How to use certain words, phrases, particles, endings, constructions, and their variants.
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Is あたり used only to enumerate items?
I usually read that あたり is used to enumerate things like A あたり, B あたり.
But lately I can also hear ひとつひとつあたり also used. Is this the same word?
How do you use the あたり in general? A search on a ...
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115 views
What may be the difference between the usage of 自尊心 ,誇りand 自慢?
I read a paragraph and the paragraph contains the word 自尊心.
I want to know meaning of 自尊心.
Dictionary says 自尊心 = pride.
Is it same with 誇り? or 自慢?
What may be the difference between the usage of ...
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151 views
How do you talk about things in parts?
I would like to say "It is written half in English and half in Japanese."
When writing this myself I came up with:
これは半分英語で半分日本語で書いていました。
but I think that
半分英語で半分日本語で
does not sound ...
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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 ...
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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 ...
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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 ...
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3answers
229 views
What is the difference between 寿司, 鮨, 鮓, 寿斗, 寿し, and 壽司?
It is likely that this is due to my poor understanding, but why are there so many names for「すし」? I think for the most part I have only seen the first three (寿司、鮨、鮓). For whatever reason in some ...
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223 views
How to decide to use どうせ or しょせん?
The dictionary translates both どうせ (WJDIC) and しょせん (WJDIC) as "anyway / in any case / after all".
But what exactly is the difference in nuance between them?
For example, what is the difference ...
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124 views
What's the difference between 赤ん坊 and 赤ちゃん
Are both words interchangeable? Rikai-chan defines them both as "baby, infant". So what would be the difference?
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149 views
What does もう mean in this sentence?
彼はもう英語を教えるまい。 (Most probably, he won't teach English any more.) I got this sentence from this thread. もう doesn't seem necessary to use or have. Isn't the meaning the same if it was like this: ...
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279 views
Can もの be used to imply the value of something that is a こと?
I thought of this question and quickly realized that I already knew a possible example. Japanese band ZONE's most popular song is called 「secret base～君【きみ】がくれたもの～」. The lyrics can be read here or at ...
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1answer
383 views
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
...
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567 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 ...
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1answer
106 views
What is the usage of 先 vs. 元?
I think that the both of them mean before, but I have seen that they are sometimes use in parent-child metaphors, but I always get confused with these.
Some examples of ○○先、○○元 words would be ...
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147 views
Can ご無沙汰 be used in a sexual context?
I had asked my friend what uses of 「ご無沙汰」exist and the situations people use them in. Among others, she had remarked that it could mean something along the lines of "not having sexual intercourse for ...
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117 views
Are the two kanjis 箇所 and 個所 interchange?
Our customer uses 箇所 but my manager uses 個所 when emailing project status. Are both kanji interchangeable?
The context of usage in a sentence is:
一箇所変更しました。
A portion (of the code/software) ...
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176 views
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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 ...
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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 ...
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2answers
123 views
what is the difference in the nuances / usage of 気に病む and 心配する ?
I was wondering what is the difference in the nuances / usage of 気に病む and 心配する ?
(E.g. If I want to tell my friend not to worry about a test (albeit an important test), is it more appropriate to use ...
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336 views
translation for “It serves as a good reminder for me”?
After I've say watched a film with some friends (or read a fable or something) and learned something from it, i want to say "It [the teachings of this fable/film] serves as a good reminder for me". ...
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298 views
How to use に with “masu-stem (連用形 stem) + に + Verb” structure
Could somebody provide a bit more explanation, possibly giving correct and incorrect examples on how to use に with "masu-stem (連用形 stem) + に + Verb" as illustrated in the following examples?
Both ...
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257 views
is “超” (chō) seldom used in written works?
Is it true that the prefix 超 to mean “very” is seldom used in written works (like novels.. but of course i do not count the words between the 「 and 」), and is usually only used when talking?
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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?
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3answers
134 views
ambiguity with すっと
WWWJDIC says すっと means "quickly / all of a sudden" yet it can also mean "quietly / gently / softly"
So basically I was wondering how do we tell if すっと means "quickly / all of a sudden" or "quietly / ...
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3answers
263 views
Can 【～たら】 be a short form of 【～てから】?
I picked up a bad habit of using ～たら (a form of conditional) when I mean ～てから (once something happens, something else will happen) from a friend many years back while learning Japanese.
