302 Answered Questions for the topic Japanese

03/29/19

the different usages of つもり?
Hi all I understand that つもり means "intention" like say 夏休みにはゆっくり休むつもりです。 = I intend to rest during the summer vacation. But what does 分かっているつもりだ。 means? Well if I translate directly, it seems to... more
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03/29/19

The difference between が and を with the potential form of a verb?
When using the potential form of a verb, I was taught that the particle を becomes が. However, in real life this seems to not always be the case. I've even heard Japanese people use を instead of が... more
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03/29/19

して行｛い｝かない versus しないで行｛い｝く?
Do they have the same meaning? > A: 宿｛しゅく｝題｛だい｝を**して行｛い｝かない**生｛せい｝徒｛と｝が多｛おお｝いです。 > B: 宿｛しゅく｝題｛だい｝を**しないで行｛い｝く**生｛せい｝徒｛と｝が多｛おお｝いです。
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03/29/19

How does one use the "[V ます stem] に [Vタ]" pattern (as in 待ちに待った)?
Every now and then I hear 待ちに待った, as in: > 待ちに待ったライブ a long-awaited concert I started wondering if this pattern can apply to other verbs, and it certainly seems to, if Google is any... more
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03/29/19

Can 「XければXほどY」 clause pattern be shortened to 「XほどY」?
There is a clause pattern 「XければXほどY」. For example, 「近【ちか】ければ近【ちか】いほど便【べん】利【り】」 which means something like "the nearer it is, the more convenient it will be". Can I shorten the clause to... more
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Japanese Grammar Suffixes

03/29/19

What is the usage of 〜げ and how does it differ from 〜そう or 〜っぽい?
How do these two differ, for example: 寂しそう vs 寂しげ 楽しそう vs 楽しげ 言いたそう vs 言いたげ 大人げ vs 大人っぽい（...？ Not sure if this one works.)
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Japanese Grammar

03/29/19

Meaning of 増える in this sentence?
In the following sentence: > 魚は三匹に増えていた。 I don't know whether to interpret に as **to** or **by**. So if I start with one fish then: > The number of fish increased **to** three (there are... more
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Japanese Grammar Meaning

03/29/19

Can I eat here?/ Is it ok to eat here? in Japanese?
I went to Japan and want to ask the food vendors whether I can eat in front of his shop. Basically, I want to say "Can I eat here? or Is it ok to eat here?" I know that >ここ = Here 食べる = Eat... more
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03/29/19

What's the difference between くる and やってくる?
Can someone explain the nuance between them? They both mean "come", but I'm unsure of when they are interchangeable. My perception is that `やってくる` seems to put more emphasis on the actual action of... more
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03/29/19

What are other language equivalents to Japanese particles?
When a person is learning は and が in terms of particles, what are the best way to relate them to English equivalents? The closest I can come to explaining them to others is "the" and "a" but I'm... more
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03/29/19

ないで vs なくて: combining phrases with negative verbs?
Can you use 〜なくて instead of 〜ないで in the following sentence without changing the meaning? > 病気になると、一切化学薬品や抗生物質を使わ**ないで**、鍼や指圧や漢方薬で直します。風邪の時は何もしないで暖かくして、寝ているだけです。 In general, what's the... more
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Japanese Grammar Plurals

03/29/19

Does 友達 have the plural marker たち "built-in"?
I cannot recall this very clearly so I'm sorry if this is all not correct but someone once told me that the word 友達{ともだち} has the plural marker たち "built-in" and therefore you cannot say 友達たち about... more
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Japanese Grammar Kanji

03/29/19

Meaning of 然 in conjunctions and other grammatical words?
Here are a few grammatical words that use 然 according to jisho.org: > * 然し（しかし） * however; but * 然して（そして） * and; and then; thus; and now; and finally * 然うして（そうして） * and; like that​ *... more
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03/29/19

Meaning of のだろう?
I'm not sure when should I use particle の in front of だろう/でしょう? Is のだろう used when the speaker wonders about something to himself? For example, what would be the translation of these... more
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03/28/19

Conjugated word + んだ vs nonconjugated word + conjugated んだ?
Suppose I have a verb/adjective/noun, let's say 無理, and I add (な)んだ to it as an explanatory sentence-ending particle. What would be the difference in nuance between the following two conjugated... more
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03/27/19

て versus combining-form for joining clauses?
Is there a difference between these two sentences > 昨日はビールを飲んでパイを食べました。 > > 昨日はビールを飲みパイを食べました。 More generally, when should I choose one form over the other? Thanks.
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Japanese Grammar

03/27/19

Using により to specify method?
Here are two examples: > [電話]{でんわ}による[通報]{つうほう} // Fine > 電話により通報する // Okay? I feel like using `により` is strange in my second example, but I'm not sure. Is the second example perfectly fine... more
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03/27/19

Two を in a single sentence - how to understand it?
In the book I'm reading (「キッチン」 by 吉本{よしもと}ばなな) I have found the following sentence: > うしろで雄一がぞうきんを手に床をふいてくれていた。 I guess it can be translated to something like (sorry for a quite literal... more
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Japanese Grammar

03/27/19

Is a palindrome a thing?
A palindrome is a word or phrase that is the same backwards and forwards, such as "Bob", "aibohphobia" or "A man, a plan, a canal: Panama." In English, as well as many other languages, this is a... more
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Japanese Grammar

03/27/19

Difference between にかんして and について?
What is the difference between にかんして and について? Example usage would be much appreciated!
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03/27/19

Difference between そうです、 ようです and らしいです.?
Here are the example sentences. デイビットは料理が上手そうです。 デイビットは料理が上手なようです。 デイビットは料理が上手らしいです。 Firstly, what does デイビット mean as based on reading alone its sounds like 'debit' to me which is a strange... more
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Japanese Grammar Expressions

03/27/19

What does 窓という窓 mean?
What does 窓という窓 mean? I found it in this sentence in Harry Potter: > 木の扉に寄りかかってホグワーツを見上げると、窓という窓が夕日に照らされて赤くキラキラ輝いている。
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Japanese Grammar

03/27/19

Can someone explain the logic of the grammar "とは限らない"?
I found this example sentence in "A Dictionary of Intermediate Japanese Grammar" under a grammar point unrelated to "とは限らない": "運動をよくする人が必ずしも長生きするとは限らない。" I understand the meaning of the sentence... more
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Japanese Grammar Nuances

03/26/19

Difference between volitional +と思う and volitional+ と思っている?
I've looked around the site for anything related but i couldn't find any clues. My take at it is that using the volitional form with と思う you're expressing your plans in the near future as in... more
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03/26/19

Standard mathematical operations, expressed in Japanese?
First-time poster on this channel, so please forgive me if I screw anything up... I'm currently writing a "Japanese Calculator" program as part of a personal project I'm working on which takes... more
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