How to use certain words, phrases, particles, endings, constructions, and their variants.
8
votes
1answer
345 views
Why censor this one kanji?
I was watching an old Saturday Night Live sketch from the 1970s, called Night of the Moonies, making fun of the Unification Church by putting them in the context of the movie Night of the Living Dead.
...
2
votes
2answers
383 views
+50
How to playfully scold someone?
I haven't heard from a good friend for a while, I would like to reproach him playfully, but have no clue what the appropriate thing to say would be.
Would 恥を知れ! be appropriate if said in a funny ...
3
votes
3answers
189 views
Usage of kanji for words usually written in kana
From a small discussion on chat, I currently can think of three categories where the word is usually written in:
Hiragana but have kanji (成る, 有る, [炬燵]{こたつ}, etc)
Katakana but have kanji ([頁]{ページ}, ...
3
votes
1answer
120 views
Kanji pairs that mean and are pronounced the same by themselves
I have found several pairs of kanji that are pronounced the same and mean the same when they are used individually:
目 and 眼
足 and 脚
木 and 樹
This especially bugs me because, in Chinese (my native ...
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 ...
2
votes
1answer
125 views
Alternate meaning of 見えない when used as an expression?
I've always learned that 見えない means "unseen" or "invisible".
However, lately I've been seeing quite a few Japanese people in online games that, upon failing to complete some (usually very difficult) ...
3
votes
2answers
167 views
How does the addition of のか to the end of a sentence affect the meaning?
I've always had trouble understanding か (question particle) in casual speech. I read that in casual situations, か can be used to give the sentence an exasperated or sarcastic tone. Like in:
負けっかよ！ ...
5
votes
1answer
142 views
迷宮 vs 迷路
WWWJDIC says that both 迷宮 and 迷路 mean "maze / labyrinth".
Google Images suggests that they are about the same thing: link1, link2
However, what may be the differences in nuance and usage between 迷宮 ...
2
votes
1answer
76 views
In which situations do you use 拾う and in which do you use 拾い上げる
I was looking through example sentences in wwwjdic ( http://www.csse.monash.edu.au/~jwb/cgi-bin/wwwjdic.cgi?11 ) and noticed it uses these, however from looking at the examples, I don't know which one ...
2
votes
1answer
117 views
降参する vs 諦める
What's the difference between 降参する and 諦める?
Both seems to have the meaning of "to give up", for example:
ぜったい降参しない。(I will never give up.)
ぜったい諦めない。(I will never give up.)
What's the difference ...
3
votes
3answers
219 views
〜くてform from a verb
I ask here my question because I couldn't find anything on internet.
My problem is about 〜くて form for a verb.
I asked to a japanese friend what does mean "会いたくて" for example.
She told me that there is ...
12
votes
3answers
318 views
What is the difference between 大事 and 大切?
These are two words that seem like they are basically interchangeable at most levels, as they generally are. The difference between them appears to be small, but what is the difference, if one exists? ...
7
votes
1answer
108 views
What's the difference between まだ and いまだ（に）?
My intuition wants to believe that いまだに is more formal, but all the examples I've seen do not indicate that. Are they freely interchangeable? Can't say I've ever heard いまだに in spoken context (or ...
13
votes
1answer
252 views
what is the difference between ごとに and おきに?
Both ごとに and おきに appear to mean "repeatedly at intervals".
What is the difference between these two expressions?
3
votes
2answers
357 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 ...
5
votes
1answer
217 views
Difference between the many words for son and daughter
There are three words to refer to somebody else's daughter (According to my dictionary): 娘さん、お嬢さん、令嬢。
There are also three words to refer to somebody else's son: 息子さん、子息、坊ちゃん。
What are the ...
6
votes
2answers
113 views
Can んだった and んじゃなかった be used like the past version of んだ and んじゃない?
I know that んだった and んじゃなかった can be used to say "Should have done" and "Shouldn't have done". I am wondering, however, if they can be used as a past version of んだ
Take for example this conversation:
...
3
votes
1answer
104 views
火を噴く vs 火を吐く
What's the difference between 火を噴いて{ふ} and 火を吐いて{は} ?
Both seems to mean fire-spitting, like a fire-breathing dragon, but is there any difference in their nuances?
