Questions tagged [usage]
用法・使い方. How to use certain words, phrases, particles, endings, constructions, and their variants.
1,151
questions
2
votes
1answer
52 views
やることが多過ぎて気が張っているせいか
多過ぎ - too much
て - Why is it there? What's its position relating the grammar?
気 - Does it express intention? What does it represent exactly?
張って - to fill, to do maybe?
いるせいか - What is the ...
12
votes
1answer
583 views
Science writing - exact, precise, or accurate
While trying to write about an experiment I have done, I am having trouble deciding which words are appropriate for describing what I want to describe.
In non-scientific English, precise, and ...
2
votes
1answer
135 views
How politely to say “you”?
I found many variants in the internet, but they include あなた, which as I know isn't polite and better not to say it to a stranger.
So, if I don't know the name/last name of the person, don't know the ...
2
votes
0answers
34 views
Sentences that end in a pronoun [duplicate]
A type of sentence or clause which seems to be common is one that has a long pre-modifying clause in front of a pronoun or a proper noun.
Example from a blog post:
塗装したいものがたくさんあるのに、塗料を決められない、...
1
vote
0answers
79 views
Koto ga arimasu vs. Koto wa arimasen [duplicate]
こんにちは!
I'm having some trouble understanding why は is used in the following response, instead of が. If someone could please help, I'd really appreciate it.
おさけ を のんだ こと が あります か / O sake o nonda ...
1
vote
2answers
441 views
How to determine 大都市 vs 都市
As I understand 都市 [toshi] means [city].
And therefore it could be any city, which is not town.
In Russia town means over 12K population.
100-250K pouplation = big town.
250-500K pupulation = small ...
1
vote
1answer
94 views
Meaning of によって/により
I’ve come across this phrase によって/により quite often and I’ve researched and found these meanings: by Person (この本は君によって書かれた？); due to/ because of; by means of (The teacher checked their knowledge by the ...
0
votes
3answers
100 views
Can the particle “no” の be used at the beginning of the sentence?
In the sentence
Watashi no hon.
Can the owner be omitted?
No hon.
4
votes
2answers
434 views
How do I say what something is made out of?
The exact thing I want to know how to say is 'The wristwatch is made out of gold' and 'The wristwatch is gold and black in colour'. Would saying this be the same as talking about a house being made of ...
2
votes
1answer
62 views
Usage of て/ので + 心配
連絡がなくて／ないので、みんな心配していました。
Please may I ask for the above sentence, should I use なくて or ないので。thanks
3
votes
1answer
106 views
When to use 言います/ 教えます
When should one use 言います and when should one use 教えます? Please see examples below.
10年前にAさんの住所があったと言いました。
10年前にAさんの住所があったと教えました。
-1
votes
1answer
97 views
もらいます／いただきます usage
When I received a souvenir from my boss, the following statement will be used.
私は課長にお土産をいただきました。
What about if I want to make a statement that A received a souvenir from his boss and his boss is ...
2
votes
1answer
80 views
2
votes
1answer
90 views
Referring to a diner in your own party as お客様?
Suppose I'm speaking to waitstaff at a restaurant explaining that a diner in our party has an allergy. When speaking to someone working at the restaurant, would it be appropriate to refer to such a ...
3
votes
1answer
96 views
伝聞を表さない、文末に来る「という」の働き
最近あるホラーゲームの実況を見ている時、一人の実況者がある段階をクリアした後、笑ってこう言っていました。
しかも、結構やっぱ、懐中電灯なくても全然暗くないっていう
前にも、一緒にプレイしている相手が何回か「懐中電灯がなくても暗くない」と意外そうに言っていたので、そちらに関連があると思いますが、この「という」の働きはわからないのです。「ということ」「らしい」「と言われる」を意味する文末の「...
5
votes
1answer
147 views
The uses of である
I understand that である is most commonly used to replace だ/です at the end of a sentence in written expressions.
But outside this usage, I can't find much explanation on how to use this structure. In ...
3
votes
0answers
47 views
The verb いる (居る) with an inanimate subject? [duplicate]
In a novel I’m reading, I’ve come across a usage of いる that surprises me. The context is that a woman is driving along, deep in thought about an encounter she has just had with another character, when ...
5
votes
0answers
68 views
暮らし and 生活: meaning and usage [duplicate]
Are 暮らし and 生活 interchangeable? For example:
日本での暮らし （is 日本での生活 OK?）
日本の生活に慣れた。（is 日本の暮らしに慣れた OK?)
3
votes
1answer
109 views
Does 横になる imply a certain position?
