Daily Thread: simple questions, comments that don’t need their own posts, and first time posters go here (January 14, 2024)

7 comments

1. I watched this movie where there’s a guy that calls himself a “geek”, according to the subtitles. He said it so many times that it just sort of got stuck in my brain and I wanted to google the word for some reason.

   From what my ears can tell, he says “mezari” or “mesari”, maybe “nezari”? Googling these and putting them in a translator gives nothing.

   Does anyone know what the word could be? The movie is “License to Live” by Kiyoshi Kurosawa, if you’re curious. The character appears at around the 45 minute mark.

2. Is my jlpt website down?

3. Hey everyone. I’m going on vacation to Japan in 4 months and I plan to start learning Japanese (of course I won’t be any kind of proficient in the language when I go). But it has lit a fire under to start learning Japanese and try and become fluent in it.

   My question is where should I start. Should I look at youtube videos? Get a tutor, a book or an app? Any help would be greatly appreciated!

4. Hi,

   Some questions for Genki2 Ch20

   1) For extra-modest expressions, the textbook says that する compound words don’t become いたす, they just get お or ご prefix added to them (like ごあんないする). But the workbook answer book still uses べんきょういたします (wb. section 20.4). I think the textbook does not provide much details here, and I couldn’t find anything specific to this on google so far. Does anyone have some more info that could help clarify this discrepancy?

   2) The translation for “Do you know who Mary is?” would be “メアリー  さん  が  だれ  か  しっています  か”. But since だれか could mean “someone”, and Genki1 mentioned that the を particle doesn’t follow it, couldn’t this japanese translation be read as “Does Mary know someone”?

   3) Quick translation help, what does this mean? “この  うた  は  おと  が  たかい  てす”? Doesn’t it literally translate to something like “As for this song, the sound is expensive”? Google translate says it is “long”, which i couldn’t not find as a meaning for たかい online. So i just wanted to confirm what the meaning is.

5. **そんな二人の姉に守られて……今の俺がある。**
   **There’s this sentence in a novel i read, which i’m not sure of, hope someone could explain the correct meaning in case i was wrong.**
   **(my guess: “I can be who i am today… is because i’m being protected by my 2 big sisters” )**
   **Context: Mc is recalling about his memories when he was a kid, he’s often being bullied but his 2 big sisters had always protected him back then.**
   子供の頃の俺は今よりもガリガリな体格で、泣き虫で弱虫で……いじめっ子からすると、格好の標的に見えたことだろう。
   そんな俺をいじめっ子から守ってくれたのが、二人の姉さんだ。
   桜姉さんはいつも俺を優しく包み込んでくれていた。 楓姉さんはいつも俺を守ってくれていた。
   **そんな二人の姉に守られて……今の俺がある。 だけどいつまでも守られる立場で居るのは嫌だ。**

6. This passage is giving me some pause:

   > ホッサルより三つも年上のミラルは、ぽっちゃりと小柄で、さして美人ではなかったが、時にとてつもなく気難しくなるホッサルを、姉のように気軽に、気長に、扱った。

   >　オタワル人ではあっても平民の出身なので、〈聖なる人々〉であるホッサルとは天地ほどの身分差があるのだが、彼女は、ホッサルのためにならぬと思うときは、遠慮することなく彼を叱り、意見をする。

   Context: ホッサル is a brilliant doctor and ミラル is his friend (lover???) and one of his assistants.

   What I don’t get is what’s that ホッサルのためにならぬと思うときは、遠慮することなく彼を叱り、意見をする。

   This seems to say, when she thinks it wouldn’t be in his best interest, she scolds him without hesitation and gives her opinion.

   But shouldn’t that be, when she thinks it *would* be in his best interest? Like that ぬ seems to be ない (ためにならない) which seems like it should be ためになる

7. Does speaking Japanese sentences become easier over time? The moment full sentences arise, I have a hard time pronouncing everything and get jumbled up. For example うなされているから is practically a tongue twister.