Words which are used to modify or qualify verbs.
16
votes
3answers
570 views
全然 {ぜんぜん} with positive adjective / na-adjective
In Japanese classes, I was taught that 全然 can only be used with negative-meaning words/phrases/clauses, for example:
全然出来ません
全然だめです
However, I've observed that, especially in spoken Japanese, ...
14
votes
4answers
432 views
とっても versus とても
I've had a teacher flatly tell me that とっても is incorrect, but I do see it written here and there and I'm pretty sure I hear it as well. Is it just so informal relative to とても that I should never use ...
11
votes
1answer
189 views
Difference between これから、いまから
What is the difference between これから and いまから？ Both seem to have the meaning of 'from now on'.
これから、食べます。
いまから、食べます。
Do the sentences above carry the same meaning?
11
votes
2answers
193 views
<adv> versus <adv>+と versus <adv>+に
I often see adverbs used in one of three ways:
1) Adverb appears in isolation in a sentence:
あまり 好きじゃないんですが。
2) Adverb is followed by に
別々に お願いします。
1970年代後半、多くの罪もない日本の一般市民が 次々に 失踪した。
...
10
votes
3answers
789 views
Can totemo be used with daisuki or daikirai
totemo means "very"
suki means "like"
daisuki means "like very much"
If I really like something can I use totemo totemo daisuki desu?
10
votes
1answer
269 views
What's the proper way to use 先 versus 前に or 以前?
I'm trying to understand why 先 is not the best choice to use in these sentences. Also, is it wrong to use it in this way?
× 先、学校で何かが起こった。
○ 以前、学校で何かが起こった。
× 先の書いた本から十年間が過ぎました。
○ 前に書いた本から十年間が過ぎました。
9
votes
2answers
301 views
Is there a difference between ほんとう (hontō) and ほんとうに (hontō-ni) when used alone as interjection or question?
As the equivalent of Enlgish "Oh really?" / "Yes really." as lone utterances I seem to hear both "本当" (hontō) and "本当に" (hontō-ni) in Japanese - is there a difference?
It seems that hontō is a noun ...
9
votes
1answer
270 views
Qualitative intensifiers e.g. とても, とっても, 超, etc. How are they different?
How are とても/とっても, でかい/でっかい, 超 (and others that I have yet to encounter) used differently? I figured that for とても/とっても-type difference is that the double-consonant(geminated) version is stronger i.e. a ...
8
votes
2answers
495 views
way to use さっぱり (sappari) and すっかり (sukkari)
Maybe it's just me, but I keep mixing up
As in
すっかり忘れてた
I've completely forgot
and
さっぱりわからない
I haven't the faintest idea / I really don't know
are there other expressions to use ...
8
votes
1answer
309 views
Is 感じる {かんじる} transitive or intransitive? Which particle to use?
Please consider 一段 {いちだん} verb 感じる {かんじる}. Sometimes I see particle に applied and sometimes particole を. In the Jisho.org vocabulary it is not specified if this verb is 他動詞 {たどうし} (transitive) or 自動詞 ...
7
votes
1answer
121 views
What's the difference between ぜひ and きっと when inviting someone to do something?
You can say for example
ぜひパーティーにいらしてね
そのうちまた是非お出かけください
「今晩お伺いしてもいいですか」「ぜひどうぞ」
and
きっと来てくださいね
きっと訪ねて来てください
I would translate both ぜひ and きっと in these sentences with "by all means", but I'm ...
7
votes
2answers
512 views
When to use 「とにかく」 and when to use 「とりあえず」?
This is a variant of the top definition question @ Area51: http://area51.stackexchange.com/proposals/7526/japanese-language-usage/7529#7529
When to use 「とにかく」 and when to use 「とりあえず」? I have heard ...
7
votes
1answer
164 views
ここんとこ (ここん所) and other “every now and then” adverbs
I have been in the market for some good synonyms for ときどき, and I encountered one today that I wanted to share, and also ask for some opinions, since I can not find a correct definition online. The ...
6
votes
1answer
189 views
What's the difference between ちゃんと, きちんと, きっちり and ぴったり?
The four of ちゃんと, きちんと, きっちり and ぴったり all seem to mean something like "perfectly", "precisely" or "exactly", and there seems to be a lot of similarity between their definitions.
Daijisen says that ...
5
votes
2answers
414 views
Can the qualifiers “very” and “too” be expressed unambiguously in Japanese?
I've noticed that some of my Japanese friends with fluent but imperfect English often say "too adjective" when a native English speaker would say just "very adjective".
(I am asking about "too" in ...
5
votes
2answers
193 views
are there any concrete rules for using いっぱい たくさん and よく？
Of course I can use these but sometimes I am corrected by Japanese people when I use them in the wrong circumstance.
For example
「よくしってるやん」 = "You know it quite well don't you!"
「よくいきます」＝ "I go ...
5
votes
3answers
175 views
Explain the meaning of という or と + いう?
Here is the sentence: それは改良を必要としますが、すぐにということではありません。
I can't understand this part: すぐに_Adverb + という_Particle? + こと_Noun + では_DEWA + ありません_Verb.
I know that という is an expression "said; called thus", ...
5
votes
1answer
142 views
Indicative form of an i-adjective used adverbially
As expected, the adverbial form (aka 連用形) of an i-adjective ...く can be used as an intensifying adverb to an adjectival predicate:
すごく速い
But there are cases where the indicative non-past ...
5
votes
1answer
147 views
What does もう mean in this sentence?
彼はもう英語を教えるまい。 (Most probably, he won't teach English any more.) I got this sentence from this thread. もう doesn't seem necessary to use or have. Isn't the meaning the same if it was like this: ...
5
votes
1answer
181 views
What are the different nuances of saying 変{へん}?
I recently came across the term 変{へん}てこ, which, if I understand it, means "strange", but is softer than saying 変{へん}な.
Is it similar to 変{へん}なちょこ? I think this also means strange, but also in a ...
4
votes
1answer
301 views
Help with adverbs with とする and としている
Taking yadokari's sentence:
彼女は表情が生き生きとしておりとてもかわいい。
The part that I need help understanding is the relation of 生き生きとして with 表情 and 居る.
Looking up the dictionary entry for 生き生き, it is "an adverb ...
3
votes
2answers
202 views
も particle after an adverb
I know that も particle can be used in place of は、が、を. And it means "in addition", "also".
What function does it have in this adverb "不運にも"?
Should we treat it as a separate word here?
3
votes
2answers
221 views
Adverbial form: 楽しみに or 楽しみで?
I'm quite familiar with the different uses of the particles に and で. However, right now I'm stuck, because I want to say the following in Japanese, and as I understand it, either one of these ...
3
votes
1answer
200 views
differences between やはり and さすが
In such a sentence as 疲れているが、やっぱり行くつもりだ can you substitute やはり with さすが, with the meaning of "as one would expect", "also", "as I thought", "still"? how does the meaning change in this sentence? I ...
3
votes
3answers
210 views
Reconciliation of adverbial ぜひ with its Japanese-English translation
Through this question I want to understand exactly how ぜひ is used adverbially.
My problem is that ぜひ is not behaving as I expect it to be. It appears that the English translation does not reflect its ...
0
votes
2answers
221 views
Why is this sentence grammatically incorrect?
On a separate question about Japanese pitch, one of the examples I left was:
'甘美（うまみ）の花は赤を見える' (Your flower looks red [talking to Umami]).
One of the commenters claimed that it was ...
