Questions tagged [verbs]
動詞. A class of words which describe events or states and can be inflected to indicate tense, aspect, voice, and so forth. In citation form, all Modern Japanese verbs end in -(r)u.
3
votes
2answers
108 views
Difference between 泊まる and 留まる [duplicate]
I'm just studying Japanese, and i know that 泊まる is like you Staying a night like hotel / some place that temporary , but i just found 留まる is also meaning stay/staying too in Basic Kanji book , but i ...
2
votes
2answers
105 views
Confused on verb conjuation U-verbs ru-verbs or godan ones?
I am doing japaneese N5 lessons for second time and I get REALLY confused.
As far as I know there are 3 categories of verbs:
Irregular verbs
Ichidan verbs
Godan verbs
But the sensei tells us that ...
2
votes
1answer
56 views
Verb form before そうです
今、新しい仕事を探しているみたいですよ。奥さんとも離婚するそうですよ。
I'd say 離婚しているそうですよ. Why is the form する used here?
If he has already got divorced, perhaps, it's better to say 離婚したそうですよ. Does this make sense?
10
votes
1answer
156 views
Meaning of「残るは」in a sentence
Came across this sentence in a memoir and I have a grammar question about it. For context, a person is thinking about someone sleeping nearby:
さっき声をかけてきたヤツは当分寝ないだろ。残るは寝ているか寝ていないかわからない隣の隣。
...
2
votes
1answer
72 views
What is grammar of strange form of やめる verb like “やめたくなったら”?
I found the word やめたくなったら. I think it's a conditional past form of やめる. Or maybe it's やめた conjugated with なったら (conditional form of なる). But the く in the middle distracts me: I can't find this form in ...
0
votes
1answer
74 views
乗り換え verbal noun does not take -する, instead 乗り換える?
Is anyone able to explain why the verbal noun 乗り換え does not take -suru, but instead becomes 乗り換える?
Cheers,
Luke
3
votes
2answers
87 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"?
4
votes
1answer
191 views
How to say “to work for”
I would like to say "I work for" company X.
I have found two ways of saying that:
仕える -> company-name に仕える
勤める -> company-name に勤める
But I can't find which one is correct or where to correctly use ...
5
votes
1answer
127 views
Why are there very few non-する gairaigo verbs in Japanese?
I can think of many gairaigo noun + する verbs in Japanese, like ゴルフする, but I can think of only a handful of non-する verbs in Japanese, such as ググる (mentioned in Are there words which consist of katakana ...
4
votes
1answer
98 views
How to write a sentence with several verbs associated to different objects?
I have searched the internet for help on using several verbs in one sentence when they are connected with different objects and performed by different people, but every search comes back with an ...
4
votes
1answer
108 views
「を」Vてある - Typo or actual construction?
Seen in the introduction to a book entitled 日本語文法ハンドブック, so it would greatly surprise me if it's a typo. Each section in the book is broken into parts and one is entitled "これだけは", being described ...
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vote
1answer
77 views
When I need to say “I develop software” in Japanese which verb is the appropriate one?
I want to say "I develop software" in Japanese so I thought that I should use the verb する. But I can also say "I write software" and use the verb かく. So which of the following sentences is the correct ...
6
votes
0answers
69 views
How to wear clothes? [duplicate]
There are several Japanese verbs for 'to wear', depending on the kind of clothes. What if one wears several? What is 'wear' if 'I wear a shirt, pants, glasses and a hat'? Does one of かぶる, 着る, 履く and ...
5
votes
1answer
125 views
The particle へ in 山へ面している
tl;dr: Should へ be replaced with に here?
I was reading Imabi and found the following example:
小屋は山へ面している。
As far as I know, へ is used with motion verbs especially when transition from one (...
4
votes
1answer
96 views
Use of 当たる in this sentence
Character A and B (A's coach) discuss C (A's opponent), who is known for having an amazing defense. Then C joins in and positively talks with B about A's potential. Then C drops this line:
...
4
votes
2answers
146 views
Metaphorical meaning of 買う
Context: in the manga Rikudou, Riku follows his trainer risky instructions in order to win (the trainer had told him to take a lot of punches in order to understand his opponent's fighting style). ...
2
votes
1answer
139 views
Unsure of meaning for sentence found in article about an automatic train test
I'm reading this article and there is a sentence towards the end that looks like this
自動で走る電車の研究は、ＪＲ東日本が将来働く人が足りなくなると考えて始めました
I'm not entirely sure about the meaning of this sentence as I could ...
