texts: What does it mean when 連体形 is directly followed by は?

texts:
Here are two lines of the lyrics in a specific song:

[出]{で}[逢]{あ}いしは　[運命]{さだめ}か

and

[纏]{まと}いしは　[緋]{ひ}[色]{いろ}の[棘]{とげ}の[鎧]{よろい}

I'm 99% sure that the し here is the 連体形 of き; it follows the 連用形 of [出]{で}[逢]{あ}う and [纏]{まと}う.
However, what I don't understand is why the 連体形 is being used and what it means for は to directly follow the 連体形 of a (auxiliary) verb. It would still make sense if the し was removed from both lines - is the し only there for emphasis on the fact that it happened in the past, or does it have some sort of other nuance or meaning or grammatical construction that I don't know of?
Thanks in advance!


texts:
～おう means "let's do something", while てしまう seems to mean completion of an action (A dictionary of basic japanese grammar). In Nihongo so-matome n3 there is this example: 今日は飲んじゃおう! which they translate to I'm going to have a drink!. What exactly does ～てしまおう mean?

I've seen some google results for this question, but they were on reddit and few other websites I can't access from this network.


texts: Difference between に and が for intransitive verbs

texts:
What is the difference between 試験に受かる and 試験が受かる?
It seems that the first one means "to pass an exam" while the second one is more like "passing exams" (really not sure about it).

In which cases would に be used together with an intransitive verb?


texts: semantic difference between two keigo verbal forms : に なる(ni naru) and なさる(nasaru)?

texts:
Japanese grammar has a rich subset of grammatical forms named 敬語 ("keigo", formal language or respect's language).

The rules allowing to transform a normal verb into a keigo verb are complex and I'm stuck with a difference I found here on a well-documented site.

For each verb it seems that there are TWO ways to create infinitive keigo forms :

o either お + [い-stem] & に なる
o either お + [い-stem] & なさる

By example : 変える (kaeru) becomes either お変えになる either お変えなさる.

I don't understand if the difference between these two forms is merely formal (like in French : je m'assois, je m'assieds) or if these two verbal forms are used in different linguistic contexts.


texts:
In my notes I have the following example:

  私は　仕事を　止めない　つもり　です。  -   I expect my work will not stop.

Does anybody know the rule for using つもり? Is it just verb plain form e.g.

  今月　家を買う　つもりです - This month I expect to buy [the] house

Some guidance would be appreciated. Many thanks!

EDIT: I've found this example which indicates my notes may be wrong (first example)

  これから10年働いて、35くらいまで結婚しないつもりだ。
  I'm going to work now for 10 years and I won't get married until I'm 35 or something.

So have we decided that つもり is to express an intention, rather than an expectation that something will happen? If that is so, then how do we say we expect something to happen? e.g. "I am expecting to pass the exam"


texts:
全力ダッシュでこっちにやってきたメガネの男が放つ唾から弁当を避難させる。

The sentence above means 'A glasses wearing guy dashed here and made me move my bentou away from the saliva he released'

The question is, why is 避難させる used to say 'made me move my bentou'? Shouldn't させられる be used instead? させる means 'I made someone do something' if I am not correct


texts:
I ran into the following sentence:

  三角や四角でしか表現できない感情の発露は、ただ恐ろしく。

The same phrase appears in another sentence in the same book:

  女の子の隣にいることで、ざわめくものがある。拾いあげることのできないそれは、砂浜に広がる波の音に少し似ている。不明瞭な音は三角や四角の文字以外の形で、わたしにそれを伝えようとする。滾{たぎ}る熱の中に溶けていくそれの答えは、見つからない。

Does 三角や四角 have some special meaning besides "triangle and square"? It doesn't make sense to me with the literal meaning.


texts:
While at first I believed it was simply bound to each individual word, I've noticed that the same onomatopoeic word sometimes has と after it and sometimes it doesn't.
Here's a case I stumbled upon:

踊り手は つま先立ってぐるぐると回った
犬が自分のしっぽを追いかけてぐるぐる回っている

What difference does the inclusion of と make?


texts: 日本では、その年の4月1日時点で満6歳に達している児童が小学校に入学します。 I'm wondering why 達している? I've learned it acts like Present Continuous, but Google gives me Present Perfect. Why not plain suru or shita?


texts: usage of から at the end of the first sentence with the second part in the next

texts:
My question is on how to properly interpret utterances like the below.

  あれに正面から挑むのは中々に手間よ。どうするの？

  下手な小細工が通じる相手じゃないからなあ。正面から挑むだけだよ

Occasionally I'll see someone end the sentence with からな・からね where the sentence could have continued on and still had made sense without the 。.

Should these utterances be treated like 「下手な小細工が通じる相手じゃないから正面から挑むだけだよ」 in terms of meaning but with the interjection particle there to serve its function, Should it be treated as two separate utterances with implied stuff after the から, or something else?

edit:additional examples

(rumour of the protagonists duel has spread throughout the school and his friends are talking about it.

「あいかわらず、噂の拡散スピードが尋常じゃないわね。デイルが口に出したの、ついさっきの授業なのに」

「まあ、ある意味で閉鎖された世界のうえに、みんな娯楽に飢えてるからな。こういった噂はいち早く広まるさ」

「それにまあ、デイルは人気あるからな。あのデイルが人族と勝負、となれば誰もが興味深々だろう

edit 2: After l'électeur's post I went and opened up some studies done on the usage of から and came across 原因・理由表現とは which describes the usage of 「から」と「ので」 with 5 usages.

(1)事態の原因-主節が具体的な事実・事態を表し、従属節が主節の事態そのものを引き起こす原因・理
由を表す場合であ

(2)行為の理由-主節に話者の意志的な行為や聞き手に対する働きかけが現れ、その行為を行う理由が「か
 ら」「ので」によってされる。

(3)判断の根拠-This one is too long but this isn't the usage anyway

(4)発言・態度の根拠-主節に、聞き手に対する働きかけや話し手の意志などの発言や態度が現れ、そのような
 発言・態度の根拠を表す場合がある。

(5)理由を表さない用法-原因・理由文の中には、原因・理由を表しているとはいい難いものがある

and lastly we have the usage of it as a sentence ending particle(which in this case fits with the location)

Could anyone explain which usage this then and how it is used?

Based on my understanding of these it isn't 1 or 3.
4 and 2 I'm not really sure about but they don't seem to fit which then means it would be the usage of it as a sentence ending particle(which I haven't been able to find any real documents about that explain its usage apart from implying something else after the utterance).


texts: 終わらなさそうだ versus 終わりそうもない

texts:
What is the difference between the following fragments?

A: 終わらなさそうだ
B: 終わりそうもない

It seems to me, both means "it does not look like it will finish".
If they are different, how to use each?


texts: Meaning of 「位置の平等」は難しい。

texts:
It's from line 14: https://www.docdroid.net/847v2dg/img-20170413-0001-new.pdf.html
「位置の平等」は難しい。
Literally, I'd translate the stuff in bold as "The equality of situation".
Does the whole sentence then mean that its difficult to establish equality for every situation? In this case, the expression in bold could be translated as "situatitive equality" maybe?

It's not that this small phrase would be hard for me to understand grammatically, but I feel very unsure about the meaning I should extract from it xD


texts: Why is beatboxing called 「ヒューマンビートボックス」?

texts:
I was watching TV when the topic turned to certain celebrities' ability to beatbox. In talking about this every mention of the term beatbox was

  ヒューマンビートボックス.

Why is human necessary?
The use of katakana is only natural, but why take a relatively long katakana word and make it longer with a completely unnecessary word?

Note
After going through the links in the answers and comments, I realized it was using ヒューマンビートボックス like this: 俺、ヒューマンビートボックスできるよ！ in English I can human beatbox! that made me think it strange.


texts:
Just wanted to ask something about this use of と at the end of a sentence that I came across in a visual novel.
白い彫像が落ちているのだと思った.
プールの守り神みたいなものが、鎮座しているんだと

Would I be correct in interpreting this と as something along the lines as というように?
So the sentence would mean something like "In a way to suggest something like a god of the pool is enshrined "
Any help much appreciated and thanks in advance


texts:
So I have at-shirt, and I've been wondering how you would translate it into Japanese. The t-shirt text is:

  I'm not late. I'm just early for tomorrow.

My first thought was 「[遅刻]{ちこく}じゃない、[明日]{あした}のために[早]{はや}い」but I understand that 「AのためにB」means something like "for the benefit of A, B", which doesn't seem to fit here and I guess is my mistranslation of an alternative meaning of "for".

Another thought was simply [遅刻]{ちこく}じゃない、[明日]{あした}[早]{はや}い」, but I'm not sure if that's grammatical.

What is the correct way to translate this?


texts: Casually asking for a person's name, more natural than 名前は何ですか。

texts:
I just learnt that 「名前は何ですか。」 sounds non-native.

What would sound more natural?
Let's say I am addressing a friend of a friend, same age, after a futsal game where we talked together without being formally introduced.


texts: Meaning of こう言っちゃ何ですけど

texts:
I kind of get when it's supposed to be used, but I'd like a clear explanation on what it really means.

  こう言っちゃ何ですけど。


texts: Saw this in my textbook. The translation is "to preserve food from decay". I get it, but I am not clear about the ず after 腐らせる. Where is it coming from?


texts:
My dictionary says this word means something like "official; public" - how does the word go from that definition to being used as a derogatory suffix for animals and people?

One example the dictionary gives is 熊公 how would this be any different than 熊め to express anger towards a bear?

I should also add that the word can also indicate intimacy and a high level of respect.


texts:
I'm trying to translate a children's book myself, ハルとカナ. I got stuck on this sentence:

  ハルはリビングで、父さんと笑えない話をしていた。

Which Google translates to:

  Haru was in the living room, talking funny with his father.

The translation makes sense in context, but I can't figure out why 笑えない話 becomes "talking funny." Is it a colloquialism?


texts: How come the よう in ~ようものなら can modify a noun?

texts:
I have the sentence in my book:
昔は、若い女性が男性と二人で出かけようものなら、町中のうわさになったものだ。

I was wondering if this means that it is possible to modify nouns with the volitional form. I have so far heard that it isn't, which makes this grammar point confusing. Could someone give me an explanation as to how to understand ~ようものなら in the above sentence? Is it like, "If women WISHED to go out  with men..."? Or does the volitional have some other interpretation here?


texts: Problem trying to adapt the sfx "グワラ" and "ドグワン"

texts:
recently I found the sfx "グワラ" and "ドグワラ" in a Hoshino Yukinobu's manga, Munakata Kyouju Denkikou:

I look in sites like thejadednetwork.com but I couldn't find anything relevant to help me adapt this sound effect.

Thank you for the help and so sorry for my bad english.


texts: What is the Japanese word for "counter" and how do I ask questions with it?

texts:
How do I ask questions like this? "What is the counter word for umbrellas?"

How do I give answers like this? "The counter word for umbrellas is 本."


texts: Why do these two sentences take different particles (に and で) despite being broadly similar?

texts:
日本人の会話には下の例のように、「～けど」や「～から」や「し」などで文を終わらせる話し方が多く見られます。

日本語の会話では、文の倒置もよく見られます。

These two sentences (which are not in sequence) come from a text from the Tobira Gateway to Advanced Japanese textbook. They both seem broadly similar to me in structure, therefore I don't understand why 日本人の会話 takes に, while 日本語の会話 takes で as particle.
I'm unsure if the difference come from the particles themselves or from 見られる. I had supposed maybe they used different particles because in the first one, the passive 見られる has 日本人の会話 as indirect object, and in the second one, 日本語の会話で is used with a potential 見られる, and japanese conversations are where 文の倒置 can bee seen. But I believe my logic might be overly complicated.
I have seen other questions in regards to に and で and their differences, and I do think I comprehend how they differ when it comes to "action happening in physical location", but as this isn't the case, I could not figure it out more from those questions.
So, why do they take different particles, despite the structure of these sentences being seemingly close to each other?


texts: Could there be an 'invisible' "should" in this sentence?

texts:
携帯番号交換しとくんだったな。。。
The sentence means "We have interchanged phone numbers in advance."
This makes no sense with the story unless I add "should" before the "have". So could ~teoku's meaning also include "should" ("should prepare in advance") in casual speech, or something like that, which could have this sentence make more sense for me?


texts:
お汁粉は、甘く{あまく}煮た小豆の汁に餅などを入れた温かい食べ物です。
  Oshiruko is a hot food with a rice cake in a sweetly boiled adzuki bean broth.

