The short syntactic words or affixes in Japanese that are used to modify words or entire sentences.
5
votes
3answers
183 views
What is くん doing in these sentences?
I have come across two sentences in a manga that is using くん in a way that I can't seem to find any information on, in both my books and online. I am guessing this may be some sort of slang, odd ...
5
votes
3answers
857 views
How do I say “I am the best” ? の,は or が and 私 or 俺?
I'm making a shirt for a (rather egotistical) friend of mine and so am trying to do something with the slogan "I am the best" for fun. I need something with four characters only, and would like to ask ...
5
votes
2answers
151 views
… が決定しました rather than … が決定されました
Can someone explain what rules for が come in play that make the sentence:
発売延期となっていたネットワークレコーダー「nasne(ナスネ)」の発売が8月30日に決定しました
grammatically correct? I would have formulated it ...
5
votes
1answer
195 views
What is the nuance when は directly follows a verb in plain form?
It seems like this is a remnant of (or reference to) older forms of Japanese. Is that all there is to it, or does it have special meaning?
Examples from songs:
歌声 笑い声 満ちる大空 目指すは憧れ
...
5
votes
2answers
208 views
Is it true that all nouns must be able to accept a が particle and a を particle?
Is it true that all nouns must be able to accept a が particle and a を particle?
I was curious about how we could form a sentence with:
特別が
特別を
出色が
出色を
5
votes
2answers
294 views
why are we allowed to use を particle with na-adjectives?
Can someone explain the usage of a na-adjective with the を particle?
Like I cannot understand why we can say ほうれん草を嫌いな人もいる,
because I'd thought that it had to be a が or の particle instead of an を ?
...
5
votes
1answer
221 views
What is this extra と in the sentence?
This is more than likely due to my lack of reading enough Japanese; however, in this sentence the particles と and に are placed together which I haven't seen before.
Sentence:
...
5
votes
3answers
146 views
In which situations is が used with 曲がる?
According to jmdict 曲がる is intransitive, therefore it should be used with が or は. However it always seems to be used with を - for example:
この道を行って二つ目の角を右に曲がります。
5
votes
1answer
325 views
Making sense of もん
How do I make sense of the 終助詞 もん as in
おいしいもん
そうなんだもん
Although I have only heard it in 時代劇 speak, I guess it comes from もの, which I think should be も + の.
But what も can follow the 終止形 and ...
5
votes
1answer
137 views
-たい words and a student's confusion
I was doing some Rosetta Stone earlier, and I came upon a sentence ending with:
行きたいです。
Noting the "たい" part, I was reminded of the word
食べたいです
which I think I first saw in Japanese 1010, ...
5
votes
1answer
103 views
ぜ at the end of sentence?
What's the meaning of ぜ at the end of sentence? Is ぜ a particle?
What's the difference between:
おい、逃{に}げるぜ。
and
おい、逃{に}げる。
I found a couple of explanations on the web but none I could ...
5
votes
3answers
191 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
124 views
の versus が used to mark the subject of an appositive clause?
A friend of mine wrote this sentence in Japanese:
彼女のどんな困難からも逃げない態度を尊敬しています。
'Her attitude of not running away from any hardships is something I respect.'
'I respect that she has this attitude ...
5
votes
1answer
416 views
と、て、って Quoting Particle Usage
と、て、って
What's the difference between these three quoting particles?
Is there any grammatical difference, or are they just casual/formal variations of one another?
田中さんは行きましょうと言った
田中さんは行きましょうて言った
...
5
votes
1answer
162 views
で終わります: trying to close by? で帰ります, trying to leave by? It depends on the sentence?
I can say 売り場は九時で終わります、 and 三時で帰ります、 which I've learned mean something like, "They'll be trying to close from," and, "I'll be trying to leave from." I've also learned that ２月２５日で帰ります is not correct. ...
5
votes
1answer
99 views
5
votes
1answer
179 views
Obligatory zero particle
Sometimes, particles are omitted.
I've read, however, that this can be analyzed as inserting a "zero particle" instead. See for example Particle omission or zero particle by Mitsuaki Shimojo. See ...
