texts: What is いやほい from the Kyary Pamyu Pamyu song 原宿いやほい HARAJUKU IYAHOI?

texts:
What does いやほい mean in this context?  Or is it nonsense or onomatopeia?  I'm not finding a conclusive result in the dictionary.

Results I get are, for instance:

いや which could be disagreeable, increasingly, no, head house, birthplace, originator

ほい which could be linen kariginu, supplement, heave-ho, yes, one's real intent

So... "no-yes"...?  "linen kariginu originator"...?  ...?


texts: Difference between 〜たことになる and 〜ることになる when both are describing a past result

texts:
都立校とは思えない充実した設備を誇るうえ、数年前に創立されたばかりのため内外装も損傷がほとんどない。もちろん旧被災地の高校らしく、地下シェルターも最新のものが設えられている。

そのためか入試倍率は低くなく、「家が近いから」だけの理由で受験を決めた士道は、少々苦労をすることになったのだが。(Date a
live, novel1)

「さて、二人とも。今日来てもらったのは他でもない。ーー宇宙空間を漂っていた先の精霊が<ラタトスク>の手に落ちたことで、彼らの元には累計一〇体もの精霊が集まったことになった」(Date
a live, novel16)

The context for 1 is that the text is introducing the background of the school and the protagonist, 士道, who is a high school student. The sentence in question is a flashback of how he worked hard and passed the school entrance examination.
I think I understand the overall meanings of the two quoted texts. But I’m wondering, since “苦労” and “集まる” are both past events, why don’t we use 苦労したことになった in the first sentence (but we do use 集まったことになった)? Generally, what would be the difference between 〜たことになる and 〜ることになる when both are describing a past result?


texts: Can the phrase にまた_が戻ってくるんだ have multiple meanings?

texts:
This is script from a game where 2 characters are talking to each other. One says:

「賞金が出たら馬を買おう
セボック村にまた馬が戻ってくるんだ
徴集兵のバイトなんかオサラバだぜ

Here is the NTSC-U version:

With a reward, I'll get a horse
and return to T'Bok Village.
It'll end my mercenary work.

I don't understand what また馬が戻ってくるんだ means exactly. Maybe, "Horses are making a comeback in T'Bok Village." or "Horses are becoming popular once again in T'Bok Village."?


texts: What's the meaning of ナーミンナイト in this song lyric?

texts:
These are the last 4 lines of the lyrics for the song はっぴぃなんちゃら

  なごりおしいけど そろそろさよなら
  ときめきナーミンナイト
  ときめきナーミンナイト
  ナーミンナイト(イェイ!)

What does ナーミンナイト (narmin night) mean here? Especially narmin.


texts:
Page 82 of Fluent Forever's "Awesome Word List" for Japanese says that ピンク is a noun or a な-adjective. However, jisho.org says it's a の-adjective, and I recall hearing elsewhere that it is a の-adjective. I tried checking Wiktionary, but neither the English-language nor Japanese-language editions mentioned what particle it uses.

As a general side-question, do words either only use な or only use の, or do some words sometimes use either of them?


texts:
Is the word チェリーボーイ (Eng. "cherry boy", meaning "male virgin") a genuine loanword from English, or is it wasei-eigo?

I would have thought it to be a genuine loanword, but the sources cited on English.SE here seem to indicate that the word was in use in Japan by the end of WWII (c. 1945), but is only attested in English back to the 1970s. This suggests that "cherry boy" might actually be a "reverse" loan of the wasei-eigo back into English, kind of like "salaryman" and "office lady". The relative frequency of these words (incredibly low in English; somewhat higher in Japanese) also sort of points in this direction.

語源由来辞典 says 『「チェリーボーイ」は和製英語と思われがちだが、アメリカでも用いることはある』, but the mere fact that the word is used in English does not necessarily indicate that it isn't wasei-eigo (again, like "salaryman").


texts: What phrase or yojijukugo can I use for Pyrrhic Victory?

texts:
Is there any word or phrase I can use for Pyrrhic Victory, or perhaps empty victory, or both? The first being a case where one wins but suffers such huge damage in some other way that it's victory in name only. The second being a victory but a generally meaningless one.

"Win the battle, lose the war" might come close.

In lieu of any of the above, a pattern for X "in name only" might suffice.


texts: What is the difference between 嫌{きら}う and 嫌{いや}がる? Are they interchangeable?


texts:
This is a mistake I habitually make, even though I know what the right form is.

Earlier tonight, I wanted to tell my friend "Let's go together!", so I sent a mail saying:

  一緒{いっしょ}で行{い}こう！

My friend sent back a mail :

  はい、一緒{いっしょ}に行{い}こう ;)

... reminding me that で is incorrect, and に is the appropriate particle in this case.

Which I know is right, but the reason it's stuck in my head to use で is that it makes more sense to me.

に is used to indicate direction of action(?), so I don't see how "going" can be directed at "together".

で makes sense to me, because my understanding of で is that it means "by use of" or "by way of" or something like that.

So to me it makes perfect sense to say 一緒{いっしょ}で行{い}こう because with で it means "let's go, and the way we'll go is together".

Can someone help me break this habit by making some kind of logical sense of why に is right and で isn't?


texts:
The Tanos JLPT list contains this sentence:

  ディズニーランドはとても面白かったよ。君もこればよかったのに。 Disneyland was very interesting. You should have come with us.

But the accepted answer at Chiebukuro for 『よかったら、一緒に来れば？』と誰かを誘ったりするときの「来れば？」ですが、... says:

  東北辺りでは これば？と言う人もいます
  方言の一種ですね
  読み仮名を付ける場合は「くれば」しかありません

Also, my IMEs refuse to convert これば into 来れば, and Rikaichan does not give any meaningful translation for これば.

Is there a contradiction, or am I misunderstanding something?

Is 来ればよかった correct?
Is こればよかった correct?

If there are several definitions of "correct", I am interested in what JLPT deems "correct".


texts:
I asked this question earlier:

Mother: 当分ここに住むから。
Son: えっ!? 何だよそれ。
Mother: カワイイ一人息子が頭 打ったんだ。
Mother: 様子見くらい いいっしょ。

Here's the question: What does 様子見くらいいいっしょ｡ mean?

様子見 = wait-and-see
くらい = about?around? dunno
いいっしょ = it's good, isn't it? it's ok, right? dunno

But after hours of discussing with some guys I finally get to understand it, though I don't know how to make a literal translation. I can make a decent English translation but not a literal translation.
So, here's what I learned:
様子見くらい いいっしょ｡
Breaking it down.
様子見: Gives the idea of "taking care";"looking after";"checking in on you".
くらい: It was really tricky to learn it, I got something like: For my particular context it gives off the feeling/nuance of "XYZくらい　いいでしょう”　”The amount of XYZ... (is small)　It's not too much to handle, right?”　”It's not going to hurt you to do a little XYZ"
In other words, sometimes XYZくらい trivializes the XYZ
いいっしょ: meaning I think; it seems; probably; right?
So, what would be a literal translation to it? (I don't know if this kind of question is acceptable in this website, if it's not. Please warn me, and I'll delete it).


texts:
Is there a difference between 理解する、and 分かる?
They all seem to mean "understand" but I cannot figure their difference:

Here is some context:

  彼らは誰よりも深くお互いを理解し‌た

They understood each other better than anyone else.


texts: How to reply to a business email with "yes, I'm ok with this time frame"?

texts:
So I received an email from one of our suppliers who aims to visit my company and have a meeting with me, the main part of it is

  12月5日(金)13時以降にご都合は如何でしょうか？

Now, I am fine with the mentioned date/time, and I would like to reply in a bit formal way.

My attempts are like:

  はい、12月5日(金)13時以降にご都合大丈夫です。
  12月5日(金)13時以降に来ていただいても宜しいです。

But they still don't seem to be really formal, and may even sound offensive somehow?!

P.S: I do speak Japanese without any problem, but still struggle when it comes to business emails, and 敬語 :(


texts: 「強さを、孤独を、知る者たち。それは、変わることは無く。」 How do I interpret 変わる here?

texts: Im reading a comic and this is the heading of the chapter. I looked up the english chapter and the translation was "Those who know power and solitude. Know nothing of each other". I'm wondering how they got the second sentence Know nothing of each other, I can't really deduce that based off the second sentence


texts:
I was watching Samurai Gourmet on netflix today, and in the following scene i tried to read the menu on the left side of the screen:

I marked the item that is interesting me with a red box. If it am not mistaken it reads "Toromino". I was trying to find a meaning via google, but i am completely lost on that one. Any idea what dish that refers to?


texts: I'm Italian and while I was studying katakana words such as イタリア I didn't understand why, even though in Japanese there is the specific syllable "rya" (リャ), it's not used in the word イタリア and instead the combination of syllables "ri" and "a"(リア) is used as it has the same sound. So why is イタリア and not イタリャ?


texts:
同人について暑苦しく語り過ぎたんでしょう？それで相手をドン引きさせてしまって

How does 暑苦しく work here? The first thought I had was that it meant passionate, but 熱 is the one associated with passionate, not 暑.


texts: What do I actually call familiar or friendly language?

texts:
When writing on Lang-8, I often end up writing both formal and casual versions (for practice), with labels. I also wish occasionally to discuss formality, and thus need words to talk about the different levels.

With formal language, 丁寧語｛ていねいご｝ is pretty universal. (Keigo is another story, but I think I understand its terms pretty well.) However, over time, I have tried (and been corrected many times) to use various words for casual language, and never found the right one.

タメ語｛ご｝： I was told this was often used as a gambler's slang and that it was a bit too rough to use in average casual language.
友達言葉｛ともだちことば｝： No one has ever told me anything is wrong with this, but it is frequently corrected to various other terms below.
普通体｛ふつうたい｝： Seen this one only once, and I've never even heard of it before that.
くだけた表現｛ひょうげん｝： Was given this one today in place of 友達言葉.
カジュアル： The loanword for "casual", and I've been told to use it a couple times.

What is the difference between the language represented by these various words? Are some more acceptable than others? Are some more formal?

And most importantly, how do I know which of these words to use to talk about casual, friendly language?


texts:
I know that 頑張らないと would mean "I have to work hard" (as if I am forced to work hard).
What if I see someone (my friend) working hard and I am motivated to work hard too. In this case, would 頑張らないと or 頑張らなくちゃ be ok? Or is there a better phrase? 頑張らなくちゃ sounds very forced to me.


texts: Difference between using Noun + Particle + の and Similar Construction

texts:
I was going through the usage of Noun Modifiers with Particle の, and I came across a Comment in Maggie Sensei's blog stating for the difference between the following constructions:

Noun + Particle + の + Noun, and Sentence Verb + の(as a nominaliser) + Particle

Eg. 電話での問い合わせは大変だ and 電話で問い合わせするのは大変だ
(There are other examples as well if you think about when you use の as nominaliser)
Maggie Sensei's Answer: "Noun + Particle + の + Noun” is slightly more formal so you use this form more in a written form. So you use 電話で問い合わせするのは〜 more in conversation"

Noun + Particle + の + Noun and, Noun modifier (Which is a Verb) + Noun + Rest of the sentence

E.g. 窓からの景色がきれいです　and 窓から見える景色がきれいです
Maggie Sensei's Answer: The listeners/readers can visualize what the speaker/writer says more vividly with a verb.

