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.
2,619
questions
3
votes
1answer
92 views
Is ノーマル customary in reference to being straight
I was recently watching an anime and one of the character, in reference to him being straight, said:
僕はノーマルなので
(in case I misunderstood, this is from Eromanga Sensei, ep09 at around the 6:30 mark)
I ...
2
votes
0answers
50 views
Leaving the Office for the Day
My workplace has guards that work at our main door checking IDs and the like. In the morning we exchange cheerful おはようございますs. But I'm not sure what evening parting to use.
お先に失礼します seems out of place ...
0
votes
2answers
79 views
Difference between 試みる and 試す
何度か試みたが、失敗した.
何度か試したが、失敗した.
Is there a difference between those sentences? I have the feeling that the second one is more about trying smothing out like for the first time and see what happens and ...
9
votes
1answer
415 views
What is the difference between '礼', '礼儀', '礼に', '敬礼', and 'お辞儀'?
What is the difference between '礼', '礼儀', '礼に', '敬礼', and 'お辞儀'?
More generally, what does '礼' mean when used stand-alone as a noun? Can '礼' be used stand-alone or would that be considered unusual?
...
2
votes
1answer
69 views
くれてやる/くれてあげる meaning [duplicate]
I get that くれてやる・くれてあげる means "I'll give you" from an anime. To be frank, I have no idea how it translates to that. In fact, I didn't even know such a word is possible. くれる is receiving ...
4
votes
2answers
225 views
My notebook is almost full
So I was trying to ask for a new notebook at my office, I wanted to say that my notebook is almost full, so I need a new one.
I ended up saying
私のノートはページがあまり残っていませんので、新しいノートをお願いします。
But I don't know ...
2
votes
1answer
152 views
あげる but in an unwelcomed manner
Taking an example 食べてあげる. This means to eat for someone else' sake (in favour of someone else). What if I wanted to say I am sorry for eating it, it would be wrong to say 食べてあげてごめん. Is there a word to ...
1
vote
2answers
164 views
What is the difference in nuance between using て form and から to express “so” or “because”?
As discussed in this post.
Example:
このカフェは安くて好きだ。
このカフェは安いから、好きだ。
Besides the relative context dependency of the first sentence, is there a difference in meaning? Is there a reason to use one over the ...
0
votes
2answers
85 views
What's the difference between [剥]{は}がす and [剥]{む}く?
They both mean "peel." What is the similarity and difference between the two?
Can they both be used in peeling fruits and vegetables? If so, which one is more commonly used?
-2
votes
3answers
94 views
Stem form of a verb against normal form
What's the difference in saying:
魚を食べ
魚を食べる
Both mean I will eat the fish but I really have never heard the first manner of speaking being verbalized. Only ever seen them in social media posts, etc.
3
votes
1answer
142 views
Is おまわりさん a childish term?
Since I learned おまわりさん and けいかん I always wondered if the first has a "children language" nuance, or if it is just a friendly/respectful way to call a police officer. Is this the case?
0
votes
2answers
108 views
2
votes
1answer
82 views
What's the meaning of the てですね ending?
I was reading a manga and a character who is really excited about the situation says "毎日何度も指折り数えてですね！". Why does it end with the て form and why is ですね added?
The full conversation is:
A: ...
0
votes
1answer
66 views
のか vs か in asking a question
What's the difference between using のか and か in asking a question. From what I know, の and か really turns the sentence into a question, the latter being the polite version. So what's the point really ...
2
votes
2answers
106 views
When is it fine to use 違う?
From an English perspective--including mine since I'm learning Japanese using English, I felt that 違う sounded strong, this may be from the tendency to respect others' opinions on English, that ...
0
votes
1answer
101 views
What purpose does「お願いだ」serve?
I am pretty sure I have heard people saying お願い before making a request. For example:
お願いだ、部屋を綺麗にしてください。
The second sentence translates to "Please clean your room". So the question is, what is the ...
4
votes
1answer
158 views
ながら vs ながらも – what are the subtle differences?
I have read in Tae Kim's book that "You can attach the inclusive particle 「も」 to get 「ながらも」. This changes the meaning from "while" to "Even while"."
I personally do not ...
1
vote
1answer
103 views
What is the difference between 言いだし and 言いだす?
