How to use certain words, phrases, particles, endings, constructions, and their variants.
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と、て、って Quoting Particle Usage
と、て、って
What's the difference between these three quoting particles?
Is there any grammatical difference, or are they just casual/formal variations of one another?
田中さんは行きましょうと言った
田中さんは行きましょうて言った
...
8
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1answer
256 views
When to use 他【ほか】の or 他【ほか】に
I always thought only 他の existed, but my teacher uses 他に a lot. Are there differences between when each can be used?
Here are two examples of each from my online dictionary:
だれかほかの人に聞いてごらん (Ask ...
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votes
3answers
266 views
What do I do when I encounter “Written Japanese”?
I have read in grammar dictionaries some words/phrases that are labelled as "Written Japanese" and should not be used in normal speech.
Let's take for example the sentence-ending こと indicating a ...
5
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3answers
288 views
Is it normal to use ただいま in situations other than ただいま戻【もど】りました?
By itself, I would say that 「ただいま」 means something like "just now". I've used it a few times in sentences like this, but it feels somewhat awkward, as I am always reminded of ただいま戻【もど】りました.
So, for ...
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1answer
82 views
Not understanding 解{と}く in this sentence
This sentence comes from my JLPT practise book in a section explaining the use of 解{と}く:
練習{れんしゅう}問題{もんだい}は答{こた}えを見{み}ないで、自分{じぶん}で解{と}いてください。
I get that 解{と}く means to "unravel" or "solve", but ...
7
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1answer
334 views
Verb volitional form (動詞の意志形) - usage
I have a couple of questions about the volitional form of verbs that I've become unclear on lately. Here is a Bible passage containing the grammar in question:
(Note that I'm using a Bible passage ...
6
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1answer
235 views
When the agent takes を in the causative form
I've seen a few sets of terminology when referring to the causative form, so for the basic case, I will use the following:
instigator が agent に 〇〇 を ｖ－させる。
In its most basic, text-book form, we have ...
6
votes
1answer
179 views
What does 意外と mean?
I heard the expression [意]{い}[外]{がい}といい in a video. I know that 意外に expresses something you didn't expect:
意外においしいよ。
It's delicous! (and I didn't expect that)
Why did I hear 意外と instead of ...
6
votes
3answers
342 views
一応: Usage and meaning
I've never really fully grasped the meaning of [一]{いち}[応]{おう} since it seems to have no good English equivalent. What is the meaning, usage, and nuances of 一応?
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2answers
453 views
What does the だと mean in 日本だと?
I found this sentence on a video game review site:
日本だと「不思議のダンジョン」と言ったほうがわかりやすいかもしれないローグライクゲーム。
I am not sure whether だと means 'in Japan' or 'if it were in Japan'. The translation in one case ...
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3answers
569 views
how can I say “what about…?” in Japanese?
I was writing to my japanese friends, and I got some doubts.
Hope it wasn't asked here before.
How can I express "what about ..." in Japanese? Particularly:
What about having some breaks?
What ...
7
votes
4answers
266 views
The difference between 超{こ}える, 越{こ}える and 過{す}ぎる
超{こ}える, 越{こ}える and 過{す}ぎる are said to mean "to pass through" in the "edict" dictionary, but I don't fully understand the difference between the three.
How does their usage differ please? Can anyone ...
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2answers
431 views
Is there a difference between 赤{あか} and 赤色{あかいろ}?
While studying Japanese I've met some problems with distinguishing some vocabulary.
For example we have:
赤{あか} = Red (color)
赤{あか}い = Red (adjective)
But what about 赤色{あかいろ}? Is there ...
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3answers
244 views
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102 views
Does 「鳴く」 give any nuances about the sound being made?
When we say "birds singing", there is a positive connotation.
When we say "birds crowing", there is a negative connotation.
"The birds are making some sound" seems to be objective, and thus neutral.
...
6
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2answers
246 views
Making sense of transitive usage of 行く and 来る - 「を行く」 and 「を来る」
I think it's known that some intransitive verbs can take を particle and be used as transitive verbs such as for example 「私のことを分かってくれない」. While using 分かる transitively would require specific scenarios ...