Question

I was not sure about answer Maggie Sensei provided, So could anyone please elucidate the difference both in nuance and in Grammar? I am also having doubts between the two, as effectively they are conveying the same meaning
教えてください


texts:
For example,

  まっちろけなお弁当になっちゃった。 (context: it's lunch)

or

  どれも、なんかまっちろけでさ。 (context: scene of an accident)

Does it have something to do with 真っ白, masshiro?
I think it may be some sort of obscure slang I don't know about, because I can't find any information on the internet and I don't see how pure white (masshiro) could apply to either of the examples. Thanks!


texts: Is "わけわかんねーよ!" some shorten casual form of speech?

texts:
This phrase is from a jrpg set in feudal japan.
Is "わけわかんねーよ!" some shortened casual form of speech?
Is わかんね is short for わからない?
What is the grammar for it?
Is it right to translate it like "I don't understand meaning!"


texts: What's the ultra-polite way to invite someone to do something?

texts:
While reading What's the polite way to invite someone to do something?, I noticed that many of the comments/answers talk about how things are polite enough for an online chat service. Well, I'm curious what would be the proper ultra polite way to talk to your far far superior superior. A way of saying it suitable for the situation where you need extreme politeness. Here's a situation I'm imagining:

  You are the newest employee and lowest on the corporate ladder for a huge megacorporation. You are a master of all polite forms of Japanese as well as being a qualified teacher of English. You by some accident are given the opportunity to talk to the CEO of said megacoporation, who doesn't speak English but wishes to learn. You wish to tell the CEO to feel free to contact you if they have any questions about English or want to learn English from you.

What would you say in Japanese? I've come up with

  英語につきましては何なりとご連絡ください。お役に立てれば幸いです。

But I'm sure it could be made politer/more formal.

P.S. I'd also be interested if say you were talking to the Emperor/Prime Minister/Other person of very high status if the appropriate language would change. I imagine it would be different if you were a servant working for a high class family.


texts: Is the translation "Even if you fail, just continue to challenge yourself." correct for 「たとえ失敗したとしても、またチャレンジすればいい。」?

texts:
たとえ失敗したとしても、またチャレンジすればいい。

Even if you fail, just continue to challenge yourself.

Where can I find the yourself part in the Japanese sentence? Also, where is just continue in the sentence?

Is the translation even accurate!!?

Here's my own translation, correct me if I'm wrong:

Even if you fail, 1(you should) 2(take the challenge) 3(again)].

たとえ失敗したとしても、3(また)　2(チャレンジすれ)　1(ばいい)。]


texts: how could a sentence end with (noun + "よ"?)

texts:
I'd thought you cannot end a sentence with a noun. Rather:
noun + だ。
noun + です。
noun + である。
noun + であります。
noun + でございます。

But in a movie dialogue, I heard: "大切なのは、心よ。"

Ending a sentence with a noun sounds weird. In every situation, I add "です" (or でございます). But, what is "よ"? a 助詞？Does it effect whether to voice the "です"?


texts:
In the manga Yotsubato, the main character Yotsuba's father says 「ジャンボが二人分働くしな」.  I understand the sentence as a whole, I think, but I don't understand the しな at the end.

Here's the full dialogue:

  よつば：ジャンボ、しばらく見ないうちにまた大きくなった！
  ジャンボ：お？どこでおぼえたそのセリフ
  お父さん：まあいいか。ジャンボが二人分働くしな


texts: の ⋆ こと ⋆ というの ⋆ ということ Used as Complementizers

texts:
I'm trying to figure out differences in meaning in nuance among all the ways to express X that Y.
As in:

こんなによく遅刻をするというのは問題ですよ。
"It's a problem that you're late this often," or "That you're late
this often is a problem."
彼女が金を貸してくれたということは私は彼に信用されているということだ。
"The most interesting thing was that the main character was the
criminal," or "That the main character was the criminal was the most
interesting thing."

My questions:

Do these guidelines for choosing の/こと apply to the use of ということ
and というの? If so, those guidelines don't seem to be followed in a lot
of the example sentences I've read.
Am I overcomplicating this? I've read and heard suggestions it's as
simple as: の and こと both correspond to "that" when used as
complementizers, and the preceding という just serves to highlight or
foreground the clause appearing before it. This answer seems
to jive with that interpretation.
Building off the previous question, and at the risk of sounding like I'm requesting the shameful
"word-for-word translation" -- could it be as simple as, こと and の
(with their respective restrictions as nominalizers) correspond to
"that," and という+nominalizer corresponds roughly to "the fact that"?
As in: こんなによく遅刻をすることは... would mean that you are late this often..."
and こんなによく遅刻をするということは... would mean the fact that you are late this
often..." Is this correct?
Ultimately, what I'm trying to figure out is the differences in
usage/meaning/nuance in the following sentences:

こんなによく遅刻をするというのは問題です。
こんなによく遅刻をするのは問題です。
こんなによく遅刻をするということは問題です。
こんなによく遅刻をすることは問題です。

I know there must be a few dozen explanations on the internet, including a lot on stackexchange, but they often don't agree or they only cover phrases like "so that means..." rather than complementizers.
The most thorough explanation I've found is in the Dictionary of Intermediate Japanese Grammar.
The way they it treat it is sort of convoluted, though.
Excerpt:
S to iu koto wa is used when the speaker / writer views the content of S at a
conceptual leve!・ Specifically, S to iu koto wa is used (1)when S is unlikely
or impossible (e.g・,KS(A) and Ex.(a)), or (2) when the speaker / writer
concludes or attempts to conclude s.t. from S (e.g., KS(B) and (C), and
Exs.(b)-(g))・
First, S koto cannot be used when S is unlikely to happen. In this case, S to
iu koto is used, as in [1].
[1]a.彼がこの集まりに来ない｛という/*0 ｝ことは考えられない。
(=KS(A))
b.これだけ丁寧に説明すれば,分からない｛という/*0! ことはあ
り得ない。(=Ex.(a))
Third, if S represents something likely to happen, both S koto and S to iu
koto are acceptable, as in [4], In this case the speaker / writer may view the
situation at either a concrete level or a conceptual level.
[4] 彼がこの集まりに来ない｛0/という｝ことは雜かだ。
(It is certain that he will not come to this meeting.)

I didn't see an explanation of exactly what the authors mean by "conceptual" and "concrete," and there doesn't seem to be a corresponding section for というの used to mean "that" or "the fact that."
Other explanations seem to disagree with the DIJG.
Interestingly, I've seen a number of questions on hinative about の/こと/というの/ということ used as complementizers, and a lot of the native answers are literally just "こと is natural." I feel like that has to be worth considering if it's straight from native speakers, but I wonder if it might fall short when you're trying to enable yourself to use Japanese for professional purposes in professional settings.
And then this answer from a native here on stackexchange suggests it's the other way around.
My current theory is that out of the examples above, こんなによく遅刻をするというのは問題です sounds most natural/is most grammatical because the addressee being late and that being a problem occur in concert (の) and because という foregrounds the phrase it nominalizes, which seems in keeping with the speaker's intent.
Thanks in advance for any help you can offer.


texts:
[彼女]{かのじょ}が[最初]{さいしょ}に[来]{き}たのにはびっくりした。

What is the usage of のには?
I think that「の」means「こと」, that is, a generic event. But I can't understand the usage of には in this case.


texts: Topic particle after "expression of time"

texts:
I am reading chapter 4 from the JLPT N5 book, where I found the following sentence:

  昨日勉強しましたか。

After 昨日, why wasn't there a topic particle? Is "昨日は勉強しましたか。" an incorrect sentence?


texts: Under what scenarios can you use transitive verbs with に？

texts:
それじゃあなんかお前の方が詳しそうだから、ここはお前に任せる

俺の負けだ。今日のところは素直に敗北を認める

Can に and を be swapped in these scenarios? If not, what is the distinction between 認める and 任せる ?


texts: What is the nuance and feeling of the expression 愛の営みをする?

texts:
If 営み/いとなみ/itonami is a noun meaning: work;  life,

then is 愛の営みをする a literary way of saying "to make love" ?

What feel does this expression have? Does it sound perfunctory or passionate?

愛の営みをする to make love to

～と情熱的な愛の営みをする
to make passionate love to


texts:
Context: After entering the room and looking at the corpse of her mother's love affair, the girl said these two lines:

  あのまま彼がママに会ってたらママを取られてた？
  だったら彼は死んだほうがいいってわけ

My literal understanding of the first sentence is "if he and mom met each other, she would be taken away from us/she would leave us", and for the second one is "if that's the case, then it'd be better for him to die". But when I checked the official English translation, I see this

If he hadn't met mom, she would have left us.
So isn't it a good thing that he's dying?

あのまま might indicate a situation happened in the past, so if clause type 3 makes sense to me, but shouldn't it be "had met" instead of "hadn't met"? Why does the publisher translate あのまま彼がママに会 as a negative sentence here?


texts:
Is this actually ごぬんくださーい, and does it mean "Excuse us!"?

I got "Excuse Us!" from the English translation of the uncropped version of that image.


texts:
I've tried scouring through various Japanese dictionaries with no luck.

For some context:
Person A has just heard person B and C have gotten married:

  いんやぁ~おめでたいよねぇ~！


texts: What's the difference between お待ちになる and 待たれる?

texts: I know they're both polite ways to use a verb, but my materials never taught me what unique traits each one has. Is it just the tone, or is there more to it?


texts:
In the following sentence:

図書館へ行くつもりなんだ

What is なんだ from the grammar point of view?


texts: I recently came across the word 旅路【たびじ】 with the meaning "journey", which includes the kanji 旅, which on its own can also mean "journey". So how do these words differ in their usage? Is there even a difference? Is it just nuances? I didn't find any good examples that would explain when to use one or the other. So far when I spoke in Japanese about my travels, I always used 旅【たび】 or 旅行【りょこう】.


texts:
What is the function of the particle に in this context?
https://streamable.com/wnti04
more specifically in the part that he says:

着替えに 洗面道具

お茶セットに お皿

人形に 花瓶


texts:
It's the literal translation of this line

  お前を正しいと受け入れていた俺の心が弱かった
  omae o tadashii to ukeireteita ore no kokoro ga yowakatta

"My heart was weak because accept that you are right" or "My heart was weak because accepted that you were right?" I understand that "tadashii" word it's in present form, past form it's "tadashii katta", right? Or there are any way to that word can be in past form in this line without change it?

It's the line in 28:59 to 29:04 in this video. youtube.com/watch?v=8o01LRQx7wM&t=366s Don't look the subtitules please.


texts: What is difference between 変わり and 変える ? 変える means "to change". Maybe 変わり is just a noun? Or maybe there is some grammar rule?


texts: What is the difference between 交ざる / 混ざる {まざる} and 交じる / 混じる {まじる}?

texts:
Both {まじる} and {まざる} with both initial kanji characters 交 and 混 are intransitive verbs that are translated into this by rikaichan:

  to be mixed; to be blended with; to associate with; to mingle with; to join
  (まじる has an extra meaning "to interest" though)

What is the difference between the まじる and まざる readings, in term of nuances and usage? Are they interchangeable?

EDIT:

To further investigate the two variants, I conducted Google searches using +込む form, and here are the results:

交ざり込む
About 40,900 results
交じ込む
About 5,330,000 results
交じり込む
About 861,000 results
混ざり込む
About 1,230,000 results
混じ込む
About 74,900 results
混じり込む
About 1,050,000 results

Someone please tell me how to interpret those results. Does {まじる} become {まじります} or {まじます}?


texts:
The parents are comparing themselves to comedy characters:

  Father:「なっ長さん」
  Narrator: 長さんと言われたお母さんはにがりきった顔になった。
  Father: ??
  Narrator: Mum, who had been called Chou, made a bitter face.

I can only imagine that なっ is a contraction of あなたは but that seems to be a bit of a stretch. What is the correct interpretation, and when is it appropriate to use it?


texts: How often is だが used in everyday conversation?

texts: I hear often in anime and is translated as "but". And normally, it's at the beginning of the sentence. But I wonder if it used outside of the TV/movie world. For instance, きみ, I hear very often in anime, but I've been told it's not used in everyday speaking.


texts:
Take the sentence:

  バッサリいこうぜ！うっとうしいだろ[長]{なげ}えとよ。

The first, from context,  I think means "You're gonna get a haircut!" I can't find バッサリ in the dictionary, though. The second probably says "It's seems irritating at that length." I'm not sure how the filler えと functions here. Especially with the particle よ.


texts: How does 十中八九 break down to mean 9 times out of 10 when there is 八 in the phrase?

texts:
十中八九 is one of my favorite phrases.  I don't use it that much, but it is still one of my favorites all the same.  Almost every dictionary I have used translates it as "nine times out of ten," which I think is wrong, since the kanji for 八 is also in it.  The only exception is jisho.org, which says it's eight or nine times out of ten, which I'm assuming is more correct. In a cruel twist of irony, however, even the example sentence on jisho.org ignored the 八 kanji!

