Questions tagged [english-to-japanese]
英和訳. Finding a Japanese equivalent of an English word or expression, especially when a straight translation to Japanese might have different connotations from the original English phrase.
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Causative verbs: can the "Self" be the doer?
I have noticed that there are a few causative-like structures in English that do not tend to be natural in Japanese.
Namely, in this question: "Makes you/me/..." by a nonhuman agent
In ...
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On-yomi vs kun-yomi basic sentence to illustrate a passage from Lacan's seminar: is this one regular and plausible? 富士山は有名な山です。
I need a basic yet plausible and correct Japanese sentence to give an idea of what the on-yomi/kun-yomi difference is to French psychoanalysts who do not know anything about Japanese.
I have drafted ...
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How to say/pronounce "[City Name] proper" in Japanese
According to google translate, for example if you wanted to say "Chicago proper" (as in within city limits and not the nearby suburbs), you would say "シカゴ市内". Is this correct?
Also,...
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言いたいところだ: Similar to English "I would say"?
This comes from the anime Black Lagoon where A and B are smugglers who are upset that a newer crew member isn't willing to do more dirty work (he cares too much about morals etc.) for the business. He ...
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Correct thing to say when gifting someone food that you expect him or her to eat later
If you gift someone a box of chocolates, for example, and aren't necessarily expecting him or her to eat it immediately or all at once, but instead whenever it's convenient, is it appropriate to say
&...
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Conveying "procrastination" in Japanese
A concept in conversations I've wanted to say but have struggled to figure out the best way is to convey that I have "procrastinated" some task or that I tend to procrastinate stuff.
The ...
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What is the etymology of onani [duplicate]
In the Book of Genesis chapter 38, Judah had a son named Onan.
Onan's story of spilling his seed, leads to the term Onanism.
Onanism is an interpretation of Onan's story.
Regardless of whether there ...
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What is "we" (speaker and listener) in Japanese?
How do you say "we" (as in the speaker and listener) in Japanese?
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How can I accurately convey conditional statements using the various conditional forms like 〜たら, 〜なら, and 〜えば? [duplicate]
I often find myself hesitating when choosing between these forms in conversations or when writing.
I've noticed that native speakers use these forms differently based on the context, and I'd like to ...
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How to translate [How can it possibly take this long to....?!] sentences
In English, for example, if you say
"How can it possibly take this long [to release a game]?!"
you are expressing anger and impatience.
In Japanese, can you express that same anger and ...
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How to call a singing voice powerful?
If I wanted to say "Mika Kobayashi has a powerful singing voice", for example, could I say
小林みかさんは力を持つ歌声があります。
Or is there a better way to say it.
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How would you express the phrasing “Courtesy of [x]” in Japanese?
I’m having a bit of trouble figuring out how to phrase this sort of thing. I’m thinking of this in the context of “acknowledging that someone has formally done a service for another”.
Examples might ...
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In UI/UX design, what word in Japanese is used for "mockup"?
Is there a more standard term than "デザインモックアップ"?
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How do you say, "Sorry, we're closed for today."? [closed]
I am still studying Nihongo and I'm literally at the very basic part of characters but I had to say to a customer that our shop was closed for today, and I ended up embarrassing myself. Please help me ...
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演じる for performing in tv/movies/anime
I know the verb 演じる is used for performing on stage, but can it be used for tv shows/movies/anime as well? For example, can I say
3月のライオンというTVアニメで花澤香菜さんは演じました。
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Past conditional with ていても/ていた
I've looked into this and it seems they are multiple ways with multiple nuances of saying "if (A) would have happened, then (B) would have happened. (third conditional ?)
My question is about:
...
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Count(s), as in the legal definition of count, in Japanese
How would you say "count" as in the legal term counting up the number of legal charges against a person? Or, rather, what is the counter word for a number of legal charges in Japanese? Is it ...
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A proposed tool about the use of は and が and about the use of "the" and "a" in English
UPDATE: Based on the discussion below, I now see that my proposal is not valid. But still, I want to make a clarification about the following proposal, anyway. Just please keep in mind that I'm ...
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How do I split "Hanako ate the sushi" at a grammatical level?
Disclaimer: I'm not a Japanese learner, but I'm attempting a translation of a book, which has got a few examples in Japanese, among other languages, and I'd like to use Japanese characters, beside the ...
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Turning adjective+すぎる into adverbs
Suppose I want to say
"He was taken from us too soon."
Could I do this by using 早い->早すぎる->早すぎて and writing the sentence this way?
彼は、私達から、早すぎて奪われました。
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How do you say “My car is not big. But, it’s not small either”?
I am having trouble finding out if I’m correct on this.
The statement I would like to translate is,
My car is not big, but it’s not small either.
With the knowledge I have, it would be ...
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How would a native speaker say, 'which is' or 'that is'?
An English example would be, 'We have seen a lot of changes, which are good for business.' or a follow-up question in a casual conversation, '..Which is?'
I was wondering if they have an exact word or ...
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How do you say 'My father and I share the same birthday'?
I am a total beginner in Japanese. If I were to translate it with the knowledge I have, it would be:
わたし の おとうさん と わたし の たんじょうび は [insert Japanese word for 'share'] です.
The setting would be as if I ...
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Is there a general way to communicate the idea of a non-A where A is any noun? [duplicate]
I’m trying to say “Survivorship bias is a logical fallacy that leads to the consideration of survivors as opposed to non-survivors.” Is there a way to say non-survivors, or more so non-anything? For ...
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Can てしまう mean 'end up' with a positive connotation?
