Subtle differences between two seemingly interchangeable expressions.
5
votes
1answer
158 views
の要領で as “in the same way as”/“in the manner of” vs. のように
Full text is over here.
This is part of the description of how 茄子餃子{なすぎょうざ} is prepared at a particular restaurant:
天ぷらの要領で水で溶いた小麦粉をつけて中火の油で揚げる。
If の要領で was replaced by のように, would there be any ...
5
votes
1answer
184 views
What is the difference between むかしっから and むかしから?
In my book I found both むかしっから and むかしから within the span of a couple pages, in very similar contexts. What is the significance of that small-tsu (with regards to the meaning, not the pronunciation)?
...
11
votes
1answer
307 views
ひらく / とじる vs. あける / しめる
The verbs ひらく and あける both mean to open, and とじる and しめる both mean to close. I understand that ひらく and とじる are antonym pairs, as are あける and しめる, but have never been clear on the difference between ...
4
votes
2answers
238 views
What's the difference between 上る、登る and 昇る?
According to jisho.org, they all have the same meanings, to climb, to rise, to ascend. Is that true? And do they have differences in usage?
11
votes
2answers
411 views
Why is 空【くう】, and not 無【む】, used to define “void”, “emptiness” in a buddhist context? What are their nuances?
Feel free to participate to the meta-discussion on whether this type of question (relying on buddhist terms) should be allowed on JLU.
A while back, looking at a reproduction of some famous zen ...
6
votes
1answer
138 views
What's the difference between 平行 and 並行?
They both seem to mean "parallel". In my プログレッシブ dictionary, it seems to point to the former being the more mathematical sense of the definition (two co-planar, non-intersecting lines), while the ...
23
votes
7answers
633 views
What is the most natural way to refer to someone when you don't know their name and don't have a close relationship with them?
I wanted to mention to a female staff member in a shop that I visit every day that I had seen their photograph in the Shibuya shop. I was going to say:
渋谷店であなたの写真を見た。
..but あなた seemed too intimate. ...
6
votes
1answer
169 views
How to describe the inside of one's mind?
On one page in my book, I came across 3 different phrases for, what seems to me, subtly different ways of saying the same thing.
The first was: 頭の隅に
Then: 脳裏に
The information I was able to find ...
5
votes
2answers
456 views
What is -からです, and when is it used?
I have seen this expression a few times, and have never quite understood it. In particular, it seems to be equatable both to ですから and to んです, but I can't figure out where it would be used over either ...
9
votes
2answers
198 views
What is the purpose of the suffix “さ” on adjectives?
What is the purpose of the suffix "さ" on adjectives like 美しさ and 多さ?
The former is the title of an essay by Banana Yoshimoto, so I don't have much context for it. The book editors translated it as ...
7
votes
2answers
189 views
けど vs. が for “but” conjuction
This question covers the difference between でも and けど for "but", the difference being that でも can be used at the beginning of a sentence. But けど and が are used in very much the same way, ...
4
votes
2answers
238 views
Help with the difference between causative and the causative-passive for the verb 笑う
I've always had a hard time immediately understanding the differences between passive, causative, and causative-passive. If I really sit down and try to work out the meaning I can generally get it, ...
7
votes
1answer
183 views
To take responsibility: 責任を 取る・負う・持つ
What are the nuances between these three verbs when paired with 責任? I understand they all mean "to take responsibility", but are they interchangeable, etc?
責任を取る
責任を負う
責任を持つ
負う's definition says ...
6
votes
1answer
159 views
Difference between 一段 imperatives ～よ・～ろ
一段 verbs may be conjugated to form imperative forms of ～よ or ～ろ.
For example:
見る forms either 見よ or 見ろ
食べる forms either 食べよ or 食べろ
How did the two forms come about?
What is the difference in ...
11
votes
8answers
644 views
Is the word ハーフ derogatory?
Is the term ハーフ (mixed-race Japanese/other) derogatory? Can you use it in a newspaper article? Can you use it to describe your boss? If it is derogatory, what word(s) should one use instead?
1
vote
1answer
240 views
[plain form]-んじゃない
When I was first learning Japanese, I learned that the explanatory form, -んです is always constructed by conjugating the verb in short form and adding -んです, and that the です part is never conjugated. But ...
7
votes
3answers
294 views
How to sound more manly when sneaking popcorn into the cinema
OK, really esoteric question time:
So I went to the cinema with a female friend on the weekend.
