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{ "accepted_answer_id": "36904", "answer_count": 2, "body": "I am familiar with the particle の. Either it be using it as in \"possessive\"\ncases like 私の家族.\n\nOr its usage as the word \"of\" like in 日本語の本.\n\nBut in this special case I can't figure it out why we use the の, and if\nthere's an alternative to it like in \"every type\" すべてのタイプ. It feels like the の\ntranslates to \"The\" in the alternate translation \"all the types\". In the\nfollowing sentence I can use の in two different ways, can someone, please,\nhelp me with that?\n\nEg: 私は音楽のすべてのタイプが好きです。", "comment_count": 0, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0", "creation_date": "2016-07-22T19:26:56.463", "favorite_count": 0, "id": "36900", "last_activity_date": "2016-07-23T02:06:31.043", "last_edit_date": "2016-07-23T02:06:31.043", "last_editor_user_id": null, "owner_user_id": "16104", "post_type": "question", "score": 1, "tags": [ "particle-の" ], "title": "Different usage of の", "view_count": 127 }
[ { "body": "[This jisho entry](http://jisho.org/word/%E5%85%A8%E3%81%A6) lists すべて as a の\nadjective. These types of adjectives are usually nouns which function as\nadjectives when の is placed after them.\n\nすべて normally means \"everything\", but すべてのX means \"every X\".", "comment_count": 0, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0", "creation_date": "2016-07-22T21:33:33.337", "id": "36902", "last_activity_date": "2016-07-22T21:33:33.337", "last_edit_date": null, "last_editor_user_id": null, "owner_user_id": "16049", "parent_id": "36900", "post_type": "answer", "score": 2 }, { "body": "すべて means \"all\", \"everything\" and it is a word which indicates quantity and a\ndegree.\n\nの has many usages and this の is used with the words which indicate quantity\nand a degree.\n\nFor example, 多くの牛(many cows), 二冊の本(two books).", "comment_count": 1, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0", "creation_date": "2016-07-23T01:49:48.663", "id": "36904", "last_activity_date": "2016-07-23T01:49:48.663", "last_edit_date": null, "last_editor_user_id": null, "owner_user_id": "7320", "parent_id": "36900", "post_type": "answer", "score": 2 } ]
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{ "accepted_answer_id": null, "answer_count": 1, "body": "I know you could use 'おなまえ は なん ですか?' to ask somebody's name, however, what\npolite phrase could you use/listen for when you're unsure of what to call\nothers/others are unsure of what to call you? Is there anything close to:\n\n'What would you like me to call you?' 'What should I call you?' 'What would\nyou like to be called?' etc?", "comment_count": 0, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0", "creation_date": "2016-07-23T03:40:18.237", "favorite_count": 0, "id": "36906", "last_activity_date": "2016-07-23T07:43:33.187", "last_edit_date": null, "last_editor_user_id": null, "owner_user_id": "14211", "post_type": "question", "score": 2, "tags": [ "translation" ], "title": "How would you ask 'What would you like me to call you?'", "view_count": 4853 }
[ { "body": "I came up with: \n[何]{なん}て(orと)お呼びすればよろしいですか? \nand \n何て(orと)お呼びすればよろしいでしょうか?\n\n何て(orと)呼べばいいですか? is more friendly than these.", "comment_count": 2, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0", "creation_date": "2016-07-23T06:00:24.677", "id": "36915", "last_activity_date": "2016-07-23T07:43:33.187", "last_edit_date": "2016-07-23T07:43:33.187", "last_editor_user_id": "9831", "owner_user_id": "7320", "parent_id": "36906", "post_type": "answer", "score": 3 } ]
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{ "accepted_answer_id": "36910", "answer_count": 1, "body": "For example\n\n> He spoiled the joke by putting the punchline in the title.\n\nor\n\n> I haven't finished watching it so don't spoil the plot!\n\nAll I can find in the dictionary for \"spoil\" is of food/physical objects\n(break down) and of people (to pamper).\n\nMy best guess is バラせる but I'm probably way off base.", "comment_count": 0, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0", "creation_date": "2016-07-23T03:55:06.773", "favorite_count": 0, "id": "36907", "last_activity_date": "2016-07-23T04:43:58.457", "last_edit_date": null, "last_editor_user_id": null, "owner_user_id": "10620", "post_type": "question", "score": 4, "tags": [ "translation", "words" ], "title": "How to say \"spoil\"", "view_count": 710 }
[ { "body": "You can use [ばれる](http://jisho.org/word/%E3%81%B0%E3%82%8C%E3%82%8B)\n(intransitive verb), [ばらす](http://jisho.org/word/%E3%81%B0%E3%82%89%E3%81%99)\n(transitive verb), or more specifically,\n[ネタばれ](http://jisho.org/word/%E3%83%8D%E3%82%BF%E3%83%90%E3%83%AC) (noun,\nsometimes suru-verb).\n\n> * 彼はタイトルにオチを入れてジョークをばらしてしまった。(literally)\n> * タイトルでオチがばれてしまっている。\n> * そのギャグはタイトルでネタバレになってしまっている。\n> * まだ見てないから、ストーリーをばらさないで!\n> * まだ見てないから、ネタバレしないで!\n>\n\nばらせる is the potential form of ばらす.", "comment_count": 0, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0", "creation_date": "2016-07-23T04:27:43.187", "id": "36910", "last_activity_date": "2016-07-23T04:43:58.457", "last_edit_date": "2016-07-23T04:43:58.457", "last_editor_user_id": "5010", "owner_user_id": "5010", "parent_id": "36907", "post_type": "answer", "score": 6 } ]
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{ "accepted_answer_id": "36913", "answer_count": 2, "body": "Can anyone explain the difference between the three sentences below and also\nthe use of the grammar?\n\n> 1. わたしのがっこう は 日本人の せんせい が います。\n>\n> 2. わたしのがっこう に 日本人の せんせい が います。\n>\n> 3. わたしのがっこう には 日本人の せんせい が います。\n>\n>", "comment_count": 1, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0", "creation_date": "2016-07-23T04:20:47.417", "favorite_count": 0, "id": "36908", "last_activity_date": "2016-07-23T07:48:21.530", "last_edit_date": "2016-07-23T07:48:21.530", "last_editor_user_id": "9831", "owner_user_id": "16240", "post_type": "question", "score": 3, "tags": [ "grammar" ], "title": "は、には、に。。。what is the difference between them?", "view_count": 1146 }
[ { "body": "Grammatical explanation is this は in your sentence is a topic marker, this に\nis used as a postpositional particle which indicate place and this には is a\ncompound word of に and は and this は is emphasis.\n\nIf you use は as a topic marker, the meaning of the sentence 1 and 2 is almost\nsame but if you can use は as contrast and emphasis, the sentence 1 and 3 have\nthe meaning.", "comment_count": 9, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0", "creation_date": "2016-07-23T05:10:04.543", "id": "36911", "last_activity_date": "2016-07-23T05:10:04.543", "last_edit_date": null, "last_editor_user_id": null, "owner_user_id": "7320", "parent_id": "36908", "post_type": "answer", "score": 0 }, { "body": "Simply speaking, for this example, は emphasizes the **topic** of the sentence,\nに emphasizes the concept of **location** , and には emphasizes the **location as\nthe topic**.\n\nTranslating your three examples, which correspond to は, に, and には, we get:\n\n 1. **On the topic of my school (がっこう は),** there is a Japanese teacher.\n 2. **At my school (がっこう に),** there is a Japanese teacher.\n 3. **On the topic of (the location that is) at my school (がっこう には),** there is a Japanese teacher.\n\nAll three are grammatically correct, but have slightly different nuances to\nthem.", "comment_count": 2, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0", "creation_date": "2016-07-23T05:26:47.610", "id": "36913", "last_activity_date": "2016-07-23T07:35:08.957", "last_edit_date": "2016-07-23T07:35:08.957", "last_editor_user_id": "16235", "owner_user_id": "16235", "parent_id": "36908", "post_type": "answer", "score": 4 } ]
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{ "accepted_answer_id": "36914", "answer_count": 2, "body": "Upon looking for ways on how to start learning kanji, I have found that many\npeople recommend learning the radicals first.\n\nAfter exposing myself to the radicals, I plan on practicing by **spotting them\nin kanji** in texts. Although I can use the Internet, I prefer things I can\nhold (books, newspapers, magazines, etc...), but there are no Japanese \"things\nI can hold\" near where I live!\n\nThere is, however, a Chinese supermarket I frequently visit and it has tons of\nfree newspapers. So my question is, can I use these newspapers for **my\npractice on spotting radicals and maybe learning some new kanji** OR is\nlearning \"Japanese\" from a Chinese newspaper a bad idea?\n\nEDIT: I know about the ON and the KUN-readings of kanji, but I am not\nconcerned about them yet. I just want to know whether majority of the kanji in\nChinese texts are also found in Japanese texts.", "comment_count": 1, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "creation_date": "2016-07-23T04:21:30.253", "favorite_count": 0, "id": "36909", "last_activity_date": "2021-05-21T18:14:16.237", "last_edit_date": "2021-05-21T18:14:16.237", "last_editor_user_id": "30454", "owner_user_id": "16115", "post_type": "question", "score": 2, "tags": [ "kanji", "learning", "chinese", "radicals", "jōyō-kanji" ], "title": "Can I use a Chinese newspaper to learn kanji radicals and maybe some kanji?", "view_count": 458 }
[ { "body": "I think you shouldn't learn Japanese Kanji by Chinese texts.\n\nThere are some difference between Japanese kanji and Chinese kanji.\n\nFor example, Japanese kanji has Kun-readings as you say, and some kanji have\ndifferent meaning but same character, and there are Chinese kanji which isn't\nJapanese kanji.", "comment_count": 0, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0", "creation_date": "2016-07-23T05:24:46.670", "id": "36912", "last_activity_date": "2016-07-23T05:24:46.670", "last_edit_date": null, "last_editor_user_id": null, "owner_user_id": "7320", "parent_id": "36909", "post_type": "answer", "score": 2 }, { "body": "It is not a good idea to learn Japanese Kanji reading Chinese newspapers. Of\ncourse, a majority of Chinese characters used both in China and Japan have\nsame or similar meanings, however, the grammar and syntax of Chinese are\ncompletely different from those of Japanese and I don't see any benefit coming\nout of reading Chinese newspapers unless you want to get yourself familiarized\nwith Chinese characters.\n\nAccording to the Wikipedia article on\n[Kanji](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kanji), a lot of Kanji used in Japanese\nare simplified Kanji and they look different from Chinese Kanji.\n\n> In 1946, following World War II and under the Allied Occupation of Japan,\n> the Japanese government, guided by the Supreme Commander of the Allied\n> Powers instituted a series of orthographic reforms. This was done with the\n> goal of facilitating learning for children and simplifying kanji use in\n> literature and periodicals. The number of characters in circulation was\n> reduced, and formal lists of characters to be learned during each grade of\n> school were established. Some characters were given simplified glyphs,\n> called shinjitai (新字体?). Many variant forms of characters and obscure\n> alternatives for common characters were officially discouraged.\n\nThe linked article on [The Difference between Japanese and Chinese\nCharacters](http://www.arc-japanese-translation.com/chinese/04tidbits.html)\nexplains:\n\n> Many Japanese people think when traveling to a Chinese-speaking region that\n> even if they do not speak Chinese, they may be able to get by if they\n> communicate by writing. If you are trying to convey something simple,\n> written communication might allow you to get by. However, it is important to\n> remember that 20-30% of the kanji used have different meanings in Japanese\n> and Chinese. What would happen if you wrote a succession of kanji, which\n> look the same in Chinese, without being aware that they mean something\n> different in Chinese? Not only would your meaning not get across, you may\n> also bring about a misunderstanding. Therefore, much care must be taken when\n> resorting to writing kanji to communicate with a Chinese-language speaker.", "comment_count": 0, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0", "creation_date": "2016-07-23T05:43:43.897", "id": "36914", "last_activity_date": "2016-07-23T05:52:39.940", "last_edit_date": "2016-07-23T05:52:39.940", "last_editor_user_id": "12259", "owner_user_id": "12259", "parent_id": "36909", "post_type": "answer", "score": 7 } ]
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{ "accepted_answer_id": "36924", "answer_count": 1, "body": "I just recently started to learn Japanese and I am a bit confused with some\nnumbers. For example, what is the difference between 七 (なな) and 七つ (ななつ). Is\nthere no difference? Is it just another way of saying it?", "comment_count": 3, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0", "creation_date": "2016-07-23T09:10:47.530", "favorite_count": 0, "id": "36919", "last_activity_date": "2016-07-23T12:50:12.040", "last_edit_date": "2016-07-23T09:21:10.177", "last_editor_user_id": "1628", "owner_user_id": "16244", "post_type": "question", "score": 1, "tags": [ "counters", "numbers" ], "title": "つ at the end of a number", "view_count": 295 }
[ { "body": "つ is a [counter word](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanese_counter_word)\n(for generic inanimate objects), so that\n\n> 七 (なな) \"[the number] seven\" \n> 七つ (ななつ) \"seven [objects]\"\n\nSimilarly you have\n\n> 七日 (なのか) \"the seventh [day of the month]\" \n> 七本 (ななほん) \"seven [longish objects]\"\n\nand many many more.\n\nDepending on the counter, the numbers may not be based on the native Japanese\nnumbers ( _hito_ , _futa_ , _mi_ , ..., **_nana_** , ...), but on the Sino-\nJapanese numbers ( _ichi_ , _ni_ , _san_ , ..., **_shichi_** , ...), as in\n\n> 七時間 (しちじかん) \"seven hours\"\n\nWhen the numbers (like 七) _count_ something, you use a counter word. When you\ntalk about the number as a number (e.g. in telephone numbers), you use the\nnumber without the counter word.", "comment_count": 0, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0", "creation_date": "2016-07-23T12:50:12.040", "id": "36924", "last_activity_date": "2016-07-23T12:50:12.040", "last_edit_date": null, "last_editor_user_id": null, "owner_user_id": "1628", "parent_id": "36919", "post_type": "answer", "score": 1 } ]
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{ "accepted_answer_id": "36921", "answer_count": 1, "body": "I am not sure I understand this sentence,\n\n> 定員になり次第、締め切らせていただきます。\n\nIn particular, I can't figure out what is omitted.\n\nHere is what I understand,\n\n> As soon as you will become a regular member, I would like to close\n> (something)\n\nI did a quick a search on Google and this set phrase seems to be really used a\nlot. In what context is it used?", "comment_count": 0, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0", "creation_date": "2016-07-23T10:31:13.203", "favorite_count": 0, "id": "36920", "last_activity_date": "2016-07-23T10:55:45.423", "last_edit_date": null, "last_editor_user_id": null, "owner_user_id": "4216", "post_type": "question", "score": 2, "tags": [ "grammar", "business-japanese" ], "title": "How to understand this sentence with 次第 and 締め切らす", "view_count": 85 }
[ { "body": "定員{ていいん} as described on\n[wikipedia](https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E5%AE%9A%E5%93%A1) means:\n\n> 組織・団体などの場合、定員とは組織・団体に属しうる _最大数の人員_ のことを指す。\n\nor\n\n> 施設・設備・自動車・鉄道車両・航空機等、ある区画の中に人を入れる場合には、定員とはある一定の基準の下にその区画内に入れる _最大人数_\n> 、またはその目安という意味がある。\n\nThe key point being the _maximum number_ (note the 最大人数 and 最大数の人員 I\nemphasized). In other words, `定員になり次第` means `As soon as the maximum number of\npeople is reached`. The reason you noticed its used a lot, would be this would\nbe used often for public events where there is only a limit amount of seating,\netc.", "comment_count": 1, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0", "creation_date": "2016-07-23T10:55:45.423", "id": "36921", "last_activity_date": "2016-07-23T10:55:45.423", "last_edit_date": null, "last_editor_user_id": null, "owner_user_id": "1217", "parent_id": "36920", "post_type": "answer", "score": 2 } ]
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{ "accepted_answer_id": null, "answer_count": 1, "body": "Can anyone tell me what \"munu\" means in this phrase, please?\n\n> 夏が来る前に秋になったような変なムヌで...", "comment_count": 3, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0", "creation_date": "2016-07-23T13:42:30.840", "favorite_count": 0, "id": "36925", "last_activity_date": "2016-08-20T05:39:38.833", "last_edit_date": "2016-08-20T05:21:16.987", "last_editor_user_id": "11104", "owner_user_id": "16247", "post_type": "question", "score": 0, "tags": [ "translation", "katakana" ], "title": "What does MUNU ムヌ mean please as in the phrase below", "view_count": 258 }
[ { "body": "Probably, ムヌ is a misreading of もの. So the original sentence should be as\nfollows: 夏が来る前に秋になったような変なもので. It was a strange situation like the autumn had\ncome before the summer.\n\nIn Japanese, \"もの\" is often used as the meaning \"situation,circumstance\".\n\nIn written Japanese, もの and ムヌ are not alike, but in the spoken language, both\nof them sound very similar, especially in local dialects.", "comment_count": 0, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0", "creation_date": "2016-08-20T05:39:38.833", "id": "38596", "last_activity_date": "2016-08-20T05:39:38.833", "last_edit_date": null, "last_editor_user_id": null, "owner_user_id": "17569", "parent_id": "36925", "post_type": "answer", "score": 2 } ]
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{ "accepted_answer_id": "36954", "answer_count": 2, "body": "Sometimes I'm having trouble choosing the reading for 入る. There was a [related\nquestion](https://japanese.stackexchange.com/a/6878) about the reading of 入れる,\nhowever my JMdict-based dictionary marks both 入る{はいる} and 入る{いる} as\nintransitive verbs (自動詞) - is it correct? If so, then how to choose among\nthem? My particular sentence in question this time is\n\n> ためしに、ドアと窓をはずしてみたら、風がどどっと入{?}ってきて、一瞬で空気が入{い}れかわった\n\nThe second reading is certain (from 入{い}れ替{か}わる), but I'm not sure about the\nfirst one: the dictionary has \" _to enter/to go into/to break into_ \" among\nthe meanings for 入る{はいる}, and \" _to come in/to flow into_ \" for 入る{いる}, and\nboth seem to fit here.\n\nAnd BTW, is どどっと an onomatopoeic word? Failed to find anything close in the\ndictionary.", "comment_count": 2, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0", "creation_date": "2016-07-23T13:43:16.573", "favorite_count": 0, "id": "36926", "last_activity_date": "2018-04-09T15:52:55.280", "last_edit_date": "2017-04-13T12:43:48.447", "last_editor_user_id": "-1", "owner_user_id": "14494", "post_type": "question", "score": 20, "tags": [ "readings" ], "title": "Reading of 入る - 「はいる」 vs 「いる」", "view_count": 11552 }
[ { "body": "[入]{はい}る = intransitive verb \n[入]{い}れる = transitive verb\n\nex: \n箱に[入]{はい}る \n箱に[入]{い}れる\n\nex: \n風が[入]{はい}る \n空気を[入]{い}れる\n\nI hope it helps you.^^", "comment_count": 1, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0", "creation_date": "2016-07-24T19:14:04.197", "id": "36951", "last_activity_date": "2018-04-09T15:52:55.280", "last_edit_date": "2018-04-09T15:52:55.280", "last_editor_user_id": "9831", "owner_user_id": "16259", "parent_id": "36926", "post_type": "answer", "score": 0 }, { "body": "Basically, in contemporary Japanese, intransitive 入る = /hairu/. The /iru/\nreadings are essentially all survivals from an earlier stage in which 入る was\njust /iru/. (In fact, /hairu/ is basically /hau/ \"crawl\" + /iru/, which is why\nsometimes in older texts you see it written 這入る).\n\nSo your best bet is to assume that 入る is /hairu/ on its own and /ir-/ in\ncompound words (入り口 = /iriguchi/, 入れ替わる = /irekawaru/), and learn the\nexceptions one by one. There are quite a few such exceptions in the\ndictionary, but you won't actually encounter one very often. Most of them have\na fairly old-fashioned or literary feel and are pretty rare nowadays. The big\nexception to this is 気に入る /ki ni iru/ but it seems you have that one down\nalready.\n\n(If it makes you feel any better, misreading the 入る in expressions like 神に入る\nas /hairu/ is relatively common even among native Japanese speakers, precisely\nbecause /iru/ _is_ an exceptional reading these days.)\n\nSo: どどっと入る is almost certainly /dodotto hairu/, because it's not a set phrase,\nand so there's no reason for 入る to have anything other than its standard\nreading. And どどっと is probably mimetic, yeah, don't know about onomatopoeic.\nTry looking up どっと -- it's basically a reduplicated form of that.", "comment_count": 0, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0", "creation_date": "2016-07-25T00:55:19.690", "id": "36954", "last_activity_date": "2016-07-25T08:06:10.843", "last_edit_date": "2016-07-25T08:06:10.843", "last_editor_user_id": "531", "owner_user_id": "531", "parent_id": "36926", "post_type": "answer", "score": 23 } ]
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{ "accepted_answer_id": "36929", "answer_count": 1, "body": "> あなたは電話番号を知りますか (anata wa denwa bangou wo shirimasu ka)?\n>\n> あなたは電話番号を知っていますか (anata wa denwa bangou wo shitte imasu ka)?\n\nIn my book \"あなたは電話番号を知っていますか\" (anata wa denwa bangou wo shitte imasu ka) is\ntranslated as \"Do you know the phone number?\" instead of \"Are you knowing the\nphone number?\" But I'm confuse because I knew that to say \"You are...\" in a\npresent form you have to use the standard form of the verb (shiru, taberu,\nmiru) instead of the te form.", "comment_count": 0, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0", "creation_date": "2016-07-23T18:08:04.867", "favorite_count": 0, "id": "36928", "last_activity_date": "2016-07-24T02:39:12.803", "last_edit_date": "2020-06-17T08:18:27.500", "last_editor_user_id": "-1", "owner_user_id": "16248", "post_type": "question", "score": 8, "tags": [ "verbs", "conjugations", "aspect" ], "title": "For 知る what is the difference between the simple present (知る) and 知っている forms?", "view_count": 1426 }
[ { "body": "知る means something more akin to \"get to know\". So by saying 電話番号を知ります you're\nsaying that you \"are getting to know something \", you don't know it yet.\n\nSo if you're asking whether someone knows a number, then you have to use the\nform that reflects that current state of things. That's why you say\n電話番号を知っています to mean you know something.\n\nThis works very similarly to the situation of 結婚する. To say you're married you\nsay 結婚している. It doesnt mean you're getting married; it means you've completed\nthe process of getting married and are still in that state.", "comment_count": 4, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0", "creation_date": "2016-07-23T18:32:46.850", "id": "36929", "last_activity_date": "2016-07-23T18:32:46.850", "last_edit_date": null, "last_editor_user_id": null, "owner_user_id": "4875", "parent_id": "36928", "post_type": "answer", "score": 7 } ]
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{ "accepted_answer_id": null, "answer_count": 1, "body": "I'm translating a children's chapter book for language practice, and came\nacross a phrase I didn't get. The context is that these two kids find a\nquarter on the ground and are asking a woman on the street if she dropped it.\nHer response is:\n\n> 落としてなんかいるもんか!\n\nI get that the もんか means like no way, definitely not, right? And that なんか\nusually adds emphasis. But it looks like it's in the middle of the verb,\nおとしている, which confused me. Also that she's using ている, when shouldn't it just\nbe past tense if she's saying no she didn't? I'm not sure if I'm missing\nsomething obvious? Any help would be appreciated!", "comment_count": 1, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0", "creation_date": "2016-07-23T20:55:36.233", "favorite_count": 0, "id": "36931", "last_activity_date": "2016-07-29T06:45:20.187", "last_edit_date": "2016-07-24T00:01:23.337", "last_editor_user_id": "11104", "owner_user_id": "16250", "post_type": "question", "score": 2, "tags": [ "translation" ], "title": "I don't get this specific usage of なんか", "view_count": 196 }
[ { "body": "To answer the first part of your question: Words can come in the \"middle\" of\nverbs like this with no problem. The meaning is as expected: the なんか modifies\nthe 落として to add emphasis to the action of dropping.\n\nAs for your second question: This is a problem in the way we teach people what\nている means. Almost everyone learns it as \"present progressive,\" but that's not\nwhat it represents. It represents a resultant state caused by an action.\nSometimes this is realized in a way similar to what we would call present\nprogressive, but in this case it doesn't really make sense; you wouldn't say.\n\"I am dropping something.\" Thus 落としている has the meaning of \"in the state caused\nby dropping something,\" which is \"having dropped.\"\n\nSo the meaning of the sentence is something like, \"No, of course I didn't drop\nit,\" or maybe, \"As if I would ever drop it.\"", "comment_count": 0, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0", "creation_date": "2016-07-24T05:46:55.860", "id": "36935", "last_activity_date": "2016-07-24T05:46:55.860", "last_edit_date": null, "last_editor_user_id": null, "owner_user_id": "9596", "parent_id": "36931", "post_type": "answer", "score": 0 } ]
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{ "accepted_answer_id": "36936", "answer_count": 2, "body": "In _One Piece_ for example I've noticed that the word \"Log Pose\" is written as\n記録指針{ログポーズ}. Another example, also found in _One Piece_ , is the word\n\"Poneglyph\", written as 歴史{ポーネ}の本文{グリフ}.\n\nWhy do words such as these have their own kanji readings despite being\nloanwords or katakana words?\n\nI believe I've seen a similar case in JoJo's Bizarre Adventure manga but I\ncannot recall which word.", "comment_count": 1, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0", "creation_date": "2016-07-24T04:59:21.317", "favorite_count": 0, "id": "36933", "last_activity_date": "2016-07-24T08:00:15.123", "last_edit_date": "2016-07-24T06:58:50.603", "last_editor_user_id": "1628", "owner_user_id": "16252", "post_type": "question", "score": 4, "tags": [ "kanji", "katakana", "loanwords", "manga", "furigana" ], "title": "Why are some loanwords written in kanji in certain manga?", "view_count": 756 }
[ { "body": "Some writers like to do it because it adds meaning to what may otherwise be\nincoherent sounds. This works even for me, a native English speaker: I've\nnever read any One Piece, so I have no idea what \"Log Pose\" or \"Poneglyph\"\nmean. But if their names are written as kanji with furigana applied, I can\ntake a guess at what kind of thing they are. It works even better for a native\nJapanese speaker who might not know any given English word (though in this\ncase you wouldn't understand what the names meant anyway). A lot of writers\nwill do this, and it's not limited to manga; I've seen it happen in multiple\nvideo games.", "comment_count": 0, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0", "creation_date": "2016-07-24T05:39:10.917", "id": "36934", "last_activity_date": "2016-07-24T05:39:10.917", "last_edit_date": null, "last_editor_user_id": null, "owner_user_id": "9596", "parent_id": "36933", "post_type": "answer", "score": 6 }, { "body": "One Piece is set in a fictional world, but the setting is clearly not Japan.\nActually, apart from Zoro's swords I can't remember anything that is related\nto Japan.\n\nIn this world 記録指針{きろくししん} sounds like a poor translation of some \"original\"\nword; ログポーズ sounds much more authentic, but you have no idea what it means\n(not even if you figure out the English should be Log Pose). Explaining each\nterm and asking the author to remember its meaning is not impossible, but it\nwould take a lot away from the development of the actual story. (And what\nwould happen if someone starts reading at volume 10 and misses the\nexplanation?)\n\nWriting 記録指針{ログポーズ} allows for the author to use loanwords, like ログポーズ with\nthe meaning 記録指針 right next to it, all the time, everywhere.", "comment_count": 0, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0", "creation_date": "2016-07-24T06:51:23.563", "id": "36936", "last_activity_date": "2016-07-24T08:00:15.123", "last_edit_date": "2016-07-24T08:00:15.123", "last_editor_user_id": "1628", "owner_user_id": "1628", "parent_id": "36933", "post_type": "answer", "score": 3 } ]
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{ "accepted_answer_id": "36938", "answer_count": 1, "body": "「お礼に一杯おごろう。実は今日、給料が入ったんだ」\n\n「そうですね、嬉しいお誘いなのですが……」\n\n「…… **娘が心配しちゃいますので** 」\n\nContext: The above two characters have been out for a while and the guy offers\nto treat her with his pay. She declines because:\n\n1) Her daughter will be worried about her 2) She is worried about her daughter\n\nI believe its 1) as I think 心配なので would have been used for the other meaning\nbut I am unsure.", "comment_count": 0, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0", "creation_date": "2016-07-24T07:24:07.343", "favorite_count": 0, "id": "36937", "last_activity_date": "2016-07-24T08:12:31.933", "last_edit_date": null, "last_editor_user_id": null, "owner_user_id": "16210", "post_type": "question", "score": 3, "tags": [ "meaning" ], "title": "Meaning of 娘が心配しちゃいますので", "view_count": 150 }
[ { "body": "Yes, 娘が心配する means \"(my) daughter is worried (about someone else),\" whereas\n娘が心配だ means \"(I am) worried about (my) daughter\". ( **EDIT:** The latter\nexpression using the (na-)adjective is in the same vein as\n[猫が好きだ](https://japanese.stackexchange.com/q/17857/5010) and 猫が欲しい)\n\nSo 娘が心配しちゃいますので in this dialog means \"(If I go home late) My daughter will be\nworried about me, so... (I can't go with you).\"", "comment_count": 0, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0", "creation_date": "2016-07-24T07:32:55.957", "id": "36938", "last_activity_date": "2016-07-24T08:12:31.933", "last_edit_date": "2017-04-13T12:43:44.157", "last_editor_user_id": "-1", "owner_user_id": "5010", "parent_id": "36937", "post_type": "answer", "score": 5 } ]
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{ "accepted_answer_id": null, "answer_count": 0, "body": "> 1. どこでかいますか。\n> 2. どこでかったんですか。\n>\n\nThe meaning of the two sentences are same, right? Yet, in what condition I\nneed to use~んですか。", "comment_count": 4, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0", "creation_date": "2016-07-24T08:12:15.603", "favorite_count": 0, "id": "36939", "last_activity_date": "2016-07-24T09:25:33.143", "last_edit_date": "2016-07-24T09:25:33.143", "last_editor_user_id": "11104", "owner_user_id": "16240", "post_type": "question", "score": 1, "tags": [ "grammar" ], "title": "~んです should be used in what condition?", "view_count": 85 }
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{ "accepted_answer_id": null, "answer_count": 1, "body": "```\n\n Q: かばんはかいましたか。\n \n A: 1. はい、もう **かいました** 。 \n  2. はい、もう **かってあります** 。\n```\n\nBoth answers also correct, but when should I use the second answer?", "comment_count": 5, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0", "creation_date": "2016-07-24T09:06:19.397", "favorite_count": 0, "id": "36940", "last_activity_date": "2016-07-25T06:57:23.833", "last_edit_date": "2016-07-25T06:25:40.177", "last_editor_user_id": null, "owner_user_id": "16240", "post_type": "question", "score": 1, "tags": [ "grammar", "aspect" ], "title": "Usage of Verb て-form あります", "view_count": 522 }
[ { "body": "1. かいました I bought\n 2. もうかってあります I have bought\n\nFirst is past tense. Second is present perfect tense. You would use the\npresent perfect tense if you want to stress in the present time.", "comment_count": 0, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0", "creation_date": "2016-07-25T06:57:23.833", "id": "36962", "last_activity_date": "2016-07-25T06:57:23.833", "last_edit_date": null, "last_editor_user_id": null, "owner_user_id": "16268", "parent_id": "36940", "post_type": "answer", "score": 0 } ]
