The meaning of words or phrases within certain contexts, especially when it does not seem to match the standard definition.
5
votes
1answer
176 views
Definition of ブラコン when discussing musical preferences
A Japanese person told me that they have ブラコン。I looked it up on Wikipedia and it said something like an emotional attachment to one's brother. But they said that it meant something like someone who ...
5
votes
1answer
285 views
I don't understand the meaning of the 2 sentences. Can somebody help me?
This is dialogue (It's from magazine).
A: 現実場面では気★いが山のように出て事件も死ぬほど起こしてて、タブー云々と言ってるうちに表現が現実に負けちゃってるじゃん、最近って。
B: 俺も別に[奇]{き}をてらってタブー演るわけじゃなくて.
I absolutely don't understand the first part of the first ...
4
votes
2answers
187 views
餌食 vs 獲物
What is the difference between 餌食{えじき} and 獲物{えもの}?
Both mean "prey", so how do we decide when to use which?
What is the difference in their nuances?
3
votes
1answer
75 views
Where is the personal comparison in this phrase?
I was browsing a language exchange site and came across:
私のように明るく、前向きな方がいいです。
And the text under it (translation from the user who posted the entry) was:
I'm hoping that you are cheerful and ...
5
votes
1answer
148 views
勤め vs 役目
What is the difference between 勤め and 役目?
Both seems to mean duty (something that one is expected or required to do by moral or legal obligation), but what is the difference in their nuance and ...
10
votes
2answers
313 views
Ups and downs: かみ・しも vs うえ・した
So, we have the kanji 上・下 which can be read as either かみ・しも or うえ・した, and as I understand it, those two are antonym pairs. But what are the differences between the two?
The thesaurus isn't very ...
5
votes
1answer
142 views
Does 寒気がする really mean “have a chill” or is it just cold?
Can the expression:
寒気{さむけ}が する
really mean feel cold and also have a chill (as per many dictionaries)?
To me, to have a chill/bug means to be sick from a virus/cold for a short period: have I ...
4
votes
1answer
178 views
Payment types in receipts
If I find one of the following words on a receipt before the total sum:
クレジット
クレジット支払
クレジット支払額
クレジット計
クレジット売上
Can I conclude that the transaction was paid for by credit card?
And what does it ...
3
votes
2answers
264 views
Kanji reading: 一人KY、実？中
This morning I took this picture, finding the 一人KY poster amusing:
QUESTION: What is the kanji before 中 ?
In Gjiten I can't find it by combining the radicals of 止 and 残, nor by number of strokes ...
4
votes
4answers
231 views
Can 猿 technically mean “ape”?
It has long been a pet peeve of mine when people talk about apes calling them "monkeys".
Recently I've seen bonobos being called 猿 in an anime, so from that it's pretty clear that 猿 also refers to ...
4
votes
2answers
126 views
Difference between words that describe the idea of neighborhood/being close to something
Can somebody describe the difference between these words(physical distance and maybe politeness of these words, or any aspects that you think are important to understand these).
Can all these words ...
7
votes
1answer
265 views
What does “ちるの、びるの” mean?
Context: 織次{おりじ} the protagonist is trying to buy back a set of drawings from his father's friend, who is mysteriously evasive about the matter.
...
5
votes
2answers
288 views
Japanese don't learn kanji meaning only readings? Does it make sense for a kanji to have a key meaning to identify it?
As I understand it works like this. By the time Japanese kids enter first grade they have more or less decent vocabulary of words they know. So when kanjis are taught I can't even imagine how to tell ...
2
votes
1answer
119 views
The meanings of 写真{しゃしん}
I'm currently studying Japanese vocabulary following the JLPT programs. I'm doing the JLPT 5 and I've come across the word 写真.
According to my dictionary, the meanings are:
Photograph, photo.
...
5
votes
1answer
86 views
What is the difference between 家屋, 家 and 住居
I've found yet another word that's translated as 'home' which now makes it 3. Could you please tell me if these words have the same exact meaning or is there any difference between their usage?
3
votes
2answers
233 views
Slang: What does テラス mean?
What does テラス means in the context of declining an invitation, like below?
うううううう！！いきたい！けどその時間帯もろに仕事だ：：：またやって！！テラスーーーーー
I guess it is slang?
I am familiar with テラワロス but it seems different in ...
2
votes
1answer
73 views
Interpreting 開ける when talking about 暇なとき
Earlier today I read the following excerpt from a message:
結局今日はゲームやらなかったよ！ また、暇なときに開けよう
The part I'm most unclear on is how to translate 開けよう.
