Questions tagged [usage]
用法・使い方. How to use certain words, phrases, particles, endings, constructions, and their variants.
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What is the difference between the nominalizers こと and の?
As Derek mentioned in his postscript, both こと and の are nominalizers that can turn a verb into a noun.
ピアノを弾く【ひく】。 I play the piano.
ピアノを弾く【ひく】のが好き【すき】です。 I like playing the piano.
ピアノを弾く【ひく】ことが好き【すき】...
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How should I choose between [知]{し}る and わかる?
Both 知る and わかる get used for "know", "understand", "learn", "find out", and various other concepts. How do you know which to use when? Are there any rules to help you decide?
Additionally, both of ...
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でも (demo) versus けど (kedo) to mean "but"
I learned that you can use でも (demo) at the beginning of a sentence to mean "but," and that you can use けど (kedo) at the end of a sentence to mean "though." However, I don't see a difference between ...
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Particles: に vs. で
I have progressed pretty far in Japanese, but when I construct Japanese sentences, I still get these two particles mixed up. For example, when talking about being inside something, I don't know when ...
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What is the meaning of ～んです/～のだ/etc?
This sentence ending has started to creep up more and more in my current Japanese classes, and I'm still a bit unsure what all it can mean, how to use it, or even when I should think to use it. My ...
user1316
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What do the shapes △ ◯ ╳ ◻ mean in Japanese? And are there variations in meaning, depending on whether or not the shape is filled?
I am interested in Japanese culture and the symbolism used in Japan, specifically I'd like to know what the △ triangle, ◯ circle, ╳ cross and ◻ square mean to a Japanese person.
How are those shapes ...
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What is the difference between 大事 (daiji) and 大切 (taisetsu)?
These are two words that seem like they are basically interchangeable at most levels, as they generally are. The difference between them appears to be small, but what is the difference, if one exists? ...
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Usage of たくさん vs. 多い
When do we use たくさん and when do we use 多い? I found both modifiers are used within similar sentences, for example:
人が多かったです
人がたくさんいました
I had this impression that 多い is used with countable nouns (...
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How indistinguishable is blue from green really?
青 ao seems to be used very much interchangeably for both blue and green. Why is that so, and how does 緑 midori play into this?
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Differences between 度 and 回 when counting occurrences
What are the differences between using 度 and 回 when used to count number of occurrences?
For example:
そんなことは一度もしたことがない
そんなことは一回もしたことがない
Are there any restrictions on what kind of actions referred ...
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How do we construct sentences ending in わけ?
The is a certain way of talking where you can end just about anything you say in わけ.
What is the sentence structure for this way of talking?
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Do 以上 and 以下 include the number preceding them?
I was having a discussion with a colleague and we couldn't recall how they both worked. Does 一人以上 mean a) 1 or more persons or b) more than one person?
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The many ways to say "and" in Japanese
In English, we just have one word for the conjunction and which works just fine for many categories, but in Japanese, there are separate words:
と joins nouns together in a closed list
や joins nouns ...
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Pluralization in Japanese: usage of -たち and -ら
I know that -たち and -ら pluralize the nouns they come after (or indicate a group that the noun is part of), but most of the time the plural in Japanese is implicit. When is it appropriate or necessary ...
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When is it appropriate to use お疲れ様 (otsukaresama)?
I know the general meaning of using お疲れ様です／でした to express gratitude for some work, but I'm a bit fuzzy about appropriate times to use it.
I know it is a common saying when leaving for the day, and I'...
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Why do 適当 and いい加減 refer to both considerate and inconsiderate things?
I understand that 適当【てきとう】 can mean both "appropriate" and "whatever/vague". How do you know 適当な人を教えてください means "please inform me of the appropriate person" as opposed to "please tell me about ...
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Use of 自分【じぶん】as a personal pronoun in direct speech
Yay, yet another first-person-pronoun question!
