36
Yes, you are correct that 中 (ちゅう) in this case means "in the middle of ～ ". For your sentence, the simple translation "downloading" is probably the most natural.
It is fairly common to combine a noun with the suffix 中(ちゅう) to express the idea of the "currently in the process of (NOUN)". A few examples of NOUN + 中:
保留{ほりゅう} deferment, holding: 保留中{...
24
The difference is rather huge.
「旅行者{りょこうしゃ}」 sounds neutral/bland, businesslike and matter-of-fact with virtually no nuance. It is like "tourist" in English, or somewhere between "tourist" and "traveler".
「旅人{たびびと}」 sounds poetic and a bit profound. It is more like a "pensive type of traveler" or "wayfarer" than a "tourist" or "average traveler".
For ...
17
「のそ」 is an onomatopoeic word describing a slow walk, slow body movements, etc.
We also use 「のそのそ」 and 「のそりのそり」.
You can forget "a moment later" for good as it has no such meaning.
15
In this case, it would be read as [一日]{いち・にち} which just means "(one) day" as opposed to [一日]{≪ついたち≫} which means first of the month.
My gut says that in this case 一日 is acting like "your day" in particular, trying to evoke your subjective answer of how it was in particular for you. If she had just asked you 「どんな[日]{ひ}でしたか？」, it would sound to me like a ...
14
Both "naru hodo" and "wakarimashita" mean "I understand," but there is a difference in the usages and nuances between those two words.
"Naru hodo" means "That makes sense to me." and includes the feeling of admiration such as "Wow" or "Oh".
A: "Why is this jacket so expensive?"
B: "Because it is handmade and moreover it is '60 vintage."
A: "...
13
人外【じんがい】 is an uncommon and old-fashioned word. In fictional works, it typically refers to evil monsters, undeads, Japanese yokai, etc. You won't see this term often unless you're a fan of fantasy. Dictionaries say it also means "evil/wicked", but from my experience, it's rarely used in this sense. 外人 means a foreigner. 人外 is an anagram of 外人, but this is ...
12
Born in Japan and raised in Japan for more than 30 years, I have never seen "赤ひげ" used as a derogatory term of "westerner".
Before I write this, I did find an entry 赤髭 in a Japanese derogatory terms glossary, and it does say it's "Westerner (derogatory)." However, more than 90% of the words in that list were totally unfamiliar to me. So I believe it's safe ...
12
I think you answered your own question. 中{ちゅう} is a suffix that means "in the middle of". e.g.
道路は工事中だ
The road is in the middle of construction.
11
Not necessarily old-fashioned, but standalone 者 does sound stiff.
It's commonly found in military settings or in legal documents, where everything is written in an objective manner:
違反した者は、6か月以下の懲役もしくは100万円以下の罰金に処す。
It's also used as a humble expression of 人 in formal business settings. Using 人 is clearly inappropriate in the following sentences:
...
11
I think this is actually a place where the Chinese-imported kanji obscure the usage of native Japanese words.
Etymology
The etymology of all these words (and 書く) is the same 和語 of かく, which has the original meaning of "scratch in" and eventually "write". Then, えをかく meant "to scratch/write a picture", which eventually became えがく.
From the historical ...
11
The correction does not have the same meaning as the question in English, so I think your friend misunderstood what you wanted to ask (which is another reason to avoid はず here).
Even though はず can be translated as "supposed", it does not work well in this case. It is used when you have a reasonable expectation of something. E.g.:
日本人は約2000字の漢字を知っているはずです。
A ...
10
It's being used here as B being humble and saying that the pleasure of this meeting is all theirs.
You know how sometimes, especially in cliched movies, there will be an exchange like this?
X: Thank you for all you have done for us.
Y: No, sir. It is I who should thank you.
The feeling is kind of the same here. Upon their first meeting, their exchange ...
10
「やんの」 ＝ 「やがる」 + 「の」
It is attached to the て-form of a verb to express one's contempt or disdain for another. It is also used to make fun of a person or his/her action.
"The fool did/is doing (this or that)!", "Watch that a**hole do ~~!"
10
～ならではの + noun is a set phrase meaning "(noun) only seen in ～", "(noun) unique to ～", "(noun) that can be done only by ～", etc. For example, you can say 渡辺先生ならではの手術, which means "surgery that can only be performed by Dr. Watanabe." (BTW, ならでは is read ならでわ)
Now, this sentence is a cleft sentence where the person name is focused. When you say "この難しい手術ができるのは", ...
10
I feel 何字知っているはずですか? is unnatural. I feel a question form of はずだ like はずですか? is unnatural, and the native Japanese speaker also would feel so. The reason why I feel it is unnatural is because はずだ indicates speaker's guess with conviction, so it would be unnatural to ask someone for it.
I think 何字知っているべきですか? and 何字知っていて当然ですか? are more natural.
10
You have several ways to say "I'm bad at Japanese". The most common (and direct) ways to say it would be:
私は日本語が[下手]{へた}です。(lit. As for me, Japanese is poor.)
