Questions tagged [reading-comprehension]
読解. Help with reading passages in Japanese and understanding their meaning.
194
questions
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100 views
方【ほう】 or 方【かた】?
方【ほう】 or 方【かた】?
In this post Is 方 read かた or ほう here? I read that 方【ほう】 means "direction" and 方【かた】 means "a person/way of doing something."
What about in this sentence?
だけど、血【ち】...
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81 views
Is the speaker talking about me or themselves in this sentence?
rilesさん日本語上手いのでもっと自信持っていいと思います 笑
I believe I've more or less gathered the translation, in that they think (someone) should have more confidence because (someone) is good at Japanese, but here's where ...
1
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1answer
123 views
NHK News Easy article: Constant tense changes, and そこに as a conjunction
In this NHK News Easy story, the second paragraph describes an online video showing a river suddenly flooding.
初めは、水は静かに流れています。そこに、急に水がたくさん流れてきます。川はすぐに茶色の水でいっぱいになりました。流れる水の力もとても強くなりました。
The tense is ...
0
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1answer
88 views
Understanding 物事をかけらもうたがわないたちなのだ
I am nearing the end of the first chapter of Kaori Ekuni's Twinkle Twinkle. However, I failed to parse the following sentence in bold (the rest of the passage is provided below for context):
気にいった？ ...
1
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1answer
89 views
What does すごいこと考えるわね mean?
Context: 2 characters talking about what do to with an enemy after defeated him
G1: この者が、目が覚めたら私達のことを報告されるだけだろう。
それとも、ここで息の根を止めておくか？ 口封じに。
G2:だから、ダメですよそんな。
G1:分かってる。では連れていくしかないだろう。
目が覚めたら、...
2
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1answer
80 views
話がすっきり what does this means?
話がすっきり >>What does this means in this context?
2 girl are talking about MC, who was arrested by police. The police suspecting MC is the murderer of a crime.
G1: 無実なのだから、そのうち帰してもらえるのではないか
G2: 甘い。...
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1answer
45 views
What are some different uses of く?
I know the basic use for adverbs, but I found this sentence
飛行機が飛ばなくなると、地方の経済が悪くなるかもしれません
and I just don't understand the く in 飛ぶ.
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69 views
Is the なの in 任務なのだろうか the same なの as in the linked answer, and how does the の wrap around the preceding sentence? [duplicate]
Is the なの in the bolded 任務なのだろうか below the same なの as in the linked answer, and how does the の "wrap around the preceding sentence"? Context provided below.
僕はラジオを点けて、空電混じりの英語のニュースに耳を傾ける。...
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1answer
182 views
Meaning of 「同性から見たって良い女だろ?」
I tried to understand and translate, I can think of:
"She's a nice woman from the same sex, right?"
"Seeing from the same sex, she's a nice woman, right?"
"She's a nice ...
0
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1answer
126 views
Which of the following forms are allowed in relative clauses?
I recently discovered that Relative clauses are mostly made with dictionary form verbs/adjectives, but [the answer here]says my “...
sentence indeed has three relative clauses marked by (1), (2), and ...
2
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0answers
50 views
Meaning of 殺しやすかい [duplicate]
This is from the first Conan manga. Some mobsters have just knocked out Conan, and one of them says:
こいつ、[殺]{バラ}しやすかい⁉︎
What is going on here grammatically? Is it し易い with the い dropped, so it means ...
2
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1answer
155 views
Understanding のではない and のではないか in the passage
I was reading through Soumatome N1 Dokkai practice book when I encountered the passage below. Understanding the passage itself was not really difficult: the uncle did the prank. But when it comes to ...
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1answer
84 views
この町は、地下鉄が通った上に、**デパートもできて**、便利になった。looks awkward to me [duplicate]
I can accept この町は、地下鉄が通った上に、デパートに行きもできて、便利になった。
Or この町は、地下鉄が通った上に、デパートで買い物もできて、便利になった。
But この町は、地下鉄が通った上に、デパートもできて、便利になった。 looks awkward to me. It's like 'One is able to department'????
