Daily Thread: simple questions, comments that don’t need their own posts, and first time posters go here (January 23, 2024)

11 comments

1. 義理のお母さん is stepmom, mother in law, or both? How would you specify in conversation if necessary?

2. Awkward question but how do you say ‘foreskin’ in conversational Japanese? Not like a clinical term but just the every day word. For once not watching hentai stuff has hindered me 😅

3. I’m writing on a genkouyoshi paper and I want to include translations for some of the word I write, where would I put the translation?

4. How can I practice “Thinking in Japanese” for extremely conceptual words? With words like 何か, どう, or のに I can only comprehend their meaning by thinking of the English words “something,” “how,” and “even though.” I can’t use mental images like with Nouns, Verbs, or Adjectives with words like these because of how conceptual and nebulous they are. How do I practice that Japanese-only thinking with words that don’t have any images to use to picture them?

5. How to achieve Monolingual transition as early as possible? When I practice Tango Anki cards, I’m still using English to check myself, what should I do to avoid that? Is it a matter of practice or should I think of synonyms, for example, or remove/hide English translation in a card template, but that doesn’t solve the problem really.

6. It takes me way to long to prosses sentences like this. ” 相手によっては別の尊敬語を用いたほうがふさわしい場合もありますが、日常的にはよく使われる表現です。” .
   My understanding of the text is this,” Depending on the person you’re talking to, a different Sonkeigo use way is appropriate situation there are but, its an often used expression in everyday life.”
   Specifically this portion “別の尊敬語を用いたほうがふさわしい場合もありますが” is what I’m taking too long to process.
   Reading it backwards helps me understand it quicker but still. I’m taking way to long to isolate the portion of a sentence I’m confused with, resorting it in my head, and then rereading it.
   Anyone have any tips on understanding stuff like this better?

7. 短い質問があります。 なぜこのアニメの名称が

   英語正式な翻訳:「”Buggy’s Revenge! The Man Who Smiles On the Execution Platform!”」

   日本語正式名称：「バギーのリベンジ!処刑台で笑う男!」

   と訳されていますか。 もっと直訳すると「Smiling Man」になるのかと思っていました。 タイトルの正式な翻訳方法は「男が笑う!」のようになりますと思います。なぜなら、「笑う男」は文法の単一単位だからです。

   quick question. i’m wondering why this title of an anime episode is translated as

   Official English translation: “Buggy’s Revenge! The Man Who Smiles On the Execution Platform!”

   Official Japanese title: バギーのリベンジ!処刑台で笑う男!

   I thought it would translate more literally to “Smiling Man” and the way the title is translated would be more like 「バギーのリベンジ!処刑台で男が笑う!」because “The Man Who Smiles” is a single unit of grammar

8. i read 聖女？　いいえ、やったのはこっちのくまです！　～可愛いもふもふくまさんと行く異世界浄化旅～ cover-to-cover, the first and only book that I have manage to read until the end. it was absolutely a grind, but i did it. now I need another book that is both easy AF and interesting enough to actually complete

9. “この後に自分自身を再発見して”
   How do you read this and can someone explain the に and して part?

10. Hey, I have a few questions about the No particle when nominalizing.
    Can it take past tense verbs , like “走たの” or does it have to be present tense? Also, why are non-past verbs translated as infinitives, like ‘食べるのが好きじゃなかった”, I don’t understand the reason.
    1. 時間との勝負だ
    2. 退屈な の・こと は
    3. 危ない の・こと は
    1. Why is no used with a noun + to particle? Wouldn’t the same meaning be achieved dropping the no?
    On a similiar note, I don’t get sentences like these (maggie senseis website)
    カードで買い物をする
    カードでの買い物
    車で移動する
    車での移動
    They are translated as “To buy something with a credit card / buying something with a credit card + To go somewhere by car / Going somewhere by car”, but again, why not just add の to the end of する? I don’t get how the latter meanings work
    2. Why is a na adjective used in a nominalizer here, I thought that they are nouns. For example バカ is a na adjective but it’s used as a noun plenty of times.
    3. It’s translated as “being dangerous is not fun”, but wouldn’t it be “danger is not fun”?

11. honestly seeing all the “I got Nx in less than x years” posts kind of get to me as a learner, like I am trying as hard as I feel like I can, putting in at least an hour a day into various vocab, immersion, mining, and just getting more and more of my media every day in Japanese. But it still feels like I am learning, maybe now I am passed N4 or so? after my first full year of seriously dutifully studying Japanese.

    I know that comparison is the thief of joy, but I can also admit it is something I struggle with as I try and feel like I am learning at a good pace, trying to balance my university studies, social life, work, and mental health. So I guess does anyone have some good ways to feel a bit better about ones own progress in learning?