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p1atdev

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japanese-stackexchange

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[ { "body": "To explicit Chocolate's answer and by the way answer gibbon.\n\nありじゃないか should be read as \"[something]じゃないか\" that you would basically\ntranslate as \"Doesn't/Isn't it [something] ?\". Even as a negative form, turned\nas a question with the ？/か/かな, it becomes a _positive wonder_. Like a question\ntag. Plus, you should not see it as a question directed to you, more like the\nperson speaking to him/herself and just expressing his/her wonder out loud.\n\nThe [something] itself, can be positive or negative, it does not matter. It\nwill mean \"Doesn't/Isn't it [something] ?\"\n\nTo Gibbon> でしょう／だろう can be used for similar cases. Ex: you don't find\nsomething, it would be 100% normal to say \"どこでしょう？\" speaking to yourself or\nsomeone else.", "comment_count": 5, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0", "creation_date": "2012-03-27T11:51:54.667", "id": "5119", "last_activity_date": "2012-03-27T11:51:54.667", "last_edit_date": null, "last_editor_user_id": null, "owner_user_id": "1065", "parent_id": "5115", "post_type": "answer", "score": 2 }, { "body": "あり is a slang meaning \"be acceptable\", \"can be dealt with\", or \"be cool\", (or,\nmore literally, \"exists within the acceptable domain\"). See [my answer to this\nquestion](https://japanese.stackexchange.com/questions/4642).\n\nAs for the question part, you translated the opposite. Here, you have a\nnegation, but that is used rethorically. Just like the English negative tag\nquestion `isn't it?` implies affirmative, so does the negative question here.\n\nThe whole sentence means\n\n> I am not sure without asking to someone, but isn't it acceptable? \n> I am not sure without asking to someone, but I suppose it is acceptable.", "comment_count": 0, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0", "creation_date": "2012-03-27T14:59:07.567", "id": "5121", "last_activity_date": "2012-03-29T01:30:00.407", "last_edit_date": "2017-04-13T12:43:44.863", "last_editor_user_id": "-1", "owner_user_id": null, "parent_id": "5115", "post_type": "answer", "score": 4 } ]

[ { "body": "You can see how both are used by example I guess\n\nなんと\n[http://jisho.org/sentences?jap=%E3%81%AA%E3%82%93%E3%81%A8&eng=](http://jisho.org/sentences?jap=%E3%81%AA%E3%82%93%E3%81%A8&eng=)\n\nどう\n[http://jisho.org/sentences?jap=%E3%81%A9%E3%81%86&eng=](http://jisho.org/sentences?jap=%E3%81%A9%E3%81%86&eng=)", "comment_count": 0, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0", "creation_date": "2012-03-27T11:34:59.897", "id": "5118", "last_activity_date": "2012-03-27T11:34:59.897", "last_edit_date": null, "last_editor_user_id": null, "owner_user_id": "1065", "parent_id": "5117", "post_type": "answer", "score": 1 }, { "body": "どう can be paraphrased as \"in which way\", \"in what manner\". なんと cannot, and it\nmeans \"as what\".\n\n> これはどう言いますか。 \n> (literally) ' **In what manner** do you say this?' \n> 'How do you pronounce this?'\n>\n> これは何と言いますか。 \n> (literally) ' **As what** do you say this?' \n> 'How do you call this?'", "comment_count": 6, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0", "creation_date": "2012-03-27T14:53:04.860", "id": "5120", "last_activity_date": "2012-03-27T14:53:04.860", "last_edit_date": null, "last_editor_user_id": null, "owner_user_id": null, "parent_id": "5117", "post_type": "answer", "score": 6 } ]

[ { "body": "I think your confusion may be arising from thinking that が is a prepositional\nparticle. It is not preposed(placed before a word) to the verb. It is a post-\npositional subject marker, it is postposed(placed after a word) after the\nsubject.\n\nBy extension, there is no requirement for が to immediately precede the verb.\nThe element of Xが may be freely moved around the sentence.", "comment_count": 0, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0", "creation_date": "2012-03-28T08:00:15.220", "id": "5127", "last_activity_date": "2012-03-28T08:52:41.880", "last_edit_date": "2012-03-28T08:52:41.880", "last_editor_user_id": "542", "owner_user_id": "542", "parent_id": "5124", "post_type": "answer", "score": 6 } ]

[ { "body": "The に you presented indicates purpose of going rather than a direction.\n\nRelated: [Is it true that only movement verbs can take [V-stem]に to express a\npurpose?](https://japanese.stackexchange.com/q/2957/542)\n\nConstituent parts:\n\n * おばあさんは(The woman(topic)) \n\n * 川へ(in the direction of river) \n\n * せんたくしに(for the purpose of laundry) \n\n * でかけます(go out)\n\nSentence: The woman goes out to the river to do laundry.", "comment_count": 9, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0", "creation_date": "2012-03-28T07:24:21.567", "id": "5126", "last_activity_date": "2012-03-28T07:55:33.243", "last_edit_date": "2017-04-13T12:43:44.207", "last_editor_user_id": "-1", "owner_user_id": "542", "parent_id": "5125", "post_type": "answer", "score": 7 }, { "body": "As far as I know it's fine to use に after both verb stems and nouns when given\nas reasons for something.\n\nE.g. お土産に買う - I will buy it as a souvenir\n\nAnd to give a more concrete answer to your question: The particles convey\ndifferent information, one is direction and the other is reason. Of course you\ncan't have two directions, but that is not the case here.", "comment_count": 0, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0", "creation_date": "2012-03-28T08:36:23.030", "id": "5128", "last_activity_date": "2012-03-28T09:08:20.960", "last_edit_date": "2012-03-28T09:08:20.960", "last_editor_user_id": "1173", "owner_user_id": "1173", "parent_id": "5125", "post_type": "answer", "score": 1 } ]

[ { "body": "It is still a case of\n[文字化け](http://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E6%96%87%E5%AD%97%E5%8C%96%E3%81%91#.E6.90.AD.E8.BC.89.E3.83.95.E3.82.A9.E3.83.B3.E3.83.88.E3.82.BB.E3.83.83.E3.83.88.E3.81.AE.E9.81.95.E3.81.84.E3.81.AB.E3.82.88.E3.82.8B.E3.83.88.E3.83.A9.E3.83.96.E3.83.AB).\n文字化け means the phenomenon where characters are shown incorrectly on computers,\nand its cause is not necessarily a mismatch of character encodings.\n\nI do not know a specific term for the kind of 文字化け which you are talking\nabout. I would say something along フォントが足りないことによって起きる文字化け.\n\nBy the way, the glyphs used in this situation are technically called\n[replacement glyphs](http://unicode.org/glossary/#R) in English. I do not know\nhow they are called in Japanese, but I guess that there is some technical term\nfor them in Japanese.\n\n* * *\n\n_Update_ : As Dono pointed out, some people use the word 文字化け in the narrower\nsense which you explained in the question. (See the [note\npage](http://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E3%83%8E%E3%83%BC%E3%83%88%3a%E6%96%87%E5%AD%97%E5%8C%96%E3%81%91)\nof the article in Japanese Wikipedia to see an example.) I do not know if\nthere is a better term which everyone agrees on.", "comment_count": 9, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0", "creation_date": "2012-03-28T12:20:01.923", "id": "5131", "last_activity_date": "2012-03-28T12:44:01.393", "last_edit_date": "2012-03-28T12:44:01.393", "last_editor_user_id": "15", "owner_user_id": "15", "parent_id": "5129", "post_type": "answer", "score": 9 }, { "body": "I propose: `suujibake` (数字ばけ). Cheers!", "comment_count": 2, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0", "creation_date": "2012-03-28T23:48:36.970", "id": "5132", "last_activity_date": "2012-03-28T23:48:36.970", "last_edit_date": null, "last_editor_user_id": null, "owner_user_id": "1266", "parent_id": "5129", "post_type": "answer", "score": 1 }, { "body": "As far as Internet slang goes, the word\n[豆腐{とうふ}](http://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E8%B1%86%E8%85%90) is often used as a\nterm for replacement glyphs because of their rectangular shapes, and 豆腐[化]{ば}け\nor 豆腐[化]{か} describe the phenomenon in one word.\n\n> * 画面上の日本語がすべて豆腐になってしまっていて読めない\n> * フォント設定を変更しても豆腐化けが直らない\n>", "comment_count": 2, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0", "creation_date": "2012-03-29T09:02:27.827", "id": "5139", "last_activity_date": "2012-03-29T09:11:26.613", "last_edit_date": "2012-03-29T09:11:26.613", "last_editor_user_id": "44", "owner_user_id": "44", "parent_id": "5129", "post_type": "answer", "score": 15 } ]

[ { "body": "For a lot of する verb, the stem is also a noun. And before に, noun form / 連用形\nare acceptable.\n\nSo you get this, for 調査する, you can use 調査に (as 調査 is a noun) or 調査しに (as 調査し\nis the 連用形 of 調査する). For 遊ぶ/遊び, only 遊びに is possible, because no verb as 遊びする\nexists, so 遊びしに in no valid.\n\nThe し in しに is the part of the previous verb, not a verb (する) itself.", "comment_count": 4, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0", "creation_date": "2012-03-29T01:12:21.560", "id": "5135", "last_activity_date": "2012-03-29T01:12:21.560", "last_edit_date": null, "last_editor_user_id": null, "owner_user_id": "903", "parent_id": "5134", "post_type": "answer", "score": 3 }, { "body": "I guess, for the words that Chocolate claims that you don't need `する`, (I\ndon't necessarily agree with Chocolate's native intuition, but still I can\nunderstand the feeling) they are activities that in the default cases, you go\nsomewhere to do it:\n\n> 観光/謝罪/調査/返却/回収/撮影/報告/面会 \n> sightseeing/appologize/investigate/return/collect/film/report/meet\n\nThey are something that you need either an opponent person or an object, and\nyou need to go to that place to do it. On the other hand, the other suru-nouns\ndo not have that nature:\n\n> 雑談/読書/料理 \n> chat/read/cook\n\nare something you do at a fixed location. Note the difference between 面会,\nwhich includes moving of the subject to meet the other person, whereas 雑談 does\nnot include that meaning. I guess this is the underlying difference that leads\nto Chocolate's native judgements.", "comment_count": 3, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0", "creation_date": "2012-04-04T00:23:24.013", "id": "5164", "last_activity_date": "2012-04-04T00:23:24.013", "last_edit_date": null, "last_editor_user_id": null, "owner_user_id": null, "parent_id": "5134", "post_type": "answer", "score": 8 } ]

[ { "body": "I think both 健一だけから and 健一からだけ are acceptable. I think 健一からしかメールが来なかった would\nsound more natural though. (You can't say 健一からだけが... or 健一だけからが...) \nAnd 健一だけにメールした and 健一にだけメールした are both fine to me too. \nAh, but just 健一だけが来た is acceptable and you can't say 健一がだけ来た. (Why? Hmm please\nsomeone get me out of here)", "comment_count": 8, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0", "creation_date": "2012-03-29T11:25:35.927", "id": "5141", "last_activity_date": "2012-03-29T11:31:00.253", "last_edit_date": "2012-03-29T11:31:00.253", "last_editor_user_id": null, "owner_user_id": null, "parent_id": "5140", "post_type": "answer", "score": 8 } ]

[ { "body": "雨が降りそうです Means specifically that you think it is going to rain based on your\nown observation. Also take note that if you said 降るそうです the meaning would be\nslightly different.\n\n雨が降るみたいです Includes the above meaning, but also could mean that you heard it\nwill rain, or suspect it might rain for some other reason. みたい is a very broad\nterm.\n\nAs for the second part of your question\n\nこのセーターは家で洗えるみたいです Would mean that you think you could wash it at home. This is\na good way to say this.", "comment_count": 0, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0", "creation_date": "2012-04-01T22:04:23.717", "id": "5151", "last_activity_date": "2012-04-01T22:04:23.717", "last_edit_date": null, "last_editor_user_id": null, "owner_user_id": "1129", "parent_id": "5143", "post_type": "answer", "score": 2 } ]

[ { "body": "They might be refering to the fact that いいえ can also be used to essentially\nsay \"that's ok\" / \"no problem\" / \"don't mention it\" when someone appologizes\nto you or thanks you for something.\n\nOr that there's other ways to say \"no\" and that you shouldn't take いいえ as the\nonly correct way to say it in all circumstances.", "comment_count": 0, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0", "creation_date": "2012-03-31T08:50:35.593", "id": "5145", "last_activity_date": "2012-03-31T08:50:35.593", "last_edit_date": null, "last_editor_user_id": null, "owner_user_id": "1173", "parent_id": "5144", "post_type": "answer", "score": 4 }, { "body": "With English `no`:\n\n> A: Aren't you hungry? \n> B: Yes, I am hungry./No, I am not hungry.\n\nBut in Japanese, `いいえ` express whether you agree or not with what was said:\n\n> A: お腹が空いていませんか。 \n> B: いいえ、空いています。/はい、空いていません。", "comment_count": 4, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0", "creation_date": "2012-03-31T09:24:37.093", "id": "5146", "last_activity_date": "2012-04-01T02:48:47.383", "last_edit_date": "2012-04-01T02:48:47.383", "last_editor_user_id": null, "owner_user_id": "1218", "parent_id": "5144", "post_type": "answer", "score": 6 }, { "body": "As a matter of etiquette it's perhaps also worth mentioning that 「いいえ」is not\nappropriate in all situations where \"no\" might be appropriate in English and\nmany other languages. It's important to keep this in mind in real life\nconversation.\n\nFor example, when turning down an invitation, 「いいえ」 would often be considered\nrude, where \"no thanks\" may be fine in English.", "comment_count": 0, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0", "creation_date": "2012-04-01T20:17:28.457", "id": "5150", "last_activity_date": "2012-04-02T15:47:38.560", "last_edit_date": "2012-04-02T15:47:38.560", "last_editor_user_id": "1272", "owner_user_id": "1272", "parent_id": "5144", "post_type": "answer", "score": 4 }, { "body": "The key to whether to reply with はい or いいえ is not whether the _form_ of the\nquestion is positive or negative, but whether the question is asked in a way\nwhich expects a positive or a negative answer:\n\n> 一緒に行きませんか？(expects a positive answer) \n> はい、是非一緒に行きましょう。\n>\n> 一緒に行かないんですか？(expects a negative answer) \n> はい、残念ながら行けません。\n\nI guess this response could be regarded as cyclic, since the obvious next\nquestion would be when a question expects a positive or a negative answer.\nUsually positive forms expect positive answers and negative forms expect\nnegative answers. The tricky ones are the simple negative-form+か (without んです\nor のです), which are often used for invitations, or to ask for agreement. An\nexample of an invitation is given above. Below is an example of asking for\nagreement.\n\n> これ、おかしくありませんか？ \n> はい、そうですね。おかしいですね。\n\nReturning to いいえ, I would say that in practise, it's mostly used in the sense\nwhich gibbon describes. Using it as \"No\" sounds pretty strong. More often, the\nmain verb/adjective is repeated in positive/negative as needed.", "comment_count": 0, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0", "creation_date": "2012-04-02T01:52:47.137", "id": "5152", "last_activity_date": "2012-04-02T01:52:47.137", "last_edit_date": "2020-06-17T08:18:27.500", "last_editor_user_id": "-1", "owner_user_id": "1073", "parent_id": "5144", "post_type": "answer", "score": 10 } ]

[ { "body": "I usually say ウイルスがいます/いるよ, not ウイルスがあります/あるよ.\n\nEdit: So I just found that います may be used more in daily conversations than\nscientific articles or theses.", "comment_count": 3, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0", "creation_date": "2012-04-01T10:49:25.553", "id": "5148", "last_activity_date": "2012-04-01T14:04:16.967", "last_edit_date": "2012-04-01T14:04:16.967", "last_editor_user_id": null, "owner_user_id": null, "parent_id": "5147", "post_type": "answer", "score": 5 }, { "body": "Search on google:\n\n<http://goo.gl/W8hjk> ⇐ います gets less than 10000 results.\n\n<http://goo.gl/ajJq2> ⇐ あります gets 3.3M retuls.\n\nEnough said ?", "comment_count": 17, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0", "creation_date": "2012-04-01T11:51:48.790", "id": "5149", "last_activity_date": "2012-04-01T11:58:57.720", "last_edit_date": "2012-04-01T11:58:57.720", "last_editor_user_id": "1065", "owner_user_id": "1065", "parent_id": "5147", "post_type": "answer", "score": 1 }, { "body": "I personally think both existing answers should be sufficient for this\nquestion, but since they cannot seem to gather consensus, allow me to give it\nmy own try:\n\nThe short answer is that _both_ いる and ある forms can be used in a scientific\n(biological) context. Simple as that.\n\n 1. A quick poll of available colleagues gave out that some preferred いる, some preferred ある, but neither form was particularly shocking to their ears. \n\n 2. Google Scholar gives [16 papers with いる](http://scholar.google.com/scholar?hl=en&q=%22%E3%82%A6%E3%82%A4%E3%83%AB%E3%82%B9%E3%81%8C%E3%81%84%E3%82%8B%22&btnG=Search&as_sdt=0,5&as_ylo=&as_vis=0) and [70 with ある](http://scholar.google.com/scholar?hl=en&q=%22%E3%82%A6%E3%82%A4%E3%83%AB%E3%82%B9%E3%81%8C%E3%81%82%E3%82%8B%22&btnG=Search&as_sdt=0,5&as_ylo=&as_vis=0). There is clearly a preference for the latter, but not so significant that the former could be considered improper.\n\n 3. There is just no way to derive a logical/grammatical (prescriptivist) rule as to which form should be used, considering there is no universal _biological_ consensus as to whether viruses are \"alive\" (and even less so as to whether they are \"animate\" or \"inanimate\" objects). The best you will ever get is a descriptivist rule based on usage.", "comment_count": 3, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0", "creation_date": "2012-04-02T03:46:43.123", "id": "5153", "last_activity_date": "2012-04-02T03:46:43.123", "last_edit_date": null, "last_editor_user_id": null, "owner_user_id": "290", "parent_id": "5147", "post_type": "answer", "score": 12 } ]

[ { "body": "`乗っける` is a colloquial and mascline (rough) way of saying `乗せる`. In formal\noccasions, you should not use `乗っける`.", "comment_count": 3, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0", "creation_date": "2012-04-02T22:08:35.523", "id": "5156", "last_activity_date": "2012-04-02T22:08:35.523", "last_edit_date": null, "last_editor_user_id": null, "owner_user_id": null, "parent_id": "5155", "post_type": "answer", "score": 8 }, { "body": "乗っかる･乗っける are Kanto dialectal versions of 乗る･乗せる which have made it into the\nmodern Tokyo dialect as colloquialisms.", "comment_count": 0, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0", "creation_date": "2012-04-03T00:55:18.873", "id": "5159", "last_activity_date": "2012-04-03T00:55:18.873", "last_edit_date": null, "last_editor_user_id": null, "owner_user_id": "1073", "parent_id": "5155", "post_type": "answer", "score": 3 } ]

[ { "body": "[驚くにはあたらない](http://eow.alc.co.jp/search?q=%E9%A9%9A%E3%81%8F%E3%81%AB%E3%81%AF%E3%81%82%E3%81%9F%E3%82%89%E3%81%AA%E3%81%84)\nmeans \"it's not surprising that\", so your second translation is correct.", "comment_count": 0, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0", "creation_date": "2012-04-03T00:46:21.207", "id": "5158", "last_activity_date": "2012-04-03T00:46:21.207", "last_edit_date": null, "last_editor_user_id": null, "owner_user_id": "796", "parent_id": "5157", "post_type": "answer", "score": 5 } ]

[ { "body": "As for 済ます and 済ませる, from my research it looks like the meaning of the two is\nequivalent.\n\nThe せる in 済ませる denotes causation, the same as in 食べさせる or 話させる.\n\nThe す in 済ます is the old form of せる, and is still sometimes used (opinion seems\ndivided on where exactly. I would love to know if there's a specific region).\n\nTherefore 済ませる is now the common usage, where originally it was 済ます.\n\nOther examples of the same phenomenon would be 燃やす and 生かす。\n\nThere is a much more exhaustive discussion in the second source below that you\nmay want to see.\n\nAs for 終える and 終わらせる, the meaning is the same, but the causative せる lends a\nsense of achievement or overcoming hardship to finish something, whereas 終える\nseems more incidental.\n\nIt's also worth noting that 終える, out of context, has two possible meanings\n(the one from this discussion, and the meaning of something ending by\nitself/naturally), whereas 終わらせる has only one meaning and so could be be\nconsidered clearer in certain circumstances.\n\nSources (Japanese):\n[1](http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=%E6%B8%88%E3%81%BE%E3%81%99%E3%80%80%E6%B8%88%E3%81%BE%E3%81%9B%E3%82%8B&source=web&cd=1&ved=0CCYQFjAA&url=http://detail.chiebukuro.yahoo.co.jp/qa/question_detail/q1213364252&ei=y3N6T9uXGorN8QOEhICRBQ&usg=AFQjCNE0LyUn3PFKTFF-\nxlcJlpsPsZIRYw&sig2=RJAd4kYJLQP0SwwWOplkmw),\n[2](http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=%E6%B8%88%E3%81%BE%E3%81%99%E3%80%80%E6%B8%88%E3%81%BE%E3%81%9B%E3%82%8B&source=web&cd=2&ved=0CDQQFjAB&url=http://detail.chiebukuro.yahoo.co.jp/qa/question_detail/q1444821814&ei=y3N6T9uXGorN8QOEhICRBQ&usg=AFQjCNERdFLmEyGwqEB2spLCCihYFRyCjg&sig2=Os6LKHuW8JpQrLtzqUfQqA),\n[3](http://questionbox.jp.msn.com/qa4618036.html)", "comment_count": 0, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0", "creation_date": "2012-04-03T04:06:19.070", "id": "5161", "last_activity_date": "2012-04-03T04:53:49.793", "last_edit_date": "2012-04-03T04:53:49.793", "last_editor_user_id": "1272", "owner_user_id": "1272", "parent_id": "5160", "post_type": "answer", "score": 12 } ]

[ { "body": "シュート is a baseball term. It seems to me like different people have different\nterms for this pitch (although I'm no baseball expert).\n\nAccording to the [Wikipedia article](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shuuto)\n(which references Mr. Baseball, incidentally) and its talk page, it's a\n\"shuuto\" or \"shootball\" in English, but some people may recognize and describe\nit as a \"sinker\" or \"reverse slider\".", "comment_count": 3, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0", "creation_date": "2012-04-03T16:00:57.557", "id": "5163", "last_activity_date": "2012-04-03T16:00:57.557", "last_edit_date": null, "last_editor_user_id": null, "owner_user_id": "315", "parent_id": "5162", "post_type": "answer", "score": 5 } ]

[ { "body": "It might not quite be the same figurative use... but according to goo辞書, 春風\n(at least when paired with 駘蕩{たいとう} [ _peaceful_ or _calm_ ],) can also imply\na sort of refreshing calm, peaceful state:\n\n> ２ 物事に動じないで余裕のあるさま。ゆったりとのんびりしているさま。1\n\n1 [goo dictionary\nsource](http://dictionary.goo.ne.jp/leaf/jn2/106978/m0u/%E6%98%A5%E9%A2%A8/)", "comment_count": 0, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0", "creation_date": "2012-04-06T04:25:57.213", "id": "5171", "last_activity_date": "2012-04-06T04:25:57.213", "last_edit_date": null, "last_editor_user_id": null, "owner_user_id": "1188", "parent_id": "5165", "post_type": "answer", "score": 2 } ]

[ { "body": "分 isn't really the \"minute's kanji\", although that is one of its meanings. I\nbelieve the meaning of \"part\" came first though, and it is used for \"minute\"\nin the sense that a minute is a unit or part of time.\n\nAccording to [this source](http://gogen-allguide.com/si/jibun.html), the 分\nfrom 自分 means the same thing as the 分 from from 本分, representing one's\ncapacity/ability, and historically was used to mean the same as 私自身. The\nearliest recorded usage of the word 自分 was in 827AD.\n\nIf you do a search for 自分の分 you'll find discussion not of the etymology, but\nthe philosophy of oneself, and how the definition of this varies from person\nto person. This makes me think it is still regarded with a sense of one's own\npart, abilities, responsibilities etc in life.", "comment_count": 2, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0", "creation_date": "2012-04-04T15:02:48.297", "id": "5168", "last_activity_date": "2012-04-05T07:28:49.897", "last_edit_date": "2012-04-05T07:28:49.897", "last_editor_user_id": "1272", "owner_user_id": "1272", "parent_id": "5167", "post_type": "answer", "score": 15 } ]

[ { "body": "I think this sentence means something like:\n\n> \"During the war, in a situation under thought censorship [the restriction of\n> [freedom of thought](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Freedom_of_thought)], she\n> still continued to possess a free mind.\"\n\nI think `なお` can be translated as \"still\" here, and that\n[`統制下`](http://eow.alc.co.jp/%E7%B5%B1%E5%88%B6%E4%B8%8B/UTF-8/) generally\nrefers to \"under control/regulation (by a state etc)\".\n\nLooking at [this Hatena::Keyword\narticle](http://d.hatena.ne.jp/keyword/%BB%D7%C1%DB%C5%FD%C0%A9), it seems\n`思想統制` means where policy-makers restrict the freedom of thought of citizens,\nand the regulation/control of opportunities for expression via\npublications/speech etc.", "comment_count": 0, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0", "creation_date": "2012-04-04T22:05:14.373", "id": "5170", "last_activity_date": "2012-04-05T12:45:16.357", "last_edit_date": "2012-04-05T12:45:16.357", "last_editor_user_id": "796", "owner_user_id": "796", "parent_id": "5169", "post_type": "answer", "score": 5 } ]

[ { "body": "For letters to a person, affix it with 様. For Itou family, it would be\nイトウ(御)一家様. For letters to a company or institution, affix it with 御中.", "comment_count": 0, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0", "creation_date": "2012-04-06T14:33:30.160", "id": "5173", "last_activity_date": "2012-04-06T14:33:30.160", "last_edit_date": null, "last_editor_user_id": null, "owner_user_id": null, "parent_id": "5172", "post_type": "answer", "score": 4 } ]

