Questions tagged [definitions]
定義. The precise meanings of Japanese words or phrases.
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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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Does 車輪 really mean tire as well as (vehicle)wheel?
JMdict defines it as
(vehicle) wheel
And nothing else.
But Wanikani uses it to mean tire in two out of three example sentences.
バイクの車輪が外れてしまいました。
My motorcycle's tire came off.
今日、ちょっと自転車貸してもらえないかな？...
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Understanding かっ飛ばすin this context
According to Jisho, かっ飛ばす means something like sending a ball flying among other things.
My issue is interpreting the verb when it directly affects people, like the following example:
私と君とでかっ飛ばそう
...
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輪廻's meanings (cycle) where does it come from?
Last weekish or so I made a question about てを verb, and a person told me it was a duplicate question, and that 輪廻 in the case my question was being asked was transitive. So I searched on wiktionary ...
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Understanding 「…などということは」
From a dictionary definition for なんて (デジタル大辞泉):
なんて の解説
［副助］《副助詞「など」に格助詞「と」の付いた「などと」の音変化》名詞、名詞に準じる語、活用語の終止形に付く。
１ ある事物を例示して、それを軽んじたり、婉曲 (えんきょく) に言ったりする意を表す。なんか。…などということは。「手伝いなんてできるか」「本気にするなんてばかね」
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Are コミュ症 and コミュニケーション障害 informal/slang words in Japanese?
I would like to know the usage of these words. In English it seems to me that communication disorder is a more technical, clinical term.
But if I try to find the definition of コミュ症, such as on ...
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What does 作文 actually mean?
When I hear the word essay (which is what I hear 作文 most often translated as), I imagine writing on a topic in which you form an argumentative stance (a thesis) and then support that with facts (body ...
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カモ に して やる！ I make you an easy target?
On page 10 of this transcript of Attack on Titan, we can see the following:
男子３: カモ に して やる！
https://docs.google.com/document/d/10cBh6DAcXgxOpwlmSFFb2oV06vgi4zRTIPhpYHUjsVA/edit
If you translate it ...
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If you want to refer to a person as beautiful, would you use [綺麗]{きれい} or [美しい]{うつくしい}? What's the difference?
I'm a little confused on the difference between 綺麗【きれい】 and 美しい【うつくしい】. When is it appropriate to use either word to refer to a person?
For example, if I wanted to refer to a woman as beautiful, would ...
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What nuance does ドライブ have, compared to 運転?
I'm unclear, and monolingual Japanese dictionaries aren't clarifying for me. My current assumptions are: (1) ドライブ seems to only mean driving an automobile, while 運転 can mean driving any type of ...
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Meaning of 重ね in a compound verb
I'm trying to interpret the sentence
笑みを交わしてのひらを重ね信じる
The part that's giving me trouble is 重ね信じる, which is a compound verb that I haven't seen before.
重ね, as the stem form of 重ねる, means a pile or ...
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広範 ambiguous meaning
During my dictionary search of the word "資本主義" I found this definition:
商品経済の広範な発達を前提に，労働者を雇い入れた資本家による利潤の追求を原動力として動く経済体制。
The thing is that I do understand the whole meaning, however I'm ...
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もう for "already" and もう for "another"
After studying the difference between もう and まだ (which seems clear to me now), I realize that there seems to be two different words spelled もう, which apparently have different pitch accents; high to ...
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Conflicting meanings for "犬も歩けば" expression?
The expression 犬も歩けば棒に当たる (Inu mo arukeba bou ni ataru [lit. "even a dog will run into a stick if goes walking"]) is given two definitions on jisho.org, both of which seem to be at odds.
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Saying 'Are you Satisfied?' in Japanese: 満足ですか or 満ち足りですか
I'm not quite sure what the difference between (1) 満足ですか and (2) 満ち足りですか - Do they both mean "Are you satisfied?"
I'm trying to say "Satisfied" in the sense of being satisfied with ...
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Is 「として」 seen as 「と+して 」？
として is translated in dictionaries as meaning something like "as" or "in the role of".
I'm curious if Japanese speakers see this word as one word, or is it seen as having some ...
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What does どばっと mean in this question?
I came across this question on Japanese Quora.
