Questions asking for words or phrases to be translated.
17
votes
3answers
1k views
The many ways to say “and” in Japanese
In English, we just have one word for the conjunction and which works just fine for many categories, but in Japanese, there are separate words:
と joins nouns together in a closed list
や joins nouns ...
6
votes
1answer
471 views
How is the “のです” working here?
目立つ事を恐れ、一緒でなければいけないという日本人が確実に減ってきているのです。
The strong feelings that Japanese have of being afraid of standing out and everybody having to do things together are starting to become less ...
17
votes
5answers
547 views
What does the final て in 待ってて signify?
In this scene a young girl, Yotsuba, drops in on her neighbors for some breakfast. The mother who's cooking breakfast says 「今お父さんの焼いてるからその次ねー。ちょっと待っててー」.
So I guess she's preparing her husbands food ...
6
votes
5answers
329 views
Shouldn't this phrase using 【だけのこと】 mean “just for that”?
In a grammar textbook I have, there is this phrase:
幸い日本で日本語を勉強して、かなり話せるようになりました。日本に行っただけのことはありました。
【さいわい にほんで にほんごを べんきょうして、 かなり はなせるように なりました。 にほんに いった だけのことは ありました。】
The translation ...
3
votes
1answer
265 views
How should I go about translating my company name in Japanese?
I'm trying to translate a company name ("puddle") in to Japanese. I put it into google translate, but when you translate words you're translating their meaning rather than the word itself, which is ...
11
votes
6answers
769 views
What are other language equivalents to Japanese particles?
When a person is learning は and が in terms of particles, what are the best way to relate them to English equivalents?
The closest I can come to explaining them to others is "the" and "a" but I'm not ...
7
votes
4answers
485 views
How to say, “try to __”, “have to __”
For some reason I can't remember how to say "try to _" or "have to (must) _" in Japanese. How can I say this? Any variations you can include would be appreciated.
14
votes
4answers
654 views
Is there an easily accessible list of terms in the Japanese grammar written both in Japanese and English?
I am a native Japanese speaker with a casually interest in languages. I sometimes have trouble explaining the Japanese grammar in English because I do not know the established English translation of ...
9
votes
2answers
236 views
What is the correct veritable meaning of 水無月 and 神無月?
This question is the result of a conversation with Chocolate in chat, and also this Japanese calendar I have that lists the months according to the traditional Japanese names.
For some reason, there ...
12
votes
3answers
390 views
What's bugging the Japanese language?
In my JLPT workbook, it has a section which gives a list of idioms that use [虫]{むし}.
仕事{しごと}の虫 (worker bee)
点取{てんとり}虫 (derogatory term for a student who tries too hard)
虫がいい (selfish)
...
10
votes
4answers
448 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 ...
9
votes
4answers
426 views
What is the Japanese word or phrase for “to post on the internet”?
How do you say "to post something on the internet"? Are there different words for different kinds of posts, for example:
a blog entry
a comment
a piece of information, like a translation or a ...
6
votes
2answers
246 views
What's the literal and natural translation of たるもの?
子{こ}たる者{もの}すべからく親{おや}の命{めい}に従{したが}うべし。
Children should obey their parents
What I got from ALC is that a child isn't fit, unqualified, to be one's child if it disobeys its parents. Or is it ...
6
votes
3answers
413 views
Does the (USA) English metaphor “Unable to see the forest for the trees” keep its meaning if translated verbatim into Japanese?
The phrase "Unable to see the forest for the trees" implies one is too entangled in a situation to understand what is transpiring from a larger context, and thus, unable to determine the correct ...
5
votes
2answers
421 views
What is -からです, and when is it used?
I have seen this expression a few times, and have never quite understood it. In particular, it seems to be equatable both to ですから and to んです, but I can't figure out where it would be used over either ...
4
votes
2answers
152 views
Expressing neighborhood in Japanese
Something I have often stumbled on is the expression of "neighborhood" in Japanese.
For most uses I find that 近所 works well.
However, this usually seems to refer to a closer proximity than one would ...
