All Questions
28,570
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What is this use of か in いつ嗅ぎまわったか知らねえか? For the last か
In the first dialog, the character points he knows the other character dislikes people who waste meat, so regardless of the circumstances, he will eat his food. This anger the other character that ...
- 281
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1
answer
20
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Understanding たは:
I'm sure this has been covered, but searching for something as vague as たは has it's complications given た's usage as a verb ending.
My question comes from the たは use in the following.
あなたがたは世の光です。
(...
- 15
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0
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34
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When is の at the end of the sentence used as a suggestion/request? [duplicate]
あああ 羨ましい。
こいつ クリスマスは恋人とショーに見に行くんだって
To which she answers
そうそう そんなにひがまないの
もしかして クリスマスまでに 素敵な恋人ができるかもしれないし
My understanding from context is that she's saying そんなにひがまないの akin to "don't be so jealous&...
- 523
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vote
1
answer
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How is ではいけませんか used in this sentence?
My understanding is that the sentence was reverse so it's
あなたと私の出会いのように運命だから、(thought it may be wrong)
However I'm not sure how to take ではいけませんか?
- 281
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60
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Understanding ~たのでは "Conditionals"
I recently came across a sentence containing ~たのでは I found quite hard to parse, and I wanted to focus more on just its ~たのでは aspect to make a more focused question.
So consider:
「彼が来なかったのでは、何も始まらない。」
...
- 2,718
1
vote
1
answer
89
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What's the difference between saying "試験を受ける" and "試験を受験する"
Recently I asked a question on HiNative and said "試験を受けました" but a native Japanese speaker corrected it to "試験を受験しました".
I'm positive I've seen someone say 試験を受ける before, so why did ...
- 25
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0
answers
63
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にて / で adverbializer?
にて is older form of で, and now has literary or archaic nuance. にて itself was created by adding suffix て to に, which is form of copular verb n-.
Traditional interpretation (e.g. here) is that 2 main ...
- 1,049
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1
answer
86
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Is 一人10個 a colloquial form of １人あたり10個?
I came across the sentence
一人１０個りんごを与える
From what I can gather, it simply says "will give 10 apples to each person".
I've seen the grammar あたり and につき that is also used for this idea of &...
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1
answer
89
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Understanding 「心臓麻痺って死因から洗ったのでは 何も出ませんからね」
From the second episode of Death Note, authorities are debating what to do about a bunch of suspected criminals suddenly dying of heart attacks under mysterious circumstances:
そんな大組織などといったら
FBI か CIA ...
- 2,718
2
votes
0
answers
106
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Term for "Letter"/Symbol name vs. pronunciation
I was trying to explain to someone why spelling & reading in Japanese (at least with kana) is easy because the name of the letter is its pronuncation. (Yes, I realize kana are not strictly "...
- 43.7k
1
vote
2
answers
305
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How to call a singing voice powerful?
If I wanted to say "Mika Kobayashi has a powerful singing voice", for example, could I say
小林みかさんは力を持つ歌声があります。
Or is there a better way to say it.
- 1,081
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answers
52
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な Adjective + と
What does it mean when と is attached to an adjective? For example, what's the difference between 意外と and 意外に？
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1
answer
79
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2
votes
2
answers
517
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丸腰を見る and no-adjectives
There is some controversy about whether no-adjectives exist.
I have chosen a random no-adjective (not having another meaning as noun): [丸腰]{まるごし}
Sentence with this word with case particle:
丸腰を見る
Is ...
- 1,049
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votes
1
answer
92
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How is てきれば used in this sentence?
申し訳ありません。
あなたのシャツが破れているのを それとなく お伝えできれば
I understand the sentence itself is "I thought I had to inform you about the fact your shirt is torn"
But why きれば here used instead of just 伝えれば?
- 523
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1
answer
375
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What's the rule behind the change of the pronunciation of '薬' in '目薬'? [duplicate]
目薬 is pronounced 'めぐすり' while 薬 'くすり'.
The pronunciation of '薬' change from 'くすり' to 'ぐすり'. What's the rule behind this change?
- 111
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1
answer
65
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Is "atashita" short for "atashitachi"? [closed]
In an anime episode, I heard a sentence I didn't quite understand. I don't have the japanese subtitles to be sure, but what I heard is:
勝負{しょうぶ}してんだろう、あたした！
The meaning I understand is something ...
- 413
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votes
1
answer
102
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What are the differences between Hokkaido dialect and Tokyo dialect
I'm traveling to Sapporo in a week. I've already been learning Japanese for two years and can understand quite a bit of Japanese. Is there anything I should know about the dialect in Hokkaido? I won't ...
