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votes
2 answers
Where does 「えっと」 come from?
I wanted to describe that 「えっと」 was similar to "Ummm" in English when someone is trying to think about what they are going to say, but I wasn't even sure if that was correct. Is that just a generalization? What does 「えっと」actually come from? Can it…
Chris
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12
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Meaning of pattern 「XがXなら、YもYだ」
While reading, I came across this sentence:
「上官が上官なら部下も部下だな」
What does this 「XがXなら、YもYだ」 pattern mean? "Like X, like Y"? "X will be X, and Y will be Y"?
Amanda S
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12
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Why doesn't 「毎日学校に行ってきます」work?
This question stemmed from comments under another Q&A where @Chocolate points out that「毎日学校に行ってきます」doesn't work but 「今から学校に行ってきます」is fine. But I am still not quite sure why it doesn't work? When people leave home for school or work every day there…
Eddie Kal
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12
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What is the difference between でなくand ではなく？
This is the sentence I have just read:
外国へ行くとしたら、ただの旅行ではなく、勉強を 目的として 行きたい。
If I ever have a chance to go abroad then I would like to go to study rather than just travel.
The は feels intuitively correct but what purpose does it serve? There are…
Tim
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12
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1 answer
Why is particle で used instead of particle と in 家族で出かける (Kazoku de dekakeru)?
I have found this sentence:
家族で出かける。(Kazoku de dekakeru.)
Why is the particle で used instead of と?
roby
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12
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2 answers
What is the difference in usage between a plural using (a) the kanji repetition character 々, (b) a plural using -たち, and (c) the singular?
I know that there are some noun that are made plural by the kanji repetition character, such as 人々 and 国々. My question is, how does this differ from using the non-plural form of the noun? And how does 人々 differ from 人たち?
rurouniwallace
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12
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2 answers
Linguistic/syntactic analysis of のほうがよく聞く
In Japanese the following such sentences are seen quite often:
「〜のほうが（よく）（聞く／使う／感じる／知っている）」
However when you consider the grammar, these are all transitive verbs (in the sense they normally take their object marked by 〜を), so it is odd that they…
Darius Jahandarie
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12
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～にしては vs. ～としては
I know one implies the thing I'm comparing actually is the thing I'm comparing it to, and the other doesn't.
Can someone suggest an easy example or trick for remembering which is which?
MGOwen
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12
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3 answers
Question about grammar, how to say "today I am returning to japan"
Today while I was self studying my Japanese textbook, I noticed this sentence which was translated roughly from "today I am returning to japan"
わたしは 今日 日本 に かえります。
This seemed a bit odd to me since it didn't really sound that great following up
今日…
Blue
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12
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3 answers
Does ～そう modify both verbs in a double-verb construction?
I heard the phrase:
その男の子が車にひかれて死にそうだった。
When I head the V1てV2, I assumed that Verb 1 (ひかれて）had actually happened and that Verb 2 (死にそう) was a consequence. But someone pointed out to me that the そう from Verb 2 also applied to Verb 1. In other…
kandyman
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12
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1 answer
Differences between ひ弱い and か弱い
How did the prefixes ひ and か come about and what are the differences in meaning between ひ弱い and か弱い?
Are either of the prefixes pejorative like how ド is in the examples in dainichi's answer to 'Where does the ド in ド素人 come from?' ?
They both seem…
Flaw
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12
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2 answers
What is the origin of っこない?
There's a construction V+っこない which means something like "have no way of doing V".
お前には分かりっこないでしょう。
There's no way you would understand.
Is it known what this construction originates from? I can't find any reliable information either in Japanese…
jogloran
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12
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1 answer
Why is こんばんみ used as a response to こんばんは？
When I chat the term こんばんみ is occasionally used as a response to こんばんは. Is there any particular reason why this word is chosen?
Jack Bosma
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12
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に vs. が in the ~てほしい construction
I know there are already a few questions about this topic on this website, however none of them seemed to really help me with the issue.
The ~てほしい contruction is used to express that someone wants someone/something else to do something. Now, my…
Kaskade
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12
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2 answers
What does "先が気になる" mean?
Found in this tweet:
先が気になる
I always have to do a double check with 先 because the possible meanings can be very opposite one another.
I've also found other tweets with the same hashtag, like this.
先が気になって仕方ない
SupriseMechanics
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