I think I must be misunderstanding how 甘く is used here, since you can't boil something in a sweet way.


texts: What is the difference between 出す and 始める when used as a suffix?

texts:
Judging from examples I've seen, these are some differences I think there are:

始める:
1: More formal than 出す
2: When the focus in more on the beginning of the verb than the verb itself
3: When the action is deliberate and/or under control.

出す:
1: When the action occurs spontaneously or without ones control.
2: More colloquial than 始める
3: Less focus on the beginning itself than 始める

Are any of the observations I made incorrect, or is there perhaps some differences I've missed?


texts: Conditional form comparison (large question)

texts:
I'm confused over the usage of conditional forms, AKA where to use them correctly, when not to use them and the differences.

Below are the forms I have learnt and my interpretation of how to use them.(sorry the computer I'm on has no Japanese keyboard)

-Tara = considered the 'safest option' in terms of conditionals, can be used in hypothetical and physical situations.(Are there any situations where tara wouldn't work?)

-ba = used for only hypothetical situations (which I don't fully understand since if it is conditional, wouldn't all the situations be hypothetical since they haven't happened?)

-Nara = contextual situations (what constitutes a contextual sentence?) 'If this is the case then...'

-baai = used with nouns and verbs, 'In the case of... then...' (this seems pretty interchangeable with nara, is this correct?

-to = only used if something will naturally happen, e.g. when it's winter it will become cold. (but surely if it naturally occurs to stops being conditional right? like... it will always become cold during winter so why not just say, It's winter it will be/become cold.)

Sorry for the long winded question but I know how to conjugate these forms but I have no idea when to use them correctly.


texts: What is the difference between 連用形 'て-form' and the い-stem?

texts: If they are the same syntactically, why is it right to say 食べている but not 食べいる? Why is it right to say 食べ続ける, but not 食べて続ける? Forgive my ignorance on this topic.


texts: what exactly does "という" mean in "健康になったという人"?

texts: Is there any difference between "健康になったという人" and "健康になった人"?


texts:
Sentence:

もぐらさんのまちは あっちっち。なぜか しゃわーがとまってる ぬーぼー たすけて。

あっちっち！このお風呂、熱くて入れないよ。

Context: https://youtu.be/6wAq1BfC_P0?t=772 ; https://tatoeba.org/eng/sentences/show/234336


texts:
I am watching a certain show at the moment where someone is talking about wanting to kill evil creatures. Please don't judge this question as childish just because the extract is from an anime.

He says

  くちくしてやる。この世から。一匹残らず

I understand that, but then he says

  もっとだ。もっと。もっと殺したい。

I don't understand why he would say もっとだ. The reason why is that I don't know what he is saying exists as 「もっと...」, if you understand what I mean. I know the meaning of the word, I just don't get why he would say だ afterwards.
Like, if I asked in Japanese I would say... 何が「もっと」ですか？
What would replace 何 in that question?

Is だ just emphasis of how much he wants to kill more?


texts: Is there a general purpose equivalent for the "agent suffix" -er of English?

texts:
In English any verb can be turned into a kind of noun called an "agent noun", that just means the do-er of the action:

to drive - driver
to walk - walker
to think - thinker
to drink - drinker

Yesterday I wanted to communicate the notion "drinker" meaning plainly "one who drinks".

My Japanese is not good and the people I was talking with had a similar level of English. So maybe we missed something, but the best they could come up with was words meaning more like "drunk" or "habitual drinker". In English "drinker" could mean this but could also, depending on context, just mean "not a teetotaller" or even refer to a person or thing that drinks, even in non-alcohol senses.

The English Wiktionary only lists these two as translations of English -er:

者 (...しゃ, -sha)
家 (...か, -ka)

Others that have been identified by various people reading this question are:

手 (...しゅ, -shu)
師
士
員
人

So could 者 or 家 actually be appended to some form of 飲む to give something similar to the English range of meaning that "drinker" has?

And really "drinker" is just the real life example. I'm actually interested in the general case of turning arbitrary verbs into agent nouns just as much.


texts:
I am looking for some assistance in understanding in first person narration when the narrator is speaking about themselves, or 'we'. Much of the time the meaning is unambiguous from context, however when a statement appears ambiguous (at least to me) it is not so clear.
To provide some context, the narrator works in a pub and has been serving and it is nearly closing time.

楽しい時間が続き、一人、また一人と店をあとにする。
ロブとエドが残り、おれと父親と四人になった。
いつものメンバーだ。
エールのアルコールが体の隅々まで行き渡り、気怠い時間が流れる。

Now this final sentence does not make it clear who it is referring to, nor is there an obvious specific person who has been drinking. Having said that, I think it is just a statement with no one in particular in mind, but is there something I am missing that makes this obvious to native speakers, or is there always this sort of ambiguity for Japanese natives and they just unconsciously assume one way or the other based on the previous context?
I mean in this context, the possibilities are an 'I' however this does not really fit in with the tone of the rest of the sentence (気怠い時間が流れる), which leads me to a more generic interpretation referring to the people who have drank.


texts: Can somebody give me a grammatical insight into the following very short sentence?

texts:
何してんの?

The translated meaning is "what are you doing?", but I am having difficulty understanding how the て form of する is referring to the present tense (I would have expected している here).

Also, I am not comfortable with the "ん", although I have seen it appear before.


texts:
I am learning hiragana and I've encountered a minor problem. The thing is that my book did mention how to deal with a long "O": just by adding another "O" or "U". However it doesn't explain in which cases I should use which.

As you can see I've made a mistake trying to put "O" in 7th case. In which cases of double "O" should I use "O" or "U"?


texts:
We have a question on this site, What is the proper differentiation between 来る and 行く?, which does seem to correctly explain the basic general differentiation between 行く and 来る, which is that it is chosen based on the speaker's perspective (regardless of sentence subject, etc.).

However, this is what still confuses me: Physical location of speaker at speech time is not what determines the verb.

If you are at school and you invite your friend over to your house, you say 「うち来る？」, not 「うち行く？」, right? If you live in Japan but you're visiting America and invite your American friend to Japan, you say 「日本来る？」 right? (Although, if you're just asking if they will go to Japan at all, not to visit you or something like that, it's 「日本行くの？」, yeah?)

I can imagine two ways to account for this: 1. it's the speaker's location at the time of movement that's relevant, not their current location, or 2. it's the speaker's "ownership" of the location that's relevant (which I think accounts for the 日本来る・日本行く difference in nuance pretty well).

I think it's two, but physically being somewhere gives you a sense of ownership over the location?

「パーティー来る？」 is okay to say even if it's not your party, but you just happen to already be there, right? 「彼は一週間前ここに来たみたい。」 is fine, even if where you are is totally not yours, yeah?

How about being physically somewhere at movement time? 「俺は１時から５時まで太郎の家にいるから、その間に来るよね？」 seems like it could be okay, but I think 行く is at least also is fine here...

But if course, it's not just physical location at speech time, or physical location at movement time, because 「私がいない間うちに来たのよ…」 works even if you're not at home.

Yet, if you use 一緒に, then you must use 行く 「一緒にうちまで行く？」 I think, even if it's yours...

Is there some simple explanation which accounts for all this (assuming my judgments are correct, and I'm not too sure about them to say the least)?


texts: Suna is paying his friend a visit and after they ate some cake he decided to leave.


texts:
I don't know Japanese, however the word "Horaisan" is of deep interest to me.

I've learned that it comes from Horai, the mythical mountain which is similar to the Garden of Eden myth in Japanese mythology. Horaisan is used to refer to the part of a garden which is inaccessible but visible.

Is there any deeper etymology for the naming of Horai? Does it come from anything? Like "distant" or "bounding" or "inaccessible" or so?

The Japanese original rendering is: 蓬莱 (Hōrai ほうらい)


texts:
I'm wondering why we use で with 休暇 and why it can't be に like in 夏休みに.

Update: In the sentence,「私たちは休暇でここに来ました。海辺のホテルに泊まっていました。」, I wondered why they used で instead of に.


texts:
As the title of this question suggests, I was wondering about the difference between the two verbs 類推する and 推測する, in this context specifically:

  （文脈から意味を）　推測する・類推する

I am used to seeing the former, but just today I came across the latter. From what I know about the meanings of the verbs I would guess that there is a slight nuance, in that 類推する implies that more of an effort is being made (in this context to deduce the meaning from context), whereas 推測する does not specify that one is actively engaged in a thinking process to come to a conclusion. Rather, the reader might just have relied on intuition. But I am not at all sure.

For clarity's sake, the full sentence this verb appeared in was:

  上達してくると、読書中に知らない単語があっても文脈から意味が類推できるようになる

Is there really a difference between （意味が）推測する・類推する? Thanks in advance from someone currently struggling with small differences between the words 推測, 類推, 推理, 推論 and the like...


texts:
What can be said when I need to dismiss an expectation?

Here are some examples of what I mean by "expectation":

I ask someone what time it is, then I remembered that I'm actually wearing a watch. The person expects to tell me what time it is but I no longer require help. (Expectation created by me)
I suspect I do not have enough coins to buy a drink from a coin-only vending machine. I ask someone for change. However I discover that I indeed have enough coins with me. The person still carries an expectation to help me although I no longer require help. (Expectation created by me)
A waiter offers to refill a glass. He is expected to serve me because of the nature of the job. I do not wish to have a refill. (Expectation not created by me)

I came up with もう要らない but I think saying that is unnecessarily direct in conveying "I no longer need (help)".


texts: In this location context how are に, で and にて different?

texts:
I still have trouble with how に and で differ when dealing with locations, and I just stumbled across にて. Are these all interchangeable? How are they different?

オンラインマーケットにて販売開始しました。
オンラインマーケットに販売開始しました。
オンラインマーケットで販売開始しました。


texts: Which part of the sentence does 関連してる modify?

texts:
鮫島は携帯電話 {けいたいでんわ} を取りだして、『四凶 {しきょう}』を調べている様子だった。
  「……パッと調べてもわからねぇことだらけだが、関連してる四神とかいうのに名前ぐらい知ってるのがあるな。玄武 {げんぶ} やら朱雀 {すざく}やら。『四凶』ってのと関係あるのか？」

  関連してる四神とかいうのに名前ぐらい知ってるのがあるな

As far as I understand, it should mean something along the lines of "I at least know names related to Four Symbols", however I'm not sure, because 関連してる is positioned before 四神 and therefore should modify it. But in this case it doesn't make much sense to me as I don't get to what exactly 四神 is related to.

And if my interpretation is correct, shouldn't it be like?

  四神 {ししん}とかいうのに関連してる名前ぐらい知ってるのがあるな。


texts: Interpretation of 注意する: to warn or to be warned?

texts:
I'm uncertain about the usage of 注意する in this sentence from Japanese the Manga Way,
Chapter 25 page 198. The context is that a woman has noticed the following message written on the back of her husband the section chief, presumably by his subordinates. The translation is that given by the textbook.

    課長は酔うと裸になるので、奥さまから注意してください。
    When your husband gets drunk, he takes off his clothes, so please caution him.

