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{
"accepted_answer_id": "36306",
"answer_count": 1,
"body": "I understand that である is the \"written\" form of だ/です. Because it's a \"written\"\nform, doesn't that already imply a certain level of formality? So when would\none use であります as opposed to just である? If you can, please give examples.",
"comment_count": 0,
"content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0",
"creation_date": "2016-06-30T05:42:09.370",
"favorite_count": 0,
"id": "36305",
"last_activity_date": "2016-09-20T05:33:57.073",
"last_edit_date": "2016-06-30T05:46:26.153",
"last_editor_user_id": "4091",
"owner_user_id": "10795",
"post_type": "question",
"score": 6,
"tags": [
"politeness",
"copula",
"formality",
"academic-japanese"
],
"title": "When to use である vs であります?",
"view_count": 5012
} | [
{
"body": "* である is **formal** , but **not polite**\n\n* * *\n\n * であります is **formal** _and_ **polite** , but **not humble**\n\n * でございます is **formal** _and_ **polite** _and_ **humble**\n\n* * *\n\n * だ is **informal** , but **not polite**\n\n * です is **informal** -* _and_ **polite** \n*- compared to である \n\n* * *\n\nA politician giving a speech on TV:\n\n> 我々は日本国民 **である** - We are Japanese citizens\n\nA lawyer speaking to a judge: (I think this usage is rare though...)\n\n> この通り **であります** - It (happended) this way\n\nA waiter speaking to a customer:\n\n> ざるそば **でございます** - (This) is zarusoba\n\nOne friend to another:\n\n> ケチなやつ **だ** ね - That guys is really stingy, huh?\n\nOne coworker to another:\n\n> すみません今ちょっと忙しい **です** - I'm sorry, I'm busy just now",
"comment_count": 5,
"content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0",
"creation_date": "2016-06-30T05:54:23.753",
"id": "36306",
"last_activity_date": "2016-09-20T05:33:57.073",
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"parent_id": "36305",
"post_type": "answer",
"score": 12
}
]
| 36305 | 36306 | 36306 |
{
"accepted_answer_id": "36308",
"answer_count": 2,
"body": "In my flashcard studying of JLPT1 vocabulary I've across お負け with three\nEnglish definitions (from JMdict):\n\n 1. _freebie_ ,\n 2. _price reduction_ ,\n 3. _exaggeration_.\n\nNow my question is how adding an honorific prefix to 負け ( _loss_ , _defeat_ )\nhas come to mean something positive (well, at least for the receiver). Is it\nbecause someone concedes something to someone else? E.g. a salesperson\nconceding a customer a reduction in price.\n\nAnd what about the third definition, _exaggeration_ , which seems unrelated\nthe first two? As JMdict does not provide a sample sentence for this\ndefinition I'd be grateful if someone could provide one.\n\nよろしくお願いします。\n\nN.B. I am unfamiliar with the tags of the site, so moderators are free to add\nadditional ones.",
"comment_count": 1,
"content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0",
"creation_date": "2016-06-30T06:03:41.853",
"favorite_count": 0,
"id": "36307",
"last_activity_date": "2016-06-30T06:58:30.360",
"last_edit_date": "2016-06-30T06:36:44.170",
"last_editor_user_id": "11104",
"owner_user_id": "8082",
"post_type": "question",
"score": 7,
"tags": [
"usage",
"etymology"
],
"title": "Etymology of お負け",
"view_count": 132
} | [
{
"body": "Leo's guess is actually right. For reference, it is enough to go on the\nwikipedia page of\n[お負け](https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E3%81%8A%E3%81%BE%E3%81%91).\n\nThe meaning originally comes indeed from the fact that the seller is losing\nsomething in the bargaining process (from wiki):\n\n>\n> おまけの語源は「御負け」の文字通り、店員が客との駆け引きに負けて値を下げる行為を指す言葉であったが、のちに商品以外の物品を追加する行為なども言うようになった.",
"comment_count": 1,
"content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0",
"creation_date": "2016-06-30T06:53:30.200",
"id": "36308",
"last_activity_date": "2016-06-30T06:53:30.200",
"last_edit_date": null,
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{
"body": "I can't think of any straightforward uses for お負け as \"exaggeration\", but it\ncould be used like this:\n\n> 彼の話にはいつもなんらかのお負けが付いている\n```\n\n \"There's always a little something more to his stories\" \n \n```\n\nThis _might_ imply an exaggeration...\n\nSidenote: おまけ can also mean menstrual cycle",
"comment_count": 8,
"content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0",
"creation_date": "2016-06-30T06:58:30.360",
"id": "36309",
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"post_type": "answer",
"score": 2
}
]
| 36307 | 36308 | 36308 |
{
"accepted_answer_id": "36315",
"answer_count": 3,
"body": "In so-called **学校文法** (the Japanese grammar which all native Japanese speakers\nlearn at around middle school), one form of a verb is called **連用形** (aka\ncontinuative form), which looks like this (screenshot from\n[連用形](https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E9%80%A3%E7%94%A8%E5%BD%A2) on _Japanese_\nWikipedia):\n\n[](https://i.stack.imgur.com/UIBuT.png)\n\nAs you can see, there are actually two forms of 連用形 for 五段活用 verbs (aka Group\n1 verbs, consonant-stem verbs, or u-verbs). One is rather simple (changing the\nlast `-u` to `-i`), but the other form is [heavily influenced by sound changes\ncalled 音便](https://japanese.stackexchange.com/a/17497/5010).\n\nUntil very recently, I had believed that **masu-form** and **te-form** are the\nsimple, straightforward terms to distinguish the two forms 連用形 listed above. I\nbelieved they are the direct subset of 連用形. 書き is the masu-form of 書く, 書い is\nthe te-form of 書く, 立ち is the masu-form of 立つ, 立っ is the te-form of 立つ, and so\non. The masu-form is called masu-form because it's typically followed by ます,\nand the te-form is called te-form because it's typically followed by て/で.\n\n**And finally, I realized I was wrong.** If I say \"te-form\", listeners imagine\nit also includes the て/で part. I checked several free learning sites for\nJapanese-as-the-second-language learners and found these names (taking 読む as\nan example verb):\n\n * **読み** : i-form (WP), stem (CC), verb stem (TK), 連用形 (TUFS), masu-stem, 連用形 (学校文法)\n * **読みます** : i-form + masu (WP), masu-form (CC, LJA), polite form = verb stem + masu (TK), ます形 (TUFS), 連用形+助動詞\"ます\" (学校文法)\n * **読ん** : N/A (WP, CC, LJA, TK, TUFS), 連用形 (学校文法)\n * **読んだ** : perfective-form (WP), ta-form (CC, LJA), past tense (TK), た形 (TUFS), 連用形+助動詞\"だ\" (学校文法)\n * **読んで** : te-form (WP, CC, LJA, TK), て形 (TUFS), 連用形+接続助詞\"で\" (学校文法)\n\n(WP: English Wikipedia, CC: CosCom, LJA: learn-japanese-adventure.com, TK: Tae\nKim's Guide to Learning Japanese, TUFS: 東京外国語大学言語モジュール)\n\nSo, what I believed was te-form is not te-form, and it doesn't even have an\nEnglish name! (It can be confirmed by [this\nquestion](https://japanese.stackexchange.com/q/24033/5010).) ます/て/で are not\neven considered as distinct \"words\" here; they are considered as a part of the\nconjugation of a verb. In monolingual dictionaries, ます, て/で and た/だ are all\ndistinct words (either 助動詞 or 接続助詞) that attach 連用形.\n\n* * *\n\n### Questions\n\n * Does \"te-form\" really only mean the form including て/で, regardless of the school/faction? If I say \"読ん is the te-form of 読む\" or \"読み is the masu-form of 読む\", am I totally wrong?\n * Is there any practical reason for not having a name for 読ん/立っ/etc and thinking of 読んだ and 読んで as different \"forms\"?\n * I understand that there is no single \"correct grammar of Japanese\", but what is the historical cause of this discrepancy? Perhaps someone was not satisfied with the Japanese grammar invented by Japanese people, and published a book with his own grammar in the past?\n\n(PS: I'm not willing to keep using confusing terms. I just want to know the\nbest words for learners, and, hopefully, help future native Japanese answerers\nwho haven't heard of \"te-form\" or \"masu-form\" at all.)",
"comment_count": 0,
"content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0",
"creation_date": "2016-06-30T07:17:31.527",
"favorite_count": 0,
"id": "36310",
"last_activity_date": "2016-06-30T18:34:28.390",
"last_edit_date": "2017-04-13T12:43:44.207",
"last_editor_user_id": "-1",
"owner_user_id": "5010",
"post_type": "question",
"score": 16,
"tags": [
"grammar",
"conjugations",
"て-form"
],
"title": "Does \"te-form\" of a verb always include て/で? Why?",
"view_count": 1930
} | [
{
"body": "1. As you showed in the chart, \n * The pre-ます-form is regular 五段動詞の連用形 \n * The pre-て-form is（五段動詞の連用形）+（音便）\n\nSo I think it is a correct and helpful distinction **from a phrase-production\nperspective**. Especially for learners asking questions like, \"How do I say\n'He is eating an apple'?\"\n\nBut Japanese grammarians are likely more considered with the 音便 itself **from\nan analytical perspective** , like \"Under what circumstances does 音便 happen?\"\n\n 2. * It might be more natural for some to think of the 五段連用形 as being forced to 音便 in the presence of words like て and た. That way you would think of 音便 as the _exception_ rather than the rule. \n 3. * For learners, teaching common words and phrases first (most of which use 音便) is probably less difficult and more effective than introducing the 連用形 without 音便 first. Likely because as a learner, you can quickly begin to _produce_ new phrases by using these two separate patterns. \n\n * Introducing verb conjugations to Japanese 国語 learners with 「て」前置形 or 「ます」前置形 probably wouldn't pay off as much because they would already know how to _produce_ phrases with て and ます and rather need to know the reason _why_ certain changes seem irregular.",
"comment_count": 1,
"content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0",
"creation_date": "2016-06-30T07:36:41.000",
"id": "36312",
"last_activity_date": "2016-06-30T08:16:17.377",
"last_edit_date": "2016-06-30T08:16:17.377",
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{
"body": "1. First we have to make a distinction between 日本語教育 and 国語教育 (which follows 学校文法). In 日本語教育 the te-form always includes the て/で part. In 国語教育 the te-form is not recognized, as it is just considered to be a perverse version of the 連用形 and not an actual newly developed form.\n\n 2. I think there are two reasons:\n\n * Simplification of the grammar \n\n> 「て形」を独立した活用形の一つと考えると、「たべて」の「て」が助詞であるはずの学校文法で、\n> 「のんで」の「で」は何なのかという、至極当然な疑問に苦しい答えを用意する必要がなくなります。\n> 「て」を助詞だと言う必要がなく、「たべて」までで動詞なのだとすればいいからです。\n\n * Forms like 読んで and 読んだ can be used right away by beginner learners. They have a high usage in forms such as ～てください、てはいけません、てしまいます, etc. The 読ん/立っ only really start to make sense once you are at the intermediate level or higher\n\n \n3. By introducing a new form, Japanese learners as a second language can start using the language more quickly. Native Japanese speakers already know how to speak, so this is why the approach is different.\n\nReferences:\n\n<http://www.chuwol.com/teke%5E.htm>\n\n<http://nirr.lib.niigata-u.ac.jp/bitstream/10623/16582/1/01_14_0001.pdf>\n\n[https://books.google.co.jp/books?id=ns9hfNNP-6AC&pg=PA33&lpg=PA33&dq=%E3%81%A6%E5%BD%A2+%E5%9B%BD%E8%AA%9E%E6%95%99%E8%82%B2&source=bl&ots=8e1LKTgBeE&sig=1cEQFBU8-SVSJ0TtwtIPpi5UDXE&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjir4PPws_NAhUJkJQKHd5GARwQ6AEILzAC#v=onepage&q=%E3%81%A6%E5%BD%A2%20%E5%9B%BD%E8%AA%9E%E6%95%99%E8%82%B2&f=false](https://books.google.co.jp/books?id=ns9hfNNP-6AC&pg=PA33&lpg=PA33&dq=%E3%81%A6%E5%BD%A2+%E5%9B%BD%E8%AA%9E%E6%95%99%E8%82%B2&source=bl&ots=8e1LKTgBeE&sig=1cEQFBU8-SVSJ0TtwtIPpi5UDXE&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjir4PPws_NAhUJkJQKHd5GARwQ6AEILzAC#v=onepage&q=%E3%81%A6%E5%BD%A2%20%E5%9B%BD%E8%AA%9E%E6%95%99%E8%82%B2&f=false)",
"comment_count": 7,
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"creation_date": "2016-06-30T10:31:50.057",
"id": "36315",
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{
"body": "I fear this is less an answer by itself (you have received two very good ones\nalready), but rather a strongly related aside.\n\nMost materials for Japanese language learners take a one-size-fits-all\napproach that roughly equates to \"favor immediate (safe) usability (=\nproduction)\". This is why nearly all common text books teach ～ます first instead\nof teaching the more fundamental plain form. And, this is also why you get\nspecial Japanese-for-foreign-learners grammar terms that are largely unheard\nof by unfamiliar native speakers.\n\nIt's nothing more than my opinion, but I feel that this has some major trade-\noffs (all the more so for students of an analytical nature). On one hand, it\nallows students to begin to play with the language, begin communicating, and\ngrow interested in it. But on the other hand, it trades immediate usability\nfor later misunderstanding and difficulty in using materials aimed at native\nJapanese speakers -- which any learner at a certain level will eventually need\n/ want.\n\nA more comprehensive Japanese learning program might break the learning down\ninto two concurrent sister classes: practical and theory. The what vs. the\nwhence. Why not take the opportunity to teach incidental grammar vocabulary as\nlearning progresses? I find it hard to believe 動詞 is such a difficult word to\nteach once and use from there on out. At higher levels the theory could even\nmove toward what native students would see in their 国語 classes: 古典、漢文、etc.\n\nJust my 2円; hope it supplements the answers you've already been given.",
"comment_count": 3,
"content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0",
"creation_date": "2016-06-30T18:34:28.390",
"id": "36322",
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"score": 5
}
]
| 36310 | 36315 | 36312 |
{
"accepted_answer_id": "36313",
"answer_count": 1,
"body": "So I'm trying to make a sentence which goes, \"My effort is still not enough\",\nand I came up with\n\n\"私の努力(__)まだ足りない。\"\n\nI was thinking about using wa, however since \"足りない\" is intransitive, I\nwondered if I should use ga instead?",
"comment_count": 0,
"content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0",
"creation_date": "2016-06-30T07:18:09.577",
"favorite_count": 0,
"id": "36311",
"last_activity_date": "2016-06-30T08:42:21.730",
"last_edit_date": null,
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"owner_user_id": "15947",
"post_type": "question",
"score": 4,
"tags": [
"particles",
"particle-は",
"particle-が"
],
"title": "Using は(wa) or が(ga)",
"view_count": 158
} | [
{
"body": "If you say「私の努力」it follows that you would use は.\n\nBy saying 「私の努力」rather than just「努力」, the sentence already begins by singling\nthe speaker out, so I think は would most naturally follow.\n\nIf you drop the「私の」you could naturally use は or が depending on the context.\n\nLike...\n\n_Your boss comes over to your desk to discuss a project that your team has\nbeen working on:_\n\n> プロジェクトがまた失敗したね、ボビー君\n```\n\n Your project failed again, eh Bobby? \n \n```\n\n> そうですね。 **私の努力は** まだ足りません。\n```\n\n Yeah, I'm just not putting in enough effort. \n (*Maybe if I tried something other than just putting in effort, \n things might have worked out differently...)\n \n```\n\nOR\n\n> そうですね。 **努力は** まだ足りません\n```\n\n Yeah, not enough effort is being put in. \n (*A lack of effort is the problem. Maybe it's me, maybe it's the team...)\n \n```\n\n> そうですね。 **努力が** まだ足りません。\n```\n\n Yeah, not enough effort is being put in. \n (*Lack of effort is a problem, maybe there are other problems too...)\n \n```",
"comment_count": 0,
"content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0",
"creation_date": "2016-06-30T08:35:49.680",
"id": "36313",
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"owner_user_id": "7055",
"parent_id": "36311",
"post_type": "answer",
"score": 3
}
]
| 36311 | 36313 | 36313 |
{
"accepted_answer_id": "36318",
"answer_count": 1,
"body": "I'm writing my thesis on the newly perceived generation of さとり世代. My Japanese\nreading is fairly good but I have this one article that I cannot crack.\n\nMy question is regarding the meaning of a word in context, and an expression\nin context: 矛先 and 逃げ切る\n\nSo far I get that the first means arrowhead, and the second, according to\njisho.org means to either \"get away\" or \"manage to hold on\".\n\nThe context:\n\nthe article is about generational differences in behavior and the forseeable\ndemografic crisis, when the number of old people will be relatively too high\nin proportion to the workforce. The article uses the notion of generations to\nfurther elaborate on the differences facing young and older people now, in\nJapan.\n\nThe article especially focuses on the babyboomers 団塊世代and the さとり世代.\n\nI'm gonne quote some passages from the article, and hopefully someone out\nthere can tell me what 矛先 and 逃げ切る means in this context.\n\nthe title of the article is: 若者のエネルギーが小さく矛先見えない「さとり世代」The writer probably\nmeans something like \"the young peoples initiative is pretty much invisible\",\nbut I'm just not sure. **what is the meaning of this phrase?**\n\nthe following first line of the article then goes:\n\n本当に「団塊世代」は「逃げ切り世代」に入るのでしょうか。 **what does nigekirisedai mean?**\n\nis it because the generation is running away from their responsibilities by\nnot leaving the same work conditions, that they themselves enjoyed, to the\nnext generations? Or is it that \"they simply will not die?\"\n\nanother sentence that uses the arrowhead thing:\n\nところがさとり世代になった途端、エネルギー自体が小さくなり ”矛先すら見えない”\n状態です。「同世代の若者はエネルギーの矛先が同じ一方向」が前提の世代論ですが、戦後初めてかなり特殊な若者が出てきたという意味では、特筆すべきです。\n\n**the whole \"energy getting small\", is just not reading well with me. What\ndoes it all mean?**\n\nHope you can help me, my professor went on holiday already and the deadline is\napproaching ¯_(ツ)_/¯",
"comment_count": 1,
"content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0",
"creation_date": "2016-06-30T13:24:31.130",
"favorite_count": 0,
"id": "36316",
"last_activity_date": "2016-06-30T14:05:56.923",
"last_edit_date": "2016-06-30T13:40:42.537",
"last_editor_user_id": "4091",
"owner_user_id": "15951",
"post_type": "question",
"score": 2,
"tags": [
"meaning",
"expressions",
"set-phrases"
],
"title": "meaning in context of 矛先 and 逃げ切る",
"view_count": 187
} | [
{
"body": "* **逃げ切り世代** refers to that last generation that gets out just a bit more than they put in to their social security pension (people born about 1964 according to the article below). Any younger and they would start getting out less than they put in.\n\nSource: allabout.co.jp article [here](http://allabout.co.jp/gm/gc/457013/)\n\n * **矛先すら見えない** literally means, \"(they) can't even see the tip of the spear\". The \"tip of the spear\"（矛先）is a metaphor for for the \"direction of attack\" and in this case probably means something like \"where the Satori Generation directs their energy\". \n\nSo, the young folks have low energy and what little they do have, they don't\nknow what to do with.\n\n**Get a job you hippies!**",
"comment_count": 0,
"content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0",
"creation_date": "2016-06-30T14:05:56.923",
"id": "36318",
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| 36316 | 36318 | 36318 |
{
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"body": "complete paragraph:\n\n>\n> それを実際に役立たせたいなどとは、まったく思っていませんでした。しかし、われわれが最初のiPhoneを設計している時に、それが私の脳裏によみがえってきたのです。 \n> I never thought I'd make use of that `(an idea discussed earlier)`. But,\n> when we designed the first iPhone, i remembered that `(idea)`.\n\nBut what if I were to add \"は\":\n\n> それを実際に役立たせたいなどとは、まったく思っていませんでした。しかし、われわれが最初のiPhoneを設計している時に **は**\n> 、それが私の脳裏によみがえってきたのです。\n\nThat **は** is about placing emphasis? and in that context you don't need\nemphasis? It would sound weird / confusing? The reader would think \" _Why is\nemphasis placed there? Is he/she comparing it to something? It doesn't really\nmatter, I will ignore that は and keep reading._ \".\n\nIn order for \" **時には** to sound natural, the context would be like:\n\n> Macを設計している時に **は** 、私は世間知らずな大学生でした。iPhoneを設計している時に **は**\n> 、社員5,000人以上の会社の社長でした。\n>\n> When we designed the Mac `(emphasis placed if speaking)` I was a college\n> student who knew nothing about the world. But, when we designed the iPhone\n> `(emphasis placed if speaking)` I was the CEO of a company with more than\n> 5,000 employees.\n\nTo do a contrast, place emphasis on those 2 points in time?\n\nWith regard to saying **時に、** instead of **時には、** , is this explanation\ncorrect?",
"comment_count": 2,
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"creation_date": "2016-06-30T14:38:54.500",
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"post_type": "question",
"score": 3,
"tags": [
"particle-は"
],
"title": "How would saying \"時には、\" instead of \"時に、\" change to meaning of this paragraph?",
"view_count": 176
} | [
{
"body": "> Macを設計している **時には** 、私は世間知らずな大学生でした。\n\n * **At the time when** we designed the Mac...\n\n> しかし、われわれが最初のiPhoneを設計している **時に** 、それが私の脳裏によみがえってきたのです。\n\n * But **when** we were designing the first iPhone...\n\n> しかし、われわれが最初のiPhoneを設計している **時には** 、それが私の脳裏によみがえってきたのです。\n\n * But **at the time when** we were designing the first iPhone...",
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"creation_date": "2016-06-30T15:12:24.280",
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| 36319 | null | 36321 |
{
"accepted_answer_id": "36327",
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"body": "This is a small part of the dialogue of Fate/stay night:\n\n> あれ一体{いったい}だけで 他{ほか}の六騎{ろっき}を敵{てき}に回{まわ}せるぞ\n\nWhy they use 騎 as a counter for Servants?\n\nMany times I have seen this construction:\n\n> AをBに回せる\n\nWhat is the meaning of that?",
"comment_count": 0,
"content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0",
"creation_date": "2016-07-01T01:49:05.677",
"favorite_count": 0,
"id": "36326",
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"post_type": "question",
"score": 2,
"tags": [
"grammar",
"meaning"
],
"title": "help with AをBに回せる and 騎",
"view_count": 85
} | [
{
"body": "* Here 騎 is used as a generic counter for \"fighters\". Originally, 騎 is a counter for cavalries, and using 騎 to actually count cavalries is of course rare these days. But idiomatic words like [一騎打ち](http://eow.alc.co.jp/search?q=%E4%B8%80%E9%A8%8E%E6%89%93%E3%81%A1) or [一騎当千](http://jisho.org/search/%E4%B8%80%E9%A8%8E%E5%BD%93%E5%8D%83) are still very common today. Probably the author had 一騎当千 in his mind, and thought it was nice to use the counter 騎 to describe this situation. I can't say it's common, but I feel it's a nice word choice.\n * ～を敵に回す is a common idiomatic phrase that means \"to make an enemy of ～\". [Examples on ALC](http://eow.alc.co.jp/search?q=%E6%95%B5%E3%81%AB%E5%9B%9E%E3%81%99&ref=sa). 回す can mean \"to put/move someone/something in some place\", \"to assign\" (eg, 給料を貯金に回す, 社員を開発担当に回す).",
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| 36326 | 36327 | 36327 |
{
"accepted_answer_id": "36332",
"answer_count": 1,
"body": "You know the verb かける? It has so many meanings my mind can't comprehend them\nall. Sometimes I feel unsure, so i'll look it up in the dictonary, however\nwhen doing so I can't help but feel overhelmed by all the different meanings.\nBy the same word. Used for food when sparkling over salt or even recording\nmusic. I feel like it could be anything. I got particularly interested in this\ntext where かける is being used quite a bit to explain word 乾坤一擲.\n\n「乾」は「天」、「坤」は「地」、「乾坤」で「天地」の意味。\n天地をかけて一回さいころを投げるという意味から、自分の運命をかけて、のるかそるかの勝負に出ることをいう。\n韓愈の詩「鴻溝を過ぐ」の「竜疲れ虎困じて川原に割ち、億万の蒼生、性命を存す。\n誰か君王に馬首を回らすを勧めて、真に一擲を成して乾坤を賭せん」から。([source](http://kotowaza-\nallguide.com/ke/kenkonitteki.html))",
"comment_count": 3,
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"creation_date": "2016-07-01T02:33:17.600",
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"score": 3,
"tags": [
"word-choice",
"words"
],
"title": "Undertsanding the different かける",
"view_count": 2479
} | [
{
"body": "* 天地を **かけて** 一回さいころを投げる\n * 自分の運命を **かけて**\n\nBoth of these are using かける in the same way. I would say they both fit with\nthe meaning of 賭ける or possibly 懸ける.\n\n賭ける and 懸ける both involve _risking the loss of something_. In the case of this\ndefinition, risking the loss of 天地 (everything) and risking the loss of 運命\n(one's fortunes).\n\nThere are basically 3 kinds of かける：\n\n 1. To be **lacking something** 「欠ける」 \n\n> お金が欠けている - (We are) lacking money\n\n 2. To **run quickly** 「駆ける・翔ける」\n\n> 駆け込み禁止 - Don't rush (into the train)\n\n 3. To **lay something across/over something else** (and by extension , to risk loosing something)「掛ける・架ける（抽象的な意味では、賭ける・懸ける）」 \n\n> * 壁に掛ける - Hang (something) on the wall\n> * 橋を架ける - Make a bridge\n> * 命を賭ける - Bet (your) life\n> * 命を懸ける - Risk (your) life",
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| 36328 | 36332 | 36332 |
{
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"body": "Is there an easy way to express the concept of “reductio ad absurdum” in\nJapanese?\n\nI find that the following dictionary terms tend to be unfamiliar even to\ncollege-educated Japanese speakers:\n\n帰謬法\n\n背理法\n\nI ask this because I was conversing with a friend in Japanese and using\nreductio ad absurdum to show how an idea was nonsense. But she said that this\nsort of argument was extreme and idiotic, to which I responded I that this\ntype of argumentation is quite common in European languages and is explicitly\ntaught by name in schools.\n\nOr, is it maybe the case that there is _NO_ easy way to express this concept\nin Japanese because the Japanese culture does not have an extensive tradition\nof discussing logic? It seems so. Wikipedia, for example, has the article on\n\"reductio ad absurdum\" in more than 30 languages, but not Japanese.",
"comment_count": 2,
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"creation_date": "2016-07-01T02:53:15.690",
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"post_type": "question",
"score": 7,
"tags": [
"translation",
"words"
],
"title": "\"Reductio ad absurdum\": Any easy way to express this concept in Japanese?",
"view_count": 857
} | [
{
"body": "The tradition of logical debate is far more valued in western cultures, so\nit's not surprising that even though a specific term exists in Japanese, most\npeople wouldn't be familiar with it in that context.\n\nSimilarly, there's no easy way to express わびさび in English. Of course, you\ncould use the specific term \"wabisabi\", but who would understand you? People\nfamiliar with Japanese culture and tradition.\n\nHowever, you can _explain_ wabisabi in English, as \"an aesthetic sensibility\nemphasising quiet simplicity and subdued refinement\".\n\nLikewise, you can explain reductio ad absurdum（背理法）in Japanese\nas「間接証明によって矛盾を指摘する論じ方」.\n\nThat being said, as naruto mentions the teaching of 背理法 in math class is part\nof the official direction from the 文部科学省 as can be seen here:\n\n<http://www.mext.go.jp/a_menu/shotou/old-cs/1322525.htm>",
"comment_count": 6,
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"creation_date": "2016-07-01T03:21:50.170",
"id": "36330",
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{
"body": "All adults who graduated from high school _should_ be aware of 背理法, because\nthey all learned it in math classes in order to prove [why the square root of\n2 is irrational](http://mathtrain.jp/sqrt2irrational), [why there are\ninfinitely many prime numbers](http://mathtrain.jp/prime), etc. Well, don't\nask me how many of them actually remember it.\n\nAnyways, even among people who remember 背理法, most of them consider 背理法 as a\npurely mathematical technique, but not as a rhetorical device nor a debate\ntechnique. And unfortunately, I don't think there is an easy Japanese word for\n_reductio ad absurdum_ which you can safely use in conversations.\n\nThat does not mean Japanese people cannot use 背理法 in daily conversations. Even\nelementary school kids can make an argument like\n「人類は永遠にタイムマシンを発明できないよ。だってもし発明できたら、未来の人が現代にいっぱい来てるはずでしょ？」. We just haven't\ngotten used to categorizing and naming the types of arguments we use everyday.\n\nTo explain _reductio ad absurdum_ in plain words, I would say\n「敢えて逆のことを言って矛盾を突くやり方」 or something like that.",
"comment_count": 1,
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"creation_date": "2016-07-01T05:25:03.467",
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| 36329 | null | 36333 |
{
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"body": "In a fantasy novel I am reading, a young blacksmith is referred to as \"二番鎚\",\nwhich I think means 'apprentice'. Later, there is a reference to a \"一番鎚(の大男)\"\nand a ”親方\". I'd guess the former of these means something like \"master\nblacksmith\", but the former also seems to mean \"master\" or \"teacher\".\n\nCan someone describe the positions of these three roles so I can understand\ntheir relationships?",
"comment_count": 2,
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"creation_date": "2016-07-01T05:35:10.320",
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"tags": [
"fantasy"
],
"title": "Difference between 一番鎚 and 親方 referring to a blacksmith in a fantasy novel",
"view_count": 127
} | [
{
"body": "This analogy to an Orchestra might make sense...\n\n * Conductor - 親方\n * First Violin - 一番鎚\n * Second Violin - 二番鎚",
"comment_count": 5,
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"creation_date": "2016-07-01T05:59:57.500",
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"body": "(Copying comment)\n\n親方 is a common word, but 一番槌/二番槌 are probably made-up words. You can safely\nassume 一番槌 is superior than 二番槌, but I doubt you can generalize the\nrelationship between n番槌 and 親方.",
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| 36334 | null | 41613 |
{
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"body": "I paid for some lessons in advance but now it looks like I won't be able to do\nthem all. So I want to tell the teacher to give me my money back (in a polite\nway).\n\nMy ideas are something like either お金を返して下さい or お金を戻して下さい but I don't know if\nit's correct and polite.\n\nHow do I say\n\n> Please give me my money back\n\nin a polite way?",
"comment_count": 2,
"content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0",
"creation_date": "2016-07-01T07:09:22.430",
"favorite_count": 0,
"id": "36336",
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"tags": [
"words",
"conversations"
],
"title": "How to say please could I have my money back?",
"view_count": 2031
} | [
{
"body": "> 返金{へんきん}して頂{いただ}けますでしょうか？\n\nIs a very polite way of asking for a refund.",
"comment_count": 0,
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"creation_date": "2016-07-01T07:14:31.250",
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| 36336 | null | 36337 |
{
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"body": "In the answer to this question I asked ([When to use である vs\nであります?](https://japanese.stackexchange.com/q/36305/10795)), sazarando\nresponded by saying that \"である\" is formal but not polite, and \"です\" is polite\nbut not formal. I sort of understand the distinction he was making, but from\nmy English perspective, I suppose I don't understand why you would want to be\nformal and not polite at the same time.\n\nThe example he gave for である was\n\n> A politician giving a speech on TV:\n>\n> 我々は日本国民である - We are Japanese citizens\n\nIn this example, why would the politician not want to be polite to the people\nto whom he is speaking? I understand why you would not use である when talking\nto, say, a superior at work, because that's simply a private conversation\nwhere you need to be respectful to your superior. But in the above case where\nyou're speaking in public or writing in a newspaper or something, I don't\nunderstand why you wouldn't be polite as well as formal.\n\nAlso as a side question, in some academic presentations I've witnessed, the\npresenter simply uses 謙譲語, rather than using formal speech, so they would end\nsentences with でございます rather than であります or である. What would be the explanation\nfor this?",
"comment_count": 2,
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"creation_date": "2016-07-01T07:47:45.480",
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"tags": [
"politeness",
"copula",
"formality",
"academic-japanese"
],
"title": "What is the difference between formal and polite verb forms?",
"view_count": 1225
} | [
{
"body": "I usually hear \"である\" in formal situations but when the speaker is not\naddressing anyone in particular, but is just making a statement.\n\nWhat sazarando means by \"polite\" is situations where the speaker is addressing\nsomeone in particular (often someone right in front of them or on the phone).\nAnd in these cases, you will most likely hear 謙譲語 spoken to you as it is the\nlanguage they are required to use while serving someone in particular during\ntheir job.\n\nWhile a politician serves the people, making a statement need not be \"polite\"\nin the way I just described. Indeed, you will hear である in a lot of similar\nsituations such as news, documentaries, TV programs, speeches, textbooks, etc.\n\n\"です\" is a general medium-ground politeness level that can be used towards\nstrangers but not while you are on the job and serving them. I think that is\nwhy it is taught so often in introductory classes because it is a social\nposition that non-Japanese will likely find themselves in when interacting\nwith native Japanese.",
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"creation_date": "2016-07-05T15:00:15.383",
"id": "36446",
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"body": "By \"formal\" [they](https://japanese.stackexchange.com/a/36306/7810) seem to\nhave meant \"literary\", \"solemn\", \"lofty\" and such things, while \"polite\" seems\nmore about social courtesy. In this sense:\n\n * **\"Formal\" or not** : _get_ vs _obtain_ ; _job_ vs _profession_ ; _cold_ vs _rhinopharyngitis_ etc.\n * **\"Polite\" or not** : _Can I..._ vs _May I..._ ; _want_ vs _would like_ ; _Can you..._ vs _Would you mind..._ etc.\n\nThus, the style in academic papers is typically \"formal but not polite\", and\nthe way a hotel clerk speaks to customers is \"polite but not formal\". Japanese\nhonorifics denote \"politeness\" and we don't have grammar represents the degree\nof \"formality\" they said.\n\n> だ -- plain (not formal nor polite) \n> です -- polite \n> でございます -- double-plus-polite \n> である -- formal \n> であります -- formal and polite",
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| 36338 | 39340 | 39340 |
{
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"body": "Are there any examples of people using verbs such as いただく, 参る, 申す, いたす (and\ntheir 尊敬語 counterparts, along with the various other humble/respectful verbs)\nin those plain forms, rather than conjugated as 丁寧語? I also mean at the end of\na sentence, rather than as part of a larger clause that requires dictionary\nforms.",
"comment_count": 0,
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"creation_date": "2016-07-01T08:02:19.230",
"favorite_count": 0,
"id": "36339",
"last_activity_date": "2016-07-07T22:29:23.887",
"last_edit_date": null,
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"owner_user_id": "10795",
"post_type": "question",
"score": 8,
"tags": [
"conjugations",
"politeness",
"keigo"
],
"title": "When would you use 敬語 in its plain forms?",
"view_count": 812
} | [
{
"body": "丁寧語 is about who you are talking to. Its use is to be polite to your\nlistener/reader.\n\n尊敬語/謙譲語 are about who you are talking about. These patterns show respect to\nthe agent. 謙譲語 to lower yourself (or someone on the same side as you vis-a-vis\nyour listener) and 尊敬語 to raise the person you're talking about.\n\nThus, you can say\n\n> 先生からみかんをいただいた。\n\nor\n\n> 先生が私にりんごをくださった。\n\nwhen speaking to a friend to simultaneously respect the teacher and\ncommunicate casually with a friend.\n\nTo kind of complete the pattern,\n\n> 友達から鉛筆をもらいました。\n\nmakes sense to say to a teacher about something that happened with a peer.\n\nI can't imagine when you could say 申す at the end by itself considering for its\nmeaning...",
