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.
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2answers
139 views
What does 「父なる砂漠」mean?
There is a line in the 「この涙 星になれ」, which is a song of ZARD (Sakai Izumi):
父なる砂漠 コイン投げて 明日を占おう
I don't understand the meaning of 「父なる砂漠」. It's quite strange to think of it as the desert that has ...
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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 ...
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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 ...
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votes
3answers
180 views
Why does 腰抜け mean coward?
Why does 腰抜け mean coward?
I see 腰 (waist) + 抜 (missing/losing) = 腰抜け (coward), but I fail to see how they add up.
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2answers
185 views
What is the difference between いろいろ and もろもろ
Both mean 'various, all sorts of', but is there some subtle difference or not?
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1answer
139 views
Regarding は数あれど (or possibly just あれど )
The following sentence is from a newspaper article
メレンゲ菓子は数あれど、これほど繊細なものは珍しい。
あれど ＝ あるけど makes sense to me in the context, and this seems to be supported by my searches so far - is it simply a ...
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votes
1answer
123 views
What is the difference between 口元 and 口?
When talking about the body part (not, for example, entrances/exits), what is the difference between these two words. Based on looking at these two pages (for 口 and 口元) I'm guessing that the ...
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1answer
305 views
How to say “Little did I/he/she/they know”?
I found a few examples at ALC, but still not sure about the best way to say it.
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3answers
173 views
Is タオル used for the towels used at onsen?
onsenjapan.net claims that タオル is used for "towel", presumably the large one. When I asked a staff member at Odeo onsen "これ は 何 ですか?" while indicating the large towel I was holding, the staff member ...
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votes
2answers
347 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 ...
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votes
1answer
241 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 ...
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votes
1answer
148 views
Usage of the word 心配
Sorry if this is really simple and I'm overlooking the obvious, but I'm not sure how the following sentence should be translated as I've noticed on previous occasions that the word 「心配{しんぱい}」 might be ...
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votes
2answers
247 views
How to translate “from scratch”
I am having discussions with my Japanese friend about developing a new computer application. I want to suggest to him to not write the code from scratch but to use other libraries as our base. How can ...
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votes
2answers
152 views
I've seen 達人and 名人used to indicate master or expert. What's the difference?
I'm not familiar with either word, but just looking at the characters, 達人 would seem to indicate 'accomplished' (ie an accomplished pianist). While 名人 seems more like 'renowned'. Is that a valid ...
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votes
1answer
200 views
which instruments use 弾く and which use 引く?
I was wondering how do we identify what instruments may be used with the verb 引く, or 弾く, or both?
If both 引く and 弾く can be used is there any difference in nuance between one vs the other?
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votes
2answers
201 views
Why are the words for prefecture so complicated?
The first level of Japan's political division is called "prefecture" in English. However, in Japanese, there are four words for it: 都, 道, 府, and 県, and depending the particular prefecture, a certain ...
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1answer
233 views
Are JLPT vocab taught in the same order as it is taught in japanese schools?
I'm wondering if it is true that words in JLPT5 are taught first in japanese schools, then JLPT4, then JLPT3, 2, 1.
Or is that in japanese schools they have another order altogether such that it may ...
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votes
1answer
273 views
寂しい can mean “pathetic”?
Is it true that 寂しい can be used to describe someone as "pathetic" ? (pathetic in the sense like someone is cheating in a game: pathetic. and like someone is robbing a grandma: pathetic. and like ...
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votes
1answer
154 views
What does ドン引き mean?
While i was talking with my japanese friends, that word just came up they could't explain that. Can you tell me what does ドン引き mean?
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votes
1answer
115 views
What's the difference between いつだって and いつでも?
Pretty simple, like the title says, what's the difference between いつだって and いつでも? I can tell there's a little difference, but it's so very difficult for me to pin down.
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1answer
151 views
パソコンが 得意だ/わかる/上手だ
So I was studying through this book called 日本語生中継 and there was this question where you're supposed to choose the inappropriate word among others. And I got stuck at this sentence:
...
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1answer
125 views
Is “V Vないにかかわらず” grammatical?
In my textbook, they list the example sentence:
来る来ないにかかわらず、連絡をください。
This「来る来ない」part looks strange to me. Is it incorrect? If so, then how should it be fixed? Would it need to be 「来る？来ないにかかわらず」?
...
5
votes
1answer
115 views
What may be the difference between the usage of 自尊心 ,誇りand 自慢?
I read a paragraph and the paragraph contains the word 自尊心.
I want to know meaning of 自尊心.
Dictionary says 自尊心 = pride.
Is it same with 誇り? or 自慢?
What may be the difference between the usage of ...
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votes
1answer
146 views
しゅうと／シュート - The great equalizer
I was watching the movie Mr. Baseball the other day. Several times during the movie they talk about しゅうと which they describe as "the great equalizer". (Could possibly be しゅうとう, but their dialog does ...
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votes
1answer
90 views
Help with an expression that uses お笑い vocabulary
突っ込みどころ満載
I just have to butt in here. / I'd love to put my two cents in.
I am having a hard time figuring out this expression. I see it uses vocabulary particular to お笑い, but I would ...
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votes
1answer
143 views
The difference between 書店 and 本屋
What is the difference between:
書店 and 本屋
Are there any specific places where you can use one over the other? Or is it simply like the English Bookstore/Bookshop, and are perfectly interchangeable?
...
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votes
1answer
181 views
What is the meaning of ちょうど一本 in this context?
If I've understood correctly, ちょうど followed by a counting word usually means something like "just x" or "exactly x" depending on the context, but I can't figure out what it means in this opening ...
