texts: What does it mean to write wasei-eigo and gairaigo in Romaji?

texts:
Wasei-eigo and most Gairaigo (especially in a text or sentence as opposed to being by itself) is usually written in Katakana (イメージ, ジュース, スマート,パンツ,アベック). However, there are times that have seen some in their original Romaji form (image, juice, smart, pants, avec) even in a Japanese sentence, ex. 彼女のpantsです; juiceが好き; ジョーンはsmartですよ; 数々のavecを見た; etc.

Is this common or incorrect? What does it mean if you do this as opposed to using Katakana?


texts: Is ことが大きい a synonym of による所が大きい?

texts:
This is a question from 日本城郭検定 in 2015:

  今回の指定は、城が完成した年を裏付ける祈祷札の再発見による所が大きい。この祈祷札に書かれていた年号はどれか。

And this is the same question in 2017 edition of the test:

  2015年の松江城の国宝指定は、城の完成した年を裏付ける祈祷札が再発見されたことが大きい。祈祷札に書かれていた年号はどれか。

i am perfectly fine with the first question: "the designation was largely influenced by the discovery ...", however I cannot make sense of what happened in the latter form.

Is it a simple mistake (i.e. it should be in fact 再発見されたことによる所が大きい), or does the latter question make sense?

And if it is correct and makes sense, why?

By "why" I mean: please provide references or examples of the usage of this form. I can't find any.


texts: What's the word order of the nouns in this sentence?

texts:
I'm having trouble with the order of "途中の商店" in "ふと途中の商店街にあるパソコンスクールが目にとまりました".
Shouldn't it be "商店の途中"? and that にある confuses me even more. How can I interpret this sentence?

The entire sentence is:

  「どうしよう。。」悩みながらとりあえず、近所のスーパーに買い物に向かうと、ふと途中の商店街にあるパソコンスクールが目にとまりました。

And the translation is:

  “What should I do?” I was thinking to myself worryingly, as I set out to do some shopping at a nearby supermarket when I came across a computer school in the shopping arcade on my way there.


texts:
I'm not sure how to interpret やら in this line:

  そしてランディ・オートン、ジョン・シナと、同じ時代を戦ってきた人間としてやらなきゃいけないなと思ってますけど

From this paragraph:

  「真っ先にＡＪというのもありますし。お互い新しい成長もあるだろうし。そしてランディ・オートン、ジョン・シナと、同じ時代を戦ってきた人間としてやらなきゃいけないなと思ってますけど」と将来的な対戦に目を輝かせた。

I'm not even sure about the meaning of this line, but I think it's saying that the speaker wants to fight ランディ・オートン and ジョン・シナ or wants to fight at his level.
In the context the speaker is being interviewed about his debut in the WWE (he is from japan and I think he's talking about his new opponents. Also all this guys have similar age, maybe that has something to do with 同じ時代)


texts: Why is there a である between a noun and というところだ?

texts:
「う、うむ！よろしくだ、シドーではない女！」 「……は、はい、よろしくお願いします」
頰に汗を垂らしながら握手を交わす。三人娘は少しだけ訝しげな顔をしたものの、まあいつもの十香であるというところで納得したのだろう、深く追及はしてこなかった。

The protagonist 士道/シドー, a boy, was dressed as a girl. His classmate 十香 easily recognized him but 士道 asked 十香 to pretend not to know him because he did not want the three girls to know he is 士道. 十香 happily did as she was told by saying「う、うむ！よろしくだ、シドーではない女！」.
Could you please explain why there is a である before というところで?
https://nihongonosensei.net/?p=11855
According to the above link, when connecting a noun with というところだ, we don’t put anything in between. So we should just say 十香というところで, it seems.
Thank you for any answer.


texts:
I would translate it to "Death is dishonest." and Google translate seems to concur.
However, Jisho.org where I got this example from, says it means "Death is preferable to dishonor."


texts:
先日の佐伯真一さん殺人事件と、昨夜の四ッ星重工爆発炎上事故…それに、誘拐および殺人未遂事件を調べている警視庁は、この事件の裏で、大掛かりな軍事汚職事件が絡んでいるものと見て、真相の究明に全力を尽くすと発表しています。

The Superior Police Headquarters is investigating the murder ... of Mr. Shinichi Saeki, and the fire last night of the Yotsuboshi corporation. Also a kidnapping and attempted murder. It is believed that after all ... this hides a matter of weapons and corruption. The Police announced ... to dedicate all their efforts so that the truth comes to light.

An English dubbed movie version (text I extracted):

  The police have found a connection between the murder incident...
  ...the explosion at the Yotsuboshi Lab, and a kidnapping case.
  This conspiracy involves political officials who were behind these incidents.
  The police are still investigating for further details of the relationship...


texts: What attributive to use to express "clean" in "clean hands"?

texts: Which attributive: きれい or 清潔 sounds more natural to say "clean hands"?


texts: Do hiragana stroke ends (e.g. "hooks") actually matter?

texts:
Like do native Japanese speakers even care about that kind of stuff?  People learning Japanese (especially on reddit) seem to be super anal about trying to get perfect stroke ends with hooks and whatnot and will criticize others for not including them or getting them wrong.  There's also tons of resources that tell you how to write them using a pen/pencil instead of a brush.  But, looking at some written reports from students in Japan, I don't seem to see them very often.  It looks more like a a mix of intentionally including them for visual flair + a result of fast writing.

So is does it even matter?  Is this just another one of those things that isn't actually necessary but is constantly taught anyway (like regularly using "watashi wa")?  Obviously writing "sans serif" hiragana will still be legible, but does it maybe look childish or something to a native speaker?


texts: In this situation, Which is correct の or から?

texts:
私は東京の田中です。
私は東京から田中です。

I am want to say Hello, I'm Tanaka and I'm from Tokyo, but I am not sure which is correct. I feel like 2 is the right choice but am not sure.

So which is correct and why?


texts:
I found it from the following sentence.

はてね　その先はどうつなぎゃいいんだ。


texts:
その日を境に

Why does this mean 'On that day',
does 境 mean something other then 'boundary'/'area' in this sentence?


texts: Can I use 近くif I am close to a person with my feelings?

texts: I know that chikaku means close, but does it only apply to distance between things or emotions as well. Thank you.


texts: Difference between the words for "living/residing" [住む/棲む/泊まる/暮らす]

texts:
I have come across various words meaning "living/residing".

What are the differences between them and their usage? I've listed what I think are the differences. Are they correct?

住む: Live in some place more or less permanently
棲む: Same as above, but for animals
泊まる: To live/stay at some place temporarily
暮らす: ?


texts: Translating: だからというのもあったが

texts:
みなみがマネージャーになったのは、夏の都予選に負けて三年生が引退した直後だった。
  だからというのもあったが、この時期の練習にはほとんどの部員が参加していなかった。

Hello there, I'm trying to translate the above in to English, and am struggling to pick apart this expression: だからというのもあったが. From what I can fathom so far:
Minami became manager straight after the third years retired after losing the summer preliminary matches. (There was also the fact of 'just because of this'??) but almost none of the club members had turned up for practice this term.)
Many thanks!


texts:
Taken from question 4 and 5 of this URL:
https://japanesetest4you.com/japanese-language-proficiency-test-jlpt-n1-listening-exercise-5/

QUESTION 4:
The audio starts with:  あ～ぁ、やってらんないよなあ。 I usually feel pretty confident with spoken Japanese contractions, but I can't make heads or tails of what this statement is.  What is "やってらんない" short for?

QUESTION 5:

The statement and three possible responses are:

この料理、二人分にしちゃ物足りないよね。

1 うん、食べた気がしないね。

2 ひとり分で十分だったよね。

3 本当、食べきれないよ。

The correct answer is 1, although I'm confused why 2 wouldn't be the better answer.

My translations are: This meal wouldn't be enough for two people.  1: Yeah, but I'm not feeling hungry.  2:  It was plenty for one.  3:  I really can't eat it all.

What am I missing here?


texts: パンの耳? How did 耳 end up meaning edge/crust?

texts:
100% a curiosity question, but I recently stumbled across some older blog posts about a silly debate of "should you eat all your pizza crust?" and I was surprised to see the phrase

ピザの耳

Most of the time when I've seen the word crust its' been クラスト or パンの皮.
So as more of an etymological inquiry, does anyone know how exactly 耳 end up meaning crust or edge?
My usual Jisho and Wiktionary sources are leaving me dry and through my own search, I could find plenty on the Chinese etymology with 耳's relation to ear. Likewise it's obvious how selvage, crust, and edge are all related, but I couldn't find anything that connects the two. Seeing as both ピザの耳 and パンの耳 are used, I'm not sure if it's something that would trace back to the introduction of (Western) breads or pizza to Japan (since who knows which usage came first) or is something as simple as 'ears are on the edge of your face'.


texts: Why use 数年 in あれから１０数年?

texts:
My question is on 「あれから１０数年」.  My understanding is that this translates to roughly, "It's been 10 years since then."

The dictionary says「数年」 means "several years" or "a number of years".  How does the meaning differ from「あれから１０年後」, and why would you use 「数年」when using a specific number?


texts: In a sentence that ends with a verb, when could "が" modify a 3rd person pronoun?

texts:
3rd person pronouns (both English and Japanese) and the particle "は" have a commonality. For pronouns (jp & eng) antecedent must exist in the conversation. An "antecedent" is what the pronoun stands in the place of. This has no antecedent:

  He went to Japan.

Structurally, the grammar is ok. But, who is he? No one knows. There is no antecedent. This doesn't really mean anything.

  Jim is my co-worker.
  He went to Japan.

So, "Jim" is the antecedent of "he". We put "Jim" in the universe of discussion, then we can use "he" as his proxy. In Japanese:

  田中は私の同僚です。
  彼は日本へ行った。

The antecedent of "彼" is "田中".

So, 3rd person pronouns can only be used if there is antecedent.

Similarly, in the "は" vs. "が" decision, "が" is used to mark new information into the universe of the discussion. See, but 3rd person pronouns must already be in the universe of discussion.

In a sentence that ends in a verb, could "が" ever modify "彼" / "彼女" and have a sentence that is a complete thought?

虎に彼が食べられた is not a complete thought. Who is 彼？

田中は私の仲間でした。昨日、虎に彼が食べられた。<--- this ok?
田中は私の仲間でした。昨日、虎に彼は食べられた。<--- or, this ok?


texts: What is the difference between に関しての and に関する?

texts:
In this question which I will paste below, the asker uses both, one right after the other.

  GTA5に関しての質問です。
  GTA5に関する動画で、(...)

What is the difference between the two?


texts:
I'm reading a children's book in Japanese.

In the story, Weasel runs a cake shop, and he's gotten a mysterious order for a cake - he doesn't know who it's from.

Here's the sentence:

  いったい　どんな　おばけが　ケーキを　とりにくるのかしらと、どきどきして　いたちさんが　まっていると、「やあ、できてる？」

I'm reading that as something like,

  Weasel was waiting, his heart pounding, wondering just who the heck
  (what shape-shifter) was coming to pick up the cake, asking "Well, is
  it ready?"

Are the と at the end of とりにくるのかしらと and the と at the end of まっていると the quoting と or the if/when と?

Is the 「やあ、できてる」 something a customer is saying to Weasel (asking if the cake is ready), or something Weasel is saying to a customer ("are you ready to order?")

How close is my understanding to the actual Japanese?

Thanks!


texts: What's the difference between 仕事 and 働く?

texts: Apart from 働く being a verb, and 仕事 being a (suru) noun, what is the difference between the two?


texts:
I am looking for a native speaker who could answer the following question:

Is there any difference in pronunciation of the morpheme 'mo' in the following words (are there any differences in tone)?

