Questions tagged [word-usage]
語法. Word usage. 単語の使い分けと単語の使い方 This tag should be used for questions about how specific words are used in speech or writing.
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Meaning and usage of 刺激（しげき）?
I've come across this word 刺激 a few times now, but although the dictionary says it means "stimulation" none of the contexts I've seen it in makes sense with that definition.
For example
「...
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What does クタる means?
The character is cooking and he says this.
絹さや is "snow peas" at least and ラストlast
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Does this sentence sound natural: その靴はどこで買いましたか
その靴はどこで買いましたか
Should か be replaced with の? Should I say 買った instead of 買いました?
Make any sort of corrections you want, I'm trying to make my Japanese sound as native as possible.
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Question on use of とかけて - ととく (wordplay?)
There is an enka song with the following stanza:
ひとり手じゃくの お酒とかけて
橋の通わぬ 川ととく
渡りきれない あなたの胸に
酔えば切なく なるばかり
咲くに咲けない 咲くに咲けない
あ～ 恋挽歌
I found the use of the particle と unusual so I tried to find why it was ...
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What's the difference between ...から死ぬ and ...で死ぬ?
We know that both から and で can express reason, and that から emphasis on a process of change in comparison to で. If this is the prerequisite, then both "...から死ぬ" and "...で死ぬ" can be ...
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What's the difference between saying "試験を受ける" and "試験を受験する"
Recently I asked a question on HiNative and said "試験を受けました" but a native Japanese speaker corrected it to "試験を受験しました".
I'm positive I've seen someone say 試験を受ける before, so why did ...
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What's the difference between 其処ら, 至る所, and そこら中?
Trying to figure out how to say the word "everywhere" in Japanese, and I want to make sure I'm using the correct one. Usually there's some difference due to context or formality. Context of ...
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Is 僻む a transitive verb? If so, how frequently is it used along with を?
I am trying to understand how to use the word 僻む properly. If I understood correctly, it means "feeling bitter or resentful". After searching for example sentences, I've got the impression ...
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添{そ}い遂{と}げる (soitogeru) = "to be with" or "to remain married to for life"?
Relative spoilers for Mushoku Tensei S2E11 (Jobless Reincarnation). A childhood friend girl meets with MC-kun years later, but doesn't reveal who she is. MC-kun falls for the girl, but is hesitant (...
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using alot of ではない in one sentence
In the following sentence, I have used ではない three times and it feels a bit unnatural to me. Is there a better way to convey the same meaning or it is okay to use in Japanese the same concept multiple ...
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Trying to understand forms of “どうせ…だろう”
To my understanding, in a normal non-conditional clause “どうせ” has a function of saying that something makes the surrounding context irrelevant, similar to “anyway” in English. As in for instance “...
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Is Saturday considered a weekday or weekend, or something else?
I'm confused about this sign. It states working hours. The first part is easy: weekdays is 9:30 to 20:00. The second part is strange. Instead of saying 週末・祭日 (weekends and holidays), it says "...
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Word order in 銀河鉄道の夜
I was reading 銀河鉄道の夜, and I’m confused on the choice of word order in the following sentence. I understand what the sentence means, but I do not understand why みんな isnt before が.
たしかにあれがみんな星だと
Let ...
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About "活きてるなあって思いますか？"
In this video clip : https://youtube.com/clip/UgkxfiBqUAzxHmyxBNLZ13fJBoIpmqOrFBQq
The lady asks :
剣道で培ったことは日頃の自分にもすごい活きてるなあって思いますか？
The subtitle trasnlation says ：
Do you feel that you're applying ...
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Which one is correct between 侘び寂び and 侘寂
I know that generally you use the hiragana "わびさび", and in the entry for "侘寂" in the chinese wikipedia "侘び寂び" is listed as the original japanese, but I still have my ...
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Is コマ in the sense of "block" or "segment" extrapolable to other situations besides "time block"?
As part of the explanations to the reader in the book 新完全マスターN2, I encountered the word コマ for the first time:
According to jisho.org (see entry 3.), 齣{こま} can mean "time block", which ...
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What does 指命 mean? [closed]
院長の指示通り動くのが我々の指命だ
They are two doctors talking together.