So is the gap in translation here due to the fact that in English we say 9 times out of 10, where the Japanese say 8 or 9 times out of ten? In other words, is the difference between these phrases cultural?

I can't help but think of the Dragon Ball Z translation where the Japanese "八千以上!" is translated to English as "It's over 9000!"  However, I doubt that there's a connection in these two cases.

Also, am I correct in understanding 十中八九 as "Out of 10, 8 or 9 (times)?"  I've never been 100% confident on how to break it down.


texts:
Here is a phrase:

ねだんが　たかいレストランは　あまり　すきじゃない
I don't like high price restaurant very much

Now, the questions.

If I used たかいねだん　レストラン, would it be wrong? Or would mean something different?
The が particle indicates what is high/tall in the restaurant, right? This will always be indicated with a が particle?
If I take away the ねだんが will the phrase then become something like: "I don't like tall restaurant very much"?

Disclaimer: I'm still learning Kanji, so if possible, please add kana.


texts:
I've been trying to understand the age old question of が vs は recently. The resources I've used so far have given helpful answers, but I'm still not getting 1 key point. I'll summarize my knowledge so far:

Tae Kim (see this and this) points out that が is mainly an identifier particle, i.e. it identifies new information. Makino and Tsutsui note this as well in their book (see this, pp118-20). This excellent post on this site talks about it as well and uses the concept of “universe of discourse” to indicate what can and cannot use は and が. If it’s new, i.e. not in the universe of discourse, then it uses が. If not, it uses は. None of these sources, while helpful, can fully answer my questions however.

I'll give some examples that are confusing me. My potential solution is that context determines when the bellow use は or が, but I don’t understand how it would.

(a) The classic example of the beginning of a fairytale that many, including Makino and Tsutsui, use [pp118-9]:

  昔々一人のおじいさんが住んでいました。おじいさんはとても貧乏でした

This is perfectly clear. We don't know the old man, so he's introduced via が and then は can and must be used. Same as in English the and a.

  There once was an old man. The man was very poor.

What confuses me, however, is generic nouns and some pronouns (see next examples) where I can't use the "a and the" test.

(b) Makino and Tsutsui give the following example:

  雨が降っている

I don’t understand here how 雨 constitutes “new” information. Makino and Tsutsui say that は can be used with “generic nouns” that are not new information by virtue of their being general knowledge (their examples are “車” and “人”). Wouldn’t this include something like "rain"?

(c) In this Stackexchange post, Flaw (question author) considers and example dialogue: "

  Person A: どちらが東ですか。Person B: こちら（ は / が ）東です。

This is an exercise, and according to the person answering the question, it's が as こちら constitutes "new information". The answer there doesn't sufficiently explain, for me to understand, why this is new information. As Flaw points out, isn't this part of the environment the people are speaking in, and thus context should give have introduced こちら already? Also, I don't understand in general how a generic non question-word pronouns like こちら can be sometimes "new" and sometimes "old" information (as both は and が are used with it at different points). Questions words make sense, as they’re always unknown information, but other pronouns (including things like 私) don't make sense to me.

Again, my potential solution is that context determines when the bellow use は or が, but I don’t understand how that would happen.

ありがとうございます! よろしくお願いいたします!


texts: What is the difference between 決意 and 決心？

texts: I have pondered this for a while but it seems that 決意 and 決心 can be used interchangeably as “determination” or “make up your mind” . I have checked on some Japanese articles as well, and there is some nuance to it, but does anybody have seen this on a real conversation, article or book?


texts: Why is the meaning of kanji 閑 "leisure"?

texts:
The kanji 閑 contains 門 + 木.
Why does gate + tree mean 'leisure'?


texts: I don't understand Genki1's explanation of using の after verbs

texts:
Can someone explain? I just don't quite understand it.

Thanks.


texts:
Grammatically speaking, is it correct if I translate

  During my two years stay in Japan, I have visited many places.

to

  日本に住んでいた二年で、色々な所へ行きました

？


texts: What does 高層ビルに何車線もの道路。mean?

texts:
高層ビルに何車線もの道路。

I don't understand why they would use the word ''road'' talking about skyscrapers.

I don't entirely get the 何車線も structure either. It reminds me of 何年も but I still can't understand its meaning.

What does that sentence mean?


texts:
I have created a geocache puzzle based on Japanese Morse Code (Wabun Code).

The final coordinates that I translated are: N 43° 09.725 W 077° 26.688

I broke this down as follows:

N    4      3   °     9  .     7         2     5  '
kita shijuu san jisuu ku chobo nanahyaku nijuu go fun

W     7       7      °     2     6    .     6        8       8     '
nishi nanajuu shichi jisuu nijuu roku chobo roppyaku kyuujuu hachi fun

I wasn't sure about the terms for: north, west, degree, decimal, or minutes; but I thought it was probably passable.

I broke these out into kana:

キタ / シジュウ / サン / ジスウ / ク / チョボ / ナナヒャク / ニジュウ / ゴ / フン
ki ta / shi ju u / sa n / ji su u / ku / cho bo / na na hya ku / ni ju u / go / fu n

ニシ / ナナジュウ / シチ / ジスウ / ニジュウ / ロコ / チョボ / ロッピャク / キュウジュウ / ハチ / フン
ni shi / na na ju u / shi chi / ji su u / ni ju u / ro ku / cho bo / ro long(p) pya ku / kyu u ju u / ha chi / fu n

And then mapped those kana to Wabun. I even updated the Wabun wikipedia page to combine the dakuten and handakuten diacritics and other digraphs. That was the toughest part for me to get in all my research.

You can see the page at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wabun_code

This is where my real problem starts. My research showed, roppyaku should be written as ロッピャク, with the sokuon (small tsu) used to mark the double "p" consonant.

  For example, Pocky (a Japanese snack food), is written in kana as ポッキー

From what I could find of Wabun, there are only diacritics for Dakuten (◌゛), Handakuten (◌゜), and Long vowel (◌̄). There doesn't appear to be any code in Wabun for double cosonant.

Unable to answer this question, and not wanting to use the "wrong" form of 600 like this...

ロ     ピャ              ク
ro    pya             ku
•-•-  --••- ••--• •-- •••-

I went with the incorrect, but "understandable to westerners" form of 600 like this...

ロ     ク     ヒャ        ク
ro    ku    hya       ku
•-•-  •••-  --••- •-- •••-

What would be the correct way to represent 688 in kana and translated to Wabun?

The only real Wabun information that I found was on Wikipedia. All other references seemed to be based off of the Wikipedia article. Is there a way in Wabun to represent the sokuon diacritic that isn't represented in the Wikipedia article?


texts: ている: 上がっています Context and Resultive State?

texts:
また石油の値段が上がっています。

I have problems comprehending the use of ている in this context. To my understanding, 上がっています used in the example sentence is referring to the state of the "increased" price of 石油 (oil) and not the continuous action of in the process of going up. Am I right to say that?

I read a few past questions about てーいる and found out that it can also refer to a completed state. Can I assume it is referring to that in my example?


texts: What is the difference [一瞬]{いっ・しゅん}, [一刻]{いっ・こく}, and [(一)刹那]{(いっ・)せつ・な}

texts:
They all mean something like an instant or a moment.

When are they (and when are they not) interchangeable?
Is any more (in)formal/literary than the others?
Do they represent the same amount of time?

My gut says that 一瞬 is the quickest (like [電光石火]{でん・こう・せっ・か}) and that 一刻 can be a longer "moment" (like 即席ラーメン or, "Can you answer a quick servey?  It'll only take a moment of your time.").
I've never heard (一)刹那 used in real life, so I have no basis for comparison.


texts: Strange usage of を-Particle inside a 俳句 (haiku)

texts:
There is a company which sells tea in teabags that have a haiku printed on one of the sides (of the teabag).
Recently I came upon the following haiku:
昼寝{ひるね}して
    鳥獣{ちょうじゅう}戯画{ぎが}の
         中{なか}にをり

What does をり in the last line mean? I have a feeling that it is intentionally written in this way and not as おり (which comes from　居る)
Thanks a lot!


texts: Odd Word order (Noun at end of sentence)

texts:
I am slightly confused at the structure of this sentence and why 黒髪の男 is appearing at the end of the sentence.

ぴたり、と足を止める黒髪の男.

my suspicion is that "黒髪の男” is appearing at the end of the sentence in order to emphasis the information. However I just want to make sure my understanding is correct.


texts:
What's the difference between すべき (subeki) and べき (beki)?

  すべき (subeki) =  should do; ought to do

  べき (beki) = should; must; that one ought to; to be done

Both mean "should", but is there a rule as to when to use one instead of the other?

Here are some examples from my text book:

  motto sentakushi ga aru beki dato omoimasu.
  I think there should be more choice

  Nani o subeki ka wakarimasu yo.
  You'll know what to do, I'm telling you.

What's the difference between the two? In the examples above, they seem to perform the same function. So why is one used over the other?


texts: Function of 「masu-stem」＋よる in Kansai-ben

texts:
Several years ago an acquaintance introduced me to the Hiroshima dialect and mentioned clear distinction between perfect and continuous aspects:

Example 1:

  The bus is coming.
  Standard:　バスが来ている。
  Chugoku:　バスが来よる。

  The bus has already arrived.
  Standard:　バスが来ている。 -- same as above
  Chugoku:　バスが来とる。

Example 2:

  When I got up this morning and opened the window, it was raining.
  (still raining) Standard:　今朝起きて窓を開けたら、雨が降っていた。
  Chugoku:　今朝起きて窓を開けたら、雨が降りよった。

  When I got up this morning and opened
  the window, I found it had rained. (already stopped.)
  Standard:　今朝起きて窓を開けたら、雨が降っていた。 Chugoku:　今朝起きて窓を開けたら、雨が降っとった。

Now living in Kansai, I hear verbs like 言いよる, 来よった, 当てよった quite often, but so far assumed it was regional variation of past tense: 言っている, 来た, 当てた.

Now that I looked at the explanation of Hiroshima-ben, I started to wonder if  this tense distinction was present in Kansai area too?

Is it archaic and getting extinct now because of hyōjungo prevalence?

Or maybe 「masu-stem」＋よる does have different function in Kansai-ben?


texts: I'm reading a book and the author keeps using the spelling "一つひとつ" for "one-by-one". I found this a bit curious: The word itself is just a doubled 一つ, so why not spell both parts the same? Does writing it that way convey a certain nuance which 一つ一つ or 1つ1つ do not?


texts: Does もっと act on nouns or predicates or both?

texts:
もっと本を読みなさい
  Read more books
  もっと対策をだれか考えてよ
  Someone think of some more countermeasures

When I first learnt もっと it was in the context of modifying a predicate e.g. もっと速く = faster. So in the example sentences above I'm unsure whether もっと modifies the noun or the verb. Is it 'read (more books)' or (do more reading) of books.

Can もっと mean 'additional' e.g.

  ここにはもっと本がある
  There are more books here (compared to elsewhere)

I feel this is wrong. I want to write もっと多くの本 or something like that.

But I also saw this sentence:

  もっとお茶はいかがですか

and I can't see what もっと could be modifying here except 'tea'.


texts:
The following sentence was part of the last exercise I did:

  あなたが何を見つけようと、それは途方もなく危険なもの_____。大勢の人間が私達を殺そうとしてるんだから。
  A

  A. に間違いない、B. に越したことはない、C. に相違ない、D. に決まっている

The right answer was D.

The thing is, I have trouble understanding the meaning of this sentence.
I think I understand most of it though:

  大勢の人間が私達を殺そうとしてるんだから。

  That's because a lot of people are trying to kill us.

  それは途方もなく危険なもの

  This (is?) something incredibly dangerous

Then I'm a bit stuck.
I feel like the key to understanding this sentence is that "あなたが何を見つけようと、" without any follow-up.
I think I remember learning something like the "思う" or "する" that usually comes after the volitional form + と can be omitted.
However, I cannot wrap my head around this part.