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{ "accepted_answer_id": "36942", "answer_count": 1, "body": "This sentence (from a song) has bothered me forever:\n\n> 何ヶ月か分のわたしが床に落っこちたのを見た。\n>\n> Just how much time have I watched go by since I fell onto the floor?\n\nI guess I can understand the translation, but I just can't get the grammar to\nwork.\n\nThe part that I don't understand is 「か分の」. I have no idea about what「分」means\nin this context, and「か」could mean a couple of different things.\nIs「か分」actually「過分」? I am also not sure about the function of 「の」...\n\nAlso, is it correct that the「のを」at the end is a nominalizing「の」and\nthen「を」refers to the whole sentence before?\n\nHere are the rest of the lyrics with a translation:\n<http://www.animelyrics.com/anime/shippuuden/jitensha.htm>.\n\nThanks.", "comment_count": 1, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0", "creation_date": "2016-07-24T09:25:27.820", "favorite_count": 0, "id": "36941", "last_activity_date": "2016-07-24T10:55:24.830", "last_edit_date": "2020-06-17T08:18:27.500", "last_editor_user_id": "-1", "owner_user_id": "16253", "post_type": "question", "score": 4, "tags": [ "grammar", "translation" ], "title": "What does か分の mean in 「何ヶ月か分のわたしが床に落っこちたのを見た」?", "view_count": 279 }
[ { "body": "I would say that fan-translation is incorrect.\n\nAs you guessed, the の before を nominalizes the whole thing before it. So the\nbasic structure of this sentence is like this:\n\n> 何ヶ月か分のわたしが床に落っこちたのを見た。 \n> I saw \"何ヶ月か分の私\" fell on the floor.\n\n * **何ヶ月か** : \"some months\", \"several months\". This か is the same か as in 何か (something), 誰か (someone), 何回か (several times), 何百ドルか (some hundred dollars) etc. [See the third definition here](http://jisho.org/word/%E3%81%8B).\n * **~分【ぶん】の** : \"... equivalent to ~\", \"~ worth of ...\"\n\nFor example, 2ヶ月分の給料 means \"two month's salary\", and 何ヶ月か分の在庫 means \"some\nmonths worth of stock\".\n\nHere, 何ヶ月か分の私 literally means \"several months worth of me\" or \"myself which is\nequivalent to several months\". It's certainly a bizarre expression even to a\nnative speaker, but it's used as the\n[metonym](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metonymy) for her hair that was cut.\nObviously, it's not her body itself but her hair that fell on the floor in\nthat context (at a barber shop).\n\nSo after removing the metaphor, the line basically says \"I saw my hair, which\nhad grown in the last few months, fell on the floor.\"", "comment_count": 1, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0", "creation_date": "2016-07-24T10:47:45.643", "id": "36942", "last_activity_date": "2016-07-24T10:55:24.830", "last_edit_date": "2016-07-24T10:55:24.830", "last_editor_user_id": "5010", "owner_user_id": "5010", "parent_id": "36941", "post_type": "answer", "score": 3 } ]
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{ "accepted_answer_id": null, "answer_count": 2, "body": "While playing League of Legends with some Japanese friends on the JP server, I\nnoticed something interesting. Some of them use \"ですが\"in chat instead of the\ncorrect ”か” I asked them about it and they say that its just that they're lazy\nand type it the way they hear it, so is it similar to どうして usually being typed\nas どして because that's how Japanese people pronounce it in speech, differently\nfrom the way its written? i tried searching online for \"desuga\" and found no\nresults, so its almost certainly incorrect, but native Japanese people are\nusing it so...", "comment_count": 4, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0", "creation_date": "2016-07-24T16:16:58.623", "favorite_count": 0, "id": "36946", "last_activity_date": "2016-07-25T07:09:49.833", "last_edit_date": null, "last_editor_user_id": null, "owner_user_id": "16258", "post_type": "question", "score": 0, "tags": [ "words" ], "title": "ですかorですが?which one is correct?", "view_count": 3262 }
[ { "body": "どうして can indeed become どして in a hasty and slangy conversation/chat, but ですか\nnever contracts to ですが. It's no shorter in the first place!\n\nBoth ~ですが and ~ですか are perfectly valid Japanese with completely different\nmeanings.\n\n * そうですか。 \"Oh, is that so?\" / \"I see.\" / \"Okay.\"\n * どうしてですか。 \"Why is it?\"\n * そうですが。 ≒ そうですけど。 \"That's true, but...\" / \"Yes, but...\" (sort of hedging)\n * どうしてですが。 (typo. doesn't make sense.)\n\nSentence-end が/けど is asked and answered in several existing questions in this\nsite. Please take a look at these.\n\n * [けど at the end of the sentence?](https://japanese.stackexchange.com/q/2086/5010)\n * [が and けど at end of a sentence](https://japanese.stackexchange.com/q/27542/5010)\n * [けど usage in this](https://japanese.stackexchange.com/q/32824/5010)", "comment_count": 0, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0", "creation_date": "2016-07-24T16:37:00.400", "id": "36948", "last_activity_date": "2016-07-24T16:37:00.400", "last_edit_date": "2017-04-13T12:43:44.207", "last_editor_user_id": "-1", "owner_user_id": "5010", "parent_id": "36946", "post_type": "answer", "score": 2 }, { "body": "* ですか -> for questioning. For ex: 安いですか Is it cheap?\n * ですが -> for reasoning. For ex: 安いですが But it is cheap...\n\nJapanese people tend to use the second one, as it is one form where they are\nasking indirectly to get better approach/ solution or to ask another thing\nbehind that.", "comment_count": 0, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0", "creation_date": "2016-07-25T07:09:49.833", "id": "36963", "last_activity_date": "2016-07-25T07:09:49.833", "last_edit_date": null, "last_editor_user_id": null, "owner_user_id": "16268", "parent_id": "36946", "post_type": "answer", "score": 0 } ]
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{ "accepted_answer_id": "36950", "answer_count": 1, "body": "> 品揃え **の多さに** ついつい買いこんでしまい、... \n> I ended up unintentionally buying ??? complete set...\n\nI'm struggling to understand the part in bold. I know that 多い is 'many', and\nthat you can convert adjectives to nouns by changing the last い to さ. So I get\n多さ = 'manyness' (obviously not a real word) maybe 'multitude' or 'multiple'??\n\nNow I have a 'multiple of complete sets' with a に on the end. I can't make any\nfurther sense of it.\n\nI also wondered if when you add a さ the thing you make is a na-adjective\nrather than a noun so I could make an adverb from 多さに but that didn't help\neither.\n\nI also notice there's no object marker を.", "comment_count": 0, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0", "creation_date": "2016-07-24T17:36:08.050", "favorite_count": 0, "id": "36949", "last_activity_date": "2016-07-24T18:47:07.770", "last_edit_date": "2016-07-24T17:47:08.600", "last_editor_user_id": "7944", "owner_user_id": "7944", "post_type": "question", "score": 2, "tags": [ "grammar", "particle-に", "i-adjectives", "na-adjectives" ], "title": "Grammar of nounの多さに", "view_count": 317 }
[ { "body": "* 品揃え ≒ _assortment/lineup_ of goods (Probably you can't use _complete set_ here...)\n * I think _abundance_ is the closest noun to 多さ ≒ 豊富さ. 品揃えの多さ ≒ 品揃えの豊富さ means \"the largeness of the selection of goods\" or simply \"the large selection of goods\" in this context.\n * 買い込む doesn't necessarily take an object. 買い込む by itself can mean \"to do a lot of shopping\".\n * This に is a particle which can sometimes mark a cause/reason. (eg, そのニュースに驚いた, その言葉に嬉しくなった) In this case you can understand it as \" _because of_ (the abundance)\" or \" _due to_ (the abundance)\".", "comment_count": 0, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0", "creation_date": "2016-07-24T18:41:46.630", "id": "36950", "last_activity_date": "2016-07-24T18:47:07.770", "last_edit_date": "2016-07-24T18:47:07.770", "last_editor_user_id": "5010", "owner_user_id": "5010", "parent_id": "36949", "post_type": "answer", "score": 3 } ]
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{ "accepted_answer_id": "36965", "answer_count": 3, "body": "Originally, I had the following sentence:\n\n> 人形は **本当** の人のように動きました。\n\nA Japanese native corrected to be:\n\n> 人形は **本物** の人のように動きました。\n\nI just want to understand what the difference between the 2 words is, and why\n本物 is more appropriate in this sentence.", "comment_count": 0, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0", "creation_date": "2016-07-24T19:24:34.663", "favorite_count": 0, "id": "36952", "last_activity_date": "2016-07-26T00:49:10.480", "last_edit_date": "2016-07-24T22:17:18.997", "last_editor_user_id": "1628", "owner_user_id": "16262", "post_type": "question", "score": 7, "tags": [ "words", "nuances" ], "title": "What is the difference between 「本物」 and 「本当」?", "view_count": 1700 }
[ { "body": "A dictionary says interestingly that 本物 means 本当のもの(こと) and 本当 means\n本物のもの(こと), that is to say, they have the same meaning of \"real\".\n\nHowever 本当 has some meaning like \"true\", and 本当 may be used more as the\nmeaning of \"true\" than \"real\", so Japanese native might correct 本当 as 本物. I\nalso think 本物 is more common as the meaning of \"real\" than 本当.", "comment_count": 0, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0", "creation_date": "2016-07-25T04:23:16.650", "id": "36959", "last_activity_date": "2016-07-25T04:32:23.700", "last_edit_date": "2016-07-25T04:32:23.700", "last_editor_user_id": "7320", "owner_user_id": "7320", "parent_id": "36952", "post_type": "answer", "score": 2 }, { "body": "* 本当 = really/ the truth/ truthly (adverb)\n * 本物 = the actual/ real object (object)\n\nIn your sentence 本当の人 does not make any sense. Common use with 本当 is:\n\n * 本当は (The truth is)\n * 本当に? (Oh really?)\n * 彼は本当のことを言っている (He is telling the actual truth)\n\nWhen people talk about 本物, they are usually comparing the fake/ similar vs the\nreal one. For ex:\n\n * このプラスチック食品はおいしそう。本物みたい。(This plastic food looks delicious. Like the real one (food).)\n * 仕様はこうなっているが、本物はどうなるだろう。(The spec is defined like this, but I wonder how the actual thing will be.)", "comment_count": 2, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0", "creation_date": "2016-07-25T06:54:03.973", "id": "36961", "last_activity_date": "2016-07-26T00:49:10.480", "last_edit_date": "2016-07-26T00:49:10.480", "last_editor_user_id": "16268", "owner_user_id": "16268", "parent_id": "36952", "post_type": "answer", "score": 2 }, { "body": "**本当**\n\n * is an adjective itself (some people call it _no-adjective_ ; 本当だ \"be true\", 本当に \"really\")\n * _true_ as opposed to _wrong_ , _apparent_ , _untrue_ , _lying_\n * _proper_ as opposed to _impure_ , _inaccurate_ , _questionable_\n * _real_ as opposed to _fictitious_ , _imaginary_\n\n**本物**\n\n * is a noun itself (本物だ \"be a/the true thing\", 本物に \"to a/the true thing\")\n * _a genuine thing_ as opposed to _a fake, pretended one_\n * _a full-fledged thing_ as opposed to _a substandard one_\n\nIn this context, the doll (or puppet?) is an imitation of real human, so 本物 is\nfelt somewhat more suitable, but it doesn't mean 本当 is invalid or unacceptable\nhere. Besides, the most ideal wording I think would be:\n\n> 人形は本物の人間のように動きました。", "comment_count": 0, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0", "creation_date": "2016-07-25T07:56:45.663", "id": "36965", "last_activity_date": "2016-07-25T07:56:45.663", "last_edit_date": null, "last_editor_user_id": null, "owner_user_id": "7810", "parent_id": "36952", "post_type": "answer", "score": 7 } ]
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{ "accepted_answer_id": "36958", "answer_count": 1, "body": "Two characters are walking a corridor in a school, and the following appears\nin two thought bubbles around one of them.\n\n渡り廊下を越えるって事は\n\n向かっているのは特別棟か\n\nHow can 特別棟 be a statement about 向かっているの? As far as I know, the の particle\nafter a verb can mean requiring or giving explanation, or it can make a noun\nout of a verb. Can it make 向かっているの mean \"the place toward which we're going\"?", "comment_count": 1, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0", "creation_date": "2016-07-24T23:57:21.363", "favorite_count": 0, "id": "36953", "last_activity_date": "2016-07-25T05:10:09.487", "last_edit_date": null, "last_editor_user_id": null, "owner_user_id": "16148", "post_type": "question", "score": 1, "tags": [ "particle-の", "manga" ], "title": "What does the の do in 向かっているのは特別棟?", "view_count": 116 }
[ { "body": "This pattern is so common that it has a special name, a [cleft\nsentence](https://japanese.stackexchange.com/a/19208/5010).\n\n> 向かっている **のは** 特別棟か。 \n> So **it's** Special Building **that** we're heading to.\n\n`verb + のは + whatever + だ/です` is a basic pattern of cleft sentences, and it's\nsimilar to `it's + whatever + that/who + verb` pattern in English. の here is\nsomething like a dummy pronoun, and 特別棟 is the word that is focused.\n\nHere か is a kind of \"surprise\" marker ([see the 6th definition under 終助\nhere](http://dictionary.goo.ne.jp/jn/34861/meaning/m0u/%E3%81%8B/)), which is\nused in place of だ because it's a new piece of information the speaker got\njust now. (eg. 君か。 \"Oh, it's you!\")", "comment_count": 0, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0", "creation_date": "2016-07-25T04:00:44.990", "id": "36958", "last_activity_date": "2016-07-25T05:10:09.487", "last_edit_date": "2017-04-13T12:43:44.397", "last_editor_user_id": "-1", "owner_user_id": "5010", "parent_id": "36953", "post_type": "answer", "score": 2 } ]
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{ "accepted_answer_id": "36956", "answer_count": 1, "body": "This word 「決着」 (settlement/conclusion) is read as けっちゃく. Though lately, I've\nbeen digging into some more comics and noticed that there's another reading\nbeing used: ケリ.\n\nFor example:\n\n * これが最後【さいご】だ。決着【ケリ】を付けよう【つけよう】じゃねぇか。\n * いくぞ。ここで決着【ケリ】を付けて【つけて】やる。\n\nIs this a new reading because I don't see it in any JAP to ENG dictionary I\nreference", "comment_count": 0, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0", "creation_date": "2016-07-25T02:35:23.287", "favorite_count": 0, "id": "36955", "last_activity_date": "2016-07-26T00:19:11.210", "last_edit_date": "2016-07-26T00:19:11.210", "last_editor_user_id": "9831", "owner_user_id": "16147", "post_type": "question", "score": 3, "tags": [ "kanji", "readings" ], "title": "決着 (keri or kecchaku)", "view_count": 535 }
[ { "body": "It's [当て字](https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E5%BD%93%E3%81%A6%E5%AD%97).\n決着{けっちゃく} does not have that reading and you won't find it in dictionaries.\nHowever, [けりをつける](http://gogen-allguide.com/ke/keri.html) is a saying in\nJapanese which does have an almost identical meaning.\n\nWhy do they use [当]{あ}て[字]{じ}?\n\nThis\n[study](http://ir.u-gakugei.ac.jp/bitstream/2309/125467/1/18804314_63_05.pdf)\ndivides the reason into 7 forms:\n\n```\n\n ①\n 口語の読みを示す\n ②\n 外来語の読みを示す\n ③\n 英語の略表記の読みを示す\n ④\n スポーツ用語\n ⑤\n 代名詞\n ⑥\n 言い換え表現\n ⑦\n 作品固有の表現\n \n```\n\nI would say けりをつける is a 口語 form※, i.e. you hear is used when speaking but not\nin writing. However, manga often depict colloquial conversations, which is why\nyou see it's use here.\n\n※You could also consider けりをつける to be `言い換え表現`.\n\nWhat is happening here, is by blending the spoken and written forms, you get\nfull understanding, but also the reading portrays a real spoken conversation,\nso the manga doesn't feel very \"stiff\" like reading a long non-fiction novel.\n\nHere is [another\nstudy](http://www.eastasiareview.org/issues/2010/articles/Lewis_Mia.pdf) for\npeople who want to read further about Ateji.", "comment_count": 6, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0", "creation_date": "2016-07-25T03:30:07.717", "id": "36956", "last_activity_date": "2016-07-25T13:10:25.293", "last_edit_date": "2016-07-25T13:10:25.293", "last_editor_user_id": "9831", "owner_user_id": "1217", "parent_id": "36955", "post_type": "answer", "score": 6 } ]
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{ "accepted_answer_id": null, "answer_count": 1, "body": "I'm trying to translate a song as practice and I absolutely cannot figure out\nwhat this one line means:\n\n> 「蝕んだ身体に愛を入れて欲しいと \n> 慣れない産声を上げた」\n\n(It's a bit graphic, and I apologize!)\n\nAnyway, I get the whole wanting-to-put-your-love-into-a-rotted-body thing, but\nthe second part is throwing me off.\n\nIs the と particle in this case being used as a quotation marker? That's what\nI'm thinking because of the 「産声を上げた」...though apparently that phrase can also\nmean \"being born\". And the adjective before it confuses me even more.", "comment_count": 0, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0", "creation_date": "2016-07-25T03:47:12.297", "favorite_count": 0, "id": "36957", "last_activity_date": "2016-07-25T04:26:58.193", "last_edit_date": "2016-07-25T03:52:56.617", "last_editor_user_id": "11104", "owner_user_id": "16266", "post_type": "question", "score": 1, "tags": [ "translation", "idioms", "phrases" ], "title": "Translation Help? 「産声を上げた」", "view_count": 185 }
[ { "body": "産声 is defined as \"the first cry of a baby\". 産声を上げる is a common fixed idiom\nwhich effectively means \"to be born\", but it's not a good idea to translate\nthis as \"to be born\" in this case. Without any further context, \"cried like a\nbaby\" is the safest translation I can think of.\n\nThe 慣れない part basically indicates that \"crying like a baby\" is not what she\ndoes often (ie. 産声 is unfamiliar to herself, not to her partner). I'm not sure\nhow to translate this nicely...\n\nと in the first line is the quotation particle, and the following verb is often\nleft unsaid. See: [verb+ようにと、 or\nverb+かと、](https://japanese.stackexchange.com/q/21680/5010)", "comment_count": 0, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0", "creation_date": "2016-07-25T04:24:28.023", "id": "36960", "last_activity_date": "2016-07-25T04:26:58.193", "last_edit_date": "2017-04-13T12:43:44.740", "last_editor_user_id": "-1", "owner_user_id": "5010", "parent_id": "36957", "post_type": "answer", "score": 3 } ]
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{ "accepted_answer_id": null, "answer_count": 1, "body": "What would be your recommendation to dominate the japanese particles? I'm\ntired of my sentences and my speaking being destroyed by the fault of a little\nstupid particle. I'm studying the minna no nihongo book and i'm starting the\nlesson 16 but i'm still having problems with these particles!", "comment_count": 3, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0", "creation_date": "2016-07-25T14:07:53.410", "favorite_count": 0, "id": "36967", "last_activity_date": "2016-07-25T15:27:09.740", "last_edit_date": "2016-07-25T15:27:09.740", "last_editor_user_id": "4875", "owner_user_id": "16248", "post_type": "question", "score": 0, "tags": [ "particles", "spoken-language", "sentence-final-particles" ], "title": "Please help me master particles", "view_count": 359 }
[ { "body": "This is a very subjective answer but, there is no \"quick fix\" for particles,\nas there are many exceptions, special cases, etc. Mastery takes a long time,\neven if you focus on it.\n\nConsider prepositions in English, which fulfill a similar role. Why do we play\n\"on\" a tennis court, \"at\" a park, and \"in\" a sand box? It feels easy to a\nnative speaker, but it is hard to give/explain a rule that always works, and\nL2 learners will struggle.\n\nI suggest you focus on learning how to use particles well enough to understand\nand make yourself understood, and then gain mastery over time by paying\nattention to them as you read and write (preferably a lot). This will take\nyears, but that is not unusual.\n\nIn general, mastering the small number of functional/adverbial components\ncommonly used in a new language is actually harder and more time consuming\nthan building up a core noun/adjective/verb vocabulary of several thousand..\nwhich may be surprising/discouraging if this is your first time seriously\nstudying a second language, but is quite normal.\n\nFor example, and maybe some perspective, I am in my 5th year of Japanese\nstudy, conversational, working for a Japanese company, have a vocab in excess\nof 10k words, read multiple full length books, etc.. and still make basic\nparticle errors daily. It takes time.", "comment_count": 2, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0", "creation_date": "2016-07-25T15:18:13.257", "id": "36968", "last_activity_date": "2016-07-25T15:18:13.257", "last_edit_date": null, "last_editor_user_id": null, "owner_user_id": "14598", "parent_id": "36967", "post_type": "answer", "score": 2 } ]
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{ "accepted_answer_id": "36970", "answer_count": 1, "body": "Preface\n\nMy recent trip to Japan allowed me to see many Chinese characters i.e., Kanji\n(漢字) and one thing that caught my attention was an extensive use of the\nradical \"貝\"(かい) on words/characters related to bartering and economy.\n\nFor example:\n\n買う - buy\n\n売る - sell (now the traditional Chinese character for this is \"賣\")\n\n貨 - money/value so 貨幣 (かへい) and 通貨 (つうか) become currency\n\n資 - also related to value so 資金 (しきん) is fund, 資本 (しほん) is capital and so on.\n\nThere are a LOT more to these characters with the radical \"貝\" and many of them\nhave meanings related to money and value.\n\nAnd \"貝\" means a shellfish, so I thought maybe ancient China used shellfish as\ncurrency. (at this point I've realized maybe this is a wrong stackexchange to\nask this question, feel free to migrate.)\n\nQuestion:\n\nSo what role exactly does a shellfish play in concepts that are related to\nvalue?", "comment_count": 0, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0", "creation_date": "2016-07-25T15:31:43.973", "favorite_count": 0, "id": "36969", "last_activity_date": "2016-07-26T09:15:48.297", "last_edit_date": null, "last_editor_user_id": null, "owner_user_id": "7904", "post_type": "question", "score": 7, "tags": [ "etymology", "culture" ], "title": "The radical \"貝\" and its relation to economic characters such as \"貨\" \"資\" etc", "view_count": 653 }
[ { "body": "As I was researching alongside asking the question, I've found a [Wikipedia\narticle](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shell_money#East.2C_South_and_Southeast_Asia)\nwhich states:\n\n> In China, cowries were so important that many characters relating to money\n> or trade contain the character for cowry: 貝. Starting over three thousand\n> years ago, cowry shells, or copies of the shells, were used as Chinese\n> currency. The Classical Chinese character for \"money/currency\", 貝,\n> originated as a pictograph of a cowrie shell.", "comment_count": 5, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0", "creation_date": "2016-07-25T15:31:43.973", "id": "36970", "last_activity_date": "2016-07-26T09:15:48.297", "last_edit_date": "2016-07-26T09:15:48.297", "last_editor_user_id": "1527", "owner_user_id": "7904", "parent_id": "36969", "post_type": "answer", "score": 6 } ]
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{ "accepted_answer_id": null, "answer_count": 1, "body": "When talking about hobbies, interests, etc. it's pretty usual, I think, to\nnominalize string of words chained by particles. For example drawing pictures\nis 「絵を描く」or playing soccer is 「サッカーをする」. If one of my hobbies is drawing\npictures, I can say, for example (please correct the sentence if it's wrong):\n\n> 絵 **を** 描くのは一つの楽しみなんです。\n\nHowever, I noticed that for such patterns, particles can usually be replaced\nwith 「の」like:\n\n> 絵 **の** 描くのは一つの楽しみなんです。\n\nI can't think of more complex examples that I'm very sure of but, for example\nwhen speaking about drawing using pencils, we say 「えんぴつで絵を描く」. However, when\nspeaking about drawing with pencils, if I understand correctly, we can also\nuse the pattern 「えんぴつの絵の描く事は〜」.\n\nWhat are the grammar rules behind these? To be honest, I'm not sure if this\nquestion even has basis (because I'm not so sure about my examples), so please\nenlighten me on this.", "comment_count": 4, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0", "creation_date": "2016-07-25T16:37:35.213", "favorite_count": 0, "id": "36971", "last_activity_date": "2016-07-25T21:43:34.487", "last_edit_date": "2016-07-25T21:43:34.487", "last_editor_user_id": "1628", "owner_user_id": "16262", "post_type": "question", "score": 2, "tags": [ "grammar", "words", "particles", "particle-の" ], "title": "When can or should I substitute other particles with 「の」 during nominalization?", "view_count": 156 }
[ { "body": "In subordinate clauses like these, _ONLY_ が can be replaced by の (and only\nwhen the verb follows immediately after, to prevent confusion with the other\nNoun+の+Noun meaning). を, で, and other particles cannot be replaced by の in\nsubordinate clauses. For example:\n\n> ○ 私 **が** 作った料理 → 私 **の** 作った料理 \n> ○ 木村 **が** 買った本 → 木村 **の** 買った本\n\nThe phrase「絵の描くのは」is valid if the picture is the one drawing, not being drawn\n(which does not make sense).「えんぴつの絵の描く事は」looks crazy does not make sense. It\nlooks like \"the action of the pencil's picture's drawing\".", "comment_count": 0, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0", "creation_date": "2016-07-25T17:17:33.687", "id": "36972", "last_activity_date": "2016-07-25T17:17:33.687", "last_edit_date": null, "last_editor_user_id": null, "owner_user_id": "9749", "parent_id": "36971", "post_type": "answer", "score": 2 } ]
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{ "accepted_answer_id": null, "answer_count": 1, "body": "So I want to learn to speak Japanese, no deadline or anything that requires me\nto learn it, just want to know the world a bit better.\n\nThe biggest issue I've had when it comes to trying to learn is finding someone\nto answer my questions but that's another story.\n\nMy current question is that if I want to speak Japanese, is it required/vital\nthat I learn to read/write it as well? I tried out lingualift's free trial for\nJapanese learning and it started off with having me write hiragana after some\nfiller.\n\nMy goal is to just be able to have a simple conversation \"How are you? That's\ngood.\" \"What would you like to eat?\" \"Where is the station?\" with someone.\nIt's not set in stone that I'll ever be engaged in Japanese much either, which\nis why I'm curious on if I _really_ need to write & read it.\n\nAnyone that can give me insight for this question; Thank you! It means a lot.", "comment_count": 1, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0", "creation_date": "2016-07-26T00:16:22.877", "favorite_count": 0, "id": "36974", "last_activity_date": "2016-07-26T01:14:05.907", "last_edit_date": null, "last_editor_user_id": null, "owner_user_id": "16274", "post_type": "question", "score": 1, "tags": [ "spoken-language", "learning", "reading-comprehension" ], "title": "If I want to learn to speak Japanese, is it vital I learn to write/read it too or can I just learn to speak it?", "view_count": 569 }
[ { "body": "For your goals, I don't think reading and writing is necessary. You can use\nRomaji (Latin letters) to remember the pronunciation and use your ears for the\nrest.\n\n**However** , if you ever want to use any kind of dictionary, you'll at least\nneed Hiragana.", "comment_count": 0, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0", "creation_date": "2016-07-26T01:14:05.907", "id": "36976", "last_activity_date": "2016-07-26T01:14:05.907", "last_edit_date": null, "last_editor_user_id": null, "owner_user_id": "7055", "parent_id": "36974", "post_type": "answer", "score": 2 } ]
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{ "accepted_answer_id": null, "answer_count": 1, "body": "This is the text:\n\n> ああ 僕 まだ 名乗ってませんね。 あした お会いしたときに。\n\nIt is referring to tomorrow, so I would naturally say: お会いするときに instead.\n\nWhy does he use a past form?\n\nThanks!", "comment_count": 0, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0", "creation_date": "2016-07-26T01:01:03.857", "favorite_count": 0, "id": "36975", "last_activity_date": "2016-07-26T02:25:32.370", "last_edit_date": "2016-07-26T02:25:32.370", "last_editor_user_id": "5010", "owner_user_id": "9478", "post_type": "question", "score": 4, "tags": [ "grammar", "aspect" ], "title": "Why this is written using past form?", "view_count": 112 }
[ { "body": "There is not any past form, this is the _accomplished_ form.\n\n\"あした お会いしたときに\" could be translated as: \"once I met him/her tomorrow\". \nSo, even it this takes place in the future, the person is speaking about when\nthe action of meeting the other person is accomplished. \nWhereas お会いするときに is the time where the person _is about to_ meet (this is not\ndone yet) the other person.", "comment_count": 2, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0", "creation_date": "2016-07-26T01:15:11.367", "id": "36977", "last_activity_date": "2016-07-26T01:15:11.367", "last_edit_date": null, "last_editor_user_id": null, "owner_user_id": "1065", "parent_id": "36975", "post_type": "answer", "score": 4 } ]
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{ "accepted_answer_id": "36979", "answer_count": 1, "body": "I know `漢字` means chinese characters, but japanese people use word `かんじ`\nextensively.\n\nI don't understand when and in which context word `かんじ` is used and why?", "comment_count": 0, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0", "creation_date": "2016-07-26T02:10:02.123", "favorite_count": 0, "id": "36978", "last_activity_date": "2017-02-11T03:46:05.693", "last_edit_date": "2017-02-11T03:46:05.693", "last_editor_user_id": "16171", "owner_user_id": "16171", "post_type": "question", "score": 2, "tags": [ "meaning", "word-requests", "word-usage" ], "title": "Usage of word かんじ (not 漢字, but same pronunciation)", "view_count": 562 }
[ { "body": "I think your question might reflect some confusion about the Japanese\nlanguage.\n\nThere are multiple words pronounced カンジ in the Japanese language. If you type\non your computer, you should see a drop-down with many of them (in fact not\nall possible words with that pronunciation in Japanese).\n\nFor the most part, each kanji way of writing カンジ pronunciation is a different\nword (a large percentage are names).\n\nThe most common word pronounced カンジ is 感じ which means a `feeling, sense,\nimpression`. It's the noun form of the verb 感じる.\n\nOne use of this word is 「そんな感じ」 which is often used to say something is\nbasically (but perhaps not exactly) correct or as a ぼかし表現 (hedging\nexpression).\n\nE.g.,\n\n> その子と付き合っているのですか。\n>\n> ええ、そんな感じ。\n\nA different word is 漢字 which as you know means Chinese characters.\n\nOther words exist as well such as 幹事 which means the person or people\nresponsible for an event or conference.", "comment_count": 1, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0", "creation_date": "2016-07-26T02:33:50.710", "id": "36979", "last_activity_date": "2016-07-26T04:08:52.207", "last_edit_date": "2020-06-17T08:18:27.500", "last_editor_user_id": "-1", "owner_user_id": "4091", "parent_id": "36978", "post_type": "answer", "score": 5 } ]
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{ "accepted_answer_id": "36982", "answer_count": 2, "body": "如き【ごとき】, 如し【ごとし】, 如く【ごとく】 all mean \"like/as if/the same as\". Is there a\ncertain way they can be used or are they interchangeable?", "comment_count": 0, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0", "creation_date": "2016-07-26T03:08:01.787", "favorite_count": 0, "id": "36980", "last_activity_date": "2016-07-26T05:52:32.563", "last_edit_date": null, "last_editor_user_id": null, "owner_user_id": "16147", "post_type": "question", "score": 5, "tags": [ "grammar", "word-choice", "homonyms" ], "title": "Usage of 如き, 如し, 如く", "view_count": 1620 }
