11
votes
Accepted
Saying い adjectives without pronouncing the い
It's uttered as a colloquial, casual and exclamatory phrase. It's typically used in response to a situation/stimulation that strikes you suddenly. っ is often added after the stem.
高っ! (Wow,) it'...
- 306k
9
votes
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Are the Japanese and Korean spoken languages somehow related?
I'm a native Japanese speaker, and I have experienced this, too. Depending on the weather condition, it's possible to listen to Korean AM radio in Japan. When the noise is very strong, I sometimes ...
- 306k
8
votes
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What do Japanese say when they call their pet cats/dogs?
We call our pets by their (nick)names most of the time.
[ The pet's name (+ chan to show extra affection)］、 こっちおいで。([...], kocchi oide.)
You can replace the name with generic terms like 猫ちゃん(neko-...
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8
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What is this て-form at the end of a sentence: 「まったく可愛くねー起こし方しやがって！」
まったく可愛くねー 起こし方しやがって！
In colloquial speech, the te-form of a verb at the end of a sentence can express 非難 (reproach/criticism/condemnation) or 不満 (complaint/dissatisfaction).
Examples:
「太郎ったら、...
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8
votes
Accepted
Small あ after は?
The phrase 「鬼【おに】は外【そと】、福【ふく】は内【うち】」 is said during the 豆まき mamemaki performed as part of 節分 Setsubun.
It is often recited rhythmically
[●]{オ}[●]{ニ}[●]{ワ}[●]{ー}[●]{ソ}[●]{ト}○○[●]{フ}[●]{ク}[●]{ワ}[●]{...
- 48k
8
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Differences of words like 先輩 between Japanese, Chinese, and Korean?
There are multiple different facets to your question. Let me try to address at least some of them.
Background
First, some background.
Languages
Chinese, Japanese, and Korean are wholly independent ...
- 36.8k
7
votes
How do Japanese speakers transition from polite to plain form amongst friends?
Shifting from polite speech to casual speech is usually a gradual and implicit process when a mature adult makes friends with someone. Depending on the situation, it may take months or even years to ...
- 306k
7
votes
Is "da" used often in the casual speech?
It is difficult to give a precise answer to this question. In cases where the speaker has a choice between "da" and just ending the sentence, both have their own nuances. Omission may be more "...
- 1,419
7
votes
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What is the meaning of バカにはええじゃないか?
I think it might be "バカにはやいじゃないか", where "はええ" is a twisted pronunciation of "はやい". And the sentence means "(You came back) very early, didn't you"
- 3,498
7
votes
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Are there placeholders in spoken Japanese?
Symbol-specific readings such as まるまる or ばつばつ don't work in speech, but other readings (なんとか, なになに, だれだれ, ほにゃらら, ピー) do work in speech to intentionally hide the actual name or to explain some grammar ...
- 306k
7
votes
Accepted
Does “Tekken” sound like “iron sword” to someone unfamiliar with the franchise?
There is no difference in pitch accent between 鉄拳 and 鉄剣, so it purely depends on which word is more familiar to laypeople. Neither is particularly common in daily life, but IMO 鉄拳 is a little bit ...
- 306k
6
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What does やっぱり mean in [そこまでなんだって、思っちゃうもん……やっぱり]
やっぱり has several meanings, such as:
やっぱり、思った通りだ。 -- It is so, just as I thought/expected/suspected. -> That's exactly what I thought. / I knew it.
やっぱり、こっちにします。 -- On second thought, / I ...
- 65.3k
6
votes
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What's the difference between って and って言ってた
Both って and と are quotative particles and are grammatically interchangeable. While the former is colloquial and casual, the latter is not particularly formal nor casual (and it's thus "safer"...
- 306k
6
votes
Spoken Japanese, words ending with わ used as the topic
I'm not sure why you are worrying about this, but there is nothing wrong with saying wa twice in succession. It's not unnatural at all. When the topic ends with わ, we simply say 毛皮は kegawa-wa, 川は kawa-...
- 306k
6
votes
What is どうって in どうってことありません?
どうってことない
どうってことありません
どうと言うこともない
etc.
are all variations of a set phrase meaning "it's nothing" "it's no big deal". Here どう is just the usual question word and って or と the usual ...
- 48k
6
votes
Is Japanese in danger of being subsumed by English?
Things like this have happened all over the world. In the past, English speakers were so in love with cultures of other countries that they imported countless words into the English vocabulary. Now, ...
- 306k
5
votes
What is the difference between「ブームメント」 and「ムーブメント」and do they share the same connotation as "movement" in English?
I believe ブームメント is simply a typo. Some people seem to have mixed ブーム (boom) with ムーブメント (movement) and came up with ブームメント.
Watch this video, where one idol accidentally said ブームメント, and was ...
- 306k
5
votes
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How to say "I don't know you well"
なじむ is rarely used for a person, so まだアリサさんになじまない is unnatural.
I think 知る、親しくなる、仲良くなる are better like ～さんをよく知らない、～さんと親しくなっていない、～さんと仲良くなっていない.
- 24.1k
5
votes
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How to speak about causing pain
Hmmm. It sounds like you may be describing 2 situations:
where a child is intentionally hurting the animal. In which case:
やめなさい！犬（or some 動物）がかわいそうだろう。or 犬が痛いだろう！
where a child is clumsily or ...
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5
votes
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Is "うん" really used to mean "You're welcome" by children?
うん is contextually closer to English "yeah", as a very casual response to someone saying "thanks". Contextually, "yeah" can be used in place of "you're welcome" in certain circumstances. So too can ...
- 36.8k
5
votes
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"What about X?", one more meaning
I think the words you want are "すしがどうした!", "なんですし?", "すしが何!". I think there are many ways to say this.
- 24.1k
5
votes
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understanding what sounds like 「だけどお値段はもっていません。」
It says だけどお値段は盛ってません. 持つ is not relevant, and there is also a difference in accent (盛ってる【LLHH】 vs 持ってる【HHLL】).
盛る has various meanings, but the following is relevant in this ad:
to top with; to ...
- 306k
5
votes
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How inteligible is Japanese used in Buddhist texts?
These are the Sino-Japanese readings of Chinese characters, so the grammar isn't even that of Japanese, but of Chinese. This can be seen by the fact that the verb (行, 度) precedes the object (深般若波羅蜜多, ...
- 6,688
5
votes
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How to tell someone to call you by a certain name, but they're free to use whatever suffix they please?
No Japanese native will interpret （名前）と呼んでください as an instruction to leave honorifics off of your name. They will absolutely add honorifics to your name if you're conversing in Japanese, until there is ...
- 3,084
4
votes
Accepted
Polite form of って in 「なになに」って何？
I would say
落札ってどういう意味？(casual)
落札ってどういう意味ですか？(polite)
落札とは、どういう意味でしょうか。(politer, formal)
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