どんな人にでも... / 留学生も日本で... / ホストファミリーのお父さん... / １の例をよく読んで...

[eeky]

Hiya,

1. どんな人にでもあげてしまうというのが、贈り物好きの 日本人らしいところである。

Out of this I get something like "Any person to whom you end up giving (a gift) seems to be a Japanese person who likes gifts", but I think I have it all wrong. What does it actually mean?


2. 留学生も日本で贈り物をもらうことが多いと思うが、そ んな時には、ホストファミリーや大学の留学生係や日本人の友達によく聞いて、どうし たらいいかを決めるのがいいだろう。

My translation: "There will probably be many occasions on which (you) too (as a) visiting foreign student in Japan will receive gifts. At these times, it is probably a good idea to ask your host family, student officer or Japanese friends so that you can decide what is best to do."

a) Is this correct? If so, then do you think "decide what is best to do" refers to the correct etiquette of how to thank them, whether you should give something in return, etc.?

b) In よく聞いて, what is よく adding?

c) I'm never very sure how to interpret と思う in situations like this (this is a text describing gift-giving customs in Japan). Does と思う explicitly express the author's opinion, or does it mean something vaguer like "probably" or "an average person would think..."?


3. A foreign student has given a gift to the father of the family he is staying with.

ホストファミリーのお父さんがそれを開けようとしないので、留学生はそ れを開けさせて、そのプレゼントについていろいろ説明する。

Out of this I get: "The father of the host family does not try to open it (the present), so the foreign student causes(?) him to open it, and explains various things about the present."

Is this right? I am unsure, especially, about 開けようとしない and 開けさせた. 開けよう is the volitional form of 開ける, right?


4. Part of the instructions for a writing composition exercise:

１の例をよく読んでから書くとよい。

I assume this means something like "It would be a good idea if you read example 1 again before you write (your composition)".

a) Does と here have the sense of "if"?

b) What is the exact sense of よく here?

 

[Toritoribe]

1. どんな人にでもあげてしまうというのが、贈り物好きの日本人らしいところである。
Out of this I get something like "Any person to whom you end up giving (a gift) seems to be a Japanese person who likes gifts", but I think I have it all wrong. What does it actually mean?

"It's a typical gift-loving Japanese way to give (a gift) to any person."

あげてしまう shows that the speaker/writer thinks it(=to give a gift to any person) is not a good thing.

This らしい is the same usage to the one in the thread below.
にしてみた / かなと思って / らしくていい / ね / 使わせてもらう

2. 留学生も日本で贈り物をもらうことが多いと思うが、そんな時には、ホストファミリーや大学の留学生係や日本人の友達によく聞いて、どうしたらいいかを決めるのがいいだろう。
My translation: "There will probably be many occasions on which (you) too (as a) visiting foreign student in Japan will receive gifts. At these times, it is probably a good idea to ask your host family, student officer or Japanese friends so that you can decide what is best to do."
a) Is this correct? If so, then do you think "decide what is best to do" refers to the correct etiquette of how to thank them, whether you should give something in return, etc.?

Hmm, it's more likely "it is probably a good idea to ask ~ and decide ..." or "it is probably a good idea to decide ... by asking ~". Thus, it expresses "to diside~ is a good idea", not "to ask". It might be too literal, though.

b) In よく聞いて, what is よく adding?

"to ask carefully/meticulously"

［1］ 十分に。念を入れて。手落ちなく。ていねいに。

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c) I'm never very sure how to interpret と思う in situations like this (this is a text describing gift-giving customs in Japan). Does と思う explicitly express the author's opinion, or does it mean something vaguer like "probably" or "an average person would think..."?

In the example sentence, it's the latter. It can be replaced to もらうことが多いだろうが.

3. A foreign student has given a gift to the father of the family he is staying with.
ホストファミリーのお父さんがそれを開けようとしないので、留学生はそれを開けさせて、そのプレゼントについていろいろ説明する。
Out of this I get: "The father of the host family does not try to open it (the present), so the foreign student causes(?) him to open it, and explains various things about the present."
Is this right? I am unsure, especially, about 開けようとしない and 開けさせた. 開けよう is the volitional form of 開ける, right?

Yes. 開けよう is the volitional of 開ける, and 開けようとしない means "to show no sign to open it". 開けさせた exactly means "to cause/make/have him to open it", but of course he would actually say "please open it" or like that.

4. Part of the instructions for a writing composition exercise:
１の例をよく読んでから書くとよい。
I assume this means something like "It would be a good idea if you read example 1 again before you write (your composition)".
a) Does と here have the sense of "if"?

Right, it's a conditional.

b) What is the exact sense of よく here?

same to #2 b

 

[eeky]

"It's a typical gift-loving Japanese way to give (a gift) to any person."

Thanks Toritoribe. Can the "seeming" / "appearing" meaning of らしい ever apply when らしい directly follows a noun? For example, in this case, could 日本人らしい ever (in a different context) mean "seeming/appearing like a Japanese person"?

Also, am I right that in this sentence you've translated as ところ as "way"?

Hmm, it's more likely "it is probably a good idea to ask ~ and decide ..." or "it is probably a good idea to decide ... by asking ~". Thus, it expresses "to diside~ is a good idea", not "to ask". It might be too literal, though.

OK, thanks. Is my translation of どうしたらいいか as "what is best to do" OK?

 

[Toritoribe]

Can the "seeming" / "appearing" meaning of らしい ever apply when らしい directly follows a noun? For example, in this case, could 日本人らしい ever (in a different context) mean "seeming/appearing like a Japanese person"?

No. It can mean "seeming/appearing" depending on the context, so the adverb いかにも(for "typical") or どうやら(for "seeming") is often used to avoid the ambiguity.

あそこにいるのはどうやら日本人らしい。
The person over there seems like a Japanese.

Also, am I right that in this sentence you've translated as ところ as "way"?

日本人らしい itself has the meaning of "typical Japanese (people's) way (of thinking/doing)". Thus, the meaning is not changed without ところである. Actually, the structure "～というのが/～なんて、いかにも…らしい" is a common expression to explain a characteristic of something.

OK, thanks. Is my translation of どうしたらいいか as "what is best to do" OK?

 

[eeky]

No.

I'm wondering, did you make an accidental slip and really mean to write "Yes"? It's just that the rest of your reply seems to indicate that the answer to my question is "yes".

 

[Toritoribe]

Oh, sorry for that! Yes, it's "yes".