Japanese Language Stack Exchange
Japanese Language Stack Exchange

Questions tagged [daily-life]

日常生活. Japanese words and language used in daily life.

19 questions
21
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2 answers

How did コンセント come to be used for an "electrical outlet"?

Saw this on a charger I bought online and was really perplexed. What foreign word does it represent? "concentric"? What does that have to do with electrical outlet and where did it come from?
mmdanziger
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10
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What is the difference between お手洗い and トイレ

Is one more polite than the other? Is there some situations where you'd use one or the other? Would different people prefer one?
Helephant
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9
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How to read 24-hour clock format

There are a lot of topics on forums in what case Japanese people use 24-hour clock format. But I have never seen how it should be pronounced. It's not hard to say something like 8:05. This is common and sounds like 「はちじ ごふん」, but how will it be if I…
へびひめ
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2 answers

Why do road signs have 止まれ, not 止まる, 止める or 止めて?

From what I know ending verb in え makes it sound rough and very casual. I checked in tangorin.com online dictionary - it's said there it is actually a noun. To me, though, it looks like a rough intransitive version of 止まる. Why 止まれ?
dimadesu
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5 answers

Natural expression for "Parking space" in Japanese

I'm looking for one or more natural ways to say "parking space" in Japanese. Here are a few candidates I've found via search and other means, but I'd like to know what people in Japan actually use on a daily basis. スペース 駐車スペース 余裕 (?) Without…
Locksleyu
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4
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1 answer

how to say "follow up appointment" in Japanese

I have been trying to find the correct way to say 'follow up appointment' in Japanese. I have to go to the dermatologist for a follow up appointment and I am unsure what to say to the receptionist. I understand 予約 is 'appointment', what can I say…
Sam
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How do you say 町 (in addresses) in English?

I know that in a normal context, 町 means town. But I'm pretty sure it's different in Japanese addresses, where it typically goes like: ＿＿県＿＿市＿＿区＿＿町＿＿＿＿＿＿ I know that 県 means prefecture, 市 means city, and 区 means ward. But how do you say 町 in…
rayy2130
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Liter/100 km or km/liter, which one is used in Japan?

In America we say the fuel economy of car as miles/gallon (miles per gallon). I know in some countries people use Liter/100 km (liter per 100 km). Some countries use km/Liter (km per liter). Which format do Japanese people use, L/100 km or km/L?
Tony
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How to say "When is the last bus to X"

I was just wondering how to properly ask when the last bus to somewhere is. Could you say (using Tokyo, for example) When is the last bus to Tokyo? 東京 に 終バス は 何時ですか Tōkyō ni shū basu wa nanji desu ka?
geeb.24
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Why are some words (e.g., 処方箋) sometimes partially written with hiragana?

Some words with complex Kanji are sometimes written in a mixture of Hiragana and Kanji. For example 処方箋 (prescription) is often written as 処方せん in pharmacies. This is used by native speakers that have clearly received a Japanese education and can…
Tom Kelly
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Icebreakers to use with strangers

Let's say I am in a gym and had an eye contact with a person working out next to me, is it OK to say 今日は、如何ですか。 どうも、元気か。 What are the best simple expression to break the ice with complete strangers?
user1602
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What is the equivalent Japanese term for "Anthropomorphize/Anthropomorphic"

In English, we have two distinct concepts "Anthropomorphization" and "Personification". The former, meaning to impart some human traits onto an object or animal is often seen in Japan/Japanese media: On the other hand, "Personification", which is…
starmandeluxe
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Calling someone お兄さん or お姉さん in the street; is it irrespectful?

So... i been seeing a lot of cases in anime or real life japanese that pepole use 「お兄さん」or 「お姉さん」(depending on gender) to ask something to someone that you don't know. Is this direspectful or something? because i've never seeing it in textbooks…
ティアゴ
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Normal is the most difficult" -- origin in Japanese?

I'm looking for the Japanese origin of the saying Normal is the most difficult. I believe the longhand version would be Normality in life is the most difficult state/condition to attain/sustain. Any idea what the original in Japanese may…
Maqluba Bint Muhallebi Al-Zach
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How to say hello and goodbye in shops?

I am currently staying in Japan for four weeks. I learned to read & write kana and some basic Japanese (basic particles and sentence structure and some vocabulary), but as you can imagine I’m still struggling with a lot of day-to-day stuff I noticed…
BlackWolf
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