Questions tagged [usage]
用法・使い方. How to use certain words, phrases, particles, endings, constructions, and their variants.
1,378
questions
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1answer
85 views
Is にする always a voluntary action taken by the speaker (or target person)?
Source
にする is defined as "to decide on" but does it always represent a voluntary action taken by the speaker or are there cases when it is not neccesarily up to their decision?
For example,
...
2
votes
1answer
124 views
Use of chance (チャンス)
Was wondering if it is natural to use 「チャンス」in Japanese sentences.
For example, 「本を読むチャンスになって」
It feels somewhat natural, as I likely heard it in a manga, but wanted to see if it was okay to use it in ...
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1answer
43 views
0
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1answer
128 views
Popular conventions that Japanese people use the Japanese characters to draw or type Emoji
This question is about the popular conventions that Japanese people use the Japanese characters to draw or type Emoji.
What are some principles and conventions that Japanese people follow?
Here is one ...
4
votes
1answer
139 views
The reading of 灯
Recently I have discovered that there are so many 訓読み for 灯, and all of them seem to carry similar meanings, surrounding the core concept of "light." Can someone explain to me the ...
2
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1answer
67 views
Understanding the subject and object when using 満足/満足できない
I'm a little confused as to who the sentence is referring to as the satisfied/dissatisfied person.
for example: 彼はもう彼女満足できない。
I understand this sentence to mean: He cant be satisfied by/with her ...
-3
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2answers
88 views
歓迎しましょう vs 歓迎します vs ようこそ
What is the difference between:
歓迎しましょう (Kangei shimashou)
歓迎します (Kangei shimasu)
ようこそ (Yōkoso)
They all mean "welcome" but in which occasions should we use which more appropriately. ...
3
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1answer
78 views
What’s the difference between 始まっている最中に and 始まろうとしているとき in this context?
I am currently studying for the JLPT N2, and I am confused about the answer for this particular practice question:
会議が（ ）リンさんが慌てて入ってきた。
I put 始まっている最中に as the answer, but my textbook tells me that ...
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2answers
109 views
Is no the same as not?
is いいえ/no the same as not? For example, if I said,いいえ きょう, would that mean Not Today? Or No Today? I know google translate is known to be inaccurate, but it shows both Not and No as the same, いいえ. ...
0
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2answers
147 views
結構{けっこう}と決行{けっこう}と欠航{けっこう}
I'm sure the YouTuber Dogen's name would not be strange to a lot of people here on this site, and I'm sure a lot of you have seen his this video where he makes fun of words that sounds similar.
...
5
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1answer
498 views
How to properly use とまる/とめる/やむ/やめる/とどまる/とどめる/よす/さす
There are a lot of native Japanese verbs that use 止, namely 止まる{とまる}, 止める{とめる}, 止む{やむ}, 止める{やめる}, 止まる{とどまる}, 止める{とどめる}, 止す{よす}, and 止す{さす}.
There are many confusing parts about these words for a ...
0
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2answers
108 views
Difference between 原因 and 理由
The posts here and here do not address the difference between 原因 and 理由.
So, in short, what are the difference in usage between these words? Both seem to mean reason.
日本に来た理由は見つからない
日本に来た原因は見つからない
...
2
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1answer
117 views
の(代名詞) after の adjectives
So, when we use the 代名詞 の, it goes like this:
美味しいのをください Please give me the tasty one
静かなのはあれ The quiet one is that one
But what happens with adjectives or nouns that take a の already?
最後のの？ 最後なの？
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57 views
Is this correct for a hoodie? "Atsui Akuma" [closed]
I would like to know if this is correct or not together
Thank you
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1answer
112 views
there's a sentence that's in negative in japanese, but translated to english is in positive, why
The sentence is
俺は自分が生き残ることしか考えていなかった.
the only thing I thought about was surviving.
ore ha jibun ga ikinokoru koto shika kangaeteinakatta.
i don't really understand why in japanese it uses the ...
2
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1answer
47 views
～と言いました vs ～とのことです
お忙しいところ、すみません。質問が２つあります。
In this sentence:
田中さんは「明日10時にまた電話します」と言いました。
Could it also be said as:
田中さんは明日10時にまた電話するとのことです。
Since when translated, they are both:
Mr. Tanaka said that he will call ...
1
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0answers
63 views
What does the ち mean in this situation? [duplicate]
Why is Ms. Kobayashi's Dragon Maid written as 小林さんちのメイドラゴン instead of 小林さんのメイドラゴン? I'm still new to Japanese and I don't understand what the ち is for in the title. Can it be written either way? I can'...