5
votes
1answer
117 views
Dative subjects
I just finished reading this paper, which describes the situations in which Japanese allows a dative subject and a nominative object. For example, the verb 分かる can be used like this:
彼に英語が分かる
"彼" is ...
5
votes
1answer
66 views
Difference between で and の when referring to “usage”
Simplest example would be when you are getting a coffee and ask for a paper cup. It seems that both 紙の and 紙で are acceptable. What are the differences?
5
votes
2answers
137 views
In this location context how are に, で and にて different?
I still have trouble with how に and で differ when dealing with locations, and I just stumbled across にて. Are these all interchangeable? How are they different?
オンラインマーケットにて販売開始しました。
...
5
votes
1answer
159 views
The difference between (な形容詞)さ and (な形容詞)性?
I'm in the middle of writing a paper in Japanese, and I can't quite figure out which is right. If I want to nominalize a な形容詞, should I affix さ or 性 at the end? I've been checking on search engines, ...
4
votes
4answers
479 views
How do you pronounce を after a subject?
For example :日本語を勉強します.
Do you pronounce ni hon go wo or ni hon go---
4
votes
2answers
192 views
The difference between Aが見える and Bを見る
What is the difference between Aが見える and Bを見る?
Is there anything tricky about this?
Can you illustrate with examples?
4
votes
1answer
210 views
Meaning of しやしま as sentence ender
Look at this conversation from Twitter. Do you know what dialect it is?
shohei110h: やっとdead stock手に入りました(´ω`)田舎にはなかなか無くて東京で購入しやしま
mao_sid: おれもど田舎だったから気持ちわかるなぁ。ありがとう。
The part I don't ...
4
votes
2answers
156 views
Difference between AにB and AはB
The context is this tweet:
セットリストに適当！って書いてます。笑
I could understand more easily if は was used instead of に. How does に change the meaning?
Does an inference have to be made here to understand ...
4
votes
3answers
249 views
に vs で with state of being (but no verb)
All the に vs で comparisons I can find discuss using them with verbs. However I recently wanted to say something like "I am alone at home", and phrased it without a verb:
家で一人です
But that got me ...
4
votes
2answers
162 views
Meaning of でもない in this context?
While listening to the song "Yasashisa no Riyuu", I noticed the following sentence:
今は誰の名前でもない 輝きの彼方へ
Which by the fansub is translated like this:
Now it doesn't matter whose name it may ...
4
votes
2answers
144 views
Simple Particle Question (よびます）
I am a little confused as to what is going on here:
ともだちを パーティーに よびました。
Why is this not ともだちに (recipient of the invite) パーティーで (place of the invite) よびました? It would be helpful if someone can please ...
4
votes
2answers
164 views
How is “誰も” used in this sentence?
I am a bit confused about a sentence I came across in an anki deck:
誰もその話を知らない。
I know that that 誰 means "who" and も means "also", but the translation it gives me is:
"No one knows that story."
...
4
votes
1answer
156 views
Difference between だけで and でだけ?
The だけ meaning "only", and で being the "at/in" particle. When saying "only in/at", does the で come before, or after the だけ? What does it mean, if anything, when it's reversed?
Example: "You can only ...
4
votes
2answers
225 views
ii na to omoimasu
I read that ... to ii na to omoimasu means "I hope that ...". Is the na here a final particle that adds the first person's subjective feeling to the proposition as in sawa’s answer to using ...
4
votes
3answers
286 views
Is it OK to have more than one が particle in a sentence?
If, for example, I wanted to say "I like the book that my sister gave me", would it be 姉がくれた本が好きです?
I'm using Genki to study, but they don't seem to have any examples of this particular structure ...
4
votes
2answers
137 views
Usage of けど / でも
I've heard けど / でも has to be placed after the part that contradicts the other part.
I never heard of it actually as I learned it by context and not by grammar rules.
Is it true, or does it depend ...
4
votes
1answer
232 views
How can the uses of 「は」and「が」 in this sentence be justified?
The sentence:
ほかにも先勝{せんしょう}は午後{ごご}は良{よ}くない日{ひ}とされ、反対{はんたい}に、先負{せんぶ}は午後{ごご}が良{よ}い日{ひ}とされ、また赤口{しゃっこう}は昼{ひる}だけが良{よ}い日{ひ}だとされています。
No matter how much I progress in Japanese, the 「は」and「が」 ...
