Questions tagged [usage]
用法・使い方. How to use certain words, phrases, particles, endings, constructions, and their variants.
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Addressing people in the Japanese Christian/Catholic Church
In English, in a Christian/Catholic settings, people could address each other with the term "brother" or "sister", and it does not signify any biological relationship, but a ...
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Different combinations of せっかく, their meanings and examples
As of today, the vast majority of times I've come across せっかく, I've ended up understanding it in a somewhat blurry way and guessing the meaning from context. However, I would like to finally structure ...
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Is あり得ない a good translation for "It can't be!"?
I know that a more common translation for あり得ない is "Impossible!" or "That's impossible!", but can あり得ない be used for expressions like, "It can't be!" or "This can't ...
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Nuance between 技法、手法、方法、テクニック、 etc
Basically just wanting to know if there's a clear difference between these words. I get the feeling that テクニック is more like one person's own specific technique for doing a thing (entirely guessing ...
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Is the copula verb だ a good translation for the article "The" when the sentence is just "The + noun"?
I was curious, for sentences that are just "The + noun", if the copula verb だ a good translation for the article "The" in these sentences. For example, "The bus." is it ...
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Usage of 消す in this context?
My question is that can 消す be used for wanting to get rid of something? For example, "I really need to get rid of this weird feeling." この変な感じはどうしても消さないと。
Is 消す an acceptable verb to use here ...
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Usage of the verb 取り組む
My question is can 取り組む can be used as a general term for working on something? Like as in "I'm working on something important." 何か重要なことに取り組んでいる。 Or does 取り組む carry too strong a connotation ...
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Translation of くらい in this sentence?
I'm looking at this sentence, ここに一日中いてもいいくらいだ。 And I'm struggling to think of what "くらいだ" means here. A bunch of translators are telling me it's like "could" as in, "I could ...
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Use of the pronouns 彼/彼女 and あなた/君 in fictional media
From what I've studied, pronouns like he/she and you are not really common in everyday conversational Japanese, but I see them used more often in media like manga or video games, like a character ...
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A question about what seems to be れいせい & its usage
What is the context of the video below (from 1:18 to 1:26), especially the word 「れいせい」's meaning in it?
https://youtu.be/ehSCmkVVjlg?t=78 (try using a VPN if you can't load the video)
For the time ...
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Difference between ラジオ and 無線?
I've seen both used fairly often, but I've unsure if there's a difference in nuance/usage. Is 無線 more like an actual radio and ラジオ more like a car's radio?
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遅刻している vs 遅刻する for saying "I am late."
I'm trying to figure out if I should use 遅刻する or 遅刻している for expressing "I am late to..."
For example, I was thinking, 仕事初日に遅刻しているだけじゃなく、迷子になってしまった。"Not only am I late to my first day on ...
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What is つい doing in the middle of this sentence? [duplicate]
What is the purpose of つい in this sentence?
うんうん、楽しくてついエキサイトして、熱くなっちゃった
And does エキサイトして just mean "getting excited"? For context they were talking about a game they played.
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Translation help, 思う vs 思っている when the subject of the sentence is the speaker
I'm working on a translation for a comic and I'm kind of stumped on this one line. The specific context is the character talking to herself and musing about what someone else thinks of her, the line ...
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Placement of the adverb せめて
I'm trying to form the sentence "Could you at least call me when you get there?", and I'm unsure whether to put せめて at the beginning like せめて着いたら、電話してくれない？ or in between like 着いたら、...
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Choosing between ーそうだ and ーようだ
I'm doing a translation for a comic and I'm having trouble deciding between ーそうだ and ーようだ.
The specific context I'm looking at is a character exploring a seemingly abandoned building, but eventually ...
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Can 死ぬ be used for objects/places?
Like in English, can the verb 死ぬ be used for places like towns or stores, like "Man, this town is dead." Or like with objects, "The phone is dead."
I'm thinking that 死ぬ can only be ...
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先に vs まず vs 最初 as in first?
Like in the context of this sentence: "I wish I could return home first."
I'm thinking まず is more correct, like まず家へ帰ればいいのに。
Is まず the best one to use here?