だれも (as in 部屋の中には誰もいませんでした)
だれも (as in 誰もが名文を書けるわけではない)
だれでも (as in 来る人は誰でも歓迎されます)

Thank you!


texts:
In school I was taught to write sentences, with 'I/me' or any other pronoun first-person or not, always being at the beginning of a sentence like so:

  僕はリンゴがダサいと思います。

Yet I frequently see sentences on this site and in "real-world Japanese" as:

  リンゴがダサいと僕は思います。

*Note: the above are sentences created by myself so they may not be entirely grammatical but real world examples will follow

What I have noted  is that in some cases it alleviates the need for certain particles such as this answer to a different grammar question I found on this site:

  彼女のことをバカだと僕は思っている。

Whereas I would have written it as:

  僕は彼女のことがバカだと思っている。

I would be most grateful to anyone willing to explain if there are rules to this sort of grammar, am I using it correctly? (probs not) and whether or not it changes the meaning to the sentence in any way

Thank you kindly


texts: What does ひとり残らず　たたき潰す それが俺の覚悟だ mean?

texts:
I'm having trouble to understand this sentence. What does it mean

  ひとり残らず　たたき潰す それが俺の覚悟だ.

The translation I have come up with is

  Without one exception I will crush you all. That is how far I'm prepared to go.


texts:
「他の人に手紙を見られてしまいました」

I interpret this sentence's meaning as something like, "The letter ended up being seen by someone else."

From what I understand, the verb 見る is transitive, "to see." The verb 見られる should be its passive form then, "to be seen," which should be intransitive. The particle を indicates that the preceding noun is the direct object of a verb that follows it, right? So then, wouldn't 「他の人に手紙が見られてしまいました」 make more sense?

I have a feeling this might have more to do with the verb than the particle. Does 見る not lose its transitiveness when it is put in its passive form? If so, is を able to be used without a transitive verb then?

Where did I go wrong?


texts:
What does とし mean in the following sentence?

  若者はオーストラリア人のようになろうとし、オーストラリアで育ったので、両親の伝統を無視したりします


texts: 「~るとき、…」vs「~まえに、…」／「~たとき、…」vs「~あとで、…」

texts:
What is the difference between「~るとき、…」vs「~まえに、…」?

日本へ行くとき、日本語を勉強しました。→　I studied japanese, before going to Japan.
日本へ行くまえに、日本語を勉強しました。→　I studied japanese, before going to Japan.

And between「~たとき、…」vs「~あとで、…」?

日本へ行ったとき、日本語を勉強しました。→　I studied japanese, after going to Japan.
日本へ行ったあとで、日本語を勉強しました。→　I studied japanese, after going to Japan.

I know that「日本へ行くとき、日本語を勉強しました。」can be translate into "I studied japanese, when I went to Japan." (during/simultaneously).
But it's「~るとき／~たとき」, like "before / after" who interest me here.


texts: usage of 『は』and『が』with adjectives { na-adj and i-adj }

texts:
i really had this question in my mind and it caused me a lot of pain.
My question is :
what is the difference between using ( wa ) and ( ga ) with adjectives ?
 i got confusion because i studied that japanese doesn't have real adjectives , instead it has adjectival verbs ( i-adj ) and adjectival nouns ( na-adj ) and both of them are verbs that modify nouns as it is . and it was mixed up with what i have studied about ( wa ) and ( ga ) , that in the adjective-predicate sentences we should use wa usually . can any one here solve my confusion please . thank you in advance .
signature : passionate of japanese


texts: What's the difference between 平和 and 和平?

texts: If you ask someone how to say "peace" the likely answer you'll get is 平和, which is the common option, but occasionally you'll see the word 和平, which has a very similar meaning, and is indeed just a reversal of the kanji. Can 和平 always be used in place of 平和, or does one have a certain nuance that prevents them from being true synonyms?


texts: How do I know if kanjis side by side like the one in this sentence is a name 美鶴木夜石は怖がらない?

texts:
美鶴木{みつるぎ}夜石{よいし}は怖がらない

Is the notion that Kanjis one after another typically indicate that it is a name?
How does one read it if the furigana was not given when there are multiple pronunciation of the said kanjis?


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

texts:
Reasons for omitting titles like 'さん' after names of entertainers, performers and public figures
「記者ハンドブック 新聞用字用語集」によると、

運動、芸能欄などのスポーツ選手、芸能人には敬称をつけない
[出典]

そうです。新聞以外のメディアや、日常会話でも上のような公人に敬称を付けないことは普通です。

石川遼のような生命保険 (第一生命の商品のキャッチフレーズ)

敬語が重要な一部である日本語において、敬称の省略が許されている理由・考え方は何でしょうか?
個人的な印象では、芸能人やスポーツ選手は日常生活の外で起こっている物語の中の登場人物で、直接性がないために尊敬や丁寧の意をあらわす必要がないからだろうか、という気がします。
信頼のおける本や理論を元にした説明があるとなおよいです。答えは日本語でも英語でもかまいません。

Meta note: Part of the intention behind this question is to work out how to handle bilingual content. ref: meta: Do questions have to be in English?


texts:
すると、士道が話を切り出すより早く、焦れたように三人が声を発してきた。 「……で、一体何の用なワケ？こんな手紙で呼び出すなんて」

Context: In the name of 士道, a letter was sent to 亜衣, one of 士道’s classmates, telling her (亜衣) to go alone to meet 士道 in a cafe. But it turned out that 亜衣 went there in company with her friends. One of the friends questioned 士道 what he asked them out for.
Hi. What function does the なワケ add to the sentence? It seems that 一体何の用？is enough to express the intended meaning.
Thank you.


texts: Why can の and が both mark subjects in relative clauses?

texts:
夢のある人

and

  夢がある人

I understand that both have obviously the same meaning, but why is it also correct to use の, which, as I learned, has the function of either a possessive particle or of a nominaliser. I heard this example in the first few seconds of following video (so you get the context):

ゴルゴ松本「少年院で漢字を使った魂の授業」

EDIT:
As I read in the linked post in the comment now, I saw following:
"In more precise terms: の can act like a subject (nominative) particle in descriptive (attirbutive/relative) clauses. " –  user54609

To further my question now, is there historic context to this rule? How come の can take this role as well?


texts: Understanding「この洗剤は面白いほどよごれが取れる。」

texts:
I found this odd sentence while I was reading a grammar article on ほど

この洗剤は面白いほどよごれが取れる。
This detergent gets rid of the stains so easily.

Is it alright to understand this sentence literally as "This detergent gets stains off, to the extent that it is pleasant to me."? I'm uncertain about the meaning of 面白い here. I'm not sure why it means "easily" when it is combined with ほど.
I found the similar word 面白いように. It also means "easily" like 面白いほど. What is the difference between 面白いほど and 面白いように? I found this relevant question. After a bit of reading, I came to conclude that くらいに/ほどに/ように have almost the same meaning. Is it alright to think this way?
Also, what kind ように used in 面白いように? I understand XXXように either as "as/like XXX" or "in such way that XXX." Can I understand 面白いように as "in such way that it is interesting to me"? Also, does 面白い here even mean "interesting"?


texts: Interpreting 既に終わってしまっている

texts:
I have a following sentence (probably):

  この惑星はもう「生命{いのち}を育む船」としては既に…終わってしまっているのだと

It's from a manga and the narrator is speaking. I don't EXACTLY know who the narrator is supposed to be. Context wise it's happening on a dying desertified world and a character (character A) just fought a monster caused by the desertification.

On the next page we are then shown seemingly another character (character B) and there the narration boxes seem to stem from them and they are rejecting giving up on the world.

What I'm first wondering is:

1) what is the function of もう here? I know from dictionary that it means now; soon; shortly; before long; presently, but those are kinda different meanings. So which one would be applicable here. Is it now, or soon so to speak? Or something third.

2) 既に…終わってしまっている this bit. Does it mean together with もう that the world is already completely ending. OR is this more, world as life bearing vessel has no already completely ended, and いる is there just to say that end happened and is continuing to present an into future.

3) I assume と here is some kind of quoting with the verb (presumably think) being left out. Kinda weird for narration.

4) The very next text on the next page is Character B saying:

  諦めてたまるもんですか…っ

  No way am I just gonna stand by and give up…

Could the と from 3) be some kinda conjunction to this? And this would all be B's narration? I'm thinking no, since A previously did agree that leaving the world would be for the best, so I'm thinking she is saying this world is done for and that is being contrasted with B saying that they won't ever give up.


texts:
I have seen this term used a lot in many different ways.

「さあ、忘れましょうその未来が」 saa, wasuremashou sono mirai ga — in this sense, I assume it means "come".
But I have also seen it used as
「でもさあ」 demo saa — which I would assume means "well you know" or some other expression.

Would like to get some more clarification on this word.
I know it is informal to use. But the actual meaning and when it is appropriate to use it would help.


texts:
この言葉について私自身の定義を与えるが、今から異なるシナリオを見ましょう。

Is the above sentence good?

I want to say: "I will give my definition about this word, but for now let's look at the different scenarios"

I will derive the definition of this word from the scenarios that I will provide (my intention of the above sentence)


texts: Why is there 丼 {どんぶり} in 丼勘定 {どんぶりかんじょう}?

texts: How does 丼勘定 {どんぶりかんじょう} (sloppy accounting) related to 丼 {どんぶり} (bowl of rice with toppings)? I mean, why どんぶり of all foods and things? Was there special history for the origin of this set phrase?


texts:
Context is:
見りゃわかんだろ
これでも必死で走って来たんだよ!

Translation I have: Can't you tell?! We ran our asses off here!

How does これでも come into play?
Internet says it means "even though things may appear this way" but that cannot be the case because of the 見りゃわかんだろ.
I was thinking これ refers to the speaker, but でも cannot be "as well", since they were the ones running, not the listeners. Please help me understand.

Context:


texts:
I learned about がる from two different native teachers and both explained it differently. The first one said that がる is seemed/looks like someone wants something

  猫が欲しがってる
  The cat seems to want it

  僕たちは何もかもを欲しがった
  We act like we wanted anything (and everything)

The other one said it is not "seems" it more like, "tendency to do X" and that we don't have a similar concept in English.

  父親はタバコをよく吸いたがった
  My father had the tendency to smoke a lot.

So I want to ask, which explain is the right one? Are they both right?

Thanks. Or


texts: Difficulty understanding the following sentence 穴？ 一体何を証拠に…

texts:
So usually when there is an omitted part of a sentence its pretty straightforward to know what the rest of the sentence way going to say. However in this case its really confusing me.
This is a scene from an anime where the person speaking is being accused of digging holes on a race track to prevent the other person from winning:
穴？ 一体何を証拠に…
Not only am I unsure of what the renaming part of the sentence could be, but the を particle is also throwing me off, something keeps irking me that it should be が.
I did some googling and 何が証拠になるのか seems to be a commonly reoccurring phrase, but nothing comes up with を.
Any help or clarification is much appreciated.


texts: Why is a different particle used with the positive and the negative version of 必要がある/必要はない?

texts:
In the expression V必要がある / V必要はない, which I came across in my textbook, I would expect that both use the particle が. What is the reason why は is used only in the negative case?

This is the source:

よろしくお願いします！


texts: Japanese term for weight gained in a loving relationship?

texts:
I came across this phrase in reading a few weeks ago, and can't for the life of me find the note I made on it.

It refers to plumpness in a positive sense, reaching a comfortable state of gained weight that you only find after a while in a really good, sweet relationship.

Hope someone else knows what I'm talking about!


texts: usage of ていた in 俺の一撃は、彼のもう一本の剣にギリギリで弾かれていた

texts:
I see this kind of thing occasionally, and by that I mean the usage of ていた forms:

  俺の一撃は、彼のもう一本の剣にギリギリで弾かれていた

in narrative where the た form:

  俺の一撃は、彼のもう一本の剣にギリギリで弾かれた

would have meant the same thing to me. What is the difference in meaning/nuance I'm missing here?


texts: の and のです. What’s their semantic purpose and meaning?

texts:
So, I've reached a spoken language topic and encountered difficulties with understanding those particles that are used in spoken language. Particularly with の. My book says that, for example, の combined with よ (部屋の中には暖かいのよ) means that a person is completely sure about their statement. I don't really understand the purpose of の itself in this case but I guess I just have to remember this so it's not really a problem, even though I'd like to know の's function here.

