖かった - 約 2,810,000 件

The numbers are much further apart if I search for the -い form:

暖かい - 約 41,900,000 件
暖い - 約 97,500 件

As I understand it, 暖かった is considered prescriptively incorrect because it looks like the past form of the non-existent adjective ×あたたい.  However, if this form has really become more common than 暖かかった, then I suppose it's an acceptable form.  Unfortunately, I can't base that conclusion on Google hits alone, so I decided to ask here.  My guess is that it's easier to say あたたかった than あたたかかった, so one of the かs gets dropped.

If you can drop the か, I'm curious whether you can contract あたた to あった at the same time, as in option four below:

あたたかかった - 約 122,000 件
あたたかった - 約 211,000 件
あったかかった - 約 395,000 件
あったかった - 約 376,000 件

Are all four of these forms in common usage?  Are some of them considered non-standard or colloquial?


texts: The place of noun and information using の?

texts: I have seen articles like 秘密のとんかつレシピ. This would mean that the prior word is defining the latter, it's the secret Tonkatsu Recipe. Is this true? Thanks in advance!


texts: How to differentiate kanji compounds from regular kanji

texts: For example, how do I know when 日本 is talking about Japan and when it's talking about a book about the sun. I'm very early into learning kanji so I apologize if this is a dumb question.


texts:
The situation (story from Edo period, but in contemporary Japanese, at most stylised on old language): three thieves A, B, and C working in a group. Pickpocket A is caught in a crowd, B disappears from the scene, C appears and punishes A (as a staged punishment to let A go without the crowd turning on him). A comes "home" and is questioned by B:

B: 吸口{すいくち}はどうしたんだ。
A: 後ろにいるに違いない。間を置いてやってくるだろう。

So 吸口 clearly seems to refer to the C.

What does 吸口 mean in this context?
The only explanation I could come up with is that as an analogy to the kiseru pipe, it describes the second person following, after splitting in two groups.
But I cannot find this meaning in any dictionary (for example).
Would it be understandable for native speakers if used in a similar situation in a conversation?
Or is there any other meaning of 吸口 in this situation?
I'm also not sure if A's question makes sense - if that was the meaning of 吸口, using it (instead of C's name) would be sort of tautological (it should be obvious that a person following will come later). But then in literary style it might be acceptable.
There was no mention of C being smoker. Which was my other guess.


texts: 「2日」をひらがなで書くと「2つか」？それとも「2か」？

texts:
「2日」・「二日」が標準の書き方で、全部ひらがなで「ふつか」と書く場合も、もちろんありますね。数字とひらがなを混ぜて書く場合は日付をどうやって書きますか？
それとも、ひらがなで書くと必ず数字と混ぜない決まりはありますか？
例えば子供がひらがなで日記を書いたら日付をどうやって書きますでしょうか？


texts: I was watching a Japanese TV drama and came across this sentence: そのへんのこと　よ〜く念頭に置いといてね. I think といてね comes from ておいてね. Can anyone please tell me how do we use this ておいてね and when it is conjugates with 置く how it changes it?


texts:
Sorry for the weird question, as I don't know the proper title for my question.
So, my problem is, how I read the kanji after the word 「アイテムを。。。」.

Here's the image of the text I read.

It was really hard to read the kanji on the back. I've been using KanjiTomo to help me decipher the kanji, but it was still hard to catch the meaning of the kanji. All of the result given completely out of context on regards with first few words at front.

BTW, I'm a complete newbie on Japanese so please don't be to hard on me. :)
Thank you.


texts:
Recently, I looked up the definition of 「流暢{りゅうちょう}」 in a monolinguistic Japanese dictionary, and the definition is as follows:

  言葉が滑らかに出てよどみないこと。また、そのさま。

What is the meaning of そのさま in this situation? I've never seen this usage before, and I can't seem to find any information on it on Google.


texts: What's the difference between 間違える and 誤る?

texts: Is there some sort of bigger difference between the two? I tried reading some example sentences, but couldn't distinguish between them. The level of politeness perhaps?


texts:
まつさんはラーメンやのうしろの公園に行きます。

In the previous sentence, what is the purpose of the や after ラーメン?

I'm also unsure if the sentence is saying that "Matsu went to the park behind the ramen shop." or "Matsu went to the ramen shop and the park behind it."

Thank you!


texts: How to say, "I've been living in America for 9 months" (and still am)?

texts:
So I've been trying to say that a friend has lived in America for about 9 months, and is still currently living in America.

Would it be:
アメリカで９月間ぐらいに住んでいます。

I'm not sure if I'm using the correct form of 住む, but I don't think it would be 住んでいました since it is still currently taking place.


texts: Something that can be written with kanji but not with kana?

texts:
I was reading through some text today and found this (emphasis mine):

  While it is possible to use the phonetic Hiragana and Katakana scripts to represent almost any Japanese word, it is usually considered more appropriate to use the Kanji characters whenever possible [...]

This seems to imply that there is something or things that can be written with kanji but not with kana. Is this true? If so, what is it?


texts: Why is "Encouragement of Climb" written in katanana instead of hiragana?

texts: I'm just a beginner in Nihongo, but I know the difference between the use of katakana and hiragana in sentences. Katakana is used for transliteration of foreign words, onomatopoeia, technical or scientific terms, or from emphasizing words, but why is "Encouragement of Climb" written as ヤマノススメ and not やまのすすめ? It didn't pass any criteria for it to be written in katakana.


texts:
I found this one from a title of a manga チャンピオン太

As my understanding, it should be read just as「ふと」.


texts:
i was wondering about this conjugation[ 何とかならん] of the expression なんとかならん i don't know why it was conjugated like this
戸塚のためにも 何とかならんもんかね


texts: Is there a difference between ラーメン and 中華そば?

texts:
Ramen is the usual word. But I've noticed some ramen places using the term 中華そば for what appears to be the same thing.

Am I correct that these are the same dish?

Why do 2 words exist?


texts:
Can you help me please?
I can't recognize this kanji with red arrow


texts: Explain what はめになる is and give some examples

texts:
I heard that it means something like "to get stuck with something."

Can you explain what this means and give some examples?


texts: Is it possible to use more than one を in a sentence?

texts:
I wasn't sure since as far as I know, we cannot repeat は or が　(or am I wrong about this?). I'm quite certain though that we can repeat の and に. But how about を as in this sentence below?

私は封筒にきってをはるのを忘れた?


texts:
This is from a manga for general readers so should not be too obscure.

It looks like 氵+ 益 but I can’t find a full match when looking up by components.
溢{あふ}れる seems to match by okurigana and context but it looks quite different visually. Is that some variant or am I missing something obvious?


texts: More questions about 'to be' in japanese

texts:
I had some questions about the verb 'to be'. I know you have the copula 「だ」　and 「いる」and「ある」.
However, the copula does not have all the conjugations, so how would you express something like 'can be' or 'make be'(like in: 'I made him happy'). And use expressions like 「なければならない」would you form something like 「じゃなければならない」? Or the expression 「～たい」(Like in: 'I want to be happy'). I don't really know. I suggest maybe using 「である」. But I know that's really like literary language. Also how would you say all this with i-adjectives?

Well, Thank you, in advance.


texts:
Someone just asked me the difference between 「ことがある」(when it means "there are times when") and 「ときがある」, and I actually couldn't answer since I have never really thought about this...

Could someone teach me the nuance between those two? thanks.


texts: Terminology for leaving out parts of words

texts:
In Japanese some parts of words or letters often get left out in order to shorten them, but what is this phenomenon called? Does anyone know? Do you know the English terminology? The Japanese terminology?

Two examples ...

けれども becomes けど

かもしらない becomes かも


texts:
Is it possible to use one なる with two adverbs to indicate becoming two different things/states simultaneously? Can one say, for example, 速くて大きくなる to mean get quicker and bigger? Or would it have to be 速くなって大きくなる?

Edit: Changed 早く to 早くて.
Edit 2:早く changed to 速く.


texts: How to say "email me at this mail address"?

texts:
I was wondering how I would say to someone that they can reach me at this email address or they can mail me here at this email address.

I would guess it would use the potential form of send for something like

  あなたは　メールを　username@email.comまで　おくれます。

Is this correct? Or how could I say it?


texts: Is there a difference between ”をなる” and ”なっていて”

texts:
I was understanding なる verb today, as well as adjectives.
I know the fact that adjective + verb can be mixed together with each other. So, I came across an example stating:

  "家が赤くなっています" (House is becoming red). Over here House is the subject and
   赤い(Red) is the adjective which is being conjugated with なる form to become 赤くなっています。

However, won't it be better to say the same when we change it to：

  家が赤をなっています (house is becoming red). As in this statement, the House is
  the subject on which the noun (赤) is acting upon by becoming (なっています).

I can't find any similar question on the web; is my 2nd sentence of using を is grammatically correct?
Will it make any difference in meaning and grammatically,if I use Noun+Verb rather than Adj+Verb.?

Thanks :)


texts: Is there a shorter version of saying "これからは、日本語を学ぶために全力を尽くします。"?

texts:
I want to say this sentence in Nihongo:

  "From now on, I will do my best to learn Japanese."

I entered the exact same sentence in Google Translate and it gave me:

  これからは、日本語を学ぶために全力を尽くします。

But I am also aware that Google Translate sometimes has grammatical errors in its result. I can confirm that これからは is the correct translation for from now on, since I often hear that in anime episodes, but I am not sure if the rest of the sentence is correct.

Please help me confirm if the rest of it is grammatically correct, or if there's something wrong with it. Also, is there a shorter version of saying this in Nihongo? I feel like this translation is too long. Thank you very much.

