14 comments

1. Possibly exposing a fair degree of ignorance on my part with this question, but I have had this duo of leeches stuck to me in my N2 deck for awhile so here goes. For some reason the deck contains two transitive verbs defined as “to dampen (something, like a cloth)”— 湿らす、and 濡らす。This is not really a problem for the recognition (JP-EN) side of things as I can clearly read both, but for testing recall (EN-JP) I never know which one the card wants me to remember and I don’t know how to amend the definition on the card to allow me to differentiate between them in my mental dictionary.

   I know the answer is probably something super obvious that I should know by now, but I’m outsourcing this one to the crowd anyway in case someone has solved this problem (ideally with a differentiated definition succinct enough to fit on an Anki card).

2. u/Cloffix

   The fundamental categories of epistemic modality are **assertion** and **conjecture**.

   ***These two are distinguished by the opposition between the assertive form 「Φ」 and 「だろう」.***

   [現代日本語文法4 第8部モダリティ｜くろしお出版WEB](https://www.9640.jp/book_view/?285) p. 144-

   (The original explanations are written in Japanese.)

   2. Assertive Form

   2.1 Conjunction and Form

   The assertive form refers to the conclusive form of verbs and adjectives in their non-past and past tenses, ***and nouns followed by だ/だった***. Forms concluded in the negative are also considered assertive.

   田中さんは {来る/来た/来ない/来なかった}。 Verb

   このメロンは{高い/高かった/高くない/高くなかった}。 I-adjective

   あのあたりは{ 静かだ/静かだった/静かではない/静かではなかった}。 Na-adjective

   ***東京は { 雨だ/雨だった/雨ではない/雨ではなかった}。 Noun＋だ***

   Each of these has the following polite forms.

   田中さんは {来ます/来ました/来ません/来ませんでした｝。

   このメロンは ｛高いです/高かったです/高くありません/高くありませんでした。｝

   あのあたりは{静かです/静かでした/静かではありません/静かではありませんでした。｝

   **東京は {雨です/雨でした/雨ではありません/雨ではありませんでした。｝**

   When か is added to the assertive form (however, in plain form for na-adjective predicates and for noun predicates, だ is omitted) and accompanied by a rising intonation, the sentence becomes a question asking whether the listener can assert the validity of that matter.

   明日パーティーがあるんだけど,君も {来るか/来ますか｝?

   最近見ないけど,**鈴木君は{元気か/元気ですか｝?**

   Furthermore, in spoken language, the function of a question is often fulfilled by rising intonation alone, without accompanying か. However, in true/false questions taking the form of ～ですか, the omission of か is less likely to occur.

   明日パーティーがあるんだけど,君も {来る/来ます｝?

   最近見ないけど,**鈴木君は ｛元気/元気です｝?**

3. https://preview.redd.it/8zn7mee9aqef1.jpeg?width=3472&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=fd769d083d30982be9c9065896789dda9b5011e2

   Daily journal entry. Is this coherent?

4. Hello!

   I just started Genki 2 Chapter 16 and I’m working through the grammar points.

   I have two quick questions about the sentences I saw on the footnotes.

   These are the sentences:

   私はゆいさんのために買い物に行きました.

   けんさんが私のために部屋を掃除してくれました.

   私は知らない人に漢字を読んでもらいました.

   1) Why isn’t 私はゆいさんのために買い物に行きました. written as 私はゆいさんのために買い物に行ってあげました? Like how けんさんが私のために部屋を掃除してくれました. has 私のために and くれました in it? Is it stylistic?

   2) For this sentence, 私は知らない人に漢字を読んでもらいました., Genki states, “I can use this sentence structure simply to acknowledges a person’s goodwill in doing something for us, even if I had not actively asked for any assistance.” Then they translated the sentence to: “I am glad that stranger read the kanji for me”.

   I know 私は知らない人に漢字を読んでもらいました. basically translates to, “A stranger read the kanji for me (as a favor)”

   Does the translation of “I am glad that stranger read the kanji for me” come out of context? The context of the person didn’t ask for help or didn’t get the stranger to read it for him/her?

   Thank you so much in advance!

5. u/Cloffix

   [現代日本語文法4 第8部モダリティ｜くろしお出版WEB](https://www.9640.jp/book_view/?285) p. 147-

   (The original explanations are written in Japanese.)

   3. だろう

   3.1 Conjunction and Form

   だろう connects to the non-past and past forms of verbs and i-adjectives, the stem and past tense of na-adjectives, and nouns, **as well as nouns followed by だった**.

   田中さんは {来る/来た｝だろう。

   このメロンは ｛高い/高かった｝だろう。

   あのあたりは ｛静か/静かだった｝だろう。

   **東京は ｛雨/雨だった｝だろう。**

   3.2 Meaning and Usage

   だろう is fundamentally a form that expresses conjecture. Conjecture means making a judgment that a certain situation will come to pass based on imagination or thought. Because this judgment is made through uncertain recognition (imagination/thought), sentences using だろう tend to carry a dogmatic nuance, and it’s often used more in written language, such as argumentative essays, than in spoken language. だろう always expresses the speaker’s recognition at the time of utterance; it never becomes a past tense itself, nor does it convey hearsay.

