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p1atdev

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japanese-stackexchange

like 3

[ { "body": "As you can see from these references:\n\n * <http://netyougo.com/twitter/1652.html>\n * <http://www.paradisearmy.com/doujin/pasok_8888.htm>\n\nStreams of the number eight such as `８８８８` represent **applause**. They're\nread\n[`パチパチ`](http://dic.yahoo.co.jp/dsearch?enc=UTF-8&stype=0&dtype=0&dname=0na&p=%E3%83%91%E3%83%81%E3%83%91%E3%83%81),\nthe sound of hands clapping together one after another in applause, as in the\nphrase `パチパチと拍手する`.\n\nThe second reference above also explains the derived slang terms `７７７７` and\n`９９９９`, which might be of interest:\n\n * `７７７７` means that something wasn't good enough to applaud, so it only got `７` instead of `８`;\n * `９９９９` expresses the opposite, that something was even better than `８８８８` would imply.", "comment_count": 0, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0", "creation_date": "2013-01-28T09:43:02.683", "id": "11067", "last_activity_date": "2013-01-28T09:43:02.683", "last_edit_date": null, "last_editor_user_id": null, "owner_user_id": null, "parent_id": "11066", "post_type": "answer", "score": 46 } ]

[ { "body": "1. I think そのようにして(その様にして) is similar in meaning to そんなふうにして(そんな風にして). (The former sounds more literary than the latter to me.) \nEg: そんなふうにして事故が起こったのです。 \nThat is how the accident occurred. \n(From\n<http://ejje.weblio.jp/sentence/content/%E3%81%9D%E3%82%93%E3%81%AA%E3%81%B5%E3%81%86%E3%81%AB%E3%81%97%E3%81%A6>\n) \n\n 2. I think it's read as きょじょう, though I couldn't find きょじょう(巨城) in online dictionaries, 明鏡 nor 広辞苑. (Correct me if I'm wrong... )", "comment_count": 1, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0", "creation_date": "2013-01-28T20:56:59.147", "id": "11070", "last_activity_date": "2013-01-28T21:03:15.250", "last_edit_date": "2013-01-28T21:03:15.250", "last_editor_user_id": null, "owner_user_id": null, "parent_id": "11069", "post_type": "answer", "score": 3 }, { "body": "I think one needs to see the previous sentence, as そのようにして perhaps refers to\nthe state of the 巨城 that is not made clear from the information at hand.\n\n> そのようにして\n\nそのよう sonoyou = adjectival noun → conjugation: that kind of; of the sort; of\nthe kind; such\n\nそのようにして is a pretty common construction, sometimes translated as simply as\njust \"So,...\".\n\nI will break it down literally for you:\n\n> そのよう that way にして was done\n\nPut together it can be read as, \"In that way...\"\n\n(して in the middle of the sentence is expressing the past tense of する, in\naccordance with the されてきた at the end of the sentence)\n\nMy attempt at translation:\n\n> そのようにしてこの巨城は、二年の長きにわたってゆっくりと攻略されてきた。\n>\n> In the state it was/In this way/In this state 巨城 was slowly captured over\n> the course of two long years .\n\nI think the よう is this one:\n\n> 【容】 noun: 形 · 容：form; shape; figure\n\nrather than this one:\n\n> よう 【様】\n\nBut perhaps someone better informed can tell us?\n\nHere are a number of examples if the expression you asked about:\n\n<http://eow.alc.co.jp/search?q>=そのようにして\n\n(copy and paste whole link)", "comment_count": 2, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0", "creation_date": "2013-01-29T00:16:20.813", "id": "11071", "last_activity_date": "2013-01-29T00:25:41.547", "last_edit_date": "2013-01-29T00:25:41.547", "last_editor_user_id": "706", "owner_user_id": "706", "parent_id": "11069", "post_type": "answer", "score": 1 } ]

[ { "body": "Aすることはない means “do (should) not have to do A.” Here ことはない can be replaced with\n必要はない without changing the meaning by much. (Compared to 必要はない, ことはない has an\nimplication that the absence of necessity is a general fact. See the question\n“[Difference and nuance between することはない and\nする必要はない/する可能性はない](https://japanese.stackexchange.com/questions/1563)” by\nphirru for more on the difference between ことはない and 必要はない.) は can be omitted\nin the colloquial context.\n\n> 1時間も歩くことはないよ。タクシーを使うべきだよ。 We should not have to walk for an hour. We should\n> use a taxi.\n\nBしてまでAすること(は)ない means “do not have to do A to the extent of doing B.”\n\n> 体を壊してまで仕事をすることはない。 You do not have to work to the extent that you become\n> sick.\n\n(The subject is unspecified in the Japanese sentence, and it depends on the\ncontext, but we cannot translate the sentence into English without specifying\na subject. You should note that the choice of “you” here is not necessarily\ncorrect.)\n\nIn your sentence, する in することない means 仕事をする, where 仕事を is omitted because it is\nclear from the first half of the sentence.", "comment_count": 0, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0", "creation_date": "2013-01-29T13:25:27.387", "id": "11077", "last_activity_date": "2013-01-29T18:03:27.147", "last_edit_date": "2017-04-13T12:43:44.740", "last_editor_user_id": "-1", "owner_user_id": "15", "parent_id": "11073", "post_type": "answer", "score": 7 }, { "body": "Building off of Tsuyoshi Ito's answer, here is my attempt at a translation:\n\n> いくら仕事だといっても、体をこわしてまですることないんじゃありませんか?\n>\n> No matter how much you say it's your job, don't you think that you shouldn't\n> have to work yourself to the point of exhaustion?\n>\n> No matter how much you say it's your job, don't you think that you shouldn't\n> have to work yourself to the bone?\n\nHere is a breakdown of the sentence as I understand it, as well as another\nloose translation:\n\n> いくら * 仕事だ * といっても、* 体をこわしてまで * することないん * じゃありませんか?\n>\n> how many * it's work/your job * you say, * to the point of damaging your\n> health * shouldn't do * isn't it?\n>\n> Sure it's your job, but do you really think you have to work so hard that\n> you damage your health?", "comment_count": 3, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0", "creation_date": "2013-01-30T00:21:17.803", "id": "11082", "last_activity_date": "2013-01-31T17:52:56.667", "last_edit_date": "2013-01-31T17:52:56.667", "last_editor_user_id": "706", "owner_user_id": "706", "parent_id": "11073", "post_type": "answer", "score": 2 } ]

[ { "body": "I think to answer your question it needs to be broken into two parts, namely\n\"what is です's etymology?\" and \"where is です used?\".\n\n## Usage\n\nYou will see です used in two ways:\n\n * As the polite form of the copula だ. In this case, it has the meaning \"to be\" and acts mostly like a verb, in that it inflects.\n\n> 彼{かれ}はお医者{いしゃ}さんです。 \"He is a doctor.\"\n>\n> ちょっと変{へん}でした。 \"It was a little weird.\"\n\n * As a polite marker for i-adjectives. Historically, i-adjectives had a polite inflection, [〜うございます](https://japanese.stackexchange.com/q/765/78), which showed up as late as the 1960s, but it was thought to be \"too polite\" in many cases and was eventually discarded. However, the non-polite form was considered to be too impolite, so 〜です was added on the end as a polite marker. It is not the copula here and as a result does not inflect.\n\n> 楽{たの}しいです。 \"It is fun.\"\n>\n> 熱{あつ}かったです。 \"It was hot.\"\n\n## Etymology\n\nAlthough there are many theories about the origin of です, the common one among\nlinguists I know is that it is a contraction of でございます. However there are\ncompeting theories (でそう、であります) and there is not yet a consensus about the\ncorrect one.", "comment_count": 12, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0", "creation_date": "2013-01-29T04:27:46.907", "id": "11075", "last_activity_date": "2013-02-01T05:21:37.210", "last_edit_date": "2017-04-13T12:43:44.207", "last_editor_user_id": "-1", "owner_user_id": "3097", "parent_id": "11074", "post_type": "answer", "score": 23 } ]

[ { "body": "I do not know where you learned that に can be used for emphasis, but I do not\nknow any case where に is used for emphasis. [に is a case\nparticle](http://dic.yahoo.co.jp/dsearch?enc=UTF-8&p=%E3%81%AB&dtype=0&dname=0na&stype=1&pagenum=1&index=13940200),\nand you cannot add に to something that plays roles other than the に-case. (The\nに-case is used for many purposes such as time, location, destination,\ndirection, and purpose).\n\nThe following sentences are not grammatical.\n\n * 私にはケーキを食べた。\n * 私にはその小説を知っている。\n * 誰にも試合の結果を知らない。\n\nRemoving に from these sentences makes them grammatical.\n\n * 私はケーキを食べた。 I ate a cake.\n * 私はその小説を知っている。 I know the novel.\n * 誰も試合の結果を知らない。 No one knows the result of the match.", "comment_count": 0, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0", "creation_date": "2013-01-30T17:00:21.027", "id": "11087", "last_activity_date": "2013-01-30T17:00:21.027", "last_edit_date": null, "last_editor_user_id": null, "owner_user_id": "15", "parent_id": "11076", "post_type": "answer", "score": 2 } ]

[ { "body": "This seems like a reach even to me, but here goes.\n\nThe dictionary entry for `吐【は】く` that I'm seeing shows usages of `息などを出す` and\n`胃／肺／口の中のものを口／鼻から出す`. This seems to imply that the fire is inside of the thing\n(dragon, etc.) and is coming out. As opposed to the fire being generated at\nthe \"exit point\" or externally (like just outside the dragon's mouth). Even in\nyour examples, \"fire-spitting\" vs. \"fire-breathing\" seems to kind of indicate\nthis. `吐く` also usually implies coming out of the mouth or nose. So if the\ndragon's fire is coming out of its arse/ears/other orifice(?), maybe `吐く`\nwouldn't be applicable.\n\nBut overall they seem interchangeable. And if a dragon is shooting fire at you\nat _all_ , put down your Japanese book and get the hell outta there!", "comment_count": 0, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0", "creation_date": "2013-01-29T16:05:33.077", "id": "11079", "last_activity_date": "2013-01-29T16:05:33.077", "last_edit_date": null, "last_editor_user_id": null, "owner_user_id": "78", "parent_id": "11078", "post_type": "answer", "score": 4 } ]

[ { "body": "The particle `を` is a 格助詞{かくじょし} (\"case particle\"). Normally, a case particle\nmarks a noun or noun phrase to show its relationship to the predicate (such as\na verb or an adjective), or to another noun or noun phrase. Specifically, the\nparticle `を` marks the [accusative\ncase](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Accusative_case). This means that it marks\nthe _direct object_ of a verb.\n\nTherefore, we would expect to find just such a verb in this sentence. Since\nthere _is_ no verb, we can assume this is an example of\n[ellipsis](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ellipsis_%28linguistics%29). Something\nhas been left out, and as the reader, it's our job to guess what it is.\n\nSearching on\n[Google](https://www.google.com/search?hl=ja&q=%E3%81%BE%E3%81%9F%E3%81%AE%E5%90%8D%E3%82%92)\nand\n[Weblio](http://ejje.weblio.jp/content/%E3%81%BE%E3%81%9F%E3%81%AE%E5%90%8D%E3%82%92)\nfor `またの名を` reveals that it is a common phrase meaning \"also known as\". The\nfull phrase `またの名を〜と言う` is [also listed on\nWeblio](http://thesaurus.weblio.jp/content/%E3%81%BE%E3%81%9F%E3%81%AE%E5%90%8D%E3%82%92%EF%BD%9E%E3%81%A8%E8%A8%80%E3%81%86)\nand appears to be relatively common, so it's reasonable to guess that the\nelided phrase is `と言う`. (You could also guess that it's `と呼ぶ` or something\nsimilar; it doesn't change the meaning very much.)\n\nTherefore, we can interpret your sentence as the following:\n\n> またの名を≪ソードアート・オンライン≫と言う。\n\nSo what does `を` mean in this sentence? It has the same function it usually\ndoes, which is marking the direct object of a verb.", "comment_count": 0, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0", "creation_date": "2013-01-31T12:00:14.343", "id": "11098", "last_activity_date": "2013-01-31T12:33:40.677", "last_edit_date": "2013-01-31T12:33:40.677", "last_editor_user_id": null, "owner_user_id": null, "parent_id": "11080", "post_type": "answer", "score": 2 } ]

[ { "body": "まっ◯◯ is indeed 真っ, but it does not exactly mean straight. It can mean straight\nwhen you use it as 真っ直ぐ, but that's because of the meaning of すぐ. 真っ\n[emphasizes the word that it's connected\nto](http://www.weblio.jp/content/%E7%9C%9F%E3%81%A3). If you look at the\nmeaning of 真 by itself, like \"true,\" then it's a little clearer. So 真っすぐ means\nthat it's \"really\" straight. まっきいろ would be \"really\" yellow, or like a pure\nyellow. It connects to some other words similarly, like 真{ま}っ赤{か},\n真{ま}っ裸{ぱだか}, 真{ま}っ白{しろ}い, etc.\n\nThe issue of の is a separate issue, but you should be able to find it in most\ngrammar references, as well as in some questions on this site, like\n[here](https://japanese.stackexchange.com/questions/9922/function-\nof-%E3%81%AE-in-these-phrases) and in the other questions linked in it.", "comment_count": 5, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0", "creation_date": "2013-01-30T12:24:46.917", "id": "11085", "last_activity_date": "2017-07-19T06:01:20.697", "last_edit_date": "2017-07-19T06:01:20.697", "last_editor_user_id": "9831", "owner_user_id": "1797", "parent_id": "11084", "post_type": "answer", "score": 7 } ]

[ { "body": "There are two kanji for verb ある that are commonly used: 有る and 在る. But neither\nis natural in your sentence: 日本人では有りません and 日本人では在りません.\n\nNote that this is not because of the negation. 日本人で有る and 日本人で在る also look\nweird.\n\nIn modern Japanese, words with little semantic value are usually written in\nhiragana. ある in 日本人である is used as a copula in combination with で. Although ある\nis a verb, it works almost as a function word in these sentences, and\ntherefore it is usually written in hiragana.\n\nHere are some other examples:\n\n> 本を机の上に **置く** 。 \n> 雨が降る前に買い物に行って **おく** 。\n>\n> 急いては **事** を仕損じる。 \n> 車を運転する **こと** ができる。", "comment_count": 0, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0", "creation_date": "2013-01-31T02:09:09.433", "id": "11091", "last_activity_date": "2013-01-31T21:23:43.897", "last_edit_date": "2020-06-17T08:18:27.500", "last_editor_user_id": "-1", "owner_user_id": "15", "parent_id": "11089", "post_type": "answer", "score": 13 }, { "body": "If you were determined to write it in Kanji では在りません would be the correct\nchoice in your example. However, as @Tsuyoshi_Ito points out, it's not natural\nand is generally not written in Kanji.", "comment_count": 7, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0", "creation_date": "2014-04-04T06:30:46.637", "id": "15235", "last_activity_date": "2014-04-04T06:30:46.637", "last_edit_date": null, "last_editor_user_id": null, "owner_user_id": "1805", "parent_id": "11089", "post_type": "answer", "score": 2 }, { "body": "ではありません in your example sentence is a form of copula (である) and as such it is\nwritten using hiragana in modern Japanese. Words that are used in auxiliary\nway in the structure of the sentence are pretty much always written only using\nhiragana.\n\nThere's also quite a lot of other words, including verbs, that are normally\nwritten using hiragana. \"To be\" verbs ある and いる belong to this category.\n\n* * *\n\nIn addition to great explanation in Tsuyoshi Ito's answer, please also note\nthat ない, the negative form of ある, is sometimes written using a different\nkanji: 無い. This kanji has a meaning of non-existence. I understand it's used\nrather in set phrases than commonly for all situations. There are\nwords/expressions which combine both kanji for positive (有) and negative (無)\naspect of ある, for example:\n\n * 有{あ}ること無{な}いこと - mixture of facts and fiction \n * 有{あ}るか無{な}きか - so slight as to be all but non-existent", "comment_count": 1, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0", "creation_date": "2014-04-05T05:02:35.870", "id": "15251", "last_activity_date": "2014-04-05T05:02:35.870", "last_edit_date": null, "last_editor_user_id": null, "owner_user_id": "5041", "parent_id": "11089", "post_type": "answer", "score": 1 } ]

[ { "body": "(Warning: I do not know phonetics in general, and I do not speak Mandarin. I\nam writing this answer while consulting Wikipedia. Although I am trying my\nbest to write an accurate answer, you should take it with a grain of salt,\nespecially with my use of technical terms and with statements about Mandarin.)\n\n> My question is, are the two sh's completely indistinguishable to Japanese\n> ears?\n\nCompletely? Probably no. But they are almost indistinguishable to most native\nspeakers of Japanese.\n\nIn both English and Japanese, there is only one phoneme realized by voiceless\n[postalveolar](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Postalveolar_consonant#Postalveolar_sibilants)\nfricatives (the same holds for voiced postalveolar fricatives):\n\n * In English, this phoneme is typically realized as [palato-alveolar fricative [ʃ]](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Voiceless_palato-alveolar_fricative).\n * In Japanese, this phoneme is typically realized as [alveolo-palatal fricative [ɕ]](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Voiceless_alveolo-palatal_fricative).\n\n(The primary difference between these two consonants is the shape of the\ntongue.)\n\nTherefore, most native speakers of English are not trained to distinguish\ndifferent postalveolar fricatives, and they pronounce the consonant of しゃ, しゅ,\nしぇ, しょ as [ʃ] when they speak Japanese. This does not cause a problem for\ncomprehension because we (native speakers of Japanese) are also not trained to\ndistinguish different postalveolar fricatives. We probably notice something\ndifferent in their pronunciation and recognize it as “Japanese with English\naccents,” but that’s all. Probably the same thing happens when native speakers\nof Japanese speak English.\n\n(I wrote “しゃ, しゅ, しぇ, しょ” above. What happens when a native speaker of English\npronounces し in Japanese? I cannot tell from my experience, but if he/she gets\nthe vowel [i] in Japanese right, probably he/she will necessarily pronounce\n[ʃ] in a more palatalized way, resulting in [ɕ], even if he/she is not aware\nof it.)\n\nThis situation may look strange to you if [ʃ] and [ɕ] belong to distinct\nphonemes in your native tongue: how can anyone be unaware of the _obvious_\ndifference between [ʃ] and [ɕ]? But the notion of “similar sounds” is\nsurprisingly different from one language to another. For example, many native\nspeakers of Japanese have trouble distinguishing\n[[s]](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Voiceless_alveolar_fricative) and\n[[θ]](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Voiceless_dental_fricative) when we speak\nEnglish, and native speakers of English might wonder how anyone can be unaware\nof the _obvious_ difference between [s] and [θ]. (I guess the same example\napplies to native speakers of Mandarin.) As another example, many native\nspeakers of English have trouble distinguishing きょう (今日) and きよう (器用) when\nthey speak Japanese, and native speakers of Japanese might wonder how anyone\ncan be unaware of the _obvious_ difference between them.\n\nBy the way, “sh” in Mandarin is not [ʃ] (“sh” in English), either. According\nto Wikipedia, it is [retroflex fricative\n[ʂ]](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Voiceless_retroflex_fricative), and\ntherefore it has yet another tongue shape. If you do not notice the difference\nbetween Mandarin [ʂ] and English [ʃ], that is probably because of the same\nreason why native speakers of English and native speakers of Japanese do not\nnotice the difference between English [ʃ] and Japanese [ɕ].", "comment_count": 4, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0", "creation_date": "2013-01-31T04:10:28.543", "id": "11095", "last_activity_date": "2013-01-31T23:15:27.527", "last_edit_date": "2013-01-31T23:15:27.527", "last_editor_user_id": "15", "owner_user_id": "15", "parent_id": "11092", "post_type": "answer", "score": 10 } ]

[ { "body": "In general, trying to translate specific sentences from English into Japanese\nisn't the best way to learn Japanese grammar (although it can be part of a\ngreater experience). Japanese grammar doesn't work exactly the same as English\ngrammar and has different \"building blocks\", so things don't always translate\ndirectly over. Nevertheless, here are how you would do the progressive and\nperfect in Japanese.\n\n## Progressive\n\nThe progressive aspect in English has a pretty direct equivalent in Japanese.\nNamely, it is the 〜て form of the verb followed by the auxiliary verb いる (note,\nthe い is commonly dropped). In the case of たべる it would be たべている.\n\nHere is a full derivation for たべる (tabe-ru):\n\n> `taberu` in progressive aspect \n> = {progressive == 〜て form + いる} \n> (`taberu`'s 〜て form)`iru` \n> = {て form == verb stem + て} \n> `tabeteiru`\n\nHere is a derivation of something with an uglier 〜て form for fun, かく (kak-u):\n\n> `kaku` in progressive aspect \n> = {progressive == 〜て form + いる} \n> (`kaku`'s 〜て form)`iru` \n> = {て form == verb stem + て} \n> *`kakteiru` \n> = {k+consonant == i+consonant (イ音便)} \n> `kaiteiru`\n\n## Perfect\n\nThe perfect aspect in English is one of those things that does not have a\ndirect equivalent in Japanese grammar. So, to figure out how to translate the\nperfect, we need to break down what the perfect is used for in English by\nmeaning:\n\n * **To denote something that happened before now.** In this case, \"I have eaten\" is semantically equivalent to \"I ate\" in English. In Japanese, we use the past tense for this: たべた. The past tense in Japanese is to add 〜た to the stem, which generally requires phonological corrections for -u verbs, just like with the 〜て form.\n\n> `taberu` in past tense \n> = {past == verb stem + た) \n> `tabeta`\n>\n> `kaku` in past tense \n> = {past == verb stem + た) \n> *`kakta` \n> = {k+consonant == i+consonant (イ音便)} \n> `kaita`\n\n * **To denote experience with something.** For example, \"I have skydived.\" In this case, just as you can't say \"I skydived.\" to mean this in English, the past tense would not mean this in Japanese. Instead, we use the construction (past tense of verb)+ことがある. So in this case,\n\n> show experience of `sukaidaibingu wo suru` \n> = {experience == past tense + ことがある} \n> (past tense of `sukaidaibingu wo suru`) + `koto ga aru` \n> = {past tense of する == した} \n> `sukaidaibingu wo shita koto ga aru`", "comment_count": 12, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0", "creation_date": "2013-01-31T05:09:57.967", "id": "11096", "last_activity_date": "2013-01-31T13:58:38.540", "last_edit_date": "2013-01-31T13:58:38.540", "last_editor_user_id": "3097", "owner_user_id": "3097", "parent_id": "11094", "post_type": "answer", "score": 4 } ]

[ { "body": "My dictionary records it as 慣用 (idiomatic). The two examples are:\n\n> 1時間も待ってばかを見た｜I wasted a whole hour waiting for her.\n>\n> こんな古い家を買ってばかを見た｜I should have known better than to buy such an old house.\n\nI have thought of it as close to もったいない or even \"...I was a fool.\"", "comment_count": 0, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0", "creation_date": "2013-01-31T15:48:24.773", "id": "11101", "last_activity_date": "2013-03-12T21:08:42.333", "last_edit_date": "2020-06-17T08:18:27.500", "last_editor_user_id": "-1", "owner_user_id": "1556", "parent_id": "11097", "post_type": "answer", "score": 4 }, { "body": "It is used when a person has some **expectation** of what the outcome of the\nsituation will be, but somehow the outcome has been **failed to meet** his/her\nexpectations in such a foolish way.\n\nUsing the examples that Tim has provided,\n\n> I thought she is going to show up to meet me, but she didn't and I had\n> waited for almost an hour now. I'm going home. Foolish of me to believe her.\n> バカを見た。\n>\n> I thought this house was very cheap and rooms are very clean, but I didn't\n> know that it has been 200 years old and underlying structure is very weak.\n> It was foolish of me to buy this house. バカを見た。\n\nNow 自分だけ implies that one has shared some expectations with a number of\npeople, and all of them except you had an expected outcome in the situation.\n\n> At dinner, my boss said that the company is going to be in a good shape in a\n> next few years so I made a plan of moving to a new apartment and buying a\n> new car etc etc, only to find out that he was such a drunk when he said\n> that, and nobody except me believed it nor expected such a salary raise. It\n> was so foolish of me to believe him. 自分だけバカをみた。", "comment_count": 3, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "creation_date": "2013-01-31T22:35:51.050", "id": "11102", "last_activity_date": "2019-12-31T20:23:35.457", "last_edit_date": "2019-12-31T20:23:35.457", "last_editor_user_id": "816", "owner_user_id": "576", "parent_id": "11097", "post_type": "answer", "score": 9 } ]