In an interrogative question the function of の is crystal clear so it's not a problem, I guess.

The problem is in understanding its meaning/function in the following sentence:

  とても気持ちがいいの。（とても気持ちがいいのです。）

The book says that の is just a short form of のです but gives zero explanations on this one, that's why I'm asking you for help.
I'd like to know its function and semantic purpose, and, if possible, I'd like you to give me literal translation of the sentence.

Thank you.

P.S. I apologize for creating this topic, because it already might exist here but I couldn't find any info about my specific situation (maybe my English is just a bit limited to understand some of the answers).


texts:
私は何をすれば？

I thought that すれば only stood for the conditional form, how come does it bear the same meaning as すればいい ?


texts:
I'm not too sure what it means. I've seen it used in a lot of different contexts, and the most I can gather is that it means something along the lines of, "it's not that"
Is this correct, and if not, could someone explain it to me? Thank you.


texts:
I've come across two different words for "to dry" in my readings: 干す【ほす】 and 乾く【かわく】.  I've seen both used to refer to things drying out (e.g. 「白妙の衣干すちょう」 from the 2nd poem in the 百人一首  or 「涙は乾いた」 in the case of the latter).  I've also seen the related 渇く【かわく】, but that seems to be limited to topics related to thirst (e.g. 渇いた喉).

Can anyone provide some insight into when each is appropriate?


texts:
How is 手にする used? Does it mean the same thing as 手に入{い}れる, or is there a difference between them?

For example, in this line from a show:

  心と体が今、一つに！地球を手にした究極の(fictional char name)。

Would it be different with 手に入れる instead?

I checked the definition for 手にする in the Progressive J-E dictionary, but one of the examples is for having it literally in your hand and the other seems the same as 手に入れる for obtaining things. So I'm still confused as to the differences.


texts:
Any suggestions on how to say and write Space Fox? As in a fox from outer space? I've been using 宇宙狐 uchuu kitsune うちゅうきつね

Is that correct or would you suggest something different?


texts: What is the meaning of the "な" in this question?

texts:
Dialog in hear, Followed by this question

Q:サルと一緒にするなって感じ？

A:やっぱり癒されたいって気持ちは動物も一緒なのかなって…

What is the meaning of this bolded "な" in the interrogative sentence? Is it an interjectional particle that softens the "語勢" or means "禁止".

I am not totally understand the meaning of the question, truth to be told. Does the questioner intended to ask "How is the feeling of having hot spring with monkeys?" or "Do you find it unpleasant to have hot spring with monkeys?"


texts: Are these sake and strawberry flavored Kit Kats?

texts:
I want to say (as a caption to a picture "are these sake and strawberry flavored Kit Kats?  Yes, they are!"　The picture has two small Kit Kats, one of each flavor, if that matters.

I've come up with 「これは日本酒とイチゴ風味のキットカットですか。はい！」

The "sake and strawberry flavored Kit Kat" is mostly a literal translation from English, so I'm fairly sure I'm missing some nuances there.  It seems like there's also a few different ways to say flavor, so I picked one that looked like it fit best from Jisho.org.


texts:
What is the difference between the two words こぼれる and あふれる?

I think for こぼれる, the focus is on improper or bad containment leading to overflow/spillage. And for あふれる the focus is on the abundance of the object being contained, therefore leading to overflow/spillage.

As an aside, how frequently is the kanji 溢 used for あふれる and こぼれる? I ask this because Google IME suggests 溢れる for both あふれる and こぼれる. Is あふれる usually in kana and こぼれる usually 零れる?


texts: The meaning of の in this sentence: 私の方こそ聞きたいですね

texts:
私の means my? So why does it appear in this sentence?

  私の方こそ聞きたいですね

Which translates to 'How? That's what I'd like to know.'
Can Someone please give me a break down of this sentence？

Thank you :)


texts: What is the difference between 要するに and つまり?

texts: I read that 要するに and つまり are not always interchangeable. Still, I don't really understand the difference between the two...


texts: Can ごめん, like English 'sorry,' be used to express condolences?

texts: The literal meaning of ごめん is, I know, approximately "forgiveness" in English. However, the vast majority of its usage (that I've seen) is more accurately translated as "I'm sorry," or "please forgive me."While I am aware of its literal usage and thus am pretty sure I already know the answer to this question, I wanted to ask to be certain: as 'sorry' can be used in English to express condolences as opposed to ask for forgiveness, can Japanese ごめん be used in the same way? For example, if one were to say in English "My house was broken into last night," "I'm sorry," would be considered a reasonable and appropriate response. "I'm sorry" in this case does not imply the speaker is responsible for the crime or feels guilt over it, simply that they regret the circumstances of the person to whom they are speaking. Thus, if someone were to say in Japanese "昨夜家に泥棒がはいった。" would "ごめんね。" be considered an appropriate response?


texts: What is the difference between 開発者 & 技術者?

texts:
Using Google Translate I found the literal meaning of 開発者 to be "Developer" and 技術者 to be "Engineer", but in daily conversations within my company they seem to be interchangeable.

Example:

  Person A: その人も開発者なの?
  Person B: いちおう技術者だと思うよ。

Is there a difference or are they interchangeable? How exactly would you define them?


texts: Word difference question - reply (返事 vs 返信)

texts:
A simple questions here on word usage.

For reply I have always used 返事. Today however a friend mailed me and said 返信. This word is new to me. How does it differ?


texts:
If a Japanese person wanted to say something like:

  I don't understand the phrase "I am flabbergasted"

then I think

  「I am flabbergasted」という意味が分からない

would be okay.

I was wondering if you could just say

  「I am flabbergasted」は/が分からない

without having to explicitly use a word like 意味. More generally, is it permissible to attach any particle other than と to a direct quote?


texts: What does として mean in 「ペットとしてしいくするのはかんたんです。」?

texts:
I'm reading a JLPT N5 graded text (to practice reading with kanjis) and I understand all of it except for the following sentence:

  ペットとしてしいくするのはかんたんです。

I don't understand the として in that sentence. I looked it up on http://jgram.org and it's listed as an N2 level expression, so I guess it's quite advanced. I read the definition ("indicates the capacity, role, or function of someone or something"), but I don't get how it fits into the sentence (I understand it as 'Breeding a pet is easy')


texts: I'm trying to modify "cogito ergo sum" into "I write, therefore I am" - am I doing it right?

texts:
I apologize if I'm not making much sense, very much in the beginning of my studies.

I'd like to modify the phrase "cogito ergo sum" into one that means 'I write, therefore I am'.

What I came up with is 我作る, ゆえに我あり.

I figured that 作る would be a good choice to convey something more than the act of writing, and indicate it's a creation/creative act.

The part of ゆえに我あり I took from the Japanese Wikipedia page for the phrase.

Can I have some reviews, and perhaps some pointers if I'm doing something wrong? The more details you can give me, the more I'm able to learn from this exercise.

Thank you!


texts:
I have problems with understanding a particular line from a Japanese novel and need some help.
The scene is about a little girl practicing her sword skills with her father.
Just before the line I had problem with, the girl was parrying a diagonal slash from her father (対敵の振り下ろす袈裟切りの一刀に立ち向かう).

Then comes this line:
成長途上の体で受けきるには荷が勝ちすぎる一撃を、しかし少女は全身のバネを駆使して斜めに流すことによって凌ぎ切った。

My problem is identifying what 「斜めに流すこと」 is referring to?

Is it referring to the diagonal slash? (that is to say, 'as a result of the slash being diagonal, the girl was able to deftly use the elasticity of her whole body to stop it')
Or is it referring to the stance the girl is taking?

My current belief is (1), but I'm not sure.

Thanks in advance.


texts:
わりィのはその関口って奴じゃねぇか。

I'm guessing that this って is という rather than は. So I get something like

  It's that idiot Sekiguchi isn't it?

I can't even begin to guess at what the わりィ part is though.


texts: word-by-word translation of こんな遅い時間に**来られても**困ります。

texts:
[来られて][も] =[even][coming]????
so the literal translation sentence is like:
Even coming at this late time bothers. ?
which would be understood as:
Coming at this late time bothers/is not prefered/causes trouble....etc. ?
does the particle も reallly mean 'even if' in the sentence?


texts:
I've sent some pictures to a Japanese friend, and she replied saying カッコいいじゃーん. I don't get either the Hiragana and Katakana mix in that word as the last じゃーん...

Could anybody please get me out of the doubt?


texts: Does ネガティブ mean "negative", or "bad", when describing a person?

texts:
ネガティブ is an adjective that's based on the word "negative" (or maybe a word from another European language). But when describing a person, does it mean "negative", as in pessimistic, always complaining, or does it mean "bad" in general?

Apparently, in the news recently was a case where a school exam had

「学校でもっともネガティブな先生は？」

and listed one of the teachers in the example answer.

Saying "Who is the worst teacher?" would make sense, but "Who is the most negative teacher?" doesn't really make sense. Complaining about someone complaining seems a little odd, though maybe that's just me.


texts:
tl;dr: What is the kanji after [管理人]{かんりにん}?

I did not have any problem finding all the other kanji I didn't know, but the very last one after [管理人]{かんりにん} still puzzles me. I tried googling [管理人]{かんりにん} hoping to find the same kanji after it. I tried finding it via radicals on Jisho.org to no avail. It looks a lot like 宀 + 王, 宀 + 主, or 宀 + 里 (esp. given the way 理 is written). The only similar kanji I found would be [宝]{たから}, which does not make sense to me (or Google Translate: [管理人]{かんりにん}[宝]{たから} = treasure trove).


texts: How to use いざ...や and what it exactly means

texts:
I have problems understanding how いざ...や works in the following sentence.

たとえ部長からの文書だろうが、そんなもの(経費報告書)は認められるわけがない、と新田は思った。ところが、いざ抗議文が届くや、上司は主張を全面的に認め、そのケンカは新田の完全敗北で終わったのであった。

I'm quite sure that it means something like
"Even if it was the document of the department head, Nitsuta thought, it would never get approved. But when a written complaint actually arrived, his boss fully acknowledged the claims and the dispute ended with a complete loss for Nitsuta."
but when I tried to determine the exact meaning of いざ...や I couldn't find a fully satisfying explanation. For いざ I am pretty sure it fits the explanation ① of weblio (https://www.weblio.jp/content/%E3%81%84%E3%81%96) indicating that something reached a certain stage/a development came to a critical point but I can't really make out why や is added afterwards... Is や only added for emphasis similar to the explanation in this thread? 桜桜ーいざや and ゆかん meanings
But if so, how does it work? Could I use いざ...や every time I wanna emphasize that it "actually came to ..."?


texts:
I have two questions regarding the style of the classic story 風の又三郎 by 宮沢賢治. (Full text available on 青空文庫)

1) Most of the characters use a dialect which I believe is 岩手弁, which comes from the author's home region. Is this dialogue still spoken today in much the same form, or has it aged/evolved over several centuries? Also, would this dialogue in that era (around 1930s) be spoken by country people, city people, or both?

2) The book is written with a surprising level of politeness I haven't seen before. For example, most descriptive text uses 敬語, even to the extent where ですます調 is used mid-sentence (i.e. ...行きますと...). Also, the teacher's speech when speaking to children is overly polite (ex: ”静かにするのです" instead of ”静かにしなさい"). Is there a cultural/historical/regional reason for this extra politeness?


texts: What does 「～知ってください」 mean in The Blue Hearts' song リンダリンダ?

texts:
The Blue Heart's 1987 song 「リンダリンダ」 is available translated all over the internet, but the most common translations seem contentious to me when it comes to the following verse:

もしも僕がいつか君と出会い話し合うなら
そんな時はどうか愛の意味を知って下さい

The second line of this verse often gets translated as "Please teach me the meaning of love", but I can't really find any examples of 知る used to mean teach/explain anywhere.
Should this line actually be translated as "Please know the meaning of love" or something similar? Or is "Please teach me the meaning of love" correct in this case?


texts: What are some alternative answers to ogenki desuka?

texts: I reply with genki desu routinely, but wanted to use a variety of different responses to answer this question. I want to say I'm fine, ok, well, happy, and other different ways to answer this question. I want to use various positive responses.


texts: What is the difference between するはずだった andしたはずだった

texts:
I have confusion with the past tense of verb combined with the past tense of はず したはずだった

From what I understand:

するはず - Supposed to do verb at some point in the future (don't know
outcome yet)
したはず - Verb is supposed to happen at some point in the past (don't
know whether the verb happened)
するはずだった - Verb was supposed to happen (but it didn't) - am I
speaking in the present?
したはずだった - Verb was supposed to happen in the past? (but it didn't)

For example, what are the differences between 3 and 4 in this sentence?

