Questions tagged [usage]
用法・使い方. How to use certain words, phrases, particles, endings, constructions, and their variants.
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Meaning and usage of 刺激（しげき）?
I've come across this word 刺激 a few times now, but although the dictionary says it means "stimulation" none of the contexts I've seen it in makes sense with that definition.
For example
「...
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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 ...
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How are が and は used here?
I am a fluent speaker (not a learner) but I can't explain why が and は are used in these lines when asked by a friend.
そんな私を拾ってくれたのがその時言い合いとなったお客様シェフなんです (from this video)
それを身を挺して助けてくれたのが誠司さん (video)...
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What's the difference between 初心者, 入門者 and 初級者
I see 初級 Written mostly in books which means beginner or elementary level, the other two were written on the same page for a drawing course I found online as "入門者向け" and "初心者向け", ...
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Difference between 抑制、制御、控える、掌握、抑える、操作、支配、統制 for 'control'
When trying to find the word for 'control' a whole heap of answers came up, a lot of them having similar meanings and usages.
I've summarised the main ones I'm having difficulty understanding the ...
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Is there a difference between these words for “hero”?
I've learned that hero could be translated as:
ヒーロー
えいゆう
ゆうしゃ
けっし
Aside from ヒーロー (which seems just to be roumaji version of hero), is there any usage difference among them?
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パソコンが 得意だ/わかる/上手だ
So I was studying this book called 日本語生中継, and there was this question where you're supposed to choose the inappropriate word among others. And I got stuck at this sentence:
私は、パソコンが(得意だ.わかる.上手だ.)
...
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Why is ある preferrable to 残る in the sentence お金があるうちに欲しい物を買っておこう ? Is 残る still a valid option or is it just wrong?
The following sentence belongs to a multiple-choice exercise about the grammar point うちに in the book 新完全マスターN2文法:
（ ）うちに欲しい物を買っておこう。
a) お金がある b) 給料をもらう c) お金が残る
I chose c) お金が残る, but according to ...
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On the direction of もらう
When talking about verbs of giving/receiving, textbooks tent do talk about only the relation between 1st person and the other persons (i.e. くれる 2/3→1, あげる 1→2/3, もらう 1←2/3), and let learners ...
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~といい Grammar point with 評価 as an implication
During my class today we were studying N1 Grammar といい. In our textbook there was the question:
水泳といいテニスといい、(x)。
a) スポーツはみな楽しい b) 私はお子様に習わせている c) 私はやったことがない
So I understand that a) is a correct ...
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What does ○○ていない + といけない mean?
I've recently encountered a simple sentence in a video that confused me grammatically.
(see 2:08)
子供が考える時には、待っていないといけないですよね。
My assumptions:
待っていない = negative continuous form of 待つ
といけない = have to
I'...
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Differences between くれます, もらいます and いただきます
I have been taught that they are used when receiving something (or a favor) from someone. But how exactly do they differ? I've searched the web for an answer and
One site suggests that くれます is ...
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Prepositional phrase with に and verb 感じられる
"界王神界にまでエネルギーが感じられるほど強大な力を開放し"
In this phrase, would it to be correct to say the prepositional phrase "界王神界に" connects to the object of the verb "エネルギー" or the subject of ...
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What is the difference between 引き起こす and 起こす?
The word 起こす has many meanings. One of them in particular (see entry 3. here):
to cause; to bring about; to lead to; to trigger; to give rise to; to create; to generate (e.g. heat, electricity); to ...
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What are the differences in usage? - ~あげる and ~あがる?
~あげる and ~あがる mean "finish."
But what are the differences in usage?
Should あげる strictly follow 他動詞？
For example, この本を読みあげた。
Should あがる strictly follow 自動詞？
For example, さっき走りあがった。
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Any help with this phrase? [duplicate]
ジョンさんは日本語を上手に話します。
The thing is that I don't understand why 上手 has the particle に.
I'm reviewing an examination sheet, and this is the answer to one of the questions.
The only possible thing that I ...
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In Japanese, can we say an object asks a question?
I was just wondering, because in English we can say "This story begs the question" etc. The wording for English is very versatile, and I was wondering if Japanese has this as well, for example in this ...
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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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Difference between と and とは
Difference between と and とは？
For example in below sentences
そんなに大きいと思わなかった。
and
そんなに大きいとは思わなかった。
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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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When writing みやこ, how to choose between 京 and 都?
Dictionary states that the word みやこ can be written as either 都 or (less often) 京. What factors (nuances of meaning, context, etc.) determine which of the two kanji is more appropriate?
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How to say "must be" in the sense of making an affirmative guess?
Sorry if the question isn't clear enough. In English, we can make an affirmative guess based on prior information we received from someone/something by saying "X must be Y". Some example ...
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I want to learn a lot about Japanese names for my stories [closed]
The title is pretty catchy on its own, but I'm already familiar with creating good Japanese names. I know about kanji and their meanings, but I'm at a loss. doubts about a few things. first of them: ...
