The differences between two or more words or phrases and how to select the best one for a given situation.
7
votes
1answer
368 views
What is the difference between 見える／聞こえる and 見られる／聞ける?
In Japanese, there is a potential form to express that it's possible for something to be done.
My own examples of potential form:
辛【から】い食【た】べ物【もの】が食【た】べられる。 (I can eat spicy foods.)
...
6
votes
1answer
149 views
What is the best word to use to mean “to take long-term a break (i.e. from school)”?
Just to add some context to this question: I graduated with a B.A. last June, and am currently taking a two-year break from education to work off some of the inordinate amount of debt I accumulated in ...
9
votes
1answer
250 views
What's the difference between 一応 and とりあえず?
What's the difference between 一応{いちおう} and とりあえず?
While I think they can both mean "tentatively" or "for the time being", there seems to be a difference in their usage. How do the two translate ...
9
votes
0answers
231 views
Thoughts about event frequencies and “often enough”
I'm having trouble expressing the concept of "not often enough". The most basic way to say "often" is よく, but I think there's a problem in putting qualifiers on this word. For instance, expressing ...
2
votes
1answer
669 views
Different ways to say “at least” / 「少なくとも」
I would like to know if there are other ways to say "at least~" (context below), along with the relevant nuances of each way.
This is for a piece of writing I'm doing where for the sake of style I ...
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.
...
5
votes
1answer
309 views
Openings and Closings (Salutations and Valedictions) When Writing a Letter/E-mail
This question came to me because I am writing a personal thank-you letter to a friend's family who hosted me in their home over the holidays. What is the proper way to address the entire family? For ...
5
votes
1answer
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) ...
5
votes
4answers
435 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.
8
votes
2answers
289 views
What is the difference between 記憶【きおく】 and 思【おも】い出【で】?
Is there any difference between the meanings or connotations of 記憶 and 思い出?
I started thinking about this after listening to the song 「タイムマシーン」 or "Time Machine" by 少女時代, where these two lines occur ...
1
vote
1answer
185 views
What is the difference with 引充 and 引当
I do usually encounter the kanji 引当 but I suddenly encountered the 引充 kanji. My colleague said they mean the same and their reading is the same. when do you use the one over the other?
The word that ...
4
votes
2answers
229 views
The different types of pain and injuries
I'm lacking a range of vocabulary that allows me to express different kinds of pain. And since I'm on this theme I might as well included injuries in this question. It seems that everything can be ...
5
votes
1answer
298 views
Different ways to show intention to do something
How can one say "I am going to", express intention to do something in the future. I know some expressions such as:
たいと思う - I'm going to/ I want to
ましょう - I will/ Why don't I
...
2
votes
2answers
185 views
ホワイトデー: use ハッピー or おめでとう?
When wishing a woman a happy White Day, would I say ハッピーホワイトデー, or ホワイトデーおめでとう, or are both ok? If both forms are used, do they have a slightly different nuance, such as "have fun on White Day today ...
10
votes
1answer
342 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 ...
4
votes
1answer
219 views
が早いか versus や否や
が早{はや}いか and や否{いな}や both seem to mean "as soon as". They describe a relation between two actions, where one action occurs when another does.
I'm a little fuzzy on the difference, though. I think, ...
5
votes
2answers
361 views
“Dyke” and “Femme”
Warning! This question contains at least one, possibly, derogatory word. I appologise if readers are offended.
A friend of mine asked me to translate a passage from a poem in British English into ...
5
votes
2answers
224 views
How do I accurately convey “enough to make a difference”?
I want to say "it's different enough to make a difference," but I'm struggling a bit to get there. Partly because the two uses of "different" in this sentence are doing two different jobs. The first ...
10
votes
1answer
186 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?
7
votes
1answer
233 views
How to ask person to guess for something during conversation?
I was conversing with my Japanese colleague:
Me: Do you know how much a melon costs in my home country?
Colleague: I do not know.