I've always thought that 「横」 in 「横になる」 only refers to the fact that you're lying as opposed to standing (so you're now horizontal from the point of view of a standing person), regardless of your exact ...
2
votes
1answer
211 views
っていうことになったんですけど - meaning?
I had just received a somewhat rushed 'transliteration' of a 1 minute video. To me, Shigeru Miyamoto speaks in a way which is extremely difficult to understand. I am adding the full transcript just ...
3
votes
1answer
94 views
そのまま and parts of speech
こんにちは、、、
私はこの文が分かりますが、文法を考えてみると、はっきり分からなくなります。
「北斗七星のひしゃくのえの部分を、そのまま曲がり具合に沿って伸ばしていきます」
二つの動詞、二つの副詞が見えます。「曲がり具合に」と「沿って」はペアです。「そのまま」は、「伸ばして」とペアになりますか？
そうなら、「北斗七星のひしゃくのえの部分を、そのまま伸ばしていきます」と言ったら、...
1
vote
1answer
103 views
Help with grammar of this sentence
I'm not sure about some aspects of the grammar in this sentence:
総会のあと、公明党大阪府本部の佐藤代表は、記者団に対し、都構想そのものへの賛否は白紙だとしたうえで、「法定協議会が再開されれば、いい協定書を作れるよう前向きに協力していくというのがわれわれのスタンスだ」と述べました。
Here is my attempted ...
4
votes
2answers
164 views
Can you answer the question 何を飲みますか？ with 水です。?
It doesn’t seem that natural, as 水です seems to mean “It is water”, rather than a shorter form of 水を飲みます.
1
vote
1answer
71 views
Can「他【ほか】に」and「それに」be used interchangeably when conveying “in addition”?
I am looking for any difference in terms of nuance, usage or frequent collocations so I can tell in what situation I should use one instead of the other.
On the other hand, if the case is that the ...
4
votes
1answer
145 views
Function of と when used with 続く
I don't understand the function of と when used with と続きます
From this sentence in my textbook:
世界で一番インスタントラーメンをたくさん食べる国は中国で451.7億食、その次はインドネシアの137.0億食、日本の51.0億食、アメリカの43.2億食、ベトナムの39.1億食、韓国の33....
2
votes
1answer
86 views
Meaning of 感じの in this sentence
「なんか男らしくない感じの人。」
if らしく already gives the meaning of “seeming, characteristic of, ish,” etc then what is the purpose of adding 感じの？
1
vote
1answer
112 views
How accurately can のこと be translated as 'with regards to' in the following sentence?
While stumbling over my serval-month-old translation notes out of boredom,
I found that I had made note of のこと to mean 'with regards to (noun)" for the following Japanese sentence.
それでも彼には、...
0
votes
1answer
139 views
Is the following Japanese sentence negative or positive in English?
Context: Character A has just told the character who is the narrator that he has the talent to be an assassin. Being a normal person, and thus taken off guard, the narrator responds with the following:...
1
vote
1answer
67 views
Is a sentence ending with “か……。” a question or a questionative statement?
I came across the following line inside a Japanese book I'm reading.
しかし、 アインにツヴァイか……。
My understanding of the line is different depending on whether it would be a question (because of the か),.
...
4
votes
1answer
209 views
Why are weather verbs 曇る and 晴れる treated differently in this sentence?
In this sentence:
どうやら今日の天気は曇るようだ。× It seems that today's weather is cloudy.
This uses the weather verb 曇る
But when asking native speakers, this does not sound natural and I don't understand why.
...
7
votes
2answers
753 views
What is the difference between 仮定 and 想定?
I see a lot of different explanations online but I'm not sure if I understand the nuances correctly
From what I can gather:
仮定 is used when a situation is unclear and an assumption is made based on ...
3
votes
1answer
77 views
What is the difference between 扱う、捌く、 解決する and 処理する
These words have similar meanings along the lines of:
"deal with" "take care of" "settle" "manage" "handle" "process" some issue or something
For example what are the nuances of these sentences?
...
1
vote
0answers
71 views
Could someone help me understand this sentence [duplicate]
Can anyone help me understand this sentence? 太郎は春子にたばこを吸われた。 I’m having a really hard time understanding the translation given: “taro had a cigarette smoked by Haruko on him.” Is there another way to ...
-1
votes
1answer
300 views
What does “Itatakimas” actually mean?
What does “Itatakimas” actually mean?
Do Japanese use it only before starting to eat or it means more than that?
I was watching an anime and someone used that word when he was leaving the house, and ...
