Questions tagged [word-choice]
使い分け. The differences between two or more words or phrases and how to select the best one for a given situation.
5
votes
1answer
85 views
okay to use 男／女 as opposed to 男／女の人 to refer to yourself?
A friend of mine is practicing Japanese and created the sentence 私は女の人ではありません。私も男の人ではありません intending to say "I am not a woman, I am also not a man"
I offered to improve the sentence as 私は男でも女でもありません, ...
6
votes
0answers
68 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 ...
3
votes
1answer
58 views
さむいのはきらい vs さむいがきらい
I always thought that with construcions I like/I hate I should use noun +が + adjective +です, for example: ねこがすきです。
But lately I have heard in some japanese podcast above sentence with that のは ...
1
vote
2answers
57 views
whats the difference between て言ってた vs ように言われた
I have learned recently that ように can be used for advice, command, ask and so on.
my question is, there is a difference between て言ってた and ように言われた?
for example, there is a difference between these two ...
4
votes
1answer
112 views
difference of 湿らす vs 潤す
湿らす and 潤す.
Both of them have the same meaning? what's the difference between them?
Thanks,
Or
8
votes
1answer
126 views
What is the difference between 中国人, 華人, 漢人, and 唐人?
I looked at the dictionary definitions of 中国人, 華人, 漢人, and 唐人, and it appears that all of them mean "Chinese person".
Questions:
What is the difference between them?
Why are there so many ways of ...
3
votes
2answers
102 views
What is the difference between ~たい and ~ことを望む?
I have been trying to translate some English sentences into Japanese. I have been asking people on OKWAVE to translate these sentences. I am happy to say that the results have been mostly satisfactory....
5
votes
1answer
78 views
Difference between 尽くす and きれる
I know both 尽くす and きれる mean to do something fully/completely
eg(these are my own examples)
色々やり尽くす。(I have tried all the methods or I have exhausted all the methods.)
generally I have heard of
...
5
votes
1answer
98 views
Is there any clear distinction in Japanese for the words 拉致 and 誘拐?
I'm writing an essay about the North Korean abductions of Japanese citizens. In English literature I found that the concepts "abduction" and "kidnapping" are used interchangeably. I'm not familiar ...
3
votes
1answer
77 views
What is the difference between 試合 and 競技?
They both mean 'game' or 'contest'. Are they interchangeable or is there a difference?
4
votes
1answer
98 views
What is the difference between 神社, お寺 and お宮?
All of them mean "shrine" or "temple", but what is the difference between all of them ?
0
votes
1answer
106 views
What is a diference between いく and あるく?
As I understand both means "walk". What is a difference here? I think that いく is more like "move" somewhere and あるく means literally walk. Is that right or something else?
2
votes
0answers
54 views
What is the difference between 文句 and 苦情? [duplicate]
They both mean 'complaint', but there is a slight difference between them, right? If someone could explain the difference and provide some example sentences it would be great.
5
votes
2answers
169 views
Appropriate word for “fellow”
I've been wondering how to appropriately say the phrase "My fellow members" lately and I've come up with the phrase 「僕の仲間のメンバーたち」but I feel like there's a more appropriate word for it.
Is there a ...
4
votes
0answers
119 views
How to politely and indirectly tell someone they forgot to do something?
Let's say someone who's above me, like a teacher or a boss, forgot to do something. How would I notify them without being rude?
I only know the basic "~するのを忘れました"(though I'm not even sure if that's ...
2
votes
1answer
99 views
What is the difference between 隠す and 覆う?
It would be really nice if someone could explain the difference between these two words that both mean ´to hide´. Some example sentences that illustrate the difference would really help. :)
2
votes
1answer
116 views
How do I say this sentence informally?
この習慣は日本に特有のものです。
But if I were to ask a question, この習慣は日本に特有のものか would have a negative tone so what word do I use instead?
3
votes
3answers
145 views
2
votes
1answer
132 views
Can 風が強く also refer to disruptive behavior rather than a strong wind?
