Most Popular
1500 questions
12
votes
2 answers
Difference between にさせる vs にする(as in 幸せにさせる vs 幸せにする)
What's the difference when we say 幸せにさせる compared to 幸せにする?
I'm now confused between using させる and にする.
Can anyone please provide an in-depth explanation?
justso
- 121
- 3
12
votes
4 answers
How does the use of いかんによっては in this question determine one answer over another?
In my JLPT practise book, in a section explaining the use of いかんによっては, which roughly means "depending on", they have the following…
Questioner
- 24,694
- 15
- 95
- 232
12
votes
4 answers
How would you translate this? バタコチーズライス
So I'm working on translating a short recipe that I found online. The title calls it バタコチーズライス. I know that バタ is "butter", チーズ is "cheese", and ライス is "rice", but I can't for the life of me figure out what コ is doing in here. Is バタコ referring to…
Rachel
- 121
- 1
- 3
12
votes
2 answers
What is the breakdown of countries where loan words originate?
Is there any general idea of what percentage of loan words come from which languages? I always thought the majority of them came from English, but I keep seeing more and more that originated in Germany and Portugal.
user1316
12
votes
1 answer
Why is this sentence ungrammatical? 「お寺が公園のとなりです。」
I wrote this sentence (meaning "The temple is next to the park") in my Japanese course and my teacher said it's wrong, because I was supposed to use a は instead of a が.
My understanding is that there is always a が in a sentence, which may or may not…
Wolf
- 275
- 1
- 8
12
votes
1 answer
Difference between 一段 imperatives ~よ・~ろ
一段 verbs may be conjugated to form imperative forms of ~よ or ~ろ.
For example:
見る forms either 見よ or 見ろ
食べる forms either 食べよ or 食べろ
How did the two forms come about?
What is the difference in usage of the imperatives?
When will one form be used…
Flaw
- 19,964
- 9
- 68
- 175
12
votes
1 answer
What nuance does "ですな" bring?
I often see ですな used in social text posts.
Examples:
こんにちわ、あついし、ひまですな。
いいてんきですなw
A Google search for "ですな" does not show me any explanation.
Here is how I understand ですな in such context:
Humourously "aristocrat"-sounding.
Auto-derision of fake…
Nicolas Raoul
- 8,650
- 3
- 30
- 78
12
votes
3 answers
Why are wisdom teeth called 親知らず in Japanese?
Why are wisdom teeth called 親知{おやし}らず in Japanese?
The literal meaning seems to be something like "unknown to the parents".
MatthewD
- 1,516
- 4
- 14
- 23
12
votes
2 answers
〜しては is this a grammar pattern?
I was trying to translate this sentence:
僕はアルバイトしてはレコードばかり買っていたから、一日半働けばLP一枚買えるな、と思って働いていた。
I think I get the overall meaning as: Because I spent all my wages on records I went to work thinking "If I work a day and a half I can buy an LP."
But I'm…
Robin
- 121
- 1
- 3
12
votes
2 answers
How does the particle を relate to the verb 行く in the structure「A を + B に行く」?
I came across this sentence in my japanese practicing material (the point is I didn't make up the sentence so I assume it's correct or at least commonly used)
日本についてのアンケートを中国人100人に行った。
and It doesn't make sense to me. What I guess the sentence means…
jarmanso7
- 6,641
- 2
- 16
- 41
12
votes
1 answer
what does しにみえてる mean?
The phrase in question is: 広瀬さんが指導碁をお願いしにみえてるんだけど
In context, I think it means something like "Hirose-san came to ask for a teaching game, but..." but I still have not been able to break down my understanding of this phrase to my own…
Janusz ヤヌシュ
- 902
- 6
- 20
12
votes
2 answers
Why are phone calls cylindrical?
何本か重要な電話をかけ、...
He made several important phone calls and ...
Originally part of this question but separated due to popular? demand.
Why is the counter 本 used in reference to phone calls?
user3856370
- 30,011
- 6
- 51
- 166
12
votes
1 answer
Dealing with paragraphs when translating Japanese literature
So I would like to translate a Japanese book into an Indo-European language (specifically, Russian) and I'm really not sure how to deal with the paragraph structure.
As you may know, Japanese literature is often written in numerous paragraphs, each…
kuchitsu
- 2,715
- 2
- 13
- 24
12
votes
2 answers
What is the etymology of shamisen (三味線)?
The instrument clearly has 3 (三) strings (線), but where does 味 exactly fit in?
Mathieu Bouville
- 2,114
- 7
- 21
12
votes
1 answer
Is -さん used when referring to a celebrity or historical figures?
When referring to a celebrity or historical figure, do you use -さん?
I am listening to Yoko Shimomura.
Would it be:"下村陽子さんを聞いている。"?
Abraham Lincoln is my favorite president.
Would it be: "エイブラハム・リンカーンは一番好きな大統領。"?
I have seen celebrities'…
rurouniwallace
- 4,327
- 3
- 27
- 55