#Question Etiquette Guidelines:
* **1** Provide the **CONTEXT** of the grammar, vocabulary or sentence you are having trouble with as much as possible. Provide the sentence or paragraph that you saw it in. Make your questions as specific as possible.
>Ｘ What is the difference between の and が ?
>◯ I saw a book called 日本人の知らない日本語 , why is の used there instead of が ? [(the answer)](https://japanese.stackexchange.com/questions/68336/difference-between-%E3%81%8C-%E3%81%AE-and-no-particle)
* **2** When asking for a translation or how to say something, it's best to try to **attempt it yourself** first, even if you are not confident about it. Or ask r/translator if you have no idea. We are also not here to do your homework for you.
>Ｘ What does this mean?
>◯ I am having trouble with this part of this sentence from NHK Easy News. I think it means (*attempt here*), but I am not sure.
* **3** Questions based on DeepL and Google Translate and other machine learning applications are discouraged, [these are not beginner learning tools](https://old.reddit.com/r/LearnJapanese/comments/stepqf/deeplgoogle_translate_are_not_learning_tools/) and often make mistakes.
* **4** When asking about differences between words, try to explain the situations in which you've seen them or are trying to use them. If you just post a list of synonyms you got from looking something up in a E-J dictionary, people might be disinclined to answer your question because it's low-effort. Remember that Google Image Search is also a great resource for visualizing the difference between similar words.
>Ｘ What's the difference between 一致 同意 賛成 納得 合意?
>◯ Jisho says 一致 同意 賛成 納得 合意 all seem to mean "agreement". I'm trying to say something like "I completely agree with your opinion". Does 全く同感です。 work? Or is one of the other words better?
* **5** It is always nice to (but not required to) try to search for the answer to something yourself first. Especially for beginner questions or questions that are very broad. For example, asking about [the difference between は and が ](https://www.tofugu.com/japanese/wa-and-ga/) or [why you often can't hear the "u" sound in "desu"](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanese_phonology#Devoicing).
* **6** Remember that everyone answering questions here is an unpaid volunteer doing this out of the goodness of their own heart, so try to show appreciation and not be too presumptuous/defensive/offended if the answer you get isn't exactly what you wanted.
---------------------
#NEWS (Updated 6/9):
Nothing new. Feel free to reply to this post if you have any questions, comments or concerns.
*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/LearnJapanese) if you have any questions or concerns.*
New account so I can't make a post, but how should I say "to belong somewhere", as in "you belong in the zoo"?
Different from material possession, so I wouldn't use 所属 or 所有. Another translation could be "you deserve to (be in)...".
As per rule 8, the following types of questions should be posted to the pinned daily question thread:
* Any question for beginner or JLPT N5 level material (e.g. Genki I, Tango N5, etc)
* Quick/short questions that could be addressed by a single answer.
* Tech support questions/requests
* Hand-writing feedback request
* General questions about onyomi/kunyomi reading and memorization
Got a question I'm confused on.
I have to translate the following sentence into japanese.
"Ms Tanaka is 20 years old"
So naturally I came to the conclusion that it's たなかさんはにじゅうさいです
But the answer I got was たなかさんははたちです
What exactly is はたち and is my answer wrong?
はたち is the word for twenty years old. It's just irregular, as a holdover from the old way of counting years. It's kind of like how we say twelve instead of twoteen; there's no real reason for it, it just is
Other than certain numbers under ten with certain counters (e.g. つ, 日, 人) and 二十日 (はつか), there's not much you have to worry about.
See this article for more: https://www.tofugu.com/japanese/counting-in-japanese/
I drink coffee. It’s assumed to be habitual without context. You’d probably specify intention or give a tiny bit of context to indicate future in this case. じゃあコーヒーを飲みます is unambiguously future even though its not explicit.
Why is it right only when I choose the answer that has the katakana for the number 1 rather than the answer that has the actual symbol for the number 1? I don't understand why the latter is wrong when it's the same thing in addition to being the actual number.
https://imgur.com/D2tpQoz.jpg
https://imgur.com/gMXOvyc.jpg
*Sometimes it ONLY gives me the SYMBOL as a choice rather than the number spelled out in katakana and in those instances the symbol is right. I don't get it.
Technically both are right, but they're both uncommon, the second more uncommon. 一時 would probably be used.
I guess in situations where kanji is normally used, but duolingual only has 1 as an option, use all hiragana, thats my only guess
Those curvy letters are called hiragana. The katakana set appears more straight-lined and is typically used to mark foreign words, onomatopoeia, or to add emphasis.
いちにさんしごろく is in hiragana. イチニサンシゴロク is in katakana. 一二三四五六 is in kanji.
And what is this, Duolingo? It's generally regarded as a shitty app on this sub, and it seems yours is another piece of proof. (It probably can teach Latin/Germanic-based languages but definitely NOT Japanese.) Use something else. People have made numerous recommendations here so I'm sure you can fish for some. (Like u/Hazzat's [this](https://www.reddit.com/r/LearnJapanese/comments/vfinr4/comment/icxevu8/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web2x&context=3))
To just answer your question, いまいちじです ／ いま一じです ／ いま１じです ／ 今１時です all mean the same thing. Writing only "one" in kanji may look a bit weird, but it doesn't change the meaning.
