Questions tagged [nuances]
ニュアンス. Subtle differences between two seemingly interchangeable expressions.
1
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1answer
81 views
Help translating English idioms
Can someone use 涙ぐむ in a way to say "could bring a man to tears" or something along those lines?
Wanting to translate some English phrases or sayings into Japanese in a way that could be either ...
3
votes
1answer
100 views
Meaning of ですかね in a response
I feel like this is a basic question, one whose meaning I don't think I fully understand. I'm watching a サンドウィッチマン コント on YouTube where 伊達さん is asked
"How many women have you been out with before?"
...
2
votes
0answers
76 views
Usage of ところ to represent time with に and で
I am trying to understand the grammar of using ところ with に and で when using ところ to represent the time that actions have happened.
These are (ungrammatical) sentences I made up:
1) ...
0
votes
1answer
145 views
Shigeru Miyamoto interview
I always have difficulty understanding 宮本 茂. His Japanese is like the hardest to understand. I can watch whole anime's with no problem, and read through lots of text in video games and manuals, but ...
4
votes
0answers
46 views
Three ways of saying 'mother': 母, お母さん, 母親
お[母]{かあ}さん is used to address one's mother and [母]{はは} to talk about her (related: Titles for family). Since [母]{はは} already means 'my mother', is 私の母 redundant?
And when/how/why is [母親]{ははおや} used?
1
vote
1answer
74 views
How do I make my translation less stilted or flow similar to the original Japanese?
I'm translating the following line of dialogue spoken by Character A to Character B.
「怖がらなくてもいいわ。もう襲ったりしないから」
The translations I made are the following:
"There’s no need to be afraid. Because I ...
1
vote
1answer
74 views
Different ways of saying “single”?
I am trying to translate basic combat to Japanese, but find myself struggling as to which form of "x of this" to use.
I am currently trying to figure out how to say "single," as in "single punch," ...
3
votes
2answers
94 views
さあていくわ vs さあ行くわ
Eat Mom's Breakfast
Toast, Jams, Milk of おいしい牛乳
さあて行くわあたし happy happy girl!
From the intro of a song (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KS2t7l89Lm0)
The English words are being sung in ...
4
votes
1answer
97 views
What is the nuance between 内に and 間に in these sentences?
This will be a long question.
I referred to the other questions that were already answered,
Difference between 前に and うちに
When describing time span, are 間 {あいだ} and 内 {うち} interchangeable?
What'...
4
votes
1answer
203 views
Why are weather verbs 曇る and 晴れる treated differently in this sentence?
In this sentence:
どうやら今日の天気は曇るようだ。× It seems that today's weather is cloudy.
This uses the weather verb 曇る
But when asking native speakers, this does not sound natural and I don't understand why.
...
3
votes
0answers
95 views
Nuance differences between the kanji for ぐあい, 具合 and 工合
Usually I read ぐあい as 具合 but recently I was reading a some Japanese literature and the 工合 version of the kanji was used.
For reference the literature:
脳味噌の中心にヒリヒリと焦げ付く位である。それでいて、あとから考えるとその興味の焦点と、...
2
votes
1answer
287 views
How would one say “Grandma died, I really miss her”?
Does 懐かしむ suffice? Can it convey the sadness of losing someone close to you? If not, how would one express such a thing?
I'm having trouble dealing with this, as there are plenty of uses "miss" in ...
0
votes
2answers
70 views
Why まで in this sentence?
In this sentence (from here)
このビルは２０階建てで、地下は２階まであります。
the building has 20 floors. Are there 2 basements (perhaps in addition to the 20 floors), or is it that floors up to (まで) the second one are ...
4
votes
2answers
201 views
What's the nuance behind using を要らない as opposed to が要らない?
I was reading the lyrics of a song and found the following line:
あの人あたしをいらない
From the original English song, I can tell that the meaning is that "that person no longer needs me", but why does it ...
4
votes
1answer
322 views
Is '大勢の人' redundant?
According to jisho.org, [大]{おお}[勢]{ぜい} means 'crowd of people; great number of people'. Yet I have seen '大勢の人' several times: is it redundant?
7
votes
2answers
303 views
Why あります instead of です in this sentence?
In the following sentence (from here),
北海道札幌市の円山動物園に、ミャンマーから来た３頭の象をみんなに見せるための広い場所と建物ができました。[...] 広さは５０００m²以上あります。
I would have expected です instead of あります: 広さ = ５０００m²以上.