First off, let me mention that I'm currently ...
5
votes
1answer
125 views
What does うんたらかんたら mean?
I recently heard this phrase being told in a show, but I just couldn't make sense of what it means...And what really caught my attention was that the listener was really surprised to hear this phrase ...
1
vote
2answers
93 views
Questions about this sentence
"当時の関係者何人かにあたって記憶を確かめてみたが、人の記憶の欠落部分というのは、捏造で補われる仕組みになっているらしく、共通の体験が、しばしば、お互いに矛盾する記憶になっていることに驚かされた。"
What does "にあたって" mean there ?
"驚かされた" is referring to what/whom exactly ?
Does "関係者何人か" mean ...
3
votes
1answer
151 views
Can't quite understand this sentence
この間、時間を見つけては、過去の歴史をひもといてみたのだが、再認識させられたのは、人間というのは、どれほど多くの涙とともに飲み下した教訓であっても、喉元を過ぎたとたんに忘れてしまう生き物であるということだった.
Especially what "忘れてしまう生き物" is supposed to mean in "喉元を過ぎたとたんに忘れてしまう生き物であるということだった".
0
votes
1answer
192 views
What does it mean in Japanese? [closed]
What does the Japanese word 赤道 mean?
A Russian site claims that it means philosophical teaching.
1
vote
0answers
127 views
What are some words with kanji/readings/meanings that don't match? [closed]
Maybe a hard to understand question, but for example, I love the word 百日紅 (さるすべり) because it's the name of a red flower and uses some very poetic kanji (one hundred days of red) but opts instead for a ...
3
votes
3answers
247 views
Is there a reliable translation of the kangxi radicals?
Inspired by the Wikipedia page on Kangxi radicals I decided to study the meaning and writing of radicals before I tackle the much more numerous kanji. But in working my way through the list, I started ...
6
votes
3answers
317 views
Is it true that the word “Omar” means “baby toilet” in Japanese?
I know it sounds funny, but my name is Omar, and one of my friends said that my name means "toilet for babies" in Japanese. I wanted to check if this is correct, because Google Translate did not help ...
4
votes
2answers
114 views
What is a 丁寧 food?
When eating ramen, a Japanese person commented on how the ramen of this shop are 丁寧.
What does 丁寧 means in the context of food?
丁寧 means polite in social contexts, but I am not sure it the same ...
5
votes
3answers
177 views
Why use 数年 in あれから１０数年?
My question is on 「あれから１０数年」. My understanding is that this translates to roughly, "It's been 10 years since then."
The dictionary says「数年」 means "several years" or "a number of years". How does ...
8
votes
2answers
231 views
What しかりだ does mean?
I need to know what しかりだ does mean. I couldn't find over internet a satisfactory meaning.
It is from a manga called Saint Seiya. Here is the whole text:
黄金聖闘士 十二人とはいえ まだ幼い者が かなり多い シルバーセイント ...
2
votes
2answers
144 views
How to distinguish between the meanings of “quickly”, “soon” and “early” for 早く
At What is suffix 方 used for (when attached to a た-verb)?, I wrote that the 早く there means "early":
早く行った方が良かったでしょう。
It would have been better if (you) had gone early, would it not?
But I'm ...
7
votes
1answer
116 views
Meaning of る in 問われたる
From the beginning of the novel "The Grove", what does the る mean in
検非違使に問われた る 木樵りの物語
問われた is the passive of 問う, but where does the る come from? Is it the short form of いる?
7
votes
1answer
75 views
How is 発行 different from 刊行?
Also, how does 発刊 fit into all of this?
Is it that 発行 can be used for magazines, newspapers and books while 刊行 can't be used for newspapers?
4
votes
2answers
146 views
Meaning of 気負わずに奮ってご参加ください
What does 気負わずに奮ってご参加ください mean?
Is it like 気軽にご参加ください?
Context: an event information page announcing pre-requisites for attendance:
前提知識
...
5
votes
1answer
152 views
Why do ~なんてもんじゃないよ/~たのなのって=とても？
Both the following two expressions from my text book 完全マスター聴解N１ are explained as とても（高い／人が多かった）:
高いなんてもんじゃないよ
人が多かったのなのって
Could someone explain what they are based on/where they come from ...
10
votes
2answers
339 views
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、この最後のローソクが消えたら、本当のお化けが出るかもしれん。だが、どんなお化けが出ようと、お互いに逃げっこなしにしよう」
What I'm having trouble understanding and dictionaries haven't ...