4
votes
2answers
252 views
「雨が降っているぜ」の「ぜ」の意味について
さっき、お弁当を買ってきた三十代の男性同僚が、入室したら「外雨が降っているぜ！早く弁当買っといた方がいいかも！」と勢い良く言った。
その「ぜ」の意味はなんだべ？
「行くぜ」ならなんとなく分かるんだが、今の文脈だとさっぱり迷ってしまうんだ…
4
votes
1answer
173 views
Is けど a conjunction (接続詞) or particle (助詞)?
I have a book that claims けど is a conjunction (接続詞), yet another book that I have claims that it is a particle (助詞).
Seems it doesn't seem to make sense if けど is both a conjunction and a particle, I ...
4
votes
2answers
249 views
は can mean “at least?”
Can は mean "at least" in some situations?
For example, 10回は＝"at least 10 times?"
How does this work?
This is an example:
...
3
votes
2answers
206 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
1answer
233 views
Why “to iu na no” instead of “de” or “no”?
So I'm watching this anime a couple of days ago and one of the characters were describing a group of people. He ended his description with "GIGN to iu na no inu". The subtitle says that meant: "Those ...
3
votes
2answers
83 views
Use of the “へ” particle when asking about transportation methods
I have a question relating to question 19 of the JLPT N5 'example' grammar exam. This is a question where you have four things to fit into four gaps:
A: [会社 ＿ ＿ ＿ ＿ 行って いますか]
B: [わたしは あるいて ...
3
votes
4answers
363 views
What is とは、のが、のは、には、 へは and では？
Someone told me that these aren't actually particles, but they're separate particles put together. I vaguely have an understanding of には and では but it's とは、のが、 and のは that confuse me a lot.
I heard ...
3
votes
1answer
174 views
What is よ doing as a connector before a comma?
I saw this as a comment someone posted on Google+ in response to NHK announcing a show:
本気{ほんき}なら地上波{ちじょうは}でやれよ、受信料{じゅしんりょう}返{かえ}せ
I think it's saying "If this is really what you intend to ...
3
votes
2answers
283 views
What is the とも in this sentence? 日本人は英語を学ばずとも暮らせる環境に居ます。
日本人は英語を学ばずとも暮らせる環境に居ます。
Japanese people are in an environment where they can live without having to learn english.
Is the とも in this sentence one word or is it two words: と and も ?
I guess it is one ...
3
votes
1answer
100 views
What does こと mean between two nouns?
What is the function of the first こと in the following sentence?
「労働のビッグバン」こと非正規雇用の規制緩和が次々に行われたのは９０年代、バブルが崩壊して以降のことである。
Logically it seems it has a function similar to と. If that is indeed what it ...
3
votes
3answers
129 views
Does the lack of は change the sentence?
So I saw this sentence: きのう初めておすしをたべました。 And wondered if the は is just being left out. Does the sentence change any if は is added in? Like so: きのうは初めておすしをたべました。
3
votes
2answers
202 views
Particles で and も and でも
In both these sentences, what does でも mean? (I think I know the meaning of the sentences, just not the particles)
カードでもいいですか。
なごやでもうっていますか。
I know that で is a particle that can denote location or ...
3
votes
1answer
102 views
Why does そっくり（な？） take the な particle?
I was reading this page: http://helps.ameba.jp/faq/pigg/5301/post_362.html and I found そっくりな, however my dictionary says it's an adverbial noun... and I though those took の as their particle-Then ...
3
votes
1answer
119 views
How does のは work in this sentence?
彼が持っているのは二百円です。 Supposedly this means "It is 200 yen that he has.". But I am really not familiar with this sentence construction. Therefore, I'm not sure how everything before の works with the rest of ...
3
votes
1answer
118 views
Trying to make sense of this 記号, I'm wondering if verb-suru verbs can be jidoushi/tadoushi?
I have a couple of questions. Can verb-suru verbs be classified as jidoushi/tadoushi?
And could you take a look at this legend to help clear up my confusion?
Higher-res: ...
3
votes
1answer
105 views
Figuring out Aに助かりました [closed]
Does Aに助かりました mean that you were saved from A, or you were saved by A?