  彼女は一時までに電話するはずだ - She is supposed to call by 1 o'clock
  彼女は一時までに電話したはずだ - I suppose she called by 1 o'clock
  彼女は一時までに電話するはずだった - She was supposed to call by 1 o'clock
  彼女は一時までに電話したはずだった - She was supposed to have called by 1 o'clock?

And in this sentence:

  あれ、携帯電話がない！うちを出るとき、カバンに（X）けど、カバンに入れ忘れたかもしれないね。?

Which is correct (X) and why?

入れるはずだった
入れたはずだ
入れたはずだった


texts: Parsing a sentence with two な-adjectives in quick succession

texts:
I'm reading a manga called Buchou wa Onee, and in the first pages, we are introduced to the main character and a few peculiar things about him as told by workmates.
https://ssl.standardbook.net/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/18/b3ccaa9330b8bc5567b24e4a75418939-720x1042.jpg
On the first page above, I'm met with the following line:

カッコイイけど
どこかヘンな
彼の不思議なところを
紹介します

不思議な is clearly qualifying ところ, but what is ヘンな qualifying? 彼 or 彼の不思議なところ?
Parsing it as English, it'd become something either like

"introduce curious sides of him who is strange in some respects"

or like

"introduce curious sides of him which are strange in some respects",

and they both sound kind of weird to me so I can't decide which one must be correct.
There was one question that seemed related, but it didn't help me here:
いろいろな便利な - In some case, two na-adjectives linked not using で?


texts:
How would you express "A demands B" in japanese.
In the sense that 'demands' is being used as a synonym of "absolutely requires". But using this expression instead of "requires" has a nuance. To me the nuance of this expressions is slightly refined or authoritative, or even elitist.

For example, a luxury car commercial: We see a close up of shiny curves, the voice over says,
 “New thinking demands bold designs".

Other examples might be;

'creation of the new demands destruction of the old'

'poverty demands action'

'quality demands time'

and so on.

[edit]
Looking at side by side corpses I came up with:

A は B を要求します

And Then I was advised that IT was better to say:

A には、 B を必要とします。

or

A は B することだ。

But I'm not sure if the nuance is conveyed.


texts: What is the meaning of 業{ごう} in this line?

texts:
{{pad}}
ジブリの『もののけ姫』ではジコ坊はこう言います。

  天土{あまつち}の間にある、全ての物を欲するは人の業{ごう}というものだ。

{{pad}}
上記の「人の業{ごう}」の意味がよく分かりません。「…全てのものを欲するのが人というものだ。」なら理解できますが、辞書を引いても「人の業{ごう}」はピンと来ませんでした。この言葉の意味を教えていただけますでしょうか。


texts: Usage of お+[verb stem]+する for humble form and お+[verb stem]+になる for honorific form

texts:
Apart from using verb-specific humble and honorific versions (e.g. 参る < 行く < いらっしゃる), the general method of turning a verb into humble is by using お+[verb stem aka 連用形]+する while the general method of turning a verb into honorific is by using お+[verb stem aka 連用形]+になる. For example:

  Neutral: 泊まります
  Humble: お泊まりします
  Honorific: お泊まりになります

Linguistically, how do the two constructions respectively introduce the honorific and humble nuances to the verb, i.e +になる introduces honorific-ness while +する introduces humbleness? What are their origins?


texts: I was watching JoJo's Bizarre Adventure where Baron Zepelli introduces himself, and it sounds like he says ”私はZepelliだんしゃんだ”. Here's a link to the scene https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XWaAct40xZ0&t=1m1s. I looked up the word for baron and found 男爵 / だんしゃく. Am I hearing it wrong, or is the trailing くdropped? If it is dropped, then is it just some Japanese dialect or is there a rule for it?


texts: Did labialized consonants remain in Ryūkyūan?

texts:
The labialized velar consonants are rare even in historical Japanese; besides (possibly) one verb (kweru), they (kwa-, gwa-, kwe-, gwe-) occur only in some Sino-Japanese morphemes. In Japanese, they merged with the non-labialized versions (ka-, ga-, ke-, ge-) as late as the early 20th Century.

But do they remain in Ryūkyūan?

Or, did they even exist in Ryūkyūan? Obviously, Ryūkyūan also borrowed multiple Sino-Xenic terms, some of which must have been necessarily present: such as name of the goddess Kwannon. Do we know the current status of words like this? Even if such words are Sino-Japanese borrowed from Japanese, did the labiovelars remain in Ryūkyūan even when, very recently, Japanese stopped pronouncing them with the //-w-// glide? Unfortunately, the vast corpus of scholarly work, to my knowledge, rarely deals with the Sinitic layer in Ryūkyūan.


texts: What is the name of the service called to drive one's car home after drinking?

texts: Someone else drives the car for the person who has been drinking. I spelled the word "daiko" but came up with radish.


texts: Interpretation of 思われる (spontaneous or passive?)

texts:
My understanding is that 思われる, in addition to being the passive form of 思う, can also be used in the sense of "to spontaneously think; to appear".

  北米では通常スカートは女性がはくものと思われている。
  In North America a skirt is thought of as something a woman wears.

In which sense is 思われる being used here? Both seem reasonable:
Spontaneous: In North America, people spontaneously think a skirt is something a woman wears.
Passive: A skirt is thought of by North Americans as something a woman wears.

I lean more towards the first one, since a passive sentence would normally mark the agent with に i.e.

  スカートは北米人には女性がはくものと思われている。


texts: How do you say "How am I supposed to X"?

texts:
I know/think that ~ばいい can be used, ex.

  How am I supposed to deal with this?

  どう扱えばいい？

But is there another way to say it? Maybe something involving はず?


texts: Meaning of the '可愛がりたく' in '可愛がりたくなんだよ’’？

texts:
Hello I was doing some translating and got stumped over how to translate this phrase. Does it mean something like "It makes me wanna pamper you" or does it mean something like "It makes me wanna take care of you"?
The full context of the sentence would be "いじめて、泣かせて、可愛がりたくなんだよ”


texts: Can this sentence be interpreted in more than one way?

texts:
I read a sentence

  彼女はわかっていた。あるいは、わかっていると思っていた。

It was translated as "She knew, or she thought she knew/knows."

Prior to seeing this translation, in my head, I interpreted it as "I knew her, or so I thought."

Is my interpretation valid or not? And if not, why?


texts: The difference between 一流　and　五つ星 in hotel classification

texts:
What is the difference between 一流　and　五つ星 in the context of hotel classification?

They both mean "5-Star" or "Luxury" but is there a subtle nuance that differentiates them for native Japanese speakers?


texts: A friend of mine told me that he heard うくれ or 受けれ was slang for funny (He said it was suppose to be "we accept"). I don't really know much more that that so I'm having trouble finding it online-does anyone have ideas what it could have been?


texts:
気になってはいても、誰もそのことには触れていない。

I guess its something along the lines of

(we) were concerned but no one touched on the subject.

How does 気になってはいても work and how does it differ from 気になっても?

thanks


texts: か as a suffix to mean "a few": Why is 何__かがVERB not allowed

texts:
Here is yet another puzzling sentence for me from a dictionary I am using:

  何ページ か 欠けている。 A few pages are missing. (研究社)

My understanding is that while 何ページ ambiguously means "what/which/how many page/pages," adding か as a suffix to it limits the meaning to "a few pages." This applies to common usages such as いくつか, 何人か, etc.

What I do not understand is why there is not a subject marker after this か. When I saw the sentence, I expected to see が between the verb and the subject. On HiNative, a native speaker gave me either "35ページが欠ける" or "何ページか欠ける," but not "何ページかが欠ける." On top of that, a Google search using a similarly structured phrase "何個か欠ける" yielded 1,700 results, whereas "何個かが欠ける" did none. I messed around using other combinations such as かけている, 欠ける, etc. Still, かが+欠ける is simply non-existent.

Notwithstanding the above situation, usages like "何人かが" or "何個かが" seems to be extremely common (bar false positives), not to mention taking は into consideration. "何人かは" and the like are prevalent as well.
EDITED: This claim was wrong. 何__かが practically yields no results. Please see my edit note at the bottom.

What sorcery is this? Now, 欠ける is plain and simple an intransitive verb, so transitivity being the culprit is out of the question. Other sample sentences in the dictionary show 欠ける used with が/は, and with either an animate subject or one that is inanimate. Thus, these are not the factors either.

My only feasible, makeshift theory is that this is a chance encounter where the denizens of the Net simply do not fancy putting 何__かが beside 欠ける. Not plausible enough as I have nothing concrete to back this up. I am at my wit's end.

<(_ _)>この通りです。よろしくお願いいたします！

Edit explanation:

Sorry about this folks, but I made a serious mistake by assuming Google's search results count was trustworthy. As it turned out, as Eversome kindly pointed out below, "何__かが" actually yielded almost zero results no matter  what counter we put in between. My bad.

This change of situation means that my question above was in effect partially based on false assumptions. No, __かが is not allowed at all.

The new question: Why is 何__かがVERBnot allowed?


texts: What is the most common usage and meaning of もったいない?

texts:
もったいない (勿体無い)(勿体ない) can mean "what a waste!" / "too good".
Apparently it is originally (?) a buddhist term meaning “The essence or quality of the thing does not exist,” and supposedly has been popularized in recent years by environmentalists.
I saw it used in this context:

  24時間365日、どこにいてもこれからは、もうずーっと素直でいる。

  じゃないと今日の興味にも失敗にも向き合えないまま。

  もったいないから素直でいる！

  Wherever I find myself, I want to live honestly, 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.

  If not, I wouldn't be able to face the joy or failure that each day brings
  .

  I don't want to waste time (on that) so I will stay true to myself!

My friend told me the most common usage of もったいない is when receiving a gift, as in "too good. i don't deserve it" . She says it is also used, for example, when one leaves food uneaten, to be thrown away, as in "what a waste."
What is the connection of the buddhist term to both of these meanings and what is the most common use and meaning of this phrase?(I am interested most in its colloquial manifestations)

The very loose translation of this passage was mine, so any corrections of mistakes or misinterpretations is appreciated. (In particular, I don't understand how the Japanese writer is using this word here)

reference:http://www.seattlebetsuin.com/EcoSangha/glossary.htm


texts: Many people squat/sit with their buttocks almost to the ground, whats it called?

texts: I notice Japanese people squatting in this position for long periods of time without using a chair/stool. Thank you.


texts: I have this question about 鮮魚 or 新鮮な魚. I've read them both in different situations and I want to know if there's a correct way or in what situations can I use each of them.


texts: Can のreplace ですか when asking a question?

texts: I recently encountered a situation when のwas used and want to know if either of the terms can be used interchangeably. Thank you.


texts: 「要る」をneedと訳してしまうと、どうして「～を要る」にならないのか、わかりません。


texts:
Saw this in a children's book:
「見つけたのは　だーれ？」
Is this essentially the same as 「だれ」?


texts:
Can you tell me what are the differences between:

1)　即時　and　即刻?

