Questions tagged [daily-life]

日常生活. Japanese words and language used in daily life.

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Calling someone お兄さん or お姉さん in the street; is it irrespectful?

So... i been seeing a lot of cases in anime or real life japanese that pepole use 「お兄さん」or 「お姉さん」(depending on gender) to ask something to someone that you don't know. Is this direspectful or ...
ティアゴ's user avatar
-2 votes
1 answer
307 views

Why である instead of でいる?

One solution that I heard is aru can be used for people you're not close to and iru for people you are close to, so like a humble thing, but, I don't know if it's actually said, and aru is for ...
Star Peep's user avatar
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1 vote
1 answer
142 views

Normal is the most difficult" -- origin in Japanese?

I'm looking for the Japanese origin of the saying Normal is the most difficult. I believe the longhand version would be Normality in life is the most difficult state/condition to attain/sustain. ...
Maqluba Bint Muhallebi Al-Zach's user avatar
4 votes
1 answer
1k views

how to say "follow up appointment" in Japanese

I have been trying to find the correct way to say 'follow up appointment' in Japanese. I have to go to the dermatologist for a follow up appointment and I am unsure what to say to the receptionist. I ...
Sam's user avatar
  • 73
4 votes
2 answers
504 views

How do you say 町 (in addresses) in English?

I know that in a normal context, 町 means town. But I'm pretty sure it's different in Japanese addresses, where it typically goes like: __県__市__区__町______ I know that 県 means prefecture, 市 means ...
rayy2130's user avatar
2 votes
0 answers
120 views

Why are some words (e.g., 処方箋) sometimes partially written with hiragana? [duplicate]

Some words with complex Kanji are sometimes written in a mixture of Hiragana and Kanji. For example 処方箋 (prescription) is often written as 処方せん in pharmacies. This is used by native speakers that have ...
Tom Kelly's user avatar
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3 votes
1 answer
249 views

How to say "When is the last bus to X"

I was just wondering how to properly ask when the last bus to somewhere is. Could you say (using Tokyo, for example) When is the last bus to Tokyo? 東京 に 終バス は 何時ですか Tōkyō ni shū basu wa nanji ...
geeb.24's user avatar
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1 vote
1 answer
9k views

How to say hello and goodbye in shops?

I am currently staying in Japan for four weeks. I learned to read & write kana and some basic Japanese (basic particles and sentence structure and some vocabulary), but as you can imagine I’m ...
BlackWolf's user avatar
  • 145
1 vote
1 answer
957 views

How do I address a young lady properly in person?

In real life, if I were to meet a stranger who is a young woman around my age in Japan, how would I--a man--call her without knowing her name? For instance, how should I say, "Excuse me, miss, you're ...
Yeti Ape's user avatar
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1 vote
2 answers
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Natural phrasing when introducing yourself and the reason you are arriving somewhere

I'm looking for a natural expression to introduce myself and the reason I have come to a certain place. In my specific case, I will be going to a school to observe (with an appointment at a specific ...
Locksleyu's user avatar
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9 votes
1 answer
4k views

How to read 24-hour clock format

There are a lot of topics on forums in what case Japanese people use 24-hour clock format. But I have never seen how it should be pronounced. It's not hard to say something like 8:05. This is common ...
へびひめ's user avatar
2 votes
1 answer
612 views

Icebreakers to use with strangers

Let's say I am in a gym and had an eye contact with a person working out next to me, is it OK to say 今日は、如何ですか。 どうも、元気か。 What are the best simple expression to break the ice with complete strangers?
user1602's user avatar
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1 vote
1 answer
76 views

How to call the stuffs you usually do (in bathroom) after get up at the morning?

After getup, I usually washing my face, brush my teeth, take a shower, hand washing, and do something just to clear my body. Is there a word or phrase in Japanese that describle all thing we do in the ...
Andiana's user avatar
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2 votes
3 answers
5k views

What is the equivalent Japanese term for "Anthropomorphize/Anthropomorphic"

In English, we have two distinct concepts "Anthropomorphization" and "Personification". The former, meaning to impart some human traits onto an object or animal is often seen in Japan/Japanese media:...
starmandeluxe's user avatar
6 votes
5 answers
2k views

Natural expression for "Parking space" in Japanese

I'm looking for one or more natural ways to say "parking space" in Japanese. Here are a few candidates I've found via search and other means, but I'd like to know what people in Japan ...
Locksleyu's user avatar
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4 votes
2 answers
722 views

Liter/100 km or km/liter, which one is used in Japan?

In America we say the fuel economy of car as miles/gallon (miles per gallon). I know in some countries people use Liter/100 km (liter per 100 km). Some countries use km/Liter (km per liter). Which ...
Tony's user avatar
  • 143
10 votes
4 answers
8k views

What is the difference between お手洗い and トイレ

Is one more polite than the other? Is there some situations where you'd use one or the other? Would different people prefer one?
Helephant's user avatar
  • 255
8 votes
2 answers
2k views

Why do road signs have 止まれ, not 止まる, 止める or 止めて?

From what I know ending verb in え makes it sound rough and very casual. I checked in tangorin.com online dictionary - it's said there it is actually a noun. To me, though, it looks like a rough ...
dimadesu's user avatar
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23 votes
2 answers
17k views

How did コンセント come to be used for an "electrical outlet"?

Saw this on a charger I bought online and was really perplexed. What foreign word does it represent? "concentric"? What does that have to do with electrical outlet and where did it come from?
mmdanziger's user avatar