All Questions
30,087
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Does 風の吹くに任せて、どこを見ても feel natural?
This short passage comes from chapter 24 of Kokoro and was the basis for a recent question by another member.
東京へ帰ってみると、松飾はいつか取り払われていた。町は寒い風の吹くに任せて、どこを見てもこれというほどの正月めいた景気はなかった。
I have a different ...
- 1,565
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1
answer
23
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Meaning of こぴー付けて in this sentence?
The character is talking about a book he wrote and says this after mentioning the book was fairly popular. In the first part he mentions all kind of Sensei introduced the book and then he adds this
&...
- 1,417
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0
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20
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grammar, usage この間
So, my thinking and question is that i know the basic difference between 間 and 間に. 間 is about the entire period of time - 寝ている間テレビが点いてた. And 間に is about some period during action 寝ている間に電話があった
So, ...
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1
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57
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How does 「交換したていで」 mean "say you changed [the oil]"?
In this video and timestamp, a text message reads: 「交換したていで大丈夫です!!」
The provided translation is: "Just tell you them changed [their oil], it'll be fine."
I'm confused how 交換したていで leads to ...
- 2,364
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0
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48
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What are the different ways 分[ふん] can be used?
I'm putting together stuff teaching its use, as a counter, for minutes, but in looking things up for it, I saw some other uses for it, that got me highly interested like "兄弟分" in connection ...
- 1,628
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37
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What is the meaning of どこか懐かしい?
What is the meaning of どこか懐かしい and what is the difference between 懐かしい?
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1
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56
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What is the meaning of わかるやろ
I heard on the radio a host said わかるやろ. At first I thought that I misheard what was said and it was わかるだろ, but google search for わかるやろ produced quite a few hits.
What are possible meanings of this ...
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39
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Question about usage of だ and ええがのう
むかしむかし、びんぼうなじいさまとばあさまがなかよくくらしていました。ある年の大みそかのこと。じいさまはため息をついていました。「はぁー。明日はお正月だというのに、おもちをつく米もない。なんぞうるもんでもあればええがのう」。
明日はお正月だというの: Is the だ here just for emphasis?
What is ええがのう. Does it means いいだろう here?...
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1
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「お前」にも「さん」をつけること
「お前」という二人称は歴史的に不尊敬の意味がなく、実は敬語として用いられていたことは知っていますが、現代にはまだそういう用例があるのですか？ 特に、ゲームをやっていた時、こういう会話を見てちょっと不思議だと思いました。
ここでは「お前さん」と「お前さんら」の用例が見つかります。このゲームの世界観は江戸時代の日本に基づいており、会話や文法は大体現代語です。なので、...
- 3,636
2
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1
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322
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マリネする vs. マリネにする "to marinate"
I was looking at example sentences for the word マリネ "marinate", and I found this as a common usage:
►マリネにする marinate.
I understand many nouns related to cooking are used often as XをYにする &...
- 1,313
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1
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62
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人 (は or で) 混んでいる?
The language learning app that I use gives the following sentence:
渋谷は人で混んでいる
From what I understand about the particles は and で, shouldn't the sentence be:
渋谷で人は混んでいる
instead?
(Something like: ...
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1
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68
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How is this sentence exactly divided? Usage of と
（今までこれは恋愛感情だと、愛情からだと、嫉妬からだと彼に伝えずに来てしまっている……）
それが何を意味するか
感情が自分で正しく認識できるようになった今ならわかる
The character concludes they are in love with their friend, and give out this reasoning.
However, I'm a bit stumbled ...
- 1,417
1
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1
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63
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neutral-description が versus は after noun phrases quantified by 多く and 大部分
Susumu Kuno (The Structure of the Japanese Language, p. 58) when discussing neutral-description が and が after quantified noun phrases, states that:
The generalization seems to be that when the ...
- 458
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1
answer
60
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Usage of the passive with を?
恋愛を抑圧された精神では自覚せず、けれど本能は理解していたから縋りついた…？）
Is を in this sentence being used like に or が?
"A love restrained by the mind"
or "A mind restrained by love"?
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What is this kanji? Image attatched
I found this kanji on what I believe is an old map. I don't recognize it and have been trying to look it up, but it does not show up when I search using radicals. What is this kanji?
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1
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78
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"今だけは" does it have a particular meaning?
"ずっとこうしていたい、と思う。理由がなければ成立しない行為だけれど、それでも、今だけは。"
"i want to stay like this forever, I think. It would be something we wouldn't do without a reason, but still, only now"
What does ...
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1
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1
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80
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What is this meaning of 伺っている?
日向は萌香の願いを分かっているのに、日向はあえて何かを伺っているように思えた。
"hinata understood honaka desires and despite that it looked like hinata..."