I was going to buy some of the horrendously overpriced popcorn there, but then she said:
持ってきちゃった!
...
9
votes
4answers
354 views
Use of ～のか (～んですか) in questions not seeking a yes/no answer
I would like to know if there is a shift in nuance in questions such as these:
誰が参加したんですか。 vs. 誰が参加しましたか。
いつ着いたんですか。 vs. いつ着きましたか。
I wish to limit discussion to only non-yes/no questions ...
3
votes
1answer
173 views
How to write “Ikigai”
I'd like to use Ikigai ("something one lives for; purpose in life; raison d'être") for a Calligraphy (ShoDo) work.
According to Tangorin there are three possible ways to write this:
生き甲斐
生きがい
...
18
votes
3answers
529 views
what is the difference between -さ and -み suffixes to make a noun out of an adjective?
Example 悲しさ is sadness, and 悲しみ is sadness too. What is the difference?
According to Dictionary of Basic Japanese Grammar, -み "is more emotive and concrete characterization of some state" and -さ ...
16
votes
1answer
265 views
What are the differences between 〜ので and 〜から?
When I was studying this, my 先生 kind of brushed over the point, and then years later, I realize that they are different, but I don't know exactly how.
The only thing I understand is that ので is more ...
7
votes
1answer
203 views
must/need [必要]{ひつよう}がある vs. なくてはいけない and [必要]{ひつよう}だ vs. [要]{い}る
This is a two part question, both pertaining to expressions involving "必要".
What is the difference between 必要がある and -なくてはいけない/ -なければならない? The
difference between the latter two expressions is ...
4
votes
2answers
189 views
Explaining cause in response to the question “why?”
Alright, lets give this another go.
I'm having trouble understanding the best way to respond to someone asking "why".
My study guide advised,
To answer the question with "why", make a statement ...
9
votes
1answer
212 views
Is there a difference between に伴う and を伴う?
In a report I handed in earlier this week, my professor corrected my sentence to
日本において、金融政策の目的に関する考え方が時間を伴い、変わってきた。
from 「に伴い」. Is there a practical difference between the two? ALC shows a ...
7
votes
3answers
195 views
What is the difference between 防止 and 予防?
My dictionary defines both 防止 and 予防 as "prevention", with 予防 having the additional definitions of "precaution" and "protection against".
I sort of understand the latter definitions for 予防 as acting ...
6
votes
3answers
242 views
What is the appropriate size of hiragana in proportion to kanji?
I remember being told that hiragana should be the same size as kanji when writing them by hand. However, there are times when I see handwritten kana that are much smaller than the kanji. Does this ...
9
votes
2answers
325 views
do people actually respect the nuances of 探す vs 捜す?
Part 1
I understand 探す to be to search for something (general)
and 捜す to be to search for something lost
But do people actually care about the difference in nuance when they use it?
I mean do ...
6
votes
2answers
268 views
Which kanji for はじめます? There seem to be two
I thought the kanji for はじめます was:
始めます
However, one of my friends tweeted using 初:
トマト鍋初めて食べたけどおいしかった
Which is correct? Is there a difference in nuance between the two? jisho.org brings ...
5
votes
3answers
235 views
What is the difference between 寿司, 鮨, 鮓, 寿斗, 寿し, and 壽司?
It is likely that this is due to my poor understanding, but why are there so many names for「すし」? I think for the most part I have only seen the first three (寿司、鮨、鮓). For whatever reason in some ...
12
votes
3answers
246 views
Sentence structure/element order
In the textbook Japanese for Busy People I, the order of the elements in a sentence is always the same (subject - when - with whom - by what means - to where - verb) at least as far as I have made it. ...
11
votes
3answers
497 views
Fun with synonyms - “eternity”
What are the differences among the following two-kanji words that seem to mean "eternity":
永遠 {えいえん}
永久 {とわ}
永世 {えいせい}
永代 {えいたい}
永劫 {えいごう}
永永 {えいえい}
久遠 {きゅうえん}
悠久 {ゆうきゅう}
恒久 {こうきゅう}
恒常 {こうじょう}
長久 ...
5
votes
1answer
118 views
What may be the difference between the usage of 自尊心 ,誇りand 自慢?
I read a paragraph and the paragraph contains the word 自尊心.
I want to know meaning of 自尊心.
Dictionary says 自尊心 = pride.
Is it same with 誇り? or 自慢?
What may be the difference between the usage of ...
8
votes
1answer
251 views
What kind of a thing is a “やつ”?
