question dict | answers list | id stringlengths 1 6 | accepted_answer_id stringlengths 2 6 ⌀ | popular_answer_id stringlengths 1 6 ⌀ |
|---|---|---|---|---|
{
"accepted_answer_id": "1341",
"answer_count": 3,
"body": "I'm a little unclear on the use a verb stem, followed by に and another verb.\n\nTake these two examples:\n\n> 特別なビザをもらって行った\n>\n> 特別なビザをもらいに行った\n\nI think the first means \"I went with a special visa\", but it might be simply\ngrammatically incorrect.\n\... | [
{
"body": "The 連用形 of a verb is used with 「に」 to express a purpose. As such, the second\nmeans \"I went to receive a special visa\".\n\nThe 「～て」 form of a verb can be used to \"bind\" multiple verbs into a single\naction. When the following verb is 「行く」, the entire action takes the form of\nthe preceding verb c... | 1320 | 1341 | 1341 |
{
"accepted_answer_id": "1323",
"answer_count": 4,
"body": "The following sentence means \"seeing all the different foreign people was\ninteresting.\"\n\nThis, according to my Japanese friends is incorrect:\n\n> 色々な外国人を見ているは面白かった。\n\n... and this is correct:\n\n> 色々な外国人を見ているのは面白かった。\n\nTo me, the difference is so... | [
{
"body": "In this case, 「の」 changes the verb \"to [be] see\" into the\n[gerund](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gerund) form \"[be] seeing\", which is\nwhat you found interesting. After that, 「は」 is just 「は」.",
"comment_count": 8,
"content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0",
"creation_date": "2011-06-19T06:24:2... | 1322 | 1323 | 1323 |
{
"accepted_answer_id": "1335",
"answer_count": 4,
"body": "According to dictionaries, the WA 和 in 昭和 has both the meaning of peace,\nharmonious and Japan, japanese (although mostly as the first kanji of a\ncompound, such as in 和語). So I wonder how Japanese of those times perceived\nthe announcement and the phras... | [
{
"body": "I think that's because 和 can be used as short form of 平和(へいわ-peace), 調和(ちょうわ-\nharmonious), 大和（やまと-Japan） and may be there is something more.",
"comment_count": 0,
"content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0",
"creation_date": "2011-06-19T08:34:42.787",
"id": "1329",
"last_activity_date": "2... | 1328 | 1335 | 1335 |
{
"accepted_answer_id": "1334",
"answer_count": 1,
"body": "I understand that 擬音語 (ぎおんご) imitate sounds, like どきどき imitates a heartbeat.\nSo, if these onomatopoeia don't have roots I wouldn't be at all surprised.\n\nBut where do 擬態語 (ぎたいご) come from? Do いらいら (to be irritated), きらきら (to\nglitter), すっきり (to be refr... | [
{
"body": "I didn't exactly say that ぴかぴか comes from ひかり (originally pronounced\n`pikari`), but rather that ひかり itself seems to be 擬態語. That is, `pikari` may\ncome from `pika` which may have been used to mean 'shining' back in the old\ndays just as it is today.\n\nI don't have time now to search for the etymolo... | 1333 | 1334 | 1334 |
{
"accepted_answer_id": "1446",
"answer_count": 2,
"body": "In this [Question about computer science\njargon](https://japanese.stackexchange.com/questions/698/japanese-dictionary-\nfor-mathematics-computer-science-jargon), most answers to date are electronic\nresources and that makes sense.\n\nBut I would like to... | [
{
"body": "<http://www.csse.monash.edu.au/~jwb/cgi-bin/wwwjdic.cgi?1C> has many\ndictionaries, including some scientific ones.\n\nBut you asked for print media...\n\n * Computer Terms - [English-Japanese / Japanese-English Dictionary of Computer and Data-Processing Terms](http://rads.stackoverflow.com/amzn/cli... | 1336 | 1446 | 1446 |
{
"accepted_answer_id": null,
"answer_count": 1,
"body": "Just for fun, I'm curious about how native speakers do mental translation from\nGregorian calendar year (e.g 2011) to Japanese era name 年号 (e.g. 平成２３年), and\nvice versa. Do you have special and preferably fun ways like mnemonics or\nchildren songs (somethi... | [
{
"body": "From experience, I find Japanese people having lots of trouble converting\nbetween Japanese and Gregorian calendar years. I regularly surprise people\nwith my ability to do that as follows (Japanese calendar years are often\nrepresented with an alphabet character like `S` or `H`.):\n\n**Showa Era (19... | 1337 | null | 1345 |
{
"accepted_answer_id": "1339",
"answer_count": 2,
"body": "In what scenarios would you use 「」 quotation marks instead of 『』, and vice\nversa?",
"comment_count": 2,
"content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0",
"creation_date": "2011-06-19T19:19:24.990",
"favorite_count": 0,
"id": "1338",
"last_activity_date": "... | [
{
"body": "In Japanese, the symbols 「」 are called [鉤括弧]{かぎかっこ} and the symbols 『』 are\ncalled [二重鉤括弧]{にじゅうかぎかっこ}. The basic rules for these symbols are simple: 「」 is\nused to denote quotation, and 『』 is used to denote quotation inside a\n「」-quote.\n\nExample:\n\n> [先生]{せんせい}が[生徒]{せいと}に「『おはよう』はフランス[語]{ご}で[何]{なん}... | 1338 | 1339 | 1339 |
{
"accepted_answer_id": "1373",
"answer_count": 3,
"body": "I've read that both the ～てしまう and ～きる (18th meaning of 切る at\n<http://www.csse.monash.edu.au/~jwb/cgi-\nbin/wwwjdic.cgi?1MUE%E5%88%87%E3%82%8B>) forms are used to signify something\nhas been finished/done/completed.\n\nIf so, what exactly is the differen... | [
{
"body": "_Added: This answer was written in response to the revision 1 of the question.\nIt turned out that the answer was not very relevant to the question which\nPacerier wanted to ask._\n\n-てしまった is the past form of -てしまう, and it means completion. It often implies that the action is undesirable.\n\n> 皿を割って... | 1342 | 1373 | 1373 |
{
"accepted_answer_id": "1353",
"answer_count": 3,
"body": "I read once somewhere that the word 'sake' (酒, Japanese rice wine) comes from\nsha-ke (鮭, salmon). Can someone explain what this connection is?\n\nAny thoughts on why _most Japanese people_ * don't know the origin of the word\nsake are also appreciated.\... | [
{
"body": "One of several explanations for the origin of the word 鮭 is that the colour of\nthe salmon's flesh is that of a \"drunk red\", and that subsequently the word\n\"sake\" derived from either \"sakake\" (酒気, tipsiness) or \"ake\" (朱 scarlet, red).\n\nThe fact that this is in no way verified must help exp... | 1346 | 1353 | 1368 |
{
"accepted_answer_id": "1350",
"answer_count": 3,
"body": "As a studies of Japanese I've come across two distinct ways to group verbs for\npurposes of remembering how to conjugate them.\n\nう動詞 / る動詞 \nGroup1 / Group 2\n\nPacerier mentioned a verb1 and verb5, can someone explain to me how the verbs\nare divided ... | [
{
"body": "The two main classifications of regular verbs are 一段 and 五段, named after the\nnumber of forms their base takes.\n\n * 食べる -> 食べ\n * 入る -> 入ら・入り・入る・入れ・入ろ\n\nWithin 一段 there are two further classifications, although both are conjugated\nthe same way.\n\n * 上一段: 見る, 落ちる, etc.\n * 下一段: 寝る, 当てる. etc."... | 1348 | 1350 | 1350 |
{
"accepted_answer_id": "1355",
"answer_count": 2,
"body": "Is the title ～[殿]{どの} used in modern day Japanese? If so, which people can you\nuse it with? I've only really seen it come across in referring to\n[大]{だい}[名]{みょう} (feudal lords). Also it is applicable to use as a translation\nof \"sir\" of people who hav... | [
{
"body": "You may use it in emails, especially when you contact another company or\nanother department which you have never contacted before.\n\n> 関係者各位殿 To whom it may concerned\n>\n> 〇〇社〇〇殿 To (someone) in company\n>\n> (部署名)殿 To (Department name)\n\n**Note** : I personally don't use it, because I feel that ... | 1354 | 1355 | 1355 |
{
"accepted_answer_id": "1360",
"answer_count": 3,
"body": "I am looking for a way to express the equivalent of \"statistically speaking,\n...\" (followed by a quote from a paper, or something like that), or pretty\nmuch any other grammatical construction that works well for the subject of\nquoting statistics or ... | [
{
"body": "try 統計的に言えば....\n\nasked google translate and it makes sense + shorter than what you used and\nseems more grammatically correct.",
"comment_count": 5,
"content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0",
"creation_date": "2011-06-20T10:43:29.893",
"id": "1360",
"last_activity_date": "2011-06-20T10:... | 1359 | 1360 | 1365 |
{
"accepted_answer_id": "1364",
"answer_count": 1,