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vote
1answer
291 views
Difference of 「なんとかなる」 vs. 「だいじょうぶ」
are 「なんとかなる」 and 「だいじょうぶ」the same?
大丈夫か？
なんとかなるか？
大丈夫よ。
何とかなるよ。
大丈夫さ。
なんとかなるさ。
だいじょうぶだった。
なんとかなった。
大丈夫じゃない/だいじょうぶじゃなかった。
なんとかならない/なんとかならなかった。
...
thanks
sorry if ...
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vote
1answer
357 views
Verbs +「~てくる」 , which verbs? [duplicate]
Possible Duplicate:
Difference between -て行く and -て来る
my doubt is which verbs I can use with ~てくる (~ていく)
ABOUT ME
I don't want to say "I undestand", but I'd like to say "I'm understanding" ...
5
votes
2answers
166 views
Is this a valid use of どころか?
In the following, I feel it should be 会話が出来るどころか.
ジムは日本語で会話が出来ないどころか、簡単な挨拶も出来ない。
Jim is not only unable to converse in Japanese; he cannot even make simple greetings.
I was expecting the ...
7
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1answer
118 views
Usage and nuance of あまりに vs あまりにも
WWWJDIC lists both あまりに and あまりにも to mean "too much; excessively; too" but are they exactly the same in term of usage and nuance?
あまりに 《余りに》 (adv) (uk) too much; excessively; too
Ex: ...
9
votes
1answer
270 views
When to use 頂戴します instead of いただきます?
In rather formal situations, when would you use 頂戴します ?
I use いただきます all the time to express the fact of receiving something, but I just heard a colleague using 頂戴します over the phone.
If I understand ...
10
votes
1answer
151 views
Is 花見 “cherry blossom” viewing only?
Hi all I was wondering is there such a thing that 花見/お花見 must be specifically referring to "cherry blossom" viewing.
Or is it true that 花見 is "flower viewing" in general ?
9
votes
3answers
170 views
Are the usage of 上 and 下 as labels only limited to items that come in pairs of two?
I have some untranslated mangas that come in pairs of two, and each of them is labeled with 上 or 下 to denote which is the first volume and which is the second. I'm wondering if these labels are only ...
5
votes
1answer
207 views
ねばねば食べねば, relation between ねば and なければ
I would like to know a bit more about the "ねば" grammatical construction.
Every now and then, I hear people say sentences like
東京に行かねばならぬ
粘々丼を食べねば倒れる
なんとかせねばいい
It's quite clear that ねば ...
17
votes
4answers
482 views
Differences between 度 and 回 when counting occurrences
What are the differences between using 度 and 回 when used to count number of occurrences?
For example:
そんなことは一度もしたことがない
そんなことは一回もしたことがない
Are there any restrictions on what kind of actions referred ...
5
votes
3answers
213 views
What's the difference between [V-ながら][V2] and [V-ている]間[V2]?
What's the difference between [V-ながら][V2] and [V-ている]間[V2] ?
For example, is there any difference in nuance between these 2 sentences:
トムはテレビを見てる間勉強していた
トムはテレビを見ながら勉強していた
14
votes
4answers
419 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 ?
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3answers
311 views
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3answers
133 views
Does 「彼は映画スター兼政治家だ。」 sound weird?
I asked about this in the comments section of another question, but no one responded, so I guess I'll ask it here. The question involved expressing that someone was both a movie star and a politician, ...
3
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0answers
286 views
私 (watashi) vs 僕 (boku) [duplicate]
Possible Duplicates:
Is it ok for non-japanese to refer to themselves as 僕（ぼく） and if not why?
How should I select what first-person pronoun to use?
How commonly are "あたし" (atashi) ...
7
votes
3answers
198 views
Is「ふむふむ」still used nowadays?
I learned from a Japanese friend that ふむふむ could be translated like "oh, I got it", "I see", "I know", or "ok". It could be also in this form: ふむふむ なるほど
But, my sister lived in Japan for 5 years, and ...
8
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3answers
487 views
In what situation can I use ~かい (for interrogative question)?
One day, I asked my japanese friend how I could invite some friends to eat.
