goi-ga-sukunai

[goi-ga-sukunai]

接続詞（せつぞくし）

conjunctions - words that are used to link phrases together

情報を加える // Adding information：

しかも　besides そのうえ　moreover, on top of that さらに　moreover, on top of that そればかりか　not only that, but also... そればかりでなく　not only that, but also...

情報を対比する // Putting into contrast：

それに対して　in contrast 一方　whereas

他の可能性・選択肢を言う // Giving alternatives：

あるいは　or perhaps (presenting another possibility) それとも　or (presenting another option within a question)

結論を出す// Drawing a conclusion：

そのため　for that reason したがって　therefore そこで　for that reason (I went ahead and did...) すると　thereupon (having done that triggered sth. to happen) このように　with this (adjusting a conclusion to the arguments given beforehand) こうして　in this way

理由を言う // Giving a reason：

なぜなら...からだ　the reason is というのは...からだ　the reason is

逆説を表現する // Expressing a contradiction：

だが　however, yet, nevertheless (contradicting what one would have expected) ところが　even so (spilling a surprising truth) それなのに　despite this, still それでも　but still (despite a certain fact, nothing changes)

説明を補う // Amending one's explanation：

つまり　that is, in other words (saying the same thing using different words) いわば　so to speak (making a comparison) 要するに　to sum up, in short

説明を修正する // Revising one's explanation：

ただし　however (adding an exception to the information stated beforehand) ただ　only, however もっとも　however (obviating any expectations that might arise through the previous statement) なお　in addition, note that (adding supplementary information)

話題を変える // Changing the subject：

さて　well, now, then (common in business letters after the introductory sentence; is often ignored in tranlations) ところで　by the way

[goi-ga-sukunai]

[grammar] うちに入らない

Upon reading Murakami’s 1Q84, I came across the following sentence:

鍵はかかっていたが、鍵のうちには入らないようなものだった。

I couldn’t make sense of the second part of the sentence, so I asked my Japanese friend for help.

Apparently, Nのうちに入らない means something like “can’t be regarded as N” or “not really a N”. So, you might translate the sentence as, “It was locked, but it wasn’t much of a lock.” 

This phrase seems to be more often used with verbs, as in Vたうちに入らない, rather than with nouns.

My friend also mentioned that Japanese teachers often use this phrase when students haven’t done something properly, e.g., cleaning the classroom:

こんなのやったうちに入らないだろ！ You can’t seriously think this counts as cleaning, right?!

When I thanked my friend for the help, he replied with:

こんなの助けたうちにも入らねーぜ。 This doesn’t even count as helpin’, man.

After some further research, I discovered that this is actually considered an N1-level grammar point.

Has anyone else encountered this phrase before? If so, let me know the context in which you’ve seen it!

[goi-ga-sukunai]

does anybody got recommendations for good resources to practise reading Japanese?

I'm looking for like something like with mostly hiragana and katakana characters and just a small amount of kanji. something like manga or a magazine would probably be the most fun, but maybe like an elementary school story book would be easier to find?

I need to actively practice my kana so i don't lose it and drilling the list of characters is really boring.

[goi-ga-sukunai]

デュオリンゴ と クローズマスター, 手紙について教えるのはやめてください. もう誰も手紙を送りません。

[goi-ga-sukunai]

The kanji used to construct words usually make some kind of sense to me, but why is the word for "mock" spelled "tea conversion"?

茶化 (ちゃか) = mock 茶 (ちゃ) = tea 化 (か) = conversion

[goi-ga-sukunai]

Despite having encountered it repeatedly, I still do not have a proper grip on the meanings and uses of ように. Every usage I run into seems to mean something vaguely and unpredictably different. I keep thinking it means "like" or "similar to," but then in this sentence it means "manner"...?

And here it's doing... something... I'm not even sure what?

[goi-ga-sukunai]

hello i am learning japanese and i am absolutely disgusted by this 😾

候, meaning season/weather

侯, meaning daimyo, lord, marquis

im so mad this is so rude

[goi-ga-sukunai]

Clozemaster is now talking to my cat.

[goi-ga-sukunai]

If Duo is dead why is he still harassing me to do my lessons.

[goi-ga-sukunai]

君が生きているから、もう君がしんだ。

[goi-ga-sukunai]

What do you mean 間違い and 問題 are two different words?

[goi-ga-sukunai]

Phantom kanji exists but also does not

I received this mysterious kanji in my email inbox. It exists but also does not:

怕

Kanshudo here sent it to me and provides five Japanese readings but no translation, claiming that it is used in 3,408 words.

My auto-translator translates it as "afraid" but assumes it is Chinese.

JapanDict denies its very existence.

Jisho.org acknowledges its existence and translates it as "fear, worry, afraid." However, it offers only one word in which it appears:

On the kanji's own page, Jisho.org offers the verb form おそれる, but clicking on that form leads to an entry with different kanji:

It offers four spellings, including an outdated one, none of which use the mysterious kanji.

At this point I'm going to assume this is a kanji so old that it baffles even the most comprehensive of dictionaries, and will assume going forward that the verb form おそれる is spelled using only the first four forms given.

So thank you to Kanshudo for teaching me a verb and a seemingly completely useless kanji.

Update: I didn't even think to check the "on" readings or the other "kun" reading Kanshudo provides. I ran those through Jisho.org as well. Results:

かしわ returns a very similar kanji, 柏, which apparently refers to a specific species of oak or to a Japanese emperor. It is described as an outdated kanji.

ハク and ハ return many words, of course. I didn't scroll through all of them, but certainly none at the top of the list use the mysterious kanji.

ヒャク returns nothing.

[goi-ga-sukunai]

They know exactly how terrifying that owl is.

[goi-ga-sukunai]

Can someone explain the difference between としたら and なら for me? I think I get it but I'm not sure if there's grey areas where either one can be used or if it's quite clear cut.

My textbook gives the example:

その話が本当だとしたら、うれしいです。

But I could also use なら here, right?

The other example is:

飛行機で行くとしたら、いくらぐらいかかりますか。

Could I use なら here too? I feel like the answer's either no or technically yes but it's not very natural. The textbook suggests you could use "行く場合は" instead.

I also tried to write my own example:

ね、えみちゃんは振られたことになったそうだ。それとしたら、おそらく日中泣き通する。

Is it correct? Is it natural? (Not just the use of としたら but all of it.)

[goi-ga-sukunai]

[goi-ga-sukunai]

Another Japanese verb form idea: the passive intransitive transitive impassive, for when A is indirectly affected by B doing something to C, but A, B, and/or C doesn't care (with variations in form depending on which parties in the interaction do not care).

[goi-ga-sukunai]

New Japanese verb form idea: the impassive transitive. For when you're doing something that affects something else but you don't care.