　妊娠　and　受胎?


texts: Capital Letters translating from english to japanese, help?

texts:
Hello I have been on google translate this morning and realised that if I translate two words first without capital letters and then with capital letters at the beginning of each word like you would a name, the Japanese translation changes significantly, so is there a correct or incorrect translation, does the Japanese language use capital letters? can someone please explain the difference in the translations below. Also I understand that there are different japanese scripts, if possible could someone please show me what the correct translation for Kaido Works looks like in those different scripts. Thank You, K

kaido works   カイドー作品  Kaidō sakuhin ------
Kaido Works  カイドーワークス Kaidōwākusu


texts: What are the meanings of 心配の種になる and ゆとりを与える?

texts:
I have a problem understanding the meaning of the following sentence:

  子供が心配の種になるのは事実であるが、ゆとりを与えてくれるかは不確実である。

weblio translates it to

  Children when they are little make parents fools.

But what are the meanings of 心配の種になるand ゆとりを与える?
After some research and guess, here is my own translation:

  It is the fact that children always make us worry, but whether they give a think about /realize (understand) that or not is uncertain.

Can some one provide a translation that is more literal than what weblio gives?


texts: What are the different ways to use ように&如く?

texts:
Ex:美しい空が美しいままでありますように／空の如く、水の如く

I've seen a few things on the former, but nothing in my materials mentions anything about the latter. Everything I have turned up has revealed precious little about it. Anyone have any info?


texts: これまた／なんてこれまた meaning?

texts:
Going off the main clause I think the general meaning here is that Saegusa (2nd person) is giving the speaker (narrator, 1st person) a surprised look (lit. "giving me a great suprise" - the speaker used 上品に to stress random things before so assume it's the same here).

  (NARRATOR, 1st person): まあ、なんてこれまた上品に驚いてくれる三枝さん。

There's not much relevant context here other than the narrator just having surprised Saegusa by revealing a surprising fact (surprise!).

What I'm missing here is the role of なんてこれまた.

The grammar book I'm using as reference has two forms of なんて, the first one (a fixed phrase) used before a noun or a verb as a question, e.g.

  なんていうひとですか。

Or as なんて＋Ａｄｊ｜Ｎ＋だろう as an exclamation, e.g.

  なんて難しいんだろう！

The second form (a particle) is used after another word "to express a strong feeling", e.g.

  小学校からのいじめが中学まで続くなんてひどい。

As for これまた, I am at a loss. Does it carry any nuance? Google search didn't help much (or, to be more accurate, I don't really know where to look for).

おしえてください！

Thank you!


texts: どのように and どうやって are both question words used to to ask "how" to do something. But what is the difference between them? Actually, it's rare to see どのように in a written text. Can anyone show me how to use it?


texts: Why "to iu na no" instead of "de" or "no"?

texts:
So I'm watching this anime a couple of days ago and one of the characters were describing a group of people. He ended his description with "GIGN to iu na no inu". The subtitle says that meant: "Those dogs of the GIGN". So I'm wondering is "GIGN no inu" or "GIGN de inu" wrong? I would think they all mean the same thing.

*GIGN = military police unit


texts: What does "知るべき" mean in the end of this sentence?

texts:
Read this on an fb page.

"君はもっと自分の
声の凄さを知るべきさ..."

Does it mean "Like I need to know more in how great your voice is."? Or "Like you need to know more in how great your voice is.""

Am I right in assuming "知るべき" describes how great her/his voice is?


texts: In English, if we're tallying something on a piece of paper, etc., we usually write a vertical line to count 1, and then when you reach four of them, you cross it with a horizontal line to mean 5, and repeat. I saw a Japanese paper that seemed to be a similar concept, but the kanji 一 seemed to be used for 1, and the kanji 正 seemed to be used for 5 (there weren't any other numbers shown). What's the whole system in Japanese?


texts:
I'm learning to use ～んです and according to my class notes, when used with a noun it should be conjugated like " noun + な + んです".

This is just a random example but I want to make sure I'm using this properly.

Let's say someone asked: "それは　どうですか。"
Is this a correct response: "これは　ねこなんです。"

Also, if you have a more realistic example of when you would use ～んです with a noun, I'd love to see it.

Lastly, I would like to see an explanation on how to conjugate verbs with ～んです as well. I'm still a bit confused about it and my textbook is not clearing it up for me.

Thanks in advance!! :)


texts:
I read in a Japanese tale (kachikachi yama) :

An old man (a peasant) is happy since he just catched a tanuki and says to his wife :

  「それじゃ ちょっくら まちへ かいものに いってくるから たぬきが にげださんように きをつけておくれ。」

translation from Tom Ray and Sachiko Matsubara :

  "I will go to the town for a little while to shop and return
  please be careful that the raccoon does not run away."

ちょっくら is analysed as ちょっと (a "country form").

I analyse にげださんように as 逃げる【にげる】(run away) + ださん + ように. I don't understand ださん (or maybe たさん ?) : is this a verbal form ? I read here that : "ださん = do not begin" .

Any help would be appreciated !


texts: Do adverbs necessarily modify the first verb after it?

texts:
Specifically in a case like this:

  私が迷っているうちに、次第に登校する生徒の数は少なくなり、予鈴が鳴った。

Does 次第に modify 登校する or 少なくなり? I thought that maybe 登校する生徒の数 is considered as one unit and thus 次第に modifies 少なくなり. Is that impossible?


texts: How to place ありました with the 〜んです pattern, and the meaning of the resulting sentence

texts:
There is a question in Minna no Nihongo, where I need to fit in ありました with the 〜んです pattern, such that the sentence makes sense.

おそかったですね。なにか _________ か。

How shall I fit it in, and what meaning will it give to the sentence?

Thanks.


texts: Leaving away the 目 suffix for ordinal numbers

texts:
I've seen 「1ページ」 refer to "page 1" of e.g. a book. Wouldn't this technically mean "one page" and 「１ページ目」 be correct for "page 1"?
Is leaving away the 目 when referring to ordinal numbering of things a thing / common?


texts: Does 色 (iro) have to be placed after colour kanji?

texts:
For example:

English: This juice is purple.

日本語 1: このジュースは紫です。

日本語 2: このジュースは紫色です。

Does the kanji 色 need to be palced after colours?

From what I understand, sometimes the kanji 色 is necessary. For example, in 灰色, without the 色 kanji, it would just mean "ash", right? But, I don't get why 紫 needs to have 色 next to it.


texts:
In my textbook it says you can use the 読みます form to talk about habitual actions, such as

私はよく本を読みます

But I read on the internet (source) that the correct form for this is 読んで and the sentence should be

私はよく本を読んで

Is my textbook wrong?


texts:
I found the following in a book I'm reading:

As far as I'm aware, 窘める is read たしなめる and means "to scold, rebuke, admonish". 宥める, on the other hand, is read なだめる and means "to soothe, placate".

Are there any situations in which 窘める could be read なだめる? Or would this have to be some sort of publishing error (possibly caused by how similar 宥める and 窘める look)?


texts: What does か分の mean in 「何ヶ月か分のわたしが床に落っこちたのを見た」?

texts:
This sentence (from a song) has bothered me forever:

何ヶ月か分のわたしが床に落っこちたのを見た。
Just how much time have I watched go by since I fell onto the floor?

I guess I can understand the translation, but I just can't get the grammar to work.
The part that I don't understand is 「か分の」. I have no idea about what「分」means in this context, and「か」could mean a couple of different things. Is「か分」actually「過分」? I am also not sure about the function of 「の」...
Also, is it correct that the「のを」at the end is a nominalizing「の」and then「を」refers to the whole sentence before?
Here are the rest of the lyrics with a translation:  http://www.animelyrics.com/anime/shippuuden/jitensha.htm.
Thanks.


texts:
What is the difference between 区別{くべつ} and 差別{さべつ}?

I looked them up in my Japanese to Chinese dictionary, but the dictionary defines them to be "difference", to put it literally.


texts: In this sentence 昨日レストランに行きましたがすごく美味しかったですよ, what is the function of が? So far I have learned that this particle is used to emphasize what comes before it or is used as "but". However, I cannot understand the particular usage in this sentence.


texts: How would one translate "蝋燭はけっこう上のほうにある" into English?

texts:
How would one translate this sentence into English?

  蝋燭{ろうそく}はけっこう上のほうにある

I generally know what each of the words mean individually, however I don't know if any of them change in this context. I'm reading a light novel and the character has found him/herself in a cave with some lit candles around and is a bit confused.

I think that it literally translates to "The candles are quite upright" which of course makes little sense so my guess is that

[1] I am misreading "上" as "ue", though I can't imagine why it would be read as "jou" or "nobo"
[2] If I am reading it correctly, then the upright-ness of the candles refers to their luminescence somehow.


texts:
By "qualifiers," I mean something like this:

  昨日見た映画

  The movie that I saw yesterday

I understand that you cannot use たい-form to talk about what other people want. So, can we use たい-form in qualifiers? For example, can we say something like "The dog that wants to eat"?

  食べたい犬

Or would that just end up translating as "The dog that I want to eat"?

Alternatively, could we use たがる to say that we think the dog wants to eat?

  食べたがっている犬


texts:
I get the use of Aの方がB, but so far all the examples I've seen are strictly used for comparing nouns.
So my question is, what if I'm trying to compare adjectives? As in, trying to explain that one adjective is more suitable to describe a noun than another one.
Some examples of what I mean:

  This apple tastes more bitter than it tastes sweet.

or similarly

  To say this apple tastes bitter would be more fitting than to say it tastes sweet.


texts:
What does 〜うちが花 mean?
And why the flower in the sentence?


texts:
The fermented rice alcohol called "sake" in English is usually referred to as 日本酒【にほんしゅ】 in Japanese, while 酒【さけ】 merely means "alcohol" in general.

Yet, all dictionaries list both "alcohol" and "fermented rice alcohol/sake/nihonshu" as translations for the word 酒.

Lately, I have noticed 酒 used a few times in movies to mean "nihonshu" specifically (e.g. with one character ordering a beer, and another ordering "sake").

I imagine the use of 酒 for "sake" was the standard in ancient times (and only evolved after the introduction of other popular alcoholic beverages), but can anybody tell me if there is any modern context where it is still commonly used? In such a case, would it be more or less formal?

Edit: Yuji's answer below also made me realise that the use of the polite form (お酒) might play a role in differentiating the two senses (?)


texts:
While it may appear as possible duplicate
The difference between "follow" using についていく、「あと？」をつける、「あと？」をついていく
, the specificity here is a school/training context which was not discussed previously

Is the current use in the sentences (to be able to keep with the studies) an extension of the original meaning (to follow) ?

And what is the difference between  付いてくる  and 付いていく ? (If there is)

The first sentence describes a group of friends that help children thar dropped out:

  課題のボランティア活動にはいくつか選択肢があり、学校の通常の授業についていけない小学生(多くは不登校児童だ)を集めたアフタースクールの手伝いをするというのも、そのひとつだった

Second sentence: if you cannot keep up, you'll be punished !

  ついてこられなかったらお仕置きだからね


texts:
What's the difference between 「この辺{へん}」 and 「この辺{あた}り」?

I used to always read 「この辺{へん}」as 「この辺{あたり}」 as I thought it would be confused with 「変{へん}」 but it apparently is different.


texts:
I see 戋 as part of several kanjis like in this table segments

. I looked for its meaning in tables and dictionaries and I couldnt find anything. Does 戋 have a meaning of its own?


texts: are "papa" and "mama" also used in japanese as father and mother?

texts: I often hear "papa" and "mama" in animes, in situations where they seem to mean father and mother. is that so? are these words borrowed from the spanish words "papá" and "mamá", which mean father and mother? Which kanjis do they use since father for example is also お父さん and I dont think they use the same kanjis, do they?


texts:
I don't completely understand how to read kanji.
For example why is in 日立, 日 read as 'hi'? I know the kundoku version is used with okurigana and if kanji stands alone. Why isn't it used as ondoku reading in the example, which you are supposed to read with when having multiple kanji together.


texts: Is there a I awlyas tghuhot slpeling was ipmorantt! example in Japanese?

texts:
I read this article http://www.gate.net/~labooks/wholeword.html and I actually read a Chinese version,

  研表究明，汉字的序顺并不定一能影阅响读，比如当你看完这句话后，才发这现里的字全是都乱的。

So I am thinking is there a Japanese version of it ?


texts:
I came across the sentence from a Manga which I think it would be Kansai-dialect form.