[ { "body": "* ~(の)如し is used as a predicate. (sounds archaic rather than simply literary)\n * ~(の)如き modifies a noun (i.e., adjectivally).\n * ~(の)如く modifies a verb (i.e., adverbially).\n\n> その動きは蝶の如し。 His movement is like a butterfly. \n> 光陰矢の如し。 Time flies. (lit. \"Days and nights are like arrows.\") \n> 蝶の如き動きを見せた。 He showed a butterfly-like movement. \n> 蝶の如く動いた。 He moved like a butterfly.", "comment_count": 0, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0", "creation_date": "2016-07-26T03:17:09.787", "id": "36981", "last_activity_date": "2016-07-26T03:17:09.787", "last_edit_date": null, "last_editor_user_id": null, "owner_user_id": "5010", "parent_id": "36980", "post_type": "answer", "score": 5 }, { "body": "These are all different forms of the helping verb ごとし.\n\nThey are used differently this way:\n\n * 如し ⇒ のようだ (used as a verb)\n * 如く ⇒ のように、のようで (used like an adverb)\n * 如き ⇒ のような (used as an adjective)\n\n> * 目差しは炎 **の如し** ⇒ 目差しは炎 **のようだ** \n> (his) gaze was as a flaming fire\n> * 海 **の如く** 広い草原を渡る ⇒ 海の **ように** 広い草原を渡る \n> (we) cross a plain wide as the sea\n> * 馬 **の如き** 速さで走る ⇒ 馬 **のような** 速さで走る \n> to run with the speed of a horse\n>\n\n如く is the 連用形 of 如し:\n\n * 眼差しは炎の **如く** 、相手‌​を捕えていた。\n\n如き is the 連体形 of 如し:\n\n * 炎の **如き眼差し** で、攻撃の準備をしていた。", "comment_count": 14, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0", "creation_date": "2016-07-26T03:17:44.623", "id": "36982", "last_activity_date": "2016-07-26T05:52:32.563", "last_edit_date": "2016-07-26T05:52:32.563", "last_editor_user_id": "7055", "owner_user_id": "7055", "parent_id": "36980", "post_type": "answer", "score": 4 } ]
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{ "accepted_answer_id": "36985", "answer_count": 2, "body": "Would a native ever say \"私は多忙{たぼう}です。\" in a conversation? In what context? Is\nit more of a word used in writing?\n\nIsn't it a reasonable approximation of \"私は中々忙しいです\" (which is very\nconversational)?", "comment_count": 0, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0", "creation_date": "2016-07-26T04:10:58.993", "favorite_count": 0, "id": "36983", "last_activity_date": "2016-07-26T07:39:34.447", "last_edit_date": null, "last_editor_user_id": null, "owner_user_id": "15778", "post_type": "question", "score": 5, "tags": [ "word-choice" ], "title": "In what context does it sound natural to say / write \"多忙\"?", "view_count": 249 }
[ { "body": "No, I don't think so. People would say 忙しい naturally.\n\nAlso, I noticed that if you are saying your own busyness, you won't use なかなか,\ninstead けっこう、とても、かなり. なかなか is more to 2nd/3rd person/ object, which is out of\nyour expectation. Although, grammatically and logically it is not wrong.", "comment_count": 0, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0", "creation_date": "2016-07-26T06:54:05.050", "id": "36984", "last_activity_date": "2016-07-26T06:54:05.050", "last_edit_date": null, "last_editor_user_id": null, "owner_user_id": "16268", "parent_id": "36983", "post_type": "answer", "score": 3 }, { "body": "Yes 多忙 is generally more formal than 忙しい, but you can safely use 多忙 in\neveryday business conversations.\n\nBut note that 多忙 is not always semantically interchangeable with 忙しい. 多忙 means\nhaving a full schedule over a relatively long period (at least for days,\nusually for months or years). 私は多忙です doesn't mean \"I'm busy (now)\" but it\nsounds more like \"I am a busy businessperson.\" It may be acceptable in some\nsituations, but if you say this carelessly, it would give an arrogant\nimpression.\n\n多忙 is mainly used (with some respect) referring to other person. If you want\nto use 多忙 referring to yourself, you should be careful not to be rude. For\nexample, if you are a really busy person, you can say something like this:\n\n> 申し訳ありませんが、多忙につき次回の会議は欠席いたします。", "comment_count": 2, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0", "creation_date": "2016-07-26T07:39:34.447", "id": "36985", "last_activity_date": "2016-07-26T07:39:34.447", "last_edit_date": null, "last_editor_user_id": null, "owner_user_id": "5010", "parent_id": "36983", "post_type": "answer", "score": 6 } ]
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{ "accepted_answer_id": null, "answer_count": 1, "body": "> A: 母が私に卵を食べさせた。My mother forced me to eat eggs.\n>\n> B: 私が母に卵を食べさせられた。I have been forced to eat eggs by my mother.\n\nNow I want to make the eggs as the subject. How to make this sentence in\nJapanese? My attempt is as follows, but I am not sure whether it is correct\ngrammatically.\n\n> C1: 卵が母に私を食べさせられた。\n\n# Edit:\n\nMy second attempt is as follows.\n\n> C2: 卵は母に食べさせられた私に食べられた。", "comment_count": 2, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0", "creation_date": "2016-07-26T11:00:53.877", "favorite_count": 0, "id": "36987", "last_activity_date": "2016-07-26T15:52:02.427", "last_edit_date": "2020-06-17T08:18:27.500", "last_editor_user_id": "-1", "owner_user_id": "11192", "post_type": "question", "score": 1, "tags": [ "passive-voice" ], "title": "How to make a new sentence from 「母が私に卵を食べさせた。」where 卵 must be the subject?", "view_count": 145 }
[ { "body": "The sentence C doesn't make sense. I think a direct object can't become a\nsubject in a causative sentence.\n\nFor example, 私は、彼に車を運転させた and 彼は、私に車を運転させられた make sense but 車は、運転させた and\n車は、運転させられた doesn't make sense.", "comment_count": 0, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0", "creation_date": "2016-07-26T12:31:45.543", "id": "36989", "last_activity_date": "2016-07-26T12:46:14.693", "last_edit_date": "2016-07-26T12:46:14.693", "last_editor_user_id": "7320", "owner_user_id": "7320", "parent_id": "36987", "post_type": "answer", "score": 2 } ]
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{ "accepted_answer_id": "36990", "answer_count": 1, "body": "I am trying to translate the chorus for the Spitz song \"愛のことば\" (\"Ai no\nkotoba\"):\n\n> 傷つくこともなめあうことも包みこまれる愛のことば\n>\n> Kizutsuku koto mo nameau koto mo tsutsumikomareru ai no kotoba\n\nUsing various dictionary resources I translate this as:\n\n> Words of love that can be all wrapped up, even in the event of being\n> injured, or licked\n\nHowever, I feel that there must a more idiomatic meaning for 包みこまれる that will\nmake this line more sensible.\n\nI am also wondering if \"licked\" is the proper translation for \"なめあう\".\n\nCan someone provide a better translation for this line?\n\nFor context, the previous line is\n\n> 今煙の中で溶け合いながら探しつづける愛のことば\n>\n> Ima kemuri no naka de tokeainagara sagashitsuzukeru ai no kotoba", "comment_count": 0, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0", "creation_date": "2016-07-26T11:43:30.923", "favorite_count": 0, "id": "36988", "last_activity_date": "2016-07-27T08:29:39.883", "last_edit_date": "2020-06-17T08:18:27.500", "last_editor_user_id": "-1", "owner_user_id": "16282", "post_type": "question", "score": 3, "tags": [ "song-lyrics" ], "title": "What does 包みこまれる (\"tsutsumikomareru\") mean in the Spitz song \"愛のことば\" (\"Ai no kotoba\")?", "view_count": 298 }
[ { "body": "The lyrics are very vague, so please don't take this as the only possible\ninterpretation.\n\nFirst, regarding the thing that is \"wrapped\" (包み込まれる) in this line...\n\n * Aが包み込まれる means \"A is wrapped.\"\n * Aも包み込まれる means \"Even A is wrapped.\"\n * 包み込まれるX means \"X that is wrapped.\" (包み込まれる modifies X)\n * Aも包み込まれるX means \"X where/when A is also wrapped.\" when X is a place, situation, time, etc. (Aも包み込まれる as a whole modifies X) \n\n> * 私が怒られる部屋 the room where I am scolded\n> * 名前も消される状況 the situation where even his name is erased\n\nSo I think the line means \"In/with 愛のことば, even 傷つくこと and なめあうこと are wrapped.\"\nor more plainly, \"愛の言葉 wraps even 傷つくこと and なめあうこと\". I have seen similar\nexpressions where \"words wrap/enclose/cloak something\" elsewhere (eg,\n優しい言葉が私を包み込んだ).\n\n舐【な】める is indeed \"to lick\", which makes sense because it's used after 傷つく.\n[傷を舐め合う](http://thesaurus.weblio.jp/content/%E5%82%B7%E3%82%92%E3%81%AA%E3%82%81%E5%90%88%E3%81%86)\n(lit. \"licking each other's wounds\") is an idiomatic phrase that means \"to\nconsole/comfort each other\".\n\nAll in all, the line roughly means \"Words of love, that even enclose our\nbroken hearts and consoling\", but I'll leave it to you how to translate this\nbeautifully.", "comment_count": 4, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0", "creation_date": "2016-07-26T13:53:59.637", "id": "36990", "last_activity_date": "2016-07-27T08:29:39.883", "last_edit_date": "2016-07-27T08:29:39.883", "last_editor_user_id": "5010", "owner_user_id": "5010", "parent_id": "36988", "post_type": "answer", "score": 3 } ]
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{ "accepted_answer_id": "37003", "answer_count": 1, "body": "I was reading a lesson in my textbook about 〜なさそうだ when I noticed that the\nbook never put だ before よ or ね. So it would be 美味{おい}しくなさそうよ or 美味{おい}しくなさそうね.\n\n**So I want to confirm, is adding だ before よ or ね is considered incorrect?**\n\nMy logic is... Since I think I've heard about ねこですよ or ねこだよ, I thought it is\nokay to say 美味{おい}しくなさそうだよ or 美味{おい}しくなさそうだね. Could you please enlighten me\nabout this ? Thank you.", "comment_count": 1, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0", "creation_date": "2016-07-26T15:25:16.103", "favorite_count": 0, "id": "36991", "last_activity_date": "2016-07-28T20:07:30.180", "last_edit_date": null, "last_editor_user_id": null, "owner_user_id": "13611", "post_type": "question", "score": 4, "tags": [ "particles", "copula" ], "title": "Is putting だ before よor ね considered incorrect?", "view_count": 330 }
[ { "body": "The textbook might not display examples containing だね・だよ・だよね for every\ngrammatical construction, but in informal speech tacking on these phrases at\nthe end of sentences is common.\n\nThis includes 〜なさそうだ(ね・よ・よね) which is grammatically correct.\n\nConsider the following example、which for simplicity will be modifying\n美味{おい}しそう(です).\n\n> 美味{おい}しそうですね ・ 美味{おい}しそうですよ ・ 美味{おい}しそうですよね\n\ncan be spoken more informally (such as with friends) like so:\n\n> 美味{おい}しそうだね ・ 美味{おい}しそうだよ ・ 美味{おい}しそうだよね\n\nwhich can be even further abbreviated by omitting the です copula altogether\n(which can sound more feminine):\n\n> 美味{おい}しそうね ・ 美味{おい}しそうよ ・ 美味{おい}しそうよね\n\n**All** of the above examples are grammatically correct, though context will\ndetermine what level of formality would be appropriate.", "comment_count": 2, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0", "creation_date": "2016-07-27T04:22:32.317", "id": "37003", "last_activity_date": "2016-07-28T20:07:30.180", "last_edit_date": "2016-07-28T20:07:30.180", "last_editor_user_id": "16235", "owner_user_id": "16235", "parent_id": "36991", "post_type": "answer", "score": 3 } ]
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{ "accepted_answer_id": "36994", "answer_count": 1, "body": "I'm familiar with 一人じゃない, but I'm not sure what 一人じゃ means. Is it a contracted\nversion? \n\nI found the word in this context below: \n\n> 一人じゃ運べそうもないから、手伝ってくれる? \n> _(Since it seems like I'm unable to carry it by myself, could you help\n> me?)_", "comment_count": 7, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0", "creation_date": "2016-07-26T16:10:43.960", "favorite_count": 0, "id": "36992", "last_activity_date": "2016-07-27T07:46:41.197", "last_edit_date": "2016-07-27T07:46:41.197", "last_editor_user_id": "13611", "owner_user_id": "13611", "post_type": "question", "score": 0, "tags": [ "words" ], "title": "meaning of 一人じゃ", "view_count": 638 }
[ { "body": "1人じゃない = 1人ではありません。 Consider that the negative form of “です\" is “ではありません\",which\ncan also be “じゃありません\" So I think “じゃ” is used as a simple form of\"では\".", "comment_count": 0, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0", "creation_date": "2016-07-26T23:14:20.587", "id": "36994", "last_activity_date": "2016-07-26T23:14:20.587", "last_edit_date": null, "last_editor_user_id": null, "owner_user_id": "16284", "parent_id": "36992", "post_type": "answer", "score": 1 } ]
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{ "accepted_answer_id": null, "answer_count": 2, "body": "In the sentence:\n\n> もしにおいを説明するのに、「いい香り」と「臭い」しか言葉がなかったら寂しい。\n\nI'm confused by the use of 寂しい. My interpretation of the general meaning of\nthe sentence is:\n\n> Even if you explain/describe a smell, only having the words いい香り and 臭い to\n> use makes your explanation limited.\n\nBut I wouldn't have thought 寂しい could be used to imply an insufficiency of\nsomething (in this case, vocabulary, for the purpose of expressing something).\nAm I on the right track?", "comment_count": 0, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0", "creation_date": "2016-07-27T00:00:35.943", "favorite_count": 0, "id": "36995", "last_activity_date": "2016-07-27T16:45:58.543", "last_edit_date": "2016-07-27T07:32:48.183", "last_editor_user_id": "1527", "owner_user_id": "16132", "post_type": "question", "score": 7, "tags": [ "words", "expressions" ], "title": "Can 寂しい be used to describe an insufficiency?", "view_count": 156 }
[ { "body": "Using 寂しい in this way is common. \"Makes your explanation limited\" is probably\ntoo objective as a translation of 寂しい. This 寂しい refers to a speakers\nsubjective impression, and it means \"I would feel I'm missing something\". Of\ncourse the author is trying to share his/her feelings with the readers here,\nbut basically this 寂しい is his/her own feelings.", "comment_count": 0, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0", "creation_date": "2016-07-27T02:41:54.937", "id": "37000", "last_activity_date": "2016-07-27T02:41:54.937", "last_edit_date": null, "last_editor_user_id": null, "owner_user_id": "5010", "parent_id": "36995", "post_type": "answer", "score": 5 }, { "body": "I'd translate it to be: \"It'd be **_sad_** to only have the words いい香り and\n臭い...\". In the sense that having only two words to describe smells would be a\n[_lonely_ or\n_desolate_](http://ejje.weblio.jp/content/%E5%AF%82%E3%81%97%E3%81%84) set of\nvocabulary.", "comment_count": 0, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0", "creation_date": "2016-07-27T16:45:58.543", "id": "37006", "last_activity_date": "2016-07-27T16:45:58.543", "last_edit_date": null, "last_editor_user_id": null, "owner_user_id": "3916", "parent_id": "36995", "post_type": "answer", "score": 3 } ]
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{ "accepted_answer_id": "36999", "answer_count": 1, "body": "I consider `speed reading` to be reading without thinking too deeply,\nespecially if you already know the author's conclusion. To me `speed reading`\nis actually a _different reading technique_. Sure, some people brag about\nreading _War and Peace_ in less than a week, but only if they use the `speed\nreading` technique.\n\nSo, I want to say:\n\n> To prevent people from speed reading English documents, you need to ...\"\n\nMy sense is that 速読{そくどく} just means _fast reading_ without any real change in\ntechnique.\n\nI'd like to express `speed reading`, but I don't know how. This is a lame\nparaphrase that also sounds natural to me as well:\n\n> 英語の文章をゆっくりでよく読んでくれるように、...\n\nBut, how do I express that `speed reading` as a different reading technique\nconcept? Maybe you can't speed read Japanese text because of no word spacing\n(and kanji)???", "comment_count": 7, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0", "creation_date": "2016-07-27T00:07:24.583", "favorite_count": 0, "id": "36996", "last_activity_date": "2016-07-27T02:25:56.950", "last_edit_date": null, "last_editor_user_id": null, "owner_user_id": "15778", "post_type": "question", "score": 2, "tags": [ "definitions" ], "title": "Is \"速読\" somewhat a different reading technique, or is it just \"reading really fast\"?", "view_count": 113 }
[ { "body": "Contrary to your expectation, 速読 in Japanese usually refers to a _very_\nspecial technique like this -- to read and understand super fast.\n<https://youtu.be/yBrmYDkubhI?t=35s>\n\n\"Trained\" 速読 readers claim that they can understand almost everything in the\nbook at this speed. Naturally, most people regard 速読 as something you can\nnever do, or something you will never need. It's almost pseudoscience to me.\n\n急いで読む is a neutral expression which means \"to read quickly.\" Whether the\nreader will fully understand the content depends on the context.\n\nIf you want to say \"to read quickly without thinking deeply\" or \"to skim\", you\ncan say\n[流【なが】し読【よ】み](http://eow.alc.co.jp/search?q=%E6%B5%81%E3%81%97%E8%AA%AD%E3%81%BF)\n(suru-verb). This is certainly something anyone can do. The verb 流す has such a\nnuance (\"to ignore unimportant things and keep going anyway\").\n\n> 流し読みされないようにするためには…", "comment_count": 2, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0", "creation_date": "2016-07-27T02:19:26.060", "id": "36999", "last_activity_date": "2016-07-27T02:25:56.950", "last_edit_date": "2016-07-27T02:25:56.950", "last_editor_user_id": "5010", "owner_user_id": "5010", "parent_id": "36996", "post_type": "answer", "score": 6 } ]
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{ "accepted_answer_id": "36998", "answer_count": 1, "body": "in the quote \"you, help me\" why do i have to use を and not が\n\nIE: あなたは、私を助けて!instead of あなたは、私がたすけて!\n\nWhy 私 is a direct object? I thought that only objects and nouns could be a\ndirect object, so I assume I was wrong?\n\nCould someone, please, bring some light on this?\n\nEdit: I have some knowledge in the transitive and intransitive verbs, but I\nhave never used examples where 私 is the direct object, is this matter related\nto the transitive/intransitive verb or not?\n\nThanks in advance :)", "comment_count": 2, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0", "creation_date": "2016-07-27T00:50:49.213", "favorite_count": 0, "id": "36997", "last_activity_date": "2016-07-27T01:58:18.143", "last_edit_date": null, "last_editor_user_id": null, "owner_user_id": "16104", "post_type": "question", "score": 2, "tags": [ "particle-を" ], "title": "を particle usage", "view_count": 1395 }
[ { "body": "が marks the subject of the sentence. That means the one doing something.\n\nを marks the object of the sentence. That means the one being acted upon.\n\nWhen you want to say something like \"He helped me\". \"He\" is the one doing\nsomething. So, \"he\" is the subject. \"me\" is the one being helped (the\nrecipient of the action), and so is the object.\n\nIf you write\n\n> 彼が私を助けた。\n\nyou're saying \"He helped me.\"\n\nIf you write\n\n> 彼を私が助けた。\n\nyou're saying \"I helped him\".\n\nOr, perhaps consider the following:\n\n> 犬を私が見た。\n\nwhich means \"I saw the dog\". Whereas\n\n> 犬が私を見た。\n\nmeans \"The dog saw me\".\n\nSo, it's not so wrong to say 私が, but if you're the recipient of the action\nthen 私が is not likely to be correct unless the verb is passive:\n\n> 私が助けられた。\n\n\"I was helped\"\n\nI hope this ***helps**. (Excuse the pun.)", "comment_count": 1, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0", "creation_date": "2016-07-27T01:52:04.800", "id": "36998", "last_activity_date": "2016-07-27T01:58:18.143", "last_edit_date": "2016-07-27T01:58:18.143", "last_editor_user_id": "4875", "owner_user_id": "4875", "parent_id": "36997", "post_type": "answer", "score": 5 } ]
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{ "accepted_answer_id": "37002", "answer_count": 1, "body": "I'm reading Yotsubato to learn Japanese. On page 98 of Tome 1, Asagi asks\nYotsuba:\n\n> クーラーって 知ってるかなー?\n\nI understand she's asking if Yotsuba knows what an air conditioner is, but I'm\nunsure about the nuance brought by the use of か and なー here.\n\nFrom [Tae Kim's guide](http://www.guidetojapanese.org/learn/grammar/question),\n\n> The question marker 「か」 is usually not used with casual speech to make\n> actual questions. It is often used to consider whether something is true or\n> not. Depending on the context and intonation, it can also be used to make\n> rhetorical questions or to express sarcasm. It can sound quite rough so you\n> might want to be careful about using 「か」 for questions in the plain casual\n> form.\n\nSo which is it here? It doesn't seem like she's trying to sound rough or\nsarcastic.\n\nAlso, is なー here just a way of saying な, itself just a way of saying ね (I'm\nstill quite confused with all the sentence-ending particles)? What would be\noverall an accurate translation of the question?", "comment_count": 2, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0", "creation_date": "2016-07-27T03:13:49.447", "favorite_count": 0, "id": "37001", "last_activity_date": "2016-07-27T04:09:07.763", "last_edit_date": "2016-07-27T03:27:48.277", "last_editor_user_id": "13634", "owner_user_id": "13634", "post_type": "question", "score": 2, "tags": [ "questions", "sentence-final-particles" ], "title": "Meaning of かな for asking questions", "view_count": 463 }
[ { "body": "From WWWJDIC:\n\n> かな ; かなあ\n>\n> 1. [prt] ▶ (at sentence end) I wonder\n> 2. [prt] ▶ (at sentence end) should I? ▶ is it?\n> 3. [prt] ▶ (at sentence end) I wish that (with a negative) ▶ I hope that\n>\n\nIn this context, かな functions as \"I wonder...?\"\n\n知ってるかなー? would translate as \"I wonder if you know (about)?\" It's a more\nindirect way to ask than 知ってるか?\n\nAs you mentioned, か is used to designate a question. な (or なあ, なー, etc) can be\nused at the end of sentences to colloquially indicate wondering.\n\n> そう思っていたなー? - That's what you thought, huh?\n\nAs opposed to\n\n> そう思っていた. - That's what you thought.\n\nDefinition Source: WWWJDIC at <http://wwwjdic.com>", "comment_count": 0, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0", "creation_date": "2016-07-27T04:09:07.763", "id": "37002", "last_activity_date": "2016-07-27T04:09:07.763", "last_edit_date": null, "last_editor_user_id": null, "owner_user_id": "16235", "parent_id": "37001", "post_type": "answer", "score": 4 } ]
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{ "accepted_answer_id": "37005", "answer_count": 1, "body": "I know verb-んじゃない can be used in colloquial speech as a negative imperative\n(e.g. するんじゃない) in lieu of verb-な (するな), but why exactly does it function that\nway? That is, what is the rationale/etymology behind v-んじゃない being a negative\nimperative?", "comment_count": 4, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0", "creation_date": "2016-07-27T05:10:08.617", "favorite_count": 0, "id": "37004", "last_activity_date": "2016-07-27T13:49:28.967", "last_edit_date": "2016-07-27T05:47:58.863", "last_editor_user_id": null, "owner_user_id": "16235", "post_type": "question", "score": 8, "tags": [ "grammar", "etymology", "expressions", "colloquial-language" ], "title": "rationale of するんじゃない as informal negative imperative", "view_count": 695 }
[ { "body": "Obviously it's not grammatical imperative, but the construction _functions_ as\norder when used by somebody's betters (senior, superior etc.) to strongly\nadmonish them. If I can ignore context, \"You don't want to do --!\" could be a\nway of translation.\n\n * V(する)-んだ! (more pompously V(する)-のだ!): affirmative command\n * V(する)-んじゃない! (V(する)-のではない!, V(する)-でない!): negative command\n\nIncidentally, the dictionary form is also employed as command, with colloquial\nbut very overbearing tone.\n\n * V(する)!: affirmative\n * V(し)-ない!: negative", "comment_count": 1, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0", "creation_date": "2016-07-27T13:49:28.967", "id": "37005", "last_activity_date": "2016-07-27T13:49:28.967", "last_edit_date": null, "last_editor_user_id": null, "owner_user_id": "7810", "parent_id": "37004", "post_type": "answer", "score": 6 } ]
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{ "accepted_answer_id": "37011", "answer_count": 1, "body": "I have to use the grammar ようによっては in the following sentence. The meaning in\nEnglish is\n\n> Depending on how you treat me, I can be a gentleman or not.\n\nMy attempt is as follows, but I think it is partially incorrect.\n\n> 僕は、君が扱いようによっては、優しくなるかどうか\n\nHow to fix it?", "comment_count": 1, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0", "creation_date": "2016-07-27T17:49:24.667", "favorite_count": 0, "id": "37007", "last_activity_date": "2016-07-28T02:07:50.817", "last_edit_date": null, "last_editor_user_id": null, "owner_user_id": "11192", "post_type": "question", "score": 1, "tags": [ "grammar" ], "title": "How to make this sentence correct?", "view_count": 119 }
[ { "body": "* 扱いよう (\"way to treat\") is a noun, so its \"subject\" cannot be marked with が. Unfortunately, Xの扱いよう would mean either \"how to treat X\" or \"how X treats\", depending on the context. Usually `object + の扱いよう` means \"how to treat it\" (e.g., ハサミの扱いよう \"how to use scissors\") and `person + の扱いよう` tends to mean \"how (person) treats\" (e.g., 私の扱いようが悪かった \"I used it badly\"). In the following example, I added another modifier, ~に対する, which is less ambiguous, so that the 君の part will be interpreted in one way.\n * The sentence lacks the final predicate (verb, adjective, or copula), because 優しくなるかどうか (\" _whether_ I will be kind or not\") is a noun phrase.\n\nYou can say like these (sorry, only the first one uses ようによっては strictly):\n\n> * 君の私に対する扱いようによっては、私は優しくもなるし、ならないこともある。\n> * 君の私に対する扱いようによって、私が優しくなるかどうかが決まる。\n> *\n> 私が優しくなるかどうかは、君が私をどう扱うか[次第【しだい】だ](https://japanese.stackexchange.com/q/30918/5010)。\n>", "comment_count": 0, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0", "creation_date": "2016-07-28T00:53:23.687", "id": "37011", "last_activity_date": "2016-07-28T02:07:50.817", "last_edit_date": "2017-04-13T12:43:43.857", "last_editor_user_id": "-1", "owner_user_id": "5010", "parent_id": "37007", "post_type": "answer", "score": 3 } ]
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{ "accepted_answer_id": "37013", "answer_count": 1, "body": "This is the sentence I'm trying to translate... I can't figure out which part\nis being negated\n\n> 好きになるというのは自分の一番皮膚の薄い柔らかい場所を差し出すことでしか成立しない\n\nI translated it as:\n\n> whoever the person you come to love is your biggest weakness\n\nand then I have no idea what the end would be. I know what the parts mean\nindividually but I can't make them connect.", "comment_count": 2, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0", "creation_date": "2016-07-27T20:06:56.320", "favorite_count": 0, "id": "37008", "last_activity_date": "2016-07-28T07:01:53.807", "last_edit_date": "2016-07-28T07:01:53.807", "last_editor_user_id": "11104", "owner_user_id": "16291", "post_type": "question", "score": 2, "tags": [ "translation", "particle-しか" ], "title": "How do you translate \"しか\" correctly?", "view_count": 287 }
[ { "body": "If you're not familiar with the しか~ない construction, please read\n[this](http://www.learn-japanese-adventure.com/japanese-expressions-dake-\nshika.html) first.\n\n> [好きになるというの]は[(自分の一番皮膚の薄い柔らかい場所)を差し出すこと]でしか成立しない\n\nThe basic structure of the whole sentence is:\n\n> AはBでしか成立しない (≒AはBでだけ成立する) \n> A is established only by B. \n> Nothing but B can make/form A.\n\nWhere\n\n * A is a noun phrase, 好きになるというの (\"falling in love with someone\")\n * B is another long noun phrase, 自分の一番皮膚の薄い柔らかい場所を差し出すこと (lit. \"giving the part where your skin is thinnest and softest\")\n\nSo the whole sentence roughly means \"To love someone, one must give/devote the\nthinnest and softest skin part of you body\" or something like this.\n\nTo translate this naturally, I need some more contexts. In particular, I'm not\nsure what B is actually referring to. B may figuratively mean \"showing the\nfragile part of your mind\" or \"being honest\", but it may have a more sensual\nand explicit meaning.", "comment_count": 1, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0", "creation_date": "2016-07-28T01:43:24.053", "id": "37013", "last_activity_date": "2016-07-28T01:43:24.053", "last_edit_date": null, "last_editor_user_id": null, "owner_user_id": "5010", "parent_id": "37008", "post_type": "answer", "score": 5 } ]
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{ "accepted_answer_id": "37012", "answer_count": 1, "body": "I am having a problem on translating the meaning of adverbs. I am a native\nPortuguese speaker, so in Portuguese an adverb is usually a separate word that\nmodifies a verb or an adjective.\n\nIe: _muito feliz_ (very happy), _muito_ is an adverb modifying the adjective\n_feliz_.\n\nNow, I could be mistaken, but it seems that in Japanese that the adverb is\nchanging and becoming one with the adjective like in 嬉しい → 嬉しく\n\nNow I know the first means 'happy' and the second means what? Is there a\npattern to know what the translation will be after the adjective becomes an\nadverb, or do I have to learn every adjective individually?", "comment_count": 1, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0", "creation_date": "2016-07-27T20:42:37.317", "favorite_count": 0, "id": "37009", "last_activity_date": "2016-07-28T01:09:49.763", "last_edit_date": "2016-07-28T00:29:32.590", "last_editor_user_id": null, "owner_user_id": "16104", "post_type": "question", "score": 3, "tags": [ "adjectives", "adverbs" ], "title": "Translation adverbs", "view_count": 161 }
[ { "body": "Yes, 嬉しい means _happy_ and 嬉しく means _happily_.\n\nThe rules to make adjectives into adverbs are fairly simple in Japanese:\n\n 1. For i-adjectives, change the last い to く. \n * 美しい (beautiful) → 美しく (beautifully)\n * 速い (quick) → 速く (quickly)\n 2. For na-adjectives, add に. \n * 元気 (vigorous) → 元気に (vigorously)\n * 簡単 (easy) → 簡単に (easily)\n\nAnd there are many pure adverbs that do not conjugate.\n\n * すぐ (soon)\n * しばらく (for a while)", "comment_count": 0, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0", "creation_date": "2016-07-28T01:09:49.763", "id": "37012", "last_activity_date": "2016-07-28T01:09:49.763", "last_edit_date": null, "last_editor_user_id": null, "owner_user_id": "5010", "parent_id": "37009", "post_type": "answer", "score": 6 } ]
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{ "accepted_answer_id": "37015", "answer_count": 3, "body": "Doesn't \"正午\" mean 12:00-pm down to the last minute? Unless one needs to be\nextremely precise, \"昼{ひる}十二{じゅうに}時{じ}\" or \"午前{ごぜん}十二{じゅうに}時{じ}\" sounds better?\nEach means \"12-pm\" but the latter two have an implied leeway of 2 minutes (or\nso)?\n\nbtw, is there a word that means _exactly_ 12:00-am (midnight)?", "comment_count": 0, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0", "creation_date": "2016-07-27T23:41:23.140", "favorite_count": 0, "id": "37010", "last_activity_date": "2016-07-29T04:11:17.943", "last_edit_date": null, "last_editor_user_id": null, "owner_user_id": "15778", "post_type": "question", "score": 3, "tags": [ "definitions" ], "title": "Is \"正午\" precisely 12:00-pm? Does it feel different than saying \"昼十二時\"?", "view_count": 636 }
[ { "body": "正午【しょうご】 is the noon 12-1 pm. I say that using numbers adds more precision\nthan just saying noon. So if you want the 12 p.m. exactly, I'd use\n\"昼【ひる】十二【じゅうに】時【じ】\" or \"午前【ごぜん】十二【じゅうに】時【じ】\".\n\nFor midnight, you can use 真夜中【まよなか】, 正子【しょうし】, 子夜【しや】, 夜半【やはん】, or\n午前【ごぜん】[0時]{れいじ}.", "comment_count": 1, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0", "creation_date": "2016-07-28T02:05:41.563", "id": "37014", "last_activity_date": "2016-07-29T04:11:17.943", "last_edit_date": "2016-07-29T04:11:17.943", "last_editor_user_id": "9831", "owner_user_id": "16147", "parent_id": "37010", "post_type": "answer", "score": -1 }, { "body": "In terms of strictness in daily conversations, I feel 正午 and 昼12時 are the\nsame. Whether you say 正午に会いましょう or 昼12時に会いましょう doesn't really matter. Whether\nyou can come at 12:03 PM depends on the situation.\n\nIf you absolutely need to indicate you need minute-level precision for some\nreason, don't use 正午 or 12時 anyway. Say 12時[0]{れい}分[0]{れい}秒ぴったり, or whatever.\n\nSaying 午前12時 is not recommended because it's really confusing. 午後0時 is safer:\n[Do 午前 / 午後 change depending on\nminutes](https://japanese.stackexchange.com/q/33702/5010)\n\nStrict \"midnight\" is 深夜0時 or 午前0時.\n[真夜中【まよなか】](http://jisho.org/word/%E7%9C%9F%E5%A4%9C%E4%B8%AD) is a close word\nwhich can sometimes mean strictly 0:00 AM, but I feel 真夜中 tends to be less\nstrict than \"midnight\" because it usually means \"the middle of the night.\"", "comment_count": 0, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0", "creation_date": "2016-07-28T02:06:10.833", "id": "37015", "last_activity_date": "2016-07-28T02:06:10.833", "last_edit_date": "2017-04-13T12:43:44.740", "last_editor_user_id": "-1", "owner_user_id": "5010", "parent_id": "37010", "post_type": "answer", "score": 5 }, { "body": "I think 正午 means 12:00 (military time) and only 12:00.\n\nI found this site about 正午. \n<http://www.nao.ac.jp/faq/a0401.html>\n\n正午 _can_ be said 午後0時 or 午前12時, because 12:00 (m.t.) is 1 hr past from\n午前11時(11:00 m.t.) and 1 hr before 午後1時(13:00 m.t.)\n\nWhen you take a look at the document made in 5th year of Meiji, it is written\n(= _determined_ ) that 正午 means 午前12時 (and 午前12時 _only_ ,) and that \"Midnight\"\nmeans 午前0時 _AND_ 午後12時. Why they excluded 午後0時 for 正午 is a mystery.\n\nHere's what I thought. **午前12時 might cause confusion** because some tend to\nthink that 午前12時30分 as 0:30 m.t. (and _I_ am one of them.)* **So I think it's\n_safer_ to say 午後0時 as 12:00 m.t.. 昼12時 is even more safer.**\n\n* This is true because digital clock in Japan usually shows \"12:xx AM\" for 0:xx m.t. in am-pm mode. Maybe because the top of an analog clock is \" **12**!\"\n\n> btw, is there a word that means exactly 12:00-am (midnight)?\n\nYes, there are. One of them is \"正子{しょうし}.\"", "comment_count": 0, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0", "creation_date": "2016-07-28T02:15:32.510", "id": "37016", "last_activity_date": "2016-07-28T02:41:58.537", "last_edit_date": "2016-07-28T02:41:58.537", "last_editor_user_id": "13662", "owner_user_id": "13662", "parent_id": "37010", "post_type": "answer", "score": 3 } ]
