Questions tagged [word-usage]
語法. The usage of the words.
310
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Is oniichan also used to refer to a big sister?
Someone just told me their mother speaks Japanese and she says oniichan doesn’t just mean big brother but also big sister. I thought oneechan is the word for big sister though. He also said it’s ...
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1answer
41 views
類型化しておいて. Should we translate this as “categorize” or “classify”?
Full text: さらに検索エンジンの内部では、ユーザーがこれまでにサービスを利用した履歴を集めて興味の範囲が似ているユーザーを類型化しておいて、類型化された好みを検索結果の並べ方に反映します。
My understanding: Furthermore, the search engine's internal system collects the user's previous use ...
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1answer
52 views
Please give feedback on my Japanese class presentation on food additives [closed]
Here's my presentation, I'm in high school right now in the highest level Japanese class they have, but I want to know if my grammar is wrong or if I can improve some things in it, as well as slowly ...
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1answer
72 views
how do we translate 外資を含む in this sentence?
Full text: このためには、都市部における経済活動のボトルネックになっている電力等の都市・産業インフラの脆弱性を抜本的に改善し、外資を含む製造業の立地環境を整備する必要がある。
My understanding: For this purpose, drastic improvements are required in the fragile and vulnerable urban ...
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1answer
82 views
What is 次第 doing in this sentence? [duplicate]
先日の会議の内容は、後ほど書面にてご報告する次第です。
I think the sentence means something along the lines of: "As for the contents of the meeting the other day, it will be reported in writing later."
But this kinda ...
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1answer
68 views
The usage of 回転数 in a sentence
Text: エンジン回転数/電気モーター回転数
My understanding: Engine rpm/Electric motor rpm
My Issue: 回転数 has different meanings such as "rpm", "number of revolutions of the engine", "Engine ...
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1answer
45 views
Trying to break down 2 sentences (Genki lesson 15 dialogue 1)
Going through Genki and Lesson 15 has brought up 2 grammar points I can't figure really out.It would help me a lot if I understand how those two sentences are build up and why they need those parts.
...
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1answer
73 views
Whats the difference between 「睡眠不足」and 「寝不足」?
Is there is any difference between the words 「睡眠不足」(すいみんそく) and 「寝不足」(ねぶそく)?
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57 views
My Issue: 低額. Does it mean low-cost or small amount?
Full text: 低額ATM回線サービス(*5)に対応するATM25M/ATM155Mモジュールや、ISDNネットサービスを利用した回線バックアップに対応するBRI/PRIモジュールを装備可能です。
My understanding: It can be equipped with ATM25M/ATM155M modules that support ATM circuit services(...
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1answer
55 views
What's the difference between 「ご飯を食べる」「ご飯を済ます」 and 「ご飯を済ませる」?
「ご飯を食べる」「ご飯を済ます」 and 「ご飯を済ませる」, they all mean to finish breakfast/ lunch/ dinner, what's the nuance between them?
I tried to get it out but there are totally different explainings about the difference....
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1answer
77 views
Function of the という preceding のだろうか?
夕弦は七罪ではなかった。ならば残るは十香、亜衣、殿町、美衣の中の誰かだということなのだろうか。だとしても、夕弦以外に明確に士道の指名を逃れられたと思われる人物はいない。まさか、本当にただ勝負を楽しむためだけに、七罪は自分を危険に晒していたというのだろうか……？
しかしもしそう考えるのなら、その前提自体が無意味ということになってしまう。七罪が勝負を楽しんでいるというのなら、...
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1answer
91 views
What does “頃のこと” do in this sentence?
The full sentence, from Anki core 2k/6k:
かつて私が学生だった頃のことです。
"That was when I was still a student."
I'm understanding "かつて私が学生だった" to mean "I was once a student," so I'm ...
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1answer
133 views
About the usage of 借りる
I just learned (embarrassingly recently) that people say トイレお借り出来ますか. I suppose that means that in this case it is used instead of 使う. Are there other cases of using 借りる in this sense? Say, if I ...
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1answer
676 views
Book error: パパは銀行に出かけていていないよ
There is this phrase
パパは銀行に出かけていていないよ
And the given translation is
Your dad has gone to the bank.
But here I think it is a negation instead. Which is correct?