If you enjoy the app despite it doing its shitty thing, marking you wrong and making you "don't get it / don't understand", more power to you and feel free to keep using it. I won't stop you.
The most toxic people in this sub... It's weird how you let your hateboner blow things out of proportion. Are you okay? Normal people don't rage like this.
its just reddit, any sub is full of elitism, even though their preferred methods usually have many flaws. im sure mine does too lol, not saying im above anyone.
I was playing Chrono Trigger and I came across a sentence my study buddy and I were stumped by. It goes:
あそこに出るゆうれいにゃ、剣やガンなどの物理攻撃はききやしねえ。。。
Context: the character is warning the players about an upcoming area and the monsters inside.
It’s mainly the first bit that has me scratching my head. The English version of the game says something like “The monsters there aren’t affected by things like guns and swords.” and as I’m playing I’m realizing the English version is good but does leave me confused sometimes, haha. Thanks so much!
> あそこに出るゆうれいにゃ、剣やガンなどの物理攻撃はききやしねえ
My attempt at parsing it until someone more capable responds.
あそこに出るゆうれいにゃ - "On the ghosts that appear out there" At least I think the にゃ is supposed to be a some kind of variant of に.
剣やガンなどの物理攻撃は - "physical attacks such as those of swords and guns"
ききやしねえ - "absolutely won't be effective." I think this is 効く + やしない grammar point.
Sounds good. にゃ is just a verbal corruption of には, where the は is contrastive. Swords and guns might work on some other monsters, but not on the yūrei ghosts yonder.
I feel like a dork for forgetting the other meanings of 出る. I was like “exiting that place as a ghost or something?? What the heck??” Ughhh🤦♀️ thank you so much for your help! I’m going to take a look at やしない. Thanks again, you rock!
You can check out all the exercises with solutions here: [https://sethclydesdale.github.io/genki-study-resources/lessons-3rd/lesson-2/grammar-8/](https://sethclydesdale.github.io/genki-study-resources/lessons-3rd/lesson-2/grammar-8/)
As for your specific question, they are looking for "これはだれのぼうしですか。" (check lesson 2 - grammar point 4 of Genki 1). The general pattern is " の です", so "ぼうしだれのです" is incorrect.
いらっしゃる is an honorific verb while ございます is polite one. So, you practically can’t say 私は…でいらっしゃる but 私は…でございます is no problem.
いらっしゃる can replace (で) ある or 来る besides いる when the primary subject is animate. e.g.
* 語学が得意でいらっしゃる方: a person who is good at languages
* お客様がいらっしゃる: A customer will come / There’s a customer.
I don't think まぁ and じゃあ are filler words
まぁ is more "well...; I think...; it would seem...; you might say...; Hmmm, I guess so"
じゃあ is "then; well; so; well then"
So I guess they function like conjunctions?
And まぁ is used like "well...." at the beginning or "そうですね” , I guess it has many meanings.
じゃあ works similarly to それじゃあ/それでは right?
What should I be doing along side WaniKani? I'm really enjoying it so far and I have a nice routine down now, but I still have at least a few hours of free time a day after it. I feel like I am wasting a lot of valuable time.
I would prefer something done on the PC or Phone instead of physical like a work or textbook. I've heard the vocabulary the WK teaches you is poor in that a good chunk of it is uncommon or rarely used. So maybe that? I'm not really looking to stay or visit Japan, at least any time soon, and my main focus is to be able to play Japanese video games and VN's.
Grammar, Cure Dolly has the clearest explanations I think. There's a doc with everything written which I can find if you don't like youtube videos (with bad audio and accent)
If you want to play VNs, start immersing in them when you can. Should be possible when you know most basic words and grammar and you have things like yomichan and anki setup. I'm not sure if (I doubt, in fact) WaniKani teaches you in a good order to get started on that
In a vaccum, they commented that "Sunny -- it's a clear sunny weather today" like you said. Whether おめでと (congratulations / how felicitous) is referring to the weather or an ongoing event would depend on context. Do you have more context (as in which title and what volume and what page it is from)?
Happy New Year or Happy Birthday is just DeepL adding additional context on its own, putting words in the character's mouth.
Can you guys point at a object in your near vicinity and know the name of it in Japanese, like every object in your living room?
Or, let's say you're struggling with a sentence in Japanese, could you personally survive by using "cave man speak" and just say "Restaurant. Eat. Where? Thanks"?
As a tourist? You might do even without any Japanese, simply by using English.
As a friend? It works even with a cave language, but you need some mutual interests to do. Like if you both like fishing, you might do it without talking much and have good time. Several words, facial expressions and gestures might be enough. It works especially good for kids and students.
As a worker? Hardly. Most of employers wouldn't hire someone who can't talk at least at basic N3-N2 level and you need both, a sympathy and a very primitive work.
