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14
votes
2 answers
How are the giongo/gitaigo double form and tto form related (きらきら vs. きらっと)
With many 擬音語 (ぎおんご, onomatopoeia) and 擬態語 (ぎたいご, mimetic words) there is a double form, where the word is repeated, and a form with っと at the end. For example:
きらきら -> きらっと (sparkling)
ぴかぴか -> ぴかっと (twinkling)
ぺろぺろ -> ぺろっと (slavering?)
ちらちら…
nevan king
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14
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4 answers
Is はじめまして only suitable for the first contact?
When I'm contacting a colleague for the first time and we're communicating online, I can use はじめまして as part of my greeting. Likewise, if I'm meeting someone for the first time and it is an in-person meeting, I can say はじめまして during my…
Troyen
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14
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1 answer
What does てやる mean when it is not used for giving?
Okay, according to the (monolingual) dictionary that I use, てやる is used to indicate "doing something with strong will or determination" (my translation) e.g. 飛び降りてやる！ But this definition seems a little too vague for me; is there anything that it…
user4096
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14
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2 answers
How do you say "just curious" or "out of curiosity"?
In English, I often say "I'm just curious, but...". The best phrase I've come up with for this in Japanese is
「[好奇心]{こうきしん}だけですが・・・」
but I've never heard a native speaker use this.
I recently saw 「なぜなのか気になりますが・・・」, but that sounds strange to me…
William
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14
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1 answer
Difference between intransitive and passive?
I was thinking about Japanese passive and made the following example
壊すー>壊される which means to be broken
But looking at the English definition of "to be broken", isn't there another Japanese word for that being, 壊れる？ How are these two different in…
Mint
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14
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4 answers
History of 十干（じっかん）and modern uses
As I was studying vocabulary today, I happened to come across the titular 十干 which are as follows:
[甲]{こう} • [乙]{おつ} • [丙]{へい} • [丁]{てい} • [戊]{ぼ} • [己]{き} • [庚]{こう} • [辛]{しん} • [壬]{じん} • [癸]{き}
There's a somewhat lengthy definition near the middle…
istrasci
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14
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5 answers
Are there any rules for choosing between おお and おう?
Am I correct assuming that both おお and おう are homophones in Japanese - both being pronounced as long o? I suspect I am, since that's what I'm indirectly reading in various tutorials. If so, are there any (non necessarily exhaustive) rules to guess…
Armen Tsirunyan
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14
votes
1 answer
What is the difference between using を and と with the verb 言う?
I apologize if this is a basic question, but it's something I've never been entirely clear on. When using the verb 言う (to say), I can never figure out whether to use the particle -と or the particle -を for the thing being said. I know that -と is…
rurouniwallace
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14
votes
3 answers
How similar is the Japanese spoken in Taiwan to the Japanese spoken in Japan?
I've heard that Japanese is spoken by some Taiwanese people who were old enough to have lived during Japanese rule, along with some people who've learnt it for other reasons. For younger people, I've been told Mandarin or English would be the best…
Golden Cuy
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13
votes
3 answers
Where does the suffix 〜がる come from?
I've read that several bits of Japanese come from contractions with ある:
だ comes from で + ある (source)
なる comes from に + ある (source)
たり comes from て + あり (source)
たり comes from と + あり (source)
Adjective forms like たのしかった come from inflecting たのしく +…
user1478
13
votes
4 answers
How do you write the sound "wu"?
As in "Wu Tang" or something similar. Would it be something like ウゥ? I know that "wool" is written as ウール, but 1) the "woo" sound is pronounced slightly differently than "wu", and 2) ウール doesn't give you the "pushed" sound of the 'w'.
And not just…
istrasci
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13
votes
4 answers
How commonly are "あたし" or "[僕]{ぼく}" used?
My friend and I are learning Japanese. For a time, all we knew was 私, but after we learned more words, she started to use あたし when referring to herself, and I began using 僕. What I'm wondering is, how commonly are these used?
Related: Is it ok for…
voithos
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What are the stereotypical characteristics of yakuza speech?
When people imitate yakuza speech, what are the major things they do to make it recognizable as such?
If possible, how accurate is this compared to actual yakuza speech?
I've seen mention elsewhere on this site that there is some relationship with…
hippietrail
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13
votes
1 answer
Using くれる for doing something bad
Today I heard the phrase なんてことしてくれた, as in:
君！なんてことしてくれたんだ！
which I learned means "Look what you've done". I thought くれる was only used when someone does something nice for you. Is this just a set phrase, where くれる is being used sarcastically, or…
nevan king
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13
votes
1 answer
What is the origin of 場所?
The kanji compound 場所 is bugging me. For the longest time, I did not know how to pronounce it, oscillating between ばどころ and じょうしょ. The correct pronunciation, however, is ばしょ. This is weird to me, because it is a kun-on compound rather than the more…
Jan
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