意味論. The study of meaning.
Questions tagged [semantics]
21 questions
10
votes
1 answer
What is the proper way to describe the weather as cool?
I was asked 今日{きょう}天気{てんき}はどうですか?
My response was: 涼{すず}しいです。
I was told that's not the right way to say that. Instead I should say: あまり寒{さむ}くなりません。
Which is the right way? If I'm wrong, why? And when should I use 涼{すず}しい?
On The Net Again
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8
votes
1 answer
What is the difference between 取り除く and 削除?
When a security threat is detected by Windows Defender, the two of four available actions are: 取り除く and 削除. Both of these terms are translated as "remove" and it is confusing when deciding which to use. I understand that 取り除く is used in the sense of…
user1602
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6
votes
1 answer
How to interpret なりました at a baseball game radio broadcast?
On my local radio station baseball games translations take the most of the broadcast slots. Commentators speak very fast and the only thing I can differentiate is なりました. なりました is repeated literally every two seconds. What could possibly "become" or…
user1602
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5
votes
1 answer
「国や国といった留学生が多い」？
I came across a sentence on a Japanese grammar site that strikes me as somewhat odd.
この学校には中国やベトナムといった留学生が多い。 (source)
Shouldn't it be
この学校には中国人やベトナム人といった留学生が多い。
because countries can't be students, can they?
My google fu led me to this…
Eddie Kal
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5
votes
2 answers
the different adverbia between 'mousugu', 'mamonaku', and sorosoro
What is the difference in meaning between "mousugu", "mamonaku", and "sorosoro"?
According to what I found, in English they all mean "soon"?
user25388
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4
votes
2 answers
Should I include my step-siblings as 兄弟?
If I'm asked, "兄弟がいますか。" and my only siblings are a younger step brother and younger step sister, should/can I respond "はい、いもうととおとうとがいます。"? Do I need to specify but still answer in the affirmative? Or does my answer need to be negative?
themathandlanguagetutor
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4
votes
1 answer
Can you leave a kanji as hiragana in a haiku?
In my Japanese class, we are writing haikus on Japanese American history, and I decided to write about the Nagasaki and Hiroshima bombs. In the third line, I wanted to leave し as the hiragana because jisho.org shows し as having many different…
Japanese Student
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4
votes
2 answers
The meaning of やっと
I read in some sentences やっと has several meanings like 'finally, & just'. I'm curious about the differences between them. Because when I substitute the sentence that have 'finally' meaning with 'just' meaning, it makes sense.
For example from the…
yurinda
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4
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1 answer
Meaning of 「位置の平等」は難しい。
It's from line 14: https://www.docdroid.net/847v2dg/img-20170413-0001-new.pdf.html
「位置の平等」は難しい。
Literally, I'd translate the stuff in bold as "The equality of situation".
Does the whole sentence then mean that its difficult to establish equality for…
Narktor
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4
votes
2 answers
Rules and phenomena about reading/writing words with kanji
I'm trying to learn Japanese but I'm the kind of person who can't really learn if they don't understand some of the mechanisms. I'm stuck when learning vocabulary because I can't just be like "OK this one is strange but whatever, it must be an…
Destal
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3
votes
0 answers
Semantic classification of verbs
Lately, I've been spending a lot of focus in how to translate certain verbs in the form ～ている. Mostly comes from the fact that, depending on the verb, it can have a meaning of prolonged action (e.g. 食べている, I'm eating) or the result of a change of…
Jak
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2
votes
1 answer
Looking for example where 明ける means "to begin" *unambiguously*
All the dictionary entries I have found for 明ける include definitions that are almost opposites of each other. More specifically, in some of the definitions, 明ける means something like "to begin", while in others (within the same dictionary entry!) it…
kjo
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2
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1 answer
Why is it more suitable to use 「V辞書形 」 than 「N+の」 right before 「代わりに」 in the following sentence?
The sentence is from my textbook, where I'm asked to pick the correct or more suitable choice from inside ［ ］:
最近［ 車の / 車を持つ ］代わりに、カーシェアリングを利用する人が多い。
According to the textbook, the correct (or more suitable) choice is 車を持つ.
As far as I know,…
jarmanso7
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2
votes
1 answer
On the interaction between tense harmony and factivity in (dialects of) Japanese
First of all, I'm a linguist asking a VERY technical question, so I'll do my best to make myself understood. I'd prefer if commenters made it clear what their level of Japanese is (native, advanced, etc.).
English and Japanese are said to differ in…
user242292
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2
votes
2 answers
暖かい・食べ物 / 例えば、火が作れる場合は→を起こせば冬にぬくもりが作れるし / 燃やしてしまう可能性もある
I'm writing small compositions on a regular basis and putting them on italki, so that someone proofreads it and makes corrections to it. Recently, I posted this and got a rather comprehensive answer. I do have some issues understanding this answer…
Narktor
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