Questions tagged [nuances]
ニュアンス. Subtle differences between two seemingly interchangeable expressions.
36
questions with no upvoted or accepted answers
6
votes
1answer
387 views
Difference between 「～てからでないと」and 「～ないことには」
Both of these grammar can be translated to English as
A～てからでないと/～ないことにはB = Unless A is done, cannot do B
From what I can find,
～てからでないと stresses the order or sequence of actions, that until A is ...
4
votes
1answer
115 views
What's the difference between V-るうちに and V-ているうちに?
My grammar book says: "V-ている is used more than V-る, but the pattern V-るうちに is sometimes used." Is there a difference in meaning or style between the two? When are they not interchangeable?
...
4
votes
1answer
413 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
200 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
2k views
How to say “Should I [do something]?”
There was a similar question here, but it was more along the lines of "Should we do something together?", and I'm not sure it fits my case. For example, how do you say "Should I bring something to the ...
3
votes
2answers
122 views
ていく (auxiliary verb) - Clarification on nuance
I was revising the grammar for ていく and got this sentence from the Dictionary of Basic Japanese Grammar.
これからは寒くなっていく
The meaning the book gave was that "It will get colder (and continue to be ...
3
votes
0answers
116 views
Fun with synonyms - “shine/sparkle/glitter/glimmer/glisten/gleam/twinkle/flash”
Been thinking about these for a while. I see that we already have Difference between 光る, 輝く, and 光り輝く?, but I'm including a lot more. What are the differences in meaning (ignoring conjugations) of ...
3
votes
1answer
166 views
Possible Nuances of 「まで」 in sentences like these
First of all, I want to apologize for my first attempt at this question (which you can still find down below); however, as others seem to be interested in it as well I will try to make myself clearer:
...
3
votes
0answers
200 views
What's the ちゃうform doing in this sentence?
Basically, it's an actress talking about how she has kept in touch with one of her costars from a play they did together
... 終わってからも,
実は定期的に会っちゃったりして
What is the chau form doing in 会っちゃった? I know ...
3
votes
0answers
129 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) ...
3
votes
1answer
200 views
食べる時間＿＿ない: Is さえ/も/ででも possible in this context? (Please read further)
*Please be advised that the following is from a practice book, with minimal altering. I sincerely hope this sort of question does not disagree with anyone here.
The question in the book:
...
3
votes
1answer
126 views
引き起こすｖｓ起こす? Meaning difference?
For the meaning of "to cause" what are the differences if any? Or are they interchangeable?
3
votes
1answer
311 views
について vs に関して - the internet tells me they only change in formality, but Imabi disagrees?
について vs に関して
1a. 今から韓国に関して話してください。X
1b. 今から韓国について話してください。〇
Why is Imabi saying that 1a is wrong? Source
All sources are saying that について and に関して have the same function, with the latter being more ...
3
votes
1answer
433 views
difference between らしい んだって とか ということだ。
What is the difference between various ways of saying ”I have heard that”.
らしい んだって とか（言っていた） ということだ。
A: 田中さん、今日は休み？ B: さっき電話があって、熱があるとか。大丈夫でしょうか？
義理の兄と情を通じていたということだ。 I have heard that/It's said ...
2
votes
1answer
110 views
Nuances of ～どころではない
In this multiple-choice grammar question:
（ ）、この本を読むどころではなかった。
A. 来客があって
B. 字が小さくて
C. 眼鏡がなくて
Why does (A) sound more appropriate here than the other choices? I feel like I am missing a nuance with ~...
2
votes
0answers
88 views
Using に対して to express “for,” “for the purpose of,” or “for verbing”
日本語で一番難しいのは、一つのことに対してたくさんの言い方があることです。
Everything I can find on に対して says it means towards, against, regarding, in contrast to, etc.
In the above example sentence, it seems to mean something like &...
2
votes
0answers
72 views
Why can't により be used with “concrete, tangible objects”?
According to "A Dictionary of Intermediate Japanese Grammar" p. 297, により/によって can be used as "a particle that indicates means"
その問題は話し合いに{よって/より}解決出来るはずだ。
We should be able to ...