9
votes
3answers
625 views
Why is “language” represented by 言葉【ことば】 instead of 言語【げんご】 in this book for learning Japanese?
In みんなの日本語初級I book, the word 「ことば」 is used to mean "language" (English, Japanese, Russian, etc.)
However, I found 「言語」 as the most proper word for this type of language. The first variant (which ...
4
votes
2answers
270 views
What’s the difference between “tabun” (たぶん) and “desho” (でしょう)?
What’s the difference between “tabun” (たぶん) and “desho” (でしょう). Both mean “probably”, but when would you use one over the other? Please explain by referring to the following examples:
Example 1
...
5
votes
2answers
681 views
Distinction between 地平線 【ちへいせん】 and 水平線 【すいへいせん】
This sentence comes from goo here:
https://dictionary.goo.ne.jp/word/en/見える/
地平線上に一隻の船が見えてきた。
A boat appeared on the horizon.
When I was attempting to assign the characters their correct ...
2
votes
1answer
116 views
Can verbs simutaniously use the volitional form and negative form? [closed]
I came across the following sentence in a book:
身体を起こし、手足がこれといった支障もなく動くのを確かめた。
and searched on Jisho.org for 障もなく. It sent me to https://jisho.org/search/障む, saying that "障もなく is the negative ...
1
vote
1answer
84 views
Issue with figuring out what [どう+なの] correctly translates to in the following sentence
I have translated most of the following sentence on my own, but I am having great difficulty in understanding then translating the ending of どうなの.
教え子の名前ぐらい、もう少し考えたらどうなの？
According to nevan king ...
0
votes
1answer
133 views
Unknown Japanese saying: 世に孵ることを拒む卵はなく、 芽吹くことを拒む種子もあり得ない
I'm having some issues translating the first part (bolded) of this metaphor/saying(?) into English.
世に孵ることを拒む卵はなく、 芽吹くことを拒む種子もあり得ない.
How does the verb 孵る work on the こと part of the sentence, and ...
1
vote
1answer
162 views
What is the meaning of 七五三 in the sentence, 七五三のしゃしんです。
I was looking at the following sentence under a picture that I unfortunately cannot provide:
七五三のしゃしんです。
I believe the sentence reads "It's a picture of 753"... which doesn't make sense.
I know ...
1
vote
1answer
165 views
Translating あくまで一応ですけどね
Translators say:
あくまで means: doggedly、insistently、persistently、stubbornly、to the bitter end、to the end、to the last、to the utmost
一応 means: tentatively、for the time being、in outline、just in case、once、...
1
vote
2answers
59 views
~ことがある for more than one thing
In the Genki II textbook, there is a phrase that goes like this:
うめぼし，のりなどを見たことも聞いたこともありませんでした。
Now, I understand that this roughly means that "I've never seen or heard of pickled plums or nori ...
2
votes
1answer
161 views
What does ことがないように express?
I've come across this sentence quite a few months ago, but I never understood the meaning of "ことがないように", I've searched and found about ことのないように, but I think it has not the same meaning.
This is the ...
3
votes
2answers
95 views
彼は瞳をキラキラさせながら言った。
I think that it is "He said with shining eyes", but what a word "させ"? Why "させ+ながら"? Why not "しながら"?
12
votes
1answer
2k views
Can I use English in place of katakana?
A habit that I have is replacing certain words with how I'd say them in English. For instance I'd write something like this: 私はイングランド人。 私はイーストアングリアに住んでいます, but say something like this: 私はEngland人。 ...
5
votes
1answer
84 views
Meaning of 以上 and 以下 according to water depth level
Reading a text like:
海の深さが200m以上{いじょう}
The first thing that came into my mind was:
Above a level of 200m depth
But then I realized that my understanding can be wrong and it may mean something ...
3
votes
1answer
648 views
What do all the different たすける's mean?
Today I noticed during practicing kanji that lately I've been going through a lot of kanji that all mean help / save / assist :
助ける
扶ける
救ける
援ける
輔ける
and I found two more that I had yet to learn (...
2
votes
1answer
105 views
Using 言う and ても to mean “even if you say”
I was trying to say something similar to "even if you tell me to not look, I will look", so my initial guess was something along those lines:
「見ないで」と言っても見る。
I was under the impression that Xて-form + ...
3
votes
1answer
75 views
さむいのはきらい vs さむいがきらい
I always thought that with construcions I like/I hate I should use noun +が + adjective +です, for example: ねこがすきです。
But lately I have heard in some japanese podcast above sentence with that のは ...
