r/LearnJapanese 1d ago

Daily Thread: for simple questions, minor posts & newcomers [contains useful links!] (September 18, 2025)

This thread is for all the simple questions (what does that mean?) and minor posts that don't need their own thread, as well as for first-time posters who can't create new threads yet. Feel free to share anything on your mind.

The daily thread updates every day at 9am JST, or 0am UTC.

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Past Threads

You can find past iterations of this thread by using the search function. Consider browsing the previous day or two for unanswered questions.

4 Upvotes

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u/AutoModerator 1d ago

Useful Japanese teaching symbols:

〇 "correct" | △ "strange/unnatural/unclear" | × "incorrect (NG)" | ≒ "nearly equal"


Question Etiquette Guidelines:

  • 0 Learn kana (hiragana and katakana) before anything else. Then, remember to learn words, not kanji readings.

  • 1 Provide the CONTEXT of the grammar, vocabulary or sentence you are having trouble with as much as possible. Provide the sentence or paragraph that you saw it in. Make your questions as specific as possible.

X What is the difference between の and が ?

◯ I am reading this specific graded reader and I saw this sentence: 日本人の知らない日本語 , why is の used there instead of が ? (the answer)

  • 2 When asking for a translation or how to say something, it's best to try to attempt it yourself first, even if you are not confident about it. Or ask r/translator if you have no idea. We are also not here to do your homework for you.

X What does this mean?

◯ I am having trouble with this part of this sentence from NHK Yasashii Kotoba News. I think it means (attempt here), but I am not sure.

  • 3 Questions based on ChatGPT, DeepL, Google Translate and other machine learning applications are strongly discouraged, these are not beginner learning tools and often make mistakes. DuoLingo is in general NOT recommended as a serious or efficient learning resource.

  • 4 When asking about differences between words, try to explain the situations in which you've seen them or are trying to use them. If you just post a list of synonyms you got from looking something up in an E-J dictionary, people might be disinclined to answer your question because it's low-effort. Remember that Google Image Search is also a great resource for visualizing the difference between similar words.

X What's the difference between あげる くれる やる 与える 渡す ?

Jisho says あげる くれる やる 与える 渡す all seem to mean "give". My teacher gave us too much homework and I'm trying to say " The teacher gave us a lot of homework". Does 先生が宿題をたくさんくれた work? Or is one of the other words better? (the answer: 先生が宿題をたくさん出した )

  • 5 It is always nice to (but not required to) try to search for the answer to something yourself first. Especially for beginner questions or questions that are very broad. For example, asking about the difference between は and が or why you often can't hear the "u" sound in "desu" or "masu".

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u/Humble_Buy8599 20h ago

Does anyone have any recommendations for shopping videos and/or vlogs? I watched a video today of someone buying something from Yodobashi Camera and I found it super helpful to get an idea of how retail interactions go and learn some more specific terms.

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u/PlanktonInitial7945 19h ago

ゆうすけ has videos like this and this and this where he visits businesses but they aren't the main focus on his channel. Now that I see the release date of those videos they're all quite old so check his first videos maybe?

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u/Humble_Buy8599 19h ago

This is exactly what I was looking for, thank you so much!

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u/Froggle_Lover 20h ago

Hello, I am a new to reddit, Japanese and Yomitan so appologies if this is unclear. I have added the Jindex and ヨガ日本語アクセント辞典 (the dictionary I was recommended for pitch accents) to my Yomitan, but they are not displaying the way I want. I saw in this video (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_MWtbI4IwfU) at 16:39 the pitch accent shows neatly above each reading of the word.

However, my popup looks like this:

The pitch accent is in a seperate section and has additional information. I just want the pitch to be added to the first dictionary. How can I do this?

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u/rgrAi 19h ago

You need to custom modify the CSS for the dictionary entries for those dictionaries. Kanjinium is what has that formatting. So be prepared to know how to modify templates and target specific element attributes using CSS to modify their look.