指命 is on Weblio, but not on Jisho. It seems like 指令, what's the difference between them though?
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What does "に" mean in "精神的に疲れたので早く寝ます"?
Context:
精神的に疲れたので早く寝ます。
Is "に" a preposition here?
If "精神的" is a adjective, is it telling that need to use a preposition between a adjective(精神的) and a verb(疲れた)?
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What is the difference among the three "と" in "私と旦那さんとの今の関係について話すとみんな驚いていました"?
context:
...夜は飲みに行きました。みんなで近況を話して楽しかったです。私と旦那さんとの今の関係について話すとみんな驚いていました。
Do the first two "と" mean the same? If the first two "と" mean "and","I and my husband", ...
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Understanding the usage of だらけ
I've come across this in the following sentence:
油断だらけのこの背中
油断 means "reckless" or "negligence" and だらけ means "full of" or "riddle with".
While I can decipher(...
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Does あまり “increase” or “lessen” the negative verb?
For example,「ゼロではないけど、あまり多くない。」
多くない = It is not much
あまり多くない = It is not very much
Is 多くない by itself “smaller” than あまり多くない？ In other words, does あまり lessen the strength of the negative verb 多くない? Or,...
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Use of くれる among 外
For giving/receiving among people other than me, my family, my friends or anyone I am close with (外->外), the book says to use あげる. もらう can also be used for anyone->anyone. Is it wrong to use くれる ...
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Usage of the word 技 (わざ) as well as similar words meaning "Technique"
I tend to hear this word a lot in anime, especially ones like Naruto. But there's little information on how it is used in conversation. According to Jisho, it means technique, art, skill and move with ...
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Can と見る be used instead of と言う
Can 見る be used rather than 言う in this context？
Why is this written:
「なぜ止まったんだ」と僕を見ました。
Short Stories in Japanese for Intermediate Learners by Olly Richards, page 22
I would maybe have expected this:
...
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Why does 中止 also mean to cancel
中止 literally means to stop halfway (中で止まる). 中止 in Chinese also only means to terminate something already started. How did 中止 get the meaning of cancelling something not started at all in Japanese?
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What does this "く” mean?
Context: in a song that I think is about love or relationships in some way, "♪生まれて 育ってくサークル" was a lyric. I was wondering what the "く" before "サークル" was...maybe a ...
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雛たちとはなんの意味でしょうか？
中島みゆきさんの「銀の龍の背に乗って」の歌詞の中、こういう言葉が見つかります：
まだ飛べない雛たちみたいに
「雛たち」とはなんですか。「雛形」の意味しますか、ここで「まだ飛べないちっちゃい龍」のことを指しているのですか。
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Does the いは in 或いは come from any term, and if so, how is it/was it used?
I was curious about いは in 或いは because ある is in its plain form however I can't find anything on it. I don't have any physical dictionary, either nor knowledge of if this is archaic Japanese
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If you want to refer to a person as beautiful, would you use [綺麗]{きれい} or [美しい]{うつくしい}? What's the difference?
I'm a little confused on the difference between 綺麗【きれい】 and 美しい【うつくしい】. When is it appropriate to use either word to refer to a person?
For example, if I wanted to refer to a woman as beautiful, would ...
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Proper way to say "Grocery store" and what types of stores this usage applies to
What is the proper way? According to jisho, it seems as simple as saying 食{しょく}品{ひん}店{てん}? In the case of a Walmart, Target, GameStop Costco or Family Dollar could these all be considered 食{しょく}品{ひん}...
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～なり～なり and ～なりと～なりと
In all the websites I've seen the grammar ～なり～なり (A or B, either A or B), I've seen the pattern ～なり～なり expressed as ～なり～なり. However, now I've seen in jisho for the entry なりと that the meaning "...
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Can 会話 refer to a statement rather a conversation?
In this sentence from my textbook, 会話 is not referring to the dialog as a whole but rather to a few sentences spoken by one of the sides in the conversation:
相手の会話を聞いた後に「〜(な)んだ」を使って、キーワードを繰り返すと、「確認」...
