Questions tagged [expressions]
表現. A set phrase used commonly in the Japanese language.
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Translating わざとらしい and 頭に入らない
I'm currently reading through 「のだ」の機能 by 野田・春美 and I'm having trouble translating one of her examples of のだ usage.
「こんな時に限って電車は揺れる。居眠りするのもわざとらしい。仕方ないから新聞を広げて読むのだが、活字がすんなり頭に入らない。こんなことなら立つんだった。」
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Any silly Japanese sentences like the "buffalo buffalo buffalo buffalo..." one in English?
I made one up, but I was wondering if there were any other good ones.
The one I made up: "王を追う王を追う" (Ou wo ou ou wo ou) ("I chase the king that chases a king").
For those who don't ...
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Is this "up your own ass" line spoken in Japanese forced, or is it a natural line one might say? [Shogun]
In Shogun S01EP02, a show set in the 1600s, the 太閤様{たいこうさま} (basically a great Japanese Lord) is on his deathbed. A Portugese Catholic priest advises that, unless the Japanese Lord receives the ...
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Understanding 手を取り
So I'm trying to understand the expression 手を取り (to take hands) in the context of this lyric from "Suteki Da Ne":
二人手をとり 歩けたなら
I know that since 取り is 取る's stem form, it can act like the ...
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Can そんなに and そういう be used interchangeably?
I'm having a bit of trouble understanding the nuances in usage for these two adverbs:
そんなに: so much; so; like that
そういう: such; like that; that sort of
Of the three definitions, I see they only ...
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What does あって当然のもの mean?
あって当然のものがたりない。
It's one of the meanings of 欠ける. Is "To lack a thing taken for granted" right?
I don't understand あって当然のもの grammatically, though. Is あって from 有る?
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Difference between 何かと、何くれ and 何かにつけて
According to Jisho, the expressions 何かと, 何くれ and 何かにつけて all mean "in various ways". However, I tried to search the difference in usage between them, but I couldn't find anything insightful.
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Meaning and usage of 何かかにか
According to Jisho, 何かかにか means "this and that; something or other; one thing or another".
However, when trying to find example sentences so that I can grasp better the usage of this ...
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Origin of よろしく's other meanings
The other meanings I'm referring to are from noun + よろしく (as if) and よろしく ... べし (by all means). I wonder why it also lacks some meanings from よく, as よろしい is the respectful form of よい, I think. I ...
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What's the nuance of ...ましょう to express intent?
十万円あげましょう。 I'll give you 100,000 yen.
手伝いましょう。 I'll help you.
I've seen sentences of intent like this, but I don't understand the nuance of the speaker using ...ましょう instead of structures like 「...
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動作の完成を表す言葉について、
この質問はこちらからの追加質問です。
日本語を勉強し始めた頃から、たくさんの文章を読んだり動画を見たりしまして、若干の動作の終わりを表現する語を知ってますが、その使い分け、特に、日本人が脳内で感じれる単語の違いは分かりません。
例えば、水などの液体を全て飲んだら、いくつかの表現があります：
飲み切った
飲み果たした
飲み尽くした
飲んでしまった
飲み終わった
...
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How to answer to 精一杯頑張ってきます?
I was talking with my japanese penpal and he wrote to me 精一杯頑張ってきますよ! after I wrote him おはようございます！お仕事頑張ってきてね！ because he told me he was going to work. I don't know if there's an answer or not. In ...
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What does the "に" in 上目遣いに mean?
In a book I was reading I found this expression:
私は瞼を閉じて、彼の頬にキスをした。上目遣いに、彼の表情を見る。
I understand the girl is like "I close my eyes, and kiss his cheek." and then "I gaze at his ...
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Need help understanding what 卑怯もくそもあるか means
I get that it's kinda of slangy, but I'm having issues wrapping my head around it.
The full sentence was ケンカに卑怯もクソもあるかと言ったのは誰だったかな
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What does ほわって mean?
ほわぁ～って感じが好きです
A woman who's looking at a painting says that after saying that she likes it.
I've searched for ほわって, ほわっと, ほわっ, ほわ, ほわほわ on Jisho and Weblio (Japanese-English), but they're not there.
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what's the meaning of "心の中だけで笑わない"?
I have seen this sentence in a japanese tv show.
I think it should mean:“only in your heart, you don't laugh.”
But the right explanation is,
“Don't just laugh in your heart ”
(by the way it tells ...
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Is "で一発だ an expression?