[ { "body": "降伏 （こうふく） is borrowed from Classical Chinese and probably has many centuries\nof history. After all, in the Sengoku period there were probably many, many\nsurrenders of lords to other lords.", "comment_count": 0, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0", "creation_date": "2013-01-31T15:22:37.190", "id": "11100", "last_activity_date": "2013-01-31T15:22:37.190", "last_edit_date": null, "last_editor_user_id": null, "owner_user_id": "2960", "parent_id": "11099", "post_type": "answer", "score": 9 }, { "body": "I think this question is relevant: [What do you mean, \"In Japanese there are\nno words for \"I’m\nsuffering\"\"?](https://japanese.stackexchange.com/questions/5573/)\n\nAlso a little googling leads to a\n[quote](http://www.nps.gov/history/history/online_books/npswapa/Guam/Texts/lastmission.htm)\nwhere this is clearly being used metaphorically by the speaker (presuming this\nis even an accurate quote/translation and not made up):\n\n> Captain Sasaki of the Yokahama Guards: \"There is no such word as surrender\n> in the Japanese vocabulary. Japan must fight! why should it surrender? There\n> is still a huge Japanese army on the Chinese mainland, and Japan still holds\n> 350,000 Allied prisoners of war.\"\n\n[This](http://www.psywarrior.com/ICeaseJap.html) link talks about leaflets\nscattered during the second world war to encourage Japanese soldiers to\nsurrender. Initial leaflets said \"I surrender\" but later ones said \"I cease\nresistance\", and were more successful. Whether or not this was really down to\nthe implications of 降伏 versus more euphemistic terms is hard to say, but this\nis probably the original source of 'no word for surrender'.", "comment_count": 2, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0", "creation_date": "2013-02-01T09:07:51.643", "id": "11108", "last_activity_date": "2013-02-01T09:07:51.643", "last_edit_date": "2017-04-13T12:43:44.260", "last_editor_user_id": "-1", "owner_user_id": "571", "parent_id": "11099", "post_type": "answer", "score": 15 } ]

[ { "body": "Japanese is mostly understandable to native speakers with incorrect pitch.\nThere are a few words like \"shiro\", 城 or 白, which can be confused depending on\ncontext. If you are worried about pitch accent, there are dictionaries of\npronunciation such as the NHK published one, \"日本語発音アクセント辞典\". This is intended\nfor native speakers who want to speak like TV announcers.", "comment_count": 0, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0", "creation_date": "2013-02-01T07:08:30.977", "id": "11107", "last_activity_date": "2013-02-01T07:08:30.977", "last_edit_date": null, "last_editor_user_id": null, "owner_user_id": "3116", "parent_id": "11104", "post_type": "answer", "score": 2 } ]

[ { "body": "Very insightful point! I think you are right that pitch matters. As a case in\npoint, say if my daughter is reading a textbook aloud in homework and gets a\npitch wrong, I would correct her, because it's noticable.\n\nOn the other hand, Japanese dictionaries written for Japanese do not have the\npitch information either, and people from different regions often speak the\nsame word with drastically different pitch, yet that doesn't make it any\nharder to understand what they are saying.\n\nSo all in all, I'd say it's not outrageous that many English sources leave\nthis out.", "comment_count": 1, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0", "creation_date": "2013-02-11T04:00:48.037", "id": "11192", "last_activity_date": "2013-02-11T04:00:48.037", "last_edit_date": null, "last_editor_user_id": null, "owner_user_id": "3059", "parent_id": "11106", "post_type": "answer", "score": 7 }, { "body": "Not all ambiguous pairs can be distinguished by pitch, and we could just as\neasily provide you with loads of other ambiguous statements where NOTHING\nother than context could lead you to the right meaning.\n\nThis kind of thing happens in all languages: in English, if I tell a female\nfriend \"You have a nice pair/pear\", she'll rely on context (I hope) to tell\nwhich I meant.\n\nAs for why pitch isn't dealt with in general in Japanese courses, my\nconclusion so far is that 1) the vast majority of teachers (at least non-\nuniversity teachers outside of Japan) do no possess enough knowledge about how\npitch accent works to be able to teach it, and 2) not all Japanese native\nspeakers are comfortable enough with the pronunciation of Standard/Tokyo\nJapanese to be able to dictate how words should be pronounced.\n\nSimilarly, most English teachers would probably struggle to explain why plural\n-s sounds different in 'houses', 'cats' and 'dogs', or how stress is assigned\nin noun compounds -- although these are generally simpler issues than pitch\naccent as a whole.\n\nUnfortunately, minimal pairs are not generally a very conducive way to argue\nin favour of teaching pitch accent. Personally, I would think that allowing\nstudents to be more easily understood would form a better argument. I also\nthink that having a better understanding of how Japanese is pronounced leads\nto better comprehension, communication, vocabulary retention and fluency.", "comment_count": 1, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0", "creation_date": "2013-02-15T20:43:32.503", "id": "11236", "last_activity_date": "2013-02-15T20:43:32.503", "last_edit_date": null, "last_editor_user_id": null, "owner_user_id": "801", "parent_id": "11106", "post_type": "answer", "score": 5 } ]

[ { "body": "It's exactly what it says. If you look at the example sentences from your link\nI think it'll be easier to get the difference:\n\n> ［接］《接続助詞「けれども」から》前に述べた事柄と相反する内容を導く語。だが。しかし。「 **彼は頑固だ。―、話はわかる人間だ」**\n\nAnd the other:\n\n> １ 確定の逆接条件を表し、内容の矛盾する事柄を対比的に結びつける意を表す。\n> **「言うことはりっぱだ―、することはなってない」「年はとっている―、実に活動的だ」**\n\nI've bolded relevant parts and omitted the other 2 definitions from the\nsecond, but the defining characteristic is that the former begins a sentence\nwhile the latter ends a clause and connects it to another. Forgive me for not\ngiving all the grammatical lingo, but them's the basics.\n\nThink of it like this. けれども (or just けど) at the end of a sentence in Japanese\nis like starting a sentence in English with \"although.\" Using it at the\nbeginning is like starting a sentence with \"but\" or \"however\" or something\nlike that. Notice how the first definition lists it as equivalent to だが or\nただし. Those _can't_ be used as conjunctive particles, so if you think of that\nusage of けど as the same as those two, you can't go wrong.\n\nUltimately I think you probably know the meaning, and you don't need to get\ncaught up over the minutiae in the dictionaries. It's just a matter of where\nyou say it.", "comment_count": 0, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0", "creation_date": "2013-02-01T12:19:12.997", "id": "11110", "last_activity_date": "2013-02-01T12:19:12.997", "last_edit_date": null, "last_editor_user_id": null, "owner_user_id": "1797", "parent_id": "11109", "post_type": "answer", "score": 2 }, { "body": "The first is marked `接` (short for\n[接続詞{せつぞくし}](http://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E6%8E%A5%E7%B6%9A%E8%A9%9E#.E6.97.A5.E6.9C.AC.E8.AA.9E.E3.81.AE.E6.8E.A5.E7.B6.9A.E8.A9.9E)\n\"conjunction\"), while the second is divided into `接助` (short for\n[接続助詞{せつぞくじょし}\n](http://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E6%8E%A5%E7%B6%9A%E5%8A%A9%E8%A9%9E#.E6.8E.A5.E7.B6.9A.E5.8A.A9.E8.A9.9E)\n\"conjunctive particle\") and `終助` (short for\n[[終助詞]{しゅうじょし}](http://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E7%B5%82%E5%8A%A9%E8%A9%9E#.E7.B5.82.E5.8A.A9.E8.A9.9E)\n\"sentence-final particle\").\n\nSo what's the difference? As it says, and as you can see from the examples,\nthey are different parts of speech. The conjunction can appear at the\nbeginning of a sentence, as in the example it gives:\n\n> 「彼は頑固だ。 **けれども** 、話はわかる人間だ」\n\nThe conjunctive particle, however, appears after the 終止形{しゅうしけい} (\"terminal\nform\") of an inflectable word (such as a verb or adjective). The dictionary\ngives this example:\n\n> 「年はとっている **けれども** 、実に活動的だ」\n\nCompare the examples. The former is two sentences long because the\n_conjunction_ `けれども` begins a new sentence; the latter is only one sentence\nlong because the _conjunctive particle_ `けれども` attaches directly to the verb.\n\nFinally, there's also the _sentence-final particle_ `けれども`. Much like the\nconjunctive particle `けれども`, the sentence-final version appears after the\nterminal form of an inflectable word. Unlike the conjunctive particle,\nhowever, it ends the sentence. See this example from\n[プログレッシブ和英中辞典](http://dic.yahoo.co.jp/dsearch?enc=UTF-8&p=%E3%81%91%E3%82%8C%E3%81%A9%E3%82%82&dtype=3&dname=2na&stype=0&pagenum=1&index=01323000):\n\n> お願いがあるんです **けれど** \n> I have a favor to ask of you.\n\nIn this answer, I've focused only on the difference between parts of speech.\nHowever, the sentence-final version of `けれども` is also _semantically_\ndifferent. Since that semantic difference has already been covered in a\nseparate question, I will refer to it here—please see [けど at the end of the\nsentence?](https://japanese.stackexchange.com/questions/2086/%E3%81%91%E3%81%A9-at-\nthe-end-of-the-sentence).", "comment_count": 2, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0", "creation_date": "2013-02-01T12:32:52.907", "id": "11111", "last_activity_date": "2013-02-01T13:15:32.060", "last_edit_date": "2017-04-13T12:43:44.157", "last_editor_user_id": "-1", "owner_user_id": null, "parent_id": "11109", "post_type": "answer", "score": 3 } ]

[ { "body": "I'm not expert, but from the many Japanese songs I've heard it's mainly\n\n 1. Pronouncing お as \"oh\" (i.e. slightly diphthongized) especially in songs where half the lyrics are English lol\n 2. Pronouncing を as うぉ. This is probably due more to the fact that it is in the W-line, and old pronunciations stick better in slowly and carefully articulated things like poems and songs.\n 3. A distinction between おう and おお, and separation of いい Again, this is probably due to conservative pronunciation. おう was always a genuine long vowel, while most instances of おお came from おを or おほ. This is most obvious in the word おおきい which is often pronounced おをきひ.\n 4. Not discriminating between different allophones of ん, instead only \"n\" is used. This is usually because \"n\" fills a mora better, and Japanese _mora_ , not syllables, are usually matched with the notes.\n 5. Again a mora issue, the っ is pronounced a bit differently. In speech 強がっても would be (tsu-yo-ga-*-te-mo) but in song it would be more like (tsu-yo-ga-att-te-mo), almost as if it were つよがっあっても .\n\nThat's all my limited experience has noticed.", "comment_count": 2, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0", "creation_date": "2013-02-02T00:31:32.047", "id": "11114", "last_activity_date": "2013-02-02T00:31:32.047", "last_edit_date": null, "last_editor_user_id": null, "owner_user_id": "2960", "parent_id": "11113", "post_type": "answer", "score": 4 } ]

[ { "body": "Generally in Japanese handwriting the more feminine something is the more\nrounded out and cute it will be. If I think of girly English writing I think\nof neat bubbly letters while guys tend to be sloppy and angular. This carries\nover to Japanese.\n\n\n\nAdditional reading:\n\n<http://guideline.livedoor.biz/archives/51130942.html>\n<http://detail.chiebukuro.yahoo.co.jp/qa/question_detail/q1142672631>", "comment_count": 2, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0", "creation_date": "2013-02-02T06:26:12.093", "id": "11117", "last_activity_date": "2013-02-02T06:26:12.093", "last_edit_date": null, "last_editor_user_id": null, "owner_user_id": "1797", "parent_id": "11115", "post_type": "answer", "score": 10 }, { "body": "Legible and accurate writing is just good handwriting. What's 'girly' about is\nonly that girls will write like this more often than boys. If we keep calling\nit girly then us males are going to keep excusing ourselves from proper\nhandwriting! I'm male and I don't think sloppy and angular should just be\nnecessary qualities of 'boyish' handwriting. But circles instead of dots, yeah\nI suppose that could be a feminine stylistic feature.", "comment_count": 1, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0", "creation_date": "2014-12-26T23:33:06.603", "id": "21038", "last_activity_date": "2014-12-27T07:21:06.550", "last_edit_date": "2014-12-27T07:21:06.550", "last_editor_user_id": null, "owner_user_id": "8018", "parent_id": "11115", "post_type": "answer", "score": -1 } ]

[ { "body": "In Japanese language it is possible to use adjectives and their inflections in\norder to have more structured and articulated sentences. In the specific case\nyou want to express a concept recalling the one when a certain object looks\nlike something else. When this happens, adjectives are involved.\n\n## The correct way\n\nThe pattern for such a concept to be expressed is the following:\n\n> (Noun)は|が(い->drop)く見える\n>\n> (Noun)は|が(な->drop)に見える\n\nRemember always that when an adjective is to be turned into an adverb you need\nto drop the い and put く (in case of い-adjectives), or drop な and put に in case\nof な-adjectives. The case here is similar, because you need to turn the\nadjective into an adverb and then apply 見える.\n\n## The not (quite) correct way\n\nYou mentioned _Chocolate_. That user is a native Japanese speaker so please\nlisten to what she says because it is correct. In fact the sentence you\nmentioned in the very first lines of your question is the following:\n\n> 甘美{うまみ}の花は赤を見える\n\nThis sentence is not correct at all in my opinion. It all revolves around the\nverb 見える. This verb can be interpreted in two ways:\n\n 1. 見える as a \"standalone\" 一段{いちだん} verb.\n 2. 見える as (one of) the (two possible) potential form(s) of 一段{いちだん} verb 見る{みる} (to see). It might sound like a 五段 verb but it is an 一段 instead, be careful.\n\nThe first verb acts the way I told you. Here you might tell me that in your\nsentence there is no adjective (as you use 赤 and not the corresponding\nadjective 赤い), well in that case it is treated as a な-adjective and you will\nuse the に as follows:\n\n> 甘美{うまみ}の花は赤に見える\n\nThe pattern is the following (you can add this to the other two patterns I\nmentioned before):\n\n> (Noun)は|がに見える\n\nThe second verb is used in a potential context when you want to say that you\ncan see something. Unfortunately there is another potential form for the verb\n見る but I will not detail it too much. Just now I am showing you how your\nsentence is supposed to be changed in order to use such a verb (and how the\nmeaning changes as well):\n\n> 甘美{うまみ}の花が見える ==> I can see Umami's flower\n\n## Conclusions\n\nThis is just to point that a verb like 見える can be used in two possible\ncontexts, but not one of them includes the possibility to use particle を! Hope\nthis helps you.", "comment_count": 5, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0", "creation_date": "2013-02-05T09:36:10.363", "id": "11137", "last_activity_date": "2013-02-05T15:22:22.793", "last_edit_date": "2020-06-17T08:18:27.500", "last_editor_user_id": "-1", "owner_user_id": "12", "parent_id": "11119", "post_type": "answer", "score": 4 }, { "body": "> What is the purpose of く replacing を? Is く better, or is を also exceptable?\n> If so which is better and why?\n\n 1. In short, く does not replace を. They are different things: \n\n * を is the direct object marker (accusative case marker)\n\n * ～く is the adverb declension of an adjective ～い.\n\n 2. **The verb 見える does not assign a role for a direct object** , hence [noun]を does not relate to the verb 見える. く isn't better than を, there is no scale for comparison.\n\n 3. **Adverbs modify verbs**. The main verb is 見える, the manner in which it does 見える is 赤く. Therefore 赤く見える - \"looks red\"\n\n* * *\n\nFor the case of ~を見えるようにする presented by yadokari:\n\n * する assigns a direct object role `~を`, and a relational object role `~に`\n\n * It is ~をする, and the objective to which it is done is 見えるように.", "comment_count": 0, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0", "creation_date": "2013-02-05T10:59:56.657", "id": "11138", "last_activity_date": "2013-02-05T10:59:56.657", "last_edit_date": null, "last_editor_user_id": null, "owner_user_id": "542", "parent_id": "11119", "post_type": "answer", "score": 2 } ]

[ { "body": "Are you talking about xi- and qi-? They would be read shi- and chi- by an\nEnglish speaker. The corresponding kana in Japanese would be si- and ti-.\nThere is no \"see\" or \"tee\" sound in original Japanese. Instead they are\nprounounced shi and chi", "comment_count": 2, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0", "creation_date": "2013-02-03T05:04:23.640", "id": "11122", "last_activity_date": "2013-02-03T05:04:23.640", "last_edit_date": null, "last_editor_user_id": null, "owner_user_id": "3145", "parent_id": "11121", "post_type": "answer", "score": 0 }, { "body": "With the English sounds sh, j and ch, the friction occurs between the alveolar\nridge (where the flat part of the mouth located behind the teeth sharply moves\nup to the palate) and the tip of the tongue. Sometimes, the tongue is a bit\nfurther back or curled, and the back part of the tip of the tongue is involved\n(ie. it is retroflex).\n\nIn Japanese, the tip of the tongue is not used for these sounds; instead, a\nmore posterior and wider part of the tongue is used at the point of friction,\nthe tip of the tongue being more or less at the intersection of the bottom\nteeth and the gum, but without pressing against them.", "comment_count": 0, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0", "creation_date": "2013-02-15T20:24:25.897", "id": "11235", "last_activity_date": "2013-02-15T20:24:25.897", "last_edit_date": null, "last_editor_user_id": null, "owner_user_id": "801", "parent_id": "11121", "post_type": "answer", "score": 2 }, { "body": "hiragana - romanization - IPA - Polish - another language\n\nし - shi - [ɕi] - si [śi] 'sikorka' _tit_ - Chinase: Xi (like in '西安' _Xi’an_ )\n(sh - German, like in 'ich' _I_ )\n\nち - chi - [t͡ɕi] - ci [ći] (cisza _silence_ - - (ch - chinase: j as in 豬 _pig_\n)\n\nじ - ji - [dʑi] - dzi [dźi] 'dziwny' _strange_ - Chinase: ji (like in 日 _sun_ )\n\nExemples:\n\nし - 四国 shikoku _Shikoku_\n\nち - ちび chibi _little_\n\nじ - 自転車 jitensha _bicycle_", "comment_count": 2, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "creation_date": "2018-11-30T21:27:20.317", "id": "63143", "last_activity_date": "2018-11-30T21:34:28.190", "last_edit_date": "2018-11-30T21:34:28.190", "last_editor_user_id": "32117", "owner_user_id": "32117", "parent_id": "11121", "post_type": "answer", "score": 1 } ]

[ { "body": "The problem with this question is that there are too many variables.\n\nA university degree in a subject like computer science will not significantly\nincrease a native Japanese speaker's kanji vocabulary. A degree in biology or\nmedicine will add some, but a degree in philosophy, history, or literature\ncould potentially add thousands of rarely used (outside of that\nspecialization) characters.\n\nThere's also a huge question about \"what does it mean to 'know' a kanji?\" Even\nvery common characters have unexpected readings.\n\nHow often a person needs to look up kanji varies depending on what they\ngenerally read. There are some\n[lists](https://japanese.stackexchange.com/questions/8098/) of kanji for\nparticular contexts, but even those are usually too high-level to be of much\n'use'. An American who habitually reads \"The Economist\" is much more likely to\nneed their dictionary on a regular basis than one who just watches the nightly\nnews.\n\n(I've marked this as CW to avoid gaining rep for what is essentially an\nextended comment complaining about the question, rather than an answer)", "comment_count": 0, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0", "creation_date": "2013-02-03T06:11:02.270", "id": "11125", "last_activity_date": "2013-02-03T06:11:02.270", "last_edit_date": "2017-04-13T12:43:48.447", "last_editor_user_id": "-1", "owner_user_id": "29", "parent_id": "11123", "post_type": "answer", "score": 10 } ]

[ { "body": "You might want to have a look at\n\n[When is Vている the continuation of action and when is it the continuation of\nstate?](https://japanese.stackexchange.com/questions/3122/when-\nis-v%E3%81%A6%E3%81%84%E3%82%8B-the-continuation-of-action-and-when-is-it-the-\ncontinuation-of-state/3140#3140)\n\nTo summarize quickly, Japanese has \"action verbs\", for which ている expresses\nprogressiveness\n\n> 食べている is eating\n\nand \"change-of-state verbs\" for which ている expresses completeness\n\n> 落ちている has fallen (or maybe \"is lying on the floor\")\n\nbut the separation of verbs is not clear-cut. It highly depends on context,\nand also speaker preference, to some degree, it seems. See [Does Vて+いる always\nmean an action already\ncompleted?](https://japanese.stackexchange.com/questions/3262) for more\ndiscussion.\n\nSo in 書いている meaning \"is writing\", 書く is acting as an action verb, and when\nmeaning \"has written\", it is acting as a change-of-state verb.\n\nFor what it's worth, the use of the ている form to indicate completion for action\nverbs is [commonly\ndiscussed](http://www.guidetojapanese.org/forum/viewtopic.php?id=4601), but it\nseems to be a common observation that it's more common in the negative than\nthe positive, i.e.\n\n> 書いている most likely to mean \"is writing\", but might mean \"has written\" \n> 書いていない ambiguous between \"is not writing\" and \"has not written\"", "comment_count": 7, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0", "creation_date": "2013-02-04T03:16:53.737", "id": "11131", "last_activity_date": "2013-02-06T06:42:05.067", "last_edit_date": "2017-04-13T12:43:44.397", "last_editor_user_id": "-1", "owner_user_id": "1073", "parent_id": "11126", "post_type": "answer", "score": 2 } ]

