Questions tagged [nuances]
ニュアンス. Subtle differences between two seemingly interchangeable expressions.
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という/っていう - a few of questions
I’ve scoured this website and elsewhere to get to the bottom of this and I think I’ve cracked most of all of the という usages and meanings. But I just have some few questions I hope you can help with.
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Difference between どれだけ and どのくらい and どんなに
It seems that どれだけ can be used interchangeably with どのくらい and どんなに, but is there any difference in nuance?
For example:
(どれだけ/どんなに)聞いても意味が分からない
(どれだけ/どんなに)説明しても、あの人はわかってくれない
彼の身長は(どれだけ/どのくらい)ですか。
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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 ...
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What are the differences between ~といわれている, ~とされている and ~と考えられている?
I understand that these verbs related to expressing a certain belief or viewpoint. I frequently confuse the three.
From what I can understand the meanings are:
~といわれている
Repeating or reporting on ...
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What is the best way to express regret at something that didn't happen? (informal)
I'm trying to write a postcard to a Japanese friend that I didn't manage to meet the last time I visited. I'm not sure if I should start the sentence with something like 残念ながら or 残念なことに (and in that ...
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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 &...
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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 ...
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(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、...
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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？
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The nuance of "やってやる"
I've seen a few topics on "~てやる" here (I do apologise in advance if this question overlaps too much with any previous answered posts), but I have a specific question regarding the phrase "やってやる".
I ...
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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 ...
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How to say I am hungry? おなかが空きます
how do you use the phrase 'おなかがすきます' to express you are hungry? I heard from different sources that 'おなかが空きます' is apparently better than 'おなかが空いています', is this true? Because grammatically the second ...
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confused about the usage of よう?
The sentence in question
彼に集中するよう注意を促しといたよ。
Meaning
I urged him to concentrate.
Confused as to what role the よう is playing here?
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Can anyone check my understanding of Verb stem+あげる/切る／通す／終わる and てしまう
As far as i understand, those words pretty much means "doing something completely" but each have its own nuance. I'll use the word 読む for conjugating as an example.
1.読み終わる
This one is just ...
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Confused about usage of という
I came across this sentence:
地面が土で、周囲が木というだけで、暑さが随分とマシになった。
The heat became quite bearable when surrounded with trees and dirt.
I'm confused about what という is doing here?
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Differences/Similarities Between そうすると and そうしたら
Just learned the grammar point そうすると and was wondering is そうしたら is the same thing.
For example, would
早く大学を卒業したいです。そうすると、仕事ができる be the same as 早く大学を卒業したいです。そうしたら、仕事ができる？
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Talking about yourself in Honorifics [尊敬語]
Can one talk about themselves in Honorifics? Example:
俺様が宅へお出でになった [I went home]
俺は寿司を召し上がれる [I can eat sushi]
俺は勉強為さってらっしゃる [I am studying]
etc etc
And what instances is it used and the nuance ?
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そういうの and そういうこと
When you use そういうの you are talking about "things/living things" but also about "topics", more abstract subjects right? like, doing some sports, or talking about "this"
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What does ～ていく mean here?
すぐ傍から告げられた言葉に、胸の鼓動がどんどん高鳴りを増していく。
As usual, I have problems understanding ～てくる/いく. I've already studied their meanings, but whenever I encounter them, I don't know which one it is.
He hugs her, and ...
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Addressing a female child whose name you do not know?
I'm writing a piece in which a man tells a girl who he has just rescued from the rubble of a house to follow him. Right now, I just have him saying, “Come,” but I wonder if there's something idiomatic ...
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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 ...
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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?
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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 ...
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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 ...
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顔見れる actual meaning?
The character is explaining why he hasn't show visited his friend for a while after some awkward stuff happened between them.
About 顔見れる is to take as "show my face" or more like "Look ...
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Comparing みたいに and みたいな感じで
To preface, I understand that not every みたいな感じで is used adverbially like みたいに, because sometimes that で is the te-form:
素人みたいな感じで申し訳ないですが
Sorry to sound like an amateur. (I sound like an amateur, (and ...
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Difference between てしまう and つい〜てしまう
Is there any difference in nuance to the てしまう construction when つい precedes it?
In the following sentence:
とってもキレイなネックレス
あんまりステキだったから
つい拾っちゃった
Would the nuance change if つい was omitted?
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Understanding なんか in 「なんで鍵なんか閉めてんの？」
I know that なんか has various uses, one of which is similar to a dismissive など, where <NOUN>なんか can mean "thing like NOUN" (dismissively).
Question: Is that what's going on here
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What's a good way to say "liminal"?
I speak a fair amount of Japanese (from America, live in Kobe, Japan), but am having a hard time finding a good way to say liminal.
The best I can think of is things like gap or transition 間 【あいだ】
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Nuance of まま in expressing lack of change
I understand that まま can be used in order to convey that something doesn't change, or to express lack of change, although in this sentence, I'm not quite sure what it is trying to convey.
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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
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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 ...
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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)
...
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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 ...
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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?
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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。」
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the meaning of "のこと" in this sentence
Ohayou, please i wanted to understand the exact meaning of this definition-like sentence:
何か、機械とかに人間っぽいことをさせる、知能を持たせるみたいなまあ広い枠組みのことをAIと言って
And because I found it difficult to really grasp the "...
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