Questions tagged [classical-japanese]
文語（古文）. The classical literary form of the language based on Early Middle Japanese.
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拈得せん in a writing by Genkaku
水中に月を捉ふ爭でか拈得せん
What does 拈得せん mean there? Is some classical construction? I cant quite find an explanation for it
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84 views
Are there any differences between 〜けらず and 〜ざりけり? Are they interchangeable?
Was ~ざりけり used in place of 〜けらず, for example in 知りけらず, to indicate the past tense in the negative form? Did 知らざりけり exist?
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What does らん in 「強からん事を祈る」 mean?
I came across this sentence while reading Osamu Dazai's Ningen Shikkaku. The sentence is pretty long, so I have only included the relevant part.
あまりに人間を恐怖している人たちは、かえって、もっともっと、...
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0answers
119 views
鵺 Chimera Bird in Making of Cyborg and Reincarnation
This question is related to my Sci-fi Fantasy question "Japanese Wedding Chant from Ghost in the Shell". That question is concerned with Japanese folk traditions and mythology, and please feel free to ...
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1answer
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An unclear form in a song
In「命火眩暈」by 杏ノ助, there are the following lines.
頽るる松、 甲羅なき亀 御簾を上げれど けふも宵
The other text is perfectly imitating a Sengoku-period Late Middle Japanese with occasional classical. However, this ...
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0answers
51 views
What's the difference between にはおかない and にはすまない?
I've searched them online, but still couldn't distinguish these two. I know:
①The former is to remark or to express a strong feeling.
②The later is more about personal emotion, obligation and social ...
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2answers
274 views
Unknown Kanji on Mountain Rock
I've been studying Japanese for about 3 years, passed N1 last December (was not expecting that) and wanted to brush off one of the biggest questions I've ever had on Kanji (bugging me for about 2 of ...
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1answer
199 views
How to read this sign and what it means?
A friend sent a picture he received from another friend of this framed parchment with some very flowery and old looking Japanese written on it asking me if I could read it and if I knew what it meant:
...
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1answer
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258 views
Meaning of 折らで in a haiku
From Basho:
蓮池や折らでそのまま玉祭
I have the impression that 折らで would be 折らないで without ない. If that's the case is it an artistic choice or some obscure grammar?
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307 views
Is 選ばれし者 a grammatically correct translation of “The Chosen One”?
I have frequently seen 選ばれし者 used as a translation for the English phrase "The Chosen One". I know that し is the 連体形 of the auxiliary verb き which, quoting from デジタル大辞泉, is used when expressing things ...
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0answers
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Why is まじる a 五段 verb?
As far as I know all じる verbs are supposed to be 一段.
I found an interesting set of rules online:
Does the verb end in る?
No → 五段
Yes → Does it have an e or i sound before the る?
No → 五段
...
6
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1answer
247 views
What is the meaning of the radical 手 as a part of character?
I know that the radical 手 means "hand" but I wanna know meaning does 「手」 contribute as a part of a character
If anyone can give me five examples and it could be better if he can bring example with a ...
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1answer
107 views
Translation for [竜とは逃げぬものなれば]
new in the language so I am having a hard time figuring out the meaning of this sentence. 'When it comes to dragons, you can't escape' would be my translation, but pretty sure I am wrong. If it doesn'...
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1answer
237 views
Questions on an 1840's text: Battle at Yamaki Palace 治承四年八月中句右兵衞佐頼朝公
I am a bit lost understanding and translating elements of this text from the 1840s, even after persevering for a couple of days.
Two versions (with reasonable detail when viewed at actual scale).
My ...
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1answer
50 views
How should I translate “驚破という場合に望みては”?
I am reading 外科室. At some point, there is this sentence:
さてはいかなる医学士も、[驚破]{すわ}という場合に望みては、さすがに懸念のなからんやと、予は同情を表したりき。
[驚破]{すわ}という場合 is a reference to an earlier passage,
手術台なる伯爵夫人は、純潔なる白衣を絡いて、...
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75 views
どうして「お聞き遊ばして」が現代語訳では「お吸いなさいまして」になるのか分からない
現代訳を頼りに、泉鏡花さんの「外科室」を読もうとしているところですが、分からない箇所があります。
原文の
看護婦は医学士の旨を領してのち、かの腰元に立ち向かいて、
「もう、なんですから、あのことを、ちょっと、あなたから」
腰元はその意を得て、手術台に擦り寄りつ、優に膝のあたりまで両手を下げて、しとやかに立礼し、
「夫人、ただいま、お薬を差し上げます。どうぞそれを、...
