Questions tagged [spoken-language]
音声言語（話し言葉）. Language that is more typical of speech than writing, including contractions, omissions, and other verbal mechanisms characteristic of speech.
166
questions
3
votes
1
answer
81
views
The Vowel Lengthening in 〜ます, 〜です
I notice over hundreds and hundreds of japanese's videos, anime and podcast that Japanese (mostly women but not only) tend in speech to length the vowel in the ending like 〜まーす, 〜でーす and so on.
I don'...
- 147
-1
votes
0
answers
58
views
Help identifying another Kanji character from image [closed]
I've been looking for this character on and off for a few months, I've tried 2 OCR websites, 2 search by hand-drawing sites and 3 assemble from radicals sites, as well as a brute force search on half ...
0
votes
1
answer
107
views
How inteligible is Japanese used in Buddhist texts?
I have started learning Japanese some time ago, but I still can't understand the sutras and chants that are used in Zen ceremonies, such as Takkesa Ge, Maka Hannya Haramita Shingyo, Fu Eku, Jin Ho San ...
- 103
1
vote
2
answers
75
views
How to refer to the kanji used in a verb in speech?
Like if I wanted to refer to the 食 in 食べる do I say
食べることの漢字
eating's kanji
or
食べるの漢字 eating kanji
or
食べるものの漢字 kanji of eating
or something else entirely? Also are my translations correct?
- 79
-1
votes
1
answer
163
views
Differences of words like 先輩 between Japanese, Chinese, and Korean?
I understand the history of Japan's origin coming from China, which is why Japanese involves Chinese characters. However, I recently realized that there are some words in Japanese that are actually ...
- 117
3
votes
1
answer
138
views
重用 - Reading Preference
Reading some 読解 Material I stumbled upon the word 重用. I read it as じゅうよう without much attention, only to notice that the furigana on top read "ちょうよう". Searching a bit on dictionaries I saw ...
- 704
3
votes
2
answers
246
views
What is the meaning of 惜しいくらい?
In Kiki's Delivery Service there is a scene where the 2 girls discuss about their passions and at some point (at around 1h27m) the older one says:
絵かくの楽しくってさねるのが惜しいくらいだったんだよ
From my understanding ...
- 704
0
votes
1
answer
112
views
pronunciation ん＋ [s]
For a few weeks I have been studying the pronunciation of ん and all allophones.
there are many allophones, I was able to learn almost all of them. however there is a case where I have problems
ん ＋ [s]
...
- 21
0
votes
1
answer
172
views
Does 「兄/姉をやめたい」 sound natural?
Related to a manga which is named お兄ちゃんはおしまい!
Imagine a transgender girl who has a young brother says 兄をやめたい (I don’t want be your brother anymore), is this wired to be heard by a native speaker?
- 237
5
votes
1
answer
338
views
What does よう知らん mean in その辺の仕組みはあんたらと違って よう知らん
I saw this sentence in an episode of attack on titan the speaker is referencing a power she has and that she doesn't understand how it works unlike the listeners who do
The english sub translation was
...
- 303
2
votes
1
answer
229
views
Mora in spoken language, and syllable
I was speaking with a friend of mine about Japanese, and we come up with a doubt I found no clear answer to: as far as I know, morae are relevant in everyday Japanese, and (at least on theory) each ...
- 3,331
1
vote
1
answer
185
views
Synonym of もちろん?
In Fruits Basket S2E5, around 20:30, Hanajima says something that sounds like "mochi atabou yo", which is subbed as "of course". I guess from this and her character that it's ...
- 189
2
votes
3
answers
289
views
Is Japanese in danger of being subsumed by English? [closed]
As a beginner student of Japanese I noticed that Japanese uses an incredible amount of English vocab (pronounced the Japanese way of course).
I have studied a few other languages and English has this ...
- 2,400
2
votes
1
answer
134
views
Can you use the base of the 〜ます form to mean "and" in spoken Japanese?
When written I've read that you can use the base of the 〜ます form to mean "and". But does the same rule apply when spoken?
For example, does the following sentence make sense when spoken?
...
- 176
2
votes
1
answer
508
views
7
votes
3
answers
3k
views
Are the Japanese and Korean spoken languages somehow related?
According to Wikipedia,
Historical and modern linguists classify Korean as a language isolate. [A language isolate, in the absolute sense, is a natural language with no demonstrable genealogical ... ...