The textbook goes on to define 注意する as "to warn/caution", and explains that から marks　奥さま as the source of the action. But isn't she the subject of 注意する, the one doing the warning? If it was the passive 注意させる I could understand, but it isn't. To me this sounds more grammatical:

課長は酔うと裸になるので、(奥さまが)注意してください。

Alternatively, I'm aware that 注意する can also mean "to pay attention/to be careful", so maybe the 奥さまから注意してください is actually a request to the section chief, i.e. please be alerted to your behaviour (from your wife). Then 課長 is the subject of 注意する, which now means "to be warned/aware". This seems rather like a passive construction in disguise.

What is the correct interpretation of 注意する in this context?


texts:
Here is the sentence including the word.

しかし　里子といってもこのきずついた子どもたちをほんとうにいたわれるおとななんていやしない　なんとなくいびり出されてそこをとび出し　また　兄貴かぶのおれをしたってあつまってきちまったんだ したって　こられりゃおれも男さ


texts: Can time phrases be used in sentences using あります to show possession?

texts:
For example, are

  先週の金曜日に試験があります。

  5月5日に難しい試験があります.

  来週の木曜日に友達と約束があります。

correct sentences? In the early chapters of the textbook I use, the pattern 'Noun は　(Time phrase)　です' is used. But now this seems odd to me. Surely, this would be saying 'The exam is Friday' as in the exam is not on Friday but literally IS Friday. As if they are one in the same. Thank you for any help!


texts: キミの心が、綺麗なのがいけないんだよ? >> What does this mean ? "Why is your heart ,it's beauty made me so hopeless/defenseless against you ?"

texts:
Context is a girl talking with MC ,looks like they're about to H

Girl: キミとひとつになるってことに……私、期待してる。
身体の奥、熱くなって……胸の鼓動が早くなって
なんだろう、この気持ちは……もしかして、一目惚れってやつなのかな。
私にはそんなこと、絶対にないと思ってたのに
キミの心が、綺麗なのがいけないんだよ?

I don't understand this sentence, my guess is "Why is your heart, it's beauty made me so hopeless/defenseless against you ?"
Hope someone will help me understand this sentence


texts:
最終ラウンドでチャンピオンのパンチが炸裂した.　The champion's punch exploded in the final round. (研究社 新和英大辞典 第５版)

Did the punch hit really hard? Did it fail? Please explain what 炸裂 means in the Japanese sentence above, I'm not sure what "the punch exploded" means in English even and google isn't helping either.


texts: What's the difference between particles と and も？

texts: From what I understand, they both can mean "and" and "also" or something, but I don't entirely get the difference. Please try to explain in as simple of terms as possible!


texts:
I'm very confused about these two grammar points. The 新完全マスターN2 book doesn't explain about the type of verbs which may precede these two points, and I don't understand why some of the answers in the book are the right or wrong.

Some sources online say that only Sino-Japanese verbs or honorific language may be used with them, yet an example in the book says 発音を調べる際に…
If this is okay, then I don't know why for one of the questions お食事の際は…is correct but ご飯を食べる際は… is unacceptable.

Can someone please explain any restrictions in usage. I understand that it is official language and not used in everyday speech, but is it true that only Sino-Japanese verbs can be used?


texts:
おばあさん は 川（かわ） へ せんたく に でかけます。

Why is there both へ and に? When can they be used together? Can someone break down the sentence for me to understand?


texts: I don't understand the meaning of しばらく in this sentence

texts:
I was reading a story and I found this sentence (in the previous part of the text the author wrote that a taxi driver had found someone and he had picked him up):

ところが、しばらく走っているうちに、車の中がなんとなく寒くなってきた。

First of all I don't understand the meaning of しばらく.

Another structure that I don't understand is なってくる. Why did the author put くる
after なる?


texts: I have had this knife for over 60 years and I would like to know what these Kanji mean

texts: Here is a photo of the knife I have had for 60 years.


texts:
Is it possible to read 安 as しずか shizuka? Kanshudo.com has this pronunciation as an additional reading for a surname:
https://www.kanshudo.com/name/%E5%AE%89
I wanted to do some research before asking you all this question, so I already checked on Jisho.org and Wiktionary where the only readings that were mentioned were:

Kun: やす.い、 やす.まる、 やす、 やす.らか
On: アン
Go-on: あん (an, Jōyō)
Kan-on: あん (an, Jōyō)
Kun: やすい (yasui, 安い, Jōyō); やすらか (yasuraka, 安らか); やすんじる (yasunjiru, 安んじる); いずくんぞ (izukunzo, 安んぞ)
Nanori: あ (a); あす (asu); あず (azu); あっ (a'); や (ya)

What adds to my confusion is that 静か ('quiet') seems to be the normal way to write しずか.
I'm taking an uneducated guess that this reading for 安 must be uncommon, because neither Jisho.org nor Wiktionary have しずか as a possible reading.  So is it possible to read 安 as しずか for a surname, even though 静か is the normal way of writing the adjective 'quiet'?  Would 安 (しずか) as a surname be too strange or weird, or just uncommon?


texts:
I have this sentence from JLPT book which I don't understand:
いくら仕事だといっても、体をこわしてまですることないんじゃありませんか?

I get that the sentence is about destroying your health/body when you work too much and when this point is reached (at how much work?) but I don't manage to come up with an acceptable translation.


texts: Meaning of 過去形の動詞 ＋「[上]{うえ}で」

texts:
Lately, I've been wondering about the meaning of a past tense verb connected to 上で, like in the 3 examples below:

両親とよく相談した上で、留学することにした。
家を買う場合は、十分調べた上で、決めた方がいい。
よく考えた上で、返事をするつもりだ。

What's the meaning of 過去形の動詞＋上で ?


texts: Open /o/ and closed /e/ - what are these allophones?

texts:
Some speakers, mainly middle-aged and older males, sometimes pronounce ねえ as [ne:], i.e. with a more closed variant of the usual /e/-sound, let's call it [ɛ]. There are also speakers for the same approximate group who sometimes pronounce そう as [sɔ:], i.e. with a more open variant of the usual /o/ sound, let's call it [o], usually when going そうそうそうそう.

Usually this just strikes me as slightly amusing, and it seems to have the same effect on other speakers of my approximate age group (early thirties).

However, on further thought, this is actually interesting. Some of these speakers otherwise speak standard Japanese and don't use (as far as I can tell) these vowel variants in other words.

So my questions are:

Do these vowel variants appear in other words that I am missing?
What is the history of these vowel variants (if any)? Are they by any chance remnants from historical phonemic mergers, or are they just one-off phenomena?


texts: I don't understand why you're able to interchange これ in 「これはペンです」and 「ペンはこれです」, but you can't interchange ここ in 「まどはここです」 and 「ここはまどです」


texts:
When studying the famous song 君がくれたもの, I came across the following line:
ああ、花火が夜空綺麗に咲いて......
While trying to understand this line grammatically, I realize although it means “fireworks bloomed beautifully in the night sky,” the 夜空 is not used with に to mark a place. The に in the sentence is paired with 綺麗 to make 綺麗 and adverb(so it doesn’t go with 夜空). When I look up 夜空, almost all examples use 夜空に to say “in the night sky”. So, given this could not possibly be a mistake, is there a grammatical point I don’t understand or is the に left out for lyrical purposes?


texts: How do I say "cat"? And do I use kanji, hiragana, katakana or rōmaji?

texts:
猫, ねこ, ネコ, neko

Which of these means "cat"? Is it all of them?
Which situation do I use each of these in?


texts: Why is 噌 a Jinmeiyō kanji despite being used in 味噌?

texts:
Jisho.org lists 噌 as a Jinmeiyō kanji. By my understanding this means that the Kanji is permitted to be used for names, but is not considered commonly used for normal words.
But the word 味噌 (Miso) is still written with it all over the place. For example the Japanese Wikipedia entry for it.
What's going on here?


texts:
This sentence includes both とか and など.

  金魚の食べ物は虫とか水草などです。

Is there a difference in meaning between the two? Is there a reason to use both like this?


texts:
I have noticed that there are a number of verbs in Japanese which have common alternative forms, especially potential form, but these forms have identical meanings.

One of these is 焼く, which appears to have similar if not identical meaning to its potential form 焼ける, although burning down and being able to burn down seem to be very different things from an English perspective.

Words which behave similarly include 続く/ 続ける, 入る/入れる, 受く/受ける, and I'm sure there are many more examples I've seen that don't come to mind right now.

What is the reason for these words having unchanged meanings despite seemingly changed forms? Are they even really etymologically related?


texts: how to know when to say "ha" or "wa" with は

texts:
it is going to be the end of week 3 in learning japanese and i've noticed how sometimes in sentences the hiragana は can sound like "wa" as well, why is this so? And also when do i know when to say "wa" instead of "ha"?
from alexa the learner ^_^


texts: すっごいレンジの音がしてるのが気になる。What does the second の mean in this sentence?

texts:
すっごいレンジの音がしてるのが気になる。

What does the second の mean in this sentence?


texts: How should I begin learning the letters and what they sound like?

texts: I am new to Japanese and started learning only like 3 days ago , I was told I should start with the radicals (human,legs,ten,etc.) but how should I start to actually learn how to pronounce and read the japanese letters?


texts:
How do I say something like, "As I am growing older, I think more and more about the past."?

Especially the "as I am..." part, which has the meaning of "while" but over an extended period of time.

edit:

I am aware of ながら but don't know if it would be valid for me to say

成長しながら、もっともっと子供の時を考える。

(As I am growing older, I think more and more about my childhood.)


texts: I've encountered a song with romaji title Katatsubasa no tenshi, which I would understand, but the other day someone handed me an album with romaji-ed names, where the same song was written as Katayoku no tenshi so which is OK?


texts:
I am practicing my choukai using this link. In the passage 6 of mondai 1
My understanding after reading the whole passage is that the lady is supposed to plan a trip. However, I did not understand the following sentence.

M: で、そこで何をするかだな。 食事しただけで終わるのは、ちょっとな。

I translated in my mind as follows:

So, Next would be what to do there (after the arrival). After having a meal, we have a little time left.

I did not understand the relevance of this sentence here. Can somebody help?


texts: using みる with the negative で form of a verb

texts:
食べてみる means to eat and see, aka try eating, but can you do this:

食べないでみる meaning "I'm gonna try not eating"

例えば

今日お風呂を入らないで見たい。臭くなりますか？


texts:
What's the difference between these?
What's the difference between 体験 and 経験


texts:
In Japanese internet slang, you see people use「ww」to mean something like "lol". I was curious how this would be pronounced if read aloud. In English, I hear people say either /ɛl oʊ ɛl/ or /lɑl/ for "lol". Is there a semi-standard way to pronounce the Japanese equivalent?

Another answer indicates that the w's stand for 「笑い」. Would the pronunciation then be something like【わらいわらい】or would it be something like【ダブリューダブリュー】?


texts:
What is a 街開き? I know that 街 can mean "town" and 開き means "opening", so it means something like "town opening", but what is it exactly?

Neither jisho.org nor weblio had an entry.


texts: What does 面と向かってどうするってんだ mean

texts:
Looking at other posts I found this meaning of どうする and was wondering whether this is the same meaning and how the ってんだ changes it compared to if he said 面と向かってどうする. I am guessing the difference is that どうする would just be simply saying something like "there is no point in doing that", whilst どうするってんだ would be more like "what point are you saying there is in doing that".

  「だって、見なかったことに……なんて言ったってさぁ。絶対思いだすよ。それなら隠れて思いだされるより面と向かっての方がいいもん」

  「気持ちはわからんでもないが、面と向かってどうするってんだ」


texts: What are valid responses to the expressions 「はじめまして」 and 「よろしくおねがいします」 used in introductions?

texts:
I came across a learn-Japanese book from the 1980s and wanted to know what you guys think. The book gave a general formula for introduction and here is how it goes:

Someone says their name with any combination of 「よろしくおねがいします」 and/or 「はじめまして」, and the standard response is to repeat what they said but put your own name instead. For example

  キム　：はじめまして。よろしくおねがいします。キムです。
  あかみ：はじめまして。よろしくおねがいします。あかみです。

The general response to 「はじめまして」 is 「よろしくおねがいします」
The general response to 「よろしくおねがいします」 is 「こちらこそ。」

I was wondering how rigid these responses are? Are the responses below valid or should I just default to the textbook response?

