17 comments

1. Hello,

   like others I’m struggling a bit in my first month with memorizing the katakana and I run into things mostly when reading. Are there things that are written entirely in this script that I could use to practice reading it on its own to better transition into reading Furigana and basic Kanji?

   Thank you!

2. Is jlpt certificate enough to do translation work? If it turns out I passed jlpt n1 next week I’d be interested in doing paid translations to try make back the £100 I spent registering for it lol

3. Just as simple question.
   When someone ask “正気か”, is it naturally taken as “Are you insane?”, despite 正気 meaning “sane”? I don’t hear anyonea say 狂気 depsite this one being the word that means insane.
   (This just came to mind because in Fate Stay Night they have used 正気 for so many times. And the translation also says “Are you insane/crazy?”)

4. What is the difference between て form by itself and ている, because don’t they both indicate present progressive tense? When is one used over the other and vice versa?

5. What would be the best translation of くる in the context of the sentence

   そうやって軽々しく私の中に入ってこようとしないでよ

6. Hyakkimaru the ronin has grilled some fish. He asks the kid thief Dororo who’s sitting a ways away why Dororo doesn’t just eat with him. Dororo answers:

   そうは問屋がおろしませんよだ。おめえんとこへつい気を許して近よってみな…おいらが ちょっとゆだんしてるとポカリキューだ

   Does キュー here mean the English ‘cue’? Cue to ぽかり (whack) Dororo?

   ([Source](https://imgur.com/a/8ZXakEs))

   Edit: I realise Dororo also anachronistically says サンキュー in an earlier frame so have added the frames before and after the lines above. The story so far is Dororo wants to tag along even though Hyakkimaru tells him to go away. Dororo also boasts that he will steal Hyakkimaru’s blade.

7. How often should speaking be incorporated when practicing to speak fluently?
   Thank you🥹

8. > A: まだランドセル使ってるの?
   >
   > B: まだ使えるしいいだろ

   What does いいだろ mean here?

9. What factors do you consider when you think about getting a tutor? Where/what website/app did you decide to get a tutor from?

10. [https://ibb.co/C1y5wd2](https://ibb.co/C1y5wd2)

    What does フリー mean in フリーのパソ通?

11. [https://ibb.co/GpxK4zb](https://ibb.co/GpxK4zb)

    What does 一心同体 mean here? Kaori’s signature style is her white hat. She seems to wear it everywhere.

12. Does anyone know if there is a somewhat active Minecraft survival server with people from Japan?

13. has anyone used jlpt for placement test? has it helped?

    incoming 2nd year in undergrad, and my major’s grad requirements has 3 quarters of foreign language. I don’t really want to do 3 quarters of japanese, because I want to do the more advanced machine learning courses, and of just thinking of doing the proficiency test to fulfill the credits. it’s just im not too great at japanese.

    I stopped speaking japanese since like 5th grade, and only use it when I visit my grandparents. i also slept through my high school japanese courses.

    im sorry if this question sounds stupid, but i just want to make sure before i invest a lot of time into relearning the language

14. カフェ　ド　ムッシュ。Assuming it’s café monsieur, what’s the role of ド? “Café de monsieur”?
    https://www.instagram.com/p/C-rL31-zAQ1/?igsh=ZGgxbDFveG5ybjNm

15. [There’s this character who spoke in a cryptic Japanese](https://cdn.hinative.com/attached_images/1391934/d6e9660889966c9f619d0fbdfb588611ef0f2a52/large.png?1723312260), which maybe involve to some kind of Chinese myth that i dont know and therefore i couldnt sure what did she mean exactly. Hope some native JP could correct me if i was wrong.

    **A girl claimed to be “Maiden of Red Dragon-赤龍の乙女” said this before fight with a giant white snake to protect her friend.**

    Novel context:
    もはや別れは済んだとばかりに、劉邦は剣を大上段に構えて、大白蛇を睨む。
    劉邦「さぁ、いくわよ、化け蛇！**これなるは南天の命数！　長江に棲みし荒ぶる赤龍の種！**」(my guess: “I am the destiny of southern sky, descendant of the Red Dragon living in Yangtze River!” )

16. isitaccuratetocomparethewordstructureofjappanesetohowimwritingthissentencehere? orno? howcomejappanesedid’nteveradopttheuseofspacesorhavethebegginingofeverywordbeakatakanaletterinsteadofahiragana.

    I am aware of the use of kanji to sometimes separate certain words and to make a sentence easier to read, howeverwouldn’tthatmakea SENTENCE lookmorelike THIS ifiwerecomparingittoenglish, becauseyesit HELPS alittlebitbutthisisstillpretty CONFUSING toreadinmy OPINION..

17. Hello, I visited Japan this summer and was so inspired artistically. One take away was the Don Quixote stores and their mascot Donpen. I adored walking the stores and seeing the illustrations showing him demonstrating what was for sale near him. So I’m doing something similar for my middle school art classroom. We are the grizzlies and I created a character that is based on our logo and will be getting into hijinks showing different parts of the room. Here’s where I need help. I want to name him and honor his Japanese inspiration. I know kuma means bear, but I also want to have a bit more. I looked up the word for art and got bijutsu. I feel bijutsu kuma is a bit long so considered bijukuma… which is a nonsense word but maybe a cute name? (I know it would possibly mean beige bear) Another website said art is āto, so ātokuma. But another website says āto isn’t a word at all. Anyone have advice? Main point, middle school art class mascot naming help. Thanks!