Questions tagged [terminology]

専門用語. Specialized words and phrases which cover specific concepts, fields, or phenomena.

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Is there an "opposite"/"inverse" of 当て字・熟字訓?

当て字 is using the reading of kanji instead of its meaning; it is the reading applied to the kanji. I'm wondering if there is a word for the opposite/inverse: having the kanji applied to a reading. ...
istrasci's user avatar
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2 votes
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Lack of motivation around the end of the year

Is there a term like 五月病 that is used to describe lack of motivation around the end-of-the-year / New Year? I looked up 年末年始病 and 正月病, but I'm not sure if they are real terms or not. My vacation ...
istrasci's user avatar
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1 answer
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Japanese term for homography such as that in 一行{いちぎょう}一行{いっこう}?

I was wondering if there was a word for such a situation, in which different readings for the same word assume different meanings also. Since the term 同音異義 exists for homophones, I was wondering if it ...
Gianni Trattore's user avatar
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2 answers
171 views

Is there any idiomatic way to express doing an activity or behaving "like an old man" or "not in a cool way", particularly in the context of skiing?

In English, "dad turns" is a slang term for a style of skiing. If you are making "dad turns", you are skiing like an old man. I found 親父 which I believe is "pop". Is that ...
Greg's user avatar
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1 answer
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In UI/UX design, what word in Japanese is used for "mockup"?

Is there a more standard term than "デザインモックアップ"?
E Devin Vander Meulen II's user avatar
2 votes
1 answer
208 views

How would you say "young love" in Japanese? Would it be "若い愛" or "青春愛"?

I know that the first is using young as an adjective for the word love while the second is referring to love between young people but I wanted to know which one is correct. Like if an older person saw ...
Kramernator's user avatar
0 votes
1 answer
222 views

The Quintessential Quintuplets: Complicated/complex/difficult: How different are 複雑 (fukuzatsu) and 大変 (taihen)?

In the anime adaptation of the manga The Quintessential Quintuplets, as well as the corresponding manga, there are these 2 scenes: Scene 1: (S01E04) Miku Nakano (a member of identical and the ...
BCLC's user avatar
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Is the '最高の女' (saikou no onna?) the thing that 'best girl' memes/terms are based on?

I'm kind of an anime/manga n00b, but I notice people on forums always talk about like who is 'best girl' (or 'best boy' or 'best guy' Idk) in any particular anime/manga series. Then I noticed in this ...
BCLC's user avatar
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6 answers
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Am I using the word "Hajimari" correctly in judo?

I am an instructor in a Finnish judo club. At the end of each session, owari! is announced and the students line up. I understand that owari means over or end, but there are lots of Finnish judo clubs ...
diynevala's user avatar
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1 answer
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Terms for how words connect?

Is there any terms for words that connect in specific ways? For example, Verb[ます stem]+ っぽい [い]Adjective[remove the い]+ っぽい [な]Adjective + っぽい Noun + っぽい Is what Bunpro lists for the grammar point ...
Catdog's user avatar
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1 vote
0 answers
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Is there a Japanese word or phrase for half-human, half-snake? [duplicate]

I am looking for a Japanese term that would describe a half human, half snake creature like the Medusa from the original Clash of the Titans. There are yokai, that are similar, but do not match what I ...
Walter's user avatar
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1 vote
0 answers
109 views

Is there a Japanese term or slang for "[something specific] piqued my interest after watching an anime"? [closed]

I remember long ago that there was a term for "some hints or actions that spark your curiosity when watching anime", but I can't remember it. Do you know it? For example, I have watched some ...
tyoc213's user avatar
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6 votes
2 answers
666 views

Is it pronounced 柄【え】? 柄【から】?柄【つか】?

Here is a text and video about the cleansing ritual 手水舎【てみずや】 https://www.nippon.com/ja/views/b05205/ which includes the sentence もう一度【いちど】、左手【ひだりて】を清【きよ】め、最後【さいご】にひしゃくを立【た】てて残【のこ】った水【みず】で柄【?】を清【きよ】める ...
Ned Reif's user avatar
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1 answer
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Is there a Japanese term similar to semifera?