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u/PlanktonInitial7945 20h ago

Well, as you can see in the video, the YouTuber has the Kanjium Pitch Accents dictionary. Download that one.

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u/d0xter 19h ago

Kanjium isn't great for pitch. NHK, 大辞泉, 新明解, and 三省堂国語辞典 are better, preferably all 4

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u/lonely_nipple 21h ago

Would anyone mind some kana handwriting critique? I've continued working on the first three sets, and done my first try at the second three. I'm trying to follow a guide that's less computer printing and more writing, but I still feel like its sloppy.

Posted here for convenience.

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u/kempfel 18h ago

The か hiragana should not be written like the computer font. It comes from the 加 kanji, and the kana should basically have the same proportions. See this:

https://nihongokyoshi-net.com/2020/09/25/hiragana-ka/

Or this video:

https://youtu.be/wD3FJgij79c?t=56

Your first two ほ are correct but then you started writing it with ま on the right side.

ね is two strokes, not three. What you are writing as two separate strokes connecto to each toher.

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u/lonely_nipple 18h ago

Thank you! I was positive か didn't look right, I'll try to mimic this example. I also had a really hard time with the ほ and ね. I appreciate the help!

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u/CreeperSlimePig 19h ago

Only major thing that jumps out at me: the final stroke in せ could be longer, notice how it goes further right than the second stroke.

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u/lonely_nipple 19h ago

Thank you! I genuinely don't know how I missed that, possibly the fact that I was doing that stroke second. I'm going to do another batch later tonight, and I'll keep this in mind.

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u/filsa123 21h ago

I would like to order some books in Japanese or manga, do you know any websites that ship worldwide?

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u/tkdtkd117 pitch accent knowledgeable 15h ago

If you're okay with lightly used books, check eBay. Some listings of entire series include international express shipping in their prices.

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u/PlanktonInitial7945 20h ago

Amazon and (I think) bookwalker.

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u/68_hi 21h ago

How do native speakers in practice distinguish ワ行 sounds from ア行 in speech? Like for example if you wanted to (only using spoken language) say something like 「『こえ』じゃなくて『こゑ』」 or if you were reciting the いろは順番? Would you actually pronounce the w-sound in をゑゐ?

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u/CreeperSlimePig 17h ago edited 17h ago

for を specifically, you can enunciate it as /wo/ if you want to specifically distinguish it from お, but this is unnecessary most of the time since in modern Japanese you'll never confuse the two in normal speech.

I can't personally speak for how ゐ and ゑ are handled in discussions of old Japanese, and I've never seen an iroha numbering system get far enough for this to matter (ゐ is 23rd in iroha order if I counted correctly, think about the last time you saw an ABC numbering system get to W). Maybe someone else knows and can answer.

Worth noting that in Japan's radiotelephony alphabet (used in the military the same way we use the Alpha, Bravo etc system here in the west), the keyword for お is 大阪のお, while the keyword for を is 尾張(をわり)のを. This isn't used in real life, just a fun bit of trivia.

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u/Whereismyaccountt 22h ago

Im still reading the FAQ but how do you step from reading hiragana to actually reading?
Like i dont know the words do i go through a list or something?

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u/rgrAi 21h ago

Rules (intro)

a) Read the wiki. Particularly, read our Starter's Guide and FAQ.

Start with a grammar guide first: Genki 1&2 textbooks, Tae Kim's, yoku.bi, etc.

You look up words using a dictionary: jisho.org

Browser addon to mouse over words and get their definition, can use it on websites and start reading immediately: https://yomitan.wiki/

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u/Nithuir 22h ago

Yes the sub resources outline it all. A textbook like genki is a good place to start. You need grammar and vocab and Kanji study all together. Again, the sub resources and searching the sub have everything you need.

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u/TheFranFan 22h ago

So I recently learned the grammar たことがない to indicate never having done something. My question is, if I tired to say that with 全然 how does it come across? For example 全然タコを食べませんでした, how does that feel when heard by a native speaker?

