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location 東京
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visits member for 1 year, 11 months
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Lived in Japan for longer than I'd like to admit, given that my Japanese isn't where it should be given the time here.

Almost certainly failed the JLPT (Japanese Language Proficiency Test) Level N1 in December of 2011. Doh! But I'm planning to keep on trucking and study right through until summer of 2012 in hopes of redemption.

Must... pass... test...

I'm strongest in reading, and weakest in speaking. I can never express my thoughts accurately enough or fast enough.

I also have a lot of bad habits when it comes to grammar, having gone for so long without proper study. Japanese is not a language learned by osmosis. I'm hoping to stamp those quirks out by asking questions here.


May
8
comment Why censor this one kanji?
@taylor, if you watch the video, you'll see they use the character consistently whenever referring to the church, so it's almost certainly not a typo.
May
7
comment Why censor this one kanji?
I'm fully aware of the reputation this church has, but I've never seen controversies lead to this kind of censorship. I've never seen オ◯ム真理教, for example. Nonetheless, your insight that this "censorship" implies that the author of the subtitles is conveying that the reader should find the name offensive, rings very true. That it's another layer of poking fun at the church is a very nuanced yet very accessible message now that I see it. Great answer.
May
4
comment Why censor this one kanji?
@ZhenLin: Sure, and I've seen similar instances in Japanese, like マ◯コ. But, I've never in English seen "C*tholic" or "Sc**ntologist".
Apr
13
comment Can't parse sentence with 「へったくれもない」
Thanks for defining the term a little clearer. Based on that, would another way of translating the sentence in the question be, "If you don't have (your own ideas), then to hell with your expressions." ...?
Apr
12
comment With whom to use different honorific forms? 丁寧語より尊敬語・謙譲語・丁重語
Related question about 丁重語
Apr
12
comment With whom to use different honorific forms? 丁寧語より尊敬語・謙譲語・丁重語
@Tim: That can't be a very good dictionary ;). It means "courteous language". However, I had to admit, I've never really encountered it in any way that's specific or separate from the others mentioned in the question. I have a book here on my shelf on how to use 敬語, and it only covers 尊敬語 and 謙譲語, with 丁寧語 being basically assumed. In all my years of Japanese, I have never encountered a situation where 丁重語 was expected.
Apr
9
comment “Your sniffling is driving me crazy!”
Update: A guy sitting behind me was sitting there sniffling his nose over and over and it was crazy loud and gross sounding. One of those guys who snorts with super deep bass. So, I just handed a bunch of tissues to a guy and as I did so, said すみませんが、鼻をかんでもらえませんか?, and he said, あっ、ごめんなさい.... He didn't actually blow his nose with the tissue (not that I've noticed), but he stopped snorting his nose. Flawless victory! The whole JLU site was worth it for this one moment, as far as I'm concerned!
Apr
5
comment Can't parse sentence with 「へったくれもない」
Thanks for clarifying what the common form of the phrase is. However, it's exact meaning is still unclear to me, so I'm still unable to parse the example sentence.
Apr
1
comment How to say: (one) month through (another) month
I think it would be more correct in English to say "June through to November", otherwise it's ambiguous as to whether you mean the start of November or the end of November / start of December. This isn't an English learning site, but I bring it up because the Japanese is similar. With から/まで, it clarifies your start and end points. It's arguable that here isn't really a translation for "June through November", because it is a vauge and incomplete sentence.
Mar
29
comment what does どことなくつかみどころがなくmean?
There is a typo in the example sentence. You've got 生体{せいたい} where it should be 正体{しょうてい}.
Mar
29
comment what does どことなくつかみどころがなくmean?
The same typo in the question has been reproduced here in the answer. In the book the sentence has 正体, not 生体.
Mar
29
comment Is this sentence using はず complete?
I believe you're right that it must have been ためらいもせず告白した.
Mar
29
comment what does どことなくつかみどころがなくmean?
When you see the right translation, it's like somehow vaguely you just feel it's right, like some kind of sixth sense. ;)
Mar
29
comment what does どことなくつかみどころがなくmean?
Wow...I came here to ask about どことなくつかみどころがなく from seeing it in the exact same sentence in the exact same book! Extra +1s for synchronicity if I could!
Mar
29
comment What's the difference between がんばれ and 頑張って 【がんばって】?
@oldergod: repecmps's answer is a fine one, and it is always helpful to have different approaches, but I don't see how it answers the question better than Greg's in any significant way. You are welcome to your opinion on which you prefer, but if you feel there is a more objective clarification not being made, then it would be most helpful to flesh out an answer of your own so that everyone can benefit from your particular insights.
Mar
29
comment What's the difference between がんばれ and 頑張って 【がんばって】?
@oldergod: I don't mean to be rude, but there isn't really any usable information in your comment. If you believe that to be the case, and if you feel the answer above is not adequate, then it would be better to provide your own answer with why they are not always interchangeable, and what their different nuance is.
Mar
27
comment What does 外国人のように imply in this sentence?
この著者は日本人のように本を書いた。
Mar
21
comment Why is this guy hesitant to call and ask her out on a date?
@istrasci: Yes, that the author is 骨がない is clear, but it's not really the source of the confusion. It's about more of a deeper context. I believed the author was saying "why am I nervous when I'm usually not", whereas (as I now understand it) he was actually saying "I'm even more nervous now than I used to be." Sorry if my title made it seem like the question was more simple, but I'm predisposed to question titles that are a little cuter than the full implication of the body of the question. ;)
Mar
21
comment Why is this guy hesitant to call and ask her out on a date?
@dainichi: Yes, thank you for checking, but it wasn't a まだ/また confusion that was throwing me off. As in the comments on the answer below, my confusion stemmed from not understanding the author's assertions of nervousness.
Mar
21
comment Why is this guy hesitant to call and ask her out on a date?
@dainichi, oldergod, thanks for the explanation. Yes, I had read the sentence 今日ほど断られることが怖いと思うことはない to be the opposite of what it really means (as you explain it), and that gave me an entirely different feel for the whole paragraph. These days I'm struggling a lot with the twists and turns of negative forms which negate different things than what I think they're negating. Now that I know the author is asserting his nervousness, it makes sense in the end that he is stating that time has passed, in the sense that time got away from him while he was stressing. Thanks for the help!