Questions tagged [culture]
文化. Where the linguistic aspects of Japanese culture and the cultural aspects of the Japanese language overlap.
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Another language question regarding tomodachi
my college product line for next year is currently called Tomodachi. however because someone owns this word in the USA I was hoping to find something similar. Americans really like the 'dachi' part ...
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Can I use 西 as my last name
My last name/surname is West. Can I just write it as the kanji 西 nishi? It means West but it's also a last name. If not, how do you write West in katakana?
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How do attendance checklists in Japan deal with multiple possible name readings?
Even though there are several recurring, easily guessable family name readings ([田中]{たなか｝、佐藤｛さとう｝、田村｛たむら｝) in Japanese, there are usually many possible readings to people's names Kanji, especially ...
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What are common familially intimate names?
In both family units you often find special intimate names being used between members according to their role.
You have intimate familial names like 'mama' and 'papa' for parents, and words like '...
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Would a Japanese person say "Yay, no school!" or "Yay, no classes!"?
Quick question about word choice, but do the Japanese more often refer to school sessions as "school" like most in America, or "classes" like some parts of Europe?
Also what words would be used most ...
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How to introduce yourself as an Exchange Student? [closed]
I'd like to know with which name an exchange student will be called (first name or last name), when he/she joins a class at an average Japanese school. On the one hand, it may be the case the "...
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What does it say on my Japanese alarm clock? [closed]
I bought an alarm clock (good clocks with AA batteries instead of button-like) with Japanese characters and found it difficult to understand, even with a dictionary. Could someone explain what is ...
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The uses of おはよう, こんばんわ and おやすみ
How should I use ohayō, konbanwa and oyasumi? As a greeting or as a goodbye?
user19285
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What is the term for not making eye contact?
I have read in numerous publications that making direct eye contact can be considered rude and offensive but I am unable to identify a term associated with it.
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What is the name of "grass" used to garnish a bento (takeout meal)?
I have a piece of "grass paper"? included in my meal, want to know it's purpose. It isn't edible, and could be a choking hazard. I also don't know what it is called.
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What is the name for each day of the Obon Festival?
The Obon festival consists of the arrival, celebration, and departure of ancestors.
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What is the Japanese meaning of the name "Kakka"?
In Man In The High Castle (S2E04 I believe) a character is referred to in Japanese as "Kakka".
Is this a common name?
And, does this name have a specific meaning? If so, what?
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Are 頂きます and ご馳走さま used when eating in public?
I have heard these words used when dining in a person's home, but I am not sure if it's appropriate to use them in a restaurant.
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Why are most Japanese newspapers, magazines and books read from back to front?
In my experience, the above listed reading materials are all read from left cover to right cover, page one is the last page from a western perspective. I have been unable to find a reason for this ...
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No word for "time" until 1871?
In a German newspaper article an interviewed professor says:
For a long time the Japanese didn't have any interest in clocks: Until
1871, there hadn't even been a word for time and therefore no ...
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Saying かわいい to a guy
I have two questions about the famous k word in japanese.
I have seen this conversation between a guy and a girl and was a little bit puzzled by the girl's answer:
Guy : xxx-ちゃんはかわいいです
Girl : ...
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What is the connotation of calling someone "Kozaru Shichinosuke"?
What is the meaning of calling someone "Kozaru Shichinosuke". I know it's the title of a kabuki play and the name of the hero, however what's the linguistic connotation here?
Is it a phrase used in ...
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When angry we shout "F***!", but what do 日本人 shout?
I have to ask, when you kick a Japanese boy in the nuts or whatever, ignoring the obvious sounds a human makes when entering into such a state, what bits of language will they impulsively shout in ...
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How do Japanese people mark checklists?
I'm wondering, how would a Japanese person fill out a Yes/No checklist?
For example, say I have a list of things to remember. I'd mark them as such:
Get spare key ・・・・・・・・・・・・・・ Y
Remove items from ...
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What are the general patterns of child-directed speech in Japanese?
In English, parents usually talk to their kids differently from how they usually talk. The words they use when doing so usually ends in -y. For example, "kitten" becomes "kitty", "I" usually turns ...
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What does 次行ってみよう mean?
I haven't done too, too much in-depth research on this one, but a general search seems to show that this is a joke or a meme. Either way, I'm very interested in knowing a bit more about the context of ...
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What does 在日 stand for?
I've been checking out some Japanese music videos lately and stumbled upon some videos of Miyavi, a Japanese guitarist. In all his videos he seems to receive quite a lot of criticism in the comments, ...
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Saying "Hello" to family members?
On lang-8 I read a message from a Japanese speaker who said that 「今日は」isn't used among family/friends, but mainly for strangers.
To this end I need ask, what is a common way to say "Hello" to family/...
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What is the difference between アジア and 大陸?
Particularly I was looking at how I might express the idea of "asian pop culture" アジアの大衆文化 or 大陸の大衆文化. Having looked in the dictionary these two seem valid ways of communicating "asia" but I was ...
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Under what Japanese honorific should manga/anime fans address manga-ka/anime directors?
I speculate that there might be some sort of spectrum of the honorifics to use for manga-ka/anime directors.
For example, I think one might be able to get away with addressing younger, and more, for ...
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Special Katsudon table with a light?
Based on the text below, apparently there is a special type of table in some Japanese restaurants made for eating Katsudon.
どうしてレストランのテーブルにデスクランプがあるんだろう。
デスクランプのあるテーブルを挟んで座るって、なんだか取調室を連想させる。...
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Meaning of 夕陽の中を
Maruko's sister has a new teacher. She is complaining that he is far too enthusiastic:
Sister quoting teacher:「『体をきたえたい者は、オレについてこいっ』なんて言っちゃって、グラウンドを走っちゃってるのよ」
"Follow me if you want to improve ...