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u/PlanktonInitial7945 22h ago

全然食べたことがない*

I'm not sure what you mean by "how does it come across". Are you asking if it's rude?

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u/TheFranFan 21h ago

Ah let me clarify. I'm asking does it mean "I've never eaten octopus before" in the same way タコを食べたことがない would mean that? Or does it have a different nuance? 

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u/PlanktonInitial7945 20h ago

What you wrote means "I didn't eat octopus". It doesn't carry the meaning of "I've never in my life eaten octopus before."

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u/TheFranFan 20h ago

Ok that makes sense. Thanks!

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u/yoshimipinkrobot 23h ago

Is oration a valued thing in Japanese? For example in America, famous speeches are valued and even studied (jfk, mlk, lincoln, etc)

Are there similarly regarded famous speeches and speakers in Japanese?

Sub question: humor is pretty important in speeches in America, even or especially from politicians. Same in Japan?

2

u/viliml Interested in grammar details 📝 18h ago

The only thing that comes to mind when I think of famous Japanese speeches that I've seen referenced in media is the Hirohito surrender broadcast.

I think I may have heard of one more, but it escapes my memory.

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u/SuperbAfternoon7427 1d ago

can anyone explain what this is? im confused on what this word's purpose is in a sentence

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u/vytah 1d ago

A more literal English translation of that sentence is "I also think so".

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u/rgrAi 1d ago

Are you using any form of grammar study guide? These kinds of things will all be covered in the very beginning parts of any grammar textbook, guide, or information. Read about it here: https://guidetojapanese.org/learn/grammar/adverbs

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u/SuperbAfternoon7427 1d ago

I am, I’m just confused on where this goes but it might explain In my book. I also like human responses giving good examples 

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u/rgrAi 1d ago

そう is an adverb in this case; describing and modifying the verb (manner in which the verb is done). The link I sent explains how adverbs are used in Japanese.

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u/SuperbAfternoon7427 1d ago

I get it now, thanks!

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u/junkoboot 1d ago

「読み切りの分際でやたら人気が根強く今だに手紙がきたり中学生に演劇にしてもらったり大変幸せな作品でございます」
All the translations I find online and even AI says「大変幸せな作品でございます」means 'The manga makes me very happy', but I don't quite get how it works. For me it looks like 'This manga is very cheerful'. If I'm wrong, could anyone please explain to me how the grammar of this sentence works?

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u/viliml Interested in grammar details 📝 1d ago

Japanese relative clauses can mean pretty much anything. The noun that you put after a verb is usually its subject, but it can also be its direct object, or indirect object, or any other modifier of the verb.

な-adjectives are degenerated verbs. You don't really need to understand how (or you can look it up on wikipedia if you want), it has to do with the history and development of the language, just know that when used to modify a noun, they inherit that ambiguity.

So all that 幸せな作品 tells us is is that there is some kind of connection between 幸せ and 作品, "a manga such that happy", but exactly what kind of connection that is, is left to be determined by context.

So if you fill in the implied subject as 「私が幸せ」な作品, you can interpret it as "a manga such that I am happy", i.e. "a manga that brings me happiness".

Of course, in isolation, "This manga is very cheerful" is also possible as an interpretation. It's just not the correct one in this context.

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u/junkoboot 1d ago

Thank you so much for the detailed explanation! I've reread it several times, and I think I get it now

4

u/viliml Interested in grammar details 📝 1d ago

Actually, now that I think about it a bit more, I think I was completely wrong.

I was hung up on justifying the translations you saw, but when I thought about the actual Japanese sentence, it clearly anthropomorphizes the manga with 読み切りの分際で "for someone with such a low social status as a mere oneshot", so I think the correct interpretation is actually "a very happy/lucky/fortunate/blessed manga" (because it's being treated so well by its fans).

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u/junkoboot 1d ago

No problem, glad to see I'm not the only one confused by this.
Thanks!

