17
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Japanese term for weight gained in a loving relationship?
Perhaps you're looking for 幸せ太り (pronounced as しあわせぶとり due to rendaku).
This word is not particularly positive nor negative/derogatory. Gaining weight itself is not a desirable thing, but some people ...
- 306k
16
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Why does なんてね mean "Just kidding"?
なんて is an informal word that is used after some phrase and implies it is not important.
Usage of なんて and なんか as emphasis
Basically when you're kind of ignoring the importance of, or even slightly ...
- 306k
13
votes
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"なし" used for both animate and inanimate things?
There's two reasons.
Historically, 無し (modern ない) wasn't the negative form of ある but an adjective in its own right (meaning 'absent', and valid for any subject). The negative form of ある was あらず. ...
- 7,627
13
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"Strike while the iron is hot" - Japanese equivalent
There is an exact Japanese equivalent to "Strike while the iron is hot," that is "鉄は熱いうちに打て." I don't know whether this proverb had existed before we knew English version, or is just a translation of "...
- 9,505
13
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About what age to stop using おいくつですか？
It appears to me that you have some misunderstandings about おいくつ...
Is it natural to say 「おいくつですか」 to children who are around 10, or younger?
No, it isn't. おいくつ is an honorific expression. It's a ...
- 306k
12
votes
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"Hey Bro!" how to call out friends
Although 相棒 is not bad a translation for "bro" IMO, we usually don't need those friendship "pronouns" because the greeting words in Japanese are diverse enough to distinguish those nuances alone, ...
12
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What is the difference between 見てない and 見たことがない?
見たことがない means "Someone has never seen something ever."
見てない is 見ていない that is omitted い. ～している has two meanings. One is progressive form and the other is result state. So この映画は見てない means &...
- 24.1k
11
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Meaning of nounってとこ
You are correct that it is a colloquial form of というところ. It doesn't literally mean place, but perhaps you can think of it as “in that vicinity”.
ってとこ is often used when you are pretty sure, but not ...
- 7,033
11
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What does 次行ってみよう mean?
次{つぎ}行{い}ってみよう is a famous phrase used by a Japanese comedian いかりや長{ちょう}介{すけ}. IIRC this phrase caught on in the late 1970's. He used this catchphrase frequently in his TV comedy show, at the end of ...
- 306k
11
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A formal/informal way to say I don't want anything
If the scenario were saying "I don't want anything" in response to someone offering you something (food, drink, etc.), you could also use
（私は）[結構]{けっ・こう}です。 → I'm fine/all right.
- 43.9k
11
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Saying お疲れ様でした to teacher at the end of a lesson?
In this case, just saying お疲れ様でした would sound disrespectful, because she is the sensei during the lessons, after all. After you reach an advanced level, saying ありがとうございました first and adding お疲れ様でした ...
- 306k
10
votes
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What kind of grammar is it in 調査に調査を重ねて?
X に X を重ねる (lit. to pile up X (further) onto X)
is an idiomatic phrase to mean "doing X extensively, or unthinkably many times over", usually X is a noun that means some kind of (hard) work.
I also ...
- 50.7k
10
votes
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Understanding 軍服に着られた
It is a rhetorical use of passive voice. 服に着られる basically means the person in the clothes gives a funny impression, e.g. the size is too big, it simply does not go well, etc.
(Added) It is less common ...
- 32.6k
9
votes
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Why "お食事の際は、..." instead of "ご飯を食べる際は、..."?
This looks primarily like a 敬語{けいご} problem, more than a syntax or semantics problem.
お使いいただく is 敬語, and 食べる does not match it at all. 食べる is neither 尊敬語 nor 謙譲語. This means that 「ご飯を食べる」 is not even ...
- 7,033
9
votes
Accepted
Why is やりたい放題 used as opposed to やり放題?
やりたい放題 is a bit different from other ○○放題. It's an idiomatic phrase which primarily refers to someone's tyrant-like, irresponsible, self-indulgent behavior. Because it usually has a negative ...
- 306k
9
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Is it ok to say 問題ない instead of 問題じゃない? Why?