  なんや　ようわからんうちに気をうしのうてしまったが...

I think that it would be volitional form so I have looked it up and found that it is 「うしなおう」which is different.

I would like to know is there any concept or rule behind the transforming of 「なお」 to 「の」.  Or is it just a slur?


texts: 「こんな夢を見た。」- why not この?

texts:
This is the first line of 夏目漱石's story 第一夜, The first night. The story then goes on to describe the narrator's dream.

It is translated as "I had dream" but I am struggling to align the normal meaning of こんな (This kind of...) to the story.


texts:
While doing exercises, I am bit confused with "そば", "となり" and "よこ". Can anyone explain me the difference between them. Is it so that "よこ" is used when the object is at either left or right side of the subject. like 郵便局のよこに銀行があります。
When does "そば" use then.


texts: Different Ways of Saying "Can you speak Japanese?"

texts: I was wondering, how many ways are there of asking someone if they can speak Japanese? After a while of learning japanese this is the only thing that I'm not sure of how to say. And is there only one or two way(s) of saying it, or are there many ways to do it? also I've had this phrase pop up in my mind randomly, can someone tell me if it's correct? (日本語ができるよね). (To be frankly honest I'd be pretty surprised if it turned out to be correct)


texts:
I was taught that you must use the plain form of a verb before から. Recently I've noticed that I will use the ます form of verbs.  Most often I'm saying ～がありますから instead of ～があるから。 I feel like it's not right but it comes out so naturally. I'm worried that it seems natural because it's become a habit that no one has ever corrected.

I know that you can use ～ですから to end a sentence, so is ～ますから also grammatically correct?


texts: What is the nuance between 内に and 間に in these sentences?

texts:
This will be a long question.

I referred to the other questions that were already answered,

Difference between 前に and うちに
When describing time span, are 間 {あいだ} and 内 {うち} interchangeable?
What's wrong with using 内に in this sentence?

and made my own summary of 内に and 間に based on these answers:

内に

A 内に B

A: a state (where it is implied that  the state will change from state X to state Y - the time frame)

B: an action

Usage:

Used when it is difficult for the speaker to determine a start and
end point of the state.
B is completed while A is still in effect (Often implies that if B is not completed within the time frame of A then B becomes more difficult or impossible to achieve.)
2 types:

A person intentionally takes action before something changes
While something is taking place, something changes without the speakers volition

  天気がいいうちに散歩する。

  I will go on a stroll while the weather is nice. (If the weather becomes bad, I can't walk/it will be difficult to walk.)

Point 1 is satisfied: I cannot predict when the good weather will start becoming bad weather.

Point 2 is satisfied: I will complete my walk while there is good weather (If good weather (state X) becomes bad weather (state Y) then it will be difficult/impossible to walk.)

Point 3 is satisfied: type 1

間に

A 間に B

A: a state or action (where the state or action occurs within a fixed time frame X and Y)

B: a momentary action

Usage:

The speaker has the ability to determine a start and end point at the moment of making the statement. (or if there is a "default standpoint" [2.])
B is performed within the time span that A is performed.

  天気がいい間に散歩する。

  I will go on a stroll while the weather is good. (merely strolling while the weather is nice.)

Point 1 is satisfied: There is a "default standpoint"

Point 2 is satisfied: Going for a walk during the time span that the weather is good.

The problem

Now bearing that in mind, most of the examples i see explain type 1 内に sentences

But these examples of type 2 sentences I found don't seem to nicely fit into the interpretations above (or I just don't see it):

  知らないうちに、眠ってしまってた。 I fell asleep while I didn't know. ○

  知らない間に、眠ってしまってた。 I fell asleep while I didn't know. ○

I can't see the difference between 内に and 間に here. If I had to guess, the nuance provided by 内に "if I did know, then I wouldn't sleep". That kind of meaning?

  酒をゴクゴクと飲むうちに、また顔が真っ赤になってた。My face became completely red while I gulped down sake. ○

  酒をゴクゴクと飲む間に、また顔が真っ赤になってた。My face became completely red while I gulped down sake. ×

Why is using 間に wrong in this case?

  家へ帰るうちに、傘を忘れて来たのに気づいた。While going home, I noticed that I had come without my umbrella. ○

  家へ帰る間に、傘を忘れて来たのに気づいた。Before getting home, I noticed that I had come without my umbrella. ○

According to another website, when using 内に, this has the nuance of noticing before going home, but 間に means noticing while going home. I don't understand why this is so.

  しばらく見ないうちにまた大きくなった！You grown big again while I didn't see you! ○

  しばらく見ない間にまた大きくなった！You grown big again while I didn't see you! ○

I also don't understand the difference here.


texts: Difference in usage of きる and ぬく attached to verb 連用形

texts:
What is the difference between the きる and ぬく forms, which are attached against verb 連用形?
As I understand,they both indicate 'extreme effort' or 'trying to the last'


texts: how to write 'Ashutosh' in japanese language?

texts:
how to write a Indian name 'Ashutosh' in Japanese language??

Any help will be highly appreciated.

Thank you,

Shilpi


texts: How would you say "x says hi" in Japanese?

texts:
I've given this some thought but due to both my lack of knowledge in Japanese (still studying atm, although in Japan for a year so that should improve) and just not being able to come up with anything that sounds right with what I do know, I'm not even sure if this is like a thing to say in Japanese. Either that or I'm just getting tunnel vision on this and missing an extremely simple way of translating this.

But so yeah, is there a way to say like "Bob says hi by the way," like when you were talking about one person with Bob earlier and then Bob tells you to extend his greetings to that person the next time you meet?


texts:
８１歳の男性が妻の乗った車いすを押してエスカレーターを利用していたとき、後ろに落ちる事故がありました。
  There was an accident where an 81 year old man fell backwards when he pushed the end of the wheel chair he was riding onto the escalator.

I'm a bit confused by the part in bold. Does this mean that the man got out of the wheel chair and pushed it onto the escalator and then stood behind it? Or, can 押す be used to refer to the action of driving the wheel chair, i.e. he remained seated in the wheel chair and pushed it onto the escalator using the wheels?


texts:
speaker invited to go into his girlfriends house for the first time, had previously walked her back home a few times

  今日初めて彼女の家に行く事になった。

  家の場所は送って行ったりしたおかげで知っていたけど家の前に来てみると、どうしたら良いのかよくわからなくなってしまっている。

  友達の家に遊びに行くのとは違い、すごくドキドキする……

  (I know that?) Maybe it’s because I walked her home before, once I try to come to their doorstep, i've become utterly clueless on what to do now.

I have hard time reading what he is trying to get at with in the second statement with ...知っていたけど家の前に来てみると, ...

Is knowing "家の場所は送って行ったりしたおかげで" suppose to result in "家の前に来てみると、どうしたら良いのかよくわからなくなってしまっている。"?

is 知っていた referring to something else?

or does this usage of てみると apply here?

「てみると」「てみれば」「てみたら」の三語はほぼ同じように使われる。無意志性の動詞や自然現象を表わす動詞を受けて、その状況が成立した時に、の意味を表わす表現である。

thank you


texts: Role of をする in 学習の助けをするおもちゃ

texts:
I am triing to figure out the use of をする in 学習の助けをするおもちゃ translated as toys to help you learn in this article
I learned a bit about noun + する / をする in this post but for what i understand so far we use 助ける which is a verb not a noun. Furthermore from my beginner point of view 学習の助け would already mean "help to learn" all by itself isn't it?


texts: What is the Japanese term for the postwar economic miracle?

texts:
In France they have "Les Trente Glorieuses" and in Germany the "Wirtschaftswunder". What is the analog in Japanese?

Edit to elaborate: In the case of France there is a very specific term -- "The Glorious Thirty Years", so there is no question of which period in history we are referring to.

What I am looking for is a similarly specific term in Japanese--provided of course that such a specific term exists. Perhaps just like with Germany ("economic miracle") there is no such  specific term.

The current answer given now is 高度経済成長期, which translates roughly to "period of high economic growth". Is there perhaps a more specific term than that?

Edit #2: In the Wikipedia and Kotobank links, there is also some mention of the post WWI boom, the boom through 1944, and the Meiji Restoration. So might there perhaps be some ambiguity as to what 高度経済成長期 refers to? Or is it unambiguous?

In contrast, there is, presumably, no other period of thirty years in French history which is commonly regarded as "glorious", so there is no ambiguity here. We know you're referring to the postwar era when you talk about "Les Trente Glorieuses".

Similarly, even though the term "economic miracle" is not very specific, I believe in Germany when you talk about "Wirtschaftswunder", people generally take it to refer to the postwar period.


texts: Would だれがいますか mean who is in or whose in this case?

texts:
Here is my sentence of question このきょしつにだれがいますか . I believe it means, "Who is in this classroom?" although I read in my book (Genki 1) that it がいます could also mean that someone has something so would this instead mean, "Whose classroom is this?"

This whole がいますか and がありますか section (especially in question form) is giving me a rough time. I'd appreciate any help.

Thanks


texts:
Counter words have different readings for 1 through 10.
 How do I use them for number 11 and beyond?

Do I change the counter's pronunciation based on the last digit of the number? So if the number is 21, do I use the reading for 1?

What if it's 20? Would the original counter be used? Like "nijuu-nin" for 20 people? I can't seem to find a guide for using counters past 10.


texts:
I am trying to figure out what ''こっちがキレるわよ'' means
This is the sentence it came from:
A:「なんですって！　起こしにきてあげたのに逆ギレ？　こっちがキレるわよ！」
For context, A is trying to wake B up:

B: 「にぁああああああ！　怪我すると思うなら！　やめさせてくださぃぃぃ！！」
A: 「だめよ……やめたら、また寝ちゃうでしょ。昔からあなたの行動は進化ないものっ」
B: 「寝ない！　もう寝ない所存！　頼みますから！！　フトンの上で正座しないでぇ！」
A: 「だめよ！　口でいくら言っても、ちゃんと起きないと信じられないからねっ」
B: 「あんたバカかっ！」
A: 「なんですって！　起こしにきてあげたのに逆ギレ？　こっちがキレるわよ！」


texts:
How to read １２．５％? I've place it on Google Translate and heard じゅうにてんパーセント, is it correct?

  ６５歳を超えるアメリカ人は全人口の１２．５％を構成している。


texts: 「によって」の意味と使い方についての質問です

texts:
「。。。私は、人間が生得的に備えた「笑いの能力」はまず、新生児の微笑から顕在化すると考える。そして、その微笑が、人間関係の最初に位置するところの笑いと考えておきたいのである。
この新生児微笑は、人によってはまったく問題にもされず、一種の生理的痙攣であると言う人がいる。」

（井上宏の『笑い学のすすめ』を参照しています。）
ここでは「によって」はどういう意味ですか？同じ使い方で例文を挙げてくれませんか？
I don't understand what the author is trying to say here 人によってはまったく問題にもされず
I tried comparing it to other sentences like

人々によって違います。
人間の行動による影響

But it doesn't make sense. Why does he use 「によって」 here?
教えてください


texts:
Is 松佳(まつか) a girl's name in Japanese?  Does it sound traditional?  What image does it give?
I found this on the site https://b-name.jp/ but seems like no one is using it.


texts:
I just received an email ending like this:

  是非是非また誘って

How to read the  ?
Zero results on Google.

As for the meaning, is it equivalent to よ ?


texts:
I'm wondering about the difference between も and でも for their "even" meaning.

Using example sentences from A Dictionary of Basic Japanese Grammar,

  私は難しい仕事でもする。(original, pg 112)

  私は難しい仕事もする。(swapped for も)

and

  私はこんな難しい漢字も読める。(original, pg 250)

  私はこんな難しい漢字でも読める。(swapped for でも)

Are the swapped sentences grammatically correct? If so, is there a difference in nuance?


texts:
How do we decide if 中 is ちゅう or じゅう ?