- 1,218
2
votes
2
answers
405
views
About addressing people by -San, -Chan and -Kun
I understand that -San is a formal way to address somebody. A unisex way of both Mr. and Mrs. Kun is a way to address males, but it's used with friends? I'm wondering about that. Now, Chan is very ...
- 21
2
votes
1
answer
229
views
Spoken Japanese, words ending with わ used as the topic
So consider a noun in Japanese such as 毛皮 that ends in a わ mora. If you were to construct a sentence with such a word as the topic it would have some structure like 毛皮は which when spoken out loud, ...
- 71
5
votes
3
answers
2k
views
Does “Tekken” sound like “iron sword” to someone unfamiliar with the franchise?
The word “ken” has at least 2 meanings: Ken (拳) means fist, while ken (剣) means sword.
If a Japanese speaker hears about the video game Tekken (鉄拳, “iron fist”) for the first time, without seeing the ...
- 153
5
votes
1
answer
380
views
Are there placeholders in spoken Japanese?
I've seen discussions of placeholders in Japanese which seem to centre on how to pronounce written placeholders like ＯＯ, XX, etc. See below for reference:
How do you pronounce "☓☓" as a ...
- 11.4k
2
votes
1
answer
177
views
Why do people say "食べる" instead of "食べましょう" or "食べよう"
From what I understand, "食べましょう" and "食べよう" both imply, more or less, the same meaning, which is 'to invite someone to eat with them', the latter being a verb conjugation of the ...
- 23
2
votes
1
answer
1k
views
What's the difference between じゃあね and またね?
My teacher told me years ago about またね, but recently I've heard じゃあね used similarly. What's the difference between じゃあね and またね? Which one is preferable?
Is there other phrases, that can be used to ...
- 232
0
votes
0
answers
72
views
Leaving out endings to sentences
A lot of times, endings to sentences are omitted for some reason. For example, "konna ni ooki na tatemono no naka ni ita to wa" may be completed by something like "omowanakatta". I ...
7
votes
1
answer
320
views
Small あ after は?
I’m trying to read a book but I came across a sentence where there are small あs after はs and I’m not sure why. Do you know why that is and what it means?
その時【とき】、子供【こども】たちの声【こえ】が聞こえました【きこえました】。
「...
2
votes
3
answers
4k
views
What is the meaning of バカにはええじゃないか?
I don't know how to interpret ばかにはええじゃねえか in the manga here. I believe ばかにはええじゃねえか = ばかにはいいじゃないか but I still can't make sense of this. As the picture suggests, the father says this as some sort of a ...
- 459
1
vote
1
answer
322
views
How to say 2000 people attend X High School
I was wondering how I would say 2000 people go to (Name) High School in Japanese. It might be easier to say 毎日、二千の生徒はX高校に通ういます。but it would like to know how to phrase it more like X高校は二千の生徒が（verb)。...
- 11
0
votes
0
answers
111
views
What does it mean についちゃ in this text? [duplicate]
こういうのも なんだが魚たちの ゴキゲンについちゃおれら 漁師が 専門家だ。
What does it mean についちゃ ? What grammar does it refer To ?
- 1
7
votes
1
answer
288
views
Nominal connectors in embedded sentences: 名詞・形容動詞 ＋「である」「だという」「な」等 (+ こと) の使い分けについて
This is a general question about what to place after nominals when connecting them to constructs like こと.
Lately I've realized I've either forgotten or never knew when I should be using だということ over ...
- 832
5
votes
1
answer
249
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 ...
- 1,692
5
votes
1
answer
269
views
How can I differentiate if a word is (either fully or preferentially) used for spoken or written language?
Sorry if this has been answered before, but I couldn't find it.
I understand that when the on'yomi reading is used, this is associated with words with a more "literary" feeling or with written usage. ...
- 183
2
votes
1
answer
584
views
How to address / refer to a specific kanji in speech
Original Question
When talking about kanjis or trying to explain a certain kanji, how do Japanese people usually refer to that specific kanji in speech without having to write anything or point to ...
- 125
8
votes
1
answer
811
views
Saying い adjectives without pronouncing the い
As the title above, why do japanese locals remove theいfrom the いadjective when speaking. For example, I have heard words like 早、やば、高 being used when speaking. Is this only used amongst friends (very ...
- 2,111
1
vote
1
answer
501
views
Asking informal questions with 何
how do you form informal questions with 何 and without ですか？
would 何 just go at the end?
