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1500 questions
13
votes
1 answer
Are the 4-byte UTF-8 Kanji rare enough that I can ignore them?
I'm writing a programming algorithm which converts code points of Kanji characters to their respective UTF-8 octets.
My problem is, if I don't include 4-octet characters, and only deal with 3-octet ones, I will store each code point in 2 bytes for…
hkBattousai
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13
votes
2 answers
The use of -さん when answering about oneself
If someone says,
あなた は Chris-さん です か。
Are you Chris?
Do you answer
Chris です
Or
Chris-さん です
Chris
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13
votes
4 answers
Difference between （遊び）方 and （遊ぶ）方法
I'm struggling to understand the difference between the verb suffix ～方【かた】 and the noun 方法【ほうほう】. As an example, the difference between 遊び方 (which seems to mean something like "manner in which someone is playing") and 遊ぶ方法 (which seems to mean…
Billy
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13
votes
3 answers
What does "齓" mean?
I've found this kanji during Shodo practice. My teacher (Japanese) didn't know the meaning (she recognized the Tooth bushu/radical but not the "word").
I tried to look it up on the electronic dictionaries I own, both Japanese and Chinese, but while…
p.marino
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13
votes
2 answers
What words are used for dolphin meat?
What words are used for dolphin meat?
Searching jisho.org using "dolphin" in the English field listed several different words for dolphin, but no compounds involving meat.
Neither the English nor the Japanese editions of Wikipedia have an entry…
Golden Cuy
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13
votes
3 answers
Why is "Xy" pronounced as "Ki Shi" in Xylitol「キシリトール」?
Why is "Xy" pronounced as "[Ki Shi]{キ シ}" in [Xylitol]{キシリトール}?
I believe "Xy" can pronounced as "Zai", which is probably a valid sound in Japanese.
I would like to know its etymology too, if there is any.
YOU
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13
votes
2 answers
Where does the word キレる come from?
I'm unsure of how to use this word 「キレる」. When I looked up the definition, it says something along the lines of "to get angry" or "to lose one's temper".
Where does this word come from? I'm somewhat confused at the combination of katakana 「キレ」 +…
Chris
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13
votes
3 answers
What are the stereotypical qualities of a gaijin trying to speak/write Japanese to a Japanese person?
There are plenty of stereotypical qualities of a Japanese speaking person trying to speak English, so, would I be correct in assuming the reverse is also the case, and if so, what would the most notable features be?
I ask this both out of curiosity…
Tirous
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13
votes
1 answer
must/need [必要]{ひつよう}がある vs. なくてはいけない and [必要]{ひつよう}だ vs. [要]{い}る
This is a two part question, both pertaining to expressions involving "必要".
What is the difference between 必要がある and -なくてはいけない/ -なければならない? The
difference between the latter two expressions is explained in
this
question, but I'm still unclear as to…
rurouniwallace
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13
votes
1 answer
Why using です in katakana?
This question might sound stupid but it got me thinking for some hours. A friend bought me this gel pen from a Japanese store in my country, and it is written in the pen:
かわいいデス
instead of かわいいです kawaii desu.
I do not understand why です is in…
M.K
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13
votes
2 answers
what does 自己PR mean？
I keep coming across this word often 「自己PR」when looking at applications. I'm not sure what the "PR" part means in Japanese, but in English it usually means "public relations". What does this word mean, and what does the "PR" stand for?
Chris
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13
votes
3 answers
What is the difference between 防止 and 予防?
My dictionary defines both 防止 and 予防 as "prevention", with 予防 having the additional definitions of "precaution" and "protection against".
I sort of understand the latter definitions for 予防 as acting to stop something which is happening from getting…
Troyen
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13
votes
2 answers
Is the use of 後で fading from usage in Japanese?
When first studying Japanese, I learned that "after" in Japanese is 後で. But asking around and looking at regular usage, a lot of Japanese will tell me a sentence like the following is slightly unnatural:
映画を見た後で家に帰ってきました。
I actually tried making…
Mac
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13
votes
2 answers
What is the correct veritable meaning of 水無月 and 神無月?
This question is the result of a conversation with Chocolate in chat, and also this Japanese calendar I have that lists the months according to the traditional Japanese names.
For some reason, there exists some discrepancy about the literal meaning…
Chris
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13
votes
2 answers
Transitive English words becoming intransitive 外来語
While reading naruto's answer to Difference in sentences (と and に）, I realized that although キス is an intransitive verb in Japanese, the English kiss is almost always used as a transitive verb. Some other examples of this are アクセス and リベンジ. My…
Ringil
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