"body": "[The many ways to say “and” in\nJapanese](https://japanese.stackexchange.com/questions/474/the-many-ways-to-\nsay-and-in-japanese) thread showed me that ～し, ～し can be used give reasons for\nsomething.\n\n> この部屋は綺麗だし広いし間取りもいいから人気がある。 \n> This room is cle... | [
{
"body": "> 今は休暇だから本を読んでるし、泳げるようになってるし、リラックスしてる。\n\nThis is just my opinion for this particular sentence, but I'd go with the ～たり\nform here:\n\n> 今は休暇だから本を読んで **たり** 、泳げるようになって **たり** 、リラックスしてる。\n\n～し lists either actions or qualities, and while it resembles ～たり in that **it\ndoesn't specify an order** in whi... | 1361 | 1364 | 1364 |
{
"accepted_answer_id": "1366",
"answer_count": 2,
"body": "I always thought that a verb ending in the `て` form along with the `いる` suffix\nwas the English equivelent of the \"ing\" form of a verb.\n\nThus:\n\n> see = 見{み}る, seeing = 見{み}ている\n>\n> do = する, doing = している\n\nHowever, according to the [Wikipedia entr... | [
{
"body": "I think the confusion here arises from the fact that English can use the\n\"-ing\" form of a verb in two different ways: using a verb as a noun (gerund),\nor expressing a continuous action (progressive tense).\n\nIn plain language, adding の to a verb in Japanese transforms it into a noun\nand makes i... | 1363 | 1366 | 1366 |
{
"accepted_answer_id": "1370",
"answer_count": 3,
"body": "In a [recent question](https://japanese.stackexchange.com/questions/1363/if-v-\nisnt-a-gerund-then-what-is-it/1367#1367) I asked, this example sentence was\noffered:\n\n> 映画を見る。 (I **will** watch a movie.)\n\nWhat struck me about this was that the transl... | [
{
"body": "I imagine most grammar texts break Japanese tenses into past and non-past. So\nthe plain form can be used to describe something you will do (once) in the\nfuture as well as something you do on a regular basis or something that tends\nto happen. Context tells you which is meant:\n\n> 明日【あした】は映画【えいが】を ... | 1369 | 1370 | 1370 |
{
"accepted_answer_id": "1376",
"answer_count": 1,
"body": "(I apologize if this question is off-topic on Japanese.SE or is more suitable\nfor SuperUser).\n\nI like to write computer notes about what I learn in Japanese. From time to\ntime, I would like to be able to include in my text a given radical, say\nkokor... | [
{
"body": "Someone collected those with unicode points.\n\n> <http://shimapucchi.blog93.fc2.com/blog-entry-321.html> \n> <http://tokyo.cool.ne.jp/kondo_hiro/proverb/busyu/busyu.htm> \n> <http://www.efontshop.com/feaddfont/help/busyu_list.htm> \n> <http://www.kanjijiten.net/radical/index.html> (page is in ... | 1375 | 1376 | 1376 |
{
"accepted_answer_id": "1379",
"answer_count": 4,
"body": "I frequently pass by an elderly neighbor who lives in the same apartment when\ncoming home from a dog walk. He's kind of an in-house carpenter for the\nbuilding and is frequently seen around the garage. I usually just nod to him\nwith a small murmur that... | [
{
"body": "I think you may be totally ok with こんにちは.",
"comment_count": 0,
"content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0",
"creation_date": "2011-06-21T03:14:35.950",
"id": "1378",
"last_activity_date": "2011-06-21T03:14:35.950",
"last_edit_date": null,
"last_editor_user_id": null,
"owner_use... | 1377 | 1379 | 1379 |
{
"accepted_answer_id": "1382",
"answer_count": 1,
"body": "I've read that people usually change ない to ねー to make it more manly, like:\n\nしたくないよ becomes したくねーんだ\n\nSo basically i often heard questions ending with ない but have not heard anyone\nend a question with ねー\n\nHence this question: can we use ねー as a quest... | [
{
"body": "As you say, ねー is a (very) informal, rather masculine, way of replacing ない at\nthe end of words.\n\nWorks for both verbs:\n\n行かない → 行かねー\n\nand い-adjectives (which are kind-of-verbs anyway, but let's not get into that\ndebate here):\n\n危ない【あぶない】→ アブねー\n\nin fact it also works with other \"-a\" kanas.... | 1380 | 1382 | 1382 |
{
"accepted_answer_id": "1383",
"answer_count": 1,
"body": "Simplest example would be when you are getting a coffee and ask for a paper\ncup. It seems that both 紙の and 紙で are acceptable. What are the differences?",
"comment_count": 1,
"content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0",
"creation_date": "2011-06-21T05:04:43.... | [
{
"body": "My (non-native) intuition here is that by using の you are picking an attribute\nof the cup, which can really be any salient attribute it has. Syntactically,\nyou are just omitting the noun after the particle. By using で, on the other\nhand, you are choosing among a given set of options. I most freque... | 1381 | 1383 | 1383 |
{
"accepted_answer_id": "1387",
"answer_count": 2,
"body": "How do these two differ, for example:\n\n寂しそう vs 寂しげ\n\n楽しそう vs 楽しげ\n\n言いたそう vs 言いたげ\n\n大人げ vs 大人っぽい（...？ Not sure if this one works.)",
"comment_count": 0,
"content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0",
"creation_date": "2011-06-21T09:43:38.067",
"favorite_... | [
{
"body": "They are the same (\"seems like\") but 〜げ has more of a connotation of 「それらしい」\nor 「っぽい」with the げ coming from the character 気 as in 気分. I remember it as\n\"that sort of feeling\".\n\nArguably this makes 〜げ more subjective whereas 〜そう is more objective but only\nso far as the observation is shared wi... | 1386 | 1387 | 1387 |
{
"accepted_answer_id": "1391",
"answer_count": 2,
"body": "I was wondering what the meaning of かい and き is for the Google Summer Solstice\nDoodle pictured here: \n\nI'm guessing it has some relation to summer, but what?",
"comment_count": 0,
... | [
{
"body": "快気 probably. \"Good feeling\". Or maybe 怪奇 for \"weird\", i.e., those strange pig-\nrabbits.",
"comment_count": 1,
"content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0",
"creation_date": "2011-06-21T15:04:10.137",
"id": "1390",
"last_activity_date": "2011-06-21T15:04:10.137",
"last_edit_date": nu... | 1389 | 1391 | 1391 |
{
"accepted_answer_id": "1394",
"answer_count": 2,
"body": "Today I was laughing my heads off reading puns at\n[言いまつがい](http://www.1101.com/iimatugai/), which is a collection of user-\ncontributed accidental puns and other mistakes.\n\nIt struck me that I never experienced this kind of uncontrollable laughter\nwi... | [
{
"body": "I think you're not really talking about puns here, but about something that's\nsomewhat related, but still quite different: you're talking about slips-of-\ntongue (いいまちがい) that accidentally turn out to mean something else. Puns are\nquite different, since they are always intentional, and they can hav... | 1392 | 1394 | 1394 |
{
"accepted_answer_id": "1396",
"answer_count": 1,
"body": "As [Derek mentioned in his\npostscript](https://japanese.stackexchange.com/questions/1363/if-v-isnt-a-\ngerund-then-what-is-it/1366#1366), both こと and の are nominalizers that can\nturn a verb into a noun.\n\n> ピアノを **弾く【ひく】** 。 I **play** the piano.\n>\n... | [
{
"body": "(This question had to show up eventually… :) For my answer, I'll be borrowing\nmost example sentences and categorizations from pages 176-179 of\n[初級【しょきゅう】を教【おし】える人【ひと】のための日本語【にほんご】文法【ぶんぽう】ハンドブック](http://books.google.com/books?id=l-C4H2sBJlEC&lpg=PP1&pg=PP1#v=onepage&q&f=false)\nand from [this\nPDF](... | 1395 | 1396 | 1396 |
{
"accepted_answer_id": "1398",
"answer_count": 1,
"body": "I found this phrase 「家族に突っ込まれまくった」 and I believe it means \"[my] family really\nstuck it [to me]\" but I'm not familiar with the suffix まくる.\n\nAny examples and clarifications would be appreciated.",
"comment_count": 2,
"content_license": "CC BY-SA 3... | [
{
"body": "Ok, first, I _think_ your sentence translates as \"my family put me in a very\nbad situation.\" If that's what you meant, forgive my bad English.\n\nThen, for \"まくる\", a quick glance at ALC gave me nice examples to share with\nyou:\n\n～に長々としゃべりまくる: talk ~ to death \n～のことであせりまくる: panic wildly about ... | 1397 | 1398 | 1398 |
{
"accepted_answer_id": "1421",
"answer_count": 2,
"body": "There are three unique words that begin with こころ～:\n\n```\n\n 快い （こころよい）、 試みる （こころみる）、 志 （こころざし）\n \n```\n\nWhat is the origin of these words in relation to \"heart/spirit/mind\", if\nany??? Or is this just something coincidental? Why do only two o... | [
{
"body": "According to the Japanese dictionary of goo, 試みる is literally \"心見る\". It is\nabout checking or verifying (見る) the essence (心) of something. My guess is\nthen that \"こころみる\" is a Japanese word, whose meaning in Chinese was \"試\". So, as\nfor many other words, it's just a Japanese word on its Chinese ... | 1400 | 1421 | 1421 |