"comment_count": 4,
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"creation_date": "2016-07-01T08:10:47.803",
"id": "36340",
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"body": "This happens all the time in 時代劇{じだいげき}：\n\n> * 「黒田と **申{もう}す** 」 - I am called Kuroda\n>\n> * 「仰{おお}せの通{とお}りに **致{いた}す** 」 - (I) shall do just as (you) have spoken\n>\n>",
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"body": "I can think of three cases:\n\n 1. Speaking casually _to_ a friend _about_ a 先生 or other respected figure, as [virmaior](https://japanese.stackexchange.com/a/36340/15760) pointed out\n\n 2. In older materials, or materials set in older settings like 時代劇\n\n 3. In written materials like newspapers\n\nThe common thread here is a difference between the two types of polite\nlanguage. 敬語 is about _reinforcing the social order_ : respecting the\nacknowledged hierarchy that exists between samurai and lords, or between\nshopkeepers and customers, regardless of their personal relationship or\nattitudes. 丁寧語 is more about the _relationship_ between speaker and\ninterlocutor: being polite to someone as a sign of personal respect,\nunfamiliarity, and/or distance.\n\nSo getting back to the specifics, the lack of です・ます体 in newspapers is probably\nmostly about saving space, but it only flies because there's not as direct of\na connection between the writer and reader, which is also why you don't\nusually see it in, say, novels - the point is to convey information or a\nstory, not create a strong relationship with the reader. It has more of a\nplace in spoken language. And the type of 謙譲語有り・丁寧語無し speech that sazarando\npointed out makes sense for a samurai who knows his place but also isn't going\nout of his way to ingratiate himself. (It's also not that unusual for the\ntime; somewhere along the way people went from using 普通形 by default unless\nthey wanted to be polite to using 丁寧語 by default unless they're familiar.) For\ncustomer service or business situations (which is where you mostly hear 敬語\nnowadays), you can see why you'd want to use both to emphasize both respect\nand politeness.",
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"body": "In earlier time, say pre- or mid-war Japan, people were more conscious of\nwhom, when and where they should use 丁寧語, 謙譲語, 尊敬語 and distinction of their\nusages. But it seems people are not so serious today in observing the rules of\nthe verbal locutions of expressing politeness, humiliation and respect.\n\nIn fact, there is a prevailing phenomenon of “ため口をきく” meaning a junior\naddresses and speak to a senior in the manner of equal position and status\namong young generations.\n\nToday, the strict rules and manners of 丁寧語, 謙譲語, 尊敬語 are observed only in\nplaces such as among the shop clerks in department stores, receptionists and\nservice staffs in high-class hotels, restaurants, and air-counters, where they\nare traind to observe the rules in speaking to customers.\n\nWith that said, all the examples of 参る, 申す, いたす, you quoted, except\n戴く(頂く）sound old-fashioned, or are almost obsolete today, at least as a spoken\nlanguage. However, 戴く(頂く）is frequently used today as in:\n\n先ほどお電話を頂きましたが - I received a phone from you a few minute ago,…\n\nこれ、頂いてもいいですか – Can I have this one?\n\nWe used to say and write:\n\n1.明日１０時に参上いたします - I’ll come to you at 10:00 am.\n\n2.そういう具合には参らない – It won’t go like that.\n\n3.そのように申し上げましたが – I said so, but …\n\n4.私、田中と申します – My name is Tanaka.\n\n5.今後一層努力いたす所存でございます – We will make further efforts (to comply with your\nexpectation).\n\nBut all of these expressions except 4. appear antiquated today, and only are\nsurviving in 時代劇 - period dramas, like Shakespean dramas.",
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| 36339 | 36340 | 36340 |
{
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"body": "I encounter the phrase 「背中を押す」 in many Japanese songs,\n\nand I'm having the feeling that it is a phrase not having the obvious meaning\nof \"to push one's back\".\n\nWhat's the meaning of this phrase?\n\nThank you.",
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"tags": [
"meaning",
"phrases"
],
"title": "背中を押す Phrase Meaning",
"view_count": 937
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{
"body": "It means to \"encourage\" someone to take action.\n\n<http://www.weblio.jp/content/%E8%83%8C%E4%B8%AD%E3%82%92%E6%8A%BC%E3%81%99>",
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"body": "The expression 背中を押す literally means \"to push [someone's] back\", but it is\noften used idiomatically (just like in English) in the sense of \"push [someone\nto do something]\" or \"help [someone to do something]\".\n\nI think it can be used both in the sense of\n\n 1. pushing someone to do something they're still hesitating to do, or\n 2. helping/encouraging someone to do something they want to do, but for which they lack the necessary courage/strength\n\nFor example, in the context of delivering a love letter, 背中を押してくれた could mean\n\n 1. \"he delivered the letter for me, even though I hadn't decided whether to deliver it or not\" (sense 1), or\n\n 2. \"he gave me the courage to deliver the letter by myself (by talking me into it)\" (sense 2).",
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"body": "背中を押す means \"encourage someone to do something.\" It's a figurative expression\nmeaning \"to motivate someone to go ahead by pushing his / her back.\"\n\nFor example:\n\n> アメリカに留学しようかどうか迷っていたが、その時母親が背中を押してくれた \n> I was hesitating to study in the United States, but my mom encouraged me to\n> do so at that time.\n>\n> 我々は新製品を[市場化]{しじょうか}できるかどうか決めかねていたが、部長が背中を押してくれた \n> We weren't so confident of the marketability of the new product, but the\n> Department manager strongly supported us to launch the product.\n\n* * *\n\nSidenote:\n\n\"背中を押す\" means \"to encourage\" and has a positive meaning. But \"肩を[叩]{たた}く\"\nmeans \"give a warning before handing over a pink-slip\" or \"persuade an\nemployee to resign.\"\n\n\"昨日ボスから肩たたきにあった\" means \"I was told to consider myself resignation (or early\nretirement) by my boss yesterday.\" Mind that \"back\" and \"shoulder\" and \"push\"\nand \"tap\" make a great difference for you.",
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| 36342 | null | 36346 |
{
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"body": "1) 私は果物、いちご **や** メロン **とか** が好きです。\n\n2) 私は果物、いちご **とか** メロン **とか** が好きです。\n\n3) 私は果物、いちご **や** メロンが好きです\n\n4) 私は果物、いちご **とか** メロンが好きです。\n\nI know that between 2) and 3) the difference is that 2) is more casual and 3)\nis more formal (if there is any other difference, tell me please). As for 4),\nI don't know which are the differences between using one とか in a sentence, or\nusing two like in 2). And what about 1)? what differentiates 1) from 2), 3)\nand 4)? I don't understand this combination of や and とか in the same sentence.\n\nCould you please help me with that?",
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"creation_date": "2016-07-01T11:51:09.660",
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"tags": [
"grammar",
"word-choice",
"particles"
],
"title": "AやBとか, AとかBとか, AやB, AとかB",
"view_count": 519
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{
"body": "First, I would have to mention this even though it is not part of your\nquestion. The 「[私]{わたし}は[果物]{くだもの}、」 part at the beginning sounds very\nunnatural and almost ungrammatical even in the context of very casual speech.\n\nIt would need to be changed to:\n\n「果物（で）は、」\n\n「（私は）果物の中で（or 中では）」 ← The personal pronoun is not necessary. It sounds more\nnatural without.\n\n> I know that between 2) and 3) the difference is that 2) is more casual\n\nTrue. 「とか」 is already a pretty casual word, and by repeating it, it makes it\neven more casual.\n\n> and 3) is more formal\n\nI would not necessarily use the word \"formal\" here. The phrase \"stuff like\nstrawberries and melons\" does not sound \"formal\", does it?\n\nI would only go so far as to say that 3) sounds \"less colloquial\" or \"less\ncasual\" than 2). In general, one could safely say that 「や」 sounds less casual\nthan 「とか」, but one should also remember that **_if repeated_** , 「や」 could\nsound pretty casual/informal.\n\n> As for 4), I don't know which are the differences between using one とか in a\n> sentence, or using two like in 2).\n\nAs discussed above, 「とか」 is already quite casual even when it is used once in\na short sentence. The more times you use it in a sentence, the more casual and\ncolloquial it will sound. It is somewhat analogous to the repeated use of the\nword \"like\" in English by some speakers. You would want to avoid it at all\ncosts.\n\n> And what about 1)? what differentiates 1) from 2), 3) and 4)?\n\n1) sounds OK and quite natural. It sounds less \"sloppy\" than 2) and slightly\nmore casual than 3). (#3 sounds the least casual.) 1) also **_feels_** almost\nthe same as 4) in terms of casualness (to my Japanese ears).\n\nTo nitpick, 1) would suggest more strongly that there are other kinds of fruit\n(besides strawberries and melons) that the speaker likes than 4) does.",
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"body": "As mentioned in l'électeurさん’s answer, the word 果物 needs to be followed by では\nor something like that in order to mean what you really mean.\n「私は果物、いちごやメロンが好きです。」 sounds like a cute imaginary character in a kids’ TV show\nsaying “I am fruit, I like strawberries and melons.”\n\nThose example sentences above would sound more natural in these ways.\n\n> （１）「果物では、いちご **や** メロン **とか** が好きです。」\n>\n> （２）「果物だと、いちご **とか** メロン **とか** が好きです。」\n>\n> （３）「果物では、いちご **や** メロンが好きです。」\n>\n> （４）「果物だと、いちご **とか** メロンが好きです。」\n\n##\n\n## Formal vs Casual\n\nでは can be formal or casual.\n\nだと is a casual expression, so it’s often used with とか which is also casual.\n\nとか is casual but can be used in friendly keigo.\n\nや can be formal or casual.\n\n##\n\n## Colloquial vs Literary\n\nや can be colloquial or literary.\n\nとか is a colloquial expression.\n\n##\n\n## Using with Nouns or Other Words\n\nや can be used with nouns generally.\n\nとか can be used with nouns, verbs or adjectives.\n\n> 「イチゴを切る **とか** 潰す **とか** してヨーグルトに入れるとおいしい。」\n\n##\n\n## Position\n\nや can be used between nouns.\n\nとか can be used between words or after a word.\n\n##\n\n## Meaning\n\nや and とか have the same meaning.\n\n> 私は動物園でゾウ **や** キリンを見ました。\n>\n> 私は動物園でゾウ **とか** キリンを見ました。\n>\n> 私は動物園でゾウ **や** キリン **とか** を見ました。\n>\n> 私は動物園でゾウ **とか** キリン **とか** を見ました。\n\nAll of these sentences above express that the speaker saw elephants and\ngiraffes at the zoo, and imply that s/he also saw other animals.\n\n##\n\n## Conclusion\n\nSo, the differences between や and とか are usage and impression.\n\n> （３）「果物では、いちご **や** メロンが好きです。」\n\nis polite or written-language-like. （１）（２）（４） are all casual or friendly keigo\nstyle.\n\n> （２）「果物だと、いちご **とか** メロン **とか** が好きです。」\n\nis the most casual one. とか is very colloquial so can be used in personal\nemails or something, but can almost never be used in assignment writings,\nreports etc.",
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| 36344 | 36357 | 36357 |
{
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"body": "I've been working on the incorporation of a community center LGBTQIA+ people\nand allies to hang out and feel safe.\n\nI learned \"kin tsugi\" means golden joinery after I woke up with the memory of\na door that had 金継ぎ in gold on it. I thought I should give it this name.\n\nDoes it sound natural if I used 金継ぎ as the name of a community center for\nLGBTQIA people? I was reading about kin tsugi, and thought that my life and\nthat of my friends are much as these broken pots. We do not hide our scars but\ninstead, we own them as a part of who and what we are.",
"comment_count": 7,
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"tags": [
"translation",
"adverbs",
"nouns"
],
"title": "\"Joinery\" as a place name in Japanese?",
"view_count": 310
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{
"body": "Native speaker here, but I'm not sure how I can help you...\n\n * The character 継 by itself does **not** mean \"joinery\" at least in Japanese. But this kanji does mean \"to join\" (as well as \"to succeed/inherit\") in certain compound words. (eg, 骨継ぎ is an uncommon word meaning \"repairing bone fractures\")\n * 継 is **not** a well-known place name like 富士 or 東京. Apparently there is a district name called [継（つぎ tsugi） in Hyogo prefecture](https://goo.gl/maps/nZATyH8Mkn12), but this is recognized only by local people there.\n * You can name a fictional place in whatever way you like, but I doubt people can feel the meaning of \"joinery\" or any other job names, at least only by this character.\n * Yes there is a **rare** word 金継ぎ (きんつぎ kin-tsugi), [the art of repairing broken china/pottery](http://matome.naver.jp/odai/2136989780569618901). Apparently, this has nothing to do with carpentry or wood crafting. I didn't know the meaning of 金継ぎ after living in Japan for more than 30 years. I'm not particularly good at traditional crafting, though.\n * If you mean [this art of woodworking](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Woodworking_joints) by \"joinery\", the corresponding Japanese word is 指物（さしもの sashi-mono), but it's a rare word, too.\n\nIf this still doesn't help you, please tell us in detail what you really need.\n\n**EDIT** :\n\nNow that I think I understand the intention of the OP, here are my thoughts.\n\n * If you are thinking of doing a wordplay on 金継(ぎ), please note that `XYZ + 継` is not _productive_ in Japanese any more, partly because 金継ぎ itself is a rare word. That is, you cannot combine some arbitrary noun with 継 and produce a new noun meaning \"XYZ joinery\", even though 継 itself sometimes means \"to join.\" (If you did, however, some people might take it as \"successor of XYZ\" because of the primary meaning of 継)\n * To my Japanese ears, a community center named _Kin-tsugi_ may be, for example, like a barbershop named _Blacksmith_. But you might not need to worry about this too much--your community doesn't seem to speak Japanese, after all :)",
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| 36347 | 36352 | 36352 |
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"body": "インドの文化にくわしい友達を、今度ごしょうかいします。\n\nI have trouble parsing this sentence...\n\nWhat I roughly understand: インドの文化 seems to be indonesia's culture, but i don't\nunderstand the function of に in the back. Or is it a place? So it can means\n\"In indonesia's culture festival\"?\n\nくわしい ともだちを: Do something to my well informed friend (but why the を end with\ncomma? )\n\n今度 sometimes / this time? ごしょうかいします: doing introduction? Asking reference? I'm\nnot sure...\n\nWith all that information I have trouble finding out what the speaker is\nspeaking about...",
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"tags": [
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"title": "Help parsing this sentence",
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{
"body": "> インドの文化・に・詳{くわ}しい・友達を、・今度・ご紹介{しょうかい}します。\n\n * インドの文化 - the culture of India\n * ~ に詳しい - to know a lot about/be very familiar with something\n * 今度 - \"this time\" or \"next time\" (depending on context)\n * ご紹介します - to introduce\n\nPossible translation:\n\n> \"Next time I'll introduce you to a friend of mine who knows a lot about\n> Indian culture.\"\n\nThe comma there is just a pause; no special meaning.",
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"body": "There's a few things going on here.\n\nインドの文化にくわしい友達 : Just remember the pattern ~に+Adj meaning \"adj with\" or \"adj\nat\". So, this would be \"my friend who is familiar/skilled with Indian\nCulture\".\n\n今度: This was pretty foreign (pun intended) to me when I first started. Almost\nwithout fail you can translate this as \"next time\". Conversely, 今回 would have\nmore immediacy - as in an episode or exchange currently happening. Depends on\ncontext but those are a good rule of thumb.\n\nSo, putting it all together is something like: Next time, I'll introduce you\nto my friend who is familiar with Indian culture.",
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"body": "> インドの文化 seems to be indonesia's culture\n\nインド normally means India not Indonesia.\n\n> くわしい ともだちを: ...\n\nYou're right about the well-informed friend part. but the を marks that this\nphrase receives the action of the verb (which comes at the end).\n\n> 今度 sometimes / this time?\n\nin this case, means \"next time\"\n\n> ごしょうかいします。 doing introduction? Asking reference? I'm not sure...\n\nit might be easier to understand with the kanji ご紹介します. Also we can drop the ご\nto make it easier to understand as 紹介します\n\n* * *\n\n> インドの文化にくわしい友達を、今度ごしょうかいします。\n\nmeans \"next time, I will introduce you to a friend who is well-informed about\nIndia.\"\n\n * As stated above インド is India.\n * の makes インド as \"genitive\" or \"possessive\" of what follows. \n * に marks the preceding phrase describing something with respect to what follows. \n * [詳]{くわ}しい is quite a bit more casual than \"well-informed\" but I'm not really sure what would be a better expression. \n * 友達 = friend \n * を marks this entire block as related to the verb at the end \n * 、 the comma indicates a break in grammar versus normal order here. \n * 今度 in this case means \"next time\" but in other cases can mean \"some time\" or \"this time\" \n * ご紹介します is a polite way of saying \"introduce you to\" with the part after to being the part that comes before を",
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| 36348 | 36351 | 36351 |
{
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"body": "I have a sentence in Haruki Murakami's 海辺のカフカ which reads:\n\n> でも形而上的であり象徴的でありながら、同時にそいつは千の剃刀のようにする **どく** 生身を切り裂くんだ。\n\nI understand the first part of the sentence as:\n\n> May it be metaphysical or symbolical, at the same time it's like a thousand\n> razors... ripping apart...\n\nBut I don't get the meaning of that どく part. I don't believe it's 毒, as it's\nwritten in hiragana.",
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"tags": [
"translation",
"conjugations",
"parsing"
],
"title": "Meaning of どく in sentence",
"view_count": 331
} | [
{
"body": "「するど **く** 」 is the [連用形]{れんようけい} (continuative form) of the adjective 「するど\n**い** / 鋭い」 = \" ** _sharp_** \".\n\n\"sharp\" ⇒ \"sharply\"\n\nIt is conjugated into its 連用形 so that it can modify the following verb\n「[切]{き}り[裂]{さ}く」 = \"to rip up\".\n\nOne cannot say 「するど **い** 切り裂く」. I feel like I am talking about 連用形 almost\neveryday here (along with relative clauses). Wonder how properly those are\ntaught in Japanese-as-a-foreign-language.\n\nFinally, 「[毒]{どく}」(\"poison\") or any other **noun** will not fit in\ngrammatically.",
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"body": "\"するどく- 鋭くin 漢字 and かな)\" is an inflection of 鋭い. It has nothin to do with \"毒,\"\nwhich is a stand-alone noun.\n\nThe adjectives such as \"するどい - sharp,\" \"辛どい - painful,\" \"くどい - insistent,\"\n\"悪どい - malicious\" inflect into adverbs like, \"するどく,\" \"辛どく,\" \"くどく,\" and \"悪どく,\"\nand adjectives like \"珍しい - unusual,\"\"憎らしい - hateful,\" \"重々しい - heavy, \" inflect\ninto adverbs as \"珍しく,\" \"憎らしく,\" and \"重々しく.\"",
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| 36355 | 36356 | 36356 |
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"body": "Should I use \"doko wa otearai desu ka?\" Or \"otearai wa doko desu ka?\" Or are\nthey the same?",
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"tags": [
"set-phrases"
],
"title": "Phrasing queries about doko",
"view_count": 247
} | [
{
"body": "* \"Otearai wa doko desu ka\" is correct.\n * \"Doko wa otearai desu ka\" is incorrect.",
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"body": "To my understanding, normally you can't start your sentences with \"doko wa\".\nThat would mean that you're introducing \"where\" as a topic/object that is\nbeing discussed, which doesn't make sense if you think about it. Your second\nsentence is fine, use it. :)",
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| 36358 | null | 36359 |
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"body": "I've been learning japanese for a while as well as other languages and I keep\nthinking that it's primitive because everything is dropped out and the number\nof words is less than in other languages such as English and especially\nRussian. I think it's made for transmitting information in a very simple way\nrather than feelings, emotions and something beyond this. It's similar to\nmaking notes in your book -- very short and very simple messages.\n\nWhat's your opinion?",
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"post_type": "question",
"score": -4,
"tags": [
"words"
],
"title": "Is Japanese that primitive?",
"view_count": 2428
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{
"body": "I'm wondering how long you've been studying Japanese.\n\nJapanese is hardly primitive. It is highly expressive: in fact, in many\nregards it is more expressive than English (or Russian). For example, the use\nof honorifics and keigo make clear relationships between people that is not\npossible in Indo-European languages in the clean straight-forward manner of\nJapanese.\n\nJapanese is more explicit than Indo-European languages in expressing how you\ncome by the information:\n\n```\n\n 雨が降るそうです。\n 雨が降りそうです。\n 雨が降ります。\n \n```\n\nAll three sentences could be simply (primitively) translated into English as\n\"It's going to rain.\" But the first sentence conveys that you got this\ninformation from someone else; the second sentence conveys your impression\n(perhaps you see storm clouds gathering); as for the third sentence it might\nbe technically correct to translate as above, but it's really only appropriate\nfor expressing the fact that it's raining right now. Because of these\ndifferences the above three sentences could be translated as\n\n```\n\n I hear it's going to rain.\n It looks like it's going to rain.\n It's going to rain.\n \n```\n\nBut in English we aren't that particular. We might just say \"it's going to\nrain\" whether it's our impression from what we observe or whether we learned\nit from the weatherman on the radio. And, so from the perspective of Japanese,\nthere's a degree of ambiguity in the English which would lead to the question,\n\"how do you know?\" In Japanese, those three sentences are very clear about how\nyou know what you know.\n\nSentence ending particles, and such, convey a great deal of information, again\nin a manner that is not easily expressed in English.\n\n```\n\n いいです。\n いいですよ。\n いいんです。\n いいんですよ。\n \n```\n\nWhile without any further context, these would all be translated as \"it's\nfine.\" In Japanese, there are subtle differences, particularly in the use of\nん, that are just not translatable.\n\nThe following two sentences most likely are not being said by the same person:\n\n```\n\n きれいね。\n きれいだな。\n \n```\n\nThe first is probably a woman, and the second is probably a man. (\"Probably\"\nbecause if you're in the LGBT community, you might be speaking in a different\nregister.) And then if you change the particles:\n\n```\n\n きれいだ。\n きれいだわ。\n きれいよ。\n \n```\n\nI wouldn't begin to know how to translate the differences in English without\nthe English getting clunky, ackward, and unnatural. But they're all natural in\nJapanese; each with a slightly different feel or color to it. The best we can\ndo in English---avoiding clunkiness---is to say, \"It's beautiful\" and let the\ncontext convey the rest.\n\nEnglish is very good at conveying information in a straight-forward and\nobjective feeling manner. Take again, \"it's going to rain\". In English, and\nother Indo-European languages, we don't really care how you came upon the\ninformation. Looking up at the sky and seeing storm clouds or hearing the\nweather report, either way it's going to rain. So, in English, our attitude is\nnot to get bogged down in the details of how you got to know what you know,\njust \"shoot it to me straight\". But these are cultural and linguistic\ndifferences. They point to different perspectives about what the various\nlanguages deem is important to communicate to others. These are not short-\ncomings in the expressibility of the languages.\n\nAnd as for vocabulary, Japanese is highly expressive. Find a good Japanese\ndictionary (written in Japanese for Japanese) and you'll discover the rich\nvariety and subtly of the language. Try reading Yukio Mishima in Japanese, and\nlook up those uncommon or strange looking kanji; often he chose those\ncharacters not just to look literary but to go after subtle nuance in feeling\nor meaning. \"Sound of waves\" in English, while an entertaining story, comes\nout rather flat compared to the language Mishima used. Comparing the two side\nby side, a Japanese person might remark, \"English lacks the depth of\nexpression we're capable of in Japanese.\"",
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"body": "I like A Ellett's answer very much and voted it up. But it begs a larger\nquestion: does a language's grammar define the limits of what syntax can be\nexpressed by said language, or has each language evolved a grammar\nsufficiently rich to express all the syntax which is desired to be expressed\nby said language's speakers?\n\nI believe the answer is the latter. And I also believe that the body of\npotential syntax which is desired to be expressed in both Japanese and English\nis the same when with regards to practical issues such as weather prediction\nand performing tasks. What Ellet's answer shows in the \"rain\" example above is\nonly that Japanese has a succinct and hence eloquent grammatical form for that\nsyntactic example compared to English - but not that English is lacking in the\nability to express the same syntactically. (Pure speculation on my part but\n--- the overall relative jumble of English grammar is due its formation from\nthe collision of many different grammar systems, whereas Japanese has grown\nlike a crystal in relative isolation).\n\nHowever there are differences in syntax; e.g. the degree to which polite\naddress is used and the way it formalizes relationships between people. For\nthis reason Japanese has developed the vocabulary and grammar of Keigo for\nwhich there is no direct equivalent in English. Another syntactic difference\nis the Japanese practice of saying \"Gokurousama/Otukaresama\". There is not\nreally an exact translation for that social interaction translation in English\nthat doesn't sound awkward.\n\nFinally, there is scientific evidence that an inability to learn grammar,\nwhile maintaining ability to learn vocabulary and many other language\nfunctions, is passed on genetically in some rare families:\n<http://minddevlab.yale.edu/sites/default/files/files/Language%20capacities_%20Is%20grammar%20special.pdf>\nSo it would seem that every race of modern man carries this genetically\nenabled grammar learning ability, which is why any normal baby from anywhere\nand any race on the planet when raised in an English environment will\nnaturally pick up English grammar, such as the use of past tense.\n\nIn summary, we are on a level playing field in terms of potential for any\nlanguage to express all necessary syntax. But due to cultural differences, the\nsyntax being expressed will vary.",
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"body": "I don't want to waste much words. But I can promise you've read only 0.000001%\nor very likely less than that of the full extent of the Japanese vocabulary.\n\nI happen to be reading right now 前田利鎌’s「臨済・荘子 - Introduction of two religious\nfigures」published by 岩波書店, which was first published in 1933. It's a thin book\nat 255 pages.\n\nI'm 83 years old and pretty familiar with old-style Japanese writings as\ncompared with today's youth. Still I can read and understand only 70 to 80 %\n(at the most) of the words used in the book.\n\nThe stock of Japanese vocabulary is huge because it contains 大和言葉 - original\nJapanese language, 漢文 - Chinese classic vocabulary, Sanskrit via Buddhist\njargon, Japanese translation of western words, and so forth.\n\nWe have the saying, \"九牛の一毛” which means a piece of hair out of all hair of\nnine oxen, and also ”群盲象を撫でる meaning a group of the blind say, and clamorously\nargue individually what an elephant looks like by only touching a part of the\nelephant's body, such as its skin, nose, ear, tail, hoof, foot, or only a\npiece of hair, or a mustache, if it has one.\n\nPlease don't make a premature judgement until you go through millions of\nvolumes of Japanese classics including 古事記、日本書紀、源氏物語、宇治拾遺、土佐日記、群書類従、various\n仏教説話 and so on, and tons of books covering classic and modern Japanese\nliterature.\n\nAs a starter I recommend you read \"百代の過客\" written by Mr. Donald Keen,\nProfessor emeritus of Columbia University, and a leading Japanologist, which\nintroduces and analyses the writing styles of historically famous\npersonalities' diaries, dating back to 土佐日記 written in 承平5年 - in 935.\n\n * By the way, do you know what \"百代の過客\" means? I guess almost 100 % of Japanese are familiar with this word, which appears in 芭蕉's famous travel piece, \"奥の細道\" we read in high school. \n\nYou'll see how vocabulary of Japanese language is extensive and delicate.\n\nI'm sure Mr. Donald Keen would faint if he heard someone like you saying that\nJapanese language is primitive and the number of words is less than that of\nEnglish or Russian.\n\nHave you ever counted all Japanese words? Don't follow the folly of the blind\nexclaiming \"Hey I got it! This is a whole body of an elephant\" by showing a\npiece of its hair to us. It will be blown away with a whiff of your own\nbreath, but the elephant won't.",
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"body": "Having a little experience translating b/w pairs of Japanese-Russian and\nJapanese-English, I can clearly see that within each pair of these languages\nthere are some \"compatible\" and \"incompatible\" parts of syntax. The most\nobvious example is the concept of gender:\n\n * In Russian, all nouns have intrinsic gender, and other words, such as verbs, have gender as an \"attached\" attribute, e.g. \"сказа _ть_ \" (\"to say\", dictionary form) becomes \"(он) сказа _л_ \" (masculine) and \"(она) сказа _ла_ \" (feminine) in its' past tense. This is not compatible with Japanese, which (mostly) lacks the concept of gender.\n\n * However, in Japanese, gender of a speaker may be conveyed by using gender-specific pronouns and particles, which cannot be naturally translated into English, as well as Russian (to some extent).\n\nOther examples include the lack of grammatical case, number, pronoun omission,\netc.\n\nSuch incompatibilities exists for every pair of aforementioned languages, but,\nas far as I can tell, English and Russian have less of them. This may lead you\nto a conclusion that Japanese lacks major parts of syntax which may seem\n\"common\" if English and Russian are happen to be the languages you already\nknow sufficiently well. I believe these is just a case of some cognitive bias.\n\n> and the number of words is less than in other languages\n\nIf you mean the number of dictionary entries, I should point out that this\nmetric is rather speculative:\n\n * If some dictionary would include the names of all known chemical substances, like [dihydrogen monoxide](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dihydrogen_monoxide_hoax), it would be massive for any language\n * Loan words are typically just name same things differently. For example, \"management\" has an equivalent of \"менеджмент\" in Russian, but I'd say it sounds quite pretentious, since you can just say \"управление\"\n * Most older loan words are outdated and barely used anyway\n * Average educated person's native vocabulary is limited to tens of thousands of words anyway, so relying of some dictionary size is like saying \"the sum of heights of all my family members is bigger than yours, thus I should be considered a taller person!\"\n\nFrom my personal experience, Japanese is rather rich in terms of verb\ncollocations, which for me, as a foreigner, sound like separate verbs (and\nthey are listed separately in dictionaries).\n\n* * *\n\nThere is, however, a thing which I personally consider \"archaic\" (i.e.\n\"primitive\" as in \"not advanced enough\") in Japanese - the lack of spacing b/w\nwords. I believe that [scriptio\ncontinua](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scriptio_continua) is a typical\ncharacteristic of older versions of many modern languages. My arguments are:\n\n * It is a type of change which can facilitate reading abilities of both natives and foreigners, so there is no good logical reason against introducing this change to the language. It is known that Japanese can read (to some extent) hiragana-only texts with proper spacing, which was demonstrated by early video games, where memory sizes prevented their creators to add kanji. (I'm _not_ implying that kanji is archaic or excessive.)\n * It is relatively easy to add to the language (compared to kanji simplification), so there is no practical reason against introducing this change.\n\nHowever, I don't want to make a revolution here, and I'm fine with Japanese as\nit is. I'm just a foreigner who is easily scared when shown more than 3 kanji\nin a row. =)",
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| 36363 | null | 36364 |
{
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"body": "I am not sure whether it is on-topic here, but the following question was\nasked on English Language and Usage.\n\n[What does the word “Canon” (the digicam brand)\nmean?](https://english.stackexchange.com/questions/335309/what-does-the-word-\ncanon-the-digicam-brand-mean)\n\nI searched the word and its company name キヤノン株式会社 on the internet, but I\ncouldn't find any useful information. Is the brand キヤノン related with キャメラ?\n\nI believe I've always used カメラ before, but are the two words キャメラ and カメラ\ncompletely interchangeable?",
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"tags": [
"meaning",
"etymology",
"katakana",
"loanwords",
"nouns"
],
"title": "Is the word Canon キヤノン (camera brand) related with キャメラ?",
"view_count": 826
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{
"body": "The Canon name brand comes from 観音, Kannon, or in Sanskrit Avalokiteshvara.\nThe Buddhist bodhisattva \"Hears the cries of the world.\" But there is also a\ndescription of her/him have a thousand hands with an eye on the palm of each\nhand observing the world. It's kind of a beautiful image for a camera name\nsince the camera sees all.",
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"body": "Searching for `キヤノン 由来` one quickly finds the relevant [official page for the\norigin of the name _Canon_](http://web.canon.jp/corporate/logo.html).\n\nIt seems that the company name itself was derived from the English word\n\"canon\":\n\n> Canonの語源には、「正典」「規範」「標準」という意味があります。\n\nIt was also a welcome coincidence that the pronunciation of キヤノン was close to\n観音＝カンノン (Kannon, Kwannon, Avalokiteśvara):\n\n> また「キヤノン」の発音が「観音＝カンノン」と似ているため、名称の交替は違和感なく行なわれました。\n\nIn any case, the meaning of _Canon_ was never meant to be directly related to\nカメラ.\n\n* * *\n\nAs for the difference between キャメラ and カメラ we should first point out that カメラ\nis far more common. E.g. the Balanced Corpus of Contemporary Written Japanese\n(BCCWJ) gives\n\n```\n\n カメラ 5133 results\n キャメラ 57 results\n \n```\n\nFor the string `キャメラ` there are a number of false positives from words such as\nキャメラマン, キャメラ・オブスキュラ. Looking at the results, it looks like キャメラ, if used at\nall, is more likely to be used in the context of filming.",
