Need a word or phrase translated?

I'm looking for a word that means something like 'to create' or 'to shape the development of'--essentially a word that means to cause something to come into being.
What I want to say: I am interested in reading traditional stories like Momotarou because they have helped to shape Japanese values.
My attempt in Japanese:
桃太郎を初め、伝統的な日本の物語に興味を持っています。なぜかと言えば、現在の日本人の価値観を決定づけたんですから。
決定づける--> I have no confidence in this phrase as I just kind of stumbled upon it in my dictionary. Would this work here? If not, what would?
Also, how would I express the sentiment 'to help' in this context? I wouldn't say, in English anyway, that those stories 'shaped japanese' sense of values' because there are certainly other factors. How do I express that its one of several factors? Does adding something like ある程度まで at the beginning of sentence two work? Is there a smoother way, possibly by changing the verb somehow?
桃太郎などの伝統的な日本の物語に興味を持っています。それは、現在の日本人の価値観を形成するのに、大事な役割を果たしていたから。

In conversational English I think I would say "It played a major role in shaping Japanese peoples values." So that was how I chose to literally convey and frame it with the above translation. How natural it comes off in Japanese I think is fairly high....until a native gets back with me otherwise. 😌
 
Thanks for the suggestion Elizabeth. Did you change をはじめ to など because of a correctness issue, a formality issue, or a personal preference issue? It seemed an appropriate sentence for the construction so I decided to try it out...

The "AはB(に・で・において)大事な役割を果たす。" got a lot of hits in Jim Breen's online dictionary. I'll have to try to start using it when occasion merits (though such occasions are probably few and far between).

As best I can tell, using に vs で vs において after B (either a noun or nominalized verb) is based on the following

に A, working towards B
で A, working as a member of B (reminds me a bit of として in that its defining the role?)
において same as で except more formal and probably something I will never use unless I start publishing in academic journals/giving official speeches?

Would these examples work (made up out of my head)?

1) 佐々木さんは私の日本語の上達に大きな役割を果たしました。 --> this sounds better than below but my ear's not so good
(佐々木さんは私の日本語が上達するのに大きな役割を果たしました。)

2) 佐々木さんは国際交流協会の会議で大事な役割を果たしました。

Are these sentences correct and do they accurately illustrate the differences between the particles で and に in this construction?
 
Thanks for the suggestion Elizabeth. Did you change をはじめ to など because of a correctness issue, a formality issue, or a personal preference issue? It seemed an appropriate sentence for the construction so I decided to try it out...
I don't think it is correct but at any rate I have not been exposed to it in that context and couldn't piece together your intended meaning....My alteration was entirely unconscious although out of proper JREF etiquette I probably should have asked if I'd thought of it.

The "AはB(に・で・において)大事な役割を果たす。" got a lot of hits in Jim Breem's online dictionary. I'll have to try to start using it when occassion merits (though such occassions are probably few and far between).
As best I can tell, using に vs で vs において after B (either a noun or nominalized verb) is based on the following
に A, working towards B
で A, working as a member of B (reminds me a bit of として in that its defining the role?)
My experience has been with 大事な役割を果たす the difference is most often the common distinction found across grammar points and constructions that で refers to a place or activity occuring on a specified stage bounded by a specified space. In contrast, as you say, the "location" in に expresses the working towards or tendancy in the direction of a particular end state.

において same as で except more formal and probably something I will never use unless I start publishing in academic journals/giving official speeches?
It can substitute for で or に and was given a brief introduction here :

Quick question about the use of "於"

1) 佐々木さんは私の日本語の上達に大きな役割を果たしました。 --> this sounds better than below but my ear's not so good
(佐々木さんは私の日本語が上達するのに大きな役割を果たしました。)
2) 佐々木さんは国際交流協会の会議で大事な役割を果たしました。
Are these sentences correct and do they accurately illustrate the differences between the particles で and に in this construction?
It's not particularly constructive, but they all sound good and equally natural to me. :-)
 
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The nuance of "mysteriously" is not so strong.
不思議と~になる is often used in Japanese,
but in most cases, it has little to do with mystery/supernatural phenomena.
I'd say it's more like "somehow".
"I don't know why, but somehow I'm feeling exhilarated."

Ah thanks so much for clearing that up. That makes much more sense to me that way.
 
Hello.
I am signing up for a Japanese website where I have to enter a security code.
Here is the image:

captcha_image3.webp


Thanks in advance
 
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Could you please help me type "I love Japanese girls" in kanji. I ended up with this: 私日本人の女の子が大好き. But I'm pretty sure this is not right.
Thank you 😌
 
I don't think it is correct but at any rate I have not been exposed to it in that context and couldn't piece together your intended meaning....My alteration was entirely unconscious although out of proper JREF etiquette I probably should have asked if I'd thought of it.