I am looking for a Japanese term, that has the same meaning as the Greek diphues (διφυής) “of two natures”, or latin semifera, which means part human, part animal. It is a term to encompase ...
Walter's user avatar
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6 votes
1 answer
469 views

How exactly are 準体助詞 and 形式名詞 different? In what regard? And where does の stand?

I have read several definitions (e.g. here and here) and explanations (here for example), but I am not sure any real differences are drawn except one is 助詞, the other 名詞. The list given for 形式名詞: ...
Eddie Kal's user avatar
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1 answer
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Budogyuu- what does this term mean?

https://8-burger.com/ lists its premium burger as having BudoGyuu 100%-jusshi. I didn't find this term on Linguee and Google translate. Could anyone explain this term fully?
user2617804's user avatar
3 votes
1 answer
229 views

reading of the counter 種

How does one read the counter 種 in this dictionary entry? https://dictionary.goo.ne.jp/word/三毒/#jn-91663 仏語【ぶつご】。人【ひと】の善心【ぜんしん】を害【がい】する3種の煩悩【ぼんのう】。貪【とん】・瞋【しん】・痴【ち】。 There are three kinds of vexations ...
Ned Reif's user avatar
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Are forms of address and kinship terms pronouns/代名詞 in Japanese? Why or why not?

It hit me when I was editing this question which had the pronouns tag. I wasn't sure if 「娘」 is considered a pronoun in Japanese. Looking for relevant examples of kinship terminology in English, I ...
Eddie Kal's user avatar
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3 votes
1 answer
182 views

What is the difference between 買い溜め, 買い込む and 買い占める

I recently encountered 買い込む in the following sentence: 災害に備えて大量の水を買い込んだ。- I bought large quantities of water to prepare for disasters. (pretty straightforward) Searching through similar words I came ...
悪戯猫's user avatar
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6 votes
2 answers
540 views

Terminology: Does the term 美化語 include all ご・お・etc. prefixes, or only ones outside of a 敬語 context?

This seems like a basic question, but I can't find an answer to it: As far as I know, 美化語 refers to the ご・お・etc. prefix on words for mere beautification. However, I have seen some ambiguity in its ...
Sam's user avatar
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1 vote
0 answers
104 views

Is おたくじじい a proper term to describe an old man who's into anime or is there another slang term for it?

So as the question states, is おたくじじい a proper term to describe an old geezer otaku or is there a better alternative?
Baten's user avatar
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7 votes
1 answer
586 views

Is there a term for the rhetorical rephrasing of e.g. "良子はエビ天にかぶりつく。" into "エビ天にかぶりつく良子。”?

Here is an excerpt from a novel, AURA〜魔竜院光牙最後の闘い〜 by 田中ロミオ; note the sentence in bold. やがて盆に乗った天もりが二人前やってくる。反射的に炸裂した良子の手づかみを阻止し、箸を持たせた。 「非論理的工具」 「うるさいなー。みんな頑張って慣れたんだよ」 悪戦苦闘しながらも、そばには目もくれずにエビ天にかぶりつく良子。...
kini's user avatar
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8 votes
2 answers
2k views

What is the difference between 外科 and 手術?

What is the difference between 外科 and 手術 ? According to 大辞林, they both mean "surgery". I've seen 外科 being used as part of larger names such as 脳神経外科学, while 手術 used with の before as in: ...
悪戯猫's user avatar
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1 vote
1 answer
203 views

comparison of 受身形 and 受動態 both meaning "passive voice"?

(.) Both Japanese and English can construct sentences such that the main verb is either active or passive. There are two words for "passive voice" in Japanese 受身形 and 受動態. I know that 受身形 ...
rppkgai's user avatar
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1 vote
1 answer
724 views

What does “stem” mean in “Adj (na) stem”

In A Dictionary of Basic Japanese Grammar, I have (at least tried to) read the grammatical terms and list of abbreviations very carefully, but maybe something is missing. Or maybe I missed something. ...
JKVeganAbroad's user avatar
1 vote
1 answer
116 views

How do you say 〜て form in Japanese?

