302 Answered Questions for the topic Japanese

06/18/19

What is the significance of a large く character in literary texts?
I am currently reading an early story by Tanizaki Junichiro in Japanese. I have come across both the hiragana く　and ぐ written twice the size they usually are, taking up the same amount of space on... more
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Japanese Grammar Readings

06/18/19

Reading (and usage) of 他: when is it 【た】, when is it 【ほか】?
他 is one of these common words that still to this day confuses me... My general assumption is that: * used as a prefix, it should always be read 【た】, e.g.: 他人【たにん】 * when treated as a... more
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06/18/19

What is the こと in sentences such as あなたのことが好きだ?
*There were a lot of great answers here. I gave the checkmark to ento's answer because I felt it most completely explained all aspects of this use of こと. But many of the other answers are... more
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06/18/19

What's the difference between でしょうか and ですか at the end of a question?
I am having a little trouble understanding the nuance of でしょうか in comparison to ですか. People say it makes it more hesitant and polite, but that doesn't explain the nuance enough for me. Why would... more
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Japanese Grammar

06/17/19

How do ことになる and ようになる differ? (When ことになる cannot = "It has been decided that")?
I understand that ことになる has the meaning "It has been decided that" and can be used to point to a ritual or habit of a society like taking off your shoes. However, I don't get what it means when it... more
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Japanese Grammar Nuances

06/16/19

にしても and としても, is there a difference?
にしても and としても...Don't they both have a meaning of "even if"? Is there any subtle difference between these two forms?
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Japanese Grammar Translation

06/16/19

How do I say "He already went to do X for me", implying he is still in the process of X, not finished?
The other day at some festival a few japanese friends asked me something to the effect of アイスを買ってくるけど、行く？ But I had already asked a friend, who had not yet returned, to get some for me. So I... more
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06/15/19

Differences among -たら、なら、-んだったら、-えば, etc?
Japanese language has a lot of patterns for "if" clauses. What are the differences among the following patterns and how do we choose to use one over the others?: - 行くと - 行ったら - 行くなら - 行けば -... more
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Japanese

06/15/19

Origin of ~なければ ならない?
The expression ~なければ ならない if I learned correctly means "must not not do ..." as in: 日本語を勉強しなければなりません。 You must not not learn Japanese. (i.e. you need to learn Japanese) However, taken on face... more
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06/15/19

What is the nuance when は directly follows a verb in plain form?
It seems like this is a remnant of (or reference to) older forms of Japanese. Is that all there is to it, or does it have special meaning? Examples from... more
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Japanese

06/14/19

Questions with ~か or without: how to choose?
Studying Japanese on my own, I've learned that in order to make a question, you usually add the particle "~か", like this: > 今何時ですか。 It's also true that a question can be asked without it,... more
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Japanese Grammar Orthography

06/11/19

Why are equal signs used to substitute an English hyphen?
I was reading an article about Idlib and the groups that were there on Wikipedia, and hovered to the language setting to gloss at the title translations. For Japanese, I saw something unusual in... more
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06/10/19

When is と added to onomatopoeia?
While at first I believed it was simply bound to each individual word, I've noticed that the same onomatopoeic word sometimes has と after it and sometimes it doesn't. Here's a case I stumbled... more
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Japanese Grammar

06/10/19

The meanings of ものだ?
Could someone please explain to me the different meanings that ものだ can have at the end of a sentence ? Here are some examples I understand the general meaning of, but I don't understand the... more
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06/10/19

ち suffix I've never heard of before?
Ok, so I've been reading よつばと recently, and I've been seeing a suffix coming up that I cannot seem to find a meaning for. It's not in any dictionary, and I'm not sure if it's a name suffix, or some... more
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Japanese Grammar

06/10/19

What's the difference between 〜以上は and 〜からには?
The textbook I'm currently using defines both of these grammar points as: 〜のだから、絶対にする／しないのが当然だ What is the difference between the two grammar points, can they be used interchangeably like the... more
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Japanese Grammar Meaning Words

06/10/19

What is "koto" used for?
I know "koto" means thing, but I've seen it used like this in my Self-Study Japanese book: *Nihon no koto ga yoku wakarimasu ka.* and *Chiimu no koto o kangaete imashita.* Does this mean... more
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Japanese Grammar

06/10/19

The difference between くらい and ほど in hyperbole?
The following two sentences, I believe, are grammatically okay, however I'm not sure on how they differ in nuance. もう歩けないほど疲れた！ (もうあるけないほどつかれた) もう歩けないくらい疲れた！ (もうあるけないくらいつかれた) Additionally, why... more
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06/10/19

When choose の/こと or というの/ということ?
I'm studying nominalizers and don't understand when to use の/こと and when to use というの/ということ. For example, in the sentence: > こんなによく[遅刻]{ちこく}をするというのは[問題]{もんだい}ですよ。 Could I say: >... more
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06/10/19

When the agent takes を in the causative form?
I've seen a few sets of terminology when referring to the causative form, so for the basic case, I will use the following: `instigator が agent に 〇〇 を ｖ－させる。` In its most basic, text-book form, we... more
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Japanese

06/10/19

ことができる versus V~える form?
Way back in the day when I was first learning Japanese, I learned that you could add `ことができる` to a verb to indicate potential. Like so: > 食{た}べることができる > > *(I) can eat (something)* It... more
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Japanese Grammar Particles

06/10/19

I think that she thinks that I think she is dumb?
Just trying have some fun with Japanese grammar, but the sentence in the title has me stumped. I just don't understand Japanese particles enough to even know where to begin. Here is my best attempt... more
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Japanese Grammar て Form

06/09/19

What's the meaning of 〜ておきます?
What exactly does 〜ておきます mean in this context? 旅行{りょこう}する前{まえ}にホテルを予約{よやく}**しておきます**。 Is this trying to say something like "Before traveling, reserve a room". Is this a suggestion? An order? (If... more
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Japanese Grammar Word Choice

06/09/19

What is the proper use of だろう, is it "masculine", and how is it different from と思 【おも】う?
Like a lot of foreign guys, some Japanese I picked up from imitating the women I spoke to. Certain affectations made me sound unwittingly effeminate in the early days when I had less grasp on the... more
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06/09/19

Are there cases when two or more particles will occur next to each other without intervening lexical words?
Most particles seem to be postpositions but I'm sure I've seen say a noun followed by a location particle followed by "wa" or "ga" or possibly "wo" but when I've tried to use it I've only confused... more
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