8
votes
The meaning of ”あれは魔術師に与えられた祝福”
あれは魔術師に与えられた祝福(だ) is ambiguous.
That is a blessing given to a sorcerer.
(the same as あれは魔術師へ与えられた祝福だ, which is unambiguous)
That is a blessing given by a sorcerer.
(the same as あれは魔術師{から/より}与えられた祝福だ, ...
- 331k
8
votes
Accepted
Does 考えさせられる小説 make sense?
考えさせられる小説 is a correct Japanese expression, and it indeed means "a novel that makes you think (deeply)." (Note that させる/させられる is not necessarily forcible. The use of "force" is too strong.)
...
- 331k
7
votes
Confused in understanding 僕にしかできない事
僕にしかできない事
Potential ambiguity here is caused by particle に having multiple functions:
Indirect object marker ("to ..., for ...")
Agent marker in clauses with passive/potential verbs (&...
- 1,976
6
votes
Accepted
Clarification about how 惚れた should be translated
In this context, 惚れた女 clearly means "the woman whom he fell in love with" rather than "the woman who fell in love with someone". The subject of 惚れる is 男. Grammatically, this is an innate ambiguity of ...
- 331k
6
votes
Relative Clause Ambiguous
Japanese relative clauses are much simpler than the English equivalent, in that they do not specify the grammatical role of the modified noun using relative pronouns such as "where". They work by ...
- 331k
6
votes
Accepted
Ambiguity when describing with verbs, e.g. 酒を飲ませる人
Yes, 酒を飲ませる人 is ambiguous. In general, this ambiguity can happen in Japanese relative clauses typically when a verb takes two or more human arguments (～が, ～に, ～を, etc). Here are similar questions:
...
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6
votes
Accepted
Confused in understanding 僕にしかできない事
僕にしかできない事 is an inherently ambiguous phrase that can mean both (1) and (2) depending on the context. In the context of the lyrics, (2) is the correct interpretation. Note that に can mark the doer of a ...
- 331k
4
votes
Confused in understanding 僕にしかできない事
A search shows that (2) is likely the correct interpretation - (僕・自分)にしかできないこと usually translates to "Something in which only I can do."
Another instance can be viewed here:
Q: ｢君にしかできない｣｢...
- 56
4
votes
Accepted
How is 好き used in "僕が好きなのは "
But 好き describes the subject as the one being liked. 僕 is not the one we like, right?
In main clauses, yes, this is true. In "AはBが好きだ", B is the one being liked. However, in relative ...
- 331k
4
votes
Accepted
Question about 変な奴だって思う子がいたら
変な奴だって思う子 is ambiguous, and grammatically it could mean either of the following:
a child who thinks "he/she is weird"
(子 is the subject of 思う, and 変な奴 themself can be an adult)
a child who you think ...
- 331k
4
votes
Parsing the sentence 書く人物の顔が頭に入っていないと効果はない
Grammatically, this is an inherent ambiguity of Japanese relative clauses. A Japanese relative clause works by changing the word order and dropping a case particle like が, を or に, and therefore it may ...
- 331k
2
votes
Who's going what in 「溺愛する一人息子」
Japanese relative clauses can be ambiguous and both interpretations are possible.
From the context I would say it is お婆は息子を溺愛する, because she loves the son so much, she is willing to make sacrifices ...
- 3,597
2
votes
Accepted
Modifying nouns (how to know if a modified noun is the object or the subject?)
As for the first question, you can simply explicitly indicate the subject in your second relative clause.
晩ご飯を食べなかったボブは、私が映画で見た銀行に行った。
Bangohan o tabenakatta bobu wa, watashi ga eiga de mita ...
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2
votes
Does 考えさせられる小説 make sense?
私は小説に考えさせられる。
I am forced to think by the novel.
小説に考えさせられる私
I who is forced to think by the novel.
私が考えさせられる小説
The novel which forces me to think.
It is possible to say either
考えさせられる私
考えさせられる小説.
...
- 3,597
2
votes
How is 好き used in "僕が好きなのは "
僕がすきなのは is the な form of です, modifying の which is a noun that stands in for the 料理... 僕が is the subject of すきです.
The thing that I like. The one that I like.
"The food that I like is Thai, not ...
- 121
2
votes
Is どんなことでも失敗したら a whole clause or two separate clauses?
I would parse it as:
[どんなことでも][失敗したら、人のせいにしてはなりません]。
[No matter what it is,] [if you fail, don't blame others].
The [人]{ひと} here means [他人]{たにん/ひと}, "others".
- 66.3k
2
votes
Accepted
How to understand context in Japanese
I guess you better separate the questions.
Here are brief answers.
A. Some ambiguities are inevitable. For を使った例文, it reads more like examples using. In most cases, implied subjects do not matter or ...
- 37.6k
2
votes
a question about に in the paragragh below
This unfortunately is an inherent ambiguity of Japanese relative clauses when combined with some passive verbs. For example, 彼に求められていること can mean either "things required of him" and "...
- 331k
1
vote
Help understanding a section of "Why" from Crisis Core
I assume this is the original formatting (I'll add numbers):
(1) 遠い昔に何があったの？
(2A) 視線をそらす (2B) あなたの瞳に
(3) 一人で寂しい夜に抱きしめられる
(4) そんな温かさ知ってる？
3 and 4 are independent sentences grammatically. そんな in the ...
- 5,543
1
vote
Confused in understanding 僕にしかできない事
(2) is the correct one, it's difficult to think it's otherwise even without context. (1) is possible but unconventional.
Similar to the potential:
私に(は)この漢字が読めます -> This kanji is readable (to me)
...
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1
vote
A question about 受け身 in 連体形
I think you got the meaning, both are about the 68-year-old man being stabbed.
The reason for using 刺した相手 is that the suspect佐々木楓has been introduced earlier, the subject of this sentence is the victim ...
- 49
1
vote
Which subject does かわいい describe in this example?
This is ambiguous and can be taken both ways. I personally feel "a child with an innocent and cute smile" is slightly more likely because you can say 笑顔が無邪気なかわいい子 to unambiguously mean "...
- 331k
1
vote
The meaning of ”あれは魔術師に与えられた祝福”
I am almost positive the sentence means "That is a blessing, bestowed by a sorcerer."
The 魔術師に与えられた expands the word "祝福". The sentence could just be あれは祝福 - "that is a blessing", but there is extra ...
- 313
1
vote
Looking for help understanding a passage
This 使う人間 is an example of ambiguous-relative-clauses. It can mean both "someone who says 楽しくあれ" and "someone who I say 楽しくあれ to" depending on the context. So who is "at rock ...
- 331k
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