20
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Is 写真 an onomatopoeia?
It's just a coincidence. According to this article, the word 「写真」 and its usage predates photography. The 「真」 part referred to 「人の姿」, so 写真 was used to mean 「姿を写したもの」, and was used for other things ...
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16
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Is 写真 an onomatopoeia?
No, it's not.
Wikipedia says:
日本語の「写真」という言葉は、中国語の「真を写したもの」からである
Japanese "写真" comes from the Chinese meaning "Copy/reproduction(写) of the reality/truth(真)"
Source is 『日本語源広辞典』(...
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14
votes
What does "fūtsu" mean?
This is either a typo or a "reado".
Trying to reconstruct the original sentence from your rōmaji version, I'm guessing it is
茂作の顔に息をフーッと吹きかけた
フーッと is listed in some dictionaries (e.g. ...
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14
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What the Japanese onomatopoeia for crunch?
It partially depends on what is eaten.
くちゃくちゃ is a standard one for chewing e.g., meat.
ぐちゃぐちゃ can be used similarly. This is more rough, like wolves biting something drippy.
がつがつ sounds like biting ...
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10
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meaning of: ういっく
うぃっく
It's an imitative sound of a hiccup often used to describe drunk people.
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9
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Can you form verbs from 擬態語 or 擬音語 by adding -る?
Yes it's definitely slangy but somewhat common. Other examples include:
ピヨる from ピヨピヨ, to be stunned (by a strong attack)
もにょる from もにょもにょ, to mumble, not to know what to say, etc.
ボコる from ボコボコ, to ...
- 306k
8
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What does this ごにゃごにゃ onomatopoeia mean?
ごにゃごにゃ isn't a commonly seen mimetic word, but understandable as a mixture of two more frequently used ones.
ごちゃごちゃ: unordered/messy/jumbled
ごにょごにょ: muttering/mumbling/murmuring
So you could say:...
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8
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The difference between する and している with onomatopoeias
Generally, 〜してる indicates the state of that onomatopoeia, while 〜する is describing the stimulus that caused it.
Say you are watching an intense movie with a friend.
ドキドキしてる = (My/your/his/their/our) ...
- 7,023
8
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じゅわっと for biting into a mandarin
Many onomatopoeia words are not mentioned in dictionaries, invented by mangaka on the spot, or change their meaning depending on the context/era etc. If you read a lot of manga you will eventually ...
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8
votes
onomatopoeia for cluelessness
ポカーン
seems like the closest to me. It is often associated with a blank stare.
jisho.org has vacantly; blankly; absentmindedly (Onomatopoeic or mimetic word) as the definition of the root ぽかん.
...
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8
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What is the Japanese Onomatopoeia for the sound a chainsaw makes?
Basically, for very common sounds there is less variance in what onomatopoeia is used, but when it comes to uncommon sounds, there is a lot more diversity.
IMO Chainsaw is a relatively uncommon sound, ...
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8
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What the Japanese onomatopoeia for crunch?
When chewing soft food loudly with mouth a bit open, I use くちゃくちゃ. It may become くっちゃくっちゃ or ぐちゃぐちゃ, depending on person and area. I guess, many Japanese people hate to hear the sound from such a way ...
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7
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What does こつぐってなる mean?
You misread one hiragana. It says
こうぐってなる
(So, not つ but う.)
The comment 「語彙が…」 refers to the fact that the girl is using a lot of onomatopoeic expressions (instead of proper vocabulary) to ...
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7
votes
Accepted
Is the scream "gya" masculine and "kya" feminine?
Yes, きゃー represents screams of higher tone, and is clearly feminine or childlike. 黄色い声 is usually きゃー. Gay characters often say きゃー in manga, too.
ぎゃー, on the other hand, is not necessarily masculine....
- 306k
7
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Meaning of とうとうりん
とうとう is "finally".
There is an uncommon adverbial phrase りんと (凛と in kanji), which usually means something like "in a cool/gallant/dignified/cold manner". See this entry. But this meaning does not ...
- 306k
6
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What does the word 「のたのたして」mean?
Here is what the Dictionary of Iconic Expressions says, on pages 833-834:
nota-nota
M: The manner of moving slowly and heavily.
nota-nota (to)
(1) お腹がふくれてくると、普通だったらマタニティドレスにペタ靴で、...
6
votes
What does the word 「のたのたして」mean?
"のたのたする" is a colloquial expression of "[無為]{むい}に過ごす / [怠惰]{たいだ}に過ごす" meaning "to idle one's time away" as well as "のらくらする."
のたのた、のらくら、のろのろ, all are a sort of ...
- 9,505
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votes
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After a Katakana word then "tto" are both Hiragana or Katakana acceptable for the Sokuon?
There is no prescriptive rule that covers where to end the katakana section when you write mimetic words, interjections and slang words in katakana (because they are colloquialisms anyway), so we don'...
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6
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Meaning of あばば in あばばをしてみせる
if this is a correct explanation of あばば in the 『非色』 excerpt too;
Yes, it is. To me, it is kind of oldish to call it あばば, it is now commonly referred to as いないいないばあ. Not only is it said, but it is ...
- 32.4k
6
votes
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Nuances between するする vs すらすら
Unfortunately, onomatopoeic and mimetic words are things you have to learn by rote. Many of them are used only in a certain type of context. Most native speakers would say すらすら(と) or さらさら(と) is the ...
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