He said
"一緒に食べに行くかい？"
I know that we could also say:
行きましょうか（行こうか）？
行きませんか（行かない）？
行きますか（行くの）？
but I got interested ...
4
votes
1answer
128 views
虚; 空; 洞 【うろ】and differences
虚; 空; 洞 【うろ】: hollow; cavity; hole
pronunciation is only one but why are there three kanji words??what are they differences??
2
votes
1answer
82 views
Can 首 be used to refer to students who have just graduated and not yet found a job?
The example sentences in WWWJDIC all use the word "首" in the "fire" sense (e.g. 彼を首にしてやる) hence I was wondering is the term only used to refer to "firing" someone?
Or is it also used to refer to ...
2
votes
2answers
129 views
How do we use the word 短~ in a sentence?
JLPT 2 has this word 短~ (たん)
EDICT lists it as fault; defect; weak point; or minor (music), however there isn't any examples at all on the usage of the word.
Does anyone have some example usages ...
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2answers
176 views
14
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1answer
214 views
Temperature abbreviations?
A certain dialog in my book has a man describing the symptoms of his cold to the doctor. It reads thus:
医者：熱はありますか。
...
6
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2answers
313 views
Using 伯母 / 叔母 to refer to one's aunt
Is it true that when we see 伯母 it usually (90%) means "parent's elder sister" and sometimes (10%) can be used to refer to the parent's younger sister?
On the contrary, when we see 叔母 does it always ...
11
votes
3answers
313 views
What is the difference between 残念ながら and 残念なことに
I hear both 残念ながら and 残念なことに when expressing that something was unfortunate before the actual sentence, much like the English "Unfortunately, ...".
However, I'm not sure on where these two phrases ...
12
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3answers
8k 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 ...
5
votes
1answer
121 views
もっとも: distinguishing between 尤も and 最も
I found a page in Japanese with title "世界でもっとも汚染された10の都市". Having encountered the phrase 「もっとも」 for the first time, I looked it up on WWWJDIC and found two entries:
尤も 【もっとも】 (adj-na,adv,conj,n) ...
9
votes
1answer
454 views
Difference between 「 ただ」, 「たった」, 「ただ ～だけ」, and 「ただし」
I translate these words as either "only, just, simply".
I'd like to know how I could differentiate these 4 ways (i.e., when I use that one, and when I use the other).
Examples:
たったひとつの恋 ...
10
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3answers
375 views
is it offensive to say あなた?
My teacher says that we should avoid あなた, like わたし, which could be taken off. Following this, I try to refer to the second person by the name: 加藤さんの趣味は何ですか. But there are situations where we forget ...
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1answer
81 views
Usage and means of 向き
The following sentences are difference usage of 向き which have different meanings. Why do they differ?
この本は初心者向きである。
This book is suitable for beginners.
逆さまに向きを変えてください。
Please turn over.
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votes
1answer
147 views
Difference between 向け and 向き
My boss just corrected one of my documents from 企業向きな開発 to 企業向けの開発.
Apart from the の/な problem that I always get wrong, is there a problem with 向き ?
I got it from my textbook that says 子供向きです
Could ...
8
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1answer
353 views
Usage and meaning of [passive verb]-てみれば
I am familiar with the set phrase 「言われてみれば」 as a way to say "Now that you say that", but as I examine the phrase further, the phrase structure strikes me as strange. The 〜てみる conjugation is commonly ...
7
votes
1answer
176 views
Is there any difference between 意外に and 意外と?
I hear 意外に and 意外と used frequently to mean "moreso than I thought." They seem to be interchangeable. Example:
意外と簡単でした = Easier than I thought
Are they both grammatically correct? Is there a ...
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?
7
votes
1answer
157 views
When and how to use 来る 【きたる】
Of course 来る is most often read as くる. However, it can also be read as きたる. Is きたる mostly an archaic reading? Does it carry a different, or any additional meanings?? When are "appropriate" ...
5
votes
2answers
164 views
Fun with synonyms - “freeze”
I'm a little confused on the difference between 凍る 【こおる】 and 凍える 【こごえる】.
From what I've researched, it seems like 凍る focuses more on the physical process of something freezing, and the result being ...
