30 votes

the logic behind "te" in "chotto matte te"

ちょっと待ってて (chotto matte te) literally means "Keep waiting for a while (please)." That て (te) at the end does not mean "I'll be back shortly", at least grammatically. ちょっと (chotto) just means "for a ...
naruto's user avatar
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11 votes
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Existence verbs in the Kansai Dialect

That statement basically only applies for おる as a simple existence verb. Non-humble おる is very common in Kansai. As a subsidiary verb, various forms including とる/ちょる/よる are commonly used instead of ...
naruto's user avatar
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11 votes
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Can't understand 虫に変ってしまっているのに気づいた

Let's break this sentence down. 虫に変ってしまっているのに気づいた At a basic level this sentence breaks up into two fundamental parts: (A) 虫に変った -- Someone/thing changed into a bug and (B) 気づいた -- Someone ...
A.Ellett's user avatar
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10 votes
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Meaning of「〜てみたいと思います」

You've gotten the みたい part wrong. What you are seeing is a subsidiary verb (~て)みる, which means "to try doing something (and see what happens)". See: What is the difference between "verb+て+みる"...
naruto's user avatar
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すぎ to mean too much but in a good way

I think the usage of すぎる parallels that of "too much" — usually "too much" means that it's "so much that it's something negative". But colloquially, this can be used for emphasis, as in "so much that ...
Earthliŋ's user avatar
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9 votes

Why is しまいました needed here?

You could argue that the てしまう* doesn't technically add any new information to the sentence in the form of a subject or object, but that's not to say that it's not useful. *This is the same thing as ...
sqrtbottle's user avatar
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9 votes
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新しい発明をした場合、特許を取っておかないと、すぐにその アイデア を使われてしまう

You've basically got it right. The sentence presents a counterfactual, and there are a couple of words/constructions that are there simply to denote a regretful situation. 特許を取っておかない is simply the ...
mamster's user avatar
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9 votes
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Meaning of 崩れかける

かける can be used as an subsidiary verb to mean "start to [verb]", so 崩れかけた is indeed the 連用形 ren'yōkei (masu-stem) of 崩れる followed by かけた. 崩れかけた門 means "a gate, which has started to ...
Earthliŋ's user avatar
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8 votes

Help me understand 言ってみただけだよ

〜てみた is the past tense of 〜てみる "to try to [verb]", e.g. 食べてみる to try to eat / to taste / to try [some food] 言ってみただけ usually means something like "just kidding". Of course, literally it means "I ...
Earthliŋ's user avatar
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What does ワインを買っていくよ mean?

ワインを買っていく literally means "I'll buy wine and go". You'd say this to mean "I'll buy wine on my way to the place where you are (≂ I'll buy wine and bring it to the place where you are)&...
chocolate's user avatar
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the logic behind "te" in "chotto matte te"

(1) chyotto matte tte (2) why does the tte mean "... and I'll be back shortly". (1) ちょっと待{ま}ってって ↓ 「ちょっと待{ま}って」って ↓ 「ちょっと待って(ください)」って ↓ 「ちょっと待って(ください)」と ↓ 「ちょっと待って(ください)」と(私{わたし}が言{い}ってるのに、...
user20624's user avatar
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6 votes

ておく → とく in other contexts; similar 2-kana to 1-kana shortcuts?

Yes, for example... ~ておいで -> ~といで e.g. 持っておいで -> 持っといで ~ておくれ -> ~とくれ e.g. 来ておくれ -> 来とくれ (← might be Edo/Tokyo dialect) Yes, for example... ~でしまう -> ~じまう (でし→じ) e.g. 死んでしまう -> 死んじまう (→ often ...
chocolate's user avatar
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落としちまった - what form is this?

It is two verbs. You just had the two wrong verbs in mind. 落{お}としちまった is the colloquial form of 落{お}としてしまった, which in turn is comprised of the following two verbs: 落{お}として (て form): 落とす (jisho.org) ...
akj's user avatar
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6 votes
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もらわれていくの grammar

It's possible to explain the grammar (and that's what OP asked for) もらわ: The nai-form of the verb もらう ("to receive/get/take"). れ: The te-form of the auxiliary verb れる, which forms the passive voice. ...
naruto's user avatar
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6 votes

What does verb + くなる imply or mean?

Are you familiar with N + になる? (To become N). It's also done w/ verb forms & adjectives ending in い. The い becomes く then add なる. For adjectives: 大きい -> 大きくなる (Big -> Become Big) 狭い ->...
kiss-o-matic's user avatar
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6 votes

ている pronunciation/internalization

Grammatically, that いる is a subsidiary verb that follows the te-form of a verb. So it's 食べて-いる, not 食べてい-る. If you are a beginner you can have a small pause between て and いる when reading. Native ...
naruto's user avatar
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Why is 来る spelled with kanji and する is not?

The reading 為る【する】 is not a reading contained in the jōyō kanji, which is yet another reason it is not commonly used. (You don't learn about it in school, you will have trouble publishing work with ...
Earthliŋ's user avatar
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What does おり mean in this sentence?

In very short: it is the humble form of いる. To give a typical example, おる is mostly used when talking about your own actions and trying to be humble (for example when talking to a superior such as ...
Tommy's user avatar
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6 votes
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「〜てもらおう」の意味は何ですか。

「〜てもらう」 has a basic meaning of "get / make / induce (someone) to do (something)" In the case of わかる, the form 分かってもらう could mean either "make it understood / make you understand (something)" or "make ...
ericfromabeno's user avatar
6 votes

くれ in いっしょにきてくれますか?

The て-form of a verb followed by くれる (polite form くれます) indicates that the verb is being done as a favour to the recipient of the verbs action. くれる literally means 'to give', so いっしょにきてくれますか would ...
user3856370's user avatar
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6 votes

すぎ to mean too much but in a good way

No, adding すぎる to the end of a noun, verb, or adjective does not necessarily imply that being too much of something is bad, though we generally only use it this way colloquially. Some examples: 彼は大人(...
sbkgs4686's user avatar
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5 votes
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Why is くれる used here and not あげる

You need to note that the verb くれる is not always used when someone else does something to the speaker. It is rare though but it could be used when the speaker does something to someone else, ...
Rathony's user avatar
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5 votes

Can we replace 持っていく with 持ってくる in this case?

This is the same problem as 行く and 来る. You should consider "the point of view" (according to the link above), rather than physical location. In this case, the teacher physically moves from his house ...
Faily Feely's user avatar
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