Background:

I am very new to learning Japanese. I am learning it for two reasons:

to communicate well with my new Japanese friends and clients
to fulfill my dream of learning as many languages as I can


texts: "となっております" - "It is our rule that" - Honorific Speech?

texts:
According to Tofugu 〜となっております means "it is a rule that"
I know that となる means to become with the nuance of finality and てある is for resulting actions "in preparation for something".
The grammar of this does not thus add up for me:

お支払いは現金のみとなっております
It's our rule that we only accept cash for the payment of the bill

Cause if it were literally: :"It is becoming of only cash for the bill". Then=
Wouldnt おる be humble (謙譲語) form of いる where one would refer to themselves
Can someone pls explain the grammar and with a literal translation ?


texts: Can a  newcomer to an area or a new employee be referred to as a gaijin? They are an outsider initially, when they arrive to a new area or job.


texts: Can 体 be synonymous with a word like 性格 in some cases?

texts:
I've seen 体 used a few times where I think it's not referring to the literal translation of 'body', looking at a dictionary I can see there are other definitions for example:

  体(たい) substance; identity; reality

I've recently read a line of a Japanese story where 体 was used, but in my mind I felt it was perhaps referring to ' personality rather than 'body' quite literally. I thought perhaps it was being used in the same way as 性格. (I can't remember the line word for word in Japanese but in English my translation was "they have different 'bodies' but share the same experiences" and the kanji 体 was there)

The fact that the word identity is listed as a definition makes me think my assertion that it could be referring to personality, is correct.

However I'm wary of using dictionary definitions without understanding what context it can be used in. And the word identity has a broad spectrum of connotations.

Am i right in thinking that 体 can indeed be referring to someone's character or personality and not 'body' in the literal sense?


texts:
I'm having trouble with the translation of  終わらせている in the following sentence, and as far as I understand it likely translates here as "die". But I never found this meaning for 終わる in vocabulary, and why is it in させる form ?

  「ええ・・・・・・摩夜さんこそ、犯人が狙う本命だと思うんです」  「いったい・・・・・・誰がそんなことを・・・・・・？」
  「それは・・・・・・」  ついさっきまで、詩音さんがやっていると思っていた。 でも彼女は死んでしまった。
  だとしたら摩夜さんはもう安全だと思うのだけど・・・・・・  それともーー既に終わらせているのだろうか・・・・・・？

Some sort of translation: "Until a moment ago, I though it was Shion-san. But she is dead. In this case I think that Maya-san is safe now...  or - already dead."


texts: What's the difference between 心, 念, and 意?

texts:
I can say that after much research on this, I'm more thoroughly confused than before I started.  I'm talking mostly about when they are used as suffixes, but the concept applies when they stand alone, or even start some words.

At first it seemed like 心 is used more to describe the core/root nature of something, and the other two are more for momentary/temporary states of mind.  But I've found so many examples where the definitions appear to overlap that I'm just not sure any more.  One dictionary definition I found comparing 意 and 念 indicates that 意 is a more temporary, outward appearance, while 念 is something deeper.

  「意」が表面的、一時的な心の動きも含むのに対して、「念」はもっと深く心に思う気持ち。

But again, there are many examples that I can find where I'm not sure of the nuances between them.

  疑心・疑念・But no 疑意
  信心・信念・But no 信意
  念願・心願・But no 意願　→　念願 is like a "neutral" desire/wish, whereas 心願 conveys a religious desire/wish/prayer
  感謝の念・感謝の心・謝意
  専心・専念・専意　→　All seem to mean the same
  悪心（あくしん）・悪念・悪意　→　First two similar (intent to do something bad), last is different (malice, ill will (toward someone))
  心のまま・意のまま・念のまま？

Questions

What are the nuances between these three?
Are there any hard rules on when you can use them or not use them? (Like examples above - why isn't 疑意 acceptable?)


texts: Is there an equivalent of 英会話 for the Japanese language?

texts: I tried to quickly Google and search for this here, but couldn't find anything relevant. Basically I want to know whether there is any common word for Japanese conversation; e.g. in the context of speaking about a Japanese conversation course, or otherwise.


texts: Differentiate a cause from a succession of terms in a sentence using ～くて / で

texts:
How can one differentiate a cause from a succession in a sentence using ～くて / で ?
In my book, these sentences are given as examples of successions of terms :

1- この店{みせ}は安{やす}くて，べんりです。
2- ここは新{あたら}しい町{まち}で、人気{にんき}があります。

Those are given as examples of causes :

3- このレモン ジュースはつめたくて、とてもおいしいです。
4- ストレスであまりねられません。

How do I know if I have to translate with an "and" or a "therefore"?
It may be obvious for some sentences as the last one or even the first one, but what about the other two?
Am I missing something? A grammatical point?


texts: If your teacher or your leader orders you to do sth or tells you sth, I always hear people say 'はい、わかりました。' But I also once heard somebody say 'わかる' instead of 'わかりました' to reply. Can people do that? Can I use both of them?


texts: How to explain the katakana spelling for a foreign name with a long vowel?

texts:
Apologies in advance if the title of my question is unclear.  Please edit if you can think of a better way to phrase it!
From time to time, you need to explain how a foreign name is spelled in katakana.  Example: The first name Bart is commonly written as バート.
Imagine that you are applying for a credit card on the telephone.  What is the correct way to explain this katakana spelling?
Example: 名{な}（ファーストネーム）はバートです。バ、（？）、ト。
How to explain that the first katanana character (バ) has a long vowel?
Related topic: How to explain a small vowel?  Example: Tio might be written as ティオ.  How to explain the small イ?  Normally, I would say テ、小{ちい}さいイ、オ, but I'm sure if this is correct.


texts:
So I have these two line in the book i'm reading, and i'm having a problem understanding the second one:
(And for the context, the main character is endlessly walking though a dark and silent ruin, where he can only hear his own footsteps)

ふいに、声が響いた。
その声に足を止めた瞬間、終わりを見失っていた永遠が唐突に幕を引かれる。

What confuses me the most here is その声に, what is the に particle modifying/interacting with here?
My best guess is that it is the indirect object for 引かれる... but there's a comma after 瞬間, is that saying that that に can't work in the next clause? that it should be working just for the first one?
So my attempt in translating this line is:
1 - "For that voice, in the moment his feet stopped, (something?) puts an end to the eternity that was losing sight of the end."
or
2 - The moment his feet stopped, that voice puts and end to the eternity that was losing sight of the end.
I am guessing this "eternity" is his endless walk through these ruins.
ps: I'm sorry that it sounds too literal, a lot of those words are new to me so I got their meanings mostly from Jisho.


texts: Why do people say "食べる" instead of "食べましょう" or "食べよう"

texts:
From what I understand, "食べましょう" and "食べよう" both imply, more or less, the same meaning, which is 'to invite someone to eat with them', the latter being a verb conjugation of the volitional form, the more casual 'ましょう'.
However, "食べる", the base verb which means 'to eat', is much more commonly used for the invitation message. I would like to know why that is so, and when have people started to use it, so much so, that is has become a colloquial phenomenon.
Thank you.


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

texts:
「タッタッタ」って車に乗ってみたいな。

I'd translate the sentence like this:

  I want to enter/ride in a car that makes 'tatata'.

I don't think it's the colloquial version of ような, so I think it is みたい plus な. But in this case, I don't know what it supposes to mean.

What is this な at the end?


texts: For “I can play the piano a little”, do you use ちょっと or 少し?

texts:
少しピアノが弾くことができます

Or should I use ちょっと?
I’m mainly interested into “feeling” any difference between these two.
By the way, I also saw “弾ける” being used, which might sound less wooden but I haven’t hit this yet in my grammar textbook - so I use 弾くことができます


texts:
この間、時間を見つけては、過去の歴史をひもといてみたのだが、再認識させられたのは、人間というのは、どれほど多くの涙とともに飲み下した教訓であっても、喉元を過ぎたとたんに忘れてしまう生き物であるということだった.

Especially, what is "忘れてしまう生き物" supposed to mean in "喉元を過ぎたとたんに忘れてしまう生き物であるということだった" ?


texts: Why is volitional form used before ということになった (decide?)?

texts:
『……そこで、琴里のことをよく知るクルーたちを集めて、二日後のデートプランについて話し合おうということになったんだが、是非シンにも参加してもらいたいと思ってね』

そういうことならば是非もない。士道は大きくうなずいた。

「わかりました。役に立つかはわかりませんけど、是非協力させてください」

Context: シン is 士道 and first speaker wanted 士道 to attend the discussion so that they can help 琴里.

Hi. Does the bold ということになった mean “it’s been decided that...”? If so, why isn’t the plain form 話し合う used there? According to grammar, shouldn’t we use plain form before ということになった when the expression means “it’s been decided that...”?

Thank you.


texts:
I've heard people using あした (the common one) and あす (rather uncommon) to refer to "tomorrow".

I was wondering does anyone actually uses the reading みょうにち ?


texts:
I have two textbooks, and they seem to give opposite definitions for 「〜というものではない」. The first one says it means "it's not just a matter"; while the other one says that

  [It follows] a statement to express that the speaker really feels the statement to be accurate or appropriate. [It emphasizes] the speaker's desire to convey the meaning of the statement or the essence of the matter discussed.

My confusion manifests in the following example sentences, which appear to have almost opposite meanings given each explanation:

この病気は寝ていれば治るというものではない。
相手が好きだから結婚できるというものでもない。

From what I understand, I would translate them either (using the first explanation) as

Curing this disease isn't just a matter of resting in bed.
You cannot marry your partner just because you love him/her.

or (using the other explanation) as

I really think that resting in bed will cure you of this disease.
I really think that you can marry your partner because you love him/her.

Can someone fill me in on the points I'm obviously missing? Thank you.

Edit: I checked with my teacher; and she agrees with the two answers below. Thanks again!


texts:
I was helping to translate this passage on the website Lang-8.com:

Lang-8をやって良かった点は、どんな間違いをしても恥をかかないようになったという点と、ネイティブの人でも英語を話すときに同じような間違いをするんだということに気付いた点です。
The great point about having used Lang-8 is that I don't have to feel ashamed about whatever mistakes I make, and I've realized that native English speakers make the same kind of mistakes when they speak english.

I am a little confused as to how だということ is being used in the quoted sentence. The writer said that I could equate it to "that." While I get that much, should I disregard or stifle an urge to relate the いう to these verbs: 言う; 云う; 謂う? Can anyone give an explantation as to how it is being used here? If I translate it literally and get "the thing/point that is said," is that incorrect? (I understand that this meaning is superfluous to the sentence)


texts: What is the difference in meaning between「この自然が多い町」and 「自然が多いこの町」?

texts:
Please, see this related question for more context.

Thank you very much.


texts:
I'm a bit confused with 「V酵素は、・・・高純度のものを持っています」 part in the following passage. Since the subject is V酵素, shouldn't it be 「酵素は、年を経て強力になったヴァンパイアほど高純度のものになる。」, or maybe I'm mistaken something?