I found a sentence earlier containing the word 言いだしづら but I parsed it to 2 words and I found I did not know 言いだし so I looked it up and found 言いだす (which I know the meaning of), but I also found ...
-1
votes
1answer
80 views
What does います mean if used as an answer to a question?
I saw an instagram story where this guy is answering a bunch of questions and someone asked, "彼女はいる?" (do you have a girlfriend?) And he answered, "います//" and I don't know what that means.
5
votes
2answers
120 views
What's the difference between 声明 and 宣言?
I was going through my word list again, when I saw 声明 which was translated to "declaration, proclamation." This reminded me of a more commonly appearing word, 宣言, thanks to articles related to 緊急事態. I ...
0
votes
1answer
53 views
meaning of つかなく and can word ending in ない be conjugated as i adjectives?
Hi i was trying to find the meaning of つかなく used in this sentence
this is from oregairu ep 11 of the 1st season they are talking about how the line towards the theatre is getting out of hand
...
0
votes
1answer
72 views
What's the difference between 特定する and 指摘する
I was browsing through a vocabulary list when I noticed that both words can mean "to pinpoint" as in
彼らは今日の火事の原因を特定しようとしている。
Are they interchangeable in this context? Are there cases when one is ...
1
vote
1answer
64 views
何もかも and 全部 usages
What's the difference in using 何もかも and 全部?
Eg:
何もかも捨てる
全部捨てる
I have also seen:
何もかも全部捨てる
What are the differences and when should I use them
0
votes
2answers
80 views
が合わせて versus の合わせて
①この事故による死傷者は、女性3人、男性4人の合わせて7人ということになる。
②この事故による死傷者は、女性3人、男性4人が合わせて7人ということになる。
A Japanese friend of mine told me that ② is not wrong but ① is better than ②. Could any expert tell me why の is better ...
2
votes
1answer
76 views
What's the difference between 滞在する and とどまる
They can mean "stay" as in "I stayed in Tokyo the entire month." I would like to know the following:
Which is more common in spoken Japanese? In written Japanese?
Is there a slight difference in ...
2
votes
1answer
106 views
What's the difference between 合意 and 同意？
They both translate to agreement, but I can't quite figure out what the difference is. Based on the answer here, 合意 implies that there was some effort from both parties (e.g., negotiation, compromise) ...
2
votes
1answer
85 views
how was なりそうな conjugated?
i was wondering how なりそう was conjugated i know it was made of なる and そう but i don't know how \
なる became なり
4
votes
1answer
98 views
The difference between 解説 and 説明 (and 解釈)
How does one distinguish the three words? I checked several sites.
First, I checked Weblio which told me that there's really a relationship among the three. Next, I checked HiNative links here and ...
1
vote
1answer
136 views
What is the difference in koi o shita, ochita, shimashita?
I was looking for (I fell in love with you), but did find more than one option. Could you help?
あなたに恋をした
Anata ni koi o shita
私はあなたと恋におちた
Watashi wa anata to koi ni ochita
私はあなたに恋を しました
Watashi wa ...
1
vote
1answer
56 views
the difference between 恨めしい and 憎らしい
In this wiki: https://ja.wiktionary.org/wiki/うらめしい, the word "恨めしい" is simply explained as "憎らしい" in one of its items.
Are there any differences?
3
votes
1answer
151 views
What's the difference: 楽観的 vs のんき
Both these words seem to mean "worry-free" or optimistic. A quick check on Weblio somehow validates this. How do these words differ in terms of nuance? のんき is also said to mean careless and other ...
1
vote
2answers
120 views
What does 誰も do in this sentence, and is it needed?
「日本語で話し相手が誰もいませんでした。」
"I didn't have anyone to speak Japanese with."
I feel like 誰も is unnecessary. As far as I can tell, 「日本語で話し相手がいませんでした。」 has every element needed to express the English above. ...
3
votes
1answer
90 views
What's the proper form (formal/informal) to use when speaking to others online?
I should preface this by saying that I myself am fairly young (a teenager) and speak primarily to other young people (while I may not know their exact age, it's safe to assume the other people I speak ...
3
votes
1answer
91 views
とても、とってとても、超、めちゃ、めちゃくちゃ、物凄く、すごく、本当に、まじで differences in terms of degree and usages
Pretty sure there are more(nothing formal because it's a major pain), but these are the only ones I can think of. What are the difference between these? The all mean "very". Degree wise, how would you ...
