3
votes
1answer
115 views
Using two or more quotes
How would one combine two or more quotes together?
In English we just do something like "He said 'Quote A', 'Quote B' and 'Quote C'".
In chat, snailboat gave these possibilities:
「Quote A」「Quote ...
8
votes
1answer
319 views
Why censor this one kanji?
I was watching an old Saturday Night Live sketch from the 1970s, called Night of the Moonies, making fun of the Unification Church by putting them in the context of the movie Night of the Living Dead.
...
-1
votes
0answers
76 views
Appropriate way to say thank you [duplicate]
What are the different ways to say thank you and when do you use each use? with friends in business etc.
5
votes
2answers
102 views
what's the difference between 領域 、範囲 and 分野?
Could anyone explain to me the difference between these 3 words, especially between 範囲 and 領域 ？
For example, I have these 練習問題:
a.分野 b.領域 c.範囲
① 試験の……… は、17課までです。
② 外の大学との交流が進んで研究の……… が広がった。
③ ...
3
votes
1answer
83 views
Using 着 Classifier
One of the kanji we recently learned in class was 着. We learned it could be used for to wear 着る, to arrive 着く, and as either a "classifier for arrival" or a "counter for jacket".
In our homework, we ...
2
votes
2answers
176 views
Question about 相手
I'm confused in describing 相手 here, I cannot understand is it "Partner who can show their true self" or "Partner to whom can show your true self"(sorry for a bad translation)? Oh, and here ぶつけられる is ...
2
votes
1answer
159 views
How can I understand など followed by a noun phrase?
The following two sentences are from 日本語文法ハンドブック, page 116:
移動を表す表現にはいくつかありますが、「行く」と「来る」は補助動詞としての用法を持つ点で文法的に重要です。補助動詞としての「〜ていく」と「〜てくる」（この場合は普通ひらがなで書きます）には、話し手など文中の特定の人物の視点を基準にした空間的な移動の方向性を示す用法と、特定
...
3
votes
1answer
90 views
Difference between った and ってた
Can someone explain me the difference between the following forms?
思った
思ってた
思っていた
Thanks a lot
2
votes
1answer
128 views
Does all kana in the う line rhyme?
I've heard many people pronounce す, つ, く, and る as if く and る rhyme, す and つ rhyme, but not any other pair. It seems as if す is sometimes pronounced [sɨ] and く is pronounced [ku]. This doesn't seem to ...
3
votes
1answer
112 views
Origin of ~なければ ならない
The expression ~なければ ならない if I learned correctly means "must not not do ..." as in:
日本語を勉強しなければなりません。
You must not not learn Japanese. (i.e. you need to learn Japanese)
However, taken on face value ...
2
votes
2answers
341 views
+50
How to playfully scold someone?
I haven't heard from a good friend for a while, I would like to reproach him playfully, but have no clue what the appropriate thing to say would be.
Would 恥を知れ! be appropriate if said in a funny ...
-1
votes
0answers
88 views
Writing mixed text in Microsoft Word [migrated]
In Word, while writing japanese using a japanese font sometimes I have to write also some romaji, and when I do it automatically switches to a different font for that text only.
How can I tell the ...
3
votes
1answer
191 views
2
votes
1answer
148 views
Question about を
In the following sentences is it correct to put を(second one) here ? Maybe it should be に ? And if its correct, how can we translate this part ? 「それをクラスメイト*を*見られて以降」
中学の夏休みだったーー。 ...
4
votes
1answer
201 views
Relative clause in japanese
How do you form relative clauses that involves first person action? For example : "There aren't people I can talk to". Basically my doubt is about all those questions that require a particle like ...
1
vote
2answers
153 views
What's the pronunciation of 1点差?
Intuitively, I would guess it's 「いってんさ」, but I could image 「いちてんさ」just as well.
For bonus points: is there any reference or dictionary that explains the pronunciation of numbers with counters ...
4
votes
2answers
195 views
Should I use On reading or Kun reading for numbers?
I've just started to learn Japanese, and I've been looking at the Joyo Kanji. Most of the words have On reading and Kun reading. I was wondering, which one is most popular and when should I use one ...
3
votes
1answer
155 views
pronounciation of じょ and よ
Spanish is my mother tongue and I almost can't differentiate じょ and よ sounds.
Maybe the same thing happens to english native speakers. How do you solve that problem in english... are there a common ...