Fast translation: The more vampire become stronger with the flow of time, the more clearer V-ferment becomes.

V酵素は、年を経て強力になったヴァンパイアほど高純度のものを持っています。彼女のそれは想定しうる最高質のものです。


texts: What's the usage of で in this sentence: 日本はユーラシア大陸の東にある島国で国の70%は山です。

texts:
日本はユーラシア大陸の東にある島国で国の70%は山です。

I translated it as something like "Japan is an island country of east of the Eurasia continent and 70% of it is made of mountains."


texts:
道の隅で咲いたり枯れる夢たち

それじゃずっと　自由なのに自由じゃないまま

This sentences are taken from a song and there are two things I don't quite understand.
First, I get the meaning of the first one, but why isn't it 咲いたり枯れたりする and just 咲いたり枯れる? I've always thought you needed the whole structure of ～たり～たりする. Can you always omit it or is this sentence special for some reason? Does it sound literary or is it common to do it?
Then the second sentence has a pretty easy structure but I'm not sure I get the meaning. How do you interpret it?


texts: 羨ましく思える　か　羨ましいと思える　か

texts:
１.羨ましく思える　と　羨ましいと思える　は　何が違いますか？

そして

１．羨ましいと思う　と　羨ましいと思える　は　何の違いがありますか？

説明が難しい場合例文をください、ありがとうございます。


texts: What is the etymology of the word しょーむない?

texts:
しょーむない更新失礼しました(T^T)
  Sorry for the boring update

From my understanding, しょーむない means something along the lines of くだらない and つまらない. Where does it originate from and is it specific to a certain dialect?


texts:
I've been wondering how to appropriately say the phrase "My fellow members" lately and I've come up with the phrase 「僕の仲間のメンバーたち」but I feel like there's a more appropriate word for it.

Is there a more appropriate word for "fellow" than 「仲間」?


texts:
Which sentence is more natural?

Sentence 1:

  また、突出部１６４は、シャフト１３０と平行にボディ１６２から延長形成されることができる。

Sentence 2:

  また、突出部１６４はシャフト１３０と平行にボディー１６２から延長形成されることができる。

Is ボディー a better translation for Body? Or is  ボディ better? Which is use for a scientific setting with the lengthen vowel or without?


texts: Another four words meaning "feeling", what are their differences?

texts:
I came across a lot of Japanese words meaning "feeling" (as can be seen in Jisho.org):

感情{かんじょう} (kanjou)
気持ち{きもち} (kimochi)
感覚{かんかく} (kankaku)
感じ{かんじ} (kanji)
心持ち{こころもち} (kokoromochi)
心地{ここち} (kokochi)
感触{かんしょく} (kanshoku)
情感{じょうかん} (joukan)
情緒{じょうちょ} (joucho)

Most are already covered in this question from 2014, but unfortunately, not all of them. Therefore, my question here is supposed to be a continuation of that question, to fill the gaps of the missing words, and by no means a duplicate.

The words that weren't addressed in the linked question are the last four:

心地{ここち} (kokochi)
感触{かんしょく} (kanshoku)
情感{じょうかん} (joukan)
情緒{じょうちょ} (joucho)

What are the differences in usage among them all? And can all of them be used in casual speech?


texts: What is the difference between 「首都【しゅと】」and 「都【みやこ】」?

texts:
As far as I know, both mean "capital city". Is there a difference in terms of nuance or usage between both words?

よろしくお願いします！


texts: What does 通常進行 mean in the context of a two week serialized mangaka job?

texts:
I can understand both words separately, and even together in some specific contexts. I can't understand the meaning of these two together in the following phrase and context:

  「締切りを３日早めてほしいの。それでようやく通常進行に戻るのよ」

The author is a mangaka, with a serialization of 1 chapter per 2 weeks. The editor asks her to anticipate the deadline by three days, so she could go back to 通常進行.

  通常
  1. usual; ordinary; normal; regular; general; common

  進行
  1. moving forward (e.g. vehicle); onward movement
  2. advance (work, procedure, etc); advancement; progress
  3. progress (of a disease); disease progression
  4. progression (harmonic, melodic)Music term


texts: Statistics of on-yomi phonemes/syllables

texts:
On-yomi of kanji feel a bit like they all sound alike. For instance, vowels /o/ and /u/ are over-represented.
Are there statistics of phoneme counts or syllable counts for on-yomi compared to kun-yomi? Something like: the top-100 syllables make up 20% of syllables for kun but 40% for on.


texts: I respond to kochirakoso with doumo. Is this appropriate or necessary?　What is the correct response? A dialogue starts with ohayou x 2 yoroshiku onegaishimasu x 2.


texts:
Is this the same 甲斐 used in 作り甲斐がある？

  広大な世界、膨大な職業、幾らでも弄れそうな外装。そんな日本人のクリエイト魂にニトロをぶち込むような弄りがいこそ、後に外装人気とも言われる現象を生み出す。


texts:
I was practicing and tried to write the following sentence in Japanese: Anyone playing games on PS4 or Switch?

  誰でもPS4でゲームをやっていますか。スイッチでゲームをやっていますか。

A few minutes later my sentence was corrected to

  誰かPS4でゲームをやっていますか。スイッチでゲームをやっていますか。

Why was using 誰でも wrong here? I thought 誰でも meant anyone and 誰か meant someone.

Unfortunately the person who corrected me, presumably a native speaker, couldn't explain it very well when asking the same question. It sounds like they were trying to say I could only use 誰でも when presented with multiple options. So now I'm just overall super confused


texts:
I'd like to know if 「だ」(or maybe even 「です」, though I somehow doubt it) should/shouldn't or can/cannot be used in a sentence I met in one textbook.
The phrase was:

  東京大学は日本で一番大きい大学と言われている。

that translates into something like "They say Todai is the biggest university in Japan", no problems here. But by some reason I feel like the phrase lacks 「だ」 between 「大学」 and 「と」, so it would look like:

  東京大学は日本で一番大きい大学だと言われている。

Am I right or not? Or maybe both variations are possible? Is there any difference? Is the variant with 「です」 possible (I think not, but still... would like to be confident)? Thanks!


texts: Can より be used in questions of comparison?

texts:
Reading through several learning resources, questions of comparison are always shown of the following type:

XとYと　どちら・・・

and statements of comparison are always shown of the following type:

Xより　Yのほう・・・

None of the resources I can find however specifically state that the latter type (using より) is or is not grammatical for questions. Eg

＊中国は　日本より　大きいですか。

Is this construction rare or outright unacceptable?


texts: Does 諸元{しょげん} mean "Specification" or "Various"?

texts:
I am trying to name a library on a group of forms. The specification names the group 諸元管理画面.

I tried to search and the dictionary says it means "various factors or elements".

But on other examples is says 諸元表 means specification sheet.

Any ideas what 諸元 means?


texts: An equivalent of the word "hopefully" and "please be"in japanese when used in a certain context

texts:
In english, someone trying to be amusing might say

That thing is definitely a cat. Definitely. Probably. Hopefully. Please be

or something cheesy along those lines to (try) to amuse someone else.

For those who don't see what's amusing about the sentence, the person saying the sentence starts of by asserting that he is 100% sure, then his confidence slowly tapers down till the point he is praying that it's true (of course, the goal is just to instill some amusement). Hopefully, that gives enough context of the sentence

I don't know if this is the right place to ask, but the question is, how does one say "hopefully" and "please be" in that context? Google translate tells me it's "うまくいけば" and "してください", but that's definitely wrong especially when using it in this context. Or does Japanese not have these kinds of words that are used in this context

I'll remove this question if this is not the place to ask these kinds of questions


texts: Is 許せ【ゆるせ】 something that's said?  I heard from a friend that it is used to mean forgive me, but I find the use of the imperative in such a way to be strange.


texts:
Sentence in question:
万が一、事故に巻き込まれたりしたら、確実に勝ち目はないだろうなぁと、いつも不安になった。

For full context:
https://www.satorireader.com/articles/sanzu-no-kawa-episode-1-edition-m?sentenceID=SrOvSLFfSOyCJFzmEmFt

My attempt at translation:
"I was (=became?) anxious  that in the unlikely event that I would have gotten involved into an accident, I wouldn't have a chance."

First, I'm not sure why たり is used here. Usually I see たり when multiple examples are given, but here it is only one thing. I guess it is because the speaker wants to express that this is just one of the (bad) things that could've happened?

Second, the usage of と. Thanks to the aids provided SatoriReader, I could check for the function of と here myself. I usually encountered と in the quotative function only when followed by a verb expressing thought (e.g. 思う) or speech (e.g. 言う). In this case, the thought is kind of indicated by だろう. However, I wanted to ask wether this is a common phenomenon in japanese, that thought or speech isn't explicitely indicated through the respective verbs when と is used in a quotative function.


texts:
Is it redundant to have わかるようになる and つもり in the same sentence?
For example: このノートの目標は、日本語ノートをきれいに書くのではなって、本当に学習をわかるようになるつもりです。
Likewise, is the rest of the sentence content correct?


texts: Unknown string of kana "-始めようとしていたなかで-"?

texts:
The above image is screengrabbed from the intro to ロンドン精霊探偵団, a story set in 19th century London. This is a line from the prologue. It reads:

その予感が
人々の中に芽生え始めようとしていたなかで
きままに暮らす　ひとりの少年がいた……

I have highlighted a string of kana in bold. How should this string be read?
I see the volitional form of 始める followed by としていた, meaning "was about to begin", but I can't tell if なかで is particles, words, conjugation, or some combination thereof. What does なかで do to this sentence?


texts:
Some nouns can be converted to verbs with する

I'm wondering which form should be used in cases like that?
Or is it same as in English and can be easily swapped?

  旅行するのが好きです

  旅行が好きです

Also is there any difference about form choice when I convert these sentences to questions?

ありがとう〜


texts: What is the word or set-phrases of "grinding/grindy gameplay" as opposed to "power-leveling" in formal/informal Japanese

texts:
Background: Japanese online games are known for its grinding process while people often find a way to "power-level" in a certain way so that they can bypass the 'grindy process'.

I have difficulties in conveying "This online game is too grindy that it isn't worth your time" as opposed to "power-leveling"...

