3
votes
1answer
131 views
~ろ・~ろも・思うて・~たった in 越後 dialect (新潟弁?)
At the start of this book the family are stated to be from 亀田町{かめだまち}, an area which is now part of 新潟市{にいがたし}, but it's also set historically (1919 at the start of the book). I'm presuming the ...
3
votes
1answer
107 views
What's the difference between どうして and どうやって?
I've read on stackexchange that どうやって can be used to mean "what did you do in order to x"
どうやってお医者になったか? - What did you do in order to become a doctor?
This definition makes alot of sense to ...
5
votes
1answer
129 views
Is む sometimes pronounced more like ん?
I'm curious what the relationship is between む and ん. I have the feeling that sometimes, む is pronounced more like ん:
むむむ: is this really /mumumu/? Or does it become /mmm/?
うむむ: is this really ...
6
votes
0answers
103 views
Precedence of symbols used to delimit lists in Japanese
A while back, I asked a question about ます, and as part of my research effort, I looked the word up in 学研全訳古語辞典. Unfortunately, I misread the list of conjugations!
The entry in question uses a ...
8
votes
1answer
284 views
What is the significance of number of Kanji in a name?
There are several one-character surnames:
[林]{はやし}
[森]{もり}
[堤]{つつみ}
Most surnames have two-characters:
[鈴木]{すずき}
[山田]{やまだ}
[藤井]{ふじい}
[酒井]{さかい}
[松村]{まつむら}
A few surnames have ...
5
votes
1answer
157 views
Is there a standard for where to put spaces in kana-only Japanese?
I've noticed that when Japanese is written mostly or entirely in kana,
it's often written with spaces. For example, a lot of old video games had spaces. I've also seen this in children's books:
...
5
votes
1answer
179 views
How to say: (one) month through (another) month
I'm working on my Japanese homework, and we're practicing describing weather. We're given charts on temperature to say things like:
カイロは九月が一番あついです。Or, "In Cairo, September is the hottest month."
...
12
votes
3answers
8k views
でも (demo) versus けど (kedo) to mean “but”
I learned that you can use でも (demo) at the beginning of a sentence to mean "but," and that you can use けど (kedo) at the end of a sentence to mean "though." However, I don't see a difference between ...
14
votes
3answers
1k views
Is Japanese really an agglutinative language?
In the linguistics topic of language typology, Japanese is often included in lists of agglutinative (or agglutinating) languages, but when learning or reading about Japanese grammar exclusively this ...
3
votes
1answer
153 views
How can I make sense of あるような無いような?
I'm still playing Game Boy Wars Advance 2, and it contains this dialogue:
聞いたことあるような無いような・・・
どこの軍でしたっけ？
The first sentence has me confused. My intuition tells me the meaning of the sentence ...
2
votes
1answer
112 views
What does “僕が来る前からこーだったんですが?” mean?
Well, the title says it.
The sentence is from a manga, where a boy lives together with her very lazy aunt, so the boy has to take care of laundry, cleaning dishes, cooking etc. while she's drinking ...
4
votes
1answer
112 views
Are 行きゃあ and 行きゃ both contractions of 行けば?
I started playing another old game, Game Boy Wars Advance 2, and I ran across this bit of dialogue:
ま、どのみち、マクロランドに行きゃあ、
いやでも戦わなきゃなんねえんだ。
I think this is something like:
ま、どのみち、マクロランドに行けば、
...
3
votes
1answer
116 views
Meaning and translation 働かせっぱなし
Help me please with translation 働かせっぱなし in the following sentence
それって、朝からずっと働かせっぱなしの人間に対して、掛ける言葉じゃ、ないと思うんだけど
The main problem is that I cannot understand how to correctly translate 働かせっぱなしの人間, ...
2
votes
1answer
170 views
What does 手になる mean?
As the title says. I found it on weblio dictionary and it says ある人がその事に当たる。, but that doesn't help me a lot, as I can't find example sentences (and the one I have on the book I'm reading isn't too ...
5
votes
1answer
197 views
What is the relation between the two verbs 思われる and 思う?
If 思われる is "its own verb," meaning "to seem; to appear," and is independent of the separate verb 思う, meaning "to think," is there a conceptual relation between the two? I ask because I initially ...
5
votes
1answer
133 views
Are all words stripped of bikago when listed in dictionaries?
When checking dictionaries (jisho.org and Wiktionary) for お名前, I found that it wasn't listed as お名前, but only as 名前. Do most dictionaries strip bikago from all words, or do they typically strip bikago ...
