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1500 questions
19
votes
3 answers
What is the difference between 向かい and 向こう?
I am unable to locate objects and their orientation with respect to myself when 向こう and 向かい are used.
Consider:
向こう側
向かい側
向こうの店
向かいの店
Where is 向こう側 and 向かい側 with respect to me? Are they the same place?
My current hypothesis is that 向こう and 向かい…
Flaw
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19
votes
3 answers
Why can some words be written with or without okurigana? How do the uses differ?
What is the difference for word compounds that can exist with 送り仮名 and without and still retain the same pronunciation?
As an example:
巻き貝 と 巻貝
取り引き と 取引
If I'm correct, both of these are pronounced 「まきがい」 and 「とりひき」. Do they mean the same thing?…
Chris
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19
votes
2 answers
What is the more common pronunciation for the rōmaji letter Z in Japanese?
I was on the phone with NTT the other day and things were going well (or as good as they could), until I had to spell some email address for the customer rep, and fell upon the letter 'Z'.
Instinctively, I went with 'zed' as a pronunciation, which…
Dave
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19
votes
2 answers
Can the suffix -人 be used to express heritage?
In English, if I want to talk about my Irish heritage, I would say "I'm Irish". I have an American passport, and I've never set foot in Ireland, but I still consider myself Irish. Both sides of my family have ancestors who came from Ireland, my name…
silvermaple
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19
votes
2 answers
What is the te-form of 問う?
What is the correct te-form of 問う?
Is it 問って or 問うて or both?
user763305
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19
votes
5 answers
Can I use my Chinese name as my Japanese name?
Im Chinese and my name is 陈依仁 (Chén Yī Rén). Can I use this as my Japanese name, and if so how do I read it in Japanese? Or would it be better to use the Katakana version of my English name which is タン・スジン?
chinsuujin
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19
votes
2 answers
Difference between てもいい and ていい?
寝ていい？
I've learned that to ask permission for doing something, you needed to use ～てもいい but the more I read japanese, the more I come across ～ていい. What is the difference ? Is the latter a colloquial version of ～てもいい ?
Ushiromiya
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19
votes
3 answers
How do Japanese understand "non-standard" words without looking at kanji?
This question seems so "obvious" that there might be a duplicate but could not find any.
Anyway, while I try to think how to better rephrase the title, let me explain briefly what I mean.
I'll give a simple but I think quite explanatory example.…
Tommy
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19
votes
2 answers
Why is the word オタク written in katakana?
Why is the word オタク(otaku) written in katakana?
I thought only foreign words are written in katakana. Is this word maybe foreign after all? But it is used in Japanese, so I am confused. Please give me an answer.
tenten
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19
votes
3 answers
「～たじゃない」 expression in spoken Japanese
I noticed in an anime I watched, one of the characters said something like below:
さっき食べたじゃない。
And what I think the meaning is: Didn't you just eat a few while ago?
From what I have learned in Japanese classes, 「じゃない」, which is the shortened form…
Lukman
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19
votes
3 answers
How do attendance checklists in Japan deal with multiple possible name readings?
Even though there are several recurring, easily guessable family name readings ([田中]{たなか｝、佐藤｛さとう｝、田村｛たむら｝) in Japanese, there are usually many possible readings to people's names Kanji, especially first names (良 could be あきら, りょう, まこと etc).
How do…
Charles Reis Ribeiro
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19
votes
1 answer
What's the proper way to use 先 versus 前に or 以前?
I'm trying to understand why 先 is not the best choice to use in these sentences. Is it wrong to use it in this way?
× 先、学校で何かが起こった。
○ 以前、学校で何かが起こった。
× 先の書いた本から十年間が過ぎました。
○ 前に書いた本から十年間が過ぎました。
Louis Waweru
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19
votes
2 answers
Why can't だ be used after an I-adjective?
I have been constantly told that だ can not be placed after an I-adjective. Why is that?
Herb
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19
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2 answers
What does 「学校が学校」, 「年が年」and such mean exactly?
So I came across this sentence when reading "Kokoro" by Natsume Souseki:
...友達は中国のある資産家の息子で金に不自由のない男であったけれども、学校が学校なのと年が年なので、生活の程度は私とそう変りもしなかった。
And a translation says:
...My friend was from a wealthy family in the Central Provinces, and had no…
Harmonika
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19
votes
2 answers
Does every kanji come from a Chinese character? If so, where can I find the origins of a kanji?
I know that kanji are borrowed from Chinese characters but are all of them borrowed?
As a Chinese native speaker, I am wondering the origins of modern kanjis. Most of them are exactly same as the Chinese counterpart, others are simplified versions…
Sweeper
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