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{ "accepted_answer_id": "37024", "answer_count": 3, "body": "I.e. for a group of guys, you have: 彼たち、かれら\n\nand for girls it's: 彼女たち 彼女ら\n\nSo if you have a mixed group, which one should you go with? Is there a\ndifferent word?", "comment_count": 3, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0", "creation_date": "2016-07-28T03:38:34.093", "favorite_count": 0, "id": "37017", "last_activity_date": "2016-07-28T23:55:27.773", "last_edit_date": "2016-07-28T07:02:45.390", "last_editor_user_id": "11104", "owner_user_id": "16132", "post_type": "question", "score": 7, "tags": [ "pronouns", "gender" ], "title": "What word can I use for 'they', when referring to a mixed gender group?", "view_count": 2304 }
[ { "body": "I think we use the words of status and relationship with speaker than a\npronoun when you call a group.\n\nFor example, 先輩たち、先生たち、高校の友達、近所の人たち、etc. And we also use a person name of the\ngroup like 田中さんたち、鈴木さんたち.\n\nIn addition 彼ら can be used irrespective of gender but if you want to make\nclear a group is mixed man and woman, you can say 彼、彼女ら(たち)は.", "comment_count": 0, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0", "creation_date": "2016-07-28T06:23:59.317", "id": "37018", "last_activity_date": "2016-07-28T23:55:27.773", "last_edit_date": "2016-07-28T23:55:27.773", "last_editor_user_id": "7320", "owner_user_id": "7320", "parent_id": "37017", "post_type": "answer", "score": 6 }, { "body": "For a group made up of both men and women, you can use \"彼ら.\"\n\nFor example,\n\n> 現代の若者たち、私には彼らの心理が解らない。 \n> Today's youth, I cannot understand their psyche.\n>\n> 行楽地は中国人の男女で一杯だ。彼らの行動力も購買力も凄い。 \n> The resort places are full of Chinese men and women. They are surprisingly\n> active and demonstrate an enormous purchasing power.\n>\n> 番組は集団お見合いに参加した男女の姿を伝えたが、彼らはいずれもパーティーの雰囲気を十分楽しんでいるように見えた\n>\n> The program portrayed men and women participating in a group marriage\n> arrangement party, they all appeared to be fully enjoying the atmosphere of\n> the party.\n\nOf course you can say \"彼らや彼女ら\"、but it sounds redundant.", "comment_count": 0, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0", "creation_date": "2016-07-28T11:42:40.263", "id": "37020", "last_activity_date": "2016-07-28T21:05:37.127", "last_edit_date": "2020-06-17T08:18:27.500", "last_editor_user_id": "-1", "owner_user_id": "12056", "parent_id": "37017", "post_type": "answer", "score": 6 }, { "body": "For a group where men are majority (\"majority\" means they are representative\nor typical members), use 彼ら. Where women are majority, use 彼女たち or 彼女ら. For\nunspecified mass that you don't care about its internal composition, 彼ら is the\ndefault option.\n\nIf you've already mentioned a principal member of the group in the context,\nthe most natural way is to follow his/her gender.\n\nIt doesn't produce any grammatical difficulty, because Japanese \"plural\" X-たち\nactually stands for \"(an) X and its kind/company\", thus doesn't imply every\nmember shares the exactly same features that X has. (If X is a common noun,\nit's highly inclined to be interpreted just like English plural, but doesn't\neliminate \"X and others\" reading, neither.)\n\nIn more casual speech we have genderless words to use: (こ/そ/あ)の人たち and\n(こ/そ/あ)いつら (rude).\n\nLast but not least, have second thought before you're going to use \"they\" in\nJapanese. Pronouns only for keeping the subject's place are usually useless in\nJapanese. If you need to disambiguate them from others, best use the word\nyou've previously used to call them once more.", "comment_count": 0, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0", "creation_date": "2016-07-28T19:10:39.413", "id": "37024", "last_activity_date": "2016-07-28T19:10:39.413", "last_edit_date": null, "last_editor_user_id": null, "owner_user_id": "7810", "parent_id": "37017", "post_type": "answer", "score": 3 } ]
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{ "accepted_answer_id": "37023", "answer_count": 3, "body": "As in \"I wake up, do my hair, have breakfast\". Is there a verb for this? I'm\nguessing you can't just use 髪をする.", "comment_count": 2, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0", "creation_date": "2016-07-28T11:24:57.157", "favorite_count": 0, "id": "37019", "last_activity_date": "2016-07-29T03:02:39.500", "last_edit_date": "2016-07-28T13:08:00.430", "last_editor_user_id": "1628", "owner_user_id": "15727", "post_type": "question", "score": 9, "tags": [ "translation", "verbs", "expressions" ], "title": "How to say \"to do one's hair\"?", "view_count": 1895 }
[ { "body": "As pointed out in the comments by @chocolate, 髪をセットする is a good way to say \"to\ndo one's hair\". It can involve blow-drying, applying hair wax etc.\n\n髪型をセットする means \"to fix one's hairstyle\", which sounds reasonable if you always\nwear the same (elaborate) hairstyle.\n\nIf you are among friends you can also say 寝癖を直す as @永劫回帰 suggests, meaning to\nget rid of the unnatural bouncy waves coming from sleeping. (As people wash\ntheir hair in the evening and usually not in the morning, this is a thing in\nJapan, especially for people with shorter hair.)", "comment_count": 0, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0", "creation_date": "2016-07-28T13:07:11.600", "id": "37023", "last_activity_date": "2016-07-28T13:07:11.600", "last_edit_date": null, "last_editor_user_id": null, "owner_user_id": "1628", "parent_id": "37019", "post_type": "answer", "score": 10 }, { "body": "We say simply \"do my hair\" \"髪を整える.\" We don't say \"髪をする.\"\n\n\"寝癖\" when it refers to hair, means the hair deshelved while you were sleeping,\nand \"寝癖を直す\" is used specifically for dressing your hair that became disheveled\nover night.\n\n\"髪をセットする\" is more often used when you have your hair style set in a beauty\nparlor, like \"今日美容院で髪をセットして貰った.\"", "comment_count": 0, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0", "creation_date": "2016-07-29T00:17:13.887", "id": "37025", "last_activity_date": "2016-07-29T02:09:07.083", "last_edit_date": "2016-07-29T02:09:07.083", "last_editor_user_id": "12056", "owner_user_id": "12056", "parent_id": "37019", "post_type": "answer", "score": 8 }, { "body": "Another expression I heard for \"doing the hair\" is 髪を結う{ゆう}, although in a\ncontext of a more elaborate hairstyle in which you actually tie the hair\n(髪を[島田](https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E5%B3%B6%E7%94%B0%E9%AB%B7)に結う).\n\n> [結う](https://kotobank.jp/word/%E7%B5%90%E3%81%86-650165)\n>\n> 2 髪を整えて結ぶ。「桃割れを―・う」「ちょん髷(まげ)を―・う」\n\nI'm not sure if there is any nuance in contemporary use.", "comment_count": 0, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0", "creation_date": "2016-07-29T02:46:57.960", "id": "37027", "last_activity_date": "2016-07-29T03:02:39.500", "last_edit_date": "2020-06-17T08:18:27.500", "last_editor_user_id": "-1", "owner_user_id": "11104", "parent_id": "37019", "post_type": "answer", "score": 0 } ]
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{ "accepted_answer_id": "37055", "answer_count": 2, "body": "I have searched on the web and found about 4 patterns (probably more) to say\n\n> I am neither a student nor a teacher.\n\nin Japanese.\n\n> A: 僕は学生でもないし、先生でもない。\n>\n> B: 僕は学生でもなく、先生でもない。\n>\n> C: 僕は学生でもなければ、先生でもない。\n>\n> D: 僕は学生でも、先生でもない。\n\nThe x parts in A, B, C use negation but the x part in D does not. It sounds\nconfusing, right?\n\nShortly speaking, what is the correct grammar for \"... neither x nor y ...\" in\nJapanese? For the sake of generalization, other examples that I want to\ntranslate into Japanese:\n\n 1. I neither smoke nor drink alcohol. (verb)\n\n 2. I am neither smart nor diligent. (adjective)\n\n 3. He works neither fast nor slowly. (adverb)", "comment_count": 0, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0", "creation_date": "2016-07-28T11:52:24.430", "favorite_count": 0, "id": "37021", "last_activity_date": "2016-07-30T04:58:01.367", "last_edit_date": "2020-06-17T08:18:27.500", "last_editor_user_id": "-1", "owner_user_id": "11192", "post_type": "question", "score": 10, "tags": [ "grammar", "translation", "negation" ], "title": "What is the correct grammar for \"neither x nor y\"?", "view_count": 4216 }
[ { "body": "I think it works pretty much the same for the sentences you left untranslated.\n\n> (僕は)タバコを吸うことも酒を飲むことも、しない。 \n> (僕は)賢くもなく、勤勉でもない(者だ)。 \n> (彼は)仕事は、速くもなく遅くもない。\n\nThe last one is not so pleasant and I would maybe say this:\n\n> 彼は仕事が速いとは言えないけど、遅いとも言えない(です)。 \n> 彼は仕事が速いとは言えないけど、遅いというわけではない(です)。\n\nThe pattern in English either ... or, neither ... nor clearly maps to も...も. I\ncan't see any exception. You might want to use すら or さえ instead of も in\ncertain occasions but も should always be enough to convey the meaning of\n(n)either ... (n)or.\n\nEDIT: 速い or 早い: <http://career.mag2.com/hassou/080612.html>\n\nI changed the kanji for はやい to be more faithful to the OP intention of\n\"fastness\" but I still as discussed in the link above it clearly depends on\nwhat point you want to focus: \"doing your job fast\" or \"doing your job\nquickly\".", "comment_count": 4, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0", "creation_date": "2016-07-28T12:11:37.703", "id": "37022", "last_activity_date": "2016-07-29T08:09:55.543", "last_edit_date": "2016-07-29T08:09:55.543", "last_editor_user_id": "4216", "owner_user_id": "4216", "parent_id": "37021", "post_type": "answer", "score": 3 }, { "body": "> A: 僕は学生で **もないし** 、先生で **もない** 。 \n> B: 僕は学生で **もなく** 、先生で **もない** 。 \n> C: 僕は学生で **もなければ** 、先生で **もない** 。 \n> D: 僕は学生で **も** 、先生で **もない** 。 \n> what is the correct grammar for \"... neither x nor y ...\" in Japanese?\n\nI think 「~も~もない」「~もないし~もない」「~もなく~もない」「~もなければ~もない」 are all correct, natural,\nand commonly used. To me, 「~もなく~もない」 sounds a bit literary, 「~もなければ~もない」\nsounds a bit literary and emphatic, and 「~もないし~もない」 sounds a bit colloquial.\n\nSo I think you can use all these four formats for your other examples:\n\n> I neither smoke nor drink alcohol. (verb) \n> → \n> A: 私はタバコ **も** 吸わ **ないし** お酒 **も** 飲ま **ない** 。/ タバコ **も** やら **ないし** お酒\n> **も** やら **ない** 。 \n> B: 私はタバコ **も** 吸わ **ず** 酒 **も** 飲ま **ない** 。/ タバコ **も** やら **ず** 酒 **も** やら\n> **ない** 。 \n> C: 私はタバコ **も** 吸わ **なければ** 酒 **も** 飲ま **ない** 。/ タバコ **も** やら **なければ** 酒\n> **も** やら **ない** 。 \n> D: 私はタバコ **も** 酒 **も** やら **ない** 。*\n>\n> I am neither smart nor diligent. (adjective) \n> → \n> A: 私は賢く **もないし** 勤勉で **もない** 。 \n> B: 私は賢く **もなく** 勤勉で **もない** 。 \n> C: 私は賢く **もなければ** 勤勉で **もない** 。 \n> D: 私は賢く **も** 勤勉で **もない** 。\n>\n> He works neither fast nor slowly. (adverb) \n> → \n> A: 彼は仕事が速く **もないし** 遅く **もない** 。 \n> B: 彼は仕事が速く **もなく** 遅く **もない** 。 \n> C: 彼は仕事が速く **もなければ** 遅く **もない** 。 \n> D: 彼は仕事が速く **も** 遅く **もない** 。\n\nOf course there are other options as the other posters have said.\n\n* * *\n\nIn the last example you meant to use adverbs \"fast\" \"slowly\", but they're\ntranslated to i-adjectives 「速く(ない)」「遅く(ない)」... so here's another example:\n\n> 佐藤さんは深く[潜]{もぐ}れない + 長く潜れない。 \n> → \n> A: 佐藤さんは深く **も** 潜れ **ないし** 長く **も** 潜れ **ない** 。 \n> B: 佐藤さんは深く **も** 潜れ **ず** 長く **も** 潜れ **ない** 。(maybe a bit awkward?) \n> C: 佐藤さんは深く **も** 潜れ **なければ** 長く **も** 潜れ **ない** 。 \n> D: 佐藤さんは深く **も** 長く **も** 潜れ **ない** 。\n\n* * *\n\n*To use two different verbs in format D 「~も~もない」, it'd be like: \n\n> 「聞きも読みもしない」 \n> 「食べも飲みもしない」 \n> 「タバコを吸いも酒を飲みもしない」 \n> etc.\n\nbut\n\n> 「聞くことも読むこともしない」 \n> 「食べたりも飲んだりもしない」 \n> 「タバコを吸うことも酒を飲むこともしない」 \n> 「タバコを吸ったりも酒を飲んだりもしない」 \n> 「タバコを吸いもしないし、酒を飲むこともしない」 \n> etc.\n\nmight sound more natural, as in @永劫回帰 and @Earthliŋ's posts.", "comment_count": 0, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0", "creation_date": "2016-07-29T22:39:53.767", "id": "37055", "last_activity_date": "2016-07-30T04:58:01.367", "last_edit_date": "2016-07-30T04:58:01.367", "last_editor_user_id": "9831", "owner_user_id": "9831", "parent_id": "37021", "post_type": "answer", "score": 7 } ]
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{ "accepted_answer_id": null, "answer_count": 1, "body": "I looked up in translator that \"Snow fox\" is gonna be \"Yuki no kitsune\". Ok,\nyuki - snow, kitsune - fox. But what if I get rid of \"no\" part? What if I\nspell it like \"Yuki kitsune\" or \"Kitsune yuki\". Would it mean the same? Or is\nit just going to be two separate words?\n\nI want to know specifically about \"Yuki kitsune\" and \"Kitsune yuki\" examples,\nbut it raises the question about usage of \"no\" particle.", "comment_count": 2, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0", "creation_date": "2016-07-29T02:25:31.333", "favorite_count": 0, "id": "37026", "last_activity_date": "2016-07-29T03:18:17.050", "last_edit_date": "2016-07-29T02:35:24.370", "last_editor_user_id": "11104", "owner_user_id": "16297", "post_type": "question", "score": 1, "tags": [ "grammar", "words", "definitions" ], "title": "Correct grammar for \"snow fox\"?", "view_count": 3783 }
[ { "body": "If you're referring to [arctic fox ( _Vulpes lagopus_\n)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arctic_fox), which seems to be also known as\nsnow fox, its Japanese name is\n[ホッキョクギツネ](https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E3%83%9B%E3%83%83%E3%82%AD%E3%83%A7%E3%82%AF%E3%82%AE%E3%83%84%E3%83%8D)\n(ホッキョク = 北極 = the Arctic).\n\nIf you are only vaguely looking for a Japanese word which \"sounds like snow\nfox\", I would suggest ユキギツネ (yuki **g** itsune) instead of ユキキツネ (yuki **k**\nitsune). Although there seems to be no real species called ユキギツネ, this sounds\nrealistic enough, and it may be used, for example, as the name of an enemy in\na fantasy game. Many real foxes are named ○○ギツネ (○○ **g** itsune, without _no_\n) in Japanese. See this question regarding why キ needs to be voiced: [Rules or\ncriteria for 連濁: Voiced or unvoiced syllables in compound\nwords](https://japanese.stackexchange.com/q/2526/5010)\n\nUnsurprisingly, キツネユキ sounds like \"fox snow\" or \"fox-like snow\", which makes\nlittle sense to me.", "comment_count": 5, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0", "creation_date": "2016-07-29T03:07:35.250", "id": "37028", "last_activity_date": "2016-07-29T03:18:17.050", "last_edit_date": "2017-04-13T12:43:43.857", "last_editor_user_id": "-1", "owner_user_id": "5010", "parent_id": "37026", "post_type": "answer", "score": 4 } ]
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{ "accepted_answer_id": null, "answer_count": 1, "body": "I'm reading a story where the main character debates whether he should call an\ncafe owner マスター or ご主人. At first he says the former doesn't fit this person,\nso he uses the latter, but after a conversation the owner asks him to use the\nterm \"マスター\"\n\nI looked up these two words in a dictionary, and マスター seems to correspond to\n\"barkeep\" or \"master\" and \"ご主人\" with \"owner\". However, none of these words in\nEnglish are something you commonly use to address someone when speaking to\nthem.\n\nIf someone can tell me the nuance between these two words, and any suggestions\nto map these to appropriate terms in English, I'd appreciate it.\n\n(The story is [here](http://ncode.syosetu.com/n2337dj/2/) if you want to see\nthe context)", "comment_count": 3, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0", "creation_date": "2016-07-29T05:13:06.217", "favorite_count": 0, "id": "37029", "last_activity_date": "2016-07-29T05:31:05.037", "last_edit_date": null, "last_editor_user_id": null, "owner_user_id": "11825", "post_type": "question", "score": 3, "tags": [ "translation", "words" ], "title": "Nuance of マスター vs. ご主人 when referring to a cafe owner", "view_count": 1196 }
[ { "body": "As a native Japanese speaker, master sounds more natural when referring to a\ncafe owner. ご主人 is not grammatically wrong though but ご主人 sounds more formal\nand appropriate when referring to someone who is much older than you. You can\nalso call ご主人 for someone's husband to pay respects.\n\nExample : So what does your ご主人(husband) do (for a living)?\n\nHope that helps.", "comment_count": 2, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0", "creation_date": "2016-07-29T05:31:05.037", "id": "37030", "last_activity_date": "2016-07-29T05:31:05.037", "last_edit_date": null, "last_editor_user_id": null, "owner_user_id": null, "parent_id": "37029", "post_type": "answer", "score": 4 } ]
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{ "accepted_answer_id": "37036", "answer_count": 1, "body": "I notice that I tend to pronounce the /t/ in Japanese laminally (at least I\nbelieve this is the appropriate term), especially when it follows\n[/ɕ/](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Voiceless_alveolo-palatal_sibilant) as in\n\"した\". Whatever it is, it certainly feels different from the /t/ in English,\nand I am wondering what the proper way to articulate /t/ and /d/ is.", "comment_count": 0, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0", "creation_date": "2016-07-29T05:43:08.967", "favorite_count": 0, "id": "37031", "last_activity_date": "2016-07-29T10:25:11.883", "last_edit_date": null, "last_editor_user_id": null, "owner_user_id": "9838", "post_type": "question", "score": 1, "tags": [ "pronunciation" ], "title": "How are alveolar stops in Japanese articulated?", "view_count": 297 }
[ { "body": "It is. The WP article of [Japanese\nphonology](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanese_phonology#Consonants) says:\n\n> /t d n/ are laminal denti-alveolar (that is, the blade of the tongue\n> contacts the back of the upper teeth and the front part of the alveolar\n> ridge)\n\nIf I may add something, the position of Japanese t, d, n normally varies from\nback of teeth to the border of teeth and alveoli. The completely alveolar\n(i.e. doesn't touch teeth) articulation of Standard English would sound\nunnecessarily heavy to Japanese ears.\n\nA good way to simulate Japanese //t// sound is to put your tongue at _th_ 's\n(//θ//) position, then shift your tongue a little bit forward so that it\ntouches upper teeth.\n\nThough //t// sounds in many languages are often casually called \"alveolar\",\nthe official IPA chart makes no difference between dental, alveolar, and post-\nalveolar stops, because few languages distinguish them internally (you can put\ndiacritics if needed). English alveolar /t/ is relatively backward even\ncompared to other West European languages.", "comment_count": 2, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0", "creation_date": "2016-07-29T10:25:11.883", "id": "37036", "last_activity_date": "2016-07-29T10:25:11.883", "last_edit_date": null, "last_editor_user_id": null, "owner_user_id": "7810", "parent_id": "37031", "post_type": "answer", "score": 2 } ]
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{ "accepted_answer_id": "37034", "answer_count": 1, "body": "Of course, こっちも can be \"me too,\" etc. but that doesn't seem to fit here. Here\nis one line I've seen, though there are plenty of examples of this usage.\n\n> あんたの力になりたいのは山々だが、こっちも金を持ってないやつの力にはなりたくないんだ\n\nIf I had to say, I think the import of the line is \"I really want to help you,\nbut I don't want to help a guy without money.\" Where does こっちも come in? The\nmeaning of \"also\" doesn't make sense, as there is no one around in the context\nof the line. I guess it could mean even? Please help.", "comment_count": 0, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0", "creation_date": "2016-07-29T07:11:47.453", "favorite_count": 0, "id": "37033", "last_activity_date": "2016-07-29T07:44:21.733", "last_edit_date": "2016-07-29T07:44:21.733", "last_editor_user_id": "9831", "owner_user_id": "4187", "post_type": "question", "score": 4, "tags": [ "translation", "meaning" ], "title": "What does こっちも mean here?", "view_count": 566 }
[ { "body": "The も indicates \"like everybody else\", or indicates \"like you have interests,\nwe have interests, too\". Which one it is is not clear here.\n\nAn example of the former that's more clear: `こんな臭いもん、私たちも食べられない` \nLatter: `あんたもしんどいだろうが、こっちもしんどいんだ`\n\nSo in your case it's possibly either: `I really want to help you, but I don't\nwant to help a guy without money (like everybody else doesn't)` or `I really\nwant to help you, but like you have interests I have interests, too. I don't\nwant to help a guy without money`", "comment_count": 0, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0", "creation_date": "2016-07-29T07:21:52.640", "id": "37034", "last_activity_date": "2016-07-29T07:21:52.640", "last_edit_date": null, "last_editor_user_id": null, "owner_user_id": "499", "parent_id": "37033", "post_type": "answer", "score": 4 } ]
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{ "accepted_answer_id": "37038", "answer_count": 1, "body": "I think it is came from 「ちょっとまって」and would be alternated by a certain dialect\nand archaic usage.\n\nI would like to know why the manga character said it in the past tense.", "comment_count": 1, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0", "creation_date": "2016-07-29T09:07:57.233", "favorite_count": 0, "id": "37035", "last_activity_date": "2016-07-29T11:17:07.063", "last_edit_date": null, "last_editor_user_id": null, "owner_user_id": "9559", "post_type": "question", "score": 2, "tags": [ "words", "manga" ], "title": "What is the meaning of 「ちょいとまった」?", "view_count": 191 }
[ { "body": "It could be said semi-archaic variant of ちょっと. I've never heard people around\nme use it unless they want to speak in a jocular way. It's also\n(stereo-)typically associated with over-middle-age people, older school of\ndelinquent youth or yakuza, or roughly Edo to pre-war period accents in many\nfictional works.\n\nAs for dialects, [online dictionaries on Gunma, Yamanashi, and Wakayama\ndialects](http://www.weblio.jp/content/%E3%81%A1%E3%82%87%E3%81%84%E3%81%A8)\nseem to have this word as headword.\n\nDon't confuse it with nominal suffix -ちょい, which is still in regular use as a\nmore casual variation of nominal suffix -ちょっと \"a little over; -odd\".\n\nFor the \"past tense\" part, see @chocolate's comment.", "comment_count": 0, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0", "creation_date": "2016-07-29T11:17:07.063", "id": "37038", "last_activity_date": "2016-07-29T11:17:07.063", "last_edit_date": null, "last_editor_user_id": null, "owner_user_id": "7810", "parent_id": "37035", "post_type": "answer", "score": 2 } ]
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{ "accepted_answer_id": "37077", "answer_count": 2, "body": "I never formally learned Japanese but heard that in some songs. It's not\nいち、に、さん、し, and not just one, two, three, four, but mixed together. I didn't\ncare at the first time, but after I heard that in another song I'm curious. I\nchecked and found they were from the same composer/lyricist and singer\ncombination, but there are also others according to Google. Is it just because\nsome specific lyricist or singer likes this, and some other lyricists learn\nfrom them, or is it more common, for example also used outside musics? Even if\nit's the artist's preference, does it contain any kind of references, or just\ncould be (re)invented by any normal Japanese person? And is there any specific\nreason that they are all switching to onyomi from 3 and stopping at 4?", "comment_count": 6, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0", "creation_date": "2016-07-29T11:33:32.300", "favorite_count": 0, "id": "37039", "last_activity_date": "2016-07-30T18:08:24.430", "last_edit_date": null, "last_editor_user_id": null, "owner_user_id": "16305", "post_type": "question", "score": 2, "tags": [ "usage", "etymology" ], "title": "ワン、ツー、さん、し、 Why and how common is it?", "view_count": 224 }
[ { "body": "I don't know about counting but certainly one and two are represented as ワン、ツー\nfrom time to time\n\nワンステップずつ - one step at a time ワンコール - one call (calling someone and letting it\nring once so now they have your number as a way of exchanging numbers with\nsomeone) ワンマンライブ - one man live (a show done by an artist solo)\n\nツーショット - two shot (a photo of two people)\n\nI've never never heard them being used for actual counting but japanese is\nsprinkled with English numbers here and there.", "comment_count": 0, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0", "creation_date": "2016-07-29T20:14:14.967", "id": "37051", "last_activity_date": "2016-07-29T20:14:14.967", "last_edit_date": null, "last_editor_user_id": null, "owner_user_id": "12106", "parent_id": "37039", "post_type": "answer", "score": 0 }, { "body": "As for popularity, I think it's fairly common -- as I've heard this kind of\nmixed counting (including variations such as ワン、ツー、さん、はい \"One, two, three,\ngo!\") -- as a **joke**. I'm not going to explain why it's funny because it'll\nspoil the fun :) but at least I can point out that the loanword スリー takes\nthree morae, which is overlong and sounds somewhat clumsy in the normal two-\nmorae-per-number counting rhythm.\n\nThe reason why it stops at 4 is simply because it's a time-marking shout in\norder to synchronize rhythm before the next musical bar. Most songs have\nquadruple time, so we count four beats.", "comment_count": 0, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0", "creation_date": "2016-07-30T18:08:24.430", "id": "37077", "last_activity_date": "2016-07-30T18:08:24.430", "last_edit_date": null, "last_editor_user_id": null, "owner_user_id": "7810", "parent_id": "37039", "post_type": "answer", "score": 3 } ]
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{ "accepted_answer_id": null, "answer_count": 1, "body": "So I came across this phrase:\n\n友達と4人で一つずつ弁当を買ったら。。。\n\nSo what does 友達と4人で mean? A friend plus 4 people? 4 people who happen to be\nfriends? With the friend they are now 4 people?\n\nI have never seen this construction, usually it´s either 友達が4人で or 4人の友達で that\nI encounter, hence my confusion. Any help would be appreciated.", "comment_count": 0, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0", "creation_date": "2016-07-29T14:30:31.890", "favorite_count": 0, "id": "37040", "last_activity_date": "2016-07-29T15:11:30.333", "last_edit_date": null, "last_editor_user_id": null, "owner_user_id": "13771", "post_type": "question", "score": 3, "tags": [ "grammar", "particles" ], "title": "usage of particle と in this situation", "view_count": 62 }
[ { "body": "友達と4人で means \"With the friends they are now 4 people\", that is to say, they\nare I and three friends.\n\n何人 in ~と何人で means the number of I and ~\". For example, 彼女と二人で映画を見た is\ntranslated as I saw a movie with a girl friend.", "comment_count": 0, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0", "creation_date": "2016-07-29T15:11:30.333", "id": "37043", "last_activity_date": "2016-07-29T15:11:30.333", "last_edit_date": null, "last_editor_user_id": null, "owner_user_id": "7320", "parent_id": "37040", "post_type": "answer", "score": 2 } ]
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{ "accepted_answer_id": null, "answer_count": 2, "body": "I was wondering, how many ways are there of asking someone if they can speak\nJapanese? After a while of learning japanese this is the only thing that I'm\nnot sure of how to say. And is there only one or two way(s) of saying it, or\nare there many ways to do it? also I've had this phrase pop up in my mind\nrandomly, can someone tell me if it's correct? (日本語ができるよね). (To be frankly\nhonest I'd be pretty surprised if it turned out to be correct)", "comment_count": 2, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0", "creation_date": "2016-07-29T14:45:56.350", "favorite_count": 0, "id": "37041", "last_activity_date": "2016-07-30T06:41:51.750", "last_edit_date": null, "last_editor_user_id": null, "owner_user_id": "16258", "post_type": "question", "score": 1, "tags": [ "questions" ], "title": "Different Ways of Saying \"Can you speak Japanese?\"", "view_count": 3819 }
[ { "body": "日本語ができるよね is translated as \" You can speak Japanese, can't you?\".\n\nI came up with the phrase of \"Can you speak Japanese\" in Japanese like\n\nあなたは、日本語ができるか(できますか)?, 日本語が話せるか(話せますか)?, 日本語がしゃべれるか(しゃべれますか).", "comment_count": 0, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0", "creation_date": "2016-07-29T16:04:43.683", "id": "37046", "last_activity_date": "2016-07-29T16:04:43.683", "last_edit_date": null, "last_editor_user_id": null, "owner_user_id": "7320", "parent_id": "37041", "post_type": "answer", "score": 2 }, { "body": "I think you could say:\n\n> * 日本語はわかりますか?(polite) / 日本語はわかる?(casual) -- Literally: \"Do you understand\n> Japanese?\"\n> * 日本語は話せますか?(polite) / 日本語は話せる?(casual)\n> * 日本語はしゃべれますか?(This is the polite form, but using the verb しゃべる sounds\n> pretty casual/colloquial) / 日本語はしゃべれる?(casual)\n> * 日本語はできますか?(polite) / 日本語はできる?(casual) -- Literally: \"Can you do\n> Japanese?\"\n>\n\nTo sound more formal/polite, you could use 尊敬語 (honorific speech), as in:\n\n> * 日本語はおわかりになりますか?\n> * 日本語はおできになりますか?\n>\n\n(... but 「日本語は話されますか?」 「日本語はお話しになりますか/お話しになれますか?」 sound a bit unnatural to\nme.)", "comment_count": 4, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0", "creation_date": "2016-07-30T05:41:55.310", "id": "37060", "last_activity_date": "2016-07-30T06:41:51.750", "last_edit_date": "2016-07-30T06:41:51.750", "last_editor_user_id": "9831", "owner_user_id": "9831", "parent_id": "37041", "post_type": "answer", "score": 3 } ]
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{ "accepted_answer_id": "37044", "answer_count": 1, "body": "There is an example sentence from <http://maggiesensei.com/> that has been\nbothering me for a while:\n\nあの子はだんだん可愛くなってくるね。\n\nThis is translated as \"She has been getting cuter and cuter. (until now and\nmaybe in future as well)\"\n\nBut isn't なってくる in the present/future? Does it mean she's \"been getting\" or\n\"will get\"?\n\nIf it was \"been getting\", wouldn't it be なってきた?", "comment_count": 0, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0", "creation_date": "2016-07-29T15:00:18.020", "favorite_count": 0, "id": "37042", "last_activity_date": "2016-07-29T15:24:03.483", "last_edit_date": null, "last_editor_user_id": null, "owner_user_id": "12121", "post_type": "question", "score": 2, "tags": [ "grammar", "tense" ], "title": "Is this sentence in the future?", "view_count": 388 }
[ { "body": "It really does mean she has been getting cuter, despite the present/future\ntense. The key is the note in the parentheses that she may get cuter in the\nfuture too.\n\nWhich tense you use with -てくる or -ていく depends on when the change starts and\nends.\n\n> -てくる - became cute in the past, will continue getting cuter in the future \n> -ていく - became cute now, and will continue getting cuter into the future \n> -てきた - became cute in the past, stopped now \n> -ていった - became cute in the past, stopped sometime in the past\n\nAs you can see, neither past tense one will continue into the future, whereas\nboth the present tense ones do. So if you'd used きた instead, it would imply\nthat she would stop getting cuter now. Since the author meant (in the\nparentheses) that the action might continue into the future, she used the\npresent tense to indicate so rather than the past.", "comment_count": 3, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0", "creation_date": "2016-07-29T15:24:03.483", "id": "37044", "last_activity_date": "2016-07-29T15:24:03.483", "last_edit_date": null, "last_editor_user_id": null, "owner_user_id": "9749", "parent_id": "37042", "post_type": "answer", "score": 1 } ]