^ **

  How to do you explain this picture in Japanese?

**

The problem is that I can't find a good example and an exact counterpart of Japanese word of 'grindy' which convey not only upgrading and honing the skills, but also the enormous effort to reach a simple goal in an online game.

Most of the dictionary definition is about grinding process instead of grindy (https://ejje.weblio.jp/content/grindy: (video games, informal) Involving a lot of repetition in order to progress.)

Result (no result):

Jisho: https://jisho.org/search/grindy =  ...
Yahoojp:
   https://dic.yahoo.co.jp/search/?p=grindy&stype=prefix&aq=-1&oq=&ei=UTF-8
goo.ne.jp: https://dictionary.goo.ne.jp/srch/all/grindy/m0u/
alc.co.jp: https://eow.alc.co.jp/search?q=grindy
weblio:
   https://ejje.weblio.jp/content/grindy (no definition)

Finally a lead and found a close (probably) rendition (is this okay?):

Grinding levels:

> レベル上げ - noun

> レベル上げをする - verb

> (insert a Japanese word/phrase) - adjective

Grinding experiences:

> 経験値稼ぎ - noun

> 経験値稼ぎをする - verb

> (insert a Japanese word/phrase) - adjective

Source

Please help and explain in the (most) thorough way (and probably an example or two will do).
Thanks!


texts:
In this sentence "自然な流れでサボろうと思ったのにちょっと言い過ぎたかな" ,there are
two phrases i don't know the meaning  "自然な流れ" and  "サボろう" . "自然な流れ" I think it means "natural flow" but what is " natural flow". Also, "サボろう" I absolutely do not know.help me


texts: use of the causative form in 「誰に何言わせる気もないよ！　しゃんとしてろ！」

texts:
I came across this statement:

  誰に何言わせる気もないよ！　しゃんとしてろ！

from the context I believe it roughly translates to:

  don't let what anyone says bother you! hold your head high/ keep your chin up!

my question is if this translation is valid why use the causative form and why not use 誰にでも.


texts: Japanese term for morning office mantra ritual

texts:
This is a follow-on question to this question which was asked on the English Language stack.

The phenomenon in question is the typical Japanese workplace ritual where team members will begin the day with some type of communal mantra or recitation of the workplace values, etc.

The question is whether there is a specific single word or term in Japanese for this ritual and, if so, what is it called?


texts:
うちに has two rather confusingly different meanings.

One is in line with its never seen kanji form. Whilst. Do x whilst y.

Another means do x before y's situation changes.

The two are quite different as to when x should be done.
Is there a way to spot which is meant?


texts:
I was asking a Japanese person for some help and noticed that I kept saying ありがとうございます over and over as they helped me more. Culturally, is it OK to keep saying it multiple times in Japanese? Would it be better to switch to another word to express my gratefulness?

I'm not trying to be English-centric, but I feel like continuously thanking someone might be a little odd or distant in English. I don't feel exactly the same way about it in Japanese, but I want to know what the Japanese perspective is on this.


texts:
でもそのアパートは高いです。
ブラッドはもっとお金を貯めようと決心します。
それで彼は来年移ることができるからです。

Context: Brad is looking for a new apartment because his current one is too small. In それで彼は来年移ることができるからです I don't see the point of から. If I take it out of the sentence, the meaning is still the same.


texts: What's the difference between 売り切り and 完売?

texts:
Do both of these mean "sold out"?
What is the difference, if any? And how might these be used differently in sentences?

For example, if I were to ask a convenience store clerk if a certain campaign/item was still in stock and I wanted to ask, "is this sold out?" which one would I use?


texts: Why ば and ならない in 解決していかねばならない?

texts:
技術の革新が環境に与える悪影響についても解決していかねばならない
  Simultaneously with the innovation of technology concerning negative influence ...

Can you explain the grammar behind 解決していかねばならない? I know it has a connection with かねる but why -ば and ならない at the end?


texts: Is there any phrase similar to "may he rest in peace"?

texts:
George Michael just passed away... is there any phrase analogous to "may he rest in peace"? To me at least, that English phrase is emotionally tinged. I mean, I really do feel sad. But of course, I'd never say that phrase regarding the death of a family member because "may he rest in peace" is a little too distant.

So, is there any Japanese phrase that demonstrates genuine respect to someone who just died and who you didn't personally know?


texts: 「持っていっていい」 same as ? 「持っていってもいい」?

texts:
Is 「持っていっていい」 just 「持っていってもいい」 with the 「も」 omitted?

I know 「てもいい」 means something along the lines of "may I" etc, is it the same for 「ていい」 or is there a slight difference?


texts: Confusion over the use of particle in this verb form 時を…鳴らせ…

texts:
This is a prologue to a Nintendo DS japan-exclusive videogame. It was never released overseas but received a fan-translation.
I'm very confused as to how the Japanese part is even grammatically correct. I thought the を + e verb form was only a command, or it meant the potential form.

２５年前のあの日から...
この島の時間は...錆びついて止まったまま...
時を…鳴らせ…
２５年の空白が動き出す…
そして、刻みだした時の音が再びこの島に響き渡る…
さぁ… あの惨劇をもう１度…
２５年前の惨劇をもう１度…

25 years ago on that day...
This island... stopped in time...
Revive... time...
The frozen era comes to an end, resuming time.
And then, the ticking of time once again echoes throughout...
Now... Let's experience that tragedy once more...
The tragedy 25 years ago that befalls again...


texts:
The full sentence, from Anki core 2k/6k:
かつて私が学生だった頃のことです。
"That was when I was still a student."
I'm understanding "かつて私が学生だった" to mean "I was once a student," so I'm guessing the rest needs to account for "that was when." Is こと just the unnamed thing being referenced with the word "That" at the beginning of the English translation?
Thanks in advance.


texts:
I like looking for kanji with a high 画数, and I have found that they largely coincide with kanji that consist of 2 or 3 copies of another kanji (often

Examples:

龍 -> 龖(x2), 龘(x3)
馬 -> 驫(x3)
車 -> 轟(x3)
鹿 -> 麤(x3)
田 -> 畾(x3)

Some of these are a bit obscure/uncommon in terms of their actual usage in Japanese, but I was wondering whether there was any kind of term used to describe such characters.


texts:
I found this sentence

  部長は満足げに顎を引く

How the suffix げ affects the word 満足?


texts: I'm confused about the translation of these two sentences (from Japanese to English)

texts:
I have read a story in Japanese about a taxi driver. It happened that one night he was near the cemetery in Aoyama and he met a young girl, alone. He picked her up and he brought her home. When they arrived she said that she had forgotten her wallet inside her house. She promised the driver to take the wallet and to come back to pay him. Then the story goes on with these two sentences:

しかし、運転手がどれだけ待っても、自宅から女性が現れる気配はない。
耐えかねた運転手がその家を訪問すると、その女性の家族の者と思われる年配の女性が現れ、『あなたが車に乗せた女性客というのは、すでに亡くなっている私の娘のことかもしれない』と告げられる」というものである。

In the first sentence I don't understand how to translate どれだけ in English.
In the second one I don't understand why the author put the word 年配 there. I don't understand the meaning of the sentence so I can't translate it.
Thank you in advance for your help!


texts: What's the difference between 最近、このごろ and 近頃?

texts: I always thought that they had similar meanings, however I got an exercise where I got all 3 of them and one only is the right choice.


texts: How to specify a day and a shop/office/etc. when asking for business hours?

texts:
I'm very sorry this is a very basic Question, I just started learning japanese as my third language (german being my native one and english my second) and Right now I learned a basic way of asking for Business Hours, what time it is Right now etc.

But I came across something I couldn't find explained:
I can ask "When does the postoffice close" or "When does it (which was mentioned beforehand so I don't have to repeat it here) close tomorrow" But I can't put both in one sentence like "When does the postoffice close tomorrow"
I hope you get what I mean?
With my very limited Knowledge Right now I would Need to put two particles to mark the subject of my sentence, which I can't do as far as I'm concerned.

I'm grateful for every help or someone who can tell me where this has already been answered.


texts: Etymology of 「芝生」 and pronunciation of 「生」 here

texts: 「芝生」 is pronounced as しばふ, I wonder why 生 here is pronounced ふ, and is there any word containing 生 pronounced ふ?


texts:
In this sentence:

  今日はもうそれくらいにしといてあげる。

It is translated roughly as

"It is enough for today. I will let you go now."

I know that しておく/しとくto show something is done in preparation for something else in the future.

But I don't understand how しといてあげる is translated as "I will let you go now."?

I read it as "I'll give you favor of doing in preparation for something" which doesn't make sense at all.

Can someone explain the grammar behind this?


texts: I understand this to mean "return home". I am thinking about starting a new company and I would like something to mean, "return back to my roots, back to a safe place". Would "kitaku" be a word that could have this meaning?


texts:
「やん、宇奈月ちゃんったら。彼氏くんの方が攻め攻めかと思ってたら、しっかり包容力見せてるじゃん」
「なんだかんだで、年下の男の子に好きにさせてあげてるって感じだったよね」

Context: A girl was talking to her boyfriend and these two girls were listening in on their conversation. After she came back inside they started talking to her.
In the above I'm a bit lost as to what 包容力見せてる means and who is the one doing it. Is it referring to her boyfriend or her?


texts: Can someone help me understand「どころの話ではない」in this sentence?

texts:
I don't think I really get it. Could someone please help me?

  倍返しどころの話ではないぞ！

Is it something like this: It's not even close to paying in double?

Thanks in advance!


texts: How to say "Next 'ANY_DAY_OF_THE_WEEK'"?

texts:
Couldn't find the answer here, so I thought it would be a nice and easy question.

Which would be the right way to say "Next 'ANY_DAY_OF_THE_WEEK'"?
Eg: Next Monday?

次の月曜日 is fine? Are there any other ways to say it?

Thanks in advance!


texts: Why になります and not になりました when referring to how much time has passed?

texts:
I hope someone here can help me with a question that I have had for ages, but can't find an answer to. When I ask my Japanese friends I just get a blank look! In sentences where one is talking about elapsed time for example:

彼女に最後に会ってから１０年になります。 It is 10 years since I last saw her.

All the examples I find in the dictionary use になります、not なりました。The 'becoming 10 years' has already occurred, it is in the past, so why isn't it expressed using the past tense? I find it particularly confusing, because if I used a different verb to express the passing of time, then it would be past tense, e.g.

