Most Popular
1500 questions
19
votes
2 answers
Etymology of 出来る dekiru
An entry of Tae Kim's blog suggested that 出来る came from Chinese word 出来 that does have the nuance of potentiality, but the most recent visitor's comment claimed that the usage of 出来 in Chinese to show potentiality is fairly recent, so the usage of…
Lukman
- 19,805
- 20
- 94
- 195
19
votes
2 answers
How to appropriately pair tenses in subordinate and main clauses?
Consider the following combination. Which is the correct one?
テレビが私の国で 《できた》 のは１９６０ 《です》。
テレビが私の国で 《できる》 のは１９６０ 《です》。
テレビが私の国で 《できた》 のは１９６０ 《でした》。
テレビが私の国で 《できる》 のは１９６０ 《でした》。
Note: The important words are intentionally bracketed for the sake of…
Friendly Ghost
- 2,443
- 2
- 18
- 40
19
votes
1 answer
わ usage at the end of sentences
What is the difference between the "わ" sentence ender used by women in general and the one that is used by both Males and females in the Kansai area?
I've asked my Japanese co-workers about it specifically and they said that there is a difference…
Mark Hosang
- 7,021
- 2
- 35
- 56
19
votes
1 answer
How to read: the "~" (tilde) in "3~4 行"
How should I read the "~" mark that stands for range, as described in the title?
I saw this in the following sentence:
3~4行ごとに1行あけると読みやすい。
Eric
- 525
- 5
- 15
19
votes
3 answers
Dissecting つく verbs
I think we all are familiar with する verbs, which are verbs that are formed by appending する to nouns. Examples include 勉強する, 愛する etc. This pattern is very convenient because it can be appended to almost anything, such as ライクする (to 'Like' a Facebook…
Lukman
- 19,805
- 20
- 94
- 195
19
votes
5 answers
How do you respond to thanks given?
How do you respond to ありがとうございます and other ways of giving thanks?
Are there any expressions similar to the English "You're welcome" or "No problem", or is it appropriate to not respond at all?
Shane
- 911
- 2
- 10
- 20
19
votes
3 answers
When is it okay to use あります with a living subject?
When learning Japanese everyone's taught いる is for a living thing and ある is for non-living things. However, I recently saw the following sentence ...
あと、サッカー選手でもあります。
... which ends in ある / あります for a living subject, assuming were not talking…
crunchyt
- 4,375
- 1
- 29
- 48
19
votes
2 answers
For body: 身体 or 体
体{からだ} and 身体{からだ} (or even 躰{からだ}) seem to be used interchangeably, is there a nuance difference between them?
paullb
- 3,964
- 15
- 34
19
votes
2 answers
what is the difference in the usage of [成]{な}るべく and できるだけ?
Hi guys what is the difference in the usage of 成るべく and できるだけ?
Don't they both mean as [x] as possible?
E.g.:
1) できるだけ多くの本を読みなさい vs なるべく多くの本を読みなさい
2) できるだけ早くお願いします vs なるべく早くお願いします
Pacerier
- 11,872
- 4
- 54
- 125
19
votes
2 answers
Sentence (question) ending かい - how is it different from just か?
I sometimes find questions that are normally ended with the question particle か to end with かい. For example:
いいかい？
そうかい？
あいつがどうかしたかい？
And sometimes with just い without か (if I understand this one right):
なんだい？
Is かい a softer version of か? How is…
Szymon
- 3,697
- 3
- 23
- 53
19
votes
2 answers
Are there general rules on when to use kanji vs. kana?
This post is inspired by Tokyo Nagoya's comment in できる vs ~えます form for “can”, “able to” asking why everyone was writing 出来る in kanji in their responses.
As I mentioned in my reply to his comment, I know my personal habit is to use kanji wherever I…
Kaji
- 5,230
- 3
- 31
- 60
19
votes
2 answers
Why is 五右衛門 read "goemon"?
Why is the name 五右衛門 read as ごえもん?
How can the three kanji 五右衛 be read with only two syllables?
deceze
- 5,673
- 31
- 41
19
votes
2 answers
When and how did USA and UK come to be written as [米]{べい}[国]{こく} and [英]{えい}[国]{こく}?
I know of four countries with a specific kanji besides Japan: China, the Netherlands, the USA and UK. The last two must be quite recent (I presume 19th century) but I wonder on the details and context of the selection.
There is of course 蘭,…
ogerard
- 1,077
- 10
- 23
19
votes
4 answers
Where does なう on Twitter come from?
If you follow any Japanese speakers on Twitter, you'll almost certainly see them use なう at the end of a sentence, to say "I am in this place/doing this thing now". Where does this use come from? Who started it? Is it anything to do with the (e.g.…
nevan king
- 7,108
- 7
- 32
- 39
19
votes
3 answers
What's the difference between でしょうか and ですか at the end of a question?
I am having a little trouble understanding the nuance of でしょうか in comparison to ですか. People say it makes it more hesitant and polite, but that doesn't explain the nuance enough for me.
Why would you say the line below?…
Nathan
- 2,702
- 1
- 20
- 35