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{ "accepted_answer_id": "37056", "answer_count": 1, "body": "> 全身から **金持ち光線と金持ちを優先しろ** 光線をびんびん出していた。 \n> From her whole body there radiated out a rich person beam and a \"prioritise\n> rich people!\" beam.\n\nI understand what the author is saying but is this good grammar?\n\nFor example the object of 優先する seems to be 金持ち光線と金持ち i.e. \"prioritise rich\npeople beams **and** rich people\". What is going on with the と here?\n\nAlso, there seems to be something missing between 優先しろ and 光線. My instinct as\na learner is to insert a という here. Would that be wrong?", "comment_count": 0, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0", "creation_date": "2016-07-29T15:58:28.473", "favorite_count": 0, "id": "37045", "last_activity_date": "2016-07-30T00:34:48.167", "last_edit_date": null, "last_editor_user_id": null, "owner_user_id": "7944", "post_type": "question", "score": 2, "tags": [ "grammar" ], "title": "Is this book extract good grammar?", "view_count": 127 }
[ { "body": "Yes this sentence looks natural, although it's far from formal.\n\nFirst, she's emitting two kinds of beams simultaneously, 金持ち光線\n(\"(I-am-a-)rich-person beam\") and 金持ちを優先しろ光線 (\"(you-must-)prioritize-rich-\npeople beam\"). The object of 優先しろ is only 金持ち just before it.\n\nAs you already know, the imperative form does not usually directly modify a\nnoun as a relative clause. Saying 金持ちを優先しろという光線 (\"a beam saying 'Prioritize a\nrich person!'\") would make this sentence look more \"formal\", but it makes the\nsentence much less humorous at the same time. Formality is undesirable in a\njoking expression like this. If I'm not mistaken, [`\"prioritise rich people!\"\nbeam` is a slangy expression, too, and thus can convey a similar\ntone](https://english.stackexchange.com/a/84298/80278).\n\nOther examples of nonstandard ways of modifying a noun include:\n[歩け歩け運動](https://www.city.oyama.tochigi.jp/kyoikuiinkai/supo-tu/aruke25.html),\n[貸します詐欺](http://www.city.tomisato.lg.jp/0000001409.html),\n[ほんまでっか!?TV](https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E3%83%9B%E3%83%B3%E3%83%9E%E3%81%A7%E3%81%A3%E3%81%8B!%3FTV).\n\"歩くことを促進する運動\" or \"ほんまでっかと問いかけるTV\" would sound far less attractive to me.", "comment_count": 0, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0", "creation_date": "2016-07-30T00:22:42.707", "id": "37056", "last_activity_date": "2016-07-30T00:34:48.167", "last_edit_date": "2017-04-13T12:38:10.367", "last_editor_user_id": "-1", "owner_user_id": "5010", "parent_id": "37045", "post_type": "answer", "score": 2 } ]
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{ "accepted_answer_id": "37061", "answer_count": 1, "body": "I am practicing coming up with some random sentences to practice my Japanese,\nsadly I'm using Google translator to check out if my sentence is right. Now\nthe following sentence\n\n私はあなたが好きです\n\nI understand that the が particle is telling like \"you are the one I like\"\nreferring to あなた. At this point Google translation is OK. But when I try to\nreplace あなた for something else, the sentence gets all messed up, and it seems\nthat Google will only understand the sentence if I remove the が particle. So\nmy sentence would be:\n\n寒い日に私はコーヒを飲むが好きです\n\nBut Google will only understand it if I remove が [寒い日に私はコーヒーを飲む好きです]\n\nWhy is that? Why replacing あなた for コーヒーを飲む makes the sentence change so that I\nneed to remove が", "comment_count": 6, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0", "creation_date": "2016-07-29T17:26:36.103", "favorite_count": 0, "id": "37047", "last_activity_date": "2016-07-30T06:46:34.503", "last_edit_date": null, "last_editor_user_id": null, "owner_user_id": "16104", "post_type": "question", "score": 1, "tags": [ "particle-が" ], "title": "Weird behavior ga particle", "view_count": 170 }
[ { "body": "Google Translate was confused because you failed to add a **nominalizer**. A\nverb cannot be the object of \"like\" unless properly nominalized in English,\neither. See: [Question with this sentence\nわたしはえをみるのがすきです](https://japanese.stackexchange.com/q/29367/5010)\n\nYou cannot trust Google Translate in general, but it works at least with your\nsample.\n\n[![enter image description\nhere](https://i.stack.imgur.com/AWcPC.png)](https://i.stack.imgur.com/AWcPC.png)\n\n寒い日に私はコーヒーを飲む好きです (the third sentence above) is grammatically wrong (actually\nit looks the worst among the three), but Google Translate successfully\n\"guessed\" its meaning. After all, it's not designed to point out the\ngrammatical error in the original sentence. Don't use Google Translate to\ncheck if your sentence is grammatically okay.\n\nBy the way, you're seeing \"but\" in the second example above because\n`dictionary-form-of-a-verb + が` is [one of the ways to say \"but\" in\nJapanese](https://www.wasabi-jpn.com/japanese-lessons/japanese-grammar-\nexercises-expressing-contradiction/).", "comment_count": 1, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0", "creation_date": "2016-07-30T06:46:34.503", "id": "37061", "last_activity_date": "2016-07-30T06:46:34.503", "last_edit_date": "2017-04-13T12:43:44.863", "last_editor_user_id": "-1", "owner_user_id": "5010", "parent_id": "37047", "post_type": "answer", "score": 7 } ]
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{ "accepted_answer_id": "37057", "answer_count": 1, "body": "The second line of\n[LINEのメッセージで“株”暴落!](http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/komachi/plus/hnews/20160728-OYT8T50064.html)\nreads:\n\n> ハンドルネーム「やさ夫」さんが、テレビをみながらうたた寝をしていたときのことです。\n\nwhy wasn't is written as:\n\n> ハンドルネーム「やさ夫」さんが、テレビを **見** ながらうたた寝をしていた **時** のことです。\n\nThe later helps with readability. In particular, without \"見\", I had to do a\ndouble-take to see the word break between \"みながら\" and \"うたた寝\".\n\nSo, there must be a reason to sometimes write simple kanji as hiragana in\nnewspapers?", "comment_count": 0, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0", "creation_date": "2016-07-29T18:34:56.450", "favorite_count": 0, "id": "37048", "last_activity_date": "2016-07-30T01:15:12.413", "last_edit_date": null, "last_editor_user_id": null, "owner_user_id": "15778", "post_type": "question", "score": 2, "tags": [ "kanji", "written-language" ], "title": "General rule for writing simple kanji as hiragana in newspaper articles sometimes?", "view_count": 300 }
[ { "body": "Regarding 時, this 時 is a 形式名詞 which should be written in hiragana if one needs\nto strictly obey guidelines. In general, you have to use とき when it translates\nto _when_ , and 時 when it translates to _time_. You don't have to worry too\nmuch in casual writings.\n\nSee: [When writing for general public, is there a general guideline for\nselecting kanji?](https://japanese.stackexchange.com/q/3733/5010)\n\nRegarding 見, I believe this should have been written in kanji. This article\nlooks fairly casual even though it's in yomiuri.co.jp (it's essentially a\ncopy-and-paste from a net forum), so perhaps it was not proofread seriously.", "comment_count": 0, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0", "creation_date": "2016-07-30T01:15:12.413", "id": "37057", "last_activity_date": "2016-07-30T01:15:12.413", "last_edit_date": "2017-04-13T12:43:44.207", "last_editor_user_id": "-1", "owner_user_id": "5010", "parent_id": "37048", "post_type": "answer", "score": 5 } ]
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{ "accepted_answer_id": "37052", "answer_count": 6, "body": "I started to make a list of all the \"components\" (I don't know how to call\nthem) all the joyo kanjis are made of, for me to be easier to memorize all the\nkanjis (I memorize them by remembering the components the kanjis are made of).\nAt first I thought this list could match the radicals list, but it isn't the\ncase. I was wondering if that list already exists and it has a name, since\nmine (although it isn't cleaned up) it has over 400 \"components\", and it isn't\nsorted in any readable way, so I could improve mine.", "comment_count": 2, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "creation_date": "2016-07-29T19:05:12.103", "favorite_count": 0, "id": "37049", "last_activity_date": "2022-01-25T09:27:19.937", "last_edit_date": "2021-06-12T17:03:54.467", "last_editor_user_id": "9878", "owner_user_id": "9878", "post_type": "question", "score": 5, "tags": [ "kanji", "etymology", "radicals" ], "title": "Is there a list of components all the kanjis are made of?", "view_count": 3227 }
[ { "body": "James Heisig's \"Remembering the Kanji\" takes the approach of diving the joyo\nkanji up into all of its \"pieces\" so you can take a look at that.", "comment_count": 2, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0", "creation_date": "2016-07-29T20:17:18.717", "id": "37052", "last_activity_date": "2016-07-29T20:17:18.717", "last_edit_date": null, "last_editor_user_id": null, "owner_user_id": "12106", "parent_id": "37049", "post_type": "answer", "score": 6 }, { "body": "The \"pieces\" are called \"radicals\", and yes there is a list of all of them.\nThere is a list of 214 radicals used in the Chinese language called the\n\"Kangxi Radicals\", located\n[here](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kangxi_radical).\n\nThere is a simplified version of these that does away with non-Japanese\ncharacters and archaic usages\n[here](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_kanji_radicals_by_frequency).\n\nYou can also find the main radical for every Joyo Kanji\n[here](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_j%C5%8Dy%C5%8D_kanji).\n\nEach radical has a name as well, the full list can be found\n[here](http://www.sljfaq.org/afaq/radical-names.html).", "comment_count": 3, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0", "creation_date": "2016-07-29T21:40:57.133", "id": "37054", "last_activity_date": "2016-07-29T21:40:57.133", "last_edit_date": null, "last_editor_user_id": null, "owner_user_id": "16049", "parent_id": "37049", "post_type": "answer", "score": 6 }, { "body": "Unfortunately, this is a bit of a complicated situation, as there are a few\nclosely related ideas:\n\n 1. Any piece of a kanji you might recognize as appearing in multiple kanji.\n 2. Any piece of a kanji that either is on the official list of radicals from the Kangxi dictionary, or on a closely related list (such as a slightly edited version of that list for another dictionary).\n 3. The particular piece of a kanji that is used to index it in the Kangxi dictionary (or similar).\n\n1. and 2. are both commonly called \"(kanji) components\". \n2. and 3. are both commonly called \"(kanji) radicals\". \nAnd 3. alone is called \"the main radical\".\n\nLists of things like 2. can be found in many dictionaries (see [jisho.org's\nradical search](http://jisho.org/#radical) , for example) or other references\nlike the links in\n[bcloutier](https://japanese.stackexchange.com/users/16049/bcloutier)'s\n[answer](https://japanese.stackexchange.com/a/37054/2894).\n\nBut a bigger list of components in sense #1 is more rare. **A list of 407 (or\nso) components can be found\nat[Kanshūdō](https://www.kanshudo.com/search?cb=y).**", "comment_count": 1, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0", "creation_date": "2016-07-30T01:37:06.633", "id": "37058", "last_activity_date": "2016-07-30T01:49:54.073", "last_edit_date": "2017-04-13T12:43:44.397", "last_editor_user_id": "-1", "owner_user_id": "2894", "parent_id": "37049", "post_type": "answer", "score": 15 }, { "body": "As you know, the closest concept to your \"pieces\" is that of **radicals**.\n\nHowever, one might use this term to refer to slightly different concepts,\nvarying in strictness:\n\n 1. A radical of a given character is the unique identifier (picked out of a list of 214 radicals) of this character in a dictionary (especially the Kangxi dictionary).\n\n 2. A radical of a character is any part of the character that appears in the list of the 214 Kangxi radicals.\n\n 3. A radical is any part of a given character.\n\nFor the _jōyō kanji_ , the indexing radicals are listed on the official list\n(for example on\n[Wikipedia](https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E5%B8%B8%E7%94%A8%E6%BC%A2%E5%AD%97%E4%B8%80%E8%A6%A7)).\nEvery _kanji_ is either the base character of a radical, or is assigned a\nradical from the list.\n\nThe very first _kanji_ , 亜, already illustrates very nicely why this\nassignment is not always meaningful when looking at the origin of a character.\n\nFrom the etymological perspective, 亜 (or rather its traditional form 亞), is a\n象形文字 depicting (most likely) the (dark) foundation/basement of a building. The\nmeanings of 悪 and 唖 may be thought of 会意・形声文字 derived from this meaning of\n\"dark\".\n\nBeing a simple picture, it doesn't have any meaningful components, certainly\nnot any related to 二 \"two\" which is its indexing radical on the _jōyō_ list.\n\nMoreover, several etymologically distinct radicals have been unified to one\nform, the most prominent example being the radical ⽉, which represents both 月\n(e.g. in 明) and 肉 (e.g. in 腹). Another example is ⺍ which unifies at least the\ntop of 螢 → 蛍 and 學 → 学.\n\nI think it would be interesting to have a list/database of all \"pieces\", which\nare based on the characters' actual origins. 亞・亜 would be a \"piece\" of 亜, 悪\nand 唖 and 二 wouldn't be a piece of 亜. Also, 亞・亜 would _not_ be a piece of 壺・壷,\nbecause 壺 is itself a 象形文字, and only contains something like 亜 for cosmetic\nreasons.\n\nIn some cases, the origin of a character is unknown, but it's still possible\nto compile such a list based on a decent _kanji_ etymology dictionary, like\n新漢和大辞典. (I also have 漢字源 in my Canon 電子辞書.)", "comment_count": 3, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0", "creation_date": "2016-07-30T09:36:31.167", "id": "37064", "last_activity_date": "2016-07-31T17:51:53.910", "last_edit_date": "2016-07-31T17:51:53.910", "last_editor_user_id": "1628", "owner_user_id": "1628", "parent_id": "37049", "post_type": "answer", "score": 1 }, { "body": "* [CHISE IDS database](http://www.chise.org/ids/index.html). (and derivatives like <https://github.com/cjkvi/cjkvi-ids>) (GPL licensed)\n\nContains _a lot_ of Kanjis. Includes pieces which aren't official radicals and\nalso shows how they're arranged in the Kanji.\n\n * [RADKFILE/KRADFILE](http://nihongo.monash.edu/kradinf.html) - [(CC-BY-SA licensed)](http://www.edrdg.org/edrdg/licence.html)\n\nUsed by popular software, like jisho.org.", "comment_count": 0, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "creation_date": "2016-07-30T11:21:12.327", "id": "37065", "last_activity_date": "2022-01-25T09:27:19.937", "last_edit_date": "2022-01-25T09:27:19.937", "last_editor_user_id": "721", "owner_user_id": "721", "parent_id": "37049", "post_type": "answer", "score": 3 }, { "body": "I've made a website that might help. It decomposes complex Kanji into simpler\nones.\n\n<https://japanesedecomposer.tk/>", "comment_count": 2, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "creation_date": "2018-04-06T08:04:16.433", "id": "57753", "last_activity_date": "2019-03-11T20:59:11.713", "last_edit_date": "2019-03-11T20:59:11.713", "last_editor_user_id": "27859", "owner_user_id": "27859", "parent_id": "37049", "post_type": "answer", "score": 1 } ]
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{ "accepted_answer_id": null, "answer_count": 2, "body": "So as the title indicates, I'm wondering about exactly what is the difference\nbetween all the existing words that mean \"smile\", I originally learned only\n笑い, which I feel is the most regularly used one (although it can also means a\nlaugh), but as I'm learning I started coming across at least ten other word\nthat are all translated in english as smile, and so I wondered where exactly\nwas the difference. These are the following words I've encountered (besides\nwarai) :\n\n * 笑み \n * 笑顔 \n * 微笑み \n * 微笑\n * にっこり \n * 一笑", "comment_count": 0, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0", "creation_date": "2016-07-29T19:45:05.427", "favorite_count": 0, "id": "37050", "last_activity_date": "2018-05-04T23:36:43.743", "last_edit_date": "2018-05-04T23:36:43.743", "last_editor_user_id": "5010", "owner_user_id": "11944", "post_type": "question", "score": 13, "tags": [ "meaning", "word-choice", "words", "nuances", "wago-and-kango" ], "title": "Nuances in the word \"smile\"", "view_count": 11073 }
[ { "body": "Yeah this is funny concept in Japanese because the most common word used to\nrefer to the smile is 笑顔 which doesn't refer to the just the smile itself but\nrather the smiling face taken as a whole. The actual smile itself I believe is\nreferred to as 微笑み though it's not nearly as common. にっこり is more of an\nadjective used to describe someones behavior - like for example you walk into\na room and someone you know has this oddly suspicious smile on their face and\nyou ask them \"what the hell are you so smiley about?\". 笑い is more like the act\nof laughing than just smiling.\n\nThe main concept though is that whole smiling face is usually the thing that\nis referred to.", "comment_count": 0, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0", "creation_date": "2016-07-29T20:25:25.963", "id": "37053", "last_activity_date": "2016-07-29T20:25:25.963", "last_edit_date": null, "last_editor_user_id": null, "owner_user_id": "12106", "parent_id": "37050", "post_type": "answer", "score": 2 }, { "body": "They are, in Japanese term, all subcategories of 笑い, the widest word that\ncovers both loud _laugh_ ( _giggle_ , _chuckle_ etc.) and silent _smile_ (\n_grin_ , _smirk_ , _simper_ etc.)\n\n**笑み/笑顔**\n\nThe two words are related to every kind of silent happy face (abovementioned).\n笑み is the action itself (< verb 笑む), but is a bookish word that hardly appears\nin conversation. 笑顔 is more popularly used one that refers to the face (or\nexpression), and we usually call making smile 笑顔を作る.\n\n**微笑【ほほえ】み/微笑【びしょう】**\n\nLiterally \"dim happy face\", may be the most exact words correspond to English\n_smile_. However, these are a bit more nuanced than the English counterpart\nwhere they're associated with affection, dearness or benevolence, that don't\nfit every situation we could use _smile_. The most typical usage would be\n天使の微笑み \"angel's smile\".\n\n微笑【びしょう】 is the Sino-Japanese synonym of 微笑【ほほえ】み, thus sounds loftier. Note\nthat the last okurigana of 微笑み isn't obligatory, so sometimes you'll see 微笑 is\nread ほほえみ too.\n\n**一笑**\n\nThis is somewhat an odd one out, and has most limited range of usage. It has\ntwo meanings: _making a friendly happy face lightly/briefly_ as in 破顔一笑\n\"(break into) a broad smile\"; and _laugh something down/off_ as in 一笑に付す. Both\nare often seen in literary works.\n\n**にっこり**\n\nThis is a mimetic word depicts such a sunny smile:\n\n[![enter image description\nhere](https://i.stack.imgur.com/juk06.png)](https://i.stack.imgur.com/juk06.png)\n\nfor this kind of evil smile, we use **にやにや** or **にやける** (verb), which is\nfrequently heard in anime when girls rebuke guys that have dirty mind.\n\n[![enter image description\nhere](https://i.stack.imgur.com/ZE0pT.png)](https://i.stack.imgur.com/ZE0pT.png)\n\nand for big grin, we prefer **にんまり**.\n\n[![enter image description\nhere](https://i.stack.imgur.com/1NmHY.jpg)](https://i.stack.imgur.com/1NmHY.jpg)\n\n* * *\n\n**BONUS** \nWe also use English loanword **スマイル** , usually for the cheerful smile or grin\nwhich Americans are particularly good at.\n\n[![enter image description\nhere](https://i.stack.imgur.com/t6ziD.jpg)](https://i.stack.imgur.com/t6ziD.jpg)\n\n(for illustrative purposes only)", "comment_count": 0, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0", "creation_date": "2016-07-30T17:23:20.280", "id": "37076", "last_activity_date": "2016-07-30T17:23:20.280", "last_edit_date": null, "last_editor_user_id": null, "owner_user_id": "7810", "parent_id": "37050", "post_type": "answer", "score": 7 } ]
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{ "accepted_answer_id": null, "answer_count": 1, "body": "Could anyone help me with this translation? I think once per week is \"shuu\nichi\" but with days in particular I really don't remember how to say it.", "comment_count": 3, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0", "creation_date": "2016-07-30T05:23:36.103", "favorite_count": 0, "id": "37059", "last_activity_date": "2016-07-30T09:10:04.300", "last_edit_date": null, "last_editor_user_id": null, "owner_user_id": "16312", "post_type": "question", "score": 9, "tags": [ "grammar" ], "title": "How do you say \"once every x days/weeks/etc\"?", "view_count": 23955 }
[ { "body": "The most generic and useful pattern is `number + counter + に + number + 回/度`.\n\n * 2年に1回 once in two years\n * 6週間に1回 once in six weeks\n * [1月]{ひとつき}に3回 / [1か月]{いっかげつ}に3回 three times a month\n * 1年に2回 twice a year\n * [1日]{いちにち}に3回 three times a day\n * [2日]{ふつか}に3回 three times in two days\n\nThere are some irregular readings when referring to a time span. See the last\npart of [this page](http://www.guidetojapanese.org/learn/complete/date_time).\n\nYou can also say 日【ひ】にn回, 週(に)n回, 月【つき】(に)n回, 年(に)n回 (but not 時間n回, 日n回, 週間n回,\netc).\n\n> * 1週間に5回バイトをする = 週(に)5回バイトをする to work part-time five days a week\n> * 年(に)1度の総会 the annual general meeting\n>\n\n週一【しゅういち】 is a bit slangy and colloquial phrase that means 1週間に1回 (once a\nweek). You can also say 週一【しゅういち】 ~ 週七【しゅうなな】, 月一【つきいち】, 年一【ねんいち】. (But\n月三/年四/etc are rare and you should usually say 月に3回/年4回 instead)\n\n> * 週七【しゅうなな】でバイトをする to work part-time seven days a week\n> * 月一【つきいち】のミーティング monthly meeting\n>\n\nIn addition, there are 隔日【かくじつ】, 隔週【かくしゅう】, 隔月【かくげつ】, 隔年【かくねん】 which mean\n\"every other ~\".\n\n> 隔週のミーティング biweekly meeting", "comment_count": 5, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0", "creation_date": "2016-07-30T09:02:38.393", "id": "37063", "last_activity_date": "2016-07-30T09:10:04.300", "last_edit_date": "2016-07-30T09:10:04.300", "last_editor_user_id": "5010", "owner_user_id": "5010", "parent_id": "37059", "post_type": "answer", "score": 9 } ]
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{ "accepted_answer_id": null, "answer_count": 1, "body": "I'm a beginner with Japanese and have been practising katakana more recently\nand in doing so, I noticed that many—maybe most—times, the reason something is\nwritten in katakana is because it is derived from English. Some katakana words\nare also derivatives of other languages (e.g. \"アルバイト\").\n\nHowever, sometimes Japanese words are written in katakana despite their being\noriginally Japanese.\n\nHow can I as a beginner distinguish between these different types of katakana?", "comment_count": 2, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0", "creation_date": "2016-07-30T07:50:13.927", "favorite_count": 0, "id": "37062", "last_activity_date": "2016-07-30T20:51:56.483", "last_edit_date": "2016-07-30T20:51:56.483", "last_editor_user_id": "1628", "owner_user_id": "10377", "post_type": "question", "score": 3, "tags": [ "katakana", "orthography" ], "title": "How to distinguish between different types of katakana words?", "view_count": 360 }
[ { "body": "_Katakana_ has [many\nfunctions](https://japanese.stackexchange.com/q/1930/1628). To check whether\nyou are dealing with a Japanese word (where _katakana_ has been used for\nemphasis, or in a scientific context, or...) or a word that is a loanword from\na foreign (often Western) language, it suffices to check an ordinary\nmonolingual dictionary, for example 大辞泉 via <https://kotobank.jp/>.\n\nYou don't need to be able to read the whole Japanese definition as the\netymology of loanwords is listed at the beginning and in the Latin alphabet so\nyou can't miss it. For example,\n\n> **アルバイト** (〈ドイツ〉Arbeit)\n\nIf you are dealing with a native Japanese word, it is usually listed with ひらがな\nor 漢字 (probably with exceptions). For example, ダメ would be listed as\n\n> **だ‐め** 【駄目】\n\nand the _katakana_ here are for emphasis/slangyness,\n\nThere are also slang words like ググる (from グーグル Google), some of which have\nbecome standard (like サボる). For more on this take a look at [Are there words\nwhich consist of katakana and hiragana letters\ntogether?](https://japanese.stackexchange.com/q/15199/1628)", "comment_count": 0, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0", "creation_date": "2016-07-30T20:48:17.777", "id": "37080", "last_activity_date": "2016-07-30T20:48:17.777", "last_edit_date": "2017-04-13T12:43:48.447", "last_editor_user_id": "-1", "owner_user_id": "1628", "parent_id": "37062", "post_type": "answer", "score": 2 } ]
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{ "accepted_answer_id": "37068", "answer_count": 1, "body": "There is a weather app called アメッシュ. I get that the first part of the word is\n雨「あめ」, but what's the meaning of the suffix 〜ッシュ?", "comment_count": 0, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0", "creation_date": "2016-07-30T11:34:59.533", "favorite_count": 0, "id": "37066", "last_activity_date": "2016-07-30T13:03:20.727", "last_edit_date": "2016-07-30T11:42:30.400", "last_editor_user_id": null, "owner_user_id": "13886", "post_type": "question", "score": 3, "tags": [ "etymology", "suffixes" ], "title": "アメッシュ etymology", "view_count": 100 }
[ { "body": "アメッシュ (a registered trademark Tokyo Metropolitan Government), refers to [the\nsystem](http://tokyo-ame.jwa.or.jp/en/index.html) which tells us how much\nrainfall is observed at each location in the metropolitan area.\n\nThe data is given in the form of grid, or _mesh_ , consisting of 150m*150m\nsquares (cf. [Tokyo Amesh/About Tokyo Amesh](http://tokyo-\name.jwa.or.jp/en/amesh/kansoku.html)) . Apparently this is where -ッシュ comes\nfrom.", "comment_count": 1, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0", "creation_date": "2016-07-30T13:03:20.727", "id": "37068", "last_activity_date": "2016-07-30T13:03:20.727", "last_edit_date": null, "last_editor_user_id": null, "owner_user_id": "4223", "parent_id": "37066", "post_type": "answer", "score": 7 } ]
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{ "accepted_answer_id": null, "answer_count": 1, "body": "I understand that both 大半{たいはん} and 多数派{たすうは} can be translated as \"majority\".\nIs there a difference between them in usage or nuance?", "comment_count": 1, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0", "creation_date": "2016-07-30T12:37:55.863", "favorite_count": 0, "id": "37067", "last_activity_date": "2016-07-30T13:18:45.623", "last_edit_date": "2016-07-30T13:02:57.927", "last_editor_user_id": "13886", "owner_user_id": "13886", "post_type": "question", "score": 1, "tags": [ "word-choice", "words" ], "title": "Difference between 大半 and 多数派", "view_count": 112 }
[ { "body": "I think the major difference is that 大半{たいはん} means that it must be more than\nhalf of the total group, but that 多数派{たすうは} only needs to be the subgroup with\nthe largest number of people.\n\nThat is to say in Japanese, 多数派 could be used to translate the English word\n`plurality` wherein there is no absolute majority (no one has more than half\nof the total group), but there is one group that has the largest fraction of\nthe votes.", "comment_count": 0, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0", "creation_date": "2016-07-30T13:18:45.623", "id": "37069", "last_activity_date": "2016-07-30T13:18:45.623", "last_edit_date": null, "last_editor_user_id": null, "owner_user_id": "10045", "parent_id": "37067", "post_type": "answer", "score": 2 } ]
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{ "accepted_answer_id": "37075", "answer_count": 1, "body": "[My dictionary](http://jisho.org/search/%E4%B8%80%E6%98%A8%E5%B9%B4) lists\nboth いっさくねん and おととし as readings of 一昨年. Which of these are commonly used? Is\nthere any difference between these two readings?", "comment_count": 0, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0", "creation_date": "2016-07-30T13:26:20.410", "favorite_count": 0, "id": "37070", "last_activity_date": "2016-07-30T17:10:43.470", "last_edit_date": null, "last_editor_user_id": null, "owner_user_id": "13886", "post_type": "question", "score": 3, "tags": [ "word-choice", "readings", "multiple-readings" ], "title": "pronunciation of 一昨年", "view_count": 274 }
[ { "body": "おととし is far more common in everyday conversations with your friends and\ncolleagues, whereas いっさくねん is used mainly in formal speeches and\npresentations. いっさくねん is the on-yomi of this word, so it's not surprising that\nいっさくねん sounds more formal and/or technical than おととし.\n\nHowever, when people write おととし, they tend to use hiragana (it depends on the\nwriter's taste). This is partly because おととし is a non-straightforward 熟字訓.\n\n> 7.「一昨日」「明後日」「一昨年」は、「おととい」「あさって」「おととし」というように、ふつうひらがなで書きます。(from\n> [東京外国語大学言語モジュール](http://www.coelang.tufs.ac.jp/mt/ja/gmod/courses/c02/lesson12/step1/explanation/020.html))\n\nSo when you see 一昨年 actually written on paper, and have to read it out loud,\nいっさくねん may be a better choice.", "comment_count": 0, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0", "creation_date": "2016-07-30T17:10:43.470", "id": "37075", "last_activity_date": "2016-07-30T17:10:43.470", "last_edit_date": null, "last_editor_user_id": null, "owner_user_id": "5010", "parent_id": "37070", "post_type": "answer", "score": 4 } ]
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{ "accepted_answer_id": "38595", "answer_count": 2, "body": "Although the long あー sound occurs in many words written in katakana, and in\nsome onomatopoeia and interjections (ザーザー, まあ, etc.) it seems to be very rare\nin words written with kanji. The only example that I know is お母さん{おかあさん}. Is\nthis the only one, or are there other words written with kanji that use this\nsound?\n\nClarification: I know there are many cases where two あ sounds meet across a\nmorpheme boundary, e.g. 唐揚げ{からあげ}, which is not what I'm interested in. I'd\nlike a list of kanji which have morpheme-internal readings containing あー.", "comment_count": 7, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0", "creation_date": "2016-07-30T14:09:44.087", "favorite_count": 0, "id": "37072", "last_activity_date": "2016-08-20T04:20:27.160", "last_edit_date": "2016-07-31T01:04:59.753", "last_editor_user_id": "13886", "owner_user_id": "13886", "post_type": "question", "score": 1, "tags": [ "kanji", "pronunciation", "readings", "long-vowels" ], "title": "Kanji with long あー sound", "view_count": 424 }