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"body": "The name of 「キヤノン」 was the registered brand name of the first camera model\ndeveloped by 精機工学研究所 - Seiki Optical Technique Laboratory, which was later\ndeveloped into today’s Canon Inc.\n\nThe company was founded by Goro Yoshida and his brother in law in 1933. They\nnamed their first camera they developed as “Kwannon” after one of the most\npopular Buddhist character, 観音 - Avalokiteśvara Bodhisattva in Sanscrit in the\nwish that they can send the highest standard and the best ever camera into the\nworld, supported with the miracle power of 観音 they believe in.\n\nIn the printing material of the early period of Seiki Optical Technique\nLaboratory, the picture of 千手観音 - Kannon with a thousand hands (actually 24\nhands shown on the statue) of relief was featured above the logo of Kwannon.\nThey registered 「キヤノン」 and 「Canon」 as their official trademarks in 1935\n\nThe Laboratory (精機工学研究所) was reorganized into 精機工学株式会社、and then changed their\nname into キヤノン株式会社 in 1969. The growth of the company started with two men\nthereafter is just as you see it now.",
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| 36365 | 36370 | 36367 |
{
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"body": "What's the difference between these words?",
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"tags": [
"word-choice",
"words"
],
"title": "Difference between 切る、切り刻む、刻む",
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{
"body": "I think the most basic differences might be something like this:\n\n> * 切る - **to cut / cut off**\n> * 刻む - **to carve into / to slice**\n>\n\nHere are two examples for each word. The first one is _literal_ usage, the\nsecond on is _figurative_ usage. \n\n> * 文字を石に **刻む** - to **carve** letters **into** a rock\n> * 心に **刻まれた** - (it) was **carved into** (my) heart\n>\n\n...\n\n> * 紙を **切る** - to **cut** paper\n> * 縁{えん}を **切った** - (he) **cut off** (our) relationship\n>\n\n \n\n刻む also has the common meaning of \"cut thinly\" or \"slice\" as in:\n\n> * ねぎを **刻む** - to **slice** chives\n>\n\nYou can combine the two words like this:\n\n> * ねぎを **切り刻む** - to **slice up** chives **very thinly**\n>",
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"creation_date": "2016-07-03T00:04:57.247",
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| 36368 | 36372 | 36372 |
{
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"body": "1. What is the difference between 間 and ながら? Doesn't ながら just mean \"while\" while 間 can also mean \"during\"?\n 2. どんなに ~ても and いくら ~ても both mean \"no matter how\". Are they interchangeable or not?\n 3. Also, how is saying 最中 different from just using the ている form of a verb?",
"comment_count": 3,
"content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0",
"creation_date": "2016-07-02T21:19:54.667",
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"tags": [
"grammar",
"word-choice",
"nuances"
],
"title": "間 & ながら, どんなに ~ても & いくら ~ても, 最中",
"view_count": 370
} | [
{
"body": "1. I think you are right. For example, テレビを見ながら食事する(I eat foods while watching the TV.) , 冬の間、亀は冬眠する。(turtles hibernate during winter.).\n\n 2. いくら ~ても(でも) is used with pronoun, adjective, and verb. どんなに～ても is used with adjective and verb but with pronoun is unnatural like どんなに私でも. So they are interchangeable except pronoun.\n\n 3. verb + ている means progressive like I am reading the book(私は本を読んでいます) and ～している最中 means \"in the act of\" and \"be engaged on\" like I am in the act of reading the book(私は本を読んでいる最中です。). They are same meaning, aren't they?",
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| 36369 | 36388 | 36388 |
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"body": "This is from a manga, if that matters. It's written on the bottom of the last\npage of the story, so there is no further info on what happened.\n\n> 現在私は家を出て一人暮らし\n>\n> そして由利{ゆり}姉とは今でも続いており\n>\n> 本気で結婚を考えています\n>\n> I left that home and currently live alone. And \"our thing\" with Yuri-nee\n> still continues. (I am/We are) seriously considering marriage.\n\nSo yeah, who is actually considering it? I'm not sure if a definite answer is\npossible, but perhaps one of the options seems more likely at least? I feel\nlike it's \"I am\", but maybe in that case he should be considering プロポーズ since\nit's not clear how Yuri will answer? Or am I overthinking it?",
"comment_count": 3,
"content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0",
"creation_date": "2016-07-02T22:46:43.330",
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"id": "36371",
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"post_type": "question",
"score": 2,
"tags": [
"meaning"
],
"title": "Who is considering marriage here?",
"view_count": 107
} | [
{
"body": "* 現在 **私は** 家を出て一人暮らし - Now / as for me / have left home / live alone \n * **そして** 由利姉とは今でも続いて **おり** - also /as for with Yuri / continuing\n * 本気で結婚を **考えています** - seriously / thinking about marriage\n\n「私」is the person considering marriage. You can see that the topic starts out\nas 私は、and the rest of the language that follows until 結婚を考えています is extending\nthat topic.",
"comment_count": 3,
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"creation_date": "2016-07-03T01:52:17.490",
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"score": 4
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| 36371 | 36374 | 36374 |
{
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"answer_count": 2,
"body": "I've been trying to nail down the difference between 規定 and 規則. Three\ndifferent dictionaries I checked define these both as some combination of\n\"rule\", \"regulation\", or \"provision.\" After checking a few example sentences,\nI'm starting to get a feel for the differences, but I'm having trouble\nquantifying them.\n\nThe example sentences for 規定 all seem to refer to some sort of stronger or\nmore official rule/ruling, such as:\n\n小麦の輸入禁止が法律で規定された。 A wheat import ban was enacted.\n\n医者は彼女に厳しい規定食を勧めた。 The doctor ordered her to go on a strict diet.\n\nWhereas 規則 seems to to a less-specific rule:\n\n君は規則を破った。 You broke the rule.\n\n彼らは規則を知らない。 They are ignorant of the rules.\n\nAm I on the right track? Is there a better way to think about the differences\nof these words? Finally, are they both even in common usage?",
"comment_count": 1,
"content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0",
"creation_date": "2016-07-03T00:19:41.463",
"favorite_count": 0,
"id": "36373",
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"owner_user_id": "1292",
"post_type": "question",
"score": 3,
"tags": [
"word-choice",
"meaning",
"nuances"
],
"title": "With 規則 and 規定, where do you draw the line?",
"view_count": 258
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{
"body": "I think the answer is right there in your examples.\n\nYou've used 規定 as a verb with する, but not 規則.「規則する」 isn't used. But as you've\nalready noted, there is some overlap in meaning between 規定・規則.\n\nIt may help to think of it this way:\n\n> 規定 - 「規」を定めること・定められた「規」\n\n * deciding upon a rule ・ a rule which has been decided\n\n> 規則 - 定められた「規」\n\n * a rule which has been decided",
"comment_count": 0,
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"creation_date": "2016-07-03T02:04:07.673",
"id": "36376",
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"body": "There's a huge overlap between them, but if I'm going to explain the\ndifference...\n\n規則 is something _you_ may follow or otherwise violate. This is easy.\n\nOtoh, a bit less common 規定 is just the way an organization is supposed to do\nits job. So, for example, when we talk about pay rules, it's 給与規程, not 給与規則.",
"comment_count": 2,
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"creation_date": "2016-07-03T09:48:40.723",
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| 36373 | null | 36389 |
{
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"body": "# Japanese\n\n以下の大学名をご覧ください：\n\n> 東北帝国大学\n\n旧帝大は旧帝大としてはもう無くなっているので、学術論文に旧字体の方（東北帝國大學）か新字体の方（東北帝国大学）のどちらを使うのが正しいですか。\n\nまた、施設が現在も存在しているかどうかが、前の名称だった頃の名称の新・旧字体の使い方に対して関係があるかどうか教えてください。\n\n# English\n\nConsider for instance\n\n> 東北帝国大学\n\nSince the 旧帝大 are no longer 旧帝大, when writing in an academic paper, should one\nwrite 東北帝国大学 or 東北帝國大學?\n\nAlso, does it matter whether an institution continues to this day for whether\nit should be written in 旧字体 or 新字体 for something historical?",
"comment_count": 0,
"content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0",
"creation_date": "2016-07-03T01:54:19.270",
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"id": "36375",
"last_activity_date": "2016-07-03T09:25:21.437",
"last_edit_date": "2020-06-17T08:18:27.500",
"last_editor_user_id": "-1",
"owner_user_id": "4091",
"post_type": "question",
"score": 1,
"tags": [
"academic-japanese"
],
"title": "In academic Japanese, should old places be written with 新字体 or 旧字体?",
"view_count": 101
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{
"body": "I believe this greatly depends on the type of your article and the manuscript\nguideline of the journal. When in doubt, you have to contact an editor and ask\nabout it.\n\nIn general, unless your article is directly about the Japanese\nliterature/language/history itself, you can use 新字体. For example, if your\narticle is about vitamins and you just want to quickly mention where and when\nthey were discovered, you can simply use 帝国大学. But it's safe to preserve the\noriginal usage of kanji in quotes.",
"comment_count": 1,
"content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0",
"creation_date": "2016-07-03T04:10:45.950",
"id": "36380",
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{
"body": "C'mon, 旧字体 is called as such because people no longer use them in daily\nlife... If you're really deeply into the history of Japan, it _might_ make\n_some_ sense to use them.",
"comment_count": 2,
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"creation_date": "2016-07-03T09:25:21.437",
"id": "36387",
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| 36375 | 36380 | 36380 |
{
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"body": "会社をやめるかもしれません。\n\nCan I say \"会社をやめたかもしれません。\"? Is the second usage acceptable in Japanese?",
"comment_count": 0,
"content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0",
"creation_date": "2016-07-03T02:10:09.783",
"favorite_count": 0,
"id": "36377",
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"last_edit_date": "2016-07-03T03:38:15.253",
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"owner_user_id": "15811",
"post_type": "question",
"score": 3,
"tags": [
"meaning",
"tense"
],
"title": "Can I use やめた instead of やめる in this sentence?",
"view_count": 173
} | [
{
"body": "The second sentence is grammatically correct. When you ask \"does it make\nsense\", you are asking if it is semantically feasible.\n\nThe first is\n\nGrammatically: (subject) might quit the company. \nSemantically: (subject) could be first or third person.\n\nThe second is\n\nGrammatically: (subject) might have quit the company. \nSemantically: Normally, (subject) could only be third person, because if it\nwere first person, that person would know beyond doubt. Although, at a\nstretch, there could be exceptional circumstances under which even first\nperson did not know whether they had quit or not.",
"comment_count": 0,
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"creation_date": "2016-07-03T03:26:10.433",
"id": "36378",
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"body": "Assuming \"I\" as the subject, The latter sentence, 会社をやめたかもしれません, means \"I may\nhave quit my company.\" simply because やめた is the ta-form (past tense) of やめる.\nSuch a sentence is uncommon, but can be used:\n\n * When you have no idea what you actually did in the past, and you are really not sure whether you quit your company or you are still employed.\n * When you euphemistically confess to someone the fact that you quit your job. When you think suddenly saying it assertively is too shocking to someone. かもしれない can \"soften\" the sentence, even though you actually know you definitely quit your job.\n\nIf you are talking about what you will do in the future, 会社をやめたかもしれません never\nworks. You always have to say 会社をやめるかもしれません.",
"comment_count": 6,
"content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0",
"creation_date": "2016-07-03T03:32:21.483",
"id": "36379",
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"last_edit_date": null,
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| 36377 | null | 36379 |
{
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"body": "In this weekend's Wall Street Journal, there is an article about Russia being\na hotbed for terrorism. I apologize for the serious subject matter, but I\nwanted to see if my understanding of the まで principle is correct.\n\nA line reads:\n\n> ロシアのプーチン大統領はロシアと中央アジアから最大7000人が中東でIS戦闘員として参加していると述べた。\n\nMy interpretation is Russia's President Putin declared that as much as 7,000\nsoldiers from Russia and Central Asia join IS in the Middle East.\n\nAssuming this translation is correct, would the meaning change if I\nsubstituted 最大 with まで?\n\ne.g.:\n\n> ロシアのプーチン大統領はロシアと中央アジアから **まで** 7000人が中東でIS戦闘員として参加していると述べた。\n\nThanks!",
"comment_count": 0,
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"creation_date": "2016-07-03T06:01:05.263",
"favorite_count": 0,
"id": "36382",
"last_activity_date": "2016-07-03T08:58:46.017",
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"owner_user_id": "11049",
"post_type": "question",
"score": 1,
"tags": [
"grammar",
"particle-まで"
],
"title": "Would まで work here?",
"view_count": 59
} | [
{
"body": "> My interpretation is Russia's President Putin declared that as much as 7,000\n> soldiers from Russia and Central Asia join IS in the Middle East.\n\nCorrect.\n\n> まで7000人が\n\nSorry but this is not grammatical.\n\nThese sentences are interchangeable:\n\n> このエレベーターには最大10人が乗れます (As many as 10 people can take this evevator.)\n>\n> このエレベーターには10人まで乗れます\n\nBut we feel very odd to hear\n\n> ロシアと中央アジアから7000人までが中東でIS戦闘員として参加している\n\nperhaps because \"まで\" sounds too strongly like a limitation or capability. It's\nunnatural to use it when talking about the upper bound of an estimation.",
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"creation_date": "2016-07-03T08:58:46.017",
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| 36382 | null | 36385 |
{
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"body": "More from the JLPT1 vocabulary list.\n\nI've been presented with 重んじる and 重んずる, both given as transitives and with the\nmeaning _to prize, to honour, to esteem_.\n\nIs there a difference in nuance between the two? Are they interchangeable?\n\nA bunch of examples are given for 重んじる but not 重んずる. Is the latter outdated?\n\nLastly I've seen more of these pairs (which I don't recall at the moment). Is\nthere a general rule to be said about these verb endings?\n\nI apologize for the many questions, let me know if it needs a split.\n\nよろしくお願いします。",
"comment_count": 0,
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"creation_date": "2016-07-03T07:41:00.197",
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"tags": [
"usage",
"nuances",
"verbs",
"etymology"
],
"title": "On 重んじる and 重んずる",
"view_count": 469
} | [
{
"body": "Interchangeable. Just a minor difference in pronunciation. Perhaps it's an\n[音便]{おんびん} thing",
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"creation_date": "2016-07-03T08:56:06.063",
"id": "36384",
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{
"body": "> Is there a difference in nuance between the two? Are they interchangeable?\n\nThe only noteworthy difference between 「～～じる」 and 「～～ずる」 is that the former\nsounds \"lighter\", \"less literary\", \"less formal\", etc. than the latter.\n\nThere is no difference in meaning between the two forms. Thus, for the pure\npurpose of maintaining the meaning, one could say that the two are\ninterchangeable.\n\n**IMPORTANT** : Language, however, is never very simple and therefore, if you\nchanged one word in a sentence, you might need to change some others as well\nto retain the level of formality, literary feel, etc. of the original\nsentence.\n\n> Is the latter outdated?\n\nNo, hardly not. You will encounter the 「～～ずる」 form quite often in more serious\nand/or formal kinds of writings/speeches.\n\nIt is just not used very often on the street, so to speak.\n\n> Lastly I've seen more of these pairs (which I don't recall at the moment).\n> Is there a general rule to be said about these verb endings?\n\nWhat does exist is more a tendency than a rule; In fact, there is no such\nrule. 「～～ずる」 tends to be used more often in social sciences than in natural\nsciences. As a Japanese-speaker, if I were asked where I would see/hear 「～～ずる」\nmost often, I would tend to think of proverbs, philosophical sayings, or for a\nlack of word, \"more profound statements\" in general.",
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"creation_date": "2016-07-03T09:15:14.097",
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"body": "It's worth noting that _‑ zuru_ forms are historically older than the _‑ jiru_\nforms. This might account for the sense l'électeur notes, that the _‑ jiru_\nforms come across as _\"lighter\", \"less literary\", \"less formal\", etc._\n\n### How the forms developed\n\nHistorically, there are many terms that started out as compounds, where a noun\nor a borrowing from Chinese (in this case, a single-character kanji term read\nwith the _on'yomi_ ) was appended with す as the generic suffix used to make\nsomething a verb. (This す was also the origin of modern verb する \"to do\".)\nThese (almost) all became the modern verbs ending in _‑ jiru_.\n\n * At first, it was simply `[WORD]` + す -- 重{おも}み + す, or 信{しん} + す.\n * Over time, in those words where this す came right after a voiced mora (usually み or ん), the す often became voiced too, turning into ず. Any み before the ず also often eroded into just ん. 重みず → 重んず, 信ず. (It's interesting to note that the MS IME offers up the correct kanji spellings for conversion of these terms ending in ‑んず.)\n\n * Another historical development was the addition of the る on the end, to give us 重んずる and 信ずる.\n\n * This was a regular process that occurred with all of the verbs called \"type 2\" verbs in English-language instructional materials, like 食{た}べる or 感{かん}じる or even 寝{ね}る, as well as the \"type 3\" verbs 来{く}る and する. Remember that the ず on the end of 重んず and 信ず counts as する here.\n * The \"type 2\" verbs all had older forms that ended in _-u_ in the terminal (sentence-final) form, and that ended in _-i_ or _-e_ in the negative, conjunctive ( _‑ masu_ stem), and imperative forms. The \"type 3\" verbs live up to their name as \"irregular\". :)\n * For our sample \"type 2\" and \"type 3\" verbs above, _taberu_ came from _tabu_ , _kanjiru_ came from _kanzu_ , _neru_ came from _nu_ , _kuru_ came from _ku_ , and _suru_ came from _su_.\n * Probably to help differentiate the terminal forms from other verbs or other senses (is _uku_ 浮く \"to float\", or 受く \"to receive\"? is _iku_ 行く \"to go\", or 生く \"to live\"? is _tsuku_ intransitive or transitive? etc.), the \"type 2\" verbs were more commonly used in the _‑ masu_ stem form + る. Meanwhile, the irregulars just got る stuck on the end, probably also to make them more clearly distinguishable when speaking. This informal spoken practice then gradually influenced formal writing, producing the modern forms.\n * Finally, the ‑ずる on the end followed the same general pattern that \"type 2\" verbs went through previously, and changed from ‑ずる to ‑じる. \n * This process is somewhat incomplete, as the ‑ずる forms have not vanished from the modern language.\n\nSo in modern Japanese, both 重んずる / 信ずる and 重んじる / 信じる are recognized as\ngrammatically valid forms. The ‑ずる forms are older, and may thus lend a more\nformal, weighty, or traditional feel, while the ‑じる forms are the most common\nin regular speech, and thus may come across as more informal, prosaic, or\neveryday.",
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"post_type": "answer",
"score": 2
}
]
| 36383 | 36386 | 36386 |
{
"accepted_answer_id": "36394",
"answer_count": 1,
"body": "Whats the difference between によって and で ?\n\nExample:\n\n台風によって屋根が飛ばされた。 Can I use で in this sentence?-> 台風で屋根が飛ばされた。\n\nThanks.",
"comment_count": 0,
"content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0",
"creation_date": "2016-07-03T15:32:23.730",
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"post_type": "question",
"score": 1,
"tags": [
"grammar"
],
"title": "Difference between で and によって",
"view_count": 343
} | [
{
"body": "Both are correct and natural-sounding sentences.\n\nThe difference is in the formality. 「～～で」 would sound more informal or\nconversational than 「～～によって」.\n\nFor that reason, 「～～によって」 is used far more often in writing than in casual\ndaily conversations.",
"comment_count": 0,
"content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0",
"creation_date": "2016-07-03T15:45:01.977",
"id": "36394",
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"score": 4
}
]
| 36392 | 36394 | 36394 |
{
"accepted_answer_id": "36405",
"answer_count": 3,
"body": "What is the word used in Japanese for [Observatory Tower] such as Sky Tree,\nUmeda Sky Building, or any similar high tower? (not limited to broadcasting\ntower, but rather place where people can observe scenery from tall building).\n\nCan we use 高い建物? But I think it's too childish to just say \"High building\" for\n[Observatory Tower].",
"comment_count": 1,
"content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0",
"creation_date": "2016-07-03T15:38:24.700",
"favorite_count": 0,
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"owner_user_id": "13611",
"post_type": "question",
"score": 6,
"tags": [
"words",
"word-requests"
],
"title": "Words for observatory tower such as Tokyo Sky Tree, Umeda Sky Building, etc",
"view_count": 562
} | [
{
"body": "I think you can try:\n\n * 見晴{みは}らしがいい場所\n * 見晴らし台\n * 展望台{てんぼうだい}",
"comment_count": 3,
"content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0",
"creation_date": "2016-07-03T15:49:20.173",
"id": "36395",
"last_activity_date": "2016-07-03T15:49:20.173",
"last_edit_date": null,
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{
"body": "Just the word \"observatory\" as you have in your examples for Sky Tree and\nUmeda Sky Building would be 「展望台」.\n\nBut if you want to be more specific about the _kind_ of building or\nobservatory, you need to put in a little more information, because a 展望台, just\nlike an \"observatory\" is not necessarily a tall building or tower. It could\nalso be on a mountain for example.\n\n * **高層ビル** の展望台 - fits for any observatory in a **tall building** (like Umeda Sky Building, not a tower like Sky Tree)\n * **タワー** の展望台 - \" **tower** observatory\"\n * **山頂** の展望台 - observatory on the **top of a mountain**\n\nHowever, 展望台 are only for looking at beautiful scenery. \nIf you want to use \"observatory\" to mean \" _weather observatory_ \" or\n_astronomical observatory_ \" then you should say 「観測所{かんそくじょ}」.",
"comment_count": 0,
"content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0",
"creation_date": "2016-07-04T01:24:52.273",
"id": "36404",
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},
{
"body": "The direct translation of \"observatory tower\" is **展望タワー** or **展望塔**. Use it\nif the _main purpose_ of the tower is having an observation deck and\nattracting tourists. The number of \"pure\" 展望タワー is not large, but such towers\ninclude [Kyoto Tower](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kyoto_Tower),\n[Tsūtenkaku](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ts%C5%ABtenkaku) and [Chiba Port\nTower](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chiba_Port_Tower).\n\nMany towers and skyscrapers have multiple purposes. Tokyo Sky Tree and Eiffel\nTower are also 電波塔 (broadcasting tower), but they can safely be called 展望タワー/塔\nbecause tourism is obviously one of the largest purposes. Umeda Sky Building\nand Empire State Building are usually not called 展望塔/タワー/ビル even though they\nhave observatory decks.\n\nOther expressions:\n\n * **(超)高層ビル** : a skyscraper (may or may not have an observatory deck)\n * **複合ビル** : (lit. \"compound building\") a building with multiple purposes (eg, office, hotel, shop, residential, restaurant, observatory...) like Umeda Sky Building and Burj Khalifa\n * **展望台** : an observation deck/platform (built upon a tower/building, or on a mountain road)\n * **超高層ビルの展望台** : \"an observation deck on a skyscraper\"\n * **展望台のある超高層ビル** : \"a skyscraper that has an observation deck\"\n * **電波塔** : a broadcast tower/mast\n * **見張り台** / **見張り塔** : \"observatory tower\" for military/guarding purposes.",
"comment_count": 0,
"content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0",
"creation_date": "2016-07-04T04:16:40.110",
"id": "36405",
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}
]
| 36393 | 36405 | 36404 |
{
"accepted_answer_id": null,
"answer_count": 1,
"body": "When starting learning japanese it struck me as rather weird that 本, book,\nseems to have totally different meanings in its kun- and on-yomi compounds (i.\ne. 本気、基づく、本物）, all vaguely centered around the concept of originality, even 日本\n\"the land of the rising sun\", as it seems to refer to the originating of the\nsun in the east. Come to think of it, it's more likely that the meaning 本 was\nlater derived from this original abstract meaning (propably by the Japanese\nsince, I believe, chinese uses mainly 書 or its simplified equivalent for\nbooks). Could anyone illuminate the etymology of 本?",
"comment_count": 3,
"content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0",
"creation_date": "2016-07-03T16:45:08.913",
"favorite_count": 0,
"id": "36396",
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"last_edit_date": null,
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"owner_user_id": "12239",
"post_type": "question",
"score": 10,
"tags": [
"kanji",
"etymology"
],
"title": "How did 本 come to mean book?",
"view_count": 2057
} | [
{
"body": "According to [語源由来辞典「[本]{ほん}」](http://gogen-allguide.com/ho/hon.html), 本\noriginal pictorial origin is the representation of the thick parts of the\nroots of a tree. In 漢語 it came to mean \"the roots of a thick tree\" or \"roots\nof plants\". In Japan it came to be used for the \"model\" writing over which\npaper would be laid to make a copy of that writing. From that it eventually\ncame to refer to all books.",
"comment_count": 1,
"content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0",
"creation_date": "2016-07-03T21:02:48.317",
"id": "36398",
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"owner_user_id": "14250",
"parent_id": "36396",
"post_type": "answer",
"score": 7
}
]
| 36396 | null | 36398 |
{
"accepted_answer_id": "36407",
"answer_count": 2,
"body": "Could you explain to me the difference between さえ and でさえ?\n\nExample:\n\n> そんなこと、子ども **でさえ** 知っている。\n\nCan I use さえ instead of でさえ in this sentence?\n\n> そんなこと、子ども **さえ** 知っている。",
"comment_count": 1,
"content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0",
"creation_date": "2016-07-03T18:14:10.503",
"favorite_count": 0,
"id": "36397",
"last_activity_date": "2023-03-07T15:50:45.477",
"last_edit_date": "2022-05-02T04:47:09.887",
"last_editor_user_id": "30454",
"owner_user_id": "15971",
"post_type": "question",
"score": 9,
"tags": [
"grammar",
"word-choice",
"copula",
"auxiliaries",
"particle-さえ"
],
"title": "Difference between さえ、でさえ",
"view_count": 2301
} | [
{
"body": "Grammatically, \"で\" can only be used before \"さえ\" when \"でさえ\" comes after a noun.\n\"で\" cannot be used after a verb. E.g. たべさえすれば is OK but たべでさえすれば is NG.\nSemantically, \"で\" adds emphasis or is filler.\n\nMy very good source: <http://www.guidetojapanese.org/learn/grammar/even>\n\n[edit-append] I used google to search for \"子どもでさえ\" and \"子どもさえ\". Statistically,\n\"子どもでさえ\" is overwhelmingly more frequent. I think it is because \"子供でさえ\" is a\nfixed expression just as the English expression \"Even a child ...\" is a fixed\nexpression to express how easy/simple/knowable/etc. something is. When used\nfor that meaning, \"子供さえ\" would therefore sound odd.",
"comment_count": 3,
"content_license": "CC BY-SA 4.0",
"creation_date": "2016-07-04T08:20:30.047",
"id": "36407",
"last_activity_date": "2018-05-10T01:47:05.237",
"last_edit_date": "2018-05-10T01:47:05.237",
"last_editor_user_id": "9831",
"owner_user_id": "14250",
"parent_id": "36397",
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"score": 4
},
{
"body": "The only particles that are optional are に and へ. The other ones all have to\nbe there or aren’t even used. If you drop any particle that comes before さえ\n(again, except for に and へ) it changes the meaning.\n\nAlso, if you want an equivalent to でさえ, try でも。\n\n> **with さえ** \n> そんなこと、子供【こども】でさえ知【し】っている。 \n> \n> **with も** \n> そんなこと、子供【こども】でも知【し】っている。\n\n### Watch out for Conditionals\n\nBe careful with conditional clauses, though. Under those circumstances でさえ\nchanges meaning from \"even\" to \"if only\" or \"as long as\". As you can imagine,\nit can’t be replaced by でも anymore.\n\n[](https://i.stack.imgur.com/VaLrL.jpg)\n\n**sources** \n\n * Seiichi Makino & Michio Tsutsui (2016). _A dictionary of intermediate Japanese_. The Japan Times, Tokyo. (book)\n * Maggie Sensei (2015). _How to use さえ (sae)._ via [http://maggiesensei.com/2015/03/28/how-to-use-さえsae/](http://maggiesensei.com/2015/03/28/how-to-use-%E3%81%95%E3%81%88sae/) on the 10th of May 2018 (website)",
"comment_count": 2,
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"creation_date": "2018-05-10T00:18:34.890",
"id": "58510",
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"score": 1
}
]
| 36397 | 36407 | 36407 |
{
"accepted_answer_id": "36400",
"answer_count": 2,
"body": "When stating a _full_ non-Japanese name, should one use the \"Surname\nFirstname\" rule used for Japanese names (i.e. \"Smith John / スミス ジョン\") or the\nname's native rule (in the case of an English name, \"Firstname Surname\" (i.e.\n\"John Smith / ジョン スミス\")).\n\nWhich format would native Japanese speakers use, when stating an obviously\nnon-Japanese full name?",
"comment_count": 0,
"content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0",
"creation_date": "2016-07-03T22:50:03.417",
"favorite_count": 0,
"id": "36399",
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"last_edit_date": "2016-07-04T04:28:43.203",
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"owner_user_id": "15980",
"post_type": "question",
"score": 3,
"tags": [
"names",
"word-order"
],
"title": "When stating a non-Japanese name, should the surname come first?",
"view_count": 8513
} | [
{
"body": "Typically, you state it in the order that is normal for your language. Koreans\nand Chinese say their family name first, Americans say it last. Japanese\npeople are well aware of that language difference, so they expect us to keep\nour names in the original order. They also use the original order when saying\nforeign names themselves.\n\nThe only times I put my last name first is when I'm required to do so, as in\nopening a bank account.",
"comment_count": 3,
"content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0",
"creation_date": "2016-07-03T23:19:44.043",
"id": "36400",
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},
{
"body": "When speaking Latin .... do as the Romans do, is one method, and I use it.\n\nIn Japan I always use (surname)(given-name) order when writing in Katakana, or\nwhen pronouncing my name in Katakana while speaking Japanese. If talking to a\nperson in English, then I will use English pronunciation and (given-\nname)(surname) order. If, in Japanese, I am asked to pronounce my name in\nEnglish, then I will use (given-name)(surname) order to do so. My meishi has\nEnglish on one side, Japanese katakana on the other, and the different order\non each.\n\nIt has worked out fine. Occasionally someone newly met person will request\nconfirmation, but I think that would happen no matter which system was chosen\ndue to the inherent ambiguity.\n\nJapanese people overseas seem to use the same system, matching their name\norder to the language they are speaking.\n\nI don't think there is a general fixed rule, but there may be a rule in your\ncompany or school.",
"comment_count": 3,
"content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0",
"creation_date": "2016-07-04T08:59:11.493",
"id": "36408",
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"owner_user_id": "14250",
"parent_id": "36399",
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"score": 3
}
]
| 36399 | 36400 | 36400 |
{
"accepted_answer_id": "36415",
"answer_count": 3,
"body": "I am trying to say: \"This homework is too long/big\"\n\nI just learned about the existence of すぎる at <http://www.learn-japanese-\nadventure.com/sugiru.html>\n\nIs it correct to use it with とても？ For example:\n\nこの しゅくだい は とても おおきすぎます。",
"comment_count": 6,
"content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0",
"creation_date": "2016-07-04T00:40:33.143",
"favorite_count": 0,
"id": "36402",
"last_activity_date": "2016-07-05T22:48:18.120",
"last_edit_date": null,
"last_editor_user_id": null,
"owner_user_id": "1460",
"post_type": "question",
"score": 3,
"tags": [
"translation"
],
"title": "Can I use とても with すぎる?",
"view_count": 498
} | [
{
"body": "I don't see any issue grammatically, but the combination of とても and ～すぎる does\nnot sound natural.\n\nIt would be similar to saying \" _totally_ too much\" or \" _completely_ too\nmuch\" in English. \nToo much is, well... just too much.",
"comment_count": 1,
"content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0",
"creation_date": "2016-07-04T08:14:27.343",
"id": "36406",
"last_activity_date": "2016-07-04T08:14:27.343",
"last_edit_date": null,
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{
"body": "The short answer is: Yes, you can.\n\nIn order to correctly use both 「とても」 and 「すぎる」 in a clause or short sentence,\nhowever, you also **_must_** use a **_negative_** expression within it.\n\nThat is exactly why your sentence:\n\n> 「この しゅくだい は とても おおきすぎます。」\n\nis ungrammatical, unnatural, etc. There is no negative expression in it. In\naddition, it is far more natural to say 「おおすぎる」 than 「おおきすぎる」 about the\nsize/amount of homework. [多]{おお}い > [大]{おお}きい\n\nOne way to make it correct by adding a negative expression would be to say:\n\n> 「この しゅくだい は おおすぎて とても **できません** 。」\n\n「できません」(\"I can/could not do\") is the negative expression I have added.\n\nYou have probably noticed that I moved the word 「とても」 around. That is because\nin the new sentence, 「とても」 modifies 「できません」, and not 「おおきすぎて」.\n\nI am sure that you learned 「とても」 meant \"very\" just like we Japanese-speakers\nlearned that \"very\" meant 「とても」 in school.\n\nTruth is, though, Japanese-speakers **_do not_** often use 「とても」 to mean\n\"very\" in daily conversations. We use 「たいへん」、「すごく」、「[非常]{ひじょう}に」, etc.\nconsiderably more often than 「とても」.\n\nIn fact, try looking up 「とても」 in any **_monolingual_** Japanese dictionary and\nyou will be shocked that \"very\" will not be listed as the first definition.\n\n[Look in the\n大辞林](https://kotobank.jp/word/%E8%BF%9A%E3%82%82-584164#E5.A4.A7.E8.BE.9E.E6.9E.97.20.E7.AC.AC.E4.B8.89.E7.89.88)\nfor instance. You will find that \"very\" will only be the second definition.\n\nWhat is the first, then? It is the \"とても + negative expression\" that I am\ndiscussing here. In English, that definition would be along the lines of\n\"regardless\", \"no matter what\", etc. This is why the new sentence that I\nformed above makes sense.\n\n> \"This homework is just so much that I couldn't do it (no matter what)!\"",