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Meaning and reading of 益し加える
Reading in a book by 落合淳思 I wonder about (what looks like) the compound verb 益し加える in the sentence 「自は鼻の象形であり、それに声符を益し加えた繁文である。」 (繁文 is used by Ochiai as a technical term for the modern shape of a ...
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is Vてはじめて it's own grammar construction or simply something made up to help Japanese learners?
The Vてはじめて、construction is generally taught as its own grammar point to mean "not until X", "only after X". However from what I've been told by other learners as well as natives, ...
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Saying "of course," "naturally" in conversation
In conversation, we use "of course," "naturally" "as you know," etc. to announce "I'm about to say something that you know and is obvious; but I need to say it as ...
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Use of くれる among 外
For giving/receiving among people other than me, my family, my friends or anyone I am close with (外->外), the book says to use あげる. もらう can also be used for anyone->anyone. Is it wrong to use くれる ...
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Question about the expression 日和: Can it be used with any activity or just with certain set expressions?
So I was watching a podcast for japanese learners and they gave 行楽日和、お散歩日和、お洗濯日和..as examples.
So now I am asking myself, can I attach 日和 only to certain things or to anything that fits the context?
...
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What does かけ mean in かけ戦った or in かけ争い?
In the intro of the Game Boy Advance game titled "Fire Emblem: Fuuin no Tsurugi" there are a few instances in which かけ is used before a verb, and I don't seem to be able to grasp the nuance ...
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Can you use 観にくい( 観る+にくい) to say that something is hard to watch in the sense of that the topic/images might be hard to stomach?
Example would: この第二次世界大戦についてドキュメンタリーはちょっと観にくいけど、本当に面白いと思う。work to say: This documentary about WW2 is a bit hard to watch (hard to stomach) but it is very interesting.
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The usage of 当たり前 as subject
As far as I know, 当たり前 is an adverb. How come in the following instances it's used as the subject?
あの日見た夕日 あの日見た花火 いつでも君がいたね
当たり前が幸せと知った ー「合唱曲・群青」
君がここにいなくなって 当たり前がいなくなって ー「君の抜け殻」
I am a little ...
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Negative-imperative for 形容動詞 and 形容詞
For verbs, we can use it's te-form to make imperatives and negative imperatives, such as:
走って！ 走らないで！
Run! Do not run!
Of course there's also 走れ！ and 走るな！
For 形容動詞 and 形容詞, however, I realize that I ...
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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 "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 ...
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田中さんはこの小説を読んだ（そうだ）- do we need そうだ all the time if we did not actuality get the info from the person?
Example 1
Me: 明日は先生が来る（そうだ）。
Example 2
Me: 田中さんはこの小説を読んだ（そうだ）。
Assume both Examples 1 and 2 are the information I heard from other people, not from 田中さん or 先生.
Can I say the Examples without そうだ?
...
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Can かなり be used with ーそうだ？
I want to make the sentence, "You two seem pretty close." and I've come up with 二人はかなり仲が良さそうだ。 Now I'm wondering if かなり is correct or natural to use here with そうだ and if it's even necessary. ...
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雛たちとはなんの意味でしょうか？
中島みゆきさんの「銀の龍の背に乗って」の歌詞の中、こういう言葉が見つかります：
まだ飛べない雛たちみたいに
「雛たち」とはなんですか。「雛形」の意味しますか、ここで「まだ飛べないちっちゃい龍」のことを指しているのですか。
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Why was this usage of ところ incomprehensible?
I am an intermediate-level student, studying in Japan. All teachers are native Japanese speakers.
I was asked to write an example sentence using "ところ", using it to express a temporal concept ...
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If you want to refer to a person as beautiful, would you use [綺麗]{きれい} or [美しい]{うつくしい}? What's the difference?
I'm a little confused on the difference between 綺麗【きれい】 and 美しい【うつくしい】. When is it appropriate to use either word to refer to a person?
For example, if I wanted to refer to a woman as beautiful, would ...
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What is the appropriate way of using 自分 with respect to the referent?
妻は私が自分を今でも愛していると信じている
(Tsuma wa watashi ga jibun o ima demo aishite iru to shinjite iru.)
My wife believes that i still love her.
In the book it is said that:
When a reflexive pronoun jibun is used, ...
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Why is "お前" and "あたし" used in Spirited Away?
I was watching the animated film by Hayao Miyazaki named "Spirited Away" in Japanese (I'm still a beginner) and I noticed that Yubaba and Zeniba use "お前" as second person singular. ...
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Don't understand fully how "なきゃよかった" means if ___ hadn't or if I hadn't ___
Is the なきゃ like referring to there not being something presently or something? Or is it more like [the hypothetical idea of not doing something][was good]...though even if it was that I don't think I ...
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The fuction of を in this specific sentence [closed]
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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