4
votes
1answer
360 views
Difference between 自分 and 自分自身 and how to reflect their difference in English
Consider:
自分について書きたいことがあります。 = There are times that I want to write about myself (lit: things concerning me)
自分自身について書きたいことがあります。
What is their difference?
I think the second sentence ...
3
votes
1answer
129 views
How are で and ばかりused in this expression?
来年は是非明るい年でありますように願うばかりです I hope that the next year will be great for you
Why is で used in 年であります? Is であります an older form of です? Also, what would the ばかり translate to here? I thought maybe it ...
0
votes
1answer
249 views
how would a native ask the question “Where are you going later?”
After reading the 2 threads: How to use へ (-e), に (-ni), まで (made) and の方 (no-hō) with destination and direction? and When going somewhere, is there any difference between e (へ) and ni (に)?
I would ...
13
votes
3answers
424 views
Blue blistering barnacles, what is Captain Haddock saying?
For those who might not be familiar with the series Tintin (soon to be in a major motion picture, by the way), there is a character named Captain Haddock who is famous for shouting out colourful ...
9
votes
7answers
287 views
IT system renewal: Can I say 更新 for “renewal”?
I am starting a new project and have to come up with a name for it so that everybody knows what we are talking about.
The project is the renewal of an IT application that I will call エックスワイゼッド. ...
8
votes
1answer
425 views
What do you mean, “In Japanese there are no words for ”I’m suffering“”?
Today I noticed this article about eating disorders in Japan, which I got to via the News on Japan site.
The first line jumps out at me. Supposedly, in an interview, a 25 year old Japanese woman ...
7
votes
2answers
284 views
What words are used for dolphin meat?
What words are used for dolphin meat?
Searching jisho.org using "dolphin" in the English field listed several different words for dolphin, but no compounds involving meat.
Neither the English nor ...
7
votes
3answers
292 views
what does どことなくつかみどころがなくmean?
I came across this phrase in the sentence:
勘【かん】というものは、しょちゅう経験【けいけん】していながら、どことなくつかみどころがなく、いまの科学【かがく】ではまだその正体【しょうたい】が、明らか【あきらか】にされていない。(Soumatome N1 dokkai, p45)
My best effort to translate it ...
7
votes
1answer
265 views
what does 可哀想{かわいそう}でならない mean?
I came across this expression in my JPLT N2 study materials.
I deciphered the parts as
可哀想{かわいそう} means pitiable, pathetic
でならない means can't help feeling
so does it mean "can't help feeling ...
5
votes
2answers
202 views
How do I differentiate all these terms for “illiterate”?
I looked up the word "illiteracy", and was offered many different possibilities. Here they are, with my personal take on the nuance behind their origins:
活字{かつじ}離{ばな}れ ("removed from printing"?)
...
3
votes
2answers
239 views
What does 日本語で送っても読めますか？ mean?
I mean I understand all the parts separately but I can't lay my finger on the core meaning of the sentence.
Whole message:
Hi I'm maho !
17years old, from Japan.
your Japanese is good !
my ...
3
votes
1answer
166 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?
3
votes
2answers
368 views
How do I convey “As you all know”?
Having been trying to write a "sakubun", I must say that I had some trouble to find a reliable translation for the phrase "as you all know" such as:
As you all know, the education system in our ...
2
votes
0answers
116 views
Is there a difference between 名国 and 国? [duplicate]
I'm attempting a translation of a video game manual, and it keeps using compounds like 名国 and 名街. This is not a game where you're able to name the places/characters, and the sentences where the words ...
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".
0
votes
3answers
325 views
How to write “Aikido Wa Ichiban Budo Desu” [closed]
"Aikido Wa Ichiban Budo Desu" is supposedly a quote from 植芝 盛平, Ueshiba Morihei (founder of Aikido).
Most people translate this as "Aikido is first and foremost a true Budo".
My question is: how are ...
-1
votes
2answers
226 views
What is a ダンディー? [closed]
I've encountered this word several times already but never really knew what it meant. Then I just saw this on twitter:
タモリさん、今日服装がダンディー。
What is a ダンディー? What kind of clothes does a ダンディー wear?
...
