Questions tagged [usage]
用法・使い方. How to use certain words, phrases, particles, endings, constructions, and their variants.
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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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という/っていう - a few of questions
I’ve scoured this website and elsewhere to get to the bottom of this and I think I’ve cracked most of all of the という usages and meanings. But I just have some few questions I hope you can help with.
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です vs ありますwhat is the difference between the two? Can they ever be interchangeable?
Q: 日本語の授業は毎日ありますか。一日に何時間ですか。
A: 日本語の授業は毎日あります。一日に二時間あります。
I have questions about the difference between “です” and “あります” regarding the above sentences taken from my textbook. Why is that “です” was used ...
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Difference between どれだけ and どのくらい and どんなに
It seems that どれだけ can be used interchangeably with どのくらい and どんなに, but is there any difference in nuance?
For example:
(どれだけ/どんなに)聞いても意味が分からない
(どれだけ/どんなに)説明しても、あの人はわかってくれない
彼の身長は(どれだけ/どのくらい)ですか。
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Why can't により be used with "concrete, tangible objects"?
According to "A Dictionary of Intermediate Japanese Grammar" p. 297, により/によって can be used as "a particle that indicates means"
その問題は話し合いに{よって/より}解決出来るはずだ。
We should be able to ...
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Intuitive way to justify this usage of「に」
An earlier question on JP.SE asked about the usage of the particle「に」for what seemed to be attribution or possession, but I wasn't sure if those were 'official' uses of「に」and I decided to do some ...
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What are the differences between うちに、間に、同時に, ながら & ついでに
These all generally mean whilst & during but I still (after ages of trying) make mistakes on where to use which one.
For anyone who knows the ins-and-outs of these grammar points, please explain ...
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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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Why is "でしょう" the norm in weather forecasts?
In weather forecasts on the radio or on TV, I frequently notice the announcers suddenly starting to add "でしょう" to almost all their sentences. Now I know this is used to indicate uncertainty, which ...
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「いくらか」と「若干」の使い分けを教えていただけないでしょうか。
「いくらか」と「若干」の違いは何ですか。ただ「いくらか」は話し言葉で「若干」は書き言葉ですか。正しいですか。もし、正しかったら、他の違いがありますか。
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How to understand ただ一度きり
I know that ただ一度 and 一度きり both mean "only once". However, does the expression ただ一度きり have any special meaning (my feeling is that it doesn't sound like good grammar normally)? My intuition is that it'...
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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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Use cases of していない/してない
I've seen this form show up a few times. In a past Japanese class, I was told that it could be used in the sense of "I haven't done X yet", as in まだ宿題をしてない.
Also, I was told that 知っている in ...
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Mixing of non-past/past in narratives
In the ASK Graded Readers, which present beginner-appropriate short stories, there is a frequently occurring pattern of writing with ~ます during the 'setup' of the story, and then switching to 〜ました ...
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Differences between ways to express obligation?
1) I know that, to express something that you must do, you can use 方{ほう}がいい and, for a stronger feeling, べき.
2) I am also aware you can use conditionals like 〜なくちゃ、〜なきゃ、〜ないと to express that you need ...
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What is the meaning or usage of the に at the end of the following sentence?
あなたもできる対処法とは? 不安から日常安心できる生活に 。
So what does the に here refer to? Is it になる?
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Is 〜であるものか construction allowable?
In 新完全{しんかんぜん}マスター文法{ぶんぽう}N2 page xi the formation rules for 〜ものか are
普通形{ふつうけい}（ナ形｛けい｝だ-な・名｛めい｝だ-な）＋ものか
These rules seem to preclude the form 〜であるものか.
There is also this note at the bottom of ...
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Why 親切 is not usually used when referring to one’s own family or close friends?
"Like 優しい, the na-adjective 親切(しんせつ) means “kind,” and it is used to evaluate someone who does something kind for a person in trouble or is considerate to others. However, 親切 is used to describe the ...
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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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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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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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About the meaning of による (cause or dependency?)
I usually see による used as a way to express the cause of something:
震災によってたくさんの人の命が失われた。
There were many people who lost their lives due to the earthquake.
But in some places I see it being used as a ...
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How to identify what って means in different situations
って can be used at least 3 different ways that I know of.
Standard って form that most people learn first.て,って,んで,いて,いで etc.
って for quoting people.
って for making a demand/command statement.
A tutorial I'...
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*one piece ch 1000 spoiler* what does チャキ mean?
I just read this chapter and was wondering what this sfx meant.
for context; luffy is passing big mom & kaido while zoro is observing what he is doing.
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What does 測る mean here?
前に「知るタイミング」みたいなこと言ってましたよね、それってどうやって測ればいいんですか。
I can't understand what 測る means here. I know its dictionary definition is to measure or to weigh, but it seems to have another meaning in this sentence.
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ところ＋particle(助詞) precision
Hy, I am currently working on with 新完成マスター N3 for my grammar part and I get stuck on a small section of the lesson related to ところ(~p.17)。
So far, I understand that, according to this lesson, ところ can ...
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Do I need to reply in this situation?
(In a game) I am a newbie(Lv29), and I saw B(lv100+) having filled his room's wall with numerous super-super-rare(SSR) posters, which can be only be earned with enormous effort. (I don't have any)
I ...
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Difference between 防衛相, 防衛大臣 and 国防相
Reading a NHK NEWS article, I stumbled over three different expressions for minister of defence. Is there a difference between 防衛相, 防衛大臣 and 国防相?
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