Daily Thread: simple questions, comments that don’t need their own posts, and first time posters go here (June 22, 2024)

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9 comments
  1. Doing quartet 1 chapter 1 workbook excercises
    1.ホストマザー : 遅かったね。電話もないから、心配したんだよ。

    学生:すみません。図書館で勉強していたんです。

    ホストマザー :帰るのが遅くなる時は、連絡するようにしてね。

    I understand 電話もないから as “because you dont have a phone”, but does it mean that, or is it saying “you didnt call”?
    does 帰るのが遅くなる時 mean “when coming (home) late”?

    2. A: 駅の前に新しいビルが建てられていますね。
    B : ええ。駅員さんによると、お店の入ったオフィスビルができるそうですよ
    The お店の入ったオフィスビル is confusing me. Is the sentence saying “an office bulding inside a store is being made”?

  2. Could someone explain the meaning of omataseshimashita?

    Generally you hear this quite often in Japan, etc on the bus or train.

    The general meaning seems to be “Sorry to have kept you waiting ”

    However, the stem form is 待つ。 and 待たせる mean to make/let someone wait.

    Eg: 私は田中さんを待たせた。= I made Tanaka-san wait.

    So doesn’t お待たせしました just mean “Made you wait?” Where does the “Sorry” come in?

    Is there a story of the full sentence or how this came to be?

  3. I need help with this sentence: The context is in Doraemon. After Doraemon in hiding said to Nobita about his future. Nobita said: “だれだ、へなこというやつは。”.What do the “やつは” mean, is it a grammar ? I knew the translation is roughly: “Who is that, saying something weird like that.” But can’t figure out what the “やつは” mean.

  4. I’ve always thought that が is used for specific subjects and は for general topics, but recently I watched a YouTuber’s shorts video that seemed to suggest otherwise, and now I’m confused.

    The YouTuber mentioned that in the sentences “HIKARIちゃん 料理は上手だね” and “HIKARIちゃん 料理が上手だね,” using は implies that Hikari is particularly good ONLY at cooking, which suggests she might not be good at other things.

    On the other hand, using が supposedly emphasizes that she is good at cooking and possibly other things she might be good at. Please clarify

    [Shorts](https://youtube.com/shorts/uUMO3T5nb5c?si=vkKNyWm1it-x_9MO)

  5. Does anyone have suggestions for listening practices to distinguish す and つ? I’m having a hard time searching as all the material is based on pronunciation, not on listening exercises to distinguish words like すき and つき.

  6. As far as I know, there isn’t any exact translation for this Kanji. I know it’s similar to “love” in Chinese, but i was hoping some of you may have some insight!

    Its part of a riddle, so I imagine there might be some meaning in the components of this Kanji, even if it doesn’t exactly make sense when put together.
    [picture](https://imgur.com/a/AmC6X8K)

  7. I learned that (笑) is like lol in Japanese! I didn’t know this until I texted someone.

    It’s very different reading what someone who is a native speaker writes than what textbooks and learning materials have. It’s interesting!

    I’m still a beginner and have to look up soooo many words, but it was nice learning something small like that!

  8. In conversational Japanese, are there situations where you would use のは / のが instead of just は / が? Been spending most of my time reading to pick up vocabulary and grammar. Admittedly, sometimes it’s difficult to get a feel for what is literary and what isn’t.

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