The differences between two or more words or phrases and how to select the best one for a given situation.
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1answer
181 views
Is 音沙汰 not used anymore because communication technology has changed?
My understanding of the word 音沙汰【おとさた】(news, letter) is that in terms of usage, it functions the same way that 連絡【れんらく】(contact, communication) does. It refers to modes of communication between ...
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4answers
158 views
What is the difference in usage between 準備 用意 and 覚悟
The dictionaries translate these three words roughly as preparation/preparedness or ready/readiness.
I don't think I undersand the subtleties of their usage.
Not to mention できる also has another ...
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1answer
242 views
What is this English doing in the middle of my Japanese?
Note: I understand this question is on the edge of being off topic. I'll accept the community assessement if enough people feel that is the case.
I'm reading 脳{のう}は0.1秒{びょう}で恋{こい}をする by ...
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1answer
151 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 ...
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1answer
286 views
How do you normally say calendar and date in Japanese?
If you were to say: I have to buy a new calendar next month. or Look at the calendar and see when X holiday is? or Have you seen the calendar?, would you use カレンダー or 暦{こよみ}? Is there a difference ...
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2answers
170 views
When are ふう and よう interchangeable?
Lately ふう has been on my mind. Often it seems interchangeable with よう:
これを｛こんなふう／このよう｝にしてください。 Please make it like this.
あれを｛どういうふう／どのよう｝に解釈しますか。 In what way do you interpret that?
...
8
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1answer
244 views
What kind of a thing is a “やつ”?
I've been seeing やつ used for "thing" reasonably frequently in Manga/online etc, for example:
ほとんどは本とか食玩とか細かいやつかな。
"It's virtually all stuff like books, those small toys sold with food and small ...
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2answers
161 views
Terms for 'viewpoint': 視点 vs 観点
I'm not understanding the subtleties of [視点]{してん} vs 観点{かんてん}.
I know that they both mean something like "point of view", and given the existence of two of them, one of them probably implies more ...
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1answer
425 views
What do you mean, “In Japanese there are no words for ”I’m suffering“”?
Today I noticed this article about eating disorders in Japan, which I got to via the News on Japan site.
The first line jumps out at me. Supposedly, in an interview, a 25 year old Japanese woman ...
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2answers
358 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.
...
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1answer
288 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 ...
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2answers
175 views
Which particle to use with 出会う {であう} : と, に or が?
From Google searches, I can see that all three particles と, に and が are used with 出会う, but are there differences when using each of the particles or are they interchangeable?
For ease of explanation, ...
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1answer
154 views
X is near or next to Y. Is my understanding of this correct?
So I know that a few words could be used interchangably. But I wasn't sure if I got the nuance(s) correct. So I have this sentence: 車はどこにありますか。 車庫のそばです。 And as far as I can see, I can change そば in ...
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2answers
203 views
What's the difference between どうしたらいい and どうしていい?
Particularly in the following phrases, what's the difference between どうしたらいい and どうしていい? The following both seem to mean something like "I don't know what to do":
どうしたらいいか分かりません
どうしていいか分かりません
...
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1answer
195 views
What's the difference between 電光石火【でんこうせっか】 and 疾風迅雷【しっぷうじんらい】
They both seem to mean "quick as lightning". What are the nuances between them? In what sort of context would they be used? Are they interchangeable? etc.
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2answers
274 views
“Should” in Japanese
The word "should" in English has these uses when not used as a question:
To express the expectation of the speaker (Probabilistic reasoning).
The train should arrive in 10 minutes.
To express a ...
8
votes
1answer
200 views
The first: 第一 vs 一番 vs 第一番
What are differences among 第一, 一番 and 第一番, all of which seem to mean "the first" in English? Are any of them more suitable for some specific scenarios than the others (e.g. 安全第一 but 世界で一番)?
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1answer
122 views
What is the difference between あっての and とあって?
From what I can tell they both mean "Because of", and the only differences in meaning I can see seem to be very subtle.