"comment_count": 0,
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"creation_date": "2016-07-04T10:36:59.343",
"id": "36415",
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"last_edit_date": "2016-07-04T10:58:15.647",
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{
"body": "“It is very too much big (heavy, cheap, strong, difficult and so on),” would\nsound awkward in English, but the expression,“とても＋…過ぎる” is normal, at least\npassable in Japanese.\n\nWe say ”その仕事は私にはとても重過ぎます – The job is too heavy (burden) for me to carry out\n,” ”手荷物がとても大き過ぎて機内には持ち込めない – The baggage is too big to bring in the plane.” No\nproblem.\n\nOf course, you can omit “とても” in these sentences, but it emphasizes\n\"excessiveness\" i.e. “重過ぎ,” ”大き過ぎ,” and not necessarily redundant.\n\nHowever, as other users already pointed out, we don’t say \"この宿題はとても大き過ぎます.\" We\nsay \"この宿題はとても多過ぎ（難し過ぎ）ます.\"",
"comment_count": 0,
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"creation_date": "2016-07-05T22:48:18.120",
"id": "36454",
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"last_edit_date": null,
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"score": 0
}
]
| 36402 | 36415 | 36415 |
{
"accepted_answer_id": "36411",
"answer_count": 1,
"body": "What would 向き合う mean in a romantic context? Is it something similar to\n\"connecting with each other\"? Or is it something else?\n\nIn a sports context, does it automatically mean \"facing each other as\n_opponents_ \" or can it simply mean \"meeting/seeing each other\" in the\ncompetition without being opponents?",
"comment_count": 0,
"content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0",
"creation_date": "2016-07-04T09:02:56.243",
"favorite_count": 0,
"id": "36409",
"last_activity_date": "2016-07-04T09:44:44.967",
"last_edit_date": "2016-07-04T09:06:10.960",
"last_editor_user_id": "4091",
"owner_user_id": "15984",
"post_type": "question",
"score": 1,
"tags": [
"meaning",
"usage"
],
"title": "The usage of 向き合う in a romantic context, as well as sports",
"view_count": 104
} | [
{
"body": "I don't think there is a special meaning for 向き合う in a sport or romantic\ncontext. Specifically, it doesn't mean \"to connect\". If you know a sentence\nwhere it seems to mean such a thing, please share that sentence so we can\nexplain better.\n\n向き合う just means \"to face\", and the object can be:\n\n * another person, face-to-face (neutrally): 彼女に向き合って座る, 向き合って一礼する\n * (figuratively) difficult situation: 現実に向き合う, 困難に向き合う\n * another person with a difficult situation: 彼女に向き合う (this by itself can mean \"to face her trouble\" or \"to face the trouble between her and me\")\n * (relatively uncommon) an inanimate but tangible object: 鏡に向き合って座る\n\nIn sport contexts, the person you're facing is usually your opponent, but\nthat's not necessary. For example, a catcher and a pitcher are in 向き合う\nposition in baseball.",
"comment_count": 4,
"content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0",
"creation_date": "2016-07-04T09:35:05.297",
"id": "36411",
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"score": 2
}
]
| 36409 | 36411 | 36411 |
{
"accepted_answer_id": "36416",
"answer_count": 3,
"body": "I want to say\n\n> Human beings need not only health and wealth but also knowledge.\n\nFor the wealth, I chose 殷富{いんぷ} instead of 富{とみ}. When I said the following\n\n> 健康{けんこう}や殷富{いんぷ}に限{かぎ}らず、人間{にんげん}は知識{ちしき}が必要{ひつよう}だ。\n\nmy teacher and other students did not recognize 殷富{いんぷ} and looked at me with\nstrange faces as 淫婦{いんぷ} and 婬婦{いんぷ} were the only words available on their\ndictionaries.\n\n# Questions\n\nIs 殷富 never used or deprecated Kanji?\n\n# Edit\n\nMy dictionary shows me the following.\n\n[](https://i.stack.imgur.com/Hz6pP.png)",
"comment_count": 0,
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"creation_date": "2016-07-04T09:27:46.923",
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"score": 1,
"tags": [
"words"
],
"title": "Is 殷富 never used Kanji?",
"view_count": 959
} | [
{
"body": "Look at the 例文 on weblio:\n<http://ejje.weblio.jp/sentence/content/%E6%AE%B7%E5%AF%8C>\n\nThe references are all to historical place and people names, dating about 1000\nyears ago. On the bright side, you'll be only one able to pronounce that\ndifficult kanji on the tourist information board.",
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"creation_date": "2016-07-04T09:38:57.557",
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"body": "I didn't know the meaning and the reading of 殷富. I was able to guess the\nreading because a similar kanji is used in a not-so-rare compound\n[慇懃無礼【いんぎんぶれい】](http://jisho.org/search/%E6%85%87%E6%87%83%E7%84%A1%E7%A4%BC/)\n(殷 seems to be a variation of 慇, according to Wiktionary). But as for its\nmeanings, I had no idea.\n\n殷 is not in the Joyo kanji list. 殷 is the name of [an ancient Chinese\ndynasty](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shang_dynasty) (I barely remember\nlearning it at middle high school), so this kanji may be well recognized by\nhistorians. Except for this, I don't know how to use this kanji at all.\n\n婬婦 and 淫婦 are also rare, but it's much easier to guess their reading and\nmeaning.\n\nSimpler words like お金, 金銭, 富 all work fine.",
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"creation_date": "2016-07-04T10:40:09.460",
"id": "36416",
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{
"body": "広辞苑 published by 岩波書店 carries the word, \"殷富 (いんぶ)\" and defines it as\n”盛んで豊かなこと、富み栄えること – rich and flourish.”\n\n基礎中国語辞典（Basic Chinese Japanese Dictionary) published by 講談社 carries \"殷富\n(yinfu)\" and defines it as “非常に富んでいる – being very rich.”\n\n現代汉語詞典 (Modern Chinese Language Dictionary) published by 中国商務印書館 also carries\n\"殷富\" and defines it as “丰盛、丰富 ‐ flourishing and rich.”\n\nIt has nothing to do with the 殷 (Yin) Dynasty existed and prospered during 17\nto 11 century before Christ, nor has any connection with \"慇\" of \"慇懃\" and \"淫\"\nof \"淫婦, 淫行.\" They sound the same, but are totally different beasts. Don't mix\nup みそ with くそ!\n\nI think 殷富 (いんぶ) is perhaps a loanword from Chinese. But I don’t know how\ncurrent this word is both in Japan and in China.\n\nThis is the first time I heard of the word, “殷富,” and I’ve never read and\nheard it while I was studying Chinese language in a university in Beijing more\nthan 20 years ago. Therefore I bet the currency of this word is very limited,\nand few Japanese and Chinese today would understand the meaning of the word\nand actually use it.\n\nP.S.\n\nAfter posting this answer, I recalled an oldish but pretty popular Japanese\nword, \"殷賑 (いんしん)\" which means \"殷 - prosperous and 賑 - bustling.\"\n\nIt is used in the form of a set phrase, \"殷賑 を極める - peak the prosperity,\" for\nexamples:\n\n新宿の街は新駅ビルの完成で殷賑を極めている - The prosperity of the town of Shinjuku is reachig its\npeak with the opening of the new station building.\n\n戦前の両国は相撲の本場として、また歓楽街として殷賑を極めていた - Ryogoku was enjoying prosperity as the\nfranchise of Sumo performances as well as an entertainment center in prewar\nJapan.\n\nWe used to make a fun of our colleague who is succesful and on the fast track\nby saying:\n\n\"最近奴さん, 殷賑を極めているようだね\" - He seems to be enjoying all plain sailing these days.\n\nThe phrase, \"殷賑 を極める,\" is much popular than \"殷富\" being used alone.",
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"creation_date": "2016-07-04T11:24:00.457",
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| 36410 | 36416 | 36417 |
{
"accepted_answer_id": "36414",
"answer_count": 1,
"body": "Does the phrase 恐竜ガール make sense? I reads it as Dinosaur Girl.\n\nI also thought of 恐竜の女の子, but then I realize that it translates as dinosaur of\ngirl, which I do not want.\n\nIf the first is wrong and makes no sense, what is the correct way to write\nDinosaur Girl?",
"comment_count": 1,
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"creation_date": "2016-07-04T09:41:52.770",
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"post_type": "question",
"score": 0,
"tags": [
"grammar"
],
"title": "Does the phrase 恐竜ガール make sense?",
"view_count": 135
} | [
{
"body": "恐竜ガール is a natural combination of words, but its meaning is ambiguous.\n\n 1. A (human) girl who loves dinosaurs. A big dinosaur fan. [Like this](http://dot.asahi.com/aera/2015052100088.html).\n 2. A wild human girl who lives with dinosaurs. [Like this](http://chrono.wikia.com/wiki/Ayla).\n 3. A female child of dinosaurs. [Like this](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Birdo).\n\nDespite the ambiguity, 恐竜ガール sounds natural and \"interesting\" to me as a book\ntitle, etc., all the more for its ambiguity.\n\nBut I would like to note that 恐竜ガール is likely to be taken in the first sense\n(ie, \"a dinosaur fan\") these days. Perhaps many people will take this phrase\nin the first sense right away. In the last few years, this `○○ガール` meaning\n\"(female) ○○ fan\" is regarded as \"trendy\" by some, and I hear many similar\nexpressions, for example,\n[山ガール](https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E5%B1%B1%E3%82%AC%E3%83%BC%E3%83%AB),\n森ガール, 数学ガール.\n\n * [こんなにある！さらにコアになった！？いろんな種類の○○ガールベスト１０](https://www.rankingshare.jp/rank/flcnufvoer)",
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"creation_date": "2016-07-04T10:20:42.637",
"id": "36414",
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| 36413 | 36414 | 36414 |
{
"accepted_answer_id": null,
"answer_count": 2,
"body": "I want to get my game translated from English to Japanese. Can it be done\nwithout the use of kanji (i.e. using only hiragana and katakana)?\n\nKanji characters seem that they will be too small to be readable at the size\nof the text in my mobile game. And it's a nightmare with fonts too. I want to\nknow how it usually is in Japanese video games and if what I want can be done.",
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"creation_date": "2016-07-04T13:03:11.403",
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"post_type": "question",
"score": 2,
"tags": [
"kanji",
"katakana",
"hiragana",
"video-games"
],
"title": "Can an English video game be translated into Japanese without kanji?",
"view_count": 1291
} | [
{
"body": "Absolutely. In fact, many (most?) old Japanese games are like that (because\nstoring all the necessary kanji would take too much space I assume, and maybe\nthey were concerned about the readability just like you), e.g. Phantasy Star:\n\n[](https://i.stack.imgur.com/56Tka.png)\n\nI don't know if it's a common practice in modern games though. Googling スマホゲーム\n(smartphone game) pictures I see plenty of kanji. Perhaps Japanese are better\nat reading small kanji then you might think.",
"comment_count": 1,
"content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0",
"creation_date": "2016-07-04T13:37:00.143",
"id": "36419",
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"body": "Thinking of i18n as an afterthought is always a nightmare :)\n\nWell, the short answer is \"yes, you can\", but you need a **_very_** good\nreason to do so. Almost all modern games use both hiragana/katakana and kanji,\nunless the game is clearly targeted at kindergartners.\n\n * In general, ordinary Japanese sentences can express the same thing in much smaller number of characters, thanks to kanji. That means, for example, if you have a text box that can contain 4 lines of strings in English, there is a good chance that you can turn it into a 3-line box and show the same message in Japanese with a bit larger font.\n * Native Japanese speakers are able to read Japanese sentences with surprisingly small characters, as long as you choose the right _bitmap_ font. 12-13 pixels per character is usually sufficient ([see examples in this page](http://www.geocities.jp/littlimi/k8x12.htm)), but I believe most modern LCD can afford much more pixels per character.\n * There are a few _modern_ games which intentionally chose non-kanji UIs for stylistic reasons. For example, [the Japanese version of Terraria](https://www.spike-chunsoft.co.jp/terraria/ps/) uses very few kanji even in the PS4 version, and all of the item names are in hiragana and katakana. But this is obviously because they wanted that \"8-bit\" look and feel in their game. Unless you need this effect, you should try to use kanji.\n\nI recommend that you show your game to native Japanese speakers (hopefully\ngamers) and seek for their advice. Giving up kanji altogether is usually the\nlast thing to do.",
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"creation_date": "2016-07-04T13:51:11.580",
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| 36418 | null | 36420 |
{
"accepted_answer_id": "36429",
"answer_count": 2,
"body": "# Verbs\n\n> 気にしなければ気にしないほど、息子がもっと煩くなる。The more I ignore him, the more noisy he is.\n\n# Adjectives (i adjectives)\n\n> 牛乳は入れた砂糖が多ければ多いほど、甘くなる。The more sugar you pour into the milk, the sweeter it\n> becomes.\n\n# Adjectival Nouns (na adjectives)\n\n> 俳優は有名ならば有名なほど、給料が高くなる。The more famous an actor is, the higher his salary\n> becomes.\n\n# Question\n\nNow I want to apply this grammar to an adverb よく (often) or しばしば (often). The\nsentence I want to say is\n\n> A: The more often you wash clothes with bleach, the quicker its fabric\n> becomes fragile.\n>\n> A: 服は、ブリーチで洗うのが頻繁ならば頻繁なほど、早く脆くなる。\n\nHere I was forced to use adjectival noun 頻繁 rather than よく (often) or しばしば\n(often)。\n\nIs it possible to use this grammar with an adverb? If yes, how to apply it to\nmy sentence A above?",
"comment_count": 1,
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"creation_date": "2016-07-04T20:02:29.593",
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"score": 5,
"tags": [
"grammar",
"adjectives"
],
"title": "Applying ～すればするほど (and its variants) to various part of speech",
"view_count": 343
} | [
{
"body": "You cannot apply this grammar directly to an adverb because adverbs don't\nconjugate to ば/れば. But you can repeat the verb itself.\n\n> * 牛乳は砂糖を多く入れれば入れるほど甘くなる。\n> * 俳優は有名であればあるほど給料が高くなる。\n> * 服はブリーチで頻繁に洗えば洗うほど早く脆くなる。\n> * 服はブリーチでよく洗えば洗うほど早く脆くなる。\n>\n\nBut unlike English _often_ , しばしば doesn't work very well with this pattern\nanyway, probably due to the same reason why \"The more sometimes you wash\nclothes ～\" is not used in English.\n\n* * *\n\nBy the way, your first sentence needs some improvement, too. First, 煩わしい means\n_annoying_ rather than _noisy_. If 煩わしい is what you really mean to say, the\nsentence needs ～ようにする (\"try to ～\") and \"感じる (\"feel\"), because this sentence is\nsubjective and the speaker is failing to ignore him after all.\n\n> * 気にしないようにすればするほど、息子がもっと煩わしく感じる。 \n> The more I try to ignore my son, the more I am annoyed by him.\n> * 無視すればするほど、息子がもっとうるさくなる。 \n> The more I ignore my son, the more he becomes noisy.\n>",
"comment_count": 2,
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"creation_date": "2016-07-05T02:05:01.473",
"id": "36429",
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"body": "From my experience, constructions like \"the more... the more...\" are used much\nmore frequently in English than in Japanese. Perhaps a more natural way of\nconveying the message of your last sentence would be something like...\n\n> ブリーチで洗うことによって繊維が破れやすくなります。\n\nHowever, if you would like to use the「すればするほど」construction, I would suggest\nsomething like...\n\n> ブリーチで洗えば洗うほど繊維が破れやすくなります。\n\nFor your other examples I would suggest the following:\n\n## Verbs\n\n * 無視 **されればされるほど** 、もっとうるさくなる。 \nThe more he is ignored, the more noisy he becomes.\n\n * 運動 **すればするほど** 、体が疲れる。 \nThe more you drive the more tired you get.\n\n * トーストはバターを **塗れば塗るほど** 、美味しい。 \nToast tastes better the more butter you spread on it.\n\n## Adjectives (i adjectives)\n\n * 砂糖が **多ければ多いほど** 、甘くなる。 \nThe more sugar there is, the sweeter it becomes.\n\n * 人口が **少なければ少ないほど** 、税収が下がる。 \nThe lower the population, the lower the tax revenue.\n\n## Adjectival Nouns (na adjectives)\n\n * 俳優は有名 **であればあるほど** 、給料が高くなる。 \nThe more famous an actor is, the higher his salary becomes.\n\n * 冷静 **であればあるほど** 、喧嘩を避けられる。 \nThe calmer you are, the easier it will be to avoid fights.",
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| 36421 | 36429 | 36429 |
{
"accepted_answer_id": "36428",
"answer_count": 4,
"body": "Could you explain the difference between 通りを横断する and 道路を横切る？",
"comment_count": 1,
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"creation_date": "2016-07-04T20:05:45.190",
"favorite_count": 0,
"id": "36422",
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"post_type": "question",
"score": 6,
"tags": [
"word-choice",
"words",
"wago-and-kango"
],
"title": "「横断する」と「横切る」の違い",
"view_count": 1759
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{
"body": "Like a million other pairs of words, the big difference is that the on-yomi\nword of Chinese origin ([横断]{おうだん} in this case) is **_more formal, technical,\nacademic, etc._** than its kun-yomi Yamato conterpart ([横切]{よこぎ}る). Here.\nYamato means \"originally Japanese\".\n\nThe same phenomenon occurs in English as well where words of Latin origin are\ngenerally considered more formal and/or technical. \"converse\" vs. \"chat\",\n\"profound\" vs. \"deep\", etc.\n\n「[横断]{おうだん}する」 is the Sino loanword 「横断」 with 「する」 added to make it a verb.\n\n「Yokogiru」 is an original Japanese word with no foreign influence. Both \"yoko\"\nand \"kiru\" are originally Japanese words. It should \" ** _sound_** \" more\nJapanese to Japanese-learners after a few months of study.\n\nThus, as far as meaning, 「横断する」 and 「横切る」 are synonymous at least when talking\nabout \"crossing a street\".\n\nFinally, the original Japanese word 「横切る」 has an extra important meaning that\n「横断する」 does not. It can be used when talking about \" ** _idea/thought/emotion\ncrossing your mind_** \". Using 「横断する」 for this meaning is simply out of the\nquestion.",
"comment_count": 7,
"content_license": "CC BY-SA 4.0",
"creation_date": "2016-07-05T00:32:43.437",
"id": "36428",
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{
"body": "横断(する）is 音読み. 横切る is 訓読み. Both are saying the same thing - crossing the road.\n\nAs common with 音読み mode which follows old way of Chinese writing and\npronunciation (both 漢音 - Chinese language spoken in 汉 (Han) during Bc 206\nthrough AD 220 and 呉音 spoken in 呉 (Wu) during AD 222 through 280), 横断 might\nsound a bit stiffer than 横切る. But we say quite casually \"道路を横断する - cross the\nstreet \" and \"横断禁止 - Crossing prohibited.\" We don't say \"横切り禁止.\"\n\nYou don't need to be too meticulous about the difference of their usage. It's\nlike arguing the deference between 美味（おい）しい and 美味(うま）い clamoulusly. I don't\ncare the difference at all when I use any one of \"横断する、\"\"横切る、\"渡る\" and \"突っ切る”.\nAll sound to me saying the same thing.\n\nAddendum:\n\nAs the origin of the word, 横断. Chinese have the word, 横断 (hengduan), but its\nusage seems to be different from ours. They use ”横断” for the thing like “横断面 -\na cross section,” but not for \"crossing street.\" They call ”横断する” as ”十字\n(shizi)”, and “横断歩道橋” as ”天桥” or “跨路人行桥.”\n\nI find the word, “横断” being used in the afore-mentioned way in ”現代中国語辞典”\nedited by 高坂順一 and published by 光生館. But neither \"現代汉語詞典\" published by 商務印書館\nor \"他功能常用字典,\" published by 新华出版社 at hand, both published in Beijing carries\nthe word, “横断” under the heading of \"横 - heng.\"",
"comment_count": 0,
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"creation_date": "2016-07-05T02:42:06.620",
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{
"body": "This is perhaps irrelevant for your case but 横断する is very tightly associated\nwith a road while 横切る can take something other than a road as an objective:\n\n> 大名行列の前を横切ったイギリス人 \n> A Brit who cut across in front of the Daimyo samurai parade\n\nOtoh I think it's a bit awkward to say\n\n> 大名行列の前を横断したイギリス人",
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"creation_date": "2016-07-09T04:55:33.407",
"id": "36529",
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"body": "I think 横切る is often more proper when the subject of 横切る interrupts some flow.\n\n道を横切る makes me imagine someone crossing a road by interrupting the traffic\nflow. 道を横断する doesn't make me imagine such situation.\n\n不安が横切る is like an anxious feeling crosses one's mind interrupting other\nthoughts.\n\n大名行列の前を／カメラの前を横切る is exactly interrupting a flow of 大名行列 or visible light.",
"comment_count": 0,
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"creation_date": "2016-07-11T07:15:59.017",
"id": "36581",
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"parent_id": "36422",
"post_type": "answer",
"score": 1
}
]
| 36422 | 36428 | 36428 |
{
"accepted_answer_id": "36432",
"answer_count": 3,
"body": "I am translating my mobile game from english to japanese. It is pixel art\nstyle, so I need pixel art font. I found one with 8px height, but I don't know\nif it is too small to understand, because I don't know any japanese myself.\nThese kanji glyphs worry me the most.\n\nSo my question is, do you understand these glyphs or are they too hard to\nread?\n\nHere is a full image: <https://i.stack.imgur.com/S3T7v.png>\n\nHere is just a part of it: [](https://i.stack.imgur.com/Ith2s.png)",
"comment_count": 2,
"content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0",
"creation_date": "2016-07-04T21:21:03.910",
"favorite_count": 0,
"id": "36423",
"last_activity_date": "2021-04-22T10:20:01.293",
"last_edit_date": null,
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"owner_user_id": "15987",
"post_type": "question",
"score": 4,
"tags": [
"kanji",
"katakana",
"hiragana"
],
"title": "Is this 8px height font understandable for japanese knowing people?",
"view_count": 11384
} | [
{
"body": "By themselves, most kanji (the glyphs) at the bottom are hard too recognize.\nAs part of a sentence wuth some context, you can read it, but it definitely\ndoes not look nice at. I'd say 8 pixel is a bit too low.\n\nHowever, I recently did some hobby programming as well and found this font:\n\n[PixelMPlus](http://itouhiro.hatenablog.com/entry/20130602/font)\n\nIt's freely available and a true type font without any embedded bitmap font.\nIt comes at 10 and 12 pixel, which is much easier to read and looks better.",
"comment_count": 1,
"content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0",
"creation_date": "2016-07-04T22:05:59.987",
"id": "36424",
"last_activity_date": "2016-07-04T22:05:59.987",
"last_edit_date": null,
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"score": 3
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{
"body": "TLDR: **Use at least a 9px font unless you want negative reviews.**\n\nThis is [美咲フォント](https://littlelimit.net/misaki.htm), isn't it? Actually, it's\nindeed **7px** per glyph plus 1px padding :) I know this font, but didn't\nmention it in [my previous\nanswer](https://japanese.stackexchange.com/a/36420/5010), because I thought\nyou will never need this in smartphone games with LCDs with >200 dpi.\n\n8px (7px + 1px) kanji fonts are used in some real games on 3DS, which is\nequipped with very low-res screens. For example, the 3DS version of _Dragon\nQuest X_ and games from _Etrian Odyssey_ franchise use this font (or something\nsimilar), because they needed to display many characters simultaneously.\n\nHowever, such fonts are only readable and understandable with the aid of the\ncontext. And even with the context, some kanji are still hard to recognize\neven to a native speaker. I remember great many _Dragon Quest_ users\n[complained about the difficulty in recognizing\ncharacters](http://jin115.com/archives/52039970.html) when the 3DS version was\nreleased. Even the native speakers could not distinguish between 鉄の剣, 鋼の剣 and\n銅の剣 (\"iron, steel and copper sword\", respectively).\n\nIf you do need this tiny font, you have to be more careful than usual. You\nhave to tell your translators to avoid using complicated kanji in the\ntranslation process. Try to use it as sparingly as possible, and never use it\nin the critical parts of your game.\n\nExample (screenshot from _Etrian Odyssey_ taken from [this blog\narticle](http://gunboydx.blog113.fc2.com/blog-entry-76.html)):\n\n[](https://i.stack.imgur.com/j06Gg.png)\n\nThe list on the left uses a 9px (in actual glyph height) font, which I think\nis not tough to read. Under \"SKILL\" and \"ITEM\", there are 7px characters, and\nI can barely recognize the kanji under \"ITEM\" (魔神の礎). The 9px font is used\nthroughout the game with almost no problem.\n\nIf you are developing a smartphone game and want to add the pixel-art feelings\nto it, perhaps 10–11px bitmap font is a reasonable choice, which is readable\nenough, and \"jaggy\" enough. Or you can use TrueType fonts designed exactly for\nthis purpose (for example,\n[this](http://itouhiro.hatenablog.com/entry/20130602/font)).",
"comment_count": 0,
"content_license": "CC BY-SA 4.0",
"creation_date": "2016-07-05T03:03:38.470",
"id": "36432",
"last_activity_date": "2021-04-22T10:20:01.293",
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"score": 11
},
{
"body": "I think the majority of these are legible with no problem. But a good number\nof them might be difficult to work out.\n\nI think you would be safe using Hiragana with spaces, which has plenty of\nprecedent for games. Or, you could use only the legible Kanji and replace the\nothers with Hiragana and Katakana.\n\nHere's the same sentence with a few options:\n\n```\n\n \"Push the blue turtle\"\n \n```\n\n> * 青い **亀** を押す -「亀」 \n> would be hard to read in such a small font.\n> * 青い **かめ** を押す・青い **カメ** を押す \n> just switch the complex kanji to hiragana or katakana. this is probably the\n> easiest to read imho.\n> * あおい かめを おす \n> switch everthing to hiragana with spaces. lots of precedent for this, no\n> problem unless you have a lot of text on one screen.\n> * アオイ カメヲ オス \n> all katakana with spaces\n> * あおい カメを おす \n> mixed kana with spaces\n> * あおいかめをおす \n> all hiragana, no spaces. don't do this unless your game is about **Genji\n> Monogatari**.\n> * Aoi kame wo osu \n> all romaji. don't do this unless your game is designed _make people argue_.\n>",
"comment_count": 2,
"content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0",
"creation_date": "2016-07-05T03:12:45.260",
"id": "36433",
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"post_type": "answer",
"score": 3
}
]
| 36423 | 36432 | 36432 |
{
"accepted_answer_id": "36427",
"answer_count": 1,
"body": "I can't seen to find a natural expression for \"vast collection\", as in:\n\n> I have a vast collection of baseball cards.\n\nLiterally there is 莫大なコレクション, but that seems pretty unnatural and I don't see\nit used online much. I know there are other adjectives like 巨大 or 大規模, but I\ncan't find a good combination. Also, I am not sure if 集まり would be better than\nコレクション or if there is another common word pairing here.",
"comment_count": 0,
"content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0",
"creation_date": "2016-07-04T23:41:10.157",
"favorite_count": 0,
"id": "36426",
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"last_edit_date": "2016-07-06T03:38:59.190",
"last_editor_user_id": "1527",
"owner_user_id": "11825",
"post_type": "question",
"score": 4,
"tags": [
"words"
],
"title": "What is a natual expression for \"vast collection\"?",
"view_count": 181
} | [
{
"body": "How about [膨大]{ぼうだい}なコレクション? \n(And I thought of [収集]{しゅうしゅう} for \"collection\", but 「膨大な収集」 doesn't sound\ngood...)\n\n> I have vast collection of baseball cards.\n\nYour sentence would (rather literally) translate to:\n\n> (私は)野球カードの膨大なコレクションを持っています / 所有しています。\n\nNote that this sounds quite formal, and maybe a bit literary or stiff.\n\nIf you're looking for an expression that would be used in normal/daily\nconversation, how about:\n\n> (私は)野球カードをたくさん/いっぱい集めています。 \n> (私は)野球カードをたくさん/いっぱいコレクションしています。",
"comment_count": 3,
"content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0",
"creation_date": "2016-07-05T00:23:44.780",
"id": "36427",
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"parent_id": "36426",
"post_type": "answer",
"score": 7
}
]
| 36426 | 36427 | 36427 |
{
"accepted_answer_id": "36435",
"answer_count": 2,
"body": "So I am currently learning through the Genki textbooks and I'm starting to use\nは and の. I understand their general ideas は is used to clarify the subject and\nの is used to signify possession but I ran into these two examples in my\ntextbook:\n\n1st:\n\n> きむらさんはさくらだいがくのがくせいです。\n\nThis sentence is talking about **Kimura's** university, so shouldn't this\nsentence be Kimura's possession and start with the の first?\n\n2nd:\n\n> きむらさんのせんこうはにほんごです。\n\nThis sentence seems to contradict the structure of the above sentence. It is\ntalking about **Kimura's** major, again possessive like the last time, but\nthis time reverses the は and の.\n\nIs it that Kimura is **Sakura University's** student meaning that it's the\nuniversity possessing him?\n\nI am still very much a beginner so forgive me if this is obvious or I am\nthinking of it too much like English. Thank you for your time!",
"comment_count": 0,
"content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0",
"creation_date": "2016-07-05T05:02:45.563",
"favorite_count": 0,
"id": "36434",
"last_activity_date": "2016-07-05T07:21:04.687",
"last_edit_date": "2016-07-05T07:21:04.687",
"last_editor_user_id": "9831",
"owner_user_id": "15991",
"post_type": "question",
"score": 2,
"tags": [
"grammar",
"usage",
"particles",
"syntax"
],
"title": "Despite reading articles online I'm still confused on sentence format using は or の",
"view_count": 133
} | [
{
"body": "If you do a very direct translation...\n\n> きむらさん **は** ・さくらだいがく **の** ・がくせい・です。 \n> as for Kimura-san / Sakura University's / student / (he) is\n>\n> きむらさん **の** ・せんこう **は** ・にほんご・です。 \n> as for Kimura-san's major / Japanese Language / (it) is\n\n「は」takes priority over「の」in the second example.\n\nI think you are correct in parsing the first example's usage\nof「さくらだいがくのがくせい」as \"Sakura University's student\". This is not a natural\nexpression in English, but it is in Japanese.\n\nMany Japanese people who study English mistakenly say things like, \"He is\nSakura University's student\" or \"shoe's box\" because it is common to express\nthings that way in Japanese with「の」.",
"comment_count": 0,
"content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0",
"creation_date": "2016-07-05T05:29:35.557",
"id": "36435",
"last_activity_date": "2016-07-05T05:29:35.557",
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"post_type": "answer",
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},
{
"body": "I think you are a bit confused about the nature of each of the particles you\nare discussing.\n\nは can be called the \"topic marker\", and is the particle that introduces (or\nmarks) the topic being discussed. Many times this corresponds to what in\nEnglish is called the \"subject\", although this is not always true (since I\nwant to keep the discussion as basic as possible though, I will not provide\nexamples of such a case here. I believe that for the moment thinking of it\nmarking mostly the subject might help you understand).\n\nLet's look at your first example.\n\n 1. Kimura-san here is marked by は because he is the topic of that sentence: _Kimura-san is a student of Sakura University_. So I guess what is confusing you is that the sentence is not talking of Kimura's university. It is talking rather of Kimura-san, and then it specifies the university he goes to. This leads naturally to why we have の after だいがく: it is specifying that Kimura is a student _OF_ Sakura university (that is, specifying possession).\n\nI think that if you try to switch の and は the sentence wouldn't make sense,\nunless you turn it around this way: きむらさんのだいがくはさくらだいがくです。 This also works, and\nin this case we simply turned the topic of the sentence from Kimura to Sakura\nUniversity. Is this clear?\n\nSecond example.\n\n 2. Basically, is very similar to example 1. You are right, the topic here is indeed Kimura's major, hence the major is marked by は (it does not contradict the above example, I think rather you missed what the actual topic was in example 1). On the other hand, の refers to the major expressing possession as you understood.",
"comment_count": 0,
"content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0",
"creation_date": "2016-07-05T05:45:54.143",
"id": "36436",
"last_activity_date": "2016-07-05T05:45:54.143",
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"owner_user_id": "14205",
"parent_id": "36434",
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"score": 2
}
]
| 36434 | 36435 | 36436 |
{
"accepted_answer_id": "36439",
"answer_count": 2,
"body": "> 「あしたのジョー」以外の作品 **の多く** は \"梶原一騎\" のペンネームで書かれました。\n\nI have searched and found that 「多く」is adverb or adjective and it should be\nplaced before the particle 「の」. Is the word a kind of noun or particle 「の」can\nbe placed before adjective?",
"comment_count": 0,
"content_license": "CC BY-SA 4.0",
"creation_date": "2016-07-05T06:42:17.533",
"favorite_count": 0,
"id": "36437",
"last_activity_date": "2022-01-26T19:09:22.357",
"last_edit_date": "2022-01-26T17:57:27.383",
"last_editor_user_id": "30454",
"owner_user_id": "9559",
"post_type": "question",
"score": 6,
"tags": [
"grammar",
"syntax",
"particle-の",
"parts-of-speech"
],
"title": "Why 「の多く」in 作品の多く?",
"view_count": 327
} | [
{
"body": "多く is a nominalized word formed from the te-stem of the adjective 多い.\n\n> = 多い [adjective] --> 多く [連用形 / te-stem] --> 多く [nominalized form]\n\nSo this sentence makes sense.\n\nAnother example:\n\n> 私の学校の生徒の多くは女性だ \n> The students in my school are mostly girls.",
"comment_count": 4,
"content_license": "CC BY-SA 4.0",
"creation_date": "2016-07-05T06:57:05.897",
"id": "36438",
"last_activity_date": "2022-01-26T19:09:22.357",
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},
{
"body": "In this case「多く」is not an adjective or an adverb. \n多く is defined as a noun in Japanese dictionaries.\n\nSee weblio（大辞林）, here: <http://www.weblio.jp/content/%E5%A4%9A%E3%81%8F>\n\nThere are other nouns that follow a similar pattern, like「近く」and「遠く」.",
"comment_count": 8,
"content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0",
"creation_date": "2016-07-05T06:59:20.143",
"id": "36439",
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"owner_user_id": "7055",
"parent_id": "36437",
"post_type": "answer",
"score": 5
}
]
| 36437 | 36439 | 36439 |
{
"accepted_answer_id": "36441",
"answer_count": 3,
"body": "In English, we have two distinct concepts [\"Anthropomorphization\" and\n\"Personification\". ](http://pediaa.com/difference-between-personification-and-\nanthropomorphism/)\n\nThe former, meaning to impart _some_ human traits onto an object or animal is\noften seen in Japan/Japanese media:\n\n[](https://i.stack.imgur.com/zTwOW.png)\n\nOn the other hand, \"Personification\", which is to go \"bottom-up\" and make an\nobject or animal into a complete person is also often seen in Japanese media,\nand after consulting my Japanese friend they taught me the word for it is\n擬人化{ぎじんか}, which is basically this:\n\n[](https://i.stack.imgur.com/hWMh1.jpg)\n\nWhile the two concepts in English are distinctly different, I could find no\nJapanese language version of \"Anthropomorphization\" as either a noun, verb, or\nconcept.\n\nConsidering how prevalent the former is in Japan, why isn't there a word for\nit and why does our concept of \"anthropomorphize\" always imply\n\"Personification\" in Japanese?",
"comment_count": 7,
"content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0",
"creation_date": "2016-07-05T07:42:11.843",
"favorite_count": 0,
"id": "36440",
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"last_edit_date": "2016-07-05T13:51:29.273",
"last_editor_user_id": "3128",
"owner_user_id": "3128",
"post_type": "question",
