How to use certain words, phrases, particles, endings, constructions, and their variants.
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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 ...
6
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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, ...
6
votes
2answers
218 views
Is ほんの一瞬【いっしゅん】だけ redundant?
When using the phrase ほんの一瞬, I somehow feel compelled to insert だけ afterwards. This seems to be somewhat common (over one million hits for "ほんの一瞬だけ" on Google), but does it seem silly in terms of ...
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 ...
6
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3answers
156 views
Does the use of は or omitting は affect the listener's reply?
This is a question taken from a JLPT excercise workbook.
Person A: 新聞をよく読みますか。
Person B: そうですね。毎日は[Fill in this blank]。
I am given 4 choices, of which only 2 are conjugated correctly.
...
6
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1answer
798 views
What is usually written at the end of a slides presentation to imply “Thanks for listening”?
I've seen this phrase a couple of times but couldn't read the Kanji so I don't remember it.
Otherwise, what phrase would be good to include in the last slide to imply "Thanks for listening!"?
For ...
6
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2answers
129 views
What's the difference in the nuances that 呪縛【じゅばく】 and 呪い【のろい】 convey?
Is 呪縛 usually used to refer to a good spell or a bad one (like a curse)?
I mean the dictionary writes the english meaning as: spell/curse but I was wondering what sort of nuance would be attached to ...
6
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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. ...
6
votes
2answers
152 views
What is the meaning of なす? Specifically when preceded by a color
I came across this phrase in a book:
緑なす半島
Obviously (and also confirmed by Weblio) it is describing a quality of the peninsula, but I'm curious as to what exactly it means, and how/when it can ...
6
votes
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 ...
6
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1answer
171 views
How do you do a countdown?
For example, when JAXA launches a rocket, or people count the seconds to the New Year, do they use し or よん to count 4? do they use しち or なな to count 7?
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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:
...
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1answer
110 views
What's the difference between 創始者、創業者、創設者 and 創立者?
I have seen 創始者 been used in the following contexts:
仏教の創始者、プログラムの創始者、儒教の創始者
創業者 probably refers to founders of businesses:
店の創業者、紀伊国屋の創業者
However, I only have a vague idea about how these are used.
...
6
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1answer
85 views
～の時 vs ～歳の時: What's the difference?
When referring to a time where one was a certain age, are there any differences in meaning, nuance or usage between saying, for example, 18の時 and 18歳の時.
I always thought you needed to have the 歳, but ...
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2answers
186 views
When is it appropriate to use ごくろうさま?
I've seen お疲れさま and ご[苦労]{くろう}さま used to say "Thank you" after some had done work of some type. After reading the お疲れさま thread, I realize that the two are not interchangeable. So when do you use ...
6
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2answers
199 views
Verbs + ところ / Verbs + とこ / Verbs + ばかり
I learnt:
食べるところ：about to eat.
食べているところ：in the middle of eating.
食べたところ：just ate.
食べたばかり：just ate.
I would like to know if I can change ところ for とこ in spoken language.
and if there is any ...
6
votes
2answers
406 views
The difference between “follow” using についていく、「あと？」をつける、「あと？」をついていく
What is the difference between and how can we explain the grammar in the expressions for "follow" in the examples below?
子供が母親のあとをついていく
(A child is following his/her mother)
母親の買い物についていく (go ...
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2answers
121 views
Can 物 be added to any word to make it mean “things?”
I keep seeing examples of words where 物 is tacked on the end to mean "things." 食べ物, 飲み物, つまらない物, etc. Are there any restrictions as to what can precede 物? Can I, for example, say something like 青い物, ...
6
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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 ...
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2answers
164 views
Anti-causal/Non-causal relationship
How do I form a sentence of these patterns "X does not arise from Y", "X not due to Y", "X not because of Y", "There are other reasons for X". Since obviously I cannot simply slap ない onto から or ので to ...
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2answers
367 views
How is 〜んじゃない different from 〜じゃない?
Is it possible to say ～んじゃない？ If it is, how it differs from ～じゃない？
In what situation I should use ん/の for it, and what does ん/の express?
Examples:
[~い + ん]
いいんじゃない
行きたいんじゃない
吸えないんじゃない
...
6
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2answers
151 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
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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 ...
6
votes
1answer
171 views
ぼちぼち - related words
I am at present rigorously studying 擬音語／擬態語 (an entire world of its own!).