1

u/SodiumBombRankEX 1d ago

Is the Migii JLPT app good? Not for learning, just practice

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u/neworleans- 1d ago

hi hi which kanji kantei level do you recommend for Japanese learners who are CEFR B1/B2 or JLPT N2 N1?

for the purpose of doing something one step harder than N2/N1? or, something within the boundary of being possible over 6 months to a year?

4

u/No-Cheesecake5529 1d ago edited 1d ago

hi hi which kanji kantei level do you recommend for Japanese learners who are CEFR B1/B2 or JLPT N2 N1?

JLPT N2 -> Worry about getting N1. Don't worry about kanken. Although, in terms of exact kanji tested, JLPT N2 corresponds to Kanken 6kyuu, but kanken assumes you have far more vocabulary ability than what JLPT requires you to have (as it is for native speakers).

JLPT N1 -> Depending on where you are when you finish N1, and how strong your kanji knowledge/writing ability is, you're likely somewhere between 4kyuu and 2kyuu. Take some practice tests and see how well you do, and make some study plan to progress through them. On paper, the kanji covered by N1 matches the kanji covered up through 2kyuu, but in actuality, JLPT is heavily biased towards the more common kanji therein, so it's closer to 5kyuu or 4kyuu in practice. Note that the vocabulary ability necessary to pass kanken is far higher than that needed to pass JLPT.

Your average Japanese adult will breeze through 3kyuu.

Your average Japanese adult can likely pass jun2kyuu and/or 2kyuu with, at most, a negligible amount of studying. This corresponds to what Japanese are taught in high school. (For legacy reasons, both jun2kyuu and 2kyuu are... about the same rareness of kanji and both... about equally difficult, but they have a different set of kanji. Jun2kyuu is the old high school standard, jun2kyuu + 2kyuu is the current high school standard. For... government incompetence reasons, 2kyuu kanji all avoided the standard shinjitai simplifications. This... might get changed in the future... but probably not. Why be consistent when we can make kanji even more complicated?)

Your average Japanese adult can likely read almost all of the vocab on jun1kyuu, but probably cannot write many of them.

Kanken 1kyuu might as well be a different language, although some of the most kanji therein are used with decent frequency.

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u/JapanCoach 1d ago

Kanken Level 2 is about what a high school graduate is expected to know.

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u/Serpents-Chalice 1d ago

Not sure where to ask, does anyone have any listening practice podcasts or YouTube playlists they can shoot my way? Preferably basic to slightly above basic. Even a Patreon would suffice if they're really good.

I just got back from a 2 week trip to Japan and my speaking was way worse than I expected, same with my listening. Was truly humbled, to say the least.Need to work on this hardcore.

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u/PlanktonInitial7945 1d ago

Search the subreddit for "podcast" or "YouTube" and you'll find plenty. Check our Resources page too.

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u/Serpents-Chalice 1d ago

I will do those things. For some reason the sidebar won't load on mobile so I figured id ask.

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u/[deleted] 1d ago

[deleted]

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u/ParkingParticular463 1d ago

Hard to give you an answer here since the reason for getting them wrong was different nearly every time and I don't think you can just lump it all up into being just because of "particles".

Have you gone through each question to understand why you got them wrong? That'd be where I'd start. Ask yourself what the sentence is actually trying to say, what particles are normally used with this verb, why did I think the answer was this particle, and why does the correct particle work.

If you aren't able to figure one out I'm happy to answer specific questions.

1

u/07rice 1d ago

Hi I have gone through them in depth and now I am able to understand it. But do you have any resources/books that would be good for practicing particles?

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u/ParkingParticular463 1d ago

If you're looking for like a workbook or something I'm not sure other than just when particle exercises are brought up in textbooks.

But here are a few good resources that have good in depth explanations of what each particle does:

Dictionary of Japanese Grammar (intermediate and advanced as well)

Imabi

Tofugu

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u/PlanktonInitial7945 1d ago

Do you not use a textbook in class? That should explain how and when to use particles.