問題ない is not negating the noun (that would be 問題じゃない or 問題ではない, as you correctly noticed). Rather, it is saying 問題がない (or 問題はない), literally "there isn't a problem".
I think you can safely treat 問題ない ...
- 48k
9
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"fancy meeting you here"
A common word for this is 奇遇【きぐう】 (not to be confused with 奇偶: oddness and evenness (of numbers)). 奇遇ですね is an idiomatic phrase worth memorizing as-is.
こんなところで会うとは奇遇ですね。 What a coincidence to ...
- 306k
9
votes
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function of the particle も in 「~も辞さない」
I think the も here is this:
1⃣ 係助詞 3-㋑動詞の連用形や動作性名詞に付き、打消しの語と呼応して、強い否定の意を表す。「思いもよらぬ話」「返事もしない」(デジタル大辞泉)
So the も indicates emphasis, used with a negative phrase.
I think this も is usually ...
- 65.3k
9
votes
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Can 全部 be used like 「全部の月は忙しいですか？」
Using [全部]{ぜんぶ} in your context might make sense, but it is not idiomatic.
If you want to ask someone if he will be busy for a month, you could use
[一ヶ月]{いっカげつ}の[間]{あいだ}ずっと[忙]{いそが}しいですか？ (...
- 2,088
9
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Why does なんてね mean "Just kidding"?
The verb 言う is omitted after なんて. So you can translate it "saying (something) like that", or virtually as a subjunctive: "(as if) it be/were like that". That's why it comes to have "I'm kidding" sense....
- 50.7k
9
votes
How does どうするんだ function here?
It's a rhetorical question (修辞疑問文/反語表現). It's a question in form, but practically serves as an emphatic statement, with no answer or reply expected.
「～～して/でどうする(んだ)？」 as a rhetorical question ...
- 65.3k
8
votes
Accepted
Is it ok to say 問題ない instead of 問題じゃない? Why?
問題ない does not mean 'It's not a problem', which is what 問題じゃない would mean. You may be aware that ない is the negative form of ある, 'there is', which means that 問題ない means 'There is no problem.' Note that ...
- 11.2k
8
votes
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To test appliance before buying
Well, to be honest, I never thought of testing an electronic device to see if it works or not before buying it in Japan unless it's secondhand or has known compatibility issues, and I don't know if ...
- 50.7k
8
votes
Accepted
What is the Japanese equivalent of "to pick up a girl" or "to hit on girls"?
You're right about 女を持ちに行くぞ！ -- that sounds horribly odd, and it quite made me smile. :) It sounds like a troll going out to literally grab some women and come home, perhaps to throw them in the ...
- 36.8k
8
votes
Accepted
Why does Siri say 座布団１枚お願いします when I told him he is an interesting person?
It comes from a show called 笑点｛しょうてん｝where whenever someone says something interesting, they're given a 座布団｛ざぶとん｝ or mat to sit on.
Reference
- 4,037
8
votes
Accepted
「目が高い」meaning and is it actually used in conversation?
I'd say that it means "you have a discerning eye", that is typically used when someone makes a right choice, or otherwise proves their ability distinguishing the most valuable one from ...
- 50.7k
7
votes
Accepted
Meaning and usage of 運のツキ
運のツキ literally means "to have run out of luck". The ツキ refers to 尽き which means "to come to an end" (source). It means that one's good luck or fortune is over, i.e. no more good things can happen ...
- 368
7
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"Strike while the iron is hot" - Japanese equivalent
There are a couple of equivalents listed on WWWJDIC. I cannot vouch that these are any common though.
「鉄は熱いうちに[鍛えよ]{きたえよ}」, a variant of the 打て version
「[善]{ぜん}は[急げ]{いそげ}」 make hay while the sun ...
- 2,113
7
votes
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Rain on your parade
If what you're talking about is this:
to do something that spoils someone's plans
We have idioms 水【みず】を差【さ】す and 腰【こし】を折【お】る in Japanese.
水を差して [apology words] …
水を差すようで [apology words] …
...
- 50.7k
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