29
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Should I use the formal form (~ます) on the buttons of an app?
I'm actually a developer working for a Japanese programming company.
It might depend on some people, but as far as buttons go.
「保存」、「登録」、「完了」、「キャンセル」
etc. seems like the way to go. Of course ...
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18
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Verbs with ending [ます] to [く]
First, you have it backwards: いく is the plain form of the verb, and いきます is a form that you create by following a rule.
The plain form happens to have く in this case, but that is not at all a rule. ...
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「です」, what is it really? Is my analysis correct?
Your collection of questions conflate a few things: 1) what is だ・です in modern Japanese, and 2) how did だ・です derive historically.
Because of #2, #1 is a bit ... messy. :) So let's start with the ...
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16
votes
ことができる versus V~える form
I'm a native speaker.
The expressions of ことができる and ～られる are almost the same meaning.
Don't think so difficult. You can use the expression you prefer.
Examples:
雨が止んだら、テニスに行くことができるよ！
雨が止んだら、...
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The meaning of ～がいい
No, 見る and 諦めた方 are grammatically subjects, not adverbs in those sentences. Words marked with が should be nouns, of course.
As you know, noun + がいい (lit. "～ is good", with exhaustive-listing ga) is ...
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15
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Why are dogs asked to 「おすわり」 instead of 「すわれ」
Pre-masu form (aka masu-stem, verb stem) has an important grammatical function; it (sometimes) works as a noun! So おすわり is sort of a "noun form" of すわる. Plain nouns are sometimes used as commands also ...
- 331k
15
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Auxiliary verbs in Japanese
There are two different definitions of auxiliary verb.
Auxiliary verb as the translation of 助動詞
Words like ます, (ら)れる are generally taught as "part of conjugations/forms" in most Japanese-as-...
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14
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Ai oboete imasu ka, what does "imasu" add here?
A note on translation
Expressing the same ideas in different languages inevitably results in all kinds of things that don't fit very well, if we try to look only at the individual words used in those ...
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14
votes
What conjugation of what word is 出なく?
なって is indeed the te form of なる.
出なく is the morphing of 出ない (the negative form of 出る) to allow it to be connected to another verb.
so 出ない ＋ なる becomes 出なくなる (to start not coming out)
Adding the te ...
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What is the meaning of 上げて落としたみてー?
みてー is a contracted form of みたい ("is like ～"). It's an instance of /ai/-to-/ee/ contraction. 上げて is the te-form of 上げる, and 落とす is a verb. Therefore a very literal translation is "It's like I raised ...
- 331k
14
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Verb form used for a to-do list for oneself?
The plain dictionary form is used, but する is commonly omitted when the verb is a suru-verb. Simple noun phrases can be used, too. Examples:
デイブにメール(する)
部屋に掃除機をかける
卵を買う
ホテルの予約 or ホテルを予約(する)
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12
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How to understand みんなしてお出かけですか?
What you're seeing is not お出かけする written in a strange order, but a fixed adverbial phrase みんなして ("get together and (do ～)", "with many others", 一緒になって, 集まって). 大好評 is not a suru-verb in the first place....
- 331k
12
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Do all verbs have an honorific and humble form?
As a general rule, almost all verbs can be transformed into an honorific form, and many, but not all, can be transformed into a humble form*. The chart you pasted lists special/irregular forms. So, ...
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Meaning of 寒くなる vs. 寒くなっています
Actually, because なる is a change of state verb,「寒くなっています」does not mean "it is getting cold", but rather "it is cold"- or more specifically, that it got cold and remains in that state.
Any verb that ...
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What's the rule for expressing "I don't want to"
Adding to @ishikun's answer, you need to note that たい is an (auxiliary) adjective which uses 'adjective stem (い removed from い adjective) + くない' to negate it.
I would say
They added "くない" to the ...
- 2,108
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Should I use the formal form (~ます) on the buttons of an app?
Please check Microsoft's Japanese Style Guide (for UI), in particular the Style section on Page 46.
Style
Use Desu-masu (ですます調, polite style), Dearu (である調, plain style)
and noun phrase (体言止め) ...
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Why is answer A (遊べるために) wrong in this question?
子供が遊べるために sounds awkward to me. I think we usually say:
potential form + ように
plain form + ために
to mean "so that ~~ can do ~~" / "for the purpose of ~~".
So in your example I think you could say:
...
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11
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Verb for "adjusting" glasses?
I would probably say...
ずり[落]{お}ちたメガネをかけ[直]{なお}す
ずり落ちたメガネ（の位置）を[直]{なお}す
ずり落ちたメガネを｛[上]{あ}げる / （指で）[押]{お}し上げる｝
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11
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Is 寝る a stative or active verb?
寝る works as both. See the example of 溶ける in this answer. 寝ている/寝てる can mean both "is sleeping" (present progressive) and "have slept" (present perfect). 寝ていた/寝てた can mean both "was sleeping" (past ...
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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 ...
- 331k
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Can a verb be modified too many times?
I think your mistake is that
"If God didn't want animals to be eaten"
and
"If God (or animals) didn't want to be eaten"
don't mean the same thing at all.
The latter case is how we would ...
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Where do 覚悟なさい、我慢なさい come from?
意味は同じになるのですが、「我慢しなさい」の「なさい」と「我慢なさい」の「なさい」は、文法的にちょっと異なるもので、
「しなさい」= 動詞「する」の連用形「し」+ やわらかな命令を表す補助動詞「なさい」
「なさい」= 動詞「なす・する」の尊敬語「なさる」の命令形
なので、
「我慢しなさい」は、サ変動詞「我慢する」の連用形「我慢し」+ やわらかな命令を表す補助動詞「なさい」
「我慢なさい」は、...
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10
votes
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How to say "to do one's hair"?
As pointed out in the comments by @chocolate, 髪をセットする is a good way to say "to do one's hair". It can involve blow-drying, applying hair wax etc.
髪型をセットする means "to fix one's hairstyle", which sounds ...
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10
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Grammar and aspect of 「コーヒー飲んでき！」
Here in all of your examples, it's a contraction of 飲んでいき～ (飲んで行きい) in regional dialect mainly used in the Kansai area, meaning 飲んでいけ (飲んで + subsidiary verb 行け), or 飲んでいって(ちょうだい), literally "(Please) ...
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10
votes
Accepted
Is there a generic word for a band/orchestra to "play" a song?
演奏していて楽しい曲 doesn't sound overly formal to me, but you can also say やっていて楽しい曲 or 弾【ひ】いていて楽しい曲. The generic word you can use with 楽器 is 弾く (i.e., 楽器を弾く). A drummer won't complain if you ask this to ...
- 331k
10
votes
Occurrence of っ in verb stems
訴{うった}える does not derive from noun 訴{うった}え, but rather the opposite -- the noun 訴{うった}え derives from verb 訴{うった}える, as the stem or continuative form of the verb.
In turn, 訴{うった}える comes from older ...
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Four verbs meaning "to pursue": 追う, 追いかける, 追っかける and 辿る
辿る is closer to "to trace (a road, a wire, etc)" and it does not mean "to chase". 追っかける is just a colloquial variation of 追いかける.
追う and 追いかける are mostly interchangeable. The primary meaning of 追う and ...
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