2
votes
1answer
138 views
What are the nuances between the use of 訊く instead of 聞く in the following sentence?
I know that 訊く is another way to write 聞く, so now I'm curious as to why the author of the book used it here instead of 聞く, which has been used for all previous instances in the book.
こちらから訊くより先に、...
5
votes
2answers
176 views
what's the difference between 痛い and 辛い?
Online dictionaries give 痛い and 辛い the meaning "painful" and among others:
痛い (itai): sore
辛い (tsurai) bitter, heart-breaking
In what contexts one of them can be used while the other can't?
...
1
vote
1answer
73 views
Difference 記念日 vs 周年
What exactly is the difference betweekn 記念日 and 周年? I found both to mean "anniversary".
Thank you in advance.
2
votes
1answer
139 views
How to say “Some” in Japanese
I need to communicate that I am allergic to some sunscreens (but not all).
I know that 'some' is a difficult concept to get across in Japanese, so how would I say it in this specific case?
ie. "(...
3
votes
2answers
154 views
I need help with locating nuances in translation for the phrase 錆の浮いた
I'm trying to translate the following sentence, and I need some help with locating and understanding possible nuances for translating 錆の浮いた.
The two best possible translations of it ("become loose" ...
5
votes
1answer
108 views
What's the difference between 時間がいる and 時間が必要?
In this thing I'm reading, I see the following sentence:
心の傷だって、治るには時間がいるでしょ
The speaker is talking about a long standing problem that the protagonist has. It seems like it's 時間が要る, but is there ...
3
votes
0answers
150 views
来た2日後に vs 来て2日後に vs 来てから2日後に
日本に来た2日後にこの本を買った。
日本に来て2日後にこの本を買った。
日本に来てから2日後にこの本を買った。
I created these sentences from similar-looking examples I found on Google. Are they all grammatical? These all mean "I bought this book two ...
10
votes
1answer
1k views
Does しかたない imply disappointment?
From the context of the original Japanese text, is seems that しかたない does not imply a negative feeling such as disappointment or dissatisfaction. Instead, it seems to mean "That's just the way it is" ...
1
vote
0answers
64 views
Multiple words with same definition
I am seeing pairs of words with similar meanings (where one of the words has a single kanji and the other has two kanji).
Examples include:
豊か、豊富
保つ、保存する
防ぐ、予防する
Do these pair of words share the ...
5
votes
3answers
177 views
Meaning of 寒くなる vs. 寒くなっています
Today it crossed my mind how I could translate this, and some confusion arose with the verbal forms to use.
If I wanted to say "I got cold", I would say
寒くなった
However, for "I'm getting cold", I ...
1
vote
1answer
103 views
Polite form of apology with tense form?
After missing an appointment, which would be more appropriate for asking for forgiveness or apologizing?
ごめんなさい でした
or
本当にごめんね。ほんとうに ごめんね
In particular, considering the difference between the ...
3
votes
1answer
134 views
Nuance between AやB and AやBなど?
AとB is an exhaustive list, whereas AやB and AやBなど mean A and B and more. (And AとBなど feels inconsistent.) But is there a difference between AやB and AやBなど?
Aなど means 'something like A' or 'A and the ...
3
votes
1answer
99 views
忙しいところ vs 忙しいなか
I've been preparing for an interview, and I've seen both of these phrases used when introducing yourself and thanking someone for their time or when support is being given. For example:
...
4
votes
1answer
135 views
ものだ expressing ambiguous emotions/concern?
This article lists many examples of using ものだ to articulate "deep concern." The author of this article explains that when you connect words which indicate desire like …たい and 欲しい with ものだ, your speech ...
4
votes
1answer
205 views
How to say “to work for”
I would like to say "I work for" company X.
I have found two ways of saying that:
仕える -> company-name に仕える
勤める -> company-name に勤める
But I can't find which one is correct or where to correctly use ...
4
votes
1answer
78 views
Difference between 禁 and 禁止 (and 禁じる/禁止する)
Both nouns mean 'ban, prohibition' and both verbs 'forbid'. I expect that in set combinations, such as 禁煙 for 'no smoking', there is only one correct possibility. But, otherwise, what's the ...
12
votes
1answer
2k views
Can I use English in place of katakana?
A habit that I have is replacing certain words with how I'd say them in English. For instance I'd write something like this: 私はイングランド人。 私はイーストアングリアに住んでいます, but say something like this: 私はEngland人。 ...