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what is the difference between 寒い and 寒?
is there really a difference between the 2? Jisho (辞書?) lists さむい for 寒い & さむ.い 寒. What difference い make?
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Nuance between 技法、手法、方法、テクニック、 etc
Basically just wanting to know if there's a clear difference between these words. I get the feeling that テクニック is more like one person's own specific technique for doing a thing (entirely guessing ...
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How is 「年目」 used?
I encountered this sentence today: 「付き合って５年目に結婚することにしました。」
What does 「年目」 mean here, and why is 「目」 attached to 「年」?
Would the sentence still have the same meaning if we use only 「年」 instead of 「年目」?
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What is the word for "handwriting" in Japanese?
When I looked up the word "handwriting" on jisho.org, it came up with:
筆跡 {ひっせき}
手書き {てがき}
字 {じ}
So if I were to say, "my handwriting is bad," which word do I use?
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A question about what seems to be れいせい & its usage
What is the context of the video below (from 1:18 to 1:26), especially the word 「れいせい」's meaning in it?
https://youtu.be/ehSCmkVVjlg?t=78 (try using a VPN if you can't load the video)
For the time ...
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Can 死ぬ be used for objects/places?
Like in English, can the verb 死ぬ be used for places like towns or stores, like "Man, this town is dead." Or like with objects, "The phone is dead."
I'm thinking that 死ぬ can only be ...
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Difference between the verbs 探す, 捜す, and 探る？
To my understanding, they all mean "to search for" but I'm unsure of the differences between the two and in what contexts I should be using one over the other. (Edit) Just found out about 捜す....
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Calling someone お兄さん or お姉さん in the street; is it irrespectful?
So... i been seeing a lot of cases in anime or real life japanese that pepole use 「お兄さん」or 「お姉さん」(depending on gender) to ask something to someone that you don't know.
Is this direspectful or ...
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When should one use まとまる over other similar words?
I know that まとまる has 3 meanings:
The first is of some matter being settled/agreed upon, which overlaps with a bunch of words (eg: 決まる, 片付く, 解決する, 成立する, 成り立つ). When should まとまる be used?
The second is ...
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How to use the verb 連れて~
I always have trouble in expressing myself using the word “連れて”. I know it means “to bring” but I cannot express the meaning like “someone brings me to somewhere.”
So what are the situations that the ...
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What does this means in this context ? 念写の大人しいスキル
When I'm reading a visual novel, I met with this term in a sentence but don't understand. Hope someone can explain its meaning to me.
Context: MC is studying in an academy for people with special ...
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Difference between と感じる and ように感じる
For example, is there any change in nuance if I replace ように with と (or って in casual speech) here:
日本人は他の国の人に比べて、相手の体を触ることにあまり慣れていないように感じます。
(The example is from a textbook lesson that discusses how in ...
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What does「とこ」mean in this sentence?
学校なんて つまらないとこ
すぐやめられると思ってたけど
もう少し このままで
未練ができちゃったから
I came across these sentences while watching The Quintessential Quintuplets (season 2, episode 1, 5 mins in).
My understanding of the context is ...
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What is the difference between 言われたまま and 言われるがまま？
I came across this sentence in a light novel by 北川恵海 called 『ちょっと今から人生かえてくる』
言われるがまま就活を終了した。
My translation is something like: " I did what I was told and finished my job hunting. "
My ...
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Difference between chiisai (小さい) and komakai (細かい)？
Both are い-adjectives meaning "small".
From what I gather (though I'm not sure), chiisai is used mainly for specifying objects as 'small'; while komakai can have uses like: "minute ...
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そういうの and そういうこと
When you use そういうの you are talking about "things/living things" but also about "topics", more abstract subjects right? like, doing some sports, or talking about "this"
...
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Onomatopoeia/Mimetic Words
Internet searches produce lists of onomatopoeia/mimetic words, but I have found little guidance about how and when to use—or not use—them. Besides scouring this website, I’ve looked at as many other ...
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What is the difference between 当惑する , 戸惑う, はっとする and 度肝を抜く
I get that all 3 kind of express the same idea of "being taken aback" or taking someone aback, being shocked, bewildered, surprized.
I am wondering what are their subtle differences in ...
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