Tagged Questions
2
votes
1answer
111 views
What does “僕が来る前からこーだったんですが?” mean?
Well, the title says it.
The sentence is from a manga, where a boy lives together with her very lazy aunt, so the boy has to take care of laundry, cleaning dishes, cooking etc. while she's drinking ...
2
votes
2answers
121 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 ...
4
votes
2answers
156 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 ...
0
votes
1answer
96 views
What is the meaning of ように here?
Can someone tell me what ように means in this phrase?
あの人にそんな秘密があるようには全く見えないがな。
2
votes
1answer
98 views
what does “媒介にして” mean ?
when i was reading Rosario+vampire s2 manga i read this sentence
''血液を媒介にしてのみ真祖は継承されるの”
血液＝blood
媒介＝Intermediary
のみ＝Only
真祖＝term in the manga indicates vampires ancestors
継承＝Inheritance
then ...
3
votes
1answer
162 views
What is the meaning of ようで?
I think ようで means "to look/look like", but I'm having trouble understanding it in the context of this sentence:
感動に水を差すようで悪いのだが、さっさと爾子に乗ってくれ。でなくば、城とともに潰れるぞ。
Also, is でなくば another form of でなければ?
0
votes
1answer
153 views
What do these two phrases mean?
I need some help with translating this:
君の後ろ姿さえ 明日への希望に思えた日を
幻にしないように 瞼へと刻んだサヨナラ
These two phrases are from certain Japanese song and I can't understand them.
The parts I have difficulty with are:
...
4
votes
2answers
218 views
What does 母を恋はずや mean?
What is the meaning of 母を恋はずや in the film title?
Edit: the meaning of "恋う" according to the dictionary is "romantic love" as in "koi suru". E.g. ...
3
votes
4answers
291 views
Parsing a specific sentence from a book
I have this following sentence:
横線――ＨＰバーの名で呼ばれる青いそれは、俺の生命の残量を可視化したものだ。
There are a few questions I came up with about this sentence:
The first part of the sentence is: 横線―――ＨＰバーの名で呼ばれる青いそれ, ...
1
vote
1answer
226 views
Particle を between nouns
So there I am again, asking a question from the book "Sword Art Online 1".
This time it's about the sentence: またの名を≪ソードアート・オンライン≫。
What is the meaning of を in this case?
1
vote
1answer
107 views
A question about the usage of ため and spacing
上下のフロアを繋ぐ階段は各層にひとつのみ、その全てが怪物のうろつく危険な迷宮区画に存在するため発見も踏破も困難だが、一度誰かが突破して上層の都市に辿り着けばそこと下層の各都市の≪転移門≫が連結されるため誰もが自由に移動できるようになる。
There were 2 things I didn't get in this sentence (or maybe a paragraph...?):
...
5
votes
1answer
285 views
I don't understand the meaning of the 2 sentences. Can somebody help me?
This is dialogue (It's from magazine).
A: 現実場面では気★いが山のように出て事件も死ぬほど起こしてて、タブー云々と言ってるうちに表現が現実に負けちゃってるじゃん、最近って。
B: 俺も別に[奇]{き}をてらってタブー演るわけじゃなくて.
I absolutely don't understand the first part of the first ...
2
votes
1answer
73 views
Interpreting 開ける when talking about 暇なとき
Earlier today I read the following excerpt from a message:
結局今日はゲームやらなかったよ！ また、暇なときに開けよう
The part I'm most unclear on is how to translate 開けよう.
First off, let me mention that I'm currently ...
1
vote
2answers
92 views
Questions about this sentence
"当時の関係者何人かにあたって記憶を確かめてみたが、人の記憶の欠落部分というのは、捏造で補われる仕組みになっているらしく、共通の体験が、しばしば、お互いに矛盾する記憶になっていることに驚かされた。"
What does "にあたって" mean there ?
"驚かされた" is referring to what/whom exactly ?
Does "関係者何人か" mean ...
3
votes
1answer
151 views
Can't quite understand this sentence
この間、時間を見つけては、過去の歴史をひもといてみたのだが、再認識させられたのは、人間というのは、どれほど多くの涙とともに飲み下した教訓であっても、喉元を過ぎたとたんに忘れてしまう生き物であるということだった.
Especially what "忘れてしまう生き物" is supposed to mean in "喉元を過ぎたとたんに忘れてしまう生き物であるということだった".
3
votes
3answers
246 views
Is there a reliable translation of the kangxi radicals?
Inspired by the Wikipedia page on Kangxi radicals I decided to study the meaning and writing of radicals before I tackle the much more numerous kanji. But in working my way through the list, I started ...
5
votes
1answer
110 views
What does “気結び” mean?