この前彼に会ってから５年がたちました。 It's been five years since I last saw him.

This maybe one of this things that I just have to accept as 'that is how Japanese works', but if there is some sort of logical explanation, I would be very glad to hear it. よろしくお願いします。


texts: Is there a name for verbs written as: Katakana+る?

texts:
The number of verbs that have the pattern KATAKANA + る seems to be increasing. Some examples include ググる, ダブる, トラブる, バグる, パニクる, etc.

Is there some kind of official name (or even informal name) for these specific types of verbs? It's not quite the same as wasei eigo, as far as I can see.


texts:
タブレットは生徒に1台ずつ与えられており、教室後方には高速充電可能な機器も新たに備え付けられた。

I have a little bit doubt about the proper interpretation of the sentence.

機器も新たに means a new device, but 新たに備え付けられた means newly installed/installed recently (I personally think it might be the proper one).

One other thing, 高速充電可能な機器も in my interpretation is a fast charging device, so 可能な can be omitted if I translated the sentence in English.

Thank you for your kind guidance in advance.


texts:
The entry for WWWJDIC lists 飯場 as a possibly sensitive word (sens). However, the definition is just

  construction camp; bunkhouse; workers' living quarters

and it appears in 燃え尽きた地図, a novel from 1967, without any particular prejudice attached (in the description of a construction site). What's going on with this word?


texts: What does とな mean (and how do I use it)?

texts:
I came across this on Twitter, it seems to be mostly a question but sometimes an exclamation. Is it とは, or maybe とか? How do you use it? My dictionary has a とな as word that come at the end of a sentence to get confirmation. Is this the same?

画像も貼らずにスレたてとな？
今日は次第に雨とな。
千葉東方沖震度4とな？
むっちゃんがイケメン店員とな(￣□￣)!?

The avatars of people using it are overwhelmingly cute. Is this a cute word.


texts: What is the meaning of こう見えて in this sentence?

texts:
こう見えてなかなかの策士

I get the なかなかの策士 part, but what does the first part of the sentence mean?


texts: 反動で大きな反作用を招いて and how ぐらい is relevant in this context

texts:
The speaker, a 魔術者, is talking about the process of manipulating a man to do something advantageous for the speaker. The exact particulars of how this was done were never mentioned, it just was done.

  実のところ、人を操るような魔術は複雑な精神構造に干渉しなければならないため難しく、正直あまり成功率は高くない。

  成功率を上げるためには相応の時間や手間が掛かる上に、反動で大きな反作用を招いて術者にかなりの負担を強いる場合もある。

  言葉による洗脳や肉体的な躾けの方が長期的に見て効率がいいぐらいだ。

  しかしこういう状況でピンポイントに使う分には、やり方次第で非常に有効だったりもする。

  特にあの男は元々性欲や支配欲が強そうなので、その点を煽るような暗示は掛かりやすい。

...

For the sake of increasing the success rate, an appropriate amount of time and effort needs to be spent, on top of that, "to produce a large reaction (total guess)", there is often a substantial burden on the practitioner.

Brainwashing and disciplining via words is effective in the long term ぐらいだ

Though in this situation, for the purpose of a pinpoint dosage of manipulation, depending on the method (魔術 or 言葉?), it is also extremely effective (sometimes?)

...

There is definitely something that I am missing between the 2nd and 4th sentences as a congruent thought process is not maintained.

How is で used in 反動で大きな反作用を招いて and how does it work in relation to both 反作用 and 反動 in such a short span?
This may be contingent on my lack of understanding of the 2nd/4th sentence, but I can't tell why mentioning the extent of ...の方が長期的に見て効率がいい is relevant in this context.
Again this may be relating my misunderstanding of the 2nd and 3rd sentences. In the 3rd sentence, I have an issue with the disconnect between やり方次第で and ~たりもする. やり方次第で implies an outcome depending on the method but 有効だったりもする indicates a good outcome among other things. So does that imply depending on the method, it can also be not effective? Or what is the scope of this ~たり statement? In addition what is the also/も relating to then?

Thanks!


texts:
女友達のスマホに入ってるアプリが男子高校生すぎるという話題から「お前のラインナップは無趣味の虚ろなOL」と言われてウケた。

I especially don't understand why is there a から after 話題. But also, what does ラインナップ mean there? Does it refer to the apps that the person has got on their phone?

I'd translate that as:

  during a talk about how, judging by the apps in my female friend's
  smartphone, I would say she's a high school boy, I was told that my
  apps are those of a boring office lady

But that doesn't sound right.


texts:
In one of the Japanese learning books I own there is a following text (right from the start):

バーシカの生活は酷いもんだった。親兄弟もいなければこれと言った仕事もなく、夜は古ぼけた納屋の下で眠り、暇な時は蚤取りをして過ごした。

バーシカ is the name of the dog. The approximate translation, as I understand it, is: "Baska's life was terrible. He didn't have any family, didn't have any job, he slept under an old barn at nights, and spent his free time catching fleas."

What I'm interested in is the usage of いなければ there. Clearly, it is supposed to convey the meaning of "(any family he) didn't have, and...", which is "いなくて" in Japanese. But in the text there is いなければ, which should be translated as "if he didn't (have any family)...", and that doesn't make any sense, looking at the whole sentence.

Now, the original of this text was in Russian, and the author of the book is Russian too, but this text was translated to Japanese by a Japanese person, which adds to the doubt that it is simply a mistake. Also, in the grammar comments for this text the book clearly states: "Inakereba - verb inai in conditional form (if there is no...)"

So, the question is, can conditional ば form be used in the meaning of くて form, like in this example? Or maybe I completely missing something, in which case I would be really thankful for any explanations.


texts:
In this question, たとえる is written 譬える. At first, I thought it might be to emphasize something but according to my research, 譬 is composed of two parts: the top 壁 without the 土, and 言. Therefore its on-reading is ひ due to the top part and its kun-reading is たとえる. But the dictionary I looked up did not say more than that, did not specify any nuances and tended to suggest that it is equivalent to 例える.

I also found that this kanji is an ancient version of 比. (譬喩{ひゆ}).

So, I am wondering, is this just an old-fashioned way to write たとえる or are/were there any nuances in usage?


texts:
How do I say "Twenty-two points of attack" in Japanese? Rather new at Japanese so any help would be greatly appreciated.

Edit.

...and since it was put on hold, I will edit in my "research".

The only translation I could find was in Kanji which is 攻撃の 20 2 点. So I then researched the kanji character translations and found a site that actually had mp3 sound bites of how the characters are spoken.

攻撃
I found to mean "attack" (in the proper context I was trying to achieve). 攻 - spoken translation meaning "kou" and 撃 - spoken translation meaning "geki". I put the two together and searched for a translation of the word and, low and behold, "kougeki" was translated as "attack".

の
Similar research, similar results... spoken translation "no", translated to "of"

20 2
...well "22". I am a little familiar with counting in Japanese so I attempted this one on my own and since the Kanji separated the "20" and the "2" I translated to "niju ni". A quick search proved my counting knowledge to be somewhat accurate so was satisfied with the result.

点
...this one was a bit trickier. Translated to "points". I could not locate this character so researched "points" with no results. However, I could find "point" which resulted in a spoken translation of "kyoten".

Now to put it all together...

Much like other languages, I noticed the Kanji is NOT in order so I can only assume that the translation to Japanese would be...

"kougeki no niju ni kyoten" (or at least close to it??)

As I previously stated, I am fairly new at the Japanese language but very interested in learning.

I hope my "research" will satisfy those who put the topic "on hold" to generate a proper response to see if I am on the right track.


texts: In general, do Japanese people communicate formally or informally when conversing on a forum/commenting/chat?

texts: I  am asking for general use, when it is not clear whether you should be talking in formal/informal.


texts:
ハンダは魔女たちの言葉を覚えて、川べりへ帰りました。

Is 帰る correct in this sentence? ハンダ is a name of my character.
Can I say 川べりへ using へ?
I wanted to write: Handa remembered witches spell and then go back to the river shore.


texts:
This is the text:

  ああ 僕 まだ 名乗ってませんね｡
  あした お会いしたときに｡

It is referring to tomorrow, so I would naturally say: お会いするときに instead.

Why does he use a past form?

Thanks!


texts: i’ve seen japanese speakers switch between both の and か in the same conversation or situation. are there certain phrases where it’s better to use one or the other? for example is の better to use with だ and か better with です? what are the guidelines for choosing which to use?


texts:
The 〜そう form means "seemingly 〜" and is usually conjecture made based on first-hand information.  This usually means seeing something or hearing about something and making a conjecture, e.g., おいしそう when seeing the food. (Presumably, first-hand information would extend to ESP, psychic visions, etc., if you believe in that.)

Now, it's hard to imagine that this would ever apply to かわいい based on visual first-hand information; since you're actually seeing the thing, there's no guessing about whether or not it's cute.  However, it would be possible to make a "seemingly cute" conjecture if the first-hand information was hearing a description of something.  For example, maybe your friend is describing their new puppy to you.  Upon hearing the description you might respond that it seems cute.

By the rules, かわいい (sometimes written 可愛い) would then become かわいそう【可愛そう】.  Unfortunately, this coincides with かわいそう【可哀相】 meaning "pathetic; pitiful; sad".

Is the "seemingly cute" かわいそう even used practically in the way I mentioned (or some other way)?
If so, is context enough to distinguish which of the two words it's actually supposed to be?  Or should you just avoid it altogether?  Because I can think of a context where it would still be ambiguous.

  "My new puppy is small, and fluffy, and likes to play ball.  But a cat attacked him the other day"."かわいそう"　→　(Is it "Seems cute" or "Poor thing"???)


texts: Correct method for writing full name in English and Japanese?

texts:
First name in English, then Japanese; followed by Last name in English, then Japanese:

  Lucas 「ルーカス」Ramage「ラメージ」

First and last name in English, followed by first and last name in Japanese:

  Lucas Ramage 「ルーカスラメージ」

First and last name in English; followed by last, then first name in Japanese:

  Lucas Ramage 「ラメージルーカス」

Resources

How should I write my name with an American first name and Japanese last name?
Terms for Japanese/Western name order


texts:
専門家などは、このミサイルはアメリカに届くぐらい遠くまで飛ぶと考えています。
  Experts think that this missile will fly far enough to reach America.