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1answer
82 views
重要ないくつか what is this word ending?
重要ないくつか
I came across this and was wondering what it meant. One can parse it this way:
重要ない ___くつか
Or
重要な ___ いくつか
Which does makes more sense? And can you give example sentences?
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2answers
84 views
What exactly does the song title 「恋するカレン」 mean?
「恋するカレン」is a song by 大滝詠一 from his 1981 album A Long Vacation. Lyrics for reference.
The part I am confused about is, who exactly is the actor i.e., person doing 恋する and who is it directed towards?
...
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1answer
294 views
What does 「生き残る目」 mean in this sentence?
I came across this sentence while reading 下町ロケット.
「ウチで密かに調べてみましたが、佃製作所はいま、資金調達すらままならない苦境にあるそうです。どう転んだところで、佃製作所に生き残る目はありませんよ。それにですねーーー」
The most obvious interpretation for me was,
We searched from ...
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1answer
101 views
I need help with the translations of the word Seido 精度
I am planning to start a small business in the art industry in the UK. I was brainstorming ideas for business names some time ago and I started typing in translations of English words I found relevant ...
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1answer
66 views
How should I understand 何回目か in this sentence?
One assignment for my Japanese class is this Japanese elementary reader, which contains the story of Kenta and his dog, Koro. They are playing catch with a ball, and the previous sentence I translated ...
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27 views
How is いただけ or いただけに working here? [duplicate]
I came across these two paragraphs about the future resignation of Prime Minister Abe:
Various ministers were being asked their opinions and I came across いただけに:
1st paragraph:
梶山経済産業大臣は、...
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1answer
91 views
What is the meaning of キリ in this paragraph?
Reading in NHk I came across this paragraph, and I cannot make out the meaning of キリ：
さらに堀埜社長は、7月、異例の値上げに踏み切りました。といってもほとんどは1円から数円の値上げ、中には値下げした商品もあります。看板メニューの「ミラノ風ドリア」は299円から、300円に。
値上げのねらいは、「釣り銭を減らす」...
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1answer
48 views
Word meaning and grammar help
I encountered this in something I read:
彼らの頭髪は金髪や白髪、茶髪を始めとして緑髪から青髪まで様々で、さらに格好は鎧やら踊子風の衣装やら黒一色のローブやら『それ』らしすぎる。
1. Do the quotations around それ means that it is emphasized? If so, how does it work in ...
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37 views
「に対し 」と「に対して」の違い？
While many parents are putting money aside for college tuition, some are taking on another big expense: buying cars for their teenagers.
(大学の授業料のためにお金をためている親は多いのに対し、...
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2answers
115 views
Sandals vs. geta
Are all sandals called geta? Or are geta a subset of sandals. How about flip-flops? How are these types of footware distinguished in Japanese?
My dictionary says sandal is just せんだる.
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1answer
90 views
What does the work “Kitaku” mean?
I understand this to mean "return home". I am thinking about starting a new company and I would like something to mean, "return back to my roots, back to a safe place". Would "...
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1answer
113 views
Leaving the Office for the Day（お先に vs お疲れ様vs ありがとう）
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 ...
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2answers
142 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 ...
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2answers
148 views
クビにします to mean “destroy”?
I'm translating a song and there's a certain part that's confusing me.
もしあたしが日本の
一番偉い人になれたら
即座にヤツをクビにします
(The singer is female, hence あたし)
So far, I can gleam the meaning of the first two lines to ...
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2answers
106 views
What does こなしてみせます mean?
次こそは... 完璧にこなしてみせます。
This is a speech from Shikamaru, a character from Naruto manga.
The nuance is, his very first mission as a leader ended in a giant failure with the rest of his team severely hurt ...
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2answers
125 views
How acceptable is it to use 持たす instead of 持たせる?
The following is an extract from 窓際のトットちゃん.
..ひいては、劣等意識を持たさないのに役立つのではないか..
Interestingly, jisho.org doesn't seem to have an entry for 持たす but other dictionaries like goo, do.
「持たせる」に同じ, 「もたせる」の文語形
...
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125 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. ...
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1answer
64 views
What is the meaning of「もう」in this sentence?