[ { "body": "1.\n\n> [[ＨＰバーの名]で呼ばれる] [青いそれ]\n\nI can't really say for sure about \"――\" without more context. My guess is that\n横線 is being pulled out to make it clear that it's the term being explained\n(maybe it's part of a list?). The technical terms in my translation might be\noff, but this should give you the feel:\n\n> The Horizontal Line -- that blue thing which goes by the name of ....\n\nYou might have been thrown off by 青いそれ, literally \"blue that\". In English,\ndemonstrative pronouns cannot be modified by adjectives, but that is not the\ncase in Japanese.\n\n2.\n\nBasically it says that this is \"the result of\" visualizing your remaining\nlife. Since it is the result of that process, it's already complete, therefore\nした.\n\nA subtle point is that もの is not the subject of the relative clause. I.e. the\nliteral translation of 俺の生命の残量を可視化したもの is _not_ \"The thing that visualizes my\nremaining life\" (although that might be the most idiomatic English\nexpression), rather \"(The thing which is) the result of having visualized my\nremaining life\". Note that Japanese is very flexible about the role of the\nmodified noun in the relative clause. Less so in English, which is why the\nliteral translation I give above does not involve a relative clause at all.\n\nThe technical way to explain した would be say that this is not a past tense,\nbut a **perfective aspect**. The use of different verb forms for tense-aspect\nin Japanese is quite subtle, and the use differs between matrix sentences and\nsubordinate/relative clauses. Let me know if you want to know more about this,\nit might be worth a separate question.", "comment_count": 4, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0", "creation_date": "2013-02-04T02:49:05.420", "id": "11129", "last_activity_date": "2013-02-05T06:06:08.447", "last_edit_date": "2013-02-05T06:06:08.447", "last_editor_user_id": "1073", "owner_user_id": "1073", "parent_id": "11127", "post_type": "answer", "score": 10 }, { "body": "To add to @dainichi's answer, `横線` is probably better translated as\n\"horizontal line\", not \"side line\".\n\nAlso, the `ーー` could probably be replaced easily by `すなわち` or `言い換えて`. \"That\nhorizontal line, that is/in other words, that blue thing called the 'HP Bar',\n...\"", "comment_count": 0, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0", "creation_date": "2013-02-04T16:14:57.983", "id": "11132", "last_activity_date": "2013-02-05T03:48:50.430", "last_edit_date": "2013-02-05T03:48:50.430", "last_editor_user_id": "78", "owner_user_id": "78", "parent_id": "11127", "post_type": "answer", "score": 3 }, { "body": "The horizontal line -the blue one called HP bar- visualizes my remaining life.", "comment_count": 0, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0", "creation_date": "2013-04-23T19:38:21.993", "id": "11764", "last_activity_date": "2013-04-23T19:38:21.993", "last_edit_date": null, "last_editor_user_id": null, "owner_user_id": "3400", "parent_id": "11127", "post_type": "answer", "score": 0 }, { "body": "Please read [this web page\ncache](http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:cU0t-Et91ggJ:www.geocities.jp/golden_banded_lily_2004/sao/warmth.html+%EF%BC%A8%EF%BC%B0%E3%83%90%E3%83%BC%E3%81%AE%E5%90%8D%E3%81%A7%E5%91%BC%E3%81%B0%E3%82%8C%E3%82%8B%E9%9D%92%E3%81%84%E3%81%9D%E3%82%8C%E3%81%AF%E3%80%81%E4%BF%BA%E3%81%AE%E7%94%9F%E5%91%BD%E3%81%AE%E6%AE%8B%E9%87%8F%E3%82%92%E5%8F%AF%E8%A6%96%E5%8C%96%E3%81%97%E3%81%9F%E3%82%82%E3%81%AE%E3%81%A0&cd=1&hl=ja&ct=clnk&lr=lang_ja).\nAccording to it, the horizontal line is what is shown on glasses or something\nand tells the knight how long he can live. It is blue and called \"HP Bar\".\n\nThe ーー is a dash. Japanese usually use a double size dash. It is often written\nwith two dashes. When a phrase or sentence is between two double size dash,\nthe phrase or sentence expresses about the word in front of the first dash.\nThe author of the book that you read use a single \"double size\" dash with the\nsame meaning.", "comment_count": 0, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0", "creation_date": "2013-04-24T03:03:05.970", "id": "11765", "last_activity_date": "2013-04-24T03:03:05.970", "last_edit_date": null, "last_editor_user_id": null, "owner_user_id": "3378", "parent_id": "11127", "post_type": "answer", "score": 1 } ]

[ { "body": "That depends on age, dialect, personal preferences etc. But a very\nstereotypical way would be to use わし as first person singular personal pronoun\nand じゃ as copula.", "comment_count": 2, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0", "creation_date": "2013-02-04T02:57:07.070", "id": "11130", "last_activity_date": "2013-02-04T02:57:07.070", "last_edit_date": null, "last_editor_user_id": null, "owner_user_id": "1073", "parent_id": "11128", "post_type": "answer", "score": 2 }, { "body": "I think old men are more likely to use `だい` in place of sentence-final `だ`, or\n`かい` for sentence-final `か`.", "comment_count": 4, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0", "creation_date": "2013-02-04T16:17:54.080", "id": "11133", "last_activity_date": "2013-02-04T16:17:54.080", "last_edit_date": null, "last_editor_user_id": null, "owner_user_id": "78", "parent_id": "11128", "post_type": "answer", "score": 0 }, { "body": "This is not really an answer, but I would like to draw the attention to the\ndistinction between speech in fictional work and speech in the real world.\n\nIn fictional work, there is a set of words (most notably personal pronouns and\nfunction words) which are considered to be typical to a certain group of\npeople, _regardless of whether the people in the same group in the real world\nactually use them_. It is called a [_role\nlanguage_](http://www.ninjal.ac.jp/jk2012/Kinsui_abstract.pdf)\n([役割語](http://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E5%BD%B9%E5%89%B2%E8%AA%9E)). As dainichi\nexplained, first-person pronoun わし and copula じゃ are part of the role language\nfor old male speakers. So are second-person pronoun お[主]{ぬし} and the use of\n～しておる instead of ～している. However, I am pretty sure that few old male people\nactually say any of these.\n\nMy guess is that old male speakers do not have particularly different words\nfrom other adult male speakers, but I am not very sure about this part.", "comment_count": 4, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0", "creation_date": "2013-02-04T22:27:24.593", "id": "11134", "last_activity_date": "2013-02-04T23:22:20.733", "last_edit_date": "2013-02-04T23:22:20.733", "last_editor_user_id": "15", "owner_user_id": "15", "parent_id": "11128", "post_type": "answer", "score": 8 } ]

[ { "body": "The same function as it does in modern Japanese: to supplement the missing\nconjugations. Japanese adjectives have a limited conjugation: 連用形 -ku, 終止形\n-si, and 連体形 -ki. So how would you make a negative adjective without a 未然形? Or\nhow would you make a conjection without 已然形 (modern 仮定形)? Easy: since it can\nalready modify a verb (連用形 -ku), just add a the most basic verb ar-. As a\nverb, it can easily supplement the missing conjugations.", "comment_count": 4, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0", "creation_date": "2013-02-05T05:17:01.023", "id": "11136", "last_activity_date": "2013-02-05T05:17:01.023", "last_edit_date": null, "last_editor_user_id": null, "owner_user_id": "1141", "parent_id": "11135", "post_type": "answer", "score": 2 }, { "body": "I have come to the following conclusion:\n\n**The あり form of 形容詞 arose to support 助動詞.** The non-あり form is only used with\n名詞 (via the 連体形), 動詞・形容詞 (via the 連用形), and 接続助詞.\n\nTo make sure that this explanation is not circular, 助動詞 and 接続助詞 need to be\ndifferentiated using some other property — thankfully, 接続助詞 cannot be\npredicative while 助動詞 can.\n\nSome examples...\n\n> 形容詞＋助動詞\n>\n> * 未然形：熱からず、熱からむ\n> * 連用形：熱かりき、熱かりけり、熱かりたり\n> * 連体形：熱かるべし\n>\n\n>\n> 形容詞＋動詞\n>\n> * 連用形：熱くなり、熱くす\n>\n\n>\n> 形容詞＋接続助詞\n>\n> * 未然形：熱くば\n> * 連用形：熱くて\n> * 已然形：熱ければ、熱けれど、熱けれども\n>\n\n(In the case of 接続助詞「て」, it's true that it comes from 助動詞「つ」, but it seems\nthat it was reanalyzed as a 接続助詞, allowing for the wider distribution:\n○熱くて、ｘ熱くつ.)\n\nI think the reasoning goes like this: 助動詞 need to attach to a verb (whether\nthis is a purely syntactic constraint, or some sort of semantic one, I don't\nknow), so あり was inserted to help out. 接続助詞 on the other hand have no such\nconstraint.\n\nAnd then, once the あり form arose, some things that could already be done\ngained a new form, such as 熱からば and 熱かる人 — I do not think their meaning was\ndifferent from the non-あり form.", "comment_count": 3, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0", "creation_date": "2014-01-02T02:31:09.217", "id": "13997", "last_activity_date": "2014-03-24T18:30:36.637", "last_edit_date": "2014-03-24T18:30:36.637", "last_editor_user_id": "3097", "owner_user_id": "3097", "parent_id": "11135", "post_type": "answer", "score": 4 } ]

[ { "body": "From 日本国語大辞典 (小学館, 2版)\n\n> 元来は「子」の複数を表わす語だが、複数を表わすところから若年層の人々全般を指す用法を生じ、それが単数を表わす意味変化の契機となった。\n\nAlso...\n\n>\n> 院政末期には「こども達」という語形が見出され、中世、近世には「こども衆」という語を生じるなど、「大人に対する小児」の用法がいちだんと一般化し、同時に単数を表わすと思われる例が増える。", "comment_count": 1, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0", "creation_date": "2013-02-05T12:58:03.530", "id": "11140", "last_activity_date": "2013-02-05T12:58:03.530", "last_edit_date": null, "last_editor_user_id": null, "owner_user_id": "1141", "parent_id": "11139", "post_type": "answer", "score": 6 } ]

[ { "body": "If you look at menus in programs such as Open Office, words such as \"編集\" for\n'edit', \"挿入\" for 'insert', and \"設定\" for 'configure' (or rather, configuration)\nall are nouns, but can be made verbs by adding the verb \"する\" as in \"記録する\" for\n'save' (file, etc.).\n\nA case where you might use a dictionary form of a verb to describe the ACTION\ncould be for 'open' (a file): \"開く\", but this seems to be more of an exception.\nOften, there will be a noun form as mentioned above with the example of\n'attack/assault' being \"攻撃\" which again can become \"攻撃する\", but its meaning as\nan ACTION can be inferred from how the noun can be used in context.\n\nAs mentioned above by Ito-san, mixing verbs and nouns can be confusing in a\nsequence if there is no particular reason for it. Otherwise, you could\ndescribe the context of usage further...", "comment_count": 0, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0", "creation_date": "2013-02-06T01:14:30.140", "id": "11144", "last_activity_date": "2013-02-06T10:37:37.273", "last_edit_date": "2013-02-06T10:37:37.273", "last_editor_user_id": "162", "owner_user_id": "3150", "parent_id": "11142", "post_type": "answer", "score": 9 } ]

[ { "body": "The way you have it is fine. In general, always use round parentheses, square\nparentheses are not used very much perhaps except only in specialized areas.\nHowever, it _is_ common in Japan to use different types of parentheses when\nnesting, i.e. [()]. This is also why they are referred to as 小カッコ (), 中カッコ {}\nand 大カッコ [].", "comment_count": 6, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0", "creation_date": "2013-02-07T03:30:15.493", "id": "11154", "last_activity_date": "2013-02-07T03:30:15.493", "last_edit_date": null, "last_editor_user_id": null, "owner_user_id": "1217", "parent_id": "11143", "post_type": "answer", "score": 4 } ]

[ { "body": "Like you inferred, describing humans as animals is not a neutral statement\nhere. Humans are described as animals, which, whilst drinking breast milk of\ncows, devour/consume cow meat.\n\nThis animalistic view of the humans is supported by the use of 食う instead of\n食べる, which carries a more primal nuance.\n\nThe fact that they 食って **しまう** implies that the humans are not quite conscious\nof their action, again emphasizing the animalistic view of humans.\n\n世話になってる is \"reliant on\" but also carries a sense of \"being indebted to\" and\nwould probably be the way to describe karma in a native Japanese way...\n\nThe translation you give is fine, but trying to cram in all the points above,\none by one, one might get something more along the lines of\n\n> We get cow's milk from the cow's breast, but we also consume cow's meat like\n> animals, which makes us owe a great deal to (the race of) cows.\n\n(Now I feel like a high school student, just having finished a text\ninterpretation exam.)", "comment_count": 4, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0", "creation_date": "2013-02-06T09:11:31.600", "id": "11146", "last_activity_date": "2013-02-06T09:11:31.600", "last_edit_date": null, "last_editor_user_id": null, "owner_user_id": "1628", "parent_id": "11145", "post_type": "answer", "score": 3 } ]

[ { "body": "> 忙しいんだった\n\nI could imagine saying this (to myself) if I accidentally bothered someone,\nafter being told to leave them alone because they were busy.\n\n\"it was the case that [he?] **is** busy\"\n\n\"(oh, I forgot,) [you] were busy\" (and still are)\n\nYou can't say something like `あ、忙しかった` for this purpose -- that implies\nthey're no longer busy.\n\n> 忙しかったんです\n\nThis fits the situation you're describing.", "comment_count": 2, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0", "creation_date": "2013-02-06T18:30:53.803", "id": "11148", "last_activity_date": "2013-02-06T18:30:53.803", "last_edit_date": null, "last_editor_user_id": null, "owner_user_id": "315", "parent_id": "11147", "post_type": "answer", "score": 2 }, { "body": "I'm going to offer a different answer.\n\nI think it does not work the way you think.\n\nんだ is a statement, which works as emphasis of what is being said/thought\n_now_. It can not be used the same way in the past.\n\n> 忙しいんだ。 \n> It's just that I'm busy.\n\nhas as past tense\n\n> 忙しかったんだ。 \n> It's just that I was busy.\n\nwhereas\n\n> It **was** just that I was busy.\n\ncannot be expressed in Japanese the same way. 忙しかったんだった is certainly most\ncumbersome. In English, \"It's just that\" can be conjugated to \"It was just\nthat\" to make an explanation about something in the past, which is not how it\nworks in Japanese.", "comment_count": 0, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0", "creation_date": "2013-02-06T22:57:13.013", "id": "11149", "last_activity_date": "2013-02-06T22:57:13.013", "last_edit_date": null, "last_editor_user_id": null, "owner_user_id": "1628", "parent_id": "11147", "post_type": "answer", "score": 6 } ]

[ { "body": "If it just means “One semester is a few months long,” it can be 学期の長さは数か月だ. “A\nfew months” in English is probably two or three months, but 数か月 in Japanese\ncan be somewhat longer. See question “[Why use 数年 in\nあれから１０数年?](https://japanese.stackexchange.com/q/7017)” for more about this\nusage of 数.\n\nA related expression, 月単位の時間, has a similar meaning, but it refers to the\nabstract notion of time directly. For example:\n\n> この作品の完成には月単位の時間がかかる。 It takes months to finish this work.\n\nHowever, in your case, 学期の長さは月単位の時間だ is probably not incorrect, but it sounds\nawkward, probably because 長さ and 時間 refer to the same thing.", "comment_count": 7, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0", "creation_date": "2013-02-07T05:00:12.050", "id": "11156", "last_activity_date": "2013-02-07T05:00:12.050", "last_edit_date": "2017-04-13T12:43:44.207", "last_editor_user_id": "-1", "owner_user_id": "15", "parent_id": "11151", "post_type": "answer", "score": 3 }, { "body": "There is also 何ヶ月, as in\n\n> 学期の長さは何ヶ月という長さだ。\n\nwhich I think fits even better for your purpose. 数ヶ月 is more a specific length\nin time, although you choose not to specify the length. 何ヶ月 means that you are\ncounting in months, but have no real estimate of how many months.\n\n何 works for \"counting in\" with other counters, e.g.\n\n> 何時間も待ってた。 \n> I waited for hours.\n>\n> cf. 数時間待ってた。 \n> I waited for several hours.\n>\n> 海老煎餅大好きだ。何枚も何枚も食べちゃった。 \n> I love (Japanese) prawn crackers. I couldn't stop eating.\n>\n> ビザは何日間って問題じゃなくて、何週間もかかっちゃった。 \n> Getting my visa wasn't a matter of days, but a matter of weeks.\n\nEdit: Since you seemed to be asking something different, the way for\ntranslating \"is counted in\" is で数える, as in\n\n> 魚は「尾」で数えられます。 \n> You can count fish with the counter word 尾.", "comment_count": 5, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0", "creation_date": "2013-02-07T10:23:54.927", "id": "11157", "last_activity_date": "2013-02-08T03:10:14.793", "last_edit_date": "2013-02-08T03:10:14.793", "last_editor_user_id": "1628", "owner_user_id": "1628", "parent_id": "11151", "post_type": "answer", "score": 4 } ]

[ { "body": "自転車を走る sound ungrammatical, you could say 自転車で道を走る or something like that, but\nI don't think 自転車を走る is correct Japanese. 自転車に乗る is very common and means\n\"ride a bicycle\", as 乗る can also mean the action of \"moving\".", "comment_count": 0, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0", "creation_date": "2013-02-07T03:37:19.860", "id": "11155", "last_activity_date": "2013-02-07T03:37:19.860", "last_edit_date": null, "last_editor_user_id": null, "owner_user_id": "1217", "parent_id": "11152", "post_type": "answer", "score": 4 } ]

[ { "body": "The meaning is exactly the same, but you'll only see ささぐ used in old/formal\nwritten text or in lyrics where the number of syllables matter a lot.\n\nFor all the other uses, stick to ささげる.", "comment_count": 2, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0", "creation_date": "2013-02-11T03:31:14.720", "id": "11191", "last_activity_date": "2013-02-11T03:31:14.720", "last_edit_date": null, "last_editor_user_id": null, "owner_user_id": "3059", "parent_id": "11153", "post_type": "answer", "score": 3 } ]

[ { "body": "As you stated, the difference really is in politeness. \nAs you may have already noticed, there are different kinship terms for several\nsituations:\n\n 1. Speaker's family (when talking to \"outsiders\")\n 2. Speaker's family (when talking to a family member)\n 3. Someone else's family.\n\nI'm not going to through each and every term, but generally speaking, most if\nnot all of the terms in (2) and (3) end with さん, while the ～さん suffix can be\nreplaced with ～さま for a more respectful situation (`お嬢様{じょうさま}` for example)\nor ～ちゃん for a more casual situation (`息子ちゃん{むすこちゃん}`). \nAlso note that under situation (2), there are a lot of terms when you address\na person by his name. Let me know if you want a more specific list.\n\nThe terms without any ending, are usually used in situation (1).\n\n* * *\n\n`令嬢{れいじょう}` is, according to [Yahoo\nDictionary](http://dic.yahoo.co.jp/detail?p=%E4%BB%A4%E5%AC%A2&stype=0&dtype=0),\na (a) nobleman's daughter, (b) a more respectful way of addressing someone\nelse's daughter.\n\nIn addition, according to [this\ncomparison](http://dictionary.goo.ne.jp/leaf/thsrs/4853/m0u/) between some of\nthe ways to say 'daughter' in Japanese, `令嬢{れいじょう}` is an old word (and\ntherefore, less common in modern Japanese).\n\nYou may attach the prefix ご to the word for a even more respectful nuance.\n\nFor all I know, `令嬢{れいじょう}` doesn't take an ending, since it already a\nrespectful word by itself.\n\n* * *\n\n`坊ちゃん{ぼっちゃん}`, is\n\n 1. a way to address someone else's son respectfully,\n 2. a spoiled, ignorant boy (`お坊ちゃん{ぼっちゃん}`).\n\nI'd say this address is usually for small boys (hence the ちゃん) but I'm not too\nsure.\n\nAlso, to me, this sounds to me like those words that you should carefully use\nsince it may come out as an insult in some situations.\n\n* * *\n\n`子息{しそく}` is simply another word for `息子{むすこ}`.\n\nOne interesting thing about it, is that in Yahoo Dictionary, one of its\ndefinitions is literally \"someone else's child\". No gender specified. \nPersonally I've never seen it used without a suffix/prefix, and in any case I\nthink `息子{むすこ}` is much more common.\n\n* * *\n\nAs for husband, both `夫{おっと}` and `主人{しゅじん}` are grammatically interchangeable\nin situation (1) _but_ , only `夫{おっと}` can be used to _informally_ address\nsomeone else's husband (situation 3). \nThe formal way would be `ご主人{しゅじん}`. Furthermore, `(ご)主人{しゅじん}` can be used to\nalso address a master, a boss, and landlord or lady, and not just husband,\nunlike `夫{おっと}`.\n\nOne thing to note is that using `主人{しゅじん}` in situation (1), may sound a\nlittle chauvinistic(?).\n\nAnd for extra, some of the words under situation (3), which can be used for\naddressing strangers as well: \n`お兄さん{にいさん}`, `お姉さん{ねえさん}`, `叔父さん{おじさん}`, `叔母さん{おばさん}` and `お嬢さん{じょうさん}`.\n\nThere is an awesome kinship terms chart (from which I took some of the info\nabove) in the Nihonshock Japanese Cheat sheet which is pretty awesome by\nitself.\n\n_This is my first time answering a question here, hope it helps!_", "comment_count": 8, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0", "creation_date": "2013-02-08T21:21:06.227", "id": "11172", "last_activity_date": "2014-08-02T16:35:11.407", "last_edit_date": "2014-08-02T16:35:11.407", "last_editor_user_id": "1628", "owner_user_id": "2977", "parent_id": "11158", "post_type": "answer", "score": 5 } ]

[ { "body": "When someone says or does something that you dislike or makes you nervous /\nuncomfortable, you may withdraw or keep your distance from them. This is\ndonbiki. Rather than actually withdrawing from them, you can express the same\nby saying donbiki...", "comment_count": 0, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0", "creation_date": "2013-02-08T07:10:58.317", "id": "11163", "last_activity_date": "2013-02-08T07:10:58.317", "last_edit_date": null, "last_editor_user_id": null, "owner_user_id": "1141", "parent_id": "11162", "post_type": "answer", "score": 5 } ]

[ { "body": "Depending on the strength of the interdiction, you can answer:\n\n * すしは食べないでください \"Please do not eat sushi\" (plain negative form + でください) \n\n * すしは食べてはいけません \"It's forbidden to eat sushi\" (て form + は + いけません)", "comment_count": 1, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0", "creation_date": "2013-02-08T14:55:02.190", "id": "11165", "last_activity_date": "2013-03-09T19:25:06.217", "last_edit_date": "2013-03-09T19:25:06.217", "last_editor_user_id": null, "owner_user_id": "3158", "parent_id": "11164", "post_type": "answer", "score": 8 }, { "body": "Some others that haven't been mentioned yet. In first two that contain は, the\nは can be omitted depending on context and/or familiarity.\n\n### 〜て（は）ならない － somewhat strong; commanding\n\n> * [犯罪]{はん・ざい}を[犯]{おか}してはならない → You must not commit any crimes\n> * その[部屋]{へや}に[入]{はい}ってはならない → You cannot enter that room\n>\n\n### 〜て（は）だめ － more casual/familiar, but still commanding\n\n> * ポイ[捨]{す}てしちゃだめだよ！ → Don't litter! (しちゃ = しては)\n> * 一人で行ってはだめ → You must not go by yourself\n> * ここでタバコ[吸]{す}っては **アカン** ！ → You may not smoke here (アカン is Kansai-ben;\n> from [明]{あ}かない)\n>\n\n**[遠慮]{えん・りょ}（する） － refrain from; a polite way to state a rule or preference**\n\n> * [車内]{しゃない}での[通話]{つうわ}はご[遠慮]{えんりょ}ください → Please do not make calls inside\n> the (train) car / Please refrain from making calls inside the (train) car\n> * [機内]{きない}での[喫煙]{きつえん}はご遠慮[願]{ねが}います → You are requested to refrain from\n> smoking inside the airplane.\n>\n\n**～[禁止]{きん・し}／[厳禁]{げん・きん} － often used on signs**\n\n> * [立入禁止]{たち・いり・きん・し} → No entrance\n> * [駐車禁止]{ちゅう・しゃ・きん・し} → No parking\n> * [土足厳禁]{ど・そく・げん・きん} → \"No shoes permitted\" → Remove your shoes before\n> entering\n>\n\n### ～こと － used only in writing, such as notices, instructions, etc.\n\n> *\n> [感電]{かん・でん}のおそれがありますので、[手を[触]{ふ}れないこと](https://japanese.stackexchange.com/q/10977/78)\n> → At the risk of being shocked, do not touch (Maybe the label on an\n> electrical box)\n>", "comment_count": 8, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "creation_date": "2013-02-08T15:50:39.800", "id": "11166", "last_activity_date": "2021-04-05T21:56:45.900", "last_edit_date": "2021-04-05T21:56:45.900", "last_editor_user_id": "78", "owner_user_id": "78", "parent_id": "11164", "post_type": "answer", "score": 9 }, { "body": "(I'm responding to your afterthoughts) \n\n> おすしを食べてもいいですか？ \n> Could you use this in response? おすしを食べることができません。 \n>\n\nI think you could say: \nお寿司 **は** 食べることができません。 \nお寿司を食べること **は** できません。 \nお寿司 **は** 食べられません。 \nor お寿司 **は** 食べること **は** できません。etc. \n... using the binding particle は somewhere. \n\n> おすしを食べてもよくないです。 \n> one-- is this grammatically correct? \n> two-- is this saying what I think it means (you may not eat sushi)? \n>\n\n1-- No \n2-- Hm, if I heard you say that I'd think you meant it... (^_^;) \nI think you could say more like: \nお寿司は食べてはいけません。 \nお寿司を食べてはいけません。 \n(I think \"お寿司 **は** ・・・\" would sound more natural as a response to お寿司~~~ですか？)", "comment_count": 0, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0", "creation_date": "2013-05-11T21:36:28.197", "id": "11868", "last_activity_date": "2013-05-11T21:41:28.480", "last_edit_date": "2013-05-11T21:41:28.480", "last_editor_user_id": null, "owner_user_id": null, "parent_id": "11164", "post_type": "answer", "score": 2 } ]

