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1500 questions
16
votes
1 answer
Asahi Dry Black beer can
What does ビアホール仕立ての黒 on Asahi Dry Black means?
Specifically 仕立て(sewing?) and ビアホール(via hole?). I tried searching it on japanese web, but it's kinda assumed as common knowledge and never mentioned besides sites about beers.
redwinter
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Do native speakers consciously use phonetic elements in 形声文字?
Do native speakers of Japanese use phonetic elements when reading less common kanji? For example, does the compound 咆哮 look like ほうこう because of the elements 包 and 孝, even if you haven't learned to read 咆哮 yet? Does seeing 癇癪 remind you of the…
user1478
16
votes
1 answer
When are 止める, 停める and 留める read as とめる, やめる or とどめる?
When are 止める, 停める and 留める read as とめる or とどめる (and in the case of 止める, やめる)?
I think 止めてください could be read as both やめてください and とめてください, which I think could maybe be translated as "cut it out" and "please stop" in English respectively, but what…
cypher
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16
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1 answer
Difference between Fire : 火【ひ】and 火事【かじ】?
Both of them mean fire. But what are the difference between the two ?
For the sentence : There is a fire in my room. Can I use both of them ?
And what about for the sentence : Fire is part of the 5 elements.
Kalzem
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16
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2 answers
What is the difference between 日曜日【にちようび】and 日曜【にちよう】?
In all the japanese learning books, they teach you that xxxday ends with 曜日.
But sometimes I get to see xxx曜 only without the "Day" Kanji.
Can I shorten it when speaking too or is it only written ? And when can I shorten it ?
Kalzem
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16
votes
2 answers
When to use 「とにかく」 and when to use 「とりあえず」?
This is a variant of the top definition question @ Area51: http://area51.stackexchange.com/proposals/7526/japanese-language-usage/7529#7529
When to use 「とにかく」 and when to use 「とりあえず」? I have heard both adverbs used in similar sentences so I'm…
Lukman
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16
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2 answers
What is the difference between [plain form of verb]～そう and [root of verb]～そう?
I heard both forms of [plain form of verb]～そう and [root of verb]～そう in an anime I watched, reproduced below, so I'm wondering how are they different and how to choose to use one over the other?
行けるそう
行けそう
What are these conjugations called? And…
Lukman
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16
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1 answer
How did やわらかい gain its い?
As we know, there is a class of adjectives that end in 〜らか: 滑【なめ】らか, 明【あき】らか, 清【きよ】らか, 安【やす】らか, etc.
やわらか (柔らか or 軟らか) is also in this class of adjectives. However, it can also be written as the イ-adjective やわらかい. So when and how did this…
istrasci
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16
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1 answer
呉 is an ancient kingdom in china, how did it become "to give" in japanese?
I found in the Chinese dictionary that 呉 is the name of a kingdom. But in japanese it means "to give". How did it happen ?
Thanks a lot
japaneselearner
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16
votes
3 answers
Standard mathematical operations, expressed in Japanese
First-time poster on this channel, so please forgive me if I screw anything up...
I'm currently writing a "Japanese Calculator" program as part of a personal project I'm working on which takes rōmaji input and converts the phrase, determines the…
Eliseo D'Annunzio
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16
votes
2 answers
Was 俺 ever gender-neutral?
I've heard elderly women in Japan referring to themselves using 俺. This leads me to believe that the usage has changed overtime to become only used by males. Did 俺 used to be gender-neutral?
Jesse Good
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16
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Does ごめん really mean sorry?
Normally ごめんなさい is translated as sorry or excuse me, but that seems like a translation for non-native speakers. In the same way, しつれいします can also be translated as excuse me or pardon me. But it really means "I'm being rude". So... what does ごめん…
dotnetN00b
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16
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1 answer
I cannot recognise this kana
Hello. I've circled characters I cannot recognise. The top one looks like を but there is an actual をnext to it and it looks different. Why? The middle one is ゆ in my opinion. But I'm not sure about that. Why does it look different to the usual ゆ?…
Pavel
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16
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What do you mean, "In Japanese there are no words for "I’m suffering""?
Today I noticed this article about eating disorders in Japan, which I got to via the News on Japan site.
The first line jumps out at me. Supposedly, in an interview, a 25 year old Japanese woman named "Hachiko" says:
In Japanese there are no words…
Questioner
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16
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3 answers
When to use "もっと" vs "より"
Giving examples if possible, what's the difference between e.g. もっと大きい and より大きい to mean "more (than)"/"bigger (than)"? In what situations would you use もっと over より and vice versa?
For instance, why or why not would the two be interchangeable in the…
cypher
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