[ { "body": "First lets take on `ほとんど～ない` and `めったに～ない`\n\nThe big difference between the two can be expressed with these two keywords:\n`程度` and `頻度`.\n\n * `ほとんど～ない` expresses `程度` (you could think of it as \"degree\" or \"extent\") **and** `頻度` (frequency) (credit @sawa for pointing out ほとんど has both)\n\n * `めったに～ない` expresses `頻度` only (or `回数の多さ`, you could think of it as \"frequency\" or \"how often something happens (or is performed)). Also, `めった` in 漢字 is `滅多`. Notice the relationship with `多`?\n\nLets look at some examples:\n\n> 漢字がほとんど読めない\n>\n> 彼の声がほとんど聞こえない\n\nIn the above examples, the `ほとんど` cannot be replaced with `めったに`. Do you see\nwhy? The concept of \"how often\" for the ability to read `漢字` and ability to\nhear someones voice doesn't make much sense.\n\nHowever, lets look at an example were both can be used.\n\n> テレビをほとんど見ない\n>\n> テレビをめったに見ない\n\nBoth can be used here. However, I feel that `ほとんど～ない` is more common (Googling\nboth phrases gave me a lot more hits for `テレビをほとんど見ない`.) There also may be\nother subtle differences, however I could not find conclusive evidence at this\ntime (if anyone has any insight please let me know!).\n\nAlso,\n\n> めったに見ない車\n\nWhen I read the above (the action of seeing), I think `めったに～ない` is better here\n(unfortunately that might be a personal opinion).\n\nNow, lets add `まれ` to the bunch. `まれ` falls under the same category as `めったに`,\nin that it expresses frequency. The difference is in the usage (the meaning is\nexactly the same as `めったに見ない`).\n\n> まれに見ない // Not Japanese\n>\n> まれに見る // Okay\n\n`まれ` technically is already a negative expression meaning\n`実現・存在することが非常に少ないさま。また、数少なくて珍しいさま`\n([reference](http://dictionary.goo.ne.jp/leaf/jn2/210188/m0u/)), so you can't\nuse it with a negative as in the first example because it would become a\ndouble negative.", "comment_count": 6, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0", "creation_date": "2012-04-09T03:15:00.297", "id": "5192", "last_activity_date": "2012-04-09T06:54:44.103", "last_edit_date": "2020-06-17T08:18:27.500", "last_editor_user_id": "-1", "owner_user_id": "1217", "parent_id": "5174", "post_type": "answer", "score": 5 } ]

[ { "body": "I usually hear people draw out the long \"su\" at the end of a sentence when\ngiving some sort of presentation or speech (where it gives emphasis to\nspeaker's sentence... or, perhaps, gives the speaker more time to think about\nwhat to say next.) It happens in English, too, like when a voice-over\nannouncer makes something sound more dramatic.\n\nIn most general conversation, keeping the short \"s\" sound should be fine.", "comment_count": 0, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0", "creation_date": "2012-04-06T22:25:31.380", "id": "5176", "last_activity_date": "2012-04-06T22:25:31.380", "last_edit_date": null, "last_editor_user_id": null, "owner_user_id": "1188", "parent_id": "5175", "post_type": "answer", "score": 5 }, { "body": "The best way I can describe the normal sound of the 'u' part of す is that it\nis said as far under your breath as possible. However there is always a sound\neven if it is not noticeable. It takes a fair bit of exposure to pick it up.\n\nOne of the problems you are probably having with this is that your text book\nsays that you just drop the 'u' part at the end. This really isn't true at\nall, the correct sound is just hard for English speakers to say at first.\n\nます does not sound like 'mas' as in the English 'Christmas', there is always\nsomething after the 's' part.\n\nThat being said if your untrained ears hear a 'u' that sound like as in the\nEnglish 'sue', there are two possible reasons for that.\n\n1) The person is making fun of your accent (as English speakers tend to really\nmess this up).\n\n2) They are asking a question. Asking a question in this way is normally\nconsidered less polite than adding か.", "comment_count": 5, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0", "creation_date": "2012-04-17T05:16:42.500", "id": "5225", "last_activity_date": "2012-04-17T05:16:42.500", "last_edit_date": null, "last_editor_user_id": null, "owner_user_id": "1129", "parent_id": "5175", "post_type": "answer", "score": 1 }, { "body": "I've long been puzzled by this. I've been told it was more common in Kansai,\nbut I've definitely heard it in Tokyo, although I have no idea where the\npeople were originally from. People have told me it was a dialectal\ndifference, only to get caught saying it themselves later. Go figure.\n\nIt's particularly common in short expressive phrases like そう（なん）です～. I can\nonly suppose the extra vowel allows for more expression. I sometimes feel it\nalmost replaces ね.", "comment_count": 2, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0", "creation_date": "2012-04-17T13:47:03.393", "id": "5226", "last_activity_date": "2012-04-17T13:47:03.393", "last_edit_date": null, "last_editor_user_id": null, "owner_user_id": "801", "parent_id": "5175", "post_type": "answer", "score": 4 }, { "body": "This is the result of a well known [devoicing rule in\nJapanese](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanese_phonology#Devoicing).\nDevoicing means that there is no vibration of the vocal folds. For example,\nthe difference between [s] and [z] is only that [z] is voiced. The IPA\ndiacritic for devoiced phones is a circle at the bottom of the glyph e.g.\n[z̥]=[s]. Although there is still much dialectal,\n[idiolectal](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Idiolect) (the way a particular\nindividual uses words), and lexical (the way a particular word is used by\nindividuals) variation in devoicing vowels, and in fact, what is called\nJapanese vowel devoicing does not in all cases result in merely a devoiced\nvowel. Taken from [The Sounds of Japanese (Vance,\n2008)](http://www.cambridge.org/gb/knowledge/isbn/item1157656/?site_locale=en_GB):\n\n> The so-called devoiced vowel is actually missing entirely in many cases,\n> although traces of it remain as coarticulations in the immediately preceding\n> consonant. Some researchers refer to the affected vowel as reduced, and this\n> term is more accurate as it covers a wider range of possibilities.\n\nA [coarticulation](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coarticulation) in a preceding\nconsonant means that, for a consonant vowel sequence the consonant has been\npronounced (articulated) slightly differently in anticipation of the upcoming\nvowel, so different vowels might result in slightly different articulations of\nthat consonant. Coarticulation is one acoustic feature that complicates speech\nrecognition/synthesis.\n\nThe traditional and most simple description of vowel devoicing, taken from [An\nIntroduction to Japanese Linguistics (Tsujimura,\n2006)](http://ca.wiley.com/WileyCDA/WileyTitle/productCd-1405110651.html),\ngives two conditions for devoicing which Vance calls a good first\napproximation:\n\n 1. The high vowels /i/ and /u/ are voiceless when they are at the end of the word and are preceded by a voiceless consonant\n 2. The high vowels /i/ and /u/ are voiceless between voiceless consonants.\n\nThe う in です# and ます# (# represents end of utterance) satisfy the first\ncondition and so undergo devoicing:\n\n * desɯ# → desɯ̥# since /s/ is a voiceless consonant\n * masɯ# → masɯ̥# since /s/ is a voiceless consonant\n\nIf, for example, we have ですか, the う is still devoiced because /ɯ/ is found\nbetween /s/ and /k/ (/desɯka/) which are both voiceless consonants and so the\n2nd condition is applicable. Devoicing a vowel can be tricky if you\ndeliberately try it in isolation, but to do so just don't let your vocal folds\nvibrate.\n\nHowever Vance offers the following relevant observation:\n\n> Devoicing between a voiceless consonant and a pause is much less consistent\n> than devoicing between two voiceless consonants.\n\nThere is one immediate complication (among several) to devoicing high vowels;\nwhat happens when a vowel is both devoiced and [pitch-\naccented](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanese_pitch_accent), as in the /i/\nof 四季 /ɕika/? The contradiction is that you cannot have a high pitch on a\nphone that isn't voiced (vocal fold vibration, or\n[phonation](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phonation), is what generates that\npart of the signal that is perceived as pitch). Usually textbooks (or at least\nthe two that I know of) in a first course of Japanese linguistics will not\naddress this contradiction. This paper [Against Marking Accent Locations in\nJapanese Textbooks (Hasegawa,\n1995)](http://socrates.berkeley.edu/~hasegawa/Accent/accent.html) argues\nagainst this pedagogical simplification:\n\n> The fact that native listeners do hear an accent on a devoiced syllable\n> indicates that associating an accent invariably with a high pitch cannot be\n> an accurate description of the language. This paper discusses how Japanese\n> accent is actually realized and argues that marking accent locations in\n> textbooks without a detailed explanation about accent is merely an extra\n> complication that introductory textbooks should avoid.\n\nDevoicing becomes rather complicated when intonation and other exceptional\ncases are considered, but just looking at the sheer number of papers on the\ntopic it seems to be a well studied and documented feature of Japanese\nphonology.", "comment_count": 2, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0", "creation_date": "2012-07-15T14:03:26.823", "id": "6143", "last_activity_date": "2015-01-19T05:32:36.233", "last_edit_date": "2015-01-19T05:32:36.233", "last_editor_user_id": null, "owner_user_id": "1454", "parent_id": "5175", "post_type": "answer", "score": 14 } ]

[ { "body": "`か` is a sentence final particle that makes a question, and `よ` is a sentence\nfinal particle that adds the subject's attitude. Ignoring the meaning added by\n`よ`, which does not affect the core meaning of the sentence, all of the\nsentences you have are questions. And in all of your examples, they are\nrhetorical questions.\n\n> 知るかよ \n> literally: 'Do I know/bother about it?' \n> 'I don't know/bother about it!'\n>\n> まじかよ \n> literally: 'Is that serious?' \n> 'I can't believe it!'\n>\n> 食べるかよ \n> literally: 'Will I eat it?' \n> 'I won't eat it!'\n>\n> [欧米か!](http://youtu.be/Exbu7SbKg_k)\n\nNote that the addition of `よ` adds subject's attitude, which makes it\ndifficult to interpret the sentences as literal questions.", "comment_count": 2, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0", "creation_date": "2012-04-07T03:00:18.377", "id": "5178", "last_activity_date": "2012-04-07T13:04:18.993", "last_edit_date": "2020-06-17T08:18:27.500", "last_editor_user_id": "-1", "owner_user_id": null, "parent_id": "5177", "post_type": "answer", "score": 10 } ]

[ { "body": "Certainly not. In the original meaning of だめ, it means the adjacent empty\ngrids for the survival of a stone piece in the game of go.", "comment_count": 0, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0", "creation_date": "2012-04-08T04:22:39.833", "id": "5184", "last_activity_date": "2012-04-08T04:22:39.833", "last_edit_date": null, "last_editor_user_id": null, "owner_user_id": null, "parent_id": "5179", "post_type": "answer", "score": 2 }, { "body": "I don't think that `駄目` and `悪い` are very similar (at least as far as I know),\nso I've included `いけない` as I think there is some overlap between the three.\n\nOn the end of verbs:\n\n> * 行っては駄目/行ってはいけない = \"you must not go\" (or sometimes translated as \"it will\n> be bad if you go\")\n>\n> * (行っては悪い isn't used as far as I know.)\n>\n>\n\nBy themselves, plain present as an exclamation:\n\n> * 駄目！ = \"no!\"/\"you must not do that!\" (or sometimes \"it will be bad if you\n> do that!\")\n>\n> * いけない！ = \"darn it!\"\n>\n> * 悪い！ = \"sorry!\"/\"my bad!\"/\"it's my fault!\" (thanks to Hyperworm in the\n> comments)\n>\n>\n\nBy themselves, plain past:\n\n> * 駄目だった = \"it was in vain\"\n>\n> * いけなかった/悪かった = \"[I was wrong/it was bad for me] (to have done something)\"\n>\n>\n\nIn describing a person, plain present:\n\n> * 彼は駄目だ = \"he is good-for-nothing/useless/incompetent/hopeless\"\n>\n> * 彼はいけない = \"he is naughty\"\n>\n> * 彼は悪い人だ = \"he is a bad person\"\n>\n> * 彼が悪い = \"it's his fault\"\n>\n>\n\nIn describing a person, plain past:\n\n> * 彼は駄目だった = \"he was good-for-nothing/useless/incompetent/hopeless\"\n>\n> * あの人は小説家としては駄目だった = \"That guy was a failure as a novelist\"\n>\n> * 彼がいけなかった/彼が悪かった = \"[he was wrong/it was bad for him] (to have done\n> something)\"\n>\n>\n\n* * *\n\nIn summary,\n[`悪い`](http://dic.yahoo.co.jp/dsearch?p=%E6%82%AA%E3%81%84&enc=UTF-8&stype=0&dtype=3)\ncan mean:\n\n> * \"bad/evil/horrible/unpleasant\" as in 悪い人/悪い奴 \"a bad/horrible/wicked\n> person\"\n> * \"poor/inferior/bad\" as in 質の悪い \"poor quality\" or 頭が悪い \"an inferior\n> intellect\"\n> * \"in bad shape\" (health-wise) as in 体調が悪い/\"bad\" as in 体に悪い \"bad for you\"\n> * \"(someone's) fault\"/\"(someone being) to blame\"/\"(someone being)\n> mistaken\"\n>\n\nand\n[`駄目`](http://dic.yahoo.co.jp/dsearch?p=%E3%81%A0%E3%82%81&enc=UTF-8&stype=0&dtype=3)\ncan mean:\n\n> * \"useless\"/\"unusable\"\n> * \"it's no use\" as in \"whatever you do, it's not going to make a\n> difference\" 何をやっても駄目だ (similar to 無駄{むだ})\n> * \"in vain\" as in 駄目だった \"it was in vain\"\n> * \"hopeless\" as in もう駄目 \"beyond hope\" (similar to もういけない)\n> * \"something which must not be done\" as in 駄目！/やっちゃ駄目だよ！ etc\n>\n\nit all depends on the context.\n\n**Sources:** Space ALC, the Yahoo J-E progressive dictionary, Daijisen.\n\n**Note:** I hope this will be useful, but it's far from complete and may well\ncontain errors.", "comment_count": 1, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0", "creation_date": "2012-04-08T08:44:46.530", "id": "5186", "last_activity_date": "2012-04-10T02:07:51.270", "last_edit_date": "2012-04-10T02:07:51.270", "last_editor_user_id": "796", "owner_user_id": "796", "parent_id": "5179", "post_type": "answer", "score": 8 } ]

[ { "body": "That's right; どころか is one way to express the \"much less\" English phrase in\nJapanese.\n\nまして or ましてや is another common way to express this.\n\nFor example:\n\n> 私はピアノを弾{ひ}くことはできない。ましてや楽譜{がくふ}は読めない。\n\n \nNote: These type of phrases tend to be written using Hiragana these days, but\nsome of the Kanji (associated with these expressions) are listed on [this\nreference site](http://ja.glosbe.com/en/ja/much%20less), as well.", "comment_count": 0, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0", "creation_date": "2012-04-07T14:50:00.160", "id": "5181", "last_activity_date": "2012-04-07T14:50:00.160", "last_edit_date": null, "last_editor_user_id": null, "owner_user_id": "1188", "parent_id": "5180", "post_type": "answer", "score": 7 }, { "body": "I think you can use:\n\n> * ～どころか～も/すら/すらも・・・ない\n> * ～はおろか、～も/すら/すらも/さえ/さえも・・・ない\n> * ～はおろか、～など・・・はずがない/はずもない\n> * ～はもちろん（or もちろんのこと）、～も/すら/すらも/さえ/すらも・・・ない\n> * ～ない。まして（or ましてや）～など・・・はずがない/はずもない/わけがない/[言]{い}うに[及]{およ}ばない\n>\n\n\"I don't know hiragana, let alone kanji\":\n\n> * [漢字]{かんじ}どころか、[平仮名]{ひらがな}も（or すら/すらも etc.）[知]{し}りません。\n> * 漢字はもちろん、平仮名も（or すら/すらも etc.）知りません。\n> * 漢字はおろか、平仮名も（or すら/すらも etc.）知りません。\n> * 漢字はおろか、平仮名など知るはずもありません。\n> * 平仮名は知りません。まして（or ましてや）漢字など、知るはずが(or はずも/わけが)ありません/漢字など、言うに及びません。\n>\n\n\"He couldn't boil water, let alone prepare a dinner for eight\":\n\n> * 彼は８[人分]{にんぶん}の[食事]{しょくじ}を[作]{つく}るどころか、お[湯]{ゆ}を[沸]{わ}かすことも(or すら/すらも\n> etc.)できなかった。\n> * 彼は８人分の食事を作ることはおろか、お湯を沸かすことも（or すら/すらも etc.）できなかった。\n> * 彼は８人分の食事を作ることはおろか、お湯を沸かすことなど、できるはずもなかった。\n> * 彼は８人分の食事を作ることはもちろん、お湯を沸かすことも（or すら/すらも etc.）できなかった。\n> * 彼はお湯も沸かせなかった。まして（or ましてや）８人分の食事を作るなど、できるはずが（or\n> はずも/わけが）なかった/８人分の食事を作る(こと)など、言うに及ばなかった。\n>", "comment_count": 0, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0", "creation_date": "2012-04-07T18:53:44.513", "id": "5182", "last_activity_date": "2012-04-07T23:26:19.110", "last_edit_date": "2012-04-07T23:26:19.110", "last_editor_user_id": "796", "owner_user_id": null, "parent_id": "5180", "post_type": "answer", "score": 20 } ]

[ { "body": "Given that the word is _constructed out of_ the Japanese language, it would be\nan understandable mistake to think the word was Japanese.\n\nHowever, \"flyjin\" is **not** a Japanese word.\n\nThe word \"flyjin\" was coined within the English speaking foreign community in\nJapan, where the issue of people leaving Japan after the earthquake was a\ntopic of much discussion.\n\nJapanese people, for the most part, are unaware, and unconcerned, about the\nissues that gave rise to the term. Thus the term \"flyjin\" is almost entirely\nunknown to Japanese people.\n\nFollowing from that, there is no widely accepted \"correct\" way to write it in\nJapanese. Nor is there an accepted Japanese equivalent term. If you are\nspeaking to a Japanese person about \"flyjin\", you will have to explain the\nconcept however you see fit.\n\nFor antonyms, they also exist only within the subculture of English speaking\nforeigners in Japan, and would not be considered \"Japanese\" words. Still,\nthere are two contenders. One is \"stayjin\", the meaning and origins of which\nare self evident.\n\nAnother is a term coined by a friend of mine: \"fryjin\". It refers to \"fry\", as\nin those who stayed after the earthquake were \"fried\" by the radiation from\nthe Fukushima nuclear power plants.\n\nThe best part about it is that in katakana, it's the same as \"flyjin\": フライジン.\nSo Japanese can't tell the difference between the words, just as they don't\nreally differentiate between foreigners who stayed and those who didn't. I\nlike the metacontextual implications.", "comment_count": 6, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0", "creation_date": "2012-04-08T05:39:07.973", "id": "5185", "last_activity_date": "2012-04-09T03:03:54.857", "last_edit_date": "2012-04-09T03:03:54.857", "last_editor_user_id": "119", "owner_user_id": "119", "parent_id": "5183", "post_type": "answer", "score": 7 } ]

[ { "body": "2 - `うぬ` comes from the kanji `己` (any my dictionary also shows `汝`) which is\na character for \"self\". `己` has several readings including `おのれ`, `おの`, `おれ`\nand `うぬ`. They mostly are used to refer to yourself, but apparently can be\nused vulgarly to mean \"you\" (in the 2nd person). My dictionary says it as\n\"Blockhead!\".\n\nI feel that any of these forms is mostly archaic and/or literary, but this is\njust my intuition speaking, so I'm not positive.", "comment_count": 0, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0", "creation_date": "2012-04-08T23:31:08.297", "id": "5190", "last_activity_date": "2012-04-08T23:31:08.297", "last_edit_date": null, "last_editor_user_id": null, "owner_user_id": "78", "parent_id": "5187", "post_type": "answer", "score": 0 }, { "body": "> What's the meaning of a phrase: 御用の向きとは?\n\ngo-yō means business. It is an honorific expression. muki, in this context,\nmeans desire or wish. And towa is grammar that is being used here to express a\nquestion. \"What is it that you desire?\" or \"What is your business?\". Depending\nof the fuller context, you may be able to simplify this to \"What can I do for\nyou?\"\n\n> Is it a set expression?\n\nNot really. All of the parts express a specific meaning and can be separated\nand used similarly in other expressions.\n\n> I found a few examples where it was ended with a question mark, in some\n> cases preceded by addressing an interlocutor by his/her name. Is it always\n> used that way?\n\nThis is due to towa. It has various usages, but here you may think of it as to\n(iu no) wa (nan desu ka).\n\n> What's the usage of うぬ in the meaning of \"you\"? Is it an obsolete form? Does\n> it imply some difference of status between interlocutors?\n\nunu is typically a pejorative term that used to insult the recipient. As such,\nit is not usually a matter difference of status. However, it sounds old and\nmay also be used for this reason without necessarily including the pejorative\nsense.", "comment_count": 0, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0", "creation_date": "2012-04-23T14:45:41.267", "id": "5255", "last_activity_date": "2012-04-23T14:45:41.267", "last_edit_date": null, "last_editor_user_id": null, "owner_user_id": "1141", "parent_id": "5187", "post_type": "answer", "score": 3 } ]

[ { "body": "You are wrong. They do take `を`.\n\n> ラップでごはんを包む \n> 知識を役に立てる\n\nOne tricky thing is that, `知識を役に立てる` is derived from `知識が役に立つ`, and the reason\n`知識` takes `を` in the former is not because it is the (underlying) direct\nobject, but because of what is technically called exceptional case marking.\n\nAs for how to learn them, that is too vague a question here.\n\n* * *\n\n**An ironical question**\n\nHow do I learn which particles go with which phrase? Why is `the truck` takes\n`on` in:\n\n> load hay on the truck\n\nbut accusative case in:\n\n> load the truck with hay", "comment_count": 1, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0", "creation_date": "2012-04-08T19:14:41.430", "id": "5189", "last_activity_date": "2012-04-09T02:25:53.393", "last_edit_date": "2012-04-09T02:25:53.393", "last_editor_user_id": null, "owner_user_id": null, "parent_id": "5188", "post_type": "answer", "score": 3 }, { "body": "I've been finding intransitive verbs where reliable sources say they are\nbecoming transitive i.e. the Japanese are often using を to mark a direct\nobject. 触る (さわる, to touch) is my most recent example. It is not always clear\nfrom these sources if this is due to a recognized language shift, or just a\ncommon mistake.", "comment_count": 0, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0", "creation_date": "2012-05-15T20:16:32.333", "id": "5533", "last_activity_date": "2012-05-15T20:16:32.333", "last_edit_date": null, "last_editor_user_id": null, "owner_user_id": "1345", "parent_id": "5188", "post_type": "answer", "score": 0 } ]

[ { "body": "I think the examples you have are fine. I would personally use `には` (In order\nto ~X, ...). Also note that GUI actions often leave off the `する／します` when it\nis implied. (Further note: I think `タッチ` or `クリック` might be used more than\n`タップ`.)\n\n * コメントを入力するには、タッチしてください\n * (通話／録音)するには、こちらをクリック － Not sure of the exact meaning you want for \"talk\" without some context.\n * 続けるにはログイン（してください）", "comment_count": 0, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0", "creation_date": "2012-04-09T13:53:18.980", "id": "5197", "last_activity_date": "2012-04-10T14:43:01.107", "last_edit_date": "2012-04-10T14:43:01.107", "last_editor_user_id": "78", "owner_user_id": "78", "parent_id": "5191", "post_type": "answer", "score": 5 } ]

[ { "body": "It is difficult to refer to the earthquake without mentioning it. If you don't\nwant to mention it, you can think of other ways to ask:\n\n> 定休日ですか。 \n> 'Is it regular holiday?'\n>\n> なぜしまっているんですか。 \n> 'Why is it closed?'\n>\n> いつ開きますか。 \n> 'When will it be open?'\n\nBut I don't see any reason to avoid the word.", "comment_count": 2, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0", "creation_date": "2012-04-09T05:35:24.450", "id": "5194", "last_activity_date": "2012-04-09T17:51:15.113", "last_edit_date": "2020-06-17T08:18:27.500", "last_editor_user_id": "-1", "owner_user_id": null, "parent_id": "5193", "post_type": "answer", "score": 5 } ]

[ { "body": "It makes it feminine and cute. It may imply that the pronunciation is done\nwith\n[アヒル口](https://www.google.com/search?q=%E3%82%A2%E3%83%92%E3%83%AB%E5%8F%A3&hl=en&prmd=imvnsl&source=lnms&tbm=isch&ei=6piCT_-\ngNuXq0gHo4oCbCA&sa=X&oi=mode_link&ct=mode&cd=2&ved=0CBcQ_AUoAQ&biw=666&bih=662)\n(duck mouth).", "comment_count": 4, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0", "creation_date": "2012-04-09T08:09:28.033", "id": "5196", "last_activity_date": "2012-04-09T08:09:28.033", "last_edit_date": null, "last_editor_user_id": null, "owner_user_id": null, "parent_id": "5195", "post_type": "answer", "score": 3 } ]

[ { "body": "This may be close to that phrase:\n\n>\n> [話{はなし}半{はん}分{ぶん}](http://eow.alc.co.jp/%E8%A9%B1%E5%8D%8A%E5%88%86/UTF-8/)に聞く\n\n`話半分` denotes where roughly half of what is said is a truth, and half is a\nfalsehood or exaggeration [according to\nDaijirin](http://dic.yahoo.co.jp/dsearch?enc=UTF-8&p=%E8%A9%B1%E5%8D%8A%E5%88%86&dtype=0&dname=0ss&stype=0).\n\nAnother similar phrase may be\n[`割り引いて聞く`](http://eow.alc.co.jp/%E5%89%B2%E3%82%8A%E5%BC%95%E3%81%84%E3%81%A6%E8%81%9E%E3%81%8F/UTF-8/),\nwhich means something similar to \"discount some of what somebody says\".\n\nSee also [Space ALC](http://eow.alc.co.jp/search?q=take%20grain%20salt) for\nmore expressions.", "comment_count": 0, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0", "creation_date": "2012-04-10T05:44:50.970", "id": "5199", "last_activity_date": "2012-04-10T06:28:59.950", "last_edit_date": "2012-04-10T06:28:59.950", "last_editor_user_id": "796", "owner_user_id": "796", "parent_id": "5198", "post_type": "answer", "score": 14 }, { "body": "For expressing such stories, the phrase `眉唾もの` is close. Or, in the form of a\npredicate, you can say `眉に唾をつけて聞く`.", "comment_count": 3, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0", "creation_date": "2012-04-10T14:48:30.363", "id": "5200", "last_activity_date": "2012-04-10T18:33:41.853", "last_edit_date": "2012-04-10T18:33:41.853", "last_editor_user_id": null, "owner_user_id": null, "parent_id": "5198", "post_type": "answer", "score": 3 }, { "body": "> 鵜呑｛うの｝みにしない\n\nThis literally means \"don't swallow it whole\" (like a pelican), in other words\ntake it with a grain of salt. For example, when I went clothes shopping\nrecently in Japan and the staff kept saying I looked so good in various things\nI tried on so I ended up buying a bunch of stuff. My Japanese friend later\nrebuked me by saying\n\n> 所詮｛しょせん｝奴｛やつ｝らは販売員｛はんばいいん｝なので、店員｛てんいん｝さんの言｛い｝うことを鵜呑{うの}みにしないで。\n\n\"The staff are salespeople after all, so take what they say with a grain of\nsalt.\" 奴ら here adds a mild derogatory connotation, like \"slimy salespeople\"\nbut not as strong.\n\nOther ways partly mentioned by others are also correct:\n\n> Ｘさんの言｛い｝うことを割｛わ｝り引｛び｝いて聞｛き｝く (or 話｛はなし｝半分｛はんぶん｝に聞｛き｝く)", "comment_count": 0, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0", "creation_date": "2016-12-19T11:18:33.193", "id": "41811", "last_activity_date": "2016-12-19T11:18:33.193", "last_edit_date": null, "last_editor_user_id": null, "owner_user_id": "19118", "parent_id": "5198", "post_type": "answer", "score": 6 } ]

