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2 answers

Conflict among teachings of なら and ば

I recently read a helpful answer on a question asking for clarification on the ways to say "if" in Japanese: と, たら, なら, ば. The link is here: Differences among -たら、なら、-んだったら、-えば, etc According to the post, ば has the following rule: the later clause…
rhyaeris
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Non-distinguished animal pairs in Japanese

This is something I first noticed when I was at an aquarium in Japan (as evidenced in my examples) and continued to see ever since. There are certain pairs of animals, that while extremely similar, have certain distinguishing characteristics such…
istrasci
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Can I use more than one possessive の in a row in the same sentence?

I already know the main usages of の as said here, but I was wondering: If I want to use the possessive indicator in a row, is it correct? For example, if I wanted to say "My family's car is blue.", could I write something like this…
Alenanno
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what's the difference between 余地 and よゆう?

I have been informed that よゆう is to do with temporal or physical room, while 余地 has to do with emotional room, but I might have misunderstood the explanation.
xana
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What is the opposite of 初心者?

As in, I want to say veterans/old hats at doing something instead of beginners at doing something. Edit: Thank you for all the responses. I wasn't looking to imply skill, so I think 経験者 is the word I am looking for, but I learned a lot of other…
Crowbeak
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I can't stand 立つ【た・つ】: Do all its meanings derive from "stand"?

I have an issue with the word 立{た}つ, which is that I get it's basic meaning is "to stand", but I see it used in all sorts of ways that don't make sense to me. Here are some examples, from various native sources, where 立{た}つ throws me…
Questioner
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だけでなく and だけじゃなくて

According to the tobira textbook, ~だけでなく、~も~, means "not only ~, but also ~". One example they give is, 日本語はひらがなだけでなく、カタカナや漢字も覚えなくてはいけません。 For the last two examples, the grammar phrase being taught changes to ~だけじゃなくて、~も~. The examples…
Sean
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私 Origin / Etymology?

I'm taking a beginners Japanese course, and I heard that Japanese Kanji originated from the Chinese writing system, which is the reason for so many similarities. However, the Japanese Kanji for "I" (私) is very different from the Chinese character…
woojoo666
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What is it about ～まして?

Is it just the て-form of ます? So, could I just use 食べまして instead of 食べて? Leading to my next question (everything from here on is assumed): Since 食べまして is the polite form of 食べて, why wouldn't you use 食べましてください instead of 食べてください, isn't that even more…
thz
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Why "お食事の際は、..." instead of "ご飯を食べる際は、..."?

In the following, my textbook says that #1 is the correct choice. (1) お食事の 際は、こちらのテーブルをお使いいただけます。 (2) ご飯を食べる 際は、こちらのテーブルをお使いいただけます。 I think that both are grammatically correct and have the same meaning (ignoring whatever "nuance"). What am I…
kairua
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What is this crazy guy shouting?

Note: I understand the risk that this question might be considered "too localized". However, my hope in asking isn't just to translate this one instance, but to use it as an exploration of how and why standard Japanese words can get modified by a…
Questioner
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How did we get "Foreign Carrot Regime"?

How is it possible to naively get both "Foreign Carrot Regime" and "Foreigner Suffrage" from "外国人参政権"? I'm interested in how the same kanji can be combined in different ways to create a different meaning.
Golden Cuy
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必要{ひつよう} vs 要{い}ります

It should be mentioned I can't read kanji, so please keep that in mind when answering I've just encountered the verb [必要]{ひつよう}, in the Rosetta Stone sentence [私]{わたし}はチケットを[二枚]{にまい}[買]{か}う必要があります Question 1: Does 必要 operate the same as 要ります? Is…
Greg
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Spaces in children's books

Written Japanese ordinarily doesn't use any spaces to separate words. But Japanese children's books do. For example, the opening of Tomi Ungerer's The Three Robbers (すてきな 三にんぐみ) あらわれでたのは、 くろマントに、 くろい　ぼうしの　さんにんぐみ。 それはそれは　こわーい、 どろぼうさまの　おでかけだ。 Are…
Earthliŋ
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Polite Way to Ask "How old are you?" : 何歳 , いくつ ,年齢 , ご年

I think the sentences: 何歳ですか？ いくつですか？ 年齢は？ お年は？ are all sentences that ask "How old are you?" How are they different? What form is most polite?
ZarNge
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