- 25
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0
answers
54
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Does な originating from ~にある mean you can replace な with ~にある today?
It has been said elsewhere that だ, な, and の all originate in some for another from Old Japanese copulas. E.g.:
だ originates from ~である
の sometimes marks the genitive/possessive case, but sometimes it ...
- 2,718
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1
answer
73
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お〜する to refer to others?
Common wisdom holds that verbs such as “お話しする” are humble and are generally only used with the speaker as subject and certainly not used with a superior as subject, but I encounter this all the time, ...
- 531
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1
answer
128
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Why is "warrior" not listed as a possible translation for 無双?
The word 無双 to translates to "warrior" in nearly every search result. For example ゼルダ無双 厄災の黙示録 -> Zelda Warriors: Apocalypse of Calamity (according to Google translate. Nintendo localized ...
- 141
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1
answer
85
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Why is it that transitive seeming expressions like 蜘蛛の子を散らす and 波を打つ act intransitive
I can partly understand 波を打つ but the only thing I don't understand is how hitting the waves would cause undulation or resemble it, but I don't understand how 蜘蛛の子を散らす is intransitive. You're not the ...
- 151
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votes
2
answers
157
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全て手配中のもしくは刑務所に留置されていた犯罪者たちです
I am tempted to parse
全て手配中のもしくは刑務所に留置されていた犯罪者たちです
as
全て((手配中で)もしくは(刑務所に留置されていた))犯罪者たちです
meaning
All are criminals who (being searched for) or (have been detailed in prison).
But I replaced の ...
- 2,718
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1
answer
134
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How to read this name "番藤茶太郎"?
Can anyone help me how to read his name and nickname?
name: 番藤茶太郎
nickname: 番茶
Checking with AI seems to give "Fujito Chataro" as name but also "Bandou Chataro" and "Bancha&...
1
vote
1
answer
109
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What does 食いあさる / 食い漁る mean?
I have looked all over the internet and I cannot find a decent definition for the word 食いあさる / 食い漁る.
For context, here is a scene in a manga where it is used. Character A (female) is rummaging through ...
- 374
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1
answer
84
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Is "しょっと" an informal version of "ちょっと" in "よい……しょっと?"
Context: A child is preparing his props for a play. My first guess was that this was a variant of ちょっと, but I tried double checking on Google and got really weird grammar details that don't match the ...
- 101
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0
answers
109
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How often do embedded relative clauses occur in Japanese conversation?
I think the question is clear enough. I read an article regarding how English speakers comprehend embedded clauses in Japanese, and how in general it takes more time to comprehend a sentence that ...
- 345
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96
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Phonological terminology: what to call the /h/ → /p/ shift?
Japanese has various kinds of sandhi or 連音 (ren'on), of which sequential voicing or 連濁 (rendaku) is probably one of the best known.
There's also gemination or 長子音化 (chōshiinka), where we get things ...
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0
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55
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What is the difference between normal relative clauses and the ones with という added?
Let's compare these 2 sentences
私が来た意味
私が来たという意味
I think both mean the same, but my intuition (although it may be wrong) tells me that 私が来た意味 more leans to the meaning of The reason why i came, ...
- 184
1
vote
3
answers
127
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Clarification about particle は
I had to translate these 2 questions:
"Is this Chinese (language)?"
"Is this sake?"
And I translated in this way:
それは中国語ですか。
それは酒ですか。
But the book solutions were
それ中国語ですか。
...
- 11
3
votes
2
answers
138
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Confused about mix of polite/impolite forms in genki workbook
While doing these exercises on the particle から from Seth Clythesdale's online Genki Workbook, I noticed that in the provided answer to the exercise I, question 3, polite and impolite forms are mixed, ...
4
votes
2
answers
139
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Can でいる be used with inanimate objects?
でいる can be analyzed as "stays (in the temporary state) as something", as per here. For example:
元気でいます。
I'm doing well (recently).
But notice that the subject of this sentence is an ...
- 2,718
4
votes
2
answers
414
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KAMIOKANDE - Are there any hidden (semantic or phonetic) associations for native speakers?
KAMIOKANDE is a neutrino detector experiment located near Kamioka and stands for "Kamioka Nucleon Decay Experiment".
Now, many scientific facilities but also processes or methods are named ...
- 901
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1
answer
66
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Do some noun suffixes require specific kinds of nouns?
The examples I've seen of [中]{ちゅう} as a suffix seem to only use nouns that can form suru-verbs, such as [準備]{じゅんび}中. I assume I can't use it for most ordinary nouns, because people say 〜の[中]{なか} ...