Im reading a comic and two guys are basically being noisy af, and messing around. Their friend walks in and says 君たち...今朝は風が強かったな.
I just assumed at first hes talking about the weather, but im ...
4
votes
1answer
144 views
What are the differences between 真ん中, 中心 and 中央?
Could someone please explain the differences in usage and meaning? It would be nice with some example sentences as well.
2
votes
0answers
53 views
Can you slightly switch up the word order of this sentence? [duplicate]
This is what I've been taught:
これ は わたし の 本 です。
= This is my book.
And I was just wondering whether you can change the word order to say:
この 本 は わたし の です。
...
9
votes
1answer
116 views
Difference between たっぷり and たくさん?
I understand that たっぷり and たくさん means "a lot" but how can you tell apart the right time to use one or another.
Please point me a couple of examples.
Thanks
まいど ありがと
5
votes
1answer
168 views
Which form of 終わる should I use here?
A : 会議は何時ごろ終わりますか？
B : もうしばらく____はずですが。
1.終わり 2.終わる 3.終わった 4.終わらない
I've been pondering why the answer has to be 4.
Can anyone explain it to me please?
6
votes
1answer
94 views
Saying “It's the principle of the matter”
How does one say "it's the principle of the thing", in particular for when giving feedback.
For example, it's not the 1$ over change but the principle of the matter.
(as in the one dollar doesn't ...
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
4
votes
2answers
62 views
そうです or そうでした for sentences that end with でしたか
山下先生のせんこうはれきしでしたか。
To answer the above sentence, would the sentences below be acceptable?
はい、そうでした。
はい、そうです。
Is 1 the only acceptable answer since the question is in past tense?
6
votes
2answers
128 views
Which is the difference between 詳しい and 細かい？
I would like to know which is the difference between 詳しい and 細かい？
When do I use each one?
Thank you so much in advance!
5
votes
2answers
134 views
How are「〇〇の中で」and「〇〇で」different?
日本語
そのチームのメンバーの中で誰が一番好き？
そのチームのメンバーで誰が一番好き？
上の文（の中？）で、どちらが正しいですか。論理的には「の中」を入れる方が無難だと思うのですけど、時々入っていない文も見る気がして、文脈からすると同じように解釈してもいいと思えるのですが、本当に同じですか。ではなければ、どこで違いますか。
よろしくお願いします。
English
...
3
votes
1answer
79 views
What is the difference between 派出所 and 交番?
I know that they both refer to some sort of police station but I don't know if they are interchangeable, if they mean the exact same thing,etc
4
votes
2answers
96 views
4
votes
1answer
68 views
Difference between 結ぶ and つなぐ
In the context of tying things, e.g. shoe laces, rope, neck tie etc, I think 結ぶ is the correct verb. In all these cases can I replace 結ぶ with つなぐ? Would it change the nuance?
I have a feeling that ...
5
votes
0answers
67 views
I need help with those sentences: 「～と思われる」「～ように思われる」
日本語を習う時はローマ字を使わない方が良いと思われる。
日本の将来の見込みは暗いように思われる。
彼は金持ちであるように思われる。
Why does the first one use と and the second and third one use ように?
5
votes
2answers
103 views
What's the difference between 母方 and 母系? The same question goes to 父方 and 父系
I saw these words a while ago but just now I decided to ask it here because I didn't find the answer anywhere.
As the title says, I don't really know if there is a difference between 母方【ははかた】 X 母系【...
5
votes
1answer
101 views
Different ways to say “member” (of an association/group etc)
I would like to ask about which is the most general/common way to say 'member' in Japanese when talking about a group, organization, association, etc. In particular, is there a word that is "always ok"...
8
votes
1answer
368 views
How to say that an article is published (in a newspaper, blog, etc)
When looking online in dictionaries, I can't figure out what word to use to say the following:
An article I wrote has been published in a newspaper.
私が書いた記事が新聞で掲載してくれていた。
私が書いた記事が新聞で発刊してくれていた。...
-3
votes
1answer
89 views
Differences between Onzon/Hozon and Sensaku/Kensaku/Tansaku? [closed]
The first two seem interchangeable to me?
