接頭辞. A type of affix prepended to the beginning of a word to change its meaning.
Questions tagged [prefixes]
44 questions
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votes
3 answers
Are all kanji compounds considered words?
A friend once commented to me that Japanese has a larger vocabulary than English. I said I didn't think it did, because it wasn't really accurate to call all kanji compounds "words". My friend said I was crazy.
Words like 新車【しんしゃ】(new car) and…
Questioner
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Honorific prefixes: 「ご」 vs 「お」
Some nouns take the 「ご」 prefix:
ご両親 {りょうしん}
ご家族 {かぞく}
ご無事 {ぶじ}
ご安心 {あんしん}
ご丁寧 {ていねい}
While many others take the 「お」 prefix:
お母さん
お仕事 {しごと}
お月 {つき}さま
お家 {うち}
お客 {きゃく}
In general, what are the criteria that determine whether a noun…
Lukman
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What is the か in「か弱い」?
I'm wondering what the か in か弱い, か細い and similar words is. It seems to act as an intensifier. The Daijisen tells me simply that this か is a 接頭語, and translates it as いかにも; it doesn't seem to have its own entry or any further explanation.…
Billy
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How to speak about "one" thing in Japanese?
In short, what I mean is, how can I mention about one certain thing (not one thing in amount) in Japanese?
For example "one morning" in the following sentence:
As Gregor Samsa awoke one morning from uneasy dreams he found himself transformed in his…
fenestra
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Differences between ひ弱い and か弱い
How did the prefixes ひ and か come about and what are the differences in meaning between ひ弱い and か弱い?
Are either of the prefixes pejorative like how ド is in the examples in dainichi's answer to 'Where does the ド in ド素人 come from?' ?
They both seem…
Flaw
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What is the difference between 各 and 毎{ごと}?
I think the difference is mainly just a nuance:
毎{ごと}・・・each ・・・それぞれの
各・・・every・・・すべての
I think 毎 is used mainly with 名詞や動詞
「年毎に」
「会う人毎に」
Or there is any other difference?
alicef
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9
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1 answer
What does the word 「ぶったてる」mean?
What does the word 「ぶったてる」mean?
このドヤがいの西{にし}のはずれにりっぱな総{そう}合{ごう}病{びょう}院{いん}をぶったてること!
George
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一 (いち) before nouns
I sometimes come across expressions like this:
土地、宅地の利用区分の"一形態"で、受託の用途に供せられる土地のことを言うことが一般的である。 (definition of 住宅地)
特に、国家・団体などが立てる、"一会計年度"の収支の見積もり。(definition of 予算)
Basically you have a noun which is preceded by 一. I interpret this as a way to say…
hgiesel
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Reading of prefix 大
While reading, I'm finding difficult to understand how to read an initial 大, since it can be read だい (大好物), たい (大使館), おお (大蔵省).
When I can find the word on a dictionary it's not a big problem, I can just check, but when dictionaries don't list it I…
Mauro
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6
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1 answer
What effect does adding 「取り~」 before a verb have?
I've encountered many verbs with 「取り~」 inserted. Up till now I've treated 「取り+verb」 as separate vocabulary, but quite often, the definitions are not much different than the base verb alone. In certain uses, 「取り+verb」 seems more common and thus may…
Hikonyan
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6
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2 answers
Appending 物 to certain adjectives
Certain adjectives (凄い and 足りない come to mind) seem to be able to take 物 as a prefix, but I haven't been able to find anything on the internet regarding this. Are the forms with 物 more formal or something?
Angelos
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Closed: [休]{きゅう}〜 vs. [閉]{へい}〜
Are there particular rules on when to use one or the other? 休〜 appears to be more of a temporary closure or suspension (with implied continuation at some point in the near future)...
この図書館は改装のため、来月まで休館となっています。ご了承ください。 → Due to our remodeling,…
istrasci
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does anyone know of any o-words or go-words which are absolutely neutral?
Does anyone know of any o-words or go-words which are absolutely neutral (have no nuances of being polite / courteous / respectful / womanly / cute etc etc)?
The only ones I'm aware of currently is おちゃ and ごはん
Update
Does anyone know of any o-words…
Pacerier
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6
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1 answer
Prefix お for names - how is it used?
I recently watched a Japanese drama titled 「おせん」. The title comes from the first name of the main character - the character's name is 半田{はんだ}仙{せん} who is a young お上{かみ} of a traditional restaurant.
My question is: is it common for the honorific お…
Szymon
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Is 超 (chō) seldom used in written works?
Is it true that the prefix 超 to mean “very” is seldom used in written works (like novels, not counting direct speech), and is usually only used when talking?
Pacerier
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