30
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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 ...
- 287k
25
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What's the difference between 歩んでいった and 歩んできた?
I think I don't have enough English vocabulary to express this nuance. So please let me try to explain this visually.
「～てきた」
First of all, 「～てきた」 expresses something in the past.
If the speaker at ...
- 2,766
11
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Difference between 帰って来る and 帰る
In this context, 帰る can mean either "to come home" or "to go home". Essentially, it means "to return home", which can imply either direction (coming or going). So, we use the ～てくる construction (...
- 1,376
11
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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 ...
- 287k
10
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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"...
- 287k
10
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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 ...
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10
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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 ...
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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 ...
- 2,967
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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 ...
- 47.7k
8
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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 ...
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8
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Use of くれる with 信じる
I might suggest a slightly different nuance in understanding the [補助動詞]{ほじょどうし} くれる.
In question forms, it asks whether someone would do something for the speaker.
In the past tense, it expresses ...
- 8,126
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 ...
- 47.7k
8
votes
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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)&...
- 62.1k
7
votes
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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、...
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6
votes
Use of くれる with 信じる
When someone believes you, they are giving you their belief. English has a similar phrase, "to give the benefit of the doubt." くれる, もらう, and so on are not restricted to physical gifts; they are quite ...
- 1,203
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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.
...
- 287k
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 ->...
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6
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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 ...
- 62.1k
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 ...
- 287k
6
votes
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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 ...
- 47.7k
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 ...
- 4,263
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 ...
- 28.5k
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