Can I respond to 「はじめまして」 with 「こちらこそ。」?
Can I respond to 「よろしくおねがいします」 with 「よろしくおねがいします。」?
If someone says 「田中です。はじめまして。よろしくおねがいします」, can I respond with something like 「こちらこそです。」?


texts: What is the meaning of りゃ in this phrase?

texts:
I came across this phrase while reading an interview.

  そういう時はなんて答えりゃいいんだ。

I think it means "At a time like that, such a reply/response is good."

But I don't understand the usage of りゃ. I couldn't find any reference as a suffix or conjugation.


texts:
correct example:
「うちの子には子供らしく元気に育ってほしい。」

why is it not correct?
「うちの子には子供みたいに元気に育ってほしい。」

can't really understand why it can't be used in this sentence


texts:
How did Japanese know how to read kanji before invention of kana? (having only kanji to write a language)
Without kana and romaji, if they heard a new word - how could they look it up in a dictionary?


texts: Uncertainties about this sentence: 「一番長い方は15年、短い方でも6年はいらっしゃるそうです。」

texts:
The bold part is the sentence in question, the rest is for context:

  今日は、日本で長くお暮しの４人の外国の奥様においでいただきました。一番長い方は15年、短い方でも6年はいらっしゃるそうです。 その間のご苦労や嬉しかったことなどを伺いたいと思います。

The full text can be viewed here.

First, my attempt at translation:

  "The longest time person shall be here for 15 years, but the shortest time person shall be here for 6 years."

1) Is は in

  一番長い方は

and

  6年は

in a contrastive way here?

2) The positioning of でも is a bit unusual compared to what I've seen so far.
It seems almost like a suffix to 方, although it surely isn't. However, does this position have any consequence on its meaning? Does it become nuanced in a different way?

3) I still feel a bit uncomfortable translating "一番長い方" into "the person who has lived (here) the longest." I know there is very strong contextual support here, but it still feels like I'm adding too much xD So I just wanted to know if this is a common way to express this? Or do I have to be cautious in cases where the context isn't as strong as it is here?


texts:
娘が一人で服が着られるようになった。

着る is supposed to take を but it's using が here. Why?


texts: What's the equivalent to densha, futsuu, tokkyuu, and kyuukou in the West?

texts: I know that they are all trains, but what would their counterparts be in the US or even Western Europe? Or better yet, when do you use one train as opposed to the other?


texts:
I've been coming across these three lately in a visual novel that I've been using to try to learn to read Japanese, and it seems their usage is not that interchangeable.
I'd like to confirm/deny if my intuition is correct.
解る seems to be quite dry, esp. when used to address the speaker in a "you get it?", patronizing manner. 分かる seems mostly neutral, worldly and interchangeable with わかる. As for 判る, I'm not really sure. Is it to just ascertain already suspected facts, e.g. time/weather? This post helped to get the general gist about 分かる. This was useful in a way but I feel like it's only scratching the surface.
For example, 話がわかる　seems like an expression without any imbedded negative connotation, i.e. a type that 'gets it', much worldly wisdom and such. However, here, 話の解る seems to be more like 'you get it' in a dry, patronizing manner - is that down to the choice of Kanji in わかる, or simply context?

A.「え―ちょっ、止めてよ、たしかに色々言い合ったけど、そんなのケンカ両成敗｛りょうせいばい｝っていうか……」
B.「そうか。いや、話の解るマスターで助かった」
A.「……なんか、切り返し早いわねアンタ」

NB: A is B's master [マスタ] (it's a novel about magi and their hero-like familiars).
It's obvious from A's follow-up that she's frustrated with B's cheekiness. Would replacing 解る　with say わかる make B's phrase it a lot more mild on A (as in, I'm relieved I got a down to earth マスタ, buddy buddy way)?
I would be grateful if someone could confirm/deny my intuition about 解る and clarify the essential usage of 判る. Resorting to Japanese sources isn't very helpful as they seem to refer back and forth to ideas that are already assumed to be intuitive to the speaker (and probably differ in the ways an English language-speaking person would interpret that idea, as is the case with any foreign language).
Thank you.


texts: What's the difference between 参考【さんこう】 and 参照【さんしょう】?

texts:
These two words, 参考【さんこう】 and 参照【さんしょう】, seem to be very similar in meaning, and I'm not sure of the difference. They do seem in my experience to be used a bit differently, however. For example:

  参照する seems more common than 参考する
  But 参考にする seems more common than 参照にする
  And 参考になる more common than 参照になる
  And the keigo form ご参照ください seems more common than ご参考ください

Do the meanings of these words differ significantly? Or is it just a differentiation in usage?

By extension, when talking about my own intentions to consider something (e.g. something like 「○○を参照するつもりです」 or 「○○を参考にするつもりです」), which of these is preferred?


texts: What is the difference between 盲目 and 目の不自由な？

texts: Both words mean blind. I tried doing some research but I couldn't find the difference.


texts: Japanese for "The Narrow Road to the Deep North" (the Richard Flanagan novel)

texts:
Is there a commonly agreed upon title for the Richard Flanagan novel "The Narrow Road to the Deep North" (not the travel diary by Matsuo Bashō, which the novel was named after)?

I've seen both "奥の細道", which is the same as the travel diary the novel was named after, and "ザ・ナロー・ロード・トゥー・ザ・ディープ・ノース", a katakana transliteration of the name of the novel.


texts:
While I was working on 日本語総まとめ N3 文法, I came across the following.

ここの砂は星みたいな形をしている.

Now I know that this translates to "The sand here in this area are star-shaped."

What I don't understand here is the usage of the bold-faced phrase をしている. Can someone please help me with this? Problem is the usage (in what sort of occasions specifically).


texts:
Here is one definition for より:

  より (adv,prt) (1) from; out of; since; at; (2) than; (3) other than; except; but; (4) more;

I see that one of the definitions of this word is "more". Is より一層 a different word altogether, or does it derive its より from the one defined above?

  より一層 (よりいっそう) (exp,adv) (1) still more; even more; much more; all the more; further; (exp,adj-no) (2) increased; greater

Are all these examples of より  the same word? How are they different from one another?

1.

  Ａのほうが、Ｂより大きい夢です

  A is a bigger dream than B.

2.

  Ａは、より大きい夢です

  A is a bigger dream.

3.

  Ａは、より一層大きい夢です

  A is an even bigger dream.(?)

4.

  Ａより大きい夢です

  A bigger dream than A. (?)

Are these translations correct? In reference to how I translated number 4, see this example:

  外国人ですから顔のつくりも体も日本人より大きいですが、だからといって私の雰囲気が怖いとは、とても思えません。

  Because I'm a foreigner, my facial structure and my body are relatively big as compared to a Japanese, but I don't think I have a scary aura about me at all.


texts:
After studying copula verbs だ and です in japanese grammar books by myself a couple of months ago, I was under the impresion that だ is omittable as it is implied by the context.

Moving on, I recently began reviewing na-adj and i-adj with a different book, and found out plain non-past form of i-adj are conjugated without だ while plain non-past na-adj are conjugated with だ.

Examples would be:

i-adj: この時計は大きい

na-adj: 彼女が好きだ

That being said, it だ only used with na-adj or  can it be used with i-adj and ommitted whenever the speakers wants to?


texts: What is the most "comprehensive" kanji dictionary?

texts:
I tried a quick search among similar questions but could not find exactly what I would like to know.

In Chinese, there is a huge dictionary called 汉语大词典 that covers more than 54600 characters (at least an edition printed in the '90s). Basically the whole set of existing Chinese characters, or at least a close approximation.

I was wondering, does something like that exist in Japanese as well? I am not talking about a list of 常用漢字 or something similar. I am wondering if there exists a comprehensive dictionary that, whether they are common or not, covers all the Chinese characters that have a Japanese reading and at least potentially could be used in Japanese as well.

I am sure the list is huge, and would be interesting to have such a reference (just think of all the kanji of animals, plants, and so on).

EDIT: After some comments I decided to edit the title. I know that there is no such thing as a "complete" kanji dictionary (neither in Chinese nor Japanese) since kanji are constantly evolving and new ones may be created. I was asking just for the "most comprehensive" source out there.


texts:
So, I have this sentence:

身動きすると、シャリンと涼やかな音が鳴り響く。

And I have no idea what シャリン is doing here. As far as I can tell, it's modifying 音, sound, but the only word "シャリン" that I've been able to find is 車輪, which means wheel.　I thought maybe it could be an onomatopoeia, but I couldn't find anything when I searched...

Has my dictionary failed me? Or am I misunderstanding the と particle somehow? The only thing I can think at this point is that the sound is clear/refreshing (涼やか) like a wheel, which seems kind of weird to me.


texts: In the Wiktionary page for this kanji they said that it's a pictogram for someone's mouth over a bowl of rice on a stand .. the question is: are they meaning this was the actual way for eating in this time without using hands? Or this just a symbol?


texts: What's the difference between 天国 and 高天原?

texts: I think the difference may be the heaven of other religions versus the heaven of Shintou, but I'm not 100% on it either way. Am I right, or is there still something I'm missing on this one?


texts: Both 真実 and 事実 means; fact,truth. So in Kanji Lesson I asked my teacher if there is any differences between them, he said yes but there was no time to explain.


texts:
This is a line of dialogue Yahari anime:

  なので　気晴らしにかるーく遊びに誘えたらいいかなっと

I do not understand かるーく.

Is that just an elongation of the vowel or a contraction?


texts: What semantic role does ⺉/刀(sword/cut) tend to have in Kanji?

texts:
判  Has the phonetic component 半, but why the semantic component knife?

刊  has the phonetic component 干, but why the semantic component knife?

剛 has the phonetic part 岡, but why the semantic component knife?

I've seen more of these. With 雨 (rain) it often seems to indicate it has to do with weather, with 貝 (shell) it  indicates it has to do with money, so does ⺉/刀 also have such an overarching thing that isnt literally cutting, or is it one of those cases where it's different shit per character or the character just went through simplifications?


texts:
彼は赤の他人だよ — He's a total stranger to me

How did "red stranger" come to mean "total stranger" in Japanese? Is there anything that makes this expression make sense more than "That's just what it means"?


texts:
A little context:

This is the name of a rather obscure Japanese band. The lead singer goes by the name of Yasue Dangerous Ojisan (ヤスエでんじゃらすおじさん) and this is his blog.

Record label and retailer Tower Records lists (or listed) the name as "Y MORIIIRUDO". Google Translate romanizes the kanji as "morimeshi".

I'm not well-versed with kanji, and I'm not sure if it's a play on words, an abbreviation, both, or none. This may be silly, but ルド at the end might even stand for "ld" (e.g. フィールド → fiirudo → field).


texts: In what situations is 魚 pronounced as 「うお」 vs. 「さかな」?  I personally like 「うお」 better, but I don't know why.  Is it reserved for only certain scenarios?


texts:
My question is:

If 結婚 is written as 結{けっ}婚{こん} rather than 結{け}っ婚{こん}, why do we write 持{も}って rather than 持{もっ}て?


texts: ありがとうございます vs. ありがとうございました

texts: When thanking someone, what is the rule for using ありがとうございます vs. ありがとうございました?  My sensei taught us to use ありがとうございました when the action you're thanking someone for occurred in the past, but I've heard ありがとうございます used plenty of times right after the action occurred.  Does it have to do with how far in the past the action happened?


texts: What is the difference between 損害 and 被害? My dictionary lists them both as "damage", and I can't figure out any differences from the example sentences it gives. In fact, there are some examples that are basically the same except with those words swapped out, leading me to believe they are interchangeable at least in many cases. Perhaps one is broader, and the other is a little more specific and limited?


texts: This is pretty long, do you say this fully or is it one or the other? Also what does it mean? では・じゃ｝ありません

texts:
I just read this lesson on imabi and i'm confused.

