41
votes
4answers
2k views
What's the difference between wa (は) and ga (が)?
When is it correct to use は but not が, and when is it correct to use が but not は? Are there any times when you can use either without changing the meaning of the sentence? In other cases, how does ...
34
votes
5answers
3k views
Differences among -たら、なら、-んだったら、-えば, etc.
Japanese language has a lot of patterns for "if" clauses. What are the differences among the following patterns and how do we choose to use one over the others?:
行ったら
行くなら
行けば
行くんだったら
行くのなら
行くとしたら
...
18
votes
3answers
773 views
When is Vている the continuation of action and when is it the continuation of state?
Last night, when I asked my wife to send an email to me, she said もう送っている which I took to mean that she was "sending the message". (The message had a big attachment so I imagined that it could take a ...
25
votes
1answer
1k views
What is the difference between the nominalizers こと and の?
As Derek mentioned in his postscript, both こと and の are nominalizers that can turn a verb into a noun.
ピアノを弾【ひ】く。 I play the piano.
ピアノを弾{ひ}くのが好{す}きです。 I like playing the piano.
...
30
votes
3answers
967 views
What are the rules regarding “mute vowels” (“u” after “s” and “i” after “sh”)?
When you first begin to learn Japanese you are taught that Japanese has no stress and each syllable should be pronounced equally.
You also learn that certain vowels are not pronounced, or only ...
23
votes
7answers
1k views
Difference between negative forms {-ず} and {-ぬ}
{-ず} and {-ぬ} are two alternatives to the negative form {-ない} / {-ません}. But I noticed that depending on the word, it's either {-ず} or {-ぬ}, although it seems like some words can take both suffixes. ...
13
votes
3answers
440 views
When is it okay to use あります with a living subject?
When learning Japanese everyone's taught いる is for a living thing and ある is for non-living things. However, I recently saw the following sentence ...
あと、サッカー選手でもあります。
... which ends in ある / あります ...
9
votes
2answers
234 views
What are some well known exceptions for 居る (いる) and 有る (ある)?
Today I heard 人形がいる, so I googled around because I thought 居る was only for living things, but I found many examples of this usage. Many for 人形がある as well.
Are there other exceptions for いる／ある？
25
votes
5answers
951 views
What is the difference between 〜となる and 〜になる?
Is it a nuance difference? Is it formality?
EDIT
For example:
請求書のお支払いは現金のみとなりますので、ご了承くださいませ。
請求書のお支払いは現金のみになりますので、ご了承くださいませ。
I just made that example up, but for some reason, my gut ...
17
votes
2answers
584 views
The difference between が and を with the potential form of a verb.
When using the potential form of a verb, I was taught that the particle を becomes が. However, in real life this seems to not always be the case. I've even heard Japanese people use を instead of が ...
10
votes
4answers
639 views
Does Vて+いる always mean an action already completed?
For the longest time, I thought that a verb ending in て+いる meant that one was currently doing an action, similar to how we use ~ing in English to mean a contuinuing state. So 食{た}べている means "eating".
...
30
votes
7answers
929 views
When going somewhere, is there any difference between e (へ) and ni (に)?
Can you use へ and に interchangeably, as in 北海道へ行く and 北海道に行く? Are there any subtle differences in the use of these two?
13
votes
6answers
990 views
Can somebody explain the various words and combinations thereof used for thanking?
To my knowledge there are three words which can be used in thanking and they seem to be usable together in some combinations:
どうも (domo)
どうもありがとう (domo arigato)
ありがとう (arigato)
ありがとうございます (arigato ...
20
votes
6answers
511 views
Why are some lyrics' words written in kanji whose usual reading is not how it is sung?
Some song lyrics in the official lyric book that accompanies the CD is sung as another word. Usually, the way it is sung is given as a furigana on the kanji:
Written: 君が希望に変わってゆく
...
14
votes
2answers
340 views
Exceptional compounding forms
There are a number of Japanese words which have distinct compounding forms:
-a/-e alternation: 天・雨、酒、上、風、目 — many examples.
-u/-i alternation: 神（[神]{かむ}[集]{つど}ふ）、月（[月]{つく}[読]{よみ}）
-o/-i alternation: ...
14
votes
4answers
2k views
Why “dame” is written as katakana (ダメ) in manga?