How should I parse this sentence?
And what's the meaning of it once "に決まっている" has been inserted?


texts:
その巨大{きょだい}な学園{がくえん}は都会{とかい}のど真{ま}ん中{なか}の一等地{いっとうち}に聳{そび}えたっていた

I can understand the meaning of this sentence but I can't comprehend what「に」is meaning in it.


texts:
I was reading in  Basic Japanese Grammar Dictionary about the passive voice, and it says that you use ~られる form to conjugate verbs. (p33)

So [逃]{に}げる would be 逃げられる, ok.

But it is used other form, like in this example on the book:

  山田さんは奥さんに逃げられた
  (Mr. Yamada's wife ran away from him)

逃げる -> 逃げられた

What form is correct?

What are the differences if both are correct (逃げられる and 逃げられた)?

What is this form called?


texts: Meaning of "見るとこは見てくれてる"

texts:
Context: A and B are talking about B's son, 景明
A:「景明を信じて託すと云うのか」
B:「うん」
A:「……儂とて奴には信を置くところがある。　でなくば冗談にも山賊退治を命じたりなどせん」
B:「あぁ。あんたも見るとこは見てくれてるな。　母親としちゃ、嬉しいことだ」
What does "見るとこは見てくれてる" mean in this case? I suspect it's something like "paying attention to the right things" (Kageaki's aptitude in this case) but I don't know for sure.


texts: What is the Japanese word that sounds like English word "Nonsense" and what is its meaning?

texts: I just heard a Japanese man say what sounded like "Nonsense" said with American accent immediately followed by Japanese "ka ne". Assuming he didn't throw a single American English word in his speech what is this Japanese word and its meaning? Sounds like "Nansenskane".


texts:
For full context, see here:
https://www.docdroid.net/oraqSdS/img-20170830-0001-new.pdf

The following sentence is taken from Line 2-3:
日本では交通事故で毎年1万人くらい死んでいるが、その原因のほとんどは運転手のミスである。

First, my attempt at translation:
In Japan each year around 10000 people are killed in accidents in traffic, but…it is the drivers fault.

I honestly can’t make any sense of その原因のほとんどは .

ほとんど is listed on jisho as an adverbial or temporal noun http://jisho.org/search/%E3%81%BB%E3%81%A8%E3%82%93%E3%81%A9%E3%81%8C
I don’t know what a temporal noun is. I know nouns in adverbial function with a temporal meaning. Maybe this is meant here, but I can’t know for sure.
And even if I knew what it is, with the english translations provided by jisho I still can’t figure out a meaningful translation.

The same btw. goes for this sentence　(Line 4-5):
飛行機事故、仕事中の事故、家庭での事故、これらの原因もほとんどがヒュマンエラーである。

First, my attempt at translation:
„aircraft accidents, accidents at the workplace and accidents at home, ….are human error.“

The part これらの原因もほとんどが is just as cryptic for me. I’d also like to know why も is used here, since the pattern is basically the same as before. Is も used in the function of the の of the sentence before, just with the addition that も emphasizes that the same or a similar thing is mentioned here?


texts: Which time expressions take the に particle?

texts:
The textbook Japanese for busy people 1 tells me, in lesson 6, that "relative time expressions like あした, らいしゅう, こんげつ and きょねん generally do not take any particles."
They exemplify this with sentences like:

  スミスさんはあしたぎんこうにいきます。
  チャンさんはきょねんにほんにきました。

One lesson later, they tell me that "unlike relative time expressions, specific time expressions take the particle に.

  どようびに, 'on Saturday'
  ２００６ねんに, 'in 2006'"

They then provide these example sentences:

  ジョンソンさんはらいしゅうのきんようびににほんにきます。
  かいぎはすいようびです。

However, and contradicting the explanation given, the second example sentence does not take に. Furthermore, they do not provide any example as to why. Is there any rule that explains this? When do specific time expression take the に particle, and when don't they?

P.S.: I know no kanji, so please provide your answers in kana. Thank you.


texts: Is the meaning of ありあまる negative or positive?

texts:
According to the dictionary on my MacBook Pro, ありあまる means "be [have*] more than enough". I was thinking about the song by ゲスの極み乙女:ロマンスがありあまる when I first heard the word/expression.

The question boils down to if I can use ありあまる as a positive expression

ロマンスがありあまる I have lots of romance, and that is a good thing

or a negative expression

ロマンスがありあまる I am fed of with romance, and that is a bad thing

Or maybe it is context dependent?
The dictionary also provides me with two examples

▸ 精力が有り余っている
have too much [an excess of] energy.

▸ 彼には有り余るほどの金がある
He has more money than he can spend.

But I still do not know if they are meant as negative or positive.


texts:
Here is a sentence said by a kid to officers wanting them to do something.

まってちゃぶだい　まっておじさま　やるよ　やってみせるよっ。

I found that ちゃぶだい means 'tea table' but I don't know if it is related to the meaning of waiting someone.


texts:
For reference the text comes from the following tweet
My understanding of the context is that this person and someone else(referred to as 作画サイド in the tweet) had a work adapted into an anime that they weren't too happy about how it went. Essentially they (the anime studio / director / etc) ignored the original creators and they replaced lots of the jokes/parodies etc.
I've highlighted the bit in bold that I'm looking for help with.

ちなみに世代的にパロディのネタはボクは分かったけど作画サイドは「全然知らん。分からん」状態で何度か 「原作差し止めしてでもあの内容はやめてほしい」言われもても「まぁまぁ」といった結果が今なので、世の中「大人に対応」って言われるもんはその場凌ぎの無策って事だけは学びましたな 。

It's split into two parts:
「原作差し止めしてでもあの内容はやめてほしい」言われもても「まぁまぁ」といった結果が今なので - My understanding of this is that someone was asked by the artist to stop this "content"(referring to what is happening to the anime) even if it meant stopping the original work, and they responded telling the person to calm down. Who was the person who told them this, it sounds like it was someone other than the author of the tweet but I'm not sure.
世の中「大人に対応」って言われるもんはその場凌ぎの無策　- The thing called "adult response" is just a temporary/stopgap measure. Would anyone be able to provide more understanding in what they mean by this phrase?


texts: Sentence Help: Adding め After the Word for Owl

texts:
I am reading Harry Potter in Japanese, and there is a line that reads:「 あのふくろうめを黙らせられないなら、始末してしまえ！」
The way I interpreted this quote is as, "if that owl cannot be made silent, then make it end!" However, I can't figure out why there is a め after the word for owl, ふくろう.


texts: 未来につなぐ: Precise meaning? Fuzzy marketing buzzword?

texts:
未来につなぐ

Does this phrase have a precise meaning, a meaning that can be translated into precise English? Or is this simply a positive-sounding but vague trendy marketing phrase?

I see for example the following from company and government websites, usually as a title or a motto:

未来につなぐ環境戦略
未来につなぐ森づくり
未来につなぐ松下幸之助の精神
未来につなぐわらごはん

But, for example 1 above, "Environmental Strategy Connecting to the Future,"  sounds vague and a bit silly, not very natural. "Linking to the Future" sounds a bit better but still odd.


texts: How would you express "pausing to think" in Japanese?

texts:
I was wondering how would you express pausing to think in Japanese. So for example in English it would be said as "hmmmm...".

I believe あのう。。。 can be used but are there any more ways to do so?

I hope my question is clear.


texts:
『はー……すっごいなぁ、最近のゲームって。これで体験版ってんだから、こりゃ製品版出たら買うしかないなあ』

How should I understand the bold で grammatically? I understand the これで as conveying a nuance of “although the the game is well designed”. But I am not sure if で can mean “although”, which can’t be found in any dictionary I know.
And how is 体験版ってんだから different from 体験版だから?


texts:
マイク は たくさん の 友好的 な 人たち と 会う こと が できます 。

マイク は このよう な（この様な） お客様 と 話し を する 時 幸せ に 感じます 。

In the above passage, I translate このよう な（この様な） お客様 と 話し を する as "this way of talking with customers." But "this way" is never explained. All the first sentence says is that Mike is able to meet a lot of nice people, it does not talk about the way he talks with customers.


texts:
I'm a bit stuck in translating  歌うめぇ. I found somewhere that めぇ can be a colloqiual form of まい, but I don't know if it is true. Could you help me, please?

The context is that you've heard someone singing who didn't do it for a while.


texts: Are フィ、ファ、フェ and フォ still pronounced with a bilabial fricative or just a normal English "f"?

texts: I know that ふ is pronounced with a bilabial fricative, which is different from an English "f" or "h". However, in 外来語 there are some words containing things like フィ、ファ、フェ and フォ. e.g. フィクション. Seeing there is a ふ in there, I am wondering whether I should do a bilabial fricative or the English "f". Can Japanese people pronounce English "f"s?


texts:
少なくともあなた自身は 見たら抜かずにはいられないほど嫌い、な様ではないようですし

So , what does this な　in {な様} mean ?


texts: I was reading jujutsu kaisen in japanese and I noticed that some words that I normally see written on other ways were written in katakana (コレ、オマエ、モノ、アイツら etc). Is there a grammatical reason for it, or is it just a stylistic choice?


texts:
全身から金持ち光線と金持ちを優先しろ光線をびんびん出していた。
  From her whole body there radiated out a rich person beam and a "prioritise rich people!" beam.

I understand what the author is saying but is this good grammar?

For example the object of 優先する seems to be 金持ち光線と金持ち i.e. "prioritise rich people beams and rich people". What is going on with the と here?

Also, there seems to be something missing between 優先しろ and 光線. My instinct as a learner is to insert a という here. Would that be wrong?


texts: Does the use of 予 such as in 猶予 to mean "in advance" have any precedent in Chinese?

texts:
There are a lot of Japanese words that use the morpheme よ, written 予, to mean "in advance". This clearly looks like a loan from Chinese, but I do not know of any examples of Chinese words or texts that use 予 in such a way.

Are there any examples of the usage of 予 to mean "in advance" in Chinese? If there are, it must have been a rather rare usage. What would explain the large number of Japanese words that use it in this way?


texts:
The word wasn't in any sentence, the person simply said that one word in the speech bubble. Here's the context situation if it's any help:

Guy: //kisses girl

Guy:  お (Oh)

Guy: イケた

Girl: ?! (Suprised reaction)


texts:
Every time I walk by a barbershop (not a 美容院), I think of the words 散髪屋 and 床屋. Which word is correct, or sounds better, more interesting, for a non-native speaker to use in a conversation?

And, after either, is it possible to add "さん"? Such as 散髪屋さん and 床屋さん?

By adding, "さん" what nuance does it add?


texts: As the title says. I found it on weblio dictionary and it says ある人がその事に当たる。, but that doesn't help me a lot, as I can't find example sentences (and the one I have on the book I'm reading isn't too clear as well). Can someone help me please?


texts: How do I introduce something new and then describe it in the same sentence?

texts:
I recently learned how to use これ, この, それ, その etc. but I was wondering how to introduce something new to someone, like これはゲームです and then adding onto that sentence to describe it (for example in English I could say “this is a game, it is new/fun/boring etc.”). I know I could use something like このゲームはおもしろいです but it seems like this implies the person I’m talking to already knows what a game is. Is there any way to introduce something new and describe it in the same sentence?
Thanks!


texts: くれる used for actions not directed at oneself

texts:
For things that are done by someone else, but not directed to oneself, can くれる be used? For example:

そう思ってくれてよかった - It's good that you think that way (but the action isn't done for my sake, for whose/what sake it is, is irrelevant)

If くれる sounds unnatural here, what is the proper word?


texts: How come プレイガイド means "Ticket agency" and not "playguide"?

texts:
I've come across プレイガイド and I thought it meant "playguide" (which can be found is some dictionaries), but it didn't make sense in its context. I looked it up and found it meant "ticket agency".

How did it come to this? I can't find a link. Phonetically it obviously comes from "playguide", but I can't find a way for it to slide that much to mean what it means.


texts:
I understand what 明日{あした} means. And I understand また明日 means "see you tomorrow". But I recently heard では明日, and I do not understand what it means/the difference between また明日.