{
"accepted_answer_id": "1408",
"answer_count": 3,
"body": "This is a bit of an _ad hoc_ question, but still should be well within the\nscope of JLU, so here goes:\n\nWhile trying to come up with [ideas for our new logo in the meta\ngroup](https://japanese.meta.stackexchange.com/questions/286/new-logo-for-\njapan... | [
{
"body": "I have at least four ideas, sorted by incremental order of preference:\n国語、邦字、邦語、邦文. \nHowever, the average learner is unlikely to recognize them.",
"comment_count": 3,
"content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0",
"creation_date": "2011-06-22T05:38:57.893",
"id": "1403",
"last_activity_dat... | 1402 | 1408 | 1408 |
{
"accepted_answer_id": "1407",
"answer_count": 2,
"body": "If someone says それだけ、食べないでください, does it mean:\n\n 1. Please don't eat only that [eat other things too!]\n\nor\n\n 2. [You can eat anything you like but] only that, please don't eat it.\n\n* * *\n\nWhat about それだけ、たべてください? Does it mean:\n\n 1. Please e... | [
{
"body": "As the comments to the question state, I guess it's just very ambiguous. Real\nlife would probably provide you with something like \"everything else is ok,\nbut…\" or \"if there is no other choice but to do so, then…\"\n\nAnyway, without context, for the first sentence, I would lean towards \"please\... | 1405 | 1407 | 1407 |
{
"accepted_answer_id": "1413",
"answer_count": 3,
"body": "This question has come up on the side of at least a couple of other questions,\nbut I don't think it's been definitively answered, so let's see if we can come\nup with something solid.\n\nAfter going through the first ten pages of Google results for both... | [
{
"body": "I think each verb is somewhat a case of its own, but generally speaking they\nall seem to relate somehow to the progressive nature of the ～ている form.\n\nIf we get to the specifics, here are my impressions, based on my experience,\nintuition and grammatical understanding (all of them seem to point to t... | 1409 | 1413 | 1413 |
{
"accepted_answer_id": "1411",
"answer_count": 3,
"body": "とても means \"very\" \n[好]{す}き means \"like\" \n[大好]{だいす}き means \"like very much\"\n\nIf I really like something can I use とてもとても大好きです ?",
"comment_count": 1,
"content_license": "CC BY-SA 4.0",
"creation_date": "2011-06-22T14:23:04.077",
"favori... | [
{
"body": "[Google says\nyes](http://www.google.com/search?q=%22%E3%81%A8%E3%81%A6%E3%82%82%E5%A4%A7%E5%A5%BD%E3%81%8D%E3%81%A7%E3%81%99%22),\nto the tune of 1 million hits. A lot of the time it's used to describe how\nmuch you like something (とても大好きなお店). I presume that you were asking \"Can you\nsay totemo dai... | 1410 | 1411 | 1412 |
{
"accepted_answer_id": "1422",
"answer_count": 1,
"body": "How did the character for \"leather\" - [革]{かわ ／ カク} - come to also convey the\nmeaning for \"newness\"? 広辞苑 lists one of the definitions (under かく) as\n`あらたまること, あらためること`, and we can see this in some of its associated 熟語: 変革, 改革,\n革新. Anyone know how th... | [
{
"body": "The source for this dual meaning already exists in Chinese. 革 is originally a\npictograph of a stretched hide that is turned into leather. As a noun it meant\njust \"leather\", but as a verb it also meant \"stretching something flabby and\nmaking it taut\", which then was extended figuratively into \... | 1415 | 1422 | 1422 |
{
"accepted_answer_id": null,
"answer_count": 4,
"body": "As I was studying vocabulary today, I happened to come across the titular 十干\nwhich are as follows:\n\n> [甲]{こう} • [乙]{おつ} • [丙]{へい} • [丁]{てい} • [戊]{ぼ} • [己]{き} • [庚]{こう} • [辛]{しん}\n> • [壬]{じん} • [癸]{き}\n\nThere's a somewhat lengthy definition near the mid... | [
{
"body": "I use 甲 and 乙 when writing business-to-business **contracts** , meaning first\nparty, second party.",
"comment_count": 0,
"content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0",
"creation_date": "2011-06-23T07:40:47.123",
"id": "1434",
"last_activity_date": "2011-06-23T07:40:47.123",
"last_edit_da... | 1416 | null | 1434 |
{
"accepted_answer_id": null,
"answer_count": 3,
"body": "For example, both 悲しさ and 悲しみ are glossed as “sadness” in JMdict. What's the\ndifference?\n\nAccording to _A Dictionary of Basic Japanese Grammar_ , 〜み “is more emotive\nand concrete characterization of some state”, while 〜さ “describes, in an\nanalytical m... | [
{
"body": "`〜さ` seems to describe a \"measurable\" amount, while `〜み` seems to describe a\ngeneral concept of the adjective.\n\n> * 悲しみ - the general concept of sadness \n>\n> * 映画の悲しさ - the (amount of) sadness of that movie (possibly compared to\n> other movies).\n>\n\nThat's how I tend to compare them.\n... | 1417 | null | 1429 |
{
"accepted_answer_id": null,
"answer_count": 7,
"body": "I wanted to mention to a female staff member in a shop that I visit every day\nthat I had seen their photograph in the Shibuya shop. I was going to say:\n\n渋谷店であなたの写真を見た。\n\n..but あなた seemed too intimate. If I knew their name, I could have said, for\nexamp... | [
{
"body": "Personally I would use ちなみに...渋谷で...写真見たよ... but I must be too shy.",
"comment_count": 0,
"content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0",
"creation_date": "2011-06-23T01:12:55.433",
"id": "1424",
"last_activity_date": "2011-06-23T01:12:55.433",
"last_edit_date": null,
"last_editor_user... | 1423 | null | 1425 |
{
"accepted_answer_id": "1440",
"answer_count": 2,
"body": "I know of four countries with a specific kanji besides Japan: China, the\nNetherlands, the USA and UK. The last two must be quite recent (I presume 19th\ncentury) but I wonder on the details and context of the selection.\n\nThere is of course 蘭, abbrevia... | [
{
"body": "Most, if not all, of foreign country Kanji names (not including names with\nobvious different origins such as China and Korea) - and there are many more\nthan 4 - are exactly this kind of abbreviation from a phonetic Kanji spelling\nof the country's name. 米 is an abbreviation of 亜米利加, 英 is 英吉利.\n\nLo... | 1435 | 1440 | 1440 |
{
"accepted_answer_id": "1441",
"answer_count": 6,
"body": "My first question is about the rules of pronunciation of the letter \"H\".\n\nSome people pronounce the \"H\" as if it were \"Sh\". For example, \"Shijutsu\"\ninstead of \"Hijutsu\", or \"Shiyori\" instead of \"Hiyori\".\n\nIs there any rule about it? Or... | [
{
"body": "Your first assumption is correct, it is a matter of accent.\n\nConsider the mouth shape and action required to form the sound for ひ (hi). By\ntightening and pressing the tongue closer to the roof of your mouth, the air\nrushes across your tongue and hits the back of your front teeth creating the\nSHH... | 1437 | 1441 | 1441 |
{
"accepted_answer_id": "1445",
"answer_count": 1,
"body": "what's the difference between ところで and ちなみに ?\n\nAre they always/often/seldom interchangeable?",
"comment_count": 0,
"content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0",
"creation_date": "2011-06-23T11:24:40.627",
"favorite_count": 0,
"id": "1444",
"last_activ... | [
{
"body": "Yes, as a sentence opener, they are mostly identical and definitely\ninterchangeable.\n\nAs for details and nuances, cursory Googling yielded\n[this](http://hinapon.wordpress.com/2007/02/15/%E3%81%A1%E3%81%AA%E3%81%BF%E3%81%AB%E3%80%80vs%E3%80%80%E3%81%A8%E3%81%93%E3%82%8D%E3%81%A7/):\n\n> **「ちなみに」**... | 1444 | 1445 | 1445 |
{
"accepted_answer_id": "1450",
"answer_count": 2,
"body": "Why is it that in Japanese sentence one sees 男 or 女 with furigana that says\nひと? Furigana is supposed to help clarify the meaning of a kanji character, but\nusing ひと doesn't seem to help clarify anything. So what's the point of doing\nthat?",
"comment_... | [
{
"body": "I have never seen 人 with おとこ or おんな for the furigana, but I've seen plenty of\nexamples when the person would be saying the furigana, but the meaning was\nfurther clarified by the kanji used.\n\nFor example, in Deadman Wonderland, it quite often has the letters DW with the\nfurigana ここ because the pe... | 1448 | 1450 | 1449 |
{
"accepted_answer_id": null,
"answer_count": 4,