[ { "body": "If your goal is kanji readings that contain a long あー sound, the quickest way\nto accomplish this is to use the [advanced search on\njisho.org](http://jisho.org/docs) (or a similar online dictionary).\n\n拉麺【ラーメン】 will show up using the search query [\"*らー*\n#words\"](http://jisho.org/search/*%E3%82%89%E3%83%BC*%20%23words), which in\nquery terms means \"any word that contains らー in any position\".\n\nYou can do the same thing with あー、わー、らー、やー、etc. which should yield you all the\nresults for this you need.\n\nThis will not, however, yield all results as some words like 婆さん will not show\nup. In order to return all possibilities, you need to include the second あ in\nyour query.", "comment_count": 4, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0", "creation_date": "2016-07-30T16:26:03.317", "id": "37073", "last_activity_date": "2016-07-31T12:25:44.043", "last_edit_date": "2016-07-31T12:25:44.043", "last_editor_user_id": "13886", "owner_user_id": "16049", "parent_id": "37072", "post_type": "answer", "score": 0 }, { "body": "First, it'll be very marginal, at least the long あ is impossible to appear in\nclassic onyomi (漢音, 呉音, 唐宋音) series and \"regular\" native words. 母さん is like\n\"mom\" as opposed to \"mother\", and you can see these kind of words rarely get\nan established kanji.\n\nBelow is the all results I get through prefix search on [a J-J\ndictionary](http://dictionary.goo.ne.jp/jn/) ( _italic_ is my own addition).\n\n * **[噫【ああ】](http://dictionary.goo.ne.jp/jn/18/meaning/m0u/)**\n * **[母【かあ】さん](http://dictionary.goo.ne.jp/jn/34965/meaning/m0u/)** 、[母様【かあさま】](http://dictionary.goo.ne.jp/jn/34963/meaning/m0u/)、[母【かあ】ちゃん](http://dictionary.goo.ne.jp/jn/34991/meaning/m0u/) (cf. [嬶【かかあ】](http://dictionary.goo.ne.jp/jn/37674/meaning/m2u/))\n * **[搾菜【ザーサイ】/榨菜](http://dictionary.goo.ne.jp/jn/84309/meaning/m0u/)**\n * **[炸鏈【ジャーレン】](http://dictionary.goo.ne.jp/jn/273331/meaning/m0u/)**\n * **[大四喜【タースーシー】](http://dictionary.goo.ne.jp/jn/132259/meaning/m0u/)**\n * **[塔子【ターツ】](http://dictionary.goo.ne.jp/jn/132265/meaning/m0u/)**\n * **[塌菜【ターツァイ】](http://dictionary.goo.ne.jp/jn/132267/meaning/m0u/)**\n * **[叉焼【チャーシュー】](http://dictionary.goo.ne.jp/jn/142413/meaning/m0u/)**\n * **[炒飯【チャーハン】](http://dictionary.goo.ne.jp/jn/142428/meaning/m0u/)** 、[炒麺【チャーメン】](http://dictionary.goo.ne.jp/jn/142435/meaning/m0u/)\n * **[婆【ばあ】さん](http://dictionary.goo.ne.jp/jn/172910/meaning/m0u/)** 、[婆【ばあ】や](http://dictionary.goo.ne.jp/jn/173256/meaning/m0u/)\n * **[八【パー】](http://dictionary.goo.ne.jp/jn/172847/meaning/m0u/)**\n * **_排骨麺【パーコーメン】_**\n * **[麻雀【マージャン】](http://dictionary.goo.ne.jp/jn/206621/meaning/m0u/)** 、 _麻婆【マーボー】_ (豆腐 etc.)\n * **[拉麺【ラーメン】/老麺](http://dictionary.goo.ne.jp/jn/228789/meaning/m0u/)**\n * **[辣油【ラーユ】](http://dictionary.goo.ne.jp/jn/228791/meaning/m0u/)**\n\nIf you include proper names like\n[大同【タートン】](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Datong) and\n[大慶【ターチン】](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daqing), the number would be nearly\ninfinitive. There are also Western loanwords like 碼【ヤード】 and 陌【ヘクタール】, but not\nquite established.", "comment_count": 1, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0", "creation_date": "2016-08-20T04:20:27.160", "id": "38595", "last_activity_date": "2016-08-20T04:20:27.160", "last_edit_date": null, "last_editor_user_id": null, "owner_user_id": "7810", "parent_id": "37072", "post_type": "answer", "score": 3 } ]
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{ "accepted_answer_id": null, "answer_count": 2, "body": "Just learned 楽々 from [this](https://vine.co/v/5KeP0Bjtm2q) cat video on vine\nwhich says:\n\n> もう楽々にゃ〜\n\n[WWWJDIC](http://nihongo.monash.edu/cgi-bin/wwwjdic?1C) 楽々:\n\n> 楽楽; 楽々 【らくらく】 (adv,adv-to) comfortably; easily\n>\n> ぼくは手が足の指に楽々とどくよ。 I can easily touch my toes.\n\nNot really sure what `adv-to` means so I looked up to:\n\n[WWWJDIC](http://nihongo.monash.edu/cgi-bin/wwwjdic?1C) と:\n\n> と (prt,conj) (1) if; when; (2) and; (3) with; (4) (See って・1) particle used\n> for quoting (with speech, thoughts, etc.); quoting particle; (n) (5) (abbr)\n> {shogi} (See と金) promoted pawn; (prt) (6) (kyu:) indicates question\n> (sentence end); (P)\n>\n> (1) このシャンプーを買うと素敵なヘアブラシがついてきます。 This shampoo comes with a nice hair brush.\n>\n> (2) 12と24と7と11の合計は54です。 The sum of 12, 24, 7 and 11 is 54.\n>\n> (3) 私はあなたとお話ししてよかった。 I have enjoyed talking to you.\n>\n> (4) 「美しい」とか「醜い」といった言葉は相対的な用語である。 The words 'beautiful' and 'ugly' are\n> relative terms.\n\nBut, none of these definitions seem to fit.\n\n「楽々と」の「と」: What does _to_ do here?", "comment_count": 4, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0", "creation_date": "2016-07-30T19:15:19.273", "favorite_count": 0, "id": "37078", "last_activity_date": "2016-08-23T23:01:18.360", "last_edit_date": "2020-06-17T08:18:27.500", "last_editor_user_id": "-1", "owner_user_id": "5518", "post_type": "question", "score": 2, "tags": [ "meaning", "particle-と" ], "title": "「楽々と」の「と」: What does と do here?", "view_count": 345 }
[ { "body": "For your question, と is a part of とどく,which means _reach_.\n\nHowever, ぼくは手が足の指に楽々 **と** とどくよ。 is also correct.\n\nFor adverbs which describe how someone/something does something, と is needed\nto be added after the adverb, indicating it is an adverb similar to -ly in\nEnglish, even though 楽々 itself is an adverb.\n\n明鏡国語辞典\n\n```\n\n と(7)\n 動作や状態の様子を表す\n to describe the action or status\n \n```", "comment_count": 0, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0", "creation_date": "2016-08-23T08:29:09.817", "id": "38650", "last_activity_date": "2016-08-23T10:21:50.690", "last_edit_date": "2016-08-23T10:21:50.690", "last_editor_user_id": "9831", "owner_user_id": "17565", "parent_id": "37078", "post_type": "answer", "score": 4 }, { "body": "> 楽々と\n```\n\n 揚々と 「 意気揚々と引き揚げる 」\n 洋々と 「 洋々と流れる大河 」 \n \n```\n\nと is like a [adverb-maker] -- Some of these expressions ( like 揚々と, 洋々と )\nsound a bit old-fashioned.\n\n<http://dictionary.goo.ne.jp/jn/154670/meaning/m0u/%E3%81%A8/>\n\n> と ===\n>\n> 5 (副詞に付いて新たな副詞をつくり) ある状態を説明する意を表す。\n>\n> 「そろそろ―歩く」 「そよそよ―風が吹く」\n>\n> 「ほのぼの―春こそ空に来にけらし天のかぐ山霞たなびく」〈新古今・春上〉", "comment_count": 0, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0", "creation_date": "2016-08-23T20:36:51.087", "id": "38656", "last_activity_date": "2016-08-23T23:01:18.360", "last_edit_date": "2020-06-17T08:18:27.500", "last_editor_user_id": "-1", "owner_user_id": "16344", "parent_id": "37078", "post_type": "answer", "score": 0 } ]
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{ "accepted_answer_id": "37088", "answer_count": 1, "body": "> 「ムラサメ様のことを疑っているわけではなくて、慣れない生活ですから、体調を崩すこともあると思っただけです」」\n>\n> 「何もないならいいんです。それでは失礼します」\n>\n> 「あ、はい」\n>\n> 「いい子、 **なんだろうけどな** ぁ。俺を心配してくれてるんだから」\n\nWhat does the なんだろうけどな mean in the above exchange?\n\nI think I understand what he means (despite her acting cold and trying to\ndistance herself from him, he suspects that she is actually a nice girl,\nevidenced by her worrying about him). However, I'm still not quite sure why\nthe けど is there. Without the けど it wouldn't make sense/sound right, but I\ncan't quite put my finger on what its doing.\n\n 1. Is there something after the けど that is left unsaid?\n\n 2. Is it backwards so that the _kedo_ comes at the end of the second sentence? (I.e. there is something that previously happened or was said, like in the question [Understanding この場合〜なんだろうけど](https://japanese.stackexchange.com/q/26160/1628)?)\n\n 3. Something else?", "comment_count": 1, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0", "creation_date": "2016-07-30T19:27:30.543", "favorite_count": 0, "id": "37079", "last_activity_date": "2016-07-31T05:12:49.903", "last_edit_date": "2017-04-13T12:43:48.447", "last_editor_user_id": "-1", "owner_user_id": "16316", "post_type": "question", "score": 2, "tags": [ "meaning", "spoken-language" ], "title": "What does なんだろうけどな mean here?", "view_count": 1792 }
[ { "body": "As you have correctly guessed, \"俺を心配してくれてるんだから\" is the reason why he thought\n\"(彼女は)いい子なんだろう\". So the normal word order is like this:\n\n> 俺を心配してくれてるんだから、いい子なんだろう **けど** なぁ。\n\nThis sentence-end けど implies the speaker does not unconditionally agree what\nhe has just said. Perhaps he could have continued by pointing out her fault,\nfor example, like 「(俺を心配してくれてるんだからいい子なんだろうけど、)やっぱり外見はとても冷たく見えるよな」 or\n「(いい子なんだろうけど)まったく笑ってくれないのは残念だなぁ」. In this situation, what he wanted to imply\nby saying けど was rather obvious from the context. But that's not always the\ncase. One might say けど when even he is not aware of what he wanted to say\nafter けど.\n\nReference:\n\n * [けど at the end of the sentence?](https://japanese.stackexchange.com/q/2086/5010)\n * [What does んだけど mean here?](https://japanese.stackexchange.com/q/36686/5010)", "comment_count": 0, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0", "creation_date": "2016-07-31T05:12:49.903", "id": "37088", "last_activity_date": "2016-07-31T05:12:49.903", "last_edit_date": "2017-04-13T12:43:48.447", "last_editor_user_id": "-1", "owner_user_id": "5010", "parent_id": "37079", "post_type": "answer", "score": 2 } ]
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{ "accepted_answer_id": "37084", "answer_count": 2, "body": "I found this in a video game. It says 「殺しても【ころしても】殺したりねぇ【ころしたりねぇ】」. So, my\nrough estimate was \"Even killing (you) won't kill you\". Is this correct? Also,\nwhat type of sentence is this?", "comment_count": 0, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0", "creation_date": "2016-07-31T01:45:57.753", "favorite_count": 0, "id": "37082", "last_activity_date": "2016-08-01T10:49:16.547", "last_edit_date": "2016-07-31T21:11:06.283", "last_editor_user_id": null, "owner_user_id": "16147", "post_type": "question", "score": 9, "tags": [ "translation", "particle-も", "compound-verbs" ], "title": "The meaning of 殺しても殺したりねぇ", "view_count": 939 }
[ { "body": "> 殺しても殺したりねぇ\n\n殺したりねぇ is a collapsed, rough, usually masculine way of pronouncing\n殺し[足]{た}りない, literally \"don't kill enough\". You use ~たりない like this:\n\n> 食べたりない don't/didn't eat enough (-> I'm not full. I can / want to eat some\n> more) \n> 飲みたりない don't/didn't drink enough (-> I can / want to drink some more) \n> 言いたりない don't/didn't say enough (-> I have more to say)\n\nSo I think 殺しても殺したりない is like \"Even if I killed (you/someone) it wouldn't be\nenough / I would want to kill (you/someone) more,\" or \"I wouldn't be satisfied\neven if I killed (you/someone).\"\n\nAs pointed out by @broccoli forest, you could also read it as\n「どれだけ殺しても殺したりない」, \"No matter how many (people?) I kill, it won't be enough / I\nwon't be satisfied / I will want to kill more.\"", "comment_count": 2, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0", "creation_date": "2016-07-31T03:29:44.540", "id": "37084", "last_activity_date": "2016-08-01T10:49:16.547", "last_edit_date": "2016-08-01T10:49:16.547", "last_editor_user_id": "9831", "owner_user_id": "9831", "parent_id": "37082", "post_type": "answer", "score": 9 }, { "body": "殺しても殺したりねえ literally means \"I cannot kill you more - I'm not fully satisfied\nwith even I killed you. But I was almost reading it as \"殺しても、殺したりしねえ - I (can)\nkill you, but I won't kill you.\"\n\nThe writing , \"殺しても殺したりねえ\" is very confusing, like \"金おくれ (送れ) - Send me money\"\ncan be sometime mistaken for \"金を呉れ - Give me money.\"\n\nIt's better to write \"たり\" in Kanji, i.e.,\"殺しても殺し足りねえ,\" so that you may not\nconfuse readers.", "comment_count": 0, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0", "creation_date": "2016-07-31T11:35:47.187", "id": "37091", "last_activity_date": "2016-08-01T00:37:06.107", "last_edit_date": "2016-08-01T00:37:06.107", "last_editor_user_id": "12056", "owner_user_id": "12056", "parent_id": "37082", "post_type": "answer", "score": 5 } ]
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{ "accepted_answer_id": "37085", "answer_count": 2, "body": "I hope this question actually has an answer and is topical to this site. I was\nwondering if anyone could explain why (in general) an author might choose to\nuse kana/kanji in circumstances where kanji/kana are more commonly used. Can\nit convey some additional meaning maybe?\n\nIf this question is too general (as I suspect it might be), I'd like to\nspecifically ask about the title of the game **ひぐらしのなく頃に**. It seems strange\nto me that the author would use kanji for 頃, which I commonly see written in\nkana, while at the same time leaving なく, which I usually see written in kanji\n(泣く), in hiragana.", "comment_count": 0, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0", "creation_date": "2016-07-31T03:24:19.173", "favorite_count": 0, "id": "37083", "last_activity_date": "2016-07-31T04:44:05.673", "last_edit_date": null, "last_editor_user_id": null, "owner_user_id": "3296", "post_type": "question", "score": 0, "tags": [ "kanji", "nuances", "written-language" ], "title": "Why use kana rather than kanji (and vice versa)", "view_count": 575 }
[ { "body": "It's hard to answer this \"generally\"... there are many reasons to use kanji\nover hiragana, katakana over kanji, etc. But basically it's a stylistic\nchoice. If you keep on reading manga, I think you will gradually understand\nthe image of hiragana, katakana and kanji.\n\n * [Why are katakana preferred over hiragana or kanji sometimes?](https://japanese.stackexchange.com/q/1930/5010)\n * [Why is Toyota typically written in Katakana? (トヨタ)](https://japanese.stackexchange.com/q/31078/5010)\n * [ニッポン? Why Kana?](https://japanese.stackexchange.com/q/17799/5010)\n * [What does it mean for the 'feel' of a sentence / text when it's written in all hiragana?](https://japanese.stackexchange.com/q/15108/5010)\n\n* * *\n\nAs for ひぐらしのなく頃に, なく seems to be intentionally in hiragana. Here's the\nofficial title logo:\n\n[![enter image description\nhere](https://i.stack.imgur.com/5xC49.png)](https://i.stack.imgur.com/5xC49.png)\n\nなく is a verb which has many kanji with different meanings.\n\n * 泣く\n * 鳴く\n * 啼く\n * 哭く\n\nYou should be able to distinguish 鳴く and 泣く because the difference is basic\nand important (see [this\npage](http://nihongoletsgo.blogspot.jp/2010/06/verbs-2-or.html)). The\nremaining two are poetic variants which are less important but have stronger\nrhetoric effects (typical 哭く is like\n[this](https://youtu.be/Ldk_6CzFcgc?t=58s)). So using hiragana なく will create\nambiguity, and using the red color will make it look even more mysterious. The\naudience will wonder if there is some special meaning here.\n\nAs for 頃に, I doubt there is a special implication here. It is true that this 頃\nshould be written in hiragana in formal documents ([because it's a\n形式名詞](https://japanese.stackexchange.com/q/3733/5010)), but novelists tend to\nignore such rules and use whatever kanji they want. This 頃 looks fairly\n\"normal\" to me. If it had been in hiragana, all the letters in the title would\nhave been in hiragana, which might give some other unwanted impression (being\nchildish, too much \"moe\"-like, comedic, etc.).", "comment_count": 0, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0", "creation_date": "2016-07-31T04:28:27.683", "id": "37085", "last_activity_date": "2016-07-31T04:28:27.683", "last_edit_date": "2017-04-13T12:43:44.397", "last_editor_user_id": "-1", "owner_user_id": "5010", "parent_id": "37083", "post_type": "answer", "score": 3 }, { "body": "To chirp isn't 泣く but 鳴く. 泣く is to weep.\n\nIn general, we feel more affinity and softness for hiragana than kanji.\n\nI guess the reason why なく was written in hiragana is that.\n\nIf ころ is also written in hiragana like ひぐらしのなくころに, I feel it is a bit\nchildishness.\n\nWhether the author write words in kanji or hiragana is according to their\nfeelings.", "comment_count": 0, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0", "creation_date": "2016-07-31T04:35:44.027", "id": "37086", "last_activity_date": "2016-07-31T04:44:05.673", "last_edit_date": "2016-07-31T04:44:05.673", "last_editor_user_id": "7320", "owner_user_id": "7320", "parent_id": "37083", "post_type": "answer", "score": 2 } ]
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{ "accepted_answer_id": null, "answer_count": 3, "body": "What's the difference between\n\n> 'Kore wa watashi no ... desu' (これ は わたし の 。。。 です)\n\nand\n\n> 'Kochira wa watashi no.. desu' (こちら は わたし の。。 です)\n\nwhen introducing a person?\n\nIs kore used for inanimate objects only? Is kochira politer?", "comment_count": 1, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0", "creation_date": "2016-07-31T04:51:57.493", "favorite_count": 0, "id": "37087", "last_activity_date": "2016-10-22T18:00:54.893", "last_edit_date": "2016-07-31T05:05:31.227", "last_editor_user_id": "5010", "owner_user_id": "14211", "post_type": "question", "score": 6, "tags": [ "word-choice", "pronouns" ], "title": "こちら (kochira) or これ (kore)?", "view_count": 43302 }
[ { "body": "From what I know, これ means \"this\" and こちら \"this way\" but こちら can also be used\nas you realised, to use exactly like これ. The difference is that it is much\nmore politer.", "comment_count": 0, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0", "creation_date": "2016-07-31T05:32:30.213", "id": "37089", "last_activity_date": "2016-07-31T05:32:30.213", "last_edit_date": null, "last_editor_user_id": null, "owner_user_id": "16317", "parent_id": "37087", "post_type": "answer", "score": 1 }, { "body": "こちら carries a sense of direction of the conversation, like you would expect\nthe listener to look towards or acknowledge the subject you are bringing up,\ninanimate or not. They are for the most part interchangeable in their own way\nand no one would pay much mind... however... NEVER use これ to speak of a\nperson...(or beloved animal) its just faux-pas.", "comment_count": 1, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0", "creation_date": "2016-09-29T08:29:17.027", "id": "39562", "last_activity_date": "2016-09-29T08:29:17.027", "last_edit_date": null, "last_editor_user_id": null, "owner_user_id": "17841", "parent_id": "37087", "post_type": "answer", "score": 2 }, { "body": "When introducing a person, it's not allowed to use これは..., because これは...\nmeans the thing you are pointing is not a person, it can be a thing or a\nobject, for example, これは私の考えです(this is my thought) or これは私のパソコンです(this is my\npersonal computer), and although こちら is often used in guiding the direction,\nlike こちらにどうぞ(this way, please), it also can be used in introducing a person to\nanother person.", "comment_count": 0, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0", "creation_date": "2016-10-22T18:00:54.893", "id": "40234", "last_activity_date": "2016-10-22T18:00:54.893", "last_edit_date": null, "last_editor_user_id": null, "owner_user_id": "18370", "parent_id": "37087", "post_type": "answer", "score": 1 } ]
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{ "accepted_answer_id": null, "answer_count": 5, "body": "I think when a lot of people first learn もう it's as \"already', right? There's\nalso the meanings of \"anymore\", \"soon\", \"now\", \"more', \"another\" and its use\nas an interjection. That's a lot of meaning packed in one small word, I think,\nand personally I get easily confused whenever I see it. In particular, the use\nof もう to mean \"already\", and its use with certain verbs constantly confound\nme.\n\nMy question concerns the use of もう with certain verbs and its meaning in those\ncontexts. I'm not sure if there's a specific term for the type I mean but two\nexamples are 止める and 諦める. (Edit:My reasoning is that these verbs are similar\nto negative form verbs on their own. I'm wondering if due to that property I\nshould understand them the same way I understand もう我慢できない (can't take it\nanymore) and もうするな (don't do that anymore).) Specifically when used with these\nverbs in their present tense form how should I interpret もう? I'll give some\nexamples:\n\n> 1. 日本語を学ぶのは難しすぎるよ。もうやめる!\n> 2. 私はそれをもう諦める\n> 3. もうこの男のことは諦めろ\n> 4. もうほっといてくれ!\n>\n\nI hope that's enough examples. My question is how to interpret and translate\nthose usages of もう. Are these translations correct?\n\n> 1. Learning Japanese is too hard. I quit already!\n> 2. I'm going to give up on that already.\n> 3. Give up on this man already\n> 4. Leave me alone already!\n>\n\nNone of those translations seem correct to me, but I'm not sure how else to\ntranslate them. Wouldn't もう here rather be closer in meaning to \"anymore\"?\nLike in example 1, doesn't this translation make more sense: \"Learning\nJapanese is too hard. I'm not gonna do it anymore!\"? I just don't see how\n\"already\" is what's intended, yet I'm also not sure that's it's not.\n\nI apologize if my questions are unclear. I wasn't sure how to best word my\ndoubts about もう. I feel I lack a basic understanding of it, but dictionaries\nand guides haven't proved sufficient for me. If I was unclear on anything or\nmy question is written poorly please feel free to ask for clarification.", "comment_count": 7, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0", "creation_date": "2016-07-31T09:43:01.527", "favorite_count": 0, "id": "37090", "last_activity_date": "2017-12-05T01:02:12.437", "last_edit_date": "2016-08-01T10:53:32.547", "last_editor_user_id": "11112", "owner_user_id": "11112", "post_type": "question", "score": 16, "tags": [ "grammar", "translation", "meaning" ], "title": "Understanding the usage of もう with present tense verbs", "view_count": 3477 }
[ { "body": "I'm not sure about your first question. I'm not a native speaker. But my guess\nis that you cannot use もう in that manner. I'll late a native speaker (or\nsomeone else answer that portion).\n\nRegarding your second question, consider the dictionary definition as given in\nmy print edition of 広辞林 where もう is defined as\n\n 1. もはや。はや。すでに。 \n\n> 例:もうだめだ。\n\n 2. この上。更に。いま。\n\n> 例:もう少し \n> 例:まじめな青年だが、もう一つ積極性がほしい。\n\n 3. まもなく。やがて。\n\n> 例:もう来るでしょう。", "comment_count": 5, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0", "creation_date": "2016-07-31T20:18:33.740", "id": "37094", "last_activity_date": "2016-08-01T11:40:34.997", "last_edit_date": "2016-08-01T11:40:34.997", "last_editor_user_id": "7810", "owner_user_id": "4875", "parent_id": "37090", "post_type": "answer", "score": 0 }, { "body": "According to 三省堂大辭林, the word もう could be used either as an adverb or as a\nshort term to express one's emotion.\n\nSince the meanings when it is used as an adverb are already there, I would not\ntype in the same thing.\n\nWhen it is used to express one's feeling, it has two meanings.\n\n```\n\n (1)ある感情や感動が高まったときに用いられる語。「─,最高だわ」「─,悲しくて悲しくて」\n 「─,ほんとにすごいんだ」\n \n (2)やや非難・叱責の気持ちをこめていう語。「─,何度言っても聞かないんだから」\n 「ひどいんだから,─」\n \n (1) Be used to express feeling when one's emotion swells.\n (2) Be used by one who wants to blame/rebuke another person.\n \n```\n\n_I'm not a native English speaker so my translation could be incorrect\nsometimes, please correct me when you see anything wrong here._", "comment_count": 1, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0", "creation_date": "2017-03-16T16:38:15.987", "id": "44481", "last_activity_date": "2017-03-16T16:38:15.987", "last_edit_date": null, "last_editor_user_id": null, "owner_user_id": "20104", "parent_id": "37090", "post_type": "answer", "score": 0 }, { "body": "Based on intuition and experience alone, I believe that もう is always pretty\nconsistent when it's used to mean 'already'. It's simple to understand it when\nit's used for the past tense.\n\n> もうやった\n>\n> I already did that\n\nWhen it's in the present tense, though, I think it maintains that same meaning\nbut expresses one's desire to be done with a situation, like they'd like to\nwash their hands of it for good.\n\n> * もういいや (Enough already)\n> * もうやめよう (Let's be done already)\n> * もう胸糞{むなくそ}が悪くなった (I'm so disgusted [at this situation that I would like\n> to be done with])\n>\n\nAgain, this is based on experience alone and I have no formal writings to\nsupport this but I believe that your (the questioner's) original explanation\nis correct. I think the hardest part of understanding this is that it doesn't\ntranslate into a specific English grammar pattern but the emotion of wanting\nto be done with something is clear and can be translated into English with\ngood word choice.", "comment_count": 0, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0", "creation_date": "2017-06-14T18:39:17.233", "id": "48396", "last_activity_date": "2017-06-14T21:25:00.017", "last_edit_date": "2020-06-17T08:18:27.500", "last_editor_user_id": "-1", "owner_user_id": "22133", "parent_id": "37090", "post_type": "answer", "score": 1 }, { "body": "If you put an exclamation mark on the end of the sentence, you have some will\nto the future. So, I will use adverb indicate right now to future rather than\nalready.I assume using already in the present volition to the future is a\nlittle bit strange.\n\nSo, My translation:\n\n日本語を学ぶのは難しすぎるよ。もうやめる!\n\nLearning Japanese is too hard! I will quit right now!\n\n私はそれをもう諦める\n\nI have given up on that already.\n\nもうこの男のことは諦めろ\n\nYou had better give up this guy right now.\n\nもうほっといてくれ!\n\nLeave me alone immediately!", "comment_count": 0, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0", "creation_date": "2017-08-26T10:48:48.947", "id": "52708", "last_activity_date": "2017-08-26T10:48:48.947", "last_edit_date": null, "last_editor_user_id": null, "owner_user_id": null, "parent_id": "37090", "post_type": "answer", "score": 1 }, { "body": "As you were alluding to in one of your comments, もう when used in conjunction\nwith a present tense (I prefer the term \"imperfective\" as it's not really\npresent tense - there being another form for an action that is specifically\npresently happening...) _does_ have that connotation in Japanese that the\naction should not be continued anymore.\n\nIn my experience, it is best not to try and one-for-one words across\nlanguages, as there's just really not a clean translation many times. It's\nbest to translate things in context, understanding what the speaker is\nattempting to communicate.\n\nI think where this gets tricky (as you mentioned) is when もう is used in the\nnegative, the word \"already\" just doesn't seem to fit so nicely as a one-for-\none replacement. If you'd like my best stab at how もう really works.. it's not\nreally modifying the verb.. it's more describing the situational/contextual\nsetup or \"feeling\" of the situation. And, when you look at it in this way, you\nno longer are bound to the conjugation of the verb to explain why the\ntranslation of もう changes from situation to situation.\n\nI hope that makes sense/is helpful.", "comment_count": 0, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0", "creation_date": "2017-12-05T01:02:12.437", "id": "54954", "last_activity_date": "2017-12-05T01:02:12.437", "last_edit_date": null, "last_editor_user_id": null, "owner_user_id": "26816", "parent_id": "37090", "post_type": "answer", "score": 3 } ]
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{ "accepted_answer_id": "37096", "answer_count": 1, "body": "I've noticed that it seems rare to have a long vowel followed by a geminate\nconsonant (っ + consonant). The only example I can think of is when attaching a\nsuffix like 〜って to a word ending in a long vowel (e.g. 東京って). Does this ever\noccur word-internally in Japanese? If so, is there a list of examples of this?", "comment_count": 0, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0", "creation_date": "2016-07-31T11:51:09.377", "favorite_count": 0, "id": "37092", "last_activity_date": "2016-08-01T01:36:18.590", "last_edit_date": null, "last_editor_user_id": null, "owner_user_id": "13886", "post_type": "question", "score": 0, "tags": [ "pronunciation", "gemination", "long-vowels" ], "title": "Long vowel followed by っ", "view_count": 271 }
[ { "body": "Yes, it happens word-internally in Japanese, but it's quite rare. As you\nprobably know, Old Japanese had neither geminate consonants nor long vowels\n(as far as the best contemporary reconstructions can determine). Pretty much\nall the geminate consonants in today's Japanese can be traced to (i) more or\nless well-understood series of changes like the one that turned /omopite/ into\nmodern /omoQte/ \"thinking\"; (ii) features of vernacular speech like the one\nthat turned /futofara/ into /futoQpara/ \"generous\"; or (iii) loanwords like\n/kappa/ \"raincoat\" (< Portuguese \"capa\") and /ryuQkusaQku/ \"rucksack\".\n\nMeanwhile, long vowels are similar: they're mostly places where an intervening\nconsonant was lost (/opo/ -> /oo/ \"big\"), vernacular features like /kakaa/\n\"mother\", or from loanwords (Japanese pronunciations of Chinese words,\nbasically). (Oh, and I guess you can add onomatopoeia to both those lists of\nsources, since anything can happen in onomatopoeia.)\n\nSo to have a single word which has a long vowel followed by a geminate\nconsonant, you need to have two such places occurring in succession, which is\nrelatively rare but not unheard of. One places you might predict their\npresence, and be correct, is in the -te form of non-vowel-stem verbs\ncontaining a long vowel before an /-u/ or /-ru/ or /-tu/ ending, and indeed\nthis is what you find: /oou/ \"cover\" or /hooru/ \"release\", become /ootte/ or\n/hootte/ respectively.\n\nSimilarly, there are plenty of vernacular words (or ex-vernacular words long\nsince accepted into the standard written register) where a long vowel happens\nto come just before a geminate consonant: /ooQpira/ \"open(ly)\", /tookyooQko/\n\"Tokyo native\".\n\n(There are probably also loanwords containing this pattern in their original\nform, although none occur to me right now.)\n\nI'm not aware of any list of words like this. Someone studying a particular\ntype of construction, like the gemination of the second item in compound\nvernacular words like /ooQpira/, would make such a list to trawl it for\nunexpected regularities, but a comprehensive list of any /V:Q/ sequences would\nhave so many different types of words in it it's hard to see what use it could\nbe.", "comment_count": 0, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0", "creation_date": "2016-08-01T01:36:18.590", "id": "37096", "last_activity_date": "2016-08-01T01:36:18.590", "last_edit_date": null, "last_editor_user_id": null, "owner_user_id": "531", "parent_id": "37092", "post_type": "answer", "score": 3 } ]
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{ "accepted_answer_id": "37095", "answer_count": 1, "body": "This comes from 新完全マスター読解N2:\n\n> でも、現実にはなかなか **そうもいかなくて**\n> 、目の前にあるのは希望とはまったく違うものだけれども、転職するのも大変だから、いやいや会社に通っているという人も多いでしょう。\n\nSeems like it may mean something like \"it's not like that\"?\n\nWhat are the words/particles at work here? そう+も+いかない?", "comment_count": 1, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0", "creation_date": "2016-07-31T15:50:15.247", "favorite_count": 0, "id": "37093", "last_activity_date": "2016-07-31T21:28:35.300", "last_edit_date": null, "last_editor_user_id": null, "owner_user_id": "10407", "post_type": "question", "score": 2, "tags": [ "grammar" ], "title": "What does 「そうもいかなくて」 mean in this sentence?", "view_count": 364 }
[ { "body": "That means, ”(I have an ideal, a plan or a hope etc. but) the reality is\ndefferent and it doesn't go well as much as I expect.\"\n\nSo, this phrase imply that the speaker has an expectation for anything but\nactually it hasn't meet to his/her expectation yet.\n\nYou can also say in other words, \"そう+は+いかない/いかなくて”, \"うまく+いかなくて\".\n\nIn this context, above both phrases are same.", "comment_count": 0, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0", "creation_date": "2016-07-31T21:28:35.300", "id": "37095", "last_activity_date": "2016-07-31T21:28:35.300", "last_edit_date": null, "last_editor_user_id": null, "owner_user_id": "16322", "parent_id": "37093", "post_type": "answer", "score": 2 } ]
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{ "accepted_answer_id": "37098", "answer_count": 1, "body": "# Active\n\n> A: AはBにCを紹介する。\n>\n> A': A introduces C to B.\n\n# Questions\n\nHow to make C and B (respectively) subjects of passive sentences?", "comment_count": 0, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0", "creation_date": "2016-08-01T02:56:44.467", "favorite_count": 0, "id": "37097", "last_activity_date": "2016-08-01T03:12:46.137", "last_edit_date": "2020-06-17T08:18:27.500", "last_editor_user_id": "-1", "owner_user_id": "11192", "post_type": "question", "score": 1, "tags": [ "passive-voice" ], "title": "How to use 紹介される?", "view_count": 386 }
[ { "body": "\"~によって\" can be used when ~に is already consumed by the main verb.\n\n> * Cは(Aによって)Bに紹介される。\n> * Bは(Aによって)Cを紹介される。\n> * Bは(Aに)Cを紹介される。\n>\n\nNote that CはBに紹介される can be ambiguous (\"C was introduced by B to someone\" vs \"C\nwas introduced to B by someone\"). 彼に紹介されたレストラン would almost always mean \"the\nrestaurant introduced by him.\" 彼に紹介された人 usually means \"a person introduced by\nhim\" but may mean \"a person introduced to him,\" depending on the context.", "comment_count": 0, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0", "creation_date": "2016-08-01T03:12:46.137", "id": "37098", "last_activity_date": "2016-08-01T03:12:46.137", "last_edit_date": null, "last_editor_user_id": null, "owner_user_id": "5010", "parent_id": "37097", "post_type": "answer", "score": 4 } ]
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{ "accepted_answer_id": null, "answer_count": 1, "body": "Recently in Japan I saw the following sentence:\n\n> お支払いは窓口にて、お願いします。\n\nMy husband explained that the emphasis was one could ONLY order at the window.\n\nBeing a native speaker, he is unable to really explain the grammar or how to\nuse this.", "comment_count": 3, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0", "creation_date": "2016-08-01T03:25:35.057", "favorite_count": 0, "id": "37099", "last_activity_date": "2016-08-01T03:39:27.417", "last_edit_date": "2016-08-01T03:35:09.743", "last_editor_user_id": "11104", "owner_user_id": "16325", "post_type": "question", "score": 4, "tags": [ "grammar" ], "title": "Can て be a particle?", "view_count": 1263 }
