texts: Abbreviating words by removing their okurigana

texts:
First of all, is that even what this is, and is there a term for it? For example, in a certain application's settings menu there is an option for vibration sensitivity that looks like this:

感度:
強　 中　 弱

I have three thoughts for what 強 and 弱 might be:

i-adjectives with the い removed.
Full words (きょう and じゃく?)
Not words at all, but Kanji used to convey meaning directly (are these pronounceable then?)

So what are these, and if the answer is option #1 or #3, are there any solid rules for when it is okay to write like this?


texts: using ように pattern to mean "so that" and its use in negative verbs

texts:
I have read this to learn about ように:
http://www.guidetojapanese.org/learn/grammar/surunaru

Part - 1
Going by the definition of よう which is more like "appearance/manner", I don't quite get how the constructions are made in which ように has more of an interpretation of "so that". I have read its similar counterpart, ために and the difference between them (Difference between ために and ように), but I still can't arrive how from the literal meaning of appearance or like, we can reach a meaning like "so that"

Ex 1: 速く泳げるように、毎日練習しています。

Part - 2
As per my understanding, we need to use ように to allow us to modify a verb with another verb. But when we use the negative form of the verb in plain form (ない form), it is more like an adjective. So why do we use "ーないように some other verb".

Ex 1: 忘れないようにつけてあるんです（丸をつける）- I have marked the circles so that I don't forget.

Ex 2: 工場ができてから、この近くの海では泳げなくなりました。 Since the completion of the factory, I was not able to swim in the nearby sea.

As example 2 shows ーなくなります is also used. What difference to the meaning will ーないようになる add?

Thanks for any help.


texts:
As I'm starting to explore more kanji, I've come across these two ways of writing すわる (to sit): 座る and 坐る.

I would like to know when to use one over the other. Are there nuances that would make one very inappropriate to use in a special setting? Is one being used for sitting with a roof over one's head (a house) vs under open sky (on a bench in a park)?


texts:
I never heard 者{もの} alone, just for work profession.

Both means person right?
Is 者{もの} old-fashioned, when used alone?

Example:

[...] 居る者


texts:
According to the entry in jisho.org regarding the verb 「抜ける」, it is an intransitive verb.
Now, in the song Departure by Masatoshi Ono, we can see this:

You just try again
闇を抜けて

Suggesting that it can be also used as a transitive verb. Is this true? Or is the song "wrong", from a purely grammatical point of view? In this case, what would be the correct (grammatical) way of saying "escape from the darkness"?


texts: What does 気楽 mean when attached to ビール or お酒？

texts:
I first found this here: https://www.ettoh.jp/

  楽酒＝気楽なお酒

Does this mean the drink is easy to drink? Or that it's meant to be drunk in a carefree setting? One example I was taught for 気楽 is in 気楽なパーティ (informal party).


texts: About an ambiguous line in 「東京日和」, a song by Komatsu Miho

texts:
The line sings:

  わざと訛って

  あなたが喋るから

  ヘンで笑えた

  上達してないね 今も

I am not sure about the (implied) subject of 「上達してない」.

If 'you' were DELIBERATELY speaking with an accent, I guess 「上達してない」 must not be referring to 'your' pronunciation. Then what can it be referring to? The ability to refrain from laughing out when someone deliberately speaks with an accent?

Any romantic suggestions? :)


texts: What's the difference between 静けさ and 静かさ?

texts:
Much to my disbelief (no, I'm kidding, it happens all the time), I found out that my handbook was wrong to tell me we must use 静けさ, because 静かさ doesn't exist.

Wiki(tionary) says "For degree, corresponding to the English quietness, both 静かさ (shizukasa) and 静けさ (shizukesa) can be used, but 静けさ (shizukesa) may be more common."
On the other hand someone on chiebukuro says:

  「静かさ」といった場合「静かである程度」を
  意味し、「静けさ」といった場合「静かであること（様子）」を意味しているように
  思います。

meaning shizukasa is for degree, shizukesa is for appearance.

But I can't help feeling unconvinced. I've looked on weblio. In the ruigo jisho I've found 3 meaning for 静かさ (for reference 静けさ):

音がないこと  サイレンス ・ 物静かさ ・ 静寂さ
静かな状況（例えば、話し声がしない状況）    サイレンス ・ 音無 ・ 森閑 ・ 沈黙 ・ 無音 ・ だんまり ・ 黙 ・ 音無し ・ 黙り ・ 静寂 ・ 無言 ・ しじま ・ 無声 ・ 静けさ ・ 静寂さ
穏やかな静寂  静寂 ・ しじま ・ 静けさ

So the first meaning, apparently, is the real difference with shizukesa, right?
But then again, if 1 is 音がないこと why 音無, 無音 and 音無し aren't also in the first group?  And why 静けさ can be in the second group with these one, but not in the first group?
Side question: why 静寂さ for 1st and 2nd group, but just 静寂 in the 3rd?

For reference, instead of the 1st meaning of 静かさ, with 静けさ we have another group:
風のない穏やかさ    黙 ・ 沈静 ・ 無風 ・ 静寂 ・ 平静 ・ 静止
Isn't it overly specific? Can't this definition easily overlap with another group's definition (same of 2 and 3 for 静かさ).


texts: General rules for final kana in names ending with consonant?

texts:
I'm starting to study Japanese — and of course, it seems one of the first things one is taught in any language is how to introduce oneself. So, according to some (admittedly sketchy looking) online transliterators...

リック です。

But I wonder: The name I go by in English (Rick) ends with a consonant, so why 「ク」 and not any of the other k-series kana? Is it something to do with this name in particular, e.g. it's a masculine name? Simply because of the tendency (which I don't fully understand just yet) of final ~u to become devoiced? Something else entirely?

More generally, are there general rules for transliteration that lead to this result? I'm afraid I'm too new to the language to know what to search for in that department (at least, my tries so far have come up empty).


texts:
……久しぶりに自分に戻れた。
  こうして筆を持つのは何ヶ月ぶりか。
  おそらく次はないだろう。
  筆はここで止める事にする。
  私の死後、これはアキハに渡すよう娘に言いつけた。
  アキハがこれを読むかどうかは解らない。
  だが一度でも目を通したのなら、必ず処分する事。
  それが私、遠野槙久が我が娘にあてる、ただ一つの遺言である。

  After a long time I came back to myself.
  It's been so many months since I could hold my brush like this.
  Probably there will not be another time.
  Now I will stop using the brush.
  After my death, I will give this to Akiha, so I told my daughter.
  I do not now if Akiha will read it or not.
  But, even if you read this one time, make sure to dispose it.
  This is, Tohono Makihisa, my will that I will pass down to my daughter.

I don't get why よう is used here.
よう means situation, appearance or will to do something so I thought.

  私の死後、[これは(this notebook) アキハに渡す]>よう(situation, will)娘に言いつけた。

The second part is also confusing because Akiha is the daughter, so he is saying something like:

  After my death, this notebook I will give it to Akiha, so I told my daughter.

Am I on the right track?


texts: の or を？ What is the correct answer and why is it correct?

texts:
This is a question that I have found in a JLPT-N5 mock test paper.

  弟はへや＿＿＿そうじをしました。

And the answer for that is の, but I selected を. Could someone possibly clarify this please? Why の and why not を? What is wrong if one puts を there?


texts: How do you refer to "the company of another person" as in companionship, not a business

texts:
If I try to search this anywhere, I can only find 会社。
I want to say "you have nothing, but the company of another person"


texts:
I was reading a textbook and found this sentence:

  海や山もあれるそうです。

I don't understand what the や is doing there with も.

The full piece where it comes from is:

  あさっての夕方ごろからくずれるそうです。気温も下がるそうです。海や山もあれるそうです。

And the person was answering to a question about weather forecasts.

Is that supposed to mean something like "Both the sea and the mountain..." or is it just a typo?


texts:
If I wanted to say something like "He looks like his brother," I might say 「彼はお兄さんみたいです。」or 「彼はお兄さんのようです。」

But what if I wanted to say that he looks "a little" like his brother? Would I simply add a 少し to the above sentences? (E.g., 彼は少しお兄さんのようです。) Is that grammatical, seeing as there is no verb or adjective for 少し to modify?


texts: What are the main differences between 京都弁(Kyoto-ben) and 大阪弁(Osaka-ben)

texts: These two dialects will sound very similar to an untrained ear. Can anyone highlight the main differences between these two dialects?


texts: What is the equivalent use of need and need + Verb?

texts:
If I see someone struggling to pick up a box, I'd say: "Do you need help with that?"

Or I have to run an errand very soon, I could say: "I need to buy this gift by 4 pm."

Or if someone's car has stopped working, I could say: "Do you need a lift?"

Do the Japanese use the word "need" in this way? Or is there a special word/particle/ending that provides the same usage/function?


texts: How are 死{し}, 死ぬ{しぬ}, & 死去{しきょ} different? Is it "die" vs "to die"?


texts:
I have almost always added 美化語{びかご} to "いかが" (making "おいかが"). However, a native speaker just told me that "おいかが" sounds unnatural. I'd like to double check this.

Is it ever natural to add 美化語 to "いかが"?


texts: Are there words still containing を either officially or colloquially?

texts:
I used to work in a Japanese restaurant where the owner and his wife always wrote 「かつを」 rather than 「かつお」. I thought this was  kind of cool, so I looked it up. The only information I could find was that it was likely a misspelling from before the reform. After all, the reform would have been in effect for only a couple years by the time they were learning to write.

In any case, this got me curious. Are there any words today that the Japanese tend to write with を, whether officially accepted or not?


texts: If a girl tells you "きらいじゃない" what does that really mean. Is there a cultural meaning like shes just not interested in you?


texts: Which is correct, 静かだったばかり or 静かばかりだった to mean "It was just quiet, that's all"

texts: I'm a bit confused about how I turn 静かなばかり (It is only quiet) into "It WAS only quiet".


texts: As I understand both means "walk". What is a difference here? I think that いく is more like "move" somewhere and あるく means literally walk. Is that right or something else?


texts:
I'm wondering -- is something like

  ジョンが迷っていると気づいたら、何とかしないと、と。ジョンなら絶対に出来る、と言った瞬間、突然ハンドルをつかんで引いた。 その痛烈な性格の変化は今でも鮮明に覚えている。

considered sloppy writing, or is it acceptable?

These are the intended topics/subjects:

  （私は）ジョンが迷っていると気づいたら、何とかしないと、と。（私が）ジョンなら絶対に出来る、と言った瞬間、（ジョンは）突然ハンドルをつかんで引いた。（私は）その痛烈な性格の変化は今でも鮮明に覚えている。

Namely, in the bolded sentence, the topic switches from 私 to ジョン, made especially confusing due to the subject of the embedded sentence under 瞬間 being 私, in addition to the surrounding sentences having 私 as their topic.

In English fiction, it's not uncommon to intentionally make the reader think about who is doing or saying what by leaving things more ambiguous than one normally would. I assume it's the same with Japanese fiction, but I'm wondering if this specific method doing of it is considered acceptable.


texts: difference between 分隊【ぶんたい】, 部隊【ぶたい】, and number + 番隊【ばんたい】

texts:
i am interested in, what's the difference between these 3 words "bantai" , "buntai" and "butai".
the context of these words refer to the organization within the military.

EDIT

jyubantai should be something along the lines of 10th squad/division? (maybe i misinterpreted it with the word buntai,if so,ignore the word bantai as it is probably non existent) i believe these 2-(3) words are used to organize military into squads,divisions and such,i just don't understand which is for which.


texts: When conjugating, is 'なる’ a potential verb, like '分かる'?

texts: So, 分かる is never used as 分かれる, right?  Because 分かる is already a potential-form verb, according to my Japanese grammar dictionary.  About なる: can it be conjugated as なれる?  Or how about ならせる?  For example, 青くならせる--make it blue.  If not, how do I say things like, "Make her happy; turn this blue; make it so!"  And back to 分かる, can you say 分からせる: 'make it understood'?


texts: It's happened several times: I'll be chattering away with a friend in Japanese, and they'll sneeze, and without even thinking about it I'll revert back to English to say "bless you."  Is there a set phrase in Japanese I can use after someone sneezes?


texts: Is this sentence referring to an individual or a group of people?

texts:
それでもあいつが絶対的[窮地]{きゅうち}に立ったら迷わず[助太刀]{すけだち}に入る事

I know it says something like "If he gets into a really dangerous situation, I'll/We'll be at his side in a second!"

