10 comments

1. There’s one sentence I don’t get from [this article](https://kakuyomu.jp/works/1177354054881089194/episodes/1177354054881206989#:~:text=%E3%80%8E%E6%95%B5%E3%82%82%E3%81%95%E3%82%8B%E3%82%82%E3%81%AE%E5%BC%95%E3%81%A3%E6%8E%BB%E3%81%8F,%E3%81%84%E3%82%8B%E3%82%93%E3%81%A0%E3%81%9D%E3%81%86%E3%81%A7%E3%81%99%E3%80%82):

   > 　『さるもの』は『然る者』、つまり『さすがな者』という意味で、その『さる』に動物の『猿』が引っ掻くというとかけているんだそうです。

   What does かけている mean here? Also, how the proverb 敵もさるもの引っ掻くもの is understood literally? I don’t get the relation between さるもの and 引っ掻くもの. What does 引っ掻く mean?

2. [deleted]

3. Hi guys, wondering if anyone can share their AnkiConnect setups to instantly create cards and fill in as many fields automatically? (Not sure if this is allowed as it’s not directly Japanese related?)

   There’s obviously format involved, but I’m trying to create cards via Yomitan/Ankiconnect, and it works well with adding the word, audio, and source sentence through (often pulls too much actually), but it seems to butcher the sentence Furigana with a bunch of formatting (like <span class> etc – formatting relating to the Furigana). And I’m wondering if it’s possible to also have an auto-translation to English somehow?

4. I feel like this has probably been asked here a bit, but I still wanted to ask- is getting the genki textbook necessary?

   I consider myself at a lower intermediate level. I’ve been learning here and there for a couple years and feel that I can at least understand the jist of what’s being said and then go over the words I don’t know with a dictionary. I feel like I can read decently okay, but I’m not that great at forming sentences. So I wanted to look at a couple grammar guides.

   I started out with the Tae Kim guide, and while his snarky attitude can be entertaining it can at times feel like a stereotypical redditor made a grammar guide. For instance,

   “There’s this myth that keeps floating around about Japanese sentence order that continues to plague many hapless beginners to Japanese. Here’s how it goes.

   The most basic sentence structure in English can be described as consisting of the following elements in this specific order: [Subject] [Verb] [Object]. A sentence is not grammatically correct if any of those elements are missing or out of order. Japanese students will tell you that Japanese, on the other hand, while frothing at the mouth, is completely backwards!!”

   It’s fun, and informative, but can be distracting when he has this constant “I’m right and everyone else is wrong” sort of tone throughout the book.

   So I heard imabi was good and started to check that out. I think it’s definitely helpful. I don’t love the website setup because you have to keep jumping from the table of contents to your specific chapter but definitely helpful.

   So before spending $25-$40 on a genki textbook, as an intermediate learner who already has access to a couple grammar guides, should I buy the genki book? If so, what does it have that imabi or Tae Kim’s guide don’t?

5. May I ask what the スッキリ here means? (from スーパーカリフラジリシティックエクシピアリドーシャス)

   “とても長すぎる言葉だけど
   大きな声で言えたらスッキリ！”

   I’d say I understand what スッキリ means, but I wanna know if I’m interpreting the sentence correctly. I’m guessing it’s saying something like, “even though it’s quite a long word, you’ll feel refreshed (satisfied?) if you can say it out loud!”.

   Is my translation correct? I just wanna make sure I’m getting the nuance here.

6. Does anyone have any general tips for a JLPT N2 study plan? My general outline right now is this:

   – Go through Shin Kanzen Master for grammar and supplement with Bunpro SRS. I’m also using 日本語の森 for explanations since SKM is pretty hard to get a solid grasp on on its own.
   – Anki deck vocab
   – Finally mining more native material in general, specifically vns novels, and anime (although I know I should add newspapers in the mix)

   Any thoughts? My main concern is grammar – I worry that what I’m doing isn’t going to let the grammar stick enough for the test and I’m wondering if I should be doing something else. Right now, I do 2-3 grammar points a day (would be done by end of October) and then add them to Bunpro.

7. Take 2 of questions from the breaindead beginner! When my Genki says ~masenka is to be interpreted as an invitation, while ~masuka should be taken as a question; does that mean tabemasenka is more of a “would you like to eat?” while tabemasuka is more of “did you eat?”. Am I along the right lines or…?

8. I’ve got a few grammar questions from the Tobira textbook:

   1. 紙はプルプから**できる**。 Why is it できる and not できている? Isn’t プルプ quite specific?

   2. これは日本の箸で、木で**できている**。 Why is this not できる when there’s a sentence like this one that uses できる: アイスクリームは牛乳から**できる**。

   3. 私のルームメートは、とても上手に料理**ができる**？ Why is it not をできる, is there no such usage?

9. So, I’m writing a short story and I want it to include a Japanese character, and I’m trying to name him.

   I know I should probably use common Japanese names to not take unecessary risks, but I also want to understand more about japanese names and structures. And if I could play with his name a bit for foreshadowing it could be very nice for the characters storyline.

   I understand that Japanese names are usually written using Kanji, and the Kanjis have meanings by themselves, creating a deep layer of meaning for the name, which I find very beautiful. Before naming the character, I wanted to understand better how it works, and I’ve been reading about it.

   Could you elaborate on this a little bit? Can you create any name using two Kanjis that are allowed for names construction? Or would it sound too weird?

   For example, my character has an underlying connection to nighttime and he’s someone who will play the role of a protector. Would a name like Yumori 夕守 feel natural/plausible for a Japanese person or would it feel too odd for someone to be called Yumori and I’m completely butchering the language? I understand it is not a common japanese name, but I dont want it to sound outlandish, nor insulting.

   I wish to be respectful, but I still have a lot to learn to write this character properly.

   Thank you for your help! 🙂

   Note: This is not a translation request, I just want to understand which names are valid in japanese and which arent.

10. WaniKani has a vocabulary word for “わかる” but it’s written “分かる”.

    Is that kanji still in use? I have never seen it.