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 ...
2
votes
1answer
202 views
Interpretation of a sentence by Mishima
In Yukio Mishima's "The Temple of the Golden Pavilion," (三島由紀夫によって書かれた「金閣寺」) one of the characters, Kashiwagi, writes a sentence over a poster:
未知の人生とは我慢がならぬ。
Here is the passage:
...
2
votes
1answer
123 views
Alternate meaning of 見えない when used as an expression?
I've always learned that 見えない means "unseen" or "invisible".
However, lately I've been seeing quite a few Japanese people in online games that, upon failing to complete some (usually very difficult) ...
2
votes
2answers
122 views
Is there a Japanese saying like その頑張りは、すべてむだというかそういう気持ちになる , related to the working conditions of doctors in a hospital?
On NHK NewsWatch 9 yesterday, they were talking about the shortage of emergency room doctors, and the resulting situations lately where hospitals were forced to turn away emergency patients. In many ...
1
vote
1answer
120 views
Is this sentence using はず complete?
I have this sentence in my flashcards, which I pulled from a JLPT textbook of mine a while back. Long enough ago that I've lost the source. It looks strange to me now, though, and I wonder if maybe I ...
2
votes
1answer
113 views
How do you break down “かといって”?
In the phrase かといって or かと言って, meaning having said that, on the other hand, I'm not sure what the か and と are.
My first guess is that these are the generic particles (か+と+いって), but I couldn't find any ...
1
vote
1answer
206 views
Meaning and translation お納めになられる
Tell me please, what is the meaning of お納めになられる in the following sentence.
Is it just passive ?
Thanks for help!
1
vote
1answer
52 views
help checking a sentence
[...]その天の命により、陛下がこのたび皇帝として即位し、天下を平和にし、文明を一層促進するための治世を開かれました。
My rough interpretation:
"by virtue of the Mandate of Heaven, Your Majesty now sits on the throne as an emperor, keeps all the world in ...
7
votes
3answers
623 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, ...
4
votes
1answer
90 views
How do you read 遅ランチ?
I read 遅ランチ and while I think the meaning is pretty clear ("late lunch" unless I'm mistaken), I wasn't sure how to read it. I wanted to say おそ, but the lack of okurigana suggests to me that isn't the ...
3
votes
1answer
192 views
What function did あり perform in classical Japanese 形容詞?
In classical Japanese, many uses of 形容詞{けいようし} had あり "embedded" in them, e.g.:
熱からず = 「熱し」の連用形＋「あり」の未然形{みぜんけい}＋「ず」
熱かりたり = 「熱し」の連用形＋「あり」の連用形{れんようけい}＋「たり」
熱かれ = 「熱し」の連用形＋「あり」の命令形{めいれいけい}
熱かる人 = ...
12
votes
4answers
473 views
Counter for chopsticks
Just curious about this one. I'm never sure what to say when I ask for chopsticks in Japanese. I know that "by-the-book", you can count them with ～そろい （揃い) or ～ぜん （膳）. So I always say 「お箸を ...
3
votes
1answer
74 views
Help with a relative clause + を中心に
Here's the sentence:
あるいはまた、東南アジアを中心に世界各地で活躍するいわゆる華僑勢力の多くが福建省出身者である事実を見ても、福建人たちの「海外雄飛」のパワーを知ることができる。
My rough translation is something like:
"Moreover, looking also at the fact that a large ...
3
votes
2answers
101 views
Nominalization with のが、のを
I've just learned to nominalize verbs with のを but as I was looking for more info on the web I saw that this is also done with のが and こと. The question "What is the difference between the nominalizers ...
6
votes
1answer
145 views
Translating volitive expressions in ads into English
I saw this on an advertisement outside the construction site of a company that makes wooden houses:
木{き}の家{いえ}と、暮{く}らそう。
I'm trying to think of a way to translate it other than:
Live with a wooden ...
3
votes
1answer
146 views
What was the base for Japanese numbers?
I'm curious what the numerical base the Japanese used before their introduction to the wider western world.
I've been taught in my Japanese language classes that they move the comma to a different ...
7
votes
1answer
140 views
What does 外国人のように imply in this sentence?
My friend is reading a book, and it contains the following sentence:
すると、高畑は外国人のように両手を上げる仕草をした。
Why does this say 外国人のように? Are foreigners known for a particular gesture in which we raise both ...
