Asriel Wrote:What's the difference between:
惹き付ける
引き付ける
It seems that 引き付ける is much more common, and general-use, whereas 惹き付ける uses a kanji which is more rare, and seems to have more of a "sex appeal" connotation to it?
Sort of yes. 引き付ける covers every sense of ひきつける, and 惹き付ける is often used to mean "charm," "mesmerize," "attract" etc. in an emotional sense. Sex appeal is a good example for the 惹 version. A charismatic leader can also 惹き付ける a lot of people. You might be able to 引き付ける people temporarily with a loud voice when you make an important point. But you need more sophisticated skills to completely 惹き付ける your audience.
Hinode Wrote:湖の水面に小さく波が立っているな。
Is translated as "There are a lot of small waves on the surface of the lake."
Where does the "a lot of" come from? (Or is that just assumed from the context? Because small waves don't normally appear alone?)
This may be a foolish question, but why is 小さく used? Isn't that the adverb form?
The sentence means "I can see ripples on the lake." I don't know what the translator was thinking.
As for 小さく, it's modifying 立っている (or, as Tobberoth said, 波が立っている as a whole). Using an adjective like 小さい wouldn't change the meaning very much in this case, but it's just a coincidence. Also, さざ波 might be better than 小さい波 etc. But then again, the original sentence uses 湖の水面 instead of 湖面, so I guess it doesn't matter.
chochajin Wrote:約束したのだから、行くしかないだろう。
Would したから work as well? I thought の+(だ)から is not possible, because both mark a "reason" so in this case it's like a double use or something?
There is a slight difference between 約束したのだから、行くしかない and 約束したから、行くしかない. Both are referring the fact that someone promised to go. But the former is seeing the fact sort of objectively while the latter sounds like there is less distance between the speaker and the promise in his/her mind. For example, the 約束したから version can mean that the speaker could get upset if they don't keep the promise or that s/he is the one who made the promise. It might imply the speaker didn't make the promise but should go together with the listener. It doesn't mean the 約束したのだから version can't carry these implications, but if the sentence is taken out of context, the majority of native speakers would take it that way.
Also, だろう indicates that there is a psychological distance between the fact that 行くしかない and the speaker, i.e., s/he is observing the situation as (kind of) an outsider. So 約束したのだから fits better. Of course, the speaker might be the one who made the promise and should go. But if that's the case, it sounds like s/he is very reluctant. Maybe he said he would go when he was drunk but doesn't want to now. In this case, the sentence is most likely a monologue or the promise isn't between the speaker and the listener. It could be rude if you say it right in front of the person you made the promise to.
chochajin Wrote:今度の日曜日には、友達と会うことになっています。
The grammar point ～ことになっている is explained like this:
The decision took place at some point in the past and the result of that decision is still in effect, sometimes to the extent that it has become a rule or a custom.
Alright, I understand it when you want to say, for example, that it has been decided that you teach English from now on and you're still teaching - but why is that form used in the example sentence above? Because he decided to meet his friend, but hasn't met him yet, but still intends to meet him, so his decision is still in effect? ('_')>
なっています indicates that it's kind of a plan and the subject has little control over the situation at this point in time. In this sense, it's sort of similar to "be going to," but it doesn't imply a strong intention. It just means that the future situation will be like that and that it's sort of a plan.
chochajin Wrote:彼は何も言うまいと思っているらしい。
He definitely won't say anything at all(???)
(The omitted subject is)
思っている thinking
彼は何も言うまいと that he won't say anything
らしい this is what I heard.
It could mean "I heard he was dead set and wouldn't tell us/them anything about it" or something, but it's kind of strange to interpret the sentence that way. It's more like "From what I heard, I guess X still believes he will keep silent," where X is the trivial subject that doesn't appear in the original Japanese sentence and is different from "he."
chochajin Wrote:日本へ行こうか行くまいか迷った。
After reading this example sentence I was wondering if ～まい can be used as "shouldn't" as in: I (guess I) shouldn't eat this. 食べるまいか。(<- or is it more s.th. like "I suppose, he won't eat it?")
Translation always requires context. It may or may not be translated as "shouldn't." Anyone who says they can translate "食べるまいか。" without context clues is a liar or an alien who can do the impossible.
I think the example sentence is meant to teach 食べまいか (食べるまいか is much less common) as in
(Looking at a cute cross-dresser sleeping in your bed)
食べようか食べまいか、それが問題だ。
To ***** or not to ***** – that is the question.
よう and まい are indicating the speaker's will. He's in a "Do I?! Do I?!" situation.
chochajin Wrote:彼はもう英語は教えまい。
He probably won't teach English anymore.
Can this sentence also mean: He definitely won't teach English anymore?
Sort of yes. But 彼は絶対これからも英語を教え続けるよ！can also mean "He will never ever teach English again" depending on your tone of voice. Sarcasm ftw.
On a more serious note, if you pronounce 彼はもう英語は教えまい。with flat intonation like a robot, I think "definitely" is a little too strong for its translation.
chochajin Wrote:言葉さえ共通なら、お互いにもっとコミュニケーションがよくできたでしょう。
As long as you have a common language, you probably can have a well-balanced communication with each other.
<- OK?
If you mean something along the line of "If only there weren't language barrier, we would be able to communicate much better," I think it's all right. But it's impossible to give accurate translation without context. It might mean something like "They were from different countries and spoke different langauges, so they couldn't communicate efficiently." It might be talking about difficulty of communication between two different fields because of jargon.
chochajin Wrote:疲れで思考力が低下しているようだ。こんな時は思い切りスポーツをしたい。
How would you translate 思い切り here? "as much as I want"?
If the situation is like the deadline is approaching and the speaker is too tired to think clearly because he's been working very hard, I'd translate the second half as:
Makes me wanna play some sport and forget about work completely.
Edited: 2010-02-21, 3:47 am
