Daily Thread: simple questions, comments that don’t need their own posts, and first time posters go here (February 09, 2023)

9 comments

1. I saw this sentence “うごめく大都会” being translated as “writhing big city”. But うごめく is a verb, right?

   Can verbs be used as adjectives in japanese?

2. Trying to come to grips with conjugating adverbs. Do these make sense (and/or sound “normal”) as stand-alone sentences in Japanese? Is there a better way to form these sentences?

   高く飛んだ = (it) flew high.

   長く飛んだ。= (it) flew a long distance.

   綺麗に飛んだ。= (it) flew beautifully.

3. what part of speech are counters? for example 3つ in りんごが3つある. my only good answer is adverb but that feels nasty? linguistic nerds assemble plz 🙏

4. >それはやはり経営**といった部分にも**繋がってくると思います。

   この ”といった部分にも” ってなんとか決まったパターンではないかという気がしてちょっとググってみると何十万件も検索効果が出てきました：

   >見た目や印象**といった部分にも**大きな影響を与えること
   >
   >福利厚生等の労働条件**といった部分にも**魅力を感じて決めました
   >
   >ネットワークの設定、構築**といった部分にも**踏み込む事があります。

   なんとなく意味が分かりますがしっかり理解できるように説明してくれるかどうかだと思います。

5. I was wondering about this sentence from the final fantasy IV script:

   > 御先祖は、北の山の 山頂の大穴からやって来たらしいが・・・・今は穴が塞がっとるし、第一空でも飛べなくてはのう。

   For context here is the script http://ff4com.s4.xrea.com/ff4conve/conve008.html

   I can’t really figure out what 飛べなくてはのう would mean. I guess it might mean “you need to fly” but IDK why it would actually mean that.

   I think the rest says something like:

   > The ancestors, probably came from a big hole in the northern mountain but…now the hole is plugged, first-and foremost (you need to fly in the sky???)

6. Here is another sentence I’m having some trouble with from the Final Fantasy IV script (http://ff4com.s4.xrea.com/ff4conve/conve009.html)

   > 宝石を採りに北東の島の洞窟に金庫を持って行ったら、くっ付いちまって取れやしねえ。

   I think the first part says: “If you take a safe to the north-eastern cave to pick up the gems”

   and the second part seems to be something like “It stuck to me and I can’t take it”

   but I’m not so sure. I wonder if たら here isn’t a conditional, and the second part is puzzling because it seems weird overall. I can’t figure out what stuck to what, or if any of this is right.

7. Today, while ordering two ramens at the canteen, I said something like ‘彼女には肉なし、僕には肉あり’. The serving girl clearly found what I said funny and when she gave my ramen she repeated ‘肉ありラーメン’ while grinning, so I’m guessing it wasn’t the most natural way to say it haha. What would be a more natural way? ‘僕には肉入り’?

8. What does it mean when you see a bunch of commas next to each character in a word, [like this?](https://i.imgur.com/TV1OIWp.png). I’ve seen it done in a couple books, is it just an emphasis thing? Like putting. periods. between. your. words. for. emphasis?

9. Could I get a correction on the following sentence please?

   人の感情や気持ちなどといったものは、自分の母国語でも美しく表現するのが困難なものであり、やはり第二言語でさえ、相手に正確に心情を伝えることも極めて難艱なものだと、僕は思います。