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1500 questions
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Usage (correctness) of だと after verbs
I've noticed だと showing up after verbs for a while now in various forms of media, such as blogs, anime, regular TV shows & also when speaking to Japanese people. However, I was originally told that this grammar is incorrect, as だと can only be used…
user4096
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How should one respond to "お大事に"?
I came across a situation where I went to a volunteer class wearing a mask since I have a cough. My sensei told me "お大事に", and I did not know what to reply.
In this case, should I just say "はい"?
Or is there a more appropriate response?
Dj S
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13
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semantic difference between two keigo verbal forms : に なる(ni naru) and なさる(nasaru)?
Japanese grammar has a rich subset of grammatical forms named 敬語 ("keigo", formal language or respect's language).
The rules allowing to transform a normal verb into a keigo verb are complex and I'm stuck with a difference I found here on a…
suizokukan
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The differences between いきなり, [急]{きゅう}に and [突然]{とつぜん}
I've come to see [突然]{とつぜん} as "sudden in an almost overwhelming manner". The other two, however, I am unable to figure out.
What are the differences between these words, and when is one more appropiate than the other?
Daniel Safari
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13
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Accent changes in conjugation
I find that Japanese pitch accent seems to have some sort of interaction with the morphology. For example, 早い is pronounced [はやい]{LHL}, but 早く is pronounced [はやく]{HLL}.
Are these changes regular? No grammar book I have describes the interaction…
ithisa
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Meaning of のだろう?
I'm not sure when should I use particle の in front of だろう/でしょう?
Is のだろう used when the speaker wonders about something to himself?
For example, what would be the translation of these sentences:
日本は、これからますます高齢化が進むだろう。
It seems that lately the aging…
laiman
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13
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Are haiku typically "padded" when read aloud?
I was once told that haiku should be "padded" so that instead of 5/7/5, they fit an 8/8/8 meter:
■■■■■□□□ ← wait for 3 beats after this line
■■■■■■■□ ← wait for 1 beat after this line
■■■■■□□□ ← wait for 3 beats after this line
If I recall…
user1478
13
votes
1 answer
Are there various ways to use ~し?
The many ways to say “and” in Japanese thread showed me that ～し, ～し can be used give reasons for something.
この部屋は綺麗だし広いし間取りもいいから人気がある。This room is clean, wide and also good partition, so most of the people like it.
ねむいし仕事があるし (I'm sleepy, and I…
Louis Waweru
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Does 連声【れんじょう】 still happen in the modern language?
I remember reading that there's a historical process called 連声【れんじょう】 which explains words like 天皇:
天皇 てん＋おう ＝ てんのう
云々 うん＋うん ＝ うんぬん
銀杏 ぎん＋あん ＝ ぎんなん
Does this ever happen in modern Japanese?
For example, does anyone ever pronounce…
user1478
13
votes
3 answers
What exactly is the difference between -てしまう and - [切]{き}る?
I've read that both the ～てしまう and ～きる (18th meaning of 切る at http://www.csse.monash.edu.au/~jwb/cgi-bin/wwwjdic.cgi?1MUE%E5%88%87%E3%82%8B) forms are used to signify something has been finished/done/completed.
If so, what exactly is the difference…
Pacerier
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13
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「二番」 vs. 「二番目」 confusion
I am confused by 「二番」vs.「二番目」、「三番」vs.「三番目」etc.
While 「一番速い人。」 seems grammatically correct and sounds ok to me, 「二番速い人。」 sounds so unnatural to me I am thinking the grammar might be wrong. But, if 「一番速い」 is correct, certainly 「二番速い」 must also…
davewp
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13
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How do 自他 triplets of related verbs work?
I thought this had been asked before (possibly by me), but I couldn't find it. I'm wondering why for certain verbs/words, instead of just a 自他 pair, there is a triplet (or possibly more) where two of the verbs are one type (自 or 他) and the third is…
istrasci
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13
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2 answers
Do "direct object を" and "directional を" occupy the same slot?
A Dictionary of Basic Japanese Grammar (ADoBJG) lists more than one を particle. In particular:
On page 347, it lists o1, a particle which marks a direct object.
On page 349, it lists o2, a particle which indicates a space in / on / across /…
user1478
13
votes
1 answer
History of だ、です、 and である
Historically where did all of these different forms arise, and when are they used? I noticed that だ and である both have their place in different 文法形, what is the difference in their meaning? I know that in things like 論文 as well as, apparently, on…
user3457
13
votes
4 answers
Usage of お[冷]{ひや} ＆ お水
I just went out for lunch with a friend and when the waiter asked what we want to drink, I ordered 'お[水]{みず}下さい' whereas I noticed my friend asked for 'お[冷]{ひや}下さい'.
Which expression would be more common or is there some distinction on who, where…
Naytzyrhc
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