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1500 questions
13
votes
6 answers
Shouldn't this phrase using だけのこと mean "just for that"?
In a grammar textbook I have, there is this phrase:
幸{さいわ}い日本{にほん}で日本語{にほんご}を勉強{べんきょう}して、かなり話{はな}せるようになりました。日本{にほん}に行{い}っただけのことはありました。
The translation given is:
Fortunately, I studied Japanese in Japan and now I can speak it fairly
well. I…
Questioner
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13
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6 answers
ユーザ or ユーザー, which is more in use or is there no difference?
ユーザ or ユーザー, which is more in use or is there no difference?
I see both of them in use, but is there one that is more correct than the other or is at least the prevailing standard?
a similar word is サーバ and サーバー.
Mark Hosang
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13
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2 answers
What is "Almost" in Japanese
I have never actually seen the words for almost used in Japanese. Below are the various translations for "Almost" that I came accross:
「大方」
「粗」
「九分」
「殆」
「もう少しで」
Could you please highlight which should I use in those generic contexts? And also how…
Aki
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13
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3 answers
～ておく or ～とく for preparation (conjugation and nuance)
A few quick questions regarding ～ておく and the casual form ～とく
Firstly, when changing from ～ておく to the more casual ～とく I'm assuming the verb is first conjugated to the ～て form then the ～て is dropped and replaced with とく and it can then be conjugated…
mattb
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13
votes
2 answers
What's the difference between 静けさ and 静かさ?
Much to my disbelief (no, I'm kidding, it happens all the time), I found out that my handbook was wrong to tell me we must use 静けさ, because 静かさ doesn't exist.
Wiki(tionary) says "For degree, corresponding to the English quietness, both 静かさ…
Kokoroatari
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13
votes
1 answer
Is there a difference between the particle お (o) and the particle を (wo)
So I'm just confused. I've read that when writing を is used, but when talking お is used. Is this true or are they entirely different?
Kyzen
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13
votes
1 answer
って vs が. JLPT question
I'm looking through JLPT N3 questions and have come across this one:
A: ねえ （ ） どんなひと？
B: とても親切でいい人だよ
The possible answers are:
田中さんが
田中さんで
田中さんって
田中さんでも
Number 4 makes no sense at all. "Tanaka-san but"?
Number 2 is a bit weird. We're not…
Josquius
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13
votes
2 answers
What do you call young animals in Japanese?
In English we have a lot of very specific words for many animals. Male foxes are known as reynards or tods, female foxes are known as vixens, and baby foxes are known as kits.
It's not an isolated instance either. Bucks, does, and fawns. Bulls, cows…
Wesley Obenshain
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13
votes
4 answers
In what ways do Japanese children overgeneralize conjugation patterns?
(Preface: I'm not well-versed in language acquisition, so the context I've provided here will be dumbed-down, or perhaps just dumb.)
Context: When children acquire their first language, they typically go through a phase where they take grammatical…
senshin
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13
votes
9 answers
How to say "What's it to you?" in Japanese?
What would be appropriate expressions or idioms to convey the typical English response:
What's it to you?
(in a sense that goes somewhere between "None of your business" and "This is not your problem")
The best I can think of is あなたには関係ない. I am…
Dave
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13
votes
1 answer
Can "みたい" mean "want to see"?
Can "みたい" mean "want to see", or does it always mean "looks like"/"seems like"? If not, how would "want to see" be expressed?
Specifically, assuming it has both uses, it would seem ambiguous to me here:
なんだか違う映画みたいだなあ
Would that be "I want to see a…
Shane
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13
votes
1 answer
The different meanings of "life"? 生気／生活／ライフ／生命／一生／人生／命
I was looking through a dictionary and came across 生活. My original question was
Is this the difference between 生気／生活?
生気 would be like an idea of life. more abstract
生活 would be concrete. So like something/one's life.
My new question is can you…
User4516
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13
votes
2 answers
How do native speakers "read" single-kanji signs when those kanji are not also standalone words?
In my time in Japan I've noticed a few kanji that can be used on their own commonly in various kinds of signs, yet I don't think they are also words in their own right:
押
引
危
開
閉
Since all kanji have multiple readings, I keep wondering how native…
hippietrail
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13
votes
1 answer
天気 vs. 天候, what's the real difference?
What's the real difference between 天気 and 天候? In at least one of my dictionaries, 天候 just redirects to 天気.
I've always thought (read: "felt") that 天候 is the general "concept" of weather, or even climate
秋の天候 - "the [type of] weather in the fall";…
istrasci
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13
votes
1 answer
What do the question marks on these gas station signs mean?
ハイオク： １４８？
レギュラ： １３７？
軽油： １１５？
What meaning do the question marks have?
Garrett Albright
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