The differences between two or more words or phrases and how to select the best one for a given situation.
12
votes
3answers
390 views
What's bugging the Japanese language?
In my JLPT workbook, it has a section which gives a list of idioms that use [虫]{むし}.
仕事{しごと}の虫 (worker bee)
点取{てんとり}虫 (derogatory term for a student who tries too hard)
虫がいい (selfish)
...
12
votes
2answers
411 views
The differences between ～がたい、〜にくい、〜づらい
I was wondering what the differences are between these three: ～がたい、〜にくい、〜づらい
They all seem to be some sort of variant of "Hard to do ~". But it seems they are used with different verbs and/or imply ...
12
votes
1answer
483 views
JLPT N1 question: Why isn't a large amount of money a good enough reason to kill someone?
In my JLPT (Japanese Language Proficiency Test) level N1 workbook, there is this example question:
適当{てきとう}な語{}を選びなさい
この殺人{さつじん}事件{じけん}の裏{うら}には（ ）上{じょう}のトラブルがあるようだ。
A 金額{きんがく} B ...
12
votes
1answer
180 views
Is こら a lot more rude than ほら?
From early on, I've used こら and ほら somewhat interchangeably. They both mean "hey!"
I picked them up from friends early on without without really having a sense of the difference.
Now, after some ...
12
votes
1answer
348 views
Understanding all the words but not the meaning: What does this ad say?
This is a frequent problem that I think many Japanese learners experience. You look at some Japanese sentences, and you understand the words, and most, if not all, the grammar, and yet still, it just ...
12
votes
1answer
199 views
Why did の disappear from 山手, but in 御茶ノ水 it's in katakana?
I realize that very likely the answer to this question is likely to be something along the lines of "that's just the way it is", but I thought it worth asking to see if there were some insights that ...
12
votes
2answers
280 views
The verbs of learning: 勉強する, 習う and 学ぶ
How are the following verbs which are related to learning different to each other?
勉強する
習う
学ぶ
12
votes
2answers
182 views
How does adding 手 to the beginning of an adjective change its meaning?
There are several adjectives that are formed by attaching 「手」 to more common adjectives:
手厳しい
手堅い
手早い
手広い
手短い
But most of the time this does not seem to change the meaning of the adjective very ...
12
votes
1answer
514 views
けど at the end of the sentence?
According to dictionaries, 「けど」 means ‘but’, ‘although’, ‘however’.
However, it seems to have slightly another meaning at the end of the sentence. For example, here are few example sentences with ...
12
votes
2answers
252 views
Saying “to miss” (“I missed you over the weekend”)
What's the best way to say "to miss" in the sense of feeling a longing for something, or that something pleasant is missing? I understand there's [懐]{なつ}かしむ, but it seems to me that, like 懐かしい, is ...
12
votes
3answers
240 views
Is パートナー likely to be interpreted as a same-sex partner?
When I talked about a relative and his パートナー visiting for Christmas, the person I was speaking to asked if his パートナー was male. Is this a common interpretation of パートナー? Is there a better word than ...
12
votes
1answer
400 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 ...
12
votes
4answers
314 views
To not have: 持っていません or ありません？
Whenever I go to the Life supermarket near my house, they ask me at the check out:
ライフカードを持っていますか？ (Do you have a Life
[members] card?)
I always respond with something like:
いいえ、持っていません。
...
12
votes
2answers
281 views
Difference between 〜といい〜といい ＆ 〜といわず〜といわず
Can somebody explain the difference between these two expressions?
I have pasted the definitions and some examples from 日本語表現文型辞典 to help but they seem to come down to the same thing. (When can one ...
12
votes
1answer
423 views
What's the difference between 「うまく」, 「上手に」 and 「よく」?
What's the difference between 「うまく」, 「上手に」 and 「よく」, all seemingly meaning "well" in English?
Someone said that I should use 「よく」 rather than 「うまく」 in the following sentence. Can anyone explain why?
...
11
votes
4answers
379 views
How should I select what first-person pronoun to use?