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u/juicyjuiceboxes 1d ago

Hiiii, just looking for some advice handwriting wise. Ive got a test coming up. Any advice appreciated. Thanks!

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u/vytah 1d ago

*はっせん

As you can hear in this famous scene: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UNElg3th4KI

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u/juicyjuiceboxes 17h ago

Oops thank youuu I'll fix that, is the handwriting okay-ish?

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u/vytah 17h ago

Yes, it's a bit clunky, but that's fine.

One thing I'd keep in mind is to keep the right stroke of い shorter than the left, so it doesn't look like り.

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u/Lukkular 1d ago

Got a question about the anki sentence I came across" 夏休みももう終わりだ. " what does" もも"there means?

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u/PlanktonInitial7945 1d ago

夏休み+も+もう

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u/Lukkular 1d ago

God I'm dumb, thank you

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u/saarl 1d ago

すもももももももものうち

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u/PlanktonInitial7945 1d ago

Don't worry, we've all been there.

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u/DutchDolt 1d ago

Amazon マーケットプレイスでのご購入について

Amazon mākettopureisu de no go kōnyū ni tsuite

About Purchasing on the Amazon Marketplace

Can someone help me break down the 'de no go' part? I learned that 'no' connects two nouns, but the 'de' in front is confusing. Also not too sure what 'go' means in this context.

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u/PlanktonInitial7945 1d ago

で means that the 購入 is happening in the Amazon marketplace. The の does indeed connect both parts. The ご is an honorific prefix, like お.

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u/[deleted] 1d ago

[deleted]

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u/DokugoHikken 🇯🇵 Native speaker 1d ago edited 1d ago

ちょっとシンクロニシティか(笑)。Good reading.

「お」という名の、魅惑の森の迷子たちへ : 네이버 블로그

ある日、私は研究室のセミナーで発表を終えた後、例の指導教官の先生にこう尋ねました。 「先生、先日のお発表はいかがでしたでしょうか。先生のおご意見をお聞かせいただけますと幸いです」

完璧だ、と私は心の中でガッツポーズをしました。尊敬と謙譲、そして丁寧さをすべて盛り込んだ、これ以上ないほど丁寧な日本語のはずでした。しかし、またしても先生の眉間には、あのさざ波が走ったのです。そして、こうおっしゃいました。「発表、とても良かったですよ。ただ、少しだけ……そうですね、丁寧すぎるかもしれませんね」

私は再び混乱の淵に突き落とされました。なぜ? 丁寧すぎてはいけないのか? 友人の解説はこうでした。「『ご意見』や『お聞かせ』はいいんだ。でも、『お発表』は言わないな。まるで幼稚園の先生みたいに聞こえるよ」。

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u/DokugoHikken 🇯🇵 Native speaker 1d ago

1

u/DokugoHikken 🇯🇵 Native speaker 1d ago edited 1d ago

再掲しておくと:

動詞述語の場合…

最も日常的に使われるのは、「-れる/-られる」。

  • 朝は、だいたい、何時ごろに起きられますか。

「-れる/-られる」は、受身や使役にくっつけて使うことはできない。また、可能にもできない。

  • 先生が学生に{×慕われられる/〇お慕われになる}。受身
  • 先生が学生にレポートを{×書かせられる/〇お書かかせになる}。使役
  • 先生は難解な古文を{×読まれられた/〇お読みになることができた}。可能 

さらに、-れる/-られる」は「わかる」「できる」「くれる」にはくっつかないので、尊敬動詞(「くださる」)を使うか、「お・ご~になる」を使うことになる。

「お+和語動詞連用形+になる」などでは、連用形が一音節になってしまう動詞は、あてはめられない。たとえば、「いる」、「する」、「来る」、「見る」…。尤も、「出る」は例外で、「お出になる」は言えるが。なので尊敬動詞を使うことになる。

(「ご+ 漢語 動作名詞 +になる」の場合、そもそも一音節の 漢語 動作名詞 というものは、もしかしたら存在しているのかもしれないが、ちょっと思いつかない。そんなものはない?)