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Difference between the verbs 探す, 捜す, and 探る？
To my understanding, they all mean "to search for" but I'm unsure of the differences between the two and in what contexts I should be using one over the other. (Edit) Just found out about 捜す....
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Implication of Xがよい
I often see phrases of the form Xがよい (where X is a noun) e.g. 頭がよい, 仲がよい etc. In these examples the characteristic being described is desirable (clever, good relationship etc) so よい seems sensible.
I ...
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using 再想像 or 再創造 for reimagined?
I'm trying to decide between 再創造 and 再想像 for reimagined, specifically in the context of a "reimagined story", like 再創造された物語。
I'm leaning toward 創造 because, to my understanding, 創造 refers to ...
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What does the と at the end, following a complete sentence and comma mean?
What is purpose of the と at the end of this sentence? And why is there a comma before it?
少ししたらぽっかり目が覚めちゃって、気付いたら佳織ちゃんとひとつベッドの上だった、と
For context this was the previous sentence.
忍び込んだはいいけど、...
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Good word/phrase for crazy?
The context is like "He'll probably think I'm crazy." The expressions I see mostly are 頭がおかしい and 気が狂う. I've also seen イカれる be used, but I've heard that's really slangy. Are there better ...
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でしょう/だろう vs しようかな for "I guess I'll..."
I'm trying to write the phrase, "I guess I'll unpack tomorrow." And I can't decide between だろう or かな for the "I guess"
Here's what I got.
明日、荷解きするだろう。
明日、荷解きしようかな。
I'm leaning ...
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Not adding san after a name
My manager when she talks about me to another coworker in the same company always uses my name without adding さん after it and this is only with me
can I know when we can drop using さん after a name?
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How to properly use 離れる
I'm trying to translate the sentence, "New York is over three hours away."
Right now I have, ニューヨークは３時間以上離れている。
Is what I have correct? Or is there a more natural way of saying this sentence?...
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「予習」はどういう意味ですか。 [closed]
what is the usage of the word [よしゅう] in Japanese. What is the best answer out of these four answers given.
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強くさせてくれたこと and "The thing that made me strong"
強くさせてくれたこと, by Google Translate and by what I can infer from the context, is something that made me strong. However, upon further analyzing the grammar, I felt something was not right. To be specific, ...
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Common placeholder names in Japanese
In English, when we give an example and it has to contain a person, there are some default names that we resort to, such as John Doe, John Appleseed, or Alice & Bob. I even found this line on ...
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Double 可能形? 話せるようになれるまで
日本人は完璧にきれいに話せるようにならないと、「会話が成り立たない」「恥ずかしい」と感じ、なかなか外国語で話しかけられない人が多いように思います。（英語もしかり）しかし完璧に話せるようになれるまで、じゃあどこでそれを練習するんですか？という話。(source)
要は、「あなたが英語が話せるようになれるまでの「エネルギーの源泉」が、あなたにあるかどうか？」が重要になってきます。(source)
...
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Interpretation of もの in ヒーローとは常にピンチを壊していくもの
ヒーローとは常にピンチを壊していくもの!
I'm really skeptical about this. The fact とは is used makes me think that もの here means "someone" and the fact that だ is used makes me think he is stating some fact. ...
user54592
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What does "なるなって" mean?
I've been trying to understand what is being said below. In particular, the usage of 「なるなって」.
My translation currently stands as:
そうだよ。言葉に責任持たなきゃね
"That's right. You must hold responsibility for ...
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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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Which of these functions really belongs to そうだ?
I'm studying Japanese on my own using mostly Tae Kim's Grammar Guide and wasabi-jpn and I want to know which of these functions applies to そうだ, because it gets really confusing when comparing topics ...
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Can となると・となれば be used with expressions of 意志・希望?
This site has these example sentences for the となると・となれば grammar point:
結婚となると、住む場所は職場に近いところにするつもりだ。
さすがに中学生となれば、親より友達を優先するようになりたい。
５年後に家を建てるとなれば、今から少しでも倹約して貯金しよう。
These sentences don't make much ...
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Is 突如 the right word for ''suddenly'' in 私の目が突如目覚めた?
As context, I'm trying to write Japanese lyrics for a song (so it's okay if it sounds more poetic instead of natural in daily speech).
