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日本語と英語は、文法だけなくて、考え方随分違うらしい。

It is saying that: evidently, the way of thinking in English and Japanese is extremely different.

What does the 文法だけなくて? (Grammar only ...?) I always get confused when なくて appears in a sentence. It is as if i am bracing for some contradiction or negative.

Is their a general phrase pattern for 「~なくて」?

Eddie Kal
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cgo
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2 Answers2

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The sentence should be:

日本語と英語は、文法だけなくて、考え方随分違うらしい。

「XXだけでなくてYYも」(or 「XXだけでなくYYも」「XXだけではなくYYも」「XXだけではなくてYYも」etc.) means "Not only XX but also YY".

So it literally means:

"As for Japanese and English, it seems / they say that not only their grammars but also their ways of thinking are quite different."
→ "It seems / they say that Japanese and English are quite different not only in grammar but also in way of thinking."

chocolate
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Yes, it's say that English and Japanese are, not limited to grammatical aspects, very different languages.

paullb
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