Japanese Language Stack Exchange
Japanese Language Stack Exchange

Questions tagged [spoken-language]

音声言語（話し言葉）. Language that i​s more typical of speech than writing, including contractions, omissions, and other verbal mechanisms characteristic of speech.

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全然 {ぜんぜん} with positive adjective / na-adjective

In Japanese classes, I was taught that 全然 can only be used with negative-meaning words/phrases/clauses, for example: 全然出来ません 全然だめです However, I've observed that, especially in spoken Japanese, some positive na-adjectives are allowed to follow 全然…
Lukman
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Where does "もしもし" (moshimoshi) for answering the telephone come from?

Does the term "もしもし" (moshimoshi) predate the telephone? Does it have any use besides answering the phone? Where does it come from, is it just a reduplication of "もし" (moshi) "if", and if so how does that work?
hippietrail
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How does pitch accent work in Japanese?

My studies taught me there's two ways to say each mora in Japanese, with the way you normally talk and when you put a bit more emphasis on a mora, i.e. when someone says なつかしい, the word would be sounded out as na-tsu-ka-SHI-i. I know only one…
Roy Fuentes
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おっす！ An abbreviation for ... what exactly?

Going hiking here in Japan, you can hardly pass anyone without either saying お疲れさまです, おはようございます (I go hiking in the morning) or こんにちは. Some people (young males in particular) greet you with either チュワッ or オッス. A great idea, since everybody's out of…
Earthliŋ
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Commonness of casual phrases like "あたし" and "ちっちゃい"

I came across a Japanese girl in Germany who talked using words like あたし instead of わたし, or ちっちゃい instead of ちいさい. When I asked her, she said that these words or usages of words are more common in Japan. Is this true? How does the majority of…
Herr
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How do Japanese speakers transition from polite to plain form amongst friends?

When you first meet somebody, polite language is, on the whole, the most commonly used form of Japanese. Children may differ, and I understand that not everyone will use plain form, but regardless a majority of people do. At some point in a…
sqrtbottle
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Using なるほど (naruhodo) and やっぱり (yappari) in the same situation

I know, since they are of different word classes, なるほど (naruhodo) and やっぱり (yappari) may not be used interchangeably within the same sentence, but can they be used within the same situation instead? Does it make sense if the same person says the…
Lukman
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Rules for emphasizing by lengthening sounds

Sometimes, sounds are lengthened for emphasis. For example, see "とっても versus とても". What are the rules governing this process? Are there restrictions on where lengthening can be inserted? とっても or とてえも or とても～? すんごい or すご～い or すごいー? Is it…
user1478
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In actual Japanese society, how often are second-person pronouns used?

My Japanese professor (I'm in first-year Japanese) advised us to primarily avoid the use of second-person pronouns like あなた or 君 or おまえ throughout the year, and essentially treated their utterance as something of a faux pas. However, I've been…
voxanimus
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What are the stereotypical characteristics of yakuza speech?

When people imitate yakuza speech, what are the major things they do to make it recognizable as such? If possible, how accurate is this compared to actual yakuza speech? I've seen mention elsewhere on this site that there is some relationship with…
hippietrail
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What do you say when giving something to somebody?

In English when you hold out something to someone, sometimes a vocal prompt like "here" or "there" is said to indicate that you are giving it to the person. In Chinese (or at least in Singapore) we sometimes use something that sounds like "na" or…
Flaw
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What do I do when I encounter "Written Japanese"?

I have read in grammar dictionaries some words/phrases that are labelled as "Written Japanese" and should not be used in normal speech. Let's take for example the sentence-ending こと indicating a command: プールサイドを走らないこと。 "Do not run on the pool…
Flaw
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Do people actually ever say みょうにち?

I've heard people using あした (the common one) and あす (rather uncommon) to refer to "tomorrow". I was wondering does anyone actually uses the reading みょうにち ?
Pacerier
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苦労せん is the contracted form of what?

I'm translating a manga in which one character use a very slangy or contracted way of speaking while the others talk more standard-like. I've already encountered the stem+ん as a short form the negative stem+ない. But what is the -せん attached to 苦労. I…
Shizuka
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What to say at the cash register in the convenience store

I just came back from Japan, it is my first time, so I found myself in the situations, that I wasn't prepared for. At the convenience store I noticed natives tend not to say much to the staff at all, but I just want to confirm that I understand it…
dimadesu
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