"To make a polite negative phrase, you have two options. You can simply add です to ～ない. When you do this, you aren't actually saying "is" again. In this case, です's meaning is just showing politeness. Or, you can use ～｛では・じゃ｝ありません. If you remember from Lesson 8 that だ comes from である and that it will be important to know this later on, the time is now. Polite conjugations using it are "more polite" than just using です. So, they are best used with people whom you should show more respect."


texts:
http://www.shiro.jp.net/2013/10/tono-deno-kakrano-madenoeno-learning.html

This page explains that a noun with と, で, から, まで that modifies another noun must have の attached to them as in:

  日本での研究はいかがでしたか。

But it lists this example

  大学院で医学の研究をするつもりです。

Both with で.
what is the difference between them?
Are there other rules about の and と, で, から, まで, etc?


texts: What do the Long vowel rule and Palatalized long vowel rule represent?

texts:
In relation to the Classical Japanese orthography what are the Long vowel (長音 Chōon) rule and the Palatalized long vowel (開拗長音 Kaiyōchōon) rule?

What would be some examples of them?


texts: Difference between なり (meaning 'either.. or...') and か (meaning 'or')

texts:
I came across the construction ～なり～なり (meaning either... or...) on JGram and I saw this example:

ジュースなりコーラなり、お好きなものをどうぞ
juice.. cola.. have whatever you like

That made me wonder what the difference is in this case if か is used instead:

ジュースかコーラか、お好きなものをどうぞ

Is it maybe a difference of register? Or does it have a different meaning?


texts:
I have to translate the following for my intro Japanese class.

私は、去年、名古屋市内の静かな所にある庭つきの三階建ての窓の大きい住みやすい家を買いました。

I think it means the following.

Last year, I bought a yard/garden including, 3 story, large window, easy to live in
house which is in a quiet place inside the City of Nagoya.

However, I feel like there are のs in weird places.

First の - I can rationalize this as the interior of the City of Nagoya "owning" the place.
Second の - Not really sure on this one. Maybe it's just part of the garden "attached" structure?
Third and forth の - These I REALLY don't understand. How they work in conjunction with the 窓. I think it's the windows that are big. But maybe it's the house and the house just has regular windows? I just don't know.

Can someone explain to me what all these のs are doing? Thank you :)


texts: meaning of 歩けなくなっちゃって

texts:
I'm trying to translate 駅から歩けなくなっちゃって.
I don't really speak Japanese but this is what I got so far:

なっちゃって apparently means having done something against one's intention
駅から is "from the station"
歩けなく has ~something~ to do with walking but I couldn't figure out what grammatical case this is.

Maybe it's actually 駅 から 歩け 泣く なっちゃって? "I ended up crying on my way from the station" or something like that. But that would make 歩け imperative which doesn't make sense to me.


texts:
I looked up ありがたい in my dictionaries within OSX (looking at this question), and one of the 国語 dictionaries (can't tell which) has the entry listed like this:

  ありがた・い　【有り難い・難有い】

You'll notice that the kanji in the second representation have swapped order.  Is/was this an accepted spelling for ありがたい, or is this likely just a typo in this dictionary?


texts: Equivalent gesture for "air quotes" in Japanese?

texts:
In English, we have not just written quote signs like the Japanese have brackets, but we also have the verbal "air quotes" hand gestures. Is there an equivalent gesture for air quotes in Japanese? Or an equivalent way in a verbal conversation to indicate you are using a term ironically?
Thank you.


texts:
デジタル大辞泉 defines しめしめ as follows:

  物事が自分の思ったとおりに運んで、ひそかに喜ぶときに発する語。
  「―、思いどおりになった」

I get the first part ("When something has gone as you planned for it to go..."), but I'm a bit confused about the usage implied by the latter part ("Something that is said when one is secretly pleased"). The example isn't helping - is しめしめ something that you can just sort of say outside the context of a sentence as an interjection? It doesn't appear to be acting adverbially there, at minimum.

Like, if I've just... say, solved a math problem, and I'm pleased with myself, could I just say 「しめしめ！」 by itself to express my pleasure?


texts: Genki pg 305, [day of the week] NI vs [day of the week] WA

texts:
On page 305 of Genki , you can see that Mary starts off each paragraph with a day of the week and the particle that follows is different. Any reason why friday is listed w/ NI vs the other days that all have WA? Could you replace the WAs with NI?
The text goes as follows:

金曜日に日本人のともだちとこうえんにいきました。こうえんでともだちとはなしました。それから、レストランへいきました。たくさんたべました。
土曜日は一人でおてらへいきました。たくさんみせがありました。みせでおまんじゅうをかいました。
日曜日はおそくおきました。おかあさんもおそくおきました。わたしはあさテレビをみました。それから、おかあさんとひるごはんをたべました。ごごは日本語をべんきょうしました。本もよみました。


texts:
I've seen a question:

  なんでだろう？

I know that なんで means 'why'. So what about だろう?


texts: とは言わない　ｖｓ　とは言えない？違いは？ To wa Iwanai vs To wa Ienai differences?

texts:
In the sense of "I don't want to say ___" or "can't say". E.g. 悪い事いわない.

Can you use 言えない instead? Any difference in subtlety? Or is this strictly only for really being unable to physically say something (e.g. mouth gagged) as compared to being unable to comment on something one is uncertain about?


texts:
I just stumbled across the following sentence:

来週から家庭に布のマスクを送り始める

And was wondering what kind of construct this 送り始める is.  送り is no verb-ending known to me but looks like the stem of the -masu form (infinite?). Is this a common pattern to link two verbs? Is there any grammatical name for this concept so I can find more information about it?

So far I only learnt that the te form can be used to combine two verbs: 送って始める, but I guess in that case they are shifted in time?!


texts: What is the meaning of the characters in the picture?

texts: What's the meaning of the writing in the picture? Thank you


texts:
I recall in my speaking/listening class last semester in Japan, when we were discussing proper intonation in the standard dialect, that the intonation of ありがとう varied rather widely between dialects (i.e. on which mora the intonation rises and falls).

Can someone please refresh my memory? How does the intonation of ありがとう vary between dialects?

Please also see the question I've posted in meta regarding notating intonation: What notation should we use for showing the pitch accent of words?


texts: What's the connection between a spoon (匕) and the old age (⺹)? (Kanji: 老)

texts:
I was studying some radicals and I found this: ⺹ (old, old-age) and this: 匕. But why this: 老 (old + spoon) means "old man, old age, grow old"??
Do Japaneses think a spoon can make you older in a shorter time?
Should I stop using spoons and start to use only chopsticks?

Please help me clearifying all these doubts floating in my mind xD
Thanks in advance!!


texts: What does this phrase mean?(not asking for translation)

texts: 先生の事好きですか here means "do (you all) like (your/the) teacher?" 先生 means teacher and 事 means event. So does 先生の事 means "event of teacher"? Or precisely "the teaching of the teacher"? Then it would mean the "lesson" is the one to be liked then, not the teacher.


texts: 「動詞辞書形＋な」はどういう意味ですか。

texts:
I came across this sentence when reading an essay：

  「ぢちらしろ、そう何回も声をかけられたんじゃ不快な気分になるなというほうが無理ではないか。」

What is the meaning of になるな here? I understand 辞書形＋ない to either mean

(1) Don't do the action of the verb. ie するな！Don't do that!
(2) Nothing too specific, just softening a phrase, similarly to how 'la' 'leh' 'lor' etc are used in Singapore English.

I don't understand the rest of the sentence fully either, but I'm not sure whether in this case the なるな is either case (1), (2) or something else I may be ignorant too.


texts: Where does the kanji for 凄い find it's roots?

texts: Where does the kanji for 凄い come from? I don't know what any of the component strokes mean, and it just looks really strange to me. Can I get an etymology of the word? In Chinese I think it means something completely different...


texts: What is the meaning, usage, etc. of でもない?

texts:
1.What is the meaning of でもない?
2.How is it used?

I saw it in this sentense 「生きたまま入れた魚ではないので、そんなに騒ぐ話でもないと思います」, which I think means something like 'Because the fish has not been put [into the ice] alive as it was, I don't think there should be that much uproar'.

I do not quite see how the dictionary explanation of でもない fits in the above context (unless I've misunderstood the meaning of the sentence):

(exp) neither... nor... (with the implication that there are other "nor..." items)
denying explicitly one thing and also denying implicitly other things as well
not like (you); not (your) usual self


texts: What's the difference between 上で and 次第？

texts: I was wondering what was the difference between 上で and 次第. As for their significance I think that they differ a little. On one end, 上で bears the meaning of "upon doing something", whilst 次第 implies that "as soon something it's done, also something else can be done". There are are differences that I have overseen? May I also add that I'm not sure whether to use 上で and てから？


texts:
While reading a light novel, I came upon this sentence. One man shook hands with another and then said.

  「──[『革新』]{イノベート}せよ、幾瀬鳶雄。ってね。それに──兵藤一誠くんとヴァーリ・ルシファーも。悪の神どもの思惑を崩すために。そして、三十年後に訪れる絶対の絶望から生き残るために」

The usage of ってね confused me. As I understand, it is just というね, however I don't get what it means in this context. Is it "Something like this" or "That's how it is"?


texts:
折紙のうっすらと割れた腹筋や、美九の豊満な胸が右から左から襲ってくる。今の今まで肌に触れていた感触であるというのに、その姿を見てからだと、先ほどまでとはまったく異なった緊張と興奮が士道の頭の中で渦を巻いた。

I know だと can mean “if” but this meaning doesn’t seem to apply in this context. So how should I understand the bold だと? Can we omit it? If not, why?


texts:
Whether a noun is [サ変名詞]{さへんめいし}, or not, is an attribute that is specified in the dictionary definition of nouns.
"Possible to use 美化語{びかご}" surely should be an attribute of a noun? But, I do not see this attribute specified in dictionary definitions.

Is there a list of the nouns that can possibly use 美化語?
If not, you just have to use "feel" for where to use 美化語?
Is it grammatically wrong to place 美化語 where it should not be?


texts: How should I intepret より in this sentence

texts:
きのうは　きょうより　ひとが　すくないです。

Is it saying:

  X number of people yesterday < Y number of people today?

  or

  X number of people yesterday > Y number of people today?

I'm getting the translation of より confused and can't make heads or tails of it.


texts: 評判重視で取れるときは取るって感じで meaning?

texts:
I'm struggling with understanding how to parse this sentence into a coherent whole:

  そこは評判重視{ひょうばんじゅうし}で取れるときは取るって感じで.

In the context of someone discussing the potential pitfall of a business idea, am I mistaken I believing "評判重視" would be something like "an emphasis on (the business') reputation, and "取れるときは取るって" might be "taking it when you get it"?

I imagine this is a bit odd for those not familiar with the game, but basically it involves someone remarking on how a character who isn't visible to normal people would have trouble running a pet consultation service due to that and getting strays looking for advice. Here's the panel with the line I'm struggling with:


texts:
Can すみません always be used in place of ありがとう? What's the difference?

When using すみません to express thanks, what other words are used with it?

Could you show me some examples?


texts: 少し日本語を話します and 少し日本語を話せます - What's the difference?

texts:
What changes, in these phrases? The change is the し for the せ. A friend told me that the second one was better for saying I speak little japanese.

私は少し日本語を話します。
私は少し日本語を話せます。


texts: Potential form verbs followed by adjectives to end a sentence have to be in te form?

texts:
Do potential verbs followed by adjectives ending a sentence have to be in te form?
For example

見られて嬉しい

instead of

見られる嬉しい.


texts: "jan", "janai", "ne", "desu ne" -- the same more or less?

texts: I'm trying to understand how to use "jan". "jan" is a short version of "ja nai", correct? And it also seems to be almost the same as "ne?" and "desu ne?". Is this correct as well? Can I use them interchangably always?


texts:
This is a small part of Rin's summoning chant in Fate/stay night:

  四方{しほう}の門{もん}は閉{と}じ、王冠{おうかん}より出{い}で、王国{おうこく}に至{いた}る三叉路{さんさろ}は循環{じゅんかん}せよ。

I have some questions about this...