I've never seen まで used with an adverb before. This translation is my best guess. Extrapolating from my guess I made this sentence:

  レースに勝つぐらい速くまで走る。
  I will run fast enough to win the race.

Is this a natural sentence and does it mean what I think it means? Would this construction be used in everyday speech? If not, how would I express the same idea?


texts: What does 外国人のように imply in this sentence?

texts:
My friend is reading a book, and it contains the following sentence:

  すると、高畑は外国人のように両手を上げる仕草をした。

Why does this say 外国人のように?  Are foreigners known for a particular gesture in which we raise both our arms...?  When I read this sentence, I feel like I'm missing some implication that's required for it to make sense.

I have a picture of the page this sentence is from, in case further context is helpful:


texts: In conversation can you just say "万円です" or must you say "一万円です"?

texts:
I'm pretty sure it's natural to say "百{ひゃく}円です" as a casual abbreviation of  "一百{いっぴゃく}円です" in a conversation. Same with "千{せん}円" vs. "一千{いっせん}円". This is similar in English conversation where it is ok to say "a/uh hundred yen" instead of "one-hundred yen".

But what about "万円です" and "億円です"? Do both of those also sound natural, or should you only say "一万{いちまん}円です" and "一億{いちおく}円です"?


texts:
I was doing some reading this morning and came across the following:

去年の八月、日本テレビの番組の中で、やはり肝硬変で苦しんでいる九州の高木兼重さんが、「仲間は六人死んじょる。七番目はこのわしじゃ」と言った言葉が気味悪く浮かんできた。

I initially thought it might be some kind of -おる form of 死んじる, but I can't find any reference to 死んじる, so I'm wondering if it's some kind of dialectal difference?
I've found one reference to -じょる which refers to a Kagoshima variation of the -て form.
I'm assuming that is probably the answer, but can anyone confirm please?


texts:
The following dialogue is from Final Fantasy XII:

さて……王宮に忍びこむ方法じゃがな。
まず５番倉庫に行ってみい。
あそこに扉が２つあるじゃろう？

I bolded 行ってみい.  I'm not sure what this is, and there's no dictionary entry for みい.  My guess is that it's a dialect form of 行ってみよ with the last vowel dropped.  I think that without the /o/ at the end, /miy/ becomes /miː/.  Does this make any sense?
Here's a picture from the game:


texts: Translation of "to buy a cat" vs "to own a cat"

texts:
This question is to confirm that the two verbs (to buy and to have) are homophones.

  わたしはねこをかっています。

Could the above sentence be translated to "I have a cat" as well as "I am buying a cat"? Are there other ways to phrase the above sentence that are more specific to "buying" vs "having"?


texts:
How can I say "I watched 13 episodes so far" in Japanese? What is the counter for episodes?

I also would like to know the right word for episode. Is it 挿話? That's what I found on jisho.org but since there are no example sentences I have no way of knowing whether this is really the right word.

If possible please could you add the word for season? (see my comment to the answer)


texts: I'm actually learning 味をつける which is translated by : to bring taste. But when I looked it up on jisho.org, it was also translated by : 利かせる. I just want to know if there is any difference or if one is more used than the other. Thank you !


texts: What's the difference between「どこかで犯人を見ましたか」and「犯人をどこかで見ましたか」?

texts:
I saw in a book the following sentence used in an example:

  犯人をどこかで見ましたか

Shouldn't it be「どこかで犯人を見ましたか」?


texts: When using につれて, does the direction of change have to be the same?

texts:
I understand that につれて can be used to express changes brought about by A on B where the extent of change in A has a proportional effect on B.

For example, "感染者が増えるにつれて、亡くなる人がどんどん増えていく。"

However, does the direction of this change have to be the same?

For example, can I say something like:

  雨が降るにつれて、空を飛んでいる鳥が減っていく。


texts:
ようやく has the following definitions in romajidesu:

  (adv) finally; at last
  「そっか」ウィリーはようやく納得した。
  "Well, OK," Willie finally agreed.
  barely; narrowly; hardly; only just
  ９時２０分の電車にようやく間に合った。
  I barely made the 9:20 train.
  gradually; little by little; by degrees

I'm wondering, when is the last definition relevant?

For example, consider the following sentence:

  ようやく理解できたんでしょうね。

Should I read it as "he finally understood what he had to do" or "he gradually understood what he had to do"?


texts: Which part is the tail in 人参{にんじん}の尻尾{しっぽ}

texts:
What is meant by a "carrot tail"?

  人参{にんじん}の尻尾{しっぽ}

Is it the green part or the orange part?
A google image search does not really help, since "carrot" comes up in every one, but no picture I have found has arrows with labels for the parts of a carrot :D

https://recipe.rakuten.co.jp/word/%E4%BA%BA%E5%8F%82%E3%81%AE%E5%B0%BB%E5%B0%BE/


texts: What is the intonation variation for 居る vs 要る?

texts: I hear some people pronounce both 居る and 要る low-HIGH, and others I have heard pronouncing 居る as HIGH-low. Can you clarify whether these are correct, if the variations are regional or not, or if there is some other explanation for variation? お願いします！


texts: In the Japanese word for Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma, where does the パ before 腫 come from?


texts: What's the difference between 好きな食べ物 and 好物?

texts:
好きな食べ物は食べた

好物は食べた

Which is more natural or common in writing or conversation?
Converted into English, is this the same difference between "favorite thing to eat" and "favorite food"?


texts: What is the meaning of クイズ感覚 in this sentence?

texts:
「うん、あの、別に当てちゃうぞー？　みたいなクイズ感覚で聞いたわけじゃないですからね」

The definitions of 感覚 that I know doesn't seems to fit in クイズ and because of this I can't form a concrete meaning of this sentence at all.
For more context:

とりあえず苦しいので胸倉を掴んできてる手は払って、と。
「借金取りってことは金を借りたんですよね？美琴さんが……のわけないか。ご家族でしょうか」
「正解！お父さんなの」
「うん、あの、別に当てちゃうぞー？みたいなクイズ感覚で聞いたわけじゃないですからね」


texts: Why are there 3 ways of writing in Japanese?

texts: Why are there kanji, hiragana and katakana? Is there a logical reason behind this or just tradition?


texts: use of に or で for 寄ってください as a location particle

texts:
As far as I can understand about location に indicates a location where something exists  (as in ここに いる), but some verbs use it like つとめる
 and で the location on which an action takes place ( as in レストランで食事をする or 待つ) but with  寄る に is used (according to the N4 preparatory book), I don't understand why, may I ask your help with this?


texts:
I recently learned 青色をしている as a synonym for 青い, but I don't have a good idea of what the difference is, or even if there's any difference at all.

On chat, Flaw suggested the difference might be intrinsic quality (〜をしている） versus incidental quality (青い）, but I don't have a good idea of what that means.  I found a forum thread suggesting something similar, but I came away from that a bit confused--one poster claimed it was intrinsic versus extrinsic but didn't explain what that meant, and another said there is no difference in most cases.

So my question is: what is the difference between 青い and 青色をしている?


texts: What's the verb/verb-phrase used to described having sex(in a way that isn't dirty)?

texts: I've found a lot of ways to describe sex, but can someone point me to the verb or verb phrase used to describe having sex in a way that isn't dirty, you know: "to have sex."


texts: Does「いとこ違い」mean "first cousin once removed" in Japanese?

texts:
In Japanese, how do I refer to my mother's cousin?
She and my mother share the same great-grandparents.  My mother's cousin's mother was the older sister of my mother's father (my maternal grandfather).
I think the English term for my relationship to her is that she is my first cousin once removed (my mother's cousin has no children, whereas many websites about calculating cousin relations tend to want you to start from your generation and move outward [i.e., my second cousin's mother is...]).  I think if she had had children, they would be my second cousins.  Is this correct?

I am writing my first email to my mother's cousin's Japanese relative and I do not know in what way the two of them are related (whether on her father's side, meaning the addressee is also on my side of the family, or on her mother's side, in which case the addressee is from the opposite side of her family tree), but I want her to easily understand what my relation is to my mother's cousin.

http://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E3%81%84%E3%81%A8%E3%81%93#.E3.81.84.E3.81.A8.E3.81.93.E9.81.95.E3.81.84


texts:
I was having a discussion with a Japanese friend and she said that the word 日本茶 ''means'' green tea.

I have put the word ''means'' in brackets for emphasis.

I replied that surely 日本茶 means Japanese tea and 緑茶 means green tea. I don't know a lot about Japanese teas but a quick Google shows that most teas in Japan are green but there are some non-green teas.

So my understanding is this: 日本茶 means Japanese tea but because most teas in Japan are green it implies green tea.

I tried to explain this to her but she was having none of it. 日本茶 absolutely ''means'' green tea.

I didn't want to push the conversation any further so I let it go.

My understanding is this, please tell me if I am wrong.

日本茶 literally means Japanese tea.

緑茶 means green tea.

Most tea in Japan is green so saying 日本茶 to a Japanese person implies green tea.

But 日本茶 does not ''mean'' green tea.


texts:
Alright I've been told so many different things on how to order, specifically fast food and for some reason I have never gotten a straight answer.

The popular ones is to say ____をください or _____ お願いします. But when I was in Japan I never heard either of those, just the food item and how many they wanted, so I am confused.

How to actually order fast food?


texts: Why isn't 笑う usually used with に particle?

texts:
From what I understand, there are two types of intransitive verbs (might be wrong)

The intransitive verb can act with a direct object or direction with the particle に

  私は学校に行きます。

  私は友達に会います。

  私は道に迷います。

The intransitive verb is by itself, and can't be used with the に particle.

  私は朝早く起きます。

  私は玩具で遊びます。

But I was told that 笑う fits under 2. and is not normally used with the に particle.

For example, if I want to say "I laughed at the cat", why can't I say 私は猫に笑いました?

But why is is okay in this sentence?

  彼らは皆彼の冗談に笑いました。

  They all laughed at his joke.

If I want to say "laughed at (noun)" why can't I use the に particle in certain cases?

And since 笑う can also be a transitive verb, why isn't を used in the sentence above?

Can someone please explain the grammar behind this?


texts:
How is 潔{いさぎよ}い related to 清{きよ}い?

