Daily Thread: for simple questions, minor posts & newcomers [contains useful links!] (April 12, 2026)

20 comments

1. 永久の水曜日はようやく終わったようだ

2. what do you call that thing on japanese songs where they change the reading of some kanji. I’ve noticed when i sometimes listen to Spotify and check the lyrics i see some words that has unexpected readings. like 未来 being read as ひかり sometimes the reading even is english word. Is it the same thing they do in manga?

3. when people say “yo” in kabuki, are they saying “良っ”?

4. is there any other verbs like 要る where the past tense (要った) isn’t used?

5. 【紅莉栖】「簡単に説明すると、ビデオカメラなんかの映像機器に映した風景の映像信号を、神経パルス信号にコンバートする技術のこと」

   this is sci-fi but i’m trying to understand 映した,

   映す means to project, display, reflect; so in this came the camera-like device is projecting it right?

   映す can never mean “to capture the image” right?

   edited cause typo.

6. This is a question specifically about godan verbs.

   The phrase “masu stem” makes perfect sense to me – but I don’t understand why this is also regularly called the “verb stem”, when it doesn’t seem to be the genuine stem of the verb.

   For example, with 書く, the genuine stem is “kak”. And yet, textbooks and websites seem to jump through hoops to insist that “kaki” is the verb stem. Does anyone have any historical insight about why it was it decided that we would use the English phrase “verb stem” to describe something that isn’t the genuine stem of the verb?

   As one example, this page on Tofugu [https://www.tofugu.com/japanese-grammar/verb-stem-form-conjugation/](https://www.tofugu.com/japanese-grammar/verb-stem-form-conjugation/) says “The fixed part is called the stem form, and we refer to this fixed part (plus the vowel い for godan verbs) as stem form.” I can’t help but feel, then, that the “fixed part” plus “something else” isn’t really the stem. Surely any reasonable reading of the word “stem” would be exclusively the fixed part.

   I tried to do some research into this myself, and I couldn’t find an answer, but I did find that Wikipedia has this table [https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/Appendix:Japanese_verbs#Stem_forms](https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/Appendix:Japanese_verbs#Stem_forms) where they say “stem” in the way that I would have assumed it means. This is the only place I’ve seen “stem” used in this way, which is interesting.

   If anyone has any insight, I’d be grateful to hear it. Thank you!

7. Hello,

   I need some help with the common usage of an expression.

   I have a question about the term “da mon” だもん which is used at the end of a sentence as a way of justifying something.

   Apparently, this expression has a childish and feminine tone, a bit like “a sulking young girl”… but to what extent? Is it mild or very pronounced?

   Like, how would an adult woman be perceived if she used it with colleagues? Or an adult man? Is it even a common expression?

   Thanks

8. Why is zipper/fly called チャック？

9. https://preview.redd.it/qn5robvi1sug1.jpeg?width=1632&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=0581031b1dc0aabfa31c36ca4d805852ac76e422

   What is the character above the ‘hi’? It’s driving me nuts…

10. Evenin lads so been learning japanese for abit now finished learning most of hiragana from the guides posted in the sub reddit and now am wondering how exactly am too put them to use in writing and understanding it my goal is to just be able to read it when am on twitter or something at the end they said i should learn kanji next should i just go to the website and keep at it there will it make sense if i learn kanji?

11. Hey folks! A couple of years ago I read a recommendation about avoiding reversed cards in Anki (Eng → Japanase), suggesting they’re not necessary and that Japanese → Eng only is totally fine. I’ve since switched to that method and it’s working really well – however, I can’t find/remember the reason and explanation for *why* one-directional learning is sufficent. Can anyone help?

12. Is ちかい an exception as an い adjective? I notice when modifying words rather than that form it is usually ちかくの. Is that just the preferred way that japanese people say things? Or is there a more advanced grammar point I haven’t encountered at the n3 level yet?

13. Is there any nuance/function difference between phrases like 父が好きな本 and 父の好きな本?

14. When saying the word **責任 (**せきにん), does the tongue rest completely on the roof of the mouth or do you retract the tongue. And is there a website where I can look the different “ん” sounds up? Like for example 店員 where it’s a nasal sounding ん. I want to know when to use which ん.