1
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1answer
85 views
What does でね mean at the end of a sentence?
I keep seeing this at the end of sentences lately, but couldn't find much explaining it online. When I see it, I feel like it's usually serving as some kind of explanation but I'm not entirely sure.
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2
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2answers
188 views
What are the differences between 賠 and 償?
I am learning kanji with Heisig's method, and I have seen that 賠 and 償 means the same (compensation, indemnify), so I have been searching for examples in 'Yomiwa' and 'jisho.org' trying to clear my ...
0
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1answer
91 views
Is there any difference between でしょう and でしょ besides politeness level?
I understand that でしょ is a contraction of でしょう used in very casual speech. Besides that difference in the degree of politeness, do they also have any difference in meaning or usage?
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1answer
63 views
Question on the other meaning of するのに
First of all, I might be mistaken entirely about this, and if so, feel free to just point that out. But, I seem to have many memories of conversations with Japanese speakers in which "するのに" ...
1
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1answer
98 views
How are 造語 like ググる or スタバる used and by whom?
I'm trying to find out more about innovative verbs that come from loanwords, and i have a couple questions about them:
Are they used by older people/in formal situations? Or are they really slang?
I'm ...
1
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1answer
132 views
Do particles go after or between question words?
Recently, I have realized something interesting:
The following sentences are from Japanese lyrics of different songs, so they must be grammatically correct:
誰よりも輝く君を見て
誰にも話せない
誰の心にも、大切な場所がある
...
1
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0answers
33 views
What does "との" mean in the following sentence? [duplicate]
Unfortunately the sentence was written in romaji so i'm not sure if との is supposed to be written in hiragana or if its written in kanji but the sentence goes like this (the translation is also taken ...
3
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2answers
690 views
Should I use -Sensei (先生) to refer to a teacher if they aren't my teacher?
Does it make a difference whether they teach at my school, even if they don't teach my class?
3
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1answer
68 views
When is 請じる used?
I read a novel, with the following sentence :
社会部記者と称する男は、快く支配人の部屋へ請じられた。
According to jisho.org,請じる means "to invite; to show (someone) in". I searched online for examples of sentences ...
2
votes
1answer
130 views
Why are these sentences with conditional forms not correct?
I'm struggling a lot with the use of conditional forms, especially using ～たら and ～なら. I recently had the following sentences corrected by my Japanese teacher:
a. 専門書を買ったら、私にも見せてください。
b. 専門書を買うなら、...
2
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2answers
89 views
What does 送る mean in this sentence and is it similar to 生活を送る?
幻聴？あたし妄想見やすいタイプなのかな？父親の愛情なき幼児体験おくってっからな…
(first sentence for context)...because I experienced childhood without my father's love.
Would it work to also say 「幼児体験で育ったから」?
I'm also wondering if it is ...
2
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1answer
111 views
Usage/difference between ーみたい、－そう、and っぽい [duplicate]
So I know that these words would have the same-ish meanings, however the usage confuses me.
For example:
A:「この歌の歌手はBさんの声________よ。」
B:「本当ですか？ありがとう！」
Which would be used in a sentence like that? Why?
2
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2answers
69 views
Same sentence, different use of conditional
Are both of the following sentences correct?
a. 明日授業に出たら、予習したほうがいいですよ。
b. 明日授業に出るのなら、予習したほうがいいですよ。
I feel like (a) does not sound good, but I cannot say why.
2
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1answer
1k views
What does it mean when someone refers to themselves as この + name?
When watching taiga dramas, I have noticed that people often talk about themselves in the third person. Also, they say kono before their name.
Example, "kono Musashi will fight them".
I'm a ...
2
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1answer
100 views
Usage of は in these sentences
I am learning the lyrics to the song "Last Summer Whisper" by 杏里. I came across these lines:
Baby, love again 二人の愛はもどりはしないけど
Baby, love again せめてあなたをにくみたくはないの
What is the usage of the は ...
1
vote
1answer
120 views
Why is the verb conjugated to え-form?
選べなかったら俺ん家来れば？
Translation:
If you don't like your choices, why not live at my place?
What I'm particularly confused about is the verb being in え-form. As far as I know, one usage of it is to give ...
2
votes
1answer
114 views
What is the meaning of 礼楽?
I was checking the definition of 堂 in my online dictionary (大辞林) when I came across the word 礼楽 in:
堂 → 客に接したり，礼楽を行なったりする所。== Hall → a place where you can interact with customers and perform ritual ...