Me: Take a guess.
I asked him how to say take a ...
3
votes
1answer
187 views
How do you say I am emailing something and attaching it to the email?
I am usually confused if I am going to use 入れます or 付けます when specifying that I attached something to the email.
For example:
最新の帳票サンプルを添付して入れます。
or
最新の帳票サンプルを添付して付けます。
I would usually say that ...
8
votes
2answers
716 views
When to use ～ので vs ～から
I was looking in A Dictionary of Basic Japanese Grammar when I saw something on page 329 which truly shocked me:
"node cannot be used and kara must be used [... when ...] the main clause is a ...
7
votes
1answer
286 views
How to ask for a refund?
I want to ask for a refund? For example, if I want to refund a train ticket. How do I ask the train master?
I think it is not a 返品。
Do you need certain politeness?
5
votes
2answers
152 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 ...
3
votes
1answer
146 views
How to hope something is going well?
I would like to hope that someone's small business is going well.
I know is someone's business is going well they can say:
「店は繁盛している」
but, how can I say "I hope your store is prosperous/I hope ...
7
votes
2answers
128 views
Dismissing an expectation
What can be said when I need to dismiss an expectation?
Here are some examples of what I mean by "expectation":
I ask someone what time it is, then I remembered that I'm actually wearing a watch. ...
4
votes
1answer
146 views
What does the verb 好く do?
Observation:
The verb 好く exists.
好く is transitive.
By extension, "to like ~" is predicted to be:
a. ~を好く。
However, empirical data shows that this pattern is the accepted form:
b. ~が好きだ。
...
6
votes
2answers
531 views
Is it natural to call elderly men ojiisan?
Is ojiisan an idiomatic word choice for a chronologically gifted man, akin to obaasan for elderly women? For example, when giving your seat to them on the train.
5
votes
1answer
516 views
Passive vs. active form of verb (past) What is the difference?
I was wondering what the difference is if I use passive form or active form of a verb.
For example:
ネズミは猫に食べられた。The mouse was eaten by the cat.
猫は、ネズミを食べた。The cat ate the mouse.
What EXACTLY is ...
2
votes
1answer
242 views
Is it cool to use かっこいい in this way?
The other day I was playing sports, and I yelled at a guy for what I thought was a cheap play. However, later, after the game ended and I had chilled out, I realized that I had over reacted. It's ...
6
votes
2answers
311 views
What to reply when the ladies sweeping the steps outside a temple tell you 「ご苦労様」?
I was at a temple the other day, and as I was leaving and going down the stairs, the ladies that were cleaning the steps said to me 「ご苦労様」. I replied with 「ありがとうございます、おつかれさま」, but I felt sort of ...
4
votes
1answer
145 views
What's the difference between 世間{せけん} and 世界{せかい}?
Both 世間{せけん} and 世界{せかい} seem to mean "world" in the sense of "a sphere of human activity or interest", or "a particular way of life", and that sort of thing. (As opposed to 地球{ちきゅう}, the literal ...
3
votes
1answer
278 views
What's the difference between 理系{りけい} , 理科{りか}, and 科学{かがく}?
In my dictionary, 理系{りけい}, 理科{りか}, and 科学{かがく} are defined simply as "science".
What, if anything, differentiates them?
Especially in terms of the feeling or nuance when used in everyday ...
5
votes
2answers
141 views
Nuance of 離{はな}れ
In my JLPT textbook, it has a section on the use of the term 離{はな}れ, "detachment". Some examples:
テレビ離{ばな}れ (detachment from television)
もの離{ばな}れ (detachment from things)
政治離{ばな}れ ...
2
votes
3answers
177 views
Is there a non-katakana word for “cash flow”?
If you look up "cash flow" in most dictionaries, it seems the concept is expressed in katakana, キャッシュフロー.
However, I was speaking with a Japanese person earlier, and the term was not immediately ...