The definition my book has for ぼちぼち (also ぼつぼつ) is:
1. Gradually; slowly but steadily
2. Used to describe something that is ...
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2answers
250 views
Concretely, on what scenarios should I say either お世話になっています or いつもお世話になっております?
Furthermore, what is its different in meaning between the both? When I was in training as a fresh graduate at a Japanese company, they told me to use いつもお世話になっております all the time and so I did. But ...
6
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1answer
231 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
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1answer
346 views
the difference between じゃん (jan) and だろう/でしょう (darou/desho)
I would like to know what's the difference of じゃん and だろう／でしょう.
the meaning I know it's similar, but when I should use each of them?
Is it same to say:
これはすごいじゃん！ ＝ これはすごいでしょう！ ＝ これはすごいだろう！
...
6
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1answer
162 views
Does “keigo” cover only the use of honorific/humble/polite elements, or does it cover the full range and choice of what to use and not use?
I'm having trouble putting this question into words, especially short enough to use as the question title, basically I'm confused about what the term "keigo" applies to:
Is it just the addition of ...
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4answers
177 views
Using すみません instead of ありがとう
Can すみません always be used in place of ありがとう? What's the difference?
When using すみません to express thanks, what others words are used with it?
Can you show some examples?
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2answers
375 views
This use より baffles me
From the anime Noir, Episode 2.
Context: The husband comes home and his wife and son greet him outside.
Wife: おかえりなさい。今日は早いのね？
Husband: ああ、思ったより早く仕事が終わってね。
The wife's line, I get. The ...
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3answers
104 views
What is the つく used at the end of this sentence
What is the つく used at the end of this sentence?
友人の仕事は危険で、汚くて、おまけに きついらしい。ちなみにそういう仕事は俗に「３K」と呼ばれている。要するに「き」、すなわち「K」が３つつくというわけだ
My friend's work is dangerous, dirty and tough. It is ...
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2answers
235 views
Correct word for “indeed”
What is the correct translation for "indeed"? I found 実際{じっさい}に and 確{たし}かに.
If both are correct, what is the difference?
Thanks.
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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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3answers
154 views
What would be the best way to express the term 'master', as in a master of some sport?
For example, 'a tennis master'?
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397 views
I dont understand ～ような in this context
I know that ～ような means "looks like". In this context:
ここで立ち止る ような 時間はない。
does it mean:
"It appears it cannot stop here, there is no time"?
What I do understand is that ような is followed by a ...
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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
5
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1answer
276 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?
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votes
4answers
430 views
Are 終{お}わる and 済{す}ませる synonyms?
I know that they both mean "finish". But I wonder if there are situations or contexts where you can use one but not the other.
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2answers
185 views
What is the difference between いろいろ and もろもろ
Both mean 'various, all sorts of', but is there some subtle difference or not?
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1answer
142 views
How does adding なる make this phrase more “natural”?
Recently, I wanted to express the sentence "Maybe they'd make good pets." in Japanese. I initially tried to say it as such:
[多分]{たぶん}いいペットでしょうね！
I was then corrected by a native speaker, and he ...
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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 ...
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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 ...
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) ...
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2answers
152 views
I've seen 達人and 名人used to indicate master or expert. What's the difference?
I'm not familiar with either word, but just looking at the characters, 達人 would seem to indicate 'accomplished' (ie an accomplished pianist). While 名人 seems more like 'renowned'. Is that a valid ...
5
votes
1answer
225 views
What's the difference in usage between に対して and にとって?
I often used に対して when speaking, and have noticed にとって as the favorite expression of the author who's book I'm now reading. What's the difference in usage? Are there any other similar expressions I ...
5
votes
2answers
147 views
When is it appropriate to choose にわたって or を通じて in regard to time?
I seem to have a hard time recognizing when to choose either にわたって or を通じて in the following question:
この地方は一年（ ）暖かく、とても過ごしやすい。
The correct answer is を通じて. My idea is that を通じて would make this ...
5
votes
2answers
274 views
Difference between sentence final ものだ and ことだ
My understanding is that ものだ is used to assert things which are mostly known to everyone.
誰かの家に招待されたときは、何か手土産をもっていくものだ
'When invited to somebody's home it's customary to bring presents'.
On ...
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 ...
5
votes
1answer
123 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?
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:
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