While てしまう is how you say 'end up' when it's something regrettable, Can you also use it to say 'end up' if it's something good and unexpected such as:
I ended up making friends with everyone at the ...
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What is the Japanese onomatopoeia for radio static?
Something like "Bzzz". I'm thinking it's either ブーン or ザーザー, but I can't find any source to really confirm it. Thanks.
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How to say "He wants it less spicy" in Japanese
Whats the best way to tell someone, that a person wants something less spicy? あまり辛くほしくない would be a way to say it differently, but I'm looking for "less...".
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Is 突如 the right word for ''suddenly'' in 私の目が突如目覚めた?
As context, I'm trying to write Japanese lyrics for a song (so it's okay if it sounds more poetic instead of natural in daily speech).
I'm trying to say ''Suddenly, my eyes were opened'' meaning ''I ...
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How to say "allow" in Japanese? [closed]
How to say "allow" in Japanese?
My dictionary gives the word 許す yurusu, however I don't know how to use it, and which word must be used instead, across the different specific meanings of &...
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How would I express that I'm an American with Indian heritage?
I'm an American citizen, born and raised here, who speaks English as my only native language. Both my parents are Indian and I look Indian. What is a natural way of conveying all this? Saying just ...
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How to politely say "I wonder..."
In Japanese, when speaking casually, if I want to say
I wonder if that computer was expensive, I believe, I would say
そのコンピューターは高かったかな
But how do you say "I wonder if that computer was ...
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How to say "There are two of each"?
Say I have 8 tea bags, and there are two of each type of tea bag; 2 early gray, 2 mint tea, ... . How can I say "there are two of each (kind)"?
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How to talk about T-posing
If I wanted to say something like,
Whenever I play such-and-such game, the characters always end T-posing.
〇〇ゲームをすると、キャラクターはいつもTポーズになってしまいます。
Or is this said a different way?
Is there more than one ...
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"sounds familiar" or "it rings a bell" phrases but a Japanese version
Was practicing some conversations when I came across those two phrases. How would you answer something like:
ゲーム会社「カプコン」の名作「ヴァンパイア」シリーズを知っていますか。
with the Japanese equivalent of "it sounds ...
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Is the name ラーメンバー appropriate for this situation? [closed]
I'm drawing an izakaya where a person is eating ramen and having a beer. I was thinking 'ラーメンバー' would be a fitting name for the sign in front. I want to know if this is strange in any way as I don't ...
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Can the "&"-symbol (ampersand) be used in Japanese to connect two language names?
For example, is this correct and commonly understood by Japanese-readers:
"日本語 & 英語"
which should represent "Japanese & English" and denote a bilingual edition of a ...
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Are these sentences natural? If not, is the grammar at least correct? [closed]
Are these sentences natural? If not, is the grammar at least correct?
For 2 years, my goal was to pass the JLPT N3. Since passing in December, I've rarely studied Japanese at all. I've already ...
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Standard Japanese Youtube phrases for ending a video
I've been searching various Japanese Youtube videos trying to find the equivalent of "Remember to like/comment/subscribe, and hit the notification bell".
So far the closest thing I've found ...
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Is "doggu cheese" really Japanese, or slang in Japanese?
In this part of this funny video: https://youtu.be/eXpyr0aVkHM?t=1159
The girl says "mother talk dog cheese" in English, trying to translate "My mother told me that it was cheese for ...
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what does "そうなんだよな" mean? (in the context of the following sentence/image)) [closed]
そうなんだよな そもそもオレが 旅を始めた 理由って ここのくじらを 見ることであって 終着点に 来てしまった 今 次のことなんか まだ 考えもつかず 綺麗だったな くじら
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How do you express "have to" in order to talk about a non-obligatory, but obvious course of action?
In English, "has to" and "have to" serve to express obligations (as in "must", like in the classic example of having to do homework), and also work for when one wants to ...
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what meaning "...ほんとにあった"?
What does ほんとにあった mean? (translation), the context appears in the image but I explain: they went to the shore of a lake to look for herbs for their friend who is sick, and the bird, thanks to being ...
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How to say 'fleshed out' as in 'complete'
If I want to say: "You should read the book. The story is more fleshed out", can I say
本を読んだほうがいいです。話はより肉付けされるんです。
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Adaptation as in a 'Movie adaptation'
If I want to say something like:
This movie was adapted from a novel
この映画は小説から適応されました。
Is this the right way to say it?
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does genki desu means how are you? or I'm fine?
does genki desu mean "how are you?" or "I am fine"
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Difference between 火花 and スパーク
When talking about sparks, what is the difference between 火花 and スパーク?
If I want to describe a spark of static electricity, which word is better to use?
Can either of these words be used ...
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Describing computers as 'fast' or powerful'
When describing a computer as 'fast' or 'powerful' what are the right adjectives to use
Can I use these adjectives respectively, or do I have to use something else for computers?
強力な
速い
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Past tense when noun clause is in the middle of the sentence
For this sentence, how does past tense apply with noun clauses
Mr Suzuki was writer who wanted to live near the forest
Do I say
鈴木さんは森林の近くに住みたい作家でした。
or
鈴木さんは森林の近くに住みたかった作家でした。
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How to say 'possessed' as in haunted by a ghost
Could I say these sentences this way?
Hanako was possessed by a ghost.
花子さんは幽霊に憑依されました。
A ghost possessed Hanako
幽霊は花子さんを憑依しました。
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Translating the phrase "Says the guy who..." into Japanese
I got curious thinking about this. Is there any phrase that conveys the same idea/feeling as the English phrase "says the guy who [...]!"
For example:
"You should stop watching TV all ...
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