Daily Thread: simple questions, comments that don’t need their own posts, and first time posters go here (April 15, 2023)

26 comments

1. Is it alright to ask non-grammar questions here?

   Would like to ask what are the youtube channels you follow for grammar, vocabulary and listening?

2. Need help on “事件”
   I use Jisho.org to look up the meaning as “event/incident”

   So suppose, i want to talk about the recent sushi-terrorism in Japanese kaitenzushi, can i make a sentence like this:
   回転寿司の唾はく事件が聞きました？
   Have you heard of the “spitting incidents” in the sushi places?

3. How to say “feel” in the context of “This shoe feels weird/tight etc”

   Based of 感触 (かんしょく) from jisho.org
   この靴は変感触です?
   Is this contextually correct?
   I thought of using みたい or だと思います, or simply just この靴はへんです. But i just wanted to confirm.

4. [deleted]

5. I want to write the following question in Japanese.

   Is it okay to say “天気はいいです”?
   「天気はいいです」と言ってもいいですか。

   Is that correct? Or is the structure てもいいですか only used to ask for permission?

6. 英会話教室とかに通わせてもらってて

   I am trying to grasp させてもらう　Is it wrong to translate this sentence as “I was able to attend 英会話教室”　?

7. (I’m not entirely sure if this question belongs here, sorry if not.)

   So I have my first interview in Japanese. While I did my application entirely in English, I did specify that I have N2. The position is for a data engineer.

   They did mention 「簡単な日本語で行ないます」。My question is what is actually considered 簡単な日本語. Should I worry about 敬語?

8. I accidentally told someone I *am* a wheelchair yesterday.

   So, how would a disabled Japanese person refer to themselves as being a wheelchair user?

   For example, in the last decade or so we’ve moved from saying “I’m in a wheelchair” to “I use a wheelchair” (in the US at least). Is there anything similar in Japan?

9. I can’t find the right word to describe a “medical” hot water bottle for pain relief. I’m not looking for 湯たんぽ but for something that describes [this instead](https://ibb.co/9gGfv06).

   Sorry for posting two questions in rapid succession. It’s clear I need to spend more time on health-related words.

10. How can I express extreme gratitude to my Japanese friends after a long trip and I wanted to thank them for their kindness and hospitality?

    I’ve said 本当にありがとうございますand 良い時間でした in the past but I’m wondering if there could something else I can say to show my thanks to them.

11. Counter for seats, 脚. How do you use it?
    I stumbled upon it on jisho.org, but theres no detail.on how to use it in context.

12. Here is my self-introduction with the help of DeepL. Any feedback welcome!

    私はニュージーランドで生まれ、オーストラリアで育ち、大学で勉強するためにニュージーランドに戻りました。中国系ニュージーランド人オーストラリア人のようなもの。

    一人っ子で、両親はオーストラリアにいるのですが、六年間家を空けています。

    初めて見たアニメは「カードキャプターさくら」で、最初の十話で吹き替えを二十回以上見て、子供の頃の大切な思い出になりました。

    草月流の華道や弓道も体験したことがあります。

    日本のお菓子にはたくさんの種類があり、美味しいだけでなく、見た目も美しいです。

    私が日本語を学んだのは、日本についてもっと知りたいと思ったからであり、日本へ旅行するという夢を実現したかったからです。

13. The word to use is 開く

    1.お店の人がお店を早く(開いて)くれました

    2. お店の人がお店を早く(開けて)くれました

    Why is number one wrong and number two right when using te form ?

14. For someone who is self-studying and trying to get JLPT N1 eventually, how would you recommend setting up a handwritten notebook? Should it be divided by subject material like one notebook for textbook/workbooks, one notebook for YouTube lessons, one notebook for TV shows/media? Or just throw everything in one notebook? And how would you recommend setting up each page?

