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1500 questions
22
votes
2 answers
Is [mathematical] 'analysis' in Japanese the same word as 'fine cuisine' in Japanese?
According to the Fields medal winner Cédric Villani, in the Japanese language the word 'analysis' is (I quote) "the same word" as the word for 'fine cuisine'.
Such can be seen in a video of a recorded lecture of him entitled "The Extraordinary…
O0123
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22
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2 answers
When writing for general public, is there a general guideline for selecting kanji?
After reading numerous publications, I've spotted a trend or custom on determining whether kanji is or is not used for certain words. The most obvious ones are:
こと・事
…が実は犯人だったということがわかる。
(haven't found a sentence which uses 事 alone…
syockit
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1 answer
What does verb+とする mean?
Take the below as an example
では私達は先に行くとするわ。ごきげんよう、皆さん.
What is the difference between saying 行くとする and 行く and 行こうとする
I've seen a lot of explanations for とする that use the meaning of "assume" which doesn't quite make sense with me.
ようとする from my…
Silvertongue00
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3 answers
Is はおる a commonly used verb
...お出かけ用のワンピースを着て、コートをはおりながら...
...she put on a dress suitable for the trip and while putting on her coat...
I've not seen the verb はおる before and it does not appear in any of my more basic dictionaries. Is it a commonly used word for putting on…
user3856370
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22
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1 answer
ねば in 食べねば; relation between ねば and なければ
I would like to know a bit more about the "ねば" grammatical construction.
Every now and then, I hear people say sentences like
東京に行かねばならぬ
粘々丼を食べねば倒れる
なんとかせねばいい
It's quite clear that ねば means the same as なければ, but
Is it a shorten form of なければ, or a…
Axioplase
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22
votes
4 answers
The reality of answering いいえ to a negative question
tl;dr: when answering a negative question, can いいえ be used to affirm what the question states as a whole?
I came to Japan at the age of six, and I guess I pass as a normal native speaker of Japanese to most people (aside from some personal quirks…
ento
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22
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5 answers
How do Japanese speakers transition from polite to plain form amongst friends?
When you first meet somebody, polite language is, on the whole, the most commonly used form of Japanese. Children may differ, and I understand that not everyone will use plain form, but regardless a majority of people do.
At some point in a…
sqrtbottle
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22
votes
7 answers
Does anyone have advice on how to get over/through/around the intermediate language plateau? (Self-learner)
How do you get through this? Especially in regards to reading. How do you practice reading at beyond the beginner level (No little black sambo's or whatever other children's books like I found in the local free bin when I was a teenager) when a…
Joshua Olson
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22
votes
1 answer
Difference between 下る、下りる、下がる?
I cannot, for the love of my life, understand the difference between
下る{くだる}
下りる{おりる}
下がる{さがる}
Don't they all mean the same, basically? Is there a difference, and if yes, how could I proceed to get it?
Django
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22
votes
2 answers
What is the difference between [友達]{とも・だち} and [友人]{ゆう・じん}?
From a quick google search, they both refer to friend.
Are they completely identical or is there any difference between [友達]{とも・だち} and [友人]{ゆう・じん}?
Zaenille
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22
votes
1 answer
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 translation): "Behind (me) Yuuichi was wiping the floor with a…
Szymon
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22
votes
6 answers
Why is the correct counter for rabbits 羽（わ）
Why is the correct counter for rabbits 羽（わ）, the counter that is used for birds.
I figured it is because they jump, cause fly and jump are the same verb in Japanese, but then frogs are 匹.
Mark Hosang
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22
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4 answers
What's the difference between "さけ" (sake) and "しゃけ" (shake)?
Today I saw onigiri claiming to contain "しゃけ" (shake). When I asked my friend what that was, she said it was the same as "さけ" (sake), "salmon".
So are these two just different readings of a kanji, regional differences, used by different generations,…
hippietrail
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22
votes
3 answers
Why censor this one kanji?
I was watching an old Saturday Night Live sketch from the 1970s, called Night of the Moonies, making fun of the Unification Church by putting them in the context of the movie Night of the Living Dead.
The video I was watching happened to have…
Questioner
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4 answers
Since Japanese already had several words for rice why was "ライス" (raisu) borrowed from English?
Last night I had dinner in a ramen restaurant in northern Japan and was surprised to read the katakana "ライス" (raisu) on the menu. This is obviously the English word "rice" borrowed. But what kind of rice or method of preparation might it refer to…
hippietrail
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