[ { "body": "* 最短で \"for the shortest\"\n * 少なく見積もって \"under the least/shortest estimate\"\n * は as in 六か月は", "comment_count": 5, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0", "creation_date": "2012-04-10T18:58:38.843", "id": "5202", "last_activity_date": "2015-10-09T20:59:33.660", "last_edit_date": "2015-10-09T20:59:33.660", "last_editor_user_id": "1628", "owner_user_id": null, "parent_id": "5201", "post_type": "answer", "score": 5 }, { "body": "I would say \"最低（さいてい:lowest）６ヶ月\".", "comment_count": 0, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0", "creation_date": "2016-12-04T08:10:11.573", "id": "41447", "last_activity_date": "2016-12-04T08:10:11.573", "last_edit_date": null, "last_editor_user_id": null, "owner_user_id": "18939", "parent_id": "5201", "post_type": "answer", "score": 0 } ]

[ { "body": "What if the rule is \"Do not insert a gap that is larger or equal to one\nfullwidth space (sometimes used to separate names), unless it breaks up the\nfamily name and the given name\"?\n\nNames with three characters put a larger space before/after the one-character\nname, in order to make the spacing between the characters of the two-character\nname smaller than one fullwidth space, so that it can be read as a single name\nmore easily.\n\nNames of four characters or longer are long enough within the typeset area\nthat the spacing does not need to be adjusted - the characters are close\nenough together for the name to be read naturally.\n\nI suppose that if you can find an example of a credits screen where the\ntypeset column for names is so wide that even four-character names have\ngreater than one fullwidth space between the characters, it would shoot a hole\nin this theory.\n\n(I also agree with Dave's assessment that \"length 3 names are the hardest to\nparse\".)", "comment_count": 3, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0", "creation_date": "2012-04-11T03:14:40.290", "id": "5204", "last_activity_date": "2012-04-11T03:14:40.290", "last_edit_date": null, "last_editor_user_id": null, "owner_user_id": "315", "parent_id": "5203", "post_type": "answer", "score": 0 }, { "body": "_Making my previous comment an answer, since it turns out to be not as obvious\na suggestion as I thought_\n\nI think we can all agree that the particular spacing makes it easier to read\nthe 3-kanji length names, so the question is why this is done only for 3\nkanji.\n\nMy personal guess is that this is because 3-kanji last+first names\ncombinations are particularly hard to \"parse\", compared to other lengths:\n\n * 2 kanji is trivial\n\n * 4 kanji is statistically very likely to be 2+2 (considering how much more common 2-kanji names are than 1- or 3-kanji).\n\n * 5 (and more) kanji means that at least the first 2 kanji belong to the last name, making it much easier to decide \"on the fly\" whether the 3rd belongs to the last or first name.\n\nRemains the case of 3 kanji, where only one kanji on each side belongs for\ncertain to last/first name. Knowing whether the middle kanji belongs to the\nlast or first name could prove difficult without some deeper analysis (and\nsince we are talking about rolling credits, the ability to be read easily\nwould be quite essential).\n\nThis approach seems a decent compromise between aesthetics and legibility. It\nseems strange that it's been adopted as a standard in all Japanese movie\ncredits (I never realised it to be the rule, but definitely saw it often).\nMaybe it has its root in some previous older media (e.g. lists of authors on a\nbook?).", "comment_count": 1, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0", "creation_date": "2012-04-11T03:26:48.623", "id": "5205", "last_activity_date": "2012-04-11T03:26:48.623", "last_edit_date": null, "last_editor_user_id": null, "owner_user_id": "290", "parent_id": "5203", "post_type": "answer", "score": 5 }, { "body": "I believe the rule you are looking for is called `人名字取り`. `5字取り` is the most\ncommonly used for the closing credits in movies. What this means, is\neverything is aligned based on 5 characters.\n\nHere is an image for reference\n([link](http://www.ayatoweb.com/tv_design/tvd83.html)).\n\n\n\nI found this [other reference](http://www.yut.co.jp/ht_jidori.htm) which has a\nfew more patterns (posted below). If I'm understanding the question correctly,\n`5字取り` or `7字取り` pattern B seems similar to what sawa is explaining. However,\nsince there are many different patterns, it might be impossible to find an\nexact match.\n\n", "comment_count": 10, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0", "creation_date": "2012-04-12T00:49:00.933", "id": "5208", "last_activity_date": "2012-04-15T21:24:07.963", "last_edit_date": "2012-04-15T21:24:07.963", "last_editor_user_id": "1217", "owner_user_id": "1217", "parent_id": "5203", "post_type": "answer", "score": 15 } ]

[ { "body": "Yes, it is. Other variants are `追`, and direct use of the English `P.S.`\n\nThe most common format is\n\n> 追伸 xxxxxx\n\nat the very end of the letter after name and date.\n\nWhen handwriting, it is common to indent further lines to match the start of\nthe text, like so:\n\n> 追伸 xxxxxxxx (line 1) \n> xxxxxxxx (line 2)\n\nThese are more style guidelines than rules as sawa points out in the comments\nbelow.", "comment_count": 6, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0", "creation_date": "2012-04-11T11:24:47.983", "id": "5207", "last_activity_date": "2012-04-11T14:32:12.600", "last_edit_date": "2012-04-11T14:32:12.600", "last_editor_user_id": "1272", "owner_user_id": "1272", "parent_id": "5206", "post_type": "answer", "score": 13 }, { "body": "Adding to @ジョン's answer which I think it is the most general way, `追記` is\npossible too. While personally `追伸` gives me a bit more \"`literary`\" or rather\nclassic letter-style impression, 追記 is more casual (as I said this is my\npersonal opinion). Besides those, they (or I. I'm Japanese) use `P.S.` `PS` so\nnormally too.", "comment_count": 0, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0", "creation_date": "2012-04-24T16:45:25.587", "id": "5266", "last_activity_date": "2016-03-21T15:47:51.690", "last_edit_date": "2016-03-21T15:47:51.690", "last_editor_user_id": "1325", "owner_user_id": "1325", "parent_id": "5206", "post_type": "answer", "score": 3 } ]

[ { "body": "It is the そう of そうです yes. That is it. No deep meaning, nothing.", "comment_count": 9, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0", "creation_date": "2012-04-12T12:24:02.523", "id": "5211", "last_activity_date": "2012-04-12T12:24:02.523", "last_edit_date": null, "last_editor_user_id": null, "owner_user_id": "1065", "parent_id": "5210", "post_type": "answer", "score": 6 }, { "body": "It is そう and means yes or yeah", "comment_count": 0, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0", "creation_date": "2014-12-07T05:08:59.803", "id": "19795", "last_activity_date": "2014-12-07T05:08:59.803", "last_edit_date": null, "last_editor_user_id": null, "owner_user_id": "7883", "parent_id": "5210", "post_type": "answer", "score": 0 }, { "body": "\"そう、そう、そう\" implies strong agreement and affirmation with the remark of the\nother.\n\nTo me, it's very different from simple and curt \"そう.\" She is saying \"It's\nreally delicious\" and demanding affirmation of the other on her statement and\njudgement.\n\nWe usually and casually say \"そう、そう\" in agreement, but don't repeat \"そう\" so\nmany times.\n\nBut she repeated it four times. She must have felt it really, really, really,\nand really delicious.\n\nBy the way, we don't apply Kanji character, 然 to そう. 然 is used for the words\nsuch as \"然しながら\" meaning \"but, however\"、\"然く\" meaning \"like that,\" and a part of\nnouns such as 自然、天然、黙然、憤然、歴然、端然、恬然、豁然、公然、昂然、浩然、and etc.\n\nJust for your amusement though I understand it's off-topic, the degree of\nshock you get every time you fail in the entrance exam of Tokyo University is\ndescibed as;\n\n淡然 in the first challenge\n\n冷然 in the second challenge\n\n凝然 in the thid challenge\n\n唖然 in the fourth challenge.\n\n? in the fifth challenge.", "comment_count": 0, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0", "creation_date": "2016-07-08T04:00:08.920", "id": "36502", "last_activity_date": "2016-07-08T10:26:21.063", "last_edit_date": "2016-07-08T10:26:21.063", "last_editor_user_id": "12056", "owner_user_id": "12056", "parent_id": "5210", "post_type": "answer", "score": 0 }, { "body": "This repeated そう are kind of [aizuchi\n相槌](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aizuchi). It might be regarded as a\n[backchannel](http://www.cs.utep.edu/nigel/bc/) also. (I'm not a linguistic\nexpert.)\n\nAs you may know, native Japanese often use the combinations of verbal and non-\nverbal backchannels like そうそう／うんうん and nodding during the conversation. [This\nsmall study](http://sachikoide.com/Mister_O_Corpus_KaoriKobayashi.pdf) shows\nsome numbers.", "comment_count": 0, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0", "creation_date": "2016-07-11T14:02:23.487", "id": "36584", "last_activity_date": "2016-07-11T15:26:26.730", "last_edit_date": "2016-07-11T15:26:26.730", "last_editor_user_id": null, "owner_user_id": "16065", "parent_id": "5210", "post_type": "answer", "score": 1 } ]

[ { "body": "There is a brief description of this in 日本文法大辞典 (Matsuura Akira, 1971) on page\n505.\n\n> 「て」は、多くの接続助詞と異なり、すべての係助詞、副助詞「のみ」「だに」「すら」、格助詞「の」「より」「から」などを下接する。[略]\n> 格助詞に。例：あひ見 **ての** 後の心にくらぶれば昔はものを思はざりけり (拾遺集 710) / 生レ **テヨリ** コノカタ\n> (中華若木詩抄・中) / 提婆ハヲサナウ **テカラ** 仏ト中カワルカツタソ (勅規桃源鈔, 3)\n\nRough translation:\n\n> - _te_ differs from many other conjunctive particles in that it can be\n> suffixed by all linking particles; adverbial particles - _nomi_ , - _dani_ ,\n> - _sura_ ; and case particles - _no_ , - _yori_ , - _kara_ , etc. [skip]\n> Case particles: (Examples) あひ見 **ての** 後の心にくらぶれば昔はものを思はざりけり (拾遺集 710), 生レ\n> **テヨリ** コノカタ (中華若木詩抄・中), 提婆ハヲサナウ **テカラ** 仏ト中カワルカツタソ (勅規桃源鈔, 3)\n\nAs already noted, in modern Japanese the two most common forms are _mite no\ntōri_ and _sitte no tōri_. As explained above, this is just one of many\nsuffixes that - _te_ can take on.\n\nThere is a fine explanation comparing _mite no tōri_ , _mita tōri_ , and _miru\ntōri_\n[here](http://detail.chiebukuro.yahoo.co.jp/qa/question_detail/q116469966).", "comment_count": 6, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "creation_date": "2012-04-15T17:49:45.217", "id": "5221", "last_activity_date": "2020-01-21T13:46:34.333", "last_edit_date": "2020-01-21T13:46:34.333", "last_editor_user_id": "-1", "owner_user_id": "1141", "parent_id": "5212", "post_type": "answer", "score": 13 } ]

[ { "body": "> Is there a phrase, idiomatic or otherwise, to convey a \"window of\n> opportunity\"?\n\nAs you may have noticed, in English, \"window\" conveys a period of time, that\nis why you can say \"launch window\" and \"window of opportunity\". To convey\n\"window of opportunity” in Japanese, there are several phrases that come to\nmind:\n\n> 好機到来\n>\n> 絶好の機会\n>\n> 今がチャンス\n\n※Side note, you can replace `好機` and `機会` with `チャンス` making `チャンス到来` and\n`絶好のチャンス` which I feel makes it more conversational.\n\nHowever, I think you might be looking for a phrase in Japanese that can be\nused idiomatically like \"window\" is used in English. Unfortunately, there is\nno phrase that exists because this is an English idiom.\n\n> As a secondary question, what exactly does 通報 mean in this context? I mean,\n> does it have a meaning other than \"report; tip; bulletin; message\"?\n\nNo, there is no special meaning here. `通報` is the act of informing or the\nmessage itself. North Korea said they were planning on launching a missile\nwithin a certain period of time, so the `発射通報期間` is the period in which they\nsaid they were going to launch the missile.\n\nBy the way \"launch window\" in Japanese, is\n[打ち上げウィンドウ](http://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E6%89%93%E4%B8%8A%E3%81%92%E3%82%A6%E3%82%A3%E3%83%B3%E3%83%89%E3%82%A6).", "comment_count": 1, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0", "creation_date": "2012-04-13T00:07:09.470", "id": "5215", "last_activity_date": "2012-04-13T00:07:09.470", "last_edit_date": "2020-06-17T08:18:27.500", "last_editor_user_id": "-1", "owner_user_id": "1217", "parent_id": "5214", "post_type": "answer", "score": 10 } ]

[ { "body": "I was taught ～ておく means \"to leave something all set\". In fact I've seen it\nwritten with ～て置く.", "comment_count": 0, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0", "creation_date": "2012-04-14T05:40:23.370", "id": "5218", "last_activity_date": "2012-04-14T05:40:23.370", "last_edit_date": null, "last_editor_user_id": null, "owner_user_id": "1306", "parent_id": "5216", "post_type": "answer", "score": 0 }, { "body": "I'll just leave my comment above as an answer to maybe be ticked off since\npeople seem to agree with it:\n\nI was taught that ~ておく means \"to do something in preparation (for something\nelse)\", (ie. nr.1 there) but I'm sure there's many (probably similar)\napplications..\n\nAs sawa also points out in his comment, your point 2 and 4 doesn't seem to\nmake much sense, and point 3 is also a bit fuzzy.\n\nFurthermore, as a side note, ~ておく at least in speech is often shortened to\n~とく, as also noted in [this\nquestion](https://japanese.stackexchange.com/questions/3141/where-does-the-\nverbal-form-%E3%81%97%E3%81%A8%E3%81%8F-come-from).", "comment_count": 0, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0", "creation_date": "2012-04-14T07:03:29.753", "id": "5219", "last_activity_date": "2012-04-15T03:49:59.600", "last_edit_date": "2017-04-13T12:43:44.863", "last_editor_user_id": "-1", "owner_user_id": "1173", "parent_id": "5216", "post_type": "answer", "score": 6 } ]

[]

[ { "body": "It's a colloquial, contracted form for ~~たく\"は\"ない, '(you) wouldn't want to~~'.\nJust as you say あまくみてはいかん to mean あまくみてはいけない.", "comment_count": 9, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0", "creation_date": "2012-04-16T04:19:43.880", "id": "5223", "last_activity_date": "2012-04-16T04:19:43.880", "last_edit_date": null, "last_editor_user_id": null, "owner_user_id": null, "parent_id": "5222", "post_type": "answer", "score": 11 } ]

[ { "body": "* Mora with a glide: I guess, if it is ever used, the mark will express the whole mora rather than just the glide because two consecutive glides are not permitted in Japanese phonology.\n\n * Long vowel: For katakana, there are specialized symbols `ー` and `｜`, so you cannot use it. For hiragana, you can you it.\n\n> あゝ、今日も終わりか。\n\n * Nasal coda: Japanese does not allow two consecutive nasal codas (in the native stratum), so there will not be such situation with hiragana. For very artificial onomatopoeia written in katakana, you might be able to use it.\n\n * Other than that, I think there is no restriction in using the mark as long as that sequence appears.\n\n * `ぷゞ` will mean `ぷぶ`. In hiragana, the combination `ぷぷ` should not arise. Japanese phonology for the native stratum does not allow it. When used in onomatopoeia or gairaigo, expressed in katakana, I think you cannot use the mark, and have to simply write `ブプ`.", "comment_count": 2, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0", "creation_date": "2012-04-18T06:27:58.983", "id": "5229", "last_activity_date": "2012-04-18T13:52:54.780", "last_edit_date": "2012-04-18T13:52:54.780", "last_editor_user_id": null, "owner_user_id": null, "parent_id": "5228", "post_type": "answer", "score": 8 } ]

[ { "body": "1. 看護師 is gender-neutral.\n 2. 看護士 is a male 看護師.\n 3. 看護婦 is a female 看護師.", "comment_count": 0, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0", "creation_date": "2012-04-18T12:10:13.757", "id": "5231", "last_activity_date": "2012-04-18T12:10:13.757", "last_edit_date": null, "last_editor_user_id": null, "owner_user_id": "1141", "parent_id": "5230", "post_type": "answer", "score": 8 }, { "body": "Although a direct answer to your question is possible, it may be helpful to\nlook at the history of these words.\n\nI was taught that back when male nurses were rarer, 看護婦 was used as a catchall\nterm when the gender of the nurse was unspecified. It sounds old-fashioned or\npolitically incorrect when used this way now, and 看護師 has become much more\ncommon.\n\nThis is backed up by\n[wikipedia](http://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E7%9C%8B%E8%AD%B7%E5%B8%AB#.E5.90.8D.E7.A7.B0.E5.A4.89.E6.9B.B4),\nwhich states that nurses of both genders were defined (legally) as 看護婦 in\n1948, later divided into female 看護婦 and male 看護士 in 1968, before being merged\nto the general term 看護師 more recently in 2002.\n\nTo answer your question, you're correct about the gender implications of 看護婦\nand 看護士, and the female variant in particular is still used by some,\ncolloquially. That said, I believe the most common modern term for all nurses\nis 看護師. The more correct way now if you still need to be gender-specific would\nbe 女性の看護師 and 男性の看護師.\n\n**Warning: what follows is pure speculation on my part** \nAs for WWWJDIC's definition of 看護士, I personally have never seen 看護士 refer to\na non-male nurse, and would consider this to be incorrect, so I'm not sure why\nthe definition says \"may be...\". Perhaps this is something to do with the fact\nthat the pronunciation is the same as 看護師, and the change of terminology\ndescribed above has led to some confusion? I remember even my teacher\nstruggled to explain it at first.", "comment_count": 6, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0", "creation_date": "2012-04-18T12:45:10.657", "id": "5232", "last_activity_date": "2012-04-24T09:09:42.993", "last_edit_date": "2012-04-24T09:09:42.993", "last_editor_user_id": "1272", "owner_user_id": "1272", "parent_id": "5230", "post_type": "answer", "score": 12 } ]

[ { "body": "* `一応` means \"as a backup\", \"in case something happens\". It implies some redundancy.\n * `とりあえず` means \"can't think of the best way to do at the moment/can't decide for the moment, so for the time being\".", "comment_count": 0, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0", "creation_date": "2012-04-19T00:12:54.760", "id": "5234", "last_activity_date": "2012-04-19T00:12:54.760", "last_edit_date": null, "last_editor_user_id": null, "owner_user_id": null, "parent_id": "5233", "post_type": "answer", "score": 19 } ]

[ { "body": "For your first three examples, they are predicates within a relative clause,\nand they are followed by `なる`, which may be considered a copula, and which\noriginates from `にある`, and indeed includes a particle `に`.\n\nYour example 影響ある sounds artificial/awkward. It is just simple omission, and\nis more natural with が or の (because it is within a relative clause).\n\n息ある and 力ある sounds somewhat idiomatic, departing a little bit from the literal\nmeaning, so you can consider it as a fixed expression.", "comment_count": 0, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0", "creation_date": "2012-04-20T00:17:41.700", "id": "5243", "last_activity_date": "2012-04-20T00:35:38.160", "last_edit_date": "2012-04-20T00:35:38.160", "last_editor_user_id": null, "owner_user_id": null, "parent_id": "5235", "post_type": "answer", "score": 5 }, { "body": "Well in Japanese everything that is considered obvious is can be omitted.\n\nIn most cases if you don't have a different possible meaning, that is to say\nchanging the particle would result in a sensible sentence with a different\nmeaning, you can simply omit it.\n\nMost of the time it is even considered more correct to omit the particle\nbecause having too many particles in the sentence can make it much harder to\nunderstand.\n\nFor example saying 力ある人 will always mean 力を持つ人. however 力がある人 could mean the\nsame thing or it could mean that 力が is acting another verb later in the\nsentence. Take 力がある人にない, without context it could mean either ある人には力がない, or\n力ある人にない. This is only a very simple example, consider what would happen if you\nhad a much longer sentence, the possible areas of confusion far more numerous.\n\nHowever for non-native speakers this is something that can be very\nproblematic. The reason being is that non-native speakers tend to often omit\nparticles when they are required.\n\nIn general the basic rules are as follows.\n\nに・へ can be dropped when directly before of a verb that displays movement.\n\nを can be dropped when directly before a verb, unless that verb is acting on 2\nsimilar nouns, since this would cause confusion. An example of this would be\ncausative forms.\n\nは・が when directly before a verb.\n\nの when chaining nouns together and the omission of the particle produces the\nsame meaning. For example 日本憲法 and 日本の憲法 are both correct and the same\nmeaning, however 東京大学 and 東京の大学 are clearly different.\n\nWhile this is far from complete, it would be impossible to clearly define all\nthe rules without writing a book on the subject.", "comment_count": 1, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0", "creation_date": "2012-04-24T00:05:36.713", "id": "5259", "last_activity_date": "2012-04-24T00:05:36.713", "last_edit_date": null, "last_editor_user_id": null, "owner_user_id": "1129", "parent_id": "5235", "post_type": "answer", "score": -3 } ]

[ { "body": "The examples are very interesting. It looks like, whenever `と知る` can be used,\nit means \"find out\" rather than \"know\". Another way to say this is, whenever\n`と知る` can be used, you can replace the verb with `分かる`. With \"find out\", you\ncannot have duration, in other words, you can say:\n\n> I knew that theorem **for two days** , (but I forgot it).\n\nbut you cannot say\n\n> * I found out that theorem **for two days**.\n\nthe aspectuality matters. Applying this to Japanese, you can use `と知る` with a\nsimple tense (under which `知る` means \"find out\"):\n\n> 風の知らせで、みゆきちゃんが結婚したと知った。\n\nbut not with perfect (under which `知る` means \"know\"):\n\n> * 昨日から、みゆきちゃんが結婚したと知っている。\n\nAnd indeed this makes sense because `と` (similar to \"to\") implies the goal of\nchange of location/state of something. Finding out something is a change of\nstate, but knowing something is not.", "comment_count": 9, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0", "creation_date": "2012-04-20T03:47:42.867", "id": "5245", "last_activity_date": "2012-04-20T03:58:19.780", "last_edit_date": "2012-04-20T03:58:19.780", "last_editor_user_id": null, "owner_user_id": null, "parent_id": "5236", "post_type": "answer", "score": 8 }, { "body": "> ミユキちゃんが結婚したと知ってる？\n\nThis sentence is grammatically correct but not natural.\n\n> ミユキちゃんが結婚した **って** 知ってる？\n\nThis one is natural. In modern Japanese conversation, it does 促音便化 in this\ncase. But, the old style is also still in use even in conversation.\n\n> ミユキちゃんが結婚したと知らされた。\n\nSo, here is the problem. \"知ってる?\" is quite informal, but \"したと\" is quite formal.\nThat difference makes us uncomfortable.", "comment_count": 0, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0", "creation_date": "2014-12-28T14:23:46.130", "id": "21056", "last_activity_date": "2014-12-28T14:23:46.130", "last_edit_date": null, "last_editor_user_id": null, "owner_user_id": "8010", "parent_id": "5236", "post_type": "answer", "score": 0 } ]

[ { "body": "I guess you mean ひさしぶり. And to answer your question, for a group a _friends_ ,\nI would use 久しぶりだな no matter their gender(s).\n\nThere is the gender factor of course, but there is also much more. It depends\non your gender, your speaking level, your social position, your personality,\nthe social position of your listeners, etc.\n\nIt could be the same as debating when to use わたし、ぼく、おれ etc. Some men in very\nmanly, high positions use わたし or ぼく.\n\nThe same goes for ね／な: there is no universal rule. It's best to listen to what\npeople say around you and define what you think fits you the most.\n\nPS: _I think I am correct in saying we are not talking about the specific\nmeaning of な in どうかな and similar phrases in this question_.", "comment_count": 0, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0", "creation_date": "2012-04-20T00:06:32.763", "id": "5242", "last_activity_date": "2012-04-20T00:32:48.180", "last_edit_date": "2012-04-20T00:32:48.180", "last_editor_user_id": "575", "owner_user_id": "1065", "parent_id": "5240", "post_type": "answer", "score": 3 }, { "body": "As was pointed out (probably by Tsuyoshi Ito) in an answer/comment to another\nquestion on this site (which I cannot find right away), the gender connotation\nof な and ね depends on whether it is attached to a clause or a noun. When they\nare attached to a clause, the connotation is not that strong, and can usually\nbe dismissed. When they are attached to a noun, the connotation is strong.\n\n> 久しぶりだね (gender neutral, or very slight feminine connotation) \n> 久しぶりね (feminine)\n>\n> 久しぶりだな (gender neutral, or very slight mascline connotation) \n> その本がな、... (mascline in Tokyo dialect, gender neutral in Kansai dialects) \n> 久しぶりな (somehow, not completely ungrammatical but unnatural to directly\n> attach な after a noun without a particle)", "comment_count": 1, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0", "creation_date": "2012-04-20T00:27:35.547", "id": "5244", "last_activity_date": "2012-04-20T00:27:35.547", "last_edit_date": "2020-06-17T08:18:27.500", "last_editor_user_id": "-1", "owner_user_id": null, "parent_id": "5240", "post_type": "answer", "score": 5 } ]

[ { "body": "`‥‥‥と言いたいところですが、` seems very close to the literal English you've provided, and\nthe pause is present and correct, but I'm not sure it can be used\nsarcastically, and it doesn't sound at all like it begins `て何と`. I thought I'd\npost it anyway since this question isn't getting any answers.\n\nExample sentence from ひぐらしのなく頃に:\n\n> 「圭一くん、今日はお疲れなのかな？ かな？」 \n> 「俺は元気だぞ～。‥‥‥といいたいところだが、すまん。かなり眠い‥‥‥」", "comment_count": 1, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0", "creation_date": "2012-04-22T15:30:14.733", "id": "5253", "last_activity_date": "2012-04-22T15:30:14.733", "last_edit_date": null, "last_editor_user_id": null, "owner_user_id": "315", "parent_id": "5241", "post_type": "answer", "score": 3 }, { "body": "Is it perhaps\n\"[nanchatte](http://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E3%81%AA%E3%82%93%E3%81%A1%E3%82%83%E3%81%A3%E3%81%A6)\"?", "comment_count": 2, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0", "creation_date": "2012-04-22T23:39:24.760", "id": "5254", "last_activity_date": "2012-04-22T23:39:24.760", "last_edit_date": null, "last_editor_user_id": null, "owner_user_id": "531", "parent_id": "5241", "post_type": "answer", "score": 3 } ]

