Phrases with fixed words used as a single unit, many of which are idioms.
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153 views
Is there a general way to express how you feel?
For example, while I am running I feel great.
This makes me feel happy.
When doing lots of work for low wages I feel tired.
What are the common ways to express my physiological/psychological state?
5
votes
1answer
174 views
How to express “more than something”?
I was wondering if there is a form I can use to express "more than X".
For example, "reading more than 200 pages a day is a challenge". Or maybe something like, "reading as much as 200 pages a day ...
5
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1answer
115 views
ご無沙汰いたしました — OK for electronic communications?
In a recent comment exchange on ELU.SE, a Japanese man (my senior in years, and a "guest" in the forum whose questions I had answered regularly for some time, but not much lately as I have been ...
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votes
3answers
286 views
Significance of ところ in set phrases ところで and ところが
In two conjunctions 「ところで」 and 「ところが」 that mean "by the way / incidentally" and "however / nevertheless" respectively, what is the significance of the word 「ところ」?
How does ところ + で give the nuance of ...
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votes
1answer
138 views
Can I say 行ってきます if I don't plan to come back?
When can I safely say 「行ってきます」when leaving home or another place? How loosely can this phrase be used? Can you use it even if you don't plan to come back until a day/week/month later?
If it is going ...
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1answer
336 views
translation for “It serves as a good reminder for me”?
After I've say watched a film with some friends (or read a fable or something) and learned something from it, i want to say "It [the teachings of this fable/film] serves as a good reminder for me". ...
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votes
2answers
137 views
Emphasis instead of negation in 「そんなバカなことはありません」
In this quote by Akihiro Miwa, 「そんな～ことはありません」 isn't used the way I'd expect it to be:
努力{どりょく}をしない人も[平等]{びょうどう}になどと、そんなバカなことはありません。
It's (extremely?) foolish to treat people who don't make an ...
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1answer
185 views
Questions on the Japanese equivalent of “window of opportunity”
In English we have a saying "window of opportunity" which means that there is specific time period where a certain event can occur.
Based on that expression we talk about a "launch window" when it ...
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votes
3answers
251 views
How often is だが used in everyday conversation?
I hear often in anime and is translated as "but". And normally, it's at the beginning of the sentence. But I wonder if it used outside of the TV/movie world. For instance, きみ, I hear very often in ...
4
votes
1answer
107 views
Function of に in 怒るに怒れない
In the book I'm reading, I came across the following sentence:
あたしは[怒]{おこ}るに[怒]{おこ}れなくなった。 (furigana added by me)
My translation is something like "I couldn't stay angry [at him]". ("My anger ...
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4answers
216 views
Why is 一緒に needed when it's already clear two people will be together?
A father is talking to his kid about their plans tomorrow and says,
けんしんくん、お父さんと一緒に買いに行きましょうか？
Why not:
けんしんくん、お父さんと買いに行きましょうか？
(The sentence is supposed to say, "Kenshin, would you like ...
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votes
1answer
281 views
Can someone further explain the difference between 一緒に and 共に?
This is a follow up to the question “What are the fundamental differences between the ～と一緒に and the ～とともに fragments?” Someone suggested that I post my question as a separate thread.
Well, something ...
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votes
3answers
224 views
“Opposite” of `和製英語`
Is there an "opposite" of 和製英語 (meaning Japanese words/phrases invented by English speakers)? Maybe like {英・米・欧?}製日本語? Because I always see/hear Japanese words in English and they drive me nuts!
...
3
votes
1answer
524 views
What is the Japanese for “I'll check it out, I will try and see”?
I found a form using 見て, and it seemed very useful, but I could never remember it. It means something like "I will try it out" or "I will try and see", and the Japanese form is something like 自転車見て... ...
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1answer
261 views
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2answers
358 views
興味が湧く vs 興味が沸く
Which kanji should we use for the phrase 興味がわく (to mean that something has caught our interest)?
Some quick googling shows that both 興味が湧く (~11m hits) and 興味が沸く (~9m hits) are widely used. Is one of ...
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2answers
185 views
根も葉も火種も — is it proverbial?
I suspect「根も葉も火種も」 is an allusion to something I do not recognize. To what does it refer?
Consider this couplet from an amusing song released in March by IOSYS called 「ステマの女」(CD and promotional ...
2
votes
1answer
95 views
What is the background of the phrase 背中で教える, and where does the meaning “to teach with one's back” come from?
I came across this phrase today while doing a lookup on 背中.
背中で教える
I checked several sources, and all listed the meaning, amongst others, "to teach with one's back". It seems related to ...
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votes
2answers
123 views
Is there a Japanese saying like その頑張りは、すべてむだというかそういう気持ちになる , related to the working conditions of doctors in a hospital?
On NHK NewsWatch 9 yesterday, they were talking about the shortage of emergency room doctors, and the resulting situations lately where hospitals were forced to turn away emergency patients. In many ...
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2answers
296 views
Thank you for X: ～をありがとうございます
I've often heard this pattern, particularly in things like
メッセージ／メール を ありがとうございます。
Since ありがとうございます is an adjective, why is it acceptable to use を in this situation? That seems about as ...
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1answer
138 views
Explain what はめになる is and give some examples
I heard that it means something like "to get stuck with something."
Can you explain what this means and give some examples?
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1answer
96 views
Is 「お礼を言う」 considered formal?
I can only think of formal occasions when I have heard "thank you" spoken this way. Is this the case? Could it perhaps also be spoken sarcastically to have the opposite effect?
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1answer
88 views
What does コミュニケーションがとれる mean?
I tried looking up what 「コミュニケーションがとれる」 means, but from the examples that I've seen, all I can understand is that it just means "to communicate". Is there something more to this phrase that I'm not ...
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3answers
89 views
Why does 「頭にきた」signify being mad at something?
Is there any source or explanation for the phrase「頭にきた」and why it means to be angry?
For example:
彼の言ったこととその言い方にはイライラして頭にきた。
Why does "what he said and the way he said it came to my head" mean ...
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votes
2answers
267 views
Share your list of stock phrases / phrase templates
Do you keep a list of set phrases that you use often, or phrases that you'd use someday? I do. Here's mine, a list of phrases I've collected from work emails since three years ago.
Such a list, while ...
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1answer
113 views
How do you break down “かといって”?
In the phrase かといって or かと言って, meaning having said that, on the other hand, I'm not sure what the か and と are.
My first guess is that these are the generic particles (か+と+いって), but I couldn't find any ...
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vote
1answer
71 views
How is ものがある used?
So I came across this sentence: あなたをむかえるものがある。 My take on it is: There is a thing that will meet you. I know that's wrong. So how is ものがある used?
ADDED: Is there a difference between ことがある and ものがある？
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1answer
258 views
Fast Food Conversation - Any Practical Guides?
I looked up for fast food conversation but I could not find anything very practical.
While most guide always emphasize on how to order, I never found it prepares one to understand what a fast food ...
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1answer
88 views
Is there a difference between ことがある and ものがある？
This has been split from this question..
So what are differences between two? Are there times where they can be interchangeable or can they only be used in certain situations?
I saw this about ...
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1answer
104 views
How to say “It's not a lie if you believe in it” in Japanese [closed]
Eijiro doesn't have the definition so I thought I'd ask here
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1answer
103 views
Different permutations of 気 [closed]
Lots of words/expressions/phrases use 気 in one way or another. For example 気をつけて, 気味, 気になる, 気がつく, 気がする, 天気 etc...
Is there a reference somewhere for the seemingly more "interesting" phrases (like the ...
