Questions tagged [nuances]
ニュアンス. Subtle differences between two seemingly interchangeable expressions.
1,076
questions
2
votes
1answer
83 views
What is the difference between these sentences?
I was trying to write "Half of the population will die" in Google Translate. I wrote：
「人口の半分は死にます。」
But Google decided this was better:
「人口の半分が死亡します。」
Are these just different ways to write the ...
1
vote
2answers
176 views
Meaning of もったいぶらず in the following sentence
Context: while talking about himself, a boxer says:
今持ってるモノはもったいぶらず全て出す。それが俺の武器に繋がるんでねェ。拳に表れるんだよォ ――――[生き方]【スタイル】ってヤツは。
According to dictionaries, the meaning of もったいぶらない is unpretentious, modest. ...
3
votes
3answers
147 views
Difference between 絶滅, 消滅 and 滅ぶ
My vocabulary textbook lists the three following words:
滅び行く種族
Endangered species
種族の絶滅
The extinction of species
消滅した種族
Extinguished species
(Hope the English ...
3
votes
1answer
92 views
Difference between ~によって and ~を通じて (through, by means of)
It seems that both ~によって and ~を通じて (sometimes ~を通して) can be used to mean "through", "by means of", "via". Both seem moderately but not very formal.
Are there any differences in nuance that dictate ...
2
votes
1answer
86 views
~てからでなければ vs ～なければ
I'm learning the ～てからでなければ... grammar pattern, which my textbook defines as:
Until/unless ~ happens or is done, ... cannot happen or be done either. Used in negating or negative statements.
One of ...
4
votes
1answer
139 views
Research on かのように, and other よう constructs
I wanted to learn more about よう constructs, in particular the かのよう(な)(に) and かのようだ constructs, so I did some research. The following is what I've found so far.
よう - a noun that can turn into a ...
6
votes
2answers
234 views
Most natural way to use the negative with つもり
Which is more natural to say in Japanese? Do they have slightly different connotations?
食べないつもりです。 (I intend not to eat.)
食べるつもりはないです。 (I do not intend to eat.)
Also, are those translations fairly ...
0
votes
0answers
39 views
〜たことある/ない vs 〜たことあった/なかった
I see these as example sentences on sites, and I cant figure out the nuances between both. When would you use the past form of this phrase?
3
votes
1answer
106 views
What is the difference between ending a question with んだ？and の？
I thought の when used in questions is for when you’re asking for an explanation or to have a curious tone, but んだ is also for explanation and I’ve seen both used to end questions so what are the ...
2
votes
1answer
90 views
左に曲がる/右に曲がる v/s 左折/右折
That's it, essentially. What differentiates these two ways to indicate a turn?
So far, I had only heard 左に曲がる/右に曲がる, but recently I heard 左折/右折 in the GPS of a car. At first I thought that the latter ...
10
votes
2answers
1k views
Meaning of だけはわからない
それでも彼には、自分のことだけはわからない。
I'm translating the above sentence from Japanese to English, and I'm having issues with understanding what だけはわからない means.
Why does だけ come before は?
says that だけは means 'at ...
1
vote
1answer
80 views
Why do I need to use のに instead of ので？
食べてばかりいるので、なんで太いじゃないだろう？？
I was told for this sentence I should use のに instead of ので. Why is のに better here? It seems like it changes the meaning from “so/since” to “even though”.
I wanted to say “...
2
votes
0answers
53 views
What is the difference between ある日 and ある日のこと?
For example:
ある日のこと、たろうは、また海へ出て。
As I understand ある日 means "one day". What does the のこと do to it?
Possibly related? What is the こと in sentences such as あなたのことが好きだ? and What is “koto” used for?
11
votes
1answer
1k views
Is there a difference between 「目を覚ます」 and 「目覚める」
I just recently learned these phrases were a thing and I can't find the difference anywhere online.
Is there a difference between 「目を覚ます」 and 「目覚める」 ?
Any help would be appreciated!
3
votes
0answers
90 views
Expressing “huh” tag?
How would you express this type of tag?
For example:
Lovers, huh? That’s what you think they are?
Would って work?
恋人って？そうと思う？
1
vote
1answer
85 views
Difference between 〜がち and 〜つい？
If both can express habits like things you tend to do, what is the difference between their uses?
examples:
イケメン*が通るとつい見ちゃう。
昔の話をしていると話がついつい長くなる。
Why was つい used here? Would 〜がち also make ...
0
votes
1answer
92 views
Casual ways to ask meaning?