I know that 自分 is commonly used as a personal pronoun in indirect speech, e.g.:
マイクは、自分はなんと不注意なのだろうと言った。→ Mike said that he was very careless.
...
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What is the difference between ちょっと and 少し?
Specifically for when they mean "a little".
In what situations would they be used and are they completely interchangeable without any differences?
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What is the meaning of のか and how does it differ from か?
What is the meaning of のか in the following sentences? Does it have the same meaning as のですか?
漢字はどう正しく書くのか、どう正しく読むのか、彼らは時々迷います。
参加するのか、参加しないのか、ここではっきり返事しなさい。
Also, I have found sentences of the same ...
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What does っつの mean?
I recently saw 冗談だっつの. What does it っつの mean, or how does it modify the meaning of a sentence?
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Can we optionally include (or exclude) an を particle in between the noun of the する-verb and the する itself?
When we have a する verb (e.g. 支{し}度{たく}する、案{あん}内{ない}する、心{しん}配{ぱい}する), is it true that we could optionally insert an を particle in between the noun and the する?
Because in the example sentences here and ...
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Making sense of transitive usage of 行く and 来る - 「を行く」 and 「を来る」
I think it's known that some intransitive verbs can take を particle and be used as transitive verbs such as for example 「私のことを分かってくれない」. While using 分かる transitively would require specific scenarios ...
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What is the difference between 見える【みえる】／聞こえる【きこえる】 and 見られる【みられる】／聞ける【きける】?
In Japanese, there is a potential form to express that it's possible for something to be done.
My own examples of potential form:
辛【から】い食【た】べ物【もの】が食【た】べられる。 (I can eat spicy foods.)
ギターが弾【ひ】ける。 (I ...
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What is the meaning of りゃ in this phrase?
I came across this phrase while reading an interview.
そういう時はなんて答えりゃいいんだ。
I think it means "At a time like that, such a reply/response is good."
But I don't understand the usage of りゃ. I couldn't ...
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Usage of ～じゃん (～じゃない)
I'd like to know if I can put ～じゃん at the end of every adjective, if there are any exceptions to that usage, and if it's different from ～じゃない.
Adj (na) + じゃん
便利じゃん
便利だったじゃん
便利じゃないじゃん
...
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Does the particle "を" (wo) have a special use when at the end of a sentence?
I thought the character "を" (wo) was only used for the particle whose only job was to indicate the direct object of a verb.
But today I saw it at the end of an exclamation on a sign I think on a shop:...
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Difference between [行く末]{ゆくすえ}, 将来{しょうらい} and 未来{みらい}
I've been looking around and I got that the three words can mean "future". Is there a way to differentiate them? Can they be used the same way?
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What is the difference between 「食う」 and 「食べる」?
I've often seen 「食べる」 used, when should we use 「食う」 ? Are these two interchangeable ? Can you provide examples ?
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When would you use 低い【ひくい】 vs 短い【みじかい】
Are 低い and 短い interchangable or do they have specific uses?
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In what situations can you use ぞ as a sentence ender
When can one use the sentence ender ぞ? I've only ever heard it anime, so I'm unsure of it's actual usage in the real world. Is it not used that often or limited to specific age/gender groups?
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what is the difference between ごとに and おきに?
Both ごとに and おきに appear to mean "repeatedly at intervals".
What is the difference between these two expressions?
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Confusion about "Seemingly not ～"
So there are several ways to express something is "seemingly not ～":
～なさそう
～そうにない
～そうもない
～そうにもない (is this one even real?)
I was always taught ～なさそう in my Japanese classes, and it was ...
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What is the difference between 完了 and 終了?
Both 完了 and 終了 seem to have the connotation of finished/complete, but what is the difference, if any, in usage?
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When describing time span, are 間 {あいだ} and 内 {うち} interchangeable?
Both 間 {あいだ} and 内 {うち} can be used to describe time span relative to specific situations, similar to "while" in English. But are they interchangeable all the time? Are there any scenarios ...