私の日本語は下手です。(lit. My Japanese is poor.)
悪い is a literal translation of the English "bad". In Japanese, you don't use 悪い to say you're bad/unskillful at something.
You could also express ...
10
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 standard (～て)いる, but there are considerable regional variations even inside Kansai. See this discussion.
太郎はおる。
There is Taro. / Taro is here. (≒太郎はいる)
...
10
Place + の + 東/西/南/北 + にある is indeed ambiguous, but you can usually determine the meaning in one way with the aid of the context and some background knowledge:
伏見桃山城は京都の南にある。
Fushimi-Momoyama Castle is in the South of Kyoto.
奈良県は京都の南にある。
Nara Prefecture is located to the south of Kyoto.
If you want to avoid any confusion, you can say:
Xは京都の南部にある。: inside ...
10
If I were translating these sentences naturally but relatively 'faithfully' into English, I'd probably go for the following:
日本の労働時間は世界でも長いほうだ。
Working hours in Japan are on the long(er) side, even globally.
Working hours in Japan are at the long(er) end, even globally.
~ ~ ~
日本の労働時間は世界でも長い。
Working hours in Japan are long, even ...
9
畳 is used only for tatami and is included in the Joyo list. 帖 can be used for folding screens, stage curtains, shields, batches of nori seaweed, batches of Washi (traditional paper), or traditional books as well as tatami, and is not included in the Joyo list.
帖 is often used as the counter for tatami mats when describing room size on a floor plan.
9
Although it's etymologically a compound of 落{お}ち＋入{い}る, it's now usually written 陥る instead. The NHK漢字表記辞典 recommends writing it 陥る and doesn't mention the other spelling at all. Some dictionaries list both spellings, as you point out; for example, 明鏡国語辞典 lists the word under 陥る but mentions the alternative etymological spelling:
〔表記〕語源を反映させて「落ち入る」とも。
...
9
東雲【しののめ】 fell out of use many years ago, and it's marked as a 古語 (archaic word) in dictionaries.
It's now mainly recognized as an uncommon proper noun (e.g., 東雲駅, list of fictional characters named 東雲). Most people today don't know its meaning.
Originally, 東雲 referred to a short period of time when the sun is not yet visible but the sky is already bright (...
9
These can be divided into two large categories.
上手い ≒ 巧い ≒ good at something, skillful
彼女は料理がうまい。 She is good at cooking.
美味い ≒ 旨い ≒ delicious, yummy
この料理はうまい。 This dish is delicious.
The difference between 上手い and 巧い is much smaller, but 上手い is "good" in general, while 巧い is closer to "technical" or "skillful".
The difference between 美味い and 旨い is ...
9
「部品{ぶひん}」 and 「用品{ようひん}」 mean totally different things; therefore, there should virtually be no interchangeability between the two.
「部品」 means "part(s)", "component(s)", etc. of a product. From bolts to nuts and from springs to bearings, every little thing that is used to assemble a product is called 「部品」.
「用品」 is completely different. It means a ...
9
Difference between ayumu, sanpo and aruku
aruku (歩｛ある｝く) is a general term for to walk.
ayumu (歩｛あゆ｝む) is a little old-fashioned expression for to walk, especially to walk step by step, and it has a unique and something moral meanings different from aruku such as to make progress to a certain destination.
As for sanpo (散歩｛さんぽ｝), it is a noun which ...
9
そういう場合は、両方の動詞を使い、「パンを食べ（て）、牛乳を飲む」、「リンゴを食べ（て）、コーヒーを飲む」と言い表すことができます。
しかし、よりお勧めしたいのは、「頂{いただ}く」という謙譲語・丁寧語をこの機会に覚えておくことです。「頂くを」使えば、食べ物と飲み物のどちらにも対応できるからです。
「パンと牛乳を頂く」、「リンゴとコーヒーを頂く」などと、動詞ひとつで表現できます。
9
I would say there is no difference, at least in everyday language. Maybe 速さ has a slightly more casual feel to it... at least I see more myself using 速さ than 速度 in a daily conversation.
Now, 速度 is velocity and 速さ speed. That means that in the field of physics, they are indeed different, namely:
velocity is a vector, including not only a value but a ...
9
言語 is more of an academic term, while ことば is more colloquial and accessible. 言語 is normally used with longer compound words. Functionally, though, they mean the same thing.
Although the example that you posted is technically academic, the use of furigana does indicate that it is designed either for younger Japanese or for non-native speakers. Hence, ことば is ...
9
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" and "verb＋(よ)う+とする"? みたい meaning "to seem / look like" never follows a te-form.
聞く "to ask"
聞いてみる "to try asking"
聞いてみたい "to want to try asking"
...
8
～だろう/でしょう in this context does not represent the uncertainty or guessing of the father. This actually is a strong affirmation of the Yotsuba's observation. I would translate this そうだろう as "Indeed," "Exactly," "Just as you say," or simply "Yup." I feel translating this as something like "So it seems" or "I think so too" is too weak.
If Yotsuba's father had ...
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