0
votes
0answers
52 views
in this sentence what function does と take
here is the sentence i know と can have multiple functions
ごめんね 私さごめんね 人に合わせないと不安っていうか
2
votes
1answer
110 views
what does つった mean?
while i was doing anki i found つった and i dont fully know what this means, is it つって but past tense? here is the full sentence
俺もよくついてる 知ってるものを 知らないっつったって
2
votes
1answer
88 views
What's the difference between だって vs にしたって
I encountered にしたって here.
彼は日本語を20年も勉強しているが、その彼にしたって、まだ分からない文法に時々出くわすそうだ。
If the sentence is changed to
彼は日本語を20年も勉強しているが、その彼だって、まだ分からない文法に時々出くわすそうだ。
does it change the meaning of the ...
1
vote
1answer
54 views
What does 言いあったり mean and how is it conjugated?
I recently found 言いあったり in one of my sentences, and I can't seem to find what it means.
お前らが誰かとあれこれ言いあったり
0
votes
1answer
62 views
What is the difference between 'ぼくたち' and 'ぼくら'?
What is the difference between 'ぼくたち' and 'ぼくら'? Both are written in kanji as 僕達 and mean 'we'. Are they equal in using?
0
votes
1answer
84 views
Difference between 料金に付く and 料金に入る
この料金には何が付いていますか
I would translate this as “What's included in this fee?”.
Given this, could I use 入る instead of 付く in the sentence?
What difference would using 入る or 付く make in this context ? ...
0
votes
0answers
29 views
what does かれてた mean in 連れてかれてた [duplicate]
i was wondering what does かれた mean in 連れてかれてた. i don't really know how かれてた was conjugated and the overall meaning here is the full sentence.
いつか 悩んで 奉仕部 連れてかれてた
1
vote
1answer
70 views
Difference between すれ違う, 外れる and ずれる plus something about grammar
I've heard in a song the following line:
すれ違い心見えたなら
「要らない，要らない」しないのに
貴方はいつも貴方のまま
This seems to mean something like "If I met someone whose feelings differed from mine, I wouldn't say 'I don't need ...
1
vote
2answers
135 views
What's the difference between 解凍（する） and 溶ける
I was studying some new words when I encountered 解凍 which can mean "melt". This reminded me of 溶ける. How do these words differ? In the case of ice melting, both can be used right? How about chocolate ...
2
votes
1answer
55 views
(よ)うが～まいが / (よ)うと～まいと vs かどうか
I'm currently studying some N1 grammar, and I actually find it pretty hard getting a feel of the grammar patterns.
I saw this pattern in my Anki deck:
わたしは他人の話に耳を傾けたわけではないんですが、むこうはきかれていようがいまいが、...
2
votes
2answers
176 views
How to say “Sheriff” in Japanese?
I assumed with my very limited knowledge it would be シェリフ, however when I put it into a sentence with Google Translate, シェリフ instead was represented as 保安官, and pronounced ホアンカン rather than シェリフ. So ...
1
vote
0answers
72 views
What is the difference between 兄 and 兄上? [duplicate]
What is the difference between 兄 and 兄上?
These two words both mean ‘older brother’, but is there any nuance in the meaning?
3
votes
1answer
164 views
Why is 料理 used?
On page 158 of Genki 1, it has the sentence
ロバートさんは料理を作るのが上手です
Robert is good at cooking meals.
If I take the definitions of a couple of the words:
料理 = cooking
作る = making/preparing (food)
Then the ...
0
votes
1answer
92 views
"What is そいつら and what kind of conjugation is 知らんからな?
I was wondering what そいつら means, and is 知らんからな slang? Here is the sentence:
俺はそいつらのことよく知らんからな。
I know they slur their vowels to make things easier to say. Or maybe this is a new word that I can'...
7
votes
2answers
911 views
What's the difference between 偏る and 傾く?
They can both translate as "to lean" but I think they're not interchangeable. Or are they? Take this sentence for example:
地震で塀が傾いた。
Can I use 偏る in this sentence?
2
votes
2answers
118 views
Usage of 僕 in song lyrics
I’ve noticed that some song lyrics use 僕 although the singer is female. After reading this and this post, I’m still unsure if the answers apply to the songs that I’ve heard. It seems that 僕 is meant ...