My question is, would a more correct translation of this be "I'll" or "We'll"? Could it be either one, depending on context? And could it have a double meaning, depending on the speaker's intention? Thank you.


texts: Difficulty understanding なり in お前の妹になんてなりはしない

texts:
I have already had a look at other posts talking about なり but the dont really seem to help.
As the title suggests, I am trying to work out what なり means in お前の妹になんてなりはしない


texts: What's the difference between 捕らえる and 捕まえる?

texts:
Possible Duplicate:
  Fun with synonyms - “to grab/catch/capture”

From my current understanding, 捕らえる means 'to capture', while 捕まえる is used to mean 'to arrest'. Is this correct? And is 捕まる its passive?


texts:
I was learning how to count months and the online video gave the expression in both hiragana and kanji.

Here is an example:

5 months

ごかげつ

5ケ月

Why is that ケ there ?

Should it not be ka ? As in か or カ ?


texts:
My Kanji textbook mentions 田 to have the kunyomi た and the onyomi デン. デン is not mentioned in brackets so I conclude it is a very common reading.

But I hardly find any words that use デン. In an example in the book is a word 田水 written and it says its read でんすい, but there is no translation. I cannot find a translation of that word anywhere, but if I google the word I get たみず with explanation 田の水. Water on a rice field? That doesn't seem a common word at all! Can someone clarify this word and perhaps give examples of words where 田 is read als デン?

Thank you.


texts:
For example

この中でどれが一番難しいのですか。
数学が一番難しいのです

Is the の here used as nominalizer meaning "one" or is it used as explanatory/emphasizing のです?
I assume the sentences translate to "Amongst these (courses) which is the most difficult one? Math is the most difficult one."
Therefore I think the の here is a nominalizer, but I rememberer reading that nominalizing の cannot be used before です and we should use こと instead.
For example:

私の趣味は映画を見るのです。x
私の趣味は映画を見ることです。√


texts:
From the definition of 広告 in 大辞泉:

  商業上の目的で、商品やサービス、事業などの情報を積極的に世間に広く宣伝すること。また、そのための文書や放送など。「―を載せる」「新製品を―する」「募集―」

I wonder why they use 上 in 商業上の目的で. Why not just 商業の目的で?


texts:
The verb 触れる challenges my concept of what を does; to mark a direct object.
Consider these uses of 触れる:

（人）の頬に指を触れる (Touch a finger to someone's cheek)
（人）の頬に手を触れる (Touch someone's cheek with your hand)

Now, if transitivity of the verb were not taken into account, I would guess that it's the finger or hand that is being touched since they are marked by the direct object marker を. But because I know that 触れる is intransitive, I understand that the object is marked by に instead.
(Question) What is the role of を when used in the above type of pattern? Should the particle be で instead since 指/手 are the "means" by which the action was carried out?


texts: Why does Japanese have two kinds of adjectives? (-i adjectives and -na adjectives)

texts:
Japanese has two kinds of adjectives known by several terms but the ones I know are i-adjectives and na-adjectives - why?

I recall that Japanese adjectives are much more like verbs than in English and most European languages (where they are more closely related to nouns), but does this apply to both types of Japanese adjectives or only one type?

I seem to remember that the two kinds are totally different to one another - is this true and if so how did each originate? For instance do we know if Okinawan/Rkyukyuan languages also have two types of adjectives? What about the Korean language, which is the language next most often claimed to be related to Japanese? (though far from universally accepted).


texts: What is the translation of this sentence?

texts:
ややきつめの目つきをしているものの根は奥手で純情な性格。

Is this right

My translation is: even though here appearance looks serious she is still undeveloped at the core thus having an innocent personality

**

  ややきつめの目つき

**
What does it mean ?


texts: I have seen and heard people say "Sumanai" to "thank" somebody for doing something. So what I think is that they are not saying "thanks" but "sorry for bothering you", but I am not sure. Can Sumanai be used to thank someone for something?


texts:
Could someone please explain how the Japanese would read the 〜 if they came across a range expressed like this:

  [１２歳]{じゅうにさい}〜[１４歳]｛じゅうよんさい｝


texts: Can anyone explain this exercise about のは and のが in Minna No Nihongo II?

texts:
In Minna No Nihongo II みんなの日本語初級II 文型練習帳(Exercise 38 on page 89) there is an exercise about のは, のが and のを, where a list of words is given, and you have to decide which words fit best with のは, which fit best with のが and which fit best with のを.

The question is:

  「〜のは／〜のが／〜のを」といっしょによく使われることばをえらびましょう。

With the list of words being:

  好きだ、危ない、忘れた、難しい、早い、遅い、体にいい、無理だ、上手だ、気持ちがいい、楽しい、知っている

The book already gives the answers for the first 2 as being:
のが好きだ
のは危ない

Can anyone explain why some of those words fit best with のは and some with のが？ To my thinking, all of the words that could go with のは could alternatively go with のが, depending on the exact meaning you want to convey.

My understanding is that the の nominalizes the preceding phrase, and then the は or が are just the normal particles. So, のは would be used to show that the nominalized phrase is the 'topic' and のが would show it is the 'subject', irrespective of the actual word.

So, why does it suggest that some of those words fit best with のは and some with のが?


texts:
I have had a conversation with a Japanese person and I asked the question

幸せですか？

The reply was:

幸せなほうだと思います

I have seen ほう used in the same context as より when comparing two things but I've not seen it attached to a な type adjective top describe a state of being.  Could anyone help me with this grammar point please?
Thanks.


texts: Specific textbook example sentence on V(ます)+そう vs. V(普通)+よう

texts:
お金を拾いました。今日は何かいいこと（　あるようです　/　ありそうです　）。

We got into a bit of a dilemma over this in class. Which one do you guys think is right in this case?
EDIT: We actually went over the questions in class, and the answer is ありそうです, according to the official worksheet solutions, which was somewhat unexpected, as this seems like more of a job for ようだ, considering that the evidence is not (solely) visual in nature.
The only explanation we could think of, was that そうだ provides a weaker level of evidentiality than ようだ, and so it conveys a sense of superstitiousness better.
But even if the case is that そうだ sounds more natural, we couldn't grasp why ようだ would be incorrect, if it is. (We've already encountered one or two slight errors in the textbook, but I'm assuming that isn't the case here.)


texts: Can 受付 be used like a verb meaning "to check in" at a hotel etc?

texts:
On a YouTube video I just watched, an interviewer is challenging Japanese people to speak pure Japanese with no English loanwords (Chinese loanwords must be considered pure for some reason though) and one of the challenges is "what do you do when you arrive at a hotel?"
In the video comments it's been suggested that 受付 means "check in" but I can't find that sense. I can find it being used as a noun so perhaps "reception desk" or something.
A more generic English word would be "register". Native speakers tend not to use that for hotels since "check in" is more specific. Would there be a Japanese word for "to register" that would also work for "to check in"? Would 受付 be closest? What about 審査?


texts: Why is アタマ written in katakana in the following passage?

texts:
I am watching a series of videos about the life of 手塚【てづか】治虫【おさむ】. In the video number 8, the word アタマ in 「子供のアタマ」 is spelled in katakana:

Is this a way to emphazise or highlight something? or what am I missing?
Also note that in the same slide, just some sentences before, あたま in 「頭のかたい」 is spelled in kanji, which makes it all the more intriguing. Why is the writer spelling あたま in katakana only for one occurrence of the word, an not for the others?
Thank you in advance!


texts: What is the difference between 非常に and 最も?

texts:
Both adverbs has the basic meaning "most, extremely". There are also ずいぶん and とても.

So, とても is the first word we usually learn that means "very". Then I learned 最も as a superlative. As for ずいぶん, I understand that it is somewhat subjective to the speaker and carries a feeling of surpise. And now I stumbled across 非常に, how is it different from the other superlatives?


texts:
What is the function of the first こと in the following sentence?

「労働のビッグバン」こと非正規雇用の規制緩和が次々に行われたのは９０年代、バブルが崩壊して以降のことである。

Logically it seems it has a function similar to と.  If that is indeed what it does, does it have any other nuance?

If possible I would like to have a translation, or other examples of こと being used this way.

This sentence appears in an article in 文藝春秋オピニオン２０１３年の論点.


texts: What particle do I use for the one who received the favour in -てくれる?

texts:
In sentences with ～てくれる the one that do us a favour goes with は・が particle. Which particle do I have to use for the one who receives the favour? Can I use both に and を or only に? I've seen both. Is it wrong to use を?

  あなたはわたしを二度も救ってくれた。
  anata wa watashi o nido mo sukutte kureta.
  You saved me twice.

  父が僕を育ててくれた。
  chichi ga boku o sodatete kureta.
  I was raised by my dad.

  彼はいつでも僕たちにすばらしいアドバイスをしてくれた。
  kare wa itsudemo bokutachi ni subarashii adobaisu o shite kureta.
  He’s always given us great advice.

Why is に not used in the first two examples?


texts: I tried Google Translate and just get    チェストアウト.   Other dictionaries do not provide any meaningful results.  This is a common phrase used in sports training.  I cannot believe there is no Japanese equivalent.


texts: How is 中 read in 「昨日寝る中で電話がありました。」？

texts:
I don't know whether I read 中 as なか or ちゅう in the sentence below:

  昨日寝る中で電話がありました。


texts: What is the grammar of "ごく" in "ごくかすか" mean?

texts:
"かすか" means "faint".
"ごくかすか" mens "very faint".

What part of speech is "ごく"? An inflection of "ごい"? What might either mean?


texts: What's the difference between まだ and いまだ（に）?

texts: My intuition wants to believe that いまだに is more formal, but all the examples I've seen do not indicate that.  Are they freely interchangeable?  Can't say I've ever heard いまだに in spoken context (or ever really seen it often in written context either).


texts:
As in "I wake up, do my hair, have breakfast".
Is there a verb for this?
I'm guessing you can't just use 髪をする.


texts:
I don't understand the meaning of に in this sentence:

  切り出すに切り出せず、今日まできてしまいました

Is 切り出すに切り出せず fashioned after some particular grammar? I can't really think of an interpretation that sounds natural.


texts:
I am editing a text in English that doesn’t really have anything to do with Japan, but with India. In it, there is a letter from 1798 (translated from the original Danish) which contains the following:

  The bearer of this [letter] is Madam Gauttier, the widow of a French Lieutenant Colonel Gauttier, a man whom I held in the greatest esteem. My dear Brother has formerly known her as Madam Clausman. The lady has shown the goodness to bring to my dear Brother a Japanese mandarin’s cambay, which is the winter gown of a distinguished Japanese. I have been promised the undergarment for this dress and will send it as soon as I get it. It deserves to be preserved because of its rarity.

I’ve never heard of anything that may be termed a cambay before, so naturally I took to Google—with dismal results.

Cambay is of course the name of an erstwhile Indian state, indeed one that had a thriving textile sector, but the letter specifically says that a cambay is a Japanese type of garment, so textile from Cambay in India doesn’t seem to be what is referred to here.

Sadly, I can find absolutely no hints or references to any kind of Japanese garment called any variation of cambay that I can come up with (cambey, kambai, kanbai, kambei, cambi, etc.—the last one is apparently a fashion designer), so I’m no further.

A rather wild guess on my part is that the first part of cambay may be 寒{かん}, since it is described as being a winter gown (and if cambay is some ad-hoc transliteration of a Japanese word, it does look like onyomi). Or perhaps, if it is important that it is specifically a mandarin’s garment, 官{かん}.

But what is bay, then? Some old word for ‘clothes’? Perhaps something like 被{ひ} or 披{ひ} ‘cover’ (in somewhat bizarre transliteration)?

In short: what is a cambay? Is it any kind of Japanese anything, or was the writer of the letter (who was, after all, a Dane stationed in India, and probably knew little or nothing about Japan) simply mistaken?


texts:
tamago o yoku tabemasu.
kudamono wa amari tabemasen.