[ { "body": "The slash is not among the symbols traditionally used in punctuation in\nJapanese, and _nakaguro_ “・” is the symbol for this purpose. However, the\nforward slash is also common nowadays, especially when user interface of\napplication software is concerned.", "comment_count": 0, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0", "creation_date": "2013-02-08T20:28:52.847", "id": "11170", "last_activity_date": "2013-02-08T20:28:52.847", "last_edit_date": null, "last_editor_user_id": null, "owner_user_id": "15", "parent_id": "11167", "post_type": "answer", "score": 3 } ]

[ { "body": "ひとこと欄 is not the name of a game. It means “a place for a short message.” It is\noften found at the end of various forms. For example, an application form of a\nfitness center may have ひとこと欄 at the end with a sentence such as “If you have\nany suggestions or concerns, please write them here.”\n\nI do not know its English equivalent, but I post this as an answer because\njapanese.stackexchange.com is a website for questions about Japanese, not for\nquestions about English.", "comment_count": 1, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0", "creation_date": "2013-02-08T20:38:24.087", "id": "11171", "last_activity_date": "2013-02-08T20:38:24.087", "last_edit_date": null, "last_editor_user_id": null, "owner_user_id": "15", "parent_id": "11169", "post_type": "answer", "score": 7 } ]

[ { "body": "Okay, I still don't really understand what you are asking, but I guess the\nonly way to find out is to try a few examples to see if any one matches your\ncriteria.\n\n * 赤 is often used to mean _bareness_ and _nakedness_ : 赤子(baby) 赤裸々(blunt) 赤貧 (very poor). Not sure about the origin, but can't think of any obvious visual origin to this meaning.\n\n * 白 is used to represent innocence as in 「あいつはシロだ」. Originally a police jargon but I think it's now common enough. More commonly written as シロ instead of 白. The meaning has obvious visual origin of white being pure. (クロ has the opposite meaning.)", "comment_count": 7, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0", "creation_date": "2013-02-11T04:37:05.150", "id": "11193", "last_activity_date": "2013-02-11T04:37:05.150", "last_edit_date": null, "last_editor_user_id": null, "owner_user_id": "3059", "parent_id": "11174", "post_type": "answer", "score": 3 } ]

[ { "body": "Yes, 電車に乗ったとき転んだ is roughly the same as 電車に乗った後転んだ. However, there is a slight\ndifference. The former implies that the action 転ぶ happened _right after_ the\naction 電車に乗る: _I fell just after I got on a train._ 電車に乗った後転んだ does not have\nthis implication, and it just means: _I fell after I got on a train_.\n\n本を読んだとき寝た sounds strange whereas 本を読んだ後寝た sounds perfectly normal. I am not\nsure why, but I suspect that if an action V takes time, it is unnatural to use\nVしたとき and instead we use some other constructs such as Vしているとき, Vした後, and\nVし終わったとき depending on what we mean by it.", "comment_count": 0, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0", "creation_date": "2013-02-09T15:37:47.040", "id": "11178", "last_activity_date": "2013-02-09T15:37:47.040", "last_edit_date": null, "last_editor_user_id": null, "owner_user_id": "15", "parent_id": "11176", "post_type": "answer", "score": 3 } ]

[ { "body": "> Which kanji should we use for the phrase 興味がわく\n\n湧く. You should be able to verify this in a dictionary, such as\n[here](http://dic.yahoo.co.jp/dsearch?enc=UTF-8&p=%E3%82%8F%E3%81%8F&dtype=0&dname=0na&stype=0&pagenum=1&index=19791000),\n#4.\n\n> What is the difference in nuance and usage between 興味が湧く and 興味が沸く?\n\nOne is spelled correctly while the other is not.", "comment_count": 0, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0", "creation_date": "2013-02-09T19:25:40.107", "id": "11180", "last_activity_date": "2013-02-09T19:25:40.107", "last_edit_date": null, "last_editor_user_id": null, "owner_user_id": "1141", "parent_id": "11179", "post_type": "answer", "score": 6 } ]

[ { "body": "Suru is active and implies somebody does something, but naru is passive and\nimplies something happens. For example:\n\n> 暖かくする / atatakaku suru = make it warm \n> 暖かくなる / atatakaku naru = get warm.", "comment_count": 0, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "creation_date": "2013-02-10T11:26:56.393", "id": "11183", "last_activity_date": "2019-08-21T14:31:24.560", "last_edit_date": "2019-08-21T14:31:24.560", "last_editor_user_id": "19278", "owner_user_id": "3116", "parent_id": "11182", "post_type": "answer", "score": 7 } ]

[ { "body": "* 母: mother\n * を: grammar, marks a direct object\n * 恋はず: the verb 恋ふ in classical spelling. In modern Japanese, this is 恋う. (kop-u > koɸ-u > ko[w]-u > ko-u). Conjugated to こは (modern こわ) so that the negative suffix -zu can attach. \"not love\"\n * や: grammar, interrogative particle asking a question. Often rhetorical. \n\nShould one not love a mother? (=Yes, one should love a mother.)", "comment_count": 16, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0", "creation_date": "2013-02-10T11:52:41.167", "id": "11185", "last_activity_date": "2013-02-10T12:16:12.403", "last_edit_date": "2013-02-10T12:16:12.403", "last_editor_user_id": "1141", "owner_user_id": "1141", "parent_id": "11184", "post_type": "answer", "score": 7 }, { "body": "Dono already explained the grammar. I will try to explain why 母を恋う does not\ndescribe an incestuous relationship.\n\nAlthough the meanings of 恋う and 恋する have some overlap, 恋う is broader and it\ndoes not necessarily refer to a romantic emotion, unlike 恋する or 恋をする. Daijirin\nis clearer on this:\n\n[恋う](http://dic.yahoo.co.jp/dsearch?enc=UTF-8&stype=1&dtype=0&dname=0ss&p=%E6%81%8B%E3%81%86):\n\n> 1 (動ワ五［ハ四］)\n>\n> 思い慕う。愛する。懐かしく思う。\n>\n\n>> 母を―・う \n> 故郷を―・う気持ちがつのる \n> 妻―・ふ鹿の音〔出典： 松の葉〕\n>\n> 2 (動ハ上二)\n>\n> ［1］ 人、特に異性を恋する。ほれる。 … \n> ［2］ 慕わしく思う。 … \n> ［3］ （ある場所や物を）懐かしく思う。 …\n\n[恋する](http://dic.yahoo.co.jp/dsearch?enc=UTF-8&stype=1&dtype=0&dname=0ss&p=%E6%81%8B%E3%81%99%E3%82%8B):\n\n> 男女の間で、相手に愛情を寄せる。異性を愛する。\n>\n\n>> ―・する乙女\n\nBy the way, in modern Japanese, verb 恋う is rare except in compound words such\nas 恋い慕う and 恋い焦がれる, and [恋]{こい}しく思う is more common. 恋しい as in 恋しく思う also has\nthe broader meaning which is not necessarily related to a romantic emotion.", "comment_count": 0, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0", "creation_date": "2013-02-11T01:44:03.237", "id": "11190", "last_activity_date": "2013-02-11T01:44:03.237", "last_edit_date": null, "last_editor_user_id": null, "owner_user_id": "15", "parent_id": "11184", "post_type": "answer", "score": 5 } ]

[ { "body": "Like Tsuyoshi, I see no obvious connection between いい香りがする and “I wanna have\nlunch at Wendy's today”. I suspect you are confusing the expression 気がする with\n気になる/気に入る but please clarify: it may be worthwhile sorting this out.\n\nAs for the use of する in 「いい香りがする」:\n\nThis is one of several uses of する not covered in the basic text books. In\naddition to its more conventional use (such as 日本語を勉強する), the verb する is also\nused in the following constructions to convey the following meanings:\n\n１）To wear something, typically accessories such as マフラー, 腕時計 or ネクタイ.\n\n> eg ネックレスをする | to wear a necklace.\n\n(する is functioning as a 他動詞/transitive verb taking を.）\n\n2) To sense something such as におい、音、気、味\n\n> eg Nのにおいがする | to smell N\n\n(Where する is functioning as a 自動詞/intransitive verb taking が.）\n\n３） To cost an amount\n\n> eg 家賃が１０万円もする\n\n(Where する is functioning as a 自動詞/intransitive verb which would normally take\nが but the amount works like adverb so が is omitted.）\n\n_Reference: Japan Times 27 August 2012_", "comment_count": 0, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "creation_date": "2013-02-10T14:11:18.513", "id": "11187", "last_activity_date": "2018-09-14T02:26:51.110", "last_edit_date": "2018-09-14T02:26:51.110", "last_editor_user_id": "9831", "owner_user_id": "1556", "parent_id": "11186", "post_type": "answer", "score": 3 } ]

[ { "body": "I assume that it is a notice received from a library (please include the\ncontext in the question). The notice means that borrowing by you is suspended\nuntil Feb. 13, inclusive, and therefore you cannot check out library materials\non Feb. 13.\n\nAn example from [_Catch a Wave_](http://catchawave.jp/), April 13, 2012, via\n[Space\nALC](http://eow.alc.co.jp/search?q=%E3%81%BE%E3%81%A7%E9%96%8B%E5%82%AC%E3%81%95%E3%82%8C%E3%81%A6%E3%81%84%E3%82%8B):\n\n> 毎年恒例のニューヨーク国際自動車ショーが今年は4月6日から15日まで開催されている。 The annual New York International\n> Auto Show runs from April 6 to 15 this year.", "comment_count": 3, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0", "creation_date": "2013-02-11T00:55:47.803", "id": "11189", "last_activity_date": "2013-02-11T00:55:47.803", "last_edit_date": null, "last_editor_user_id": null, "owner_user_id": "15", "parent_id": "11188", "post_type": "answer", "score": 5 } ]

[ { "body": "Standard Japanese has what is known as a \"downstep\" accent rather than free\npitch accent like some dialects (notably Kansai) have. Basically, the \"accent\"\nin the handbooks represents the last high syllable.\n\nThus, \"na-tsu-ka-SHI-i\" would be pronounced \"na-TSU-KA-SHI-i\". The downstep is\nafter the \"shi\". The first syllable is always low unless a downstep\nimmediately follows it; then the first syllable becomes the \"last stressed\nsyllable\" and automatically becomes high.\n\nWikipedia has a nice explanation:\n<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanese_pitch_accent>", "comment_count": 0, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0", "creation_date": "2013-02-14T20:23:11.423", "id": "11216", "last_activity_date": "2013-02-14T20:23:11.423", "last_edit_date": null, "last_editor_user_id": null, "owner_user_id": "2960", "parent_id": "11194", "post_type": "answer", "score": 0 }, { "body": "You may be familiar with the concept of sentence-level pitch changes in\nEnglish; for example when you are asking a question, you end the sentence with\na rising pitch to indicate that it is indeed a question. Japanese also has\nsentence-level pitch changes, but more relevantly to this question, it has\n_word-level_ pitch changes.\n\n* * *\n\n# Downstep Notation\n\nIn the standard (Tokyo) dialect, word pitch accents are realized by something\ncalled a \"downstep\". The pitch of a word increases until the downstep, at\nwhich point the pitch drops.\n\nDownsteps happen strictly between kana (the linguistics term being \"mora\"),\nnot in the middle of a kana.\n\nThese pitches can sometimes be used to distinguish words with the same\nspelling. The canonical example is はし which is three-way ambiguous between 箸,\n橋 and 端.\n\nThese words can be disambiguated in speech as follows:\n\n * 箸 (chopsticks) is はꜜし, namely the first kana must be pronounced high to facilitate the following drop\n * 橋 (bridge) is はしꜜ, the first kana pronounced low, the second high to facilitate the drop before the following kana (e.g., a particle in the sentence) which would be pronounced low.\n * 端 (edge) is はし, or \"accentless\", meaning that all characters are said at around the same pitch (including any following kana).\n\n* * *\n\n# \"Binary\" (LHL) Notation\n\nYou may see an alternate \"binary\" notation for pitch accents which is composed\nof a series of \"L\"s and \"H\"s. For example, you would notate the はし words as\nfollows:\n\n * 箸 (chopsticks) is HL(L)\n * 橋 (bridge) is LH(L)\n * 端 (edge) is LH(H)\n\nHowever this notation is a little extraneous when it comes to succinctly\nmarking the pitch accent of the word in the Tokyo dialect, because it always\nfollows the pattern: start low (unless the downstep is right after the first\nkana), be high until the downstep, then stay low.\n\nWhen discussing other dialects, sometimes more than just downsteps are\nrequired to analyze what is going on.\n\n* * *\n\n# Number Notation\n\nTo find pitch accents for Japanese words, I'd say the best online resource is\n大辞林.\n\nFor example, [the 大辞林 entry for\n箸](http://dic.yahoo.co.jp/dsearch?enc=UTF-8&p=%E3%81%AF%E3%81%97&dtype=0&dname=0ss&stype=0&pagenum=1&index=115656400000)\nsays はし with a subscript \"1\" to its right.\n\nIt uses yet another notation, where the number works as follows:\n\n * if the number is 0, it is an \"accentless\" word, i.e., does not have a downstep\n * if there is no number, the downstep is placed after the last kana\n * if it is any other number, the downstep is placed after that kana (hence 1 for 箸)\n\n**There is[a nice picture relating this number notation to the binary\nnotation](http://www.sanseido-publ.co.jp/publ/dicts/daijirin_ac.html) provided\nby 三省堂, along with a number of example words.**\n\n* * *\n\nIn the end, I'd say the downstep notation is the most succinct and expository\nnotation when trying to notate standard Japanese pitch accent, but learning\nthese other notations is useful to understand material about pitch accent.", "comment_count": 2, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0", "creation_date": "2013-02-15T06:13:30.863", "id": "11223", "last_activity_date": "2014-08-26T04:26:07.717", "last_edit_date": "2014-08-26T04:26:07.717", "last_editor_user_id": "3097", "owner_user_id": "3097", "parent_id": "11194", "post_type": "answer", "score": 23 }, { "body": "I have made 2 videos that offer a general overview of the system (a third is\nyet to come):\n\n<http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EeaLEC6KO20>\n\n<http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZKWrmxYmdy4>\n\nYou can also consult my page on pitch accent (which is also referenced in the\nWikipedia article another user mentions), although it's still very much a work\nin progress:\n\n<http://learnlangs.com/japanesepitch/index.php?title=Main_Page>\n\nIn general, Japanese does not put 'emphasis' on morae, a point which is\nparticularly important for speakers of languages that assign stress to one\nsyllable of every word. In contrast, pitch accent is a system that assigns\npatterns of high and low morae to lexical units, groups or phrases. But you'll\nlearn all about that if you simply watch the videos.", "comment_count": 5, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0", "creation_date": "2013-02-15T19:53:26.427", "id": "11234", "last_activity_date": "2013-02-15T20:27:06.987", "last_edit_date": "2013-02-15T20:27:06.987", "last_editor_user_id": "801", "owner_user_id": "801", "parent_id": "11194", "post_type": "answer", "score": 3 }, { "body": "You may find useful my Japanese phonetic converter: \n<http://easypronunciation.com/en/japanese-kanji-to-romaji-converter> \nUnlike other converters that just add furigana to Japanese text, my converter\nalso displays the pitch accent in Japanese words. \nRight now the converter doesn't support the inflected forms of verbs and\nadjectives, but I have plans to implement that in the future. \nThe output is available as romaji, kana and furigana. \nTwo types of styling for low and high morae are available: \n1) different colors with adjusted vertical position, \n2) overline.", "comment_count": 0, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0", "creation_date": "2014-12-29T15:29:01.833", "id": "21069", "last_activity_date": "2014-12-29T15:29:01.833", "last_edit_date": null, "last_editor_user_id": null, "owner_user_id": "7978", "parent_id": "11194", "post_type": "answer", "score": 1 }, { "body": "As is mentioned, it's usually na-TU-KA-SI-i (in the begining of a phrase) and\nas you say, when it's emphasized, it goes na-tu-ka-SI-i.", "comment_count": 0, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0", "creation_date": "2014-12-30T08:49:21.680", "id": "21081", "last_activity_date": "2014-12-30T08:49:21.680", "last_edit_date": null, "last_editor_user_id": null, "owner_user_id": "4092", "parent_id": "11194", "post_type": "answer", "score": 0 } ]

[ { "body": "１日おきに = ２日ごとに (every other day, every second day) \n●○●○●○●... \n \n２日おきに = ３日ごとに (every three days, every third day) \n●○○●○○●○○●... \n \nごとに(毎に) [ごとに\n@weblio](http://ejje.weblio.jp/content/%E3%81%94%E3%81%A8%E3%81%AB) \nおきに(置きに) [2日置きに\n@weblio](http://ejje.weblio.jp/content/2%E6%97%A5%E7%BD%AE%E3%81%8D%E3%81%AB)\n\nおき(置き) came from the verb 置く(leave). I think it's like \"an interval (between\nthe actions)\" here. cf. 「[間隔]{かんかく}を[置]{お}く」", "comment_count": 3, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0", "creation_date": "2013-02-11T22:55:20.507", "id": "11201", "last_activity_date": "2015-10-10T00:53:54.110", "last_edit_date": "2015-10-10T00:53:54.110", "last_editor_user_id": "11104", "owner_user_id": null, "parent_id": "11195", "post_type": "answer", "score": 24 } ]

[ { "body": "Yes, the two work separately. There is no relationship between them. When you\ncombine adjectives with the て-form, you are just linking them, so the meaning\nis \"beautiful and quiet town\".", "comment_count": 5, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0", "creation_date": "2013-02-11T18:39:32.580", "id": "11199", "last_activity_date": "2013-02-11T20:37:47.583", "last_edit_date": "2013-02-11T20:37:47.583", "last_editor_user_id": null, "owner_user_id": "3176", "parent_id": "11198", "post_type": "answer", "score": 5 } ]

[ { "body": "_(Marked this as \"community wiki\" since it's not my answer, just a\nconsolodation of long neglected[information in the comments that should be an\nanswer](https://japanese.meta.stackexchange.com/questions/593/comments-are-\nnot-for-answers).)_\n\n[This site](http://gogen-allguide.com/o/okagesama.html) states:\n\n>\n> おかげさまは、他人から受ける利益や恩恵を意味する「お陰」に「様」をつけて、丁寧にした言葉である。古くから「陰」は神仏などの偉大なものの陰で、その庇護（ひご）を受‌​ける意味として使われている。これは、「御影（みかげ）」が「神霊」や「みたま」「死んだ人の姿や肖像」を意味することにも通じる。接頭語に「お」がついて、「おかげ」とな‌​ったのは室町時代末頃からで、悪い影響をこうむった時にも「おかげさま」が使われるようになったのは江戸時代からである\n\nRevised translation. Please correct as necessary:\n\n> \"Okagesama\" is a polite expression that takes the term \"お陰{かげ},\" which in\n> this case refers to grace or favors received from others, and adds \"さま.\" The\n> term 陰 has traditionally referred to gods or goddesses or other greater\n> beings lending their protection. The term 御影{みかげ} can also be used to refer\n> to spirits more generally or the appearance of the deceased. The \"o\" prefix\n> has been added and used since the late Muromachi period, and the expression\n> has been used in negative situations since the Edo period.\n\nAnd for your last question, yes, `陰{いん}` is the kanji in\n[`陰陽{いんよう}`](http://eow.alc.co.jp/search?q=%E9%99%B0%E9%99%BD&ref=sa), which\nis the Japanese compound for what we refer to in English as \"[yin and\nyang](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yin_and_yang)\".", "comment_count": 0, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0", "creation_date": "2014-05-05T02:01:54.913", "id": "15747", "last_activity_date": "2014-05-05T04:44:52.333", "last_edit_date": "2017-03-16T15:48:25.793", "last_editor_user_id": "-1", "owner_user_id": "119", "parent_id": "11202", "post_type": "answer", "score": 5 } ]

[ { "body": "As Dono pointed out in a comment, this website japanese.stackexchange.com is\nnot a place for questions about translation. I am afraid that you are still\nconfusing _meaning_ and _translation_.\n\nUsually, さえ is explained to have three meanings\n([Daijirin](http://dic.yahoo.co.jp/dsearch?enc=UTF-8&p=%E3%81%95%E3%81%88&dtype=0&dname=0ss&stype=1&pagenum=1&index=107546100000),\n[Daijisen](http://dic.yahoo.co.jp/dsearch?enc=UTF-8&p=%E3%81%95%E3%81%88&dtype=0&dname=0na&stype=1&pagenum=1&index=07153100)):\n\n 1. It is used to add something on top of other things. Example from Daijisen: 風が吹き出しただけでなく、雨さえ降りだした。\n 2. It is used to state an extreme example to imply that other things are obvious. Example from Daijisen: かな文字さえ読めない。\n 3. It is used in a conditional to signify that the condition is indeed sufficient. Example from Daijirin: お金さえあれば、満足だ。\n\nIn translation into English, さえ is translated to many different English\nexpressions, but it is not because さえ has many meanings. It is both because\nsome of these translations have the same meaning in English and because\nJapanese words do not have one-to-one correspondence to English words.\n\nIn your case “君の後ろ姿さえ明日への希望に思えた,” さえ is used to state an extreme example.\n君の後ろ姿 is usually a sad thing to see (because it means that the loved person\nreferred to as 君 is leaving), but the speaker considered that even that was a\nhope for tomorrow, implying that many other things were also a hope for\ntomorrow.\n\nように is the continuative form of ようだ, which has [many\nmeanings](http://dic.yahoo.co.jp/dsearch?enc=UTF-8&stype=1&dtype=0&dname=0ss&p=%E3%82%88%E3%81%86%E3%81%A0),\nand in your case, it is used to state a purpose.", "comment_count": 0, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0", "creation_date": "2013-02-12T17:44:18.747", "id": "11205", "last_activity_date": "2013-02-12T17:50:54.777", "last_edit_date": "2013-02-12T17:50:54.777", "last_editor_user_id": "15", "owner_user_id": "15", "parent_id": "11204", "post_type": "answer", "score": 2 } ]

[ { "body": "Of course it depends what romanization system you use, but generally (e.g.\n[Hepburn](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hepburn_romanization)) one romanizes\ndouble /i/ as _ii_ , e.g. [しいたけ →\n_shiitake_](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hepburn_romanization#I_.2B_I).\n\nHowever, a vowel lengthened with the 長音 「ー」 (usually in loanwords) is\nromanized differently:\n\n * **Hepburn** \na macron over the vowel before it, e.g. シート → _shīto_ \n(See _Kenkyūsha's New Japanese-English Dictionary_ for modified Hepburn)\n\n * **Kunrei-shiki** \na circumflex over the vowel before it, e.g. シート → _sîto_\n\n * **Wāpuro rōmaji** (or _wa-puro ro-maji_ ) \na hyphen after the vowel, just as is typed, e.g. シート → _si-to_ \n_N.B._ In other systems the hyphen may be inserted for readability.", "comment_count": 5, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0", "creation_date": "2013-02-13T07:33:11.677", "id": "11207", "last_activity_date": "2016-09-14T11:17:53.603", "last_edit_date": "2016-09-14T11:17:53.603", "last_editor_user_id": "1628", "owner_user_id": "1628", "parent_id": "11206", "post_type": "answer", "score": 2 } ]