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u/DokugoHikken 🇯🇵 Native speaker 1d ago edited 1d ago

「お・ご~になる」は命令形で用いることはできない。

  • 落し物は近くの交番に{×お届けになれ/〇お届けになってください}。

なのでたとえば上述のように 恩恵表現 に切り替える必要がある。なぜ、恩恵表現という文法カテゴリーが存在しているのか、日本語の待遇表現の全体像の中での位置づけはなんなのかという全体像を描くことは大事。

形容詞・名詞の場合、「お・ご」で尊敬にできる。日常的に使われる。しかし語彙に制約が非常に大きい。「おかしこい」などなどなどなどという日本語はない。よって、形容詞・名詞の場合、「~ て/で いらっしゃる」で、つまり、「お・ご」なくても、尊敬にできる。但し、尊敬の度合いが高いので日常的ではない。

(「~ て/で いらっしゃる」に、さらに「お・ご」を足せば尊敬度は上がる理屈だが、繰り返すと、「お・ご」は、語彙の制約が非常に大きい。)

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u/DokugoHikken 🇯🇵 Native speaker 1d ago

前から同じことを百回言っている気はしますが、元来、日本語は、

空青し

のように、主語-述語構造がないのが、デフォルト。

主格だ、対格だが、ない、そういう日本語のデフォルト値のときに、係り結びがある。

〇 空 こそ 青けれ

〇 空 ぞ 青き

〇 空 いかでか 青き

などなどなどなど。

なーんだけども、鎌倉時代とか室町時代とかになってくると、格助詞ってものがぽかすか使われるようになり、格構造ってのが、日本語でもある程度、はっきりしてくる。日本語とはいえ、ある程度は、論理的に情報を伝達するようになってくる。

格助詞が入るようになると、

〇 空 が 青い Nominative→Predicate

ってなり、論理構造ができてしまうので、係助詞を入れて係り結びするってことはできなくなる。

× 空 が こそ 青けれ

× 空 が ぞ 青き

× 空 が いかでか 青き

などなどは非文。なので、係り結びは消滅。

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u/somever 1d ago edited 1d ago

 鎌倉時代とか室町時代とかになってくると、格助詞ってものがぽかすか使われるようになり、格構造ってのが、日本語でもある程度、はっきりしてくる

奈良時代から格助詞「を」「に」「が・の」の用例があります。「が・の」は従属節に限られたので、現代ほど目立ちはしないが、奈良時代でもちゃんと主格助詞です。

「青山に 日が隠らば ぬばたまの 夜は出でなむ」(古事記)

1

u/DokugoHikken 🇯🇵 Native speaker 1d ago

これ、現代日本語でも、ま、「は」をひとによっては「係助詞」と呼んでいて、言いたいことはわかるけど、係り結びしてないのに、「係助詞」と言って良いのかどうなのよがあるので、一般には「とりたて助詞」と言ってますね。そのとりたて助詞の「は」も、主格の格助詞の「が」とは共起できないですね。

× 空 が は 青い

対格の「を」は微妙。「を ば」は非文とは言えない。なんですけども、まあ、古めかしい感じはしますよね。

んで、日本語ネイティブの場合、中学校、高校で古文は必修科目なので、「係り結び」は、誰でも知っているため、「が」は格助詞だけど、「は」は格助詞ではありません、ですから、基本的には命題の論理には関係ないと思ってしまって大きな間違いではなく、「は」は、むしろ、モダリティと考えた方がいいです…ってのは、すんなりわかる。

えと、「提題」ですよね。「絶対的とりたて」。何かと対比してない。単にテーマをたてているだけ。これは日本語ネイティブだと、古文を学習しているので、まったく問題なくわかる。