[ { "body": "The question was revised since my initial comment, which I will add as an\nanswer.\n\nだぴょん (or だぴょーん) is a final suffix equivalent to だよん or だよ. It adds a sense of\ncuteness owning to the fact that ぴょん (or ぴょんぴょん) is the way in which something\n(such as a bunny) hops or bounces.", "comment_count": 0, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0", "creation_date": "2012-04-21T03:19:41.170", "id": "5247", "last_activity_date": "2012-04-21T03:19:41.170", "last_edit_date": null, "last_editor_user_id": null, "owner_user_id": "1141", "parent_id": "5246", "post_type": "answer", "score": 4 }, { "body": "(@Dono's correction/answer allowed me to find out a lot more, so I thought I\nmight try to add a bit about the expression `嘘ぴょん`.)\n\nAccording to Zokugo-dict, [`嘘ぴょん`](http://zokugo-dict.com/03u/usopyon.htm) is\nan expression which first appeared around 1986, and it's used when speaking\none's mind after someone tells a fib. It apparently isn't used for really\nserious lies, only for exaggerations/dramatizations etc which could end up as\njokes.\n\nApparently `嘘ピョーン` was at number 1 at Goo's 2009\n[`今でもつい使ってしまう死語ランキング`](http://ranking.goo.ne.jp/ranking/999/dead_language/)\n\"ranking of dead language which is unintentionally used even now.\"", "comment_count": 0, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0", "creation_date": "2012-04-21T09:19:34.813", "id": "5249", "last_activity_date": "2012-04-21T10:17:23.320", "last_edit_date": "2012-04-21T10:17:23.320", "last_editor_user_id": "796", "owner_user_id": "796", "parent_id": "5246", "post_type": "answer", "score": 1 } ]

[ { "body": "The たがい in\n[仲たがい](http://jisho.org/words?jap=%E4%BB%B2%E9%81%95%E3%81%84&eng=&dict=edict)\nis another, rarer pronunciation of 違い (usually pronounced ちがい), a noun meaning\n\"difference\". This is not to be confused with 互い, which has the same\npronunciation. 仲 has the general meaning of \"relationship\", and is the same\ncharacter from 仲良し (\"close friend\").\n\nSo overall we have a compound noun:\n\n> 仲 - relationship \n> 違い - difference\n\nmeaning differences (ie disagreements) in a relationship causing discord.", "comment_count": 1, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0", "creation_date": "2012-04-21T22:14:14.607", "id": "5251", "last_activity_date": "2012-04-21T22:37:31.113", "last_edit_date": "2012-04-21T22:37:31.113", "last_editor_user_id": "1272", "owner_user_id": "1272", "parent_id": "5250", "post_type": "answer", "score": 6 }, { "body": "> What is the etymology of the suffix(?)たがい in 仲たがい\n\nThe etymology is tagapi > tagaɸi > tagawi > tagai. It is the nominal form of\nthe verb taga-u (違う). As such, suffix is not the appropriate word. As a verb,\nthere was the expression 仲を違う (naka wo tagau). This is the source of the\ncompound 仲違い (nakatagai). This taga-u and tiga-u (or chiga-u if you like) are\nrelated. taga-u is the older verb and is essentially replaced by tiga-u.\n\n> and how is it used to express discord?\n\nジョン answers this sufficiently.\n\n> If this is a suffix as such, is it used in combination with any other words?\n\nThere are other compounds which include tagai. They include:\n\n * 人違い (hitotagai)\n * 門違い (kadotagai)\n * 片違い (katatagai)\n * 方違い (katatagai)\n * 聞き違い (kikitagai)\n * 心違い (kokorotagai)\n * 思い違い (omoitagai)\n\nAll of these are old and unlikely to used much in modern Japanese. If you are\ninto history, there is the 角違一揆 (kadotagai ikki) riot of 1346 in Bungo.", "comment_count": 7, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0", "creation_date": "2012-04-22T01:27:24.167", "id": "5252", "last_activity_date": "2012-04-22T01:27:24.167", "last_edit_date": null, "last_editor_user_id": null, "owner_user_id": "1141", "parent_id": "5250", "post_type": "answer", "score": 4 } ]

[ { "body": "Since the question seems to be the meaning of より I will respond as such.\n\nより + an adjective simply means \"more (than)\".\n\nTo use your example, 「トムは私より高い」 means \"Tom is taller than me\".\n\nHowever you can also something like this 「トムはより高い」 meaning simply \"Tom is\ntaller\".", "comment_count": 2, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0", "creation_date": "2012-04-23T22:28:17.957", "id": "5257", "last_activity_date": "2012-04-23T22:28:17.957", "last_edit_date": null, "last_editor_user_id": null, "owner_user_id": "1129", "parent_id": "5256", "post_type": "answer", "score": 3 }, { "body": "I'm not sure where you're confused, because you broke down the translations\ncorrectly.\n\nJust think of it this way.\n\n> トムは身長がたかいです → Tom is tall\n\n`私より` means \"more than I\", so when you add it in to the sentence, you get\nsomething more literally like \"Tom is tall more than I\". And it's easy to see\nthat that is equivalent to \"Tom is taller than I am.\"", "comment_count": 1, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0", "creation_date": "2012-04-23T22:31:45.000", "id": "5258", "last_activity_date": "2012-04-23T22:31:45.000", "last_edit_date": null, "last_editor_user_id": null, "owner_user_id": "78", "parent_id": "5256", "post_type": "answer", "score": 4 }, { "body": "Here is another breakdown:\n\nトムは私より身長が高いです\n\nTom is トムは (です)\n\nmore than me 私より\n\nheight is tall 身長が高い (です)\n\nTom is more than me tall.\n\nTom is taller than me.\n\nTom is taller than I.\n\nPlease note that while my breakdown may imply that は and が mean \"is\", they do\nnot. These word do not translate directly into english.\n\nYou can also try and understand it by translating より as less:\n\nTom is トムは (です)\n\nI less 私より\n\ntall height 身長が高い\n\nTom is I less tall height.\n\nor\n\nTom is _me less_ tall height.", "comment_count": 0, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0", "creation_date": "2012-04-24T01:48:13.917", "id": "5260", "last_activity_date": "2012-04-24T01:48:13.917", "last_edit_date": null, "last_editor_user_id": null, "owner_user_id": "706", "parent_id": "5256", "post_type": "answer", "score": 0 }, { "body": "I think your problem is with `より` rather than all of the sentence. `より` does\nnot indicate more or less than something. `より` introduces a **standard of\ncomparison**. You may think of it as \"from\" or \"with respect to\".\n\nBreaking it down:\n\n * `トムは` \\- Tom (as the topic)\n\n * `私より` \\- I (as the standard of comparison)\n\n * `身長が` \\- stature (subject)\n\n * `高い` \\- tall\n\n * `です` \\- is (copula)\n\n* * *\n\nLet's make a simpler sentence:\n\n * トムは身長が高いです。:\n\n> Literally: \"As for Tom, stature is tall\"\n>\n> Naturally: \"Tom is tall\"\n\nNow let's add `私より` into the mix:\n\n * トムは **私より** 身長が高いです。:\n\n> Literally: \"As for Tom, with me(私) as a standard of comparison(より), his\n> stature is tall\"\n>\n> Naturally: \"Tom is tall **er** than I\"", "comment_count": 3, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0", "creation_date": "2012-04-24T02:17:05.987", "id": "5261", "last_activity_date": "2012-04-24T02:17:05.987", "last_edit_date": "2020-06-17T08:18:27.500", "last_editor_user_id": "-1", "owner_user_id": "542", "parent_id": "5256", "post_type": "answer", "score": 9 } ]

[ { "body": "_Note: this is changed from my original answer (一時停止), which sawa pointed out\nto be unnatural for this situation._\n\n休み and 休憩 should be okay for your purposes, as should 休学 (suggested by sawa)\nwhich specifically refers to time off from school. Take care to explain the\nsituation as you have done here in English, or it may sound as though you are\na current student who is taking time off.", "comment_count": 5, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0", "creation_date": "2012-04-24T05:46:25.713", "id": "5263", "last_activity_date": "2012-04-24T13:54:43.813", "last_edit_date": "2012-04-24T13:54:43.813", "last_editor_user_id": "1272", "owner_user_id": "1272", "parent_id": "5262", "post_type": "answer", "score": 5 } ]

[ { "body": "`より` has an important role. It means \"from\", but in languages like English,\nthe word for \"than\" is morphologically distinct from the word \"from\". Don't\nthink of an extra `より` being added but think that `より` is omitted in the\nexamples without it. And in fact, `五時後` is ungrammatical.\n\nAs for why `五時前` is grammatical whereas `五時後` is not, I guess that it is\nbecause it is much more frequent to ask someone to come a little bit before a\nwhole-hour time (to be ready for something) rather than a little bit after a\nwhole-hour time. Thence, it is likely that expressions in the form `五時前` had\nmore chance to make it into a fixed expression.", "comment_count": 4, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0", "creation_date": "2012-04-24T17:00:57.730", "id": "5267", "last_activity_date": "2012-04-25T03:05:53.947", "last_edit_date": "2012-04-25T03:05:53.947", "last_editor_user_id": null, "owner_user_id": null, "parent_id": "5264", "post_type": "answer", "score": 1 } ]

[ { "body": "Below are several definitions:\n\n>\n> （骨を取りかえ、胎（子の宿る所）を自分のものとする意）先人の詩文などの表現法を借りながら趣旨に変化を試みて、独自の作品を作りあげる技法。誤用されて、他の作品の焼き直しの意にいうことがある。換骨。\n> (日本国語大辞典)\n>\n>\n> 先人の詩文の作意や形式を生かしながら、新しい工夫を加えて独自の作品にすること。⇒骨を取りかえ、胎（=子宮）をわが物として使う意から。「焼き直し」の意に使うのは誤用。（明鏡国語辞典）\n>\n> 注釈：骨を取り換え、胎（子宮）を奪い取って自分のものにするの意から。なお俗に誤って、単なる焼き直し、模倣の意に用いられることがある。（故事ことわざ辞典）\n>\n>\n> 注釈：骨を取り換え、胎児を奪うの意から。本来は、先人の作品をよりどころとすることを言ったもので、「焼き直し」のような悪い意味ではなかった。（四字熟語辞典）\n>\n>\n> △の例文では、従来のものに少し手を加えて新しい作品であるかのように見せる意で用いている。本来なら、「何の新撰味もない作風」に対しては「模倣」「二番煎じ」「焼き直し」などというべきで「換骨脱退」を使うのは誤りだが、最近では許容されている。（略）「換骨脱退」は盗作のことではない。もっとも、俗には、盗作に近い焼き直しの意で使われることもある。（言葉の作法辞典）\n\nI chose these because in addition to the normal, positive sense, they also\nnote a negative sense. This negative sense is described as a mistake and is\ncolloquial.\n\nIf you need any help understanding these citations, just ask.", "comment_count": 1, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0", "creation_date": "2012-04-24T23:16:18.087", "id": "5272", "last_activity_date": "2012-04-25T00:09:43.913", "last_edit_date": "2020-06-17T08:18:27.500", "last_editor_user_id": "-1", "owner_user_id": "1141", "parent_id": "5265", "post_type": "answer", "score": 5 } ]

[ { "body": "The form `〜てみます（みる）` means \"to do something and see how it turns out/how it\ngoes\". So `〜てみましょう` means \"let's do it and see how it goes\", whereas `〜ましょう`\njust means \"let's do it\".\n\n> 何かしてみましょう → Let's do something and see what happens/how it turns out \n> 何かしましょう → Let's do something\n\nIn this case, there's not a huge difference in the meaning (assuming this is\nsaid in a familiar context). Using `〜てみましょう` simply adds a nuance of\nuncertainty regarding how it will be.", "comment_count": 0, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0", "creation_date": "2012-04-24T20:57:30.453", "id": "5270", "last_activity_date": "2017-12-10T16:46:41.473", "last_edit_date": "2017-12-10T16:46:41.473", "last_editor_user_id": "3871", "owner_user_id": "78", "parent_id": "5269", "post_type": "answer", "score": 12 } ]

[ { "body": "It is pretty common in Japanese not to finish sentences. The not written part\nwould be most of the time obvious/useless. For instance, it happens a lot in\nmovie trailer. \nAs Summea said, this is 2 sentences in one long. Just to avoid ugly\nredundancy, they skip the verb for the first part.\n\n> 14歳の頃にギターを始める。17歳で作曲を始める。 \n> ↓ \n> 14歳の頃にギターを始めて、17歳で作曲を始める。 \n> ↓ \n> 14歳の頃にギターを、17歳で作曲を始める。", "comment_count": 4, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0", "creation_date": "2012-04-25T00:41:59.037", "id": "5273", "last_activity_date": "2012-04-25T00:41:59.037", "last_edit_date": null, "last_editor_user_id": null, "owner_user_id": "1065", "parent_id": "5271", "post_type": "answer", "score": 6 }, { "body": "This construction is called _gapping_ , and is observed widely across\nlanguages. It is not particularly Japanese or tied to a specific register.\n\n> I started the guitar at seventeen, and composing at fourteen.\n\nThere are several analyses for it, and the consensus has not been reached, but\nwhat is important is that the construction includes some sort of coordination.\nThe two instances of the same particle are considered to belong to different\nclauses, and fragments of the clauses are somehow connected, probably\ninvolving some kind of ellipsis.", "comment_count": 0, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0", "creation_date": "2012-04-25T03:19:46.520", "id": "5274", "last_activity_date": "2012-04-25T03:25:36.387", "last_edit_date": "2012-04-25T03:25:36.387", "last_editor_user_id": null, "owner_user_id": null, "parent_id": "5271", "post_type": "answer", "score": 4 }, { "body": "I think you're confusing multiple をs in a sentence with multiple をs in a\nclause.\n\nMultiple をs in a sentence is perfectly normal:\n\n> 私がご飯を作っている間、彼女はテレビを見ていた\n\nwhereas multiple をs in a clause isn't:\n\n> × 台風を気をつける\n\nWhat makes your example sentence complicated is that it's not completely clear\nwhether there is one clause or two.\n\nIn English, the word \"and\" is very flexible, and you can use it to combine\nalmost anything from clauses and verb phrases to noun phrases, adverbs and\nadjectives.\n\nIn Japanese, you use 連体形 (~て、~で) to combine clauses and verb/adjectival\nphrases, と or や to combine noun phrases.\n\nIn the example sentence, what is being combined isn't just (object) noun\nphrases (ギター and 作曲) but also prepositional phrases \"hanging off\" them (14歳の頃に\nand 17歳で). In English, \"and\" works fine for this:\n\n> He begins guitar-playing around 14 and composition at 17\n\nIn Japanese, if it were just the object noun phrases, と or や would be possible\n\n> ○ 14歳の頃にギターと作曲を始める\n\nbut with the prepositional phrases, this becomes unnatural\n\n> ?? 14歳の頃にギターと、17歳で作曲を始める。\n\nSo the example sentence is \"avoiding the problem\" by simply listing the two\nobject+prepositional-phrase compounds next to each other\n\n> [14歳の頃にギターを]、[17歳で作曲を]始める。\n\nWhether you choose to interpret this as two clauses where the verb is dropped\nfrom the first one, or one clause with two object+prepositional-phrase\ncompounds hanging off the main verb... I don't see any reason why one is\npreferable to the other, but others might shed more light on that.\n\n**Is this substandard/casual Japanese more appropriate to mixi than a\nbiographical snippet?**\n\nOn the contrary, I would say that it's slightly formal/written/newspaper-\nlanguage-like. In speech, I think people would tend to say\n\n> 14歳の頃にギターを始めて、17歳で作曲を始める。", "comment_count": 2, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0", "creation_date": "2012-04-25T04:21:20.810", "id": "5275", "last_activity_date": "2012-04-25T05:39:16.077", "last_edit_date": "2012-04-25T05:39:16.077", "last_editor_user_id": "1073", "owner_user_id": "1073", "parent_id": "5271", "post_type": "answer", "score": 15 }, { "body": "I'm an engineering translator, and I was reading a manual for a digital\nmultimeter, and one sentence struck me because of the two をs. The sentence was\n「CVの電圧設定を電流を流した時の電圧よりも少し低くする必要があります」, so its definitely possible to see two をs\nin one sentence but its super unusual. Its like seeing [「をも」 in sentences; its\nuncommon, but it happens.", "comment_count": 2, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "creation_date": "2020-08-19T00:04:50.610", "id": "80221", "last_activity_date": "2020-08-19T00:04:50.610", "last_edit_date": null, "last_editor_user_id": null, "owner_user_id": "40052", "parent_id": "5271", "post_type": "answer", "score": 0 } ]

[ { "body": "I think that it does imply married woman, and when it is used for women\nregardless of the martial status, I guess it is assumed (politically)\nincorrectly that women at a certain age are indeed married.", "comment_count": 2, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0", "creation_date": "2012-04-26T00:55:13.993", "id": "5292", "last_activity_date": "2012-04-26T00:55:13.993", "last_edit_date": null, "last_editor_user_id": null, "owner_user_id": null, "parent_id": "5276", "post_type": "answer", "score": 1 }, { "body": "I honestly don't think any assumption about policewomen being married lies\nbehind e.g. the word 婦警.\n\nAs [Goo](http://dictionary.goo.ne.jp/leaf/jn2/189407/m0u/) says, one meaning\nof 婦 is \"married woman\", another is \"working woman\" (although those two might\nbe negatively correlated).", "comment_count": 0, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0", "creation_date": "2012-04-26T09:03:14.933", "id": "5304", "last_activity_date": "2012-04-26T09:03:14.933", "last_edit_date": null, "last_editor_user_id": null, "owner_user_id": "1073", "parent_id": "5276", "post_type": "answer", "score": 2 }, { "body": "I would back off from over analyzing kanji.\n\nDespite the fact that they do carry meaning, the words they make up might not\ncontain that meaning.\n\nIn some case words may have multiple \"spellings\" containing different kanji. A\ngood example of this would be 貴方{あなた} 貴男{あなた} and 貴女{あなた}\n\nHowever in most cases there is only one common \"spelling\" and the meaning of\nthe kanji that make it up is most irreverent.", "comment_count": 0, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0", "creation_date": "2012-04-29T04:08:09.697", "id": "5372", "last_activity_date": "2012-04-29T04:08:09.697", "last_edit_date": null, "last_editor_user_id": null, "owner_user_id": "1129", "parent_id": "5276", "post_type": "answer", "score": 1 } ]

[ { "body": "That really depends what you mean by \"kanji\". Remember that kanji are derived\nfrom Chinese characters of which there are not a defined number.\n\nThe 常用 (general use) kanji set is the one prescribed for education in schools\nand treated as a \"safe\" list to use in newspapers and other publications. The\n常用 kanji with the most strokes is currently\n[鬱](http://jisho.org/kanji/details/%E9%AC%B1) (as noted by atlantiza), with 29\nstrokes. However according to the usage stats given by KanjiDic2 it is not one\nof the 2500 most used kanji in newspapers, so while it's taught in school it\nwould be likely be considered as a \"tricky\" kanji.\n\nThe 常用 kanji that **does** feature in the 2500 most-used by newspapers is\n[鑑](http://jisho.org/kanji/details/%E9%91%91), which KanjiDic2 places at the\n1391st most commonly used kanji in newspapers, basically meaning all literate\nJapanese will know it.\n\nOutside of general use it's a lot less difficult to define, as there are many\nclassical kanji that very few people would know today, so the \"one with the\nmost strokes\" really just depends on how much you want to search. For example,\nin KanjiDic2 it appears to be [䯂](http://jisho.org/kanji/details/%E4%AF%82),\nwith 34 strokes. This is not a widely-used kanji and much less likely to be\nrecognised by the average person.", "comment_count": 6, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0", "creation_date": "2012-04-25T18:03:18.050", "id": "5278", "last_activity_date": "2012-04-25T18:33:55.017", "last_edit_date": "2012-04-25T18:33:55.017", "last_editor_user_id": "1272", "owner_user_id": "1272", "parent_id": "5277", "post_type": "answer", "score": 11 }, { "body": "For common (常用) kanji, I think 鬱 has the most strokes - 29. It is probably not\nas common as 鑑, but it's not exactly rare either. It's used in 憂鬱【ゆううつ】\n(depression, the way you feel after writing that kanji) and a lot of other\nemotion-filled words.\n\nAnd for archaic ones, I've also heard that 䯂 has the most strokes - 34. It's\nso uncommon these days though that it's not even in my online dictionary.", "comment_count": 1, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0", "creation_date": "2012-04-25T18:23:42.983", "id": "5282", "last_activity_date": "2012-04-25T18:23:42.983", "last_edit_date": null, "last_editor_user_id": null, "owner_user_id": "575", "parent_id": "5277", "post_type": "answer", "score": 6 }, { "body": "鸞 ラン. That's a character with 30 strokes, but I think there's bigger...", "comment_count": 0, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0", "creation_date": "2014-08-10T08:45:46.687", "id": "18193", "last_activity_date": "2014-08-10T08:45:46.687", "last_edit_date": null, "last_editor_user_id": null, "owner_user_id": "6998", "parent_id": "5277", "post_type": "answer", "score": 0 }, { "body": "The _kanji_ of the _koseki_ register, i.e. _kanji_ that were registered as\npart of a name, are publicly accessible\n[here](http://kosekimoji.moj.go.jp/kosekimojidb/mjko/PeopleTop).\n\nHere is a list of the _kanji_ by stroke count that are registered as part of\nsomeone's name. I can't say how often they are used, but at least they are not\nall just a figment of someone's imagination (or if they were, they at least\nmanaged to get them officially registered).\n\nI list the stroke count (`X`画) and separated them by _kun'yomi_ (all _kanji_\nwith 30 or more strokes) and _on'yomi_ (all _kanji_ with 40 or more strokes).\nThere are many _kanji_ with _on'yomi_ only, and many of these were probably\nregistered as part of a name from a naturalized foreigner with _kanji_ name.\n\n* * *\n\n# 音読み\n\n`テツ、テチ \n[](https://i.stack.imgur.com/bng6u.png) \n64画 \n` `セイ \n[](https://i.stack.imgur.com/20sZz.png) \n64画` `ホウ、ビョウ \n[](https://i.stack.imgur.com/W5y2m.png) \n52画` `ドウ \n[](https://i.stack.imgur.com/Bv5Bd.png) \n48画` `トウ \n[](https://i.stack.imgur.com/HnMHc.png) \n48画` `トウ、ドウ \n[](https://i.stack.imgur.com/7eUZw.png) \n48画` `フウ \n[](https://i.stack.imgur.com/xMF5T.png) \n46画` `オウ \n[](https://i.stack.imgur.com/rMEPX.png) \n45画` `コツ (風忽) \n[](https://i.stack.imgur.com/JGEgR.png) \n44画` `セイ (性) \n[](https://i.stack.imgur.com/P9yUd.png) \n44画` `ジン \n[](https://i.stack.imgur.com/ocp6d.png) \n43画` `ユウ、ユ \n[](https://i.stack.imgur.com/uXX0Y.png) \n43画` `ウツ、ウチ \n[](https://i.stack.imgur.com/6k3Cq.png) \n41画` `タイ \n[](https://i.stack.imgur.com/EWQSh.png) \n40画` `シ \n[](https://i.stack.imgur.com/LWBbd.png) \n40画` `ライ \n[](https://i.stack.imgur.com/g5zFx.png) \n40画`\n\n* * *\n\n# 訓読み\n\n`いわくら \n[](https://i.stack.imgur.com/EBw8b.png) \n53画` `ソ、ゾ、あらい \n[](https://i.stack.imgur.com/EgAvU.png) \n33画` `はためく \n[](https://i.stack.imgur.com/Uq2Qa.png) \n33画` `あら \n[](https://i.stack.imgur.com/deCKb.png) \n32画` `おおたか \n[](https://i.stack.imgur.com/hj05P.png) \n31画` `しじくへ \n[](https://i.stack.imgur.com/55yRI.png) \n31画` `くくわけなく \n[](https://i.stack.imgur.com/O8s5e.png) \n30画` `すばしり \n[](https://i.stack.imgur.com/pQpaF.png) \n30画` `カク、つる (鶴) \n[](https://i.stack.imgur.com/8ZxTT.png) \n30画` `ぼら \n[](https://i.stack.imgur.com/8gyWW.png) \n30画` `やがら \n[](https://i.stack.imgur.com/Ain08.png) \n30画`", "comment_count": 4, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "creation_date": "2017-02-10T09:38:45.053", "id": "43379", "last_activity_date": "2019-01-26T12:06:15.223", "last_edit_date": "2020-06-17T08:18:27.500", "last_editor_user_id": "-1", "owner_user_id": "1628", "parent_id": "5277", "post_type": "answer", "score": 5 }, { "body": "䨺 Taito たいと The appearance of a dragon in flight.", "comment_count": 0, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "creation_date": "2022-05-22T08:09:46.733", "id": "94622", "last_activity_date": "2022-05-22T08:09:46.733", "last_edit_date": null, "last_editor_user_id": null, "owner_user_id": "51407", "parent_id": "5277", "post_type": "answer", "score": 0 } ]