"score": 2,
"tags": [
"anime",
"daily-life"
],
"title": "What is the equivalent Japanese term for \"Anthropomorphize/Anthropomorphic\"",
"view_count": 4569
} | [
{
"body": "**擬人化** is used to mean \"personification\" as in the second image of the OP.\n\n * (Expressing a something by showing it _as if it were_ human)\n\n**擬人観** is used to mean \"anthropomorphism\" as in the first image of the OP.\n\n * (Imposing human characteristics on something)\n\nCulturally speaking though, the concept of \"anthropomorphism\"（擬人観） is referred\nto far more often by native English speakers than by native Japanese speakers,\nso this word is not as familiar to native Japanese speakers as it would be to\na native English speaker.\n\nSources: 大辞林, 大辞泉, Wikipedia, Google Image Search",
"comment_count": 9,
"content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0",
"creation_date": "2016-07-05T09:18:23.193",
"id": "36441",
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{
"body": "擬人化 means an analogy which things are treated as human.\n\nYour examples seem to be distinguished in English but they are 擬人化 in Japan\nbut some persons may say only things with human face isn't 擬人化 though. They\nmay be said キャラクター化. If they speak something and have emotions, they are\nreally 擬人化.",
"comment_count": 0,
"content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0",
"creation_date": "2016-07-05T10:28:24.583",
"id": "36443",
"last_activity_date": "2016-07-05T10:50:53.390",
"last_edit_date": "2016-07-05T10:50:53.390",
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"score": 3
},
{
"body": "Both of your examples appear to be typical 擬人化 to me. \"There is no word for\nthe former\" is probably not correct. Simply, the Japanese word 擬人化 safely\ncovers both the former and the latter.\n\nI don't know any formal pair of words to distinguish the two in Japanese. If\nthere are such words, that must be ones recognized only by professional\nresearchers. 擬人観 is a word I learned today.\n\n\"[萌え擬人化](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moe_anthropomorphism)\" and \"娘化\" (for\ngirls) can specifically refer to those ブラウザ娘,\n[艦娘](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kantai_Collection#Gameplay), and so on, but\nof course it's only a subtype of \"object-like humans\".\n\nAnd you said \"making people into things\" referring to those ブラウザ娘, but that\ndoes not correctly reflect how Japanese people perceive those girls. 擬人化/娘化\nliterally means \"objects turned into humans/girls\", and most Japanese otaku\nregard these \"browser girls\" essentially as \"browsers\" that happen to be in\nthe human form, not girls in browser-like costumes. Therefore, to the eyes of\naverage Japanese people, there is no essential difference between what's drawn\nin the two pictures. It's just the matter of the degree of transformation.\n\n* * *\n\n**EDIT:**\n\nI read everything in [the link OP provided](http://pediaa.com/difference-\nbetween-personification-and-anthropomorphism/). Well, it appears to me that\nyou linked to an article that says quite the opposite of your explanation.\nThat article clearly says that creating a complete person-like character is\nanthropomorphism, not personification :D\n\nAnyway, my conclusion is \"擬人化/擬人観 is a broad term and covers both\npersonification and anthropomorphism.\" _According to the article you linked_\n(←important!), a typical \"personification\" is a metaphorical expression like\n\"山が語りかけてくる\", \"地球が泣いている\", \"時間に追いかけられている\", etc. These are typical, traditional,\nformal, textbook examples of 擬人化. This kind of 擬人化 as a rhetoric device is\nsomething you absolutely learn at school, but something you may easily forget\nafter graduating middle school.\n\nOn the other hand, anthropomorphism is \"making a character which actually\nbehaves, thinks and talks like a human being\". That is also safely 擬人化 in\nJapanese. Creating \"moe\" 擬人化 characters from virtually everything ([including\nmushrooms!](http://kinokore.gamerch.com/%E3%82%AD%E3%83%8E%E5%A8%98%E4%B8%80%E8%A6%A7))\nhas been a big trend among otaku in Japan, and you will find an overwhelming\nnumber of such characters on the net. Moreover, this specific trend somehow\ngot famous under the name of the 擬人化(キャラ) for some reason. Even English\nWikipedia has [an entry](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moe_anthropomorphism)\nwith this name. So I'm not surprised if a person who just tried Google image\nsearch believed that 擬人化 only refers to this kind of \"moe\" anthropomorphism.\n\nBut that's not true. Japanese 擬人化 is a broad term and safely covers characters\nlike Winnie-the-Pooh, ふなっしー, ハローキティー, アンパンマン, etc. Creating characters like\nふなっしー tend to be referred to using other terms (namely\n[ゆるキャラ](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yuru-chara)化, マスコット化 or キャラクター化),\nbecause, remember, 擬人化 is normally a difficult, academic-sounding word! But\nthat does not mean they are not 擬人化 by definition.\n\nAs for the difference between 擬人観 and 擬人化 in Japanese, I now believe the\ndifference is simply what their last kanji suggest (観 ≒ \"perspective/view\"; 化\n≒ \"-fication/-ization\"). To put it plainly, you can think \"擬人化 is a rhetoric\ndevice that makes use of 擬人観\" or \"擬人化 is a way you express your 擬人観\". Simple\nas that.",
"comment_count": 2,
"content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0",
"creation_date": "2016-07-05T11:26:02.193",
"id": "36444",
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}
]
| 36440 | 36441 | 36441 |
{
"accepted_answer_id": null,
"answer_count": 1,
"body": "例: 吸い取る 対 吸って取る\n\n例: 噛み殺す 対 噛んで殺す\n\nたしかに、意味は同じではないけど似ています。区別は何でしょうか。\n\nWhat is the difference in meaning between the above verb pairs, and which\nconstruction would be used when?",
"comment_count": 0,
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"creation_date": "2016-07-05T15:02:13.947",
"favorite_count": 0,
"id": "36447",
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"score": 6,
"tags": [
"compound-verbs"
],
"title": "What is the difference between \"verb-stem + verb\" and \"verb-て form + verb\"?",
"view_count": 966
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{
"body": "Some verbs carry _special_ meanings only when they are used in the form of\n`te-form + verb` (ie, as a [subsidiary\nverb](https://japanese.stackexchange.com/q/18952/5010)):\n\n * 読んでみる ([*]読み見る means nothing)\n * 言ってもらう ([*]言いもらう means nothing)\n\nRegardless of this, you can use almost any (non-subsidiary) verb after the te-\nform, as you know, and it mainly means \"V2 by V1\" or \"V1 and V2\":\n\n * 走って逃げる\n * 検討して回答する\n * 食べて飲んで寝る\n\nSome verbs carry _special_ meanings only when they follow the stem of another\nverb. These are partly analogous to simple adverbs such as _out_ as in _sell\nout_ , _around_ as in _go around_ and _on_ as in _live on_ :\n\n * 言い切る ([*] 言って切る usually means nothing)\n * 呼び込む ([*] 呼んで込む usually means nothing)\n * 動き出す ([*] 動いて出す usually means nothing)\n\nSome verbs after the te-form have the meanings which are not really special,\nbut tends to follow the verb-stem anyway:\n\n * 噛み殺す (roughly the same as 噛んで殺す)\n * 吸い取る (roughly the same as 吸って取る)\n * 取り出す (roughly the same as 取って出す)\n * 溺れ死ぬ (roughly the same as 溺れて死ぬ)\n\nSo... it depends. In your examples, 噛み殺す and 吸い取る are more common than 嚙んで殺す\nand 吸って取る. You will need the longer (te-form) version only when you want to\nexplicitly say \"V1 **and then** V2\", \"V2 **by means of** V1\", etc.",
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{
"accepted_answer_id": "36450",
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"body": "The writer is complaining that men are useless at cooking. They burn pans,\nthey make more mess than is necessary and:\n\n> ...、何枚も皿をつかう、...\n\nI can't fully understand this construction. I know the essence is that men use\ntoo many plates but that's all I can understand.\n\nIn particular I don't know what も is doing. I'm not sure if this is a\nquestion, a rhetorical question or a statement. Nor am I sure of the\nintonation (i.e. rising at the end or not).\n\nIn English we might say \"and how many plates do they use\". Depending on the\nintonation this could be a plain question or a rhetorical question where we\nsimply mean that they use too many plates. I'm guessing the Japanese is this\nlatter usage but I have no idea.",
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"tags": [
"grammar",
"counters",
"particle-も",
"intonation"
],
"title": "Use of も with counter",
"view_count": 1336
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{
"body": "This 「も」 expresses the speaker's surprise or exclamation about the (large)\nquantity or (high) frequency that is being discussed. It is used when the\nquantity or frequency **_exceeds_** one's expectations.\n\n> 「[何]{なん} + Counter + も」 = \" ** _so_** many (noun)\"\n>\n> 「Actual Number + Counter + も」 = \"(number) + (noun) + to one's surprise\"\n\n「[何枚]{なんまい}も[皿]{さら}をつかう」, therefore, means:\n\n> \"(men) use **_so_** many plates (than you would expect) while cooking\"\n\nThis is an exclamatory statement, and not a question or rhetorical question.\n\nAs for the pronunciation, you **_do not_** use a rising intonation. **If\nanything, we would usually enunciate the 「なん」 part and the actual number part\nrespectively**.\n\nFor reference, see definition #5 in\n[デジタル大辞泉](https://kotobank.jp/word/%E3%82%82-644757#E3.83.87.E3.82.B8.E3.82.BF.E3.83.AB.E5.A4.A7.E8.BE.9E.E6.B3.89):",
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| 36449 | 36450 | 36450 |
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"body": "Is this a Kokeshi doll or some other kind? and is the poem on the body\nreadable?\n\nMy dad got this out of a box his customer was giving away. They said it was\nfrom Japan but I can't remember if he said they bought it as a souvenir or if\nit was a gift. I know it was a long time ago. Over 30 years at least.\n\n[](https://i.stack.imgur.com/njQ9t.jpg)\n[](https://i.stack.imgur.com/NFhfo.jpg)\n[](https://i.stack.imgur.com/MQxup.jpg)",
"comment_count": 0,
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"score": 3,
"tags": [
"word-requests"
],
"title": "What is this wood doll thing with a poem on it?",
"view_count": 195
} | [
{
"body": "The doll is a kokeshi; I would not know how else it could be called.\n\nThe writing on it is clearly the first half (the first **_four_** lines below)\nof the [tanka](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tanka) by naturalist poet\n[若山牧水](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bokusui_Wakayama). (Personally lovin'\nthat extremely long 「リ」 in the second line.)\n\n[幾山河]{いくやまかわ}\n\nこえさり\n\nゆかば\n\n[淋]{さび}しさの\n\nはてなむ[国]{くに}ぞ\n\nけふも[旅]{たび}ゆく\n\nWhy just the first half? You might ask. That is because in Japanese culture,\nthings left unsaid have just as much or even more 'power' than the things that\nare said. The reader is expected to finish the poem by himself in his heart,\nappreciating the act of doing so.\n\nI would rather leave the translation to one of the experts here, but here is\none by me for starters. **If you know anything about Japanese, the original\nword order will need to be switched around completely for an English\ntranslation**.\n\n\"I have passed so many mountains and rivers,\n\nWondering if I ever reach a country\n\nWhere loneliness ends,\n\nHere I go hiking again today\"\n\nIf you translate, it is impossible to say exactly what part of it the writing\non the kokeshi corresponds to because of the drastic change in the word order.\nIt is just \"about the first half\".",
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"body": "## Translation:\n\n幾山河 こえさりゆかば 淋しさの はてなむ国ぞ けふも旅ゆく\n\nOver river and mountain \nI search for a land without longing... \nand walk on another day\n\n## Meaning:\n\n山や河を越える度 \n「淋しさが過ぎ去った \nこここそが其の国なのだろうか！」と思い（だが、そのようなものは存在しないとも。。。） \nそれでもまた旅路を進むことにする\n\nWith each river and mountain that I pass, \nI think to myself, \n\"Perhaps _this_ place is one without longing and want!\" (yet, such a place\ndoes not exist...) \n...and so I travel on\n\n## Background info:\n\nAt the time of writing this poem in 1927, the author was 23 years old and\ntravelling home during summer break from university through the Chugoku region\nof Japan to visit his ill father. He deliberately chose a route through the\nmountains he had not taken before.\n\nBased on the explanation found here:\n<http://www.kangin.or.jp/what_kanshi/shiika_D13_3.html>",
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{
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"body": "I teach English at an elementary school in Japan. While working I normally\ncall the teachers by their last name plus 先生. Like 田中先生 for example.\n\nHowever, after work, let's say 田中先生 invites me to have a drink at an 居酒屋. Am I\nstill expected to call him (or her)「先生」 even if it's just the two of us and\nwe're outside of school? Would it be rude or inappropriate to call him 田中さん?\nDoes the teacher's age or gender make a big difference?\n\nEdit: If I was Professor Moriarty's student, I would call him Professor. If he\nwas a co-worker that I've known for years and consider a friend, I imagine at\nsome point I would start calling him by his first name. In America, I think\nmost people let a person know when they can use their first name or nickname\nby directly saying something like \"Call me Bob!\".\n\nHow about Japan? When a Japanese person becomes friends with someone, do they\nusually say, \"You can call me ...!\"? Switching from first names to last names\nor knowing when I can drop さん or 先生 has always been confusing for me.\n\nDo you think it would be OK if I just asked directly? Like, \"Can I call you\n...?\"\n\nEdit 2:\n\nI am an ALT. I've been teaching at this school for 2 years. I normally try to\nuse 敬語 and always use です and ます。 Most of the teachers speak informally to me\nand don't use much 敬語。But most of the teachers are a lot older than me, so I'm\nnot sure if it's because I'm younger or if it's an invitation for me to speak\nto them casually.",
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"post_type": "question",
"score": 16,
"tags": [
"usage",
"politeness"
],
"title": "How to use ～先生 properly with co-workers?",
"view_count": 1968
} | [
{
"body": "Normally when the Japanese company workers go out for the 飲み会(party) with\ntheir Manager or Boss they call them 部長 or 社長 only.\n\nIn the same way your students will call you as ~先生 even after they\ngraduated/move to higher education.\n\nUsually it's difficult for you to call it as 田中さん because you used 田中先生 all\nthe time to call him/her. However if you're friend to that person you can call\nwith lastname + san, or just with firstname. But if you only known them as a\ncolleague, better to call them as a 先生。",
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"creation_date": "2016-07-06T01:33:34.630",
"id": "36458",
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"body": "This question is largely about culture but a place where culture and language\ninteract.\n\nI work at a university in Japan and both on and off campus, we call each other\n苗字 (family name)-先生. There's one or two exceptions where a 高橋 goes by her\nfirst name (one of four takahashi's).\n\nJapan is a relationally organized society, and the manner in which you know\nthe teachers there is _as teachers_. Thus, I think it will be off-putting if\nyou switch from 先生 to さん. I'd say it's more likely to switch to given names\nthan for it to be appropriate to call him 田中さん. (tldr: imagine switching from\ncalling someone Professor Moriarty to calling him Mr. Moriarty. It'd be kind\nof weird right?)\n\nIn terms of what will happen in your environment. There's a few things to\nconsider here as to what is possible. The three possibilities are (let's say\nhis name is 田中[良和]{よしかず}):\n\n 1. You will continue calling him 田中先生\n 2. You will start to call him よしかず (if he wants to and suggests switching to first names).\n 3. You will start calling him a nickname like よっちゃん or something (if you have that sort of friendly relationship).\n\nWhat will not happen is that you will switch from 田中先生 to 田中さん because that\nmakes no sense to do. As I stated above, it's not a sign of familiarity to\nchange from Professor Moriarty to Mr. Moriarty.\n\nWhat seems to affect whether you have something like 2 or 3. I'd suggest two\nfactors:\n\nFirst, while you write `I teach English at an elementary school in Japan`, if\nyou work as an ALT, then according to the Japanese educational system, you're\ntechnically not a teacher. I mention this not because I agree with the\nassessment but because that may affect the expectations of the 教諭 who work\nwith you there. (tldr: do they think of you as a teacher like them or\nsomething else?)\n\nSecond, many Japanese expect that foreigners prefer to be called by their\nfirst names but don't necessarily want to be called in this way themselves. I\ndon't know if there's a strongly age-based pattern to this but this might\naffect whether the teacher wants to feel close by communicating with first\nnames.\n\n* * *\n\nCan you ask from your side if you can call him よしかず or よっちゃん?\n\nMy first question would be _how_ you're communicating with him now. Do you use\n敬語[けいご]? Do you use endings like ます (for instance 食べます) and です? Does he speak\nto you casually ?\n\nIf the answer to any of these questions is no, then there's no linguistic\nsignal that this is a good idea.",
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"body": "As an 83-year old Japanese person, I too have been long puzzled by why school\nteachers in primary school and junior high school teachers call each other\n“先生.”\n\nIn our conversation in business world, we call senior persons simply by their\ntitles, eg. 社長、専務、常務、局長、本部長、部長、課長, 係長、主任, or 支店長 (of banks, car dealers)、店長,\nマスター (of retail shops and eateries,) often omitting their name, e.g. 田中、伊藤、中村,\nbut we don’t call our colleagues 先生. Instead, we attach suffixes 君, さん onto\ntheir name, or simply call by their name without adding an honorific title.\n\n先生 is also often heard in hospitals and law farms, where doctors and lawyers\ncall each other 先生. Lawyers in a big law firm I was in contact with when I was\nin office used to call their co-workers \"xx 先生\".\n\n先生 is also used in a derisive way, for example;\n\n> 先生、よく言うわ – What nonsense that he says!\n\n> あの先生がやらかしたことだ – This is what that guy did!\n\nCalling 先生 each other seems to be a nostalgic remnant of the age and society\nwhere school teachers, doctors, and lawyers were once regarded as a privileged\nclass or an esteemed profession to me.",
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{
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"body": "Consider the following graph and the 7th and 8th statements.\n\n[](https://i.stack.imgur.com/kFfdV.jpg)\n\nFor me, the 7th and 8th statements are ambiguous.\n\n## 7th statement\n\n * If we consider the statement only by subtracting 13.2 from 18.9 which is 5.7 then the statement is true. \n\n * But if we calculate the percentage of increment by (18.9-13.2)/13.2 = 0.43 then the statement is false.\n\n## 8th statement\n\n * If we consider the statement only by comparing 2 consecutive years then the statement is true.\n\n * However, if comparison can be performed on any pairs then the statement will be false because the most decrements occur between 1965 and 2001.\n\n# Questions\n\nDo you think these 2 statements ambiguous? Or there are some conventions among\nJapanese that I miss here.",
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"tags": [
"meaning"
],
"title": "Conventions used to comprehend graphs, charts, etc",
"view_count": 166
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{
"body": "I think the ambiguity is taken away by two phrases in both statements:\n\n> * 1985年から2001年 **の間に**...5%以上増えた\n> * ...もっとも大きく下がっているのは、1975年から80年 **にかけて** である\n>\n\nThe first statement indicates that what is being compared is only the\ndifference between _beginning_ percentage and _final_ percentage for the date\nrange given.\n\nThe second statement however, is comparing what happened \"over a period of\ntime\" and logically may require more complex calculation than simply finding\nthe difference between the beginning and end of the period in question.\n\nThere is no in-between data for this second statement in the graph though, so\nin this context finding the difference should be enough to determine the\naccuracy of the statement.",
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"creation_date": "2016-07-06T05:19:08.697",
"id": "36463",
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"body": "### 7th statement\n\nYes, the 7th statement (\" _n_ percent increase from _m_ percent\") is ambiguous\n(between `n+m` percent and `m*(100+n)/100` percent), and I believe a careful\nwriter should never make a sentence like this.\n\nThe literal interpretation is the latter, but in reality, people who are not\ngood at math often make a sentence like this. If I were forced to answer this\nquestion, I would answer \"○ (true)\" assuming the questioner is having `18.9 -\n13.2 = 5.7 > 5` in mind. (But luckily, the answer will be true anyway, because\n`(18.9-13.2)/13.2 = 0.43` is a **43% increase** , which is larger than 5%\n(=0.05).)\n\nTo avoid the ambiguity, you should use **ポイント** (の上昇/低下/etc) to refer to the\nsimple arithmetic difference of the two percentages. 「たばこを吸う女性の割合は5ポイント以上増えた」\nalways refers to `18.9 - 13.2 = 5.7 > 5`.\n\n * [何％ではなく何ポイント上昇などというのは何故](http://oshiete.goo.ne.jp/qa/697847.html)\n * [Percentage point](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Percentage_point) (English Wikipedia)\n * [パーセント](https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E3%83%91%E3%83%BC%E3%82%BB%E3%83%B3%E3%83%88) (Japanese Wikipedia) \n\n> 「支持率が50%から10%増加して60%になった」などという表現は誤用である。50%から10%の増加であれば、 0.50 + (0.50×0.10) =\n> 0.55 =\n> 55%だからである。正しくは「支持率が50%から10パーセントポイント増加して60%になった」と表記する。なお、「パーセントポイント」は単に「ポイント」と言われることも多く、日本では「パーセントポイント」と言われることは稀である。\n\n### 8th statement\n\nI think you can safely assume that the questioner is focusing on the\nincrease/decrease happened in each 5-year section here. So you can calculate\nthe difference of each adjacent pair of numbers (ie, `86.7-81`, `81-76.3`,\n`76.3-69.1`, ...) and get the 5-year section where the difference is the\nlargest.",
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| 36461 | 36465 | 36465 |
{
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"body": "How would you translate \"I will buy something\"? I came up with: なにかかいます。\n\nBut I'm not sure if this is correct.\n\nThanks!",
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"creation_date": "2016-07-06T05:18:49.650",
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"score": 3,
"tags": [
"translation"
],
"title": "How to represent the word \"something\"?",
"view_count": 3719
} | [
{
"body": "In common speech many people say things like:\n\n> スーパーで何{なに}か買{か}ってきます。\n\nYou can also say「なんか」 instead of 「なにか」 to mean \"something\" in this case if you\nlike.",
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| 36462 | null | 36464 |
{
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"body": "> 「オリンピック **に向けて** …」\n\nIs this phrase interchangeable with 向かって？\n\n> 「オリンピック **に向かって** …」\n\nWhat's the difference?",
"comment_count": 1,
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"creation_date": "2016-07-06T06:28:03.460",
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"score": 4,
"tags": [
"word-choice",
"usage",
"word-usage"
],
"title": "「五輪に向けて」か「五輪に向かって」か。。。",
"view_count": 728
} | [
{
"body": "I know that オリンピックに向けて is the better choice, but it's hard to explain why...\n\n実用日本語表現辞典 explicitly explains this usage\n([link](http://www.weblio.jp/content/%E5%90%91%E3%81%91%E3%81%A6)):\n\n> ### 向けて\n>\n>\n> 「向ける」の連用形。「～に向けて」などと言う場合、後に動詞が続かなくても、「～」を目的や目標と定め、そこに至るために種々の施策を行うことを表すことが多い。\n\nWhen the target is an intangible event such as オリンピック, 納品日 and 発表, you will\nhear ～に向けて more often, while ～に向かって would not be entirely wrong. (向ける is\n[usually transitive](http://dictionary.goo.ne.jp/jn/214895/meaning/m0u/). I'm\nnot sure, but maybe something like 気持ちを/意識を is omitted?)\n\nBut when the target is a physical place or a tangible object, whichever is\nfine.\n\n> * 大阪に向けて飛び立つ ／ 大阪に向かって飛び立つ\n> * 的に向けて銃を撃つ ／ 的に向かって銃を撃つ\n>",
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"creation_date": "2016-07-06T07:32:42.617",
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{
"body": "Generally speaking, there's difference between 向ける (> 向けて) and 向かう (> 向かって),\nwhere the former is transitive \"head something for\"/\"have something face to\n(somewhere)\" and the latter is intransitive \"head yourself for\"/\"face to\n(somewhere)\".\n\nBut you can use them with abstract goal (i.e. not actual place). In this case,\nthey have a little more nuances:\n\n_A_ **に向けて** _V_ depicts you set something to the direction of _A_ , but\nyourself isn't necessarily facing to the same direction. Imagine a locomotive;\nyou work hard shoveling coal into the boiler, but you're not the one runs. The\ntrain runs and brings you to the destination.\n\n_A_ **に向かって** _V_ , however, always implies your body \"moves\". You have to\nmake yourself \"go forward\" by _V_ -ing in order to reach the goal.\n\nThus, _A_ に向かって _V_ requires something directly leads to _A_ as _V_ , while\n_A_ に向けて _V_ accepts any activity helpful to _A_.\n\n> ○ 会議に向けて休息をとる\n>\n> × 会議に向かって休息をとる (resting helps you, but doesn't take you to conference)\n\n* * *\n\n> オリンピックに向けて走る \n> _runs (as preparation) for the Olympic games_\n>\n> オリンピックに向かって走る \n> (sounds rhetoric) _runs \"towards\" (in order to get qualification of?) the\n> Olympics_",
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"creation_date": "2016-07-07T17:09:24.187",
"id": "36493",
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"body": "As a follow-up answer to this question,\n\nI found the following research paper from 東京が国語大学 (TUFS) which goes into great\ndetail about the differences in usage for 「に向けて」,「に向かって」and「を目指して」:\n\n<http://repository.tufs.ac.jp/bitstream/10108/20982/1/jlc031003.pdf>\n\nIf someone could put this info into digest form in English, that would be\ngreat.",
"comment_count": 1,
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"creation_date": "2016-07-08T02:00:46.023",
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| 36466 | 36493 | 36467 |
{
"accepted_answer_id": "36472",
"answer_count": 3,
"body": "I found an article\n[here](http://www.excite.co.jp/News/weather/20160706/Tenkijp_7261.html), and\nit's title starts with the phrase 目がくっきり. How to translate it?",
"comment_count": 0,
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"creation_date": "2016-07-06T11:18:39.753",
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"tags": [
"meaning",
"usage"
],
"title": "Explaining the phrase 目がくっきり",
"view_count": 125
} | [
{
"body": "We say the center of the typhoon as 台風の目(eye of typhoon) because it looks like\neye.\n\nThe clearer the eye show the stronger the stream is. How about \"the eye of\ntyphoon shows clearly\"?",
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"creation_date": "2016-07-06T11:33:56.617",
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"body": "Distinctly Visible Eye\n\nLater in the article they say 目がくっきりしていて, \"(the hurricane's) eye is distinctly\nvisible.\"\n\nIf you look up くっきり at eg jisho.org,you will see entries like clear, sharp,\ndistinct relating to vision, especially contrast/clarity.\n\nIn other words, the title and article focus on how much the eye stands out\nrelative to the hurricane, and what that means in terms of the hurricane's\nwinds.",
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"creation_date": "2016-07-06T12:03:16.040",
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{
"body": "> 「[目]{め}が **くっきり** としていて、～～」\n>\n> = \"the (typhoon's) eye looks _**sharp and clear**_ , and ~~\"\n\n「くっきり」 means \"sharp-looking\", \"clear-looking\", etc.\n\nIn the given context, 「目」 refers to 「[台風]{たいふう}の目」 (\"the eye of a typhoon\"),\nand in this case, the eye looks very sharp and clear. We just refer to the\ncenter of a typhoon as 台風の目.\n\n「～～ **と** している」 is a common phrase describing a characteristic of a thing.\n\n「くっきり」 is also often used to describe human eyes as well.\n\n",
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| 36468 | 36472 | 36470 |
{
"accepted_answer_id": "36492",
"answer_count": 1,
"body": "how to write a Indian name ' **Ashutosh** ' in Japanese language??\n\nAny help will be highly appreciated.\n\nThank you,\n\nShilpi",
"comment_count": 5,
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"creation_date": "2016-07-06T11:22:43.227",
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"tags": [
"translation"
],
"title": "how to write 'Ashutosh' in japanese language?",
"view_count": 1102
} | [
{
"body": "As [Nothing at all](https://japanese.stackexchange.com/users/9971/nothing-at-\nall) has posted in comments the correct spelling would be `A-shu-to-shu` in\nkatakana. `アシュトシュ`.\n\nFrom my first semester in Japanese it was taught that foreign names always\nused katakana characters whereas native names always use hiragana/kanji\ncharacters.",
"comment_count": 2,
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"creation_date": "2016-07-07T16:13:53.573",
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| 36469 | 36492 | 36492 |
{
"accepted_answer_id": "36479",
"answer_count": 2,
"body": "> ふたりで一人前 **で** いろんなものをまっぷたつにするのは何?\n\nWhat is the thing that can cut in half various things when the to parts become\none?\n\nThis is my interpretation, but I think is wrong. \nCan someone explain? \nEspecialli the bold で. \nIs it the continuative of です or the で of means?",
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"creation_date": "2016-07-06T15:29:14.990",
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"owner_user_id": "11352",
"post_type": "question",
"score": 6,
"tags": [
"grammar",
"words"
],
"title": "ふたりで一人前で meaning",
"view_count": 394
} | [
{
"body": "* That で in bold is the continuative form of the copula だ, as in \"私は会社員 **で** 、妹は大学生です\". So it's basically \"and\".\n * 一人前 in this sentence means _full-fledged_ , _mature_ , etc. \n[What is the etymology of\n一人前?](https://japanese.stackexchange.com/q/7083/5010)\n\n * ふたりで一人前 literally means \"(becomes) full-fledged by two people\" or \"full-fledged when there are two people\". Riddles often use personification like this, and it just means \"works fine only in pairs\".\n\nThe whole sentence roughly means \"What is the thing that works fine only in\npairs **and** cuts various things in two?\"\n\nThe answer of the riddle is probably \"scissors\".",
"comment_count": 0,
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"creation_date": "2016-07-06T19:40:39.147",
"id": "36479",
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{
"body": "I interpret the given sentence literally as;\n\n“What is the thing that can cut various things in a (perfect) half when two\nparts of it work together as a complete unit”\n\nAnd the answer would be \"a pair of scissors.\"\n\nKenkyusha's “新和英中辞典- New Japanese English Dictionary - 5th Edition” gives\ndefinitions of \"一人前\" as follows:\n\n 1. a portion for one person.\n 2. grown-up, adult, independent, self-supporting, full-fledged.\n\nI think the definition 2 fits the word, “一人前” meaning \"self-supported,\"“by\nitself” in the quote.\n\n“で” here can be rephrased with “….となって,” and means “two become one,” or\n“stand-alone.”",
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| 36473 | 36479 | 36479 |
{
"accepted_answer_id": "36477",
"answer_count": 2,
"body": "The author complains that when men cook they only put one dish (type of food)\non the table:\n\n> なぜならその一品は、素材を選び抜いて、奮発して、時間をかけて、腕によりをかけて、 **凝りに凝って出された** 逸品なのだから。 \n> If (you ask) why that one dish, it's because it is a masterpiece in which\n> he has singled out the ingredients, spent a lot of money, taken time, put\n> all his skill into and ????\n\nI can't understand the part in bold. 凝る has several meanings, none of which I\ncan get to fit, nor do I understand the grammar of the pattern 凝りに凝って.\n\nAlso why do we switch to passive for だす when the rest of the sentence is in\nactive voice?",
"comment_count": 0,
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"creation_date": "2016-07-06T16:53:04.490",
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"id": "36474",
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"post_type": "question",
"score": 5,
"tags": [
"grammar",
"passive-voice"
],
"title": "Grammar and meaning of 凝りに凝って出された",
"view_count": 303
} | [
{
"body": "Ａ（連用形）にＡ（活用） uses repetition of the same verb as a pattern for emphasis; the\n活用 part is often seen as ～て or ～た. \n\nHere 凝{こ}る means to pour an inordinate amount of focus / energy into\nsomething. To give something one's all, or to be absorbed in.\n\nThe passive is used here for 出す to change the focus from the subject (the\nperson making the food), to the object (the dish being made).\n\n> なぜならその一品は、素材を選び抜いて、奮発して、時間をかけて、腕によりをかけて、凝りに凝って出された逸品なのだから。 \n>\n\n(Without context) The reason why being that the dish served is something that\nhe has agonized over choosing ingredients; something that he has taken time on\nand poured his all into doing his best work; a masterpiece he's been\ncompletely absorbed in.",
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"body": "Repetition of verbs are very often used to emphasize the significance or\ninsignificance of the speaker’s or hearer’s action. It depends on the context.\nFor instances:\n\n選りも選ってこんな品を寄越したな！ – You sent me such a trash.\n\n念には念を入れて調べてみろ – Check it with utmost caution.\n\n言いも言ったり、あいつ俺のことを間抜けと言った - He said so indeed, he called me an idiot!\n\n参った、参った! - I'm done, completely.\n\n着くには着いたが、真夜中になった – We arrived there anyhow, but it was midnight when we got\nthere.\n\n聞くには聞いたが、覚えてない – I heard it certainly, but I don’t remember (what you said.)\n\n読むには読んだが、何を書いているのか、理解できない – Certainly I read the book, but I was unable to\nunderstand what the author is trying to say.\n\n描くには描いたが、一体何の絵やら – I drew a picture, but I’m not sure what it looks like.\n\nRepetitions of adjectives are also frequently used with an attempt to\nemphasize the characteristics of the object it modifies, for instance:\n\n白さも白し、富士の白雪 ‐ White, really white snow of Mt.Fuji.\n\n憎さも憎し、オレオレ詐欺男 －Really disgusting, base, and hateful \"I'm Charly\" swindle.",
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| 36474 | 36477 | 36477 |
{
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"body": "I came across this Japanese sentence:\n\n> 男の子の顔は父親より母親ににるという話を聞いた。\n\nBut am not really sure about its meaning in English.\n\nMy translation will be \"The man heard that his face resembles his mother more\nthan his father\".\n\nBut then, I don't quite understand why and how いう話 is being used here. I know\nthat \"どういう意味ですか\" means \"what does it mean\" in English. But I can't seem to\nunderstand how いう is applied in both sentences. Can someone help me here?",
"comment_count": 0,
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"creation_date": "2016-07-06T16:54:50.270",
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"tags": [
"translation"
],
"title": "How is という used in 「男の子の顔は父親より母親ににるという話を聞いた」?",
"view_count": 816
} | [
{
"body": "という is a very common construction which has many meanings and causes me\nendless confusion. But in this case it's straightforward.\n\nという in this context simply means \"saying that\".\n\n> xxxという話 \n> story/conversation saying that xxx\n\n> I heard a story saying that boys' faces resemble their mother rather than\n> their father.",
"comment_count": 5,
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"creation_date": "2016-07-06T17:09:02.343",