"Dame" which means "not good" or "don't do that" is sometimes written in manga as katakana.
Is it because katakana is used to express a strong feeling ?
13
votes
2answers
374 views
“太ってる猫” vs “太った猫”
Greetings people I saw this sentence in a textbook: 彼女は太った猫が好きじゃない。, which was translated to "She doesn't like fat cats".
I was under the impression that 太ってる猫 means something like "cat that is in ...
26
votes
4answers
2k views
Is じゃないです equally correct as じゃありません?
Text books normally teach that the negative of です is じゃありません.
However it seems very common to hear native Japanese use じゃないです.
Is this slang or somehow less correct than じゃありません?
Would it be marked ...
23
votes
2answers
1k views
Why does Japanese have two kinds of adjectives? (-i adjectives and -na adjectives)
Japanese has two kinds of adjectives known by several terms but the ones I know are i-adjectives and na-adjectives - why?
I recall that Japanese adjectives are much more like verbs than in English ...
17
votes
3answers
1k views
The many ways to say “and” in Japanese
In English, we just have one word for the conjunction and which works just fine for many categories, but in Japanese, there are separate words:
と joins nouns together in a closed list
や joins nouns ...
14
votes
1answer
683 views
～うございます - keigo い-adjectives
I'm not sure if this is actual keigo, or just a polite form of adjectives. Anyway, there are several that we're all familiar with that are still used today.
はやい → おはようございます
ありがたい → ...
20
votes
3answers
998 views
Difference between -ていく and -てくる
Can someone explain the differences between v-ていく and v-てくる for me. I know that they both express some kind of ongoing action (like a place getting crowded). For example, what's the difference between ...
37
votes
8answers
1k views
What is the こと in sentences such as あなたのことが好きだ?
There were a lot of great answers here. I gave the checkmark to ento's answer because I felt it most completely explained all aspects of this use of こと. But many of the other answers are excellent, so ...
25
votes
4answers
670 views
How did “little tsu” become a lengthener?
How did it come about historically that っ preceding a sound would geminate it? Is it really a little つ or are they just near homomorphs?
23
votes
6answers
985 views
How important is one's pitch when speaking Japanese?
I'm aware of some words in Japanese that have the same reading but different meaning depending on the pitch of each syllable. The canonical example is はし (hashi), which can mean either chopsticks ...
14
votes
2answers
547 views
What connotation does なんだ add?
Specifically, in the expression 好きなんだ (I love you) why not just say 好きだ or 好きです?
21
votes
4answers
2k views
How to choose between “よん” (yon) vs “し” (shi) for “四” (4) and “しち” (shichi) vs “なな” (nana) for “七” (7)?
Two numbers in Japanese have two pronunciation alternatives.
四 / 4 can be pronounced either "よん" (yon) or "し" (shi)
七 / 7 can be pronounced either "しち" (shichi) or "なな" (nana)
I know that "し" ...
14
votes
4answers
451 views
とっても versus とても
I've had a teacher flatly tell me that とっても is incorrect, but I do see it written here and there and I'm pretty sure I hear it as well. Is it just so informal relative to とても that I should never use ...
13
votes
3answers
570 views
Rules for slang of Japanese numbers
I often here Japanese use a different method for saying a number like "248" as によんぱ for highways and license plates.
While this one is easy to understand, there are others that I don't quite ...
11
votes
3answers
560 views
Can {X-eba X hodo Y} clause pattern be shortened to {X hodo Y}?
There is a clause pattern {X-eba X hodo Y}, for example, {chikakereba chikai hodo benri} which means something like "the nearer it is the more convenient it will be". Can I shorten the clause to ...
10
votes
3answers
733 views
When women use わ at the end of a sentence, is it different from よ?
My understanding of using わ at the end of a sentence is that it's essentially just for emphasis, just like using よ, and that only women can use it.
However, as far as I know, women can, and often do, ...
19
votes
4answers
984 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, ...
15
votes
1answer
405 views
Why is a place that sells さけ a さかや?
Is it known why a さかや normally has a か, rather than a け like in さけ?
Are there many other -や constructions for stores that change the spelling of the word added to?
15
votes
2answers
506 views
What is the difference between ~げ and ~そう
How do these two differ, for example:
寂しそう vs 寂しげ
楽しそう vs 楽しげ
言いたそう vs 言いたげ
大人げ vs 大人っぽい（...？ Not sure if this one works.)
