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's the meaning and usage of って言うんだ in this case?
How does って言うんだ affect the following question.
こんなことして何になるって言うんだ
I think it makes sense to me without it so I can't tell what it does and I don't think it's the normal "X person says" という ...
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The fuction of を in this specific sentence
I was reading this short 小説 about a difficult love relationship bewteen a man and a woman, and this sentences show up.
叶わない恋は存在するとは思います。
でも、二人が望んでいるなら、
超えられる事を多くあると信じています。
So, despite be able to ...
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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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The different ways to say "forever"
皆さん、こんにちは!
I have a somewhat basic but intricate question about the way the Japanese say forever or something close in concept (sayings, expressions or poetic ways would work too).
The context is that ...
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Could someone please explain to me the meaning of もち in the following sentence?
私たちは自然の流れとは別の生活リズムをもち始め、次第に自然との調和を失い始めたのです。
I searched but couldn't find an answer.
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Translating a combination of superpower/special talent - does 異能殊才 work? [closed]
I am attempting to combine 異能 (i nō - supernatural power) with 殊才 (koto sai - special talent), with the finished phrase being written as 異能殊才.
With various engines (I'm RomajiDesu for this specific ...
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Meaning and usage of ～ど／～ども
What do the structures ～ど／～ども exactly mean? How are they used?
I have seen these structures in this site:
https://nihongonosensei.net/?p=7938
but I don't understand very well the explanation, apart ...
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Meaning and usage of ～かとなれば
I've found the grammar pattern ～かとなれば in this site:
https://www.vnjp.org/grammar/detail/293
https://www.vnjp.org/grammar/detail/294
and I would like to know what does it mean as well as its usage.
...
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Correct interpretation of "桁1個上へ" in following context
Reviewing the lyrics of a song I found a really confusing phrase: "大切片手に桁1個上へ".
As far as I know, "大切片手" is refering to one/a presious hand. Most likely the one the author is in ...
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What is "ぷれせんとふぉーゆーさん" exactly referring to？
I was looking at the lyrics of a song and there's a part of it that says the following:
いびつな形でもつたわるかい？
昔からかわらない愛
きっとかわりはしない
ぷれせんとふぉーゆーさんたから
そんなの信じてたんだなー
「まま」はいなくて
「ぱぱ」だけぱぱすき
なんてゆあないだけ
I know ...
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Are "papa" and "mama" also used in Japanese as father and mother?
I often hear "papa" and "mama" in animes, in situations where they seem to mean father and mother. Is that so? Are these words borrowed from the Spanish words "papá" and &...
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What is the meaning of "良いん in this sentence?
”あと何センチ近づけば良いんだろう”
What is the meaning of "良いん” in this sentence?
I know that it means "good", but this sentence is translated as:
"How many centimeters closer should I get?"
...
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What does the "なん" mean in: "君なんだよ"? [duplicate]
In the song "光るなら" there is a lyric that is:
"君だよ、君なんだよ"
When I translate it, it translates to: It was you, It was you!
Another example is in this lyric from the song "...
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2
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Is 年 used commonly as a Japanese era marker?
I've just imported a car from Japan. There are a number of stickers on the car that I don't need and so I am pulling them off one-by-one. Even though I may not need to keep the stickers, there may be ...
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How to use "happy new year" expressions: 賀正{がしょう}, 謹賀新年{きんがしんねん}
I am familiar with:
明{あ}けましておめでとうございます
Usually I use it with family and friends, also I saw some tweets with this phrase.
Today I found these two variations: 賀正{がしょう} (noun) and 謹賀新年{きんがしんねん} (...
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How to analyze たこともある?
In Tobira chapter 11 grammar, one of the examples is
奈良は京都と並んで、古い歴史のある町で、日本の首都だったこともある。
I don't seem to find any information about たこともある on the entire web.
I understand there is no difference between ...
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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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1
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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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Can we use やばいぞ instead of やばいよ?
Does "ぞ" make it more masculine-sounding or is it a different dialect?
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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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Difference between "doko desu ka" and "doko ga"
I've read: Difference between Xはどこ and どこがX.
I understand the top answer but I'm unsure of the "why" for why those two statements mean differently.
A) 「病院はどこですか。」
B) 「どこが病院ですか。」
They say that ...
CommunityBot
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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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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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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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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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When is it appropriate to use ごくろうさま?
I've seen お疲れさま and ご[苦労]{くろう}さま used to say "Thank you" after some had done work of some type. After reading the お疲れさま thread, I realize that the two are not interchangeable. So when do you use ご[苦労]{...
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て助かる with inanimate subject
辛みがついてピーマンっぽさが 消えて助かるよ！
It gave it some spice and toned down the pepper flavor!
Here, the subject of 消えて助かる seems to be the inanimate peppery flavor. But I thought て助かる is used when someone got the ...
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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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Cases where として and にとって are overused/ cannot be used
I've been reading through Imabi, and one of the notes on the site was about inappropriate use of として and にとって in contexts of contrast and although phrases. These three were listed as examples of ...
CommunityBot
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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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