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The "What's this word/phrase?" thread - drdunlap - 2014-10-25
Tzadeck Wrote:If it were はやり it would (should) be 流行りだす so this is りゅうこう・しだす。kameden Wrote:How do I pronounce 流行 in this sentence, and what does it mean? Thanks.I'm thinking りゅうこう since it's attached to する. But, weirdly, IME works if I type in both りゅうこうしだす or はやりしだす. So maybe both. Both はやり and りゅうこう are used for colds with the same meaning, as far as I know.
校医のマダム・ポンフリーは、先生にも生徒にも急に風邪が流行しだして大忙しだった。
Anyway, it refers to lots of people getting a cold in a short amount of time.
The "What's this word/phrase?" thread - john555 - 2014-10-26
Question about "no desu"....
I'm currently typing up these romaji dialogues into kanji/kana. Now the romaji uses "n'desu" a lot at the end of sentences. I had been typing this as "んです" but my online spell checker wants me to change it to "のです".
So which is correct? The book writes e.g. "he is in fact writing" as "kakun' desu" but it appears maybe it should be "kaku no desu" (at least in kana).
So what is the correct way to put it into kana (ignoring the idiosyncrasies of romaji)?
The "What's this word/phrase?" thread - Vempele - 2014-10-26
http://www.guidetojapanese.org/learn/grammar/nounparticles#part5
"In actuality, while this type of explanatory tone is used all the time, 「のだ」 is usually substituted by 「んだ」. This is probably due to the fact that 「んだ」 is easier to say than 「のだ」."
Since it's a transcription of speech, whatever matches what was originally said is correct.
The "What's this word/phrase?" thread - john555 - 2014-10-26
Vempele Wrote:http://www.guidetojapanese.org/learn/grammar/nounparticles#part5Thanks. I've bookmarked this website.
"In actuality, while this type of explanatory tone is used all the time, 「のだ」 is usually substituted by 「んだ」. This is probably due to the fact that 「んだ」 is easier to say than 「のだ」."
Since it's a transcription of speech, whatever matches what was originally said is correct.
The "What's this word/phrase?" thread - Tzadeck - 2014-10-27
drdunlap Wrote:If it were はやり it would (should) be 流行りだす so this is りゅうこう・しだす。That's what I was assuming, without too much actual knowledge about りゅうこう vs. はやる.
The "What's this word/phrase?" thread - cophnia61 - 2014-10-28
From when I started reading zero no tsukaima I've made a good progress with this novel, but still there is that same first sentence which bothered me from the beginning, I already asked about. I let some time pass and then I tried to look at it again but still don't understand something:
Quote:あんた誰？」抜けるような青空をバックに、才人の顔をまじまじと覗き込んでいる女の子が言った。The very first part, what does it mean "抜けるような" in respect to "青空をバックに"? In particular I don't understand the exact meaning of "抜ける".
And another doubt: why there is a "を" in "青空をバックに"? It is used to indicate the space where the action takes place?
The "What's this word/phrase?" thread - Vempele - 2014-10-28
抜けるような青空 has been asked before. Green Goddess:
▶抜けるような青空 a ¬deep [bottomless] blue sky.
▶〔写真などで〕 …をバックにして with a background of…
The "What's this word/phrase?" thread - cophnia61 - 2014-10-28
Vempele Wrote:抜けるような青空 has been asked before. Green Goddess:Sorry I didn't used the search option, I've found it now and it answers first question but the second still bugs me :/
▶抜けるような青空 a ¬deep [bottomless] blue sky.
▶〔写真などで〕 …をバックにして with a background of…
So を is just a direct object marker here? But where is the verb in the sentence I quoted from the book? It is sort of implicit?
The "What's this word/phrase?" thread - Vempele - 2014-10-28
I implied it in my answer: implicit して.
The "What's this word/phrase?" thread - cophnia61 - 2014-10-28
Vempele Wrote:I implied it in my answer: implicit して.Now it's clear! Thank you Vempele!
The "What's this word/phrase?" thread - cophnia61 - 2014-11-04
1)
Quote:挨拶言葉はその日の天気によっていろいろ言えばよい。Why the ば form? I sort of understand it but I need a confirmation
What greeting you use may vary depending on the weather of the day.
Other similar examples would be useful... I've found only example where "ば" means literally "if"...
The "What's this word/phrase?" thread - Tzadeck - 2014-11-04
cophnia61 Wrote:1)It's the same meaning as always:Quote:挨拶言葉はその日の天気によっていろいろ言えばよい。Why the ば form? I sort of understand it but I need a confirmation
What greeting you use may vary depending on the weather of the day.
Other similar examples would be useful... I've found only example where "ば" means literally "if"...
言えばよい "If you say (a particular greeting), it will be good."
It's just that it's awkward to use an 'if' construction in English there, but not in Japanese. Saying that this ば form is 'if' in English is only an approximation, because usage actually varies between languages. There's nothing special going on here though; it's the ば you already know.
