Most Popular
1500 questions
15
votes
3 answers
Difference between にとって and として
What differences are there between にとって and として ?
To the best of my understanding, both have meanings of stating something from a certain point of view or perspective. However, I think that there's some kind of nuance/grammar pattern between them…
akj
- 661
- 1
- 8
- 21
15
votes
3 answers
ことにする vs. ことに決める
My Japanese text book says that a present-tense verb followed by ことにする is used to indicate making a decision about the action. But I've also noticed the verb 決める, and that it's usage is very similar.
So supposing we have a sentence such…
Mike
- 153
- 1
- 1
- 4
15
votes
4 answers
Verbs + ところ / Verbs + とこ / Verbs + ばかり
I learnt:
食べるところ：about to eat.
食べているところ：in the middle of eating.
食べたところ：just ate.
食べたばかり：just ate.
I would like to know if I can change ところ for とこ in spoken language.
and if there is any difference between 食べたところ and 食べたばかり. which one is more…
daniel tomio
- 2,213
- 5
- 27
- 35
15
votes
1 answer
Is there a difference between ほんとう (hontō) and ほんとうに (hontō-ni) when used alone as interjection or question?
As the equivalent of Enlgish "Oh really?" / "Yes really." as lone utterances I seem to hear both "本当" (hontō) and "本当に" (hontō-ni) in Japanese - is there a difference?
It seems that hontō is a noun and -ni changes it into an adverb but that this…
hippietrail
- 15,317
- 30
- 98
- 146
15
votes
1 answer
歩{ある}く vs 歩{あゆ}む
I always know that 歩く is the verb to use when talking about walking. But I'm aware the kanji 歩 has another verb 歩む. In WWWJDIC, the example sentence given is:
ビルはあの会社の社長になるまで成功への道を歩み続けた。
Bill climbed the ladder of success until he became the…
Lukman
- 19,805
- 20
- 94
- 195
15
votes
1 answer
The nasal allophones of /g/
In this this post's comments, Zhen Lin said that the rules surrounding the nasal allophones in compound words are 'complicated', but couldn't remember them. I'd like to know what these complex rules are.
Angelos
- 11,435
- 1
- 28
- 62
15
votes
3 answers
Why do they say 'kawaii' for 'poor thing'?
I've observed that when someone wants to say 'poor thing', they say something like 'kawaii sonna' and I know that kawaii means cute. Can someone please explain? Thanks.
Natalie
- 153
- 1
- 1
- 7
15
votes
1 answer
What does 尿が近い and 尿が遠い mean?
seeing 尿が遠い/尿が近い in some medical documents and sites, what does 遠い and 近い mean in this sense? Does it literally mean the urine is far(ranged)/urine is close (ranged)?
Shinji
- 171
- 6
15
votes
1 answer
Why did オレンジ replace 橙【だいだい】?
This question about colours got me thinking:
Why, and how, did オレンジ come to replace 橙【だいだい】 to refer to the colour orange?
It seems weird to me that a word taken from a foreign language became adopted as the norm when there seem to already have been…
Questioner
- 24,694
- 15
- 95
- 232
15
votes
2 answers
When are ふう and よう interchangeable?
Lately ふう has been on my mind. Often it seems interchangeable with よう:
これを｛こんなふう／このよう｝にしてください。 Please make it like this.
あれを｛どういうふう／どのよう｝に解釈しますか。 In what way do you interpret that?
家を出るとき、帰りにケーキを買ってきてという｛ふう／よう｝に言われました。 When I was about to leave,…
Derek Schaab
- 24,151
- 8
- 78
- 92
15
votes
2 answers
In front of "ほうがいい," is it always past tense?
ほうがいい means:
the particular way "ほう"
is "が"
good "いい"
So, for example, if it looks like it's going to rain, I might say to a friend:
"今日は雨らしい。傘を持った方がいい。"
But what I'm curious is, why is "持った" past tense? It feels like it means, it WOULD'VE BEEN…
VladeKR
- 507
- 3
- 11
15
votes
4 answers
The etymology of 関手【かんしゅ】
In Japanese mathematics, the word ‘functor’ is translated as 関手【かんしゅ】. What is the etymology of this word?
I suspect that it is a pun on 関数 (function). This leads to two further questions:
Why 関手 and not 函手? According to Wikipedia 函数 was standard…
Zhen Lin
- 4,880
- 1
- 28
- 32
15
votes
4 answers
"Unsolvable problem"
What is the correct construction of "unsolvable problem"? Is it "解{と}けられない問題{もんだい}"？(Question 1)
Plain(intransitive): 解{と}ける "To be solved".
Potential form(of intransitive): 解けられる "can be solved".
Potential + Negated(of intransitive): 解けられない…
Flaw
- 19,964
- 9
- 68
- 175
15
votes
2 answers
Do Japanese people use quotation marks for emphasis?
I came across this tweet today:
Is this the least confidence-inspiring use of inverted commas ever?
The English part of the sign has "Safe" and "Comfortable" in inverted commas, and the Japanese part likewise has "安心" (relief, peace of mind) and…
Golden Cuy
- 16,209
- 15
- 74
- 184
15
votes
2 answers
What is the difference between all the words for tools / devices?
There is too many words for 'tool' that I am having hard time figuring out when to use which, or if some of them are just synonyms, meaning essentially the same thing. So far I know at least the following words (with dictionary definitions, and…
RadonBust
- 635
- 5
- 14