あっての:
Because of A (strong emphasis), B
Thanks to (various ...
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2answers
564 views
The difference between からすると、から見ると、から言うと?
Are there any differences between these three sets:
からして、からすると、からすれば
vs.
から見て、から見ると、から見れば
vs.
から言って、から言うと、から言えば
These 'sets' seem to be used in 2 basic ways:
Presents something as ...
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votes
3answers
189 views
What is the difference between 交ざる / 混ざる {まざる} and 交じる / 混じる {まじる}?
Both {まじる} and {まざる} with both initial kanji characters 交 and 混 are intransitive verbs that are translated into this by rikaichan:
to be mixed; to be blended with; to associate with; to mingle ...
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1answer
151 views
Is it actually impolite to say ご苦労様 to a superior?
Conventional ビジネスマナー tells us that ご苦労様 is used by superiors to subordinates and お疲れ様 used by everyone, and this is backed up all over the internet and stated on some questions here, like this.
But ...
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1answer
208 views
Expressing hope: to nozomu and koto wo negau
I have a question about these two verbs for 'hope':
と望む (to nozomu)
ことを願う (koto wo negau)
I also write down two examples, since I have a particular question about their use:
...
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1answer
317 views
How did the verb 掛ける come to have many meanings?
I think that this verb is the only one I've seen in Japanese that has so many definitions. とる and つく have multiple definitions as well (quite a bit IIRC). But not as much as 掛ける. In any case, I am ...
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2answers
136 views
Which is better for a sales budget: 予算, 推計, or something I haven't even thought of yet?
I'm writing a short (3-5 page) business plan in Japanese.
I'd like to include an "estimate" of the sales for the next 3 years.
The question: what would you choose for the graph titled:
2012 ...
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votes
2answers
279 views
ご～いただけます vs. ご～になれます
I know that you can use ご～いただく toward "clients" (which is something I've never really understood; maybe better as a question of its own) such as ご来店いただき、まことにありがとうございます ("Thank you (customer) for ...
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7answers
359 views
What is the real difference between the proper use of the words さむい and つめたい?
In English it seems that cold is just always cold just as warm and hot regardless of whether the word describes a persons experience or the actual physical state of an object. In Japanese however ...
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votes
3answers
350 views
What's the difference between ～てください and ～ていてください?
This question has come up on the side of at least a couple of other questions, but I don't think it's been definitively answered, so let's see if we can come up with something solid.
After going ...
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votes
2answers
187 views
たたく versus ぶつ in a JLPT question
In my JLPT practise book, there is a section demonstrating the difference between なぐる, たたく, 打{う}つ, and ぶつ. If I understand them, they are all variants of "hit", with subtle nuances to differentiate ...
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3answers
633 views
What's the difference between がんばれ and 頑張って 【がんばって】?
This one stumped my Japanese friend that I was having dinner with earlier tonight. We were talking about the fact that tomorrow is Monday and I had a tough work week ahead. She said ガンバレ, I paused, ...
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2answers
195 views
What is the difference between 「はじめてのX」 {hajimete no X} and 「はじめのX」 {hajime no X}?
There is a song with title {hajimete no asa} and another song with title {hajime no hi}. There is also a manga title {hajimete no aku}, and not to forget the popular boxing manga {hajime no ippo}.
So ...
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3answers
292 views
what does どことなくつかみどころがなくmean?
I came across this phrase in the sentence:
勘【かん】というものは、しょちゅう経験【けいけん】していながら、どことなくつかみどころがなく、いまの科学【かがく】ではまだその正体【しょうたい】が、明らか【あきらか】にされていない。(Soumatome N1 dokkai, p45)
My best effort to translate it ...
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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 ...
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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. ...
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2answers
258 views
What is the difference between 様子、状況、状態、and 事情
I'm unsure of the difference between these four words. They all seem to indicate some type of "condition" or "circumstances".