The "What's this word/phrase?" thread - RawToast - 2014-11-04
cophnia61 Wrote:1)ば is a conditional, so seeing it as 'if' isn't really far off.Quote:挨拶言葉はその日の天気によっていろいろ言えばよい。Why the ば form? I sort of understand it but I need a confirmation
What greeting you use may vary depending on the weather of the day.
Other similar examples would be useful... I've found only example where "ば" means literally "if"...
楽しければ、私も行く。
If it's fun, I'll go too.
http://www.guidetojapanese.org/learn/grammar/conditionals
The "What's this word/phrase?" thread - john555 - 2014-11-09
Hi, I have a question about this sentence in the reading passage I am studying:
何の話から出たのか、ひょっくり誰いうともなく、“。。。”といい出し、。。。。
nan no hanshi kara deta no ka, hyokkuri, dare yu to mo naku..."....." to iidashi.....
the meaning of which the notes to the reading passage explain as:
I don't remember how it came up, but all of a sudden (by) no one in particular it was suggested that "......".
My questions are:
1. The verb "remember" is just implied (after the ka), correct?
2. What is the grammatical explanation of 誰いうともなく (dare yuu to mo naku)?
Thanks.
The "What's this word/phrase?" thread - Tzadeck - 2014-11-10
john555 Wrote:Hi, I have a question about this sentence in the reading passage I am studying:Yeah, using the word 'remember' is just a loose translation--it's implied.
何の話から出たのか、ひょっくり誰いうともなく、“。。。”といい出し、。。。。
nan no hanshi kara deta no ka, hyokkuri, dare yu to mo naku..."....." to iidashi.....
the meaning of which the notes to the reading passage explain as:
I don't remember how it came up, but all of a sudden (by) no one in particular it was suggested that "......".
My questions are:
1. The verb "remember" is just implied (after the ka), correct?
2. What is the grammatical explanation of 誰いうともなく (dare yuu to mo naku)?
Thanks.
As for だれいうともなく, it's a grammar point that you'll find in N1 books (I remember studying it in the N1 Kanzen Master book). Of course, here meaning that who said it is not clear.
The "What's this word/phrase?" thread - john555 - 2014-11-10
Thanks...do you know what だれいうともなく means literally?
I believe that "naku" is an adverb formed from nai, the negative of aru. いう is probably the verb "to say". What is とも?
Thanks.
The "What's this word/phrase?" thread - Vempele - 2014-11-10
It's just と with も as an intensifier. EDICT has -となく as "adds vagueness and indirectness to the word or phrase it is used with" (ともなく: "phrase used to express the uncertainty or lack of intent in what precedes it").
The "What's this word/phrase?" thread - Ash_S - 2014-11-10
と も なく 【とも無く】
（ 連語 ）
〔格助詞「と」・係助詞「も」に形容詞「ない」の連用形「なく」の付いたもの〕
動作・状態のはっきりしないさまを表す。 「どこから－現れる」
出典：http://www.weblio.jp/content/%E3%81%A8%E3%82%82%E3%81%AA%E3%81%8F
Bolded relevant part.
The "What's this word/phrase?" thread - frosty_rain - 2014-11-10
This is a pretty noob question. Came across this in Nayr's deck:
はっきり言うと、あなたの言っていることは無意味です。
The bold parts are what confuse me. I'm not all that familiar with all the ways to use と, why would it be put there?
いる and こと are two separate confusions.
I think -ている is a continuer, right? Like, "the things you say and continue to say..." Implying that it's not just one thing he said, but it's what he says in general?
As far as こと goes, I know it's a nominalizer, which according to my grammar book, "creates a noun phrase." What exactly is a nominalizer? Can someone put it in dummy terms for me?
(This is the translation provided: "Frankly speaking, you are talking nonsense.")
Second question: あの人は、えー、ちょっと名前が思い出せません。
I've never seen ちょっと used this way. The audio combines ちょっと with 名前 just like it's written... should えー, ちょっと be separated by a pause from the rest of the sentence (like you're thinking and say "ehh..hold on a sec..., nope") or is there a definition for ちょっと that I don't know?
The translation is: "That man is …, well I cannot remember his name." Can ちょっと be used to mean "well?" Cuz I thought じゃ was usually used for that.
The "What's this word/phrase?" thread - drdunlap - 2014-11-10
In response to frosty_rain,
The first と is often thought of as the conditional (often translated as if/then). You can think of it as a literal translation, "if I say it clearly/frankly, then..." if that helps. You'll see that a lot, especially with the verb 言う such as かいつまんで言うと、簡単にいうと、はっきり言うと、一言で言うと etc etc. Buuut it's not actually a conditional here. In Japanese, it's often used in this way just to preface a statement. For example, 「この場合だと」= "In this case..." So, in this case (hahaa!..
) it would actually just be "To put it frankly" or "Frankly speaking" as it is in the translation you have.The ～ている here is working kind of like the present progressive tense in English. And, while he's probably not actually speaking right that very second, it's the same as saying something like "I know what you're saying." in English after someone has finished talking. Probably. That's how I think of it anyhow!
The こと is not actually a nominalizer here, but the "things" (こと) that are being said.
