The differences between two or more words or phrases and how to select the best one for a given situation.
7
votes
2answers
187 views
What is the difference in usage between a plural using (a) the kanji repetition character 々, (b) a plural using -たち, and (c) the singular?
I know that there are some noun that are made plural by the kanji repetition character, such as 人々 and 国々. My question is, how does this differ from using the non-plural form of the noun? And how does ...
7
votes
1answer
300 views
Why is this 理由 【りゆう】 given the furigana わけ?
It might be hard to read because of the image resolution, but on the cover of this book, on the bottom left side, it says:
へんな日本語にも理由がある。
Which means something like:
"Even strange Japanese ...
7
votes
4answers
196 views
{はず, わけ, しょう} がない difference
What is the difference between 「はず」 {hazu} and 「わけ」 {wake}?
a slight expansion of the existing thread but what is the difference or use cases for when to use Hazu ga nai, wake ga nai, shiyou ga nai?
...
7
votes
1answer
211 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 ...
7
votes
1answer
270 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?
7
votes
1answer
153 views
The difference between 皮膚【ひふ】 and 皮【かわ】
What's the difference? I got told that 皮膚【ひふ】 only works for mammals (and humans), and 皮【かわ】 for other animals too.
7
votes
2answers
141 views
What's the difference between じき and すぐ?
すぐ, and especially 今すぐ, is my habitual way to express "soon", or "right after this".
I know that じき means more or less the same thing, and when I hear it or see it written, I get the general meaning ...
7
votes
2answers
567 views
何歳 , いくつ ,年齢 , ご年
何歳ですか？
いくつですか？
年齢は？
お年は？
I think all are question sentences of "How old are you?" which are they differ?what are most poilte form??
7
votes
3answers
173 views
What is the difference between 防止 and 予防?
My dictionary defines both 防止 and 予防 as "prevention", with 予防 having the additional definitions of "precaution" and "protection against".
I sort of understand the latter definitions for 予防 as acting ...
7
votes
2answers
253 views
Earnest and serious: when should each be used?
I've noticed there's a lot of overlap between the following words meaning "earnest" or "serious" when talking about a person:
まじ
真面目{まじめ}
真剣{しんけん}
本気{ほんき}
正気{しょうき}: (This word really means "sane" I ...
7
votes
1answer
281 views
Usage of 忘れる, 忘れた, 忘れている, 忘れていた
Consider this sentence:
それは三十年前のことだから、もう[fill in the blank]。
The answer given by the workbook is 忘れた.
Choices are:
忘れる (forget)
忘れた (forgot)
忘れている (continued state of forgetting)
忘れていた (had ...
7
votes
1answer
199 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
204 views
Difference between うーん and ううん
What is the difference between うーん and ううん?
In a comment on Pronunciation of ううん, paullb said that he usually sees the negative interjection ううん written as うーん. This confused me, because I thought ...
7
votes
2answers
195 views
Does くりかえし mean a single iteration or multiple ones?
For example, in this sentence:
彼は、失敗をものともせず、 何度もくりかえし 挑戦し続けた。
くりかえし is modified by 何度も, implicitly stating that the action was repeated multiple times.
My question is that if the sentence was ...
7
votes
2answers
293 views
Which word to use for “butterfly”?
I am aware of these words that mean "butterfly":
[蝶]{ちょう}
蝶々 (Is the alternate form of チョウチョ more common than 蝶々? Because 蝶々 would be チョウチョウ instead and it seems ウ is removed because of shortening)
...
7
votes
1answer
160 views
Can 一杯 be used to express the fullness of things without physical volumes?
According to an answer to this question, the word [一杯]{いっぱい} can be used to expess fullness; especially in relation to the capacity of whatever is containing the quantity. This, however, tends to ...
7
votes
1answer
340 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.)
...
7
votes
1answer
215 views
When to use 種別 and when to use 区分 when programming
I am having trouble when naming a variable, deciding if I should use ABC種別 or ABC区分. I have been reading a lot of software specifications and the Japanese description usually uses 種別 and 区分 to specify ...
7
votes
1answer
180 views
How different is 冷やかす from 冷やす? And 散らかす from 散らす?
