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1500 questions
18
votes
7 answers
Except for pitch, what are the differences in pronunciation between Kansaiben and Tokyoben?
I have tried to ask people this type of question on many occasions and the answer is always the same, but people are notoriously bad at evaluating their own language, so I ask here:
Apart for pitch, which I know will differ significantly from…
alexandrec
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18
votes
2 answers
Are the days of the week named after the planets?
I was studying the names of the planets and noticed some similarities. Are the days of the week named after the planets?
Jack Bosma
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18
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3 answers
About writing numbers using Japanese numerals vs using Arabic numerals
I noticed that even though Japanese language has kanji characters for numbers (e.g. 十、百、千、万 etc), there are many places where Arabic numerals are used instead, for example, prices for shop items are written as １００円 instead of 一百円.
I am curious…
Lukman
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18
votes
2 answers
Is there a difference between んがため and ために?
My JLPT textbook has a section about the use of んがため, which they define as "making an effort in order to realize the intended purpose."
Which to me sounds like plain ol' ために.
For example, they have this example…
Questioner
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18
votes
1 answer
Different ways to show intention to do something
How can one say "I am going to", express intention to do something in the future. I know some expressions such as:
たいと思う - I'm going to/ I want to
ましょう - I will/ Why don't I
しようと思う - I think I will
しようとする - I'll try to
するところ - I'm about…
Velenir
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18
votes
1 answer
How to differentiate friend levels in Japanese?
I sometimes have difficulty differentiating friend levels when explaining something to a Japanese person. For example, when I am telling a story about a friend, I want to specify the level of friendship we have based on the context of the story.
So…
Nap
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18
votes
5 answers
What is the origin and usage of the word いい?
According to Denshi Jisho, いい and よい share the same kanji, and that both roughly mean "good". Why are there two different pronunciations despite the similarity, and what are some ways to figure out which one to use?
voithos
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18
votes
1 answer
What does さようなら (左様なら) have to do with "left"?
What is the relationship between 左様なら and 左? I assume there's some idiomatic meaning for "left" but how does it fit?
mmdanziger
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18
votes
1 answer
Is こんこん onomatopoeia for foxes?
I mentioned こんこん to a native speaker, and he hadn't heard it before.
Is こんこん the standard onomatopoeia for foxes? If not, what does the fox say?
Golden Cuy
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18
votes
6 answers
Why is "ゼロ" more popular than "れい"?
For the number zero, [零]{れい} is a Chinese origin word that is pretty much familiarized in Japanese. Nevertheless, it seems more popular to use the Western origin word ゼロ, which probably appeared later. Why is that? They are both two morae, and I…
user458
18
votes
1 answer
When to use 他【ほか】の or 他【ほか】に
I always thought only 他の existed, but my teacher uses 他に a lot. Are there differences between when each can be used?
Here are two examples of each from my online dictionary:
だれかほかの人に聞いてごらん (Ask somebody else for help)
ほかに行きたい人はいますか (Is there anyone…
atlantiza
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18
votes
1 answer
Aren't がる and たがる the same thing?
In my JLPT practise book, it has two different entries, one to explain がる and one to explaining たがる. It offeres these example sentences to differentiate them:
うちの子{こ}は新{あたら}しいものを見{み}ると、すぐほしがる。
うちの子{こ}は甘{あま}いものを見{み}ると、すぐ食{た}べたがる。
I think they both…
Questioner
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18
votes
2 answers
About 「同{おな}じ」 and 「同{おな}じく」
As far as I know, 「[同じ]{おなじ}」 is not a 形容詞{けいようし} (-i adjective) so how does it become 「[同じく]{おなじく}」? Or does 「同じく」 not come from 「同じ」?
Also, are there any other non i-adjectives that have -ku counterparts (regardless of the answer for above)?
Lukman
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18
votes
2 answers
伸{の}びる versus 延{の}びる in a JLPT question
In my JLPT workbook, it gives these examples to explain the difference between 延{の}びる and 伸{の}びる:
髪{かみ}は[１]{いっ}か[月]{げつ}に１センチぐらい伸{の}びる。
会議{かいぎ}はいつも30分{ぷん}ぐらい延{の}びる。
They both mean "stretch", more or less, so I assumed the difference was that 延{の}びる…
Questioner
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18
votes
1 answer
Why does the narrator switch tenses here? ～いました ～です
I'm currently reading The Tale of Peter Rabbit in Japanese, but the opening to the story is confusing me a bit.
[昔々]{むかしむかし}あるところに、四[匹]{ひき}の小さなウサギがいました。彼らの[名前]{なまえ}はプロプシー、モプシー、コットンテールとピーターです。
As you can see, the first sentence is in the past…
Miguel
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