I'm trying to say ''Suddenly, my eyes were opened'' meaning ''I ...
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What's the reason behind hiragana る in borrowed words like サボる,キレる? [duplicate]
Is there a rule on how words like サボる and キレる were written? Why not write it in full katakana? I am really interested on the reason why the る is in ひらがな and not in カタカナ。
I tried typing サボル in my ...
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Why で in アパートでペットを飼ってる but に in 心の中に怪物を飼ってる?
で in アパートでペットを飼ってる seems to be common usage, but why に in 心の中に怪物を飼ってる? I haven't found any examples of 心の中・奥で○○飼う, but here are examples of に:
心の中に怪物を飼ってる餅 (source)
すげぇやつはみんな心の中に怪物を飼ってる (ブルーロック)
葛西「...
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Conflicting meanings for "犬も歩けば" expression?
The expression 犬も歩けば棒に当たる (Inu mo arukeba bou ni ataru [lit. "even a dog will run into a stick if goes walking"]) is given two definitions on jisho.org, both of which seem to be at odds.
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What is the difference between 引き継ぐ and 引き受ける
I learn that both 引き継ぐ and 引き受ける can mean "take over".
引き継ぐ is about succeeding someone and its more suited for long term responsibilities/task
引き受ける is for more for casual work
I'm still a ...
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How to say "to move (house) from A to B" (change residence) in Japanese?
How to say "to move (house) from A to B" (change residence) in Japanese?
Here, it says the word is 引っ越す hikkosu, so I searched it on my dictionary and could not find how to use it in the ...
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What is the connotation of まぐわう (referring to intercourse)?
I understand that まぐわう essentially refers to the act of sex. But I'm trying to get some idea of the connotation. In Yofukashi no Uta, it's translated/localized as "copulate", which has a ...
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How to say "reply to an email" in Japanese?
What is the correct word to use for "reply" in phrases like (a) "I will reply to your email later" or (b) "I forgot to reply to your email."
I saw instances such as 回答, ...
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わけない dual meanings: impossible vs easy
I am struggling with those two possible meanings, and have found two examples that typically puzzle me:
「この問題できる？」「こんなのわけないよ」
「N2の試験に合格したんだって？」「そんなわけないだろう」
(taken from Nihongo So-Matome N2 book)
...
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What is the best way to express this nuance of "patience"?
I want to express "patience" in the sense of "I don't have the patience lately to read a long novel." It's uncertain what exactly is the problem -- am I nervous? am I preoccupied ...
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Predicates that come before ～てしょうがない
I encountered the following multiple-choice question on page 114 (question 1 in section 1) of my JLPT N2 grammar textbook 「新完全マスター文法 日本語能力試験Ｎ２」:
この自転車は（ ）しょうがない。
ａ 古くて ｂ 乗りにくくて ｃ 気に入って
I chose ...
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What is the difference between 楽しい, 愉しい, and 娯しい?
Recently I've been trying to understand the difference in nuance between the words 楽しい, 愉{たの}しい, and 娯{たの}しい, but I'm still confused after reading a few different explanations on chiebukuro and other ...
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～（よ）うものなら vs ～となったら
I encountered the following multiple-choice question on page 71 (question 5 in section "1~6") of my JLPT N2 grammar textbook 「新完全マスター文法 日本語能力試験Ｎ２」:
大きい地震が（ ）、この家はたちまち壊れてしまうだろう。
ａ ...
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Change that comes with につれて
I encountered the following multiple-choice question on page 44 (question 1 in section 1) of my JLPT N2 grammar textbook 「新完全マスター文法 日本語能力試験Ｎ２」:
彼は（ ）につれて、一人でいる時間が多くなっていった。
ａ 高校を卒業する ｂ 大人になる ｃ ...
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Verb after ～にこたえて
I encountered the following multiple-choice question on page 37 (question 3 in section 5) of my JLPT N2 grammar textbook 「新完全マスター文法 日本語能力試験Ｎ２」:
歴史的な大記録を作った斎藤選手は、祝福の拍手にこたえて（ ）。
ａ 帽子を取って軽くおじぎをした
ｂ ...
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