I've long known 冷やす as the transitive counterpart of 冷える. But thanks to one question here, I've realized that there is another version with an extra syllable in it: 冷やかす. Although 冷やかす seems to have ...
7
votes
2answers
183 views
けど vs. が for “but” conjuction
This question covers the difference between でも and けど for "but", the difference being that でも can be used at the beginning of a sentence. But けど and が are used in very much the same way, ...
7
votes
2answers
385 views
What is the difference between 彼氏が出来る and 彼氏を作る?
I often hear both of the following phrases:
彼氏が出来る
彼氏を作る
Both of them seem to mean the same thing(?). Why is it that 作る is used in this way? I had previously thought 作る meant to "create" or ...
7
votes
1answer
259 views
What are the differences between 帰る and 戻る?
Can you give an example of when 帰る should be used instead of 戻る, and vice versa?
The reason I ask is that I sometimes get corrected when using the two, such as in:
× そのとき私は日本から戻ってきて、大学に戻って入りました。 ...
7
votes
1answer
129 views
Employed by one institution but work for another
I've worked my current job for a few years, and I can't believe I've never thought of this question. I have a unique employment situation. I am employed by a university, but the work I do is for the ...
7
votes
2answers
536 views
おしまい {oshimai} vs おわり {owari}
Are there any differences between using おしまい {oshimai} and おわり {owari} to mean "the end" (both with neutral and negative connotations)? Are they always interchangeable?
E.g:
テスト失敗したらおわりだぜ。
...
7
votes
1answer
219 views
Why is 口が軽い the opposite of 口が堅い?
Why is 口が軽い the opposite of 口が堅い ? It seems interesting to me why 軽い／堅い would be chosen for this phrase.
As far as I know, most of the time phrases that are coupled with 軽い usually have the ...
7
votes
1answer
173 views
Does it make sense to say [v]ませんでしたら instead of [v]なかったら?
I'm wondering whether it makes sense to say [v]ませんでしたら instead of [v]なかったら.
When I googled for that conjugation there were very few results, but since there were results, I wonder if people actually ...
7
votes
1answer
118 views
Usage and nuance of あまりに vs あまりにも
WWWJDIC lists both あまりに and あまりにも to mean "too much; excessively; too" but are they exactly the same in term of usage and nuance?
あまりに 《余りに》 (adv) (uk) too much; excessively; too
Ex: ...
6
votes
8answers
461 views
The many ways to write {かっこいい}
Apparently there are so many ways to write {かっこいい}.
Hiragana/katakana only:
かっこいい
カッコいい
カッコイイ
EDICT:
格好いい
かっこ好い
Other possible variants:
格好良い
かっこ良い
カッコ良い
格好好い
恰好いい ...
6
votes
4answers
581 views
What went wrong when I asked for a 衡器{こうき}?
I was in Bikku Camera earlier today, and I wanted to buy a small kitchen scale for measuring small amounts of food.
I looked up the word "scale" in the dictionary, and it said 衡器{こうき}. So I found a ...
6
votes
2answers
227 views
酔う vs 酔っ払う: does it depend on how drunk you are?
酔{よ}う and 酔{よ}っ払{ぱら}う both seem to mean "to get drunk" but how are they different from each other? Does it depend on how drunk you are, and assuming 酔っ払う is worse than 酔う, exactly how drunk would you ...
6
votes
5answers
327 views
Shouldn't this phrase using 【だけのこと】 mean “just for that”?
In a grammar textbook I have, there is this phrase:
幸い日本で日本語を勉強して、かなり話せるようになりました。日本に行っただけのことはありました。
【さいわい にほんで にほんごを べんきょうして、 かなり はなせるように なりました。 にほんに いった だけのことは ありました。】
The translation ...
6
votes
3answers
285 views
How can I say “the leader(s) of the club” in Japanese
I would like to ask which one of the following two words could be used to express the word "leader" when I am talking about someone who is the head of a club or at least the member of its board; for ...
6
votes
2answers
310 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 ...
6
votes
2answers
244 views
What is the difference between がる and ぎみ?