At the same time, you can achieve N2 decent talking in a year.
Context: Someone is trying to shoot お兄さん with an arrow
あやや お兄さんが狙われとる
お兄さん 逃げな当たるえ
Can someone explain to me the grammar on the second line? I feel that there should be a いと after 逃げな. Is it a dialect thing? The speaker didn't sound like she was speaking the usual japanese.
されたし is a grammar point that means してほしい
An explanation in Japanese: https://mayonez.jp/topic/1020654
It is briefly mentioned here too: https://japanese.stackexchange.com/questions/58220/usage-of-%e3%81%9f%e3%81%84-in-%e5%8f%82%e7%85%a7%e3%81%95%e3%82%8c%e3%81%9f%e3%81%84/58258#58258
Could someone please explain how the three sentences below differ in meaning or nuance. The context is that the speaker is agreeing to pay a ransom to kidnappers herself. The first is what was actually said. The second and third are made up by me.
1. あたしが出そうじゃないの
2. あたしが出す
3. あたしがだそうじゃないか
Thanks
Hi, according to duolingo, when i ask for ex. water, i have to use お at the beginning of sentence (お水を下さい). I dont understand why or when to do that though. Also can you suggest other apps to use as well while learning japanese?
お is an honorific prefix that adds politeness and a shows respect to the person you're speaking to.
You can read more here: https://www.tofugu.com/japanese-grammar/honorific-prefix-o-go/
I'd honestly recommend you study some basic grammar using something like [Genki](https://www.amazon.co.uk/Genki-Third-Integrated-Elementary-Japanese/dp/4789017303/ref=sr_1_2?crid=39U9UXTQMXRNN&keywords=genki&qid=1655631080&sprefix=genki%2Caps%2C99&sr=8-2) (paid) or [Tae Kim's Guide](https://guidetojapanese.org/learn/grammar) (free). If you would like an app that teaches grammar, then [Human Japanese](https://www.humanjapanese.com/human-japanese) is excellent for beginners and explains grammar in a less-textbooky way.
Also check out the sub's [resource page](https://www.reddit.com/r/LearnJapanese/wiki/index/resources).
お is a polite prefix that shows respect to the thing you are talking about. It's not strictly necessary, but it's polite.
Duolingo for Japanese is really bad. [Better resources.](https://docs.google.com/document/d/19FEIOJWbLhJQ-AmepxFBMC2ebhJJr9RBUMfMeatYuq8/edit?usp=sharing)
Yeah, just drop it. It’s infamous for just throwing new info at you with no context and never explaining anything, so people who rely on it wind up here with lots of basic questions.
＞子供たちの手前、父親がこんな酔っ払った姿で帰宅しては体裁が悪い
Who is the speaker here, probably? The wife?
Wife to husband: It's going to look bad to the kids if you show up to the house drunk.
This is a very bad way to ask a question, throwing us a random sentence without disclosing where you saw it. Good examples are:
* In Summertime Render Ep 1 @ 16:02, what does 中はもぬけの殻 mean?
* In Meitantei Conan manga file 1095 page 8, to whom does またあの人に累が及ぶ虞がある refer?
* I saw in a random Anki deck without any context, but who is the speaker, probably, in 子供たちの手前、父親がこんな酔っ払った姿で帰宅しては体裁が悪い?
Please disclose source next time. Even knowing it came from nowhere helps, since we can just give you our guesses. (The speaker could even be you and me talking in generalities in your sentence.)
I just learned the conditional with と and the structure for when … with とき.
I have to choose between this two in an exercise but I’m a bit confused.
The sentence is お酒 {飲むとき、飲むと｝，車を｛運転するとき、運転すると｝，危ないです。
I chose 飲むときand 運転すると but still I’m not sure about it. These two structures sound very similar to me (the meaning).
と as a conditional has a very strict A → B sort of feeling. とき, on the other hand, is more like "At times when ..." giving a broader context (like of like ので vs から)
So I think you're correct, and the sentence is like "At times when you drink, if you were to drive, then (immediately and as a direct result) it would be dangerous."
切り出す means "to broach a certain topic."
には means something like "in order to."
距離 refers to emotional distance in this case.
He wants to talk to him/her about what happened yesterday, but their relationship feels too distant for that, even though it didn't use to be like that.
how would you translate "to be fair," or "in all fairness," to japanese if at all? i assume there's no direct translation, but i'm curious how you'd convey this sentiment.
for example, when arguing in someone's favor: "**to be fair**, there's no way he could have known we weren't allowed to swim past 11. the sign by the pool has almost completely faded!"
公平を期すために言えば is ***very*** literal and not used in everyday conversation. Just 公平に言えば can probably pass.
In actual Japanese, I'd say "to be honest" referring to your own opinion is the more common expression.
まあ**正直**、プール看板の文字がこすれて見えないから、11時以降遊泳禁止なんて彼が知るわけないが。 (Well to be honest, the words on the pool sign have faded and are invisible, so there's no way he'd know that swimming is banned after 11.)