In the years ...
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2answers
191 views
「様」vs「殿」, which is more respectful?
Ammy claims that 殿 is more respectful than 様:
様 -sama: a respectful honorific used for those of a higher social standing
殿 -dono: even more respectful than -sama, less likely ...
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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 ...
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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?
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113 views
How do specific characters get included in 囲み文字 and what are the meanings they convey?
I have this book 「図解でわかる 文字コードのすべて」 which lists many of the Unicode and JIS symbols that one can type. I noticed the section of enclosed alphanumerics (囲み文字). Not all kanji are included in 囲み文字 which ...
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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 ...
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251 views
How often is だが used in everyday conversation?
I hear often in anime and is translated as "but". And normally, it's at the beginning of the sentence. But I wonder if it used outside of the TV/movie world. For instance, きみ, I hear very often in ...
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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 ...
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148 views
Clarifying だから use at the end of a sentence
I was given this sentence:
ここが、きみの クラスだから。
The explanation I was given is that the から at the end is used when giving information. What is the だ used for? What are other examples of だから usage?
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350 views
“causative of negative” vs “negative of causative”?
Wikipedia (Japanese Verb Conjugation):
Negatives [verb negative-conjugations] are not normally made into causatives. Instead, a negative ending is added to the causative of the verb. Thus, for ...
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1answer
91 views
Can we use すら without negation?
From what I understand, すら is commonly used with the negative conjugation (~ない, ~なかった) of verbs.
For example:
「ひらがなすら書けない。」 I expected (him) to be able to write hiragana. But even hiragana, (he) ...
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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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1answer
116 views
Fun with synonyms - “evaluation/investigation/etc.”
Explain the differences in the following vocabulary. They all essentially mean some form of investigation, inspection, etc. Please don't just write the definitions; I'm lost on how they differ, when ...
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2answers
185 views
Explaining cause in response to the question “why?”
Alright, lets give this another go.
I'm having trouble understanding the best way to respond to someone asking "why".
My study guide advised,
To answer the question with "why", make a statement ...
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120 views
Are the grammatical forms きっかけに and 契機に interchangeable?
One of my grammar books 日本語総まとめN2 文法 lists both of the grammar forms 「きっかけに」 and 「契機に」 in the same definition.
However, in the example question a choice is given between them:
その事件（a. の契機に b. ...
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1answer
153 views
What does 身の縮む思い mean?
I found a phrase in one vocabulary book about the usage of 縮む.
I am not clear on the meaning of this phrase:
身の縮む思い
I think it can be the same meaning as 恥ずかしい. Is that right?
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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??
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1answer
79 views
「Verb + たら」always have ambiguous meanings?
I agree that ～たら is one practical tool that could express lots of meanings. but sometimes it became one problem for students of japanese.
If I say:
日本に行ったら、友達を訪ねます。
it's : If I go to Japan, I ...
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3answers
193 views
{～もあり、～もあり} vs {～もあって、～もあって}
One thing I notice is that {～もあり} can follow an adverb, such as:
良くもあり、悪くもあり
Other than that, when do we use {～もあり、～もあり} clause pattern instead of {～もあって、～もあって}? Is using {～もあり} considered more ...
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216 views
Why is 一緒に needed when it's already clear two people will be together?
A father is talking to his kid about their plans tomorrow and says,
けんしんくん、お父さんと一緒に買いに行きましょうか？
Why not:
けんしんくん、お父さんと買いに行きましょうか？
(The sentence is supposed to say, "Kenshin, would you like ...
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1answer
119 views
擦れ違う usage and etymology?
擦れ違う is one of my new vocabulary words, so I try to understand as much as I can. I looked up a couple of meanings for the word and I found that it is used to describe 1) when two things pass each ...
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1answer
155 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 ...
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3answers
170 views
Meaning/usage of なめるな
I have been struggling to find a meaning for なめるな. The word seems to have the effect of asking people to shut up, but this is just a guess.
It appears in a news story about someone's twitter comment, ...
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2answers
116 views
What is 日本橋{にっぽんばし}？
So I'm doing some exercises in Minna no Nihongo and run across these two sentences:
どこで安い電気製品を売っていますか。
大阪の日本橋で売っています。
I looked it up and saw it mean japanese bridge but the way it is in the ...