For example, in this sentence １０人中３人はビデオを持っている which pronunciation should we use?

What about this: そのピアニストの演奏中、彼らは一心に耳を傾けた。


texts:
I have a doubt regarding the placement of この in the following sentence:

ポケモンが住んでいるこのジャングルでは、あちこちでポケモンを見かけることができ、今も男たちの頭上で、マンキーの群れが木々の間を飛び移っていく。

The sentence is quite big and I only placed it for context. For the purpose of this question, the first part until ジャングルでは suffices.
So, I'd translate this as

In this jungle where Pokemon live

In Japanese, however, I would have written

このポケモンが住んでいるジャングルでは

Here's what I want to know:

Is my English translation correct?
If so, is my placement of この ungrammatical/unnatural, or can it appear in both ways?


texts:
This is from a e-mail sent to me in my work place.

I tried to search in the internet for the whole phrase but there is no direct translation.

When I tried to search for the meaning word per word, I found that:
小職 - have a meaning lowly government servant, I, etc.
権限 - have a meaning power, authority and jurisdiction.

With these, I think it's a phrase that humbly pertains to oneself.

Is my deduction correct?
What is its proper English word equivalent?


texts: More complicated examples of allotting items with ずつ

texts:
ずつ can be used when talking about allotting/diving things evenly (e.g. 飴を2つずつあげる), or having equal numbers of different things (e.g. ネギマとレバーを2本ずつ下さい).

But what about cases where multiple things are combined in a single sentence, and it's not immediately obvious how to clearly express exactly how things are being divided? Such as in the following examples:

Please give 2 books to each person
Each pair of people will receive 3 points
Each person will receive 2 each of apples and oranges (i.e. 2 apples and 2 oranges for each person)

What is the natural way of expressing these?


texts: Could a translation error lead to squares to not be considered as rectangles?

texts:
I'm reading a certain set of kindergarten/lower primary maths textbooks that is written by North American authors for an Asian company.
Whenever students are asked to identify the number of rectangles in a given picture, the answer booklet gives the number of oblongs instead of the number of rectangles.
While the topic may be too advanced for kindergarten students, the maths textbooks indeed explicitly say at the bottom of the first page of a textbook at the very first level to tell students that squares are special types of rectangles, where levels 1-4 are for kindergarten students.
Additionally, the accompany guide for teachers devotes a whole page of discussion as to how to teach that squares are special types of rectangles. There's even a paragraph about teaching to kindergarten students. The authors/some of the co-authors of the teacher guides are also authors/co-authors of the textbooks. They have also said that if students are taught that squares are not rectangles, then they will have misconceptions later.
Perhaps, the ones who wrote the answer booklets were not fluent in English while the ones who wrote the textbooks were.
For example

[picture with 4 circles, 2 triangles, 3 square rectangles, 2 oblong rectangles for a total of 5 rectangles]
Circle ___
Triangle ___
Square ___
Rectangle ___

The answer key would give only the numbers:

4
2
3
2

So, the last line is wrong since it should be 5.
Could this happen in Japanese? Or a Japanese dialect? I mean, is there something specific about the translations of any of the following words 'rectangle, square, oblong, quadrilateral, quadrangle, parallelogram, trapezoid/trapezium, rhombus' that would cause such confusion? I guess the translator/s thought that when English speakers say 'rectangle', it means 'oblong in their language/dialect, but I don't see that as specifically a problem for this particular language.
By the way, are squares considered rectangles in Japan? Apparently, these things can vary by state, curricula, culture, time, etc. Please provide a document from the education department of your government or something.
P.S. I'm a monolinguist.
Related:
In Korea, are squares considered rectangles?
Are kindergartners supposed to be steered from squares being rectangles?
In what curricula are “rectangles” defined so as to exclude squares?
Why do we have circles for ellipses, squares for rectangles but nothing for triangles?
What are/should kids (be) taught about the colour of the sun?


texts: Can two consecutive の particles be used in the following way?

texts:
We can use の as a substitute in successive sentences for something we've already mentioned so that we don't need to keep saying what it is:

  どのTシャツが好き？　→　赤いのが好き。

Then there is the possessive/associative の:

  家の屋根、空の鳥、etc.

I was telling my friend about a new wallet I bought.  By implication (or obviousness), it means the wallet I had before is now the "old wallet".  So I wanted to talk about the contents of the old wallet.  Can I use these two のs consecutively to describe them, like:

  古いの　の　中身

Is this grammatical?  Used?  Or would it be better to just say 古い｛財布・もの・やつ｝の中身?


texts:
There's a sentence in a Japanese grammar book describing the differences between transitive and intransitive verbs.

自動詞: XがVi
他動詞: YがXをVt
自動詞と他動詞の違いは、自動詞の場合は、自然力の影響などで出来事が起こったのであって、そこには人間などの意志 (意図) は含まれていない、ととらえられているのに対し、他動詞の場合は、人間などが意志 (意図) 的にその出来事を引き起こした、ととらえられているというところにあります。
一方、そうした違いにも関わらず、Xが両者に共通しているのは、このXがどちらの場合でも影響の受け手としてとらえられているためです。

In my reading of this, 「Xが両者に共通しているの」 means "the quality/characteristic which X shares in both cases", so the use of ~ためです ("for / due to ~") at the end confuses me. I would think the most sensible ending would be ~とらえられていることです, since 「こと」 nominalizes to a noun.
What nuance or meaning am I not understanding?


texts: Difference between ほとんど～ない, めったに～ない and まれ

texts: is there a difference in nuance or formality between ほとんど～ない, めったに～ない and まれ?


texts: "Reductio ad absurdum": Any easy way to express this concept in Japanese?

texts:
Is there an easy way to express the concept of “reductio ad absurdum” in Japanese?

I find that the following dictionary terms tend to be unfamiliar even to college-educated Japanese speakers:

帰謬法

背理法

I ask this because I was conversing with a friend in Japanese and using reductio ad absurdum to show how an idea was nonsense. But she said that this sort of argument was extreme and idiotic, to which I responded I that this type of argumentation is quite common in European languages and is explicitly taught by name in schools.

Or, is it maybe the case that there is NO easy way to express this concept in Japanese because the Japanese culture does not have an extensive tradition of discussing logic? It seems so. Wikipedia, for example, has the article on "reductio ad absurdum" in more than 30 languages, but not Japanese.


texts:
「感じさせてくれるところ」の意味と使い方
「⚪⚪を感じさせてくれるところ」 はどういう意味ですか?


texts: ています　is the polite form of ている.　On the other hand, てます is the casual and colloquial form of ています. The plain form 「ている」is also used in casual situation.　How to know if it is better to use ている　or てます?


texts: What is the function of ものな in this sentence?

texts:
これは冷やして食べるものなのですか
I did some searching but nothing seemed to quite explain what I'm looking for.
I'm assuming the second の is the explanatory の, but what is ものな? Are the もの and な separate? They feel that way to me.
Thanks.


texts: past / future -- "抜けたら" -- 「国境の長いトンネルを抜けると雪国であった」

texts:
Other uses of the particle と: トンネルを抜けると雪国であった

「国境の長いトンネルを抜けると雪国であった」
抜ける looks like present (but we know it's past) -- What is the usual explantion for this ?

「国境の長いトンネルを抜けたら雪国であった」 <--- Here 抜けたら looks like past, but this must be an illusion, because ...
「もう１０分くらいして、国境の長いトンネルを抜けたら窓を開けましょうね。」 <--  Here 抜けたら is talking about the future.  Or is this "past" from the future vantage point?

相対テンス https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Relative_and_absolute_tense
If there is a super-clear, concise explanation, i'd like to see it.
(preferably in Jp).
http://blog.livedoor.jp/robinsonrobin/archives/8036910.html

http://kamome.2ch.net/test/read.cgi/gengo/1291717138/
152 ：名無し象は鼻がウナギだ！：2011 >>150
日本語の時制は相対テンスなので、複文では、従属節が主節に対して前の出来事か後の出来事かで
従属節の動詞を過去にしたり非過去にしたりする。（英語は絶対テンスなので、現在から見て前か後かで時制を使い分ける）

https://japanese.stackexchange.com/a/39644/16344
[ the difference between 行く and 行った in Japanese is not a difference of "tense"（時制）, it is a difference of "aspect"（相）.]  <<<----- That's kind-of an eye-opening statement. Is that well-explained in a past Jp.SE post, or in a convenient Web page ? (I prefer a Jp Web page)


texts: Why are 前 and 後 used backwards from how I would expect on this site?

texts:
I was practicing katakana reading here, and noticed at the very bottom of the page that the "forward" and "back" buttons have the characters I understand to mean "after" and "before," except that "before" points to the next page and "after" points to the previous.

Shouldn't it be the other way around? If not, why not?

Edit: I guess they also mean "front" and "behind," which does make sense....but aren't the dual meanings kind of contradictory in this context then? It's like the buttons are indicating that you, the reader, are before what is to come, but after what is behind you.


texts:
どんな厳しいことも容赦なく叩きつけてきたこれまでの流れから、その様子が異様なものであることを理解するのに、生徒たちもそう多くの時間を必要としなかった。

The sentence was from a light novel, and the story is about a teacher who came to the class to announce an unreasonable additional exam to her students.

叩きつけてきた from 叩きつける made me confused for its meaning:

From jisho.org

to throw violently against; to slam against; to strike; to slap something onto; to dash (e.g. to the floor)
to thrust at someone (e.g. a letter)

Then I found a much more relevant meaning for the translation from dictionary.goo.ne.jp:

激しい勢いで差し出す。 ( I was thinking maybe the word "present" here can also be translated as "announce".)

I wonder if my interpretation appropriate for this context.

Thank you for your kind guidance.


texts:
I thought I knew this but it has just been explained to me in Japanese class and now I am totally confused.

I had always  thought と was "and" but apparently it more usually means "or"; when you want to use "and" you should use し at the ends of words? Is this right?

Or is し only for reasons? Surely there are cases where its borderline if you're giving reasons?


texts:
I am in a Japanese 101 class. We are supposed to translate the following sentence:

  日本ぶんかの先生は、イケメンですが、ぜんぜんやさしくないですから、あまり好きじゃありません。

I am having trouble with that word イケメン. So far, I have:

  The Japanese culture professor is ______ but he/she is not lenient at all so I don't like him/her very much

I am pretty sure we haven't had イケメン in class. Also, "ikemen" doesn't sound like an English borrowed word (at least to me).

Google translates it as "Twink" and I have found some places that say "handsome", "cool", etc. But I don't know what to trust. Can anyone explain to me the meaning(s) of the word?


texts:
What's the difference between:

笑わないでくれ

笑ってくれないで


texts:
The sentence is taken from a visual novel and it translates to

Did I take too much of your time ?

私が  余計に時間を取らせてしまったかしら

What I'm confused about is that the causative is "make someone do something/let someone do something"

So how does it work in this case ?


texts: Is this the right way to write Sailor Pluto in Japanese?

texts: I'm in the middle of my painting and I don't want the name to be wrong cause the whole thing takes me days. Please help if you can :)


texts: I am having trouble recognizing a specific character

texts:
I encountered this specific character while reading, and I've seen it before but can't recall meaning/reading. I've also had no luck trying to look it up, in spite of it's simple shape. Hopefully someone can help me out (it's the first character, not the 気).

EDIT：actually そ appears in the text as well preceding this, same font I think.. which is why I thought it couldn't be that, how strange. Well, thanks for the guidance.


texts: Seeking a japanese native sounding name from chinese name 陳翔榮(陈翔荣）(Chén Xíangróng)

texts: Can you change my chinese name 陳翔榮(陈翔荣）(Chén Xíangróng) to a japanese name sounding like a native japanese? Many people said it would be Chin Shōei by using a method to read chinese word. I prefer to read as a japanese native sound. Help me guys!


texts:
For context in the story the king is saying how he would love to live "here" (referring to the kingdom that the character speaking is in control of) and she responds with:

  王室宮内庁を予算ごと回すのなら検討してあげてもよろしくてよ

I had to google to find out what 王室宮内庁 meant, and I believe its the equivalent of the Imperial Household Agency, in this case an agency that deals with all matters related to the royal family.