2
votes
1answer
101 views
(よ)うが～まいが / (よ)うと～まいと vs かどうか
I'm currently studying some N1 grammar, and I actually find it pretty hard getting a feel of the grammar patterns.
I saw this pattern in my Anki deck:
わたしは他人の話に耳を傾けたわけではないんですが、むこうはきかれていようがいまいが、...
2
votes
0answers
69 views
Nuances and context of linking without 〜て / dropped 「て」in linked constructions
(Taken from ジョジョの奇妙な冒険６部: When Jotaro talks to Jolyne about who got her into prison.../ for those who do not know the series: The persons speaking to each other are father and daughter but have a ...
2
votes
0answers
85 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?
2
votes
0answers
105 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？
2
votes
1answer
340 views
Examples of when to use ではありません、ではない、じゃありません、 じゃない
I'm looking for example situations of when to use each level of politeness. I know they all are the same but when situational wise to use each one is where I am having confusion. Thank you.
2
votes
1answer
622 views
Difference between「行ってきます」and 「行って帰ってくる」
On this page about Imabari dialect, it says the following:
笑い話によく登場する話としては「行ってこうわい」。今治では「行ってきます」という意味ですが、他の地域では「行って帰ってくる」という意味に取られます。「行ってこうわい」というからずっと待ってたのに来なかった、というのがオチです。
I am not too concerned ...
1
vote
0answers
112 views
Meaning of ~ようかな between “I wonder if I should…” and “I guess I'll…”
As fair as I'm aware and have read in grammar dictionaries, ~ようかな can take both meanings of "I wonder if I should...." and "I guess I'll....". Obviously, there is a big difference between the two as ...
1
vote
0answers
102 views
の replacing が in subordinate clauses
I've read in this article that の can replace が when used in a subordinate clause.
For example, 耳が長いエルフ is the same as 耳の長いエルフ, evidently. However, this article doesn't describe any difference in ...
1
vote
0answers
118 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 intonation)
...
1
vote
0answers
83 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 ...
1
vote
0answers
124 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 ...
1
vote
0answers
67 views
Difference between 防衛相, 防衛大臣 and 国防相
Reading a NHK NEWS article, I stumbled over three different expressions for minister of defence. Is there a difference between 防衛相, 防衛大臣 and 国防相?
1
vote
0answers
75 views
Can “という” be considered as an optional speech choice in some situations?
I've noticed that some people can use という very liberally and in TV programs, they cut out most of the という in their Japanese subtitling (in offical TV progs, not fan subs), so I assume the only という ...
1
vote
2answers
169 views
Can we use やばいぞ instead of やばいよ?
Does "ぞ" make it more masculine-sounding or is it a different dialect?
0
votes
1answer
105 views
そう with verbs in different forms as well as the differences with みたい
Here are a couple of sentences:
雨が降るそうです
雨が降りそうです
Does 1 mean I hear it will rain, while 2 means It seems it will rain??
And then, what about tenses?:
雨が降ったそうです
?
1 meaning I heard it will rain? ...
0
votes
0answers
56 views
in this sentence what function does と take
here is the sentence i know と can have multiple functions
ごめんね 私さごめんね 人に合わせないと不安っていうか
0
votes
0answers
88 views
Expressing “now” in Japanese in terms of Changes (もう vs 今 vs なった)
Something I've always had trouble in Japanese is expressing "now" in terms of a change. Japanese appears to make a distinction between 今 and もう (なった could also express now?). What I mean by this is 今 ...
0
votes
0answers
100 views
Do I need to reply in this situation?
(In a game) I am a newbie(Lv29), and I saw B(lv100+) having filled his room's wall with numerous super-super-rare(SSR) posters, which can be only be earned with enormous effort. (I don't have any)
I ...
0
votes
1answer
102 views
What is the difference between「働かせる」and 「使う」?
What is the difference between the two sentences?
「その特のなぞを解くに、自分の頭を働かせた。」
「その特のなぞを解くに、自分の頭を使った。」