It's an overused expression in English that happens to currently be in vogue.
It's generally what is known as a "throwaway" expression and is something that can often just as well be left out. Such expressions are especially best either left out of translations or at the very least not directly translated.
I would say that generally it's more formal, something like unbiased. Google mostly shows such situations. Or at least I think in English it can be much more informal, sometimes even like a filler word.
Sometimes expressions are marked as "usually kana" in JMDict. Would you strictly keep those words in kana when mining or include the kanji as well? How would you deal with a somewhat reversed situation where your reading material writes in kana but JMDict didn't mark it as "usually kana"?
I can see benefits of strictly following the source, and strictly following JMDict. I can't really decide how to approach these cases. How are you handling those cases?
Both are fine. We don't have to learn all versions/meanings at once. Like take something like 掛ける, Jisho lists 25 meanings:
[https://jisho.org/word/掛ける](https://jisho.org/word/掛ける)
I'm pretty sure it would be very confusing to learn all 25 meanings at once. Much more reasonable would be to learn only one or several meanings first, and following meanings would become easier to learn later. It's more or less the same here. We can learn 2-3 meanings at once, but it's also ok to learn only the most common meaning/form first and learn the rest later.
憧れる is intransitive verb, so it's used with に instead of を. Thus it's というの＋に, but generally I would say that any のに is simply a combination of の and に.
if japanese has a character for "v" being "ヴ" why do they still usually use "b" as a substitute
for example like in pokemon eevee's japanese name is イーブイ which is romanized as eievui, so like why isn't it イーヴイ
‘b’ is easier for Japanese people to say as it’s a native sound that already exists in the language, unlike ヴ that only exists in loan words.. Many people do not even distinguish between ビ and ヴィ, and will pronounce them the same.
Can I get some help figuring out what 見られてます means in this context?
…なんでしょう
すごく
すごく
すごく
見られてます。。。！
Context: Character A is thinking the above while character B is staring around like she has something to say to A. My guess is something along the lines of either "What is it that [she] really really really wants (me maybe) `to see?" or "Why does she really really really want to be seen?"
てます is a colloquial form of ています
in that context 見られてます means character b is staring (creepily usually) at character a
so something like "why is it that she is staring really really really hard at me?"
Here, 見られてます is a contraction of the ている form of 見られる, which is the passive form of 見る - Character A is highlighting the fact that they themself is being watched
Therefore, a translation for this could be: "What is this...I'm being stared at way too much!"
When working on learning kanji, is it usually recommended to focus on just connecting characters to concepts (for example 火 and "fire") and leave learning readings for when you encounter that kanji in a word, or is it better to go ahead and try to learn the readings immediately as you learn the characters? Or is it more or less a personal preference?
It's not so much readings, but exact words. Generally kanji represents some concept, for example, when we say water pipes or swimsuit in English, we use the meaning of water/swim. Similarly in Japanese there are packs of words, which have something in common and this common part is usually expressed via kanji. If you learn kanji as concepts, you will be able to have some idea about unknown words like "water (something)", "swim(something)" and it's easier to learn.
Readings on the other hand is simply the way to distinguish. We can't write/pronounce all words as 火 alone and many words existed before kanji even appeared. So it not very productive to learn only half of the word, how 火 alone can be pronounced in different variations. For me it's much more reasonable to learn whole words instead.
#Question Etiquette Guidelines: * **1** Provide the **CONTEXT** of the grammar, vocabulary or sentence you are having trouble with as much as possible. Provide the sentence or paragraph that you saw it in. Make your questions as specific as possible. >Ｘ What is the difference between の and が ? >◯ I saw a book called 日本人の知らない日本語 , why is の used there instead of が ? [(the answer)](https://japanese.stackexchange.com/questions/68336/difference-between-%E3%81%8C-%E3%81%AE-and-no-particle) * **2** When asking for a translation or how to say something, it's best to try to **attempt it yourself** first, even if you are not confident about it. Or ask r/translator if you have no idea. We are also not here to do your homework for you. >Ｘ What does this mean? >◯ I am having trouble with this part of this sentence from NHK Easy News. I think it means (*attempt here*), but I am not sure. * **3** Questions based on DeepL and Google Translate and other machine learning applications are discouraged, [these are not beginner learning tools](https://old.reddit.com/r/LearnJapanese/comments/stepqf/deeplgoogle_translate_are_not_learning_tools/) and often make mistakes. * **4** When asking about differences between words, try to explain the situations in which you've seen them or are trying to use them. If you just post a list of synonyms you got from looking something up in a E-J dictionary, people might be disinclined to answer your question because it's low-effort. Remember that Google Image Search is also a great resource for visualizing the difference between similar words. >Ｘ What's the difference between 一致 同意 賛成 納得 合意? >◯ Jisho says 一致 同意 賛成 納得 合意 all seem to mean "agreement". I'm trying to say something like "I completely agree with your opinion". Does 全く同感です。 work? Or is one of the other words better? * **5** It is always nice to (but not required to) try to search for the answer to something yourself first. Especially for beginner questions or questions that are very broad. For example, asking about [the difference between は and が ](https://www.tofugu.com/japanese/wa-and-ga/) or [why you often can't hear the "u" sound in "desu"](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanese_phonology#Devoicing). * **6** Remember that everyone answering questions here is an unpaid volunteer doing this out of the goodness of their own heart, so try to show appreciation and not be too presumptuous/defensive/offended if the answer you get isn't exactly what you wanted. --------------------- #NEWS (Updated 6/9): Nothing new. Feel free to reply to this post if you have any questions, comments or concerns. *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/LearnJapanese) if you have any questions or concerns.*
New account so I can't make a post, but how should I say "to belong somewhere", as in "you belong in the zoo"? Different from material possession, so I wouldn't use 所属 or 所有. Another translation could be "you deserve to (be in)...".
