Japanese Language Stack Exchange is a question and answer site for students, teachers, and linguists wanting to discuss the finer points of the Japanese language. It only takes a minute to sign up.
Sign up to join this community
The context is the following:
日時計{ひどけい}は太陽{たいよう}の位置{いち}が変{か}わるのを利用{りよう}して、影{かげ}がどこにできるかで時間{じかん}が分{わ}かる時計{とけい}です。
My best guess is that できる takes the meaning of growing, as the place where the shadow extends/grows to, but I'm not completely sure of it. My attempt at a translation would be "The sundial utilizes the change in position of the sun and tells the time by the place where (its) shadow extends to."
Is my assumption and translation correct?
Try thinking of this 〜ができる more along the lines of "〜 didn't used to exist, but now it does". This is closest to #1 here, but can be applied in a general sense to many of the other definitions given.
Ex)
彼女ができた。→ A girlfriend didn't used to exist, but now she does. → (Contextually defined person) got a girlfriend.
顎に大量のニキビができて治らない。→ On (contextually defined person's) chin many zits that weren't there before are now there, and they won't heal. → (Contextually defined person) got a bunch of zits on their chin and they won't go away.
影がどこにできるかで時間が分かる。 → Based on where a/the shadow goes from not existing to existing, the time is understood. → The time is understood based on where a/the shadow falls.