The last part mean: rotate the three-forked road (order)...? I say it because I don't know what the function of は here... It used to add emphasis? It is replacing other particle?

With what naruto said, it could be translated as:

  Close the four cardinal gates, leave the crown, and circulate through the three paths that reaches the kingdom.


texts: Why is Danny written & pronounced ダニー and not ダニ?

texts: In Japanese, using Katakana, why is the name Danny written and pronounced ダニー. Why not just ダニ? I'm not sure why the i is being extended when this doesn't really happen in english.


texts:
『その隙を、ステージ部門二位につけた来禅が衝いたというわけですね。特に模擬店部門のメイドカフェの得票数が凄まじい！審査の際に物議を醸したという話ですが、実行委員の熱心なプッシュが功を奏した形になりますね！』
The host was announcing that the champion school at a school festival was 来禅高校, whose maid cafe won them a lot of votes.
Hi. What does 形になります mean here?
Thank you.


texts: What is the large silver "button" used to fasten rear Japanese license plate on vehicles called?

texts: One of the two screws is larger and has a prefectural seal affixed to it. I want to determine its purpose and name.


texts: ほしがっている versus ほしそうだ

texts:
I don't really understand the differences between the following sentences.

彼は新しい車をほしがっている。

彼は新しい車をほしそうだ。

In both sentences, the speakers made conjectures based on the sign that the third person (彼) is showing.
Question

What is the difference between the 2 sentences above?

Can I rewrite the second one as 彼は新しい車をほしがっていそうだ。Is it redundant?


texts: How to say "garlic", "garlic clove" and "garlic bulb" in Japanese?

texts:
I was thinking how I'd write a recipe in Japanese which uses 2 garlic cloves, so I've put those terms on google translate and got the following results:

garlic: ニンニク
garlic clove: にんにく
garlic bulb: にんにく球根

The problem is that I see a lot of garlic bulbs when searching images for "にんにく" and I also realize "ニンニク" and "にんにく" are pronounced the same, which makes me think there's more to the way google is translating these terms, could anyone confirm if these terms are correct? And how would you differentiate between "garlic" and "garlic clove" in spoken Japanese?


texts:
I'm not english, and I find my English to be 'good'. I can pretty much live in an English country with a slight boost of vocabulary and a bit of knowledge about the culture. But of course, I'm not even close to a native person and I still need more work on my English to be able to call it truly "good".

My question is: Should I start learning Japanese as a third language with my imperfect second language? I'm just worried about this.


texts:
I've been watching anime and came across this sentence:

  全員足しても15人いるかどうかという寒村ぶりだ

I can't understand the meaning of かどうかという in this sentence.

The context is that the village is isolated, and it only has one classroom and one teacher. This is the MC monologue about this.


texts: 恥知らず【はじしらず】 versus 厚顔無恥【こうがんむち】

texts:
The lack of examples makes me difficult to understand well the difference between 恥知らず and 厚顔無恥. Both seem to mean "shameless".

For example, can I use both as follows? Are there any differences?

  脱いだまま公園で散歩する人は恥知らずだ。
  脱いだまま公園で散歩する人は厚顔無恥だ。


texts: て・で and use of verbs that involve volition

texts:
I came across this sentence today (from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=puZj7spIvFE&t=213s, time: 3:25)
コーヒーが好きで始めた仕事ではなく、お客様と接する仕事ということ
I didn't get into the coffee business for coffee, I just wanted to connect with customers
Why would you use で after コーヒーが好き, if the following verb is 始める, which is volitional (you start something)?
Or is my understanding of で in this sentence incorrect?


texts:
I'm asking here since I didn't manage to find a definitive answer to my questions.

1. When should I use には and when は?

The only thing I managed to find online is that は is used when a quantity is involved as in

  私{わたし}は犬{いぬ}が[四匹]{よんひき}います。

while には is used in every other case. [1]

However, the above phrase does not necessarily express possession. Out of context, it can simply mean "For me, there are four dogs", for example as an answer to "What's over there?".

2. Why is it wrong to use the particle に instead of には or は?


texts: Misplaced(?) に in たった4週間の間に毎日3Lの水を飲み続けた女性の変化がヤバすぎ！

texts:
Related: Particles after time expressions like "三週間"

            ( I suppose she got prettier and/or younger-looking. )

  【衝撃】 たった4週間の間に毎日3Lの水を飲み続けた女性の変化がヤバすぎ！ 皆さん、普段の生活の中で意識して”水”を飲 ... .......

Can you explain what's wrong with the に in  [たった4週間の間に毎日3Lの水を飲み続けた女性の変化がヤバすぎ] ?

and/or

Can you modify / rewrite it to make it better ?


texts: Literal meaning of と-Particle in これより濃いと消毒する力

texts:
This is a text from NHK easy news where the alcohol content of desinfectants is being discussed:

これより濃{こ}いと消毒{しょうどく}する力{ちから}が小{ちい}さくなるため、薄{うす}くして使{つか}うように言{い}っています。

I am wondering here about the literal translation of the と-Particle in これより濃{こ}いと消毒{しょうどく}する力{ちから}. Does the と-Particle in this case mean:

WITH higher (alcohol) concentration than this (the desinfection efficacy will be smaller...), or
IF the (alcohol) concentration is higer than this (the desinfection efficacy will be smaller...)

(So my question aims also a bit if this is how a proportionality relation, e.g. "with increasing speed the kinetic energy increases" can be expressed in Japanese)

Thanks a lot!


texts: Analyzing 「だけど勝つのはいつも金太郎で、大きな体のクマでも金太郎にはかてません」

texts:
From the tale 金太郎【きんたろう】:

  だけど勝つ【かつ】のはいつも金太郎で、大きな【おおきな】体のクマでも金太郎にはかてません。

I understand a few things:

だけど is contrasting the previous sentence.
の is nominalizing かつ.
The second 金太郎 takes the particle に because of the verb かてません.

I'm having trouble finding (1) the main topic, and (2) the subordinate clause.

I also don't understand how the other particles and the conjunction of this sentence are being used.


texts: What's the difference between 【Noun + が + いadj】 and 【Noun + の + Verb】

texts:
I was reading and I found the next sentence:

そこから動きの鈍った魔物がもぞもぞと入り込んでくる

And I had that question, What's the difference between that and saying

そこから動きが鈍い魔物がもぞもぞと入り込んでくる


texts: What word that resembles "teikkai" might refer to "the provenance of a food"?

texts:
The introduction to the 10th Anniversary Edition of Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone contains the following passage on page 4 (emphasis added):

  Vegetarians have often used the phrase "I don't eat anything with a face on it," to describe their food choices as plant-based. But there is another interpretation of that phrase "food with a face." The Japanese have a word for it, teikkai, which refers to the provenance of a food―where it comes from, how it was raised, who grew it. It is the opposite of "general foods," those faceless foods that come to us anonymously from a vague source: foods without soul.

Never having heard of teikkai, I tried to look it up in a dictionary - and of course, I found nothing. Searching for "teikkai" in Latin script gives only one relevant result, which is by some other reader of the same book and provides no further insight. My best guess would be that the author meant tekkai or teikai, but then again, none of 撤回・鉄拐 nor 低回・停会 mean anything remotely related.

Is there a word that resembles teikkai in Japanese that has something to do with "the provenance of a food"?

(Structurally-similar question from some time back: What is a word for "participation" that resembles "kameseru"?)


texts: How to find alternative writings of a kanji in electronic form?

texts:
Some kanji have alternative writings that are significantly different from each other (e.g. different numbers of strokes).  For example, see here.

I'm looking for ways to find alternative writings for a given kanji in electronic form (that I can copy-paste as text; IOW, bitmapped images won't do).

Does anyone know of an online reference for finding alternative drawings of a character?

NB: I wrote the example below before I was aware of the issues that Shen Kuo explained in his first answer.  I now realize that this example is likely to be confusing rather than illuminating to most readers.  I've kept it as is, since several comments and at least one answer refer to it.  If you do find it confusing, please ignore it.

For an example of the sort of search I'm trying to perform, consider the character

Every place I've looked online shows the second character of the compound そうち (device) like this:

Note that the last stroke of this character is a simple horizontal one across the bottom.

In contrast, I have a several printed sources that show a different writing for the second character of this compound, where the last stroke consists of a vertical component along the left side of the character, followed by a horizontal one across the bottom; some instances are shown below:

Note the last two characters in both books' titles.  These two characters are supposed to be the compound 装置, but the second one of the characters is drawn differently from 置1.  Incidentally, my old Nelson kanji dictionary (2nd revised edition, 1974; 17th printing, 1984) shows the same drawing of this character as that shown in the picture above (see character 3644).  AFAICT, it does not mention the form 置 at all.

FWIW, none of the search tools that I've tried that accept handdrawn characters as input have retrieved the alternative form of 置.

1These books use this alternative drawing of 置 throughout, not just in their cover titles.  If you right-click on the image, and open it at full resolution in a different tab, you will be able to find other instances of this alternative drawing of 置 besides those appearing in the main titles.


texts:
I've recently started learning Japanese through self teaching (a few different mobile apps and books, this question is spawned from using one called Memrise)

But I'm learning to say "I don't like " which is pretty straight forward, but I'm confused on the particle used (if it is a particle, I still haven't fully grasped them yet).

I'll use "I don't Like Apples" as an example, part of confusion bolded:

  わたしはりんごがすきではありません


texts:
I understand that に can be used to mark the agent of an intransitive verb, but I often see it being used with adjectives instead. For example, in the sentence:

私にはできる
As for me, I can do it.

に here marks the agent of the verb. The same thing can be said about 私にはわかる. However, there are cases where に are followed by adjectives, which, although I intuitively understand the meaning, do not understand the grammar behind them.

私には金が必要です。
As for me, I need money.

寝るには早すぎる。
It's too early to sleep.

電車に詳しいです。
to know a lot about trains.

体にいいです。
It's good for your body.

子供に怖い×
Scary to children. (apparently incorrect.)

What is the function of に（は） here? In what situations can this be used?
Edit: I found a related question, and this linked one, but the first one seems to have conflicts about in which situations you can do this and the second question only uses に to mark the agent of intransitive/potential verbs. This question also asks something very similar, but the answer doesn't really address why 「子供に怖い」would be wrong.


texts: Under which circumstances 楽しい can turn into 楽しき?


texts: What is the difference between 数学 and 数理?

texts: I noticed that both terms referred to the study of mathematics. Is there a difference in usage between the two terms?


texts: Is there a counter for a dog's barking? Or more generally, a counter for sounds?

texts: Had the thought while chatting online about whether there is a counter for barks from a dog or possibly one for distinct sounds in general.


texts:
I dont understand this sentence:

  Action servletは、リクエストのリクエストURLと対応するPATH、そしてACTIONクラスの完全修飾名を定義しているACTIONMAPPINGの集合によりなりたっています。

Does this mean: "the collection 'action'mapping, which defines the fully qualified domain name consists of the path which deals with the the request url"?

Particuarly confusing to me is the function of apparent noun (なになにと対応するPATH）followed by comma, and a そして.


texts: What do ほどしかない and 行かないといけないから mean?

texts:
I have problems with two grammar constructions that I don't know.
The first is ほどしかない and the following is the sentence:

手の爪ほどしかない小ささで、僕が確かめた限り、1〜4階層のモンスターから出てくるのはみんなこんなものだ
It is not larger nail of one hand and as far as I have verified the same, are all this as those that come out from 1 to 4 classes of monsters.

