A group of words that can be manipulated as a single entity by syntactic processes. In the grammatical hierarchy words form phrases, phrases form clauses, and clauses form sentences.
4
votes
3answers
371 views
What the difference between these two uses of toki?
国へ帰るとき、かばんを買いました。
国へ帰ったとき、かばんを買いました。
According to the book I'm reading, they both translate to: I bought a bag when I went back to my country.
Now the nuance, if I understand correctly, is that 1. ...
4
votes
1answer
184 views
How is の方 used in this sentence?
This is a conversation between two people:
A: [金]{かね}は？
B: いつもの[通]{とお}りだ。それより[公安]{こうあん}の[方]{ほう}は？
A: 心配するな。 私がついている。
A: The money?
B: Planned as always. Aside from that, public safety の方は？
A: ...
5
votes
1answer
180 views
How to say: (one) month through (another) month
I'm working on my Japanese homework, and we're practicing describing weather. We're given charts on temperature to say things like:
カイロは九月が一番あついです。Or, "In Cairo, September is the hottest month."
...
12
votes
4answers
473 views
Counter for chopsticks
Just curious about this one. I'm never sure what to say when I ask for chopsticks in Japanese. I know that "by-the-book", you can count them with ～そろい （揃い) or ～ぜん （膳）. So I always say 「お箸を ...
4
votes
1answer
147 views
What does 腕が光る mean?
I've tried Googling for Japanese/Japanese dictionary definitions of this phrase, but can only find usages so far, which haven't helped.
More context:
"俺たち職人の腕が光る"
I think from context that the ...
4
votes
2answers
232 views
What does ～と見てよい/～と見ていい mean? How did it have its meaning?
I found these sentences using SPACEALC:
The content in parentheses and bolding are my own:
まず勝ち試合と見ていいが、成り行き任せでは駄目です。
You'll probably win the game, but that's not automatic.
...
8
votes
3answers
235 views
Can のほうが be omitted when answering a question?
So when people are doing comparisons, do you use のほうが colloquially or even in text? I've seen AとBとどちらのほうが速いですか？ and also AとBとどちらが速いですか？
And the answers be:
AのほうがBより速いです。
AはBより速いです。
Aのほうが速いです。
...
8
votes
2answers
170 views
How would one express an opinion from the perspective of an inclusive group?
Often times, it is common for a speaker to make an assertion or opinion based upon a (ethnic or social) group to which they belong. In English it is common to use prefixes like "we" or "us" to ...
5
votes
1answer
132 views
Are snowclones common in Japanese?
Are snowclones common in Japanese?
A snowclone is a neologism for a type of cliché and phrasal template
originally defined as "a multi-use, customizable, instantly
recognizable, time-worn, ...
3
votes
1answer
108 views
How do I say “course duration” in Japanese?
I want to say something along the lines of "all engineering courses are four years long".
Should I say something like this?:
各技術コースの専攻期間は4年くらいです。
Is there a more natural way to phrase what I'm ...
5
votes
2answers
278 views
How do you say “I don't want to fail” in Japanese? The formal form of it?
I'm asking how do you say something like "I don't want to fail" in Japanese. Yes, in anime they say something like "makenai". But I want to say or write it like an actual Japanese sentence in the ...
5
votes
2answers
130 views
What's the rule for “にしている”?
The sentence that that I heard was 頼りにしている。 Google Translate tells me that means "I'm counting on you". My understanding of Japanese tells me "this doesn't compute". Is there a general rule for ...
5
votes
2answers
295 views
How do I say “I understand much better than before.”?
Or "I understand much better now." If someone helped me with a translation and I responded with: どうもありがとうございます。前より上手に分かっています。 Would that be the correct way to express that in Japanese?
1
vote
1answer
110 views
Is there a word or phrase for “run around”?
I'd like to know if there is a phrase similar to the English phrase of "running around". To explain more clearly, it should mean to be able to go out freely and do whatever one like's without being ...
5
votes
1answer
142 views
How does adding なる make this phrase more “natural”?
Recently, I wanted to express the sentence "Maybe they'd make good pets." in Japanese. I initially tried to say it as such:
[多分]{たぶん}いいペットでしょうね！
I was then corrected by a native speaker, and he ...
1
vote
0answers
312 views
Looking for Japanese common speech phrases list [closed]
I'm looking for a large comprehensive list of phrases that are commonly used by the Japanese, anyone know of some resources for that?
I've seen the list on here but most of them aren't exactly what ...
3
votes
2answers
127 views
Is 東西二つ idiomatic?
I came across this sentence about a traditional festival in Japan:
阿月の神明祭は、阿月地区を東西二つに分けて行われる災厄除けや病気除け、豊作を祈願して行われる。
(link)
The general meaning is clear, but what I don't fully understand is this ...
3
votes
1answer
167 views
what is the meaning of 腹んばいになって?
What is the meaning of 腹んばい and 腹んばいになって？
Also, is it read 「はらんばい」？
I understand that 腹んばい悪い seems to mean 'get mad' (腹が立つ), but this other usage seems like it isn't about anger.
Here is the ...
10
votes
1answer
2k views
Getting your haircut in Japan
I have been living in Japan now for the last 3 months and my hair is starting to look like it needs a cut.
But I have never been to a Japanese barbers before so as you can imagine I am a little ...
0
votes
2answers
358 views
most common everyday phrases in japanese [closed]
Does anyone have a list, or know of a list of the most commonly used phrases in japanese? The bigger the list the better.
thanks :)
3
votes
1answer
110 views
Is と necessary after a quoted phrase?
Hi all I was wondering if we want to treat a quoted phrase as a "noun", is it necessary to put a と particle behind the quoted phrase?
For example:
A) The "received" in "received from Tom"
...
7
votes
1answer
549 views
What is the phrase for “getting to know” someone or something?
My question is how is the concept of "getting to know" or "knowing" someone conveyed? How do you invite someone to get to know you better?
I was posting a message on mixi and could not figure out ...
1
vote
4answers
284 views
What are some sentences that exhibit わがまま
わがままはもう言わない gets translated as "won't say anything selfish anymore." However, this doesn't really make sense. If I google "say anything selfish," what I find are sites that have translated わがままはもう言わない ...
8
votes
2answers
152 views
What is the meaning of かい and き in Google's Summer Solstice Doodle?
I was wondering what the meaning of かい and き is for the Google Summer Solstice Doodle pictured here:
I'm guessing it has some relation to summer, but what?