I’ve tried to google this but I end up with explanations about how to use the ーて form. I want to know how to call it in Japanese, you know, like a noun is 名詞, now do you call the ーて form in ...
Etienne Zizka's user avatar
6 votes
1 answer
254 views

Why is the Japanese term for grammatical case 「格」? How did this translation come to be?

From Google's definition of 格: きまり。法則。標準。  「格式・格言・合格・別格・破格・規格・本格・古格・適格・律令格式(りつりょうきゃくしき)」 《名・造》地位。身分。程度。  「格が違う」 方形に組みあわせた材。  「骨格・格子(こうし)・格天井(ごうてんじょう)」 くる。いたる。とおる。きわめる。  「格物致知」 ...
Eddie Kal's user avatar
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4 votes
2 answers
560 views

How do you say 町 (in addresses) in English?

I know that in a normal context, 町 means town. But I'm pretty sure it's different in Japanese addresses, where it typically goes like: __県__市__区__町______ I know that 県 means prefecture, 市 means ...
rayy2130's user avatar
8 votes
1 answer
2k views

Do Oda Nobunaga, Tokugawa Ieyasu, and Toyotomi Hideyoshi have a collective title in Japanese?

When reading up on Oda Nobunaga, Tokugawa Ieyasu, and Toyotomi Hideyoshi I often see them referred to as the "great unifiers" but I can't find what (if anything) Japanese people call them? Is there ...
Tirous's user avatar
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0 votes
0 answers
155 views

Japanese Name of the て-form without the て

While reading this old question, I began wondering what the て-form without the て (i.e. 書いて→書い、読んで→読ん、行って→行っ) is called in Japanese. Wikipedia calls it 2つ目の連用形. Some other places call it 連用形の促音便形 or ...
Ringil's user avatar
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3 votes
1 answer
196 views

What is the term for "Past Tense Negative Form" in Japanese?

Doing my Japanese practices today, and I've noticed that Present Tense: 現在形 Negative Form: 否定形 Past Tense: 過去形 And I wondered what Negative Past tense is in Japanese. Thought it's an easy ...
September's user avatar
0 votes
1 answer
103 views

How is it written deposit money by coin? [closed]

Recently I want to change my massive coin into money . I heard about I can change coin to bank account money at ATM in Tokyo , so I went to bank ATM . But I couldn't choose English language on screen ...
David Jaw Hpan's user avatar
1 vote
1 answer
367 views

Difference between the words kakemono and kakejiku

Does anyone reading this site know of any nuance(s) differentiating these two words? Numerous online sites say that kakejiku is more commonly used, but I have found no information about whether the ...
NattoYum's user avatar
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2 votes
1 answer
154 views

How would one translate 綺麗 (きれい) in this context?

I am currently translating some content regarding Aikido, and have been getting stuck on how to translate 綺麗 (きれい) in the following context: しっかりとした、綺麗な半身を作ることを心がけて下さい。 It's discussing a bodily ...
Atemi's user avatar
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1 vote
1 answer
314 views

だ and です godan or ichidan

Can we say, that だ and です are godan verbs with ru-ending, because they are just simplyfied versions of である and であります?
Tchibi-kun's user avatar
2 votes
1 answer
107 views

Meaning of 水洗式 other than flush toilet

In an article about penetrant testing (浸透探傷検査) I found the following sentence: 浸透液は水洗式でハケ塗りとし,極力溶接部以外に浸透液が付着しないようにすること. In this kind of test, a penetrant liquid is used on a surface (in this case ...
Marco's user avatar
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7 votes
1 answer
1k views

Does 旧車 clearly imply "classic car" or will it simply mean "old car" to many Japanese speakers?

