Questions tagged [quotes]
引用. Questions about Japanese quotations, or about the grammar of quotation.
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What does とはなる here mean?
都民からの税金で[賄]{まかな}われていると言えば、結局自分たちの支払いだとはなるけど
The character is a government official that ponders who is paying them... Given they also reside in Tokyo he concludes they are paying themselves .
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Is this とも or と plus も?
An excerpt from Harry Potter (Japanese translation);
その時ハリーは、勇敢とも、間抜けともいえるような行動に出た。
Then Harry behaved in a way you could call both brave and idiotic. (My TL)
I think the meaning of the sentence is ...
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What does っぽいっつったけど mean?
俺に必死かよ！
淡泊っぽいっつったけど
意外とおこちゃまみてーなとこもあんだなぁ
お前よ
The character is a delinquent so he tends to slur some words together. The dialog is ALL spoken by a single person. This is the character's response after ...
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Is the と here used as a conditional?
I have the following sentence:
2019年に亡くなったジャニー喜多川氏から若いときに性被害を受けたと、ジャニーズ事務所のタレントだった人たちが言って、問題になっています。
I don't think the と in the first part of the sentence serves as a conditional, but I can't figure ...
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Understanding なぜかって
Consider
じゃあ なぜ落とした？
丁寧に使い方まで書いて 間違って落としたなんて言うなよ
なぜかって？
退屈だったから
In this context, what does なぜかって mean? And is it parsed as
なぜ + かって, where かって is the て-form of some verb
なぜ + か particle + って？
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use of ば + って in a sentence
おかげで６年間俺はずっと後悔してきた
That to that/Because of that, I dragged my regret for 6 years
あの時ちゃんと返事しとければって
好きだって
That I love you.
So the character is saying his friend ghosting him prevent him for answering ...
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Meaning of なのにだなんて
怖くなって体が動いてた
怖がってるくせにどこかでともえは俺のなのにだなんて勝手な事を考えてる自分もいて
What exactly is のなのにだなんて here?
なんて should be the quote but I'm confused by the use of 俺のなのに
ともえ is this dude girlfriend from context.
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Understanding 「…などということは」
From a dictionary definition for なんて (デジタル大辞泉):
なんて の解説
［副助］《副助詞「など」に格助詞「と」の付いた「などと」の音変化》名詞、名詞に準じる語、活用語の終止形に付く。
１ ある事物を例示して、それを軽んじたり、婉曲 (えんきょく) に言ったりする意を表す。なんか。…などということは。「手伝いなんてできるか」「本気にするなんてばかね」
...
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How to provide variable text in Japanese?
In my web application, we want to allow users to provide custom text for simple automated messages, in which they can provide variables that will be filled in automatically. To give an example in ...
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Particle usage with 打ち明ける
Can 打ち明ける take particles を and と at the same time? I'm assuming so.
I'm wondering which would be more natural between
1> 彼は猫が嫌いと、ひどい秘密を打ち明けた。
2> 彼は猫が嫌いというひどい秘密を打ち明けた。
He confided his terrible ...
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The role of って in 「コーヒーって若いうち**は**あまり飲まないほうがいいんですか。」
Consider
コーヒーって若いうちはあまり飲まないほうがいいんですか。
Is it best to not drink a lot of coffee while you're young?
Here, is って just short for と言う, and it acting as a topic marker (は)? If so, would the sentence ...
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Quotation marks 「」 only sometimes being used for lines that are made in the first person?
For direct quotes (e.g. He said "_____", 彼は「＿＿＿」と言った), the quotes are seemingly always used. But in Japanese, it's also quite common to voice thoughts and feelings as if they are quotes ...
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〜と考えている at the end of a sentence
An example sentence from NHK Easy (source)
政府は、日本に住む人みんなにマイナンバーカードを作って、健康保険証の登録をしてもらいたいと考えています。
Reading NHK Easy, I frequently see sentences ending in 〜と考えています when it's clear that it's not meant to ...
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Understanding と言う
Consider the phrase
アリスという本
which native English speakers might understand as
The book called "Alice"
Question: In English, we think of the name of the book as that which people call it. ...
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だ without と as だと
A: やっぱり分かりませんでした
B: やっぱり分かりませんだ？
B is obviously quoting A and I would expect だと here but と is not used in this utterance. I wonder if this is dialectal.