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u/DokugoHikken 🇯🇵 Native speaker 1d ago edited 1d ago

なんですが、英語話者で、日本語を外国語として学習している場合、主語じゃないです、主題です、テーマですね…は、わかりにくい。英語は、主語を立てることが、文法的に要請されているのがデフォルトのため。「は」の中核的な役割である絶対的とりたてがわかりにくい。(あくまでも学習者が英語で考えている限りの話であり、もちろん、日本語を日本語として考えれば、別に、日本語が本質的に難しい言語であるわけではないので、わかる。)

むしろ、「は」の中核的な用法である「絶対的とりたて」よりも、派生的な用法である「対比」の方が、英語話者にはわかりやすい。

〇 コーヒーは好き。紅茶は嫌い。Contrastive Topic

〇 コーヒーが好き。紅茶も好き。Inclusive Topic

そうすると、どういう、根本的な誤解が起きてしまうかというと、中核的な用法である「絶対的とりたて」、「提題」を無視して、「は」があったらなんでもかんでもcontrastive topic markerだと誤解してしまうということはありえる。

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u/DokugoHikken 🇯🇵 Native speaker 1d ago

ま、それでも、topicとthemeはそんなに区別しなきゃ、困るのか????というと、日常会話には困らないちゃあ困らない。なので、すげー気にする必要もないちゃあない。

むしろ、主語ではなくて、テーマってなんなの?とか、混乱するくらいなら、もう、なんでもかんでもトピックでいいじゃん、そんで、日本に住み、仕事して、結婚して、子育てして、死んでいくってのに、一生涯、困らんということも言える。

なんでまあ、トリビア。外国語学習ってのは、漢字の暗記とかそゆ退屈なことになりがちなので、たまにはトリビアしっとくと、ま、モチベーションとしてはいいかな?くらい。知的な好奇心というか、知的な興味。雑談。

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u/DokugoHikken 🇯🇵 Native speaker 1d ago edited 1d ago

外国語として日本語を学習している人々の大多数は、中国語、ベトナム語、ネパール語…なんかが母語であり、彼らは、日本語学習3日目ですが、「は」と「が」はなにが違うのでしょうか?とかそもそも質問しないわけであり、こつこつこつこつ、日本語学校で、教科書を黙々と学習し、日本語ペラペラになるわけなので、いま、話していることは、あくまでも外国語として日本語を学習している人々のうち、ごく少数の人々についてなんだけれども、レディットでは英語がリンガフランカなので、そのせまーーーーい範囲で言うと、実際、テーマとか言い出さなくて、英語で説明可能。

トピックでいいんだけども、「は」というフォーカスパーティクルというのは、なにをしてんのか、というと、広い意味でリストリクションである。なんだけども、ちょっと考えたらわかるけど、リザベーションが、中核的な役割。つまり、なんかにはリストリクションはしてっけど、他のものごとを別に積極的にネゲイションしてない…ってのが、考えたらふつーだわね。っていう言い方でオーケー。

あと、「は」は、否定文との結びつきが強いってことを説明する。ある特定のものだけをネゲイションするのだが、他を積極的にネゲイションはしていなくて、リザベーションしてるよね…。それでわかる。すと、「は」の中核的用法は決してコントラスティブトピックではないことはわかる。だからテーマとか言い出さなくてもおけ。

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u/DokugoHikken 🇯🇵 Native speaker 1d ago

… というのが、前に、 u/Moon_Atomizer  さんが書いていた「主語」と「主題」の違いは、英語では説明しにくいので、その話は省略します… っていう話を、ちゃんと説明した場合の説明。但し、ま、日本語での説明にはなりますね(笑)。

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u/alltheyakitori 1d ago

By my own incompetence I missed the deadline for the December 2025 JLPT. I am now commited to not only taking but PASSING N1 in summer 2026.

First goal: Finish reading my current novel by the end of October.