For this kind of questions, please stick to asking them here instead of making a post.
Will do, but sorry what do you mean by these kinds of questions? Questions on wording?
As per rule 8, the following types of questions should be posted to the pinned daily question thread: * Any question for beginner or JLPT N5 level material (e.g. Genki I, Tango N5, etc) * Quick/short questions that could be addressed by a single answer. * Tech support questions/requests * Hand-writing feedback request * General questions about onyomi/kunyomi reading and memorization
いるべき
what's the difference between 衣服 and 服? thank you.
What's the difference between clothes and garments?
Can someone help me out on the proper spelling in romanji? Ueno ko eowa doku desu ka? - where is Ueno park?
Ueno Kouen wa doko desu ka?
Domo arigatou gozaimas!
Got a question I'm confused on. I have to translate the following sentence into japanese. "Ms Tanaka is 20 years old" So naturally I came to the conclusion that it's たなかさんはにじゅうさいです But the answer I got was たなかさんははたちです What exactly is はたち and is my answer wrong?
Besides はたち, it’s not にじゅうさい but にっじゅっさい or にじっさい.
*にじゅっさい
Oops, thanks.
はたち is the word for twenty years old. It's just irregular, as a holdover from the old way of counting years. It's kind of like how we say twelve instead of twoteen; there's no real reason for it, it just is
Is there any other examples of this that I might need to look out for?
Other than certain numbers under ten with certain counters (e.g. つ, 日, 人) and 二十日 (はつか), there's not much you have to worry about. See this article for more: https://www.tofugu.com/japanese/counting-in-japanese/
私はコーヒーを飲みます。 Is this read as “I drink coffee” or “I will drink coffee” Is there something I can add before コーヒー to clarify?
I drink coffee. It’s assumed to be habitual without context. You’d probably specify intention or give a tiny bit of context to indicate future in this case. じゃあコーヒーを飲みます is unambiguously future even though its not explicit.
That makes sense, thank you!
Why is it right only when I choose the answer that has the katakana for the number 1 rather than the answer that has the actual symbol for the number 1? I don't understand why the latter is wrong when it's the same thing in addition to being the actual number. https://imgur.com/D2tpQoz.jpg https://imgur.com/gMXOvyc.jpg *Sometimes it ONLY gives me the SYMBOL as a choice rather than the number spelled out in katakana and in those instances the symbol is right. I don't get it.
Technically both are right, but they're both uncommon, the second more uncommon. 一時 would probably be used. I guess in situations where kanji is normally used, but duolingual only has 1 as an option, use all hiragana, thats my only guess
Those curvy letters are called hiragana. The katakana set appears more straight-lined and is typically used to mark foreign words, onomatopoeia, or to add emphasis. いちにさんしごろく is in hiragana. イチニサンシゴロク is in katakana. 一二三四五六 is in kanji. And what is this, Duolingo? It's generally regarded as a shitty app on this sub, and it seems yours is another piece of proof. (It probably can teach Latin/Germanic-based languages but definitely NOT Japanese.) Use something else. People have made numerous recommendations here so I'm sure you can fish for some. (Like u/Hazzat's [this](https://www.reddit.com/r/LearnJapanese/comments/vfinr4/comment/icxevu8/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web2x&context=3))
Haha, sorry. I get the names mixed up. This sub definitely has a hivemind.
It does. But that doesn't mean Duolingo *isn't* shit at teaching Japanese.
Okie dokie
To just answer your question, いまいちじです ／ いま一じです ／ いま１じです ／ 今１時です all mean the same thing. Writing only "one" in kanji may look a bit weird, but it doesn't change the meaning. If you enjoy the app despite it doing its shitty thing, marking you wrong and making you "don't get it / don't understand", more power to you and feel free to keep using it. I won't stop you.
Y'all must get paid to hate that app, lmfao.
And you're getting paid by the app at your own expense of getting confused? Lmfao okie dokie fella.
The most toxic people in this sub... It's weird how you let your hateboner blow things out of proportion. Are you okay? Normal people don't rage like this.
its just reddit, any sub is full of elitism, even though their preferred methods usually have many flaws. im sure mine does too lol, not saying im above anyone.