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1answer
60 views
修飾 and ending sentences in nouns
Reference: This article ("セブ市は引き続きＥＣＱか。首都圏が再びＭＥＣＱになる可能性も") is written by 岡田薫さん from マニラ新聞:
ドゥケ保健相は８日朝、セブ市について、現在の防疫区分が切れる16日以降も防疫強化地域（ＥＣＱ）に留めるとの意向を明らかにした。一方、アニョ内務自治相は８日、首都圏が修正防疫強化措置（ＭＥＣＱ）...
2
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1answer
137 views
Dissecting the sentence 自分がそうなってみて、実感としてそう感じる。
This serves as a follow up question related to this, with a focus on the last paragraph. Again, here's the passage:
物体は激しく動けば、それだけ摩擦が大きくなる。人間だって、激しく動くと熱を持つのだ。端から見れば、輝いている人間のことが、きっと羨ましく見えるのだろう。
だけど、...
2
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1answer
93 views
Understanding 北野武 「全思考」
I was reading an excerpt from this book and it read something like this:
物体は激しく動けば、それだけ摩擦が大きくなる。人間だって、激しく動くと熱を持つのだ。端から見れば、輝いている人間のことが、きっと羨ましく見えるのだろう。
だけど、輝いている本人は熱くてたまらないのだ。(中略)
これは真面目に、けっこう辛いことなのだ。
...
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2answers
77 views
How do you pronounce 電報船? Is is でんぽうふね、でんぽうぶね or でんぽうせん?
I recently started to read 'Made in Abyss' and unfortunately is doesn't contain any furigana, which sometimes makes it hard for me to understand. So I came across the word 電報船, which refers to a mail ...
6
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1answer
245 views
ほど translation in this sentence
How to translate this ストレスの多い人ほどよく夢を見る ?
Could someone give me full translation of this whole question ?
I currently understand that ほど in this context is used to show an extent but I can't translate ...
2
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1answer
112 views
Can this sentence be interpreted in more than one way?
I read a sentence
彼女はわかっていた。あるいは、わかっていると思っていた。
It was translated as "She knew, or she thought she knew/knows."
Prior to seeing this translation, in my head, I interpreted it as "I knew her, or ...
0
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1answer
70 views
Reading comprehension N3
Firstly, I want to say that my English is not good. So, sorry in advance if it's confusing .
The answer is 1,4,5
But, I want to ask about choice 3. このマンションを借りる場合、敷金は3か月前に払わなければならない -> I translated ...
2
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1answer
115 views
Would you please correct my translation?
would you please help me out figuring out this couple of lines? This is a couple of sentences in a conversation between two rivals, who meet on the evening before a match while one of them is training....
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208 views
What's the point of adding とした here in this sentence? [duplicate]
Here is the sentence of my question.
希望に満ち溢れていたはずの"あなた"がなぜあんなに荒凉とした場所にうずくまっていたの。
I can understand what it's trying to say to some degree yet it confuses me why とした is used in the sentence.
With the ...
3
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1answer
166 views
Usage of 言えばいいわけです in this sentence from IAIJ
I was trying to translate this sentence:
私は積極的に喋らないタイプなんですが、日本では私が喋らなくても、「アンディ、こう思ってるでしょう」って言ってくれるので、私はただ「うん」と言えばいいわけですよね。
My translation is the following:
I'm that type that do not actively ...
3
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1answer
157 views
interpretting よくこれだけの言い訳が出るものだ
from the perspective of B先生
A「うわっ、B先生！ 寝てないですよ！ ちょっと速いまばたきをしてたんです！ だから端から見ると目をつぶっていていかにも寝ているように見えますけど――」
授業中に寝ていたことを注意しにきたと勘違いした彼は物凄い勢いで言い訳をならべている。
咄嗟によくこれだけの言い訳が出るものだとある意味感心した。
i find ...
