使い分け. The differences between two or more words or phrases and how to select the best one for a given situation.
3
votes
2answers
55 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 ...
3
votes
1answer
82 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
4
votes
1answer
69 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
70 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
51 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
158 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
99 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
80 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
83 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:...
7
votes
0answers
140 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, ...
6
votes
1answer
819 views
Is the use of 真面目な a modern way to refer to sentimental relationships as “serious” or has it always been standard?
If someone can think of a better title, please edit or suggest a better one.
Recently, I have started noticing some Japanese people using the adjective 真面目な paired to words such as 出会い, 関係, etc, when ...
2
votes
1answer
78 views
Correct way to say “life is a lesson, you learn it when you are through”
In Limp Biskit’s “Take a Look Around” they use this phrase I find pretty cool. “Life is a lesson, you learn it when you are through”. So basically the lesson never ends, until you die.
I’ve been ...
1
vote
0answers
41 views
What is the difference between 愛しい【いとしい】 and 愛おしい【いとおしい】?
What is the difference between 愛しい and 愛おしい?
If possible, can you give me some example sentences?
Thank you.
-2
votes
2answers
115 views
What is the correct counter to translate 'One Piece'?
I was wondering whether the anime is actually called that way because it is hard to convey this meaning in japanese with a single word. For those who are not aware, One Piece is the greatest treasure ...
2
votes
2answers
76 views
1
vote
1answer
62 views
What are the nuances between くれますか vs くれませんか in terms of requests?
I know there are more politer forms like itadaku but just focusing on the masu and masen aspects, which is politer? What are the nuances? Which is more forceful-sounding?
1
vote
0answers
57 views
How do you say 'sentence'.
I searched jisho and they gave me 句 and 文. Bun seems way too generic and has so many other meanings that I'm not sure people will understand it. So is 句, a one-worded syllabus which also seems to mean ...
1
vote
1answer
72 views
What is the difference between [何もありません]{なにもありません} and 何もあります?
何もありません and 何もあります both have the same meaning according to google translate. I have no trouble in understanding why 何もありません has the meaning of "nothing/everything" as one of my native languages has a ...
2
votes
1answer
108 views
Particles equivalent to english 'about'
I am trying to learn how to say 'to talk/write/read about smth' in Japanese, since corrections natives make to my sentences seems not to be very consistent.
For example, let us consider a phrase 'I ...
11
votes
1answer
2k views
Why would a Japanese adult be embarrassed to use the word “friends”?
I am watching a current anime, That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime ( 転生したらスライムだった件 ). The protagonist, now a reincarnated slime in the isekai story, is making friends with a dragon. The specific ...
3
votes
2answers
124 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 ...
3
votes
1answer
237 views
Confusing sentence using ~わけではなく and other forms
Note: I already reviewed many topics here regarding the use of わけ, but I still struggle to properly translate the sentence below. It's from the introduction to the book 日本語文法ハンドブック (a book for ...
2
votes
2answers
151 views
The meaning of 立派だよ
If I say:
お前は立派だよ
I tell the person that they are amazing as a person or that they did an amazing job?
6
votes
3answers
152 views
What's the difference between 豪華 and 贅沢?
While reading a scene about some people checking out the luxurious hot tub that is in their building, one of the character remarks:
ご、豪華すぎるほどじゃないが、何とも贅沢極まるというか。。。
which I understand as meaning ...
6
votes
1answer
119 views
Is 哲学【てつがく】 the correct word to use when talking about Philosophy in regards to the Major?
I want to be able to say "my major is philosophy" and so I looked up the word for philosophy, but I'm not sure if it would be correct use the same word when talking about it as a major in college?
In ...
9
votes
3answers
197 views
What is the difference between 美人 and 佳人?
Both words mean "beautiful woman", but I guess the reason two words exist is because of some nuance. Am I right ?
5
votes
1answer
194 views
In Japanese, what's the difference between 全て (subete) and 有らゆる (arayuru)
全て (subete) is defined as everything; all; the whole
有らゆる (arayuru) is defined as all; every
Example phrases:
One:
繰り返しますが、小麦粉、あらゆる肉、魚を含まないものです。
kurikaeshimasu ga, komugi-ko, arayuru niku, ...
8
votes
3answers
154 views
What's the difference between 海洋 and 大洋?
According to my dictionary they both mean "ocean", but I guess there is a reason for both words to exist. Am I right ?
4
votes
3answers
148 views
Is it possible to “be confident in” without using 信 and implying having “faith”?
In academic fields, particularly in science, practitioners are often careful to to say they have confidence in something rather than saying they believe in it. Example: "I am confident the theory of ...
