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貧しい【まずしい】 poor 貧乏【びんぼう】な poor What's the difference?
Example sentences do not suggest a big difference. Is there?
貧しい【まずしい】 poor
貧乏【びんぼう】な poor
[貧乏]{びんぼう}だけれど[彼]{かれ}は[幸福]{こうふく}だ。
Poor as he is, he is happy.
[貧]{まず}しいといえども[彼女]{かのじょ}は[幸]{しあわ}せだ。
Though she is poor, she is happy.
Ned Reif
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14
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1 answer
Etymology of 見舞い
Visiting someone in hospital clearly involves seeing that person. But dancing? Does 舞 have some other, relevant meaning? Did it pertain to a traditional, sacred dance for health? Or is this ateji?
Mathieu Bouville
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14
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2 answers
Different conventions for animal meat
After reading this awesome question, I got to thinking about different animal meat. Upon researching a little, there seems to be different conventions in referring to different meats.
Using 訓読み
（鳥・鶏）肉 → とりにく
豚肉 → ぶたにく
Using 音読み
牛肉 → ぎゅうにく
…
istrasci
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14
votes
2 answers
How to distinguish between passive and potential forms of the verb?
I've read that potential form of the ru-verb is formed by replacing る with られる, which is exactly the same for the passive form of ru-verbs. How can we tell the passive form and potential apart in this case?
minerals
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14
votes
1 answer
How did 家, 手, and 士 come to be included in the names of professions?
When I look at the words for professions, there are usually kanji such as 員、者、長、師、屋 and such, that end the name. These appear to make sense to me; however, what about ones such as 家、手、and 士?
For example, why does 歌手 mean "singer"? Does this have…
Chris
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14
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2 answers
Software described as 香ばしい
Upon seeing a particular enterprise software solution XYZ being mentioned, a passing-by IT engineer wrote this:
XYZなかなか香ばしい
My dictionary only have food-related definitions for this word.
What could have he meant?
Nicolas Raoul
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14
votes
2 answers
Why do some Japanese men use お袋 to address their mothers?
I often hear Japanese males use the word お袋 in place of お母さん when annoyed or irritated. Is this word slang? How did this word come to mean 「お母さん」 and what are the circumstances it is used in?
I am also interested in why the word 「袋」is chosen to…
Chris
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14
votes
1 answer
Why does 「目がない」mean "something you like"?
I came across the phrase 甘いものに目がない which roughly translates to "having a sweet tooth". Then I wondered why 目がない refers to "something that you like". Is there an explanation for why "having no eyes" means to "like something"?
Chris
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14
votes
3 answers
Can the particle は be used twice?
Can the topic marker は be used twice in a sentence? For example, かれは日本語はいいですね。 Is that right?
Shannon Rothe
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14
votes
1 answer
Meaning of 人 in Japanese internet slang
In a page from the Dead Tube manga, a man is being killed during a live video. Some of the viewers comment the scene simply with "人". What is the meaning of this kanji when used in this way? Could its graphical aspect remind of clapping or praying…
Marco
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14
votes
1 answer
Are there any words that are longer in kanji than in hiragana?
The number of hiragana to write the pronunciation of kanji always seems to be longer than or equal to the number of kanji. I.e. each kanji corresponds to one or more hiragana.
Are there any words that take up more characters (or maybe more…
Mingwei Samuel
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14
votes
1 answer
Why is it that some temporal nouns cannot be marked with に? And why do they become more acceptable with には?
Consider the following:
に here is used in its function of denoting the time where an event occurs (に1):
◯ 一時に1
◯ 一時半に1
◯ 月曜日に1
◯ 正月に1
* 昨日に1
?/◯ 昨日には
* 今日に1
?/◯ 今日には
* 明日に1
?/◯ 明日には
* 去年に1
?/◯ 去年には
* 今年に1
?/◯ 今年には
* 来年に1
?/◯ 来年には
* 最近に1
に becomes…
Flaw
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14
votes
3 answers
Sentence structure/element order
In the textbook Japanese for Busy People I, the order of the elements in a sentence is always the same (subject - when - with whom - by what means - to where - verb) at least as far as I have made it. Like…
JNat
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14
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2 answers
Why are the words for prefecture so complicated?
The first level of Japan's political division is called "prefecture" in English. However, in Japanese, there are four words for it: 都, 道, 府, and 県, and depending the particular prefecture, a certain one is used. Most use 県. Why is it complicated…
user458
14
votes
2 answers
Meaning of 〜あれだ
_____ってあれだよね
What is あれ in this context? Is the speaking making a positive or negative statement about _____?
Amanda S
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