So, for a more direct translation to see what's going on, 「あなたの言っていることは無意味です。」 could be said as "The things you are saying don't have any meaning (don't make any sense)."
((PS- Because you asked, the nominilizing usage of こと would turn a verb into a noun. For example, in English, "swim" is a verb but "swimming" is a noun. It plays the part of that "-ing" in turning something into a noun. So in Japanese, for example, it would be 泳ぐ and 泳ぐこと.))
As for ちょっと in that sentence above, ちょっと is sometimes used in this way to mean that one can't easily do something. So here he's having trouble remembering the fellow's name. I think it's one of those things that is used in Japanese without a very good equivalent in English. Although I'm sure there's something close...ish.. maybe.
The "What's this word/phrase?" thread - Splatted - 2014-11-10
Edit: Drdunlap beat me to it. I considered deleting since he knows better than me, but on the off chance a different perspective is helpful I'll leave it up.
frosty_rain Wrote:はっきり言うと、あなたの言っていることは無意味です。In this instance と just means "if", and it always relates to the previous phrase (the one it's clearly attached too). So looking at it literally はっきり言うと could be translated as "if I were to speak frankly", but as you can see from the sentence he does go right ahead and say what he wants because this is actually just the standard way of saying "I'm going to speak frankly" in Japanese. If the lack of an if in the translation bothers you then you can think of it as meaning something along the lines of "if I were to speak frankly I would say..."
The bold parts are what confuse me. I'm not all that familiar with all the ways to use と, why would it be put there?
いる and こと are two separate confusions.
frosty_rain Wrote:I think -ている is a continuer, right? Like, "the things you say and continue to say..." Implying that it's not just one thing he said, but it's what he says in general?Pretty much. I don't think their's necessarily any implication that multiple things are being discussed though. It's just like we'd say "what you're saying". When the conversation is still ongoing that's a pretty natural way of referring to something that has just been said.
frosty_rain Wrote:As far as こと goes, I know it's a nominalizer, which according to my grammar book, "creates a noun phrase." What exactly is a nominalizer? Can someone put it in dummy terms for me?I'm not really sure about linguistic terminology but in this instance こと is the "thing(s)" that are being said. I think nominalisation refers to the fact that sticking こと on the end of that phrase basically turns the whole thing in to a noun. i.e. あなたの言っていること is "the thing you're saying" and grammatically you could replace that with any other noun e.g.
If
あなたの言っていることは無意味です = What you're saying is meaningless.
Then
りんごは無意味です = Apples are meaningless
人生は無意味です = Life is meaningless
学校は無意味です = School is meaningless
etc
frosty_rain Wrote:Second question: あの人は、えー、ちょっと名前が思い出せません。Not 100% sure but I think it's just softening the statement of "I can't remember his name". ちょっと meaning "just a little" being used like we might say like we might say "I can't quite remember his name" instead of "I can't remember his name."
I've never seen ちょっと used this way. The audio combines ちょっと with 名前 just like it's written... should えー, ちょっと be separated by a pause from the rest of the sentence (like you're thinking and say "ehh..hold on a sec..., nope") or is there a definition for ちょっと that I don't know?
The translation is: "That man is …, well I cannot remember his name." Can ちょっと be used to mean "well?" Cuz I thought じゃ was usually used for that.
The "What's this word/phrase?" thread - drdunlap - 2014-11-11
drdunlap Wrote:As for ちょっと in that sentence above, ちょっと is sometimes used in this way to mean that one can't easily do something. So here he's having trouble remembering the fellow's name. I think it's one of those things that is used in Japanese without a very good equivalent in English. Although I'm sure there's something close...ish.. maybe.
Splatted Wrote:like we might say "I can't quite remember his name" instead of "I can't remember his name."That's something like what I was looking for!
Or like the "really" in "I don't really know..." (=ちょっとわからない)
The "What's this word/phrase?" thread - frosty_rain - 2014-11-11
Thanks guys
I really gotta start going over Tae Kim's grammar guide a lot more lol
*EDIT: One question about your explanations though. If こと in this case means "things", why didn't they use the kanji 事? In one of the other sentences a couple cards before that one, they used koto with the kanji to mean "things."
The card in question: 今年はいろいろな事があった (All kinds of things happened this year.)
The "What's this word/phrase?" thread - drdunlap - 2014-11-11
Because Kanji usage is incredibly random. ESPECIALLY for things like こと.
Actually, the meaning of こと in that sentence is literally "things that were said." Not just "things."
Yep. There's a dictionary entry for that. (→ ４ 言葉の内容や意味。「君の言う―はわからないでもない」)
The "What's this word/phrase?" thread - john555 - 2014-11-11
drdunlap Wrote:Because Kanji usage is incredibly random. ESPECIALLY for things like こと.Does it really say that? That "koto" written in kana rather than kanji means "things that were said" instead of just "things"?
Actually, the meaning of こと in that sentence is literally "things that were said." Not just "things."
Yep. There's a dictionary entry for that. (→ ４ 言葉の内容や意味。「君の言う―はわからないでもない」)