また明日 translates to "In addition tomorrow".

では明日 translates to "So tomorrow".

I used http://www.systranet.com/translate/ to translate.

Clarification and understanding would be helpful.

I'm trying to learn Japanese.


texts: Other types of adjectives (besides い and な)

texts:
I recently started learning Japanese in my home country.
Last lesson we learned about the 2 types of adjectives, い and な.

Are there other types , like rare ones ?


texts: How が becomes the object marker for desire(~たい)

texts:
So が , the subject particle, can be used to denote objects, but still carries the nuance of the subject.

For example...

Verbal nominal adjectives

  カレーが好き(I like curry) : (curry is likable[for me])

Potential verbs

  この宿題が出来る (I can do this homework) : (homework is doable [by me])

Resultant state

  鉛筆が出してある (I bring out pencil) : (Pencil has been placed[ready to use])

But also can be used for desire?

  君の名前が知りたい (I want to know your name) : (your name is the one I want to know)???

Why not を is used? I'm surprised to see が being used here.


texts:
While playing Final Fantasy 7, I came across the following text, which I think translates to something like:

  このせいせきでは、減給もありうると思ってくれたまえ
  With these results, you can expect it likely there will also be a paycut!

But I'm wondering, what does the ～たまえ mean in ～くれたまえ, ～与えたまえ and similar? Does it add emphasis or change the meaning in any way?

I looked in Daijirin and Daijisen's entry for まえ, but I don't think I saw anything there (unless I'm missing something.)


texts: Was there a single word/concept もの which was later split into two (now distinct) kanji 者 and 物?

texts:
Given that もの has a rather similar usage as a generic modifier for turning a property into a thing with that property (as 物) or turning a property into a person with that property (as 者) -- it seems plausible that before the introduction of Kanji the word もの referred generically to people and things.

Is there any concrete evidence in favor of that theory? Any details which I have overlooked which make it implausible?


texts: What is the meaning of とか in the sentence?

texts:
What is the contribution of 「とか」 to the meaning of the sentence? And what is the meaning of construction 「違ってくる」?

  漢字は一緒でも読み方とかが全然違ってくるの本当、凄いですよね。


texts: What does "僕が来る前からこーだったんですが?" mean?

texts:
Well, the title says it.

The sentence is from a manga, where a boy lives together with his very lazy aunt, so the boy has to take care of laundry, cleaning, dishes, cooking etc. while she's drinking beer.
He gets angry and she explains that it's a pain to do all that stuff (cooking, cleaning etc) on her own.
Then he replies "僕が来る前からこーだったんですが?"

Does it mean "Then how did you manage it before I came here?" or does it rather mean "So were you like this even before I came here?"


texts: What special kana are used to write foreign words?

texts: How does Japanese handle sounds outside the 五十音図【ごじゅうおんず】?  Are there ways of distinguishing sounds such as V or L in katakana renderings of foreign words?  How are the missing sounds in the ワ column represented?


texts: How do you normally say calendar and date in Japanese?

texts:
If you were to say: I have to buy a new calendar next month. or Look at the calendar and see when X holiday is? or Have you seen the calendar?, would you use カレンダー or 暦{こよみ}? Is there a difference between the two?

Also how do you say date as in What is tomorrow's date? or What is today's date? or What will be the date next Saturday?


texts: Meaning of 全数 when talking about frequency

texts:
In an article about quality control, I found the following expression:

  検査頻度: 全数

I read in the dictionary that 全数 means "total, complete". Since we are talking about frequency, I thought it could be interpreted as "every time" in this case, but it doesn't make sense to me. Does it simply mean "often" or "high"?

I don't know if this can be of any help, but later in the article it is also used inside a sentence (UT and PT are types of inspections):

  No.１側構体の車外側は全数全線のＵＴ，ＰＴを行うことを原則とする．

Thank you for your help!


texts: What is the difference between こだわり and 良｛よ｝い?

texts:
Consider for example this article with the following headline.

  〈ＪＡＬ〉機内食、こだわりの冬メニュー登場

  日本航空（ＪＡＬ）は「空の上のレストラン」をコンセプトに展開している機内食「スカイオーベルジュ BEDD（ベッド） by JAL」で12月１日から提供される冬のこだわりメニューを発表した。
  [...]

What is the difference between こだわり and 良い? Both seem to mean "good" in certain contexts. But when should you use which?


texts: the combination of writing kanji and hiragana: how to choose?

texts:
When I listen to the word: "御幾つ", of course I can quickly wrote down it in pure hiragana: おいくつ. The main problem is that how can I choose to write the kanji and which one (or all) is/are OK?

御いくつ
お幾つ
おいくつ

For me, "御" is easy to write but "幾" is too difficult.

I wonder whether there are situations that I must write all the kanji (especially in exams where I can only write by hand) in Japan?

Or can I choose to write kanji that I am familiar with?


texts: "Oh no!" - How do the Japanese express feelings of negative shock towards bad news?

texts:
Person A : "I am sick today"

Person B : "Oh no!"

How do the Japanese express feelings of negative shock towards bad news? What would Person B say in Japanese?


texts:
Just before these sentence main character told that he is worried about crossing the tunnel(because of some childhood memories). That is why I'm not sure what is he talking about in this sentence(bold one). About crossing the tunnel「通ってしまえば」 and it wasn't scary at all「どうということもなかった」, or he talking about 「心地」 from the sentence before ?

  トンネルの出口の光が見える。それは瞬く間に、トンネルの闇を払い、僕のーー俺の意識を現実へと引き戻してくれた。電車がトンネルから抜け出すーー先頭から車内に陽の光が一気に差し込まれていく。それは視界の一瞬の変化でしかない。しかしトンネルの圧迫感が体に残っていて、体感的に徐々に変わっていくような心地だった。身構えてしまったが、通ってしまえば、どうということもなかった。

Thank you very much for help!


texts: Fast Food Conversation - Any Practical Guides?

texts:
I looked up for fast food conversation but I could not find anything very practical.
While most guide always emphasize on how to order, I never found it prepares one to understand what a fast food clerk may ask.

For someone with basic understanding of the language, I think I can go as far as going to a fast food, greeting and ordering using the name of the item or the number of the set I would like. But most of the time I have to admit I don't understand what subsidiary questions are asked... I always imagined that the cashier may have asked dine-in or take-out or perhaps how I would want to pay but I always ended up stuck here (but eventually always getting the set I wanted) and still a bit frustrated I could not enjoy the "basic" conversation.

Would someone be kind enough to depict a full conversation trying to focus and what may be asked? Or at least how would a cashier ask the following:

  Do you have any point card?
  Is this for take-out or dine-out?
  Would you like a tray?
  Would you like to up-size your set?

thank you.


texts: Understanding this third person narration

texts:
The large majority of the stuff I've read (in Japanese) where there is narration has normally used first person. However in some cases (e.g. in the below) there are parts in works that are third person narrated where I am unsure of how understand it.
In the below the the non bolded part is clearly narrated by an 'omniscient narrator'. However, the next part is a bit more unclear for me.

思いがけない接近に、美唯は驚きと恥ずかしさで固まってしまっている。どこかを痛めた様子はなく、誠は内心で胸を撫で下ろした。安心した途端、先ほど感じた愛おしさが再び心を満たしてゆくのを、誠は心地良く受け止めていた。これが一時の迷いなどではなく、本物の気持ちだと分かったからだ。改めて近くで見る美唯は綺麗だった。初めて見た時も綺麗だと思ったが、今もその感想は変わらない。けれど、外見だけだったら、こんなにも心を惹かれなかっただろうとも、同時に思う。この美しさは、美唯だからこそ、感じるのだ。

Whilst I could be wrong, the bolded part reads more like it is being told by 誠 rather than by the previous narrator. So I guess my question is, is this actually being 'said' by 誠, or is the narrator from the previous part telling us 誠's thoughts and feelings?


texts:
連絡しようしようと思いながらまた一年がたった。While I was encouraging myself to get in touch, another year passed. (example sentence from 研究社 新和英大辞典 第５版)

Is しよう repeated twice for emphasis ("let's do it! let's do it!" or some such), or is it something else?


texts:
This is a lyric from a song:

  もし、今手が届かない

The translation I found is:

  Even if I can't reach my goal now

I understand that 手 means "hand", but what is its purpose here in the sentence? Shouldn't this also work?

  もし、今届かない

Does 手 here mean "goal" instead?


texts: Interpretation of 「ミスターハスラー楽屋から火だすな」 in a song

texts:
I'm trying to understand the lyrics of the song 刹那 by Creepy Nuts (link to Youtube video with lyrics).

I'm in the woods and the most enigmatic is this passage here. The lyrics go:

  シラフじゃいられない まぁわかるが
  ミスターハスラー楽屋から火だすな
  キャリア、立場、時代かしがらみか？
  ちょうど良い言い訳は見つかりました？

Starting with the meaning of ハスラー I found only this answer suggesting it is 薬取り扱う人, which I guess from the context must be drug user.

  シラフじゃいられない まぁわかるが
  ミスターハスラー楽屋から火だすな

My pure guess would be:

  I can't stand being sober, but I guess I need to hide it (like a weed smoking-artist does not let the smoke out of the backstage)

Then for:

  キャリア、立場、時代かしがらみか？
  ちょうど良い言い訳は見つかりました？

I suppose:

  Is it career, position, the times, or it's connections
  That would be a good excuse (for not getting the job).

But my question is mostly about ミスターハスラー楽屋から火だすな (I'm not sure how it connects to the latter part).


texts: What is the nuances between the different ways to refer to the elderly in Japanese?

texts:
Because of Japanese culture, I'm guessing this is pretty important to know, and I really don't want to risk offending anyone.
I mean obviously in English we have,
Elderly,
Old people,
Senior,
Pensioner,
OAP,
and obviously some offensive terms too which I'm sure you know
They're all appropriate in different circumstances and I was hoping someone could help me differentiate this with the Japanese terms.
I've heard these before:
老人、
年寄り、
I believe I've also heard お年寄り、
高齢者、
Then of course、
くそばばあ、
くそじじい
Which are pretty obviously offensive terms.
Does it depend who you're talking to or how generally you're talking?
If you could give me some insight into the appropriate situations for use of these or any others you've heard, I'd appreciate it a lot!


texts:
It means "as one would expect" when referring to others, and it's sort of a compliment.

But you're not supposed to compliment yourself in Japanese.

So does さすが have a different meaning when referring to oneself?

Example:

さすがに眠い


texts: My friend said she says "やる時やる." a lot. What's the translation to english?

texts:
やる時{とき}やるじゃん！  (Yaru toki yaru jan!)

I think the meaning is something like "When you want to do something, you do it".

Or maybe, "When you are about to do something, you just do it."

This is a positive expression?

Does it mean you have confidence in what you do? Or that you do it without thinking first?

Thanks!


texts:
In my textbook book It states that the て from of a verb can be used to connect two activities together similar to the particle と and how it connects nouns but with verbs.

  ex given in textbook: きょうは ろくじに おきて、 べんきょうしました

Today I got up at 6 and studied

I attempted to make a sentence myself but I'm not sure if I'm using it correctly here

  My ex. おふろにはいって、 がっこうに いきました

What I was trying to say is "I took a shower and went to school" and while it feels correct, every time I look at it I can't help but imagine myself getting into a bath and riding it to school. Any explanation on why this is or isn't wrong and confirmation on whether or not I really am using て form to connect verbs properly would be appreciated.


texts:
Recently I've noticed several verbs where the imperative form is used in a way that is not the "correct" conjugation.

  くれる　→　くれ！　→　The one we're all used to
  つける　→　つけ！　→　An example from my プログレッシブ dictionary:  「気をつけ」と先生が号令をかけた。
  はじめる　→　はじめ！　→　Said often by Master Splinter when the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles have training sessions in Nickelodeon's newest incarnation of the series.