I will also post the text of the question in case the link doesn't work:
「飛行機で、tomato juice without ice, pleaseとお願いしました。CAさんが、no ice？と聞かれました。Yes! と答えました。...
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What exactly does "従兄妹" or "従兄妹同士" mean, does it translate to "cousin" or "cousins"?
I saw it used in a short story online but was confused on what it meant since I wasn't sure and don't know enough. When I used translation software, it just translated the part as "cousins". ...
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Different ways to express the idea of something being "concrete" (see provided English example) in adjective form using Japanese?
In English, the noun "concrete" can be used as an adjective to describe other nouns. This usage implies something like "physical", "tangible", "legitimate", or ...
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How to identify what って means in different situations
って can be used at least 3 different ways that I know of.
Standard って form that most people learn first.て,って,んで,いて,いで etc.
って for quoting people.
って for making a demand/command statement.
A tutorial I'...
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What does いました mean when used by itself? From Mario RPG (includes picture)
Mario and Mallow are talking to a little mushroom guy and first, he says "Mario! Mario!". Then he follows up with the text box shown here.
いました、いました！
あやしい やつが！
たった今 ここをとおっていきました！
The ...
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How to interpret こんな中身のない詩を書いてる
I was listening to 思想犯
他人{ひと}に優しいあんたにこの孤独がわかるものか
死にたくないが生きられない だから詩{うた}を書いている
罵倒も失望も嫌悪も僕への興味だと思うから
他人{ひと}を傷付ける詩{うた}を書いてる
こんな中身のない詩{うた}を書いてる
In this part, I’m wondering if I should parse the ...
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What is the meaning of 及ぼし合う in 人間や生物の周囲にあって，意識や行動の面でそれらと何らかの相互作用を及ぼし合うもの?
I was reading the definition of 環境:
取り囲んでいる周りの世界。人間や生物の周囲にあって，意識や行動の面でそれらと何らかの相互作用を及ぼし合うもの。
I understand the first sentence it as: "world that is a surrounding-area" or like "the ...
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What is Mallow saying to Mario in Super Mario RPG (includes picture)
Mallow is speaking in this picture. He just finished crying.
In the middle section he says しに.
What does the しに mean here? I think it's し+に particle but I'm not sure what it means here. し has many ...
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What does "のこと" mean in the following sentence?
I am in the process of reading through the Japanese Wikipedia article titled "事件". The beginning of the article lists two definitions for "事件". The sentence that I am confused over ...
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What does 明ける mean?
What does 明ける mean?
I get different definitions some say it's dawn others say it's end.
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大辞泉 dictionary notation -- ① ㋐ ㋑ ㋒ ㋓ ㋔ [closed]
In 大辞泉 what is the meaning of the symbols ㋐㋑㋒㋓㋔?
For example they all appear in this definition:
あぶら【油・脂・×膏】
①水に溶けず、水よりも軽い可燃性物質の総称。動物性・植物性・鉱物性があり、食用・灯火用・燃料用・化学工業の原料など用途が広い。㋐動物の肉についている脂肪分。脂身（あぶらみ）。「―...
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Fun with synonyms - "dry up/wither/wilt/shrivel"
Please help me understand the differences in the following words meaning "dry up・out", "wither", "wilt", "shrivel":
[枯]{か}れる
[涸]{か}れる
[萎]{しお}れる
[萎]{しぼ}む
[萎]{しな}...
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Trying to understand a sentence from Mario RPG "いままでになかったパターンですね"
In Super Mario RPG Kinopio is watching Mario explain what happened at Koopa castle. Mario then implies the castle bridge has fallen down and Kinopio responds with this:
I think he is saying:
"...
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Fun with synonyms - "hand over/give/transfer"
Please help me understand the differences in the following words meaning "give up・over", "hand over", "transfer":
渡す
[寄越]{よ・こ}す
[譲]{ゆず}る
Here are some examples from my ...
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What does 「フトアゴヒゲ」mean in 「フトアゴヒゲトカゲ」("Central Bearded Dragon" lizard)?
I'm guessing ヒゲ means hair, which makes sense since the lizard has "bearded" in its name. Not sure about the rest of the フトアゴ.
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Difference between 表立つ and 表沙汰する?