"body": "The small っ (tsu) is usually used before a consonant to indicate gemination,\nless technically known as doubled consonants, which is how they are\ntransliterated in romaji.\n\nI have seen it at the end of some of what I call \"vocal noises\" where I\ninter... | [
{
"body": "It's a glottal stop, similar to the usage you mentioned (あっ, もうっ). It\nsignifies that the last mora is cut off abruptly. This can imply irritation\n(なんだよっ \"What!\") or excitement (大変だっ \"It's terrible!\"). In print, it's a little\nlike adding an exclamation point to the end of the sentence.",
"c... | 1457 | null | 1462 |
{
"accepted_answer_id": "1461",
"answer_count": 4,
"body": "I was thinking, and I can't express the word \"some\" in Japanese.\n\nExamples:\n\n * There were **some** fruits on the table. (I would say \"テーブルの上に果物があった）\n\nMaybe 少しあった - but then I would translate as \"there were few fruits\".\n\n * There are **som... | [
{
"body": "This may be the case where there isn't a direct translation for \"some\".\n\nfor instance \"I still have some things to buy for that trip.\" becomes\n「旅行のためにまだ買うものが残っています。」",
"comment_count": 8,
"content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0",
"creation_date": "2011-06-24T01:37:07.980",
"id": "1459... | 1458 | 1461 | 1461 |
{
"accepted_answer_id": "1466",
"answer_count": 3,
"body": "In English, the word \"help\" can be used for any of these cases to ask somebody\nfor help or to give a help to someone:\n\n * In a store, when a clerk (store worker) says: \n\n> Can I help you, sir?\n\n * With friends, when you see that your friend ne... | [
{
"body": "I fully agree, this is much harder to translate (well) than one would expect.\n\nThere are hundreds of nuances and scenarios covered by the English \"can I help\nyou\", and you list a lot of them... So I'll focus on three very typical broad\ncategories (I'm sure people will give you more):\n\n**Stran... | 1465 | 1466 | 1466 |
{
"accepted_answer_id": "1747",
"answer_count": 3,
"body": "After reading this thread: [When would you use 低い【ひくい】 vs\n短い【みじかい】](https://japanese.stackexchange.com/questions/594/when-would-you-use-\nvs), I'd just thought of something.\n\nI once heard that a long nose (witch / Pinocchio) is called 高い鼻 and not 長い鼻\... | [
{
"body": "One does say \"象は鼻が長い\" (\"the elephant has a long nose\"). 長い here seems to be\nlimited to animals. I guess the same goes for 短かい。\n\nFor people, you'd go for the 高い/低い pair.\n\nBy the way, \"鼻が高い\" also means \"to be proud\".",
"comment_count": 3,
"content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0",
"cre... | 1470 | 1747 | 1474 |
{
"accepted_answer_id": "1473",
"answer_count": 2,
"body": "I just received an email ending like this:\n\n> 是非是非また誘って\n\nHow to read the `` ? \nZero results on Google.\n\nAs for the meaning, is it equivalent to `よ` ?",
"comment_count": 3,
"content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0",
"creation_date": "2011-06-24T06... | [
{
"body": "It's [_mojibake_](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mojibake), not a valid\ncharacter. Looking at the character code I suppose it's this _emoji_ sent from\na mobile phone:\n\n\n\n<http://code.iamcal.com/php/emoji/>",
"comment_count": 1,
"content_license... | 1472 | 1473 | 1473 |
{
"accepted_answer_id": "1633",
"answer_count": 4,
"body": "Whenever I go to the Life supermarket near my house, they ask me at the check\nout:\n\n> ライフカードを持っていますか？ (Do you have a Life [members] card?)\n\nI always respond with something like:\n\n> いいえ、持っていません。\n\n持っていません (motteimasenn) means I don't have it, but ... | [
{
"body": "ありません is informal, but we use it often. 持っていません means \"you don't HAVE (= carry\n) it\"\n\nありません actually means it doesn't exist, but no one actually cares :p\n\nAnd additional comments: if you are saying ありません then you don't have to say\nいいえ. Same thing with the opposite, if you say いいえ then you don... | 1478 | 1633 | 1633 |
{
"accepted_answer_id": null,
"answer_count": 2,
"body": "With many 擬音語 (ぎおんご, onomatopoeia) and 擬態語 (ぎたいご, mimetic words) there is a\ndouble form, where the word is repeated, and a form with っと at the end. For\nexample:\n\n * きらきら -> きらっと (sparkling) \n * ぴかぴか -> ぴかっと (twinkling) \n * ぺろぺろ -> ぺろっと (slavering?... | [
{
"body": "っと means for a short time. for example きらきら is sparkling all the time but きらっと\nmeans it just sparkled for a moment. And it's same for others too.\n\nWhat you are mistaken is that we write 擬態語 in Hiragana (平仮名 (I wasn't sure if\nI wrote the English part right so I wrote it in Japanese)) and that we w... | 1479 | null | 1487 |
{
"accepted_answer_id": "1485",
"answer_count": 3,
"body": "I'd like to know if I can put ～じゃん at the end of every adjective, if there are\nany exceptions to that usage, and if it's different from ～じゃない.\n\n**Adj (na) + じゃん**\n\n> 便利 **じゃん**\n>\n> 便利だった **じゃん**\n>\n> 便利じゃない **じゃん**\n>\n> 便利じゃなかった **じゃん**\n\n**Adj... | [
{
"body": "The first thing to understand here is that じゃん forms a [tag\nquestion](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tag_question), so it's entirely\ndifferent than the negative form:\n\n> このゲームは楽しい。 This game is fun.\n>\n> このゲームは楽しいじゃん。 This game is fun, isn't it?\n>\n> このゲームは楽しくない。 This game isn't fun.\n>\n> このゲームは... | 1481 | 1485 | 1485 |
{
"accepted_answer_id": "1490",
"answer_count": 2,
"body": "Is 呪縛 usually used to refer to a good spell or a bad one (like a curse)?\n\nI mean the dictionary writes the english meaning as: **spell/curse** but I was\nwondering what sort of nuance would be attached to 呪縛 ?\n\nBecause I was watching this show and th... | [
{
"body": "I've learnt it. It is like this :\n\n`呪縛 > のろい > まじない` (from strongest to weakest curse)\n\nまじない is a spell but not the others if I'm taking the meaning of spell and\ncurse right. 呪縛 has more anger, and まじない has more hope.",
"comment_count": 3,
"content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0",
"creation... | 1483 | 1490 | 1490 |
{
"accepted_answer_id": null,
"answer_count": 0,
"body": "> **Possible Duplicate:** \n> [Usage of ～じゃん\n> (～じゃない)](https://japanese.stackexchange.com/questions/1481/usage-of)\n\nusage of ～じゃん for verbs\n\nSometimes when i talk to a japanese, they use a lot this. I dont know if\nthere's a rule for it, and when i... | [] | 1484 | null | null |
{
"accepted_answer_id": "1513",
"answer_count": 3,
"body": "In episode 76 of Fairy Tail, Gildarts said this to Natsu:\n\n> 本気でそう思ったら、止め **やしない** よ。 _(honki de sou omottara, tome **yashinai** yo)_\n\nWhich was translated in the subtitle as:\n\n> If that's what you honestly believe, I won't stop you.\n\nI thought \... | [
{
"body": "I think \"I won't bother to stop you\" or \"I don't bother stopping you\" would be\nmore close.\n\nAnd that \"ra\" might be \"rya\", but I don't know rya can be shortened to ra or\nnot.\n\n**Edit** : above is my hypothesis about \"ra\", but after watching the anime\nprovided by Amanda S, I hear as \"... | 1500 | 1513 | 1513 |
{
"accepted_answer_id": null,
"answer_count": 2,
"body": "I was looking in a dictionary, and both were listed as being defined as \"to\nlose one's way, to hesitate, or to waver,\" but I don't understand why there\nare two different kanji for the word.",
"comment_count": 7,
"content_license": "CC BY-SA 4.0",
... | [
{
"body": "OK. Not the greatest answer (based on partial ignorance rather than\nknowledge), but on the chance nobody can come up with better:\n\n紕う and 迷う are ostensibly two spellings of the same word (まよう). This happens a\nlot in Japanese, as you probably know and is a characteristic feature of the\nweird marr... | 1502 | null | 1521 |
{
"accepted_answer_id": "33751",
"answer_count": 2,
"body": "Why is the name 五右衛門 read as ごえもん? \nHow can the three kanji 五右衛 be read with only two syllables?",
"comment_count": 1,
"content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0",
"creation_date": "2011-06-25T10:06:12.897",
"favorite_count": 0,
"id": "1503",
"last_... | [
{
"body": "[Some](http://detail.chiebukuro.yahoo.co.jp/qa/question_detail/q143434759)\n[people](http://twitter.com/#!/_ryu9/status/11886981072) say that _goemon_\n(五右衛門) and _iemon_ (伊右衛門) are pronounced like that since it's hard to\npronounce 2 or 3 continuous vowel sounds, as are supposed to be read as _g\n**... | 1503 | 33751 | 1506 |
{
"accepted_answer_id": null,
"answer_count": 4,
