For the grammar and variants of Japanese words and phrases considered to be mainly used in casual speech or conversation.
Questions tagged [casual]
46 questions
21
votes
1 answer
Can polite and casual Japanese be combined?
What I mean is, is there any overlap? are you allowed to speak in a way that combines both forms of speech?
like are there words that, even if using formal speech, are typical to use casual speech for and vice versa?
I really struggle getting my…
Fuure
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12
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4 answers
the logic behind "te" in "chotto matte te"
When someone says: chotto matte te, why does the te mean "... and I'll be back shortly". What's the logic behind it?
Why aren't there special expressions such as chotto matte X, where X could mean "I'll give food to my cat" or "I'll need sign an…
Kommi
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10
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1 answer
Meaning of ちはース
Context: a boy shouts 「ちはース」 after seeing that a fan club for a boxer has only female members. He is happy to discover this since he is the kind of guy that always tries to flirt with pretty girls.
I understand that this is an exclamation expressing…
Marco
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7
votes
1 answer
What is the meaning of putting a word in parentheses at the end of a statement [Internet Speech]?
I'm sorry, I can't think of a better way to title this question, but I took a screenshot of the short Twitter exchange showing what I mean:
In case anything goes wrong with the image, here it is in text:
Person 1: 一般って何なんでしょうね……（哲学）
Person 2:…
Flash Trance
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5
votes
1 answer
Feminine speech: no だ before よ
Is it true that until recently women were expected to drop だ, ending a sentence with よ? For example:
今日、何曜日？
土曜日よ。
If it is true, was it thought to sound "gentler"? Why has this changed?
Enguroo
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4
votes
2 answers
When did 「ヤッホー」 become a popular greeting?
The etymology of the very casual greeting 「ヤッホー」 appears disputed and undecided. Various theories and hypotheses have been suggested. This site lists German, Hebrew, and 山伏 as possible sources. A lot of places claim it was a mountain climbing term…
Eddie Kal
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4
votes
5 answers
What does the long "neeeeee" (ねー) mean when 2 friends are talking?
What does "neeeeee" (ねー) mean when 2 friends are talking? That is, one is talking, talking, talking and the other will occasionally reply "neeeeee" to him? Is this just the ordinary "so da ne" or does it have another connotation in this case?
Ko32mo
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3
votes
1 answer
Is TE FORM + だって a possible combination?
オレは泳いでだって行くぜ
This sentence is from episode 9 of Digimon Adventure.
The character's brother is supposedly lost on another island and he says that.
The prior sentence for context:
空も飛べないのにどうやってさがしに行くんだよ
I want to know if that is equivalent to 泳いでも.
Manab
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3
votes
1 answer
Verb(ますstem)にくい vs Verb(dictionary form)のは難しい
hoping for some clarification here. This is my example:
これはめっちゃ粘って食べるのは難しい
The reason I used 食べるのは難しい rather than 食べにくい is because my understanding is that にくい・やすい is used for psychological difficulty (You don't want to buy something because it's…
Luke McAloon
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3
votes
2 answers
Couple of slangs I've heard when watching anime
In one of the animes I've watched recently (can't recall the title), I heard words like "チーズ" (not sure if this is how it's spelt in katakana since I only heard the word, but as for how it's pronounced in English, it would most probably sound like…
Newbie
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3
votes
1 answer
Can "mata itsuka" be used in casual conversation?
Recently I came across this exchange:
Person A: Ja ne.
Person B: Mata aou.
Person C: Ja ne. Mata itsuka.
Real casual till that last line. I've been told that "itsuka" is a way to express uncertainty.
1. Does this make the exchange bittersweet,…
user23924
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2
votes
1 answer
How is the use of this 何? 「何ユッキーに変なこと吹き込んでるのよ」
何ユッキーに変なこと吹き込んでるのよ
This sentence is from "Mirai Nikki" episode 4". I've seen this use in various animes but I don't get it quite right. It doesn't seem to be the object of the sentence since the object of 吹き込んでる is こと. It sounds more like a "why",…
Manab
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2
votes
1 answer
Why not use the past tense 知った in もうお前が知る俺らは いねえんだぞ
I saw this sentence in an episode of attack on titan
もうお前が知る俺らは いねえんだぞ
the subs translated it to
The people you thought we were no longer exist
I don't understand since in this case the speaker is talking about how they used to be why not…
k-on fan
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2
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1 answer
Is ある in this sentence used to refer to animate objects (children)?
I was doing some searches and so know that it is not as simple as just ある = nonliving and いる = living, but the sentence still makes me confused because of "みんな的には…" and "良いとかある？"
コレについてどう思う？良い子のみんな的にはもっと可愛いお人形の方が良いとかある？
context: He is trying to…
hexuanshiqingxuan
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2
votes
2 answers
Casual speech - できんでえ / てやんでえ
I've come across both できんでえ and ~てやんでえ today but I'm not sure what they mean or what their origin is. There's some information relating to ~てやんでえ online which seems to point to it being a question ("what did you say?") in casual…
NobleGuy
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