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Top new questions this week:

Which form is the correct causative-passive 聞く?

There is an exercise in スピードマスターN4 to put verbs in the causative-passive form: つまらない話を(聞いて)、眠くなった。 The answer key says the correct form should be 聞かされて. While, for example, JLPT Sensei lists it as ...

conjugations passive-voice causation passive-form  
user avatar asked by homocomputeris Score of 4
user avatar answered by sundowner Score of 5

Is 片付きます a word?

In the first lesson of みんなの日本語初級II (lesson 26), the word 片【かた】づきます shows up as "be put in order, tidy up." I looked in a couple of dictionaries, and can only find 片【かた】付【づ】けます, which has the ...

meaning transitivity  
user avatar asked by JNat Score of 4
user avatar answered by jarmanso7 Score of 9

What is the で part in ではありません?

Ok, this might be more complicated or less complicated than I'm making it out to be but I'm assuming this question will be made up of two unrelated components but I can't figure it out so I'm shooting ...

grammar particles verbs negation nouns  
user avatar asked by Ethir Score of 3
user avatar answered by Eiríkr Útlendi Score of 3

What does なあって mean here?

I'm trying to figure out what is the significance of なあって in the following sentence: そのままからかいやすい西片でいてほしいなあって It feels like it is there for emphasis or something but I just don't get where it comes ...

colloquial-language sentence anime sentence-final-particles  
user avatar asked by Uri Greenberg Score of 2
user avatar answered by naruto Score of 2

What is the best way to say "online now" in Japanese?

I'm trying to figure out what is the best way to say "my friends are online now" or "I'm online right now". So far, I have considered: ネットでいます。 オンラインです。 For instance: 私は今ネットでいます。...

phrase-requests  
user avatar asked by Zoe Score of 2
user avatar answered by naruto Score of 5

What is "のほうだろう" here?

So the old woman explains that in place of her dead husband her kid has been helping. Then she says the kid won't settle into a home much but I assume この時節 in "these occasions" but how does ...

sentence reading-comprehension  
user avatar asked by Kawase_K Score of 2
user avatar answered by naruto Score of 2

Meaning of さもあろう

In Mushibugyou there is this sentence: 実物の蟲もさもあろうというリアルな夢だな The speaking character sees a giant mosquito (giant insects are common in the setting), thinks to be in a dream, and that he says that ...

grammar  
user avatar asked by Mauro Score of 2
user avatar answered by naruto Score of 2

Greatest hits from previous weeks:

What does “Itatakimas” actually mean?

What does “Itatakimas” actually mean? Do Japanese use it only before starting to eat or it means more than that? I was watching an anime and someone used that word when he was leaving the house, and ...

meaning usage  
user avatar asked by Negar Rezaei Nejad Score of 1
user avatar answered by Eiríkr Útlendi Score of 5

こちら (kochira) or これ (kore)?

What's the difference between 'Kore wa watashi no ... desu' (これ は わたし の 。。。 です) and 'Kochira wa watashi no.. desu' (こちら は わたし の。。 です) when introducing a person? Is kore used for inanimate ...

word-choice pronouns  
user avatar asked by Kitty Score of 6
user avatar answered by Mark Score of 2

When asking 'What is your name?' or 'What is your job?', why is it 'は' not 'か'?

As per the title, when asking 'What is your name?' or 'What is your job?', why is it 'は' not 'か'? For example, we are taught this: おしごとは。 'What is your job?' But I don't understand why it isn't ...

particles syntax particle-は ellipsis questions  
user avatar asked by Chris Score of 19
user avatar answered by deceze Score of 21

Do the Japanese actually use the word "Hentai" to mean "Anime Porn", like in English?

The English word "Hentai" likely came from 4chan. Thus, like a lot of Japanese loanwords that come from 4chan, I have to ask whether the Japanese actually use the word to mean "Anime porn" like in ...

word-choice  
user avatar asked by Tirous Score of 35
user avatar answered by naruto Score of 55

Difference between そうです、 ようです and らしいです.

Here are the example sentences. デイビットは料理が上手そうです。 デイビットは料理が上手なようです。 デイビットは料理が上手らしいです。 Firstly, what does デイビット mean as based on reading alone its sounds like 'debit' to me which is a strange name ...

grammar translation nuances  
user avatar asked by Mononoke Score of 29
user avatar answered by Semaphore Score of 29

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 ...

word-choice negation formality  
user avatar asked by Niall Murphy Score of 75
user avatar answered by Derek Schaab Score of 76

Question about supposedly a Japanese proverb

I came across to this sentence: The Japanese say you have three faces. The first face, you show to the world. The second face, you show to your close friends, and your family. The third face, ...

phrase-requests english-to-japanese  
user avatar asked by Jeremy Score of 8
user avatar answered by naruto Score of 5

Can you answer this question?

What does ; ; mean?

I exchanged messages recently with someone I met from Japan, and I noticed that he often uses ; ; during our conversation. I assumed it was some kind of emoji but I’m not sure what it is. I tried ...

meaning  
user avatar asked by Kaeden Yo Score of 1
user avatar answered by naruto Score of 0
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