"body": "In the linguistics topic of language typology, Japanese is often included in\nlists of [agglutinative (or agglutinating)\nlanguages](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Agglutinative_language), but when\nlearning or reading about Japanese grammar exclusively this... | [
{
"body": "From the [Examples of agglutinative\nlanguages](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Agglutination#Examples_of_agglutinative_languages)\nsection of the Wikipedia page on\n[Agglutination](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Agglutination):\n\n> Japanese is also an agglutinating language, adding information such as\n... | 1505 | null | 1511 |
{
"accepted_answer_id": "1536",
"answer_count": 2,
"body": "Maybe it's just me, but I keep mixing up As in\n\n> すっかり忘れてた\n>\n> I've completely forgot\n\nand\n\n> さっぱりわからない\n>\n> I haven't the faintest idea / I really don't know\n\nare there other expressions to use them?",
"comment_count": 2,
"content_license... | [
{
"body": "As for すっかり忘れた - すっかり is an adverb that simply means \"completely, without\nleaving anything left out\". Though すっかり忘れた is probably the most common usage,\nhere are other examples: 「宿題はすっかり終わった」 \"I completely finished my homework.\"\n「すっかり春になった」 \"It's completely become Spring.\"\n\nAs for さっぱり分からない... | 1507 | 1536 | 1536 |
{
"accepted_answer_id": "1512",
"answer_count": 3,
"body": "After reading in an answer to another question that Japanese adjectives are\nless inflected than Japanese verbs I'm wondering if there are inflections that\ncan be applied to verbs but not i-adjectives? Or what about the converse?",
"comment_count": 0,... | [
{
"body": "Most of the verb endings cannot be applied to adjectives.\n\nThere are no modern potential, passive, causative, or imperative suffixes:\n\n> x 赤られる (could be red) \n> x 赤られる (was redded?) \n> x 赤させる (was made red) \n> △ 赤かれ (be red! [archaic])\n\nAlso, politeness of adjectives is encoded by the... | 1510 | 1512 | 1515 |
{
"accepted_answer_id": "1518",
"answer_count": 1,
"body": "I would like to understand better the etymology or the cultural context\nsurrounding\n\n> 数寄者\n\nIf I believe [wwwjdic](http://www.edrdg.org/cgi-\nbin/wwwjdic/wwwjdic?1MDJ%BF%F4%B4%F3%BC%D4), this compound is used to denote\n\n * a tea ceremony master (... | [
{
"body": "To answer the last part of your question first, 数 is part of this for it's\n_pronunciation_ , not meaning. This is called _ateji_ , which is when kanji\nare used to **phonetically** represent words. 寿司 (すし / sushi) is a common\nexample of this. Translations that follow are my own.\n\nAccording to the... | 1514 | 1518 | 1518 |
{
"accepted_answer_id": "1517",
"answer_count": 2,
"body": "Is it possible to say ～んじゃない？ If it is, how it differs from ～じゃない？\n\nIn what situation I should use ん/の for it, and what does ん/の express?\n\nExamples:\n\n> **[~い + ん]** \n> いい **ん** じゃない \n> 行きたい **ん** じゃない \n> 吸えない **ん** じゃない\n>\n> **[~な + ん]** ... | [
{
"body": "Yes, you can say 〜んじゃない. The ん/の performs its usual function indicating that\nyou are explaining some fact ([see my answer to this previous\nquestion](https://japanese.stackexchange.com/questions/506/use-of-in-\nquestions-not-seeking-a-yes-no-answer/521#521)). 〜じゃない here turns the sentence\ninto a ta... | 1516 | 1517 | 1517 |
{
"accepted_answer_id": "1523",
"answer_count": 1,
"body": "I noticed that there are some adjectives that have ～がる suffix to make them\ninto verbs. Some examples from WWWJDIC:\n\n> ほしがる \n> こわがる \n> いたがる \n> くるしがる \n> さびしがる \n> うれしがる\n\nApparently ～たい form also can take the ～がる suffix to become ～たがる suf... | [
{
"body": "As explained by the Rikaichan popup you reference in your question, ～がる is a\nsuffix for representing a third party's _apparent **emotion_**. As such, you\ncannot use it with やさしい or ねむい as these are not adjectives which describe\nemotions.\n\nAs it was explained to me, you cannot generally _know_ an... | 1520 | 1523 | 1523 |
{
"accepted_answer_id": "1537",
"answer_count": 2,
"body": "I understand that 〜すれば〜するほど is used to mean \"the more you do ~ the more ~\".\n\nHowever, I don't see how this meaning is derived from this sentence pattern. I\nassume the ば is from the conditional form and ほど is supposed to mean \"extent\".\n\n> 人が多ければ多... | [
{
"body": "The simplest explanation is that ほど has many related but different usages. The\nbasic meaning of ほど as a noun is the extent or degree of some attribute, and\nthe ほど in your examples is a particle derived from this noun, meaning “the\nmore …, the more ….” I am not sure if any grammatical analysis help... | 1522 | 1537 | 1537 |
{
"accepted_answer_id": "13233",
"answer_count": 1,
"body": "\n\n> ハイオク： １４８？ \n> レギュラ： １３７？ \n> 軽油： １１５？\n\nWhat meaning do the question marks have?",
"comment_count": 5,
"content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0",
"creation_date": "2011-06-26T07:11:00.52... | [
{
"body": "I traced the photo to [this place](http://gogo.gs/rally/2399000021.html) in\nOkazaki (Aichi prefecture): \n\nOn their web page, they claim to offer the cheapest gas based on a crowd-\nsourced survey of gas prices elsewhere in Japan. The... | 1525 | 13233 | 13233 |
{
"accepted_answer_id": null,
"answer_count": 1,
"body": "both have the similar English of \"answer,\" but when do you use one over the\nother?",
"comment_count": 0,
"content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0",
"creation_date": "2011-06-26T12:12:24.523",
"favorite_count": 0,
"id": "1526",
"last_activity_date": ... | [
{
"body": "From goo both\n[答え](http://dictionary.goo.ne.jp/leaf/jn2/79626/m0u/%E7%AD%94%E3%81%88/) and\n[返事](http://dictionary.goo.ne.jp/leaf/jn2/200324/m0u/%E8%BF%94%E4%BA%8B/) can\nhave the meaning of \"呼びかけに対して答える言葉\", which is what \"answer\" or \"response\" is\nused for in English.\n\nBut 答え has another me... | 1526 | null | 1527 |
{
"accepted_answer_id": "1612",
"answer_count": 3,
"body": "In the past few years, reading light novels and the like, I have come across\nmany different terms for _ghosts_ , _spirits_ , _monsters_ , etc. in Japanese,\nand I'm wondering how they relate to each other. What are the differences? Is\nthere some kind o... | [
{
"body": "* 化け物（ばけもの） and お化け（おばけ）are the same thing. They seem to refer to monsters which are native to Japan, such as Kasa-obake.\n\n * 妖怪（ようかい） I believe these are also similar to お化け.\n\n * 怪物（かいぶつ） are usually monsters with fur, or at least that's the impression I get when I hear it. Large, fur-covered,... | 1528 | 1612 | 1612 |
{
"accepted_answer_id": "1535",
"answer_count": 2,
"body": "When we have a する verb (e.g. 支{し}度{たく}する、案{あん}内{ない}する、心{しん}配{ぱい}する), is it\ntrue that we could optionally insert an を particle in between the noun and the\nする?\n\nBecause in the example sentences\n[here](http://www.csse.monash.edu.au/~jwb/cgi-\nbin/wwwjd... | [
{
"body": "I can't think of any long and detailed answer for that (sorry), but the short\nanswer is: \nMost of the times, **yes**.\n\nFor most verbs it seems like the choice between ～をする and ～する is entirely\nflexible. I think the actual difference between these forms may be related to\nfocus: adding を puts a g... | 1532 | 1535 | 1535 |
{
"accepted_answer_id": "1542",
"answer_count": 9,
"body": "I know plenty of Japanese words that came from English and a few from other\nEuropean languages (obviously tons from Chinese), but what about words from\nJapan's indigenous languages such as Ainu? Also if there are any are they all\nwritten in kana like ... | [
{
"body": "There are some words in Japanese which were borrowed from the Ainu language,\nand mostly, they are written in katakana. However, they are mostly very\nuncommon words. Likely one of the most common is ラッコ (sea otter) -- I don't\nknow that there is another word for it. Another which you have potentiall... | 1540 | 1542 | 1542 |
{
"accepted_answer_id": "1546",
"answer_count": 2,
"body": "Does the term \"もしもし\" (moshimoshi) predate the telephone? Does it have any use\nbesides answering the phone? Where does it come from, is it just a\nreduplication of \"もし\" (moshi) \"if\", and if so how does that work?",
"comment_count": 0,
"content_... | [
{
"body": "もしもし is from 申し（もうし） being double and shortened, and at Edo-era people use\nonly もうし without repetition.\n\n申す(もうす) is same meaning with 言う(いう)/話す(はなす), but we use as polite-from\nnowaday.\n\nref: <http://gogen-allguide.com/mo/moshimoshi.html>",