2
votes
1answer
153 views
What is the meaning of 大奥婚?
This headline in today's zakzak news, related to actress Miho Kanno getting married.
堺雅人＆菅野美穂、“大奥婚”！ 電撃ゴールイン
What is the meaning of 大奥婚? I know 大奥 and 婚 by themselves, but not together. I ...
6
votes
2answers
203 views
How do I say “requirements” in an IT context?
So I work at a Japanese company as a developer
and I have seen the word "requirements" written as both 要件 and 要求
What is the difference between these 2 words?
Which one would I use in these examples?
...
0
votes
0answers
65 views
increasing vocabulary [closed]
I have just started studying japanese and am currently on chapter 8 of the genki book.I wanted to know how I can increase my vocabulary? I tried reading some mangas like yotsubato but find myself ...
0
votes
2answers
135 views
How long would it take on average to learn japanese [closed]
i know a small bit of Japanese from back in high school but stopped when it was never made clear that Japanese went for 2 semesters instead of 1 and by the time they told me about it (even though i ...
9
votes
3answers
271 views
What's the difference between 三角 and 三角形?
I just had this terrifying conversation:
What is "triangle" in Japanese?
me: 三角 right?
Then what's 三角形?
me: Uhh... triangle?
I've confirmed both of these translate to "triangle". ...
2
votes
1answer
129 views
Why is なんて the correct answer for this question?
Here's a question from N3文法スピードマスター。
英語も中国語もスペイン語もできる*なんて*、素晴らしいですねえ。
This question is multiple-choice, so the other incorrect choices were: なんと、など、なんか just for your information.
Here's my ...
4
votes
1answer
96 views
What's the difference between ことがある or ことはある?
In Tae Kim's guide, he wrote a few example sentences:
徹夜して、宿題することはある。
一人で行くことはありません。
パリに行ったことはありますか。
お寿司を食べたことがある。
そういうのを見たことがなかった。
In these examples, I don't really understand why some sentences ...
3
votes
1answer
75 views
なにかと思ったら meaning
なにかと思ったら, I have come across this sentence a couple of times when talking to Japanese people, but I seem to struggle with the actual meaning.
I translate it as "if I am thinking of something" but the ...
8
votes
1answer
286 views
Why is 楽しみに！wrong?
I was corrected on Lang-8 website that I should write 楽しみ！or 楽しみにしています！instead of 楽しみに！. And I don't understand why.
Help please. 教えてくださいませんか。
3
votes
1answer
158 views
Verbs which are more frequently used to built the honorific passive forms
I'd like to ask you a question about this honorific form. I will give an example as detailed as possible to make this question clear.
The verb yomu is often used in passive form to show respect:
...
4
votes
1answer
281 views
Can someone further explain the difference between 一緒に and 共に?
This is a follow up to the question “What are the fundamental differences between the ～と一緒に and the ～とともに fragments?” Someone suggested that I post my question as a separate thread.
Well, something ...
9
votes
1answer
106 views
「はは」(母) and ハ行転呼
It occurred to me the other day that if ハ行転呼 had affected all applicable environments without exception, 母 /haha/ (or I guess properly it was /ɸaɸa/, right?)should have become /hawa/.
The Japanese ...
4
votes
2answers
158 views
Meaning of でもない in this context?
While listening to the song "Yasashisa no Riyuu", I noticed the following sentence:
今は誰の名前でもない 輝きの彼方へ
Which by the fansub is translated like this:
Now it doesn't matter whose name it may ...
3
votes
1answer
94 views
What's the difference between 程 and 程度?
What the difference between 程 and 程度?
I haven't been able to find any using my dictionary.
4
votes
2answers
68 views
なので relationship does not seem to match in そうじが楽なので、部屋にはなるべく物を置かないようにしている
This is from N3文法スペードマスター。
This is one of the questions taken from the book:
そうじが楽（ ）、部屋にはなるべく物を置かないようにしている。
The blank in the bracket is to be filled with one from this set of choices:
...
1
vote
2answers
164 views
What's the difference between 〜に対しての and 〜に対する?
The question understanding 対する details [noun]に対する[noun], but what is the difference between [noun]に対しての[noun] and [noun]に対する[noun]?
Space ALC has a fair number of examples for both に対する and に対しての ...
2
votes
1answer
149 views
Past tense of なし in Classical Japanese?
Is it なしかりたらず as a usual し adjective? Or is it something weirder? I need this for a skit.
