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The significance of 前 {まえ} in Japanese language and culture
I noticed that the 前 is a handy kanji character in Japanese language. It is used in many words including but not limited to:
名前 {なまえ} : Given name
手前, お前 : You
[当]{あ}たり[前]{まえ} : Natural, obvious matter
出前 : Meal delivery
[建]{た}て[前]{まえ} : Public…
Lukman
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What's the difference between 少{すこ}し (sukoshi) and 小{ちい}さい (chiisai)?
What's the difference between 少{すこ}し (sukoshi) and 小{ちい}さい (chiisai)?
In what situations would I use each one?
MatthewD
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What "non-standard" katakana are commonly used?
I know about the "standard" special katakana, like ファ fa, ディ di, ヴ vu, etc. However, I keep running into others I can't find on any list, including the ones in What special kana are used to write foreign words?
For example, on this Wikipedia page,…
BlueRaja - Danny Pflughoeft
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The difference between からすると、から見ると、から言うと?
Are there any differences between these three sets:
からして、からすると、からすれば
vs.
から見て、から見ると、から見れば
vs.
から言って、から言うと、から言えば
These 'sets' seem to be used in 2 basic ways:
Presents something as a basis for judgment.
To mean "From the point of view…
phirru
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18
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5 answers
のだから vs のだ (んだから vs んだ）
When I learnt this grammar point a while ago, my teachers told me not to use it with "から". There reasoning for this was that のだ already implies a reason or supporting information for a conclusion.
Even reading through the answers for "What…
phirru
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2 answers
Which is the "official" kanji for さい, 歳 or 才?
Well if I'm not wrong, usually when a word has multiple kanjis one of them is selected as the "main" or more commonly used one.
But is it true that 才 and 歳 are both the "main" kanji for さい?
Pacerier
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18
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What is the *proper* differentiation between 来る and 行く?
In many beginning Japanese classes, 来る【くる】 and 行く【いく】 are presented as "to come" and "to go," respectively. Dictionaries generally also define them this way. However, every once in a while in more advanced classes, teachers will mention that this is…
rintaun
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Why doesn't Japanese have a special Katakana form for "hu"?
They have created many new Katakana words such as ファ フィ ヴァ ヴィ ティ テゥ to write foreign sounds. But why didn't they create a new combination for "hu" such as ハゥ or ホゥ? Instead they use the same kana for "hu" and "fu" and make the situation sometimes…
phuclv 劉永福
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Using な particle after common nouns (non na-adjectives)
Is な particle allowed to be used after common nouns (i.e non na-adjectives) for whatever reasons, e.g. cuteness, trendy, humor etc?
Dictionary@goo website seems to use (normal noun)+な in a couple of the column names:
JAPANなニュース
ニュースな英語
Is this…
Lukman
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2 answers
How do you say "funny"?
The English word "funny" means "something that makes one laugh". What is/are the closest Japanese word/words that match the meaning and the nuance of the word "funny"?
Two possible matches are 楽しい【たのしい】 and 面白い【おもしろい】. However, 楽しい is more like…
HAL
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18
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Is it true that the meaning of あ可よろし is unknown?
One of the cards in a Hanafuda deck looks like this:
The character that looks like の is actually , a hentaigana for ka derived from the kanji 可. The card says あかよろし, not あのよろし.
According to Wikipedia, the meaning of the inscription (which is also…
Jack M
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Are there native Japanese numbers greater than 10? What use are they?
Most people who've taken a Japanese 101 class know the 10 native Japanese numbers (一つ、二つ・・・十). It's always seemed odd that a system would stop at 10 when so many things in life need larger numbers. Are there in fact native Japanese numbers greater…
Kaji
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18
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2 answers
Relative clauses distinguishing whom/with which/that
I love in Japanese, how adjectival clauses are just added in front of nouns like adjectives.
The pizza that I ate = 私が食べたピザ
But last night I became confused... In english we have words to link the clause to the main sentence (my grammar knowledge…
rewolf
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How did 革 "leather" come to mean newness?
How did the character for "leather" - [革]{かわ ／ カク} - come to also convey the meaning for "newness"? 広辞苑 lists one of the definitions (under かく) as あらたまること, あらためること, and we can see this in some of its associated 熟語: 変革, 改革, 革新. Anyone know how this…
istrasci
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18
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2 answers
Is Japanese particularly good for punning/spoonerisms? If so, why?
Today I was laughing my heads off reading puns at 言いまつがい, which is a collection of user-contributed accidental puns and other mistakes.
It struck me that I never experienced this kind of uncontrollable laughter with puns in English. Is it possible…
ento
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