3
votes
1answer
142 views
Explain づき in the given sentence
First of all, hi everyone.
In the beginning of an anime episode I often see a message to turn on the lights in the room and not to sit too close to the screen. Leaving some stuff out it looks like ...
2
votes
1answer
116 views
What does the 「っち」 in ＠「見守りっち」 translate into?
What does Verb in 「ます」form +「っち」 mean?
What does the 「っち」 in ＠「見守りっち」 translate into?
0
votes
1answer
155 views
Why are 今日は and 今晩は used for greetings?
If they are translated literally it gives "today is" and "tonight is".
Is it some sentence that got shortened ?
(Also not sure how to classify this question so forgive me if I used the wrong ...
2
votes
1answer
158 views
What does 正宗で大根を切る。 言い出しっぺ。 mean?
I'm not sure if this off-topic for this site but I would like to know what "正宗で大根を切る。 言い出しっぺ。" means. I tried translating it through google but I don't think it translated it properly. I found this ...
6
votes
2answers
319 views
What does “ごうと音がして” mean?
I am currently practicing Japanese by reading a novel but I have reached a sentence that I could not understand.
ごうと音がして
Can you please translate the vocabulary and verb used along with any unique ...
3
votes
3answers
188 views
Usage of kanji for words usually written in kana
From a small discussion on chat, I currently can think of three categories where the word is usually written in:
Hiragana but have kanji (成る, 有る, [炬燵]{こたつ}, etc)
Katakana but have kanji ([頁]{ページ}, ...
3
votes
3answers
189 views
Problem understanding some parts in a sentence －てくの and －んだろうって
The sentence is this one:
私は立場的に何を着てくのが正しいんだろうって思って。。。
I think I got the rough meaning of the sentence: I (私) am wondering (思って) what's (何を) is the right thing (が正し) to wear (着) for her ...
3
votes
1answer
118 views
Kanji pairs that mean and are pronounced the same by themselves
I have found several pairs of kanji that are pronounced the same and mean the same when they are used individually:
目 and 眼
足 and 脚
木 and 樹
This especially bugs me because, in Chinese (my native ...
2
votes
1answer
160 views
Usage of simplified chinese in place of some kanji in handwriting
Of course I'm talking about casual writing as opposed to formal or polite writing.
There are many 新字体 that were kind of "half" simplified in to the equivalent simplified Chinese forms such as 関 and 広 ...
3
votes
2answers
202 views
What is なく・ない and why is it used?
This question showed the following:
言わない (negative)
言わなく・ない (negative+negative)
言わなく・なかった (negative+negative+past)
I've never seen this conjugation before. Why would you have a negative + ...
7
votes
0answers
201 views
Why do we say 頼もしい instead of 頼ましい?
In a previous question, I posted a list of adjectives produced from verbs using the しい suffix. In each example, it seems that しい attaches directly to the 未然形:
勇む → 勇ま ＋ しい isam-a-sii
悩む → ...
5
votes
3answers
432 views
How many Kanji characters are there?
I have been searching around, but all the sources give completely different answers ranging from 2,000 to 50,000. So my question is how many Kanji characters that have ever existed since the dawn of ...
1
vote
2answers
169 views
adjective before adjective
As far as I know an adjective can be before noun(for ex. 美しい花) or before other adjective, but with て(for ex. 寂しくて眠れない夜). But in the following sentence「指定席みたいなコジンマリとした少年 」- this part is a bit of odd. ...
1
vote
1answer
183 views
What does “一味一禪” mean?
I have found a small Shodo fragment stating "一味一禪" - which is not the classical "Zen and Tea are of one taste" (禅茶一味).
What is this supposed to mean? Is it correct Japanese (I suppose it is, coming ...
7
votes
2answers
254 views
Which particle is better に or から?
〇〇さんにプレゼントをもらいました。 〇〇さんからプレゼントをもらいました。
I feel it is more natural to use particle に, but I'm not a native speaker. Can someone please help me out on this? Both these options are listed in the current ...
1
vote
1answer
142 views
What is particle と means here
I'm a bit of confused with と in the following sentence, what does it mean here and how can we translate the whole sentence?
その名に恥じず放置すればするだけ存分と進行してくれればそれは非常に楽だけど。
Thank you very much for help!
1
vote
2answers
119 views
What is the difference between 怖い and 恐い
As a follow-up to Would 私は怖い mean "I'm scared" or "I'm scary"?