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votes
1answer
271 views
Phoenix: 不死鳥【ふしちょう】, 鳳凰【ほうおう】, 鳳/鵬【おおとり】, フェニックス… How many lives does this bird have!?
All of the following words and kanji (and a few more obscure ones) seem to be used in Japanese, to describe a bird that is translated by "Phoenix" in English:
不死鳥【ふしちょう】
鳳凰【ほうおう】
鳳【おおとり】/鵬【おおとり】
...
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1answer
204 views
Meaning of -化 in context
I don't understand what the -化 suffix in the following sentence means for a word like カリスマ, or why fearing it can lead to early retirement. Can anyone shine some light?
...
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1answer
174 views
Can anyone provide a detailed definition of あんぐり and say if the expression あんぐりと口を開けて is redundant?
あんぐり is defined as such:
adverb / noun or verb acting prenominally:
open-mouthed
大学の門の前に真っ赤なフェラーリが停めてあるのを見て、アングリした。 I saw a bright red Ferrari parked at the campus gates and my jaw just ...
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1answer
96 views
The meaning of kakemawaru 駆け回る
I have been encountering this word kakemawaru 駆け回る a few times. It means running around, If I understand well.
Does it mean only physically running around?
For example: kids are running around in the ...
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1answer
156 views
の要領で as “in the same way as”/“in the manner of” vs. のように
Full text is over here.
This is part of the description of how 茄子餃子{なすぎょうざ} is prepared at a particular restaurant:
天ぷらの要領で水で溶いた小麦粉をつけて中火の油で揚げる。
If の要領で was replaced by のように, would there be any ...
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1answer
147 views
The logic behind “くすぐったい”
I am interested in the literal meaning of くすぐったい. If くすぐったい is equivalent to the English expression, "That tickles!" (said by someone being tickled), what is the literal meaning of this word? If it is ...
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1answer
147 views
Can ご無沙汰 be used in a sexual context?
I had asked my friend what uses of 「ご無沙汰」exist and the situations people use them in. Among others, she had remarked that it could mean something along the lines of "not having sexual intercourse for ...
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votes
1answer
107 views
What is the difference between 直観 and 直感?
I'm trying to understand if there is a difference between the two words 直感 and 直観. After looking both words up in a dictionary, there entries both list "intuition / intuitive". I also tried looking up ...
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votes
1answer
397 views
What are some good ways to say “how to spell” in Japanese?
I wanted to know the correct way to spell a compound word in Japanese, and was wondering if there is a verb that correlates to "to spell" in the Japanese language. I found 綴る, but was told this is ...
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1answer
187 views
Usage of まるで with 見ているようだった.
その翼はとても滑らかに動くため、まるでコンピュータ・グラフィックスを見ているようだった。
Its wings were moving so smoothly that it almost looked like CGI.
or would a more accurate translation be:
Its wings were moving so smoothly ...
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2answers
176 views
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2answers
164 views
Fun with synonyms - “freeze”
I'm a little confused on the difference between 凍る 【こおる】 and 凍える 【こごえる】.
From what I've researched, it seems like 凍る focuses more on the physical process of something freezing, and the result being ...
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1answer
116 views
The difference between 書物、図書 and 本
What are the differences between these three words. They all seem to translate to "books".
書物、図書 and 本
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1answer
153 views
inter- and intra- prefix
What would one use for the equivalent of the "inter-" and "intra-" prefixes in English?
e.g. intercity, intracity, inter-server etc
I did a fair amount of looking around. 間 looks like it might be ...
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2answers
282 views
Art: What is オブジェ and what is not?
Here is how Wiktionary defines オブジェ in the context of art:
表現の対象となるもの、前衛美術では，幻想的効果のために取り入れられる物体。
My very hesitant attempt at a translation:
It depends on the represented target, but in ...
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2answers
123 views
what is the difference in the nuances / usage of 気に病む and 心配する ?
I was wondering what is the difference in the nuances / usage of 気に病む and 心配する ?
(E.g. If I want to tell my friend not to worry about a test (albeit an important test), is it more appropriate to use ...
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votes
1answer
152 views
外回り, 内回り instead of 時計回り, 反時計回り
Why were the terms 外回り and 内回り chosen for the directions on Yamanote line (railway) rather than the more straigntforward 時計回り and 反時計回り? Is it expected that people should know which matches which?
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2answers
137 views
Is その always or only occasionally a demonstrative adjective?
The following Japanese sentence was translated with その as "the":
その 仕事の一部を誰かにやってもらったほうがいい。
You should get someone else to do some of the work for you.
while I translated it with その as "that":
...
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1answer
543 views
Heaven in Japanese
I have found that there are a number of words in Japanese that correspond to "heaven" in English. By heaven I mean the concept of a paradisiacal afterlife. The two most frequent in my limited and ...
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2answers
257 views
is “超” (chō) seldom used in written works?
Is it true that the prefix 超 to mean “very” is seldom used in written works (like novels.. but of course i do not count the words between the 「 and 」), and is usually only used when talking?
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3answers
218 views
What role does よかった play in this exchange?
It's from twitter.
hetusa: 福岡県筑後、羽犬塚から行方不明になっていた叔母(73才)が発見された、と知らせがありました。
itoi_shigesato: よかった。
hetusa: ありがとうございました
My feeling is that it says something like 'just so'.
Also, it common to respond ...
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3answers
226 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 ...
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5answers
427 views
「安い」って英語からきた表現？
皆さんこんにちは、
日本語で質問を聞かせていただきますので、ご協力ください。
回答やコメントなどは、日本語か英語、どちらの言語でも喜んで読みます。
では。
此間友達と喋っていて好みの話をしていた時一人が「ホラー映画やB級映画が大好き」と言うやいなや「あなた安いな〜」ともう一人が反応しました。
...
