All Questions
28,561
questions
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How does a parent address their child's teacher or principal?
Would the honorific さま (-sama) surfice when addressing a teacher or principal? I'm uncertain if a parent would use 先生 (sensei) or こうちょうせんせい (kōchōsensei) as it's not their teacher, but their child's.
- 13
0
votes
1
answer
88
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The meaning of って (No quotation, No "even if") [duplicate]
I found a lot of questions about って here, but none helps me to understand the nuance of the following sentence:
ね、あの子の言う少佐って誰のこと？
It does not seem to be the quotation because の言う is already used ...
- 225
1
vote
2
answers
362
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Would it be gramatically correct to say 学校は行きます as opposed to 学校に行きます
My understanding is that 学校は行きます would mean: As for school, I will go there.
While 学校に行きます is: I will go to school.
But is this the first sentence ever used? Or even grammatically correct?
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2
votes
0
answers
50
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The use of 様子を見る + に in this sentence [duplicate]
でもあなたの様子を見るに
この件について何か心当たりがあるのでは
My understanding of "様子を見る" is akin to "wait and see" or "survey the situation"
So I took the whole sentence akin to "By having you ...
- 249
1
vote
1
answer
63
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Can someone tell me the difference between 別々に and 別々 and 別 and 別に and 別々の
I am asking for the difference between 別々に and 別々 and 別 and 別に and 別々の.
They are all very similiar having something to do with separate/ly.
Thanks.
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3
votes
1
answer
104
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Meaning of 足を引きずる
Jisho says that 足を引きずる means 'to limp'. My good paper dictionary seems to suggest that it means 'to drag one's feet' due to tiredness, for example. What range of meanings does 足を引きずる actually ...
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1
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115
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A proverb about it's a sin not to take what's you catch
I may have dreamed this but I remember my Japanese teacher telling our class (23yr ago) about a Japanese proverb that went something like:
It's sin not to take the fish you catch
The teacher ...
- 609
1
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1
answer
128
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Etymology of でしょう?
Does anyone know what でしょう originally comes from?
And are those forms ever used nowadays?
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1
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1
answer
91
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Choose between 手数料 vs キャンセル料
Which one is used in the context of hotels, attractions, and so on (reservations)?
Is there a better word to say it?
Thank you!
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1
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1
answer
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The use of causative + くれる in this sentence
とんでもねぇもん掴ませてくれたな=
とんでもないもの掴ませてくれたな
The character speaking got this file from his station and it's giving them to the other characters.
What's I'm stumbled is this use of "くれた".
From context ...
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1
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Why is ら attached to り ending adverbs?
First I saw it in a song called ヤミナベ, where it says なべがくるりくるりら回るよ, and I didn't think much of it, since I could only find crayons when I searched it up, then I saw it in a song called マグメル, where it ...
- 151
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1
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Why is いる in いらせらる conjugated いら, in 未然形, instead of 入り?
いらせらる consists of いる and せらる, the passive of suru I think, so why is it in 未然形? Usually, if a verb is and can be paired with する, it'd be in continuative form, so you'd say things like 入りもしない、 or ...
- 151
1
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2
answers
133
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Why is 会える conjugated as 会えなくなった?
So I kept searching on the net about 会える conjugation but nothing comes up. Why is its past negative conjugated as なくなった? I heard this on an anime by the way and wondered why it wasn't written as ...
- 379
4
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1
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When to use which: 割 vs 分 as 10%
I was wondering how to know if I have to use 割 or 分 when I want to say 10%. In this post: (When is 分 read ぶ instead of ぶん)
The guy who answered said that 分 can be used either:
when talking about ...
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0
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this sentence seem lacking verb to me?how can i understand it properly pls help me translate it [duplicate]
日本語は地方ごとに多様な方言があり、とりわけ琉球諸島で方言差が著しい（「方言」の節参照）。近世中期までは京都方言が中央語の地位にあったが、近世後期には江戸方言が地位を高め、明治以降の現代日本語では東京山の手の中流階級以上の方言（山の手言葉）を基盤に標準語（共通語）が形成された.
I assume 東京山の手の中流階級以上の方言（山の手言葉）を基盤に標準語（共通語）が形成された mean: (...
1
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1
answer
71
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In UI/UX design, what word in Japanese is used for "mockup"?
Is there a more standard term than "デザインモックアップ"?
3
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1
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84
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The use of 感触+ に in this sentence: Direction or cause?
