Questions tagged [nuances]
ニュアンス. Subtle differences between two seemingly interchangeable expressions.
1,292
questions
2
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1answer
84 views
Difference between 監督 and 管理 for “to control”?
So I think both 監督（かんとく）and 管理（かんり）are different from 経営（けいえい）in that 経営 refers to managing a business. However the word "control" can be used for many things in English:
To have control ...
2
votes
1answer
88 views
Can you use ないで and ずに for expressing reasons?
Dictionary of Basic Japanese Grammar (DoBJG) said that both ないで and なくて is used to express the idea that a negative statement is a reason for another statement. To paraphrase,
II. ないで can be replaced ...
4
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1answer
152 views
Word Usage: ほがらかな vs 人懐っこい
I am doing some JLPT prep, and I'm struggling with the differences between ほがらかな and 人懐っこい。
私は、誰にでも抱っこされる（ ）赤ちゃんだったらしい。
A「ほがらかな」 B「人懐っこい」
The given correct answer is 人懐っこい which I can understand as ...
2
votes
2answers
108 views
What is the nuance of「前まで」?
First sentence from this NHK news article,
東京都が、警察と消防の職員に行うワクチン接種は、会場の築地市場の跡地がオリンピック・パラリンピックの輸送車両の拠点となっていることから、大会の準備が本格化する前までしか使えず、1回目の接種を受けた全員が、この場所で2回目を受けられないことが分かりました。
I don't fully understand ...
4
votes
1answer
83 views
About 大事の前の小事 proverb
I came across the following expression
大事の前の小事
jisho.org says the following about it
don't put the trivial ahead of the important; don't sweat the small stuff; don't bother with the details (before ...
2
votes
1answer
114 views
Is で here has the same function as によって?
After a coffee store owner served coffee to his customers, he started with this line
いいか? 豆っていうのは産地で全く味も違うし、挽き方で味も変わってくるんだ...
to show off his knowledge about coffee beans.
I'm not sure what kind で ...
2
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1answer
89 views
About the forms in 包みをといて拡げられていた
There are several things i don't understand in the following
テーブルの上には布地の見本が包みをといて拡げられていたが
Translated by
Above the table, on which an unpacked collection of sample cloth goods was spread out
For ...
2
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0answers
62 views
What does だなんて mean? [duplicate]
I came across with the next sentence:
「そんな呼び方をして、馴れ馴れしくはありませんか？」
「そんな、馴れ馴れしいだなんて」
Why is there a だ with a いadj? And what is the meaning or nuance of that だなんて?
2
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1answer
122 views
Why are these sentences with conditional forms not correct?
I'm struggling a lot with the use of conditional forms, especially using ～たら and ～なら. I recently had the following sentences corrected by my Japanese teacher:
a. 専門書を買ったら、私にも見せてください。
b. 専門書を買うなら、...
4
votes
2answers
687 views
What is 何の doing in this sentence? (「何の躊躇いもなく」)
何の[躊躇]{ためら}いもなく答える人になりたい。
I don't understand what function 何の is serving here. Is this just nuance? How much does the sentence's meaning change if it weren't there?
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2answers
66 views
Same sentence, different use of conditional
Are both of the following sentences correct?
a. 明日授業に出たら、予習したほうがいいですよ。
b. 明日授業に出るのなら、予習したほうがいいですよ。
I feel like (a) does not sound good, but I cannot say why.
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2answers
100 views
Specific textbook example sentence on V(ます)+そう vs. V(普通)+よう
お金を拾いました。今日は何かいいこと（ あるようです / ありそうです ）。
We got into a bit of a dilemma over this in class. Which one do you guys think is right in this case?
EDIT: We actually went over the questions in class, and ...
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2answers
176 views
Does 泣いている describe a continuous action or a state after a change has taken place?
Intransitive verbs describe a change that people/things undergo from my understanding and do not take a direct object. I've also read that the te-form of intransitive verbs with いる describe a state ...
2
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1answer
1k views
What does it mean when someone refers to themselves as この + name?
When watching taiga dramas, I have noticed that people often talk about themselves in the third person. Also, they say kono before their name.
Example, "kono Musashi will fight them".
I'm a ...
1
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1answer
78 views
Usage of は in these sentences
I am learning the lyrics to the song "Last Summer Whisper" by 杏里. I came across these lines:
Baby, love again 二人の愛はもどりはしないけど
Baby, love again せめてあなたをにくみたくはないの
What is the usage of the は ...