Why for the first sentence with tamago, the particle "o" is used
where as for the second sentence with kudamono, particle "wa" is used?


texts:
In the following phrases, there is something like a "compound verb" (I really don't know what you call them.)

ものすごい速さで飛び立ちました

私の持ってきたかけらと

What difference would it make if instead of 飛び立ちました we just say 飛びました？ Or 持った？ Is it for emphasis only? Or it sounds more natural this way?

Lastly, is there a correct name to identify these kinds of "double verbs"?


texts:
「ああ。俺たちは確かに、歌でおまえには敵わなかった。......でも、メイドカフェや、他の出展物を用意してくれた生徒たちが、俺たちに足りない部分を埋めてくれたんだよ」
Hi. Could you explain the function of the に here? I previously thought it was because of てくれた until I’ve come across these examples.

私に足りないものは、行動力と自信です。
私たちに足りないものは何ですか？
あなたは私に足りないものを補う。

https://www.google.com/search?client=safari&sxsrf=ALeKk00u7sjN7XpEyh0up_byAFi3gA1xgg%3A1598624042890&source=hp&ei=KhFJX8qANMqo5gLwm5yIBw&q=自分に足りないもの+英語&btnK=Google+搜索
So the use of に has nothing to do with てくれる.
Thank you.


texts: Just like "ら抜き" is there also "い抜き" such as "見ている" --> (い抜く) --> "見てる"?

texts:
With ichidan verbs, you create potential, and passive voice, as such:

  食べられません

If you want to get slangy, you can do "ら抜き" as such:

  食べれません

So, is there い抜き as well?

  長い間ロンドンに住んでて、いろいろな民族を見ている。

do the "い抜き':

  長い間ロンドンに住んでて、いろいろな民族を見てる。

Now:
 1. 見てる is actually written in a book.
 2. I don't understand how 見てる is a word.
 3. In my analysis, 見てる and 見ている have the same meaning.
 4. So, just like you can do ら抜き, there is also い抜き?
 5. like ら抜き, い抜き is considered slang?

If there is no such thing as い抜き, how is 見てる a word?


texts: Meaning of koto + no together in particular sentence

texts:
I'm trying to read a bit more in Japanese and I bought a Japanese reader. There is this passage of The Spider's Thread by Akutagawa Ryuunosuke that says:

ここへきてから何年に出した事のない声で「しめた。しめた」と笑いました。

I get the basic gist of the sentence is "He laughed and said "I got it!" with a voice he hadn't used in many/some years since he came here".
The thing is, I'm having a hard time understanding the ことのない part of the sentence. I know koto and nai can be used to make a verb a noun (the voice that hasn't been used in years) but I'm getting messed up by the fact that both 事　and の　are used back to back. If anyone could clarify this for me I would be very thankful


texts: 「自分でも」 and 「くらい」 what's it being used for here?

texts:
Ok, so I have spent some time trying to find so explanations of the grammar used in this sentence but I can't seem to quite understand what the 「自分でも」 and 「くらい」 are doing in this sentence.

  「自分でも不思議なくらいに落ち着いた心で、目の前の美少女に静かに尋ねた」

My best translation of the sentence is: "with a strangely calm heart, I quietly asked the beautiful girl before my eyes."

here's some of sentences before to give some context

  俺は、頭で教えるよりも先にその子を突き飛ばしていた。
  そして・・。
  ・・自分でも不思議なくらいに落ち着いた心で、目の前の美少女に静かに尋ねた。


texts:
I've come across the following dialogue in a piece of fiction I was reading today;

  あの子さ、あたしら相手だとついお母さん役しちゃって、全然甘えないじゃん？

I'm not sure if I completely understand what the speaker is saying here, I was wondering if the above contains some sort of idiom?

Is it perhaps similar to this;

  相手の好意に遠慮なくよりかかる
  To accept someone's favour without reserve and depend on it

Thanks in advance


texts:
This is from the manga 「腐女子交流記 ～アラサー×JK～ 」, a 4-koma about the life of female otaku. On this page two colleagues are discussing how it’s not easy to be an otaku when one is no longer young and friends get busy with life and family.

コス香 「好きなだけやればいいってのはわかってるんですけど」
コス香 「私…いつまでコスプレできるんでしょうか…」だばー
オタ子「悲しい話になってきたわね…」
オタ子 「このまま一軒どう？」ぐすっ
コス香「お伴します」

I know that 一軒 means “one house/home” but not sure if here it’s used in literal sense or something metaphorical. Is Otako offering Kosuka to move in together? BTW she’s living alone in a rental apartment (マンション).
Incidentally, the page is titled 「上を向いて歩こう」 but this seems to just refer to them both crying and not  related (?) to the line in question.


texts: Translating あくまで一応ですけどね

texts:
Translators say:

あくまで means: doggedly、insistently、persistently、stubbornly、to the bitter end、to the end、to the last、to the utmost

一応 means: tentatively、for the time being、in outline、just in case、once、one time、so far as it goes

I couldn’t understand how to solve this puzzle


texts:
Is the "wa-particle" in katakana ワ or ハ？

(Just a quick question - I think I have seen both used, but if ワ is correct then I have just seen the results of a computer o/p automatically using ハ)


texts: What are the subtleties in use and meaning between: 特殊, 格段, 特段, 特別, and 別段?

texts:
Those these seem to come up all the time, for the most part I'm unclear as to how to differentiate them. Per the title, what are the subtleties in use and meaning between: 特殊, 格段, 特段, 特別, and 別段?

Thank you!


texts:
I would like to ask what is the difference between "じゃない" and "ない"?

I know that "ない" is an i-adjective (info from dictionary).

But we have a sentence for example:

  近くも遠くもないです。

Can we say:

  近くも遠くもじゃないです。

If not, please explain why.

I've also found here this information:

  "You may be aware that ない is the negative form of ある".

How does it come???

Is "ない" i-adjective or negative conjugation of verb "ある"?

I think that now I do not understand nothing.

Thank you very much in advance.


texts: Do I need to use passive form here? "The mirror is broken due to his/her ugly face"

texts:
There is a proverb as follows.

  The mirror is (intentionally) broken due to his/her ugly face.

More precisely, the mirror is broken by the user right after the user knows that her/his face is (so) ugly. Literally it is used to refer to one who blames other innocent one because of his/her own mistake.

Questions

Which one should I use in Japanese? Passive or Active form?

A: 顔が悪くて、鏡を割る。
B: 顔が悪くて、鏡が割られる。

Bonus: Is there a proverb in Japanese with the same meaning?


texts:
"両方…だ" , "両方…やるぞ"
The speaker pauses before the words of affirmation,would you say it's because he doesn't really want to do "both" ?
( context: the speaker is at a deadend and has to make an uncomfortable choice)


texts: How indistinguishable is blue from green really?

texts: 青 ao seems to be used very much interchangeably for both blue and green. Why is that so, and how does 緑 midori play into this?


texts:
While in Japan I came across the Kinokuniya mega bookshop, which I fell in love with.  I went to one of the top floors, started browsing the Japanese learning books, and found a couple focused on listening and speaking, two of my weakest points, and completely in Japanese, which is another plus.  In general they're not too difficult, as I got the ones most suited to my level, but now and then I come across certain things I haven't seen before.  One of them is sentences ending in て

An example, from a listening exercise (dialogue between two international students and their host, before going back to their country.)

山川：本当？うれしい、ありがとう。
リー：来るとき、連絡してね

Another example:

リー：ねえ、覚えてる？去年の４月、私が初めて日本へ来た時、山川さんに空港までむかえにきてもらったね。
山川：もちろん覚えてるよ。リーさん、こんなに大きなかばんを２つも持って。
リー：そうそう。一人で運べないから、山川さんに手伝ってもらって。本当に助かった。

I have also found examples of it on a Shin Chan volume I'm reading, for example:

おやつ食べたら体温計持ってきて

So, what's the purpose of finishing verbs in て at the end of the sentence?

EDIT: I understand the て (order) from the first conversation and the Shin Chan extract.  Only the second one is left, which from context I understand is not an order.


texts: What does なんか文句あんのかな、何のお悩みか？ mean

texts:
This sentence is a little baffling to me.

The context is that someone is responding to a question with this sentence.

I have tried to translate, and so far I get this:

  I wonder if the idea of words like these, any trouble?

I'm pretty sure my translation is off. Like I said, this sentence is baffling to me.


texts: What is the meaning of できる in 「影{かげ}がどこにできる」?

texts:
The context is the following:

  日時計{ひどけい}は太陽{たいよう}の位置{いち}が変{か}わるのを利用{りよう}して、影{かげ}がどこにできるかで時間{じかん}が分{わ}かる時計{とけい}です。

My best guess is that できる takes the meaning of growing, as the place where the shadow extends/grows to, but I'm not completely sure of it. My attempt at a translation would be "The sundial utilizes the change in position of the sun and tells the time by the place where (its) shadow extends to."

Is my assumption and translation correct?


texts: How to say how long an object will last?

texts:
I have a wallet that is made of a paper-like material, so I am unsure how long it will last. One other thing I am unsure about, is how to say that sentence in Japanese.

My first guess would be using 持つ.

  このお財布{さいふ}はどれくらい持{も}ちますか分{わ}からないです。

And if 持つ is the correct verb for the sentence, can it be used with other objects, for example a poorly made hammer that might break or fall apart?


texts: How to say 'It differs depending on the person'

texts:
Would the following sentence be correct?

人によってちがいます。

Or would it make more sense to use '人々'? As in;

人々によってちがいます。


texts: I don't understand why 差し支える means what it means

texts:
This is one word I often 'fail' while reviewing and I couldn't find much explanation anywhere. According to most dictionaries, it means something like hinder, interfere.

差: difference, substract
支: support, help

My guess is that 差し has some other meaning, because for instance 差し上げる. In this case, at least the 上げる part makes sense. With 差し支える, I'm always thinking it's some kind of help.

Anyone knows where the meaning is coming from? Is there any etymology book/website you could suggest to help with this kind of question?


texts: Help deciphering meaning/conjugation of 言っちゃいとっちゃいます

texts:
I was watching Sword Art Online with the help of a transcript of the episode. There was one word I didn't catch while listening, and when I looked it up, it was 言っちゃいとっちゃいます. I honestly have no idea what this is composed of or what meaning is implied to 言う here.

Context:

  今日のMMOストリームでは世界中の大注目ソードアート·オンライン、略してSAOって言っちゃいとっちゃいまーす

I'm guessing 言っちゃい is just 言ってしまう, but after that I really have no idea.


texts: Does “Tekken” sound like “iron sword” to someone unfamiliar with the franchise?

texts:
The word “ken” has at least 2 meanings: Ken (拳) means fist, while ken (剣) means sword.
If a Japanese speaker hears about the video game Tekken (鉄拳, “iron fist”) for the first time, without seeing the word written down, would they be able to tell that Tekken refers to “iron fist” and not “iron sword”?
I found this answer, which mentions that homophones are sometimes distinguished by the pitch accent. However, I’m not sure if this applies to monosyllabic words like “ken”. I also found this question, where answerers point out that ambiguity is often circumvented in everyday speech. However, I’d like more specific information on if/how this is achieved in this case.


texts: What is the image/feeling/concept behind 面白半分に◯◯する?

texts:
In a phrase like:

  面白{おもしろ}半分に見る

or

  面白半分に言う

What is the concept behind the 半分 and why is it connected with the verb using に?

Is it like "all things have two parts/aspects": serious (真剣半分?) and fun and the action takes part "on the" fun part (as opposed to the other equal part), thus being similar to the English "side of the coin"? Or is it something different?