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1answer
310 views
(伊曾保物語) 鼠と猫の事 comprehension problem “只、人は、愚にして、他人にぬかれたるにしくはなし”
I am having trouble parsing/understanding/translating a sentence in
the last section of the fable "the mice and the cat" (鼠と猫の事)
from the 仮名草子 伊曾保物語 (Aesop's fables). Here is the paragraph
in question;...
3
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1answer
132 views
What does the kana 「し」 do in this phrase?
It comes from the video game title.
過{す｝ぎ去｛さ｝りし時｛とき｝を求｛もと｝めて
I looked up in online dictionary thinking that it should be a conjugated form of the verb 去る but it is not.
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2answers
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征伐, せいばつ, seibatsu: a conquest or a 'righteous conquest'?
征伐, せいばつ, seibatsu
An old Japanese friend suggested that 征伐, “conquest,” has a moral tone to it and might be better translated as “righteous conquest,” however, most dictionaries simply define it as ...
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1answer
93 views
Is there a good reason why I can use a polite form before から but not before ので? [duplicate]
Does anybody know why - historically, etymologically or logically - one can use polite forms (e.g. -ます) in causal subordinate clauses before から, while one must use the plain form before ので?
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1answer
82 views
だ versus な in causal subordinate clauses
Why do causal subordinate clauses ending in -から take だ as a means to connect nouns and な adjectives (e.g. 日本人だから), whereas causal subordinate clauses ending in -ので take な (e.g. 日本人なので)?
I read that だ ...
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2answers
197 views
Is there a good explanation for the forms 大きな, 小さな and 多くの?
Is there a good historical/etymological explanation why 大きい and 小さい can take the な ending in attributive position?
Also, is there a good historic/etymological explanation why 多い in attributive use ...
2
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1answer
146 views
Is there a historical explanation why verbs fall into two categories of pitch accent?
Is there a good historical or logical explanation why all verbs fall into two categories of pitch accent: either accentless (such as 買う, 浴びる) or accented (such as 食べる, 書く)?
I am having a hard time ...
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461 views
Difference お疲れ様です vs お疲れ様でした while leaving from office?
Most of the time, I use to say "お疲れ様です" while someone else leaving the office. But many of my colleagues say "お疲れ様でした". Does it have any difference?
Also, I want to know, can we use "お疲れ様です" while ...
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1answer
154 views
Is there a good historical explanation why we cannot generally use 言う in the 3rd person in the past tense?
Is there a good historical or logical explanation why we cannot generally use 言う in the 3rd person in the past tense? Why do we have to resort to 言っている for the 3rd person part tense (言っていた), unless it ...
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1answer
246 views
Is there a good etymological reason why the potential form in Japanese requires the が particle?
Is there a good etymological reason why the potential form in Japanese requires the が particle?
When dealing with the -たい suffix, which also requires the -が particle for what in other languages would ...
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1answer
86 views
Is there a reason why the passive and the potential form are identical (at least for える/いる verbs)?
Is there a reason why the passive and the potential form in Japanese are identical (at least for える/いる verbs)? I mean, does one etymologically derive from the other? Or were they perhaps modelled on a ...
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1answer
230 views
Question about verbs in Old Japanese
Does anybody with in-depth knowledge of Old Japanese know why vowel-based verbal stems could only end in -e or -i (leading to the える/いる or type 2 class of verbs in Modern Japanese)? Why are there no ...
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1answer
106 views
Is まはりて an archaic form of 廻って, and how is it broken down grammatically?
I came across a cover version of "Bad Apple", where the singer uses a more traditional style than the original song, including a translation of the (modern) lyrics into more archaic/poetic language.
...
2
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1answer
95 views
What is the meaning of 「れど」 in the waka poem title 「忍ぶれど」?
「忍ぶれど」 is the title of Taira no Kanemori's waka poem in Ogura Hyakunin Isshu and I'd like to know the translation of this title in English.
I already looked up the meanings and
「忍ぶ」 means
to ...
2
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1answer
117 views
What does 形ク mean in japanese?
I was searching for the meaning of "時すでに遅し。" but I couldn't find 遅し in the dictionary goo.ne.jp and weblio tells me that it's おそい with 形ク in parenthesis.
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Cannot recognise the kanji in a cartouche 保里尾[ ][ ][ ]晴
In the context of a C19th work titled Takamatsu no shiro mizuzeme no zu, "Picture of the Flooding of Takamatsu Castle" (髙松城水責之圖 with furigana たかまつのしろみづぜめのづ), there is a name cartouche, but I am ...