11
votes
1answer
521 views
So-called の-adjectives - how does の *really* work?
Ok, so there seems to be some controversy over whether we can really say that there are 'の-adjectives', or whether we simply use a noun in an "attributive" way (a term which I don't actually really ...
11
votes
2answers
961 views
How to use へ (-e), に (-ni), まで (made) and の方 (no-hō) with destination and direction?
It is common to ask the difference between just "へ" (-e) and "に" (-ni) but it seems to get even more complicated when you also mix in "まで" (made) and even "の方" (no-hō).
When Japanese people ask me ...
10
votes
2answers
680 views
If Vて+いる isn't a gerund, then what is it?
I always thought that a verb ending in the て form along with the いる suffix was the English equivelent of the "ing" form of a verb.
Thus:
see = 見{み}る, seeing = 見{み}ている
do = する, doing = している
...
10
votes
3answers
984 views
Usage of ～じゃん (～じゃない)
I'd like to know if I can put ～じゃん at the end of every adjective, if there are any exceptions to that usage, and if it's different from ～じゃない.
Adj (na) + じゃん
便利じゃん
便利だったじゃん
便利じゃないじゃん
...
6
votes
2answers
320 views
Zero-nominalisation - Why and When?
Building on from Zhen Lin's answer to "The grammar of ~かれ~かれ",
Brief explanation of Zero-nominalisation:
Nominalisation refers to the process of turning a word, or more generally a phrase, into a ...
9
votes
4answers
721 views
When Chinese personal names are written in Japanese in kanji is there always an obvious reading?
In their comment to an answer on the question "Are foreign personal names usually written in katakana rather than Romaji?", user sawa says:
... Chinese names should be written in kanji rather than ...
8
votes
1answer
213 views
が and に interchangeability and difference in meaning
Consider these sentences:
だれ{が・に}これが出来るか
だれ{が・に}日本語が分からないか
When both が and に are acceptable, what is their difference in meaning and practical usage?
20
votes
4answers
1k views
What is the difference between “に” and “には”?
The title should be pretty self-explanatory. What meanings does each convey? And in what kinds of circumstances would one be used instead of the other?
For example, what are the differences between ...
26
votes
5answers
681 views
How should I choose between [知]{し}る and わかる?
Both 知る and わかる get used for "know", "understand", "learn", "find out", and various other concepts. How do you know which to use when? Are there any rules to help you decide?
Additionally, both of ...
35
votes
1answer
865 views
Why were ゐ and ゑ eliminated?
Sometime in the early 20th century, usage of the now-historical kana ゐ and ゑ (and their katakana equivalents) dropped off, being replaced with い and え in modern Japanese. What exactly happened here ...
11
votes
6answers
764 views
Japanese dictionary for mathematics/computer science jargon
I study mathematics and computer science, and I'm starting to learn japanese. Could you suggest me dictionaries/sites/etc where I could learn terminology on these subjects?
13
votes
1answer
656 views
What are the guidelines of omitting particles?
I've recently discovered that certain particles could be omitted from a Japanese sentence (to help make it shorter), and still preserve the original meaning. Unfortunately, most resources about this ...
12
votes
3answers
849 views
Usage of なんて and なんか as emphasis.
When are なんて and なんか used as emphasis in casual speech? Are they used when you're surprised, angry or can it be both? What sort of feeling does it convey to the listener compared to a normal sentence ...
9
votes
1answer
226 views
On the replacing of kanji obsoleted in the 1946 reforms with similar-looking kanji.
This is my understanding but please correct me if some of my details are wrong:
In 1946 the Japanese language underwent a reform and standardization process
A subset of kanji (about 1850) were made ...
27
votes
9answers
1k views
When is the katakana form of wo (ヲ) used?
I'm pretty new to Japanese, and I've been trying to learn hiragana and katakana. I know that in hiragana, wo (を) is used only for as an object particle, and it is always pronounced like o (お).
This ...
17
votes
4answers
1k views
What differences should I look out for between male vs female speech?
I was told a story where a male westerner learnt Japanese from his girlfriend and ended up speaking more like a female. The storyteller thought this was hilarious.
What important differences should I ...
