Most Popular
1500 questions
15
votes
2 answers
What is the correct expression of 10/20, 20/30, 30/40 etc?
On a news report, I heard the phrase 四五{しご}十{じゅう}メートル and it got me thinking about how to express other number approximations. Are the following correct?
10 or 20 meters じゅうにじゅうメートル
20 or 30 meters にさんじゅうメートル
30 or 40 meters さんよんじゅうメートル
40 or 50…
kandyman
- 11,608
- 17
- 44
15
votes
4 answers
Is the "wa-particle" in katakana ワ or ハ？
Is the "wa-particle" in katakana ワ or ハ？
(Just a quick question - I think I have seen both used, but if ワ is correct then I have just seen the results of a computer o/p automatically using ハ)
Tim
- 10,784
- 4
- 31
- 68
15
votes
2 answers
What is the purpose of the suffix "さ" on adjectives?
What is the purpose of the suffix "さ" on adjectives like 美しさ and 多さ?
The former is the title of an essay by Banana Yoshimoto, so I don't have much context for it. The book editors translated it as "On beauty" which didn't help me understand what…
horatius83
- 253
- 2
- 5
15
votes
3 answers
Different meanings of こわい
I was watching this video (it's actually a really good series, despite the odd presentation).
In it, there is the example:
おばけがこわい。
Ghosts are scary.
No problem there, but the series has been talking a lot about how the zero-pronoun marks the…
user3856370
- 30,011
- 6
- 51
- 166
15
votes
2 answers
What do the parts of じゃんけんぽん mean?
I imagine that in じゃんけんぽん, けん corresponds to 拳 which I interpret as "fist" which is "rock".
Do じゃん and ぽん correspond to "scissors" and "paper" ?
If not, then do the individual parts of じゃん, けん and ぽん mean anything on their own or are they derived…
Flaw
- 19,964
- 9
- 68
- 175
15
votes
1 answer
what's the difference between 話をする and 話す?
I'm trying to understand the nuances between 話をする and 話す. When is one used over the other?
I'm reviewing A Dictionary of Basic Japanese Grammar, and it has the following example sentence:
私は山田さんとしか話をしない。
Would it mean the same thing if the example…
Nese
- 181
- 1
- 5
15
votes
3 answers
When is the correct situation to use 案外 or 意外?
I think this is a question I should have asked a long time ago.. What is the difference between 案外 and 意外? What does the correct situation look like when using either?
Example with…
Chris
- 6,553
- 4
- 30
- 75
15
votes
1 answer
Conjugated word + んだ vs nonconjugated word + conjugated んだ
Suppose I have a verb/adjective/noun, let's say 無理, and I add (な)んだ to it as an explanatory sentence-ending particle. What would be the difference in nuance between the following two conjugated constructions?
それは無理だったんだ。
それは無理なんだった。
More…
SystematicDisintegration
- 351
- 1
- 7
15
votes
3 answers
What conjugation/form is the ませ (for example: いらっしゃいませ)?
I know it's used for greetings in a restaurant or store. But what type of verb conjugation (ex: polite, plain, honorific, imperative, or something else) is it? Is it used with other verbs? Is it archaic Japanese or modern Japanese?
dotnetN00b
- 6,776
- 9
- 57
- 94
15
votes
1 answer
What's the difference between ちゃんと, きちんと, きっちり and ぴったり?
The four of ちゃんと, きちんと, きっちり and ぴったり all seem to mean something like "perfectly", "precisely" or "exactly", and there seems to be a lot of similarity between their definitions.
Daijisen says that all three of ちゃんと, きちんと and きっちり can mean something…
cypher
- 13,669
- 6
- 58
- 127
15
votes
1 answer
日本へ手紙を送る vs 手紙を日本へ送る
I'm trying to learn the ropes of Japanese language with some online guides, and sometimes I try to anticipate the sentences using what I learn, just to find out that the guide uses a different form. Now I'm aware that a thing can be said in…
Frhay
- 253
- 2
- 5
15
votes
2 answers
What is the difference between 首相 and 総理?
I learned 総{そう}理{り} as the word for Prime Minister, but I've recently learned that 首{しゅ}相{しょう} is also used. Is there a difference in usage or meaning? Is one more polite than the other?
silvermaple
- 7,305
- 3
- 27
- 74
15
votes
5 answers
Why does 前 mean "past" in terms of time, but "forward" in terms of direction?
Why does 前 mean "past" in terms of time, but "forward" in terms of direction?
So far I was able to find that 前 is constructed from Chinese: 舟 and 止, which can be interpreted as "leaving a footprint", hence the "past" meaning, but it seems kind of…
bryan
- 161
- 2
- 5
15
votes
2 answers
What exactly is 我, and how is it used?
I was taught that [私]{わた(く)し}, [僕]{ぼく}, and 俺{おれ} are the most common first-person pronouns.
Recently, I stumbled upon the word [我]{われ}, which supposedly means the same thing. An online dictionary lists all of them as common. Since I haven't heard…
Miguel
- 2,418
- 2
- 23
- 30
15
votes
2 answers
How close was the Japanese writing system from becoming abolished after World War II?
I remember hearing that the Japanese government planned on abolishing the use of Chinese characters entirely after World War II. I also remember hearing that there was a movement by the American government to change the Japanese writing system to…
Jesse Good
- 10,894
- 41
- 56