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Meaning/significance of ほおに手をやる
The girls are discussing whether the temporary teacher will remember their face, and then:
「名前はどうかな」
「どうかなァ...」 (the ellipsis is as written in the book)
たまちゃんがそうつぶやいてほおに手をやった。
"How about my ...
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To what extent, if any, was meifumadō an element of Japanese Buddhism or culture?
In the famous manga of Lone Wolf and Cub (子連れ狼), the protagonist walks the path of meifumadō (冥府魔道), the road of hell, symbolized by the twin demons of the bull and the horse, in his quest for revenge....
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The radical "貝" and its relation to economic characters such as "貨" "資" etc
Preface
My recent trip to Japan allowed me to see many Chinese characters i.e., Kanji (漢字) and one thing that caught my attention was an extensive use of the radical "貝"(かい) on words/characters ...
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Sei Sei Sei chant
I just finished the manga, Goodnight Punpun Vol. 1 and I noticed several occasions within the work where a character crossed their arms and chanted "Sei". Could someone tell me the meaning of this ...
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How rude is it to speak to a Japanese stranger informally instead of using the polite form?
Are there any native Japanese here that could tell me how rude it is to speak informally to Japanese people I have never met instead of using the polite form? I'm assuming it's more rude the older the ...
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Confusing use of 減る
Maruko is complaining that mum is buying seaweed as a new year's present. Mum replies:
「のりは食べる機会が多くてすぐに減るからもらったらありがたいもんなのよ。」
There are plenty of opportunities to eat seaweed, and because they ...
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Addressing other members of the same great family when everyone shares the same surname
Hypothetical situation, let's say we have a great familly meeting, where everyone have the same surname but some members of the familly see each other for the first time. Of course, introductions are ...
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“Uncle's jokes !?”
I recently heard about something that would be roughly translated as “uncle's jokes” (the Japanese word for it should be something like 伯父ネタ or 伯父ガル but I can't remember correctly what I heard the ...
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Meaning of にまでなる
まあっ、なんて欲ばりな女だろうね。あんたみたいな犬がねぇ、くわえてた肉を池におっことしたって話が、童話にまでなってるよ。
Come now. What a greedy girl. The story of a dog like you which dropped a piece of meat it was holding in its mouth into the pond is ...
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Is it ok to start learning Japanese? [closed]
I'm not english, and I find my English to be 'good'. I can pretty much live in an English country with a slight boost of vocabulary and a bit of knowledge about the culture. But of course, I'm not ...
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Japanese words with を in shiritori?
I've been playing some しりとり recently at http://www.shiritori.org/ and was wondering why no words with を show up.
siritori.net suggests there are quite a few nouns starting with を:
を
をかし
...
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Phrase/word for "human to god" love / idolatry?
A Korean friend used a word that I believe was a Japanese loan word, that he said meant a "human to god" kind of love - an 'inferior' being loving or idolizing a 'superior' one. It wasn't a phrase but ...
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How to politely inform other people of acceptable alternative ways of addressing you?
Being a foreigner often comes with having a name/surname that doesn't quite roll off the tongue in Japanese.
So for example if my name/surname is "ABCDEFG", I'd like to say (after introductions) "...
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New Year's Resolution
New Year's resolution should be - 新年の抱負
How do I say, "My New Year's Resolution is X"?
For example:
私の新年の抱負は気楽になります。(My New Year's resolution is to be more relaxed)
Is it correct?
Do Japanese ...
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How to say "Cultural Identity"
I want to say, "Okinawan people have a very strong cultural identity". Any idea on how to say this concept in Japanese?
Would it be 「沖縄の民族は文化のアイデンティティがつよいです。」？
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How many よろしくお願いします to say during job interview?
Let's say I have an interview with 3 people. Each interviewer does self-introduction followed by よろしくお願いします. When they say it I say it too, kind of, in response. Then I say my self-introduction and ...
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「この笑顔なくしていいの？」 on a board by the road (photo)
This is a board by the road (similar to tobidashibōya).
It should mean "shall I stop smiling?" but seeing this I am not even sure.
Does it really mean that? Why? Is it a warning for drivers? Is it a ...
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Is the 300 yen price for a "shuin" stamp linguistically related to お参り?
Prevalent price (朱印代) for a stamp in a shrine or a temple is 300 yen, although there are exceptions. Wikipedia confirms this Shuin 朱印.
I wonder if the amount bears an association of 参百円{さんびゃくえん} with ...
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Is it rude to ask a Japanese person using keigo to speak less formally? How to do it politely? [closed]
This has mostly to do with me not understanding Keigo well, so when I enter restaurants or other service-based businesses, and they talk in Keigo to me, I hardly ever understand, which is why I always ...
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How to address and greet Japanese people in an english email [closed]
I am aware that in Japanese it is considered to be rude to address other people with just their first name, but I wonder if this is only true for communication in Japanese, of if this still holds true ...
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Younger uncles and aunts
If you are older than your uncle or aunt, do you still address them as 叔母さん or 叔父さん? I see no reason why you wouldn't, but I recall once seeing a description saying that family titles are only used ...
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Heisig story #30 (Nightbreak) 旦, shouldn't it mean "daybreak" instead?
I believe that the tittle already covers my question, but I will explain it better here.
When I was reading the Heisig book (Remembering the Kanji, the sixth edition I believe) I came across the ...
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What is the real meaning of せずに in Japaneses language? [closed]
I don't know anything about Japanese language; I'm just researching about Japan.
I got an email that said (This is summery):
There is no meaning (concept) for sin in Japanese culture, and the shame ...
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