[ { "body": "Particle used here is\n[にて](https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/%E3%81%AB%E3%81%A6)--a more formal version\nof で.\n\nThe sentence is equal to the following except for being more official:\n\n> お支払いは窓口で、お願いします。\n\nThe sign asks customers to pay at the window.\n\nSimilarly to で, [にて](https://kotobank.jp/word/%E3%81%AB%E3%81%A6-592418) is\nused to indicate place of the action, time of the action, method, or reason.", "comment_count": 0, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0", "creation_date": "2016-08-01T03:32:13.493", "id": "37100", "last_activity_date": "2016-08-01T03:39:27.417", "last_edit_date": "2016-08-01T03:39:27.417", "last_editor_user_id": "11104", "owner_user_id": "11104", "parent_id": "37099", "post_type": "answer", "score": 7 } ]
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{ "accepted_answer_id": null, "answer_count": 1, "body": "Did Americans introduce western words for forks, spoons and knives?", "comment_count": 0, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0", "creation_date": "2016-08-01T04:46:54.510", "favorite_count": 0, "id": "37101", "last_activity_date": "2021-09-20T02:46:35.553", "last_edit_date": null, "last_editor_user_id": null, "owner_user_id": "16327", "post_type": "question", "score": 2, "tags": [ "etymology" ], "title": "origin of western names for eating utensils", "view_count": 173 }
[ { "body": "Brits did.\n\nPerhaps you are starting to wonder what foods exactly the English could have\nintroduced to other countries, but what was actually imported was formal\nFrench cuisine with British table manners.\n\nAccording to [this\npage](https://web.archive.org/web/20160918113858/http://www.maroon.dti.ne.jp:80/schwarze-\nkatz/jphist/jphist07.html):\n\n>\n> 料理は、イギリスでも王室の行事や外交接待で出される料理はやはりフランス料理をベースとしていたので、イギリス経由といっても基本はフランス料理でしたが、ビーフシチューやビーフステーキのように、英語の料理名で日本に定着した洋食も多くあります。\n>\n> _As for dishes, many Western recipes have taken hold in Japan with English\n> names, such as \"beef stew\" or \"beef steak\", despite the fact that those\n> introduced via Britain was French in origin, as meals served at royal\n> ceremonies or diplomatic receptions were likewise based on French cuisine\n> even in Britain._\n\nNote that English names of cutlery are associated with Western foods. For\nexample we have traditional Japanese spoons (匙【さじ】) or Chinese soup spoons\n(蓮華【れんげ】) that are never called スプーン.", "comment_count": 0, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "creation_date": "2016-08-01T11:36:17.910", "id": "37105", "last_activity_date": "2021-09-20T02:46:35.553", "last_edit_date": "2021-09-20T02:46:35.553", "last_editor_user_id": "30454", "owner_user_id": "7810", "parent_id": "37101", "post_type": "answer", "score": 5 } ]
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{ "accepted_answer_id": null, "answer_count": 3, "body": "I just read this 自己紹介:\n\n> ■誕生日:1986年XX月XX日生まれ \n> ■出身:神奈川県 \n> ■家族: **華の独身​** \n> ■趣味:ランニング\n\nWhat does 華の独身 mean in this context? \nNo definition from my search engine nor in my dictionary.\n\n独身 means unmarried, but what makes a 華の独身 person different from a normal 独身\nperson?", "comment_count": 3, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0", "creation_date": "2016-08-01T06:18:48.827", "favorite_count": 0, "id": "37102", "last_activity_date": "2016-08-03T13:34:12.443", "last_edit_date": null, "last_editor_user_id": null, "owner_user_id": "107", "post_type": "question", "score": 6, "tags": [ "words", "expressions" ], "title": "Meaning of 華の独身", "view_count": 358 }
[ { "body": "It's in the [dictionary](http://dictionary.goo.ne.jp/jn/178127/meaning/m0u/):\n\n```\n\n ㋓最もよい時期。また、盛んな事柄や、その時節。「独身時代が―だった」「今が―の俳優」\n A flourishing period. Or a thriving status or period of time.\n \n```\n\nI think you can translated that as `flourishing single`. 華{はな} is\nidiomatically referring to the \"flower\". If you think how a flower has a time\nwhen it has a peak bloom.\n\nAs for different variations of `華の`:\n\n 1. `華の10期` is a phrase talking about the TV personalities (芸能人) of the 10th generation of 吉本NSC. This is because a lot of the 10th generation became popular.\n\n 2. `華の17歳` refers to someone who is close to almost being an adult (when you become 18 years old in Japan you are allowed to do more things) but who is still considered to be a child.\n\n 3. `華の大学生時代` meaning a period during your college years when you were flourishing. I think it implies a period in your life you enjoyed the most.\n\nAlso, as mentioned in the comment, this person is _probably_ thinking a lot\nabout marriage, which would indicate why they put this down. I get the\nimpression that they are \"living it up\" as a single.\n\nYou can also find this usage in phrases like:\n\n```\n\n 女性の華の時代\n \n```\n\nThis means when a women is at their \"peak\" in beauty (i.e. \"most flourishing\nperiod\").\n\nAlso, in the phrase\n\n```\n\n 言われるうちが華\n \n```", "comment_count": 6, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0", "creation_date": "2016-08-01T06:47:18.313", "id": "37103", "last_activity_date": "2016-08-03T13:34:12.443", "last_edit_date": "2016-08-03T13:34:12.443", "last_editor_user_id": "1217", "owner_user_id": "1217", "parent_id": "37102", "post_type": "answer", "score": 1 }, { "body": "I'm gonna offer a different definition from the 日本国語大辞典 that I think gets\ncloser to the usage in this case:\n\n> 〔四〕花の美しく、咲き栄えるさまにたとえていう。\n>\n> ...\n>\n> (2)(「花の…」の形で)美しいさま、華やかなさまを表わす。ほめことばとして用いる。\n\nBasically just a slightly old-fashioned/poetic way to praise something as\nbeautiful or glorious, not necessarily at a peak time period (although\nobviously, pretty much by definition the two concepts are related).\n\nHere is an example of 花の独身 from the 花の80s, allegedly an issue of _Kurashi no\ntecho_ from 1980 (the issue number does match up, but I found this in Google\nBooks so don't cite it in your thesis without pulling the original...)\n\n>\n> 彼女は、おもいのままに職業を転転とし、海外旅行数回、国内はおもいのまま、気の向くまま、おしゃれに身をやつし、うまいものを食べ歩く花の独身。私は、やさしい夫とかわいい二人の子どもと、マイホームに住む幸せな若妻。\n\nQuick and dirty translation:\n\n> \"She is a 'glorious single' who changes jobs as she pleases, has traveled\n> overseas multiple times and within Japan as she likes, just as it pleases\n> her, dresses fashionably down, and roams the land eating well. I am a happy\n> young wife living with a kind husband and two adorable children in a home we\n> own.\"\n\nI think this describes pretty well the kind of glorious, carefree life that\n花の独身, if taken absolutely unironically, would imply (note however that the\nparagraph goes on to detail how the narrator spends all her time cooking and\ncleaning and dealing with neighborhood gossip, that her kids are exhausting,\nshe has to wear ripped, dirty jeans, etc. -- so whatever is going on here,\nclearly it isn't just \"how happy we both are!\". Wouldn't be surprised if the\nnext paragraph was about how the single woman has no savings, gets nagged by\nher parents all the time for grandkids, etc...)\n\nIf you search online you can find people asking \"Do folks still say 花の独身?\" and\nother people answering \"No, because there are so many women who want to get\nmarried but can't nowadays.\"\n\nSo, yeah, I think that this person's bio says \"hana no dokushin\" rather than\njust \"dokushin\" because she wanted to say it in a self-aware and humorous way.", "comment_count": 2, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0", "creation_date": "2016-08-02T08:21:28.573", "id": "37131", "last_activity_date": "2016-08-02T08:21:28.573", "last_edit_date": "2020-06-17T08:18:27.500", "last_editor_user_id": "-1", "owner_user_id": "531", "parent_id": "37102", "post_type": "answer", "score": 7 }, { "body": "Literal translation of 華の独身 is \"a flourish single\" or \"glorious single.\" But\nwhen you describe yourself a flourish (glorious) single, it has a bit of\nsarcastic tone.\n\n\"華の(intrchangeably 花の)xx,\" is often used to describe a group of hopeful youth\nand their afteryears.\n\nFor example a bunch of staff who entered in the goverment office, say\nMinistory of Finance in a certain year e.g. Year of Heisei 10, and are all on\nthe fast-track are called 花の10年組 ‐ Glorious Year 10 group.\n\nWhen a lot of top or high officials such as undersecretary and directer-\ngeneral are produced from a group of officials who entered in the office in\nthe same year, the group producing these high officials is called 花のx年組。\n\n* * *", "comment_count": 0, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0", "creation_date": "2016-08-02T12:05:54.203", "id": "37137", "last_activity_date": "2016-08-02T20:34:46.477", "last_edit_date": "2016-08-02T20:34:46.477", "last_editor_user_id": "12056", "owner_user_id": "12056", "parent_id": "37102", "post_type": "answer", "score": 0 } ]
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{ "accepted_answer_id": null, "answer_count": 1, "body": "I have been studying Japanese for a little more than a year now,and I've been\nlearning kanji for a few months.\n\nI understand the basics about readings, but I don't really get the historic\nreason of why the Chinese readings were imported along with kanji.\n\nIf I understand correctly, back then Old Japanese was already a language by\nitself, only lacking a writing system which was imported from China.\n\nNow, I understand that maybe they took some kanji which represented things for\nwhich they didn't have a Japanese word, and thus used the Chinese sounds they\nheard.\n\nBut seeing the huge amount of compound words which use onyomi, it's impossible\nto think that none of them were used before with their native pronunciation,\nespecially since there are also a lot of words which having more that one\nkanji use kunyomi. For example, some vocabulary words I've learnt recently\nare: 大雨 ( おおあめ, kunyomi) and 小川 ( おがわ, kunyomi).But 火山 is かざん (onyomi).Maybe\nthe concept \"volcano\" didn't have a word for itself in Japanese, but why\ncreate it imitating Chinese instead of joining their native words (ひ and やま)?", "comment_count": 7, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0", "creation_date": "2016-08-01T13:54:20.997", "favorite_count": 0, "id": "37106", "last_activity_date": "2016-08-01T18:35:30.503", "last_edit_date": null, "last_editor_user_id": null, "owner_user_id": "16337", "post_type": "question", "score": 3, "tags": [ "kanji", "history", "onyomi", "old-japanese" ], "title": "Why were Chinese readings imported along with kanji?", "view_count": 511 }
[ { "body": "People didn't import kanji to assign them to Japanese words but to study\nBuddhism or to communicate with Chinese diplomats, in short, to read Chinese.\nIt's no wonder that Chinese reading was imported when they needed to read\nChinese.\n\n(As for volcano, Mt Aso or Mt Asama are a word that stands for volcano but\nthey are simultaneously a proper noun. As for Japan, \"Yamato\" domestically\nmore often meant a country in current Nara prefecture or \"Yamatai\" that is so\ncalled since Moto'ori Norinaga than the nation in the archipelago.)", "comment_count": 0, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0", "creation_date": "2016-08-01T18:35:30.503", "id": "37111", "last_activity_date": "2016-08-01T18:35:30.503", "last_edit_date": null, "last_editor_user_id": null, "owner_user_id": "4092", "parent_id": "37106", "post_type": "answer", "score": 1 } ]
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{ "accepted_answer_id": "37123", "answer_count": 2, "body": "I am trying to come up with a sentence but I am having a hard time at that :(\nI want to say the following \"look what just arrive in my home/house! I live in\nBrazil, isn't it crazy/cool to have your work going all the way to the other\nside of the world?\".\n\nJust some context in case it helps, I'm writing this to a novel writer I'm a\nfan, which happens to be very active on twitter lol(don't worry about\ncharacters tho), by now I could come up with something , but I am having\ntrouble with the \"isn't it crazy\" part. Please help me, also if the part I've\ngot so far sounds dorky, help make it better.\n\nWhat I've come up so far: 私の家に到着したものを見て。私はブラジルに住んでいます。\n\nありがとうございます。\n\nEDIT: I have gone a bit further:\n私の家に到着しましたものを見て。私はブラジル住んでいます。君の文学作品が遠くに達しましたの物はすごいね。\n\nI feel like everything but the last part is right, in the last part i was\ntrying to say \"The thing/fact of your literal work reaching so far is amazing,\nisn't it?\" Am I close, guys?", "comment_count": 2, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0", "creation_date": "2016-08-01T17:02:44.310", "favorite_count": 0, "id": "37108", "last_activity_date": "2016-08-02T01:41:08.593", "last_edit_date": "2016-08-02T00:09:21.777", "last_editor_user_id": "9831", "owner_user_id": "16104", "post_type": "question", "score": 0, "tags": [ "grammar" ], "title": "Can you help completing this sentence?", "view_count": 163 }
[ { "body": "From the given sentence - 私の家に到着したものを見て。私はブラジルに住んでいます。ありがとうございます, I guesss the\nwriter is saying \"I've read your work you sent over to me who's living far\nfrom you in Brazil. Thank you very much.\" though I'm afraid if this\ninterpretaion makes sense in English or not.\n\nBut in the same token, the quote doesn't make sense even in Japanese at all.\nIt should be rewritten to make it undertandable.", "comment_count": 0, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0", "creation_date": "2016-08-01T23:48:33.413", "id": "37122", "last_activity_date": "2016-08-02T01:41:08.593", "last_edit_date": "2016-08-02T01:41:08.593", "last_editor_user_id": "12056", "owner_user_id": "12056", "parent_id": "37108", "post_type": "answer", "score": 1 }, { "body": "> Look what just arrive in my home/house! I live in Brazil, isn't it\n> crazy/cool to have your work going all the way to the other side of the\n> world? / The thing/fact of your literal work reaching so far is amazing,\n> isn't it? \n> 私の家に到着しましたものを見て。私はブラジル住んでいます。君の文学作品が遠くに達しましたの物はすごいね。\n\nI think it'd be a bit more natural and politer if you said...\n\n> たった今私の家に到着したものを見てください!私はブラジルに住んでいますが、XX先生*の作品が{こんなに遠くまで / はるばるブラジルまで /\n> こんな遠い地球の[裏側]{うらがわ}まで}やってくるなんて、すばらしいですよね!\n\nor\n\n> 今ちょうど私の家に[着]{つ}いたものを見てください!私はブラジルに住んでいるんですが、XX先生*の作品が{こんなに遠くまで / はるばるブラジルまで\n> / こんな遠い地球の[裏側]{うらがわ}まで}[運]{はこ}ばれてくるなんて、すごいですよね!\n\n(*It would be politer to use \"family name + 先生\" to refer to the writer. I\ndon't recommend using あなた, much less 君.)", "comment_count": 6, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0", "creation_date": "2016-08-02T00:08:40.337", "id": "37123", "last_activity_date": "2016-08-02T00:18:26.853", "last_edit_date": "2016-08-02T00:18:26.853", "last_editor_user_id": "9831", "owner_user_id": "9831", "parent_id": "37108", "post_type": "answer", "score": 5 } ]
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{ "accepted_answer_id": "37127", "answer_count": 1, "body": "[Jisho](http://jisho.org/) indicates that all three of the words are common,\nand gives me the following definitions:\n\n田{た}: rice field\n\n水田{すいでん}: (water-filled) paddy field\n\n田圃{たんぼ}: paddy field; farm\n\nOther than 田圃 having the alternative meaning of \"farm\", I don't notice any\ndifferences between their meanings; As far as I am aware, rice fields and\npaddy fields are the same, and all rice fields are flooded. Are they simply\nsynonyms? If so, which one(s) are more commonly used? If not, what are the\ndifferences between their meanings?", "comment_count": 1, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0", "creation_date": "2016-08-01T20:25:31.450", "favorite_count": 0, "id": "37115", "last_activity_date": "2018-05-04T23:03:05.367", "last_edit_date": "2018-05-04T23:03:05.367", "last_editor_user_id": "5010", "owner_user_id": null, "post_type": "question", "score": 4, "tags": [ "meaning", "words", "definitions", "synonyms", "wago-and-kango" ], "title": "What are the differences between 田{た}, 水田{すいでん}, and 田圃{たんぼ}?", "view_count": 1937 }
[ { "body": "* 田圃 is usually written in 田んぼ or たんぼ, and it's the word usually used in conversations.\n * 水田 is a Sino-Japanese word (漢語), and it sounds more technical/formal, as usual. See: [Are 漢語 always more formal than 和語?](https://japanese.stackexchange.com/q/18365/5010) You will find 水田 in official documents, scientific articles, and such.\n * 田 is not a word commonly used in isolation in sentences (at least in modern standard Japanese). In most cases it appears in compound words such as 水田【すいでん】, 田園【でんえん】, 田畑【たはた】 and 田植【たう】え.\n\n**EDIT:** In some dictionaries, 水田 seems to be defined as something like \"田\nfilled with water\", as if dry 田んぼ were not 水田. IMHO you can ignore this\ndefinition and think 水田 almost always just means \"rice field\".", "comment_count": 2, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0", "creation_date": "2016-08-02T02:19:56.623", "id": "37127", "last_activity_date": "2016-08-02T04:05:39.773", "last_edit_date": "2017-04-13T12:43:43.857", "last_editor_user_id": "-1", "owner_user_id": "5010", "parent_id": "37115", "post_type": "answer", "score": 7 } ]
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{ "accepted_answer_id": null, "answer_count": 1, "body": "> 「おはよう、有地君』\n>\n> 「朝早くからすみません」\n>\n> 『 **それは構わないんだけどね** 』\n>\n> 『わざわざこんな時間に連絡をくれるなんて、なにか問題が?』\n\nWhy was んだけどね added onto the end of the sentence above?\n\nI guess my question is really, why is it それは構わないんだけどね instead of それは構わないわ or\nsomething else.", "comment_count": 1, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0", "creation_date": "2016-08-01T20:46:43.607", "favorite_count": 0, "id": "37116", "last_activity_date": "2016-09-01T14:33:26.827", "last_edit_date": null, "last_editor_user_id": null, "owner_user_id": "16345", "post_type": "question", "score": 1, "tags": [ "meaning" ], "title": "Meaning of それは構わないんだけどね", "view_count": 298 }
[ { "body": "けど adds the feeling of \"but...\" to the sentence. Sentence-end けど/が/etc is\nfairly common in Japanese. See: [けど at the end of the\nsentence?](https://japanese.stackexchange.com/q/2086/5010)\n\nIn this context, this \"but\" makes the sentence naturally connect to the\nfollowing line. He says contacting him early in the morning itself does not\nmatter, **but** he is worried if there is some problem that actually matters.\n\n> \"It's okay, **but...** \" \n> \"...contacting me at this time in the morning -- so you've got some\n> problem?\"", "comment_count": 0, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0", "creation_date": "2016-08-02T14:02:43.697", "id": "37138", "last_activity_date": "2016-08-02T14:02:43.697", "last_edit_date": "2017-04-13T12:43:44.207", "last_editor_user_id": "-1", "owner_user_id": "5010", "parent_id": "37116", "post_type": "answer", "score": 3 } ]
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{ "accepted_answer_id": "38615", "answer_count": 1, "body": "I'm familiar with the different verbs that indicate that someone or something\nwas discovered, noticed, or otherwise taken into consideration (わかる, 知る, 気付く,\n見つける, 納得する, 見出す). However I'm having trouble understanding when to use them.\n\nThe most difficult part is knowing the nuances of conveying that I found out\nabout people or events, so a few general guidelines would be much appreciated.\n\nIn particular, I can think of the following situations:\n\n\"I found out about...\"\n\n * a person, as in \"I found out about (aka came across) singer X [and consequently started listening to them]\"\n * a quality of a person, as in \"I found out that X was a painter [having known the person but not that s/he was a painter]\"\n * a preference of a person, as in \"I finally found out (I learned) he likes his coffee black [after I finally got him to tell me]\"\n * a realization, as in \"I found out (aka realized) I don't like wasabi [after finally trying it]\" or \"I found out (aka noticed) some people dislike Kyary Pamyu Pamyu\"\n * an event related to a person, as in \"I found out X got married [having known the person]\"\n * an event in general, as in \"I found out they'll demolish that building\"\n * a general fact, as in \"I found out that dogs bark\" / \"I found out that [such] is [such]\"\n * the answer to a question, as in \"I finally found out the answer to that question on the test\"\n\nThis question builds up on [this\none](https://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20160730142721AAjJh9C) on\nY!A, also asked by me. I felt I needed to better phrase the question, so here\nit is.\n\nNote, I do like wasabi.", "comment_count": 2, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0", "creation_date": "2016-08-01T21:54:20.300", "favorite_count": 0, "id": "37117", "last_activity_date": "2016-08-21T05:54:47.473", "last_edit_date": "2016-08-21T05:26:02.787", "last_editor_user_id": "7810", "owner_user_id": "17462", "post_type": "question", "score": 4, "tags": [ "translation", "word-choice", "usage" ], "title": "What are the nuances of the verb \"to find out\"?", "view_count": 3223 }
[ { "body": "You can't categorize them by _what_ you find out, there are always a lot of\noptions depending on _how_.\n\n * _\"I found out about (aka came across) singer X [and consequently started listening to them]\"_\n\n> 私はXという歌手を知った \n> 私はXという歌手に出会った \n> 私はXという歌手のことを知った _- heard by rumor rather than song_\n\n * _\"I found out that X was a painter [having known the person but not that s/he was a painter]\"_\n\n> 私はXが画家だと(いうことを)知った \n> 私はXが画家だということを突き止めた _- after investigation_\n\n * _\"I finally found out (I learned) he likes his coffee black [after I finally got him to tell me]\"_\n\n> 私はついに彼がブラックコーヒー派だということを知った \n> 私はついに彼がブラックコーヒー派だということを知りえた _- sounds like a scoop_\n\n * _\"I found out (aka realized) I don't like wasabi [after finally trying it]\"_\n\n> 私はわさびが苦手だと(いうことが)わかった \n> 私はわさびが苦手なのだと知った _- bookish, reflective_\n\n * _\"I found out (aka noticed) some people dislike Kyary Pamyu Pamyu\"_\n\n> 私はきゃりーぱみゅぱみゅが嫌いな人もいると知った \n> 私はきゃりーぱみゅぱみゅが嫌いな人もいると気づいた \n> 私はきゃりーぱみゅぱみゅが嫌いな人もいるとわかった\n\n * _\"I found out X got married [having known the person]\"_\n\n> 私はXが結婚していたことを知った\n\n * _\"I found out they'll demolish that building\"_\n\n> 私は(彼らがあの建物を取り壊す/あの建物が取り壊される)ことを知った \n> 私は(彼らがあの建物を取り壊す/あの建物が取り壊される)ことを突き止めた\n\n * _\"I found out that dogs bark\"_\n\n> 私は犬が吠えることを知った \n> 私は犬が吠えることに気づいた _- a valuable discovery_\n\n * _\"I finally found out the answer to that question on the test\"_\n\n> 私はようやくそのテストの問題の答えがわかった \n> 私はようやくそのテストの問題の答えにたどりついた _- was a long way_", "comment_count": 0, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0", "creation_date": "2016-08-21T05:54:47.473", "id": "38615", "last_activity_date": "2016-08-21T05:54:47.473", "last_edit_date": null, "last_editor_user_id": null, "owner_user_id": "7810", "parent_id": "37117", "post_type": "answer", "score": 3 } ]
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{ "accepted_answer_id": "37130", "answer_count": 2, "body": "Most of the time, I can guess correctly how to write an english\n[Gairaigo](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gairaigo) word in katakana. When I am\nmistaken, I understand the correct writing and learn from it. Some feel a bit\nodd, but with time I get used to it. I find it very interesting how the\nenglish sounds are twisted to fit in the japanese style.\n\nBut this one got me puzzled. For the word \"boyfriend\", the transliteration of\nchoice is **ボーイフレンド** , which feels _very_ awkward for me. I was expecting\n**ボイフレンド** instead, but that gets only 34 thousand hits on Google Japanese,\nwhile the former has about 8 million hits.\n\nAs a comparison, I am fine with the long vowels in the following examples:\n\n * Girl: ガール\n * Answer: アンサー\n * Ball: ボール\n * Party: パーティー\n * Elevator: エレベーター\n\n**My question is, is it just my intuition that is wrong, or is there something\nelse behind this? Maybe some sort of linguistic phenomenon such\nas[Metathesis](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metathesis_\\(linguistics\\)) or\n[Malapropism](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Malapropism)? Maybe someone\nmisspelled it at the first time and people ended up using it anyway?**\n\nIf it is just my intuition that is wrong, that would totally be a valid\nanswer, although quite embarassing... I am expecting something else for this\nspecific word because it seems weirder than usual. By the way, English is not\nmy first language (nor Japanese, of course).", "comment_count": 2, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0", "creation_date": "2016-08-01T22:19:31.647", "favorite_count": 0, "id": "37118", "last_activity_date": "2016-08-06T15:24:19.677", "last_edit_date": null, "last_editor_user_id": null, "owner_user_id": "7494", "post_type": "question", "score": 6, "tags": [ "katakana", "loanwords", "long-vowels" ], "title": "Why is \"boyfriend\" transliterated as 「ボーイフレンド 」 instead of 「ボイフレンド」?", "view_count": 1435 }
[ { "body": "There are not strict correspondences of phoneme between the original English\nwords and Katakana in Japanese. \n\nYou can often see these examples as below. \n- joy -> ジョイ (not *ジョーイ) \n- toy -> トイ (not *トーイ) \n \nSo it is no wonder you think _boy_ is written as ボイ. \n\nHowever, ボイ appears much less than ボーイ. \nThat is because ボーイ is recognized as just a Japanese word.", "comment_count": 0, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0", "creation_date": "2016-08-02T07:51:05.980", "id": "37130", "last_activity_date": "2016-08-06T14:41:50.497", "last_edit_date": "2016-08-06T14:41:50.497", "last_editor_user_id": "11654", "owner_user_id": "11654", "parent_id": "37118", "post_type": "answer", "score": 5 }, { "body": "Keep in mind that some words that you may think come from the english\nlanguage, can have been borrowed from languages like german, french, italian\nor dutch. In sweden we have lots of imported words that sound very similar in\nenglish, but that actually come from french and german roots. I'm sure there\nare plenty of similar cases in the Japanese language, where you have words\nthat have been adopted by both the japanese and english language, and they\nboth end up sounding different from the original language.", "comment_count": 0, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0", "creation_date": "2016-08-06T15:24:19.677", "id": "38267", "last_activity_date": "2016-08-06T15:24:19.677", "last_edit_date": null, "last_editor_user_id": null, "owner_user_id": "11733", "parent_id": "37118", "post_type": "answer", "score": 1 } ]
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{ "accepted_answer_id": null, "answer_count": 1, "body": "I am confused with verbs using Shimashou. At first I thought it meant to do\nsomething together (Let's do x...) because in most of the examples I heard\nthat was the case. 食べましょう。/ 歩きましょう。 Then I started to see several sentences\nwhere it was used, but it meant I will do something. Two examples would be:\n\n> 市内をぐるっと案内しましょう。 \n> その事は、確かめておきましょう.\n\nHow can I tell the difference? I will do/we will do?", "comment_count": 10, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0", "creation_date": "2016-08-02T01:24:39.047", "favorite_count": 0, "id": "37124", "last_activity_date": "2016-08-10T01:16:34.367", "last_edit_date": "2016-08-03T08:57:16.767", "last_editor_user_id": "9831", "owner_user_id": "12460", "post_type": "question", "score": 5, "tags": [ "word-usage" ], "title": "Verbs conjugated with しましょう ending", "view_count": 173 }
[ { "body": "The **ましょう** ending of verbs indicate they're conjugated in **volitional-\nform** which is a form that **implies the will or intention of the speaker to\ndo something** , although this is commonly translated as \"let's...\" it is not\nthe correct translation for all cases. We can see for example:\n\n> 発表を始めましょう。\n>\n> **Translation 1:** Let's begin the exposition.\n>\n> **Translation 2:** I'll begin the exposition (now).\n\nHere we see that there are more than one possible translation depending on the\ncontext of the sentence. In 1 the speaker was probably among his colleagues\nand told them to begin the exposition. In 2 the speaker stated what he was\nabout to do (stressing his will to do so).", "comment_count": 0, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0", "creation_date": "2016-08-09T18:05:37.107", "id": "38344", "last_activity_date": "2016-08-10T01:16:34.367", "last_edit_date": "2016-08-10T01:16:34.367", "last_editor_user_id": "9831", "owner_user_id": "17378", "parent_id": "37124", "post_type": "answer", "score": 2 } ]
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{ "accepted_answer_id": null, "answer_count": 2, "body": "What is the difference between それならいい and それならいいんですが?\n\nI'm guessing that the んですが implies some sort of unsaid reservation or concern.", "comment_count": 0, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0", "creation_date": "2016-08-02T06:51:18.897", "favorite_count": 0, "id": "37128", "last_activity_date": "2016-08-02T15:32:41.747", "last_edit_date": null, "last_editor_user_id": null, "owner_user_id": "16345", "post_type": "question", "score": 0, "tags": [ "grammar", "meaning" ], "title": "What's the difference between それならいい and それならいいんですが", "view_count": 234 }
[ { "body": "それならいい is like the answer of 'それならいいんですが?', meaning that's is ok/acceptable.\n\nそれならいいんですが? is asking if that is ok.\n\nですが is a word to identify is informing the others.\n\nHope this may help.", "comment_count": 0, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0", "creation_date": "2016-08-02T09:41:39.007", "id": "37133", "last_activity_date": "2016-08-02T10:05:11.453", "last_edit_date": "2016-08-02T10:05:11.453", "last_editor_user_id": "11104", "owner_user_id": "16353", "parent_id": "37128", "post_type": "answer", "score": -3 }, { "body": "んです is a colloquial saying of のです. A dictionary says のです indicates predication\nwhich emphasizes a reason.\n\nI think this が is used when you hover on saying something definitely. For\nexample, こっちの方が良いと思うが, あなたは悪くないと思うが.\n<http://dictionary.goo.ne.jp/jn/34931/meaning/m0u/%E3%81%8C/>\n\nSo それならいいんですが indicate you hover on saying それならいいんです definitely.", "comment_count": 0, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0", "creation_date": "2016-08-02T15:23:29.793", "id": "37140", "last_activity_date": "2016-08-02T15:32:41.747", "last_edit_date": "2016-08-02T15:32:41.747", "last_editor_user_id": "7320", "owner_user_id": "7320", "parent_id": "37128", "post_type": "answer", "score": 0 } ]
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{ "accepted_answer_id": null, "answer_count": 1, "body": "I overheard Japanese people talking about what school to put their kids in,\nand they kept talking about what places are 民度低い, then the discussion switched\nto whether most fat people are 民度低い or not. I did not even know the term\napplied to people as well, but it seems that [it does\nindeed](http://hayabusa6.2ch.net/test/read.cgi/tennis/1444394364?v=pc).\n\nWhile the meaning slowly becomes obvious to people who hear it all the time,\nhow would you explain it to a kid who has never heard the term?\n\nObjectively, on what criteria do people usually tell whether a place or person\nis 民度低い ?\n\nI am aware that different people use different criteria, but I am interested\nin knowing what are the most often-used criteria.", "comment_count": 2, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0", "creation_date": "2016-08-02T06:52:49.340", "favorite_count": 0, "id": "37129", "last_activity_date": "2016-08-02T10:40:49.433", "last_edit_date": null, "last_editor_user_id": null, "owner_user_id": "107", "post_type": "question", "score": 2, "tags": [ "words", "expressions" ], "title": "Meaning of 民度低い", "view_count": 278 }
