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26
votes
2 answers
Passive-transitive-verb vs. Intransitive-verb （他動詞の受け身 vs. 自動詞)
I think I know the answer to this, but it still creeps up in my mind all the time; something I'd like to research more. I want to know technical differences as well as common usage.
When do you use the passive form of a transitive verb versus just…
istrasci
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26
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3 answers
Making sense of transitive usage of 行く and 来る - 「を行く」 and 「を来る」
I think it's known that some intransitive verbs can take を particle and be used as transitive verbs such as for example 「私のことを分かってくれない」. While using 分かる transitively would require specific scenarios or patterns, from the point of view of an English…
Lukman
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26
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3 answers
Why did の disappear from 山手, but in 御茶ノ水 it's in katakana?
I realize that very likely the answer to this question is likely to be something along the lines of "that's just the way it is", but I thought it worth asking to see if there were some insights that weren't immediately apparent.
In Tokyo, the JR…
Questioner
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26
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2 answers
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 "substantive" (that is essentially, followed by の), it is 【ほか】:…
Dave
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26
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4 answers
Is there an equivalent to George Carlin's "Seven Dirty Words" in Japanese?
Warning: This question contains words in both Japanese and English that some might not want to read.
Also: My apologies that this question is lengthy. However, I wanted to take care to express it properly.
When I asked about words that are not…
Questioner
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26
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2 answers
versus +と versus +に
I often see adverbs used in one of three ways:
1) Adverb appears in isolation in a sentence:
あまり 好きじゃないんですが。
2) Adverb is followed by に
別々に お願いします。
1970年代後半、多くの罪もない日本の一般市民が 次々に 失踪した。
3) Adverb is followed by と
鮮明な花火が夜空に 次々と 揚がった。
Notice that…
Zach
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26
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3 answers
What is the etymology behind る in 日{ひ}/昼{ひる} and 夜{よ}/夜{よる}?
I noticed that there is this る coming up in 日{ひ}→昼{ひる} and 夜{よ}→夜{よる}. I haven't seen ひる and よる used a lot in Classical Japanese, so ひ and よ probably came first.
What is the role of this る? Does it have a meaning, or is it simply a…
ithisa
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26
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5 answers
Is there a reason why numbers in Japanese are delimited into blocks of four?
As I understand, Japanese numbers are divided into blocks of four, so while we would think of the number 89123889 as 89,123,889, in Japan they would think of it as 8912,3889 (八千九百十二万三千八百八十九). So English uses thousands and Japanese uses tens of…
Lou
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26
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2 answers
Can we optionally include (or exclude) an を particle in between the noun of the する-verb and the する itself?
When we have a する verb (e.g. 支{し}度{たく}する、案{あん}内{ない}する、心{しん}配{ぱい}する), is it true that we could optionally insert an を particle in between the noun and the する?
Because in the example sentences here and here, we can see this usage (the usage of を…
Pacerier
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26
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2 answers
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.)
phirru
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26
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1 answer
What is the meaning of りゃ in this phrase?
I came across this phrase while reading an interview.
そういう時はなんて答えりゃいいんだ。
I think it means "At a time like that, such a reply/response is good."
But I don't understand the usage of りゃ. I couldn't find any reference as a suffix or conjugation.
user3169
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26
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3 answers
What's the difference between "家" (ya), "屋" (ya), and "や" (ya) as used in the names of shops/stores/restaurants?
As a gyudon addict I have noticed that the names of the three major national restaurant chains all end in "ya" but they used two different characters:
"吉野家" (Yoshinoya)
"松屋" (Matsuya)
"すき家" (Sukiya)
Other shops and restaurants I've noticed just…
hippietrail
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25
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2 answers
Why does 皮肉 mean "irony"?
I gather that 皮肉 can literally mean "skin-meat." I also see that one definition for 皮 is "mask (hiding one's true nature); seeming." So perhaps 皮肉 can be understood as "hiding the real meat," which can be related to irony. What is the real answer?
yadokari
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25
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2 answers
Is there a list of kanji ordered by usage in novels?
I have found many lists of kanji ordered by their usage in newspapers, but are there any lists that order by their usage in novels and other fictional material?
This might be useful to have because if someone wanted to be able to read Japanese…
小太郎
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25
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2 answers
What's the difference between 今日{きょう} and 本日{ほんじつ}?
I also see both in different examples.
As in :
今日は暑い。
本日はおめでとうございます。
Both are translated as "Today", but when and how should I use either one?
Can we say : 本日はあつい。 And 今日はおめでとうございます。?
Kalzem
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