Any question that does not deal specifically with grammar or pronunciation. Includes questions about prefixes, suffixes, compound words, loanwords, dialectal differences, pragmatic usage, etc. In other words, phenomena that occurs at the level of the word.
19
votes
4answers
968 views
Are there words so bad that they aren't allowed on television?
Warning: We're all adults here, but just in case, this question may contain words, in both Japanese and English, that some may not like to read.
A long time ago, when I was working with a translator, ...
6
votes
1answer
471 views
How is the “のです” working here?
目立つ事を恐れ、一緒でなければいけないという日本人が確実に減ってきているのです。
The strong feelings that Japanese have of being afraid of standing out and everybody having to do things together are starting to become less ...
11
votes
2answers
254 views
Nuances between the different kanji spellings of あける：明ける vs. 開ける vs. 空ける
開ける, 明ける and 空ける are all read as あける.
From their kanji, it is obvious that 開ける has to do more with opening (a door etc), 明ける with dawning and 空ける with emptying...
However, JMDict gives the exact ...
9
votes
1answer
415 views
How to use ～に同意する to agree or disagree with a person?
A couple of times I've tried to say "I agree with..." or "he agrees with..." but I don't know whether I'm using 同意{どうい}する correctly.
In what ways should に同意{どうい}している be used? Also, which particles ...
5
votes
1answer
250 views
Fun with synonyms - “to grab/catch/capture”
Here's a question for you experts. I've actually asked this to my Japanese friends, but I want to see how you guys answer too.
Explain the differences in the following verbs and which one(s) appear ...
4
votes
3answers
227 views
What makes に基づいて instead of に応じて the correct choice for this question?
I'm working on some example questions from my grammar textbook. One of them I listed below:
税金はこの表（ ）計算されています。
ア）につれて イ）に応じて ウ）に比べて エ）に基づいて
I'm unsure why 「に基づいて」is the only correct ...
9
votes
3answers
184 views
Is there any difference for compounds with/without okurigana?
What is the difference for word compounds that can exist with 送り仮名 and without and still retain the same pronunciation?
As an example:
巻き貝 と 巻貝
取り引き と 取引
If I'm correct, both of these are ...
3
votes
2answers
1k views
How can I improve my Japanese vocabulary, grammar, and listening skills? [closed]
I consider myself at a lower intermediate level. I want to improve my Japanese vocabulary and grammar in order to expand my reading and speaking skills. I know enough Japanese to get around and have a ...
13
votes
3answers
614 views
Historical differences between colors that are i-adjectives and those that are simply nouns
EDIT: Started a bounty with hope of getting more definitive and elaborate answers, e.g. timeline of when color names started being used in Japan.
In Japanese language, there are colors that are ...
10
votes
4answers
353 views
What determines whether a word gets a kanji compound or katakana?
I read electronics/computing articles, and I find an incredible amount of terms are written either in kanji (almost similar to Chinese) or katakana. There are times when it's confusing as to know why. ...
9
votes
3answers
955 views
Is “あらら” (arara) a word or just a “vocal noise”?
A friend just wrote this as a comment on a photo of mine on Facebook.
Is it an actual word or is it what I call a "vocal noise"?
By "vocal noise" I mean those things which convey some meaning but ...
7
votes
2answers
375 views
Non-distinguished animal pairs in Japanese
This is something I first noticed when I was at an aquarium in Japan (as evidenced in my examples) and continued to see ever since. There are certain pairs of animals, that while extremely similar, ...
6
votes
4answers
336 views
does anyone know of any o-words or go-words which are absolutely neutral?
Does anyone know of any o-words or go-words which are absolutely neutral (have no nuances of being polite / courteous / respectful / womanly / cute etc etc)?
The only ones I'm aware of currently is ...
5
votes
1answer
242 views
Understanding “よりを戻す” and “止めておこう”
I don't think us getting together tonight is such a good idea.
やっぱり今夜、よりを戻すのは止めておこう。
I would like to understand this sentence better, specifically the (idiomatic?) expression, "よりを戻す." I ...
4
votes
1answer
187 views
から ending a sentence
I've seen this in a few texts now and since it's appeared with some frequency I thought to post the question here. I tried searching online but came up with no real conclusions.
