Most Popular
1500 questions
20
votes
1 answer
Why is konnichiwa spelt こんにちは?
Why is は used at the end of こんにちは? Is the last letter the particle は, or is there a different explanation?
Which is correct: こんばんわ or こんばんは? mentions konnichiwa, but the question is interpreted more as "When should I use こんばんわ and when should I use…
Golden Cuy
- 16,209
- 15
- 74
- 184
20
votes
1 answer
What's the difference between 「この辺{へん}」 and 「この辺{あた}り」
What's the difference between 「この辺{へん}」 and 「この辺{あた}り」?
I used to always read 「この辺{へん}」as 「この辺{あたり}」 as I thought it would be confused with 「変{へん}」 but it apparently is different.
cypher
- 13,669
- 6
- 58
- 127
20
votes
2 answers
How to pronounce the English alphabet? (A, B, C, ...)
I just had to tell a long booking number over the phone, and realized that some characters like V/B can be hard to convey.
So, I want to learn exactly how each letter is currently taught in Japanese schools.
For every case where there are variants…
Nicolas Raoul
- 8,650
- 3
- 30
- 78
20
votes
4 answers
When Chinese personal names are written in Japanese in kanji is there always an obvious reading?
In their comment to an answer on the question "Are foreign personal names usually written in katakana rather than Romaji?", user sawa says:
... Chinese names should be written in kanji rather than katakana and read by the Japanese pronunciation.…
hippietrail
- 15,317
- 30
- 98
- 146
20
votes
3 answers
When women use わ at the end of a sentence, is it different from よ?
My understanding of using わ at the end of a sentence is that it's essentially just for emphasis, just like using よ, and that only women can use it.
However, as far as I know, women can, and often do, use よ as well.
So is there a difference in…
Questioner
- 24,694
- 15
- 95
- 232
20
votes
3 answers
How do you respond when someone knocks on the toilet door?
If you were using the toilet and someone knocked on the door what would be the common response to indicate it was occupied?
I noticed some Japanese people knock back, but it is not always possible, so how do you answer verbally?
macraf
- 6,537
- 6
- 22
- 49
20
votes
3 answers
Why is 「昨夜」 pronounced as 「ゆうべ」 {yuube} and 「今日」 as 「きょう」 {kyou}?
「ゆう」 is neither the kun'yomi nor on'yomi of 「昨」 and 「べ」 is not a pronunciation of 「夜」 either. The same can be said about the pronunciation 「きょう」 for 「今日」.
So how come the pronunciations of the two words are like those? If they are special, what was…
Lukman
- 19,805
- 20
- 94
- 195
20
votes
2 answers
Is there an order of adjectives in Japanese?
In English, if we have multiple adjectives modifying a noun, there is a preferred order for those adjectives, for example:
nice long red car
*nice red long car
*long red nice car
I was wondering if there are similar restrictions in Japanese. For…
Lou
- 2,791
- 3
- 26
- 34
20
votes
4 answers
How many unique on'yomi are there?
This question is of interest to me because of my own difficulty with remembering on'yomi, as there are fewer possible on'yomi than kun'yomi. So there must be a finite number of valid on'yomi pronunciations, right? The question is, what is this…
Lou
- 2,791
- 3
- 26
- 34
20
votes
2 answers
Recent creation or adoption of hanzi characters into Japanese kanji
According to Wikipedia, kanji was introduced and imported from chinese hanzi long time ago before Japanese language even had a writing system. From there, Japanese kanji has transformed and evolved from the original hanzi and became what is is…
Lukman
- 19,805
- 20
- 94
- 195
20
votes
1 answer
Honorific prefixes: 「ご」 vs 「お」
Some nouns take the 「ご」 prefix:
ご両親 {りょうしん}
ご家族 {かぞく}
ご無事 {ぶじ}
ご安心 {あんしん}
ご丁寧 {ていねい}
While many others take the 「お」 prefix:
お母さん
お仕事 {しごと}
お月 {つき}さま
お家 {うち}
お客 {きゃく}
In general, what are the criteria that determine whether a noun…
Lukman
- 19,805
- 20
- 94
- 195
20
votes
1 answer
"slightly/somewhat" の 「～[目]{め}」: Usage and limitations
I'm somewhat confused about the usage and limitations of the ～め suffix that means "somewhat/slightly". I've only ever heard it on a handful of words:
大きめ
小さ目
多め
少な目
早め
and maybe a few others that I can't recall at present.
1) Can these be used…
istrasci
- 44,120
- 5
- 112
- 259
20
votes
3 answers
Ending a sentence with さ
When is it appropriate to put さ at the end of a sentence? Do women say this also? I think I remember seeing a female character say it in an anime.
language hacker
- 5,045
- 7
- 32
- 52
20
votes
1 answer
How would I say "Get well soon"?
Last summer my family hosted a Japanese exchange student for two weeks, and we've kept in touch with her a lot. Unfortunately, about 2 months ago I found out she had Leukemia. She said she'll recover...but it'll take a long time (6 months according…
LainIwakura
- 311
- 1
- 2
- 6
20
votes
2 answers
The verbs of learning: 勉強する, 習う and 学ぶ
How are the following verbs which are related to learning different to each other?
勉強する
習う
学ぶ
Lukman
- 19,805
- 20
- 94
- 195