4
votes
2answers
199 views
Meaning of 職員室に叩き出される
When reading something I came across the following line:
まずいな。職員室に叩き出されるぞ
However I was not quite sure how to understand 叩き出される in this context. I think I understand the usage of 叩き出される when used ...
3
votes
1answer
134 views
Conjugating Nidan Verbs
I am studying elementary Japanese, not classical forms of the language. In the online dictionary Jisho.org, I found the verb 憂ふ/'to be worried or concerned about' listed as a nidan verb. Does that ...
1
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1answer
99 views
What does 「ものさ」 mean here?
In Miffy - 日本語 あめの ひの わすれもの! at around 5:14
Miffy with her family planned to go to the beach and before they started play, Uncle said:
「おじいちゃんの子どもの頃は砂浜でお城を作って遊んだものさ。」
Weblio辞書 says:
活用語の終止形に付く。多く「だって」「...
1
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1answer
73 views
Usage of とも in a sentence
だが、そんな永久とも思われた戦乱は、唐突にその幕を閉じる
How is とも being used here? I'm not exactly sure on the specific answer and my translation came out to be "But the war they thought that would continue for eternity ...
2
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2answers
568 views
Problem with choosing のは or は with と思います
So in my textbook there are examples like
あまり便利じゃないと思います
いいと思います
But I was wondering, how would you say something like "I think it's ok to eat food". From my knowledge it should be ...
2
votes
2answers
111 views
Meaning of 当てをつける
I found the following sentence in the novel I'm reading
「これが旅に出る最後の好機だと思っている。これまでももちろん旅に出ようと思えば資金に当てをつけることはできた。だが、踏ん切りがつかなかった。」
What does 「当てをつける」mean here? Does it mean the speaker found a place to ...
5
votes
1answer
145 views
「国や国といった留学生が多い」？
I came across a sentence on a Japanese grammar site that strikes me as somewhat odd.
この学校には中国やベトナムといった留学生が多い。 (source)
Shouldn't it be
この学校には中国人やベトナム人といった留学生が多い。
because countries can't be ...
0
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1answer
65 views
ことある vs ことあった difference
ことある - I have
For example:
食べたことある - I've eaten it before
So what does 食べたことあった mean?
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0answers
48 views
見てないで and te form [duplicate]
I am at the very beginning of my learning of japanese and am not sure to understand the て in "見てないで".
I think 見ないで would mean "don't watch" whereas 見てないで would mean "stop ...
4
votes
2answers
282 views
といったらなかった meaning
I came across the following sentence in a novel:
フランツ司祭が体調を崩して寝たきりになってからの村の連中の態度といったらなかったよ。
As for some context, フランツ司祭 is someone who had passed away recently, and the villagers were not incredibly ...
11
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1answer
267 views
Why doesn't 「毎日学校に行ってきます」work?
This question stemmed from comments under another Q&A where @Chocolate points out that「毎日学校に行ってきます」doesn't work but 「今から学校に行ってきます」is fine. But I am still not quite sure why it doesn't work? When ...
0
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1answer
82 views
Difference between じゃん and でしょ
"美味しいじゃん?" and "美味しいでしょう?" No matter how I translate it in English it still means "it’s delicious, right?" So what’s the main difference between them both? (I do know ...
3
votes
1answer
163 views
Usage of 誰でも and 誰にも
I was recently corrected from using 誰でも→誰にも in this sentence:
それは決して否定できないことであって、（誰にも〇・誰でも？）分かる自明の理。
What's the difference between the two? This HiNative post says that 誰でも is usually used for ...
4
votes
1answer
134 views
「～にわたって」の使い方を説明してくれる方がいますか？
「～にわたって」を使う問題をやってみましたがなぜかほとんど間違えました。なぜ間違えたのか説明してくれませんか？教科書の写真（黄色い丸は僕が選んだ選択肢です）
1
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1answer
69 views
difference between 姻族 and 姻戚
What is the difference between 姻族 and 姻戚？
According to the definitions in the dictionary, they are pretty much the same. Would there be a time where I use one over the other?
If I look it up on Jisho:
...
1
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1answer
74 views
Is there a situation where 造語 such as "ググる" could be used with the "ます" ending?
I ask this out of pure curiosity, but would there be any situation where you could reasonably say something along the lines of, "はい、今はそれをググります。"
What I've seen/thought of Katakana+る words ...