こりゃたまげた! あっという間に見つけちまうんだね
I'm shocked. You found the food in an instant
And his reply
ああ? 食い物なんて匂いで一発だ
From context I can gather it seems to be akin to ... I found it asap because of the smell but ...
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What does いくつになっても exactly mean?
いくつになっても「いい子」が上手いな!
A is angry at B for being kind to somebody and says that. They are both young adults.
It should mean "No matter the age, you are good at being a good boy!", but I don't ...
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How do I say "take a break from (gaming, social media)"?
How do I express that I'm taking a somewhat long-term (e.g. a few weeks to a few months) break from hobbies or entertainment such as video games/social media/etc?
I found the question below in which ...
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What is the exact difference between "が世話になって and "に世話になって
So this character says to this girl
課長にはいつもお世話になってます。。。 Aka "The section chief (your husband) is always helping me"
But then this girl says to him
いつも主人が世話になってます aka "Thanks for always ...
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How to understand どのメニューも工夫されたものばかりです
From chapter 25 of 新标准日本语中级, titled 創作中華料理コンテストの実現:
野田：おかげさまで、今回の創作中華料理コンテストには、全国から１００００件を超す応募がありました。創作カクテル部門にも１０００件以上の応募がありました。
大山：本当ですか。それはすごい。
野田：どのメニューも工夫されたものばかりです。
If どのメニュー takes the ga (...
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"kiru" used to refer to a card?
In Bungou Stray Dogs S2E07, the enemy pulled off something really abhorrent, and in response, Dazai says "敵｛てき｝がその気｛き｝なら、こちらも鬼札｛おにふだ｝を切｛き｝ろう". I can understand that onifuda is like "...
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What's the meaning of the expression verb + "ikitai to omoimasu"?
I found that the expression verb + "wo yaritai to omoimasu" means "I think I want to do" + verb, which makes sense to me.
However, I am not sure about the similar expression verb + ...
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Is there any Japanese saying, proverb or idiom equivalent to the meaning of the biblical parable "The Mote and the Beam"?
I think I've come across the Japanese version of this teaching in the Bible as a saying (proverb?) but I'm having a hard time recalling and searching it.
The key takeaway in the parable is:
One can ...
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Is this a good way to politely refuse to publish an "abstract" option via e-mail? / 丁寧にメールで要旨原稿を掲載することを断る
日本語
背景
数ヶ月前、私は地方の学会で学術発表をしました。先日審査の結果を知らされました。結局、通常通りに掲載されることにはならず、要旨としての掲載となるとのことでした。私が掲載を希望するかどうかを尋ねられましたが、私自身は他の研究に集中したいため、要旨原稿の掲載を断るつもりです。
質問
以下の日本語はメールの要旨を書くチャンスを断る表現として、相応しいですか：
○○先生
...
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Different words for "idiom"
When looking on dictionaries E-J for the word "idiom" in Japanese, the following results appear: 熟語、慣用句、成句、故事成語、ことわざ and 言い習わし.
While I think ことわざ is more like a "proverb", what ...
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How to express this kind of "no"?
I believe in English you can say "no" when something unfortunate is about to happen or has already started — suppose somebody has just bumped into a table with an antique vase and now you ...
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"Your mom has an outie" = "son of a bitch" in English?
This might seem ridiculous, but I've now encountered "Your mom has an outie" twice in anime, and both times, it's been translated as "son of a bitch." I just want to know if there'...
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What is being said here that means "it's frowned upon if you're a smoker [in the US]"
In Shinya Shokudou, S3EP08, a Japanese lady who currently works in New York (but is back home in Japan for a bit) asks the owner of a Shokudou for a cigarette as he's smoking. The owner says "...
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塩気/塩っ気 (shiokke) = sass?
In Shinya Shokudou (Midnight Diner) S3EP06, and old mom meets with this old guy, and they're talking at a diner in front of the old mom's daughter (who's casual friends with the old guy). The old mom'...
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犬{いぬ}も食{く}わない having a connotation of getting involved in a lover's spat?
In SAO Progressive (2nd movie), Asuna and Kirito are arguing, and Kirito asks Argo to weigh in. Argo responds "犬｛いぬ｝も食｛く｝わない物｛もの｝に関｛かか｝わる気｛き｝はないよ～", which is officially translated as "...
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How is 役に立った ( helpful ) formed?
My guess is that the phrase is derived from the composition of the following:
役 (yaku) : service, use
に：particle for destination
立った：perfective of 立つ (tatsu)
So it's extended meaning like "...