[ { "body": "Strictly speaking し is better used in its full form ～し～し. E.g.\n\n> この町は美しいし静かだし、住みやすそうですね。 \n> This town is pretty, it is quiet—it seems to be very liveable.\n\n(It does occur by itself, but a longer list is usually implied. There are\nother uses that derive from this one, but that is a different matter.)\n\nIt lists any number of properties, which support your statement in the rest of\nthe sentence. The list, however, is grammatically removed from the rest of the\nsentence. That is, the result can't modify anything (na-adjective, noun)\ndirectly. Your examples 3 & 4 are borderline. They would sound more natural\nwith a structure ～し～し like my example above.", "comment_count": 0, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0", "creation_date": "2013-02-13T21:07:44.243", "id": "11211", "last_activity_date": "2013-02-13T21:16:34.303", "last_edit_date": "2013-02-13T21:16:34.303", "last_editor_user_id": "1628", "owner_user_id": "1628", "parent_id": "11209", "post_type": "answer", "score": 1 } ]

[ { "body": "* you de is the conjunctive form (連用形) of you da. It expresses that that something is similar (like) to something. It is in conjunctive form to connect the two phrases \"kandou ni mizu wo sasu\" and \"warui\". Compare with conclusive (終止形) you da in which \"kandou ni mizu wo sasu you da\" ([I] seem to be throwing cold water on the mood) would be a complete sentence leaving no room for \"warui\" (bad, [I] apologize for) to connect to.\n * The expressions mizu wo sasu means ruin or interfere with a good thing, as in putting cold water into boiling water.\n * Yes, de nakuba essentially means de nakereba. -ba is a conditional suffix meaning if. The former sounds older, but there is no significant difference in meaning.\n\nApparently something something happened and the speaker apologizes (warui) for\nindirectly ruining (mizu wo sasu you de) the mood (kandou). I do not know the\nfuller context, but I interpret the sentence to mean something like:\n\n> Sorry to throw cold water on the mood, but hurry up and get on (ride) Niko.\n> If you don't, you'll be crushed along with the castle.", "comment_count": 0, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0", "creation_date": "2013-02-13T23:16:11.597", "id": "11212", "last_activity_date": "2013-02-14T05:22:00.617", "last_edit_date": "2013-02-14T05:22:00.617", "last_editor_user_id": "1141", "owner_user_id": "1141", "parent_id": "11210", "post_type": "answer", "score": 4 } ]

[ { "body": "I guess we can put it to a vote.\n\nTechnically, じっぷん seems to be the correct choice. Posts on [this\npage](http://oshiete.goo.ne.jp/qa/467205.html) say that in a 漢和辞典 じっ is listed\nas a reading of 十, but じゅっ isn't. Moreover, the page claims that about half of\nthe TV announcers (for baseball) do take care to pronounce it じっ.\n\nI don't have a TV, so I don't have an opinion on that, but in daily life, I\nthink I hear じゅっぷん almost exclusively.", "comment_count": 6, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0", "creation_date": "2013-02-14T00:19:33.327", "id": "11214", "last_activity_date": "2013-02-14T00:32:30.013", "last_edit_date": "2013-02-14T00:32:30.013", "last_editor_user_id": "1628", "owner_user_id": "1628", "parent_id": "11213", "post_type": "answer", "score": 6 } ]

[ { "body": "According to my knowledge, Classical Japanese like Samurai's language did not\nhave casual speech endings. And CJ sentences should adjust to CJ speech\nendings.\n\nFor example, \"ここはどこだろうね\"=\"Where is it here?\" will be something like\n\"ここはどこでござるか?\"\n\nThis is very complex even for Native Japanese speakers, so it would be better\nasking to Native Japanese directly instead of googling it.", "comment_count": 3, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0", "creation_date": "2013-12-06T01:04:40.797", "id": "13606", "last_activity_date": "2013-12-06T01:04:40.797", "last_edit_date": null, "last_editor_user_id": null, "owner_user_id": "4264", "parent_id": "11215", "post_type": "answer", "score": -4 } ]

[ { "body": "という just means what it always means. と is the quoting particle and いう means\n\"to say\". In your example sentence, maybe \"It is said that...\" would be a\nfitting translation, i.e.\n\n> 従来、病院といえば白い壁が基調の空間であった。 \n> Up to now, a hospital was thought of a space with white walls.\n>\n> しかし、白くて冷たい壁を見ていると人はゆううつな感じになり、不安を覚えるという。 \n> But by looking at a white, cold wall, it is said that people start getting\n> depressed and feeling uneasy.\n>\n> この環境では、患者は快復への意志を高めることはできない。 \n> In this environment the patient can't increase his desire for recovery.\n\n\"It is said that\" is quite close to the nuance of らしい or そうだ, like your\ntextbook points out.", "comment_count": 0, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0", "creation_date": "2013-02-15T01:01:14.910", "id": "11221", "last_activity_date": "2013-02-15T01:17:50.207", "last_edit_date": "2013-02-15T01:17:50.207", "last_editor_user_id": "1628", "owner_user_id": "1628", "parent_id": "11217", "post_type": "answer", "score": 9 } ]

[ { "body": "I do not know that much about Japanese kanji, but in Chinese 赤 has the second\nmeaning of \"bare, exposed\". 赤貧 thus probably means \"with totally nothing\".", "comment_count": 3, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0", "creation_date": "2013-02-14T22:06:47.420", "id": "11219", "last_activity_date": "2013-02-14T22:06:47.420", "last_edit_date": null, "last_editor_user_id": null, "owner_user_id": "2960", "parent_id": "11218", "post_type": "answer", "score": 2 } ]

[ { "body": "I'm not sure exactly what you are asking, but in the workplace there was a law\npassed:\n[雇用の分野における男女の均等な機会及び待遇の確保等に関する法律](http://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E9%9B%87%E7%94%A8%E3%81%AE%E5%88%86%E9%87%8E%E3%81%AB%E3%81%8A%E3%81%91%E3%82%8B%E7%94%B7%E5%A5%B3%E3%81%AE%E5%9D%87%E7%AD%89%E3%81%AA%E6%A9%9F%E4%BC%9A%E5%8F%8A%E3%81%B3%E5%BE%85%E9%81%87%E3%81%AE%E7%A2%BA%E4%BF%9D%E7%AD%89%E3%81%AB%E9%96%A2%E3%81%99%E3%82%8B%E6%B3%95%E5%BE%8B)\nwhich changed a lot of the words for women in the workplace (your example is\none of them). The wikipedia article also gives some other examples:\n\n```\n\n 「婦人警察官」→「女性警察官」（募集の際は単に警察官）\n 「営業マン」→「営業職」\n 「保母」→「保育士」\n 「スチュワーデス」→「客室乗務員」\n \n```\n\nThere are also controversial terms for husband and wife: 亭主、主人、奥さん、家内\n\nThey are still used a lot in everyday speech, but I believe there are\nrestrictions on using them in the media.\n\nOther examples:\n\n未亡人、帰国子女、入籍する\n\nThere are also controversy with some Kanji characters:\n\n嫁、嬲る、etc.", "comment_count": 8, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0", "creation_date": "2013-02-15T22:54:50.303", "id": "11237", "last_activity_date": "2013-02-15T22:54:50.303", "last_edit_date": null, "last_editor_user_id": null, "owner_user_id": "1217", "parent_id": "11222", "post_type": "answer", "score": 7 } ]

[ { "body": "It's just an explanation of the word added like that. \"暗器\" (anki) is not a\ncommon word in Japanese. For example there is no entry in WWWJDIC or in goo\ndictionary for this word. But most people would guess the reading is probably\nあんき. So this \"furigana\" is used to explain here, as you imagined.", "comment_count": 0, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0", "creation_date": "2013-02-15T09:00:11.710", "id": "11225", "last_activity_date": "2013-02-15T09:00:11.710", "last_edit_date": null, "last_editor_user_id": null, "owner_user_id": "3116", "parent_id": "11224", "post_type": "answer", "score": 3 } ]

[ { "body": "A usual phrase to say is お体を大事にしてください (take care of yourself).\n\nAnother common phrase is 元気な赤ちゃんを産んでください (I wish you to have a healthy baby\nborn), but some people avoid this phrase because it sounds as if a baby with a\ncongenital disease were undesirable or unacceptable.", "comment_count": 2, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0", "creation_date": "2013-02-15T13:01:32.203", "id": "11228", "last_activity_date": "2013-02-15T13:01:32.203", "last_edit_date": null, "last_editor_user_id": null, "owner_user_id": "15", "parent_id": "11226", "post_type": "answer", "score": 3 } ]

[ { "body": "Just use the kanji to break it down.\n\n`事実` → `事` = thing; `実` = true. So it's a \"true thing\", \"something that is\ntrue\"; a fact as opposed to a false statement. Exs.\n\n> * 空は青いです → The sky is blue; this is a fact\n> * 太陽は東から昇り西に没する → The sun rises in the east and sets in the west; this is\n> also a fact\n> * 事実無根 → (a) groundless (fact)\n>\n\n`真実` → `真` = true, real; `実` = true, truth. So this is truth as an abstract\nconcept, as opposed to a lie.\n\n> * 真実を言え！ → Tell the truth\n> * 彼の言うことの真実性を疑う → I doubt the truth in what he says.\n>", "comment_count": 0, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0", "creation_date": "2013-02-15T15:43:35.937", "id": "11229", "last_activity_date": "2013-02-15T18:22:46.110", "last_edit_date": "2013-02-15T18:22:46.110", "last_editor_user_id": "78", "owner_user_id": "78", "parent_id": "11227", "post_type": "answer", "score": 10 } ]

[ { "body": "There is grammar tosite which follows nouns, but in this case you need to\nrecognize this as to suru which may also follow verb phrases. Depending on\ncontext, it could mean \"to assume that\", but in this case it means \"to\nconsider ~\" or \"to view ~ as ~\". This often simplifies to \"for\".\n\n> On the 12th, the police department arrested a boy living in Nakano-ku, Tokyo\n> on suspicion of injury **for** hitting his father with a blunt-like object.", "comment_count": 1, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0", "creation_date": "2013-02-15T16:38:28.290", "id": "11233", "last_activity_date": "2013-02-15T16:38:28.290", "last_edit_date": null, "last_editor_user_id": null, "owner_user_id": "1141", "parent_id": "11230", "post_type": "answer", "score": 8 } ]

[ { "body": "Originally there was only imada. It is a compound of the noun ima (今) and the\nstem of the particle\n[dani](http://dic.yahoo.co.jp/dsearch?enc=UTF-8&p=%E3%81%A0%E3%81%AB&dtype=0&dname=0na&stype=1&pagenum=1&index=11571400),\nda. It has two primary meanings: 1) not yet 2) still. When used in the\npositive sense 2), it emphasizes a continuation from the past.\n\nmada is a contraction from imada. It is much more colloquial than the former.\nWhile they both share these two meanings, mada has evolved a number of other\nfiner\n[senses](http://dic.yahoo.co.jp/dsearch?enc=UTF-8&stype=1&dtype=0&dname=0ss&p=%E3%81%BE%E3%81%A0).\nAs a result, imada is now most associated and used for its negative sense \"not\nyet\".\n\nNote that 未 is always given the reading \"imada... -zu\" in 漢文 texts and means\n\"not yet\", never \"still\". This is origin of words such as 未来 (未だ来ず imada ko-\nzu, that which has not yet come --> the future).", "comment_count": 5, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0", "creation_date": "2013-02-15T16:18:12.127", "id": "11232", "last_activity_date": "2013-02-15T16:18:12.127", "last_edit_date": null, "last_editor_user_id": null, "owner_user_id": "1141", "parent_id": "11231", "post_type": "answer", "score": 12 } ]

[ { "body": "As @Tsuyoshi points out, やらなればならない is a typo. However, やらな **ければ** ならない (and\nthe more or less equivalent やらな **くては** ならない) _do_ have several well-\nestablished contractions:\n\n * やらな **けりゃ** ならない\n * やらな **きゃ** ならない\n * やらな **くちゃ** ならない", "comment_count": 0, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0", "creation_date": "2013-02-16T22:09:08.733", "id": "11240", "last_activity_date": "2013-03-02T14:01:44.253", "last_edit_date": "2013-03-02T14:01:44.253", "last_editor_user_id": "1628", "owner_user_id": "1628", "parent_id": "11239", "post_type": "answer", "score": 2 } ]

[ { "body": "察する means \"to pick up on the hidden nature of something (often, a situation or\nfeelings) without it being made explicit for you\" (hence \"infer\", \"surmise\",\n\"guess\" -- although I think we're getting pretty far from the original meaning\nat that point).\n\nYou can 察する that it is not appropriate to speak, for instance (i.e. 空気を読む).\nYou can also use it like 少しは察しろ (\"use some tact\", \"realize how I feel\", etc).\n\nIn お察しいたします, the speaker says he understands something intuitively -- the\nlistener's feelings. So this is a statement of sympathy.", "comment_count": 9, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0", "creation_date": "2013-02-17T03:43:55.310", "id": "11243", "last_activity_date": "2013-02-17T03:43:55.310", "last_edit_date": null, "last_editor_user_id": null, "owner_user_id": "315", "parent_id": "11241", "post_type": "answer", "score": 6 } ]

[ { "body": "There are two things to define in `腕が光る`:\n\n * `腕`, which can mean skill or ability ([大辞林 sense 3](http://dic.yahoo.co.jp/dsearch?enc=UTF-8&stype=0&dtype=0&dname=0ss&p=%E8%85%95))\n * `光る`, which can mean to stand out as superior [in ability, etc.] ([大辞林 sense 3](http://dic.yahoo.co.jp/dsearch?enc=UTF-8&stype=0&dtype=0&dname=0ss&p=%E5%85%89%E3%82%8B))\n\nThe latter is, I think, figurative in the same sense as English\n[shine](http://education.yahoo.com/reference/dictionary/entry/shine) (\"To\ndistinguish oneself in an activity or a field; excel\"). Put the two words\ntogether with `が`, and you have a phrase meaning something like \"to stand out\nas superior in skill or ability\".\n\nI'm basing this entirely on dictionary entries, by the way. I think my\ninterpretation is right (which is why I'm posting it as an answer), but if\nI've made a mistake, I would appreciate it if someone pointed it out :-)", "comment_count": 0, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0", "creation_date": "2013-02-17T13:37:30.897", "id": "11245", "last_activity_date": "2013-02-17T13:37:30.897", "last_edit_date": null, "last_editor_user_id": null, "owner_user_id": null, "parent_id": "11242", "post_type": "answer", "score": 6 } ]

[ { "body": "As a name, it is up to the person how they pronounce it. A 戸籍謄本 does not\nrecord a reading for a kanji name. Depending on the city hall, most 住民票 now do\nprovide a place to record how a name is to be read. However, that can be\nchanged at will whenever a person desires it. Also, the reading does not have\nto be a normal reading; it can be nearly anything they wish as long as it is\nin modern kana. There are no restrictions to which kana readings can be used\nfor any kanji. (The kanji itself, though, cannot be changed without court\npermission.)\n\nThat said, without any special circumstances, 河内 would normally be コーチ. This\nis an abbreviation of かわうち. The normal phonological development went as\nfollows: kapauti > kaɸauti > kaɸuti > ka[w]uti > kauti > kɔːti > koːti\n[koːt͡ɕi].", "comment_count": 2, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0", "creation_date": "2013-02-17T14:58:47.543", "id": "11246", "last_activity_date": "2013-02-17T14:58:47.543", "last_edit_date": null, "last_editor_user_id": null, "owner_user_id": "1141", "parent_id": "11244", "post_type": "answer", "score": 3 } ]

[]

[ { "body": "It means that the current level of busyness is at a low ebb.\n\n\"isogashisa mo hitoyasumi to itta tokoro da\"\n\nThe \"to itta tokoro da\" part is explained in the textbook you got the phrase\nfrom.", "comment_count": 0, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0", "creation_date": "2013-02-18T10:38:16.927", "id": "11250", "last_activity_date": "2013-02-18T10:38:16.927", "last_edit_date": null, "last_editor_user_id": null, "owner_user_id": "3116", "parent_id": "11248", "post_type": "answer", "score": 1 }, { "body": "I agree with @user18597 's reading. One thing you can try is substituting\nanother valid particle like は or が for も, and rereading it:\n\n忙しさは、一休みといったところだ。\n\nThe phrase 〜といった can be thought of as a larger group, namely, （こ・そ・あ・ど）ういった.\n\nThen all you have to do is combine that with 〜ところだ, and you can put the\nsentence together.", "comment_count": 0, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0", "creation_date": "2013-02-26T05:14:38.497", "id": "11336", "last_activity_date": "2013-02-26T06:18:41.783", "last_edit_date": "2013-02-26T06:18:41.783", "last_editor_user_id": "3131", "owner_user_id": "3131", "parent_id": "11248", "post_type": "answer", "score": 0 } ]

[ { "body": "Consensus in the ALC corpus (all technical entries that match your example\ncase) would be for `コメント解除【かいじょ】する`.\n\nEx:\n\n> デフォルトの/etc/rsyncd.conf設定ファイルを編集し、［gentoo-\n> portage］の部分をコメント解除し、addressオプションを追加します。\n>\n> GPMを使用する前に、マウスの接続場所とプロトコルに対応する行をコメント解除する必要があります。\n\nOne example uses `コメントを外す【はずす】`, which also makes sense, but seems less\ncommon:\n\n>\n> ローカルのアプリケーションしかMySQLデータベースにアクセスする必要がなければ、/etc/mysql/my.cnfにおいて下記ラインのコメントをはずして下さい。", "comment_count": 0, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0", "creation_date": "2013-02-18T13:35:52.253", "id": "11252", "last_activity_date": "2013-02-18T13:35:52.253", "last_edit_date": "2020-06-17T08:18:27.500", "last_editor_user_id": "-1", "owner_user_id": "290", "parent_id": "11249", "post_type": "answer", "score": 3 }, { "body": "You present four choices:\n\n 1. I don't think you should use `コメントアウトする` to mean \"uncomment\". It properly means \"comment out\", but unfortunately, the meaning may not be obvious unless you're familiar with the English term. It has [caused confusion in the past](http://sakaguch.com/pastbbs/0013/B0006925.html), so if I used the term at all, I'd be prepared to clarify by saying either コメントにする or [コメントにして無視されるようにする](http://ejje.weblio.jp/sentence/content/%E3%82%B3%E3%83%A1%E3%83%B3%E3%83%88%E3%81%AB%E3%81%97%E3%81%A6%E7%84%A1%E8%A6%96%E3%81%95%E3%82%8C%E3%82%8B%E3%82%88%E3%81%86%E3%81%AB%E3%81%99%E3%82%8B).\n\n 2. I would also avoid [`コメントじゃなくする`](http://www.google.co.jp/search?hl=ja&q=%22%E3%82%B3%E3%83%A1%E3%83%B3%E3%83%88%E3%81%98%E3%82%83%E3%81%AA%E3%81%8F%E3%81%99%E3%82%8B%22), simply because it seems rare.\n\n 3. [`[非]{ひ}コメント[化]{か}する`](http://www.google.co.jp/search?q=%22%E9%9D%9E%E3%82%B3%E3%83%A1%E3%83%B3%E3%83%88%E5%8C%96%E3%81%99%E3%82%8B%22&hl=ja&safe=off&prmd=ivns&start=90&sa=N) likewise doesn't seem _terribly_ common, though I'd choose it over the じゃなく version in choice #2.\n\n 4. `コメントを[外]{はず}す` is my pick out of the choices you presented. It appears to be widely used, it's listed in Weblio and ALC, and I think it's unlikely to cause confusion. \n\n`コメントアウトを外す` is an alternative form, but I see no reason to prefer it over the\nshorter version.\n\nFinally, there is another common choice you failed to mention:\n\n 1. `コメント（を）[削除]{さくじょ}する`. It's commonly used and listed in Weblio and ALC. That said, in other contexts like [blo](http://support.google.com/blogger/bin/answer.py?hl=ja&answer=42398)[gs](http://helps.ameba.jp/faq/blog/article/post_76.html), [forums](http://nomi-tomo.net/help/detail06.php), and [so on](http://support.google.com/youtube/bin/answer.py?hl=ja&answer=57970), コメントを削除する means to remove a comment! I'd choose コメントを外す over this because of the potential ambiguity, though my guess is that in practice it's unlikely to cause confusion.\n\n`コメントアウトを削除する` is a longer alternative, but like before, I see no reason to\nprefer it over the shorter version.\n\nIn the end, my choice for \"uncomment\" is `コメントを外す`.", "comment_count": 1, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0", "creation_date": "2013-02-19T11:22:03.360", "id": "11265", "last_activity_date": "2013-02-19T11:22:03.360", "last_edit_date": null, "last_editor_user_id": null, "owner_user_id": null, "parent_id": "11249", "post_type": "answer", "score": 4 } ]

[ { "body": "It is strange that the explanatory notes do not explain this, but two numbers\nin Daijirin mean that both pitches (in this case HLLL and LHHL) are used.\n\nAs for the pitch of this specific word まんまと, I pronounce it as HLLL, and I am\nnot sure if I have ever heard まんまと with pitch LHHL.", "comment_count": 5, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0", "creation_date": "2013-02-18T14:37:26.380", "id": "11253", "last_activity_date": "2013-02-18T14:37:26.380", "last_edit_date": null, "last_editor_user_id": null, "owner_user_id": "15", "parent_id": "11251", "post_type": "answer", "score": 4 } ]

[ { "body": "I think \"maneru\" is a more formal written style and \"mane suru\" is the\nconversational version.", "comment_count": 0, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0", "creation_date": "2013-02-19T00:29:31.367", "id": "11259", "last_activity_date": "2013-02-19T00:29:31.367", "last_edit_date": null, "last_editor_user_id": null, "owner_user_id": "3116", "parent_id": "11254", "post_type": "answer", "score": 0 }, { "body": "They're not the same word, but it's not a coincidence they're so similar. They\nshare the same origin ([真に似せる](http://gogen-allguide.com/ma/mane.html)) and\nhave only diverged slightly since then. One word is the verb まねる; the other is\nthe noun まね plus the verb する, turning it into the suru-verb まね（を）する.\n\nまねる means to imitate or copy. In most of the dictionaries I checked, the\ndefinitions for まね began by referring to まねる. That is to say, まねする can mean\nthe same thing as まねる. However, まねする appears to have two meanings まねる does\nnot:\n\n 1. To act or behave. From the examples in the Kenkyusha dictionary, this seems to have a distinctly negative connotation. I've picked out a couple examples:\n\n * 「ばかな真似をする」 act foolishly [like a fool]; play [act] the fool\n * 「乱暴な真似をする」 behave rudely; use [resort to] violence\n 2. To pretend or feign. I'll pick out a couple examples from the Kenkyusha to illustrate this, too:\n\n * 「驚いた真似をしてみせる」 pretend to be surprised\n * 「おびえた真似をして『キャーッ』という」 scream in mock fright\n\nI hope this helps!", "comment_count": 0, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "creation_date": "2013-02-19T14:42:12.370", "id": "11270", "last_activity_date": "2021-09-23T07:20:25.817", "last_edit_date": "2021-09-23T07:20:25.817", "last_editor_user_id": "9831", "owner_user_id": null, "parent_id": "11254", "post_type": "answer", "score": 8 } ]