I'm a bit confused with regards to what 回す means in this context however. Could someone please help me understand?

Thanks


texts:
It is said that the と conditional must not be used where the main clause expresses any of the following: an intention, a suggestion, a command, an obligation, a request, etc. However, I've encountered と良いです a lot. E.g. すぐに薬を飲むと良いですよ。 Should this be considered grammatically wrong, but in fact readily acceptable in reality?

*Trivial: I'm trying to tackle this beast called conditionals in Japanese, and the fact that various sources I've read online seem to have contradictory explanations/definitions isn't helping. I've looked all over the Net.


texts: 少しとろけ始めた表情 >> What does this face expression mean?

texts:
I came across a line describing a character face
少しとろけ始めた表情 >> I don't understand this ,my guess is "A little bit relaxed face/expression "?


texts: I found this example sentence in a book, could you explain it to me?

texts:
The expression is この近くにトイレがある literally means "this close is a bathroom" I've been studying positions, shouldn't it be ここの近くにトイレがある?
The grammar rule is:
Placeのpositionにobject がある/いる
ここ is a place so for me the second one have more sense
Help me understand the grammar of the first sentence


texts: Why is 翼をください translated as "Please give me wings"?

texts:
I checked that sentence on Google. Apparently, the translation is "Please give me wings." This confuses me because ...

翼 = wing
を = direct object marker.
ください = please

There's no give!

Update: this comes from the title of a song.


texts: What are the different ways to use までもない?

texts: I know the basics behind its grammatical function, but there isn't much out there giving the details and subtleties on its usage. Anyone know?


texts: Habitual te-form and -imasu form, combined with future intent

texts:
I asked the question: Habitual sentences, use of te-form vs imasu form

I ride trains everyday. Which is correct?:
毎日電車に乗っています
毎日電車に乗ります
I think it's the first one. If so, does the second one mean "I WILL
ride trains everyday" (expressing intent, and implying that they
currently don't ride trains everyday)? The deck I'm using put the
first answer, but it contradicted itself by translating "I study on
weekends" as 平日は勉強をします (it didn't use the te-form here).

and was linked to Habitual aspect
which was really helpful.
However, I read all the comments and was still unsure on one thing.
Could the second one mean "I will (IN THE FUTURE) ride the train everyday"? And is there an adverb to make it more obvious to mean that? Or is it just by context?


texts: Difference between 何て言う意味、何て言うこと、どう言う意味 etc

texts:
When someone says something to me and I don't really understand the meaning, how can I respond?

What is the difference between:

何て言う意味ですか。
何て言うことですか。
どう言う意味ですか。

I might be wrong, I might mix everything from what I've heard, read, seen.

Environment: Polite, formal, informal, anything is fine.

Extra question, how to say it in keigo?


texts:
The other day I came across this line in a game:

しかしそれ以外は誰とも出会わず、そして 歩けど歩けど 代わり映えしない通路と部屋ばかり。

I guessed that 歩けど meant 歩いても from the context, but I had never seen a verb conjugated like that before. Is it something from a dialect, or perhaps classical Japanese?


texts: How would a fluent speaker understand ありがとうございません?

texts:
How could that forced negation of a common phrase be interpreted?

This came up as just a part of some free exploration of linguistics, and my friends and I were pondering if it could perhaps be understood as something akin to the English phrase "Thanks, but no thanks" (and understandably it would sound rude). Or would the phrase be just gibberish — even etymologically speaking — to the point where it would be unreasonable to meaningfully use it even in a pun?


texts:
I've seen many texts where verbs ends in く and this remind me the transformation from i-adj to adverbs where we simply change い --> く

This is the sentence I'm struggling with:
ミトがいらないなら買う必要なくね?

I understand the general meaning. I would translate it as: "If you (Mito) don't need it, it is not necessary to buy it right?". But the way I would write this in Japanese would be:

ミトがいらないなら買う必要ないでしょう？

Why ない is converted to なく? I've seen this in many other sentences.

Thank you!


texts: Could anyone explain this 置く置かない to me please

texts:
I found the sentence

  けんかして嫁が出ていきました。
  けんかの原因は、家に下宿人を置く置かないの件です

And I have a doubt about using of 置く置かない How should it be translated ? and
How to use it
I have never seen this grammar using before


texts: What are the differences between 落{お}とす, 失{うしな}う and 無{な}くす?

texts:
The first verb I learned to mean "to drop" was 落{お}とす (otosu) as the transitive form of the verb 落{お}ちる (ochiru) (which means "to fall"). But recently I met the verb 失{うしな}う (ushinau) which according to Jisho.org is also transitive and means "to lose; to part with", which for me ends up being equivalent to "to drop". And while searching about this, the verb 無{な}くす (nakusu) also showed up in my search, and according to Jisho.org it also means "to lose something", which at the first glance I thought to be intransitive, but again Jisho says it is transitive.

In short: It looks like 落{お}とす (otosu), 失{うしな}う (ushinau) and 無{な}くす (nakusu) are all transitive and mean "to drop". What are the differences between them?


texts: Why use で in「私でよければ入部させてください」?

texts:
What's the difference between these sentences:

私でよければ入部させてください

私はよければ入部させてください

私をよければ入部させてください

I was watching the first episode of K-On! anime and I saw this line

私でよければ入部させてください.

The English subs translated to

If it's okay with you I'd like to join the club.

The part that confused me was the 私で. I got as far as understanding that the person that is doing the "allowing" is the person being spoken to, the club leader meaning the verb is being applied to an unseen subject but I still don't understand why mark the person being allowed with で. It makes no sense to me.


texts:
Situation. A person is a bit unstable and is basically talking/monologuing besides someone who isn't conscious as if they were. She wonders about something and when the unconscious person doesn't visibly respond, that we can see she says this:

ねぇ
なにか言ったら？

First Ne is I assume her again prompting the unconscious person for comments.
The second bit is kinda problematic. Without that question mark it would be "when (you) say something" but I'm not sure how to take this with that question mark. Could this basically be "When will you say anything?"?


texts: Expressing that something was not bad nor good, it was ok

texts:
Q.1 - 晩御飯はどうだった？
R.1 - 少し美味しくないよ。
R.2 - 少し美味しいけど、美味しすぎないよ。

So what I wanna mean is "The dinner was kinda good but not that great (it was not bad)".
I feel like R.1 is actually saying "It was kinda bad, not awful though".
And R.2 is saying "It was kinda good, not that good though", what do you think?
Thanks.


texts: Xenogears Pearfect works p.8 chronological year 4767

texts:
"ゾハルがデウスの主動力炉"

As far as I understand, it says something like "(A) Zohar is the power source of Deus' leadership.", but "力炉" cannot be found in a dictionary.

Now 炉 has only one reading: ろ. But 力 can be read as ちから as well as りょく or りき. How is 力炉 to be read beside its meaning?

ゾハル - name of a monolithic object supposed to be the source of all of life and existence.

デウス - name of an AI taking control of the ゾハル for its purposes.


texts:
In general I understand that , in general, ううん has a negative connotation. e.g. used when denying / disagreeing with what someone has said. In general it would be very strong and unusual to solely use ううん with nothing else said afterwards. e.g. if Someone asked whether someone else had come yet, the answer might be ううん、まだ来ていないよ.
In the below ううん doesn't look like it is negating/denying what was said above, so what is it doing?

「何も言ってくれないから、口に合わなかったのかなってドキドキしちゃった」
「みあの料理がまずいことなんてないって。本当に美味しい」
「ううん……でも、わかってても言ってほしいことってあるんだよ」
「例えば、『好き』とかそういうこと？」
「う、うん……えへへ」
「わかった。これからはちゃんと口に出して言うよ」
「弁当、美味しかった」


texts: How to write Hanief (my name) in Japanese?

texts:
I'm Indonesian and am still learning Japanese. I'm curious how to write my name Hanief (Haniif or usually just Hanif).

It's from the Arabic word (حنيف) and means

righteous
upright or true believer

Is this katakana right?

ハニーフ
ハニエフ


texts:
Context: The protagonist is searching for a girl in his house, and since his house is really big he has yet to find her.

  ここまで捜していないとなると、後は道場か土蔵ぐらいなものだろう。

I don't understand this sentence.

ここまで=Until here
捜していない=Not looking for; Not searching
となると=If it's the case; If it comes to that
後は道場か土蔵ぐらいなものだろう。=After that, the dojo or the storehouse.

I don't understand why it's 捜していない.

  If I do not look until here, After that, the dojo or the storehouse.

But it does not make sense, does it?


texts:
https://youtu.be/tdiMAnRekgs?t=4m37s

開けるのに時間を要します. Translated in a Japanese teaching video as "It takes some time to open".

From what I understand, it has meanings of despite/although and the like.
Then, why is it translated that way?
The best I could come up with is "Despite/Although opening/trying to open it, it takes time" which makes zero sense. Because if you are opening it, wouldn't it already be open?
Does it have some other meaning somewhere? I can't find it.

Could you use 開けている instead since you are in the process of opening it right now?
Are there alternatives to using のに?
How about these? 開ける事が頑張ってんの二
　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　開ける途中のに


texts: What are the grammar rules behind this clause, 「才能があろうがなかろうが」?

texts:
才能があろうがなかろうが、そんなもん他人が決める事じゃない。どこの部に所属するかなんぞ俺が決める事だ

I'm asking about the bolded clause.
This is casual dialogue, in case there's any confusion about that.

I don't normally put Japanese through Google Translate, but I did so here and the clause was translated to "Whether there is talent or not,"...
Why is that? I'd love to know the grammar rules behind this. Thanks in advance.


texts:
Related to this. At this point, the speaker has won the preliminaries. The elderly chairman of the event, a friend since the previous tournament, comments that the speaker has won a second time (やはりこの地域で一番のブレーダーはspeaker君でしたか). Speaker responds with:

あったりまえだぜっ!
だいたいそんなことは
バトルする前から
わかっているのに会長も
人がわるいなぁ〜

I get as far as "Naturally!" I'm also thinking バトルする前からわかっているのに is a full clause and means "even though {you} have known {this} well before I did battle", but I don't know how to put だいたいそんなことは and 会長も人がわるいなぁ together. Specifically, そんなこと is marked as the subject, so how does that relate to the adjective/verb 人がわるい? Is it something like "That sort of thing essentially makes the chairman a [bad person]?"

Furthermore, I can find little on the translation potential of 人がわるい. I've two questions about this term. For one, I assume that the speaker takes issue with the chairman not being 100% certain he'd win, so would "having poor judgement (of skill)" be a reasonable translation? For two, 人がわるい strikes me as a harsh thing to say, so I'm curious about the politeness level here. How rude is the speaker being?

If it matters, the chairman responds that he knows how hard everyone else has trained since last year and that it was justified not to presume the speaker would dominate the preliminaries once more (それはちがいますよspeaker君.あなた達が海外へえんせいしている間, みなさんは今回の大会のためにとしもつらいとっくんをかされていたのです.だからけっしてspeaker君が勝つとはかぎらないと私はそのようにおもいました). The speaker acknowledges he's been a jerk after that.

Thanks in advance.


texts:
I often hear 全員 pronounced as ”ぜいいん”. I also read online that 雰囲気 can sometimes be heard as "ふいんき” although I have personally never heard that. I have a few questions about this phenomenon:

Is there a name for this?
Are there any more common examples of this that I should look out for in speech?
Does it carry some nuance(e.g. street talk, old man, etc), possibly similar to what ないー＞ねえ carries?
And finally, where am I most likely going to hear this(if at all)? Or in other words - is this a regional thing?


texts:
How would you say:

  A further ¥2000 will be added to your bill.

Is it:

  お会計に追加２０００円は付けられます。