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Japanese Language Stack Exchange

Questions tagged [nuances]

ニュアンス. Subtle differences between two seemingly interchangeable expressions.

This tag is for questions about helping you figure out exactly the right way to express yourself in Japanese. Questions in this tag should include samples of at least two phrases you're trying to distinguish.

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What is the こと in sentences such as あなたのことが好きだ?

There were a lot of great answers here. I gave the checkmark to ento's answer because I felt it most completely explained all aspects of this use of こと. But many of the other answers are excellent, so if you're visiting this question for the first…
Derek Schaab
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How should I choose between [知]{し}る and わかる?

Both 知る and わかる get used for "know", "understand", "learn", "find out", and various other concepts. How do you know which to use when? Are there any rules to help you decide? Additionally, both of these verbs regularly appear in several different…
Derek Schaab
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i-adjectives used as na-adjectives: is there a difference? (e.g. 大きい versus 大きな)

There are at the very least several i-adjectives can be used as na-adjectives by dropping the final い and adding な in its place. The most common examples of this, as far as I am aware, are 大きい and 小さい, which become 大きな and 小さな, respectively. For…
rintaun
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Usage of すみません (sumimasen) versus ごめんなさい (gomen'nasai)

There are several situations in which one of these words (phrases?) should be used but there's not usually a 1:1 mapping between any two languages. Get somebody's permission. English: "excuse me", "I beg your pardon"; Spanish: "disculpe" Getting…
hippietrail
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What is the difference between いえ and うち?

I am trying to understand the difference between using いえ and うち. I originally drew the conclusion that うち is used for your own house and いえ for others' houses, but my Japanese teacher said that this is not always true (but did not explain how to…
atlantiza
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ひらく / とじる vs. あける / しめる

The verbs ひらく　and あける both mean to open, and とじる　and しめる both mean to close. I understand that ひらく and とじる are antonym pairs, as are あける and しめる, but have never been clear on the difference between them. I have heard it explained in several…
rurouniwallace
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What is the difference between 大事 (daiji) and 大切 (taisetsu)?

These are two words that seem like they are basically interchangeable at most levels, as they generally are. The difference between them appears to be small, but what is the difference, if one exists? I feel like there are certain situations in…
ssb
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What is the difference between -さ and -み suffixes to make a noun out of an adjective?

For example, both 悲しさ and 悲しみ are glossed as “sadness” in JMdict. What's the difference? According to A Dictionary of Basic Japanese Grammar, 〜み “is more emotive and concrete characterization of some state”, while 〜さ “describes, in an analytical…
pingish
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Must do : ～なければならない vs ～なくてはいけない

What are the differences when using ～なければならない and ～なくてはいけない, or their colloquial contracted forms ～なきゃ and ～なくちゃ when saying "must do"? For example, what is the difference in the nuance and usage of the following "must eat" statements: 食べなければならないよ。…
Lukman
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寝る vs. 眠る, what's the real difference?

What's the real, definite difference between [寝]{ね}る and [眠]{ねむ}る? I know they both mean "sleep", but also that each carries some additional (sometimes, figurative) meanings. Where do the meanings overlap? In what scenarios are they…
istrasci
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The differences between ～がたい、〜にくい、〜づらい

I was wondering what the differences are between these three: ～がたい、〜にくい、〜づらい They all seem to be some sort of variant of "Hard to do ~". But it seems they are used with different verbs and/or imply slightly different things. However, I'm not sure on…
phirru
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What is the difference in nuance between 間違う and 間違える?

I've heard from a Japanese native speaker friend of mine that both 間違う and 間違える are correct usage, but he wasn't able to explain the difference in nuance between them. Is there a difference, and if so, what is it?
bdonlan
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Particle と with へ; ～へと

Consider ～へと in these cases: ～へと下がる : (of some quantity) to fall to ~ ～へと先送りされる : to be postponed to ~ ～へと旅立つ : to make a trip to ~ ～へと広がる : to spread to ~ へと seems to be equivalent to へ or even に. How is へと different from へ? How is へと different…
Flaw
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What connotation does なんだ add?

Specifically, in the expression 好きなんだ (I love you) why not just say 好きだ or 好きです ?
Goku
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Japanese Buts: でも, しかし, ただ, ただし, ところが, が, けど, けれど, けれども

I'm sure someone asked a similar question but I did a search and couldn't find any. Usually I just translate everything into but, but (no pun intended) I think it's about time I got into the nitty gritty of the buts, similar to the different kinds…
Lord of Gall 胆 Bladder
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