[ { "body": "~~For the first question, no, you cannot reverse the word order. It becomes\nungrammatical.~~\n\nAs for \"Who has a car?\", `だれがくるまがありますか` is fine even though this makes two\n`が`s. Note that you can replace the first `が` with `に` if having two `が`s\nbothers you.\n\n> だれ **に** くるまがありますか → \"Unto whom is there a car\" / Who has a car?\n\nSee [this post](https://japanese.stackexchange.com/q/4440/78) for info on\nreplacing `が` with `に`.", "comment_count": 3, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0", "creation_date": "2013-02-18T20:26:56.120", "id": "11257", "last_activity_date": "2013-02-20T15:11:44.110", "last_edit_date": "2017-04-13T12:43:44.740", "last_editor_user_id": "-1", "owner_user_id": "78", "parent_id": "11255", "post_type": "answer", "score": 0 }, { "body": "> Will changing the order to だれがあの方ですか。be acceptable or mean something else?\n\nYes, it is OK to put \"dare\" like that. I think the meaning change can be\ntranslated like this:\n\n誰がボスか。= who is the boss? (which one of these people is the boss?)\n\nボスは誰か。= who is the boss? (what is the identity of the boss?)", "comment_count": 0, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0", "creation_date": "2013-02-18T23:02:19.590", "id": "11258", "last_activity_date": "2013-02-18T23:02:19.590", "last_edit_date": null, "last_editor_user_id": null, "owner_user_id": "3116", "parent_id": "11255", "post_type": "answer", "score": 1 }, { "body": "I am a native Japanese speaker who has lived in Japan for 27 years but I have\nnever heard anyone say だれがあの方ですか. Let's say you and your listener have talked\nabout a specific person \"A\" before, and there are many people in front of you\nincluding the person \"A.\" You want to know which one is A, and then maybe you\nwould say だれが\"あの方\"ですか, referring to the person A(=あの方)? In that case,\nだれが例の方ですか is usually used though.\n\nWhenever you are pointing one person and want to know who that person is, just\nuse あの方はだれですか.", "comment_count": 0, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "creation_date": "2013-11-24T20:06:40.303", "id": "13502", "last_activity_date": "2021-12-13T06:06:49.373", "last_edit_date": "2021-12-13T06:06:49.373", "last_editor_user_id": "30454", "owner_user_id": "3368", "parent_id": "11255", "post_type": "answer", "score": 4 }, { "body": "First of all, as you probably know question words like 誰、どこ、どれ、何、なぜ etc cannot\nbe part of a topic (cannot come before は).\n\n誰はあの方ですか:☓\n\nあの方 is your \"topic\" because you are moving the conversation topic to them when\nyou are asking who they are.\n\nあの方は誰ですか:○\n\n誰があの方ですか:/\n\nWhile 誰があの人ですか is not technically grammatically incorrect, it is not properly\nworded because あの方 is your topic, and saying 誰があの方ですか sounds as if you're\ntrying to say 誰はあの方ですか and remembered to change it back to が at the last\nminute.\n\nだれにくるまがありますか:/\n\nNot technically grammatically incorrect, but here you would usually say\n誰か、車がありますか？/誰かに車がありますか, because you're looking for a person who has a car, not\nthe person who has the car.\n\nNow, say you're looking down a car that is double parked and are angry.\n誰の車ですか！Now this would be a little strange, but say you are in an isolated\nsituation where there is a car and you are trying to figure out whose car it\nis and it can only be one of the four people sitting in front of you.\n\nだれに車がありますか？\"Who is it that has a car?\" \nだれかに車がありますか？\"Who has a car?\"\n\nThat's the nuance/difference there.\n\nAs for an example that uses 誰が... (unless you're using it in place of の -\n誰がために働いていますか - \"For whom are you working for?\") - it would be hard to think\nof, as the topic is always the person you are asking about. If you insist on\nhaving 誰 come first: 誰ですかあの方は？ but this really does make you sound angry\nbecause of the stress it puts on the 誰 ^o^;", "comment_count": 1, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0", "creation_date": "2013-11-27T02:29:29.197", "id": "13527", "last_activity_date": "2013-11-27T22:56:49.537", "last_edit_date": "2013-11-27T22:56:49.537", "last_editor_user_id": "3898", "owner_user_id": "433", "parent_id": "11255", "post_type": "answer", "score": 0 }, { "body": "■ あの方はだれですか。 \nFor example, you don't know the man. And you asked someone about it. \n\nWho is that man? => あの方は、だれですか？ \nWho is he(she)? => 彼(彼女)は、だれですか？ \nWhat name is the man? => その方は、なんという名前ですか？ \n\n■ だれがあの方ですか。 \nFor example, you know the man. But you've never met the man. And you asked\nsomeone about it. \n\nWhich man is John? => どの方が、Johnですか？ \nWhich man is the man? => どの方が、その方ですか？ \nWhere is the man? => その方は、どこですか？ \n\n■ だれがくるまがありますか \nI think this is little wrong. But i can guess what you want to say. \n\nだれがくるまをもっていますか？ => Who has a car?", "comment_count": 0, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0", "creation_date": "2013-11-27T05:27:14.453", "id": "13531", "last_activity_date": "2013-11-27T05:27:14.453", "last_edit_date": null, "last_editor_user_id": null, "owner_user_id": "3666", "parent_id": "11255", "post_type": "answer", "score": 0 } ]

[ { "body": "It's もの as in person \"者\" plus \"desu\" in te form \"deshite\".", "comment_count": 0, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0", "creation_date": "2013-02-19T01:53:39.373", "id": "11260", "last_activity_date": "2013-02-19T01:53:39.373", "last_edit_date": null, "last_editor_user_id": null, "owner_user_id": "3116", "parent_id": "11256", "post_type": "answer", "score": 0 }, { "body": "In the sentence you provided, 'ものでして' can be translated to 'i was in the state\nof~'. So that means some person's previous state or condition.\n\n'ものでして' can also be used to introduce yourself with what you are doing for\nliving.\n\nex. 私は大阪で靴の商売をしている **ものでして**... \nI make living out of selling shoes in Osaka...", "comment_count": 0, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0", "creation_date": "2013-02-19T01:57:18.283", "id": "11261", "last_activity_date": "2013-02-19T15:04:49.783", "last_edit_date": "2013-02-19T15:04:49.783", "last_editor_user_id": "78", "owner_user_id": "3198", "parent_id": "11256", "post_type": "answer", "score": 3 }, { "body": "It depends on the context, but this …ものでして is probably a polite form of …もので\n([Daijirin](http://dic.yahoo.co.jp/dsearch?enc=UTF-8&stype=1&dtype=0&dname=0ss&p=%E3%82%82%E3%81%AE%E3%81%A7),\n[Daijisen](http://dic.yahoo.co.jp/dsearch?enc=UTF-8&p=%E3%82%82%E3%81%AE%E3%81%A7&dtype=0&dname=0na&stype=1&pagenum=1&index=18310900)),\nwhich means “because …” and is similar to …ので. The main clause is completely\nomitted, probably because the omitted part is clear from the context. If this\ninterpretation is correct, the first sentence in the quoted text means:\n\n> 私はしばらく、隠棲していたものでしてね。 It is because I was leading a secluded life for a\n> while.", "comment_count": 0, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0", "creation_date": "2013-02-21T00:04:49.490", "id": "11287", "last_activity_date": "2013-02-21T00:04:49.490", "last_edit_date": null, "last_editor_user_id": null, "owner_user_id": "15", "parent_id": "11256", "post_type": "answer", "score": 1 } ]

[ { "body": "大事 is more formal and 大切 is less formal.", "comment_count": 3, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0", "creation_date": "2013-02-19T10:02:48.683", "id": "11264", "last_activity_date": "2013-02-19T10:02:48.683", "last_edit_date": null, "last_editor_user_id": null, "owner_user_id": "3116", "parent_id": "11262", "post_type": "answer", "score": -5 }, { "body": "As far as I can tell, you've basically hit the nail on the head with the\ndifferences between the two.\n\n`大切` is listed in the `日本国語大辞典` as (I've removed some of definitions I think\nare less important):\n\n> ... \n> 2: 一番必要で、重んずべき物であること。貴重であること。肝要であること。 \n> ... \n> 4: 心をくばってていねいに取り扱うこと。大事にすること。かけがえのないものとして心から愛するさま。\n\nSo using definition 2, something which is of utmost\nimportance/precious/essential and should be given great regard to, which I see\nin reference to things which are done (which I think would e.g. be used like\n`体を大事にするのが大切です`, though `大切`/`大事` could be exchanged there as they can be very\nsimilar).\n\nAnd using definition 4 is with the emphasis on the \"treat something\nmindfully/carefully\" and \"love something from the bottom of one's heart (`心`)\nas if there's no substitute\" which I see more for describing things/people as\nin `大切な（物・者）` (though it's also listed as \"treated as `大事`\").\n\n* * *\n\nAnd for `大事` (as an adjective):\n\n> 1: かけがえのないものとして大切にするさま。大切。 \n> 2: 評価して心にとめるべきさま。重要で根本にかかわるさま。\n\nSo it's used for things which are to be treated as `大切` as if they can't be\nreplaced, or a state where something should be valued and given heed to, so\nthere's a lot of overlap, but I believe that `大切` is more about the\n`心`/sentimental/emotional sense and is more subjective and `大事` more about\nbeing fundamentally important/valuable and is more objective.\n\nNote that `大事` can also be used as a noun to mean an important task/large\nundertaking (as in `大事業`) or an important thing etc.", "comment_count": 1, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0", "creation_date": "2013-02-20T02:08:36.183", "id": "11275", "last_activity_date": "2013-02-20T02:08:36.183", "last_edit_date": null, "last_editor_user_id": null, "owner_user_id": "796", "parent_id": "11262", "post_type": "answer", "score": 12 }, { "body": "If one look at the kanji he should say there's no big difference between them. \nIf a difference should be pointed out is in the kaji 切. \n大事 daiji is \"a big fact\", i.e. a fact of great importance. \n大切 taisetsu _uses the kanji of kiru to emphasize_ 大. Much like it happens in\n親切 shinsetsu, 痛切 tsuusetsu, 哀切 aisetsu, 適切 tekisetsu, 懇切 konsetsu. \nSo, if we look at the kanji, we have \"overtly big\" or \"extraordinarily big\".\n\nSetting aside the emphasis there shouldn't be a real difference, however the\nuse of taisetsu is narrower. \nIt's surely true that you could say \"jaa, sore wo taisetsu ni ne\", while you\nwould say \"o-daiji ni\", but this doesn't mean you'll use daiji in formal\ncontext only, and one can safely say \"soredewa o-karada wo otaisetsu ni\", much\nlike he does using daiji. \nThen the difference isn't in the formalilty or in the politeness (but I'll\ntalk later about this). \nIf you try to google \"大事なポイント\" or \"大切なポイント\" you'll get the same number of\nresults, more or less, and you'll see similar contexts.\n\nWhen the context allows it, one can translate daiji as \"important\" or\n\"relevant\" and taisetsu as \"precious\". \nOn the other hand, if precious is \"too much\" for the context, then we can\nsee/feel that **taisetsu is used usually to point out that the noun** (the\nnoun taisetsu is referred to) **should be FELT as important** (precious,\ngrave, really serious...).\n\nAnd so (IF we want to find a difference between daiji/taisetsu na pointo) we\ncan say daiji na pointo speaking about \"the key-points of a reasoning\", while\nwe can say \"taisetsu na pointo\" if we're talking about the main points the\nstudents should (perceive as crucial and thus) remember. \nHowever there are situations where the difference is more obvious... \ntaisetsu na kodomo = a beloved/dear child (precious to the speaker) \ndaiji na kodomo = an important child (he's the key to my 人体実験 Bwah-ah-ah!) \n\nA context that involve such a nuance (i.e. the thing should be FELT as\nimportant) will usually be a more colloquial context, and this is the reason,\nimho, taisetsu _can be perceived_ as more informal.\n\nThis doesn't mean daiji na hito is different from taisetsu na hito, if I'm\ntalking about someone I love. But if I'm talking about the prime minister and\nI say \"taisetsu na hito\" then I'm probably implying he's precious (for my\ncountry, for instance). \nThis is why I said its use is narrower than the one of daiji.\n\nAlso, \"daiji ni (suru/omou...)\" and \"taisetsu ni (suru/omou...)\" are the same\nwhen they are referred to the idea of \"treating something with care\" (see the\ndefinition from daijirin).", "comment_count": 6, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0", "creation_date": "2013-02-20T02:27:43.473", "id": "11276", "last_activity_date": "2013-11-25T22:31:49.037", "last_edit_date": "2013-11-25T22:31:49.037", "last_editor_user_id": null, "owner_user_id": "2972", "parent_id": "11262", "post_type": "answer", "score": 4 }, { "body": "Very roughly, you could say 大事 translates to \"important\", while 大切 translates\nto \"precious\". For example, you might say \"Money is important\", but your child\nor family heirloom is precious.\n\nThat being said, 大事 and 大切 are closer together in usage than important vs.\nprecious, to the point that two people i just asked in the workplace flatly\nsaid \"there is no difference\", until they thought about it for a few minutes\nand though of examples where they would/wouldn't use one or the other word.", "comment_count": 0, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0", "creation_date": "2016-12-21T07:41:06.457", "id": "41859", "last_activity_date": "2016-12-21T07:41:06.457", "last_edit_date": null, "last_editor_user_id": null, "owner_user_id": "19156", "parent_id": "11262", "post_type": "answer", "score": 2 } ]

[ { "body": "Firstly, in 1b and 2b, the verbs are transitive, so they take a direct object.\nDirect objects are marked by -wo, not -ga. Hence, パスタを食べる and お茶を飲む.\n\nNow to your question, consider the English. \"I drink tea\" --> \"I like drinkING\ntea\". Similarly, in Japanese you need to nominalize the the verb phrase \"otya\nwo nomu\". This can be done by adding no to the end of the phrase. suki da\nrequires a subject, which is marked by -ga. Putting this all together, this\nbecomes \"otya wo nomu no ga suki da\".", "comment_count": 1, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0", "creation_date": "2013-02-19T14:14:23.573", "id": "11267", "last_activity_date": "2013-02-19T14:14:23.573", "last_edit_date": null, "last_editor_user_id": null, "owner_user_id": "1141", "parent_id": "11266", "post_type": "answer", "score": 2 }, { "body": "パスタが好きです means “I like pasta,” and お茶が好きです means “I like tea.”\n\nYou cannot use 1b or 2b. The …が好きだ is “I like …,” and “…” must be a noun and\nyou need が.\n\nHow should you specify a verb? The answer is by using nominalizer particle の,\nwhich turns a verb (or a verb phrase) into a noun phrase.\n\n> **パスタ** が好きです。 I like **pasta**. \n> **パスタを食べるの** が好きです。 I like **to eat pasta**. \n> **パスタを作るの** が好きです。 I like **to cook pasta**.\n\n(As you can see, this is exactly analogous to what happens in English grammar;\nwe use to-infinitive to turn a verb phrase into a noun phrase.)\n\nHere nominalizer の turns a verb representing some action into a noun phrase\nmeaning the abstract notion of doing that action. There are other uses of\nnominalizer の (for example, it can also attach to an adjective), but I will\nomit them for this answer.\n\n(Just in case, this is about “I like to do something,” not “I’d like to do\nsomething,” which is a completely different thing.)", "comment_count": 4, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0", "creation_date": "2013-02-19T14:17:45.653", "id": "11268", "last_activity_date": "2013-02-19T14:37:49.077", "last_edit_date": "2013-02-19T14:37:49.077", "last_editor_user_id": "15", "owner_user_id": "15", "parent_id": "11266", "post_type": "answer", "score": 15 }, { "body": "パスタが好きです/お茶が好きです is very simply I like tea/pasta - no more no less but, yes,\njust as in English, it conveys the msg that you like eating tea/pasta.\n\nI think it is fair to say that verbs do not usually modify adjectives or at\nleast not in the context you are looking for (although it might work in less\nformal conversation(?)).\n\nIf you want to say you \"like eating pasta\", as opposed to just you \"like\npasta\" (ie so the reader will infer that you like to eat it, as opposed to\nappreciating it for some other unspecified reason) then you should use a\nnominalizer. eg:\n\nパスタを食べるのが好きです。\n\n[ Note: 食べる is a transitive verb, it takes an object, \"(私は)パスタが食べる好きです\" is\nnon-grammatcial.]", "comment_count": 1, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0", "creation_date": "2013-02-19T14:22:45.480", "id": "11269", "last_activity_date": "2013-02-19T14:22:45.480", "last_edit_date": null, "last_editor_user_id": null, "owner_user_id": "1556", "parent_id": "11266", "post_type": "answer", "score": 1 } ]

[ { "body": "It is a legitimate way of using より, but not a legitimate way of using 怒る ;)\n(If I understand you correctly, that is.)\n\nFor 怒る, you want to express a state, which you should do with the ~ている form.\nThat is,\n\n> 怒ってるより悲しいんです\n\n(Inserting the explanatory ん makes it sound a little better...)\n\nより works best though, if you use two constructions, which are the same, e.g.\n\n> 怒ってるより、苦しんでいます\n\nOther variations on the same theme:\n\n> 怒ってるというより、悲しいんですよ \n> 怒ってるんじゃなくて、悲しいんですよ \n> 怒ってるというか、悲しいんですよ", "comment_count": 2, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0", "creation_date": "2013-02-19T19:34:42.493", "id": "11272", "last_activity_date": "2013-02-20T01:14:45.787", "last_edit_date": "2013-02-20T01:14:45.787", "last_editor_user_id": "1628", "owner_user_id": "1628", "parent_id": "11271", "post_type": "answer", "score": 5 } ]

[ { "body": "Someone well-versed in internet Japanese may need to correct me, but...\n\nYou can always soften a straight 違います with saying something like\n\n> 違うと思うんですが \n> 違うと思うんですけど\n\nYou can also present a fact, which disproves the claim of your technically\nadvanced helper. There may be no need to say explicitly \"you were wrong\".\n\nThis is not only true for Japanese, but trying to confirm the correctness of\nthe claim in some situation that does not apply to you doesn't give the\nmessage \"you are wrong\", which by itself is not very helpful. You could try\n\n> 一般的にそうかもしれませんが、私の場合は…… \n> That may be so in general, but in my situation...\n\nThat said, 違います is a lot better than 違う and, although probably unnecessary,\nmay be perfectly acceptable in that particular tech forum, in particular if\nyou are on the end of the technically advanced helper.\n\nIf that is the case, there is also the expression\n\n> それはそれでいいんですけど…… \n> That's fine, but...", "comment_count": 2, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0", "creation_date": "2013-02-19T20:18:51.020", "id": "11274", "last_activity_date": "2013-02-19T22:08:24.280", "last_edit_date": "2013-02-19T22:08:24.280", "last_editor_user_id": "1628", "owner_user_id": "1628", "parent_id": "11273", "post_type": "answer", "score": 3 } ]

[ { "body": "You are not parsing it correctly. The -n belongs to the previous verb esaseN.\nIt is a contraction of\n-[mu](http://dic.yahoo.co.jp/dsearch?enc=UTF-8&p=%E3%82%93&dtype=0&dname=0ss&stype=0&pagenum=1&index=121159900000)\n> -m > -n. It is meaning #2 expressing intention.\n\n> All of you, drink of this chalice. It is the blood of my contract. It is\n> that which flows in order to receive redemption for the sins of the many.", "comment_count": 1, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0", "creation_date": "2013-02-20T08:08:27.497", "id": "11278", "last_activity_date": "2013-02-20T08:08:27.497", "last_edit_date": null, "last_editor_user_id": null, "owner_user_id": "1141", "parent_id": "11277", "post_type": "answer", "score": 7 } ]

[ { "body": "arasou is\n[争う](http://dic.yahoo.co.jp/dsearch?enc=UTF-8&stype=0&dtype=0&dname=0ss&p=%E3%81%82%E3%82%89%E3%81%9D%E3%81%86).\nitini (一二) wo arasou means to compete to become either #1 or #2, or more\ncommonly aim for being #1, but settle with being #2 at worst. This too is [in\nthe\ndictionary](http://dic.yahoo.co.jp/dsearch?enc=UTF-8&stype=0&dtype=0&dname=0ss&p=%E4%B8%80%E4%BA%8C%E3%82%92%E4%BA%89%E3%81%86).", "comment_count": 6, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0", "creation_date": "2013-02-20T12:04:59.667", "id": "11280", "last_activity_date": "2013-02-20T12:20:01.290", "last_edit_date": "2013-02-20T12:20:01.290", "last_editor_user_id": "1141", "owner_user_id": "1141", "parent_id": "11279", "post_type": "answer", "score": 6 }, { "body": "Though 一二を争う literally means to vie with another for the top, or second\nposition, it actually means vie (compete) with your rival(s) for the top\nposition or the crown. It doesn't make sence you aim at winning the second\nposition in the race. There is no Japanese idiom to say / mean 十二を争う.", "comment_count": 0, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0", "creation_date": "2016-01-16T01:17:25.800", "id": "30447", "last_activity_date": "2016-01-16T01:17:25.800", "last_edit_date": null, "last_editor_user_id": null, "owner_user_id": "12056", "parent_id": "11279", "post_type": "answer", "score": 0 } ]

[ { "body": "Adding も after で is possible and usual. See [Particles で and も and\nでも](https://japanese.stackexchange.com/q/5666).\n\nAdding\n[でも](http://dic.yahoo.co.jp/dsearch?enc=UTF-8&p=%E3%81%A7%E3%82%82&dtype=0&dname=0ss&stype=1&pagenum=1&index=113520600000)\nafter で is also possible, and ででも is not unseen, but the first で is often\nomitted.", "comment_count": 12, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0", "creation_date": "2013-02-20T14:43:42.483", "id": "11282", "last_activity_date": "2013-02-20T14:43:42.483", "last_edit_date": "2017-04-13T12:43:44.207", "last_editor_user_id": "-1", "owner_user_id": "15", "parent_id": "11281", "post_type": "answer", "score": 5 } ]

[ { "body": "> \"(Even) If I send the (mail) in Japanese, will you be able to read it?\"\n\nNote that although \"in Japanese\" (`日本語で`) is not a _method_ of sending\nsomething (such as air-mail, ground-mail, carrier-pigeon, etc. are),\n@TsuyoshiIto points out that it's (become?) acceptable for `送る` in this case\nto mean not just the sending of the mail, but the entire process of composing\n**and** sending the mail (a \"shorthand\" for `メールを書いて送る`). In reference to this\nentire process, then `日本語で` can be used to describe the means of this broader\naction.", "comment_count": 10, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0", "creation_date": "2013-02-20T20:29:19.073", "id": "11284", "last_activity_date": "2013-02-21T16:42:03.920", "last_edit_date": "2013-02-21T16:42:03.920", "last_editor_user_id": "78", "owner_user_id": "78", "parent_id": "11283", "post_type": "answer", "score": 0 }, { "body": "> 日本語で送っても読めますか?\n\nistrasci’s first translation is good:\n\n> (Even) If I send the (mail) in Japanese, will you be able to read it?\n\n(It is a little silly to ask this question in Japanese, because if the answer\nis “no,” you are not expected to understand the question….)\n\nThe で in the sentence is a [case marker which signifies place, time, means,\ncause, and so\non](http://dic.yahoo.co.jp/dsearch?enc=UTF-8&p=%E3%81%A7&dtype=0&dname=0ss&stype=1&pagenum=1&index=113244500000),\nand in this case, it signifies means.\n\nistrasci raised an interesting point: 日本語で (in Japanese) does not state a\nmeans of sending a mail. Means of sending a mail include “by air mail,” “by\nsea mail,” “electronically,” and so on, but “in Japanese” is a means of\n_composing_ a mail, not a means of _sending_ a composed mail.\n\nHowever, (手紙を/メールを)送る does not always refer to the mere action of sending an\nalready composed mail. It can collectively refer to the action of composing\nand sending a mail. In this sense, 日本語で indeed describes a means of this\nbroader action.\n\nAs an aside, I note that case marker で etymologically arises from copula.\nSlightly more precisely, case marker で originates from にて and copula だ\noriginates from にてあり, and these にて are the same thing (the combination of case\nmarker に and particle て). But we usually distinguish case marker で from copula\nwhen we talk about the Japanese grammar. As dainichi wrote, _this で is no more\na connective form of copula than all で particles are_.", "comment_count": 0, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0", "creation_date": "2013-02-21T15:39:58.110", "id": "11293", "last_activity_date": "2013-02-21T15:39:58.110", "last_edit_date": null, "last_editor_user_id": null, "owner_user_id": "15", "parent_id": "11283", "post_type": "answer", "score": 5 } ]