Are there any other phrases using this concept?


texts:
A: あの～、すみません。
  B: はい。
  A: このへんにこうしゅうでんわはありますか。
  B: こうしゅうでんわですか？
  A: ええ。
  B: えーっと...ああ、コンビニのまえにじどうはんばいきがありますね。
  こうしゅうでんわはそのとなりにありますよ。
  Image

In the sentence こうしゅうでんわはそのとなりにありますよ, why その allowed to not have a noun after it? Shouldn't それ be used?


texts: What is the role of の in 「怒りのキーブレード」？Why is it translated as "the keyblade's rage" and not "the keyblade of rage"?

texts: This is in the context of a videogame. The complete quote is 「怒りのキーブレードは心を解き放つ」, which was translated into "The keyblade's rage releases those hearts". Why isn't it "The keyblade of rage releases those hearts"? What is the role of の here?


texts: What suffix do you add to a verb to make it perfective or imperfective?

texts:
What suffix would be added to the end of a verb to make as it is being done (I'm eating), or that it has been done (I have eaten, I've ate).
For example
私は食べる, or I eat, 食べる would be converted into what to make it, I have eaten and I'm eating?


texts:
最初にまみえた時くれえ
呆けてた方が可愛げがあって良いんじゃねえか

My rough understanding of the 2nd sentence is "You were so amazed that it was cute, so it's fine, right?"
I'm not sure how the first sentence works here.
If "最初にまみえた時" means "he time when you first me," What does it mean when you add くれえ?
For context, this is a scene where a guy teases a younger girl.


texts: 誕生パーティーに行けたらいいのに vs 誕生パーティーに行ったらいいのに

texts:
誕生パーティーに行けたらいいのに

vs

誕生パーティーに行ったらいいのに

Is explained as

I wish I could go to the party.

I wish someone would go to the birthday party / You should go to the party. (suggestion to other people.)

I'm having a hard time grasping why the second one couldn't also be if i went to the party it would be good?
I can't seem to figure it out...
Any help would be appreciated!
P.S
I've seen these sentences:
JLPTの１級に受かったらいいのに。
I wish I could pass JLPT Level 1.
明日、お天気だったらいいね
Hope the weather is nice tomorrow.
But they are still using the たらいい, which furthers my confusion


texts: What is the difference between は and が in this sentence?

texts:
This is an example sentence from a set of learning materials called Kanji Odyssey 2001:

  北極にはシロクマなど陸上の動物がいる。南極には陸上の動物はいない。

My question is about the bold. I understand the には I think because it is showing contrast between the two locations. I feel like the は at the end has to do with contrast as well... but I don't know? Can you contrast the same thing? And if so why aren't there two は's, why is one a が?


texts: What are common familially intimate names?

texts:
In both family units you often find special intimate names being used between members according to their role.

You have intimate familial names like 'mama' and 'papa' for parents, and words like 'honey' for children(as sons and daughters don't play distinct enough roles to warrant different names).

What are the Japanese equivalents to these fairly common English familially intimate names?


texts: How do you say "stopped playing piano" by using やめる?

texts:
Is it

  ピアノを弾いてやめました。

or

  ピアノを弾きやめました。

Thanks


texts: How are し, ち, and じ pronounced differently than in English?

texts: I know that sh, ch, and j are pronounced differently in Chinese than in English, but what about Japanese? I have read that し, ち, じ are pronounced slightly differently than they would be in English (she, chea[p], gee), however I'm never told how. If they (し, ち, じ) are pronounced differently than they would be generally pronounced in English, how?


texts:
I would like to know when do you use the word 回答{かいとう} versus the word 応答{おうとう}. Based on my understanding they 回答 is reply while 応答 is response. Although to reply would also mean to response, in English though.

I usually misused 回答 when naming on describing the response on programming request and response specification. It should be 応答 instead. Can you use 応答 as a verb like 応答する? While when referring to email or telephone you use 回答.

Is there a general rule on using this two?


texts: よろしくお願いします or ありがとうございます

texts: I have to write a letter to my future Japanese host family. It's in English, but I want to end it in Japanese. Should I use よろしくお願いします or ありがとうございます or even どうぞよろしくおねがいします?


texts: 「身につく」 Usage of this word in this sentence

texts:
From what i can tell, she is saying something along the lines of 'Even if you have the whole cake, it's only 70 grams' but i'm unsure on the usage of 身につく here.　Unless my interpretation of the context is wrong of course.

EDICT (from Nihongodict)
1. to master (e.g. a skill)
2. to become accustomed to (e.g. a lifestyle)
3. to acquire (e.g. a habit)

KOTOBANK
１ 自分の所有となる。自分のものとして持つ。「悪銭―・かず」
２ 知識・習慣・技術などが、自分自身のものとなる。「早寝早起きが―・く」


texts: Is 坊っちゃん a normal word for someone else's son?

texts:
The English edition of Wiktionary gives as Japanese translations of "son"

  Japanese: 息子 (ja) (むすこ, musuko), 坊っちゃん (ぼっちゃん, botchan) (honorific), せがれ (segare) (humble)

The entry on 息子 mentions that it's used for your own son when talking to other people, and mentions as the polite forms 坊っちゃん (which has an entry in Wiktionary) and 息子さん (which doesn't).

I got corrected when using 坊{ぼ}っちゃん online to use 息子さん instead. Also, doing a google image search for 坊っちゃん got a lot of anime hits, whereas doing an image search for 息子さん got lots of ordinary images of people's sons.

Is 坊{ぼ}っちゃん a normal word for someone else's son?


texts: Connection between 〜い adjectives and 〜く verbs?

texts:
The following pairs of inflections got me thinking a little bit.

〜く verb plain/te, for example: 働く・働いて
〜い adjective plain/nai, for example: 甘い・甘くない

Both of these suggest that there is perhaps some historical connection between the く sound and い sound, either phonologically or semantically. Is there any reason why い and く seem to like to "hang out" with each other like this? Maybe these two classes of words diverged from the same class of words somehow?


texts: Can a clause ending in ば be translated to "when"?

texts:
My question stems from item 4 and 5 in this picture, which is taken from a textbook of advanced Japanese reading. These two items fell into the normal present tense in English. In English, it would be weird to say "if". For example, it seems to be more natural to translate the first sentence to "When it is April, cherry blossoms bloom.", rather than "If it is April, cherry blossoms bloom."

According to my understanding, among the 4 "if"s, only たら and と can also mean "when". So what is going on here? Should we use "when" or "if" when translating these sentences?


texts:
WWWJDIC defines it as this:

  どんちゃん騒ぎ【さわ】 (n) merrymaking; high jinks; spree

  観光客は町中飲み歩いてどんちゃん騒ぎをした。 The tourists painted the whole town red

What is the etymology of this word? Is it in common usage?


texts: Ways of saying 'true/certain' - 本当, 確か, 絶対

texts: The three words which I was thinking of were 本当, 確か, and 絶対, but I'm sure there are more. How do these words differ from each other? The dictionary defines these three words fairly similarly but could someone explain the nuance and correct usage of each, as well as other words which can mean 'true/certain'?


texts: Is there a methodology for forming the intuition to count in myriads?

texts:
In my native language (not Japanese), the Sino-Xenic word for "ten thousand" (萬) is only used in historical contexts. In modern times, the Western way of counting in thousands is much preferred, and thousand separators are used. All that makes it quite difficult to intuitively discern large numbers in Japanese, because Japanese counts in myriads instead. After ten thousand (一万), it starts to become more difficult to immediately know what larger numbers, like say 二百五十万, actually mean, without taking some time to break them down.

So is there a methodology for practicing thinking in myriads in order to count more easily in Japanese?


texts: Understanding particle-ni when there is no verb

texts:
I'm trying to understand the lyrics of the song 細氷【さいひょう】. Here's the part of the lyrics I don't understand:

  さって行くあなたの背中に

  「さよなら」

I see it as:

  "your leaving figure (back)" + "ni" + "farewell".

I can't understand where this ni points to. I mean, who says sayounara to whom? I understand it can indicate both the source of passive verb and destination for active. Yet the verb seems omitted here. Or is it really omitted?

Also, does it mean

"You leave and say farewell to me."; or
"You leave and I say farewell to you."

According to the songs flow I'd go with the first option but the second one seems correct according to my maybe lacking grammatical knowledge.


texts:
Context: the speaker is a little worried about giving her real name during registration, and says,「本名そのままって いうのもアレだし。どうしょうかな。」

Because of the context, I understand the meaning in this example. But what does 「アレだし」mean in general? When can one use it?

A secondary question (not sure if it's related to the main question): why 「いうのも」rather than 「いうのは」?

Thanks!


texts: Does Aに助かりました mean that you were saved from A, or you were saved by A?


texts:
It is said by a boy who has just finished talking about his plan to a group of little kids. Here is the sentence.

とまあ ざっとこんなところだが　どうだみんな！


texts: Does 「本わさび入りねり」 translate to "true/regular wasabi in paste"?

texts:
I tried reading this text on a wasabi package.
At first, I thought it said 「本わさび人りねり」 but that didn't make sense.
Anyways, eventually I figured it might be 「本わさび入りねり」, so I looked up what Neri means and translated the text into "true/regular wasabi in paste".
I'd like to know if it's correct as I'm still below N5 level in Japanese and Google translate says it's "book wasabi" or something, which I don't think is true.


texts: What is the difference between 神社, お寺 and お宮?

texts: All of them mean "shrine" or "temple", but what is the difference between all of them ?


texts: Translation help- which word あまり is effecting and general implication of the word 方向

texts:
あんまり恋愛方向に持って行きたくない

So, context: an author's reply to someone asking whether a character of his would have a romance or not. Said character had a few hints of a possible romantic interest in someone and did end up getting married to them in the epilogue of the work, but never had an outright romance with them. This reply was from a Q&A with the author that took place a few years before said epilogue.

I'm not sure, taking context and hindsight into consideration, whether the anmari here is affecting "恋愛方向" or "たくない".

I mean, I feel like it should mean "don't want to take [this character] towards much romance" rather than "don't really want to take [this character] in the direction of romance", since the former statement is contradictory in hindsight. But I don't know if that's grammatically correct.

Of course, I could be overlooking the implications of the word '方向'. If the correct translation is "don't really want to take this character in the direction of romance" with the implication that "direction of romance" means a focus on romance, then it makes sense. Since, like I mentioned in the context paragraph, there were only a few hints of romantic intentions and it only got outright stated in the epilogue, when they were already married. Thus, the character never really went 'in the direction of romance'. Plus the author themselves has stated how they don't feel there's any "romance" in their work, despite hints and married characters in the epilogue.

Apologies if I've rambled. Some clarity and advice on how to correctly translate this would be greatly appreciated.


texts:
To outline the context, this is from a Legend of Zelda videogame guidebook I am translating.

I'm pretty sure the meaning below is that you should not worry about not being able to control the character (Link) at first because you will soon get the hang of it. But why does it end as 心配なく ? I usually use 心配ない (さ) to say "don't worry" but why is this なく ?

Is it some kind of slang-y variation of ない ?

  誰もが初めて触るWiiリモコンとヌンチャク。最初は慣れないかもしれないけれど、あっという間にリンクを思いどおりに操作できるようになるので心配なく。


texts: Can you say“ 何が貴方のお名前はですか”？Or does 何 have to come before です？

texts: I’ve read that what’s your name is “貴方のお名前は何ですか“ but can you also put 何 to the beginning or is that incorrect? So can it be: 何が貴方のおなまえはですか。


texts:
I have this sentence:

  建物と建物の間から差し込む太陽が音もなく世界を赤くにじませる夕方、...

  An evening in which the sun piercing from between buildings silently blurs the world with red.

I'm struggling with what the sun is actually doing, and with the geometry of the scene.

Is the verb 差し込む normally used to talk about the sun shining or is this just fancy poetic writing? Is it shining or thrusting or piercing etc?

As for the geometry, it's clear that something is happening between buildings but I'm not sure what. From the use of から I have a picture of the sun on one side of the buildings shining through a gap. It is the sunlight from/から this gap that is "silently blurring the world in red". Do I have the correct kind of image? Thanks.


texts: Can one say なそうです instead of だそうです when expressing hearsay?

texts:
At first, I thought the answer was simply that you can only use だそうです (because that's all I have ever seen), but today I read the entry for そう in the Handbook of Japanese Grammar (1940s) by Henderson (PDF via arxiv.org) and was surprised to see that the author listed both きれいなそうです and きれいだそうです as ways of saying "They say (she) is beautiful." He went on to say that it would be unusual to hear such a soft sentence as "きれいなそうな" in Tokyo, at least used by men. He didn't elaborate much, however. This same book said that the word is often written as さう (I believe this is obsolete today) and mentioned that it is an abbreviation of さよう.