もう一軒{いっけん}と参{まい}りましょう
I understand 「もう」to mainly mean "already" or "soon" but its usage in this sentence confuses me. Could anyone explain to me why it's natural here?
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2answers
97 views
When do i use は for きのう,きょう,あした? [duplicate]
Example from Minna No Nihongo:
Lesson 4 :
あした 6 時に起きます。
Lesson 9 :
きょう は 早く 帰ります。
Why is は sometimes used with such a time words and sometimes not?
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1answer
110 views
use of だって after 私
I was making some sentence cards and was wondering what だって in this case meant.
I got sth like "Even I am of use as splendid maid for Kobayashi."
for context: Lucoa was summoned by Shota but doesn't ...
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3answers
687 views
Can 変身 be used instead of 変化 in this case?
From this post, I gather that the difference between 変身 and 変化 is a matter of the transformation’s distinctness. However, I came across 変化 being used in the following sentence:
カメレオンは、環境が変わったとき、...
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1answer
70 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?
3
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1answer
178 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 ...
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0answers
119 views
How to break down the nuances of each Japanese word translating to “somehow” or “anyhow”?
There seems to be an endless supply of Japanese words and phrases that translate to "somehow" or "anyhow" in English. It's difficult, at least with J-E dictionaries, to understand the nuances of each ...
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1answer
113 views
what does いて mean in ここにいても [duplicate]
hi im doing subs2srs decks and im going through the cards looking at grammer and i found this card that says ここにいてもでくることはなさそうだな and i dont understand how いて works.
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ほか usage clarification [duplicate]
I was reading this article at NHK, and in it there is a sentence that reads:
感染者の中には、今月２日ではなく別の日にこのナイトクラブを訪れた人がいたほか、ソウル以外の地方から訪れた人もいたということです。
Which I think I understand the main point of to mean:
...
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1answer
60 views
Difference between 怒鳴る and 怒鳴りつける
Jisho says 怒鳴る is an intransitive verb and that 怒鳴りつける is transitive. But I have come across the following phrases:
止めようとしても母親は自分を怒鳴りつけるだけでした。
彼女は私を怒鳴った。
If Jisho is really right, why "私を怒鳴った” and ...
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0answers
158 views
What's the point of adding とした here in this sentence? [duplicate]
Here is the sentence of my question.
希望に満ち溢れていたはずの"あなた"がなぜあんなに荒凉とした場所にうずくまっていたの。
I can understand what it's trying to say to some degree yet it confuses me why とした is used in the sentence.
With the ...
6
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3answers
685 views
What is the difference between 盲目 and 目の不自由な？
Both words mean blind. I tried doing some research but I couldn't find the difference.
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2answers
94 views
what is the difference between 肝臓 and 肝 • 胆?
I saw that both can mean liver.
Is there a specific context for each of these words? Some situation where it would be more correct to use one and not the other.
And i read that 肝 is also used as a ...
1
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1answer
95 views
Why should one use the dictionary form instead of the potential form in this case?
The question:
映画が好きなので、時間とお金が ＿ 限り見に行っている。
Both "許す" and "許せる" are offered as choices, and the answer is "許す".
Is it because "時間とお金" are impersonal, so the potential form "許せる" would not be ...
0
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1answer
89 views
What is the difference in usage between 港 and 港湾?
According to my dictionary, 港湾{こうわん} and 港{みなと} both means harbour. What is the difference between the usage of these two words ?
2
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1answer
113 views
Why choose 見てからでないと in this question?
I came across the following question when preparing for the N2 exam:
マンションを買うときは実際に＿、心配だ。
a 見た上で b 見て以来 c 見てからでないと
I thought the answer is a but it's given as c.
That doesn't seem to be right since ...
0
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0answers
50 views
Meaning of “おめーさん” in “ところでおめーさん” if it's not someone's name [duplicate]
What does "おめーさん" mean if it's used to address a man but it's not his name? Google Translate says it means "mother" or "old lady" but I have my doubts.
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1answer
63 views
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1answer
110 views
Why does one have to use ながら instead of つつ in this sentence?
I'm going through an exercise book to prepare for the N2 exam, and I got confused by this question:
＿たばこを吸わないでよ
There are choices for 歩きつつ and 歩きながら, and the answer is 歩きながら.
What's the difference ...