3
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1answer
143 views
discerning who "擦れ違う者" is with minimal context
These are literally the first couple of lines, so all context is within the following.
尽きることのない青い空の下――
蝉が騒がしく鳴いている。
閑静な町を包む季節の音はどこまでも響き渡り、焼けただれたアスファルトからは陽炎が立ち上ぼる。
...
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1answer
268 views
What does しゅごい mean?
I'm reading a manga and I can't for the life of me figure out what this phrase is supposed to mean; I've never seen it before.
3
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1answer
2k views
What does 「いねえのかよ」mean?
It comes from the full sentence
The portion before the comma I translated as "I noticed that/a guy", as the character just woke up in a dark room and is hearing voices around him in the dim light. ...
1
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1answer
138 views
Does this dialogue imply Trunks has fought the Androids before?
Japanese manga:「母さんはっきりいってこんどはオレ自信があるんだ！」
Viz manga: "I can beat them now, Mom! I know I can!"
TV Special: "Quite frankly, I know this time I can take them!"
In Viz, 今度 is translated as "now", but ...
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1answer
93 views
A confusing line for me (picture)
I'm scratching my head at this one and I can't seem to understand it right.
I really can't grasp the idea...
So the context, there are 2 characters let's call them Hanako and Yosuke. Yosuke ...
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1answer
97 views
のりまきみたいにくるまればふかふかふとんになるんだもん。
In a Japanese children's book I read:
のりまきみたいに くるまれば ふかふか ふとんに なるんだもん。
For the sake of analysis, I looked up the kanjis (correct me if they're wrong):
海苔巻きみたいに包まればふかふか布団になるんだもん。
From the context, ...
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1answer
190 views
I-adjective in く form modifies a noun/adverb
In the song 宝物 by WANIMA, the chorus goes:
思いにまかせて
感じるまま描いて
まだ見えない明日へ
誰にも止められない
今この瞬間が紛れもなく全て。
紛れもない is in く form, which means it's modifiying a verb. However, 全て is nowhere near a verb, but might ...
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1answer
461 views
How is 懐く read in this case?
I came across this word in a manga page, on the top right speech bubble. I'm not sure whether this Kanji should be read as なつく or いだく. Moreover, neither of the readings make too much sense to me, ...
0
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1answer
121 views
Whats the name of this izakaya? [closed]
everyone I was in an awsome izakaya in Osaka but wasnt able to figure out the name of it and stuff like it is private owned or of a chain.
Below is a picture of its front (google translate etc. cant ...
3
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1answer
196 views
Help identifying blurry kanji [closed]
I am currently trying to learning Japanese by reading manga. So far so good, but this kanji is too blurry for me to figure out. Anyone know what this could be?
I'm 98% sure the first character means '...
0
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1answer
83 views
What would 箆深い (のぶかい) mean?
While 深い (ふかい) means "profound; deep; dense", 箆 (へら, の), as a noun, means "spatula; arrow shaft" in japanese and, originally, "fine-toothed comb" in chinese.
This word is used adverbially in this ...
2
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1answer
76 views
Interpretting 別に...とは無関係なところで
俺としては、姉についてはあまり触れられたくない話題だ。別に、姉の死を思い出すとつらい…といったようなセンチメンタルとは無関係なところで、余計なことを思い出して気が重くなるからだ。
Based on the statement ending with "余計なことを思い出して気が重くなるからだ", i would expect the first half to have a soft "it's ...
2
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1answer
122 views
Noun + に続いて + Verb phrase
I am struggling with the meaning of に続いて in the following sentence:
貞操に続いて今度は命を守り抜くために、この街を走り続ける羽目になった。
I know that the sentence carries a rather ironic meaning and that 貞操 is not used in a ...
3
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2answers
404 views
なにかなのだろう parsing and meaning
In a short story I found a sentence I'm having difficulties understand no matter how I look at it or how I try to parse it:
これは、心の病かもしれない、と思い、私と母はやがてじょじょにだが公にする祝い事をとりやめていった。...