[ { "body": "なのね lends the same emphasis to a sentence as なんですね. However, なのね is more\nconversational, informal and can come across as feminine.\n\nAccording to my teacher, people who end all their sentences with this kind of\nemphasis in real life can come across as self-important, presumably because it\nsounds like they're attaching added importance to everything they say.\n\nThat may be a factor here, and it certainly matches with the flamboyance of\nthe character.", "comment_count": 2, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0", "creation_date": "2012-04-25T18:10:45.623", "id": "5281", "last_activity_date": "2012-04-25T19:16:24.480", "last_edit_date": "2012-04-25T19:16:24.480", "last_editor_user_id": "1272", "owner_user_id": "1272", "parent_id": "5279", "post_type": "answer", "score": 4 }, { "body": "**The な：**\n\nI have my own hypothesis about this な and it is that it is basically a\nmandatory rewrite of the coupla だ which occurs in certain situations:\n\n * **Adjectives:** We can use the dictionary form of a verb with a noun, for example like this: 食べる人: \"the person who is eating;\" \"the eating person\". 食べる+人 → 食べる人. This is simple. The verb comes together with the noun. But what if the verb is だ？ きれいだ + 花 → きれい_な_花: \"the flower which is beautiful\". The DA becomes NA. Hence we have the NA adjectives, which just have a DA in disguise. \"Kireida hana\" makes logical sense, just like \"taberu hito\", but the rule is that NA must be used there.\n\n * **Certain relative clauses** : A clause X can be followed by のに and followed by another clause Y to express the idea of \"even though X, Y\". If X ends in だ, the だ changes to な. 仕事大変だ → 仕事大変なのに、楽しいよ: Although my work is hard, it is enjoyable.\n\nSo with the above patterns, it is very easy to see how the な in なの comes\nabout: it is だ changing to な in the presence of の. Like in the previous\npatterns, other verbs don't change; they just combine with の: 食べるの？ (Will you\neat?) But だ changes: 嫌いだ → 嫌いなの？\n\n**The の** :\n\nThe sentence final particle の attached to verbs is used for asking informal\nquestions (「そうなの？」) and making authoritative statements. The exact meaning is\nelusive, but it has been [hypothesized in a 1987\npaper](http://elanguage.net/journals/pip/article/download/151/91) by one\nHiroko Minegishi Cook that this の expresses group authority as opposed to\nindividual authority: it is the speaker's belief that the idea being stated is\ndoes not originate with him or her alone, but is backed up somehow by the\ngroup that he or she identifies with in that moment: something as narrow as\nfamily or as broad as society.\n\n**The ね** :\n\nThat is just he familiar ending which seeks agreement: \"isn't it?\", \"don't you\nagree?\", \"hmm?\"\n\nSo those would be the three pieces of なのね.\n\nX-なのね:\"It is the case that X, I tell you (with the authority of my group),\ndon't you think so?\"\n\nA character who ends most sentences this way would be annoying because doing\nso means:\n\n * the character is never using polite speech (adding the です copula to make なのですね).\n * the character is at times using the group authority の ending inappropriately, even for statements that should be his or her alone.\n * the character is always seeking agreement with ね at the end.\n * the character has a very repetitive habit which can be annoying regardless of what it is.", "comment_count": 1, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0", "creation_date": "2013-04-15T16:22:41.357", "id": "11720", "last_activity_date": "2013-04-15T16:28:21.053", "last_edit_date": "2013-04-15T16:28:21.053", "last_editor_user_id": "1266", "owner_user_id": "1266", "parent_id": "5279", "post_type": "answer", "score": 1 } ]

[ { "body": "This tends to be a style choice by an author, who uses a kanji for\naesthetic/readability purposes for a word which is usually expressed with 外来語\n(borrowed words from foreign languages). The author can choose to do this for\na few reasons. Often if they are concerned that the 外来語 they're using will not\nbe understood by everyone, they use kanji to express the meaning of the word\nwith the 外来語 as furigana. In this case ホストクラブ is a common word that would be\nrecognised by everyone, so perhaps they did it to shorten the written title?\n\nNote that クラブ is **not** an actual pronunciation of 部, and would never usually\nbe read as such. Without the furigana to specify pronunciation this would\nalmost certainly be read as ぶ here.", "comment_count": 2, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0", "creation_date": "2012-04-25T18:24:06.900", "id": "5283", "last_activity_date": "2012-04-26T10:05:54.057", "last_edit_date": "2012-04-26T10:05:54.057", "last_editor_user_id": "1272", "owner_user_id": "1272", "parent_id": "5280", "post_type": "answer", "score": 6 } ]

[ { "body": "> but I am constantly baffled by why certain loan words from English are\n> constructed using certain katakana sounds.\n\nLoan words do not necessarily need to be borrowed from English. In fact, most\nold loan words (in the 外来語 sense) were borrowed from Portuguese.\n\n> For example, if someone asked me to say \"energy\" in Japanese, I would have\n> guessed エナジー or maybe エネルジー...but definitely not エネルギー.\n\nThe word エネルギー is borrowed from German Energie, not English energy. There is\nalso the word エナジー which is borrowed from English energy, but it is not very\ncommon.\n\nThere are many factors that come into effect when borrowing words. Other than\nthe source language, another is spelling: some loan words are based on the\noriginal spelling rather pronunciation. Presumably the original speakers only\nknow the spelling and have no access to native speakers to base the Japanese\non.", "comment_count": 4, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0", "creation_date": "2012-04-25T20:40:29.760", "id": "5285", "last_activity_date": "2012-04-25T20:40:29.760", "last_edit_date": null, "last_editor_user_id": null, "owner_user_id": "1141", "parent_id": "5284", "post_type": "answer", "score": 20 }, { "body": "No one decides really.\n\nJapanese people construct them in the way that they hear them. However this\ncan differ from listener to listener and speaker to speaker.\n\nSo some loan words that have been in use for a long time have accepted\n\"spellings\" however others my have multiple spellings in use, possibly even\nseveral dictionary entries.\n\nRemember you could ask the same about English. Why \"tuna\" and not \"tsuna\". Why\npronounce the eh sound at the end of \"karaoke\", \"sake\", \"karate\", etc as E?\nAnd so on.", "comment_count": 6, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0", "creation_date": "2012-04-25T22:00:09.657", "id": "5286", "last_activity_date": "2012-04-25T22:00:09.657", "last_edit_date": null, "last_editor_user_id": null, "owner_user_id": "1129", "parent_id": "5284", "post_type": "answer", "score": 1 }, { "body": "The second paragraph can be answered in large part by [What changes are made\nto the pronunciation of\ngairaigo?](https://japanese.stackexchange.com/q/2147/91) and by [Less-\napproximate and more-approximate forms of loan\nwords](https://japanese.stackexchange.com/questions/4956/less-approximate-and-\nmore-approximate-forms-of-loan-words) and by [Different transcriptions for\nwords with related origin](https://japanese.stackexchange.com/q/3275/91) .\n\nAs for the third paragraph, Wikipedia says the Agency for Cultural Affairs\n(文化庁) at the Ministry of Education of Japan (文部科学省) plays a role in [language\nregulation](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_language_regulators). I don't\nknow whether it influences spelling of words. I know that it deprecated\n[hentaigana](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hentaigana) and certain\n[kanji](https://japanese.stackexchange.com/questions/531/on-the-replacing-of-\nkanji-obsoleted-in-the-1946-reforms-with-similar-looking-kan).", "comment_count": 4, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0", "creation_date": "2012-04-26T04:03:24.463", "id": "5295", "last_activity_date": "2012-04-28T11:33:07.723", "last_edit_date": "2017-04-13T12:43:44.157", "last_editor_user_id": "-1", "owner_user_id": "91", "parent_id": "5284", "post_type": "answer", "score": 10 } ]

[ { "body": "> みえる = to be able to see. (precisely: _to be seen/to be in sight_ ) \n> ⇒ Can you see the fujisan? => 富士山が見えますか？\n>\n> みれる = to be able to watch. \n> ⇒ Can you watch DVD with this? => それでDVDが見れますか？\n\nThe same for 聞ける (Can you listen) vs 聞こえる (Can you hear / precisely: _to be\nheard/to be audible_ )\n\nみえる and きこえる and not a special form of みる and きく, they are specific verbs by\nthemselves.", "comment_count": 8, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0", "creation_date": "2012-04-26T00:34:45.190", "id": "5291", "last_activity_date": "2012-04-26T00:34:45.190", "last_edit_date": null, "last_editor_user_id": null, "owner_user_id": "1065", "parent_id": "5287", "post_type": "answer", "score": 15 }, { "body": "What I've read regarding the 見える、見られる and 聞こえる、聞ける doesn't appear to have been\nmentioned here at all and I think it's probably the clearest explanation.\n\n * 見える - something comes into view\n * 聞こえる - something can be heard\n\nBoth of these describe sights/sounds that can be sensed regardless of the\nspeaker's volition, e.g. if you look out the window you can see the sky, or\nyou can hear a baby crying. For these kinds of things you don't really have a\nsay in the matter.\n\n * 見られる - you can see something\n * 聞ける - you can hear/listen to something\n\nThese describe things that you can do (hence potential verbs) but on a\nvolitional level e.g. you can see a film at the cinema or you can listen to a\nsong on the radio.\n\nHopefully that clears it up a little. If not then let me know and I'll try\nexplaining another way.", "comment_count": 1, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0", "creation_date": "2013-11-03T16:41:53.303", "id": "13327", "last_activity_date": "2016-01-15T04:51:32.327", "last_edit_date": "2016-01-15T04:51:32.327", "last_editor_user_id": "7810", "owner_user_id": "4127", "parent_id": "5287", "post_type": "answer", "score": 21 }, { "body": "## 見える\n\n 1. To be visible, to be in sight.\n\n> あそこに高{たか}い山{やま}が見える。\n\nA tall mountain can be seen over there.\n\n> 僕{ぼく}にはあなたが見える。\n\n_You are visible to me / I can see you._\n\n 2. _to look like_.\n\n>\n> 僕にはその雲{くも}が[わたあめ](http://ejje.weblio.jp/content/%E3%82%8F%E3%81%9F%E3%81%82%E3%82%81)に見える。\n\nThat cloud looks like cotton candy to me.\n\n* * *\n\n見える is about objects being visible and not so much about one's ability to to\nsee them. Obviously, if an object is visible to us, we _can_ see it.\n\n## 見られる\n\n 1. To be able to see. （見ることができる）\n\n> その動物園{どうぶつえん}では珍{めずら}しい鳥{とり}を見られる。\n\n 2. ( _Damn!_ ) they saw / caught me. （見られてしまった）\n\n> 着替{きが}えているところを見られてしまった。\n\nSomeone saw me when I was changing clothes.\n\n* * *\n\n聞{きこ}こえる and 聞{き}かれる follows roughly exactly the same pattern as 見える and 見られる.\n\n## 聞こえる\n\nTo be audible. To be heard.\n\n * 電車{でんしゃ}の音{おと}が聞こえる。\n * ウエイターを呼{よ}んだが、僕の声{こえ}は聞{き}こえなかったようだ。\n\n## 聞かれる\n\nTo be able to hear / listen or when someone hears what one is / was saying and\nthat's undesirable.\n\n> 悪{わる}いわさ話{ばなし}を聞かれてしまった。\n\nShe / Someone heard me speaking ill of her / saying bad things about her.", "comment_count": 0, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "creation_date": "2014-11-19T11:35:14.367", "id": "19585", "last_activity_date": "2023-03-24T03:19:31.043", "last_edit_date": "2023-03-24T03:19:31.043", "last_editor_user_id": "43676", "owner_user_id": "7671", "parent_id": "5287", "post_type": "answer", "score": 8 }, { "body": "> みえます\n\nMaybe, I think that your understanding is correct.\n\n> みまられます \n>\n\nThe word \"みまられます\" is not. Did you mean \"みられます\" ?\n\nCan you show me an example sentence?\n\n> きけます (= can listen)\n\n \neg: \nあなたはストーリーをきけます。 You can listen to the story .\n\n> きこえます (=hear)\n\n \neg: \n海の音がきこえます。 We can hear the ocean from here.\n\n何か音がきこえますか？ Do you hear any sound?", "comment_count": 0, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0", "creation_date": "2014-11-19T12:06:43.460", "id": "19586", "last_activity_date": "2014-11-19T12:06:43.460", "last_edit_date": null, "last_editor_user_id": null, "owner_user_id": "7746", "parent_id": "5287", "post_type": "answer", "score": -2 }, { "body": "They can be summarized like this: \n( I=intransitive verb / T=transitive verb / TP=potential form of the\ntransitive verb )\n\n```\n\n I: きこえる \"can be heard\" / T: きく \"hear\" / TP: きける \"can hear\"\n I: みえる \"can be seen\" / T: みる \"see\" / TP: (みられる or みれる) \"can see\" \n \n```\n\nSo this is the picture. However one point somewhat confusing is the (みられる or\nみれる) part, where lexically correct form is said to be みられる but it is rather\nrare, and popular form みれる is formally considered incorrect.", "comment_count": 3, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0", "creation_date": "2014-11-19T15:12:23.643", "id": "19588", "last_activity_date": "2014-11-19T17:42:27.577", "last_edit_date": "2014-11-19T17:42:27.577", "last_editor_user_id": "7667", "owner_user_id": "7667", "parent_id": "5287", "post_type": "answer", "score": 1 } ]

[ { "body": "In your example, your ～寝【ね】るんじゃなかった is a shortened form of ～寝【ね】ることではなかった.\n\n～Vことだ is a common command form, and ～Vことではない is used by extension as a form of\nprohibition. In your example, the following transformations have occurred:\n\n * ではない → じゃない\n * こと → の → ん\n\nIn this case, the speaker is basically scolding herself because she should've\nknown not to sleep with the window open.", "comment_count": 7, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0", "creation_date": "2012-04-26T12:33:49.390", "id": "5309", "last_activity_date": "2012-04-26T12:33:49.390", "last_edit_date": null, "last_editor_user_id": null, "owner_user_id": "384", "parent_id": "5288", "post_type": "answer", "score": 10 } ]

[ { "body": "It's the past form of いけない, which in turn is the negative form of いける:\n\n * いける (plain)\n\n * いけない (negated)\n\n * いけなかった (negated-past)\n\nLike with any verb, the negative form of いける behaves like an い-adjective.", "comment_count": 0, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0", "creation_date": "2012-04-25T23:46:37.543", "id": "5290", "last_activity_date": "2012-04-26T01:44:08.677", "last_edit_date": "2012-04-26T01:44:08.677", "last_editor_user_id": "542", "owner_user_id": "1272", "parent_id": "5289", "post_type": "answer", "score": 1 } ]

[ { "body": "This is たり as we know it, indicating an incomplete list of actions, in this\ncase with a single example.\n\nYour first example would be like the difference between \"I won't tell anyone\nor anything\" or the direct \"I won't tell anyone\", in English. The second\nexample is similar - I won't include it here since it happens to sound less\nnatural translated to English than the first.", "comment_count": 0, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0", "creation_date": "2012-04-26T01:30:12.920", "id": "5294", "last_activity_date": "2012-04-26T01:30:12.920", "last_edit_date": null, "last_editor_user_id": null, "owner_user_id": "1272", "parent_id": "5293", "post_type": "answer", "score": 7 } ]

[ { "body": "It's dialectical, AFAIK mainly with people who grew up in the Kanto area\n(mainly Tokyo). Although, I thought it was more common with older people (but\ndon't quote me on that). Next time you hear someone say it, ask them\n\n> 江戸っ子ですか?\n\nAlso, in the Kansai region you hear ひち instead of しち for the number 7, so\nthere are other similar phenomenon in other regions. However, there are so\nmany dialects it is impossible to say exactly, but in Kansai, I can be certain\nthat I have never heard このしと.", "comment_count": 0, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0", "creation_date": "2012-04-26T07:42:24.580", "id": "5297", "last_activity_date": "2012-04-26T07:42:24.580", "last_edit_date": null, "last_editor_user_id": null, "owner_user_id": "1217", "parent_id": "5296", "post_type": "answer", "score": 4 }, { "body": "Only have one small thing to add to Jesse's answer.\n\nEven in [Standard Japanese\nphonology](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanese_phonology#endnote_8a), /h/ is\npronounced differently in ひ than in, say, は, which makes it sound a lot closer\nto /sj/. _How_ close the pronunciation is for individual speakers, as Jesse\nsays, is dialectal, and even depends on the specific word.\n\nAnother factor may be that many speakers don't or hardly pronounce the /i/\nsound in ひと. I feel that this makes it harder to hear the difference. For\nexample, ひいて and しいて (where the vowels have to be pronounced) seem easier to\ndistinguish than しく and ひく (where the vowel might not be pronounced as\nclearly).\n\nIncidentally, one of the most common examples of the (opposite) phenomenon is\n敷{し}く which many pronounce as ひく. Not sure if it goes the other way as well.", "comment_count": 0, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0", "creation_date": "2012-04-26T08:30:15.160", "id": "5302", "last_activity_date": "2012-04-26T08:35:35.423", "last_edit_date": "2012-04-26T08:35:35.423", "last_editor_user_id": "1073", "owner_user_id": "1073", "parent_id": "5296", "post_type": "answer", "score": 7 } ]

[ { "body": "It is not 100 percent clear, but I will try to list up the many theories that\nhave been established:\n\n 1. Japanese does not have as many verbs as other languages to express subtle nuances of an action. For example, in English, we can say _daddle_ , _waddle_ , _trudge_ and _toddle_ , whereas in Japanese, you would express these nuances with mimetic words like のろのろ、よたよた、とぼとぼ、よちよち and attach them to the verb 歩く (to walk).\n\n 2. They give much more vividness in expressing states, emotions, movements and so on as these symbolic words are used much more frequently in emotive and informal situations. For example, when you hit your hand against a table, you could use コンコン、トントン、ゴンゴン、or ドンドン, and they each represent a different sound and force on the table. In English, we can say \"tap it softly\" or \"hit it hard\", but that only represents the force and not the sound of the action.\n\n 3. Young children in Japan pick up and use sound symbolic words first. If you look at any book for young children, they are filled with sound symbolic words. As you may know, children learn language by hearing sounds and relating them to actions, emotions, etc. Because sound symbolic words are often related to visual and auditory sensual expressions, they are easily acquired naturally (this is the same reason they are difficult for second language learners, because they have less of an opportunity to relate sounds with real life events)\n\n 4. Japanese has deep connections with sounds and rhythm. It is a [mora-based language](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mora_%28linguistics%29#Japanese) and has natural patterns. You will notice that 4 mora is extremely common in Japanese, which is also reflected in its common use of sound symbolic words which are often 4 mora.\n\n 5. Natural sounds are pleasing and have an elegance to them. [風流](http://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E9%A2%A8%E6%B5%81) is a highly regarded notion in Japan, and natural sounds are known to have 風流. Also, being in harmony with nature is a highly regarded concept, and expressing oneself using sounds which mimic sounds from nature would be the most \"natural\" thing to do.\n\nReferences:\n\n[日本人はなぜ擬声語・擬態語表現を好むか?](http://pisces.lib.utsunomiya-u.ac.jp/dspace/bitstream/10241/1840/1/KJ00000706209.pdf)\n\n[Translating Japanese onomatopoeia and mimetic\nwords](http://isg.urv.es/library/papers/InoseOnomatopoeia.pdf)\n\n[日本語はなぜ擬声語と擬態語の多い言語なんでしょうか？](http://detail.chiebukuro.yahoo.co.jp/qa/question_detail/q13943708)", "comment_count": 1, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0", "creation_date": "2012-04-26T21:54:58.187", "id": "5318", "last_activity_date": "2012-04-26T22:38:06.167", "last_edit_date": "2012-04-26T22:38:06.167", "last_editor_user_id": "1217", "owner_user_id": "1217", "parent_id": "5298", "post_type": "answer", "score": 13 } ]

[ { "body": "There is no word ま that matches your description. The interjection you hear is\nprobably まあ or まっ. It expresses a surprise rather than indignant tone.\n\n> まあ/まっ、何ということでしょう。古びた馬小屋が、匠の手で見事なうさぎ小屋に生まれ変わりました。\n\nThere is also まあ/まっ which is a filler (and sometimes compensates a potentially\nbad situation), something like the English \"well\".\n\n> まあ/まっ、そういうわけですから、気になさらないで下さい。", "comment_count": 1, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0", "creation_date": "2012-06-13T00:00:01.947", "id": "5842", "last_activity_date": "2012-06-13T02:39:15.837", "last_edit_date": "2012-06-13T02:39:15.837", "last_editor_user_id": null, "owner_user_id": null, "parent_id": "5299", "post_type": "answer", "score": 1 } ]

[ { "body": "By default, it means yes/correct.\n\nBut regardless of the question form: negative or positive, the うん confirms it.\nううん denies it.\n\nIn English, _I am not sure_ but I don't think you would say \"No, I am going\"\nafter being asked \"Aren't you going to school today ?\". But in Japanese, ううん\nwould be used.", "comment_count": 0, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0", "creation_date": "2012-04-26T09:11:29.367", "id": "5305", "last_activity_date": "2012-04-26T11:18:39.513", "last_edit_date": "2012-04-26T11:18:39.513", "last_editor_user_id": "1065", "owner_user_id": "1065", "parent_id": "5300", "post_type": "answer", "score": 3 }, { "body": "It's possible that your teacher was talking about how to respond to negative\nquestions in Japanese.\n[This](https://japanese.stackexchange.com/questions/2908/the-reality-of-\nanswering-%E3%81%84%E3%81%84%E3%81%88-to-a-negative-question) is a good\nexplanation for that.\n\nIn this case, though, I think your teacher was talking about うん vs ううん.\n\nA straightforward うん with a falling intonation means yes. A lengthened ううん,\noften with high, then lower, then middle pitch can be used to express doubt,\ndenial or disagreement (it may be helpful to ask your teacher to demonstrate).\n\nAs oldergod says, this is often used when answering a negative-question, but\nit doesn't have to be used this way. In my friend's copy of Genki I have seen\nsomething like:\n\n> A: 子供の時、元気だった？ \n> B: うん、元気だった ／ ううん、元気じゃなかった", "comment_count": 3, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0", "creation_date": "2012-04-26T09:13:11.673", "id": "5306", "last_activity_date": "2012-04-26T11:30:45.913", "last_edit_date": "2017-04-13T12:43:44.397", "last_editor_user_id": "-1", "owner_user_id": "1272", "parent_id": "5300", "post_type": "answer", "score": 9 } ]

[ { "body": "There are `verb-stem + もの` and `verb-stem + こと`, and these are compound words.\nTheir meanings are idiosyncratic, and cannot be derived systematically.\n\nConsider:\n\n * 食べ物 - food (the physical object being eaten)\n\n * 笑い物 - laughingstock (the physical object(person) being laughed at)\n\n * 笑い事 - laughing matter (an intangible incident)\n\n * 遊び物 - plaything/toy (tangible)\n\n * 遊び事 - recreation (intangible)\n\nBoth nouns turn a verb into a thing; 物 turns the verb into a tangible thing\nand 事 turns the verb into a conceptual thing.\n\n> Are there any restrictions as to what can precede 物?\n\nI guess your restrictions depend on if you want it to be a tangible thing or a\nconceptual thing. Or if it is not possible for the thing to exist tangibly\nthen there is no compound with 物.", "comment_count": 0, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0", "creation_date": "2012-04-26T09:39:43.153", "id": "5307", "last_activity_date": "2012-04-26T09:39:43.153", "last_edit_date": null, "last_editor_user_id": null, "owner_user_id": "542", "parent_id": "5303", "post_type": "answer", "score": 6 }, { "body": "もの has a massive amount uses in Japanese.\n\nI can't cover them all here, so I will stick to just the grammar point you are\nasking about.\n\nThe basic translation is \"Thing to (with)\".\n\nThe words are all pretty much all decided. You can't say 行き物 for example.\n\nNote that つまらないもの is completely different grammar to the above and has a\ndifferent meaning.\n\nAlso note that in causes outside this grammar the kanji for もの is often\ndifferent.", "comment_count": 0, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0", "creation_date": "2012-04-26T22:13:13.573", "id": "5320", "last_activity_date": "2012-04-26T22:13:13.573", "last_edit_date": null, "last_editor_user_id": null, "owner_user_id": "1129", "parent_id": "5303", "post_type": "answer", "score": 0 } ]

[ { "body": "In this case もう gives the meaning \"any more\". Without it, the sentence would\nmean: \n\"He probably doesn't teach English\".\n\nNote that 教えるまい has the same meaning as 教えないだろう. The latter form is more\ncommonly used but the former is still used in writing sometimes.", "comment_count": 11, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0", "creation_date": "2012-04-26T13:41:04.003", "id": "5311", "last_activity_date": "2012-04-26T13:41:04.003", "last_edit_date": null, "last_editor_user_id": null, "owner_user_id": "1272", "parent_id": "5310", "post_type": "answer", "score": 4 } ]

[ { "body": "Well, one reason I know this happens is to emphasize the word you are reading.\nThere will be cases, in some manga, where you will see — for example:\nまじで！(really, seriously) as マジで！\n\nThe example above creates an emphasis, it's like reading something in caps.\n\n[As shown in the\npic.](http://livedoor.blogimg.jp/mizuho_izuna/imgs/0/1/0180118a.jpg)\n\nBonus: The small っ at the end of the expression is also a sort of emphasis,\nbut in this case, it's as if you were emphasizing last sound as a hard-stop.\nSay the word, out loud & calmly, \"stop.\" Now say it with a little anger and a\nhard-stop at the letter \"p,\" \"stop!\"\n\nMake sense? 頑張ってっ!", "comment_count": 2, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0", "creation_date": "2012-04-26T20:23:53.383", "id": "5314", "last_activity_date": "2012-04-26T20:23:53.383", "last_edit_date": null, "last_editor_user_id": null, "owner_user_id": "1068", "parent_id": "5312", "post_type": "answer", "score": 9 }, { "body": "Katakana is thought of by Japanese people as conveying the sound of something.\nWhen you see a word not normally written in katakana in katakana it is because\nthey are trying to convey it as more of a sound effect. This most often to\ndisplay loudness or roughness/toughness in the speakers voice.\n\nOn a similar note, when the choice is hiragana or kanji, the kanji is normally\nseen to convey an educated or upper class tone, while the hiragana is your\nstandard voice.", "comment_count": 0, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0", "creation_date": "2012-04-26T22:05:09.057", "id": "5319", "last_activity_date": "2012-04-26T22:05:09.057", "last_edit_date": null, "last_editor_user_id": null, "owner_user_id": "1129", "parent_id": "5312", "post_type": "answer", "score": 1 } ]

