同音異義語. A pair of distinct words identical both in pronunciation and in writing, but with different meanings.
同音異義語. A pair of distinct words identical both in pronunciation and in writing, but with different meanings.
Questions tagged [homonyms]
24 questions
18
votes
4 answers
"Seemingly cute" - かわいい + 〜そう
The 〜そう form means "seemingly 〜" and is usually conjecture made based on first-hand information. This usually means seeing something or hearing about something and making a conjecture, e.g., おいしそう when seeing the food. (Presumably, first-hand…
istrasci
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13
votes
4 answers
Does 髭 refer to the beard or the moustache?
My dictionary lists 髭 as moustache / beard, but from the example sentences in WWWJDIC, it seems like 髭 is more often used to mean "beard" than "moustache" ?
So for example, in this sentence: 彼はもっと大人に見えるようにひげをはやした。, is it clear to the listener that…
Pacerier
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10
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1 answer
How difficult is it for Japanese to distinguish between 五日【いつか】 and 何時か【いつか】 in spoken contexts?
There are times when both 五日 (5th day of the month) and 何時か (someday) could be used I think. Does this become a minor problem for Japanese when speaking (no kanji to guide), or do they speak in some way to avoid the possible confusion?
A sentence I…
atlantiza
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10
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What's the difference between 下りる and 降りる
My current understanding is that 下りる means to go down, for example, 階段を下りる (Go down the stairs); while 降りる means to get off some form of transport, for example, 飛行機から降りる (Get off from the aeroplane).
Is this understanding correct so far?
However,…
小太郎
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7
votes
1 answer
is there any evidence that ばら is commonly understood as gay
My japanese speaking but not native friend talked about a foreign friend whose name translates to "ばら" (bara - 薔薇) with some native japanese.
They quickly objected that she shouldn't call that friend ばら as this means "gay" (homosexual) in…
steros
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5
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3 answers
How do I find the right meaning of homonyms 同音異義語 via audio?
Japanese has a lot of homonyms and sometimes one has more than 10 meanings.
When I heard the following sentences on the phone or a radio. How do I deal with it?
はしのはしですか？
きのう、かきをたべたけどあまりおいしくなかった
これはすいせいですか？きんせいですか？
かいじょうには、たくさんのえいががありました
user20428
5
votes
2 answers
Usage of 如き, 如し, 如く
如き【ごとき】, 如し【ごとし】, 如く【ごとく】 all mean "like/as if/the same as". Is there a certain way they can be used or are they interchangeable?
Williem F.
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5
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1 answer
Are 短（い） and 身近（い・な） related?
Is one derived from the other? 身近 means - amongst other definitions - "close/near to one(self)", so it's not that much of a leap to say that something near to you is a "short" distance away, and get 短い from that. Is there any truth to this, or is…
istrasci
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4
votes
1 answer
Is there a fundamental difference between homonyms with close meaning and words with multiple possible kanji?
I noticed that dictionaries usually treat differently some homonyms, which for a learner's perspective look similar. For example:
熱い and 暑い are usually two different entries
早い and 速い are usually one entry, shown with multiple kanji. Even though 早い…
Teleporting Goat
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4
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2 answers
ambiguity of どうこう
Perhaps one of the more interesting/infuriating things i've found is how どうこう is seemingly always written without kanji...
the obvious ones with する default to 同行 I assume
だからと言って今すぐどうこうするって話でもないけど。-just cuz i said that doesn't mean i saying i want…
charu
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3
votes
1 answer
What is the Japanese Homophonic Group?
Equivalent question: What Japanese letters won't equal 1?
From: the homophonic group: a mathematical diversion
→ This is an exercise from Michael Artin's Algebra on, well, abstract algebra. In this exercise for the English language, words are…
BCLC
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3
votes
1 answer
Translation of "to buy a cat" vs "to own a cat"
This question is to confirm that the two verbs (to buy and to have) are homophones.
わたしはねこをかっています。
Could the above sentence be translated to "I have a cat" as well as "I am buying a cat"? Are there other ways to phrase the above sentence that are…
funseiki
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2
votes
1 answer
Distinguish between homonyms & potential form
How can you distinguish two verbs when the dictionary form of one is exactly the same as the "potential" form of another. E.g:
開く [Godan verb with ku ending, intransitive verb] (Potential form: 開ける)
開ける [Ichidan verb, Transitive verb] (Potential…
Lovethenakedgun
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2
votes
2 answers
How many translations of "ichigo" are there?
"Ichigo" can be the pronunciation of a person's name (as in the cartoon "Bleach"), or words meaning "strawberry", "one and five", or a part of the word "一期一会". Are there any additional meanings of "ichigo"? Are these words homonyms or do they have…
Nick T
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2
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Specific examples of tonal Chinese words rendered into Japanese
It is often said that Japanese contains a large number of homonyms because there was no way to render tonal Chinese words into Japanese. This makes complete sense. But I am looking for specific examples of Sino-Japanese words which are homonyms but…
kandyman
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