ChatGPT and the Daily Question Thread

This is probably going to start a bit of a fire, but the internet has been playing around with OpenAI’s ChatGPT lately, and I tried asking it about Japanese, and was surprised to discover it knew it! Then I asked it tricky some questions I knew the answers to, and about 5 of them it got right (based on my understanding), and the last one it got super wrong but it sounded just as confident about. This made me nervous, but it’s still kinda neat. To be clear, these are not test-style questions, but the kinds of questions this sub gets. So! I wanted to try with some other questions, and decided that I should just go to the source and copy-paste a bunch of questions from the Daily Question Thread to the bot!

I skipped ones that were asking more about techniques or opinions on stuff, but otherwise mostly pasted the questions in with no changes and have pasted here the first response it gave me, without cherry-picking anything. **THIS IS IMPORTANT! I don’t know if any of these are right, this is just what the bot said raw and** ***unedited***! These are not meant to be instructional. The question, as I pasted it to the bot are in quotes, and the non-quoted text is exactly what the bot told me. So here they are:

# Question 1

>What is meant by
>
>手術をするロボットなくさんあって
>
>I don’t get the なくさん part, Jisho doesn’t come up with anything. This is from a Tobira text.

In this sentence, なくさん is a combination of the negative form of the verb ある (to exist) and the suffix さん (a colloquial and familiar form of the suffix 〜たち, which indicates a group of people or things). So, the full phrase なくさんあって means “there are not many \[of something\].”

In the context of the sentence you provided, 手術をするロボットなくさんあって means “there are not many surgical robots.”

# Question 2

>What’s the difference between:
>
>経る (へる)
>
>経つ (たつ)
>
>they both seem to mean when time passes and both are intransitive as well so I don’t know the difference.

Yes, both 経る (へる) and 経つ (たつ) can be translated as “to pass (time),” and they are both intransitive verbs. However, there is a subtle difference in usage between the two.

経る (へる) is used to describe the passage of time in a more general or abstract sense, or to describe how time passes in relation to a particular event or situation. For example, you might use 経る to describe the passage of time in a person’s life, or the passage of time from one season to the next.

経つ (たつ), on the other hand, is used to describe the passage of time in a more specific or measurable way. For example, you might use 経つ to talk about how long it takes for something to happen, or how much time has passed since a specific event.

So, while the two verbs can be used to describe similar concepts, 経る is more abstract and 経つ is more specific.

# Question 3

>私キチンと水族館を楽しめる計画立ててきてるの。。。 What does adding きてる to the sentence do at the end?

In this sentence, きてる is the continuative form of the verb きる, which is the auxiliary verb used to indicate that an action or event is in progress or has been completed. When added to the end of a sentence, きてる indicates that the action or event described by the main verb is in progress.

In the sentence you provided, 私キチンと水族館を楽しめる計画立ててきてるの。。。, the main verb is 計画立てる (to plan), and the きてる at the end indicates that the speaker is in the process of planning something. The overall meaning of the sentence is “I’m in the process of making a plan to enjoy the aquarium properly.”

# Question 4

>How can I say “he comforted her” in Japanese? As in, perhaps she is crying and he’s trying to make her feel better with either words or a hug Also, is there a distinction between comforting (as in an upset adult) and soothing (as in a crying baby)? Thank you

To say “he comforted her” in Japanese, you can use the following phrases:

彼は彼女を慰めた。 かれはかのじょをなぐさめた。

These sentences use the verbs 慰める (to comfort) and なぐさめる (to comfort, to console), which are both commonly used to describe the act of providing emotional support to someone who is upset or in distress.

There is a slight difference in meaning between the two verbs. 慰める suggests providing comfort or support through words or actions, while なぐさめる suggests providing physical comfort, such as through a hug or touch. So, if the person was providing emotional support through words or actions, you would use 慰める, and if they were providing physical comfort, you would use なぐさめる.

As for a distinction between comforting an upset adult and soothing a crying baby, there is no specific vocabulary for this in Japanese. In general, you would use the same verbs (慰める or なぐさめる) to describe comforting or soothing someone, regardless of their age. However, you could add additional details to the sentence to specify the age or situation of the person being comforted, such as 彼女は泣いている赤ちゃんをなぐさめた (she comforted the crying baby) or 彼女は落ち込んでいる彼女を慰めた (she comforted her girlfriend who was feeling down).

# Question 5

>\> ずっとゲームをしないでたまには勉強もする。
>
>\> Instead of continuously gaming, I occasionally also study.
>
>I don’t understand the で here. It can’t be the te-form of だ because -ない is an i-adjective. It can’t be the instrumental/locative case particle either because -ない is an adjective and not a noun. So what is it then?

In this sentence, で is not the te-form of the copula だ or the instrumental/locative case particle. Instead, it is being used as a conjunction, similar to the English word “while.”

In Japanese, the particle で can be used to indicate the means or method by which an action is performed, as in 電車で行く (to go by train) or ペンで書く (to write with a pen). However, it can also be used in a more general way to indicate a simultaneous or parallel action, similar to the English word “while.”

In the sentence you provided, ずっとゲームをしないでたまには勉強もする。, the で is being used in this second way to indicate that the speaker is not continuously gaming, but instead is occasionally also studying. So, the overall meaning of the sentence is “While not continuously gaming, I occasionally also study.”

# Question 6

>whats the different in meaning and usage between “にしては”, “にしてからが”, “にしたところで” all of them describes usually something surprising or unexpected with regards to a person usually?

Yes, all of the phrases you mentioned can be used to describe something surprising or unexpected with regards to a person or situation. However, they have slightly different meanings and usages.

* にしては: This phrase is used to describe something that is surprising or unexpected given a particular standard or expectation. For example, you might use にしては to describe a person who is unexpectedly successful or talented given their background or circumstances.
* にしてからが: This phrase is used to describe something that is surprising or unexpected once a particular condition or circumstance has been met. For example, you might use にしてからが to describe a person who was not particularly impressive at first, but who becomes unexpectedly successful or talented once they start taking a particular action or working towards a specific goal.
* にしたところで: This phrase is used to indicate that something is surprising or unexpected, but that it does not really matter or change the situation in any significant way. For example, you might use にしたところで to describe a person who has done something surprising or unexpected, but who still cannot change the overall outcome of a situation.

In general, all of these phrases are used to describe something that is surprising or unexpected, but they have slightly different nuances and uses.

# Summary

So anyway, I just thought that was neat! **But again be warned!** I have seen it answer questions **fully incorrectly** before, and there’s no way to tell the difference. I still thought it was an interesting as a way of asking questions in a natural format to a robot and having it give actually pretty interesting and nuanced answers sometimes! And because it’s a chatbot, you can also query it and be like “oh ok. So does that mean BLAH?” and it will actually know which thing you’re talking about and respond with a clarification on the previous. At least in theory. It’s just tricky because there’s no way to tell when it’s wrong…