The other 3 from what I gather, sensaku is more of looking into something via informal channels like asking someone about it? While Kensaku is for looking ...
4
votes
1answer
126 views
Why is ヘッド an embarrassing title?
In the video game Mega Man X7, if you fight the boss Ride Boarski/Hellride Inobusky as X, before the fight you get this dialogue:
X「 おまえが“ヘッド”か？」
イノブスキー「ヘ、ヘッド～！？て、てめぇ～！！そんなハズカシイ名前で呼びやがって、“総長”...
3
votes
2answers
82 views
Various meanings of ダブる and its complexities in Japanese (多義詞 例子)
When I checked the JET vocabulary list JLPT lv2 last night, I found a word:
ダブる, my mind would refer this word as 'double' as in English.
However, the JET vocabulary list gives me a 'curious' ...
3
votes
1answer
829 views
Is there a word for “scream” in a musical context?
I want to say something along the lines of "I want to hear more of [name's] screams" but I don't want to sound like a psychopath. I mean the sort of scream you'd hear in a metal song. Is there a word ...
3
votes
2answers
91 views
Nominalized verb without の or こと
I saw this:
アンさんはべんきょうをおしえるひとです。
Is this a correct sentence? I got confused with おしえる人. I thought we cannot follow a verb with another noun without nominalizing it with either の or こと. Should ...
5
votes
1answer
103 views
What's the difference between 椅子 and 席?
I'm sure 椅子 is more common but I can't find any information on the nuance of 席
5
votes
1answer
89 views
Appropriate terms for indigenous people
I'm often asked about my home country by Japanese people and wish to discuss the unique polynesian culture of the indigenous people there. How do I describe them in Japanese? I understand that this is ...
4
votes
3answers
2k views
How do you say “hello” properly in Kyoto?
Rosetta Stone, which I use for learning, uses konnichiwa (こんにちは?) as a generic "hello". But when visiting Kyoto and places around there, I have never heard anyone actually saying it, not even a single ...
2
votes
0answers
76 views
I dont know what “old” to use
Consider these sentences:
とし を とっている toshi wo totteiru
means 'old', and
その だんせい は おとしより です。
sono dansei wa otoshiyori desu.
means 'The man is old.'
The website I'm learning Japanese on gave ...
2
votes
1answer
70 views
Difference between もうひとつの, 別の and ほかの
I read this sentence in another post:
でも貝のかんじにもうひとつのいみをつけます。
But we will assign another meaning to the kanji 貝.
Putting aside any other problems with this sentence, I feel that もう一つ isn't the ...
0
votes
1answer
174 views
JLPT sentence order section [duplicate]
I keep on trying this type of jlpt questions and I keep on failing. Do you have any recommendation on what to read or what to review?
An example question that I answered wrong is :
れいぞうこにくだもの__ * ...
9
votes
2answers
111 views
Nuance of the structure “Verb (stem of negative form) + ざるを得ない” compared to “Verb + しかない”
I've browsed a bit throught the other posts and it seems like there is no clear explanation of the nuance of "V + ざるを得ない" compared to "V + しかない". Roughly speaking, they have the same meaning but is ...
3
votes
1answer
105 views
What are the differences between 望み, 志望, 希望 and 願い?
Could anyone explain to me what the differences are between these words, both in meaning and usage?
3
votes
1answer
87 views
社会 【しゃかい】 and 世間 【せけん】 — what is the difference?
Is 社会 【しゃかい】 interchangeable with 世間 【せけん】?
from Jim Breen:
社会 【しゃかい】 society; public; community; the world
世間 【せけん】 world; society; people; the public
Here is an example sentence from Jim Breen:...
8
votes
1answer
182 views
About the coupling of ーてもらう and ーなさい
I often hear my old calligraphy teacher (and so far only her) use something like the following:
何々。。。書いてもらいなさい（？）
何々。。。やってもらいなさい（？）
and so on. The question mark in parenthesis indicates that, ...