[ { "body": "It depends on what you're writing, I would think. If you're writing a note to\nyourself, like \"Call Suzuki-san later\", of course you could guess or just\nwrite it with kana.\n\nIf you're writing something to the person themselves, I tend to write it in\nkatakana. I don't know why, but this seems to be politer, in a sort of neutral\nway. But this is just my inclination and there may be no truth to it.\n\nIf you need to write it in some kind of official document or paperwork, you\nshould probably just ask the person how to write it. If you can't ask the\nperson directly (like a historical figure, etc.), chances are _someone_ knows\nhow it is written. If not, hiragana would probably be an OK fallback if\nthere's really no way to figure it out.\n\nAlso, there are some people who have no kanji for their first name, so in this\ncase you'd use the hiragana.", "comment_count": 3, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0", "creation_date": "2012-04-26T20:51:06.277", "id": "5316", "last_activity_date": "2012-04-26T20:51:06.277", "last_edit_date": null, "last_editor_user_id": null, "owner_user_id": "78", "parent_id": "5313", "post_type": "answer", "score": 18 }, { "body": "Whenever I've been in this situation, it's only ever been when writing notes\nor informal emails to friends, and I've found that I can get away with using\nHiragana evertyime. but I like to surprise my friends with the correct Kanji\nevery so often (followed by a \"Did I use the correct Kanji for your name?\"\ntype question as a post script to the note/email).\n\nI've always made a point of asking new Japanese people I meet which Kanji to\nuse in their name when I meet them. When I have to ask them in English,\nhowever (usually due to forgetting how to ask in Japanese) I fall into the\ntrap of using the following sentence (I blame my Japanese teacher):\n\n> How do I spell your name with Kanji?\n\nThis is because my Japanese teacher, when introducing new Kanji would say\nthings like \"This is how you spell the Kanji,\" rather than \"This is the stroke\norder [for this Kanji]\".\n\nI'm not sure how you would go about this in a business/formal environment. But\nI suppose that if you've met them in this environment, they've probably\nproduced a 名刺(めいし) for you at some point. I have noticed that some business\npeople who have \"complex\" Kanji in their name tend to have Ruby text/Furigana\nalong with their names to aid in reading them.\n\nI've noticed the above a lot when meeting Japanese people where I work (in the\nUK). The 名刺 they usually present will have Japanese (with Ruby text/Furigana)\non one side and English on the other (in the same order and format).\n\nI have, on occasion, asked (very politely) for the person to read the Kanji on\ntheir 名刺 to me (if they don't mind), and when I explain that I'm always\nlooking for new Kanji and vocabulary to learn they usually oblige me with a\nquick reading of the characters. I don;t know whether this is considered good\nform when meeting new people, though. But it seems to fit nicely with the \"If\nyou're not sure, ask someone\" attitude that I was raised with.\n\nI know that this doesn't answer your question exactly, but I thought I'd share\nanyway. My rule of thumb is, when in doubt use Hiragana (and ask the person\nwhich Kanji to use for next time).", "comment_count": 0, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0", "creation_date": "2012-04-27T08:44:22.460", "id": "5333", "last_activity_date": "2013-09-26T06:49:53.843", "last_edit_date": "2013-09-26T06:49:53.843", "last_editor_user_id": null, "owner_user_id": "1206", "parent_id": "5313", "post_type": "answer", "score": 3 } ]

[ { "body": "> Would it be awkward for it to appear in everyday speech?\n\nIt depends what you mean by everyday speech. There is a concept in Japanese,\nknown as\n[品位](http://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E5%93%81%E4%BD%8D_%28%E4%BA%BA%E5%93%81%29).\nWhich is translated as dignity on Wikipedia, and basically is the ideas of\nhaving good character, respect for others, sense of good moral values, etc.\nSome people feel that using ご機嫌よう exemplifies those characteristics, and as\nsuch at some schools in Japan, it is mandatory to use the word. This is\nespecially true at private schools for women only, where good manners and\npoliteness are emphasized. Also, members of the imperial family (皇族) in Japan\nwould probably use it because of this.\n\nHowever, after saying this, I should mention it is primarily used by women\n(especially older) (this is my own personal opinion btw), and some people\n_may_ find it haughty or snobbish. However, this varies greatly depending on\nthe person, so you may find that people around you using it and it is not a\nproblem. According to [this site](http://sooda.jp/qa/253036), _most_ of the\npeople answered that they do not use it in everyday conversation.\n\nSide note:\n\nDid you know that the word can be used for both greeting and parting with\nsomeone?", "comment_count": 1, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0", "creation_date": "2012-04-27T01:01:07.377", "id": "5322", "last_activity_date": "2012-04-27T01:01:07.377", "last_edit_date": null, "last_editor_user_id": null, "owner_user_id": "1217", "parent_id": "5317", "post_type": "answer", "score": 5 } ]

[ { "body": "you can think of it like:\n\n> What would be right to say? I don't know\n\n何と言ったら良いか分かりません\n\nWhat to say... / good? / I don't know\n\nthe か would supply the question mark in my literal translation above.", "comment_count": 4, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0", "creation_date": "2012-04-27T01:17:39.790", "id": "5324", "last_activity_date": "2012-04-27T13:33:17.747", "last_edit_date": "2012-04-27T13:33:17.747", "last_editor_user_id": "706", "owner_user_id": "706", "parent_id": "5321", "post_type": "answer", "score": 9 }, { "body": "か indicates a question. In English, questions in the main clause will be\nindicated by inverting the auxiliary before the clause. The addition of か in\nJapanese corresponds to that, but in Japanese, か is added regardless of main\nor embedded clause.", "comment_count": 0, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0", "creation_date": "2012-04-27T13:52:59.050", "id": "5343", "last_activity_date": "2012-04-27T13:52:59.050", "last_edit_date": null, "last_editor_user_id": null, "owner_user_id": null, "parent_id": "5321", "post_type": "answer", "score": 1 } ]

[ { "body": "I believe that the の here is the same の as the の which is explained in this\nthread: [What is the difference between the nominalizers こと and\nの?](https://japanese.stackexchange.com/questions/1395/what-is-the-difference-\nbetween-the-nominalizers-%E3%81%93%E3%81%A8-and-%E3%81%AE)\n\nBasically the の here is a _noun_ which means \"thing\". It is similar to\n[こと](http://www.csse.monash.edu.au/~jwb/cgi-\nbin/wwwjdic.cgi?1MUE%E3%81%93%E3%81%A8) ( _noun_ ) which also means \"thing\".\nThe difference between の and こと is that の is used when the \"thing\" is\n_related_ to the speaker. This is furthur elaborated in Derek's post:\n<https://japanese.stackexchange.com/a/1396/264>.\n\nそんな is a pre-nominal adjective, also known as an attributive (連体詞). A _normal_\nadjective can be used in two ways, either attributively or predicatively. For\nexample, the adjective 暑い can be used in these ways:\n\n> 1. Attributively: 暑い日 (hot day)\n>\n> 2. Predicatively: 日は暑い (day is hot)\n>\n>\n\nA pre-nominal adjective can only be used attributively, so we can say \"そんな日\" ,\nbut not \"日はそんな\"\n\nSo we can roughly dissect the sentence \"そんなの答えはNOだってばよ！\" into 6 parts:\n\n> 1. pre-nominal adjective そんな: such as that, like that\n>\n> 2. noun の:\n>\n> 3. noun 答え: answer\n>\n> 4. topic-marker は (optional due to\n> [ellipsis](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ellipsis_%28linguistics%29))\n>\n> 5. quoted \"NO\"\n>\n> 6. copula だ\n>\n>\n\nNote that since we can't simply chain nouns together (unless to form compound\nnouns), there exists a _break_ between \"の\" and \"答え\". The sentence is clearer\nif we put a _comma_ as such: \"そんなの、答えはNOだってばよ！\"\n\nPutting it all together, a literal translation of the sentence\n\"そんなの答えはNOだってばよ！\" goes like this: _\"As for thing(s) such as that, the answer\nis/will be \"NO\". ってばよ！\"_\n\nPutting it into the context of the story ([chapter\n162](https://i.stack.imgur.com/EnWZl.jpg) or [episode\n92](http://onepieceofbleach.com/naruto-92/) @16:12), it means \"As for a trade\nsuch as that (such as healing arms for resurrecting Tsunade's kin), the answer\nwill be \"NO\". ってばよ！\".\n\nUsing another example, the sentence \"そんなのいらない！\" can also be dissected into\ndifferent parts:\n\n> 1. pre-nominal adjective そんな: such as that, like that\n>\n> 2. noun の: thing\n>\n> 3. topic-marker は (optional due to\n> [ellipsis](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ellipsis_%28linguistics%29))\n>\n> 4. inflected verb いらない: do not need\n>\n>\n\nAnd when the parts are merged, a literal translation of the sentence\n\"そんなのいらない！\" goes like this: \"As for thing(s) such as that, (I) don't need!\"\n\n**の as the no-particle**\n\nAs for the の in the sentence \"今のはだれ？\", it is a totally different の compared to\nthe の in \"そんなの\". The の in \"今のはだれ？\" is the genitive no-particle. Basically the\nfunction of the no-particle is to convert a _noun_ into an _adjective_ so that\nit can describe (modify) a noun. This is elaborated in this article: [Genitive\nCase](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Genitive_case).\n\nThe sentence \"今のはだれ？\" is dissected into:\n\n> 1. noun 今: just now\n>\n> 2. genitive particle の (converts the noun 今 into an adjective to describe\n> 人)\n>\n> 3. noun 人: person (optional due to\n> [ellipsis](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ellipsis_%28linguistics%29))\n>\n> 4. topic-marker は (optional due to\n> [ellipsis](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ellipsis_%28linguistics%29))\n>\n> 5. (pro)noun だれ: who\n>\n>\n\nAnd the literal translation of the sentence \"今のはだれ？\" is roughly: \"As for just\nnow that (person), is who?\".", "comment_count": 4, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0", "creation_date": "2012-04-27T07:10:25.290", "id": "5332", "last_activity_date": "2012-04-30T01:37:39.553", "last_edit_date": "2017-04-13T12:43:44.157", "last_editor_user_id": "-1", "owner_user_id": "264", "parent_id": "5323", "post_type": "answer", "score": 7 }, { "body": "From what I've gathered and figured out. This is what is happening:\n\n * Orochimaru asks Tsunade to heal his arms although she had no intentions of helping him.\n\n * Tsunade is reconsidering the matter after he offers to resurrect her dead brother and lover.\n\n * He is asking for her response to that matter.\n\n * Naruto is replying on behalf of Tsunade saying \"そんなの答えはNOだってばよ\"\n\n* * *\n\nI believe that そんなの here is used as a noun representing Orochimaru's (absurd)\ndemand.\n\nProbably because Naruto believes that Orochimaru's demands are never\nreasonable so he uses \"such as\"(そんな) to to generalise all of Orochimaru's\ndemands forming \"demands such as that(referring to Orochimaru's )\" hence\n\"そんなの\".", "comment_count": 2, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0", "creation_date": "2012-04-29T13:39:04.363", "id": "5373", "last_activity_date": "2012-04-29T13:39:04.363", "last_edit_date": null, "last_editor_user_id": null, "owner_user_id": "542", "parent_id": "5323", "post_type": "answer", "score": 1 } ]

[ { "body": "It is the suffix -tate and expresses that something was just completed. It\nattaches to the adverbial form (連用形) of verbs. In kanji, it is written as 立て.\nIt has nothing to do with the past tense marker -ta.", "comment_count": 1, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0", "creation_date": "2012-04-27T02:05:08.930", "id": "5326", "last_activity_date": "2012-04-27T02:14:47.607", "last_edit_date": "2012-04-27T02:14:47.607", "last_editor_user_id": "1141", "owner_user_id": "1141", "parent_id": "5325", "post_type": "answer", "score": 3 }, { "body": "The original question was quite different making my initial answer irrelevant.\n(It originally asked what this -tate means and assumed that it was past tense\n-ta plus -te.)\n\n> In what way is a version of the conjunctive form (連用形?) ?\n\nAll verbs have a 連用形. All of the examples that you gave are 一段 verbs, so the\n連用形 looks the same: tore-ru --> tore, deki-ru --> deki, umare-ru --> umare. If\nyou expand that to include 五段 verbs such as yom-u, you will see that the 連用形\nis yomi.\n\nIf you are not familiar with the grammatical vocabulary, the easiest way to\nremember this is that 連用形 is the form that -masu attaches to. So, tore-ru -->\ntore-masu, deki-ru --> deki-masu, yom-u --> yom-i-masu, umare-ru --> umare-\nmasu.\n\nJust like -masu, -tate attaches to the 連用形 of verbs.", "comment_count": 2, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0", "creation_date": "2012-04-27T02:36:56.347", "id": "5327", "last_activity_date": "2012-04-27T02:36:56.347", "last_edit_date": null, "last_editor_user_id": null, "owner_user_id": "1141", "parent_id": "5325", "post_type": "answer", "score": 2 }, { "body": "Thank you Dono, with you pointing out the kanji I found a definition.\n\n立て 【たて】 (pref) (1) central; main; head; chief; (suf) (2) (uk) just (done);\nfreshly (baked); indicates activity only just occurred; (ctr) (3) counter for\nconsecutive losses [Edit][Ex][G][GI][S][A]\n\n彼はその時大学を卒業したてであった。 He was then fresh from college.", "comment_count": 0, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0", "creation_date": "2012-04-28T00:16:28.607", "id": "5354", "last_activity_date": "2012-04-28T00:16:28.607", "last_edit_date": null, "last_editor_user_id": null, "owner_user_id": "706", "parent_id": "5325", "post_type": "answer", "score": 1 }, { "body": "たて is 立て, which is related to 立つ (to stand up).\n\n立ちながらタバコを吸う （tachinagara tabako o suu: to smoke while standing).\n\nSomething just having finished seems to be somehow related to standing,\netymologically or semantically. The kanji used to write it reveals the\nconnection.\n\nVerbs take on shifted meanings when used to form agglutinative compounds. 見る\n(miru) turns into \"try something\", 置く (oku) turns into \"prepare for later\nconvenience\" etc.\n\nIn 立て there seems to be a similar effect although the grammatic function isn't\nthe same.\n\nIf some action recently finished its effect is \"standing\", in some sense. The\nrice was cooked, and it is still cooked now: the cooked status \"stands\" (a\nmetaphor for persistence in a state that was recently achieved).", "comment_count": 2, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0", "creation_date": "2012-04-28T06:20:24.940", "id": "5357", "last_activity_date": "2012-04-28T06:20:24.940", "last_edit_date": null, "last_editor_user_id": null, "owner_user_id": "1266", "parent_id": "5325", "post_type": "answer", "score": 3 } ]

[ { "body": "I guess It's ok. \nAfter asking many questions, I keep saying ありがとうございます but I usually add\n何度もすみません to convey that I know I am asking a lot and I am sorry for this.", "comment_count": 0, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0", "creation_date": "2012-04-27T05:49:40.613", "id": "5331", "last_activity_date": "2012-04-27T05:49:40.613", "last_edit_date": null, "last_editor_user_id": null, "owner_user_id": "1065", "parent_id": "5330", "post_type": "answer", "score": 3 } ]

[ { "body": "I think `颜` is the simplified Chinese form of `顔`, and that it generally is\nonly used in simplified Chinese (and that it isn't really used in Japanese),\nbut they both have the same meaning.", "comment_count": 0, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0", "creation_date": "2012-04-27T09:03:06.753", "id": "5335", "last_activity_date": "2012-04-27T09:03:06.753", "last_edit_date": null, "last_editor_user_id": null, "owner_user_id": "796", "parent_id": "5334", "post_type": "answer", "score": 8 }, { "body": "If this is a handwritten form, as far as I know 颜 could also be used in\nJapanese, just as 门 (for 門) is used in Japanese handwriting. But if it is a\nprinted form it is definitely Simplified Chinese.", "comment_count": 3, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0", "creation_date": "2012-04-27T09:17:50.747", "id": "5337", "last_activity_date": "2012-04-27T09:17:50.747", "last_edit_date": null, "last_editor_user_id": null, "owner_user_id": "1329", "parent_id": "5334", "post_type": "answer", "score": 2 } ]

[ { "body": "It can mean \"but\" (similar to でも):\n\n> A: 学校に行きなさい！ (Go to school!) \n> B: だって頭痛いんだもん！ ( **But** , my head hurts!)\n\nThis is often used by children, and can come across as cute or childish.\n\nIt can mean \"even\" (again, similar to でも):\n\n> 頑張れば君だってできるよ！ (If you work hard **even** you can do it!)\n\nIt can mean the same as だと (or more generally, と becomes って)\n\n> 彼のことが好きだって気づいた (I realised that I like him)\n\nThis use is conversational.", "comment_count": 3, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "creation_date": "2012-04-27T11:20:32.090", "id": "5341", "last_activity_date": "2019-05-31T15:38:32.667", "last_edit_date": "2019-05-31T15:38:32.667", "last_editor_user_id": "9831", "owner_user_id": "1272", "parent_id": "5336", "post_type": "answer", "score": 23 }, { "body": "From _Handbook of Japanese Grammar_ , Masahiro Tanimori:\n\nINFORMAL PARTICLE OR CONJUNCTION (usually used by women and children) MEANING:\nbut, because, also, even\n\n 1. At the beginning of a sentence\n\n> (in answer to a question)\n>\n> 「いきたくないの。」 「だって疲れているんだもの」 \n> \"Ikitakunai no?\" \" **Datte** tsukarete iru n da mono.\" \n> \"You don't want to go?\" \"Because I'm tired.\"\n>\n> (in reply to an imperative)\n>\n> 「もうねる時間ですよ。」 「だって眠くないんだもの」 \n> \"Mou neru jikan desu yo.\" \" **Datte** nemuku nai n da mono.\" \n> \"It's time you went to bed.\" \"But I'm not sleepy.\"\n\n 2. After noun\n\n> 金持ちだって不幸な時もある \n> **Kanemochi datte** fukou-na toki mo aru. \n> Even rich people are unhappy sometimes.\n>\n> 「あんなことはいやだ」 「私だっていやだ」 \n> \"Anna koto wa iya da.\" \" **Watashi datte** iya da.\" \n> I hate such things. I do, too.\n\n 3. Used with interrogative pronoun ( _dare, nan,_ and _doko_ \\+ _datte_ mean everybody, everything and everywhere, respectively)\n\n> だれだってそれには怒ります。 \n> **Dare datte** sore ni wa okorimasu. \n> Everybody gets angry at that.\n>\n> 彼はスポーツならなんだってできます。 \n> Kare wa supootsu nara **nan datte** dekimasu. \n> If it's sports, he can play everything.\n\nFrom me:\n\nThe above だって basically is a conversational version of でも.\n\nThere is another だって simply consisting of the quotative って applied to a 〜だ\ncopula clause. For example, if someone said something ending in だ or です, then\nthis can be used for relaying what was said.\n\n> けいくんは、僕のペンを返してくれない。けいくんのペンだって。 \n> Keikun won't return my pen. He says it's his.\n\nけいくん probably said something like 「返さない。俺のペンだよ。」 and that is being relayed.\nThis だって can be used to ask a question:\n\n> A:先生から電話が来たよ。Got a call from the sensei (teacher, doctor, ...).\n>\n> B:えぇ。何だって。Huh? What'd he say?", "comment_count": 4, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "creation_date": "2012-04-28T06:40:07.613", "id": "5358", "last_activity_date": "2019-05-31T15:44:18.717", "last_edit_date": "2019-05-31T15:44:18.717", "last_editor_user_id": "9831", "owner_user_id": "1266", "parent_id": "5336", "post_type": "answer", "score": 22 }, { "body": "Several answers above attempt to make the distinction between だって as a\ncontraction of the copula だ and the quotation particle と, and だって as meaning\n“because” or “even” or “but”. However, ALL of the various uses of だって can be\ntraced to a simple contraction of the copula だ and the quotation particle と.\n\n[This video](https://youtu.be/kO89HzRQygQ) does an excellent job of explaining\nhow だって can have all these meanings and why if you understand that it’s simply\nthe copula plus the とparticle, they all make sense.\n\nAs one example, When だって is used on its own at the beginning of a sentence, it\nusually means BUT because it takes what was previously said (or supposedly\nsaid) by someone else, it wraps all of what they said up with a だ, and then\nattributes that statement to the other person with the と particle. The words\nthat then follow だって are a contrastive statement. So it’s like the person\nusing だって is saying “you said this, and now here is my contrastive statement”.\nSo there is an implication of BUT. “You said this [だって] BUT here is my\ncontrastive statement.”\n\nA similar analysis can be made to get to how it means “even” as in わたしだって.\nThat’s usually followed by a statement of your own ability (“私だって出来る). But you\ncan literally translate the わたしだって portion as “say it is me” which is easily\nunderstandable as “EVEN me”. So the whole sentence is “Saying it is me, I can\ndo it” or “EVEN me, I can do it”.", "comment_count": 0, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "creation_date": "2019-05-29T16:48:55.457", "id": "68562", "last_activity_date": "2021-11-25T18:33:01.427", "last_edit_date": "2021-11-25T18:33:01.427", "last_editor_user_id": "30454", "owner_user_id": "34195", "parent_id": "5336", "post_type": "answer", "score": 7 } ]

[ { "body": "As far as I know, `妬ましい` has more of a negative connotation. Like an \"evil\"\njealousy. I know in my Japanese Bible, it's often used in talking about\n\"coveting\" or \"being greedy for\". This dictionary entry includes\n\n> 悪感情がこめられている場合が多い\n\nWhereas `羨ましい` has more of a neutral, or even positive nuance. \"You're going\nto Disneyland next month? I'm so jealous!\"", "comment_count": 0, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0", "creation_date": "2012-04-27T15:20:00.287", "id": "5345", "last_activity_date": "2012-04-27T15:20:00.287", "last_edit_date": null, "last_editor_user_id": null, "owner_user_id": "78", "parent_id": "5338", "post_type": "answer", "score": 5 } ]

[ { "body": "First lets get the definitions from a dictionary:\n\n>\n> [尊厳](http://dictionary.goo.ne.jp/leaf/jn2/131972/m0u/)：とうとくおごそかなこと。気高く犯しがたいこと。また、そのさま。「人間の―を守る」\n>\n> [威厳](http://dictionary.goo.ne.jp/leaf/jn2/10818/m0u/%E5%A8%81%E5%8E%B3/):\n> 近寄りがたいほど堂々としておごそかなこと\n\nIf you look above, both definitions have the phrase `おごそかなこと` in them. This is\nwhere they are similar in meaning. The difference is in the first characters\n`尊` and `威`. Lets think of `尊` as representing \"value\" and `威` represents\n\"power\".\n\nLets look at some examples:\n\n> 暴力は人間の尊厳を奪う\n>\n> 個人の尊厳\n>\n> 犠牲者の尊厳を守る\n\nIn the above sentences, you cannot replace `尊厳` with `威厳`. The above sentences\ntalk about something you should respect and uphold. So, `尊厳` is used in\nphrases talking about rights every human or individual should have, a level of\nrespect, etc. (hence representing \"value\")\n\n> 親としての威厳を保つ\n>\n> 国家の威厳を損ねる\n>\n> 威厳のある顔\n\nThe above is talking more about power and influence over others. If a parent\ndoes not have `威厳`, then a child is probably not going to listen to them, or\nif a country doesn't have `威厳` then they probably have to follow the orders\nfrom another country and never get their way, etc. (hence representing\n\"power\").", "comment_count": 0, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0", "creation_date": "2012-05-01T00:26:42.057", "id": "5391", "last_activity_date": "2012-05-01T02:10:54.257", "last_edit_date": "2020-06-17T08:18:27.500", "last_editor_user_id": "-1", "owner_user_id": "1217", "parent_id": "5340", "post_type": "answer", "score": 4 } ]

[ { "body": "The equivalent of \"alphabetical order\" for kana that hangs on the wall of\nclassrooms is as follows:\n\n```\n\n あかさたなはまやらわん \n いきしちにひみ　り \n うくすつぬふむゆる \n えけせてねへめ　れ \n おこそとのほもよろを\n \n```\n\nI believe children are introduced to them based on this, probably vertically\n(i.e. あいうえお、かきくけこ and so on). [ _Thanks to Jamie Taylor in the comments._ ]\n\nI can't really give specific advice on order to learn since that's not the\nfocus of JLU, and different ways work for different people. You can check our\n[resources\nthread](https://japanese.meta.stackexchange.com/questions/756/resources-for-\nlearning-japanese) for some resources that may help you learn, or ask in chat.\n\nOnce you've learnt the above, make sure you know combinations like しゅ(shu),\nknow about [dakuten](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dakuten) (eg し(shi) ->\nじ(ji)), and the purpose of the small っ.", "comment_count": 3, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0", "creation_date": "2012-04-27T15:51:46.583", "id": "5347", "last_activity_date": "2014-08-14T11:39:54.317", "last_edit_date": "2017-03-16T15:48:25.793", "last_editor_user_id": "-1", "owner_user_id": "1272", "parent_id": "5346", "post_type": "answer", "score": 9 }, { "body": "I think if you watch this video for 24 hours straight, you will have learned\nbasic hiragana and katakana without much effort. My apologies for any ill\neffects on your mental health.\n\n[Complete Japanese Alphabet Song - Katakana - Hiragana -\n日本語](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jyaRJJqaYT8)", "comment_count": 2, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0", "creation_date": "2012-04-27T16:06:10.267", "id": "5348", "last_activity_date": "2015-08-04T11:08:03.833", "last_edit_date": "2015-08-04T11:08:03.833", "last_editor_user_id": null, "owner_user_id": "706", "parent_id": "5346", "post_type": "answer", "score": 8 }, { "body": "To learn the kana: write, write, write!\n\nFill a page with あああああ。。。 ｔhen いいい。。。\n\nWrite the kana tables over and over again many times.\n\nTry to look at examples less and less as you do, until you can reproduce the\ntables from memory.\n\nIf you're going to Japan soon, you will get more \"mileage\" out of katakana in\nsome sense, if you can decode the English out of it, so I would make that a\npriority.", "comment_count": 0, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0", "creation_date": "2012-04-28T06:47:55.233", "id": "5359", "last_activity_date": "2012-04-28T06:47:55.233", "last_edit_date": null, "last_editor_user_id": null, "owner_user_id": "1266", "parent_id": "5346", "post_type": "answer", "score": 0 }, { "body": "As far as I know, most people learn (and most likely master) hiragana first.\nThen katakana. Then finally kanji. I'm sure there is some overlap but this\nseems to be the order of learning the different scripts (is that right word\nfor them?).", "comment_count": 1, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0", "creation_date": "2012-04-28T19:19:18.870", "id": "5368", "last_activity_date": "2012-04-28T19:19:18.870", "last_edit_date": null, "last_editor_user_id": null, "owner_user_id": "769", "parent_id": "5346", "post_type": "answer", "score": 0 }, { "body": "I had a similar problem when first learning how to write kana. It was\nfrustrating to start with the gozyuuon order when you realise how few words\nyou can write after having learned the first ten or fifteen hiragana in that\norder: あいうえおか…\n\nSo what did I do? I (unscientifically) analysed some bodies of text for\nfrequency. The text wasn't properly normalised (it contained kanji), but I did\ngroup the small and large kana together. Then I divided it into groups of ten,\nand randomised each group. This is what I came up with:\n\n```\n\n 1. しかいたんつてな <-- most frequent\n \n 2. よのやうあはとら\n \n 3. ちさもこるまくに\n \n 4. わそきれねすけお\n \n 5. せみをほりふえめ\n \n 6. むぬろゆへひ <-- least frequent\n \n```\n\nThis method gave my brain enough immediate rewards to get through the task.\n\n(A frequency analysis of katakana would likely end up quite different)", "comment_count": 0, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0", "creation_date": "2012-05-02T10:29:07.973", "id": "5409", "last_activity_date": "2012-05-02T10:29:07.973", "last_edit_date": null, "last_editor_user_id": null, "owner_user_id": "1339", "parent_id": "5346", "post_type": "answer", "score": 3 }, { "body": "This is how I learned it. The method takes three days to learn the whole\nthing.\n\nFirst, divide Kana into three parts - each for one day: - First part starts at\nあ and ends at た - Second part starts at な and ends at や - Third day covers the\nrest and repeats first two parts.\n\nLearn them in three consecutive days without gaps by writing characters on a\npiece of paper in a random order to remember them perfectly. Do not learn\ncharacters of, say, the second part while learning the first to avoid\ndistraction.\n\nIt works!", "comment_count": 0, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0", "creation_date": "2014-08-15T00:54:45.313", "id": "18238", "last_activity_date": "2014-08-15T00:54:45.313", "last_edit_date": null, "last_editor_user_id": null, "owner_user_id": "6748", "parent_id": "5346", "post_type": "answer", "score": 1 }, { "body": "Try a spaced repetition flashcard/multichoice App like \"Memrise\", it will\ngradually introduce groups of Kana and remove the ones you keep getting right.\nIn theory you're likely to go through them in the あいうえお、かきくけこ、... order but an\nApp like this will keep the harder Kana in the rotation longer until you're\ngetting the right.\n\nRemember to practice writing them by hand too!", "comment_count": 0, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0", "creation_date": "2017-01-09T07:29:11.270", "id": "42369", "last_activity_date": "2017-01-09T07:29:11.270", "last_edit_date": null, "last_editor_user_id": null, "owner_user_id": "14608", "parent_id": "5346", "post_type": "answer", "score": 0 } ]