- 1,299
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0
answers
64
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Understanding なんか in 「なんで鍵なんか閉めてんの？」
I know that なんか has various uses, one of which is similar to a dismissive など, where <NOUN>なんか can mean "thing like NOUN" (dismissively).
Question: Is that what's going on here
...
- 2,718
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1
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73
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What does 業者など、読者本人以外による mean?
また、業者など、読者本人以外による本書のデジタル化は、いかなる場合でも一切認められませんのでご注意下さい。
It's what's written in the last page of the book I was reading.
I'm not sure of what it means. Who is 読者本人? They talk about 読者係 before, is it ...
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1
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Is 明朝 a typo for 早朝?
I am puzzled by the use of 明朝 in the below panel.
Using 明朝 here would be quite a wordy way to say ５日後の早朝. I checked an English translation today and it seems like 明朝 actually means 早朝?
- 455
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1
answer
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What's the difference between 其処ら, 至る所, and そこら中?
Trying to figure out how to say the word "everywhere" in Japanese, and I want to make sure I'm using the correct one. Usually there's some difference due to context or formality. Context of ...
1
vote
1
answer
47
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What is the difference between で and に when it comes to words like 溢れる?
I came across this sentence, and I was wondering, how would the nuance change if I changed the で to に?
この街は異邦人であふれている
この街は異邦人にあふれている
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What is んの short for in 「なんで鍵なんか閉めてんの？」 [duplicate]
I'm familar how ん can help form contractions like:
んです ↦ のです
なんです ↦ なのです
but I recently came across んの:
あれ お兄ちゃん
なんで鍵なんか閉めてんの？
What is this short for? My best guess is that ん is short for いる and の ...
- 2,718
2
votes
2
answers
109
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What does 問題の mean in this sentence?
問題の神社にも岩座があったっていうし
The stone like socle in the shrine.
What does 問題の add? My take would be something like "The shrine in question"
- 281
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answer
83
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Are there rules for 濁音化？
As far as I know, 濁音化 happens a lot when words are combined together. The following are some examples I know.
三（サン）+ 階（カイ）-> 三階（サンガイ）
一（イチ）+ 匹（ヒキ）-> 一匹（イッピキ）
猫（ネコ）+ 好き（スキ）-> 猫好き（ネコズキ）
興味（...
- 21
3
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1
answer
652
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What does のもなぁ mean?
What does
してもらうのもなぁ means?
It seems he's saying he won't ask him to do it 5 times in a row?
- 523
3
votes
4
answers
149
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What does ○○ていない + といけない mean?
I've recently encountered a simple sentence in a video that confused me grammatically.
(see 2:08)
子供が考える時には、待っていないといけないですよね。
My assumptions:
待っていない = negative continuous form of 待つ
といけない = have to
I'...
- 2,008
2
votes
1
answer
745
views
Why is 正 used for tallying instead of 五?
I feel like it would make more sense to use 五 since it literally means 5.
I know that 正 has 5 strokes and 五 has 4, but you could still tally like so:
I also know this question isn't just limited to ...
- 123
2
votes
2
answers
1k
views
What is the meaning of アレよ in this sentence?
Upon hearing the two characters kissed, the girl is shocked and wonders if they are going together despite being two guys, however he explains it was only because of a punishment game.
ちょっと ...
- 281
3
votes
3
answers
309
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Understanding から and くらい in 「学校から帰ってきて寝るまでくらいだ」
In
学校から帰ってきて寝るまでくらいだ
I was under the impression that くらい is an adverbial particle (副助詞), but here it's acting as a noun (名詞)? Can it also function as a noun, or is there an implicit noun after くらい ...
- 2,718
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0
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38
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What is the purpose of に in this sentence? [duplicate]
I'm trying to figure out the meaning of に in this sentence
"２番目にイケてるヒトがいい"
I've looked online for all the definitions of に but none seem to quite fit.
- 1
3
votes
1
answer
116
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Is there a particular meaning or origin to the last name 宇多田?
Japanese last names often refer to some type of location or geographical feature, but in this case I am not certain if the name has an abstract, metaphorical, or literal meaning. "Many rice ...
- 133
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2
answers
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Why can't I say 「電車に遅刻する」?
In the 2012 JLPT-official N4 sample test book, question #34, you are tested on the meaning of the word ちこく.
もんだい５ つぎの ことばの つかいかたで いちばん いい ものを １・２・３・４から ひとつ えらんで ください。
３４ ちこく
１ あの とけいは ちょっと ちこくして います。
...
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