6
votes
1answer
457 views
How can I differentiate between “risk” and “danger” in Japanese?
I wanted to know how to say "risk" in Japanese, so I looked it up, and found that most dictionaries translate "risk" as 「[危険]{きけん}」. To me, [危険]{きけん} means "danger", which is different.
Though, to ...
3
votes
1answer
134 views
Asking superior to mark a document with 印鑑{いんかん}
What is the proper way to ask a superior to sign their hanko for approval? When I need a superior to sign their hanko for a routine log (not for reviewing a document or stuff, just routine logging off ...
6
votes
4answers
774 views
Is this a proper use of tara and toki for “when”?
Consider:
気がついたら皆さんは寝ていた。
気がついたとき皆さんは寝ていた。
My English interpretation: When I woke up (came to), everyone was sleeping.
Is "when" enough to capture the nuances of the Japanese sentences? ...
3
votes
3answers
505 views
When to use ご返事 and お返事?
Here is a discussion about whether to use ご返事 and お返事, but there seems to be diverging opinions:
ご返事:
ご返事 is 謙譲語 (according to No.1)
ご返事 is seldom used for 尊敬語 (according to No.5)
ご返事 is for 謙譲語 ...
7
votes
3answers
220 views
What is the difference between 一緒【いっしょ】に and 二人【ふたり】で?
I think in all situations where either 一緒に could be used, 二人で can also be used, and vice versa. I suppose 三人、四人、五人、etc. can also be used here if that's the number of people you are talking about.
But ...
3
votes
1answer
280 views
Why is 自分 used instead of 私?
For example:
自分の名前が呼ばれたとき、私は自分の耳を疑った。I couldn't believe my ears when I heard my name called.
Would it be appropriate if I said 私? When is it appropriate to use 自分? What is the difference?
7
votes
3answers
236 views
When should 男の人/女の人 be used instead of 男/女?
My teacher always corrects me when I use 男 or 女 by themselves, without adding の人 to the end of it. But in various Japanese media (music, drama, anime, etc.), I know for sure that I have heard them ...
3
votes
2answers
272 views
Is こんばんは too formal for everyday conversation?
When giving a talk on Japanese, How to talk like a ge1sha, I made a terrible mistake: I invited someone who knew something about the language along.
The only times he heckled me was when he reckoned ...
4
votes
2answers
99 views
What is the nuance of 解{げ}す？
Today in my JLPT text book, I came across the word 解{げ}す.
I know that the kanji 解 means "unravel", and it can be read 解{わか}る, and with that reading it's synonymous with 分{わ}かる, "to understand".
When ...
12
votes
3answers
246 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 ...
4
votes
3answers
976 views
Expressing “don't work too hard”
I've read at other sites that "don't work too hard" isn't something that's generally said in Japanese. Is there any truth to this?
Are there any alternatives if that is the case? In which ...
6
votes
1answer
336 views
Usage of 目を覚ます and 目が覚める
What's the difference between 目を覚ます and 目が覚める? It seems both of them have the sense of literally waking up and also to wake up from some delusion.
How are they different in usage?
Perhaps because ...
3
votes
1answer
167 views
When is 顧客{こきゃく} used for “customer”?
In daily life, I usually hear the words お客様{きゃくさま}, お客{きゃく}さん, and maybe other variants that use 客{きゃく}/客{かく} to refer to customers at a shop.
However, in the dictionary, the first word that comes up ...
2
votes
1answer
199 views
What is the difference between these words for “audience”?
What is the difference in usage between these three words for "audience"?
観客{かんきゃく} (audience, spectators)
聴衆{ちょうしゅう} (audience, attendees)
観衆{かんしゅう} (audience, onlookers)
The ...
12
votes
4answers
751 views
What's the difference between せっかく and わざわざ?
せっかく and わざわざ seem to be pretty close in meaning/usage, but is there ever a time you would use one and not the other? Or is there a small nuance there?
Just to give some example sentences:
...
