Questions tagged [nouns]
名詞. A part of speech typically denoting a person, thing, place or idea.
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How to differentiate different kanji separations in dictionary
I am using the Takoboto dictionary.
Under the listing for 書店 (しょてん), there are two breakups of the pronunciation (one with the azure squiggly separator going first below the first kanji and then above ...
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How does ''ni'' fit in here?
I'm trying to figure out this sentence, I'm still new but it still doesn't make sense to me.
お金にお困りのようね
Shouldn't it be a "ga" or a "ha"? How is the trouble going towards money ...
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Weird inflection of the verb in ta form - たれた
I'm a beginner in Japanese; and as an exercise I've tried to translate a sentence from the LN. While I do realize that I've bit more that I can chew, I wish to at least try :)
The sentence that I am ...
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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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Is there a rule of thumb regarding the use of の when using one noun to modify another? [duplicate]
I wrote 担当先生 in my composition today. I was not confident about it, so I searched BCCWJ 中納言 and found out that 担任の先生 is the most popular way of saying it, and that 担当の先生 is also acceptable to a less ...
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What makes the so-called "体言止め" to be independent finite sentences? Why can't other languages have such feature?
Maybe this question should also be posted into the linguistic part. In Japanese a NP/DP like "世界三大唐木の一つとして有名な”黒檀”。(その中でも特に綺麗な...)"may compose a sentence by itself, and this is impossible in ...
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Question about sentences that qualify nouns
(私が)望む未来
(未来を)望む私
I used the same verb behind two diffent nouns.
However the Subject-Verb-Object remains the same.
The first sentence standing for: "The future I desire.".
Would the second ...
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How are actor nouns formed from verbs
Are there general rules for forming nouns that refer to the one performing the action of a verb, such as cut -> cutter, run -> runner, "Jack the Ripper", etc.? I have been searching ...
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Understanding 「35歳の男兎富士直樹容疑者が」
From the first episode of Death Note:
35歳の男兎富士(とふじ)直樹(なおき)容疑者が殺人の疑いで逮捕されました
In the show, this sentence is spoken by a male news reporter, so I assume he would be extra careful to speak formally and ...
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まめつぶ used as a counter?
*あのイヌ げいじゅつかのつもりらしいけど。。。アイデアがうかばないみたい。
＊のうみそが まめつぶ ぐらいしかないんだから ムリもないわよね。
Grammatically (or something), I think まめつぶ works like a quantifier that appears as a noun but I'm not really sure about what ...
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Question About Meaning of 副主人公
To my understanding, 副 can be used "before a rank or title to indicate a slightly different or lower rank or title." so would I be correct in 副主人公 meaning either deuteragonist or secondary ...
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Why does this sentence end in a noun instead of a verb? (Song lyrics) [duplicate]
I am currently trying to translate various song lyrics from Japanese for practice and would like to stay as close as possible to the original meaning of the sentences. Currently, I'm trying to ...
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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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meaning of ブラバン
I came across this phrase in a song I recently listened to:
ブラバンが プーとラッパを吹いた.
I've not been able to find out what ブラバン means, researching I found it might mean "music band" but I'm not ...
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When to use 仕上げ and when to use 仕上がり?
From my dictionary, both of them are nouns and mean finish:
仕上げ - Finish, finishing, finishing touches
仕上がり- Finish, end, completion, result
What is the difference between them?
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Are 片隅 and 隅 synonymous?
I've seen them both used in the same context, for example, テレビは片隅にあります
In that sentence, would 隅 have the same meaning, or is there some nuance to the two words?
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How prevalent is the heiban pronunciation of 見方?
It seems 見方 is another one of those words that have become heibanified, is that right? How acceptable or common is the heiban pronunciation (or as jogloran mentioned, 尾高型)? In this small pool of ...
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What are the proper usages and the meaning of くはある / くはない?
I recently learnt the contrastive usages of the は particle and I read the Tofogu article which has an interesting section which says I can use は contrast marker with the adjectives/nouns positive and ...
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I-Adjective nominalization
For 面白い, why is the noun form commonly 面白 instead of 面白さ? Isn't さ supposed to be the way to take i-adjectives and make them nouns?