2
votes
1answer
252 views
7
votes
4answers
2k views
What does チャラ mean?
What does チャラ mean? It was explained here that チャラ男 means light image. Does that mean cool image of a person? A cool person?
...
2
votes
2answers
143 views
What did 才六 and similar terms about Kansai residents mean?
While looking up the denonym for a Kansai resident (I've since found out it's 関西人{かんさいじん}), jisho.org described 才六, 贅六, 上方才六, 賽六 and 采六, with pronunciations (not necessarily in that order) of ぜいろく, ...
2
votes
1answer
118 views
What is the difference between 「Adj-さと言ったらなかった」＆「Adj-いと言ったらなかった」？
Could someone explain the difference between the following two expressions:
恐ろしさといったらなかった
恐ろしいといったらなかった
I am struggling with the first which my text book tells me means とても恐ろしかった. Why is ...
11
votes
2answers
283 views
Adjectives functioning both as イ- and ナ-adjective
This question has made me think about the class of adjectives, which can function both as イ- and as ナ-adjective, e.g.
大きい 大きな
小さい 小さな
真っ白い 真っ白な (etc.)
細かい 細かな
暖かい 暖かな
四角い 四角な (etc.)
柔らかい ...
4
votes
1answer
131 views
The meaning and parsing of “はっといた”
In the Kanzen Master N2 listening textbook, there's the following sentence:
女： 昨日、はっといたんだけど。
Of which in the answers the correct reply was specified as:
男： その壁に？
Man: On that wall? (?)
...
4
votes
1answer
313 views
Meaning of 「そればかりか、〜Vーるというようなことさえ、始めはしない。」
I am struggling to grasp the meaning of this expression 「そればかりか、〜Vるというようなことさえ、始めはしない」It comes up in the following sentence. The English translation is my best effort but I am guessing from the ...
8
votes
1answer
746 views
Onigiri and nigiri
I was reading this two articles:
Onigiri wikipedia's article
Nigiri explanation inside wikipedia's sushi article
I first thought that onigiri was a type of sushi but it's not.
It calls my ...
5
votes
1answer
110 views
What does “気結び” mean?
According to a (non japanese, but he spent lots of time in Japan) Aikido teacher I know, this is supposed to represent "an obligation bounding student and teacher".
To be honest, I am a bit ...
6
votes
1answer
168 views
What does「新聞っぽい曜日」mean? Newspaperish? Commonplace? Routine?
This is a practice problem from a textbook on natural language processing:
やってみよう:ブラウンコーパスのニュースとロマンスの 2 つのジャンルのデータを利用して、どの曜日がもっとも新聞っぽく、どの曜日がもっともロマンチックかを調べてみよう。
"Which day of the week is ...
6
votes
1answer
139 views
Other uses of “imperative prohibition” form eg わかるな ・すわんな
I saw a film where in two separate scenes the characters seemed to use the "imperative-prohibition" to invite the opposite action:
1.In one scene a father after explaining something to his son ...
15
votes
1answer
174 views
How did 革 “leather” come to mean newness?
How did the word 革{かわ}, 革{カク} "leather" acheive the meaning "newness"? 広辞苑 lists one of the definitions (under かく) as "あらたまること, あらためること", and we can see this in some of its associated 熟語: 変革, 改革, 革新. ...
1
vote
1answer
120 views
What is the meaning of 疾風伝?
I am trying to understand the title of an anime series called: Naruto Shippuden. Searching google, I found that shippuden can be translated as hurricane chronicles or legend. I looked for hurricane in ...
4
votes
2answers
113 views
How do specific characters get included in 囲み文字 and what are the meanings they convey?
I have this book 「図解でわかる 文字コードのすべて」 which lists many of the Unicode and JIS symbols that one can type. I noticed the section of enclosed alphanumerics (囲み文字). Not all kanji are included in 囲み文字 which ...
0
votes
1answer
112 views
What is はこう from はこうやって?
What is the translation of はこう ? (from はこうやって)
I know that it would mean something like : This is how (I do) ...
Yet, I cannot find the word in any dictionary. I just find the meaning of "wave ...
4
votes
3answers
221 views
Relation between kanji readings and meanings
I understand that a kanji can have several possible readings and several (typically related) meanings. Furthermore, I've noticed that a single reading typically corresponds to some subset of the ...
9
votes
2answers
314 views
います and あります usage
I just learned about: います and あります.
I know I should use います for people and moving things and あります for plants and inanimate things.
I have two doubts:
Which one should I use with "dead body". For ...