2
votes
1answer
168 views
Limitations of に for emphasis?
I remember having learning that に can be used for a simple emphasis of the word before it, like so:
私はケーキを食べた - I ate cake
私にはケーキを食べた - I ate cake (the others may or may not have, but I did)
...
2
votes
0answers
124 views
Can't parse なるうるわけ [closed]
The full sentence is
数学的性質をもつ現象はすべてこの科学の対象となるうるわけであるから、それは数限りなくあり、また日々増えていて、これらをもらさず解説することは不可能に近い。
But I can't parse "なるうるわけ". Ignoring that part, I interpret the sentence as
"All phenomena with ...
4
votes
1answer
157 views
What are the usages of のだから?
I'm reading a book and I came across a usage of のだから I couldn't really understand.
The whole sentence is:
その上に[無慮]{むりょ}百に及ぶ階層が積み重なっているというのだから、[茫漠]{ぼうばく}とした広大さは想像を絶する。
My translation to it was ...
5
votes
1answer
176 views
自分の vs 自らの when used for humans
What's the difference between 自分の and 自らの?
Both can be used to mean "oneself", but is there a difference in their nuances / usages?
(e.g. what would be the difference between あの子は、自らの命と引換に… and ...
4
votes
3answers
351 views
Usage of ~まんねん (関西弁)
Steven Seagal stars in two TV advertisements for the energy drink アリナミン, as seen here and here. In the first commercial he is shown using martial arts two dispatch his opponents, while in the second ...
11
votes
1answer
166 views
Should I say 失礼{しつれい}します before hanging up the phone if the other person called me?
Phone etiquette is one of those things I still struggle with at times, often fumbling because I'm not sure what expression I'm supposed to use at a given time. 失礼します at the end of a phone call is one ...
0
votes
1answer
90 views
Translating ならば受け止めて行くまでさ word for word
I'm going for a word-for-word translation of (miss) understood (you can hear the song here, but I'm having trouble with the verse:
今さらきれい事だなんて
聞くつもりも言うつもりもない
痛みは増える一方だろう
...
6
votes
3answers
259 views
Usage of noun-modifying である
I'm pretty sure I understand the usage of「である」 here:
ピアニストである私の姉は、いつも手に怪我をしないように気をつけています
My sister, a pianist, is always careful not to injure her hands. (My translation)
But I'm wondering if ...
4
votes
2answers
187 views
餌食 vs 獲物
What is the difference between 餌食{えじき} and 獲物{えもの}?
Both mean "prey", so how do we decide when to use which?
What is the difference in their nuances?
7
votes
1answer
184 views
島人{とうじん} vs 島民{とうみん}
I was looking for a word to say islander, i.e. someone that lives/was born in an island.
I've come across 島人 and 島民 and asked two native speakers about their user meaning. While they both agreed that ...
5
votes
1answer
148 views
勤め vs 役目
What is the difference between 勤め and 役目?
Both seems to mean duty (something that one is expected or required to do by moral or legal obligation), but what is the difference in their nuance and ...
10
votes
1answer
217 views
What is the subject when time passes in a narrative (eg １ヶ月を経る）
(This might be a quick easy question but sometimes the answers to these are unexpected.)
What is the subject in the following sentences？ I've given my best efforts for the examples 1-4 below. (I am ...
10
votes
1answer
233 views
Why is 間{かん} used to denote some amounts of time but not others?
I've been thinking about how to express a duration of time and how in the past I have added 間{かん} in situations where I found that I shouldn't have.
Take the following sentences as examples.
○： ...
4
votes
2answers
134 views
Usage of けど / でも
I've heard けど / でも has to be placed after the part that contradicts the other part.
I never heard of it actually as I learned it by context and not by grammar rules.
Is it true, or does it depend ...
1
vote
1answer
97 views
言わない VS 言わなくない A negative verb conjugated as an adjective?
While reading a text in Japanese, I came up with the phrase "何も言わなくなったから"
I don't understand what the ~くない stands for. As far as know is used as the negative for of an adjective... but 言う is a verb! ...
5
votes
1answer
125 views
What does うんたらかんたら mean?
I recently heard this phrase being told in a show, but I just couldn't make sense of what it means...And what really caught my attention was that the listener was really surprised to hear this phrase ...