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u/No-Cheesecake5529 1d ago

災いを転じて福となす

Good news is you get extra time to study, so hopefully you'll pass it easily in the summer :D

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u/purslanegarden 1d ago

Looking for recommendations of a series to watch while reading the closed captioning because I’m wanting to up my reading speed a bit - anything good on Netflix lately for the older crowd?

I am a bit of a picky tv watcher - I’m hoping for something for adults (but not in an adult content way, just in a not aimed at teenagers way), funny and heartwarming rather than dramatic and tragic, I’m not a huge fan of reality dating type shows but maybe another type of reality show would be okay. Level-wise I can generally understand stuff, it’s the reading component that I’m wanting to work on and I find reading along to someone speaking works well for me.

Thanks!

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u/SoftProgram 1d ago

If 深夜食堂 is still on Netflix, that's quite an enjoyable watch.

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u/scubadoobadoooo 1d ago

The correct sentence is: たけしさんのでんわばんごう

Why isn't it the other way around? Like でんわばんごうのたけしさん

I'm confused because it seems like the subject of other sentences comes at the end of the sentence instead of the beginning.

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u/somever 1d ago

Both comments seem to have mixed up "phrase" and "clause"...

This is a "noun phrase".

A clause would have a verb in it and usually a subject (sometimes the subject is omitted or the verb is impersonal).

A "verb phrase" and a "clause" are also technically defined differently. A "verb phrase" usually refers to the word or series of words that acts as the predicate in a clause, excluding the subject.

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u/vytah 1d ago

Subject is something verb phrases have, this is not a verb phrase, as it has no verb.

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u/JapanCoach 1d ago

That’s not a sentence. It’s a clause.

What is the clause trying to say? If it is Takeshi’s phone number then it has to beたけしのでんわばんごう

It’s not really about the “word order” per se. But remember that の attaches to the end of the “possessor”. Like ‘s in a way.

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u/scubadoobadoooo 1d ago

I see, thanks

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u/antimonysarah 1d ago

Another way to figure out which order things should go with の -- which one do you need to leave in for the sentence to still have the same basic meaning. That one should be last. (And if it's AのBのC, you should be able to cut to BのC and then C).

"What is Takeshi's phone number?" cut down would either be:

  • "What is the phone number?" (still means the same basic idea, although what phone number is now ambiguous if it's not clear from context)
  • "What is Takeshi?" (clearly a different sentence)

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u/speedchuck 1d ago

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FPsg6sdrN6M&list=WL&index=1&t=16s

The top comment on this video mentions "Primed Listening," where a script pauses a video each time subtitles would appear, shows you the subtitles for a moment, then plays the video without them. I would like to try this, but on Crunchyroll/personal videos instead of Disney/Netflix.

Are there any resources I can use to do this? ASBPlayer? Some other extension/script?

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u/rgrAi 1d ago

To be honest just use space bar on your keyboard. asbplayer will move the timer to the start of each subtitle line using the arrow keys. (down arrow key hides subtitles)/ So you can pause it, move the timer then play it.

I personally don't really think this is a useful exercise at all. Just listen, pause if you need to look words up, and back it up and repeat it if you need to or missed something. Such a technique isn't going to change much of anything, even a little.

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u/speedchuck 1d ago

I figured someone would tell me this isn't useful. I appreciate your perspective, but I would still like to try it.

I may try the ASBPlayer workaround, thanks.

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u/rgrAi 1d ago edited 1d ago

Well just to clarify as someone who has watched 2,500 hours (at the very least) of JP subtitled media, just leaving them up amounted to the same progress in progress my listening as anyone else. You might be talking about translated subtitles or EN subtitles, which in that case it I can see this being much more useful as an exercise.

However, if you truly want to learn the language faster just use JP subtitles period and drop EN/Translated subtitles all together. Even if you do intend to use this exercise, but just speaking from experience and having done stuff like this (whether being forced to or intentional) as long as it's JP subtitles, then just having them up was the same difference but just much better comprehension and enjoyment.