With #1, I don't know if I've ever learned why this is the standard conjugation.  Is it just because it sounds more natural?  With the latter two, I'm assuming that these are acceptable because maybe in 戦前/classical Japanese, はじむ existed as a real word, and つく could be used both as a transitive and intransitive verb; (both) similar to what we discuss here and here.

I have to admit that hearing はじめ! in those TMNT episodes sounded completely natural to me, and it didn't even click for a long time that it was not the 命令形 I was expecting.  Even つけ sounds very natural when used as a 他動詞.

So I guess my question is, is there a limited set of verbs where the imperative is "different", yet acceptable to use even in modern Japanese?  If my assumption about #2 and #3 is correct, can any verb with an "obsolete" form use the imperative conjugation of that form?  What are some other common verbs with different imperative forms like this (if any)?


texts: What is the difference between 無感動 and 無関心?

texts: I know that both of them can be translated as “apathy”, but is there a distinction between them? Are they interchangeable?


texts:
I was reading a book when I stumbled upon the term 真綿感. A trip to the dictionary didn't give me an exact match (it says that 真綿 is "silk floss" and that 真綿で首を絞める is "to drag things out" or "to strangle with a silk cord") and a quick google seach showed me two different uses.

The first of those uses is applied mainly to fabric, "a silky feeling".

The second of those uses, which by context seems to be the one I'm looking for, appears to be some kind of slang, youth or net term, but I couldn't find it even on an online zokugo dictionary. This is an example of use where the word comes up three times.

I had found another context where the sentence was closer to the one I found in the book I'm reading, but I'm not sure if the site is breaking copyright, so I better don't link to it. If you want, I can write the original sentence, but it's broken and needs context.


texts: Is there a generic word for a band/orchestra to "play" a song?

texts:
Since different instruments use different verbs for "play" (弾く、叩く、吹く、even 歌う), is there one nice word to wrap them up?  [奏]{かな}でる and its variants (演奏、合奏) sound too formal to me.  プレイする？

The scenario would be interviewing the members of the band, asking their most/least favourite of their songs to play.

  <The "play" verb> の（が）好き[な、じゃない]曲は？


texts: Can I link a sentence ending in です with a ます sentence?

texts:
I want to translate 'I am a third year junior high school student and I am studying maths.
Is this correct:

私は中学三年生で、すうがくを勉強します。

Please give me a correction if this is incorrect.
Thanks in advance!!


texts:
This is potentially much simpler than I'm expecting but when simply ordering events within a sequence are there any contextual differences between using ～て and ～てから?

For example, if I was talking about my morning routine and wanted to say I eat breakfast and then brush my teeth I could say it using either ～て or ～てから.

  毎朝、朝ごはんを食べて歯を磨きます。
  Every morning I eat breakfast and brush my teeth.

  毎朝、朝ごはんを食べてから歯を磨きます。
  Every morning I brush my teeth AFTER I eat breakfast.

My interpretation is that meaning wise, these two sentences are essentially the same, first I eat my breakfast then I brush my teeth. Is this correct? Does ～てから place emphasis on one of the two events over the other or are these just two different ways of saying the same thing? How are these sentences different? In a situation like this why would I choose one over the other, is it simply a stylistic choice? Is there some nuance I'm missing here?


texts:
Full text:

グレード・オプション装備により記録されるデータ項目は異なります。な お、コンピューターは会話などの音声や車内の映像は記録しません。

My understanding: The data items recorded will vary depending on the grade and optional equipment. Please note, the computer does not record any audio or in-car video footage of the conversations.
My Issue: グレード・オプション. Is it grade and optional equipment or grade option equipment? How do we translate the ・?


texts:
I was reading an interview with a author about her serialized story

『やが』も佳境といいますか、最終章と呼んでいいところまで到達しました。最後まで見届けていただけると……って、こんな「もうすぐ終わり」みたいな雰囲気を出してしまっていいのかな？（笑）。

So, in my opinion, I think it makes more sense if 章 refers to a story arc in this comment (the last one) rather than chapter, but when looking in the dictionary, the only meaning for 章 is "chapter" or "section". Does it really mean chapter in this context or can this word also be used to say "arc"?

Thanks


texts: When referring to the earthquake, tsunami and nuclear incident, is "3.11" pronounced "San gatsu ju ichi nichi", or is there a shortened version, like "nine one one" or "September eleven" for the terrorist attacks on September the eleventh?


texts: What order do Japanese people say/recite the seasons?

texts:
In English, I always say winter, spring, summer, fall/autumn, in that order.

Is there a similar order that the Japanese people follow?


texts: Help understanding this sentence 謙遜を抜きにすれば/周りは非常に恵まれている

texts:
「 わたしも、これでも花も恥らう女の子なんですよ！？」
誠「不意打ちでキスしてきたのは誰だっけ？」
「あれは、まあ、好奇心で……にへへ」
誠「どうにも外の世界の基準がわからないんだよ。女の子たちが貞淑なのか開放的なのか」
「突然のキスも、壁ドンも、気障な台詞も、顔がよければ許されるだけってことじゃないですかね」
「そういう意味では、謙遜を抜きにすれば、誠さんの周りは非常に恵まれている気がします」

In the above context I am trying to understand the final sentence but am not quite sure how to interpret it. To provide some additional context to the excerpt above, 誠 is from somewhere he lived isolated from the outside world most of his life except for the village he lived in. Its mentioned in the text that the girl he is talking to kissed him, but another girl also kissed him before this.
If I was to translate the final line it would be something like: in that sense, without being modest, I have the feeling that your surroundings are very blessed. However I am not quite sure how to understand this in context and would appreciate some help putting it together.

I think the そういう意味では is referring to what she said previously 顔がよければ許される.
謙遜を抜きにすれば means without being modest, but what this means in context is not clear to me. I assume that she means if she speaks without being humble, but I am not sure about what, I'm guessing its to do with being attractive.
誠さんの周りは恵まれている is ambiguous and could either mean that the people around him are blessed, or he is blessed.


texts: Why importing words from other languages rather than building new ones from existing kanji?

texts:
I would like to know why, in general, new words are imported (from English among other languages) rather that created with respect to the concept/thing they represent.

For example, "computer" could be written as 計算機 (the word exists but is not common), the same would be true for words like "shower", "engine", "orchestra" and many others.

What is even more confusing is that borrowed words may be preferred.
The first example that comes to my mind is smooth スムーズ which was formerly 円滑. 円滑 is still used but スムーズ is far more common and it covers a broader range of meanings.

To add to the previous paragraph, while 2-kanji-compound are often very precise in meaning (and it is often useful to check the dictionary of synonym) loaned words tends to have broader meanings.

This question has been nagging at me because the more I learn kanji the more I find them useful, it is easy to parse a sentence with a lot of kanji (as long as particles are not written with man'yougana though) and at the same time since the meaning is somewhat encoded into the kanji it easier to grab the meaning of the whole sentence.

On the other hand, since the borrowed word tend to keep their original pronunciation and form they are written as katakana which is understandable but at the same time it is more difficult to read/parse and the meaning is not encoded in the written form of the word. The use of too much kana tends to make Japanese much like any other language with an alphabet.

I am not advocating that Japanese should borrow words from Chinese (it would nevertheless be a solution), but I am wondering why not like the Chinese creates new words conceptually from existing kanji. (In the first example I gave 計算機 is not the Chinese word for computer which is 電腦 most of the time and 計算機 sometimes.)


texts: Can the suffix -人 be used to express heritage?

texts:
In English, if I want to talk about my Irish heritage, I would say "I'm Irish". I have an American passport, and I've never set foot in Ireland, but I still consider myself Irish. Both sides of my family have ancestors who came from Ireland, my name is Irish, etc.

In Japanese, could I use アイルランド人 to the same effect?

On a related note, how could I talk about partial bloodlines? For example, I'm mostly Irish, but I have some Native American and French blood, (and who knows what else) etc.

PS I suppose technically the "correct" English term would be "Irish-American", but we don't always say that.


texts: Conditional or must with はず in と、ならないはずの

texts:
One of NHK's stories today is about parents delaying routine vaccines, and it has the following line:

ワクチンを受けるのが遅くなると、ならないはずの病気になったり、病気がひどくなったりします

I'm interpreting it something like: if you get the vaccine late, then you will definitely get the illness and the illness might get worse. Or perhaps, you must not get the vaccine late or you will surely get the illness or it might get worse.

I feel like I understand ~たりする, and と、ならない but the bold portion above is really throwing me.


texts: What is the character related to this pun?

texts:
On this website, there is this reference to an intended pun on the name of this character

  The Japanese character for 'KA' in Fukada means shark (which explains her particular teeth).

What would be the character used to do such a pun?


texts:
What's the difference between でない and　ではない. I've read some websites. Some websites say that if I use only でない (in some case) it will be awkward.

I currently know that this is a combination between particle で and は. And I understand that は is used just to emphasize the topic.


texts: What's the traditional song "don't be mean to your daughter in law..."

texts:
NPR has an article here.
The second audio named Japan's Centuries-Old Tradition Of Making Soba Noodles where apparently the song translates as

Don't be mean to your daughter in law
someday your daughter will
marry and become a daughter in law herself


texts:
I am seeing pairs of words with similar meanings (where one of the words has a single kanji and the other has two kanji).

Examples include:
豊か、豊富
保つ、保存する
防ぐ、予防する

Do these pair of words share the same meaning? If so, what is the point of having multiple words with the same meaning?


texts:
「開き直ってさ」
「開き直れないよ、北村君は見てるんだもん」 「だからこそ頑張ってかないとだろう」

Aside from the meaning (which I think I understand), I don’t have the slightest idea about the structure of the last part かないとだろう. tried searching a few places but didn’t get any results. could you please explain where this is coming from?


texts: What is the proper use of だろう, is it "masculine", and how is it different from と思 【おも】う?

texts:
Like a lot of foreign guys, some Japanese I picked up from imitating the women I spoke to. Certain affectations made me sound unwittingly effeminate in the early days when I had less grasp on the impression my words made.

One of those habits was to use でしょう at the end of sentences, to express uncertainty, asking confirmation, or wondering aloud.

Later on I was told that it was more masculine to use だろう. Even though that was years ago, I never really got comfortable with だろう. I'm not sure I'm using it right, and it feels weird saying it.

I'm hoping JL&U can come to the rescue here.

First, is だろう really the more masculine form of でしょう? It seems sometimes I do hear men using でしょう, and women using だろう. Do they mean different things?

Second, are だろ and だろう different?

Lastly, what is the difference between these two statements:

  何かあったのだろうか。

  何かあったと思う。


texts: 「彼は瞳をキラキラさせながら言った。」 Why させながら, and not しながら?

texts:
彼は瞳をキラキラさせながら言った。

I think that it is "He said with shining eyes", but what's a word "させ"? Why "させ+ながら", and not "しながら"?


texts: Is there a Japanese saying like その頑張りは、すべてむだというかそういう気持ちになる , related to the working conditions of doctors in a hospital?

texts:
On NHK NewsWatch 9 yesterday, they were talking about the shortage of emergency room doctors, and the resulting situations lately  where hospitals were forced to turn away emergency patients. In many cases there was a doctor on duty, but not qualified to treat some emergencies. So the doctor would refuse the patient rather than treat the patient and possibly get sued if something went wrong.

While interviewing a doctor, this phrase was shown in the subtitle

  その頑張りは、すべてむだというかそういう気持ちになる。

(I did not think to listen to the Japanese audio, though I suppose its what he said.)

The English dubbed audio said

  There's a saying "Honest people only make fools of themselves."

I can understand the intent though I have not heard such a saying  before.

Regarding the Japanese sentence, is this a set phrase (or saying) of some kind?

As best as I can make out it is saying "As for endurance, resulting good feelings or such are said to be entirely useless." or "Resulting good feelings or such are said to be entirely useless, so endure it.", although its likely I'm wrong.

Especially I don't think I quite understand  というかそういう.


texts: Constructions like　[ "direct speech" と noun ]

texts:
The next sentence sounds enough strange for me, as I have got used to constructions like "「...」と（Aさんが）言った。" or something similar.  But, here it looks like at least the word "言う" was omitted.

