Questions tagged [word-usage]
語法. The usage of the words.
366
questions
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2answers
60 views
Are verbs of movement typically used in compounds?
I've been reading a lot of graded readers lately (targetted at JLPT N4/N3 level). I recognize that these are not "pure authentic native Japanese", but I also don't believe they are ...
6
votes
1answer
180 views
Why is 株 used as variant for viruses, e.g. デルタ株?
I've noticed that Delta variant and so forth is translated using 株.
I've always understood this kanji to primarily deal with things regarding stocks, business, and so forth.
I also see from my ...
4
votes
2answers
127 views
Difference in usage between 嬉しい and 幸せ
What is the difference between [嬉]{うれ}しい and [幸]{しあわ}せ for "happy" or "happiness"? Are these interchangeable or are there cases where one should be used over the other? If so, ...
3
votes
1answer
98 views
What does “天然記念物” mean in this context?
The dictionary I have defines this as "natural monument" and "protected species" and I don't see how it relates to the conversation at hand. Based on the context though, since the ...
1
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1answer
128 views
Why are there so many words that mean “first” (and other ordinal numbers)? What are the differences?
Here are the words that roughly mean "first" that I'm aware of, but feel free to add more:
最初
一番
一番目
一次
第一次
第一
第一位
一位
首位
What are the differences (if any) between all of them?
3
votes
1answer
132 views
Difference between 監督 and 管理 for “to control”?
So I think both 監督（かんとく）and 管理（かんり）are different from 経営（けいえい）in that 経営 refers to managing a business. However the word "control" can be used for many things in English:
To have control ...
4
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1answer
241 views
Difference between 表立つ and 表沙汰する?
From what I understand, they both have the meaning of going public or becoming public knowledge. Is there a more nuanced difference between the two?
4
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1answer
163 views
Word Usage: ほがらかな vs 人懐っこい
I am doing some JLPT prep, and I'm struggling with the differences between ほがらかな and 人懐っこい。
私は、誰にでも抱っこされる（ ）赤ちゃんだったらしい。
A「ほがらかな」 B「人懐っこい」
The given correct answer is 人懐っこい which I can understand as ...
3
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2answers
674 views
Should I use -Sensei (先生) to refer to a teacher if they aren't my teacher?
Does it make a difference whether they teach at my school, even if they don't teach my class?
3
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1answer
67 views
When is 請じる used?
I read a novel, with the following sentence :
社会部記者と称する男は、快く支配人の部屋へ請じられた。
According to jisho.org,請じる means "to invite; to show (someone) in". I searched online for examples of sentences ...
2
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1answer
166 views
Why would there be a (笑) after 汚点?
I'm reading through a book put out by a manga publisher (Tosuisha/冬水社 if it's relevant) in 1998 that's a compilation of interview questions given to different manga characters. One of the questions ...
3
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1answer
73 views
What is the difference between 受け継ぐ、引き継ぐ，and 継承する?
I know these words roughly translate to "to inherit", "to take over", "to succeed", etc, but what is the difference between these words? These words were used in Attack ...
1
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1answer
76 views
What is the difference between ギャンブラー, 博徒, and 博奕打ち?
I was looking up a character from a Japanese game whose profession/specialty was gambler and saw that the word used in Japanese was ギャンブラー. My general distaste for katakana-English inflamed, I looked ...
2
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2answers
87 views
What does 送る mean in this sentence and is it similar to 生活を送る?
幻聴？あたし妄想見やすいタイプなのかな？父親の愛情なき幼児体験おくってっからな…
(first sentence for context)...because I experienced childhood without my father's love.
Would it work to also say 「幼児体験で育ったから」?
I'm also wondering if it is ...
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1answer
156 views
What would be the difference between 書こう and 書きよう when used in this sentence?
EDIT: Apparently I read the answers wrong, and the correct answer is actually the one I chose, i.e. 書こうにも.
Then my question would be focused on the difference between these two forms. I guess in this ...
2
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1answer
108 views
Usage/difference between ーみたい、－そう、and っぽい [duplicate]
So I know that these words would have the same-ish meanings, however the usage confuses me.
For example:
A:「この歌の歌手はBさんの声________よ。」
B:「本当ですか？ありがとう！」
Which would be used in a sentence like that? Why?
3
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1answer
96 views
What is the usage of そこはそれ?