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Question about the expression 日和: Can it be used with any activity or just with certain set expressions?
So I was watching a podcast for japanese learners and they gave 行楽日和、お散歩日和、お洗濯日和..as examples.
So now I am asking myself, can I attach 日和 only to certain things or to anything that fits the context?
...
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Good expression for "Come on." in this specific context? [closed]
I'm looking for a good word or phrase for the English phrase, "Come on.". Specifically, in a context where you're looking for something in a hurry, like "Come on, come on...!"
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Is there a name for the practice of directly reflecting back a questioner's words, and is it really that important in Japanese?
I don't really think this is 相槌; I tried searching here for "reflection" or "mirroring" as well but didn't find anything.
Let's take this example conversation:
A: ...
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The meaning of つま先を突っ張らせて in this context (describes a person's toes)
I met this expression in an eroge, but find it's hard to understand. My guess is "Her toes were constricted "( ? ) but i'm not sure.
Context is a H-scene, where the protagonist
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What does おなかの奥がきゅうううん mean here?
Though I understood JP people say "きゅん/kyun" when they saw something cute or lovely on social medias, but what does おなかの奥がきゅうううん mean here?
I met this sentence in a visual novel, hope ...
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What does 加減 even mean?
At the moment, I am trying to translate かりゆし58's song "アンマー," which has a lot of expressions in it; I would not be surprised if I misinterpreted some of them. However, the focus for this ...
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What does 逃げっこなしにしよう mean?
So, I was reading a children's story and came across this sentence:
「いいか、この最後{さいご}のローソクが消{き}えたら、本当{ほんとう}のお化{ば}けが出{で}るかもしれん。だが、どんなお化けが出ようと、お互{たが}いに逃{に}げっこなしにしよう」
What I'm having trouble ...
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Meanings of っこなし
How many meanings does っこなし have?
On the one hand, I've seen in jisho and here that っこなし is a variant of っこない, which means "no chance of; no way that; certainly not; will never happen".
...
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What does this expression means 限りなく白に近いグレー in this context ? (crime scene investigation theme)
Although i do know white/black colors in Japanese meant innocent/ guilty, I'm not sure about the meaning of this expression "限りなく白に近いグレー ". Hope someone can correct my understanding if i was ...
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Can someone explains the meaning of this expression ? 寄せ集めの色が濃い
A general said this comment about a bandit he just fought:
黄巾賊は、数は多いが寄せ集めの色が濃い。首脳部はそうではないかもしれんが
I can only understand vaguely that he might be saying the bandits though having a large number of troops,...
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What does this means 程度は知ったほうが良い when someone gave other person an advice?
程度は知ったほうが良い
Hope someone can explains this expression's meaning.
Context: 2 subordinates saw their general went too far ahead from his troops in a battle. Although this general is strong and killed ...
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Can anyone explain こんなもんよ?
This is a phrase I came across while watching Pokemon in Japanese. The fan subtitles have it translated as "How are you doing now?". However, from looking at a Japanese dictionary, that does ...
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What does this means in this context ? 武勲をあげる
武勲をあげる
Much thanks if anyone can help me understand its meaning.
Context: The author is describing a general who was being invited to participates in a battle.
孫堅は左軍司馬としてこの戦に参加している。
朱儁に請われて参戦したものだが、...
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What is the function of という in these contexts? [こそはという] [は + という]?
Here I have a few sentences with seemingly obscure usages of という appearing after the こそ and は particles.
Firstly, while watching からかい上手の高木さん I came across this particular sentence in Ep. 3 @11:22:
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Need help with this expression's meaning ロマンはあります [duplicate]
「ロマンはありますけど、でもやっぱり気になりますね」
Hope someone can explains to me the meaning of this expression in this sentence. My guess : "Though your reason sounds very romantic (?), but i'm still curious about ...
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What does this means when describes a person's eyes/gaze looking at you ?焦点の合わない瞳で、ぼやーっと見た。
I'm having troubles with this expression, appreciates if someone can make this clear.
焦点の合わない瞳で、ぼやーっと見た。
My guess : "..looking at me with absentmindedly eyes."
or
"...looking at me ...
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What does やけに上から来る means about a person?
I met this expression when reading, MC called to an "大沢退魔師紹介所/ Exorcist Referral Agency" (Ghost Buster ?) since he needs to solve a series of paranormal incidents at his school. There are 2 ...
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