What does 伺っている mean here? It seems to mean "to say" in polite ...
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2
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1
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76
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Pitch accent of Japanese nominal verbs with する
An odakagata word has its accent on its last mora but this is actually cancelled, unless followed by a particle or copula. This is the premise but I bumped into some nominal verbs such as "返事 する&...
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0
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104
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Onna vs Onna no hito vs Onna no kata [duplicate]
I know there's a kanji for Onna so I am confused on why you should add no hito or no kata after it and when? Is it just to state that there's just one person?
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2
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160
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Understanding 同じ楓の樹でも同じ色を枝に着けているものは一つもなかった
From Kokoro chapter 26:
私は私を包む若葉の色に心を奪われていた。その若葉の色をよくよく眺めると、一々違っていた。同じ楓の樹でも同じ色を枝に着けているものは一つもなかった。
I found the last sentence bit ambiguous. I am not quite sure about the meaning of 同じ楓の樹でも and what ...
- 1,107
1
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1
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Trouble understanding 立つ瀬がない
I understand the expression 立つ瀬がない means "having lost face, in a bind", but I have difficulty understanding it’s practical usage.
For example here, B is A's 後輩, and A put B in a tough ...
- 1,313
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291
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How can I use the word 魅力的?
The range of translation for this word is charming, fascinating or attractive. These are very different words in English. I want to describe a small village as 'charming' and I think the word 魅力的 ...
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1
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107
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Japanese atonic verbs
Why do japanese atonic verbs, who are supposed to have heiban accent pattern, end up to get an accent (and then a pitch fall) on the last mora when followed by such particles as か or の?
I did not ...
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0
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41
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What is the difference between と見える、そうです、ようです
If I have to translate them I can use IT SEEMS.. for all of them.
Is there any difference or nuance between them to understand which one do I have to use when I want to say "It seems that....&...
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1
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76
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DIfference between どういう訳も and なぜという訳も
From Kokoro chapter 25:
「先生はなぜ元のように書物に興味をもち得ないんですか」
「なぜという訳もありませんが。……つまりいくら本を読んでもそれほどえらくならないと思うせいでしょう。それから……」
I found the use of なぜ in なぜという訳もありません odd to me. I'd understand its meaning if it were ...
- 1,107
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68
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Understanding それは別に映画の話であって
In this excerpt, I have trouble with それは別に映画の話であって part.
I am not sure whether それ refers to the situation described previously:「映画などを見ていると、知らぬ間に主人公に同一化してしまって、主人公が苦境に立つと、こちらも胸が苦しくなったり、知らぬ間に手を握りしめていて、...
- 1,107
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Usage of volitional + というところ?
The character is wondering where to take the relationship next and thinks
いざ先に進もうというところで一線を引いてしまうんだろう
What does というところ mean here? I understand the first part is "I try to move forward" and ...
- 1,787
2
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1
answer
73
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Particle に and relative time expressions
Many questions have been asked regarding the correct usage of the に particle to indicate the time when an action occurs and the matter appears to be more nuanced than it may seem, at least to ...
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1
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57
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Why 論文に鞭うたれた is in passive form?
From Kokoro chapter 25:
それでも私は馬車馬のように正面ばかり見て、論文に鞭うたれた。
I am bit uncertain why 鞭打つ is written in passive form here. I wonder if this question is related here.
- 1,107
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Why is が (instead of に/を) used with せる here?
こわがりの恵美がだんだん顔をこわばらせて、しまいには泣きだしてしまう
恵美's brother read a horror story to her and she started crying. The above sentence explains what happens to 恵美 when her brother reads her such a story. I am having ...
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で scope marker used for context of conversation?
I read this post a while ago:
Is this で with 思い当たる the particle or te-form
And considering it is the scope marker here, does it indicate the context for the statement/talking point that comes after?
''...
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''では'' Translating to ''According to'' in ''友人の話では'?
How does the で function in these sentences? I've read and heard it translates to ''according to'' or ''in someone's opinion' but couldn't find any good explanation as for why. Is it similar to ''だと'' ...
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88
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Hepburn romanization of "知りせば"
I have a question regarding romanization of the verb 知りせば, in Modified Hepburn Romanization System.
From what I know, 知りせば is a form of past tense of 知る, but is not used in modern japanese. せば would ...
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1
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48
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Trouble with だって before a comma
「……それでさ、ふりむいた男の口からは、真っ赤な血があふれていたんだ。どろどろ、だらだら。男はにまりと笑って、今度はおまえの番だって、女の子に手をのばしてきたんだ。...」
The above is the beginning of a chapter of a Japanese children's book. Now I am not sure if the character is ...
