How to use certain words, phrases, particles, endings, constructions, and their variants.
1
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1answer
122 views
What are the differences and usage patterns for 常套句, 言い草, 決まり文句, 諺, and 名言?
This is a little bit of an encyclopedic question, but I would like to know what separates the four expressions in the title, i.e., what separates them when they are close to referring to the same ...
1
vote
2answers
162 views
Is マグロ always an insult?
A common insult, or at least, I've always understood it to be an insult, is to describe a woman as a マグロ in bed. Being referred to as マグロ, which is "tuna" in English, implies that a woman just lies ...
3
votes
0answers
91 views
Very confused about “には” in indicating relationships
I read a very detailed and useful answer explaining the difference between "に" and "には" but am still confused about a sentence I recently encountered.
私たちには息子が二人います。
I do not understand the function ...
1
vote
4answers
298 views
What's the joke in this 4コマ comic?
In this 4コマ漫画{まんが}, a four panel comic, a young attractive woman walks through a station ticket gate, but there's something wrong with her ticket. The station attendant calls after her, first by ...
4
votes
3answers
114 views
What's the difference between [上]{あ}がる and [上]{のぼ}る?
The textbook I'm studying from lists [上]{あ}がる as "to go up", but I've previously learnt that [上]{のぼ}る also means "to go up".
Jisho.org only lists "to go up" and any derivations of that as a single ...
1
vote
2answers
152 views
隣村まで足にのばす。Best way to interpret this sentence?
隣村まで足にのばす。
隣村：the neighboring village
足：foot/leg
のばす：aside from growing a beard... stretch, extend...
The best I could think is that it's like a literary way of saying you're heading out (extending ...
5
votes
1answer
103 views
ぜ at the end of sentence?
What's the meaning of ぜ at the end of sentence? Is ぜ a particle?
What's the difference between:
おい、逃{に}げるぜ。
and
おい、逃{に}げる。
I found a couple of explanations on the web but none I could ...
3
votes
1answer
107 views
Proper usage of 四字熟語 in Japanese
In Chinese, usage of 四字熟語 a lot usually demonstrates sophistication and things like political announcements etc that want to sounds powerful and sophisticated use a big load of them. What does using ...
1
vote
2answers
96 views
~くなりました with ない
For example, if I want to say "(this food has) become not tasty", would the correct way to say that be "おいしくなくなりました"? How would this be distinguished from おいしく亡くなりました, "died tastily", however ...
9
votes
3answers
554 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.
...
6
votes
2answers
110 views
What's the substitute word for missing/unimportant part of sentence?
Sometimes there are situations when you'd like to describe someone saying something, but what exactly he says is less important than the rest of sentence and it can be easily ignored. Or in case when ...
3
votes
1answer
118 views
Difference between words for road
I know the following words that all mean a road of some kind:
道
町
街
路
道路
街路
街道
通り
通り道
What's the difference between all these words? I'd assume size would be one of them, but what is the order if ...
2
votes
2answers
450 views
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 ...
5
votes
1answer
278 views
Is it true that only girls use うち to refer to themselves?
Is it true that only girls will use うち to refer to themselves?
So when a guy say うち he is referring to his in-group / company / family, and not referring to himself, right?
3
votes
3answers
199 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
121 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 ...
24
votes
8answers
972 views
Particles: に vs. で
I have progressed pretty far in Japanese, but when I construct Japanese sentences, I still get these two particles mixed up. For example, when talking about being inside something, I don't know when ...
2
votes
1answer
99 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 ...
13
votes
3answers
9k views
でも (demo) versus けど (kedo) to mean “but”
I learned that you can use でも (demo) at the beginning of a sentence to mean "but," and that you can use けど (kedo) at the end of a sentence to mean "though." However, I don't see a difference between ...
2
votes
1answer
126 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
175 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
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 ...
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 ...
3
votes
3answers
231 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
342 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? ...
13
votes
1answer
259 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?
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 ...
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?
3
votes
2answers
428 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
238 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
115 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:
...
10
votes
1answer
238 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.
○： ...
14
votes
4answers
427 views
What is the difference between 「食う」 and 「食べる」?
I've often seen 「食べる」 used, when should we use 「食う」 ? Are these two interchangeable ? Can you provide examples ?
11
votes
7answers
2k views
Are there any Japanese words as versatile as “fuck” in English?
I was wondering about this one recently. "Fuck" in English is famous for being applicable in a wide, wide range of circumstances (none of them formal).
What word in Japanese covers a wide spectrum of ...
4
votes
3answers
363 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 ...
2
votes
1answer
183 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)
...
4
votes
1answer
159 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 ...
2
votes
0answers
128 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 ...
5
votes
1answer
184 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 ...
10
votes
1answer
221 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 ...
11
votes
1answer
174 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 ...
4
votes
2answers
192 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?
0
votes
1answer
93 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
265 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 ...
7
votes
1answer
185 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
149 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 ...
13
votes
4answers
332 views
What are the fundamental differences between the ～と一緒に and the ～とともに fragments?
I'm accustomed to saying together with using the ~ to issho ni fragment, but I've been noticing that some people I talk to phrase this using ~ totomo ni instead.
i.e.
彼女と一緒に日本へ来た。
Kanojo to issho ni ...
4
votes
2answers
137 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 ...
5
votes
1answer
129 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?