Why do we have just "と運転手" after the direct speech?

  「ああ、あの道ですね。ヒルキンに、よく通りましたよ」と運転手。


texts:
I saw some sentences like this, but I couldn't understand them. What do they mean?

砂糖入りのお茶。
胡椒付きのサラダ。


texts: I'm confused in this page from a manga the character says odoshi ja nee zo while hes having someone at gunpoint did he mean ''not a threat''?


texts:
In a novel I encountered a question that consists only from a 〜ば conditional. The speaker doesn’t want to go downstairs and is suggesting someone else to do that for him:

  「降りれば？」

The meaning is quite clear from the context and I’d translate it like “Maybe you could go there?” or similar.

Still I can’t figure out why does it convey this meaning. The sentence looks like an ellipse to me, where the second part is missing and only the 〜ば part remains. But what is the other part? Which meaning of the 〜ば conjunction is the one here?


texts:
I mean 震え出す translates as "to begin to tremble" and meaning of しまう auxilary verb is "to finish ...,  to do ... completely".
So, it doesn't make sense for me to complete something you begin to do...


texts: ”でもありやいい制度だ” Help with one line from manga translation

texts:
でもありやいい制度だ

As in the title, could you help with the translation to English of this one sentence?
If you want the context, here

I've got an English version here too, but it doesn't make any sense(at least to me).


texts:
日本語と違って、英語だと文字だけじゃ区別もつきにくいし。
Different from Japanese, you can easily tell the difference (gender) from just the letters/words (of names) in English.

I'm trying to understand why this is translated as "you can't necessarily tell gender through Japanese text like you can in English."
Note that it refers to gender by Japanese names.
But why にくい? Isn't this talking about English with 英語だと? Shouldn't it be やすい instead?
And also what is this つく? is it 吐く?


texts:
Hi i was just wondering if i can get feedback if i understood what this sentence is saying.
sentence:

これで人との会話シミュレーションは完了

my rough translation:

With this, person and its conversation simulation is completed

I'm confused why there is a と and what i came up with was the speaker is trying to sound fancy and say something like, "people and their conversations."


texts:
教育実習の先生同士、帰る方向が同じなら一緒に帰ることくらいあるさ
  If two student teachers' way home is in the same direction then going home together .?.?

I can't make any sense of the part in bold. Literally "there is the extent of going home together".
Is there a general grammar pattern to learn here?


texts:
I saw this message created by a native speaker:「よい夢{ゆめ} を 」.
That seemed strange to me. I would have expected: 「よい夢 へ 」.

My thinking right now is that:

「よい夢を」 is a straight contraction of 「よい夢をみてください」。 Such a contraction is typical of how to use Japanese in instant messaging.
「よい夢へ」 is something you would say in a conversation. And, it has more of an abstract meaning. A "good dream" is perceived as a destination towards which the speaker is hoping you will advance to.
「よい夢ありますように」 is sort of the formal version of 「よい夢へ」。I think that the meaning is like "I hope that you get into the state of having a good dream."?

Am I correct on any of points 1, 2, or 3?


texts: 社会主義体制下のソ連時代。Clarification on this sentence

texts:
社会主義体制下のソ連時代。

This sentence is structured in a way that is very confusing to me. The best way I can translate this is 'The Soviet era under the Socialist System'

Any better ways to translate this.


texts:
'Overlook' in the sense of forgiving, or letting something slide. All the words I can find that seem to be very close in meaning--大目に見る、不問に付す、聞き捨てにする、罷り通る--don't seem to be used in conjunction with にくい (or づらい), which is something I really want to use to get across that it's hard but not impossible. The closest thing I can think of is 許しにくい, but it lacks the indirectness and slight scorn that comes with the other verbs.

Context: "His actions are getting increasingly hard to overlook."


texts:
I'm wondering what the か in か弱い, か細い and similar words is. It seems to act as an intensifier. The Daijisen tells me simply that this か is a 接頭語, and translates it as いかにも; it doesn't seem to have its own entry or any further explanation. Speculations online seem to include:

it is a corruption of 小【こ】, and so is a simple intensifier
it implies "obviously 弱い・細い by sight"

My question: what does this prefix mean, and where does it come from? (For bonus points: can anyone give me some more examples, and is this prefix still productive?)


texts:
Here is the full sentence including the word.

小気味いい矢吹丈と、ボクシングだけを想う老残の丹下段平、そしてチャーミングな仇役力石徹。

I found that the first Kanji 「仇」is 表外漢字 and an alternative form of 「敵」. Then, I am curious why the writer did not use the later one which would be easier to read for Japanese reader.


texts:
The sentence is

  現代ほど自分の主体性、価値観を築き上げるのに難しい時代はないのである。

If I understand correctly, the sentence can be simplified to

  現代ほど難しい時代はない (There is no time period as difficult as now)

The entire sentence tells you that the difficult thing is building one's own independence and values, but I don't understand how the のに is supposed to fit grammatically in there. My best guess is that the middle part is somehow an adverb modifying 難しい.


texts: Does "ぞ" make it more masculine-sounding or is it a different dialect?


texts: What does "POP" mean in the context of charity/forms/information?

texts:
What does "POP" mean below?

  このたびのスペシャルイベントでも、オーディエンスのみなさんがサポートしたくなるようなプロジェクトについて、会場でPOPなどで紹介し、ドネイション（基金）を募りたいと考えています。

Also:

  団体名と簡単な概要入りの共通POPはこちらで作ります。

Also:

This PDF lists 共通POP一枚 as a required item.

Nothing on ALC nor Wiktionary.


texts: Is there any difference between 速さand 速度?

texts:
From what I understood, both 速さ{はやさ} and 速度{そくど} means "speed". Some say that they are synonyms (just like speed and velocity in English), but I guess there is a nuance between them, isn't it ?

速さ{はやさ} comes from the adjective 速い{はやい}, like other adjectives (長い{ながい} : 長さ{ながさ}, 深い{ふかい} : 深さ{ふかさ}...), while 速度{そくど} is the combination of two kanjis : 速{そく} (speed), 度{ど}(degree).

Can I guess anything based on the words etymology, or is the nuance between them is more subtle ?


texts: How do I add an object to noun を します verbs?

texts:
When you want to associate a noun を します action (what English-speakers would call "verbing a noun") with a specific noun, what particles are used and where?

For example, if I was saying "I study", you could say 勉強{べんきょう}をします. But if you were wanting to say what you're studying, would you move the particle を, so that it'd be 日本語を[勉強]{べんきょう}します, or would you keep the particle を, and add a の between the additional noun and the verbed noun, so that it'd be 日本語の[勉強]{べんきょう}をします?


texts: What is the difference between すぐ and すぐに?

texts:
I have seen a video of someone deglosating a sentence. The original sentence was アリスはすぐ下に落ちた
which can translate to "Alice soon fell below". But when I saw the sentence, I thought the に particle could be used as アリスはすぐに下に落ちた. I don't know if this is too redundant or if it's correct at all, but I was confused with the fact that に was not used with すぐ this time.
Also, I tried removing the particle completely and I thing it may make sense. It turns out like this:
アリスはすぐ下落ちた.
Anyways, any explanation on the topic is appreciated.


texts:
What is the difference between 初めは　and 初めに？

I see that both mean "at first," but it seems like the phrases are not interchangeable.

Thank you for your explanation!


texts: Understanding kanji: kanji sound boundaries?

texts:
I know several Chinese characters but am a relative beginner at Japanese.

I am having trouble, in a dictionary, when I input a sequence of characters, determining where the letters for one set of syllables are absorbed by one kanji and which ones are absorbed by the others. For example, take the word "ukemi" (rear):

うけみ
受け身
受身

How do I know which of the following hooks true:

受 = う
受 = うけ
身 = け
身 = けみ

How can I tell, from the dictionary, especially from this single dictionary entry, which one of these substitutions holds?

Also, how do I know whether these representations are ON'YOMI or KUN'YOMI? Do some "(kun/on)yomi" have both long and abbreviated forms or something?


texts:
I came across the following sentence in volume 12 of the manga たいようのいえ and was unsure how to interpret the expression at the end.  Could someone please explain how the "だなんて" changes the meaning or tone?

私・・・こんなに大切なものを奪{うば}ってしまっていただなんて・・！
I...I stole such an important thing!

Context: The speaker previously took credit for something she didn't do and is now regretting it.
Also, while I'm at it, could someone please describe the function of こんなに? Does it function as an adjective and modify もの, adverbially and describe the manner in which she stole, or is it more of an interjection (or none of the above)?


texts: Hello. I've circled characters I cannot recognise. The top one looks like を but there is an actual をnext to it and it looks different. Why? The middle one is ゆ in my opinion. But I'm not sure about that. Why does it look different to the usual ゆ? And according to my research the bottom one is ず. But again I have to ask why is there another ずand it doesn't look like that? Thank you all for your answers!


texts: Straightforward question.  The Pacific Ocean is 太平洋【たい・へい・よう】 and the Atlantic Ocean is 大西洋【たい・せい・よう】.  What was the reasoning in using a different character for the たい in each?  And why 太 for Pacific and 大 for Atlantic?


texts:
This sentence is about cats:

  こちらからも執こくしないで、そっと放任して置いてやれば、猫はいよいよ猫らしく美しくなって、無言の愛着を飼主に寄せて来るのである。

A number of other examples can be found here.


texts: What are the differences between 広める and 広げる and between 広まる and 広がる?

texts:
I find the difference between 「広める (他動詞) 広げる (他動詞)」 and between 「広まる (自動詞) 広がる (自動詞)」 to be complicated.

Can someone explain?


texts: Difference between kara/made から・まで vs kara/nikakete から・にかけて

texts:
I will like to understand the difference between kara/made から・まで and kara/nikakete から・にかけて.

Are they supposed to mean the same thing?


texts:
The full sentence I've found in my flashcards:

  これはどうしてするのですか。

The given translation is

  How should one do [go about (doing)] this?

Could you please explain the どうしてする part more literally? Why not simply どうする?

Can't find the phrase through google though, could be just ungrammatical.


texts: Massive problems with some elements of this sentence

texts:
これは地図に経緯度が使われるようになってからの習慣であって、古い地図には南が上のものも多い。
(From Line 8-9 https://www.docdroid.net/847v2dg/img-20170413-0001-new.pdf.html)

これは
What does this これ represent? I guess it shall somehow pick up what was said before, but for that, I learnt that そ- is used. So I'd like to know whether it does the same thing as そ- here or something else.
から
I guess this から has a temporal function and confers anteriority here?
Since I have issues with the sentence in general, I'd like to confirm this, because I really don't know whether my interpretation of the sentence is reliable or not with so many uncertainties around...^^
であって
て-form of である right?
南が上のものも多い
I really don't know what to make of this.
First, もの. What is it? I guess its 物, but I'm not 100% sure.
Second, as I said, I have no idea what to do with this phrase.
I don't really know what to do with the particle も here, and while I do know that Japanese can work perfectly with nominal phrases only, I simply don't know what this part wants to tell me contentwise.

To give an overview how I interpreted these elements in context, here's my try at translating it as far as I could:

"This since on maps longitude and latitude being used habit being there, on old maps the south has many
upper things/things on top.

In my interpretation, I treated the parts in italics as one syntactical unit. Their correlate in the Japanese original would be これは...習慣であって. I hope this makes it easier to identify my (mis)conceptions of the sentence...^^


texts: When referring to in-laws using 義理, do you use the familial term relative to yourself or to your spouse?

texts:
When using terms such as 義理のお兄さん and 義理の弟, do you choose お兄さん vs 弟 relative to your own age, or relative to your spouses age?

If you are older than your spouse, but said spouse's older brother is younger than you, which term is appropriate?

I assume the same applies to the word-versions such as 義弟?


texts:
I got the following sentence from Atashin'chi manga: それだけしかオカズがない, meaning "there's only this on the okazu" (Literally: "Without this, the okazu doesn't exist)

Can I create a similar sentence trying to use to same logic like "一つ問題しか試験がない" meaning "there is only one question on the test" (Literally: "Without one question, the test doesn't exist)?