I've always had trouble choosing which first person pronoun to use - 私 (watashi), 僕 (boku), or 俺 (おれ). What kind of factors should I keep in mind when choosing between these? Is it common to vary ...
11
votes
3answers
398 views
不 and 非 and 無 and 未 usage difference/rule
Is there any rules that govern when to use 不 and 非 and 無 and 未 in regards to the meaning of "not" or "un-"
for instance 非表示, 不満
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, ...
11
votes
5answers
135 views
ユーザ or ユーザー, which is more in use or is there no difference?
ユーザ or ユーザー, which is more in use or is there no difference?
I see both of them in use, but is there one that is more correct than the other or is at least the prevailing standard?
a similar word is ...
11
votes
3answers
259 views
When is it appropriate to refer to yourself by これ?
I have occasionally heard and read instances, where a person has referred to themselves as これ. My Japanese dictionary also lists "Me, I." as a definition of これ.
Now, this obviously isn't used as ...
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 ...
11
votes
3answers
333 views
What is the difference between 「ほど」 {hodo} and 「ぐらい」 {gurai}?
As in the question title, what is the difference between the two sentences below?
一時間ほどかかります。
ichijikan hodo kakarimasu.
一時間ぐらいかかります。
ichijikan gurai kakarimasu.
How do we choose to ...
11
votes
4answers
445 views
に vs で again: 前に vs 後で
Following the current trend of pitting the particles に and で against each other, here is another question that does the same but from another type of usage and perspective.
When we want to say "do X ...
11
votes
2answers
284 views
What's the difference between 少{すこ}し (sukoshi) and 小{ちい}さい (chiisai)?
What's the difference between 少{すこ}し (sukoshi) and 小{ちい}さい (chiisai)?
In what situations would I use each one?
11
votes
1answer
158 views
What's the difference in usage between 氏名 (しめい) and 名前 (なまえ)?
What's the difference in usage between 氏名 (しめい) and 名前 (なまえ)?
I often see these two words used interchangeably, but more often than not I see 氏名 on websites. Is this a politeness difference or an ...
11
votes
3answers
310 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 ...
11
votes
1answer
282 views
ひらく / とじる vs. あける / しめる
The verbs ひらく and あける both mean to open, and とじる and しめる both mean to close. I understand that ひらく and とじる are antonym pairs, as are あける and しめる, but have never been clear on the difference between ...
11
votes
2answers
167 views
What are the origins of ド when used as emphasis, and is it always negative?
Sometimes I've seen ド as a prefix that adds emphasis to words. So saying someone is ドバカ is saying that they are much more stupid than just バカ.
I'm wondering what the origin of ド in this context is. ...
11
votes
2answers
382 views
What is the proper use of だろう, is it “masculine”, and how is it different from と思 【おも】う?
Like a lot of foreign guys, some Japanese I picked up from imitating the women I spoke to. Certain affectations made me sound unwittingly effeminate in the early days when I had less grasp on the ...
11
votes
3answers
2k views
What's the difference between ようこそ and いらしゃいませ?
Both "ようこそ" (yokoso) and "いらしゃいませ" (irashaimase) seem to mean "welcome" but what are the precise circumstances under which each should be used?
"いらしゃいませ" (irashaimase) is uttered in unison by all ...
11
votes
2answers
885 views
How to use へ (-e), に (-ni), まで (made) and の方 (no-hō) with destination and direction?
It is common to ask the difference between just "へ" (-e) and "に" (-ni) but it seems to get even more complicated when you also mix in "まで" (made) and even "の方" (no-hō).
When Japanese people ask me ...
11
votes
1answer
171 views
Can I always use 色々な or do I have to use 色々の sometimes?
On the web I can find many occurrences of both 色々な and 色々の.
色々な seems to be used more often though.
Can I always use 色々な and get away with it, or is 色々の the only choice in some particular cases?
If ...