"comment_count": 0,
"content_license": "CC BY-S... | 1543 | 1546 | 1546 |
{
"accepted_answer_id": "1562",
"answer_count": 1,
"body": "Is な particle allowed to be used after common nouns (i.e non na-adjectives)\nfor whatever reasons, e.g. cuteness, trendy, humor etc?\n\nDictionary@goo website seems to use (normal noun)+な in a couple of the column\nnames:\n\n * [JAPANなニュース](http://dicti... | [
{
"body": "This may not be the \"standard\" way to use な, but I don't see anything\nparticularly wrong with it, especially considering how it can shorten titles\nand save space. JAPANなニュース and ニュースな英語 sound better than JAPANに関するニュース and\nニュースに出てくる英語, don't they?\n\nFor a more extreme example of this non-standar... | 1547 | 1562 | 1562 |
{
"accepted_answer_id": "1555",
"answer_count": 4,
"body": "Most particles seem to be postpositions but I'm sure I've seen say a noun\nfollowed by a location particle followed by \"wa\" or \"ga\" or possibly \"wo\" but\nwhen I've tried to use it I've only confused my Japanese friends.\n\nUnder what circumstances ... | [
{
"body": "Although it's sometimes hard to tell whether these are single particles put\ntogether or a different syntactic element made of two kana, I think it can\nhappen:\n\nは will very easily follow a に or a で. For example:\n\n * 日本 **には** 美しい都市が多い。\n\n * 僕 **には** 彼女の言うことが分かった。\n\n * 英日の翻訳と日英の翻訳 **では** 、英日... | 1548 | 1555 | 1555 |
{
"accepted_answer_id": null,
"answer_count": 3,
"body": "**Reasons for omitting titles like 'さん' after names of entertainers,\nperformers and public figures**\n\n「[記者ハンドブック\n新聞用字用語集](http://www.amazon.co.jp./exec/obidos/ASIN/476410475X/)」によると、\n\n> 運動、芸能欄などのスポーツ選手、芸能人には敬称をつけない\n>\n> [[出典](http://www.heartlogic.j... | [
{
"body": "Well I guess it's the same as any other culture when talking about a public\nperson. You wouldn't call Beckham, Mr Beckham when he scores a goal.\n\nI'm sure there are exceptions to this rule mentioned in that reporter's\nhandbook though. I can't see newspapers omitting the honor title for every\npub... | 1549 | null | 1557 |
{
"accepted_answer_id": "1576",
"answer_count": 2,
"body": "Title says it all!\n\nIf somebody called and left a message, when calling them back, is there a set\nexpression for that?\n\nI generally just use \"さっきにお電話頂いた...\", but wondering if there is a more\nidiomatic way to say this.\n\n(this happens a lot more ... | [
{
"body": "May be 折り返し電話しました would be similar sense with \"I am returning (the) call\"",
"comment_count": 0,
"content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0",
"creation_date": "2011-06-27T04:47:38.363",
"id": "1551",
"last_activity_date": "2011-06-27T04:47:38.363",
"last_edit_date": null,
"last_edi... | 1550 | 1576 | 1576 |
{
"accepted_answer_id": "1974",
"answer_count": 2,
"body": "No I'm not claiming the [Altaic\nhypothesis](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Altaic_hypothesis) so try not to\nbring that up in answers.\n\nStill there are grammatical similarities between Japanese and Turkish such as\nagglutination and use of postpositions... | [
{
"body": "I don't know much (or any) Turkish, but I can tell you this: a long time ago,\nmy linguistics department used to offer a Turkish course, and my Japanese\nprofessor (a native speaker) used to be a student back then. He told us that\nthe course was quite tough, since most \"students\" there were actual... | 1554 | 1974 | 1974 |
{
"accepted_answer_id": "1560",
"answer_count": 3,
"body": "でしょう can usually be understood to mean \"probably.\" But does it sometimes mean\nthe same thing as ですね? What other meanings can it have? Can it mean \"you\nknow?\"",
"comment_count": 3,
"content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0",
"creation_date": "2011-06-2... | [
{
"body": "でしょう is like です, but with less certainty. It's used when someone is pretty\nsure something is that way, but not entirely.\n\nSo yes, it's a bit like 'probably', but that's not actually what it means.\n\nIt's often used when someone wants to see if someone else agrees with them\nbefore committing to i... | 1558 | 1560 | 1560 |
{
"accepted_answer_id": "1573",
"answer_count": 1,
"body": "Sometimes I think: \n～とも came from ～と思う \n～かしら came from ～かしらん（知らない）\n\nIt's possible I'm wrong, so I would like to know the real meaning of those\nsuffixes. Also, I'd like to know when I can use them without any problem (when\ntalking about spoken lan... | [
{
"body": "～とも (in the sense you seem to be talking about) is a rather archaic sentence-\nfinal particle which is used for strongly asserting something that the\nlistener may not be so sure about. That makes it similar to the far more\ncolloquial particle よ, but it's somewhat stronger and more decisive than よ.\... | 1561 | 1573 | 1573 |
{
"accepted_answer_id": "1594",
"answer_count": 2,
"body": "I understand the grammar point \"Verb (Dictionary Form) + ことはない\" can mean\neither \"There is no need\" or \"There is no possibility\" depending on context.\n\nHowever, what are the differences? Are there any nuances which I should be\naware of? Can they... | [
{
"body": "I would say that these 3 forms are just different.\n\n**必要** expresses the necessity: it is necessary (or not) to ...\n\n**可能性** expresses the possibility: it is possible (or not) that ...\n\n**ことはない** is more abstract and I would translate it as: \"There's no such thing\nas ...\" or \"there is no wa... | 1563 | 1594 | 1594 |
{
"accepted_answer_id": "1568",
"answer_count": 3,
"body": "In one of the Japanese classes I attended, I've been taught that while we use\n「何も出来ない」to say \"He cannot do anything\", to say \"He can do anything\" we use\n「何でも出来る」 instead of 「何も出来る」.\n\nWhy is there a grammar rule that says 「何も」 is used before negat... | [
{
"body": "This is not a very helpful answer, but: I think you are needlessly\ncomplicating a fairly simple grammar rule by looking for an \"explanation\".\nThere might be some deep and obscure etymological link between the 'も' and\n'でも' of 何も/誰も/いつも, but knowing it won't further your understanding of the rule\... | 1565 | 1568 | 16060 |
{
"accepted_answer_id": "1570",
"answer_count": 1,
"body": "What's the real difference between 天気 and 天候? In at least one of my\ndictionaries, 天候 just redirects to 天気.\n\nI've always thought (read: \"felt\") that 天候 is the general \"concept\" of\nweather, or even climate\n\n> 秋の天候 - \"the [type of] weather in the... | [
{
"body": "[Daijisen's got you\ncovered](http://dictionary.goo.ne.jp/leaf/jn2/153212/m0u/%E5%A4%A9%E6%B0%97/).\nThe usage note under 天気 says that 天気 refers to the atmospheric conditions over\na short period of time (two or three days at most), while 天候 is for describing\nthose conditions over a period of severa... | 1569 | 1570 | 1570 |
{
"accepted_answer_id": "1579",
"answer_count": 2,
"body": "If [ばかり](http://www.csse.monash.edu.au/%7Ejwb/cgi-\nbin/wwwjdic.cgi?1MUE%E3%81%B0%E3%81%8B%E3%82%8A) could mean **approximately;\nabout;** and could also mean **only; merely; nothing but;** , then how should\nwe know if this sentence **５０００円ばかりもっている。** m... | [
{
"body": "If the verb is past tense it means \"just\" happened. If the verb is -te iru it\nmeans only.\n\nThere are about 3 or 4 other uses that arent used as much. bakarini nado...\n\n> × ５０００円ばかりもっている。 doesnt sound right.\n>\n> ○ ５０００円だけ持ってる\n>\n> ○ ５０００円しか持ってない",
"comment_count": 1,
"content_license... | 1575 | 1579 | 1579 |
{
"accepted_answer_id": "1597",
"answer_count": 5,
"body": "Some Japanese websites have no problem addressing me as Amandaさん, but how\ncommon is this in human-produced Japanese? Under what circumstances would\nsomeone refer to someone else as Amandaさん, בועזくん, or Екатери́наちゃん instead of\nアマンダさん, ボアズくん, or エカテリーナ... | [
{
"body": "It's used quite normally. My business emails, spam mail, post from the bank or\ngovernment are all normally addressed to `David 様`, or whatever exact name\nthey happen to know me by. The same goes for more informal communication using\n〜さん or other less honorable honorifics. A certain client of mine ... | 1580 | 1597 | 1581 |
{
"accepted_answer_id": "1583",
"answer_count": 2,