[ { "body": "〜すぎ is the noun form of the verb 〜すぎる.\n\nIn other words, 〜すぎ would be followed by です, and すぎる would become すぎます, in\nです・ます form.\n\nSometimes these are interchangeable and it just depends if you want a noun or\na verb, but in your example 言いすぎる on its own would not have the same meaning.\nYou'd have to say something like \"言いすぎてるじゃん！\".", "comment_count": 0, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0", "creation_date": "2012-04-27T19:00:20.077", "id": "5350", "last_activity_date": "2012-04-27T19:00:20.077", "last_edit_date": null, "last_editor_user_id": null, "owner_user_id": "1272", "parent_id": "5349", "post_type": "answer", "score": 7 }, { "body": "The key difference is that ～すぎる expresses time and ～すぎ does not.\n\n多すぎる will be too many\n\n多すぎた was too many\n\n多すぎ too many\n\n～すぎ is a noun as mentioned by ジョン, however it is also a verb in it's\ncontinuative form. That is to say a verb that is happening at the same time as\nthe rest of the sentence (now unless otherwise indicated).\n\nDue to that fact 多すぎ is a grammatically complete sentence fragment, but so is\n多すぎだ", "comment_count": 6, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0", "creation_date": "2012-04-27T21:53:02.623", "id": "5352", "last_activity_date": "2012-05-01T00:42:54.397", "last_edit_date": "2012-05-01T00:42:54.397", "last_editor_user_id": "1129", "owner_user_id": "1129", "parent_id": "5349", "post_type": "answer", "score": 2 }, { "body": "Note how this use of the noun form of a verb by itself is similar to, for\ninstance, _owari!_ (Finished; ended).\n\n> アルゴリズム体操終わり！ \n> (The end of the algorithm exercise!)\n\nYou could make the _-i_ word a complete sentence like for instance this with\n`-ni narimasu`, which is very humble and polite:\n\n> 終わりに成りました \n> owari ni narimashita \n> Lit: something has reached the ending state. (Something has ended.)\n\nIn the case of 言い過ぎ, since this is abrupt, what is being elided/understood is\nthe copula だ which would make it a complete sentence:\n\n> 言い過ぎだ！ \n> Lit: It is saying too much. (That is an **exaggeration** or\n> **overstatement**!)\n\nOr with more verbiage, adding the topic \"sore wa\":\n\n> それは言い過ぎだ！\n\nReferences for 言い過ぎ: <http://dictionary.goo.ne.jp/leaf/thsrs/10848/m0u/>\n\nSo the reason why 言い過ぎ was used rather than 言い過ぎる is because the character\nwants to say to the other that whatever the other said just now was an\nexaggeration, rather than to say \"you are exaggerating\".\n\nSimilarly, if the character wanted to say \"That is a lie!\", he or she might\nsay \"uso!\" which is a noun by itself or \"uso da!\". (\"usoooooo...\" would be\nmore like \"no way!\" which is different from \"You are lying!\") To call someone\na liar: \"uso tsuki!\" This is another noun, where a full sentence might be,\ne.g. \"omae ga uso tsuki da yo!\".", "comment_count": 0, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "creation_date": "2012-04-28T00:58:38.647", "id": "5355", "last_activity_date": "2021-12-06T22:59:44.583", "last_edit_date": "2021-12-06T22:59:44.583", "last_editor_user_id": "30454", "owner_user_id": "1266", "parent_id": "5349", "post_type": "answer", "score": 11 }, { "body": "Was looking for this and wanted to add \"In casual Japanese, sugiru is\nfrequently shortened to the nominal form sugi, as in hayasugi (早すぎ, too early)\nor ososugi (遅すぎ, too late).\" from\n<https://www.japantimes.co.jp/life/2015/06/22/language/much-enough-just-\ndial/#.WpQLfGpuaUk> .\n\nSo perhaps it is just a simple casual contraction and nothing else?", "comment_count": 1, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0", "creation_date": "2018-02-26T13:30:54.520", "id": "56900", "last_activity_date": "2018-02-26T13:30:54.520", "last_edit_date": null, "last_editor_user_id": null, "owner_user_id": "22417", "parent_id": "5349", "post_type": "answer", "score": 0 } ]

[ { "body": "Axel Svahn has written about this construction in detail, including summaries\nof other scholars' viewpoints:\n\n * [Imperative -ta in colloquial Japanese: A descriptive analysis](http://lup.lub.lu.se/luur/download?func=downloadFile;recordOId=1322097;fileOId=1322098) (Bachelors' thesis, 2007)\n * [The perfective imperative in Japanese](http://lup.lub.lu.se/luur/download?func=downloadFile;recordOId=1579617;fileOId=1585445) (Masters' thesis, 2009)\n\nThat second one in particular is well worth reading if you are interested in\nthis subject. It includes this summary of what -ta is:\n\n> 1. It functions as a highly informal imperative.\n> 2. It is associated with a feeling of urgency on the part of the speaker.\n> 3. It is not a phonetic alteration of another imperative construction\n> (such as the -te or -e (ro) constructions mentioned in chapter 2), but is\n> instead derived from the perfective function of the past tense marker -ta\n> and its modal use in expressing the attitude of the speaker towards a given\n> situation.\n\nThere is also a very interesting discussion of the various theories about why,\nif it is so \"informal\" or \"crude\", it is nevertheless so commonly used by\nshopkeepers trying to get customers to buy what they have to sell.", "comment_count": 4, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0", "creation_date": "2012-04-28T06:50:43.543", "id": "5360", "last_activity_date": "2012-04-28T08:10:41.213", "last_edit_date": "2012-04-28T08:10:41.213", "last_editor_user_id": "531", "owner_user_id": "531", "parent_id": "5356", "post_type": "answer", "score": 16 } ]

[ { "body": "As for my experience I'd say first name + san is less formal and last name +\nsan is more formal and usually used for ソト people.", "comment_count": 2, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0", "creation_date": "2012-04-28T09:52:39.147", "id": "5363", "last_activity_date": "2012-04-28T09:52:39.147", "last_edit_date": null, "last_editor_user_id": null, "owner_user_id": "930", "parent_id": "5362", "post_type": "answer", "score": 3 }, { "body": "In general, Japanese people will address people by their last name if they are\nanything but good friends.\n\nSo that would be the tendency would be Doeさん.\n\nHowever when it comes to western people 2 things come into play.\n\n1) Your name might be difficult to say.\n\n2) They might know our custom is to use first names more often.\n\nWhen I was in Japan and dealing with people I would see fairly often, they\nwould generally ask me what I wanted to be called. I always said my first name\nbecause that is how I see myself and because my last name is impossible for\nJapanese people say correctly.", "comment_count": 1, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0", "creation_date": "2012-04-28T17:32:33.390", "id": "5366", "last_activity_date": "2012-04-29T03:36:58.380", "last_edit_date": "2012-04-29T03:36:58.380", "last_editor_user_id": "1129", "owner_user_id": "1129", "parent_id": "5362", "post_type": "answer", "score": 8 }, { "body": "As others have pointed out, it's usually a context based system.\n\nIf it's a formal situation, and you want/need to show some respect (maybe\nyou're having dinner with your boss), then it would normally be (family\nname)+title (probably さま or their division title).\n\nIn an informal situation or with friends, I've found that it's acceptable to\nuse (given name)+title (probably さん, くん, or せんぱい). Sometimes, you might even\nbe able to drop the title part. Always ask first though as some people, even\nin informal situations prefer their family name and a title.\n\nI've found in schools (I don't know about college/university, however), that\nteachers will often refer to their students in (given name)+title format. In\nthis case, the title would usually be くん (but not always). I've no idea\nwhether this is to foster a slightly laid back situation, or whether this is\ndown to the possibility of there being multiple students with the same family\nname in the same class, though.\n\nSide story: I found, while studying Japanese at university, that some Japanese\nteachers in the UK prefer the (given name)+さん approach to be very useful.\nProbably for the same reason as the teachers in Japanese schools.", "comment_count": 0, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0", "creation_date": "2012-04-30T07:38:28.480", "id": "5380", "last_activity_date": "2012-04-30T07:38:28.480", "last_edit_date": null, "last_editor_user_id": null, "owner_user_id": "1206", "parent_id": "5362", "post_type": "answer", "score": 3 } ]

[ { "body": "Well the government can and does regulate the words that and characters that\ncan be used in both official documents, government signage and legal names.\n\nThey also set the minimum education standards for Japanese language. So kids\nhave to learn kanji and learn it in a specific form.\n\nWhile they can't go and take your book of out circulation or take down your\nstore's signage if it doesn't match their standard, they effectively ensure\nthat future generations will tend to favor not using characters and words that\nthe government considers obsolete or useless.", "comment_count": 0, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0", "creation_date": "2012-04-28T17:15:30.680", "id": "5365", "last_activity_date": "2012-04-29T03:37:53.823", "last_edit_date": "2012-04-29T03:37:53.823", "last_editor_user_id": "1129", "owner_user_id": "1129", "parent_id": "5364", "post_type": "answer", "score": 2 }, { "body": "文化庁 also publish guidelines on okurigana, the writing of gairaigo, and the use\nof romaji. Those can be seen\n[here](http://www.bunka.go.jp/kokugo_nihongo/joho/kijun/naikaku/index.html).\nOther documents\n[here](http://www.bunka.go.jp/kokugo_nihongo/joho/kijun/sanko/index.html)\ninclude guidelines on the use of punctuation, iteration marks, etc.\n\nThere is also 国立国語研究所. Although they're researchers not regulators, they have\nproduced documents on how to reword difficult-to-understand gairaigo using\nkanji terms ([「外来語」言い換え提案](http://www.ninjal.ac.jp/gairaigo/)).\n\nFinally, the Japanese Industrial Standards Committee (日本工業標準調査会), through the\nJIS X 208 and JIS X 0213 standards, has a big influence. If you can't (or\ncan't easily) enter/display certain characters on your computer/phone, that's\ngoing to affect usage, even if you don't really care about government\nstandards and guidelines.", "comment_count": 0, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0", "creation_date": "2012-04-29T17:24:28.610", "id": "5374", "last_activity_date": "2012-04-29T17:24:28.610", "last_edit_date": null, "last_editor_user_id": null, "owner_user_id": "571", "parent_id": "5364", "post_type": "answer", "score": 7 }, { "body": "This is a **partial** answer specifically about **government kanji lists**\n(prior answers did not go into detail).\n\nMEXT (文部省) and MOJ (法務省) publish official kanji lists (漢字表) like\n[常用漢字表](http://www.mext.go.jp/b_menu/hakusho/nc/k19811001001/k19811001001.html)\n(MEXT) and [人名用漢字票](http://www.moj.go.jp/content/001131003.pdf) (MOJ). The\nformer is a list of about 2000 kanji \"for every day use\" (常用) that schools\nteach and children are expected to learn in school. The second is a\nsupplementary list of about 1000 kanji \"for use in names\" (人名用), that are not\njudged to be particularly common outside use in names. **The union of these\nsets represents kanji that are \"legally recognized\"** (can be used in legal\ndocuments without issue, etc).\n\nNote that native speakers generally learn to recognize/read many kanji beyond\nwhat is in the government lists ( **the lists account for about 3000\n\"official\" kanji** ). (See note below on numbers beyond \"government\nrecognized\" kanji)\n\nMEXT further divides the 常用 list. A subset of 1006 kanji is called the\n[教育漢字表](http://www.mext.go.jp/a_menu/shotou/new-cs/youryou/syo/koku/001.htm),\nor \"educational kanji list\", which is further separated by grade level and is\ntaught in elementary school. First graders learn 80 kanji (plus hiragana and\nkatakana). Second graders learn another 160, third and fourth graders learn\n200 a piece, fifth graders learn 185, and sixth graders learn 181.\n\nThese lists are not the first versions. The government has published kanji\nlists in the past, but the older ones have been replaced by the newest\niterations.\n\n* * *\n\n**Aside:** How many kanji are there, and **how many do native speakers know?**\nIt is hard to give an estimate. To give an idea of how many kanji exist that\nare relevant to Japanese, [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kanji)\nsuggests that a dictionary containing 50,000 unique kanji is considered\ncomprehensive (but of course many of these are outdated or specialist-only),\nand that JIS standards call for computer encodings of 13,000 kanji, with the\nmain range including 6,000. I queried the JMDIC data set, which contains\nspellings of Japanese words representing close to 6,000 kanji, with close to\n3,000 of these being in words marked \"common\". The [Kanji\nKentei](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kanji_kentei) Pre-1 and 1 levels have\nlow pass rates even among adult native speakers, but they require very in-\ndepth reading and hand-writing knowledge of ~3,000 and ~6,000 respectively. To\nme it seems reasonable to say that a typical native speaker will have some\nfamiliarity with readings or meanings of between 3,000 to 13,000 kanji, but a\nmore precise number would be very sensitive to a definition of \"familiarity\"\nand background of the native speaker.", "comment_count": 4, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0", "creation_date": "2016-06-11T10:53:12.063", "id": "35843", "last_activity_date": "2016-06-11T17:27:49.530", "last_edit_date": "2016-06-11T17:27:49.530", "last_editor_user_id": "14598", "owner_user_id": "14598", "parent_id": "5364", "post_type": "answer", "score": 3 } ]

[ { "body": "The reading when used as a suffix in this case is ちゅう (the on-yomi of the\ncharacter [中](http://jisho.org/kanji/details/%E4%B8%AD))\n\nSo インストール中 is pronounced インストールちゅう. The meaning is \"installing\", or \"in the\nprocess of installation\".\n\nMore generally, 〜中 used in this way can be thought to mean \"in the process of\n~\"\n\n_Edit: There is another possible usage of 〜中 which Hyperworm describes in\ntheir answer._", "comment_count": 3, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0", "creation_date": "2012-04-28T20:13:24.343", "id": "5370", "last_activity_date": "2016-02-05T05:12:42.950", "last_edit_date": "2016-02-05T05:12:42.950", "last_editor_user_id": "1272", "owner_user_id": "1272", "parent_id": "5369", "post_type": "answer", "score": 11 }, { "body": "It depends on the meaning.\n\n中 used to mean \"during / in the process of\" must be pronounced ちゅう (as in\nジョン's post)\n\n> インストール中【ちゅう】 now installing \n> 読込【よみこみ】中【ちゅう】 now loading \n> 建築【けんちく】中【ちゅう】 under construction\n\nBut in other uses, such as \"all throughout\" or \"out of (all the)\", it is\ncommonly read じゅう (although it seems that ちゅう is also an option?):\n\n> 世界【せかい】中【じゅう】の人々 people all around the world \n> クラス中【じゅう】で一番【いちばん】背【せ】が高【たか】い tallest in the class", "comment_count": 4, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0", "creation_date": "2012-04-28T21:33:54.227", "id": "5371", "last_activity_date": "2012-04-28T21:33:54.227", "last_edit_date": null, "last_editor_user_id": null, "owner_user_id": "315", "parent_id": "5369", "post_type": "answer", "score": 28 } ]

[ { "body": "Yes, but only in some cases.\n\nConsider the following.\n\n実{じつ}は、私{わたし}は行{い}きません\n\nThis is perfectly correct and a common pattern. The reason being is that some\nphrases set to always have a は in them.\n\nIn the case of something like the following\n\n彼女{かのじょ}は行きませんが、私は行きます\n\nThe second は is allowed because they only apply to one of the sentence\nfragments.\n\nNow there are some cases that you might hear a second は that are technically\nincorrect, but are still fairly common. Such as\n\n１９日から月末{げつまつ}にかけては、私は行きません\n\nThe reason for this being common would seem to be that people haven't thought\nabout the end of the sentence until they have already said the start of it.\n\nWhen it comes とは には etc, these can be considered technically different from は,\nthat is to say they can't be broken down into something else + は thus they can\nbe used in sentence with another は however their use is normally limited to\ncases when は is not used in the sentence.", "comment_count": 6, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0", "creation_date": "2012-04-30T03:52:44.657", "id": "5376", "last_activity_date": "2012-04-30T03:52:44.657", "last_edit_date": null, "last_editor_user_id": null, "owner_user_id": "1129", "parent_id": "5375", "post_type": "answer", "score": 7 }, { "body": "When we say \"contrastive\", it is ambiguous.\n\nSometimes there are two は in a sentence that are being contrasted with each\nother, such as in これ＜は＞僕ので＜は＞ありませｎ. But sometimes the extra, non-topical は is\nbeing contrasted with some other instances of something similar in its\ncategory, not the other は. Like this particular thing, and not others.\n\nAccording to Masahiro Tanimori ( _Handbook of Japanese Grammar_ ):\n\n> _Wa_ cannot be used in a relative clause, and is rarely used in other\n> subordinate clauses (conditional/concessive clauses) when it has been\n> already used to introduce a word as the topic of the whole sentence or the\n> main clause.\n\nThat is not talking about the situation in which two words are contrasted.\n\nLet me make up some examples:\n\nTwo は:\n\n十月には、私は日本に帰るつもりです。 In October, I intend to return to Japan. (The topic is\nOctober. In that month, I intend to return to Japan.)\n\nWhat happens if we replace the second with が:\n\n十月には、私が日本に帰るつもりです。 In October, _I_ intend to return to Japan. (The topic is\nOctober. In that month, I'm the one who intends to return to Japan.)", "comment_count": 1, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0", "creation_date": "2012-04-30T03:53:10.867", "id": "5377", "last_activity_date": "2012-04-30T04:33:15.920", "last_edit_date": "2012-04-30T04:33:15.920", "last_editor_user_id": "1266", "owner_user_id": "1266", "parent_id": "5375", "post_type": "answer", "score": 6 }, { "body": "That's a little bit hard question, because any language is so big that very\noften we can find extremely rare, but still possible exception.\n\nGenerally, I would say in a phrase only one は can be thematic. The idea of the\ntopic is to disambiguate. Any sentence has content which we want to say and\nsome area to which it belongs. For example, if we provide only content like\n\"will go to a shop\", then such sentence doesn't make any sense, because we\ndon't know about who we are talking here. Such sentence is possible with\ncontext as:\n\n> - And what you will do?\n>\n> - Go to a shop.\n\nIt's not very common in English, but still understandable. We have context-\ntopic \"you/I\" and action \"go to a shop\". It's very hard to think about any\nsituation when we would need to use double layer disambiguation and the\nclosest version is probably a very standard sentence like:\n\n> 像は鼻が長い (elephants have long trunks)\n>\n> 像の鼻 は・が 長い (Elephants's trunks are long)\n\nThese sentences have different nuances due to different topics, but it's easy\nto see when we need to talk about some part of a whole, we can use の and\nstring as far as we want. We can bring some general topic and narrow down to\nsomething much more specific within a single は. At the same time such\ndisambiguation function gives another usage. If we intentionally emphasize\nthere are several candidates and our sentence is true for one of these, people\ncan assume it's false for others and thus we get contrastive implication. it's\nsimilar to a situation like this:\n\n> - What about the Smiths?\n>\n> - John will come (which implies others members of the family probably won't\n> do so).\n\nWith the only difference here we used context to make plural candidates, but\nin Japanese it's done simply by using は. It's the main function of は to\nrestrict and If we use は, we automatically mean it could be applied to\nsomething else. Thus you can see so called contrastive function is rather an\nintention of speaker to emphasize on a choice and there are many ways to make\nthat. In can be a flow of conversation when we start to bring similar topics,\nor it can be intentional usage of は in unusual places. We can make double\nparticles like には and it's a place where there is no need for は in a neutral\nsentence, we can replace other particles like をー＞は as in ケーキは食べる (I will eat\nthe cake), which implies person probably won't eat something else, or in some\nrare cases we can even put は in relative clause to make contrast.\n\nAt the same time there are many words like 実は (truth, reality) or situations\nlike negation ではない, which technically require は particle. Everything we say\ncan be either truth or lie. And while it's rather contrastive, many people use\nthat as a filler word similar to \"honestly speaking\". Without intention to\nemphasize, that doesn't bring significant counter implication. It's also a\nlittle bit hard to categorize, because the only difference between two is that\nthematic-は is an old information. Any sentence has new information (something\nwe want to say) and old information (something about what we say). Thus there\nis only one thematic-は and all other forms like 実は bring something new. But\nthat's a little bit arguable and depending on how we try to explain what は\ndoes, that can be either another thematic-は, contrastive-は or maybe an\nexception. We mix here old/new information, disambiguation and implication.\nAll 3 are slightly different concepts.\n\nIn my opinion both statements are rather true, because there is a huge gap\nbetween technically contrastive words/forms, and intentional implication done\nby speakers. But picking more precise definition would be something like\n\"There is only one thematic-は, which can be contrastive or not depending on\ncontext, and any other は is contrastive by default with a different amount of\nimplication\".", "comment_count": 0, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "creation_date": "2021-05-05T12:10:50.820", "id": "86488", "last_activity_date": "2021-05-05T12:21:24.820", "last_edit_date": "2021-05-05T12:21:24.820", "last_editor_user_id": "41989", "owner_user_id": "41989", "parent_id": "5375", "post_type": "answer", "score": 1 }, { "body": "I see a challenge with trying to discuss Japanese grammar in English; if the\nfollowing statement is true\n\nThere can be only one thematic は in a sentence.\n\n...really depends on what the definition of \"a sentence\" is. In the English\nidea of sentence it may be right, in that sentence refers to some form of\nsubject-verb pair. If a sentence here is Japanese idea of anything and\neverything between まる「。」then that's a different story. As others pointed out,\nI can throw as many は as I care and still sound legit.これ **は** これ、それ **は**\nそれという見方 **は** その場合に **は** 正しいと言えなくもないと言ったの **は** そもそもお前だろう。", "comment_count": 1, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "creation_date": "2021-05-07T11:49:43.023", "id": "86515", "last_activity_date": "2021-05-08T22:19:57.747", "last_edit_date": "2021-05-08T22:19:57.747", "last_editor_user_id": "14444", "owner_user_id": "14444", "parent_id": "5375", "post_type": "answer", "score": 2 } ]

[ { "body": "歌王(うたおう, utaou) is literally \"king of song\". Someone who wins a singing\ncontest (popular pastime in Japan, right?) is \"utaou\".\n\nA contest in general is 決定戦 (ketteisen) and a 歌王決定戦 (utaouketteisen) is a\ncontest to be king of song!\n\nBut there are also contests for parody songs, thus: 替え歌王決定戦. If you search for\nthis, you can find no shortage of funny videos.\n\nYour friend probably means that those songs are the typical Japanese material\nsung in these kaeutaou contests. (So that you do not think this is real\nJapanese pop, haha!)", "comment_count": 1, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0", "creation_date": "2012-04-30T07:26:13.360", "id": "5379", "last_activity_date": "2012-04-30T07:26:13.360", "last_edit_date": null, "last_editor_user_id": null, "owner_user_id": "1266", "parent_id": "5378", "post_type": "answer", "score": 2 } ]

[ { "body": "\"Hope\" (or \"wish\") and \"feeling\" are different words.\n\nSo this is like asking, what is the difference between \"apple\" and \"bread\",\nand can you show this in a sentence.\n\n(Are you sure you don't mean: what is the difference between 感じ (kanji) and\n気持ち?)", "comment_count": 0, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0", "creation_date": "2012-04-30T16:11:34.160", "id": "5385", "last_activity_date": "2012-04-30T16:11:34.160", "last_edit_date": null, "last_editor_user_id": null, "owner_user_id": "1266", "parent_id": "5381", "post_type": "answer", "score": 2 } ]

[ { "body": "暖かい refers to the climate or surrounding atmosphere that is warm:\n\n * この部屋は暖かい - It is warm in this room.\n\n温かい is of tangible things like solids and liquids and it means it is warm to\nthe touch. Also it can be used to describe a \"warm heart\" :\n\n * 温かいご飯 - A warm meal\n\n * 温かい心 - A warm heart\n\n* * *\n\nA similar difference is observed in 暑い・熱い and 寒い・冷たい. 暑い and 寒い refer to\nweather/environment. While 熱い and 冷たい is used for hot and cold to the touch\nrespectively.", "comment_count": 0, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0", "creation_date": "2012-04-30T11:15:55.787", "id": "5383", "last_activity_date": "2012-04-30T11:22:38.413", "last_edit_date": "2012-04-30T11:22:38.413", "last_editor_user_id": "542", "owner_user_id": "542", "parent_id": "5382", "post_type": "answer", "score": 13 } ]

[ { "body": "As a punishment for being clueless, I've Googled this endlessly.\n\nThe や here is a substitute for は. This may be dialectal or from old Japanese.\nI found an allusion to it in this paper:\n<http://conf.ling.cornell.edu/japanese_historical_linguistics/WAFL%5B1%5D.05-Watanabe-\nfinal.pdf>\n\nQuote from a footnote:\n\n> The particle ya can be used to mark what appears to be a topic in\n> predicative sentences when the predicate itself is a wh-phrase. This use is\n> put aside and must be left to future research.\n\nや also evidently appears as a topic marker in Okinawan.\n\nAnyway, essentially the same phrase occurs with the normal topic marker は：\n\n果たして結果は如何に (hatashite, kekka wa ikani)\n\nSo it looks like there is no word \"yaikani\". It is \"kekka\", a particle, and\n\"ikani\".\n\n\"Kekka wa ikani?\" is useful by itself. The way I understand it, it literally\nit seems to mean \"About the result, to what extent?\" I.e. \"To what extent was\nit effective?\" \"What is the net result?\"\n\nWith \"Hatashite\" it seems to be more emphatic and critical. \"In reality, what\ngood was it?\" (Seeming to have the connotation: it was not effective).\n\nI think the above addresses your 2 question also. When は appears, it is the\nstandard modern Japanese topic particle.", "comment_count": 1, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0", "creation_date": "2012-05-01T01:14:02.207", "id": "5392", "last_activity_date": "2012-05-01T01:14:02.207", "last_edit_date": null, "last_editor_user_id": null, "owner_user_id": "1266", "parent_id": "5384", "post_type": "answer", "score": 8 } ]