11
votes
1answer
598 views
When to use: “say”, “speak”, “tell” or “express”
When browsing through journal entries by various people, I've recently been noticing the words 述{の}べる and 語{かた}る used fairly frequently but I'm not sure when they should be used over 話{はな}す and 言{い}う ...
11
votes
1answer
212 views
What's the difference between 「この辺{へん}」 and 「この辺{あた}り」
What's the difference between 「この辺{へん}」 and 「この辺{あた}り」?
I used to always read 「この辺{へん}」as 「この辺{あたり}」 as I thought it would be confused with 「変{へん}」 but it apparently is different.
11
votes
1answer
277 views
When can I exchange くださる for いただく in expressions of gratitude?
Way back when, I remember being taught that when you want to say a really polite "thank you", sentences such as these are basically the same:
文章を訂正していただきましてありがとうございます。
...
11
votes
3answers
446 views
What is the difference between ちょっと and 少し?
Specifically for when they mean "a little".
In what situations would they be used and are they completely interchangeable without any differences?
10
votes
3answers
701 views
When women use わ at the end of a sentence, is it different from よ?
My understanding of using わ at the end of a sentence is that it's essentially just for emphasis, just like using よ, and that only women can use it.
However, as far as I know, women can, and often do, ...
10
votes
3answers
310 views
10
votes
4answers
1k views
What is the difference between tori vs. dori?
In Aikido, different dojos seem to latch on to using either dori or tori when describing grabbing attacks. For instance one dojo might say:
Katate Dori
Another would say:
Katate Tori
Each dojo ...
10
votes
3answers
495 views
When describing time span, are 間 {あいだ} and 内 {うち} interchangeable?
Both 間 {あいだ} and 内 {うち} can be used to describe time span relative to specific situations, similar to "while" in English. But are they interchangeable all the time? Are there any scenarios where one ...
10
votes
2answers
268 views
What exactly is 我, and how is it used?
I was taught that [私]{わた(く)し}, [僕]{ぼく}, and 俺{おれ} are the most common first-person pronouns.
Recently, I stumbled upon the word [我]{われ}, which supposedly means the same thing. An online dictionary ...
10
votes
2answers
645 views
What is the difference between なぜなら、だから、and なので？
I'm trying to get clarification on how to use these three pieces of grammar and whether or not they all hold some kind of "Because" meaning.
10
votes
2answers
317 views
Does the letter “C” attract any superstition?
I've heard that the number four attracts superstition because of its similarity with the word for death. For example, yon is used instead of shi in some circumstances, and sometimes the number 4, ...
10
votes
3answers
304 views
What is the *proper* differentiation between 来る and 行く?
In many beginning Japanese classes, 来る【くる】 and 行く【いく】 are presented as "to come" and "to go," respectively. Dictionaries generally also define them this way. However, every once in a while in more ...
10
votes
1answer
2k views
Why does そう in 「美味しいそう」 not mean “seem” the way I think it should?
Here's another habitual mistake I make. I'm looking at a sign for a restaurant with pictures of great food. So I remark to my friend:
美味{おい}しいそう、ね？
... intending to mean, "that looks good, don't ...
10
votes
1answer
184 views
When would you use 新{あら}たな and 新{あたら}しい
To say new, the first way that I learned is to use the i-adjective 新しい. But I noticed that the na-adjective 新たな is used a lot in written texts. Is there any difference in when either is used?
10
votes
3answers
646 views
ことにする vs. ことに決める
My Japanese text book says that a present-tense verb followed by ことにする is used to indicate making a decision about the action. But I've also noticed the verb 決める, and that it's usage is very similar.
...
10
votes
1answer
212 views
Difference between さよなら and さようなら
I just saw the word "goodbye" spelt as さよなら. Having clearly heard the long o sound before, I thought the word was misspelled. However, a quick online search shows both さよなら and さようなら being used. Is ...
10
votes
1answer
308 views
How to differentiate friend level in Japanese?
I am sometimes having difficulty differentiating friends level when explaining it to a Japanese. For example, when I am telling a story about a friend, I want to specify the level of friendship we ...
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 ?