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Can 幸い take a quotative phrase marked with と? [duplicate]
ここにいたとはあなたは幸いでした。
It was fortunate that you were here. (given translation)
This sentence looks like gibberish to me. If it is indeed good Japanese could you please explain what とは is doing, and the ...
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The Original Quote in Japanese from "Kafka on the Shore" by Murakami [closed]
Folks,
Curious if anyone knows the original version of this wonderful quote from "Kafka on the Shore" by Murakami?
“And once the storm is over, you won’t remember how you made it through, ...
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Question about possible meaning of “い”る quoted like this
In a novel I'm reading (Umineko no naku koro ni, by Ryukishi07) a child character frequently affirms the existence of a witch named Beatrice (ベアトリーチェ) in anger, as a way of protesting to older boys or ...
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Which is more commonly used in writing? 者 or もん
Which is more commonly used in writing? 者 or もん.
For example:
笑った者勝ち
笑ったもん勝ち
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How can I ask if saying "only" something is okay?
Say I want to express something like "Is it ok if I only say [まだ], can you understand?", in a context where I'm speaking with a Japanese person and I want to ask if saying something without ...
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だって at the end of sentence [duplicate]
I have stumbled upon this sentence during my immersion あのオヤジを呼ぶだって?
What does だって mean at the end of the sentence?
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Adding words between quotative と and the following verb
彼女は私に嘘をついていたと白状した。
She confessed to me that she had told a lie (given translation)
This sentence seems ambiguous to me. It isn't clear whether she told a lie to me or to someone else. But it seems ...
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What does なきゃともがいてる mean in this context?
What kind of meaning does "なきゃともがいてる" convey in both of the sentences in one of the panel above?
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How to know where a quote ends?
I was reading up on how quotes are done in japanese, but I can't find anything about how far the quoted part of a sentence extents.
For example this site makes a good example for what I mean:
...
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Use of は in indirect quotes
This question had the following example:
人間に上下はないと考えるアメリカ人にとって、日本の目上と目下の関係は面倒だろう ?
and the OP was asking about the meaning of は. I'd like to expand on this.
Firstly, I'm assuming that 上下は is part of ...
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What is the grammatical function of 〜としており when quoting a statement?
I understand 〜として to have the basic meaning of "as" or "assuming X" for making certain hypothetical statements, but I'm confused what function it serves in the following statement:
...
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How much space is considered standard between consecutive "「" and "『"s?
In a text such as 「『捨てる 』技術」 how much space is expected between the first two characters in typography, if any?
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Help with a lyric from Psycho Pass Ending
I was reading the lyrics from All alone with you by EGOIST, helping myself with translations to learn some japanese, but there's something that confuses me. When it says
神さま気取りの人が言うの
ねえ 人は強いって
...
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Function of って in this sentence
俺のことは、みんなと同じように親父とでも呼んでくれや。親父のように強くたくましく頼りになるってな。
Is the speaker quoting what other people have said about him?
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Is there an omitted particle between the いい and 歳 in the following sentence?
こんな、少女と言っていい歳の女の子が殺し屋だと？
I'm wondering if there is an omitted particle between the bolded いい and 歳 of the above sentence, which is the last sentence in the provided context below.
Context: Narrative ...
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What does かとか mean in this sentence?
血筋かとか言われたくなかったんでな.
I've been watching some anime and came across this sentence and while i understand what it means i can't understand the (かとか）part.
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Use of という in a sentence
Hope someone can help me. I'm struggling with the exact usage of という in this sentence:
会う約束をした友達から乗っている電車が止まっているというメールが来た。
Many thanks.
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The past tense for the quoting particle って
I have this sentence in front of me
耳元で男の人の声がするのが耐えられないって
which is translated as:
she said she couldn't stand hearing a male voice near her ear.
If I am right, here, って is actually translated ...
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sentence ending と for third person narrators
通常なら流せる発言も、あるいは飲み込める怒りも、慣れない自給自足の生活でささくれだった神経では不可能になる人間がいるのだと。
context is about a group of people, trapped in the wilderness for a while.
To be able to talk normally, or to to be able hold back ...
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Is this と quotative or conditional?
調べた会社は「ルールがなくなると、就職する会社を探すための時間が長くなって、一生懸命勉強できなくなると心配する学生もいます。...」と話しています。
The investigating company says "If they get rid of the rules then the time to find a company who is hiring will get longer ...