"body": "This is taken from one of the mindless pop songs I shouldn't even be listening\nto:\n\n> なんてったって ラッキー！\n\nI know what なんて and ラッキー mean, of course, but I can't figure out in a way that\nmakes sense to me what the contracted forms after なんて are. Any help?... | [
{
"body": "In this case, I believe that ったって is a reduction of 言ったって, which combined with\nなんて likely means roughly \"no matter what I say/you say/etc.\"",
"comment_count": 1,
"content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0",
"creation_date": "2011-06-28T05:14:31.133",
"id": "1583",
"last_activity_date": "... | 1582 | 1583 | 1583 |
{
"accepted_answer_id": "1591",
"answer_count": 3,
"body": "In the Japanese version of \"don't drink and drive\" slogan, 【乗るなら飲むな】 (also\n【飲んだら乗るな】), what part of speech is the な that follows the plain verb 飲む (or 乗る\nin the second variation) to form the negative imperative verb form?\n\nAt first I thought it was... | [
{
"body": "It's the strongest, tersest form of negative. It always follows a plain form\nverb. I have no idea of the origin; it's pretty old though:)\n\nRegarding the origin, it goes back to at least the 8th century in this form:\n\n活用語の終止形に付いて、「～するな」と禁止する意をあらわす。現代口語に継承されている。\n\n大和道は雲隠れたりしかれども吾が振る袖をなめしと思ふ **な**... | 1585 | 1591 | 1591 |
{
"accepted_answer_id": "1627",
"answer_count": 4,
"body": "わがままはもう言わない gets translated as \"won't say anything selfish anymore.\" However,\nthis doesn't really make sense. If I google \"say anything selfish,\" what I\nfind are sites that have translated わがままはもう言わない into English. It's not a\nphrase that is normal... | [
{
"body": "How about \"I won't be selfish.\" A more literal translation might be \"I won't\nsay selfish things anymore.\"\n\nIt's one of those phrases that doesn't really translate to anything that is\ncommonly said in English. We'd change the entire thing up and say something\nmore like \"I'm sorry for being s... | 1586 | 1627 | 1592 |
{
"accepted_answer_id": "1715",
"answer_count": 2,
"body": "Hi guys what is the difference in the usage of 成るべく and できるだけ?\n\nDon't they both mean **as [x] as possible**?\n\nE.g.:\n\n1) できるだけ多くの本を読みなさい vs なるべく多くの本を読みなさい\n\n2) できるだけ早くお願いします vs なるべく早くお願いします",
"comment_count": 5,
"content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0... | [
{
"body": "なるべく = as ~ as possible;\n\n> なるべく早く: as fast as possible なるべく傷つけず: avoiding injury as much as possible\n\nIt needs a verb or adverb to be a complete phrase...\n\nできるだけ = If I (you) can or as much as possible\n\n> できるだけ日本に住みたい。\n\nBoth are common in conversation.",
"comment_count": 3,
"conten... | 1593 | 1715 | 1715 |
{
"accepted_answer_id": "1599",
"answer_count": 2,
"body": "I've heard from a Japanese native speaker friend of mine that both 間違う and\n間違える are correct usage, but he wasn't able to explain the difference in nuance\nbetween them. Is there a difference, and if so, what is it?",
"comment_count": 0,
"content_lic... | [
{
"body": "When we say that someone makes a mistake about something, we can use both 間違う\nand 間違える and there is no difference in meaning or nuance. For example, 計算を間違えた\nand 計算を間違った mean the same thing.\n\n[ _Added remark_ : As repecmps pointed out in a comment, some people consider\nthis usage of 間違う as incorr... | 1598 | 1599 | 1599 |
{
"accepted_answer_id": "1608",
"answer_count": 4,
"body": "I'm trying to understand the following three lines from a song:\n\n```\n\n ただ会いたくて 声も無くしそうで\n でも会えなくて 夢さえ恨んだ\n 日々薄れてく 記憶を手探りで 感触をただ愛した\n \n```\n\nEach line is progressively difficult to understand. I can read the words but\ncan't make sense o... | [
{
"body": "Now I hurt so bad, I can't speak But not meeting you, even dreams torture me.\nDays grow dim, struggling to remember, I just loved that feeling.",
"comment_count": 2,
"content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0",
"creation_date": "2011-06-29T01:14:14.233",
"id": "1607",
"last_activity_date":... | 1605 | 1608 | 1608 |
{
"accepted_answer_id": "1620",
"answer_count": 1,
"body": "I think that the both of them mean before, but I have seen that they are\nsometimes use in parent-child metaphors, but I always get confused with these.\nSome examples of ○○先、○○元 words would be appreciated.\n\nどうぞよろしくお願いします。",
"comment_count": 1,
"co... | [
{
"body": "If anything, they're more like antonyms. 先 denotes 'destination', while 元\ndenotes 'source', or 'beginning', or 'essence'.\n\n先:\n\n * 宛先, 届け先: delivery address\n * 行き先: destination (of a trip)\n\n元:\n\n * 根元: by the root (e.g. of a tree)\n * 元値: \"beginning price\" (original price paid by retail... | 1609 | 1620 | 1620 |
{
"accepted_answer_id": "1618",
"answer_count": 3,
"body": "One friend of mine told me when she was living in Japan, she liked to end her\nsentences with ん (maybe instead of の).\n\nExamples:\n\n * 明日学校にいくん？\n\n * 明日学校に行かないと思う…風邪引いたん。\n\nActually I've never seen it! But my friend told me they used it! \nI just ... | [
{
"body": "I can't think of one time I have heard that...Not to say it hasn't happened.\nUsing the whole んです smoothly was stressed at school, as it makes your Japanese\nsound really natural. So I think I would notice if I heard someone end on the\nん...I would stick to the normal usage until you hear a native sp... | 1610 | 1618 | 1618 |
{
"accepted_answer_id": "1619",
"answer_count": 2,
"body": "I was thinking what things could be described with [草 (3) not genuine;\nsubstandard;)](http://www.csse.monash.edu.au/~jwb/cgi-\nbin/wwwjdic.cgi?1MUE%E8%8D%89)\n\nCan we describe someone who is a ゴミ as 草? Like say:\n\nアイツはどうおもう？ くさだ！\n\nOr is the \"substa... | [
{
"body": "The title and the body seem to ask two different questions, but I'll answer\nthem both.\n\n「うるさい」 as 'fussy' is not at all archaic. 彼はラーメンにうるさいからいい店を知っている。\n\nOn the other hand, in all my years of speaking with Japanese friends and\nfamily, I have never heard of using 草 as a derogative.",
"commen... | 1614 | 1619 | 1619 |
{
"accepted_answer_id": "1621",
"answer_count": 2,
"body": "For example in this phrase:\n\n> 話すネタはもっていそう\n\nI translate it into \"he might have some stories\", but I have the impression it\nhas many other meanings.",
"comment_count": 3,
"content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0",
"creation_date": "2011-06-29T04:29:0... | [
{
"body": "ネタ alone is a bit vague: \"stories\", but usually in the sense of jokes or funny\nanecdotes. I'd say it has some connotation of \"dirty\" (or at least slightly\noff-colour) jokes/anecdotes, but that's more a matter of usage than intrinsic\nmeaning.\n\nネタ is most often encountered in these two express... | 1616 | 1621 | 1621 |
{
"accepted_answer_id": null,
"answer_count": 4,
"body": "In media like TV and newspapers, it appears certain classes of people can be\nreferred to with the honorific \"様\":\n\nThe Imperial family:\n\n> [皇太子殿下と美智子さま](http://showa.mainichi.jp/news/1959/04/post-da93.html) The\n> Crown Prince and Michiko-sama\n\nCel... | [
{
"body": "Well, if the person is (positively) important and deserves respect (or is\nrelated to the company for which you work), then you can put \"様\" instead of\nthe status (president, CEO, whatever). You don't have to, but it shows that\nthe media you represent bows before the person in question. I guess it... | 1622 | null | 1624 |
{
"accepted_answer_id": "1720",
"answer_count": 3,
"body": "Is there any particular reason why the noun おなか goes with verb すく while the\nnoun はら goes with the verb へる? Would it be weird if I use おなかへった or はらすいた?\n\nWhile on the same topic, does the 'starving' onomatopoeia ペコペコ go with both\nおなか and はら?",
"comme... | [
{
"body": "Maybe it's a regional thing, but お腹減った [おなかへった] isn't weird at all. In fact, I\nhear and use it a lot. On the other hand, 腹空いた [はらすいた] sounds weird and I\ndon't think I've ever heard it before.",
"comment_count": 0,
"content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0",
"creation_date": "2011-06-29T15:14:46.... | 1630 | 1720 | 1720 |
{
"accepted_answer_id": null,
"answer_count": 1,
"body": "Both mean \"lonely\" and appear to be valid readings for 寂しい.\n\nIs there a difference in nuance? Is this difference due to dialect?",
"comment_count": 1,
"content_license": "CC BY-SA 4.0",
"creation_date": "2011-06-29T18:30:14.590",
"favorite_coun... | [
{