と、先ほどよりだいぶ気安い調子で言ってみる。が、真士はすぐにむうとうなった。
確かに自然にはなったけれど、これではいつもと変わらない。別に真士は、澪と二人で出かけたことがないわけではないのだ。……いやまあ、二人きりで出かけるのとデートがどう違うのかと言われれば答えに窮してしまうのだが、そこはそれ、澪に『真士とデートしている』と思って欲しいのである。
I know probably it is ...
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1answer
52 views
What's the difference between 「殺人者」「殺戮者」 and 「大量殺人者」?
Is it a matter of the degree of the crime like "satsurikusha" is worse than "satsujinsha" and "tairyousatsujinsha" is worse than "satsurikusha"? Or are "...
1
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1answer
119 views
Why is the verb conjugated to え-form?
選べなかったら俺ん家来れば？
Translation:
If you don't like your choices, why not live at my place?
What I'm particularly confused about is the verb being in え-form. As far as I know, one usage of it is to give ...
2
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1answer
112 views
What is the meaning of 礼楽?
I was checking the definition of 堂 in my online dictionary (大辞林) when I came across the word 礼楽 in:
堂 → 客に接したり，礼楽を行なったりする所。== Hall → a place where you can interact with customers and perform ritual ...
0
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2answers
110 views
What would be the meaning of the 「筋」in 「親戚筋」?
「もちろん偶然苗字が一緒だっただけとか、名前を騙ってるだけって可能性もゼロではねーですけども、何らかの関わりがあるという前提で考えるのなら、私や兄様の親戚筋ってところですかね？少なくとも、私や兄様と面識があるみてーですし」
What would be the meaning of the 「筋」in 「親戚筋」? Are there any other examples of this ...
1
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1answer
97 views
Why does this sentence has a negative connotation and what does 外れ mean in this context?
I came across this sentence "予報外れの雨が降った" in a manga, and it's translated as: " It rained despite the forecast for today". Few things I want to ask:
First, a look up in the dict ...
0
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1answer
38 views
A & B don't/doesn't exist translation [closed]
How to say or write
"A & B don't exist" in formal and informal form with involving the word 存在 ?
0
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1answer
122 views
How do I understand いいかしら
My guess is that it's asking whether something is good or not, similar to saying いいですか.
So my question is what form is this and what does it stem from?
2
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2answers
215 views
What is the pronunciation and meaning of 乙って?
I was in the middle of reading a light novel, and I've come across "乙って" at least twice so far. I can't really figure out what it means nor how it's pronounced.
I found it in this sentence ...
0
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2answers
100 views
「あと3日だな」 means what exactly?
This is based on a listening exercise I'm trying to understand.
In this exercise, we don't know what day it currently is, but an event is planned for Saturday.
One speaker says:
あと[3日]{みっか}だな…
My ...
0
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1answer
73 views
what is the difference between 均等 and 平等 and 等しい？ All of them can be adjectives
What is the difference between 均等 and 平等 and 等しい？ All of them can be adjectives. Could you make some examples to show the difference?
0
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1answer
72 views
Use of どうか in this sentence?
I'm having some trouble parsing this sentence:
ピーターのことを、どうかよろしくお願いします
The translation by my interpretation is something along the lines of "As to Peter I will leave it in your hands" (i.e. ...
1
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1answer
114 views
The various uses of 気 in isolation
The expressions/phrases that involve 気 (ie: 気になる, 気にする, 気がついた, etc) are pretty well documented online. However, it seems difficult to find how to use 気 outside of these. For example, I recently ...
2
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1answer
66 views
Can フラれて be used in any non-romantic sense?
Something like “shocked” or “deceived”. Or rejected by friend, not by lover. Or in the situation where the person ignored someone’s problem.
Really, any non-romantic meaning, even it’s not common.
2
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1answer
117 views
What's the difference between 閉じる and 塞ぐ?
So i was doing Kanji Quiz, and i stumbled with 塞ぐ Kanji. I know 閉じる is used for eyes,etc. But 塞ぐ also has the same definition with 閉じる.
Here are the definitions.
Definitions
塞ぐ
to stop up; to close ...
5
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1answer
191 views
Parsing ふりする in song lyrics
I recently started watching 宇宙よりも遠く場所 on Netflix and there's a catchy reoccurring insert song that gets stuck in my head. Looking at the lyrics, I'm confused by the second to last line:
...