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Words/characters for fast food meal sizes: 並, 大, 特
When dining at Yoshinoya I never know how to ask for the size meal I want.
Their sizes are 並, 大, and 特.
I only know that "大" means big, but it also has two readings so I have no idea whether to ask ...
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What's the difference between ようこそ and いらっしゃいませ?
Both "ようこそ" (yōkoso) and "いらっしゃいませ" (irasshaimase) seem to mean "welcome" but what are the precise circumstances under which each should be used?
"いらっしゃいませ" (irasshaimase) is uttered in unison by ...
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Why censor this one kanji?
I was watching an old Saturday Night Live sketch from the 1970s, called Night of the Moonies, making fun of the Unification Church by putting them in the context of the movie Night of the Living Dead.
...
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In modern usage how do Japanese natives regard the differences between 外人, 外国人 and 外人さん?
As a near native speaker of Japanese, I find it annoying to be called 外人 since it seems to imply that I "know nothing about Japan" (outsider). I much prefer 外国人.
In modern usage, how do native ...
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Difference between 下る、下りる、下がる?
I cannot, for the love of my life, understand the difference between
下る{くだる}
下りる{おりる}
下がる{さがる}
Don't they all mean the same, basically? Is there a difference, and if yes, how could I proceed to get ...
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Difference between 向け and 向き
My boss just corrected one of my documents from 企業向きな開発 to 企業向けの開発.
Apart from the の/な problem that I always get wrong, is there a problem with 向き ?
I got it from my textbook that says 子供向きです
Could ...
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ねば in 食べねば; relation between ねば and なければ
I would like to know a bit more about the "ねば" grammatical construction.
Every now and then, I hear people say sentences like
東京に行かねばならぬ
粘々丼を食べねば倒れる
なんとかせねばいい
It's quite clear that ねば ...
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What's the difference between 悪 and 惡 ?
I'd like to know what the difference between 悪 and 惡 is. And also what usage you should do between both.
I heard that they both mean "bad"
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do people actually respect the nuances of 探す vs 捜す?
Part 1
I understand 探す to be to search for something (general)
and 捜す to be to search for something lost
But do people actually care about the difference in nuance when they use it?
I mean do ...
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what's the difference between ところで and ちなみに ?
what's the difference between ところで and ちなみに ?
Are they always/often/seldom interchangeable?
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What's the difference in usage between 氏名 (しめい) and 名前 (なまえ)?
What's the difference in usage between 氏名 (しめい) and 名前 (なまえ)?
I often see these two words used interchangeably, but more often than not I see 氏名 on websites. Is this a politeness difference or an ...
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What is the proper use of だろう, is it "masculine", and how is it different from と思 【おも】う?
Like a lot of other foreign guys, I picked up some of my Japanese from imitating the women I spoke to. Certain phrases may have made me sound unwittingly effeminate in the early days when I had less ...
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What exactly is this ※ symbol, and what does it mean/how is it used?
I keep running into this symbol: ※
What is it, exactly? How is it used?
According to this Wikipedia link on Japanese typographic symbols, this ※ is called 米{こめ} or 米印{こめじるし}. It is used in notes as ...
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Difference between sentence final ものだ and ことだ
My understanding is that ものだ is used to assert things which are mostly known to everyone.
誰かの家に招待されたときは、何か手土産をもっていくものだ
'When invited to somebody's home it's customary to bring presents'.
On the ...
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I am struggling with the sometimes conflicting uses of 先
Rikaisama's definition of 先 includes meanings like previous; prior; former; some time ago. However it also includes meanings such as front; ahead; the future; destination. I am struggling to make ...
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How would I say "Get well soon"?
Last summer my family hosted a Japanese exchange student for two weeks, and we've kept in touch with her a lot. Unfortunately, about 2 months ago I found out she had Leukemia. She said she'll recover.....
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