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"body": "“という(話、こと)” is one of the most frequently used turn of Japanese phrases you\ncome across everyday, and its verbatim translation is “the story to the effect\nof ….” You can simply apply a relative pronoun, “that” to “という〈話、こと〉”\n\nIt can be used as in the following examples:\n\n> * 彼、会社を辞めるって **いう** 話、本当かい？- Is it true **that** he is leaving the\n> company?\n>\n> * 彼がそんなに金に困っていた **という話** 、初めて聞いたよ。信じられない - I heard it for the first time\n> **that** he's been in such a financial trouble. It's incredible.\n>\n> * 今度の人事異動で、田中が製品開発マネージャーに抜擢される **という** 話だ – I heard **that** Tanaka is\n> gonna be promoted to the Product Development Manager in the next personnel\n> changes.\n>\n> * **そういう話** は聞きたくない – I don’t want to hear **that kinds of story.**\n>\n> * そう **いう** ことだ。これ以上は言うまい - **That’s it**. I won’t say any more.\n>\n> * あの会社は潰れる **という** 噂が飛んでいる - The word is **that** that company is gonna be\n> bankrupt.\n>\n> * 工場を来年３月末までに福島に移転させる **という趣旨** の通知を受け取った - We received a notice **to the\n> effect** **that** the company will relocate the plant to Fukushima by the\n> end of March next year.\n>\n> * 要するに、僕の話は聞けない **ということ** だね - In short, you're saying that you don't\n> agree with me, hah?\n>\n> * いったい何 **と言うことだ** ！ - What is this? How could it be?\n>\n>",
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| 36475 | null | 36476 |
{
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"body": "The sentence in a translation:\n\n> 将来を見据えながら点と点を結ぶということなど、皆 **には** できません。 \n> While looking at the future, one cannot see how to connect the dots.\n\nMy assumption is that the following is the \"base\" sentence. Then, to add\nmeaning, a `に` is placed before the `は`. Maybe it adds emphasis (or\nsomething)?\n\n> 将来を見据えながら点と点を結ぶということなど、皆 **は** できません。\n\nI don't think I've ever seen a `は` and then have a `に` placed behind it to add\nmeaning.\n\n_However_ , if the \"base\" sentence should be thought of as:\n\n> 将来を見据えながら点と点を結ぶということなど、皆 **に** できません。\n\nThen I am ok with regard to particles. Placing a `は` after a `に` seems pretty\ncommon.",
"comment_count": 1,
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"creation_date": "2016-07-06T22:14:01.763",
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"score": 9,
"tags": [
"particle-に",
"particle-は"
],
"title": "Why say \"〜、皆には出来る。\" instead of \" 〜、皆は出来る。\" in this context?",
"view_count": 650
} | [
{
"body": "The に form is the \"base\" sentence here, and the は is added for emphasis.\n\nOne key to understanding how できる happens grammatically is that できる is often\ndescribing **the thing that can be done** , instead of the people or things\ndoing the thing. Sometimes a closer gloss is _doable_ rather than _can_ --\nEnglish _can_ describes the people or things doing the thing, while _doable_\ndescribes the thing that can be done.\n\nIn your sample sentence, the topic is こと, and all the stuff to the left of こと\ntells us what kind of こと it is. The できません applies to this こと -- this こと is\n_not doable_ -- and the 皆 **に** here tells us who or what this こと is _not\ndoable **by**_.\n\n### Addendum\n\nThe grammar for できる is at least partially attributable to the historical\ndevelopment of the term. [See this other post for\ndetails.](https://japanese.stackexchange.com/questions/2706/etymology-\nof-%E5%87%BA%E6%9D%A5%E3%82%8B-dekiru/18068#18068)",
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"body": "## Reason for using「は」\n\nThe「は」provides contrast. It provides an unspoken (in English) and\n**_contrasting parenthetical context_** as shown below.\n\n> 日本語の読み書きは **皆には** できません。\n\n * Not _everyone_ can read and write Japanese ( **but** _some_ people can)\n * Not _just anyone_ can read and write Japanese ( **but** _many_ people can)\n * Not _all of (you)_ can read and write Japanese ( **but** _some_ of you can)\n * Not _all of (them)_ can read and write Japanese ( **but** _some_ of them can)\n\n## Reason for using「に」\n\nThe reason for this is that できる is describing the \"possession\" or \"existence\"\nof a capability to do something.\n\n> 日本語の読み書きは **皆に** できません。\n\nSo just as you would say,\n\n「野菜は **冷蔵庫にある** よ」or「コーヒーは **キッチンにはない** よ」\n\nto describe the **existence** of _things_ at a _location_ , \nyou also use the same construction to talk about the **existence** of\n_ability_ in a _person_.\n\n「 **あなたには** できる」 or 「 **わたしには** できない」\n\nTaking a cue from Eiríkr Útlendi's answer, you could think of the **に** here\nas marking an ability possessed **_by_** a person.",
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"creation_date": "2016-07-07T01:34:15.443",
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| 36481 | 36482 | 36482 |
{
"accepted_answer_id": null,
"answer_count": 1,
"body": "> A: 君だけこれを知らなかった。\n>\n> A': You are the only person who did not know this.\n\nAs しか must be followed by a negative predicate then I have to write as\n\n> B: 君しかこれを知らなくなかった。\n\n# Confirmation question\n\nIs 君しかこれを知らなくなかった the same as 君だけこれを知らなかった?\n\n# Edit\n\nBased on the given comment below, I have to mention that if I just use one\nnegation as follows,\n\n> 君しかこれを知らなかった。\n\nthen the meaning is\n\n> You are the only person who knew this.\n\nwhich is totally different from the meaning I want to say.",
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"post_type": "question",
"score": 2,
"tags": [
"grammar",
"particle-しか"
],
"title": "Is 君しかこれを知らなくなかった the same as 君だけこれを知らなかった?",
"view_count": 107
} | [
{
"body": "> Is 君しかこれを知らなくなかった the same as 君だけこれを知らなかった?\n\nA simple answer would be 'No', but more precisely, it is just not possible to\nanswer this question. Why not? Because the first sentence is not grammatical\nand therefore, it does not really mean anything.\n\nAs you stated, 「しか」 must be followed by a negative predicate. 「知ら **なくなかった**\n」, however, is affirmative. Why is it affirmative? That is because it contains\ntwo forms of 「ない」 in 「なく」 and 「なかった」. **Two 「ない's」 cancel each other's\nnegativity and make the phrase affirmative**. Thus,\n\n> 「知らなくなかった」 means 「知っていた」.\n\nIf you absolutely must use 「しか」 to form a sentence that means the same thing\nas:\n\n> 「君だけ（が）これを知らなかった。」 = \" You are the only person who did not know this.\"\n\nYou could do so by saying:\n\n> 「これを知らなかったのは、君 **しか** いない。」 or\n>\n> 「君 **しか** いないよ、これを知らなかったのは。」\n\nThose two sentences use 「しか」 correctly.",
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"creation_date": "2016-07-07T00:20:22.063",
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| 36483 | null | 36484 |
{
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"answer_count": 2,
"body": "I would like to know if the anime's title \" boku dake ga inai machi \"\ngrammatically correct? It's quite confusing because the verb ”いる” in negative\nform, should be the last word as long as I know. 街 Is noun and its referred to\nlocation of the existence of 僕 so how come they put it at last? I tried to\nrearrange the words' order and put it in this way: 僕だけが街にいない。 Is there some\ngrammar rules support the original title in any way?",
"comment_count": 1,
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"creation_date": "2016-07-07T12:19:41.027",
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"post_type": "question",
"score": 8,
"tags": [
"grammar",
"relative-clauses",
"word-order"
],
"title": "『僕だけがいない街』Is it grammatically correct?",
"view_count": 1262
} | [
{
"body": "> 「[僕]{ぼく}だけがいない[街]{まち}」\n\nis completely grammatical and natural-sounding.\n\nIf you thought, however, that this was a sentence, I am sure that you felt\nthere was something wrong with it.\n\n_**That is not a sentence; It is only a noun phrase (a relative clause).**_ It\nnever was meant to mean \"It was only I who was not in the town.\" Instead, it\nwas meant to mean \" _ **The town where I am the only person missing**_ \". See\nthe difference here?\n\nUnlike in European languages, the main noun in a relative clause comes at the\nvery end (「街」 in this case) in Japanese. 「僕だけがいない」 modifies 「街」 here.\n\nIn English, for instance, the noun \"town\" will come at the beginning of a\nrelative clause as in \"the town where ~~~~\", \"the town in which ~~~~\", etc.\n\nThat is one of the major differences in word order between the two languages\nand certainly is a major source of confusion and mistakes for Japanese-\nlearners.\n\nFinally, if one were to turn the noun phrase in question into a \"real\"\nsentence, one could say:\n\n> 「（この/その）街には僕だけがいない。」 or\n>\n> 「（この/その）街にいないのは僕だけだ。」",
"comment_count": 2,
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"creation_date": "2016-07-07T12:44:42.463",
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"body": "Though I don’t have any knowledge about the context of the sentence from which\nthe phrase was picked up, I don’t find any particular problem with the\nexpression in the phrase “僕だけがいない街” on its alone. “僕だけがいない” is used an\nadjective clause to depict ”街” - the town.\n\nIt means “the town lacking of only me,” i.e, “the town where everybody is\nthere, but me.” Nothing is strange, but it sounds creative and poetical to me.\nI love it.",
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| 36487 | null | 36489 |
{
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"body": "> 私は子供に、自分のことは自分でさせる **ことにし** ている。\n>\n> 10時に駅で待ち合わせるという **ことにし** ませんか。\n\nSo in both the two sentences above, the causative form is used. Is this\nbecause the person speaking is talking to an inferior and giving orders? What\nwould be accurate translations?\n\n> 2週目に3日ぐらい出張する **ことになる** だろうと思います。\n\nIn this one, I don’t really understand why they use ことになる instead of ことになった.\nWasn’t the decision that the person would be going on a business trip already\ndecided in the past?\n\nThank you very much for your kind input.",
"comment_count": 1,
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"creation_date": "2016-07-07T12:22:07.820",
"favorite_count": 0,
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"last_edit_date": "2020-06-17T08:18:27.500",
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"owner_user_id": "13771",
"post_type": "question",
"score": 2,
"tags": [
"grammar",
"verbs",
"causation"
],
"title": "ことにする with causative",
"view_count": 173
} | [
{
"body": "`dictionary-form + ことにする` means \"to decide to ～\", and `dictionary-form +\n～ことにしている` means \"I always ～\", \"It's my policy to ～\", \"I make a habit of ～ing\",\netc.\n\n> * 私は子供に、自分のことは自分でさせることにしている。 \n> It's my policy to make my child take care of himself. (lit. \"make my child\n> do his own things\")\n> * 10時に駅で待ち合わせるということにしませんか。 \n> Shall (we) meet at the station at 10 o'clock then?\n>\n\nMore examples here: <https://www.renshuu.org/grammar/90>\n\nさせる in the first sentence is a causative form, but it's not directly related\nto the ことにする construction. There is no causative form in the second sentence.\n\n`dictionary-form + ことになる` means \"it is determined/decided/arranged that ～\",\n\"to be going to ～\" (due to some external cause out of the speaker's control),\n\"to end up ～ing\", etc.\n\n> * 2週目に3日ぐらい出張することになるだろうと思います。 \n> I think I'm (probably) going to make a business trip for a couple of days\n> on the second week.\n>\n\nNote that he is just guessing his future. His business trip is not fixed yet,\nalthough he thinks it's very likely.",
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| 36488 | null | 36495 |
{
"accepted_answer_id": "36496",
"answer_count": 1,
"body": "I often get really confused with grammar involving counters. I'm having\ntrouble parsing the bold part of this sentence:\n\n> 夕食として **テーブルにのるのが一品である** ことの、むなしさ、さびしさ、...彼らには通用しない。\n\nI think it should translate as \"There is one dish placed on the table\". This\nbeing the case I would expect the verb ある for \"there is\". But instead I see\nである the formal version of the copula.\n\nSo literally I translate the bold to \"that which is placed on the table is one\nmeal\". In English that sounds really formal. How does it sound in Japanese?\n\nCould I have just replaced the bold with:\n\n> テーブルに一品をのる \n> テーブルに一品がある\n\nI know from a [previous\nquestion](https://japanese.stackexchange.com/questions/32539/use-of-number-\ncounter-as-a-noun) that number+counter can act like a normal noun but I'm very\nsuspicious of the が I've added in the latter sentence -- the original sentence\nhad no particle. In general I'm not sure when number+counter should take a\nparticle.",
"comment_count": 0,
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"creation_date": "2016-07-07T17:50:43.737",
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"post_type": "question",
"score": 1,
"tags": [
"grammar",
"counters"
],
"title": "Use of particles in counter grammar and a confusing sentence",
"view_count": 228
} | [
{
"body": "That である after 一品 is not \"exists\" but \"is\" (ie, it's the copula, not a normal\nverb). Have you seen expressions like these?\n\n * 食べたのは5個です。 It is five that I ate.\n * 来たのは3人だけでした。 It was only three who came.\n * それを聞いたのは1回だけだよ。 I heard it only once.\n\nThese are [cleft sentences](https://japanese.stackexchange.com/a/19208/5010)\nwhere the number part is focused. They are natural and common expressions, and\ncan be safely used in casual speech.\n\nThis pattern works just fine in subordinate clauses in Japanese. So\n\"夕食としてテーブルにのるのが一品であること\" is a noun phrase which means \"having (only) one dish\non the table for dinner\". こと at the end is of course an nominalizer. And this\nphrase adjectively modifies むなしさ・さびしさ using の (ie. \"the むなしさ of having only\none dish ...\")\n\n夕食としてテーブルに一品があること would be grammatical but sound awkward in this context,\nbecause it doesn't emphasize the number part, and doesn't imply 一品 is a small\nnumber at all.\n\n一品をのる is plain ungrammatical because 乗る is an intransitive verb.",
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"creation_date": "2016-07-07T18:51:10.197",
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| 36494 | 36496 | 36496 |
{
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"body": "普通「ご確認ください」を使っています。\n\nそれで、「ご確認なさってください」って何か変だと感じますが、何故か説明して頂けるなら助かります。",
"comment_count": 8,
"content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0",
"creation_date": "2016-07-08T01:50:31.457",
"favorite_count": 0,
"id": "36499",
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"owner_user_id": "7055",
"post_type": "question",
"score": 2,
"tags": [
"word-choice",
"keigo"
],
"title": "「ご確認なさってください」って変？",
"view_count": 1504
} | [
{
"body": "The root expression is （確認する | conjunctive form）＋（くれる｜command form） = 確認してくれ\n\nThis first part 確認して can be interpreted as either (1) a single verb phrase\n\"確認して\", or (2) noun 確認 + verb して\n\n(2) is the historical interpretation but in recent years (1) has become more\ncommon.\n\nFirst we look at case (1). When applying keigo type expressions such as sonkei\nand kenjyo to the verb, we must apply them to the final verb. Applying keigo\nto both is called \"double keigo\", and it is wrong - although even NHK\nannouncers are prone to this mistake. The result is \"確認してください\". However this\nis still the \"くれ\" strong command form phrase, and we would like to apply the\n\"ます\" teineigo in it's command form ”ませ”. This gives us the even more keigo\nmeaning sentence \"確認してくださいませ\".\n\nLooking at case (2), 確認 is a noun. The honorific ご is a form of teineigo which\ncan be placed before the noun as a form of decoration. It is not a sonkei or\nkenjyuu expression, so it is not at all required to be present. The rest\nfollows as in case (1), so we get \"ご確認してくださいませ\" or just \"確認してくださいませ\"\n\nReference:\n<http://www.excite.co.jp/News/lifestyle/20140306/Okguide_2452.html?_p=2>\n\nDisclaimer: I largely translated the reference, changing 参考に to 確認. The\ncomment about NHK announcers was in the reference - I deny personal\nresponsibility for any slander.",
"comment_count": 2,
"content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0",
"creation_date": "2016-07-08T06:42:47.793",
"id": "36507",
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"body": "There is a idea that it is natural.\n<http://news.mynavi.jp/news/2015/06/11/042/>\n\nIt seems be called 敬語連結. If two honorific words are connected with て, it is\nused. For example, おっしゃってください.\n<http://detail.chiebukuro.yahoo.co.jp/qa/question_detail/q11120121226>",
"comment_count": 7,
"content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0",
"creation_date": "2016-07-08T07:43:06.140",
"id": "36508",
"last_activity_date": "2016-07-08T08:18:33.727",
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{
"body": "「ご確認ください」は尊敬語、「確認なさってください」も尊敬語なので「ご確認なさってください」は二重敬語かもしれませんね。しかし、いずれにしても問題ない表現だと思います。変に感じるかどうかは個人差のある問題だと思います。\n\nP.S.\n一般に、尊敬語の命令形は（尊敬語ではなく）丁寧語になります。命令形は聞き手へ向けられるものであるところ、聞き手への敬意を表すのは丁寧語だからです…多分。",
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"creation_date": "2016-07-08T15:22:16.907",
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| 36499 | null | 36520 |
{
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"body": "I have found a manga name called 覇王伝説 **驍**. Then, I have looked up several\nKanji dictionary and they do not give such the pronunciation, the almost close\none is 「たけし」.",
"comment_count": 0,
"content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0",
"creation_date": "2016-07-08T04:30:33.840",
"favorite_count": 0,
"id": "36503",
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"post_type": "question",
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"tags": [
"kanji",
"manga"
],
"title": "Why is the Kanji 「驍」read 「たける」?",
"view_count": 95
} | [
{
"body": "I guess it is simply because when it comes to people names there are sometimes\njust a lot more readings than usual. Have you tried to look as well on some\n人名漢字辞典?\n\nIf you look 驍 up [here](http://kanji.reader.bz/) for example, \"Takeru\" is\nlisted as a possible reading. There is a discussion about the readings of such\nkanji\n[here](http://detail.chiebukuro.yahoo.co.jp/qa/question_detail/q1128291216) as\nwell. Hope it helps, as simple as the answer is.",
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| 36503 | 36504 | 36504 |
{
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"body": "In everyday language and for early learners, when the verb ends in おう or よう,\nit is conventionally called the \"volitional\" form, for example:\n\n> 1. 今夜はもうねよう (I'll just go to sleep for tonight).\n>\n\nIt can also be used as sort of a hortative of sorts, such as:\n\n> 2. 早く、学校に行こう (Hurry up, let's go to school).\n>\n\nSo far, there aren't really problems with calling this form \"volitional\"; it\nexpresses a will of some sort. However, in a more literary, less\nconversational context, the form can also be used to show a sort of certainty\nor \"the way things are\" (I'm not really sure how to explain this, so hopefully\nmy example will help).\n\n> 3. 光を持つ者に道は[拓]{ひら}こう (The road shall open for the one who bears the\n> light). (Imagine this being written on a signpost in a video game or\n> something).\n>\n\n**This is where we start to run into problems: How does this relate to the\nmeanings above, exactly?** We begin to see that calling it \"volitional\" is\nmore of a work-around we're using to attempt to translate something absent in\nour language. There are other phrases where this categorization fails as well,\nsuch as:\n\n> 4. 彼が[足掻]{あが}こうが足掻くまいがどうにもならない (Whether or not he struggles, nothing will\n> come of it).\n>\n\nThis also introduces the issue of the negative \"volitional,\" which, although\nrarely used, does not quite carry the meaning one would expect from a form\nknown as the \"volitional.\" I could mention other issues, like why we usually\ntranslate だろう as \"probably,\" \"surely,\" \"most likely,\" etc., but this question\nis getting pretty long-winded as it is, so I'll ask my main question now.\n\n**What is the actual \"idea\" that this form is trying to express, and how does\nthat lead to the interpretations of it we use in these situations?** Also, if\nany of my examples are incorrect or using the form wrong, please tell me (I'm\naware they don't all sound like something someone would actually say, though).",
"comment_count": 1,
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"creation_date": "2016-07-08T06:02:25.340",
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"score": 9,
"tags": [
"volitional-form"
],
"title": "What Does the \"Volitional\" Really Mean?",
"view_count": 547
} | [
{
"body": "## Same form, different meanings\n\nWhat's referred to as the Volitional Form is also used to express what the\nspeaker imagines \" _will happen_ \".\n\n> The Volitional Form usually expresses 意思 (willingness) or 勧誘 (an invitation)\n> but can also be used to mean 推測・推量 (a guess or expected result), especially\n> in some kind of literary context.\n\n## Underlying Idea\n\nI think the common thread might be, \" _expected to happen_ \" or \" _expected to\nbe the case_ \".\n\n> In each expression there is an **expectation** of something _happening_ or\n> _being the case_ based on either the intention or the guess of the\n> speaker/writer; and I think that that is what this construction is meant to\n> allude to.\n\n## English Comparison\n\n```\n\n \"will\", \"shall\" \n \n```\n\nIt's a little older English grammar, but it still checks out as indicating\nexpectation.\n\n * 今夜はもう **寝よう** \n(I' **ll** be off to **sleep** for tonight).\n\n * 早く、学校に **行こう** \n(Hurry up, **won't** (we) **go** to school?) = \"let's go\"\n\n * 彼が **足掻こう** が足掻くまいが、どうにもならない \n(Whether he **will struggle** or not, nothing will come of it).\n\n * 光を持つ者に道は **拓こう** \n(The road **shall open** for the one who bears the light).\n\n## Subjunctive（仮定）usage of the Volitional Form\n\n * 雨が降ろう **が** 降るまい **が** 、試合が行われる \n(We will have the game, **whether** it will rain **or** not).\n\n * 雨が **降ろう** が降るまいが、試合が行われる \n(We will have the game, whether it **will rain** or not).\n\n> Objective Supposition + Conditional Phrase (whether...or...) \n> = Conditional Phrase (Subjunctive Mood)\n>\n> 客観的推量の意 ＋「と・が」＝ 仮定表現（仮定法）",
"comment_count": 12,
"content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0",
"creation_date": "2016-07-08T06:26:23.597",
"id": "36506",
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"score": 5
}
]
| 36505 | 36506 | 36506 |
{
"accepted_answer_id": "36512",
"answer_count": 1,
"body": "Here is the sentence relating to my question:\n\n> 院生たちに慰問に現れた葉子 **を巡り** 、再び力石とジョーは拳を交える **ことに** 。\n\n 1. For the word 「を巡り」, does it mean 'concerning' which is similar to the meaning of 「を巡って」?\n\n 2. For the word 「ことに」, is it a colloquial short form of 「ことになる」?",
"comment_count": 0,
"content_license": "CC BY-SA 4.0",
"creation_date": "2016-07-08T09:57:10.593",
"favorite_count": 0,
"id": "36510",
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"last_editor_user_id": "9831",
"owner_user_id": "9559",
"post_type": "question",
"score": 2,
"tags": [
"manga",
"renyōkei",
"omission"
],
"title": "What do the phrases 「ことに」 at the end of a sentence and 「を巡り」 mean?",
"view_count": 187
} | [
{
"body": "> 1. For the word 「を[巡]{めぐ}り」, does it mean 'concerning' which is similar to\n> the meaning of 「を巡って」?\n>\n\nExactly. 「～～を巡り」 is a little more formal than 「～～を巡って」. Both express the\nsource of dispute (or a fight in this case).\n\n> 2. For the word 「ことに」, is it a colloquial short form of 「ことになる」?\n>\n\nPrecisely. When what is left unsaid is clear to the readers from the context,\nwords are often omitted like that.",
"comment_count": 0,
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"creation_date": "2016-07-08T10:14:12.410",
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"score": 3
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| 36510 | 36512 | 36512 |
{
"accepted_answer_id": "36514",
"answer_count": 1,
"body": "I'm translating a game and this is the sentence:\n\n> 恭介が気に入るレア物のCDを探すのって....結構大変なんだよね.\n\nWhat is the meaning of のって after 探す?",
"comment_count": 0,
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"creation_date": "2016-07-08T11:50:36.200",
"favorite_count": 0,
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"owner_user_id": "16028",
"post_type": "question",
"score": 1,
"tags": [
"meaning",
"particle-の",
"particle-って"
],
"title": "What is the のって supposed to mean here?",
"view_count": 850
} | [
{
"body": "> 「Verb/Verb Phrase + の + って」\n\nThe 「の」 is a nominalizing particle. It nominalizes the verb that precedes. In\nmeaning and usage, therefore, it is the same as 「こと」.\n\n「って」 here is an **informal topic-introducing particle**. In meaning, it is the\nsame as 「～～というのは」.\n\nThus, 「～～を[探]{さが}すのって」 means \"looking for ~~ (is)\".\n\n>\n> 「[恭介]{きょうすけ}が[気]{き}に[入]{い}るレア[物]{もの}のCDを[探]{さが}すのって....[結構大変]{けっこうたいへん}なんだよね。」\n> means:\n>\n> \"Looking for the rare CDs that Kyousuke would like... is pretty hard.\"",
"comment_count": 0,
"content_license": "CC BY-SA 4.0",
"creation_date": "2016-07-08T12:21:50.737",
"id": "36514",
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| 36513 | 36514 | 36514 |
{
"accepted_answer_id": "36518",
"answer_count": 1,
"body": "What does this phrase mean?\n\n> 目{め}くそ鼻{くそ}くそを笑{わら}うだよね。\n\nIs it some sort of idiom? Does it have a parallel in English?",
"comment_count": 0,
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"creation_date": "2016-07-08T14:31:21.370",
"favorite_count": 0,
"id": "36517",
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"owner_user_id": "15986",
"post_type": "question",
"score": 6,
"tags": [
"meaning",
"idioms"
],
"title": "\"The eye (crust ?) laughs at the booger\"?",
"view_count": 1214
} | [
{
"body": "I am starting with the grammar because the 「笑うだよね」 part might not make sense\nto some.\n\n> [目]{め}くそ[鼻]{はな}くそを[笑]{わら}うだよね。\n\n=\n\n> 『目くそ鼻くそを笑う』だよね。\n\n=\n\n> 『目くそ鼻くそを笑う』, as they say, eh?\n\nPretend to see a 「が」 after 「目くそ」.\n\nIt is quoting the saying 「目くそ鼻くそを笑う」, which literally means \" ** _Eye\ndischarge laughs at booger_**.\" The saying means that Person A is criticizing\nPerson B for the same negative quality that Person A himself has.\n\nThe English parallel would be \" ** _The pot calling the kettle black_**.\"\nThere might be more, but my English proficiency is too limited to give you\nanother.",
"comment_count": 3,
"content_license": "CC BY-SA 4.0",
"creation_date": "2016-07-08T14:51:39.057",
"id": "36518",
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| 36517 | 36518 | 36518 |
{
"accepted_answer_id": "36521",
"answer_count": 2,
"body": "> 一度足を踏み入れたが最後、 **むこう半日は** 鏡面恐怖症におちいる大迷路のなれの果てが、こうして草十郎の目の前に立ちふさがっているのだが.\n\nThe protagonist is going into a building where there is a mirror house and\nanother attraction. The building is now abandoned and he is going to another\nplace different from the mirror house to meet someone else. \nIt's night and there are no lights.\n\n> Once he stepped in, on the other side there is the mirror-phobic big\n> labyrinth which is nothing but a shadow of it's former self which is now\n> standing in front of Souichiro but.\n\nI don't understand that half a day in there. \nSince it's night and the building has been abandoned I think it's because half\na day there is no sunlight so it' all dark and so it serve no purpose, but I\nam just guessing.\n\nCan someone clarify?",
"comment_count": 2,
"content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0",
"creation_date": "2016-07-08T15:02:02.280",
"favorite_count": 0,
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"owner_user_id": "11352",
"post_type": "question",
"score": 3,
"tags": [
"grammar"
],
"title": "Clarification of 半日 in this sentence",
"view_count": 119
} | [
{
"body": "Came for dead rubber.\n\n* * *\n\nThe dictionary says:\n\n> **[むこう〔むかふ〕【向こう】](http://dictionary.goo.ne.jp/jn/214932/meaning/m0u/)**\n>\n> **４** 今後。これから先。「―三日間」\n\nBut I'd rather say it's virtually an adjective in this meaning, for it's\nalways followed by phrase represents time duration.\n\n> 向こう半日 _(for) the next half day_\n>\n> 向こう一週間の天気 _weather for the next seven days_",
"comment_count": 0,
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"creation_date": "2016-07-08T16:20:02.997",
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{
"body": "Here, むこう半日 or 半日 just indicates a certain period of time, which is not\nexactly defined how long. It is not necessarily related to the daylight. I\ntake it as 6 to 8 hours judging from this expression and the situation.",
"comment_count": 0,
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"creation_date": "2016-07-12T04:56:48.300",
"id": "36596",
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| 36519 | 36521 | 36521 |
{
"accepted_answer_id": "36526",
"answer_count": 1,
"body": "As far as I can understand about location に indicates a location where\nsomething exists (as in ここに いる), but some verbs use it like つとめる and で the\nlocation on which an action takes place ( as in レストランで食事をする or 待つ) but with 寄る\nに is used (according to the N4 preparatory book), I don't understand why, may\nI ask your help with this?",
"comment_count": 1,
"content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0",
"creation_date": "2016-07-08T22:14:49.257",
"favorite_count": 0,
"id": "36523",
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"last_edit_date": "2017-02-23T11:45:25.060",
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"owner_user_id": "9357",
"post_type": "question",
"score": 2,
"tags": [
"particle-に",
"particle-で",
"に-and-で"
],
"title": "use of に or で for 寄ってください as a location particle",
"view_count": 155
} | [
{
"body": "* As for 待つ, it's always used with で. I don't know when to use に.\n * As for 寄る, に is used in the same way as ～に行く (\"go to ～\"), ～に来る (\"come to ～\"), ～に向かう (\"head to ～\"), ～に送る (\"send (something) to ～\"), etc. It's the primary particle that marks a destination.\n\nThat said, you cannot always expect a logical answer for this kind of\nquestion. You may find this interesting:\n\n[後で vs. 前に- Why not the same\nparticle?](https://japanese.stackexchange.com/q/16269/5010)\n\n* * *\n\n(By the way, whenever I see \"to drop _by_ ～\", I can't help feeling it's\ncounter-intuitive...)",
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"creation_date": "2016-07-09T00:51:47.657",
"id": "36526",
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| 36523 | 36526 | 36526 |
{
"accepted_answer_id": "36525",
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"body": "After studying Japanese for quite a while and having read many books (maybe\nover 50-60 over a bunch of different genres), despite the fact I generally\nhave tried to learn the readings of most words I come across, I always find\nmyself discovering new words everyday whose pronunciation I don't know. Part\nof the time I can guess the reading since I know the common readings of the\nKanji involved, but often not.\n\nNevertheless, even without understanding every reading and looking up every\nword, I still can understand things enough to follow the story.\n\nMy question is: Do most adult Japanese natives who read books really know each\nand every reading of every word they come across, or is there frequently times\nwhen they aren't sure? I'm sure some academic/intellectual type people who\nread very often might know nearly all of the readings, but I'm more curious\nabout the average person who reads books off and on.\n\nPart of the mystery to me is how one would learn all these readings. Most\nadult books don't have that much Furigana, and many of the more advanced words\nI am talking about wouldn't be heard frequently, if ever, in daily life. I\njust have a hard time believing adult readers would frequently look up Kanji\nreadings, and instead would just aim to read such that they understand the\noverall flow of what is going on.\n\nOne example of one such books with a great many difficult words (for me) is\nthis book, which is what I would call hardcore fantasy:\n[https://www.amazon.co.jp/図書館の魔女-上-高田-\n大介/dp/4062182025](https://www.amazon.co.jp/%E5%9B%B3%E6%9B%B8%E9%A4%A8%E3%81%AE%E9%AD%94%E5%A5%B3-%E4%B8%8A-%E9%AB%98%E7%94%B0-%E5%A4%A7%E4%BB%8B/dp/4062182025)\n\nEDIT: As there was some discussion of the above-referenced book with difficult\nJapanese, I'll give a link to a review I wrote for it\n[here](http://selftaughtjapanese.com/2016/07/19/japanese-novel-review-witch-\nof-the-library-%E5%9B%B3%E6%9B%B8%E9%A4%A8%E3%81%AE%E9%AD%94%E5%A5%B3-by-\ndaisuke-takada-%E9%AB%98%E7%94%B0-%E5%A4%A7%E4%BB%8B/).",
"comment_count": 2,
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"creation_date": "2016-07-08T22:51:46.197",
"favorite_count": 0,
"id": "36524",
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"last_edit_date": "2016-07-20T04:47:24.580",
"last_editor_user_id": "11825",
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"post_type": "question",
"score": 15,
"tags": [
"readings"
],
"title": "Does the average native Japanese reader know how to pronounce a majority of Kanji found in books?",
"view_count": 3944
} | [
{
"body": "As long as you are reading common novels, you can generally believe that\naverage Japanese speakers can pronounce almost all kanji that don't come with\nwith furigana (But as for 図書館の魔女, I don't know, since I had no way to review\nits contents. According to the book reviews, it seems that the book contains\nrather difficult words.)\n\nBut there are some \"well-known reading mistakes\" like\n未曾有（×みぞゆう）、踏襲（×ふしゅう）、既出（×がいしゅつ）、and so on and on. This page has many examples.\n\n * 誤読の世界: <http://homepage2.nifty.com/tei-tagami/newpage5.html>\n\nIt contains some words that are no longer common, so you don't have to\nmemorize them all. But if you are not familiar with _most_ of the words in\nthis list, it means you still need some more work building up your vocabulary.\n\nAnd it's hard to tell how often I, for example, come across uncertain words...\nFor typical novels that are not \"hardcore fantasy\", I think it should be one\nword or two per book chapter, but I may be skipping difficult words almost\nunconsciously.\n\nPeople make errors guessing the readings of place or person names all the\ntime.",
"comment_count": 7,
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"creation_date": "2016-07-09T00:12:34.000",
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{
"body": "As far as it concerns Kanjis used in daily newspapers and magazines and modern\nliteratures, I think most of Japanese don’t have much problem in reading and\npronouncing them. But it applies only to 現代文 – modern Japanese language.\n\nBut when it comes to 文語文– written in classic writing styles i.e., the style\nused in Meiji period (1868 -1912) and earlier than Meiji era, the story is\ndifferent.\n\nLet me give you an ad hoc example:\n\nThere is the following sentence in page 230 in ”蹇蹇録（けんけんろく）- Memoire on the\npolitical situation around 日清戦争 (the Shino-Japan War -1894-95) and his\ndiplopmatic achievement” at hand, which was written by 陸奥宗光 - Mutsu Munemitsu\n(1844 -1897) , Minister of Foreign Affairs at that time, and published in 1895\nby Ministry of Foreign Affairs.\n\n\"陛下の御稜威に頼り開戦以来今日に至るまで海に陸に到る処、捷を発して以て我が国の武威を輝かし、また第三国より干渉の端を啓きたるも時に及びてこれを擺脱（はいだつ）してその甚だしきに至らしめず、以て今日に至ると言えども、本件の結果如何によりては実に我が国将来の隆替に関する所あれば、今この異変の局を収むるには宜しく慎重に熟籌（じゅくちゅう）し、時を鑑み機を察し、以てこれに適応するの計を講ぜざるべからざるはまた言を待たざるなり.\"\n\nRough translation:\n\nIn virtue of the influence of His Majesty, we made glorious victories both on\nthe sea and ground ever since we declared the war (against China). Though we\nhad interventions by the third party countries during this period, we managed\nto solve the problems skillfully thus far. However, depending on the future\nturn of this issue, it can bring the serious consequence on the future of our\ncountry. We need to be really considerate in dealing with the present\nsituation we are now facing. It is needless to say that we should be shrewd\nand flexible to meet the difficulty lest we should lose the opportunity and\ntiming.\n\nI don’t know three words (擺脱、熟籌、隆替) in the above Japanese sentence, and there\nare three other words I don’t understand in the same page.\n\nFirst of all, I'm curious to know what percent of Japanese contemporaries and\nhow many native Japanese users of this site know how to read the word of the\ntitle of the book, \"蹇蹇録,\" what it means, and can pronounce it correctly.\n\nI suspect there won't be so many Japanese today who know that the word, “蹇蹇\n(けんけん)” came from the line of 蹇卦 (Saigua), “蹇蹇匪躬 (sai-sai-fei-gong) – to\ncommit loyalty to the king on the cost of his own life” appearing in Chinese\nclassic, “易経 – the Book of Changes.”\n\nAs a pre-war generation, we learned 文語文 including both 漢文 and 古文 much harder\nthan today’s younger generations. Still I found six unlearned words in a\nsingle page (Page 230) of a writing published only 121 years ago, with which\nfew had difficulty in reading then.\n\nI’m also reading now ”臨済碌 – Analects of Zen priest, Rinzai” at hand, published\nby 1989 from Iwanami Shoten. My comprehension level of 漢字 in 読み下し文 - Japanese\nway of reading Chinese text - without referring to annotations is 60 per cent\nor so of it at the most,\n\nSo my answer to the OP's question is Yes, most Japanese people can read most\nof 漢字 in modern literature. But I’m very much skeptical of whether today’s\ncontemporaries have a good command of reading of writings published in Meiji,\neven Taisho era, much less before then.",