15. Hi all, I’m hoping for feedback on my learning goal/strategy. Here’s the context:

    – I’ll be traveling in Japan a year from now

    – I previously lived in Japan, but… a decade ago.

    – When living there I learned an embarrassingly small amount of the language, but I could pronounce very well had a decent ear for listening. I could recognize a small amount of key words in kana/kanji.

    I want to study Japanese before going back for my trip, with a goal focusing on spoken language and building vocabulary relevant to traveling needs. I’m hoping to be a more contentious foreigner than I was before and be able to carry out simple, typical interactions with decent Japanese (interacting in a restaurant, taking a taxi, shopping, interacting with hotel staff etc)

    This is the part where maybe I’m being stubborn or silly, but I don’t feel motivated to learn written language. I’m very familiar with the phonetics of the kana, but I remember precisely none of the writing.

    Like when I was living there, I plan to recognize which key words or phrases would be important to memorize, but where I’m hung up is that most serious Japanese learning tools are designed to be teaching and challenging reading/writing parallel to speaking. Meaning that to advance my learning in speaking, it feels like I may have to learn writing too.

    – Am I being silly if I try to sidestep learning the written language?

    – Before I buy an app like Anki, does anyone know if flash decks are available in romanji? I can make my own, but it would be nice to have some material provided too.

    – Can anyone recommend other good apps or programs that would help me focus on speaking without writing?

    Thanks in advance if anyone has insight 🙏🏻

16. Hello all,

    i’m needing some guidance on what to do next in my learning japanese journey.

    I’ve finished the 1.5 Kaishi deck and am unsure of what to do next to continue progressing.

    My daily routine currently is:

    Review Kaishi Deck in Anki

    Daily practice with Renshuu to learn more words and work on grammar as that’s my weak point.

    Review grammar lessons in Bunpro

    Passively listen to japanese podcasts randomly throughout the day.

    I’ve read that mining my own anki cards through watching content is generally the next steps but i’ve found it difficult with the uncertainty while watching and constant stops. But if that’s generally what people recommend i’m willing to go that route.

    Anyone have any other recommendations?

17. Hello,

    え、ええと、準備はこれで大丈夫ですわよね……喋る内容のメモに、ダンジョン攻略時と同じドレスと髪色、あと家具の配置も……あそこはもうちょっとずらしたほうがお優雅かもしれませんわ。

    I don’t quite understand the に after メモ, could someone explain why it is used? I thought it might be メモに(書いて), but then it probably should have been 内容をメモに.

18. Is something like 僕もです grammatical or would you always say 僕も regardless of politeness of the conversation to say “me too”?

19. I have two questions about this dialog regarding polite language that’s tripping me up. In particular it’s a character (Character B) who uses polite language but often in a teasing or sarcastic way, which makes to a bit hard to parse what’s real usage and what is a joke.

    >Character A: 「いちいち、うるさいヤツだな。まぁ、耳元で気色悪くケラケラ笑うベアトのヤツよりゃ数段マシだがよ」
    Character B: 「**いえいえ**まったく。お嬢様の笑い声は時折、実に品がありません」

    (いちいち、うるさいヤツだな is referring to Character B). What is the role of いえいえ here? is いえいえ responding to the backhanded compliment that his noisiness is better than ベアト’s shrill laugh, and then まったく is an agreement (笑い声は時折、実に品がありません) ? いえいえ doesn’t seem like it works as an agreement, but まったく comes right after it so I’m not sure.

    >Character B: 「何れにせよ、これまでのゲームでの無策と違い、戦い方に指針を持たれるのは、劇的飛躍と申せましょう」

    what is 申せましょう？　Is it not 申しましょう (let’s go with that) or 申せます (it could be said) ? I’ve never seen this combination of grammar so I’m not sure if it’s a politeness thing I’m misunderstanding, or just a weird sarcastic quip.

20. Is this Japanese understandable, and hopefully not gibberish? I’m applying for a job and was asked to start by introducing myself in Japanese. I am not expected to know Japanese yet; they just want me to make an effort to introduce myself in a few sentences.

    [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G8rikZUL4PM](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G8rikZUL4PM)

Comments are closed.