Unanswered Questions
620 questions with no upvoted or accepted answers
14
votes
2answers
984 views
How has Japanese kanji and kana usage changed since 1945?
How has the percentage of writing using each script changed since 1945? With script reform, increasing influx of loanwords, and stylistic choices, several factors affect how much certain parts of the ...
12
votes
0answers
969 views
Iterative / repetitive る evolving from classical 連体形【れんたいけい】
This is somewhat related to the discussion of classical auxiliary verb ふ, mentioned in the answer to snailboat's question, What is the わ in 忌まわしい and 嘆かわしい?.
Another apparent iterative / repetitive ...
9
votes
1answer
259 views
Linguistic/syntactic analysis of のほうがよく聞く
In Japanese the following such sentences are seen quite often:
「〜のほうが（よく）（聞く／使う／感じる／知っている）」
However when you consider the grammar, these are all transitive verbs (in the sense they normally take ...
8
votes
4answers
756 views
Which radical name should I study for the kanken?
I love learning kanji, so I thought about taking the kanken (probably level 6). So I started to look for information here and there, and it seems I'll have to learn radical names.
I'm totally fine ...
7
votes
2answers
256 views
Help understanding だからこそ、という場合もある
I'm struggling to understand the sentence in the exchange below. To explain the context, these characters have been shipwrecked and landed on an unknown island. They find that several of their ...
7
votes
2answers
316 views
When is である/な Needed for Certain Words?
While studying grammar I noticed that some words require using である/な when used with a noun/な-adjective respectively. I wanted to see if there was a pattern between which words required them and which ...
7
votes
2answers
306 views
Why does いい加減 have diametrically opposite meanings?
When scolding a misbehaving child, we tell them to be iikagen:
いい加減にしなさい。
But we can also tell a misbehaving child to stop being iikagen, or describe something bad as iikagen:
もういい加減でやめなさい。
...
7
votes
1answer
299 views
How to handle が and によって in this sort of sentence?
I'll be taking a written test in a few weeks to become a part-time translator for an automotive client; they sent me some practice documents in the meantime.
I am having issues at the moment, since ...
7
votes
2answers
1k views
Meaning of, Transitive verb in “te form” + iru vs Intransitive verb in “te form” + iru
When I learnt Japanese I was taught that a transitive verb in its "te form" followed by the verb "iru" represents a continuous action. However, this is not the case with intransitive verbs which ...
6
votes
1answer
107 views
Expressing “someone got someone to do something for me”
I'm trying to figure out how to say something like:
Tanaka got Honda to buy me a coffee
The best I could come up with was:
田中さんは本田さんに僕のコーヒーを買わせた
Is this correct, or is there a better way to say ...
6
votes
0answers
116 views
Counters and their placements with nouns
I have been practicing writing recently where I use counters, but I keep getting corrected by native speakers on there usage.
For example I write
3個のりんごを食べたいです。
I want to eat 3 apples.
But I keep ...
6
votes
1answer
463 views
いかんでは why is this answer incorrect?
最近とても疲れやすいので、その日の体調いかんでは________
I answered it with : 会社を休むこともある
But got it wrong(got 0 points), with a note telling me to use かもしれない instead.
I understand that you can answer with the かもしれない ...
6
votes
1answer
308 views
Difference between 「～てからでないと」and 「～ないことには」
Both of these grammar can be translated to English as
A～てからでないと/～ないことにはB = Unless A is done, cannot do B
From what I can find,
～てからでないと stresses the order or sequence of actions, that until A is ...
6
votes
1answer
240 views
Specific use of してまで
Recently I've been reading Michael Emmerich's "New Penguin Parallel Text" for Japanese short stories. In Yoshimoto Banana's "A Little Darkness," there's a passage that describes how the narrator's ...
6
votes
1answer
189 views
What is the common reading of the word 外海?
外海 has two readings がいかい and そとうみ. What is the difference of the two? Personally, I am under the impression that がいかい is the common reading because of its similarity to the word 外国【がいこく】. However, I ...