[ { "body": "お馬鹿さん isn't \"idiot\"; it is softer, more like \"silly\". Also note the -san\nsuffix.\n\nIf a little boy named Daisuke is looking for his cap, while actually wearing\nit, you could say, 今日、大ちゃんは ちょっと お馬鹿さんになってきた、ね！ 灯台もと暗し\n\nThis is soft compared to something abrupt like おまえが馬鹿だよ！\n\nThere is a need in language to have a soft way to say \"silly\".\n\nThis is not to say that we can wrap \"o- and -san\" (or \"-sama\") around any\nderogatory word and make it into a nice word. \"Obakasan\" is a word.\n\nOr ... can we?\n\nLet's consider the word 犯人 (criminal, guilty). Would it ever make sense to\nhave the word ご犯人様 (o-hannin-sama?)？(We use the go- prefix because hannin is a\nSino-Japanese compound, and there is no o- exception for it.) You might think\nnot, right? It is terrible to be a criminal.\n\nBut, take a look at this page:\n\n<http://happy.ap.teacup.com/sasahirobase/431.html>\n\nThis is someone Japanese person's blog with pictures. One pictures shows a\ndamaged wooden floor with scratches.\n\nThe following picture is a cute picture of a dog. The caption is ... ご犯人様です\n\nThis expresses \"this is our little culprit\".\n\nThe blogger doesn't hate the culprit (quite the opposite), and the \"crime\" is\npetty.", "comment_count": 5, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0", "creation_date": "2012-04-30T21:09:33.690", "id": "5387", "last_activity_date": "2012-05-01T11:29:02.847", "last_edit_date": "2012-05-01T11:29:02.847", "last_editor_user_id": "542", "owner_user_id": "1266", "parent_id": "5386", "post_type": "answer", "score": 8 }, { "body": "Back in the 80's, baka! as an expletive was a vulgar swear word. A Diet member\nused it on another politico on TV and I still remember the public outrage. Of\ncourse, no one said 'it sucks' on American TV either back then. A better\ndefinition of baka would be sh*thead not 'fool'. As for the honorific,\nremember that Omae (you) is both a fighting word level insult and a term of\nendearment depending on whom you are addressing. I would look at the actual\nbiographies of the sayer and the sayee, and would be very interested to hear\nhow social norms have changed from the boom era when I lived there.", "comment_count": 0, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0", "creation_date": "2012-05-05T04:28:15.577", "id": "5425", "last_activity_date": "2012-06-12T23:40:49.863", "last_edit_date": "2012-06-12T23:40:49.863", "last_editor_user_id": null, "owner_user_id": "1345", "parent_id": "5386", "post_type": "answer", "score": 2 } ]

[ { "body": "Yes, young children and young women often refer to themselves by their first\nname. There is the notion that it is cute and women will use it when talking\nto close family members, etc. If an adult male would use it, it would sound\nvery effeminate. Also, when an adult women uses it, _some_ people consider\nthat she is trying to look cute on purpose and be turned off by it.", "comment_count": 7, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0", "creation_date": "2012-04-30T21:42:24.120", "id": "5390", "last_activity_date": "2012-04-30T21:42:24.120", "last_edit_date": null, "last_editor_user_id": null, "owner_user_id": "1217", "parent_id": "5388", "post_type": "answer", "score": 9 } ]

[ { "body": "This is just the opinion of your dictionary. According to the KRADFILE, 出 has\nthese radicals:\n\n```\n\n #\n # K R A D F I L E\n #\n # Copyright 2001/2005 Michael Raine, James Breen and the Electronic\n # Dictionary Research & Development Group at Monash University.\n # See: http://www.csse.monash.edu.au/groups/edrdg/licence.html\n # for permissions for use and redistribution.\n [ ... big snip ... ]\n 出 : ｜ 山\n [ ... bigger snip ... ]\n \n```\n\nSo, \"vertical stick\" and mountain are the radicals according to this source,\nwhich is located here: <http://www.csse.monash.edu.au/~jwb/kradinf.html>\n\nActually, a better terminology is radical plus components. A kanji is\nunderstood to have one primary component. This is called the radical. The\nothers are components.\n\nSo kradfile says ｜ is the radical, and the kanjidic agrees. The latter states\nthat this character has the No. 2 radical. This No. 2 refers to the Kang-Xi\n214 radical index.\n\nSee: <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Kangxi_radicals> . Here you can\nlearn the name of that No. 2 stick in Chinese and Japanese.\n\nWictionary assigns a different radical from Kanjidic:\n<http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/%E5%87%BA> . They cite Radical No. 17, 凵 . This\nopinion is justifiable. When we draw the kanji, we make that shape first, then\nthe vertical line, and then the bottom box.\n\nOffline source: Jack Halpern's _The Kodansha Kanji Learner's Dictionary_ sides\nwith Wictionary: it assigns Radical 17 also.\n\nUnicode Unihan data: <http://www.unicode.org/cgi-\nbin/GetUnihanData.pl?codepoint=51FA> Radical 17, again.\n\nHowever, 冂 as a radical or component of 出? Nonsensical. Perhaps a typo.", "comment_count": 0, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0", "creation_date": "2012-05-01T06:42:40.157", "id": "5394", "last_activity_date": "2012-05-01T06:59:46.313", "last_edit_date": "2012-05-01T06:59:46.313", "last_editor_user_id": "1266", "owner_user_id": "1266", "parent_id": "5393", "post_type": "answer", "score": 5 }, { "body": "As the other answer says,「冂」is definitely not a component of「出」.\n\n「出」originally depicted something very simple: a foot「止」exiting out of a\ncave「凵」, indicating the meaning _exit_. Unfortunately, the shape has changed\ntoo much over the years to make this construction obvious nowadays.\n\n# `[商](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shang_dynasty) \n[甲](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oracle_bone_script) \n[](https://i.stack.imgur.com/OxVsX.png) \n \n[合集10405](http://www.guoxuedashi.com/jgwhj/?bhfl=1&bh=10405&jgwfl=)``[西周](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Western_Zhou) \n[金](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinese_bronze_inscriptions) \n[](https://i.stack.imgur.com/oopKm.png) \n頌壺 \n[集成9731](http://www.guoxuedashi.com/yzjwjc/?bh=9731&jgwfl=)`` \n[篆](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Small_seal_script) \n[](https://i.stack.imgur.com/dLyxE.png) \n[說文解字](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shuowen_Jiezi) \n``[秦](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Qin_dynasty) \n[簡](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bamboo_and_wooden_slips) \n[](https://i.stack.imgur.com/gRUhv.png) \n[睡](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shuihudi_Qin_bamboo_texts)ㆍ[雜](http://xiaoxue.iis.sinica.edu.tw/qinwenzi/reference/reference) \n``現代 \n[楷](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Regular_script) \n[](https://i.stack.imgur.com/sRsvr.png) \n \n`\n\nFor reference,\n\n# `商 \n甲 \n[](https://i.stack.imgur.com/WBKkY.png) \n \n[合集33193](http://www.guoxuedashi.com/jgwhj/?bhfl=1&bh=33193&jgwfl=)``西周 \n金 \n[](https://i.stack.imgur.com/clsoZ.png) \n琱生簋 \n[集成4292](http://www.guoxuedashi.com/yzjwjc/?bh=4292&jgwfl=)``秦 \n簡 \n[](https://i.stack.imgur.com/lRWa0.png) \n睡ㆍ[為](http://xiaoxue.iis.sinica.edu.tw/qinwenzi/reference/reference) \n``現代 \n楷 \n[](https://i.stack.imgur.com/6fxwt.png) \n \n`", "comment_count": 0, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "creation_date": "2018-08-20T18:03:39.877", "id": "60988", "last_activity_date": "2018-08-20T18:03:39.877", "last_edit_date": null, "last_editor_user_id": null, "owner_user_id": "26510", "parent_id": "5393", "post_type": "answer", "score": 2 } ]

[ { "body": "If ばかりに is preceded by と, then it takes on the meaning of \"as if someone was\nsaying ~\".\n\nSo I guess for your second example of 注文した料理が来ると、子どもたちは待ってましたとばかりに食べ始める would\nbe something along the lines of \"Once the food that they had ordered arrived,\nthe children began to eat as if to say that they had been kept waiting.\"", "comment_count": 0, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0", "creation_date": "2012-05-01T07:40:43.563", "id": "5397", "last_activity_date": "2012-05-01T07:47:20.937", "last_edit_date": "2012-05-01T07:47:20.937", "last_editor_user_id": "542", "owner_user_id": "542", "parent_id": "5395", "post_type": "answer", "score": 7 }, { "body": "To answer this specific final question:\n\n> So what purpose is とばかりに serving here?\n\nHere are two possible versions:\n\n 1. 注文した料理が来ると、子どもたちは **待ってましたとばかりに** 食べ始める \nOnce the food that they'd ordered arrived, the children began to eat **as if\nto say that they'd been waiting**.\n\n 2. 注文した料理が来ると、子どもたちは食べ始める \nOnce the food that they'd ordered arrived, the children began to eat.\n\nBoth of them make it clear that the children started eating when their food\narrived. But only the first one explains _how_ they started eating, i.e. \"as\nif to say that they'd been waiting\".\n\nNow, as you say, obviously they had been waiting. But _saying_ so (or doing\nsomething \"as if to say so\") implies that the waiting was notable to them,\ni.e. it was a long wait, or they were really hungry so any wait felt long to\nthem. [People usually don't say things unless they have a reason\nto](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cooperative_principle).\n\nThat is, 待ってましたとばかりに isn't about the objective fact of waiting (the wait might\nnot even have been that long; kids are impatient), but rather, the _message_\nthat the children (perhaps involuntarily) send, by their actions, about their\nown subjective experience.", "comment_count": 0, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0", "creation_date": "2012-05-10T08:43:06.460", "id": "5461", "last_activity_date": "2012-05-10T08:43:06.460", "last_edit_date": null, "last_editor_user_id": null, "owner_user_id": "531", "parent_id": "5395", "post_type": "answer", "score": 7 }, { "body": "Compare with ～と言わんばかり（だ、に）。 I usually think of it as \"As if but to say\"/\"All\nbut...to say...\" and other expressions of the type. It's helpful to parse the\nsentence as:\n\n * 言わんとする - Older volitional \"attempt\" construction\n\nThen it sounds like \"All but trying to...\" or something similar, incorporating\nthe volitional aspect. Someone pointing their finger angrily at the door is\ntrying to tell you to get out, hence, their volitional action in wanting to\nexpress the phrase paints the very(ばかり) phrase they are trying to\nexpress（と言わんばかり、とばかり） itself.\n\nCheck out Aozora Bunko for (free) older books; I'm sure you'll find these\nexpressions in Natsume Souseki's Botchan or maybe Dazai Osamu's Shayou.", "comment_count": 1, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0", "creation_date": "2013-02-26T10:52:37.500", "id": "11339", "last_activity_date": "2013-02-26T10:52:37.500", "last_edit_date": null, "last_editor_user_id": null, "owner_user_id": "3131", "parent_id": "5395", "post_type": "answer", "score": 1 } ]

[ { "body": "This one had me up thinking and at first I thought it was something else, but\nmore research lead me to the correct answer. :) Thank you, actually!\n\nSo, here is what the difference is:\n\n> 1) 祖父は１００歳まで **生きるために** 、食生活にはとても気をつける。\n>\n> (My Grandfather took very good care of his diet in order to live until\n> 100yrs of age.)\n\nHere, ために is used in the more common way, (a)v.inf + ために + (b)v.inf/masu = b\nfor the purpose of a\n\n> 2) 祖父は１００歳まで **生きんがために** 、食生活にはとても気をつける。\n>\n> (My Grandfather took very good care of his diet in order to live until\n> 100yrs of age.)\n\nHere, it is saying the exact same thing... the difference is what precedes ため.\n\nThe 〜んがために is a contraction of 3 parts:\n\n * The verb in imperfective form\n * The が particle, which in Japanese is very similar to の\n * and ため\n\nHere is someone else's much better explanation of 未然形 / imperfective form:\n[link](http://forum.jisho.org/discussion/comment/5041/#Comment_5041)", "comment_count": 1, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0", "creation_date": "2012-05-01T17:11:45.980", "id": "5401", "last_activity_date": "2012-08-17T03:42:50.133", "last_edit_date": "2012-08-17T03:42:50.133", "last_editor_user_id": "921", "owner_user_id": "1068", "parent_id": "5396", "post_type": "answer", "score": 5 }, { "body": "Matt pretty much gave the answer, but I'm going to be cheeky and write a real\nanswer, since I think the question deserves it.\n\nThis ん is not the negative, but a contraction of [the archaic auxiliary verb\nむ](http://dictionary.goo.ne.jp/leaf/jn2/214421/m0u/%E3%82%80/), which\nexpresses intention, prediction etc. As the Goo article says, since the Heian\nperiod, it also appeared as ん, and since the Kamakura period as (よ)う. The\nlatter is basically the modern Japanese volitional verb suffix.\n\nI cannot think of any situation where the む form survives in modern Japanese.\nThe ん form survives in certain fossilized constructs:\n\n> 生きんがため in order to live \n> 言わんとする intend to say\n\nIncidentally, these could also be expressed with the (よ)う form:\n\n> 生きようがため in order to live \n> 言おうとする intend to say\n\nEdit:\n\nIn terms of meaning, there is not much of a difference, but the んがため・んとする\nversions sound a bit more old-fashioned/solemn. So the difference in use is\nmostly stylistic.", "comment_count": 2, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0", "creation_date": "2012-05-02T03:02:49.507", "id": "5404", "last_activity_date": "2012-05-07T01:50:10.767", "last_edit_date": "2012-05-07T01:50:10.767", "last_editor_user_id": "1073", "owner_user_id": "1073", "parent_id": "5396", "post_type": "answer", "score": 21 } ]

[ { "body": "のだ (んだ, のです, んです, or の) seems to create an information deficit. [There was an\narticle written by Derek Schaab about\nthis](http://sakamotomaaya.com/291/information-deficits).\n\nThe の here is called a formal noun. It is very often translated to \"It is\nthat~\", \"the case\", \"the situation\" or \"the fact\". When used to end a\nsentence, it may imply that it is an explanation to some previous context\n(filling up the information deficit). When used to ask a question it begs a\ndeeper explanation over a superficial reply (creating an information deficit).\n\n* * *\n\nConsider:\n\n 1. 私は猫が好きだ - I like cats\n\n 2. 私は猫が好きなのです。 - It is that I like cats\n\nFor 1, it is a neutral statement that just says that you like cats.\n\nFor 2, it fills in a blank with the fact that you like cats as some sort of\nexplanation. For example, if you got distracted by a cat and went out of your\nway to pet the cat, and your friend who was with you at the time gave you a\nquizzical look. You may reply 私は猫が好きなのです。 as an explanation to your behaviour\nto fill in the information deficit of your friend.\n\nYou can also use のです to immediately fill in an information deficit that you\nthink the listener should have:\n\n * 今日は出かけられない。宿題がたくさんあるのです。 - \"I cannot go out today. (The reason being that) I have lots of homework.\n\n* * *\n\nのです can also be used when no information is shared by the speaker and\nlistener, and is not used to express reason or an explanation. When used as\nsuch, the speaker speaks as though the information was shared and the effect\nthis creates is to involve the listener in what the speaker is talking about,\nor to create an emphasis on what the speaker is talking about (by means of\ncreating a perception of information deficit of the listener).\n\n(heefske has done a better job of explaining this in [another\nquestion](https://japanese.stackexchange.com/a/3685/542) the summary is that\nit builds rapport by showing emotional investment in the issue.)\n\n* * *\n\nUsage pattern:\n\n * `Verb` \\+ `のです`\n\n> するのです - it is that ~ is/will be done\n\n * `Verb(past)` \\+ `のです`\n\n> したのです - it is that ~ was done\n\n * `い-Adjective` \\+ `のです`\n\n> 高いのです - it is that it is expensive\n\n * `い-Adjective(past)` \\+ `のです`\n\n> 高かったのです - it is that it was expensive\n\n * `Noun` \\+ `な(attributive だ)` \\+ `のです`\n\n> 猫なのです - it is that it is a cat\n\n * `Noun` \\+ `だった(past だ)` \\+ `のです`\n\n> 猫だったのです - it is that it was a cat\n\n * `Noun(adjective)` \\+ `な(attributive だ)` \\+ `のです`\n\n> 静かなのです - it is that it is quiet\n\n * `Noun(adjective)` \\+ `だった(past だ)` \\+ `のです`\n\n> 静かだったのです - it is that it was quiet", "comment_count": 6, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0", "creation_date": "2012-05-01T10:08:48.563", "id": "5399", "last_activity_date": "2016-07-24T09:30:43.173", "last_edit_date": "2020-06-17T08:18:27.500", "last_editor_user_id": "-1", "owner_user_id": "542", "parent_id": "5398", "post_type": "answer", "score": 55 }, { "body": "`～んです` is a contraction of `～のです`, which in turn is the polite form of the\nplain/informal `～のだ` (which is also seen sometimes as `～んだ`.)\n\n`～のです`/`～のだ` are used to emphasize the previous statement. According to\n[Daijisen](http://dic.yahoo.co.jp/dsearch?enc=UTF-8&p=%E3%81%AE%E3%81%A7%E3%81%99&dtype=0&dname=0na&stype=0)\nand\n[Daijirin](http://dic.yahoo.co.jp/dsearch?enc=UTF-8&p=%E3%81%AE%E3%81%A7%E3%81%99&dtype=0&dname=0ss&stype=0&index=115332600000&pagenum=1),\n`のです` emphasizes explanations of cause/reason/basis etc. In the forms of\n`～んですか`/`～のですか`, it can create an emphasized or even demanding question.\n\nSee also the [sci.lang.japan FAQ](http://www.sljfaq.org/afaq/no-da.html) for\nmore information.", "comment_count": 0, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0", "creation_date": "2012-05-01T11:20:54.587", "id": "5400", "last_activity_date": "2012-05-01T11:58:01.173", "last_edit_date": "2012-05-01T11:58:01.173", "last_editor_user_id": "796", "owner_user_id": "796", "parent_id": "5398", "post_type": "answer", "score": 12 }, { "body": "One usage that I was taught and is not mentioned above for んです is to soften a\nquestion or statement.\n\nFor example\n\n> レストランに 行きたいです I want to go to a restaurant.\n\nis a bit demanding or matter-of-fact. Changing to 行きたいんです softens this.\nImagine a friend asks you about what you both should do for lunch. 行きたい sounds\na bit forceful, like you will consider nothing else. The addition of ん softens\nit.\n\nConsider the following:\n\n> あなたはなぜトルクに 行きたいですか？ Why do you want to go to Turkey?\n>\n> あなたはなぜトルクに 行きたいんですか？ Why do you want to go to Turkey?\n\nIn the first example it could be somebody at immigration or other official\nquizzing you. In the second it could be a friend asking about your planned\nholiday.", "comment_count": 0, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0", "creation_date": "2014-05-02T11:06:35.207", "id": "15704", "last_activity_date": "2014-05-02T11:20:01.450", "last_edit_date": "2020-06-17T08:18:27.500", "last_editor_user_id": "-1", "owner_user_id": "4071", "parent_id": "5398", "post_type": "answer", "score": 11 }, { "body": "助動詞「だ」の連体形「な」に準体助詞「の」が付いたもの 上昇調のイントネーションを伴って、質問の意を表す。\n<https://kotobank.jp/word/%E3%81%AA%E3%81%AE-347401>", "comment_count": 1, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "creation_date": "2020-10-17T13:40:41.337", "id": "82147", "last_activity_date": "2020-10-17T13:40:41.337", "last_edit_date": null, "last_editor_user_id": null, "owner_user_id": "40637", "parent_id": "5398", "post_type": "answer", "score": -1 }, { "body": "んだ is a spoken form of のだ. There is actually an exact entry for のだ in the\nJapanese dictionary that comes with MacOS/iOS (スーパー大辞林 / Super Daijirin\nJapanese Dictionary); I think the explanations make quite some sense:\n\nの◦だ\n\n（連語）〔準体助詞「の」に断定の助動詞「だ」の付いたもの。話し言葉では「んだ」「のです」となることも多い〕\n\n①\n原因・理由・根拠などの説明を強く述べる。「こうして独り住まいをしていると，ますます孤立感が深まっていく―◦だ」「弟の言うことを聞けば聞くほど，気の毒でしかたがなかった―◦だ」\n\n② 意志的な動作を表す語に付いて，その動作主の決意や相手に対する要求などを表す。「なんとしても，この事だけは達成する―◦だ」「早くここから出て行くんだ」\n\n③ （「のだった」の形で）事態の説明をやや詠嘆的に言い表す。「一人思い出にふける―◦だった」\n\nSo it could be that the speaker is trying to\n\n 1. put an emphasis to their narration.\n 2. express a strong will or a demand to the other side. (I think this also covers the example mentioned in VictorySaber's answer.)\n 3. (のだった）express slight exclamation at their narration of an event.\n\n* * *\n\nThere is also a separate entry for なのだ though it seems to more or less\ncorrespond to the first meaning of the entry above.\n\nなの◦だ\n\n（連語）〔形容動詞の語尾または助動詞「だ」の連体形「な」に助詞「の」が付き，さらに断定の助動詞「だ」の付いたもの。話し言葉では「なんだ」となることが多い〕\n\n強い断定を表す。「これが僕のやりたいこと―◦だ」「試合結果がよくなかったのは，何よりも練習時間が少なかったから―◦だ」〔「だ」の活用に応じて，「なのだろう」「なのだった」「なのではないか」などの形でも用いられる〕", "comment_count": 0, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "creation_date": "2021-10-30T21:31:34.293", "id": "90979", "last_activity_date": "2021-10-30T21:37:27.653", "last_edit_date": "2021-10-30T21:37:27.653", "last_editor_user_id": "4959", "owner_user_id": "4959", "parent_id": "5398", "post_type": "answer", "score": 0 } ]

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[ { "body": "鍵 means _key_. The only time where it would mean _lock_ that I can think of is\n鍵をかける which means _to lock_. (literally: _\"apply the key\"_ )", "comment_count": 1, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0", "creation_date": "2012-05-02T08:33:27.973", "id": "5406", "last_activity_date": "2012-05-02T08:33:27.973", "last_edit_date": null, "last_editor_user_id": null, "owner_user_id": "1065", "parent_id": "5405", "post_type": "answer", "score": 1 }, { "body": "The way I understand it is that `錠{じょう}` is generally used for \"lock\" and\n`鍵{かぎ}` for \"key\". `鍵` can mean \"lock\" in some contexts however (this is\nalmost certainly incomplete):\n\n> * 鍵を掛ける - to lock (something) \n> _(literally something like \"[turn a key on\n> (something)](http://eow.alc.co.jp/search?q=%E9%8D%B5%E3%82%92%E6%8E%9B%E3%81%91%E3%82%8B)\")_\n> * 鍵が掛かっている/鍵が掛かった - (something) is locked\n> * 鍵を開ける - to unlock (something)\n> *\n> [鍵を取り付ける](http://eow.alc.co.jp/search?q=%E9%8D%B5%E3%82%92%E5%8F%96%E3%82%8A%E4%BB%98%E3%81%91%E3%82%8B)\n> \\- \"install a lock\"\n> * [鍵が壊れている](http://eow.alc.co.jp/search?q=%E9%8D%B5%20%E5%A3%8A%E3%82%8C)\n> \\- \"the lock is broken\"\n> *\n> [玄関に鍵をつける](http://dic.yahoo.co.jp/dsearch?p=%E9%8D%B5&enc=UTF-8&stype=0&dtype=0&dname=0ss)\n> \\- \"attach a lock to the entrance\"\n>", "comment_count": 2, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0", "creation_date": "2012-05-02T08:34:32.433", "id": "5407", "last_activity_date": "2012-05-02T09:55:04.767", "last_edit_date": "2012-05-02T09:55:04.767", "last_editor_user_id": "796", "owner_user_id": "796", "parent_id": "5405", "post_type": "answer", "score": 12 }, { "body": "Strictly speaking, 鍵{かぎ} is _key_ and 錠{じょう} is _lock_. However, in daily\nspeech, 錠 is hardly ever used. Usually, people will say 鍵 to mean either key\nor lock, and the context will make it clear which one it is.\n\nHowever, the じょう reading does appear in several common kanji compounds:\n\n> 施錠{せじょう} (to) lock \n> 開錠{かいじょう} unlock \n> 南京錠{なんきんじょう} padlock", "comment_count": 0, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "creation_date": "2012-05-02T10:19:14.457", "id": "5408", "last_activity_date": "2021-10-25T05:05:57.017", "last_edit_date": "2021-10-25T05:05:57.017", "last_editor_user_id": null, "owner_user_id": "1073", "parent_id": "5405", "post_type": "answer", "score": 12 } ]

[ { "body": "`～もさることながら` means [\"even more\nthan\"](http://eow.alc.co.jp/search?q=%E3%82%82%E3%81%95%E3%82%8B%E3%81%93%E3%81%A8%E3%81%AA%E3%81%8C%E3%82%89)\nor [\"not\nonly\"](http://ejje.weblio.jp/sentence/content/%E3%82%82%E3%81%95%E3%82%8B%E3%81%93%E3%81%A8%E3%81%AA%E3%81%8C%E3%82%89).\n\n`[A]もさることながら[B]` expresses that `[B]` is of greater consequence than `[A]`.\n\n> 美さもさることながら、彼女の魅力は何と言ってもその人柄にある。 \n> \"Even more than (her) beauty, when all is said and done her charm is in her\n> personality.\"\n>\n>\n> 舞台のセットもさることながら、俳優陣もこの上なく[豪華](http://dic.yahoo.co.jp/dsearch?enc=UTF-8&p=%E8%B1%AA%E8%8F%AF&dtype=3&dname=2na&stype=0&pagenum=1&index=01382800)だ。 \n> \"Not only the stage sets, the cast is also as magnificent as could be.\"\n\n[`この上なく`](http://eow.alc.co.jp/search?q=%E3%81%93%E3%81%AE%E4%B8%8A%E3%81%AA%E3%81%8F)\nmeans \"to the fullest degree\", \"as ~ as [can/could] be\", \"extremely\" etc.", "comment_count": 0, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0", "creation_date": "2012-05-03T06:46:16.247", "id": "5411", "last_activity_date": "2012-05-03T07:55:02.050", "last_edit_date": "2012-05-03T07:55:02.050", "last_editor_user_id": "796", "owner_user_id": "796", "parent_id": "5410", "post_type": "answer", "score": 7 } ]