「これからもよろしく」
「上等だよ」
重ねられた左手の感触にそわそわ感を滲ませつつも、本日２回目の「上等だよ」をかまされた。
The character are holding hands (重ねられた左手) and the narrator complains this is the second time he gets 「上等だよ」 today.
そわそわ感を滲ませつつも by ...
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1
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1
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What does 上 without a particle means?
幽霊事件はその特異性上どうしても捜査が後手に回ってしまう
My understanding of the sentence is that she's saying that due to the 特異性 nature of the case in the end the investigation falls behind/stalls 後手に回ってしまう.
However I'm curios ...
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1
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85
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Prepositional phrase with に and verb 感じられる
"界王神界にまでエネルギーが感じられるほど強大な力を開放し"
In this phrase, would it to be correct to say the prepositional phrase "界王神界に" connects to the object of the verb "エネルギー" or the subject of ...
1
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0
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76
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Trying to understand strange lyrics in a certain song
The song is 僕は頑張るよっ by 神聖かまってちゃん。
The lines that I find confusing are "あーでもないこーでもない 人間はめんどくさい" and "パーでもないグーでもない 悩んでばかりいます". Specifically, the first parts of each line.
In the ...
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1
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69
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Help translate handwritten paintings (calligraphy) [closed]
Hi, I would be very happy if someone could help me desipher the calligraphy in this painting.
What I've concluded so far:
It is a Haiku and
水仙 = Daffodil
Much appriciated
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2
answers
70
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About omitting ということ in relative sentences
I was reviewing some concepts about the use of ということ in relative sentences, and there's something I still can't quite understand.
Looking at the sentence:
パンジーが食べられる花だということは知っている
(I know that pansies ...
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5
votes
1
answer
142
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Holiday vocabulary
There are a number of words for holiday, vacation, etc. I'd like to clarify their various uses:
祭日 National holiday. There is also 祝日 but I'm under the impression for, say, America's July 4, ...
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1
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83
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What is this use of てしまう in this sentence?
So the character with blonde hair got asked by a girl in class A to ask the guy with black hair about his type.
However the guy with black hair says he doesn't have any example to give him
...
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1
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78
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kun and on reading
Hello I recently read the difference between the kun or on readings and understood it, now I know in which cases to use one or the other reading, but I still have a question.
For example: the kanji 日 ...
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1
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97
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Why is the suru preceding ningen in its te form in the sentence "Kare wa an'na koto o shite ningen to shite shikkakuda"?
So yeah why is suru in the te form in this sentence "Kare wa an'na koto o shite ningen to shite shikkakuda"? I'm thinking it is shite to mean "doing" but it isn't followed by iru. ...
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3
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1
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95
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In compound verbs, what's the difference between ～過ぎる and ～過ごす?
For example, 食べ過ぎる and 寝過ごす: if I say 食べ過ごす and 寝過ぎる instead, is it the same thing?
I already know 寝過ごす is a transitive verb and I think 寝過ぎる is not and I don't even know if 食べ過ごす is right. However, ...
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3
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88
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したく in 「戦いをしたくありません.」
In
戦いをしたくありません.
[He] didn't want to start a war.
is したく the adverbial form of したい? Literally speaking, does this sentence means something like
"wanting to do a war"-ly doesn't exist.
...
- 2,708
2
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1
answer
57
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Can't understand 'その辺うまくこう利用できるような
In this video clip: https://youtube.com/clip/Ugkxvmz1x_zYQepLxH7I0uV_CPevy6VgL6ya ,
the man says:
その辺うまくこう利用できるような
I guess こう利用できるような means 'like this, to make it usable'. But what is その辺? Is it '...
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1
vote
1
answer
86
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Omission of particles in haiku
This may be a little too specific, but am I allowed to omit particles with verbs in haiku? Here’s what I wrote for context:
この世界
から逃げるとき
夢入る
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0
answers
69
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What difference will it make if I just write sentaku in the sentence "Ii tenki denaito, sentaku mono ga kawakimasen"?
What's the difference between sentaku and sentakumono?
Can't I just say "Ii tenki denaito, sentaku ga kawakimasen"?
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2
votes
1
answer
81
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Different words for "idiom"
When looking on dictionaries E-J for the word "idiom" in Japanese, the following results appear: 熟語、慣用句、成句、故事成語、ことわざ and 言い習わし.
While I think ことわざ is more like a "proverb", what ...
- 483
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1
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Spontaneously in Japanese
How can we say spontaneously in a natural way in Japanese?
Here the context:
My German friend will spontaneously visit Okayama tomorrow. Because of that I want to cancel our running session tomorrow.
...