1
vote
1answer
82 views
するだろうなWill or Would?
In this sentence:
どんな 顔するだろうな
Does the speaker say " i wonder what kind of face he would make" or " how do you think he'll react?"
Which translation is more accurate ?Is he saying this in ...
0
votes
0answers
36 views
Examples of when to use ましょう、 ましょうか、ませんか、or volitional form with よう [duplicate]
I'm looking for example situations of when to use each. I think they all are the same meaning but when situational wise to use each one is where I am having confusion.
2
votes
1answer
110 views
Examples of when to use ではありません、ではない、じゃありません、 じゃない
I'm looking for example situations of when to use each level of politeness. I know they all are the same but when situational wise to use each one is where I am having confusion. Thank you.
5
votes
2answers
87 views
I don't understand how 雇い入れる is different from 雇う
［動ラ下一］［文］やとひい・る［ラ下二］新たに雇う。「新卒者を―・れる」(source)
I don't understand what the 新たに is doing here...? I've read example sentences with 雇う and 雇い入れる and I can't perceive the difference...?
3
votes
1answer
77 views
What is the difference between 無感動 and 無関心?
I know that both of them can be translated as “apathy”, but is there a distinction between them? Are they interchangeable?
5
votes
2answers
145 views
5
votes
2answers
116 views
What is the difference between 設問 and 質問?
The two words appear to both mean the English word question. Are they completely interchangeable?
0
votes
1answer
94 views
4
votes
1answer
88 views
How do you express that you are playing a game?
I would usually say something along the lines of
「マリオを遊ぶ」but I've been informed that 「マリオする」is a more natural say to say this phrase. Doesn't make sense to me, so I was hoping someone could explain
7
votes
1answer
89 views
I could use help with the finer nuances of 節、柄、and 様。
Why is it 節 that goes in __ in the following, not 様 or 柄？
部長は、毎日残業するのを当たり前だと思っている__がある。
This is a question in a textbook I'm using to prep for NI JLPT, and 節 is given as the answer.
0
votes
1answer
67 views
what's the difference between 試験する and 受験する?
The title is explicit, what's the difference between 試験する and 受験する ? According to my dictionnary they both mean "to pass an exam", but I guess there is a nuance.
6
votes
1answer
131 views
Fully understanding the difference between もう and －たことがある
I my understanding, the difference between もう and －たことがある is as follow:
もう is for "already" like in:
I've (already) eaten my sandwich
I've (already) been shopping yesterday
ーたことがある is for ...
1
vote
0answers
73 views
Is にとって often shortened to に in spoken, colloquial Japanese?
For example, 「昼ごはんに寄せ鍋を食べた」or 「私に(は)辛すぎる」, in both cases meaning "for".
6
votes
1answer
168 views
Why is 五日前 correct but 五日間前 not?
If 五日 is a date and 五日間 refers to a span of 5 days, shouldn't one say 五日間前？ As another example I found, 「三日以内に書類を提出してください」Wouldn't this mean "within the third", which doesn't make sense. Should it not ...
5
votes
2answers
178 views
When to use words derived from foreign words or the native words for the same things?
A lot of things have Japanese words in more than two versions to call them.
I can appreciate there are often many ways to call the same thing in any particular language.
Nevertheless, I'm somewhat ...
6
votes
1answer
124 views
What is the nuance of “悲しいと思います”?
I wrote ブラジルの国立博物館の火事のことを聞いて、とても悲しいと思います
A Japanese person changed it to とても悲しいです
It seems that 悲しいと思います has a nuance not suitable here, but they didn't tell me why. Can someone explain it to me? ...
0
votes
2answers
107 views
Difference between だけ and なら
What is the difference when using dake and nara in sentences, and if possible an example sentence for each would be helpful too. Thank you very much. They both mean just if I'm not mistaken. Like if I ...
1
vote
1answer
69 views
Can one create the word YAMA DO? [closed]
Hi I am a complete ignoramus as far as Japanese language is concerned. Please forgive me my silly question:
Can you create the word YAMA DO - the way of the mountain, like the word KARATE DO - the way ...
1
vote
1answer
52 views
毎度お前にばかり- you always do or I always do?
I read this line in a manga" 毎度お前にばかり..." the official translation says " I'm always doing this to you" but the fan translation says " you always have to do it "
Which is more accurate?
2
votes
0answers
53 views
Contradictory Usage of だろう・でしょう [duplicate]
I continue seeing sentences that (based on my knowledge) seem to contain conflicting usages of だろう・でしょう.
「妻はルイヴィトンのバッグを欲しがっているんだけど、そんなもん、買えるわけないでしょう！ 」
To my understanding わけがない is an expression ...