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Transcribing iteration marks: kunojiten , くの字点
The iteration marks 々, ヽ, ヾ, ゝ, ゞ are slightly smaller than standard kana, and are often seen in print when a contemporary scholar is transcribing text, a printmaker's seal, etc. My question relates ...
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2answers
196 views
'to appear': arawareru, arawaruru, and arawaru
Arawareru, あらわれる: "to appear, to come in sight, to become visible, to materialize, to manifest."
It looks as if arawareru can be written: 現れる, 現われる, 表れる, 表われる, 顕れる, 顕われる
(Readings: 現 = gen, ken, ...
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1answer
203 views
Did つ (助数詞) actually mean の?
There are quite a few examples were tsu actually means no.
まつ毛・睫毛・睫 matsuge actually comes from 目の毛 me no ke (ma is another pronunciation for 目 me)
沖つ宮 okitsumiya（aslo written 沖津宮, but, as Meikyou ...
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1answer
283 views
Why is 「てふ」 pronounced 「ちょう」?
I recently purchased a copy of One Hundred Leaves: A new annotated translation of the Hyakunin Isshu to try and improve my Japanese reading level. In addition to the English translation, each poem ...
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1answer
172 views
What verb form is くださねばなるまい
The following is from a mystery manga. The criminal mastermind is lamenting that his accomplice Masumi failed to properly kill Kimisawa.
ますみの奴・・・
最後の最後でしくじったな
あの至近距離でよもや急所をはずす
...
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1answer
129 views
What does 「なりき」 mean in this context?
I came across the sentence 「宇宙KOMAなりき」in a Dragon Ball song. The context is like this:
回り磁極踊れば
大地も空も
世界は巡る
宇宙KOMAなりき
The song lyrics are here: http://www.kget.jp/lyric/112532/KOMA_CHIHO
What ...
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1answer
171 views
How do I understand 「わが身世にふる ながめせし間に」
This might be a difficult question but let me give it a try here.
I have trouble understanding this poem by 小野小町:
花の色は うつりにけりな いたづらに わが身世にふる ながめせし間に
I understand that the words 「ふる」 and 「ながめ」 are ...
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1answer
223 views
I know that the word 広し means 広い, but which rule or grammar is included?
The sentence is from my textbook みんなの日本語
世界広しといえども ...
that means
世界が広いと言っても ...
right?
But what function has it when you use 広し instead of 広い?
During some research I found this
Website/ ...
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1answer
180 views
what is a meaning of しければ in a classical japanese?
I'm stuck with this sentence - "いかにも山の中に只だ独り居たるに人の気はひのしければ少し生き出づる心地して見出だしければ"
It's part of the folktale "鬼に瘤取らるる事". I know that ば mean to indicate end of statement in classical japanese, so does it ...
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2answers
100 views
寄らば from 寄らば大樹の陰
I have trouble understanding the 寄らば from 寄らば大樹の陰.
I know it comes from 寄る (to approach/to come near). But how does it becomes 寄らば and what meaning it implies?
The ば should be the same as 寄れば. But I ...
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1answer
156 views
What is this 連用形+ゆる grammar? How is it different from the potential form?
I have come across this grammar a lot lately:
連用形+ゆる
For example, in this comment,
文語と現代語を交じたる文はインターネットで見ゆるなあ
I've also heard しゆる. Judging from the context I think that this grammar is similar ...
4
votes
1answer
82 views
What is the way 召されなば is conjugated?
In a bit old Japanese, the phrase:
草鞋{わらじ}を召{め}されなば
means "if you (talking to a superior) put on the straw sandals" (I assume from the context).
Where does the conjugation ～なば of 召される come from?
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1answer
95 views
What do the Long vowel rule and Palatalized long vowel rule represent?
In relation to the Classical Japanese orthography what are the Long vowel (長音 Chōon) rule and the Palatalized long vowel (開拗長音 Kaiyōchōon) rule?
What would be some examples of them?
3
votes
1answer
97 views
Where does the particle は come from?
In A Dictionary to Basic Japanese Grammar, it says under the conditional ば that this is the origin of the topic particle は but I haven't been able to find where this claim comes from. Does anyone know ...
4
votes
1answer
197 views
What is かたじけのう?
This is a quotation from a fairy tale. A young man was turned into a samurai:
信じがたきことなれど、拙者サムライでござる。かたじけのうござる。
I read the first part as 'Although it is hard to believe, I am a samurai'.
What is ...
8
votes
1answer
174 views
Name of レ点 in 漢文
In 漢文, why is the レ used for レ点? Is it purely a graphic representation of returning to an earlier point in the text, or does レ stand for some word?
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1answer
803 views
When was this Japanese standard and why this is so different from modern Japanese?
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