「あなたの大好きな季節何？」
and is it appropriate to leave off です or だ with な adjectives and nouns? i’ve seen 〜なの？used, but ...
- 1,551
1
vote
1
answer
221
views
の and のです. What’s their semantic purpose and meaning?
So, I've reached a spoken language topic and encountered difficulties with understanding those particles that are used in spoken language. Particularly with の. My book says that, for example, の ...
- 573
0
votes
2
answers
1k
views
2
votes
2
answers
233
views
Translating "you" as 君 when giving a definition
I am trying to define the word "deceive". In English, I would say something like this (regardless of whether or not it is a good definition):
To deceive someone means that you lie to someone, and ...
- 477
2
votes
1
answer
125
views
understanding what sounds like 「だけどお値段はもっていません。」
西友 CM 盛ってます編
懐中電灯盛り。 The flashlight style.
角ハンガー盛り。 The corner hanger style.
延長コード盛り。 The extension cord style.
ジャポニカ学習帳盛り。 ...
- 239
1
vote
3
answers
147
views
Use of の + how to construct a phrase without it
First, this is my very first post here, and I am a complete newbie when it comes to the Japanese language. I have, however, been very interested in the Japanese language and culture: I have been doing ...
- 111
4
votes
0
answers
427
views
Difference between "foot" and "leg" in spoken Japanese [duplicate]
After going on a long run, if you want to say, "My feet are sore", I would imagine that in Japanese you would say 「足が痛い」. If you want to say, "My legs are sore", I imagine that would be 「脚が痛い」.
How ...
- 981
1
vote
2
answers
155
views
Adverb word choice with 遊ぶ
I was writing the following message to an exchange friend and I struggled to find adverbs to pair with the verb 遊ぶ, and now I'm wondering a broader question about adverbs in general:
兄はカリフォるニアから来ました。...
- 481
0
votes
1
answer
303
views
手に入る how to know proper reading
I have noticed that 手に入る can be read in two ways: te ni hairu or te ni iru
Jisho accepts only the first option
But most (phonetic) keyboards allow to write it using the second form and I have an ...
- 365
2
votes
0
answers
42
views
Reading/speaking of 「市場」, which one can I use kun'yomi or on'yomi? [duplicate]
I came across the word [市場], which means market. In google translate the reading is 'Ichiba' but when I played the sound it gave me the sound 'shinjyou'.
I am aware that there are two readings for a ...
- 47
1
vote
1
answer
790
views
How do I address a young lady properly in person?
In real life, if I were to meet a stranger who is a young woman around my age in Japan, how would I--a man--call her without knowing her name? For instance, how should I say, "Excuse me, miss, you're ...
- 1,222
4
votes
2
answers
179
views
Translation of ～てどうか
I recently had a major error on my translation for an agency, and am still confused.
The wider context is that this person doesn't like dealing (being seen) by staff when borrowing money, so prefers ...
- 41
5
votes
1
answer
462
views
Help me understand 言わんこっちゃない
I don't understand this whatsoever:
やれやれ
だから言わんこっちゃない
especially the bolded part. What real words does that come from?
Context is that the main character got a cold from staying outside all night; ...
- 769
1
vote
1
answer
136
views
what is grammar pattern for やさしくった
I watched a series. There is a scene, while subtitle text is written as 優しく言ってあげた I heard something like やさしくったあげた。 so I did some search to check if this usage exist in real world. In google I found ...
- 57
0
votes
1
answer
177
views
"What about X?", one more meaning
In English I can say "what about X?" to mean "why did you mention X?", "what were you going to say about X?", "what does it have to do with X?" and so on.
How can I ask the same thing in japanese? ...
- 13
3
votes
1
answer
157
views
Using Japanese with my child
I have been learning/using Japanese for the past 16 years and now that I have become a mother to my 3 month old son, I would like to bring him up exposed to both English and Japanese. I haven't had ...
- 31
5
votes
2
answers
669
views
What is this て-form at the end of a sentence: 「まったく可愛くねー起こし方しやがって！」
That comes from Ranma 1/2. Ranma asked Akane to wake up him up, and she did that by throwing water on him.
He then said:
何しやがるんだ！
What the hell are ya doing!
When she left, he then thought out ...
2
votes
1
answer
619
views
What happened to original, pre-Kanji, Japanese words?
Some of the most common words in Japanese seem to have their origin in Chinese:
会議、日本、世界、先生、。。。
The evidence for this is, as far as I know, the fact that these words are written with characters, ...
- 247