Is "きれいなそうです" correct, or perhaps an outdated usage of the form, or is the author mistaken?
Could anyone shed some light on this?


texts: Usage/difference between ーみたい、－そう、and っぽい

texts:
So I know that these words would have the same-ish meanings, however the usage confuses me.
For example:

A:「この歌の歌手はBさんの声________よ。」
B:「本当ですか？ありがとう！」

Which would be used in a sentence like that? Why?


texts: What is the subject for the following sentence 「ダメ、絶対に逃がさないんだから」?

texts:
In the light novel that I'm reading, there is a part where the protagonist is trapped in the arms of his sleeping friend.  Since the protagonist is a boy and his friend is a girl, the situation is rather dangerous.  These are his words:

  「ダメ、絶対に逃がさないんだから」

Here is my translation for this sentence:

  This is bad, because I absolutely cannot set (something) free...

I know that the real meaning should have the reversed meaning for the verb

  This is bad, because I absolutely cannot escape...

I based my translation on these three clues:

オレは is the implied topic, or the protagonist.  I mean, he's been using himself as the topic in the other sentences (オレは...オレは...オレは...).
There is no direct object, since I did not see an explicit オレを in the sentence.
According to my dictionary, 逃がす translates as "to set free, to give away".  The verb itself is in the plain form negative and not passive.  So he's the one responsible for setting free or giving away, not escaping.

Edit: The answer to the question was number 4.  The girl wasn't sleep talking, she was awake and having fun.  She's the one responsible for this line.


texts: What determines whether a word gets a kanji compound or katakana?

texts:
I read electronics/computing articles, and I find an incredible amount of terms are written either in kanji (almost similar to Chinese) or katakana. There are times when it's confusing as to know why.

For example:

  フラッシュストレージ

  メディアタブレット

  バックアップ

On the other hand there are:

  記憶容量

  不揮発性半導体メモリ

  仮想アドレス空間

What interests me is the mix of katakana and kanji in these last terms. Is there any reason for this? Why not just stick with one method? I'm sure there is a way to describe アドレス in kanji for the last term. Does mixing them make it easier to understand? It seems like the more recent / well-understood terms by the general public get katakana. The others have kanji bases.

EDIT: There is 不揮発性半導体記憶装置 but would 「不揮発性半導体記憶」 not carry the same meaning as 不揮発性半導体メモリ？ It just seems to be a random decision whether a word gets katakana or kanji.


texts:
I was reading this article and there are a couple of spots that I don't understand when it comes the grammar.

  専門家は「雄と雌の体を持ったカブトムシが生きているところを見たのは初めてです」と話しています。

Roughly: The specialist said 'It is the first time I have seen a beetle that has a male and female body'

Why/What is the purpose of the bolded の? Why does it comes after 見た? の particles that look like this come up a few times in the article actually


texts:
I'm reading a book, in which a character is confused.

They use the phrase 混乱しまくる (こんらんしまくる)

I can't find anything with しまくる on any dictionary sites and googling the grammar for it comes up with nothing helpful that I could find. I think it might be a form of する but I've never seen it before, so I have no idea what I means


texts: I can't identify this kanji from pokemon moon

texts: I cannot identify the first kanji of the second sentence. I have tried SKIP and hand drawing it but it was to no avail. I have also tried the kanji finder via radicals over at JDIC but again it was for naught.


texts:
I've started listening to Japanese podcasts more frequently to cultivate my audio comprehension, and I've encountered an expression I am not confident that I understand.

The female broadcaster jokingly asks the male broadcaster what year in the Heisei era they're in...

  F: さって、平成何年でしょうか。
  M: 「平成何年でしょうか」？そんな風に止めてくださいよ！
  F: はい。私も、今、そこで調べようと思ったらですね？

I know that the basic meaning of the ようと思う construct is "(I) think (I) will X" where "X" is the verb ending in the volitional よう, and my guess would be ようと思ったら means something like "If (I) think (I) will X" or "If (I'm) going to X," so I'm taking this sentence to mean something like "I (should) look into it now if I'm going to, right?"


texts: What is the reason leading to the difference in tense used for affirmative and negative statements in the construction V~ほうがいい

texts:
In the construction of a suggestion statement with V~ほうがいい, the past (perfect) tense is used for the affirmative (according to this and this, the present tense can also be used for general advice), but the present tense is used for the negative. Why?

e.g.

Affirmative: ご飯を食べたほうがいいですよ。

Negative: ご飯を食べないほうがいいですよ。

why isn't 食べなかった used for the negative form just like in the affirmative statement?

Related:

What is the difference between V-るほうがいい and V-たほうがいい?

In front of “ほうがいい,” is it always past tense?


texts:
I see this often in business emails, I guess it is not very important in terms of meaning but I couldn't find any post on stackexchange about it.

What does とのことです add to a sentence? Here is the latest example I've read:

  碑文谷警察署の本町二丁目交番とのことです


texts:
I just have a quick question about some vocabulary, I've come across the phrase "斬った張った" in the following:

  彼女や一郎{いちろう}の一族は栗沢川{くりざわがわ}で毎日斬った張ったを繰り返しており

However, I've never seen the that phrase before, I couldn't find it in my dictionary either. I can take a guess at what it might mean from "斬" which refers to killing but I'd like to hear from someone who is more knowledgeable on this than I am since I want to know exactly what the sentence says, thank you!


texts: 割合  and  率 both mean ratio, rate, and percentage. What is the difference?


texts: How to say "less" in Japanese (I want to do X less)

texts: How to say that I (or someone else) wants to do something less (for example I want to sleep less) in Japanese? What about I want to have less of something? (For example I want to eat less, or I want to have fewer problems.)


texts:
木造の建物なのでしかないけれど大変寒かったです。
  またフロントの方は夜帰るので、到着が遅れてしまい、申し訳ないことをしました。
  8時で予約しましたが到着が8時40分頃になり、電話を頂戴しました。from here

What does なのでしかないけれど mean? I've searched but found nothing.
Who is the subject of 到着が遅れてしまい?
What does the particle で mean with the verb 予約しました?
電話を頂戴しました means "received a call" but I don't understand how it fits the context?

I understand more or less each word separately but can't understand the global story from this text because of the omission of the subjects etc.

Please don't tell me that I haven't searched because it is not the case, I even have asked in some other places before posting here but nobody gave me an answer.


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

texts:
I think I know the answer to this, but it still creeps up in my mind all the time; something I'd like to research more.  I want to know technical differences as well as common usage.

When do you use the passive form of a transitive verb versus just using the intransitive verb??  For example, 教【おし】えられる versus  教【おそ】わる.

Amaze me with your answers!


texts:
Dad suspects that his daughter's good looking teacher might not be as popular as everyone thinks. When asked why, he responds:

  Dad:「とかく美人はなんやかんや言われるからなァ」
  Because various things are said about beautiful women
  Mum:「そうね。美人ってだけで生意気だなんて言われたりね」
  That's right. It's said that only beautiful women are cheeky.

Dad then seems to get angry and asks mum how she would know such a thing.

I think my translation of mum's sentence must be wrong. I'm not understanding the 美人ってだけで part. At first I assumed this was equivalent to 美人はだけで. But I think if you use は and だけ together then it must be だけは and not はだけ, so I guess the same is true with って?

Irrespective of that I don't see how translating だけ as 'only' makes any sense here. Nor, why dad would get angry at the comment.


texts: Grammar behind ending an utterance with 思って

texts:
I have been unable to identify the grammar point in the following sentence in bold.

  リンさんと一緒に行きたいと思って•••。

Is it the ている form? (If so, why is it shortened? Cannot find anything to it) Or is it something entirely else?


texts: In Japanese, what's the difference between 全て (subete) and 有らゆる (arayuru)

texts:
全て (subete) is defined as everything; all; the whole

有らゆる (arayuru) is defined as all; every

Example phrases:

One:

繰り返しますが、小麦粉、あらゆる肉、魚を含まないものです。

kurikaeshimasu ga, komugi-ko, arayuru niku, sakana o fukumanai mono desu.

(Repeating, NO wheat flour, all the meat and fish, not containing these things.)

Two:

その すべて の うた お うたう こと が できます.

Sono subete no uta o utau koto ga dekimasu.

(I can sing the name of all 40 Sentai teams.)

Why does one use 全て (subete) and the other 有らゆる (arayuru)? Are they interchangeable?

Please note: I am more concerned with the meaning and I am still learning Kana, so the Kana I have used might not be 100% correct.


texts: What's the difference between 一度に and 一気に?

texts: Both can mean "all at once," so are they interchangeable or is there a different nuance to each?


texts:
The other day I was musing on chat about 忘れれれば, which I imagined you would get if you started with 忘れられれば and left out ら:

  忘れる
  忘れられる　　　（忘れる　＋　られる）
  忘れられれば　　（忘れる　＋　られる　＋　れば）
  忘れれれば　　　（忘れる　＋　られる　＋　れば　ー　ら）

Of course, it sounds a little silly, but I thought it might be a possible example of the so-called ら抜き言葉, where ら is left out of a verb form with 〜られる.

I've read about ら抜き言葉 before, but I'm afraid I've forgotten where!  And I'm having trouble finding the reference again.  I do have Martin 1975, but it's been almost 40 years since it was written, so I think it's likely to be out of date on this point.

If I recall correctly, I read about some tendencies like "it occurs more often with negatives" and "it occurs most often with short verbs".  So I'm aware that it's not really as simple as dropping ら from any form with 〜られる, but I'm not quite sure what the rules are.

I guessed that a form like 忘れれれば would be uncommon.  But when I asked about it on chat, 非回答者さん helpfully responded:

  [...] no one says 忘れれれば. It is not a matter of how often it is said. That form does not exist in the first place.

If it doesn't exist, there must be a reason ら抜き doesn't occur.  What is this reason?  Is it because the verb is too long?  Or is there perhaps a rule against using ら抜き with verbs ending in 〜れる?  Or is it something else?


texts: Variants of kanji radicals indicating Joyo vs Non-Joyo

texts:
I noticed that there is a variant of the 之繞 radical ⻌ which occurs in some words but not others. The variant is 辶 (with an extra stroke). It appears in words like 逢う and 槌.

It turns out that Non-Joyo kanji which use the 之繞 radical are written with the variant 辶 while Joyo kanji use the more common ⻌ - "常用漢字以外は「辶」を用いる" (See details here).

Are there any other radicals which have variants that are differentiated by Joyo vs Non-Joyo?


texts:
In these two sentences, I would've thought に would be used in place, but instead を is used? When is it appropriate to use either?

A: 反対側【はんたいがわ】50メートルあたりを探【さが】して！
Search around 50 metres on the opposite side!

B: もし会【あ】ったらグレースをどうするつもりですか？
What are you planning to do to Grace if we see her?

Shouldn't に be used in both of these to indicate the direction?


texts:
I'm learning Japanese from (glossika),
still very Beginner A1 Low (1.7%),
so I want to know how to pronounce 疲れ.
I know it's つかれ=tsu ka re,
but I hear it like (tu ka re),
and that the full Sentence,
疲れました.


texts:
Jim is at home, and it is currently 9:00. He has plans to meet up with a friend later, and has to leave at 9:30 to be on time for it. He decides that, during the half-hour of waiting, he'd get out his computer and work on some stuff he needs to do.

After a while of working, he looks up at the clock, and... oh no! It's 9:45! He's late!

He scrambles out the door and meets up with his friend--late, of course. As he arrives, he wants to explain that he lost track of time, causing him to be late.

And then he remembers he's meeting with the friend that only speaks Japanese.

What expression could he use to convey the same thing as English phrase "lose track of time", or equivalently mean that more time passed than it felt like?


texts: What are the pizza delivery guys called?

texts: I was thinking of the word ピザ配達者, or ピザ人、but it doesn't read right.


texts: What is the meaning of 何に金を出しているのか分からせてくれる?

texts:
I saw the following comment on a youtube video about a super-fast chef making some Japanese fried rice:

自分が何に金を出しているのか分からせてくれる技術ってあるよね

I'm learning Japanese by myself and, having only a shaky grasp of grammar, this sentence is too difficult for me to parse. My best guess is "How much money do I have to pay this guy for him to teach me this skill!" or something like it, but I'm sure this is wrong.

Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hJdENiJVehE


texts: Can I use the Chinese stroke order in Japan?

texts:
十 seems to unanimously start with the horizontal stroke.
but according to wiktionary, 田 starts with the horizontal stroke in China, but the vertical stroke in Japan.
How annoying! Different stroke order depending on which character the cross is in in Japan. It seems easier to use the Chinese stroke order.


texts: Normally ごめんなさい is translated as sorry or excuse me, but that seems like a translation for non-native speakers. In the same way,　しつれいします can also be translated as excuse me or pardon me. But it really means "I'm being rude". So... what does ごめん really mean?


texts: The difference between が and を with the potential form of a verb

texts:
When using the potential form of a verb, I was taught that the particle を becomes が. However, in real life this seems to not always be the case. I've even heard Japanese people use を instead of が quite often.
What's the difference between the following two sentences? Is を actually grammatically correct?

ここで切符が買えますか？
ここで切符を買えますか？


texts:
I came across the following sentence at one point.

もともとおかしな話ではあった。

I did some research on ではある, because I wanted to understand this term better. This is what I found.

The difference between “ではある” and “である” and “です”?
Weblio entry on “ではある”

The answers in the first link indicate that “ではある” is an “X is Y” statement, but it implies that there is a slight possibility that “X is not Y”.
The Weblio entry indicates that the “は” in “ではある” is the “contrastive は”.
Since the above sentence is a comment on a statement that someone made, I think some possible translations are as follows.

It was an odd statement from the first, but maybe it wasn’t.
It might or might not be an odd statement from the first.

I think I have the right idea, but I have to admit nuances can be difficult to translate. Do you have any suggestions? Thanks in advance!
EDIT:
The context goes something like this:
A club of high school students attack one high school student. But that student beats the stuffing out of them. Emi, the club leader, is the only one among them left standing. Furious, she says to the high school student, 「冷子、あんたタダの漫研じゃないね！？」(“Reiko, you aren’t just CA, are you!?”) Then the narrator says もともとおかしな話ではあった。The narration also explains the context surrounding Emi's statement.
Does this help in answering the question?


texts:
In the song 宮さん宮さん (明治時代)

宮さん宮さん お馬の前に
ひらひらするのは 何じゃいな

As far as I can see it is referring to the emperor using さん、has its formality changed since that era? Or is it being ironic


texts: How do I write sounds that don't exist in Japanese?

texts:
Yesterday I was practising katakana by writing my classmates' names down, but some of the names were harder than I expected. I have a classmate named Väinö, but neither the ä or ö sounds exists in Japanese. At first I considered writing his name down as Waino, but that sounds like the word vaino which means persecution in my native tongue. How should I write these vowels?

Has anyone had similar problems? How did you solve them?


texts: Term for a goodbye that takes a long time

texts: Like https://english.stackexchange.com/questions/30115/is-there-an-english-phrase-for-an-inability-to-actually-leave-already , but for Japanese. You're on the driveway, you're saying goodbye ... but you engage in conversation for another half an hour. Is there a term for such a phenomenon in Japanese?


texts: For the meaning of "to cause" what are the differences if any? Or are they interchangeable?


texts: etymology of 「が」 -- Are 「が」 and 「けれども」 (& variants) always interchangeable grammatically?

texts:
Comparing  「が」 --and--  「けれども」 including variants ( 「だけど」 「けれど」 「けど」 「けども」 ... )
When i was looking at the usage samples below, i noticed that  「が」 and  「けれども」  both fit ALL the usage samples.

Are  「が」 and  「けれども」 always interchangeable grammatically ?

What's the etymology of 「が」 ? -- It seems odd that two forms not from the same origin can function in such a similar way.  Any explanation for it ?

http://dictionary.goo.ne.jp/jn/68969/meaning/m0u/

［接助］ 活用語の終止形に付く。
(1. but, however, -- CONTRAST)

１ 確定の逆接条件を表し、内容の矛盾する事柄を対比的に結びつける意を表す。「言うことはりっぱだ―、することはなってない」「年はとっている―、実に活動的だ」

(2. 前置き)

２ ある事実を前置きとして述べ、本題に結びつける意を表す。「経験から言うんだ―、時間には厳しいほうがいい」「これおもしろい本だ―、君読まないか」

(3. sloppy connection)

３ 二つの事柄を単に結びつける意を表す。「野球番組も好きだ―、音楽番組も好きだ」「時間もない―、金もない」

［終助］活用語の終止形に付く。

１ 言い切りを避け、婉曲に表現する気持ちを表す。「あすなら行けるんです―」「父は今日出かけているんです―」
２ 不安に思ったり、なかばあきらめたりしながらも、事柄の実現などを願う気持ちを表す。「このままお天気が続くといいんです―」

( The above two seem so similar -- are they the same ? )


texts:
I would eat that

translates to

  私はそれを食べるだろう

My question here is, every conditional + verb has the structure verb + だろう? Or is it more complex than this?


texts:
Is there any relation between 「のれん代」(Goodwill) and 「のれん」 of 居酒屋?

And how about those kanji, are they using same kanji for both?

If there are the same kanji, I would like to know their etymology, like how のれん代 is formed from のれん.


texts: I would like to know if there's any difference between 貝 and 貝殻, and if these words are interchangeable.


texts: Asking if someone has seen something: difference between 見た and 見たことがある

texts:
I'm an elementary Japanese student, so please answer in simple kanji or kana, please.

I am trying to figure out the nuance between 見た and 見たことがある. Take this example:

  私の夫を見たか？

  Did you see my husband?

vs.

  私の夫を見たことがあるか？

  Have you seen my husband?

From what I know, ことがある is used to say that someone has had the experience of doing something. So, you could say things like, "I have gone to Japan before" / "I have had the experience of going to Japan before." 日本に行ったことがある。

In a situation where I, the speaker, am looking for my husband, which should I use? Would it be weird to say 私の夫を見たことがあるか because it sounds more like "Have you had the experience of seeing my husband before"? (Such a question would not be helpful if I was currently looking for him.)

Then, what about 私の夫を見たか? What is the difference? Is this an acceptable question to ask if I was looking for someone?


texts:
For example, "I will stop working and will try not to go anymore"
The only pattern I know here is もう頑張らなくて行かないようにしよう. But this means "I will try to stop working hard and not go anymore". How then, can I express the "try" only at the second part of the sentence?


texts: Why the くれる verb is gone in the させるform?

texts:
The book I'm reading is giving examples of how direct instructions can be written as indirect instructions using させるform.

As in:

  Sensei: 作文を書きなさい。
  Indirect >> 先生は学生に作文を書かせました。

I clearly understand the sentence above but I have problem understanding the sentence below:

  Shachou: 鈴木課長、上村くんの世話をしてくれ。
  Indirect >> 社長は鈴木課長に上村くんの世話をさせました。

Why does the book get rid of the くれる verb in してくれ and use させました in the indirect sentence (shouldn't it be してくれさせました?)


texts: Can ことはない be used to express something other than 'you don't have to'?

texts:
I understand that ことはない is used to state that something does not have to be done, such as:

時間は十分あるから急ぐことはない。

However, I am currently translating a survey from Japanese to English for a friend and this phrasr is popping up often and I am not sure if I am translating it correctly. (He is a pyscology student if that matters).

Here are a couple examples that I am struggling with:

私は道にポイ捨てしたことはない。

or

自分の失敗をもみ消したことはない。

The second seems more straight forward, 'I don't need to hide my mistakes', but if that is the case, what is happening with the past tense of する？ Why is it もみ消した and not もみ消す？ my understanding is that when using this ことはない grammar point, the verb remains in dictionary form.
The same applies for the second, example, is this saying I don't need to litter?  Or rather that I don't litter? Or...I'm a bit lost?

Can anyone help me?

P.S. I apologize for any formatting errors, I am doing this on my iPad and it does not love this website.

Thanks!


texts: どうか〜〜ますように in 「どうか異世界の出来事でありますように」

texts:
I don't know what possible translations are for this sentence:

  どうか異世界の出来事でありますように

also I'm a little confused by どうか and ~ように...


texts: I've looked through various dictionary sites and they translate it to affection/love. So how does it relate to 愛 and 恋? To suki and daisuki? There seem to be a lot of ways to say love...


texts: What’s the difference between 「[独]{ひと}り[言]{ごと}」 and 「[独白]{どくはく}」? They both mean ‘monologue’?


texts:
I am trying to dissect a sentence from a manga page.  I am a beginner in all aspects of Japanese, though grammar is my weakest point.

逃げ出した　先に　楽園　なんて ありゃ しねえ のさ

The licensed English translation of this page says "There's no paradise for you to escape to".  I am having trouble getting to a meaning like this on my own.

Google translate is giving me "There is no paradise on the way I ran away."

The non bolded part I think I am okay with, it reads to me like "(something) such as paradise doesn't exist".

The bold part I am having trouble with.　逃げ出した looks like past tense to me (ran away) and 先に (previously) being there would make sense with a past tense verb.  This doesn't really make a lot of sense to me in the context of the scene though.  The girl wants him to take her away from a bad place/situation and he is showing her that coming with him will be even worse for her, as he is fated to be surrounded by death and fight for his life.  I don't see why he would be talking in the past tense.  I am probably making an obvious mistake here, but Google translate seems to going down the same path I am.

Obviously an online translation tool won't work 100%, and I know that liberties may often be taken in even licensed translations, but the licensed translation really is the only one that makes sense here, so if anyone could help me connect the dots to how to get there, that would be great.

This is the original source, in case I have misrepresented it somehow.


texts: I was learning about adjectives + さ, which turns them into a noun; as I understand it, a "measurable" quantity .  I then thought of how X そうです could be turned into an adjective, X　そうな Y, so I was wondering whether if さ could also be applied here.  If so, is this something actively used in the language?  If not, what sort of limitations does さ have in general that prevents such an usage?


texts: Meaning difference between 夜は明ける and 夜が明ける?

texts:
In this song lyrics, 夜が明ける is the name of the song, but until the end of the song 夜は明ける is used. This sounds like there is a distinct meaning difference between the two forms. I read about the difference between が and は, but I could not understand it in this concept.
ありがとうございます。


texts: Using "page" in these sentences? (using counters and の to modify a noun)

texts:
I always get confused with these kinds of Japanese sentences. Which is correct?

　1. 六ページの本を読んで。

　2. 六ページ目の本を読んで。

Are sentence 3 & 4 ungrammatical?

　3. 本の六ページ目を読んで。

　4. 本の六ページを読んで。


texts: If the particle wo is used to indicate direct object why isn't it used in some sentences where there are direct objects?

texts:
I'm confused about the use of the wo/o particle. I've read many times that is used to indicate direct objects, but in phrases like this there is a direct object and there isn't a particle wo to indicate it.

Watashi wa Hana desu.

At least in Spanish (not sure in English) "Hana" would be considered the direct object. It is wo omitted in certain phrases or the meaning of "direct object" is not exactly the same as in other languages or how it is?


texts:
hopefully this is just a quick one!
I'm wondering how one would say a sentence like 'You must take off your shoes then, put them in the basket'. I know

靴を脱がなければなりません
バスケットに置きます

could be used for each part separately. But, how would you combine these? Would you use the negative te-form of なる then add から？i.e.

靴を脱がなければならないでから、バスケットに置きま

Thank you for any help!


texts: It seems to be used as a na-adjective, but I couldn't find the meaning anywhere.


texts:
かってぇ！？ 剣じゃきかねーよ！

It's from the video game, the character tried to attack a monster but didn't hurt it much.

Is this かってぇ the same as かと? If so, why there's nothing before it?


texts:
こうまでもプレッシャーを掛けられるとは

I don't understand how こうまでも works here.

Does プレッシャーを掛ける mean "to put pressure on"? I'm trying to translate 掛ける individually here.


texts: Difference between using は and を in 遊びでも手は抜かない

texts:
全員この場で野々村の宣戦布告を受け取る。
We all accept Nonomura's declaration of war.

たとえ遊びでも手は抜かない。
Even if it's just for fun, we will go all out.