1
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1answer
269 views
When people use ざっくり？
I recently heard my colleagues use ざっくり which I haven't heard before. When I look it up in dictionary it translates to 'roughly; approximately; loosely' or 'deeply (cut or split)' - very different ...
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1answer
123 views
Can I use “dou” to offer something?
I understand that "dou" means how, and for example おちゃはどうですか means that I'm asking how is the tea? But, in Busuu app it says that I can use the same question to offer something, as if I'm ...
1
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1answer
106 views
別に meaning as opposed to directly saying “no”
What's the difference between saying 別に and directly saying no.
For example:
A: 行きたいの？
B: 別に （as opposed to saying 行きたくない）
I think they both mean "no, I don't want to go". But please ...
1
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2answers
263 views
Use of the "きた” form before するnoun
During my research, I came upon two forms to express the fact of moving to a new house:
ここは 三月前に引っ越ししてきたアパートです。
ここは 三月前に引っ越ししたアパートです。
I don't understand the difference between the two, does the one ...
4
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2answers
260 views
How to talk about completing a series?
I was wondering how to convey "today I've completed reading a manga series" or "I've completed watching a TV series". Does "Verb(ます stem)+終わる" sound wrong? Should I use &...
2
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1answer
181 views
What does “の先” mean in this line
I translated this song a bit ago for practice and, looking at it again, I am wondering what 先 means here:
ゆるりと 春を愛づる日に
袖振り合う縁の先
私はあなたと出会った
Do you think 先 means "end of our relationship" or ...
4
votes
1answer
98 views
How do the Japanese refer to passage of time in pregnancy?
Though my wife's two pregnancies, I've struggled to describing how much time has passed. Usually, I just revert to just saying how many months she's been pregnant, but in English there are other ways ...
0
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1answer
151 views
What is the the meaning of 理 in this sentence?
I am trying to translate this song for practice, and am wondering how 理 (ことわり) is being used in this particular line.
According to Jisho 理（ことわり）means, "reason; logic; sense; natural way of things....
1
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1answer
91 views
What's 年度? (Comparing research results)
I'm looking at a study and it's comparing these two:
現状（２６年度）and 調査結果（３０年度）.
So it's comparing the "present condition" and the "research results" but what does the XX年度 mean?
0
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0answers
59 views
What is this use of 様 in this sentence?
The sentence is
ああ、この女の様は溺れているようだ。
I'm assuming it is さま and not よう in this case, but why is it there?
0
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1answer
62 views
億? How to translate in numbers?
Full text: この結果、連結売上高168億46百万円、連結営業利益24億5百万円、連結経常利益23億41百万円、連結当期純利益12億45百万円となりました.
My issue: How do we translate the numbers in English numerals? Will it be 1,245 million yen or 12.45 billion yen.
0
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2answers
232 views
How come such a “strong” expression as なるほど is used in such a “soft” meaning?
Usually ほど is used to refer to some degree/extend that is in some way high, or even approaching/reaching some upper limit.
Given how precise(※) and reserved Japanese usually is, I find it surprising ...
0
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0answers
51 views
What's the meaning of “からねぇ” used in the end of a sentence? [duplicate]
I frequently saw or heard the word "から" in some Japanese TV shows, I know the word basically means "since" or "from", but it seems can't always be translated like that.
...
5
votes
3answers
238 views
Difference and usage between こちら and 私
I would like to know the difference between the two sentences
こちらを見ていた
and
私を見ていた
The translation is the same I think
She was looking at me
is こちら and 私 interchangeable when using を after ?
EDIT:...
0
votes
1answer
75 views
What's the difference between 好きな食べ物 and 好物?
好きな食べ物は食べた
好物は食べた
Which is more natural or common in writing or conversation?
Converted into English, is this the same difference between "favorite thing to eat" and "favorite food&...
0
votes
1answer
54 views
なんか違うような help to understand
Why in this phrase なんか used with ような?
「な、なんか違うような……ううむ」
なんか - something like that
ような - like / similar to （or よう - way of doing, but then why な is here?）
For me, this two words almost the same in ...
1
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0answers
76 views
The different ways to translate “when”
This is more an observation on English, than Japanese, but the word "when" is used in quite a few different ways. And I've been wondering how to translate these different meanings into ...
1
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1answer
70 views
Japanese term or phrase: 有価証券 [closed]
Full text: その他有価証券評価差額金
My issue: 有価証券. Is it "Securities" or "Marketable Securities"?
My understanding: Valuation difference on other marketable securities