I've been seeing やつ used for "thing" reasonably frequently in Manga/online etc, for example:
ほとんどは本とか食玩とか細かいやつかな。
"It's virtually all stuff like books, those small toys sold with food and small ...
3
votes
1answer
111 views
Difference between the usage of 知恵 , 知能 and 知力
I have read the sentence
"12歳の小児の知力しかない".
In this sentence , I would like to know the usage of 知力 .
In dictionary , it means "intelligence "
Can I use 知恵 or 知能 instead of 知力.
Is there ...
9
votes
1answer
281 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 ...
6
votes
2answers
328 views
Using 伯母 / 叔母 to refer to one's aunt
Is it true that when we see 伯母 it usually (90%) means "parent's elder sister" and sometimes (10%) can be used to refer to the parent's younger sister?
On the contrary, when we see 叔母 does it always ...
17
votes
2answers
319 views
What's the difference between “家” (ya), “屋” (ya), and “や” (ya) as used in the names of shops/stores/restaurants?
As a gyudon addict I have noticed that the names of the three major national restaurant chains all end in "ya" but they used two different characters:
"吉野家" (Yoshinoya)
"松屋" (Matsuya)
"すき家" (Sukiya)
...
7
votes
2answers
292 views
Come to ～: ～てくる vs. ～ようになる
Can someone please explain the fine nuances of these two? Things such as:
Are there conditions/restrictions of when you can use one or the other?
What are the "approximate" time periods that each ...
4
votes
1answer
93 views
What is the difference between 義務and 本分?
Now, I try to brush up my vocabulary in Japanese.
In dictionary, both 義務 and 本分 mean "duty". Is there any differences in usage?
And can I use 本分 instead of 義務 in following sentence?
...
4
votes
1answer
388 views
Stative verbs: ～ている vs ～てある vs ～（ら）れる
I'm not sure if I'm wording this properly, but I want to know the nuances of these "stative" type verb forms that act kind of like adjectives.
For example, you could describe an open window with any ...
7
votes
2answers
186 views
What is the difference between 意味 and 意義?
I have learned (意味) and (意義）as "meaning". I am confused these two words. Are they same or is there any difference in usage?
8
votes
2answers
178 views
What is the difference between 首相 and 総理?
I learned 総{そう}理{り} as the word for Prime Minister, but I've recently learned that 首{しゅ}相{しょう} is also used. Is there a difference in usage or meaning? Is one more polite than the other?
4
votes
1answer
362 views
“causative of negative” vs “negative of causative”?
Wikipedia (Japanese Verb Conjugation):
Negatives [verb negative-conjugations] are not normally made into causatives. Instead, a negative ending is added to the causative of the verb. Thus, for ...
7
votes
1answer
133 views
ところ vs どころ: Interchangeable or different meanings altogether?
I have two questions.
A) Why do they use どころ instead of ところ in this sentence? Is it possible to use ところ without changing the meaning?
...
5
votes
1answer
231 views
How to decide to use どうせ or しょせん?
The dictionary translates both どうせ (WJDIC) and しょせん (WJDIC) as "anyway / in any case / after all".
But what exactly is the difference in nuance between them?
For example, what is the difference ...
7
votes
1answer
160 views
Can 一杯 be used to express the fullness of things without physical volumes?
According to an answer to this question, the word [一杯]{いっぱい} can be used to expess fullness; especially in relation to the capacity of whatever is containing the quantity. This, however, tends to ...
3
votes
1answer
195 views
What is the difference in terms of grammar between ～かける and ～っぱなし?
Spawned from What is the difference in terms of grammar between きり and っぱなし?; I started thinking about ～かける. Don't these essentially mean the same thing? I'm failing to see any difference except ...
5
votes
1answer
126 views
What's the difference between 赤ん坊 and 赤ちゃん
Are both words interchangeable? Rikai-chan defines them both as "baby, infant". So what would be the difference?
10
votes
2answers
279 views
What exactly is 我, and how is it used?
I was taught that [私]{わた(く)し}, [僕]{ぼく}, and 俺{おれ} are the most common first-person pronouns.
Recently, I stumbled upon the word [我]{われ}, which supposedly means the same thing. An online dictionary ...
8
votes
2answers
289 views
What is the difference between 記憶【きおく】 and 思【おも】い出【で】?
Is there any difference between the meanings or connotations of 記憶 and 思い出?
I started thinking about this after listening to the song 「タイムマシーン」 or "Time Machine" by 少女時代, where these two lines occur ...