9
votes
4answers
184 views
How to translate: “Keep/leave something”. So, how to express intention to leave something unchanged
Consider questions like:
Please leave the door open, thanks!
Could you please keep the lift's doors open? Thankyou
Please, leave it as it is.
They all imply something common: not changing the ...
2
votes
3answers
78 views
Omitting ようだ at the end of a sentence
父はデジタルカメラの講習を受けに行ったが、あまりの難しさにびっくりしたようだ。
So this sentence is saying, "my dad went to take a short course on digital cameras, but it was difficult to the point of surprising him." Could you say
...
5
votes
1answer
125 views
How to use いかがですか？
So I've read that いかがですか means "How about it?" and "How is it?". So if I wanted to say, "How's the coffee?" would it be コーヒーはどうですか？ or コーヒーはいかがですか？
Also is there an "informal" way of saying いかがです?
8
votes
2answers
274 views
Do people use まい？
I see the ending まい all over the place in the JLPT books and in example phrases but I can't actually think of an example of somebody saying it or writing in an email (from SMS style messages to work ...
6
votes
2answers
218 views
How do you say “Please tell your wife to get well soon”?
How do you convey that you wish someone's wife (or husband, mother, brother, etc.) to get well soon? I understand that you say お大事に if the person you speaking to directly is the one who is not well. ...
3
votes
1answer
153 views
Why can 髪の毛 only refer to hair on your head?
I've never really understood why there is a difference between 髪の毛 and 毛 when talking about hair on one's body. What is it about 髪 that makes it only relevant in the context of having "hair on the ...
9
votes
6answers
305 views
Greeting a person over the internet
So I was wondering, how do japanese people greet each other when they are, for example, writing on a blog or recording a video? My doubt comes from the fact that their greetings will be directed ...
3
votes
1answer
105 views
「のれん代」(Goodwill) and 「のれん」 of 居酒屋
Is there any relation between 「のれん代」(Goodwill) and 「のれん」 of 居酒屋?
And how about those kanji, are they using same kanji for both?
If there are the same kanji, I would like to know their etymology, ...
4
votes
2answers
229 views
What's the difference between 上る、登る and 昇る?
According to jisho.org, they all have the same meanings, to climb, to rise, to ascend. Is that true? And do they have differences in usage?
3
votes
2answers
218 views
Is ruby text essential?
I am trying to understand whether the ruby text in ancient scripture is essential to the meaning of a verse, or if the scripture can be understood without it. For instance, can this verse:
be ...
6
votes
2answers
152 views
What does 不可とする mean?
On the subject of real-time OS's, I read this sentence:
割り込みを一時的に不可(マスク)とする。
Where 不可 apparently means "to mask". I can understand that "割り込み masks something", but I can't understand "不可とする"
...
6
votes
1answer
159 views
How do we roll a ball along a street from A to B?
This question is a follow up to この道をまっすぐ行ってください。Why “を” and not “で”? posted earlier.
If:
道で転ぶ = fallover on the road
ボールが道を転がる = a ball rolled along the street
〜を転がす = roll something ...
3
votes
1answer
396 views
Are the 4-byte UTF-8 Kanji rare enough that I can ignore them?
I'm writing a programming algorithm which converts code points of Kanji characters to their respective UTF-8 octets.
My problem is, if I don't include 4-octet characters, and only deal with 3-octet ...
8
votes
3answers
240 views
Difference between （遊び）方 and （遊ぶ）方法
I'm struggling to understand the difference between the verb suffix ～方【かた】 and the noun 方法【ほうほう】. As an example, the difference between 遊び方 (which seems to mean something like "manner in which someone ...
4
votes
2answers
129 views
Meaning of 「おれば」＆「大手を振る」
The following sentence and translation appear in my textbook (総まとめ 読解 N１, p114):
視聴率さえとっておれば、どんな"やらせ" をやろうとも、メディアの責任を考えればモラルに反すると思うことをやっても、大手を振ることが出来る世界
A world (media industry) where they ...
5
votes
1answer
151 views
パソコンが 得意だ/わかる/上手だ
So I was studying through this book called 日本語生中継 and there was this question where you're supposed to choose the inappropriate word among others. And I got stuck at this sentence:
...