“ほどしかない小ささ” does it mean “as small as”?
The second grammar construction is 行かないといけないから and the following is the sentence:

最初に仕留めた二匹のところにも行かないといけないから、呆けている時間はないんだった
I first had to go where there were two killed and I was completely absorbed by it, because there was no time

Does this grammar construction “行かないといけないから” mean “must go?”


texts: Nuance in the line ちゃんと活かしてきっちり役立てていきたいんです

texts:
It's as the topic states. A person is speaking about them wanting to put their ability to good use, and they say it as:

  (previous bit is less relevant) ちゃんと活かしてきっちり役立てていきたいんです

What I want to know, is nuance/difference between:
ちゃんと活かして
and
きっちり役立てて

Because both pretty much say the same thing if I take their straight meaning from the dictionary.

ちゃんと活かして diligently/earnestly/perfectly/quickly make the best use

きっちり役立てて precisely/punctually/perfectly/properly make use/put to use.

The only large difference that there might be, that might necessitate using both when only one might suffice is that the first one seems to deal with regularity, saying that the person wants to help often, while the later seems to deal with quality of use.

So this would be

  I want to diligently make the best use of (whatever)

or does someone have a better explanation of the difference and better suggestion for translation?


texts: ABSOLUTE necessity of particle に in "topic marker" には

texts:
"This store has all sorts of bags": この店は鞄が色々あります should be a good translation and a natural sentence, which is different from "There are all sorts of bags in this store": この店には鞄が色々あります.
The Question: I would like verification that even without に the two English translations can be acceptable, because "There are [...] in this store" conveys the same meaning as "This store has [...]"
[this is not based on translation style-preference, i.e., literal, paraphrase, verbum pro verbo, etc., but a grammatical question in re: absolute necessity of に in the topic marker "には" and semantic equivalence of the 2 proposed English translations]
thank you in advance for your time and attention in this matter!


texts:
日本人にも人気のリゾート地として知られるフィリピンのボラカイ島で...
  On the Phillipine island of Borakai, which is known as a resort popular even with Japanese people, ...

I can't decide if this にも goes with 人気, so that it's "a resort popular even with Japanese people", or whether it goes with 知られる so that it's "a popular resort known even by Japanese people".

Is one of these options obviously wrong? Or is the sentence a little ambiguous?
If I had to choose I'd go with my first option simply because にも is right next to 人気.


texts: Differences between 楽しがちに、楽し気味に、楽しげに、楽しっぽく

texts:
Which one of the words above is most suitable in the following sentence and why?

近所の子供たちが校庭で________遊んでいる。

Thanks!


texts:
The word 今度【こんど】, though its literal meaning is "this time" is in my experience used pretty heavily to refer to tbe next time or some unspecified point in the future. For example:

  今度【こんど】こそ一緒【いっしょ】に行【い】こう！
  Let's go together next time!

This has confused me since I was just beginning to learn Japanese, and I messed it up again not too long ago, after years of study. Maybe some reasons will help keep this straight in my head.

Why is 今度【こんど】 so often used to mean "next time" or "sometime" rather than "this time"?


texts: What is used more in Japan for numbers? Kanji or Hiragana?

texts: I’m trying to learn Japanese but I want to know if I should learn my numbers in Kanji or Hiragana because I want to learn what I will definitely use in Japan.


texts: Is this the denial of a statement, or a statement of denial?

texts:
This sentence originally came from a newspaper article. Unfortunately, I copied it onto a flashcard for later study and then lost the original context.

  彼は、可能性について「念頭に全くない」と否定した。

  【かれは、かのうせいに　ついて　「ねんとうに　まったくない」と　ひていした。

What I'm confused about is the end part that says と否定した. Does it mean that he denied the statement, or that he was denying the possibility?

Which of these following translations is more correct?

Speaking of the possibilities, he denied saying "it's totally not on my mind."
Speaking of the possibilities, he denied them, saying "it's totally not on my mind."


texts: Doesn't ～ニン（人）as a suffix imply that it is a counter of people

texts:
I was looking to some examples of the use of 人 and I found this one in Jisho.org

http://jisho.org/search/人

  ２００人{にん}の人{ひと}が昨年コレラで死んだ。
  Two hundred people died of cholera last year.

With furigana for the first case にん and for the second ひと.
So I was trying to guess why is the kanji repeated and I thought that probably it was due to the need to indicate what were you counting. But then, wasn't supposed that ～ニン implies that you are counting people?


texts: Does this Kanji: 全効答 (Zen kō Kotae) mean "total efficiency" or at least convey it symbolically?

texts:
I've been playing around with using Kanji as a quick way to convey a company's goals and/or ideals. As I understand it, Zen 全 means "whole/complete", Kō 効 means "efficiency/result" and Kotae 答え means "answer/solution". Does
全効答 have a meaning of "total effectiveness" / "all right now" or does it simply become gibberish? Is the symbolism retained in the full statement of "Zen kō Kotae"? Any insight would be appreciated.


texts: Honorific and humble forms of suru verbs

texts:
This question is about suru-verbs,
verbs made from a noun and the verb suru (for ex: 鼓 + する).
I am familiar with the potential form of suru being 出来る,
then suru-verbs potential become Xしえる or Xしうる or Xせる.
How would you conjugate suru-verbs into the honorific and humble forms?
I know なさる is the honorific form and 致す is the humble form of suru.

I took a couple guesses...

鼓する > 鼓なさる

鼓する > お鼓しになる


texts:
I am trying to determine how to say the following sentence:

"You would go out drinking after work if you were in Japan"

The best I can think of is this, but it is rather matter-of-fact

日本でいれば　仕事のあとでビールを飲める

I'm not even sure if that is right!
Any thoughts?

For context, my (Japanese) friend does not want to go drinking after work (because he has a family). I want to say that if he was in Japan, he would (as it is expected).


texts:
I've seen a few topics on "~てやる" here (I do apologise in advance if this question overlaps too much with any previous answered posts), but I have a specific question regarding the phrase "やってやる".

I was told by a fellow Japanese learner that "やってやる" is a casual way of saying "I'll do it for you" so the nuance is + "for someone". However, my textbook only lists the following definitions:

  To do it/ to give it a go

With no mention of doing something specifically "for someone".

Is the nuance indeed doing something "for someone" or is it just "I'll do it" regardless of whether your doing something for someone or not?


texts: Shouldn't this の particle be a に particle?

texts:
I understand the gist of what the final sentence is, but I don't understand why の was used instead of に. Is it because the 間 represents a sense of "when" (just as 'いつ' in いつ行きますか does), therby not allowing the use of the に particle?

夜は、英語の特訓。新聞や雑誌が読み書きの教材に、雑音混じりのラジオ番組が会話の教材にされた。食事や休憩の間は、アインは英語しか話さない。日本語を使ってくれるのは、講義の間だけ。


texts: Could you help me understand the grammar in this sentence?

texts:
A: ところで、はるって誰ですか
B: 誰とかではなくてですね...

I understand the overall meaning of the conversation but I don't really get why "とか" is used nor why the second sentence ends with ではなくて instead of ではない。
Thank you very much in advance :)


texts: Since 名前 can also mean full name, it would be nice to have a single word that is complimentary to 苗字. Is there one available for common use?


texts: Is using 人口 when referencing animal populations alright?

texts: I am writing about that Isle of Dogs movie and I wanted to write 日本の犬の人口. Since it has the character for person in it, I was wondering if it is appropriate for animals. Any help would be appreciated!


texts:
What is the translation of はこう ? (from はこうやって)

I know that it would mean something like : This is how (I do) ...
Yet, I cannot find the word in any dictionary. I just find the meaning of "wave height".


texts: A word or short phrase for "Moving forward, taking the good things with, leaving the bad things behind"

texts:
Apparently there is a Japanese word for

  Moving forward taking the good things with you but leaving the bad things behind.

Would any of you know what it is?


texts: What's the difference between these two instances of "yearning"?

texts:
I have these two sentences in my JLPT practise book. They are in different sections, so the book isn't making a deliberate comparison, but I couldn't help but wonder about the similarities.

彼女{かのじょ}は学生{がくせい}時代{じだい}、先輩{せんぱい}に憧{あこが}れていた。
学生{がくせい}時代{じだい}、彼女{かのじょ}は先輩{せんぱい}を慕{した}っていた。

Both more or less translate to, "In her school days, she yearned for her superior." The use of "superior" in this context sounds awkward in English, but it'll do, as it's not the focus of my question.
What I'm wondering is if there is any meaningful difference between the two sentences? In the first, 憧{あこが}れる is an intransitive verb, so I'm guessing it emphasizes her as a source of the feelings. In the second sentence, 慕{した}う takes a direct object, so I'm guessing that emphasizes the superior as the target of her affections.
However, in English, saying "she yearned for him" and "he was yearned for by her" similarly puts grammatical emphasis on different parts of the sentence, but the resulting difference in meaning is negligible, if it even exists. It's just two grammatical ways to get to the same point.
The words also have different nuance, in that in my dictionary they both list "yearn for" as the first definition, but 憧{あこが}れるleans more toward "admire" and 慕{した}う leans more toward "adore". I'm unclear on how strongly they differ in that regard, and in any case, in this context, the two ideas overlap a lot. In both cases it seems we're talking about a woman with some kind of affection for a person at her school.
Is there any meaningful difference between these sentences? If so, is it the grammatical construct that differentiates them? Is it the nuance 憧{あこが}れる and 慕{した}う? Both?


texts: I would like to know the difference between these words, please write some example sentences.


texts:
ゲームの世界での“欠点”が気になって引っかかっていて、図らずも知恵の輪を解きたいような。
I think this sentence is about the writer getting annoyed and bother by fault in the game but what purpose does いて serve here can't the sentence do just fine without it?


texts: Is it accurate to think of the て-form as meaning "in the state/condition/form of"?

texts:
It is difficult to rationslise the て-form of Japanese verbs in the mind of a speaker of an Indoeuropean language because there isn't something directly equivalent. However, it's been a few years now that this concept popped into my head that there is an implied meaning within the て-form as meaning "in the state/condition/form of". This to me makes sense with the te iru structure:
私はリンゴを食べている
Literally: I exist in the state of eating an apple.
I just wanted to see if this thought goes in the correct direction in relation to the て-form.


texts:
I recently came upon the following sentence (for a character thinking to themselves):

ここは和にまかせるかの

What I assume is the loose translation "I think I will leave this to Nodoka"
The かの confuses me though. I can't find anything via Google about this particle combination. My only guess is that this could be some dialectical version of かな related to なあ->のう, since the speaker does speak with a distinctly western dialect.


texts: For my Japanese class we recently went over how to say stuff about playing instruments, but looking online had me confused about how to use a certain couple of verbs. I know that my textbook says ヴァイオリンをひく（弾く）, but online I've also encountered this other reading of the same kanji and I'm not sure the difference between ヴァイオリンをはじく（弾く）. Can anybody explain the difference please?


texts:
お ー い 亀 よ ！ お前 の きれいな 笛 を 見せて おくれ

I dont quite get what is the purpose of okure at the end. In this sentence I understand that a man calling the turtle so show its beautiful flute to him.


texts:
On this page about Imabari dialect, it says the following:

  笑い話によく登場する話としては「行ってこうわい」。今治では「行ってきます」という意味ですが、他の地域では「行って帰ってくる」という意味に取られます。「行ってこうわい」というからずっと待ってたのに来なかった、というのがオチです。

I am not too concerned about the dialect itself, but rather the fact that the above seems to imply 「行ってきます」and 「行って帰ってくる」have different meanings. (I don't think difference in polite form is relevant so I will ignore that)

I was fairly certain that 「行ってきます」 on its own means that someone would go and come back, however if so then it would mean the same thing as 「行って帰ってくる」. By the way, I have never seen this latter expression before, not sure if it is used often in everyday Japanese.