1
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1answer
85 views
What does きた do in this sentence
What is the difference between
中学生になってもずっとボーッと生きてきたけど
中学生になってもずっとボーッと生きたけど
What does きた do in this sentence this is from the second episode of the anime K-On! the character is telling a story about ...
2
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1answer
69 views
Understanding どう転んでもいいように高校だけは出ておきなさい
Dad tells his son who is in high school this phrase
どう転んでもいいように高校だけは出ておきなさい
I have difficulty comprehending the whole meaning of this phrase.
どう転んでも is some kind of idiom meaning "no matter how ...
1
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1answer
127 views
Difference between 構いません and 構わない
I've heard the following exchange between two characters, where B agrees to do something dangerous that she previously was dead-set against but chooses to do so now of her own volition:
A:「いいんですね？」
B:...
1
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1answer
115 views
What is the most natural way to tell others that I learned something from someone else?
I made up a few example sentences, and showed them to some native-Japanese speakers, which helped a lot, but there were somethings that I was not able to get answered, so I was wonder if someone here ...
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2answers
85 views
Help understanding 全然そうはいかなかった
I am triing to understand how the following sentence
全然そうはいかなかった
Could translate into
But this was entirely impractical
It's part of Metamorphosis (Kafka). The narrator wakes up transformed into a ...
2
votes
1answer
102 views
What is the difference between 「と」and 「時／とき」? Are they interchangeable?
From what I've seen, when 「と」or「時／とき」are used to express "when", they seem to be interchangeable, and I can't seem to find any differences between them. I've looked at other questions that ...
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1answer
73 views
What's the difference between 「なんだか」 and 「なんとなく」?
The meanings and explanation of なんだか and なんとなく in Wikitionary:
なんだか【何だか】明確な理由が無いさま。
なんとなく【何と無く】明確な理由が無いさま。
It seems that they have totally the same meanings. Is there a difference between the usage ...
2
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3answers
549 views
Why is 行く used in the sentence “すぐに出て行け”?
I don't understand the role of 行く in the following sentence:
すぐに出て行け！
As I understand it, the sentence sounds like "get out now!". Why not just say "すぐに出ろ"?
Is 行く used to ...
4
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2answers
166 views
Does 結ぶ refer to sex or intimate relations?
Was watching a drama and in the episode following a progress in a relationship where the main character finally kissed her boyfriend, her mother asked her "__君と結ばれたのね".
The characters were ...
2
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1answer
67 views
「~るとき、…」vs「~まえに、…」／「~たとき、…」vs「~あとで、…」
What is the difference between「~るとき、…」vs「~まえに、…」?
日本へ行くとき、日本語を勉強しました。→ I studied japanese, before going to Japan.
日本へ行くまえに、日本語を勉強しました。→ I studied japanese, before going to Japan.
And between「~たとき、…」...
2
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1answer
103 views
Help interpreting this sentence using 「あんまり」?
Reading Harry Potter I came across this:
一人の男が現れた。あんまり突然、あんまりスーッと現れたので、地面から湧いて出たかと思えるぐらいだった
To me it seems to say "A man appeared. So quickly, so suddenly, that it could be thought he emerged ...
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0answers
32 views
おそれがある vs おそれあり [duplicate]
I recently found an example of おそれあり in a fictional headline
「ネットワークしはい計画が本格的にはじまったおそれあり」だって
Presumably this is "It says 'It may be that their plan for network domination has begun to go all ...
3
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1answer
93 views
What is the grammatical function of “が” in this context of counting people?
In an anime I've been watching, the protagonist goes to a village where one of his friends came from, where all the people in the village have the same hair color as his friend. (with "〇" ...
4
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2answers
89 views
注意を向ける vs. 注意を向けさせる - same meaning?
I understand the difference in concept; YがXを向ける = "Y turns X", and ZがYにXを向けさせる = "Z makes Y turn X". But in practical usage with 注意を~, I can't tell the difference. Do native ...
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1answer
81 views
What is the difference between 貸付金 and 借入金?
When I translate both of these terms, the English is approximately loan or debt or borrowing.
The first one, 貸付金{かしつけきん}, is commonly used by banks to advertise loans. However, I have seen 借入金{かりいれきん}...
0
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1answer
69 views
what is the difference between 均等 and 平等 and 等しい？ All of them can be adjectives
What is the difference between 均等 and 平等 and 等しい？ All of them can be adjectives. Could you make some examples to show the difference?
4
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3answers
259 views
て form + なら meaning
I'm used to only seeing なら, when used with verbs, to be used with either the dictionary form or the た form of a verb, but recently I saw it with the て form
麻雀を通してならお姉ちゃんと話せる気がする
With a presumed ...