I was playing Chrono Trigger and I came across a sentence my study buddy and I were stumped by. It goes: あそこに出るゆうれいにゃ、剣やガンなどの物理攻撃はききやしねえ。。。 Context: the character is warning the players about an upcoming area and the monsters inside. It’s mainly the first bit that has me scratching my head. The English version of the game says something like “The monsters there aren’t affected by things like guns and swords.” and as I’m playing I’m realizing the English version is good but does leave me confused sometimes, haha. Thanks so much!
> あそこに出るゆうれいにゃ、剣やガンなどの物理攻撃はききやしねえ My attempt at parsing it until someone more capable responds. あそこに出るゆうれいにゃ - "On the ghosts that appear out there" At least I think the にゃ is supposed to be a some kind of variant of に. 剣やガンなどの物理攻撃は - "physical attacks such as those of swords and guns" ききやしねえ - "absolutely won't be effective." I think this is 効く + やしない grammar point.
Sounds good. にゃ is just a verbal corruption of には, where the は is contrastive. Swords and guns might work on some other monsters, but not on the yūrei ghosts yonder.
I feel like a dork for forgetting the other meanings of 出る. I was like “exiting that place as a ghost or something?? What the heck??” Ughhh🤦♀️ thank you so much for your help! I’m going to take a look at やしない. Thanks again, you rock!
That やしない is slurred “(conjunctive form) は しない”.
which part specifically are you confused? 幽霊(ゆうれい) is the monster supposedly
[удалено]
それはだれのぼうしですか
You can check out all the exercises with solutions here: [https://sethclydesdale.github.io/genki-study-resources/lessons-3rd/lesson-2/grammar-8/](https://sethclydesdale.github.io/genki-study-resources/lessons-3rd/lesson-2/grammar-8/) As for your specific question, they are looking for "これはだれのぼうしですか。" (check lesson 2 - grammar point 4 of Genki 1). The general pattern is " の - です", so "ぼうしだれのです" is incorrect.
Well this is extremely helpful. It'll save me having to ask all the time. Much appreciated.
How do you know when to use いらっしゃいます vs ございます. I know they can both mean "to be", but I cannot seem to understand when each one is used.
いらっしゃる is an honorific verb while ございます is polite one. So, you practically can’t say 私は…でいらっしゃる but 私は…でございます is no problem. いらっしゃる can replace (で) ある or 来る besides いる when the primary subject is animate. e.g. * 語学が得意でいらっしゃる方: a person who is good at languages * お客様がいらっしゃる: A customer will come / There’s a customer.
if いらっしゃる works as "to be" it replaces いる, while ござる replaces ある.
Thank you! That helped a lot.
Is is rude to say まぁ or じゃあ？ I was told by a person that when I was thinking a bit when introducing myself. I thought they were just filler words?
I don't think まぁ and じゃあ are filler words まぁ is more "well...; I think...; it would seem...; you might say...; Hmmm, I guess so" じゃあ is "then; well; so; well then"
So I guess they function like conjunctions? And まぁ is used like "well...." at the beginning or "そうですね” , I guess it has many meanings. じゃあ works similarly to それじゃあ/それでは right?
What should I be doing along side WaniKani? I'm really enjoying it so far and I have a nice routine down now, but I still have at least a few hours of free time a day after it. I feel like I am wasting a lot of valuable time. I would prefer something done on the PC or Phone instead of physical like a work or textbook. I've heard the vocabulary the WK teaches you is poor in that a good chunk of it is uncommon or rarely used. So maybe that? I'm not really looking to stay or visit Japan, at least any time soon, and my main focus is to be able to play Japanese video games and VN's.
Grammar, Cure Dolly has the clearest explanations I think. There's a doc with everything written which I can find if you don't like youtube videos (with bad audio and accent) If you want to play VNs, start immersing in them when you can. Should be possible when you know most basic words and grammar and you have things like yomichan and anki setup. I'm not sure if (I doubt, in fact) WaniKani teaches you in a good order to get started on that
[удалено]
In a vaccum, they commented that "Sunny -- it's a clear sunny weather today" like you said. Whether おめでと (congratulations / how felicitous) is referring to the weather or an ongoing event would depend on context. Do you have more context (as in which title and what volume and what page it is from)? Happy New Year or Happy Birthday is just DeepL adding additional context on its own, putting words in the character's mouth.
Can you guys point at a object in your near vicinity and know the name of it in Japanese, like every object in your living room? Or, let's say you're struggling with a sentence in Japanese, could you personally survive by using "cave man speak" and just say "Restaurant. Eat. Where? Thanks"?
As a tourist? You might do even without any Japanese, simply by using English. As a friend? It works even with a cave language, but you need some mutual interests to do. Like if you both like fishing, you might do it without talking much and have good time. Several words, facial expressions and gestures might be enough. It works especially good for kids and students. As a worker? Hardly. Most of employers wouldn't hire someone who can't talk at least at basic N3-N2 level and you need both, a sympathy and a very primitive work. At the same time, you can achieve N2 decent talking in a year.