[ { "body": "As you can see in [this 知恵袋\nquestion](http://detail.chiebukuro.yahoo.co.jp/qa/question_detail/q1012556360),\nthere is no strict definition everyone can agree with. I would say 民度(が)低い is\na vague derogatory term which can be used for anything that the speaker think\nis \"morally bad/unsophisticated\". I haven heard no one say 民度高い to praise\nsomeone.\n\nI personally don't like using this term because it's too abstract while\nsounding clearly dirty. Maybe 民度低い can be regarded as a milder and euphemistic\nversion of \"monkey\".\n\nSome typical 民度低い behavior include:\n\n * being so-called a [monster parent](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monster_parents)\n * smoking in public\n * being noisy in trains\n * failing to wait neatly in lines\n\n民度低い[場所] simply refers to a place where there are many such people.", "comment_count": 2, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0", "creation_date": "2016-08-02T10:40:49.433", "id": "37135", "last_activity_date": "2016-08-02T10:40:49.433", "last_edit_date": null, "last_editor_user_id": null, "owner_user_id": "5010", "parent_id": "37129", "post_type": "answer", "score": 1 } ]
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{ "accepted_answer_id": "37134", "answer_count": 1, "body": "In Unicode, there are many characters named like \"SQUARE APAATO\" which look\nlike this ㌀ - a number of katakana characters arranged in a square.\n\nThe full list is here:\n<http://www.fileformat.info/info/unicode/block/cjk_compatibility/images.htm>\n\nWhy do these characters exist, and how are they used? It feels like some of\nthem are currency signs (doru, koruna) but I have no idea about the rest.", "comment_count": 1, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0", "creation_date": "2016-08-02T08:49:24.153", "favorite_count": 0, "id": "37132", "last_activity_date": "2016-08-02T10:06:00.507", "last_edit_date": null, "last_editor_user_id": null, "owner_user_id": "12243", "post_type": "question", "score": 5, "tags": [ "katakana", "computing" ], "title": "Why does Unicode have code points for MANSYON, APAATO and such?", "view_count": 272 }
[ { "body": "These are called\n[組文字](https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E7%B5%84%E6%96%87%E5%AD%97), whose main\npurpose is to save space. Certain words such as アパート (=\"apartment building\"),\n株式会社 (=\"co. ltd.\") appear in address books so often that publishing firms had\nspecial movable types with tiny fonts for them. Some common combinations were\nadopted in the JIS standard, on which Unicode was based.\n\n組文字 might have been relatively common until 40 years ago or so, but recently\nthis custom has become rarer. You don't usually have to use them yourself. But\nyou may find some 組文字 for units (㌫, ㌕, etc) still in use in newspapers and\nmagazines.\n\nOne similar example is 分注【ぶんちゅう】 or\n[割注【わりちゅう】](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Warichu), which is similar in\npurpose to \"footnotes\". You may find 割注 if you buy an old book published in\n1960's or so. Recent good DTP software [still support\nthis](https://helpx.adobe.com/jp/incopy/using/composing-cjk-\ncharacters.html#WSa285fff53dea4f8617383751001ea8cb3f-6e49a).", "comment_count": 0, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0", "creation_date": "2016-08-02T10:06:00.507", "id": "37134", "last_activity_date": "2016-08-02T10:06:00.507", "last_edit_date": null, "last_editor_user_id": null, "owner_user_id": "5010", "parent_id": "37132", "post_type": "answer", "score": 6 } ]
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{ "accepted_answer_id": "37165", "answer_count": 2, "body": "> 同じ人が書き込んでいないか\n\nI think it means something like\n\n> Didn't the same person make this post (bulletin board)\n\nI'm not sure however. What do you think ?", "comment_count": 0, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0", "creation_date": "2016-08-02T11:00:28.407", "favorite_count": 0, "id": "37136", "last_activity_date": "2016-08-03T05:17:58.633", "last_edit_date": "2016-08-02T11:11:55.253", "last_editor_user_id": "11104", "owner_user_id": "16352", "post_type": "question", "score": 2, "tags": [ "meaning", "parsing" ], "title": "What does いないか mean in this sentence?", "view_count": 530 }
[ { "body": "This is the negative form of [progressive\ntense](http://www.guidetojapanese.org/learn/complete/progressive_tense) plus\nthe question marker か.\n\nIt represents that it is in the state of 書き込む (being posted/being written).\n\nI think your translation is good :).", "comment_count": 0, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0", "creation_date": "2016-08-02T16:41:50.510", "id": "37147", "last_activity_date": "2016-08-02T16:41:50.510", "last_edit_date": null, "last_editor_user_id": null, "owner_user_id": "3916", "parent_id": "37136", "post_type": "answer", "score": 0 }, { "body": "いないか can't make sense by itself, unless combined with previous 書き込んで to mean\nits progressive or result (\"is not posting\" or \"(has) not posted\") followed by\nか.\n\nか is a question particle, but I guess here it's used as indirect question\n\"whether --\". English has only one word \"whether\", but Japanese has two\noptions using positive + か or negative + か. The difference is somewhat like\nthat of \"Do -- ?\" and \"Don't -- ?\" were carried into indirect question form;\nthe positive + か expects the positive case is more frequent or typical, and\nthe same applies to the negative. Usually the difference can hardly go beyond\nsubjective nuance, but in specific cases it becomes crucial:\n\n> 書き込む人がいるか心配だ _I worry how many people would make posts_ (wishing for post) \n> 書き込む人がいないか心配だ _I worry lest somebody should make posts_ (afraid of post)\n\nSo translation would be (depending on context):\n\n> whether (perhaps) the same person is posting \n> lest the same person should be posting", "comment_count": 0, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0", "creation_date": "2016-08-03T05:17:58.633", "id": "37165", "last_activity_date": "2016-08-03T05:17:58.633", "last_edit_date": null, "last_editor_user_id": null, "owner_user_id": "7810", "parent_id": "37136", "post_type": "answer", "score": 1 } ]
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{ "accepted_answer_id": "37141", "answer_count": 2, "body": "> 水着で密着されて無反応で **いられるかっ**\n\nI roughly translated to\n\n\"Having the swimsuit stuck so close, there's no way you don't have a reaction\"\n\nWhat does いられるかっ mean in this sentence? Any ideas?", "comment_count": 0, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0", "creation_date": "2016-08-02T15:02:54.903", "favorite_count": 0, "id": "37139", "last_activity_date": "2016-08-03T19:54:37.533", "last_edit_date": "2016-08-03T19:54:37.533", "last_editor_user_id": null, "owner_user_id": "16352", "post_type": "question", "score": 1, "tags": [ "meaning", "potential-form", "parsing" ], "title": "What does いられるかっ mean in this sentence?", "view_count": 330 }
[ { "body": "I imagine the speaker is a man. He's saying \"I can't stay clam/cool if she\n(who is in swimsuit) gets so close to me.\"\n\n無反応でいられるかっ means \"how can I stay cool?\"", "comment_count": 0, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0", "creation_date": "2016-08-02T15:59:56.770", "id": "37141", "last_activity_date": "2016-08-02T15:59:56.770", "last_edit_date": null, "last_editor_user_id": null, "owner_user_id": "4226", "parent_id": "37139", "post_type": "answer", "score": 1 }, { "body": "[いられる](http://ejje.weblio.jp/content/%E3%81%84%E3%82%89%E3%82%8C%E3%82%8B) is\nthe potential form of いる (to be/to exist) and か is the question marker.\n\nSo the _____ + いられるか portion means, \"how can I be ______\".", "comment_count": 1, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0", "creation_date": "2016-08-02T16:37:57.290", "id": "37146", "last_activity_date": "2016-08-03T19:53:56.110", "last_edit_date": "2016-08-03T19:53:56.110", "last_editor_user_id": null, "owner_user_id": "3916", "parent_id": "37139", "post_type": "answer", "score": 2 } ]
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{ "accepted_answer_id": "37153", "answer_count": 1, "body": "There's an island called Bainbridge Island near me. I'm wondering if it would\nmake sense to translate \"Island\" as 島, or if it would be better to translate\nit to katakana directly. Which is the better translation or should it differ\nbased on the context? ベインブリッジアイランド or ベインブリッジ島.", "comment_count": 0, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0", "creation_date": "2016-08-02T18:12:58.673", "favorite_count": 0, "id": "37148", "last_activity_date": "2016-08-02T21:35:58.363", "last_edit_date": null, "last_editor_user_id": null, "owner_user_id": "11631", "post_type": "question", "score": 2, "tags": [ "translation", "words" ], "title": "アイランド or 島 when translating an island name from English?", "view_count": 330 }
[ { "body": "Net searching shows that both are used.\n\nThe Wikipedia entry quoted below suggests that the name of the island is\nベインブリッジ島, and the name of the city (or town) is ベインブリッジアイランド.\n\n<https://www.google.co.jp/#q=%E3%83%99%E3%82%A4%E3%83%B3%E3%83%96%E3%83%AA%E3%83%83%E3%82%B8%E5%B3%B6>\n\n * ベインブリッジ島の人気観光スポット ランキング 10選 - TripAdvisor\n\n * Go Feisty – 日帰りで楽しむベインブリッジ島\n\n> ベインブリッジアイランド (ワシントン州) - Wikipedia \n>\n> [https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/ベインブリッジアイランド_(ワシントン州)](https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E3%83%99%E3%82%A4%E3%83%B3%E3%83%96%E3%83%AA%E3%83%83%E3%82%B8%E3%82%A2%E3%82%A4%E3%83%A9%E3%83%B3%E3%83%89_\\(%E3%83%AF%E3%82%B7%E3%83%B3%E3%83%88%E3%83%B3%E5%B7%9E\\))\n>\n> ベインブリッジアイランド (Bainbridge Island)\n> は、アメリカ合衆国ワシントン州キットサップ郡にある都市。ピュージェット湾に浮かぶ同名の島(ベインブリッジ島)を範囲とする自治体である。2010年国勢調査によると、人口は23,025人である。", "comment_count": 0, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0", "creation_date": "2016-08-02T21:35:58.363", "id": "37153", "last_activity_date": "2016-08-02T21:35:58.363", "last_edit_date": "2020-06-17T08:18:27.500", "last_editor_user_id": "-1", "owner_user_id": "16344", "parent_id": "37148", "post_type": "answer", "score": 2 } ]
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{ "accepted_answer_id": null, "answer_count": 2, "body": "> 「朝武さんが寝ぼけてるだけなんですってば」\n>\n> 「ほら、朝に弱いから部屋を間違えて」\n>\n> 「いくら寝起きが弱いと言っても、部屋を間違えたりするものか?」\n>\n> 「もし仮に間違えたとしても、そんなに密着したりしますか?」\n>\n> 「やっぱ、この状況じゃ何を言っても説得力にかけるよな……」\n>\n> **自分でもわかってはいるんだが……** 。\n\nContext: 朝武さん was found sleeping in his room right next to him.\n\nWhat does 自分でもわかってはいるんだが mean in the above?\n\nOr rather, what is he saying he \"Understands\"?\n\nIs he saying the he understood that no matter what excuse he tried to make\nthey wouldn't buy it, but he tried anyway?\n\nOr does it mean something else?", "comment_count": 1, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0", "creation_date": "2016-08-02T20:45:49.673", "favorite_count": 0, "id": "37152", "last_activity_date": "2016-08-09T09:54:02.147", "last_edit_date": null, "last_editor_user_id": null, "owner_user_id": "16357", "post_type": "question", "score": 1, "tags": [ "grammar", "meaning" ], "title": "Meaning of 自分でもわかってはいるんだが", "view_count": 459 }
[ { "body": "> He understands the \"bad situation\" he is in currently, but...\n\nhe needs to come up with an excuse to convince other people that he is\ninnocent/ did not do it on purpose, with something better than \"weak/ bad at\ngetting up early in the morning, therefore sleepwalking... etc.\"\n\nIt is either \"bad situation\", or \"bad excuses\" that he is currently thinking.\n\nThis is just my thought based on those lines.", "comment_count": 0, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0", "creation_date": "2016-08-03T03:43:47.513", "id": "37162", "last_activity_date": "2016-08-03T03:43:47.513", "last_edit_date": null, "last_editor_user_id": null, "owner_user_id": "16268", "parent_id": "37152", "post_type": "answer", "score": 0 }, { "body": "Suppose 朝武さん made a mistake and felt embarrassed, so naturally he is trying to\ncome up with excuses why he did it or why it happened. However he knows he\nwill not be able to find a good excuse. However still he is trying to find an\nexcuse because it is embarrassing or he cannot just let it go.\n\nAnother situation when 自分でもわかってはいるんだが can be used.\n\nI have been trying to pass the bar exam to be a lawyer for 5 years now. My\nfamily, friends, colleagues all say it is time to give up and find another\nprofession. I know it too that there is only slim chance I can pass even if I\nkeep trying. However, I have invested so much time. I do not know how I can\nfind another profession. Others may ridicule me if I give up.\n\n自分でも司法試験に通る可能性は低いと分かっているのだが、諦められない、ここで止められない。\n\nIn such a situation where odds are against you and you know it, then you would\nuse the expression if you still try because you are so invested or obsessed or\nhave some reason of not being able to stop.", "comment_count": 0, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0", "creation_date": "2016-08-09T09:46:39.890", "id": "38334", "last_activity_date": "2016-08-09T09:54:02.147", "last_edit_date": "2016-08-09T09:54:02.147", "last_editor_user_id": "9135", "owner_user_id": "9135", "parent_id": "37152", "post_type": "answer", "score": 1 } ]
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{ "accepted_answer_id": "37159", "answer_count": 1, "body": "For example when I say\n\n> 彼は本を **一冊** 持っています\n\nvs\n\n> 彼は **一冊の** 本を持っています\n\nWhich is more natural?. the first one seems more correct to me but I don't\nreally know why or...maybe I'm wrong.", "comment_count": 2, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0", "creation_date": "2016-08-02T22:20:34.820", "favorite_count": 0, "id": "37154", "last_activity_date": "2016-08-03T02:31:09.263", "last_edit_date": "2016-08-02T23:08:51.707", "last_editor_user_id": null, "owner_user_id": "14513", "post_type": "question", "score": 1, "tags": [ "grammar", "quantifiers" ], "title": "what is the proper way to use 一冊?", "view_count": 298 }
[ { "body": "Both are natural and correct. But there is a subtle difference.\n\n> 彼は本を一冊持っています。\n\nThis is a very plain expression, just describing a situation or a fact.\n\n> 彼は一冊の本を持っています。\n\nThis sounds like a beginning of a story. The emphasis is on 一冊の本 which is a\nsomething to be explained later, like\n\n> 彼は一冊の本を持っています。彼のおばあさんからもらった本です。", "comment_count": 4, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0", "creation_date": "2016-08-03T02:31:09.263", "id": "37159", "last_activity_date": "2016-08-03T02:31:09.263", "last_edit_date": null, "last_editor_user_id": null, "owner_user_id": "16065", "parent_id": "37154", "post_type": "answer", "score": 0 } ]
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{ "accepted_answer_id": null, "answer_count": 1, "body": "If one wanted to say >subject+better+verb, how would you say that. Would ほうがいい\nwork?", "comment_count": 3, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0", "creation_date": "2016-08-03T01:55:56.893", "favorite_count": 0, "id": "37157", "last_activity_date": "2016-08-03T03:31:50.310", "last_edit_date": null, "last_editor_user_id": null, "owner_user_id": "16147", "post_type": "question", "score": 1, "tags": [ "grammar", "syntax" ], "title": "How to say \"better+verb\"", "view_count": 2557 }
[ { "body": "Several options, depending on your needs:\n\n 1. ~たほうがいい: better to do this (rather than to do that)\n 2. ~する+べき: should do this (aka better do this )\n 3. ~ればいい: if you do this, it would be good/better\n 4. ~れば幸い: I would be happy if you can do this ( for me )", "comment_count": 1, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0", "creation_date": "2016-08-03T03:31:50.310", "id": "37161", "last_activity_date": "2016-08-03T03:31:50.310", "last_edit_date": null, "last_editor_user_id": null, "owner_user_id": "16268", "parent_id": "37157", "post_type": "answer", "score": 3 } ]
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{ "accepted_answer_id": null, "answer_count": 1, "body": "I'm very confused about these two grammar points. The 新完全マスターN2 book doesn't\nexplain about the type of verbs which may precede these two points, and I\ndon't understand why some of the answers in the book are the right or wrong.\n\nSome sources online say that only Sino-Japanese verbs or honorific language\nmay be used with them, yet an example in the book says 発音を調べる際に… If this is\nokay, then I don't know why for one of the questions お食事の際は…is correct but\nご飯を食べる際は… is unacceptable.\n\nCan someone please explain any restrictions in usage. I understand that it is\nofficial language and not used in everyday speech, but is it true that only\nSino-Japanese verbs can be used?", "comment_count": 0, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0", "creation_date": "2016-08-03T02:13:15.323", "favorite_count": 0, "id": "37158", "last_activity_date": "2016-08-03T06:35:51.743", "last_edit_date": null, "last_editor_user_id": null, "owner_user_id": "7953", "post_type": "question", "score": 7, "tags": [ "grammar" ], "title": "~際に and ~に際して grammar", "view_count": 4147 }
[ { "body": "~際【さい】 is only a more formal (business-like) variant of ~時 and ~折【おり】, thus 「A\n際(に/は)B」 just means \"B when A\" or \"B on the occasion of A\".\n\nOn the contrary, 「A に際して B」 is more like \"B taking A as an oppotunity\",\nsynonymous with ~にあたり. Compared to 際:\n\n * _A_ isn't necessary to be exact when _B_ happens\n\n> 初めてのご利用 **の際に** ご注意申し上げます。 (I'll warn you when you start to use) \n> 初めてのご利用 **に際して** ご注意申し上げます。 (Maybe you don't use right now but I warn you\n> now)\n>\n> 来年アニメ100周年を迎える **際に** 展示を行う。 (the exhibit is in next year) \n> 来年アニメ100周年を迎える **に際して** 展示を行う。 (the exhibit can be this year)\n\n * _B_ is something special, intended action \n\n> ○ 帰国の **際に** パスポートを失くした。 \n> × 帰国 **に際して** パスポートを失くした。\n\n * _A_ should not happen before _B_ , never takes past form\n\n> ○ アメリカに行った **際に** \n> × アメリカに行った **に際して**\n>\n> × 昨年の地震 **に際して** 慰霊式を執り行った。\n\nAs for お食事の際は and ご飯を食べる際は, I don't know what exactly they say, but generally\nthey have different meanings that sometimes not interchangeable, irrelevant to\n際. 食事 is for \"having meal\" and ご飯を食べる refers to the act of \"eating food\".\n\n> _I understand that it is official language and not used in everyday speech,\n> but is it true that only Sino-Japanese verbs can be used?_\n\nNo. Although we prefer same word origin rule when building compound nouns\n(一組【ひとくみ】 vs 一式【いっしき】 vs ワンセット), but it's rather for the sake of euphony.\nJapanese doesn't have agreement on etymology among separate words, though it's\ntrue that Sino-Japanese words are often more formal than native words, and you\nshould pick formal words throughout formal style of speech.", "comment_count": 0, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0", "creation_date": "2016-08-03T06:35:51.743", "id": "37169", "last_activity_date": "2016-08-03T06:35:51.743", "last_edit_date": null, "last_editor_user_id": null, "owner_user_id": "7810", "parent_id": "37158", "post_type": "answer", "score": 7 } ]
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{ "accepted_answer_id": null, "answer_count": 2, "body": "I am required to represent my university with an introductory speech to our\nJapanese Exchange students. I would like to express at one point that my\nJapanese, though I may appear to speak it well in this speech, is limited, and\nas such could they please limit their questions to * examples of questions\nrelevant to their tour *\n\nAny assistance anyone could provide would be greatly appreciated.\n\nKind Regards.", "comment_count": 2, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0", "creation_date": "2016-08-03T03:09:01.913", "favorite_count": 0, "id": "37160", "last_activity_date": "2016-08-03T09:20:18.717", "last_edit_date": "2016-08-03T03:15:50.913", "last_editor_user_id": "16359", "owner_user_id": "16359", "post_type": "question", "score": 0, "tags": [ "questions", "formality" ], "title": "How do I ask someone to limit the scope of their questions?", "view_count": 100 }
[ { "body": "Here's what I would say in Japanese.\n\n[私]{watashi} [は]{wa} [日本語]{nihongo}\n[は]{wa}[あまり]{amari}[話せない]{hanasenai}[の]{no}[で]{de}、[質問]{shitumon}[に]{ni}[は]{wa}[うまく]{umaku}[答えられない]{kotaerarenai}[かもしれません]{kamoshiremasen}。\n\n= My Japanese is limited so I'm afraid I won't be able to answer your\nquestions.", "comment_count": 1, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0", "creation_date": "2016-08-03T04:50:43.630", "id": "37163", "last_activity_date": "2016-08-03T09:20:18.717", "last_edit_date": "2016-08-03T09:20:18.717", "last_editor_user_id": "4091", "owner_user_id": null, "parent_id": "37160", "post_type": "answer", "score": 0 }, { "body": "\"Could you please limit (the scope of) your questions to * examples of\nquestions relevant to their tour *?\"\n\nHow about...\n\n> * ご質問は、(examples of questions) (など)といったものに{[限]{かぎ}らせて /\n> [限定]{げんてい}させて}{いただきます / いただきたいと思います}。\n> * ご質問は、(examples of questions) (など)といったものの{[範囲]{はんい}で /\n> [範囲内]{はんいない}で}{お願いします / お願いいたします}。\n> * (examples of questions) といったご質問のみ[受付]{うけつ}けさせて{いただきます/ いただきたいと思います}。\n>", "comment_count": 0, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0", "creation_date": "2016-08-03T05:12:08.857", "id": "37164", "last_activity_date": "2016-08-03T05:18:11.717", "last_edit_date": "2016-08-03T05:18:11.717", "last_editor_user_id": "9831", "owner_user_id": "9831", "parent_id": "37160", "post_type": "answer", "score": 3 } ]
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{ "accepted_answer_id": "37177", "answer_count": 1, "body": "I sometimes see と apparently being used as a verb prefix, e.g.:\n\n> もう、とぼけないでよ。\n>\n> Stop joking around.\n\nCan somebody explain what the と does in cases like this?", "comment_count": 2, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0", "creation_date": "2016-08-03T06:30:13.273", "favorite_count": 0, "id": "37168", "last_activity_date": "2016-08-03T14:44:28.317", "last_edit_date": "2020-06-17T08:18:27.500", "last_editor_user_id": "-1", "owner_user_id": "16361", "post_type": "question", "score": 2, "tags": [ "verbs", "etymology", "prefixes" ], "title": "と prefixing a verb?", "view_count": 122 }
[ { "body": "An ordinary Japanese learner should probably memorize とぼける and ぼける as two\ntotally different verbs.\n\n * とぼける: to play dumb; to feign ignorance; to play innocent\n * ぼける: to play stupid (as a joke); to develop dementia\n\nThey seem to be etymologically related, but even native speakers do not regard\nthis と as a prefix.\n\nEtymologically, according to [this article](http://gogen-\nallguide.com/to/tobokeru.html) and [this\nquestion](http://detail.chiebukuro.yahoo.co.jp/qa/question_detail/q1413926839),\nthis と seems to be a rare prefix that somehow emphasizes the original verb.\nUnfortunately I cannot think of another example of と in this sense. But\n[ど/ド](https://japanese.stackexchange.com/q/4435/5010) is a common prefix used\nto emphasize the following word.", "comment_count": 2, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0", "creation_date": "2016-08-03T14:33:24.890", "id": "37177", "last_activity_date": "2016-08-03T14:44:28.317", "last_edit_date": "2017-04-13T12:43:44.863", "last_editor_user_id": "-1", "owner_user_id": "5010", "parent_id": "37168", "post_type": "answer", "score": 4 } ]
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{ "accepted_answer_id": "37176", "answer_count": 1, "body": "Came across the honorific -たん in Re:Zero (episode 4, 6 minutes in):\n\n> You saved me, didn't you, Emilia-tan?\n\n**Does anyone know what it means?**\n\nThe protagonist who said it clearly likes the female lead he addressed, but he\nalso doesn't believe that anything is real. When she asks him what it means,\nhe says:\n\n> Uh, you can just ignore that one.", "comment_count": 0, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0", "creation_date": "2016-08-03T08:52:09.333", "favorite_count": 0, "id": "37172", "last_activity_date": "2016-08-03T14:10:29.090", "last_edit_date": null, "last_editor_user_id": null, "owner_user_id": "10796", "post_type": "question", "score": 4, "tags": [ "honorifics" ], "title": "-たん (-tan) suffix (honorific) meaning?", "view_count": 25129 }
[ { "body": "-たん is a lisped version of -ちゃん. It's probably the most cute-sounding, casual name suffix in Japanese. There are many fictional (usually female) characters who are always called with -たん.\n\n * [OS-tan](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/OS-tan) (oh, this article has [an explanation for -tan](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/OS-tan#Tan_suffix), too)\n * [Binchō-tan](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Binch%C5%8D-tan_\\(manga\\))\n\nYou should never use -たん in business settings even though it may be\ngrammatically classified as an \"honorific suffix\".\n\nCalling someone with -たん is one of the ways to show one's sense of\nintimacy/affection toward someone (like \"honey\" or \"sweetie\" in English), or\nto tease someone as if she were a child.", "comment_count": 0, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0", "creation_date": "2016-08-03T14:10:29.090", "id": "37176", "last_activity_date": "2016-08-03T14:10:29.090", "last_edit_date": null, "last_editor_user_id": null, "owner_user_id": "5010", "parent_id": "37172", "post_type": "answer", "score": 6 } ]
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{ "accepted_answer_id": "37178", "answer_count": 2, "body": "I was surprised to learn that 飯 has the reading いい such as in 飯{いい}田{だ}橋{ばし},\nand this is also [listed as an\n\"archaicism\"](http://jisho.org/word/%E9%A3%AF-2) in my dictionary. I know this\nkanji has the more usual kun-yomi めし (and on-yomi はん), but what is the\netymology of this alternate reading? In particular, is it originally a native\nJapanese word (Yamato kotoba)?", "comment_count": 0, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0", "creation_date": "2016-08-03T12:07:24.870", "favorite_count": 0, "id": "37174", "last_activity_date": "2016-08-12T22:24:12.833", "last_edit_date": null, "last_editor_user_id": null, "owner_user_id": "13886", "post_type": "question", "score": 1, "tags": [ "etymology" ], "title": "Etymology of いい reading of 飯", "view_count": 238 }
[ { "body": "Yes, い[ひ]{い} is indeed a yamato kotoba which can be found in\n[万葉集](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Man%27y%C5%8Dsh%C5%AB). From\n[学研全訳古語辞典](http://kobun.weblio.jp/content/%E9%A3%AF):\n\n> いひ 【飯】 名詞 飯(めし)。\n>\n\n>> 出典 万葉集 一四二 「家にあれば笥(け)に盛るいひを」 [訳] ⇒いへにあれば…。\n\nいひ is even older than めし. めし gradually replaced いひ around the Muromachi\nperiod, according to [this page](http://gogen-allguide.com/me/meshi.html).", "comment_count": 2, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0", "creation_date": "2016-08-03T14:43:53.787", "id": "37178", "last_activity_date": "2016-08-03T14:43:53.787", "last_edit_date": null, "last_editor_user_id": null, "owner_user_id": "5010", "parent_id": "37174", "post_type": "answer", "score": 2 }, { "body": "## Origins of the _ii_ reading\n\n### A native origin?\n\nThis appears as _ihi_ in historical hiragana renderings (i.e. using kana\nspellings from before the Post-WWII spelling reforms), likely realized in\nancient times as _ipi_.\n\nDigging around, this is a bit of an odd one. There are not many ancient\nnative-Japanese words ( _Yamato kotoba_ ) that have this phonetic structure.\n`[VOWEL]` + `/pi/` could suggest a verbal derivation, but the only verb\n`/ipu/` is the root of modern 言{い}う, and that doesn't fit.\n\nIt could be a native term that's just a little odd.\n\n### An ancient nativized borrowing?\n\nI have bumped into interesting suggestions that this might not be a _Yamato\nkotoba_ after all.\n\nThe older meaning of 飯 with the `/ipi/` reading appears to be the more generic\nsense _\"grain\"_ , rather than specifically _\"rice\"_.\n\nWe know from archaeology that the [Yayoi\nsettlers](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yayoi_period) who crossed over to the\nJapanese archipelago from the mainland were also grain farmers. The geographic\norigins are a bit murky, but be it modern Jiangsu Province or somewhere in\nManchuria, these pre-Yayoi people would probably have had contact with Chinese\nspeakers, and trade activities could lead to the borrowing of a few relevant\nwords.\n\nIn Middle Chinese, 粒 _\"grain\"_ was pronounced as `/liɪp̚/`, which we also see\nevidenced in now-obsolete Korean hanja reading [립]{rip}. It seems that Old\nJapanese (and probably prehistoric Japanese) did not allow native words to\nbegin with `/r/` (see quote and link in [this other JSE\nthread](https://japanese.stackexchange.com/questions/15449/etymology-\nof-%E5%AE%B5-%E3%82%88%E3%81%84#answer-15906)). If Middle Chinese `/liɪp̚/`\nwere imported into prehistoric Japanese, it may well have nativized as `/ipi/`\nrather than the `/ritu/` form we see for the later borrowing of 立 with a\nsimilar MK reading of `/liɪp̚/`.\n\nAnd given the nearly-millenia-long Japanese propensity for applying kanji\nspellings in creative ways to write words with related meanings but different\nreadings, it is not much of a stretch to find the 飯 character with a Chinese\nmeaning of _\"food, cooked rice\"_ used for the `/ipi/` _\"grain\"_ sense.\n\nNote that this is all **very** circumstantial.\n\n## Side note: Origins of the _meshi_ reading\n\nIt bears noting that the _kun'yomi_ of めし is the 連用形{れんようけい} or continuative\nform of verb 召{め}す. This started out as an honorific for 見{み}る, using the _-e_\nvowel stem + ancient honorific verb ending す (which interestingly has\nparallels with the _-si-_ or _-se-_ honorific verb infix in Korean). Over\ntime, and through various evolutions of usage and meaning, this verb _mesu_\ngained a sense of _\"to put into or onto the body\"_ → _\"to eat; to drink; to\nwear\"_. The _\"eat\"_ sense is already apparent in the\n[_Man'yōshū_](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Man%27y%C5%8Dsh%C5%AB) in [poem\n3853](http://jti.lib.virginia.edu/japanese/manyoshu/Man16Yo.html#3853), which\nspells out the imperative form 召{め}せ in phonetic\n[_man'yōgana_](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Man%27y%C5%8Dgana) as 賣{め}世{せ}.", "comment_count": 0, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0", "creation_date": "2016-08-12T22:24:12.833", "id": "38437", "last_activity_date": "2016-08-12T22:24:12.833", "last_edit_date": "2017-04-13T12:43:44.863", "last_editor_user_id": "-1", "owner_user_id": "5229", "parent_id": "37174", "post_type": "answer", "score": 1 } ]
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{ "accepted_answer_id": "38189", "answer_count": 1, "body": "I noticed that there are many words that can translate to \"stomach\" in\nJapanese, including:\n\n胃{い}・胃{い}袋{ぶくろ}・お腹{なか}・腹{はら}・胃{い}の腑{ふ}・胃{い}腸{ちょう}\n\nWhat is the difference between these, and how do I know which is proper to use\nin any situation?\n\nAlso, my gut feeling (no pun intended!) is that お腹 is polite and used when\ntalking about hunger, 腹 is more like \"belly\" (more general than \"stomach\"),\nand 胃腸 is medical/academic. Is that correct?", "comment_count": 0, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0", "creation_date": "2016-08-03T12:18:50.177", "favorite_count": 0, "id": "37175", "last_activity_date": "2016-08-04T05:41:58.827", "last_edit_date": null, "last_editor_user_id": null, "owner_user_id": "13886", "post_type": "question", "score": 9, "tags": [ "word-choice", "words", "synonyms" ], "title": "Words for \"stomach\" (お腹、胃袋、etc.)", "view_count": 4648 }
[ { "body": "* **胃** : A digestive organ located between the esophagus and the duodenum. English \"stomach\" refers to both this specific organ and the abdomen, but you should make clear distinction in Japanese.\n * **胃袋** : A more casual word for 胃. Not used in formal/medical documents.\n * **腹** : Abdomen.\n * **お腹** : Abdomen. Sounds more mild and politer than 腹.\n * **腹部【ふくぶ】** : Abdominal area. (formal and/or technical, safely used in medical contexts)\n * **胃の腑** : Very rare. You may find this in certain uncommon idioms.\n * **胃腸** : Stomach and intestine (vaguely referring to the digestive system). It's a vague (and non-academic) word typically heard in ads and TV variety shows. In medical contexts, more academic terms such as 上部【じょうぶ】消化管【しょうかかん】 (\"upper gastrointestinal tract\") are preferred.", "comment_count": 0, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0", "creation_date": "2016-08-04T05:36:24.030", "id": "38189", "last_activity_date": "2016-08-04T05:41:58.827", "last_edit_date": "2016-08-04T05:41:58.827", "last_editor_user_id": "5010", "owner_user_id": "5010", "parent_id": "37175", "post_type": "answer", "score": 10 } ]
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