How would these lines have read differently if it said たとえ遊びでも手を抜かない. I understand that when は is used to replace を it is essentially はを but how does using は instead of を change the meaning of this sentence?


texts: Making an adverb a topic for a sentence 無碍には

texts:
協力しよう、という提案を無碍{むげ}には断れなくなってしまうのだが

Can someone help me make sense of this?
協力しよう=let's cooperate
という提案を=This proposal
無碍には=Without any obstacle
断れなくなってしまう=End up becoming unable to refuse
の=Nominalizer
だ=copula
が=But

  Let's cooperate. Without any obstacle I ended up becoming unable to refuse this proposal, but...

I think this is how it should be translated, but I am still not sure.


texts: When to use -masu forms of -i adjectives as opposed to -kunaidesu?

texts:
I am doing the exercises for a course in Japanese, which I cannot attend, because it overlaps with my mandatory course. The exercise requires to form the past negative masu form of i-adjectives. Instead of

  やすくなかったです

It requires us to answer

  やすくありませんでした

When to use this form? I suspect it is just an even more polite version, but I searched a lot and cannot find any example of usage for this, so I am somewhat insecure!

Edit:
When I learned Japanese in the past (from books) the verb-masu form was always introduced together with the adjective-desu/adjective-kunai desu form. So, as regards to this new adjective-ku-arimasen, when should I prefer it? And should I pair it with verb-masu or with something more polite?


texts: What is the difference between 迷惑をかけた and お騒がせしました?

texts:
What is the difference between ご迷惑{めいわく}をかけた and お騒がせ{おさわがせ}しました?

They both seem to mean that one has caused inconvenience.


texts: A question regarding お迎え入れること適わず and 身の上にて陽の下

texts:
見れば他にも大勢のお客人がいらっしゃるご様子。貧相な住まいにございましては到底お迎え入れること適わず、本来なればわたくしが門前にてお迎えするが礼儀存じますが、なにぶんひ弱な 身の上にて陽の下はご容赦頂きたく

First is お迎え入れること適わず more or less the same as 迎え入れて適わない?

Second does なにぶんひ弱な身の上にて陽の下はご容赦頂きたくmeans something along the lines :somehow my body\身の上 can not bear benign "under the light"\陽の下 therefor i ask for you pardon ?


texts:
「おおっ、こんなぜいたくな物がうちにあるとは珍しいね」
Oh, finding such luxurious presents at our place is unusual.

I'm a bit confused by the と in this sentence. I can only imagine that it is a conditional と. I guess "if there are presents at our place it's unusual" makes sense but it seems awkward and it feels to me that it would be equally awkward in Japanese.
Presumably the は is just there for emphasis?
I would have been more comfortable if it had been あることは (the fact that there are presents at our place is unusual) with は just as a normal topic marker. Would this be wrong?


texts:
Genki (second edition) gives the following example sentences using たくさん, but doesn't explain any distinction regarding word order:

私は京都で　{写真をたくさん / たくさん写真を}　撮りました。 I took many pictures in Kyoto.

and

{野菜をたくさん / たくさん野菜を} たべました。I ate a lot of vegetables.

How does the word order affect the meaning of the sentences? Here is my best guess at understanding the distinction. For the first sentence, 写真を撮る naturally imply each other, so there is probably less distinction, but たくさん写真を撮る implies a large number of pictures, whereas たくさん撮る implies a lot of time or effort put into the act of photography.

However, たくさん食べました implies that you ate a lot, whereas たくさん野菜を食べました means that you ate a significant quantity of vegetables.

Thus, I take it たくさん can emphasize a lot of an action, or a large amount of a subject. But I take it that since it is an adverb, is not really modifying the subject, but the predicate clause.

Possibly related question:

How do adverbs denoting amounts such as たくさん and ちょっと work?


texts:
Firstly, I want to say that my English is not good. So, sorry in advance if it's confusing .

The answer is 1,4,5

But, I want to ask about choice 3. このマンションを借りる場合、敷金は3か月前に払わなければならない -> I translated to "To rent this mansion, you have to pay security deposit 3 months in advance".

I want to know why 3 isn't correct.

I think choice 3 is correct too because there's a quote of 夫 saying　「敷金は3か月分だけれど」 which I translated to "Security deposit is amount of 3 months"

Is「敷金は3ヵ月分」meaning not the same as「敷金は3か月前に払わなければならない」 ?


texts:
I've observed that sometimes people say something like 'domo' instead of 'arigato'. According to my observation it happens mostly when people don't really know eachother or in similar situations.
Thanks.


texts: What is the difference between ために and -masu root verb+ に?

texts:
What is the difference between these two grammar patterns?

  わたしは　大学で　教えに　英語を　習っています
  わたしは　大学で　教えるために　英語を　習っています


texts: Are these 2 the same level of humble honorifics (謙譲語)? Which would a native choose?

texts:
I think that there are 2 difference ways to say I first lived in Hiroshima. using humble honorifics (謙譲語):
(1) 最初に、広島にお住み致しました。
(2) 最初に、広島に住まわせて頂きました。

Both are correct 謙譲語?
Is #2 more "powerful" and / or "語呂がいい"?

In my talking, I always say #2 because I like the "sound" and like the sense I am being forced to do something, thus humbling myself. I don't have the "power / authority" to walk into a great place like Hiroshima and live there just because I want to (even though I don't specify who is forcing me to live there).

What do native speakers recommend?


texts:
I'm studying for the JLPT and had a practice question regarding the correct usage of the word キャッチ (pick which one of the following sentences uses the word correctly):

  1) 防犯用センサーにひっかかって店員にキャッチされた。

  2) カメラで奇跡の瞬間をキャッチする。

The book's answer key claims that #2 is correct and that #1 is incorrect. The reasoning given is because the correct word to use for sentence #1 is 捕まる. However, the two words appear to be very closely related and I don't see how one is obviously right compared to the other. Is the only difference between キャッチ and 捕まる the passive/activeness of the words?


texts: Meaning of 見る in 「１日から２日は見て」

texts:
In this JLPT N1 listening practice transcript, a manager at a company is talking to his employee:

じゃ、お客様には、私の方からお詫びの電話を入れておくから。番号はこのメモの通りでいいんだよね。君は今すぐ管理部に連絡して、同じ商品の在庫があるか聞いてみて。取り寄せるのに１日から２日は見ておいたほうがいいからね。

I'm unclear what is being said in the bolded sentence. 「１日」 is spoken as 「いちにち」, which I take to mean the time period of one day, and not the date 「ついたち」, but then I'm not sure what 「いちにちから」 means in this context. 「２日」 is spoken as 「ふつか」, which I take to mean the date of the 2nd of the month.

This confusion is compounded by use of the verb 「見る」, which doesn't fit any definitions I'm familiar with.

My best guess is: "Ordering takes one day, so the customer should expect to see [the delivery] on the 2nd."


texts: When asking if someone wants something. . .

texts:
Alright, so when asking if someone wants something do you always use
ほしがっています? Specifically, I'm thinking when you're trying to communicate with someone that cannot communicate back what they want. (Example: Does my dog want a bone?) or (Does baby want a bottle?) Could you say 私のいぬがほねをほしがっていますか。？？Or 赤ちゃんはほんゆうびんをほしがっていますか。I know expressing desires is kind of tricky.


texts: 「日本語で、送って」What are the contexts of this usage of "send"?

texts:
I recently posted on Facebook lyrics to a Simon & Garfunkel song. A friend then posted:

  ニック…日本語で、送って

I know 送る means to send, but does she want me to 'send' the lyrics to her in Japanese or is she asking me to send her a video with a Japanese translation? Or maybe something different altogether?


texts: I want to ask for help with learning Japanese. Is 助けてください appropriate for this situation? Should I use something else? Is a particle needed in the request?


texts: I have heard that Japanese has the largest number of words of any language because every Chinese word can also be a Japanese word.  Is there any truth to this statement?


texts: Is there a reason for 乞う to conjugate to 乞うて?

texts:
Usually, when conjugating Godan verbs ending with う into て-form, you would get って instead. Is there an etymological reason for this exception for 乞うて? I saw this in a rather recent book written in the last ten years, so would the modern Japanese progressive form of 乞う be 乞うている?
I've also read that some other verbs also use this conjugation, but it sounds rather archaic. For example, 問う→問うて、沿う→沿うて. Are there other verbs that conjugate this way in modern Japanese?


texts: When you combine adjectives with the て-form does it imply a relationship between them?

texts:
For example, if I said...

  きれいで静かな町

Does that mean there's a relationship between きれい and 静か (like the relationship that happens when you combine two verbs with the て-form)? Or do the two adjectives work totally separately like in english (a tall, serious man)?


texts: よると or よれば？ Which one is "according to"?

texts: I read some of your post (very very helpful!) and I was wondering if you could write a post about the difference between よると and よれば. Which one is used to mean "according to"?


texts: How exactly is a foreign name written on a hanko?

texts: Is it best to simply use only the first name (in my cousin's case, Rochelle/ロシイル), only the last name Stout (スタウト, I believe?)), or some sort of variation of initials? And if initials are okay, what sort of formatting is acceptable?


texts: To hope something would or would not happen

texts:
I hope you did not experience anything as sad today.

今日そんな悲しさをなければと希望してます。

今日そんな悲しいことがなければといいな。

今日そんな悲しさをなかったらといいな。

今日そんな悲しいことがなかったと希望してます。

Are any of these close to what I am trying to say?
To give context I found a mikan ice cream today and was really happy but it turned out to be really bad. So I was talking with a girl and wanted to say that I hoped nothing as said has happened to her. Is there maybe a better way of saying this than I am trying to use?

Thank you in advance.


texts: How do you use (何, 誰, etc) + the verb in ようform + と

texts:
I was reading some sentences in japanese to practice and I came across this sentence:

何を好きになろうと、誰と話そうと

According to google traslator it means something like: "no matter what you like or who you talk to"
If the translation is right, what would be the difference between that and (何,誰,etc)+the verb in て form+も
For example:

誰と話そうと
誰と話しても

Please keep in mind I'm a beginner, thank you in advance.


texts: How does adding 自体 to a noun affect the accent?

texts:
Examples phrases:

料理自体
みそ自体
アメリカ自体
鼻自体
男自体
食べたこと自体

My intuition is that the noun and 自体 are said as two separate words, both of their accents being preserved. (I guess this would make sense grammatically...?) Is this correct?
Is there any strong, predictable tendency? Are certain combinations more prone to the initial word losing its accent?


texts:
I had always been told this never happened. I was a little skeptical, but since I never saw a sentence with two of the particle, I gradually came to accept that it was probably true.

Well ironically, in the DoBJG, where I'm pretty sure I've also read the above factoid, I've encountered this sentence:

この道を靴を履かずに歩けますか。

So I'm wondering if this is a mistake, or a weird exception, or if this "rule" I've heard is simply misleading or outright fallacious, and if so, when is it okay to use multiple wo particles in a sentence.

Cheers.


texts:
I wanted to double-check the translation of the below sentence:

"山本さんは今月限りで退職します"

I believe it means Ms. Yamamoto will retire starting this month. However, I have seen others translate a sentence like this as "Ms. Yamamoto will retire just for this month". Just to verify, is my translation accurate?


texts:
I am confused by this part にかけてきた. Can someone explain to me?

この曲を給食のときにかけてきた放送委員


texts: What's the difference between these two phrases?

texts:
I understand that both mean I have a newspaper but I can't see the difference.

[僕]{ぼく}は一つ[新聞]{しんぶん}を[持]{も}っています。
[俺]{おれ}は一つ[新聞]{しんぶん}を[持]{も}っている。


texts:
I'd have liked to have asked this as a comment to the accepted answer in the post linked below but sadly, my reputation does not yet allow that.

in 買っては, I need some explanation for っては part

In the above post, the sentence

  靴買うならTシャツやいま使うもの買っては？！

is translated as

  "If you're going to buy shoes, how about buying / why don't you buy a t-shirt / t-shirts or an item / items that you'll use now instead (rather than shoes)?"

I was wondering why the translator is so confident that "instead" is implied rather than "as well".  When I hear "How about..." in English, I feel at best a slight implication of "instead of the alternative". Does "どうですか" carry a strong implication of "instead" in Japanese?