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Noun 片道 seemingly used as adverb
大阪までは片道五千円です。 (It is five thousand yen one-way to Osaka.)
In the sentence above 片道 seems to be used adverbially (no particle, with a verb missing). According to jisho.org 片道 is not an adverbial noun, ...
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How to tell when a na adjective is being used as a noun (as opposed to an adjective)
It is common knowledge that na-adjectives are in truth nouns that can be used as adjectives (edit: I now see this was a false generalization I was led into believing by some grammar sources); and the ...
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Is 娘 (musume) a good way to address a girl?
In the anime 『日常』Nichijou, the character Sakamoto (坂本) always uses 娘 to call (refer to) the girl robot character Shinonome Nano (東雲なの).
Is 娘 a good (or prefect) form of address to call or refer to a ...
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Difference between 道化師, ピエロ, and クラウン
What’s the difference in usage between these three words?
ピエロ
クラウン
道化師
Which of these would describe a typical American’s notion of a circus clown?
type of clown I’m thinking of
Does one of these ...
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Addressing someone without punctuation?
Before the introduction of the comma, how would the Japanese address one another in a sentence such as- in English: "I am going to the store, John."
By starting a new line on the paper? ...
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What are the differences between し, するの and すること?
When should I use し, するの and すること as nouns? Not just the verb "する", but any verb e.g. ”見”, "見るの" and "見ること"/ "書き", "書くの" and "書くこと".
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Why are these sentences involving 一部, 一部分, and 部分 ungrammatical?
I've been trying to figure out the differences between 一部, 一部分, and 部分 using GOO's thesaurus. It indicates that 部分 is used for one of several parts, while 一部 and 一部分 are for parts of a whole. And then ...
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何も＋Verb / Noun (?) / Adj (?)＋ない
According to jlptsensei and other sources (google), for the
何も〜ない construct, all of verbs, nouns, and adjectives can be used. But however, from all of the sources and my intuition, I can't find ...
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What is "nothing"? E.g. "Talk about nothing"
I am trying to translate some lyrics that go like
We can talk about nothing
then I hit a snag because I am not sure what the word for "nothing" could be. Things that keep coming to mind:
...
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Noun 勢い used as an adverb?
勢い地面に背中を打ちつけ、彼は顔をしかめた。
According to dictionaries, 勢い is a noun for momentum, force. In this sentence, isn't it used like an adverb to say that he knocked him on the ground with force?
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What does そのねらいは mean in this sentence?
波希（なぎ）はその都度、うそをついた。「これ、お父さんの形見だから」。つまり、亡き父の眼鏡を後生大事にかけている、ちょっと変った娘を装っているのだ。 そして、そのねらいは、 「名塩さんって、ひょっとして眼鏡を取ったら、すごく美人だったりするんじゃない？」 と、ささやかれることにあった。
It's from a book that I'm reading. I got the whole ...
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(Passive) verbs and nouns
I have question regarding the use of verbs as "adjectives" for nouns.
When should I use the passive form of the verb? When should I use the standard form of the verb?
For example, when ...
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order of 2 or more nouns
I am a beginner. Here is the sentence in Tae-Kim guideline:
ボブ：うん。でも、明日雨が降るよ。
1/ Notice that the order is 明日雨. Is this order correct 雨明日 ?
2/ If not, suppose there are 3 or more nouns that can stand ...
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Ｗhat does a noun + に mean? How does the particle に work here?
I found the next sentence:
魔物が防御に徹するかのように動く。
And when I searched the word 防御 I found out that this word works only as a noun and as a のadjective, hence my doubt regarding the use and meaning of に in ...
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What's the etymological linkage of 「眉{まゆ}」and「繭{まゆ}」?
I found the etymology of 「眉{まゆ}」 from 眉／まゆ - 語源由来辞典
眉は目の上にあることから、「マノウヘ（目の上）」もしくは「マウヘ（目上）」の意味と考えられる。
ただし、古くは「マヨ」と言い、「マヨ」が音変化して「まゆ」となっている。
そのため、「マノウヘ」「マウヘ」が直接音変化したものではなく、「目の上」の意味を表す言葉に「マヨ」があり、...