2
votes
1answer
116 views
Why we should use “を” instead of “に” when talking about a place?
I have a question regarding this sentence:
かのじょといっしょにこうえんをさんぽします。
If the "を" marks a direct object of a sentance, why we use it the way it looks above.
Could we use here "に" instead of "を"?
...
2
votes
2answers
109 views
Verb woes; two or three questions
I'm working on a translation and there's this one line I can get through but can't get a handle on.
こんなヤツに負けおって
いままで何のために練習
してきたと思っておる!
Problem 1 is that I can't figure out if this is one sentence ...
4
votes
1answer
107 views
Grammaticality of two kanji verbs without their conjugating part
A friend told me he's going to get a tattoo with "頑張".
頑張 doesn't exist on the dictionary without its -る conjugating part, so is it grammatically correct using it alone, as if it was a noun? Does it ...
2
votes
1answer
79 views
Can an adjective come after a verb?
I was trying to say "I write slow".
I figured it would be:
おそい（が）かく。
But a native speaker didn't understand me and said it was:
かくのがおそい。
Now I understand how の after a verb makes it a noun, ...
3
votes
1answer
80 views
Difference between “じゃない” and “ない”
I would like to ask what is the difference between "じゃない" and "ない"?
I know that "ない" is an i-adjective (info from dictionary).
But we have a sentence for example:
近くも遠くもないです。
Can we say:
...
0
votes
1answer
80 views
Verb past tense [duplicate]
Why do some past tense ru verbs conjugate with た(食べた) and others with った(帰った)？
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vote
2answers
62 views
What is the correct verb for “packing up?”
I am not sure what verb I would use for "packing up" (e.g. Packing clothes into a suitcase). Would I use the verb 詰める {つめる}, which is "to stuff into?"
6
votes
1answer
140 views
What does te form of verbs mean in these two sentences?
犬は雪の中を走ってボールを取りに行く。
時間がありまして、映画を見ました。
Are the grammar in these two the same? If yes, why is there a comma in the second one and not in the first one?
1
vote
1answer
110 views
Difference between 会う and 集まる
I don't know exactly the difference between those two?
What are the most commons use for those ones?
For example, what are the difference between these sentences?
友達に会った
友達に集まった
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vote
2answers
121 views
5
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2answers
227 views
Auxiliary verbs in Japanese
What are auxiliary verbs in Japanese language?
Which verbs are auxiliary and how to tell which are auxiliaries, and which are normal?
It looks like the word です is an auxiliary verb. But why? What ...
1
vote
1answer
167 views
How to use 生かす to express “you'll do your best”?
I have to answer the question "日本には「好きこそものの上手なれ」という 諺 がありますが、どんな意味だと思いますか。" using 生かす and my idea is to answer that if you are interested in something, you'll do your best. I started writing "...
5
votes
2answers
178 views
Trouble with the ambiguous verb 控える
I don't know how to differentiate between these 2 meanings of 控える:
〔止める，見合わせる〕
勝手な発言は控えてください
Please refrain from speaking without permission.
〔少なめにする〕塩分を控えなさい
Cut down on your intake of ...
4
votes
1answer
164 views
Verb after な-adjective, is it necessary to complete the sentence?
I read somewhere that 形容動詞 are a special subclass of nouns. Contrarily 形容詞, the い adjectives, are actually a lot more similar to verbs. During the time that I have been learning Japanese language (...
3
votes
2answers
204 views
Meaning of 瞳だけはぶっ飛ばない
Context: in a gym, a boxer attacks another boxer saying that he was provoking him with his eyes. After punching him, he thinks:
瞳だけはぶっ飛ばねーでやんの
甘ちゃんのクセに
人殴って拳が潤わなかったなんて
ねーのに……
What is the ...
3
votes
1answer
65 views
Meaning of 掃き溜める
Context: a boxer is telling another one that he is too weak to participate in a tournament.
潰し合いさせられるトーナメントに浮かれてんの出場者ん中でお前だけだぞ？掃き溜められたコトにムカつくけどよ… お前みてェな甘ちゃんと肩並ばされんのはもっとハラが立つ。
Looking in the ...
4
votes
1answer
102 views
What does this 数えてみたら mean?
The following sentence is from this article on NHK Web特集
数えてみたら、息子と一緒に過ごせる時間がとても限られていることに気がつきました。
My attempt at translation:
When one tries to count it, they took care that the time shared with ...