Further, is there a way that the speaker could have emphasized her meaning with a specific word or expression (something like "rather than the alternatives")?

And lastly, how could the speaker have have said:

  "If you're going to buy shoes, how about buying / why don't you buy a t-shirt / t-shirts or an item / items that you'll use now as well?"

Thanks all for reading.  Any help is appreciated.


texts: My textbook has the sentence: " 私は日曜日[に]国へ帰ります。" This means that に is optional, however, why is it optional, and how would you decide when to write/not write に. Thanks!


texts: Understanding もういいかげん、このままならずに済む

texts:
The family is talking about getting appendicitis. Grandad says:

  「わしもこの年になってもならなかったんじゃ。もういいかげん、このままならずに済むじゃろ。」
  I also couldn't help getting it this year. ?????

I'm a bit stuck on the rest.
I think verb-ずに済む or verb-ないで済む means "don't have to verb". Is that right?

I know もういい and いいかげんにしろ are along the lines of "that's enough!", "quit it!".

But I can't make any sense of it when I try to put it all together:

  That's enough. You don't have to get it as it is

Please help.


texts: 今日本語習ってるんですが、この質問どうやって答えるん？

texts:
2回見るのは当然やろ？？

My native language is English and I want to agree with the person but I'm not sure how. The person is my friend and I want to know how to agree with a person when talking as a friend. This isn't a formal conversation.


texts:
I'm reading a short omake and can't quite decipher some handwritten text:

I'm fairly sure one of the characters is 生 but can't tell for the rest.


texts:
「この馬鹿！いきなりあんなことして、責任取りなさいよねっ！」

  「もちろんだ。お前を嫁として迎えさせて欲しい。」

  しまった、こいつって、こういうやつだった…

  確かに責任取りなさいって言ったのは私だけと…なんか違うわよね、これ…

  でも…

  「ふ、ふん。いいけど、報いは受けてもらうわよ。」

I'm not quite sure what she means by なんか違うわよね、これ towards the end of this excerpt. It's clear that she didn't expect him to agree straightaway(or rather she had forgotten that he was the kind of guy who would do that). I think the "なんか違うわよね、これ" is referring to how he said "「もちろんだ。お前を嫁として迎えさせて欲しい。」" which doesn't "fit in" with how this situation should play out(which then led to her adding on him receiving a punishment). Is this the correct way to understand this or can somebody else add any insight?


texts: The origins and mechanics of pitch accent in SJ compounds

texts:
For the past few months I've been researching pitch accent in Japanese off and on, concentrating on trying to identify regularities in a phenomenon which is nearly completely arbitrary.

I've not seen any research dealing with the genesis of pitch accent though. I have seen a paper which I can't find at the moment which gives evidence that in English loan words, the pitch drop often, but not always, correlates with the primary stress in the source language. That seems like a reasonable origin for pitch accent in English loans.

But it is clear that Sino-Japanese compounds, and not just native compounds, exhibit pitch accent. The pitch accent on SJ compounds which share a character can often differ:

  感謝 kánsha 感心 kanshin

  電気 dénki 電源 dengen

  地下 chiká 廊下 rouka

Is there any regularity to how SJ compounds (and native words for that matter) acquired pitch accent? A hypothesis of mine: did SJ compounds start off as unaccented (平板) and then somehow develop accent as they become more common? Or does some quality of the Chinese reading predict the resulting pitch accent?

Also, what are the rules which underlie pitch accent, particularly when accented words are combined, or when prefixes (like 御) are affixed? I already understand that particular endings, such as -通り have a "de-accenting" quality which removes any accents on the words to which it is affixed. What other regularities exist?

EDIT: One more question: Martin's "Reference Grammar of Japanese" gives the pitch accent of 故 as yúé (in his notation). I didn't think a word could possess two stresses — is this what he intended to notate?


texts: What loan words have a Hepburn romanization that matches the spelling of the original language?

texts: For example, the word サッカー is "soccer" in English, but the romanization "sakkā" bears little resemblance to the original word. Are there any loan words in Japanese that preserve the spelling of the original language when Hepburn romanization is applied?


texts: Nuance of ざんす / ざんしょ as a sentence ender

texts:
I'm reading Harry Potter And The Goblet Of Fire. In chapter 18, the Rita Skeeter character appears for the first time (it's an obnoxious paparazzi woman) and she uses this sentence ender that I haven't seen before.
Some example sentences:

すてきざんすわ
あんなガヤガヤした所にはいたくないざんしょ
だって、最年少の代表選手ざんしょ....ちょっと味つけにね？

It's probably not terribly important but I'm interested what "flavor" it's supposed to add to her speach. I read somewhere that it is used in anime/manga but I don't watch all that much anime or read manga so I haven't encountered this before.


texts: role of -られ, -し, and construction of the phrase

texts:
Trying to translate a song lyric and was caught off guard by this sentence:

  雨に降られ行き場なくしなんの罰さ？と空を睨む

I feel like I get the gist of it, but uncertain that my parsing is accurate so far. Here's what I'm looking at this as:

  （｛雨に降られ｛行き場なくし｝｝｛なんの罰さ｝？）と空を睨む

I know that I know the individual words but can't seem to make sense of it when translating. My bad attempt ends up with:

  "What's the punishment for losing my destination to the falling rain?" I scowled at the sky.

There's a small amount of poetic license I'm applying, but nevertheless I feel like I'm actually missing the mark. Can someone help me understand the role of -られ in 雨に降られ and -し in 行き場なくし?


texts:
実力差は明確だった。
  ライダーの速度は攻めれば攻めるほど減速していく。
  目にも止まらぬ高速移動と連続攻撃。
  セイバーによって傷つけられた体を癒す自然治癒。
  後の事など考えない。
  全ての燃料を燃やして畳み掛けなければセイバーを抑えきれない。

The fantranslation says:

  Natural healing that regenerates the wounds Saber sustains.

But isn't Saber the one who hurts Rider and Rider the one whose body is being regenerated?

Can someone explain?


texts: Words/characters for fast food meal sizes: 並, 大, 特

texts:
When dining at Yoshinoya I never know how to ask for the size meal I want.

Their sizes are 並, 大, and 特.

I only know that "大" means big, but it also has two readings so I have no idea whether to ask for "dai" or "ooki". And since the word/character I know for "small" is not included, I assume they are using a similar gimmick to that seen in Western chains where there is no small but only "regular", "medium", "large"... sometimes up to the infamous "venti" (-:

Then again maybe there are various ways of writing "small".

So are these standard words or gimmicky like "venti", what do they mean literally, how do I know which reading to use for each, how would I say them in an order? Are these same sizes used just about everywhere in Japanese restaurants or are there some other terms I should also know?


texts: ものだ expressing ambiguous emotions/concern?

texts:
This article lists many examples of using ものだ to articulate "deep concern." The author of this article explains that when you connect words which indicate desire like …たい and 欲しい with ものだ, your speech indicates hope with some concerns.

For instance:

  「次の大統領は優秀な人になってもらいたい（もんだ / ものだ）。」

Translated as: As for the next president, [I] would like a prominent person to be elected.

The nuance in this sentence was explained as "The current one (president) isn’t good, so you’re expecting the next one with frustration.”

  「こういう服を一度着てみたい（もんだ / ものだ）。」

I] want to try to wear clothing like this once [in my life].
*You long for wearing it, but are resigned to wear it at the same time.

Earlier in the article the author explains that "the combination between predicates and ものだ or ことだ determines the nuances. When you connect words which indicate change of things or people with ものだ, your speech indicates inexpressible deep emotion. In general, the emotion is not expressively told. You need to guess it."

Does this explanation explain why combinations of words linked to desire combined with ものだ automatically signal concern within hope? I'm a little confused about why concern is the thing that is signaled in this kind of construction.


texts:
警察によると、タイヤが落ちた場所は右にカーブしています。
  According to police, the place where the tyres fell off was curving to the right.

Or in more natural English "...the tyres fell off on a right-hand bend".

Is 場所は右にカーブしています good Japanese? It sounds a bit strange to me. Are there better/alternative ways to talk about a left/right-hand bend, or is this already perfectly natural.


texts:
i know that たち　could be the 2nd stem of たつ　or could be the plural indicator, and i sound a definition of すねる　on jisho.org which said

  Ichidan verb, intransitive verb
  1. to be peevish; to sulk; to poutUsually written using kana alone

however in the context of the sentence, i can't make sense of it let alone work out what it means with たち attached.

for context, the sentence is:

  すぐにすねるたちで、すねた横顔はジェームズ・ディーンに似ていた。


texts:
I understand that 日本人 means "Japanese person/people"; however, I am confused as to the implied meanings of this term. What are things that we can assume when someone uses this term? Can it mean:

A person whose nationality is Japanese?
A person whose ethnicity is Japanese?
A person who is living in Japan, whether or not their nationality or ethnicity is of Japanese origin (e.g. a native Italian who is currently living in Japan)?
A citizen of Japan, regardless of ethnicity or nationality?

How would I express each of the above ideas in Japanese if the term 日本人 does not encompass it?

This is in reference to a recent post I made on Lang-8 about iodine in the diet of people in Japan. I wanted to talk about the diet of people of the country in general, whether or not they are of Japanese origin (including nationality and ethnicity). I wasn't sure of the best way to express that idea or the other ideas I have proposed. Here is a copy of the post:

  日本の人の食事にヨウ素

  過去一週間, ヨウ素と甲状腺について勉強している。 日本の人が最も大量のヨウ素を食べることを知った。海藻はヨウ素の大きいもとだから,
  それをたくさん 食べると仮定する。

  質問は幾つかあります：

  １） 毎日, いくら海藻を食べているか？
  ２） それは, どうやって 例によって 食べる の ですか？

As an extension of this idea, what would be the implied meaning of 日本の先生?

A teacher that is from Japan (i.e. a teacher whose nationality is Japanese)?
A teacher whose ethnicity is Japanese?
A teacher who is giving a course on the country of Japan?


texts: How long of a time period does 最近 cover?


texts:
I'm looking for some help understanding the four lines in bold below. The general context of the conversation is that Person 2 has asked everyone to leave him and 沖田 alone together for the day as 沖田 said she wanted to spend the day with him. As he is seeing two of his friends off the following conversation occurs:

Person 1「二人きりになりたいからとか、あんたからそんな言葉が聞けるようになるとはねー」
Person 2「べ、別にそういったやましい気持ちはなくてさ…」
Person 1「あれー、おかしいなー。あたしは別にどんな気持ちとか言ってないんだけどなー。」
Person 3「どういう経緯であれ、沖田が心底信頼してんだ。それでいいじゃねぇか。」
Person 1「ぶぅ…べっつにいいですけどー。」
Person 2「なに、ぶーたれてんだよ。」
Person 1「沖田ちゃんだって女の子なんだから、そういうの気にしてもいいと思っただけだもん。」
Person 3「まぁ、あいつはそういうの考えたこともなかっただろうからなぁ。」
Person 2「だ、だから僕だっていうのか？」
Person 1「鈍感気取ってるモヤシ眼鏡は置いて、買い物いこう」

My understanding of the lines before it is that Person 1 jokes and implies that he has something else in mind and not just to spend time together, which he refutes.
My understanding of the lines in bold are:
「沖田ちゃんだって女の子なんだから、そういうの気にしてもいいと思っただけだもん。」- I think she is saying that 沖田 is a girl, so Person 2 should be more conciously aware/thinking about these things.
「まぁ、あいつはそういうの考えたこともなかっただろうからなぁ。」 - I think he is saying that he doesn't think that Person 2 has thought about those things(following on from previous speaker)
「だ、だから僕だっていうのか？」 - I'm not quite sure what he means by this line.
「鈍感気取ってるモヤシ眼鏡は置いて、買い物いこう」- Let's leave Mr insensitive/oblivious wimpy four-eyes and go shopping.


texts: "Are you awake": better [目]{め}を[覚]{さ}まして or 起きてますか?

texts:
I have a simple question:

If I want to say "Are you awake?" is it better to translate it as [目]{め}を[覚]{さ}まして or 起きてますか? It has to be intended as Hey, you're walking... but are you really awake?

Thank you.