3
votes
1answer
156 views
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 ...
1
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1answer
199 views
Meaning of らしたのじゃありません?
Prior to this sentence, Kawashima was talking about jumping from the school's roof with Obata-sensei; aftwerwards, another teacher is speaking with Obata, and says:
小幡先生はひょっとして、...
0
votes
1answer
423 views
Meaning of そうでもない
In this sentence:
神野{じんの}菜生子{なおこ}さして意外そうでもなくうなずいた
I'm having some issue in understanding そうでもない, and according to how I read it it reverse the meaning of the sentence: as far as I understand, ...
3
votes
2answers
224 views
Interpreting 下手に俺を残して手柄を奪われても困ると判断した in this context
The MC/魔術者 found out that their army was headed towards a trap/ambush and informed in commander about it. The MC proposed that the solution was to turn backwards/retreat and take out all the enemies ...
1
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1answer
108 views
反動で大きな反作用を招いて and how ぐらい is relevant in this context
The speaker, a 魔術者, is talking about the process of manipulating a man to do something advantageous for the speaker. The exact particulars of how this was done were never mentioned, it just was done.
...
1
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2answers
106 views
performers of actions in 自らも同行すると言い出して聞かず
X went on a mission, the speaker just appeared in scene as well.
x 「出陣は久々だなぁ・・・ふふっ、なんだか気分が高揚するよ」
手勢を連れて村へ様子を見に行っていたXが戻ってきて、俺に声を掛けてくる。
突然自らも同行すると言い出して聞かず、さらにXの希望で俺まで連れ出されたのだ。
さらにXの希望で俺まで連れ出されたのだ。 is ...
1
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1answer
109 views
二つ下のいとこ instead of はとこ
I'm trying to understand the usage of 二つ下 in the following sentence.
シンちゃんは私の二つ下のいとこです
When I read it without 下 it sounds like:
Shin-chan is my second cousin or something along those lines.
The ...
6
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1answer
203 views
Japanese N1 practice questions help
Taken from question 4 and 5 of this URL:
https://japanesetest4you.com/japanese-language-proficiency-test-jlpt-n1-listening-exercise-5/
QUESTION 4:
The audio starts with: あ～ぁ、やってらんないよなあ。 I usually ...
1
vote
2answers
135 views
What does 何分くらい右往左往していた？ mean?
「（踏切{ふみきり}に）入っていって後{うし}ろで標識{ひょうしき}をなぎ倒{たお}して、前{まえ}の車輪{しゃりん}がおそらく線路{せんろ}に落{お}ちるという感{かん}じ。（Ｑ．何分{なんふん}くらい右往左往{うおうさおう}していた？）僕{ぼく}が見{み}てからは２０分{ぷん}」 （目撃者{もくげきしゃ}）
"The front wheel probably fell on the ...
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1answer
76 views
what is その効力 in this context?
super popular dude XXX disapears, start of an epilogue
数週間後。
大学構内からXXXの姿が消え、彼に好意を寄せていた女性たちが騒動となったのは一週間ほど前のことである。
いまでは長期の休学だとか外国の大学へ編入しただとか、ありそうも無いような噂が飛び交ってこそいるものの、失踪直後ほどは騒がれなくなった。
...
6
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2answers
426 views
What verb is かまされる?
In the first light novel of the Konsuba series there are two pages of character profiles. In them Kazuma say to Darkness,
どこかの誰かに爆裂魔法をかまされたからな
I am confused as to the meaning and identifying what ...
1
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2answers
133 views
誰かの胸の夜の空に伝えたい気持ちが生まれたら meaning
This line is from 流れ星の正体 of Bump of Chicken:
誰かの胸の夜の空に伝えたい気持ちが生まれたら
Which meaning is suitable?
When you have a feeling that you want to tell someone’s night sky in his heart.
When you have a ...