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},
{
"body": "> **内容紹介**\n>\n>\n> 鍛治の里に暮らす少年キリヒトは、師の命により、大陸最古の図書館を統べるマツリカに仕えることになる。古今の書物を繙き、数多の言語を操って策を巡らせるがゆえ、「魔女」と恐れられる彼女は、自分の声をもたないうら若き少女だった。本を愛し、言葉の力を信じるすべての人に!\n\nI guess average Japanese readers don't know how to pronounce 繙き (especially if\nwithout the help from the context) but still, they know _majority_ of\npronunciation. These two facts can coexist, right?\n\nFYI ひもとく itself is not so uncommon, but is usually spelt as 紐解く or in\nhiragana.",
"comment_count": 1,
"content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0",
"creation_date": "2016-07-09T05:49:40.497",
"id": "36531",
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| 36524 | 36525 | 36525 |
{
"accepted_answer_id": null,
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"body": "Is there any linguist said about yakimochi (焼餅) definition? I mean any\nresearch of that word?",
"comment_count": 3,
"content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0",
"creation_date": "2016-07-09T04:59:36.790",
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"score": 0,
"tags": [
"definitions",
"english-to-japanese",
"comparative-linguistics"
],
"title": "Confuse about the definition of yakimochi",
"view_count": 49
} | []
| 36530 | null | null |
{
"accepted_answer_id": "36539",
"answer_count": 1,
"body": "> 僕が、君に何をしたっていうんだい?\n\nI have trouble placing the 僕が, also I'm not 100% sure what したってい means here.\n\n> わたし、クラシックはさっぱりだから…\n\nI know that わたし means 'me' but when I translated the sentence it didn't seem\nto fit there.",
"comment_count": 1,
"content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0",
"creation_date": "2016-07-09T11:47:41.340",
"favorite_count": 0,
"id": "36533",
"last_activity_date": "2016-07-09T16:58:20.943",
"last_edit_date": "2016-07-09T16:58:20.943",
"last_editor_user_id": null,
"owner_user_id": "16028",
"post_type": "question",
"score": 0,
"tags": [
"translation"
],
"title": "Problems with translation",
"view_count": 104
} | [
{
"body": "> 「[僕]{ぼく}が、[君]{きみ}に[何]{なに}をしたっていうんだい？ 」\n\nFirst, try pairing up the verbs and the persons (action-takers).\n\nYou should have:\n\n1) 僕 and した\n\n2) 君 and いう（言う）\n\nThe sentence means:\n\n> \"What are you saying (that) I did/I've done to you?\"\n\n**IMPORTANT** : Note that the subject of this sentence is the\n**_unmentioned_** 「 **君** 」, and not the 「君」 in 「君に」. If you thought it was\n「僕」, you would not understand this sentence at all.\n\nMoving on...\n\n> 「わたし、クラシックはさっぱりだから・・・。」\n\nWithout any context given by OP, I take this sentence to be about classical\nmusic.\n\n> \"As for me, I have no knowledge of classical music, so...\" or\n>\n> \"As for me, I do not like classical music at all, so...\"\n\nThe key word here is 「さっぱり」, which means \"not at all\".",
"comment_count": 0,
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"creation_date": "2016-07-09T15:37:55.467",
"id": "36539",
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| 36533 | 36539 | 36539 |
{
"accepted_answer_id": "36535",
"answer_count": 1,
"body": "From [Jisho.org](http://jisho.org/search/%E8%A1%B7%20%23kanji), the stroke\norder for 衷 (inmost, heart, mind, inside) is:\n\n[](https://i.stack.imgur.com/KY9ff.png)\n[](https://i.stack.imgur.com/PbV65.png)\n\nI count 9 strokes, but the stroke number is listed there as 10. Additionally,\non Android ( _with_ [kanji\nfix](https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.ascendtv.kanjifix&hl=en)),\nthe kanji is rendered like this:\n\n[](https://i.stack.imgur.com/GchpP.png)\n\nThe number of strokes and the Android font version seems inconsistent with the\nstroke order. What is the correct stroke order for this kanji? How can I\nreconcile these inconsistencies?",
"comment_count": 0,
"content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0",
"creation_date": "2016-07-09T13:01:55.030",
"favorite_count": 0,
"id": "36534",
"last_activity_date": "2016-09-21T02:15:52.570",
"last_edit_date": null,
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"owner_user_id": "12091",
"post_type": "question",
"score": 3,
"tags": [
"kanji",
"stroke-order",
"stroke-count"
],
"title": "How to reconcile stroke order with font variation on 衷?",
"view_count": 373
} | [
{
"body": "First off, the jisho.org data is not always correct and comes from work by Jim\nBreen and [WWWJDIC](http://www.csse.monash.edu.au/~jwb/wwwjdicinf.html). It's\nvaliant work, but it also includes errors.\n\nAt least according to [kakijun.jp](http://kakijun.jp/page/09192200.html), this\nis primarily a ten stroke character. According to kakijun, the top should be a\n亠（ナベブタ）and then a mouth 口 with a stroke drawn through it. The nine-stroke\nversion listed there is considered an alternative.",
"comment_count": 1,
"content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0",
"creation_date": "2016-07-09T13:23:30.793",
"id": "36535",
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| 36534 | 36535 | 36535 |
{
"accepted_answer_id": "36563",
"answer_count": 2,
"body": ">\n> 他方、成績評価の甘い授業が高く評価されたり、人気取りに走る教師が出たりし、成績の安売りや大学教師のレベルダウンという弊害をもたらす恐れがある、などの反省意見もある.\n\nI really don't understand this sentence meaning, anyone knows?\n\n> On the other hand, by focusing on evaluating lessons which students weak(?),\n> teacher who has popularity who cheapening grades\n\nCan you give me advice how to understand Japanese long sentences? Although\nsometimes I know the meaning of each kanji and words but when it comes in a\nsentence, sometimes I don't get the main point of the sentence and becomes\nmore ambiguous.",
"comment_count": 3,
"content_license": "CC BY-SA 4.0",
"creation_date": "2016-07-09T13:43:15.023",
"favorite_count": 0,
"id": "36536",
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"owner_user_id": "15896",
"post_type": "question",
"score": 3,
"tags": [
"grammar",
"meaning"
],
"title": "Japanese long sentences",
"view_count": 9567
} | [
{
"body": "I'm a newcomer just like you and I might make mistakes, so please wait for\noutside opinions before deciding whether you can trust my answer.\n\n* * *\n\n> 成績評価の甘い授業\n\nHere 成績評価の甘い is a characteristic of 授業. 甘い is used in the sense of \"generous\".\nSo all together it means:\n\n> Teaching/lessons with generous grading.\n\n* * *\n\n> 成績の安売り\n\nHere 安売り is used in a figurative sense, meaning that something becomes easy to\nget (not in terms of money!). So we have:\n\n> \"Cheapening\" of grades. (it's getting a lot easier to get good grades)\n\n* * *\n\nAbout understanding long sentences. When something seems too complex, usually\nyou need to break it down into smaller parts and try to see how they relate to\neach other. Look for clues, such as typical sentence connectors.\n\nIn your example 他方 obviously connects the previous sentence to this one.\nなど…もある means \"… like that also exist\". Like what? Like what is described\nabove, of course. So for now we have:\n\n> 他方、「…」、などの反省意見もある.\n>\n> However, opinions like [...] also exist.\n\nSo now all that's left is to figure out the [...] part.\n\n* * *\n\n> 成績評価の甘い授業が高く評価されたり、人気取りに走る教師が出たりし、成績の安売りや大学教師のレベルダウンという弊害をもたらす恐れがある\n\nSeems a bit intimidating at first but again, let's see how these three phrases\nseparated by commas (let's call these phrases A, B, and C) are connected. Now,\nI'm not 100% sure, but I believe that both たり here mean that the situation\nkeeps developing. So it's something like \"if we have A, then (due to A)\nhappens B, then (due to A and B) happens C\". So if you can understand what A,\nB and C mean separately, you will be able to figure out the whole sentence\nnow:\n\n> However, opinions like \"A causes B and then C\" also exist.\n\nDo you need help understanding these parts too?",
"comment_count": 10,
"content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0",
"creation_date": "2016-07-09T19:29:16.220",
"id": "36540",
"last_activity_date": "2016-07-09T20:03:55.470",
"last_edit_date": "2020-06-17T08:18:27.500",
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{
"body": ">\n> 「[他方]{たほう}、[成績評価]{せいせきひょうか}の[甘]{あま}い[授業]{じゅぎょう}が[高]{たか}く[評価]{ひょうか}されたり、[人気取]{にんきと}りに[走]{はし}る[教師]{きょうし}が[出]{で}たりし、[成績]{せいせき}の[安売]{やすう}りや[大学教師]{だいがくきょうし}のレベルダウンという[弊害]{へいがい}をもたらす[恐]{おそ}れがある、などの[反省意見]{はんせいいけん}もある。」\n\nAs far as grammar and structure, this is actually a pretty straightforward-\nlooking sentence with no 'tricks or traps'. As long as you REALLY know the\nmeaning of each word ( ** _and have a feeling for them_** ), there should be\nno problem understanding the sentence.\n\nThe basic structure of this sentence is:\n\n> The general statement: \"On the other hand, there also are reflective\n> opinions.\" （「他方」 and 「などの反省意見もある」）\n\nJust in case you did not realize, the rest of the sentence is only an\n'explanation with examples' of that general statement.\n\n↓\n\n> An example of a possible negative effect leading to a reflective opinion.\n> （「成績の安売りや大学教師のレベルダウンという弊害をもたらす恐れがある」）\n\n↓\n\n> Two example causes to the possible negative effect above.\n> （「成績評価の甘い授業が高く評価されたり」 and 「人気取りに走る教師が出たりし」）\n\nMy own translation attempt:\n\n> \"On the other hand, there also exist some reflective opinions. One such\n> opinion is that because the classes (courses) where student evaluation is\n> not strict could be rated highly (by the students), or because some\n> instructors might blindly seek popularity, there is a fear that those events\n> might bring a harmful influence such as easy grade bumping and the general\n> decline in the standard of university instructors.\"",
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"creation_date": "2016-07-10T13:25:48.213",
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}
]
| 36536 | 36563 | 36563 |
{
"accepted_answer_id": null,
"answer_count": 1,
"body": "Basically, the title says it all.\n\nI've encountered quite a handful of sentences with these words, of which\nmeanings seems to be the same. I'm just wondering in what ways they differ and\nhow people use them...",
"comment_count": 1,
"content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0",
"creation_date": "2016-07-09T14:44:33.837",
"favorite_count": 0,
"id": "36537",
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"owner_user_id": "16048",
"post_type": "question",
"score": 2,
"tags": [
"grammar"
],
"title": "What is the difference between だろう and でしょう?",
"view_count": 1461
} | [
{
"body": "でしょう？ is the polite form of だろう？ but the main difference is that, while men\ncan use でしょう？, women rarely use だろう？ because of how masculine it is(Unless\nthey're young women speaking to their friends.)\n\nFor example, if you hear that the person you like is going to marry someone\nelse. You reply with 嘘だろう？\n\nIn the case of a girl, she would maybe say うそでしょう？\n\nSorry for my crappy examples haha.",
"comment_count": 0,
"content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0",
"creation_date": "2016-07-10T13:01:26.287",
"id": "36562",
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| 36537 | null | 36562 |
{
"accepted_answer_id": "36556",
"answer_count": 3,
"body": "I was wondering what the correct version of this sentence is\n\n私｛わたし｝が木｛き｝好｛す｝きです。 私｛わたし｝は木｛き｝好｛す｝きです。\n\nIf the correct version is even there.",
"comment_count": 1,
"content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0",
"creation_date": "2016-07-09T20:10:06.827",
"favorite_count": 0,
"id": "36541",
"last_activity_date": "2016-07-10T12:10:37.810",
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"owner_user_id": "16050",
"post_type": "question",
"score": 1,
"tags": [
"grammar"
],
"title": "should I use が or は for the sentence 私が木は好きです。and is that sentence even correct?",
"view_count": 1262
} | [
{
"body": "It should be 私は木が好きです。は comes first because it defines 私 as the subject. Since\n木 is the object, it gets が after it. 木は私が好きです would mean \"the tree likes me\".",
"comment_count": 0,
"content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0",
"creation_date": "2016-07-09T20:25:52.290",
"id": "36542",
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{
"body": "bcloutier’s answer makes a dangerous shortcut! The truth is that は marks the\n**topic** , not the subject, and が marks the **subject** , not the object.\n\nOften, the topic and subject coincide, but in this case they’re different.\n**好き just means “favourable, enjoyable”.** It’s closer to an adjective than a\nverb (though the two concepts blur together a little in Japanese). If\nsomething is 好き for you, that means you like it. It’s not a [transitive\nverb](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transitive_verb) like English’s “to like”.\nAnd the absolutely 100% literal translation of the correct sentence,\n「私は木が好きです」, is something like “(Topic: me.) Trees are favourable.” In other\nwords:\n\n * The topic is 私: this sentence is from my point of view; it has to do with me.\n * The [predicate](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Predicate_\\(grammar\\)#Predicates_in_modern_theories_of_syntax_and_grammar) is 好き: this sentence describes some subject _X_ as favourable.\n * The subject is 木: said _X_ is “trees”.\n\nNow, in _this specific case_ , from an English angle, the topic is very\nsubject-y, and the subject is very object-y. But it’s dangerous to look at it\nthat way, because it’s vague, and hides what is really going on.",
"comment_count": 2,
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"creation_date": "2016-07-10T01:32:27.017",
"id": "36549",
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},
{
"body": "は is generally used in the sentence with adjective like 彼女は美しい、海は広い. So\n私は木が好きです is general.\n\nHowever when it is the answer for a question and you identify the person, が is\nused. For example, \"誰が学校で一番美しいですか?\"\"彼女が一番美しいです\". So if you identify the person\nwho likes trees is you, you say 私が木が好きです.\n<http://www.alc.co.jp/jpn/article/faq/03/19.html>\n\nIn addition, you can place が and は after 木, if you use が, it has normal\nmeaning, but if you use は, you can imply contrast or emphasis like you\nespecially like trees. However I feel 私が木は好きです is unnatural.",
"comment_count": 8,
"content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0",
"creation_date": "2016-07-10T09:02:36.460",
"id": "36556",
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| 36541 | 36556 | 36549 |
{
"accepted_answer_id": "36548",
"answer_count": 2,
"body": "I was trying to find ways to translate people's names into 当て字, and came\nacross [this website](http://isop.sub.jp/main3/isop_mobile/ateji/ateji.html)\nthat seems to list 4 types of 当て字: \n暴走族風【ぼうそうぞくふう】, 宝塚風【たからづかふう】, お子様風【おこさまふう】, 難読文字【なんどくもじ】 \nThe best translation I can make is \"Biker-style\", \"Takarazuka-style\",\n\"Childlike-style\", and \"Difficult Words\". Are these 4 standard types of 当て字,\nor is it something the author of the website made up himself?",
"comment_count": 3,
"content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0",
"creation_date": "2016-07-09T20:54:34.320",
"favorite_count": 0,
"id": "36543",
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"last_edit_date": "2016-07-09T21:35:46.800",
"last_editor_user_id": "16049",
"owner_user_id": "16049",
"post_type": "question",
"score": 3,
"tags": [
"meaning",
"kanji",
"ateji"
],
"title": "What are these types of 当て字?",
"view_count": 365
} | [
{
"body": "The website appears to be an 当て字 generator. You input kana and it outputs 当て字\nbased on the above-listed arbitrary styles. They aren't real types of 当て字.\n\nAs an aside, I'm not sure exactly what the criteria is for the first two (at a\nglance I'd say it could be kanji with bad connotations vs good/imperial\nconnotations), but the latter two just create 当て字 using simple and complex\nkanji respectively.",
"comment_count": 1,
"content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0",
"creation_date": "2016-07-09T21:09:59.940",
"id": "36544",
"last_activity_date": "2016-07-09T21:15:34.080",
"last_edit_date": "2016-07-09T21:15:34.080",
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},
{
"body": "First and foremost, that website is **_in no way_** an authoritative guide to\n[当]{あ}て[字]{じ}. It even says 「当て字で[遊]{あそ}ぼう」(\"Let's play with ateji!\") in a\nhighlighted color. The four ateji patterns given are completely random and\njust for fun.\n\nAll I want to do here is to explain the first two patterns as many Japanese-\nlearners would be unfamiliar with the ideas behind them. The other two,\n「お[子様風]{こさまふう}」 and 「[難読文字風]{なんどくもじふう}」 could be figured out by using a\ndictionary.\n\n1) [暴走族風]{ぼうそうぞくふう}\n\n暴走族 (hot-rodders) are known for their love of kanji. They write everything in\nkanji --- but only in abnormal kanji. Below, they are saying 「よろしく！アイラブユー」 and\nthat kanji version of 「よろしく」 is very famous among us non-暴走族 Japanese citizens\nas well.\n\n[](https://i.stack.imgur.com/HVahm.jpg) \n(source:\n[blogimg.jp](http://livedoor.blogimg.jp/galud_school/imgs/c/b/cb6ff566.jpg))\n\n2) [宝塚風]{たからづかふう}\n\n宝塚 is a highly popular female-only theatrical company. (It is almost\nimpossible to get tickets for its shows!)\n\nThe actresses of Takarazuka, with basically no exceptions, have **_dramatic-\nsounding and gorgeous-looking_** stage names - both first and last names.\nBelow are some examples.\n\n\n\nSome of you might notice that the list contains masculine-sounding names. That\nis because some actresses of Takarazuka always play the male parts.",
"comment_count": 1,
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| 36543 | 36548 | 36548 |
{
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"body": "Does this translate correctly?\n\nFirst, let me go to the washroom.\n\nまず、おてあらいにいきたいんです。",
"comment_count": 1,
"content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0",
"creation_date": "2016-07-09T21:39:01.920",
"favorite_count": 0,
"id": "36545",
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"last_edit_date": "2016-07-09T21:51:23.347",
"last_editor_user_id": "13645",
"owner_user_id": "13645",
"post_type": "question",
"score": 0,
"tags": [
"learning"
],
"title": "Using -ndesu correctly?",
"view_count": 186
} | [
{
"body": "It is literary translated as \"まず、お手洗いに行かせて(ください)\" and \"まず、お手洗いにいきたいんです\" is\ntranslated as \"First, I want to go to the washroom\". However it is probably\nunderstood as \"まず、お手洗いに行かせて(ください)\" when you said to someone.\n\nIf you want to make clear the demand, you can say \"まず、お手洗いに行きたいんですけど、いいですか?\".",
"comment_count": 0,
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"creation_date": "2016-07-10T15:29:50.140",
"id": "36565",
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| 36545 | null | 36565 |
{
"accepted_answer_id": null,
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"body": "How would one state \"Again?\" like an expression of surprise? Do we still use\nまた?",
"comment_count": 0,
"content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0",
"creation_date": "2016-07-09T21:51:44.050",
"favorite_count": 0,
"id": "36546",
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"post_type": "question",
"score": 3,
"tags": [
"learning"
],
"title": "How to express \"Again?\"",
"view_count": 1367
} | [
{
"body": "We say:\n\n「また？」\n\n「またあ？」\n\n「またなの？」\n\n「またですか？」\n\n「えっ、また？」\n\n「うそっ、またあ？」\n\n「また + Verb + の？」 as in 「また[来]{き}たの？」\n\n「また + Verb + んですか？」 as in 「また[食]{た}べるんですか？」\n\netc.\n\nEDIT: Adding a slangy version.\n\n「またっすか？」",
"comment_count": 0,
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"creation_date": "2016-07-09T23:28:33.493",
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"score": 7
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{
"body": "Another slangy version. またかよ！",
"comment_count": 0,
"content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0",
"creation_date": "2016-07-11T06:58:13.193",
"id": "36580",
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| 36546 | null | 36547 |
{
"accepted_answer_id": null,
"answer_count": 1,
"body": "I just started reading a Japanese version of the New Testament when I\nencountered this. The English has it as \"Behold\", but 見よ doesn't seem to be a\ncommand form that I am familiar with. Is this something specific to 見る?",
"comment_count": 0,
"content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0",
"creation_date": "2016-07-10T01:46:25.233",
"favorite_count": 0,
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"post_type": "question",
"score": 1,
"tags": [
"grammar"
],
"title": "What is the grammar behind 見よ?",
"view_count": 259
} | [
{
"body": "見よ is an older command conjugation of 見る (see\n<http://detail.chiebukuro.yahoo.co.jp/qa/question_detail/q1239056022> if you\ncan read it).\n\nBasically, [見]{み} is the masu stem of 見る -- used 見ます and 見ない. Drop the part\nafter the stem and adding よ makes it a type of command.\n\n見ろ is of course also a type of command.",
"comment_count": 0,
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"creation_date": "2016-07-10T01:54:53.700",
"id": "36552",
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| 36550 | null | 36552 |
{
"accepted_answer_id": "36555",
"answer_count": 1,
"body": "I learned that the short form for な-adjs and nouns is だ, but I also learned\nthat usually you wouldn't end a sentence with だ (usually it is dropped).\n\nSo when it comes to a sentence that ends with -んだ, would you drop the だ here\ntoo?\n\ne.g. きのう、たべすぎるん。 vs きのう、たべすぎるんだ。",
"comment_count": 0,
"content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0",
"creation_date": "2016-07-10T01:51:02.083",
"favorite_count": 0,
"id": "36551",
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"owner_user_id": "13645",
"post_type": "question",
"score": 2,
"tags": [
"learning"
],
"title": "-んだ casual form",
"view_count": 275
} | [
{
"body": "In that case の as in のだ is not contracted into ん in Standard Japanese, in\nshort, you say たべすぎるの.",
"comment_count": 0,
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"creation_date": "2016-07-10T06:19:22.300",
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| 36551 | 36555 | 36555 |
{
"accepted_answer_id": "36573",
"answer_count": 3,
"body": "Noticed a word さらさら appearing on various products' packaging I've got from\nJapan. The main translation (\"rustling sound\") doesn't seem like something\nyou'd ordinarily expect to see there... Especially on such a variety of\nproducts as tea, nappies and books (admittedly, might have been an ad on a\nplastic packaging for something else in the latter case). It is shown on front\ntitle side alongside the product description and brand name.\n\nHere are a couple of examples I found around the house:\n\n**Nappies**\n[](https://i.stack.imgur.com/QTAGy.jpg)\n\n**Tea** [](https://i.stack.imgur.com/9gp4E.jpg)\n\nSo, what does this mean?",
"comment_count": 4,
"content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0",
"creation_date": "2016-07-10T02:19:18.743",
"favorite_count": 0,
"id": "36553",
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"post_type": "question",
"score": 7,
"tags": [
"translation",
"words",
"onomatopoeia"
],
"title": "What is さらさら on packaging?",
"view_count": 459
} | [
{
"body": "さらさら means that something is less sticky and to be smoothly rubbed.",
"comment_count": 0,
"content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0",
"creation_date": "2016-07-10T06:15:43.237",
"id": "36554",
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"score": -1
},
{
"body": "It is most commonly used for shampoo. It means silky smooth. (Even to a lesser\ndegree, you can use the word さらさら",
"comment_count": 2,
"content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0",
"creation_date": "2016-07-10T12:57:39.327",
"id": "36560",
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{
"body": "(As I noted in the comments,) さらさら is a mimetic word symbolic of such related\nbut varied qualities as \"smoothness of texture,\" \"freedom from wetness or\nickiness,\" \"ease or fluidity of movement,\" etc., in addition to a light,\nrustling sound.\n\nAs for the nappies case, the word describes the dryness and comfortableness of\nthe material (and the retention of it over the course of use).\n\nMore interesting is the tea example, which encompasses all the meanings and\nqualities mentioned above, and speaks to the range of ideas one use of an\nonomatopoeia, or any word, can express at once. This さらさら evokes to my mind\nthe image of: _dry_ grains of tea making _a soft, rustling sound_ as they\n_flow_ down into the cup, dissolving _easily_ upon contact with the (hot)\nwater therein. (See the image on the package.)\n\nさらさら is a positive description, partly explaining (along with the brevity) its\nubiquity in the marketing messages for commercial products.",
"comment_count": 0,
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"creation_date": "2016-07-11T04:02:15.203",
"id": "36573",
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}
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| 36553 | 36573 | 36573 |
{
"accepted_answer_id": null,
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"body": "I was listened to [Bump of chicken's song,\nParade](https://youtu.be/bAo-1Wsx4PY). I tried to figure out the grammar they\nused on each sentence and this phrase catch my attention.\n\n忘れないで 忘れないで 心だけが世界。\n\nWhy do they use で here ? Is it work as \" です” or て form or what?",
"comment_count": 0,
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"creation_date": "2016-07-10T10:19:00.433",
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"post_type": "question",
"score": 3,
"tags": [
"particles",
"particle-で"
],
"title": "Why did they use で here?",
"view_count": 486
} | [
{
"body": "忘れないで here is the casual form of 忘れないでください, which means \"don't forget\". In\ngeneral, when it's not the last word in the sentence it means \"without\nforgetting\".\n\nAs you guessed, it's basically one of two て forms for negative verbs. The\nother is 忘れなくて, but it's used in different contexts like 忘れなくてもいいです, \"it's\nalright if you forget\".",
"comment_count": 0,
"content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0",
"creation_date": "2016-07-10T10:28:40.627",
"id": "36558",
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{
"body": "> 「Verb in [未然形]{みぜんけい} (Imperfective Form) + ないで」\n\nexpresses a soft-spoken prohibition. \" ** _Please don't forget_**.\"\n\n「[忘]{わす}れ」 is the 未然形 of the verb 「忘れる」. The 未然形 is the form to which 「ない」 can\nbe attached directly.",
"comment_count": 0,
"content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0",
"creation_date": "2016-07-10T10:41:26.113",
"id": "36559",
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"post_type": "answer",
"score": 7
}
]
| 36557 | null | 36559 |
{
"accepted_answer_id": null,
"answer_count": 1,
"body": "I know that in general, if a 形容詞 in modern Japanese ends in ～しい, then it was\noriginally a シク活用形容詞, with 終止形 ～し and 連體形 ～しき. I also know that in the Late\nMiddle Japanese period, シク adjectives developed a 終止形 of ～しし, which then\nmerged with ～しき and evolved into modern ～しい. But I'm wondering whether there\nwere any ク活用形容詞 that currently end in ～しい; i.e., with classical 終止形 ～し\n(preceded directly by another し in the adjective root) and 連體形 ～き (but again\npreceded directly by し in the adjective root). It seems that just by random\nchance some of these could have occurred.\n\nAgain, I am not referring to the ～しし 終止形 that developed for シク adjectives in\nthe Late Middle Japanese Period.\n\nThank you very much.",
"comment_count": 0,
"content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0",
"creation_date": "2016-07-10T14:16:27.697",
"favorite_count": 0,
"id": "36564",
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"owner_user_id": "16057",
"post_type": "question",
"score": 4,
"tags": [
"classical-japanese",
"i-adjectives"
],
"title": "形容詞 that end in ～しい but were not シク活用 in 古文",
"view_count": 219
} | [
{
"body": "That's an interesting idea, but it actually couldn't have occurred by random\nchance, because it was impossible for an Old Japanese /ku/ adjective to have a\nstem ending in /-i/ (or, at least, no such words are attested).\n\nA mild caveat to this: I once read (I forget where, sorry) that for many of\nthe adjectives that came down to us in the /siku/ group, we do not have\nphonographic attestation in Old Japanese to prove that they _were_ in fact\n/siku/ adjectives at that stage. We just assume that they were because that's\nhow they appear in Heian-period documents. So it's technically possible that\namong the /siku/ adjectives there are a few that, in Old Japanese, were just\n/ku/ adjectives with a stem ending in /-si/, and were reanalyzed in Middle\nJapanese as /siku/ adjectives (roughly as you suggest could have happened).\n\nHowever, given the apparent restriction on _any_ stems ending in /-i/, and\ncircumstantial evidence like the fact that /siku/ adjectives tend to be\nsemantically distinctive, describing subjective or psychological states, this\ndoesn't seem especially likely.",
"comment_count": 0,
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| 36564 | null | 36586 |
{
"accepted_answer_id": "36567",
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"body": "In this phrase 人の嫌がることをするな why is の used? Is it acting as a noun modifier?\n\n嫌がる is the garu form of iya as far as I understand, so it would be a verb\nright? can a verb be treated as a noun?",
"comment_count": 0,
"content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0",
"creation_date": "2016-07-10T15:54:54.923",
"favorite_count": 0,
"id": "36566",
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"owner_user_id": "9357",
"post_type": "question",
"score": 0,
"tags": [
"particle-の"
],
"title": "purpose of の in 人の嫌がることをするな",
"view_count": 112
} | [
{
"body": "This 嫌がる is an attributive form of a verb 嫌がる. So 嫌がること is a noun phrase.\n人の嫌がること is translated as \"something that a person(or someone) doesn't want to\ndo\". This の act as が like 人が嫌がること.",
"comment_count": 0,
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"creation_date": "2016-07-10T16:10:06.707",
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| 36566 | 36567 | 36567 |
{
"accepted_answer_id": "36569",
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"body": "Both 落す and 落とす seem to be pronounced おとす and have the same meaning. Are they\nvariants? Different words? Is one of them technically wrong?",
"comment_count": 0,
"content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0",
"creation_date": "2016-07-10T20:40:55.833",
"favorite_count": 0,
"id": "36568",
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"last_edit_date": "2016-07-10T22:19:17.387",
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"owner_user_id": "12121",
"post_type": "question",
"score": 7,
"tags": [
"word-choice",
"verbs",
"readings",
"okurigana"
],
"title": "What's the difference between 落す and 落とす?",
"view_count": 1013
} | [
{
"body": "The verb is usually written 落とす and one of the [official\nreadings](https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E5%B8%B8%E7%94%A8%E6%BC%A2%E5%AD%97%E4%B8%80%E8%A6%A7)\nfor 落:\n\n> **落** \n> ラク、お-ちる、お-とす\n\nOne way to remember the _okurigana_ is to note that the reading of the _kanji_\nshould be short enough, i.e. the _okurigana_ should be long enough, to\naccommodate all transitive/intransitive variants. Here, we also have おちる \"to\nfall down\", so that we have [落とす]{おとす} and [落ちる]{おちる} without having to change\nthe reading of 落 from [落]{おと} to [落]{おち}.\n\nThat said, it is also [officially\nallowed](https://www.bunka.go.jp/kokugo_nihongo/sisaku/joho/joho/kijun/naikaku/okurikana/honbun02.html)\n(see 「許容」 below) to shorten the _okurigana_ to only the inflecting suffix\n(i.e. one _kana_ ) when the reading is unambiguous:\n\n> ## 通則2\n>\n> ### 本則\n>\n> 活用語尾以外の部分に他の語を含む語は，含まれている語の送り仮名の付け方によって送る。(含まれている語を〔 〕の中に示す。)\n>\n> 〔例〕\n>\n> (1) 動詞の活用形又はそれに準ずるものを含むもの。\n>\n> 動かす〔動く〕 照らす〔照る〕 語らう〔語る〕 計らう〔計る〕 向かう〔向く〕 浮かぶ〔浮く〕 生まれる〔生む〕 押さえる〔押す〕 捕らえる〔捕る〕\n> 勇ましい〔勇む〕 輝かしい〔輝く〕 喜ばしい〔喜ぶ〕 晴れやかだ〔晴れる〕 及ぼす〔及ぶ〕 積もる〔積む〕 聞こえる〔聞く〕 頼もしい〔頼む〕\n> 起こる〔起きる〕 落とす〔落ちる〕 暮らす〔暮れる〕 冷やす〔冷える〕 当たる〔当てる〕 終わる〔終える〕 変わる〔変える〕 集まる〔集める〕\n> 定まる〔定める〕 連なる〔連ねる〕 交わる〔交える〕 混ざる・混じる〔混ぜる〕 恐ろしい〔恐れる〕\n>\n> (2) 形容詞・形容動詞の語幹を含むもの。\n>\n> 重んずる〔重い〕 若やぐ〔若い〕 怪しむ〔怪しい〕 悲しむ〔悲しい〕 苦しがる〔苦しい〕 確かめる〔確かだ〕 重たい〔重い〕 憎らしい〔憎い〕\n> 古めかしい〔古い〕 細かい〔細かだ〕 柔らかい〔柔らかだ〕 清らかだ〔清い〕 高らかだ〔高い〕 寂しげだ〔寂しい〕\n>\n> (3) [...]\n>\n> ### 許容\n>\n> 読み間違えるおそれのない場合は，活用語尾以外の部分について，次の( )の中に示すように，送り仮名を省くことができる。\n>\n> 〔例〕 浮かぶ(浮ぶ) 生まれる(生れる) 押さえる(押える) 捕らえる(捕える)\n>\n> 晴れやかだ(晴やかだ) 積もる(積る) 聞こえる(聞える) 起こる(起る) 落とす(落す) 暮らす(暮す) 当たる(当る) 終わる(終る)\n> 変わる(変る)\n\nThe [BCCWJ](http://www.kotonoha.gr.jp/shonagon/) has\n\n```\n\n 落とす 1657 results\n 落す 130 results\n \n```\n\nbut\n\n```\n\n 落とした 1622 results\n 落した 1013 results\n \n```\n\nAlso in compound words like 落(と)し子, 落(と)し蓋, 落(と)し主, etc., the extra _kana_ is\na bit more likely to be dropped, although the longer version still seems to be\nmore frequent in all cases.\n\n```\n\n 落とし蓋 15 results\n 落し蓋 12 results\n \n 落とし子 13 results\n 落し子 6 results\n \n```\n\n## tl;dr\n\nSafely use 落とす everywhere, but don't be surprised to see 落す or especially 落し～.",
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}
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| 36568 | 36569 | 36569 |
{
"accepted_answer_id": "38217",
"answer_count": 2,
"body": "I was watching a video of people in Japan getting yelled at and stopped by\npolice, and several times I'd hear them yell「ついて！」. \nI was unsure of the meaning, and after looking it up I couldn't figure out if\nit was 着いて e.g. \"sit down\" or 付いて e.g. \"come here\". I know that 付いて来て would\nmean something like \"come with me\", but I am not sure which one of these would\nbe correct in that situation.\n\nEDIT:\n\nFor clarity, it was a skateboarding video. Someone would do a trick on private\nproperty, and when the police/guards saw this happen they yelled「ついて！」,\ndirected at the skateboarder.",
"comment_count": 6,
"content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0",
"creation_date": "2016-07-10T22:41:07.627",
"favorite_count": 0,
"id": "36570",
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"last_edit_date": "2016-07-11T22:21:59.460",
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"post_type": "question",
"score": 4,
"tags": [
"meaning",
"spoken-language",
"kanji-choice"
],
"title": "Meaning of ついて when issued as a command?",
"view_count": 628
} | [
{