4
votes
2answers
123 views
Meaning of しっかり頑張ってこい
I would like to know what しっかり頑張ってこい means and if it has any difference (any extra nuance) with がんばって.
Also:
Why is こい (command form of くる) used?
In which situation do you use this expression?
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votes
2answers
160 views
Is there a name for verbs written as: Katakana+る?
The number of verbs that have the pattern KATAKANA + る seems to be increasing. Some examples include ググる, ダブる, トラブる, バグる, パニクる, etc.
Is there some kind of official name (or even informal name) for ...
3
votes
1answer
57 views
「あまもり」と一段動詞「もれる」
天井などに欠陥があって，あめがふったときなどに，みずがもれだしてくることは「あまもり」といいます．しかし，この語の後半「もり」と関係があるとおもわれる動詞「もれる」は一段活用です．その連用形を名詞としてもちいているのだとすれば「もれ」でなくてはなりません．このことから，かつては，「もれる」とおなじ意味の「もる」という五段動詞があったのではないかとおもいたくなります．...
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0answers
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repeated verb in 雪が降りに降っていました [duplicate]
I have recently encountered this construction:
雪{ゆき}が降{ふ}りに降{ふ}っていました
Someone translated it as "The snow was falling in waves."
After some research, I discovered similar constructions with ...
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votes
1answer
2k views
「です」, what is it really? Is my analysis correct?
At an elementary level, often, Japanese learners are taught that です is equivalent to the verb "to be" in English. Typical example:
私は学生です, I am a student.
That's fine, after all, it works. And to ...
4
votes
1answer
82 views
湿気る is both godan and ichidan. Are there other verbs like this?
I recently noticed in passing that 湿気る is classified as both a godan and an ichidan verb.
For example, the past tense could be either:
しけった (godan)
or
しけた (ichidan).
This strikes me as ...
0
votes
1answer
61 views
How do you translate 作ってみたら in 妹がチーズドックを作ってみたら兄がwwww?
It would seem to me the sentence says "little sister makes cheese dokku (whatever that food is) and .. big brother ... ?
I can't understand 作ってみたら . Is みたら the tara conditional form of 見る? Is it ...
3
votes
2answers
167 views
Hajiku 弾くversus Hiku 弾く
For my Japanese class we recently went over how to say stuff about playing instruments, but looking online had me confused about how to use a certain couple of verbs. I know that my textbook says ...
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1answer
85 views
What does “僕の分も君が振ってくれ。” mean?
The title is self explanatory. I don't seem to understand this sentence as a whole. Can somebody please explain this word by word for me? Also what form is "振ってくれ" in? "振る" in this context means "to ...
1
vote
0answers
95 views
What is the meaning of はった when modifying a noun?
I found the following sample sentence in an Anki deck:
食い意地のはった少年は料理を全部たいらげた。
The greedy little child ate all the food.
I am wondering what the function of はった is here. The meaning of the ...
5
votes
1answer
77 views
Meaning of 世界観に入り込む in the following sentence
The following sentence is taken from the afterword of the final volume of a manga:
そんな風に名残惜しさを感じたり、世界観に入り込んで描くことができたのも、たくさんの人に読んでいただけて、キャラクターや作品が好きだと言ってもらえてものすごい励みになったことが一因だと思います。
I understand the ...
5
votes
1answer
156 views
Why is しっていません a mistake ? [duplicate]
I was told many years ago by a native Japanese speaker that saying 知っていません instead of 知りません was a huge mistake. I would like to know the reason of this fact. Is it because the meaning of the verb 知る ...
1
vote
1answer
77 views
How can one determine the appropriate meaning of 伺う in formal speech?
Is it based on the particle connecting the object of the verb?
For example,
に/へ伺う
to go
vs
を伺う
to ask
Is it purely based on the context of the sentence for distinguishing between ...
2
votes
1answer
84 views
Meaning of 利く and examples
I would like to know what's the meaning of 利く with this kanji 利. Could you also give me some examples, please?
I've searched in kotobank for a difference between 効く (to have effect) and 利く, but I ...
3
votes
4answers
94 views
Using だ as a Verb
I was reading through the following blog and came across a particularly interesting example on the use of は and が.
The author explains that in the context of a young man pointing at a number of ...
-1
votes
1answer
123 views
Can “suru” be also added to japanese verbs?
I thought that "suru" was used with english verbs to create japanese verbs
(ie ドライブする) or with japanese nouns to create japanese verbs
(ie denwa suru 電話する)
Can "suru" be also added to japanese ...