(1) Are they interchangeable?
(2) What are some example sentences which ...
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1answer
684 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 ...
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2answers
256 views
Why does someone intend to die in this JLPT question?
This is a question in my JLPT practise book:
手遅{ておく}れかもしれないが、死{し}んだ＿＿になってやれば、間{ま}に合{あ}うかもしれない。
A もの B わけ C つもり D はず
None of the answers made sense to me, so I didn't even choose one.
The ...
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2answers
241 views
What's the word to use for “confidential”, as in a company report?
I'm preparing a sales presentation; it contains some company data and I want to indicate that the entire presentation is confidential. In English, this would likely be accomplished by stamping the ...
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votes
1answer
119 views
Difference between various “calculation” words (演算, 算出, and 計算)
Is there a difference in usage between these words?
演算 (えんざん)
算出 (さんしゅつ)
計算 (けいさん)
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2answers
2k views
Using 「なるほど」 {naruhodo} and 「やっぱり」 {yappari} in the same situation
I know, since they are of different word classes, 「なるほど」 {naruhodo} and 「やっぱり」 {yappari} may not be used interchangeably within the same sentence but can they be used within the same situation ...
7
votes
1answer
126 views
What's the difference between ぜひ and きっと when inviting someone to do something?
You can say for example
ぜひパーティーにいらしてね
そのうちまた是非お出かけください
「今晩お伺いしてもいいですか」「ぜひどうぞ」
and
きっと来てくださいね
きっと訪ねて来てください
I would translate both ぜひ and きっと in these sentences with "by all means", but I'm ...
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2answers
231 views
Why is it (usually) wrong to say 人がある but OK to say ある人？
I fear I may be venturing again into "just because" territory, but this one bugs me.
We all know that you usually use いる (as in not ある) to refer to living things, as in 私は日本にいる（△ある）. Yet it is ...
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1answer
103 views
Usage of 腱 vs 筋
What is the difference between the following characters: 腱 vs 筋 （すじ）
Both translate to tendon (as in the connective tissue between muscles and bones)
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1answer
194 views
must/need [必要]{ひつよう}がある vs. なくてはいけない and [必要]{ひつよう}だ vs. [要]{い}る
This is a two part question, both pertaining to expressions involving "必要".
What is the difference between 必要がある and -なくてはいけない/ -なければならない? The
difference between the latter two expressions is ...
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votes
2answers
279 views
Why is 領土{りょうど} more suitable than 領域{りょういき} in this JLPT practise question?
In my JLPT practise book, there is this question:
その国王{こくおう}は戦{たたか}いに負{ま}け____の一部{いちぶ}を失{うしな}ってしまった。
Which I roughly translate as, "The kingdom lost a part of its __ in the battle."
The ...
7
votes
1answer
224 views
When to use 洗濯する and 洗う？
今日ふくを洗う。
今日ふくを洗濯する。
昨日食器を洗った。
昨日食器を洗濯した。
I know that 洗濯する means: washing or laundering (clothes). And 洗う just means washing. When I'm talking about washing in general can I use the two words ...
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votes
3answers
229 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 ...
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3answers
224 views
difference between ～の折に and ～の時に
While studying for JLPT N2 I came across this expression の折に. It appears to be almost identical to の時に. My reference suggests that it's basically the same, but simply less polite.
What I find ...
7
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2answers
267 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 ...
7
votes
2answers
525 views
When to use 「とにかく」 and when to use 「とりあえず」?
This is a variant of the top definition question @ Area51: http://area51.stackexchange.com/proposals/7526/japanese-language-usage/7529#7529
When to use 「とにかく」 and when to use 「とりあえず」? I have heard ...
7
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3answers
286 views
Difference between kara and n desu?
Is there a difference (or nuance) or is it just two ways of saying the same thing?
For example, どうして、とぶか？ （１） こわいんです。 （２） こわいですから。
Obviously, those are very simple examples. But are there times ...