In one of my study flashcards, I have this sentence:
疲{つか}れぎみだけど生{い}きてます。
Which should translate to something like, "[He] appears worn out but [he's] still kicking."
The main point is that in ...
6
votes
1answer
160 views
How to describe the inside of one's mind?
On one page in my book, I came across 3 different phrases for, what seems to me, subtly different ways of saying the same thing.
The first was: 頭の隅に
Then: 脳裏に
The information I was able to find ...
6
votes
2answers
204 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?
6
votes
4answers
763 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? ...
6
votes
3answers
330 views
Why are these words considered less politically correct?
Warning: I have no sense of how offensive any of these words might be. They are repeated only insofar as they help me learn what not to say. Apologies for any accidental offense, and please do not ...
6
votes
1answer
223 views
Usage of the suffixes 流, 風, 式, 的 and 様
If I was to put the suffixes 流{りゅう}, 風{ふう}, 的{てき}, 式{しき} and 様{よう} on the end of a noun etc, what would be the difference between them?
I could be wrong, but the following all seem to me to mean ...
6
votes
2answers
177 views
What is the difference between 蔵, 倉, and 庫?
The word 【くら】 can be written with any of the kanji 蔵, 倉, or 庫. However, WWWJDIC lists them all under one entry, defined as:
(n) warehouse; cellar; magazine; granary; godown; depository; treasury; ...
6
votes
1answer
120 views
What is the difference in usage between [問]{と}い[合]{あ}わせ and [依]{い}[頼]{らい}
Both 問い合わせ and 依頼 can mean to ask, but my co-workers are using both words in the application we are working on as if they are two different words.
I have a suspicion one is transitive and one is ...
6
votes
3answers
89 views
difference between 打ち合わせ and 会議 and ミーティング
What's the difference between 打ち合わせ and 会議 and ミーティング?
To me it seems that 会議 may be more formal, but I'm not entirely sure.
6
votes
1answer
206 views
When are 止める, 停める and 留める read as とめる, やめる or とどめる?
When are 止める, 停める and 留める read as とめる or とどめる (and in the case of 止める, やめる)?
I think 止めてください could be read as both やめてください and とめてください, which I think could maybe be translated as "cut it out" and ...
6
votes
2answers
160 views
What's the difference between 関{かん}する and 関{かか}わる?
This question is in my JLPT practise book:
親{おや}のしつけが子供{こども}の性格{せいかく}形成{けいせい}に＿＿＿＿ことは言{い}うまでもない。
A 通{つう}じる B 通{とお}す C 関{かん}する D 関{かか}わる
The book says the answer is D, but to me the ...
6
votes
3answers
156 views
Does the use of は or omitting は affect the listener's reply?
This is a question taken from a JLPT excercise workbook.
Person A: 新聞をよく読みますか。
Person B: そうですね。毎日は[Fill in this blank]。
I am given 4 choices, of which only 2 are conjugated correctly.
...
6
votes
3answers
180 views
Computer calculation: is there a better word than “オンザフライ” to say “on-the-fly”?
As a valuable feature of my software product, I want to say that results are calculated on-the-fly, meaning the user does not have to wait and receive results by email: results are displayed after two ...
6
votes
2answers
218 views
How do you say “Please tell your wife to get well soon”?
How do you convey that you wish someone's wife (or husband, mother, brother, etc.) to get well soon? I understand that you say お大事に if the person you speaking to directly is the one who is not well. ...
6
votes
1answer
135 views
When is イングランド used and when is イギリス used?
It has always been my understanding that the word for England is イギリス. But the wikipedia page for English-American says イングランド系アメリカ人. Even rikaichan has イングランド as England. Is there a difference in ...
6
votes
1answer
114 views
When do you use 回答 and 応答?
I would like to know when do you use the word 回答{かいとう} versus the word 応答{おうとう}. Based on my understanding they 回答 is reply while 応答 is response. Although to reply would also mean to response, in ...
6
votes
1answer
345 views
When trying to convey 'apparently', when do you use, だそう, and when do you use そう?
I have seen both だそう and そう written at the end of a sentence to convey "apparently". Do you use だそう when trying to convey "according to" (によると)?
