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The following is an instruction for writing a small composition:

日本に来て、または外国に行って、次のようなことでカルチャーショックを受けたことがありますか。
1) それまで聞いたことがない音を聞いて、びっくりした。
2) 国でよく聞いていた音がほとんど聞かれないので、不思議に思った。

First, my attempt at translation:

"Have you experienced culture shock from the following things while coming to japan or going to a foreign country?
1) Hearing a sound you haven't heard so far, you were surprised.
2) Because

...you mostly don't get to hear sounds you often hear in your country...
...sounds which you often heard in your country mostly aren't (to be) heard...

...you think it's strange.
...you think strangely (like "feel" strange?).

So, obviously my problem lies with the two bold parts.

I think the passive construction could be an indirect passive? I asked about the indirect passive before but I still feel very insecure about it. I also don't know whether I translated it correctly, should it be an indirect passive (version 1 of my translation shall represent the case where I assumed that it is an indirect passive.).

Second, the 不思議に思った gives me a little headache because I'm not sure what effect 不思議に has in this case ^^ It could mean that "I think of something as strange" (which I think is very likely here) or it could mean that "I think strangely", which would be the most direct/closest relation between the adverb and the verb here, but I think it isn't very likely that this is the case here.

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  • 1
    When you look up "wonder" in some dictionaries, you'll get 不思議に思う.
    – user4092
    Commented Oct 20, 2017 at 2:39
  • 1
    The 聞かれない in your example is not indirect passive.
    – chocolate ♦
    Commented Oct 20, 2017 at 4:19

1 Answer 1

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You basically have the right ideas! Think of the passive this way:

日本以外の国ではノリがほとんど食べられない。

In countries other than Japan, Nori isn't eaten much.

It really is just a normal passive. Just like sentences such as "Sounds aren't being heard", "Snakes are rarely seen" and so on. You could put this sentence in active form as

... 聞いていた音を耳にしないので、...

But the passive form sounds a little nicer (at least to me).

不思議に思う

This is a set phrase meaning you think something is strange, perplexing, bewildering or unusual. So basically your first guess was correct!

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    Your version（耳にしない）sounds nicer to me. If it's 話 or うわさ (rumor), the passive one is also often used beside the active, but not really with 音.
    – user4092
    Commented Oct 20, 2017 at 2:36
  • @user4092 I feel like 耳にする is more commonly used with rumours or hearsay, which is why I might prefer the 聞かれない phrasing. But then again, you can use both and my grasp on the language isn't quite strong enough yet to judge which sounds more natural.
    – derpda
    Commented Oct 20, 2017 at 2:56
  • 耳にする or 聞く are more common in everyday expressions. In that sense, 聞かれない sounds more formal.
    – user4092
    Commented Oct 20, 2017 at 8:34
  • @user4092 I see. I'll let the answer and the comments stand as they are, I think they show a good learning process! Thank you =)
    – derpda
    Commented Oct 20, 2017 at 13:33
  • If the down-voter could please explain what exactly is wrong with my answer, that would be much appreciated!
    – derpda
    Commented Oct 25, 2017 at 2:52

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