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sentence structure and extent of quotion in this statement
speaker「だから、お前が俺のことをよく見てくれてるって思ったらなんかちょっと嬉しくてさ」
girl 「……べ、別にあんたのことそんな風に見た覚えはないけど、そう見えたのよ」
speaker「ってとは、自分でも気付かぬうちに俺のことをよく見ていたってことになるな」
girl 「ば、ばっかじゃないの！？ なんでそうなるのよ！？」
speaker 「...
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Is ~と used the same as ~ないと in this case?
誓うか必ず戻ると was used when a character asked another to promise to return.
Isn't it supposed to be 戻らないと? Promise that you must come back?
My understanding is "~nai to" is used for "must" where as "~to" ...
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Is the と particle quotation literal or context matters?
I was listening to this one song and got a little confused about its meaning.
There seems to be a guy talking a bout himself, and then he talks about a girl who either, supposedly, would talk about ...
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Alternatives to 「…」というラベルが付けられている
As I understand it, the phrase 「…」というラベルが付けられているもの literally translates to something like 'a thing with a label reading "..." attached to it'. Unlike in English, there is no verb equivalent to '...
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Is starting with a と a typo? Is ending with a し a typo?
The following is an excerpt from a dialogue between me and my language partner.
「ささやく」についてですが、この動詞は、自動詞と他動詞、両方の使い方ができます。
「大蒜の神さまです」 と彼女はうやうやしくささやいた。
と他動詞として使うこともできますし、
「大蒜の神さまです」 ...
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Implicit grammar in this sentence
Sentence in question:
万が一、事故に巻き込まれたりしたら、確実に勝ち目はないだろうなぁと、いつも不安になった。
For full context:
https://www.satorireader.com/articles/sanzu-no-kawa-episode-1-edition-m?sentenceID=SrOvSLFfSOyCJFzmEmFt
My ...
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How to translate "希望し 努力し 感謝して生きる" into English?
A Japanese Drum (Taiko) band has a motto:
希望し 努力し 感謝して生きる
The band members have intellectual disabilities but strived to become professional drummers. In a few weeks, they are going to France to ...
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Quotation Mark Stroke Order
How do Japanese people hand-write the Japanese Quotation Marks (「 」)? Is there a correct stroke order?
I am asking specifically about those used in horizontal writing, although I wouldn't mind ...
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Help with understanding quoting in this passage, and past events or future?
I'm reading a story in Japanese (a short novel in digital format) and here's two lines from the end of the chapter I'm reading:
後に、争乱の全てを知ったガーディアンの一人が口にした。
そんな彼だからこそ、健二郎というガーディアンだからこそ、...
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What is the use of て-form at the end of this sentence?
何かヒーロー友に守られ血を流させて。
I interpret this sentence from the manga 「僕のヒーローアカデミア」to mean "Some hero I am, making my friends spill blood to protect me." However, I have two questions:
What is the use of the ...
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The use of ただ and だけ together redundant?
ただ一つだけ守りたいものを最後まで守り通せばいい。
This quote comes from episode 9 of the anime Mahou Shoujo Madoka Magica and the English subtitles translate it as "Protect the thing you want to protect until the very end."
...
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Japanese Translation for Hamlet Act 5, Scene 2
I'm currently translating this Japanese article, which used quote from Hamlet Act 5, Scene 2.
In this article, they quoted
"来るべきものは、今来なくとも、いずれは来る。"
so I want to use the actual phrase from Hamlet, ...
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Why is の used in this sentence?
I encountered the following sentence in a book.
私は彼に今晩来るのか聞いた。
Okay, I guess the meaning is easy enough: I asked him if he would come tonight. This の, however, was a slight surprise. Grammatically ...
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Interpreting って - te-form or quotation?
I received the following (partial) message from B先生, my previous teacher, after going through a JLPT class with C先生 and passing the N2 exam. How should I interpret the bolded sentence?
おおお〜〜〜！Aさん、...
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Confusing use of けど
「ねえねえ、このまえ本で読んだんだけど、犬に追われたら、こうやって腕を胸の前で組むと一瞬、犬が弱気になるんだって」
Hey, I was reading in a book recently (but) if you're chased by a dog, when you fold your arms in front of your chest like this, it gets ...
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