I'm still a bit confused on this point. The goal is to highlight momotarou as one specific example of the larger group 'traditional japanese stories,' and I understand why など works here, but I don't understand why をはじめ wouldn't. It seems similar to the example sentence コンサートで歌手Aは最新のヒット曲を始め、25の新曲を歌った。

Using your corrections from earlier but replacing など with おはじめ, the sentence reads:

桃太郎をはじめ伝統的な日本の物語に興味を持っています。それは、現在の日本人の価値観を形成するのに、大事 な役割を果たしていたから。

Could anyone explain if/why this is incorrect? Thanks.
 
I'm still a bit confused on this point. The goal is to highlight momotarou as one specific example of the larger group 'traditional japanese stories,' and I understand why など works here, but I don't understand why をはじめ wouldn't. It seems similar to the example sentence コンサートで歌手Aは最新のヒット曲を始め、25の新曲を歌った。
Using your corrections from earlier but replacing など with おはじめ, the sentence reads:
桃太郎をはじめ伝統的な日本の物語に興味を持っています。それは、現在の日本人の価値観を形成するのに、大事 な役割を果たしていたから。
Could anyone explain if/why this is incorrect? Thanks.
Oh, yes, I think it is fine. My apologies. I read it to some Japanese friends and they didn't understand. But now that I see the example sentence it makes absolute sense as a kind of "especially" or "in particular"....:sorry:
 
I'm still a bit confused on this point. The goal is to highlight momotarou as one specific example of the larger group 'traditional japanese stories,' and I understand why など works here, but I don't understand why をはじめ wouldn't. It seems similar to the example sentence コンサートで歌手Aは最新のヒット曲を始め、25の新曲を歌った。
Using your corrections from earlier but replacing など with おはじめ, the sentence reads:
桃太郎をはじめ伝統的な日本の物語に興味を持っています。それは、現在の日本人の価値観を形成するのに、大事 な役割を果たしていたから。
Could anyone explain if/why this is incorrect? Thanks.
はじめ can be used to put something as an example.
I don't think your sentence is incorrect, though usually はじめ is used like ~をはじめとした/~をはじめとする. (And yes, sometimes people do write ~をはじめ without とした/とする.) I might say:
桃太郎をはじめとした伝統的な日本の物語に興味を持っています。
それは、現在の日本人の価値観を形成するのに大切な役割を果たしているからです。
The first part can be rephrased :
桃太郎などの伝統的な日本の物語・・・
Meaning are quite similar, "traditional Japanese stories such as momotarou" "tarditional Japanese stories, momotarou, for example" but maybe など is more vague while をはじめとした is more focused on momotarou (compared with など).
 
Did someone saw Gokusen (season I) Episode II?

in the beginning somewhere Matsumoto Jun saids something like: Nakama? nakama te kata ni janai yo or something: the subs were : Friends? don't use that word easily

(at lenght : 00 : 14:05 there you see Jun saying the phrase)

can someone help me please?

I heard 仲間仲間って簡単に言うんじゃねえよ。

Is this correct?
Because the translation of 仲間仲間って簡単に言うんじゃねえよ。 =
nakama nakama tte kantan ni iu njaneeyo
(and how do you say this? (teh kantan nii un janee joo?)
 
Is this correct?
Because the translation of 仲間仲間って簡単に言うんじゃねえよ。 =
nakama nakama tte kantan ni iu njaneeyo
(and how do you say this? (teh kantan nii un janee joo?)

You mean what kind of intonation? Probably a natural reading would have a small pause after the first nakama, then a larger pause after tte.

なかま なかまって かんたんにいうんじゃねえよ Other than that just pronounce it as you normally would each hiragana...

ie, something like: nakama nakamatte, kantanniyuunjaneeyo
 
そうか!'仲間仲間って簡単に言うんじゃねえよ' (なかまなかまってかんたんにいうんじゃねえよ) = nakama nakamatte, kantanniyuunjaneeyo。

有賀と!
 
I have a question,
Can someone translate this text?

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Don´t watch the picture,,
Its only for the text,,🙂
I will hear it🙂
 
Hi xFanGirl, if you mean the text in the picture, I'm afraid that it is not Japanese but Chinese...
 
Hello,

Would anybody here know how to pronounce this name?

善久惠

I couldn't find it in Jim Breen's name dictionary. Thank you!
 
Hello,
Would anybody here know how to pronounce this name?
善久惠
I couldn't find it in Jim Breen's name dictionary. Thank you!
Zen Hisae. But proper nouns in Kanji can be pronounced in so many different ways, so you're never 100% sure about it. :emoji_thumbsup:
 
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