If someone can clarify I'd appreciate it.


texts: What does こと mean after a conjugated verb?

texts:
I don't understand what こと means in this sentence:
こんな 恐ろしい    事   は   聞いた こと  が   ない。
I initially thought it was a nominalizer, but nominalizers must be used with verbs at the neutral form, and also, only the nominalizer の but not こと can be used with perception verbs.
Intuitively, I guess it means something like: 'the fact that I heard something so horrible doesn't exist' (ない).
But I am not sure.


texts:
マスク大手 24時間態勢で増産 新型ウイルス肺炎感染拡大で

from here

In this sentence the words 新型 and ウイルス form the meaning "a new type of virus". But shouldn't 新型 be connected using の? I have seen this pattern a lot of times, but when are you allowed to leave out the particle?


texts: The use of も; spotting if it is comparison/contrast, or for emphasis

texts:
Could somebody tell me the meaning/use of both もs in bold in the following sentence? It is the background explanation for the essay titled 「さよなら、ゴジラ先生」 in the magazine, 中上級のにほんご.

Also, I am not sure about the use of こんな in the second sentence; again what is it referring to? I think it means "this kind of doctor" but what kind? Should I be able to infer the adjective, or is this an invitation to read on and find out?

  日本の大きな病院は、診察してもらうにも時間がかかります。そして、なんだか怖い感じ。でも、こんな先生もいるのですね。今月は、大病院の診察室を舞台にしたエッセーです。

The answer must surely relate to context but I should appreciate an explanation from someone who understands.


texts: Why is そう used to refer to something the speaker just said?

texts:
This is what I know about the こそあど words:

こ〜 is used to refer to something that is close to the speaker
そ〜 is used to refer to something that is close to the listener or something not too far away from the speaker
あ〜 is used to refer to something that is far away from both the speaker and the listener
ど〜 is used to ask questions

The use of そう here makes sense to me because it is used to refer to the thing that the listener said, which can be considered close to the listener:

A：彼の父親は医者だって。 (I heard his father is a doctor)
B：そうかもしれないな。(Yeah, he probably is)

But in the following sentence, I don't understand why そう is used instead of こう

風邪を引けばダメだ、そうでしょう？ (If you catch a cold, it will be no good. Right?)

I often hear these kind of sentences where the speaker states something then says "そうでしょう？" Obviously he/she is referring the to statement he/she just said, so why not use こう here since the words that the speaker said is considered closer to the speaker than to the listener?
Have I misunderstood completely how "closeness" work?


texts: Please help me understand the させたくない form

texts:
So I learned about させる, that it's like to influence someone to do something. Then we found this sentence on hunter x hunter.
ミトさんは （ゴンさんに）ハンター （を）受けさせたくない んだよ。

A bit of context, Mito don't want Gone to take the hunter exam. Now I would translate 受けさせたくない as "not want to force him to take it", but my teacher told me it was wrong. For a half hour, he tried to explain it to me but I still didn't get it.

Can you guys help me?
Thanks, Or


texts: Can ところで be ambiguous (time vs. location)?

texts:
I was studying the usage of ところ with particles and came across the following sentence and translation (linked at the bottom):

駅の近くでケーキを買ったところで彼女に偶然{ぐうぜん｝会った。
I met her by chance when I just bought some cakes near the station.

The article does not explain it very well but from what I gather (from other sources), ところで can be used to show circumstances surrounding the main clause. So the sentence above could perhaps be more elaborately (and robotically) understood as (please correct me if I'm wrong):

"I met her by chance. It happened when I (was out buying/just bought) a cake near the station."

My first question is, Is the translator's use of the word "just" justified? (Sorry, I couldn't resist the pun). I understand that 「～た形」＋ところ shows that the action happened in the very recent past and is commonly translated as "just" but is that meaning carried through when ところ is used as above?  Stated another way, does the sentence imply that I just bought the cake (giving ところで a "time" nuance) or that I was out buying the cake (giving ところで a "circumstance" nuance) ?
Second, if I had seen this sentence out of the context of the article, I would have translated it:

I met her by chance at the place by the station where I bought the cake.

Is this also a valid translation or is there a reason that this can't be correct?
Article source


texts: How do I tell if the に particle is indicating a target or a source?

texts:
I'm pretty confused about the に particle and I hope to receive some clarification.

  1.彼は私に本をくれました。

  2.私は母にしかられた。

In the first sentence, the に particle is used to indicate the target, which is 私. So I know the sentence means "He gave me the book."

However, the に particle is used to indicate the source in the second sentence, so it means "I was scolded by my mother."

So my question is, how can I tell if the に particle is indicating a target or a source? Do I have to solely rely on context? Or am I having a major misunderstanding of the particle itself here?


texts:
A ex kick-boxer that now switched to boxing owes money to the yakuza. The following is a dialogue between him and the yakuza man that comes weekly to collect the money (借金取り). 新人王 is the name of a boxing tournament for rookies.

Yakuza man: お前新人王出んのか…　元キックだって聞いてたが、ボクシングに来たのか。金作るヒマなくて遊ぶ時間はあるのか？
Ex kick-boxer: 登りつめりゃ文句ないでしょ？　武器が拳だけのボクシングなんてワケないスから…

I think that what the ex kick-boxer says could be translated into:

You don't have any objection about me winning (climbing up) the
tournament, do you? Since boxing is easy as they only use
punches as weapons...

If I read the question alone I think I understand what it means, but there's から in the second part of the sentence and I don't understand why the first part should be a consequence of the second. What I would find a natural consequence of the second part would be "It will be easy for me to win, right?", but it is too far from the meaning of 文句. Does 文句 refer to an objection by the yakuza man or to something else I am not getting here? Thank you for your help!


texts: What is the meaning of 取り戻そうと in this sentence?

texts:
In the following sentence:

  問題を無視することはできません。しかし、
  問題にばかり注目していると過去の状態を取り戻そうと努力することになります

The part where it says: 「取り戻そうと努力することになります」 more specifically that "そうと" where does it come from?
What's the meaning of that 「そうと」?
I really hope you can help me with this.


texts: Do all kana have a large and small reading?

texts: Kana are written in large and small versions with different pronunciations in the composition of words but I am not able to determine if all kana can be used in this way. Thank you.


texts: 都内 is reserved for the capital Tokyo, what term is used to mean a foreign capital city?

texts: I have seen the term used in reference to Tokyo. What would the term be for a foreign capital？


texts:
古代ギリシャの哲学が、すでに自由市民に委ねられた真理の探究という、純粋に知的な営為だったのであり、その伝統の先端に科学も存在したからである->委ねられた人は誰？
I wonder is it means greece philosophy was entrusted to/by public (?)

この雑誌は多くの人に購読されています
This magazine is read by many people.
多くの人に=the one with に attached always become the subject right and its mean by..

And how to translate this sentence easily like should i start from the last word?

Philosophy of the ancient Greece  only pure intellectual conduct that was called as the research of truth that entrusted to freeman. Is it true(?)


texts: Is it acceptable to use kanji and hiragana in the same word if a kanji character is unknown?

texts:
I have come across this issue a number of times. I am studying Japanese at High School, so I only know about 200 kanji. When I write words that consist of more than two kanji characters, I am unsure whether it is acceptable to write a word with the kanji I know, but also with hiragana to replace the kanji that I don't know.

Here are some examples:

以来 - I know the second kanji, but not the first. Is it alright to write it as い来?
図書館 - I only know the second kanji. Is it alright to write it as と書かん?


texts:
「いろんな種類あるんで。」

Is this just an abbreviation of のです？ Or is it supposed to be ので？ I’ve seen んで a handful of times so I thought I would ask about it!


texts: I think it should probably be pronounced as komichi or komich.


texts: Does the Japanese language have an American variant?

texts:
The phone below has a Choose language menu in which you can choose your language from a multitude of languages and variants, including 日本語（アメリカ合衆国）:

QUESTION: Is there really an American Japanese language variant?
If yes, how different is it from Tokyo Japanese?

Notes:

The title of the dialog is Change language, and units/date format/first day of week/etc are covered by a different dialog.
Another choice is Italiano (Sudafrica). Even though it might sound surprising, there actually is a variant of Italian in South Africa.
A Google search shows that the ja_US locale seems to be used by quite a few people. Example taken from a technical mailing list (I don't imply that this person is right, I just say that this point of view exists):

  you can configure Wine to display Japanese by using the LC_ALL enviroment variable. In the United States, set it to ja_US, and in Japan, set it to ja_JP.  The reason for the localization difference is because programs compensate for the different dialects of a language across different nations (think en_US and en_GB, one for the US and one for England.)


texts: What does a て form i-adjective for sentence ending mean?

texts:
Why is this i-adjective conjugated to the て form at the end of the sentence? Why not just leave it as 珍しい?

The only use I know for て form adjectives is so you can chain them together, but there is no other adjective here.

  田舎育ちだからコンビニが珍しくてさ。

  Convince Stores are rare, because I grew up in the country.


texts: Can placements of adverbs be altered freely?

texts:
I'm curious if there is any difference in nuance between these two sentences:

彼は少なくとも週に一度車を洗う。
彼は週に少なくとも一度車を洗う。

I'm aware that grammatically speaking both are 100% right, but this question is not targeted at this issue.


texts:
Hi all I was wondering  if we want  to treat a quoted phrase as a "noun", is it necessary to put a と particle behind the quoted phrase?

For example:

A) The "received" in "received from Tom"

「トムから頂きます」の「頂きます」, or
「トムから頂きます」との「頂きます」 ?

B) The "tadaki" in "itadakimasu"

「いただきます」の「ただき」, or
「いただきます」との「ただき」 ?

Basically I was trying also just to figure out how should we know whether or not to put a と particle after a quote?


texts:
I have already looked at this question but it didn't really help my understanding. I have the following sentence:

  家来たちがそれぞれ自分の荷物を持ち上げて帰る用意をしているというのに、彦一｛ひこいち｝はなにも入っていない風呂敷｛ふろしき｝をたたんでふところにしまいました。

My attempt at a translation is:

  Even though the retainers each picked up their own baggage and were preparing to return home,  彦一 folded up a wrapping cloth with nothing in it and put it away in his breast pocket.

I thought のに translated as "even though" but that doesn't seem to join the two clauses together in a convincing way. So I'm assuming the という part modifies のに in some way such that it makes more sense. Please help me understand the difference between のに and というのに. Thanks.


texts:
I'm watching a drama and there's a scene with a closeup of a cheque. It shows the box where you would write the amount to pay, which I've parsed as below. What is 金 used for and how is it read? 金額 already specifies it's an amount of money plus there are two different yen symbols used.

  金額 ￥ 金壱億伍阡萬円也

=

  金額・￥・金・壱億伍阡萬・円・也

=

  (amount)・(yen symbol)・(?)・(一億五千万)・(another yen symbol)・(exact amount / "only")


texts:
There are 2 girls who had a fight and are mad at each other.
One of them asks the protagonist if he is gonna fight against the other girl and he anwswers:

  「あいつが邪魔をするなら戦う。
  ……まあ、ホントは聖杯なんて物騒なもんはあいつに任せたいんだけどな。
  あいつならキチンと鞘に収められるし、桜を助けてくれるだろうし」

The the girl:

  「……そう、でしょうか。
  あの人は、魔術師です。
  わたしみたいに弱い人間のコトなんて、考えてくれないと思います」

Looking online I found this:

  元の鞘に納まる:一度別れた男女が、いろいろあった末に結局はもとの仲に戻る（復縁する）ことを言います。

I understand that it means something like get together, but it talks about man and women.

So, could this expression mean something like:

  Make up, Make peace with each other

Even if it has no sexual meaning?

Alternatively it's talking about obtaining the 聖杯.

Another definition is:

  鞘に収めた:強い働きかけを止める様子
  Stopping a strong influence

I am not sure since 働きかけ seems to have multiple meanings.
Looking it up I found this one:

  人に対してその物事について考えるよう促すこと
  Urging people to think about the circumstances
    (Might be wrong how I understood it)

Or does it mean another thing completely?