[ { "body": "The sentence wants to be translated as\n\n> Would it be possible if I try on these shoes? _or more literally_ \n> Would it be alright if I try to put on these shoes?\n\nNow do backwards substitution, using the \"try to [verb]\" construction you\nlearned.\n\nAlso ～をはいてみますいいですか is ungrammatical.", "comment_count": 6, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0", "creation_date": "2013-02-20T22:39:30.827", "id": "11286", "last_activity_date": "2013-02-20T22:49:11.427", "last_edit_date": "2013-02-20T22:49:11.427", "last_editor_user_id": "1628", "owner_user_id": "1628", "parent_id": "11285", "post_type": "answer", "score": 2 }, { "body": "The みる in the てみる construction changes just as any other 'ru' verb. The\ntextbook is throwing a slight curveball by making you recognize two different\npatterns and slot it in appropriately.\n\nThe first, as you recognized, is the てみる pattern, which means to try. So you\nare right that it should by はいてみます. However it is not as simple as just\nchanging it to はいてみます and being done with it, since you are also asking for\n_permission_ , which as you know is accomplished by ～て（も）いいですか. So you need to\ncombine these two ideas: take はいてみます and add てもいいですか. You do this by taking\nはいてみます and putting it into its own て form, which then connects into てもいいですか\nwith no problem. So your final sentence should look like\n\n> このくつをはいてみてもいいですか\n\nJust remember that the みる in てみる needs to be conjugated like any other verb.", "comment_count": 0, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0", "creation_date": "2013-02-21T00:06:57.600", "id": "11288", "last_activity_date": "2013-02-21T00:06:57.600", "last_edit_date": null, "last_editor_user_id": null, "owner_user_id": "1797", "parent_id": "11285", "post_type": "answer", "score": 0 } ]

[ { "body": "Using ほど in this case just sounds weird to me. I guess you could use と同じように.\n\n例: 友達と同じように、私も猫が好きです。 Like our friend, I ,too,like cats.\n\n4年前と同じように. Like four years ago.\n\n母は私や私の兄弟と同じ様に日系ブラジル人で、ブラジルの国籍しか持っていません。 My mother is a Japanese Brazilian, and\nlike my brothers and I, has only Brazilian citizenship.\n\nExamples taken from alc.co.jp", "comment_count": 1, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0", "creation_date": "2013-02-21T07:27:53.320", "id": "11290", "last_activity_date": "2013-02-21T07:27:53.320", "last_edit_date": null, "last_editor_user_id": null, "owner_user_id": "1392", "parent_id": "11289", "post_type": "answer", "score": 1 }, { "body": "I agree that ほど sounds out of place in\n\n> 友達ほど、私も好きだ。\n\nbut somehow the negative statement\n\n> 友達ほどは好きじゃないけど、まぁ、嫌いでもないよ。\n\ndoes sound possible. I guess that ほど is a technical term, which does fit when\nyou assess how much you _don't_ like cats, but sounds too impersonal, when you\nsay how much you _do_ like cats.\n\nThere is also\n\n> 友達みたいに好きだ。\n\nwhich fits your informal context well.\n\nThe sentence\n\n> 友達と同じように、私も好きだ。\n\nhas two meanings. One is\n\n> Like your friend, I, too, like cats.\n\nThe other is\n\n> I like cats the way I like a friend.\n\nYou can partially resolve this by saying\n\n> 友達のように、私も好きだ。\n\nwhich makes it less ambiguous. のように is the more formal version of みたいに and\nboth translate to\n\n> Cats are like friends to me. _or_ \n> I like cats the way I like friends.", "comment_count": 1, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0", "creation_date": "2013-02-21T11:32:10.583", "id": "11291", "last_activity_date": "2013-02-21T11:32:10.583", "last_edit_date": null, "last_editor_user_id": null, "owner_user_id": "1628", "parent_id": "11289", "post_type": "answer", "score": 1 }, { "body": "As you mentioned, ほど roughly translates to \"as much as\" or to the level of\".\nSo it can be used to compare you to a friend, but is used more commonly in the\nnegative sense in order to be humble and modest.\n\nFor example:\n\nA: わぁ、日本語が上手ですよ。 Wow, you're really good at Japanese.\n\nB: スミスさんほど上手じゃないんだけど。But I'm not as good as Smith is./I'm not at Smith's\nlevel.\n\nIn your situation, 同じで (\"same as/just like\") would fit. 「A + と ＋ 同じで、B ＋ も」\n\n友達と同じで私も好きです。Same as/Just like my friend, I like cats.\n\nSince the friend was in the situation and previously, just spoken, it's best\nto use his/her name. Otherwise it sounds like you are referring to a 3rd party\nfriend that the listener does not know.", "comment_count": 0, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0", "creation_date": "2015-03-18T17:20:38.680", "id": "23338", "last_activity_date": "2015-03-18T17:20:38.680", "last_edit_date": null, "last_editor_user_id": null, "owner_user_id": "9635", "parent_id": "11289", "post_type": "answer", "score": 0 } ]

[ { "body": "There are some slight differences, so let's let the dictionary do the\nexplaining for us:\n\n[招待](http://dictionary.goo.ne.jp/leaf/jn2/109264/m0u/%E6%8B%9B%E5%BE%85/):\n\n> ［名］(スル)《古くは「しょうだい」》客を招いてもてなすこと。催しなどに客として招くこと。また、人にわざわざ来てもらうこと。「祝賀会に―される」「―券」\n\n[招く](http://dictionary.goo.ne.jp/leaf/jn2/209325/m0u/%E6%8B%9B%E3%81%8F/):\n\n> １ 合図をして人を呼び寄せる。「手を振って―・く」\n>\n> ２ 客として来るように誘う。招待する。「歓迎会に―・かれる」\n>\n> ３\n> ある目的のために、礼をつくして来てもらう。また、しかるべき地位を用意して、人に来てもらう。招聘(しょうへい)する。「作家を―・いて講演会を開く」「ゲストに―・く」「教授として―・く」\n>\n> ４ 好ましくない事態を引き起こす。もたらす。「惨事を―・く」「誤解を―・く」\n\n[誘う](http://dictionary.goo.ne.jp/leaf/jn2/88121/m0u/%E8%AA%98%E3%81%86/):\n\n> １ 一緒に行動するようにすすめる。また、連れ出す。「ボランティア活動に―・う」「ドライブに―・う」\n>\n> ２ そのことが原因となって、ある気持ちを引き起こさせる。促す。「涙を―・うドラマ」「いい陽気に―・われて行楽地に繰り出す」\n>\n> ３ 好ましくない状況などに引き入れる。誘惑する。「悪の道に―・う」\n\nSo what exactly are we looking at? There are a few things to notice here:\n\n * 招待 means to invite someone somewhere _as a guest_ , or to have someone come from somewhere for some special purpose. Note that this is both a noun and a verb, so it can also mean invitation.\n * 招く is very similar to the verb form of 招待, as shown in its second definition. However, it has some other meanings. snailplane mentioned in the comments that she associates 招く with 招き猫. These are little creatures that sit outside a shop and beckon guests and customers in with their waving gesture. This is also 招く, as shown in the first definition, where you _beckon_ someone with some kind of signal. The third sense is just a polite way of saying to have someone come, but the 4th also shows 招く being used in the metaphorical sense of _inviting disaster_ or other such misfortune, similar to how we use it in English.\n * 誘う, as also mentioned in the comments, is about getting someone to do something with you, as in the first definition. The second definition is similar to the last of 招く, about _soliciting tears_ or being _lured_ by good weather or whatever onto a vacation. The last is the sense of being _tempted_ to do something that you shouldn't otherwise be doing.\n\nI basically paraphrased the definitions in English, but that should be a clear\nexplanation of the differences.", "comment_count": 1, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0", "creation_date": "2013-02-22T00:38:07.400", "id": "11296", "last_activity_date": "2013-02-22T03:03:29.333", "last_edit_date": "2013-02-22T03:03:29.333", "last_editor_user_id": "1797", "owner_user_id": "1797", "parent_id": "11292", "post_type": "answer", "score": 9 } ]

[ { "body": "I don't think there is a method to decide.\n\nFor the case you mention, タトゥー is probably more thought of as Western tattoo,\nwhereas 刺青 is the Japanese counterpart, more likely to be associated with the\nJapanese culture of tattoos (see\n[Wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Irezumi)), including associations to\ncriminality, or tradition, as the case may be.\n\nThere is レッスン vs. 授業, ウォーキング vs. 散歩, ad infinitum. All these word pairs are\nnot pairs of pure synonyms. Both parts of such a word pair continue to\ncoexist, because they convey something different. In broad terms, the カタカナ\nwords have an air of modernism and the 漢字 words sound more traditional, but\nbeing fond of tradition in Japan doesn't make the Japanese/Chinese-derived\nword more appropriate. I think many beginners (including myself) prefer to use\n漢字 for words which are better written in かな, or even have a more appropriate\n外来語 counterpart.\n\nTalking to elderly people, some of the newer カタカナ words (like タトゥー) may not be\nas easily understood, so then the Japanese/Chinese-derived words would be the\nbetter choice. But in general it really does depend on the word you are\nthinking of.\n\nAn almost unrelated phenomenon is that plants and animals are often written in\nカタカナ (e.g. カマキリ vs. 蟷螂). Here, the word is the same and the choice of カタカナ vs.\n漢字 is only a matter of taste or context, not a matter of meaning. As for カマキリ,\nsometimes these words are 義訓 readings, i.e. the choice of 漢字 is not related to\nthe reading. Recently, we had [サルスベリ vs.\n百日紅](https://japanese.stackexchange.com/questions/8241/what-are-some-words-\nwith-kanji-readings-meanings-that-dont-match). Sometimes the reading is just\nthe 訓読み of the 漢字 for the plant or animal, but still, especially in a\nscientific context, the word is written in カタカナ, e.g. シラカバ for 白樺 \"Japanese\nwhite birch\".", "comment_count": 2, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0", "creation_date": "2013-02-21T22:02:10.543", "id": "11295", "last_activity_date": "2013-02-22T01:05:52.070", "last_edit_date": "2017-04-13T12:43:48.447", "last_editor_user_id": "-1", "owner_user_id": "1628", "parent_id": "11294", "post_type": "answer", "score": 7 } ]

[ { "body": "It's possibly a little different for each of your examples even though they\nmean the same thing. However, the ones with \"took\" seem to emphasize more\neffort than the ones with \"in\", so it depends if you want to focus on that or\nnot.\n\n> * I ran 5km **in** 23mins 59secs → 23分59秒 **で** 5キロメートル走った\n> * It **took** me 23mins 59 secs to run 5k → 5キロメートル走るのに23分59秒 **かかった**\n>", "comment_count": 5, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0", "creation_date": "2013-02-22T15:25:31.687", "id": "11298", "last_activity_date": "2013-02-22T15:34:14.663", "last_edit_date": "2013-02-22T15:34:14.663", "last_editor_user_id": "78", "owner_user_id": "78", "parent_id": "11297", "post_type": "answer", "score": 3 } ]

[ { "body": "～くて is not an ending for a verb, it is the ~て form of an i-adjective. In your\ncase the i-adjective formed by the verb 会う + the ending ～たい, where the ending\n～たい is translated as \"to want to\".\n\nThe ～て form of a verb, adjective or noun is used as a connective, which can\nsometimes be translated simply as \"and\", but sometimes this \"and\" can be\ninterpreted to give a reason for what follows.\n\nUsually it would be something like\n\n```\n\n 会う > 会いたい　 > 会いたくて\n to meet > to want to meet > to want to meet and (therefore) ...\n \n```\n\nFor example,\n\n> 会いたくて来た \n> I came by because I wanted to see you\n\nFor 会いたくて, see also\n\n * [Contrasting 〜てならない、〜てしょうがない and 〜てたまらない](https://japanese.stackexchange.com/q/2766/1628)\n * [～てたまらない、～てならない、～しようがない](https://japanese.stackexchange.com/q/59585/1628)", "comment_count": 0, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "creation_date": "2013-02-22T21:26:50.777", "id": "11300", "last_activity_date": "2019-08-22T22:40:42.577", "last_edit_date": "2019-08-22T22:40:42.577", "last_editor_user_id": "1628", "owner_user_id": "1628", "parent_id": "11299", "post_type": "answer", "score": 16 }, { "body": "Well, such a form has several meanings depending on the case. I am going to\nprovide a brief overview, but it can be helpful. The pattern is always the\nsame:\n\n> (Verb:ない-Form:Drop->い)くて、(Sentence)\n\nI am going to provide a direct answer for the specific case pointed out in the\nquestion, then, considering that you wanted a generic explanation about the\n〜くて form, I am going to post more cases.\n\n# In your specific case...\n\nIn your case you have a sentence where the 〜たい form is applied. Such a form\nhas the following pattern:\n\n> (V:ます-Form:Drop->ます)たい\n\nAnd is used to express will, intention. For example:\n\n> 行く ==> 行きます ==> 行きたい\n\nPlease note that the 〜たい form turns your verb into an い-Adjective. After this,\nyou apply the 〜くて pattern to the verb/adjective and get the 〜くて form. So what\nis the meaning? Among the possible ones, one is the one reported below.\n\n## 〜くて as a conjunction\n\nWhen used for い-Adjectives, the following pattern:\n\n> (い-Adjective:Drop->い)くて、(Sentence)\n\nCan be used to put together some sentences. For example:\n\n> あのね、石川先生は面白くて、優しくて、ハンサムな人ですよ！ ==> Well, Ishikawa-sensei is interesting, nice\n> and a beautiful person.\n\nYou can make concatenation of adjectives using this pattern.\n\n### About your answer...\n\nlast option I showed in this post (some sort of ellipsis as someone else\ndescribed before):\n\n> 会いたくて ==> I want to meet (him/her?)... ==> I want to meet him/her but... ==>\n> I would like to meet him/her, but...\n\nFor a better comprehension, post the full sentence.\n\n# Other meanings associated to the 〜くて form...\n\nI promised since you asked for a generic answer. Below I listed some other\nmeanings of the 〜くて form.\n\n## In spoken Japanese, used to leave a certain \"negation\"-like feeling in the\nair\n\nIt is used very often in spoken language and in conversations. Consider the\nfollowing example where 笑{えみ}子{こ}, a woman working in a shop, is apologizing\nbecause she picked the wrong color for a t-shirt a client wanted to check:\n\n> 笑{えみ}子{こ}さん: あー、ごめんなさい、やはり色が違いますね？ ==> Oh, I am sorry, as I thought the\n> color is wrong right?\n>\n> お客様: じゃなくて、色大丈夫です、サイズは小さすぎるんでしょう！ ==> Well, not really! The problem is the\n> size, it is too small!\n>\n> 笑{えみ}子{こ}さん: そうですか、解りました！ちょっと待って下さい、すぐ見に行きます。Ah! You are right! Please wait\n> a moment, I am going to check!\n\nAs you can see, _Emiko_ thought one thing, but the problem turned out being a\ncompletely different one.\n\nConsider this different situation:\n\n> お父さん: じゃ、これですね？カバンを買いに行きました。無くしたので、カバンが要ったんじゃない〜 ==> Well, Is this it? I\n> went buying a new bag for you, since you lost yours. You needed it right?\n>\n> 息子さん: えと、要らなくて〜カバンを無くしたけど、そのあと友達に見つけてもらったんですから〜 ==> Well, don't really. I\n> didn't lost it, a friend found it for me, so...\n\nDaddy thought his son needed a new bag, but the son told him that it was not\nnecessary.\n\nIn these kinds of situation, when you want to express a little disappointment\nand embarass for something not necessary, you use this form.\n\n## To express the cause for something that happened\n\nYou can use the same pattern in order to point out the cause for a certain\nevent to happen. However this form can only be used for verbs in negative\nforms. Pattern is:\n\n> (Verb:ない-Form:Drop->い)くて、(Sentence)\n\nConsider the following example:\n\n> 遅くて、ごめんなさい。 ==> Sorry, I was late\n\nThe previous is not a sentence really used a lot in spoken language, to say\nsorry for being late Japanese use other forms, but sometimes kids use that.\nConsider this example as well:\n\n> 何も無くて、よかったね！ ==> Thank god nothing happened!\n\nOr this:\n\n> 課長が何も言わなくて、こわい！ ==> Boss didn't say a single word, he was scary!\n\n## To express something like: \"no need of...\"\n\nThe pattern is the following:\n\n> (Verb:ない-Form:Drop->い)くても、(Sentence)\n\nBut Japanese people, only in common conversations and where all people are at\nthe same level (so no boss, no section manager and so on...), do tend to drop\nも from 〜くても, so the pattern can also be:\n\n> (Verb:ない-Form:Drop->い)くて[も]、(Sentence)\n\nWhere も in square brackets means: optional. The meaning of this pattern is:\n\"No need of...\". Consider the following example.\n\n> パーティーへ行かなくても、大丈夫ですよ！ ==> Even if I do not go to the party, everything will\n> be all right.\n>\n> プレゼントをもらわなくても、うれしいです。 ==> Even if I did not receive a present, I would be\n> happy.\n\nWhen the sentence is \"いいです\", so we have the following pattern:\n\n> (Verb:ない-Form:Drop->い)くて[も]、いい[です]\n\nThe meaning is: \"No need...\". Consider the following example:\n\n> 明日は会社に来なくてもいい！ ==> Tomorrow you do not need to come to work.\n\nOr this example:\n\n> 払わなくて、いいですよ！ ==> You don't need to pay! ==> It is ok if you do not pay.\n\nOr this as well:\n\n> 見つけなくても、いいですよ。大切な物じゃないから〜 ==> It's all right if you don't find it, it is not\n> something important (referring to something lost).", "comment_count": 7, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0", "creation_date": "2013-02-22T22:52:03.667", "id": "11301", "last_activity_date": "2013-02-24T09:29:47.170", "last_edit_date": "2013-02-24T09:29:47.170", "last_editor_user_id": "12", "owner_user_id": "12", "parent_id": "11299", "post_type": "answer", "score": 0 }, { "body": "`〜くて`'s on the end of verbs at the end of sentences can have a number of\ndifferent usages which have different nuances, so I think context here is very\nimportant. I believe that in speech the style of speaking can also change\ndepending on which usage. The core meaning of it is however \"I want to do\n(something) and (a connotation of something else which is implied)\", which can\nchange depending on context.\n\nWas there an [ellipsis _character_](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ellipsis) (as\nopposed to [_linguistic_\nellipsis](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ellipsis_%28linguistics%29) as pointed\nout by @user1205935) after the `会いたくて`, as in `会いたくて…`? If so, I believe it\ncan change the nuance and I think it could have the meaning of `会いたくて会えない` \"I\nwant to meet (but can't)\", but I think `会いたくて。` by itself generally wouldn't\nhave that meaning, and would be used in situations like \"I want to meet (so\nI'm going to)\" (unless there's some context I'm missing here).\n\nIf there was a \"but\" before it etc, e.g. `でも、会いたくて。` on the other hand I think\nit wouldn't need an ellipsis character after it to have that meaning.\n\n(I think I also often see this usage of `〜くて` with some kind of strengthener\nbefore/after it, e.g. `本当に会いたくて…`/`めっちゃ会いたくて…` and can also be doubled for\nextra effect in songs etc, e.g. `会いたくて、会いたくて…`).\n\n**Edit:** Tried to make things a bit clearer.", "comment_count": 3, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0", "creation_date": "2013-02-22T23:52:42.533", "id": "11302", "last_activity_date": "2013-02-23T04:00:58.510", "last_edit_date": "2013-02-23T04:00:58.510", "last_editor_user_id": "796", "owner_user_id": "796", "parent_id": "11299", "post_type": "answer", "score": 6 } ]

[ { "body": "I guess these might fit your description they are phrases you would say when\narguing.\n\n```\n\n それで - and that's why...\n だったら - If that's the case then...\n かと言って - but even so...\n 強いて言えば - If I had to say...\n となると - If that's the case then...\n それにしても - Even so...\n いずれにしても - In any case...\n というわけで - In conclusion...\n \n```", "comment_count": 0, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0", "creation_date": "2013-02-23T10:47:17.387", "id": "11304", "last_activity_date": "2013-02-23T10:54:18.043", "last_edit_date": "2013-02-23T10:54:18.043", "last_editor_user_id": "3199", "owner_user_id": "3199", "parent_id": "11303", "post_type": "answer", "score": 3 }, { "body": "I agree that this question is probably too broad. But here are a couple\nexamples I can think of off the top of my head.\n\n> * したがって\n> * （した／という）結果で\n> * なぜ（なら／かというと）\n>", "comment_count": 0, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0", "creation_date": "2013-02-23T16:12:28.870", "id": "11305", "last_activity_date": "2013-02-23T16:12:28.870", "last_edit_date": null, "last_editor_user_id": null, "owner_user_id": "78", "parent_id": "11303", "post_type": "answer", "score": 0 }, { "body": "I know that these don't necessarily follow a general pattern, so it's worth\nmentioning a few more:\n\n * つまるところ・つまり - In other words/to sum up \n * 要するに・と - basically/what you're trying to say is \n * 必ずしも〜というわけではない - It is not necessarily the case that ~ \n * どちらにせ・何にしろ and all of the equivalent phrasings - Either way \n * あえて言えば - One could go so far as to say...", "comment_count": 0, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0", "creation_date": "2013-02-26T05:19:47.710", "id": "11337", "last_activity_date": "2013-02-26T05:19:47.710", "last_edit_date": null, "last_editor_user_id": null, "owner_user_id": "3131", "parent_id": "11303", "post_type": "answer", "score": 2 } ]

[ { "body": "Just like you say, 繋いでいく has a sense of progression, i.e. the process of\n\"connecting to tomorrow\" is intended to be continued (connecting tomorrow to\nthe day after tomorrow, etc.).\n\nThe counterpiece to ~ていく is ~てくる, meaning that something has been continued\nuntil now.\n\nSome phrases\n\n> 頑張ってきた \n> I have been giving my best (all this time).\n>\n> 楽しんでいこう \n> Let's have fun (from now onwards).\n\nI don't know of any English construction that would correspond well to this\nsense of progression from present into the future (～ていく) or from the past into\nthe present (～てきた）.", "comment_count": 2, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0", "creation_date": "2013-02-23T21:53:24.333", "id": "11309", "last_activity_date": "2013-02-23T21:53:24.333", "last_edit_date": null, "last_editor_user_id": null, "owner_user_id": "1628", "parent_id": "11307", "post_type": "answer", "score": 4 } ]