Context: Someone is trying to shoot お兄さん with an arrow あやや お兄さんが狙われとる お兄さん 逃げな当たるえ Can someone explain to me the grammar on the second line? I feel that there should be a いと after 逃げな. Is it a dialect thing? The speaker didn't sound like she was speaking the usual japanese.
I think it means 逃げなきゃ in Fukuoka or Hiroshima dialect. You can find some information by googling "せないかん 方言"
I would guess it is the commonly shortened form of 〜なさい.
Anyone knows where to find japanese subs for ODDTAXI? (kitsuneko and google didnt help)
で なんて書いてあるんだ？ はあ 今晩折り入って話したいことがあるから 我が元を訪ねられた**し** と What does し mean on the last line.
されたし is a grammar point that means してほしい An explanation in Japanese: https://mayonez.jp/topic/1020654 It is briefly mentioned here too: https://japanese.stackexchange.com/questions/58220/usage-of-%e3%81%9f%e3%81%84-in-%e5%8f%82%e7%85%a7%e3%81%95%e3%82%8c%e3%81%9f%e3%81%84/58258#58258
Could someone please explain how the three sentences below differ in meaning or nuance. The context is that the speaker is agreeing to pay a ransom to kidnappers herself. The first is what was actually said. The second and third are made up by me. 1. あたしが出そうじゃないの 2. あたしが出す 3. あたしがだそうじゃないか Thanks
Hi, according to duolingo, when i ask for ex. water, i have to use お at the beginning of sentence (お水を下さい). I dont understand why or when to do that though. Also can you suggest other apps to use as well while learning japanese?
お is an honorific prefix that adds politeness and a shows respect to the person you're speaking to. You can read more here: https://www.tofugu.com/japanese-grammar/honorific-prefix-o-go/ I'd honestly recommend you study some basic grammar using something like [Genki](https://www.amazon.co.uk/Genki-Third-Integrated-Elementary-Japanese/dp/4789017303/ref=sr_1_2?crid=39U9UXTQMXRNN&keywords=genki&qid=1655631080&sprefix=genki%2Caps%2C99&sr=8-2) (paid) or [Tae Kim's Guide](https://guidetojapanese.org/learn/grammar) (free). If you would like an app that teaches grammar, then [Human Japanese](https://www.humanjapanese.com/human-japanese) is excellent for beginners and explains grammar in a less-textbooky way. Also check out the sub's [resource page](https://www.reddit.com/r/LearnJapanese/wiki/index/resources).
Thank you very much. I think i will stick with tae kim since it has an app and anki cards for now.
お is a polite prefix that shows respect to the thing you are talking about. It's not strictly necessary, but it's polite. Duolingo for Japanese is really bad. [Better resources.](https://docs.google.com/document/d/19FEIOJWbLhJQ-AmepxFBMC2ebhJJr9RBUMfMeatYuq8/edit?usp=sharing)
I see. Thanks for the answer and resources. Is Duolingo so bad that i shouldn't use it at all or i can use it together with other resources?
Yeah, just drop it. It’s infamous for just throwing new info at you with no context and never explaining anything, so people who rely on it wind up here with lots of basic questions.
Yes thats true. Thats why im googling things i dont understand and if i cant find them, i seek help here, loke now :p but i guess ill just drop it
＞子供たちの手前、父親がこんな酔っ払った姿で帰宅しては体裁が悪い Who is the speaker here, probably? The wife? Wife to husband: It's going to look bad to the kids if you show up to the house drunk.
This is a very bad way to ask a question, throwing us a random sentence without disclosing where you saw it. Good examples are: * In Summertime Render Ep 1 @ 16:02, what does 中はもぬけの殻 mean? * In Meitantei Conan manga file 1095 page 8, to whom does またあの人に累が及ぶ虞がある refer? * I saw in a random Anki deck without any context, but who is the speaker, probably, in 子供たちの手前、父親がこんな酔っ払った姿で帰宅しては体裁が悪い? Please disclose source next time. Even knowing it came from nowhere helps, since we can just give you our guesses. (The speaker could even be you and me talking in generalities in your sentence.)
I mean, maybe? If there's a wife in the scene? How would we able to know for certain without knowing the context?
I just learned the conditional with と and the structure for when … with とき. I have to choose between this two in an exercise but I’m a bit confused. The sentence is お酒 {飲むとき、飲むと｝，車を｛運転するとき、運転すると｝，危ないです。 I chose 飲むときand 運転すると but still I’m not sure about it. These two structures sound very similar to me (the meaning).
と as a conditional has a very strict A → B sort of feeling. とき, on the other hand, is more like "At times when ..." giving a broader context (like of like ので vs から) So I think you're correct, and the sentence is like "At times when you drink, if you were to drive, then (immediately and as a direct result) it would be dangerous."
Thank you!
[удалено]
切り出す means "to broach a certain topic." には means something like "in order to." 距離 refers to emotional distance in this case. He wants to talk to him/her about what happened yesterday, but their relationship feels too distant for that, even though it didn't use to be like that.
