Tagged Questions
5
votes
1answer
88 views
What's the difference between 食品 and 食料
I can't quite figure out the differences between these two.
I would guess that 食料 is only used in situations, where the only thing that matters is that the food is there or not there (As in, searching ...
5
votes
1answer
80 views
What's the difference between 売店 and 商店
Is 売店 more used for smaller stuff, like a stand?
I'm finding it hard to pinpoint the exact difference.
3
votes
1answer
77 views
What's the difference between 見解 and 意見
I've been unable to find the difference from example sentences online. Is it a matter of formality? Something completely else?
5
votes
1answer
224 views
Terms for Royalty
Why are there so many terms for royalty? And I'm talking about generic words like "king", "queen", etc. I seem to remember from my studies that certain terminology was used specifically for Japanese ...
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 ...
4
votes
1answer
202 views
What's the difference between 招待, 招く and 誘う?
I've stumbled upon these 3 words. I think meaning of 招待 is:
invite (as in a formal invitation)
The other two seem rather confusing to me, though.
4
votes
2answers
204 views
Difference in word use: 父親 母親 両親 父母
I would like to ask about the following words: 父親【ちちおや】 and 母親【ははおや】. They refer to father and mother, right? But why do they exist? When do we use them instead of お父【とう】さん and お母【かあ】さん?
I have a ...
6
votes
2answers
225 views
Difference between verb types (verbal nouns, transitive & intransitive: eg 開始, 始める and 始まる)
All three of these words mean "to start", but what's the difference between them and where are they used?
4
votes
1answer
157 views
Are the meanings of 煙 and 烟 identical?
I noticed that 煙 in the phrase 茶煙永日香{ちゃえんえいじつかんばし} sometimes appears as 烟. For example, here is a teapot with 茶煙永日香 and a scroll with 茶烟永日香. Is there a difference in meaning between 煙 and 烟?
煙 and 烟 ...
8
votes
2answers
368 views
What is the difference between 悪い and だめ?
What is the difference between 悪い and だめ?
They're not really the same, but in English they both can be translated to "bad".
あの人が悪い。In my limited experience, this is bad in the sense of evil.
...
18
votes
1answer
383 views
What is the difference between いえ and うち?
I am trying to understand the difference between using いえ and うち. I originally drew the conclusion that うち is used for your own house and いえ for others' houses, but my Japanese teacher said that this ...
5
votes
1answer
211 views
What's the difference between 腹切り and 切腹?
I need to add a body to submit my question, so I'll just say the Mortal Kombat seemed to believe that the term 腹切り (はらきり harakiri) was more appropriate for self slaughter (i.e., throwing a boomerang ...
5
votes
1answer
452 views
Fun with synonyms - “perhaps/maybe/probably”
What are the differences when using the following words/phrases to mean "perhaps", "maybe" or "probably"?
多分
恐らく
蓋し {けだし}
もしかして
ひょっとして
なかろう (negative -> probably not)
だろう / でしょう / であろう
かも知れない
...
10
votes
3answers
318 views
8
votes
2answers
205 views
what's the difference between 余地 and よゆう?
I have been informed that よゆう is to do with temporal or physical room, while 余地 has to do with emotional room, but I might have misunderstood the explanation.
12
votes
1answer
422 views
Honorific prefix 「ご」 vs 「お」
Some nouns take the 「ご」 prefix:
ご両親 {りょうしん}
ご家族 {かぞく}
ご無事 {ぶじ}
ご安心 {あんしん}
ご丁寧 {ていねい}
While many others take the 「お」 prefix:
お母さん
お仕事 {しごと}
お月 {つき}
お内 {うち}
お客 {きゃく}
In ...
8
votes
1answer
301 views
加える/増やす and 加わる/増える or even 増加する/殖/足, various kanji for “adding things”
I'm a bit confused regarding the choice between the 加 and 増 kanji for any meaning related to "adding one thing to another".
I assume that, as usual, the suru-verb combination 増加する is somewhat more ...
6
votes
2answers
162 views
What may be the difference between the usage of チャンス and 機会 ?
What may be the difference between the usage of チャンス and 機会 ?
For example:
1) これは機会だぜ！
2) これはチャンスだぜ！
9
votes
2answers
179 views
What's the difference between 迷う and 紕う?
I was looking in a dictionary and both were listed as being defined as "to lose one's way, to hesitate, or to waver," but I don't understand why there are two different kanji for the word.
11
votes
3answers
2k views
What's the difference between “さけ” (sake) “しゃけ” (shake)?
Today I saw onigiri claiming to contain "しゃけ" (shake), when I asked my friend what that was she said it was the same as "さけ" (sake), "salmon".
So are these two just different readings of a kanji, ...
17
votes
2answers
319 views
What's the difference between “家” (ya), “屋” (ya), and “や” (ya) as used in the names of shops/stores/restaurants?
As a gyudon addict I have noticed that the names of the three major national restaurant chains all end in "ya" but they used two different characters:
"吉野家" (Yoshinoya)
"松屋" (Matsuya)
"すき家" (Sukiya)
...
7
votes
2answers
273 views
What's the difference between “巻寿司” (makizushi), “海苔巻き” (norimaki), and “巻物” (makimono)?
It seems there are three words for the same Japanese food item, a kind of "sushi in a long roll":
"巻寿司" (makizushi)
"海苔巻き" (norimaki)
"巻物" (makimono)
Are they all identical / synonyms? Do they ...
15
votes
4answers
602 views
Since Japanese already had several words for rice why was “ライス” (raisu) borrowed from English?
Last night I had dinner in a ramen restaurant in northern Japan and was surprised to read the katakana "ライス" (raisu) on the menu. This is obviously the English word "rice" borrowed. But what kind of ...
12
votes
6answers
4k views
What's the difference between “gohan” and “meshi”?
In answer to my question on the difference between "gyudon" and "gyumeshi" I learned that "meshi" just means cooked rice. But I thought "gohan" meant cooked rice, so please, what is the difference?
I ...
8
votes
1answer
154 views
What is the difference between “meshi” and “don” for the food sometimes translated as “rice bowl” in English?
I'm a big fan of the Japanese fast food gyudon (cooked thinly sliced beef strips on top of a bowl of boiled white rice) and its variants such as butadon (the same but with pork).
But why do some ...
7
votes
1answer
208 views
Nuances of “give” - あげる／与える／授ける
Can someone give some good context and scenarios for using these? Not only when to use them, but when NOT to use them as well. I know あげる is kind of the most common, but I'm just not sure of the ...
7
votes
1answer
726 views
What's the difference between “マグロ” (maguro), “ツナ” (tsuna), and “シーチキン” (shiichikin)?
It seems that there are (at least) three words for "tuna" in Japanese:
"マグロ" / "鮪" / "まぐろ" (maguro) - Seems to be the native name for the creature and used at least in sushi
"ツナ" (tsuna) - Seems to ...
13
votes
6answers
994 views
Can somebody explain the various words and combinations thereof used for thanking?
To my knowledge there are three words which can be used in thanking and they seem to be usable together in some combinations:
どうも (domo)
どうもありがとう (domo arigato)
ありがとう (arigato)
ありがとうございます (arigato ...