According to a (non japanese, but he spent lots of time in Japan) Aikido teacher I know, this is supposed to represent "an obligation bounding student and teacher".
To be honest, I am a bit ...
2
votes
2answers
143 views
What did 才六 and similar terms about Kansai residents mean?
While looking up the denonym for a Kansai resident (I've since found out it's 関西人{かんさいじん}), jisho.org described 才六, 贅六, 上方才六, 賽六 and 采六, with pronunciations (not necessarily in that order) of ぜいろく, ...
1
vote
3answers
175 views
Translation of 出証意 and 長官殿
These are from a patent related document and I can't understand very well.
They are used like these：
1) 特許庁長官殿
2) 出証意2012
Can anyone help me?
2
votes
2answers
145 views
What is って doing in this sentence?
From Noir, Episode 2 (anime).
I don't get what the って is doing in this sentence. For context, the father came home early from work. He quickly answers his wife in the first sentence then in the ...
6
votes
3answers
362 views
What does ちがいます。 mean?
I saw this translated in the first episode of FLCL as "It's wrong.", but checking the translation, I get "Different." Can someone clear this up? Thanks.
3
votes
1answer
191 views
What does なきや mean?
I assume this is some sort of idiom or verbal tic, but i'm not 100% sure. Anybody care to help me out?
If you need context, this is the phrase:
まだピチピチなんだからかんばらなきや
3
votes
2answers
116 views
Understanding 〜たら良いか〜
The sentence 何と言ったら良いか分かりません means "I don't know what I should say."
But what is the literal translation of this sentence? What is the purpose of the か in 良いか?
10
votes
4answers
446 views
What's the difference between いいえ and English's “no”?
In "Japanese for Busy People I" page 2 (kana or romaji edition) it says that いいえ is 'virtually the same as "no"'.
It sounds like there are some differences, but they want to omit mentioning them for ...
5
votes
1answer
133 views
Can a cathedral be referred to as a 寺?
I was listening to a song Disney's Hunchback of Notre Dame in Japanese (the intro, The Bells of Notre Dame or ノートルダムの鐘), and I noticed that they referred to the cathedral as a 「てら」. I thought that was ...
1
vote
3answers
100 views
「鉄道関係{てつどうかんけい}の言葉{ことば}を書きなさい」- “Write words about railroads?” [closed]
This question appears on my homework above an empty box instead of lines as with previous questions. Am I being asked to "write words about railroads?" I came into this class about a week late, and am ...
2
votes
1answer
102 views
Translation of 竜すらも恐るるに足らない
The full text is...
この魔剣があれば… メルヴィンの言うとおり 竜すらも恐るるに足らない…
Is this a double negative? "Even dragons to be not afraid is not enough" = "Even dragons are [will be] afraid".
5
votes
1answer
287 views
What does お土産持しててね mean?
I got a message from a friend, about to go on a trip, and it ended with: お土産持しててね
I think it's basically "[I'll] bring a souvenir/gift/omiyage [for you]" but I'm not familiar with the 持してて part, I've ...
2
votes
1answer
97 views
How do I interpret 理不尽 in this situation?
I was talking with my colleagues about work and my friend described the following situation:
The boss asked my friend to make a report for a meeting that they had at the end of the day. He worked ...
4
votes
2answers
149 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."
...
3
votes
2answers
213 views
How and when to use 「そうですね」？
I only know the 2 meanings of it as follow:
Use when thinking - no meaning
Use to agree with others - the meaning is like "yes, I think so"
What else and what situation can it be used?
If someone ...
6
votes
3answers
500 views
よかろう - What does it mean? Where does it come from?
This is another question that's come from a 昔話。
We have the following section:
大きい箱と小さい箱がありますが、どちらがいいですか。
どちらも結構じゃが、どうしてもと言うのなら、小さいほうでよかろう。
I'm having trouble with the second sentence. My ...
6
votes
2answers
153 views
What's the meaning of すます in 耳をすませば?
What's the meaning of すます in 耳をすませば?
How would you translate this?
-5
votes
1answer
235 views
What does 染めちゃえ mean here?
Saw this on twitter:
A: マオにゃん、シドギャの彼女が出来ない僕に一言くれたら幸いです ...
B: 付き合った後に染めちゃえ
What is 染めちゃえ here?
3
votes
1answer
252 views
What does 叱ってやりたい mean in this context?
On twitter I saw this:
なのに風呂掃除したら100円もらってたおれ…叱ってやりたい！笑
What does it mean?
This is the previous tweet:
最近だなー。食ったらすぐ食器洗うのが習慣になったの。実家に居た頃は全部母親がやってたから甘えちゃってた。仕事もしてて家事も完璧にやってた母親、今更ながら尊敬します。