From what I understand, they both have the meaning of going public or becoming public knowledge. Is there a more nuanced difference between the two?
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What is キノピオ saying in Super Mario RPG? (includes picture)
I'm watching a Mario RPG translation video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WRBRLmhFy-4
What I think I understand so far is:
ながい おつきあいなだけに、= "Given that I've known you a long time,"
...
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What is Bowser saying in Super Mario RPG? よって！ (includes picture)
I'm watching a YouTube video that helps learn Japanese through Mario RPG found here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WRBRLmhFy-4
I think Bowser is saying something like "I hate how you always ...
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"To be satisfied/content/fulfilled": Differences between 満ち足りる、心ゆく、気が済む、満足がいく?
In English, I think "to be satisfied/content" can have a couple different meanings:
To feel that what was given/has happened is satisfactorily enough in the short term sense (e.g. had ...
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When is 事業 read as じぎょう and when as ことわざ
I came across the following sentence from the Dictionary of Japanese Grammar series:
Ｘ氏は、一方で慈善事業をやりながら、他方でかなりあくどい商売をしているという噂だ。
I think 慈善事業 should be read as じぜんじぎょう. But as I look up the dictionary ...
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What is the difference between 決意 and 決心？ [duplicate]
I have pondered this for a while but it seems that 決意 and 決心 can be used interchangeably as “determination” or “make up your mind” . I have checked on some Japanese articles as well, and there is some ...
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Meaning of 当てをつける
I found the following sentence in the novel I'm reading
「これが旅に出る最後の好機だと思っている。これまでももちろん旅に出ようと思えば資金に当てをつけることはできた。だが、踏ん切りがつかなかった。」
What does 「当てをつける」mean here? Does it mean the speaker found a place to ...
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What does 人よ幸あれ mean? [duplicate]
I'm wondering what 人よさちあれ means in this line:
我がためにガラス戸張りし人よさちあれ
I think さちあれ is 幸あれ, which I've seen translated as "good luck" or "bless you," etc. But how does it work here ...
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comparison of 受身形 and 受動態 both meaning "passive voice"?
(.) Both Japanese and English can construct sentences such that the main verb is either active or passive. There are two words for "passive voice" in Japanese 受身形 and 受動態.
I know that 受身形 ...
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Using に対して to express "for," "for the purpose of," or "for verbing"
日本語で一番難しいのは、一つのことに対してたくさんの言い方があることです。
Everything I can find on に対して says it means towards, against, regarding, in contrast to, etc.
In the above example sentence, it seems to mean something like &...
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Meaning of "少し外す"
Can "少し外す" mean "zoned out/lost focus"
I can send the source material I read it in, if that helps.
Edit: For those asking for context, here its the bit in the manga:
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what does 'が入らず' mean?
全身に力が入らず- what does '力が入らず' mean? I know 力 means strength, but what does 'が入らず' mean?
I've done some googling and it either means without strength or filled with strength. That's why I'm very clueless ...
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窶 use in compound words
Does 窶 form compounds? Jisho and another dictionary I checked has no compounds listed, and I know they are Japanese and not Chinese. I think it germinates a series of potentially offensive political ...
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Fun with synonyms - "shine/sparkle/glitter/glimmer/glisten/gleam/twinkle/flash"
Been thinking about these for a while. I see that we already have Difference between 光る, 輝く, and 光り輝く?, but I'm including a lot more. What are the differences in meaning (ignoring conjugations) of ...
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What does まんが in this passage mean?
まんが日本昔話みたいな婆ちゃんの声に、説得力があった。
Is it manga as in 漫画? If so why is it not 日本昔話まんが but まんが日本昔話?
user36879
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What does さばき切れます mean?
I ran across the sentence, さばき切れます, and I can't figure out what it means. Can anyone please explain? Thanks in advance
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ガードがばがばになっから meaning
I'm having trouble making sense of this sentence. From what I've looked up, I think it's probably either "meme" talk, a dialect joke, or some combination of the two. Here's the full sentence:
...
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How do you use "iuno/いうの"？ [duplicate]
I've seen this word a couple of times and am currently stuck on how to use it..
I know "いう" means "say" but I don't understand the の particle attached to it. Could someone provide a couple of ...
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