We know that 怖い can mean both "to be scared" and "to be scary to somebody".
What about the difference ...
7
votes
1answer
219 views
Would 私は怖い mean “I'm scared” or “I'm scary”?
Or does it mean both? If so, is there any way to explicitly distinguish between "I'm scared" and "I'm scary"?
If it only means one and not the other, how would you say the other?
4
votes
1answer
184 views
How is の方 used in this sentence?
This is a conversation between two people:
A: [金]{かね}は？
B: いつもの[通]{とお}りだ。それより[公安]{こうあん}の[方]{ほう}は？
A: 心配するな。 私がついている。
A: The money?
B: Planned as always. Aside from that, public safety の方は？
A: ...
4
votes
1answer
174 views
What is the difference between 出す and 始める when used as a suffix?
Judging from examples I've seen, these are some differences I think there are:
始める:
1: More formal than 出す
2: When the focus in more on the beginning of the verb than the verb itself
3: When the ...
3
votes
1answer
280 views
Is 暖かった standard Japanese?
I know Google hits aren't necessarily reliable, but I nonetheless searched for the following two forms:
暖かかった - 約 2,770,000 件
暖かった - 約 2,810,000 件
The numbers are much further apart if I search ...
2
votes
3answers
264 views
Difference between 学生・生徒・児童
As the title says^^ I think 生徒 is for elementary school, what about the other two？
5
votes
1answer
317 views
Making sense of もん
How do I make sense of the 終助詞 もん as in
おいしいもん
そうなんだもん
Although I have only heard it in 時代劇 speak, I guess it comes from もの, which I think should be も + の.
But what も can follow the 終止形 and ...
4
votes
1answer
122 views
Why does どれだけ seem to mean the opposite of どれ + だけ?
The other day I read the word どれだけ which means how long; how much; to what extent. I've read several example sentences, and I that's all well and good, but I cannot shake the feeling that it's really ...
4
votes
3answers
371 views
What the difference between these two uses of toki?
国へ帰るとき、かばんを買いました。
国へ帰ったとき、かばんを買いました。
According to the book I'm reading, they both translate to: I bought a bag when I went back to my country.
Now the nuance, if I understand correctly, is that 1. ...
0
votes
1answer
122 views
Why “you don't have to want to hold”? [closed]
ベルボーイがいますから、にもつをもたくなくてもいいです。
The sentence above has --for me-- some confusing verb tensing. In particular, もたくなくてもいい. This much I think I understand: Because there is a bellboy, I don't need to want ...
5
votes
1answer
139 views
What is その doing in そのあの子?
The following speech is from a video game called ファイアーエムブレム 新・暗黒竜と光の剣:
父上に万一の事があれば
マルスは
アリティア王家唯一の男子。
世界でただ1人の
神剣ファルシオン
継承者となるのです。
あの子は
アリティアの希望
アリティアの未来。
...
3
votes
1answer
87 views
What distinguishes 丁重語 from other honourific forms?
On my bookshelf I have a book on formal speech, 敬語{けいご}, and it delineates respectful speech, 尊敬語{そんけいご}, from humble speech, 標準語{ひょうじゅんご}. And it combines both of these with polite speech, 丁寧語{てねいご}, ...
3
votes
0answers
156 views
Are many する verbs becoming 五段 verbs?
I noticed recently that 愛する has a negative form 愛さない. This surprised me because, as far as I'm aware, さない is not a negative form of する. In fact, it looks like 五段活用 to me, so I decided to look up 愛す ...
4
votes
3answers
448 views
How to separate words in a Japanese sentence?
Unlike some languages (English, French ...) , written Japanese sentences don't have spaces between words.
I know that it is the same in Chinese for example, but the fact that the Chinese language ...
3
votes
1answer
147 views
With whom to use different honorific forms? 丁寧語より尊敬語・謙譲語・丁重語
With whom is it considered proper to use 尊敬語・謙譲語・丁重語 instead of 丁寧語?
I mean saying おいでになります・伺います・参ります instead of 行きます.
The often given example is for a service-person speaking with a customer, but ...
3
votes
1answer
112 views
Japanese word for Operation, in the sense of a project or task - slang
What would be the Japanese equivalent of the word operation, in the sense of a project or task?
Some examples would be:
Operation Infiltrate-the-Castle
Operation Human Shield (from South Park)
...