I know 〜はどう言う意味ですか？ but how might you ask this question in a casual setting among friends?
6
votes
1answer
129 views
Difference between だけに and だけあって [duplicate]
Once again, while doing exercises, I came across a sentence that bugged me:
直子は７歳のときに家出したが、聡明な_____、見つかることなく10日間もひとりで生きていた。
A. だけあって、B. だけに、C. だけ、D. だけは
The solution to the exercise was A, ...
3
votes
2answers
95 views
Why the specific spelling “一つひとつ”?
I'm reading a book and the author keeps using the spelling "一つひとつ" for "one-by-one". I found this a bit curious: The word itself is just a doubled 一つ, so why not spell both parts the same? Does ...
2
votes
0answers
116 views
Clarification of objects using questions
When I want to ask whether or not something I have is what I think it is, I can't figure out exactly what to say.
これは梅じゃないの? (Rising intonation)
Is this not a plum?
これは梅じゃないね。(Falling ...
3
votes
1answer
123 views
Usage of にしてみれば
どうか自分の幻想でありますように...幻想など決して認めないダーズリ氏にしてみれば、こんな願いを持つのは生まれてはじめてだった。
Please let it be my imagination... For Mr Dursley who didn't hold with things like imagination, this was the first time in his life ...
1
vote
2answers
181 views
Is there a Japanese word for the game “horseshoes?”
I'm guessing this will come across as two questions, but their interrelation is important...
Is there a specific word for the game where you toss a horseshoe at a peg (in English just called ...
2
votes
1answer
102 views
What's the difference between 初心者, 入門者 and 初級者
I see 初級 Written mostly in books which mean beginner or elementary level, the other two were written on the same page for a drawing course i fould online as "入門者向け" and "初心者向け", but i don't see any ...
0
votes
1answer
112 views
努める and 努むる nuance differences
What is the difference in nuance between 完成に努{つと}めるand 完成に努{つとむ}むる?
I heard 努むる{つとむむる} and it threw me as I had never heard it before.
5
votes
2answers
479 views
Is this phrase a grammatically correct translation?
I'm trying to translate the following English into Japanese:
"The only thing more troubling than the silence were the whispers that followed."
What I've come up with is:
沈黙{ちんもく｝より悩｛なや｝ましいのは継｛つ｝...
1
vote
1answer
74 views
Difference between the words kakemono and kakejiku
Does anyone reading this site know of any nuance(s) differentiating these two words? Numerous online sites say that kakejiku is more commonly used, but I have found no information about whether the ...
3
votes
1answer
473 views
Why are Japanese translated subtitles non-conversational?
I guess this question brushes along the lines of why "real Japanese" can't be learnt from drama/アニメ. I was watching the Dark Knight (2008) with Japanese subtitles and I noticed that the translations ...
4
votes
2answers
183 views
Meaning of かわいい When Used By Kids Towards Adults
Okay, I'm fairly advanced in my Japanese studies after having lived and taught in Japan for almost a year. However, one thing that continues to boggle me is the possibly most common word of all: かわいい。
...
1
vote
1answer
70 views
What's the meaning and nuance of ばっかり in this sentence?
A girl is worried and upset because she believes she is more excited and happy about the relationship with her boyfriend than he is. So she says:
わたしばっかり浮かれてる気がする……
I think the sentence means ...
8
votes
1answer
149 views
What's the difference between 役割 and 役回り?
Weblio gives both the meaning of role or part (duty is there too as a less used meaning), so I assume the difference is on the nuances.
In addition, 役割 seems to be much more used by Japanese natives ...
5
votes
2answers
111 views
Different nuances of そっか and なるほど？
I’ve learned that both mean something like “I see” or “I understand” but are they interchangeable? Is there any difference?
8
votes
1answer
290 views
What's the difference between 反面 and 一方？
I understand that they both present two opposite sides of a situation or of something. However, even if in some cases they can be interchangeable, there are other where they cannot. Can somebody ...
7
votes
2answers
262 views
と vs. のを / ことを when used with 信じる
Take the following sentences:
いつか願いが叶うと信じている。
いつか願いが叶うのを信じている。/ いつか願いが叶うことを信じている。
I know what they mean, but I don't know if there is a practical difference between the two versions. More ...
3
votes
1answer
140 views
How is the passive form used with を?
I encountered this sentence in my textbook:
いつか、日本人政治家の中にも世界で尊敬され、名前を知られるような人物が現れるようになるには、まず日本国民一人一人の意識を変えるべきなのだろう。
In all cases of passive form that I learned so far, I only ever seen it used ...