15. I would like to know the difference between 木, 木材 and 材木.

16. Guys do you know what are the readings of this kanji 开?

    I know it’s a hyogai kanji, and as a beginner I probably shouldn’t focus too much on it, I’ve already seen it used in different occasions

17. I am trying to understand this setenece

    息をひそめろ、俺が正気に戻ったことを知られてはいけない。

    Confusing part

    息をひそめろ: Holding breath? (Jisho says hisomero means to conceal)

    My attempt:

    (They) wont let me understand that I can regain consciousness / be awake.
    OR

    I wont let them figure out that I can regain my consciousness / wake up.

18. My ears can’t diffrentiate between pitch accents, i tried listening to different pitch accents of words with the same writing like ‘chopstick’ and ‘bridge’ for like 10 minutes straight and still can’t diffrentiate between the two. I am confused on what to do, i want to have good pitch accent but for the past few months i can’t really get into it since i literally do not know how to start. Any advice? should i just consume native content till my ears are able pick them up or try some other ways like dogen’s patreon? Ty!

19. Had an argument with my Japanese teacher who is a fake one for sure.
    How do you explain he meaning of 語 as ‘language’.
    Teacher’s Theory: She broke it into 言+五+口, saying that ‘the words that five mouths speak is a language’.
    My theory: I break it into, 言+吾, saying ‘the words that I speak are my language’.

    Which one’s correct?

20. I’ve learned enough radicals to start being able to guess what unfamiliar kanji mean. Is there any general rule about which radicals are more for phonetic compounds and which are for meaning?

    I’m reading through Tadoku level 0 readers and some randomly throw in kanji without furigana and, to keep with their recommendation of not looking anything up, I like to use what I know to figure it out if possible.

    I could figure out what 靴下 meant based on its radicals, but I’d be lost if one of those radicals were just for pronunciation. And to be clear this isn’t how I’m learning new kanji, I know it’s better to learn vocab and kanji together. Just for helping out figuring things out in context.

21. Can somebody explain to me how わけ works in the following example sentences?

    Is it that function concludes something or explains a reason similar ということだ

    1.)
    > この程度では「抜け穴」とは言えないし、専門家でなくてもすぐに思いつきそうな内容だが、逆に言えば「誰もが思いつきそうな内容」を自然な文章で提案してくれるAIは既に実現されている**(わけだ)**

    2

    > もちろんこのAIだけですべての税務調査官の業務を肩代わりできるわけではなく、「マルサAI」の登場はしばらく先になるだろう。しかし限られた領域とはいえ、既に一定の成果をあげるAIが登場している**(わけだ)。**
    >

    3

    > わたしは大学から新卒で、06年にグーグルで働き始めました。当時のIT産業は、いまに比べれば小規模で、グーグルの利用者数がヤフーよりも少なかった時代です。フェイスブックは大学生が使うためのものでした。IT企業がいまのような独占企業に成長していく様を間近で見てきたわけですが、そのなかで13年、14年くらいからAIの話題が急に増えました。それで「何が起きているのだろう」と興味をもった***(わけです)***。

    I am not seeing why its used in the above examples?

22. Can 僕の and 私の be used interchangeably?

23. Hi Everyone! I wanted to ask if it’s better to memorize kanji readings or to simply learn vocab and figure out the pronunciation that way. Thanks for replying !

24. JLPT rant.

    I am preparing for N2 and reading is really frustrating me. I can understand the texts and their meanings just fine. Sometimes I dont know kanji here and there but 90% I understand. And yet I get about 50% of the answers wrong as I trip over the tiniest details in the answer options.

    The main thing I struggle with is that the reading seems very counterintuitive to the way I read JP news and novels where my goal is to understand the main point of the article/a page and move on as opposed to scrutinising the details. I know it is about practice but it is frustrating.

25. This is a serious question: is there a kanji for the word “gay”? It could either be a polite way or a slang/colloquial way

26. https://imgur.com/a/Sus9PQW

    For ついだった is つい the adverb meaning unintentionally; subconsciously; by mistake; against one’s better judgement (judgment