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votes
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に vs で: 映画に見る vs 映画で見る
Branching off from the comments to this question: Do I say えいがにみました or えいがをみました ？:
Preamble:
The comment says 映画に見た is valid for "I saw it in a movie". I went to search for example sentences and found both に見た and で見た
excluding adverbial types like…
Flaw
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11
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1 answer
How do you say "I have been [...]"?
How would I say “I have been [...]” as in “I have been studying Japanese.” or “I have been working at an office”?
If I remember correctly it is a particular verb conjugation and this would be considered past progressive tense. Correct?
I would…
Unique Depiction
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1 answer
What's the difference between 値段 and 価格
They're both "price", but I don't see the difference. Even the Kanji appear to suggest similar meanings. Thanks for any advice!
Gerhard
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11
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1 answer
あまり meaning "too much"
When using あまり in the sense of "too much" (as opposed to "not very"), until recently I had always seen it as あまりにもA, with A being the thing that there was too much of. I never really tried to relate the meaning of individual particles に and も to…
Zach
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11
votes
3 answers
How to negate "べき"? (ie. "should not")
「食{た}べる」 can be negated as 「食べない」. 「美{うつく}しい」 can be negated as 「美しくない」. etc. etc.
Can you negate 「べき」as in:
「明日は受験なので、勉強するべきです。」(Since you are taking a test tomorrow, you should study.)
「明日は受験なので、遊ぶべき___。」(Since you are taking a test tomorrow, you…
user312440
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11
votes
2 answers
Looking for an explanation of the usage "あったものじゃない”
I'm looking for an explanation of the usage "あったものじゃない”.
例文
１）ムードも何もあったものじゃありませんね (context:Girlfriend and boyfriend were out on a date and the boyfriend's stomach made a large noise because he hasn't eaten all…
user6981
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11
votes
2 answers
How does one use the "[V ます stem] に [Vタ]" pattern (as in 待ちに待った)?
Every now and then I hear 待ちに待った, as in:
待ちに待ったライブ a long-awaited concert
I started wondering if this pattern can apply to other verbs, and it certainly seems to, if Google is any indication. I found instances of 望みに望んだ, 祈りに祈った, and even things…
Derek Schaab
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11
votes
1 answer
what nuance does calling oneself "ふつつかもの" have?
In the context of chatting with someone whom you have never met before, Japanese always give you the courtesy of complimenting your language skills. In a non-business context, my response is sometimes 「いやいや、不束者{ふつつかもの}です、私。」That almost always gets a…
user312440
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11
votes
1 answer
What is the difference between 腰掛ける and 座る?
What is the difference between 腰掛ける and 座る?
Nhu
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2 answers
Does 友達 have the plural marker たち "built-in"?
I cannot recall this very clearly so I'm sorry if this is all not correct but someone once told me that the word 友達{ともだち} has the plural marker たち "built-in" and therefore you cannot say 友達たち about friends in a situation where you could normally use…
Szymon
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11
votes
1 answer
Why is this 理由 【りゆう】 given the furigana わけ?
It might be hard to read because of the image resolution, but on the cover of this book, on the bottom left side, it says:
へんな日本語にも理由がある。
Which means something like:
"Even strange Japanese has a reason."
The thing is, 理由 has furigana above it…
Questioner
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11
votes
1 answer
How should we understand the plain form when used in novels set in the past?
I am trying to understand how the plain form is used in novels set in the past through the explanations in the paper referenced below. I wonder if someone could explain how we should understand the Japanese version of the following examples:…
Tim
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11
votes
3 answers
Difference between the words for "living/residing" [住む/棲む/泊まる/暮らす]
I have come across various words meaning "living/residing".
What are the differences between them and their usage? I've listed what I think are the differences. Are they correct?
住む: Live in some place more or less permanently
棲む: Same as above,…
小太郎
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11
votes
6 answers
Computer: 計算機 or 計算器?
What is the difference between the two kanji variants for 「けいさんき」, the other word for 「コンピューター」?
計算器
計算機
Lukman
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11
votes
2 answers
Which part of speech is the 「ぞ」 in 「神のみぞ知るセカイ」?
「神{かみ}のみぞ知{し}るセカイ」 is the title of a manga/anime series but I'm not asking about the anime. I'm just curious about the 「ぞ」 part in the title.
I know there is a ぞ particle that is similar to よ, such that 行{い}くぞ is similar to 行くよ. But I have never…
Lukman
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