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1
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51
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Can なのか replace であろうと?
Can the following statement
複雑であろうと単純であろうと、状況は変わります。
be rephrased as
複雑なのか単純なのか、状況は変わります。
- 2,957
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1
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65
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Grammar of 寒い風の吹くに任せて
From Kokoro chapter 24:
東京へ帰ってみると、松飾はいつか取り払われていた。町は寒い風の吹くに任せて、どこを見てもこれというほどの正月めいた景気はなかった。
I wonder how the grammar works in 寒い風の吹くに任せて. I wonder why it is possible to use の like that even though ...
- 1,107
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What is denakereba (でなければ) here
あのレストランには、上着を着て行かなくてはいけませんか。
いいえ、Tシャツでなければ上着を着て行かなくてもかまいません。
I don't get the use of denakereba here, is it ba form of でない (でありません) or else?
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1
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81
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What is this usage of 連展開 here?
The characters are designers so that's the context.
What does "B倍ヨコの2連展開" mean? "B倍" is paper format, while ヨコ is "horizontal/side by side"
so "2 B倍 side by side&...
- 1,417
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1
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56
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What is use of と here [duplicate]
彼女が私と同じくらい背が高いんだ
(My girlfriend is about the same height as me.)
Can any one pls explain me how と fits here in this sentence.
- 21
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1
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73
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Pitch accent of の particle with nouns
What's the pitch accent of の, when it comes after 頭高, 中高, 尾高 and 平板 nouns?
Based on my experience, it attaches low after 頭高, 中高 and 尾高 nouns, and attaches high after 平板 nouns, is it correct assumption?...
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What does こんなところ refer to here
From Kokoro chapter 24:
私は早速先生のうちへ金を返しに行った。例の椎茸もついでに持って行った。ただ出すのは少し変だから、母がこれを差し上げてくれといいましたとわざわざ断って奥さんの前へ置いた。椎茸は新しい菓子折に入れてあった。鄭寧に礼を述べた奥さんは、次の間へ立つ時、その折を持って見て、軽いのに驚かされたのか、「こりゃ何の御菓子」と聞いた。奥さんは懇意になると、...
- 1,107
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Can “〜などない” or “〜なんてない” also mean “not remotely”?
I keep seeing “〜などない” in many contexts where I feel this is the only interpretation that makes sense even though I can't find anything on the internet about it, such as say “その人に車を運転する資格などない。” “...
- 1,476
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1
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69
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Can you use 晩ご飯 as a time indicator?
So, after some years I'm back to the process of studying Japanese. I've come across the following sentence:
晩ご飯はレストランで食べました。
Although the meaning is clear, upon reading I was perplexed about the ...
- 149
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1
answer
85
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Actual nuance of 面影?
The character is looking at this friend's photos as a child and says this. The friend answer "There was also that kind of time"
What does 面影here imply?
- 1,417
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2
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150
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How are "suicide points" considered to be 生活感のある表現 here?
A says to B that despite B's wishes they cannot go back to a castle to ask someone more about their upcoming journey and the reason they are embarking on it. The reason is that their "suicide ...
- 1,313
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0
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74
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Nouns being repeated? Nounがnoun
(Upon being asked if he heard the latest incident, the character comments on this
事件が事件なので気がかりで 意識してニュースを追ってる
Why is the noun repeated?
- 1,787
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What is the actual nuance of あてられた here in this sentence?
また、どこからか熱が沸き上がる。時たま吹くビル風にも関わらず、自分の目許はあてられたように熱っぽくなっていく
I understand what the sentence means overall, but I'm stumbled on the actual meaning of "あてられた" here. The more direct meaning would be ...
- 1,417
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1
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べきもの in this sentence
そして心が動かないと言った彼の、これが本来の甘さなのだ。
――本来の……例えば恋愛相手、恋人。そんな役割を持つ誰か。そんな存在が受け取るべきもの。
Context: The character "彼" asked the narration/main character a kiss. So the narrator narrates this
"...
- 1,417
2
votes
1
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200
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What is this usage of ことが過ぎる? (NSFW warning i guess)
そんな風に考えていると、青戸の押し殺した笑いが耳を擽った。
それはどこか獣欲めいて、初めて体を重ねた時のことが過ぎる。
The character is thinking this after her lover teases her.
"Aoto tickled my ear with a stiffed smile"
"With the appearance ...
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1
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What is ではつまらない here? Why does it mean?
日向から与えられるものであるが故に、生ぬるい刺激ではつまらないのだ...
The character is receiving a gift from her lover and thinks this... Why is ではつまらない used? "It's something I received from Hinata, but consequently the ...
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