Now on my latest trip in Japan in spring 2019 I've noticed many more classic cars around than I expected. In English "classic car" is a somewhat vague term but is often used for old cars ...
hippietrail's user avatar
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6 votes
2 answers
860 views

A name for common words that use uncommon kanji?

I didn't see a duplicate for this in the similar questions, so here goes. Is there either a list of words like this, or a name for this type of word (made of two very rare/complex kanji, but the word ...
Ya boi with a burning question's user avatar
2 votes
2 answers
312 views

Confused on verb conjuation U-verbs ru-verbs or godan ones?

I am doing japaneese N5 lessons for second time and I get REALLY confused. As far as I know there are 3 categories of verbs: Irregular verbs Ichidan verbs Godan verbs But the sensei tells us that ...
Dimitrios Desyllas's user avatar
4 votes
2 answers
412 views

Are 修飾語 in Japanese different from 'modifier' in English?

I'm a native English speaker and taking Kumon's Japanese for 小学校1年生 class (which is an adventure lol), and it's trying to teach me about 修飾語 right now. I looked up 修飾語 and everything I can find is ...
Mrggy's user avatar
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0 votes
0 answers
101 views

What is the term for special words that don't use standard readings or regular modifications? [duplicate]

Words like 大人、下手、上手... as おとな, へた, じょうず. What is the name for terms of this type? Not including: Kanji that don't use their specified readings. The answers for おみやげ don't answer the ...
user2617804's user avatar
1 vote
1 answer
133 views

the meaning and use of the word 殺素 today

I'm trying to understand some paper about Udagawa Youan and chemistry in Japan and I have a big problem with 殺素. It's means all chemistry elements which can kill or mayby only radioactive? Or mayby it'...
Dorota's user avatar
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2 votes
1 answer
74 views

Popularity of ポッド as a abbreviation of ポッドキャスト

I know that many times loanwords are abbreviated in Japanese as a subset of their original length (ex: アイス for アイスクリーム). Recently I heard someone say that ポッド was an abbreviation for ポッドキャスト and this ...
Locksleyu's user avatar
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6 votes
3 answers
475 views

Could a translation error lead to squares to not be considered as rectangles?

I'm reading a certain set of kindergarten/lower primary maths textbooks that is written by North American authors for an Asian company. Whenever students are asked to identify the number of rectangles ...
BCLC's user avatar
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1 vote
0 answers
246 views

What is a term for an attitude/life that eschews luxury or comfort?

A while back I had read an article (in English) online about an Japanese ceramics artist and his work, with the writer describing the artist's rather spartan furnishings as a result of his attitude or ...
squidlydeux's user avatar
2 votes
2 answers
704 views

What does 正規品 mean?

Recently, I came across this word: 正規品{せいきひん} None of online dictionaries that I know had registered the term at all. I could not find such word in search result of jisho.org or search result of ...
user avatar
4 votes
2 answers
348 views

Is there an opposite of gairaigo, covering both kango and wago?

Is there a term that means that something isn't gairaigo, words recently derived from (predominantly European) foreign languages? For example, I'd like to say that 踊り is a non-gairaigo word, which ...
Golden Cuy's user avatar
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5 votes
2 answers
482 views

Word choice for iteration and repetitive processing in computer science

I've looked around online and even asked a native speaker developer friend of mine, but I seem to get different answers everywhere I go. Here are the relevant words/phrases I've seen so far: 繰り返し処理 ...
Mindful's user avatar
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8 votes
1 answer
2k views

What are the Japanese names of the columns in a Kana chart? (Vowels, K, S, T...)

Here is a typical Kana chart presented in gojūon order: In English, I refer to the first column in the chart as the 'vowels' and I refer to every other column in the chart with the first letter of ...
Ambo100's user avatar
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7 votes
1 answer
2k views

How do you tell your parents and siblings you love them?

In English we describe the affection you have for your parents and siblings as "love", however this is vary different from the feelings of romantic love, things like limerence and sexual arousal, ...
Tirous's user avatar
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