ありませんから or plain form ...
25
votes
3answers
765 views
How indistinguishable is blue from green really?
青 ao seems to be used very much interchangeably for both blue and green. Why is that so, and how does 緑 midori play into this?
18
votes
2answers
402 views
Can the suffix -人 be used to express heritage?
In English, if I want to talk about my Irish heritage, I would say "I'm Irish". I have an American passport, and I've never set foot in Ireland, but I still consider myself Irish. Both sides of my ...
17
votes
3answers
335 views
Use of 自分【じぶん】as a personal pronoun in direct speech
Yay, yet another first-person-pronoun question!
I know that 自分 is commonly used as a personal pronoun in indirect speech, e.g.:
マイクは、自分はなんと不注意なのだろうと言った。→ Mike said that he was very careless.
...
10
votes
2answers
228 views
what is the difference in the usage of [成]{な}るべく and できるだけ?
Hi guys what is the difference in the usage of 成るべく and できるだけ?
Don't they both mean as [x] as possible?
E.g.:
1) できるだけ多くの本を読みなさい vs なるべく多くの本を読みなさい
2) できるだけ早くお願いします vs なるべく早くお願いします
7
votes
3answers
458 views
Can I help you?
In English, the word "help" can be used for any of these cases to ask somebody for help or to give a help to someone:
In a store, when a clerk (store worker) says:
Can I help you, sir?
With ...
7
votes
2answers
161 views
Origin/etymology of こころ～ words
There are three unique words that begin with こころ～:
快い （こころよい）、 試みる （こころみる）、 志 （こころざし）
What is the origin of these words in relation to "heart/spirit/mind", if any??? Or is this just something ...
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
1answer
152 views
Difference between 創立、設立、樹立
Can anyone explain the difference between these words? They all basically mean "to set up / to found", and from what I've researched, it's all very 微妙 to me.
6
votes
2answers
195 views
Questions about ありたい
心がいつも美しくありたいです
I want my heart to always be beautiful.
心がいつも美しくして欲しいです (Incorrect)
心がいつも美しくなりたいです
I want my heart to always be beautiful.(?)
My Japanese friend wrote the ...
5
votes
2answers
183 views
What's the difference between 触る and 触れる?
These two seem to overlap almost completely. The only thing I can really tell is that 触れる seems that it can also be used in a metaphorical sense ("touch on" something; feel; perceive). I'm ...
15
votes
7answers
665 views
the different usages of つもり?
Hi all I understand that つもり means "intention" like say 夏休みにはゆっくり休むつもりです。 = I intend to rest during the summer vacation.
But what does 分かっているつもりだ。 means?
Well if I translate directly, it seems to be ...
12
votes
2answers
323 views
Different conventions for animal meat
After reading this awesome question, I got to thinking about different animal meat. Upon researching a little, there seems to be different conventions in referring to different meats.
Using 訓読み
...
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 ...
10
votes
4answers
450 views
What's the difference between いいえ and English's “no”?
In "Japanese for Busy People I" page 2 (kana or romaji edition) it says that いいえ is 'virtually the same as "no"'.
It sounds like there are some differences, but they want to omit mentioning them for ...
10
votes
4answers
415 views
Am I coming or going? 戻ってくる vs 戻っていく
A little while ago I was in a shop, and about 5 minutes after I left, they phoned me to tell me I had left my USB stick there. I said I would head back and pick it up.
I used 戻って行く to mean "I'll go ...
8
votes
2answers
196 views
「悪気があっての答え」 vs 「悪気がある答え」
Hi all I was wondering what is the difference between these two sentences:
「決して悪気があっての回答ではないです。」
「決して悪気がある回答ではないです。」
I can't really make out the gist of the meaning of 「あっての」.
WWWJDIC's ...
7
votes
3answers
229 views
Does うるさい have a “negative” connotation?
Is it true that when someone uses the word うるさい, it means that there is a feeling of "discontent" ?
Like for example, we will take this sentence: "It will be noisy in the factory"
"It will be ...
5
votes
2answers
254 views
Is the grammar of 心の冷たい人 idiomatic?