"body": "According to [an answer to a similar question on Goo's oshiete\nsite](http://oshiete.goo.ne.jp/qa/552702.html):\n\n「さびしい」 is generally used in two ways (roughly equivalent to how the english\n\"lonely\" is used):\n\n 1. an emotional state of emptiness, isolation, or a feeling of lacking \n * Exam... | 1637 | null | 1638 |
{
"accepted_answer_id": "1641",
"answer_count": 1,
"body": "What is the difference between these 4 words for the definition of\n\"expectation\":\n\n * 予想{よそう}\n * 期待{きたい}\n * 予期{よき}\n * 思惑{おもわく}\n\nSpecifically, which would you use for \"managing customer expectations (for\nproject outcome)\"?",
"comment_co... | [
{
"body": "\"お客さんの期待\" Customer Expectations.\n\n期待 will be the one you're looking for for \"customer expectations\". It's what\nyou use if you're looking forward to something, what you're \"hoping to see\".\nUsed for \"fulfilling expectations\".\n\n予想 is more \"neutral\" in that it has more to do with a way yo... | 1640 | 1641 | 1641 |
{
"accepted_answer_id": "1644",
"answer_count": 2,
"body": "The title of a manga I'm slowly working through is 惑星のさみだれ, but there is\nfurigana above the two kanji that says ほし (star) instead. Why did it use both\nkanji, which seems to be normally read as わくせい (planet) when it could have\nused just 星 on it's own?"... | [
{
"body": "ほし means any heavenly body except the sun and the moon. And while ほし is most\noften heard used with stars, it is also used for \"planet\". This could just be\nrelated to lyrics in that both kanji mean planet, but decided to go with these\nkanji and this pronunciation for a poetic effect.",
"comme... | 1642 | 1644 | 1644 |
{
"accepted_answer_id": "1647",
"answer_count": 3,
"body": "_Feel free to participate to the[meta-discussion on whether this type of\nquestion (relying on buddhist terms) should be allowed on\nJLU](https://japanese.meta.stackexchange.com/questions/348/should-discussions-\nof-buddhist-terms-be-off-topic)._\n\nA wh... | [
{
"body": "I have a feeling someone smarter than me will provide an answer with better\nreferences, but I still hope this answer helps.\n\nNot long ago I was out on a walking tour of Aoyama Cemetery and the exact same\nquestion came up. The tour guide, who has studied religion and history offered\nthis explanat... | 1646 | 1647 | 1647 |
{
"accepted_answer_id": "1656",
"answer_count": 3,
"body": "Is 亡くなる is a polite form of しぬ?\n\nWhat is the difference in nuance between these two sentences:\n\n 1. ディックは１０歳のとき亡くなった。\n\n 2. ディックは１０歳のとき死んだ。",
"comment_count": 2,
"content_license": "CC BY-SA 4.0",
"creation_date": "2011-06-30T06:05:44.290",
... | [
{
"body": "Yes.\n\n> 死ぬ = too direct, rough and generally rude when talking about a person.\n>\n> 亡くなる = polite way of saying it.\n\nSame exact nuance exists in most languages, English included:\n\n> 死ぬ → to die\n>\n> 亡くなる → to pass away / to pass on / to be deceased (when using past form)\n\nWhile you _could_ ... | 1648 | 1656 | 1656 |
{
"accepted_answer_id": "1654",
"answer_count": 4,
"body": "An English website wrote an apology in Japanese after it took down an image of\ncracked hinomaru (日の丸) — the hinomaru linked to a donation page for the\ndisasters following the March 11 earthquakes.\n\nIt read: 我々が 起こした偉大な犯罪の謝罪 (われわれが おこした いだいな はんざいの しゃざ... | [
{
"body": "They aren't saying they -are- the apology... They've saying the apology refers\nto them. は and が don't actually mean 'is', it's just that sentences using them\nand no verb often get translated that way into English. It's a cultural thing.\n\nHere they are just saying \"We have an apology for the grea... | 1651 | 1654 | 1654 |
{
"accepted_answer_id": "1658",
"answer_count": 2,
"body": "Someone ended their sentence with やいな. What dialect is this? What does やい\nmean? I assume that な means the same thing as in standard Japanese?\n\n**Update:** the original sentence was 「もう出来あがり？仕事はやいな～」.",
"comment_count": 4,
"content_license": "CC BY... | [
{
"body": "**Update** : This is not an instance of やい, but rather 速い【はやい】, so the\ninformation in my original answer is not actually applicable in this case.\n\n* * *\n\n[Wikipedia](http://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E5%8D%9A%E5%A4%9A%E5%BC%81) suggests\nthat at the very least, this is a feature of **Hakata dialect*... | 1657 | 1658 | 1658 |
{
"accepted_answer_id": "1667",
"answer_count": 10,
"body": "Both 知る and わかる get used for \"know\", \"understand\", \"learn\", \"find out\", and\nvarious other concepts. How do you know which to use when? Are there any rules\nto help you decide?\n\nAdditionally, both of these verbs regularly appear in several dif... | [
{
"body": "You can't 'understand' (わかる) a person, place or thing. You can't 'know' (知る) a\nconcept.\n\nThat's a bit of a generalization, but will get you through most of it.\nLearning by context is very important, though, so you should be getting a lot\nof input to help resolve questions like this.",
"comme... | 1659 | 1667 | 1667 |
{
"accepted_answer_id": "1887",
"answer_count": 3,
"body": "The word 【くら】 can be written with any of the kanji 蔵, 倉, or 庫. However,\n[WWWJDIC](http://wwwjdic.mygengo.com/cgi-data/wwwjdic?1MDJ%C1%D2) lists them\nall under one entry, defined as:\n\n> (n) warehouse; cellar; magazine; granary; godown; depository; tre... | [
{
"body": "As far as using them strictly for the word 【くら】, I'm not sure of any nuances.\nBut when 蔵 is used as【〜ぞう】in compounds, it's used to denote ownership or\npossession.\n\n> 私蔵 【しぞう】 → Private collection \n> 家蔵 【かぞう】 → Household collections \n> 所蔵 【しょぞう】→ To have in your possession (== 所有) \n> 蔵書 【... | 1661 | 1887 | 1887 |
{
"accepted_answer_id": "1666",
"answer_count": 1,
"body": "All of the following words and kanji (and a few more obscure ones) seem to be\nused in Japanese, to describe a bird that is translated by \"Phoenix\" in\nEnglish:\n\n * 不死鳥【ふしちょう】\n * 鳳凰【ほうおう】\n * 鳳【おおとり】/鵬【おおとり】\n * フェニックス and even:\n * [火の鳥](http:... | [
{
"body": "-As Ignacio said, 鳳凰 is the mythical bird from Asian cultures. (fènghuáng in Chinese)\n\n-In the mythology, 鳳 is the male _\"asian phoenix\"_ and 凰 is the female.\n\n-不死鳥 is the Phoenix from the Greek mythology\n\n-火の鳥 is the name regrouping \"fire birds\":\n\n * Bennu, Egypt\n * Huma and Simurgh, ... | 1665 | 1666 | 1666 |
{
"accepted_answer_id": "1671",
"answer_count": 4,
"body": "In many beginning Japanese classes, 来る【くる】 and 行く【いく】 are presented as \"to\ncome\" and \"to go,\" respectively. Dictionaries generally also define them this\nway. However, every once in a while in more advanced classes, teachers will\nmention that this ... | [
{
"body": "「来る」 implies motion or action towards or ending at the speaker or the\nspeaker's current situation, whereas 「行く」 implies motion or action away from\nor beginning at the speaker or the speaker's situation.",
"comment_count": 3,
"content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0",
"creation_date": "2011-07-0... | 1669 | 1671 | 1671 |
{
"accepted_answer_id": "1675",
"answer_count": 2,
"body": "What's the difference between the に祈る and を祈る forms?\n\nLike what's the difference between (1.) and (2.):\n\n 1. うまく行くのに祈ってくださいね。\n 2. うまく行くのを祈ってくださいね。\n\n**EDIT** : What's the difference between the ように祈る and のを祈る forms?\n\nLike if what I want to say ... | [
{
"body": "1) Pray so that it goes well \n2) Pray that it goes well.\n\nThis quite direct grammatically speaking. Nothing fancy here. に is the aim of\nthe prayer, and を is the content of the prayer.",
"comment_count": 3,
"content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0",
"creation_date": "2011-07-01T12:21:04.897",... | 1672 | 1675 | 1675 |
{
"accepted_answer_id": "1677",
"answer_count": 2,
"body": "My basic understanding of より to compare things or ending letters, is failing\nme when there's a で or での in front of it.\n\nAs I write this, I'm wondering, can read でより as \"with, more\", \"in, more\"?\n\n> さらに低い給料 **でより** 多くの責任を引き受ける \n> accept more re... | [
{
"body": "より, when preceding an adjective as in your examples, means \"more\" or \"-er\":\n\n> より多くの more [numerous]\n>\n> より快適な more pleasant, smoother\n>\n> より長い longer\n>\n> より良い better\n>\n> より一般的な more common, more typical\n\nAs such, でより and でのより should not be considered together. で and での go with the\np... | 1676 | 1677 | 1677 |
Subsets and Splits
No community queries yet
The top public SQL queries from the community will appear here once available.