意味. The meaning of words or phrases within certain contexts, especially when it does not seem to match the standard definition.
Questions tagged [meaning]
4484 questions
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What does -komu (～込む) at the end of a word mean?
There are loads of words in Japanese which end in 込{こ}む, like 吸{す}い込む, 読{よ}み込む, 入{はい}り込む, 打{う}ち込む, 売{う}り込む, 送{おく}り込む, 押{お}し込む. How does adding ～込む change the meaning? What is the meaning that links all these words?
nevan king
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Why does 今度【こんど】 mean "next time"?
The word 今度【こんど】, though its literal meaning is "this time" is in my experience used pretty heavily to refer to tbe next time or some unspecified point in the future. For example:
今度【こんど】こそ一緒【いっしょ】に行【い】こう！
Let's go together next time!
This has…
rintaun
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Is it ok to use 電車 for non-electric trains?
電車 has the kanji for "electric" in it, but is it more or less ok to use it even for non-electric trains, such as steam trains? I saw a steam-powered train being used as the picture for that word in Duolingo.
Andrew Grimm
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What is the difference between "verb＋て＋みる" and "verb＋(よ)う+とする"?
In Japanese there are words which mean "to try something or attempt at doing something", e.g. 試す, 試みる and つとめる.
However, at the same time we also have two grammatical constructions "verb＋て＋みる" and "verb＋(よ)う＋とする".
In English we just say "try (to do)…
quantum231
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29
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Adjectives functioning both as イ- and ナ-adjective
This question has made me think about the class of adjectives, which can function both as イ- and as ナ-adjective, e.g.
大きい 大きな
小さい 小さな
真っ白い 真っ白な (etc.)
細かい 細かな
暖かい 暖かな
四角い 四角な (etc.)
柔らかい 柔らかな
In my (non-)answer to the question, I…
Earthliŋ
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How can I tell if a Japanese person's given name is male or female?
I am hoping that there may be some particular kanji and/or sounds used in determining if a persons given name is male or female.
Jack Bosma
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What does さあ (saa) mean?
I have seen this term used a lot in many different ways.
「さあ、忘れましょうその未来が」 saa, wasuremashou sono mirai ga — in this sense, I assume it means "come".
But I have also seen it used as
「でもさあ」 demo saa — which I would assume means "well you know" or some…
Nick C.
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Why does 皮肉 mean "irony"?
I gather that 皮肉 can literally mean "skin-meat." I also see that one definition for 皮 is "mask (hiding one's true nature); seeming." So perhaps 皮肉 can be understood as "hiding the real meat," which can be related to irony. What is the real answer?
yadokari
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Making sense of transitive usage of 行く and 来る - 「を行く」 and 「を来る」
I think it's known that some intransitive verbs can take を particle and be used as transitive verbs such as for example 「私のことを分かってくれない」. While using 分かる transitively would require specific scenarios or patterns, from the point of view of an English…
Lukman
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What is the meaning of のか and how does it differ from か?
What is the meaning of のか in the following sentences? Does it have the same meaning as のですか?
漢字はどう正しく書くのか、どう正しく読むのか、彼らは時々迷います。
参加するのか、参加しないのか、ここではっきり返事しなさい。
Also, I have found sentences of the same structure but instead of のか, they contain only か.…
Misaka
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what is the difference between ごとに and おきに?
Both ごとに and おきに appear to mean "repeatedly at intervals".
What is the difference between these two expressions?
Homura Rin
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が and に interchangeability and difference in meaning
Consider these sentences:
だれ{が・に}これが出来るか
だれ{が・に}日本語が分からないか
When both が and に are acceptable, what is their difference in meaning and practical usage?
Flaw
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What is the difference between [友達]{とも・だち} and [友人]{ゆう・じん}?
From a quick google search, they both refer to friend.
Are they completely identical or is there any difference between [友達]{とも・だち} and [友人]{ゆう・じん}?
Zaenille
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Why is a baby called 赤ちゃん？
Why is a baby called 赤ちゃん? The term means red. Is the term "red" specific? Can the term refer to baby animals as well?
Jack Bosma
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What does the nakaguro (・) between these two words mean?
The first sentence on the Mac OS X article on the Japanese version of Wikipedia reads:
Mac OS X（マック オーエス テン）は、アップルが[開発]{かいはつ}・[販売]{はんばい}する、Macintoshコンピュータ[用]{よう}の[現行]{げんこう}オペレーティングシステム (OS) である。
Now, in between the words 開発 and 販売 there happens to…
Miguel
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