5
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2answers
124 views
Role of をする in 学習の助けをするおもちゃ
I am triing to figure out the use of をする in 学習の助けをするおもちゃ translated as toys to help you learn in this article
I learned a bit about noun + する / をする in this post but for what i understand so far we use ...
2
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1answer
46 views
What's the difference between 指摘する・指示する and 示す?
I know these verbs translate to "pointing out", "indicating" or "showing". I was just wondering what the nuance between these words mean.
2
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1answer
114 views
What's the difference between 閉じる and 塞ぐ?
So i was doing Kanji Quiz, and i stumbled with 塞ぐ Kanji. I know 閉じる is used for eyes,etc. But 塞ぐ also has the same definition with 閉じる.
Here are the definitions.
Definitions
塞ぐ
to stop up; to close ...
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1answer
77 views
Alternative construction of ときている
I was reviewing my Anki N1 cards when I saw this sentence
観察が鋭くて頭脳の働きが早いときているので、情報を集めてくる手先としては理想的だった。 (His quick observation and
active brain made him an ideal agent for gaining information.)
Based ...
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0answers
46 views
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 ...
5
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1answer
545 views
頭【かぶり】を振る and 頭【かしら】を横に振る, why the change in pronunciation?
As the title suggests, why is there a change in pronunciation between 頭【かぶり】を振る and 頭【かしら】を横に振る? As far as I can see, there is no difference between the meanings of the two—デジタル大辞泉 even lists the ...
0
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1answer
105 views
Why does “漢字のはなし” translate to “Lecture about Kanji”
My textbook translates it to that, why not use 講義 instead? Would it be wrong to use either, also what are the nuances?
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1answer
126 views
Which atsui do you mean?
I looked up あつい, and the top two results were different words with the same pronunciation but similar though distinct meanings:
熱い: hot, as in "stove"
暑い: hot, as in "summer"
Do ...
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1answer
80 views
Degrees of implied success with ~ようにする
Pardon my wordiness here, but I'm trying to wrap my head around the exact nuances of ~ようにする, together with the many other questions about it on this site (such as this, this, and this).
日本語文法ハンドブック (...
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1answer
95 views
Meaning of「時」の意識 in this sentence
What does「時」の意識 mean in the following sentence?
「時間が止まってほしいと思う瞬間はどんなときですか」ーある時計の会社が、二十歳の男性と女性516人に、「時」の意識についてアンケート調査をしました。 ?
I got the meaning as a whole but i don't get what 意識 means in the sentence (...
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2answers
147 views
Why is あやまち written 過ち and not 誤ち?
What's the reason for writing あやまち 過ち and not for instance 誤ち ?
Wouldn't that make more sense since it means to err, be incorrect...? I can see how one would get from exceeding/overdoing a mistake, ...
1
vote
1answer
67 views
Difference between 勝る, 優れる, 秀でる, and 抜きんでる
The title pretty much says it all; I am wondering what are the differences between those 4 verbs.
From what I've gathered (and I haven't gathered much):
優れる is used when talking about something that ...
3
votes
1answer
319 views
The use of 僕 by office employees
In the famous 1952 film 生きる (Ikiru), the government-office employees frequently use 僕 to refer to themselves (even the female character used it). Based on this understanding of 僕, 僕 is basically a ...
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2answers
168 views
How would one call something negative interesting?
This seems like it is very basic, but it was never resolved in the past, so here I am.
This was in a Reddit post recently, but it never received a good answer; most of the answers were along the lines ...
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1answer
64 views
difference between 姻族 and 姻戚
What is the difference between 姻族 and 姻戚？
According to the definitions in the dictionary, they are pretty much the same. Would there be a time where I use one over the other?
If I look it up on Jisho:
...
0
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1answer
115 views
Three dots in the middle (…) [closed]
"両方…だ" , "両方…やるぞ"
The speaker pauses before the words of affirmation,would you say it's because he doesn't really want to do "both" ?
( context: the speaker is at a ...
2
votes
1answer
130 views
replacing よう with みたい
Is it always possible to replace よう with みたい?
For example in this sentence:
思うようにはいかないものだ。
Would
思うみたいにはいかないものだ 。
work as well?
I've read many times that these two can be interchangeable, but it ...
4
votes
1answer
241 views
Question about the point of view when using の右 / の左?
I am a bit unclear about which point of view we are talking about when describing the location of things.
For Example:
小山さんは山下さんの右にいます。
For this sentence I have two possible interpretations:
Koyama ...