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0
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61
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Why is "Kore de ii" correct? [duplicate]
So I've learned that the de particle is used to indicate the location where an action takes place or indicate the means by which something is done.
However in "Kore de ii" Kore is neither ...
- 379
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0
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45
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What is the exact function of たる?
恐怖が屈辱たる世界で
あの家系に恐怖する人のなんと多いことか
My understand of the sentence is this in word fear is a disgrace and then he points out many people fear that household
Hover I don't understand how たる is being used ...
- 523
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2
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てもらう: how do know if it's "I had someone do x for me" or "someone did x for me" [duplicate]
For example:
褒めてもらった
I can tell it's probably about getting praised.
However
母に車で送ってもらった。
Is "I had my mom drive me here":
How does one get the difference?
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1
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how to understand "もう何も考られずグーって感じですか"
This is from 'Easy Japanese 3' in youtube : https://youtube.com/clip/UgkxQ93BT5GcE9RAKrXDdjdD96-cXgF4h76r
もう何も考えられずグーって感じですか
I can't break down near ずグーって. ず means not (attached to kangaerare)? What ...
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1
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1
answer
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Why is dake followed by a negative verb in "Boku dake ga inai machi" [duplicate]
I read that dake is followed by a postive. So "Sushi dake taberu" is correct while "Sushi dake tabenai" is wrong. And the first sentence means "I only eat sushi"
So why ...
- 379
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2
answers
1k
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How to express this kind of "no"?
I believe in English you can say "no" when something unfortunate is about to happen or has already started — suppose somebody has just bumped into a table with an antique vase and now you ...
- 354
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0
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61
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Can I use きれいそう to say that someone looks beautiful? [duplicate]
Since きれいそう means "to look(seem) beautiful/clean" would it be okay if I used "彼女はきれいそうです" to say that a girl looks beautiful or should I just say "彼女はきれいです"?
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1
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Is there any other difference between なくなり vs なくなって besides the former being more formal than the latter?
I can't figure out if the difference between the two is just a matter of formality or if there are cases I would prefer to use one over the other regarding the context or nuance I want to convey.
For ...
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3
votes
1
answer
707
views
Can 手足 mean a limb?
According to jisho.org it means "hands and feet; limbs". But can it mean one limb (an arm or a leg)? I looked in Daijisen, and there I see 手と足. So it seems like it's arms and legs, not arms ...
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2
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1
answer
129
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What does のと mean in this context?
I was reading a children's book in Japanese and found this sentence:
明日になったら、町へ行って、木の実の干したのと、便せんを交換できないか聞いてみよう。
I understand most of it, except the part that says "木の実の干したのと". I know 木の実 ...
- 23
1
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1
answer
138
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Past verb + んじゃない what is his function?
兄貴は夢を叶えたんじゃない
Which I think it's like "My brother didn't fulfill his wish"
What difference is from 兄貴は夢を叶えなかった
?
Edit the whole sentence is:
お兄さんは"夢"を"約束"に変えてくれた.
...
- 523
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votes
1
answer
68
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How are unvoiced vowels represented in IPA？
As far as I know, there are some unvoiced vowels in Japanese. For example, when 「す」 is at the end od a sentence, it will sound like [s]. Such process is referred to as 「無声化」. I wonder how to represent ...
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1
answer
138
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Are words like CD or DNA counted as Japanese?
Yes, they are written with the Latin alphabet, but they are used in the Japanese language, so I am not sure. I mean, they have entries in Japanese dictionaries and a Japanese reading. What are they?
...
1
vote
1
answer
86
views
What does it mean when the kana を is at the end of the sentence?
I have seen a couple of instances of を being used at the end of sentence. From my limited knowledge, を is supposed to be used to indicate the direct object of a verb, but I have seen it following a ...
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2
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1
answer
160
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How would you say "young love" in Japanese? Would it be "若い愛" or "青春愛"?
I know that the first is using young as an adjective for the word love while the second is referring to love between young people but I wanted to know which one is correct. Like if an older person saw ...
- 310
4
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1
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527
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"Your mom has an outie" = "son of a bitch" in English?
This might seem ridiculous, but I've now encountered "Your mom has an outie" twice in anime, and both times, it's been translated as "son of a bitch." I just want to know if there'...
- 1,350
2
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2
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76
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Use of ており JLPT N3: 「このような都市はコンパクトシティと言われており、...」
I am studying a reading book for JLPT3 and I came across a grammar I can't seem to find:
このような都市はコンパクトシティと言われており、お年寄りも気軽にいろいろな場所へ行くことができる。
Can someone explain the use of the verb おる here?
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