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Is this right? So close!

ChrisNico

後輩
14 Oct 2015
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How do you translate, "Is this right?" / "Is this correct?" in Japanese?

In English, I would naturally say "right" instead of "correct," though the meanings are essentially the same.

I would ask this question if I wanted someone to check my homework. Here are some of my guesses:

これ、いいですか?
これ、大丈夫ですか?
これは正しいですか?

The reason I ask this question is because I would always ask, "Is this right?" not "Is this correct/good/ok?" The first sounds completely natural in the context and the latter questions sound (very slightly) less natural.

How would you ask a question with this meaning in Japanese to:

-Another student?
-Your teacher?

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"So close" means "almost correct (but not quite)." It is an expression that is similar to how "Is this right?" is almost the same as "Is this correct?"

For example, if you were playing soccer and your shot hit the crossbar, I would say "so close."

If the answer to a math question was "9094767" and my answer was "9094768," I would say "so close."

If an English student said, "I graduated from the university," I would say, "So close, but I graduated from university."

Is there an expression in Japanese which means "so close?"

My guesses are:

も少し
ほぼ正しい

How would you say this in Japanese to:

-Another student?
-Your teacher?

And is the way to say it polite in Japanese? In English, it is ok to say that someone is wrong and explain why, but sometimes in Japanese, these things are done more delicately. Please let me know!

Thank you very much!
 
The reason I ask this question is because I would always ask, "Is this right?"
Yes, same in Japanese. You should say これはみぎですか?👍
これ、いいですか?
これ、大丈夫ですか?
これは正しいですか?
All of these work. I think in the general case I would probably say これでいいですか?これでいいでしょうか?
Replace いいwith よろしいwhen you want to be more polite.
Now you might ask why これで instead of これは and I'm sure there's a good answer but I don't know.
It just sounds more natural to me. I don't think the English translation would change.
For example, if you were playing soccer and your shot hit the crossbar, I would say "so close."
The typical exclamation you hear in this case is 惜しい!which essentially means "Almost!" or "Just missed!"

Not sure about the just missed answer on the test/homework. 惜しい might work but I'm not sure. I've never heard it in that context. And I don't get your university example. Did you mean to say you almost graduated but didn't?

If you go over the success/failure line and are successful, but just barely, then you'll hear ぎりぎり。Like ぎりぎり間に合った。It works in many contexts like passing a test, winning a game, etc.
 
Thank you very much! I think

The university example is a common mistake I see:

1) O - I graduated from university
2) X - I graduated from the university

In English, we use 1) all the time to express 大学を出ます

We use 2) only to clarify between to similarly named things. For example, if there was "Georgetown High School" and "Georgetown University" and someone said:

Person 1) - I graduated from Georgetown.
Person 2) - Which one?
Person 1) - [I graduated from] the university

but [I graduated from] is not really necessary, and I would say "The university."

And one more question, please: If ぎりぎり means "just barely passed," is there an expression for
"just barely failed?"

"just barely failed" = "so close!"

Thanks again!
 
これで合ってますか is another option for "Is this right?".

ぎりぎり間に合った is more likely for "not to be late", something like "barely caught the train", but ぎりぎり is hardly used for "so close", anyway. I, too, would use 惜しい.
 
ぎりぎり間に合った is more likely for "not to be late", something like "barely caught the train", but ぎりぎり is hardly used for "so close", anyway. I, too, would use 惜しい.
Correct me if I'm wrong but you can also say things like:
ぎりぎり勝った → barely won
ぎりぎり合格した → barely passed (the test)

And one more question, please: If ぎりぎり means "just barely passed," is there an expression for
"just barely failed?"

Yes it's the word we mentioned. 惜しい。
惜しくも負けた → We just lost by a hair.

In the other case where you're saying the homework is almost but not quite correct, I can't think of a "so close" phrase that fits. I'd probably say something like
ほとんど正しかったけど。。。 → It was almost all right but...
細かいことだけ間違えっているけど。。。→ Just a small mistake but...
 
Correct me if I'm wrong but you can also say things like:
ぎりぎり勝った → barely won
ぎりぎり合格した → barely passed (the test)



Yes it's the word we mentioned. 惜しい。
惜しくも負けた → We just lost by a hair.

In the other case where you're saying the homework is almost but not quite correct, I can't think of a "so close" phrase that fits. I'd probably say something like
ほとんど正しかったけど。。。 → It was almost all right but...
細かいことだけ間違えっているけど。。。→ Just a small mistake but...

Willie-rgb-color.jpg
 
Correct me if I'm wrong but you can also say things like:
ぎりぎり勝った → barely won
ぎりぎり合格した → barely passed (the test)
Ah, it seems that I misinterpreted the sentence. I thought "It" referred to ぎりぎり間に合った in "It works in many contexts".🤦
 
Another one for "just made it" I just heard my son say: ぎりぎりセーフ
Don't forget things like 滑り込みセーフ and やっとの事で間にあった

(Did you understand the image I posted?)
 
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