6
votes
1answer
236 views
Politeness / Respectfulness / Humility / Formality
The wikipedia article "Honorific speech in Japanese" states that
Japanese has grammatical functions to express several different emotions. Not only politeness but also respectfulness, humility and ...
1
vote
2answers
449 views
How to determine 大都市 vs 都市
As I understand 都市 [toshi] means [city].
And therefore it could be any city, which is not town.
In Russia town means over 12K population.
100-250K pouplation = big town.
250-500K pupulation = small ...
4
votes
1answer
130 views
te form negative vs negative form (HW: やっていない, why not やらなかった or やっていなかった)
I've been studying Japanese here in Tokyo from scratch for a good 2 months now. I've been struggling with daily conversation but I try to improve each day by studying.
Lately, I am trying to ...
5
votes
1answer
132 views
~te + oku vs plain masu form
Good evenings folks,
Currently I'm here in Tokyo learning Japanese for about 2 months now from scratch, and our sensei is teaching us N4 level grammar structures already. My question is, what's the ...
2
votes
1answer
76 views
Differences between 'prepare' words. 整う、備える、設ける
What are the nuances between each? For general use in most cases can they be substituted for 準備します?
3
votes
3answers
210 views
What does というように mean?
I've been seeing this structure a lot lately, and I feel like it takes on different meanings depending on how it's used.
Basically I understand it as:
Quotative と + いう(to say, define etc.) + ように (...
0
votes
1answer
94 views
Negative adjective 恐怖せず [duplicate]
恐怖せず
I think it means “fearless”, but I don’t know the particle sezu. Is this old-fashioned?
2
votes
1answer
286 views
What does 気楽 mean when attached to ビール or お酒？
I first found this here: https://www.ettoh.jp/
楽酒＝気楽なお酒
Does this mean the drink is easy to drink? Or that it's meant to be drunk in a carefree setting? One example I was taught for 気楽 is in ...
6
votes
2answers
568 views
「呆れる」とはどういう意味ですか？
呆れるとはどういう意味か今一つわからないのです。goo辞書で調べると、「あまりに意外なことに驚く」というのが出てきますが、今まで見てきた例を考え合わせてみると、やはり納得がいかないところが残っています。特に、「呆れる」には必ず「驚き」の要素が入っていますか？「ショック」「衝撃」と同じくらい、爆発的な印象がありますか？
そして、三つの例について聞かせてください。
①「...
7
votes
2answers
189 views
Head-internal relative clauses
I am trying to figure out head-internal relative clauses. A paper I looked at presented two versions of the same sentence, one with the head word (りんご) outside the relative clause:
[皿の上にあった]...
3
votes
0answers
66 views
What is the difference between 端, 縁 and 先っちょ?
I struggle to visualise the differences between 端, 縁 and 先っちょ after
reading many examples and definitions online:
The approximate english translations are very similar:
端: end, tip, point margin (...
4
votes
1answer
151 views
Function of と when used with 続く
I don't understand the function of と when used with と続きます
From this sentence in my textbook:
世界で一番インスタントラーメンをたくさん食べる国は中国で451.7億食、その次はインドネシアの137.0億食、日本の51.0億食、アメリカの43.2億食、ベトナムの39.1億食、韓国の33....
2
votes
2answers
101 views
placement of さえ
I came across this statement involving さえ.
私はAKB48が全然分からない。一番有名な人さえ名前がわからない。
My question is: Is there a general rule as to where you can place さえ?
What about: 一番有名な人の名前さえ分からない。What is the meaning ...
2
votes
1answer
260 views
How to say “Developer” In Japanese?
I want to know how to say Developer in Japanese. By Developer, Specifically a web Developer, Programmer or Coder.
When I googled it initially, I got:
デベロッパー
And then I found a Kanji:
開発者
I ...
3
votes
0answers
76 views
Differences between “even if”/“no matter (how much)” structures: としても, ところで, ~ようが/と
I've encountered several forms that mean both "even if" (might be used for example with たとえ), and "no matter (how much)" (used with どんなに, いくら, etc).
~ても
~としても
~ところで
~ようが/と
The only difference ...
1
vote
0answers
60 views
Question about おきます [duplicate]
In the following sentences, what is the use of 'おきます'? And what is the difference in nuance if the sentences end without 'おきます'?
実家にいるうちに、母の料理をたくさん食べておきます。
お金があるうちに、ほしいものを買っておきます。