3
votes
2answers
141 views
“Robust Software” in Japanese
I'm struggling with how to say "robust software" in Japanese.
From Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robustness_(computer_science):
In computer science, robustness is the ability of a ...
6
votes
2answers
130 views
What is the difference between はみ出す and はみ出る?
They are both intransitive:
シャツがズボンからはみ出していますよ。
Your shirt is coming out of your pants.
足が 線からはみ出ています。
Your foot is over the line.
3
votes
1answer
92 views
私には versus 私は - difference in nuance?
Can anyone help explaining the nuance in difference between:
私はまったく分かりません。
私にはまったく分かりません。
With expressions such as ヨーロッパには行く (versus は) I can see what affect including the に particle within the ...
1
vote
1answer
116 views
Appropriate “No, I don't have” response to “お持ちでしょうか”
I'm regularly asked at shops/supermarkets with something like:
ポイントカードはお持ちでしょうか
My understanding is that the person is asking if I have a point card. I've also read What's the difference ...
5
votes
1answer
78 views
Meaning of 以上 and 以下 according to water depth level
Reading a text like:
海の深さが200m以上{いじょう}
The first thing that came into my mind was:
Above a level of 200m depth
But then I realized that my understanding can be wrong and it may mean something ...
2
votes
1answer
96 views
Please help with deciphering the meaning of this sentence
お見合いの相手は、理想を絵に描いたような男性だった。
First part is something like: since he/she was/is an omiai partner or since they met in omiai . I’m having difficulty in understanding the second.
Explanation says:
...
5
votes
1answer
116 views
Is there any clear distinction in Japanese for the words 拉致 and 誘拐?
I'm writing an essay about the North Korean abductions of Japanese citizens. In English literature I found that the concepts "abduction" and "kidnapping" are used interchangeably. I'm not familiar ...
5
votes
1answer
94 views
Any differences between 領収書 and 受領書?
First time asking a question here. I was curious if there is any relevant distinction between these two words that mean receipt: 領収書 and 受領書.
0
votes
0answers
62 views
How should I read constructions like “NPのそのNP”?
I encounter these sometimes, but I have a hard time understanding what they're trying to say. Just wandering if someone could explain what it means when you have a possessive noun construction behind ...
1
vote
0answers
98 views
なんてね interpretation
So we have the following situation. There is persons A, B and C. Long ago A and B were friends when according to A B suddenly betrayed her. Now A has been using C for a long while pretending to be a ...
3
votes
2answers
129 views
What is the difference between “みだらな格好” and “あられもない格好?”
I'm trying to figure out the difference in nuance between みだらな格好 and あられもない格好.
My dictionary tells me "みだらな" means "lewd"/"obscene"/"indecent", and あられもない means "unladylike", "immodest", these ...
4
votes
1answer
139 views
What is the difference between 適切、適当 and 適宜?
As the title says, I've been having some trouble with recognizing the difference between 適切、適当 and 適宜 as in dictionaries they are all translated to "appropriate, suitable".
According to this site
適当{...
1
vote
2answers
95 views
Do words differing only in the voicedness of consonants act as functionally homophonous?
In Japanese, there are some sound differences that clearly distinguish words from one another, such as falling on a different 行 or 段 on the 五十音 ([傘]{かさ} vs. [風]{かぜ} or [友]{とも} vs その); while other ...
-1
votes
1answer
104 views
大恋愛の末に結ばれるわけではないから、アバタもエクボということはありえなかった。先行するのは条件である。 [closed]
Could somebody please help me decipher the phrase above which I came across while reading 逃がした魚は大きかった。It’s about two people in relationship. I understand that the first sentence means something like “...
0
votes
1answer
109 views
あなたはそれでよいのです what/how does the でよい bit here work?
Context: Jobs are being appointed and one of the minions is given a simple job of wrecking some place. The minion exclaims how simple it is (not the smartest cookie) and then the job giver (the ...
4
votes
1answer
113 views
Difference Between かなり～ and 結構～ as Adverbs
Is there any difference in meaning between かなりうまい and 結構うまい? How about other usages?
15
votes
1answer
178 views
what's the difference between 話をする and 話す?
I'm trying to understand the nuances between 話をする and 話す. When is one used over the other?
I'm reviewing A Dictionary of Basic Japanese Grammar, and it has the following example sentence:
...