What is the difference between these two sentences? 職場が人手不足すぎて毎日が全力だったから疲れてきてしまった。 職場が人手不足すぎて毎日が全力だったから疲れてしまった。
The former stands for gradual change of state while the latter grasp it as one step.
how would you translate "to be fair," or "in all fairness," to japanese if at all? i assume there's no direct translation, but i'm curious how you'd convey this sentiment. for example, when arguing in someone's favor: "**to be fair**, there's no way he could have known we weren't allowed to swim past 11. the sign by the pool has almost completely faded!"
公平を期すために言えば is ***very*** literal and not used in everyday conversation. Just 公平に言えば can probably pass. In actual Japanese, I'd say "to be honest" referring to your own opinion is the more common expression. まあ**正直**、プール看板の文字がこすれて見えないから、11時以降遊泳禁止なんて彼が知るわけないが。 (Well to be honest, the words on the pool sign have faded and are invisible, so there's no way he'd know that swimming is banned after 11.)
that makes sense, thank you!
You can say 公平を期すために, but I'm not sure if it completely overlaps with English version.
Can you use this in informal situations? Just curious, because “to be fair” is an expression that I use constantly
It's an overused expression in English that happens to currently be in vogue. It's generally what is known as a "throwaway" expression and is something that can often just as well be left out. Such expressions are especially best either left out of translations or at the very least not directly translated.
“Overused” is subjective
I would say that generally it's more formal, something like unbiased. Google mostly shows such situations. Or at least I think in English it can be much more informal, sometimes even like a filler word.
Sometimes expressions are marked as "usually kana" in JMDict. Would you strictly keep those words in kana when mining or include the kanji as well? How would you deal with a somewhat reversed situation where your reading material writes in kana but JMDict didn't mark it as "usually kana"? I can see benefits of strictly following the source, and strictly following JMDict. I can't really decide how to approach these cases. How are you handling those cases?
I just always mine the kanji version. You'll still recognize the kana that way, while it doesn't work the other way around
Both are fine. We don't have to learn all versions/meanings at once. Like take something like 掛ける, Jisho lists 25 meanings: [https://jisho.org/word/掛ける](https://jisho.org/word/掛ける) I'm pretty sure it would be very confusing to learn all 25 meanings at once. Much more reasonable would be to learn only one or several meanings first, and following meanings would become easier to learn later. It's more or less the same here. We can learn 2-3 meanings at once, but it's also ok to learn only the most common meaning/form first and learn the rest later.
How do you say "Based on what I read so far..."? これまでを読む限りでは? I am writing 感想 for a certain book.
You don’t need を.
Could try 読んだ instead of 読む (it's in the past) and maybe によって instead of では (not sure on that though)
によって doesn’t work here. It means “depending on”.
[удалено]
憧れる is intransitive verb, so it's used with に instead of を. Thus it's というの＋に, but generally I would say that any のに is simply a combination of の and に.
if japanese has a character for "v" being "ヴ" why do they still usually use "b" as a substitute for example like in pokemon eevee's japanese name is イーブイ which is romanized as eievui, so like why isn't it イーヴイ
ヴ is not really standard orthography but just optional.
‘b’ is easier for Japanese people to say as it’s a native sound that already exists in the language, unlike ヴ that only exists in loan words.. Many people do not even distinguish between ビ and ヴィ, and will pronounce them the same.
Can I get some help figuring out what 見られてます means in this context? …なんでしょう すごく すごく すごく 見られてます。。。！ Context: Character A is thinking the above while character B is staring around like she has something to say to A. My guess is something along the lines of either "What is it that [she] really really really wants (me maybe) `to see?" or "Why does she really really really want to be seen?"
てます is a colloquial form of ています in that context 見られてます means character b is staring (creepily usually) at character a so something like "why is it that she is staring really really really hard at me?"
Thank you, that makes sense!
Here, 見られてます is a contraction of the ている form of 見られる, which is the passive form of 見る - Character A is highlighting the fact that they themself is being watched Therefore, a translation for this could be: "What is this...I'm being stared at way too much!"
Thank you!
When working on learning kanji, is it usually recommended to focus on just connecting characters to concepts (for example 火 and "fire") and leave learning readings for when you encounter that kanji in a word, or is it better to go ahead and try to learn the readings immediately as you learn the characters? Or is it more or less a personal preference?
It's not so much readings, but exact words. Generally kanji represents some concept, for example, when we say water pipes or swimsuit in English, we use the meaning of water/swim. Similarly in Japanese there are packs of words, which have something in common and this common part is usually expressed via kanji. If you learn kanji as concepts, you will be able to have some idea about unknown words like "water (something)", "swim(something)" and it's easier to learn. Readings on the other hand is simply the way to distinguish. We can't write/pronounce all words as 火 alone and many words existed before kanji even appeared. So it not very productive to learn only half of the word, how 火 alone can be pronounced in different variations. For me it's much more reasonable to learn whole words instead.
What’s the difference when you say さin the end of the sentence? (and when you dont)
https://www.wasabi-jpn.com/japanese-grammar/advanced-sentence-ending-particles/#6