[ { "body": "全然悪い is the positive assertion that something is really bad. But by being a\npositive assertion, the construction falls under slang, at least for now.\n(@snailplane's link says that the use of 全然 was restricted to negative\nstatements only in the 昭和 20ies, i.e. around 1950.)\n\nSimilarly for your creations 全然無駄 and 全然絶望.\n\n全然悪い feels like 全然いい, that is \"slangy\", whereas 全然よくない and 全然悪くない sound like\n\"proper\" Japanese.\n\nIt appears that 全然だめ and 全然違う, albeit being strictly speaking \"positive\"\nstatements, are accepted exceptions, presumably, because 違う is a roundabout\nway of denying what is being said (and maybe だめ is a roundabout way of saying\nよくない).", "comment_count": 0, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0", "creation_date": "2013-02-23T22:12:04.490", "id": "11310", "last_activity_date": "2013-03-08T22:13:51.787", "last_edit_date": "2013-03-08T22:13:51.787", "last_editor_user_id": "1628", "owner_user_id": "1628", "parent_id": "11308", "post_type": "answer", "score": 3 }, { "body": "It is not correct to say 全然 is used only in the negative context.\n\nThere are many examples of affirmative usage of 全然:\n\n>\n> [自己]{じこ}の[主觀的空想]{しゅかんてきくうそう}を[消磨]{しょうま}し[盡]{つく}して[全然]{ぜんぜん}[物]{もの}と[一致]{いっち}したる[處]{ところ}に、[反つ]{かえっ}て[自己]{じこ}の[眞要求]{しんようきゅう}を[滿足]{まんぞく}し[眞]{しん}の[自己]{じこ}を[見]{み}る[事]{こと}ができるのである。\n>\n>\n> [快樂論者]{かいらくろんしゃ}の[いふ]{いう}[樣]{よう}に[人間]{にんげん}が[全然]{ぜんぜん}[自己]{じこ}の[快樂]{かいらく}を[求]{もと}めて[居]{い}ると[いふ]{いう}のは[頗]{すこぶ}る[穿]{うが}ち[得]{え}たる[眞理]{しんり}の[樣]{よう}であるが、[反つ]{かえっ}て[事實]{じじつ}に[遠ざかつ]{とおざかっ}たものである。\n>\n>\n> [氏]{し}に[從へ]{したがえ}ば[人性]{じんせい}は[全然]{ぜんぜん}[惡]{あく}[であつて]{であって}[弱肉強食]{じゃくにくきょうしょく}が[自然]{しぜん}の[状態]{じょうたい}である。\n>\n>\n> [唯]{ただ}[觀念成立]{かんねんせいりつ}の[先在的法則]{せんざいてきほうそく}の[範圍内]{はんいない}に[於]{おい}て、[而]{しか}も[觀念結合]{かんねんけつごう}に[二つ]{ふたつ}[以上]{いじょう}の[途]{みち}があり、[此等]{これら}の[結合]{けつごう}の[強度]{きょうど}が[強迫的]{きょうはくてき}ならざる[場合]{ばあい}に[於]{おい}てのみ、[全然]{ぜんぜん}[選擇]{せんたく}の[自由]{じゆう}を[有]{ゆう}するのである。\n> [心理學者]{しんりがくしゃ}は[内外]{ないがい}と[いふ]{いう}[樣]{よう}に[區別]{くべつ}をするが[意識現象]{いしきげんしょう}としては[全然]{ぜんぜん}[同一]{どういつ}の[性質]{せいしつ}を[具へ]{そなえ}て[居]{い}るのである。\n> [獨]{ひと}り[人間]{にんげん}に[於]{おい}て[純粹持續]{じゅんすいじぞく}は[全然]{ぜんぜん}[物質]{ぶっしつ}に[打]{う}ち[勝つ]{かっ}て[自由]{じゆう}の[域]{いき}に入ることができたのである。\n>\n> _from_ [西田]{にしだ}[幾多郎]{きたろう} 「ベルクソンの[純粹持續]{じゅんすいじぞく}」\n>\n> * * *\n>\n>\n> [何故]{なぜ}ならば、[若]{も}しも『[法]{ほう}』が[全]{また}く[伸縮]{しんしゅく}しない[固定的]{こていてき}なものであり、[又]{また}[之]{これ}を[運用]{うんよう}する[人間]{にんげん}が[之]{これ}を[全然]{ぜんぜん}[固定的]{こていてき}なものとして[取扱つ]{とりあつかっ}たとすれば、[世]{よ}の[中]{なか}の『[矛盾]{むじゅん}』した『[我儘勝手]{わがままかって}』な[人間]{にんげん}は[必]{かなら}ずや『[一體]{いったい}[法]{ほう}は[何]{なん}の[爲]{た}めに[存]{そん}するのか？』と[云]{ゆ}うて『[法]{ほう}』を[疑ふ]{うたがう}[でせう]{でしょう}。\n>\n> _from_ [末廣]{すえひろ}[嚴太郎]{いずたろう} 「[嘘]{うそ}の[効用]{こうよう}」\n>\n> * * *\n>\n>\n> [其]{そ}の[道中]{どうちゅう}の[宿場]{しゅくば}の[樣]{よう}に[なつて]{なって}、[假名]{かな}で[書]{か}いたものが[行は]{おこなわ}れるのであります。[中]{なか}に[全然]{ぜんぜん}[國語]{こくご}に[なつた]{なった}ものもある。\n>\n> _from_ [森]{もり}[林太郎]{りんたろう}([森]{もり}[鴎外]{おうがい})\n> 「[假名遣]{かなづかい}に[關]{かん}する[意見]{いけん}」\n>\n> * * *\n>\n>\n> [全然]{ぜんぜん}[自發的]{じはつてき}に、[即]{すなわ}ち[少]{すこ}しも[軍部]{ぐんぶ}や[官僚]{かんりょう}の[使嗾]{しそう}を[受]{う}けずに、[さう]{そう}した[小政黨]{しょうせいとう}を[形成]{けいせい}して[行つ]{おこなっ}た。\n>\n>\n> [又]{また}[或]{あ}る[事項]{じこう}は[全然]{ぜんぜん}[一定]{いってい}の[機關]{きかん}の[專決]{せんけつ}に[委]{ゆだ}ねられて[ゐ]{い}る。\n>\n>\n> [即]{すなわ}ちそれは[内縁]{ないえん}を[全然]{ぜんぜん}[婚姻]{こんいん}と[同等]{どうとう}[視]{し}し、[苟]{いやしく}も[同棲]{どうせい}・[家計共同]{かけいきょうどう}・[相互扶助]{そうごふじょ}・[子]{こ}の[共同養育]{きょうどうよういく}[等]{など}の[事實]{じじつ}あれば、[たとへ]{たとえ}[屆出]{とどけで}はなくとも[二人]{ふたり}は[法律上]{ほうりつじょう}の[夫婦]{ふうふ}となり、[夫婦]{ふうふ}としてのあらゆる[權利義務]{けんりぎむ}を[帶有]{たいゆう}するに[至]{いた}ると、[定]{たしか}めて[ゐ]{い}るのである。\n>\n> _from_ [栗生]{くりゅう}[武夫]{たけお} 「[一法學者]{いちほうがくしゃ}の[嘆息]{たんそく}」\n>\n> * * *\n>\n>\n> [乃]{すなわ}ち、[人類]{じんるい}はこの[滅亡]{めつぼう}を[免]{まぬが}れ、この[墮落]{だらく}から[回復]{かいふく}することの[爲]{た}めには、[一切]{いっさい}の[近代的]{きんだいてき}な[思想]{しそう}や、[傾向]{けいこう}や、[精神]{せいしん}を[捨]{す}てて、[全然]{ぜんぜん}[新]{あたら}しいもの、[謂は]{いわ}ば[超近代的]{ちょうきんだいてき}なものを[取]{と}らなければならぬ。\n>\n> _from_ [生田]{いくた}[長江]{ちょうこう} - 「[近代派]{きんだいは}」と「[超近代派]{ちょうきんだいは}」との[戰]{たたかい}\n\nNote that the furigana above are meant to aid the modern reader, they do not\nreflect the historical kana usage.", "comment_count": 0, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0", "creation_date": "2013-08-17T16:39:07.107", "id": "12571", "last_activity_date": "2013-08-18T16:04:22.333", "last_edit_date": "2013-08-18T16:04:22.333", "last_editor_user_id": "3849", "owner_user_id": "3849", "parent_id": "11308", "post_type": "answer", "score": 3 } ]

[ { "body": "I think the difference between 降参する and 諦める is the difference between \"to\nsurrender\" and \"to give up\".\n\nGiving up is more an emotional state of not having any hope left. Surrendering\nmeans that you \"put down your arms\", officially, but that doesn't necessarily\nmean you have given up hope.\n\nIn that sense, 降参する makes more sense in a formal context of two parties\nagainst one another, whereas 諦める can be used in all sorts of situations. E.g.\n\n> お金持ちになるのを諦めた。 \n> I've given up trying to get rich.\n>\n> おまえは完全に包囲されている。降参しろ。 \n> You have no way out! Surrender! (from SpaceALC)\n\nOne does not imply the other. You can surrender as a strategic move, without\nhaving given up. You can have given up (hope for life), and choose not to\nsurrender until you die.", "comment_count": 0, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0", "creation_date": "2013-02-24T12:37:52.140", "id": "11317", "last_activity_date": "2013-02-24T12:37:52.140", "last_edit_date": null, "last_editor_user_id": null, "owner_user_id": "1628", "parent_id": "11312", "post_type": "answer", "score": 6 } ]

[ { "body": "お…になる sounds more respectful than …れる to me. In particular, when used to ask\nfor the listener to do something in speech (for example at a restaurant),\nこちらでお待ちになってください is fine, but こちらで待たれてください sounds impolite (not respectful\nenough) to me. I do not know whether this difference is counted as “just the\ntone” or not.", "comment_count": 1, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0", "creation_date": "2013-02-24T16:57:33.270", "id": "11320", "last_activity_date": "2013-02-24T16:57:33.270", "last_edit_date": null, "last_editor_user_id": null, "owner_user_id": "15", "parent_id": "11313", "post_type": "answer", "score": 8 } ]

[ { "body": "Basically they mean the same thing except for when they don't. 拾う has [a lot\nof definitions](http://www.weblio.jp/content/%E6%8B%BE%E3%81%86) that\nsometimes do and sometimes don't have much to do with the \"pick up\"\ndefinition, as in the opposite of 捨てる. By adding the 上げる suffix to it you're\nlimiting the scope of the usage of the word and emphasizing or clarifying the\nmeaning with which it will be used. If you look at the [entry for\n拾い上げる](http://www.weblio.jp/content/%E6%8B%BE%E3%81%84%E4%B8%8A%E3%81%92%E3%82%8B)\nyou'll see that its usage is limited to the action of picking something up\nplus a few other metaphorical uses that stem from this basic action.", "comment_count": 1, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0", "creation_date": "2013-02-24T10:01:53.650", "id": "11316", "last_activity_date": "2013-02-24T10:01:53.650", "last_edit_date": null, "last_editor_user_id": null, "owner_user_id": "1797", "parent_id": "11315", "post_type": "answer", "score": 2 } ]

[ { "body": "There are no dictionary entries for 押し閉める (while there are for 押し開ける), but you\ncan find it used [on\nGoogle](https://www.google.com/search?q=%22%E6%8A%BC%E3%81%97%E9%96%89%E3%82%81%E3%82%8B%22)\nto some extent. There are [no entries for it on\nalc](http://eow.alc.co.jp/search?q=%E6%8A%BC%E3%81%97%E9%96%89%E3%82%81&ref=sa)\neither, though. If you use this term you will probably be understood with no\nproblem but it does't appear to be used very commonly.\n\nAs you've added 引き閉める I'll note that I can't find any usages of that, and that\nit will probably be confused with 引き締める.\n\nA note on suffixes in Japanese: while there are many words that you can mix\nand match to create unique meanings, a lot of them are only really used in\ncertain combinations and are basically established as words in their own right\nwith their own nuances and usage and everything. Mixing unconventionally may\nbe understandable but it won't always sound \"normal\"", "comment_count": 1, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0", "creation_date": "2013-02-25T00:42:16.067", "id": "11325", "last_activity_date": "2013-02-25T07:03:13.437", "last_edit_date": "2013-02-25T07:03:13.437", "last_editor_user_id": "1797", "owner_user_id": "1797", "parent_id": "11318", "post_type": "answer", "score": 0 }, { "body": "It's worth mentioning that 閉じる has a spatial nuance to it. When I studied\nJapanese as an undergraduate, we were taught to differentiate 閉める and 閉じる by\nthis nuance. For example:\n\n * プログラム、目、扉 ー ひらく、とじる\n * 瓶、パッケージ、ドア ー あける、しめる\n\nWhat we were taught is that if it involves opening something outward/to the\nside (and vice versa if it were being closed), like a book or your eyelids,\nyou use 開く・閉じる.\n\nNow this is not a hard and fast rule, but it is enough to illustrate the idea\nthat when you close a door with 閉じる, there is a nuance of **pulling it shut**.\nThe image for me is a double door or a sliding screen, which, when standing in\nthe doorway, must necessarily be pulled closed, and conveniently, in the case\nof the sliding screen, pulled open.\n\nThis might explain why there is no entry for 押し閉める, and why my IME doesn't\nrecognize it. There's no essential need for it.", "comment_count": 2, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0", "creation_date": "2013-02-26T05:32:02.423", "id": "11338", "last_activity_date": "2013-02-26T05:32:02.423", "last_edit_date": null, "last_editor_user_id": null, "owner_user_id": "3131", "parent_id": "11318", "post_type": "answer", "score": 2 } ]

[ { "body": "I cannot speak for Twitter, but I have had email exchanges with friends I know\nwell and with whom I haven't used 丁寧語 for years. Still, in email (or Skype)\ncorrespondences the other party had always seemed to try to balance out my\neither being too formal or too informal. I took it to mean that I hadn't\nstruck the right note for them.\n\nSo, for tweets(?) to a single person or a small group of people one partial\nsolution might be to use \"informal\" 丁寧語, i.e. write spoken 丁寧語 with 語尾,\ncontractions, etc. This may be preferable to 普通体, e.g.\n\n> めっちゃかんたんじゃないすか～ _instead of_ \n> めちゃくちゃかんたんだよね\n\nAlthough the first uses more slang, it also uses 丁寧語, which as far as I can\ntell, is felt to be less direct. (The staple for slangy 丁寧語 is です(よね), of\ncourse. It can go at the end of virtually any sentence.)\n\nIf it is obvious that you are addressing a large audience, I wouldn't worry so\nmuch about 丁寧語 (in the right context, of course). Many Japanese adverts use\ndirect language, slang and just about anything they can lay their hands on.\nAnd still, the サラリーマン may be their target audience. I would even go as far as\nsaying that many Japanese enjoy direct _language_ , as long as they don't have\nto worry about whether it was culturally appropriate. These cultural concerns\nare just not applicable to, say, copy that is just copy and not a personal\nletter. I would guess that this also carries over to Twitter to some extent.", "comment_count": 0, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0", "creation_date": "2013-02-25T03:29:35.280", "id": "11326", "last_activity_date": "2013-02-25T03:29:35.280", "last_edit_date": null, "last_editor_user_id": null, "owner_user_id": "1628", "parent_id": "11319", "post_type": "answer", "score": 3 }, { "body": "I would think that it is ultimately a matter of purpose and preference.\n\nTwitter is, after all, a microblogging service. Just like how features of\ninformal language (abbreviations, first-person pronouns, etc...) are expected\neven in English blogs, I would say that as far as I know, most Japanese people\non Twitter tweet in plain form even if they have many followers.\n\nEtiquette is linked to reputation and so naturally identifiable companies\nusing Twitter as a means of broadcasting information (Sony and Nintendo for\nexample) would normally use 丁寧語 to give a professional impression. This is\ndifferent from adverts which have the purpose of drawing in the audience and\nso usually 丁寧語 is not a must since there are more interesting ways to do so.\n\nFor individual users, however, preference would probably play the bigger role.\nBlogging is like talking to yourself in public, and it's up to you to decide\nwhether 'talking to yourself' (directed to no one in particular) or 'in\npublic' (still visible to others) is more crucial. For Twitter, I would think\nthat the former applies most of the time especially since there is a limit of\n140 characters (丁寧語 is longer) and how, as a microblog, the point is to tweet\nwhat you think without worrying so much about what others think.\n\nInternet and real life celebrities may have more to worry about with a larger\naudience, but it may be argued that the point of people following them on\nTwitter is to peek into their personal thoughts when they aren't making\nofficial announcements about their latest album, upcoming book, etc. and 丁寧語\nmay make it appear as if they are being (overly?) self-conscious. This may\nvary from person to person depending on age, gender, social status, etc. but I\nwould say that there is usually no pressure to use 丁寧語 over plain form and\nvice versa.\n\n> when I tweet to someone in 丁寧語 they tend to respond without it, but if I\n> tweet to someone with no 丁寧語 they tend to respond with it\n\nFor one-to-one conversations, it really depends on the relationship you wish\nto establish with the other party - casual and friendly (plain form) or formal\nand polite (丁寧語). In this case, the contrast could be to emphasise their\npreference in casual vs formal communication or, in the more unlikely case,\ndeliberate differentiation/divergence (distancing themselves from you).\n\nPersonally I use plain form for normal tweeting while I would use 丁寧語 or\n'slangy' 丁寧語 (as mentioned by user1205935) when tweeting someone for the first\ntime or for one-off interactions, just to be safe and not sound rude. But if\nin their immediate reply or after interacting for some time it progresses to\nplain form, then it may be a sign to do as the Romans do.", "comment_count": 0, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0", "creation_date": "2013-02-25T07:19:16.923", "id": "11328", "last_activity_date": "2013-02-25T07:19:16.923", "last_edit_date": null, "last_editor_user_id": null, "owner_user_id": "1791", "parent_id": "11319", "post_type": "answer", "score": 7 } ]

[ { "body": "I think that どうしてわかったのですか and どうしてわかるのですか correspond to “How did you know” and\n“How do you know” in the way you described.\n\nどうして知っていましたか and どうして知っていますか do not sound right, but I am not sure why.\n\nUnlike どうしてわかるのですか, どうして知っているのですか (Why do you have that knowledge?) implies\nthat the assertion is correct. どうして知っていたのですか (Why did you have that\nknowledge?) also implies that the assertion is correct, but in this case, the\nassertion was made in the past.", "comment_count": 0, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0", "creation_date": "2013-02-24T19:54:02.850", "id": "11322", "last_activity_date": "2013-02-24T19:54:02.850", "last_edit_date": null, "last_editor_user_id": null, "owner_user_id": "15", "parent_id": "11321", "post_type": "answer", "score": 8 } ]

[ { "body": "It's a contraction of 知っておった which is an archaic/dialectal version of 知っていた,\nwhich means \"knew\".", "comment_count": 1, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0", "creation_date": "2013-02-25T00:23:15.740", "id": "11324", "last_activity_date": "2013-02-25T00:23:15.740", "last_edit_date": null, "last_editor_user_id": null, "owner_user_id": "1073", "parent_id": "11323", "post_type": "answer", "score": 7 } ]

[ { "body": "According to [大辞林](http://www.weblio.jp/content/%E6%B0%B4%E6%AF%8D), 水母 and 海月\nare 熟字訓{じゅくじくん} ways of writing the same word. (See the angle brackets? Those\nindicate 熟字訓.)\n\n熟字訓{じゅくじくん} readings are a type of 当{あ}て[字]{じ}. They're \"word readings\", where\nan entire kanji compound is given a reading. (Usually, readings are given to\nsingle kanji.) As\n[Wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ateji#Related_concepts) explains,\nthese are _established_ word readings assigned to a group of kanji;\n_established_ means, more or less, that people commonly know how to read them.\nThis is the opposite of 義訓（ぎくん） readings, which are not established and\nusually require furigana to be read.\n\nHow is this relevant to your question? You asked about the difference between\n\"the two words for 'jellyfish'\". But they're the same word! It's just written\nmore than one way. (In fact, it's also been written 水月, 久羅下, and 鏡虫.)\n\nLook at [大辞林](http://www.weblio.jp/content/%E6%B0%B4%E6%AF%8D)'s entry again.\nIf they were different words, they'd have separate dictionary entries. If they\nwere the same word but had important differences, the dictionary would\nprobably make a note of that (as in the entry for\n[いとこ](http://www.weblio.jp/content/%E3%81%84%E3%81%A8%E3%81%93)), or divide it\ninto senses and show a particular kanji where the difference matters (as in\nthe entry for [つく](http://www.weblio.jp/content/%E3%81%A4%E3%81%8F)). In fact,\nI checked three other dictionaries, and not one mentioned a difference between\nthem.\n\nSo I don't believe there are any important differences. Even in the idiom\nlisted by 大辞林,\n「[水母{くらげ}の[骨]{ほね}](http://www.weblio.jp/content/%E6%B0%B4%E6%AF%8D%E3%81%AE%E9%AA%A8)」,\nit's easy to find it written online with the other kanji. Personally, I'm\ngoing to keep writing it クラゲ.", "comment_count": 1, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0", "creation_date": "2013-02-25T08:52:22.157", "id": "11329", "last_activity_date": "2013-08-01T07:35:46.500", "last_edit_date": "2013-08-01T07:35:46.500", "last_editor_user_id": null, "owner_user_id": null, "parent_id": "11327", "post_type": "answer", "score": 5 } ]

[ { "body": "`何 means what, どう means how and どんな what kind of...` and this is true. Though\na lot of translations will translate all 3 as \"what\". Even some dictionaries\ndefine/translate the 3 as \"what\". So the question, IIUC, is what is the\ndifferences between the 3 \"what\"s? @Jamal explained them very well.\n\nYou'll see どんな in the sentences that ask: \"What kind of watch is that?\" or\n\"What the heck is that thing?\".\n\nYou'll see 何 in sentences that ask: \"What is he doing?\" or \"What is that\nthing?\"\n\nNote: In the first example, the speaker is expressing surprise, disgust, or\nheightened curiosity. In the second example, the speaker is just asking a\nstraightforward question, ie. a plain inquiry.\n\nYou'll see どう in sentences like: \"How's the food?\" or \"How is he faring?\" or\n\"What's his prognosis?\".\n\nNote: \"What's his prognosis?\" can be reworded as \"How is his chances?\"\n\nI hope this helps with your understanding of the 3 words.", "comment_count": 0, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0", "creation_date": "2013-02-26T02:38:06.643", "id": "11331", "last_activity_date": "2013-02-26T02:38:06.643", "last_edit_date": null, "last_editor_user_id": null, "owner_user_id": "769", "parent_id": "11330", "post_type": "answer", "score": 0 }, { "body": "I assume you are already familiar with the \"1-to-1 mappings\" that @Jamal\nposted above. That's not all there is to it, though.\n\nYou can think of it as limits to areas that each question may address, if that\nhelps. For example, you can say 「何をすればいい？」 or 「どうすればいい？」, as their target\nareas overlap, but the second is, to my knowledge, a more common and natural\nconstruction for \"What should I do?\" For an emphatic statement, you can say\n「何をどうすればいいんだ？」\n\nEssentially, it doesn't matter what the apparent 1-to-1 mappings to English\nmay be, because the target area of a question word is more based on context,\nconstruction, and practice. Another example of overlap that breaks the 1-to-1\nmapping is どういう and 何, i.e., 「どういうわけか、彼は日々に変わっていった」 \"For some reason, he\nchanged as the days went by\" is equivalent to 「理由は何かわからないが、彼は日々に変わっていった」 \"I\ndon't know the reason, but...\", but the second is definitely a clunky phrasing\nthat would not pass muster in a submitted assignment.\n\nI tend to think of （こ・そ・あ・ど）んな as contractions of （ど）のような〜, as it emphasizes\nthe question of aspect in my mind. よう is occasionally written in kanji as 様,\nwhich strengthens the association with appearance or manner. It's a stilted\ntranslation, but \"What manner of [thing]?\" is a good way to highlight its wide\nrange. 「こんなことで私達が別れるなんて…」 \"[I never thought that] we would break up over\nsomething like this...\". The \"like this\" part is essentially contained within\nthe two words この[this] and よう[like]. 「そのとき、容疑者はどのような動きを？」\"At that point, what\nmanner of movement did the suspect perform?\"/\"At that moment, exactly how did\nthe suspect respond?\"\n\nThere are two ways to learn something like this that I know of. You can either\nget a Japanese grammar dictionary or collocation/phrase book, or read a heck\nof a lot of books/manga and watch TV. If you give it a solid year of heavy\nconsumption you should start to feel unconscious promptings about what is\n\"right\" in one situation or another.", "comment_count": 2, "content_license": "CC BY-SA 3.0", "creation_date": "2013-02-26T03:59:26.293", "id": "11335", "last_activity_date": "2013-02-26T03:59:26.293", "last_edit_date": null, "last_editor_user_id": null, "owner_user_id": "3131", "parent_id": "11330", "post_type": "answer", "score": 2 } ]