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Modifying nouns - iku
My textbook (Minna No Nihongo I ch. 22) gives:
私がいつも買い物するスーパーは野菜が安いです
(The supermarket I always do my shopping at has cheap vegetables (for sale)).
I'm guessing this is ok actually, and it might be ...
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Can I use verb as noun in a informal way? Informal Japanese
I've tried searching for the answer in a lot of place. But all I get is formal answers (like 彼女はいつ来ますか). I'm assuming that the informal style will be 彼女はいつ来てるのか。 because the verb come turned into ...
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Are there other words like 甲斐?
甲斐{がい} seems to have the property where it conjugates with the 連用形 of verbs unlike most nouns with which verbs typically attach with the 終止形. i.e you say 生き甲斐 instead of 生きる甲斐, やり甲斐 instead of やる甲斐. I ...
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What is the difference between 計測 and 測定?
When I wanted to use word 'measure' in the past I used 計測 or 測る. But recently I got a message from a Japanese co-worker:
申し訳ありません
18時前にネット障害がおこり最後の計測できませんでした...
まだ復旧してないので明日18時に測定します
I understand ...
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Why a compound noun instead of XのY?
視界左上に固定表示されている細い横線が、わずかにその長さを縮める
from ソードアート・オンライン1アインクラッド
I'm curious to know why the author chose to use this construction instead of 視界の左上.
Edit: And unrelated to that, I just noticed that the ...
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Can I say na, nano, nanu as "seven" instead of nana?
On my kanji dictionary, below 七, there are several kunyomi among the common ones (nana, nanatsu), they are: na, nano, nanu; it's written that they are nouns themselves and it's the same for the other ...
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Is the ''o'' in ''osara'' (plate) an honorific o 御 or just a normal o お?
I have learned that "plate" is both sara and osara.
The fact that the o can be attached implies to me that it is an honorific o 御.
My dictionary gives the honorific o as 御 but for osara it ...
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What's up with animal names ending in る?
猿・ツル・ホタル・カエル
る is a rather uncommon mora in nouns, especially at the end. But there seem to be an unproportional amount of animal names that end in る.
Is that just a coincidence?
For 猿 at least, there ...
user40476
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What do you say when you feel bad for someone? Like "Poor Alice."
When you feel bad for someone or feel sympathy for them? For example, if you want to say, "Poor Alice," would it be, 可哀想アリス？or do I have to add the な after 可哀想 since it's a na-adjective?
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is Hizashi a noun or a proper name?
I am considering using this word to name a new brand however I don't want it to be named after the popular Anime character. Does Hizashi mean "rays of the sun" and can it be separated from ...
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How does this verb interaction work?
In the sentence, how do verbs interact?
時を表す同じ語を前後に置いて、それを強調する意を表す。
I understand 時を表す同じ語を前後に置いて as place identical time representing words at the front and rear but I don't really know if this is ...
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ご存じ how to use properly and why
I found a couple of examples using this noun; neither makes a lot of sense.
i think that ご存じ is an irregular polite form of 知る. However, if that is the case it is a bit odd as the polite form of a ...
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Verb nominalization with plain form vs の
I was wondering if there is any clear rule as when to use plain form vs の
eg.
その食べっている人。
ラメンをたべるのが好き。
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na-adjective + noun: can I negate na-adjective in this case?
I read articles and watch videos but no one mention it is possible to negate na-adjective if it before the noun.
Everywhere just mention that case when no noun after the na-adjective:
これ は かんたん です。 --&...
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Confusion about まっとうに, 青春をする and the subject and object of this sentence
I'm re-reading a light novel and I don't think I'm going to figure this sentence out anytime soon...
Quick context: one day a man meets a teenage girl, makes it clear that although he finds her cute, ...
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What is the difference between 人気のある, 人気がある, 人気の, and 人気な? [duplicate]
As 人気 is a noun and な-adjective, it can be used in these phrases:
人気のある映画
人気がある映画
人気の映画
人気な映画
人気映画
To me, they all mean ‘popular movie’, but the first 2 literally mean ‘movie that has popularity’ ...
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