First, I'd like to point out this question: [潔]{いさぎよ}い　meaning

Second, I've found a possible etymology for 潔{いさぎよ}い on gogen-allguide.

Gogen-allguide seems to say that いさぎよい probably comes from 甚{いた} + 清{きよし}, with いた expressing "to a great extent".  Assuming I understood right, I don't quite see how this leads to the modern meaning(s) discussed in the other question.

I've also seen the word きよい written as 潔{きよ}い.  This has me puzzled, too, because I'm not sure if it's supposed to express anything besides 清い.  (My character dictionary doesn't list any such nuance, if so.)  Is this a hint to the connection between these words, or a red herring?


texts:
その高校とは昔から仲が悪くて学力のレベルも一緒なら評判や人気までも一緒

More context: http://i.imgur.com/EZPfSZn.jpg

Is 「X 一緒なら Y 一緒」 a common structure? What is its meaning?

My attempt: "Relations with that high school have always been bad. From  scholastic ability to reputation and popularity."

Thanks for your help!


texts: 「書いている」vs.「書いてある」vs. 「書かれている」vs. 「書かれてある」

texts:
①　啓典には「全ての生き物は遅かれ早かれ死に至る。」と書いてある。

②　啓典には「全ての生き物は遅かれ早かれ死に至る。」と書いている。

③　啓典には「全ての生き物は遅かれ早かれ死に至る。」と書かれている。

④　啓典には「全ての生き物は遅かれ早かれ死に至る。」と書かれてある。

What is the difference between these four and which one is the most neutral one? I asked this question to a few Japanese people and received mixed answers. Most of them seemed to be in favor of the first one, but someone said that in this particular sentence, ④ is the most appropriate one since the meaning of sentence has a strong vibe; and another person corrected me to use the third option. It's pretty confusing so I'd like to learn the difference between them.


texts:
I’m wondering what the meaning of のが would be in this:

世界が君の小さな肩に乗っているのが

I understand the whole sentence and translated it just toc check but for some reason I can’t seem to think what on Earth the のが at the end does.
I’d like to clarify that it’s part of the lyrics of the song We’ll Be Alright by RADWIMPS
「 世界が君の小さな肩に 乗っているのが
僕にだけは見えて 泣き出しそうでいると」
Is the first two lines of the song


texts: How to express an exception, being able to do sth. normally, but not today?

texts:
I want to express an exception and don't know which sentence would be appropriate. I want to say that I just wasn't able to do it today, but I am able to do it normally. Which of the following sentences has got this meaning; or are there better ways to say this?

(I guess some of these sentences actually mean the opposite, I am not able to do it, as always.)

いつものように出来ない
いつもみたいに出来ない
いつも通りに出来ない

Or maybe one of these sentences?

いつものようには出来ない
いつもみたいには出来ない
いつも通りには出来ない

I guess that いつも通りに(は)出来ない is alright, but I am not certain. Also, maybe these sentences in the past tense would make it easier, but I wanted to try it with the present tense.

Also, adding a 今日は to the sentences could make it easier, too, I guess.


texts:
In a novel I'm reading (「キッチン」 by 吉本{よしもと}ばなな), there's this situation where the door opens and a woman enters the room asking for the main character by name. The main character, being surprised and not knowing the woman, asks her who she is:

  失礼ですが、どちら様でしたか？

My question is: why the past form of です is used in 「どちら様でしたか？」? Those two people are standing there talking to each other, so why the past form? Would it be possible to ask 「どちら様ですか？」?


texts: Difference in meaning between ようとする and ようにする？Meaning of のか in this question?

texts:
鈴木はその場で目をつぶり、気を _______ のか、ゆっくりと大きく息をついた。

1 静めようとした

2 静めようとしている *

3 静めるようにしている

4 静めるようにした

1) I'm very confused about ようとする and ようにする. I do understand they have different nuance in meaning, but I still can't differentiate them, for example in the above question.

2) What is the meaning of "のか" in this question?

3) Why do they choose the ている form? I thought it was an event in the past, because of the ついた at the end.

Thank you.


texts:
This is the sentence I'm having troubles with:
シェリーちゃんが助かりますよーに!

I know that シェリーちゃん is Sherry-chan and,
助 is help/rescue/assist. The only part I want to know about is the かりますよーに。I have been searching the meaning of かります and the meaning that shows up is 'borrow' which is odd because it doesn't match the meaning of the sentence. The google translated version is: Sherry is saved. Which is also odd because 'Sherry' wasn't saved yet (in the video I was watching). So I was thinking it meant 'I am going to save Sherry' or 'I must save Sherry'. Also, the
よーに part, please explain it to me.

THANK YOU VERY MUCH TO THE PEOPLE WHO TOOK THEIR PRECIOUS TIME TO ANSWER MY QUESTION!

**My mistake, it was に, not こ and り, not い。I also edited the other parts. Thank you for pointing that out.


texts: Verb+koto+mo soshite Verb+koto+mo nai. Should both words with mo particles be affected by nai at the end?

texts:
Ok, here are the lyrics from the idolmaster song called Nation Blue. You can see full lyrics on the imas wiki here: http://www.project-imas.com/wiki/Nation_Blue

The song is pretty hard for a novice like me, but the part I have a question about is this:

  佇むことも　そして振り返ることも無く

  キミの近く　そう　付いていきたいんだ

And the way I see it, the first line should be pretty much the same as

  佇むことの無く　そして振り返ることの無く

And my translation is:

Without loitering/standing still and without looking back,
I want to go after you and be very close to you.

As far as I know that is how "~mo ~mo verb" should work. The verb at the end should be applied to all words with mo before it, isn't it?

But the translation on the wiki says otherwise:

Stopping for a moment and then not looking back,

To be honest I'd write it off as a mistake on wiki's part, but my acquaintance with N2 claims wiki's version as well, therefore I'm really confused now. Do I misunderstand the basics of ~mo usage? Or is there anything else I'm missing? No matter how I look at it, the sentence becomes extremely strange if you go with the wiki's translation. I mean 無く is in adverb form, so it should be a description of how she wants to go after him (or am I wrong here as well?).

So I repeat the question. Should 無く here affect both 佇むことも and 振り返ることも or only 振り返ることも?


texts:
As we know, で is used for, referring to the things that we use as an instrument/means to perform an act.
So, my question is can we use "ために...を使う" instead of "で" to highlight that use? If yes, could you please highlight the difference in nuance?
E.g. 1. 私は電車で大学に行く (This means, I use the train to got to college) & 私は大学に行くために電車を使う (Also means, I use the train to go to college)
E.g. 2. 私達は日本語で話す (This means we talk using Japanese); 私達は話すために日本語を使う (will also mean, We talk using Japanese)
ありがとう


texts:
I hear this frequently when I watch anime. Google digging suggests it means cheek 頬. But this does not make contextual sense to me for the times I've heard it used.

For example, at 14:45 in episode 2 of Full Metal Alchemist: Brotherhood. The subtitles indicate nothing about a cheek.

Thank you!


texts: Nominalization of Conditionals to Use With 気がつく (realize)

texts:
First question on this Japanese sub-community. Sorry if this confusing or hard to explain. Basically, I want to say

  Everyone should realize that if the YouTube thumbnail wasn't a picture of an anime girl, there wouldn't be 1 million views.

but get stuck on "that if". I'm not sure whether to nominalize the conditional part before adding in 気がつく (realize), or something else. Wasn't sure where to put the "realize" phrase, but here was my best shot:

  YouTubeサムネールはアニメの女の子の写真でなければ１００万視聴回数がない気がすべきつく。


texts: Usage of ～やら～やら vs ～や～や

texts:
What is the conceptual difference, or difference in nuance between these two constructions when used to mean 'and'?  I realize there are some syntactic differences, such as や not appearing after the final item being enumerated, but as far as general nuance is concerned, is there any significant difference?  For example, here's a couple sentences:

1a. 怪我やらインフルエンザやらで、試合に出られない選手が多い。

1b. 怪我やインフルエンザで、試合に出られない選手が多い。

2a. 今日は会議やら新人研参会やらがあって無理。明日なら大丈夫だけど。

2b. 今日は会議や新人研参会があって無理。明日なら大丈夫だけど。

Is there any difference in meaning in these (or perhaps other) examples of usage?


texts:
Recently, I have switched a video game I play, Rocket League, to Japanese to get some more exposure to the language. For those who may not know, it’s basically soccer with cars.  In the game, players are able to quick chat to quickly communicate with each other. One of these quick chats is "I got it!", which communicates to other players that you intend to move to hit the ball, similar to when you would say "I got it!" in volleyball.
As for my question, when playing the game in Japanese, that quick chat is translated to "もらった！”. Does this translation seem to work in this case? To me, the phrase "もらった！” communicates more along the lines that you have already received the ball instead of you intend to hit the ball. Is this so? If that is the case, what phrase would you use instead to communicate you intend to hit the ball?
I feel as if I am likely wrong, and that ”もらった！” is a fine translation, just wanted to hear what others had to say about it.


texts: How to say don't tire/wear yourself out?

texts: I guess there is a slight/subtle difference between the two, but also wondering what is the preferred/acceptable way to express this to someone who is a good friend (not just an acquaintance). Ideally it should show some concern but without being forceful or commanding.


texts: Gregorian calendar year to Japanese era name, and vice versa

texts:
Just for fun, I'm curious about how native speakers do mental translation from Gregorian calendar year (e.g 2011) to Japanese era name 年号 (e.g. 平成２３年), and vice versa. Do you have special and preferably fun ways like mnemonics or children songs (something like the ABC song) to help you do the translation on-the-fly?

p/s: Due to subjectiveness of this question, I'm totally fine if this is made into community wiki.


texts:
I've been listening to the song "If I die tonight" by KOHH and at the end of the second verse he says 楽しめよ and the subtitles say it means "live it up".
But when I look for translation elsewhere it's translated as "Be able to enjoy" and Google simply translates it to romaji.

So I guess "live it up" is a translation that tries to convey the meaning instead of the literal sentence? Or is 楽しめよ simply a creation by the artist?

http://genius.com/Kohh-if-i-die-tonight-japanese-lyrics


texts:
Sentences in which event A happens
  風呂からあがり、パジャマに着替えたまる子の口がポカンとあいたのは、それから一時間後のことだった。
  Sentences in which event B happens

What event does それから refer to?