The phrase 心の冷たい人 (which is given by Japanese-English dictionary on OS X) looks wrong to me, but given that it's an example in a respected dictionary and confirmed by tens of thousands of Google hits, ...
4
votes
2answers
152 views
Expressing neighborhood in Japanese
Something I have often stumbled on is the expression of "neighborhood" in Japanese.
For most uses I find that 近所 works well.
However, this usually seems to refer to a closer proximity than one would ...
4
votes
1answer
129 views
“Dive” = “fly into”?
The words 飛ぶ and 跳ぶ are both read as とぶ, the former meaning "to fly" and the latter meaning "to jump" (generally; don't know if they are interchangeable at all).
The compound-verb suffix 〜込【こ】む means ...
4
votes
1answer
360 views
Difference between 自分 and 自分自身 and how to reflect their difference in English
Consider:
自分について書きたいことがあります。 = There are times that I want to write about myself (lit: things concerning me)
自分自身について書きたいことがあります。
What is their difference?
I think the second sentence ...
2
votes
2answers
188 views
What's the difference between the に祈る【にいのる】 and を祈る【をいのる】 forms?
What's the difference between the に祈る and を祈る forms?
Like what's the difference between 1) and 2):
1) うまく行くのに祈ってくださいね。
2) うまく行くのを祈ってくださいね。
==
EDIT:
What's the difference between the ように祈る and ...
12
votes
2answers
305 views
What does とな mean (and how do I use it)?
I came across this on Twitter, it seems to be mostly a question but sometimes an exclamation. Is it とは, or maybe とか? How do you use it? My dictionary has a とな as word that come at the end of a ...
11
votes
2answers
190 views
Rare/Obsolete verb forms
I have noticed that some verbs have this "rare" or old form that is no longer used much (if at all). Here are some examples.
おそる： おそるべき者 → One who is feared
ほむ： ほむべきお方【かた】 → Seen often in my ...
11
votes
2answers
431 views
Is there a difference between 赤{あか} and 赤色{あかいろ}?
While studying Japanese I've met some problems with distinguishing some vocabulary.
For example we have:
赤{あか} = Red (color)
赤{あか}い = Red (adjective)
But what about 赤色{あかいろ}? Is there ...
9
votes
1answer
352 views
Which is the “official” kanji for さい, 歳 or 才 ?
Well if I'm not wrong, usually when a word has multiple kanji's one of them is selected as the "main" or more commonly used one.
But is it true that both 才 and 歳 are both the "main" kanji for さい?
9
votes
1answer
167 views
what's the difference between 返事 and 答え？
both have the similar English of "answer," but when do you use one over the other?
8
votes
1answer
556 views
How to define 羨ましい?
羨【うらや】ましい!
You're so lucky!/ I envy you!/ I'm jealous of you!
As I learned it, 羨ましい as an exclamation does not carry much of a negative context, so perhaps a combination of these three ...
8
votes
3answers
845 views
How do you ask for “the bill” at a restaurant?
This is probably a bit of a silly question, but what do you say in Japanese when you're asking for the bill in a restaurant? Or is it unusual to say anything at all?
When I was in Japan I could never ...
8
votes
2answers
234 views
When is 酒【さけ】used to mean 日本酒【にほんしゅ】?
The fermented rice alcohol called "sake" in English is usually referred to as 日本酒【にほんしゅ】 in Japanese, while 酒【さけ】 merely means "alcohol" in general.
Yet, all dictionaries list both "alcohol" and ...
7
votes
2answers
284 views
What words are used for dolphin meat?
What words are used for dolphin meat?
Searching jisho.org using "dolphin" in the English field listed several different words for dolphin, but no compounds involving meat.
Neither the English nor ...
7
votes
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 ...
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. ...
7
votes
1answer
204 views
Words with metathesis
What common Japanese words underwent metathesis (transposition of sounds)?
Examples.
新{あたら}しい < あらたしい
秋葉原 {あきはばら} < あきばはら
7
votes
3answers
709 views
Does “おつまみ” (otsumami) mean “snack” or “rice crackers” or “crunchy snack” like chips and peanuts, or something else entirely?
This is a word I learned by reading and not by studying or in conversation with Japanese.
After learning the kana years ago I had occasion to fly with JAL and the pre-meal snack was a little packet ...
