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1500 questions
14
votes
2 answers
What is the etymology of [山葵]{わさび}?
I know that "わさび" 'wasabi' can also be written using kanji as "山葵" and that these two characters mean respectively "mountain" and "hollyhock", but hollyhock doesn't seem at first glance to be related.
So are the hollyhock and wasabi plants related…
hippietrail
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14
votes
1 answer
What counter words are used by animals for humans?
In Happy Feet 2, I noticed that the penguins used the hitori, futari, ... counter words for themselves, rather than 羽.
In fiction involving talking animals where the humans are regarded as somewhat "outsider", what counter word do they use for…
Golden Cuy
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14
votes
2 answers
Irregularity of あ-series in demonstratives
Why is the あ-series in demonstratives irregular like the following:
ここ そこ あ そこ どこ
(expected あこ)
こう そう あ あ どう
(expected あう)
Is it related to the fact that こ, そ, ど all end with the vowel "o", and あ ends with the…
user458
14
votes
2 answers
What is the difference between あるまい and ありません？
From what I understand, they both mean "is not". But from what I've been able to gather from the few times I've heard it, it seems that あるまい may not be as strong or definitive as ありません. Am I on the right track here? Also, can まい be used with any…
dotnetN00b
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14
votes
4 answers
In what way is the negative form of a verb an adjective?
I was reading the wikipedia page on "predicate," where it mentioned that in Japanese, the negative form of a verb is an adjective. I thought that this was too expansive a statement to be true, but what does the writer mean? Does the writer mean…
yadokari
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14
votes
8 answers
What's the 日本語 equivalent of saying "That's none of your business"?
What's the Japanese equivalent of saying "None of your business", or "None of your concern"?
Tirous
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14
votes
3 answers
Why does the g tends to sound more like a m or n?
I have heard words such as shigoto, sugata, sugu (ni) and they end up sounding like shimoto, sunata, and sunu ni. Even in sentence such as Haru ga kimasu. I've heard sound like: Haru na kimasu.
So why is that? Do the Japanese not like the g sound…
dotnetN00b
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14
votes
2 answers
What does using という add to a sentence?
This sentence is from a grammar website:
主人公が犯人だったというのが一番面白かった。
Why is という necessary?
What does it add?
And what meaning is lost in writing the sentence without it? For example, as in:
主人公が犯人だったのが一番面白かった。
ixtmixilix
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14
votes
4 answers
揺れる with に or で
I rarely have any problems with the に and で particles, but I have been a bit confused since seeing the word 揺れる in a few different sentences.
As far as I know it is ok to say either:
旗が風に揺れている
or
旗が風で揺れている
Where you could of course replace 旗…
Lucas
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14
votes
1 answer
What is the difference between 「しております」and 「しています」?
I came across the 2 phrases from Nintendo 3DS' instruction manual. They are written adjacently.
本製品は、フォントワークス株式会社のフォントを使用しています。
本製品の一部にシャープ株式会社のLCフォントを使用しております。
If they are different in terms of humbleness, I think the first line should be…
George
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14
votes
2 answers
Zero-nominalisation - Why and When?
Building on from Zhen Lin's answer to "The grammar of ~かれ~かれ",
Brief explanation of Zero-nominalisation:
Nominalisation refers to the process of turning a word, or more generally a phrase, into a noun or noun phrase. For example, こと and もの are…
Flaw
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14
votes
2 answers
Why is the term オナニー written in katakana?
I know what the term means, just curious about the katakana spelling.
Jack Bosma
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14
votes
4 answers
なんか after て- form of a verb
I am confused by the use of なんか, especially after the て-form of a verb. What do: あきらめてなんかない, 消えてなんかない mean? How do they differ from simply saying あきらめていない, 消えていない? What is the purpose of なんか？
Tareq
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14
votes
3 answers
Why does なんてね mean "Just kidding"?
I very often see なんてね or some similar phrase being translated to "Just kidding"? but why does it mean this and how does the grammar behind it work?
user13743
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14
votes
3 answers
Is パートナー likely to be interpreted as a same-sex partner?
When I talked about a relative and his パートナー visiting for Christmas, the person I was speaking to asked if his パートナー was male. Is this a common interpretation of パートナー? Is there a better word than パートナー to talk about a long-term opposite-sex partner…
Golden Cuy
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