Is it saying that the time when Maruko got out of the bath etc was one hour after event A?

Or is it saying that event
B was one hour after Maruko got out of the bath?

I'm sure its not ambiguous but can you please explain why it must be the way it is? If I had to choose, I'd go for my first interpretation, but I can't convince myself either way.


texts: What's difference between 昼(hiru) and 正午(shōgo)?

texts: Both 昼{ひる} and 正午{しょうご} mean noon, so are they interchangeable?


texts: The subject in 洗車を終えた車をふたりがかりで拭いているのを見ながら

texts:
洗車を終えた車をふたりがかりで拭いているのを見ながら、喜一は、ああしていくうちに悦子の指のしもやけはまたもや悪化するのだろうな、などとぼんやり考えていた。

洗車を終えた means finished washing the car.
車をふたりがかりで拭いているの means two people wiping the car together.

1) But I would like to know whether the subject of 洗車を終えた is 喜一? So after 喜一 finished washing the car, he watched two people wiping the car together? If not, what is the subject of 洗車を終えた?

2) This sentence looks confusing to me as if 洗車を終えた is used to modify the 車 after it so it reads like "the car that has finished washing the car".  I would like to know what kind of sentence structure is this?  It seems that something is missing after 洗車を終えた.


texts: Help understanding / translating a Japanese sentence with nested clauses

texts:
This sentence is not all that complicated, but I'm having a bit of trouble understanding exactly what it means and how the grammar is working. It's a quote from Japanese author Yoshikichi Furui (古井由吉):

私は内向の世代の一人といわれていますが、内向の世代というのは七〇年ごろ出てきた一群の作家たちで、当時、「難解」という非難を向けられた。

I would translate it something like this:

"It is said that I'm one of a generation of introverts, but within the group of novelists emerging around 1970 that made up this generation, I was at the same time faced with criticism for being 'obscure.'"

I'm not sure about:

How the 内向の世代というのは is working... Is it repeated in this way to set up a redefinition -- that in talking about a "generation of introverts," what is really meant is a specific group of writers emerging around 1970?
Is it clear at the end that 非難を向けられた refers to the speaker as an individual, as opposed to the group of novelists as a whole being faced with the criticism?

Any thoughts much appreciated : )


texts:
I understand how 時 works with plain present/plain past (e.g. 食べる/食べた時) but I'm a little unsure of ている/ていた時.
Also what's the difference between these two sentences:

私がお風呂に入っている時電話が鳴った。
私がお風呂に入っていた時電話が鳴った。

In a textbook apparently they both translate as "When I was taking a bath, the telephone rang."
But I don't understand why.
If someone could please explain this for me I'd really appreciate it! (I hope it's not too broad a question.)


texts: Why does 〜しそうだ seem to be used in place of 〜すること here?

texts:
I’m reading Tokyo Ghoul right now and I’ve come across this line:

  グールが生まれながらにして得ることのない人の快楽…その代わりに、これが与えられたんだ。食欲に呑まれそうだ。

My intuition, which the English translation confirms, is that 「食欲に呑まれそうだ」is the antecedent of 「これ」. However, I don’t see how “seems like being consumed by hunger” can be what is given to ghouls in the stead of human happiness. Had the sentence been written in the form of「食欲に呑まれること」I would have no confusion whatsoever, but I simply don’t see how it makes sense to use the resemblance-marking そう here.


texts: Hypothetical situation: someone bumps into me with their bike.. what do I say?

texts:
I'm trying to improve my Japanese by imagining hypothetical situations, and then determining the most natural way to respond to them.

Situation: Walking at night, someone rides into me with their bike. They say sorry, I guess "ごめんなさい”. I'm not bothered by it and want to say "it's ok"

I say: ああ、大丈夫。気にしないで、構わないです。よろしくお願いします。

intended as: oh! It's ok.. don't worry about it, I don't mind. Take care/have a good night.

Does this sound natural or am I misusing these expressions? Any suggestions on how to make a more natural response?

Thanks.. よろしくお願いします!


texts: I want to ask the meaning of this words 痛い女

texts: I tried to look at it dictionary but I can't get the real meaning behind it. What does 痛い女 mean?


texts:
Hi  I would like to know if わけない is the shortened version of わけがない /  わけはない (it is not possible that)
I am pretty sure it is but it would be nice if I had some confirmation.
I would like also to know what nuances it bring (if any)

おい、アクア、金ってもってる？
あんな状況でいきなり連れてこられて、持ってるわけないでしょう？
Hey, Aqua, you got any cash ?
What do you think ? As I had time to grab my
wallet when you dragged me off here !


texts: What's the reading of 二人 in this sentence?

texts:
The sentence is

二人間がしっくり行かない

i'm confused when to use ににん and when to use ふたり


texts:
I'm reading manga and as these adventurers charge towards a lion-like beast in hopes of capturing it, they yell out:

畳【たた】み掛【か】けるぞ！

Now, according to multiple different dictionaries, this phrase means "to press for an answer" but context-wise this makes no sense since the beast can't talk. Is there some sort of less common meaning for this phrase or is it a pun that I don't get or something?


texts:
I have heard the following sentence in an audio file of a dialogue in the Japanese language teaching book Genki (vol 1):
はがきは イギリスまでいくらですか？ (= How much is a postcard to the UK? )
There is a clear N sound in the syllable が of はがき and I hardly hear any G. It seems to me that the speaker is pronouncing が as [na] or [ŋa] instead of [ga] (IPA syntax). Is that an accent? If so, from where?


texts: 都合の悪いところ + 見て判断したそう + punctuation of this sentence

texts:
I am having several problems understanding this sentence:

「都合の悪いところは破っておいた日記と一緒に持ち帰った、小型デストロイヤーの足を見て判断したそうだ。」

First of all と一緒に持ち帰った、,  especially the "、" confuses in the sense of the scope of と一緒に. Does the scope include only  日記 or 小型デストロイヤー as well?
I know that punctuation is somewhat variable and not as crucial for the meaning of a sentence but I just want to know how to interpret such "breaks" in the future.

I am not sure whether my understanding of  「都合の悪いところは」 is correct. I've read a different post, where 「は 」 as particle was described as often being used to mark some kind of "contrast", especially in regard to what was said earlier.

The preceding clause 「依頼もなく賞金首でもなかったというのに袋は結構な重さがある。」 makes it sound to me that 「は」in the second clause is used in mentioned "contrasting" meaning. (Hinting at the contrast of convenient and inconvenient)

However, my next problem is that I don't understand what 「見て判断したそう」だ is supposed to mean. I found 「見て判断する」 used as definition for 「見受ける」 (https://dictionary.goo.ne.jp/jn/210824/meaning/m0u/);however,I still cannot decipher the meaning of this phrase.
I interpreted this 「そう」as the "hearsay-version" as it stands after the "full-verb-form".

Especially the interpretation of the last verphrase is troublesome for me and I think if somebody could point out what exactly 「見て判断したそう」 means I might be able to get the whole sentence.

TLDR: What is the meaning of this sentence「都合の悪いところは破っておいた日記と一緒に持ち帰った、小型デストロイヤーの足を見て判断したそうだ。」// Can the 「は」particle be understood as "contrasting" in above stated context?

Thank you in advance!

The whole passage:

「ルナが満面の笑みを浮かべて資金の詰まった袋を手渡す。
依頼もなく賞金首でもなかったというのに袋は結構な重さがある。
都合の悪いところは破っておいた日記と一緒に持ち帰った、小型デストロイヤーの足を見て判断したそうだ。これだけあれば人数で割っても十分金が手元に残る。」


texts:
sentence: 私の犬は目が青くて、耳がグレーです。

Why is it not 私の犬の目?　I cant differentiate between は and の when used as possessives


texts: Is there a distinction between ‘did" and "have done" in Japanese?

texts:
According to internet sources and my Chinese friend living in Japan, there isn't. However, can someone provide more evidence on this issue? If there is no grammatical distinction, how can we distinguish these two tenses? I mean, how do we know if one sentence is translated to "did something", while the other to "have done something"?

Edit: I have a new question but I am not sure to start a new one or add to this. My question is on the construction of english tenses in Japanese. I know there is no one-to-one correspondence. But I am hoping to reconstruct them as accurate as possible. Simple past is ta-form. Present perfect is もう plus た-form. Past perfect is もう plus ていた. Is this correct?


texts:
What is the difference between 収める and 納める? The former is what I originally learned the word as, and it seems to be more common. But I came across the latter a few days ago and I'm not sure what the difference is, if any.

Some dictionaries list 納める as an alternate form of 収める, while others just give them meanings that greatly overlap. So now I'm not really sure.

Are they interchangeable? Or does one have a meaning the other does not?


texts: What would change if I used the causative in this sentence?

texts:
人間の生き方をより純化にしたものが聖杯戦争という殺し合いだ

A battle to the death which is the Holy grail War, an event which is purer than the way of lives of humans.

  人間の生き方をより純化にさせたものが聖杯戦争という殺し合いだ

A battle to the death which is the Holy grail War, an event which makes a thing purer than the way of lives of humans.

My idea is that in the first 1, the one with no causative,

  人間の生き方をより純化にした

is describing "もの", so the thing which is purer than the lives of the humans is もの.

If I used the causative it would make もの the thing which is causing the fact of being purer.

Am I correct?


texts:
If I am reading a Chinese text to a Japanese audience, how can I know which reading to use for each character? Of the 音読み, there can be 呉音, 漢音, and 唐音 to choose from.

Also for pronunciation, would rhythm be modified to stress individual characters in deference to their monosyllabic origin in Chinese speech?

(I am a beginner and have no background on this topic.)

For example if I was trying to impress a Japanese Buddhist scholar by reciting the ｢般若心経」, a classical Buddhist text written in Chinese, how would I pick the readings for the first sentence: 「観自在菩薩行深般若波羅蜜多時、照見五蘊皆空、度一切苦厄。」 As far as I know there is no Japanese translation with words rearranged and inserted. This is probably not a useful skill since I doubt I will ever find another person interested in hearing me recite classical Chinese literature in Japanese. In fact, I could probably just pick readings as I choose for mnemonic purposes only, but I was curious if there is a set of 'correct' readings.