   佐藤はまだそのことを知らない{〇ようだった/×だろうた｝。

   天気予報では,明日は雨{〇かもしれない/×だろうそうだ｝。

6. A few minor (or not) questions:

   1 ) I often see わりと (I heard that it’s mostly in hiragana instead of the kanji 割と) being used in many japanese conversations, but looking online, I saw that there’re 3 different meanings depending on how it’s used. I thought it only meant the same as 比較的に (maybe in a more casual manner, dunno), but I saw that to avoid confusion, 割に is recommended for that (though it’s way too formal and it’s never used in daily convos). Can anyone explain how it works?

   2 ) I may be wrong, but I feel きっかけ is used a lot in daily convos in place of 理由, as in “日本語を勉強するきっかけとは？”. I looked around and it means something akin to Trigger/Catalyst/Impetus, but at least to me, I can think of many instances in which using either きっかけ or 理由 works basically the same. Maybe 理由 is for things with no apparent beginning (Why is the sky blue?), while きっかけ has a starting point (Why did you decide to travel to Japan?). I’m still not 100% sure.

   That’s it for now!

7. So I’m about 1 week into learning Japanese so far I’ve learned hiragana and katakana and I’ve started wanikani

   Should I prioritize input this early into my journey? I try to actively listen to Japanese throughout the day (youtube videos, podcasts, anime) but I feel like I’m not getting anything out of it. It sounds like gibberish and I can’t pick out anything. I know it can’t hurt to listen but is it something I should prioritize?

   Should I be listening to natural conversation and things that are way above my level, or should I listen to things that are made for babies and then step up the complexity as I improve?

   Lastly, is there a good online course to follow along with using Genki?

8. u/twyfer23

   The Japanese word で-も is similar to だ-けど.

   First, you’re asserting something, right? In a sense, it’s not impossible to consider that you’re affirming something completely. But on top of that, you’re adding something. Let’s listen to the following Japanese song.

   あなたはとてもいい人ね　You’re such a good person.

   性格だって悪くない　And your personality isn’t bad either.

   お茶もごちそうしてくれるし　You even treat me to tea,

   悲しい時はなぐさめて　And comfort me when I’m sad.

   話題が豊富で新鮮　Your topics are rich and fresh,

   いつも笑っていられる　I can always laugh with you.

   少しまがぬけてるけど　You’re a little bit clumsy, but

   気を使わないですむから　It means I don’t have to worry.

   ***だけど***　いつもうつむくだけの　***But*** I’m always just looking down,

   何も言えない私だから…　Because I’m someone who can’t say anything…

   ***顔がキライ　顔がキライ　I hate your face, I hate your face,***

   ***アンタの顔が　きらいなだけ　I just hate your face.***

   ***ごめんね　君はとてもいいひと　I’m sorry, you’re a very good person,***

   ***だけど　顔がきらいなの　But I hate your face.***

   [コンセントピックス 顔](https://youtu.be/5yknHs_27E8?si=L3YHYEuX0IuRmMhP)

9. **Is there a way to know the katakana spelling of a word from just knowing it’s english spelling?**

   I often get the spelling of loan words wrong like in Venus
   Since only ‘s’ isnt directly translable to the kana I thought it would be Ve Nu Sa –> ヴェ一ヌス/サ
   But it was –> ヴィーナス

   Now I get the “Ve” part as it’s translated based on pronounciation so it becomes “Vi” but what about “S”

10. hi, for this
    少**しも～ない**
    [**https://bunpro.jp/grammar_points/すこしも-ない**](https://bunpro.jp/grammar_points/すこしも-ない)

    Here’s an eg sentence
    少しも暑く**ない**のに、汗をかいている。

    Is below what Bunpro trying to say?

    Think of this sentence as:

    >

    In logic:

    * “Even a little hot” = A
    * “Not A” = the meaning of the sentence

    So it’s:

    >

    The part I’m confused about is JMDict says it means “(not) in the least” when in a -ve sentence,
    but that makes me think of
    **少しも暑くない**
    as
    → “*not even a little*” + “*not hot*”, whereby the double negatives cancel each other out?

11. I was watching [this video](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_NHpSaa-UmE) and I read in comments that phrases 殺さないよ and こっち来い are unnatural. I wonder what are natural versions of these phrases. Perhaps 殺さないから安心しろ for the first one. Not sure about the second one.

12. Currently, I do Kaishi 1.5k everyday and I learn about grammar basics on the side, but I have a question about the kanji.

    When I learn a word, I learn : “私, わたし, I”. So when would I need kanji ? Is it worth learning them because it will help me learn vocabulary, or is it not really helpfull because I already know the word ?.. I don’t really know

13. まだあどけなさの抜けきらぬ幼い顔になんとなく気持ちが和んだ

    What does 抜けきらぬ mean here?

14. So something I was worried about when it comes to immersion was that I would be missing on a lot of nuance because I wasn’t at the level to grasp it all yet. It made me fret over starting novels that I want to read in case my experience with them would be substantially worse. I think I kinda created a monster in my head after reading so many “it’s much better to read in the original language” type of stuff (not to say that it won’t be better, just that it’s not something from outside of the planet).

    Now I’ve done some light research and asked Claude and from what I’ve gathered, the things I would be missing out on would be initial characterization being done through the use of language (pronouns and politeness level used) and the use of so many homonyms and homophones in wordplay.

    I want to ask you all if that is it? Putting aside vocab and grammar which I’ll learn through reading, is there anything else I could be missing?