"body": "It comes from: つく[つく·付く], which primarily means to stick onto, to attach to,\nalthough it has several other meanings. In the situation you mentioned, it can\nbe used as an English equivalent of \"Follow (them/him/her/it)!\" as the act of\nfollowing is in fact, 'sticking on' to someone who is running or walking away.\n\nJust on a side note, Korean shares a lot of things in common with Japanese,\nand the way they say \"Follow (with the intention of _catching_ the\nperson/thing)\" also contains the word \"Stick on to.\"",
"comment_count": 0,
"content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0",
"creation_date": "2016-07-20T13:46:54.193",
"id": "36809",
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"body": "This is just a guess, but Japanese police/guards (and firefighters) would\ntypically say\n\n> 「どいて！」 \n> 「ハイ、どいて」\n\nto civilians and youngsters, like trespassing skateboarder(s).\n\n> 「おまわりさん、どいて！」連呼する消防隊。 Fire fighter yelling cops, \"Move off!\" \n> 2012/09/11 -\n> 火災現場で部署しようとする位置に居た警察官へ、「おまわりさん、どいて！」と連呼するはしご車と、道路上の野次馬へマイクとサイレン、それに警笛で移動を促すポンプ車。\n> ( The fire fighters yelling to the cops about \"get off from parking point\".\n> ) -- [YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hzxoTS3nZds)\n\nWhat makes this video clip funny is that it's the policemen who are usually\ntelling people 「どいて！」",
"comment_count": 2,
"content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0",
"creation_date": "2016-08-05T01:08:33.540",
"id": "38217",
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"last_edit_date": "2016-08-10T05:20:03.223",
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"owner_user_id": "16344",
"parent_id": "36570",
"post_type": "answer",
"score": 1
}
]
| 36570 | 38217 | 38217 |
{
"accepted_answer_id": "36579",
"answer_count": 1,
"body": "For a native speaker, with regard to legal documents, are 判子 and 署名 becoming\nsubstitutable? Japan likes to westernize, so are people beginning to just sign\nstuff by hand?\n\nMyself a non-native, I had a choice. _HR_ made me a 判子 to use for work\ndocuments. For other documents like apartment, bank account, etc. I just\nsigned them.\n\n**update** : \nA pro-translator wrote:\n\n> 最終書類に署名することを拒否した。\n\nI think that is a fail. That _seems_ a good way to express a refusal to agree\nto the final terms of a legal document but isn't the meaning murky? Is this a \n(1) flat-out refusal of the terms, \n(2) or an agreement to the terms, but refusal to use a signature. He / she\nwants to use a hanko.\n\nIn fact, digital signatures have already changed how we think of signatures.\nSurely, the legal implications \"署名\" and \"判子\" is becoming unclear.",
"comment_count": 2,
"content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0",
"creation_date": "2016-07-11T00:10:10.267",
"favorite_count": 0,
"id": "36571",
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"last_edit_date": "2016-07-11T18:56:47.180",
"last_editor_user_id": "15778",
"owner_user_id": "15778",
"post_type": "question",
"score": 2,
"tags": [
"definitions"
],
"title": "For natives, is 署名 beginning to supersede 判子 with regard to signing official documents?",
"view_count": 128
} | [
{
"body": "Not yet. Hanko is still required for LOTS of documents in both public and\nprivate sectors. I guess, for most of the cases, hanko is not legally required\nand it's just a common practice for those who want documents to feel relieved\njust like other 念のため or 一応 stuff.\n\nIt's true that certain people don't like hanko culture. But it's not because\nwe like to westerize as you say, but because hanko culture often irritates us\nespecially when a person at a city office counter tells you to go back home to\nbring your hanko and make a line and wait another 30 min, or when you receive\na retured contract document with a letter which says \"your hanko is not\nproperly stamped\".\n\nA young mayor of Chiba city is one of those and he promised to reduce hanko-\nrequired documents three years ago when he elected as a mayor. One year later,\n[Chiba city reduced 3200 hanko-required documents to\n1000](http://www.sankei.com/region/news/140526/rgn1405260007-n1.html).\n\nYou (and Leo) might go through many nonlegally hanko requirements with\nsignature because you are gaijin. I have never been allowed to substitute\nhanko with signature in documents for the public sector because they think\nit's 当たり前 for me to have a hanko.",
"comment_count": 0,
"content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0",
"creation_date": "2016-07-11T06:51:26.757",
"id": "36579",
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"post_type": "answer",
"score": 5
}
]
| 36571 | 36579 | 36579 |
{
"accepted_answer_id": null,
"answer_count": 2,
"body": "そのお菓子を息子にくれますか？\n\nそのお菓子を息子にもらえますか?\n\nApparently these sentences are equivalent, but as far as I know に marks the\nsubject who gives the object, I don't understand how do they have the same\nmeaning\n\nIs there anything am I missing?",
"comment_count": 1,
"content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0",
"creation_date": "2016-07-11T03:40:25.857",
"favorite_count": 0,
"id": "36572",
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"last_edit_date": "2016-07-11T11:45:40.360",
"last_editor_user_id": "6820",
"owner_user_id": "9357",
"post_type": "question",
"score": 1,
"tags": [
"word-choice",
"giving-and-receiving"
],
"title": "equivalence between くれる and もらう",
"view_count": 602
} | [
{
"body": "This くれる means \"someone give something to someone\", so the action is the other\nside. そのお菓子を息子にくれますか? is translated as \"Can you give the snack to my son?\"\n\nThis もらう means \"someone receive something from someone\", so the action is\nspeakers' side. そのお菓子を息子にもらえますか? is translated as \"Can I receive the snack\nfrom my son?\" but it is unnatural to say that to someone.\n\nI think \"そのお菓子を息子にくれませんか?\", \"そのお菓子を息子にください\" are more common than\n\"そのお菓子を息子にくれますか？\".",
"comment_count": 6,
"content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0",
"creation_date": "2016-07-11T05:39:46.483",
"id": "36576",
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"score": 4
},
{
"body": "> If you use「もらう」the subject is **you** or **_someone in your in-group_**\n>\n> If you use「くれる」the subject is **someone else**\n\nIn **_both cases_** the _beneficiary_ is you or someone in your in-group.\n\n \nIn example:\n\n> * 息子に渡{わた}して **くれた**\n>\n\n>\n> (They) handed (my) son (some sweets) **for (me)**\n```\n\n Someone handed something to your son for you\n \n```\n\n \n\n> * 息子に渡して **もらった**\n>\n\n>\n> **_(I) had_** (our) son hand (them) (some sweets) **for (us)**\n```\n\n You had your son hand something to someone for you and your wife \n \n```\n\n \n\n> * 息子に渡して **くれませんか？**\n>\n\n>\n> **Would (you)** hand (my) son (some sweets) **for (me)?**\n```\n\n You are asking someone to hand something to your son \n \n```\n\n \n\n> * 息子に渡して **もらえませんか？**\n>\n\n>\n> **_Can (you)_** hand (some sweets) to (my) son **for (me)**?\n```\n\n You are asking someone if they will hand something to your son for you \n \n```\n\n \n\n> * 息子に **もらいました**\n>\n\n>\n> **_(I) got_** (some sweets) from (my) son\n```\n\n You received something from your son \n \n```\n\n \n\n> * 息子に渡して **もらいました**\n>\n\n>\n> **_(I) had_** (him) hand (some sweets) to (my) son\n```\n\n You had your son hand something to someone else for you\n \n```",
"comment_count": 0,
"content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0",
"creation_date": "2016-07-11T05:51:44.227",
"id": "36577",
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}
]
| 36572 | null | 36576 |
{
"accepted_answer_id": null,
"answer_count": 2,
"body": "Consider the following dialogue.\n\n> A: ダイエットするのは、健康を考えてのことでしょうか。\n>\n> B: 健康を考えてのことというよりむしろ、…\n\nWhy is there の between 考えて (not a noun) and こと (noun) in this sentence?",
"comment_count": 0,
"content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0",
"creation_date": "2016-07-11T04:28:41.613",
"favorite_count": 0,
"id": "36574",
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"last_edit_date": "2020-06-17T08:18:27.500",
"last_editor_user_id": "-1",
"owner_user_id": "11192",
"post_type": "question",
"score": 4,
"tags": [
"grammar"
],
"title": "Why is there の between 考えて and こと in this sentence?",
"view_count": 155
} | [
{
"body": "It's not all that uncommon for the て for to be followed by の. In idiomatic\nuses such as について (e.g. 魚についての本, a book about fish) it's common, but you're\nseeing a similar thing here. を考えての means 'about' but from a more subjective\npoint of view. Is dieting all about health? (Is it from considering one's\nhealth?)",
"comment_count": 0,
"content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0",
"creation_date": "2016-07-11T04:53:50.107",
"id": "36575",
"last_activity_date": "2016-07-11T04:59:05.570",
"last_edit_date": "2016-07-11T04:59:05.570",
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"post_type": "answer",
"score": 3
},
{
"body": "Adding to what AJFB said, it's a somewhat limited form (different from についての\netc) that expresses a type of condition:\n\nＡてのＢ ≒ Ａ⇒Ｂ (A is the condition needed for B to happen)\n\nYou can also insert a こそ after the て to add a touch more emphasis, but\nmaintain more or less the same meaning.\n\n見ての楽しみ (look / see ⇒ enjoy) typically, something like \"just wait and see\".\n\n> どうなるかは見てのお楽しみです \n> I can't wait to see how things turn out.\n\n健康を考えてのこと \nlit. something that is a result of having thought of [subject]'s health\n\n> A: ダイエットするのは、健康を考えてのことでしょうか。 \n> Could it be that people diet because they are concerned about their health? \n> B: 健康を考えてのことというよりむしろ、… \n> More than from thinking of their health, I'd say...\n\nNo idea who these two are talking about though -- people in general, B, or\nsomeone else.",
"comment_count": 0,
"content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0",
"creation_date": "2016-07-11T06:04:27.873",
"id": "36578",
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"last_edit_date": null,
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"owner_user_id": "6841",
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"post_type": "answer",
"score": 4
}
]
| 36574 | null | 36578 |
{
"accepted_answer_id": null,
"answer_count": 2,
"body": "Suppose a boss is telling his/her subordinates not to be angry by saying 怒らないで\n**おくれ** よ。\n\nWhat is the meaning of おくれ in this context? And is it interchangeable with the\nsentence \"怒らないで **くれ** よ。\" ?",
"comment_count": 0,
"content_license": "CC BY-SA 4.0",
"creation_date": "2016-07-11T07:18:42.637",
"favorite_count": 0,
"id": "36582",
"last_activity_date": "2021-12-14T05:27:02.627",
"last_edit_date": "2021-12-14T05:26:29.987",
"last_editor_user_id": "30454",
"owner_user_id": "16067",
"post_type": "question",
"score": 5,
"tags": [
"verbs",
"subsidiary-verbs",
"giving-and-receiving"
],
"title": "Is おくれ interchangeable with くれ?",
"view_count": 696
} | [
{
"body": "> 「Verb in て/で Form + **お** くれ」\n\nis rarely used in real life these days. That is unless there are regions where\nit is still used frequently that I am not aware of.\n\nI have lived half of my life in Tokyo and the other half in Nagoya, but I\ncannot say that I have heard 「～～て/で + **お** くれ」 with any kind of consistency\naround those two cities.\n\nWhere do I see/hear it? Mostly in fiction, to be honest. Children's stories,\nsong lyrics, period dramas, etc. Every single native speaker would remember\nhearing it as a kid said by older characters in children's stories.\n\nThe above is why it is difficult to answer your question \"Are おくれ and くれ\ninterchangeable?\" In meaning, yes, certainly, but we just do not use the\nformer. We mostly just use the latter (or the politer form 「ください」).\n\nAs far as pure meaning, however, the two sentences below mean the same thing:\n\n> 「[怒]{おこ}らないで **お** くれよ。」\n>\n> 「怒らないでくれよ。」\n>\n> = \"Don't get angry!\"",
"comment_count": 0,
"content_license": "CC BY-SA 4.0",
"creation_date": "2016-07-11T11:02:53.457",
"id": "36583",
"last_activity_date": "2020-02-10T01:03:19.737",
"last_edit_date": "2020-06-17T08:18:27.500",
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},
{
"body": "Yes, they are interchangeable, and we usually use してくれ now.\n\nAbout this おくれ, it has two opinions. One is お in おくれ is 美化語 like お食べ and\nanother is おくれなさい omitted なさい.\n\nAnd it is a dialect of Wakayama prefecture.\n<http://www.weblio.jp/content/%E3%81%97%E3%81%A6%E3%81%8A%E3%81%8F%E3%82%8C>",
"comment_count": 0,
"content_license": "CC BY-SA 4.0",
"creation_date": "2016-07-11T14:25:23.990",
"id": "36585",
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"owner_user_id": "7320",
"parent_id": "36582",
"post_type": "answer",
"score": 3
}
]
| 36582 | null | 36583 |
{
"accepted_answer_id": "36624",
"answer_count": 2,
"body": "It was mentioned in a\n[comment](https://japanese.stackexchange.com/questions/36099/how-rude-is-it-\nto-speak-to-a-japanese-stranger-informally-instead-of-using-\nthe-p#comment71136_36099) that 「どこからきた？」 is not only informal, but outright\nrude. The way the comment is written makes me think that this goes beyond\ngrammatical politeness and would be improper even in -ます form. Is that true?\n\nA naive translation to English (I'm not a native speaker) could perhaps be\n\"Where do you come from?\" or \"Where did you come from?\" which seem to sound\nfairly neutral with no rudeness in them...\n\nWhat makes the Japanese sentence rude? Is there some generic guideline that\nwould apply not just to this sentence? So that we don't avoid it here while\ncommitting a similar rudeness elsewhere\n\nPerhaps it has something to do with directness of the question and having\nlistener as a subject on top of it. But in my materials it seemed like a\npreference (especially for highly polite speech) rather than a hard universal\nrule, they mentioned it briefly and not discussed in much detail...\n\nThank you!",
"comment_count": 10,
"content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0",
"creation_date": "2016-07-11T19:18:17.337",
"favorite_count": 0,
"id": "36587",
"last_activity_date": "2021-07-19T07:07:08.070",
"last_edit_date": "2017-04-13T12:43:44.207",
"last_editor_user_id": "-1",
"owner_user_id": "9719",
"post_type": "question",
"score": 11,
"tags": [
"politeness"
],
"title": "What makes 「どこからきた？」 rude?",
"view_count": 763
} | [
{
"body": "There are similar sentences that are used in confrontational settings or in\norder to insult somebody (e.g. お前らどこのもんじゃ or お前らどっからきたんじゃ, basically it\namounts to \"You stranger!\" or \"What kind of inferior group do you come\nfrom?\"), so that similarity might be the reason.\n\nThough there are certainly situations where it's completely fine. E.g.\n「今日はどこから来たんですか？」(from where did you travel here today?) is perfectly polite.\nUsing it to ask generally where a person is from would indeed sound a bit rude\nIMO.\n\n**EDIT:**\n\n> \"Using it to ask generally where a person is from would indeed sound a bit\n> rude IMO.\" - would you be able to say why?\n\nI think it's because the verb 来る is too casual to inquire about something so\nimportant (in traditional Japanese culture). Presumably similar to why we have\nspecial verbs when it relates to the emperor. E.g. if an emperor dies, he\ndoesn't 死ぬ because that is too casual. Rather, he 崩御する. Or consider 生誕. This\nword means exactly the same thing as 誕生 but it's reserved for important\npeople.\n\nGenerally the idea in Japanese culture is that using special words == more\nrespect, and thus casual/direct words == less respect.\n\n> would it be a different case when rephrased like 「{name}さんはどこから来ましたか？」\n\nIt makes clear that you are trying to be respectful, and therefore it will be\ninterpreted as asking where you literally came (traveled) from (today). That\nwould be mundane enough to warrant the use of simple verbs.\n\nThat said I think it's common to hear expressions like 「〜さんってどっから来たの？」when\nreferring to a foreigner (e.g. ゾマホンさんってどっから来たの？). In my personal opinion there\nis a hint of racism there but other people might have different opinions.",
"comment_count": 4,
"content_license": "CC BY-SA 4.0",
"creation_date": "2016-07-13T08:35:27.753",
"id": "36624",
"last_activity_date": "2021-07-19T07:07:08.070",
"last_edit_date": "2021-07-19T07:07:08.070",
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"owner_user_id": "499",
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},
{
"body": "The potential for rudeness in this sentence will depend upon a combined number\nof factors: setting, status, enunciation, race, and gender. (More are\npossible, but I will only cover these.)\n\nSetting: if you are in a classroom setting, host family, or other 'protected\nlearning' environment, this will not likely be perceived as rude. Other\nsettings could be more problematic.\n\nStatus: this will be a big issue. Japanese society still has lingering traces\nof the social stratification which used to be common a few hundred years ago.\nIn modern times, these traces have generally degraded to be a function of\nsimply age, societal and/or business position, and relationship. The lingual\nform presented is a low form, generally used among intimate/friendly people of\nequal status, or used from people of higher status towards people of lower\nstatus. Using this sort of a phrase \"upwards\" is a big no-no. If someone uses\nthis towards you, it is a clue as to what they think your status is in\nrelation to them. This usage could also used by those attempting to be\ndeliberately short or rude towards someone else.\n\nEnunciation: despite official Japanese being a fairly mono-tonal language\n(with the exception of a lilting accent being placed on double consonants),\nthe reality is that emotional context is conveyed by intonation and\nenunciation, pretty much just like every other culture out there. Lump body-\nlanguage and facial expressions in here as well. Also, smiling does not always\nconvey friendliness in Asia, but has many other possible meanings.\n\nRace: if you are not Asian appearing, most Japanese will give you a pass on\nthis sort of usage, assuming that you are either ignorant, or have simply not\nbeen taught proper polite usage (\"proper\" usage being difficult even for\nJapanese natives). They will probably praise your Japanese efforts as well.\n\nGender: if you are female, this sort of usage might even come across as being\ncute, especially depending upon non-verbal cues. Sorry guys.",
"comment_count": 2,
"content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0",
"creation_date": "2016-07-13T18:28:44.360",
"id": "36629",
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"last_edit_date": null,
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"owner_user_id": "16102",
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"score": 1
}
]
| 36587 | 36624 | 36624 |
{
"accepted_answer_id": "36589",
"answer_count": 1,
"body": "How to correctly ask \"how long have you been playing drums?\" in a forum? I\ntried to come up with my own question but I don't know if it is grammatically\ncorrect and/or polite. Here is what I came up with\n\n> 貴方ドラム叩いているますどのくらいの時間か？\n\nCould you please help me with this?",
"comment_count": 7,
"content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0",
"creation_date": "2016-07-11T20:06:47.710",
"favorite_count": 0,
"id": "36588",
"last_activity_date": "2016-07-12T14:11:12.520",
"last_edit_date": "2016-07-11T20:48:04.420",
"last_editor_user_id": "16073",
"owner_user_id": "16073",
"post_type": "question",
"score": 1,
"tags": [
"grammar",
"translation",
"politeness",
"questions"
],
"title": "A good and polite way to ask \"How long have you been playing drums?\"",
"view_count": 3045
} | [
{
"body": "You are on the right track, but as someone has commented your conjugations\nneed some work.\n\nHowever, I'll give you what I would suggest is a natural way to ask this.\n\n```\n\n ドラムを叩き始めてどれくらいになりますか？\n \n```\n\nI think you could replace 叩き始めて with simply 叩いて, but I think the above is more\nclear.\n\nBesides your issues with です and ます, you don't need to use 貴方. Often in\nJapanese it's best not to use any word for \"you\", as it is implied and each\nword that means \"you\" has its own nuance.\n\nIf you want to use this for other things, you can just put the action in the\n\"pre-masu\" form (i.e. 食べ) followed by this phrase:\n\n```\n\n 〜始めてどれくらいになりますか？\n \n```\n\nThis would translate to \"How long have you been ~?\"\n\nEDIT: Replaced 〜ですか with になりますか\n\nEDIT: Added general pattern",
"comment_count": 8,
"content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0",
"creation_date": "2016-07-11T22:22:50.907",
"id": "36589",
"last_activity_date": "2016-07-12T14:11:12.520",
"last_edit_date": "2016-07-12T14:11:12.520",
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"owner_user_id": "11825",
"parent_id": "36588",
"post_type": "answer",
"score": 2
}
]
| 36588 | 36589 | 36589 |
{
"accepted_answer_id": "36603",
"answer_count": 2,
"body": "> **妖し** の怪談編\n\nI found that 「妖しい」is an i-adjective but in this case the alphabet 「い」is\nmissing. For my understanding, the way to change i-adjective is to replace the\nlast 「い」with「さ」. Or is this a way to change adjective into noun form?",
"comment_count": 0,
"content_license": "CC BY-SA 4.0",
"creation_date": "2016-07-12T02:27:47.970",
"favorite_count": 0,
"id": "36591",
"last_activity_date": "2021-11-03T18:36:19.490",
"last_edit_date": "2021-11-03T18:36:19.490",
"last_editor_user_id": "30454",
"owner_user_id": "9559",
"post_type": "question",
"score": 5,
"tags": [
"i-adjectives"
],
"title": "Question about i-adjective without 「い」followed by 「の」",
"view_count": 384
} | [
{
"body": "It seems like this 「妖し」 form is an old form of 「妖しい」, as seen\n[here](http://kobun.weblio.jp/content/%E3%81%82%E3%82%84%E3%81%97).\n\nAlso, besides the provided book title, I could find just two examples of the\ncolocation, being 「妖しのセレス」 (the anime) and\n[「怪し火」](http://dictionary.goo.ne.jp/jn/6864/meaning/m0u/%E5%A6%96%E3%81%97).",
"comment_count": 0,
"content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0",
"creation_date": "2016-07-12T03:36:23.427",
"id": "36592",
"last_activity_date": "2016-07-12T03:36:23.427",
"last_edit_date": null,
"last_editor_user_id": null,
"owner_user_id": "14243",
"parent_id": "36591",
"post_type": "answer",
"score": 0
},
{
"body": "It is actually しい-adjectives rather than いｰadjectives that we should be\nlooking at here. しい-adjectives are adjectives that end in 「しい」, and not just\n「い」.\n\nExamples: [愛]{いと}しい (beloved)、[懐]{なつ}かしい (dear old)、[麗]{うるわ}しい\n(graceful)、[妖]{あや}しい (mysterious), etc.\n\n**「[しい-Adjective] minus い plus の」 (Drop the い and add a の)**\n\nmakes a kind of _**elegant word**_ out of the しい-adjective that also functions\nadjectivally.\n\nI have no idea at what stage in Japanese-as-a-foreign-language this is taught,\nbut this format is _**quite**_ common in Japanese.\n\nExamples: 「懐かしの[歌声]{うたごえ}」 (dear old singing voice)、「愛しのエリー」 (Ellie my love) ←\npopular song title、「麗しの[君]{きみ}」 (the graceful you), etc.\n\n「妖しの[怪談編]{かいだんへん}」, thus, means \"the Mysterious Ghost Stories Edition\".\n\nAs far as pure meaning, 「妖 **しの** 怪談編」 and 「妖 **しい** 怪談編」 are pretty much the\nsame. _**It is just that the former looks and sounds more elegant and/or\nrefined and kind of more literary**_ than the latter.",
"comment_count": 0,
"content_license": "CC BY-SA 4.0",
"creation_date": "2016-07-12T10:03:23.983",
"id": "36603",
"last_activity_date": "2021-11-03T06:08:33.307",
"last_edit_date": "2021-11-03T06:08:33.307",
"last_editor_user_id": null,
"owner_user_id": null,
"parent_id": "36591",
"post_type": "answer",
"score": 12
}
]
| 36591 | 36603 | 36603 |
{
"accepted_answer_id": null,
"answer_count": 2,
"body": "I was asked this question and was not sure 100% about how to answer.\n\nAs I understand, in XようにY X is a state/event that is beyond the control of the\nsubject Y (a certain consequence X will arise as the result of an action Y),\nwhile in XためにY, X is an action that can be controlled by the subject of Y.\n\nIn some cases then, ~ように and ~ために are interchangeable, such as in the\nfollowing excample:\n\n 1. 学生が勉強する{ために/ように}、先生は毎日宿題を出します。\n\nIn this case we can use either of the two since the subject of the main clause\n(the teacher) is different from that of the subordinate (the students).\nTherefore, he/she cannot necessarily control the action in the subordinate.\n\nHowever, given rules above in the following example only ~ために can be used:\n\n 2. 新しい車を買う{ために/ **X** ように}、お金を貯めています。\n\n(With the **X** mark to indicate that it would be wrong).\n\nThe question I was not sure how to answer was: \"What if instead of 買う with\nconjugate using 買える and say:\n\n2': 新しい車を買えるように、お金を貯めています。\n\nWould this be correct?\"\n\n(Notice that there is no question here about 買えるために).\n\nI think that this makes sense, and it sounds correct to me, but somehow\nreading the grammar rules confused me a little bit (Maybe 車 **が** would be\nmore correct, as a comment made me think). I would appreciate a confirmation.\nThanks.",
"comment_count": 6,
"content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0",
"creation_date": "2016-07-12T04:29:55.200",
"favorite_count": 0,
"id": "36593",
"last_activity_date": "2016-07-13T04:29:50.577",
"last_edit_date": "2016-07-12T05:21:10.373",
"last_editor_user_id": "14205",
"owner_user_id": "14205",
"post_type": "question",
"score": 5,
"tags": [
"grammar",
"nuances"
],
"title": "On the interchangeability of ~ように and ~ために",
"view_count": 586
} | [
{
"body": "新しい車を買える **ように** 、お金を貯めています。 \nThis usage of ように is familiar to me.\n\n新しい車を買える **ために** 、お金を貯めています。 \nI'm not so sure about this one though, sounds a bit off.",
"comment_count": 3,
"content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0",
"creation_date": "2016-07-12T04:43:52.990",
"id": "36595",
"last_activity_date": "2016-07-12T04:43:52.990",
"last_edit_date": null,
"last_editor_user_id": null,
"owner_user_id": "7055",
"parent_id": "36593",
"post_type": "answer",
"score": 3
},
{
"body": "This ように is used as a direction of someone, so I think a potential verb is\nused like 買えるように. 買うように is used like 私は彼に本を買うように言った(I told him to buy a book.)\n\nThis ために is used as reason, so I think a normal verb is used like 買うために.\n\nSo:\n\n> 新しい車を **買えるように** 、お金を貯めています \n> and \n> 新しい車を **買うために** 、お金を貯めています\n\nare more natural than:\n\n> 新しい車を **買うように** 、お金を貯めています \n> and \n> 新しい車を **買えるために** 、お金を貯めています\n\nIn addition, a potential verb with が is more common than the one with を like:\n\n車 **が** 買える ＞ 車 **を** 買える.",
"comment_count": 0,
"content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0",
"creation_date": "2016-07-12T06:16:03.590",
"id": "36598",
"last_activity_date": "2016-07-13T04:29:50.577",
"last_edit_date": "2016-07-13T04:29:50.577",
"last_editor_user_id": "9831",
"owner_user_id": "7320",
"parent_id": "36593",
"post_type": "answer",
"score": 3
}
]
| 36593 | null | 36595 |
{
"accepted_answer_id": "36605",
"answer_count": 3,
"body": "In Latin characters, we use `—` to represent the em dash (--) as\nfollows.\n\n> My home town -- a small castle town in San'in ...\n\nHowever, if I use the same `—` in Japanese sentences, it looks like\n一{いち} as follows.\n\n> 私が生まれ育ったふるさと--山陰の小さな城下町・・・\n\nIt should be about twice as long as the Latin one. The following was taken\nfrom a textbook (might be rendered by TeX).\n\n[](https://i.stack.imgur.com/sIroa.jpg)\n\n# Question\n\nWhat is the correct punctuation for em dash in Japanese? HTML code is\npreferred.",
"comment_count": 1,
"content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0",
"creation_date": "2016-07-12T08:45:33.393",
"favorite_count": 0,
"id": "36601",
"last_activity_date": "2019-05-23T18:30:46.250",
"last_edit_date": "2016-07-12T11:07:56.733",
"last_editor_user_id": "11192",
"owner_user_id": "11192",
"post_type": "question",
"score": 16,
"tags": [
"punctuation"
],
"title": "Is Japanese em dash equal to Latin em dash?",
"view_count": 4556
} | [
{
"body": "That's a mark that isn't a standard character. According to the wiki page\nbelow, it's basically the same as the em-dash, but often two are written\ntogether ―― to make it long enough.\n\n<https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E3%83%80%E3%83%83%E3%82%B7%E3%83%A5_(%E8%A8%98%E5%8F%B7)>\n\nBy the way, if you're trying to type it out, somebody's already done it for\nyou here: <https://www.douban.com/group/topic/14352302/>",
"comment_count": 0,
"content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0",
"creation_date": "2016-07-12T09:14:45.650",
"id": "36602",
"last_activity_date": "2016-07-12T09:52:28.343",
"last_edit_date": "2016-07-12T09:52:28.343",
"last_editor_user_id": "16064",
"owner_user_id": "16064",
"parent_id": "36601",
"post_type": "answer",
"score": 4
},
{
"body": "This kind of long dash is sometimes called 2倍ダッシュ, 倍角ダッシュ or ダブルダッシュ when\nthere is a technical reason to distinguish. But untrained Japanese people call\nthis simply as **ダッシュ**.\n\nSome punctuation marks imported from Western countries tend to be wider in\nJapanese typography, because ordinary characters like kanji are already wider\nthan English letters. As you said, the em-dash in Latin fonts is obviously too\nshort in Japanese sentences.\n\nUnfortunately, there is no simple way to reproduce this 2倍ダッシュ in HTML. One\nugly but easy way is to use 全角ダッシュ (full-width dash) twice. The 全角ダッシュ should\nbe available whenever Japanese fonts are available. The Japanese 全角ダッシュ and\nthe English em-dash are mapped to the same character (U+2014 `EM DASH`) in\nUnicode:\n\n> * 生まれ育ったふるさと——山陰\n> * 生まれ育ったふるさと----山陰\n>\n\nThe first example above uses two 全角ダッシュ directly, and the second example uses\ntwo `—`:\n\n```\n\n - 生まれ育ったふるさと——山陰\n - 生まれ育ったふるさと——山陰\n \n```\n\nIn my browser (Chrome on Windows), there is no visible difference between the\ntwo lines, but there is a small space between the two dashes.\n\nIf you are using a good software, this space will not be visible (at least in\nJapanese fonts). Some DTP applications can also automatically prevent a line\nbreak between the two dashes, effectively allowing you to treat two 全角ダッシュ as\none character.\n\n[](https://i.stack.imgur.com/b7tNB.png)\n(Adobe InDesign)",
"comment_count": 4,
"content_license": "CC BY-SA 4.0",
"creation_date": "2016-07-12T10:29:44.670",
"id": "36605",
"last_activity_date": "2019-05-23T18:30:46.250",
"last_edit_date": "2019-05-23T18:30:46.250",
"last_editor_user_id": "18189",
"owner_user_id": "5010",
"parent_id": "36601",
"post_type": "answer",
"score": 15
},
{
"body": "There is a unicode character for the two-em dash:\n\n[](https://i.stack.imgur.com/6s9hl.png)\n\nIt is possible to represent any unicode character in HTML [Using character\nescapes in markup](https://www.w3.org/International/questions/qa-escapes). For\nthe two-em dash, it would be `⸺`\n\nYou could also directly include the character in your markup as ⸺ if your html\nfile has the `<meta charset=\"utf-8\" />` meta tag.",
"comment_count": 2,
"content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0",
"creation_date": "2016-07-12T11:39:40.843",
"id": "36606",
"last_activity_date": "2016-07-12T12:01:55.580",
"last_edit_date": "2016-07-12T12:01:55.580",
"last_editor_user_id": "15690",
"owner_user_id": "15690",
"parent_id": "36601",
"post_type": "answer",
"score": 11
}
]
| 36601 | 36605 | 36605 |
{
"accepted_answer_id": "36608",
"answer_count": 1,
"body": "I got a listening transcript (that has been cropped for the sake of\nsimplicity) as follows\n\n[](https://i.stack.imgur.com/UVN2W.jpg)\n\nThe context is about people who got (and still) married rather than people who\nwill marry or people got divorced.\n\nAs far as I know, 結婚する is a punctual verb (瞬間動詞) so got (and still) married\nmust be translated as 結婚している.\n\nAs you can see from the above screenshot, the book author seems to be\ninconsistent (and probably wrong) as 「結婚する人] means people who will marry and\n「結婚した人」means people who finished their marriage (literally it means the people\ngot divorced).\n\n# Question\n\nAm I wrong in this reasoning?",
"comment_count": 0,
"content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0",
"creation_date": "2016-07-12T11:53:39.927",
"favorite_count": 0,
"id": "36607",
"last_activity_date": "2016-07-12T18:37:05.213",
"last_edit_date": null,
"last_editor_user_id": null,
"owner_user_id": "11192",
"post_type": "question",
"score": 3,
"tags": [
"grammar",
"meaning"
],
"title": "The tense of punctual verbs as noun modifiers",
"view_count": 416
} | [
{
"body": "The statements in your picture have nothing to do with divorcing.\n\n * 結婚する人: people who get married\n * 結婚している人: married people\n * 結婚した人: people who got married (≠ people who finished their marriage)\n * 結婚していた人: people who were once married (people who have gotten divorced)\n\n結婚した人 is interchangeable with 結婚している人 in most cases. 結婚している人 focuses more on\nthe current state (\"married\"), whereas 結婚した人 focuses on the past action of\ngetting married. But such difference is not very important at least in the\nquestion in your picture.\n\nTo take another example, 死ぬ is also a instant change-of-state verb. 死んだ人 and\n死んでいる人 are almost always interchangeable. Only in some special contexts the\nformer may mean \"people who were resurrected after being once dead\".",
"comment_count": 2,
"content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0",
"creation_date": "2016-07-12T12:18:14.830",
"id": "36608",
"last_activity_date": "2016-07-12T12:31:27.987",
"last_edit_date": "2016-07-12T12:31:27.987",
"last_editor_user_id": "5010",
"owner_user_id": "5010",
"parent_id": "36607",
"post_type": "answer",
"score": 7
}
]
| 36607 | 36608 | 36608 |
{
"accepted_answer_id": "36611",
"answer_count": 1,
"body": "In English, a convention is to always say yourself last in a list of people:\n\n> (1) **Mr. Tanaka** and **I** drank tea. // <--- natural \n> (2) **I** and **Mr. Tanaka** drank tea. // <--- grammatically correct but\n> _extremely_ unnatural\n\nwhat about Japanese?\n\n> (1) **田中さん** と **私** がお茶を飲んだ。 \n> (2) **私** と **田中さん** がお茶を飲んだ。\n\nHow does #2 sound?\n\nI was instructed to form English lists this way out of deference to others.\nSame idea as let guests sit-down first in a meeting, let guests begin eating\nfirst if you are the host, etc. Yourself is always last.\n\nDoes Japanese have this convention with regard to lists of people? For the\nsame reason?",
"comment_count": 3,
"content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0",
"creation_date": "2016-07-12T14:14:40.367",
"favorite_count": 0,
"id": "36610",
"last_activity_date": "2020-04-29T02:33:34.803",
"last_edit_date": null,
"last_editor_user_id": null,
"owner_user_id": "15778",
"post_type": "question",
"score": 10,
"tags": [
"politeness"
],
"title": "Is there a convention to always place yourself last in a list of people?",
"view_count": 594
} | [
{
"body": "Order is not really important in most cases. Sentence 1 and Sentence 2 sound\nalmost the same to my ears in the Japanese versions. BCCWJ Corpus has roughly\nthe same number of examples of `私とあなた` (43 hits) vs `あなたと私` (35 hits). And\n\"order in a list of people is important\" is what I learned in _English_\nclasses at school :D\n\nI vaguely feel that order can be important even in Japanese in the most formal\nwritings between companies, but could find nothing worth citing here. It was a\nlot easier for me to find articles about how important the order is _in\nEnglish_. When I have to write something very formal in Japanese and want to\nplay it safe, perhaps I will follow \"the English rule\" even in Japanese, but I\ndon't know how important it really is.",
"comment_count": 0,
"content_license": "CC BY-SA 4.0",
"creation_date": "2016-07-12T17:12:26.433",
"id": "36611",
"last_activity_date": "2020-04-29T02:33:34.803",
"last_edit_date": "2020-04-29T02:33:34.803",
"last_editor_user_id": "9831",
"owner_user_id": "5010",
"parent_id": "36610",
"post_type": "answer",
"score": 7
}
]
| 36610 | 36611 | 36611 |
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