My teacher said I can't but he couldn't explain why.


texts:
Near Shibuya, they're finishing up some construction on a subway system that has been going on for years. It seems they're at the stage of finishing up some road work above where they had been making subway.

In the middle of Meiji Dori, where some of this construction remains, they had this sign:

I understand all the words, and I think I understand the grammar, but I have no idea what it's trying to say. My translation is roughly:

  Work that remains on the map.

What map? And how can the work they are doing remain on it? Why is this something you say on a sign for everyone to see?

What does this sign mean?


texts:
I came across the following phrase and have been struggling to find what part of it is meant to be in reference to:

  エルアディーナーの壁画

壁画 is obviously just for a fresco/painting but I've been unable to find what エルアディーナー is meant to be. For full context it's about a coat at a fashion show, and the full sentence reads:

  エルアディーナーの壁画をヒントに従来のコートをマキシム調に。。。


texts: Evolution of the pronunciation of the surname 中嶋/中島 from "Nakashima" to "Nakajima"

texts:
I was trying satiate my nostalgia by looking for theme songs of classic Japanese dramas on YouTube, when it suddenly occurred to me that 中島 can be pronounced in two ways:

中島　みゆき is Nakajima Miyuki
中島　美嘉 is Nakashima Mika

So I looked up the Japanese Wikipedia for clues about the distinction. It was only mentioned in passing:

清音の「なかしま」から時代が経つにつれて濁音の「なかじま」と変わった家や、中嶋から中島に変えた家がある。

"Some houses have changed from the seion Nakashima to the dakuon Nakajima." There is no reference offered for that claim, however.
The Wikipedia page then lists several different origins of 中島 from different areas of Japan. It explicitly put なかじま between parentheses for the 中島 of 土佐.
Am I to understand that the 中島 of 土佐 is predominantly pronounced "Nakajima", whereas the 中島 from other areas are predominantly pronounced "Nakashima"?
So was there really an evolution of the pronunciation? Was there any traceable record of such?
Is there anyway to infer the origin of a 中島 member from the pronunciation of the surname? Or vice versa?


texts:
丸尾君、ちょっと辞書かしてくんない？

I think it means "maruo, won't you lend me your dictionary?" But I'm really confused about the verb ending on かす.

A look at some other posts suggests that it might expand to かしてくるのない.
So I would have 'come and lend' (previous sentence says that 丸尾 is sat in a chair, so I suppose 'coming' would be appropriate).

Then I would be left with an 'explanatory の' followed by ない.
I've never seen a のない ending before, and I don't see how 'explanatory の' would be appropriate in this context. Please help me to untangle all of this. Thanks


texts: Is there a difference between きらい and がすきではありません?

texts: Simply put Pimsluer says to use がすきではありません to express a dislike, but Human Japanese uses きらい, is there a difference?


texts:
Wikipedia claims that Japanese verbs are a closed class and that loanwords from Chinese always use する. 信じる, 感じる seems to be an exception. Why aren't they 信をする and 感をする? Maybe because one kanji is too short?

Also, what is the origin of the ending じる used with these two borrowed verbs?


texts: 敬遠の使い方について (how to use the expression 敬遠)

texts:
日本語
クリスマスプレゼントとして、『日本酒辞典』という本をもらいました。読んでいると、以下の文が出てきました：

　(前略)ついつい頼んでしまったり、気になるけど注文しづらくて敬遠している、なんて人もいるでしょう。

理解できていると思うのですが、国語辞典と外国人のjdictで「敬遠」を調べてみたところ、どのセンスがあてはまるか分からないです。
本文の定義としては、「難しいと思って、回避する」だと思います。
私が勘違いしているのでしょうか。
English
As a Christmas present, I received "日本酒辞典." While reading, I encountered the following sentence:

　... ついつい頼んでしまったり、気になるけど注文しづらくて敬遠している、なんて人もいるでしょう。

I think I understand the sentence but the use of 敬遠 does not seem to match up well with either goo or 外国人のjdict's definitions for 「敬遠」.
I think it means to avoid because you find it daunting.
Am I misunderstanding the usage here?


texts:
In the manga Shinya no Dame Koizukan (深夜のダメ恋図鑑), I spotted four different symbols (marked in red in the picture). The Ψ symbol is even repeated a few times, but I can't figure out what it means.

I've tried searching up Japanese symbols and have gone through Wikipedia's List of Japanese typographic symbols etc. but I can't seem to find the following symbols anywhere. What do they mean? Thanks in advance for your help!

Edit: They look like Greek, but from the context, I believe the speech should be in Gifu dialect and there shouldn't be any Greek used :(


texts:
I looked up in translator that "Snow fox" is gonna be "Yuki no kitsune". Ok, yuki - snow, kitsune - fox. But what if I get rid of "no" part? What if I spell it like "Yuki kitsune" or "Kitsune yuki". Would it mean the same? Or is it just going to be two separate words?

I want to know specifically about "Yuki kitsune" and "Kitsune yuki" examples, but it raises the question about usage of "no" particle.


texts:
In my dictionary app, they both translate to "suspension".

What is the difference between 「中止」and 「停止」?


texts:
In this sentence:

おまえ、本気で信じてるのか？あいつが幽霊だか生き霊だか、何か、そんなもんだって

could someone explain to me the structure used in そんなもんだって ?
Thanks for the answer!


texts: What's the meaning of 間時肆拾貳 at a car parking sign

texts:
I'm trying to translate this car parking sign/garage and I'm stuck on the part for 間時肆拾貳

Google just returns the translation "In between", so I still don't know what they mean. Maybe it's like parking in between the lines?


texts:
I've seen it on several sites now like this one. https://bokete.jp/boke/52796390

Seems like some sort of insult to me. I'm not sure what ついてん means here.


texts: Are there more casual ways to say "flowery speech/language" aside from 美辞麗句?

texts:
I came across a situation where I wanted to use a phrase like "flowery language" or "flowery speech", I looked it up and found 美{び}辞{じ} online.
-
I did a little research:
Initially I looked for the root in another dictionary. I found 美{び}辞{じ}麗{れい}句{く}. I asked a Japanese friend and they said they had never heard of this word nor the first part of the word.
I also searched another dictionary and came back with 美{び}文{ぶん} and 華{か}言{げん} as viable options. I'm not sure about 美文 but with 華言 that same friend they had seen or used it before.
Which would be the best way to convey "flowery speech/language" while not becoming to complex for everyday conversation or business talk?


texts: The meaning of 技術は習うものではなく盗むもの

texts:
技術は習うものではなく盗むもの

I'm sure this is some sort of idiomatic expression, I just don't know exactly what it means. Searched everywhere but didn't find anything.

Sometimes the "Gijutsu" part is replaced by another thing, so I suppose the rest of the expression is the important bit.

To clarify, I know the literal meaning of the sentence "Technique isn't something you learn, it's something you steal". I just don't know what the expression entails.


texts: How is て行く being used in すすんで行く and さいて行く?

texts:
I came across すすんで行く and さいて行く in a vocabulary list, and it was immediately obvious that there was probably some sort of grammatical construct involving て行く that was in use here.  I don't really know what this grammatical construct means though, and it's apparently something different than just compounding two arbitrary verbs together with base te.

A quick Google search brought this lesson up, and he starts to explain what the construct means (as well as て来る), but he doesn't do a very good job of it.  He also starts to deviate from the special grammatical construct towards just the base te verb compounding, and many of the other search results are focusing almost exclusively on the compounding.

I vaguely get the notion of this construct meaning to get into the state of doing something (て行く) or to have come into the state of doing something (て来る), but I really don't understand it.

Could somebody please explain this?  I'm mainly wondering about the general grammar being used here, but I also kind of wonder about how it applies to these two words, since they're apparently decent examples.  Thank you.


texts: Is that drawing in japanese? if so, can you please tell me what it says?

texts: I saw this drawing at a friend's house and wondered what it means; unfortunately the friend has no idea. Another friend suggested it's hiragana script, hence the question here: can you please tell me if it's japanese or not and what's the meaning of it?


texts: Indicating time in Japanese: に、は、or no particle?

texts:
This is my first question on Japanese Stackexchange. よろしくお願いします！

The following example sentence made me wonder about the placement of particles after time expresssions:

先生は週末は何をしますか。

I came up with this sentence myself. My friend (a Japanese learner just as myself) thinks that the は after 週末 necessarily indicates contrast and he thinks that 週末 can in fact take に. Without context, I think the contrast function is a legitimate way to think about it は in this sentence. But I assumed that 週末 always either takes the particle は or no particle at all, similar to words like 今日 or 明日 (http://www.punipunijapan.com/time-particle-ni/ this website lists a few more words that describe time but which cannot take the particle に).

So here are my questions:

1) Is there a systematic way to know whether a given time expression takes the particle に or the particle は?

2) If a given time expression cannot take the particle に and は instead, are the only options to use it in a sentence to either 2a) use は, which may result in awkward sentences when theres another は closeby, or to 2b) use no particle at all, oftentimes leaving a comma 、 after the time expression?

DISCLAIMER: I know that some time expresson can also take other particles, such as 後で. I think there aren't so many of these and they don't cause any confusion for me, so these don't need to be addressed imo.


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I've gotten to the level where I can start going through some basic Japanese material and largely understand all of it, but there are some times where I'm confused by particle usage, and I'm not sure if it's due to colloquial contractions and omissions.

In this case, I've started to go through the game Mother 2, and although I can understand what the following sentence means overall, I'm not quite sure how the particles are used.

For context, the Onett city police chief is talking to the main character, who just beat some policemen.

The entire sentence is [オネット警察のつわものを相手に、これほどの力を見せるとは…]

Specifically, what is happening with the を相手に part?

If I remove を相手, making [オネット警察のつわものに、これほどの力を見せるとは…], the meaning of the different particles is easily distinguishable, basically translating to [To think that you could show our strong policemen such power..]

What does the を相手 do? As far as I can tell, the sentence is making  つわもの a direct object, but 相手 is a noun. Is して being omitted or something?


texts: How to say "My manager wants me to introduce my older brother to his younger sister"?

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I want to say

  My manager wants me to introduce my older brother to his younger sister.

My attempt is as follows.

  マネージャーは私に弟を妹に紹介してほしがっています。

The problems of my translation above is the ambiguity because who is introduced to who is unclear.

Should I repeat 私 and マネージャー or 彼 to clarify who 兄 and 妹 belong to?
How to say it clearly (without ambiguity)?


texts: Using 〜ています with intransitive and transitive verbs

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I am currently learning that 〜ています can be used to express a state that resulted from a previous action, e.g.

でんきがついています。

All examples in my textbook (Minna No Nihongo - Lesson 29) use intransitive verbs.
But there exists a transitive counterpart to つく, namely つける.
My question is now, what is difference of the earlier mentioned sentence to the following one

でんきをつけています。

Is the semantic of 〜ています in the second sentence different from the one in the first sentence?


texts: Please help me with this sentence: 手術台から...噛みました

texts:
I'm trying to translate this song, and there is a sentence I really don't understand:

  手術台から･･･噛みました

Here's the line in context, if that helps anyone:

  金持ちあいつの恋煩い (the lovesickness of the rich guy)
  手術台から･･･噛みました (from the operating table, he chews?)
  口から這い出た愛してる (from his mouth, love creeps out)

I think (maybe) that that line means something like he's chewing his fingernails or grinding his teeth, like he's nervous, but it doesn't really say anything like that directly.

Anyways, I'm really confused!


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I'm reading a story about ancient Japan and I have a problem with what seems to be a title of some kind (?): 近侍の臣. Here's the context:

この年の春、樹々 の芽吹く ころから、クナ国の兵がしきりに国境を侵しはじめた。ここ数年、たえて無かったことである。
辺境から報を受けたヒミコは、ただちに兵を派そうと考え、いつものように年若い近侍の臣ヌナサキを通じて、群臣に諮った。すると、弟のクニヒコが、まず異を唱えた。 いま兵を動かすのは得策ではない、と言う。

Could you please help me out?